<Chapter 25. Hansen Von Dorthe - 5>
[That heretic!]
[Guaaaaaaaaaahk!]
At Lee Shin Woo’s sudden departure, the Lightning Shadow General and the Treasure Eater, as if under mutual agreement, halted their fight and chased after him.
However, one of them was nigh depleted in magic, while the other had just recently recovered from a critical injury. Jin utilized all his Sprint skills simultaneously while fully charging himself with the surrounding mana, and ran at an outrageous speed, so even a level 7 elite wouldn’t be able to catch up easily.
"The Rebellion skill is really amazing...!"
"More running, less talking!"
Lee Shin Woo’s Rebellion skill was at level 3. And whenever the Rebellion skill leveled up, its effect would increase by 2%; that 2% definitely wasn’t something to laugh about.
His stats, which were passively increased for no other reason than the fact that he was a skeleton, had gone from a 10% increase to a 14% increase. And the increase from fighting a high leveled enemy right now was also 14%!
He also gained another 9% because he was with his partner, which totaled a stat bonus of 37%; that entire effect was likewise applied to his partner, Jin, as well!
[You’re good at running away... Stop right there!]
[Kyaaaaaaaahk!]
Of course, when the Lightning Shadow General and the Treasure Eater had fully recovered, they should be able to catch Jin eventually, but they wouldn’t be running away forever, so it was ok. That’s right, soon... He could see it!
[No, you can’t!]
[Don’t stick that in my body! Guaaaaaahk!]
They passed the dense forest, arriving at the vacant lot and were greeted by the ’happy’ faces of the Golem Chimeras. Thousands of Golem Chimeras were rolling on the floor and were letting out such agonized cries that a weak-hearted man might faint on arrival.
"Ah, like I thought, they’re still like this."
[You bastards... I’ve finally caught... Huh?]
Immediately after they arrived at their destination, the vacant lot, Hansen Von Dorthe drew close, and was momentarily speechless when he saw that there were people here before him. The Golem Chimeras looked so horrendous that even he, who had witnessed countless monsters before, felt queasy, but it felt like he’d seen them somewhere before...!
[Guaaaaaaah!]
[Tch, you annoying bastard!]
But when it felt like he’d found a clue, the Treasure Eater rushed into the lot and attacked Hansen, so he couldn’t afford to be immersed in his thoughts any longer.
There were probably several reasons that the Treasure Eater attacked Hansen first, rather than its target, Lee Shin Woo, but the primary reason was that it needed to ’take care of the dangerous one first and then it would be able to eat at its leisure’.
[Guoooooooooooh!]
[You dull monster...! You were used by that skeleton too!]
[Guaaaaaaaaahk!]
Obviously, speech didn’t work against a monster. Hansen gritted his teeth and faced the Treasure Eater. Hansen knew that he needed to take down the Treasure Eater as quickly as possible, as he didn’t know when Lee Shin Woo would start running again.
However, Lee Shin Woo didn’t run away. This was his destination. The Golem Chimeras right before their eyes were his targets. He slightly straightened his neck out and steeled himself.
[Activating the Acting skill, the Disguise skill, and the Instigate skill simultaneously. Effectiveness of each skill increases exponentially.]
Then, the moment he got back onto the stage...
[You guys!]
Lee Shin Woo’s voice caused Jin to tilt his head. That definitely wasn’t Lee Shin Woo’s original voice. If that’s the case, where did he hear it before? He definitely recalled hearing it before from somewhere, but he didn’t know from where.
[How long are you going to act so pitifully?]
[Gu...aah...]
[That... voice...]
The low and dignified voice. Strangely, the Golem Chimeras, which had been rolling around till now, responded to that voice.
They stopped rolling around and flinched, but it was shocking compared to before, when they ignored any and all external stimuli.
[Wait, you... that voice...]
[Kuaaaaaahk!]
[You bastard, are you serious!?]
What’s worse, the Lightning Shadow General, Hansen Von Dorthe, reacted as well! Of course, the Treasure Eater attacked immediately after, taking advantage of his lapse in attention, which forced the general to focus on the fight once more. When Jin saw that, he got a sense of who Lee Shin Woo was imitating.
"That voice... is it Arema Steelworker’s?"
[Rise, you fools! Those who made you like this still live and walk this earth, so where do you think you’re running off to!?]
[General...!?]
[T-This voice is...!]
That’s right. Lee Shin Woo was imitating Arema Steelworker’s voice! Of course, he never acquired records of Arema Steelworker, but he had some experiences with him, albeit indirectly, so he could imitate him, just not perfectly. Though his impersonation didn’t need to be perfect!
He just wanted to wake them up, and drag their conscious minds to the surface. That much was enough of a success.
[R-Revenge...]
[Revenge... on whom...?]
As expected, Arema Steelworker’s voice affected them, and there were more and more Chimeras that regained their cognitive functions. Seeing that, Lee Shin Woo continued speaking even more passionately. The Acting skill and the Instigate skill harmonized together, and he infused his magic into his voice!
The Chimeras’ minds had dimmed from the Shriek of the Dead, and Lee Shin Woo pieced together their egos through sheer will. It wasn’t actually that hard.
[He who compelled your loyalty and sacrifice...! The one who made you like this, despite knowing the experiment would fail! The Emperor still lives in the Empire!]
[Y-Yes..]
[The one who made us like this...]
[Making us neither dead nor alive...!]
[B-But I’m still loyal to the Emperor... Yet he’s the one who...!]
That wasn’t something Lee Shin Woo should say, as he had pushed countless of Kadinan’s undead to their deaths to sacrifice themselves for him, but unfortunately, the Chimeras had no idea of what he did!
[What did your Emperor give you in exchange for your loyalty? He gave you that rotten flesh and a golem’s heart! He does whatever he pleases with your loyalty, and when you had no further use to him, he even tried to discard you! You and the facility were buried; that’s the truth!]
[He’s right...]
[The Emperor... didn’t even ask me...!]
[Keuk, Guheuk!]
Of course, that might’ve not been the Emperor’s intention at first. How would Lee Shin Woo know what the Emperor was thinking at the time? But in any case, all of them came to the same end. The result. The only thing that matters is the result! When the process disappears, then the result is all that’s left!
[You need not blame yourself or regret. Rise! Rise up and take your revenge! Take revenge on all of those who used you!]
[He’s right.]
[We’re in such pain, so why are they...]
[I want revenge.]
[I’ll take my revenge!]
A portion of the once squirming Chimeras rose up. Whether they were a golem or a corpse, their twisted faces were enraged. However, that wasn’t enough for Lee Shin Woo. He knew that he’d be able to make all of them rise.
[Rise up... Take your revenge! Are your wills not the same!?]
"Hey, you’re acting totally like a villain."
[Regain the spirit you thought long dead. Fill your empty hearts with your will. The will of revenge!]
[Revenge...!]
[Revenge!]
He stopped talking with Arema Steelworker’s voice now. To be more specific, he was Paul Zero speaking to his subordinates now. There was no reason to worry himself over his voice anymore. Lee Shin Woo had awakened all of their egos, and the Chimeras themselves began to motivate each other!
[What the hell is that bastard doing right now...!]
[Kuhwahk!]
[Keuk, so you’re giving it a last-ditch effort... Fine, I’ll end you soon!]
While Lee Shin Woo was diligently brainwashing the Chimeras, Hansen was hard at work fighting against the Treasure Eater, and finally had a chance to win.
He knew that the Treasure Eater possessed the ability to absorb lightning, so he was careful to stay far away except for the moment he attacked, and would cut the tentacles beforehand. He caused the Treasure Eater to steadily accumulate damage and then hit it with a large-scale attack skill! If he were an ally, Lee Shin Woo would compliment him, saying it was a perfect attack.
’I need to turn it around...!’
The Treasure Eater was already halfway dead. Noticing this, Lee Shin Woo felt rushed. If he used the general to kill the Treasure Eater, it might become an achievement, but it would just be stealing the last hit after calling him all the way over here!
He hastily yelled.
"One of the Emperor’s spies is over there. While you guys were floundering around in your own delusions, he’s been living and enjoying life. Are you just going to leave him be?"
[No, I can’t...]
[I can’t forgive him. I’ll make him experience the same despair we did...!]
There were still some Chimeras who were idling around, but there were also those who awakened early on and followed Lee Shin Woo, causing others to follow suit. Lee Shin Woo’s voice, which goaded them with one single emotion, was way too enticing for those who had roamed around and lost everything!
"Take your revenge! I’ll help you!"
[I’ll take my revenge...!]
[I’ll take my revenge!]
[Kuaaaaaaaaaah!]
But then, something shocking happened. One of the Chimeras who had regained his mind seemed to grab a hold of one who hadn’t yet, and his core radiated an extraordinary light... Following which, the core devoured its body!
[Lv6 Chimera Golem (+1)]
"Wait, I’ve seen that somewhere before...?"
"Shin Woo, that’s suddenly happening everywhere!"
The high leveled Chimeras possessed a clearer ego than the lower leveled ones, and they were the ones most affected by Lee Shin Woo’s voice. Then a few of those high leveled Chimeras began absorbing other Chimeras.
They didn’t discriminate among a golem’s core, a golem’s body, or a human’s body. Those absorbed would either disassemble into mana, or attach onto the surface of their bodies, increasing the respective golem’s energy. Lee Shin Woo could tell that that kind of fusion was only possible because of the cores, as he saw the cores radiating light.
"Ugh... That’s disgusting."
"They’re in the process of (forcefully) inheriting their comrades’ wills. It’s such a cool sight."
There were definitely thousands of Chimeras at the beginning, but their numbers had dwindled sharply as the fusions occurred everywhere. Lee Shin Woo could guess what would happen next, and as he expected, there was a sudden surge of black light from the middle of the crowd!
[Lv6 Chimera Avenger (Elite)]
[Lv6 Chimera Avenger (Elite)]
Whenever a light flashed, the Chimeras would absorb dozens of their comrades and would be reborn as Chimera Avengers. Instead of rotten pieces of flesh, they had gained proper bodies as elites!
Countless cores, golem bodies, and knight corpses were fused into one, and the Chimeras were reborn as elites; their once rotten bodies didn’t look as bad as before because in the process of their rebirth, their bodies reached a state of balance.
[Revenge...!]
[My just revenge!]
They possessed gray flesh, as though iron and flesh were fused together, and their pupil-less eyes were both red and black. Their backs and shoulders sprouting other arms was plenty bizarre, but it was much better than before, when they were a clump of bodies. One might believe they weren’t even undead.
[Hooo...]
After countless fusions, there were a total of 38 Chimera Avengers! The strongest amongst them stepped forward and faced Lee Shin Woo. Information appeared above his head that only Lee Shin Woo could see.
[Lv7 Chimera Avenger (Elite)]
To think that one of them would reach level 7. He realized that he’d created something absurd once again and just smiled bitterly. But then, the level 7 Chimera Golem spoke in a subdued voice.
[We... What should we call you?]
There were several voices mixed into one, and made it seem foolish to even attempt to find the root of the voice. Hearing the voice(s) of the golem assuming a no-nonsense pose, Lee Shin Woo was inwardly in a cold sweat, yet replied extremely firmly.
"Paul Zero. The one who’ll bestow upon you your new name."
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