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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 346
Jason, a male cultist with deer antlers on his head, leaps into the air. The black axe in his right hand gleams with a menacing light as it moves.
The target of the axe’s blade is Coldblood, a reptilian humanoid with a taller frame and a more mature appearance than the cultists Penelope.
She reaches out her hand towards Jason. From the inside of her sleeve, a small mechanical spider-like device jumps out.
The device’s identity is the ‘Blood Reaver’. A mechanical vampire flies toward Jason's neck, aiming to bite.
When the only-grade weapon of the Star Union flies toward him, the male cultist furrows his brow. He changes the direction of his axe and strikes the Blood Reaver, knocking it away.
But this is just a trick. The Blood Reaver, split perfectly in half, is empty inside. The replica had been thrown by Coldblood.
Penelope, having deceived her opponent, propels herself backward. As she performs a backflip, a remote shaped like a lighter is now in her hand. When she presses the button, sand explodes, and the real Blood Reaver bursts out.
If Jason had been alone, he would have been at a disadvantage here. But he has allies.
A rainbow-colored energy bolt flies from somewhere and strikes the Blood Reaver. Cynthia, a female cultist with antlers like Jason's, is supporting him from behind.
Having neutralized the Blood Reaver with her Color Bomb, she creates a purple spear and throws it at Penelope.
A Pain Spear, designed to weaken the healing effects of the opponent, flies toward Coldblood’s leg. Penelope twists in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the Pain Spear.
When she lands, Jason charges at her like lightning. His black axe, ‘Condemnation’, plunges into Coldblood’s chest. The sound of air being sliced is heard, and the front of Penelope’s clothes is lightly cut.
Jason doesn’t stop there; he slightly clenches and relaxes his left hand. Penelope flinches. It could be gravity control or binding, but it’s impossible to tell for sure.
Cynthia doesn’t miss the opportunity to restrain the enemy. She launches another Color Bomb.
It’s truly a life-or-death moment. Just then, a new variable appears on the battlefield.
A small Coldblood emerges from a nearby building. It throws something into the path of the incoming Color Bomb. A purple shield forms from the hexagonal plate, intercepting the energy bolt.
Upon impact, the plate shatters into powder, but at the same time, the trajectory of the Color Bomb is distorted. Coldblood, Isabel, who achieved her goal, pulls out a pistol from her coat.
It’s not a futuristic plasma or laser pistol, but rather a multi-barrel pistol that looks like something from the Renaissance era. What’s more, the entire gun is made of jewels, making it more of a decorative item than a weapon.
A vintage pistol in the space age. Jason thought that even if she shot him, it wouldn’t leave a scratch on his Black Gallagon armor.
However, Jason quickly rolls to the side to avoid the shot. Just after, the sound of the gun clicking is heard, and the ground where Jason was standing turns into soft, sticky mud.
‘It’s the power of Vortex One.’
The pistol Isabel drew seems to have been given to her through a contract with Vortex One, much like the weapon used to summon the “Ring of Agony.”
Thanks to Jason avoiding the shot, Penelope, freed from her restraint, moves closer to Isabel.
“…Are you okay?”
“Thanks to you. I appreciate it.”
Though they were twins in the real world, they looked completely different here.
The difference was stark as the tall and mature Penelope stood beside the small-bodied Isabel. Also, unlike Isabel, who had blue eyes and scales, Penelope had red eyes and white scales.
On the surface, they looked like completely different people, but their gaze alone spoke volumes. It seemed that despite the changes in appearance, their bond as twins hadn’t faded.
“Damn Vortex One.”
“Be careful, Jason. Without my protection, you might want to avoid getting hit.”
“I know.”
Jason and Cynthia, too, stuck close together like twin sisters. When Cynthia raised her hand, a hemispherical shield enveloped them.
The brief lull after the skirmish quickly came to an end. Both sides resumed combat.
I watched the four of them fighting and thought to myself:
‘I remember how strong Jason and Cynthia are.’
And the special abilities they have.
‘They would be quite a threat if fought without knowing their abilities...’
Isabel possesses the ability to read the information of others. Since her side has the advantage in terms of information, she likely won't be easily overwhelmed.
'And I can also guess what Penelope's ability is.'
When Jason fought me, he summoned a golden figure to fight. That ability was a special power he stole from a Coldblood ranker he had killed. It's the original power that forms the basis of my ‘Abyssal Hue’.
The ranker who was killed and had their ability stolen by him was Penelope.
'If her ability is similar to the Abyssal Hue, she probably won't lose easily.'
In my case, the Abyssal Hue only affects organic matter, but the ability she holds might not have such restrictions. If that's the case, the cult warships in the sky would be meaningless.
'Besides, in order to steal an ability, you'd have to take their life directly.'
If the imperial warships in the sky used Cosmic Bolts, Jason would easily win, but that would prevent him from stealing the ability. However, it wouldn't be easy to catch her directly either with the twin Coldbloods around.
'But the fact that he won...'
It means there’s something I don’t know yet.
Meanwhile, Penelope, who was in close combat with Jason, used her ability.
Her eyes, resembling those of a snake, changed from red to gold, and a golden liquid, as if melted gold, began to ooze from her body. The liquid melted her clothes, leaving her suddenly naked.
Seeing this, Cynthia quickly moved with her levitation technique and appeared in front of Jason.
The liquid pouring from Penelope's body gathered in mid-air and formed a large bubble, as though it had a consciousness of its own. The bubble grew to its limit before exploding above the enemies' heads.
Thanks to deploying a shield at the right moment, Jason remained unharmed.
"Tch."
Penelope clicked her tongue in frustration at her failed ambush. In response, Jason, who was inside the shield, extended his palm. A radiant, multi-colored beam shot out from his palm.
Upon seeing this, Penelope quickly raised her hand. The golden bubbles in the air rushed toward her and enveloped her naked form. The Color Bomb, strengthened by the effect of her ability, was blocked by the golden liquid protecting her.
Isabel, who was behind Penelope, drew a vortex-powered handgun. The barrel was aimed at the ground where Jason and Cynthia were standing. The ground, which had turned to mud earlier, now transformed into a quagmire of sand.
Cynthia grabbed Jason and used her levitation technique to lift them upward. Penelope’s golden bubbles followed them but were all blocked by a hemispherical shield.
In this position, Jason reached out above Penelope’s head. The ground around Penelope cracked, likely from his use of Gravity Control.
Penelope, protected by the golden liquid, seemed unharmed, but Isabel was not so lucky. She quickly distanced herself from Penelope.
Even though the attack had failed, Jason smiled. It was as if he had wanted this situation all along.
"Isabel!"
Seeing Jason's smirk, Penelope cried out in urgency. At that moment, a small projectile flew from the sky.
The object was moving so fast that even my senses could barely detect it. It aimed for Isabel's abdomen. If Penelope hadn’t urgently pushed Isabel away, it likely would have pierced her.
"Ugh?!"
"Sister!"
Penelope, who had been pierced by the projectile, collapsed and vomited blood.
Isabel hurriedly pulled a cylindrical object from her waist and threw it onto the sand. A hissing sound followed as a red mist burst forth from the object.
"Fuck! That’s Red Mist’s hallucinogenic pheromones!"
"Chloe! Shoot now!"
"Damn it! It’s mine, so don’t shoot!"
Just after Cynthia shouted, a small projectile flew from a distance and narrowly grazed Isabel’s neck through the mist.
‘What was that?’
The projectile that had torn through the sky-blue scales and fallen to the ground was a bullet. The warhead was made of a metal similar to obsidian, while the rest of the projectile was crafted from golden metal.
"...The bullets are made of Starpearl and Novametal."
Novametal is a rare metal used in the creation of strategic weapons like thunderbolts or Imperial battleships. Starpearl is an even rarer metal.
Only a Ranker would be able to make use of such metals in bullets.
"It was 3 to 2."
Outside the battlefield, an unidentified enemy is targeting the twins.
"Sis! Pull yourself together!"
"...Cough."
Amidst the red mist, Isabel supported the fallen Penelope. As they fled, the surrounding scenery became blurry, like mist.
Before long, I found myself inside a dark building. The collapsed walls and the holes in the ceiling suggested that it wasn't too far from the place where they had been fighting.
Inside the ruined building, Isabel was checking Penelope's wounds. The younger girl's hands and clothing were stained with a golden liquid and blood.
Everything was flowing from Penelope's abdomen.
"It’s because of me that Sis...!"
In a state of panic, the girl desperately tried to stop the bleeding from her sister's wounds. But Penelope’s condition was only worsening.
"Please, God, don’t let it be Sis! Please, not Sis…"
"Isabel."
"Contract! I’ll make a contract…!"
"Isabel!"
"!"
When the dying Penelope raised her voice, Isabel hesitated. She gently stroked her younger sister’s face with bloodied hands, her blue scales shimmering beneath her touch.
"We still have people to protect. If both of us are gone, they won’t survive."
"Sis! You’re more important to me! I’d rather…!"
"You don’t think like that. I know."
Even as she continued to bleed from her abdomen, her voice remained steady. From just hearing her voice, one might think she was perfectly fine, but that was far from the truth.
Right now, she was delivering her final message to her only family.
"Protect them."
"……."
"Go. Hurry. They’ll be here soon."
With those words, she stood up. Her red eyes turned back to gold, and her entire body was enveloped in the golden liquid.
"Sis…!"
"Go!"
At her sister’s desperate roar, Isabel had no choice but to obey.
As she fled outside the building, the loud sound of an explosion echoed behind her. Jason and Penelope’s cries intertwined, and then the scene before my eyes shifted.
In the ruined alley, a wounded Isabel was kneeling. A cultist with deer antlers was looking down at her with an arrogant expression.
"Your pointless resistance is becoming quite the nuisance."
"Stop talking nonsense and kill me."
With an expression of annoyance, the cultist tucked a pistol powered by Vortex energy into her belt.
"Kill you? Are you planning to abandon your sister and die?"
"...What do you mean?"
When Isabel asked, Cynthia, with a hint of mockery, spoke.
"Your sister, the 18th-ranked Ranker Penelope, was only subdued, not killed."
"!"
"Of course, that depends on what you do."
Cynthia leaned down, bringing her face close to Isabel’s. Then, like a tempting serpent, she whispered softly.
"Join us, join our Returner faction. If you do, your sister will be saved."
"……."
Isabel stared at Cynthia with a blank expression before slowly lowering her head.
And that’s where Isabel’s memory ended.
When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the familiar feel of a cave.
It resembled the cave Isabel had once made in Verzan-02 to hide the Coldblooded slaves. However, where there should have been dirt walls, her memories took their place. Like a film projector running, the tragic events she had experienced played in a loop across the surface of the walls.
In the middle of this memory theater, Isabel sat alone.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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