Chapter 352
DEVILBORN (2)
"Alright everyone, gather up! It's time to move on to the next phase of my brilliant plan!" Reuel shouted loudly after glancing IAM's way, his voice carrying across the area with ease.
Everyone nearby looked up. Some hesitated slightly, unsure whether to take him seriously, but eventually they all began to converge towards him as he stood there with a confident grin.
He leaned against a tree mysteriously, his spear positioned in a way that made him look like some kind of heroic figure as he began to speak grandly. "as you all know, our goal is to eliminate all the deadline creatures we can find in this forest… but we can't spend all day searching for every last one."
He raised a hand, covering half of his face dramatically. "you must be wondering… what can we do then? ha ha ha… well! that's where my genius plan comes in… the answer can be found… there!"
He pointed majestically.
Towards Natsuki.
A few gasps slipped out instinctively.
"wait… why did we gasp?"
"shut up, he's still talking!"
Natsuki's face remained cold, completely unaffected, her expression not shifting in the slightest.
"Natsuki… or more specifically… that black flag she is in possession of! you see… the purpose of these flags is simple… putting mana into it sends out a beacon of some kind that attracts creatures towards it… no matter the level! and the longer you supply mana, the more that come!"
Understanding began to spread across many faces as the pieces started to click together. Some of them had only joined because of Natsuki's possession of a black flag, yet even after all this time, they had yet to find another one.
Now—
Its true purpose was revealed.
"now what?" someone asked.
"that's a good question… it's very simple actually… we must utilise it now to more efficiently kill the creatures. we have enough people, and I'm sure we can attract even more people once they see how big our group is!"
Many let out tense breaths, fully aware of what that meant. So far, apart from minor injuries, there had been no deaths.
That would change.
"the plan is very simple. the flag will be activated for only five seconds. we will have three teams of six to get rid of the creatures during their shift. afterwards, they can rest while the next team takes over. just like this, we will methodically fight. there will be enough time for everyone to recover between rotations… but heed my warning—we cannot leave it activated for too long, or it might attract creatures we are not ready to face. first, we will kill all the spawnlings before moving on to the devilborns."
"hmm… that makes sense. better safe than sorry… this way we are always at a hundred percent when facing the creatures."
"there's less of a chance of being caught off guard by devilborns and failing the trials."
"wait… groups of six would leave one person out… oh."
Silence fell.
But before the tension could even begin to brew, Natsuki's voice cut through it like a butter.
"is that it?" her tone carried a trace of disappointment.
"huh? what do you mean?" Reuel replied carefully, clearly caught off guard.
"such a weak and measly plan… you are wasting time going about things in such a fatuous way." Her words came out domineeringly, her tyranny turned it's head toward him without restraint.
"h-huh? my plan is perfect! this way no one gets too tired or hurt—we can make the later fights easier too!" Reuel shot back, trying to defend himself.
Natsuki's gaze felt as though it was piercing through him, stripping away everything as she spoke again. "you wish to take such a tame effort to plunder the lives of the creatures? why? do we not have the numbers? do we not have the ability? do we not have me? there is no need to beat around the bush. we will activate the flag for twenty seconds and deal with the creatures that come. the weaklings will handle spawnlings… you and the mismatched-eyed one are strong enough to support me in taking down a devilborn."
Utterly dominant.
Tyrannical.
Her words didn't just dismiss Reuel's plan—they crushed it, along with the pride of many present.
"what the fuck are you saying! you're endangering our chances to pass the trials!"
"why are you like this!? just because you're a little bit stronger!"
"weaklings?! hmph!"
"there's no way anyone is going to listen to such bullshit!"
"she's crazy!"
Voices erupted one after another, anger and frustration bubbling to the surface as the fragile unity of the group began to crack.
"everyone calm down! I'm sure she has a perfectly good reason for what she said and doesn't mean anything bad from it!" Reuel quickly stepped in, attempting to mediate before things escalated further.
"A reason?" Natsuki repeated, her expression unchanged. "I don't need to give a reason. I simply do as I intend to do. My intent cannot be easily discerned by anyone."
Her words fell heavily.
Unapologetic and completely unyeilding!
"fuuuck… I was wrong… she's just as crazy as the other one," Reuel muttered in exasperation, running a hand through his already ruined hair.
"What makes you think you are so much better than us, damn it! Not just you—even that brick that lays around doing nothing! What makes you think you can act like this?"
Natsuki didn't respond.
She simply reached into her clothes and pulled out the flag.
"what are you doing!?" another voice snapped immediately.
"This flag belongs to me… and I will do with it whatever it is I desire. If you don't like it… come get it." Her reply was simple.
And it cut through everything.
Just a few words.
Yet all the noise… all the protest… died instantly.
Silence.
Glances were thrown between each other, thoughts racing a million miles an hour as no one dared to move first.
It was then that IAM finally spoke. "is this really what you want? you are hurting the group's synergy if you push this."
Natsuki turned her head and looked directly into his eyes. "are you not a man? what are you scared of?"
Silence fell once more.
The two of them stared at each other, an invisible clash taking place without a single movement.
Then—
IAM smiled.
"get ready… we've got twenty minutes."
"I—"
Before anyone else could speak, Reuel suddenly cut in, clapping his hands together loudly. "you heard boss man! twenty minutes! understood?" His eyes flashed slightly, causing a few to gulp instinctively.
"get ready." Yohan added simply, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"fuck."
The two twins glanced at each other, both silently wondering what exactly they had gotten themselves into.
Twenty minutes arrived in what felt like a flash, and with all eyes on Natsuki, she raised the black flag. The very top of it—the black fabric—began to glow a faint light blue as she steadily pushed mana into it, the air around it subtly shifting as if something unseen had been stirred.
Some began to mentally count down, their jaws clenched as they tried to cast away the label of weaklings that had been forced onto them.
20...17....13...9....7....3....2....1.
What followed was an incredibly terrible sight to behold.
Waves of spawnlings came spilling out from the depths of the forest, their numbers overwhelming as they surged forward in a chaotic flood. Some crawled low to the ground, others stumbled forward on uneven limbs, their distorted bodies crashing through branches and brush without care.
Mixed within them were high spawnlings.
Their presence alone was more pronounced, their movements less frantic but far more threatening as they pushed through the lesser ones, their forms more refined in their grotesqueness.
But even then—
They weren't what drew everyone's attention.
Because behind them…
A single figure stepped forward.
A devilborn.
A quiet, suffocating pressure spread from it, far heavier than anything they had faced before.
A devilborn had appeared!