Chapter 110 – Hansen Von Dorthe (5)

[That heretic!]

[Guaaaaaaaaaahk!]

At Lee Shin-Woo's sudden departure, the Lightning Shadow General and the Treasure Eater stopped to chase after him as if they had reached a mutual agreement.

However, one of them was nigh depleted in mana, while the other had just recovered from a critical injury. Jin utilized all his sprint-related 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.

"Rebellion is really amazing...!"

"More running, less talking!"

Lee Shin-Woo's Rebellion was level 3. And whenever the skill leveled up, its effect would increase by 2%, which was not to be disregarded.

The buff his stats received for nothing but him being a skeleton had grown from a 10% increase to a 14% increase. And he got the same degree of buff from fighting a high-level enemy!

He also gained another 9% buff because he was with his partner, which amounted to a total of 37% stat bonus; the effect was applied to his partner, Jin, in its entirety 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 up to Jin eventually, but that wouldn’t be a problem since they didn’t plan on running away forever. Just a little further… He could see it now!

[No, you mustn’t!]

[Don't stick that in my body! Guaaaaaahk!]

They ran past the dense forest and arrived at the clearing, where they were greeted by the 'happy' faces of the Golem Chimeras. Thousands of them were rolling on the ground and letting out such agonized cries that a weak-hearted man might faint as a result.

"Ah, as I thought, they're still in this state."

[You bastards... I've finally caught... Huh?]

Immediately after Lee Shin-Woo and Jin arrived at the clearing, Hansen Von Dorthe drew close, and was momentarily speechless when he saw what lay awaiting him. The Golem Chimeras looked so horrendous that even he, who had witnessed countless monsters before, felt queasy. However, there was something familiar about them...!

[Guaaaaaaah!]

[Tch, you annoying bastard!]

Just when he was on the edge of recognition, the Treasure Eater rushed in and attacked Hansen; he couldn't afford to dwell on the thought any longer.

There were several reasons that the Treasure Eater had attacked Hansen first rather than its target, Lee Shin-Woo, the most important of which was it needed to take care of the dangerous one first before it could eat in leisure.

[Guoooooooooooh!]

[You imbecile...! You were manipulated by that skeleton too!]

[Guaaaaaaaaahk!]

Obviously, speech didn't work on a monster. Hansen gritted his teeth and faced the Treasure Eater. He knew that he needed to take it down 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, and the Golem Chimeras right before their eyes his targets. He straightened his posture and steeled himself.

[Activating Acting, Disguise, and Instigate simultaneously. Effectiveness of each skill increases exponentially.]

The moment the Joker got back onto his stage...

[You guys!]

Lee Shin-Woo's voice caused Jin to tilt his head involuntarily. That definitely wasn't how Lee Shin-Woo usually talked. Where had he heard that tone from? That definitely struck a familiar chord, but he couldn’t quite put a name to it.

“How long are you going to act so pitifully?”

[Gu...aah...]

[That... voice...]

Lee Shin-Woo’s voice was low and dignified. Strangely, the Golem Chimeras that had been rolling around until now responded to that voice, picking themselves up and flinching involuntarily. It was a shocking turn of events when they had been ignoring all external stimuli until now.

[Wait, you... That voice...]

[Kuaaaaaahk!]

[You bastard, are you serious!?]

The Lightning Shadow General, Hansen Von Dorthe, reacted as well! His lapse in attention was of course exploited by the Treasure Eater, and once he was hit, he had no choice but to focus on the fight once more. That reminded Jin of who Lee Shin-Woo was imitating.

"That voice... Is it Arema Steelworker's?"

“Rise, you fools! Those who made you what you are today are still live and walk this earth, so where do you think you're running off to!?”

[General...!?]

[T-This voice is...!]

That was right. Lee Shin-Woo was imitating Arema Steelworker! Of course, he had never acquired any memories of Arema Steelworker, but he had spent some time with him, albeit as a mere observer. He could thus imitate him, just not perfectly. But again, his impersonation didn't need to be perfect!

He only aimed to wake the Chimeras and drag their conscious minds to the surface. His crude imitation was good enough for that.

[R-Revenge...]

[Revenge...on whom...?]

As expected, Arema Steelworker's voice was effective, and more and more Chimeras regained their cognitive functions. Seeing that, Lee Shin-Woo continued to speak even more passionately. With Acting and Instigate harmonizing, he infused his magic into his voice!

Shriek of the Dead had fractured the Chimeras' minds, and Lee Shin-Woo was now piecing together their egos through sheer will. It wasn't actually that hard for him.

“He who demanded your loyalty and sacrifice...! 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...]

[Neither dead nor alive...!]

[I-I'm still loyal to the Emperor... Yet he's the one who...!]

Lee Shin-Woo wasn’t really in any place to say those words after pushing countless undead in Kadinan to sacrifice themselves for him, but well, the Chimeras had no idea what he had done!

“What did your Emperor give you in exchange for your loyalty? He gave you that rotten flesh of yours and a Golem's heart! He did whatever he pleases with your loyalty, and when he had no use for you, he discarded 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 not have been the Emperor's intention. How would Lee Shin-Woo know what the Emperor was thinking at the time? But in any case, all paths led to the same end. The only thing that mattered was the result! With the process lost in history, it was all that was left!

“You need not blame yourself or regret. Rise! Rise and take your revenge! Take revenge on all 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. 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 turn all of them.

“Rise... 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!]

Lee Shin-Woo had stopped talking with Arema Steelworker's voice. He now sounded like Paul Zero speaking to his subordinates. There was no reason to worry about 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 the Treasure Eater, and finally spotted a chance of victory.

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 he always cut the tentacles first. Overtime, the Treasure Eater steadily accumulated damage before Hansen hit it with a powerful offensive skill! Lee Shin-Woo would’ve complimented him if he were his ally; that was a perfectly executed attack.

I need to turn things around...!

The Treasure Eater was already halfway dead. Lee Shin-Woo felt a sense of urgency when he noticed. He might receive an achievement for using the general to kill the Treasure Eater, but he wasn’t going to lose the last hit to the general after calling him all the way over here!

He hastily yelled, “One of the Emperor's spies is over there. While you were floundering in your own delusions, he's been living and enjoying life. Are you just going to leave him be?”

[No, I won’t...]

[I can't forgive him. I'll make him experience the same despair we did...!]

There were still some Chimeras idling around, but those who had awakened early now followed Lee Shin-Woo, which compelled the others to follow suit. For those who had roamed around and lost everything, Lee Shin-Woo's voice was too captivating as he instilled in them a single emotion!

“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 its mind grabbed hold of one who hadn't, and its core radiated an extraordinary light... Before the core devoured the unsuspecting Chimera!

[Lv6 Chimera Golem (+1)]

"Wait, have I not seen something like that before...?"

"Shin-Woo, that's happening everywhere all of a sudden!"

The high-level Chimeras had a clearer ego than their lower leveled peers, and they were the ones most affected by Lee Shin-Woo's voice. A few of those high-level Chimeras had started 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 disintegrate into mana or become attached to the surface of their bodies, boosting the Golem's energy. Lee Shin-Woo could tell that kind of fusion was only possible because of the cores from the way it glowed.

"Ugh... That's disgusting," Jin complained.

"They're in the process of inheriting their comrades' wills, albeit by force. Isn’t it cool?"

There were thousands of Chimeras at the beginning, but their numbers dwindled sharply as they fused with one another. Lee Shin-Woo could guess what would happen next, and as he expected, there was a sudden surge of black light bursting 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 be reborn as Chimera Avengers. Their rotten flesh was replaced with proper bodies after becoming elites!

By fusing countless cores, Golem bodies, and knight corpses, the Chimeras were reborn as elites and reached an equilibrium. As a result, they didn’t look as bad as they had been before.

[Revenge...!]

[My just revenge!]

Their gray flesh looked like a combination of iron and flesh, and their pupil-less eyes were both red and black. Their backs and shoulders with sprouting arms were plenty bizarre, but all in all they were much easier on the eyes than before, when they were a mess of clumped up bodies. One might even believe they weren't undead.

[Hooo...]

After countless fusions, there were now a total of 38 Chimera Avengers! The strongest amongst them stepped forward and faced Lee Shin-Woo. Information that only Lee Shin-Woo could see appeared above its head.

[Lv7 Chimera Avenger (Elite)]

To think that one of them would reach level 7. Lee Shin-Woo realized he'd created something absurd once again and smiled wryly. The level 7 Chimera Golem then spoke up in a subdued voice.

[We... What should we call you?]

There were several voices mixed into one, which made it seem foolish to even attempt to find the root of the voice. Hearing the voice—or voices—of the Golem that had assumed a no-nonsense pose, Lee Shin-Woo panicked inwardly, yet replied in an extremely firm tone.

"Paul Zero. The one who'll bestow upon you your new name."