The cultists of the Church of Morte were a persistently tough bunch.
As proof of that, even after being exposed to the Wave, the battle within the Rocky Mountains showed no signs of stopping. Screams and monstrous cries filled the air.
'Esther.'
[" Got it. You want me to take a look?"]
'Yeah.'
Esther disappeared for reconnaissance, and I repeatedly pulled the trigger of the CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher.
Kwaang—!!
Kwakwakwakwang—!!!!!
To balance the fight, my primary targets were the beasts and monsters, but I didn't hesitate to fire just because there were Church of Morte members nearby.
After all, they were all my enemies. There was no reason to hold back in the first place.
[Kyaaaaak!]
[Kkieeek!]
Beasts and humans.
Monsters and humans.
On the ground, all of them were tangled together, creating a scene straight out of hell.
At that moment—
Ssshhhweeeeek—!!
A sound tore through the air, something striking at Horus.
Kwaaaang—!!!
With a massive explosion, Horus' body lurched violently.
[Kroooooooh—!!!]
It was clearly an attack from some kind of firearm.
It seemed that the Church of Morte had finally noticed my presence.
'No… not just the Church of Morte.'
Before I knew it, flying beasts, insectoid creatures, and rock-born aerial monsters were all converging on me from the sky.
'…Well, of course.'
Turning both sides into enemies meant taking fire from both sides.
There was no way I could keep dropping bombs from above forever without consequences.
'Not that it matters.'
The CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher, like most rocket launchers, wasn't well-suited for dealing with the fast-moving airborne types.
But if one weapon wasn't suited for the job, I just had to use one that was.
I pulled out the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher from my arsenal and swung it.
Ziiiiiiing────!!!
Scarlet streaks of plasma lashed out, slicing through the incoming airborne creatures without hesitation.
[Kyaaaaak!]
[Kkiieeeek!]
Of course, the attacks from the ground hadn't stopped, either.
'Horus!'
[Kieek!]
Horus switched to evasive maneuvers, his wings beating fiercely.
Thanks to that, the attacks from below ended up striking the monsters chasing us instead.
Kwaaaang────!!!
Thud, thud, thud────
Some of the flying creatures hit by Church of Morte's attacks plummeted to the ground, but the pursuit didn't let up.
They were relentless bastards.
'Persistent, aren't they?'
I gave Horus' reins a sharp tug, urging him forward. His body moved forcefully in response.
['Wave Strike' has been activated!]
Horus' tail lashed out violently, slamming into the air.
A massive wave of force erupted, sweeping toward the insectoid creatures pursuing us.
Kuuuuuuuuung────!!!
Airborne shockwaves surged outward in all directions.
Kugugugugugugu!!!!
The beasts and monsters caught in the turbulence were sent flying.
[Kieeeeeeh!!]
[Piiiiiiik!]
Wave Strike wasn't particularly powerful, but its wide range was enough to handle Grade-5 insectoid creatures.
As long as they were knocked out of the air, they'd collide with the beasts on the ground, causing secondary damage.
[You have slain a Grade-5 Insectoid: Giant Gnat.]
[Damage dealt to Grade-5 Insectoid: Giant Gnat increases by 0.05%.]
[You have slain a Grade-5 Aerial Beast: Red-Beaked Sparrow.]
[Damage dealt to Grade-5 Aerial Beast: Red-Beaked Sparrow increases by 0.05%.]
[You have slain a Grade-5 Insectoid: Square-Jawed Bee.]
[Damage dealt to Grade-5 Insectoid: Square-Jawed Bee increases by 0.05%.]
.
.
.
[You have slain a Grade-5 Insectoid: Giant Gnat.]
[Damage dealt to Grade-5 Insectoid: Giant Gnat increases by 0.05%.]
Just as the battle was reaching its peak, Esther returned from her reconnaissance mission near the Rocky Mountains.
["I'm back."]
'How's the situation down there?'
["Hmm… how should I put this…? It looked a little chaotic. Kind of like the monsters were wondering why they were being attacked? About half of them were still fighting back, though."]
'Just as expected.'
The Church of Morte's faith revolved around the existence of holy relics that supposedly protected them from beast and monster attacks.
With their relic gone, it was only natural that their faith would waver.
'More importantly… was there anyone who stood out?'
["Stood out? In what way?"]
'Someone wearing an excessive number of gold necklaces… or someone hiding their entire body under a robe, concealing their appearance. Or really, anyone that seemed particularly special.'
["Hmm… No one like that."]
'Did anyone notice you?'
["I don't think so. Unless they were too distracted by the fight to react. "]
'Hmph… As expected.'
The implications were clear.
'Looks like there's no bishop-level figure here.'
Honestly, it would have been strange if a bishop were present in this tiny, remote branch of the church—one without even a proper relic or symbol.
'It's odd that they picked a fight with the Kronos remnants at this level… but it was probably because the investigation team created a gap in their defenses.'
Since the collapse of the Ant Nest wasn't supposed to happen at this point in time, it was a reasonable assumption.
'If there was a bishop or someone higher, this would've been more annoying… but the highest-ranking one here is probably just a priest acting as a branch leader.'
Well, if that was the case, there wasn't much to worry about.
'Time to wrap this up.'
I couldn't stay here forever, and by now, I had bought enough time.
The remnants of Kronos and Ark's investigation team should have made their escape by now.
"Janus!"
['Ankelenth's Roar' has been activated!]
Janus, answering my call for the first time in a while, gathered his strength and unleashed a powerful roar.
[Kieeeeeeeeeeeeehh—!!!]
But it wasn't over yet.
"Horus!"
As I called his name, Horus spread his beak wide in response.
['Sonic Disruption' has been activated!]
A soundwave burst forth from Horus' mouth, sending chaotic signals into the air.
[Piiiiiiiiiiiiiik—!!!]
What followed was complete and utter pandemonium.
Ankelenth's Roar blocked their escape route, while the giant wasp horde within the beast army turned on their own, throwing everything into disorder.
Crunch!
Crack, crackle—!
[Screeeech!]
[Hack, cough, kaaah!]
A cacophony of screams and wails filled the air.
Seizing the opportunity, I steered Horus down toward the rocky mountain where the headquarters of the Church of Morte was located.
There was something I needed to retrieve before bringing the entire mountain down.
["…What are you planning to do?"]
'There's something I need to take.'
["No, no matter what, this is—!"]
"Horus, wait above."
["What?!"]
Ignoring Esther's shriek, I leapt straight off Horus.
["Ah, seriously—!"]
Of course, just as a thread follows a needle, Esther had no choice but to come along.
Rumble—!
I used the Z-74 jetpack to slow my descent and headed straight for the entrance of the Church of Morte's branch within the rocky mountain.
[Screeeech!]
[Skrraaaah!]
At the entrance, fierce battles between the cultists and the beasts were still raging.
At this point, a normal human would have long since collapsed, but, true to their nature, the cultists of the Church of Morte were absurdly resilient.
'Well, though, even they seem to be reaching their limit.'
Among the countless corpses of monsters and beasts scattered on the ground, a fair number of cultists lay dead as well.
Even those still standing were visibly wounded and on the verge of collapse.
"…An unbeliever!"
Having spotted me, the cultists of the Church of Morte immediately charged.
Some wielded daggers, others carried guns, but it didn't matter—none of their weapons could harm me.
[Screech!]
The bone tendrils extending from Janus's body blocked and deflected every bullet and blade that flew toward me.
Clang!
Cling, clang—!
Metal screeched like nails on a chalkboard as the deflected weapons scattered, striking the nearby monsters and beasts.
[Graaaah!]
With the sheer number of beasts and monsters packed into this battlefield, there was no avoiding collateral damage.
"You wretched unbeliever!"
One cultist, bleeding profusely from his entire body, lunged at me.
But before he could reach me, Janus's bone tendrils pierced straight through him, bringing him to an abrupt halt.
"Ggh… hiiik…!"
Even with his entire body skewered, he somehow remained alive—though, considering he was a cultist of the Church of Morte, that was hardly surprising.
Their special rituals might have been borderline cultish, but they were undeniably effective. Thanks to those ceremonies, the cultists of the Church of Morte possessed regeneration and resilience closer to monsters than humans.
'Well, there are other ways to obtain those abilities without the rituals… but that won't be an option here.'
Setting aside any expectations, I stepped toward the mountain entrance.
As I made my way through the rubble, I found more battles raging between the cultists and the beasts inside.
"…Unbeliever! You're the cause of all this chaos!"
Upon spotting me, the cultists charged once more.
A foolishly reckless move.
Bzzzzzt…
A flash erupted from the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher at my fingertips, sweeping across the battlefield.
I only fired for a fraction of a second to avoid collapsing the mountain, but that was enough.
The cultists and beasts were instantly incinerated.
"Kaah…!"
With a final death cry, the cultists of the Church of Morte were reduced to nothing.
What followed was more of a massacre than a battle.
Even for the cultists of the Church of Morte, with their inhuman resilience, there was no withstanding the power of the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher—especially after they had already been pushed to their limits in their fight against the beasts.
'Too easy.'
[" …If you had attacked while they were at full strength, it wouldn't have been this easy. Those bastards are horrifying."]
'Which is exactly why I came now.'
There's a reason the saying "use one enemy to defeat another" exists.
["Sigh…"]
Esther shook her head.
Ignoring her, I continued mowing down the cultists rushing at me, slicing and burning them away with the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher as I advanced.
No matter how resilient the cultists of the Church of Morte were, their endurance only went as far as withstanding bullets. The BLT-47 Plasma Launcher was on a whole different level.
'Nothing worthwhile, huh.'
Since the Church of Morte was, at its core, a religious organization, there weren't many valuables I could salvage to trade with Ark or the Sandstorm Caravan.
Some of their weapons seemed decent, but most had been damaged or broken in the battle against the beasts.
"Tch."
Then, as I opened the innermost door—
"Hm?"
A familiar-looking necklace, adorned with a carving of two intertwined snakes, caught my eye.
I knew exactly what it was.
'This is…'
Why would this be here?
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[Emblem of the Church of Morte (Serpent)] [★★★★★★★★★ (9-star)]
— One of the symbols of the Church of Morte.
— Shaped like a serpent, symbolizing reincarnation and regeneration.
— When worn, significantly enhances regeneration and recovery.
"View Details"
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