The Emblem of the Church of Morte was not quite on the level of a true holy relic, but within the cult, it was valuable enough to be considered a treasure.
Normally, to obtain the abilities of the Church of Morte's followers, one had to undergo the corresponding rituals.
However, this necklace granted the cult's powers without the need for any ceremony.
In other words, by simply wearing it, I could obtain one of the Church of Morte's strongest and most fundamental abilities—the Serpent's Regeneration.
The Serpent's Regeneration was the first blessing granted upon initiation into the Church of Morte.
It was this so-called blessing that created what people derisively referred to as "Morte-roaches"—fanatics who refused to die no matter what.
'I may not get hurt often… but having this certainly wouldn't hurt.'
Besides, with my body already enhanced by the serum, I was barely human at this point.
And if I added the Church of Morte's emblem on top of that…
'…I might even be able to regenerate a severed arm in an instant.'
Instant regeneration of lost limbs…
At that point, calling myself human would be questionable at best.
'Anyway… I guess I've grabbed everything worth taking?'
I searched the area a little longer just in case, but aside from the Serpent's Emblem, there wasn't much else of value.
Though, if I was being honest, this alone was more than enough.
I picked up a few pieces of salvageable equipment that I could later trade before stepping out of the rocky mountain.
No sooner had I exited than the surrounding beasts and monsters lunged at me.
'Not so fast.'
['Ankelenth's Roar' has been activated!]
Janus's maw stretched wide open once again, unleashing a ferocious howl.
[KIEEEEEEH—!!!]
The creatures charging toward me froze in their tracks.
I took advantage of their momentary paralysis, raising my Ark-15 Automatic Conversion Rifle, already loaded with A-985 Explosive Rounds, and fired clean shots at them.
Then, without hesitation, I activated my jetpack.
It was time to get out of here.
As much as I would have loved to wipe out every last monster in this place, Ankelenth's Domain was about to expire.
I needed to leave before that happened and rendezvous with the investigation team.
'It'd be a problem if they ran into a stray pack of beasts.'
Kalakin and the other investigators were still inexperienced rookies.
If they encountered a pack of monsters outside the Ark, someone could end up dead.
'It'd be ideal if they were moving with the remaining Kronos forces… but that's unlikely.'
After all, just moments ago, they had been pointing guns at each other.
Kalakin might be able to mediate to some extent, but that didn't mean they'd cooperate closely enough to move together.
'Well, they'll figure it out.'
As these thoughts ran through my mind, I ascended into the sky with my jetpack and once again mounted Horus.
[Kiihet!]
Horus let out a cry, greeting me as I grabbed hold of its bone reins.
Before leaving, I had one final gift for the Church of Morte.
I firmly grasped the CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher.
"Say goodbye, you bastards."
Clank—
I pulled the trigger.
Fwoooosh—!!!
With a burst of flames, the rocket soared toward the rocky mountain.
And it wasn't just one.
Fwoosh, fwoooosh—!!!
A barrage of rockets followed in quick succession, raining down upon the mountain.
BOOM!
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!!!
The already unstable rocky mountain began to collapse under the relentless bombardment.
Rumble—
Ruuuuumble—!!!
As the mountain crumbled, it buried the remaining beasts and monsters inside.
One of the Church of Morte's strongholds—the same one that had once cornered the remnants of Kronos—was now nothing more than dust.
A rather anticlimactic end, but even for a Church of Morte base, there was nothing they could do once the beast horde descended upon them.
[You have destroyed a Church of Morte stronghold!]
[An unbelievable achievement!]
[Honor stat has increased.]
[ 1 → 2 ]
[One of the Thousand Eyes of the Church of Morte has spotted you. You are now an enemy of the Church of Morte.]
'So they saw me after all.'
The Church of Morte had Thousand Eyes watching over all its branches.
Some took the form of etheric entities, while others were flying beasts or monsters.
Regardless, this meant I had officially become an enemy of the Church of Morte.
Not that it mattered.
A lunatic stabbing me without reason or stabbing me with a reason—either way, I still got stabbed.
'The other branches won't be this easy… but that's a problem for another day.'
The absence of a priest-class figure in this branch had played in my favor.
Most likely, they had been killed when the beast horde attacked or were simply away at the time.
If a priest had been present, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
'They may not be as strong as bishops, but priests are still priests.'
The higher one climbed in the Church of Morte's hierarchy, the more powerful and diverse their blessings became.
While ordinary followers only had Serpent's Regeneration, priests typically possessed at least three different blessings.
'And some of those blessings would be a real pain to deal with at my current level.'
All things considered; I had gotten very lucky with this raid.
"Let's go."
I turned Horus's reins.
It was time to return.
* * *
"Huff, huff…."
Kalakin, Dmitri, Hildegard, and Iris ran.
They had thought they were as good as dead, yet the beasts and monsters that had been trying to enter the canyon suddenly changed direction.
They didn't know what had caused this, but they took the opportunity to escape the influence of the Wave as quickly as possible.
"Hahh, haah…!"
"Ouch!"
"Iris! Take my hand."
"T-Thank you."
However, unfortunately, the condition of the investigation team, including Kalakin, was far from good.
They had been engaged in relentless battles, and their injuries were not minor.
'…Should we have thrown our lot in with the remnants of Kronos?'
For a brief moment, Kalakin considered the thought, but he quickly shook his head.
If they had remained there, something would have happened, without a doubt.
Rather than take that risk, it was better to move separately, even if it was dangerous.
"…Kalakin!"
At that moment, Hildegard called out to him.
And Kalakin saw it.
Beyond the horizon, the beast horde was starting to move.
Until now, for some unknown reason, the horde had refrained from crossing the canyon, but now they were finally beginning to advance.
'…Did something happen to Carl Marcus?'
That thought flashed through Kalakin's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
Now was not the time to worry about Carl Marcus—the investigation team was in immediate danger.
"Damn! They're coming!"
Dmitri shouted.
It went without saying that there was a stark difference in mobility between the monsters and the exhausted investigation team.
This meant the distance between them was closing at an alarming rate.
[Kaahhh!]
[Kieeeeeek!]
The first to close in were, predictably, the flying-type beasts—the aerial species.
Flying creatures, including insects and stone-borne monstrosities, were always a hassle to deal with.
Their mobility made them difficult targets, and trying to conserve ammunition against them often led to disaster.
But these were Ark's soldiers.
Naturally, they had countermeasures prepared.
"…Iris! When I give the signal, immobilize the flying ones!"
"Understood!"
If there were no Ether users in the team, it would be a different story.
But since they had one, dealing with aerial monsters became much simpler.
The key was to wait until the creatures were just about to attack—then strike with Ether.
This was the basic tactic for handling flying creatures when an Ether user was present.
[Kaahhh!]
As the distance between them and the aerial monsters rapidly closed, Kalakin carefully watched the timing.
Then, his hand came down.
"Now!"
At Kalakin's signal, a wave of Ether burst out from Iris.
[Catch?]
[Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch. Catch….]
[Caught—!]
Kaaaaagh!
A momentary eruption of Ether stalled the creatures' wings.
Of course, someone of Iris's level couldn't hold them for long.
But the truth was, she didn't have to.
Click—
"Fire!"
With the sound of charging handles being pulled, bullets from Ark-15 automatic rifles tore through the monsters' bodies.
Tudududududu!!!
Rounds riddled the creatures with holes, and soon they were bleeding profusely, falling lifelessly to the ground.
'…That used up more ammo than I expected.'
They had taken them down cleanly, but with their limited resources, prolonged combat was impossible.
"Move out!"
The chase resumed.
Despite their efforts, the persistent aerial monsters continued to swarm above them.
The investigation team had neither the bullets nor the stamina left to drive them away completely.
"Kalakin! Behind you!"
"…I know."
And that wasn't the only problem.
The ground-based beasts and monsters were also closing in at an alarming rate.
While they had been preoccupied with the flying ones, the real threat had drawn dangerously near.
'…Is this the end?'
Kalakin looked around.
All he saw was barren wilderness and empty plains.
There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to take cover.
'No, if I were alone, I could have….'
He shook his head.
Alone?
What meaning would survival have, if he was the only one left?
"…Prepare yourselves."
Even so, he had no intention of going down without a fight.
Kalakin stopped in his tracks and turned to face the enemy.
"…Kalakin?"
"We can't outrun them anymore."
"But…."
Hildegard hesitated, but Dmitri interjected.
"Ha, now this is more like it."
Dmitri gestured with his chin.
"Hey, cursed one."
Iris flinched.
"Honor is a noble's duty. You don't have that duty, so get the hell back to Ark."
"…What?"
"You heard me. Get lost."
Iris tried to protest, but Kalakin nodded in agreement.
"Dmitri is right. Someone has to return to Ark and complete the mission."
"But if that's the case, Kalakin, you should…."
"You wouldn't be able to buy time."
"That's…."
Iris clenched her teeth.
They had already accepted death.
For the mission.
At a time like this, childish defiance was not what was needed.
"…Understood."
Iris gritted her teeth, furious at herself for being powerless.
"Good. We're counting on you."
That was the end of the conversation.
Iris turned away, while the remaining investigation team members readied their weapons and stood before the approaching Wave.
"We just need to buy time."
"I know. Stop acting like you're in charge, traitor."
"I am not a traitor."
"Sure, whatever you say."
Dmitri scoffed.
And then, the beast horde advanced.
Not fast. Not slow.
Like a relentless tide of death, approaching the three investigators.
"Hildegard."
At Kalakin's quiet call, blood welled up in Hildegard's eyes.
Her Insight had reached its limit, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information flooding her senses.
"────!"
Hildegard's lips moved.
"───!!!"
Kalakin and Dmitri shouted something in unison.
"──!"
The investigators raised their rifles, aiming at the oncoming horde.
And just as the clash was about to begin—
"Hmm."
A soft hum rang out.
The advancing beast horde suddenly halted.
Such a phenomenon could only mean one thing.
Ether.
And not just any Ether—overwhelming Ether.
"What the…."
Dmitri was stunned.
Hildegard frantically searched for the source.
And Kalakin—
He recognized the face before him.
No, he could not fail to recognize it.
"…Lania."
Lania.
No, Lania Marcus.
"You look like you're struggling. Need some help?"
A deep smile spread across her face.