Chapter 587

Chapter 587

The massive body of the King of Flies, having lost its wings and lift, began to fall.

In an instant, its altitude dropped. Even amidst this, new flies continued to spill out from behind it, frantically forming a new infinite swarm.

Bang! Bang!

Damien fired shots at these flies, shouting,

"Over there! New flies are coming out from that spot!"

The King of Flies's back had several small passages from which new flies were emerging.

Those passages must be the source of the new flies.

'We need to eliminate them to completely smash the King of Flies to the ground!'

I stretched out my hand forward and shouted, "Charge! Smash into them-!"

Whoosh!

At my command, Geronimo accelerated further, flying towards the King of Flies's main body.

Dearmudin and Damien, still half protruding from the hatch, prepared for another attack.

"Make way...!"

"We will clear it-!"

Dearmudin unleashed another burst of flame magic towards where Geronimo's bow was heading, and Damien spared no magical power in shooting consecutive magical bullets.

The magic bullets pierced through the tattered outer walls, creating holes, and Geronimo's bow directly collided with the weakened walls.

Crash-!

The front half of Geronimo's elongated body successfully penetrated the King of Flies's back and entered inside.

"Having escaped with such difficulty only to re-enter, and into a much higher level, damn...!"

Kellison grumbled but started to repair the damaged devices on Geronimo during the entry.

The airship's devices, heavily damaged by the intense movements, were lit up with red lights.

I quickly signaled to my subordinates.

"Damien, stay and take care of the monsters attacking the airship!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Kellibey and Kellison, the repair team and crew will stay to fix Geronimo and defend the ship, everyone else, disembark! Let's go!"

The first to jump out was Bodyback.

Bodyback had rushed out first to install armored covers for our allies to use as shields.

However,

"Bodyback! Dodge!"

"Huh? Ack...?!"

It seemed she hadn't expected a monster to be right in front of the hatch.

A mutated fly that had been waiting right in front of the hatch violently swung its forelimb, and Bodyback couldn't dodge it.

Instead, Burnout rushed in, grabbed Bodyback, and rolled to the side.

Thud!

Blood splattered. Burnout's side was deeply slashed.

"...!"

"Burnout?!"

Unable to speak, Burnout bit down on her gag in pain.

Bodyback, with a pale face, pressed down on the wound to stop the bleeding, and Zenis, who had run down after, sprinkled healing magic for first aid.

"This damn bug!"

I used [Gaze of Command] towards the rampaging mutated fly.

"Stay still, you filthy creature-!"

Crack!

The [Gaze of Command] took effect, and as the creature momentarily froze, the other heroes poured their attacks on it and finished it off.

"Huff, huff..."

I looked back. Zenis was wrapping the wound with a bandage after administering healing magic, but blood was still seeping out of Burnout's abdomen. It was clearly not a minor injury.

"Sorry, Burnout. I'm sorry. It's my fault..."

Bodyback continued to apologize, not knowing what to do.

I clenched my teeth. To have casualties as soon as we enter, and it's Burnout, the one responsible for firepower. Damn...

"...We don't have time. We proceed with the remaining members."

"Yes, my lord."

We cautiously surveyed our surroundings.

The interior of the level we had entered was a wide corridor leading to a huge door.

And in front of that massive door, mutated fly monsters were lined up horizontally, ready to block our path.

"Damn, it really never ends...!"

"My lord!"

Lucas nodded at me, and I reluctantly took out an Excannibal from my inventory and threw it to Lucas.

With smooth movements, Lucas drew a magic sword in his left hand and a light sword in his right.

Swoosh-!

Sssss...

Somewhere, the sound of a fuse being lit echoed.

"Good people always end up losing. That's why I hated this city."

"...Burnout."

"Everyone is too kind. It's annoying..."

Flames started to emerge from Burnout's fingertips and toes.

Like the flame traveling down a fuse, the fire slowly moved from the extremities of Burnout's body towards her heart.

"I've already triggered a magic power overload. Once it's activated, it can't be stopped. In a minute, I'll explode."

"...!"

"If you don't want to die caught in it, scram."

Then Burnout started to walk toward the center of the hatchery on her own.

"You don't need to feel guilty. I'm severely injured anyway. Born with this kind of magic power, the end is nothing but an explosion. I'm just seeking relief a bit earlier."

"No, Burnout, please...!"

Bodyback, with a trembling voice, clung to her and tried to dissuade her, but Burnout shook off her arm and continued walking.

"45 seconds left. You're not leaving? Want to die together?"

Burnout, already burned gray up to her elbows and calves, muttered annoyingly.

"..."

Is this the only way?

Is there truly no other way?

Because of my inadequacy...

Clutching my fist and swallowing hard, I barely said,

"...Burnout."

"What."

"So, we... liked you too."

"..."

Burnout did not respond.

I clenched my teeth and waved my hand. Everyone gave a final bow or salute to Burnout, then turned around and started running.

"Ah..."

Dearmudin raised his hand towards the departing Burnout, then clenched his fist and lowered his arm.

And then he turned and ran.

Lastly, Bodyback.

Standing in place with tear-filled eyes looking at Burnout, she tried to step towards her without leaving.

"Burnout, I'll go with..."

"Bodyback."

Without even turning around, Burnout spoke as if she knew it would happen.

"Live. Until the end."

"..."

"Prove that Shadow Squad existed on this battlefield, by you."

Burnout whispered with flames flickering at her lips.

"Please."

"..."

Tears uncontrollably flowed from Bodyback's eyes. I gently grasped Bodyback's shoulder.

We turned and ran.

We couldn't let Burnout's sacrifice be in vain by hesitating.

To survive, we ran desperately.

Geronimo was in tatters, dealing with monsters charging from the outside.

The crew, holding the magic guns Damien had distributed, fired and shouted upon seeing me.

"His Highness has arrived!"

As soon as Bodyback and I entered the hatch, I slammed the wall switch to close the hatch, then shouted towards the cockpit.

"Deploy the barrier!"

"What?!"

"Now! Deploy the barrier-!"

Realizing it was an emergency, Kellibey clenched her teeth and smashed the barrier activation button with her fist.

Ziiiing!

The barrier was hurriedly raised, and the next moment,

Boom-!

A massive explosion erupted from within the King of Flies's body.

--TL Notes--

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading