CHAPTER 67: ERROR

The dense smoke cleared, as silence reigned over this corner of the battlefield.

As the haze faded, a huffing figure could be seen using his silver metal baton as support.

Around him was a knee-deep pond of black, reeking rot.

He had single-handedly killed them all.

Sigh... being a leader is hard... he mused as he waddled his way out of the reeking mess.

At least now I can get a bit of respite. Though a few had escaped his grasp, they surely weren’t beyond what his subordinates could handle.

He glanced at Alpha and his squad members in the distance, battling another fresh wave of lanky-armed Variants.

This team of his consisted of the strongest beneath Captain level, so it was a given they stood at the very forefront of the battlefield.

It was whatever monster got past them that the others dealt with.

And Roy had to say — so far, since the beginning of the battle, the soldiers had actually grown a lot.

He gazed at the sky. The black clouds roiled, blotting out the brilliance of the setting sun. He sighed. When would this be over?

Just at that moment, an intense feeling of dread took hold.

Roy’s hair stood on end as fresh terror pumped through his veins. This... was an intense reaction from the stifling premonition of death.

He could sense it — death was coming.

He scrambled to his feet, his head swerving left and right in a desperate search for any anomaly that might be the cause of this.

But he found nothing... The sense got denser, more surreal. His eyes turned bloodshot. Fuck it! Retreating is the only option!

Assessing this, his legs burst into action — pounding against the ground, milk-gold Genesis Ether coating them as his sole was pushed to the limits.

And that was when he heard it — a faint sound of footsteps. He could only hear it now because whatever it was was trying to catch up with him.

He didn’t dare turn back. Assassin-type figures like these might have trash durability and crappy defense, but when it came to damage and attack, they were top-notch.

And whatever that was — he couldn’t trust his armor to withstand its strikes.

Unfortunately, the more he concentrated, the more he realized it was catching up quickly. His arm rose — the horn still in his grasp — as he got ready to blow.

And suddenly, he felt a sudden weight on his figure, causing him to stop running — his legs sliding through the earth due to momentum.

It had jumped onto him, its hands tightly clamped around his mouth. This action... gave him goosebumps. Wasn’t it familiar? Ah yes — that forsaken rookie.

And finally, the creature grappling Roy relinquished its invisibility, revealing a crimson skeletal figure — its hollow eye sockets filled with eerie emerald flames.

It was like the fantasy undead summon skeleton soldier — save for the bone being crystal crimson in color and texture.

I don’t get it. Why hold me like this? Attacking is impossible in this pose... Or is it trying to hold me down for another to attack me? Wait — could there be an accomplice approaching as we speak?

A stinging migraine afflicted his brain as he once more activated his ocular skill Eyes of Truth — a skill that didn’t just drain Ether, it drank his will too to sustain, which by now was overdrafted.

But even after activating it, he still saw nothing. No one was approaching. What he did notice, though, was the increasing brilliance of the creature grappling him.

Holy shit — a suicide bomber! he yelled inwardly. But it was too late — the creature had already accumulated enough energy.

Glowing cracks ran through the structure of the skeletal frame, as its jaw rattled together — its own way of portraying a cackle of malicious laughter.

BOOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion rang out... scorching the blackened earth even further.

Leaving nothing behind in its ravages...

Huff! Huff! That was close... Roy exclaimed, his back matted with sweat.

Thankfully, this was still his territory — so he could teleport. If not... he shivered at the thought of his possible fate.

Floating in the air, he gazed at the terrain below. Let’s do one last scan... Paranoid, Roy forcefully activated Eyes of Truth once more.

His flickering blue irises saw the sight beneath him — he shivered, immediately triggering another quick teleportation.

BOOOOM!

Countless invisible crimson skeletons all erupted together from below in an attempt to swallow Roy above with their flames.

Beads of sweat seeped from his skin, his back trembling. Give me demons, give me devils — I can fight those. Not these unreasonable suicide bombers!

Only after scanning his surroundings thoroughly and confirming did he sigh in relief and land.

Unfortunately, this newfound peace was short-lived.

[Warning! Six Fingers of Gluttony Detected!]

Fuck no! Roy was overly exhausted right now. Facing a Finger in this state? Why not tell him to go jump in a volcano.

His grip over his baton tightened as he steadied his breathing, ready for the worst — which was all six besieging him at once. After all, the moment he died, it was a win for corruption and a chance for the Throne of Evil to seed a branch in the then-ownerless territory.

Watching in bated breath from the massive rift, six hulking perversions of living organisms emerged.

[Territory Mass Quest: All six Fingers of Gluttony have arrived. The six Fingers have set sights on your competent subordinates!

Clear Condition: Each subordinate must achieve victory — going against fate and battling a being far dwarfing them in both strength and existence.

Rewards: Mystery!]

They weren’t after him?

Roy’s mind filled with question marks. It was pretty obvious that any battle that wasn’t against him was useless for victory.

This wasn’t how it was meant to go. It was supposed to be that he would be besieged by them — and then he would have to assemble his own men to even the odds.

This behavior was weird — except if they had assurance of his demise.

They couldn’t have believed that those crimson skeletons would finish him off, right?

After all, he couldn’t think of anything else that wasn’t Finger-level that could actually be guaranteed to take him out...

And then the system cleared his confusion — filling him with dread.

[Error! Error! Error!]

[Warning! Anomaly has been detected in rift!]

[The Throne of Evil: Gluttony has ten Fingers and two Hands under its banner!

Rift was restricted to accommodate six... but an external force is acting, altering the rules!

Error! Error! Error!]

[Warning!: Hand of Gluttony presence is being detected!]

[Quest Issued: SURVIVE!!!]