Children of the Holy Emperor
chapter-31

Crash crash crash-

The thick tentacles pop up here and there and knocks on the stone wall. The caterpillar, deprived of food and suddenly hit by a blade, switched to the maximum attack posture to exclude the enemy.

Boom.

Seongjin clicked his tongue as he quickly lowered his stance to avoid one of the tentacles that had been swung wide sideways.

If it was Seongjin in his prime, he would have closed the distance in a single step and smashed his core with a single punch, but in his current state, it was not easy to dig into the vicinity of the caterpillar. It is not easy to set foot properly thanks to the roots that have become more wobbly.

Seongjin, who hit a tentacle flying in front of his nose with his sword while turning his body sideways, slid backwards as if he was tumbling back while avoiding the tentacle that flew in behind him. After tapping and beating like this, a sense of crisis came over him that it might really be attempting an incomplete metamorphosis.

If he can only tell where the head is.

Seongjin frowned as he rolled to the side to avoid the successive tentacles.

It looked like chewed gum, but surprisingly, it also had a basic digestive system and nervous system. It has a mouth and eyes, and there is also a part that can be called a head. And in his back of the head is an important organ he needs to break first.

Bartosh. Its official name is the Bartolomeo organ.

It is a transforming organ of the nervous system that is commonly found in clustered monsters.

In the early days of the Gehenna Gate incident, there were times when its own research was actively conducted, such as dissecting monsters and analyzing specimens.

Of course, the research faded after they learned that there was no solution other than killing all the superhumans. It was also the cause that the intellectuals capable of systematic research died one by one.

Anyway, after it was known that the transparent coffin-like crystal found in the back of the monster was a channeling organ, the hunters first learned the location of Bartosh and how to break it when they first went hunting.

It was because the difficulty of hunting doubled when the demonic spirits launched a linked attack through channeling.

‘For now, let’s shave off the covered flesh as much as possible.’

Seongjin made up his mind as he cut off the two long-shot tentacles with one sword. If most of that rubber clay-like mass of flesh comes off, you will be able to tell where the head is.

Fortunately, the blade of the sword he was holding was quite good, so there was no great difficulty in cutting the outer skin of the caterpillar.

Of course, some of the knights’ supplies were of good quality, but there was no way they could easily cut through that thick monster’s flesh with just a simple piece of metal. This was possible because the blade was covered with Aura.

Seongjin didn’t recognize it properly, but he was overlaying Aura on the blade as a trick to deal with the monster’s spirit.

‘Somehow, I think my cutting skills have improved compared to before?’

Is it the effect of formally learning swordsmanship?

While he was vaguely thinking about that, he was trimming the small roots of the caterpillar, when he heard urgent footsteps in the distance, and Marthain ran into the room.

“Your Highneess!”

Marthain’s eyes widened as he ran inside screaming vigorously. It was because the prince was swinging his sword as he hopped between things that looked like turbulent black dough.

Sir Kurt, who ran into the room after him, also found Seongjin and the caterpillar, and opened his mouth with a stupid face. His jaw dropped.

Seongjin ran quickly towards the entrance of the room. The caterpillar sensed a new intruder and threw out its huge upper leg with all its might.

Slash.

Fortunately, the movement of the tentacles was not very fast, so he was able to easily cut it before it reached Marthain and Sir Kurt. Seongjin blocked their way and warned them.

“Be careful not to touch that black thing. You’ll be pulled towards its torso immediately.”

In an instant, his body was pulled back in a roar. Marthain grabbed Seongjin by the hem of his robe and quickly pulled him backwards.

With a stiff face, he got between Seongjin and the caterpillar and drew his sword.

Sir Kurt, who came to his senses, also pulled out his sword and reflexively slashed one of the upper limbs.

“… What is that?”

“It’s the caterpillar of Bantra Moss! It’s a monster!”

“A monster? What is it? Is it different from seawater?”

It might be different? First of all, monsters don’t exist in this world.

Just as he straightened his sword again and was about to run towards the caterpillar, a sudden strong grip grabbed his shoulder and his body swung to the side. It was Marthain who turned Seongjin around, but he had an ugly face that seemed like he would shout at him at any moment.

“What the hell are you doing here when something like that comes out?”

No, why do you think it’s my fault, Sir Marthain?

This is unfair! This thing was raised by Kenneth Diggory! I don’t even know where it came from!

Meanwhile, Sir Kurt shouted as he gallantly charged at the caterpillar.

“Is it okay to slash them all, Your Highness?”

“Ah! Watch out……!”

Sir Kurt, who was running towards the center of the caterpillar while dodging the tentacles, stepped back in a moment of fright. A round mouth suddenly appeared in the center of his torso.

A large opening with two rows of hideous hook-like teeth quickly engaged, making a terrifying grinding sound. Snap!

Sir Kurt, who almost jumped into the caterpillar’s mouth in an instant, muttered like a groan.

“Good lord……”

Marthain quickly ran to the side of Sir Kurt and cut down one of the tentacles aiming at him. In the meantime, the caterpillar’s mouth disappears again into the black flesh, as if it had never appeared before.

Seongjin poked his head out over the entrance of the stone wall and gave a belated instruction.

“Sometimes a mouth protrudes from the middle of the torso! If you get bitten and it gets even a little bit of nourishment, you might turn into a chrysalis, so be careful!”

“… Is that a creature with something like a mouth, Your Highness?”

Marthain asked with a pale face.

What, are you surprised with the mouth?

Seong-jin suddenly became very curious about how they would react if they were asked to accurately find and destroy only the 5 cm diameter organ attached to the end of the central nervous system that passes through the caterpillar’s larynx.

The caterpillar’s resistance was persistent. It was noticeably slower than the first time, but still a large number of tentacles flew in nonstop.

Seongjin, whose body was itchy, tried to enter the room hesitantly, taking advantage of the confusion, but Marthain, who managed to notice this, glared at him with fierce eyes.

Sheesh. Okay, got it. He’ll stay put.

How did Lee Seongjin, the last hunter of mankind, end up like this?

It must have been their first time dealing with monsters, but they were still considered advanced knights. Marthain and Sir Kurt quickly adapted to the indiscriminate attacks of the tentacles and wielded their swords skillfully.

Their swords had a distinct external air that could be clearly distinguished even in Seongjin’s eyes, so the power itself was different from his clumsy swordsmanship.

With a sharp swing, three or four pupae were blown away, and the caterpillar’s body itself, which was a short distance away, began to be cut apart.

However, it seemed that it rather aroused a sense of crisis in this monster. Seongjin swallowed, noticing that the caterpillar was occasionally shaking as if it had been electrocuted. That’s a signal to try incomplete metamorphosis!

“We need to quickly find and destroy his core! Sir Marthain! Sir Kurt!”

At Seongjin’s cry, the faces of the two change into grotesque expressions.

Yes? Pick something out of that rotten dough and attack?

But he doesn’t have time to elaborate.

“Can you deal one blow so strong that the outer skin is pushed out at once?”

It is difficult to distinguish because it is wrapped in a thick outer shell that is highly deformable, but once the outer layer is pushed out, that caterpillar also has a certain structure with a distinct structure.

If only the head was briefly exposed with a strong attack, Seongjin was confident that he could immediately smash the Bartosh. Of course, it would be perfect if the attack destroyed the core at once.

“Strong attack… you say?”

Marthain’s face became serious. When he suddenly stopped moving, the quick-witted Sir Kurt started covering the caterpillar and Marthain by blocking it.

Whoosh.

As Marthain concentrated his mind, the blade of the sword began to faintly vomit sword blades. The Aura slowly rising from the blade seemed to become more and more distinct, and then the air surrounding the blade grew stronger.

Then, what slowly appeared was an Aura Blade that shone bright gold.

It shines brightly, embodying the blade of a clean sword that extends an inch longer than his sword.

He said that he was ahead of the Decaron Knight, and indeed, even among the imperial knights, those who had reached it were able to be counted by hand.

Holding that long golden sword, he took a step forward.

Slash.

For a moment, he swung it so fast that it seemed like there was a solid yellow line horizontally. It was a silent blow without even a sound.

Kwakwakwakwa!

Masain was holding the sword, but belatedly, a strong shock wave rushed in. The stone wall shakes as if it were going to collapse, and the fragments of the cut off tentacles are thrown here and there.

It was a great power comparable to Seongjin’s fist in his prime. The thick outer skin of the monster is pushed back in an instant, revealing the outline of a caterpillar covered in a thin rubber film.

It wasn’t just the skin that was pushed out. Marthain’s attack cut off the caterpillar’s hideous snout as well as about a third of its body at once.

Unfortunately, the long, horizontally cut sword narrowly missed the core. It must have been unavoidable because it was a sword attack wielded without a clear goal.

And Seongjin did not miss the light that began to flicker brightly from the side of his head. He drew his sword and ran towards the caterpillar’s head.

“Your Highness!”

Seongjin jumped on top of the caterpillar’s head, leaving Marthain’s startled cry behind, and stabbed the blade of the sword precisely at the point where the body joint and the back of the head were connected.

The outer skin that had already been pushed back returned to its original position and the flickering light was covered in an instant, but his long experience was able to accurately pinpoint the Bartosh’s location.

Thump.

The familiar feeling of something like a hard coffin colliding with the tip of the sword was transmitted.

However, the depth of the attack was a little too shallow to completely destroy it in one blow. It must have been because the amount of Aura he was using was too small.

Today, Lee Seongjin loses face several times.

“Sir Marthain! Destroy its core!”

Crack.

Seongjin shouted as he pushed Aura into the sword and stabbed it a little deeper. I felt a crack in the Bartosh, but it was too soon to be relieved. In order to completely block the channeling attempt, you also need to destroy the core and completely get rid of it.

Fortunately, the caterpillar, which had part of its body blown away by Marthain’s attack, did not completely cover the glowing core even though it was covered with an outer shell. Sir Kurt instinctively thrusts his sword down toward a faintly glowing spot within his torso.

Crack.

At that moment, the caterpillar started shaking like crazy.

“Your Highness!”

Screeeech!

Along with the voice of Marthain screaming, the agony of a caterpillar that vomits out that it is dying shakes the inside of the stone chamber.

Seongjin gave strength to the sword embedded in it and held on on top of its head with his teeth clenched. Will the Bartholomeo organ get destroyed, or the core completely deactivated first? He couldn’t be a little bit off guard until it was completely silent.

Slither.

Something started to wrap around Seongjin’s body. These are the roots of the thing that started to become active as the pupae progressed.

Beeeep. Its outer skin trembles with strange tinnitus.

Gurgle. Suddenly, the eyes of the round guy are exposed outside the skin, and those pupils are focused on Seongjin.

The sword-embedded Bartosh blinked.

The pale blue light confined to its core also flickers.

Blink. Blink.

And.

The caterpillar stopped moving completely at some point.

In an instant, like a lie, the surrounding is enveloped in silence.

“… Heuk!”

Seongjin let out the breath he had been holding back.

It was close. The channel was just about to open.

Ironically, it was the roots of the Bantra that were wrapped around here and there that supported Seongjin’s body, which almost slipped due to loss of strength in his legs.

“Your Highness!”

“Are you okay, Your Highness!”

Marthain and Sir Kurt rushed towards Seongjin. In particular, Marthain’s face was completely white, and it looked as if he would run out of breath at any moment.

It’s not worth the worry. Seongjin waved his hand at them frantically.

“I’m… Okay.”

It was then that Seongjin’s ears caught a strange sound.

[… Seongjin… Lee Seong…]

‘……?’

At first, he wasn’t sure. Who in this world knows Seongjin and calls him by his name?

[Lee… Seongjin……]

But really, somewhere, he hears a voice calling his name.

Seongjin looked around and suddenly looked down.

It is the Bartosh with his sword embedded in it. A monster’s channeling organ with a hazy light hovering around it.

[Lee Seongjin……]

Beyond the organ of the Bantra, where there was still a faint light, something was calling for Seongjin.

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T/N:

Marthain overprotective mode switch turned on again T_T Deserved tho, Seongjin is really reckless. And this won’t be the last time.