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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 369
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‘Damn it!’
Hidden in the clouds, Salman cursed inwardly.
Every time a loud noise echoed from below, his insides burned with anxiety. He knew exactly what was happening on the ground, hidden from view by the clouds.
Two unexpected guests had appeared where the antimatter bomb had exploded, now holding onto his ankles.
One of them had transformed into a mythical creature, the Griffon, and was none other than Wolf. The other was a bizarre monster that resembled a Screamer.
Salman had already heard about the Griffon ranker from the Empress. She had mentioned that it was a slave, probably one of those despicable Mofpaks the enemy kept.
The monster that had come along, resembling a Screamer, was most likely a slave of Amorph too.
Anyway, the most dangerous enemy Amorph himself was not there. Amorph had probably chosen to strike at the Magmasaur instead of pursuing him.
Right now, thanks to his use of Cyanium, Salman was in Simurgh's Summoning Mode. Moreover, the equipment he wore was of exceptional quality.
In contrast, his enemies were nothing more than the Griffon Wolf, who was around the higher deity level, and the weird monster without any flight abilities. The Wolf was annoying, but nothing that could turn the tide of battle.
Or so he thought until he realized he was wrong.
The slaves sent by Amorph were no ordinary enemies.
‘I don't have time for this…’
At that moment, a flash of black light appeared between the dark clouds.
Salman, knowing what that light meant, grew tense. His wings, glowing in emerald and lapis lazuli hues, shone brightly as they began to gather energy.
Originally, Simurgh was a mythical creature specialized in energy manipulation. Like the Apex creatures, the Skywhale, it could absorb and store surrounding energy to use in attacks. Especially in the summoning state, its mixed-energy cannon was powerful.
Even holding such a mighty weapon, he could not relax. His jewel-like eyes moved constantly, scanning his surroundings.
｢!｣
Once again, a flash of black light. Salman's wings reacted quickly.
The energy gathered in his wings was released in spherical form, shooting toward the direction of the light. The sound of thunder rumbled as the clouds split apart.
‘What?!’
But when he looked, there was nothing at the spot. Realizing this, Salman moved swiftly.
The moment he did, black lightning streaked toward where he had just been. Sparks flew from the tail feathers. He had thought he had evaded it in time, but he was slightly too slow. The sharp claws of the lightning struck his shield.
‘Damn!’
His shield, made from energy manipulation, and the superb armor he wore were protecting him, but he couldn’t afford to feel safe.
His opponent had already exceeded his expectations.
‘Where did it go?’
The enemy had disappeared. He looked around, but only clouds surrounded him, nothing else in sight.
Grimacing, Salman took out a silver sphere hidden in his armor using his talons.
The sphere was a hologram drone. It used electromagnetic fields to project specific images, confusing the enemy.
Once activated, the hologram drone transformed to resemble Salman. It appeared as though there were two of him in the clouds.
Having set a decoy, he began accumulating more energy in his wings while releasing other drones one by one.
It was a common belief that small drones were ineffective in combat, but the ones he had activated were different. Hidden within them were dangerous weapons.
Once all the drones were activated, he pulled out an incredibly unique item.
It was a gemstone-made revolver. More of a decorative piece than a weapon, yet he handled it as carefully as if it were a dangerous bomb.
As Salman tried to conceal the revolver with his talon, the enemy struck the decoy. The holographic Simurgh's neck was torn apart by black claws.
The enemy took the bait. Salman’s wings spread wide, releasing the energy he had charged up. The clouds turned white, and the black beast’s form also became visible.
It was a massive, winged creature, just as large as Salman in his summoning mode.
Its body and wings were as hard as metal, covered with sharp feathers, and its neck and head resembled that of a pterosaur. All of its feathers were black, but its eyes were a bright amber, like lanterns glowing in the dark.
The being that destroyed the hologram drone was clearly not a Griffon.
The creature, which had the form of a mix between a pterosaur and a raptor, was known as the ‘Thunderbird’. It had been a Griffon just before the fight, but now it had transformed into another mythical creature, targeting Salman.
‘To think it can transform into another mythical creature!’
Its appearance was slightly different from a typical Thunderbird, but that was likely because it had transformed while still wearing armor.
The key thing to watch out for was the Thunderbird’s speed. It was one of the fastest mythical creatures in the world, even faster than the Griffon that Wolf could transform into.
Salman used his energy cannon to fire warning shots and increased the distance between them. The creature that had destroyed the hologram drone continued to follow.
The Thunderbird was a beast optimized for aerial dogfighting. Its base speed already surpassed that of Simurgh, and it could even navigate at speeds comparable to a Metallic Gremlin.
Despite this, Salman could move just as fast as the Thunderbird, thanks to the power granted by Cyanium. When in summoning mode, his physical abilities drastically increased, allowing him to match the Thunderbird's speed.
This meant he had to finish the fight before the effects of Cyanium wore off.
‘There’s still more left, but…’
He still had a few more enhanced Cyanium ampoules in his chest, but they were his last resort.
The more Cyanium was used, the shorter its duration. He needed to save it for when he had to escape from Amorph, so he couldn’t use it now.
‘One shot! Just one shot, and it’s over.’
Aside from its speed, the Thunderbird didn’t possess any special abilities. A single shot from Simurgh’s energy cannon could deal fatal damage to it.
Moreover, he had a trump card.
The revolver he held in his rear talon. It was a weapon made in collaboration with the Coldblooded Player and Vortex One. His old comrade from the Returners had passed it on to him.
According to his comrade, the weapon had been modified so that even someone without Coldblooded abilities could use it. The weapons given by Vortex One couldn’t be modified, so the one who made the change was likely someone Salman didn’t know, working through special means.
The important thing was that the revolver could be used if it sacrificed a large amount of energy.
And the enemy didn’t know that.
Salman glanced at the pursuing enemy. The black Thunderbird cut through the air, closing the distance between them rapidly.
‘The policy is not to kill fellow players, but given the situation, I have no choice.’
Though it felt strange to think about killing a fellow human, the enemy was a slave of Amorph. It was just another piece of trash from the faction that was full of scum.
For the sake of his faction’s survival, and his own, he had to eliminate any potential threats.
With that thought, Salman infused energy into his revolver.
---
When Choi Seoa opened her eyes, the first thing she faced was a wild world.
Otherworldly beasts not seen on Earth, harsh environments, and countless elements threatened her survival.
The world of space survival was so harsh that even she, with a body stronger than a human's, felt it was brutal.
Still, she liked it here.
Here, she no longer had to carry around an asthma inhaler or medication whenever she stepped outside.
She no longer had to suffer from the alienation and ridicule of others.
A new body, a new family, and a new name.
The life of ‘Mother of the Sky’ not Choi Seoa was once a happy one.
That was, of course, until she lost her entire family due to past connections.
After that day, she made a vow: never again would such a thing happen.
A flash of light streaked across the dark sky. The vibrations in the air followed shortly after, almost like the phenomenon of a lightning strike.
But Mother of the Sky knew well that the light was far more dangerous than any lightning strike.
The light was an Energy Shell. The enemy hidden in the clouds was firing them at her.
She quickly folded one of her wings. Her body, shining with black gloss, tilted sharply to one side.
As she swiftly moved with the current of the air, the enemy's barrage continued behind her. Only a few of the energy shells grazed the tips of her feathers, while the rest veered off-course.
｢Tch!｣
She could sense the lingering residual energy left by the enemy, Salman the Griffon Ranker, who had used his Resonance Strike.
She didn’t know if he realized it, but Mother of the Sky was also famous for her skills as a pilot. If her ability to fly combat aircraft were ranked, she would be in the top three. There was a reason Amorph had asked her to teach Adhai how to fly.
She hadn’t had many opportunities to showcase her abilities, as she had mainly assisted Adhai and Amorph until now, but today was different.
The third mythical beast, Thunderbird, which she could transform into, was an aerial combat specialist. Thanks to this, she could now demonstrate the flying skills that earned her the title Mother of the Sky.
Through the storm of ash and light, she tore through the sky like a comet.
Her flight was not as elegant as Adhai’s or as awe-inspiring as Amorph’s gigantic form. No, Mother of the Sky moved efficiently, always positioning herself advantageously and closing in on the enemy swiftly. She skillfully dodged the incoming energy shells as she continued to close the gap.
The enemy, realizing that the constant energy fire wasn’t enough, switched tactics. Smaller objects, much smaller than the energy shells, shot out from the dark clouds, headed directly toward her.
These were small combat drones, less than a meter in size, moving with incredible speed, almost as fast as the shells. While these drones were much weaker than anti-ship drones, they should not be underestimated.
The enemy had already tried using a hologram drone to deceive her, and no doubt these drones were equipped with some trickery as well.
Just as she expected, one of the drones released a cloud of fine particles. The glowing sand-like particles moved almost like they were alive.
These weren't sand particles; they were tiny bio-engineered creatures called ‘Mossflies’. They were bio-weapons created by MegaCorp through genetic manipulation.
When the Mossflies attached to their target, they would release a mold-like substance that slowed the target's movements. Furthermore, since Mossflies emitted light, they would make their host an excellent target for attack.
The glowing cloud of Mossflies flew through the air, and the drones followed, closing in on Mother of the Sky.
It seemed the enemy was making a final push for victory.
‘So, there’s no time left, is that it?’
She had already known that Salman, now transformed into Simurgh, was growing anxious.
His specs were far beyond what she had initially expected based on the information from Isabel. The fact that he could enter Divine Status was a sign that the endgame was approaching.
An energy shell fired by the Simurgh in Divine Status could deal a fatal blow to Amorph. If Mother of the Sky were hit even once, she’d be near death.
So why had such a powerful foe been acting cautiously until now?
‘He must have used an enhanced Cyanium.’
Salman was in charge of managing the equipment for the Returners. The Cyanium he had either came from the Dominion faction or had been obtained through some other method.
'He doesn’t have much time left.'
The battle had already been ongoing for more than five minutes. The Cyanium’s effects would be wearing off soon, and if Amorph arrived, it would be trouble. Salman would want to get away before that happens.
'Alright.'
Meanwhile, on the ground, PS-111 was stalling the massive Mountain Crawler. She had told him to retreat if the situation got too dangerous, but it would never listen.
'Let’s end this here.'
As she was retreating, she quickly folded one of her wings. The resistance from the air and the acceleration caused her body to tilt sharply in the direction of the folded wing. The sudden change in direction sent her sharp beak heading straight for the drones and the Mossflies swarm.
With this motion, she accelerated toward her enemies. As the distance between them closed, some of the drones began releasing small spider-like machines. They were the 'Blood Reavers', the unique weapon of Star Union.
From the clouds behind them, a flash of light flickered. It was the same phenomenon that appeared when Simurgh’s wings charged energy. They were likely planning to weaken her with the Mossflies or Blood Reavers and then attempt a sniper shot.
The remaining distance between her and the Mossflies and Blood Reavers was only a few meters. In mere seconds, she would be completely vulnerable.
But no threat could disturb her concentration.
It felt as if time had slowed to a crawl. Just before she was about to be touched by the Mossflies, she made a steep dive. She folded her wings and stretched out her neck and legs to minimize air resistance.
She passed through the Mossflies swarm with a sharp dive, but the Blood Reavers, mechanical vampires, were waiting to block her path.
Just as the Blood Reavers’ metal claws were about to grab her feathers and body, she adjusted the angle of both wings. Her body spun sharply, using the wind to complete a full rotation. The pressure from this sudden spin caused the mechanical vampires to fail in grabbing her.
Not only that, but as she spun, she used her rear legs to reverse-grab one of the Blood Reavers and threw it toward an incoming drone. With a loud explosion, all sorts of harmful substances and weapons inside the drone were scattered.
Mother of the Sky half-opened her black wings and forcefully pushed the air away. Her body accelerated like lightning, quickly distancing herself from the explosion.
In an instant, she broke through the enemy's barrage and dove into the black clouds.
｢What?!｣
Salman, hidden and charging energy, stared at her in disbelief, his mouth agape. Her movements had clearly defied his expectations.
｢Damn it! This is cheating!｣
From the enemy’s wings, an energy blast was fired. In the light of the beam, Mother of the Sky turned her wing tips backward and stretched her body in a straight line. By minimizing her target area, she narrowly avoided the barrage of energy shots.
The distance between them had now closed so much that she could clearly see her opponent's face.
The creature before her was a monstrous beast with the head of a dog, wearing golden armor. The two emotions reflected in his eyes were fear from the situation he couldn’t comprehend, and...
｢Dieeee!｣
Salman, unwilling to give up, pulled something out with his hind legs.
The object his sharp toes gripped was a pistol made of gemstones.
They were still quite far apart, and Mother of the Sky had no long-range attack.
'He must be thinking that.'
Originally, the feathers of the Thunderbird were silver.
However, the reason her body appeared black wasn’t due to a special ability, but because she was wearing armor made from the Vortex One’s ‘Ring of Agony’.
A black arm, reminiscent of a Vortex One’s arm, emerged from her wing. The arm was holding a golden spear that shimmered.
The black arm hurled the golden spear toward the enemy.
In response, Salman’s gemstone pistol aimed at her head.
The spear, like an arrow shot from a priest’s bow, sliced through the air, heading directly for Salman’s chest.
At that moment, Salman’s claws pulled the trigger of the pistol.
｢Ugh?!｣
｢Kuh!｣
A thought wave of pain laced with suffering lingered in the air and vanished.
Above the clouds, swirling with ash, the figure that remained was a black bird as dark as the night.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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