Chapter 318

〈Chapter 318〉 Part 1, Chapter 14, Section 8

Remaining time: 26 minutes and 18 seconds.

KOOOONG!

Karura crashed into a wall. Karura, who had been running at full speed, collided with the wall and paused for a moment.

VROOOM! SQUEEEEEEEK!!

But soon she reversed, made a proper turn, and sped off in a straight line again. Mahatma tried desperately to move away from Karura, his feet blazing with magical energy, but Karura inexplicably kept chasing after him.

“Get out of the way! You idiots!”

Mahatma gestured wildly at the confused heroes, ordering them to scatter. The heroes were already fleeing from Karura.

At that moment, Karura made a wide drift to the left, and her vehicle tilted. Those following Mahatma in the center screamed as they realized Karura was now barreling straight through the middle.

“Aaaaah! It’s coming!”

Mahatma leaped sideways, rolling across the ground. Though scorched by the residual flames left behind by Karura’s passage, he didn’t have time to worry about it.

“Haa… haa…”

Karura charged toward the cluster of heroes huddled in the corner. Mahatma watched her tail disappear into the distance while checking his smartwatch.

24:50.

“Five minutes?! Are you kidding me?!”

It felt like fifty minutes had passed, yet only five had gone by. Thanks to Karura’s simple pattern of just charging forward, Mahatma remained unscathed—but many others had already been “eaten.”

“Damn it, damn it!”

The life signs were still there; those consumed hadn’t died yet. But Karura had vacuumed up the heroes she’d trampled, pulling them into her body. Whether or not they were suffering was unknown—Mahatma knew he hadn’t been caught yet.

SQUEEEEEEEK—!

The sound of tires screeching against the ground reached his ears. Mahatma looked up hurriedly to see a cute bird-monster with its beak open, pointing a massive cannon directly at him as it raced along the ground.

“Dang it! Why me?!”

Could it be that Karura had figured out he was the commander leading the heroes? Either subtly or blatantly, Karura seemed to be targeting Mahatma specifically.

If we assume the Taj Mahal garden field is divided into four equal squares, whenever people gathered near Mahatma, Karura would abruptly change direction and charge straight at him. Though he wished to be left alone, the heroes instinctively sought him out even in this chaotic situation.

“Mr. Mahatma! Give us orders!”

“Scatter! Just run!”

Easy to say, but the heroes with weaker abilities twisted their faces in frustration. There wasn’t much Mahatma could do about it either.

“Damn it! If this taming process is going to go like this, I’d rather die than request it!!”

What started as just a big chick monster had transformed into a tank devouring people. The Executioner explained that this transformation was part of the “taming” process—a phenomenon that domesticates monsters into members of modern society.

Is that really true? Unfortunately, there’s no way to confirm. All we can do is trust what the Executioner says.

“Aaaaaaah!!”

Mahatma dashed toward the corner. He was cornered. Surrounded by too many heroes on both sides, his only option was to climb the wall.

“Please, please!!”

He couldn’t afford to get eaten. How would he face That Person if he got swallowed by a monster? Being devoured by a beast would strip him of his qualifications as a knight leading the new world—

KOOOOONG.

Mahatma’s entire body was engulfed in flames. A tremendous vibration echoed, and Mahatma, buried within the flames, quickly understood his situation.

‘What kind of driving…’

Where in the world does a car crash into a wall at full speed? Wrapped warmly in the flames, Mahatma felt himself being sucked somewhere.

‘Am I…not in pain?’

Not only was he not in pain, but the fatigue in his body disappeared entirely. It felt like soaking in a hot bath, and Mahatma’s tension melted away.

‘No, no! This isn’t the time for that—’

WHOOSH.

As the flames enveloped him, Mahatma realized all the magic power inside him had burned away.

“W-W-What?! Gyaah?!”

Flailing helplessly, Mahatma tried to summon his remaining magic power to escape the flow of the flames, but as his magic dissipated, he fell to a level far below that of an ordinary person, unable to properly resist.

He could only flow along with the current, getting dragged somewhere. In the blink of an eye, Mahatma found himself lying somewhere.

WHEEEOOOO.

The curtain of fire wrapped around Mahatma’s body. Like a mummy, he couldn’t move an inch.

GUUUUGHHH.

The once-red space filled with sunlight, illuminating the interior. Mahatma realized where he had been “installed.”

“A… cannon?”

Mahatma immediately understood. The monster was about to fire him as ammunition. That much was clear.

“Eeeek?!”

He wriggled like a caterpillar, trying to escape the cannon’s mouth. He couldn’t allow himself to be launched.

And then…

I’m… sorry…

SNAP.

With someone’s apology, a button was pressed. Mahatma saw the area beneath him glow red before his consciousness faded.

“Aaah… don’t—”

KABOOOOOM!!

The cannon spewed fire. Mahatma was launched. Toward the outside of the barrier.

“Ah…”

Mahatma flew through the air, losing consciousness.

Remaining time: 24 minutes.

Starting with <Mahatma>, the first hero retired, followed by 30 other heroes who were launched beyond the barrier. They were thrown over the walls of the Taj Mahal but remained unharmed thanks to the tiny bit of residual magic power left in their bodies.

Inside the barrier, 70 heroes remained. Karura’s engine began spewing fire again, ready to launch more heroes while searching for the next prey.

TUDUUDUUDUU!!

Karura continued launching heroes beyond the barrier, seeking more ammunition.

—

BRAAAANG!!

I slammed down hard on the accelerator. The Garura engine roared violently, burning through my magic power, and I used that force to make Karura zoom forward while sharply turning the wheel.

“Sudden curve!”

SQUEEEEEEK!!

Karura, who had been speeding closely along the wall, skidded when I turned the wheel sharply to the right. Those who had been running straight ahead escaped unscathed, but the heroes attempting to dodge by turning right were crushed under Karura.

BOOOOOM!!

Instead of being pulverized, the heroes who came into contact with Karura were sucked into her body. I stopped the vehicle and parked it.

WHOOSH!

Each hero lined up neatly and loaded into the cannon mounted on top of Karura’s head. Though they were unharmed, I aimed the cannon outward, burning all their magic power.

CLACKCLACKCLACKCLACK.

Garura, who held the firing button at the front, began rapidly pressing it even though preparations weren’t complete.

After the initial barrage, Garura had grown accustomed to launching humans as ammunition onto the battlefield. Too accustomed. I calmed down Garura, who was repeatedly pressing the button before the loading was finished.

“Garura, it takes about ten seconds to prepare this…”

“Master! Please hurry!”

Garura urged me on, her face flushed red. She was starting to enjoy using the cannon mounted on her head to launch humans like bullets. Was it because she was from Tera?

“…Just wait five seconds.”

I loaded the heroes into the cannon as Garura wished, then burned my magic power. After leaving just enough magic power to avoid serious injury upon landing, I signaled Garura.

“Fir—”

TUDUUDUUDUUUUUUU!!

Like a multi-stage rocket missile, the heroes were launched through the gaps between the feathers on Karura’s back. The heroes thrown beyond the barrier were still alive but considered “eliminated.” Now, fewer than fifty heroes remained inside the barrier.

“Are you enjoying yourself that much?”

“Haa… haa. This feels addictive…”

Garura grinned sheepishly, her cheeks flushed. Her hands clutched the firing button so tightly she wouldn’t let go of it.

“Remaining time… fifteen minutes.”

We still had half the time left. Fifty or so might seem like a lot, but it meant all the weaker ones had already been eliminated.

“It seems our warm-up is over. Shall we get serious?”

Just by looking, most of the fifty-plus heroes appeared to possess B-Rank or higher special abilities. Only those who had managed to skillfully evade Karura by keeping their distance had survived so far.

“There’s no point in handling the controls anymore.”

“What?! Does that mean you can’t shoot anymore?!”

“No. Even so, we still have pride, right? We need to clean everything up before Karna arrives, don’t we?”

I moved the control stick to open all the cannons embedded within Karura—her sides, head, and main cannon.

“Of course, we should practice firing patterns that don’t show danger zones, right?”

CLACKCLACKCLACKCLACK.

Garura hammered the button. Every cannon except the main one simultaneously fired, raining down on the group of heroes crowded in the opposite corner.

BOOOOOM!!

An explosion of magic power engulfed the heroes. Flares scattered in the sky, and missiles made of magic power flew in all directions, exploding wherever they hit the barrier.

The small amount of magic power extracted from those already eliminated was harmless to humans but fatal to special ability users.

‘With Chang-yeom mixed in, their magic power will surely burn away.’

Even an S-Rank hero would be eliminated with a direct hit. Surviving three explosions within the blast radius would be challenging. Those already eliminated were flung outside the barrier, landing with a smack.

“The expedition team is holding up pretty well. Not a single one has been eliminated yet.”

“You’re talking about those black ones, right? Hahaha, Fire the magic cannon!”

“Not happening.”

KABOOM.

Garura manually aimed and fired the magic cannons precisely at the expected evasion points of the expedition team. An especially powerful magic explosion occurred, and ultimately, Tempest Lady was the first among the expedition team to be eliminated.

“Yes! Good job.”

I shifted the gear into drive and stepped on the accelerator. Karura accelerated forward in a straight line, with Tempest Lady directly in her path. Tempest Lady seemed to have sprained her leg, and the heroes turned around to rescue Yang Seonyu.

Naturally, I wasn’t about to let them.

“Garura! Suppression fire!!”

“Roger!”

Fengbaek and Hwakwon turned to save Tempest Lady, but Garura deployed a gattling gun crossfire to suppress their rescue route.

VROOOOOOOM!!

I stomped on the pedal—not the brake, but the accelerator. I poured my magic power directly into Karura’s engine to boost acceleration, and as Tempest Lady lay sprawled on the ground, she raised her head.

[…It hurts… eehh?!]

“Puhuhu.”

In Tempest Lady’s eyes, the crimson bird head with a main cannon reflected, and somehow, beyond the bird’s feather gloves, Garura and I seemed to be gleefully racing and shooting.

CRUNCH.

Absolutely not the sound of a hero being hit. The moment Tempest Lady touched the feathers, she was smoothly sucked into Karura’s body without any impact.

“Good job~”

[GYAAAAAHHHH…. Huuuuugh.]

I loaded the exhausted Tempest Lady into the main cannon. While I could launch other Indian heroes carelessly, the expedition team members were different.

“Go reflect on why you got caught after stepping outside. Garura!”

GOOOOSH!

Karura’s main cannon emitted fire. The cannon glowed brighter than ever, and Tempest Lady spun through the air over a longer distance than anyone else before being flung outside the barrier. She must have flown the farthest.

“Now we have about thirteen minutes left…”

Even without Tempest Lady, the Indian heroes could probably manage if properly commanded. As I debated whether to press the personal button I had withheld from Garura out of regret, suddenly…

“Puhuhu. Still, they haven’t crossed the Maginot Line, huh.”

The fifty heroes led by the Executioner stopped fleeing. Instead, they formed ranks and prepared to rush toward Karura.

PING.

A message from the Executioner arrived.

[We were never told not to knock them down, right?]

“Master? These human bastards….”

“Puhuhu.”

Indeed, the Sub-commander. Worthy of being the only one besides the Protagonist with command authority, he had perfectly seen through what I most desired.

“Garura. From now on, we’ll go slow. I’ll leave all attacks to you.”

“Roger, roger! I’ll send every single one flying after killing them all!”

“…Don’t actually kill them.”

After warning the overly excited Garura, I sent a message to the Executioner.

[OK.]

Further words were unnecessary. I lifted my foot off the accelerator and leaned back comfortably in my seat.

From here on out, it was a showdown between Karura and the heroes.

‘Even if they fight against the real Garura, they’d lose before the battle even begins.’

Would the heroes even realize that this girl, restricted by steel feathers and a cockpit, could transform into SS-Rank if she wanted to?

CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK

“Kyahahahaha!!”

I handed over the artillery to Garura but temporarily took away her claws and wings, which could decimate the entire Indian subcontinent.

“Ah, Master! I just hit the handsomest human guy! Wasn’t I awesome?!”

CLICKCLICKCLICK

But if she enjoys herself, isn’t that okay?

Simultaneously with the main cannon spewing fire, the real battle began.