Opacum had fallen.
But it still drew breath.
'I end it here.'
If this were a game, the Rotting Body, Opacum would be considered groggy—a rare moment when a boss monster is wide open to critical damage.
I wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste.
Ssssss...
The BLT-47 Plasma Launcher was fully overheated—unusable for the time being.
And there was no chance of pulling out a heavy weapon like the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun in this mess.
That meant my only viable weapon was my personal firearm—the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle.
Click—
The chamber was loaded with A-985 Explosive Rounds.
I didn't hesitate.
BOOM────!
KABOOM!!!
Was it a last gasp of resistance?
Opacum's rotting flesh writhed wildly, and like a volcano erupting, it exploded in every direction.
Chunks of toxic meat rained down from the sky.
They fell toward the Ark, and onto the monsters headed there as well.
["Master!"]
"Block it!"
Even then, I didn't stop.
If I hesitated now and let Opacum recover, it would charge the Ark again in a blind, furious rampage.
'This ends now.'
The Rotting Body, Opacum was wide open.
But A-985 rounds wouldn't cut it.
It was time to use my strongest remaining weapon.
Zzzzzzt─
Click, click, click─
The Ark-34 shifted into Railgun mode.
[Gwooooooo...]
Opacum was beginning to stir.
But it didn't matter.
My Ark-34 was already aimed—locked onto a line from the crown of its head straight down its body.
From this angle, I could end it in a single shot.
'Esther.'
["Yes."]
Perhaps sensing the tension, Esther didn't respond with her usual teasing. Instead, she simply focused.
To pour everything into this one final shot.
[Fire...?]
[Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire...]
[End it.]
Ether gathered at the railgun's barrel, coalescing into a lethal point of light.
All that remained was to pull the trigger.
Click—
And then the trigger fell.
A beam of searing light shot toward Opacum.
SHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE────!!!
The sonic boom came after the beam had already punched through Opacum.
[Guh... guh... ugh...]
Its massive, ruined body twitched once.
And that was it.
—
[You have slain the Beyond-Grade Aberrant Behemoth, "The Rotting Body, Opacum"!]
[BOSS Monster defeated!]
[Damage to all boss-class monsters has increased by 1%.]
—
A barrage of notifications exploded in front of me.
And it was only the beginning.
—
[You have slain the regional lord!]
[All monsters and beasts in "Opacum's Swamp" will fear you.]
[+30% damage dealt to all monsters and beasts in Opacum's Swamp.]
[-30% damage received from all monsters and beasts in Opacum's Swamp.]
[You have protected the Ark from a catastrophic disaster!]
[Contribution points accumulated.]
[+300,000 Contribution Points]
[You dealt the highest damage to "The Rotting Body, Opacum." Additional Contribution granted.]
[+150,000 Contribution Points]
[Current Contribution Points: 822,854]
[You have acquired the Trait: "Calamity Hunter"]
──────────────
[Calamity Hunter]
— Grants +10% damage to all Grade-1+ monsters and beasts.
"View Details"
──────────────
[You demonstrated overwhelming charisma. Leadership stat increased.]
[3 → 5]
[You channeled the power of souls. Ether Sensitivity increased.]
[32 → 35]
[You played a major role in defending the Ark. Honor stat increased.]
[4 → 7]
—
The rewards were monumental.
Enhanced boss damage, massive Contribution gains, new traits, and stat increases across the board.
It was overwhelming.
'But I'm not done yet.'
I approached the corpse of the Rotting Body, Opacum and discreetly extended bone tendrils underground.
Even with a telescope, the Ark wouldn't be able to detect what I was doing.
Slither...
The bone tendrils slid beneath the earth, then drove themselves into Opacum's corpse.
Shluk! Shlunk!
They didn't stop.
It would take far more to reach the heart buried deep inside.
Deeper. Deeper.
Despite the toxic, radioactive rot, the tendrils drilled through Opacum's body without hesitation.
If the beast had still been alive, this would've been impossible.
But now—it was a cold corpse.
Nothing stood in my way.
Skrrrrrch...
After what felt like an eternity of twisting through rancid innards, the bone tendrils found it.
Opacum's heart.
'Got you.'
There was no hesitation.
Only hunger.
Schlurp, schluck—!
The tendrils surged toward the heart.
Shunk!
Shlu-shluk!
They ate.
And ate.
And ate.
The bone tendrils—Janus's fangs—devoured Opacum's heart with ravenous glee.
Sluuuurp! Sschlick!
["Our boney-boy's got quite the appetite."]
"What the hell..."
Esther's silly comment broke the moment's gravity.
But the feast continued.
[Ki-git!]
With a triumphant screech, Janus's entire form quivered—finally sated after devouring every last scrap of the Rotting Body, Opacum's heart.
—
[You have claimed the heart of the Beyond-Grade Aberrant Behemoth, "The Rotting Body, Opacum"!]
[You can now access the abilities of "The Rotting Body, Opacum."]
[Ankelenth' Fang absorption rate has surpassed 50%! You have acquired the ability: "Wings of Ankelenth."]
["Bone Armor (Lv.5) [Janus]" has increased by 1★.]
[12★→ 13★]
[Defense and auxiliary physical enhancement capabilities have increased.]
—
Finally.
With Opacum's heart consumed, Janus had breached the 50% threshold of Ankelenth' Fang absorption—unlocking a new ability in the process.
"Wings of Ankelenth," huh...
I didn't know exactly what it did yet, but the name gave a pretty good hint.
"Not bad."
Not only had Janus grown stronger—again—but I'd also gained the power of an Extra-Class Aberrant.
A terrifyingly powerful one at that.
—
──────────────
[Bone Armor (Lv.5)] [Janus] [★★★★★★★★★★★★★ (13★)]
— A modified version of the Ark's standard officer protective gear (Lv.5), fused with a domesticated bone parasite.
— It has been named "Janus."
— Current Ankelenth' Fang absorption rate: 50.3%
— Can now utilize "Wings of Ankelenth."
— Absorbed the power of the Thunderstruck Branch.
— Can wield the power of lightning.
— Has absorbed the heart of the Beyond-Grade Aberrant Behemoth, "The Rotting Body, Opacum."
— Can now use its abilities.
"View Details"
──────────────
—
Good news all around.
But unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury to bask in it.
Opacum was dead—but the wave was still raging.
'I need to move.'
With most of Ark's firepower focused on Opacum, the overall battlefront was in rough shape.
I had no time to rest.
Haaa...
Even though Opacum had fallen, I still couldn't remove my gas mask.
In fact, the stench of rot and radiation had only worsened since its death.
'On the upside, that toxicity probably slowed down the rest of the monsters and beasts... but still—no gratitude owed to a corpse.'
Ark had taken serious damage thanks to that thing.
Hffft...
Breathing heavily through the mask, I switched the Ark-34 back to assault rifle mode.
The railgun needed time to recharge, but the other modes didn't.
Click—
A-985 Explosive Rounds loaded.
I pulled the trigger.
BANG────!
TATATATA!!!
The bullets flew, streaking toward the monsters charging Ark.
BOOM!
CRACK!
Explosions echoed.
But instead of retreating, I pushed forward.
'Now then...'
I engaged the Z-74 jetpack at full thrust.
FWOOSH────!
Forward. Forward. Forward.
Once I'd flown far enough to leave Ark's line of sight, I pulled off my gas mask.
I was far enough from Opacum's corpse now.
And instead, I donned Kupf's Bone Mask.
Because the next phase of combat would be... different.
—
['Wings of Ankelenth' has been activated.]
—
Suddenly, two skeletal wings burst forth from my back.
["W-Whoa! What the hell is that?!"]
"You can see it for yourself."
["...Please don't act like I asked what it was. I asked where the hell it came from!"]
Esther shook her head in disbelief.
I ignored her.
I studied the two bony wings spread wide behind me.
'Hmm... pretty solid.'
No need to guess their function.
Wings were for flying.
WHUMP! Fwsh—!
As they flapped, my body lifted violently into the sky.
It felt different from the jetpack.
Not worse—just... organic.
And it meant one thing: the Turncoat "Pawn" could now fly on its own.
'This makes operating as Pawn much easier.'
There were things I still had to do without Ark knowing.
And I'd rather avoid showing Horus whenever possible.
'In that case...'
With a beat of the Wings of Ankelenth, I soared upward.
Then, I shot forward—toward the hordes of monsters ahead.
WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!
It took a moment to build up speed, but at this rate, I wasn't far behind the Z-74's top velocity.
'Then maybe... I can combine them?'
I continued flying—and then also activated the Z-74 jetpack.
I needed to test the synergy.
'Here we go...'
The Z-74 ignited—
—and I launched forward like a bullet.
Like a raging wind.
SHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE────!!!
The effect was phenomenal.