"…Honestly, I never imagined I'd witness something like this in my life."
Watching the screen before them, Rebecca was completely stunned, and even Shirley stared wide-eyed at the battle playing out. They weren't on the battlefield themselves—only watching the live broadcast—but the sight of the war between Beastmen and humans was shocking enough on its own.
Especially when Duanmu Huai led the Astral Soldiers straight into the belly of that giant subterranean worm—that nearly made the two of them fall out of their chairs.
"Professor… is this really okay?"
"I'm not sure…"
Rebecca frowned at Shirley's question, deep in thought.
"Based on what we can observe so far, if this worm evolved according to normal biological principles, then its internal structure should be extremely dangerous. But we also saw that those Inquisition soldiers are wearing fully sealed, closed-loop armor systems. That should at least prevent suffocation or poisoning—"
"———!!"
But before Rebecca could finish, the massive worm suddenly began convulsing violently. It shrieked, then hurled itself upward. Under its frenzied thrashing, the entire cavern shook and collapsed. Moments later, the colossal worm crashed headfirst into a heap of rubble and went completely still.
"...…"
The soldiers on site were stunned into silence.
But it wasn't over.
Moments later, small bulges began rising all over the worm's body!
What was that? Was the worm going to explode?
Before anyone could react, the bulges split open—and roaring chain-swords tore through the flesh, slicing muscle and skin apart. Jets of blood sprayed out like fountains, turning the worm's corpse into a towering pillar of gore. The smell of blood filled the air, forcing soldiers to retreat in fear and confusion.
Then, from within the erupting corpse, steel-clad warriors—drenched completely in blood—marched out one after another, gripping their spinning chainswords. Their eyes glowed with a hellish crimson light.
Duanmu Huai stood at the front, raising his warhammer high.
"For the Inquisition! For humanity—
Kill every last Beastman!"
At that moment, the Beastmen's morale collapsed entirely.
This giant subterranean worm wasn't just a secret weapon—it was their holy divine creature. Their god. And now even their god had been slain by humans. What resistance could they possibly muster?
The answer: none at all.
With the Inquisition leading the way, the human coalition's morale soared. They surged forward with unstoppable momentum, blitzing straight toward the Beastmen's hive.
The "hive," however, was not a nest. Instead, it was a vast underground city—magnificent and grand—constructed inside a massive cavern. From the carved murals on the walls to the architecture itself, it was clear the Beastmen possessed a fairly advanced civilization.
But to the Inquisition, this meant nothing.
Any civilization that dares threaten or harm humanity has only one fate—annihilation.
"BOOM!!"
Duanmu Huai smashed through the heavy gate. A storm of bullets blasted against him like raging rain. But he didn't care. Lowering his body, he charged forward with a roar, gripping his warhammer tightly. He rammed straight into the Beastman operating the turret. Seeing the massive shadow bearing down on him, the Beastman screamed, desperately firing with everything he had.
But his resistance was as meaningless as his courage. The warhammer swept through the air in a deadly arc, crushing him—and the turret—into splinters.
Duanmu Huai stomped forward, stepping over the Beastman's mangled corpse. His warhammer swung sideways in a wide arc, scooping the two Beastmen beside the turret like trash and smashing them into the wall.
"BANG!!"
Under the thunderous blow, the Beastmen's skulls burst. Their bodies twisted like crushed clay, organs and shattered bones tearing through their flesh and spilling onto the floor.
"Ugh…"
Rebecca and Shirley both blanched at the sight.
"Looks like… Uncle Big Guy's been holding back before…"
Under the Inquisition's assault, the Beastmen's resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a war chariot—utterly futile. It didn't take Duanmu Huai long to break through the outer city and reach the Queen's core chamber.
But what surprised Duanmu Huai was this—
When he smashed open the throne room doors, he saw a woman seated upon the throne. Beside her stood a towering Beastman warrior and the priest who had summoned the giant worm earlier.
"Well, this is unexpected."
Duanmu Huai glanced at the woman.
"You're the Beastmen's Queen?"
"...…"
The woman didn't speak. She simply raised her chin slightly.
"Kill him."
"ROAAARRR—!!"
At her command, the warrior and priest charged at Duanmu Huai with a roar. But Duanmu Huai didn't care at all. He casually swung his warhammer—instantly ripping the upper halves of both Beastmen clean off. Their lower halves ran two more steps before collapsing onto the floor.
Then Duanmu Huai strode toward the Queen.
She rose, glaring at him.
"It seems… you are indeed strong. So I wish to make a deal."
"A deal?"
"To be precise… I am not the one making the deal."
As she spoke, she pressed a button on a communicator. A moment later, a disheveled human scientist appeared on the screen.
"So, you've changed your mind."
The old doctor spoke as soon as the call connected. The Queen simply nodded.
"Though it was not my wish… I have no other choice."
"…Very well. This is the debt I owe you…"
The doctor sighed deeply, then looked toward Duanmu Huai.
"I know who you are, brave warrior. But I have only one request. Please spare her life. That is all."
"That doesn't sound like a deal. It sounds like an order."
"No—it is a deal."
The old man coughed before continuing.
"In truth, there is a threat far more important than the Beastmen. The plague… it is spreading faster than I anticipated. And I have found the key to stopping it!"
"Oh?"
Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes at the Queen.
"So you want to exchange the key to saving humanity… for the Beastman Queen's life? And if I refuse? Will you just sit back and watch humanity perish?"
If that was the case, Duanmu Huai thought, then congratulations—another name for the Inquisition's execution list.
"That's not what I mean. In fact… this is our responsibility…"
The old man sighed and began explaining the origins of the Beastmen.
Just as Duanmu Huai suspected, the Beastmen were not naturally occurring creatures—they were created by humans. The Vyan Government Alliance controlled Imulsion. During extraction, miners and their families were infected first by the parasites within Imulsion.
To maintain energy production, the government suppressed the incident and secretly relocated the infected to research facilities.
During this research, they discovered that a girl named Mira possessed resistance to Imulsion. Not only was she uninfected—her body was strengthened. Her aging slowed to half a normal human's.
This immediately convinced the researchers that Imulsion wasn't merely a pathogen—it could modify human genetics.
Just like a certain umbrella-shaped corporation of idiots.
Their first attempt: inject Imulsion directly into humans.
Result: complete failure.
Second attempt:
Since Imulsion was found underground, subterranean creatures might have resistance.
So they combined underground biological material with humans—and created a new species:
The Beastmen.
Naturally, it went exactly as expected: the Beastmen rebelled and fled underground, building their own civilization.
That wouldn't have been a big deal—until the Beastmen discovered that all subterranean life was being infected by Imulsion. The infected creatures turned into glowing, murderous "Lambent." Anyone they killed also transformed into Lambent.
The Beastmen could control subterranean beasts thanks to their hybrid genetics—but because of that, they were defenseless against the Lambent. The same creatures they controlled could be infected and turn against them at any time.
At first, the Queen didn't want to invade the surface. She contacted the doctor—who had been part of the original research team—and asked him to help find a cure.
But progress was slow, while the Beastmen were being pushed to the brink by the Lambent.
Thus, the Queen resorted to her second plan—invading the surface to secure space for her people to survive.
And this Queen… was actually that same girl, Mira, who had undergone cruel experimentation. That was why the doctor sympathized with her and helped her.
"I see."
Duanmu Huai nodded, then switched channels.
"Mia."
"Yes~ Master? What is it~?"
"Have you finished storing the data?"
"Yes. Everything is fully recorded and I'm sending it to Miss Rebecca and Miss Shirley right now~"
"Good."
Duanmu Huai nodded.
Then—
He suddenly reached out, grabbed the Queen by the throat, and before she could react—
RIPPED her head clean off.
"You—!!"
The doctor stared in shock. Duanmu Huai merely looked at him coldly.
"The Inquisition does not grant innocence. Whatever her past may be, it does NOT justify the Beastmen invading the surface and slaughtering humans. To the Inquisition, ANY being that threatens humanity must be executed."
"You…"
"And by the way, the Inquisition has already infiltrated your database and acquired all your files. So you have no bargaining chips left. I suggest you cooperate with the Inquisition's operations."
Seeing the old doctor's pale face, Duanmu Huai snorted and tossed the Queen's head onto the ground.
"Otherwise, we'll execute you too."
(End of chapter)