"These bugs... their eyes have gone crazy?!"
Don't start telling me that insects have compound eyes, so their eyes can't literally roll back.
It's just a figure of speech.
Don't nitpick the realism.
They're charging at me like rabid dogs in heat—!
Wait, "in heat"?
"Ah, fuck. This is because of the Pheromone."
Pheromones are mainly used by animals to communicate.
There are all kinds of them.
Warnings, signals to mark one's location, and so on.
The problem is that some are meant for seduction, and I happen to possess that kind.
Humans communicate through language, so pheromones aren't usually very useful.
But if a pheromone that works on humans also works regardless of species, then of course this is what happens...
"Ah, lol. So this is how the butterfly effect hits, huh? lol"
[The Demon King, 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust,' is laughing at you.]
He was my biggest backer, so I couldn't exactly complain.
Crunch!
"...They're weak?"
Maybe because they're bugs, they just splatter.
Getting insect blood on my hands was disgusting as hell, but...
Still, I've even acquired the Cleanliness skill now, so let's not worry about that.
The real problem was the numbers.
The swarm was already huge, and now the pheromones had scattered everywhere as they were swept around, so the horde was growing in real time.
The station had at least been an enclosed space, so there had been a limit to how many could gather.
Out here, this was the wild. There was no such limit.
"This reminds me of 'locusts.'"
Billions of grasshoppers in a swarm... they're called locusts.
A living disaster that devours every plant in its path.
Nothing but overwhelming numbers.
That reason alone had raised them to the status of a calamity.
It wasn't that bad yet, but if I wanted to kill all these bastards, it was going to take some time.
If I wiped them all out, Gilyoung would probably be sad, but...
[Exclusive Attribute, 'Support Raised with an Abandoned Dream,' is activated.]
[All stats have increased by 10.]
Sorry, Gilyoung.
Now isn't the time to worry about that.
***
"Kwoooaaaar!"
"Aaaahhh!"
The situation was a complete mess.
Swoosh
Thud!
[Grade 7 Earth Dragon species, 'Tyrannosaurus Rex,' has recognized you.]
"Wait, ma'am! You're not seriously trying to fight that thing right now, are you? Mister isn't even here!"
"If we want to make an exit, we have to kill that thing."
"Make an exit?"
"Did you forget? We're inside a movie. Let's make ourselves a proper ending."
Because I couldn't keep clinging to my brother forever.
Because I didn't want to become a burden to him.
"Kwoooaaaar!"
['Tyrannosaurus Rex' has activated the skill, 'Predatory Terror'!]
[Exclusive skill, 'Fourth Wall,' has blocked the effects of 'Predatory Terror.']
"Gilyoung, fall back. Heewon and Jihye, spread out left and right!"
[Character, 'Lee Gilyoung,' has activated the skill 'Dinosaur Encyclopedia'!]
"Tyrannosaurus is agile for its size, but its field of vision is narrow, so it's vulnerable to attacks from its blind spots."
"What?"
"I saw it in an encyclopedia when I was little."
"When you were little?"
"...When I was even younger than I am now."
If my brother heard Gilyoung say that, he'd probably lose it again and try to pat his head in the middle of all this.
Just imagining it made my head hurt.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
This wasn't the time for useless thoughts.
Focus on the enemy in front of me.
My brother would make it back on his own.
As long as he could find the right way, anyway.
"While I draw its attention, get behind it—"
Leap!
Before I'd even finished speaking, Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon scattered.
Good. They were quick on the uptake.
Lee Hyunsung, our main tanker, wasn't here, and even my brother, who could've served as a sub-tank, had split off.
Right now, I was the only one fit for the tank role.
[Grade 7 Earth Dragon species, 'Tyrannosaurus Rex,' has targeted you.]
Think. Think about how my brother would solve this situation!
-Chomp!
"Brother!!!"
-Thud...
"What was that?"
-Boom...!
"It sounded like it came from inside the Tyrannosaurus's mouth."
-Craaack!
"This lizard bastard swallowed me?!"
"No... even so, tearing its jaw apart from inside its mouth? Is he actually insane?!"
"..."
This was probably how it'd go.
It wasn't a method I could use.
A reckless approach that was completely like him, something only my brother could pull off.
[The Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband,' asks what you're thinking about in the middle of a fight.]
"That if it were my brother, he'd probably solve this by tearing its jaw apart from inside its mouth!"
Chomp!
[The Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband,' bursts into laughter, saying your brother really does seem like the type to do that.]
Damn it. The moment I tried not to think about him, my head just filled up with him instead.
"Noona, I'll draw its attention!"
"No, Gilyoung, you—!"
"I can do it!"
Thud
Thud
A Titanoptera flew in from afar and rammed into the Tyranno's eyes, blinding it.
"That kid's the kind Yoo Joonghyuk would want."
"Kwoooaaaar!!"
I didn't know if it was rage from losing its eyes or just pain, but the thing let out a roar.
"Jihye, Heewon, now!"
The two of them attacked the Tyranno's legs and succeeded in locking down its movement too.
Now to finish it.
Fwoosh
[The special option of 'Broken Faith' has been activated.]
[The ether attribute is converted to 'flame.']
Tap
Rat-tat-tat
Tak!
"Kwoooaaaar!"
Having lost its sight, the Tyranno only belatedly realized I'd climbed onto it, and twisted its whole body violently.
A final struggle?
But like I said, it was already too late.
Stab!
'Broken Faith' cut through scales and muscle and sank into its neck.
Slaaash!
A huge wound opened in the Tyranno's neck, with 'Broken Faith' buried in it.
"Noona...!"
Fwoooosh!
Did you think that was the end?
The flames of 'Broken Faith' gouged deeper into the wound and burned its whole body alive.
"Kwoooaaaaaaar!!!"
Having your whole body burned alive had to be painful.
Die already.
Crackle
Crackle
When the flames died down, all that remained was the Tyranno, reduced to ash.
[You have succeeded in hunting the Grade 7 Earth Dragon species 'Tyrannosaurus Rex' for the first time!]
[You have obtained 1,000 Coins as a reward.]
"...My brother said he wanted to eat this, but it all burned up."
"Dokja, are you in your right mind?"
"I only said that because my brother said he wanted to eat it."
Ever since he said that, I'd gotten a little curious about what it tasted like too...
It was true that I'd deliberately used fire, but I hadn't set it on fire to make barbecue.
"Will Hyung be okay?"
"He'll be fine."
"Let's worry about ourselves before that mister."
"...Right."
We needed information from the ones who'd entered before us.
"Hey. Hey, stay with me."
"Breathe out slowly."
"Cough...! S-save... me..."
The wound was too deep.
There was no way he was making it out alive.
"How did you know about this place?"
"Pr-proph..."
"Who exactly are the [Prophets]?"
"Th-those... who received... revelation..."
'Revelation?'
He's dead.
'Revelation,' huh.
What an interesting load of bullshit.
In the Ways of Survival I knew, the only one with a similar ability was Anna Croft, with [Foresight].
Then there was only one answer.
"Let's rest for a bit before we move."
The fact that they didn't come here themselves and only leaked information about this place to test us made it obvious.
'...So there were others besides me—no, besides us.'
I couldn't even guess what my brother would do if he learned this.
Whether he'd obediently follow what I said, or go off alone and smash those bastards to pieces somehow.
I was sure it'd be one of those two, but I couldn't predict how the process would unfold.
"...So what is that mister actually going to do?"
"Seriously. We don't even know where he went..."
Bzzz...
"Noona, more are coming again."
Bzzzz!
Bzzzzzzz!!
"Damn it! Get ready for batt—!"
"INSECTS! RISE UP!"
"""???"""
"I will lead us all into the future!"
"I am your 'Emperor'. It is by my hand, you will rise from the ashes of this World!"
"I am Immortan Dok!!"
"Kim Dokyun, you crazy bastard!!!"
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