Chapter 406 – Two Privileges
"Have you… gathered everything?"
It was hard to believe.
But there was no choice but to accept it.
In front of the Rune of True Feelings, no one could lie.
"Has it already sprouted?"
"Not yet, but… the preparation for germination is complete. But how do you know about the germination…?"
Akirachia's question didn’t reach Ryu Min's ears.
The fact that the germination was ready meant that the creation of a nuclear bomb was complete.
"Now, it just needs to explode, and the world will collapse…"
It was a crisis, but there was also an optimistic side.
Even though the preparation for germination was complete, it had not yet started.
"Why haven’t they begun if it’s already ready?"
"There are only three seeds prepared for germination. The party can’t start until the other seeds gather enough life energy…"
In other words, they were waiting for the other seeds to be ready.
That meant there was still an opportunity to stop it.
Sliding-
Suddenly, the curtain of darkness lifted, and Akirachia was startled.
"Guide."
"Guide… what?"
"Where the seeds are."
Ryu Min's voice was heavy, and Akirachia wasn’t foolish enough to miss the mood.
'This human. Oh, he’s extremely angry.'
If he lied or tried to deceive, he might be tormented like before.
That fear made Akirachia cooperate.
"The, the place where the seeds are, I don’t know. But I can contact them telepathically and lure them in."
"Then start immediately."
"Yes, understood."
Though curious about why he should summon the seeds and what Ryu Min was planning, Akirachia didn’t ask.
With a fearful face, Akirachia had no choice but to connect telepathically.
----------------
As a fist clenched, the sound of bones breaking echoed.
Crack!
"Ha ha! This is what I love!"
Olivan enjoyed the slaughter while breaking a human’s neck.
Though he did it to obtain life energy, most seeds didn’t get involved.
Why bother if the host was already exterminating the insects?
In that sense, Olivan was an anomaly.
"I don’t get why only the host gets all the fun. Killing humans is so enjoyable. Ha ha."
As he watched the humans scream and scatter in the distance, Olivan raised his hand.
Popopopopong-
A black liquid rose like countless soap bubbles and soon dispersed in all directions.
Sss!
Shh!
"Ahhhh!"
"Aaaaargh!"
The 35 fleeing humans couldn’t avoid the liquid and collapsed.
Their bodies mummified, having been drained of all life energy, to the point they no longer looked human.
"Heh heh heh. Do you think you can escape me? Insects?"
Laughing maniacally, Olivan soared into the sky.
"I’ve cleaned this area, so where should I go now? I came from the west, so should I head south?"
While pondering where to find more humans, a signal came to his mind.
-Can you hear me? I’m the seed Akirachia.
-If anyone can hear me, please respond.
It was an urgent voice.
Unable to ignore the signal from a fellow seed, Olivan responded.
-I’m the seed Olivan. What’s going on?
-Oh, Olivan. Where are you now?
-I’m above a country called the Philippines.
-You’re close. Can you come to Taiwan? There’s a problem.
-A problem?
-Do you know about the human who’s killing hosts?
Of course, he knew.
The leader had already sent a telepathic warning to all seeds about the declining number of hosts.
-I think I just saw that human. I need immediate support.
-Really? I’m on my way.
-Wait. I’m also nearby, so I’ll head over.
-Me too.
-I’m coming as well.
As soon as Olivan responded, other seeds chimed in.
-Thank you, everyone. I’ll send out a frequency signal, follow it.
After that final communication, Olivan decided his destination.
He needed to head north, to Taiwan.
"Heh heh, a human killing hosts. This should be fun."
Four seeds began converging on Taiwan.
------------------
Having finished the telepathy, Akirachia nervously watched the shadowy figure.
"Is that enough?"
"Well done. Now, wait quietly until your companions arrive. Once they’re all here, I’ll let you go."
Let him go.
Those sweet words gave Akirachia a moment of happiness.
"Only if you keep behaving. Understand?"
"Understood."
"Act well until the end."
With those words, Ryu Min's figure disappeared.
Akirachia continued emitting the frequency signal, waiting for the seeds to gather.
Soon after.
The first seed arrived.
"I’m Olivan. Are you Akirachia?"
"Y-yes. You got here pretty fast."
"I was eager to see the host killer, so I flew without rest. So, where’s that human?"
"Um, well…"
Olivan looked around but saw no human.
"There’s no one here. What’s going on, Akirachia?"
'Oh, damn. What excuse do I give?'
As Akirachia hesitated, another seed appeared.
"Are you Akirachia? I responded to your telepathy and came."
"I’m Olivan. This is Akirachia."
"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you. But, where’s the human?"
"Akirachia, say something. Why is there no human?"
"That, that…"
Akirachia pointed randomly with his finger.
"The killer is over there."
"Over there? Where exactly?"
"He’s far in that direction. I know where he is."
"Far? And how are we supposed to keep an eye on that host killer? What if he runs away?"
"Don’t tell me… you’re afraid of that killer?"
Unable to come up with an excuse, Akirachia nodded.
It wasn’t a lie that he was scared.
"I’m, ashamed, but… yes, I’m scared."
Laughter erupted.
"Ha ha ha! I never thought I’d see a seed afraid of a human!"
"Of course, that’s why you asked for help with that trembling voice."
The seeds understood why no humans were around.
Soon after, two more seeds arrived, making five in total.
"Is this all the help that’s coming?"
"Where’s the human? I don’t see him."
"Heh heh, listen everyone. Akirachia was so scared that he kept his distance from the host killer."
"What? Scared of a human? Ha ha ha!"
"So, that’s why he asked for help? What a coward!"
Though Akirachia was openly ridiculed by his companions, he had something more concerning.
'With all the seeds gathered, what is he planning? Could it be…?'
Unaware of his concern, the seeds continued to mock and laugh.
"Akirachia, feeling safer now?"
"Coward! What’s so scary about a mere human?"
"Now, lead us. Where’s the host killer?"
"Uh… that…"
"There’s no need to guide."
The seeds turned their heads at the voice.
"Because I’m already here."
A human with black wings was floating in the sky.
"What’s that?"
"He has wings?"
"How can a human fly…?"
Before they could react, Ryu Min dragged them into the space between dimensions.
Now they were like mice trapped in a cage.
"Get ready to die by my hands."
----------------
Akirachia trembled in fear.
The situation was resolved in an instant.
"Ugh…"
"Being defeated by a mere human…"
"At least he wasn’t an ordinary human…"
Crack!
A bolt of death sent the four seeds to the other world in an instant.
"As expected, seeds don’t die with a single strike from the Rune of Lightning."
"……"
Akirachia, seeing all the other seeds dead, was frozen.
Ryu Min dissolved the space between dimensions.
The four charred bodies fell lifelessly to the ground.
"Akirachia."
"……"
"Akirachia!"
"Y-yes?"
"What are you doing just standing there? Use telepathy and gather the seeds again."
"Ah…"
Akirachia couldn’t fulfill the command.
Now he understood what the human was going to do.
-I killed them. I called them, and that’s why my companions died…
Hearing Akirachia’s thoughts, Ryu Min sighed.
'This guy is no longer useful.'
As soon as he decided Akirachia had no more value.
Crack!
Akirachia was incinerated as well.
"Seven seeds left?"
Knowing the collapse of the world was imminent, Ryu Min shifted his target to the seeds.
It was more urgent to kill the seeds than the hosts.
'They are the key to the world’s collapse.'
Without the seeds, the collapse won’t happen.
As long as humanity isn’t wiped out, they can survive somehow.
'I must find the seeds. Especially the ones that are already ready.'
The seeds here weren’t prepared for germination.
That much was clear from reading their thoughts.
'I must find the ones that are ready.'
He didn’t know where they were, but it didn’t matter.
Eventually, they would reveal themselves.
The leader would move to stop him.
'Hurry and show yourselves.'
With those thoughts, Ryu Min disappeared stealthily.
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The seeds with the leader’s authority have two privileges.
The first is the detection ability.
They could detect not only all the seeds in the world but also the location of the hosts.
Ausold, the designated leader, was shocked when he used his detection ability.
"Five seeds disappeared almost instantly. What happened?"
Ausold had also heard Akirachia’s telepathy.
Although he didn’t go, he had been watching the situation.
But he didn’t expect all the seeds to be wiped out so suddenly.
"Could it be that human…?"
Clearly, the human killing hosts had also killed the seeds.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have vanished.
"I need a strategy. I should gather the remaining seeds to eliminate him… wait."
Ausold changed his mind.
Could the remaining seven seeds defeat someone who eliminated five in an instant?
"It’s impossible. He’ll exterminate us all."
Forget the orders to destroy the world from Lord Deorant, they might be wiped out.
Instead, it would be better to absorb all the life energy from the hosts and start germination immediately.
With the decision made, Ausold issued a telepathic order.
-To all seeds, listen. Gather the life energy from the hosts immediately. If you’re ready, start germination without delay.
An absolute order that could only be used once.
That was the second privilege of the leader.