Limited Extra Time - Chapter 65

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Murderous intent radiated from the creature in waves, as though it might charge forward at any moment, seized by an overwhelming compulsion to kill something—anything.

“Do you want to fight?”

Carina Leopold’s breath caught as Herta responded with a guttural cry from deep within her throat. Whether the creature desired to kill humans or its own kind, I couldn’t say—but the hunger was unmistakable.

‘Does the instinct remain intact?’

Or was it simply that I had sketched Herta consumed by the murderous aura of battle?

Carina Leopold drew a sharp breath. She nodded slowly.

“Set me down beneath that Tree.”

Herta leaped skyward with explosive force.

The Castle Wall beneath her feet crumbled with a deafening crash.

The Herta I had drawn was remarkably aggressive. The creature crouched low beneath the Tree’s shadow.

“You must never attack humans—never. Do you understand?”

Herta’s murky eyes rolled toward Carina Leopold once, then slowly shifted to regard the other beasts.

Herta extended her claws to their full, terrifying length—weapons she had previously hidden or kept concealed.

What she had shown Carina Leopold before seemed almost playful in comparison; these extended claws were genuinely menacing.

Herta tore forward with a violent burst of speed, her garments fluttering in her wake.

With each step Herta took, the earth trembled beneath her. Murderous intent swirled around my creation, whose overwhelming size dwarfed the other beasts.

She drove her horns into another Herta that had been pursuing the Soldiers. The creature flew backward from the impact, tumbling across the ground.

– I will kill them.

The telepathic message that pierced my mind froze Carina Leopold’s body.

It was a low, grating voice—like metal scraping against metal. Filled with nothing but malice, it made Carina turn her head involuntarily.

– Kill it. Take it.

Her vision flashed white, then plunged into suffocating darkness.

More precisely, she saw a pair of saffron eyes crouched within that darkness. Carina’s head snapped up.

She could discern where the voice was coming from.

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It was obvious.

…Herta?

It was Herta’s voice. The creature wanted something from the other Hertas.

It lunged at the one she had sent flying, raising both front claws high.

The razor-sharp talons gleamed as they plunged into the defenseless belly of the other Herta, its underbelly fully exposed.

The keen claws tore through soft flesh unprotected by the creature’s carapace.

The Hertas who had been facing off against the Soldier all turned their gaze toward the Herta that she had created, at the sound of a cry that was almost like a scream, as if breath itself were being torn away.

The creature’s talons raked through Herta’s body as if conducting lightning. With its other claw pinning down the thrashing Herta, it simply continued to—

—rend open the beast’s belly.

The massive leg of the Herta, which had been flailing helplessly in the air, fell with a heavy thud.

The creature flicked the dead Herta’s leg off its own foot with a dull sound, then lowered its gaze with chilling composure.

It buried its face into the gaping wound it had carved, chewing and swallowing what appeared to be the creature’s entrails.

….

Everyone stared in stunned silence at the grotesque spectacle and the wet, rhythmic sounds of consumption.

A massive Herta disemboweled another of its kind, devouring organs whose exact nature I couldn’t discern.

-No. I need something else.

The creature, its snout wrinkling as if searching for something, chewed through the entrails before hurling the corpse of the dead Herta away with its horn. Blood sprayed through the air.

-If I don’t find it, I die.

The voice that continued to echo in my ears sounded dangerously unhinged, as though consumed by madness.

Carina Leopold held her breath, her gaze fixed on the creature as it walked toward the darkness.

…Die?

Could a life drawn into existence truly possess such thoughts?

As Carina Leopold blinked blankly, the creature lunged toward another Herta.

A tremendous roar echoed from the darkness, and my spine bristled. It was a genuine howl, dripping with malice. The Soldiers froze. Carina Leopold froze as well.

At the sound that reached her ears, Carina Leopold turned her head.

Captain Goreden appeared to have succeeded in wounding one of the Hertas. Carina Leopold swallowed hard and shifted her gaze back to the creature.

While everyone remained paralyzed by that eerie sensation, only Goreden and the Herta that Carina Leopold had drawn moved. The creature charged toward another Herta.

Frozen by a roar from somewhere, the Herta that couldn’t move hastily retreated, lowering its head submissively.

One Herta blocked the creature’s charge.

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Two horns ground against each other with a harsh crackle as they began their contest of strength. But it was brief.

A crack formed, and a sharp sound rang out.

The horn of the attacked Herta shattered.

Without missing the opportunity, the creature lifted the Herta with its horn and flipped it over.

I leaped directly toward the creature that had been sent flying, extending my claws to rake across its belly.

The beast stared at Herta, who lay dead without even a whimper, then drove its face into the corpse’s exposed abdomen and tore through the innards once more.

– Found it.

A voice tinged with exhilaration echoed through the air as the creature swallowed something whole.

Just before its maw could tear wider, something glimmered in the moonlight between its razor-sharp teeth as it chewed and gulped.

Herta’s saffron eyes shifted, searching for another morsel. Its gaze

moved gradually before fixing upon something concealed within the darkness.

Boom, boom, boom—!

The earth trembled. From the shadows emerged a colossal Herta, easily twice the size of the others.

Bathed in moonlight, the massive creature’s carapace, horned snout, and legs bore the deep scars of countless battles.

And the presence it radiated felt far more sinister than

anything the other Hertas had emanated.

Pure malice and killing intent enveloped it. The creature was furious—likely because of the Herta she had created.

Grrrrr, graaaagh—!

The colossal Herta released a low, rumbling cry.

It sounded almost like speech. Everyone held their breath. Even the other Hertas seemed cowed by its presence, their aggression noticeably diminished.

– I have a master elsewhere.

– Your creation—I will consume it.

They were communicating of some sort, though the problem was that she could not comprehend a single word of what the other creature said.

The two Hertas facing each other crouched low and charged directly at one another.

Two horns collided with a deafening crash, spawning a colossal sand storm.

The earth trembled, and the ground shook beneath us.

The raging torrent of sand sent Carina Leopold’s distant figure staggering violently.

She clung to the Tree, her wavering gaze straining to pierce through the veil of swirling dust toward the heart of the tempest.

Beyond that point lay absolute chaos. The terrified Herta creatures retreated, and the Soldiers could advance no closer against the relentless onslaught of the storm.

couldn’t.

The two horns continued their thunderous collision.

Unlike the horns of other Herta that shattered with ease, the massive creature’s horns showed no sign of breaking whatsoever.

was.

If anything, my Herta appeared to be losing ground.

The colossal Herta roared sharply once more.

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A Herta’s anguished cry echoed from somewhere, drawing all eyes back. Goreden had slain another Herta that had let its guard down.

Boom—!

The massive Herta stamped its foot with furious intensity. It appeared to be the commander among the Herta. The creature took a step backward.

Herta appeared to be the leader among them. The creature took a step back.

Kwaaaaagh—!

The Herta roared. At its cry, the other Herta creatures instantly retreated.

Stepped back.

The commander fixed my Herta with a murderous glare for a long moment, then finally turned and followed as the other Herta withdrew.

– There is no escape.

The creature rumbled low.

Carina Leopold, watching Herta crouch lower once more, finally steeled herself and quickened her pace toward the beast.

She drew in a deep breath.

“Herta, stop!”

The moment I shouted with all my strength, the creature that had been about to charge after the fleeing group came to an abrupt halt. Displeasure flickered across its gaze toward me, but fortunately,

it did not pursue them further.

A chill ran down my spine.

I spun around in alarm, sensing a piercing stare from somewhere in the darkness.

In the distance, murky yellow eyes gleamed from the shadows. My deep blue eyes met the massive Herta’s wild, sallow gaze across the empty air.

Our eyes locked in the void.

As I held my breath, the creature slowly turned and withdrew into the distance.

A low growl rumbled forth.

Herta whimpered softly and lowered itself. With the creature’s gaze now inches from my face, I carefully reached out and gently stroked the space between its eyes with my palm.

“…Herta! What on earth have you eaten?”

I scolded in a startled voice, and Herta averted its gaze, slowly rolling its eyes.

Then, as if remembering something, it suddenly sprang to its feet. Moving with surprising grace for its massive frame, Herta strode purposefully toward where Goreden stood.

Goreden, who had been adjusting his appearance with his greatsword planted in the ground, tilted his head slightly and turned his gaze toward Herta as it approached me directly.

Everyone else stood tense, gripping their blades, but Goreden alone remained

unmoved.

It was not.

Goreden glanced at the greatsword, then fixed his gaze steadily upon Herta. The man I had expected to draw his blade at any moment stood firm and unwavering.

Herta thundered forward with terrifying momentum, sweeping past Goreden without pause.

Herta approached the two creatures that Goreden had felled. Just as before, he tore open their bellies and rummaged through their entrails, then plunged his head down and devoured something else with

ravenous, crunching bites.

Goreden watched the scene in silence.

“…Haron?”

He murmured the name low. Carina Leopold, who had followed out of concern for Herta, heard

his quiet utterance and furrowed her brow.

“Haron?”

At the sound of Carina Leopold’s voice, Goreden reflexively turned his body. Deep creases etched themselves across his brow.

“I warned you it was dangerous… Your

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eyes have changed color.”

“My eyes?”

Carina Leopold pressed the back of her hand against her eyes repeatedly. What did it mean that her eyes had changed color? Had they turned golden?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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