With that, the freshman captain glanced at the severed limbs and corpses of the freshmen scattered across the ground, torn apart and bitten to death by the Human Mimics. A trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes. After prying the mark from the dead Human Mimic's neck, he headed in the direction the others had gone.
The freshmen exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and followed.
Little did they know that the freshman captain had only been half right. The violent, frenzied cries had indeed been calls to their companions, but they were not calls for help. They were calls to join the hunt.
The violent roars had come from the group of Human Mimics that had come to inspect the four headless corpses. Their quarry was easy to guess: Ages, who had killed the four Human Mimics.
When the group of Human Mimics let out their violent, frenzied roars, the Human Mimics scattered throughout the primeval forest beat their chests and stamped their feet. Each roared at the sky before heading toward Ages.
The roars carried on one after another like a relay, reaching Human Mimics farther away, who joined in.
Roar...!!!!
Before long, the Human Mimics' overlapping roars echoed over the entire island...
Meanwhile, Ages, the target of the Human Mimics' pursuit, was weaving back and forth through the primeval forest.
When Ages heard the overlapping roars, he wore a strange expression as he spoke.
"What's going on? Are these Human Mimics in heat or something? What the hell are they roaring for?"
The freshmen scattered elsewhere on the island heard the roars too, and were puzzled.
"What's going on with these Human Mimics? Could they have discovered we entered the island? Are they preparing to hunt us all down together?"
Little did they know that the source of it all was Ages
killing the four Human Mimics.
The reason killing just four Human Mimics had caused them to hunt Ages down was that one of the four was the offspring of the Human Mimic King.
Rumble...
Waves of vibrations and the sound of pounding feet came from the ground.
Groups of Human Mimics slowly gathered...
After a long while, all the hundred or so Human Mimics on the island had gathered together.
Leading them was the Human Mimic leader, whose build was even more muscular than the others'.
The Human Mimic leader let out a low roar at the others, then led them onward in pursuit of Ages.
Elsewhere...
Ages was holding a small knife and drawing it across his palm.
Slice.
A cut opened in Ages's palm. Blood slowly flowed from the wound, running down his hand and dripping onto the ground...
"Hmm, I hope the smell of blood will draw more Human Mimics here..."
After doing this, Ages looked up at the gentle rays of sunlight shining through the gaps in the leaves. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and a faint, mysterious smile curved his lips.
After a short wait...
Rumble!
Rumble!!
Feeling the vibrations from the ground, Ages raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself.
"Heh heh, are they here?"
As soon as he spoke, groups of muscular Human Mimics, radiating a bloodthirsty, violent aura, roared at Ages and came charging toward him.
Ages widened his eyes and parted his lips in amazement.
"Huh? So many! Don't tell me... all the Human Mimics on the island came?"
Facing the charging Human Mimics, Ages remained calm. He rubbed his chin and joked.
"Hmm? Could my blood be the legendary Tang Sanzang blood? It actually drew this many Human Mimics here."
A gleam flashed in Ages's eyes as he continued.
"Heh heh, this works out well, though. I was just wondering how many Human Mimics I could lure here with the smell of blood. Now that they've all come, I won't have to waste too much effort."
With that, Ages raised his left hand high toward the sky.
Suddenly!!
The forest, which had still been touched by slivers of sunlight, darkened as the sunlight vanished in an instant.
The sudden darkness made the charging Human Mimics stop and look up at the sky...
Ages gently pressed down with his left hand.
Creak!
Creak...
Bang! Crash...
Boom...
The towering trees swayed, their branches snapping before the trees came crashing down one after another.
As the towering trees fell, the sky hidden by their dense foliage was suddenly exposed.
The source of the darkness now revealed itself!
It turned out!
The source of the darkness was an enormous sphere made up of countless rocks.
All the Human Mimics widened their ox-like eyes, staring in disbelief and utter horror at the giant sphere of rock above them. They froze where they stood.
Farther away, the freshman captain and the freshmen who had hurried over likewise widened their eyes and stood rooted to the spot.
"Heavens!! What is that thing in the sky?!"
Seeing the Human Mimics' expressions, Ages's lips curved upward into a satisfied smile. He spoke softly.
"This is a gift I prepared especially for you. Enjoy the last moments of your lives."
Moonfall: Starburst!!
The instant Ages finished speaking, the giant sphere of rock exploded!
Boom!!!!
The tremendous blast resounded across the entire island in an instant.
Along with the thunderous explosion!
Roar!!
A succession of piercing, earth-shaking screams followed, echoing throughout the island...