Fiskes deflected the intruder's attack to the side and dodged to the other side. Screamer's hand, with hook-shaped blades attached like fingers, was stuck on the wall behind her.
After dodging the first attack, she activated the nano Spartan module mounted on her body. The body resembling a human woman instantly turned dark blue.
The feature of this module is nanomachines, which dramatically improve the physical abilities of cyborgs or androids. Fiskes struck Screamer's hand from the wall with his reinforced fist.
"!"
There was a powerful roar that tore through the air. The fist she swung was damaged, and the enemy's claws were greatly bent.
It was an unexpected result. Contrary to intention, the hooked nail did not break, and in fact, the side that hit it suffered more damage.
The attacked Screamer pulled back its curved claws and turned around sharply. The tail on its tail took advantage of the recoil and flew towards her.
Instead of dodging, Fiskes activated the shield module implanted in his chest. A purple shield appeared in front and absorbed the energy contained in the tail.
While protecting with the shield, the left arm split and the plasma rifle hidden inside popped out.
I tried to counterattack with that, but it was too late. This is because the Screamer attacked by spouting white flames with an arm equipped with a cylindrical pillar.
Its firepower and heat are estimated to be at least plasma level. There are limits to protection with a shield. Fisces jumped to the ceiling to avoid the fire.
The luxurious carpet on the floor quickly turned to ashes, and the metal walls and floor melted. The entire room instantly became a sea of fire.
Fiskes thought. Continuing to fight like this is not a good choice.
The Supreme Commissioner's body is so strong that it is difficult to compare it to an ordinary android. However, this is only for survival and not for combat.
Just then, the Screamer stopped spitting fire. Steam spews out from a pipe rising above the spider-like body. This is to cool down the rapidly rising heat.
Now is your chance to get out. There is a monster walker available in the ship's armory. You have to go there.
She crawled toward the collapsed wall, holding herself upside down from the ceiling.
"Where are you going?"
Just as I was leaving the room, a projectile made of psychic power cut through my back. Fortunately, no major damage was sustained thanks to the Nano Spartan module.
She ran down the hallway outside the room while the nanomachines from the module repaired the damaged area.
"You can't run away."
A sharp cracking sound is heard from behind as metal collides. The Screamer chases after you, flexing its eight legs.
There are many pirates on this huge ship. They'll show up soon to catch him.
At that time, the sound of multiple footsteps was detected at the end of the hallway ahead. They were definitely the ones who came to catch Screamer.
However, their behavior as they appeared from the front was different from what she expected. The armored suit he was wearing was covered in blood, and a look of fear was evident on his face.
"Hurry! "We have to run away before that guy comes…kwaa!"
While the pirate in the lead was speaking, his body was crushed like scrap metal in a compressor. Soon others met the same end. Only red blood remained where the armed pirates had been.
The situation was so bizarre that even the Supreme Council could not understand it, but one thing was certain.
There are people other than Screamer who have invaded this ship.
Fiskes immediately changed his destination. Instead of going to the weapons depot, go to the hangar where the aircraft are stored.
Since the enemy is stronger than expected, using walkers is pointless. It would be much more reasonable to escape and hide on another nearby planet.
She fell into a detour in the middle of the hallway and put strength on her strengthened legs. However, I fell before I could take a few steps.
"This?"
She looked down at her twisted legs. Even though the nanomachines were still operating, the broken bridge was not repaired. It was due to unidentified amber particles floating around the lower body.
"Didn't I tell you there was no escape?"
Screamer crawled towards her as she fell. It ripped off the left arm equipped with a plasma rifle with its curved claws.
"Did you catch it?" "Yes."
A second intruder is visible behind the screamer.
The identity of the opponent was a female Wolff with the head of a bird. However, unlike regular Wolff, it had wings made of amber particles on its back.
The situation is not good. The particles block the effects of the Nano Spartan module, so you can't escape.
So she changed her plan.
"Tool of the dangerous creature 'Aimorph'. "Fiskes Twelve requests negotiations." "You mean negotiations?" "It is presumed that you have come to obtain key parts for 'Prometheus V2'. "Is it true?" "That's right." "If you remove me, you won't be able to use the machine even if you find the parts."
Screamer, who was flicking his claws menacingly, stopped moving when he heard those words.
"What does that mean?" "For Prometheus V2 to work, an active top committee member is needed. "Without me, that weapon is useless."
This is one of the reasons why Prometheus V2 cannot be mass-produced and operated.
Because so many more functions were added than the previous model, it was impossible to control it with a regular ship computer. It could have been managed successfully only if the top committee member had the brain power.
The opponent is a screamer whose performance is so good that he is waging an information war against the Supreme Commissioner. He probably doesn't know that it would be beneficial to accept her offer.
But the answer that came back was again beyond her expectations.
"I know." "You know?"
"We confirmed through simulation that high-performance computers are needed to operate weapons stably. "The identity of the part missing from the warehouse is Prometheus V2's operating system: you." "…." "If we subdue you and check your memory, we can find out how to control it. "There is no need to negotiate."
Negotiations broke down.
Now there was only one path left for Fiskes.
"Initiation of incineration protocol. 10, 9…." "Huh? "Is this really possible?"
In the past, after Pyrrha Eleven was destroyed, all Supreme Council members had self-destruct devices implanted in their bodies. This was to prevent information leakage due to unexpected circumstances.
"It's a self-destruct timer!"
As the countdown began, the data in my head was quickly deleted. Thinking ability also rapidly deteriorated.
The last thing Fiskes saw before his brain shut down was a bundle of cables creeping up on him.
–
"2, 1…Stop incineration protocol, medium, zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuungdaaaan." ｢…Phew.｣
The Mother of Heaven breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the supreme council member come to a precarious halt.
'The operation almost went awry.'
The reason they came here was to bring back the key parts of Prometheus V2, the Supreme Council.
Originally, PS-111 was supposed to infiltrate the ship alone. She was planning to go to various bases on the planet with Aimorph and fight the Rankers.
That changed because of a question that PS-111 suddenly raised.
The question is whether the general public can easily assemble and disassemble Prometheus V2, which has a complex structure.
That super weapon is a delicate item that could be damaged or explode if you make a mistake while assembling it. No matter how much it was done to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy, it was not easy to reassemble it every time it was needed.
PS-111 guessed that Prometheus V2 was being managed by the Supreme Council or at least someone equivalent to him.
It was definitely a reasonable hypothesis, so Aimoff and she changed their plan at the last minute.
If there is a high-ranking android on the ship, it may be difficult to subdue PS-111 alone, so she goes along.
And their judgment was correct.
"I didn't know that the Supreme Council member would attempt suicide."
This is the first time since I saw the Mutant Screamer self-destruct in the old home of Aadhai. Even though it was 20 seconds that time, this time the countdown was only 10 seconds.
If PS-111 hadn't acted quickly, it could have been a disaster. She thanked PS-111 for attaching his cable to the back of the Supreme Commissioner's neck.
"Thanks to you, I survived. thank you." "…."
Instead of answering, PS-111 rolls its red camera eyes back and forth.
If it were any other time, he would have shown off with a confident attitude, but it was unexpected. The guy now looked like he was feeling anxious.
"What's wrong?" "Due to the incineration protocol, 90% of the Supreme Council member's memory data was lost. The control method for Prometheus V2 has also been deleted." "what?"
The Mother of Heaven was startled by the sudden lightning strike.
"Can't it be restored? "For example, using this ship's facilities." "It is impossible because it has been completely erased. "Even if I could revive some of it, it wouldn't be of much help because my memories would be incomplete."
PS-111 also seemed to be disappointed that this had happened and began stabbing the Supreme Council member with its claws.
"I came here to get a super weapon, but it ended up being a shame." "That's right." "Still, the variable of the supreme council member was removed… huh? "What are you doing now?" "So I'm changing my plans."
At first, I thought he was venting his anger, but when I looked closer, it wasn't. PS-111 was in the process of disintegrating the Supreme Council member's body.
"I will implant Fisces parts into my body and control Prometheus V2." "what? "Is that possible?" "Yes. The memory storage device is destroyed, but some of the data processing units remain. If I connect my brain here, I can use it."
Heavenly Mother is not an engineer. However, I could tell that the method presented by PS-111 was not easy.
"…What if I fail? You said that last time. "If you touch it incorrectly, the weapon will run wild and explode." "It's not that there is no possibility of that happening." "You know that, but you still try?" "If you succeed, you can become an even better person than you are now."
PS-111 nodded and continued speaking as he continued his disassembly work.
"My goal was to discover who I am. To achieve this, I must protect the part of me that knows about 'Penelope.'" "So you need to become stronger? To protect us?" "Yes. "I believe that any middle child will understand my judgment." ｢….｣
The Mother of Heaven looked into the other person's red eyes with her amber eyes.
It is an eye made up of a camera lens. It was normal to not be able to read any emotions, but somehow she felt different. It is said that the red eyes contain the emotion of 'confidence'.
"When you say that, it seems like you are confident that you won't fail. What can I do to help you?" "I want you to prepare to go down to the planet as soon as I complete the transplant." "okay."
With that, the Mother of Heaven left to take over the bridge.
"It will not fail."
PS-111, who was left alone, looked at Fiskes' computing device that had just been taken out and made another promise.
-x-X-x-
Knock
A drop of water formed on the carapace of my head.
I lifted my head and looked up. There were so many dark clouds that it seemed as if they were going to spit out water at any moment.
'You must have infiltrated the ship by now, right?'
Beyond the thick clouds, outside the planet, are Mother Sky and PS-111. The purpose is to infiltrate the Zax Beta-class ship supporting the Ranker in orbit.
The commander currently running the pirate fleet is likely to be a high-ranking android. If you are a member of the Supreme Council, you may be able to eavesdrop on our communications. So we decided not to contact each other until the operation was successful.
'It's been a long time since we've had an operation where everyone responds on their own.'
I feel strange, perhaps because I haven't felt like this in a while.
'The two of you will do well.'
I took my eyes off the sky and looked down at the ground.
Underneath the long, outstretched fighting arms, colorful waves crash. It is a wave made up of homeless people, pirates, soldiers, engineers, and other humans.
Their identities are Hiveformers. This is Aimorph's army created using those from AG-01.
'It's more like a horde of zombies than an army.'
Seeing countless crowds moving at exactly the same speed reminded me of zombies from horror movies.
Of course, they are not living corpses. That's because the inside of that leather is full of black worms instead of flesh and blood.
A huge number of body snatchers advance to subdue their target. There were eight monster walkers in front of where they were heading.
All of the hiveformers here were based on humans. You cannot pierce the heavy armor of a walker with your bare hands.
'But it's a different story when the number becomes hundreds of thousands.'
It is on a different level from the hundreds of birds patted in the harbor.
No matter how excellent a walker's defense is, it is difficult to survive being crushed by waves of hiveformers. Once you are crushed by the military, you cannot move due to the weight and have no choice but to wait for death.
The enemies also seemed to know this, mobilizing all their weapons to push back the approaching army.
The walkers at the front adjusted the firepower of the plasma cutter to create a pseudo-flame thrower and burned the hiveformer. Those in the rear fired a barrage of shells from the multiple gun batteries mounted on their backs.
Every time the air vibrates due to heavy drinking, a hole opens up between the group. However, that was only for a short time, and another Hiveformer quickly filled the empty space. Unless you use orbital bombardment, it won't be easy to push it out.
On the other hand, this side was also unable to reach Walker, but there was nothing to worry about. I lowered myself and put my head close to the ground.
'Where should I take it out then?'
This place where we stand is no ordinary land. The moment the auxiliary organ under my chin touched the floor, my consciousness became connected to the wide, shallow nest. In that state, I took out the card I had prepared in advance.
At a point not far from where the walkers were, a nest disguised as land lifted its mimicry. A large pit formed, and the monsters hiding beneath it rose up. The identity of the monster, which is several times larger than a human, is Megacorp's biological weapon, the Hulk Mutant.
'To be exact, they are worms wearing the skin of a Hulk mutant.'
The hiveformer, the gardener of the nest, makes the body of an alien creature its home. Any object that has a body they can gnaw on can be used as a hiding place.
'I came to the Hulk Mutant Testing Site, so I'd be disappointed if I didn't use it.'
In addition to genetic samples, many unfinished or discarded Hulk mutant test subjects remained in AG-01's research complex. They are like by-products created while making weapons, so even if I eat them, they have no value beyond nutrients.
So this time I decided to give it up to my little friends.
'Now, go.'
Hulk mutants with their bodies filled with black earthworms advance.
Although it is noticeably slower than the original, its strong defense is still intact. Even when hit by a flying cannonball, it only flinched slightly but did not stop walking.
Belatedly, the walkers also tried to replace the shells with stronger firepower, but the Hulk mutants reached them first.
Some swung their arms with large swords, while others struck with their protruding heads like battering rams. Monster Walker's armor is not damaged by such things, but it is not at a level that can be ignored either.
The walkers, who were spewing flames at the front, had no choice but to start dealing with the Hulk mutant, who was left with nothing but a shell.
Monster Walker is almost 10 meters tall, which makes him three times taller than the Hulk Mutant. The same goes for the power contained within it. Walker crushed his enemies by swinging his fist, which was bigger than a child, like a mace.
However, my army did not retreat at all. Because the Hiveformer has no pain or fear.
While the allies were biding their time, the humanoid hiveformers narrowed the distance between them and the walkers. The walkers also seemed to know that if they were surrounded, it would be the end, so they tried to keep the enemies away.
And between them, I see a guy with dual swords equipped on both arms.
A bipedal weapon that roams the battlefield with dual swords attached to both arms, like a robot character from a Japanese science fiction animation.
That guy is ranked 25th.
'Then let me move too.'
I disconnected from the nest and spread my wing arms wide. As I bent and straightened the fighting arms that supported my body, my body bounced upward.
Below my feet as I hover, I see walkers fighting with their backs to each other. One of them found me.
The guy moved to avoid it, but it was already too late. I pounced on the metal giant and knocked it down.
And with its three heads, it bit down hard on the area where the cockpit was located. A short sigh leaked out between the crumpled alloy plates.
'Just one thing for now.'
Now there are seven left, including the ranker. I rotated my body sharply in that state.
The forked tail moved in a certain direction and swept the floor. A walker standing in its path was hit by a pincer attached to the end of its tail. The man who had lost both legs fell helplessly to the floor.
'two.'
Then, the tentacles that had been sleeping on its back came out all at once.
The place the tentacles are targeting is the walker's cockpit.
Three of the tentacles succeeded in piercing the bodies of nearby walkers. The tip of the pointed appendage was covered in liquid that I couldn't tell if it was blood or fuel.
'This makes five.'
However, the three at the front failed to destroy it. This is because 25th place cut off the tentacles flying towards them.
｢Pain reduction activated!｣ 'Tsk, as expected.'
The twin swords he uses, like the 'Priest's Golden Spear', are the only level equipment that can be obtained in specific locations.
The name is 'Sacred Fang'.
It is extremely durable and has the characteristic of being nearly impossible to destroy. It is strong enough to withstand being hit by Red Gallagon's 'Star Flame'.
However, the blade is not dull. As it is now, it is sharp enough to cut through erosion tentacles without difficulty.
Other tentacles move to grab the enemy wielding the Yuil-class equipment. The twin-sworded walker avoided the attack with agile movements using the thrusters attached to the sides of its legs. Not only that, he used the momentum generated while dodging with both arms to cut down the approaching tentacles.
Attacking the tentacles any further than this is pointless. I retrieved the tentacle with my back armor and prepared to charge.
But this time it was faster.
The walkers whose lives were saved thanks to the ranker aim the multiple gun batteries mounted on their backs at me. The gun gate opened and hundreds of small bullets were fired. This is a tethering bullet used to capture wild beasts.
｢Grrr!｣
The left head opens its mouth toward the bullets filling the sky. A green fountain that melted everything gushed from inside my throat. The confinement bomb hit by the acid breath could not function and was oxidized.
Most of them disappeared after being hit by the breath, but not all of them. Bullets that you were lucky enough to avoid explode above your head. A crystal that looked similar to pumpkin taffy was entangled in the left side of my head.
25th place and two walkers took advantage of that opportunity to increase the distance between me and me.
But there was something they overlooked. What things are under their feet.
The fight with the walkers wasn't long at all, but it was long enough for the hiveformers to come.
Hulk mutants attacked them from behind. Ranker narrowly escaped, but Walker, who had multiple gun batteries on his back, was unable to dodge and fell.
And humanoid hiveformers piled on top of the fallen walker. Walker tried to resist by waving his arms, but it was futile. The huge army swallowed him up in an instant.
Rank 25, who had escaped the hiveformer's attack, had already run far away. By focusing energy on the leg thrusters for an instant, he jumped over a group of hiveformers.
'It seems like you were in quite a hurry.'
If operated in that manner, the walker's engine will overheat and soon stop.
I tried to chase after him, but the remaining walker blocked me. In its hand was a large serrated sword that could have been several meters long.
The vibrating knife, making an evil sound, explodes on my head. When the saw blade and the carapace collided, sparks flew out.
But there wasn't the result he was expecting. The alloy blade, which seemed like it could sharpen anything, quickly became dull, leaving only a few scratches on my head.
'What a bother.'
He bit both sides of the walker with his center and right head and pulled in the opposite direction with all his might. The enemy could not hold out for long and was split in two.
'Anyway, this makes seven.'
I spat out the fragments of the walker that had become scrap metal.
All walkers assisting the ranker were eliminated.
Now there is only one food left.
–
"Chikushiyo! (Shit!) Chikushiyo! (Shit!)"
Shinobu cursed and hit the control stick harshly.
Now he was hiding in a small city located close to the port. This is to cool down the overheated Monster Walker engine.
"When the hell are you moving!"
The reading on the dashboard says I need to wait a few more minutes for cooling to complete.
If it were any other time, it would be such a short period of time that I wouldn't even care. However, it was a very long time in this situation where I was being chased by Eimov.
'And Fiskes you son of a bitch! When is the promised time and they still haven't bombed?!'
It was decided to attract Amov's attention with an orbital bombardment, but there has been no news yet. While running away, I sent a message asking what was going on, but what came back was silence.
'Did it really happen?'
Perhaps, while he was fighting on the ground, Aimov's pets attacked the Fisketh Twelve.
I don't know how they fooled the Supreme Commissioner who specialized in detection, but the opponent was the infamous Moffak. It was clear that this was another dirty trick.
"…Whew. Let's calm down."
Shinobu sighed and forced her anger to calm down.
If there is a problem with Fisces, it is impossible to receive support from ships in orbit.
Now there is only one thing I can rely on. A perk I received when crossing over to another world.
It is a difficult perk to use, but if you use it well, you can escape this threat.
He looked at his cold sweaty palms.
'It's almost time to come, but why is there no signal yet?'
The ampoule consumed during battle is a preparation stage for using the perk. The special has already been activated, but the 'presence' he was expecting has not arrived.
'The others came right away, so why aren't they coming? 'Damn it!'
At that time, a sign appeared on the instrument panel indicating that cooling was complete. It was fortunate that nothing was going as planned.
He moved again, dragging his walker.
'First, hide your body to save time…hundreds of millions?!'
The moment I went out of the building I was hiding in, the cockpit shook violently. Sparks flew all over the cockpit, and damage reports written in red were printed on the instrument panel.
'Oh, before you know it?!'
Soon, the ceiling above my head was torn apart, accompanied by a loud sound of metal plates being torn apart.
At that moment, Shinobu faced him directly for the first time.
A ghost clearly visible even in the dark. The eerie being spoke quietly.
It's 'eight'.
-x-X-x-
Inside a building in a small town near the port. A half-destroyed walker lies in front of me.
As expected, it didn't go far. While hiding to cool down the overheated engine, I caught him.
'If you run away, that's where you'll end up.'
I stretched out my small arm to my chest to pull out Number 25, who was hiding in the cockpit.
At that time, the number 25 inside came out quickly. It landed on the floor after cutting my finger with a sharp object.
"Are you going to die like this?"
A growling guy with a deep, rough voice, his appearance was very different from an ordinary human being.
The muscles of his entire body were bulging in a deformed manner, and instead of a hand, there was a bone knife reminiscent of a Japanese sword hanging under his right forearm.
'Gene modification surgery?'
However, he did not look completely human like Akira Eugene. Just looking at his appearance, he appears to have undergone general genetic modification surgery rather than a special one.
'Is this the final struggle? I thought he would run away, but this was surprising.'
Of course, you can't defeat me with that much power.
I hit the floor with my two wing arms.
The floor cracks and fragments fly. I can see him moving through it. He uses the flying debris as stairs to narrow the distance between him and me.
I predicted its movement with my auxiliary organs and extended my wing arms in the direction it would come. It jumped with all its might, jumped onto the wing, and ran over the slightly folded skin.
The left head, seeing that, stretched out its neck to bite its prey. The 25th person narrowly avoided it by bending his waist to the side while running.
And as soon as it dodged the attack, it jumped onto the center's head.
'Are you trying to target auxiliary institutions?'
These thin tentacles under the chin are the only weak spots on Aimorph's body. I quickly stored it inside the carapace of my jaw to avoid being cut by the bone knife.
However, the point of the knife was pointed at a different area. As soon as it landed on its snout, it stabbed me in the eye.
For Eimov, the eyes are not a very important organ. This is because there is an auxiliary organ that perceives vision, hearing, smell, etc. In fact, when using symbols of hunting, the visual organs sometimes disappear.
However, unlike my body, my mind is human. I can't feel good when a sharp knife stabbed me in the eye.
[Zuzu (Stop!)] "Kuok?!"
In a moment of frustration, I struck the enemy hard with my winged arm. The impact caused the knife stuck in his eye to break, and the guy went flying and fell to the ground.
'Tsk, that's annoying.'
With my small arm near my chest, I pulled out a piece of the bone knife stuck in the surface of my eyeball.
'huh?'
A strange smell comes from the broken blade. There are ingredients other than my blood mixed in.
'Does this smell feel familiar?' "Cluck, clack, keukkeuk…cough!"
Then suddenly I heard laughter. Number 25, covered in blood, was laughing at me.
"it's okay! "You finally caught it!" "What do you mean?" "That knife contains microorganisms harvested from the Gorgon Swarm! "Of course you know what that means, right?"
It's a Gorgon Swarm. It's a name I haven't heard in a long time.
"okay. "By mutating the organism's genes, we turn it into a quartz lump." "Tsk, those microorganisms were injected into an area close to the brain, so you are now dead."
It's not wrong.
The reason why the silicon-based creature Gorgon Swarm is ranked among the top in Apex is because of this ability. Since it changes from the genetic level, it cannot be restored to normal regenerative characteristics, and resistance is impossible even with resistance-related characteristics.
That's how dangerous microorganisms entered the area close to the brain. It is understandable that he is confident of victory.
But there is one thing he doesn't know.
"No matter how much you struggle, your eyes have already turned into minerals…"
The noisy voices gradually become quieter. The dirty face looks embarrassed instead of confident.
It's a shame for him, but Gorgon Swarm's microbes don't work on me.
'Because I ate it a while ago and specialized it.'
What was obtained in this way is the 'Medusa organ'. The Gorgon Swarm's microorganisms have long since taken root in me. The injured eye quickly returned to its original state.
"くそ! (Shit!)"
The guy who saw that ran out of the building in a hurry.
'Where are you going?'
It flew its erosion tentacles towards the running target. The tentacle struck the enemy's leg exactly like a coiled snake snatching its prey.
"evil!"
25th place, screaming and rolling around. I leisurely walked over and ripped off his two broken legs.
"Kwaaaak!"
Since its body has been strengthened through genetic modification, it does not die even if its limbs fall off. Even if it seems dangerous, just plant symbiotic spores.
"Well, I will definitely kill you! "Tear it to shreds… evil!"
It's quite noisy to scream. He stuffed the severed leg into his mouth and removed his left arm as well. Only then did he keep his mouth shut.
'Then should we plant parasites first?'
The parasite, having received orders, poked its head out from a small hole in the fighting arm. A black eel-like creature climbed down onto my hand and headed toward its new home.
'After infecting them, pick them up…'
The moment I thought I had to go to the ship in orbit, the surroundings suddenly became brighter. Not just where I was, but the whole place was shining brightly.
'Is this really possible?'
I quickly lifted my head and looked at the sky.
The dark clouds that had filled the sky just a moment ago disappeared everywhere. There was a small star floating in the smooth sky that looked like it had been laid out on blue silk.
I know what that being is.
It is the highest Apex creature on par with Red Gallagon and Vortex One, and is a higher species of Skywhale, a space whale swimming around the galaxy.
'Arcane Orca?' "I'm here! "It's here!"
The 25th place, who was lying down in a state of Ottogi, shouts out in joy. As if I was expecting his appearance.
"Did you call me?" "Kkkkk, yeah. I called. "You fucking bastard."
It seems that 25th place attracted Arcane Orca.
'The power of perks…oh!'
At that time, the star blinked once. As soon as I saw it, I quickly threw number 25 into my mouth. Within a few seconds, a sphere of light fell on me.
｢Pain reduction activated!｣ "Kwaaaaaaaa! "It's hot!"
A large amount of energy burns the body. Small tentacles growing here and there were burning, and the carapace and scales underneath were turning bright red. A painful scream from 25th place was heard from inside the mouth.
The heat of energy didn't stop at burning me. The nearby building and the nest on the ground also melted like heated ice cream.
The flame that seemed to engulf everything quickly died down. I woke up in a thick cloud of smoke.
Although his entire body was burned, the injuries were not fatal. The crushed carapace and melted tentacles had already recovered so quickly that they were visible.
After checking the condition of his body, he spit out the ranker he had kept in his mouth.
"Ugh, くそ….(Damn….)"
He also didn't die thanks to my protection. The regenerative power gained through genetic modification was also extending his life.
'What happened?'
Given the circumstances, the person who attracted Arcane Orca is ranked 25th. But looking at the situation, it seems like he can't control that monster. If I hadn't saved him, he would have been reduced to ashes.
'Besides, Arcane Orca is a preemptive strike?'
Skywhale creatures are not aggressive except when eating or defending their territory. It is rare to first attack an opponent you have not even met directly.
'Shall I ask?'
I immediately injected him with parasites. The completely incapacitated 25th place accepted the parasite without even a single resistance.
"Explain your perks right away." "My special privilege is to disguise myself as the nemesis of a certain creature and cause it to go berserk. Ugh, that guy came here because I thought he had a nemesis, ugh…." "Go berserk? Does that mean you can't control it?" "Yeah, that's right, everything." "You said you couldn't defeat Arcane Orca in your current state, so you called me?" "The original plan was to use my body as an attractant, you, ugh! The plan was to hand it over to Amov and hide. Then, you will go after Amorph first instead of me…"
From what I've heard, its perk seems to be the ability to lure a specific creature to a desired location. The trick is to inject a substance into the body that the creature to be induced dislikes, summon it, and force it to fight unconditionally.
Simply put, it becomes live bait.
'So you attacked me too?'
Because I had eaten the leg of 25th place earlier, I also became a target. This may be the reason why a non-belligerent person dared to keep a check on him.
'…If this has come to this, let's catch it here.'
Although it arrived much earlier than expected, it was not without its drawbacks.
As long as he's under the influence of the special, he'll keep targeting me. It will be much easier to lure them to the place I want. There will be no need to fight or run away.
If you want to leave and save Aadhai, you must catch Arcane Orca. The sooner you hunt, the better.
'good.'
I threw the ranker into the mouth of the left head.
This guy has a lot of uses. If you leave it somewhere else, it will be killed by Arcane Orca, so it is better to protect it myself.
Then he gave strength to his legs and jumped. As I spread my wings wide, my body rose high in the air.
At that time, the sphere flew out again and hit me. The body that had just recovered burned again.
All of Arcane Orca's attacks in the game were impossible to avoid. This is because it is like a superluminal guided missile and will hit its target unconditionally.
It's still the same now. Even with Eimoff's extra senses, I feel like I can't avoid that.
'So I have no choice but to fill it with my body.'
I have many qualities that can protect and restore my body. That kind of check can't kill me or stop me.
"Kwaaaaaak!" 'Noisy.' "Ahh…sigh!"
After quieting the noisy passengers, I accelerated while facing enemy attacks.
When the sky no longer looked blue, the target came into view. It was on the border between blue and black.
Arcane Orca, a being surrounded by a light so strong that it reminds me of the sun, awaits me.
-x-X-x-
Among rankers, Arcane Orca is considered the highest level among Apex, along with Red Gallagon and Vortex One.
However, it has something different from other monsters in its class. The point is that the skills you have are limited.
'There are only three.'
Unlike Vortex One, which has special abilities that transcend the laws of physics, and Red Gallagon, which has a variety of combat skills, Arcane Orca has a significantly smaller number of skills that can be used. Even looking at all Apex creatures, it is rare to find such a small number.
It might seem like it would be easy to attack since you don't have much skill, but that's definitely not the case. This is because all three technologies are powerful and have high synergy between them.
The first skill is energy manipulation and control.
The white sphere of light that I encountered on my way here, and the thing emitting energy as strong as the sun in the distance, all originate from this ability.
By default, Arcane Orca relies on energy generated from nuclear fusion in stars. As we have to deal with enormous amounts of energy, our ability to detect and control energy has no choice but to increase. It is thanks to this ability that all of its attacks become guided missiles.
The second technology is energy absorption.
The Arcane Orca's body consists of a main body that can be considered a real body and a pseudo-skin that protects it. Skin is the result of a mixture of energy and an unidentified substance, and its role is to absorb energy transmitted from the outside.
The problem is that there is no limit to the type of energy that can be absorbed. It absorbs not only psychic power, but also powerful energy attacks such as the Imperial Carrier's Cosmic Bolt and Gigacracker's Ion Cannon.
'The reason I left No. 26 behind is because of this.'
For No. 26, who fights by manipulating psychic power, Arcane Orca is the perfect counter. This is because his attack itself does not work at all.
And the last and third technology is 'quantum transfer'.
Arcane Orca, who has mastered energy manipulation, can disassemble her body into particles and then reassemble them at any desired point. It can be seen as a similar effect to the cult's quest reward equipment, 'Facilitator'.
'Unlike the coordinator, there is no limit to the number of times, so it is virtually upward compatible.'
As long as the absorbed energy is sufficient, quantum movement can be used infinitely. The only downside is that it is temporarily disabled during the reassembly process.
'…Even when I think about it again, these are crazy specs.'
Superior in all aspects of attack, defense, and evasion. It is not called the top of the food chain for nothing.
'It took me a really long time to successfully hunt for the first time.'
Of course, thanks to that hard work, I was able to definitely learn how to win.
I approached the brilliant light.
That white light that looks like a pseudo-sun is the residue left behind when Arcane Orca digests energy. Its real body is deep inside.
Of course, even if it is a residue, it is a lump of energy. It is safe to say that the entire area where light resides is under its control.
Because of their low-aggressive nature, they spread their energy widely and use it as a means of keeping them in check.
'We have to break through that first and get inside.'
Then, it realizes that the opponent is a strong enemy and absorbs all the energy laid down. Only when all the white light disappears does the real fight begin.
As I was approaching to destroy the field of energy like I did in the game, the light suddenly wavered. The widely spread light began to condense at high speed.
'huh?'
It's an unexpected situation. I stopped flying and monitored the situation.
After a while, only the strange being that swallowed up the darkness and light of the universe remained.
The length is about 40m. The golden whale-shaped skeleton is covered with transparent skin with a soft light blue glow. On the surface of the skin, a pattern resembling a cluster of stars moved slowly.
A being that looks closer to a godly being rather than a living creature. That is Arcane Orca.
'I haven't even gotten close yet and it goes into battle mode.'
I think it's because it went berserk due to the perk of being ranked 25th.
And spheres of light were created in empty space. There was no doubt who that mass of energy was targeting.
'Well, it's actually better because the annoying steps were omitted.'
I rushed towards the revealed body. At the same time, the spheres of light also moved.
Guided missiles with powerful destructive power are flocking in. I tried my best to avoid it in the game, but it turned out to be impossible. It's probably the same here as well.
'But there is another way.'
Just before the light balls hit my body, I took out the card I had prepared.
A monster with the head of a human and the body of an insect, the Inmyeonchung, tore through the mucous membrane and came out. The guy who received my order diligently flew in the opposite direction from me.
Then, half of the light spheres changed their orbits and headed towards Inmyeonchung.
'I got caught.'
I was worried that it would be different from the game, but I'm glad I did.
Arcane orcas, which only live in space, have no sensing organs such as eyes or ears. Instead, it recognizes objects by applying its unique sensing ability. When distinguishing between people, judge them based on the nature and energy that makes up their body rather than their appearance.
'And the Inmyeonchung is a being that originated from my body.'
The ingredients that make up Inmyeonchung are exactly the same as my physical body. Perhaps that's why Arcane Orca couldn't tell the difference between the two in the game. Like now, when you send out a human insect, it immediately takes the bait.
'He's a smart guy, so he doesn't get fooled more than two or three times.'
It's okay though. The goal is to reduce damage as much as possible until we approach.
I expelled all the sleeping insects from my body and accelerated. As a result, spheres of light dispersed in all directions along the bait. Thanks to this, we were able to narrow the distance while minimizing damage.
He reacts when he sees me approaching quickly. The constellation patterns flowing on the body darken as if a fire is dying out. Concentrating energy for a second attack.
'Where!'
I've attacked to my heart's content so far, now it's my turn. I approached the creature closely and plunged my eroding tentacles and fighting arms into its light blue, transparent skin.
The nails and tentacles dug in without any resistance. And a high fever, much hotter than the light bulb, began to heat my body.
｢Pain reduction activated!｣
Its body is the result of a combination of heat energy and an unknown substance. It's like immersing yourself in the living sun.
'You have to endure it!'
You must not leave here. Currently, all the recovery characteristics I have are being mobilized to bring my body back into balance. We must attack Arcane Orca's true body, golden bones, as quickly as possible.
It's an ignorant method, but it can't be helped. Energy-type attacks such as psychic breath are the same as feeding the enemy. Attacking with physical force like now takes less energy.
I moved my tentacles and arms, which repeatedly melted and regenerated, and grabbed the spine. In that state, the head in the center and the head on the right side were pierced.
"Pain reduction activated!" "Pain reduction activated!"
The tip of the snout and the relatively thin horn that went in first melt and disappear due to the heat. Still, the thick carapace is holding on.
Believing in Eimoff's excellent defense ability, he chewed hard on its bones with his teeth.
The guy who feels in danger struggles greatly. In an instant, large and small white spheres were created in all directions.
In the merciless baptism of light, I pulled my neck back with all my might. As the head fell out, pieces of the enemy's bone came out with it.
At that moment, the guy with the damaged spine released energy all at once. My body was hit by energy and I was pushed back significantly.
A tremendous amount of heat swept through my entire body. The skin on the wings melted and disappeared in an instant, and all the tentacles that grew on the body were stuck on the carapace.
Fortunately, the storm of energy that burned me did not last long. This is because the person who caused the storm has disappeared.
Golden particles can be seen gathering in the middle of an empty universe. The randomly scattered clusters of light quickly coalesced and took the shape of a whale bone. The guy who felt in danger used quantum transfer.
'It's just the beginning.'
If you injure it, it will use Quantum Shift. The energy consumed to heal my wounds is greater than the energy gained from fighting myself. Therefore, each time you move, the amount of stored energy inevitably decreases.
'If you keep repeating it, one day you will run out of energy.'
Hold on until you can't use quantum transfer, then kill the guy. That's the Arcane Orca strategy.
'There's still room.'
Because the other side went berserk, they suffered less damage than expected. Otherwise, I would have used 'Superior Homeostasis' a long time ago, but I'm glad I did.
This hunt is a long one. You must save your recovery means so that you can use them at important times.
Rather, the problem is pain. Until he dies, he must repeat the experience of his whole body melting. Although it has been alleviated thanks to the 'pain reduction' characteristic, it is not at a level that can be easily tolerated.
'…Well, it hurts less than when I was hit by the color bubbles of the abyss.'
I can endure this much.
I moved my regenerating body again. It also launched an attack in sync with my movements.
A bullet of energy that never misses tears the body to pieces. The carapace breaks and molten flesh flows out from inside.
There were quite a few injuries, but thanks to that, we were able to get close to him again.
I grabbed its skull with the pincers on the end of its tail. When I applied force in that state, the bones were easily crushed.
Arcane Orca releases energy to push me away and retreats. The hunting cycle has ended once again.
How much time has passed since then?
By the time I repeated the same process for the 11th time, my body was completely devastated.
It has lost all of its tentacles, and only two wings remain. The shell on the right side of the head was torn off so that the bones were visible. Perhaps because the injuries continue to accumulate, recovery is becoming increasingly delayed.
On the contrary, Arcane Orca's appearance was almost the same as when I first encountered it. It is clear that the energy has decreased, but there is still a long way to go to suppress it.
'Is it time for this side to recover?'
Instead of charging at it, I turned and headed towards the planet. Glowing guided missiles followed from behind, but they were ignored. Even though its tails were messed up by the barrage of energy bullets, it did not slow down.
I came down to the ground quickly and landed as if I was crashing into a nest. And immediately linked to the nest and issued a command.
30% of the hiveformers should commit suicide immediately.
A large hole appears in the widely expanded world of senses. This is a void created by the nest's gardeners doing their duty.
However, that emptiness did not last long.
Soon, a huge wave of energy surged, more than enough to fill the gap in the world of consciousness. The effect of the nest-related characteristic 'Human Sacrifice' has been activated. A nest with this trait will absorb the corpse and transfer the created energy to its owner.
Tens of thousands of corpses are converted into nutrients and flow into me. The severed fighting arms and tentacles grew back, and the broken carapace was replaced with a new one.
'Huh, good.'
It hasn't completely recovered, but this is enough. I spread my wings wide and flew up.
Arcane Orca, who chased after me all the way to the blue sky of the planet, stopped when he saw that I was fine. He seemed quite embarrassed as the light surrounding his skin was shaking slightly.
'Then shall we start again?'
Who is being hunted here? The battle to decide this is not over yet.
-x-X-x-
Inside a factory in AG-01.
Conveyor belts, small drones, and industrial robots move busily.
In the middle of a machine kingdom where there were no people, there was a being with a strange appearance.
A woman's face made of metal, a body mixed with warm flesh and cold parts. Its identity, reminiscent of a grotesque exhibit that has not yet been completed, is PS-111.
He is currently using the factory's machines to fuse the remains of the Supreme Council member and parts of the new Prometheus with himself. Unlike her face, which looked peaceful as if she was asleep, all of her functions were focused on assembly work.
'Core parts transplant completed. Simultaneous progress of simulation of compliance rate and error response simulation using sub-brain. 9 minutes and 45 seconds left to complete.'
The work, which lasted four hours, has reached its completion stage.
PS-111 sent a message to the 'middle baby' outside the planet. There isn't much left until the work is finished, so prepare for battle.
The dangerous creature targeted by sub-controller Amorph appeared earlier than expected. Aimorph is currently dealing with 'Arcane Orca', a creature with an unspecified risk rating.
The middle baby said. It is said that Arcane Orca is difficult to deal with even with Amorph.
So I prepared.
To help Aimorph, he decided to upgrade himself to defeat the dangerous creatures.
'Simulation complete. Final test required. It is expected to take 17 minutes and 31 seconds to complete the 5th stage test.'
The newly implanted secondary brain signaled the transition to the final stage. She answered immediately without hesitation.
'I will replace the test with one where I move and check myself.'
As soon as she made the decision, her 'new body' lit up. The drones and robots nearby quietly retreated.
PS-111, upgraded with a new look, slowly began to move.
–
'How many times already?'
Was it the 59th or 60th? I don't remember whether it's because I experienced burning pain all over my body several times for several hours.
'I hope it's over now.'
I shook my body and brushed off the burnt scales and body parts.
New skin can be seen growing from the injured area. I have already seen similar scenes hundreds of times.
And the entity that messed me up like this is still alive and well.
The sky has suddenly become dark. Light gathers there. The halo of light instantly turned into a golden whale bone.
Arcane Orca, who recovered from her injuries through 'quantum transfer', was similar to when I first met her. The difference is that the color of the energy skin that protects the bone-shaped body has changed.
The transparent skin that used to be a light blue color has now become lighter in color. This is evidence that the energy possessed has decreased significantly.
'It feels like about half of it was shaved off.'
You can kill him by repeating the process so far one more time.
The good news, though, is that things are progressing just as we experienced in the game. As long as no new variables arise, I think I will be able to finish the hunt easily.
I maintained flight and prepared for the enemy's attack to come again. But Arcane Orca did not move.
'Why are you doing that?'
So far, it has always counterattacked with powerful attacks after regenerating. There has never been a case like now where I stayed still without attacking or avoiding.
'Are you scared?'
The special effect used by 25th place was canceled a long time ago. Even after that, he continued his fierce offensive. There is no reason to suddenly feel afraid.
'Whatever it is, let's approach it first.'
Since they aren't coming, I have no choice but to attack. I accelerated and approached him quickly. When it saw me getting closer, it also created an energy sphere.
More than hundreds of light spheres fly by. As I prepared for the coming impact, the spheres diverted along the way. They passed me and fell towards the ground.
'what?'
It soon became clear what Arcane Orca's attack was aiming for. This is because craters appeared in my nest as if hit by a meteorite.
'no way?'
In the attack just now, numerous hiveformers were oxidized by the high-temperature energy.
Then, Arcane Orca created an energy bullet again. This time, they targeted the hiveformers in the nest, not me.
'You're trying to block my means of recovery!'
Is it because it's reality and not a game? This is my first time seeing him act so intelligently.
There are many important things about the above-ground nest other than the hiveformer.
When the special effect ended, I put down the number 25 that I had hidden in my left mouth in the nest. As he was barely breathing, 10 young Wolfs carried him inside and watched him.
I don't know anything else, but I can't lose the ranker. Without hesitation, I rushed towards the enemy.
After quickly closing the distance, he thrust his fighting arms together. When I was about to tear apart the body hidden inside the transparent skin, the pale skin color suddenly darkened.
｢Pain reduction activated!｣
At the same time, the temperature rose rapidly and my arms evaporated in an instant.
I almost screamed for a moment, but I gritted my teeth and held it back. I swung my claw tail in place of my lost arm.
The tail claw is one of the strongest parts of my body. A bionic mace made of carapace and bone was lodged in the enemy's side.
Pieces of broken golden bone can be seen floating within the vivid light blue skin. It's not a fatal wound, but looking at precedent, now is the time to use quantum transfer.
However, the guy reacted differently than expected. Instead of running away, he hit my abdomen with his head.
｢Pain reduction activated!｣ 'Oh no!'
Currently, Arcane Orca's body is no different from the sun condensed into a size of tens of meters. If you do this incorrectly, your upper and lower body may become separated due to high heat. I quickly fell back.
As soon as the distance between me widened, he immediately launched a chase attack with a wide ball. His appearance was incomparably more aggressive than before.
'You're afraid of me.'
When do wild animals become most vicious? This is when you feel that your life is being threatened, that is, when you feel fear.
The same goes for Arcane Orca. The survival instinct may have been awakened due to fear.
'…It won't be easy.'
It is an unpleasant situation to see an already powerful creature move differently than expected. I used 'Hydra Split', which I had saved.
The necks on both sides became mushy like purple jelly and separated from my body. The jelly falling to the ground quickly changed into the form of Amorph. Just before hitting the ground, the completed left and right heads spread their wings wide.
The right head shot up quickly like a launched rocket and hit my enemy. The impact split its body in two. Perhaps because it was a fatal wound this time, Arcane Orca immediately used quantum transfer.
The left head flew after an enemy that regenerated in the distance.
While the two heads were wasting time, I headed to where the young Wolfs and 25th were.
'I need to move to the basement.'
My nest extends deep underground. If we evacuate the Wolfs there, we can buy time during the fight.
I flew at high speed and landed in front of a huge structure standing alone in a remote place. A gigantic tower several kilometers in size spewing clouds through an ejection port at the top. It is a terraforming machine, a facility that adjusts the planet's atmosphere and weather.
As soon as I landed, Wolf with the jackal head came running out from inside. From what I remember, it was Wolf whose name was 'Tane'.
"Bring out all the kids inside." "yes! "God!"
The guy who answered energetically quickly went inside. After a while, the other Wolfs came out carrying the half-corpse Ranker.
I hid them in my mouth and crawled into a large pit I had prepared near the facility. The slime filling the underground nest welcomed me. It swam downwards with only its head exposed.
At that time, the dark surroundings suddenly became brighter. And then I felt a strong shock on my back and tail.
Arcane Orca chased me all the way to the basement.
'crazy!'
Due to the high heat it gave off, the slime accumulated in the ground evaporated and the nest began to collapse. Despite the checks of the clones that followed, it only targeted me.
I had no choice but to escape from the collapsing nest.
'I didn't know it would catch on like this.'
If I had known this would happen, I would have moved to self-immolation. Due to its sudden behavior, it became impossible to move Wolff.
'What do we do?'
If we continue to fight like this, not only the 25th place, but all of Wolff will be burned to death. However, as long as the Arcane Orca is targeting me, it is impossible to put them down.
'In that case, it might be better to swallow it.'
At least you can get some perks.
The wolfs in the mouth remained silent, unaware of anything. I didn't feel any fear from them, perhaps because they trusted me.
'…I can't help it.'
The Arcane Orca that was tracking me prepares to attack. There is no time. Just as I was about to make a decision, I saw something in the night sky.
What looked like starlight or a satellite grows bigger and bigger. It is a Sachs Beta-class battleship, a ship whose front part is split into three parts and looks like a trident.
'Jax Beta? no way?'
Arcane Orca also recognized the suddenly appearing battleship. Is it because it's a completely new enemy? Half of the orbs of light were aimed at the new enemy, not me.
Things are once again going differently than I expected. Instead of swallowing what was in my mouth, I bent my neck closer to my stomach. Then, he pulled out all the remaining erosion tentacles and threw them at the flying Gwanggu.
Meanwhile, other energy bombs were rapidly narrowing the distance to the battleship.
White cloud-like things poured out of a battleship so far away that it could be seen as a fingertip. Guided missiles controlled by Arcane Orca hit the battleship shrouded in clouds.
Even a Zax Beta-class battleship would be impossible to withstand the attack of a top-level Apex. However, unexpectedly, the battleship survived. Although the front part where the main gun was mounted was shattered, it was in good condition considering it had been hit by such a brutal attack.
'Now is your chance!'
Thanks to Jax Beta, the enemy's attention was diverted. I approached closely and grabbed hold of the bone-like body with my wing arms. My clones bit him from behind.
Arcane Orca, who suffered a fatal wound to the lower body, tries to escape using quantum transfer.
Just before its entire body turned into particles and dispersed into the air, its skin shook as if there was noise. After blinking a few times, the rest of the body disappeared except for the part that the clones had bitten.
"I can't run away anymore."
A familiar voice is heard nearby.
When I turned around, I saw a being with an unfamiliar appearance floating in the air.
[Zuzuzu (PS-111)]
It looked like a fusion of a round disk-shaped spaceship and a screamer, and its identity was PS-111.
[Zuzuzuzu (what does it look like?)] "Due to unavoidable circumstances, Prometheus V2 was fused to my body."
PS-111 and Heavenly Mother, who moved separately from me, had the goal of capturing the supreme council member alive. This was because the Supreme Council member knew how to operate Prometheus and the locations of key parts needed during assembly.
But now, he seemed to have merged with Prometheus. It was clear that an unexpected variable arose during the operation.
[Zuzuzuz Zuzuzu Zuzuzuz Zuzu Zuzuzu Zuzuzuzu (I'll talk about the details later. Let's deal with him first)] "Yep."
While we were talking, Arcane Orca completed quantum transfer.
But his body was not healthy. There was a slight wound on the tailbone area from the self-immolations.
Warp particles emitted by Prometheus' reactor perfectly control faster-than-light navigation within a specific area. Arcane Orca also cannot avoid the influence of warp particles. Even if you succeed in moving, your injuries will not fully recover due to the interference of warp particles.
In other words, now that PS-111 has merged with Prometheus, its infinite vitality has been sealed.
'furthermore….'
A Jax Beta with a broken front end approached us, leading a white cloud, or rather, a bunch of drones of a design we had never seen before. The Mother of Heaven, who took control of the ship, came to help.
The panicked enemy created a lot of guided missiles, but there is no need to worry. The battle situation has already turned this way.
Afterwards, Arcane Orca died while attempting the 9th quantum transfer.
-x-X-x-
I caught the falling Arcane Orca.
The sight of a guy whose energy skin had disappeared, leaving only his bones, was reminiscent of a fossil that had just been discovered. Only the head and part of the vertebrae remained, and even those were cracked in various places.
Compared to when it was alive, it looks quite shabby, but you shouldn't judge it just by its appearance.
Arcane Orca, which feeds on the heat energy of stars, has a body structure that makes it easy to store large amounts of energy. Even when we die, the stored energy does not disappear and remains.
In other words, this bone contains the power of a being that once commanded the universe.
'Otherwise I wouldn't have thought of writing it for Aadhai.'
As I was looking at the bones, this thought suddenly occurred to me.
I was lucky enough to catch it early, so I thought why not just eat here. Or just eat the head and take the rest.
The Arcane Orca does not have many characteristics that can be acquired when feasting. If you use the symbol of hunting, there is a high probability of obtaining the desired characteristic, 'Ether Core'.
The ether core is one of the materials needed to synthesize unique properties. Once you get this, you can immediately synthesize unique characteristics.
'Then maybe we can meet the information body again.'
A mysterious being encountered in a cocoon, an information body. There is still a lot of information to be gleaned from him.
Even if we can't meet, it's okay. When I think about what I have to do in the future, the more unique characteristics I have, the better.
'Instead, Aadhai and Gallagon will have to endure more…'
Is it because I actually had the opportunity to acquire the trait? A desire to prey on the Arcane Orca arises.
'…no.'
I looked away from the corpse.
Here, it is less risky to take it to Aadhai than to eat it.
Although we succeeded in hunting earlier than expected, there is no way that this kind of luck will be repeated. If the gamble fails, Aadhai's group will suffer damage close to annihilation.
'And there is no guarantee that the ether core will come out.'
This means that the probability of obtaining it is high, but it does not mean that you will obtain it unconditionally. There is a good chance that other characteristics will appear even if you just ate it.
"No movement detected from target. "Has he died?"
Just when I had given up on predation, PS-111 flew towards me.
"Even though the body has stopped functioning, enormous amounts of energy are still observed." [Zuzu Zuzu (original)] "It's an interesting body structure."
The guy who came closer looked at the body with his red camera lens shining.
'And now that I think about it, I didn't get Prometheus either.'
The reason is unknown, but looking at PS-111 now, it seems clear that he merged his body with a super weapon.
His appearance was very different from what I remembered. Only the face of the woman made of metal remains the same, but almost everything else has changed.
The body, which previously looked like a mixture of a spider and a scorpion, changed into a shape similar to a flat scarab. A woman's upper body was attached to the stomach, and eight arms on both sides were folded to cover the body.
The shape of the head has also changed a lot from before. The hair-like bundle of cables disappeared, and the back of the head protruded to the point where it looked misshapen. Like Aimorph's carapace.
Behind the long head, two large circular wings that are three or four times longer than the body can be seen connected. The wings, which started from the back of the head, stretched outwards and then curved round, with their tips pointing towards the tail. Maybe that's why it reminded me of a flying saucer when seen from a distance.
'Prometheus was also nicknamed a flying saucer.'
It is similar to Prometheus not only in appearance, but also in the structure of two smooth plates overlapping above and below, and in the fact that warp particles are emitted through a vent in the gap between the overlapping plates. The only difference is that the size has been greatly reduced to that of a carrier aircraft.
[Zuzzu zuzuzu zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu (I'll do the analysis later. I got what I wanted, so let's move on)] "I understand." [Zuz zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (explain what happened on the way)]
Now that the battle is over, Heavenly Mother will be waiting for us. We have to take down the Wolfs and Rankers that are in their mouths, so it would be better to move slowly.
I flew towards the Sachs Beta, which landed in the harbor with PS-111. On the way, he explained why it was like this.
"…That's why it happened like this." [Zuzuzu zzu zzuzuzuzu (The Supreme Council member's body was also transplanted?)] "I'll show you."
With those words, the protruding back of PS-111's head split left and right. When the head connected to the wings was opened, a metal brain with several wires attached was revealed. This is the second brain transplanted from the Supreme Council member's.
"Although its main functions, including memory data, have been erased, there is no problem in using it as an auxiliary brain as it is now." [Zuzzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu (Are you controlling Prometheus with this?)]
The guy who closed his head again nodded.
It was a short explanation, but I was able to quickly understand what the situation was.
'I never would have thought that a self-destruct function was installed in the supreme council member.'
I think he did this because of the Supreme Council member Pyrrha Eleven, whom he killed before. I guess this was done to prevent information leaks.
However, PS-111 was unable to completely analyze Pyrrha Eleven's data. This is because much of the data remaining on the Screamer support ship was highly encrypted. Some of them have not yet been decrypted.
[Zuz zuzuzu zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (With this, I can analyze data that I couldn't analyze before)] "I agree. "I will try it as soon as I return to 'White Stone'."
Anyway, I understand why PS-111 transplanted Prometheus into her body. Since the key to the operation was gone, this guy had no choice but to take over that role.
'It's a bit unfortunate that I can't eat it, but…'
Although the results were different from what was expected, it was not necessarily a bad thing.
If you characterize Prometheus as the 'predator's irregular polyhedron', the existing 'Void Dice' will be lost.
Void Dice is an attribute that can reset the cooldown of all attributes once per period. Since it can be used as a trump card at important times, it would be a shame to replace it with another characteristic.
In that case, it is advantageous for PS-111 to have Prometheus and me to have Void Dice, just like now.
And I saw him using warp particles during the battle, and it was pretty good. At first, I was a little inexperienced, but I could see my skills gradually improving. Although it wasn't as good as No. 26 or Aadhai, we worked well together.
As I moved around talking with the guy, I arrived at the port.
On the wide runway, ghost ships with large and small damage can be seen here and there. The Zax Beta, a trident-shaped ship with a total length of several hundred meters, was there.
'Now that I think about it, that ship also held up well.'
It is true that Jax Beta is strong, but it is not at a level that can withstand Arcane Orca. You're very lucky that it's only damaged that much.
[Zuzuzu Zuzu Zuzu Zuzuzuzu (He used a drone he had never seen before during a fight)] "It is a weapon improved to absorb plasma energy based on the APD used in anti-psychic warfare. "The 'Middle Baby' used what was stored in large quantities in the Sachs Beta hangar." 'Did you bring it here to catch Arcane Orca?'
I don't know which force made it, but its performance is outstanding. Although countless numbers were lost during the battle, thanks to this, Jax Beta was able to survive. If it were a game, it would have been impossible.
"We will study the remaining drones." [Zuzuzuz (please)]
Me and PS-111 landed on the empty runway next to the ship. Then he lowered his neck and let out the guests hiding in his mouth.
The 10 Wolfs came out covered in saliva and came out in 25th place. No one had any major injuries other than minor burns. Although it looked like it was having a hard time because it was being hit this way and that in the mouth.
However, as soon as they came out, they all bowed down in unison.
"thank you! "God!"
It was a strange feeling to see the young Wolfs expressing their sincere gratitude.
'I was going to eat you if I had to.'
If Jax Beta and PS-111 had not appeared at the right time, they would have become nourishment for my body along with Ranker.
"Everyone was alive!"
I could feel the thought wave sent by Mother Heaven from my stomach.
She took the form of a griffon beast and got off the ship and walked towards me. The Wolfs who were greeting each other also ran towards her.
"Thank you for protecting the children. When I saw the nest being shelled, I honestly thought there was no hope…"
Are they amazed that the Wolfs are alive? I can feel a shallow tremor coming from the wave of thought I exhaled as I looked at the children.
Actually, it's more like something I got as a bonus while trying to get a ranker, but there's no need to say it.
"It looks like that person there is a ranker."
"That's right."
After checking the children's condition, her eyes turned to number 25.
"…When I think about what that bastard did, I wouldn't mind killing him right here." "I told you before, but not yet."
After glaring at the burnt-out ranker for a moment, she sighed softly.
"There is no better punishment than becoming Amov's subordinate." "Is that so?" "Did you see someone who was fine with him? "Especially those who have been affected by parasites, they all have bad words to say." "It is a valid analysis. The future of the object is fully predictable."
Because it was true, I had nothing to say. Instead of retorting, I changed the subject.
"We got what we wanted, now let's leave." "huh? "Now?" "Now that the Supreme Council member has been defeated, Star Union will not remain silent. "I will send a chase team like I did before."
Several hours have passed since the Supreme Commissioner died. You never know when the enemy might invade this place.
That's why I said we should avoid it quickly, but PS-111 shook his head.
"You don't have to worry about that." "why?" "After transplanting the Supreme Council member's body, we sent a message that the body was destroyed in the battle with Arcane Orca. "We won't send the fleet until we realize the message is false."
thank god. Thanks to his actions, I had time to prepare to leave.
"If I have time, I would like to repair the ship and take it back." "Well, there are a lot of damaged parts. Can I take it back?" "If everyone helps, we can repair it within 3 hours." "God, we will help you too!"
Four hours later, we each got ready to leave.
We left Megacorp's abandoned colony AG-01.
–
An unnamed star system that is not registered on any route.
There is a pale frozen star at the edge of a remote area untouched by intelligent beings.
Ecosystems exist even in harsh environments where light is limited to once every 30 days. If you go down past the surface made of ice, an underground kingdom unfolds.
Beneath the ice ceiling densely studded with luminescent moss is a forest of giant fungi. A being flies over tree-sized fungi.
Isabelle is a mutant screamer with a centipede-like body and the head of a human woman. He was flying, carrying dozens of colorful mushrooms with his arms.
After passing through a vast forest of fungi, she descended into a valley radiating heat and gas.
The place she was heading to was a cave located inside a cliff in a valley. On the way in, we encountered the Green Gallagon guarding the valley, but no one stopped us.
After smoothly navigating through a cave with a complex maze-like structure, we arrived at a large cavity.
This is the place where the things most cherished by the owner of the valley, Gallagon, are stored. Eggs and Blue Gallagons that have not yet awakened.
"Little friend! hi!"
Number 26, who serves as the babysitter and egg keeper of the young Gallagon, greeted us warmly. Isabelle put down the things she had brought in front of the huge, swollen light pink jellyfish.
"I brought some food." "and!"
No. 26 is happy, with his body glowing faintly. The tentacles on the floor moved and swept up the mushrooms.
Then, he cut a hole in the mushroom and handed it one by one to the Blue Gallagons in his arms. The gallagons sucked the juices flowing from the mushrooms with the bundles of tentacles around their mouths.
｢Is it delicious?｣ ｢Good｣ ｢Good｣ ｢Young flutter, eat a lot!｣
The blue-scaled chicks waved their wings gently as if they were in a good mood. Number 26 also waved its tentacles with joy.
｢Little friend eats too.｣ "I already ate before I came, so it's okay."
Isabel, who declined No. 26's invitation, checked the eggs in the nest.
There were no dead eggs, but they were not healthy either. Most of them were in poor condition and seemed unlikely to last long.
'It's getting worse faster than expected.'
Acting Chief Ham Ort predicted that it would take approximately 60 days for Aadhai to absorb all the energy from this place. But looking at the current trend, it seemed like it would end much sooner.
Currently, not only White Gallagons, but also newly grown Green Gallagons go out to look for food. Thanks to this, we are barely able to maintain the status quo, but no one knows when that balance will be broken.
'Besides, number 26 is also the limit.'
The condition of No. 26 was not good at first glance. This is because they are putting all their energy into preventing their young and eggs from dying. Because of the constant consumption of a large amount of energy, the pink body was on the verge of fading to white.
'I need to find another way now…'
At that time, No. 26, which was feeding the gallagons, suddenly stopped. Then, the pale body slowly began to glow brightly.
"and!"
Isabel also turned her head at the sign of popularity she felt behind her. There stood the being that the Gallagons had been eagerly waiting for.
｢Hello big baby!｣ [Zuzu (Hello)]
After finishing his hunt, Eimoff finally returned.
A word from the author (author review) The part where Amorph talks to PS-111 in the latter half of episode 432 has been modified. There were wolfs in my mouth, but it was awkward to talk with my voice, so I changed it to speaking using the 'monster's tentacles.'
-x-X-x-