Became an Evolving Space Monster

Several superluminal jumps had taken place, yet no pursuers followed. All that could be seen was a black velvet sky adorned with multicolored stars.

I returned to the ship through the open hangar bay.

Inside the hangar, Griffion Wolf, Mother of the Sky, was inspecting the aircraft. She was examining the storm gun mounted under the wing when she noticed me entering and spoke up.

｢Any signs of pursuit?｣

[ZZ (None)]

｢That 'wavelength' from before—could that be why they couldn't follow us?｣

[ZZ (Who knows?)]

Thanks to the sudden anomaly, we managed to escape from the Star Union.

An intangible wavelength had swept in from somewhere, decimating the enemy fleet. Since I was facing the enemy directly, I understood what had occurred right away.

Ships that halted mid-movement or repeated the same actions could mean only one thing: the cyborg captains who controlled them were dead.

After the wavelength swept through the area, the ships never returned to normal. In the Star Union, if a cyborg capable of connecting to the ship’s computer with a cable, like PS-111, was on board, they could temporarily take over command.

In other words, the fact that the ships didn’t recover despite the flames I breathed suggested that all the cyborgs aboard were dead.

｢There wasn't any event like this in the game, right?｣

[ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (I've never heard of a wavelength that kills only cyborgs)]

｢…Whatever caused it, we were lucky.｣

She was right.

What if that wavelength hadn’t targeted just the cyborgs but all living beings? Or if it had occurred after we’d lost to the Star Union?

If that were the case, not everyone would have made it out unharmed like we did.

‘But it wasn't entirely luck.’

The anomaly that had occurred at the right moment wasn’t beneficial solely to us.

There was the fleet led by the remnant forces of Si-Hyun Yujin. They, too, had been engaged in battle with the Star Union fleet.

‘The Nianmen Beast mentioned it before.’

The remnant forces of Si-Hyun Yujin had visited a frozen planet in search of a relic. Perhaps the wavelength that wiped out the cyborgs was related to the relic they found.

‘It’s uncertain, but…’

There’s little chance we’ll encounter them in the near future. Our ship is headed to a place beyond the control of the megacorps, the Star Union, or the Cult Empire.

‘It’s also a place where information is easy to obtain. Maybe I’ll look into it.’

｢Anyway, now that you're back, I should take a break.｣

[ZZZZ (You’ve worked hard)]

｢Hardly.｣

Mother of the Sky and I left the hangar together. She seemed to be heading somewhere else to rest, not back to the storage area, and was about to head in the opposite direction.

[ZZZ ZZZ (Wait a moment)]

｢Hm?｣

I called out to her and headed into the storage area.

Inside, Number 26, having enlarged its body, was resting in front of the wall. It had fully extended its usually hidden fin-legs and was wrapping them around something.

‘What’s it doing?’

Between the fins, I could see Gallagon eggs. Much like a hen brooding her eggs, Number 26 was using its body and fins to protectively cover them.

The green Gallagons were fine, but the blue Gallagons and the eggs required psychic power for survival. That’s why Number 26, capable of generating psychic power on its own, was ensuring the eggs wouldn’t perish.

‘That’s another issue to address.’

I carefully entered the storage area, taking care not to wake it. A few green Gallagons were also lying between the frozen containers, sleeping.

Amidst them was the backpack filled with the items and equipment I’d taken from the Dragon’s nest.

I extended my long, spider-like combat arm and picked up one of the mineral fragments.

When I emerged from the storage area, she, who had been yawning, promptly closed her mouth. I held the mineral out to her.

[ZZ (Take it)]

｢What’s this?｣

[ZZZZ ZZZZZ (It's for your deification)]

She widened her eyes upon seeing the raw mineral in my hand.

The black mineral, speckled with white grains, was known as a "Star Pearl", It was used to craft the tools necessary for enhancing Wolf’s deification.

‘It’s not something we can process right now, though.’

Star Pearls are extremely hard, making them impossible to process with ordinary equipment. But that didn't matter. The place we're headed would have the machinery and technicians needed to refine them.

As she took the beautiful mineral that resembled a pearl plucked from the stars, she gazed at it with a subtle expression.

｢Oh, I had already taken one of these before.｣

[ZZZZ (You took one?)]

｢Yes, when Ham Ort and I returned to the nest. I mentioned that we would be looking around with PS-111. I picked it up then. I stowed it in the backpack, but I guess you didn't see it.｣

Now that I thought about it, it had been quite a while since I'd carried the backpack myself. The last time I rummaged through it was when I was preparing to consume the Blood River.

Since then, Adhai and Mother of the Sky had been taking care of the backpack.

[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ (Keep it, just in case)]

｢Sure. It can’t hurt to have one more.｣

Having nothing more to say, I started heading back into the storage area, but she called out to me. She scratched her beak with her talon and spoke.

｢Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.｣

She left behind a wave of gratitude before walking away.

‘Star Pearls have other uses aside from deification.’

The mineral is also used in crafting the Cult’s and Wolf’s high-end equipment. As long as it can be processed, it would be more than beneficial for her.

After seeing her off, I reentered the storage area.

‘Might as well check the backpack.’

Returning to the spot where I had pulled out the Star Pearl, I crouched down and picked up the backpack. As I did so, a diamond-shaped stone, which had been leaning against it, toppled over.

This stone was one of the items I had picked up from Odd Grad's lair. Along with the ring that conceals emotions, it was one of the artifacts influenced by civilization, so I had intentionally brought it along to investigate further.

‘I’ll check it later—huh?’

As I reached out to set the stone upright, I noticed something had changed. Unknown characters etched into the stone's surface were now emitting a faint glow.

‘What’s this?’

I touched the glowing characters with my finger, but nothing happened. They simply continued to emit light intermittently, as if this was how they always behaved.

‘Hmm.’

I tried tapping it with the monster's tendrils, the auxiliary organs under my jaw, and even my erosion tentacles, but nothing changed. Meanwhile, the light gradually dimmed.

‘Could it be?’

Odd Grad’s ring came to mind. I picked up the ring lying near the backpack and slipped it onto the small arm on my chest.

Immediately, the stone reacted.

｢Temporary user 'Odd Grad' confirmed. Establishing connection with 'Akira Yujin'.｣

‘What?’

A familiar-looking text box appeared before my eyes, and at the same time, the stone floated out of my hand.

From the suspended stone, a strange voice began to flow.

｢It’s me. What took you so long? I was about to reach out later since there was no response for such a while.｣

‘What’s going on?’

｢Tch, since you’ve answered, I’ll ask: What happened with the matter I mentioned earlier?｣

The voice belonged to a man whose age was difficult to discern. The voice itself sounded young, yet his tone and manner of speaking resembled that of an elderly person.

My attention shifted to the message displayed on the text box. There, the identity of the speaker was recorded.

‘Akira Yujin.’

Jason had mentioned him before. A man with a Japanese-sounding name, behaving like an old man stuck in a delusional second adolescence, clinging to his "Chunibyou" tendencies even within the megacorps.

‘There's only one guy that eccentric.’

Akira Yujin, a player ranked third overall, even more relentless in hunting down the Amorph than Jason. He's a Megacorp ranker I’ve fought countless times.

‘I never thought he’d be connected to the Black Dragon.’

Now it all made sense.

The one who gave Odd Grad the ring was Akira Yujin.

Odd Grad had feared challenges from younger Gallagons or those like Adhai, who were born with the power of a Red Gallagon, due to his ability to read the future. Akira Yujin was the one who provided a solution to this dilemma.

‘So, he was the one who made it.’

By giving Odd Grad the ring that concealed emotions, Akira Yujin ensured that the Black Dragon could oppress and rule over the other Gallagons.

And in return for this favor, what did Akira Yujin receive?

‘Gallagons.’

Ham Ort once mentioned that Odd Grad regularly killed hatchlings or discarded eggs outside the nest, claiming that it was to reduce the strain on the group by eliminating weaker members.

When I first heard that, I thought he did it just to protect himself, but my assumption was only half correct.

Odd Grad was regularly supplying eggs and young Gallagons to Akira Yujin's faction.

This would explain why the Yujin family members I’ve fought, including Si-Hyun Yujin and the Shadows, all possessed Gallagon genes. It was all possible because Akira Yujin was receiving a supply of Gallagons from Odd Grad.

｢Why aren’t you answering? Have you still not dealt with the Amorph?｣

Judging by his words, it seemed he had already spoken about me before I arrived. Most likely, he had ordered my capture or execution.

‘The future-reading Black Dragon truly is a formidable opponent.’

If it weren’t for the Unique Traits created by the Transcendence System and my allies, things would have gone just as he planned.

I stared at the stone for a moment before finally speaking. The voice of the Human-Faced Beast I had absorbed, Jason's voice, emerged from my throat.

“Long time no see, Number Three.”

｢!｣

Perhaps because he had never anticipated hearing that voice, I heard him gasp on the other side of the stone.

“You didn’t see this coming, did you?”

｢…この糞野郎が。(…You bastard.)｣

“Your pet is dead.”

Even without seeing his face, I knew how furious he was. Not only had his plan to kill me failed, but he had also lost his route to acquire Gallagons.

In a detached tone, I declared his fate.

“The day we meet isn’t far off.”

｢Tch!｣

With a sharp click of his tongue, the light in the stone extinguished. A moment later, a crack spread across its surface, and it shattered in two.

Seeing this, I knew he understood exactly what I meant.

‘It won't be right away, but it'll be when I reach maturity.’

I planned to meet the final conditions needed to mature at the places where this ship was headed—places prowled by the lawless of the universe.

Once I become fully mature, I’ll no longer need to speak to him through this stone. I’ll be meeting him face to face.

By then, he will only have two choices left.

To die fighting me.

Or to die running from me.

Thoughts of what to do next swirled endlessly in my mind.

But regardless of my inner deliberations, the iron cradle carrying all the monsters continued steadily toward its destination.

-

In a lavish office, Akira Yujin glared icily at the mahogany table in front of him. There lay a diamond-shaped stone etched with strange symbols.

“…….”

He had immediately destroyed the stone he'd loaned to Odd Grad, but that didn’t make things any better.

The conversation hadn’t been long, but if that damned Amorph was involved, it would have extracted a wealth of information even from that brief exchange. It always did so in the game.

Knowing this, Akira's insides burned like a raging volcano.

‘くそ!(Damn!) くそ!(Damn!) くそ!(Damn!)’

And then there was the Amorph’s parting taunt. It had dared to declare that it would kill him.

Akira Yujin, the CEO of one of the most powerful factions in the universe, The Megacorp, and the ruler of Earth. If anyone else had said such a thing, he would have torn them limb from limb with a smile.

Even Joubacca, the Star Union’s ranker, and Chloe Garmelda, the Megacorp ranker, would never dare speak to him that way. They knew he’d hunt them down and rip their mouths apart if they did.

But at this moment, he could do nothing to the Amorph. He wanted to hurl curses, but he couldn’t—there was a chance that doing so might divulge more information to it.

As this realization sank in, Akira reached his breaking point.

“Grrraaaaah!”

His scream, half a wail and half a roar, filled the room as his arm twisted and mutated grotesquely. The monstrous limb lashed out, splintering the mahogany table into four pieces. Several other luxury items met the same fate under his frenzied assault.

“Odd Grad! Jaaaasoooon! You idiots! How dare you! Do you even know who I am! Aaaaargh!”

Inside the soundproofed office, Akira’s frenzied rampage continued for some time.

—

｢Have you received the ‘cargo’ I sent, Chloe?｣

“Yes, of course. Thanks to Cynthia, I think the research is going to make significant progress.”

｢Please don’t forget to ensure my safety.｣

“Don’t worry. That place is out of the old man's reach.”

｢I suppose, seeing it for myself, I can believe that.｣

“I’ve already smoothed things over on that side, so there shouldn’t be any issues. Let’s talk again soon.”

｢Understood, Chloe.｣

As the light on the diamond-shaped stone connected to the communicator dimmed, Chloe Garmelda, who had just ended her call with Cynthia, floated out of the room in her levitating chair.

“Cynthia’s hidden safely, and that old bastard’s got a taste of real trouble. I’ve lost contact with Joubacca, but he’s always busy, so I’m sure he’ll manage.”

Chloe felt satisfied for the first time in a while, as things were finally going smoothly.

Previously, Akira Yujin, Cynthia, Joubacca, and Chloe herself had planned a hunt for the Amorph. Cynthia provided the location to the Cult ranker Jason, while Akira Yujin sent the Black Gallagon to kill the target.

After the meeting ended, Chloe had a private conversation with Cynthia. She’d made one specific request.

In the unlikely event that Jason succeeded or failed in the Amorph hunt, she wanted to be the first to know.

Currently, Chloe was independently conducting research into genetically synthesized organisms, or "Hulk Mutants", alongside Joubacca from the Star Union. And what she needed most for that were the genes of rankers.

If the Amorph were killed, Akira Yujin would undoubtedly demand the corpse. Unlike the surprisingly unsophisticated Jason, who’d be satisfied with obtaining a special trait, he would easily hand the body over to Akira.

That couldn’t be allowed. So Chloe had asked Cynthia, who was in personal contact with Jason, for a favor.

The outcome of the battle was Jason’s defeat. He returned to Cynthia with only his decapitated body.

Immediately, Cynthia informed Chloe of Jason’s death, and it was then that Chloe made a deal with her.

She assured Cynthia that she would guarantee her safety, as long as she didn’t inform Akira that Jason was dead.

If Akira Yujin learned of Jason's defeat, he would undoubtedly concoct another scheme to capture the Amorph. Not only that, but he would also try to claim Jason's corpse.

So, she delayed informing him about Jason's death by just a little.

‘I didn’t expect things to work out so perfectly.’

Under normal circumstances, Akira Yujin would have caught on. With the Black Gallagon stationed on the same planet, he could’ve easily verified Jason's defeat.

But this time, fate was on her side.

Akira Yujin had been preoccupied with negotiations to end the civil war and was too busy to grasp the full situation.

Thanks to that, Chloe accomplished her goal without much difficulty.

‘Jason left so much behind, even in death. His body and all those samples.’

Her levitating chair halted in front of the laboratory door. From the terminal beside the door, a faint light scanned her entire body.

｢Welcome, Chloe Garmelda.｣

The familiar voice greeted her as the heavy metal door opened.

A pristine, monochromatic space lay beyond, as if the entire room had been bleached. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all a stark white.

The only splashes of color came from the researchers bustling about and the dozens of incubation chambers.

One of the researchers, noticing Chloe, bowed to her.

“Madam, the progress on the clone cultivation has reached 23%. It’s far more stable compared to the previous specimen.”

“That’s good news. Once it reaches over 50%, initiate the gene fusion.”

“Understood. But Madam, Chief Researcher Li Zhao has been wondering where you managed to obtain such materials.”

As the researcher moved closer to her chair, Chloe placed a finger over her lips, gesturing that it was a secret.

“Tell him it's classified family information.”

“Haha, of course. Ah, since we have a new specimen, perhaps you'd like to name it again?”

At this, Chloe tapped the armrest of her chair with her finger. After a moment of contemplation, she spoke.

“Let’s go with JS this time.”

“JS? Last time it was PS—does it have any special meaning?”

Instead of answering, Chloe responded with a faint smile. Seeing that she wasn’t going to explain, the researcher shrugged and refrained from asking further.

‘I wonder just how useful Jason will prove to be.’

With that thought, she gazed at the Cult clone within the incubation chamber.

Her eyes, beautiful as a young girl’s, shimmered with a tranquil madness.

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