Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 258
Only Noblemtl
Ep. 257
–
After Wolf, who was leading the Satua organization, left the military port, five pirates approached the ship. They looked away as if they were not interested, but their eyes glanced at the ship.
“Am I right?”
“… It’s definitely strange that there aren’t any chicks guarding the ship.”
The fortress’ ruler, Marcio Cartel, has absolutely no tolerance for disturbances within its territory, but he does not take care to catch even the smallest crimes. The guards at the military port only do the bare minimum of checking and do not even worry about the security of the ship.
In other words, each anchored ship must guard its own ship. If you look at other ships, you will see pirates and mercenaries diligently standing guard.
But there was nothing like that on the Satua Cartel assault ship. There was absolutely no movement, not only outside the ship, but also inside.
As if there was no one on the boat.
“I think it might be okay to go in.”
The wide open door, unguarded, tempted the pirates, telling them to come in without worrying about anything.
The five pirates checked to make sure no one was watching them one last time before stepping onto the steps leading to the ship’s door.
“Haha, things are going well?”
“Can’t we just carry this boat and fly it?”
“Don’t overdo it, you piece of shit. How are you going to steer a fucking big ship… .
The pirates who had boarded the ship and were chatting together all shut their mouths.
The inner corridors were bare of lights. As expected, there was no one on board, but none of the five seemed happy.
The atmosphere in the dimly lit hallway was ominous.
“…Fuck, this is fucking creepy.”
“You crazy kids. You came here on a boat like this?”
If they were just dark, no one would be scared. They were space dogs roaming around in infinite darkness.
But there was something different about this ship. There was something indescribable and gloomy about it.
“Let’s check quickly and go.”
The four nodded silently as the green-haired pirate spoke.
Everyone felt ominous, but no one suggested leaving. They felt that they would feel better if they held something in their hands and left. They started walking down the shady corridor.
The temperature inside the ship was not particularly low, because the life support system was running. However, the pirates felt an inexplicable cold. Every time they breathed, the cold air seeped into their skin.
What was even more strange was the smell. It wasn’t the smell of unwashed pirates or smuggled animals. There was a strange stench that hung over the entire ship.
At this point, their noses should have been itching the moment they stepped onto the iron stairs. But none of the five put their hands on their noses before crossing the door.
It was as if the ship was waiting for them to come up. They were all thinking the same thing, even though they weren’t talking to each other.
Apart from their instinctive sense of anxiety, no threat appeared. A large iron gate appeared in front of them as they moved without any resistance.
“Is this area in front a cargo hold?”
“… Let’s see what the heck there is.”
The pirate, who had replaced one eye with a prosthetic eye, took out a terminal. Connecting the door to the cable, he easily hacked the door.
The large iron door rattled open, and a cargo hold filled with darkness welcomed outsiders.
“Turn on the light.”
“I don’t think it would be possible without directly accessing the ship’s computer?”
“Oh my god, really.”
The pirates swore and pulled out the laser pistols on their waists. The small flashlights on the ends of the pistols illuminated the cargo hold.
“It’s fucking dark.”
“Isn’t it a paint problem? That’s probably why it smells like this.”
“Both of you be quiet. Let’s spread out and look for each other.”
“I agree.”
The hallway with flickering lights was already creepy, but this place was even darker and more eerie. If I stayed here any longer, I felt like I would go crazy. The pirates dispersed to find their valuables as quickly as possible.
‘… I thought it was okay when I came in.’
The green-haired pirate, relying on the light on his gun to make his way through the iron prison cells, regretted his choice.
I don’t know why they thought they would come aboard a ship that wasn’t plundering rich ships, let alone selling slaves.
Looking back, it was suspicious that the Satuah guys didn’t set up security. They must have been here more than once or twice.
“Come out with something… Huh?!”
He was terrified as he was exposed to the light inside the iron prison. There was something inside the prison.
“A stone statue?”
At first I was surprised and thought it was a person, but upon closer inspection it wasn’t.
Inside the prison was a statue. A human statue carved from a translucent crystal-like mineral.
“Ha, I thought you were a person.”
The green-haired pirate opened the prison door and went in to touch the statue. He could feel the coolness of the inorganic material and the texture of the solid mineral.
‘It’s really well made, isn’t it?’
The statue was so elaborate that it seemed like a living person. Especially the expression. The face of the statue was full of life, with its eyes and mouth wide open, as if it had seen something frightening.
As if a living person had been turned into a statue all at once.
‘This might be a bit pricey, right?’
“Hey! Come over here!”
It seemed he wasn’t the only one who smelled credit. He ran out of the prison and towards his colleagues.
So he didn’t know.
That the statue’s eyes were looking at his back.
–
“It’ll be salty even if you just take a few.”
“Let’s just take three first, because if we take too many we might get caught.”
The iron prisons scattered around contained human-like statues. The number of statues must have been at least a hundred.
It was worth wandering around that shitty place. The five pirates expressed their satisfaction as they stood before the statue.
The pirates, whose security was in disarray, would not have noticed that one or two statues were missing. They felt relieved and began to move the statues.
“If you count to three, it comes up at the same time. One, two, three!”
“Ugh, it’s fucking heavy.”
“Listen carefully there… Hey!”
The statues were extremely heavy. It was difficult to move them even with four adult men clinging to them. Eventually, one of the pirates made a mistake and the statues fell to the ground.
“This crazy kid is for real!”
“sorry.”
“Everyone, shut up! If it breaks, the value drops.”
The pirate wearing the prosthetic eye checked to see if the fallen statue was intact. Fortunately, there was no broken part. The pirate, who was looking at the statue with relief, suddenly had a strange feeling.
A dynamic human statue that looks like it’s about to scream at any moment. Because its face looks somehow familiar.
“… Is there anyone here who can contact the Poncha kids?”
“Poncha? Weren’t they caught by the cult and subjugated?”
As the green-haired pirate said, it’s been a month since contact with the Ponza Cartel was cut off. The pirate with the artificial eye knows it too.
The reason I brought that up though is because the appearance of the fallen statue closely resembles someone.
‘He was definitely in the Poncha Cartel.’
A statue that looks exactly like a member of the Ponza Cartel, who was supposedly defeated a month ago, was found on a ship belonging to the Satua Cartel, which has been out of contact for two months. What does this mean?
‘… What the fuck is this?’
If things were going wrong, they were going very wrong. His instincts were screaming that he had to get out of here immediately.
Then the green-haired pirate called him.
“…hey.”
“why?”
“Those statues, were they originally facing this way?”
“uh?”
When the pirates heard those words, they all raised their heads.
The light from the four lights was directed into the iron prison cells scattered throughout the cargo hold. The statues were standing inside the iron bars in the same manner as before.
The only difference was the eyes.
All the statues’ gazes were focused in the direction they were standing.
“Fuck, shit!”
“Don’t shoot, you idiot!”
“Everyone, we have to get out now! It’s dangerous here!”
“Wait! If you keep going like this, you won’t get anything!”
“Damn it! Get in here… Hey, where did that guy go?”
Come to think of it, there were five of us when we came in, but now there are only four of us here.
“Oh, when did it disappear?”
“Fuck! Does that matter now?”
“Credit and Nabal, let’s run away quickly!”
“He’ll come out on his own!”
Instead of looking for their missing comrades, they ran towards the cargo bay door.
The cargo hold is not very large. It is not difficult to escape outside.
It didn’t take long to realize that that thinking was wrong.
‘There’s no end to it?!’
He ran so hard that he was out of breath, but he couldn’t see the door. The pirate wearing the prosthetic eye adjusted the lens to night vision mode, but he couldn’t see the door.
‘Where are the kids? Where did they all go?’
The companions who had been running with him until just now had disappeared. He looked around frantically. Instead of companions, there were only statues in the cargo hold that were glaring at him with an unpleasant persistence.
He met the creepy gaze and trembled, gripping the pistol tightly in his hand. He didn’t know how much help the small weapon in his hand would be, but he felt like his heart would stop beating and he would die without it.
“… Gulp.”
He swallowed once and walked carefully between the iron bars. With each step he took, the eyes beyond the bars followed him.
He had been subjected to the hateful gazes of those who had been plundered all his life. But those eyes watching him were so scary.
As he was walking trembling, a person jumped out in front of him. It was the green-haired pirate who had disappeared while running away.
He screamed because he almost shot his colleague.
“Damn, I almost shot you!”
“… … .”
The green-haired pirate staggered toward her without responding.
When he saw the face of the person he was getting close to, he thought his heart froze.
“… … ! … … ! … … !”
A translucent crystalline substance, seen on the statues in the cargo hold, covered the neck and mouth of the green-haired pirate.
It wasn’t that he didn’t speak on purpose. It was because he couldn’t make any sound.
The green-haired pirate grabbed his collar, his body quickly stiffening as he sent out a desperate plea for help.
“Ugh, euaaaah!”
The pirate with the glasses pushed his comrade away and stepped back. Now he knew what these statues were made of.
This ship is cursed. I don’t know what the Satua bastards did to it. What is clear is that this ship has returned from a visit to something darker than hell.
The moment he thought that, the statues around him who had been glaring at him looked up. The gazes of his fallen comrades also turned to his head.
The pirate wearing the glasses intuitively felt that there was something above his head.
He was too scared to raise his head, but his curiosity refused to control him.
His head slowly rose.
There, the ‘being from hell’ was looking down on him.
–
“It’s bad taste.”
The Heavenly Mother sighed at the sight of the five newly added pirate figures.
‘Is that so?’
The guys that came onto the ship didn’t really bother me and I finished them off quickly, since I only used two of my new unique traits.
“Herald of Chaos: Reality is controlled by the senses. Spread psychic power to distort the senses of all sentient beings within a 500m radius. Randomly plant a ‘Madness Bomb’ among the affected creatures.
*’Madness Bomb’: Shakes the target’s senses and mind, turning them insane. When they die, the ‘Madness Bomb’ effect spreads to the nearest sentient being.
*Caution: The effect is halved against creatures with psychic power resistance. Agility is significantly reduced when using the trait.
*P.S. Please don’t believe reality too much.」
“Medusa Organ: Injects silicon-based microorganisms into the target to mutate their genes. Genetically mutated entities crystallize in stages over time.
*Note: Can only be used when in contact with the opponent.」
One is a trait created through the Transcendence system, and the other is a unique trait belonging to the newly acquired type ‘Environmental Adaptation’. There is another unique trait that was newly created, but it is not the trait to use here.
‘Medusa Organ, I really had a hard time getting this.’
Black Gallagon, especially the one that rivaled Odd Grad, was a real struggle to catch. It took two weeks just to catch it.
Of course, the reward was very sweet.
[Zuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzu zuuzu zuuzu (You know they’re useful)]
“… Well, that’s true.”
I wrapped my erosion tentacles around one of the statues.
‘Would this guy be okay?’
He’s one of the pirates who broke into the cargo hold where I was resting.
After the kids left, I was left alone and used the ‘Herald of Chaos’ to distort their senses so they wouldn’t escape.
Those whose cognitive abilities were completely messed up were running around in circles in the same spot or wandering around the cargo hold along the walls. They probably thought they were escaping successfully, but they weren’t.
‘Once you’re here, it’s in the palm of my hand.’
I was stuck to the ceiling, and I used the erosion tentacles with built-in ‘Medusa Organs’ to turn the crazy pirates into quartz statues one by one.
The Medusa Organ’s effect is to transplant silicon-based microorganisms stored within the body to an opponent. Enemies or objects affected by the microorganisms are instantly transformed into a crystal-like substance.
In other words, as the name suggests, it turns enemies into lumps of minerals. The only way to stop this is to remove the microorganisms before they spread.
What if you can’t stop it? You’ll have to stay locked in a prison of flesh like the statues in the cargo hold. It’s not for nothing that you can get this trait from Apex, who has more power than Black Gallagon.
‘But it goes well with other characteristics.’
The opponents petrified by the Medusa Organ are useful in many ways. For example, they can be used as materials for the mimicry organ.
I opened my mouth wide and bit into the crystallized pirate whole. The hard crystals broke apart like a juicy candy and sweet juices soaked my mouth.
The flesh of the pirate, who had green hair in his lifetime, passes through the digestive tract below the neck and transforms into nutrients. In the process, the dormant mimetic organs awaken and acquire genetic information.
I jumped down from the ceiling to the floor. I landed without making a single noise and walked towards the pirate who was urinating.
“You, you… ?!”
The pirate wearing the prosthetic eye felt both fear and confusion.
Right now, I look like a green-haired pirate to him. His mind will recognize that I am not his comrade, but his body will reject that interpretation.
The effectiveness of the mimetic organ has been further enhanced thanks to the ‘Shape Master’ trait acquired a few months ago.
Previously, I only used pheromones to confuse the other person’s senses. However, now, the psychic power flowing out from the pores of my outer skin creates a false image of supernatural powers on my body.
It’s like wearing some sort of optical equipment powered by psychic powers, so it doesn’t show up well on camera. It comes out distorted, like a ghost picture, but it’s better than being captured as a monster.
Since leaving the Dragon’s Nest, I have traveled to various constellations and preyed on numerous intelligent beings. Among them, the important ones have stored their genetic information in their bodies with the human-faced insect organs, and the lesser ones have been made into statues with the Medusa organs, just like now.
For use in raiding other planets or ships, like now.
“What about the kids?”
“In the container. No. 26 is still, but Adhai seems hungry.”
“I should at least pack something to eat.”
I picked up the pirate with the prosthetic eye with my winged arm. The one in my hands trembled and begged.
“S, please save me! Please save me! Please save me! Please save me… .”
I was going to use it as a snack for Adhai, but then a good idea suddenly occurred to me. I asked the Heavenly Mother in a sneaky way.
“Is this your first time here in our reality?”
“Oh. This was originally a cult space fortress. I don’t know why it changed like this.”
“Then I guess I’ll need a guide.”
“yes yes?”
The bastard’s eyes widened at my words.
We used parasites to control the guards, but there are still a few left.
The hallucinations covering my body distorted slightly, and a black, eel-like creature crawled out of my fighting arm. His face turned dark as he saw the parasite writhing and approaching.
“Hey, wait! Wait! Wait… Why are you crying!”
The parasite wrapped its long body around his face and burrowed into his throat. As the parasite burrowed through his throat and into his head, the pirate’s eyes and nose began to spurt blood.
After a while, the pirate bowed his head to me with a very happy smile.
“I serve the new lord, master, master, Aimoff! I serve Aimoff! Long live Aimoff!”
“…and.”
Since you changed your fishing spot, you need to put new bait on it.
The kids’ snacks should be replaced with fish caught with new bait.