Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 315
Only Noblemtl
Episode 315 – Relics (2)
–
‘I didn’t expect it to be an outspacer.’
The situation was very bad.
Sihyeon also expected that the guy would not be a pure outspacer. There was no such outspacer in the Megacorp data archives.
Still, I figured it was either a variant of the Queen, or a completely new Outspacer.
But it wasn’t both.
The ‘Abyss Destroyer’ is an artifact that destroys only certain genes. If it is an Outspacer, death is inevitable.
But the bastard didn’t die when he was hit by the Abyss Destroyer’s wavelength. He was merely injured.
We already know that the monster has enhanced itself through advanced genetic manipulation. The reason it collapsed after being hit by the Abyss Destroyer is because the genes of the Outspacer that makes up its body were destroyed.
Although that alone would be fatal damage, there are still problems.
‘An already terrifying being has now become a wounded beast.’
There was no way that smart monster wouldn’t know how terrifying a weapon the Abyss Destroyer was. It was clear that before she could escape, he would come after her somehow.
There are a lot of cultists roaming this underground, but it’s unlikely they’ll kill the monster. You’ll be lucky if you don’t become a sacrifice to revive it.
That’s why I didn’t bring my subordinates in the first place. Even if I brought them in, they wouldn’t have even been trained for combat, so they would just end up as food for the bastard.
In the end, she has to deal with the bastard herself. Even from her perspective, leaving the monster alone is too risky. She has to end it here somehow.
‘I need genetic information to kill that guy.’
If you collect the monster’s genetic information, flesh, or blood and put it into the Abyss Destroyer, the relic will analyze the genetic data on its own. Once the analysis is complete, you can kill the thing.
‘The problem is how we are going to harvest his flesh….’
Despite suffering damage to the genetic unit, the creature ended up collapsing on the ground. It was no easy task to injure and collect genetic data from a monster with both incredible durability and great intelligence.
Then a mechanical groan came to her ears.
“Umm, where is this?”
It was the sound made by Layla, who was lying on the floor.
The life management suit, which had been in a temporary state of recovery after receiving a strong shock, began to move again as it returned to normal. She struggled to get up and leaned back against the wall.
“What happened? Did you defeat that monster?”
“It was a failure. I succeeded in wounding him, but I did not kill him.”
“… … .”
At Shihyeon’s words, Layla shut her mouth.
A moment later, a distorted voice came from the silent life-saving suit.
“Then what do you plan to do?”
“You’ll come after me before I get away. I know that.”
“How about informing the cults and getting them to join us?”
Yesterday, when Sihyeon was preparing to go down to the basement, Nern contacted her.
If you want to fight him, join forces with the cults. He tells Alshas that the cults will support her.
“That seems difficult. There’s no way they’d leave my relics alone.”
“I guess that’s true.”
Sihyeon rejected Nern’s offer.
Because it was clear that the cults would try to get their hands on the Abyss Destroyer if they saw her, even if it was Kissos who had promised to support her.
The Abyssal Destroyer is an item that only she can use, but would that make them give it up? It was easy to imagine how the cult would treat her.
‘But if we continue like this, we’ll end up dying anyway.’
She looked down at the crystal battery mounted on the Abyss Destroyer.
This battery, which was obtained with the relic, has been analyzed for its components and structure, but no information has been found. It is completely unknown what it is made of and how it works, but this device, like the main body, possesses transcendental powers.
The Crystal Battery is responsible for recharging the Abyss Destroyer’s energy so that he can continue to fire his genetic destruction waves.
Of course, the main unit does not stop working just because the battery is gone. As a result of the experiment conducted before coming to Berzan 02, even when the battery was removed, the remaining amount of energy already charged remained in the weapon.
However, the only way to power the Abyss Destroyer is to equip it with a crystal battery. No matter how hard I tried, I failed to charge it.
This means that without the crystal battery, the Abyss Destroyer is essentially a disposable weapon. If you want to keep using the main unit, this battery is essential.
‘The battery currently has 60% energy left.’
If you use up all this energy, you’ll need to wait a while to recharge. It’s not that long, but it takes about a day to fully charge, so you can’t use it recklessly.
‘Two more times.’
Since each shot consumes about 30% of her energy, she has two chances left to counterattack the creature. She has to attack it by harvesting its flesh within those two chances.
But he must also be expecting her to use her weapon again. Her and Layla’s method of being bait will no longer work.
All the remaining conditions were unfavorable, except for the relics. She bit her lip.
‘Is there no way after all?’
The only way was to join the cult underground and wait for an opportunity. You could harvest the flesh while he was fighting the cult, and then wait until you were in a position to use your weapon.
‘It’s like feeding the bastard… .’
A monster that absorbs genes and strengthens the body. If you fight the cult, you will recover from injuries quickly, but there is no other way.
Just as she was about to open her mouth after making her decision, Layla spoke first.
“Just a moment. I’ve just received a call from Captain Nern. He says he has a way to assist you on your own and wants to help you.”
She can receive simple messages thanks to a communication device built into her life support suit.
‘Nern is helping us?’
There are so many cult warriors underground that there is no reason for him to help Shihyeon and his party. Lila continued to explain, as if she knew Shihyeon’s question as well.
“The cult advisor with Nern said that there was talk from above about capturing the bastard.”
“You’re capturing him alive? You’re out of your mind.”
Both of them had that same thought at one point. As a result, one of them died, and the other became unable to live without the suit.
“It seems that before that, they decided that the only way to kill him was through the relics. According to Nern, the advisor also lost his family and had a deep grudge.”
“I see you received support from Alshas.”
Currently, Alshas is not directly participating in the operation and is acting as an advisor. However, he is still the captain of the Imperial Carrier. It would be possible to give powerful weapons to Nern, not himself.
“I sent you the coordinates, so come there….”
Before Layla could finish speaking, the passage shook slightly. The two who knew what it meant flinched.
“It’s him. Guide me to the coordinates.”
“all right.”
The vibrations in the underground passage are getting closer to them.
The two ran towards the coordinates that Nern had sent.
–
‘You’re not joining a cult?’
Contrary to my expectations, Si-Hyeon and her colleagues were heading in the wrong direction. The traces they left behind were far from where the cult was.
‘There was no communication failure.’
There is no 26 here, and I am not using the ‘Dark Curtain’. It is difficult to see that they are escaping to a strange place because the communication is not smooth.
‘Is there some intention?’
If you’re just wasting time, there’s no reason to go anywhere other than where the cults are.
You can use the cults as bait to tie me up and use weapons. Why would you throw away good bait and act like that?
‘If you go in the direction you’re going now, you’ll be close to the ground.’
At first glance, it looks like he’s giving up the fight and trying to run away, but we can’t be so sure. Sihyeon Yujin is the one who hit me once. There’s a high chance that he’s prepared a trap that I don’t know about.
Maybe those who follow her on the ground are preparing a trap.
‘It’s a trap.’
It’s true that I’m worried, but the important goal right now is to destroy her weapon. Now is the time to move, even if I know it’s a trap.
I left the two heads on either side to watch out and increased my pursuit speed.
Their opponents are also humans wearing reinforced suits, but they cannot move faster than a 60m tall Aimorph.
Soon after, I started hearing the other person’s footsteps. By now, they must have realized that I was following them.
I called out to the insects as I ran.
Small monsters with human heads and bodies resembling insects crawled out of a nest located on the lower part of the back shell. Five human-faced insects quickly crawled, attached upside down to the ceiling of the cave.
“!”
Sihyeon, who was visible from a distance, swung his left arm wildly toward me. The Gallagon claw that protruded from the back of his hand fired a sword wind made of psychic power.
I charged forward, taking in the sword wind. The weapon that had attacked me was hanging on her waist.
‘good.’
I was keeping a close eye on the surroundings with both heads in case something was hidden there again, but that was no longer necessary.
Erosive tentacles shot out from my back all at once and headed towards her waist.
The comrade wearing the reinforced suit following behind her aimed the muzzle of the Slayer’s gun in his hand at the tentacle. A blue light flashed and I felt a sharp pain from one of my tentacles. The reinforced suit’s performance was quite good, as I shot while running and it hit the appendage of my tentacle.
One doesn’t really mean much, since the other five tentacles are pointed at Shihyeon.
“Tch!”
Wings sprouted from her back and she soared quickly into the air. Some of my tentacles stuck to the ground where she was standing, while others followed behind her.
When the sharp appendages of the tentacles tried to grab Sihyeon, she defended herself by folding her wings to minimize her body size or by creating shields with her arms to deflect them. When it was difficult to block, I used my size to my advantage, intentionally flying between the tentacles and making them tangle with each other.
She slips and slides between tentacles that fill the dungeon. I’ve felt this before, but her combat sense is so good that it reminds me of battles with players.
‘But tentacles aren’t everything to me.’
As the tentacles attacked, my body became even closer to the enemy. My right head moved to swallow Sihyeon whole.
“Where!”
The moment I opened my mouth wide and was about to swallow her whole, I heard a mechanical sound from below. My comrade in the reinforced suit slammed both hands down on the ground I was standing on. My legs swayed slightly because the ground had slightly sank.
‘It’s annoying.’
“Huh!”
Instead of using my disabled fighting arm, I struck the opponent hard with my wing arm. The enemy flew away like a fly hit by a newspaper and was stuck in the wall.
Then, my left head shot an acid breath towards the wall where the opponent was stuck. Unfortunately, this time the opponent did not faint and quickly dodged the breath.
“Keep, keepeeeeek!”
However, it was not completely avoided, as one side of his leg melted away. Not only did the reinforced suit melt, but his bare leg, protected inside, also disappeared entirely.
“Fuck!”
Sihyeon, who saw his colleague being treated, drew his weapon again.
I had never used it before, so I just pulled it out now, so I knew that there must be some limitations.
‘It seems like it’s a type that has a limited number of uses.’
Besides, there aren’t many chances left. Two or three at most? He must have acted like that because he didn’t have many chances to attack.
The crystal mounted on the weapon rotates and emits an eerie light.
I know I can’t avoid those waves in this narrow underground space, but this time, I prepared in advance.
‘now!’
“What?!”
Five human-faced beasts hiding in the ceiling flew towards her. She was so focused on me that she was startled by the human-faced beasts that suddenly appeared.
One of the human-faced beasts shot a paralyzing sound wave at her. For a split second, her body stopped moving, then began to move again.
But even a short time was enough time for the human-faced beast. The human-faced beast approached her and struck down the arm holding the weapon with its sharp forelegs.
“Ugh!”
With a short groan, she dropped her weapon. The moment it fell from her hand, the crystal stopped spinning.
As the other human-faced beast tried to destroy the weapon, Sihyeon reached out to the falling weapon.
A whip of psychic power shoots out from her palm and flies in to wrap itself around the weapon. The weapon falls and the forelegs of the approaching human-faced beast are about to touch the weapon.
In a split second, I gave the human-faced beast a new command. The trajectory of its forelimbs slightly twisted accordingly.
The whip wrapped around the weapon with a slight difference. Immediately after, the human-faced beast’s front leg struck the surface of the weapon. A short impact sound followed, and the weapon wrapped around the whip returned to its owner.
“… … !”
Sihyeon, who had retrieved the weapon, stopped right away from operating it. He noticed something strange about the weapon that resembled a vacuum cleaner.
Her gaze is fixed on the floor.
There was a fallen crystal that had lost its light. Instead of lowering its weapon under my command, the human-faced beast struck the crystal attached to it and detached it.
By the time she realized that, my head was already moving.
I fell headfirst into the floor with my mouth wide open. Dirt, sand, and the crystal weapon inside were sucked through my long neck and into my body.
“You bastard!”
She flew towards me, cutting down the surrounding human faces. When my tentacles and heads got in the way, she responded with Reflection.
The head and tentacles retract backwards, and Gallagon’s claws cut my throat. But that alone is not enough to make me vomit out what is about to be digested.
If she had time, the heads on the right and left sides were preparing to attack again from both sides.
Because of that, she had no choice but to settle for pouring the blood that gushed out from my neck. She defended her right head with reflection and her left head with a shield, and stepped back.
Meanwhile, all the objects I had swallowed were digested. Then, I felt an intense heat inside my body.
「Acquisition Condition: Genetic Similarity to ‘Player ■■’」
“Confirm acquisition conditions. Release the defensive wall.”
“In response to the ‘Plunderer’s Irregular Polyhedron’, the sign of a strong enemy.”
“‘Plunderer’s Irregular Polyhedron (Empty Dice)’ is applied.
‘What is this?’
It felt completely different from when the Marauder’s irregular polyhedron was activated so far. It wasn’t just a part of the body changing, but it felt like every single cell that made up the body was being reborn.
It’s like evolving.
“Hey, I got a call, y-you! I’m at the, y-you’re at the air station right now… .”
“Tell them to attack now!”
As I was frozen in place by the sudden change, I felt the enemies moving away. Along with that, I also felt a powerful energy concentrated above my head.
And then a distant, intense heat and light poured down upon me.