Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 356
Only Noblemtl
But that’s a story in the game. If I were a high-ranking member of Megacorp, I would do anything to stop the export of plasma rifles.
[Zzzzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzzzz (These guys robbed the solar system’s ships?)]
“No way. It would be possible if they had thousands of battleships, but it’s absolutely impossible with their level.”
[Zzuzuzuzu zuzu zuzu zuzuzuzuzu (But it doesn’t seem like it’s from Earth)]
“Maybe they are pirates related to the player.”
According to her reasoning, it is actually unnatural to see these pirates as having no relationship with the players in the current situation.
However, there are some ambiguous parts.
‘You’re too weak for someone who carries such a precious weapon.’
Among the rankers I’ve fought so far, none of them have given plasma rifles to their subordinates. That means that it’s not as easy to use the rifle in the game as it is in reality.
It was clearly suspicious that pirates of this low level were carrying weapons that even rankers would have difficulty obtaining.
‘Besides, this isn’t a particularly important constellation.’
There are no rare resources here, nor is it of military importance. The only reason they stopped while traveling at superluminal speed was to grab a snack. Judging from the fact that they didn’t encounter any other ships on their way here, it was hard to believe that this was a constellation controlled by pirates.
‘I should ask the kids too.’
While I was attacking the pirate ship, a few pirates crossed over to the mining ship. Some of them might be carrying plasma rifles.
I bit the outer wall of the mining ship with three mouths. I tore off the solid outer wall and stuck my head inside.
The moment I was about to scatter waves with the monster’s tentacles while my head was stuck in the hallway.
A long figure appeared across the corridor, where red emergency lights were shining down. It was Isabel, a being with a long snake-like body and dozens of arms.
The guy had the pirate in his mouth and was about to swallow it when our eyes met. I could see that one of his many hands was holding a plasma rifle.
[Zuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu (There’s a plasma rifle here too)]
The guy who heard me spat out the cyborg pirate he was biting. The unconscious guy was wearing a power suit, but his whole body was covered in wounds. The guy who picked up the food he had spat out and came to me.
“I brought it just in case. I guess there was a pirate ship over there too.”
[Zuzu zuzuzu (Are you okay?)]
“I got hit once or twice, but it’s okay.”
The thing floating in the air elegantly turned its body. The chrome scales covering its body had burn marks, but the damage was not serious.
‘Is it because it’s made from the Ring of Agony? It’s quite sturdy.’
I got hit by a plasma rifle, but the damage was limited to that level, so I don’t think you need to worry too much.
[Zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu (Is there anything else besides this?)]
At my question, the guy shook his head to the side. Then he lifted the pirate in his hand.
“This guy was holding a rifle. I think he’s the leader.”
[Zuzu (really?)]
That’s good news.
With my head out, I inserted my combat arm into the hole I had drilled in the mining ship. A reinforced parasite emerged from the hole in my arm and moved towards its new home. After a while, the parasite, having completed its move, sent me a wave.
[Zuz …
Since I am quite large, it is not easy for me to interrogate pirates in space. I left it to the Heavenly Mother and looked around at the wreckage of pirate ships floating around.
‘I wonder if there’s anything unusual.’
We had already confirmed before the raid that the pirate ship was poorly armed. As expected, nothing unusual was found.
‘Wait, there’s nothing?’
At that moment, Spacedog’s characteristic came to mind. Pirates usually paint their cartel’s unique mark on their ships. This is because it helps them avoid fighting with other pirates.
However, there was no cartel mark on this ship at all.
‘Did it get erased because I broke it?’
Even small debris was checked, but there was no trace of paint on the exterior walls.
‘They have plasma rifles and no pirate marks.’
I don’t know what they are doing, but I think we should get out of here quickly.
At that moment, the parasite that had taken up residence on the pirate leader’s head sent me a signal. The Heavenly Mother, Isabel, and PS-111, who had finished interrogating me through the hole I had made, came out.
[Zuzuzuzuzuz (What happened?)]
“… I think it has something to do with the players.”
[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzuzu (I hope this isn’t related to where we’re going?)]
“They said there are no Spacedog rankers in the Return Squad, so that can’t be true. Oh, and look at this.”
As she nodded, Isabel came up to my head and held out a small piece of cloth in her hand. It looked like a badge and had the pirate cartel mark I was looking for on it.
But there’s something strange about the mark’s appearance. Their mark isn’t a picture, it’s a letter.
[Zuzu zuzu zuzu (Isn’t this Japanese?)]
“That’s right. It’s Japanese on the front and kanji on the back. The boss said he was the boss of the Shinoroku Cartel.”
Speaking of Japanese, there is a player that comes to mind. He is a Megacorp ranker with an arrogant and vicious personality, Akira Eugene.
‘Is it related to 3rd place?’
“Their cartel is a bit unique in its composition. Unlike regular pirates, they’ve formed an alliance. When I asked, I found out that there are six cartels in total that have joined forces.”
[Zuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu (is that why the number 6 is in the name?)]
“Yeah. The boss said he received this weapon from Cartel No. 1.”
According to information I heard from Jason before, the third person is the head of the Eugene family. He may have used his power as the head of the family to organize pirates and provide them with weapons.
‘The person who organized the cartel must also be a ranker.’
In order to control pirates who betray as easily as eating a meal, you need a ranker. Spacedog Ranker, who works with Akira, is leading them.
[Zuzuzu zuuzu zuuzu (What is their purpose?)]
“I asked, and there’s no specific purpose. Just using weapons to steadily loot a designated area. That’s it.”
[Zuzu zuzuzuzu (what about other cartels?)]
“They said that they move independently and that they don’t know what they usually do. They barely interact with each other other than regular contact.”
The pirate leader, who had good weapons compared to his skills, knew little about the situation. As a result, their true purpose was not revealed.
‘Still, it’s fortunate that we found it before it happened to us.’
Just knowing in advance that the ruling party was plotting something was a gain in its own way.
[Zzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (We can’t let them know we met them)]
“What are you going to do when the ship is already destroyed?”
[Zuzuzu zuuzu zuuzu zuuzu zuuzu zuuzu (There’s a new ship too, so you can just move it there)]
The most important figure, the leader, is still alive, and the two plasma rifles are still intact.
There are still crew members inside the mining ship, too. I called them while PS-111 and Isabel were clearing out the personnel.
If we implant parasites in the crew of the mining ship and disguise them as pirates, we can avoid their pursuit.
Once your mind is made up, the next step is action.
The boys and I worked together to find the crew inside the mining ship and infect them with parasites. There were some survivors that we didn’t infect, but we left them alone. There weren’t many of them, and we had already destroyed all the escape ships, so there was nothing they could do.
After I finished all the processing, I instructed the parasites to move as they had done before, circling along the designated route. Even if I leave far away, the parasites will follow my orders to the end.
“Humans go far away.”
The pirate ship gradually became smaller, leaving behind No. 26, who was waving his tentacles innocently.
‘good.’
Next time I encounter pirates, I’ll have to ask them if they know anything about the Cartel Alliance. Pirate alliances aren’t common, so I’m sure they know something.
After sending the pirates far away, I loaded the children and set off on a super-speed voyage.
My body, wrapped in blue energy, transcends not only light but also space. The stars and darkness reflected in my vision are mixed together like different paints.
It’s a wonderfully beautiful sight, but if you watch it absentmindedly, you’ll be in trouble. Every second, my body is crossing the stars. I have to keep an eye on my jumping route to safely reach the destination.
How much time has passed like that?
The brilliant swirl of stars died down and a red glow took their place. The old star was emitting its last light in the darkness of space.
The name of the red giant that boasts an overwhelming size compared to the sun is ‘Olga’.
On one of the planets beneath the light of that old sun, a Returner weapon maintenance ranker is hiding.
‘We have arrived at Dorane’s constellation.’
Before I came here, PS-111 told me that the fourth closest planet to the red giant ‘Olga’ is Asuka-44.
“When you arrive, can you let me out?”
As I was about to search for it, the monster’s tentacles detected a wave of thought. The Heavenly Mother in the mouth of the central head spoke to me.
The children are now in my many mouths, divided into three, so that they can move together. Adhai and the Sky Mother, who can travel at superluminal speeds, are also in my long mouth.
[Zuz …
“… Ha, I got it.”
She had been drenched in saliva by a split left head before. The reason she didn’t come back separately, even though she was shivering and hated it, was because of her stamina.
After obtaining the agate wings, you can use superlight travel even in griffon form, but it consumes a lot of stamina. In order to cross dozens or hundreds of constellations, you have to stop and eat a lot of food every now and then.
This has happened to me a few times before, but this is the first time it’s been stuck in my mouth for this long, which is probably why it’s so much harder to endure.
‘You said you would transform into another creature before you set off.’
She can transform into four types of beasts, excluding the griffon, by using her unique perk, ‘Hunting God’s Transformation Shell’.
There are currently three types of transformable beasts she has unlocked.
The ultimate combat power, the Chimera, was obtained thanks to the help of my late husband, Father of the Earth, before I met him.
Other than that, I got Wendigo and the last one while I was with them. The most recently unlocked one is a flight and movement specialized one, allowing for long-term superluminal travel with little energy.
‘However, the fighting power is not that great.’
In addition, if you use the Hunter’s God’s Transformation Shell once, you will not be able to transform into any other beast except a griffon for 30 days.
We are on our way to meet the ranker now. It is not something we can waste on privileges when it is not important. She also knows this fact, so she had no choice but to quietly let it go into my mouth.
“The middle child doesn’t like it here?”
“Ugly Friend” “Wet Thing” “I Hate It”
“Should I wipe the water?”
“No. It’s okay, just a little tentacles.”
You can feel their movements on your gums and tongue. This is in contrast to the PS-111 and Isabel on your right and left heads, who can’t even move a little. Those two are so big that they can barely fit in your mouth.
‘Then let’s hurry up a bit.’
I activated the superpower-related fusion trait ‘Dark Veil’. Thick black fog poured out from the biopipes attached to my back, arms, and legs.
This fog is made up of a special substance that neutralizes various detection systems. If you move under the protection of the fog, you can avoid enemy surveillance. It seems unnecessary to use it since no one appears when you arrive, but you never know.
I moved towards my destination with only my head slightly sticking out from within a curtain darker than space.
The old celestial body boasting overwhelming size is constantly burning itself to show its presence. The blazing fire that illuminates all things in mythology is probably an expression referring to that old sun.
The stars of life that burned for nearly an eternity are now nearing their end, and countless stars that enjoyed their light are also nearing their end. Some stars have become nutrients for dying stars, and some will continue to live until their final day comes.
Being born, living, and dying were the same for living things and stars. Of course, the difference in scale was enormous.
‘I never thought I would be able to see such a wonderful view in person.’
I moved forward, feeling the wonders of nature that I would never be able to see if I were human. As I flapped my wings and flew across the universe, I saw planets orbiting around Olga.
‘Is that it?’
Planets that look like dust at first glance because they are so tiny compared to stars. Among them, a star with a faint, dark red glow can be seen.
I approached the target, making sure there were no other ships or satellites around.
‘There are only FTL communication satellites, and no surveillance satellites.’
I gradually increased my speed and approached the planet that was presumed to be Asuka 44. As I approached the planet, I could only then see a number of Cult battleships. Judging from the way they were moving along the planet’s orbit, they seemed to be a defensive fleet.
Protected by a dark curtain, I bypassed the fleet and entered the planet’s atmosphere.
As I reached the waiting room, the auxiliary organ under my chin started tingling.
It wasn’t to warn me of danger. It was the toxicity of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere and the volcanic ash from constant volcanic activity that stimulated the auxiliary organs.
Immediately afterwards, intense heat and pressure engulfed my body. It was as if a volcano had erupted at the point where I was descending.
‘It might as well be better.’
If I hide in the volcanic ash and descend to the surface, they won’t be able to detect me either.
I released the dark curtain and flew into the volcanic ash that covered the atmosphere. A volcanic bomb more than tens of meters in size collided with me and shattered. Although the surface of my shell was partially damaged, it was not a serious injury. It was so minor that it did not cause any pain relief.
“What’s that thumping noise outside?”
“Scale” “Hot”
“Wait a minute. That smell. Did you come into an erupting volcano?”
[Zuzuzu zuuzu zuuzu zuuzu zuuzu zuuzu (If you do this, the enemies won’t even know)]
“… Oh my.”
The guys riding inside the snout also felt the change outside and muttered.
As we descended through the volcanic ash and the volcanic bombs that were flying in one after another, we soon found ourselves nearing the surface.
Like any other volcanic planet, Asuka 44 was an environment that could be described as hell. Everywhere you looked, boiling lava was everywhere, and the ground was pitch black from volcanic ash and hardened lava.