Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Ep. 127
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“Chirp?!”
I’m currently in the forest near the beach, foraging for food.
Adhai is lying unconscious in the nest, with Sky Mother standing guard over him.
Truth be told, it would’ve been proper to leave the hunting to Sky Mother, but I couldn’t because I was barely holding myself together.
The more I think about what happened to Adhai and Specimen 026, the more my unease refuses to fade.
What does it mean that only Adhai came back?
Don’t tell me Specimen 026 is already...
Thud.
‘Damn it.’
I spread my fingers apart. In a moment of absentminded strength, the wooddevil turned into complete mush.
This won’t be edible for Adhai.
‘...Calm down.’
It’s not confirmed yet. Getting this jittery isn’t like me.
I tossed aside the crushed, mantou-like wooddevil and set off in search of other prey. All the while, my mind raced with thoughts of the situation Adhai and Specimen 026 had faced.
‘There are two plausible scenarios.’
The first hypothesis: remnants of the Humanity Cartel attacked them.
The cruiser’s data showed no camps on the ocean side or the islands around the continent, but that wasn’t definitive. The inland camps could’ve relocated due to my raids.
The sticking point, though, was whether those bastards could’ve captured Specimen 026 at sea.
Its growth wasn’t fully complete, but Specimen 026 was still a Sea Demon. Unless Muriel herself was involved, it’d be next to impossible for mere remnants to take it down.
If it were just Adhai—who could only survive on land—getting caught, that’d make sense. But Specimen 026 captured and Adhai escaping alone? That didn’t add up.
‘The other scenario: an attack from beings I’m unaware of.’
It was a game, sure, but PH-101 was classified as a high-difficulty planet for good reason—harsh environmental conditions, savage predators, and natives hostile to outsiders.
I’d visited frequently to collect rare gene essences, so I knew which regions were dangerous and which creatures to watch out for.
But that was all in-game knowledge.
Unknown threats could very well exist on this planet.
After gathering various types of prey, I returned to the nest. Sky Mother was keeping watch for any followers, just as I’d instructed.
I approached the pumpkin-colored eyes glinting in the darkness and asked.
[Any other enemies?]
「No one’s following. No unusual activity in the water either.」
The auxiliary organs under my jaw concurred.
I gazed at the unconscious Adhai.
Beyond the wounds, his once-plump tail had lost a lot of flesh. The wing membranes were torn in several places, and the joints connecting his back to his wings were red and swollen from prolonged flight.
[Any dangerous creatures around here?]
「Dangerous creatures? There’s no shortage stronger than Green Gallerons.」
[Besides Gallerons, anything that could threaten a Sea Demon?]
「A Sea Demon? Wait... you mean you’ve got more than one companion? 」
[Yeah.]
The gryphon’s gaze wavered at my words.
Honestly, her reaction grated on me in this situation, but I held it back. Lashing out at her wouldn’t resolve anything—it’d only make it worse.
She was sharp enough to sense my foul mood right away.
The gryphon hurried to respond.
「There’s an archipelago out at sea where Fishrian packs dwell...」
[Fishrians? Fishrians live here?]
Fishrians were a merfolk species primarily inhabiting ocean planets.
Their appearance resembled the mermaids of legend—men with fish heads or women with fish tails, their entire bodies covered in scales.
Their standout trait stemmed from being modeled after the evil-god cultists in classic horror novels: they were intensely fanatical zealots.
‘Fishrians worship mighty sea beasts like Sea Demons.’
Semi-boss-tier sea creatures like Sea Demons inhabited ocean planets, which was why Fishrians favored them too.
[Any semi-boss-tier creatures in these waters?]
「I’ve never seen one myself, but there’s a legend passed down among the wolves: a demon in the sea that devours gods.」
Only one thing came to mind for a sea demon.
‘There’s a Sea Demon in the deep sea.’
For a split second, I wondered if Specimen 026 and Adhai had encountered it, but I shook my head.
If they’d fought a Sea Demon, the injuries wouldn’t have stopped at this. Given its size, something as small as Adhai would’ve been shredded by its sawblade tentacles on contact.
I examined Adhai’s wounds once more.
‘These aren’t from a Sea Demon.’
They were healing, so they looked different from when I’d first seen them, but these were unmistakably cuts and burns. Sea Demons didn’t wield puny plasma weapons or blades.
Which meant someone else inflicted them.
‘Fishrians don’t use firearms.’
For religious reasons, they clung to primitive lifestyles, shunning futuristic weapons like laser guns. At most, they might use conventional gunpowder arms.
[These marks look like Fishrian harpoon wounds. What do you think?]
「Let me see.」
Sky Mother’s keen eyes swept over Adhai’s injuries.
She nodded and voiced her assessment.
「You’re right. This part here and this one—the spiral tears are from Fishrian harpoons.」
Then she extended a forepaw to point at other wounds.
「But these aren’t from harpoons. Looks like burns from a laser weapon or plasma gun.」
I agreed.
Adhai’s injuries couldn’t have come from Fishrian weaponry alone.
‘Humans are working with the Fishrians.’
Fishrians were virulently hostile to outsiders.
Whenever they spotted humans, they’d try to offer them up as sacrifices to their worshipped sea beasts. Unlike carnivores hunting out of hunger, Fishrians actively hunted humans for rituals.
Yet for some reason, they were cooperating with humans.
As I pondered the cause, Adhai’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
His oval, amethyst-like pupils darted anxiously until they met mine, then lit up with life.
「Adult! 」 「Happy!」
Despite the pain, his vigorous thought waves sent a pleasant tingle through my tentacle tips. I gently stroked him with a combat arm.
[Tell me what happened.]
「Adult 」 「Me 」 「Sorry」
[It’s fine.]
Adhai trembled, but my gentle touch gradually soothed him.
「......」
I ignored Sky Mother’s bewildered gaze from behind.
「Little adult 」 「Big trouble 」 「Dwarves 」 「Fish 」 「Little adult 」 「Attack」
[Humans and Fishrians attacked together?]
「Fish 」 「God 」 「Dying 」 「Replacement 」 「Need 」 「Dwarves 」 「God 」 「Learned 」 「Two 」 「Cooperate」
Adhai’s words came in fragmented concepts, making it hard to follow in places.
Still, I could piece together the gist.
‘“God” probably means a Sea Demon. The Fishrians are seeking a replacement because theirs is dying.’
But from what I knew, Fishrians treated Sea Demons as sacred. They were so devout that if their god died, they’d abandon life itself.
For such a tribe to seek a new god upon the old one’s death?
Uncharacteristic for any normal Fishrian.
That’s where the “dwarves” Adhai mentioned—humans—came in.
‘The humans here must be researchers studying Sea Demons.’
They likely convinced the Fishrians to ensure smooth operations, dangling the promise of a new Sea Demon.
‘Which means there’s a research base near the Fishrian archipelago.’
Whether on land or in the deep sea.
Even as I mulled it over, Adhai’s thought waves continued.
「Dwarves 」 「Little adult 」 「Me 」 「Attack 」 「Captured 」 「Little adult 」 「Me 」 「Released 」 「Me 」 「Alone 」 「Escaped」
‘They fought together, got captured together, but Specimen 026 managed to get Adhai free somehow.’
Adhai must’ve sustained these injuries while fleeing from Fishrian and human attacks.
「Me 」 「Upset 」 「Upset 」 「Upset」
[It’s okay. Eat this and rest.]
「Me 」 「Wrong 」 「Me 」 「Punish 」 「Meal 」 「No」
[Eat up quick so we can go rescue.]
I comforted the self-reproaching Adhai and handed over the prey I’d caught. He resisted at first but reluctantly extended his tentacles when I insisted.
Once I saw him start eating, I slowly rose from my spot.
Adhai was wracked with guilt over leaving Specimen 026 behind. To let him eat properly, I moved a short distance from the nest.
‘At least it’s a relief that Specimen 026 is probably still alive.’
Judging by the fact they captured it, the humans at that research base weren’t lightly armed.
They’d long surpassed pirate remnant levels—likely on par with elite troops from a Mega Corp Prime Capital family.
‘Ezerton, or perhaps the Zhao Family.’
I’d clashed with Ezerton once in a space city, and the Zhao Family had been a persistent thorn in my side during the game.
And now savage Fishrian packs on top.
Truth be told, neither Prime Capitals nor Fishrians posed a real threat to me as a Near-Adult. The issue was if the base was in the deep sea.
A Sea Demon already lurked there; no reason other deadly sea creatures couldn’t. Among my traits, few were effective for underwater combat.
‘A fight there wouldn’t be easy.’
The battle’s difficulty would hinge largely on Specimen 026’s condition. It excelled in water, but if badly injured, I’d have to protect it while fighting—skyrocketing the challenge.
As I stared out at the black sea, contemplating the rescue, Sky Mother approached.
「So it was true—you do have a friend. I thought it was a distasteful joke.」
[Don’t provoke me. I’m in a bad mood.]
I growled, but she sat beside me regardless. Her pumpkin-colored eyes joined mine in gazing at the distant black horizon.
「If you’d just permit it, I’d like to help.」
[You’d help me? Why?]
「Because I know the pain of losing family too.」
She said it offhandedly, as if it were nothing. But the emotion beneath her casual tone was far from trivial.
‘Sky Mother lending a hand, huh.’
She was formidable in land combat, but water? Uncertain.
Unless her transformation tied to aquatic life, she was a gryphon.
Higher deification allowed adaptation to varied environments, but straying far from the base form was tough. Shallow waters might be manageable, but the deep sea was another story.
‘No. In a bad spot like this, I need to utilize everything available.’
In the game, fights with Sea Demons and other sea bosses usually involved luring them to land.
Aimorph Near-Adults struggled with underwater combat but swam decently fast. Even if we ran into dangers, I could drag Specimen 026 to an island. Then fight it out there with Adhai and Sky Mother.
[We leave once Adhai recovers.]
「Adhai, eh. What’s that Sea Demon’s name? 」
[Specimen 026.]
「...Fitting for a Morph freak.」
The gryphon shook her head.
Ignoring her, I kept brainstorming rescue plans nonstop.
That brooding continued until Adhai finished devouring the food and regained his strength.
“Run, Team Leader! Communications are finally back up!”
“Really? Why all of a sudden?”
“No idea! Checked the hyperspace network—looks like a Garmelda family military satellite’s been deployed nearby.”
“Oh, what luck! I thought we’d be stuck here for years!”
The Mega Corp research base in PH-101’s deep sea.
Half a year ago, researchers dispatched by the Prime Capital Zhao Family had established it.
Originally a holy site designated by the Cults—off-limits to outsiders—but the Zhao Family had detected periodic lapses in surveillance.
Patriarch Way Zhao learned through spies embedded in Cult society that the planet teemed with rare creatures of all kinds. Seizing the opportunity, he’d sent his team in secret.
Their objective: study the ecology of deep-sea predators and harvest their genes. Built at the ocean floor, the base evaded detection even after surveillance tightened.
They conducted research from the depths normally, slipping to islands for food and supplies during surveillance weak points.
But lately, the lapses stopped entirely—culminating in a massive spaceship crashing under fire from a Cult cruiser.
Realizing the gravity, they’d tried contacting the Zhao Family, only to find all comms severed.
Stranded in the heart of this perilous planet’s abyss.
“The Fishrians’ attitudes have been turning nastier with every ascent. I was sweating bullets.”
“Tell me about it. A few more days, and those fish bastards would’ve sacrificed us.”
“Team Leader, when the family hears we caught a mutant Sea Demon, they’ll be stunned, right?”
“Stunned? You lot were Third Capitals, yeah? When we get back, I’ll pull strings to promote everyone here to Prime Capital.”
“Whoa!”
“Thank you!”
“Once the rescue team arrives, we’ll snag that escaped Galleron too, right?”
“Obviously. Who’d have thought Gallerons lived on a planet like this? Academia’s gonna lose its mind.”
The researchers strolled the corridor, chatting amiably.
Not far from them lay a special prison.
Forged from black silver alloy, it nullified psy powers inside.
In the cold, rigid cell slumped a pink, balloon-like creature.
「■■■■....」
It ceaselessly emitted inscrutable waves, unknown to any of the researchers.