Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Ep. 142
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As soon as I regained consciousness, the first thing I felt was the liquids enveloping my body. Thick like amniotic fluid, yet warm and comforting.
I tried to move my arms, but they wouldn't budge, as if paralyzed. My entire body felt dull and heavy, like I'd been pumped full of painkillers.
'The mutation must not be complete yet.'
I quickly pieced together the situation and nodded inwardly.
I couldn't move my eyelids, so I couldn't see, but my body had to still be in a gooey, malleable state right now. Inside the cocoon, all sorts of chemical reactions were undoubtedly reshaping me into something new.
'About one or two hours left, give or take.'
Normally, I'd catch some shut-eye at a time like this, but I wasn't in the mood. Before diving into those old memories, I'd glimpsed something crucial—but it slipped my mind.
'It was definitely important...'
Something jammed it deep in my head; no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't surface. The frustration just kept piling up.
'...Never mind.'
If it mattered, it'd come back eventually. I forced myself to let go of the effort.
'Better to check what everyone's up to.'
To shake off the stuffiness building inside me, I shifted my focus to the crew on the surface. I concentrated my auxiliary organs, trying to sense what was happening outside the cocoon.
Maybe because I was mid-evolution, but the best I could manage was detecting activity on the ground overhead.
And there was no one there. Just the Swamp King's sturdy leg shell registering faintly.
'Where the hell did they go?'
My most vulnerable moments are during evolution and when activating the Transcendence System. That's why, before entering Transcendence stage 2, I'd asked them to stand guard.
It might sound odd coming from me, but things between us were solid.
Specimen 026 goes without saying—we'd spent the most time together—and Adhai idolized me.
I made a point to steer clear of anything they hated, too. If they wanted something, I'd accommodate as best I could.
The Mother of the Sky was trickier, but she had her own ambitions, so betrayal seemed unlikely. If she'd planned it, she'd have struck the second I crawled into the cocoon.
No way they'd abandon me without cause. Which left just one explanation.
'Threats nearby.'
Something dangerous enough to threaten me had shown up, and they'd gone to neutralize it.
'What could attack me here...?'
The Hond Giant couple sprang to mind first.
Their territory was a good distance away, but ever since devouring those pirates, they'd been prowling deeper into the forest. Hooked on the exotic taste of human and Cult flesh, no doubt.
'But I built the nest in a safe spot on purpose, so not them.'
Another possibility: a rescue team for the deep-sea research base crew. But slim odds—my nest was far from the base.
'Or maybe Muriel's allies?'
Interrogating Muriel, I'd learned about her player backers. She'd sent a distress call before dying, only to be ignored.
'I wiped my tracks clean.'
Her call logs made it clear they suspected me. Still, I'd incinerated or buried every artificial structure and weapon before abandoning camp.
The exploded cruiser's wreckage from my Brain Lightning was there, sure—but pinpointing my nest from that alone? Near impossible.
'Nest's underground anyway.'
Even if players had some tech I didn't know about to find it, that didn't add up either.
'If they'd found it, I'd be dead.'
Two players on Muriel's level or better could smoke Specimen 026, Adhai, and the Mother of the Sky without breaking a sweat. Four or five hours since I entered the cocoon—more than enough time to wrap things up.
Me still breathing meant no direct player assault. The mystery foes must be scrappers the kids could handle.
'Right back where I started.'
Looks like I'd have to scout immediately once the mutation finished.
The Mother of the Sky was a ranker.
Not the outgoing type, but she'd managed a major clan and led raids against boss-tier beasts.
She'd commanded the subjugation of a sub-boss Sea Demon, joined hunts against Red Gallerons and Vortex Ones—prey only rankers dared touch.
She prided herself on having seen it all. Yet the scene before her felt utterly surreal.
"Aaagh!"
"Everyone, run!"
A Sea Demon swollen to over 10 meters was rampaging through the forest heart, butchering Cult warriors indiscriminately. Each swing of its log-thick tentacles erased a Cult's upper body; whenever eye-like patterns glowed on its torso, Cults bled from their eyes and ears.
Their leader had met a tentacle on first contact and died twisted like a fly under a swatter.
"Shield up! Shields, nowww!"
A female Cult dodged a tentacle, screaming. As the next highest warrior, the others hurriedly deployed shields.
But against a Sea Demon wielding psychic power as deftly as a Galleron, shields were meaningless.
"D-Die... grk?!"
One brave warrior charged behind a shield—and halted mid-leap. His limbs and waist betrayed him, twisting wildly on their own.
"Gaaah!"
Like a child yanking an ant's legs. Hit with five stacks of Bind, the warrior's limbs tore free, then his torso split apart.
"I-It won't... Aaaagh!"
Meanwhile, another got smashed by a thick tentacle, cratering into a tree. Neck snapped wrong, he blinked a few times and went still.
Undeniable slaughter.
Yet what made it surreal for the Mother of the Sky were the waves pulsing with every attack from the Sea Demon—no, Specimen 026.
"Aaagh!"
"Eek!"
Mid-screams, Specimen 026 repeated "bad humans," carving through them. It couldn't yet distinguish Cults from humans.
"Damn it! Seal those tentacles first!"
At the female Cult's order, two armed with harpoon guns stepped up.
'Oh no!'
The Mother of the Sky leaped from her tree perch.
Those harpoon nets shrank tight on impact. Alone, they couldn't pierce the Sea Demon's hide—but these were black silver weaves.
'Black silver could hurt Specimen 026!'
If it got even scratched, the monster slumbering now wouldn't take it well.
But her fears proved unfounded.
As the net closed in, Specimen 026 shrank to balloon size, slipped past effortlessly, then ballooned back and lashed a tentacle.
One shooter barely dodged; the other's torso vanished.
The survivor flashed relief—too soon. Ground stones and metal scraps shuddered, then pelted his face at speed, riddling it with holes.
He joined his comrades.
'Impressive.'
Childish speech aside, Specimen 026 fought like a true Sea Demon, adapting its arsenal creatively.
'No need for me here.'
The Mother of the Sky slipped away, leaving the carnage, heading for Adhai's battlefield.
Adhai was midway through shredding another Cult squad. The sole high-altitude flier among my Aimorph allies, it exploited its specialty: snatching and dropping Cults from the sky.
'Psychic flight exists, but...'
Dodging Adhai's bullet-speed dives? Impossible. A hit meant instant death.
Plus, every Cult invading this forest was half-mad from Specimen 026's Deep Sea Terror.
'Smarter application than the game's Sea Demon.'
By lore, Deep Sea Terror leaked from the beast's potent psychic energy, crumbling minds nearby.
Specimen 026 wove it thin and wide like spider silk. Most foes stayed mostly sane—but their comms and key psychic skills got jammed.
Isolate, then crush. Exactly the plan.
Not flawless—subadult limits made the effect flicker after prolonged combat. A few might slip control if unlucky.
Still, the tactic worked brilliantly. The Mother of the Sky had to admire it.
'...Morph pals gonna Morph.'
Adhai fully grown? Terrifying prospect.
'Maybe a blessing it's on our side.'
Comfort or concern? Hard to say.
Such thoughts when a scream echoed overhead.
She halted. Seconds later, a Cult warrior crashed through branches, exploding on impact like a bomb.
A green dragon landed gracefully amid the gore chunks.
Two meters of sleek length, wings outsizing its body, four horns, plump tail—Adhai.
It clutched a Cult in one forepaw, half-crushed despite reinforced suit. Super-acceleration ram, no doubt.
One team cleared, next nearly done.
She'd sensed three Cult squads total. One remained.
She'd planned to team up on the last, but Adhai bolted skyward. Shaking her head helplessly, the Mother of the Sky followed.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Cult warrior Ollai huddled behind a tree, gasping raggedly.
'Damn it! The warrior chief, Edrin, Isabel—all gone...'
His entire planetfall squad wiped except him. Comms dead, but his gadgets confirmed it.
Unlike traditionalists, Ollai was a reformist Cult—embracing "primitive" tech without shame.
Pre-mission, he'd distributed tiny tracking chips: Mega Corp military-grade. Long-range iffy, but perfect for continental ops around a hotspot.
His reinforced suit wasn't standard issue either—custom from Mega Corp's Carmelda family. Weaker armor, but stealth-optimized for infiltration.
Paired with his psychic presence-erasing skill, he was a ghost.
'Damn! If you'd just used this good gear like I said...'
Mocked for monkey toys, yet they'd saved his hide.
'Just reach the transport. I'll live.'
Three monsters sighted so far—likely contamination mutants. Purge needed yesterday.
Clear of beasts, he moved out.
'Almost there!'
The transport lay beyond the brush. Creeping silently, he dropped low—a black shadow flickered across the ground.
Edrin had proven what that meant.
'Why's a Galleron here?!'
Recalling his squadmate's sky-high snatch-and-drop, he crept on.
Finally through the brush: the transport.
Not as hoped.
"Grrr..."
"Grun."
Two massive horned theropods wrecked the ship, crunching the pilot inside.
Manuk Arma—or Hond Giants to Mega Corp. Natives from volcanic zones, now deep in forest.
"Gr... sniff? Sniff sniff."
"Grrrrr."
One sniffed, nose locking on Ollai's position.
Hyper-sensitive smellers. Sweat-drenched as he was, no escape.
Ollai retreated soundlessly, then bolted at full sprint. Roars chased him; he ignored, running like mad.
'Daaaamn!'
His flight cut short. The circling Green Galleron struck.
Anything-for-survival reformist, but fate was fate.
Supersonic two-meter mass flattened him like a bug under palm.
She nodded contentedly at the fresh enemy chunks.
Lately, she'd sensed distance growing with Big Adult. Little Adult and Ugly Friend tagged along more; she rarely did.
So she'd decided: rack up merits, win favor.
Over ten kills today alone. Bound to impress.
She licked blood from her scales, turning back—until a new foe slammed her.
"Kyaaah!"
She tumbled across dirt. Pre-collision reaction spared fatality, but one wing tore badly.
Undaunted, Adhai rose on four legs, glaring. Little Adult and Ugly Friend trailed far behind—overzealous advance.
Hold out till backup.
"Grrrr!"
Dread realization: not one beast, two.
The horn-rammer charged; torn wing let her barely evade.
Next, tail whip—unavoidable. Thick tail hurled her into a tree.
Head tentacles bled freely now. Legs quaked; no strength to rise.
"Grrrr."
Beast loomed, jaws gaping. Razor teeth gleamed. Moments from shredding her fragile form.
"Kyaaah!"
Not over yet.
Full-power Purple Lightning lanced out. Violet bolt pierced an eye; blood erupted.
Eyeburst agony should've staggered it—yet it pressed on. Rage fueled, it bit through the shock toward her.
Best effort made, but end loomed. Sensing doom, she shut her eyes.
Vibration hummed from somewhere. No chew-pain expected.
Faint at first, it swelled—soon, violent shakes like gripped and rattled.
"Grun?"
"Grrr?"
Quake gripped all. Beasts looked rattled too.
Then—
Earth erupted. The maw-beast flew into treetops.
[Zz zzz zzz zzz (You crazy bastards dare!)]
A colossal dragon bellowed, shaking the world.
The Big Adult she'd longed for.