The Three-Headed Demon (1)
The first thing I felt when I came to was warmth. Was this what it felt like to float in amniotic fluid? A soft liquid wrapped around my entire body.
I tried to move my arm, but it wouldn't move at all. My whole body felt heavy, as if anesthetized.
The mutation isn't finished yet.
I grasped the situation immediately and accepted it. My body right now had to be in a slack, malleable state. Inside the cocoon, all manner of chemical reactions would be firing away, remaking me from the inside out.
An hour or two left, maybe.
Ordinarily I'd simply drift back to sleep, but I wasn't in the mood. I felt as though I'd glimpsed something important among my old memories — something I absolutely couldn't recall now.
It was definitely something important, but…
It refused to surface, as if something had slammed a lid over it.
…Forget it.
Wrestling with it this long only bred irritation. If the fact was truly that important, it would come back to me eventually.
More importantly, let me check what everyone's up to.
To shake off the frustration, I turned my attention to the ones up on the surface, flexing my auxiliary organs to sense beyond the cocoon.
Perhaps because I was mid-evolution, I could barely register what was happening on the ground above me.
And there was no one there. All I could feel was the hard carapace of the Swamp King's legs.
Where did they all go?
The moments when I was most vulnerable were during evolution and when I used the Transcendence System. That was exactly why I'd asked them to guard me before entering Transcendence Stage 2.
It felt strange to say this about myself, but my relationship with my companions wasn't bad.
No. 26, who had spent the most time at my side, went without saying — and Adhai admired me too.
For my part, I did my best to remove anything they disliked. If ever they wanted something, I wanted to grant it as far as my power allowed.
Mother of the Sky was a slightly more ambiguous case, but she shared the same goal I did. The odds of her betraying me were low.
In other words, there was no chance they'd abandon me without a reason. Which left only one possibility.
There's a threat nearby.
Something capable of harming me had appeared. They must have left to eliminate it.
If it's something that could attack me here…
The first thing that came to mind was the Horned Gigant pair.
Their territory was a long way off from here, but ever since they'd devoured the pirates, they kept wandering into the forest — sniffing around for more humans and Cult, no doubt.
Not them. I deliberately built the nest in the safest place I could find.
Beyond that, there was the rescue team sent to retrieve the personnel from the deep-sea research base, but that possibility was low too.
Could it be Muriel's backers?
While interrogating Muriel, I'd learned there were players sponsoring her. That they'd ignored the distress call she sent before she died.
I erased every trace as thoroughly as I could.
How wary they were of me was plain enough from the call records Muriel had described in detail. So I'd cleaned up everything I'd left behind. Before abandoning the campsite, I 'incinerated' or buried every artificial structure and weapon.
There were the remains of the corvette that had exploded under the Thunder God bombardment, but that alone made finding my nest next to impossible.
My nest is underground.
And even if players had used some technique I didn't know to locate the nest, the situation still wouldn't make sense.
If that were the case, I'd already be dead.
Two players at Muriel's level or above could easily dispatch No. 26, Adhai, and Mother of the Sky. Four or five hours had passed since I entered the cocoon — more than enough time for the whole affair to be over.
Which meant the players hadn't come in person either.
And I'm right back where I started.
It seemed I would have to go look for myself the moment the mutation finished.
Mother of the Sky was a ranker.
She had run a large clan, and she had led raids to hunt boss-tier creatures. She'd commanded a subjugation of the Sea Demon — a sub-boss-class beast — and taken part in hunts against the Red Gallagon and Vortex One, monsters only a ranker would dare challenge.
She prided herself on having seen it all, and yet the scene unfolding before her eyes was profoundly surreal.
"AAAGH!"
"Everyone run!"
A Sea Demon grown to over ten meters was slaughtering Cult warriors indiscriminately in the middle of the forest. Each time a tentacle thicker than a log whipped through the air, a warrior's upper body simply ceased to exist. Each time the eye-shaped patterns covering its body flared to life, the Cult warriors bled from their eyes and ears.
Their leader had died the instant he encountered the Sea Demon. His entire body had been crushed flat, like a fly under a swatter.
"Raise shields! RAISE YOUR SHIELDS!"
A female Cult warrior screamed as she twisted away from a tentacle. The other warriors hastily deployed their shields.
But against a Sea Demon that wielded psychic power as skillfully as a Gallagon, shields were meaningless.
"D-Dieeeee— uck, khhk—?!"
One warrior, shield raised, charged bravely forward — and stopped dead in midair. His limbs and torso began rotating of their own accord.
"GRAAAAAAGH!"
Was this what it looked like, watching a child pluck the legs off an ant? A warrior struck by layered 'Bindings' of the Sea Demon had not only his limbs torn apart, but his upper body wrenched clean from his lower half.
"It's no use— AGH!"
Another warrior took the Sea Demon's thick tentacle head-on and was slammed into a tree. His neck bent at an unnatural angle; he blinked a few times and never moved again.
To anyone watching, it was an undeniable massacre.
And yet what Mother of the Sky found surreal was not the slaughter itself, but the waves that rippled out of the Sea Demon — out of No. 26 — with every attack.
｢Bad humans! Bad humans!｣
"AAAGH!"
｢Who hit Middle Baby?!｣
"Eeeek!"
Between the screams, No. 26 butchered the Cult warriors, repeating the words bad humans over and over — because she couldn't tell the difference between the Cult and ordinary people.
"Damn it! Seal its tentacles first!"
At the female Cult warrior's order, two warriors wielding harpoon-like weapons stepped forward.
Oh no.
Mother of the Sky dropped swiftly from her tree.
The net fired by those harpoon guns contracted the instant it struck prey, tightening around it. That alone couldn't pierce a Sea Demon's hide — but the Cult's nets were woven from blacksilver.
If it's blacksilver, No. 26 could actually be hurt!
If No. 26 took so much as a scratch, the monster currently asleep underground would absolutely not take it well.
But her fear proved unfounded.
A heartbeat before the net could touch her, No. 26's body shrank to a fraction of its size. Transformed into something like a small balloon, she drifted serenely out of the net's path — then swelled back to full size in an instant and swung her tentacle.
One of the net-firing warriors barely dodged. The other took the tentacle head-on, his upper body bursting away.
For a moment, the surviving Cult warrior allowed himself a flicker of relief. He shouldn't have. The stones and metal shards scattered across the ground launched themselves at his face at terrible speed, punching it full of holes. He died on the spot.
She's actually good at this.
For all her childish manner of speaking, No. 26 was a practiced fighter, with a deep understanding of her own abilities.
No need for me to stay here.
Leaving No. 26 to fight on alone, Mother of the Sky moved on.
Her next destination was where Adhai was fighting.
At that moment, Adhai was cutting down another squad of Cult warriors. The only one of Amorph's companions capable of high-altitude flight, she was making full use of her specialty — snatching Cult warriors into the sky and letting them plummet to their deaths.
There are flight techniques among psychic skills, but…
Adhai moved faster than a bullet. Even if a target managed to get airborne, evading her was next to impossible.
Besides, every Cult warrior who had entered this forest was, at present, out of their right mind — thanks to the 'Fear of the Deep Sea' No. 26 had deployed.
By lore, the Fear of the Deep Sea was a kind of physiological phenomenon: the Sea Demon's immense psychic energy leaked constantly from its body, and that surplus energy inflicted hallucinations, weakening, and other debuffs on anything that approached it.
But No. 26 had implemented the Fear of the Deep Sea by spreading her psychic power thin and wide, like a spider's web.
Her combat intelligence is genuinely extraordinary.
A Fear of the Deep Sea that struck chosen targets with precision. The Sea Demon of the game had never displayed such a marvel.
As a result, the Cult warriors were fighting with their communications and part of their psychic abilities sealed away.
Cutting off each squad from the others and creating the conditions to destroy them in isolation — that was No. 26's intent.
Granted, not being an adult yet, she showed rough edges here and there; ever since she'd waded in to fight directly, the Fear of the Deep Sea's effect had been wavering unpredictably.
Still, the tactic itself was more than effective enough, and Mother of the Sky couldn't help clicking her tongue.
…How is anyone supposed to believe that thing isn't Morph-fucker's friend?
If No. 26 grew into an adult, she would become a monster of apocalyptic caliber.
In a way, I suppose I should count myself lucky.
Whether to feel relieved that such a terrifying monster was an ally, or worried about it — she honestly couldn't decide.
She was mulling this over when a sound came from above her head.
A scream.
Mother of the Sky froze mid-stride. A Cult warrior dropped in front of her, his body shattering completely with a tremendous crack.
Down onto the unrecognizable shreds of meat descended a green dragon, graceful as a falling leaf.
A long, slender body approaching two meters, wings larger than its torso, four horns, and a plump tail — the dragon was unmistakably Adhai.
Clutched in Adhai's forepaw was yet another corpse. Its back had been bent backward — she must have rammed it with Super Acceleration.
｢Here｣｢clean-up｣｢complete｣
｢Fast.｣
｢Me｣｢great｣
｢Yes. You did well.｣
One squad had already been wiped out; the other would follow shortly. She had detected three squads of Cult warriors in total. Only one remained.
｢Enemy｣｢remaining｣｢hunt｣｢start｣
｢Wait a momen— oh, for—｣
She'd been about to coordinate the cleanup of the last squad, but Adhai shot off into the sky ahead of her. Shaking her head in resignation, Mother of the Sky hurried after her.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
The Cult warrior Olai hid behind a tree, dragging in ragged breaths.
Damn it all! The Chief Warrior, Edrin, even Ashen — every one of them dead…
Every warrior sent to this planet had been annihilated except him. He was the sole survivor thanks to the equipment he'd prepared.
Unlike the other warriors, Olai had no qualms about using the equipment of primitive species — an Innovation Faction Cultist, through and through.
Before the mission began, he had handed out small chips to his squadmates: military-grade tracking chips, the kind Mega Corp commonly used. Ideal for keeping in contact with allies while operating around a fixed area, as they were now. That was how he'd known, before anyone else, that his comrades were dying one by one.
The reinforced suit he wore wasn't Cult warrior armor either. It was a bespoke custom suit he'd procured from House Garmelda of Mega Corp.
The suit's physical protection was comparatively modest, but it carried a powerful stealth effect. Perfect for infiltration.
Damn it! I offered to share gear this good, and nobody would listen…!
They'd always mocked him for playing with "the monkeys' toys." Now those same monkeys' equipment was the only reason he was alive.
If I can just reach the transport ship, I live.
Three monsters sighted so far. How many more lurked out there was anyone's guess. Olai believed them to be mutants spawned by contamination. To report upward, he had to survive and make it back by any means necessary.
Confirming no monsters nearby, he started moving again.
Just get past this stretch!
The transport ship waited beyond the brush. He was inching forward, killing every sound, when he abruptly ducked low. A black shadow flashed and vanished across the ground.
What that meant, his fallen comrade Edrin had already demonstrated.
Why is there a Gallagon here of all places?!
He remembered a comrade seized by the Green Gallagon, hoisted hundreds of meters into the air, and dropped — and he moved with exquisite care.
At last, he pushed through the brush. The transport ship he'd been dreaming of stood before him.
Its condition, however, fell short of his hopes.
"Grrrrrrrrrr."
"Grrowl."
Two large theropods with massive horns on their heads were smashing the transport ship to pieces, chewing through the pilot inside it.
Manukharma, in the tongue of the Cult — Horned Gigant, as Mega Corp called them. Native predators of Saegil-08, monsters of the volcanic wastes that had wandered deep into the forest.
"Grr, hnn? Hnn-hnn."
"Grrrrrrrr."
One of the Horned Gigants had caught a scent. It snuffed at the air with its snout, and its head turned — pointing precisely at the spot where Olai stood.
Those carnivorous beasts had an exceptionally keen sense of smell. There was no missing the reek of a body soaked in cold sweat.
Olai backed away in utter silence. Then he broke into a dead sprint in the opposite direction. Roars thundered behind him; he ignored them and poured everything into running.
DAAAAAMN IIIIT!
The flight didn't last long. The Green Gallagon circling overhead swooped down on him.
Olai had spared no means in his struggle to survive, but luck was beyond anyone's reach.
Colliding with a two-meter mass of flesh moving at supersonic speed, he ended like an insect crushed under a palm.
｢Hide-and-seek｣｢over｣
Gazing down at the shreds of what had once been an enemy, she nodded in satisfaction.
Lately, she had felt herself growing distant from Big Adult. Little Adult and Ugly Friend spent so much time at Big Adult's side — while she had nothing she did with him at all.
So she had thought: earn a great deed, and win Big Adult's favor.
In a single day, her prey count had already exceeded ten. With a deed like this, Big Adult was certain to take notice of her.
She was licking the blood from her body and about to head back when it happened — if the enemy that burst out of nowhere hadn't slammed into her, that is.
"GRAAAAAAAGH!"
｢Pain!｣
Flung from the impact with the huge beast, she tumbled across the dirt. Because she had reacted a split second before the collision, she escaped fatal injury — but one of her wings was torn badly.
｢You｣｢me｣｢pain｣｢give｣｢kill｣
Even so, Adhai did not lose her fighting spirit. She rose onto all four legs and glared straight at the beast.
Little Adult and Ugly Friend were a good distance behind her now — she had pushed too far ahead, her eagerness getting the better of her.
Which meant she had to hold out until they arrived.
"Grrrrrrrr!"
｢Two?｣
The despairing truth: there was more than one.
The one whose horns had rammed her charged. Thanks to her wounded wing, she evaded the strike by a hair's breadth.
Cruelly, the second attack came flying in right behind it — dodging that tail was impossible. The thick tail slammed into her and sent her crashing into a tree.
｢Pain!｣
From the shock, blood trickled freely from the bundle of tendrils on her head. She tried desperately to rise, but her legs wouldn't obey.
"Grrrrrrrr."
The beast had closed the distance without her noticing, and now its jaws yawned wide. Rows of jagged, jutting teeth. In moments, those teeth would shred her soft body to ribbons.
｢Death｣｢hate!｣
"GRAAAAAAH!"
It was too early to give up.
She poured everything she had into Purple Lightning. Violet lightning lanced into the beast's eye, and blood sprayed.
Its eye had burst — the pain should have been unbearable — yet the beast did not retreat. If anything, the attack seemed only to enrage it; even as the lightning coursed through it, it lunged to tear her apart.
｢Big Adult｣｢sorry｣
She had given everything, right up to the end — but it seemed this was where it ended.
Just as she was about to let go, a vibration rose from somewhere far below. The beast froze mid-lunge, jaws locked an inch from her flesh.
Faint at first, the trembling swelled and swelled. The ground beneath her feet heaved and bucked as though some vast hand had seized it and was shaking.
｢What is?｣
"Grrowl?"
"Grrrrrr?"
She was not the only one who felt it. Both beasts showed unmistakable confusion at the sudden upheaval.
And then—
The ground erupted, and the beast with its jaws open before her was blasted backward over the treetops.
A colossal dragon, its roar splitting the very bedrock.
It was Big Adult — the one she had waited for, and waited for.