Chapter 229
Chapter 229
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: Six Gallerons Beneath the Light
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Six Gallerons beneath the light.
Three with green scales, the white Galleron Nell German, Ham Ort whose wings had nearly fully recovered. And even Adhai, with her red makeup-like markings.
Riding atop the Gallerons were familiar faces.
Aboard Ham Ort was the Mother of the Sky, transformed into a Wendigo. On Nell German rode the Mutant Screamer PS-111.
Leading them at the front, atop Adhai, floated a small pink balloon. It was Seed Demon No. 26, the one nicknamed the Devil of the Deep Sea.
All of them had gathered here to aid me, the one who had set out alone.
｢Od Grad｣ ｢I command!｣ ｢Attack!｣ ｢Attack!｣
The black dragon issued commands repeatedly, but none of his pack obeyed. Amid the confused horde, a lean white Galleron stepped forward.
｢Great Od Grad｣ ｢Black｣ ｢Enemy｣ ｢Star's color｣ ｢Enemy｣ ｢Strong｣
｢No!｣ ｢Enemy｣ ｢Just a traitor｣ ｢Lies!｣
｢Kin｣ ｢Lies｣ ｢Impossible｣ ｢Color｣ ｢False｣ ｢Impossible｣
By lore, the Red Galleron was a mythical being that commanded all Gallerons. One of the few creatures capable of instilling instinctive fear in the space dragons known as Gallerons.
'Of course, Adhai hasn't fully matured yet.'
Her Dragon Power was utterly negligible compared to the Red Galleron I'd witnessed. It was even weaker than Od Grad's.
Yet the pack was thrown into disarray for one simple reason.
The vile atrocities of the black tyrant, Od Grad.
He had abused and starved his kin. He had ignored the strong familial bonds of the Gallerons and slain the weak young ones.
Had he acted like a 'normal Galleron,' the pack would have obeyed his orders. After all, he had been their leader, protecting them all this time.
But he was no benevolent king to the Gallerons.
｢Od Grad｣ ｢Emotions｣ ｢Understand｣ ｢Difficult｣ ｢Explain｣ ｢Request｣
｢!｣
And now, the means to control his kin had vanished from his grasp.
His treasure, the ring that concealed emotions, had been torn off along with his forepaw when I'd attacked him with my bone scythe arm.
I clutched that ring tightly now in the small hand on my chest.
｢You bastard!｣
Od Grad growled upon seeing it.
He had long exploited the Gallerons' inability to lie through telepathy. But now, that was impossible. It wasn't hard to imagine how the others would view him, now that they knew his true feelings.
'Probably like a complete madman.'
Or a wicked tyrant who had enslaved and massacred his own kind.
The lean white Galleron who had rebelled against Od Grad continued firing thought waves.
｢Kin｣ ｢Stronger kin｣ ｢Follow｣ ｢New leader｣ ｢Decide｣ ｢Necessary｣
Expressing clear refusal to fight, it retreated. The other Gallerons followed suit, pulling back.
The only enemies left were Od Grad's mates.
A coincidence, perhaps. One had died from my previous attack, leaving exactly six mates.
And we had exactly six who could fly.
'Count the riders on our backs, and we outnumber them.'
No more thinking or talking was needed.
From here on, raw power would decide everything.
I kicked off the ground and took to the air.
My neck wound hadn't fully healed, but the carapace from transforming into the Embodiment of the Hunt had stanched the bleeding. To fully recover, I'd need sustenance.
The genetic essence of a Black Galleron should suffice.
I flapped my wings, glowing with red vein-like patterns, and closed in on Od Grad.
Thanks to the embodiment effect, my wings were far larger and tougher than before. Od Grad was startled by my approach, faster than expected.
｢Insignificant worm!｣
Right up in his face, I accelerated and swung my tail wide. The pincer at its tip hurtled toward him like a massive flail, whistling menacingly.
Whether from precognition or judgment, he couldn't block it—so Od Grad dodged. One black wing bent slightly, his body tilting sharply. My tail pincer grazed the horn on his head.
Barely evading, he immediately unleashed a psychic breath from that spot. Unlike mine, with its charge time, his fired with certainty and speed.
But his breath could no longer deal me serious damage.
My embodiment-enhanced body, plus the mimicry scale effect. I was nearly immune to psychic power now.
Of course, the physical force was unavoidable. It shoved my body back hard, and he swiftly retreated.
As he and I clashed, so too did his mates and my allies.
Nell German, with above-average combat prowess, dove into the midst of Od Grad's mates. From her back, PS-111 sprayed indigo Demolisher energy shots from its mouth nonstop.
One mate took a matter-disintegrating shot to its wingtip and urgently warned its kin. The clustered foes scattered, just as they had when facing me.
"The enemies have scattered as planned. Everyone, get ready."
｢We know｣
One of the dispersed foes flew toward Ham Ort's group of green Gallerons. Planning to tear apart the weak ones first and rejoin its kin quickly, no doubt.
But my allies wouldn't miss such an obvious ploy. The still-recovering Snow Queen intercepted it before a white mate.
The Mother of the Sky on her back unleashed her pre-prepared 'Ice Wraith.' The white Galleron, flying fine until then, was infected by the Wendigo's madness and turned on her.
The berserk Galleron fired its breath at her, but she boldly evaded the purple beam. Gripping Ham Ort's horn, she had leaped into open air.
The beam missed, and as she plummeted per natural law, Ham Ort deftly twisted to catch her.
｢You alright?｣
｢...You'd stop if I said yes?｣
｢Little one｣ ｢You know｣ ｢We can't｣
｢Tch, let's wrap this up quick!｣
The ice phantom and Snow Queen duo dragged the maddened mate away. Meanwhile, the other green Gallerons moved to support Nell German and PS-111.
"Follow my instructions, and there'll be no threat to your lives."
｢Adult｣ ｢Trust｣ ｢You｣ ｢Trust｣
｢Me｣ ｢Pain｣ ｢Hate｣
"There's a 63% chance it'll end with just a severed tail or holes in your wings, so you can trust me."
｢Suddenly｣ ｢Anxious｣
｢Nell German｣ ｢Smart｣ ｢All facts｣ ｢No need｣ ｢To say｣
The green and white Gallerons paired with the machine lifeform handled two mates total.
Three enemy mates remained.
But their situation was far from good. They faced my friends who'd fought together for ages: No. 26 and Adhai.
Perhaps from their frequent duo battles since the space city, they toyed with the three white Galleron mates effortlessly.
Adhai, whose flight skill had always been her forte, zipped across the battlefield at terrifying speeds. No Galleron here could pursue her—she moved like a railgun slug.
Failed chasers fired psychic breaths wildly to shoot her down. But atop her rode our psychic power expert, No. 26.
With each tentacle wave from the red comet-like figure, beams bent or fizzled into nothing.
Once attacks were nullified, Adhai wheeled around and charged them instead. Activating Red Armor on her head, she rammed one mate.
Near-sonic speed plus indestructible horns made her charge devastating. She pierced straight through its belly.
The white Galleron—essentially holed by a 4-meter-plus projectile—died instantly. No. 26, clinging tight to its back, popped out with a pwang.
｢Fun! Do it again!｣
｢No｣ ｢Gross｣
Just as expected.
They matched perfectly, as if they'd planned it beforehand.
｢You!｣ ｢Where are you looking!｣
In the moment I'd glanced at them, Od Grad ambushed. He thrust his head, aiming his horn at my chest.
True to his cunning, he'd targeted elsewhere upon seeing my half-severed neck hadn't killed me.
A solid call any other time—but not now.
His only path to survival was fleeing this place.
'Not that I'd let him.'
I twisted slightly, grazing his charge. His horn merely scratched my chest carapace.
He tried yanking back fast, but I was quicker. My combat arms seized his horns.
｢!｣
The leech hand activated, rapidly draining his energy through the horns.
He knew even massive White Gallerons withered to mummies in my grasp. Desperate to escape, he fired a psychic breath with horns still caught.
The impact hurled my body back. I gripped hard to hold on, but his horns snapped, foiling me.
｢I'll kill you!｣ ｢I'll kill you!｣ ｢Definitely｣ ｢I'll kill you!｣
Having lost all his prized male Galleron horns in an instant, he looked utterly pathetic. Seeing the shattered remnants turn to dust in my hand, he spewed furious thought waves.
｢You, at least!｣ ｢Never｣ ｢Never｣ ｢I'll never forgive!｣
Reason lost to rage, he spread his wings wide and ascended.
'Fleeing?'
His presence rapidly faded.
I quickly checked the kids' fight. As long as the observing Gallerons stayed out, they wouldn't lose.
The tide favored us heavily. Reassured, I pursued Od Grad.
With my black cape-like wings marked in red billowing, I sensed his aura.
'What’s he doing?'
Immense energy poured from his body. Like when unleashing the 'Maelstrom' psychic storm.
'He knows it's useless against me...'
That thought crossed my mind when images flashed before my eyes.
In Embodiment of the Hunt state, sightless, this meant one thing.
Predator Sense.
The trait warning of future threats from environmental cues. The embodiment amplified its visions to vivid detail.
The energy gathering on Od Grad. Not for a localized psychic storm fired skyward.
The black dragon's sole aim: my annihilation.
The amassed energy condensed per his will, soon resembling a familiar force. Red diamond energy—Dragon Power.
'How?'
He was an aged Black Galleron, not Red. Not a special case like Adhai.
Insight had confirmed him as Black before. Some new variable in our fight, but I couldn't pinpoint it.
'Did he drink my blood?'
My body held vast White Galleron genetic essence. Perhaps he'd absorbed some via my blood.
'No. That's not important now.'
His Dragon Power was far more unstable than Adhai's. It should gleam pure red diamond, but his was purple-tinged red.
Mixed with psychic power.
That impure fusion morphed into a massive beam crashing over my head.
｢Struck by Od Grad's attack.｣
｢I die.｣
Predator Sense's final vision before ending: a technique I knew.
'...Starflame.'
A red Galleron mainstay, akin to orbital weapon barrages like Thunder God.
'But it's different.'
Dragon Power-based, it should be pure red—yet the vision showed near-purple.
'He's on the cusp.'
Why he bordered growth now, unclear—but his attack was incomplete.
A true Red Galleron's Starflame was unblockable. Not yet.
I halted my approach and charged psychic breath.
'Full power push.'
Embodiment effects, energy absorbed from Od Grad earlier—all poured in.
First time since the Empire Moth fight my body hit limits. All spare energy beyond minimal defenses converted to psychic power.
Over-limit psychic power surged. My black scales and carapace glowed faint purple. The monster tentacles, richest in energy, shone vivid purple beyond heat rays.
｢Insignificant being!｣ ｢Receive judgment!｣
As I fully charged, he attacked.
His purple-red orb stretched into a thin cylinder plummeting overhead. My heightened senses made it seem slow—it rivaled light speed.
Just before the deep magenta beam hit—
My all-out psychic power fired. Collision crushed me with recoil.
｢Pain reduction activated!｣
'No! I can endure!'
His attack was flawed, as expected. A proper Starflame wouldn't yield an inch—it'd disintegrate me.
Embodiment boon? My breath matched its girth. His incomplete Starflame deadlocked with mine.
｢Me｣ ｢Star-blessed one!｣ ｢Never｣ ｢Will I yield!｣
He knew he couldn't overwhelm me, pouring more into his Starflame.
Outputs equal. Victory hinged on whose reserves lasted.
And he held a slight edge over embodiment-me.
'Grrgh!'
Our beam struggle tilted his way. Starflame's blaze scorched my head carapace. Despite mimicry scales, it began melting.
'Just a bit more...!'
His first Dragon Power use? Output waning. Amid agony of melting armor and scales, I gritted through, focusing.
Then, from the melted scale spots, an odd sensation. Like tiny ants crawling—yet not unpleasant. It spread outward, like wind-swept fur.
'Huh?'
Not mere feeling.
Suddenly, threadworm-like sensors sprouted wildly from the exposed flesh beneath melted carapace.
'What is this?'
Amazement amid pain. These weren't grown organs from my body. Not even physical matter.
Birthed from unfathomable energy. Psychic power tangled with unknown forces. Like refined chaos spun into fine strands.
'Refined chaos... no way?'
Aware of the change, the threads bunched. Hair-thin worms coalesced into tentacles rivaling my erosion ones.
The new tentacle cluster at the wound rocketed out like loosed arrows. Endlessly elongating like ship main guns, aimed at Od Grad.
｢?!｣
Spotting them, he foresaw and cut Starflame. My sustaining energy vanished; my breath blasted one leg off.
Ignoring the wound, he dodged the approaching energy cluster. Most missed, but one pierced his tail. Mission done, it dissolved in air.
｢Kaaaaagh!｣
Od Grad screamed for the first time. Just a tail lost, yet pain overwhelmed—even thought waves faltered.
'Whatever it is, now's the chance.'
I flapped intact wings, diving in. He, mentally shattered, began falling.
｢You!｣ ｢You!｣ ｢You!｣
His pain, hatred, resentments flooded me.
As distance closed, thought waves added one emotion.
Unmistakable terror of death.
What did the black tyrant see now?
The gaping-mawed Aimorph hurtling at him? Or futures from his aiding precognition?
｢Great Od Grad｣ ｢Never｣ ｢Will lose...｣
His thought waves cut short.
The headless black dragon's corpse vanished beneath the clouds.
[Zzuz zuzu zuzuzu (Your future ends)]
Backlit by the sun, I swallowed his head in one bite.