Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: Ep. 239
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I explained the situation to the Mother of the Sky, who had arrived late, and to Ort.
There had been a Screamer attack, and many Gallerons had died.
Ort immediately headed off toward where Adhai was. No. 26, who had been with us just moments before, followed Ort into the depths of the cave.
"I had a feeling... and it turns out I was right."
The Mother of the Sky also mourned the deaths of the Gallerons. Her amber eyes, now back in her griffin form, were filled with sorrow.
"...Yeah."
She closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. When she opened them again, her gaze burned with cold fury.
"So, which location was it?"
"It's below a canyon beyond the ice plains."
"There's only one ice plain around here. You mean the place where we took down the Ice Horror and Jason, right?"
"Yes. Head in the opposite direction from the forest, and you'll find it."
According to him, Pira Eleven and its ship were in the complete opposite direction from this spot, where the forest and mountains lay.
'A canyon, huh.'
One of the Apex candidates I'd considered for Adhai's training before was a creature that mainly inhabited icy canyons. Since it lacked wings and wasn't suitable for flight training, I'd chosen the Hellside Hornet instead.
'I was planning to harvest its genetic essence later, but who knew things would turn out like this.'
"A canyon? There might be a Gigantarium there too, then?"
Gigantarums only inhabit regions of extremely low temperatures, like the Ice Horror. They have the appearance of a mix between an elephant, a bear, and a gorilla.
"The Screamers already eliminated the 'Gigantarium.'"
"Really? Doesn't seem like they transplanted it into any of themselves."
True to its name meaning 'giant beast,' the Gigantarium was huge and incredibly strong. It also had a mammoth-like trunk and tusks that were particularly striking.
Among the Screamers I'd seen, none bore the biological traits of a Gigantarium.
PS-111 nodded at my question.
"All of the Gigantarium's flesh and genes were used in Pira Eleven's repairs."
"So that means Pira Eleven is a Screamer too?"
"At the current point in time, that seems the most reasonable conclusion."
"Current point in time? Meaning it wasn't before?"
"Pira Eleven suffered critical damage after arriving on this planet and entered hibernation. During repairs, it replaced its damaged flesh with resources available on the planet."
The resources he mentioned were surely biological tissues from creatures like the Gigantarium.
'From what he's saying, it seems like it was originally an android that's now half-Screamer.'
Considering the Star Union's image of Screamers, Pira Eleven couldn't possibly be a cyborg. A cyborg would choose death over becoming a Screamer.
An efficiency-focused android, on the other hand, wouldn't hesitate to swap bodies.
'An android leading an army of mutant Screamers.'
Even in the game, there were androids that commanded Screamer units.
"A Supreme Councilor, then."
Officially, Screamers weren't for combat. Their nominal purpose was the reformation of cyborg criminals—a kind of educational tool.
As a unit meant to enlighten them to follow the Star Union's will, it made sense for one of the Supreme Councilors from the Mechanical Council—the highest authority within the highest authority—to oversee it. By that logic, Pira Eleven was likely a member of the Mechanical Council.
'And mutant Screamers are a new weapon.'
Not just any weapon, but bioweapons incorporating the latest tech from an enemy nation. Given their importance, the overseer would have to be at least a Supreme Councilor level to balance things out.
"What broke it in the first place?"
"As a lower model, that information isn't stored in the unit's memory drive."
"If it weren't busted, this would've been a lot easier."
The Mother of the Sky glanced at me. Probably because of my 'Gremlin Moss' trait.
Gremlin Moss was a trait that disabled any mechanical device it touched. With it, taking down a Supreme Councilor wouldn't be hard.
'It didn't work on the mutant Screamers, so it probably won't on a Supreme Councilor either.'
Since its body had been rebuilt with biological tissue. On the flip side, the Face Worm's paralysis sonic wave would likely work, so it was a mixed bag.
"How many genes were transplanted into its body?"
"Most of the genes from native creatures discoverable on this planet have been integrated."
"It must've pulled genes from the support ship too. Which ones?"
"That information requires Pira Eleven's authorization to access. However, it's certain that unidentified genes were added on top of those applied to the PS models."
In summary, Pira Eleven was a monster built on a PS-111 base, incorporating genes from this planet's Apexes and unidentified creatures.
Of course, unless you were an Outspacer or Aimorph, endlessly synthesizing genes—especially in a short time—was no easy feat. It was probably suffering major side effects or couldn't properly utilize the transplanted genes.
'Still, at minimum, it's beyond a Mega Corp shadow.'
Plus, it had absorbed multiple Apex genes from this planet, much like me.
I didn't know how combat-proficient Pira Eleven was, but if luck was bad, it might perform on par with top-tier rankers.
'The exact details...'
"We can just ask it directly."
"Right."
"I'll do my utmost to extract useful information."
Our next foe was Pira Eleven, the leader of the mutant Screamers.
"So, when do you plan to head out?"
Now that we knew its condition and location, it was time to decide on the attack timing.
Truth be told, we didn't have much time. We didn't know when its support ship would produce new soldiers.
'I could go right now without issue...'
Manifest of the Hunt was off cooldown, and my body brimmed with power from the massive energy I'd absorbed. But I wasn't the only one; the others weren't in the same shape.
The Gallerons' wounds hadn't fully healed yet, and Adhai needed more time to pull itself together. The Mother of the Sky probably hadn't rested properly either, what with nursing Ort these past few days, fighting, and rushing here.
With one battle freshly ended, we decided to take time for maintenance.
"...You're telling me to tour an Aimorph nest? Do you know how many times I died in nests?"
It was so long ago I barely remembered, but roughly 57 times. I didn't bother mentioning it.
She gave me an incredulous look before letting out a small sigh.
"Fine. This was the Gallerons' nest, after all. There might be some interesting stuff."
"If there are rare metals, upgrades are possible. I'll join you."
I sent the two off and headed toward the entrance.
In our rush back to the nest, we'd left the White Galleron corpses outside. I couldn't just abandon these valuable spoils from the fight with Odd Grad.
'And there's something I want to test besides.'
Exiting the nest, I retraced my steps. For half a day, I flew around collecting every last body.
The reason I hadn't eaten them was to test if the Gallerons could grow from them. Just as Adhai had, maybe other White Gallerons could evolve into Black Dragons by consuming White Galleron corpses.
By the time I returned with the bodies, night had fallen. The sky was already dim from overcast clouds, but the night's darkness made it even blacker.
As I crossed the cliff with the corpses in tow, I spotted someone on the opposite cliff.
Wings glowing vividly red even in the pitch black. Beside them, a snow-white body like fresh snow—a Galleron, Adhai.
Next to it was a White Galleron with wounded wings. Adhai's mother, Ort.
As far as I knew, Adhai harbored complex feelings toward the mother who had abandoned it. Yet their current rapport seemed fine. Ort had one wing spread, wrapping around Adhai.
'They've made up...? Huh?'
Looking closer, there was a small pink object between them. No. 26 had extended two thin tentacles, linking them to the tentacle bundles of the two Gallerons.
'Mediating between them?'
Or maybe comforting the pair in their grief. Whatever it was, No. 26 seemed to have helped improve their relationship.
I considered inserting myself, but held back.
The pain of losing family or kin wasn't something I could console. No. 26 or the Mother of the Sky, with their similar experiences, could offer better advice.
Better than me, who'd chosen escape over facing it in the real world.
'...Pointless thoughts.'
I shook my head once and entered the cave.
An ice canyon plunging hundreds of meters deep.
A place that should have been filled with nothing but darkness, untouched by light.
Yet the canyon floor now glowed bright red.
"Pira Eleven. Record check complete."
Beneath the red light, hoses made of flesh and metal writhed.
Calling them mere hoses was inaccurate. Normal hoses didn't stretch dozens of meters long with thicknesses of several meters at minimum. The sight of several such behemoths wriggling resembled a nest of Ice Horrors coiled together.
With every movement of the colossal body, the red light flickered.
Like a being with multiple egos, the colossal entity—no, Pira Eleven—continued its self-Q&A.
"Absorbing remaining Screamers—10 S models for scouting, 2 PS models aside—would be useful."
"Utilize ship AI as auxiliary brain for gene manipulation."
As the red light flashed, the colossal hoses began moving with surprising agility.
Soon, welding sounds echoed, and sparks flew from the canyon floor. Even as the red glow deepened, no screams from the Screamers were heard.