Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 255
Chapter Title: Contest for the First Mate
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A massive cocoon filled the vast space.
She was used to seeing the Big Baby slip into one to grow bigger and stronger—it had happened plenty of times before.
She plucked a single tentacle free and pressed it against the cocoon.
The familiar sensations washed over her: the warmth radiating from its surface, the pulsing throbs like crashing waves. The tangled mess of feelings and elements were all things she'd experienced long ago.
She sensed objects and movements through a mystical 'power' that permeated her entire body. It wasn't divided into specifics like sniffing with her nose, seeing with eyes, or hearing with ears, the way other creatures did.
That didn't make her senses any weaker, though. If she focused, she could detect not just this massive rock reeking of foul odors, but areas far beyond it.
But what she felt now was entirely different from before.
Right now, she was sensing the thoughts of a completely different being. The entity inside the cocoon connected to her tentacle—the Big Baby's mind.
She hadn't always possessed this ability.
Her innate 'power' had only recently evolved to let her read other creatures' thoughts and relay them to others.
Her friend knew how to rip thoughts from the 'bad friends' and make them her own. Seeing that had thrilled the Big Baby.
If there was something she didn't know, she learned it from her friend. If her friend could do it, then so could she.
Through that utterly simple line of reasoning, she'd learned right there how her friend wielded her power. She wasn't as skilled as her friend yet, but she'd improve as she grew.
In fact, after helping the Little Baby and her mom share thoughts, her own abilities had improved dramatically. Now, she could sense the Big Baby's mind far more smoothly than before.
The Big Baby inside the cocoon was walking through some place.
It was vast, like her homeland, but it carried a bizarre stench. The piercing, unpleasant odor reminded her of the time she'd been locked in a prison.
She didn't like it, but she endured. How scary must it be for the Big Baby to be alone in such a strange place? She figured watching over her would ease the Big Baby's mind.
Thankfully, her presence seemed to help—the Big Baby gradually calmed down. Reaching a dead end, she raised a long appendage and shoved hard against the wall.
The moment the wall slid away, revealing a space she'd never seen before...
"Little Adult?"
A familiar thought wave jolted her awake.
She yanked her tentacle away in surprise. Her consciousness snapped back into the foul-smelling rock's belly.
"What're you doing?"
"Nothing."
"?"
The Little Baby tilted her protruding sensory organ at the odd reply. She hadn't done anything wrong, exactly, but she felt reluctant to explain. She'd brushed it off without thinking.
Fortunately, the Little Baby didn't press on her suspicious behavior. The kid was focused on something else.
"Big" "Adult" "Change" "Again?"
"Yeah. She's gonna grow a ton."
The Little Baby whipped her sensory organ around excitedly.
"Get" "Bigger" "Trouble."
"Why? Bigger means stronger. That's good."
"Bigger" "Eggs" "Hard."
That soured her mood instantly.
"Little Baby can't lay eggs yet."
"Why?" "I'm" "White" "Growth" "Success" "Little" "Adult" "Promised" "I" "Growth" "Eggs" "Possible."
"You're not an adult yet! That's why!"
"Big" "Adult" "Says" "I'm" "Adult."
She had no comeback for the Little Baby's airtight logic.
"Big" "Adult" "Growth" "Done" "I'll" "Ask" "About" "Eggs."
"Both you and the Big Baby are still babies! Babies can't make babies!"
"Don't" "Know" "Yet." "Gotta" "Check."
The Little Baby wasn't budging an inch. She looked more determined than ever.
As the Little Baby said, she had no grounds to stop their mating. She'd promised not to interfere once the kid grew up.
Besides, the Little Baby had protected her followers and fulfilled her duties as leader. Despite her small size, she was already a proper adult.
But she didn't want to admit it.
The thought of the Big Baby and Little Baby mating made her feel extremely, terribly bad. Bad enough to smash this stinking rock to pieces.
"Big Baby's busy. Can't make babies right now."
"Breeding" "Important." "Kin" "Prosper." "Eggs" "Absolutely" "Needed."
"……."
Had growing up made her smarter too? Every time she spoke, the Little Baby shot back instantly. She racked her brain for a way to stop the brazen kid, but nothing came to mind.
So she pulled out her last card: the Middle Baby.
"Middle Baby, right? The Big Baby can't lay eggs now, yeah?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah?"
"Friend" "Says" "Doesn't" "Know." "Friend's" "Words" "No" "Help."
"...Not wrong, but it feels off somehow."
She was sure the Middle Baby would side with her.
But the Middle Baby's response defied her expectations.
"It might be possible, but..."
"I" "Heard" "Friend."
"Really? Can the Big Baby really lay eggs?"
"Hear" "Me" "Out." "Big, uh, Big Baby can't make eggs right now."
"See? Told you. Big Baby can't lay eggs."
"Deny." "Friend" "Said" "'Now.'" "Later" "Eggs" "Possible."
"...You guys are sharp. Or is this part of growing up too?"
The Middle Baby scratched her protruding sensory organ with an appendage. From all their time together, she could tell the Middle Baby was flustered by their questions.
"What does that even mean?"
"Uh, it's complicated to explain. Something like the Big Baby's fully grown yet, so no eggs?"
"No idea what you're saying."
"Ask the Big Baby yourself."
"Agree." "Check" "Directly.
In the end, even the Middle Baby couldn't stop her. There were no more ways to hold the Little Baby back.
Her only option left was to stop her by force.
But bullying her without justification wasn't right. The kid wasn't bad—if anything, she was the opposite. She couldn't just lash out blindly.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, a memory surfaced.
When she'd linked the Little Baby and her mom's thoughts, she'd seen it. How the Little Baby's mom mated.
"Wait."
"More" "Words" "Left?"
"Yeah. To mate with the Big Baby, you gotta compete with me."
"?"
Both the Little Baby and Middle Baby tilted their sensory organs at her words.
"Why?" "Little" "Adult" "Compete" "With" "Me?"
"I'm gonna mate with the Big Baby too."
The Little Baby's family mated differently from hers. They paired one leader with multiple family members, but in sequence. The strongest or longest-standing family mated first.
The Little Baby fell silent at her declaration. She knew exactly what it meant.
"Little" "Adult" "Like" "Big" "Adult?"
"Yeah."
"I" "Said" "Mate" "First." "Little" "Adult" "Next."
"Nope. I'm stronger than you and I've been with the Big Baby longer."
"Deny." "I" "Grew."
She felt a familiar power emanating from the Little Baby.
It resembled her own 'power' but felt different. The kid used it to catch prey or punish bad kids.
The Little Baby intended to fight her.
She was about to summon her own power when the Middle Baby jumped in between them.
"Hold on! Not my place to say, but if you're gonna test strength, do it outside! She'll hate it if you fight in here."
"Agree."
She immediately withdrew her power. The Little Baby did the same.
And together, they headed out of the foul-smelling rock.
-
Adhai was more tense than she'd ever been.
She'd never imagined competing with one of her own kind for a mate. Her tail was the most alluring of all, but her body was too small.
That's why she believed only the Big Adult would truly cherish her as she was.
Males as massive, wild, and horned as the Big Adult were rare. His tail was thicker than most males', but she could overlook that flaw.
She was an adult, after all.
Her kin knew her feelings, so none dared go after the Big Adult.
Thus, Adhai had never expected to compete with anyone for him.
Let alone that her rival would be the Little Adult.
She glared at the figure perched on the distant white snow.
It looked like a small, fragile thing unlike anything on this planet. Of course, Adhai knew appearances were deceiving.
That tiny creature—the one Adhai called the Little Adult—wielded tremendous power. As strong as her own mother.
Facing such a formidable foe alone weighed on her, but Adhai had confidence.
With the power of the stars, she'd grown incomparably stronger. In her mind, only the Big Adult and that liar Odd Grade outmatched her. Everyone else was fair game.
That realization stirred the heat within her. The savage predator's blood dormant in her body began to awaken.
She knew strong males took multiple females. The Big Adult would someday too.
But she couldn't yield her position as his first mate. The Little Adult was worthy of respect, but not enough to surrender that honor.
"This isn't a hunt. Go easy on each other."
"Got it."
"Confirm."
As she replied to the Middle Baby, Adhai summoned the power of the stars. In that instant, the Little Adult struck first.
A long tentacle shot from the Little Adult's body, whipping toward Adhai's head. It was the move she used to scold her, but the force was on another level.
Had she not shielded her head with stellar power, that blow would've knocked her out cold.
Blocking the first strike, Adhai counterattacked. Compressed energy burst from her mouth, flying straight at the Little Adult.
The Little Adult casually swung a tentacle, nullifying the attack.
But Adhai had anticipated that. The moment she fired, she leaped forward—just like the Big Adult would, staying one step ahead.
She closed the distance in a flash. She meant to ram her, but the Little Adult blocked.
An invisible force gripped her tight, like bindings. Yet her wings, infused with stellar power, remained intact.
Like the Big Adult, she swung them as weapons with full force. The Little Adult hadn't expected that and hurriedly raised a tentacle to parry.
The wing's sharp membrane sliced into the Little Adult's tentacle. For the first time ever, she'd wounded her.
Ecstasy and guilt swirled within her. But it was a mistake.
The Little Adult ignored the severed tentacle and lashed out with another. Adhai quickly wrapped her head in stellar power to block.
The impact shook the air violently, her neck bones screaming. The blow was so fierce she couldn't absorb all the force.
Still, she was fine. No wounds on her head.
Or so she thought—until the Little Adult's wave touched her tentacle.
"Little Baby's grown a lot. No more holding back."
"?"
Before she could process the words, Adhai felt her body lift into the sky against her will. The Little Adult was manipulating the binding force.
And then she saw it.
All the ice around the Little Adult cracking and floating upward.
"Hey! I said take it easy!"
"Told you she's grown. This much is fine."
"The ship's gonna get caught up!"
By now, the Little Adult's body had swollen several times larger than Adhai's. Countless tentacles sprouted everywhere, radiating the same overwhelming power as the Big Adult.
What happened next was a blur.
An avalanche of ice chunks pelted her, forcing her to focus solely on defense. Her stellar power was formidable, but not infinite—she couldn't block the relentless barrage forever.
Exhausted, Adhai took a tentacle strike to the head and blacked out.
"I win, so no more baby talk! And no asking the Big Baby for eggs either!"
Those were the last words she heard before losing consciousness. Adhai could only nod in agreement.
But deep down, she thought:
She'd been born under harsher conditions than most, yet risen as queen of her pack.
Quit wasn't in her vocabulary.
One day, she would mate with the Big Adult. With that vow, she slipped into darkness.