Chapter 290
Chapter 290
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 290
Chapter Title: Relocation (3)
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In the ion cannon control room, the maintenance team leader and his crew looked up at the ceiling with uneasy eyes.
The sharp clanging of metal blades clashing, interspersed with occasional explosions. Both were sounds that should never echo through a Gigacracker.
"Shouldn't we go check it out?"
"No. If we move, we risk losing control of the ion cannon."
"But waiting an hour feels like too long..."
"That's why we're suited up in reinforced gear—to prevent unforeseen incidents. What you're wearing is top-grade reinforced suits. They can't be damaged by ordinary weapons."
Didn't that mean something out there was capable of neutralizing such superior equipment?
The maintenance team leader had said it to reassure his team, but it had little effect. They simply understood his intent and chose not to argue.
"We hold this position until rescue arrives. Everyone, stay at your assigned spots."
"...Yes, sir."
With that, the maintenance team dispersed. Dozens of personnel split into groups of three, heading to maintenance rooms spaced along the corridors.
"Damn, what a mess this is."
"Tell me about it."
In one such room along the massive rails of the ion cannon, three crew members on standby chatted to ease their tension.
"The end-of-month report was next week, and now this happens."
"Speaking of, I heard you have family...?"
"Yeah. Got married not long ago."
"Lucky timing. Me? This is year five, and I don't even know if I'm here for family or just the credits. Tsk."
"If you're planning kids, report it to Saint-K. You'll get subsidies..."
Their conversation cut off abruptly.
They had heard a sound.
It resembled the noises from the control room but louder. Instinctively, they gripped their plasma rifles tighter.
"...Everyone hear that?"
"Yes, sir. I did too."
"Sounds close..."
Whatever it was, that noise nearby was a bad omen. Another maintenance room might be under attack.
The team leader had strictly ordered them not to leave their posts, but now wasn't the time to quibble. The three grabbed their rifles and stepped out.
As a critical facility essential to the Gigacracker's purpose, it had independent power systems for emergencies. The sealed structure made remote hacking impossible without physical access.
The brightly lit corridor welcomed them. The rooms weren't far apart. Heading to the nearest, they encountered other crew milling about.
"You guys too?"
"Yeah."
"Quiet again now that we're out."
"Maybe another team handled it?"
"Can't be sure. We need to check."
Nothing unusual happened until they reached the third room.
The problem arose en route to the fourth. In the corridor, they spotted something odd.
Tiny specks like dust floated in the air, origin unknown.
"What the hell?"
"Mineral fragments?"
They resembled finely ground orange agate grains. In another setting, they might have admired the star-like sparkle in the light.
But this was a high-tech weapons area. Unknown contaminants spelled trouble.
Their worst fears soon materialized.
Before the fourth room, choked with particles, lay a mangled alloy door, its shape barely recognizable.
Something had compressed a massive door, dozens of centimeters thick, to a third its size—right nearby.
"......"
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing echoed softly in the corridor.
No sign of the three crew who should be inside. But the nine could easily guess their fate.
"We should head back..."
As one spoke, something burst from the room's depths where the door had flown off.
Without warning, it resembled a feline predator's forepaw—golden furred, but larger than an adult man's torso.
Following came a raptor's head crowned with black horns.
The moment its amber eyes fixed on them...
Agate-colored particles poured from the room.
Those at the front shrank to basketball size upon contact. The rear watched in horror as colleagues turned into red lumps.
He tried to scream, but the airborne particles reached his throat faster.
No pain upon contact—his body could no longer feel it.
The beast that pulped nine in seconds passed them by.
Plenty more prey remained here for her—the beast—to hunt.
Tyron and the surviving team leaders raced through dim corridors.
The cafeteria massacre left only the research and facilities team leaders. The rest had been brutally slain by monsters.
"C-Captain! This section's..."
"We abandon the engines. We need to evacuate now."
"What?"
The captains looked baffled at Tyron's call. Even as a Saint-K Noble Capital, abandoning the Gigacracker was unthinkable.
But Tyron's decision stemmed not from fear.
He'd joined Walter Saint-K's monster hunts multiple times. Among countless predators, one stood out.
Seed Demon.
Primitive intelligences like Wolfs or Fishrians sometimes deified Seed Demons—not hyperbole. Known as sea god or abyss devil, battling one was Tyron's worst nightmare.
And that pink jellyfish in the cafeteria.
Small or not, it was undoubtedly a Seed Demon.
We can't beat it.
Why a Seed Demon was aboard, allied with other monsters—unanswered questions. But critical: with it controlling the ship, they must warn rescuers. Failure meant massacre.
"Captain, reconsider abandoning the Gigacracker..."
"We're not abandoning it."
"Pardon?"
"If we don't relay intel on that monster, countless lives will be lost. Reclaiming the ship becomes impossible."
"Th-that's true, but..."
"If things go south, I'll take full responsibility."
With the captain assuming all blame, they fell silent. They pressed on, reaching the captain's quarters sector.
Beyond lay the hangar. Emergency shuttles would get them out.
But obstacles persisted.
Clinging to slim hope, they faced endless dread. From captain's quarters to hangar, the corridor was ruined.
Walls and ceiling shattered as if something larger than the passage had thrashed through. Beyond razor-slashed alloy, the wrecked quarters loomed.
Not the Seed Demon or winged white lizard's work. The culprit dwarfed them.
Gravity generators failed too—objects and debris floated.
"......"
Tense, Tyron and the leaders traversed the wreckage.
Silent in zero-g, drifting items from quarters collided: a portrait showing only a woman's lips and bust; a broken grandfather clock; shattered glassware.
Everyday items, now unnervingly alien.
Fortunately, the corridor was short. They reached the hangar-sealed door.
The behemoth that wrecked it was gone. As research leader opened it, Tyron and facilities leader dashed in.
"Close it quick!"
"Yes, sir!"
Uncertain when it'd return, research leader slammed it shut with trembling hands.
Only then, with the eerie hall sealed, did they relax.
"Gravity here's intact, so it hasn't come."
"All shuttles present—we're first."
No one mentioned others' fates.
"Captain's shuttle is this way."
"Captain, the code."
"Right."
Before the ornate captain's shuttle, Tyron entered the emergency code on his terminal.
The terminal beeped briefly, and the hatch hissed open. As Tyron stepped forward, something splattered his shoulder.
"Huh?"
Sticky fluid. He looked up slowly.
A 'monster' clung to the hangar ceiling.
Drooling upside-down, it lunged.
Of course.
I'd hidden in the hangar anticipating escapees. Sure enough, the captain and brass arrived.
No more coming.
Sky Mother handled ion cannons; 26 and Adhai the rest; PS-111 the bridge. By now, all crew sorted.
The planet-killer superweapon was mine.
Not quite yet?
I gazed down at my new friend, Captain Tyron.
Like me, the human-faced worms had gigantified—from 1m to 3m head-to-tail.
The middle-aged man's face bowed at my gaze.
Rescue fleet from nearby sector arrives in one hour, he'd said. Until then, Gigacracker not fully mine.
What to do.
In the game, I'd fought superweapons rivaling this many times. Knew how rankers and NPCs defended them.
Rescue fleet details from the worm: prime prey.
I could destroy them personally—Adult stage and unique trait made them no match.
Or lure into ship, wipe with kids as usual.
Or...
I looked up at the colossal metal enclosing my massive form.
A target I'd only faced as foe, never used.
Great idea.
I smiled, picturing the clueless moths fluttering to flame.