Chapter 308
Chapter 308
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 308
Chapter Title: Traces (3)
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"...Alshas, I never expected this from you."
Nern, dressed in the Cult's signature purple uniform, glared at his junior standing beside him.
"I understand how you feel, Senior."
"You understand, and yet you dragged me here?"
"Dragged you? You know full well how important this gathering is—how can you say that?"
They were currently at the mansion of Kisos, the leader of the Innovation Faction.
Four days prior, Alshas had arranged a meeting between Sihyun Yujin and Kisos at Nern's request. Surprisingly, Kisos took a liking to Sihyun and promised her a stable supply route for equipment.
Nern had been satisfied with how successful the negotiations had gone. The stronger Sihyun's faction became, the higher the chances that he could exact revenge on that 'three-headed devil.'
So he'd let his guard down, only to get hit from behind like this.
"I clearly said I wouldn't return until my revenge was complete."
"I'm not asking you to return, Senior."
"That guy over there is the vice-leader of the Revelation Eye Priesthood, and that one's the director of the Aur Surveillance Office. You bring me to a meeting of this planet's core power players and claim it's not?"
The party hosted by Kisos wasn't just for them.
There were other guests in the banquet hall besides the two of them. They appeared ordinary at first glance, but their positions were anything but. These were power brokers even the captain of an Imperial mothership like Nern wouldn't have met easily.
"You know as well as I do, Senior—Sihyun Yujin's enemies aren't just one or two. Even if she has relics, her path ahead is still treacherous. It doesn't hurt to prepare in advance."
"You think the Council will leave me alone if they find out I'm alive? They'll try to use me somehow."
"Kisos has agreed to handle that part. Until Sihyun fulfills her role, you'll remain 'dead' to the world. No need to worry."
"Hah."
Everything had been settled behind his back. Nern shot Alshas a glare.
He didn't look kindly on this sort of political maneuvering. Part of it was his nature as a soldier, but mostly it was because he'd seen countless people die unjustly on the battlefield due to factional infighting over interests.
Under normal circumstances, he would have exploded in anger. But not this time.
He knew Alshas had done it for his sake. If the roles were reversed, he would have done the same to help his junior return.
In the end, Nern let out a small sigh instead of raging.
"...When do I make my introductions?"
"After Sihyun and my brother are done. You can greet them separately then."
Right now, the party's host, Kisos, was introducing Sihyun to the guests. Human though she was, true to her Noble Capital roots, she handled the guests with seasoned poise.
'Come to think of it...'
Nern's gaze, which had been lingering on Sihyun, shifted to a silver-haired Cult member in the corner of the banquet hall.
The man had an atmosphere strikingly similar to Alshas—not just in hair color, but overall impression. Alkadi, the brother of the former Imperial mothership captain.
"Alkadi's here too."
"You said it last time—that he'd do well as a governor's aide. Kisos mentioned a perfect spot just opened up."
"Damn, both siblings are sharp as hell."
Nern clicked his tongue as he watched Alkadi. The man looked uneasy, constantly bringing his glass to his lips.
"He seems pretty tense. You okay with that?"
"If I get too close to my brother, people might talk..."
"Fair point."
"Honestly, I'm a little worried, but it'll be fine."
As the two chatted, Sihyun's introductions wrapped up. She stepped back, and Alkadi, who had been sipping his drink alone, moved toward the VIP cluster.
His reputation was poor due to his twisted hobbies, but he was undeniably a shrewd merchant. There was no way he'd be rude to the planet's core power players. It would probably go off without a hitch.
"Huh?"
That's what Nern thought—until the mood turned strange.
The vice-leader of the Revelation Eye Priesthood suddenly stepped forward, blocking the space between Alkadi and Kisos.
Then the vice-leader drew the sword at his waist and slit Alkadi's throat. It happened so fast no one could react properly.
"Brother!"
Alshas let out a scream-like shout as she realized her brother was dead.
She rushed desperately toward his fallen body. Nern snapped to attention and followed close behind.
'Why the vice-leader?'
"...Vice-leader, what the hell is this?"
Kisos's icy voice pierced Nern's ears. With someone he'd invited dying at the party he was hosting, his tone was frigid.
If the attacker had been anyone else, they'd have been dragged away already. The reason they hadn't was because the sword-wielder was the vice-leader of the Revelation Eye Priesthood.
The Revelation Eye Priesthood was one of the Empire's elite forces, alongside the Temple Guardians. If the Temple Guardians specialized in monster hunts, the Revelation Eye Priesthood dealt primarily with internal threats like Vortex One cultists.
Their duties demanded immense physical and mental strength. There was no way the vice-leader would act without reason.
And the reason for his sudden action soon became clear.
"What is that?"
"B-Brother?"
All eyes turned not to the vice-leader, but to Alkadi's corpse.
From the cleanly severed neck stump, blood wasn't flowing—instead, something else oozed out.
'A snake?'
A long, black, wriggling thing went still. The vice-leader, staring at the monstrosity, spoke up.
"Judged to be a variant of an Outspacer parasite."
The banquet hall froze at his words.
Berzan-02 was, as the name suggested, a desert planet.
Sand everywhere you looked, with two suns alternating day and night, keeping temperatures scorching.
Yet many of Berzan-02's major cities had water-related names.
This was closely tied to the fact that they were built over vast underground aquifers.
Even with the Cult's interstellar travel tech, importing water from other planets was a hassle. Transport costs skyrocketed as planetary development progressed.
Of course, the Empire, which operated hundreds or thousands of space fortresses, could move water if it wanted. There was just no reason to ignore planetary resources for that.
In any case, 'Fortress of Water' was one such city built amid sand and water.
Unlike the surface shielded by biodomes, the underground housed vast aqueduct lines and aquifer management facilities.
Water was a vital resource on a desert planet, so defenses underground were as tight as on the surface. From fortress cannons typically seen on space forts to all manner of detection gear, and a massive number of Cult personnel stationed at the facilities.
In the game, infiltrating Fortress of Water was actually easier via surface routes than underground. I'd only ever succeeded underground once.
But now, the situation and conditions were different.
I had the ultimate infiltration mode: 'Clever Prey.' Plus plenty of ways to evade enemy eyes. In a game, I'd have skipped it, but here, the underground route was more advantageous.
So during the cooldown of Clever Prey, I'd prepared to infiltrate the Fortress of Water's underground route.
By digging a tunnel straight to it.
Since becoming an Adult, my body wasn't ideal for underground movement anymore, but that didn't mean I couldn't dig.
Plus, I had 30 days—plenty of time. During the day, I taught the kids how to use their new traits. At night, I dug underground paths.
The result of my diligent work? My tunnel now ran close to the management facilities beneath Fortress of Water.
The city hadn't reacted at all on the way here. Detection systems in those facilities should have picked up my digging vibrations long ago.
There was a reason for that.
"...Who'd have thought you'd evade surveillance like this."
The Mother of the Sky riding on my back shook her head. Even in the underground darkness, her eyes fixed precisely on the creature ahead.
Currently, atop the tunnel I'd made, there were other creatures besides me and her.
Right in front of me was a massive red snake, as huge as the Ice Horror I'd encountered before. That was an Adult Redworm.
"Mimicking a Redworm, huh."
Adult Redworms, slightly weaker than Apex creatures, had sharply divided perceptions depending on the faction.
Mega Corp saw them only as hunting targets—monsters that mimicked voices to devour victims. The Cult, however, avoided killing them.
The reason? Redworms played a crucial role in desert planet ecosystems.
'To be precise, it's not the Redworms themselves, but the creatures symbiotically linked to them.'
The massive carnivorous earthworm's body, filling the tunnel's width, was covered in child-sized bugs. These 'Water Beetles' excreted substances that purified water and enriched soil, helping maintain the planet's environment.
Water Beetles fed exclusively on Adult Redworm scales. Fewer Redworms meant fewer Water Beetles, and the planetary ecosystem would spiral into decline. From the Cult's perspective on a desert world, they had no choice but to protect Adult Redworms.
[Zuzuzu zuzu (Not bad, right?)]
"That's why players never figured it out."
My Adult-sized body matched that of a young, immature Redworm. The management facilities' detection systems would register me as just another native Redworm from outside.
As long as I didn't tamper with the aquifers or equipment, the odds of them coming after me were slim.
The Mother of the Sky knew it too and let out a hollow chuckle.
"Figures it'd take a Morph to think this cleverly."
[Zuzuzuzu zuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzuzu (Gotta do something like this or I won't crack top 5)]
"...Impressive."
She scratched her beak with her hand. The moment her hand touched it, the psionic waves cloaking her body rippled.
"Packed reinforced suit just in case, but guess it's not needed now."
She was currently wearing an advanced reinforced suit. It was one looted from Alkadi's assailants last time, modified to fit her physiology. They'd enhanced the existing stealth for optical camouflage plus a light stealth effect.
While that was being upgraded, she'd scouted routes into Fortress of Water that wouldn't raise alarms. Unlike me, she could move freely in public, so she'd covered far more ground. Some of her finds even resembled my game infiltration methods.
But right now, the underground route was safer than surface ones. Unless something derailed my plans, we wouldn't need her routes.
'Though the world doesn't always go as planned.'
The lack of city response so far suggested the infiltration would go smoothly. That's why she'd said that.
[Zu zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzuzuzu (Could still help after we infiltrate)]
"If it comes to that, better off without it."
In fact, much of her intel differed from the game. Some bits would have been real trouble without prior knowledge. It'd prove useful when escaping the city or if I had to assault the planet later.
'Anyway, call it a day here.'
With Redworms patrolling nearby, digging further was tough.
Not because I feared them, but because I didn't want to accidentally kill any. Losing Redworms vital to ecosystem stability would alert the Cult immediately, dooming the tunnel op.
As I paused digging to head back to the hover bus center...
A short, intense signal hit my head. Like a death throe psionic wave, my body froze involuntarily.
"What's wrong?"
The Mother of the Sky on my back asked, but I couldn't respond.
The wave that had just arrived...
It was the final signal from the parasite I'd planted.
'Alkadi's dead?'
Something utterly unforeseen had happened.