Chapter 336
Chapter 336
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 336
Chapter Title: Bone Beast Rampage
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A 30-meter giant stag beetle monster swung its pillar-like foreleg.
The Mother of the Sky spread her agate-colored wings and soared upward. The pile bug's claw slammed down just inches from where she had been.
Dodging the attack, she scattered particles the same color as her wings. The pile bug's leg twisted grotesquely where the agate grains touched.
Any other creature would have writhed in agony, but not this one. Ignoring the loss of a foreleg, the pile bug aimed the bio-piles jutting from its back and head at her.
'Modified not to feel pain.'
She expertly weaved through the air, evading the incoming organic spikes. Through the ruins of buildings, she spotted more pile bugs approaching from afar.
｢Adhai! They're coming!｣
She ducked behind a half-collapsed building and called out to Adhai.
The little Galleron was on the rooftop of the building across from her, gazing at the sky beyond the dome. His amethyst eyes were locked on the 'black presence' greedily devouring the ships and flying monsters.
'What's gotten into him all of a sudden?'
She thought he might be gripped by fear like the other creatures here, but upon closer inspection, that didn't seem right.
His utter stillness, eyes fixed ahead—it looked like he was in a state of extreme focus, to the point of losing awareness of his surroundings.
At that moment, the pile bug targeting her spotted the small Galleron. A 3-meter bio-pile launched from its back.
The spike was headed straight for the rooftop where Adhai stood. Without Red Armor's protection, it would be a guaranteed fatal blow.
'Can't let that happen!'
She tensed the muscles in her hind legs and kicked off the ground hard. Her feline beast body shot forward like an arrow. She beat her wings fiercely for extra acceleration.
The golden-furred griffon body burst through the wall of the crumbling building and soared onto the opposite rooftop.
Just before the bio-spike could impale Adhai, she grabbed him and dodged. The sharp tip grazed the horn on her head by a hair's breadth.
Only then did Adhai turn to look at her.
｢Ugly friend?｣
｢Snap out of it! The fight's not over yet!｣
｢Fight?｣ ｢Hunt?｣
At those words, a red gleam flashed in Adhai's eyes. The red patterns etched on his snow-white body flared up like they were ablaze for an instant.
'What was that?'
Startled for a moment, she looked again, but he appeared normal.
He shook his neck vigorously once, then spread his wings.
｢Friend｣ ｢Word｣ ｢Right｣ ｢Hunt｣ ｢Not over｣
｢...Yeah.｣
｢Together｣ ｢Hunt｣
With that, he donned his Red Armor and took to the air.
'Did I imagine it?'
Judging it a trick of her eyes, she followed behind Adhai as he engaged the pile bugs.
Aimorphs devour other creatures and assimilate their traits.
However, compared to their endless evolution concept, traits that organically alter the body itself are relatively scarce. The ability to reshape the body on the fly to suit situations is more characteristic of Volfs than Aimorphs.
'Perfect Organism,' which turns the body into a killing machine; 'Organic Evolution,' allowing various special states; 'Variable Bio-Weapon,' which morphs body parts into Apex forms. None of these existed in the game.
If even one had been in the game, Space Survival's balance would have been completely upended.
In any case, body-altering traits were quite rare in the game. Under those circumstances, 'Bone Beast'—which strengthens the user's physical form—was an incredibly appealing trait.
Bone Beast: a body-related fusion trait created using 'Giant Creature' materials.
When activated, a bone-like armor grows from the body, protecting vulnerable areas. As a bonus, the overall body size increases by about three times.
I've used it several times in the game, so I know exactly what changes occur. That said, this is my first time activating Bone Beast after becoming an adult in this world.
As the trait triggered, a substance forming the bone armor seeped out from the fine gaps in my dark black carapace and scales. It coated the surface like plating, rapidly hardening into solid armor. Jagged spikes protruded unevenly from the completed white armor.
While the armor enveloped my body, my entire form grew explosively. Muscles expanded as if tearing apart, and chilling sounds emanated from the bones within.
1.5 times, 2 times, 3 times. My body, which seemed like it would grow endlessly, halted just shy of 200 meters in length.
｢Grrrrrr｣
｢Grulk｣
Startled by the unfamiliar transformation, my left and right heads growled. Their cries had deepened to match my colossal size.
Skull-like helmets resembling animal cranial armor covered the maws of both heads, giving them an even fiercer impression than before.
'Good.'
｢■■■■■■■■!｣
Finishing the change, I let out a mighty roar. My flanking heads howled in unison.
With three heads bellowing simultaneously, the air tore apart, producing a thunderous peal.
｢Kwaaang! Kwaang!｣
"Auditory functions damaged. Repairing with remaining energy."
Specimen 26 and PS-111 riding on my body reacted to the motion. PS-111 seemed to have taken damage from the temporary sonic boom.
I warned my allies via psychic waves while flapping my wing-arms wide. The black wings, now three times larger like my body, propelled me forward through the air. Below, the sand-covered desert was shrouded in my pitch-black shadow.
｢Ssssu!｣
The approaching collector bugs let out screams bordering on wails. Ignoring their terror, they charged under the queen's orders. I didn't evade—instead, I barreled right into them.
Outspacers shattered like flying bugs smashing into a speeding car's windshield.
Their vaunted corrosive stomach acids and razor teeth were useless. The acids retained their melting power, but my Bone Beast armor was so thick they could barely inflict damage.
｢Bad flappy-flappies!｣
｢Sshuk?!｣
"Commencing support fire."
Specimen 26 on my back—who had been on my central head but moved beside 26—and PS-111 joined the bug-slaying frenzy.
26 expanded its body back to dozens of meters and unleashed tentacles fitted with serrated blades. Collector bugs that narrowly avoided colliding with me were sliced to pieces by 26's tentacles.
PS-111 hid beneath 26, providing cover fire with its demolisher-equipped tail. Whether calculating flight paths or not, not a single material-disintegration shot missed.
As we massacred the Outspacers, the enemy launched a counterattack.
Cult battleships hidden among the bugs fired their main guns. A barrage of purple beams rained down on me. The Outspacer acids and blood coating my body vaporized on contact with the heat rays.
However, the skull-like carapace and underlying black scales suffered minimal damage. A few protruding spikes snapped off, but that was negligible. I lashed out with both tails at a nearby battleship.
My right tail's pincer collided with the ship's shield. The translucent purple barrier cracked like shattering glass before fragmenting entirely. The pincer then smashed the ship's bow with devastating force.
Chain explosions erupted inside the wrecked battleship. I extended erosion tentacles to seize the plummeting hull.
"Aaaargh!"
Cult crew spilled out of the broken ship. Some became my prey via tentacles; others plummeted to the red sands below.
I swung the ruined battleship like a bat at other ships and Outspacers. Dozens of collector bugs were crushed with every impact.
The clustered bugs suddenly shifted tactics. Following the queen's command, they rapidly scattered.
'Can't let them turn their backs.'
I struck the temporarily disorganized formation from behind. All three heads gaped wide, swallowing retreating bugs whole. With my exponentially larger body, each bite scooped up ten or more.
Devouring hundreds of bugs finally yielded the trait I wanted. Accepting it restored sensation to my immobilized arm. The 'Parasite Swarm,' restricted by genetic essence loss, was finally repaired.
'Phew. Finally got it back...'
Then, a golden bolt of lightning streaked from afar, grazing my body. It hadn't hurt much against battleship guns before, but this was different. The white armor where the heat ray glanced shattered.
Facing the encircling foes, I scanned the surroundings with auxiliary organs. Far in the sky floated a spherical object hundreds of meters across, alone.
'That attack—was it the Thunder God?'
The Thunder God I knew was flat mandala-shaped, not like this. Stacking multiple mandala forms would create something like that sphere.
'Enhanced version?'
Its appearance and superior firepower suggested an upgraded model.
'Thought they were all destroyed.'
The Black Devourer Cannon's destruction radius had encompassed the Thunder Gods too. I'd assumed they'd been wiped out with the ships, but apparently not. This was likely the last one from the Surveillance Agency's elite fleet.
'Pretty sure I know who's piloting it.'
Orbital weapon Thunder Gods require powerful psychics to control. It had to be Alshas.
Lightning gathered again in the Thunder God that had missed me. I didn't dodge either, pooling my own psychic power.
Due to energy spent on the Black Devourer Cannon? Unlike the earlier barrage, I distinctly felt the drain. Dragon Heart was recovering it quickly, but full restoration would take time.
'Focus—no distractions.'
The Thunder God, charged to its limit, blazed brilliantly. Like staring into the sun head-on. The instant it fired its golden heat ray, I exhaled a highly condensed breath of energy.
My draconic force, branching into three streams, clashed with the Thunder God's bolt. The resulting shockwave rocked Berzan 02's cavern. Nearby enemies were swept up, crashing into each other or plummeting to the ground.
'Definitely strong...'
But not enough to beat me.
The standoff didn't last. Like a python swallowing a smaller serpent whole, my three heads' breaths devoured the lightning.
As the golden light faded in the crimson sky, a purple heat ray struck the Thunder God. A ferocious explosion followed, strong enough to briefly paralyze the auxiliary organs under my jaws.
Flames like several nukes detonating blanketed the heavens. The few remaining ships oxidized to ash in the inferno.
Beyond the roaring blaze, atop the queen guarded by collector bugs, stood Alshas and Isabelle.
He looked utterly flustered as his plans crumbled in real time. Too distant to see clearly, but his panic was palpable.
I aimed my recovered combat arm at him. Spotting it, he staggered back.
"What was that about cooperating to overcome hardship?"
"!"
Probably a clone here.
Doesn't matter.
Wherever he hides in this universe, whatever weapons he brings.
I won't stop until I devour his essence.
Alshas couldn't accept the reality unfolding before him.
He'd heard long ago that the Aimorph killed Jason. News of Cynthia—his longtime ally—meeting the same fate too.
So he'd prepared thoroughly. Bribed planetary influencers ages ago to deploy the elite fleet. Not enough, so he contacted the empress to standby the Outspacer horde.
That wasn't all. He'd insured against plans going awry. Double, triple preparations.
Even if it ambushed unexpectedly, he was confident he could hold it off.
But every prediction had been shattered.
The Surveillance Agency's elite fleet: annihilated. Outspacer horde: nearly gone.
Only his insurance and the imperial mothership guarding the Agency remained.
｢The empress commands: 'Predator' hunt failed—retreat.｣
"No! Wait! It can't end like this!"
｢The empress warns: If friend gets eaten by 'Predator,' dangerous. Flee.｣
｢Flee.｣
｢Flee.｣
"Shut up! Shut your mouth!"
His reason was fraying already; the queen's voice echoing in his head made it unbearable.
'Insurance! I still have insurance!'
His bloodshot eyes glared at Isabelle beside him.
'If I make her summon Vortex One...'
The more contracts Coldbloods make, the deeper their bond with their overlord. At a certain threshold, the direct Vortex One summon unlocks.
The summoned Vortex One grants one wish for a price. From assassinations to incinerating planets or obliterating fleets.
Of course, steeper wishes demand exponentially higher costs. Insufficient payment means no summon.
Moreover, the summoner's life is always part of the price. No issue in the game, but here? Isabelle would die for sure if she called it.