Chapter 339
Chapter 339
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 339
Chapter Title: Became an Evolving Space Monster
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“Really?”
[Zz zuzzuz zz zuzzuzuzu (Yeah. Eating it will make you stronger)]
“Eating yummy stuff with Big Baby is great! Getting stronger is great too!”
Specimen 26 on my back extends its tentacles, waving them like it’s cheering.
‘I’m not sure if that’s true, but whatever.’
I’ve never actually seen a Sea Demon devour a Vortex One. So I have no idea what’s going to happen after eating this guy’s Ring of Agony flesh.
‘I’ll figure out the details later.’
I spread my wings wide and lifted my body off the sand.
Before following the Ring of Agony, I need to pick up the kids from that watery fortress first.
Captain Alshas, commander of Berzan 02’s defenders.
She had one thing that set her apart from the others.
In the real world, she was a natural-born actress.
And her looks weren’t bad at all. In fact, nine out of ten people would call her beautiful.
Looks and acting skills.
She’d realized early on that wielding these two talents properly could make the world a much easier place.
She used her appearance in front of rich men, and her acting for those she needed to keep around long-term.
She felt no guilt whatsoever about deceiving others, and up until she arrived in this world, she’d lived a pretty successful life.
Working at a prestigious financial firm, she was a trusted employee among her colleagues, and her fiancé—whom she was set to marry—was a successful businessman.
But behind that success lay countless people she’d duped. They’d fallen for her charming, sociable beauty, gotten squeezed dry, and been discarded. Victims included friends, lovers, clients, and even coworkers.
But as a master actress, she hid it all perfectly. No one knew about the repulsive filth festering beneath that alluring flower.
Anyway, her life had been smooth sailing. That is, until the day before her wedding, when she was dropped into the world of Space Survival.
This world was completely different from the one she’d known.
The Cult race had plenty of beauties by human standards. Cults far more stunning than her were everywhere.
And her acting skills didn’t shine here either. In this caste society where rank and role were determined by horn shape, her ceiling was fixed. Plus, as a soldier, she constantly faced life-threatening dangers.
To Alshas, the world of Space Survival looked like hell.
Even after decades here, her thirst for success hadn’t faded. No matter how many merits she racked up, her horns limited her to captain of an Imperial Mothership at best.
That’s why she’d joined forces with those aiming to return home. Going back to her original world would fulfill those unquenchable desires.
And now, the Returners’ grand plan was nearly complete. If it succeeded, her dreams would come true soon enough.
Or so she thought.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Alshas, piloting a small shuttle, spat curses nonstop.
She’d never faced a crisis this dire. It was worse than the time shortly after arriving, when she nearly died during the Outspacer invasion.
Back then, she had someone like Captain Nern to help her. Not now.
The moment the clone vanished, she bolted from the Surveillance Agency’s command center.
Isabel had singled her out, begging Vortex One to kill her. With only the Surveillance Agency’s remaining forces—no elite fleet or Outspacer legions—capturing him would be impossible.
‘The leftover Imperial Motherships alone won’t cut it!’
Imperial Motherships ranked among the top five in Cult firepower, but they had a flaw: after unleashing their barrage, they were useless.
The Cosmic Bolt, with its delicate mechanisms, had a long cooldown after firing. Even at reduced power for fleet battles, it was the same.
That’s why she needed supporting fleets, but the Aimorphs had wiped them out. The surviving Mothership Squadron ships couldn’t overcome this mess.
‘And the Masquerade! If Vortex One’s Masquerade comes out, I’m done for!’
Vortex One’s Masquerade lived up to its name—it could drive everyone mad. Any creature touched by its waves lost all friend-foe distinction in sheer insanity.
One might think you could just dodge it, but that was incredibly hard.
Even if she somehow avoided the madness, the crisis wouldn’t end. The other crew would still be there. Everyone around the Surveillance Agency, Imperial Mothership, and Berzan 02 would hunt her down.
‘I can’t die here!’
Her shuttle tore through the Surveillance Agency’s interior at breakneck speed. She reached the exit in seconds.
“This area is currently restricted.”
“I’m Captain Alshas of ‘Berzan 02’s Defenders’! Open the hatch now!”
“Pardon? Please wait a…”
“You bastard! Open the damn hatch!”
The moment she screamed into the shuttle’s comms, a blaring siren erupted outside.
“Unidentified entity approaching! Unidentified entity approaching!”
“I-It’s here! It’s coming!”
Mixed in with the alarms were intermittent thundering booms. The main guns of the Surveillance Agency’s guarding ships and the fortress cannons mounted outside were firing.
‘I-I can’t go out there!’
The terrifying space demon was closing in to kill her alone. Stepping out meant instant death.
Reluctantly, she turned the shuttle around.
‘Please, a miracle…!’
How nice it would be if some nameless ranker at the Agency took down Vortex One. A ridiculous fantasy, but she was that desperate.
Even as her shuttle wandered, the sirens and explosions didn’t stop.
Now the entire Surveillance Agency building was shaking. The control tower housing the command center swayed, debris raining from the ceiling.
Contrary to her hopes, it was closing in fast.
A few minutes later, the interior lights went out. Emergency power kicked in, bathing everything in red.
In that blood-sea glow, Alshas’s shuttle floated alone.
‘…Contact! Right! If I reach the Empress, she’ll come save me!’
She grabbed a communication psionic stone from the copilot seat. The Empress knew she was key to the Returners. They valued useful talent—they’d surely rescue her.
As she yanked shuttle wiring to connect it, a massive shock slammed the Agency and her shuttle.
“W-What?”
Startled, she peered through the front viewport.
There was the ‘demon.’
The Agency’s outer wall crumbling, a colossal ring covered in tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of arms.
‘T-The Ring of Agony!’
Vortex One, ripping through the wall with its myriad arms, was a familiar monster to her. Better than Masquerade, but still way beyond her.
Alshas rushed back to the controls and slammed the throttle. She tried to slip behind the black ring.
But the space demon had no intention of letting her go. Some arms darted nimbly, snatching her shuttle.
“L-Let go! Let me go!”
In full panic, she gripped the controls and screamed. No trace of the dignified Imperial Mothership captain proficient in psychic power.
Another arm moved leisurely. A hand as big as her shuttle covered the viewport. Its palm held a vortex-shaped maw.
Soon, that mouth would swallow her shuttle whole.
Or so she thought.
The ring’s body twitched. Something from behind the torn wall had grabbed it tight.
“Grr.”
“Grr-rr.”
“Grr-rr-r.”
A familiar growl followed, and the Ring of Agony began getting dragged outside. She, clutched in its hand, was pulled into the black sea with it.
The sudden savior extended her life, but she wasn’t happy at all.
She knew who—or what—that massive figure rivaling Vortex One was.
The infamous No. 5 ranker, Aimorph.
The monster as feared as any demon reached out to claim her.
The Surveillance Agency’s interior, pinnacle of Cult technology, was a total wreck.
Power systems damaged, the whole structure drowned in emergency red lights. Shattered outer wall debris littered the floors.
All courtesy of me and Vortex One.
As I reached for Alshas’s shuttle, the ‘Ring of Agony’ moved. Countless arms on its surface seized me and yanked me back.
It wasn’t just big—its strength was insane. My body was hurled outside against my will.
I deployed erosion tentacles to grip the outer wall while activating ‘Variable Bio-Weaponry.’
Mutation site: head. The central head carapace shifted to resemble the Apex creature ‘Ice Horror.’
With my head changed, I clamped down hard on the wall-gripping tentacles. My body shot inside like an arrow loosed from a bow.
A fierce impact followed. My head smashed into the Ring of Agony.
All Vortex Ones boast monstrous durability from abyssal power and organic matter. But they’re not immortal.
Arms on the ring’s surface crumpled under my head carapace. My flank heads bit into the black ring with all their might.
Planting both legs into the Agency floor, I shoved with everything I had.
The ring-shaped body slid sideways from my force. Control towers and ships got crushed underneath, exploding.
Erosion tentacles on my back snatched floating ship debris and swung them like clubs at the demon. Each collision sent deafening booms vibrating the structure.
‘Counterattack incoming soon.’
Its arms were clawing at my head carapace now, but it’d quickly realize it wasn’t working.
“-”
That instant, its rogue arms froze. Pairs clapped together toward me in unison.
Immense pressure crashed down.
Invisible force twisted not just my tentacles but my neck and torso wildly. My body twisted like a wrung-out rag.
Surrounding structures crumpled with screeching friction. Docked ships warped like taffy; control towers and facilities compressed like crushed cans.
‘Strong as expected!’
The Ring of Agony’s abilities vary by arm posture. Clapping invokes gravity manipulation.
I’d taken it in-game, of course. Experiencing those numbers firsthand was oppressive. My battleship-cannon-proof bone armor cracked and shattered in seconds.
And this was from its damaged state. At full power, I might’ve lost a head.
‘But…!’
Whatever. Attacks that can’t kill only make me stronger.
‘Tyrantroid’ triggered, my body swelling again. My strength scaled with the growth.
I reverted the Ice Horror carapace on my central head and mutated my combat arms.
Bones inside extended with creepy snaps. The hand parts morphed into scythes with serrated blades. Four fingers shrank into jagged claws.
The signature weapon of the mantis-like Apex ‘Hellside Hornet’ was now mine.
I swung the completed combat arm wide. The razor bio-scythe plunged into the black ring. Hellside Hornet’s signature sharpness, boosted by Tyrantroid, made it possible.
“--”
Direct wound on the ring, and it reacted again. The clapping arms pressed palms together in prayer pose.
Immense repulsion blasted out. My biting heads and embedded scythe flew off. Black fluid fountained from the injured torso.
I wasn’t the only one close and repelled. Alshas’s shuttle got caught, bouncing around before sucking out into space.
‘She can’t escape now.’
Already damaged rear rockets from the grab. No FTL, not even landing on nearby Berzan 02.
Basically adrift in a metal prison.
‘First things first, deal with the Ring of Agony.’