Chapter 343
Chapter 343
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 343
Chapter Title: I Became an Evolving Space Monster
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If the one you've captured tries to escape, the usual response is to threaten to kill them or warn them it's too dangerous to leave. Telling them not to go because the place isn't suitable for travel is rare.
Moreover, this guy had been calling her "specimen" nonstop since earlier.
"Come to think of it, in your current state, the specimen can't examine its own body. Allow me to assist."
As soon as the words ended, the sound of metal scraping against metal rang out, and her field of vision shifted. The bed she was lying on stood up like a chair.
Thanks to that, she could clearly see where she was. And the source of the stench that had been bothering her all along.
The only part of the space surrounding her that could be called clean was the ceiling. The walls were exposed with steel beams and wires like an unfinished building, and the floor was littered with large and small machines and equipment connected by cables.
On top of those machines were Cult corpses and unidentified black chunks of meat. Beneath them pooled red blood and black fluids.
'Wh-what the hell is all this?!'
"To create a new body for 'little sister,' a substantial amount of organic matter is required. Gigacracker lacks cultivation facilities. Those are the organics supplied by Aimorph."
As if answering her bewilderment, the voice spoke up.
"However, by the time her brain needed transplanting, fresh organics were unavailable. There were frozen specimens, but they weren't enough."
Then the owner of the voice revealed itself.
'!'
Standing atop a slaughterhouse reeking of blood was a spider-like thing with a human woman's head and multiple metal legs. It cradled something precious in its skeletal limbs.
"So I reused the organics comprising my body to create a temporary flesh capable of minimal life functions."
The monster that had introduced itself as PS-111 was holding another "monster."
A face blending human, Coldblood, and machine parts, with an elongated torso stitched from Cult body segments below. If the being talking to her was a spider with a human head, this monster resembled a centipede haphazardly pieced together from intelligent lifeforms.
A monster woven from intelligent beings? No way...'
Only then did she realize what the entity she'd been conversing with was.
There's only one chimeric blend of biology and machinery in Space Survival: the Star Union's cursed bioweapon, the Screamer.
"Error in thought process detected; correction required. Little sister is not a monster. With all necessary materials gathered, she will be perfected into the most superior and efficient body."
With that, PS-111 pulled a hand mirror from its blood-soaked rags and reflected Alshas's image in it.
'Huh?'
"The specimen's arms, legs, and various organs were used in little sister's body fabrication and testing."
Seeing her reflection, she felt her blood run cold.
There sat a lone Cult on the chair-bed, reduced to just head and torso.
Arms, legs, alluring silver hair—all gone. Not only that, cables and wires pierced her skull, and a thick oxygen tube was jammed into her neck.
That wretched figure was Alshas herself.
"Aimorph said that as long as it doesn't die, the head alone is fine; do whatever with the rest."
'Wait, hold on a second!'
"The current arms supplemented this section; legs covered that part. Excellent compatibility, so next is organ extraction."
PS-111 pointed with its hooked talons at various spots on the horrific monster's body, kindly explaining.
From that, she instantly grasped its intent. This monster planned to use her as material for that Screamer.
'N-no! Anything but a Screamer!'
"I'll use the body; Aimorph will consume the brain and head, so no need to worry."
'Then just kill me instead! I don't want to live as a slave forever!'
Tears and snot streaming, Alshas pleaded desperately.
PS-111 gently set down the artificial lifeform's upper body it had crafted and approached her. It bent its massive frame, bringing its pallid metal-skinned face close.
"Aimorph said the reason little sister's body collapses from an unidentified virus is because of the specimen—you."
'Me? What the hell did I do!'
Alshas had no idea who this "little sister" was. She couldn't fathom why she deserved this agony; it was just unfair.
But PS-111 had no intention of elaborating. It set the mirror aside and raised its hooked talon.
"You have no need to know. Explanation terminated; proceeding to next phase."
'N-next phase? Eek?!'
"Thanks to the neurotoxin I injected, there will be no pain."
Even as her body was dismantled alive, Alshas's eyes quivered nonstop.
Watching her silent screams were only the red camera lenses—PS-111's eyes.
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｢Fluffy and delicious!｣
｢Tasty｣ ｢Unique｣ ｢First｣ ｢Time｣ ｢Eating｣
｢Never imagined Vortex One would taste like this.｣
Atop the hangar, three monsters chatted amiably while eating.
Before them lay the enormous corpse of a Vortex One.
｢Should give some to big baby too.｣
｢Agree｣ ｢Big｣ ｢Adult｣ ｢Loves｣ ｢Food｣
｢It's tired, so better let it rest now.｣
The golden-furred Griffin soothed the other two monsters and turned her head.
Where her amber eyes directed was a beast as massive as the corpse before them, sprawled out.
The space monster that triumphed over one of the universe's demons, the "Ring of Torment."
The Aimorph beloved by Seed Demon and Red Galleron was deep in slumber.
'No wonder it's exhausted.'
Despite wounds from consecutive battles with formidable foes, it couldn't rest right away.
Urgent business required its aid.
On Berzan 02, it first sent PS-111 to Gigacracker to save 22nd Ranker Isabelle. Then it sent her to utilize Gigacracker as a Joker.
Returning to Gigacracker thanks to Aimorph, she first checked on PS-111 and Isabelle's situation.
And realized Aimorph's prediction was way off.
'Who knew the organics would run out.'
Gigacracker wasn't a research vessel, so it lacked onboard cell cultivation facilities. Still, Aimorph hadn't worried much because Specimen 026, Adhai, and corpses from crew she'd hunted were stored aplenty.
But PS-111 claimed human corpses alone couldn't craft a suitable body for Isabelle. Multiple genes needed mixing for mutual complementation to run a Mutant Screamer without issues.
Come to think of it, she'd heard from Aimorph before: even the Rankers who made Mutant Screamers went through trial and error.
By the time she arrived at Gigacracker, PS-111 had already cannibalized its own body to build Isabelle's. Thanks to its sacrifice, Isabelle overcame the crisis.
'Not sure "overcame" is the right word.'
Isabelle's previous body had completely collapsed from summoning the Vortex One. PS-111 salvaged only her twin sister's brain, eyes, and a few minor organs. Of course, its swift action preserved even those.
According to it, brain damage was prevented, so revival in the new body shouldn't impair intelligence.
That was actually the issue.
Even if she revived in that state, whether it could be called Isabelle was debatable—and whether she'd adapt to the new body. Worst case, she might resent PS-111 for reviving her as a monster.
'Still...'
You need to be alive to hate someone or resolve that hatred.
Too precious to let go like this. After all her suffering for her sister, she deserved family happiness.
Anyway, needing masses of corpses urgently, she informed Aimorph the moment Ring of Torment died. It grasped the emergency and moved immediately.
'But I didn't expect it to suggest using Vortex One corpse.'
Hearing her, it tore off part of the Vortex One corpse and hauled it to the hangar. Reasoning it'd aid Isabelle's new body.
'And said I'd need some too.'
As Aimorph said, among Wolf-exclusive gear was one requiring Vortex One flesh. Acquiring it would yield effects akin to half a step toward deification.
'Sneakily looking out for me.'
It called it insurance, but both knew it thought otherwise.
'...Though piling up all those Cult corpses afterward was a bit much.'
Next after Vortex One, it gathered Cult corpses from the surveillance office.
The battle between Aimorph and Ring of Torment wrought massive casualties inside. It stuffed intact arms and tentacles full of bodies, dumping them in the hangar. Mostly Cults, but plenty of slaves mixed in, satisfying PS-111.
After securing heaps of corpses, it reverted to original form. Enhancement ended, so she expected collapse like before, but surprisingly it endured.
Because Alshas remained.
Using Aimorph's signature Super Sense, it located and fetched the drifting shuttle around the surveillance office. Alshas inside tried escaping desperately but failed.
'If she'd fought seriously, it'd have been a hassle.'
Panicked, she fell to PS-111 come for bodies. Aimorph left her handling to PS-111 and promptly fell asleep.
With it asleep, cleanup fell to her.
Isabelle's rescued 40 Coldblood slaves and MPS-05. Their shuttle drifted off Berzan 02's orbit, so she fetched them.
Not difficult; soon done. Coldbloods now rested in crew cabins on Gigacracker.
With everything settled, they departed Aour Star System. Gigacracker now wandered an unclaimed system via FTL.
'Speaking of which, need to think about the slaves' treatment.'
Battle over, but tasks piled high. She glanced at the dead-to-the-world Aimorph.
'Can decide later.'
Rest could wait till it woke; discuss then.
'Discussing with Aimorph. In a game, I'd think I'd gone mad.'
｢Ugly friend｣ ｢Big adult｣ ｢Why｣ ｢Staring?｣
｢Huh?｣
｢Kept｣ ｢Watching｣ ｢Earlier｣
｢Oh? Uh, well...｣
The unexpected question laced her thoughts with bewilderment.
｢Ugly friend｣ ｢Worried｣ ｢About big adult?｣
｢Worried? Me? Nonsense. Why would I care about Mopba—cough, that thing?｣
｢Middle baby worried about big baby? Cares?｣
｢No. Not at all.｣
｢Really? For real?｣
｢Feelings｣ ｢Suspicious｣ ｢Suspicious｣
The usually bickering pair synced perfectly for once.
｢N-no, it's just, uh, big baby looks hungry.｣
｢Big adult｣ ｢Definitely｣ ｢Used｣ ｢Lots｣ ｢Power｣ ｢Stomach｣ ｢Hungry?｣
｢Exactly! It was like this before too!｣
Her random shot somehow landed.
｢Cut tasty fluffy and feed!｣
｢Agree｣ ｢Eat｣ ｢Get｣ ｢Stronger｣
The two monsters dropped their grilling and prepared to feed Aimorph Vortex One meat.
'Phew.'
Seeing that, she sighed softly and bit into a chunk of Vortex One flesh.
To the amber-eyed Griffin, the meat tasted richly of chocolate.
The first sensation upon waking was sweetness.
Intense chocolate flavor filled my mouth, jaw aching from richness.
｢Still plenty left, eat lots.｣
｢Grrr｣
｢Big adult｣ ｢Like young kin｣
｢Grrr?｣
｢Praise｣
After the melting sweetness on my tongue, I noticed my heads on either side moving.
I slowly opened my eyes.
｢Big adult｣ ｢Awake｣
｢Big baby eat this too｣
Eyes open, black flesh chunk shoved into my mouth. Vortex One meat I'd stockpiled before sleep.
26 and Adhai diligently stuffing my sleeping maw.
With the hangar heaped Vortex One corpse nearly gone, they'd kept feeding me while I slept.
'Reminds me of the old days.'