Chapter 346
Chapter 346
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 346
Chapter Title: Into Her Mind
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The Gigacracker wasn't a warship, but it was an incredibly important vessel to Mega Corp, so it was stocked with a wide variety of drugs. If something wasn't available here, we'd have to head to a solar system or one of Mega Corp's space city-scale facilities to get it.
As my worries deepened, the Griffin beastkin nudged me.
｢Hold on. It might not be a physical issue.｣
“What do you mean?”
｢Psychological factors could be blocking her awakening.｣
She gazed at Isabel with serious eyes.
｢I've seen plenty of patients who underwent successful surgeries but failed to recover because they'd lost their will to live.｣
“Isabel wants to die? Now that she has a chance to reunite with her lost family, you think she'd really feel that way?”
｢Until we summon Vortex One, let's see how things play out. That damn... ahem, because of Alshas, she threw her life away to keep from fighting us.｣
“You're right.”
｢She still doesn't know we've won. She might have given up on everything entirely.｣
“So you're saying she gave up her life to avoid causing us harm?”
The Mother of the Sky nodded silently.
‘Considering her personality, that makes sense.’
Even during her enslavement, Isabel had saved the 40 kin her sister left behind, showing how deeply she cared for family. She would have done anything to avoid turning against her sister due to a botched contract. She might have thought that if she just died and vanished, everything would be resolved simply.
There were a few unexplained details, but nothing that strained credulity.
However, if it really was a mental block keeping her asleep, things would get complicated.
‘I'd have to use a psychic power technique for mental manipulation.’
The only ones here capable of mind control were me and Alshas—exactly two.
‘Alshas is out.’
The bastard had lost his mind to PS-111. There was no guarantee he'd follow my orders properly. Even infecting him with a parasite first and then trying carried too much risk.
Implanting a parasite into Isabel, now a Screamer, was also problematic. Enhanced parasites devoured the host's brain and took its place. What I needed was a ‘thinking comrade,’ not a slave under parasite control.
‘What to do.’
I looked down at Isabel, her eyes closed. The girl, who shared the same face as PS-111, looked utterly at peace despite the circumstances. As if she were begging not to be woken.
Next to the sleeping Screamer were Specimen 026 and Adhai. Adhai, curiosity piqued, circled around, tapping Isabel's arms with its front paws. Specimen 026 approached her face and gently caressed the surface with its tentacles.
｢Feel｣ ｢Unique｣ ｢Hurt kid｣ ｢Similar｣
｢Friend's family grew big after eating a lot too.｣
｢Hurt kid｣ ｢Family｣ ｢Looks｣ ｢Different｣ ｢But｣ ｢Feel｣ ｢Same｣
Watching the three of them, a memory suddenly surfaced.
Once, mutants Screamers had invaded the dragon's nest, killing Adhai's kin. Overwhelmed by guilt for failing to protect the group, Adhai had been consoled by its mother ship, Ort.
‘And Specimen 026 was there too.’
I'd seen Specimen 026 sitting between Adhai and ship Ort, its tentacles linking them. The two hadn't spoken a word, just sat in silence.
‘The next day, Adhai had recovered completely.’
At the time, I hadn't thought much of it, but now it stuck out.
‘Come to think of it, even Adhai, who hated ship Ort, warmed up after Specimen 026 intervened.’
Objectively, Specimen 026 wasn't much of a talker. It had intelligence far surpassing typical Seed Demons, but it wasn't human. The way it understood or conveyed concepts was vastly different.
Persuading a completely alien being would be no easy feat under normal circumstances. Unless it had used some method I didn't know about, it bordered on impossible.
‘Unless it has the ability to directly influence the mind.’
Conveniently, Specimen 026 was the finest psychic power user among us. While I surpassed it in raw power and output, its precision and finesse were far superior. It could read thoughts or even alter them using psychic power.
I called out to Specimen 026.
[Zuzuzu zuzu zuzu zuzuzu (Can you sense Isabel's thoughts?)]
｢Yeah.｣
[Zu zu zuzu zuzuzu zuzu zuzuzuzu (Can you check what she's thinking right now?)]
At my request, it placed a tentacle on Isabel's forehead. The tentacle glowed faint purple, and its body color shifted rapidly.
｢Scared and lonely. But she wants to be alone.｣
[Zu zu (Why?)]
｢Dunno. She just says she needs to be alone.｣
It could read emotions but struggled to explain them properly. If the Mother of the Sky's hypothesis was correct, Isabel's feelings were too complex for it to grasp fully.
I pulled back the tentacle and asked the crucial question.
[Zu zu zususu zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu (You helped Adhai and ship Ort before, right?)]
｢Before?｣
[Zususu zuzu zuzu zuzuzu (When Adhai's family died)]
｢Right｣ ｢Little adult｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Helped｣
Having touched Adhai's thoughts, Specimen 026 recalled and wiggled its tentacles.
｢Yeah! I helped before.｣
[Zu zu zu zu zuzu zuzu (Do the same for me)]
｢Big kid wants to reconcile with friend's family too?｣
[Zu (Yeah)]
“Please, I beg you as well.”
PS-111 wedged itself into our conversation.
“My original holds deep affection for her little sister. My presence could aid persuasion with an 82% probability.”
[Zuzu zuzuzu (Will it work on both?)]
｢Not sure, but I'll try!｣
With Specimen 026's approval, PS-111 lay down beside Isabel's head. Their identical faces facing each other felt like looking in a mirror.
I tried to squeeze in between them, but the Mother of the Sky sent me a thought wave.
｢Aimorph.｣
[Zu (Yeah?)]
｢I don't know how you'll connect with her, but if you can relay words...｣
Her amber eyes gleamed as she spoke.
｢Tell her this: Don't give up now after all your efforts so far.｣
[Zuzuzu (Got it)]
If anything, that was what I wanted to say. I'd gone to great lengths to save her. I fully intended to collect on that investment.
And to do that, I had to drag her out of that head of hers somehow.
｢Ready?｣
As I brought my central head close to Isabel and PS-111, Specimen 026 positioned itself in the middle. Three slender tentacles emerged from its pink body, writhing unnervingly.
Specimen 026's tentacle touched the monster tentacle on the back of my head. It softly intertwined with my bundle of tentacles.
Like a lover gently kissing your neck?
It tickled in a strangely pleasant way—or so I thought, until sensation rapidly faded from my body. It felt just like linking with the nest. My mind and senses traveled through the monster tentacle into Specimen 026's body, then onward to Isabel's forehead. Everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, a city lay before me.
‘Where is this?’
I wondered if I'd entered reality like in a vision, but no. The ivory buildings in geometric designs were familiar—I'd seen them recently.
I was in the heart of a Cult metropolis.
‘Isabel's memory?’
Looking down, I saw the small arms on my chest. My side heads were intact too. I'd entered her memory in my full Aimorph adult form.
‘Though a bit smaller.’
I, who normally dwarfed buildings, now had to look up at them. I swung my tail at the sidewalk blocks, but they didn't budge.
‘Perks of being in someone else's memory, I guess.’
After a quick check, I surveyed my surroundings. It was clearly a metropolis, yet not a single Cult was in sight.
‘Where's PS-111?’
If it had successfully entered Isabel's mental world, it had to be here somewhere.
As I searched for it, a group dashed between buildings. Reptilian heads on humanoid bodies—Coldbloods.
‘What now.’
After a moment's thought, I decided to follow the Coldbloods first.
As I pursued them through the buildings, the scenery abruptly changed.
The intact metropolis had become ruins. Looking up, I saw warships and an imperial mothership hovering.
Corpses littered the shattered streets. On closer inspection, they were Coldbloods and Cults in dragon-scale armor.
‘...Don't tell me.’
Checking the faces of the dead, I looked up—and far off, a battle unfolded.
Two Cults fiercely fought one Coldblood.
I knew who those two Cults were. And the one they fought.
‘Ranker 18th, Penelope.’
This memory was from the day Isabel's twin sister died.
The male Cult with deer antlers on his head, Jason, leaped into the air. The black axe in his right hand gleamed ominously.
The axe's blade targeted the Coldblood ahead—a tall, mature reptilian humanoid, Penelope.
She thrust her hand toward Jason. From her sleeve shot a small, spider-like machine.
The machine was a ‘Blood River.’ The mechanical vampire flew to bite Jason's neck.
As the Star Union's unique weapon hurtled toward him, the male Cult scowled. He redirected the axe to swat the Blood River.
But it was a feint. The bisected Blood River was hollow—a replica.
Having tricked her foe, Penelope launched herself backward. Mid-somersault, a lighter-like remote appeared in her hand. Pressing the button exploded the sand, launching the real Blood River.
If Jason were alone, he'd be on the defensive. But he had backup.
A rainbow-colored energy bolt from nowhere struck the Blood River. Cynthia, the female Cult with deer antlers like Jason's, supported him from the rear.
Neutralizing the Blood River with her Color Beam, she conjured a purple spear and hurled it at Penelope.
The Pain Spear, which weakened healing, flew toward the Coldblood's legs. Penelope twisted in midair, barely dodging the spear of agony.
As she landed, Jason charged like lightning. The black axe ‘Condemnation’ buried into the Coldblood's chest. Air whistled as it sliced, nicking the front of Penelope's clothing.
Jason didn't stop, clenching and unclenching his left fist. Penelope's body jerked. Gravity Control—or binding; hard to tell.
Cynthia seized the opening her ally created and fired a Color Beam.
A do-or-die moment. Then a new variable entered the fray.
A short Coldblood burst from a nearby building. It tossed something into the Color Beam's path—a hexagonal plate that birthed a purple shield, clashing with the energy bolt.
The plate shattered on impact, but the beam's trajectory warped. Mission accomplished, the Coldblood—Isabel—drew a pistol from her bosom.
Not a futuristic plasma or laser pistol, but a flintlock from the Renaissance era. And made entirely of jewels, more ornament than weapon.
An archaic pistol in the space age. It wouldn't even scratch Jason's black Galleron armor.
Yet Jason rolled aside the moment Isabel drew. A click echoed from the gun, and the ground where he'd stood turned to viscous mud.
‘Vortex One's power.’
The pistol Isabel wielded seemed granted by her Vortex One contract. Like the curved sword she'd used to summon the ‘Ring of Anguish.’
Thanks to Jason's dodge, Penelope broke free and rejoined Isabel.
“...You okay?”
“Thanks to you. Appreciate it.”
Twins in the real world, but here they looked worlds apart.
Tall, curvaceous Penelope beside petite Isabel highlighted the contrast. Isabel's blue eyes and scales differed from Penelope's red eyes and white scales.
Physically unrelated, but their eyes told another story. A single glance conveyed perfect understanding—their bond unchanged from twin days.
“Damn Vortex One.”
“Be careful, Sir Jason. Without my protection, you'd best not take a hit.”
“I know.”
Jason and Cynthia huddled close like twin sisters. Cynthia raised her hand, enveloping them in a hemispherical barrier.
The lull after the exchange ended swiftly. Both sides charged back into combat.
I watched the four battle, thinking.
‘I remember Jason and Cynthia's capabilities.’
And their traits.
‘Dangerous if caught off guard, but...’
Isabel had the ability to read foes' info. With intel advantage, her side wouldn't fold easily.