Chapter 367
Chapter 367
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 367
Chapter Title: Descent into the Magma Saur's Lair
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If that happened, the Aimorph wouldn't obtain the genetic essence of the Magma Saur.
The numbers were dwindling rapidly.
When the remaining count hit 10, Salman suddenly felt an eerie sensation.
Things were going too smoothly against that infamous Aimorph.
"Steward. Can you check the bomb's location?"
"Pardon? I'll check right away."
When the number reached 5, the steward tapped the terminal screen with his finger.
His eyes widened as if they might tear apart at the changing display.
"S-Salman, sir?"
"What is it?"
"The l-location..."
The map he showed marked a familiar place. The bomb's position—their own base. The remaining number beside the screen was now 2.
"You motherfuc—! Marid!"
As Salman shouted, the massive rock mountain behind him shifted, enveloping him.
Immediately after, a blinding light erupted from deep within the base, engulfing them.
The black smoke that had shrouded their vision scattered for a moment. The searing heat scorching their bodies eased briefly.
It was due to a wind gusting in from afar.
The central head lifted, turning toward the direction the wind had come from. Far away, between the horizon of sky and earth, a mushroom-shaped pillar of fire rose.
It was the nuclear cloud born from the Star Union's deployable bomb weapon—a Gamma-class antimatter bomb exploding.
'Looks like it arrived just in time.'
Hidden in the ash-filled clouds for four hours, I had ambushed the scout fleet.
My first targets were those who had landed on the volcano to plant the bombs. Since they could detonate manually, they had to be eliminated first.
Along with that, I assigned the kids their roles. Isabel and No. 26 disrupted the main fleet hovering overhead, while Adhai destroyed the communication satellites in planetary orbit.
No. 26, entering combat mode, unleashed a powerful psychic technique called 'Terror of the Deep Sea,' utterly unnerving the enemy. Even those on the ground couldn't respond properly to its hallucinations.
Thanks to that, I swiftly cleared the ground forces and checked the bombs.
Then I waited.
Salman would have set them up for remote control in case of emergencies. Sure enough, just minutes after the fleet came under attack, the bomb timers activated.
When about 10 seconds remained until detonation, I used 'Starlight Coordinates,' one of the Marks of the Strong. I timed it perilously close so the enemy couldn't check the location and stop it midway.
The target was the parasite's position, left with PS-111.
An hour before launching the operation, the parasite reported that Sky Mother and PS-111 had left the base. One hour was plenty of time for them to escape the antimatter bomb's blast radius.
Confident they were safe, I teleported the bomb using Starlight Coordinates. The massive device, as big as Isabel, vanished before me in a flash of blue light.
The result was that rising nuclear cloud in the distance.
'So far, so good.'
The real challenge started now.
The odds of Salman surviving were fifty-fifty. In a game, he'd be 100% dead, but he had variables.
One was the equipment held by the Returners.
In this world, so different from the game, who knew what gear long-term survivors had hidden? I doubted any armor could survive an antimatter bomb point-blank, but it was possible.
If he was wearing something like that, survival was feasible.
'Beyond that, his controlled creatures are the wild card.'
He was after the Magma Saur, so his minions' specs were likely top-tier. They might shield their master even from that massive blast.
'Even so, fatal injuries are unavoidable.'
Even we adults would be in grave danger from a direct Gamma-class antimatter hit. If he lucked out and survived, he'd still be badly hurt.
So, what to do here?
By now, Adhai should've seen the ground explosion and finished off the satellites. Any surviving Salman couldn't contact the outside.
But we couldn't rule out prior requests for backup. I needed to wrap up fast and prepare to intercept reinforcements.
'So, strike the Magma Saur now.'
Checking Salman's survival would take time. If he's dead, great—but maybe not.
'If alive, he'll stall for time.'
Harassing me until outside help arrives—that's his only shot.
Of course, he might overconfident and not call for help, or think contacting after the blast is fine.
I don't know what he did.
So, leave Salman to Sky Mother and PS-111.
They're probably heading back to the temporary nest by now. Sky Mother will know what that explosion means—and what to do next.
'Before, I'd have gone to fight alongside them...'
Salman had lost his fortress and most subordinates now. Even if some controlled beasts survived with him, he'd be severely weakened.
'Those two can handle it.'
With Sky Mother's new gear and PS-111's versatile abilities, they could take him down.
While they deal with Salman, I'd finish the Magma Saur as quickly as possible, then regroup. That was the plan.
I stomped the empty bomb mount, crushing it.
The giant pink jellyfish with countless eyes responded by crushing a destroyer with its tentacles.
Behind it, Isabel could be seen burrowing through another ship's hull. Moments later, that vessel lurched violently and rammed into a nearby one. Having disabled two ships in an instant, she leisurely emerged and targeted the next.
Leaving the kids to fiercely battle the fleet, I spread my wings and soared toward the volcano's peak. Each flap scattered the volcanic ash and gases.
At the vent, an immense volume of ash greeted me. I plunged straight into the volcano's interior.
Molten rocks vaporized by heat, ultra-condensed gases, and various toxins blocked my path. Every advance felt like the barrage from the thunder gods.
Yet even this super-volcano's awe-inspiring power couldn't halt me.
I pierced through the obstacles, steadily descending toward the heart of the volcano.
Suddenly, the surrounding temperature spiked. Even enhanced by 'Hell's Phantasm,' the heat was intensely felt.
Along with that, the blackened landscape came into clearer view.
Like the sun rising over the sea at dawn, red light blazed. Fiery glow emanated from below.
The deeper I went, the larger the light grew. What started as a thin ember now poured bright as molten steel from a furnace.
As the light and heat peaked, the space widened dramatically. A colossal cavern between the volcano and the crustal plate.
A palace of fire, adorned with molten rock and lava.
There lay the volcano's master.
The creature resembled primitive Earth's sauropods. Disproportionately long neck and tail relative to its body, a frame suited for quadrupedal gait—hallmarks of sauropods.
Of course, it only evoked dinosaurs in broad strokes; few would think of one upon seeing it. They might not even recognize it as a living thing.
Sprawled in the vast cavern, its body alone dwarfed mine threefold. Including head and tail, it rivaled the half-complete 'Ring of Torment' I fought before.
「Kurrrr...」
The super-giant creature, at least 300 meters long, sensed my presence. Its deep exhalation echoed like thunder throughout the cavern.
Its elongated neck rose, six massive eyes fixing on me. Despite its size, the eyes held an innocent, herbivore-like purity.
But complacency was dangerous.
In Africa, the deadliest beasts aren't lions or leopards, but massive herbivores like elephants or giraffes.
This mountain-sized mega-monster was the same. Not carnivorous, but an apex predator nonetheless.
Seeing me hovering mid-air, its gaze sharpened. Its enormous maw, big enough to swallow a small patrol ship whole, gaped wide.
「Kurrrrrrrrrrr...」
With a thunderous roar, the cavern reverberated. Matching it, I accelerated toward the beast.
The demonic denizen of the volcano, king of fiery thunder—Magma Saur.
The battle had begun.
「...Da-damn that Aimorph bastard!」
Salman, barely surviving the blast, ground his teeth.
Just moments ago, his base had floated over a lava lake—now gone without a trace. Flames licked at his feet everywhere.
A Gamma-class antimatter bomb could obliterate a city effortlessly. Whatever the enemy did, that monstrous weapon had struck his base. It vaporized the facility, his men, the ships—and most of his controlled beasts.
'Almost died there.'
Normally, Salman should've perished too. His survival boiled down to two reasons.
The first was that entity slowly rising amid the flames.
A rock-mountain lookalike: an ancient Mountain Crawler, grown over millennia—one of Salman's mightiest weapons.
Mountain Crawlers, native to rocky planets, boasted incredible defense. Even juveniles shrugged off reinforced alloy rounds with their hides.
But their true strength lay in endless growth, like plants. No limits meant ever-increasing power with age.
In the game, ancient survivors appeared as raid bosses. Salman's was such a specimen, hardened over eons into a behemoth.
「Marid! Quit dawdling and move!」
「Grrraaawr...」
Even so, a direct antimatter hit was devastating. No shell remained intact; some areas exposed bone where the carapace had peeled away.
But ensnared by Salman's perk, 'Beast God's Leash,' disobedience was impossible.
The ancient crawler, dubbed 'Marid,' struggled to its feet. Seeing its legs wobble, Salman clicked his tongue.
'Damn, useless like this.'
Originally, he'd planned to tank with Marid against the Magma Saur or Aimorph. But protecting its master had wrecked its shell.
With the Aimorph possibly incoming anytime, Marid was dead weight now.
'Abandon it?'
Marid had immense defense and offense, but glacial speed. Escaping a flying Aimorph was hopeless.
'...With the drug, I can flee alone.'
Salman glanced at his transformed, beastly form.
The Phantom Beast he had become: “Simurgh.”
Motif from Persian myth—a sacred winged beast.
True to legend, he sported a dog's head, peacock body, and splendid wings. In the game, Simurgh's cool looks and power made it popular.
But his current form diverged sharply from the standard.
For starters, the size was absurd for a typical Phantom Beast. Normally under three meters from head to tail-tip—now nearly ten.
Its wing and tail feathers gleamed extravagantly, like emeralds and lapis lazuli, emitting mystical light. Head, body, and hind legs bore translucent golden armor.
The gold armor was pre-transformation gear reshaped, but the bulk and feathers? Side effects of the drug he'd ingested.
Enhanced Psionium ampoule.
A gift from Returner allies long ago, it boosted his deification stage one tier for 8 minutes, enabling 'Wolf Avatar' strong possession mode.
Without it, even Marid's protection wouldn't have spared him fatal wounds.
'Not much time left—gotta escape fast...'
Then, his emerald eyes caught something.
'What's that?'
Above the sky raining fire.