Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Ep. 54
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"Cough!"
The sniper plummeted from atop the container and spewed up a gush of blood. His heart had been pierced, and he'd smashed into the floor, but the look on his face wasn't one of agony—it was pure confusion.
He couldn't comprehend why this had happened to him. He had no idea where the attack had come from or who had shot him.
The sniper who'd been such a pain in my ass died without ever getting answers.
｢What the hell just happened?｣
｢...Dwayne's link just dropped.｣
After confirming the sniper was dead, I headed over to Jade.
Right now, Jade could barely even move his eyes thanks to my neurotoxin. That meant he'd had a front-row seat to his teammate dying, unfiltered.
How would he take it, knowing his comrade had died because of him?
Would it hurt worse than his broken limbs? Would revenge for his fallen friend ignite a fire in him? Or would he just resign himself, figuring he'd be next?
'You're still a long way from dying.'
His suffering was far from over. I planned to hunt down every last one of his buddies before finishing him off.
I grabbed Jade's body and turned his field of view away, then went to the sniper's corpse.
His armor, which had been invisible until my bone spike hit it, was back to normal now.
'Upper-grade reinforced suit, huh?'
Upper-grade and mid-grade reinforced suits might sound similar, but the gap between them was huge.
For instance, mid-grade ones looked more like clothing, while upper-grade were closer to full-on armor suits.
The gear the sniper had been wearing was a high-tech armored exosuit.
'Looks like he sacrificed some defense for all those fancy options.'
I wanted to inspect it more, but this was still a combat zone. I let go of any interest in the suit and grabbed the body.
'Right hand should do the trick.'
I gripped his right hand with my combat arm and yanked hard. Thanks to Aimorph superhuman strength, not just the hand but the whole wrist tore clean off.
With one hand, I clutched the wrist—blood still pouring from it—and picked up the sniper coilgun lying next to the corpse with the other.
'Fingerprint scanner... ah, there it is.'
Sniper coilguns didn't have a traditional trigger. Instead, there was a fingerprint reader on the right side, restricting use to registered users only.
'Designed that way for security, right.'
I pressed the sniper's finger against the sensor on the coilgun. Moments later, an electronic beep sounded, and the weapon powered up.
'Let's check the ammo first.'
I tapped the terminal mounted on the coilgun, and the ammo list popped up on the screen. Only the AP rounds were highlighted in yellow.
'Perfect.'
AP rounds were special ammo developed by Mega Corp and Star Union, designed for anti-psychic warfare. They contained a substance that disrupted psychic power flow, rendering the target unable to use psionics for a set time upon impact. Even a miss would rupture the round, dispersing the material over an area and making psychic use difficult in that zone.
'Must've been hell for No. 26 and Adhai.'
Holding the coilgun, I focused my senses on my back. My carapace split open, and massive insect-like wings unfurled from within. They beat powerfully, launching my body skyward.
'Second target: the Cult.'
From the air, I aimed the coilgun at the enemies in the distance.
There, at the rear, was the Cult wearing a tiara.
I pressed down hard on the sensor with the sniper's finger.
Perhaps sensing doom through her psionic powers, the Cult whipped her head toward my position.
She opened her mouth to shout something upon spotting me. At that exact moment, the coilgun fired.
Lately, she'd been recalling memories from her past more and more.
They weren't memories she particularly wanted to dwell on. It wasn't that they were bad ones, exactly.
Every time she thought back to her childhood, the deaths of her family came flooding in too.
In that place reeking of foul odors, she'd been forced to watch her loved ones die.
Those memories, their dying screams, stabbed at her like knives.
The pain had once seemed eternal, but eventually, it began to fade.
She still had nightmares now and then, but they were better than before.
She knew what had healed her wounds.
A new family.
The family she'd failed to protect in the past was now soothing her pain.
Of course, she knew the kids around her now were different creatures from those who'd died.
Yet lately, an inexplicable greed had started to stir in her.
A desire to grow even stronger to protect her family.
Truth be told, concepts like 'greed' or 'yearning' were still foreign to her.
She'd always had an instinct to protect her group, but it was more primal—like eating when hungry or sleeping when tired.
Needs could be satisfied, but greed never ended. Unsated, it drove her toward something greater.
She could feel herself changing due to some unknown force. It was evolution—no, something more.
Obsession, anxiety, affection, longing to protect her new family no matter what.
In short, she was transcending her species' limits through 'emotions' as a catalyst.
She embraced this astonishing change, even as it frightened her.
Instinct told her emotions made her stronger.
"We got all those fucking mountain-roller shits!"
"Hurry up and wrap this, then go save Jade!"
｢Grrrrrrrr｣
A young beast cub howled in front of her. She glared at the ones attacking the poor little thing.
They looked nothing alike, but they all carried the same stench.
The same stench as the ones who'd mercilessly slaughtered her kin, which made her even more furious.
Painful memories prodded her, and rage amplified her power.
"Alright! Finishing blow's mine... guh?!"
"Frost!"
The fight had been underway for a while, and this was the second time her power had successfully latched onto one of these stinking bastards.
Up to now, her abilities hadn't worked right. Some interfering wavelength, similar to the one she used to communicate with her cherished young, had been jamming her.
The fact that these vile scum were using the same method that brought her joy only soured her mood further.
Her six-segmented tentacles lashed out all at once toward the stinker. Violet tendrils seized his limbs and yanked viciously.
"Gahk!"
"Fuck! Genet, you bitch! What the hell?! Tin Can's about to get scrapped!"
｢You piece of shit! Hold on!｣
She called out to the little one while restraining the stinker. The kid was far weaker than the big one but worked hard to grow—a good child.
｢Adult｣ ｢Support｣
The little one didn't disappoint. It spat out a violet force much like hers.
The purple blast sliced off one of the stinker's limbs as it hurtled toward him.
"Arrrgh!"
The severed limb sprayed a foul-smelling fluid. It smelled similar to meat she'd eaten many times, yet different—repulsively so. She had zero interest in eating something that reeked like that.
"Frost!"
｢Grrrrr｣
"Fucking mountain-roller shit! Genet!"
The stinkers panicked as they took hits. In the meantime, the still-living cub summoned its last dregs of milky strength and bit into the stinker.
｢...We're all gonna die at this rate. Hope, survival over the plan.｣
"What?"
｢Fuck Galleron—let's kill these assholes first.｣
｢Wait! The boss is on the way, so stay calm...｣
"Dwayne! My arm just got chopped off! I don't give a shit about calm—do something!"
The bad guys muttered among themselves. It had been like that for a while, but this muttering didn't bode well.
"Fuck it, whatever."
｢...Confirm the boss first, then support.｣
The one with sparse head hair pulled out a blunt rod-like thing. She'd never seen it before, but instinct screamed it was dangerous.
She tried to react, but they were faster. The baldy shoved the rod into a thick cylinder and fired at her.
The rod shot from the cylinder's end at blinding speed toward her.
She spread her violet tendrils like a net to block it, but they vanished like smoke on impact. The rod tore through her tentacle.
｢Adult!｣
Excruciating pain nearly knocked her out, but the little one's cry kept her conscious.
She tried to muster her violet power again, but the agony shattered her focus. Her mysterious ability refused to obey.
She remembered.
What had happened before when her violet power failed her at a life-or-death moment.
She couldn't lose family again.
The nightmare she'd wanted to forget was becoming reality. That pressure crushed down on her.
｢Wait—it's doing something!｣
Driven by 'desperation,' she was evolving another step. The emotion surged through her body, subtly altering her tentacles and carapace.
But the bad ones wouldn't let her change in peace.
"Frost!"
"Fucking monster's up to something!"
Having downed the cub, the stinker charged and kicked her with his limb. Dizziness crashed over her, halting the transformation.
"Damn monster brat—I'll skin you alive."
｢Hope! Now! Capture the Galleron!｣
"Got it!"
The stinker snarled and drew a sharp rod. As he closed in on her, the bald one targeted the little kid.
She desperately beamed an escape order at the little one. It hesitated, unwilling to flee alone.
｢Run!｣
｢Me｣ ｢Adult｣ ｢No｣ ｢Escape｣ ｢Refuse｣
｢Now!｣
She poured all her strength into a scream-like pulse, and finally, the little one moved. Unlike her, it could fly even on the ground, so escape should've been easy.
But the bad guys crushed her hopes.
"Where do you think you're going!"
The baldy fired a net that ensnared the little one. It tried blasting violet power, but to no avail—the net's weird wavelength suppressed it.
"Gonna slice off those damn tentacles first."
She thought:
She'd failed again. She and the little one would die here.
The difference this time? The big one had escaped safely.
Her superior, far stronger and cooler big one.
The big one would surely survive without her.
That thought brought an odd regret.
She'd wanted to be by its side as it grew magnificent.
Too bad it wouldn't happen.
The stinker loomed right in front of her, raising the sharp rod high.
"Die... huh? What the—?"
｢Dwayne? Dwayne's link dropped!｣
In that instant as death loomed, a miracle occurred.
"What?"
｢No way... huh? Kyaa!｣
"Genet?!"
"Tin Can! Link's down!"
The bad guys chattered frantically, the vibe totally different from before. Something had gone seriously wrong.
"Check Genet... Tin Can! Dodge!"
"Huh?"
And then 'it' dropped from the sky.
'It' crushed the stinker flat, then rose from the spot.
The monster with eight limbs and a long tail—she knew it well.
The little one, once her size, had grown into this fine specimen.
Her most beloved big kid in the world.
The big baby spoke to her.
Its pulse carried a hint of sheepishness, maybe even embarrassment.
If only she knew what emotions were.
She would've instantly recognized the feeling bubbling up inside her.
It was 'elation.'