Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Savoring the Spoils
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After the battle in the apartment complex ended, I hadn't eaten intelligent being meat very often.
A few hours ago—that is, last night—the reporter I'd eaten was the most recent human flesh I'd consumed.
Was this some kind of rebound?
The paralyzed Jade, the heavy gunner with most of his bones broken, and the Cult's corpse too.
Today, I'd gained a lot of new prey.
'Once I deal with this, the hunt will be over.'
The place I was now was where Jade's gang had fought the Mountain Crawler.
In front of me lay the Mountain Crawler pup, collapsed and breathing raggedly.
The creature, under the control of my parasite to buy time, had suffered severe injuries from the enemies.
Three of its six legs were severed, two more broken. Its belly, softer than its carapace, had been torn open by sniper fire and grenades, spilling its guts.
Mountain Crawlers had no healing abilities. All that was left for it was death.
'I don't have any particular grudge against it.'
I injected poison into the critically wounded Mountain Crawler. To ease its pain.
As the paralyzing toxin spread through its body, its expression softened, no longer feeling the agony.
Its breathing gradually slowed, then stopped at one point. And from near its ear, the parasite emerged.
When I brought my arm close, the parasite returned to where it had come from.
'If parasites keep showing up every time something happens, someone might get suspicious.'
Sander hadn't been able to retrieve the parasite because getting to the hospital morgue was too difficult for him, but now it was different.
With the parasite safely recovered, I left the Mountain Crawler's corpse behind and moved on.
Normally, I'd have eaten the body to dispose of it, but the situation didn't allow for leisure. The police and androids would already be en route here because of the heavy gunner on my shoulder.
No matter how fast I ate, I couldn't finish off a 6-meter meal before they arrived. And if I didn't eat it all, the Predation Effect wouldn't trigger—so better to use it for something else.
'They'll think the smugglers failed to extract the Mountain Crawler and fled.'
The fatally wounded body from grenades, plus the battle traces scattered around, would serve as evidence.
'That's why I didn't eat the cyborg either.'
Unlike his comrades, his role was that of a smuggler who hadn't escaped in time. I placed the cyborg's severed head inside the Mountain Crawler's mouth.
'That should do it.'
Of course, the police would eventually notice something off during their investigation. But with no clue about my existence, the chance they'd suspect another monster at the scene was slim. They'd just look for the already-dead smugglers.
'Alright. Let's grab what we need and get out fast.'
My auxiliary organ warned me. Footsteps were approaching from outside the harbor district.
I picked up the paralyzed heavy gunner again. Next up was the Cult's corpse.
Avoiding the direction the police and androids were coming from, I first retrieved the Cult's body, then headed back to where the kids were.
While I was gone, No. 26 and Adhai had finished their meals. I stripped the reinforced suit off the sniper's headless mummy-like corpse.
'I'll take a closer look later.'
Checking the enemies' armaments was crucial. Especially if it was unfamiliar intel—I needed to confirm it ASAP.
'If it's not relic-grade reinforced suit, it might be mass-produced, so prepare accordingly.'
With the suit secured, I picked up Jade, whose paralysis hadn't worn off yet.
'Having four combat arms really comes in handy at times like this.'
One person per arm. But apparently, it didn't look that way to the others.
Maybe I looked weighed down carrying three people plus the suit, because No. 26 called out to me.
"Need a hand?"
I was about to say no, but seeing its size, I changed my mind.
'It can handle the suit, right?'
I handed over what I was carrying, and it extended tentacles to wrap around the suit. Fixing it like spaghetti wound around a fork, it then pulled out the fins it had hidden inside its body.
It tested the fins by moving forward and backward a few times, then flashed its body as if saying no problem.
"All good. Let's go."
Honestly, I'd expected growth in combat aspects, but its utility had improved impressively too.
'Good job.'
I wanted to pet it, but held back to avoid dropping the suit. It seemed to understand, flashing as if accepting the sentiment in spirit.
Once sorted, before heading to the nest, I called William and gave him instructions for cleanup.
With the Mountain Crawler's body and smuggler traces, it shouldn't be hard for him to manipulate the scene.
Plus, as far as I knew, William had been chasing smugglers in the harbor district from the start. No cop would find it suspicious for him to be here at dawn.
"...Understood."
After briefing William, I headed to the nest with the kids.
And so the dawn hunt ended.
We didn't run into any enemies on the way home. With police attention focused on the harbor district center, the outskirts were more lax than usual. Thanks to that, we slipped underground easily.
At the nest, I set down Jade and the heavy gunner. The toxic gas would kill them if they stayed too long, but it didn't matter.
They'd be our food before suffocating anyway.
"Adult." "Thanks."
I handed the heavy gunner to Adhai. He gazed pathetically at Jade with paralyzed desperation, but there was nothing he could do.
Just watch his comrade's end with sad eyes.
"Ugh, ugh! Urgh!"
Adhai spread its tentacle mass over his face.
The tips of the long, thin tentacles' suckers attached to spots all over the heavy gunner's head. Then the small, sharp teeth on the suckers mercilessly burrowed into his skin.
"Kgh! Grk! Kk!"
Like sucking soda through a straw, the tentacles pulsed vigorously, drawing out his blood.
As expected of a baby Galleron—it had eaten a whole person already but still wasn't full.
No. 26, belly full, showed no interest in Adhai's meal. It leaned against a corner of the nest and quietly dozed off.
While the kids did their thing, I picked up the Cult's corpse. I'd gutted her with claws when killing her, so her insides were spilling out.
'Normally I'd start with the head, but...'
No need to stick to the same method every time.
I tore out the Cult's guts and shoved them into my mouth.
'Not bad.'
Human meat tasted strongly of plain flesh, but the Cult had a complex, novel flavor.
'Kinda like jelly with a hint of chewy tripe? Unique texture.'
Unlike the cyborg's fruity sourness, it was closer to sugary sweetness. Texture softer than human but not completely mushy.
'Good thing. Was worried since I'll have to eat a lot more Cults.'
She might be unique, but if other Cults tasted like this, I'd gladly chow down.
Just like that, I devoured her corpse completely.
Chewing her broken horn shard last, a translucent text box reported satisfying part of the evolution conditions.
'Finally filled one Cult slot.'
No Predation Effect triggered.
Too bad—getting her Soul Link skill would've broadened my tactics.
While I ate the Cult, Adhai finished its meal and fell asleep.
Until yesterday, Adhai would hug No. 26 when together, but now it was reversed. With No. 26 grown, it was cradling Adhai instead.
'You did well.'
Glancing at the sleeping kids, I stood before my final prey. Jade's anesthesia had slightly worn off; he was wriggling on the floor.
'No need to re-anesthetize.'
I grabbed and hoisted him up. Maybe from watching his comrade get eaten, or pissing himself in fear—an awful stench wafted from him.
Of course, I don't pick and choose, so I opened wide to chomp his head.
"W-Wait...!"
Just as I was about to crunch his skull, he shouted loudly.
"Y-You understand human speech, right? I can help you! S-Spare me, and I'll serve you!"
Jade pleaded desperately.
'Hmm.'
This was a fresh reaction.
Everyone I'd tried to eat before had just begged for mercy. First time anyone proposed a deal like this.
'What to do.'
Still holding Jade, I pondered the benefits of enslaving him.
'He could give info on Sihyun Yujin, but...'
She's long dead, turned into my nutrients. If Sihyun were alive, sure, but his intel was useless now.
'Any merit in just using him as a slave?'
From his clothes, he didn't seem high up in this city. A jailbreaker hiding out wouldn't have a legit job anyway.
'If he were a cop like William or some specialist, maybe. But Jade's occupation won't help me.'
And he was too risky to control with a parasite.
As Sihyun Yujin's subordinate, he'd likely seen diverse genes and their effects. He might know about parasite-related genes or ways to resist control.
Weighing it again, I decided.
'No need.'
Jade offered nothing useful. His only value was meat.
"W-Wait a sec...!"
I ignored his final cry and crunched his head.
My reinforced jaws pulverized it in one bite. The contents spilled into my throat and slid down.
'Hm.'
In a different way from the Cult, it was intriguing. Tasted like it'd been loaded with chemical seasonings.
'Not bad, but...'
Like cooking premium ingredients poorly—each playing separately, overseasoned by an unskilled chef.
'Still edible, though.'
Cult meat was scant, leaving me slightly hungry. Thanks to that, I polished off Jade cleanly.
The moment I finished everything.
A translucent text window appeared.
'Metallic Gremlin?'
Jade, whom I'd definitely eaten, was human. Metallic Gremlins looked far more grotesque and were much smaller.
Since it counted as humanoid sapient, I wasn't mistaken.
Only one conclusion: Like Sihyun Yujin, Jade had undergone gene modification.
'That explains the weird taste.'
Unlike the perfect Sihyun, Jade's flavor was off—probably from botched mods.
'Figures. Implanting Metallic Gremlin genes would've made him a counter to me.'
Metallic Gremlins eat metal, disable electronics, block gear effects. Great against cyborgs and androids, but weak vs. Aimorphs or Outsiders without tech.
'Jade's bad luck.'
His powers would've been handy for terror, but his opponent was me.
'Metal Absorption.'
Metal Absorption lets me ingest metal or gear, temporarily applying some of its properties and effects to my exoskeleton.
For example, eating black silver (psychic-resistant) while active would give my shell temporary high psionic resistance.
Sounds great, but two drawbacks.
Effect duration is short: base 10 minutes, 20 with body enhancement—but not long.
Used effects vanish post-timer. Reuse requires reactivation and re-ingestion.
Needs careful use to shine.
'Drawbacks are big, but it's what I need now.'
Vulnerable to ranged weapons, I can never have too many defense boosts. Use during focused fire, etc.—plenty options.
'And Metal Absorption isn't body-related.'
I have 12 body traits now; this makes 13.
Meaning, time to try the Transcendence System.
Heart pounding, I accepted the new trait application.