The Hunt (3)

What was the essence of playing an Amorph?

Space Survival was a game that promised a high degree of freedom, but that didn't mean it lacked so-called standardized playstyles.

For example, starting as a Mega Corp Noble Capital meant the orthodox route was to use your starting funds to hire mercenaries or buy ships and start rolling a snowball. The faction's traits were simply optimized for exploiting mercenaries and slaves.

So what was the orthodox Amorph playstyle? What set the Amorph qualitatively apart from every other species?

'The hunter.'

Gathering intel on your enemy in advance, digging traps, luring them in, and striking from behind when they least expected it.

No matter how many Genetic Essences you farmed, no matter how strong you became, the essence of the Amorph was always the hunter.

In the late game, after finishing your essence farming, you could slaughter players by the dozen — but even then, that formula held true.

The reason I'd been able to reach the very top of Space Survival as an Amorph was simple.

'Because I was good at hunting.'

Unlike other players, I had to fight alone, without party members.

My physical reflexes were worse than those of the young players.

I had less equipment and fewer traits than the veterans.

And yet, under every possible disadvantage, I always crushed them and won.

I made the genes of the whiners and complainers my own, copying the unique traits they carried.

As the trophies of my prey piled up, so did my hunting know-how. The more stubbornly the foolish victims refused to give up and kept throwing themselves at me, the stronger I grew.

Endless repetition of that process, and eventually I became the most notorious predator in the world of Space Survival.

And now, that same predator was eyeing new prey.

"Damn it! Stabilization is going to take far too long."

Kisaragi Yujin slammed her fist on the desk in fury.

I had been watching her from above the laboratory for some time now, but she had failed to register my presence. Her sharp instincts had been dulled by her anger.

She was alone, but the time was not yet right. Guards stood posted outside, and soldiers were still roaming the halls.

"Goddamn it all..."

Fiddling with a machine, she rose from her seat in irritation and moved to a different culture chamber, where she began operating a terminal.

I couldn't tell what she was trying to do, but it clearly wasn't pleasant for the creatures inside the chambers. Every time she passed, the specimens writhed in agony.

"This one, that one, what's the difference."

What she was doing wasn't an experiment — it was nothing more than torture to vent her frustration. The laboratory filled with soundless screams.

"Oh, and there you are too, aren't you."

Standing before her now was Specimen 26.

The creature's anxiety reached all the way to where I was.

When Kisaragi pulled out the psionium, Specimen 26 began to tremble violently.

Perhaps the creature's terror satisfied her. She curled her lips into a twisted smile.

"This is an experiment."

She fed the entire dose of psionium into the chamber. Specimen 26's body tore itself apart, its coloration bleaching away in an instant.

The bubbles churning up inside the chamber seemed to lay the specimen's screams bare for all to see.

When the sadistic torture disguised as an experiment ended, Specimen 26 had survived once again.

Clicking her tongue, Kisaragi walked straight out of the laboratory.

'...'

That woman had a real talent for picking only the things I found most distasteful.

I was about to move to tail her when Specimen 26 sent a ripple out to me.

'...'

Even at a moment like this, it greeted me exactly the same as always.

I didn't answer. I simply left.

Words were unnecessary between us anyway. Rather than a few empty words of comfort, I intended to give the creature the thing it truly needed.

The life of the one who had tormented it.

Leaving the laboratory behind, I followed in Kisaragi's footsteps.

She was headed for the Captain's quarters, two guards trailing behind her.

I didn't even need my auxiliary organs to confirm it — the resentment radiating off those men was unmistakable. Kisaragi seemed aware of it too, but said nothing.

The frosty atmosphere only thickened once they reached the Captain's quarters.

"Two hours have passed. Where are the results?"

"We only just began the search, ma'am. If you could wait a little longer—"

"Captain — no, Yu Seong Samuel. Are you defying the will of the Noble Capital?"

At her words, Captain Yu Seong Samuel's face hardened into stone. To any observer he looked furious, but it was all bluster. The contraction of his pupils, the sweat running down the back of his neck, the trembling of his legs inside his trousers — he was in a state of pure, unambiguous panic.

He might be the ship's captain, but Kisaragi belonged to Mega Corp's ruling class. Of course he was terrified.

"I am the captain of this ship, Research Director. Watch your words."

"That captaincy of yours — I could have it taken from you, you know."

"Noble Capital or not, I cannot tolerate overreach. I have the authority to place you under detention, Research Director."

"Ha. Detention? Did you just say you would detain me?"

"Anyone who disturbs order aboard this ship may be ordered detained under the captain's authority."

"Have you lost your mind, Yu Seong Samuel?"

The situation was turning out to be rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entertaining. Apparently there had been friction between these two long before I started watching.

Then again, with an insufferable tyrant like Kisaragi, it was no wonder the captain couldn't stomach her. This meltdown may well have been preordained.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two glared at each other for a long while. In the end, it was Kisaragi who looked away first.

'In a way, that went exactly as expected too.'

If anything happened to Kisaragi, the fate of this ship's entire crew would end with her.

But the law is far away and the fist is near — this was the middle of deep space. If her safety was compromised, Mega Corp stood far, far away, in no position to help her.

Worst case, if the captain went off the rails and tried to kill her, that would simply be the end of it. For all her exceptional intellect, her body was that of an ordinary woman.

"...We shall see about that later."

Gritting her teeth, Kisaragi stalked out of the Captain's quarters.

The instant she was gone, the captain summoned his aide and screamed at him to find that goddamn cat spawn immediately.

'Well, he would be in a hurry.'

With that, the captain's fate was sealed. Whether the ship reached a planet or a space station, he was a dead man the moment it arrived. He had dared to threaten a Noble Capital with detention — he had it coming.

The only rope left for him to grab was finding the cat and somehow resolving this mess.

'Except it's already dead.'

The captain was on my kill list anyway. Whatever he did, he couldn't escape the fate awaiting him.

Afterward, Kisaragi continued roaming the ship, running rampant. The more the crew came to hate her, the better for me. The less attention people paid her, the easier my work became.

Her last destination after terrorizing the ship was the restroom. Walking with her two guards, she said:

"Give me a moment. I need the restroom."

"Yes, ma'am."

As I understood it, protocol demanded that at least one guard accompany her inside.

But the guards, worn down by her tyranny all day, didn't follow her in.

"Hey, I need to hit the head too."

As it happened, one of the two guards also stepped away to use the restroom.

Kisaragi alone inside the women's restroom, only one guard posted outside.

'Now.'

The restroom had no security systems to hinder my movement. From inside the ventilation duct running along the outer wall, I prepared my ambush.

I unscrewed the grate with two claws and carefully set the mesh aside. Walking on claws raised as high as they would go, I made no sound.

She stood at the sink, washing her face. The splashing water swallowed every trace of my noise.

I approached with care, making sure my reflection never touched the mirror.

Finished washing, she turned off the faucet and swept her dripping hair back from her face.

I needed to close the distance to a single leap.

All four pairs of legs moved with more caution than they had ever shown. Paralytic venom welled up into the tip of my tail. Like a cat, my whole body was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠readying itself to end it in one strike.

"Phew."

Kisaragi stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror. Then, suddenly, she wrinkled the bridge of her nose.

'No!'

Had the face-washing cleared her head? Her instincts had picked up on me.

A danger signal fired from her brain and spread through her entire body. The muscles in her neck twitched as they received the command. Within one second, her head would turn toward me.

There was no more time to wait.

My legs struck the steel deck like pistons. My body launched itself at her like a bullet leaving the barrel.

Distance still remained — which meant it was time to use my wings.

The wings that had been begging to be summoned spread wide at my command. My body, losing momentum, shot sharply upward.

Wings gleaming with the distinctive brown-black luster of chitin beat powerfully through the air.

Fifty centimeters between us now. My tail drew out the stinger it had kept hidden.

Kisaragi's eyes swung toward me.

Her face contorted violently. Shock, disgust, alarm, terror — a cocktail of negative emotions swallowed her whole.

When a crisis strikes without warning, a human raises their hands to their face without thinking. Her arms moved upward.

Just as her forearms half-concealed her face, my tail slipped between them.

The tail's supple motion neutralized her defense, and the small needle at its tip pierced her carotid artery.

"Ah—?"

A short cry escaped her lips. Even a long scream would have been impossible, in truth. The venom injected into her neck spread through her body in an instant, paralyzing everything.

Until it could be neutralized, all she could do was breathe.

"..."

She collapsed in front of the sink. Slumped face-down on the floor, she looked like a mannequin molded in her own image.

I approached her where she lay, barely breathing.

My reflection gazed back from her wide, trembling eyes. An alien creature the size of a human head, drool trailing from its mouth. The creature's face grew larger and larger, its sharp teeth jutting out from within its jaws.

What was she thinking now?

Fear at seeing a monstrous creature?

Rage at the situation she found herself in?

Or simply the fear of death?

It didn't matter. The life of Kisaragi Yujin ended here.

Kwaduk.

My teeth closed around her throat.

The light drained from her eyes. Through my locked jaws, I felt her breathing fade.

'Goodbye.'

My hardened jaws snapped her spine in a single motion. As I shook my head with her neck still in my grip, her throat tore away easily.

There was no longer a Noble Capital of Mega Corp aboard this ship.

Only the headless corpse of a woman remained.

Human blood passed through my throat. And on the biological conveyor belt of my stomach, the genetic information alone was siphoned away.

The moment that data reached my brain, I felt it — one of the puzzle pieces of dormant possibility within me clicking into place.

I knew it instinctively. The genes that composed me were signaling that they could be rearranged beneath the spiral chain of evolution.

If I simply consented, the evolution process could begin on the spot.

The urge to accept right then and there surged through me. If my auxiliary organs hadn't blared their alarm at that very moment, I would have accepted.

'What was that just now?'

Scenes flashed past like reality filmed on video and played back at dozens of times speed. If I hadn't possessed an evolved sense, my mind could never have registered them.

'Predator Sense!'

What I had just witnessed was a crisis yet to come. Predator Sense had peered into the future and warned me of it.

'So that's how it works?'

Showing me the future like a movie. Aside from the fact that it only triggered in moments of crisis, it was an incredibly powerful trait.

In any case, the guard was due to enter within moments. I leapt behind the door and hid my body.

In the future I'd glimpsed through Predator Sense, only one guard had attacked me. The other hadn't returned from the restroom yet.

'Should I run?'

The ventilation duct on the opposite wall caught my eye.

'No. No time.'

Unless the guard was blind, there was no way he'd miss me fleeing.

He could not learn of my existence. If he did, killing Kisaragi wouldn't save me from being hunted.

'I'll deal with this guard here too.'

Fortunately, there was only one of him. With the element of surprise, I could kill him.

My body shifted back into combat posture. Pressing myself flat against the back of the door, I nudged it slowly ajar.

The toe of a military boot came into view beyond the panel. Then his body entered the restroom fully.

"Gah—!"

A cry of horror.

His mind had locked onto the corpse lying in the lake of blood.

I lunged at him from behind the door.

My body clamped onto his shoulder. I could feel him jolt in shock.

He should have raised his gun immediately. He didn't. Instead, he shrugged his shoulder.

In a way, it was a perfectly realistic reaction. Anyone with a winged desert-spider clinging to their shoulder would do the same.

But in this situation, it was exactly the wrong call — because the time he bought me let my tail drive into his ear.

My tail, pierced clean through his ear canal, withdrew slowly. With paralytic venom injected into tissue near the brain, he died on the spot.

As he crumpled to the floor, the restroom door swung shut.

Only minutes after Kisaragi's death, an unknown guard met his own end.

Outside, all was quiet. No one had witnessed the deaths of two people.

'I need to move fast.'

The other one would return soon. I set the ventilation grate back in place and slipped hurriedly out of the restroom.

On the chance some tracking method existed that I hadn't anticipated, I didn't head straight for the nest — I took a long, winding route instead.

Once I arrived, I activated the text box.

The moment I had been waiting for had arrived.

I scanned my surroundings one final time, and consented.

Mucus for the evolution welled out of my body like water.

The flood of it, thick enough to wrap my entire form, hardened into a solid. Layer upon layer, the stiffened mucus built itself into a shell.

If anyone saw me now, they would think I'd sealed myself inside a cocoon or an egg.

'Strange feeling.'

Inside the cocoon was a sensation beyond description. If I had to put it into words, everything simply felt 'different.'

The sense that I myself was becoming an entirely different being.

Within the shell, the secreted mucus was reassembling me into something alien.

If a person could carry memories of their time as a fetus, would it feel like this? If I could consciously perceive the process of my mother's womb constructing the being called me, I was certain this would be exactly the feeling.

I wanted to open my eyes and watch it happen, but that proved impossible. Ever since entering the cocoon, I had lost all control over my body.

I couldn't even tell whether the sensations I felt arose from my flesh, or whether some spirit-self within me existed to perceive the changes in my body.

'No point agonizing over it. I'll just wait patiently.'

I had done everything within my power. I resolved to rest inside this snug cocoon until the evolution was complete.

The ventilation duct above the Cooling Room.

Until recently, that place had been packed to bursting with fouled air and spores spewing revolting fluid.

It had been a chamber saturated with filthy moisture — but now the humidity was gone entirely, and the space had dried out so thoroughly that its former state was impossible to imagine.

The spores had all withered and shriveled, and the mucus tendrils that had once clung to the walls like spiderwebs crumbled away like dead branches.

At the center of the ruined nest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sat a cocoon the size of a young boy.

Despite the cold air drifting up from the Cooling Room below, the cocoon's surface was as rough as desertified earth.

As though it were drinking in every trace of moisture around it.

Then the cocoon shuddered.

Something inside the shell was moving, struggling to emerge.

After several more convulsions, cracks spidered across the cocoon's surface.

The shell fell away to the floor, and from within stretched something black.

It was an aberrant shape — the bones of a human arm sheathed in a black chitinous husk — but it was unmistakably an arm. At its end grew four long fingers shaped like the talons of a raptor.

Starting from the first arm, more limbs burst through the shell one after another.

At last the cocoon sloughed away completely, and the thing within revealed itself.

Four long arms, two small ones folded near its chest, thick sturdy legs, and a tail a full one-and-a-half times the length of its body — the creature opened its eyes.

Black from head to tail, it looked down at its own form with ash-gray, glinting eyes.

The creature laughed, seemingly satisfied.