Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Number 26?
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‘Number 26?’
The pink jellyfish-like entity that had burst through the asphalt road was none other than Specimen 26.
‘What the hell happened while I wasn’t looking? It’s changed so much.’
In an instant, its appearance had transformed so drastically that I couldn’t even recognize it at first.
For starters, the faint, multicolored glows flowing over its pink body were entirely new.
Energy of every hue shimmered and shifted ceaselessly across its surface, resembling countless eyes surveilling the surroundings.
It was an effect from one of the C Demon’s innate traits: Deep Sea Terror.
Anyone lacking resistance to mental attacks who approached a C Demon due to this trait would lose their mind or fall into panic.
‘On top of that, it can weaken auxiliary psychic powers used by nearby enemies.’
By design, C Demons harbored extraordinarily potent psionic energy. Occasionally, this energy would leak out from their bodies.
The leaked psionic energy negatively affected surrounding lifeforms, and Deep Sea Terror was the trait that embodied this phenomenon.
As a result, psychic users nearby couldn’t properly activate long-range support skills like Soul Link or Ethereal Tuning on a C Demon.
‘And that eerie visual is pretty infamous too.’
Imagine being stared down by hundreds of eyes from deep-sea monsters over 20 meters in size.
It was so terrifying that overseas communities even used images of activated Deep Sea Terror C Demons as hate bait.
Of course, Number 26’s aura didn’t look nearly as vicious as the original.
It was probably toning it down in front of me on purpose.
‘Come to think of it, its overall form has changed a lot too.’
The Deep Sea Terror trait was so striking that it overshadowed the other changes, but plenty of those had occurred as well.
Below its body extended twenty long, slender bundles of tentacles, interspersed with thick fins that served as legs.
The tentacle shape resembled the serrated ones I used to have.
Thinner than mine, but the sharp serrations densely covering them made them plenty threatening.
Once it fully emerged onto the road, it fired a psychic wave at me.
｢Biggie!｣
Number 26 extended its tentacles to stroke me, clearly delighted.
Thanks to the Predation Effect, I’d grown larger too, but Number 26 was no slouch either.
Its fins were folded, but if extended, it’d be nearly 7 to 8 meters tall, and its tentacles stretched over 10 meters.
[Zuzuzu (How?)]
｢I did just like Biggie taught me! I ate a ton and grew real hard!｣
That’s weird. I could’ve sworn I told it to stay hidden.
Did evolution boost its intelligence? Number 26 seemed much smarter than I’d expected.
｢It’s not just me who grew. Little One grew a whole bunch too.｣
[Zuzu (What?)]
A green object shot up from the pit behind Number 26.
It sliced through the atmosphere of the space city, circled once, and landed lightly in front of me.
｢Adult｣ ｢Happy to see｣
Adhai bowed its head in greeting.
‘It evolved into a Green Galleron?’
Number 26 had changed a lot, but Adhai’s transformation was on another level.
Its scales were mostly green now, dotted with occasional blue ones. Its body length had surpassed 1 meter, and its wings were far larger than before.
Not just the body and color—its entire form was different.
Previously, its chubby build and stubby legs made it look like a skink, but now it was completely changed.
Its four long, sturdy legs evoked a deer, and its sleek, supple frame even carried a hint of allure.
By contrast, its tail was relatively thick and plump compared to the slender body.
Its head still had tentacle bundles instead of a mouth, but the skull was more elongated, and it now sported four horns instead of two.
‘It’s tiny compared to a proper Green Galleron, but it looks the part.’
Plus, the thickened tail confirmed Adhai was female.
Gallerons exhibited sexual dimorphism: males had slender tails but thick, ornate horns, while females had plump tails but simpler horns.
‘The flashier the horns, the more handsome the male; the plumper the tail, the more beautiful the female.’
With that firm tail, Adhai was definitely on the curvier side among Gallerons.
‘What did it eat to grow this fast?’
I had some guesses.
The sewers were full of corpses from the knights and soldiers I’d killed, plus employees who died when their signal chips activated.
Not to mention those who fell into the sewers when the shopping district collapsed.
‘It ate all of them?’
And without getting caught by patrolling soldiers, no less.
‘That’s insane growth.’
If my hunch was right, it wasn’t just physical—it must have made massive combat gains too.
Number 26 preened, clearly fishing for praise.
Urgent situation or not, I couldn’t deny it, so I stroked its body.
It shivered in delight, and the energy flowing over its surface shifted to fluffy, soft colors mirroring its mood.
Hard to imagine it as Deep Sea Terror.
｢Me｣ ｢Grown｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Cool｣ ｢Adult｣ ｢Praise｣
Adhai shoved in for pets too, so I obliged.
Watching it wag its tail, I thought:
‘It’s mastered my hunting style.’
Adhai hadn’t spent as much time with me as Number 26, so it must’ve led the hunts.
It was always a quick learner anyway.
It had picked up my go-to method: dig traps, hide, ambush.
‘Anyway, that can wait.’
Code Black would arrive soon.
Normally I’d hide them and fight solo, but not this time.
‘I’ll fight with them.’
Two enemies. Too much for me alone, so I’d leverage Number 26 and Adhai fully.
[Zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu (Hold up, gotta talk.)]
｢Huh?｣
｢?｣
[Zuzuzu zu zuzu zuzu (Strong foes incoming. Help me fight.)]
Their gazes shifted to my severed arm and the gash in my side.
Number 26 had no eyes, but its psychic flows betrayed its focus, tinged with emotion.
｢The ones who hurt Biggie? I won’t forgive them!｣
｢Adult｣ ｢Attackers｣ ｢Enemies｣
Number 26 slammed its tentacles in rage. Asphalt cratered, roads cracked loudly.
Adhai scraped the ground with its hind legs, venting displeasure.
‘No issues with morale.’
Number 26 wasn’t just bigger—it was stronger.
C Demons were quasi-boss-tier. Pure danger rating put them half a step above Black Gallerons.
‘Still growing, but good enough as support.’
Adhai still had blue scales, but mostly green now, so it wielded Green Galleron power.
‘If I’m right, even Green Galleron strength can intercept the enemy.’
Juvenile stage meant no overwhelming destruction like White or Black Gallerons.
But its combat prowess developed differently.
‘And with Number 26’s Deep Sea Terror, if I use them right…’
Green Galleron, C Demon, Aimorph.
All immature, underdeveloped.
But coordinated? Even strong foes would fall easily.
I calmed them and explained the plan.
Code Black was a war orphan.
In Mega Corp society, orphans were the untouchables—the dark underbelly itself.
Nearly all ended up as hires, the lucky ones joining Space Dogs.
Code Black was an outlier.
She entered Yujin Family service as shadow stock.
Like countless specimens, she was fodder, destined to fade away.
But she survived.
She had psychic aptitude far beyond human norms.
That made her the first success in Yujin Family’s Cult gene grafting experiments.
Prototypes usually lagged mass-produced models, but she was exceptional.
Even among later Cult-human hybrids, her power stood alone.
Upon shadow conversion completion, Patriarch Akira Yujin bestowed a name.
Code Black.
The title for the shadows’ pinnacle.
“Code Red. Where’s the target?”
｢Housing Block 32nd Street. Exercise caution.｣
“Caution? Why?”
｢Psychic flows unstable. Unidentified entity infiltrated psychic control web.｣
“Target can use Psychic Breath. Its doing?”
｢Unknown. Unidentified entity built its own psychic control web.｣
“Roger. Keep monitoring.”
｢Affirmative.｣
She ended the mental link with Code Red and headed for the target.
As in that exchange, shadows were mostly dim-witted machines. Experiments shattered their minds.
Only Code Black and the deceased Code White spoke freely.
‘Now just me.’
Code White died like a dog on duty. She was the shadows’ greatest.
That thrilled her.
She didn’t realize it, but all shadows had mental instability.
Code Black obsessed over her superiority, her perfection.
Her chattiness in battle wasn’t conversation—it was flaunting.
‘If I just get that monster’s genes…!’
Successful grafting would elevate her beyond her current self.
For the first time in ages, elation surged—then she spotted the target.
It had punched a massive hole in the road’s center.
Despite digging it, the target hadn’t fled. It lay prone, all four massive arms planted on the ground.
“Not running?”
｢Grr, no... nee...d to...｣
“...You can talk?”
Code Black was stunned as it spoke.
The voice was warped, like a woman’s recording run through a synthesizer, but it was unmistakably human speech.
‘Impressive.’
She’d assumed high intelligence to escape surveillance.
But human-level communication? Unexpected.
Her mission: capture it.
A monster with a conversing brain would grasp its predicament.
She spoke.
“If you’re smart, you know. Surrender.”
｢Well..., grr, too... mu...ch...｣
Its casual tone irked her.
‘Cheeky beast.’
“I’ll take just your head and torso.”
She drew two psychic whips from her hands.
As she swung, the ground beneath split—tentacles erupted.
‘Ambush!’
That’s why it stuck to the ground.
She leaped airborne.
The failed tentacles retreated underground.
In midair, she lashed her whips wide.
Target the body, not tentacles—arms linked them, now neutralized.
As expected, it didn’t move.
Purple serpents lunged to bite—but it twisted its head, blocking the path.
Pure psionic whips clashed with thick cranial carapace, sparking fiercely.
‘As I thought.’
Head and wrist shield-plates were toughest.
‘Aim elsewhere.’
On landing, her left whip’s snake tongue-flicked toward it.
But it had retracted tentacles, retreating far.
The whip merely gouged asphalt.
Not done—it hurled massive road chunks at her.
‘Reflection!’
Invisible barrier deflected them all.
No time to relax—spines followed milliseconds later.
Aimed at the brief Reflection cooldown post-physical block.
“Tch.”
Her whips swept the spine barrage.
‘Exploiting the Reflection gap.’
Reflection perfectly blocked all physical attacks, even machine-gun fire.
But it required focus—couldn’t maintain while moving or acting.
Deactivation left a tiny cooldown before reuse.
‘It’s used to fighting Cults.’
Whatever it was, it knew Reflection’s weakness cold.
‘Change of plans.’
She’d meant to end it with whips. No dice.
‘Psychic Breath spam it is.’
She raised both hands palms-out.
Black orbs formed, elongating into slicing black beams that rent the air.
It ducked low, deeming it unblockable.
The beam scorched its crown-like head carapace and dorsal arms, then obliterated distant buildings.
It skittered fast on three arms and a leg, dodging.
Beam incinerated roads and houses; debris flew upward.
It leaped off fragments midair, firing spines in counterattack.
She cast Reflection amid Breath to block them.
“Enough! Playtime’s over!”
Right hand Beamed; left drew a whip.
Whip coiled a midair leg; beam charred its tail.
｢Grrrrr!｣
It howled in agony.
Tail—a key weapon—neutralized.
Smirking, she yanked it down, smashing it into the ground.
Beam finisher incoming—but it sprang up, charging.
Elongated arm slashed; she had Reflection up.
Arm rebounded hard. She whipped its collapsing neck.
“It’s over. Surren—ghk!”
Mid-sentence, it gaped wide. High-heat flames spewed at her face.
“Agh!”
Reflection blocked injury, but not the thermal onslaught.
Intense heat seared her eyes badly.
“You damn monster…!”
Focus shattered, she fired Breath anyway—blasting off an arm. Still kicking.
Its scythe-clawed dorsal arm stamped her shoulder.
‘I’ll die!’
She signaled Code Red.
Violet light poured from her wrecked body; it dissolved rapidly.
Its swing grazed empty air, embedding in ground.
Ethereal form reassembled flawlessly behind it.
Realizing, she whipped it hard.
It couldn’t dodge, tumbling helplessly.
“First foe to damage me this much.”
Calm tone, but half-mad with rage.
She’d nearly died to an inferior.
“Akira-sama will understand if I just extract the brain.”
Hands out—black orbs reformed.
As it staggered up for the kill—
“Cough?!”
Blood spewed from her mouth.
Agonizing abdominal pain dropped her to her knees unwittingly.
“W-what…?”
Hand to gut: surface fine, but rigid rebar shard inside.
｢Ethereal..., grk, state... has... weak...ness...｣
The voice came from above her stunned head.
The monster had closed in, muttering.
“H-how…?”
｢Grr, if... ob...ject... in... path..., grrr, can’t...｣
Rematerializing ethereal form with an object present embeds it inside.
She knew the Ethereal Tuning flaw.
What baffled her: how did rebar evade her and Code Red’s senses?
‘No. E-ethereal first…’
She signaled Code Red again.
Ethereal to create distance.
Response shattered expectations.
｢Under assault by unidentified enemy. Defense prioritized. Ethereal impossible.｣
‘What?’
Unidentified enemy?
Her eyes flicked to the earlier road pit.
Purple-glowing tentacle strands waved from it.
‘Psychic power!’
Code Red had warned: intrusion into the surveillance web. Independent psychic control web hiding status.
She’d blamed the target dodging surveillance.
Wrong.
‘Not just one enemy!’
As if answering, the monster rasped:
｢We’re... not... one.｣
Its arm slashed her throat.