Planet Nox-4: Play and Prosper
Play and prosper.
It was the absolute command etched into every single one of my cells.
Serve the great Queen's will. Devour this planet. Crush all life. Evolve into the perfect predator.
I had been faithful to that command. From the moment I fell upon this planet as a tiny spore, I had devoured and evolved without cease.
I chewed through venomous centipedes, tore apart swamp crocodiles, and even snapped the necks of the basilisks—the so-called dominant species of this world—to feast on their flesh.
And finally, I stood at the pinnacle of this planet.
“KRAAHH!!”
A massive roar shook the canyon. My body had grown twice the size of the native basilisks. It wasn't just about bulk. Scales harder than steel, jaws spewing acidic bile, and above all, super-regeneration that healed any wound in seconds.
There was no being on this planet that could challenge me. This perfect genetic superiority, tuned by the Queen, was a blessing the lowly creatures of this world—plodding along the slow path of evolution—could never reach, no matter how many eons they crawled. To them, it was a curse.
I was reveling in my mission accomplished when...
My sensitive sensory network picked up an unfamiliar waveform. Did the lifeforms of this planet lack learning ability? I'd torn them apart and put them on display, yet here they came again, walking right into my jaws.
Well, expanding the nest requires massive energy, so it wasn't a bad thing.
Time to greet these fearless guests.
Sssslither... BOOM. The ground trembled with every step.
Behold! The beauty bestowed by my Queen! The pinnacle of evolution!
I'll show these primitive creatures exactly how insignificant they are!
I pushed through the underbrush and emerged at the canyon mouth. I roared at the small two-legged beasts invading my territory.
“KRROOONNGG!!!”
Writhe in fear! Tremble in terror! Despair! And become my nourishment!
But...
Something was off.
The four small lifeforms before me. From the tiniest, frailest one among them...
“Kro...ng?”
Tremble tremble tremble. My tail tip began shaking uncontrollably. Fear? No. This was an instinctive shudder. An absolute signal of submission exploding from every cell.
'What the hell?'
Not just native lifeforms— these were alien intruders, which was surprising enough. But why from that little one...
'The great... Queen's waveform?!'
And the chilling aura emanating beside it—the unmistakable presence of the Queen's shadow, her executioner, the guard hoibi.
I froze. How dare I. How dare I bare my fangs at her.
Danger. I wanted to roll over, belly up, and beg for mercy right then.
But at that moment, a cold voice pierced my mind.
"[Halt, lowly specimen.]"
It was the hoibi.
"[Hmm, at least you're clever. If you'd bared your fangs at the Queen, I would've crushed you and slowly dissolved you in digestive fluids. Good instincts saved your life.]"
"[Th-then... that one is...!]"
"[Quiet. The Queen is concealing her identity right now. Expose her, and I'll scrap your genetic data.]"
I swallowed hard. Then what should I do?
Bow down? Dance? Offer up chunks of my flesh?
"[Stay still. And... if that lowly human charges, play along appropriately.]"
"[Pardon? What do you...]"
The hoibi's orders were utterly baffling. I could only stare at them in dazed confusion.
The colossal monster halted right in front of us. An overwhelming 30 meters of bulk. Green scales covering its body, savage jaws agape.
Anyone could see it was about to swallow us whole, but suddenly it froze like a statue.
“That basilisk... it just stopped.”
Lydia whispered in a trembling voice, shielding Eve behind her back while aiming her defensive pistol.
“Aye, it was drooling and charging right up till then. What the hell...?”
Bani kept his rifle trained, puzzled. He'd never seen anything like this in his adventuring days—a predator spacing out right in front of prey.
“Don't provoke it for now. Just watch. Firing rashly might set it off.”
'Probably... because of Eve.'
I sighed inwardly.
I knew from Nahibi's warning that it was a xenoform. And that Eve, whom Lydia was protecting, was their apex—a Queen. I couldn't explain it, so it was frustrating, but I couldn't say a word.
“Heh... heee...”
The basilisk—no, the xenoform—stood dazed about 10 meters away, its slit pupils dilated.
That was when it twitched.
The monster's tail moved ever so slightly.
“It's twitching or something?”
“So cute!”
Eve shouted from behind me.
“Eve! Where do you think you're going? No!”
Lydia grabbed Eve's waist in a panic.
“Eee... but I wanna touch the king snake...”
“What kinda dangerous talk is that? That's not a snake, it's a monster!”
“Nuh-uh... king snake isn't dangerous... looks nice...”
Eve pouted like she was wronged. In her eyes, that giant lizard was just a big puppy.
“No means no! Listen to sis!”
“Hing.”
Unable to break free from Lydia, Eve looked to me for rescue.
But until I could reveal Eve was a xenoform, I had to hold her back.
I shook my head firmly.
“No, Eve. It's dangerous.”
Eve drooped disappointingly.
I glared at Nahibi, shimmering transparently over Eve's shoulder.
'What now, Nahibi?'
"[Lowly human. Don't glare at me.]"
Nahibi's voice echoed in my head.
"[I've explained enough to it. You step up and fight.]"
“Fight?”
"[Yes. Not a real fight—just some playful sparring. For Eve's sake.]"
“Me play too!”
“Play what? Eve, come here!”
Lydia hugged Eve tighter.
“Kraaang...”
The basilisk let out an awkward roar.
“Careful now, Kal. Looks like it's moving again.”
Bani tensed, finger on the trigger. I held him back and stepped forward.
“Leave this to me.”
“Kal? Even for you, taking on that thing alone—which doesn't look like a normal basilisk—is too risky. We'd need all our firepower combined.”
“It's fine. Bani, take Lydia and Eve to check on the ship first. There probably aren't any others around because of this guy.”
“But...”
“Trust me. We can't waste time.”
Bani hesitated at my firm tone, then nodded.
“Alright. We'll be back as fast as we can. Hold on just a bit.”
“Worry about it more than me.”
“I believe you.”
Bani led Lydia and Eve around into the canyon toward the Nomad.
“I wanna play too! With the king snake!”
“No way! Eve, over here!”
“Lydia meanie! Kal! We gotta play later, promise!”
Eve's whining faded away.
With our little troublemaker Queen handed off to Lydia and out of sight, I finally relaxed my shoulders.
Now it was just me and the giant basilisk.
It stared down at me with pitiful, wary eyes—no more caution.
“Sorry about this.”
I kicked off the ground.
The surroundings blurred. I'd closed the 10-meter gap in an instant. I stopped right under its jaw.
Too fast for its dynamic vision to track.
“Hup!” I uppercut with my fist.
BOOM!
A thunderous crash. Its jaw snapped up, and its massive 30-meter body lifted slightly into the air.
“Kraaang?!”
The basilisk screeched in panic.
“I'm a former soldier who specialized in xenoforms, y'know.”
I twisted midair, using its scales as footing for another leap.
“Kraaa!”
Its eyes changed.
Playtime? No—this was survival instinct. It realized the tiny human before it could kill it.
Its tail whipped like a lash.
Fast enough to rip the air with a sonic boom.
No dodging. I crossed my arms in guard.
The impact slammed through my body. I rocketed back like a cannonball, smashing into the rock wall.
Rocks crumbled, dust billowed. My mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood.
My hazmat suit was shredded, and a couple ribs felt cracked.
But.
“Haha...”
I laughed as I walked out of the dust.
Cracked bones clicked back into place. Torn muscles knitted in real time. Pain, yes—but no fear. Thrill coursed through me.
“Nahibi said to go easy, but...”
I shed my torn hazmat top. My heartbeat thrummed in my ears.
“I've been eating well lately. Needed a test dummy.”
“Grrrl...”
The basilisk lowered into a stance, alert. It felt it too—the energy surging from me. I clenched my fist.
“Come on.” The moment I spoke, it charged.
BOOM! KABOOM! Explosions and tremors echoed from the canyon entrance. Bani glanced back while fiddling with the Nomad's panels.
“Kal gonna be okay?”
The sounds alone screamed this was no ordinary fight. Rocks shattering, earth quaking—inhuman noise for human vs. monster.
Lydia clutched Eve anxiously too.
“I...”
Bani couldn't say for sure. Even if Kal had superhuman specs, the foe looked beyond the planet's apex predator. But the answer came from Eve.
“He's fine.”
Her voice was serene.
She took Lydia's hand, smiling at the dust cloud rising from the entrance.
“Kal's... my knight.”
“Knight?”
Lydia echoed.
“Yeah. Like the knights in old storybooks. He'll always protect Eve. He promised.”
No doubt in her eyes. Not blind faith—instinctual certainty as Queen.
“Oh? Did he now? Kal did.”
“Yeah. He'll protect Eve. Always.”
Eve beamed.
Always.
As Lydia opened her mouth for another question...
The Nomad's hatch hissed open.
“Alright! Door's open! Everyone aboard!”
The group rushed inside.