The Devourer Descends
Devourgos was a monster among monsters, its sheer size spanning hundreds of kilometers in diameter.
Its overall form was roughly spherical, the surface covered in a chitinous shell while organic tentacles waved from various points. At the same time, its entire body writhed as if composed of countless individual organisms.
It was horrifically large, incredibly durable, and possessed tremendous regenerative power. Anything organic within its sphere of influence could be mutated, liquefied, and absorbed—or reborn as part of the Xenos legion.
The dark core at its center, reminiscent of a black hole, was called the Abyssal Eye. It could induce planetary-scale collective madness or perform soul predation. Even AI were not exempt from such mind-hacking attacks.
To face and defeat one in single combat, one needed to be a spiritualist of at least Level 18.
That means at minimum late-stage Void Refinement, or perhaps even the Body Integration stage.
Of course, one had to consider that Devourgos was not a single entity in the conventional sense. As a colonial organism, its individual power did not necessarily equate to high divine rank.
Yet none of that knowledge was particularly helpful in the current situation. For some, it might have been better not to know at all.
Through the starport’s control AI, various pieces of information and orders were transmitted to everyone’s Intellitron chips or Nexus Bands. The command given to the volunteers was simple: leave their quarters immediately and assemble in the lounge.
No one would dawdle in a situation like this. The fifty-odd volunteers who quickly gathered in the lounge all looked visibly shaken and terrified.
Already some of them look like they won’t make it.
The flickering emergency light panels, the irregular vibrations felt through the floor, and the complex background noises that were clearly different from normal—all of it was more than enough to inspire fear.
“C-Code D-Devourgos… we’re all going to die. We’re all going to die…”
One man, despite his large build and rugged face, was already sobbing and spreading despair. Thanks to him, the atmosphere in the volunteer lounge plummeted to rock bottom in less than a minute.
If even one experienced soldier had been present to issue clear orders, things might have been different. But no one appeared, and the only people here were volunteers who could hardly be called soldiers yet.
After all, even considering its importance, the starport did not house that many permanent residents. Although a battlecruiser was docked, its crew would have returned to their own ship at the first sign of trouble. It wasn’t strange that they hadn’t encountered any.
The biggest reason, of course, is that this isn’t a real situation—it’s a test.
The moment Han Yujin thought that to himself—
The entire starport shook violently.
More than half the volunteers were knocked off their feet by the impact.
At the same time, another command arrived from the starport control AI. It provided a map and several key pieces of information, ordering them to board the emergency escape shuttle pods docked at the Emergency Deck and evacuate immediately.
“E-Escape…?”
Someone muttered in a voice filled with hope.
In a situation steeped in nothing but despair, it was the only lifeline they could cling to.
If this were a real Code Devourgos situation, emergency evacuation would have been impossible. But no one seemed to realize that. When survival instinct kicks in, it’s only natural not to extinguish one’s own spark of hope.
The volunteers began moving without waiting for anyone to take the lead. However, Han Yujin—who knew this was all an illusion meant to test them—could only stare at the map and think differently.
There’s no way we’ll be able to evacuate smoothly like this.
Another massive explosion rocked the facility. More than half the light panels went dark.
From somewhere in the distance came a blood-curdling scream, followed by the roar of a monster. The direction was exactly where the Emergency Deck lay.
Recognizing his opportunity, Han Yujin spoke to the volunteers who were hesitating in fear.
“We can’t just keep moving like this.”
It was the first clear opinion anyone had offered, and his tone—though slightly trembling—carried conviction. He immediately drew everyone’s attention.
“What are you talking about?”
A woman with a deathly pale face snapped back at him. Her hair and eyebrows were such a pale gold that she looked almost sickly.
“Didn’t you hear the scream and the roar just now? It’s obvious that a lower-tier Xenos entity has breached the route we’re trying to take.”
“That’s ridiculous! If that were true, we would already… already…!”
There was no point listening to someone simply denying reality out of fear. Han Yujin quickly made eye contact with the others and continued.
“The combat training room is close by. We should go there first and equip ourselves with weapons and armor. Even though they’re training equipment, according to what I studied, the output limiters should have been removed in this kind of emergency.”
The facility shook violently once again. The remaining light panels flickered ominously, threatening to plunge everyone into full panic.
A deep, ominous rumble echoed through the structure, giving the impression that the entire starport could collapse at any moment.
Going to the combat training room would inevitably delay them.
“I-I’m going first!”
A lean man shouted and sprinted toward the Emergency Deck. Three or four others immediately followed him.
They must have believed they could somehow survive using only their own abilities without equipment. After all, there wasn’t a single volunteer here below Level 2.
Still, having proper weapons and armor dramatically increased combat effectiveness. Even among those at the Initiation Stage, the difference between having usable spiritual artifacts and not having them was enormous.
“We don’t have time to waste. Arming ourselves and moving together will be much safer.”
After speaking quickly, Han Yujin immediately turned and headed toward the combat training room. His logical argument and confident demeanor must have seemed trustworthy; the rest of the group followed without any further deserters.
But just before they arrived, a small crisis struck.
The ceiling suddenly burst open and a monster dropped down.
It had a translucent, jelly-like body, two pairs of well-developed multi-jointed legs, over a dozen sharp tentacles sprouting from its head and running down its spine, a face with large blood-red eyes that emitted weak mind-hacking waves, a hideous maw split in an X-shape beneath those eyes, a tri-pronged tail capable of launching bone projectiles or spraying acid, and repulsive parasitic insects that could be endlessly generated from its abdomen if materials were available.
It was a Paragos—a lower-tier entity of the Xenos monster species. The name roughly translated to “Violent Predator.” While individuals varied slightly, they usually possessed combat strength at the late Initiation Stage.
In other words, this single lower-tier monster was slightly stronger than an A-rank hunter from modern Earth.
“Aaaah—!!”
With the volunteers’ current strength, there was no reason they couldn’t defeat it. However, none of them were proper soldiers yet, so they panicked as if facing certain death.
A few with stronger survival instincts even fled, using the others as bait. How utterly foolish.
- KUUUUUAAAAAAAAGH-!!
The creature opened its maw and unleashed a ferocious roar. On top of an already terrifying situation, the terrifying roar combined with the mental attack radiating from its eyes caused even more people to flee. Among those who remained, none seemed brave enough to fight.
They’re all far too accustomed to peace.
It spoke to how excellent the Galactic Empire’s public order was, but at this level, the Code Devourgos scenario felt far too lenient. He would have to completely reverse that assessment.
If this were real, the starport should have already been torn to shreds and devoured, and planetary G-164 should have been experiencing its apocalypse. There were virtually no defensive forces here. Even the single battlecruiser would be insufficient to stop a Devourgos.
He had wondered if any of the volunteers might notice something strange, but…
Now he saw that had been a ridiculous worry.
Facing the charging monster, Han Yujin stood at the very front from the beginning. Believing it wouldn’t seem unnatural, he released his power. He masked his Dream Dragon Dharma Power as raw energy equivalent to a mere Level 2 spiritualist.
The competition is so pathetic that I’m actually hesitating to show off.
While he lamented internally, he dodged the Paragos’s frontal strike, deflected the incoming tentacles with raw energy, and confirmed that the bone projectiles fired from its tail weren’t aimed at him. Then he slammed his fist into the creature’s gaping maw as it lunged forward.
It wasn’t a simple punch—it was a form of martial technique carrying appropriate force. The raw energy wrapped around his fist caused a small explosion on impact, demonstrating quite impressive control for someone at the Initiation Stage.
The ferocious monster was sent flying, momentarily stunned. In that instant, Han Yujin determined that this creature was only at the mid-Initiation Stage.
It’s a weakened version of a real Paragos.
If the volunteers here simply gathered their wits, two or three of them working together could easily kill it.
“Help me, quickly…!”
He had been about to shout something like “Get a grip and fight,” but compromised with a more encouraging cry.
Even though he bought time by dodging several more attacks, the volunteers were still scrambling around like grasshoppers, terrified by the creature’s projectile attacks. He nearly sighed out loud.
Fortunately, not everyone was an idiot. One man finally regained his composure and fired an energy projectile with a short incantation. The situation improved noticeably.
After another ten seconds or so, two more joined the fight, and the monster died in an almost laughably anticlimactic fashion.
“Huff… huff…!”
The experienced and seasoned Han Yujin pretended to be completely exhausted, breathing heavily. Although the battle had been very short, it was natural to look this way after fighting for one’s life in extreme tension.
He glared at the other volunteers for a moment, then shook his head and said,
“Let’s hurry and arm ourselves. If you want to live, move quickly!”
The volunteers followed him in a clumsy rush, like raw recruits trailing after their sergeant.
After arming themselves in the combat training room, the difficulty seemed to drop somewhat.
Of course, that was only Han Yujin’s personal assessment. The other volunteers were still floundering in fear and tension, barely managing to move. Nevertheless, thanks to the performance of their equipment, they safely eliminated more than three monsters they encountered.
The ‘Arc Aether Pistol,’ which fired energy projectiles (called Aether Projectiles in this world’s terminology), displayed firepower equivalent to the continuous attacks of a Level 3 spiritualist—though its energy magazine had severe limitations.
The cold weapons of this world, such as the ‘Lumina Sword’ and ‘Lumina Spear,’ exhibited power nearly equal to top-grade spiritual artifacts. The defensive suit ‘Phase Armor’ was similarly outstanding.
If they would just keep their heads, there’s no way they could die at this difficulty.
Even so, the number of people following him had already dropped to less than half.
Every time a battle broke out, someone inevitably deserted. One person had even been absurdly killed by a monster weaker than himself.
They also came across several corpses along the way. Among them were the volunteers who had refused to gather equipment and fled immediately.
Whether to heighten the sense of terror, all the bodies were in utterly gruesome states. Quite a few of the volunteers vomited at the sight.
Han Yujin only showed a slightly pale face and a brief hesitation.
By the time they were almost at the Emergency Deck—
His premonition that it wouldn’t end so easily proved correct.
The largest explosion yet rocked the entire starport like mad. Everyone tumbled in every direction, slamming into walls and objects. Without their Phase Armor, someone would have certainly broken bones.
“H-Hurry…!”
“I’m not dying like this…! I’m not dying like this…!”
The monsters’ roars had grown noticeably louder, accompanied by violent tremors. Everyone fell into immediate panic.
They scrambled, fell, and rolled desperately toward the Emergency Deck.
In the midst of it all, as if to add to their despair, a Paragos appeared and blocked their path. Somewhat comically, this time Han Yujin didn’t even need to step forward. Every remaining volunteer charged like demons and tore the creature apart.
Having hunted a few times now, it seemed their survival instinct had finally exploded into courage.
Soon after—
Amid vibrations and roars that suggested the entire starport might collapse in mere seconds, the volunteers reached the badly damaged Emergency Deck and froze.
Most of the emergency escape shuttle pods were destroyed and unusable. It was clear that not even half the people present could board the remaining ones.
To make matters worse, countless roars grew louder from behind them. The monsters were clearly swarming.
“Get out of the way!”
“I’m first!”
It was a situation where humanity’s selfish nature could not help but surface. Everyone began fighting desperately to board a shuttle pod.
The emergency escape shuttle pods were extremely small—three people was the absolute maximum. Space was clearly limited.
“Get lost!”
The pale-gold-haired woman who had snapped at Han Yujin earlier suddenly stabbed the volunteer running ahead of her with her Lumina Sword.
Although the Phase Armor had excellent defensive capabilities, the Lumina Sword’s edge was equally sharp. The ambushed volunteer died instantly, his heart pierced before he could even scream or show resentment.
The woman then wildly pointed her Arc Aether Pistol in every direction with her other hand and shrieked viciously.
“Anyone who comes near me dies!!”
Having frozen the others with her actions, she monopolized one of the few remaining shuttle pods that could still carry two or three more people.
Her behavior was more than enough to drive the rest of the volunteers—who were already more than half-mad—completely over the edge.
Some imitated her “boldness” and began killing each other. Others begged desperately. Still others, having apparently given up on thinking entirely, climbed into clearly broken shuttle pods.
The rapidly approaching clamor of monsters from behind was the biggest factor.
This is rather vicious.
No matter that it was a test, Han Yujin wondered what kind of reaction the woman—who had just committed her first murder—would show once she realized everything was an illusion.
He acted out several emotions appropriate for the situation: surprise, panic, desperation, shock, helplessness, and finally glancing back at the corridor where the monsters were coming from.
And then, at last—
With an expression that held both resignation and resolve—
He turned his back on those desperately fighting to survive and stood tall, facing the corridor from which the monsters approached.
“…I won’t die an ugly death.”
Muttering in the language of the nomadic tribes, he firmly gripped the Lumina Sword in one hand and the Arc Aether Pistol in the other.
⊳ Commander Brenar — “Oh…!”
Brenar, the beautiful crimson-haired woman who appeared to be in her early twenties and served as captain of the Demensys battlecruiser, let out an involuntary exclamation of admiration.