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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 382
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"Starboard cannons 3 through 12 are all down! Portside 1 and 11 are also inoperable!"
"Goddamn it! Where the hell are the carrier-based fighters?!"
"Wait, are you seriously telling me to send out fighters against Metallic Gremlins?"
"You dumbass, do you want to die here?! Deploy them now!"
"A-All right!"
The pirate ship’s command center was in complete chaos.
Many feared the Space Dogs, but there were far worse things in the vastness of space than pirates.
The Metallic Gremlins that had suddenly appeared were one such nightmare.
These small demons with metallic skin were a calamity to all space travelers.
Their razor-sharp teeth could tear through reinforced alloy plating with ease, and the unique pulse waves their bodies emitted rendered most detection systems useless. Even the most advanced warships had to be wary when facing a swarm of several hundred.
But the enemy attacking the pirates now numbered at least' in the tens of thousands. Even Frank, the underboss of the Shinomitsu Pirates, had never heard of a swarm this massive.
"Comms officer! What’s the status?!"
"Jamming interference! All communications are down! We can't reach the other ships either!"
"You useless bastard! Then get us out of the interference range!"
"Aft thrusters are over 65% damaged! Our speed is dropping rapidly!"
Metallic Gremlins were insatiable when it came to refined metals. They didn’t attack ships to kill the crew, they did it to devour the alloy.
Despite their small size compared to humans, their appetite was monstrous. The moment they latched onto a ship, even one over 100 meters long, it would be reduced to scrap and disappear into their stomachs in no time.
And once Frank’s ship was gone, he would be left adrift in the void until he suffocated or froze to death.
'Damn it, this was supposed to be a safe system!'
This sector was barely frequented, only occasionally visited by trade and mining ships. If he had known this would happen, he would never have come here.
"Underboss! Their movements are strange!"
Just as he was drowning in regret, one of his men shouted in confusion.
"T-They're moving away!"
"What?"
Frank hurriedly checked the holographic display. The swarm, which had been about to consume their ship, was now shifting toward something else.
'What the hell is that…?'
In the direction the space raiders were headed, an unknown vessel was marked on the display. Due to the jamming, all they could tell was that it was a ship, nothing more.
"Shit, I don’t know what that is, but this is our chance! We need to get the hell out of..."
The moment he decided to escape while they were distracted, the entire ship violently lurched.
***
'They're coming this way?'
The swarm, which had been about to engulf the three pirate ships, was now flying toward me as if I were the more important target.
'Well, I’m not complaining.'
Back when I first obtained Horizon of Nightmares, I fought Metallic Gremlins for the first time in this world. It had been a mid-sized swarm, and I had barely managed to win.
But things are different now.
I reshaped my ship, forming Heat Spire Carapace. Though the name suggested something akin to spikes, it more closely resembled an array of massive lances protruding from the front hull.
As the spines reached their maximum temperature, I launched them toward the three fleeing ships. One after another, the crimson-hot spikes flew forward, striking their targets.
'Can’t have them running away.'
By disabling their thrusters completely, I ensured that they wouldn’t escape.
With the ships locked in place, I turned my attention to the incoming swarm.
Since I needed to consume them to replenish myself, I couldn’t afford to use overly destructive attacks. Instead of relying on the ship’s cannons, I would have to engage them in melee combat.
'I have just the trait for this.'
I applied 'Destroyer Carapace', a powerful defensive trait, to the ship. On my main body, it was always active regardless of my intent, but with an assimilated vessel, I had to manually activate it.
The black ichor coating the ship’s hull rapidly shifted. The once obsidian-smooth surface swelled and became rough, transforming into something resembling the molten exterior of a Magmasaur. With the addition of the 'Heat Spire Carapace', jagged spines emerged across the ship’s entire structure.
One by one, I incorporated more traits into the vessel. The front split open, forming a long, fanged maw, while the rear sprouted a massive tail ending in a crushing pincer.
At this point, no one would mistake me for a ship. I now resembled a colossal beast drifting through the void.
｢■■■?｣
The creatures closing in on me hesitated at the sight of the monstrous transformation.
｢■■!｣
For a moment, I thought they might retreat but no.
They only faltered for an instant before their bodies lit up with a blue glow. Among their ranks was a 'Warp Boy', activating 'Warp Guide', a large-scale Faster than light navigation ability.
Suddenly, hundreds more Metallic Gremlins burst out of nearby space. Their vortex-shaped maws stretched wide, ready to tear into me.
'Not a chance.'
I unhinged 'Reaper’s Maw' at the ship’s front. The mouth, embedded within my 500-meter-long hull, was dozens of meters wide. Like a whale swallowing a school of fish, I lunged forward with my jaws agape.
｢■■■■?!｣
The enemies accelerating toward me had no time to evade and were sucked straight into my maw. I snapped my jaws shut and swallowed them whole.
[Predation effect activated!]
Perhaps because I had devoured dozens in one go, a system message appeared, and my hunger lessened slightly.
Meanwhile, the metallic raiders swarmed onto my hull, their sharp teeth gnashing against my 'Destroyer Carapace', trying to dig in.
｢■■?｣
The bio-armor encasing my living vessel was incredibly thick. They could damage the surface, but penetrating deep into my body was another matter entirely. It would take them time to burrow through.
'Not that I intend to let them try.'
I swept my elongated tail across the hull, scraping off the parasites. In its wake, only shredded remains were left behind.
｢■■■!｣
｢■■■!｣
Even as their kin were slaughtered in droves, the creatures didn’t stop. As if there were no other path forward, they simply kept biting down on my armor, desperate to tear through.
'Where is the leader?'
A swarm of this size had to have a commanding entity, a Titan Boss. There were none among those clinging to my ship, meaning it had to be somewhere in the main formation with the Warp Boys.
I crushed enemies with my maw and tail as I advanced toward the cluster where the Titan Boss was hiding.
｢■■■■■!｣
Larger entities emerged from the swarm far bigger than regular Metallic Gremlins; their arms were pitch black ‘Wolfram Goblins’. A superior variant of the Metallic Gremlins, these creatures specialized in long-range bombardment.
From the horde of Wolfram Goblins, thousands of rock-like projectiles rained down on me.
These weren’t just ordinary stones they were their excrement, containing metal-corroding microbes. Against a typical ship, the effect would be devastating.
But I wasn’t a typical ship.
Ignoring the bombardment, I pressed forward.
Once I was within range, I activated the 'Heat Spire Carapace' across my hull.
The black spines, now burning red-hot, pulsed like they were drenched in blood.
Any Metallic Gremlins nearby instantly liquefied from the sheer heat.
Then, I launched the scorching spines outward. Some enemies detected the threat and managed to dodge, but most were skewered.
The swarm, once a silver cloud was now riddled with holes.
'They’ll try to evade next.'
As expected, the Warp Boys reacted, enveloping the swarm in a blue glow.
As they pulled back, I prepared to harvest the fallen corpses.
But just as I moved forward, something strange happened.
'What…?'
Suddenly, I felt powerful energy currents surging from all directions.
This energy signature was similar to the traces left behind when a ship attempted Faster than light travel.
'They’re not retreating?'
The Warp Boys within the swarm weren’t trying to flee. Instead, they were attempting to teleport closer to me.
A third of the enemy force materialized right in front of me, while the remaining two-thirds maneuvered behind, cutting off my escape route.
'Why are they being so aggressive?'
Even though Metallic Gremlins had unique biological mechanisms, they were still living creatures. They felt hunger, and they feared death when their kind was slaughtered.
Yet, despite their comrades being annihilated, these ones were focusing entirely on attacking. That wasn’t normal.
'Come to think of it, their presence here was strange to begin with.'
A swarm of this size would need at least a space city worth of alloy to sustain itself. But this system had no large metal structures, and few ships ever passed through. There was no logical reason for them to be here.
A massive swarm appeared out of nowhere. Behavior that didn’t align with normal Metallic Gremlins.
I’d seen something similar before.
'Kesha Arma’s Metallic Gremlins.'
The Returner player, Cynthia, had lured a massive swarm to attack me. Those Gremlins had also displayed bizarre movements.
'Could this be the work of a player?'
That thought sent a chill down my spine.
If this was a trap, then I was in serious danger. I had no way of knowing when the players might arrive.
While I hesitated for just a moment, the enemy closed in rapidly.
The ones in front focused solely on swarming my hull, biting and tearing into the outer shell. Some even crawled directly into my mouth, still gnawing as they were about to be swallowed.
'…I need to get out of here as quickly as possible.'
[ZZ ZZZ (Everyone, help me!)]
I had limited options without abandoning the ship. I couldn’t handle this alone—I needed support.
｢A fight!｣
｢Outside｣ ｢Smell｣ ｢Strange｣
｢There’s more of them than I expected.｣
Receiving my call, Number 26, Adhai, and Mother of the Sky prepared for battle.
“We’ll assist as well.”
“Wait, Sis! We can’t—”
[ZZ ZZ ZZZ (You two, stay back.)]
PS-111 also wanted to help, but both I and Isabel stopped it.
PS-111 and Isabel’s bodies were composed largely of metal. If the Gremlins managed to attack the wrong spot, especially their brains it would be catastrophic.
With them staying inside, the rest deployed outside.
｢I expected a lot… but what 'is' this?｣
The moment she emerged, Mother of the Sky was stunned by the sheer number of silver monstrosities swarming around us.
She immediately shifted into her griffon form and released a burst of onyx-colored particles, manipulating pressure in the surrounding space. The enemies caught in the field were crushed instantly.
｢Enemy｣ ｢Before｣ ｢Big One｣ ｢Tormented｣ ｢Bad Memory｣ ｢Unpleasant｣
Adhai remembered how I had struggled against Metallic Gremlins before. Wrapped in 'Red Armor', she launched herself into the enemy ranks, ramming through them and turning them into meat chunks.
｢The Little One is right! These are the ones that hurt the Big One! I’ll punish all the bad ones!｣
Finally, Number 26 entered battle mode.
Floating in the void, its body rapidly expanded. At the same time, numerous eyes opened across its pinkish flesh.
The moment those psychic eyes gleamed, the enemies visibly recoiled.
It was 'Terror of the Deep', a Sea Demon-exclusive ability that projected horrifying illusions into the minds of its prey.
'Good. Now we just need to clear them out quickly'
At that moment, every single Metallic Gremlin in the area suddenly swarmed toward Number 26.
Even the ones fighting Mother of the Sky and Adhai abandoned their targets and rushed at it.
｢Wait, what?!｣
｢Little One｣ ｢Danger!｣
It didn’t stop there. The swarm behind me also activated Faster than light jumps, teleporting directly toward 26.
The maneuver was seamless—like this had been their plan from the very start.
'Damn it!'
There was an unfathomable gap between a 'junior raid boss-level' creature like a Sea Demon and mere Metallic Gremlins. No matter how many hundreds or thousands swarmed it, they wouldn't be able to hurt Number 26 easily.
But this wasn’t just a few hundred or thousand. This was a 'swarm in the tens of thousands.' They might not be able to kill Number 26 but they could definitely inflict serious damage.
I rushed forward, positioning myself between Number 26 and the incoming enemies.
I used everything at my disposal: my tail, my jaws, even the ship-mounted cannons I had assimilated.
Thousands of them were slaughtered in an instant, but there were far more than that.
For every one I killed, just as many latched onto Number 26.
｢Big One!｣
'I have to abandon the ship !'
I was about to release my control over the vessel to shield Number 26 directly but then, Number 26 began to glow.
'…Huh?'
Its massive, silver-coated body completely smothered by the Gremlins was shining from within.
The light leaking out wasn’t one of pain.
It was the color that Number 26 emitted when it was happy.
｢■■■｣
｢■■■｣
｢It tickles!｣
Despite having its entire body wrapped in Gremlins, Number 26 wasn’t struggling.
The creatures weren’t even attacking anymore.
They clung to it tightly, unmoving as if they were comfortably nestled against it.
It looked like a swarm of babies curled up against their mother.
Number 26 lazily swayed its fins, as if amused by the sensation.
｢What.｣ ｢What.｣
｢…Are the Metallic Gremlins cuddling it?｣
Adhai and Mother of the Sky muttered in disbelief.
'What the hell just happened?'
I had spent so much time shocking others and deceiving them.
But now, for the first time, the tables have turned.
Faced with this completely 'unfathomable' sight, I just like them could do nothing but stare in stunned silence.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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