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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 383
The erratic behavior of the Metallic Gremlins was not a temporary phenomenon.
Even those not clinging to Number 26’s body were circling around it. Among them was the leader of the swarm, the ‘Tytaboss’.
Yet, whether it was the leader or the lesser variants, there was no hostility from any of them.
Who would look at these creatures and associate them with the infamous space raiders?
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but…’
They were not in their right minds. Even if they weren’t openly hostile now, there was no telling when they might suddenly go berserk.
I moved in to pull Number 26 away from them.
｢■■■!｣
｢■■■!｣
The previously passive swarm reacted violently. If I got any closer, they would attack. The Tytaboss also began secreting the same substance that enhanced its swarm.
｢Don’t hit them!｣
At that moment, Number 26 swung its tentacles, striking the creatures. Several of them were instantly reduced to lifeless husks, floating in zero gravity.
Surprisingly, the remaining Metallic Gremlins did not retaliate. Even though their kin had just been torn apart right in front of them, they remained docile completely unfazed.
Even their hostility toward me disappeared. As I closed the distance, they merely stood still.
As if… they were obeying Number 26.
In the game, there was no scenario where a Sea Demon and a Metallic Gremlin would ever meet; their habitats were entirely different. The two species had nothing in common, nor were they capable of communication.
‘Even if they could somehow talk, they would have no reason to listen to Number 26.’
If that were the case, I would have noticed it during our previous battle with the Metallic Gremlin swarm. This particular group was different.
‘For now, I need to get 26 out of there.’
[ZZZZ ZZZ (It’s dangerous, come here.)]
｢Okay.｣
Upon hearing me, Number 26 moved its fins and swam toward me. The Gremlins clinging to it, as well as the rest of the swarm, followed like hatchlings trailing their mother.
Even after watching them multiple times, it was clear they were following Number 26.
｢Enemy｣ ｢Off guard｣ ｢Now｣ ｢Chance｣
[ZZZ ZZZ (Wait a moment.)]
Adhai was about to launch an attack, sending out an ominous psychic wave, but I stopped her.
I still didn’t understand exactly how this had happened, but one thing was certain—
‘This has nothing to do with the Rankers.’
Neither the Return Faction nor the Ruling Faction had any reason to do something like this.
｢Amorph, wait a moment.｣
Just then, the Mother of the Sky called out to me.
[ZZ (What?)]
｢That Tytaboss it looks like the one we fought back in Kesha Arma.｣
[Zz (What?)]
｢The scar on its neck it’s the same. That’s the wound from the Priest’s Golden Spear.｣
Perched atop the ship, her amber eyes fixated on the Tytaboss.
‘That swarm is the one from back then?’
The swarm of Metallic Gremlins summoned by Cynthia, a Ranker of the Return Faction, had retreated during the battle. That was because Adhai and Number 26 had killed the one who summoned them.
At the time, I assumed the Gremlins had fled because their summoning device had been destroyed. Naturally, I had believed the device itself was shattered beyond repair.
‘Adhai and Number 26 said they devoured the summoner.’
Adhai wasn’t built to swallow large objects in one piece. She likely drained the blood and fluids first, leaving the remains for Number 26 to consume.
In the process, there might have been some interaction between Number 26 and the summoning device.
‘I need to check something.’
I extended my tail, its pincers clamping down on the Tytaboss. Unlike when tearing enemies apart, I gripped it gently.
The creature did not resist. Neither did the swarm it controlled.
[ZZ ZZZZ (Everyone, come inside.)]
I called in all the ones still outside, including the Tytaboss. The remaining swarm moved in slow rotation around me, resembling a planetary ring.
"Comparison with stored biological data confirms it Metallic Gremlin subspecies, ‘Tytaboss’."
"You brought in a Tytaboss?"
Isabelle expressed her surprise upon seeing the creature inside the ship. PS-111 also observed it, its red camera lens blinking as it examined the entity one that was fundamentally opposed to its own nature.
"Did ‘Middle One’ capture it with her power?"
｢No. This wasn’t me.｣
"If it wasn’t you, then was it Amorph?"
[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZZZ (I’m trying to figure that out.)]
Isabelle blinked before nodding, understanding what I meant.
"You want to verify it with my trait."
[ZZ (Exactly.)]
Isabelle’s special trait, ‘All-Seeing Eye’, allowed her to read an opponent’s detailed information.
"Then I should check the Tytaboss first?"
[Z ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Yes. And after that, check Number 26 as well.)]
"Number 26?"
[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (If there’s nothing unusual, check Adhai too.)]
"Well, I don’t see why not. Alright."
Adhai likely had nothing to do with this, but I couldn’t be sure.
With that, Isabelle turned her gaze toward Number 26.
Right now, its body was an artificial construct, created by PS-111. However, its brain and eyes were from the original Coldblood species. Thanks to PS-111’s meticulous work, its vision functioned without issue.
The deep blue eyes, reminiscent of the sky, glowed brightly. Eyes that gathered secrets and knowledge began to scan.
One by one, she analyzed Number 26, Tytaboss, and finally Adhai, before returning her gaze to normal.
"I’ve checked everything. One thing’s certain: Tytaboss is not in a normal state."
[ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZ (It’s under some kind of control, then.)]
"Yeah. It’s bound to an artifact called the Orb of Savagery."
[ZZZ ZZ (Orb of Savagery?)]
｢Never heard of something like that.｣
I was just as unfamiliar with it as the Mother of the Sky. I had never encountered such an artifact before.
Most likely, it was something developed in this world, like refined ‘Psionium’ or the ‘Mutant Screamer’.
"What’s more interesting is Number 26."
[ZZZ ZZ (What about Number 26?)]
"According to All-Seeing Eye, Number 26 is currently the one activating the ‘Orb of Savagery."
｢Wait, are you saying a Sea Demon is using an item?｣
Both my main body and the Mother of the Sky turned to stare at Number 26 simultaneously.
At that moment, it was busy pushing away the Tytaboss with its tentacles, seemingly annoyed by the creature’s insistence on clinging to it.
Seeing our reaction, Isabelle shook her head.
"Who knows? It’s different from us. It’s not equipping and using it like a player would."
[ZZZ (True.)]
Whenever Number 26 learned something new, it would always come running to tell me about it. If it had acquired an artifact like the ‘Orb of Savagery’, there was no way it would have kept silent about it.
I called out to it, interrupting its scuffle with the Tytaboss.
[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (Come here for a second.)]
｢Okay.｣
It bounced lightly as it approached my main body.
At a glance, it looked like a round, pink balloon. There was no visible tool or device attached to it.
‘Could it be inside its body?’
When consuming prey, Number 26 used its tentacles to pull food into its body, gradually dissolving it from within. If it had absorbed the device Cynthia used, then the ‘Orb of Savagery’ might be inside it as well.
[ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Do you remember when we fought that scary human?)]
｢Scary human?｣
[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (The human you and Adhai hunted.)]
｢Oh! I remember! The bad human with metal parts on his head! We crushed him punished him!｣
｢I｣ ｢Remember｣
Adhai, who had been listening from the side, also seemed to recall and joined the conversation.
｢Horned dwarf｣ ｢Little Elder｣ ｢I｣ ｢Together｣ ｢Killed｣
｢That’s right! We punished him together with Little One!｣
｢Agree｣
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (When you two ate him, was there anything unusual?)]
｢Unusual｣ ｢There was｣ ｢Taste｣ ｢Stable｣ ｢Excellent｣
｢Yeah! It was delicious!｣
[ZZZZ (Other than the taste?)]
Adhai didn’t send any more psychic waves, suggesting there was nothing else particularly memorable. Number 26 also remained silent.
I was about to conclude that neither of them recalled anything important when suddenly, 26 began to glow.
｢I remember now! I ate something hard and round back then!｣
[ZZZZ ZZZZ (Hard and round?)]
｢Yeah! But since it made me feel full, I left it alone.｣
Now that it was mentioned, I remembered.
Back when Cynthia had summoned the Metallic Gremlins, she had been holding something in her hand.
‘A silver orb.’
Now I had a good idea of what the ‘Orb of Savagery’ controlling the Tytaboss was.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (Is it still inside your body?)]
｢The hard and round thing?｣
[ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (If it’s still there, can you take it out?)]
If it hadn’t been fully digested, Number 26 should be able to extract it.
｢I’ll try!｣
It strained, its pinkish body trembling slightly. A faint silver glow emerged from within.
Then, suddenly, a silver tentacle extended out from its body.
‘What?’
｢The thing I ate changed into this!｣
The tentacle shimmered with the same metallic luster as the skin of a Metallic Gremlin. At its tip, a sphere had formed almost as if the silver orb Cynthia had once held had fused with Number 26’s tentacle.
‘Did it digest the orb and integrate it as a trait?’
"Amorph, hold on a second."
Isabelle called out to me.
"That tentacle is the ‘Orb of Savagery’. But… its name has ‘mutating’ next to it."
[ZZZ (Mutating?)]
Her eyes glowed blue as she continued.
"Yeah. It looks like the item changed while number 26 was digesting it."
Considering that the original orb had turned into a tentacle, it was clear that it was no longer the same item, perhaps not even the same kind of existence.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Can you check its abilities?)]
At my question, Isabelle examined the orb-like tentacle again and frowned slightly.
"It’s not in a fully functional state. The item isn’t working properly."
[ZZZ ZZZZ (I expected as much.)]
"One thing is clear, though with that tentacle, Number 26 can control the Metallic Gremlin swarm."
That much, I had already confirmed. The swarm treated Number 26 as their leader.
Now I also understood why they had attacked me so frenziedly, despite knowing they couldn’t win—they must have mistaken 26 for being trapped inside the ship.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZ (Any chance they’ll turn hostile again?)]
"I’ll need to check the other groups, but I doubt it. Even if you kill the Tytaboss, they probably won’t resist."
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (This thing isn’t dangerous, is it?)]
"It’s fully integrated with its body, so it should be fine."
While Isabelle and I talked, Number 26 retracted the tentacle back into its body.
For a moment, I was tempted to cut off the sphere at its tip to see what would happen but I decided against it.
Isabelle had already said the item wasn’t in a normal state. If I separated it, I might damage a valuable weapon for no reason.
Besides, whether I used Number 26 to control the silver creatures or took the item for myself to command them directly, the result was essentially the same.
‘A Metallic Gremlin army…’
One way or another, the notorious space raiders were now mine.
If I used them well, they’d be incredibly useful when invading Megacorp or Star Union territories.
‘Good.’
Now that I had confirmed they weren’t a threat, I put that issue aside.
That left two things to do in this system.
First, checking what unique trait I had gained from consuming the Metallic Gremlins.
Second, gathering some of the drifting asteroid debris to feed the Mountain Crawler.
‘Oh, right…’
I had been so focused on the battle that I had almost forgotten we weren’t the only ones here.
Three disabled ships, their thrusters broken, were still floating outside, waiting.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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