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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 389
Green flashes of light poured down like a torrential rain.
I forced my still-recovering winged arms to spread and soared into the sky. The plasma beams fired by over a hundred warships utterly pulverized the meteorite beneath me.
While the warships prepared for another full volley, a staggering number of patrol ships and carrier-based fighters swarmed after me. Countless plasma rounds pounded against my outer shell.
The attacks from patrol-class ships couldn’t inflict serious damage on me—but that didn’t mean I could let my guard down. In a prolonged battle, accumulated damage was never ideal.
I dispersed the enhanced ‘Gremlin Moss’. Clouds emitted from the bio-pipes attached to my body enveloped the surrounding ships, disabling their advanced systems.
Several of the enemies tailing closely behind fell out of formation, rendered inert by the Gremlin Moss. The remaining fighters and patrol ships quickly scattered to avoid the spreading cloud.
Through the newly opened gaps, massive flying beasts intervened Outspacers, with bio-cannons strapped to their backs, nearly as large as their own bodies, unleashed a barrage aimed at me.
Nail-like projectiles, crusted with what looked like fungal spores, embedded themselves into my tail and hind legs. The spores swelled like bubbles, then hardened on the spot.
‘Damn it!’
The purpose of that attack wasn’t to deal fatal damage, it was meant to hinder my movements and tilt the battle in their favor.
More Outspacer monsters joined the assault. One, a towering beast nearly 40 meters tall, hurtled toward me at shocking speed.
‘What is that?’
It was a type of Outspacer I’d never seen before: four arms, two legs, a long head, and an extended tail. I extended my ‘Corrosive Tentacle’, activated with the ‘Medusa Organ’, to ward it off.
Astonishingly, it twisted its body and narrowly dodged just before contact. At the same time, a blade attached to the end of one of its arms slashed through the tentacle’s appendage. Though not as tough as a carapace, that appendage boasted considerable durability and yet it was sliced like paper.
‘That thing’s using Hellside Hornet genes!’
Whatever modifications it had undergone, those arm-blades were sharper than the originals. I lashed its body with another corrosive tentacle before it could continue its assault.
The impact sent the creature reeling and momentarily slowed its movements. I lunged with the clawed tip of my right tail, aiming to grab it and finish it off.
But just as the claw was about to clamp down, my tail froze as though it had been ensnared. And it wasn’t just a feeling. A psychic net of immense strength had bound it in place. The Outspacer slipped away unharmed.
Suspecting that Cultists were nearby, I turned my head and spotted a bizarre-looking flying machine in the distance. At first, I thought it might be a drone meant for capital ship warfare but it wasn’t.
‘A Screamer?’
The one interfering with psychic power was a Screamer of the Star Union.
‘Screamers using psychic power?’
It's easy to get confused because of PS-111 and Isabel, but normally, Screamers cannot use psychic powers. Cultists with psychic potential cannot be used as raw material for Screamers.
Even the mutant Screamer I encountered before only had a supervisor-type model capable of limited psychic use for control purposes.
‘So then how…?’
This new Screamer was as alien in appearance as it was in ability.
Its head was grotesquely oversized, and it had no metallic legs for movement. The swollen cranium was plastered with mechanical components. Though its face was riddled with stitched scars and unsightly to look at, something about it felt familiar.
‘I’ve seen that face before… No way is it?’
The creature resembled not a Screamer, but more of a faceworm, a parasitic entity with a human-like visage now emitting psychic waves. A faint violet net shot toward me, trying to ensnare me.
I immediately accelerated, dashing out of the psychic field’s range.
‘That face… it looks like Jason’s.’
Jason, a Cultist Player affiliated with the Dominion Faction. He had once fought me, and attempted to escape using a perk only to be decapitated and killed. His body, minus the head, vanished into faster-than-light travel, making recovery impossible.
‘They used his body as material.’
I didn’t know how they found it, but it seemed his allies had recovered Jason’s headless corpse. And just as they had created PS-111 they repurposed it into a mutant Screamer. That explains why, despite being a Screamer, it could skillfully wield psychic power.
As I dodged the attacks from the Screamers made from Jason, a flash of green light blazed before me. The warships of the Megacorp and Star Union unleashed a barrage of plasma beams across my flight path.
Among their vast fleet were six Jax Alpha class dreadnoughts, massive ships reserved for Star Union High Council members. Even from afar, their colossal forms stood out, surrounded by large and small Outspacers in tight formation, escorting them.
It was a full-scale assault that crossed species lines a sight rarer than anything you'd see in even the most dramatic simulations.
'Did the Dominion cultists also have Outsparer rankers on their side?'
Of all the Outsparer rankers, only the fourth-ranked belongs to the top 20. A few more can be found below the 40th rank, but none of them would dare defy the will of the fourth.
'Besides, the more Outsparers of the same species gather, the greater the synergy they create.'
That's what Alshas once said. There are only two Outsparer rankers aligned with the Returners. If two of their own are already on the same side, it’d be easy for them to pressure other Outsparer rankers who disagree.
So it’s safe to assume that most, if not all, Outsparers have sided with the Returners.
'Which means… the Dominion and the Returners have joined forces to hunt me down.'
Either that or the Outsparer rankers made an independent, temporary alliance with the Dominion. Based on the enemy composition, the latter seems more likely. The leader of the Returners is the 7th-ranked Beomho, not the 4th-ranked. And there are no cult ships present here.
There might be cultists aboard the Megacorp ships, but I doubt it. If that were the case, there’s no way they’d be using a Screamer made from Jason—a former cult priest—so brazenly.
'…Whatever. Doesn’t matter.'
The absence of the cult doesn’t mean I can relax. Just the alliance between the Outsparers and the Dominion is more than enough of a threat. They’ve clearly prepared thoroughly to capture me.
Meanwhile, I’m not in peak condition. The PMB interference still lingers, and several of my traits are on cooldown.
'And I don’t have Metallic Gremlins or the Gigacracker.'
This region is currently under some kind of interference that’s blocking faster-than-light travel. It’ll take time for the Metallic Gremlins to arrive. And even if they do, without Faster than light capabilities, their mobility will be crippled. Without movement, they’re just slow-moving targets useless in battle.
'First, I need to unlock Faster than light travel again.'
Only then can I retreat, regroup, or summon reinforcements.
'At least there aren’t any Vortex Ones among the enemy.'
At one point, I thought they might’ve brought one under control, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Faster than light interference must be caused by something else, something I don’t yet understand.
To change this losing battle, I need to eliminate that unknown factor first.
While weaving through plasma fire, I activated my Variable Bioweapon system and twisted my body sharply.
An Outsparer chasing me must’ve seen an opening, lunging forward with four vicious blades aimed at my torso.
What it didn’t know or had forgotten is that I also possess the genetic essence of the Hellside Hornet. The massive bone scythe protruding from my combat limb clashed with its blade.
And the result was my victory.
Two of its arm-mounted blades were shattered instantly.
‘Sharpness alone doesn’t win a fight.’
I’m nearly twice the Outsparer’s size. Naturally, the weapons I generate are far larger.
Apparently, the creature hadn’t expected this outcome. Its long snout dropped open—clear shock on its grotesque face.
I didn’t miss that opening. My corrosive tentacles lashed out, their appendages raking its legs and tail.
I tried to restrain and kill it using my Medusa Core, but was interrupted. A Jax Alpha-class dreadnought hit me with a massive beam directly on my back. One of my tentacles was torn off, and my dorsal carapace caved in. I lost my grip on the Outsparer.
It didn't hesitate. It cut off the damaged limb where my appendage had touched and retreated swiftly. Given its special nature, it likely had its own means of recovery. It’ll be back soon.
But I didn’t pursue it.
Instead, I retracted my transformed limbs and deployed a Dark Shroud around myself.
Where once my bio-pipes sprayed Gremlin Moss in gaseous form, they now exhaled a pitch-black fog. The enemy warships opened fire again, but none could land a shot on me hidden behind the veil.
In that state, I opened the mouths on all three of my heads.
The little ones inside burst out as if they had been waiting for this moment.
[Zzzzz zz zzzzzzz (Sorry, but I’ll need your help)]
｢Hunt.｣ ｢Start?｣
｢Many bad humans!｣
｢…So this is how it ends, huh. What do you need help with first?｣
Even with the chaos unfolding, what each of them had to do hadn’t changed much.
Number 26 would mark the enemies using psychic power.
The Mother of the Sky and Adhai would engage the enemy fleet.
PS-111 would provide covering fire from above me.
The only real change was Isabel’s role.
'With the Heavenly Eye of All Forms, she should be able to detect any hidden tricks the enemy has up their sleeve.'
Thanks to Isabel’s unique ability to read enemy intel, we could easily identify who was disrupting our faster-than-light navigation. And if the enemy had any hidden trump cards, Isabel would find them and alert us.
[Z ZZ ZZZZ (Alright. Everyone got that?)]
｢Yes! Got it!｣
｢Strong foe.｣ ｢Hunt.｣ ｢Difficult.｣ ｢Still…｣ ｢Will try.｣
｢Hoo… It won’t be easy, but we have to do it.｣
Those among us who could express themselves via thoughtwaves and resonances sent messages of reassurance.
｢Space. Communication. Difficult. But… I will try.｣
｢I will… help too.｣
PS-111, who had learned psychic communication from Number 26 during its reconstruction, responded clumsily but sincerely alongside Isabel, who had received the same knowledge transfer.
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZ ZZZ (Be careful. Don’t get hurt if you can help it.)]
｢Okay! Big One, you can’t get hurt either!｣
｢Agreed.｣
Honestly, I couldn’t say the situation was favorable.
We were about to fight a massive fleet under the command of top-ranked leaders from three different species. I had never faced anything like this in this world before.
I didn’t want any of the little ones to get hurt—but maybe that was just wishful thinking.
But…
Since coming to this world, my life had been a constant chain of crises.
Countless dangers and overwhelmingly powerful enemies had relentlessly tried to snuff out my survival.
But in the end standing tall, always was me.
This time will be no different.
I… no, we will survive.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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