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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 390
The black clouds surrounding us flashed repeatedly as they reflected the light.
Plasma beams fired by the enemy fleet were piercing through the 'Dark Veil'.
They hadn’t hit properly yet, but there was no room for complacency. These were rankers who had fought me dozens of times before they likely knew how to bypass the veil by now.
Before they could fully break through, I played a powerful card: the trait 'Icon of the Hunt', which dramatically boosts combat strength.
My vision darkened. Hard chitin slid over my eyes and jaw, enclosing the auxiliary organs beneath. As the chitin formed into a blade-like structure, my perception range expanded explosively.
Warships charging plasma from far off… dozens of crafts large and small approaching the Veil…
PS-111 and Isabel’s movements atop my back…
The enhanced auxiliary organs captured everything in detail.
I could even vividly sense my injuries mending. As I focused, the changes in my body were transmitted quickly to my brain through the organs.
I was already familiar with the transformation: my body, now easily exceeding 100 meters in length, had grown a pharyngeal jaw inside my mouth and developed scythe-like arms made of bone protruding from my waist.
'Good.’
With my transformation complete, I swept my twin tails across my body.
The projectiles fired at me by the Outspacers equipped with biological cannons dropped off harmlessly.
｢Flesh enhancement, confirmed. Combat strength, expected to increase. But: bulk increase, vulnerable to ranged fire.｣
｢Don’t worry, big sister. This one, dodging… is what it's best at.｣
As PS-111 and Isabel commented on 'Icon of the Hunt', a sudden change swept through the Veil of Darkness.
'What’s this…?'
An invisible force compressed the black mist, forcing it into a single area—like it was trying to shrink the Veil down to a smaller form.
Screamers made from Jason’s remains were using psychic power to narrow the field of the Veil.
'Of course.'
The affected area now appeared on detection systems as a blank spot like someone had erased it with a marker. That meant the enemy could unleash blind bombardment on the blank zone and still potentially hit me.
As the veil’s size shrank, a powerful energy signature hurtled toward my head at an alarming speed. I twisted my central head just enough to dodge the beam.
Their accuracy had definitely improved. It was about time for my next move.
[Z ZZZZZ ZZZZ Z (I’m about to move. Do as we discussed)]
I sent a wave signal to the others through my monstrous tentacles, then activated my next trait.
***
“Akira-sama. The Star Union’s Screamer has successfully locked onto the target.”
Akira, seated on the throne-like command chair in the bridge, stared at the holographic tactical map. One spot among the otherwise perfectly rendered display was completely blank like a glitch.
The flagship 'Heavenly Blade' of the Eugene family housed a cutting-edge detection system. Unless you were something like a black hole, evading its vision was practically impossible.
Everyone else was baffled by the anomaly of the black mist—everyone except Akira.
“That damn ability gave us so much trouble in the past.”
“Is that so?”
The newly appointed Code Black tilted her head at Akira’s comment.
The being that cults referred to as the 'Three-Headed Demon' was a mystery in every way except for its name. Not even the megacorp databases contained any records of such a creature, and yet her superior spoke of it as though it were a familiar opponent.
But Akira had no intention of clearing up her doubts.
“Still, thanks to that, we were able to prepare a proper strategy. I’m grateful, really.”
In addition to the Screamer, they had multiple ways to neutralize the Dark Veil measures carefully prepared so they could win, no matter what card the creature played next.
Akira continued staring at the hologram for a moment before a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
“What about the Shadows?”
“All are ready for immediate deployment.”
“And the controlled Outspacers?”
“The lower-level units are holding formation. The elite unit Queen’s Guard has completed recovery. The special unit is deploying a warp-suppression field as we speak.”
Currently, a large force of Outspacers is moving in coordination with the Megacorp fleet.
Before arriving here, Akira publicly announced that she had successfully gained control over the Outspacers using a secret technique prepared by the Yujin family. Thus, the fleet's crew believes that the Outspacer army they see was secretly raised by the Yujins.
Of course, in truth, the forces were dispatched by the 4th-ranked Empress. But in this place, only Akira knows that fact.
“Lady Akira, the target is moving.”
At that moment, the holographic map shifted. From a blank space marked as such due to a blackout field enemy markers began to move.
“Then we shall move as well.”
“Proceed.”
Code Black gave a courteous bow and left the bridge. She would now command the other Shadows waiting aboard the ships to hunt the enemy.
Once she departed, the vice-captain took over command.
“The enemy is capable of dispersing fine particulates that can disable advanced systems. Patrol ships and fighters are to focus on harassment and distraction. Battleships must maintain long-range firing formations!”
Akira rested her chin on her hand and gazed at the holographic map.
The new Shadows were considerably upgraded compared to their predecessors. Their equipment had also been significantly enhanced. An astronomical amount of credits had been spent to prepare them.
‘But of course, this still won’t be enough.’
Even with these improved Shadows, inflicting major damage on the Amorph would be possible but killing it? Impossible.
Still, it didn’t matter. That part had already been accounted for.
The Shadows’ defeat would lead it directly into a lethal trap.
‘Now then, let’s see you struggle as much as him?’
Everything was going according to plan. Just as Akira began to smile, a new signal appeared on the hologram.
“Multiple enemies confirmed!”
The red indicators for enemies on the map weren’t just one but five.
‘Its pets?’
Thanks to the catastrophe on Verzan-02 of the Cult Empire, Akira already knew the Amorph wasn’t acting alone.
She’d heard it traveled with a strange-looking Sea Demon, a deformed small Gallagon, and a Wolf Ranker that Jason once failed to capture.
‘Were they hiding all this time?’
Considering the Amorph’s massive size, hiding pets inside it would be quite easy. However, what was strange was the number of enemy signals there were five.
Sea Demons are deep-sea creatures incapable of space travel. Unless it was riding the Amorph, it shouldn’t be able to move through space on its own.
Logically, only the Gallagon, the Wolf Ranker, and the Amorph itself should appear on the map.
Moments later, video data recorded by the patrol ships and fighters synced with the flagship’s hologram. In the center of the projection, the enemies floated in zero gravity.
“Enemy identity confir—ah! Confirmed—there are 'three' of the same entity!”
And the Amorph had three of them.
‘…It split?’
Three adult Amorphs, each with a single head, were charging straight toward the fleets of three different species.
***
‘As expected, they’re confused.’
The enemies that had been concentrating their fire on it were now in disarray. That was only natural after all, the target had suddenly split into three.
‘They wouldn’t have known about 'Hydra Division', after all.’
The 'Hydra Division' trait, which it had gained by devouring Alshas, had never been exposed to the enemy. Not even the Rankers had prepared for a replication ability like this.
That meant now was the time to eliminate the target while they were still confused. It accelerated toward the enemy’s main fleet.
Patrol ships and carrier craft that had been keeping it in check at close range scrambled to block its approach. Some of them launched objects even smaller than their fighters.
‘Combat drones, huh.’
While effective against ships, drones weren’t ideal against a bio-type enemy like it.
But the enemy deploying them anyway meant they were fully prepared. Either they were using gravity field disruptors to immobilize it, or they’d packed those drones with 'Blood River'.
｢One o’clock and seven o’clock three Rivers. Be careful.｣
Isabel, using her 'All-Seeing Divine Eye', warned it with pinpoint precision.
It opened its mouth wide toward the directions she indicated. The acidic fungal glands deep in its throat activated immediately, spewing a stream of highly corrosive fungal acid across the void.
The acid blasted forward in a beam-like arc, and the enemies scrambled to scatter. But some of them barely moved, as if something invisible blocked them. An intangible wave had interfered with the propulsion systems of the drones and ships.
That wave was radiating from the back of the 'left head' behind it.
The time during which it could paralyze the enemy with 'signal disruption' was short but more than enough. Enough for its acid breath to burn through, and for Adhai—hidden behind the left head to strike.
The drones hit by the acid dissolved instantly. One exploded violently, likely carrying a bomb within. The rest of the enemies struggled to avoid being caught in the blast.
While they were distracted dodging, a red star swept into their flank.
The Dragon Queen in her crimson dress danced between carrier craft and patrol ships. She struck down the fighters with her own body and eliminated smaller drones using psychic breath. Her movements were efficient, graceful, and completely lethal. The enemy had no answer.
In panic, the patrol ships tried to disengage while firing suppressive shots at Adhai. But that was a mistake.
｢Grrrrrr.｣
The left head lunged at the patrol ships.
While the Hydra clones created through 'Hydra Division' couldn’t use every special trait, their physical capabilities weren’t diminished in the slightest.
Pushing through a hail of plasma fire, the left head reached the enemy and tore them apart.
Using its horns, combat limbs, tail, and even both legs, it shattered enemy vessels. The wounds and energy it lost during the assault were replenished by devouring pieces of the enemy ships.
｢Left Elder.｣
｢Other enemies.｣
｢Will catch.｣
｢Grrrrr.｣
As Adhai spoke, a massive barrage of plasma beams came streaking toward them. The main enemy fleet had abandoned their forward units and unleashed a full salvo.
But its heightened senses enhanced by the 'Symbol of Hunt' had already anticipated the attack. The left head, receiving its shared thoughts, flew in evasive maneuvers alongside Adhai, luring the battleships' fire.
Plasma beams from the warships' main guns rained down like a hailstorm, while Screamers and Outspacers surged forward to block their path.
｢Psychic… force… gravity… control… watch out.｣
The Screamers struck first. Created from Cult Ranker materials, the Screamers unleashed potent psychic pressure.
Even in the vacuum of space, a tangible weight pressed down. The pressure had clearly been increased to match its enhanced physicality from the 'Symbol of the Hunt'.
‘But we’ve got a psychic expert of our own.’
Behind it was a psychic powerhouse no Cult product could hope to match. Number 26, who had been following in a compact form, expanded to its full combat size.
The psychic power flowing through 26 surged outward in all directions. The volume, the density overwhelmed that of dozens of Screamers. The psychic force bearing down on it was torn apart in silence.
Several of the Screamers pressing down on me didn’t just falter; they had their heads blown apart entirely. That was because Number 26 forcibly disrupted their abilities, causing a psychic backlash.
The remaining Screamers concentrated their psychic power, turning it into weapons. Pain Spears and various offensive psychic techniques materialized in the air.
Seeing that, Number 26 released a pulse filled with irritation and rage.
｢Go away!｣
A massive psychic wave erupted alongside the pulse, sweeping across the front lines.
'You're fighting well.'
I left the Screamers to Number 26 and began to push forward, but this time, Outspacers came soaring toward me.
One of them, a 40-meter-tall Outsparer whose severed arm had already regenerated—led the charge. Behind it, a flock of flying beasts was preparing to provide cover fire with their bio-cannons.
'Sorry, but I'm not your opponent.'
While I and the Left Head drew their attention, the Right Head and the Mother of the Sky flanked them and launched a surprise attack on the airborne monsters. The Right Head grabbed the Outspacers with its combat arms and legs, then ripped into them with sharp teeth.
A massive Outsparer turned to rescue its allies.
｢Cr... Lystal Wing. Helside. Hornet. P... Pyromancer. Genes. Be careful.｣
[ZZZ (Did you hear that?)]
As the large Outsparer drew near the Right Head, the Mother of the Sky who had been clinging behind its horn revealed herself.
In her beast-man form, pale blue flames flickered in her eyes. She had activated the Wendigo’s innate power, 'Ice Horror', which drives opponents mad and forces a one-on-one duel.
｢I heard it clearly, so don’t worry. I’ll take care of this one.｣
The giant Outsparer, consumed by the spirit, let out a silent roar and charged at the Griffon Wolf. The Mother of the Sky, perched on the Amorph’s head, drew the golden priest’s spear and confronted the foe head-on.
There were no more distractions now.
I soared toward the enemy fleet’s main force.
Gunfire from the Megacorp and Star Union fleets poured down without pause, but I didn’t stop. Sometimes I dodged. Sometimes I tanked the shots head-on.
Just as I closed the distance to the main force, Isabel suddenly warned me.
｢Head! Danger!｣
'Huh?'
I jerked my head to the side just in time. A grenade-like object dissolved into nothingness just before hitting me.
Isabel had fired her pistol, infused with the power of the Vortex One, and neutralized it.
｢Disruption round. Be careful.｣
The enemy who fired it vanished between Megacorp warships. Judging by the size and movement, it was a human in a powered suit.
'The Silver Lion Knights of Edgerton… or maybe—'
｢Yujin. Gene-modified human.｣
The one who attacked me was that shadow I had fought before.
The Yujin family’s elite assassins had come here… to hunt me.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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