Ch.140The Beast of Saigil 08 (3)

A strong smell woke me up.

The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was the pungent odor of harsh chemicals. It was so strong that the auxiliary organs under my jaw stung.

‘Where am I?’

What I saw upon opening my eyes were countless tubes. In a dark cavity, hundreds, no, thousands of green glass tubes that looked like containers were arranged.

The scene resembled an ancient catacomb rather than a research facility.

‘Why am I here?’

When I evolved from a Morphlet to a Juvenile, and then from a Juvenile to a Subadult, I saw visions. The first was an encounter with AMorph, and the latter was a vision of encountering childhood memories.

Both were different types of visions, but they were based on elements I had seen or that existed in my memories. Yet this place was completely unfamiliar, somewhere I had never been, either in reality or in the game.

‘Besides, this never happened during transcendence before.’

Is transcendence level 2 different from level 1? Does showing hallucinations during evolution mean it helps growth that much?

‘…Though I don’t remember this place, it might be an important clue.’

There should be plenty of time left until transcendence is complete. I approached one of the glass tubes nearby.

The tube was filled with thick green chemicals. The liquid was so murky that I couldn’t see what was inside, but my auxiliary organs made a different judgment.

There’s something inside that liquid.

I brought my face closer to the test tube.

Just as my slender auxiliary organ was about to touch the surface of the tube.

The cavity where I stood instantly changed into a white space. The glass tube in front of me shattered and disappeared in an instant.

The colorless white space transformed into a hospital interior in the blink of an eye. Instead of harsh chemicals, I smelled the familiar scent of disinfectant, and heard the sound of life support equipment weighing a patient’s life.

I know where this is. But what I saw just before bothered me more.

‘What was that just now?’

Before the test tube disappeared, the object inside was briefly exposed.

It was the offspring of some creature. A creature that somehow looked familiar.

“If you hadn’t taken him that day, none of this would have happened!”

A sudden shout, as if trying to erase my thoughts.

Two adults whose faces I couldn’t see were arguing in the corridor in front of the hospital room.

“Is that what you should be saying to me? Do you know who’s paying for the expensive treatment?”

“Huh. Treatment? You don’t even care about the child.”

“What?”

“You only act like ‘our precious little one’ in front of cameras, but have you ever hugged the child at home?”

Their conversation contained things I’d heard countless times since childhood. They always fought with the same repertoire.

But now there was something more important.

That specimen I just saw definitely resembled an AMorph hatchling.

‘Though not exactly the same.’

It was quite different from the AMorph I knew in terms of the number of arms and the presence of auxiliary organs. That creature’s arms were less developed than an AMorph hatchling’s, and it lacked the auxiliary organs under the jaw.

While I was thinking about that creature, the door to the hospital room in front of me opened halfway. Beyond the open door was a child.

A child with their face completely wrapped in bandages. Seeing that image, I suddenly remembered.

‘Ah. So this was that time.’

This hallucination I’m seeing is one of the turning points in my life.

Realizing this fact, I could no longer continue thinking about the creature in the test tube.

This is the day I realized I had gone from being a precious gift to a family to becoming a burden.

The child closed the door, perhaps seeing a nurse walking down the corridor.

I unconsciously reached for the doorknob. The moment my fingers touched it, my consciousness plunged into darkness once again.

–

A forest somewhere on the Saintopia02 continent.

Even in broad daylight, this place filled with redwoods as massive as skyscrapers and towers was quite dark. The light was blocked by the dense branches and leaves.

In the middle of that dark forest was a group of people.

There were 10 members in total. All wore power suits that covered their entire bodies, with ponchos bearing special emblems draped over them.

The emblem, a purple diamond inside an ivory-colored inverted triangle, was the symbol of the Cult race’s army, the “Warrior Corps.”

True to their name, they carried various types of weapons. From cold weapons like axes, swords, flails, and spears, to ranged firearms like bows, rifles, and net guns, as well as defensive and support equipment such as alloy shields, shield activation devices, and medical kits.

The Cult Warrior Corps always prepares thoroughly to be able to handle any enemy. That’s why they were armed to excess, to easily respond to any formidable opponent they might encounter.

“This is Battle Leader Lace. How’s it going on your end?”

「This is Edrin. The village is completely burned down. There are no survivors.」

“Again? What on earth is happening. How are the other villages?”

「This is Olai. I checked with the Memory Site but found nothing.」

This warrior corps, belonging to the Imperial Mothership “Judge of Damos08,” had landed on Psygil08 in advance under the captain’s secret orders.

Their mission was to capture and bring back Volf natives before the purification operation began. However, despite having been on this continent where Volfs live for several hours already, they hadn’t found a single Volf.

「Do you think they knew we were coming?」

“That’s impossible. Primitive races cannot detect the hyperspeed navigation of an Imperial Mothership.”

「What about those monkey structures floating outside Psygil08? Could that be the cause?」

“Intelligence that Megacorps are working with the Volfs on this planet has not been confirmed. For now, the cause is unknown, so don’t jump to conclusions.”

「Yes!」

“Since we still have time, Edrin, Olai. Both of you continue searching.”

「Understood, Battle Leader.」

「Yes.」

“Fleet bombardment will begin in six hours. Look around until two hours before that, and if you don’t find anything, return.”

Battle Leader Lace pressed a button on his helmet to end the telepathic link. The helmet he wore was quite different from the power suit helmets worn by primitive races.

While it similarly protected the entire face, the Cult helmets had gaps at the temples to accommodate their horns.

The helmet also had built-in shield functionality and telepathic capabilities. Thanks to the device inside, they could communicate with allies at a distance without the need for special communication equipment.

However, the drawback was that the telepathy function couldn’t be kept on constantly due to the severe mental energy consumption.

As he ended the communication, Deputy Battle Warrior Ashen approached him.

“Battle Leader. Still no sign of them?”

“I don’t understand. It’s as if someone swept away all the Volfs. Why would anyone do such a thing?”

At first, he thought it might be pirates, but Lace judged that possibility to be low.

Volf slaves aren’t expensive enough for pirates to target. They can be obtained easily and cheaply in many of the more prosperous Cult planets.

Unless the Volfs on this planet were special, capturing other creatures would be much more profitable.

For instance, rare predators like the Gel Arma living in swamps or the horned king Manuk Arma in volcanic regions.

Incidentally, the Manuk Arma, which humans call Horned Giganta, were living just fine. Lace and the warrior corps had confirmed this when they first visited a Volf village near the creatures’ habitat before entering this forest.

“The captain, who usually abhors slavery, orders us to bring back Volfs, and the natives are nowhere to be found. These Volfs must be quite tasty.”

Her lewd joke caused laughter to escape from the helmets of the other warriors nearby.

Lace frowned at the sight.

“Deputy Battle Warrior Ashen. That statement is an insult to the captain and tantamount to denying the ‘Providence’ of the Cult. Exercise restraint.”

“Ah, I-I’m sorry!”

At Lace’s cold words, Ashen quickly bowed her head. The other warriors also immediately stopped laughing.

Seeing this, Lace clicked his tongue.

“Since you all seem to have rested enough to make useless comments, let’s move again.”

“Yes!”

Realizing their superior was in a bad mood, the corps members quickly picked up their equipment and stood. Their orderly movements were the very embodiment of highly trained warriors.

However, Lace’s mood wasn’t improved even by the sight of his well-trained subordinates.

He knew why the Imperial Mothership’s captain had sent them to this planet, going against his own beliefs. The captain was preparing gifts to ask Cult power holders to look after his subordinates’ futures.

It irked Lace that these young warriors were making jokes, unaware of the captain’s noble intentions.

‘When we get back, I’ll have to drill them from the beginning again.’

While Lace was thinking about how to train his subordinates, the warrior corps ventured deeper into the forest.

Occasionally, Wood Devils or Night Stalkers would attack, but the corps members weren’t fazed at all.

They were combat professionals and proper regular troops. Unless it was a predator on the level of Manuk Arma, no creature on this continent could harm them.

Moreover, their vision was connected through a psychic power technique called Soul Link, making ambushes ineffective.

Thus, the warrior corps under Lace’s command continued searching for Volfs somewhere in the forest.

About 30 minutes after they started moving again, Lace, who was at the front, carefully examined every crevice between rocks and branches, not wanting to miss even the smallest trace.

During this, something unusual caught his eye.

Between the thick trees, he saw a pink balloon. He tried to use the psychic power technique of clairvoyance to see it more clearly, but by the time he prepared the technique, the balloon had disappeared.

“Battle Leader?”

All 10 members here were sharing their vision through Soul Link. Lace was about to ask his subordinates about what he had seen.

At that moment.

“Kugh?!”

“Urgh!”

Lace and the corps members clutched their helmets at the sudden noise. The sound lasted very briefly, but it was so loud and eerie that it made them dizzy the moment they heard it. Some warriors even fell to their knees from vertigo.

Seeing this, Lace immediately issued an order.

“All personnel are authorized to use kits! Inject treatment and psychic defense drugs as the noise may have affected your minds!”

Hearing the order, the corps members hurriedly opened the medical kits on their chests and took out syringes. Lace, like his subordinates, took out a syringe and injected it into his thigh.

“What was that just now?”

“…I don’t know. Deputy Battle Warrior Ashen. Check for abnormal symptoms in the warriors.”

“Yes, Battle Leader.”

They waited in place for about 5 minutes. Some warriors were bleeding from their eyes and ears, but there were no other special injuries.

“The enemy could appear at any time. Be thorough and don’t miss even the smallest detail.”

“Understood!”

The warrior corps gripped their weapons and entered the highest state of alert. Much more tense than before, they walked through the forest with cautious movements.

About 5 minutes after they started, Lace suddenly felt something strange.

‘…It’s too quiet.’

Until the noise incident occurred, they had occasionally been attacked by Wood Devils or heard birds chirping.

Now they heard nothing at all. As if the entire forest had died.

Only the footsteps and breathing of the corps members present were audible.

Lace wasn’t the only one thinking this. Discomfort was mixed in the breathing of the other warriors as well.

As an inexplicable anxiety began to consume the warrior corps, suddenly one warrior began firing with his Purple Spray Gun.

Since their vision was shared through Soul Link, Lace could see what his subordinate was aiming at. He was targeting a tree several dozen meters away from them.

And there was nothing on the tree.

“Stop! Cease fire!”

Lace shouted to order a cease-fire. The subordinate, who had been mindlessly spraying psychic flames at an invisible target, only came to his senses after hearing the order.

“What on earth are you shooting at! There’s nothing there!”

“U-uh, th-that…”

The corps member could only stammer in response to Lace’s rebuke, unable to continue speaking. Noticing something was wrong with his subordinate’s condition, Lace removed his helmet.

Inside was the face of a Cult, terrified like a small child.

“M-monster! There was a monster! C-countless eyes were watching me!”

“Eyes? What eyes?”

“The pink thing, it’s s-still… Hieek?!”

Lace questioned him again, but the corps member could only repeat the words “eyes” and “pink.”

With no choice, Lace took a sedative from the man’s kit and forcibly injected it into him.

This sedative, developed by the Cult, is very effective in calming soldiers who fall into panic during war. The warrior’s vision blurred and his body stopped trembling after receiving the sedative.

However, despite the powerful sedative effect, shadows still remained on his face.

“Are you calm now?”

“…Yes.”

“What did you see earlier?”

At his question, the warrior trembled again, but not as completely panicked as before. Despite his fear, the subordinate tried his best to convey the information.

“I-it’s hard to believe, but there was a monster that looked like a balloon.”

“A balloon?”

“At first I thought I was seeing things, but suddenly countless eyes grew from its body and glared at me.”

A monster resembling a balloon.

Lace recalled what he had seen before the ear-splitting noise erupted.

‘Could it be?’

“I’ll check everyone’s vision! The rest of you, don’t lower your guard… Huh?”

While checking the corps members’ vision through Soul Link once more, Lace realized one was missing.

There should be 10 people here including himself. But now he could only confirm 8 visions.

“Koshei? Where’s Koshei?”

“Uh, he should be behind me… Huh? He was just behind me a moment ago!”

The corps member who was guarding the rear panicked when he realized his comrade who should have been behind him had disappeared.

While everyone’s attention was focused on the mentally disturbed subordinate, another member had vanished.

“…Ashen. Contact the mothership.”

“Yes?”

“Tell them that Lace’s warrior corps is under attack.”

“Ah, understood!”

Lace was right.

Unknown beasts hiding somewhere in the forest.

Their offensive had already begun.