Ch.141The Beast of Saigil 08 (4)

“Cosmic Bolt charging 25% complete!”

In the command center of the Imperial Mothership “Judge of Damos08.”

Preparations for firing the mothership’s main cannon, “Cosmic Bolt,” were in full swing.

In the center of the command center, various information including the charging status of the Cosmic Bolt and target coordinates floated as images. The Cult members in the command center used their psychic powers to display or modify information needed for their duties.

Unlike humans, Cults are proficient in using psychic power. Thanks to this, they actively utilized psychic power to assist with tasks that would be difficult to quickly resolve with computers.

“Stand by after charging is complete.”

“Understood.”

The captain, arms crossed, stared at the reinforced glass at the front of the command center. Beyond the glass was the blue planet, Psygil08.

It was so beautiful that it was hard to believe this holy place, designated as sacred by the Cult Council, was contaminated. Perhaps it wasn’t too late yet.

‘But we can’t just stand by and watch.’

The contamination defined by the Cult Council comes in various forms. Outspacer nests, secret gatherings of Voltex One followers, and so on. Though different in form, they all pose fatal risks to the security of the Cult Empire.

To protect their kind and safeguard “Providence,” contamination must be eradicated before it spreads.

‘That’s why we’re here.’

The Cosmic Bolt, an absolute weapon built into the Imperial Mothership, is highly effective for such purification operations.

Using dark matter and the heart of a Black Gallergorn as energy sources, this weapon can burn an entire planetary surface in a short time. The planet’s atmosphere is lost, and all water, including oceans, evaporates.

In other words, no matter how abundant a planet’s environment is, once hit by the Cosmic Bolt, it instantly becomes a barren wasteland where no life can grow.

‘About four hours until firing.’

Currently, warrior units from the mothership were deployed on Psygil08. They were sent under the captain’s secret orders to capture Volf natives.

The captain checked the scheduled firing time displayed below the main cannon’s charging status image.

‘I told them to return before two hours remain.’

The order wasn’t to search for contaminated enemies, but to capture a few Volf natives. The primitive natives posed virtually zero threat to the mothership’s warrior units.

So the captain wasn’t particularly worried.

“Captain. Message from the Mothership Battle Group. No traces of Megacorp or Star Union have been detected in the vicinity.”

“We destroyed the Megacorp satellite, but we can’t be too careful. Maintain maximum vigilance until the purification mission is complete.”

The captain began issuing new orders in response to the subordinate’s report, temporarily setting aside thoughts about the warrior unit deployed on the ground.

–

“Warrior Commander Reice! Telepathy is impossible!”

“That’s nonsense!”

Reice quickly pressed the button on his helmet to activate the telepathy function.

However, no matter how long he waited, the telepathy connection didn’t establish. He couldn’t contact the mothership or even other warrior units on the same continent.

‘Damn it!’

He tried several times, but all attempts failed.

Telepathy technology using psychic power may seem omnipotent, but it’s not. There are ways to neutralize various psychic power techniques, including telepathy.

For instance, jamming devices commonly used on Cult warships.

Large warships like the Imperial Mothership are equipped with devices that interfere with enemy telepathy or psychic power usage. Made with black silver, an anti-psychic metal, these devices can temporarily neutralize Cult psychic powers.

‘Jamming? No. If that were the case, they would have noticed from above.’

If someone had brought a jamming device, there would already be chaos outside the planet. The Imperial Mothership has equipment to detect and counter jamming devices.

If not jamming equipment, there was only one possibility left.

‘There’s a psychic creature among the enemies!’

Powerful psychic creatures like Black Gallergorn or Red Gallergorn, or creatures skilled in using supernatural abilities, can disrupt psychic power more effectively than jamming devices.

‘But there shouldn’t be any psychic creatures on this continent…’

Of course, considering the entire planet, there are predators like “Rama Voltexion,” which humans call Sea Demons.

But they were in the middle of a continent. There’s no way an ocean monster that only inhabits deep seas would come up here.

“Commander, what should we do?”

“Hamane. Is Memory Sight possible?”

“I’ll try. Just wait a moment… Huh? W-what? Why isn’t it working?”

“Memory Sight” is a support-type psychic power technique that can read the past of a location. Among the warrior unit members, Hamane, a Cult with goat horns, was a Memory Sight expert, but even she was of no help now.

‘Not just telepathy…’

Reice instructed his subordinates to conduct several experiments to determine if all psychic power techniques had become impossible.

Fortunately or unfortunately, only support-type techniques like telepathy and Memory Sight were unusable.

Unlike when they were jammed, their weapons and enhancement suits still worked properly.

Still, there were many problems with going to fight a mysterious enemy that could impose restrictions on specific psychic power techniques. They lacked information about the enemy, and they had a time limit.

In a few hours, this planet would become a sea of fire, and they needed to leave before then.

In the end, Reice chose to abandon the mission.

“It’s dangerous to move without knowing the enemy’s identity. Everyone, retreat to the transport ship.”

He knew why the captain had ordered them to capture Volfs. If multiple casualties occurred during the mission, it would actually go against the captain’s intentions.

“Ashen, I’m counting on you to watch our rear. Jenir, support Gerisi. Hamine, take the Purple Spray Gun.”

At Reice’s command, the eight warrior unit members moved in perfect unison. As warriors accustomed to battle, there was no waste in their movements.

However, they all knew the situation.

One warrior unit member missing, another mentally unstable. They had already suffered two casualties before even encountering the enemy.

Despite their nimble movements, anxiety was evident in their eyes.

The reorganized warrior unit began retreating toward the transport ship.

The distance to the transport ship would take about an hour at a leisurely pace. If they moved at a half-run, they could easily reach it in 30 minutes.

Reice and the warrior unit moved quickly while maintaining vigilance of their surroundings.

An hour passed.

Reality betrayed Reice’s expectations.

“W-what is this?!”

“H-how is this p-possible?”

Cult warrior units are trained to always maintain composure. Since psychic power is largely influenced by mental state, maintaining a stable mind is of utmost importance.

Yet these warrior unit members were nearly sobbing as they screamed.

Reice couldn’t blame them. He too wanted to scream but barely held back.

Before them stood a burned tree.

It was the same tree that Gerisi had shot with the Purple Spray Gun an hour ago.

After moving for an hour toward the transport ship, they had returned to the place they had first fled from.

“…Ashen, is there a possibility of an error in the direction detection system?”

“As you know, that’s impossible. The probability of all our systems malfunctioning simultaneously is extremely low.”

“…Damn it.”

Reice bit his lip to calm his agitation. Perhaps thanks to the metallic taste of blood and the sharp pain, he tried to understand the situation.

‘Let’s think calmly.’

The warrior unit members were experts in pursuit. Especially Ashen, whose skills were exceptionally outstanding. Even if the machines malfunctioned, the possibility of her losing her way was very slim.

“Then is there a possibility we’re seeing hallucinations?”

“I believe that possibility is low. There are no creatures on this continent that can simultaneously induce hallucinations in nine Cults.”

Ashen denied it, but Reice thought differently. Without hallucinations, it would be impossible to deceive nine experienced warriors so completely.

As he looked at the warriors’ faces, he felt his hair stand on end.

Behind the warrior facing him.

There were two pumpkin-colored lantern-like eyes he hadn’t seen before.

“Hamine!”

“Yes?”

The moment she turned her head, the beak of an eagle with pumpkin-colored eyes bit into her neck. After instantly breaking her neck, the creature grabbed Hamine and leaped into the bushes on the opposite side.

“Open fire!”

“Damn! What is that?!”

“Kill it!”

Belatedly, the warrior unit members aimed their weapons at the creature’s back. Purple flames from the Purple Spray Gun and psychic bullets from psychic rifles rained down on the bushes.

The warrior unit members, who had been mercilessly pouring attacks, stopped immediately when Reice raised his hand. At his signal, Ashen approached the devastated bushes.

Contrary to expectations, there was no enemy corpse, not even a bloodstain.

The creature had disappeared without sustaining any injuries.

Seeing the dark expression of his deputy warrior, Reice gritted his teeth. They had already suffered two casualties from the attack of an unknown creature.

‘…No. Let’s take comfort in the fact that we’ve encountered it.’

He had just seen the opponent’s appearance. Though it was a brief moment, Reice remembered the creature’s form precisely.

It was a four-legged beast with a head resembling a bird of prey and golden fur. Its size was between 3 and 4 meters, with pumpkin-colored eyes.

“It has highly developed forelegs and is very agile for its size. Its beak is sharp enough to tear through enhancement suits.”

“…Hmm. It’s a creature I’ve never seen before. The specs seem similar to the ‘Red Mist’.”

“Yes. It might have hallucination abilities like that one. We just need to be careful about that aspect.”

“That’s right. I’ve fought against Red Mist before with Jenir.”

“Deputy Warrior Ashen is correct.”

Despite the situation, Reice deliberately shared information he knew. Ashen, understanding the commander’s intention, agreed.

Fear comes from the unknown. Just knowing what kind of entity the enemy is can provide considerable comfort to allies.

As Reice had judged, the warriors’ expressions improved significantly compared to earlier. The place of fear was filled with fighting spirit.

“If we catch it, this crazy hallucination should be dispelled. Let’s track it down.”

“Yes!”

Reice took the reinvigorated warriors and followed the traces left by the eagle-headed monster.

For a large predator, it left surprisingly few traces. There were no footprints, and tracking it with the psychic power technique Memory Sight was impossible.

Fortunately, the warrior unit had Ashen, a master of tracking. She determined where the creature had gone by the direction of flattened weeds and the faint scent it had left.

The warrior unit followed Ashen’s guidance. Everyone was tense when she suddenly raised her hand. At the signal that she had spotted the creature, everyone crouched low, holding their breath.

Through her vision shared via soul link, they could see the creature. It was lying on a branch high up in a huge tree. Hamine’s body was nowhere to be seen.

‘That damn thing!’

Reice felt rage boiling inside at the creature’s calm demeanor after killing a Cult. Of course, he wasn’t immature enough to express that anger.

Instead, he carefully drew the bow from his back.

The bow, resembling a compound bow, was special equipment that fired arrows made of psychic power. It didn’t require separate arrows, instead consuming the user’s psychic power. Unlike a sniper rifle, it made almost no sound, making it the most efficient weapon for ambushes or sniping like now.

He quietly pulled the bowstring. Just as he was about to release his finger, the creature turned its head and met his gaze.

Its eyes seemed to say it was surprised they had followed so quickly. Judging that the creature was flustered, Reice inwardly rejoiced.

‘Die, monster!’

His finger released, and an invisible arrow was fired. Reice had no doubt that the arrow made of psychic power would pierce the creature’s eye.

However, once again, reality betrayed his expectations.

The invisible arrow didn’t reach the creature, dissipating midway. This was because an equally invisible shield was surrounding the creature’s body.

‘What is this?!’

The creature didn’t react despite being attacked. It just stared at Reice’s group.

He read some emotion from the creature’s eyes. It wasn’t surprise or a sense of crisis.

Rather, it was a feeling of pity or compassion, as if saying “you’re in big trouble now.”

‘Why?’

Amid a series of incomprehensible events, something else happened that defied his understanding.

“C-Commander? Over there…”

Through Ashen’s vision, he could see what she was looking at.

Under the tree where the eagle-headed monster was lying.

A balloon had appeared where there was nothing just moments ago.

It was the pink balloon Reice had seen before the noise incident. Gerisi, supported by Jenir, screamed at the sight of the balloon.

“I-it’s that thing! It appeared again!”

Was that a signal flare?

An indecipherable wave emanated from the balloon ahead.

“■■■■■ ■■■■? ■■ ■■!”

With a vicious wave like a stormy sea, the balloon, or what had been a balloon, began to writhe and change.

The warriors’ gazes, which had been fixed downward, gradually moved upward. Simultaneously, their eyes widened to the point of tearing.

The thing, now as large as the position where the eagle-headed monster was lying, watched them with countless eyes.

Pink balloon? That was absurd. What stood before Reice was not a creature that could be described with such a cute word.

He knew of a being similar to this creature. He had never encountered it directly, only seen it in creature data provided in combat simulations—a legendary monster.

The name of this creature, which should never be seen here, was Rama Voltexion. In the Cult language, it means “devil of the sea.”

Similarly revered and feared as the Sea Demon by Megacorp and Star Union, this entity had disguised its body in the form of a balloon-like shape deep in this forest.

Having finally realized everything, Reice could only shout one thing.

“I-it uses camouflage!”

“■■ ■■■ ■■!”

The moment he shouted, a massive tentacle wielded by the devil of the sea struck the warrior unit.