Ch.143The Three-Headed Devil (2)

“I didn’t think it would come to this.”

I had worried that something might have happened outside while I was in my cocoon. Perhaps a Horned Gigant or a player threatening the kids.

So after completing my evolution, instead of going up, I immediately tunneled through the ground. If players had indeed arrived, moving above ground would be dangerous.

As I moved, I realized that what I had feared hadn’t happened. Among the blood scents detected by my auxiliary organs, there were no traces of the kids.

Still, just to be safe, I maintained my speed and followed the blood scent.

‘Thanks to that, I wasn’t too late.’

During my journey, I felt Adhigh Orr’s thought waves—his pain-filled thought waves. If I had let my guard down and slowed my pace, I would have missed them.

I immediately changed direction toward Adhigh Orr.

Because of this, I was able to save him just in time.

“Grrrrrr…”

“G-grrrr…”

The Horned Gigants growl upon seeing me. Their sounds contained clear hostility, but their bodies told a different story.

Trembling legs and wavering eyes. These creatures, among the most powerful predators on this continent, were afraid of me.

‘Of course they are.’

In my rush, I hadn’t checked the updated text box or new messages. But I couldn’t miss the changes to my body.

Though I completed Transcendence Level 2, my body length didn’t grow as dramatically as during evolution. It increased slightly, reaching between 27m and 28m, not doubling like before.

However, my body shape changed significantly.

First, my head.

It became much larger overall compared to before.

Not just the carapace, but the horns and jaws grew as well, increasing the head-to-body ratio. My jaw in particular became massive like when I wore the Aspect of the Hunt, resembling that of a large theropod.

‘I can use this much more aggressively in combat.’

With this larger jaw, I can bite through tougher enemies, and for smaller foes, simply striking them with my head would deliver significant damage.

And my horns. Their number increased from 2 to 6. Unlike the original pair, the 4 new horns formed a line from the center of my head to the back of my carapace.

‘Horn enhancement.’

This was a welcome change for me, as I often used my horns to impale powerful or large enemies.

‘And since the horns themselves are larger, they’ll be much more lethal.’

As my head grew larger and heavier, my neck naturally changed too. It became thicker and longer. The monster’s tentacle clusters wrapped around my neck like a lion’s mane.

After my head, my arms underwent the most significant changes.

The small arms near my chest grew considerably longer, with thin carapace growing over them. This addressed a weakness in my body, where these arms, along with the monster’s tentacles and auxiliary organs, had been vulnerable.

My combat arms, which I frequently used as weapons, grew thick and long like when I wore the Aspect of the Hunt.

They grew about 2 meters longer, and thick outer shells of the same material as my head carapace covered them. I wouldn’t have to worry as much about my arms getting cut anymore.

‘I could even use them as weapons.’

I had been using my hard head carapace as a sort of battering ram. Now I could not only slash at enemies but also strike them with my arms themselves.

Thanks to these changes, all three pairs of my combat arms could function as both arms and legs. Similar to when I moved with six legs as a hatchling.

My current posture was similar to my hatchling days, supporting my body with six combat arms and my tail.

The difference is that as a hatchling, I raised my tail like a scorpion, while now I drag my massive lower body and tail along the ground. Of course, if needed, I could still move by raising just my upper body and laying my lower body and tail on the ground.

‘Finally, my tail.’

The pincers that should have been on my lowermost arms moved to my tail.

The tip of my tail, where the bristle-launching organ was located, is now split in two. Pincers larger than an adult man’s height have taken their place.

Until now, my tail wasn’t very useful against enemies immune to paralysis or those with skin too thick for my bristles to penetrate. I only used it in limited ways, like wrapping around enemies to subdue them or striking with it.

But now my tail has pincers. Its utility has certainly increased.

That doesn’t mean the bristle-launching organ is gone. When I open the pincers, bristles are densely packed inside. I can either launch these bristles at distant enemies or grab enemies with the pincers and unleash all the bristles at once.

‘Interesting changes.’

Overall, my weaknesses were offset and my strengths were reinforced to match my fighting style. I’d like to check the text box and new messages right away, but now isn’t the time.

There are enemies before me.

“Grrrrrrrrrr”

A heavy growl flows from my throat, matching my transformed body. Even to my own ears, it’s intimidating—how much more so to my enemies.

The two Horned Gigants flinched.

“G-grr, grrrrrr.”

“Grrrr, grrrrrr!”

They seemed to be debating whether to attack me or not. They looked at each other and growled.

“Grrrrrr!”

“Graaaah!”

Having decided to attack me, they roared.

A large theropod, 20m long and 9m tall at the hip, charges at me. Running with thunderous steps, it straightened its head and back into a line.

That posture, reminiscent of a bull in a bullfight, is the Horned Gigant’s basic combat stance. It charges to impale its opponent with its two massive horns.

Interestingly, I often use similar tactics. I charged back at it in the same way. My six log-like arms dug into the ground, and my tail scraped the ground, creating a trench.

The earth shook as two beasts charged. Just as our heads were about to collide, I quickly ducked down.

“Grung?”

Its horns grazed my back carapace and back, sending sharp sparks flying. Its thick hind legs collided with my body and bent backward.

“Graaaah!”

The Horned Gigant’s stance collapsed as its leg was attacked. But it didn’t give up and tried to bite my back.

That’s when my true attack came—my newly acquired pincer tail.

My tail curved sharply upward over my back. The pincers at the end of my tail firmly grabbed the neck of the creature trying to attack my back.

“!”

Unable to make a sound with its vital point seized, it tried to pull its head free, but it was too late.

My pincers are slightly smaller than the Swamp King’s, but their defensive power and grip strength are nearly identical.

‘If these pincers can cut through ship armor, there’s no way it can withstand them.’

I flexed the muscles at the end of my tail. The Horned Gigant’s neck snapped like a twig. It died instantly, its tongue hanging out.

“G-graaaaaaaaaah!”

Seeing this, the remaining Horned Gigant let out a roar that sounded like a scream. Its skin turned red, and its muscles swelled.

Even if it enters a berserk state, it can’t defeat a subadult at Transcendence Level 2 like me. But Adhigh Orr is unconscious here.

‘I need to kill it before it completes its transformation.’

Now is my chance, while it’s momentarily immobilized by the transformation. I threw away the dead Horned Gigant’s body and lunged at the remaining one.

Unlike before, this time I used my tail to raise my upper body as I ran. In that position, I pounced on top of it.

“Graaaah!”

Though in the midst of transformation, it retreated and avoided my body press. From that position, it tried to bite the back of my head carapace.

‘Not there!’

I pushed off the ground with my combat arms and bounced sideways. The creature’s massive jaw closed in mid-air with a threatening sound.

From there, I grabbed its head with my combat arms. It tried to open its mouth again, but my arms held its head firmly, preventing it.

Taking advantage of this brief exchange, the creature, having completed its transformation, swung its tail widely.

The tail of a transformed Horned Gigant is like a well-forged sword, capable of cutting through even thick redwoods.

However, I knew this but didn’t avoid its tail. Instead, I opened my mouth wide and bit down on its incoming tail.

“!”

The creature was shocked, having believed its tail would shatter my teeth and jaw. But both remained intact.

‘It’s too early to be surprised.’

It’s too early to be shocked. With its tail in my mouth, I began to swallow it whole.

My jaw, which already split into two parts, could fit prey larger than my head into my mouth. Now with my reinforced jaw and neck, I could swallow even larger prey more easily.

Like a snake swallowing prey without chewing, I swallowed its tail. The creature went berserk as it realized it was being swallowed alive, but to no avail.

It tried to stab me with the horns on its head, but without momentum, its horns were just slightly harder clubs. They weren’t enough to break through the outer shell and carapace covering my body.

My jaw and throat worked tirelessly. First the tail, then its pelvis and hind legs. Bones cracked and muscles tore, but it couldn’t even scream. My arms held its mouth shut.

Finally, with its lower body completely crushed, it died, vomiting its innards from its mouth. Though I knew it was dead, I didn’t stop swallowing.

By the time No. 26 and Sky Mother appeared from behind the bushes, I had swallowed everything up to its horns.

“Big one! You’re awake!”

[Zu (Yes)]

“Huh? Why is the little one sleeping?”

No. 26 expressed confusion at seeing the injured, unconscious Adhigh Orr. Sky Mother, who had been staring blankly at me, was startled when she saw Adhigh Orr’s condition.

“W-wait!”

I approached Sky Mother, passing by No. 26, and grabbed her with my combat arms. She dodged my arms but couldn’t avoid the assimilation tentacles that shot out from my back.

The tentacles grabbed the griffon’s four legs and neck.

“Do you have anything to say?”

From my mouth came the voices of the survivors I had eaten at the research facility. With the restriction on my mimicry organ lifted, I could once again properly imitate human voices.

“S-stop! T-this…”

Even as she was being choked, Sky Mother tried to explain herself. Her attempt made me feel even more disappointed.

Before falling asleep, I had entrusted the youngsters to her. While I didn’t completely trust her, I thought she had no reason to betray me.

Moreover, she got along well with Adhigh Orr. I thought she was perfect for supporting the still inexperienced youngster.

But I was wrong.

If I had been even a little late, Adhigh Orr would have died.

He is the only link to knowing Gallergorn’s grave. If he dies, I would suffer a tremendous loss.

‘…And.’

In truth, it wasn’t entirely for that reason, but there was no need to say it.

Perhaps sensing that I intended to kill her, Sky Mother squeezed her eyes shut.

I paid no attention and opened my jaw wide to devour her.

“Great One” “Wait” “Please”

If Adhigh Orr’s thought waves hadn’t reached me just as my jaw was about to close, I certainly would have done it.

“Great One” “Friend” “Mistake” “None”

[Zuzuzu zu zuzu zu zuzuzu zuzuzu (That’s not true. She was supposed to protect you but failed)]

“Deny” “I” “Friend” “Words” “Ignore” “I” “Mistake”

Even while bleeding profusely, Adhigh Orr didn’t stop sending thought waves.

‘A mistake?’

[Zuzu (Mistake?)]

“I” “Achievement” “Many” “Build” “Great One” “Attention” “Need” “Hunt” “Many” “Success” “Great One” “Joy” “Friend” “Caution” “Advice” “I” “Ignore”

I pondered the thought waves Adhigh Orr sent.

‘He wanted to build achievements?’

To summarize, it seems Adhigh Orr had been hunting several Cult members in this forest to gain my attention.

‘Oh no.’

Come to think of it, I’ve spent significantly less time with Adhigh Orr recently. Apart from being together before going to rescue No. 26, we’ve been separated most of the time.

Since No. 26 could take care of himself well, I thought Adhigh Orr wouldn’t need much attention either.

‘I was wrong.’

I’m not sure exactly how he sees me, but he definitely views me as something similar to an adult Gallergorn. Such a being leaving him alone and wandering outside must have made him feel lonely.

Thinking about it that way, the anger that had been boiling up inside me suddenly cooled.

I quietly closed my widely opened jaw and looked at Sky Mother. Looking into her eyes with my rationality restored, I could guess what had happened.

To get my attention, Adhigh Orr had moved recklessly, and she had likely been busy chasing after him. While griffons can fly, they aren’t as fast as Adhigh Orr.

She does have a way to fly faster than Adhigh Orr, but I heard it takes quite some time.

‘She did her best.’

I put the griffon back down. She coughed and wheezed as her choked neck was released.

Adhigh Orr, who had tried to explain the situation to me, had lost consciousness again. I approached him and implanted symbiotic spores.

‘I need to take him to the nest right away.’

I could sense his injuries with my auxiliary organs. Not only were his wings torn, but his ribs were also broken. The wounds might worsen over time, so he needs treatment quickly.

Sensing the bad atmosphere, No. 26 used his tentacles to lift Adhigh Orr onto my back. After confirming Adhigh Orr was secure, he climbed onto my head.

As I carried them both toward the nest, Sky Mother followed.

‘I should apologize.’

Just as I was about to apologize to her, she called out to me first.

“Wait a moment!”

“…What is it?”

“This is no time for this! There’s something you need to check right now!”

“What?”

“The Cult members we caught are from the Imperial Mothership! Muriel’s comrades have sent an Imperial Mothership here!”

Hearing those words, I felt the tentacles on my neck stand on end.

The Imperial Mothership, one of the Cult’s most powerful weapons.

Its armaments are top-tier, but the most powerful weapon of the Imperial Mothership lies elsewhere.

It’s the Cosmic Bolt embedded in the ship. One of the Cult’s planetary purification weapons.

“…Lead the way.”

“Follow me!”

I’m sorry to Adhigh Orr, but this is more urgent.

If the Imperial Mothership launches an orbital bombardment on this planet, we’ll all die. Even if I dig deep into the ground, it’s impossible to escape the range of a Cosmic Bolt.

‘At the very least, I need to know when they’ll fire.’

I hurriedly followed Sky Mother.