Ch.146Omen (1)

Cult Empire’s spaceships are renowned for their elegant design. Especially the Imperial Motherships deployed for purification missions resemble polished diamonds, earning them the nickname “jewels of space.”

Perhaps it’s an accurate nickname. After all, the production and maintenance costs of Imperial Motherships are astronomical.

The beautiful jewel of space and treasure of the Cult Empire, the Imperial Mothership—one of them being “The Judge of Damos08.”

This ship, which had been dedicated to the security of the Cult Empire, now faced a serious crisis.

“The cosmic power flow is reversing! Overload has exceeded 200%!”

“At this rate, the ship will collapse!”

The control room shook as if it would shatter at any moment. The decorative ornaments that had brilliantly illuminated the interior had all fallen and broken, and sparks continuously flew from the computers and mechanical devices.

Cult crew members who somehow managed to maintain their positions in the chaotic scene urgently reported the situation.

“What happened to the mothership fleet?”

“30% have gone silent due to the enemy’s psychic power attack!”

“With just one strike?! Impossible!”

Despite the commotion, the captain maintained his composure and checked the images at the center of the control room.

The dark matter handled by Imperial Motherships is a delicate yet dangerous power. The advanced modules attached to Imperial Motherships don’t exist merely to charge and fire cosmic bolts. They are also means to control and modulate dark matter, an unpredictable beast that could turn violent at any moment.

After examining the mothership’s condition thoroughly, the captain made his decision. He spread his psychic power to send a message to the crew throughout the ship.

“To all crew members on board. Everyone retreat to the escape pods.”

“Captain!”

“B-but!”

The crew was shocked, but the captain remained completely calm.

“I’ll stay here. The rest of you leave this place.”

“What?!”

“The device controlling the cosmic bolt output is damaged. Someone needs to hold it together until the crew escapes.”

After saying this, the captain came down among the crew and began operating the computer. Having taken control of the psychic power images, he simultaneously used his psychic power while operating the ship’s computer.

Seeing this, the crew members all fell silent.

“What are you doing? I said evacuate quickly!”

“…”

The crew members exchanged glances as they watched their captain willing to sacrifice himself for his subordinates.

“I’ll handle this, so hurry and escape!”

“…I’m sorry!”

“Ugh?!”

One of the young crew members pulled out a gun from his chest and struck the back of the captain’s neck.

With a short groan, the captain lost consciousness. The crew member carefully supported him as he was about to collapse.

“Take care of the captain.”

“We’ll buy as much time as possible so you can reach the escape pod.”

“Come on, we don’t have time. Everyone to your positions!”

“That guy, always singing about wanting to be captain.”

“Hehehe.”

The Cult crew members wore cheerful expressions. They had chosen to sacrifice themselves instead of their respected captain.

The young Cult member took one last look at their backs, then hoisted the captain onto his back.

Behind him as he left the control room, he heard the cries of the Cult members.

“Brave Cults! May Providence receive us!”

“May Providence receive us!”

Vowing to surely report their noble sacrifice to the Empire, he quietly murmured.

“May Providence receive them…”

Shortly after, numerous escape pods were launched from the Imperial Mothership. Some were handed over to ships in the surrounding mothership fleet, while others disappeared into the depths of space.

The Imperial Mothership, which had endured until the last escape pod was launched, could no longer hold on and began to collapse.

The ship’s outer armor, which had maintained perfect balance like a refined diamond, twisted greatly and broke apart, and the control room located at the upper center vaporized with an explosion.

The cosmic bolt firing mechanism at the center of the ship suddenly crumpled as if being sucked into something.

Just as dark matter began to leak through the gaps in the damaged armor,

A golden lightning bolt from Psygil08 struck the black energy.

Soon, an immense light reminiscent of a supernova enveloped the mothership and its fleet.

–

‘I won.’

After confirming that the Imperial Mothership had exploded, I passed out. I thought I shouldn’t lose consciousness like this since there were still quite a few ships left, but I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t something I could control with my will.

‘I must still be alive since they seem to have retreated… huh?’

Something keeps being stuffed into my mouth even though I can barely move my body, perhaps due to the aftereffects of being the King of Monsters.

The identity of what was awakening my dulled sense of taste was animal meat. Someone was feeding me all kinds of meat, including Horned Gigant.

The well-cooked meats passed through my throat and were quickly digested, and vitality slowly, very slowly emerged. The monster’s tentacles and auxiliary organs, which had been completely unresponsive to external vibrations, gradually activated.

Only then could I somewhat understand my body’s condition. My body had returned to its subadult state after the effects of psyonium had worn off. The two heads that had assisted me were gone, and the combat arm at the very bottom that had served as legs had returned to a form similar to my other arms.

My body, which had temporarily evolved into an adult through psyonium, had returned to its original state.

Even as my senses recovered, unknown food continued to enter my mouth. I examined my surroundings with the auxiliary organ beneath my jaw.

Only then could I see who was feeding me.

“Energy might be low! We need to keep feeding!”

“Big baby! Don’t die!”

“I” “pray” “great one” “survive”

They were gathered near my head. Sky Mother and Adhigh Orr brought food, while No. 26 cut it into appropriate pieces and stuffed it into my mouth.

‘Why are they bringing food so quickly?’

I opened my eyes to see what was happening. No. 26, who was tearing apart a charred animal with his tentacles, and Adhigh Orr, who was carrying small animal carcasses, were startled to see me awake.

“Big baby is awake!”

“Great one” “survival” “confirmed!”

No. 26 lit up his body brightly, and Adhigh Orr threw away the small animal carcass held by his mouth tentacles and rushed toward me.

“Don’t stop! His strength probably hasn’t fully recovered yet!”

“Okay!”

“Acknowledged”

Sky Mother sent a thought to the others who were rejoicing at my survival.

I could see her figure in the distance among trees that were ablaze. With her body fur singed, she was carrying meat from a large creature on her back.

‘Fire?’

I looked up.

There was a burning sky.

After the destruction of the Imperial Mothership, its debris had become a meteor shower still raining down on the planet. Judging by the sight, it wasn’t just this area that was burning. The entire continent of Saintopia02, no, all continents of planet PH-101 must have become a sea of fire.

‘I see.’

I thought it was strange that the food entering my mouth tasted like barbecue or burnt meat, but now I understand. They were bringing me meat from creatures that had died in the forest fires.

Even after I regained consciousness, the three continued to feed me without rest. I wanted to tell them it was okay and they didn’t need to do this, but we all knew that wasn’t true.

I obediently accepted the food like a baby bird and thought.

‘It would have been dangerous if corpses weren’t easily available.’

The King of Monsters effect was excellent, but its aftereffects were serious. It has dangerous side effects like Psychic Breath, which makes you lose consciousness if you fire more than the limited number of times, or the Mark of the Hunt, which causes you to go berserk if residual energy is insufficient.

‘To think one transformation would cause this much trouble.’

When an AMorph becomes an adult, the efficiency of energy use greatly increases. If I hadn’t transformed into an adult, I would have died instantly from energy depletion due to the King of Monsters.

In fact, until I woke up, I couldn’t even properly move my auxiliary organs. If I hadn’t been an adult, or if I had been alone, I would have been done for even after defeating the Imperial Mothership.

‘I survived thanks to the kids and Sky Mother.’

The fact that I’m still breathing now is thanks to their efforts to save me.

‘Allies, huh.’

The situation was too urgent earlier to properly confirm, but the message clearly said “allies.”

It’s obvious who these allies refer to, but that’s not the important part.

AMorphs are beings that cannot interact with other life forms according to the system. They are a race of killing machines that only repeat hunting and slaughter.

Yet the system recognized that such an AMorph had made companions. What does this mean?

‘I, or rather, AMorphs are evolving.’

Although it varies depending on the circumstances, sociability generally acts favorably for survival. Animals that live in groups can effectively defend against attacks from stronger enemies. If they are carnivores, they can subdue prey with high risk through numerical superiority.

Look at humans with their high sociability. Humans have many factors that are disadvantageous for survival, but haven’t they prospered thanks to their sociability?

‘Even when I used symbiotic spores, such messages didn’t appear…’

That means things are fundamentally different now from before, and I have an idea why.

‘Space Monster type.’

I opened the translucent text box and checked the type located at the very bottom.

“⑥ Space Monster (Unique): Complete Organism (Unique), Horizon of Nightmares (Unique), Organic Evolution (Unique)”

There, “Complete Organism” and “Horizon of Nightmares,” which were previously classified as body-related and nest-related types respectively, had been moved.

These were all characteristics obtained using the Transcendence Level 1 system, or “Unique Trait Synthesis.”

‘…If I hadn’t acquired nest-related traits in advance, I would have been in big trouble.’

For each type acquired, the number of traits required to acquire a new type doubles from the previous requirement.

For example, if the required number of traits for both Nest Enhancement type and Special Defense Enhancement type is 8 each. If you acquire the Nest Enhancement type first, the number of traits needed to acquire the Special Defense Enhancement type increases to 16.

The problem arises when traits for an already acquired type are lost while the required number of traits has increased.

If traits are consumed by being used as fusion materials for other types, or as materials for unique traits, the already acquired type is considered unacquired and loses its enhancement effect.

What’s important to note is that the required number for the type doesn’t revert back.

If it only took 8 traits to acquire a type, but after acquisition the required number increased to 16? You need to fill up to 16 traits to receive the type enhancement effect.

‘It’s not like they’re trying to trick anyone. They just change things without any message.’

If I had secured fewer traits, I would have suffered a great loss, such as losing the Nest Enhancement type.

Fortunately, before entering Transcendence Level 2, I secured various traits during 14 hours of roaming the swamp.

At that time, besides the “Pincer” trait, I acquired several infection-related and nest-related traits. Thanks to that, even when traits moved around arbitrarily like now, I didn’t lose the type effects.

‘I collected them then thinking they might be useful as materials, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.’

Anyway, it was significant in many ways that only traits secured through the unique trait synthesis system had moved to the new type.

“Complete Organism” that transforms into a more powerful monster, “Horizon of Nightmares” that infects and dominates ships, “Organic Evolution” that can be used by switching between “Giant Creature” and “Miniaturization” traits.

‘These are traits that transcend the limits of AMorphs.’

Moreover, I’ve never seen a “Unique” type even in the game.

‘And there’s no type with explanations attached like this now.’

All types acquired by AMorphs have no explanation about what effects they have or what kind of traits belong to them. Players must confirm with their own eyes.

That’s the principle, but the Space Monster type, perhaps because it’s a unique-grade type, allowed me to see an explanation. I opened the text box attached to the Space Monster type.

“Space Monster (Unique): The ultimate goal of evolution is to transcend the limits of the species. This type receives additional effects incrementally as traits acquired through the ‘Transcendence’ system are added. This type ignores penalties that occur from type acquisition.

*Level 1 (Required traits 3/4)

*Level 2 (Required traits 3/8)

*Level 3 (Required traits 3/??)

*Level 4 (Required traits 3/??)”

Looking at the content, I could see why an explanation was necessary. As expected of a Transcendence Level 2 reward, the type effect was quite unique.

‘A type that strengthens incrementally is something I’ve never seen before.’

Generally, types have no effect when just unlocked, and only after meeting conditions and “acquiring” them do they take effect. There are no cases like the Space Monster type where collecting a certain number of traits gives special effects.

‘What effect it gives… of course it’s not written.’

Although it’s too early to conclude without any clues, I think it might give a very powerful effect.

‘Now all that’s left is the trait enhancement system…’

I want to check it right away, but extreme fatigue washes over me. My stomach is gradually filling up, and perhaps because of the fire around us, the ground is warm, making me want to sleep.

“Big baby, you can sleep if you’re sleepy.”

“Great one” “tired?”

“…We’ve put out the urgent fire, but it’s better to rest. Since it’s a trait that wasn’t in the game, we don’t know what side effects might come.”

They encourage me to rest despite having a hard time because of me.

“Zzz… (Thank…)”

I fell asleep rapidly without even properly expressing my gratitude.

–

Mercury.

This place, the closest planet to the sun and the smallest in the solar system, is officially under the control of Garmelda, one of the Noble Capitals of Megacorp.

House Yugin owns the Moon, House Garmelda rules Mercury, T&C exerts influence over Mars’ satellites Phobos and Deimos, and Prime Capitals compete for Ganymede, and so on.

In this way, the seven houses of Megacorp owned various satellites and planets in the solar system.

Typically, when Noble Capitals or Prime Capitals purchase a new star, they send a family member as governor to rule by proxy. But Garmelda was slightly different.

Cloe Garmelda, the current head of House Garmelda. For the past decade, she had been holed up in a weapons research facility on Mercury and hadn’t come out.

No wonder her nickname is the “Queen of Mercury.”

One might think her position would be shaky since the head doesn’t look after the family, but surprisingly, that wasn’t the case. This was because the influence of the equipment she developed was enormous.

Weapons, enhancement suits, special drugs to enhance soldiers, and more.

Thanks to her creating new killing machines every year, Garmelda maintained its historically wealthiest state. That’s why, despite her young age and lack of interest in family affairs, she received strong support from the elders.

Today, the Queen of Mercury, such an outstanding weapons developer, had rarely taken a vacation.

“The head has been taking vacations frequently lately. She took one a few weeks ago as well.”

Researchers were walking along the walkway in the bio-dome-shaped Garmelda weapons research base. Their gaze turned toward the center of the dome. The head’s residence for Cloe Garmelda was located underground in that central area.

“That’s good. She focuses too much on work. It would be terrible if she damaged her health.”

“While the head is away, let’s run another test on the new equipment ourselves.”

Cloe, who received support from the underlings of the same facility, was currently in a certain space located in the head’s residence.

In the dark place, diamond monoliths connected with electrical wires were lying down. Only two of these monoliths were lit up and floating in the air.

Sitting in a specially developed levitating chair, Cloe spoke toward the two monoliths.

“Jason, what happened with the Imperial Mothership dispatch? My satellite was split in half midway, so I can’t assess the situation.”

“I’m curious about that too. Intelligence gathering is impossible due to the mothership fleet.”

Jason, Cloe, Jubaka.

These powerful figures from the Cult, Megacorp, and Star Union respectively had conspired a few weeks ago to eliminate the notorious 5th-ranked AMorph.

They spread false information that PH-101, the planet called Psygil08 by the Cults where the 5th-ranked AMorph was presumed to be hiding, was contaminated, and induced the Cult council to issue a purification order. As a result, the Imperial Mothership “The Judge of Damos08” headed toward Psygil08.

Because the mothership fleet protecting the Imperial Mothership destroyed all the Megacorp and Star Union satellites around Psygil08, Cloe and Jubaka still couldn’t figure out what had happened.

That’s why they had called Jason now, quite some time after the purification order was issued, to confirm the results.

“Since it’s a subadult, it shouldn’t have been too difficult, right?”

“It’s a Morph, so I don’t know. The mothership fleet might have suffered considerable damage.”

“They’re all just toys anyway, why worry? If they break, we can fill in with others.”

“Typical Megacorp statement, full of disregard for human life.”

“What are you saying, dictator.”

Cloe and Jubaka could joke around so casually because they firmly believed that AMorph had been eliminated.

No matter how excellent the skills of the 5th-ranked AMorph, it would be impossible to win against an Imperial Mothership that annihilates all life on a planet. There might have been some resistance, but it must have been reduced to ashes by the cosmic bolt fired by the mothership.

But.

That the unthinkable could become reality.

A clear female voice suddenly heard reminded them of the cruel reality.

“It’s been a while, Cloe, Jubaka.”

“Huh? Cynthia? Why are you using Jason’s monolith…?”

“…”

Cloe, who had been filing her nails, was startled by the female voice flowing from the monolith. Jubaka seemed to have a foreboding feeling rather than surprise, as he let out a deep voice.

“Normally I would use my own monolith, but the situation is urgent, so I used Jason’s monolith as a proxy.”

“Urgent? What’s urgent?”

“…Don’t tell me?”

“The purification order led by Jason has completely failed. The Imperial Mothership and mothership fleet have been annihilated. Because of this, the council is condemning Jason for trying to attack a holy site against Providence. Jason has not complied with the summons and is currently in seclusion.”

“…”

“…”

“I’ve also been called to hearings all day for misinterpreting the prophecy, and I’ve just barely made it here. Please understand.”

The worst possible future they could imagine had become reality.

Realizing this fact, Cloe unconsciously dropped the nail grinder she was holding.