Ch.198Jewel Wings (1)

“Are you here?”

Not long after I detected the Crystalwing, the Sky Mother awoke. Though she hadn’t seen it directly, she seemed to have sensed it with her keen intuition.

[Zzzzzz zzzzz zzzzz(I can’t see it but I can feel it)]

“Still, you came faster than I expected.”

[Zzzzzz zzzzz zzzzzz(Wake up PS-111 and stand by)]

“Got it.”

She who had been whispering softly beneath me grew quiet again. I sent a wave to No. 26.

[Zzzzzz zzzz zzzz(The flying one is here)]

“Yeah.”

No. 26, who had been playing with air, pulled the tentacles out of its body and began waving them vigorously. It was trying to attract attention so it could be seen clearly even from a distance.

Meanwhile, my auxiliary organs captured radio waves flowing through space. Since it hunts prey using principles similar to radar, feeling these waves meant the creature was getting closer.

With my gaze fixed on the sky, I waited, and something began to appear through the black clouds. Two bundles of light flickering faintly, looking like UFOs flying around.

‘There it is.’

The Crystalwing was nearby. They were circling around the nest without landing.

‘They’re being cautious.’

They seemed quite careful for apex predators, but it made sense. After all, these creatures competed for food with the Gallergorn. Without such caution, survival in this harsh environment would have been impossible.

When they wouldn’t come down, No. 26 waved its tentacles more enthusiastically. Perhaps thanks to its efforts, the light bundles in the clouds slowly approached the peak.

Through the swirling snowstorm, their forms became visible.

A massive pterosaur covered in metallic material. The Crystalwing’s appearance resembled the “Quetzalcoatlus,” a pterosaur famous for its large size. The elongated snout, neck long for a pterosaur, and enormous wings reminiscent of an airplane.

‘Though much larger in body.’

Their wingspan was at least 30 meters. Looking at just the wings, they were larger than those of their competitor, the White Gallergorn.

Another notable characteristic besides the wings was their gleaming skin. Not just the wings, but their entire body appeared to be made of diamond. This was due to bodily fluids that hardened into gem-like forms.

Thanks to coating themselves with these fluids since childhood, their bodies shone like jewels without exception.

The metallic skin reflecting the black clouds and snow looked like giant mirrors flying through the sky.

“Kuaaak.”

“Kuok.”

Two Crystalwings flapped their wings and approached the nest. Their gaze was fixed on No. 26, who was fidgeting around the nest.

‘Perfect.’

Focused on No. 26, they didn’t notice us hiding near the trees. I watched them without moving a muscle.

One of the two Crystalwings had a distinctive crest on its head. Its wings were also about 1.5 times larger than the other one.

‘That one’s the male.’

Crystalwings have a habit where males support the family. That’s why males are much stronger in combat.

‘The Sky Mother will mark the female.’

I’ll leave the female to PS-111 and the Sky Mother, while No. 26 and I will team up against the male.

“Over here! Come here!”

As the Crystalwing approached, No. 26 prepared to move. Pink fins that functioned as legs sprouted from under its body. It quickly moved away from the nest using these fins.

“Kuaaak!”

“Kueoook!”

Their hunting instincts seemed stimulated by this sight, and they let out screeches. Their voices were as large as their bodies, loud enough to be heard all the way to the twin peaks across.

After roaring loudly, they dove down toward the nest to catch No. 26. The air pressure created by the four wings spanning dozens of meters swept across the peak. The strong wind sent the snow accumulated around the nest flying into the air.

“Flap flap it’s angry!”

No. 26 almost flew away with the snow, but it managed to hold onto the ground with its tentacles. After safely landing, it ran toward us, frantically moving its fins.

The Crystalwing followed closely behind. The male in front opened its mouth wide. It was undoubtedly about to use the Crystalwing’s most powerful weapon.

[Zzzz(Now)]

“Alright!”

I shook off the snow and rose. The Crystalwings’ eyes widened as a creature covered in dark brown fur sprang from the snow.

And from the pit below me, PS-111 carrying the Sky Mother jumped out.

The Sky Mother, half-crouched on PS-111, had blue flames rising from her eyes. This was an effect that occurred when using “Ice Wraith,” one of the Wendigo’s unique abilities.

Blue flames shot from her amber eyes toward the creatures. Sensing the psychic power, the male quickly spread its wings and lifted itself upward.

But she hadn’t been aiming for the male in the first place. Her target was the being behind it. The female following behind noticed the incoming attack too late.

“Kuok?!”

The female, touched by the blue flames, stopped abruptly in mid-air like a puppet with cut strings. It fell to the ground, unable to move.

“Kuaaaak!”

[Zzzzzz zzzz(I am your opponent)]

I leaped at the male as it tried to help the female. Though I was much smaller than it in my “Clever Weakling” mode, I wasn’t lacking in strength.

“Kuak!”

As I collided with it, the horn on my head pierced its wing. I tried to shake my head to completely tear the wing, but I couldn’t.

A cyan beam fired from its mouth struck my body.

“Pain reduction activated!”

‘Ugh!’

Crystalwings can instinctively manipulate electromagnetic forces due to their biological characteristics, allowing them to emit powerful particle beams. The destructive power easily surpasses that of plasma weapons.

‘I can’t hold out much longer!’

My current body had reduced defense due to its smaller size, making prolonged exposure dangerous. Just then, as if reading my mind, No. 26 came to my aid.

“Don’t bully our big baby!”

“Kup!”

Hundreds of purple threads shot out from No. 26’s small body and wrapped around the Crystalwing. The creature bent in a strange direction as it was caught in the Sea Demon’s binding.

While the particle beam stopped, I separated from the Crystalwing.

[Zzzzzz(Follow me)]

“Did I punish the bad one?”

[Zzzz zzzzzzzz(It’s not dead yet)]

“Kuaaaak!”

I landed lightly on the ground and carried No. 26 deeper into the forest. Almost simultaneously, the creature with the broken neck howled. It had recovered its broken neck bones and torn wing in an instant and was chasing us closely.

‘Crystalwing’s recovery speed is amazing.’

It doesn’t have hard carapaces like the Ice Horror, various minions like the Glacier Fiend, or powerful psychic abilities like the Gallergorn. Instead, it has all the weapons necessary for survival.

Particle beams for hunting prey, hyper-regeneration ability to quickly heal wounds large and small, excellent detection capabilities, and the ability to fly for extended periods without rest.

These elements allowed the Crystalwing to be classified as an apex.

‘But I don’t intend to lose.’

Not far away, I could see it destroying trees with particle beams. The dense trees had slowed down the creature with its large wings.

After putting some distance between us and it, I set No. 26 down.

Once on the ground, it immediately inflated its body back to normal. Numerous fins sprouted from underneath, and hundreds of tentacles with sharp saw blades grew from the top.

Countless eyes formed on its body as it entered combat mode. All those eyes turned toward me. I nodded silently.

We’ve been through countless battles together. Even without communicating through waves, we can understand each other’s intentions.

The eyes looking at me curved into half-moons. Having read my intention, it jumped toward the Crystalwing.

“Kuaaak!”

“Bad one! Get punished!”

The hundreds of eyes that had smiled at me now glared fiercely. The Sea Demon’s unique technique “Terror of the Deep” unfolded before the creature.

“Ku, kuaa…”

The creature stopped its attack, having been destroying the forest with particle beams. Its eyes trembled as it stared at No. 26.

While the male Crystalwing has stronger resistance to psychic powers than the female, it’s not enough to completely overcome the Sea Demon’s power.

But things don’t always go as planned.

The creature, trembling while looking at No. 26, turned its head to look behind. Behind it, the Sky Mother and PS-111 were fighting the female.

“Ku, kuak! Kuaaak!”

Was it the desire to protect its loved one? The creature roared loudly once more and prepared to fire another particle beam.

“You can’t!”

“Kuak!”

Before it could fire, No. 26 gathered tree fragments and launched a Demon Crash. The creature shook its head irritably after being hit by the bundle of wood.

Meanwhile, No. 26’s saw-blade tentacles flew in to wrap around the Crystalwing. But the creature had already regained its senses. The particle beam burned the tentacles and surrounding trees.

Despite the pain of losing its tentacles, No. 26 immediately counterattacked with binding. The tip of the Crystalwing’s wing crumpled like paper, but it was no pushover. It charged forward, sacrificing its wing, and pecked No. 26 with the tip of its beak.

While these apex creatures fought fiercely, I examined the area hit by the cyan beam. The fur had long since evaporated, and all the carapace had fallen off.

‘I need a body strong enough to overwhelm it.’

I’ve made good use of the Clever Weakling until now. It’s time to return to the form of an AMorph Subadult.

‘And the Emblem of the Hunt too.’

Originally, I had planned to neutralize it first with No. 26’s Terror of the Deep before attacking, but things didn’t go quite as expected. I have to proceed as is.

I deactivated Clever Weakling and simultaneously activated “Emblem of the Hunt.”

My body, which had been only 5 meters tall, grew rapidly. Along with the tremendous growth, my internal skeletal structure also changed. My body shape, which had resembled a centaur, returned to a snake-like form, and accordingly, the four combat arms that had functioned as legs regained their original purpose.

The countless hairs fell out, exposing the carapace and synthetic scales underneath. The humanoid faces covered by fur and the vortex-shaped membrane hiding the corrosive tentacles also revealed themselves.

Six massive horns, an elongated head resembling a large theropod, a gigantic body reminiscent of a mythical serpent god surrounded by hard carapace, and six arms. Plus the heavy pincers at the end of my tail.

Though it had only been a few days since I transformed, it somehow felt like I was returning after a long time.

But my body was not yet in a position to rest. I had to reconfigure my body to match the “Emblem of the Hunt,” a transformation mode of the “Perfect Organism.”

My head carapace was already large, but in the Emblem of the Hunt state, it becomes even more massive. Thick carapace covered my eyes, and my bifurcated lower jaws mutated much more extremely than before.

The four auxiliary organs located under the well-developed jaw were encased in bone carapace like my eyes.

The carapace covering the auxiliary organs was thin and sharp like a blade. The auxiliary organs, which had only been responsible for detection, now became weapons to carve out the flesh of enemies.

The humanoid faces that had been attached to my back moved to the head carapace, two more arms with bio-scythes were added to my back, and the blunt claws attached to my lower body and tail elongated like centipede or spider legs.

Befitting a body optimized for hunting and slaughter, there wasn’t a single part that wasn’t threatening.

However, among the familiar changes, there was one new aspect.

‘What’s this?’

The monster’s tentacles, which had become more abundant thanks to the Power of Deep effect, changed even more impressively.

The bundle of tentacles that previously covered from inside the back of the head carapace to the entire neck now extended its range to the lower jaw. My current appearance was like having a beard and hair made of tentacles.

It was like a description of an evil god from a discontinued horror novel collection.

‘…I’ll worry about appearance later.’

Having completed all evolutions, I slowly rose. The treetops that had been well above my head until just now were now right in front of my face.

“Kuak?”

“Big baby is back!”

The Crystalwing was surprised to see me appear, pushing through the trees.

‘Your essence will be mine.’

I roared powerfully toward the enemy—no, the prey—before me, as if making a declaration.