Ch.239Glacier Canyon (2)

I explained the situation to the Sky Mother and Ham Oort who arrived late.

I told them about the Screamer attack and how many Gallergorn had died.

As soon as Ham Oort heard the story, he went to where Adhigh Orr was. No. 26, who had been with us until just now, also followed Ham Oort and disappeared to the other side of the cave.

“I was worried this might happen, and it did.”

The Sky Mother also grieved for the death of the Gallergorn. Her amber eyes, now back in Griffon form, were tinged with sadness.

[Zzzzzz zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz (I think he’ll need some time)]

“…Yes.”

She closed her eyes, forcibly trying to calm herself. When she finally opened them, her eyes were filled with cold anger.

“So where is this place?”

“It’s below a canyon beyond the ice plains.”

“There’s only one ice plain around here. You mean where we caught the Ice Horror and Jason?”

“That’s right. You can confirm it by moving in the direction opposite to the forest.”

According to him, Pyrrha Eleven and its ship were located in the completely opposite direction from this place with its forests and mountain ranges.

‘A canyon, huh.’

Previously, one of the Apex candidates for training Adhigh Orr was a creature that mainly inhabited the ice canyon. Since it didn’t have wings, it wasn’t suitable for Adhigh’s flight training, so I chose the Hellside Hornet instead.

‘I was planning to get its genetic essence later, but I never expected this situation.’

“If it’s the canyon, there might be Giganterium there?”

[Zzzzz (Probably)]

Giganterium, like the Ice Horror, only inhabits regions with extremely low temperatures. It’s a creature that looks like a mix of three animals: elephant, bear, and gorilla.

“The ‘Giganterium’ has already been eliminated by the Screamers.”

“Really? They didn’t seem to have implanted it though.”

True to its name meaning “giant beast,” the Giganterium is large and powerful. It also has very impressive tusks and a trunk similar to a mammoth.

None of the Screamers I saw had biological features of the Giganterium implanted in them.

PS-111 nodded at my question.

“The Giganterium’s body and genes were all used for Pyrrha Eleven’s restoration.”

“That means Pyrrha Eleven is also a Screamer, right?”

“That would be the reasonable conclusion at the current point in time.”

“Current point in time? Does that mean it wasn’t before?”

“After arriving on this planet, Pyrrha Eleven suffered critical damage and was in a dormant state. During the repair process, the damaged body was replaced with resources available on the planet.”

The resources he’s referring to must mean the biological tissues of various creatures like the Giganterium.

‘From what I’m hearing, it seems like it was originally an android but is now in a half-Screamer state.’

Considering the image of Screamers in the Star Union, Pyrrha Eleven is definitely not a cyborg. If it were a cyborg, it would choose death rather than becoming a Screamer.

On the other hand, an android that prioritizes efficiency wouldn’t mind changing its body.

‘An android leading an army of mutant Screamers.’

In the game, there was also an android that led Screamer units.

‘The High Commissioner of the Star Union.’

Officially, Screamers are not meant for combat. Nominally, the reason for the Screamers’ existence is to rehabilitate cyborg criminals. In other words, they’re a kind of educational tool.

As a unit meant to enlighten and make others follow the will of the Star Union, it makes sense that one of the highest commissioners from the Machine Committee, the highest power structure, would be in charge of this. According to this setting, Pyrrha Eleven is likely a member of the Machine Committee.

‘Plus, mutant Screamers are new weapons.’

And not just any weapons, but bio-weapons incorporating the latest technology from hostile nations. Considering their importance, it’s not strange that a High Commissioner would directly manage them.

“What caused it to break down?”

“Being a lower model, that information is not stored in the unit’s memory device.”

“If it hadn’t broken down, this would have been much easier.”

The Sky Mother glanced at me. Probably because of my “Gremlin Moss” trait.

Gremlin Moss is a trait that neutralizes mechanical devices that touch my body. With this trait, subduing a High Commissioner wouldn’t be difficult.

‘It didn’t work on mutant Screamers, so it probably won’t work on the High Commissioner either.’

Since its body has been modified with biological tissue. Instead, the paralyzing sound waves of the face worm might have a high chance of working, so there are pros and cons.

“How many genes have been implanted in its body?”

“Most of the genes from indigenous creatures discoverable on this planet have been implanted.”

“It must have also used genes deployed on the support ship. What genes were used?”

“That information can only be confirmed with Pyrrha Eleven’s authorization. However, it’s certain that unidentified genes were applied in addition to the genes applied to the PS model.”

To summarize, Pyrrha Eleven is a monster based on PS-111, with added genes from Apex on this planet and unidentified creatures.

Of course, unless you’re an Outspacer or AMorph, synthesizing genes indefinitely, especially in a short time, is not an easy task. There must be significant side effects, or it might not be able to properly use the genes implanted in its body.

‘Still, it must be at least as powerful as a Megacorp shadow.’

Moreover, like me, it has absorbed multiple Apex genes native to this planet.

While it’s unclear how skilled Pyrrha Eleven is in combat, if we’re unlucky, it might show skills comparable to upper-tier players at the ranker level.

‘For the exact details…’

“I’ll just have to ask directly.”

“That’s right.”

“I will do my best to acquire useful information.”

The next enemy we’ll face is the leader of the mutant Screamers, Pyrrha Eleven.

“So when are you planning to go?”

Now that we know what state it’s in and where it is, we need to decide on the timing for the attack.

In fact, we don’t have much time. We don’t know when its support ship will produce new soldiers.

‘I wouldn’t have a big problem going now, but…’

The Icon of the Hunt has already finished its cooldown, and I’m overflowing with energy thanks to absorbing a massive amount of it. But while I’m fine, the others aren’t.

The Gallergorn haven’t fully recovered from their injuries, and Adhigh Orr needs more time to gather his thoughts. The Sky Mother must also be tired from nursing Ham Oort, fighting, and then coming all the way here without proper rest.

[Zzz zzz zzzzzz (Let’s move tomorrow during the day)]

After one round of battle, we decided to take time for maintenance.

[Zzz zzz zzz zzzzzzz (Take a look around the nest while resting)]

“…You want me to explore an AMorph nest? Do you know how many times I’ve died in nests?”

It was such a long time ago that I don’t remember clearly, but it was around 57 times. However, I didn’t bother mentioning the specific number.

She looked at me with an incredulous expression before letting out a small sigh.

“Right. This was Gallergorn’s Nest after all. There might be something interesting.”

“If there are rare metals, upgrades are possible. I’ll join you.”

After sending them off, I headed towards the entrance.

In our rush to return to the nest, we had left the bodies of the White Gallergorn outside. I couldn’t just abandon the valuable spoils obtained from fighting Odd Grad.

‘Besides, there’s something else I want to experiment with.’

Leaving the nest, I retraced my steps. For half a day, I flew around collecting all the bodies without missing any.

The reason I didn’t eat them was to experiment whether the Gallergorn could grow using them. Just as Adhigh Orr had grown, other White Gallergorn might also evolve into black dragons if they eat White Gallergorn bodies.

By the time I returned with the bodies, night had fallen. The place was already dim due to the dark clouds, and now it had become even darker with the night.

As I was about to cross the cliff with the bodies, I saw someone on the opposite cliff.

Wings that glowed bright red even in the darkness. In stark contrast, a Gallergorn with a snow-white body—it was Adhigh Orr.

Beside him was a White Gallergorn with injured wings. It was Ham Oort, Adhigh’s mother.

As far as I knew, Adhigh had mixed feelings of love and hate towards the mother who abandoned him. But now, the relationship between the two didn’t seem bad. Ham Oort had extended one of her wings to embrace Adhigh.

‘They’ve reconciled…huh?’

Looking closely, there was a small pink object between them. No. 26 had extended two thin tentacles, connecting them to the tentacle bundles of the two Gallergorn.

‘Is it mediating between them?’

Or perhaps it was trying to comfort the two who were in grief. Whatever the case, it seemed that No. 26 had a positive influence on their relationship.

I thought about joining them, but decided against it.

The pain of losing family or kin is not something I can comfort. No. 26 or the Sky Mother, who have had similar experiences, would be able to provide better advice.

Better than me, who only escaped instead of facing reality.

‘…Unnecessary thoughts.’

I shook my head once and entered the cave.

–

The ice canyon, hundreds of meters deep.

A place that should be filled with darkness because light doesn’t reach it.

The bottom of the canyon was now glowing brightly in red.

“Pyrrha Eleven. Record confirmation complete.”

Under the red light, hoses made of flesh and metal writhed.

Actually, calling them hoses was a bit of a misnomer. Regular hoses don’t easily exceed tens of meters in length with a thickness of at least several meters. The sight of several such hoses moving looked like multiple Ice Horrors coiled together.

Every time the massive body moved, the red light flickered.

“Pyrrha Eleven. Judgment. S, mission execution using PS models is deemed disadvantageous. Other means are necessary for mission completion.”

“Pyrrha Eleven. Alternative means proposed. Re-investigation of the super-large volcano is necessary.”

“Pyrrha Eleven. Denied. Threat elements have not yet been eliminated. Further damage is unnecessary. Investigation is delegated to the Screamers.”

Like a being with multiple selves, or rather, Pyrrha Eleven continued its self-dialogue.

“Pyrrha Eleven. Alternative means proposed. Based on information provided by S, PS models, ‘direct construction’ of special target A requires body readjustment.”

“It is useful to absorb the remaining Screamers except for exploration personnel: 10 S models and 2 PS models.”

“The ship’s AI will be utilized as an auxiliary brain for gene manipulation.”

As the red light flashed, the super-large hoses began to move nimbly.

Soon, along with the sound of welding, sparks rose from the bottom of the canyon. Even as the red light grew more intense, the screams of the Screamers could not be heard.