Ch.27Double Helix (3)

‘Those damn bastards…!’

In the pile of steel beams from the collapsed cargo hold.

Elchen was lying there. His auxiliary heart had been destroyed by Garlic, who had betrayed him, but he didn’t die because he had another heart.

The problem was that his current state was barely hanging on to life.

The auxiliary heart functions to stabilize Hulk Mutants injected with all sorts of genes. Without an auxiliary heart, Hulk Mutants don’t last long.

He was fortunate to be an enhanced being; otherwise, his body would be breaking down by now.

‘You dare betray me? You fucking bitch, I’ll make you beg for death.’

In fact, what angered him as much as the threat of death was the existence of the betrayer.

He wanted to catch her immediately and tear her limbs apart, but there was something he needed to do first.

‘Fuck. Of all things, the device had to break.’

Smart Garlic must have known it was an impact-triggered device but destroyed it anyway.

Thanks to that, the timer installed in the reactor was already activated. In exactly 10 minutes, everyone on this ship would turn to dust.

‘Me? Die here? Don’t make me laugh! Who am I? I’m Elchen Dvarah, that’s who.’

He crawled desperately despite his paralyzed body.

With the sole determination to survive at all costs.

‘Baby, does it hurt?’

No. 26 asked while running. She could feel the small creature trembling in her grasp.

[Zzzzz (I’m already healed)]

‘Really?’

With my “regeneration” trait, I can quickly repair minor tears in my outer shell. There’s still a wound on my leg, but the bleeding has stopped.

I stroked No. 26 with my small hand and pondered how to attack Siheyon.

‘A surprise attack probably won’t work.’

Her eyes, the Terrordevil’s eyes, have X-ray vision. Even if I hide, she’ll see through me immediately. And I suspect she has additional abilities to detect invisible enemies.

Plus, I’m on a time limit. In this situation, wasting time by hiding would be counterproductive.

The detonator the boss had was designed to activate when subjected to strong impact. The timer must have started the moment the device was pierced by Siheyon’s knife.

‘Though the time limit probably isn’t too short.’

The bomb was the boss’s bluffing card. Even if it activated against his will, he would have given himself enough time to somehow deactivate it.

I’d like to go disable the bomb first, but that wouldn’t be easy either.

Siheyon pierced both the detonator and the boss’s heart to activate the bomb. She must have known about the bomb on the ship all along. Yet she took such a dangerous action for an obvious reason.

‘She’s trying to guide my actions.’

My concern about the bomb is probably within her calculations. She’s likely expecting me to try to escape on a lifeboat.

‘…This feels familiar.’

Just as I manipulated the pirates’ actions when fighting them, Siheyon is using the same strategy. It feels like fighting another player.

Anyway, there’s only one outcome she can achieve by cornering me.

‘A direct approach.’

She intends to overwhelm me with superior force at a location of her choosing.

That’s Siheyon Yujin’s strategy.

Since she’s trying to corner me, I have no choice but to follow along.

If I were a “normal” player, that is.

‘Let me first organize the factors working against me.’

There are currently three conditions unfavorable to me.

Time limit, weaker offensive and defensive capabilities compared to the enemy, and lack of information.

The problem I can’t immediately solve is the time limit. I can’t fight while worrying about the bomb. I need to focus solely on killing the enemy.

‘I’ll have to address the lack of information as I face her directly.’

If I were a player who preferred other species, I would have lost to her, but I’m an AMorph player. Outside the development team, no one knows genetic traits better than I do.

‘That leaves attack and defense power…’

I considered going to the control room to eat the cyborg, but that approach has problems too. When evolving to the next stage, my body becomes completely incapacitated for at least several hours. If the bomb explodes or I’m discovered during that time, it’s over.

‘Evolution is on hold… ah.’

While considering evolution, something suddenly occurred to me.

That thing in the laboratory. With that, I might be able to turn the tide.

‘Psyonium!’

I turned toward the laboratory.

If I consume Psyonium, I can use juvenile abilities for a short time.

Siheyon Yujin possesses the Gallergorn’s Claw trait. This allows her to emit blade winds—a mixture of psychic power and other energies commonly called sword energy in the game. Currently, I have no resistance to psychic power, so I can’t counter Gallergorn’s Claw.

But what if I become a juvenile here? As a juvenile, I gain psychic power resistance as an evolutionary perk. If she’s just transplanted the claws rather than being a real Gallergorn, my outer shell could withstand it.

‘Plus, I’d gain a ranged attack option.’

I have serrated tentacles, but they’re only good for mid-range control at best. They’re no match for the Gallergorn’s Claws on Siheyon’s arms. Moreover, since they’re connected to my senses, carelessly extending them and getting them cut would be disastrous.

‘A juvenile’s ranged attack doesn’t have that drawback.’

The only downside? High energy consumption? I need to settle this before the Psyonium effect wears off anyway. There’s no time to worry about energy.

Upon reaching the laboratory nest, I set No. 26 down.

[Zzzz Zzzzzz (Wait a moment)]

‘Where are you going?’

[Zzzz Zzzz (I need to get something)]

‘Baby, no.’

[Zzzz (Don’t worry)]

No. 26 wouldn’t move even though I assured her it was nothing to worry about. Her body flickered anxiously, as if she had something to say but found it difficult.

[Zzzzzz (What’s wrong?)]

After hesitating, she ultimately didn’t speak. Any other time, I would have waited until she was ready to share what was on her mind, but now there’s no time.

I left her and approached the laboratory refrigerator. I took out the purple liquid stored inside and drank it in one gulp.

‘Ugh!’

My body felt like it was burning. I had suspected it would be painful when No. 26 was forcibly injected with the drug, but the pain exceeded my expectations.

In the game, consuming it just showed a buff effect at the top of the screen, but this is reality. I had to endure the process of my body being forcibly mutated by the drug.

Pain surged through my joints as if someone was forcibly stretching my skeleton, and my muscles became taut like overinflated balloons before tearing. The outer shell covering my body also became significantly heavier.

I involuntarily fell to my knees from the tremendous pain. I nearly screamed but managed to hold it in by gritting my teeth.

‘…I can’t pass out from this.’

How much time had passed? The nearly unbearable pain gradually subsided. It felt like I had compressed years of growing pains into a single minute.

Having successfully completed the transformation, I stood up. As always, the semi-transparent text window greeted me.

「Species: Unidentified Agressive Space Morph

Status: Juvenile (Temporary)

Objective: Survive (1 evolution successful).

Traits

-Physical (Type applied): Wings, Chitinous Shell, Regeneration (Fusion), Neurotoxin Gland (Fusion), Monster Skeleton (Temporary), Acidic Blood, Enhanced Horns, Mimicry, Serrated Tentacles, Contamination Organ, Spine Projectile Organ (Temporary)

-Psychic: Predator Sense (Fusion), Psychic Organ, Humanity, Psychic Resistance (Temporary)

Type: Physical Enhancement Type」

‘Success.’

Several changes in my traits catch my eye. The enhanced exoskeleton I received as a Morphlet perk has upgraded to a monster skeleton. With the chitinous shell trait plus the type effect, my height has increased significantly. Roughly just over 2m? My tail has grown longer too, reaching almost 4m.

‘And I’ve grown horns.’

Impressive yak-like horns have grown on the outer shell covering my head. Made of the same chitinous material as my shell with enhancement effects, they’re very hard and sharp. Until now, the shell on my head was only used for protection, but with horns, I can actively ram or stab enemies.

Checking my arms and legs, I notice they’re much thicker than before. One notable feature is the subtle purple glow on the surface of my outer shell.

‘A psychic barrier. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that.’

As long as the trait remains active, my body is essentially protected by a shield against psychic power. I can block Siheyon’s Gallergorn’s Claw with this.

‘Finally, the spine projectile organ.’

My left forearm has transformed into a different form. Instead of four fingers below the wrist, there was an organ resembling a long stick. It looked similar to a gun barrel and served as a kind of biological gun.

‘Except it shoots spine projectiles instead of bullets.’

The structure fires spine projectiles, automatically generated within my body, through a small hole at the end of the barrel organ. This might seem unimpressive at first glance, but the advantages of a spine projectile organ are significant.

‘The power of the spine projectiles exceeds that of a plasma pistol.’

While the destructive power itself is weak, the penetration power is tremendous, making it perfect for fighting heavily armored opponents. If I had fought the boss as a juvenile, he would have been turned into a sieve the moment the fight began.

‘And I can apply trait effects to the spine projectiles too.’

Just like with the contamination organ, I can fire acidic spines or poisonous spines. In other words, I’ve gained a gun that can fire whatever ammunition I choose.

The contamination organ that spits spores has been reduced to one, but unless I’m specializing in nest building, this is actually beneficial.

That concludes my check of the new abilities. The last thing I need to confirm is the time limit.

‘Remaining time is probably 5 minutes.’

In the game, the Psyonium time limit was 5 minutes.

That’s not a long time at all. I need to settle this as quickly as possible.

Just as I finished all preparations, Siheyon approached within my detection range.

I linked with the nest and activated all the spores in her path. I need to wear down her strength as much as possible before fighting her. Fortunately, being a juvenile seems to make spore activation much faster and more precise than my previous attempts.

‘She’s coming.’

With a loud explosion, the entire ship shook violently. She must have destroyed the slime threatening her in the corridor all at once.

I disconnected the link and immediately picked up No. 26 who was beside me. The little one, who had been lost in inexplicable worry just moments ago, kept blinking her lights in fascination at my suddenly enlarged form.

‘Wow! Baby got bigger again!’

[Zzzz Zzzzzzz (I’m going to run, hold tight)]

‘Waaah!’

My destination is where the bomb is installed—the reactor.

It’s a sensitive place that could explode if handled incorrectly. Near the reactor, even she would find it difficult to fight properly.

As I was running with No. 26 in my arms, she appeared in the corridor ahead.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Covered in acidic slime, her clothes had melted, leaving her nearly naked, but there wasn’t a single scratch on her body. She glared at me and drew out Gallergorn’s Claws from both hands.

‘Danger!’

I quickly threw No. 26 behind me.

There was no time to feel sorry for the little one. Her attack had already begun.

As the white blade cut through the air, a crescent-shaped energy blade formed in midair. The energy blade homed in on my body like a guided missile with perfect accuracy. Purple sparks flew as it collided with my barrier, and the impact left a scratch on the affected area.

‘Ugh.’

Despite the barrier, there’s still some pain, indicating it doesn’t completely block attacks. Fortunately, it’s not a deep wound, so I can heal it with my regeneration trait.

“Oh?”

Siheyon tilted her head. She seems surprised that I’m still intact despite her intentions.

I was just as surprised as she was.

‘This should normally be invisible.’

What makes Gallergorn’s Claw frightening isn’t just that it’s a psychic attack, but primarily that the attack path is invisible. Having to predict where the attack will come from just by watching the opponent’s swing makes it extremely challenging.

That should have been the case, but just now, I didn’t miss any part of her attack. Wondering how this was possible, something occurred to me.

‘Could it be the psychic organ?’

I never obtained this in the game, so I never imagined it had such a function.

Though I gained unexpected information, this is still a battle. I’ll revisit this information later and charged at her.

My enhanced legs kicked off the corridor floor. With type, traits, and evolutionary state working in harmony, my charge was explosive.

My body shot toward Siheyon like a missile launched from a silo. My movement must have been faster than she expected, as her pupils dilated slightly.

I intended to pierce her abdomen with my horns, but she was no easy opponent. She drew Gallergorn’s Claw from her other arm and deflected my horns.

‘Guh!’

“Faster than before?”

Her strength is monstrous, possibly from genes that enhance muscle power. It easily surpasses the strength of that huge Hulk Mutant. If I weren’t a juvenile, my neck would have been broken by that counterattack.

Her slender leg flew like lightning toward my abdomen. I tilted my body sideways to avoid the kick and, in a half-lying position on the floor, swung my massive tail. The 4-meter-long tail swept across the floor and struck her thigh.

“Hahaha! That’s not enough!”

I know. Her posture was slightly disrupted, but there was no trace of pain on her face.

But my attack wasn’t over yet. With my tail wrapped around her to hold her in place, my left forearm aimed precisely at her head.

“Huh?”

‘Fire.’

With a sound like a piano string being plucked, a spine projectile was fired from the barrel at the end of my wrist. Before the spine could pierce her head, she hurriedly blocked it with Gallergorn’s Claw.

“Not bad. Pushing me like this.”

Saying that, she cut my tail with Gallergorn’s Claw. Having anticipated her counterattack, I was already unwrapping my tail.

At that moment, her black hair glowed red.

‘Red hair? Wait, could it be?’

I hurriedly distanced myself from her, but I was slightly late. For a very brief moment, less than a second, a dreamlike dizziness enveloped my entire body. As I awoke from the dreamlike sensation, terrible pain assaulted me from my tail.

I barely regained my senses and retrieved my tail, but the injury was severe—almost a third of its circumference had been cut off.

‘That was RedMist’s ability!’

RedMist is an apex predator that inhabits jungle-type planets. It’s a jaguar-like animal with a red mane that can emit hallucination-inducing pheromones from its mane. While it might sound insignificant, these pheromones are extremely threatening because it’s impossible to escape them once affected. Creating distance to minimize the hallucinatory effect is the only solution.

It’s as rare as the White Gallergorn—I have no idea where she got such genes.

“Keeping your distance? You seem to know about RedMist. I’m getting more interested.”

She smiled as if pleased.

‘Indeed, she’s no easy opponent.’

If she also has RedMist’s hallucinatory ability, I need to settle this before the Psyonium effect ends. Once I revert to a Morphlet, I’ll lose my ranged attack capability.

‘This is when I need to stay calm.’

Panicking won’t change anything. Calmly looking for an opportunity is the only way I can win.

After confirming my tail had somewhat recovered, I charged at her again.

“Kyahaha! That’s more like it!”

She laughed and kicked my arm. As my arm sliced through the air futilely, Gallergorn’s Claw dug into my chest.

Her attack, intended to rip open my abdomen, was thwarted as I twisted my waist. Meanwhile, my lower arm wasn’t idle. Mucus shot from the hole between my four toes toward her eyes.

“Ugh!”

No matter how strong she is, she couldn’t help but close her eyes at the physiological disgust. I didn’t miss this momentary weakness.

I aimed my sharp horns at her shoulder, but it was shallow. As she quickly pulled her shoulder away, I only managed to graze her body.

“Are you going to keep making this boring?”

As her hair began to glow red again, I quickly retreated. While retreating, I fired spine projectiles at her as a deterrent.

“Tch!”

She clicked her tongue, halted her transformation, and drew Gallergorn’s Claw again to deflect the spine projectiles.

‘Just now?’

She shot an energy blade at me in retaliation. I pressed my body flat against the floor to avoid it and glared at her again.

‘I see.’

She appeared calm as if nothing had happened. But I could detect the unnaturalness in her expression.

I think I understand her limitation now.

‘She can’t use two abilities simultaneously?’

I’ve finally found a clue on how to defeat her.