Ch.315Relic (2)

‘Damn! It wasn’t an Outspacer….’

The situation was extremely bad.

Siheyon had suspected that the creature wasn’t a pure Outspacer. Such a form didn’t exist in any Megacorp data archives.

She had assumed it was either a queen-level variant or a completely new type of Outspacer.

But it was neither.

The ‘Deep Destroyer’ was a relic that selectively destroyed specific genes. If the creature were an Outspacer, it couldn’t have escaped death.

Yet despite being hit by the Deep Destroyer’s wavelength, it didn’t die. It was merely injured.

She already knew the monster enhanced itself through advanced genetic manipulation. The reason it collapsed after being hit by the Deep Destroyer was likely because the Outspacer genes in its body were destroyed.

‘As if this terrifying creature wasn’t enough, now it’s become a wounded beast.’

That intelligent monster surely understood how dangerous the Deep Destroyer was. It would definitely pursue them.

Although numerous Cult members were roaming the underground, the chances of them killing the monster were slim. It would be fortunate if they didn’t become sacrifices to help it recover.

In the end, she would have to face the monster herself. Leaving it alone was too great a risk from her perspective. This battlefield would have to be where it ends.

‘I need its genetic information to kill it.’

The monster’s genetic information—if she could collect its flesh or blood and insert it into the Deep Destroyer, the relic would analyze the genetic data itself. Once the analysis was complete, she could kill it.

‘The problem is how to collect its flesh….’

Despite suffering damage at the genetic level, the monster had merely collapsed to the floor. Wounding this creature with its extraordinary durability and intelligence, then collecting genetic data, would be no easy task.

Just then, she heard a mechanical groan.

“Ugh, where am I?”

It was Lila Chamberlain, who had been lying on the floor.

The life management suit, which had entered emergency recovery mode due to the strong impact, began moving again. She struggled to her feet and leaned against the wall.

“What happened? Did we take care of that monster?”

“We failed. I managed to wound it but couldn’t kill it.”

“……”

Lila fell silent at Siheyon’s words.

After a moment, a modulated voice came from the life management suit.

“What about alerting the Cult members and moving together?”

Yesterday, when Siheyon was preparing to go underground, Nern had contacted her.

He suggested fighting together with the Cult. He said he’d spoken with Alshas, who would support them.

“That would be difficult. They wouldn’t leave my relic alone.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

However, Siheyon had rejected Nern’s proposal.

The Cult members wouldn’t leave the Deep Destroyer alone. Even Kixos, who had promised support, would certainly covet it.

Although the Deep Destroyer could only be used by her, would they give up? She could easily imagine how they would treat her.

‘But if we continue like this, we’ll die anyway.’

She looked down at the crystal battery attached to the Deep Destroyer.

This battery, obtained along with the relic, contained transcendent power like the main body. It charged energy for the Deep Destroyer to use its gene-destroying wavelength.

Of course, the main body would still function without the battery. From her experiments before coming to Beryan02, she found that even with the battery detached, the remaining energy stayed in the weapon.

But the only way to supply energy to the Deep Destroyer was by attaching the crystal battery. She had tried other charging methods, but all failed.

This meant that without the crystal battery, the Deep Destroyer was essentially a one-time weapon. The battery was essential if she wanted to continue using the main body.

‘The battery has 60% energy remaining.’

Once this energy was depleted, she would need time to recharge. Since it took about a day to complete charging, she couldn’t use it recklessly.

‘I have two shots left.’

Each shot consumed about 30% energy, so she had two opportunities left to counterattack the monster. Within those two chances, she needed to collect its flesh and attack.

However, the monster would also anticipate her using the weapon again. Using herself and Lila as bait wouldn’t work anymore.

The situation was disadvantageous in every condition except for the relic. She bit her lip.

‘So there’s no way after all.’

Joining the Cult underground and waiting for an opportunity seemed to be the only option. She would have to wait for a chance to collect flesh while the monster fought with the Cult, then wait until she could use the weapon.

‘It’s like feeding the monster, but…’

Just as she made her decision and was about to speak, Lila spoke first.

“Wait. I got a message from Captain Nern. He says he’s found a way to support us independently and will help.”

Thanks to the communication device built into her life management suit, she could receive simple messages.

“Nern is helping us? How?”

“According to the Cult advisor with Nern, there’s talk from above about capturing the monster.”

“Ha. Capture it alive? They’ve lost their minds.”

They had once thought the same. As a result, one died, and the other became unable to survive without a suit.

“They seem to have determined that the relic is the only way to kill it before then. Nern says the advisor has lost family and harbors deep resentment.”

“So they received support from Alshas.”

Currently, Alshas couldn’t participate in operations directly and was serving as an advisor. Still, as the captain of the Imperial Mothership, he could at least provide powerful weapons to Nern.

“I’ve sent the coordinates, so please come—”

Before Lila could finish, the corridor shook slightly. Knowing what this meant, both of them startled.

“It’s the monster.”

“Follow me.”

Whatever was causing the underground passage to vibrate was getting closer to them.

The two ran toward the coordinates Nern had sent.

–

‘They’re not joining the Cult?’

Contrary to my expectations, Siheyon and her companion were heading in an unexpected direction. Judging by the traces they left, they were going in the completely opposite direction from the Cult extermination team.

‘I didn’t cause any communication interference.’

There’s no No. 26 here, and I’m not using “Dark Veil” either. It’s hard to believe they’re fleeing to a strange place due to poor communication.

‘Do they have some intention?’

If they were trying to buy time, there would be no reason to go elsewhere.

They could use the Cult as bait to hold me down and use their weapon. Why abandon good bait and act like this?

‘The direction they’re heading is close to the surface.’

At first glance, it might seem like they’ve given up fighting and are trying to escape, but I can’t be certain. Siheyon Yujin is a human who landed a blow on me. She likely has a trap I don’t know about.

Perhaps her followers on the surface are preparing a trap.

‘A trap, huh.’

It’s concerning, but my current priority is destroying her weapon. Even knowing it’s a trap, I need to move now.

I assigned surveillance to the two heads on either side and increased my tracking speed.

The opponents are also humans in reinforced suits, but they can’t be faster than a 60m AMorph.

Soon I began to hear their footsteps. By now, they must have realized I was catching up.

While running, I summoned the face-insects.

Small monsters with human heads and insect-like bodies crawled out from nests located beneath the carapace on my back. Five face-insects clung upside down to the ceiling of the cave and crawled rapidly.

“!”

Siheyon, visible from a distance, swung her left arm widely toward me. The Gallergorn’s claws protruding from the back of her hand released a blade of wind made of psychic power.

I charged forward, taking the hit. The weapon that had threatened me was hanging at her waist.

‘Good.’

I had been using two heads to watch for any hidden threats, but that was no longer necessary.

Corrosive tentacles shot out from my back, all aiming for her waist.

Her companion following behind aimed the barrel of a Slayer at my tentacles. A navy blue light flashed, and I felt a stinging pain from one of my tentacles.

But it didn’t matter much. The other five tentacles were still heading toward Siheyon.

“Tch!”

Wings sprouted from her back, and she shot up into the air. Some of my tentacles crashed into the ground where she had been standing, while others pursued her.

As the pointed appendages of my tentacles tried to grab Siheyon, she either folded her wings to minimize her body size or created shields on both arms to deflect them. When defense was difficult, she deliberately flew between the tentacles, using my size against me to make them tangle with each other.

She navigated well between the tentacles that filled the underground cave. As I had felt before, her combat sense was good enough to remind me of fighting against a player.

‘But tentacles aren’t my only weapon.’

While attacking with tentacles, my body had gotten much closer to the enemy. My right head moved to swallow Siheyon whole.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Just as I opened my mouth wide to swallow her, a mechanical sound came from below. Her companion in the reinforced suit struck the ground hard with both hands. The floor sank slightly, causing my legs to stagger a bit.

‘How annoying.’

I struck the opponent hard with my wing arm instead of my disabled combat arm. The enemy flew like a fly hit with a newspaper and collided with the wall.

Then my left head shot acidic breath toward the opponent. Unfortunately, the opponent didn’t faint this time and hurriedly avoided the breath.

“Guh, guuuuuugh!”

However, the evasion wasn’t perfect, and one leg melted away. Not just the reinforced suit, but the bare leg inside was completely gone.

“Damn it!”

Seeing her companion suffer, Siheyon drew her weapon again.

She hadn’t used it until now, only drawing it when crisis struck. I understand the weapon’s limitation.

‘Not a cooldown, but a limited number of uses.’

She doesn’t have many uses left. Probably two or three? With so few attack opportunities, she’s saving them.

The crystal attached to the weapon rotates, emitting an eerie light.

I know I can’t avoid that wavelength in this narrow underground space. But this time, unlike before, I’ve prepared.

‘Now!’

“What?!”

The five face-insects that had been hiding on the ceiling flew at her. Distracted by me, she was startled by the suddenly appearing face-insects.

One of the face-insects shot a paralyzing sound wave at her. For a very brief moment, her body stiffened before moving again.

But even that short time was enough for the face-insects. One that approached her used its sharp forelegs to strike down the arm holding the weapon.

“Ugh!”

With a short groan, she dropped the weapon. As it fell from her hand, the crystal stopped rotating.

Another face-insect tried to destroy the weapon, but Siheyon reached for the falling weapon.

A whip made of psychic power shot out from her palm, flying to wrap around the weapon. The falling weapon and the approaching face-insect’s foreleg were about to touch the weapon.

In that split second, I gave the face-insect a new command. Following it, the trajectory of its foreleg twisted slightly.

The whip wrapped around the weapon first by a microscopic margin. Right after, the face-insect’s foreleg hit the surface of the weapon. A short impact sound followed, and the weapon wrapped in the whip returned to its owner.

“…!”

Siheyon, having retrieved the weapon, tried to activate it immediately but hesitated. Her gaze fixed on the floor.

There lay a crystal that had lost its light. Following my command, the face-insect had struck the crystal attached to the weapon instead of hitting the weapon itself, separating it.

By the time she realized this, my head was already moving.

I plunged my wide-open mouth into the floor. Soil, sand, and the crystal weapon were sucked through my long neck into my body.

“You monster!”

Having cut down the surrounding face-insects, she flew at me. When my tentacles and heads interfered, she responded with Reflection.

My heads and tentacles retreated backward, and the Gallergorn’s claws cut my neck. But that alone couldn’t make me regurgitate what was about to be digested.

If she had had more time, perhaps, but my right and left heads were preparing to attack from both sides again.

Because of this, she had to be satisfied with being splattered with blood that spurted from my neck. After defending against my right head with Reflection and my left head with a shield, she retreated.

Meanwhile, everything I had swallowed was completely digested. Then I felt an intense heat inside my body.

“Acquisition condition: Genetic similarity with ‘Player ■■'”

“Acquisition condition confirmed. Disabling barrier.”

“Resonating with the mark of a strong enemy, ‘Plunderer’s Amorphous Polyhedron’.”

“Applying ‘Plunderer’s Amorphous Polyhedron (Void Dice)’.”

‘What is this?’

This felt completely different from previous activations of the Plunderer’s Amorphous Polyhedron. It wasn’t just part of my body changing; it felt like every cell constituting my body was being reborn.

Just like when evolving.

“C-contact received! A-attack n-now!”

“Tell them to attack immediately!”

While I was immobilized by the sudden change, I could sense the enemies moving away. At the same time, I felt powerful energy concentrating above my head.

Then, intensely hot light poured down on me.