Ch.337Vortex One (1)

Alshas couldn’t believe the reality unfolding before her eyes.

She had heard some time ago that AMorph had killed Jason. And that her longtime colleague, Cynthia, had also fallen victim.

So she had prepared thoroughly. She had recruited influential figures on the planet long in advance to operate an elite fleet. Not satisfied with that alone, she had contacted the Empress to prepare the Outspacer legion.

Was that all? She had also arranged insurance in case the plan didn’t go as desired. In other words, she had prepared two, three layers of contingencies.

She was confident she could stop him even if he came unexpectedly.

But her predictions had completely missed the mark.

The elite fleet of the Monitoring Station had been annihilated, and only a few of the Outspacer legion remained.

All that was left was the insurance she had prepared and the Imperial Mothership protecting the Monitoring Station.

“The Empress has commanded. She orders us to retreat after failing to hunt the ‘Predator.'”

“No! Wait! We can’t end it like this!”

“The Empress warns. It’s dangerous if your friend is eaten by the ‘Predator.’ Run away.”

“Run away.”

“Run away.”

“Shut up! I said shut up!”

It was already hard enough to maintain her sanity, and the queen’s voice constantly ringing in her head made it unbearable.

‘Insurance! I still have insurance!’

She glared at Isabelle beside her with bloodshot eyes.

‘If I make her summon Voltex One…’

The more contracts Coldblood makes, the deeper their relationship with their master becomes. When that relationship reaches a certain level, a contract to directly summon Voltex One is unlocked.

The summoned Voltex One grants wishes in exchange for a certain price. Everything from assassinating enemies to burning planets or annihilating fleets is possible.

Of course, as the difficulty of the wish increases, the price increases exponentially. If one doesn’t prepare a proper price, Voltex One won’t even respond to the summons.

Moreover, the price for summoning Voltex One always includes the summoner’s life. In the game, this wasn’t a big issue, but here it is. If Isabelle summons Voltex One, she will definitely die.

‘I was planning to use her more sparingly!’

Alshas gritted her teeth.

Isabelle’s perk “All-Seeing Eye” is an extremely powerful ability. It’s a shame to waste such a valuable tool here.

It’s very regrettable, but better than dying. She needs to successfully kill AMorph here to maintain her position within the Return Faction.

‘I’ll have to escape while Isabelle is summoning.’

The Alshas here is a clone. Her original body is not here but at the Monitoring Station.

When the clone disappears, she can take the Imperial Mothership with her original body and flee to another star system. She can create up to five clones, so if she’s determined to escape, no one can track her. Even if AMorph tries to chase her, he won’t know which one is real, making it a futile effort.

Having organized all her thoughts, Alshas called for Isabelle.

“Isabelle. It’s time to fulfill the contract.”

The tool slowly turned her head.

The lizard-human face with antennae showed no emotion.

“Summon Voltex One.”

Isabelle kept her mouth shut and didn’t answer.

She must know what that command means. But Alshas was confident.

“Don’t worry about your missing sister. Cynthia recently obtained an important clue.”

“Shut up.”

“We’re planning to rescue her soon… What?”

For a moment, Alshas thought she had misheard.

“What did you just say?”

Suddenly, wounds resembling cracked mirrors appeared on the Coldblood’s face. The wounds were oozing not blood, but a black liquid.

Isabelle had made a contract that prevented her from being hostile to Alshas and other Return Faction members. Those wounds were penalties for violating the contract.

The wounded Coldblood struggled to continue speaking.

“I, know, that, you, guys, de, ceived, me. My sister, is already, dead.”

“Have you gone mad because of AMorph?”

“The, mad, ones, are, you, people. All, this, time, deceiving, me, you, wicked, cough! creatures!”

After vomiting black liquid, Isabelle drew a curved blade from her waist.

“Original, some, where, else, right? You, absolutely, cough, won’t escape.”

The curved blade, which she had thought was just a self-defense weapon.

Only then did she realize that it was something she had never seen before. And what it had been prepared for.

“Wait, you?!”

“I address, cough, the dweller of the abyss.”

As Isabelle tried to stab herself in the abdomen, Alshas quickly raised her hand. A psychic technique, binding, unfolded and ensnared Isabelle’s body.

“To track down and eliminate the Cult ‘Alshas’…”

“You’re insane! Stop it!”

But Isabelle didn’t stop. Even as her body was contorted abnormally and she vomited blood and black liquid, she still tried to stab herself with the curved blade.

Seeing this, Alshas shouted with her throat tearing.

“Damn it! Queen! Send her somewhere else!”

Isabelle, whose entire body was twisted, was enveloped in blue light. But the light faded as if something was interfering with it.

In the meantime, Isabelle finished her ‘words.’

“I offer my blood and life.”

With the end of her words, the curved blade pierced her abdomen.

Having completed everything, Isabelle collapsed onto the queen’s body.

‘Huh?’

The movement of the Outspacers protecting the queen is strange. Their sudden confusion is similar to when I fired the black predator cannon.

‘Did they lose control?’

“Big baby.”

At that moment, a wave sent by No. 26 from my back flowed into me.

“I’m scared over there.”

[Zzzzz (Scared?)]

“Yes.”

No. 26 saying it’s scared. It’s an expression used when encountering a very dangerous enemy.

‘Do they still have a hidden card?’

I wondered if they had called an Outspacer ranker or another ranker, but that’s unlikely. If they had, I should have felt the wave of superluminal navigation, but I didn’t.

‘I need to check directly.’

I flapped my wings to push through the air. My body rapidly approached the group surrounding the queen. The collection bugs that had broken free from control were busy fleeing rather than attacking me.

Beyond the scattered group was the queen in confusion.

And on top of her…

‘Isabelle?’

The Coldblood with a small, frail body had collapsed.

Isabelle, who had collapsed on top of the queen, was trembling as if having a seizure. Black, viscous liquid continuously poured from the mouth of the convulsing figure.

It looks like dead blood, but it’s not blood.

The black liquid began to gather at one point in the air as if it had a will of its own.

I know what that is.

‘Voltex One!’

There’s only one person here who can summon it. The Coldblood ranker, Isabelle.

‘Could Alshas have ordered this?’

At first, I thought Alshas had forcibly commanded Isabelle. But looking again, I think I misjudged.

Because Alshas’s condition beside Isabelle wasn’t good. She was trembling in extreme fear.

Seeing that, it’s clear who initiated this summoning.

Isabelle summoned Voltex One of her own will.

‘…This is no time to be standing around.’

Isabelle continued to tremble and vomit black liquid. She’s still alive during the summoning.

‘In the game, it would have been an automatic death sentence.’

But this is reality. If I pull her out during the ritual, she might survive. The reason I think this is because of the summoning method unfolding before my eyes.

Like Outspacers, Voltex One is said to have crossed over from another universe and is a being that deviates significantly from the laws of this universe.

For example, Voltex One’s body is composed of a small amount of organic matter combined with a special energy called the “Power of Deep.” Simply put, it can be seen as an energy life form with self-awareness.

To maintain a body composed of energy requires a large amount of organic matter, so normally it splits its body into several pieces and remains dormant.

And Coldblood is a being optimized to protect the split Voltex One, a kind of living storage device.

‘That’s also why you die when you summon Voltex One.’

The demons of the universe that come to the material world eat their contractors. They dispose of unnecessary storage devices while also obtaining the energy source needed to maintain their bodies.

Therefore, I need to separate Isabelle before Voltex One is fully summoned. That’s the only way to save her.

[Zzzzz Zzzzz (I’m going to pull Isabelle out)]

“I’ll help.”

“Yes! Let’s save friend’s family!”

I narrowed the distance to the queen and then extended my corrosive tentacles. Six tentacles that sprouted from my back headed toward the black liquid gathering in the air.

“‘P■edator’s’ attack. De■■nd.”

A unique wave exclusive to Outspacers tickled the monster’s tentacles. The collection bugs, following its orders, blocked the path of my tentacles. Like moths clinging to a lamp at night, the collection bugs clung to my tentacles, preventing them from moving.

Only one tentacle successfully passed through the meat shields and struck the black liquid.

The moment my tentacle touched the black liquid, which was infinitely small compared to my tentacle, I felt an enormous repulsive force. Not only that, but the area that collided with the liquid was hollowed out as if hit by a matter-decomposing bullet.

“Pain reduction activated!”

After a long time, the “Pain Reduction” trait was activated. Intense pain struck my mind, but I didn’t waver. I had expected this.

‘Good. Now that I’ve fed it, its obsession with the summoner should have decreased a bit.’

Some Voltex Ones attack the summoner during the summoning ritual, that is, during the process of body reconstruction. Since I’ve given it another food source instead of the summoner’s flesh, Isabelle’s life should be extended a bit more.

Next, I rapidly descended to directly detach Isabelle from the queen. The queen, seeing me approach, attempted superluminal navigation.

“You can’t go!”

“!”

At that moment, No. 26 extended numerous saw-like tentacles to grab the queen. Like a giant octopus fighting a whale, countless tentacles entangled the queen’s body. The queen, who had been glowing blue, returned to normal.

“Damn it! Because of you, Morph bastard…!”

Seeing this, Alshas let out an angry shout and struck No. 26’s tentacles with “Judgment” in her hand. Since it was forged from the horn of a Black Gallergorn, the saw-like tentacles were cut without resistance.

“Ouch!”

‘How dare you!’

Seeing No. 26 in pain, both of my heads were engulfed in rage. The heads, with their mouths opened to the maximum, pounced on Alshas.

“You bit—!”

Alshas was crushed by my head without even being able to scream. At the same time, a large wound was inflicted on the queen’s body.

The queen fell to the ground with a scream of pain. The collection bugs that had been attacking me also followed the injured queen.

The queen, who had crashed onto the desert sand, glowed blue and then disappeared.

At any other time, I would have tracked the queen, but I couldn’t now.

Because of Isabelle floating in the void.

‘The trembling of her body is weakening.’

The black liquid that came from her body had already spread larger than not only her body size but also the queen’s. Thanks to the time I bought, she’s held on until now, but in a few minutes, that black liquid will be completed as Voltex One.

‘I need to find a way.’

I’ve killed a summoner before summoning, but I’ve never interfered during the process like this. Even if I try to pull Isabelle out with corrosive tentacles and combat arms, the black liquid blocks me.

Using Psychic Breath or the Black Predator Cannon has many problems. Not only is time short, but if I make a mistake, Isabelle might die too.

While I was contemplating, No. 26 on my back moved. It crawled up to my central head using the fins under its body.

‘Huh?’

“I’ll protect friend’s family.”

What followed was beyond my expectations.

As it extended one tentacle, a purple stem appeared. The stem, undulating like waves in a night sea, stretched toward the space where Isabelle was floating.

‘What’s that?’

Like a spider wrapping its prey in a cocoon, the purple stem spread out like a membrane and wrapped around Isabelle. On the membrane, purple stems were intertwined, creating geometric patterns.

The suddenly created energy membrane covered Isabelle’s entire body, also blocking the black liquid flowing from the Coldblood’s body. The black liquid tried to reclaim Isabelle’s body, but all were blocked by No. 26’s purple waves.

After the black liquid and Isabelle were completely separated, the purple stems created by No. 26 disappeared. Isabelle’s body also fell to the ground like a kite with its string cut.

‘Oh no!’

I rapidly descended following the falling Isabelle. Just before colliding with the sand, I barely caught her with my combat arm.

‘Phew.’

Successfully detaching her before death.

Of course, there are many incomprehensible elements in the process, but there’s something more important now.

Landing on the sand, I spread my fingers to check on her.

The condition of the small Coldblood was truly miserable. Wounds that looked as if they had been slashed with a blade covered her entire body, and the curved blade I had seen earlier was stuck in her abdomen. Black liquid, blood, and flesh were mixed and flowing from her wounds.

She’s barely breathing, with injuries so severe that it wouldn’t be strange if she died at any moment. I urgently activated the internal organ-related fusion trait “Ultra Jelly.”

Ultra Jelly is a trait that consumes health to create high-calorie nutritional substances.

In the game, I would prepare it in advance and eat it when needed to recover health. For instance, when infiltrating enemy territory and facing consecutive battles, or when I’ve consumed a lot of health building a nest. Simply put, it’s AMorph’s potion.

A small lump formed in my mouth from saliva-like substances. Though small, it was about the size of an adult man’s upper body.

There’s no time to feed her bit by bit, so I poured it directly onto Isabelle. The semi-liquefied, soft Ultra Jelly seeped into her wounds.

‘…Not good.’

But her wounds didn’t improve. The Ultra Jelly barely maintained her current condition.

“‘Little Sister’s’ condition is very poor. I estimate that her life activities will cease within the next 5 minutes.”

PS-111, who had been watching my healing activities, said.

He’s right. Isabelle’s body is on the verge of collapse. It’s beyond any form of treatment.

“Si… sister…”

Hearing the voice of her twin sister, Isabelle called out to her only blood relative. I picked up PS-111 from my head and placed him beside her.

“Little Sister. You must not give up.”

“So, rry. Sorry, for, aban, doning, my, sis, ter…”

“I have many expectations for you. You are necessary to me.”

“AMorph, please.”

With those words, Isabelle lost consciousness.

‘Should I just eat her now?’

If this continues, I’ll truly lose her. All the knowledge and perks she possesses will be gone. If I don’t eat Isabelle here, the loss will be greater.

‘The problem is that the disadvantages are not insignificant.’

I’ve never eaten a Coldblood in the middle of a ritual. If I’m not careful, Voltex One might tear through my stomach and escape.

Judging from Isabelle’s last words, it might be okay, but I can’t be 100% certain. She probably hasn’t experienced this either.

‘What should I do… wait.’

Just as I was about to swallow the dying Coldblood in one gulp, an idea suddenly came to mind.

“PS-111, there’s a medical facility in the Gigacracker, right?”

“Yes. But that facility cannot remove the unidentified substance that has invaded Little Sister’s body.”

“What if we make a new body?”

Understanding my intention, PS-111 blinked his red camera lens.

“You already know how to transfer it.”

“I estimate a 10% success rate. There’s a high probability of failure.”

“If we continue like this, Isabelle will die. And I plan to eat her before she dies.”

Hearing my honest words, PS-111 lowered his head. He’s motionless, but inside his head, he’s probably calculating countless possibilities.

“Think about what you want.”

“What I want?”

Hearing those words, he raised his head. The red lens shines brightly, filled with light.

“I want Little Sister to survive. So please help.”

“Alright.”

I immediately used “Starlight Coordinates” to send PS-111 to the Gigacracker.

Starlight Coordinates imposes a movement restriction penalty proportional to the size of the target being moved and my size. Previously, after moving PS-111, I would have been immobilized for tens of minutes, but not now. Since I’m in the “Bone Beast” state, my body has grown more than three times larger.

After a minute, my body could move again. I immediately used Starlight Coordinates on Isabelle as well.

‘PS-111 will succeed.’

He estimated a low success rate, but I don’t think so.

How many Mutant Screamers are there who have repaired and improved their own bodies, and even created mini screamers? Besides his creator, there’s probably no one who knows as much about Screamers as he does.

So he will definitely succeed.

‘I’ll leave Isabelle to him, and now what’s left is…’

I looked up at the sky.

Voltex One, wandering after losing the Coldblood during summoning. The black liquid that had been clumped together had now become a fog form and was expanding to an enormous size. To give an idea, it was already much larger than me, even in my Bone Beast state.

‘Who did she summon?’

I have a few guesses, but I can’t be 100% certain.

While I was focusing on Isabelle, the incomplete summoning ritual was almost complete.

Something stirs in the widely spread black fog. Something inside the fog writhes and slowly crawls out.

‘It’s coming.’

What emerged from the fog was a black ring. A very massive black ring.

On the body of the ring were countless arms. The arms, which were also black like the ring, were all clasping their hands together as if praying.

The overall appearance was reminiscent of a halo often seen in religious paintings. However, while it should maintain a perfect ring shape, the one that appeared here was missing half of its body.

‘…Ring of Agony.’

Voltex One, called the demon of the universe.

One of them has descended upon Beryan02 in an incomplete state.