Ch.349Gravity Bomb (7)

Stellarium quickly transformed into a paradise for monsters.

“Kyaaak!”

“Save me!”

“Is anyone there? Please help!”

The problem wasn’t confined to the academy. Monster spores had fallen across the entire planet and germinated.

It was the queen’s doing.

“Rustila, Zernya!”

[— ‘Great Triangle’ effect is currently active.]

That was fortunate amid the misfortune. It meant my two wives were nearby.

Neither Rustila nor Zernya could answer their phones. They seemed overwhelmed just maintaining their positions.

Scanning my screen, I saw messages from elsewhere.

[Brother]

[Save me]

It was Seti.

[A monster got into the house]

[What should I do?]

Her usual abbreviated texting style was nowhere to be seen. Seti tended to write more calmly when emotionally cornered.

In other words.

This was an emergency.

If I rescued Seti, the professors would be in danger, and if I saved the professors, Seti would be in danger.

I needed to split the team.

“Cartesia, and Sister. Please save the professors together.”

Cartesia turned her gaze toward the Natural Sciences building.

“Tsk, woman. This is a special alliance, just this once.”

Click.

Ireh pulled out her holy spirit gun and responded cynically.

“Director Nam.”

Tap!

The two of them charged forward quickly. With Cartesia and Ireh going, the professors wouldn’t be in danger.

I hurriedly turned my head.

“Sonia, follow me!”

“Are you heading to the main ship?”

“If we’re even a little late, it’ll be dangerous!”

I ran with Sonia. Right now, Seti was in more danger than anyone else.

I understood Shterm’s objective. He was trying to kill Seti to cut off my funding. Capital could be gathered again, but losing my sister would traumatize me for life.

Pitter-patter.

Seeds scattered on the floor as we tried to pass.

Crack!

The seeds germinated at a terrifying speed. Their forms were gradually changing into humanoid shapes. But they weren’t human.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Monsters with mushroom cap-like heads blocked our path.

[— B-class monster: Garlic Fungus]

Just tough small fry. The problem is how quickly their numbers grow.

Shing.

Sonia and I simultaneously drew our calipers.

Whack!

I swung at the group of fungi. The monsters in front staggered and fell. The fungi behind them collapsed like dominoes.

“Professor Rheinland!”

Soldiers caught up with us.

“We’re breaking through!”

With the army’s help, we reached the orbital ascender. I planned to take it to the Rheinland main ship.

But the situation wasn’t favorable.

“Young master! Look up!”

Mold completely blocked the ascender platform. We’d be too late if we tried to clear it all.

“Let’s go to Exit 3! We’ll escape in a personal spacecraft!”

Exit 3 was a large dome-shaped structure. It had a separate military dock, so we could leave the planet after dealing with just a few monsters.

In the end, this too was a race against time.

As I charged toward the oncoming monsters, I prepared myself to die.

***

Rheinland main ship.

Seti, locked in her room, kept sending messages to Eidel.

[I’ll be there soon]

[Just hide for now]

‘Brother is coming.’

That was somewhat reassuring.

Thump, thump.

The sounds of monsters rummaging through the house continued.

The Rheinland main residence was too large to be called a house. This meant there were many places to hide, but conversely, it also meant many monsters could enter.

At least a dozen or so.

Seti bit her fingertips and held her breath.

Ten minutes. Twenty minutes.

How much time had passed?

When she judged that it had been quite a while since she’d heard the last monster’s footsteps, Seti carefully emerged from under the desk. She sat in front of the monitor, intending only to check the CCTV.

That’s when it happened.

Knock, knock, knock.

She heard knocking from beyond her room.

– Seti, it’s your brother. Open the door.

‘Brother…?’

Seti stood up. She slowly approached the locked door.

“Is it really you, brother?”

– Of course. Open the door.

Seti reflexively tried to press the door unlock button. But then her thoughts froze.

Seti dealt with large sums of money. She knew well that a moment’s mistake could lead to catastrophic ruin. She was cautious enough to test even seemingly safe stepping stones multiple times before crossing.

“There should be a call button there, right? Press that first so I can see your face.”

– Seti, this is an urgent situation. I need to save you and then save others. No time for games. Hurry.

Seti frowned.

“What about Sonia? Is Sonia there too?”

– Yes, young master. I’m here too. Don’t worry and please open the door.

Strange. No matter how she thought about it, something felt suspicious. Couldn’t they just press the call button once instead of this back-and-forth?

“…”

Seti made her decision.

She needed to escape.

She’d heard something from Rustila before. Some monsters or incarnate bodies could mimic acquaintances. This was likely that type.

– Ah, you figured it out?

Crunch!

The steel door crumpled. Seti jumped back in surprise. She covered her mouth with her palm to suppress a scream.

‘Stay calm.’

Seti grabbed the Plasma Sword she kept for self-defense.

‘I know how to use it.’

Keeeeng.

Aether escaping from Seti’s body charged the sword. Objectively, it wasn’t a satisfying amount. Her patron constellation Letty specialized only in wealth and business.

‘Still.’

It would be enough to hold out until her brother arrived. Seti quickly checked the opposite door. There wasn’t just one entrance to the room.

Click, clack.

Seti flung the door open. A monster with a flower-like head greeted her.

Slash!

Seti clumsily cut down the monster. It must have been a weak B-class creature, as it died after a few sword strikes.

Boom!

The opposite door flew open. Seti turned around. She was so shocked that she hiccupped instead of screaming.

“Wh-where.”

“Are you going?”

It was a humanoid monster with two heads. Its neck was stretched like a snake, and one head had unusually long hair, appearing female.

The male head mimicked Eidel’s voice, while the long-haired female head imitated Sonia’s.

“Seti, your brother is right here. Where are you going?”

“Miss, please come this way. That direction is dangerous.”

Monster? Incarnate body?

She didn’t know. She’d never seen such a monster before.

[“R-run…!”]

Her patron constellation Letty screamed in her head. Seti ran at full speed, avoiding the two-headed snake ghost.

Bang! Bang! Boom, bang!

The snake monster followed quickly. Seti ran, forgetting even to breathe.

‘I can’t win.’

They were in different weight classes. She instinctively knew this wasn’t an opponent she could handle easily like the monster she’d just cut down.

“Come hereee.”

“Let’s play togetherrr.”

The voices of the two snake heads changed. The tone became slurred.

Then the two heads touched each other and strangely stuck together. The combined head transformed into something thin and pointed like a knife. It looked like a blade attached to flesh.

Swoosh!

The blade flew toward her. Seti quickly turned a corner.

Crash!

The blade embedded in the wall. The spacecraft wall, made of material that wouldn’t budge under normal impact, was brutally torn apart.

“Hak, hak, haak!”

Seti ran. She ran and ran. Whenever monsters appeared before her, she had to expend significant stamina.

It was a chase with no end in sight.

She needed to either defeat them or escape. One or the other.

‘The dock.’

There were multiple routes to the dock. And Seti knew the internal structure of the Rheinland main ship even better than her brother.

She mapped it in her head. She worked out the optimal route. Having found hope, Seti put strength into her lungs without checking her surroundings.

That’s why she didn’t see what was at her feet.

Slash!

“Kyaak!”

Seti fell helplessly.

Spin.

From the impact of falling, Seti’s sword slid far away.

Now she could see the thin, barely visible, sharp threads set up like traps.

“Ugh, it, it hurts.”

She felt heat around her ankle.

A red line had formed where the thread had cut through. Blood began to seep out along the straight wound.

For a moment, she felt chilled to the bone. Judging by the strength of the thread, if she hadn’t fallen, her leg would have been severed.

“Kukukuk.”

“Ahaha.”

The two-headed snake monster approached, slowing its pace.

The monster opened its mouth wide. The upper and lower jaws formed an obtuse angle. It resembled a real snake about to swallow its prey.

‘I’m going to be eaten.’

But that wasn’t the only problem.

Creak, creak.

From the opposite side appeared a spider-like monster with centipede-like legs. Despite being an arthropod, it was human-sized. The earlier threads were its doing.

The spider-like monster approached, clicking its teeth.

“Kikikik.”

“Grrrk.”

It was over. She was surrounded. Seti sensed death. She clutched her bleeding leg and cried pitifully.

“S-someone help me! Dad, Mom, Brother…!”

At that moment.

Tap-tap-tap!

Quick footsteps came from behind the snake monster. The monster, about to devour Seti, turned around for a split second.

That was its fatal mistake.

Bang!

A sound like a gunshot erupted. A silver caliper drew a dark arc as it struck the monster’s head.

The monster fell sideways, its eyes rolling back. Both heads foamed at the mouth as if hit by a proton bomb.

Tap.

A white coat fluttered like a veil. Then, black hair, yellow eyes.

“B-brother?”

“I told you to call me Professor during work hours.”

Hearing the response, Seti was dumbfounded.

The way he spoke, the skill with which he beat the monster.

Undoubtedly her own flesh and blood.

“What bastard made my little sister cry?”

The rogue Eidel had arrived.