Ch.423Star of Terror (2)

“Damn it, feels good to be on land after so long… shit.”

In a building with flickering lights, a scarred pirate cursed while looking out the window.

Beyond the window, several transport ships could be seen wobbling as they barely managed to land. The city they were in was currently in the middle of a massive storm.

“When are those guys fixing the terraforming machines supposed to be done?”

“Even if they hurry, it’ll take until tomorrow at least.”

“Fuck. Two weeks in space was bad enough, and now we have to deal with this shit too.”

In this weather, going outside without a walker or reinforced suit would be extremely dangerous. Until all the terraforming machines were repaired, staying inside buildings like this was the safest option.

Of course, the pirates who had just returned to solid ground weren’t happy about the situation. Their anger was rising as quickly as the amount of synthetic drugs they’d been inhaling.

“The officers said we’ll prepare for the hunt as soon as repairs are done.”

“Prepare? Don’t tell me…”

“Yeah. We came here to catch some fucking monster. Shit.”

“Goddamn it. I wondered why they were moving so much equipment. Ptui!”

The pirate who had been staring at the rain-streaked window spat on the floor. The others clicked their tongues at the sight.

“Ugh, that’s disgusting.”

“I gave that bastard the expensive stuff, and he’s spitting it out.”

They shook their heads and took long drags from their e-cigarettes filled with drugs. Their sensory organs were being damaged in real-time by the potent hallucinogens, but nobody cared.

“But something seems strange.”

“What are you going on about now?”

“Look, we suffered like dogs in space two weeks ago. We haven’t even sold those corpses yet.”

“They must have a use for them.”

“Maybe they want to fuck the corpses?”

“Ugh, this necrophiliac bastard.”

While the drug-addled pirates were chattering nonsense, the door opened. A pirate in a soaking wet reinforced suit entered.

The newcomer belonged to a different cartel than them. Everyone was ignoring him, but one of them spoke up.

“Hey. You work for Sinoni?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Is there anywhere fun to go around here?”

“Of course there is. Would you like me to take you?”

It was a question asked on a whim, but the answer was unexpected.

“There’s somewhere we can go in this weather?”

“If you’re talking about taking a walker, you can forget it.”

“Don’t worry. It’s an underground facility.”

“Underground?”

“Yes. An underground gambling den connected to the sewers. Besides gambling, you can also have a good time with slaves.”

Everyone’s faces lit up at those words.

“Show us right now.”

“Please follow me.”

The Sinoni member guided the pirates deeper into the building. Following him, they came to a black iron door.

When the member opened the door, a dark underground passage appeared.

“Was there a basement in this building?”

“I don’t think I saw it when we came in earlier.”

“This way.”

The pirates followed the member with his headlight through the damp passage.

“Fuck! What’s that smell?”

“It’s an abandoned sewer. I heard the soldiers stationed here used to use it.”

“Soldiers? Were they running some kind of operation?”

“Of course not. They were sneaking out to go to gambling dens.”

The claim about it being an abandoned sewer seemed true, as a foul stench permeated the air. It smelled like hundreds of decomposing corpses, making it difficult to bear even in their drug-induced state.

Moreover, the floor was covered with sticky mud-like substance. Everyone stepped carefully, knowing that slipping would lead to an unpleasant situation.

“Hey, this really is abandoned, right? We’re not going to get hit by a wave of sewage or anything?”

“We’ve been here several times, and nothing like that has happened.”

“Ugh, if I fall…”

The pirate who was about to say it would be terrible stopped mid-sentence.

Someone was standing in the dark passage.

“What the f—?!”

“It’s fine. They’re my friends.”

The headlight revealed two pirates in reinforced suits. They silently approached and stood beside the member.

“We agreed to meet here. We were planning to go to the gambling den together.”

The member at the front spoke casually and continued walking.

“……”

The pirates following him couldn’t just let it go.

In this sewer with no lighting, they had been waiting without any light. Even though they could have used the headlights attached to their helmets.

Even to these drug-addled men, the situation was clearly suspicious.

The pirates following behind carefully moved their hands closer to their weapons.

“Hey. Your friends are awfully quiet for people who arranged to meet in a place like this.”

“They’re not very talkative.”

“Well, I think differently. It’s not that they don’t want to talk—they can’t talk, right?”

“Pardon?”

The member at the front slowly turned around after hearing those words.

“Are you suspicious of us?”

“I’ve heard there are still separatist remnants around. What guarantee do we have that you’re not terrorists?”

“If I were a terrorist, I would have attacked already. Would I have stayed quiet all the way here?”

“Who knows. Maybe you’re trying to lure us.”

“Right. You might be trying to ambush us in a place like this since we outnumber you.”

The pirates aimed their weapons as they spoke. The Sinoni member just silently stared at them.

“We’ll talk details once we get out. Hands up.”

“……”

“You think we’re suckers… what the?”

Suddenly, the member started trembling.

“This crazy bastard. Are you laughing?”

Soon, the pirates realized the man was indeed laughing. He was cackling as if something was incredibly funny. His two companions hadn’t said a word since they first met and just stood there silently.

“Fuck, hands up!”

“I’ll kill you!”

The pirates’ shouts echoed in the thick darkness.

Fear was mixed in their cries. Though they were the ones holding weapons, they were overwhelmed by the eerie atmosphere.

When the pirate shouted, the trembling, laughing member abruptly stopped. He slowly moved both hands toward his head.

“D-don’t move!”

“I’m just removing my helmet.”

“I said don’t move!”

Despite their words, they couldn’t bring themselves to shoot. They had a bad feeling. It felt like something terrible would happen if they opened fire.

The man, seeming to anticipate this, removed his helmet without hesitation.

The headlight illuminated his face. The scars scattered across it and the unkempt beard made him look not much different from the pirates present.

“I’m neither a separatist nor a Sinoni pirate. I’m just…”

His companions also removed their helmets. When their faces were revealed, the pirates froze.

The faces illuminated by the light were definitely not human. Beneath their pale skin, countless things were writhing.

“A messenger.”

The headlights went out, and those things wearing human skin lunged at the pirates.

Energy rounds flashed briefly in the pitch-black darkness before quickly fading.

Afterward, sounds like a school of fish devouring chunks of meat filled the sewer.

–

“Boss. All the items have been transported.”

“Good.”

Two pirates were conversing in a room cluttered with expensive items. It was Ventris and his superior, the Sinoni boss.

“There weren’t any problems during unloading, were there?”

“The quantity was large, but I supervised thoroughly, so there were no issues.”

“Thanks to your thoroughness, it took a long time to unload the cargo.”

“Ahem, well…”

Ventris bowed his head at his boss’s pointed remark.

The boss, sitting in an antique mahogany chair and glaring at his subordinate, waved his hand after a moment.

“Forget it. There are more important matters than your treatment right now.”

“Thank you.”

“Sutherland said the items we brought this time were difficult for the chief to obtain. There can’t be any mistakes in the preparation.”

“The chief, sir?”

Ventris showed a slightly surprised expression at those words.

“What exactly are these items? I saw them briefly during unloading, and they looked like spaceship parts.”

“You don’t need to know. Just make sure there are no problems.”

“I need to know what they are to ensure nothing goes wrong. If you could tell me just a little…”

“Hmm.”

Sutherland, the Sinoni boss, had repeatedly emphasized that it was an extremely valuable item. That the item must be protected at all costs.

If that was the case, as Ventris said, knowing what it was would make management easier. After a moment’s consideration, he decided to reveal a little.

“I don’t know all the details, but I heard it’s some kind of warp finder.”

“A warp finder? You mean the equipment used for tracking ships?”

Ventris looked at his boss with a puzzled expression.

A warp finder is equipment that analyzes energy flows created by faster-than-light travel. While expensive, it’s not something that could be considered extremely rare.

Reading his subordinate’s thoughts, the boss added:

“It’s not an ordinary warp finder.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s a prototype model secretly developed by the Star Union. Less than ten people in the universe know of its existence.”

“I-is that so? I didn’t realize it was such a precious item.”

“I was told they deliberately disassembled it into parts to prevent information leaks. Only the chief knows how to assemble and operate it.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, now that you know, be careful. Understand?”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

That concluded their conversation.

After Ventris left, the boss leaned back comfortably in his chair.

He had delegated all the miscellaneous tasks for operation preparation to his deputy. All he had to do now was wait.

“Well then…”

Rising from his seat, the boss pulled out a bottle from the liquor cabinet.

“Olympus 12-year-old. Not a liquor a mere security team leader could afford.”

The previous owner of this room had been in charge of the research facility’s security system. It was thanks to his help that Ventris and his subordinates were able to easily occupy this place.

The man had left AG-01 immediately after dealing with the pirates, leaving behind all these fine items.

“Let me taste… huh?”

About to pour the ownerless liquor, he frowned at his palm. There was some sticky black slime on his hand holding the bottle.

“Tsk, mold?”

After roughly wiping it off on his pants, he opened the cap. The fragrant aroma that rose suggested the contents were fine.

“The contents seem okay.”

Taking a sip, he found the taste was also fine. The intoxicating and strong fragrance that spread in his mouth was enough to make his legs weak.

“…Excellent.”

With that, he began guzzling the precious liquor.

The boss had received expensive genetic modification treatments funded by the chief. As a result, he didn’t get drunk easily even from strong alcohol.

As he was downing the liquor like water…

He heard a sound from outside the door.

“Kuh… who’s there?”

He called out, but only silence answered.

Thinking he had misheard, he was about to drink again when he heard the sound once more.

“!”

This time he heard it clearly.

The sound from outside was definitely a child’s laughter.

The boss grabbed a weapon instead of the bottle and opened the door.

A corridor stretched out under the lights. At the end was the source of the sound.

“Huh? What are you?”

The young Volf with a jackal’s head didn’t answer and disappeared around the corner.

The entire building was being thoroughly guarded by Sinoni pirates. It wasn’t a place where a Volf cub could freely wander.

Moreover, that Volf that just disappeared looked familiar. He had definitely seen it recently, but couldn’t remember where.

‘More importantly, I need to chase it…’

Whatever the case, he just needed to catch and question it. The boss pursued the intruder with nimble steps.

Rounding the corner, he saw the Volf going down the stairs. He immediately followed it to the basement.

Whether the creature had turned off the lights or not, the lower floor was pitch black unlike upstairs. But he had useful genes implanted in his body. He could distinguish objects even in low light.

Skillfully navigating through the darkness, he quickly caught up to his target.

“Stop.”

At the boss’s command, the small fugitive halted.

“You, where did you come in from?”

Instead of answering, it slowly turned around.

‘Huh?’

Seeing its face, he remembered something.

Several weeks ago, the boss had gone to a planet with another cartel. The female he had played with and killed there looked similar to this Volf.

“You know me, don’t you?”

“……”

Instead of answering, the Volf cub glared at him. Seeing those resentful eyes, he was certain.

“Ha. I don’t know how you got here, but… urgh?!”

Just as he was about to tell it that this would be its grave, an intense impact struck him. His body was lifted into the air and slammed against a nearby wall.

“Aaaaargh!”

The boss screamed, unable to bear the overwhelming pain. A golden skewer piercing his right shoulder had pinned him to the wall.

“You son of a… aaaagh!”

He tried to counterattack by switching his weapon to his left hand, but failed again. A beast’s forepaw from the darkness pressed down on his left arm.

Even trying to escape using his enhanced strength, the beast’s paw didn’t budge. Instead, it crushed his arm and sternum with overwhelming force.

Two amber lights appeared before him as he writhed in pain.

“Urrrgh!”

“Some children you killed by cutting off their arms and legs, others you killed by impaling them on skewers and burning them. You enjoyed hearing their screams.”

What he thought were lights turned out to be eyes. The eyes of a predator with a body several times larger than an adult man.

“As much as I want to kill you right now…”

The sharp beak protruding between the two eyes stopped just before piercing the boss’s neck. The beast removed its beak and forepaw and slowly backed away.

“Kuhurk!”

‘Am I… alive?’

As he gasped for breath, the beast spoke:

“Death would be a mercy for vermin like you.”

Just as he was feeling relieved about surviving, the wall behind him suddenly moved. Black vine-like things shot out, wrapped around his body, and began pulling him toward the wall.

“You all need to suffer more.”

“Wait… kuhup!”

Completely bound, even his mouth, he was sucked into the liquefied wall without being able to resist once.