Ch.461Brawl (2)

Freed from his restraints, Adhigh Orr accelerated at full power and flew toward where his companion was.

The thorn monsters had already stopped attacking and fled. PS-111, damaged in various parts of its body, remained alone.

“Thank, you, for, help.”

Perhaps due to the shortened distance, their thought waves could reach each other, albeit in a limited way. PS-111 expressed gratitude.

“Body” “okay?” “Badly” “hurt”

“Core components, no, damage.”

Though many parts were broken, it wasn’t severe enough to hinder fighting. PS-111 examined Adhigh with its camera lens eyes.

“More, importantly, scale, wing damage, confirmed.”

“No” “problem”

Adhigh lightly rotated half a turn in place. Red lightning flashed across his body with the movement.

This defensive technique was different from the usual. PS-111 realized that the small Gallergorn had upgraded his power into a new form.

Though curious about the exact nature of this ability, the battle wasn’t over yet. PS-111 turned to look at the remaining enemies.

Adhigh had killed most of the cluster-type entities. Only three or four fish monsters remained.

The problem was the cyan-yellow jellyfish-like creature. The being that had strengthened the cluster-type entities with an unknown power was still present.

“Small-adult” “looking” “enemy” “made” “small-ones” “stronger”

“Correct.”

“Weakness” “what is it?”

PS-111 looked at the distant enemy.

The space they were in seemed empty, but it wasn’t. A fierce competition was unfolding between the energy field spread by the enemy and the warp particles emitted by PS-111.

And in that process, it had succeeded in partially analyzing the opponent’s abilities.

“Enemy, Outspacer queen. Weapon, energy wavelength.”

“Wavelength?”

Higher entities of Outspacers can emit unique bioelectric energy wavelengths. These are mainly used when commanding lower entities or communicating with other entities belonging to the same colony.

But this entity’s wavelength was on a different dimension from such communication means. It could manipulate the metabolism of other creatures through energy wavelengths, or control and block the direction of various energies.

Changing the trajectory of the psychic breath, strengthening the companion entities that came with it—all done with that wavelength.

“Feel” “nothing”

“That wavelength. Small-baby, not affected.”

The enemy’s power was formidable, but it had a fatal weakness.

To forcibly strengthen or weaken organisms and control energy at will, an energy wavelength is needed. This means that in situations where the wavelength doesn’t function properly, it becomes significantly weaker.

In fact, the enemy was unable to manipulate the physical activities of Adhigh and PS-111.

In Adhigh’s case, his unique red barrier blocked all of the enemy’s attacks. PS-111 was defending by using Prometheus’s warp particles to disrupt the movement of the wavelength.

The enemy was trying to break through somehow, but all attempts were blocked by PS-111’s agile responses.

Of course, they weren’t completely at ease either. PS-111 had the upper hand, but the difference wasn’t significant. The reason their thought-wave conversation wasn’t smooth was because the queen was interfering.

Because of this, both sides were at a stalemate, but the cluster-type entities had been neutralized. If Adhigh approached the enemy, the battle would end there. Even if it strengthened itself with energy wavelengths, it couldn’t defeat Adhigh.

“So direct approach…”

Just as PS-111 was about to explain how to fight, an unexpected event occurred.

The Outspacer queen, resembling No. 26, suddenly extended its tentacles and grabbed the fish monsters. Then it devoured them.

“?” “Aren’t they” “allies?”

“They are.”

“Then” “why” “eat them?”

According to information collected by PS-111, Outspacers, like AMorphs, can prey on other organisms and reflect their advantages and characteristics in their colony. They utilize the genetic information contained within organisms as a kind of resource.

Currently, the cluster-type entities were severely weakened. It seemed to have eaten its own kind to preserve important genes.

“Enemy, aims for power of creatures, similar to AMorph.”

“Like” “big-adult?”

“Yes. Consumes organisms, to gain power. Eats weak comrades, to preserve strength.”

“Disagree” “big-adult” “doesn’t eat” “allies”

Adhigh, disliking PS-111’s comparison, shook his head roughly.

“Eating” “allies” “bad” “will” “eliminate” “enemy”

“Direct approach, and destroy.”

“Understood”

With those words, Adhigh, who had been tensing his body for battle, sprang forward.

Due to the incredible speed, it looked like a red line stretching out. The small Gallergorn closed the distance with the opponent in an instant.

Just before the two collided, the queen spread its tentacles wide. Then, an energy wavelength twice as powerful as what had been emitted so far burst forth.

A force powerful enough to distort even light blocked the Gallergorn. Adhigh, who had been flying as fast as lightning, stopped for the first time.

The tentacles emitting the wavelength and the Gallergorn’s slender body trembled. The space fluctuated due to the power struggle between an invisible giant and a red dwarf.

“Dlrjs Qnfrksmdgkek!”

From the outside, it was clear who would win, but the reality was completely different.

Adhigh began to move forward slowly. The trembling of the tentacles intensified, but the situation didn’t change.

Eventually, the tentacles that had reached their limit burst one by one. Energy wavelengths and flesh scattered in the void. Freed from the restraint, Adhigh flew like lightning and pierced through the enemy.

The queen barely avoided death by dodging. However, it lost more than half of its body and was in tatters.

The critically wounded enemy tried to escape by flailing its few remaining tentacles. Of course, it was a futile struggle. PS-111 was blocking it from making a faster-than-light journey.

Death was all that remained for the queen.

“Now” “end”

Just as Adhigh was about to finish off the enemy.

Adhigh sensed something and stopped. An unidentifiable discomfort was spreading from the black space.

“?”

An ominous sensation that made the tentacle clusters at the corners of his mouth tremble. It was definitely a sensation he had encountered before.

However, this time, the discomfort felt more than twice as strong as before.

Adhigh abandoned the attack and returned to where PS-111 was.

“Strange” “danger” “over there”

PS-111 had detected the same thing.

The warp particles spread around were disappearing for unknown reasons.

And in that space where the warp particles had disappeared, a small entity appeared.

“Dwarf?”

The entity that suddenly appeared had a mixed appearance of human and various creatures.

Neither Adhigh, who uttered the question, nor PS-111 thought that this entity was truly human.

As if answering that thought, the unidentified entity resembling a human began to change.

The scaled skin split, and the limbs twisted. Black bones protruded from the crushed body parts instead of blood and flesh. The bones that tore through the skin were in the form of thin spines densely sprouting like bird feathers.

The bones resembling feathers quickly covered the rest of the body except for the face. And they continued to grow without stopping.

Before long, dozens of bone wings filled the space. The mutation, which started from human size, ended when it reached about half the size of the Outspacer queen.

At the center of the wings was a human woman’s head the size of a small child.

After completing its mutation, it approached the queen. As if they knew each other, the queen staggered and stood behind the strange life form.

“The two” “seem” “allied”

“I, agree.”

They didn’t know how this entity came here. One thing for sure was that it was on the same side as the Outspacer queen.

In other words, it was their enemy.

“Appeared” “suddenly”

“Yes. Not, an ordinary, enemy.”

Adhigh also knew that PS-111 could block faster-than-light travel with its power. And that this power was in effect here.

Even AMorph, whom Adhigh respected, couldn’t escape this rule.

Yet this monster appeared here suddenly, as if mocking the absolute law. Despite PS-111 not allowing it.

“New enemy” “strong” “be careful”

“Yes. But, it’s, okay.”

“?”

Instead of answering, PS-111 turned its body around. Adhigh followed and looked back.

The red lens eyes pointed toward the planet behind. There was a small dot on the blue planet covered with oceans. The pink glowing dot grew rapidly.

“We, have, support, too.”

When Adhigh demonstrated his new technique earlier, a massive amount of energy was released. The aftermath of the energy explosion reached deep under the sea, passing through the planet’s atmosphere.

“Small-baby!”

And now, No. 26, having received the silent message, came here with Isabelle.

“Sister, why communi-, suddenly, why, like this?”

“Enemy, approaching.”

“Bad guy” “strong” “need” “to join forces”

“Yes!”

The AMorph family had all gathered to face the newly appeared enemy.

The second battle was about to begin.

–

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw a family home.

A cozy living room with pleasant sunlight streaming in.

I was sitting on a sofa placed there.

‘This is an illusion.’

After meeting the entity that introduced itself as the “Information Unit,” no illusions had appeared. The last time I caught the Arcane Orca and entered the cocoon, I didn’t see anything.

So I thought it would be the same this time, but it’s unexpected.

‘Let me look around a bit.’

There must be a reason why the illusion was interrupted and then reappeared. I got up and scanned the living room.

This is neither the house where I lived with my parents when I was young, nor the last studio apartment I remember before coming to this world. It’s clearly a place not in my memory.

Despite seeing it for the first time, there’s no sense of awkwardness. Far from being unfamiliar, it feels only familiar. As if I’ve spent a long time here.

Then, the photos hanging on the living room wall caught my eye.

They were photos of a young couple at what appeared to be tourist spots like mountains or seas. There was also a photo of the woman with a swollen belly, suggesting they were the couple living in this house.

Interestingly, the couple’s faces were blurred as if pixelated. All photos were in the same condition.

‘…But why does this feel so familiar?’

I’m certain I know these two. Especially the woman with the man—I have a recent memory of her.

‘Even though I can’t see their faces, surely…’

As I was looking at the photos in confusion, I heard the sound of a door opening.

“Oh? Dad must be home early.”

Followed by a woman’s voice.

When I turned around, I saw a woman holding a child. Was it because of the sunlight filling the living room? I couldn’t see either of their faces.

However, I could tell what expressions they were making. Surprise, welcome, joy crossed in succession. The woman’s mouth moved in that state.

The moment she called my name, I opened my eyes.

“Grook?”

I feel the mucus flowing over the carapace, the cool chill in the air. All sensations I’ve felt several times before.

Another evolution has ended.