episode_0004

Twinkling starlight.

Blue sea Earth.

Beyond the glass, an unreal spectacle.

Stunned, frozen in shock.

This wasn’t some hidden Earth laboratory; it was inside a spaceship.

Of course, I don’t know how to pilot a spaceship.

One wrong move leads to a disastrous ending.

Escape attempts are futile.

No way to flee…

Really, what a mess.

Quickly organized my thoughts.

Now, the only way is to intervene in Alberto and Shayla’s fight.

Ideally, Shayla should win.

Alberto treats life as disposable.

She probably won’t take kindly to what I’m about to do, but she probably won’t kill me either.

But even better than that…

Opportunistic.

No one else in sight on the ship.

If we take them both out, we’ll be safe.

So, it’s do or die.

Kuguk!!!

Reversed course.

Moved towards the source of the noise.

Kwagwagwa!!!

A very sturdy ship.

Yet, it trembled.

[Impact detected. Ship damage reported. Please take action.]

Moved while listening to the AI broadcast.

Let’s see this through.

Ship corridor.

Alberto smirked.

“Well, well, causing trouble, aren’t we? Was assuming you were a revered divine experiment a mistake? Didn’t expect you to escape. How did you manage to break free?”

“The answer lies beyond the grave.”

With that, Shayla lunged at Alberto.

Kwaaang!!

Pshooong!!-

Exchanged blows.

Despite Shayla’s powerful attacks, Alberto managed to block with one arm and drew a translucent glowing dagger to strike back.

The blade left a trail of intense heat.

Thunk!!

Thud!!

Kwaaang!!!

Intense. The ship echoed with their struggle.

They were evenly matched.

And just as Shayla’s fist was about to strike Alberto’s face…

Thud!!

Kwaang!!!

An artificial shield appeared to block the punch. Suddenly, around ten magical drones, each the size of a fingernail, hovered in the vicinity.

“Aren’t you a joke yourself? Thinking you can kill me with that broken body?”

“You’re more than enough.”

“Haha. If that’s how it’s going to be, then so be it. You’ve committed a crime against the master of the experimental subjects. You must be punished!”

Shak!!-

As Alberto’s sleeve tore open, chains unraveled.

The chains aimed for Shayla’s neck.

In response, Shayla swung her fist directly at them.

Crash!!!

The impact caused an explosion.

Shriek!!~

The chains disintegrated. Dozens of fragments veered off in various directions towards Shayla. Despite this, Alberto smirked, almost as if he had anticipated it.

“With such barbaric tactics, you won’t be able to block this attack.”

Kwagwagwag!!!!

The chains scattered around Shayla compressed into a red light, causing a massive explosion. Naturally, nothing remained in that spot—

“Damn it.”

Swoosh!!

“Huh?”

Unexpectedly, through the explosion’s aftermath emerged a battered Shayla.

Swift recovery.

Though appearing unstable, her extended fist held formidable strength.

“Die!!!”

Kwaaaang!!!!

“Gah!!!?”

A direct hit to the neck.

As Alberto’s spine bent sharply, an explosion occurred, sending him flying.

Thud!!

Rolling down.

Thump.

Even Shayla, whose balance seemed severely compromised, crumpled to the ground.

But not for long.

Both struggled to their feet.

Swish.

“Argh… you damn woman.”

“Sigh… If it weren’t for those weird machines, you’d have been dead by now.”

“Shut up!!!”

Pewoong!!!

Swooosh!!-

A laser fired from a miniature drone, and Shayla vanished from her spot.

The battle continued.

However…

Her body, long stiffened.

Altered by experiments.

Due to this disparity, Shayla had many vulnerabilities.

Provoking fiercely, but clearly, Shayla suffered more damage.

Clashing relentlessly.

Resulting in a massive explosion.

When she reached her limit.

“Stop messing around!!!!”

Thud!!!

“Ugh!!……”

Crash!!!-

Rolling.

Shayella hit the ground from a sword slash followed by a kick.

“Cough!… Ugh……”

She had no strength left now.

She was defeated.

And.

Drip~

Upon closer inspection, small plant stems were growing on the corridor ceiling.

*

“Cough!… Ugh……”

Fortunately, the moment Shayella and Alberto arrived at the battlefield, their fight ended.

The victor was Alberto.

Shayella lay on the ground.

‘Acting all high and mighty, but in the end, you lost.’

However, it wasn’t a one-sided defeat.

Alberto was also battered. Just a few punches, but if it was Shayella’s fist that breached the ship’s interior walls, it was a different story.

“Ugh.”

Spit.

He coughed up blood.

The injuries looked serious.

Therefore, Alberto was furious.

“How dare a test subject like you…!”

Thud!!

“Argh!….”

He stomped on Shayella’s head.

“If you’re an experiment, then crumple up like one!!”

Crunch!!

With a powerful force, he seemed ready to crush Shayella’s head at any moment.

Shayella was out of strength.

Alberto was blinded by rage.

Ironically, her peril was my opportunity.

Hence.

Swoosh!!!

Secretly moving a stem to the ceiling, I directed it to attack Alberto. Swish!! A pointed stem surged towards Alberto.

Aimed for the heart.

Thud!!~

“Huh?… What’s this?”

However, the stem didn’t pierce his body.

It felt like hitting steel.

“Oh? Could this be a plant I cultivated?”

Alberto checked the ceiling stem.

This was dangerous.

He immediately ignited dozens of stems and sent them flying.

Swish!!

“How amusing!!!”

Bam!

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

It was futile.

Alberto effortlessly parried all the stems at an unbelievable speed.

Instead.

“Now’s the time!!!

Whoosh!!

“Argh!?”

As Shayella lay down, she grabbed one of Alberto’s legs and pulled hard.

Snap!!

Due to her unexpected strength, Alberto helplessly toppled over.

Now was the chance.

Whoosh!!

Swish!!-

Approaching stealthily from behind, I ignited hundreds of stems from the main body to attack him.

“What do you think you’re doing!!!”

Squelch!!

Whoosh!!!!

Crack!!!-

Suddenly, a few stems exploded with a powerful impact.

It was tiny drones hovering around Alberto that had fired lasers.

Luckily, no significant hits.

If determined, they could regenerate instantly and attack the drones using the separated ceiling stems.

However.

Squelch!!

Pew-pew!!

“Ugh!!!……”

Shayella’s body was pierced in several places. The exhausted one couldn’t defend against the attacks.

Without resigning, she moved.

Swish!!

Crunch!!-

She wrapped Alberto’s entire body with the stems.

“What are you trying to do now!! I raised you, nurtured you, and this is how you repay-”

Venom.

Sssss!!!!!-

“Arghhhhhh!!!!?!”

Trying to tear off the stems, Alberto suddenly screamed in agony as the potent venom sprayed out. It was a powerful toxin that melted the unbreakable chains that even Shayella couldn’t break.

Naturally, he couldn’t withstand it.

Sssss!!…

“Ah-ha-ha-ha!!!! Nooooo!!!! Aargh!!!!”

His body began to dissolve into liquid.

The solid physique helplessly started to melt away.

Squelch!!!

Splat!!-

Bang! Bang!!

The drones attacked me frantically.

It was pointless.

Since Alberto disappearing was faster than my body exploding.

“Aaaah!!!… Gurgg… Shut……”

His mouth melted away.

Alberto’s movements vanished.

And not long after.

Vroom….

Thunk.

Clunk.

The drones ceased functioning.

“……”

The dead don’t speak.

By that logic, Alberto was dead.

He had turned into a complete liquid pit.

‘Farewell, you trash.’

Gulp….

Without ceasing, I absorbed Alberto’s liquefied body. However, the energy was so densely packed that I trapped it all in one stem.

To digest this will take quite some time.

Ssshh.

I recombined the separated stem back together, creating a leg-shaped structure to support and looked down at the fallen Shayla.

“Ah… Quite… something, isn’t it?…”

A painful breath.

Nonchalant on the surface, but the condition is grave.

Blood dripping, as if forming puddles on the ground.

Eyes gradually losing focus.

If left like this, she will die.

There’s an unsettling feeling.

I know the reason.

I used someone without hesitation.

The current me lacks something.

There were no constraints on emotions.

Would the me from Earth have been like this?

In other words, I’ve changed.

The moment I realized that, I began to feel unfamiliar with myself.

Have I become a monster?

Is there no turning back?

…I cleared my mind.

Thud.

I placed a stem on Shayla’s shoulder.

“Thanks to you, I succeeded. Thank you.”

“[Damn… You planned to use me from the start, didn’t you? You’re also a piece of trash.]”

Perhaps because it was said internally, Shayla’s blunt response was heard.

Those words shook me.

An uncomfortable sense of discord.

Killing both Alberto and Shayla would be most ideal for me, but when it comes to actually killing Shayla, I hesitate.

Crossing this line feels like I would truly become a monster.

What should I do?

“Now you’re hesitating? Since it hurts so much, I wish you’d just kill me quickly.”

“Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“I’ve lost everything. I’ve had my revenge, and there’s nowhere to go back to. It’s probably better to die. Does that answer your question?”

“It’s better to die….”

How was I before?

Every day, I wished for rest.

Naturally, death is incomparable. She has let go of the regrets of life.

I’m being emotional.

She was life.

“You’re truly remarkable. I respect you.”

“…What are you suddenly talking about?”

“But I know this much. Wanting to die means not wanting to live like this. At least that much is the same between us.”

“What….”

Decision made.

I will spare her.

I don’t want to become a monster.

It’s not necessarily such an emotional conclusion.

I don’t know how to operate this ship here.

And maybe Shayla doesn’t either.

So, I’ll spare her.

Probably.

“If you don’t die, please don’t kill me either.”

Swish!!

“Huh!?….”

I put a stem into her mouth.

It’s insufficient to create a fruit. But what about directly extracting nutrients.

I remember everything.

I mixed the necessary nutrients and mana to produce juice at the tip of the stem.

“Gulp….”

Gulp, gulp.

The effect will likely be lower compared to a fruit, but it will produce almost the same effect.

A subtle emotion arises.

Even if Shayla dies, it doesn’t matter….

If she survives, it might not be so bad.

Therefore.

I offered words of encouragement.

“You call yourself a goddess. Dying like this makes you no better than Alberto’s excrement. Make sure you don’t become my fertilizer through your dung efforts.”

Splat.

“…Gyaaaaah!!!! Don’t compare my death to that filthy thing!!!!!”

It worked better than expected.

Not long after, Shayla resurrected, screaming loudly that it was blasphemy.