——————
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
——————
Chapter 465
Joy, born into a prominent business family, had never once experienced a sense of lack throughout her childhood.
Her parents provided her with everything necessary for a comfortable life: the best education, influential acquaintances, and money.
In the human world of Joy, deprivation simply didn’t exist.
But at some point, she began to grow weary of this perfect life. Walking the tracks her parents had laid down – so safe, and yet so monotonous – soon became a burden.
That’s why she became obsessed with Space Survival.
In the virtual world, she didn’t have to play the good daughter or strategically manage relationships.
Especially the Outspacers, this collective species from another universe fit her desires perfectly.
These hive-mind beings could adapt freely to the player’s will, unhindered by the rules of humanity.
Besides, from birth Joy belonged to the upper echelons, one accustomed to ruling over others. The queen standing at the center of the hive felt only natural to her.
Of course, it wasn’t as if she wanted to abandon life as a human entirely to become an Outspacer.
The feeling of freedom and the game itself remained merely entertainment. Even lost in immersion, she never forgot that fact.
Even after coming to this world, that conviction never wavered.
Despite gaining a loving partner, despite wielding power that could shake the universe, her goal remained unchanged:
To return to the real world.
Until that dream was achieved, she would never let herself die. She had survived on that belief all this time.
'Where…?'
Joy rolled her eyes, scanning her surroundings.
A pitch-black space, without even the faintest glimmer of light. At first glance, it resembled the cosmos.
Yet she could tell: this place was fundamentally different from the universe she knew.
The darkness seemed to writhe, as though the space itself were alive.
'What trick is this?'
Right after she saw the Amorph’s mouth, the entire space had shifted in an instant. She was certain: the Amorph had sent her here.
'Hmph. Foolish.'
It was a place designated by the Amorph probably not ordinary, and yet she felt no fear.
With the power of the Wings of the Heavens, she could fly to any corner of the universe in a heartbeat.
'No, this might work out.'
Now that she was separated from the Amorph, this was her chance to ask the Empress for help.
If she went to her lover and explained everything, she could call for reinforcements to hunt the Amorph.
'Then I just need to move quickly…'
She tried opening a wormhole, as she always did. Soon enough, she realized there was a problem.
'Huh?'
Up until she entered this space, she created wormholes freely.
But now she couldn’t recall how she’d ever done it, as if that part of her mind had been erased.
'What is this?'
Unable to recover the memory, Joy tried to escape the place by another means.
The many wings on her back weren’t just for show; she could fly far faster than the original Wings of the Heavens.
And yet her body wouldn’t budge. She was frozen in place.
'How did I fly…?'
Ever since the genetic essence of Vortex-One was transplanted into her, her wings had become as natural as her own limbs. For her, flight was as instinctive as walking; it wasn't something she could just forget.
Only then did Joy realize: something was fundamentally wrong with her.
This space… was devouring her memories.
'No! T-there must be a way…!'
Her body held more than just the essence of Vortex-One she had the essences of many other beings, too. If only she could use them, she could break out of here.
That is, if those memories hadn’t disappeared from her mind.
'No! Please, I want to live…!'
With every memory of her abilities consumed by this space, its next target became the components that made Joy human:
Her comrades of the Returners.
Her beloved lover.
Her home and parents in reality.
'……'
Eventually, even her name.
The Empress of the Outspacers, once called 'Joy,' vanished and only a hollow shell remained.
And then, even that empty shell slowly dissolved into the darkness.
***
｢I… I didn’t expect it to be like this.｣
Isabel, sitting on my back, sent out a thoughtwave tinged with shock. She was reacting to the scene that had just unfolded.
I could sympathize because I felt much the same.
｢Binding digestive fluid being secreted. Time remaining until complete natural digestion: 1 hour 29 minutes.｣
Right now, both my eyes are focused on the system textbox related to the newly acquired unique trait, “Gluttonous Maw Pouch.”
‘So that’s how it works.’
With the Gluttonous Maw Pouch activated, I opened my mouth, and the ranker standing in front of me was sucked in at once down the gullet, straight into the pouch.
After swallowing such a large prey, the pouch swelled massively at least three times bigger than before, enough to obscure my entire torso.
‘Still, it got eaten alive, but isn’t putting up any resistance?’
Locked up inside the pouch, anyone would be expected to thrash about, but there was no reaction. It was as quiet as if it had fallen asleep.
‘Enhanced digestive fluid secretion? Is that the reason?’
A digestive fluid that could immobilize even a creature with the body of Vortex-One impressive.
If it worked solely by physical restraint, that would be overpowered, but I doubt that’s it; it’s probably a substance that negatively affects the prey’s mind, perhaps forcibly putting it to sleep so escape is impossible.
‘This is better than I hoped for.’
I worried, since the rare “Reaper's Maw” trait was a key material, but the result was more than satisfactory.
Even prey larger than my own body could be swallowed whole, so there’s no need to only aim for the head. Swallowing is swift too, no wasted time eating, and cutting off resistance is a nice bonus.
‘Thanks to that, victory was easier than expected.’
Ordinarily, this opponent shouldn’t have been defeated so easily.
The enemy ranker possessed a powerful special privilege. Its body having transformed, similar to the Wings of the Heavens, was thanks to that trait.
It was a ranker with the body of the ultimate Apex Vortex-One, and was receiving support from an Outspacer legion as well. Definitely no trivial foe.
I even had to sacrifice my right head to lull it into complacency. If not for falling for my plan or if I lacked my new trait, the outcome could’ve been far different.
‘But, those are meaningless what-ifs.’
In the end, the Outspacer ranker made the wrong choice and is now paying for it inside the pouch.
｢Empress!｣
At that moment, my monster’s tentacles detected a strange signal. The hive-mind device trait, “Hive Consciousness Terminal,” activated, delivering the Outspacer’s psychic broadcast directly to my brain.
｢The Empress’s consort has been destroyed!｣
A blue-gold Outspacer, barely escaping the reach of the Gluttonous Maw Pouch the queen, who resembled a sea demon, was sending out a wailing psychic wave.
｢Grrrr…｣
I opened my mouth with my sole remaining left head, aiming to swallow her next. Just as I was about to activate the trait, a black bolt of lightning struck and crashed into me.
｢Grrk?!｣
｢Feedback activated!｣
My left head’s horn snapped, and my entire snout was singed; the mouth snapped shut. In that moment, the Outspacer queen used the opportunity to dart away, creating distance.
The special defensive fusion trait “Feedback” only triggers when massive damage is received in a short time. To activate it in a single blow, it’d take something like a gigacracker-class superweapon.
｢You killed not only my sibling, but even Mother’s beloved!｣
And then the black bat beast that unleashed that powerful attack swooped in, radiating waves of fury.
｢The Amorph.｣
[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (I know, it’s Ion Lightning.)]
That bolt just now was almost identical to Ion Lightning, the signature move of the magma saur, an apex-tier creature. That black bat monster must have the genetic essence of a magmasaur.
But it’s even stronger than the original. I’ve been struck by it before, but this is at least twice as powerful.
｢Don’t hurt the big baby!｣
｢You!｣
Suddenly, Number 26 appeared behind the bat beast as it prepared another lightning strike, its tentacles wrapping around the creature’s snout to disrupt it.
｢Annoying thing!｣
Furious, the enemy threw Number 26 off and immediately discharged another bolt of lightning.
But Number 26 instantly shrank its body to dodge the attack. With a flash of blue, it disappeared, reappearing right above my head.
｢Operation… success… right?｣
｢Sister.｣
Right after that, PS-111, who had moved Number 26, arrived at my side too. I gently gathered both of them with my tentacles and began to move. No sooner had I done so than black lightning crashed down where I’d been.
｢Everyone, we need to capture that entity!｣
｢Krieger! Stop playing around and help us!｣
The blue-gold queen and the black bat beast barked psychic commands. Immediately, all the Outspacers fighting the Megacorp fleet started flocking in our direction.
｢That form… I’m glad… it worked.｣
｢The big baby’s tummy is all puffed up! So cute!｣
｢So, what next?｣
[ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (We need to finish off the remaining enemies.)]
｢Please, wait a moment. I have something to report.｣
[ZZZ ZZ (Hm? What is it?)]
｢A large fleet is approaching, including five giga-crackers.｣
｢What? Giga-crackers?!｣
Five giga-crackers? Isabel’s reaction at Sister’s words was one of clear bewilderment.
I was pretty shocked myself; this was beyond what I’d anticipated.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (But they shouldn’t be able to enter here at superluminal speed, right?)]
｢They arrived before the battle even began. They’d been waiting and just now made their move.｣
｢But Sister, why didn’t you notice?｣
｢Stealth technology. New model. It’s highly effective against detection.｣
It seemed the giga-crackers and their escort fleet had entered the star system before the fighting started, bringing stealth equipment capable of evading even PS-111’s surveillance net.
Megacorp had clearly come thoroughly prepared to hunt down the Outspacers.
[ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZ (How long until they’re in range?)]
｢Giga-cracker ion cannons, time to firing range: three minutes, thirteen seconds left.｣
Altogether, counting the giga-crackers here, that made a total of seven. A formidable force.
And fighting here would mean considering not just the superweapon’s escort fleet but all these Outspacers as well. Remaining in this location was to our disadvantage.
‘No, wait.’
The Outspacers still seemed focused solely on attacking me, totally unaware the enemy was almost upon us.
‘If I disappear now, they’ll probably start fighting each other.’
There was no need for me to keep up the battle with them. I’d already gotten most of what I came for.
I didn’t get Reaper's Maw, but the Gluttonous Maw Pouch performed even better. No need to strain myself to get the former.
Everything accomplished now it was time to leave.
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (I’m pulling out of here. Everyone, get ready.)]
Gathering everyone close, I headed toward where Adhai was.
The Outspacers gave chase, while the Megacorp warships, apparently anticipating orders from the giga-crackers, started to fall back and open up distance.
Across the now open battlefield, countless red streaks flashed the afterimages carved out by Adhai and the monstrous Outspacer in their duel.
Two red lights cut across the darkness of space, racing straight at one another.
[ZZZ (Adhai!)]
Just before they collided, the smaller light suddenly swerved aside, accelerating instead toward me.
｢Krrk! The little menace! She’s running!｣
｢Negative｣｢Big Elder｣｢Me｣｢Summoned｣
｢Krrrr!｣
The huge red beast pursuing Adhai was as massive as one of Mother of the Sky’s giant mountain-crawlers. I opened my mouth wide, facing it.
｢Krieger! Don’t get in front of her!｣
｢Krrk?!｣
Hearing its ally, the red beast Krieger veered off in alarm just before colliding.
‘Caught you.’
Sorry, but that was a bluff.
The red beast was at least three times larger than me. Unless my body got even bigger, I couldn’t swallow it with the Gluttonous Maw Pouch. Of course, the enemy didn’t know that.
With it out of the way, Adhai flew into my arms.
｢Ready for jump.｣
｢Hungernote! Don’t let it escape!｣
PS-111’s thoughtwave crossed paths with the pale blue queen’s psychic signal.
From far behind, the black bat beast fired a bolt of lightning, this one even stronger than before, evidently no longer holding back its strength.
But this time, I had no intention of simply taking the hit.
At my will, the power pooled through my entire body spilled outward. The shimmer condensed in the void, focused into a single point.
The gathered haze instantly solidified an octahedron of solidified power encased my entire body: the newly evolved “Complex Spectral Body,” thanks to the “Warped Abomination.”
Countless bolts of black lightning converged into a single spear and slammed into the semi-transparent octahedron, lashing wildly at the barrier as if to tear the cosmos apart.
Anyone would have thought the lightning would win easily, but reality was the opposite: the bolts bounced off harmlessly in every direction.
The effect of the Complex Spectral Body is to reflect energy attacks that have hit it multiple times before.
I’d taken Ion Lightning once already in the previous battle with a magma saur, and now I’d been struck again so the prism could now reflect Ion Lightning.
The reflected bolts scattered and struck other Outspacers; those without my defenses were pulverized instantly.
｢Jump preparations complete.｣
｢That shield’s reflecting energy!｣
｢Krieger! Catch Mother’s enemy!｣
Krieger, the red beast, came hurtling forward at terrifying speed clearly intending to barrel straight into us.
But PS-111 had already finished preparing for a spatial leap. Enclosed in the octahedron, our bodies began to glow a brilliant blue.
｢Krrrr! Little menace! I will…!｣
Krieger’s psychic roar was cut short. Instead of finding only Outspacers crowded in front, he was met with a flood of blue light filling the world.
When the light faded, there was no one left nearby.
A silent cosmos, bearing no trace of the battle.
It was the first sight to greet us after leaving the Edgerton munitions factory star system NEO-3.
——————
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
——————