Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Chapter 149

The members of the Mothership Battle Group assigned to the Advance-class high-speed escort ship were relatively lucky. Five days ago, they crashed onto an island after being hit by a psychic power shockwave fired by three demonic heads. The place was like a treacherous maze where dangerous creatures roamed freely, far from an environment conducive to the survival of those with physical abilities no greater than humans.

Had they landed on the continent, they wouldn’t have lasted a day.

“Will the rescue team really come?”

“When the magnetic storm subsides, we can communicate with satellites. Just hold on until then.”

Various cult members with diverse horns gathered around a campfire, tearing apart and devouring grilled fish. Some had broken horns due to the impact of the crash, while others had bandages tightly wrapped around their bodies. Despite the perilous situation, the determination to endure filled the eyes of the 25 cult members.

“If we look at the sky, the magnetic storm seems to have weakened compared to yesterday.”

“The communication equipment is roughly restored, but we’re a bit short on parts.”

“Let’s try again tomorrow morning. The technicians will see if there’s a way to get parts from the damaged spacecraft.”

Cult members, under the guidance of a warrior with goat horns, nodded in agreement.

“It’s going to be tough for everyone, but we have to endure somehow. Many have left guided by destiny, but it’s not our time yet.”

Despite being a race blessed with psychic power, it wasn’t much help in this situation. Most Psychic Power techniques consumed a lot of energy. Using Psychic Power to catch fish or gather fruits would quickly deplete their energy, leading to a collapse.

Aware of this fact, the warrior focused on ensuring that the cult members moved within a limit where a crowd wouldn’t form. The sailors also followed the warrior’s intentions, understanding the situation, even if it was frustrating.

After finishing their meal, they moved to handle their respective tasks. The leader, a warrior, tirelessly went around assisting his comrades.

Time passed, and the sixth night arrived on the island. The warrior confirmed that there were no dangerous creatures on the island. However, unexpected events could still occur at midnight, so they decided to take turns keeping watch, excluding the three night guards.

All except the three night guards fell into a deep sleep.

“The fire is getting weaker.”Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

“I’m going to check on something, pick it up if I’m not back.”

One cult member entered the forest with a rifle.

“Oh, close call, almost ran out of rice.”

He solved his business slightly away from the campfire. Adjusting his pants, he picked up twigs and branches around him, thinking it would be enough. Just as he was about to return, he heard a rustling sound in his ears.

The sound of leaves and branches being stepped on. Quickly dropping the gathered branches, he raised his rifle.

“Who’s there?”

He shouted, but there was no reply. Another night guard heard his shout and hurriedly ran over.

“Why did you suddenly shout?”

“I heard footsteps from the forest just now.”

“What?”

The two night guards aimed their rifles in the direction of the sound, but there were no more footsteps.

“Must have misheard.”

“Maybe.”

The two turned back towards the campfire. Then, once again, an unidentified sound stimulated their ears. This time, it wasn’t just footsteps.

“Did you hear that just now?”

“...”.

The two held their breath and listened. The faint sound of waves from beyond the forest, the rustling of leaves swaying in the wind. And then, a voice broke the silence.

“Is anyone there?”

Though small, the distinctly audible voice was undoubtedly that of a female cult member. It was clear that one of the cult survivors had made it to this island.

“Uh, what should we do? Should we help?”

“Wait a moment. Something’s off.”

It hadn’t been more than a day or two since they arrived on this island. It wasn’t large enough to be called a continent, and they could easily circle the island in half a day. It seemed implausible that there could be cult members they hadn’t encountered.

“We’ve been here for a few days. There are no other ships here.”

“Maybe they came from somewhere else? Perhaps they had better conditions and could fly in with a spacecraft.”

“That’s...”

The statement wasn’t entirely false, but there was a crucial oversight. Despite it being midnight, they hadn’t heard the sound of spacecraft flying.

“In times like this, we need to stick together! Hey, over here!”

“Wait!”

Before their comrade could point out the fact, the cult member had already rushed towards the direction of the voice, loudly shouting.

“What are they both doing?”

“A while ago, I heard a woman’s voice from over there.”

“What?”

Although the two night guards hesitated for a moment, they decided to wake up the warrior instead of following their rushing comrade. The voice seemed suspicious, no matter how they thought about it.

As they moved toward the campfire, the voice of their comrade who had rushed earlier came from behind the bushes.

“Hey! Help us a bit!”

“Huh?”

“They are friends from the escort ship JSB-02! Don’t worry!”

“That’s right! We ran into trouble while flying in with the spacecraft.”

“Please come and help us.”

The voice from beyond the bushes wasn’t just one person’s. Multiple voices echoed simultaneously, suggesting that a group had arrived.

There was no hint of threat in the rushed comrade’s voice. Instead, there was only a sense of relief at meeting fellow cult members after a long time.

“This is strange. Why didn’t we hear the sound of the spacecraft?”

“We might have missed it. Let’s go and check.”

So, the remaining two night guards relaxed. They pushed through the bushes, following the voices.

The trees on the island weren’t particularly large, but it was an ambitious night. Even with flashlights attached to their rifles, it was not easy for them, non-combatants, to navigate through the darkness of the forest.

As if understanding such a situation, the voices of the cult members popped up timely.

“Over here!”

When the face-changing ability intervenes, everything changes completely.

The face-changing ability operates by copying the genes of the enemy and storing them in the body. It also allows me to retrieve some of their memory information when absorbing them, enabling me to question them and extract information.

The crucial point here is that the stored genetic information can be extracted and used by the metamorphosis organ.

It allows me to create pheromones that disguise me as one of the chosen targets from the stored genetic information.

\Almost no one knows about this fact.\

As far as I know, I’m the only one who has used both abilities simultaneously. Since very few people naturally acquire the metamorphosis organ, those who attempt to use both are exceptionally rare.

\I’ve fooled quite a few people with this.\

As I continued to trick many people using the metamorphosis organ, some of them started to figure out strategies. They would ask for a password known only to them or throw a bait by catching a new prey and making it impossible to disguise as the previously mimicked target, and so on.

However, they were unaware that I had a means of disguising myself in multiple forms through the metamorphosis organ.

\Of course, there are drawbacks to this as well.\

The face-changing ability can store genes from a maximum of five individuals. Therefore, I can disguise myself as the appearance of up to five different people at once.

\If only there was a way to increase this limit.\

In the game, there was no way to increase the limit, no matter how much I searched.

\It might be different in this world.\

In a place where elements not present in the game are emerging one after another, there might be a way to increase the limit of the face-changing ability.

With such thoughts in mind, while swimming, I felt a familiar ripple.

Number 26, which I hadn’t noticed, approached me, fluttering its fins. In the distance, the figures of the Mother of the Sky and Adhai looked small on the moonlit sandy beach.

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Why did you come all the way here?)]

The creature responded with a cheerful wave, perhaps enjoying swimming like a typical marine creature.

\I’ll be leaving this planet tomorrow.\

The next destination might not offer many opportunities for swimming. It’s better to let the creature enjoy its favorite activity to the fullest right now.

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Sure, let’s go together.)]

I enjoyed the last swim in the planet’s night sea with Number 26.

***

In the pitch-black expanse of space, a small spaceship traversed the infinite cosmos. Those with an interest in spacecraft would quickly recognize that the ivory-colored elliptical design ship was the cultists’ escape pod. Additionally, those more discerning might notice the severe damage near the rear, particularly around the superluminal engine.

The inability to perform Faster than light travel in this vast space was a serious problem. Moreover, for an escape pod with minimal provisions and medical supplies, entering the cultists’ sphere of influence without the superluminal engine would take at least half a year. It was far from sufficient with only a week’s worth of rations on the escape pod.

In other words, they were left with two choices: starvation or suicide.

“Captain, this is the last of our provisions.”

“I’m not hungry; you eat.”

“I cannot allow that. Haven’t you gone without eating for three days already?”

The two inside the beautifully designed escape pod were the captain and crew who had escaped from the Imperial flagship Judicator of Damocles 08.’When they last escaped, the aftermath of the battleship’s explosion severely damaged the superluminal engine. Currently, they were stranded in the vastness of space.

While the escape pod’s flight speed was exceptionally fast, without the superluminal engine, it would take quite a long time to escape the cultists’ influence. A week’s worth of rations was nowhere near enough to reach safety.

In essence, they were left with two options: death by starvation or suicide.

“Captain, I made a promise with the others. I promised to ensure that you don’t die in vain.”

“....”

“Please, help me keep that promise.”

“...Just give half.”

As the crew member was about to hand over half of the combat rations to the captain, the ship suddenly came to a halt.

“What’s going on? Is it a space anomaly?”

“I’ll check!”

They quickly manipulated the controls to examine why the ship had stopped.

“Captain!”

“...Someone is forcibly pulling our ship.”

While it could be that the cultist ship had luckily discovered them, the probability was low. The interstellar region they were passing through was an empty space where no faction had a presence – a suitable hiding place for a hostile space pirate.

“Haha, it seems fate is trying to claim us.”

“...We’ll fight to the end.”

They gripped the weapons stored inside the escape pod. Soon, the sound of a plasma cutter operating near the door of the escape pod echoed.

Gulp.

“Now!”

As the door fell, they rushed out.

Though they had gone without food for several days, the captain, having experienced countless battlefields in the past, tried to use the last bit of psychic power to attack the enemy. However, the opponent was more agile than expected. The adversary, clad in a white suit with a sleek figure, effortlessly dodged the captain’s attack and transformed its arm into a blade, aiming for the captain’s neck.

“Ugh?!”

“Stop.”

“Captain!”

Meanwhile, the other crew member had been subdued by another figure wearing an eerie suit that seemed like a fusion of a walker and reinforced clothing.

“We don’t surrender to the Spacedogs.”

“Spacedogs? Do I look like a Spacedog to you?”

The one who had subdued the captain retorted with a cold sneer. Only now could the captain thoroughly examine the opponent’s appearance.

Surprisingly, the opponent with exceptional combat skills turned out to be a woman. A woman with elongated horns on the left side of her head.

“You are not a cultist... reveal your identity.”

In response to the captain’s words, she replied,

“My name is Si-hyun Yujin, The new captain of Judicator of Damocles 08 and ‘I’ve come for you.”

“Yujin? Could you be from the MegaCorp’s Yujin family?”

Si-hyun Yujin, the former shadow of MegaCorp and the current captain of the Judicator of Damocles 08 had come to find those who had failed their purification mission.