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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Thala]
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Chapter 206
Ham Ort was the third consort of Odd Grad and the second in command within their ranks. While many of her kin shared her white scales, none possessed strength greater than hers.
Her formidable power allowed her to hunt the diverse creatures inhabiting this icy star. Among those who met their demise from her breath, there were beings worthy of being called kings.
However, the Sky King was a particularly troublesome adversary for Gallagon.
He soared through the skies, devouring the very energy that her precious kin needed to survive.
Even when she was with the Odd Grad pack, the Sky King had prevented young ones from growing, a problem they encountered more than once. With her immense strength from a young age, she had teamed up with her kin multiple times to slay the king.
Yet, each time a new king emerged, causing further trouble. They seemed to come from the sky above, from the realm where the stars reside.
Though the Sky King had been a persistent nuisance, he eventually stopped seeking out her kin. Instead, he lingered around the mountain near the Star Garden.
That mountain emitted a strange energy that even her kin avoided. Back when she had green scales, it was fine, but it had changed at some point.
Regardless, after she shed her scales and turned white, she once captured the Sky King alone. Now, being even stronger, it would be no problem for her.
One potential variable was Adhai, her daughter born with a weaker body, unlike her naturally superior kin.
There were two reasons for taking her to such a dangerous place to fight a formidable foe.
Firstly, it was difficult to move the king’s corpse alone. Time was short, and her kin were exhausted. She judged it better to bring Adhai along and feed her directly to help her grow.
Secondly…
｢Ham Ort｣ ｢Warning｣ ｢Escape｣ ｢Impossible!｣
｢Pain!｣
Since leaving the nest, Adhai had attempted to escape three times already.
With just the two of them, if she went to capture the Sky King alone, Adhai would surely escape the nest while she was gone.
｢Sky King｣ ｢Strong｣ ｢This action｣ ｢Dangerous.｣
｢Me｣ ｢Leaving｣ ｢Danger｣ ｢Disappearing.｣
Ham Ort tightly grasped Adhai with her front paw. Until now, she had knocked her unconscious every time she tried to escape, but this couldn’t go on forever.
｢Kin｣ ｢daughter of Meteor｣ ｢Need｣ ｢Cooperate.｣
｢Kin｣ ｢Abandoned｣ ｢Me｣ ｢No interest.｣
She knew that Adhai was hostile towards her and the other kin, believing she had been abandoned by the group.
However, if this continued, it would be problematic. Even if she gained the strength to defeat Odd Grad, it would be useless if Adhai remained passive.
｢Odd Grad｣ ｢Young kin｣ ｢All｣ ｢Kill｣ ｢Is that｣ ｢Okay?｣
Ham Ort sent out a wave of thoughts filled with intense emotions, causing Adhai to hesitate.
｢Young kin｣ ｢Innocent.｣
Eventually, Adhai relayed a sullen thought wave. Ham Ort, holding the now subdued Adhai, resumed their journey.
She was the best flyer among the white-scaled kin. She moved so swiftly that even the sound couldn’t keep up. Meanwhile, she used her psychic power to reduce the impact Adhai would feel.
As she soared through the air, she spotted the black mountain.
She sensed the unpleasant energy emanating from it, along with other strange energies.
｢?｣
Sensing the energy flow belatedly, Adhai looked up and started struggling.
｢Big Adult!｣ ｢Lesser Elder!｣ ｢Present!｣
｢Big Adult?｣ ｢Ugly kin?｣ ｢Present?｣
Focusing on the tendrils at her mouth, Ham Ort detected that one of the strange energies was indeed the wavelength emitted by the Sky King. However, the other energy was unfamiliar to her.
She realized what it meant that the two energies were intermingled.
The “Big Adult” that the daughter of Meteor mentioned had beaten her to the hunt.
｢Ugly kin｣ ｢Hunting｣ ｢Sky King?｣
｢Big Adult｣ ｢Strong｣ ｢Can defeat Sky King.｣
Adhai’s thought wave carried two emotions: pride and conviction.
The unknown energy was similar to psychic power but much stronger. It felt like when she encountered Odd Grad. The claim that the “Big Adult” would win was no lie.
Ham Ort hesitated for a moment before activating her psychic power. Small purple sparks flickered from her tendrils, and Adhai’s body went limp.
Given her temperament, encountering the “Big Adult” would likely trigger impulsive behavior. It was better to knock her out.
Ham Ort stopped flying and gently landed on the ground, carefully placing Adhai beside a tree.
She looked down at her small offspring.
Born weak and abandoned by her kin, yet she had become their savior. For a fleeting moment, an emotion flickered in her purple eyes and then vanished.
Turning her gaze away, she spread her wings and took to the sky.
There was one thing Adhai did not know.
Why was she still alive and able to leave this planet?
But Ham Ort had no intention of revealing that fact. Regardless, it was true that her daughter had been exiled.
And she bore some responsibility for that. She was determined to take responsibility.
Ham Ort, with her white wings fully spread, hovered in the sky, focusing on her auxiliary organs while keeping her eyes on the creature she was observing.
***
Skywhales were formidable foes, even for Gallagon. While their specs were similar to White Gallagon, their special abilities set them apart.
Skywhales, which absorbed all energy, were natural enemies to Gallagons, whose strength lay in their high-powered psychic attacks. Only Black Gallagon, capable of killing a Skywhale in a single strike, could deal with them easily. Otherwise, multiple Gallagons were typically needed to take down a Skywhale.
‘Even during the event, they appeared in a ratio of almost 5 to 1.’
So, there must be other Gallagons besides that creature.
While scanning the surroundings with my auxiliary organs, Ham Ort flew towards me. With a single flap of her wings, she reached me in an instant.
She swung her front paw, her diamond-like claws aimed at my neck.
‘So fast.’
She was as quick as a white lightning bolt. Hovering in the air, I quickly pulled my neck back. Her claws narrowly missed my tentacle by a paper-thin margin.
As I dodged, I tensed my tail that was hanging towards the ground. The muscles in my lower body tightened, and the pincer at the end of my tail shot upward.
Before the pincer could strike Ham Ort’s hind leg, she suddenly shrank. She had retreated swiftly after her failed attack.
Purple energy gathered at her tendrils. She was preparing to fire a psychic breath as she withdrew.
I hurriedly gathered the energy in my body. She, having gathered her energy first, fired her psychic breath.
A purple beam cut through the dark sky. Keeping my energy charged, I fully folded one wing. My body tilted sharply downward, and the beam grazed the top of my carapace.
The “Psychic Reflection Armor” activated automatically, reflecting a portion of the beam back at her. My tentacle, now fully charged, also fired a purple beam.
Displaying remarkable agility, Ham Ort effortlessly dodged the dual beams of psychic power.
[ZZZ (Now!)]
I sent a wave to the Mother of the Sky on my back, signaling her to use the “Ice Wraith.”
“!”
｢Damn! She’s too far!｣
Sensing we were about to attack, Ham Ort swiftly distanced herself, causing the attack to fail.
‘How clever.’
Indeed, it was expected of a Gallagon that dared to rebel against a Black Gallagon. Even after a brief skirmish, her judgment was better than that of most players.
Realizing close combat was disadvantageous, it began to fire Psychic Breaths rapidly.
Having acquired the “Beast’s Enhanced Wings,” I could move quite nimbly, if not as fast as a Gallagon’s “Hyper Acceleration.” I advanced through the torrent of purple storms.
Though its aim was considerable, dodging attacks was second nature to me. Adjusting the angle of my wing arms to change flight direction, I evaded the beams with minimal movement.
Of course, merely dodging wouldn’t suffice to defeat it, so I made sure to counterattack whenever possible. Thanks to the “Berserker Synapse” effect, my energy consumption was significantly reduced. This effect applied not only to physical activities but also to energy-intensive abilities.
In other words, I could use the “Divine Spectre” more boldly than before.
As I spun my body with my wings to dodge a beam, I charged the power of the Thunder God. My body, covered in black scales, gleamed golden, reflecting the sunset.
To it, which could see the flow of energy, it would appear differently. It would see a fearsome power concentrating in its opponent’s body.
Sensing danger, it fired another Psychic Breath. Seeing that the beam was much thicker than the one I had fired, it must have increased its output.
‘It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t hit.’
I dodged the incoming beam, disrupting the golden glow around my body, and lifted myself upward.
Then, something unexpected happened.
The beam, which should have passed well below me, veered and aimed straight at me.
‘What the…!’
The creature, which had been relentlessly changing positions to target me, was now flapping its wings without moving. Around it, psychic power spread like a vast web.
‘It’s controlling the beam!’
It had forcibly altered the trajectory of the already-fired Psychic Breath.
The beam, curving upward from the middle, was about to strike my abdomen. It was too late to dodge. I quickly shielded my abdomen with my combat arms.
Just as the beam was about to collide, it dispersed in mid-air.
‘What is this?’
In the spot where the beam disintegrated, dozens, if not hundreds, of threads of psychic power intertwined, similar to what Ham Ort had done.
I thought it had dispelled the beam, but that wasn’t the case. It was visibly shocked, indicating it hadn’t expected this.
At that moment, a wave came from the figure on my back.
｢I will protect the big baby!｣
‘Number 26!’
The current miracle was undoubtedly caused by it. Like Ham Ort, it had interfered with the Psychic Breath.
However, it seemed it wasn’t an easy task, as its wave carried signs of exhaustion.
‘No matter what, this is our chance!’
I didn’t know how the two of them used similar methods, but now was the time. Seizing the opportunity it created, I activated the Divine Spectre.
The golden light enveloping my entire body climbed up to my neck and gathered around my mouth. The Divine Spectre. I unleashed that power from my mouth.
A moment later, Ham Ort also released a breath made of pure psychic power.
A golden dragon tore through the sky. Opposing it, a purple celestial horse charged.
As they collided, a storm of light erupted. Between Ham Ort and me, a sun made of mixed energies emerged.
A blazing sun of purple and gold.
Eventually, the sun exploded, releasing a tremendous shockwave. The shockwave of light cleared the black clouds that enveloped the planet’s atmosphere. In the sky, now free of clouds, yellow lightning and purple energy spread like cracks in shattered glass.
After the shockwave swept through the sky, a deafening roar followed. It wasn’t so much a sound as a primal sensation, something beyond mere noise, leaving only a profound sense of numbness.
The intense clash, visible even from space, didn’t last long.
The result was a decision victory for me. The Divine Spectre overwhelmed the Psychic Breath. Ham Ort dodged skillfully but couldn’t completely avoid it.
Ham Ort staggered in the air, with one damaged wing. Its once snow-white scales were scorched and cracked from the impact.
｢Ham Ort｣ ｢Won’t be defeated!｣
Even in this dire situation, it roared defiantly. Its tendrils turned a lighter shade of purple.
As I prepared to fire the Divine Spectre again, my auxiliary organs warned me. A large number of lifeforms were rapidly approaching.
‘Gallagons?’
As expected, they were all Gallagons. In the clear sky, I saw ten Gallagons with green scales flying toward us.
They quickly reached Ham Ort and began communicating.
‘What are they doing?’
I thought they would attack me immediately, but they didn’t. I wondered if they were strategizing, but it didn’t seem that way. If only I could eavesdrop on their psychic waves, but whatever Ham Ort did, I couldn’t sense it.
｢Big baby, there’s big trouble at the bad guys’ place.｣
Number 26, who had the best psychic tuning ability among us, overheard their conversation and relayed it to me.
‘Big trouble?’
Of course, understanding what it meant was a different matter.
After their conversation, they all turned and started to fly away. I didn’t know why, but it was clear they were retreating.
‘Where do they think they’re going?’
I couldn’t let Ham Ort, who was nearly defeated, escape. I couldn’t miss the chance to capture an Apex.
As I aimed the Divine Spectre at their backs, Ham Ort sent a psychic wave to me.
｢Daughter of the meteor｣ ｢Is below.｣
‘What?’
｢To prevent｣ ｢Danger｣ ｢I brought her｣ ｢If late, she will die｣ ｢Hurry｣ ｢Go.｣
‘Crazy.’
The moment I understood what she meant, my body moved on its own.
‘What?’
Meanwhile, Ham Ort and the Green Gallagons had left. It seemed like she sent another psychic wave before leaving, but I had no time to focus on that.
‘To think they’d use her as a threat!’
I had thought it was necessary to protect the Gallagons, and I believed Adhai would be safe because she was their child.
But I was wrong. I folded my wings back and dove toward the ground.
I landed almost in a crash and immediately activated my auxiliary organs after dropping off the kids. The Skywhale, dead and scattered, was the least of my concerns.
‘Where is she? Where… there!’
I caught a familiar scent from one side of the forest. I hurried in that direction.
Soon, I saw a Gallagon lying next to a tree. The beautiful green scales like emeralds and the small, chubby body was unmistakably Adhai.
As soon as I spotted her, I generated a symbiotic spore. If her life was in danger, as Ham Ort said, I needed this.
Just as I was about to attach the spore to the seemingly lifeless Adhai, she suddenly lifted her head.
｢Big one?｣
[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ (Are you okay?)]
｢Big one!｣ ｢Glad!｣
She jumped up and clung to me, rubbing her head affectionately. She looked completely unharmed.
‘…Could it be?’
I didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed I had been deceived.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Thala]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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