Chapter 127
“Kik?!”
Right now, I’ve entered the forest near the beach to find food. Adhai is lying in the nest, unconscious, while the Mother of the Sky is guarding her.
In reality, it would be proper to entrust hunting to the Mother of the Sky, but I didn’t do so because I found it difficult to endure it myself. I can’t shake off the unease when thinking about what happened to Adhai and Number 26.
What does it mean that only Adhai has returned? Could it be that Number 26 is already…
‘Darn.’
I opened my fingers. Suddenly, due to the strong wind, the wood devil I was holding completely crumbled.
This way, Adhai won’t be able to eat anything.
‘…Let’s stay calm.’
It’s still uncertain. It’s not like me to be so anxious.
After discarding the broken wood devil, I went to find other prey. In my mind, I thought about the situation Adhai and Number 26 might be in.
‘There are two assumptions to consider.’
The first hypothesis is that remnants of the Humanity Cartel attacked them. The data stored on the battleship doesn’t confirm the presence of camps near the sea or on the continental islands, but it’s not certain. The camp that was originally on the mainland could have been moved due to my attack. The unclear part is whether they could capture Number 26 in the sea.
Even though Number 26 is not fully grown, it is a Sea Demon. Unless it was Muriel, capturing it with only the remnants seems impossible. Even if Adhai, who can only survive on land, was captured, it doesn’t make sense that Number 26 was caught while Adhai escaped.
‘The other assumption is an attack from unknown entities.’
Talking about the game, PH-101 is classified as a high-difficulty planet due to its dangerous environmental conditions, fierce predators, and hostile indigenous beings to outsiders.
I frequently visited this planet to collect rare genetic essences. Thanks to that, I know which areas are dangerous and which creatures to be cautious of.
However, this is all part of the game’s story. I don’t know if there are unknown dangers on this planet.
Afterwards, I returned to the nest with various types of prey. The Mother of the Sky was monitoring, making sure there were no enemies following Adhai behind me.
I approached the flickering pumpkin-colored eyes in the darkness and asked.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Are there any other enemies?)]
｢There are no pursuers. No unusual movements in the water either.｣
The auxiliary device under the jaw agreed with the same opinion.
I looked at Adhai, who was unconscious. Despite the injuries, his once plump tail was now noticeably thinner. The wing membranes showed signs of tearing, and the area where the back and wings connected was red, possibly from prolonged flight.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Are there any dangerous creatures around here?)]
｢Dangerous creatures? There are many that are stronger than a Green Gallagon.｣
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Are there any creatures that can threaten Sea Demons other than Gallagons?)]
｢Sea Demons? Wait, you said Sea Demons? Could it be that it’s not just one companion?｣
[ZZ (Yes.)]
The griffin’s gaze wavered as she listened to my words. Honestly, I was getting irritated by her behavior in the current situation, but I managed to hold it in. Venting my frustration to her would not only fail to alleviate the situation but might make it worse.
Even so, she quickly sensed that I was in a very bad mood. The griffin hurriedly replied.
｢There is an archipelago where Fishrians live if you go out to the sea, but…｣
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Fishrians? They live here?)]
Fishrians are an aquatic race that primarily inhabits ocean planets. In appearance, they closely resemble the mermaids commonly imagined by us. They have the body of a man with a fish head or the body of a woman with the lower half resembling fish, covered entirely in fish scales.
A distinctive feature is their strong cult-like aspect, inspired by devotees of malevolent entities in classic horror novels.
‘Fishrians serve powerful marine creatures like Sea Demons.’
Sea Demons, similar to sub-boss-level marine creatures, also inhabit ocean planets, and Fishrians predominantly live on such planets.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ (are there sub-boss-level creatures in the sea here?)]
‘I haven’t seen them personally, but there are legendary tales circulating among the Volfs. They speak of a demon in the sea that captures and devours gods.’
When thinking of sea demons, there was only one thing that came to mind.
‘Sea demons in the abyss.’
I briefly considered if Number 26 and Adhai had encountered sea demons, but I shook my head. If they had fought sea demons, it wouldn’t end with injuries like this. Considering their size, a creature as small as Adhai would turn into mincemeat the moment it got caught in the tentacles.
I re-examined Adhai’s injuries. Although they had changed from when I first saw them, these traces were clearly abrasions and burns. Sea demons don’t use inferior weapons like plasma or conventional weapons. This means these wounds were inflicted by others.
‘Fishrians don’t use firearms.’
Due to their religious beliefs, they adhere to primitive lifestyles and only use traditional weapons, such as firearms that use gunpowder at most.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ (it seems like these injuries were caused by Fishrian harpoons. What do you think?)]
｢Let me see.｣
The sharp gaze of the Mother of the Sky swept over Adhai’s injured areas. She nodded and shared her thoughts.
｢You’re right. These wounds torn in a whirlpool pattern were indeed caused by the Fishrian harpoons.｣
Next, the griffin extended her front paw and pointed at other wounded areas.
｢But this part wasn’t caused by harpoons. It seems more like burns from laser or plasma weapons.｣
I also agreed with that assessment. The injuries Adhai sustained were not something that Fishrian weapons could create.
｢There are humans involved too.｣
Fishrians are extremely hostile towards outsiders. Especially when encountering humans, they aggressively attack them as sacrifices to the marine creatures they worship. Unlike carnivorous animals that hunt for food, they are a species that actively attacks humans to sacrifice them.
How on earth are those creatures cooperating with humans? As I pondered the cause, Adhai suddenly opened her eyes.
Her elliptical eyes resembling amethyst shook anxiously in various directions before settling on me.
｢Adult!｣｢Glad!｣
Despite her tentacles quivering, the resilient young one enthusiastically cried out. I cautiously stroked him with my combat arm.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ tell me what happened.]
｢Adult.｣ ｢Me.｣ ｢Sorry.｣
[ZZZ ZZ (It’s okay.)]
Although Adhai’s body trembled, she gradually regained composure as I gently comforted him.
“…”
I felt the bewildered gaze of the Mother of the Sky behind me, but I ignored it.
｢Little adult｣ ｢Big trouble｣ ｢Dwarf｣ ｢Fish｣ ｢Little adult｣ ｢Attack｣
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Humans and Fishrians attacked together?)]
｢Fish｣ ｢God｣ ｢Dying｣ ｢Alternative｣ ｢Necessary.｣ ｢Dwarf.｣ ｢God｣｢Learning｣｢Both.｣｢Cooperation｣
Adhai’s words are composed of words and concepts that make it difficult to understand. Still, I could roughly grasp what she meant.
‘The god probably refers to Sea Demons, and Fishrians are trying to find a new Sea Demon because their god is dying.’
However, from what I know, Fishrians worship Sea Demons. They possess extreme devotion, to the point of giving up their lives if the entity they serve dies. So, why would such a race seek a new god when the existing one is dying? It’s highly unlikely for a typical Fishrian to entertain such an idea.
The intervening factor here is the being Adhai refers to as a dwarf must be the humans.
‘The humans who came here are probably those who want to study Sea Demons.’
They likely persuaded the Fishrians for smooth research, offering the pretext of creating a new Sea Demon.
‘If that’s the case, there might be a research base near the Fishrian colony.’
Whether on land or in the deep sea. While I was contemplating, Adhai’s telepathic communication continued.
｢Dwarf｣ ｢Little adult｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Attack｣ ｢Capture｣ ｢Little adult｣ ｢Me｣｢Release｣ ｢Me｣｢Alone｣｢Escape｣
‘They fought, got captured together, but somehow Number 26 managed to free Adhai alone.’
And then Adhai, while escaping, faced attacks from both Fishrians and humans.
｢Me｣ ｢Hurt｣ ｢Hurt｣ ｢Hurt｣
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (It’s okay. Eat this and rest.)]
｢Me.｣ ｢Wrong.｣ ｢Me.｣ ｢Should｣ ｢apologize.｣ ｢Meal.｣ ｢Impossible.｣
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Eat quickly; we need to go and rescue them.)]
While comforting Adhai’s self-blame, I handed over the prey I had caught. Although she initially resisted eating, she reluctantly extended her tentacles as I persisted.
As he began to eat, I slowly stood up. Adhai was feeling guilty about leaving Number 26 alone. Anticipating that she might not eat properly with me around, I moved a bit away from the nest.
‘The only relief is that Number 26 didn’t die.’
Considering the capture of Number 26, the firepower possessed by the humans in the research base is likely substantial. It would surpass the level of remnants of pirate factions and be comparable to the elite forces of MegaCorp Prime Capital family.
‘Was it the Eden or perhaps the Zhao family.’
Eden clashed with me in the space city once, and the Zhao family constantly harassed me in the game. Adding to the challenge, there’s the savage Fishrian tribe.
In reality, whether it’s PrimeCapital or Fishrians, they aren’t formidable adversaries for me, a Quasi-Saint. The problem lies in the location of the research base, especially if it’s underwater.
‘Given the existence of Sea Demons, there’s no law that says other threatening marine creatures don’t exist.’
Among the abilities at my disposal, only a few are effective for underwater combat.
‘It won’t be easy if a fight breaks out.’
The difficulty of the battle would significantly depend on the condition of Number 26, who excels in underwater combat. If Number 26 is severely injured, the difficulty would skyrocket because I would have to protect him while fighting.
While contemplating how to rescue Number 26, the Mother of the Sky approached.
｢It seems it was true. Your friend spoke about having companions, and I thought it was a distasteful joke.｣
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (I’m not in a good mood, so don’t be annoying.)]
Even though I growled, she sat down beside me, ignoring my attitude. Her pumpkin-colored eyes stared towards the distant black horizon.
｢If you allow me, I want to help.｣
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZ (Help me? Why?)]
｢I’ve also experienced the sadness of losing a family.｣
Nonchalantly stating it, her emotions were anything but insignificant, despite her tone.
‘The Mother of the Sky wants to help.’
The higher the level of divine transformation, the more the body can adapt to various environments for combat. However, breaking away from the basic transformation form is still challenging. While combat effectiveness may not significantly decrease in low-water areas, it’s a different story in the deep sea.
\No, it’s not a good situation. We need to use everything we can.\
When facing marine bosses, including Sea Demons, during the game, I often lured them to the land for the fight. Although it’s difficult for the Amoph pseudo-entity to fight underwater, its swimming speed is not drastically slow. Even when encountering dangerous creatures, the plan is to somehow bring Number 26 to the surface. From there, I can engage in battle with Adhai, the Mother of the Sky, and the adversary.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (We depart when Adhai is ready.)]
‘Adhai, is it the Gallagon\s name. And that Sea Demon? What’s its name?’
[ZZ (Number 26)]
‘…As expected from the Amorph’
Ignoring the Griffin’s dismissive reaction, I continued to ponder relentlessly on how to rescue Number 26. This contemplation persisted until Adhai regained his energy after consuming all the prey.
***
“Team Leader! Communication is finally restored!”
“Is it true? Why all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know! When checking the hyper-speed communication network, it seems that the Garamelda family’s military satellite is deployed nearby.”
“Oh, really! I thought we’d have to stay like this for a few more years!”
PH-101, the Mega Corp research base located in the deep sea. Six months ago, researchers dispatched by the Zhao family of Prime Capital established this base. Originally designated as a holy site by cults, anyone entering was strictly prohibited. However, the surveillance network began intermittently loosening at some point, noticed by the Zhao family.
Zhao Wei, the head of the family, knew through spies infiltrated into the cult society that various rare creatures inhabited this planet. Considering it a good opportunity, he secretly dispatched researchers.
Their goal was to conduct ecological research on dangerous deep-sea predators and collect their genetic material. As they set up the base on the ocean floor, their location remained undisclosed even after the planet’s surveillance network was restored.
Usually, they conducted research in the underwater base and, during the periodic weakening of the surveillance, procured necessary supplies from the island.
However, not long ago, the surveillance network started failing to deactivate. Eventually, a colossal spaceship was attacked and crashed, which led to their current situation.
Realizing the severity of the situation, they tried to send a message to the Zhao family, but the communication network was already completely blocked.
They were stranded in the middle of the dangerous deep sea on this planet.
“The Fishrians’ attitude is getting worse, so every time we went up, it felt like they would attack.”
“That’s right. If we had stayed a few more days, those fishy bastards might have offered us as sacrifices.”
“Team Leader, if the family hears that we caught a mutant Sea Demon, they’ll be shocked, won’t they?”
“Shock or not, you were Third Capital, right? When I return, use your influence to ensure that everyone here can ascend to Prime Capital.”
“Oh!”
“Thank you!”
“When the rescue team from the family arrives, let’s go catch that Gallagon who fled.”
“Of course. Speaking of which, who knew that Gallagon would live on a planet like this? The academic world will be turned upside down.”
Engaging in a lively conversation, the researchers walked through the corridor. Not far from them, there was a special prison made of black silver alloy. Inside, they couldn’t use psychic powers.
In the cold, rigid prison, a creature resembling a pink balloon was huddled.
“■■■■….”
It continuously emitted unknown waves, but none of the researchers were aware of this fact.
