——————
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
——————
Chapter 472
The Empress’ greatest creation, Kriger, was the strongest in physical ability among her sisters.
Her entire body was encased in a red carapace that could endure the blazing heat of a star itself, and her strength was formidable.
In the world of Outspacers, where the strength of the collective mattered more than the strength of the individual, such things were often meaningless. But Kriger had another ability.
An unrivaled gift for tracking.
Her sensory organs were superior to any other Outspacer’s capable of detecting the faint traces left by a jump through faster-than-light travel long after they had vanished.
For this reason, she sometimes commanded scout detachments for the collective. Just like now.
A rocky stretch of drifting stone, littered with fragments both large and small.
Kriger drifted among the countless shards. Her massive body moved slowly, but her antennae-like sense organs twitched and writhed ceaselessly.
And then, those restless organs suddenly froze in place.
｢Krrrk? Found you.｣
Someone had attempted a warp jump here.
Kriger confirmed the evidence. Now she only had to determine where the enemy had jumped to.
The one who had leapt from this point was powerful. Terrifyingly so. A monster strong enough to devour the Empress’ consort in an instant.
Normally, Kriger’s pride made her never avoid a battle against such prey. On any other day, she would have ignored caution and thrown herself into the fight.
But not this time.
｢Krrrr. It moves.｣
｢We follow command.｣
Kriger chose a destination and, along with the queens she had brought with her, initiated a jump.
They tore across space emerging into the emptiness of the void.
It was far from the actual warp site of the enemy, but distance was part of the plan. The foe had within its kin a being with abilities similar to Todhus. If they approached carelessly, they would be detected immediately.
｢Krrrk. Where have we come?｣
In response to Kriger’s query, the queens released their bio-waves.
｢All the queens within the ‘human’ domain have gathered.｣
｢We follow the will of the Empress’ great creation.｣
｢We stand ready to strike at the ‘Predator.’｣
｢Krrrr!｣
Hearing this report, Kriger growled with satisfaction.
The moment the Empress learned of her consort’s death, she had given her command:
'Mobilize every legion assaulting humanity. Repay this blood debt.'
While Todhus worked to unify the scattered legions, Kriger had tirelessly pursued the great enemy’s trail.
And now, the mission was complete. All that remained was the reward.
｢Krrrk. From here we move onward.｣
｢We obey the command of the Great Creation.｣
｢Gather at this place.｣
Behind them, a radiance the color of blue flame spread—like the birth of a newborn supernova.
***
Last time I fought Akira Yujin, his appearance was nothing like a human. He had used a privilege code to transform into a misshapen monstrosity, not unlike an Amorph.
The black-haired man standing before me now bore not a trace of that former visage.
If this weren’t the trash-world, I never would have even guessed it was him.
'Why is he here?'
Akira was leader of both the Dominion faction and Megacorp. By rights, he should have been on Earth, commanding the defense.
'Did he run away? Impossible.'
Megacorp was not yet so cornered that such a retreat would make sense. And even if they were, nowhere was safer than Earth itself.
“You wonder why I’m here, don’t you?”
Akira finally spoke.
“I was moving the treasure hidden here.”
'Treasure?'
He nodded toward the containers behind him.
Ever since the moment they had opened, cold vapor and electromagnetic waves had seeped out. Within had been a collection of machinery, data-cores, and a line of frost-lined stasis pods empty.
“Leaving them here would’ve been a waste.”
His tone was curious. As if condemning himself for his own decision, despite being the very one who had hidden them here so long ago.
'…Doesn’t matter.'
Why he had finally chosen to move this ‘treasure’ was irrelevant.
There was only one thing for me to do now: strip him of the knowledge he carried.
“Wait. I didn’t come here to fight you.”
Just as I was about to unleash the Glutton Maw Pouch, he raised both hands. No hostility emanated from him not even the faintest trace.
'What?'
For someone who had once been utterly defeated by me, this behavior was bizarre. Suspicious to the extreme.
I stopped my attack and asked with my human voice:
“Are you trying to stall for time?”
“If I came here to fight, don’t you think I would have attacked already? Do you think I’d willingly take the risk of facing an Amorph head-on?”
He wasn’t the type to play bait for someone else’s scheme, certainly not when confronting a being he feared.
And yet, his composure was unsettling.
“And it’s the same for you, isn’t it?”
As my suspicion tightened, he pressed on ceaselessly:
“You didn’t come here for battle either. That’s not your objective.”
“You… know my objective?”
“The information in my head.”
With that, Akira tapped his temple with one finger.
My original plan had been to turn Akira into a Faceworm and extract his information that way. Alive, he’d never answer my questions; it would’ve been better to kill him outright and take what fragments I needed.
But then—
｢Ask me anything. I’ll answer as much as I know.｣
｢You’re suggesting… we talk this out?｣
｢It benefits you as well, doesn’t it?｣
He wasn’t wrong.
The memories of a Faceworm were incomplete. Entire portions could simply vanish. If he volunteered to directly answer my key questions, it would save me the risk of ending up with nothing.
｢Fine. Then I’ll ask.｣
Suspicious, yes but the potential gain was too great. I aimed directly for the question I most desperately wanted answered.
｢Explain the altered ending mission.｣
｢The ending mission? Ah… so that’s why you’re here. Very well, I’ll tell you.｣
He nodded.
｢Right now, the one who controls the Altar of Ascension isn’t the ‘Observing Shadow’ it’s an Amorph.｣
For all my long searching, the answer was almost too simple.
｢But of course, it’s no normal Amorph. It can freely shift its traits, without restriction.｣
｢What?｣
｢It holds so many traits I couldn’t even begin to count.｣
His words shocked me.
In the earlier illusion shown by the Info-Construct, I’d glimpsed a monster resembling an Amorph. I had already suspected the Rankers had fallen to something like that.
But I hadn’t imagined it wielded this level of power.
'An Amorph that can swap traits at will…'
Traits that were normally unusable due to deadly risks, or poor compatibility with others—this being could select and swap them freely.
It was the very concept I dreamed of: the ultimate form of the Amorph. The perfect monster.
'So that’s why they lost…'
Measured purely by raw power, the Rankers may have had the advantage especially with their overwhelming Privilege Codes.
But differences in strength can be overturned.
｢It divided the Rankers. Turned them against one another in ways impossible in the game.｣
｢As I thought you noticed immediately.｣
Even as he spoke, ideas flickered in my mind alternate tactics and combinations of traits I’d never attempted. Including strategies that could drive Rankers into fighting each other.
After all, the new boss was still, at its core, an Amorph. It might very well improvise using the same tactics I was imagining.
｢Exactly. They were toyed with and, in the end, defeated. Only by barely managing to seal it away did they avoid extermination.｣
｢Seal it…?｣
A term I hadn’t expected.
The previous boss, the Observing Shadow, could act only within the Altar itself. Naturally, so too should the new one.
｢The Amorph tried to use the Rankers to escape the Altar. Fortunately, it failed.｣
｢So it’s still there?｣
｢Yes. Trapped, waiting for a visitor. Waiting for prey to come and break its bindings.｣
Unwelcome news.
That meant if I wished to ascend, I would have to face this Amorph boss. Worse, retreat would be impossible. If the seal broke mid-battle, the boss would pursue me beyond the Altar.
｢Who… gave the Amorph such power?｣
｢Isn’t it obvious?｣
Akira shrugged and looked upward.
｢A force that allowed it to surpass the limits of its species, mysterious and overwhelming. Doesn’t that sound familiar?｣
｢You’re saying… the same ones who granted Privileges also created this new boss?｣
｢Exactly. And they are the very ones who summoned us into this world.｣
His pitch-black eyes were not staring at the ceiling of scrap above us but at what lay beyond it.
｢Then who are they really? And what’s their purpose?｣
｢Other than their possession of godlike power, I don’t know much. But their purpose? That, I do know. They want us divided. They want us to fight one another.｣
And he was right.
The illusions that struck near the ending of the game, the impossible outside-standard bosses that blocked united Rankers both bore their mark. The will of “those beings” lurked behind it all.
'I don’t know why they’re doing this…'
But one truth was clear.
Whoever “they” were, they weren’t all-powerful.
If they were, they wouldn’t need cheap tricks like illusions or throwing in a new boss. The fact that they resorted to these means proved one thing—they had their own limits.
Then Akira turned his gaze on me.
｢Amorph. I’ll make my one and only proposal.｣
I froze.
｢Join me. With your experience as an Amorph, and the knowledge and strength I carry… together, we can clear this world and reach them.｣
He extended his hand toward me.
'He wants me… to join him?'
In both the game and this world, Akira was my enemy. We had never even spoken this long without fighting—and now he sought cooperation?
And he was saying this not for conquest, but to reach the ending itself. Those words did not belong to the leader of a faction that had supposedly abandoned the ending in favor of dominance.
'And besides… this situation—'
Something was wrong.
The only reason Akira had to remain here was that this place had been the hiding spot of his “treasure.” Yet he had already moved it elsewhere.
Meaning—he had no reason to still be here. Not unless a new one had arisen.
｢…Are you really Akira Yujin?｣
For the first time, his empty expression cracked. He bared his teeth and grinned.
｢Ah, I almost forgot my manners. I should introduce myself. My name is Shin Beom-Ho. Perhaps you’ll recognize me as Rank #7.｣
Not Akira—but the one who had stolen his body.
Beom-Ho smiled with a face that didn’t suit him… and bowed low.
——————
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
——————