I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 420

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 420

Tane, the jackal-wolf of the Salt Forest Tribe, loved the myths of the old gods.

Stories of a celestial steed galloping across the Milky Way, of an eagle who became the sun in place of the vanished light—every tale stirred her heart. Whenever she heard the legends of her ancestors who once roamed the stars and ruled the cosmos, she felt a deep, almost sacred connection with them.

This love for myth wasn't limited to her own tribe. Tane collected every story whispered among the surrounding tribes as well—anything born of the land where she had been raised.

Perhaps it was thanks to that devotion. Despite her young age, Tane became the most knowledgeable wolf after the chieftain. Her people came to call her the little sage.

Had she lived longer, she likely would have become the one to lead them.

But everything changed the day they came from the sky.

Her village, the only home she'd ever known, was in flames. Burned-black corpses lay scattered across the ground.

Fire, blood, and screams devoured the place where a young wolf had grown.

And standing in the heart of all that death… were they. The iron demons who descended from the sky.

The moment she remembered their laughter, Tane awoke.

The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was darkness.

"Where... am I?"

Her whisper echoed, unnaturally loud—as if she were inside a vast cave. The air was thick with moisture, and it carried a strangely foul stench.

Then came the sound—water, splashing violently from afar.

Startled, Tane stared at the dense curtain of shadow.

She saw nothing. But she could feel it.

A massive, terrifying presence was here with her.

Like a great beast crossing a lake, she heard the water part. Panic surged, and she tried to hide her body.

“Eek!”

But she couldn’t move. No matter how hard she struggled, her limbs refused to obey—bound tightly by something heavy and clay-like that clung to her arms and legs.

Even as she writhed, the presence drew closer.

Then—just as fear threatened to stop her heart—

Two amber lanterns flared open in the center of the blackness.

｢Hold on.｣

A clear voice flooded her mind, as if poured directly into her thoughts.

｢Would you mind if I asked you something?｣

To her astonishment, the overwhelming presence began to dissolve the instant that voice echoed. Whatever had lurked in the dark had now retreated.

As that terrifying thing withdrew, the two flickering flames began to approach.

When the lights grew larger than her outstretched hand, a sudden flash of bright light burst from below. As it drove out the darkness, the true form of the amber flames was revealed.

Before her stood a majestic beast—huge and noble in form. Its head was that of a white hawk, with warm amber eyes gazing down at her.

And in that moment, Tane remembered.

This was the being who had saved her from the collapsing wreckage of her home.

｢You’re the first one to wake.｣

“……”

｢I have something to ask. Is that alright?｣

A creature who seemed like a living embodiment of the ancestors in myth now stood before her, speaking gently.

“Yes, O Spirit.”

Of course she did.

***

“I see.”

｢Do you require further explanation?｣

PS-111’s voice flowed from the communicator. I shook my head.

“No, that’s enough.”

｢Understood. Then I will continue surveillance in case of intruders.｣

While the Mother of the Sky was speaking with the wolves, I listened to what PS-111 had discovered—specifically, what happened at the place she had gone to investigate.

The wolf tribes of U-08: annihilated. The chieftain and the elders: kidnapped.

By the time the Mother of the Sky arrived, everything was already over. The village she had known was reduced to ash. The only survivors were the ten wolves she brought back with her.

Not just that. The stone tablets and ruins that contained the tribe’s history had all been destroyed. The ruins especially were obliterated beyond recognition.

‘Erasing every possible trail that could lead to them.’

It was already confirmed that the Shino Group was preparing to hunt the Arcane Orca. But even so, there was no need to go this far and wipe out all evidence useful for tracking.

‘And yet they did…’

Perhaps it wasn’t just about the Arcane Orca. Maybe they were trying to keep the Mother of the Sky—or more accurately, me—in check.

Very few players ever took part in the Arcane Orca tracking team. Even fewer did so as mercenaries.

When the Mother of the Sky learned that the leader of Shino had once operated as a mercenary, she had a rough idea of who he might be. Chances are, he came to the same conclusion about us.

Our cooperation had already been exposed during the battle against Akira Yujin. The high-ranking members of the Shino Group likely caught wind of it too.

Naturally, they’d assume I knew how to track the Arcane Orca. And in truth, it was thanks to the Mother of the Sky that we’d gotten this far.

If we had arrived just a little later, the trail would’ve been lost entirely.

A setback turned opportunity? While I was thinking that, the Mother of the Sky approached me.

｢They’re not all fully awake yet, so I asked the ones who came to their senses first. Still, I heard everything important.｣

“Yeah?”

｢I know who did it. A Space Dog player who insists on using melee weapons. Ring any bells?｣

In Space Survival, melee weapons don’t get much love. With lasers and plasma flying around, and thousands of ships involved in every war, it’s only natural.

Still, there’s a decent number of melee weapon fans.

Even in other sci-fi media, melee weapon users show up fairly often.

It’s the same in Space Survival. There are players who favor things like sonic blades or psychic swords used by the Cult.

“A pirate who specializes in melee weapons, huh…”

A few names came to mind. If it’s a high-ranking player…

“Wasn’t there someone ranked 25th? A pirate who mostly uses melee weapons and bombs?”

｢That’s the one. So you’ve fought them?｣

“Yeah. Twice, right before I quit.”

Despite using odd weapons, they had surprisingly poor combat sense. I remember they made up for it with expensive gear.

｢One of the survivors said they saw a giant made of steel wielding enormous twin blades. It was giving orders to other giants.｣

“If it’s oversized twin blades, it’s either the Colossus Shard or Divine Fang. A steel giant… you mean a power suit?”

｢No. They said it was as tall as a tree—so probably a walker.｣

A power suit would make sense, but a walker using melee weapons is unusual. If they insisted on that setup, there’s a high chance it was the rank 25 player.

｢That player had experience in the Arcane Orca tracking team. Though not long after I joined, they were kicked out.｣

“Kicked out?”

｢They were notorious for only befriending strong players. Treated anyone weaker like trash. The clan leader expelled them.｣

That explains a few things. I’d wondered how someone with such mediocre skills had acquired top-tier equipment. Probably used connections with high-ranking players.

And it might also explain how the pirates ended up with so many high-end weapons from Megacorp and Star Union. If they used in-game connections, it fits.

“Alright. What about other Rankers? What did the wolves say?”

｢I asked. Aside from the 25th, there didn’t seem to be any other Rankers involved. As for people off-world, they didn’t know.｣

I looked toward the wolves.

“Still, I think we’d better implant parasites in them, just to be sure.”

Now that I had the Sensory Morphology trait, my parasites should have been enhanced as well. It wasn’t a bad idea to test them while gathering intel.

Or maybe turn a few of them into Humanoid Parasites… Wait. Humanoid Parasite?

Come to think of it, I currently had Humanoid Parasite from both the Dominion and the Return factions—Jason and Alshas. I should call them up and ask again.

‘Come out.’

At my summons, the co-inhabitants inside me stirred.

A grotesque creature, its body like a mix between a mantis and a hornet, burst through the mucous membrane, bearing the Cult’s face.

The Mother of the Sky furrowed her brow slightly at the sight.

｢A faceworm? You’re going to ask about the 25th?｣

“Yeah.”

Soon, the Humanoid Parasite of Jason and Alshas emerged, prostrating themselves before us.

“You summoned us.”

“You called, master?”

“Do either of you know anything about the 25th? Not in the game—in this world.”

Alshas answered first.

“I’ve never seen them, so I don’t know.”

“Never seen them?”

“Our Return faction failed to establish influence within Megacorp and Star Union. So we relied on spies.”

“You mean Cynthia. That’s not wrong, I suppose.”

Just as he said, the Return faction had used Cynthia to forcibly recruit weaker Rankers. They’d probably done intel work on their rivals in the Dominion as well.

“Cynthia? What’s she got to do with—?”

｢That bitch was a spy. Idiot.｣

Still disliking Jason, the Mother of the Sky released a wave of hostile thought.

Jason, bewildered at first, soon realized what she meant—and his eyes bulged with rage.

“Fuck! Alshas, you whore! How dare you—!”

“Who are you calling a whore, you sick pervert? You’d screw anything that moves.”

“I swear, I’ll tear you apart!”

“Oh yeah? Bring it on—!”

“Quiet.”

At my command, the Humanoid Parasite all fell silent. I hadn’t summoned them to listen to pointless chatter.

“I get that he’s not part of the Returner faction. Jason, do you have anything to say?”

“I… I don’t really know. I’m sorry.”

｢Rank 25 is a pirate, but he's equipped with elite gear from both Megacorp and the Star Union. It’s obvious he’s closely tied to other high-ranking fighters—yet you claim you don’t know?｣

As the Mother of the Sky sharply pointed this out, Jason hastily bowed his head.

“O-Our Domination faction is just a loose circle of acquaintances. There’s a lot we don’t know about each other.”

“Is that so? Then I suppose it can’t be helped.”

“Wait! There was a Space Dock Ranker who used to work with Akira and Jubaka!”

As I began pulling him back into my body, Jason quickly added to his story.

“He used to do jobs for them—delivering whatever they needed. N-Now that I think about it, I believe he was Rank 25! I’m sure of it!”

The worm-hosted fool seemed desperate to avoid reabsorption, squeezing his memory for every detail.

“Why didn’t you mention this when I asked earlier?”

“I-It’s just that… I haven’t heard from him in a long time. I even asked Jubaka, and he said he lost contact with the guy ages ago. I thought maybe he was already dead…”

Jason trembled as he spoke, clearly afraid I’d be angry that he was only now revealing something important.

But I had no intention of punishing him. I knew this was simply the limitation of Humanoid Parasite.

Even if I consumed someone and turned them into a faceworm, I couldn’t fully inherit their memories. A faceworm only retains what the host considered important—or what they experienced right before death. Everything else is hazy at best, or completely forgotten.

‘Just like now.’

The worm wasn’t lying. The original host probably never considered Rank 25 significant in life, and so failed to recall him properly.

“What about aside from the CEOs of Megacorp and the Grand Marshal of the Star Union?”

“To my knowledge, no one else.”

“What’s his special ability?”

“I-I’ve never seen it myself, but Jubaka said he’s incredibly skilled with Unique-Class weapons. I heard they gave him a few experimental weapons to test because of it.”

A talent for wielding Unique-Class weapons, huh? Sounds bland on the surface.

‘Depends on the scope of the weapons in question.’

Depending on how it's applied, that kind of ability could be terrifying.

‘I’ll have to be careful with that.’

“Any other notable traits?”

“That’s all I know.”

“Very well. I’ll call for you again if I need more.”

“Huh? W-Wait…!”

“N-No! Not that hell…!”

I reabsorbed the Humanoid Parasite, as I had no further questions.

“What do you think?”

｢…Start with the Grand Marshal. That one will never come here.｣

I agreed with her.

The entire Star Union revolves around the Grand Marshal and the Machine Council. The chance of the Grand Marshal appearing in person just for a hunt was practically zero.

“Judging by how many Star Union assets were mobilized, I suspect they’ve deployed their High Commissioners instead.”

｢Exactly. If it’s the High Commissioners, they’re probably providing support from outside the planet. No wonder those kids don’t know anything.｣

The Mother of the Sky scratched her beak with a thoughtful look.

｢Then what about Akira? Will he show up?｣

“He won’t come either.”

｢Why? Because of his defeat in the last battle?｣

Not wrong, but the reason I was certain was slightly different.

“I saw a vision when I entered the cocoon—a hallucination about an old endgame mission.”

｢What?｣

“I met a presence there. It told me that someone on Earth knows the secret of the End—and that I should find him.”

That must’ve caught her off guard. The Mother of the Sky’s eyes widened.

“I saw Akira taking part in that endgame mission. He must be the one who knows the secret.”

｢…Tell me everything.｣

I had been planning to share it with her anyway. This was the perfect time.

I began to recount what the data entity had told me.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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