I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 424

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 424

When playing as the Amorph, it’s rare to completely overpower opponents.

Because its species is incapable of cooperation, domination relies entirely on its own strength. And to grow stronger, it must consume foes that are stronger than itself.

At first glance, it might seem unfair—but there’s no need to worry. The Amorph has plenty of ways to overcome powerful enemies.

Using the nest is one such method.

A subterranean kingdom constructed from black mucus. While it curled up there, reports began flooding in from multiple fronts.

Hiveformers, pirates implanted with parasites, and everything else within the nest moved in accordance with its commands.

And its current order was simple:

Weaken the enemies who arrived on AG-01.

‘So far, so good.’

When parasite-controlled pirates lured their former comrades underground, Hiveformers and the nest ambushed them. It hadn’t even been a full day since the invaders landed, but their numbers were already swelling on the Amorph’s side.

Once the seasoning felt just right, it would go after the rankers.

‘And thanks to an unexpected variable, I even have some extra time.’

Back when it was hunting a Returner ranker, it had clashed with a cartel called Shino-roku. At the time, the boss seemed tied to the ranker somehow, so instead of killing him, the Amorph implanted a parasite and let him go.

‘I’d forgotten about him until now.’

Perhaps because the ranker summoned pirates from his old group, the Shino-roku boss ended up on this planet too. Thanks to that, it could finally re-establish contact with the parasite.

As luck would have it, the host was currently tasked with repairing the terraforming facility. That meant it could buy another full day. In the meantime, the Amorph could try to convert a few more bosses or high-ranking officers to gain intelligence on the ranker.

‘The more intel, the better.’

Just then, one of the auxiliary organs linked to the nest detected a change. Something had been caught in a distant section of the network.

‘What is it?’

It focused its mind. Dispersed senses rapidly converged toward the anomaly. A wave of perception and awareness surged through the nest to the source of the disturbance.

There, inside a living wall, was an unconscious pirate—trapped.

And nearby were beings the Amorph recognized well: the Mother of the Sky and the wolf children under her care.

‘Looks like they caught someone important.’

If it was a boss-level target, the parasite had to be implanted personally. The Amorph severed the link and rose from its resting place.

“When the group contacts you, tell them the repairs aren’t done yet.”

“Yes, understood.”

Leaving behind the Shino-roku boss—now once again in its service—it crawled into the subterranean pit.

Over the last two weeks, it had tirelessly carved out routes across the planet. No matter which city the pirates landed in, it would be ready to respond.

And then it flooded those routes with liquefied mucus. All sections, except those near the surface or meant as bait, were submerged completely.

This setup offered two major advantages.

First: an expanded detection range when linked with the nest. Even in areas beyond the nest’s reach, it could observe via the spread of the mucus.

Strategically placed nests at key locations, and everything else covered by the flowing organic liquid—this method had enabled the Amorph to conquer entire planets in-game multiple times.

Second: the mucus acted as a network of canals. If it wanted to move unseen, it could swim through them.

‘Especially useful when I’m grounded and can’t fly.’

That’s why it had intentionally acquired traits related to swimming.

Looking at its current combat arms and forked tail, elongated fins had grown along various points. Thanks to the wing membranes and these fins, its swimming speed rivaled its aerial movement.

Because of that, it arrived quickly at the signaled zone. Folding its fins and wings, it climbed up onto the hardened surface of the nest.

Not long after it began walking across the solid floor, it spotted a familiar quadruped beast and one of the wolves.

｢You’ve come.｣

The Mother of the Sky, now transformed into a griffin, acknowledged the Amorph’s arrival.

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Did you catch someone important?)]

｢Yes. The boss of the Shinoni cartel.｣

[ZZZ ZZ? (Shinoni?)]

｢Ventress told me where the boss was. Once we heard that, Tane lured him all the way here.｣

I looked toward the wolf girl standing next to her—a young Wolf with the head of a jackal. The moment she felt my gaze, she bowed her head respectfully.

｢Judging by his reaction, the boss recognized her. He must’ve been there when the native Wolf were attacked.｣

[ZZ (I see.)]

According to the surviving Wolf, the ranker himself had joined in the massacre. If the boss was present, he must know something about the ranker too.

I briefly linked with the nest and pulled the boss out from the wall.

[ZZZZ ZZZ (He’s human?)]

We thought he might be a cyborg since he had piloted a walker when killing the Wolf, but surprisingly, that wasn’t the case.

｢Not just human. Looks like he’s undergone genetic enhancement procedures.｣

[ZZ ZZ (Yeah, no kidding.)]

This nest constantly emits air that’s toxic to living beings. A normal person wouldn’t last without protective gear.

‘A genetically modified human… and a pirate.’

From what Ventress said, the Shinoni boss held a fair amount of influence within the group. He even participated in the Wolf massacre led by the ranker.

Which means there could be a safeguard embedded in his head—some kind of control mechanism implanted during surgery. If I were the ranker, I’d definitely install one.

Still, there’s no need to worry too much. There are plenty of ways to extract what I need from his mind. The parasite is just the most efficient method, but I can always try something else.

‘Let’s wake him up and find out.’

I lightly pressed down on the pirate’s leg with my wing-arm.

“GAAAAAH!”

A wet crack rang out as the bone snapped, and the man bolted awake.

“Son of a—gah?!”

“Are you the boss of Shinoni?”

He choked on the rest of his curse the moment he saw me.

“I’ll ask again. Are you the boss of Shinoni?”

“Y-yes! Yes, I am!”

“You went to the Wolf homeworld, didn’t you? Who commanded you there?”

“Eh? W-why are you… argh! I-it was Sutherland! The commander was Sutherland, boss of Shinoichi!”

He still didn’t quite grasp the situation, so I made his arms match his legs. Grinding his teeth, he forced himself to answer.

“This Sutherland—was he the one piloting a walker and using a sword-type weapon?”

“A sword-type weapon? I’m not sure I—”

“I mean weapons with special energy blades. A chainsaw sword, maybe. Anything designed for close combat.”

The pirate rolled his eyes for a moment, then shook his head vigorously.

“N-no, from what I remember, Sutherland’s walker was armed with a pair of plasma launchers.”

“What about among the other pirates?”

“There weren’t any.”

His story didn’t quite line up with what Tane and the boss of Shinoni said.

I looked over at Tane. The little Wolf girl glared at the pirate with fury in her eyes—until she felt my gaze again and lowered her head.

‘It’s unlikely Tane is lying.’

She comes from a primitive tribe with no contact with other civilizations. Her descriptions might be lacking, but she has no reason to lie and mislead us.

‘That means this man is the problem.’

Pinned under my wing-arm, the pirate’s eyes shifted nervously. Beyond his fear, it was clear he was already scheming something.

“You lied.”

“W-what?! Lied? I—argh! W-wait!”

If he was a reinforced human, then a major injury alone wouldn’t be enough to kill him. So I began tearing off one of his legs—only for him to suddenly scream out:

“W-wait! I have a signal chip implanted by the Supreme Leader! If I die or suffer a critical wound, it’ll send a signal to him!”

Surprisingly, he knew about the chip. I hadn’t expected that.

‘A warning not to even think of betrayal, since they’re monitoring his head.’

Given how common betrayal is among the Spacedogs, it made sense they’d warn him outright.

“So you're saying I shouldn’t kill you?”

“If you spare me, I’ll tell you everything I know!”

“You’re proposing a deal, then.”

“I know a lot! If it’s information you want, you won’t be disappointed!”

Well, that changed things.

I eased the pressure in my wing-arm. Freed from the crushing weight, the pirate sighed in relief.

“Heh… if you’re going to let me live, could you maybe treat my injuries fir—”

“I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“…Huh?”

I’d never intended to kill him—not yet. That would be such a waste.

“You couldn’t die even if you wanted to.”

At least, not until I’d stripped him of everything he knew.

I activated the psychic trait I’d obtained from fighting Akira Yujin—Ultra Control. Just like when I used Psychic Breath or the Abyssal Hue, massive energy surged toward my head. My twisted horns unfurled like branches from a tree—this was the reaction of Fragrant Horns of the Form, a trait that enhances mind-affecting abilities, synchronizing with Ultra Control.

Soon the energy condensed into fine threads that crept toward my target.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

The pirate boss, who had been faking a grin, froze as panic crept over his face. He wasn’t a cultist, so he couldn’t perceive psychic power. But some instinct told him things were going very wrong.

“Stop! Stop it, no—GAHHHHH!”

The threads burrowed mercilessly into every orifice on his face. The man screamed and convulsed violently. Blood streamed from his eyes, nose, and ears, his veins bulging grotesquely across his skin.

Only after every thread had embedded itself did the trembling stop. His eyes turned completely violet as he looked up at me.

“I serve the Amorph.”

The mental domination had succeeded smoothly.

The Amorph’s version of Ultra Control was inferior to the original, with many flaws. Still, in situations where parasites couldn’t be used, it was surprisingly useful.

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Start with the most important information you know.)]

The man who had once been a pirate boss opened his mouth under my command.

“The most important task I’ve been given is to safeguard the object the Supreme Leader brought here.”

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (The object? Is it a weapon?)]

“No. It’s a special warp finder secretly developed by Star Union. The Shinoni cartel is tasked with protecting it.”

A covert Star Union warp finder.

That sparked a sudden realization in me.

｢This warp finder... is it what I think it is?｣

The Mother of the Sky sent her thoughtwave at the same time, clearly thinking the same thing.

The Star Union possesses a piece of gear so powerful, it’s considered one of the top three war machines by all rankers—every single time.

[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Prometheus is here?)]

“The name… the Supreme Leader never told me, so I don’t know.”

Prometheus—a massive warp-particle manipulation device.

It’s a superweapon capable of tracking and controlling faster-than-light navigation.

｢…Wasn’t that thing immovable once completed?｣

In the game, Prometheus couldn’t be transported once it was fully assembled.

But this wasn’t a game—this was real. The Star Union’s cyborgs might’ve found a way to move it. Or maybe this was a different, new kind of warp finder I didn’t yet know about.

‘I need to confirm this immediately.’

[ZZ ZZ Z (Where is it now?)]

“Sub-boss Ventress is in charge of it. Should I contact him?”

[ZZ (No.)]

Ventress was already under my control—no need for that.

‘If Prometheus really is here…’

A weapon of absolute power in space warfare—I must claim it.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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