I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 429

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 429

Drip.

A single droplet clung to the edge of its chitinous head.

It lifted its gaze toward the sky.

Thunderclouds churned above—dense, bloated with rain, ready to burst at any moment.

‘By now, they should’ve infiltrated the ship.’

Beyond the thick curtain of clouds, outside the planet’s atmosphere, the Mother of the Sky and PS-111 were making their move.

Their target: a Zak Beta-class warship in low orbit, providing support to the Ranker.

The current commander of the pirate fleet was likely an android of High Commissioner rank. And if that were true, then even this very transmission could be compromised.

That’s why they had agreed—no communication until the operation was complete.

‘It’s been a while since we each ran solo.’

The thought carried a strange, unfamiliar weight. It had been some time since it relied on others to handle things on their own.

‘But those two… they’ll do fine.’

It shifted its focus from the sky to the ground.

Beneath its extended, combat-ready arms surged a multicolored tide.

A wave made not of water—but of vagrants, pirates, soldiers, technicians, and other humans, all moving as one.

They were Hiveformers.

A synthetic army created by the Amorph, using the bodies of those once stationed at AG-01.

‘More like a zombie horde than a military.’

It was uncanny—hundreds of thousands of bodies, all advancing at exactly the same pace. It brought to mind horror films, mindless undead shambling forward.

But these were no corpses.

Beneath those preserved skins were no muscles, no blood—only black threadworms writhing beneath the surface.

A swarm of body-snatchers, advancing to overwhelm their target.

And before them stood eight Monster Walkers.

These Hiveformers were based on human physiology.

They couldn't breach a Walker’s armor barehanded.

‘But when there are hundreds of thousands of them… the math changes.’

This wasn’t like the skirmishes near the port with a few hundred units.

This was a flood.

Even a heavily armored walker couldn’t survive being buried under an avalanche of biomass. Once engulfed, it wouldn’t be able to move. All it could do was wait for the end—crushed under the collective weight.

The enemy understood that.

They unleashed everything they had.

Frontline walkers adjusted their plasma cutters to simulate flamethrowers, scorching the incoming Hiveformers.

Those in the rear fired salvo after salvo from their back-mounted multi-barrel turrets.

The explosions tore gaping holes through the swarm, momentarily halting the advance.

But the gaps were filled just as quickly.

Unless they called down an orbital strike, they wouldn’t be able to push this tide back for long.

True, the Hiveformers were still far from reaching the Walkers.

But that wasn’t a problem.

It lowered its body, pressing its head close to the earth.

‘Time to unveil the next card.’

This wasn’t just any patch of ground.

As its secondary organ brushed the soil beneath its chin, its consciousness connected to the sprawling, shallow network of the nest.

And from that connection, it activated a hidden trump card.

Not far from the Walkers, a patch of false terrain melted away.

A sinkhole opened—revealing the monsters that had lain in ambush.

Massive beasts, towering several times over a human…

They were Hulk Mutants—bio-weapons once manufactured by Megacorp.

‘Well, to be exact… they’re threadworms wearing Hulk Mutant skins.’

Hiveformer turn anything with edible flesh into homes.

Any biological body that could be hollowed out became fair game.

‘Would’ve been a waste not to use them, after all that time raiding the Hulk Mutant test labs.’

AG-01's research complex had been filled with discarded, defective test specimens. Not good enough for harvestable traits—but still useful for field deployment.

So it had left them to its smaller friends.

‘Now… go.’

The threadworm-filled Hulk Mutants lumbered forward.

They moved slower than their original counterparts, but their durability remained exceptional.

Even as explosive shells slammed into their hides, they merely staggered—never halting their march.

The Walkers were slow to realize the true threat.

They scrambled to switch to higher-caliber munitions—but before they could complete the change, the Hulk Mutants had already reached them.

One of the beasts swung an arm tipped with a massive blade, while another slammed forward with a head protruding like a battering ram.

A Monster Walker's armor wasn’t something those attacks could easily penetrate—but they weren’t trivial, either.

The front-line Walkers, until moments ago spraying flame at the swarm, were now forced to deal with the hollowed-out Hulk Mutants up close.

Monster Walkers stood nearly ten meters tall—roughly three times the size of a Hulk Mutant.

Their strength scaled accordingly.

With fists larger than a grown man’s torso, they swung like flails, crushing anything in reach.

And yet—not one of its soldiers faltered.

Hiveformers knew neither pain nor fear.

While the larger creatures bought time, the humanoid Hiveformers continued to close the distance.

The Walkers, well aware that being surrounded would mean their end, fought desperately to push the tide back.

Among the machines battling on the front lines, one caught its eye.

A bipedal war unit, brandishing twin blades on both arms—like something pulled straight out of a Japanese sci-fi anime.

That one was the 25th Ranker.

‘Guess it’s my turn.’

It severed its link with the nest, spread its wing-arms wide, then flexed and launched itself into the air using its combat limbs.

From above, it looked down upon the battlefield—Walkers locked in combat, their backs to one another.

One of them spotted it.

It tried to dodge.

Too late.

The Amorph crashed down, toppling the metal giant.

Then, with its three heads, it sank its teeth into the cockpit section.

Metal groaned, warped—and a short, strangled scream leaked through the ruptured alloy.

‘That’s one.’

Seven more to go—including the Ranker.

It spun, twisting its body as it turned. Its forked tail followed, slicing a wide arc across the ground. One of the Walkers standing in its path was struck by the pincer-like tail tip.

It lost both legs and crashed helplessly to the earth.

‘Two.’

From its back, the corrosive tentacles—long dormant—burst forth.

Their target: the cockpits of nearby Walkers.

Three of the tentacles successfully pierced their marks—driving clean through metal torsos.

The sharp limbs came back wet, slicked with some fluid—blood, or perhaps fuel.

“That makes five.”

But it failed to destroy the remaining three.

The 25th Ranker had sliced the incoming tentacles apart before they could hit.

｢Pain suppression triggered!｣

‘Tch. As expected.’

The twin blades the Ranker wielded were a pair of unique-class weapons—just like the Golden Spear of the Priest. These were called Holy Fangs.

They boasted extreme durability, nearly impossible to break. They could even endure a direct blast from a Red Gallagon’s Starflame.

And they weren’t blunt.

As proven—those blades could cut through corrosive tentacles as if they were paper.

More tentacles lunged at the Walker wielding the unique gear.

But the Ranker’s unit—using thrusters mounted on its legs—nimbly evaded.

Then, using the momentum from those dodges, it redirected force into its arms and slashed through the tentacles mid-flight.

Further attacks with the tentacles were pointless.

It withdrew them into its dorsal armor and braced to charge.

But this time, the enemy was faster.

The Walkers who had been saved by the Ranker now trained their multi-barrel turrets on it.

Hatch doors slid open, and hundreds of tiny projectiles erupted forth.

Entrapment rounds, designed for subduing wild beasts.

｢Grrrrrr!｣

The left head opened its jaws toward the incoming storm of projectiles. From deep within its throat, a green fountain surged forth—corrosive enough to melt anything in its path.

The acid breath engulfed the binding rounds midair, oxidizing most of them before they could even activate.

But not all of them were destroyed.

A few, by luck, veered out of the breath’s path and exploded overhead.

Amber-colored crystal shards rained down and latched onto the left head, pinning it in place like hard candy turned shackles.

The 25th Ranker and two Walkers took that opening to retreat.

Channeling energy into their leg thrusters, they leapt over the swarm of Hiveformers.

But they overlooked something critical:

What lay beneath them.

The battle hadn’t lasted long—but it had bought enough time.

The Hiveformers had advanced.

And now, the Hulk Mutants were waiting.

They lunged upward and collided with the airborne machines.

The Ranker barely escaped—but one of the Walkers, burdened with a multi-barrel turret on its back, wasn’t so lucky. It was snatched midair.

Then came the rest—the humanoid Hiveformers piled on top of the fallen Walker in layers.

It thrashed, swinging its arms in a desperate attempt to resist.

But it was futile.

In seconds, it was swallowed whole by the living tide.

The 25th Ranker, having barely evaded the trap, had already fled far beyond the battlefield.

‘Looks like he panicked.’

Burning energy like that would overheat the engine in no time.

The Walker would shut down well before it reached safety.

It was ready to give chase—when another Walker blocked its path.

This one wielded a massive sawblade sword, easily several meters in length.

The weapon shrieked as it vibrated, striking one of its heads.

Sparks flew as teeth met chitinous plating.

But it wasn’t the result the enemy had hoped for.

That fearsome blade, forged to tear through anything, dulled almost immediately.

All it left behind was a faint scratch.

‘Annoying.’

With its center and right heads, it bit down on both flanks of the Walker and pulled in opposite directions.

The machine didn’t last long—metal tore, and it split in two.

‘That’s seven.’

It spat out the scrap that remained.

All the Walkers assisting the Ranker were now destroyed.

Only one prey remained.

***

“Damn it! Damn it!!”

Shinobu slammed the controls with both fists, his voice shaking with fury.

He was hiding in a small city near the harbor.

The Monster Walker’s engine had overheated and needed time to cool.

“When the hell is it going to move?!”

The indicators on the panel told him the cooling process would take a few more minutes.

Normally, it wouldn’t be long enough to worry about.

But right now—with that thing chasing him—every second felt like a death sentence.

‘And that bastard Pisces! You were supposed to start the orbital bombardment by now!’

They had agreed on a distraction: orbital strikes to draw the Amorph’s attention.

But there’d been nothing.

He’d sent a desperate comms request during his escape.

No reply.

‘No way... did she get taken out?’

It was possible.

While Shinobu fought on the ground, one of the Amorph’s many monstrous pets might have ambushed Pisces Twelve.

He didn’t know how they’d fooled a master of detection like Pisces.

But with that thing, anything was possible.

It had to be some twisted scheme of that infamous Amorph.

“…Tch. Stay calm.”

He exhaled slowly, forcing his rage back down.

If Pisces was gone, then there’d be no support from the orbital fleet.

There was only one option left.

His personal reward—granted when he crossed into this world. A dangerous, difficult-to-use ability. But if used properly, it could save him.

He glanced at his palm, slick with cold sweat.

‘The signal should’ve come by now… Why isn’t it here yet?’

He had taken the ampoule during battle—it was the final trigger to activate his ability.

The effect was active.

But the one he had expected to arrive—the being—hadn’t appeared.

‘Everyone else said theirs came instantly! Why the hell isn’t mine showing up? Damn it!’

At that moment, the console finally blinked. The engine had cooled. At least one thing had gone right.

He activated the Walker and started moving again.

‘I just need to hide and buy some—urk?!’

As soon as he stepped out from the building, the cockpit shuddered violently. Sparks burst from every corner. The damage report lit up in flashing red text.

“What?! When—?!”

A horrid screech echoed as metal plates peeled back above his head. The ceiling was ripped open.

And then—he saw it for the first time.

The ghost. That monstrous phantom, clearly visible even in the dark.

It spoke in a low, deathly tone:

“Eight.”

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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