I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 434

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 434

After departing AG-01, I came straight to the Gallagon nest without taking any detours.

But the moment I arrived, I realized the nest was in worse condition than expected. Adhai had absorbed far more energy and much faster than predicted.

“Where’s your sister?”

“She got a new ship. She’s looking for a place to store it with the Mother of the Sky.”

“…Nothing happened to her, right?”

Isabel asked cautiously. She seemed genuinely concerned about her absent sister, PS-111.

“She returned safely. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Well, she had changed a lot in appearance, but she hadn’t suffered any injuries.

“By the way, I didn’t see many Gallagons around.”

“All the ones capable of hunting went out to search for food.”

Aside from the White Gallagon guarding the valley, I hadn’t seen any others on the way in.

Gallagons value their young and their eggs immensely. Even with Number 26 present, it’s not normal to leave so few behind at the nest.

‘It just shows how desperate things have gotten.’

Good thing I arrived early. If I’d been even a little later, this could have turned dangerous.

｢Big One, eat this!｣

Number 26, who had greeted me excitedly, offered a mushroom.

[ZZ ZZZ (Thanks)]

‘It must’ve been through a lot.’

Even without examining closely, it was clear how emaciated it had become. Its skin, once a lovely pink, had faded to a pale white. Its tentacles moved sluggishly, drained of energy.

｢Big One, what’s that?｣

[ZZ (This?)]

Number 26 pointed a tentacle at the Arcane Orca I was carrying. I answered while chewing on the sweet juice-filled mushroom.

[ZZ ZZZ (Adhai’s food)]

｢Food?｣

[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ (Yeah. This should help stabilize her.)]

｢Really? Really?!｣

This prey held stellar energy within it. It should be more than enough to rouse Adhai.

“I’m going to feed her now. Check if there’s any problem during the absorption.”

“Got it.”

Isabel had a special trait that allowed her to read information from others. With her around, any unexpected situations could be dealt with.

Just then, Number 26 extended its tentacle like an arm and waved it.

｢Feeding time? I want to watch too!｣

[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (It could be dangerous. You should stay here.)]

｢But I want to see Little One eat!｣

The huge creature stomped in place, throwing a tantrum. The walls and ceiling trembled, and the Blue Gallagons in its arms tilted their heads, confused by the sudden excitement.

‘It really wants to see, huh?’

I’d never seen Number 26 act like this before.

Even if I told it to stay, it would just follow me anyway. I might as well take it along.

[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Alright, let’s all go together.)]

｢Okay!｣

And so, I led Number 26 and Isabel to the place where Adhai slept.

The throne of the pack leader looked almost the same as I remembered. Mounds of gemstones filled the chamber, surrounding a massive ruby crystal at the center. The closer one got to it, the heavier the sense of lifelessness became just like before.

I approached the crystal and laid the Arcane Orca’s corpse before it.

The moment it touched the crystal, the ruby’s red glow deepened. Now dyed a vivid crimson like it was bleeding, the crystal began absorbing the orca’s body.

Its golden bones crumpled and disintegrated in real time. The energy it had once contained was funneled directly into the being asleep within the crystal. A surge of red current burst out from the energy intake, shaking the entire chamber.

I stepped back quickly afraid it might start siphoning my energy too.

The Arcane Orca’s bones vanished within moments. Even the gemstones on the ground were swept away by the turbulent air and crushed into dust.

Something felt off. Very off.

Isabel, who had been staring at the crystal intently, finally spoke:

“There’s a problem.”

“What? You mean even the Arcane Orca wasn’t enough?”

“No. It’s the opposite. There’s too much energy.”

“Too much? Isn’t that a good thing?”

At my question, Isabel shook her head.

“It means she doesn’t know how much energy she needs. If this keeps going, she’ll just keep absorbing and never wake up.”

She was right. The crystal that had devoured the Arcane Orca was now hungering for the nest’s energy and mine.

“How do we stop it?”

“…She already has all the energy she needs to grow. If we destroy the crystal, Adhai will wake up.”

Some animals, when they fail to hatch after their time has come, need help like tapping the shell to trigger hatching. This felt the same. If we shattered the crystal, Adhai would stir.

I took a step toward the core of the crimson storm. The moment my wing-arm touched the red mist, energy drained from me in a violent pull.

The second heart in my chest, the Dragon Heart rushed to replenish the loss. But the rate of depletion was faster than even it could handle.

As dizziness struck and I stumbled under the immense loss, the current suddenly dispersed. The cloud that had attacked me surged backward toward something behind me.

｢Big One! You can do it!｣

Number 26 had entered full combat mode, manipulating the torrent with thousands of its tentacles.

Of course, even it couldn’t stop a storm that devoured energy. I could see its tentacles shriveling rapidly. At best, it had ten seconds.

But that was enough.

I made it to the crystal.

It has to break in one blow.

If I delayed even for a moment, we were all finished.

I put every ounce of strength into my right tail and struck. The claw at the end smashed into the hardened surface of the crystal.

｢Pain Suppression Activated!｣

My tail evaporated the instant it made contact. But the perfect, seamless surface of the crystal now bore a crack.

Like a spider’s web slowly expanding, the fracture spread. When the fissures covered the surface, the crimson prison finally shattered. The immense energy that had been sealed within the crystal and storm exploded outward.

Most of it was absorbed by the ceiling, walls, and floor but some of it flowed into an unexpected recipient: Number 26.

When I turned around, its bleached white body had regained its pink hue. Its dried-out skin regained luster, and its wounded tentacles rapidly regenerated.

｢I’m full.｣

‘Did it just take back the energy it lost?’

Swollen and round like a bun soaked with syrup, Number 26 let out a long sigh and collapsed on the spot, ending its battle form. It looked as peaceful as someone who’d just had an incredible meal.

‘And Adhai?’

I turned back.

Where the crystal had once stood, a figure I had never seen before was now lying in its place.

She was between five and seven meters long, though her exact size was hard to tell her large wings wrapped around her like a cocoon.

The outer surface of those wings was the same deep red as the crystal, glowing softly, like a blooming rose nebula. Inside those elegant wings, a slender, coiled body was curled.

Crimson scales darker than her wings, four slim yet muscular limbs, a long and graceful neck, and a tail full of volume and life.

She looked like a perfect blend of Eastern dragon and Western wyvern. Slowly, she lifted her head.

And the moment I saw the six radiant horns and the pair of shining eyes beneath them, I knew exactly who I was looking at.

[ZZZZ (Adhai?)]

｢Big One?｣

My pulse reached her and the Red Gallagon, no, Adhai, responded. Her head drew closer.

｢Size｣ ｢Small｣ ｢Body｣ ｢Are you hurt?｣

[ZZ (Huh?)]

Maybe it was the more slender shape of her eyes, but her purple gaze mature and sharp scanned every inch of my body. She was clearly worried.

‘Why’s she reacting like this?’

Even though I was in the form of the ‘Sinister Mimic’, it wasn’t to the point of causing this much concern.

‘Does she not remember entering the crystal?’

If that was the case, her reaction made sense. To her, it might look like I had changed completely in just a few hours.

[ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Don’t worry. We won.)]

｢Really?｣

[ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Yeah. Are you okay?)]

｢Me?｣ ｢Okay｣ ｢?｣

It was only then that Adhai finally realized what had changed.

｢?｣ ｢?｣

Her amethyst-colored eyes trailed down from her neck, along her smooth body, all the way to the tip of her tail.

｢Big One!｣ ｢I’m｣ ｢all｣ ｢grown up!｣

[ZZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (You’re not hurt or anything, are you?)]

｢No problem!｣ ｢Look!｣

She jumped up and spun around in place, her wings and the tip of her tail brushing against the underside of my jaw.

The touch didn’t feel like scales at all. It was unbelievably soft like brushing against silk. I was startled by how good it felt.

Then she ran her long tail playfully along my wing-arm, almost tickling it.

｢Tail｣ ｢Scales｣ ｢Even prettier now｣

[ZZZ (They really are)]

It was true.

Even when she was still a White Gallagon, she had been beautiful but with a more innocent kind of charm.

Now, there was an elegant balance between delicacy and maturity. Her slim, dragon-like figure and the striking red scales gave her a mystique that felt both alluring and powerful.

‘She looks nothing like what I saw in the game.’

In the game, Red Gallagons were much bulkier, with fearsome, imposing looks. Their nickname, ‘Crimson Tyrants’, wasn’t just for show.

But Adhai was nothing like a tyrant. Maybe the difference was because she was female.

｢Big One｣ ｢I’m｣ ｢now ｣

Just as she was about to say something, a pink tentacle suddenly appeared from behind me and wrapped around her.

｢?｣

Number 26 yanked her straight over to its side.

｢Little One! Are you okay?｣

｢Squished｣

｢Little One okay?｣

｢Squished｣ ｢Did you do it｣ ｢on purpose?｣

｢I’m so glad you’re okay!｣

Despite Adhai wriggling in protest, Number 26 held her tightly and refused to let go.

“You really must’ve been worried about her, huh?”

“…That's a worry?”

“Those two are actually pretty close. Number 26 taught her a lot. I think it’s been around her more than anyone besides me.”

“……”

Isabel fell silent, as if she finally understood what was going on.

In any case, Adhai’s growth was complete and successful.

‘There’s still a lot left to do…’

But it could wait, just for now.

With that thought, I quietly watched Number 26 and Adhai play around like children.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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