I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 437

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 437

VA-04 Star System.

Situated within Megacorp territory but relatively close to the Cult Empire, this star system was one of Megacorp’s most valuable assets. That was because several planets in the system held deposits of rare, high-grade minerals.

The current owner of the system, the Prime Capital Edgerton Family, manufactured high-performance warships using the minerals mined there. As such, they took the system’s defense seriously.

Even after the death of House Patriarch Denver Edgerton, which threw the entire family into disarray, VA-04 had managed to maintain relative stability.

At least, until one month ago.

"Temporary Food Supply Manager. What’s the situation on your end?"

The conference room lights flickered with unstable power. Everyone seated around the long table looked worn out, emaciated.

At the head of the table, a man posed the question. A woman with a pallid face slowly responded.

"At the current rate, we have about fifteen days’ worth of food left."

"Only two weeks? What if we cut rations?"

"Even then, it’ll be hard to extend that time. Especially since someone here keeps accepting more refugees."

At that, the man seated across from the food manager slammed the table with force.

"Hey! Watch your mouth! Do you even realize how many refugees came from the mining colonies? Tens of thousands! Are you suggesting we throw them all away?"

"Hah. Funny to hear you talk morals. Everyone knows you tried sneaking in your personal servants from the family estate and caused that incident."

"K-Khmm!"

"Hey, ‘temporary’ manager. Why don’t you try saying that in front of the refugees?"

"What was that? Temporary?! You dare insult a position officially recognized by Prime Capital?"

As if waiting for a signal, the room split into two sides—shouting erupted immediately.

Insults flew. Chairs scraped. The once-quiet room descended into chaos.

At the head of the table, Xavier, the acting Chief Administrator of the Edgerton Resource Control Center, ran a hand down his face in frustration.

One month ago, an overwhelming number of Outspacers had suddenly appeared and swept across the entire star system.

As a result, all orbital fortresses and surface settlements were destroyed. Only 20% of the defense forces survived.

The Edgerton Resource Control Center, located at the system's core, was the sole facility left intact.

It had been designed based on Cult-style star fortresses—capable of resupplying and housing massive fleets. Though it lacked much living space, its defensive capacity was extensive.

If not for that, it too would’ve fallen like the rest.

But even this fortified bastion had reached its limit.

The endless tide of Outspacers had already whittled down their defenses. Worse yet, there weren’t enough trained personnel left to even operate the weapons systems.

Xavier himself had only been the Crisis Response Director before the last administrator died, forcing him into the acting leadership role. Now, due to manpower shortages, even Middle Capital personnel were being forcibly conscripted into defense roles.

And, as mentioned earlier, the food stored in the city was nearly gone.

If no reinforcements arrived in two weeks, they would either starve to death—or be devoured by Outspacers.

The only stroke of luck was that there had been no attacks for the past two days. That window had made it possible to gather the surviving administrators for a meeting.

‘And yet those idiots are still busy picking sides and arguing!’

Xavier shot a glare at the squabbling officials.

The reason was obvious. They all belonged to different factions.

Since Denver Edgerton’s sudden death, the seat of the family patriarch had been left vacant. An acting head had been temporarily appointed during the internal war with T&C, but many refused to recognize his authority.

Even this meeting room was split between those who supported the acting head and those who backed Denver’s old regime. Every chance they got, they took jabs at one another.

Of course, if they all died here, factional loyalty wouldn’t mean a damn thing.

Xavier, having had enough, slammed the table.

“Everyone, quiet!”

“!”

“We’ve got two weeks of food left, and instead of figuring out how to survive, you’re busy bickering?!”

“Khmm…”

“Starting today, all non-combatants—regardless of capital rank—will have their rations reduced by 20%. That should buy us more time.”

“…What?”

“That’s going to trigger massive backlash!”

“Backlash?! Would you prefer we all starve to—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the entire room shuddered slightly.

Xavier immediately shot to his feet, knowing exactly what that tremor meant.

"They're back! All to position!‘

’Yes, yes!"

The invaders who ravaged the system have returned.

***

Anyone with even a bit of knowledge knows this simple truth: Outspacers are not just monsters.

Despite their savage appearance, they operate under a highly sophisticated hierarchical structure.

To put it simply, think of each organ inside them as an independent organism.

One becomes a brain and commands others. Another digests the gathered food and converts it into energy for the hive. In this way, they form a single body—a single swarm.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Stronger swarms absorb weaker ones, growing into larger hive-nations. Even within these vast swarms, there is meticulous division of roles between the sub-units.

The one who governs the largest hive in the universe is the being known as the Empress.

Her swarm is so immense that it requires numerous sub-queens and mid-tier overseers to function.

The creature now appearing in the VA-04 system Auge was one such sub-queen.

Covered in a mass of writhing visual organs, it wandered constantly, gathering data for its hive.

Now, under the Empress’s direct orders, Auge served as the eyes of the Grand Queen, currently leading the invasion of Megacorp territory.

｢Prey resistance low. Not dangerous.｣

｢Does not interfere with Grand Queen.｣

｢Remaining prey must be cleared.｣

｢Will not take long.｣

Designed by the Empress herself, Auge belonged to a specialized caste of queens equipped with a unique psychic transmission system, allowing for long-range communication between higher-tier organisms.

Even now, Auge in VA-04 was actively exchanging information through this neural web.

｢Hive offensive has weakened.｣

｢Auplado: destroy outer shell.｣

Auplado, a high-class unit reconstructed from the Queen’s Royal Guard, moved toward its target.

The target: the Resource Control Center.

Gunfire erupted from the compound—but not a single shot hit its mark.

That was because Auplado possessed stealth capabilities that scrambled detection systems. Unless someone was manually aiming the fortress’s batteries, hitting it was near impossible.

Using this gift from the Empress, it gracefully dodged incoming fire and landed atop the outer wall.

It raised its four blade-tipped arms each gleaming white and burning with heat and brought them down with devastating force.

Each blade ejected superheated plasma from ports at their base, allowing them to melt through even the toughest defensive materials with ease.

The alloy walls, which had resisted lesser units, crumbled like paper beneath the onslaught. Every strike carved away massive chunks of metal plating.

Once the breach was made, lesser creatures waiting behind surged forward.

Many burned alive in the relentless crossfire, but the swarm did not halt. Those that made it through the gauntlet began to pour into the tunnel opened by Auplado.

They had pierced structures like this many times before. They knew exactly where to strike to rip out the prey hiding behind layers of steel.

Leading the charge was a creature with bio-pipes mounted to its frontal carapace. These specialized beasts could spray highly acidic digestive fluids onto surfaces.

The inner alloy here was weaker than the exterior wall. It wouldn’t last.

Thousands of bio-pipes fired as one—rivers of acid slammed into the bulkhead. The secondary barrier melted almost instantly.

The Outspacers surged forward with terrifying momentum. A wide open space greeted them—the ship quarantine zone, where incoming vessels typically docked.

“Outer shell of Quarantine Line One has been breached! All units, hold the line!”

“R-Repeat! Quarantine Line One—!”

Voices filled the air—language incomprehensible to the invaders. Spacecraft and carrier ships scrambled to launch.

Creatures with spined backs aimed at the escaping ships and unleashed volleys of spikes.

“Spikes” was too generous a term—each one was the size of a child, more akin to a spear.

Countless ships were torn from the sky by the rain of javelins, crashing and exploding across the docking field.

Lizard-like small creatures swarmed together, overrunning survivors.

“Damn it! They're everywhere!”

“We need backup! Quarantine Line One is—AARGH!”

Crawling along walls and ceilings, the invaders struck from every direction. Resistance was meaningless. The defenders barely had time to pull their triggers before they were torn apart.

The swarm devoured humans and ships alike, tearing through the defensive lines.

Before long, they reached the residential zones.

Like yolks nestled within a hard shell, the humans inside were just as soft—helpless nutrients laid out in rows, ready for harvesting.

｢Multiple prey confirmed.｣

｢Are they worth collecting?｣

Auplado, leading the swarm into the city, looked down at a trembling human cowering at its feet.

“I-I was told… this device could control the Outspacers…!”

The small instrument the human held emitted a foul resonance—annoying, but not threatening.

Without hesitation, Auplado crushed him under foot.

｢No value beyond nutrient extraction.｣

｢Exterminate all.｣

“Screeeeaaaam!”

“Please, nooo!”

The swarm received the order and charged.

Not particularly hungry, Auplado turned and left the scene—leaving the wailing victims behind.

｢Final nest has been destroyed.｣

｢Returning to the Grand Queen.｣

As Auplado ascended toward Auge, its transport and communicator, it suddenly felt something strange.

A sensation it had never experienced before. It surged up, flooding its entire neural web—a deep, invasive awareness, far more intense than any annoyance caused by humans.

And it wasn’t the only one that felt it.

｢An unknown entity is approaching.｣

｢Identify immediately.｣

｢Queen overseeing the area has died.｣

｢Time of death cannot be determined.｣

｢Queens are vital to the swarm. Withdraw.｣

｢Impossible. Withdrawal not feasible.｣

｢Queens are vital. Withdraw immediately.｣

This was bad.

Auplado repeated the retreat order—but no response came.

Even worse, the mental link that had connected the swarm just moments ago had gone dead.

｢Cease all feeding. All units return to my location.｣

Auplado recalled every creature deployed in the city. All sensory organs were now focused on the area where Auge had been.

A black void.

But deeper than void—a darkness darker than space itself twisted and moved there.

And in that moment, Auplado understood the source of this overwhelming dread:

It was a warning.

A primal, instinctive terror—what a predator feels when it meets something that cannot be preyed upon.

Death—the one that devoured Auge—was now coming for them.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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