abcnovels
Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Chapter 145
The name of the drug in the ampoule I’m holding is Syonium. Instead of enhancing the user with each use, this drug randomly reduces its duration while providing a reinforcement effect.
I’ve used it before when fighting against Si-hyun Yujin, a genetically modified human from the Yujin family. Back then, in my fluid state, I consumed Syonium temporarily gaining the power of an astral being to confront her.
Anyway, I’ve already used it once. Originally, the duration should decrease.
‘But this is an improved version used by Muriel’
She said, She enjoyed the reinforcement effect for a much longer time compared to regular Syonium. So, I can’t predict how long the effect will last.
‘Regardless, the duration won’t be that long. At least 5 minutes, maybe 8 or 9 minutes at most should be assumed.’
In other words, Syonium’s effect ends earlier than the maximum duration of the ‘King of Monsters.’ Logically, it would be correct to use the King of Monsters first, but there’s a problem to consider before that.
‘If you use up all your energy, the state will be released.’
According to the description of the ‘Organic Evolution’ trait, transforming into the King of Monsters consumes a considerable amount of energy.
‘The Divine Scepter will probably consume a lot of energy too.’
Both ‘Divine Scepter’ and the King of Monsters consume the stored biological energy in my body.
‘The total amount of energy shouldn’t be a big problem.’
Before entering Transcendence Stage 2, I devoured the Swamp King and creatures in the swamp, and recently, I even swallowed the whole Hond Gigrant.
Both creatures are powerful predators reigning over the Sainthopia02 continent. Moreover, I believe Amorph’s energy consumption is very efficient, so there shouldn’t be a shortage of energy.
‘Of course, I can’t be 100% sure.’
Both traits are not present in the game. I haven’t personally tried them. However, I’ve faced similar crises in the game a few times. I’ve faced massive onslaughts from Outspacers, participated in large-scale massacres, and even intercepted MegaCorp’s planet-destroying weapon, ‘Nova,’ by flying into the stratosphere.
In fact, I now have more cards to play than I did back then, making the situation even better.
‘With Amorph’s excellent senses and my intuition…’
Just as I’ve overcome previous difficulties, I should be able to overcome this crisis as well.
‘All that’s left is when the Cosmic Bolt will fall.’
I don’t have a way to find out in the current situation, but there’s one method. The predator sense that informs me of my crisis. The moment a fleeting future flashes before my eyes is the time to strike.
After making the decision, I took out the Syonium ampoule from Muriel’s kit and stored it in my mouth. Wrestling with the massively enlarged body to hold the ampoule was to avoid damage.
‘Because it’ll be hard to eat in the King of Monsters state.’
Although I was prepared, the predator sense hasn’t sent any news yet. I activated the Organic Evolution trait and chose the King of Monsters. And then…
[Location not suitable. Please maintain distance from allies.]
‘Huh?’
The transformation did not take place.
‘Not here?’
While there were many trees around, the location I was in was a plain. The description of the special state only mentioned a required space within a radius of 100m, with no other specifics.
‘Does it mean there shouldn’t be obstacles… Wait, could it be?’
The distance from allies. In front of me were 26, Adhai, and the Mother of the Sky. [Zuzuzuzuz (Wait here for a moment)] After informing them, I left the location.
The direction I headed was straight to the riverside. There were no obstacles like trees there. I ran with all my power, utilizing all my body’s organs to their muscular limits, including six combat arms, tail, and blunt claws.
Upon reaching the riverside, I activated the trait again.
‘The location is not suitable.’
And inevitably, the unsuitable message appeared.
I looked around. Although this place was near the river, it was sparsely populated with trees, more like the edge of the forest. Since there was no mention of allies, it seemed that the obstacle part was omitted in the King of Monsters’ description.
I quickly jumped into the river. Only after arriving at the center of the river did the message appear that transformation into the King of Monsters was possible.
‘At this point, it should easily exceed 100 meters, right?’
The width of this river is not narrow. It should easily exceed 100m from the center of the river to the bank.
Just as I wondered how much larger it would become, something passed in front of my vision.
‘It’s here!’
The scene of the black flames, the Cosmic Bolt, tearing through the atmosphere and devouring everything in its path. As soon as I recognized that scene, I immediately transformed into the King of Monsters.
‘Ugh?!’
[Pain nullification Activated!]
Unlike other evolutions, tremendous pain surged. It was an intense pain that I had never experienced before. Even with Pain nullification activated, it was this severe. If I didn’t have the memory of childhood full-body burns, I would have instantly lost consciousness.
Moreover, it wasn’t just the pain. Even in the midst of transformation, the energy consumption rate was enormous. It felt like the overwhelming force of releasing three consecutive psychic Breaths.
‘Ugh, ugh! I have to eat now…!’
Somehow, I managed to hold onto my sanity and bit into what was inside my mouth. The small ampoule shattered, and the Syonium inside poured into my throat.
‘Guh, guh, ??????????!’
Unable to endure the pain any longer, I let out a loud scream. As the river evaporated and the trees on the bank were uprooted, a wave of intense energy obscured my vision.
***
“Cosmic Bolt launch ready.”
“Energy output at 500%, charging complete. Dark Matter Regulator in operation. Purification process initiated.”
“Coordinate input completed.”
“Estimated damage assessment complete. Contrasting with purification mission.”
In the situation room where the Cosmic Bolt launch was imminent, the captain secretly bit his lips.
In the end, his subordinates did not return until the launch. He didn’t know whether they were alive or dead, what happened on planet PH-101, and he would probably never know.
“I’ll never be able to know in the future.”
Thinking about the fallen subordinates, the captain closed his eyes tightly. Meanwhile, the countdown continued quickly.
“Huh? Captain! Powerful energy waves detected!”
At that moment, a cult crew member observing the planet’s energy flow shouted. The captain opened his eyes at his words.
“Energy waves? Is it a magnetic storm, perhaps?”
“I don’t know! Th…this is?! It’s not spread across the entire planet but concentrated at a specific point!”
“What?”
The crew member displayed an image using psychic power. The entire continent within the planet was covered by a massive energy storm. The cult members in the situation room were shocked to see that.
“Oh my goodness!”
“I’ve never seen such a flow of energy before!”
Magnetic storms occur in all directions across a planet, so it wouldn’t concentrate at a specific point like this. In other words, that abnormal storm was undoubtedly created by some specific entity.
“Could it be the source of contamination?”
The command given to the Judicator of Damocles 08 was to purify the contaminated PH-101. That abnormal storm was undoubtedly created by entities that polluted the planet.
“Darn it! So, everyone has perished!”
That continent is where the Wolf natives reside. The extermination force must have gone to capture the Wolves but unfortunately encountered that source of contamination.
It’s an entity that influences a continent. No matter how powerful the extermination force is, it is impossible to survive against such an unreasonable existence.
“Can we observe the source of contamination with the ship’s camera?”
“Th…the energy flow is so intense that… I’ll still give it a try!”
The cult crew operated the ship’s computer using psychic power. A few seconds later, the observed image of the ground appeared in the center of the situation room.
Cult members who confirmed the appearance of the source of contamination screamed in unison. The captain didn’t scold them because he himself almost screamed when he saw ‘it’.
For an unknown reason, the image quality was not very good, but everyone present could easily confirm the appearance of ‘it’ at that moment.
The reason was that ‘it’ was extremely gigantic. When roughly comparing it to the surrounding trees, it was estimated to be well over 200 meters in length.
The source of contamination had a total of three heads. Except for the central head, the other two heads had the same appearance, resembling carnivorous dragons with pointed beaks, similar to Saegil08’s native creature, ‘Manuk Arma.’ There were no visible visual organs in these heads. Instead, horns grew in those spots.
Instead of eyes, long and thin tentacles below the jaws seemed to serve as sensory organs. Even in the image on the screen, the two heads were constantly flicking the tentacles without rest.
In the center was the middle head. It possessed six large horns, a long and wide back head shell reminiscent of a crown. Unlike the heads on the sides, this one had eyes, constantly scanning the surroundings like sly serpents.
Horns, back head shell, and eyes. The captain believed that this head held the highest command.
The neck supporting the three heads was quite long and thick, resembling a snake. In the area where the long neck and head met, tentacle clusters that looked like hair hung down.
Even up to this point, the appearance was sufficiently repulsive, but it became even more grotesque when looking at the body. The creature’s back was covered in a jet-black exoskeleton, resembling the dark matter used by the cult. Eight whirl-shaped cavities adorned its back, each housing pipes that extended in a row, connecting to the tail.
From the pipes, an unidentifiable gas constantly poured out, rising into the sky. It was probably these gases that caused the decrease in image quality observed by the ship’s camera.
Descending from the exoskeleton on the back were six legs. More precisely, there were four front legs that seemed to serve as arms and were much larger than the other arms, and two significantly larger hind legs.
Perhaps the creature was crouching, making the arms look like legs. All the legs were wrapped in an exoskeleton similar to the back, and the joints appeared more numerous than those of ordinary organisms. The appearance was reminiscent of a spider, giving an instinctive sense of disgust.
Especially between the legs, there were folds of flesh, making it far from pleasant to look at. Although the purpose was unknown, if it was intended to evoke revulsion in the observer, it certainly achieved its goal.
After the horrifying legs, finally, the tail. The creature with three heads also had multiple tails. The tail, which accounted for about a third of the body’s weight, was split into two branches from a certain point in the lower body.
In other words, it meant the tail was split into two. The right tail had a giant pincer at the end, and the left tail had a stinger resembling that of a scorpion.
“The devil with three heads….”
Someone muttered upon seeing the contamination source on the screen. The captain thought that expression was appropriate.
Its appearance was truly that of an evil dragon straight out of cult mythology—the contamination source threatening the security of the Cult Empire, the ‘devil with three heads.’
The captain shouted until his throat tore apart,
“Immediately incinerate that blasphemous being!”
“Understood! Adjusting the coordinates!”
The Cosmic Bolt’s cannons aimed at the blasphemous entity.
In a moment, that contamination source would be eliminated. As always.
No. It had to be that way.
Although I gained a new body, I couldn’t observe the changes.
Thinking that there was no need to worry about the held energy was a complete misjudgment. An enormous amount of energy was currently being drained in real-time.
It was inevitable. After becoming the King of Monsters, the detection range of auxiliary sensors had become incredibly vast. I could monitor about a third of the Seintopia02 continent where I stood.
Along with energy consumption, I barely managed to keep my sanity amidst the vast amount of information. I filtered out as much irrelevant information as possible and focused only on the Cosmic Bolt descending through the planetary atmosphere.
Finally, I conveyed a message to them with the monster’s tentacles.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Everyone, evade on your own!)]
If they were the Mothers of the Sky, they should understand what I meant. No, they had to understand.
I felt sorry for the kids, but I couldn’t afford to pay attention to them. Even a slight distraction might cause them to collapse right away.
And finally, the time has come.
As if time had slowed down, the Cosmic Bolt descends slowly here. The sky splits, the air vibrates, and the ground beneath my feet ripples.
In the slowed spacetime, I lifted my head towards the sky.
‘The Punishing Sceptre of the Gods!’
The jet-black, dark black back, where pipes are lined up in a row, begins to glow golden one by one. Waves of gold ascend through my long necks.
As the light passes through the monster’s tentacles and reaches my throat holes,
Through me, the gods swing the scythe of punishment.
It was like lightning, and it looked like hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of thin filaments merging into one.
The important thing was that lightning-like filaments emanated from a total of three places.
The black flames descending to burn the ground and the golden lightning brilliantly collide.
In that moment.
The sky tore apart.
Not metaphorically, but literally, the atmosphere of this planet is tearing apart. The tremendous shockwave created as the lightning from the three heads collided with the Cosmic Bolt.
Clouds disappeared, and unexpectedly, auroras occurred in the sky, twisted by the distorted magnetic field. Along with the atmospheric changes, dozens of fiery vortexes descended from the sky to the ground.
The ground where I stand shakes as if in an earthquake, and the river evaporates at a rapid speed. Trees within a radius of several kilometers from where I stand burst into flames all at once.
“Kuk!”
The complete body of a King of Monsters, combined with the divine scythe infused with the power of the Brain God.
I thought this much would be possible, but it’s not easy. While spewing lightning, I also gauged the remaining energy.
‘Just a little more!’
The effect of Saionium wouldn’t be released, but the King of Monsters and the divine scythe are different. It will be canceled as soon as the energy runs out.
‘Just a bit more!’
Little by little, the lightning began to push back the black flames and the Cosmic Bolt. If I push a bit more here, the Imperial Flagship will overload, forcing the Cosmic Bolt to stop.
I thought I could endure a bit more, but suddenly, dozens of filaments rained down from the sky.
‘Flagship Fleet!’
I hadn’t noticed, as I was focused on the Cosmic Bolt, but the cult’s warships were floating in the sky. Knowing that the Imperial Flagship was clashing with me, the warships of the Fleet Division came to support.
‘It’s challenging to attack separately from here!’
Thanks to the effect of the King of Monsters, the filaments they shot did not inflict fatal wounds on me. It hurt, but I could endure.
However, due to the continuous rain of filaments, it was challenging to maintain focus.
‘Is there a way… Ah!’
Suddenly, a good idea crossed my mind, and I calculated the remaining energy.
‘It’s possible!’
Even while shooting the divine scythe, there is a way to deal with those annoying gnats-like ships. The drawback is that the duration of the King of Monsters will be slightly reduced.
The monstrous tentacle, accepting my will, moves. As there are three heads, the monstrous tentacles on the back of my head and neck are also generated in three places.
‘So, Psychic Breath can be aimed in three directions.’
Until now, I haven’t specifically controlled the direction of the Psychic Breath. There was no need to do so. There’s only the constraint of maintaining focus; the direction itself should be controllable.
The only problem is that I’ve never actually tried it.
Once again, I don’t like having to take risks, but there’s no choice. This is my last stand. It’s time to throw the decisive blow.
The golden pipes that were shining earlier are now flickering in violet. Similar to the whip of the gods, the violet light moves sequentially from the tip of the tail.
So far, I’ve been trying hard to aim the monster’s tentacles towards the target. Controlling the monster’s tentacles on the three heads simultaneously was never easy. It was a delicate operation to the point that, had it not been for Aymoph’s exceptional senses, I would have failed. Unconsciously, blood flowed from my eyes and mouth, but I ignored it.
The excruciating pain, as if my brain were going to burn, attacked me, but I eventually succeeded. The monster’s tentacles listened to my command, aiming at the direction of the enemy battleships.
‘That’s it!’
The monster’s tentacle, absorbing all the violet Psychic power, sways smoothly like a conductor’s baton.
In accordance with the command, a violet sphere rises in front of the dragon’s head that spews lightning. Even when I used Psychic Breath before, the size was quite large, but now, tailored to my body, it was enormous, exceeding 200 meters.
Whether they sensed the essence of my Psychic Power or not, the enemy battleships hurriedly tried to retreat.
‘Where are you going?’
The dragon’s breath towards their fleeing rears erupted. In the place where the violet filaments, reaching several kilometers away, passed by the battleships, only a large-scale explosion remained.
The battleships that went beyond the range of my filaments quickly escaped beyond the planet’s atmosphere. Those unable to do so became alloy rain, falling to the ground.
‘Now, I have about two minutes left, no, maybe just a minute?’
Having repelled the battleships, I poured all my focus into shooting the scythe of the gods.
As the remaining energy approaches the bottom, my vision becomes blurry. Only the auxiliary organs under my chin, which have always accompanied me through life and death, continue to report my energy consumption.
‘Please!’
[???????????????????????!]
Finally, as if roaring a plea, I unleashed the lightning.
Did it work?
The Cosmic Bolt descending to annihilate everything.
The black filaments extending to a radius of several hundred meters blinked like malfunctioning lights and disappeared.
As if ascending to become a dragon, the lightning I shot soared into the sky without any obstacles.
Following that, a second sun rose high in the sky.
Confirming that it was the last flash emitted by the Imperial Flagship annihilated by the sceptre of the gods, I lost consciousness.