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Chapter 148

Cloe was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Akira Yujin. She knew Akira had been far away in another star system, mediating an internal conflict as the CEO.

In response to her inquiry, Akira nonchalantly replied,

“Jason sent a summon signal last time, didn’t I miss it? It would be rude if it happened again.”

“…Alright.”

However, Cloe didn’t trust Akira’s words.

[TL/N- the name of the character Clo in the previous chapter will be changed to Cloe, it sounds much much better.]

‘He planted a spy on me!’

Seeing him enter at the perfect moment, Cloe immediately understood. This summon was at her request, and she had taken a vacation to attend it. Information must have leaked from there.

‘Damn it.’

Akira considered himself a challenger to every Noble Capital’s head who could seize the CEO’s position from him. While it was a trait unique to Noble Capital to view everyone else as competitors, Akira took it to an extreme.

His massacres and crimes to control the Yujin family were infamous even among players.

‘…Fine, I need to clean up the entourage first.’

Despite her annoyance at dealing with unnecessary matters, she didn’t express it.

While she remained silent, Jacob briefly explained the situation to Akira.

Akira’s first reaction to the explanation was skepticism.

“Why is that here… well, it doesn’t matter though. Now I understand how T&C presented such research results. Ha, no wonder I never get bored.”

He continued mumbling words that no one could understand.

“Akira, what does that mean?”

“It’s nothing. Anyway, Cynthia, share the hologram from the Pillar.”

“Ok.”

After a while, light emitted from Cynthia’s Pillar and shot towards a point in the air. The scattered light converged into a hologram.

The revealed image was of PH-101, the planet known as Sigil 08, where the Rank 5 Amorph appeared.

“Sigil 08, ladies and gentlemen of Mega Corp and Star Union, this is the last video sent from the surveillance satellite managing the holy site on PH-101.”

The being in the video had three heads and giant pipe-like structures on its back, resembling the Amorph entity but larger.

The creature raised all three heads to the sky, emitting a powerful light from its mouths.

The heat lines of that light, along with the darkness pouring from the sky, created a fierce battle of energies. The creature was facing off against the cosmic bolts shot by the ‘Judge of Damos 08.’

During the battle, it began to use a new power. Purple energy gathered from its three heads and shot towards the sky.

The video ended at that point.

“Afterwards, a magnetic storm occurred on the planet, making it impossible to confirm through the satellite.”

“Was there no video taken from the spaceship?”

“The only ship that returned is heavily damaged. We are trying to restore the video, but good results are unlikely.”

“Hehe, this is tricky.”

Despite the tense situation, Akira laughed calmly.

“Surprisingly, if that thing is the entity, Akira, you might be a target too.”

“That’s true. If it’s really the entity, I might be next.”

“What do you mean?”

Cloe and Jacob didn’t understand, but Akira reacted as if he couldn’t understand their reactions.

“Everyone knows that Amorph’s strength doesn’t come from evolution. It comes from acquiring traits to fulfill its evolution conditions.

“That’s the true power of the Amorph.”

“We understand that, Akira. Get to the point.”

“If I had been the one to fight 5th rank, I would have managed the Imperial battleship more efficiently.”

Among the present members, Akira Yujin had fought the 5th rank Amorph the most. While he did lose most of the time, he had also achieved some victories.

“He doesn’t prefer confronting enemies directly. It’s merely the last resort he takes when finishing them off or when self-defense is impossible.”

Due to his extensive experience in battles with Rank 5 Amorphs, Akira knew the entity’s preferred style well—strategies involving reverse-engineering through communication, aerial combat utilizing flight capabilities, biochemical terrorism using viruses and parasites, and tactics exploiting the enemy’s fear for self-destruction.

According to Akira’s judgement, the Rank 5 Amorph wasn’t a warrior. It was a hunter.

“Perhaps he does it intentionally. to manipulate our judgement.”

“I see it differently. The two types of heat lines in the current video. These are abilities not present in the game. There are other means to stop the Imperial battleship, so why use these abilities? Especially when it’s clear that information would leak.”

“A valid point.”

Cloe now understood what Akira was trying to convey.

“…Did he go to such lengths to break the Imperial battleship?”

“It’s the last resort. It means he’s still weak.”

“True. If he truly were at the ascendant stage, he would have ended the Imperial battleship before they fired the Cosmic Bolt. It’s not like that.”

“So, Akira-sama, are you suggesting that the Amorph hasn’t fully evolved into the ascendant stage?”

As soon as Cynthia finished speaking, a thought crossed Cloe and Jacob’s minds: how did it obtain that much power on the planet, and what was Muriel’s role?

“Don’t you all know? A means to experience that taste briefly without fulfilling evolution conditions.”

“…Psyonicum.”

Cloe realized that her developed Psyonicum had greatly aided the enemy’s survival and clenched her teeth.

“Speculatively, he probably left the planet already to fulfill the evolution conditions. It’s impossible to evolve into the ascendant stage on PH-101. And… it’s troubling. We need to establish a countermeasure system.”

“We should report this to the Prophets’ Council. They may or may not listen to my words.”

“Do that. I happen to know a place the entity might go, so I’ll stop by on my way.”

While Cloe internally expressed her frustration, players began discussing how to deal with Amorph.

***

“Kyaah… kek!”

‘This should be the last one.’

Clearing out the Cult survivors wasn’t a challenging task. Originally members of the Mothership battleship, the Cultists were all elite soldiers. However, due to the ship crash, they had lost most of their weapons.

Most of the crew had died from the crash, resulting in very few survivors near the ship we visited, and among them, four were injured.

｢…The features of that transcendence system of yours are truly overpowered.｣

“Oh, really?”

As I spoke with the voice of a female Cultist, the Mother of the Sky shuddered.

Upon reaching Transcendence Stage 2, the restrictions on the transcendence organ were completely lifted. Now, I could perfectly replicate the appearance of the last consumed individual using pheromones. The function to mimic the voice of the transcendence organ was also working properly.

‘The problem is that my size has become too large.’

The effect of reaching transcendence level 2 didn’t transform my body into that of a human. It deceived the senses of other organisms by emitting pheromones that made them perceive me as ‘human-like.’

As my size increases, the discomfort felt by other creatures grows, making it challenging to deceive with pheromones alone.

‘In the game, incomplete entities weren’t this massive.’

With the application of three characteristics – ‘Perfect organism,’ ‘Horizon of Nightmares,’ and ‘Organic Evolution’ – my body is much larger than a typical incomplete entity. Utilizing organic evolution to transform into an ‘intelligent weakling’ state, deceiving enemies solely with the disguise function of the entity is not as easy as before.

‘At least my voice has returned to normal.’

Due to the characteristics, I can now replicate the voice of my last consumed victim using pheromones. Although I find the comment from the Mother of the Sky about my choice of a girl’s voice slightly disturbing, I plan to use this voice for a while.

‘There’s a possibility they’ll come back.’

Considering the potential return of the cultists, I need to be prepared. Although it’s unlikely that the cult will send an Imperial battleship to this planet again, as it’s designated as a ‘Holy Land,’ I can’t be too certain.

‘The influence of doctrine in cult society is complex.’

For cultists, ‘Doctrine’ holds a significant status similar to the Quran in Islam, Geeta in Hinduism, Bible in Christianity, serving as a scripture and guiding principle for their lives. While most members strictly adhere to the doctrine, cultists, unlike religious individuals in reality, don’t always adhere to it thoroughly.

‘However, it’s different in governmental institutions like the Council.’

Doctrine contains crucial prophecies related to the cult’s future. Some guide the revival of the Cult Empire, while others are linked to its decline. The problem lies in the lack of clarity on which path leads to a better future.

‘To violate or adhere to the doctrine is a crucial decision for cult players.’

The unique system of the cult race is a quest, but unifying cult society is also a major task. The most important factor in uniting cult society is the doctrine.

‘However, exceptions exist where violating the doctrine is inevitable.’

For example, if there is an attack from the Outspacer or the emergence of the Vortex one, opinions may differ on whether to leave the Holy Land or engage in purification.

‘I recently investigated the memories of cultists using the ‘Human Face’ characteristic.’

They came to this planet under the pretext of purifying the contamination, but the exact nature of the contamination remains unknown.

‘The power of the opposing player is greater than anticipated.’

Among the deer antler cultists, there must be some in high-ranking positions. They may be members of the Council, leaders of the Elder Council, or even prophets affiliated with the Prophecy Society.

‘To carry out the purification order, I need to convince the three power structures of the cult – the Council, the Elder Council, and the Prophecy Society.’

It seems the task was rushed. If the intention was manipulation, it would have been more effective to carry it out perfectly from start to finish.

‘Perhaps the goal was to capture me as quickly as possible.’

Hence, they deployed the Imperial battleship without fully explaining what the contamination was. The high-ranking cult player who led this might have used their connections and power to hastily convince the cultists.

‘His judgment isn’t bad, assuming the purification operation was successful.’

Even if the purification operation was successful, significant damage occurred in the Cult Empire due to my actions. Already, the situation is complicated by an additional risk arising from the forced violation of doctrine.

Those who opposed the player’s opinions will naturally resist, and those who followed the player’s opinions might attempt to reinterpret the prophecies of the doctrine. Even if the player who led this is a formidable figure, enduring their political onslaught is by no means an easy task. By now, they might be facing considerable difficulties.

‘Cultists tend to be conservative, so it will take quite some time to decide how to respond.’

While it’s a fact that the Imperial battleship was destroyed, the opposing player might argue for increased surveillance over the Holy Land. They might even suggest sending numerous satellites to thoroughly scan the planet.

“The fortunate part is that the universe is helping me.”

Due to the confrontation between me and the Imperial battleship, intermittent magnetic storms are occurring on the planet. This instability in the planetary atmosphere, resulting from the conflict between the Cosmic Bolt and the Divine Scepter, causes storms earlier than the usual cycle. Once the atmosphere stabilizes, the magnetic storms will cease, and I need to leave before that happens.

‘I have five days left until I can use the Horizon of Nightmares.’

Although there are no immediate threats to my life, I can’t be complacent. The situation is precarious, like a house built on sand.

‘Let’s focus on what we can do right now.’

I need to start by assessing whether I can corrode this battleship buried halfway in the ground.

“If you release me, I will provide detailed information, from the ship’s operation to repairs!”

“I understand that better than you! I will take care of it!”

“Damn! You’re not an engineer; you’re a medical officer!”

“Shut up!”

“This battleship model is a new escort ship created by the technicians of the StarUnion. It is made of an alloy containing Moonsilver and is equipped with a reflection function. If you save me, I can give you a detailed explanation…”

The five faces near the top of my back, created using the Human Face characteristic, become noisy, prompting me to silence them forcibly. Extracting corroding tendrils from the holes in my back, I proceed to examine the partially buried warship.

‘Let’s check it out.’

The tendrils, following my will, start to investigate the sunken ship. They work diligently to provide the necessary information on whether the ship can corrode, how long corrosion can be sustained, and other essential details.

After a while, as always, the corroding tendrils did not betray my wishes. Satisfied with the report, I release control over the faces created by the Human Face characteristic.

“You. You seem to know a lot about this ship.”

“Yes, yes! Ask me anything!”

“I also understand well! I will answer!”

“This ship is a new model not seen in the game before. Unlike the ships I’ve taken control of so far, I know nothing about its size, armament, or specifications. So, I’ll have to utilize the collective intelligence of these cult faces.”

｢…It’s horrifying.｣

Though the Mother of the Sky, observing my actions from the side, muttered quietly, I ignored her.