Became an Evolving Space Monster

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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"Things are going well."

The ambush from earlier had been quite successful.

It had taken out one of the Eye of Revelation priests in charge of the command.

The enemies preparing their formation in the chamber seemed unaware, but beneath their feet was another hidden passage, a narrow side path used by Number 26, who moved at a slower pace.

After waiting for the creature that had created confusion among the enemies with vocal imitations to slip into the passage, the attack commenced.

My humanoid parasites, which hadn't seen combat in a while, finally joined the fray. Most of the foes I'd fought up to this point had been immune to the paralysis waves of the parasites. Because of this, their role had been limited to gathering intelligence, with few opportunities for direct action until today.

The enemies, unprepared for sound-based attacks, were paralyzed by the waves, even the priests themselves.

Though they hastily attempted to break free with psychic techniques, it was already too late. One of them vanished without a trace when it was struck by the acidic breath from the central head.

As soon as the objective was accomplished, I retrieved the parasite and fled.

The priests, having lost one of their own in an instant, were in a frenzy. But all they could do was scream and rage. The possibility of hidden traps in this underground space kept them from acting rashly, no matter their fury.

With no resistance, I retreated, bringing my three heads down to the ground. The Auxiliary Organ under my jaw collected information about the happenings above the tunnels laid beneath the ground.

With three heads, the performance of my Auxiliary Organs had increased threefold. This allowed me to observe enemy movements effortlessly, even without building a nest.

"They're regrouping."

The enemies in the chamber did not move. Instead, new activity was sensed from the center.

The enemies were not fools; they must have gathered information from the five previous ambushes and were preparing accordingly.

"Good. You're doing well."

Did they realize that their actions were just as I intended?

There were two main objectives I needed to achieve in this fight.

The first was to buy time.

To infiltrate the "Fortress of Water," I would need to transform into the "Cunning Weakling," but the cooldown had not finished yet. I would need to wait at least two more days.

Since the parasite's discovery, I had made preparations to extend the battle into a prolonged conflict. One of these preparations included dozens of tunnels of varying sizes that sprawled underground.

On a normal planet, it would have ended with the use of an imperial flagship, but this was Verzan 02. Above ground, several cities were scattered. To capture me, they would eventually need to enter the tunnels.

And despite this planet being controlled by the cult, the enemies were not used to fighting underground.

The Eye of Revelation priests, who faced the cult, were the only ones familiar with such combat; the rest likely had never fought underground. The priests were much more effective above ground.

That was why I had designed the battlefield to be complex, to prolong the fight. Number 26 and I had worked diligently to set this up before they could form a siege.

The maze, sprawling like an ant colony, was filled not only with pathways I could navigate but also tunnels where Adhai and a reduced Number 26 could move. When I lured the enemies to specific points, it was so my allies could execute guerrilla tactics.

To be honest, wiping out the enemies here and now wasn't impossible. It could be done by just Adhai and Number 26, who had inherited my traits. Or, I could do what I had done before and spread the "Abyssal Hue" over their nests.

The reason I went through all this effort was connected to my second goal.

"Providing false information to the real enemy."

The core of the Amorph's playstyle in the game lies in its traits. Utilizing a vast number of traits to launch unpredictable attacks against enemies is the fundamental strategy of an Amorph.

In other words, if the enemy knows what traits I possess, their effectiveness is halved. If they catch on to the weaknesses of my traits and prepare for them, it's game over.

This is why an Amorph must hide its traits while continuously thinking up new ways to use them. Without that, no matter how powerful a trait is, it would be left behind.

To put it simply, the cult group facing me right now isn't really my enemy. They're more like a reconnaissance squad sent by my "true enemy."

The cult ranker hiding somewhere above is likely analyzing me diligently checking what stage of evolution I'm in, what traits I have, and so on.

Even knowing this, I haven't hidden my traits; instead, I've exposed them periodically. The reason for that is simple.

I want to keep my most important weapons hidden and feed false information.

At this point, my two most powerful weapons are my allies and the traits I obtained through the Transcendence System.

The first weapon is something no one who's faced me in the game would believe.

None of the opponents I've met so far thought that my companions were following me of their own free will. Even Cynthia, who last fought me, saw Number 26 only as a pet.

For Mother of the Sky, the fact that I traveled with other beings was nothing short of a miracle.

The cult ranker confronting me on Verzan 02 is the same. He has no idea that I have allies. Even if he did, he wouldn't think that I had grown powerful enough to hunt rankers on my own.

To hide the fact that I had allies, I set it up as if I had the trait that allows me to change my body freely.

For example, Number 26 and Adhai used the traits I possessed to ambush the enemy in my place.

First, Adhai. She made full use of her newly acquired fusion trait, "Protective Camouflage." The effect of this trait allows her to mimic her surroundings and hide when she stays in one spot for several seconds. It's a useful trait for Adhai, who is small and quick.

Of course, camouflage alone couldn't evade detection systems, but that's where Number 26 came in. With psychic power, Number 26 neutralized the detection equipment, and then Adhai attacked.

Adhai fought as she always did, using "Red Armor" to protect herself and charging at the enemies with speed. The enemies were powerless against the unbreakable Gallagon projectiles.

Next was Number 26. It used "Mutation Tentacle" and "Mimicry Tentacle" to deal with the injured foes.

In the game, the "Mimicry Organ" was like my trademark trait. Using mimicry of voices and appearance to lure and eliminate enemies was one of my main tactics.

Both "Protective Camouflage" and "Mimicry" were traits I frequently used, and a ranker would know that. They would likely think I was the one behind it.

The enemies probably assumed I had a trait that let me change my body size or transform into a different form.

"Not that such traits are completely absent."

But whatever they imagine, it's far from the truth. The more these misconceptions accumulate, the higher the chance the enemies will make a fatal mistake.

"Which, in fact, they already have."

The enemy ranker made a wrong judgment.

If he had fought me and lost, he would have used the imperial flagship by the second ambush. But instead, he kept sending troops underground.

It could be that he made that choice to learn more about my capabilities, but the important part is that he underestimated me.

To him, I'm constantly exposing my traits and fleeing. Not building a nest was just a bonus. But I'm not trying to lure them into a trap. If I had intended that, would the 200 odd cult members who entered the underground still be alive?

Any ranker who has fought an Amorph would know what that means.

It means that I haven't been on this planet for long and am not fully prepared for battle.

No matter how notorious I am, in this state, I should be manageable, right?

"They're probably thinking that."

If the enemy underestimates me, I'm grateful. I didn't come to this planet to fight them.

I raised my head from the floor, hoping the enemy would see me as vulnerable.

They were still busy regrouping. From the looks of it, it would take at least an hour.

During that time, I had things to do too. If I succeeded here, I could buy myself a significant amount of time.

I moved again toward the expansive, open corridor.

---

As Alshas exchanged messages with the comms unit, Nern was haunted by a nightmare.

He'd seen a similar scene before.

The Three-Headed Demon...

The monster that destroyed the Imperial Carrier and its battle group on the sacred land of Saigil 08.

That creature appeared in the footage recorded by the extermination squad.

The form is different, but it's definitely the same.

The appearance captured by the Imperial Carrier's camera was very different from now. The number of horns had increased compared to that time, and the size had become so much smaller it was nearly incomparable.

Even though the creature was only showing its heads and hiding its body, Nern recognized it instantly. He knew it was his mortal enemy.

Nern informed Alshas, and because he was the only one who had seen the monster firsthand on this planet, she immediately took action.

The knowledge managers cross-referenced the records related to the creature and the extermination squad's footage, confirming his claim. They deduced that it was highly probable the demon was the same one responsible for the Sky 08 catastrophe.

The news that the enemy underground was the Three-Headed Demon caused a stir among the commanders.

The one saving grace was that the creature appeared weakened. Its size had shrunk, and it lacked the powerful breath attack that had incinerated the entire flagship group.

If the enemy had the same specifications as when last seen, those who had gone underground would already be dead.

Alshas pointed this out to reassure the commanders, but at the same time, she requested support: sending the temple guards, the fully armed Eyes of Revelation priests, and summoning an imperial flagship from another planet.

The request for an imperial flagship was denied due to the cost and risk of orbital bombardment on one of the empire's prime planets, but the other requests were approved.

Elite forces from the temple guards were on their way to Verzan 02, and powerful priests from the Eyes of Revelation were being dispatched underground. Fully armed priests were already heading to Glory Street, ready to join the extermination squad soon.

While watching Alshas use the adviser's position wisely, Nern felt a mix of relief and a small sense of unease.

It was true that the demon had weakened, but that didn't mean it would be easy to defeat.

For example, during the five ambushes, the demon had shown its head four times. Three of those appearances resembled the monster he had seen before: the central head that breathed acid and the two side heads that shot corrosive flesh.

But the pink head that mimicked the cult's voice was different. It looked like the central head, but something felt off, almost as if it were a different being.

What if the demon wasn't alone? What if it had allies or other monstrous subordinates?

The extermination squad and Alshas were focusing solely on the Three-Headed Demon. If it wasn't just one creature but several, there could be serious consequences.

...No, it doesn't matter.

This was Verzan 02, one of the empire's core planets. It was impossible for the demon to survive here. Even if it had multiplied from one to two, it would only serve to prolong the battle. The demon would die here.

The only regret was that he couldn't kill it himself.

In his heart, he wanted to join the extermination squad, but Alshas wouldn't let him. She wanted his junior to watch the demon's death from a safe place.

But if there's a chance...

He was lost in those thoughts when a message appeared on the device pad strapped to his wrist. His eyes widened as he read it.

What?

The message had come from Minseok Yujin, a servant serving his master, Si-Hyun Yujin.

The message said that Yujin and Laila Chemblin had run outside the moment they saw the footage sent by the extermination squad.

Why on earth?

It was true that Si-Hyun had promised to help with his revenge. It was also true that he had explained in detail about the target of his vengeance, the Three-Headed Demon.

But taking immediate action after seeing the footage was a different matter. The demon's appearance was different from what he had described.

Still, the fact that she had reacted so swiftly what did that mean?

Could it be?

It was a response that only those who truly knew the demon could show. Just like Nern himself.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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