Ep. 141
–
“Cosmic Bolt charging is 25% complete!”
The situation room of the imperial carrier ‘Judge of Damos 08’.
Preparations for firing the imperial carrier’s main gun ‘Cosmic Bolt’ were in full swing.
In the center of the situation room, various information such as the charging status of the Cosmic Bolt and the target to be hit were imaged and floating. The cult members in the situation room used psychic power to output or modify information needed for their missions as images.
Unlike humans, cults are adept at using psychic powers. Thanks to this, he used to actively utilize psychic power to assist with issues that were difficult to quickly solve with computers.
“Wait after charging is complete.”
“All right.”
The captain crossed his arms and looked at the tempered glass located in front of the situation room. Beyond the glass was the blue planet Saigil 08.
The sacred place, designated a sacred site by the cult council, was so beautiful that it was hard to believe that it had been polluted. Maybe it wasn’t too late yet.
‘But you can’t just sit there and watch.’
There are several types of pollution prescribed by the Cult Council. Outspacer’s nest, a secret gathering of Vortex One followers, etc. Although each form is different, they are elements that pose a fatal risk to the security of the cult empire.
In order to protect our people and protect ‘Providence’, we must eradicate the contamination before it spreads.
‘That’s what we came here for.’
The Cosmic Bolt, an absolute weapon built into the Imperial Carrier, is very effective in this purification task.
This weapon, which uses dark matter and the heart of Black Gallagon as its energy source, can burn the entire surface of the planet in a short period of time. The atmosphere inside the planet disappears and all water, including the ocean, evaporates.
In other words, if a planet is hit by a cosmic bolt, no matter how rich the environment, it quickly becomes a barren land where no life can grow.
‘Is there about four hours left until launch?’
Currently, warrior groups belonging to the mothership are down in Saigil 08. The purpose was to capture the Wolf natives under the captain’s secret order.
The captain checked the scheduled launch time under the main gun’s charging status image.
‘I told you to come back before two hours remain.’
It is not an order to search for contaminated enemies, but an order to capture several Wolf natives. Although they are only at a primitive level, the possibility of harming the carrier’s warriors is close to zero.
So the captain wasn’t too worried.
“Captain. This is a communication from the carrier battle group. “There were no traces of Megacorp Star Union found nearby.”
“We destroyed the Megacorp satellite, but you never know. “Remain as alert as possible until the purification mission is carried out.”
After hearing his subordinate’s report, the captain began giving instructions again. I put aside thoughts about the warriors who went down to the ground for a moment.
–
“Wraith Champion! Telepathy is impossible!”
“Nonsense!”
Wraith quickly pressed the button on his helmet to activate the telepathic function.
But no matter how long he waited, the telepathy never took hold. There was no contact with the mother ship or even other warrior groups on the same continent.
‘Shit!’
I tried several times, but they all failed.
Telepathy technology using psychic power may seem omnipotent, but it is not. There are ways to neutralize many types of psychic power techniques, including telepathy.
For example, a jamming device mainly used by cult warships.
Large warships such as imperial carriers are equipped with devices that interfere with the enemy’s use of telepathy or psychic power. This device is made using black silver, an anti-superpower metal, and can temporarily neutralize the cult’s psychic power.
‘Jamming? no. If that were the case, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed from above.’
If someone had brought a jamming device, there would have been chaos outside the planet already. Because the Imperial Carrier has equipment to detect and counter jamming devices.
Unless it’s a jamming device, there’s only one thing left.
‘There is a psychic creature among the enemies!’
Powerful psychic creatures, such as Black Gallagon or Red Gallagon, or creatures skilled in the use of psychic powers, can disrupt psychic power beyond a jamming device.
‘But there will be no psychic creatures on this continent…’
Of course, if you look at the planet as a whole, there are also predators called ‘Rama Vortexion’ humans called Sea Demons.
But this is the middle of the continent. There is no way a marine monster that only lives in the deep sea would come up here.
“What should I do, Commander-in-Chief?”
“Hamane. Is a memory site possible?”
“I will try. Just wait…huh? Oh what? why not?”
‘Memory Sight’ is a support-type psychic power technology that can read the past of a place. One of the warriors, Hamane, a member of the Goat Horn Cult, was a memory site expert, but even she was of no help now.
‘It’s not just telepathy…’
Wraith gave instructions to his subordinates and conducted several experiments. This was to check whether the use of psychic power technology had become impossible for everyone.
I don’t know if it’s unfortunate or fortunate, but only support technologies such as telepathy and memory sight were unusable.
Unlike when they were jammed, their weapons and reinforced clothing still worked well.
Still, there are many problems with going to fight a mysterious enemy who bans certain psychic power techniques. Not only is there a lack of information about the enemy, but they also have a limited time.
In the next few hours, this planet will become a sea of fire, and I have to leave before that happens.
In the end, Race chose to give up the mission.
“It is dangerous to move like this without knowing the identity of the enemy. “Everyone retreats to the transport ship.”
He knows what the captain’s intention was when he ordered them to capture Wolff. If multiple casualties occurred during the mission, it would be a violation of the captain’s will.
“Isabel. Please go to the rear. “Zenir support Gerrish, and Hamine take the purple spray gun.”
Following Wraith’s command, the eight warriors moved in unison. As expected of those accustomed to battle, there was no waste in their actions.
But they also know.
One of the fighters is missing and the other is mentally unstable. Even before encountering the enemy, two people had already suffered damage.
Aside from their agile movements, there was a feeling of anxiety in their eyes.
The warrior group, who changed their camp and armament, began retreating toward the transport ship.
The distance to the transport ship could be reached in about an hour if moved slowly. If you run halfway, you can get there in 30 minutes.
The Wraiths and warriors did not neglect the vigilance of their surroundings and moved at high speed.
An hour passed like that.
Reality betrayed the race’s expectations.
“What is this?!”
“How did this happen?”
Cult warriors are trained to maintain composure at all times. This is because psychic power is largely dependent on one’s mental state, so maintaining a stable mind is of the utmost importance.
Those warriors are half in tears and screaming.
But the Rays couldn’t blame them. He also wanted to scream, but he barely held it back.
There was a burnt tree in front of them.
It was the tree that Gerrish had shot with a purple spray gun an hour ago.
After traveling for an hour toward the transport ship, we returned to the place we first fled.
“…Is it possible that there was an error in Isabel’s direction detection system?”
“As you know, it is impossible. “It is very unlikely that all power systems here will fail at the same time.”
“…Damn it.”
Race bit his lip to calm himself down. Is it because of the bloody smell and sharp pain that fills my mouth? He tried to somehow understand this situation.
‘Let’s think about it calmly.’
The warriors are experts in pursuit. In particular, Isabel’s level is extremely outstanding. Even if the machine broke down, it was very unlikely that she would get lost as well.
“So what is the possibility that we are hallucinating?”
“I think it’s unlikely. “There is no creature on this continent that can hallucinate nine cultists at the same time.”
Isabel denied it, but Race thought differently. Unless it’s a hallucination, it’s impossible to fool nine seasoned warriors.
As he looked at the warriors’ faces, he felt the hair on his head stand on end.
Behind the warrior facing him.
There were two amber lanterns that I had never seen before.
“Hamine!”
“yes?”
The moment she turned her head, the beak of an eagle with amber eyes bit into her neck. The guy who broke the opponent’s neck in an instant jumped into the bushes on the other side with a hammer.
“Start shooting!”
“shit! What is that?!”
“Kill me!”
Belatedly, the warriors targeted the guy with the weapons they were holding. Purple flames from the purple spray gun and psychic bullets from the psychic rifle rained down on the bushes.
The warriors who were attacking mercilessly stopped as soon as Wraith raised his hand. He winked, and Isabel approached the mess of bushes.
Contrary to expectations, there were not even traces of blood, let alone the corpses of the enemies.
The guy disappeared without any injuries.
Seeing Isabel’s dark expression, Race gritted his teeth. There have already been two casualties due to the attack by an unknown creature.
‘…no. Let’s take comfort in the fact that we encountered him.’
I saw the other person a little while ago. It was only a brief moment, but Wraith remembered exactly what it looked like.
It was a four-legged beast with golden fur and a head resembling a bird of prey. It was about 3 to 4 meters tall and had amber eyes.
“It has very developed front feet and is very agile for its size. “The beak is sharp enough to tear through reinforced clothing.”
“…hmm. It’s a creature I’ve never seen before. The specs seem to be similar to ‘Red Fog’.”
“okay. He might have hallucinations like that guy. “I think it will be fine as long as you pay attention to that part.”
“you’re right. “I have fought with Zenir before against the Red Mist.”
“Deputy Chief Warrior Isabel is correct.”
Despite this situation, Race deliberately revealed the information he knew as if listing it. Isabel also saw through the warrior commander’s intention and joined in.
Fear comes from the unknown. Just knowing what the enemy is can be of great comfort to our allies.
As Race judged, the warriors’ expressions had improved a lot compared to before. What took the place of fear was the will to fight.
“If we catch that guy, this damn hallucination will be lifted. “Then I will track him down.”
“yep!”
Wraith took the energized warriors and moved along the traces left by the eagle-headed monster.
For a large beast of prey, it surprisingly left no trace. There were no footprints at all and it was impossible to track them using a psychic power technology called Memory Sight.
Fortunately, the warrior group had Isabelle, a master of tracking techniques. She figured out where the weeds had gone by looking at the shallow body odor it left behind.
The warrior group moved following Isabel’s lead. Everyone was tense, but the woman in front suddenly raised her hand. At the signal that they had found the guy, everyone lowered their waists while holding their breath.
The guy appeared in her vision shared through Soul Link. He was lying face down on the upper branch of a huge tree. It was not clear where Hamine’s body was placed.
‘That damn bastard!’
Seeing his calm appearance even after killing a cult member made Race hot inside. Of course, he is not a child enough to express that anger.
Instead, he carefully pulled out the bow on his back.
The bow, which resembles a compound bow, is a special device that shoots arrows made of psychic power. It does not require separate arrows and instead consumes the user’s psychic power. Unlike a sniper rifle, it makes almost no sound, so it can be said to be the most efficient weapon for surprise attacks or snipers like now.
He quietly pulled the bowstring. Just as he was about to lift his finger, the guy turned his head and made eye contact with him.
The look in his eyes was surprising that he followed me so quickly. Race decided that the guy was embarrassed and internally cheered.
‘You monster! die!’
The finger fell and an invisible arrow was fired. Wraith had no doubt that the arrow made of psychic power would pierce the guy’s eyes.
But this time too, reality betrayed his expectations.
The invisible arrow failed to reach the guy and died in the middle. This was because, like the arrow, an invisible protective shield surrounded its body.
‘What is this?!’
The guy didn’t react even though he was attacked. Just looking at the race group.
He read some emotion in the guy’s eyes. It wasn’t a surprise or a sense of crisis.
Rather, it was a feeling of regret or pity that you guys are now in big trouble.
‘Why on earth?’
A series of incomprehensible things happened, but something happened again that took him out of his understanding.
“That warrior commander? Out in front…”
Through Isabelle’s vision, he could see what she was seeing.
Under the tree where the eagle-headed monster lies prone.
A balloon appeared in a place that wasn’t there before.
It was the pink balloon that Race had seen before the noise incident occurred. Gerish, who was being supported by Genir, saw the balloon and screamed.
“It’s no guy! “It’s back again!”
Was that a signal?
An indecipherable wave emanated from the balloon in front.
「■■■■■ ■■■■? ■■ ■■!」
With a vicious wave like the sea in a storm, the balloon, or rather the balloon, began to falter and change.
The heads of the warriors who had been focused downward gradually rose upward. At the same time, their eyes gradually grew to the point of tearing out.
The eagle-headed monster grew as large as the position it was lying down on, and watched them with countless eyes.
Pink balloon? It was unreasonable. The thing in front of Wraith was not a creature that could be described with such cute words.
He knows something similar to that creature. A legendary monster that has never been encountered in person, but has only been seen in creature data provided in battle simulations.
The name of this creature, which is normally never seen here, is Rama Vortexion, which means sea devil in the language of the cult.
The being that is similarly revered in Megacorp and Star Union and is called the Sea Demon has disguised itself in a balloon-like form in this deep forest.
Only then did Wraith realize everything and there was only one thing he could say.
“He uses camouflage!”
「■■ ■■■ ■■!」
The moment he shouted, a huge tentacle swung by the sea devil attacked the warrior group.