The intense sll woke up. As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the sharp scent of chemical agents. It was so strong that it irritated the apparatus beneath my chin.
‘Where am I?’
Upon opening my eyes, I saw nurous tubes resembling ancient catacombs in a dark communal space. Green glass tubes, hundreds, if not thousands of them, were laid out inside, resembling so kind of ancient burial ground rather than a research facility.
‘Why am I here?’
When I transcended into the astral state, and then from astral to transcendent, I experienced visions. The forr involved a eting with Amorph, while the latter was a fantasy involving mories from my childhood. Both were different kinds of illusions, but they were based on elents I had seen or stored in my mory. However, this place was a completely unfamiliar space, not encountered in reality or any ga.
‘Moreover, there were no such occurrences during transcendence.’
Is the second stage of transcendence different from the first? Does displaying hallucinations during evolution an that it enhances one’s growth?
‘…It might be an unfamiliar place in my mory but could be an important clue.’
After all, there’s plenty of ti until transcendence is complete. I approached one of the nearby glass tubes.
Inside, it was filled with a viscous green chemical substance. The liquid was so opaque that it was impossible to see what was inside, but the apparatus’s assessnt was different.
There’s sothing inside that liquid.
I brought my face close to the experint tube. As the slender apparatus was about to touch the surface of the tube, the communal space I stood in changed to a white space in an instant. The glass tube in front shattered, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Instead of the harsh chemical scent, a familiar antiseptic sll perated, and the sound of life support devices asuring a patient’s vital signs echoed. I knew where this was. But what caught my attention more than anything was what I had seen a mont ago.
‘What was that just now?’
Before the experint tube disappeared, the object inside was briefly exposed. It was the offspring of so creature, strangely familiar but unidentifiable.
“If you hadn’t taken them that day, this wouldn’t have happened!”
A sudden scream, as if trying to erase my thoughts.
Two adults with unseen faces argued in the corridor in front of the hospital room.
“Are you blaming for that? Do you know who’s paying the expensive dical bills?”
“Huh. dical bills? You don’t even care about the kid.”
“What?”
“All that cuteness for the cara or for our lovely child is just an act. Have you ever hugged our child at ho?”
Their conversation was filled with the sa argunts I had heard since childhood. They always fought with the sa repertoire.
But now, there’s sothing more important than that.
The experintal subject I saw earlier, it was undoubtedly similar to Amorph’s hatchling.
‘Not entirely the sa, though.’
The number of arms and the absence of auxiliary devices were quite different from the Amorph I knew. The creature’s arms were less developed than Amorph’s hatchling, and there were no auxiliary devices under its chin.
As I contemplated the creature, the half-open door of the hospital room in front of revealed a child. The child had their face tightly wrapped in bandages. Seeing that sight, a mory suddenly flashed.
‘Ah, was it back then?’
The hallucination I was witnessing was one of the pivotal monts in my life. Recalling that fact, I could no longer continue thinking about the experintal creature.
It was the day I realized that what was once a precious gift in my household had beco a burden.
Whether the nurse saw the child or not, the child closed the door as I unconsciously reached for the doorknob. The mont my fingers touched the doorknob, my consciousness once again plunged into darkness.
In a forest in the Seintopia 02 continent, despite being dayti, it was quite dark due to the giant redwoods that rivaled high-rise buildings. The dense branches and leaves obscured the light.
In the midst of this dark forest, there was a group of individuals. A total of 10 people, all wearing reinforced suits that covered their entire bodies, adorned with special symbols on top.
The symbol, a purple diamond within an ivory triangle, was the emblem of the ‘Warriors,’ the military force of the Cult race.
True to their na, they carried various types of weapons, from lee weapons like axes, knives, and spears to long-range firearms like bows, rifles, and net guns. They also had alloy shields, shield activation devices, dical kits, and other defense and support equipnt.
The Cult Warriors always prepared thoroughly to handle any enemy they might encounter. Therefore, they were excessively ard to easily deal with any adversary they might face.
“Here’s Warrior Chief Lice. What about your side?”
[This is Edrin. The village has been completely razed. There are no survivors.]
“Again? What in the world is happening? How about the other villages?”
[This is Orlai. I checked the mory site, but nothing ca up.]
This Warrior group, affiliated with the Imperial flagship ‘Damos 08’s Adjudicator,’ had co down in advance under the captain’s confidential orders before the purification operation comnced.
The order was to capture and bring back the native Wolves before the purification operation began. However, despite having arrived on the continent where the Wolves reside hours ago, not a single Wolf was found.
“Could it be that we were detected?”
“That’s unlikely. Detecting the Imperial flagship’s warp navigation by primitive tribes is impossible.”
“What about the structures of those monkeys wandering outside the planet? Could that be the cause?”
“We haven’t confird any intelligence indicating that gaCorp is collaborating with the Wolves on this planet. It’s currently unknown, so refrain from making assumptions.”
“Yes, sir!”
“For now, Edrin, Orlai, continue your search since we have ti.”
[Understood, Warrior Chief.]
“Yes.”
“We will comnce the fleet bombardnt in six hours. Investigate until two hours remain, and if nothing is found, return.”
Warrior Chief Lice pressed the button on his helt to terminate the telepathic link. The helt he wore was quite different from the reinforced headgear worn by primitive tribes.
Though it shared the sa front-face protection, the Cult’s helts had gaps around the occipital region due to the horns adorning their heads. Additionally, the helts had built-in shield and telepathy functions. Thanks to the internal devices, communication with allies at a distance was possible without the need for special communication devices.
However, the drawback was the significant ntal energy consumption, making it impractical to keep the telepathy function always active.
Beside him, the sub-commander warrior, Isabel, approached.
“Warrior Chief, have we still not found anything?”
“It’s incomprehensible. It’s as if soone swept away all the Wolves. Why would anyone do such a thing?”
Initially, he considered the possibility of piracy, but Lice deed it unlikely. Wolf slaves were not as valuable as the pirates would target. In places where the Cult had so presence among their various planets, obtaining Wolves was easy and inexpensive.
If the Wolves on this planet were not unique, capturing other creatures would bring in much greater profits. For example, rare predators like Gel Armana in the swamp or the horned king, Manuk Arma, in the volcanic zone.
By the way, the creatures known as Manuk Arma, called Hound Gargants by humans, were living perfectly well. Before Lice and the Warriors arrived in this forest, they had checked the Wolf settlent near the territory of those creatures.
“Didn’t the captain, who usually detests the slave system, order to bring the Wolves? Don’t the natives get dried up without them? Looks like there’s sothing for the Wolves to eat here.”
Laughter escaped from the helts of the other warriors next to her at her innuendo. Seeing that, Lice furrowed his brows.
“Isabel, being the vice-commander, your statent is not only disrespectful to the captain but also denies the ‘order’ of the Cult. Exercise restraint.”
“Oh, I-I apologize!”
In response to Lice’s cold words, Isabel quickly lowered her head. The other warriors also imdiately stopped their laughter, following Isabel’s lead.
Seeing this, Lice clicked his tongue.
“Seems like you’ve all had enough rest. Let’s get moving again.”
“Yes, sir!”
Despite the displeasure of their commander, the Warriors efficiently picked up their equipnt and stood up. Their well-coordinated movents showcased their highly trained warrior skills.
However, even as Lice watched his well-trained subordinates, he couldn’t shake off the dissatisfaction. He knew why the captain of the Imperial flagship sent them to this planet, going so far as to break his beliefs. It was to prepare a gift to present to the leaders of the Cult in exchange for the future of his subordinates.
To think that these young warriors, vibrant in their blue uniforms, were making jokes without understanding the captain’s noble intentions. Lice was filled with frustration.
‘I guess I’ll have to start from scratch when I get back.’
As Lice contemplated how to manage his subordinates, the Warrior group continued deeper into the forest.
There were occasional encounters with Wood Devils or Night Stalkers, but the Warriors remained unfazed. They were seasoned soldiers and a proficient regular army. Unless they encountered a predator like Manuk Arma, there was no creature on this continent that could pose a threat to them.
Moreover, their Soul Link, a psychic power technique connecting their visions, made surprise attacks ineffective.
Thus, under the leadership of Lice, the Warrior group continued searching for the Wolves sowhere in the depths of the forest.
About 30 minutes into their renewed journey, Lice, leading at the forefront, ticulously inspected even the small traces between rocks and branches to not miss any signs.
While continuing their journey, sothing unfamiliar caught his eye. Among thick trees, he spotted a pink balloon. To get a closer look, he tried to use the psychic power technique of clairvoyance, but by the ti he prepared the technique, the balloon had disappeared.
“Warrior Chief?”
All ten mbers present here shared their vision through Soul Link. Lice intended to inquire with his subordinates about what he had seen.
At that mont,
“Ugh?!”
“Uugh!”
Lice and the warriors abruptly grasped their helts at the unexpected noise. The duration of the noise was very short, but the mont it continued, it was so loud and dissonant that it made their minds feel distant. One warrior even kneeled due to dizziness.
Seeing this, Lice imdiately gave orders.
“Permission to use universal kits! Since we don’t know what impact the noise had on our minds, inject yourselves with the antidote and psychic defense imdiately!”
Upon hearing the command, the warriors quickly opened their dical kits and took out syringes from them. Lice, like his subordinates, retrieved a syringe and injected it into his thigh.
“What was that just now?”
“…I don’t know. Vice-Commander Isabel. Confirm the abnormal signs of the warriors.”
“Yes, Warrior Chief.”
They waited in that spot for about five minutes. So warriors had blood coming out of their eyes and ears, but other than that, there were no specific injuries.
“We don’t know when the enemy might appear. Be ticulous and check even the small things so that nothing is overlooked.”
“Understood!”
The warriors, now more tense than before, assud a cautious posture and proceeded through the forest with careful movents.
About five minutes into their renewed journey, Lice suddenly felt sothing odd.
“…It’s too quiet.”
Until the noise incident occurred, occasional sounds of Wood Devils attacking or birds chirping were heard. But now, there was nothing at all. It was as if the entire forest had died.
The only sounds were the footsteps and breaths of the warrior group present here.
Lice wasn’t the only one having such thoughts. The discomfort mixed with the breath sounds of the other warriors.
As an unknown anxiety began to creep over the warrior group, suddenly, one warrior started shooting with the purple spray gun he was holding.
Since their vision was shared through Soul Link, Lice could know what the subordinate was shooting at. The target was a tree about several dozen ters away from them.
And there was nothing on the tree.
“T..the e..eyes..the.eyes…hiiik!”
“What eyes? What eyes are you talking about?”
“The pink one, it’s still… Hiik?!”
Despite Lice’s repeated questions, the warrior only kept uttering the words ‘eyes’ and ‘pink.’
Unable to get more information, Lice reluctantly took a sedative from his kit and administered it forcefully.
The sedative developed by the cult was highly effective in calming soldiers who fell into panic states during war. The vision of a warrior who received the sedative beca blurry, and the trembling of the body stopped. However, despite the strong sedative effect, shadows still lingered on his face.
“Feeling calr now?”
“…Yes.”
“What did you see a mont ago?”
The warrior shivered again in response to his question, but this ti, he didn’t fall completely into a panic state. Despite trembling with fear, he tried hard to convey information.
“I-I know it’s hard to believe, but there was a monster that looked like a balloon.”
“A balloon?”
“At first, I thought I saw it wrong, but suddenly, nurous eyes grew on its body, and it stared at .”
A monster resembling a balloon. Lice recalled what he had seen before the deafening noise erupted.
“No way.”
“I’ll check the vision! The rest of you, don’t let your guard down… Huh?”
While checking the vision of the warriors once again through Soul Link, Lice realized that one of them was missing.
There were supposed to be 10 people present, including him, but currently, only 8 visions were confird.
“Koshei? Where’s Koshei?”
“Uh, behind … huh? He was behind just a mont ago.”
The warrior guarding the rear suddenly realized that his colleague, who should have been behind him, had disappeared.
Amidst the confusion caused by the subordinate’s strange ntal state, it beca apparent that one person was missing.
“Isabel, contact the battleship.”
“Yes?”
“Our squad is under attack.”
“U..understood!”
Lice’s words were accurate.
Sowhere in the forest, unidentified beasts lurked. Their assault had already begun.
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