If there were Hulk mutants in gacorp, then in StarUnion, there are Screars. They are quite similar in the aspect of forcibly modifying criminals into combat weapons and boasting terrifying exteriors. One difference is that Hulk mutants are often seen more as rcenary allies than enemies, whereas Screars primarily appear as adversaries.
Unlike Hulk mutants, who possess so intelligence and a degree of autonomy despite being under machine control, Screars are rely sound in mind while their bodies are subjected to chanical control.
‘Quite literally a machine’s prison,’
As it’s said. Though nad ‘Screars’ if the embedded life support AI doesn’t permit, they can’t even properly emit a sound.
Just like the one rushing towards now, making a raucous noise. It spotted and shouted about finding an enemy upon seeing , but it’s rely an automatic dialogue output based on specific situations inputted to its AI.
As it closes in, its sharp, spider-like claws aim to tear flesh from bone. I swing my combat arm to parry the attack, expecting its foot to easily bounce off, as usual. But…
With a thud, its claw pierces my armored exoskeleton.
‘Huh?’
It’s not deeply embedded, but it surprises nonetheless. Since becoming a Junsei, this is the first ti soone has pierced my exoskeleton in lee combat since Muriel.
But it doesn’t end there. Its waist twists grotesquely, and the two tallic legs attached to its back glare at nacingly.
Quickly, I twist my head to block the claw with my exoskeleton and pivot my body, using the generated torque to swing my tail forcefully.
The thick tail covered in armor brushes past the ground. At its end, the pincer collides with the creature. The Screar hit by the Swamp King’s club is slamd into the corridor wall.
Kuuu, Kuuu
Despite the montum enough to shatter upon impact, it doesn’t die. Apart from a few bent tallic bones, it seems intact.
‘Why so resilient?’
I’ve fought Screars countless tis, knowing their capabilities fairly well. However, the defense and offense of this one before are beyond standard.
‘It’s been upgraded.’
Kuuu Kuuu
Backing off, the Screar exhaled roughly, wary of . Whether it recognized through our exchange that I’m not an easy opponent or not, its movents are cautious.
I, too, carefully assess the foe.
‘Who knows what additional features it might have gained.’
Though unlikely, it might be concealing ans to threaten my life. Thus, I must remain vigilant during this fight.
Then, it lunged at once again.
This ti, instead of leaping onto the corridor, it traversed between the walls and ceiling, pounding six tallic legs into them.
‘Perhaps to sow confusion.’
I can also traverse walls like it does. Following its lead, I leap towards it, sticking to the walls and ceiling as I advance.
Our distance rapidly closes. Just before collision, it raises two front legs high.
Its target is my neck. Like an icicle, its sharp blade aims for my throat.
Rather than blocking its attack, I simply drop from the ceiling. Its strike grazes futilely against my rear exoskeleton.
Undeterred, it attempts to cover above , aiming to seize my throat. But before that, my tail intervenes, grabbing its legs with the pincer at its end. Despite shrinking in size, it hasn’t lost all its strength. I apply force with the pincer.
[Risk of damage to legs 1 and 2.]
The creature attempted to break free with chanical noises, but being firmly held, its resistance was futile. Unable to withstand the tightening force on its tallic legs, they snapped. As liquid sprayed from the tubes connected to the broken legs, the creature widened its eyes.
Ku-u-u
Its breathing beca coarse. I swung my combat arm.
At that mont, the creature gave up on the restrained legs. Withdrawing as it discarded the legs, my attack ended in vain.
Taking a few steps back, the creature bent its remaining legs and forcefully pushed. With its sturdy tal skeleton, it climbed onto my back. In that state, its legs coiled around my neck and the exoskeleton of my back like a noose.
I thought it was attempting to strangle , but that wasn’t the case.
Near the creature’s grip on , a long, thin tail resembling a scorpion’s tail erged. Unlike a scorpion, it had rotating saw blades instead of a venomous sting.
‘Where—!’
While still holding onto the creature, I forcefully slamd its back into the corridor. With all my strength exerted along with my weight, the entire hull trembled slightly.
[Impact detected. Irreversible damage.]
Due to that impact, the creature’s body was partially contorted. The legs holding loosened.
Yet, as a final act, the creature’s tail slashed at my rear exoskeleton. Upon collision with the exoskeleton and saw blades, intense sparks flew, illuminating the dark corridor.
‘This is it!’
I grabbed the creature’s tail and swung it towards the wall as if swinging a baseball bat. From the creature, which was partially embedded in the wall, machine components and life-sustaining fluids spurted out.
Despite the ss, the creature vigorously wriggled its remaining legs to harm sohow. As a finishing move, I stabbed its body with the six horns on my head.
Queee Gaaaaa…Keek
The life support AI controlling the creature fell silent after those words. Tubes attached all over its body were severed, all legs were broken, and its tail, torn off entirely, was in my hand.
Soon, it spat out the tube fragnt it had in its mouth. While it had a murderous glint when fighting , facing death, it looked much more serene.
[Th-thank… you…]
It tried to say sothing while looking at , then shook its head.
‘Phew.’
I’ve never seen a Screar this strong. Though the battle wasn’t long, it inflicted considerable damage on .
‘It damaged my head exoskeleton.’
Though a small scratch, it’s not to be ignored. If it’s further upgraded from here, it could beco a mass-produced weapon capable of inflicting fatal injuries even to an Amorph.
‘The kids are in danger!’
There are at least three Screars on this ship. Even I couldn’t defeat it easily, It would be much harder for the kids. Moreover, unlike who has sturdy defenses, Number 26 or Adhai’s defenses are nothing special. If they get hit by the rotating saw blades on the creature’s tail, they’ll die.
I quickly moved away from the Screar’s corpse.
Until I fought the Screar, the constant sound of gunfire echoing through the corridors had now ceased. It ant the fight was over. With that thought, an inexplicable sense of unease crept over .
As I ran towards the nearest Adhai, a fork in the corridor appeared before . Taking the right corridor would lead straight to Adhai.
I increased my speed and quickly checked the right corridor.
There, I found nurous fallen bodies and the Mother of the Sky. Among the fallen bodies, I spotted the mangled Screar.
And one of the fallen creatures had large wings and a long tail.
‘Adhai!’
The mont I saw Adhai lying on the floor, my heart sank. But then, the creature lifted her head.
｢Disgusting!｣ ｢Seriously!｣ ｢Disgusting!｣
｢I told you. It would be disgusting.｣
｢｣ ｢Friend｣ ｢Talk｣ ｢Distrust｣ ｢Mistake｣
Adhai scratched with her front paws, equipped with tentacles instead of a mouth. The creature, diligently cleaning her tentacles, spotted .
｢Adult｣ ｢Welco.｣
｢You ca?｣
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ (Is everyone okay?)]
｢Why so surprised? Oh, is it because of this guy?｣
The Mother of the Sky, grooming her feathers, looked at and responded indifferently.
｢This one was much stronger than the Screars I knew. Looks like you fought one too.｣
[ZZZ (Yeah)]
It seed like the Mother of the Sky was in charge of the Screars.
Looking at the Screar’s corpse, its head was separated from the body. The Mother of the Sky must have decapitated it with her talons. She precisely aid for the soft flesh rather than the tough tal parts.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (Seems like it had reinforced the tal parts. Well done.)]
｢Huh? You haven’t checked yet?｣
[ZZZ ZZZZ (What do you an?)]
Making incomprehensible sounds, she pointed at the dead Screar with her front claw.
She indicated the creature’s neck area. Examining the back of the neck, I saw traces of several attempted slashes.
｢Their bodies aren’t human.｣
[ZZZ (What?)]
｢They’re too sturdy for humans.｣
She lightly scratched the Screar’s skin with her claw. Gryphon’s claws were extrely sharp, so even a light scratch should have torn flesh. However, there was only superficial damage to the Screar’s skin.
Originally, there wasn’t much difference between a Screar’s head and torso and that of a regular cyborg. The tal skeleton covering its body was sturdy, but the biological tissue wasn’t modified separately.
Hence, in the ga, the weakness of Screars was precisely their vulnerable torso. Depending on how the head was modified, sotis they ca out wearing helt-like masks, so it should be considered an exception.
‘Co to think of it, the one I fought was also tough.’
Earlier, I had slamd the creature into the wall with it still attached to my back. Considering my strength, not only should the tubes and legs have been crushed, but its body itself should have been shattered. However, it didn’t die imdiately, and after delivering a valid strike with its tail, it died.
Then there’s only one answer.
‘Genetically enhanced humans, or…’
[ZZZZ ZZ (Hulk Mutant)]
She nodded silently.
｢They made Hulk Mutants into Screars.｣
Although I said it myself, it was hard to believe.
Understandably, the StarUnion and gaCorp are at war. The likelihood of core technologies like the Hulk Mutant production thod flowing to the StarUnion is low. And even if they sohow obtained it through espionage, turning it directly into Screars wouldn’t be easy.
‘The StarUnion’s genetic manipulation technology isn’t advanced.’
Apart from cloning technology, in other areas, both in terms of technology and infrastructure, it lags behind gaCorp. Having the technology alone doesn’t solve the problem of production.
‘First, let’s see if Number 26 is safe…’
｢What? What are the kids doing without ?｣
At that mont, a wave of psychic energy flew towards . It was Number 26.
In the dim corridor, there was a thudding sound, and soon after, it revealed itself.
The Mother of the Sky and I were surprised to see Number 26’s appearance.
｢Brought a big guy for dinner.｣
Due to its increased size, the creature, occupying about two-thirds of the corridor, was holding two Screars with the psychic power technique ‘Bind’.
Kuuu
[Anomalies detected due to unknown power.]
Kuuu
[Activity impossible due to unknown power.]
Even the two Screars were still alive. Despite their tal skeletons and legs twisted like pretzels, they were alive.
Upon seeing that, Adhai fired a telepathic ssage.
｢Little adult｣ ｢That｣ ｢Disgusting｣
｢Really?｣
｢I｣ ｢Tried it｣ ｢Disgusting｣
｢Is that so? Then I guess I should dispose of it.｣
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (Wait, there’s no need to do that)]
As soon as Adhai’s telepathy ended, I quickly gestured to Number 26 as I saw the heads of the two Screars twist oddly.
[Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, Zoom (I need to grow quickly so I’ll eat well)]
｢Does the big one want it for growing?｣
[ZZ (Yes.)]
｢Then eat a lot and grow a lot!｣
[ZZZ ZZ (Thank you.)]
As Number 26 released its restraint, the Screars collapsed to the floor. They tried to move to attack Number 26, but with every component of their tal legs twisted, they couldn’t budge.
‘Looks like there’s no Black Silver mixed in.’
If it were Black Silver alloy, Number 26 wouldn’t have been able to subdue them so easily. I affectionately patted the body of the creature larger than in praise.
[ZZZZ ZZ (Well done)]
｢Yes!｣
The creature glowed faintly with delight.
Having patted Number 26, I stood before the incapacitated Screars.
‘Let’s check right away.’
I have a useful tool for identifying unknown entities.
One of my psychic abilities, ‘Insight’.
Obtained from hunting a policeman nad William in the Space City in the past, this ability randomly reveals information possessed by the enemy.
‘All we need to confirm is the species na.’
As Insight activated, purple flashes emanated from my eyes, illuminating the dark corridor. And before appeared a translucent text box.
[Na: ■■■■
Species: Hulk Mutant
Status: Enhanced (Screar Surgery)
Equipnt: ■■■■ ■■]
The information confird by Insight was as we predicted.
A Hulk Mutant turned into a Screar.
What does this an?
‘There are individuals cooperating between StarUnion and gaCorp.’
The war between the two factions has lasted for hundreds of years. There have been sightings of humans from gaCorp expressing hatred towards the machines from the StarUnion.
Of course, it’s known that there are individuals in the upper echelons of gaCorp who secretly sell employees to the StarUnion for credits.
But leaking important war weapon manufacturing techniques is a different matter altogether. After all, if they lose the war, credits won’t be the issue.
‘There’s only one entity that would do such a thing.’
There are players in both gaCorp and the StarUnion who create new Screar variants.
And it’s fairly easy to guess who the player from the StarUnion might be.
‘Unless they’re part of the Machinery Assembly, or even more than that, they couldn’t do this.’
Only androids can be part of the Machinery Assembly. Players cannot enter.
So, the opponent must be soone more powerful than the Machinery Assembly within the StarUnion.
‘The Grandmaster.’
The current Grandmaster has close ties to players from gaCorp.
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