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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 342
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‘Huh?!’
Alshas opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was a white ceiling. The marble blocks were neatly arranged, giving the place an elegant atmosphere.
However, the horrible stench coming from somewhere prevented her from appreciating any of the beauty.
‘Wh-where am I?’
A white ceiling and a terrible smell. She had no idea where she was.
She tried to turn her head to check her surroundings, but her body wouldn't move. She had no sensation in her entire body, and the only thing she could do was blink her eyes.
‘Now that I think about it, I...’
She recalled what had happened just before she lost consciousness.
When she confronted the Amorph, without hesitation, she immediately used the ‘Simulacrum’. The idea was to buy time with a replica while attempting to escape.
It wasn't a bad idea, and the result wasn't too bad either. While the Amorph tore the replica apart, she managed to crawl out of the airship unharmed.
She left behind the deteriorating replica and ran toward the hangar door. However, along the way, something unknown pricked the back of her neck. By the time she felt the sharp pain, she had already collapsed onto the floor.
Given her current condition, it seemed likely she had been poisoned with paralysis venom. The Amorph must have carried her into this room after she fell.
‘...I need to recover quickly.’
She didn’t know why the notorious Amorph spared her life, but if she didn’t regain her senses quickly, she had no idea what might happen to her.
"Are you awake?"
At that moment, a woman’s voice reached her ears. It was familiar, but strangely different.
‘Who is it?’
"I am PS-111. I serve the main controller 'Sea Demon' and the sub-controller 'Amorph’."
‘Amorph? Wait, how did they know what I was thinking?’
"Amorph mentioned that the test subject has the ability to create replicas using their voice. Therefore, you are unable to speak."
‘What?’
"But don’t worry. I can confirm everything the test subject is thinking."
The activation condition for Simulacrum was to draw blood from the hand and then speak a command over it.
From what the voice was saying, it seemed like they didn’t know that blood was required.
However, if she thought about it, the other side would likely figure it out, so she quickly changed her line of thinking.
‘Where am I?’
"This is 'Gigacracker', built in the Megacorp Noble Capital Saint Kay. I manage this facility under the direction of the sub-controller."
‘...Gigacracker?’
"Yes. By the way, this is a modification factory. It was constructed by integrating unnecessary facilities."
If what it said was true, escaping would be very difficult. The Amorph, having obtained a superweapon, would not let the facility’s management slip.
The only fortunate thing was that the owner of the familiar voice was answering her questions smoothly. If she played her cards right, she might be able to escape safely.
‘PS-111, could you help me? I’m not guilty of anything. The conflict with Amorph wasn’t something I wanted. It was the people above me who orchestrated it.’
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Since you can read my thoughts, you know I’m telling the truth, right?"
In both this world and her own, she was adept at deceiving others. Managing her thoughts was a very easy task for her.
"Physically, your response doesn't confirm this as a lie."
The other party fell silent for a moment before agreeing. She gained confidence and immediately got to the point.
‘I don’t need much help. Just tell me where the hangar is. After that, I’ll handle the rest.’
"The hangar is at the end of Corridor 51."
‘Thank you! You’re really kind!’
"Thank you for the compliment."
Now that she knew the location of the hangar, the rest was easy. Once her paralyzed body regained its mobility, she could subdue the opponent and run away immediately.
As she tried to hide her joy at finding hope, the voice of her captor continued.
"However, even if you know the location, you cannot go there."
‘What?’
"Your body is not fit for movement at the moment."
That was a strange way to say ‘don’t escape’.
Normally, if someone were trying to flee, the captor would threaten to kill them or say it was too dangerous to go. Saying not to go because the body wasn’t fit for movement was unusual.
Moreover, the one speaking had been calling her ‘the test subject’ since earlier.
"By the way, in your current state, it is impossible for the test subject to check her own body. I will assist you."
As soon as the voice finished, a metallic scraping sound filled the air, and her field of vision shifted. The bed she had been lying on was raised upright, like a chair.
Because of that, she could finally see where she was and more importantly, she could pinpoint the source of the stench that had been bothering her.
The only thing in the space around her that could be described as clean was the ceiling. The walls were exposed, with steel frames and wires visible like an unfinished building. The floor was littered with large and small machines, all connected by cables.
On top of those machines were the bodies of cult members and mysterious black chunks of flesh. Beneath them, pools of red blood and black liquid had gathered.
W-what is all this?!
"In order to create 'Sister’s' new body, a significant amount of organic material was required, but Gigacracker lacks cultivation facilities. Those are the organic materials provided by Amorph."
As if answering her unspoken question, the voice continued.
"However, at the point when we needed to transplant 'Sister’s' brain, fresh organic material was not available. There were frozen test subjects, but they were not enough."
Then the owner of the voice finally appeared.
‘!!’
On the blood-soaked slaughterhouse floor stood a spider with multiple metallic legs on the head of a human woman. The creature was cradling something in its exposed bony legs.
"So, I used the organic material from my own body to create a temporary body that can sustain minimal life functions."
The creature, who had introduced itself as PS-111, was holding another ‘monster’.
It was a grotesque fusion of human, cold-blooded creature, and mechanical parts. The face was a patchwork of human and other materials, and beneath it, the body was a long, twisted torso made of parts from cult members. While PS-111 had the head of a spider, this ‘monster’ looked more like a centipede made of haphazardly grafted intelligent beings.
‘A creature made by fusing intelligent beings? Could it be...?’
It dawned on her what she was dealing with.
A chimera of biology and machinery was unique in space survival. The cursed biological weapon of the Star Union: the Screamer.
"I must correct my previous statement. 'Sister' is not a monster. All the required materials have been gathered, so she will be completed as a superior and efficient body."
With that, PS-111 pulled a small hand mirror from the blood-soaked rags it was wearing. It used the mirror to show Alshas her own reflection.
‘Huh?’
"The arms, legs, and various organs of the test subject were used in the creation and experimentation of 'Sister’s' body."
Seeing her reflection in the mirror, Alshas felt a chill run through her veins.
On the chair-like bed, there was a cult member’s head and torso left behind.
Her arms, legs, and silvery hair were all gone. Moreover, there were cables and wires embedded in her head, and a thick oxygen tube was inserted into her neck.
The mutilated body was none other than Alshas herself.
"Amorph said that if you didn’t die, it was fine to leave only the head and do whatever was necessary with the rest."
‘Wait, wait, hold on!’
"Currently, the arms are being used to enhance this part, and the legs are enhancing this part. The compatibility is excellent, so next, I will extract the organs."
PS-111, with its sharp, hooked claws, began to describe the various parts of the monstrous body, pointing at each one.
At that moment, Alshas understood instantly what it was trying to do. That creature planned to use her as raw material for the Screamer.
‘No! I don't want to be a Screamer!’
"Only your body will be used. The brain and head will be consumed by Amorph, so you don’t need to worry."
‘Then just kill me! I don't want to live forever as a slave!’
Alshas begged, tears and snot streaming down her face.
PS-111 carefully placed the upper half of the artificial creature it had made down and approached her. It then lowered its massive body, bringing its pale metallic face close to hers.
"Amorph said that the reason ‘Sister’s’ body is collapsing due to an unidentified virus is because of you, test subject... No, because of you."
‘Me? What did I do?!’
Alshas didn’t know who this ‘Sister’ was, nor why she had to suffer like this. All she felt was injustice.
However, PS-111 didn’t seem interested in explaining further. Lowering the mirror, the creature sharpened its claw-like fingers.
"You don’t need to know. I’ll end the explanation here and move on to the next stage."
‘The next stage? Eek?!’
"Thanks to the nerve toxin I injected, you won’t feel any pain."
As her body was being disassembled while still alive, Alshas' eyes trembled in horror.
The only thing observing her silent scream was the red lens of PS-111’s camera-like eye.
---
｢Mmm, tasty!｣
｢The taste｣ ｢So unique｣ ｢First time｣ ｢I ate it｣
｢I never expected such a taste from Vortex One.｣
Above the hangar, three monsters were having a quiet meal together.
Before them lay the enormous corpse of a Vortex One.
｢It’d be nice if the little one could eat some too.｣
｢Agreed｣ ｢Big one｣ ｢Prey｣ ｢Likes it｣
｢Let’s let it rest for now, it’s tired.｣
The griffon with golden fur turned its head and tried to soothe the other two creatures.
Its amber eyes were focused on a massive beast lying before them, as large as the Vortex One’s body.
The creature was a space monster that had defeated one of the cosmic devils, ‘The Ring of Agony’.
Amorph, beloved by Sea Demon and Red Gallagon, was now deep in slumber.
‘I guess it’s understandable.’
Despite the numerous injuries it had sustained from battles with formidable enemies, it couldn’t rest immediately.
There was still urgent work left that it needed to attend to.
In Verzan-02, it had sent PS-111 to Gigacracker first to save Isabel, the 22nd-ranked player. Then, it had sent her as a joker to play the situation.
Thanks to Amorph, Isabel had returned to Gigacracker, and her situation with PS-111 had been checked.
However, Amorph soon realized that things had deviated far from expectations.
‘I never imagined we’d run out of organic material.’
Gigacracker wasn’t a research ship, and it didn’t have any facilities for culturing cells. However, Amorph hadn’t been too worried, as it had enough stored corpses of crew members and others, including Number 26, Adhai, and those it had hunted.
But according to PS-111, human corpses alone weren’t sufficient to create a body suitable for Isabel. To create a mutant Screamer capable of functioning properly, they needed to combine various genes to complement one another.
Amorph recalled something it had once heard from PS-111: the rankers who created mutant Screamers had gone through several trial and error processes.
As it turned out, when Amorph had arrived at Gigacracker, PS-111 had already used parts of its own body to create Isabel’s body. Thanks to its sacrifice, Isabel had been able to overcome a major crisis.
‘I’m not sure if ‘overcoming a crisis’ is the right term here.’
Isabel’s previous body had completely collapsed due to the aftermath of summoning the Vortex One. What PS-111 managed to salvage were only the brain, eyes, and a few vital organs from the twin sibling. However, thanks to its quick actions, PS-111 had been able to preserve those parts.
First of all, according to its words, it claimed that the damage to its brain had been somehow prevented, so even if it were to be resurrected in a new body, there wouldn't be any issues with its intelligence.
In reality, that was the problem.
Even if it were to be resurrected in a new body under those circumstances, whether it could still be considered Isabel, let alone whether it would be able to properly adapt to the new body, was uncertain. It might even end up resenting PS-111, the one who resurrected it as a monster.
‘Still...’
One must be alive to hate someone, or to release that hatred.
It would be a waste to just let it go. She, who had suffered for her sister, deserved to enjoy happiness with her family.
Anyway, since she urgently needed to collect a large number of corpses, she immediately conveyed this to The Amorph as soon as the Ring of Agony died. It recognized the urgency and acted swiftly.
‘But still... I never expected it would ask me to use the corpse of a Vortex One.’
Upon hearing her words, it detached part of the Vortex One's corpse and transported it to the hangar. The reason was that the Vortex One's corpse would help in creating Isabel's new body.
‘And it said it would be useful to me too.’
As The Amorph said, among the specialized equipment for Wolfram, there was a tool that required the Vortex One’s body as a material. Acquiring that equipment would have a similar effect to increasing a divinity level by half a step.
‘It’s kind of considerate, huh.’
Though he claimed it was just for insurance, both knew that wasn't truly the case.
‘...Though, bringing in a bunch of cultist corpses right after was a bit jarring.’
After the Vortex One's body, the next thing it brought were the corpses of the cultists from the Surveillance Office.
As a result of the battle between The Amorph and the Ring of Agony, there were numerous casualties inside the Surveillance Office. It collected the intact arms and tentacles and filled them with corpses, which it then dumped into the hangar. Most of them were cultists, but there were a fair number of slaves mixed in, so PS-111 was satisfied.
Immediately after bringing in the corpses, it returned to its original form. The enhancement effects had worn off, so she expected it to collapse, but surprisingly, it endured.
This was because Alshas was still alive.
Using The Amorph's unique extrasensory perception, it tracked down a flying ship that had been wandering near the Surveillance Office and brought it back. Alshas, who was inside, tried to escape but failed.
‘If it had actually fought back, this would have been pretty troublesome.’
The panicked one was overpowered by PS-111, who had come to collect the corpses. The Amorph entrusted the handling of Alshas to PS-111, then promptly fell asleep.
Since it fell asleep, the remaining cleanup was left to her.
She needed to bring the 40 Coldblood slaves and MPS-05, which Isabel had rescued, who were floating in their airship around the orbit of Verzan-02.
Since it wasn't particularly difficult, she finished quickly, and the Coldbloods were now resting in the cabins that had previously been used by the Gigacracker’s crew.
After everything was done, they left the Aur System. The Gigacracker, now traveling at superluminal speeds, was currently drifting through the uninhabited system.
‘Now that I think about it, I should consider the treatment of the slaves as well.’
Although the battle was over, there was still a mountain of tasks left to do. She glanced briefly at The Amorph, who was lying asleep as though dead.
‘I can think about that later.’
The rest could be discussed when it woke up.
‘Discussing with The Amorph. If this were a game, I’d think I was crazy.’
｢Ugly friend｣｢Big adult｣｢Why｣｢Are you looking at me?｣
｢Hm?｣
｢You've been staring｣｢Nonstop｣｢Since earlier｣
｢Oh? Oh, well…｣
Her thoughts showed a trace of confusion at the unexpected question.
｢Ugly friend｣｢Big adult｣｢Are you bothered?｣
｢Bothered? Me? That's ridiculous. Why would I care about Amorph… Ugh, why would I care about them?｣
｢Does the middle child worry about the big child? Is it bothering you?｣
｢No. Not at all.｣
｢Really? Are you really sure?｣
｢Emotions｣｢Suspicious｣｢Suspicious｣
For once, the two who usually fought over petty things were in perfect sync.
｢Oh, no. Actually, I think the big child might be hungry.｣
｢Big adult｣｢Definitely｣｢Used up｣｢A lot of strength｣｢Probably hungry?｣
｢Yeah! It was the same before!｣
She said whatever came to mind, and surprisingly, it worked.
｢Let’s cut up some tasty, fluffy pieces and give it to them!｣
｢Agreed｣｢If they eat it｣｢They'll get stronger｣
The two monsters stopped interrogating her and began preparing to feed The Amorph Vortex One meat.
‘Phew.’
Seeing this, she sighed softly and took a bite of the Vortex One's flesh.
The griffon with amber-colored eyes found the taste of the meat to be rich, like dark chocolate.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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