Chapter 242:

Chapter 242:

In the game, the Mechanical Committee of the Star Union has a significant characteristic.

Unlike the seven great families of the Megacorp or the Prophets’ Assembly of the Cult Empire, the Mechanical Committee is exclusively composed of NPCs.

In other words, the Mechanical Committee only appears as enemies or advisors.

When playing as either the Megacorp, a rival of the Star Union, or as a Star Union cyborg, you will inevitably face off against the Mechanical Committee. For the former, this confrontation is necessary to achieve the final end goal of 'integration', much like the ascension of the Amorph. For the latter, becoming the Grand Leader requires passing the tests set by the Mechanical Committee.

During my playthrough as the Amorph, I fought against a Star Union Grand Leader player and ended up facing the Mechanical Committee.

Since the Mechanical Committee are NPCs that appear as a late-game enemy, the difficulty is notoriously high.

Each member of the Committee commands a single elite fleet under their control. When they engage in battle, they mobilize their fleet, so any player attempting to challenge them must bring a force equivalent to a fleet.

Moreover, the Committee members are all androids, allowing them to modify their bodies. The modification style varies by member, and they frequently swap out body parts based on the opponent’s strategy during combat.

However, none of them were as extensively modified as the one standing before me: Pyra Eleven.

Heavy alloy hoses, reminiscent of the Ice Horror's body, sprawled out in every direction, while at the center stood the upper body and face of a giant, composed of both biological tissue and metal.

The face had a distinctly androgynous appearance, with eyes even larger than Adhai's or those of the Mother of the Sky, replaced by camera lenses. The skin twitched as if it were alive whenever it moved.

‘That’s no longer an android.’

Unlike cyborgs, androids are entirely mechanical but still tend to maintain a humanoid form. Even when the members of the Mechanical Committee deviate from a humanoid shape, they typically transplant their brains into combat machines rather than modifying themselves to this extent.

In fact, it was closer to PS-111, a hybrid of machine and organism.

‘Of course, this one is completely dominated by machinery.’

Additionally, its appearance was far less appealing compared to PS-111. The grotesque creature lashed a hose at me.

The hose was as thick and long as the Ice Horror's torso. Just one of those hoses was about 1.5 times the length of my body.

I raised my wing arms and combat arms to block the hose. Not only did it resemble the Ice Horror in appearance, but its weight and defense were also on par.

As I blocked the attack, the others behind me moved all at once. I activated the ‘Hand of the Devouring Leech’ in that moment.

‘Huh?’

Unexpectedly, the creature’s bio-energy wasn’t absorbed. To confirm, I bit down on the hose I was holding. The hard metallic surface cracked, revealing some foul-tasting flesh inside.

‘I see.’

The alloy hose was covered in scales on the outside, while the inside was composed of biological tissue. Since it wasn’t a living creature, simply holding onto the surface didn’t allow the Hand of the Devouring Leech to absorb anything.

Moreover, the flesh was poisonous. I felt a sharp sensation in my mouth, suggesting it was a neurotoxin. It wasn’t just mindlessly swinging the hose at me.

“‘s it trying to paralyze me rather than kill me?’

At that moment, Number 26, perched atop my head, shouted.

「Big guy! Watch out!」

Simultaneously, another hose whipped across and struck me.

While I’m not small by any means, its hose was much larger than I was. The impact pushed my body back involuntarily.

‘The strength is comparable to mine....’

This was a cunning opponent. Blocking the incoming attacks with my combat arms, I sent a pulse to the others.

[ZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZ (Watch out for its flesh. It's poisonous.)]

I wasn’t affected by poison, but the others could be.

As she swiped at the incoming hoses, Mother of the Sky quickly retreated after hearing my warning.

Adhai swooped in from behind and caught the retreating Mother of the Sky.

As Adhai performed acrobatics to dodge the hoses emerging from the canyon walls, Mother of the Sky transformed back into her griffon form.

With agile movements, she climbed onto Adhai’s back and retrieved a long golden spear from the backpack tied around Adhai’s waist.

A hose came flying at Adhai, attempting to pin her down. As it approached her, with three massive claw hooks ready to strike, the golden spear of the Priestess in Mother of the Sky’s hand emitted a bright light.

In a single stroke, Mother of the Sky severed all the claws. As if anticipating this, Adhai didn’t slow down at all, continuing to fly swiftly.

The hose, now clawless, tried to follow Adhai to grab her. But a navy energy bolt struck the hose, thwarting its attempt.

PS-111, clinging to the wall and providing suppressive fire, quickly shut its mouth and shifted positions. The ice wall cracked, and the hidden hose inside began to move to attack the enemy.

‘Not so fast.’

The tentacles attached to my neck and the back of my head responded to my thoughts, preparing a psychic breath. Energy charged rapidly, and the entire cluster of tentacles turned purple in an instant.

Purple flames erupted from my head, and a fierce psychic beam shot forward. The hose, which had been about to crush PS-111, was pierced by the beam.

‘Should I eliminate the drones instead?’

An enhanced psychic breath would be effective against a swarm of biological weapons. If I could hit just one drone, it would spread to the surrounding organic material.

‘The question is how efficient that will be.’

Those countless bio-drones were merely terminals for the main entity. Even if I managed to hit a drone, it would quickly adapt.

To minimize damage, Pyra Eleven might sacrifice a few drones, or even send those hit by the psychic breath toward me or my allies.

‘To stop that, I need to wipe them out in one go.’

I had prepared traps when I entered this canyon.

As its head dispersed, my breath struck the canyon, causing ice to rain down upon us. The frozen ground, solidified from our battle, was now thawing and turning into a muddy mess.

While Pyra Eleven’s head was reforming, I spread out a wave.

[ZZ ZZZZ ZZ (find its energy source)]

I entrusted my underlings with this crucial task and sprinted along the path I had come.

「Pyra Eleven. Commencing pursuit. Eliminating Special Target A, the highest threat, first. Dealing with other targets via terminals.」

Behind me, Pyra Eleven, with its head reconnected to the hoses, followed. Each movement of its body caused numerous hoses to dig into the ground.

I noticed other hoses behind it, interfering with my underlings. These hoses resembled Ice Horrors in terms of specifications. If I were delayed even slightly, my allies would be in danger.

‘If this succeeds, it will deal a critical blow to it.’

At that moment, a plasma beam flew from behind. The beam grazed my carapace as I crawled.

[ZZZ (Are you okay?)]

「Yeah.」

As part of my carapace shattered, I felt my resistance to plasma energy increasing again. Due to my ‘Mimicry Scales’ trait, my body was developing a new resistance to the energy.

Normally, I would fight while taking hits, but this time, that strategy wasn’t feasible.

‘The Predator Sense showed me the future. It absorbed my flesh.’

In the fleeting images, I saw that after devouring my severed lower body, Pyra Eleven had mimicked its features. The plasma beams from its bio-drones grew stronger, and the hoses morphed to resemble my pincers.

Much like how PS-111 would absorb matter and transform its body. The problem was that Pyra Eleven's transformations were much faster.

Thus, I had no choice but to keep twisting and turning to dodge its attacks.

As I continued running, I finally saw the darkened floor and walls in the distance. It was the nest I had prepared when I first entered the canyon. The nest had expanded beyond my expectations due to the steam and heat generated from inside.

「Pyra Eleven. Questioning. Did you lure me here trusting in something as insignificant as that? Analysis of Special Target A's secreted toxic synthetic substance complete. Total immunity achieved.」

Pyra Eleven, which had previously shown meticulousness by moving its mouth whenever it spoke, no longer bothered to do so now that its secret had been exposed.

It casually smashed the nest I had laid down with its hoses.

‘Of course not.’

The nest was just a means to paint the picture I wanted. The real weapon was something else.

Linked to the nest, I gave it a command.

‘Detonate.’

The black mucus buried in the canyon walls erupted like a fountain, pouring down onto its head. The mucus splattered everywhere, covering its face and hoses.

Despite the black mucus raining down from above, Pyra Eleven ignored it. Its mouth, composed of bio-drones, opened wide, and a green light began to emerge from within.

Just before its attack could be unleashed, I severed the link with the nest and prepared my next weapon.

Green, purple, and a myriad of bizarre colors engulfed my mass of tentacles.

Perhaps sensing the unknown energy flowing from my body, Pyra Eleven halted its beam attack, and the bio-drones that made up its face began to disperse.

It tried to escape, but that didn’t matter.

I fired a psychic breath infused with the ‘Abyssal Hue.’

My target wasn’t its head.

The orb of chaos, veering far off course from its head, struck the black mucus pouring down the canyon walls and exploded. As soon as I confirmed the explosion, I spread my winged arms wide and leaped backward.

[ZZZ ZZZ (Try dodging this too)]

The abyssal rain began to fall on Pyra Eleven’s head.