Chapter 283:

"This...?"

The message in the textbox pertained to a new Trophy of the Foe.

After consuming Jason, I’d gained three unique abilities from him. Two had already fused with my existing traits, becoming ‘Abyssal Hue’ and ‘Form Mastery’.

One, however, remained incomplete due to the lack of a matching trait. Before coming to this fortress, I had acquired numerous traits, yet none had matched the requirements.

I’d almost forgotten about it, but now, here it was.

"Could it be... a Warp Creature?"

One possibility came to mind—Jason's teleportation ability.

He’d attempted to teleport when I decapitated him, resulting in only his body being transported away.

In the arsenal of psychic powers, there’s no technique that instantly moves one across long distances. Powers only permit enhanced speed or the movement of allied beings within proximity.

Nor does any wearable equipment, apart from warships, enable long-distance teleportation. The closest known device is ‘The Harmonizer’, a rare Quest reward.

Assuming Jason didn’t invent equipment from thin air, this unique ability likely linked to his teleportation skill. Conveniently, the matching trait I now had, ‘Warp Creature’, cuts down preparation time for hyper-light navigation.

"Might as well try it out and see."

Trophies of the Foe are also eligible for trait enhancement. I could consume up to ten traits to make a more potent version of the Trophy.

"Just in time."

Before obtaining an internal-organ-type upgrade, I took in every trait I could to increase my trait pool. Consequently, I have a considerable amount stored.

With the first-tier reward for the Cosmic Monster Type, ‘Essence Rearrangement’, I can keep any acquired type permanently. Sacrificing unnecessary traits here should be fine.

"Not all, though. Five should do."

I still need to synthesize two unique traits later, so there’s no point in spending them all now.

I set five material traits: Heat Dissipation Secretions and Thermal Emission, which I don’t need, along with Digestive Secretion Enhancement, which is easy to acquire again. Then, I added Muscle Reinforcement and Bone Density Enhancement.

Once I selected the five traits, the Trophy of the Foe system activated.

「Fusing ‘Jason (Jason Turningham)’s unique ability with ‘Warp Creature’... ■⫯⪿⨕∫∫ Trait Enhancement System engaged!」

「Evolved into the trait ‘Starlight Coordinate’!」

「Starlight Coordinate: Allows instantaneous transportation of items or allied beings to a set coordinate, or for hyper-light navigation.

*Warning: Following use, you will be immobilized for a minimum of one minute. The larger the item, the longer you’ll remain immobile.

*Note: Even those who mapped the stars couldn’t fathom that something could traverse between them so freely.」

"Starlight Coordinate?"

It is related to teleportation, though not quite what I expected.

"An ability that transports others?"

In Space Survival, only two creatures can transfer another being. This new Trophy of the Foe trait mimicked the ability unique to those two.

"I have to test it immediately."

Since I can’t confirm hyper-light navigation at the moment, I’ll test the teleportation function first. I picked up a broken gun lying nearby.

"Now, how do I use it?"

I’d chosen the object, but the method of teleportation wasn’t clear.

Wondering if it worked like ‘Nightmare Horizon’, which uses a corrosive tentacle, I extended one, but it had no effect. I tried unfurling my wings as in hyper-light navigation, but nothing happened.

"How do I...?"

As I puzzled over it, my auxiliary organ beneath my chin twitched as my fingers neared the gun. The organ’s tip pointed toward the gun, causing a textbox to appear.

「Object detected as transportable. You will be immobilized for ‘1 minute’ post-transport.」

"So the auxiliary organ designates it."

This organ now served a third purpose: selecting teleportation targets. After designating the object to move, I lifted my gaze.

"Up there should do."

I focused on the area above the command deck covered by a barrier wall, visualizing the spot as I would in hyper-light navigation. My auxiliary organ glowed a vibrant blue, and, in resonance, the gun turned the same color before vanishing from between my fingers.

"Let’s check—ah."

When I tried looking up to confirm the transport, my body wouldn’t respond. Though my mind was alert, I couldn’t move a single muscle, as though trapped in sleep paralysis.

Moments later, I heard the gun land nearby with a clink.

「Huh?」

「Big One」 「Shrimp」 「Item」 「Disappeared」

「Is Big One sleepy? Why’re you standing so still?」

「Seems like it’s testing something. Let’s give it a moment.」

「Alright.」

Seeing me frozen like this puzzled them. Mother of the Sky sensed I was testing a newly acquired power.

It decided to end its analysis of the new Apex Trait here.

"There’s still more work to be done."

Shrinking back to a smaller form, it crawled into the concealed barrier.

[ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ (Is anyone left inside?)]

「Little one」「Still here」「Yes」

[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZZ (Let’s finish here and go retrieve PS-111.)]

「Yes! And let’s bring some food too, in case our friend is hungry!」

[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Food, huh. There should be a storage area here. Let’s look for it.)]

「Storage area?」「What’s that?」

「I know! It’s a place full of tasty prey!」

「Ah, finally, some food for humans.」

[ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ (Let’s load whatever’s left onto the ship.)]

「Thank you.」

They chatted as they searched through the command center.

Hiding pirates and survivors attacked, but the outcome didn’t change. Whether it was Command Center One or Command Center Three, every moving being but them was cleansed.

Kesha Arma, once the jewel of the Cult Empire, the mighty fortress in the cosmos, was emptied of every last human in less than a day.

After cleaning up, the Amorph and its allies boarded the ship and departed the fortress.

Right after they left, the fortress plummeted toward a nearby mining planet. Before they departed, PS-111 had damaged the fortress’s reactor, ensuring it wouldn’t remain in orbit.

With all traces of their involvement erased, no one would discover the culprit behind Kesha Arma’s downfall.

As the fortress exploded in the background, the pirate vessel under PS-111’s control entered hyperspace.

Feeling the flow of energy inside the ship, the Amorph lay sprawled on the cargo hold floor.

The hold’s appearance had changed significantly since their arrival at Kesha Arma. New containers, filled with provisions from the command center, now occupied the space. The rigidified human statues had been pushed to one side.

"Now, then, the only thing left is...."

Nibbling on one of the statues like candy, the Amorph opened a translucent text box.

「'Sub-Adult' -> 'Adult'

APEX Completion: 30/30

Unique Traits Acquired: 8/10 (Unmet)

Acquired Types: 6/6 (Met)」

「‘Transcendence’ Material List: Reinforced Skull, Gallagon Horn, Spine Bristle Tail, Protein Assimilation Mechanism, Clustered Skin Tissue」

「‘Transcendence’ Material List: Reinforced Large Tail, Bioelectric Emission Tube, Explosive Fluid Projector, Destructive Sonic Waves, Spore Cannon」

By completing these two traits, it would fulfill all requirements for adult evolution.

‘Just a step away from adulthood.’

This final threshold remained before evolution. Feeding in the reinforced trait materials, the Amorph selected synthesis.

Mucous flowed from its body, and slowly, its consciousness sank into the ooze.

---

A dead planet erupted in flames. The metallic fortress that once orbited the planet had met its end.

Hundreds of sensory organs, observing the scene, turned in unison.

The ones who killed the fortress had left, fading into endless darkness, leaving only a trace of blue light.

[The brood has perished.]

[The one who killed it is dangerous.]

[Predator?]

[Yes, ‘Predator.’]

[Shall we pursue the Predator?]

[Her Majesty said, ‘The Predator is stronger than the Queen.’ Thus, we shall not pursue.]

[Report the brood’s death to Her Majesty.]

[The Queen is vital to the colony. Return at once.]

Having received the desired response, the ‘Queen’ retracted her sensory organs—the “hundreds of eyes” extending from her shell. As the eyes receded, her body began to glow a faint blue.

Her kin had come from the far reaches of an endless universe.

Humans called them the beings from beyond—the Outsiders.

And in the space left by the Outsider Queen, only a lingering blue halo remained.