I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 413

——————

[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

——————

Chapter 413

It had expected a roar, but the actual size of it was far beyond what anyone imagined.

Even just from the upper body, it looked almost as large as a small destroyer-class ship. Ventris had never seen a creature this massive before.

Behind its thick, pillar-like legs, its long neck extended—and at the end of it was its head.

A long, protruding snout. Massive horns rising above. Its appearance resembled that of a carnivorous reptile called the Horned Gigant, but there were many differences. For one, its body was much larger, and it lacked any sensory organs like eyes, nose, or ears.

The hand holding the pirate rose upward. Its jaws opened wide, revealing grotesque fangs. Even without eyes, it instinctively gulped down its prey.

｢Grrrrrrrr…｣

“What the hell is that?!”

“Everyone, open fire!”

The pirates screamed, half-cursing, half-panicking, and began their assault.

The first thing they fired was a flash grenade. Blinding bursts lit up the warehouse like condensed suns. Ventris shouted in frustration.

“You morons! It doesn’t even have eyes—why are you throwing flashbangs?!”

They were using the same tactics as hunting wild animals, but in this case, it was utterly useless. Even inside the radiant flare, it moved without hesitation.

The creature slithered deeper into the warehouse, extending its elongated arms to grab a handful of pirates. Despite its size, it moved with terrifying speed and silence.

“Gaaaah! Fuck!”

“If you don’t wanna die—shoot!”

The ones caught struggled violently, but even their most desperate attacks didn’t leave so much as a scratch on its body.

It shoved multiple prey into its mouth and chewed with brutal force. Human blood sprayed like a waterfall, soaking the ground beneath.

“Switch out the flashbangs for binding rounds! Everyone near the front—use the containers as cover!”

Ventris kept issuing commands to prevent his subordinates from falling into total panic. The frozen crew began moving again as his voice cut through the chaos.

Pirates armed with heavy weapons launched explosive rounds—not at the monster, but at the storage containers in the warehouse. The tower of containers collapsed, crashing down on top of it.

｢Grrrr…｣

It let out a short growl. Even crushed beneath tons of containers, there was no indication of pain.

Still, this much had been within Ventris’s expectations.

“Now!”

The pirates, now equipped with binding rounds, fired in quick succession at the creature pinned under the rubble.

When the rounds hit their target, the contents burst into the air—gas particles that rapidly solidified into amber-like resin.

These binding rounds had been developed by Star Union to subdue MegaCorp’s hulking mutants. They were highly effective at restricting the movement of large enemies.

Dozens of such resin clumps latched onto it, especially around its head and neck. The monster staggered forward under the weight.

｢Grrr?｣

“What the fuck?!”

“It’s still moving?!”

A single round was enough to neutralize a Hulk Mutant. But this thing had taken dozens—and still moved. It thrashed violently, trying to tear off the masses glued to its body.

“Goddamn it! Aim for its arm with the launcher!”

But even so, the enemy had definitely slowed down. One pirate raised a plasma launcher and took aim at its arm. While others kept it distracted, the launcher charged up rapidly.

Then suddenly, the ceiling above the gunner collapsed.

“What?!”

Through the falling debris, a massive claw—several meters long—came crashing down. It smashed the launcher crew instantly.

An ear-shattering boom followed by a powerful shockwave. Ventris realized he was airborne.

The charging launcher exploded on impact, propelling him across the warehouse. He slammed into the wall on the far side.

“Guhhh!”

Pain radiated through his body, but fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured—thanks to his high-grade power armor. He gritted through the pain and forced himself upright.

“Aaagh, it hurts! Help me!”

“Gyaaaaah! It’s burning!”

“Somebody, anyone!”

Unlike him, his subordinates weren’t so lucky. Those closest to the explosion were incinerated instantly. Even those farther away suffered serious injuries. Only a handful of pirates were still able to move.

And the one responsible for this carnage now hovered over the pile of corpses. The claw, caught in the blast, was barely scorched.

The massive pillar-like limb behind the claw slowly shifted. The claw moved over the bodies and approached it—then smashed apart the resin masses stuck to its body.

Only then did Ventris realize that the claw was part of that creature. What he hadn’t seen—hidden behind the warehouse walls—was its lower body, now coming into motion.

‘I—I have to get out of here!’

Most of his men were already dead. To keep fighting would be suicide. He had to escape—now.

Ventris smashed his fist into the wall behind him. Reinforced muscle and armor shattered the barrier, and he darted out of the warehouse.

“Sub-boss?!”

“Shit! He abandoned us—Aaaagh!”

His subordinates called after him, but he ignored them. Using their sacrifice as a shield, he sprinted across the devastated landing strip.

‘There’s no record of a monster like that ever being here!’

When he was first dispatched to AG-01, there were only two main threats he’d expected: separatists and T&C defense forces. Never once had he imagined a kaiju would appear and massacre his crew.

‘Wait—could this be the work of those lunatic terrorists?’

This planet had been terraformed before he was even born. Its ecosystem was supposed to be well-documented. Nothing here came even close to something the size of a destroyer.

There was no doubt—some madman had brought that thing from offworld. And only the separatists would dare do something so insane.

"You fucking bastards. You really think you can stab me in the back like this?"

He swore vengeance if he got out alive, repeating that promise to himself as he sprinted across the eerily quiet tarmac.

The screams and gunfire behind him had long since stopped. His footsteps echoed through the wide space—the only sound left.

Which meant it was likely still tracking him.

Still, there was one piece of good news: the ship he could escape on was right ahead.

Between the docked vessels stood a warship resembling a Starshark—a beast the Cults had domesticated for travel. It was the ship of Ventris, a cartel sub-boss. Some crew members were permanently stationed aboard for maintenance, so it could launch at any moment if needed.

As he ran toward his only way out, something caught his eye.

Parked near the pirate ship was another vessel. About the size of a small destroyer, but the hull was... squirming.

‘No way…’

He'd thought it was a spaceship. He was wrong.

It was alive.

"...You gotta be shitting me."

Ventris halted mid-run and crouched down low.

The creature had a long neck and massive head, six arms, two legs, and a tail that split into two. It was devouring both people and ships.

One of the tails had a familiar pincer. This was definitely it—the thing that had raided the storage facility.

‘Shit! How the hell did it follow me this far?!’

There hadn’t been a single sound while he was running here. Unless it flew—how could something that massive move so silently?

‘...Doesn’t matter now.’

Staying low, Ventris crept toward the pirate ship.

Among the corpses the creature was chewing on, he saw uniforms he recognized. All were his men—crew from the pirate vessel. Escaping using the main ship seemed out of the question now.

But there was still one more way.

‘The transport shuttle.’

A small smuggling shuttle used to carry illegal fauna was stored inside. It only needed one pilot to operate—perfect for a solo getaway.

Step by slow step, he approached. The pirate ship now loomed before him. Though the beast itself was obscured behind the hull, the wet crunch of bones and flesh being torn echoed without pause.

He pressed himself against the outer wall and slipped around to the back of the ship. The cargo hatch was wide open. Slipping past the metallic threshold, he climbed aboard the transport shuttle. As soon as launch prep was complete, he took off.

｢Rrrrrrghhh...｣

The shuttle lifted from the harbor. The beast's growling faded behind him.

"Whew..."

Ventris leaned back in the pilot’s seat, exhaling deeply. He felt the tension draining from his body now that he'd escaped that nightmare.

Then—a deafening crash.

The entire shuttle shook violently, hard enough to throw him from his seat.

Sparks flew from the panels. Screeching metal filled the cabin. The radar blared in alarm.

“What the—?!”

A triangle symbol suddenly overlapped the circle marking his shuttle on the radar. He hadn’t seen it appear—it was just there.

The shuttle jolted wildly.

“F-Fuck!!”

He clawed his way back into the seat, grabbing the controls. He tried desperately to regain control, but it was useless. No matter how hard the thrusters fired, something unknown had latched onto the ship and wouldn’t let go.

The radar showed the shuttle's position bouncing around until—it stopped.

Then, altitude began to drop.

“Wait—waitwaitwait?!”

Even with his high-grade exosuit, crashing from this height would leave him with serious injuries, at best.

But there was nothing he could do now.

He could only pray he lived.

"AAAAAAAGHHH!!"

The impact shattered any protection his armor could provide. He blacked out immediately.

‘How much time had passed?’

A voice stirred Ventris from unconsciousness.

“You did good shutting down the communications network. Would’ve been much harder without you.”

‘Shepherd?’

It was the voice of one of his female subordinates, the one who went to the research facility. It echoed in his ears like it was being spoken inside a cave.

‘Where am I...?’

He opened his eyes to complete darkness. He tried to move his limbs—nothing. He couldn’t move at all, no matter how much he strained.

Looking down, he saw some kind of strange organism wrapped tightly around his torso, pinning him against the wall.

“Wanna take a look at the pirate ship’s data, too?”

The voice again. Louder this time—getting closer.

Just as he was about to call for help, a strange realization hit him.

At first, he hadn’t noticed because of the echo, but something was off.

He was pinned to a wall. Naturally, any approaching voice should come from in front or below.

But this one—was coming from above.

“No... It’s better if I check it myself.”

Now it was right above his head.

His gaze slowly tilted upward.

“There’s already someone here to help you anyway.”

And there it was.

It—grinning while mimicking the woman’s voice—loomed overhead.

——————

[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

——————

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.