——————

[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

——————

Chapter 479

"KP-04 jump successful."

"Planet encirclement complete. The surveillance net is now activated."

Bridge of the Gigacracker.

The crew, who had just finished the jump, moved quickly to prepare for the next operation.

Walter Saint K. , owner of the Gigacracker, sat in his chair, stroking his chin.

"This is the sixth time, isn’t it?"

He murmured quietly while watching the hologram projected at the center of the bridge.

At the moment, six Gigacrackers and their escort fleets were stationed near planet KP-04. These forces were mobilized by Walter to hunt the ‘Three-Headed Demon’.

Before coming here, they’d searched five other planets but hadn’t been able to find the Three-Headed Demon. Now, only two suspected hideouts remained.

One of them was KP-04, an ocean planet owned by the Yujin family to obtain marine life samples.

"A planet owned by Yujin. I guess bombarding it like the previous planets would be difficult?"

Akira's butler, who stood behind the chair, shook his head in negation.

"No issue, sir. The family head said success in the hunt is all that matters."

"Is there any problem with acquiring samples?"

"No. That planet has been extensively researched already. Similar samples can be sourced elsewhere."

"Is that so? Then that’s a relief."

It was a satisfactory answer. Smiling, Walter flicked his hand.

His officers immediately began preparations — they’d ready the superweapon mounted on the Gigacracker, the massive ion cannon.

Of the six Gigacrackers encircling the planet, two moved into position. Like a lotus blooming, their spheres parted and the central ion cannon was exposed to the outside.

Twin beams of blue light struck the sapphire-colored planet.

The planet’s surface, depicted on the hologram, shook violently. The shockwaves generated at two points were reverberating across the entire star.

In reality, if all six ships fired at once, a planet of this size could easily be destroyed. But Walter didn’t do that.

The Three-Headed Demon possessed the ability to reflect energy attacks. During the last battle, an energy field created by the demon had bounced the Outspacer's attack right back, resulting in heavy losses.

Whether it could also reflect ion cannon bombardment was still unknown. Until that was determined, firepower needed to be kept in check.

"Bombardment complete. Ion cannons recharging."

"Four ships have finished recharging and are standing by."

"Any response from our target?"

"None detected."

"So, is it hiding, or simply not there?"

There was only one way to find out.

"Deploy the recon drones and android army."

"Understood."

The creature could drive sentient beings mad or even control them. Sending in humans was too risky — machines were preferable.

Battle androids and drone squads airlifted from the Star Union descended to KP-04.

Dozens of minutes passed. Hundreds of markers landed on the holographic surface of the planet. The robots roamed their assigned sectors, conducting exhaustive searches.

KP-04 was quite large, so it would take at least three or four hours to survey it all. Yet, no one on the bridge appeared relaxed.

They were all master hunters. Waiting was second nature. Walter kept his focus locked on the hologram.

Three hours ticked by.

The android army’s search area narrowed toward the ocean trenches.

The Yujin family’s geological survey data indicated that the seabed was riddled with troughs and canyons, forming a complicated topography. It meant extra caution was now essential.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Walter spotted something unusual.

"Wait. The H32 squad’s recon route has changed. Why was it altered?"

"Um…near the canyon, ocean currents suddenly shifted, so the route was temporarily changed."

The crew member brought up environmental data above the H32 squad’s activity radius.

"In that area, abrupt differences in elevation and multiple trenches cause the currents to be highly irregular."

"Are there any lifeforms there?"

"Originally, it was home to bubble amoebas, but they've since been wiped out."

"Ah, to live hidden in such a place…perhaps to avoid predators."

The environmental data recorded that all the bubble amoebas previously inhabiting the area had been captured for experiments.

Walter recalled a report he’d read before.

‘The Three-Headed Demon always drags around mutant Sea Demons.’

He’d hunted Sea Demons before. They were known as the ocean’s demons, savagely dangerous, but he’d never laid a hand on bubble amoebas. Even the weakest bubble amoeba could linger near a Sea Demon to avoid other predators.

‘The two species are supposedly relatives.’

From the perspective of a mutant Sea Demon, this was unfamiliar territory; its instincts would likely drive it to hide somewhere familiar.

‘Now that I remember, that brat from Edgerton disappeared after heading to NOX-02.’

Jacob had visited the ocean planet, only to be swept away by a sudden, massive tsunami.

No one ruling a star system would be unfamiliar with their own planet’s environment. It was reasonable to assume the wave had been caused by some external force.

Sea Demons, sudden current changes, complex terrain — piecing together the clues, Walter reached a conclusion.

"That’s the hideout. Prepare an assault."

"Got it!"

Walter issued the order and exited the bridge with Akira’s butler.

From now on, he would move not as the head of Saint K, but as the hunter Walter.

***

｢The bad ones are coming.｣

Deep beneath the dark ocean, Number 26, concealed within the churning waves, watched as the glimmering lights faded into the distance.

With her power, she could have easily destroyed every one of them. The only reason she let them go was that those ominous beings had reinforcements.

Moments ago, an intense shock unlike anything she'd ever felt shook the entire sea. If she hadn't set up a barrier beforehand, even her hiding place would have been obliterated.

She realized right away the bad people were trailing after them.

With Big One unable to move because of pain, she would have to face this alone.

Number 26 knew all too well how dangerous humans were. There were simply too many of them; even if she killed some, more would take their place. It was better not to fight at all. That’s why she whipped up a strong current, steering her enemies off course—and that plan succeeded.

If they failed to find her and simply left, it would be her victory.

Number 26 let the currents carry her deeper into the canyon.

But enemies could come back at any moment. She needed to prepare a decoy hiding place, just in case.

She used to do this all the time in the past dumb predators would wear themselves out searching the wrong places and eventually give up the hunt. She carved deceptive tunnels leading to traps along the cliffs.

That’s when a familiar vibration rippled through the water, quickly intensifying. Along with it came a nasty metallic taste.

Its meaning was clear a group of bad humans was approaching her.

She had no idea how they’d figured it out, but that was beside the point—the time for avoiding conflict had passed. Number 26 grew to a gigantic size and rose above the canyon.

No sooner had she surfaced than she was bombarded from every direction by familiar lumps of metal—torpedoes, as people called them.

In the past, weapons like those had wiped out her entire family. But this time was different. Number 26 unleashed the power of the Sea Demon.

Her enormous psychic net snatched the incoming torpedoes with a single sweep, hurling them right back at their owners.

A series of deep explosions rang out in the distance as metal constructs carrying humans scattered rapidly.

Naturally, it wasn’t over yet—they had more weapons, designed to maximize destruction.

On her massive pink body, eyes of many colors sprouted—eyeballs formed from highly concentrated psychic energy, scrutinizing the enemy.

Soon a horrifying apparition was cast through the depths. When humans saw it, they’d be paralyzed with fear. If the enemies panicked and fled, she would hunt them down one by one.

｢?｣

That’s what she thought—until something unexpected happened. The cylinder-like structures didn’t flee at the sight of the apparition. Instead of retreating, they started firing torpedoes again.

There was no time to ponder why. Immediately, she forged another psychic net.

Just as she released it, a foreign presence crept in silently—human-sized intruders firing sharp, spear-like projectiles.

｢Ouch!｣

As soon as she was hit, her strength drained, and her concentration wavered. She reacted swiftly, severing the tentacles struck by the spears.

A sharp pain radiated, but the draining of strength ceased. However, that left a hole in her carefully woven net, allowing a volley of torpedoes to break through.

She was about to be hit. Rather than shield herself, she shrank her body, causing the torpedoes to lose their target and explode elsewhere.

The underwater blasts churned up the sea. She rode the surge to get far away from her previous position.

Number 26 swiftly distanced herself, pursued by intruders brandishing spear-like weapons.

From the fight, it was clear—these humans understood her well.

The spears that sapped her strength were the same kind that once tormented Little One. For some reason, even her apparitions didn’t work against them.

They’d studied her powers and developed countermeasures. For the first time since growing stronger, she faced a real challenge.

But they didn’t know everything.

Number 26's power was more than what they’d seen.

She’d spent her whole life running from predators and surviving. She was used to situations like this.

Besides, Big One had taught her how to toy with and hunt prey stronger than herself.

Her life, and what mattered most to her, taught invaluable lessons. The humans, oblivious, would pay a terrible price called death.

——————

[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

——————