I Became an Evolving Space Monster

Chapter 134

The brief period of calm ended, and the battle resumed. The fins, boasting sizes of tens of meters or more, forcefully swept the sand on the beach. A small earthquake shook our bodies, followed by a surge of sand and dirt.

As the land flipped, walls of sand formed and engulfed us.

｢Danger!｣ ｢Evade!｣

While Adhai, carrying the The Mother of the Sky, dodged the sand and dirt baptism with acrobatic maneuvers, I quickly crawled towards Number 26

｢Ugh!｣

It attempted to restrain the sands with ‘restraints,’ but it was futile. With its current abilities, it couldn’t restrain large amounts of sand all at once. I grabbed him and placed him on the back of the carapace.

[ZZ ZZZ (Careful)]

A heap of dirt, almost the size of a boulder, poured over my head. Moving swiftly to avoid large clumps of sand, enemy limbs flew through the gaps.

‘Both I and Number 26 are immune to poison, but…’

Nevertheless, the immense force contained in those tentacles cannot be ignored. Even if I could endure it, if Number 26 were to be hit by those limbs, it will split in half.

The erosion tentacle hidden within the carapace responded to my will and leaped outward.

With durability far superior to the bloodsucking tentacles from the combat arms, the erosion tentacles deflected the Pale Mask’s attack.

‘Next is the Breath.’

Between the sand barriers, the creature’s mouth slightly opened.

None of us can withstand the creature’s digestive juices. While fleeing, wondering where the acidic breath would land, Number 26, who was on my back, acted. It manipulated a large boulder to shoot at the creature.

｢What?!｣

The Pale Mask, struck by the rock, closed its mouth. In that gap, I escaped the range of the sand barrier.

Like me, Adhai, soaring high above, avoided the sand barrier and swooped in again.

Although faces attached to the Pale Mask fired shockwaves, she elegantly evaded them with superb acrobatics.

Even amidst the air bursting out wildly, her speed remained undiminished. As she approached the Pale Mask, the The Mother of the Sky intervened. She held the priestess’s golden spear in her hands.

｢Now!｣

｢Confirmed.｣

As Adhai’s speed approached the Pale Mask’s fin, it abruptly slowed down. In response, The Mother of the Sky thrust the spear forcefully.

As the spear deeply pierced the fin, Adhai quickly struck and retreated again. As the sharpness of the spear added to her acceleration, the wound on the fin began to widen rapidly.

“Urgh!”

The Pale Mask, having lost half of its fin in an instant, groaned in agony. To withstand Adhai’s charge with his body, it used the other fin to prop itself up.

｢Tsk!｣

｢Danger!｣ ｢Evade!｣

Even though she is a Gallagon, Adhai’s defense isn’t that high. The chances of surviving a collision with a creature of 50 meters are slim.

Adhai swiftly avoided the collision with the creature and quickly ascended, halting The Mother of the Sky’s attack.

While they fought fiercely, I quickly pondered.

Although we inflicted significant damage on the Pale Mask, considering its massive size, it’s hard to consider it a fatal blow.

Something new is needed.

“The cooldown for the ‘Symbol of Hunt’ is still about an hour.”

Therefore, using it during battle is impossible. It should be used after capturing the creature.

Besides the ‘Symbol of Hunt’, there’s one more trump card.

The unique trait I obtained after preying on the unique-grade equipment.

‘If I use that trait, I could neutralize the Pale Mask, but…’

Unfortunately, I can’t use it during the fight with the Pale Mask. Due to hypnosis, I can’t utilize abilities that require concentration. The Psychic Breath is also out of the question for the same reason.

‘And using that ability would jeopardize the prey.’

The ability obtained through the looter’s negative polyhedron, I’ve never used it until now. But I could intuitively sense it. That ability holds tremendous power, to the point of calling Psychic Breath ‘such a thing.’ If it suits the creature, its body will evaporate without leaving a trace.

‘Most of the traits obtainable from the Pale Mask are useful.’

Such as the ‘Giant Creature,’ a common trait possessed by creatures over 50 meters, or traits that allow the creation of parasitic organisms shooting hypnotic waves, and so on. I can’t discard such useful traits altogether. It’s not such a disadvantageous situation yet, so let’s put ‘that ability’ on hold for now.

‘Instead, let’s use the terrain.’

Although the creature is a marine monster with a large build, it is not as agile on land. Its movement is restricted due to having a body unsuitable for terrestrial combat. I need to take advantage of that opening.

I safely placed ‘ in a secure location and ran towards the creature. Meanwhile, the Pale Mask attempted to lower the ground again with its fins, trying to erect a sand barrier. Seeing me approaching, the creature stopped its actions and assumed a defensive stance.

But my target is not the creature. More precisely, it’s the ‘underneath’ of the creature. Closing the distance with the creature, I stopped running and used the combat arm to dig into the ground. In an instant, a pit large enough for me to enter was created.

｢What? What are you doing… Ugh?!｣

The creature, wary of what I might do, opened its mouth wide. A powerful acidic breath was unleashed in my direction. This time, I was even faster. When the creature spewed the acidic breath, I had already hidden my body underground.

Crawling beneath the place where the Pale Mask lay, I vigorously dug the ground with the combat arm. If the creature moves its body extensively, it could end up buried underground.

‘I need to dig wide and deep.’

My combat arm and erosion tentacle turned into a digging tool, breaking the solid ground. The displaced soil was pushed aside by the claws attached all over my body. Due to the broken arm, an unavoidable part arose, but my tail took care of it. The tail, which occupies a significant portion of my body, swayed vigorously from side to side, clearing away the soil.

Although the ground on the beach weakened rapidly, the creature above seemed unaware. The creature, preoccupied with fighting annoying adversaries, was oblivious to what was happening.

Having extensively excavated not only the location of the creature but also the surrounding underground, I used the monster’s tentacles to send shockwaves to the adversaries.

[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (Guide the creature to move extensively)]

｢Understood.｣

｢Yes!｣

｢What? What are you doing… Ugh?!｣

The creatures that quickly understood my intentions moved agilely.

Since the hypnosis weakened the functions of auxiliary devices, it was impossible to grasp exactly what was happening from above. However, judging by the intense shaking of the ground, it seemed like they were quite active.

Roar Roar

Eventually, the Pale Mask couldn’t bear it any longer and let out a roar of anger. A powerful shock, as if dismissing all the previous vibrations, permeated the ground.

And then…

Grr?

The weakened ground collapsed, and the creature’s fin fell into the pit. In sync with the timing, I exerted force to my tail, pushing my body forcefully upwards. My body, like a soaring dragon, pierced through the partially collapsed ground and soared into the air.

The eyes of the Pale Mask, seeing me suddenly emerge from the underground, widened significantly. A gaze as if questioning why I came out there. Instead of answering, I descended upon the creature. Taking advantage of the fact that the creature was partially buried in the ground and in a disoriented state, I aimed not for the tip of its head like before but for the part closer to its torso.

Thus, the part with eyes and a mouth. My combat arm and erosion tentacle moved agilely, firmly gripping the creature’s jaws to prevent it from opening its mouth, while my body and tail coiled around the creature from the top of its head to the bottom.

Kiiii?! Kiiii! Kiiii!

Feeling much tighter than before, the creature exerted all its strength to somehow break free. Unlike before, the creature tried to slam its head onto the ground to throw me off, but the result was different. The surrounding ground was entirely disturbed by me, so it was not solid at all. Even if the creature slammed me to the ground while entangled in its coils on the soft soil, it couldn’t inflict significant damage.

‘Additionally here.’

In the entangled state, I targeted the wounded areas of the creature. There were wounds created earlier by stabbing with my frontal horns. I widened my jaws into a split and sunk my teeth into those areas. Then, I activated the decay fungus organ and acidic fungal gland simultaneously.

Gik?!

The creature’s skin was thick, providing immunity against toxins, so the decay fungus or acidic fungus couldn’t penetrate it. However, the internal organs were a different story. Despite being protected by thick skin and a layer of dense fat against external threats, this was still the head area. Even with the protection of the skull and the thick layer of fat, it remained a vulnerable spot.

Of course, given the creature’s large size, it would take some time for the decay fungus and acidic fungus to take effect. The creature, still unaware of what was happening to its body, proceeded to its next action. It attempted to flip its entire body to crush me.

The creature’s weight was more than five times mine. If it crushed me, I would be completely flattened.

Kiiii? Kiiii! Kiiii!

Once again, the creature couldn’t achieve its intention. The creature was now partially buried in the sand. Even lifting its body with fins would be difficult here. While it could easily perform such an action underwater, this was land. The creature’s most potent weapon, its massive body, was inconvenient in this environment.

Moreover, I wasn’t the only one interfering with the creature’s movements. A dragon floating in the dawn night sky and the Griffin rider on its back were visible. Adhai, riding the dragon, descended rapidly towards the Pale Mask.

Thanks to the golden spear held by the priestess on the back of the dragon, the two of them looked like a golden comet in the night sky.

Next, the shining star collided with the colossal marine monster. Due to the acceleration from the rapid descent, the spear held by the dragon’s mother easily severed the thick fins.

Kiiiiik!

When the arm, almost equivalent to the body, was almost entirely severed, the creature screamed. The length of the wound was over 10 meters, causing a torrent of blue blood to gush out. The creature, using its fins to flip its body, was now sitting on the ground, unable to continue.

Not only as a weapon but also playing a crucial role in swimming, some of its fins had been detached. Even if the creature managed to escape unharmed from this situation, it might take a long time to recover. Given its intelligence, the creature was likely aware of this fact.

Kiiii! Kiiii! Kiiii! Kiiii! Kiiii! Kiiii!

As if to show that only venom remained, the expressions of the faces attached to the creature’s body changed rapidly. Faces that were originally pale transformed into grotesque demon shapes, glaring at Adhai.

The parasitic organisms all opened their mouths wide and launched shockwaves. Invisible bullets of air flew towards Adhai and the dragon’s mother.

At this, Adhai performed astonishingly fast and precise acrobatic maneuvers, avoiding all the shockwaves.

‘Watch out for the area near the right wing!’

｢Confirmed.｣

The part missed by the creature was conveyed to Adhai by the dragon’s mother with sharp eyes, reading the flow of air. However, Adhai had not fully recovered from the injuries yet. Although he was currently avoiding them successfully, it was uncertain how long he could continue to do so.

I applied more force to my coiled body, which was causing friction with delight. The blunt claws scattered around my tail and body pierced into the thick skin of the Pale Mask. As my body coiled like a snake, a eerie scraping sound echoed.

Kii!! Kiiiii!!

The cries from the faces attached to the creature’s body sounded strange. They realized that the host was in extreme danger.

The creature directed shockwaves towards Adhai while simultaneously using all the legs attached to its body to strike my back and outer shell.

‘Kuk!’

The impact felt like being struck with a log, and fragments of my outer shell shattered. It was certainly not a small pain, but I endured it with the belief in easing the pain.

At that moment, a few massive boulders scattered around sporadically rose into the air, heading towards the creature’s legs.

Grrr!! Grr

With each impact of the boulders, its legs twisted off the trajectory, hitting its own body instead of mine.

｢Big Baby! I’ll help you!｣

From a distance, Number 26 could be seen waving its tentacles as if commanding.

Trees and rocks surrounding the beach were pulled into the air and, synchronized with the movement of the tentacles, flew towards Pale Mask’s body and legs, embedding themselves in it.

Grr Grrrr!!!

Compared to its body covered in thick skin, the parasitic organisms attached to the creature’s body were relatively vulnerable. The pale faces were instantly covered in blood as they collided with rocks and wood.

As the entity emitting shockwaves diminished, Adhai once again flew in this direction. Each time it clung to the protruding part of the creature’s body on the ground, the Mother of the Skies pierced it with her spear.

When Pale Mask tried to respond, rocks and wood fragments flew again. Number 26 had no intention of letting the creature torment the ‘little one.’

In the midst of all this, my body continued to firmly squeeze the creature’s head.

Grr! Grrrr!!

While continuing to squeeze, I felt a sensation like something balloon-like being crushed from the inside. The pressure inside its eyes couldn’t withstand it and burst.

As the eyeball burst, the creature glowed. It must have realized that death was imminent.

Using the still intact fin and legs, the creature frantically stirred up the ground and crawled towards the sea, its homeland.

However,

Grr!! Grrr!!!

Struggling to dig through the sand, the creature suddenly staggered. Faces attached to it, not understanding why the host was behaving this way, emitted a mix of curious and mournful cries.

‘Good. The effect is taking place.’

The decay fungus and acid fungal elements I have been continuously injecting were gradually taking effect. Even if the surface appeared unscathed, the inside was rotting due to the decay fungus, and the muscles and blood vessels were corroded by the acid fungus.

Now the creature’s remaining time is not long.

Moreover, my friends, Adhai and Number 26, seem to have no intention of leaving the creature alone to die.

Adhai persistently aimed at Pale Mask like a bald eagle mocking its dying prey. The spear of the Mother of the Skies, who rode on the creature’s back, also did not rest.

While the two jointly attacked, Number 26 continued to unleash ‘Demon Crash,’ turning the creature’s skin into a mess.

Eimoph, Gallagon, Sea Demon, and even Volf.

Under the assault of these four monsters, the marine monster was being reduced to a complete wreck.

Hiiii….Hiiii….Hiiii….

As Pale Mask’s movements gradually weakened, it finally stopped moving in its tracks. The faces attached to it showed signs of deteriorating rapidly as the host approached death.

Just a few meters away from the sea, Pale Mask dropped its head. It exhaled a final breath and soon fell silent.

Kiyaaaah! Kiieeeeek! Kiiiiiiiiiik!

The faces attached to Pale Mask emitted horrifying screeches. The parasitic organisms that had not forgotten their repulsive actions followed the host into oblivion.

Before dawn, the God the fishrians once served was dead.