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[Translator – Seraph]
He spoke so lightly, handing me weakness after weakness with a friendly smile.
It didn’t feel like a lie. But it couldn’t be trusted either. After all, he had already tricked me once.
"Anyway. Will you accept my offer?"
"Do you really think I’d agree to something so absurd?"
"Of course."
Without hesitation, he nodded as if my answer was obvious.
"You’re clever. You know what value this alliance could hold."
"Perhaps. But your comrades won’t be pleased."
I had killed three of the Return Faction before. Would they truly welcome the one who slew their members into their ranks?
Especially Rank 4, the strongest among them who not only loathed me but once joined forces with the Dominion faction just for a chance to strike me down.
Beom-Ho only shrugged.
"They won’t like it, no. But they’ll understand. They always have."
"You’re certainly confident."
"The Return Faction has only one goal: seeing the Ending. To that purpose, every one of us, even me, is only a tool. Surely you, of all people, can understand that."
"…Understand, hm."
"Since you came to this world, your path has never wavered. Everything your traits, your privileges, even the powers that follow you exists for the sake of ascension. Just like me."
"How do I know if you’re telling the truth?"
"Because I need you. You’re the one being in this universe who understands Amorphs better than anyone else. You are the key to defeating the new boss. Why would I waste that chance with a lie and lose your trust?"
For the first time since his reveal, his expression sobered.
"So. Decide. Will you join the Return Faction?"
It was, indeed, the hour of decision.
But my mind was already made up.
"I refuse."
"Hm? Refuse? If there’s something you lack, I can…"
"No. There will be no alliance between us."
"…Hmph."
Beom-Ho made a low sound of displeasure, his face twisting into something ugly.
"I don’t understand. Why insist on walking the harder path?"
"Because listening to you carries too much risk."
I knew his knowledge had value. I knew an alliance with the Return Faction could yield great advantages.
But there was a fatal problem.
'He’s a fraud.'
Beom-Ho didn’t lie but neither did he ever reveal the whole truth. He conveniently omitted every fact that could turn against him.
I knew this because I had already consumed members of the Return Faction. Through their broken remnants, I had seen what he chose to hide how he fed them only scraps of information, never the full picture.
None of them had even known of the new boss. Not one.
Only Beom-Ho knew everything. The rest of his faction were nothing more than expendable pieces on his board.
'There’s no guarantee he wouldn’t treat me the same way.'
And he hadn’t even come here himself; he'd simply puppeteered Akira. Even if I destroyed this vessel, Beom-Ho would lose nothing. In fact, he might even benefit.
Trusting someone like him would be the height of foolishness.
"Hah… haha. You refuse me? Hahahahaha!"
At first, it was just a hollow laugh. But soon, it grew louder, harsher until suddenly, it stopped.
"Do you think you can reach ascension without my knowledge? Without my help?"
"If not, I’ll find another way."
"What don’t tell me you plan to rely on that oh-so-great Information Construct?"
"…You know about it?"
"Of course. Do you think I came here only for some treasure? No… I came because I knew you would come here."
"What?"
That was not what I expected.
"Do you know how my privilege truly works? I copy my own consciousness and overwrite it onto another. That is the mechanism of my possession."
"You knew I was coming here? How?"
"Think it through. If I can copy my own mind, isn’t it only natural that I could attempt to copy another’s?"
He ignored me entirely, speaking only to himself, driven by his own narrative.
"Admittedly, it was far more difficult. I tried many times. But true success I achieved it only twice."
｢Grrr!｣
｢Krrrk!｣
The heads at my sides howled, as though desperate to drown out his words before he spoke them.
"One of those successes was at the Altar of Ascension itself. While the boss was busy butchering the Rankers, I risked everything to impose possession. But that damned creature had defenses in place… I nearly failed. If not for the assistance I received. From none other than your precious Information Construct."
"…"
"Thanks to him, I succeeded in copying consciousness. With it secure, I escaped the altar. Afterwards, I was quite busy. A new weapon requires careful handling, after all."
"Silence."
"The hardest part? Choosing the right egg. Fear of Amorphs was rampant among the Rankers. That made things… delicate. Many mistakes, many wasted efforts. But I persevered."
The more he spoke, the colder my veins felt.
"When I implanted the mind into the egg, I made… adjustments. Seeding in truths would have caused problems. Of course, it wasn’t a perfect process. There were times it nearly broke free of my plans, nearly uncovered hidden things. But ultimately, it worked out."
The truth I never wanted to hear wrapped around me like a chokehold.
"And in time, the castaway child hatched. It grew. It matured. And now, at last… it comes back to me. You can’t fathom how long I’ve waited for this."
The boss at the Altar wasn’t a replacement at all. The one now enthroned there had simply stolen the seat, usurping the role.
"Yes. A being from another world stole the throne of the Altar. The first Ranker summoned here. Space Survival’s living nightmare. And you…"
"Shut UP!"
"You are my creation. The Shadow of Rank 5."
As the words left him, he pulled a small device from his pocket.
I saw his finger move toward the switch. Too late. The mental blow slowed my body. I couldn’t stop him.
'Then…!'
I triggered the energy fields I had prepared earlier. Invisible arcs shot from me like the spines of a hedgehog, stabbing outward into the mounds of scrap.
The target was not his device, but the unfamiliar constructs hidden among the junk.
Explosions erupted one after another. Shards of metal and components flew like shrapnel.
Beom-Ho leapt through the chaos, his body cloaked in an ominous violet light. The device was just the distraction the real strike came now.
'Direct contact that’s the trigger condition!'
He closed in. I wouldn’t be able to deflect him in time. I had to repel him by other means.
I bared my teeth. A hidden MPS burst from my jaws and shot at him. The Mini-Screamer latched onto his face, and the instant it stuck I struck with a pulse through my monstrous tendrils.
[ZZZZ (Transfer the MPS!)]
Far in the distance, PS-111 activated the Prometheus Protocol. Blue particles swirled and enveloped both of us.
Just before we vanished, a filament of violet lashed out from Beom-Ho’s fingertips. It barely brushed against my flesh.
And suddenly, a crushing wave of fatigue washed over me. My legs buckled, and I collapsed.
'Possession…!'
The main body vanished the moment I was transported. But Beom-Ho’s venomous seed remained, lodged deep within me.
How long could I hold him back? A minute at most. Then I’d black out, and he would claim me.
'To delay his grip…'
Summoning every shred of strength, I raised my tails and tendrils. Then, with all my might, I smashed my central head downward.
｢Krrk?!｣
｢Grrrr!｣
My two heads hissed in confusion. But I commanded them to strike as well in the middle.
The central head governed our body. If Beom-Ho lodged his presence anywhere, it would be there. Destroying it might buy precious time.
I would not die yet. The side heads remained, and the heart of a dragon still burned within me.
｢Feedback sequence—activate!｣
｢Feedback sequence—activate!｣
Carapace splintered. Blood sprayed high. Exhaustion and agony blurred together with the truths Beom-Ho had spat into my ears.
Through the haze, I forced myself to cling to what mattered most.
Number 26. Adhai. All who had fought alongside me.
My final hope.
'…The rest, I leave to you.'
With that thought, my consciousness sank into darkness.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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