Novel Lived
Chapter 211
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Thala]
Chapter 211
In the MegaCorp, it is called PH-101, and in the Cult Empire, it is known as Saigil 08.
Designated as a holy land by the Cult, this planet features mysterious and dangerous nature with diverse ecosystems. Rare creatures, seldom seen elsewhere, roam the planet, and the native Wolf tribes maintain
their unique civilization, hostile to outsiders.
To put it simply, this place was a “dangerous paradise.”
Protected strictly by the Cult Empire, this planet saw few footprints from external civilizations. Occasionally, pirates, smugglers, or fanatic researchers from the MegaCorp attempted to invade, but success was
rare. Most were destroyed by the empire’s defense fleet before even entering the atmosphere.
However, the notion of a well-preserved natural planet was now outdated.
Black flames from the sky and golden lightning shot by demons on the ground. The aftermath of a war between transcendent beings affected the entire planet.
The planet’s sky was in complete disarray due to magnetic storms and debris from exploded carrier fleets. Trees that once colored the ground green were burning fiercely, and countless creatures within them were scorched to death.
Although some creatures managed to survive, their situation was not favorable. As time passed, the fires spread, and their habitats shrank inversely.
For once, creatures that usually had a predator-prey relationship were fleeing from the fire together.
A predator resembling a black panther with spider legs, the Nightstalker, eyed the fleeing Wood Devil with a covert lick of its lips.
The creature, slightly singed by the flames, emitted a unique scent. That enticing smell drove the Nightstalker crazy.
The Nightstalker knew that escaping the fire took precedence over attacking each other at the moment. However, that scent was irresistibly alluring.
Grrrrr.
Dominated by overwhelming hunger, the Nightstalker drooled as it ran. The Wood Devil, unaware of the thoughts of the creature behind it, continued to flee.
Grr…rk?!
Just as the Nightstalker was about to pounce on its prey, it halted in mid-air as if frozen. Panicked, it struggled to break free from the invisible force, but it was futile.
The unseen power crushed the Nightstalker’s bones before it could resist. The Wood Devil met the same fate.
Both creatures, with their bones shattered in an instant, floated in the air and were carried away somewhere.
They flew through the burning forest and landed in front of a pink creature.
This pink creature resembled a jellyfish but was incomparably larger. Even combined, the Nightstalker and Wood Devil’s corpses were not half its size.
Beneath its round body extended numerous fins and tentacles. Inside the fins and tentacles were small claws reminiscent of saw teeth, densely packed.
This creature, usually unseen in the forest, dwelled in the deep blue sea.
Known as the “Sea Demon,” a demon among monsters of the deep sea, it was a creature of nightmares.
It extended its tentacles and wrapped around the corpses.
｢I must quickly bring these to Big Baby.｣
Sea Demon Number 26 began to move, carrying the corpses.
The flames that consumed the entire forest tried to scorch its soft skin.
Whenever the flames approached, it released psychic power. This power not only destroyed the flames but also shattered the trees, which it ignored entirely.
As Number 26 moved, scorching the forest, it emerged into a spacious clearing. This place, closer to a small plain, was where she treasured the most.
The gigantic monster that set the sky ablaze had fallen into a deep sleep after exhausting all its strength.
In front of the monster’s elongated snout was a mountain of various creatures’ meat, prepared to feed it.
Number 26 approached the pile of corpses to arrange the food properly. As it did so, something small fell from the sky.
It was small animals or insects inhabiting the forest.
｢Food｣｢Found it｣
The entity that dropped the small prey landed in front of Number 26.
With a long, sleek body, a cluster of small tentacles instead of a mouth, and wings as large as its body, the creature was a rare being from a place far removed from this planet. It was a Gallagon.
The green scales indicated it was a well-grown specimen, but its size was very small compared to other green Gallagons.
Adhai, a mutant female Gallagon, nodded in satisfaction as she looked at the prey she had caught.
｢I｣｢brought｣｢a lot｣
Adhai’s tone implied she wanted praise, but Number 26 didn’t want to comply. The reason was that Adhai’s recent actions had annoyed her.
｢?｣
｢I stacked the food nicely, but Little One messed it up.｣
｢Belly｣｢Digest｣｢Food｣｢Same｣｢Shape｣｢Doesn’t matter｣
Adhai argued that once it goes into the stomach, it’s all the same. However, Number 26 couldn’t agree.
The big baby, who was asleep, was picky about meals. Unlike it, who ate everything, the big baby carefully chose which parts of the food to eat first and which were tastiest.
Number 26 had deliberately arranged the food to please the big baby, but Adhai had ruined it.
｢Put it back.｣
｢Don’t understand｣
｢I’ll give the big baby the food he likes first.｣
Adhai looked displeased but followed Number 26’s instructions without further complaint. They both shared the desire to offer the best food to the one they loved.
Adhai lifted the carcass of a boar with dozens of spikes on its head and placed it on top of the pile. As she positioned her prey, Number 26 got annoyed.
｢What are you doing!｣
｢Big baby｣｢Likes this｣｢Better｣
｢No! He likes this better!｣
｢Disagree｣
As Number 26 tried to move the food with its tentacles, Adhai blocked its way. Number 26 used its psychic power to shove Adhai aside like swatting away a fly.
｢Unfair!｣
Adhai responded by using her own psychic power. When Number 26 moved the boar aside and placed something else, Adhai used her speed ability to quickly restore it to its original position.
｢Why did you move it!｣
｢This one｣｢Better｣
Just as they were glaring at each other, a griffin carrying prey on its back appeared from the burning forest.
With a head resembling a bald eagle, a golden mane, and a lion-like body, the mythical creature wore a sapphire necklace around its neck.
It was Mother of the Sky, a companion of the monsters gathered here. Like Number 26 and Adhai, she had also found food in the forest, and she tilted her head in curiosity at the tense atmosphere.
｢What’s going on? You’re both here… but why is the mood like this?｣
｢Little Adult｣｢Bullies me｣
｢Little One made the first mistake!｣
｢Don’t understand｣｢Little Adult｣｢Moves food｣｢At will｣
｢Big baby doesn’t like that.｣
｢Wrong｣｢Little Adult｣｢Knows nothing｣｢Absolutely｣｢Nothing｣
｢Wait a minute. Is this about who gets to give what to Big Baby first?｣
｢Yes.｣
｢Agree｣
Mother of the Sky was speechless at their argument.
The giant monster lying before them, Amorph, viewed all living creatures as genetic essence. He ate anything and everything without discrimination.
｢Big Baby likes everything, so can’t you just stack it all together?｣
｢No. If it gets cold, it won’t taste good.｣
｢Little Adult｣｢wrong about other things｣｢but right this time｣
｢Little One is mean! Mean ones should be punished!｣
｢I won’t back down from a fight｣
｢Wait, wait, wait!｣
As the tension between Sea Demon and Gallagon escalated, Mother of the Sky quickly intervened.
If they fought, Adhai would be done for. Despite her cute speech, that pink slime was a monster capable of hurling a house-sized boulder hundreds of meters away. Using that strength on Adhai would leave no trace of her.
｢Why don’t you just stack them separately?｣
｢Separately?｣
｢Yes. Then Big Baby can wake up and eat what he wants first.｣
｢Troublesome｣｢Useless｣
｢You both want to give what you brought first. This way is more certain, isn’t it?｣
With Mother of the Sky’s desperate persuasion, both Number 26 and Adhai quickly calmed down. The anger they had towards each other subsided, but instead, a sense of competition started to rise.
｢I’ll gather more than you!｣
｢Little Adult｣｢slow｣｢I｣｢fast｣
Adhai spread her wings wide and flew off with all her might. She soared through the forest much faster than when she fought the Pale Mask in the sea.
｢I won’t lose either!｣
Number 26 also flapped its fins diligently and disappeared into the forest filled with flames.
Once the two small monsters vanished, Mother of the Sky sighed. Her amber eyes looked resentfully at the giant beast that was asleep.
‘Amorph, you bastard, you’re going to cause big trouble later.’
First, it was asking how to lay eggs, and now it’s a competition about who prepares the food better. If they were normal creatures, it wouldn’t matter, but these were beings at the pinnacle of their ecosystems.
If they fought later, it would be a bloody massacre.
‘I was going to gather more food…’
Mother of the Sky piled the food she had brought on her back in a corner. Then she lay down on the parched ground, holding a small piece of food she had just gathered in her mouth.
‘There’s no need for that.’
As she chewed on the squid-like food and waited, Adhai appeared first. Flying in at an incredible speed, she dropped the food from the sky without even landing.
Like a bomber, Adhai carpet-bombed the area with food and then flew off again.
‘If I don’t organize it, they might fight.’
Mother of the Sky gathered the food Adhai left behind and piled it in front of Amorph.
After about ten trips from Adhai, Number 26 appeared. Seeing it emerge from the forest, Mother of the Sky dropped the food she was holding in her mouth.Fôll0w current novÊls o/n n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(c/o/m)
‘What the… is that?’
Five fully grown Plant-lizards and several other large monster carcasses were floating in the air. Below, Number 26 was moving the corpses with its psychic power.
｢Where should I put these?｣
｢…Over there.｣
It poured the carcasses where Mother of the Sky pointed. Then it bounced on its fins and disappeared into the forest.
As soon as it left, Adhai landed for the first time. Her beautiful amethyst eyes were fixed on the pile of food Number 26 had made.
｢Is that｣｢Little Adult’s｣｢food?｣
｢Yes.｣
Adhai shook her head in annoyance and flew off again.
‘…Damn, did I just make things worse?’
She sensed that the competition between the two was becoming serious. And she was right.
The competition between Adhai and Number 26 continued until Adhai could no longer fly. At that time, Number 26 was also in a severely weakened state due to excessive energy expenditure.
In front of the Amorph, a mountain of dead creatures was piled up. Some had been burned, but most were unfortunate creatures sacrificed in the competition between the two small monsters.
‘…Terrifying creatures.’
It would have been fine if it ended there, but another issue arose.
｢My prey is bigger!」
｢I ｢more｣ ｢brought ｢I win」
｢No! Bigger prey is better!」
｢False small prey｣ ｢unknown｣ ｢unknown｣ ｢unknown｣ ｢completely｣ ｢unknown!」
Exhausted to the point of not being able to move a wing, Adhai was only able to irritate Number 26 with her words. Number 26 seemed to want to strike with its tentacles, but perhaps due to exhaustion, it could only snort.
And that spat fire hit a third party.
｢Hey, middle baby, who did better?」
｢Huh?」
｢Good friend｣ ｢correct answer ｢please」
When the two monsters looked at her, the Mother of the Sky was flustered.
‘Why are they asking me?’
Choosing a side immediately would not be a problem, but she feared future consequences. One was a boss-level creature and the other had the potential to become a fearsome entity.
Holding a grudge from either side was a tremendous burden for her, who had just joined the group.
｢Uh, well, maybe it would be best if we consider both as winners? Big baby also wants…」
｢No. Big baby likes bigger prey. Small, tasteless prey is not liked, even if there is a lot of it.」
｢Small prey｣ ｢all｣ ｢wrong｣ ｢big prey｣ ｢amount｣ ｢importance｣ ｢quality｣ ｢not important」
Given the atmosphere, it was impossible to brush it off.
At that moment, she was unsure of how to respond.
Grrr!
The voice of the Savior was heard.
When she turned her head, she saw the sleeping monster had opened its eyes.
The creature that had been asleep for two days rose, stretching his multiple arms.
[ZZZZ ZZ (Smells good)]
｢Number 26 and Adhai brought the prey! Try it quickly.」
[ZZZ ZZZZ (Huh? Really?)]
The Mother of the Sky quickly handed over the decision to him. Just waking up, he scratched under his chin with his arms and looked down at the pile of prey.
And having made up his mind, he reached out his arms.
｢Huh?」
Amorph used the membranes attached to his combat arms to sweep up the piles of prey and pour them into his mouth. The action was so swift that it was impossible to determine whose prey was eaten first.
｢Big baby ｢ate」
｢So, who won?」
Amorph, who had devoured everything except for a few corpses, reached out and embraced Number 26 and Adhai.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZ (Thank you all for taking care of me)]
｢Is the big baby not in pain anymore?」
｢Big baby okay?」
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZ (Yes. If it weren’t for you, it would have been a big problem. Thanks to you)]
Perhaps it was exhaustion or perhaps being wrapped in the shell of a loved one.
Number 26 and Adhai wanted to ask whose prey tasted better, but they couldn’t. The overwhelming dread engulfed them. They fell asleep before they could even ask.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZ (You must be very tired?)]
｢You seem to have a lot of sins.」
[ZZZ (Huh?)]
｢It’s nothing.」
The Mother of the Sky let out a small sigh.
As the sky and earth burned, Amorph, oblivious to everything, gently patted the sleeping Number 26 and Adhai.
——
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Thala]