ocean-life Chapter 152: The Python Star System (5)
Chapter 152: The Python Star System (5)
A monstrous being with six powerful arms and a towering, nearly kilometer-high frame, stood cloaked in a thick, purple carapace like armor. Its massive form tilted upward to gaze ahead.
Fwwsh-
In front of it loomed a colossal tree, so immense that even a 1km-tall creature had to crane its neck to see the top.
The tree stretched beyond the clouds, its branches consumed by dark, abyssal flames. Its bark and limbs were slick with slimy mucus and sticky flesh, transforming it into a cradle of horrors for the Kaiju.
Around the tree, countless shimmering blue portals glowed in a ring-like formation. One by one, Kaiju emerged from the depths, shuffling toward the portals, each leading to an unknown dimension.
Fwwsh-
Rumble-
SKREE-
From the sky-high branches, contaminated leaves and limbs cascaded down like burning meteors.
Boom-
The falling debris crashed into the Kaiju below, scattering their remains in bloody chunks. Yet, the creatures trudged on unfazed, following the path to the blue portals.
Squelch- Squelch-
This was a hatchery.
Near the tree’s corrupted roots, countless Kaiju spawned from bubbling pits, forming orderly lines as they shuffled toward the portals.
High above, a Kaiju named Kirtan, registered as Named Number No. 11 in the Galactic Empire, observed the spectacle below with glowing eyes.
The hatchery is a success.
SKREE-
KIRRUK- KIRRUK-
KIGIGII-
They had seized the prize of conquest: the massive dimensional tree, which was also known as Sephiroth.
Naturally, the true essence of Sephiroth had long since retreated. What remained here was merely a corrupted shell, no more than a shadow of its true form. At most, it could be called an avatar. RANoʙËs
What a disappointment.
Had they captured its true essence, the rewards would have been far greater. However...
That is beyond reach.
Confronting Sephiroth’s core would have required intervention from the Great Ones, the beings far above Kirtan.
But the Great Ones never intervened.
Unless Sephiroth’s true form emerged directly...
Perhaps Sephiroth understood this and chose self-sealing, even if it came at a price.
Kirtan frowned ever so slightly. The two long horns atop its head twisted, wreathed in black flames.
Why?
Why seal itself at such a great cost? It could have fought back without fully emerging. At the very least, it would not have lost this avatar so pathetically.
The Kaiju had taken control of the avatar effortlessly and transformed it into an endless hatchery. For Sephiroth, which had always kept their forces in check, this was uncharacteristic.
Now, with Kaiju spawning infinitely and spilling into countless dimensions, they would only grow stronger, widening the gap with every passing moment.
Kirtan pondered this strange behavior before reaching a conclusion.
Could it be... that it trusts those other creatures?
Kirtan glanced down at the massive spear still lodged in his chest.
Humanity. The Galactic Empire. Their king had thrust this metal spear himself, and it still refused to vanish.
Perhaps it is waiting for the right moment, conserving power by pitting us against each other...
If so, Sephiroth had miscalculated. Humanity was not ready to act on the dimensional stage; their contact with Sephiroth had been cut off meticulously through numerous efforts. This was why the Kaiju had taken the initiative, striking Sephiroth first.
Moreover, the endless waves of Kaiju from the hatchery would overrun human dimensions, leaving them helplessly dazed.
Kirtan’s lips twisted into a sneer. In the end, the unsealed Sephiroth would be nothing more than prey—a stepping stone for the Great Father.
How, utterly, foolish.
As Kirtan looked down at the hatchery, lips curved smugly...
-SKREE!
Huh?
A messenger Kaiju screeched, signaling a report.
-!!?
Kirtan’s eyes snapped wide.
What?
Unable to believe the messenger’s report, Kirtan seized it by the throat and pulled it close to extract the information directly.
Psss-
“Your Majesty! We await your orders!”
“We heroes will take action!”
“Please give the order to sortie!”
The stakes rose further when Kameira, who had been dormant like a celestial body, began to stir.
So they were aiming for this timing?
Had Kameira stayed inactive, they could have stabilized the portals before advancing. But even seasoned heroes wavered in the face of a Single Number entity, leaving Karlstein’s officers tense and on edge.
However...
“Silence!”
Karlstein cast a majestic, sweeping gaze around his subjects.
Things are going as intended. Even if it’s not welcome.
At least it meant they would not be blindly dragged into the enemy’s pace, and...
“Aria.”
[Yes, Master.]
“Let’s use it.”
[Already? Are you sure it’s time?]
“Of course, the plan was to deploy it when the thralls revived, but...”
[...It wouldn’t be bad to use it now either.]
“Right.”
Karlstein grinned. The Galactic Empire’s cutting-edge arsenal extended beyond Nova.
[Activating Black Hole Field Control Device.]
[16% until activation... 17.6%...]
The Black Hole Field Control Device also represented the Empire’s latest technology—an outrageous battlefield-altering device that unleashed micro black holes, selectively excluding areas occupied by allies.
[26%... 39%... 42%...]
Yep. We really should work our researchers harder.
[...64.2%...68%...]
With enough time and budget, there was nothing they could not create.
Behold! Are these battle-ready technologies not just popping up one after another like gacha pulls?
[...88.7%...93%...]
While Nova was useful for mass devastation, its indiscriminate force made it challenging to use near allies. But with the field control device?
[Firing all micro black hole shells.]
Voom-
Boom-
Small black holes formed across the battlefield, while the Empire’s ships rocked under the sheer gravitational force. Yet they held. The field control device was not developed for nothing.
But as for the Kaiju...
[Black Hole Field Control Device fully operational.]
[All personnel, brace for impact.]
[Deploying micro black hole amplification bombs.]
BOOM-
-SKREEE!
-KRRRRGH!
-SKREE!
They would have to confront the black holes completely unprepared.
WHOOSH-
All the Kaiju across the battlefield were torn apart and sucked into the black holes. But the attack did not stop there..
[Installing Nova Neutralizer in Field Control Device.]
With the Nova Neutralizer in place, the device could withstand even Nova’s extreme power.
And what did that mean?
[Launching all remaining Nova rounds.]
The Galactic Empire’s annihilation protocol—a combination strike that wiped out everything but the protected zones—erupted.
A blinding explosion lit the universe in /genesisforsaken