I Became an Evolving Space Monster

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 484

“Still no progress fixing the communications malfunction?”

“Well…”

Inside the indoor garden of the mobile base.

Gotō’s question left the base’s chief administrator looking troubled.

“The Giga Cracker’s beam grazed the station. The faster-than-light relay burned out completely. Repairs will take quite some time.”

“Hrmm.”

Gotō let out a low growl as he admired a bed of exotic, brilliantly colored flowers.

Right after the successful hunt, he had compiled a full report for Akira. The demon’s physical traits, its abilities, every detail of the battle nothing had been omitted.

The only task left was to send it. And now, of all times, the communications link has failed.

“I apologize. We’re repairing it as quickly as possible. Just a little more time and—”

“Clicking my tongue. That damned demon, raising trouble even in death.”

Though it had been Walter’s command that kept him at the noble’s side so long, Gotō was impatient. Akira’s affairs were piling higher by the day: the CEO elections, post-war reconstruction, worsening tensions with the Cult Empire. All matters of grave importance.

He needed to return quickly. Wasting time here was not acceptable.

“Why not simply wait until the base is dismantled? You could travel back along with it.”

Saint K’s mobile bases lacked FTL drives. When the time came to leave a star system, they had to dismantle the base into modules, load them onto larger carriers, and transport them away.

Already, the base was preparing for that dismantling now that the hunt was over.

“On your way back, you could even use a Zhao-family relay satellite to reach Earth.”

“Apologies, but that’s not an option. This must be reported to my master directly.”

Gotō well knew the Zhao satellites were spread across every system and that every bit of data flowing through them was captured by the Zhao family itself.

It would be one thing if another Saint K noble intercepted it but to drop sensitive information into the lap of outsiders? Unthinkable.

“In that case, perhaps you could arrange a ship bound for Earth?”

“Well… as luck has it, we do have an auxiliary cruiser scheduled to head back.”

“Auxiliary cruiser?”

“Yes. It houses a genetics research lab, used for condensing captured prey into samples. This time it’s carrying the secured specimens back to the household.”

“And if there’s a laboratory, then there’s surely a stasis capsule available?”

“Of course. I’ll see to it you’re boarded on that vessel.”

Not a bad suggestion. Gotō gave a curt nod.

“Good. I’ll rely on you then.”

“Yes, sir. Ah, and if you happen to meet Lady Akira… might you perhaps speak on our behalf?”

“You need not worry. The Yujin house will be forming its own dedicated team for acquiring biological samples.”

With Walter Saint K’s death during the hunt, the personal hunters of the family had uncertain futures. Whoever was chosen as the new head, for most here, unemployment seemed inevitable.

Gotō intended to bring them under his own house’s employ.

“You’ll be hearing from us soon. We’ll discuss the details when the time comes.”

“Ahh… That’s a relief to hear. Honestly, I was hoping to raise the matter with you on the journey back, but—”

Just then, the garden door slid open. A technician in a suit resembling a space-welder’s work gear entered.

Hmm?

“Administrator, I’ve got a request regarding the relay repairs.”

“Repairs?”

As the man approached, Gotō’s brow creased slightly.

An odd smell. Weak, but distinct. Like the faint decay of rotting flesh.

So faint, in fact, that even with his engineered senses, he nearly missed it.

“Why bring that to me? Speak to the repair chief.”

“The chief said it required authorization from the overall administrator.”

“…Is that so?”

Clearly, the administrator smelled nothing. He continued talking as if nothing were amiss.

Other than the smell, there’s nothing strange.

The man’s face, his work gear—completely ordinary. Maybe he had just come straight from a repair session, Gotō reasoned.

“In any case, I won’t intrude. I’ll take my leave.”

“Ah, Gotō! Don’t forget our request, please! We’re counting on you!”

“Yes. Until then.”

Gotō brushed it off as nothing and departed the garden.

Soon after, he boarded a transport shuttle that ferried him to the auxiliary cruiser introduced by the administrator.

“Gotō Yujin, is it? Word’s already reached me. I’m Campbell, captain of the Invader.”

“A pleasure.”

Gotō disembarked and shook the hand of the uniformed captain.

“The ship is scheduled to depart in thirty minutes. We’ve prepared a stasis capsule for you in our research lab. Will you be making use of it now?”

“Yes. Please.”

“We’ll show you the way. Follow us.”

One of the researchers led him and the captain through gleaming corridors into the genetics laboratory.

“So this is it?”

Research Lab, onboard the Invader.

Gotō examined the stasis capsule—an older model meant for genetically modified humans.

Among Walter’s forces, no such altered individuals existed. It made sense, then, that this capsule was a relic seldom used anymore.

A pity, but it can’t be helped.

Stripping bare, Gotō stepped into the capsule.

“We’ll begin the synchronization process.”

As cold liquid enveloped him, he closed his eyes.

Once I return to the house, the first task will be to summon the Shadows. With Saint K headless, this is the perfect chance to extend our influence…

Planning his next moves as the adjustment proceeded, Gotō eventually drifted into sleep.

How much time passed, he couldn’t tell.

But eventually, he stirred awake. Through the fluid, he felt faint vibrations—the ship had already departed.

Is the calibration over?

No researcher greeted him. Whoever had overseen the synchronization hadn’t bothered to wake him.

Click of annoyance. Unthinkable in House Yujin.

Irritated, Gotō climbed from the capsule, dressed, and left the lab.

Dim corridors waited, sparsely lit, eerily quiet.

“…Sleep hours?”

No one had even told him where he would be lodging for the journey to Earth. The discourtesy gnawed at him.

I’ll have words with the captain on the bridge.

Every starship had at least minimal staff stationed at the bridge. He would demand an explanation there.

But as he walked, something pricked at his senses.

A smell. Familiar. The same one he had caught earlier from the technician in the garden. It hung faintly across the passageway.

‘Animal stench?’

The Invader was an auxiliary cruiser, carrying captured prey for processing. It wasn’t rare for the scent of carcasses to cling to the hull. Gotō knew Yujin’s own lab ships had suffered the same problem.

Still, without his genetically heightened senses, such a faint odor would have gone unnoticed.

“Tch. Sometimes a sharp nose is nothing but trouble.”

Thankfully, the bridge wasn’t far. Before long, he stepped inside.

“So you must be the esteemed guest the captain mentioned.”

A crewman at the holomap console rose when Gotō entered.

“How may I assist you?”

“I wasn’t assigned quarters, The researcher handling me seems to have vanished.”

“I see. Please wait—I'll arrange it right away.”

The crewman adjusted his commline, speaking to someone over the channel. Meanwhile, Gotō sat and let his eyes wander.

Then his stare froze on the holomap.

“You. A question.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Our destination—it is Earth, correct?”

“Yes… Though there is a scheduled stop en route.”

“Who charted this course? The navigation chief?”

“Er… Why do you ask?”

Gotō’s expression hardened, his gaze sharp.

The plotted path was not what he expected.

“Someone set this course incorrectly.”

“I—I don’t understand?”

“This ship is not bound for Earth. Its trajectory points elsewhere entirely.”

“I’ll report immediately!”

The crewman scrambled to contact his superiors.

Soon enough, Captain Campbell and several senior officers assembled on the bridge.

“…When I heard the report, I thought it impossible.”

“Captain, was this your navigation input?”

“When I programmed it, the course was correct. Someone has altered it.”

“Who has the authority?”

“Only myself—and the navigation chief.”

The moment the words were spoken, everyone scanned the bridge. All the senior officers were present—except the navigation chief.

“He was contacted, wasn’t he? Why isn’t he here? Try again.”

“For now, please just change the course.”

“No. Until we’ve spoken to the man himself, we can’t know what intent lies behind this.”

Rejecting Gotō’s request, Captain Campbell used his personal communicator. His face immediately twisted.

“Hmm?”

“What is it, sir?”

“Communications Chief. You have your line? Try reaching the navigation chief.”

“Y-yes, Captain.”

The comms officer fumbled with his personal unit—then mirrored Campbell’s expression.

“What? T-this makes no sense!”

Panicked, he rushed to the bridge computer, frantically keying in commands.

“What’s going on with you two?”

“There’s a problem with the ship’s communications network.”

“What?”

“Captain, I think we’ll have to check the comms room directly.”

“Wait!”

Gotō cut the man off as he tried to leave in haste.

“…Captain. This reeks of something suspicious. We should all go together.”

Unauthorized changes to the course, sudden communications failures—anyone could see the pattern. Even Campbell found himself nodding grimly.

Together, the entire bridge staff headed for the communications chamber.

Unfortunately, their instincts were right.

“What in the world—?”

“Comms watchman! Where is the duty officer?!”

The chamber was in shambles. Precision electronics lay smashed, scattered across the floor.

Gotō felt a grim spark of recognition. It was the smell—the same stench he had caught faintly in the corridors, only far stronger here.

“Can this be repaired?”

“R-repair? Impossible… It’d be faster to build a system from scratch!”

“Surveillance Chief. There are cameras in these hallways, aren’t there? Check who did this.”

“Y-yes! Right away—”

“It’ll be useless.”

“What?”

Following the rank odor, Gotō strode deeper into the chamber.

The captain and officers trailed behind—then froze.

Pile upon pile of broken machinery filled a corner like a mound. And from beneath that heap seeped something coppery and foul.

As Gotō pulled the pieces aside, the stench of blood poured out.

“This is—!”

“God above…”

“U-uurgh!”

What lay there was the husk of a human body. Not a corpse—more like an emptied shell. All the organs, all the flesh within, gouged away, leaving only skin.

“Crisis Response Chief! Lock down the entire ship immediately!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“Uwaagh—hurk!”

Some officers scrambled with their personal devices, hands shaking. Others collapsed, vomiting bile onto the deck.

Through it all, Gotō alone kept his composure. Kneeling, he examined the shredded skin.

Changed though the features were, he recognized them.

“…The technician I saw earlier. In the garden.”

The man who had supposedly gone to repair the relay station on the mobile base—here he was, gutted like refuse.

The meaning was unmistakable.

It’s still alive.

The thing they thought was destroyed by the Giga Cracker—the “Three-Headed Demon.”

That abomination was here, on this ship.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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