Evolve (1)
I was flustered. That was the first emotion I felt as soon as I opened my eyes. It wasn't because of any commotion outside. If that were the case, it would have been a sense of crisis, not embarrassment.
What made me so flustered was a sample container calmly floating in midair.
"What is this?"
I wondered if I had subconsciously used telekinesis. But I could immediately tell I wasn't manipulating it. Telekinesis is a power intimately connected to my senses—if it's leaking out somewhere, I wouldn't be oblivious.
I wondered if I was dreaming and blinked a few times, but, unsurprisingly, nothing changed. This was reality.
I tried to grab it with my depleted strength, but the container dodged my efforts-nimbly. It was pretty agile.
"Oh, you're dodging?"
As if mocking me, the bottle twitched and wiggled. I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. In the end, it seemed I would have to get up and catch it myself.
Before getting up, I checked my physical condition. The spot where I'd been completely impaled would need more time to heal, even with my monstrous regeneration, but the minor injuries were nearly healed thanks to technology. With this, I figured I could move on my own.
When I put strength into my body, a wave of soreness washed over me. I guessed this was how it felt to get old, and let out a groan as I forced myself upright. Leaving my stiff body that way would only hinder my recovery. I endured the pain and stretched slowly.
The sample bottle floated around me instead of fleeing. After a few pops and cracks as I loosened up, I snatched it right away.
When I tried to grasp it with telekinesis, it dodged, but this time it was caught easily, almost as if it had been waiting for me.
'Isn't this that thing?'
Looking at the sample bottle closely, I realized it was the container that held the tree fragment from the underground lab.
Just as I moved to open the lid, half believing it couldn't be, an impatient knocking came. There was only one person who would come, and only Nadia would knock from the top of the door.
As expected, when I opened the door, she was perched on Carry, ready to knock again. Her trembling arms and frazzled tail fur showed she hadn't recovered her strength. She was thoroughly bandaged all over—she looked like a textbook critical patient.
"Hyun-woo!"
Upon seeing me, Nadia quickly scanned my body. Her face crumpled but she tried to keep herself looking brave—though she couldn't hide her guilt.
She seemed about to apologize for her injuries or for not being much help. I didn't want to hear those words. If Nadia hadn't come to help in the first place, I might not be here at all.
"Did you sleep well?"
I greeted her before she could say anything. Almost simultaneously, her bravely maintained expression broke.
When she spread her arms, Carry read the mood and moved her closer to me. Once she was near enough, Nadia embraced me. Unlike usual, her ears drooped and she sniffled. I let out a small laugh and patted her back.
"No need to cry. We survived, that's what matters."
"... I'm not crying."
"Let's just say you aren't."
"I really am not...!"
Without lifting her face, her shout wasn't very convincing—her voice trembled at the end. I felt that if I teased her more, she'd really burst, so I just quietly stroked her back and tail.
"Carry, help her out for a bit. It looks like you two will need to stick together for a while."
「♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡」
Carry seemed rather excited at the prospect. Ever since getting the power loader, she'd mostly ridden that, so maybe it'd missed this.
Nadia didn't come alone. Celestia was standing by the door, watching Nadia's gradually wagging fluffy tail. Our eyes met, and she casually licked her lips. Was that just me, or did she look like she was savoring a taste?
Before I could puzzle over it, she spoke to me.
"You can already move alone?"
"I've always been sturdy. I'm not fully recovered, but I can walk. Running is still hard, though."
"It's alright, we're not moving anywhere right away, so you have time to recover."
Celestia smiled gently, saying I could ask for help if I needed support. Then, tilting her head, she asked,
"But what's that behind you, Hyun-woo?"
"Oh, this?"
Realizing immediately what she meant, I picked up the sample container I'd let go of while hugging Nadia.
Nadia, curious, wiped her eyes and lifted her head. Her tear-reddened eyes opened wide as she took in the sight of something floating through the air.
「Σ(°ロ°)」
Carry was startled too, pointing vigorously with its assistant arm. It was demanding an explanation.
"W-what? Why is that flying?"
"See, this one flies, too."
「( °ᗝ° ).ᐟ.ᐟ」
When I mustered what little telekinesis was left and floated some water, Carry gaped even wider—as if her jaw might dislocate if she had one.
"I can manipulate the core energy now. That's how I managed to detonate the core inside the Reformist ship."
There was no room for doubt after seeing me levitate a liquid. It seemed unreal, but they had to believe when they saw it move according to my gestures.
"... Hyun-woo, you're a psychic? Wait, is that psychokinesis?"
Nadia stared in awe at the morphing water orb, her tears forgotten and her eyes shining.
"Amazing! Can you control other things too?!"
"Sorry, this is my limit for now. Once I recover fully, I'll show you more."
"You promise!"
"Yeah."
Honestly, it felt embarrassing to call this a supernatural power, so I hadn't wanted to show it. But seeing Nadia's delighted, amazed face made me glad I did. Especially since it dried her tears instantly.
Celestia, who'd already seen me use telekinesis at dawn, got right to the point.
"So about that bottle?"
"Oh, this? Just a sec, I'll show you directly."
When I opened the lid, a small, fresh sprout appeared. Celestia's eyes widened, as if she guessed what it was.
"Could that be... what we brought from the underground lab?"
"I think so."
"But it didn't look like that originally, did it?"
"It seems to have changed. Remember, when we first got it, it turned from powder to a wood fragment."
I realized then that the sprout looked identical to the one I'd seen in the vision. It must be connected to how I'd awakened my supernatural power.
When I poked its leaves with a finger, they curled around me like a child grabbing my hand. It radiated pure harmlessness. Even Nadia, finding it cute, gave it a poke. The sprout didn't resist at all.
"To be honest, I don't know the details. I was going to ask Carrot to examine it later."
Was it my imagination, or did the sprout flinch at the word 'examine'?
Its leaves trembled, and it quietly closed the lid I'd left open.
Too much attention can be a bad thing. Since it seemed most vulnerable to external stimuli now, I didn't force the lid open again.
"It doesn't seem like an ordinary sprout, does it?"
Nadia and Celestia agreed emphatically. Celestia checked the time and made a belated "Oh no" face.
"I almost forgot—time's already... Hyun-woo, if you feel up to it, can you come to the meeting room? The meeting's probably started by now."
"Let's go right away."
Even if I didn't attend, I could get a report, but it was better to hear things directly. We left the cabin and headed for the Albatross's operations room.
The Beta Series patrol units were everywhere, maintaining vigilance throughout the ship without rest. With their mechanical clanking, the interior was otherwise quiet.
Soon, Celestia opened the door to the operations room. Heads turned as the door opened mid-meeting.
"It's not over yet, is it?"
"Perfect timing. We've settled most of today's work schedule, and now we're about to discuss what to do with the Reformist prisoner."
Eric, his arm in a sling, welcomed us. No one looked annoyed about us being late; actually, everyone seemed eager to say something.
Licorice was no exception. Before asking me, she tapped the table, sharing a hologram screen with me.
"This is the meeting log up to your arrival. It's summarized, so take a quick look. Let's talk further after you're caught up."
Before I realized it, I was already seated with Celestia's help. She'd done it so smoothly, I hadn't even noticed.
Either way, I read the meeting summary. Thankfully, it mostly matched what Celestia had already told me, so I could read it quickly.
「Multiple wounded. Extended recovery time needed. Workflow significantly delayed.」
「Pureblood Supremacist ship attack and core blast left many ship weapons systems damaged. Repairs urgent.」
「Ship lacks metal needed for repairs. Must supplement with bedrock mining. Area is rich in metal resources. There's an open-pit mine nearby. Planning to use Beta Series for mining.」
'Glad we don't need to go underground.'
Extracting from the surface was far safer and easier than digging underground. The former was overwhelmingly safer. Given Titan's nature, it wouldn't be a huge amount, but enough for our needs.
When I looked up from the hologram, everyone's stares were even more intense.
'This is overwhelming.'
Everyone in the ops room was watching my every move. It was obvious what they wanted to know: everything that happened to me and Nadia during the fight with Cystus.
'Should have just told them everything at once.'
Nadia's eyes sparkled so intensely that I couldn't just tell her I'd show her later.
"Lee Hyun-woo, so what happened? Why did the core explode? Or, how did you make it explode?"
"Uh... I can't show you right now."
I swallowed the comment that if I showed them now, their reactions would be more than I could handle. Even if they weren't the type, people can be unpredictable. More than anything, I wanted to show them something impressive when I finally did.
"I figured—since you're not in great shape."
That wasn't the whole reason, but I just nodded. I didn't want to drag it out. So I got straight to it.
"No one here missed the data we brought from the underground lab, right?"
"We all checked the translated data."
"You know that lab was researching supernatural powers?"
"Yes."
"That makes things simple. I can now use some of those powers. Psychokinesis—telekinesis, basically. The self-destruct core in the Reformist ship was stuck in the wreckage, so I used this power to collapse it. And this changed too. It's the sample we brought from the underground lab—its form changed again. Take a look for yourself."
I placed the sample container on the table. The lid creaked open by itself, and a single leaf peeked out. Sway, sway—the little sprout leaf waved shyly, as if greeting everyone. The operations room fell silent.
I figured a barrage of questions was coming, but everyone was too busy being astonished. Or rather, Licorice kept order before the chaos erupted, tapping her finger on the table, and everyone fell silent.
That was so like her. She had a knack for taking control. Given her proven abilities, it was natural for others to follow her lead.
"Carry, you got that footage, right? Of me moving the water? Show them after the meeting."
「ヽ(•̀ω•́ )ゝ」
"Check the video later. Carrot, when you have time, can you analyze this for me?"
"Shouldn't be hard."
"Try not to go overboard. I think it doesn't like the idea."
"... I'll try."
Carrot's eyes lit up. Seemed he was intrigued by the idea that the sprout could express emotions. The sprout quietly closed the lid again at Carrot's intent look. A few people couldn't help but snigger.
Given that everyone had seen monsters up close—and just yesterday the earth itself had split open—their shock tolerance must have skyrocketed, and a moving sprout barely registered anymore.
"Fascinating. Anyway, you detonated the core by triggering it with supernatural power?"
"In simple terms, yes. Well, I didn't set it off directly— I collapsed debris onto it, which set it off."
"Haa... You know without me saying, right?"
Licorice chose her words carefully. I knew I'd been reckless. If we'd been caught in the blast, half of us could have died.
But at that moment, reckless methods were all we had. If we hadn't escaped, it wouldn't have been half—everyone would have died.
Licorice knew that, so she limited herself to a mild scolding.
"Back to the main point: we're discussing how to handle Gedric. We all agree that extracting intel is our first priority, right?"
"Yes."
We all agreed unanimously with Licorice. Gedric was the only Beastkin on Titan who knew of the outside world. Depending on what he knew, our future plans could change.
Nadia frowned slightly. I'd been worried, but I realized her reaction was more annoyance and disgust than fear. It seemed she really had finished processing her feelings.
"Beta went to get him. It'll bring him shortly."
Licorice tapped the hologram window in the air as she spoke. A brief lull settled over the meeting. No one left their seats—no one wasn't curious about the outside world.
"It's good to get him, but will that Reformist cooperate with us? He didn't seem cooperative."
Celestia quietly asked Eric. Facing multiple expectant gazes, Eric answered as if it were obvious.
"He won't. I believe this is the first time a Reformist captain has been taken alive. They almost always choose to self-destruct their ships rather than be captured. Even for officers, there haven't been any exceptions so far."
"But unlike past cases, this captive seems quite attached to life. Couldn't we use that as leverage?"
"Still difficult. The Reformists' stubborn pride aside, the guy's not stupid. He'll know he could be killed for spilling everything he knows. Destroying the ship's data server was part of that. Even if he talks, there's no way for us to verify the truth. He ensured we'd have no way to confirm anything by ruining the servers."
"Didn't we recover those?"
I voiced my question, and Licorice shook her head.
"We downloaded whatever we could, but it was all junk data. Nothing confidential or useful at all."
She spread the hologram wide to display the Reformist ship's schematic. She pointed at a spot with her finger.
"There are signs the server room's security system was shut down from inside, not outside. That line was connected to the panic room. Gedric destroyed the server on purpose. Or more precisely, he opened up the corridors to the server room, making it easy for Creep to infect everything."
"What a son of a—"
I almost swore without thinking. Beastkin slurs like that were something Nadia hated, so I quickly stopped myself.
But Nadia beat me to it.
"That fucking bastard."
Hearing Nadia swear so openly was rare, so not just me but everyone was surprised. Unbothered, she glared at Gedric's face on the hologram projection.
"Don't worry about extracting information. I know a good way. If he proves uncooperative, can I handle him?"
"Well... I won't stop you if you want to, Woof-woof."
Licorice reluctantly nodded her approval. At that moment, some ruckus came from outside. The ship was usually quiet, so it was immediately noticeable.
The door opened. Gedric, struggling and making a scene, was dragged in by the Beta Series. Judging by his swollen face, he'd either been beaten by someone or just neglected while injured.
"Let me go! You idiots!"
「Negative.」
Two Betas held his arms and brought him inside, not letting go after entering. They'd wait for further orders after completing this one.
Gedric locked eyes with us and especially glared at Nadia, hurling curses at her. He didn't look remotely cooperative. At this point, it seemed best to let Nadia handle it.
"Fools! You called me in hopes of living? Just die! You're not getting out of here! The Earth government abandoned the galaxy's outskirts! You've been forsaken!"
We muttered among ourselves—he was stating the obvious. If Earth's government hadn't abandoned this place, a fleet would have been here already.
Besides, we hadn't been waiting for a government rescue; we'd only been planning a Titan escape.
When we showed no reaction, Gedric's yelling escalated. Or it would have—if Nadia, riding Carry, hadn't suddenly moved in closely.
"... What's this?!"
"Gedric, have you enjoyed that bio-circuit I made for you?"
"What of it? Are you demanding rights now? Foolish—"
"That's not it. I just wondered if you knew. Every bio-circuit has a unique code with an assigned rank."
Nadia interrupted his words in a calm voice, face emotionless.
"Your rank might be high, but it isn't higher than the original—mine. However unstable my circuit is, its authority remains intact."
"... What? You—don't tell me...!"
"I didn't want anything more to do with you. With all that's happened, there's no point to any more dealings. But you came back to face me, after all."
Nadia slowly extended her hand. Gedric seemed to realize with horror what she was about to do.
"What are you doing?! Stop!"
"I hate you all. So from now on, I won't just sit by."
"You witch—!"
Nadia tapped the part of Gedric's body where his bio-circuit was. Almost simultaneously, Gedric's head drooped, as if he'd been knocked out—his previous tantrum instantly ended.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Celestia creepy, frfr.