My Children Swarm the Cosmos – Chapter 82

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖𝟐: 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 (3)

For 3 days, the battle of fleets continued.

Fierce battles took place in each celestial body of the Drake Star Nation, and sparks flew even in Obsidia Drake’s orbit. The Fractal fleet fought the Chimeraz fleet, and Fractal itself battled an infection within, losing and retaking some sections.

Asotus.

It resembles a fat and flat insect, but the texture of its body, starting from its face, is similar to that of a catfish. It has sturdy wings that can open like a beetle’s back, and its rear thruster can be angled in any direction except forward. In addition, the anti-gravity organ in its body is designed to allow the Asotus to land and hover.

Drop Cysts swarmed into Obsidia Drake once more. This was the third Drop Cyst swarm, and their numbers were significant.

Hundreds of Drop Cysts, surrounded by bio-barriers, endured the fire of defense satellites and passed through to an altitude lower than geostationary orbit. And dozens of Asotus squads, which had broken through the defense satellites along with the Drop Cysts, twisted their rear thruster angles, making their descent trajectory intricately tortuous.

Once again, beams of light shot up from the ground of Obsidia Drake. The Drop Cysts, which could only fall in a straight line, were easy targets for anti-air weapons, while the Asotus squads, which moved erratically, were relatively difficult targets to hit.

The Drop Cysts all burst without exception, but the Asotus squads managed to enter low orbit.

“Is it another new type?!”

➖Shoot them down.

A squadron of low-orbit fighters, glowing red-hot, crossed the continent in an instant and approached the Asotus squad. It was a squadron of fighters that had climbed to this altitude, causing friction with the air due to their extremely high speed.

The Asotus squad made more complex movements to avoid the fighters’ autocannon fire while steadily lowering their altitude.

Pew, pew, pew. . . !

Then, an Asotus hit by a supersonic bullet had its flesh torn apart.

That’s when it began.

The moment the first Asotus died, several Asotus opened their snouts.

Each of them sent out a swarm of Cresecters. The Cresecter swarm, in the air far below the clouds, fired bright red plasma orbs. They engaged the fighters in aerial combat, just as they had fought the carrier-based aircraft in the battle of fleets.

The low-orbit fighters immediately responded to the Cresecter swarm, allowing the Asotus to pass through low orbit and enter the atmosphere.

Only then could Kreion take in the dazzling metropolis of Obsidia Drake.

‘I can’t see any civilians, but it can be so dynamic.’

Obsidia.

It is the metropolis that serves as the capital of the capital planet. With an area the size of a continent, the city is mostly developed, and the height of the buildings tends to increase exponentially toward the center of the metropolis. And the majority of the buildings have a color similar to obsidian, giving off a futuristic vibe.

On the relative outskirts of Obsidia were large-scale facilities, factories, and other structures for various purposes, and in the depths of the city center, mega towers reaching the bottom of the clouds and hyper towers piercing the clouds soared high, while complex layers of anti-gravity expressways stacked several stories high.

Overall, the city center had a futuristic appearance, while the outskirts of the city had a nature-friendly landscape.

And in the very center of the metropolis of Obsidia stood a 2.2 km high hyper tower.

Kreion knew the name of that tower as well.

‘Asilomar Ziggurat. . . . ‘

It has a staggering 420 floors above ground.

While Fractal is humanity’s largest ship, the Asilomar Ziggurat is the tallest structure ever built on Earth. It has a spiral, ascending shape, combining Gothic architecture with modern architectural techniques, and is colored like obsidian.

The Asilomar Ziggurat is the headquarters of Obsidiamon, the government-level state agency of the Drake Star Nation, and is a modern Babel Tower, an all-weather skyscraper with various management and production facilities necessary for the city, the planet, and the country.

Of course, there was something more important than the background information of the Asilomar Ziggurat.

“Lopez is in that tower.”

“I’d love to crack open that human’s brain . . . .”

The Asilomar Ziggurat is also the residence and official home of the Star Administrator.

It is said that the leader of Drake eats, sleeps, conducts business, and commands the war with Hyper Mind and Fractal in that tower.

As such an important structure, the Asilomar Ziggurat is protected by a considerable number of various aircraft. In addition, the tower itself can deploy a shield, much like a ship, so it is said that it will never collapse, even if several nuclear missiles were to explode. There is even an unmanned military factory and military base inside the tower, managed by Hyper Mind.

That’s why it has the title of an all-weather skyscraper.

So Lopez must be there.

Because it is the most important and safest structure.

“It’s like the lair of a monster . . . . That disgusting tower is the result of human arrogance . . . .”

Ludwig, who had been waiting for this moment as eagerly as Kreion, rattled his antennae.

“It won’t be easy, but I’d like to see that tower collapse . . . . And in the end, paint that blue ocean the color of brain matter . . . .”

“That won’t happen.”

“. . . ?”

Ludwig blinked his red eye, expressing his doubt.

“Our goal is not to conquer the Drake Star Nation. If we don’t have the goal of conquering, how can we do such a thing?”

“Ah . . . . I made a mistake . . . .”

We came here to learn the truth, establish our position, make our voices heard, and gain our freedom.

It is not to win against the Drake Star Nation and occupy this territory. The real enemy was neither Drake nor Fractal. It had always been one person. It had always been that way.

“I will reach Lopez.”

“Then . . . . this planet . . . .”

“It won’t become our colony. I just need to reach Lopez.”

“What do you plan to do after that . . . ? Extract his brain as planned . . . ?”

“Yes. That’s the surest way.”

Kreion continues to keep his eyes closed.

He sees through the eyes of the Asotus squad that has entered the atmosphere. White, clean clouds lay beneath them.

The Asotus continued to descend, but they had to avoid the projectiles and all sorts of beams of light shooting up from the ground.

Above, low-orbit fighters and Cresecter swarms were engaged in aerial combat, while below, more fighters and drone fighters were rising to target the Asotus squad.

But Kreion had anticipated it.

The defense satellites and low-orbit fighters wouldn’t be the entirety of this planet’s air defense network. They weren’t opponents that could be pierced so easily.

It was natural for aircraft operating in the atmosphere and weapons on the ground to try to stop the Asotus.

‘Detonate them.’

The moment the Asotus squad entered the clouds, something like black smoke burst out from various parts of the clouds.

At first glance, it looked like a bio-barrier, but in fact, it was a bio-bomb disguised as a bio-barrier.

The bio-bombs that exploded in the clouds absorbed the water droplets and ice crystals of the clouds and proliferated rapidly. The white clouds turned black in spots, as if they were covered in mold, and soon became clouds that were much blacker than storm clouds.

The bio-bomb, which had become one with the clouds, absorbed even the sunlight, making the entire metropolis as dark as night. Of course, human civilization could shine brightly enough even when darkness tried to swallow it up.

However, the situation was completely different at the altitude where the clouds were.

➖Connection to the communication channel . . .

➖Signal from drone fighter squadron is lost!

The human aircraft that had targeted the Asotus were swallowed up by the black clouds, leaving them completely alone, unable to even tell the existence of their allies right next to them.

“Signal’s lost . . . ! What’s going on?! Is anyone there?!”

Darkness is everywhere. No matter what optical equipment is used, it is impossible to properly see what is around.

Nothing is known except for one’s own position, altitude, speed, and direction. The connection with the group’s information was cut off in the black clouds.

ZAP, ZAP, ZAP!!!

Moreover, the darkness that enveloped them changed more cruelly.

No, it evolved.

ZAP, ZAP, ZAP!!

【Left engine damaged!】

【Right engine damaged!】

【Front armor damaged!】

【Ejection seat activation recommended!】

【The Chimeraz matter is infiltrating!】

The fighter was getting infected.

“Oh . . . . no . . . . no . . . . outside is now . . .”

Whoosh.

A black finger reached up to the cockpit. It looked like a ghost’s finger, but if you think about it, it’s not a ghost but the finger of a real monster, which is even scarier.

Anyone in this situation would definitely choose to abandon the fighter and escape.

“Gyaaah . . . !”

BAM!

The pilots, who had ejected from the fighter along with their seats, were devoured by the black clouds and disintegrated without even feeling any pain.

It was a way to use fear as a tactical advantage.

The infected fighters and drone fighters escorted the Asotus down to the ground, and the darkness that loomed overhead even poured down rain.

Sizzle, sizzle. . . !

It was a black liquid.

It poured down on the metropolis of Obsidia, melting and corroding buildings and damaging machinery. And some of the black liquid was actually bio-bombs imitating the black liquid, and those living substances infiltrated and rampaged through cars, roads, window cracks, drains, and even the joints of humanoids.

The army on the ground tried to cleanse the infection early by deploying shields like umbrellas and emitting flames.

However, the powerful mechanical army was gradually infected, and some of them turned into enemy troops. Not a single Hounz had set foot in Obsidia, but the sound of gunfire and explosions had already begun to ring out.

🔷🔷🔷

It has been four days since the bio-bombs exploded in Obsidia Drake.

Ludwig was fidgeting.

“Ugh . . . . ugh . . . .”

Kreion is in pain. He is in so much pain that he is showing it on the outside.

That kind of pain would be enough to break the minds of even Ludwig or Berne, who have excellent legion command abilities.

“Ughhhhhh . . . .”

This is because he has been controlling an overwhelming number of the Chimeraz in real time for four days. In order to effectively infect an entire metropolis and drive back the enemy forces, he was connected to all the members of the bio-bombs.

Kreion feels everything that each of their cells feels, experiences, moves, thinks, sees, eats, produces, and dies.

“Master . . . . that’s enough . . . . Now that you’ve sent the children down, you can handle any situation . . . .”

“Not enough . . . !”

Kreion’s forehead was covered in blood, and the surface of the bio-armor covering Kreion’s body twisted and rippled.

In the meantime, in the streets of Obsidia, infected machines were running wild. When a bombardment fell on the city, infected fighters rushed to target the bomber, and when a barrage fell, infected field guns fired at the artillery base.

‘Not enough . . . !’

A multi-legged tank with mechanical legs was attached to a wall and fired its cannon, and an infected multi-legged tank with tentacles jumped down from the roof and pounced on a normal multi-legged tank, biting it like a beast.

Through the melted windows, infected humanoid snipers took aim at the war machines on the elevated highway, and the war machines bombarded the building where the infected humanoids were entrenched with plasma cannons.

‘Not yet . . . . ‘

In the wreckage of a broken building, a mass of flesh mixed with pieces of concrete and asphalt rolled around, and Chainttroopers rolled after the mass.

A sunflower-like creature sprang out of a drain and sprayed black liquid in all directions. The soldiers hit by the liquid melted away, leaving only their uniforms, and became one with the substances on the ground.

Tendrils were wrapped around the buildings, Puker grew everywhere, and the Chimeraz structures, whether they were colonies or hives, took on strange shapes.

“Master’s brain must not be damaged . . . .”

On the outskirts of Obsidia, the army was closing in, and in the center of Obsidia, the infected and the uninfected clashed violently.

In the meantime, black rain poured down on the artillery base as well. War machines with heads like telescopes were also infected, and they used the orbital strike weapons in their hands to shoot down the defense satellites in orbit.

As the defense satellites were shot down, Drop Cysts and Asotus swarmed in again through the gaps in the air defense network.

It was around that time that the black clouds cleared and the sunlight came in,

The city that had become a battlefield was sending up smoke from here and there.

“. . .That’s it.”

“Master . . . ?”

Kreion opened his slightly bloodshot eyes and rose from his throne for the first time in four days.

“Ludwig. I have something to say.”

“I can feel master’s emotions now . . . . Why do you feel sorry for me . . . ?”

“You’re my favorite child.”

Kreion felt the anxiety coming from Ludwig.

“Thank you for getting me this far, overcoming many difficulties together.”

Ludwig said nothing at Kreion’s will and slowly approached him.

“If I die, find Anima and let her serve as the ruler of our species.”

Kreion’s consciousness could not be transferred to any living being.

His consciousness, ego, instincts, will, experiences, waves, and so on were too vast and complex to be contained in another vessel.

Even if Kreion’s consciousness was forcibly replicated elsewhere, it would be an incomplete copy and not Kreion.

Something that resembles Kreion but is not 100% Kreion would not be acceptable as the ruler of the species, not to any of the leaders. It was something that Kreion himself could not allow.

That’s why Kreion’s death, unlike the deaths of the leaders, is a real death.

“. . .Those words . . . .”

“If Anima is not safe, take what I taught you and what I showed you to heart and become the ruler of our species. By then, you should be able to lead and judge the species without me.”

“I . . . . I believe that both Anima-nim and master will be safe forever . . . .”

“There is no being that can live forever. Even our species, which has no limits on its lifespan, is the same.”

“But still . . . .”

“I want to hear the answer. From you too.”

“. . . .”

Ludwig met Kreion’s eyes up close.

Even without speaking, they can understand each other’s hearts.

“You understand. Just as you believe I won’t die, I believe in you too. Ludwig.”

“. . .Yes . . . . master . . . . I am aware of my role . . . .”

Ludwig brought his head to Kreion’s palm. Is he acting coquettish because he thinks this might be the last?

‘Leave it to me . . . . ‘

When he was small, this child was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.

But it seems that at some point, the child grew bigger and started looking down on him more often.

When did time pass by like this?

When will I be able to give these children a free future?

January 12, 2621.

Can’t it be today?

‘Gats.’

Hiss . . .

A toothy maw opened like a door, and through it walked the Chimeraz’s top Elite.

“It’s time.”

“Are you going down?”

“Even after commanding bio-bombs for four days and sending many children down, I could not break through their stronghold because it was so strong.”

Kreion is the strongest of the species as a single entity. It is not cowardly for a commander to be in a safe rear, but there are times when the commander must go to the front lines in order to have a chance of winning. The past four days have been a process to confirm that.

Even if the ruler’s neck is snapped, the goal of this war must be achieved.

‘. . . . I need to face him myself, more than anything else.’

Gats stepped aside slightly.

Growl . . . .

Through the passageway that Gats had passed through, the Elite on both sides were waiting with their weapons at the ready.

“I will escort you to the ground.”