novelraw Chapter 204
Chapter 204
Chapter 204
Maybe this giant beast can only move according to pre-set instructions. That's what Kait was starting to think, as the beast kept repeating the same motion of trying to reset its upper jaw.
In terms of buying time, it was doing its job better than anything else could. But if it kept this up, it might eventually damage its upper jaw beyond repair. It might already be too late.
"Oh?"
Then, the giant beast's eyeball, which had been flickering into view, changed color. From green to yellow. It might be a sign that its behavior pattern was about to change. Kait cautiously sent out a Worker Bee to observe.
With a slither, the giant beast pulled its massive body backward. The Worker Bee struck well short of its intended target—the upper jaw. Using the momentum of both the retreat and the impact, the upper jaw slammed into the lower one. As the beast finally returned to its original position, Kait felt its eyes glaring intensely at him.
Crunch, grind—unsettling sounds came from the area around its jaw. It wasn't visible, but the beast's jaw seemed to be in pretty bad shape.
Ideally, it would retreat for repairs. In the meantime, the Federation should finish consulting with the Smallfolk and decide how to respond to Ramadite. Kait didn't need to wait for the outcome, so he could just move on to the next planet with Emotion.
However, Kait's modest wish didn't come true.
The giant beast did not choose to retreat. Twisting its elastic body in an odd way, it clearly showed intent to attack Kait.
"What is it? Is it that kind of thing where they don't let threats live?"
Apparently, the underground Smallfolk had a very strong sense of pride as rulers of the planet. In other words, they responded to creatures stronger than themselves with intense murderous intent, aggression, and obsession.
Neither the underground nor the local Smallfolk likely imagined that Kait had come down from the sky for fun. To their eyes, Kait might have appeared as a terrifying new species that had emerged in Ramadite.
They ruled over the planet Ramadite. To solidify that fact, the giant beast had no choice but to kill the creature known as Kait.
Kait had assumed a second giant beast would be deployed, but it seemed the one in front of him still had means to oppose him. That strange movement using its elasticity appeared to be part of its preparation.
That said, there was no reason to wait for the enemy's attack. Kait coldly launched several Worker Bees at once to end the battle.
"Wha—!?"
The giant beast dodged Kait's Worker Bees. And not just barely—it leapt high into the air.
Kait saw only the beast's tail section still buried in the ground. It seemed the crushed trees were being transported underground from that point.
Kait was momentarily captivated. A mass so large it could be mistaken for a mountain had leapt into the air. Soon, he understood its intent.
Its limbless, scarred belly blocked the light from the star.
So, if biting didn't work, it planned to crush him with overwhelming mass. Simple and effective.
Without needing orders, the Worker Bees had already moved according to Kait's will. They positioned themselves to protect Kait and the local Smallfolk settlement behind him, deploying a sturdy Barrier.
The dome-shaped Barrier caught the falling giant beast. The ground roared, and dust and wind swirled. The Barrier absorbed it all and pushed it backward.
The surrounding trees, unprotected by the Barrier, were knocked down by the pressure-laden dust.
Kait's Barrier didn't have a single crack. The thought-infused Barrier of rejection absorbed and deflected all force. Even the massive weight of the beast couldn't break the Barrier Kait had created.
But the beast didn't know how to give up. Realizing it hadn't crushed Kait, it repeatedly jumped on top of the Barrier, trying to flatten Kait and the Barrier together.
"Ugh, no wonder the animals run away from this thing."
The beast's strength as a creature was exceptional—enough to make Ramadite's animals flee in a panic. And its aggression, which tolerated no enemy, was just as intense.
Kait and the Worker Bees had no issue with mere weight-based attacks. The impact from the fall was being dispersed by the Barrier, but not perfectly. Bit by bit, the Barrier was starting to sink into the ground. Perhaps the beast was trying to bury them alive. Kait would be fine, but the local Smallfolk were in danger.
"No helping it, huh."
At this point, Kait gave up on a peaceful resolution. He couldn't think of a way to ensure both the safety of the local Smallfolk and the repulsion of the beast.
He lifted the Barrier to catch the beast, then pushed it high into the air, not allowing it to jump again.
Its tail stretched out fully, reaching the limit of its ascent. If it couldn't rise even with the Barrier, then the beast itself couldn't jump any higher either.
When the Barrier was released, the unsupported beast began to fall.
The Worker Bees, now unlinked, swarmed the falling beast. Unrestrained violence tore through and ripped it apart.
From the beast's belly, now riddled with holes, air began to gush out.
No matter how elastic it was, a torn balloon was pitiful. It could only deflate as it expelled air.
The beast was so massive it could be mistaken for a mountain. The amount of air it expelled was equally immense.
The escaping air turned into wind, tearing open the beast's wounds even wider. As Kait watched the beast's tattered remains fall to the ground like a rag, he pondered how to explain it all.
"Ah, so the jaw structure could deform. It tunneled up in a tube shape, then inflated rapidly with air."
No, maybe that was just escapism.
***
Emotion's gaze seemed to say, "I knew this would happen."
Kait summoned the Queen Bee and decided to return the protected local Smallfolk to their settlement. Clearly, looks of respect were being directed at him from both sides.
'To think the giant beast was artificial...'
Groaning was Dolti Mu, who had once seen the beast back when he was in Ramadite. Come to think of it, how long had it been since the Smallfolk joined the Federation?
When Kait casually asked Emotion, her answer came immediately. Her cybernetic brain held the Federation's history as a database.
"In Earth years, about six hundred thousand years ago. Back when the Federation was still making a lot of mistakes, so the Smallfolk were probably accepted by some careless Federation citizens."
"No wonder they're called elders."
Becoming a Federation citizen extends your lifespan through body modification. Barring accidents, it's practically immortality. Those who lose interest in life choose eternal sleep—but Rutimi De and Dolti Mu still found life stimulating even after all that time.
The half-hearted survey of Ramadite and the decision to make an unqualified species into Federation citizens were probably among the Federation's past blunders.
"So, what happened with the Federation Congress?"
"Yes. I think they'll be here soon."
"Here?"
Kait saw Emotion raise her face to the sky and followed her gaze.
It was descending. That familiar thing.
The Federation's ultimate weapon, Di-Kigaia Zarmos.
"Adie Ze, Fifth-Rank Citizen (Alto Romia), and Rutimi De, Fourth-Rank Citizen (Darda Elra), should be with it."
"Ah, I see..."
He kind of wanted to see them, and kind of didn't.
No, he really didn't want to see them.
'Kept you waiting, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif)!'
"No, I wasn't waiting."
Just tell me the results already.