Two-Person Galactic Journey: Earth Was Destroyed While Imprisoned in Space Prison

Chapter 244

Chapter 244

Just as Kait had predicted, approaching the space eel with the small asteroid in hand didn't immediately provoke an attack.

It was unclear how they detected things, but apparently the smaller species that served the massive Lufate Gainun lacked a way to distinguish between intelligent beings' ships and themselves. As for the ship, perhaps they used different standards or methods than humans.

If they weren't being particularly scrutinized, that worked in their favor. As they neared the space eel, an elite small type burst out from within. They had seen it earlier—it appeared to be the one that used its larger size to rob smaller elites of their spoils.

The smaller elite that had its spoils taken made no particular protest and simply set off again to search for new spoils. Perhaps it only looked like theft and was actually a handoff, or maybe the smaller one was stealing from others elsewhere. Whatever the reason, it was enough to justify their lack of attachment to the spoils.

"......Is it coming this way?"

The small elite that had just been robbed glanced briefly in their direction but didn't come to steal anything and instead flew off in another direction. Even though it was a small type, the elite was about the same size as Queen Bee. The creatures that lived inside the supermassive Lufate Gainun were so large that even something the size of a ship looked small in comparison.

At any rate, the small elite didn't try to steal from them. Whether it judged, based on some criteria, that it couldn't take anything from Queen Bee and Kait, or simply saw no reason to do so here, was unclear. But the fact that it didn't try meant an opportunity. As they approached the space eel's half-open mouth, a large elite slowly began to lumber out.

'It appears to be a different individual from earlier. Could it be that multiple individuals are dwelling inside its body?'

"Seems that way. It's looking at us now."

Apparently, among the elites, there was a division between the larger individuals who received small asteroids inside the space eel and the smaller ones who gathered them in the surrounding region of space. Rather than fighting over them, it seemed this might be part of their natural behavior.

But if this was an expression of their machine-like social structure, what did it mean?

With a faint academic curiosity like Gorou's, Kait approached the mouth of the space eel.

The large individual stationed at the edge of the mouth made a grand gesture, spreading its forelimbs toward them. Kait decided to ignore the gesture, which seemed to mean "hand it over."

Then, as if surprised, the large individual blocked their path. Immediately after, a slamming wave of telepathy struck Kait.

"Oh?"

'What is it, Captain?'

"Telepathy. It seems like they're using psychic power, though it's pretty crude."

Unlike the kind used by Terapolapaneshio or President Palnesbrogia, this was a rough wave of thought. Aggressive but unrefined—a primitive lump of emotion, one might say.

"Hand it over," it said. Since the space eel already had the capacity for thought waves, it wasn't surprising that Lufate Gainun, having parasitized the space eel for generations, had developed such a function. Kait narrowed his eyes at the thought.

"These things... they have a sense of self."

'A sense of self? Previous studies have denied the theory that Lufate Gainun possesses intelligence.'

That was true. Emotion was right. But it wasn't a lie that he felt intelligence tied to a sense of self.

Repeated waves of thought slammed into him, and within them, he sensed the sentiment: "I don't want to go out and search—it's a hassle."

Until now, they had been dangerous creatures that simply carried out their assigned roles like a program. In fact, all the dispatched individuals had been like that. Even Terapolapaneshio had given up on communication with them in the past.

Kait quietly sent out a single thought wave—one imbued with the intent to silence. The overwhelming pressure and weight of it assaulted the immature ego of the elite parasite before him.

――!?

If the target had been an ego-less individual, he might have made it yield on its own. But this time, the opponent was different. As the creature shrank back in fear, Kait relaxed his mouth slightly.

So there was a crack in the system after all.

"I'm going deeper. Move aside."

'Move aside......? Captain, what's going on?'

Kait wasn't good with formless psychic powers. If he tried to send telepathy too far, it might affect his main body. While advancing with the small asteroid, he focused his telepathy only on the 'lazy individuals' approaching him.

Unlike the previous Lufate Gainun, these clearly displayed signs of self-awareness. As he continued observing while progressing deeper, he gradually arrived at an answer.

"Emotion. I believe they acquired self-awareness later. The reason their bodies are so big is because they've been snacking on the small asteroids before delivering them... see?"

'Ah'

As they moved deeper, they began to see more and more Lufate Gainun swarming the small asteroids. After partially gnawing on them, the remaining half-eaten pieces were apparently carried deeper by a representative.

Even if they were a bit chewed, it would go unnoticed as long as no one checked. Apparently, some individuals had developed intelligence in a bad way.

They had the ego-less ones work outside, while the self-aware and cunning ones managed the inside. It was a very clear structure.

From Kait and the others' perspective, they could only be grateful that the lazy Lufate Gainun occasionally skimmed off the food meant for the back. The work must have been significantly delayed from the original schedule. In other words, it was helping reduce the rate of incursion into the Federation's territory.

"I want to have their thought patterns analyzed."

'Oh? Why is that?'

"Because it'll be useful later. Absolutely."

'Hmm'

They had a sense of self. Their actions could be somewhat controlled through thought waves.

To break through such a stronghold, there couldn't be a more suitable opponent.

While advancing, he searched for individuals that weren't in groups. Naturally, that meant targeting those carrying small asteroids.

"Emotion. Send word to Terapolapaneshio near Uvols. Tell them we've captured a Lufate Gainun with self-awareness and to study its thought patterns."

'Understood'

He crept up on an individual slowly carrying a small asteroid deeper inside and surrounded it with the stripped-down Worker Bees.

Before it could even comprehend what had happened, he forcefully teleported it toward Uvols' coordinates.

Then. Perhaps sensing the teleportation reaction, a stir seemed to ripple through the interior.

"Even if we used a different method to teleport, they can still detect it, huh?"

'Seems that way. What shall we do?'

Should they proceed or retreat?

The stir didn't seem to subside. From here on, they might face some alertness.

But for Kait, turning back wasn't an option.

"We're going forward. It's not like it's particularly dangerous."

'That's... true. Understood.'

To put it simply, the only thing Kait lacked was burst damage.

As long as he sealed their teleportation function, even a planet-sized giant creature could be defeated with enough time. The only reason he was conducting this investigation was because he didn't know what trouble might be left behind if they retained teleportation capabilities.

Honestly, if it was just the individuals inside the space eel, even if they all turned hostile, he could repel them without a scratch. They posed no obstacle to the investigation.

"The only condition for our defeat would be if they managed to relocate their teleportation function somewhere else."

'That's true. Even if that happened, we still have ways to pursue them.'

If that happened, they would just have to track the space eel's teleportation reaction. There was a risk that they might not be able to secure the 'something' that would likely be sent along with it, but that was all.

While advancing deeper, he used thought waves to carefully suppress resistance in any individuals he spotted. Still holding the small asteroid as a token, he moved deeper.

'Captain. We're receiving a flood of messages from the folks at Terapolapaneshio.'

"We've already secured the souvenir, right? ......Just ignore them for now."

If their communications were intercepted and the enemy's alertness heightened, that would be a problem.

With that excuse in mind, Kait elegantly ignored the call from the space jellyfish.