Unexpected Situation
"An unforeseen emergency is underway."
Responding immediately to Mark's unusually tense report, Shinnosuke acts without delay.
"Once we recover the memory core, evacuate immediately. Madelia, hurry with the retrieval."
"Understood."
"Milena, take Ira-san and head to Yatagarasu first. We'll follow right behind."
"Got it."
Mark, I'll be back soon—analyze the signal we received beforehand.
It has already been completed. The frequency resembles an international distress signal, but it is not a maritime signal to begin with. It is estimated to have originated naturally for some reason.
Understood. Detailed reporting can wait until we return. Madelia, how much longer until the memory retrieval is complete?
Completed.
Alright, let's head back to Yatagarasu.
Shin nosuke and Madelia burst out from the A884 bridge.
Having just exited the bridge and sprinted through the ship's corridor, they had nearly reached the connecting passage when Milena and Ira—should have already returned to Yatagarasu—were already standing at the corridor's end, swords and blasters raised, staring intently ahead.
"Milena, what's...?"
Ahead of Milena and Ira stood a boulder about a meter in diameter, rolling slowly on the floor.
"What's this? Could it be that the rock punctured the hull?...Wait a second, was there a rock rolling around when we boarded?"
There's no doubt about it. That rock came here while we were helping Miss Ira.
...Kiiiiiiii...
Milena's saber rang out with a high-pitched sound.
The sound of a saber's blade vibrating at an extremely high speed.
"Master, additional report. Small rock-like asteroids are gathering around us. They range from 50 centimeters to about one meter in size, totaling 21. The target rock is emitting something resembling the earlier signal. Proceed with caution!"
Shin nosuke listens to Marx's report, rifle in hand.
You're right, we do need to be cautious. Probably, something like that's right in front of us right now... no, there it is.
Right in front of me?
At that moment, the rock rolling in front of Shinnosuke and the others began to change shape.
The lower half of the rock split open in a radial pattern, revealing countless tentacle-like appendages emerging from within.
At the base of each tentacle was a red, eye-like sphere, all facing toward Shinnosuke and the others.
The grotesque creature was clearly alive, its form resembling that of a jellyfish.
Milena readied her saber, lowering her stance and slowly advancing forward.
It's planning to close the distance and leap forward to slash.
"Milena, wait."
Milena halts her advance at Shinosuke's words, yet her gaze never wavers from the grotesque creature before her.
"What should we do? The outer layer is too tough to cut through, but its tentacles and eyes should be easy to slice?"
"Wait— we don't know if it's hostile. It's better not to act rashly."
"At the very least, it doesn't look friendly to me?"
Mireena glared at the grotesque creature, her forehead eye wide open.
A tense, electrifying aura radiated from her entire body.
"No, if it were hostile, it would have attacked by now. We've been aboard for several hours—no, even since A884 was attacked, over ten days have passed. Yet it hasn't done anything except remain on the ship. It hasn't tried to harm us... I don't think it's wise to make the first move."
"What should we do, then?"
"Let's slowly approach the communications passage and return to the Yatagarasu as planned."
The four of them slowly approached the communication passage, carefully avoiding provoking the bizarre jellyfish ahead of them.
"Watching... watching you know..."
"Yes, it's definitely watching us..."
"Milena, Aira, don't say anything unnecessary. Just keep going— I think we'll be fine like this."
Though the strange jellyfish had no visible eyes resembling pupils in its red sphere, it seemed to follow the movements of Shinnosuke and the others.
There was no doubt that the red sphere had sensory organs resembling eyes.
The four of them had finally reached the communication passage.
Although there was no sign of the grotesque jellyfish approaching, two of its unusually long tentacles were within reach.
First, Ira, then Milina, and finally Madelia safely entered the communication passage.
Shinnosuke was last—but the strange jellyfish showed no movement.
Once Shinnosuke entered the passage, he locked the door behind him.
"Markus, I've entered the communication passage. Get the Yatagarasu detached from A884. Slowly, please."
Shinnosuke sprinted through the passage toward the bridge.
Without waiting for Shinnosuke to return, the Yatagarasu detached from A884.
Upon returning to the bridge, Shinnosuke immediately took his seat at the captain's station and checked the surrounding situation.
As Mark's report indicated, countless rock formations resembling the strange jellyfish had gathered around the Yatagarasu and Fubuki.
It seemed the number had increased further since Mark's report.
"Though I don't know what exactly these things are, there's no doubt they destroyed Ira's A884. Andy, raise the ship's shields to maximum output. No need to worry about attacking from our side—assume a full defensive posture."
'Understood.'
Yatagarasu and Fubuki deployed the ship's energy shields at maximum output, surrounded by the bizarre jellyfish.
The attacks from the strange jellyfish were literally ramming blows using their spherical bodies.
They should have enough power to pierce A884's armor and penetrate the hull.
The spaceship's energy shield is designed to protect the hull from beam weapons and space debris, but it can be penetrated by high-velocity, large-caliber, heavy projectiles that overwhelm its defensive capacity.
The bizarre jellyfish with rocky exteriors seem to deliver impacts with force comparable to solid projectiles.
While it's uncertain how effective the energy shield will be, it may still offer some degree of interference.
We can only rely on Yatagarasu and Fubuki's armor, but it's better not to be attacked at all.
" Fubuki, retreat slowly. Don't provoke them under any circumstances."
'Y-yes, understood.'
Yatagarasu and Fubuki began to slowly retreat.