198: Blood Colony

"Wha—!?"

"Friend. Stay calm."

"Out of nowhere..."

"This is the space monster..."

The place I materialized was a designated spot inside the storage section of an Imperial warship docked with a personal colony.

One person reflexively raised a blaster at me upon my sudden appearance, but that was an extremely natural reaction for someone seeing an unannounced teleportation for the first time up close, so I had no comment to make.

"Satā Sētekusu. I am here at the request of my master, Vilijaniira Banaragunrōt, to assist the Imperial military."

"Thank you. I am the captain of this vessel..."

Thus, we exchanged names and clarified the situation.

According to the report,

the Imperial military had ostensibly announced an internal audit of the individual colony, citing the possibility that a criminal might have infiltrated.

However, the individual colony neither accepted nor rejected the offer, remaining completely indifferent.

More accurately, it wasn't indifference—it had become a state of severed communication.

So it seems they're currently forcing their way in to assess the situation inside... but it appears to be an extremely dire state.

"I see. So it's possible the blade known as the Cosmic Monster Magatsuki isn't actually inside the colony."

"That's right. But it's only a possibility, so please don't let your guard down. It's safer to assume the Cosmic Monster could be anything at all."

"We understand, so please don't worry. Also, while the Cosmic Monster could be anything, isn't it true that the more it acts, the more evidence it leaves behind—just like humans? If that's the case, our role becomes all the more crucial. We will give it our full effort."

"Thank you. That reassures us as well."

Then, from our side, we also inform them of the possibility that Magatsuki has already fled to another location.

Hmm, truly impressive—just like an imperial soldier.

They don’t relax their guard even at the thought that the enemy might already be gone from this location, and clearly understand that investigating this place is crucial for future plans.

"Then, let's go inside. Do we need airtight suits or something..."

"No need for that. Please, rest assured."

"Understood."

With the preparations complete, we enter the personal colony.

At this point, the person who was previously assigned to me is replaced by a squad leader selected from among the countless teams tasked with exploring the colony, chosen directly by the captain.

We entered through the door smashed open by the military, passed through the airlock, and arrived at the main colony...

"This is terrible. The smell of blood is so strong I can tell without even sniffing."

"I've served as an imperial soldier for many years, but I don't recall ever seeing such a scene."

In one word—disaster.

There were numerous deep gashes cutting through the floor, walls, and ceiling, outnumbered only by the corpses scattered about.

The blood flowing from those corpses had dyed the interior of the colony a deep red, and the metallic scent of blood permeated the entire colony.

"This calls for a full change of sealed suits and a full infection check for every team member once this mission is over,"

"Yeah, that's probably true. Once this colony investigation is over, I'll probably have to dispose of the body I'm using now."

Muttering complaints to the squad leader, I examined one of the corpses.

Yeah, cleanly split from the top of the head down to the groin.

Definitely the work of Magatsuki.

"But the number of corpses is higher than I expected. I've heard that even individual colonies need various personnel for management, but is it really this many?"

"Normally, it's much fewer. The colony's owner is technically a private investor who earns a living, so they might have hired guards or security personnel to deal with suspicious individuals, including sky pirates. Yet even counting those, the number is still excessive... Well, something must have happened."

We move deeper inside.

The bodies... They're ordinary workers, sturdy security or guard types, oh, and some well-dressed ones too—probably business partners or friends... Regardless, all have been cleanly bisected across the chest and are dead on impact.

From the state of the corpses, it seems they were fleeing inward, as if trying to escape from the intruder—Magatsuki's owner—coming from outside.

What's concerning is that we've received prior information indicating the colony's owner is aligned with the oppressive faction, but all the bodies lying around are human.

Dwarves and elves are not included at all.

... Yes. Understood.

Is something wrong?

They say the body of the colony's owner was discovered—sliced clean in half, right down to the desk and chair.

You didn't run away?

They say he had his back turned toward the entrance, so if he were just walking normally, he'd have been sliced in half without noticing the intruder. I can't say more since I haven't examined the scene further.

Just as I was thinking that, it seems the owner of this colony has been confirmed dead.

Hmm, didn't he notice the commotion?

Magatsuki's cutting edge is terrifying, and the body-control mod that turns people into extensions of Magatsuki's will—those who embody the concept of Magatsuki's perspective—are incredibly dangerous. But then again, I suppose Magatsuki's power alone should have given enough time to signal an anomaly...

"By the way, what about the survivors?"

Apparently, nothing has been confirmed as of now. There have been reports of suspicious rooms resembling hidden chambers, but all the people hiding inside those rooms have been neatly decapitated.

"...Something's getting kind of strange, isn't it?"

"...Yes, that's true. Even if they disliked alerting outsiders due to internal colony circumstances, it wouldn't be surprising if some people had already escaped using the built-in escape pods..."

My squad leader and I carefully moved deeper inside, rechecking each room we had already secured.

Just in case, we maintained close contact with the other squads and the ship's captain, confirming each other's safety as we progressed.

Then, we reached a room that revealed what the leader of this personal colony had been doing.