287: Subduing the Cosmic Monster Shuu

"Gotcha!"

"Can't... let you... huh?!"

My fist, clad in a powered suit, strikes the head of the lead cosmic monster Shuu.

That single blow is enough—the cosmic monster Shuu, shaped like a mass of energy resembling a fish, stops moving, gradually shrivels, loses its glow, and vanishes completely.

With that, the effectiveness of the mod designed to counter cosmic monster Shuu has been confirmed.

"Alright! Vee!"

"I understand!"

"!?!?!?"

With that, I burst into action right there.

I moved quickly, flailing my limbs, wriggling my tentacles, focusing solely on making contact.

The cosmic monster Shuu, on the other side, seemed to realize that our attacks were no mere feint—these were deadly.

Moving in unison as if to preserve their numbers, they evaded our attacks while attempting to break through. Yet the maze constructed by the previously launched ink spheres both reduced the number of cosmic monsters Shuu and slowed their pace, carefully adjusting their arrival so that Shuu would reach the location within the range Vilijanira could handle.

As a result, the cosmic monster Shuu was being processed one after another, as if diving into the belly of some enormous creature with its mouth wide open.

"Joharis. Is the cosmic monster Shuu attempting a forced breakthrough through the maze?"

"It's here, but due to the sphere's effect, its abilities—including speed—have severely deteriorated. It's being eliminated without fail by Imperial Army artillery support."

"Vee-sama. Artillery fire has also begun from the colonies surrounding Planet Vanilla Sid P3. They've managed to prepare countermeasures and materials by repurposing existing equipment."

"So, if we hold this position, we can definitely weaken their forces."

If we're pinning down the Space Monster Shuu in one place like this, it's only natural that the Space Monster Shuu would try a different tactic to break the deadlock.

However, the attempt to forcibly break through the range of the ink sphere seems to have failed due to the Imperial Army's efforts.

"Satā. The Space Monster Shuu is also a Magatsuki. What about the risk of teleportation?"

"There is a risk, but a trap has been set. From what I've read in the OS, it appears to be using space at the same coordinates as Magatsuki, so it should be fine. Got it. It disappeared."

"I see."

Another method, escape through transfer—already prepared for, given the incident at the Sibrasmith system.

The opponent understands this, which is why they haven't used it until now… but apparently, they've taken a desperate gamble on it.

It was cleanly caught in the net and vanished.

『Now, with this outcome, the remaining options are…』

"Vee-sama! The 'Strange Water Mirror' is detecting a massive cosmic monster Shuu! It appears the cosmic monsters Shuu are merging together and charging straight at us!!"

"Indeed, it's not about quantity but quality. But with this, we can handle it however we like."

What came next wasn't a cosmic monster Shuu of similar size to those we've faced before, but a colossal Shuu—one large enough to swallow us whole.

The giant cosmic monster Shuu, breaking through the ink sphere maze with force, lunges toward us to swallow us whole...

"!??"

"Well, that's just how it is. The mod we're using only works against the cosmic monster Shuu, but to Shuu itself, it's nothing but a mortal enemy."

I extend both arms from my main body, wrapping them around Shuu—the cosmic monster—and using the mod designed specifically for Shuu, I crush it instantly.

Naturally, no event horizon rupture occurs, no explosion is triggered, and the mod even reaches the small cosmic monsters stored within, exterminating them as well.

‘……Sata, memo, Joharis. Moving forward. I think everything’s mostly settled.’

Understood. This is about handling the core.

『Yes, sir.』

『That's right. Even if we check through the "Strange Water Mirror," I think it's safe to leave the rest to the Imperial forces now that the sphere's effect is in play.』

Once we completely fill the gaps within the ink sphere's labyrinth, we move closer to the location where the polyhedral object—Shū, the core of the cosmic beast—resides.

『Just so you know, from here on, leave it to me. I'm the expert.』

『Please, Sata.』

The remaining portion of the cosmic beast Shū is moving toward us.

But since the amount was manageable even for me, I simply brushed it aside and that was the end of it.

Even if it tried to ignore us and break through by escaping beyond the ink sphere's effect range, it would be shot down by imperial forces the moment it moved into the line of fire.

We can consider the cosmic beast Shū nearly finished.

But it's not quite finished yet.

As long as the source isn't completely severed, there's always a chance that a mistake will be made somewhere, causing it to spill out... and above all, it was hard to believe that that Funaqua wouldn't eventually trigger something over time.

"Let's keep the surrounding alertness active thanks to the 'Hisonkyō'."

"Agreed. Let's set the sensitivity to maximum and search thoroughly."

"Please send me the data as well. There might be something we can figure out."

I am the core of the cosmic monster Shuu, a polyhedral entity where the powers of Magatsu and Funaka are merged—standing before a swirling mass of light.

Though it seems he has given up on creating a new cosmic monster Shuu, that is entirely different from abandoning his own purpose.

Indeed, the mass of light is already emitting an eerie pulse… preparing to explode, as much as possible, from a rupture in the fabric of reality.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Having slightly refined the mod for the cosmic monster Shuu, I wrapped it around my hand within the powered suit... and began the interference.