SOS CH 35 (Patreon)

The following fight against the horde of Parasites was undoubtedly the most difficult fight Noah had to go through in a long, long while. Almost too long.

From the get go, what made the Parasites truly terrifying, beyond their ability to evolve into the beings they devoured and assimilated into themselves, was their hivemind. All of them were connected due to this trait.

They did not feel fear.

They did not feel fatigued.

They did not question orders.

They did not refuse orders.

Destroying themselves was not seen as a sacrifice, for they did not truly die and were still part of the greater whole. Thus they were complete, thus they could do anything.

Death did not stop them. It was not the end, merely the dissection of a single part, insignificant to the greater whole.

They had no greed, no desire, no individual will.

Just their purpose and thus the duty to accomplish said purpose with any means necessary.

Parasites were the ultimate army, the epitome of military perfection that would make any military drool to make them their own. Perhaps, the only thing one would find lacking in them would be the inherent time required for them to learn and evolve from their former self.

Fighting them was a tiring ordeal, often giving the feeling of not being a worthwhile endeavor.

Since they all shared the same senses, it was impossible to catch them off guard in the traditional sense. Alerting even one of them meant alerting the whole horde and the hive mind as a whole.

If this had been an assassination mission in the game, Noah would have thrown the controller against a wall and cursed all nine generations of the developer of this unbalanced game for giving him such an impossible mission.

Thankfully, this was reality, and stealth… was merely one of the many options.

———

Endless roars of an enraged beast filled the periphery of the forest as raging winds and billowing clouds of dust rose in the surroundings of the horrific sound. The amalgam of explosions from gunshots, super rifles, and other conventional weapons used in the olden times created a cacophony of carnage in the form of music that was nothing short of a beautiful symphony of death and destruction.

To kill a parasite, destroying their heads and their hearts was the surest way possible that they had devised while fighting the cosmic beasts. They could die of blood loss but as they inherently had great vitality, they could survive even if they were bisected from head to toe.

Bzzz~!

Noah immediately stepped to the side, even before the sound could reach him. The missing hand on his right arm was the result of him having underestimated what it meant to be technologically superior to its time.

Portable Railgun.

Perhaps one of the greatest wet dreams of all scientists who specialized in weapon development on Earth was this particular weapon. And the worst thing was…

They shouldn’t have this shit right now. Not when it was developed far later in the fight against the Parasites.

The first usable model of a portable Railgun was created long after the war against the aliens began and was only equipable on Mechas for the greatest efficiency possible while using the guns. They had never managed to reach the level of a handgun in his time either, only being able to make it portable enough for the giant mechas. Which wasn’t portable in the truest sense but it was what it was.

In the first place, it should have been impossible to create a source of energy high enough to shoot an explosive railgun and the recoil would destroy the shoulder of anyone trying to use the cataclysmic weapon.

However, it did not stop them from creating the deadly weapon of mass destruction.

Noah exchanged a flurry of fists and kicks against the horde of cosmic beasts before plunging his arm into the chest of one of the creatures closest to him and efficiently destroying its heart and core.

Even though he made it seem easy, the action itself was far harder than how he accomplished it so smoothly. They may seem like standard humans, in the most horrific and disfigured shapes possible, but their bodies were incredibly tough and resilient even before they received the boost, whatever the fuck it may be, from the system to elevate the difficulty. Furthermore, they could increase their speed and power by seemingly using Dark Matter or some similar substance.

I didn’t know you could do that.

— I didn’t know either. Humans never had Dark Matter inside their bodies so our evolution simply focused on increasing our physical abilities by integrating them into the human body.

That is good and all but, I am being surrounded by these fuckers.

It was also worth noting that he was unable to devour or eat them either as he did with the pirates. Not only because he didn’t have the time to go through with the devouring process but also because once they died, they would swiftly decompose and vanish from existence. Alongside their weapon. Thus Noah had no way of replenishing his energy reserves.

From fifty to five hundred and now far more than he could even count with a glance alone, the number of enemies did not go down as he killed them but simply kept on increasing and while they were becoming more numerous, the amount of damage he was receiving was also seemingly increasing at a steady pace.

There was no doubt in his mind. This test was not something someone could pass. If the power of the Parasites was increased to match the power of the one taking the test then the only possible result would be surefire Death.

But far from feeling desperate in the current situation, a certain sense of excitement took hold inside Noah and was on a steady rise.

Fighting the pirates had started waking up his buried senses from his days fighting in the war but it had not been enough for him to recuperate all of his senses. They were too weak to bring much joy and anticipation inside him and awaken the predator that lay within him.

But this…

A massive grin formed on his face and his eyes shone in a luster of gold. This was a moment for him to retrace his steps and learn from the very basics. In the future, he might once again be besieged like this, so he had to make sure to lodge this experience in his memory/

People had no reason to play fair. War was not a game.

So all he had to do was simple.

Adapt.

It was his calling, the single most effective way he was able to become what he had become. His whole life had been one painful ride of survival.

Slowly, the bulkier form of the Parasite Queen changed shapes, and two scolopendre swords formed on his back and around his arms all moving with pinpoint precision as they immediately pierced his targets with near instantaneous response time.

The energy leakage of the Dark Matter inside him gradually slowed down to a moderately acceptable degree as he watched and observed how to use this new form of energy. After all, the pirates he had killed did not have access to Dark Matter.

The first time he voluntarily moved this pool of energy that rested deep in his body, Noah had the impression that he ascended to new heights of power.

The world was not different.

Nothing had changed.

Nothing except for him.

His moves became more efficient, faster, more bizarre, having no particular trajectory or set path, and far more destructive. Like a predator rushing in a flock of sheep, Noah danced to the tune of his attunement and killed them mercilessly one after the other. The more he killed the better he became.

He did not know how long he had continued his fight, but time seemed meaningless in this realm he had entered during his fight against the monsters. However, after a long time of slaughtering through the beasts, he realized that the Parasites had changed themselves.

They were giving him more space as they entered a form of ranged combat. Not because of fear but because they judged that he had no particular way to reach them from a distance. He could only go as far as mid-range by extending his retractable blades using his armor.

They were not wrong.

Noah had no way to perform any ranged attacks. But this was also the fatal mistake they made.

The parasites were many things.

But for all the perfection they seemed to have, there was one thing that should never be forgotten.

They were not above being tricked!

— I found her!

The Queen had not stayed idle throughout this fight. Though she had an idea where the other Queen should have been at this time, she did not have a perfect memory either and couldn't give the most accurate positioning to him.

But she was not useless. Not only did she help him move the two blades on his back and cover his back but she had been working on intercepting and analyzing the orders that were being sent.

The positioning slightly shifted and exact numbers were added.

— South-West. 1600 meters away from our current location.

Noah crouched down as a runner, slowly accumulating power in his legs. Both by using his strength and the little insight he had received by observing and analyzing the way the Parasites used Dark Matter.

By the time the Parasites realized that something was amiss and were about to crowd him once again— it had already been too late.

“Goodbye, fuckers!!”

Whoosh~! BOOM~!

Several explosions followed as shockwaves spread in his surroundings due to each and every one of his steps and Noah immediately broke the sound barrier several times over.

No obstacles could stop him nor even slow him down as he flew like a bullet toward his target.

It was time to kill the queen for the second time and end the test.

———

(AN: First test ends next chapter. I tried to keep it exciting without dragging too much. Hope you liked it. Let’s see what will happen next. I wrote around 4k today with this chapter when the total is added. Heh. Pretty productive day.)

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