These space beings that aren’t that much different than a colony in terms of size are pretty dangerous. He said there were three kilometers from the outer edge to the department store, right?
“Dwight, what’s the diameter of this colony?”
“About ten kilometers, why are you asking?”
“Wasn’t the department store in the center?”
“Hn? Not the exact center, but it’s where the transport lanes to other spheres are. What’s that all of a sudden?”
You should have told me…
“Don’t be shocked, but there are octopuses bigger than the one from before on top of the solar panels.”
“You’re kidding… But why did you ask about the diameter of the spheres?”
“Octopuses are covering most of the spheres by stretching their tentacles.”
“Are you saying those monsters are ten kilometers in length!? Wait, that octopus had long tentacles, but the body was less than half, right?”
“I can’t make the calculations, but I think even that must be over one kilometer.”
Dwight is perplexed, and so am I.
“Where is this colony’s army? Or the whole prime’s?”
“I saw on TV that Lumomo Fourth’s defensive fleet is composed of seven frigates. Twenty corvettes… No, thirty, and over a hundred combat ships… Their destroyers are defending the main planet, but the news said they have five.”
“Hm… So they can’t kill those octopuses unless they land a hit on their vital areas?”
“You killed one in one shot.”
If Tortilla Double’s large laser cannon turret can’t handle them, I’m thinking I have to abandon the colony. I’ll try it, but how do I get back?
“Can’t you send out a transmission from here? My ship might be able to kill them.”
“I see… I believe you, but this place doesn’t have that ability… Should I get the power going?”
Fortunately, Dwight says we can provide electricity to the environment control device and life support system from here through different pathways. Only the emergency lights will be on, but there will be light.
But we won’t know if that restores the internet.
I’ll have to make my way to the dock in zero gravity.
“By the way, is this emergency power generator a nuclear fusion reactor?”
“Of course, or there wouldn’t be enough power.”
I feel a heavy and low sound in my stomach as it turns on, and the room lights up like a nightlight.
“It’s working. Having light should settle the confusion in the colony a little… Or at least I hope it does.”
“I need to get back to my ship, but what are you going to do? You can’t stay here, there might be more octopuses.”
“Geez, I wanted to watch your heroics on this monitor. My house is near the dock, so I’ll take you up there and go home. I wanna change my clothes too.”
“Okay, let’s go back.”
Sure enough, we came across two more octopuses on the way to the department store. This colony’s in trouble. Can I make it back?
There’s still no gravity on the surface, but I don’t hear anger and insults anymore. The barrier in the rip up there is still there, and many people are dealing with the urchins.
At least it doesn’t look like the octopuses have made it to the surface.
Don’t tell me that rip was made by an octopus pulling on the sphere… If it was, we really need to kill those things quickly.
“Armors are beginning to move on the surface.”
“Because they can move in zero gravity…”
“<Hey! You over there! This is the Lumomo Fourth police! Come here right now! I’ll take you to a shelter!>”
A power armor with a simple exterior, that I see in second hand stores a lot, comes over to us. If it’s the police, I’m thankful… Ah! Power armors should have wireless! I just realized it!
“I’m Genma, a Highway three mercenary! I want to contact my ship’s crew! A ship called Tortilla Double! Can you do it by wireless!?”
“<Ahh? What are you… Wait, Tortilla Double? I saw a ship with that weird name among the mercenary volunteers. I’m pretty sure a Town one mercenary named Saratha is operating it.>”
“Can you get in contact with my crew!?”
“<Wait, I think I can. Wait here.>”
“Okay. Dwight, I think I can get back together with my crew.”
“Yeah, be careful. I’ll just go to the shelter. I’ll talk about the octopuses too, but I hope there’s more people that saw them.”
It ends with a light handshake. Well, that’s it. After a while a four legged armor comes rushing in zero gravity. I can see snake and octopus stickers on it.
“<Genma! You’re alive!!>”
“I’m glad you’re okay too! What about Kori!?”
“<She’s pissed!>”
“Sounds like she’s well… What happened with Tortilla Double!? I need to take off!”
“<I think it can leave, but… why?<”
I’ll explain as we go.
The dock where Tortilla Double is parked is a mess. And the ship is floating.
Saratha uses the rear thrusters on the armor to get us through the rear hatch. In the cargo bay, Kori is fizzing like someone threw mentos in her and Iris looks the same as always.
“You’re alive~~~~!!!”
“I’m back. Iris, did you see it?”
“Welcome back. Yes, I have. I have reported, and confirmed the giant space octopuses. We have received approval to shoot down one of the octopuses, the one clinging to the eighth sphere.”
I quickly get down while clinging to one of the arms of the armor, and after waiting for Saratha, I go to the elevator.
“Thank goodness~~~!!!”
“Just one? Good grief, are they trying to save face? What information do we have on the octopuses?”
“Brefilmora Prime wants to settle this themselves, but they don’t know how long the eighth sphere will hold. Their destroyers are moving as fast as they can, but it will take three hours. Unluckily, people who can see magic energy are off duty and don’t have the time to look outside. The leaders of Brefilmora Prime have also confirmed the giant space octopuses.”
Three quarters of my body are buried in cola float as we ascend. The remaining fourth is being tapped by a snake tail. That tickles.
“The space octopuses appear to be a new species. There are octopuses that can use camouflage, but not that large and with such perfect stealth capabilities. We had the Mercenary Guild calculate the price per octopus.”
“Suzuri says the radar can’t catch them.”
The living room is kind of a mess. The mountains of pillows that were on the L-shaped couches are all over the place, so that’s going to be hard to clean up.
“Brefilmora Prime put out a quest through the Mercenary Guild. The objective is to exterminate the large octopus clinging to the eighth sphere, and the reward is five hundred thousand puni. The price of the corpse will depend on its condition. Furthermore, they have heard about the mission to turn on the emergency generator underground from the dwarf, and it will be added to the reward as a service.”
“So Dwight made it to the shelter.”
“Yes, without any issues. And it seems space octopuses are typically edible.”
“Octopus…”
“You…”
I was thinking about how to squeeze some more reward money, but it’s fine. And let’s have mastery chef make some takoyaki.
We can pickle octopus, make takoyaki, sashimi, karaage… Let’s make some karaage too.
In the cockpit, I’m greeted by Saratha, and a red swollen-eyed Suzuri. I’m thinking I want to take off this fuzzy Kori gear soon, but is it cursed? She’s just clinging to me without saying a word.
“I am really glad you are alive, Genma…”
“Welcome back boss. Shouldn’t you rethink your equipment in case it happens again?”
“Thanks. You’re right, I just got lucky, so let’s use the reward money for that. Suzuri, I’m taking the controls.”
Saratha sits at the radar seat, and Kori stretches her body as she takes her seat on the communications chair but sticks to my stomach. Her slime core is near my bellybutton… Iris is in her designated spot behind me.
“Tortilla Double, launching… Actually, can the dock open?”
“It uses a different energy source, so yes.”
I use the manual controls to leave the dock into the port, and then into space.
There are frigates, corvettes, and large transport ships standing by outside Lumomo Fourth. They all have the Brefilmora Prime crest and name.
“Are those rescue ships?”
“The large transport ships? They said they don’t know when gravity can be restored in the colony, so they’re here to collect people. They should make it more clear, boss.”
“Yes. Now let’s go fishing.”
I fire up Tortilla Double’s engine, and do a vertical U turn to reach the solar panels under the fourth sphere.
Lumomo Fourth’s bottom is facing the sun. It looked like a sideways donut when I exited hyperspace, but it’s actually standing upright.
The octopuses are in places where the sun is hitting them, going well over warm and into hot. They really are big.
It’s no exaggeration to say that eighty percent of the length of octopuses on Earth were their tentacles.
The sight of the webs between an octopus’ tentacles crawling all over the eighth sphere is terrifying. Some people might think of Cthulhu, but this is just a really big octopus.
Its rectangular eyes are pointed this way, but it doesn’t seem to be moving.
“Maybe it relies on stealth too much and won’t vomit ink…”
“I looked it up after Genma’s communication, and space octopuses attack with ink, but it seems they do it to get away. And sure enough, their attacks are intense when they use the tentacles… Is there really one there?”
“I can’t sense magic energy either… And tortilla Double’s external cameras don’t have a magic energy sight function.”
“Those are expensive.”
“Darling’s magic eyes cost three hundred thousand~~~!”
“I’m glad I was born in a body that can see magic energy.”
The tentacles alone seem to be five kilometers long… I can’t even process this size.
“Okay, let’s fire from ten kilometers away, with the large laser cannon turret’s output at maximum. Kori, notify the ships around us of the predicted attack range in case it pierces it.”
“How~?”
“Miss Kori, I will take over.”
I hear her going ‘hm hm I see’, and feel relieved. This is where I should be.
“Done transmitting~!”
“Tortilla Double, fire!”
We’re aiming between its eyes. It will be a big problem if it doesn’t have vital organs there, but since it’s been confirmed that space octopuses really do have a weak spot there, I just have to believe it and shoot.
I set the sight with the thing that’s like a trackball mouse, and fire. The large laser shoots it right between the eyes, piercing it.
Surprised voices echo in the cockpit, as I see the space octopus turn white. It slowly peels away from the eighth sphere, not like it’s moving, but like it lost the strength to hang on and is naturally leaving it.
“Huge~~~~!!!”
“It really is big. It’s scary how I didn’t notice it.”
“Fuah… That is crazy.”
“It’s gotta be dead since it turned white.”
“We are receiving a transmission from the Mercenary Guild and the leaders of Brefilmora. Thank you, they say.”
“I’m glad their weak spot really is between the eyes…”
I finally take a breather, but I’m worried about the other octopuses. I can confirm they’re on the other spheres with Tortilla Double, but they’re just eating urchin.
Was the intelligence I felt in the maintenance area just in my imagination?
Three hours later, the other octopuses are dealt with by the destroyers, and the Lumomo Fourth colony is saved from destruction.
Also, special platoons of thousands of muscular men descend from Brefilmora’s large transport ships, who eliminate the urchins and octopuses. Lumomo Fourth has been safely reclaimed by Brefilmora Prime.
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