New threat

——————

“By the way, why did you suddenly stop? Is something wrong?”

“The cockpit… the control room, it’s here.”

Rudy pointed to the door beside him.

“You should have said that sooner.”

Rudy shrugged his shoulders at Naomi’s remark.

“Well then, here we go.”

Rudy put some effort into opening the door, and a bright light dazzled their eyes.

As their eyes adjusted to the light and their vision returned, Rudy inspected the interior of the cockpit.

It was about the size of a tennis court. The original seats were replaced with damaged control panels.

The front and ceiling screens had large holes, presumably from the crash, allowing sunlight to pour into the cockpit.

Over the years, rainwater and mud had flowed in through those holes. In the center of the cockpit, flowers bloomed, filling the air with a sweet fragrance.

Ruins and nature, two contrasting elements intertwined, creating a surreal world that captivated anyone who beheld it.

If it’s in such a terrible state, obtaining data seems impossible. Rudy gave up on obtaining data due to the condition of the cockpit.

Naomi was mesmerized by the sight of the cockpit, but she noticed an unpleasant smell that didn’t belong in this place, wrinkling her nose.

“Rudy.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you smell something?”

Rudy imitated Naomi and wrinkled his nose. Then, amidst the scent of flowers, a faint animal odor reached them.

“…Spotted beast?”

“Could it be that there’s a second one here?”

Furrowing her brow, Naomi chanted a spell in a low voice.

Meanwhile, Rudy switched his left eye implant to thermal vision and scanned the interior of the cockpit.

“…”

As they confirmed through their respective abilities that there were no living creatures nearby, they lowered their guard.

“It seems a spotted beast  isn’t here after all. This place was probably its den, and the scent was lingering.”

Rudy nodded to Naomi and let go of the grip of his shortsword, which he had been holding lightly.

Despite knowing that Spotted Beast was not present, the two of them approached the center of the cockpit without neglecting their vigilance.

It was the place where sunlight shone the brightest, and flowers bloomed profusely, concealing a large hole in the floor hidden by grass.

“It seems like this is where the beast entered.”

“When no one is inside the spaceship, It might have come out from here to get food.”

“If this place is its den, it’s a shortcut. There’s a big possibility. Naomi, you were living nearby. It’s amazing that you’re safe.”

“Even if you say nearby, it’s still quite far from here. It must have been outside of beasts’ territory. So, what do we do?”

Naomi glanced sideways at Rudy. He frowned and stared into the depths of the hole in the floor.

“I have a bad feeling, a tingling sensation. I’m going inside.”

“Then wait just a moment.”

Naomi stopped Rudy, who was about to enter the hole. She closed her eyes and activated her magic, her face contorting slightly.

“Probably, There is a spotted beast inside.”

“… Are you sure?”

“I told you before that magic doesn’t work on the spotted beast. Within the range of the search spell I just used, there’s only one place that I couldn’t confirm. That’s a characteristic of a magical creature that magic doesn’t affect. However…”

“However, what?”

“I don’t know if it’s asleep or dead, but it’s not moving at all. The beast I know has a sharp sense of smell and would attack if it detected the scent of prey, even if it’s a distant location within the spaceship.”

Rudy nodded in response to Naomi’s words, recognizing the situation.

When he entered the spaceship, The beast approached him for a fight as soon as he went a little deeper. It was because it had keen senses and quickly noticed Rudy’s presence inside the spaceship.

“It is unaffected by magic. Naomi, stay here.”

“No, I’ll come too. Even if direct magic doesn’t work, there might still be a way.”

Naomi shook her head, dismissing any concerns.

“I won’t care even if you die.”

With those parting words, Rudy jumped down into the hole.

Left alone, Naomi shrugged at Rudy’s words and followed him into the hole.

The hole they descended into led to an air duct wide enough for a person to pass through. As they continued through the duct, they came across a broken ventilation door on the floor.

The two looked at each other and nodded before jumping down further.

The place they landed after the jump seemed to be a storage area, according to Rudy’s estimation. It was about the size of a basketball court, and in the center, there was a large cocoon covered in threads.

“What is that?” Naomi squinted her eyes and became wary when she saw the cocoon. The location of the cocoon coincided with the place where her magic didn’t work.

The cocoon had a diameter of about 4 meters. Threads extended from the ceiling, floor, and walls, hanging in the air.

And at the center of the cocoon, an eerie red light was pulsating and moving like a heartbeat.

“Be careful. It seems dangerous,” Rudy said, getting ready and gripping the hilt of his shortsword.

“Could it be the offspring of the Spotted beast?”

“I’m not specialized in that, so I don’t know much about them. But I’ve heard that combat creatures don’t have reproductive functions.”

Combat creatures had become outdated even before Rudy was born. Therefore, they were not used in wars, and Rudy didn’t possess detailed knowledge about combat creatures.

“Even now, my magic doesn’t affect the cocoon in front of us. But to me, it looks like that cocoon is absorbing mana from the air,” Naomi said.

“Mana… because it’s sucking it in, it might not be affected,” Rudy replied in his peculiar manner, easing Naomi’s tension.

“Then, where is the mana that it’s sucking in going?”

“…”

The creature slumbering inside the cocoon seemed to instinctively perceive the two intruders in the room as a threat, as it began to stir and show signs of waking up.

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