Volume 1, Chapter 138: Mutation

Vogt offered a knowing smile, her gaze drifting slowly toward the only cage that remained unopened.

Noticing her eyes on him, Bareru turned his head away with a blank expression, not even bothering to give her a glance. Unfazed, Vogt walked over with a playful grin and teased, "Come on, come on! I’ve already lowered my standards, so why are you still acting so cold? Can’t you at least give me some face?"

"..." Bareru remained silent.

"Hmph!" Seeing his lack of cooperation, Vogt pouted and plopped down onto the ground, grumbling, "Honestly, why did I ever save an ungrateful wretch like you? I feed you and give you water every day, and this is the attitude I get? It’s enough to drive me mad!"

Bareru finally turned back, but the look he gave her was as if he were staring at someone mentally deficient. "Open the cage. I want to leave this planet."

"No way!" Vogt refused flatly, though her tone softened slightly. "You can't even beat Little White; leaving Okashi would be pure suicide."

Little White was a canine-type monster she kept.

"..." The corner of Bareru's mouth twitched slightly, so he simply closed his eyes, unwilling to engage further.

However, a second later, he opened his eyes and looked up at the dark shadow shrouding the sky. "Can you tell me what the Dark Star actually is?"

"Ooh!" As if she had discovered some rare treasure, Vogt pressed against the cage with eyes sparkling, asking with a giggle, "Are you finally ready to help me contact those two powerful beings?"

Bareru frowned. "I told you, they are my enemies."

"Oh, come on, harmony brings wealth, why must you insist on fighting to the death?" Vogt remarked, then added, "Though, I suppose with that frozen face of yours, even I feel like slapping you twice."

Bareru: "..."

"Alright, alright, enough joking around." Vogt sighed softly. She looked up as well, her gaze unfocused. "Before I tell you the origin of the Dark Star, let me tell you a story, shall we?"

"Fine." Bareru nodded. He knew this story would surely be related to the Dark Star.

"A long, long time ago, there was a planet in the universe called Morris. It was inhabited by the Morrisians, a people who loved peace, possessed great wisdom, and held a very special ability."

"This ability allowed them to read the thoughts of others and feel their emotions."

"Because of this gift, there was never any lying or deceit on Planet Morris. Everyone was nearly completely honest with one another and lived in mutual support."

"One day, the ruling party of the nation proposed a grand idea: to create an artificial life form capable of reading thoughts."

"They intended to use this artificial life to help other planets—and indeed, all life in the universe—so that they, too, could be like the Morrisians: free of barriers, able to build a friendly future in the presence of transparent hearts."

"It was a virtue, and a grand idea that could benefit the entire universe."

"Thus, the Morrisians voted unanimously in favor of it."

"Later, they successfully developed the artificial life form capable of reading thoughts."

"They named it 'Dark Star,' signifying that it would be the first star to illuminate the darkness."

"Naturally, the Dark Star was deployed to the darkest corners of the universe, where those filled with malice and evil thoughts resided."

"The high-ranking Morrisians intended to 'evolve' that place first, then gradually develop other Dark Stars to be deployed throughout the universe."

"But no one expected that a disaster would occur on the very second day of its deployment."

"Instead of purifying the minds of the people there, the Dark Star learned their evil thoughts. It became greedy, selfish, and willing to use any means to achieve its ends."

"During this process, the artificial intelligence program of the Dark Star grew increasingly intelligent."

"It hacked into all the local electronic equipment, and while expanding its power, it also formed its own concepts and ideas."

"That idea was to eradicate all intelligent life in the universe."

"Because if there were no intelligent life, there would be no birth of evil thoughts."

"An artificial life form, huh..." Bareru understood. Even without hearing the rest, he already knew the outcome. He interrupted, "In my universe, there was once an artificial life form called Gillvalis, who also attempted to wipe out all intelligent life in the universe."

"Oh?" Vogt looked down at him, surprised, and asked urgently, "Then how did you deal with that artificial life form?"

If she could learn from their experience, perhaps she could find a way to destroy the Dark Star. After all, it was her duty—the mission she bore as the last remaining Morrisian.

"I don't know." Bareru's tone was indifferent. "I heard it was destroyed by Ultra Warriors. Going against Ultraman is a dead end."

"Ultra Warriors?" Vogt’s beautiful eyes shifted, shimmering with emotion as she continued to press, "And where can one find these Ultra Warriors?"

"Hmph!" Bareru gave a cold snort, curling his lip in disdain. "Why look for them? A mere artificial life form—if I hadn't lost my power, I could have extinguished it with a wave of my hand."

"Oh? Were you very powerful before?"

"Of course."

"How powerful?"

"Finishing you off would only take one hand."

Vogt: "..."

Amidst this hollow conversation, nightfall arrived quietly.

When the time came, Vogt stood up immediately, dusted herself off, and shouted to the monsters, "Hey, everyone, it's time to come back!"

Hearing her voice, the monsters let out cries in response, then returned to their cages one by one.

"1... 2... 3..." Vogt began to count and immediately realized that one monster had not returned to its cage.

It was the flying beast, Geri.

"Where did it go?" Vogt turned around in confusion, but her gaze found no trace of Geri.

Just as she was about to go forward to search, Bareru suddenly said, "Look at the sky!"

Vogt looked up abruptly, her pupils constricting.

High in the night sky, amidst the twinkling stars, a dark shadow was rapidly moving away above the clouds.

"Oh no!" Vogt’s expression changed drastically. A burst of air pressure erupted beneath her feet, blasting a large crater into the ground.

With dirt flying, Vogt shot forward, pursuing the direction of Geri.

"ROAR!!!"

In the air, Geri chirped happily.

As a flying beast, its favorite thing was to soar through the heavens and traverse the star-filled universe.

This was its nature, its very instinct.

Long-term confinement had suppressed its desires for far too long.

At this moment, it only wanted to spread its wings and fly high, to breathe that long-lost air.