CH 358

The research facility was so huge that it was no problem to move around in Mirai. We made our way down a large corridor to the bottom level.

“Wait a minute, what’s that?”

Jean noticed something and brought Mirai to a halt. He saw that a large white cocoon was attached to a pillar in the center of the large floor.

“It resembles an insect cocoon, but there is no such thing as an insect of that size. I’ve scanned it, but it’s an unknown substance that doesn’t match any data I have in my database.”

“I can’t imagine what kind of things Feri doesn’t know…….”

I can’t even imagine what Feri, who knows ten thousand times more than I do, doesn’t know. Thinking about it, I started to get scared.

“The thought of an insect of that size breaking through its cocoon and coming out gives me the creeps.”

“Stop imagining things, Nagisa!”

Nagisa and Linnecarlo usually show their courage, but conversations like this remind me that they are just ordinary girls.

“Anyway, don’t you think it would be better if we left here as soon as possible?”

As Kiyone had said, there was no advantage to staying here. We hurriedly tried to get out of this creepy area. But just as we were about to pass by the cocoons, we felt a heavy thud.

“Geez! What the hell! What’s happening?”

“Something’s tangling with the Mirai’s hull. It’s quite powerful and will be dangerous if it continues.”

“What the hell? We’ve got to get Mirai out of here before it gets twisted to pieces!”

Me, Nagisa, Kiyone, and Linnecarlo hurriedly got into our magicrafts and immediately set off.

From the outside, I could see the situation. Something like a white thread extending from a cocoon was entangled in the hull of the Mirai. It couldn’t have been an accident since it looked like an attack with hostile intent.

“Is the cocoon alive?”

“No way…….We’re fighting that thing?”

“Give me a break…….”

The white thread that moves like a squishy tentacle gives me a strange sense of discomfort.

“Let’s just deal with the white thread for now!”

If we don’t hurry, Mirai will be crushed. First, I tried to slash at the white thread extending from the cocoon with my sword. However, it was tougher than I expected and could not be cut with a single blow. After many slashes, I finally succeeded in cutting it.

Soon, however, new threads grew out of the cocoon. Their numbers increased and they became more troublesome. All four of us fought off the increasing number of white threads, but they kept coming back in greater numbers.

“No! There’ll be no end to this if we don’t do something about the cocoon!”

“I’ll slaughter it with my four-element cannon!”

Linnecarlo says, and floats up but Jean stops her.

“No! Linnecarlo! If you use the four-element cannon in a place like this, the ruins might collapse and bury us alive!”

There was definitely a danger of that. Even though the research facility was large, it was not large enough to unleash the four-element cannon.

“I’ll take care of the cocoon. Linnecarlo and the others, protect Mirai from the white threads.”

I didn’t have any specific countermeasures in mind, but I intuitively knew that Arleo-2’s firepower could handle it.

As I approached the cocoon, a number of white threads attacked me, as if they sensed danger. I knew it would be troublesome if I got tangled up in them, so I avoided them by using my sword. Arleo-2’s mobility exceeded the attack speed of the white threads so I was able to avoid them all and approach the cocoon.

As soon as I was in range, I launched a magic light bomb. Countless balls of light were shot out at high speed and hit the cocoon. Even though all of the light bullets, which were powerful enough to penetrate the armor of a magicrafts, hit the cocoon, it did not seem to be destroyed.

I hadn’t expected to end it with the magic bullet attack, but I was a little impatient when it was so ineffective.