How should I put it...
To be honest, the fact that the Immortal didn't kill me was something I had somewhat anticipated.
Even if I wasn't completely certain, the hostility the Immortal had shown me had clearly lessened after Janus had implanted a part of himself into it.
'Still… this is far beyond what I expected.'
I stared at the Immortal, who was greedily devouring a multi-calorie bar.
Who exactly was the Immortal?
The ruler of the Cracked Desert—one of the most formidable lords of the regions threatening the Ark.
And now that same Immortal was… accepting and eating multi-calorie bars from me?
It was hard to believe, even seeing it with my own eyes.
["…Master, what is this?"]
'Not sure…'
Esther asked, but even I had no way of properly interpreting this situation.
I didn't know.
Really, I had no clue.
'If there's one thing I can say for certain, it's that the Immortal no longer bears hostility toward me.'
And that was a huge win.
If the Immortal had remained hostile, I wouldn't be alive right now—never mind the future.
But the Immortal had not killed me.
I still didn't know its true intentions, but at the very least, it meant it wasn't an enemy.
As I mulled over my thoughts on the Immortal…
"That one… not that."
The Immortal, who had been eagerly draining the food supplies from my [Rift Space], suddenly spoke.
"…What do you mean?"
"The one… I ate earlier."
"The one you ate earlier?"
The only thing the Immortal had eaten earlier was a multi-calorie bar, wasn't it?
I glanced down at the one currently in my hand—strawberry flavor, perfectly ordinary.
The one the Immortal ate first was chocolate, though… but would it really be picky?
'Wait… don't tell me…'
Just in case, I took out a chocolate-flavored multi-calorie bar from my [Rift Space] and handed it over.
It seemed silly, but I had to try.
"…This one?"
Instead of answering, the Immortal snatched it from my hand and devoured it instantly.
Even watching it happen, I was dumbfounded.
"..."
Apparently, Esther felt the same way, her voice tinged with dismay.
["…What the heck is going on? Did it just—was that really it being picky with food?!"]
'Seems like it.'
["Unbelievable…"]
I could understand how she felt.
I was feeling exactly the same way.
'…So, for now, maybe I don't have to worry about the Immortal.'
Of course, the Immortal wasn't someone you could just not worry about. But at least for the moment, I could afford to leave it be.
And really, it was too busy enjoying the chocolate-flavored multi-calorie bar to care about anything else.
"Crunch, munch…"
More importantly, I had something I needed to take care of.
'The Turncoat King's bone tentacles… I need to consume them.'
Parts of a monster on the level of the Turncoat King weren't easy to come by.
Yet now, fragments of the Turncoat King were scattered everywhere.
Of course, I'd almost made a fatal mistake once before by feeding one of those to Janus without preparation. So, this time, I'd have to purify them first.
'Let's see…'
I reached into my [Rift Space] and pulled out a flask of life water.
["…Why that all of a sudden?"]
'I've got a use for it.'
["Can't we just clean this up and go? That water gives me a bad feeling…"]
Ignoring Esther's grumbling, I poured the life water over the Turncoat King's scattered bone tentacles.
Ssssss…!
As the monster fragments reacted with the life water, a violent backlash flared for a moment.
But only briefly.
Since they were just leftover remnants, the bone tentacles quickly fell still.
'Looks like that did it.'
Last time, without this purification step, feeding the Turncoat King's tentacle to Janus had nearly resulted in subjugation.
It had been dangerously close.
So, this time, I wasn't taking chances.
'I could leave them, sure—but the Turncoat King's fragments are way too valuable.'
If I didn't have a way to purify them, that'd be one thing. But if I did, then there was no reason not to use it to strengthen Janus.
As I'd felt during this last battle, both Janus and I still had room to grow.
'Janus.'
[Keek!]
I offered Janus a purified bone fragment from the Turncoat King.
["W-Wait! You're gonna feed that to our Bone Buddy?!"]
'That's the plan.'
["No way! I don't approve! How could you feed that to our precious Bone Buddy?!"]
Esther wasn't the only one unnerved by the purified Turncoat King fragment.
Janus also seemed reluctant to eat it.
'Eat.'
[Keek…]
'Now.'
They say fear might be far, but fists are near.
Janus looked hesitant at first, but soon began cautiously chewing it.
Crunch, crackle…
Crunch!
No sooner had Janus begun absorbing the Turncoat King's fragment, than its body started to shudder.
[Keek!]
With a violent tremor, the color of Janus's bone tentacles began to shift.
They were normally a near-black hue even without activating metallic hardening—but now, they slowly turned pale white.
Just like the Turncoat King's own bone tentacles.
[You have absorbed a part of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat King'!]
[You have absorbed a very powerful Skull Turncoat fragment! Your understanding of bone parasites has drastically increased!]
['Bone Armor (Lv.5)' [Janus] performance increased by 0.5%!]
[Utilization efficiency for all bone-parasite equipment increased by 5%!]
Maybe it was because of the life water purification.
The growth from consuming the Turncoat King's fragment wasn't as explosive as I expected.
'Well… it was just a tiny piece after all.'
From here on out, it would be rinse and repeat.
As long as my supply of life water allowed, I planned to use all but a minimum reserve to purify the Turncoat King's bone fragments.
'Let's do this.'
I opened the [Rift Space] again.
* * *
[You have absorbed a part of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat King'!]
['Bone Armor (Lv.5)' [Janus]'s overall performance has increased by 0.4%.]
[Utilization efficiency of all bone parasite equipment has increased by 4%.]
[You have absorbed a part of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat King'!]
['Bone Armor (Lv.5)' [Janus]'s overall performance has increased by 0.6%.]
[Utilization efficiency of all bone parasite equipment has increased by 6%.]
[You have absorbed a part of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat King'!]
['Bone Armor (Lv.5)' [Janus]'s overall performance has increased by 0.3%.]
[Utilization efficiency of all bone parasite equipment has increased by 3%.]
.
.
.
[You have absorbed a part of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat King'!]
['Bone Armor (Lv.5)' [Janus]'s overall performance has increased by 1%.]
[Utilization efficiency of all bone parasite equipment has increased by 10%.]
[You have absorbed a significant portion of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat King', and acquired some of his abilities.]
After finally absorbing every fragment of the Turncoat King scattered throughout the area—
The changes continued. And at last, Janus's hue settled into a dull gray—no longer the jet black of before, nor the stark white of the Turncoat King.
[Keek!]
I could feel it.
Janus's power had grown substantially.
'Let's see for ourselves.'
I checked the information on the bone armor.
───────────────
[Bone Armor (Lv.5)] [Janus] [★★★★★★★★★★★★★ (13-Star)]
— A standard-issue defensive suit for Ark officers (Lv.5), linked to a domesticated bone parasite as a power source.
— It has been named Janus.
— Current absorption rate of Ankelenth's Fang: 58.2%
— Has absorbed part of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat King'.
— Can now use some of the abilities of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat King'.
"View Details"
───────────────
What stood out most was the nearly 8% jump in Ankelenth's Fang absorption rate.
Even though I hadn't absorbed the Turncoat King's blood or flesh—just his bone fragments—it must have resonated, being a fellow bone-parasite monster.
'Excellent.'
Best of all, beyond Janus's general power boost, I had also gained access to some of the Turncoat King's abilities.
'Let's test it out.'
We were out in the plains, far from the Ark.
A perfect testing ground for a newly acquired power.
Of course, having the Immortal right beside me was mildly concerning, but manageable.
'Alright…'
I conveyed my intent to Janus.
At once, Janus's body began to tremble softly.
['Needle Spike' has been activated]
Gray-colored bone tendrils extended from Janus and began burrowing into the ground.
They were incomparably thicker and longer than before.
THWUK!
THWUK THWUK THWUK!
Dozens of bone tendrils burst forth beneath the surface, erupting upward in a radius of several dozen meters around me.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK───!
Bone spikes sprang up from every direction.
Relentlessly, continuously.
A massive field of bone—just as the name suggested—had risen from the ground.
["Whoa! What is this?!"]
Esther cried out in shock.
And with good reason—this skill had been spectacular on all fronts.
'…Incredible.'
Even I was briefly stunned by the overwhelming might of it.
The ability I'd gained from the Turncoat King's fragments was immense.
Of course, it wasn't without its drawbacks.
[Keeek…]
After just one use, Janus let out a weary moan.
It was a technique that consumed a massive amount of energy.
Even more so than 'Sand Collapse', which I obtained from devouring the Sand Devourer, or 'Death Spores', from consuming The Rotting Body, Opacum.
Not only was the Turncoat King stronger than both of those monsters, but the nature of the power itself seemed to demand more.
'Hmm… not ideal for hunting run-of-the-mill beasts or monsters.'
In short, this ability would only be efficient against large-scale, second-class threats or higher.
Anything weaker, and 'Sand Collapse' or 'Death Spores' would likely be more practical.
'Still, having the option is a good thing.'
With everything wrapped up, I knew it was time to return to the Ark.
I'd been out here far too long.
'It's about time for a Wave to hit.'
Normally, the Wave should've hit already. The fact that it hadn't said only one thing:
A Multi-Wave.
Just as I'd expected, the Ark would soon face a Multi-Wave event.
'But before I return… there's one problem I have to deal with.'
The Immortal.
'I can't kill the Immortal in my current state. Sealing it isn't an option either. In that case…'
I quietly watched the Immortal munching on another chocolate-flavored multi-calorie bar.
Maybe it was because of that oddly innocent sight—
My decision didn't take long.