Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 58: Versus Mysterious Monster (1)
The first thing Cassandra did upon waking up was check the time on her terminal. If she subtracted the time she had started "sleeping" inside the cabin, then she would have rested for over six hours by now.
"Mmm!"
She let out a soft groan while stretching her legs—only for them to quickly touch the edge of the cabin’s walls. Surprised, she retracted them, which threw off her balance and made her roll to the other side.
As she did, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a handsome man, breathing peacefully in deep sleep.
"...!"
Recalling the scenes before she had fallen asleep, her cheeks turned a shade of red once more. However, she quickly shook her head, chasing away such lofty thoughts.
’Arthur and Eva are already a pair… I can’t impose my selfish feelings upon them…’
After spending time with the two for a while, this was a truth she had come to understand. Of course, the two in question weren’t even aware of it themselves. Their "affection" for each other wasn’t that obvious, after all.
However, to Cassandra, who had been gauging people’s emotions and inner thoughts since she was little, such minor details did not escape her keen observation.
She did find Arthur attractive—not only because she had done the marriage oath with him, but also because of his personality. However, her position as a princess of an entire solar system made her hold back her true feelings.
’It’s nothing new, anyway…’ she thought, smiling to herself bitterly. ’And I can’t bring myself to drag Arthur into even more of my troubles…’
Marrying into royalty was one thing, but even just receiving the affection of someone from the Royal Family was enough to bring trouble. And Cassandra would hate to be the one responsible for Arthur getting hurt.
’Ancestors of the Meyers Royal Family, please forgive me for breaking the oath...’
She prayed in silence and continued staring at Arhtur’s face, her heart filled with guilt and sadness, her lips curled into a wry smile.
Her expression slowly softened, becoming more at ease, as she extended a hand forward, brushing a lock of Arthur’s hair aside. She watched his sleeping face up close, for an undefined amount of time—smiling to herself—before she finally stood up and left.
She was already satisfied with just that—and wouldn’t ask for more.
As she stood up, her emotions were already in check. The initial confusion and fear of realizing that her own father was trying to kill her, along with the despair of discovering that their family’s ultimate warship—the Eclipse Sovereign—was in pursuit, had completely vanished…
All of that was gone.
Only a grim resolution and a stout heart remained.
"I will fight for my survival," she whispered as if chanting a mantra to herself. "Even if my opponent is you, Father!"
---
Soon, our 8-hour-long break ended. Although some fatigue still remained in my system, it was within tolerable levels. Now, all we had to do was head to where Cassandra was being led and return alive.
After ensuring we had finished packing up, I tugged at my supply crate.
"Alright, let’s proceed!" I cheered, facing one of the blocked paths.
The foam-like material obstructing the path was as hard as metal but easily removable. I simply sprayed it with purified water, and everything began to break down, melting away and revealing the path once more. The reaction was almost like watching Styrofoam dissolve in acetone!
Today, our formation changed.
Eva now led the way, with me at the rear and Cassandra in the middle. This ensured that Cassandra remained protected, even if enemies attacked from behind.
{We’re close... It’s just up ahead.}
After walking for about two more hours—taking down all the aliens we encountered along the way—Cassandra finally revealed that our journey was almost over. Eva tightened her grip on her blasters, while I double-checked the railgun in my hands.
Yep. We’re all set!
The path ahead was a straight shot, leading to a large cavernous clearing. However, there was one problem.
"The drones, even the nanobots aboard them, got shot down as soon as they entered that zone. Without a doubt, there are hostiles there. Be careful while advancing!" I warned, reminding everyone.
{Roger that...} Eva replied, her voice filled with tension.
The air became thick with killing intent. Eva was prepared for whatever was to come, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.
Within minutes, we arrived at the end of the long passage. I carefully parked the supply crate behind me, anchoring it to the cave’s metallic walls.
Eva stood at the left edge of the entrance, out of view, with Cassandra behind her, further to the left. I, on the other hand, leaned against the right-hand side before turning to the others and nodding.
That was the signal to start.
Eva swiftly threw an item from her hand—a cylindrical object—into the cavern. The next moment, the object was detonated just as intended.
The cylinder broke apart as it exploded, scattering bright fragments that illuminated the entire dome.
It was like a flare, but instead of lasting a few seconds, it persisted for at least 30 minutes. The special metal inside the tube reacted to matter, releasing light energy and heat, allowing us to get a clear view of the interior.
Without delay, I observed the cavern—and quickly identified the monsters waiting for us. No... scratch that. It was an alien I hadn’t seen before.
The creature looked reptilian, with vertical pupils of golden color. It had a large head, shaped like a chicken’s, but with sharp teeth lining its edges. Two short forearms, two powerful hind legs, and a long tail for balance allowed it to stand upright.
"It looks like a dinosaur… a T-Rex?" I muttered, trying to identify the creature.
Eva quickly responded to my quip. {I don’t know what that dyno-something you’re talking about, but that beast looks powerful. It has thick muscles, so it must be a tough opponent!}
I glanced at the railgun in my hands, then toward the stack of weapons on my supply crate. "... I’ll change my armament then. Wait a minute..."
Railguns were powerful, but they simply launched a mass at hyperspeed toward a target. Judging from the muscle structure—and comparing it to aliens I knew with similar builds—I realized that a railgun wouldn’t cut it.
I changed my armament, opting for a heavy mining laser instead. With its powerful penetration power, it could definitely tear through that T-Rex-like monster’s skin like it was made of paper.
Eva passed one of her blasters to Cassandra, giving her the means to fight back in an emergency—before grabbing another Plasma Blaster from the supplies.
After adjusting our weapons, it was finally time for the real battle.
The "flares" would last a long time—far longer than we’d need to take down the enemy—so there was no need to fire another one.
I raised a hand, counting down from three… to two… then one. At zero, Eva leaped into the cavern, flying straight toward the confused, semi-blinded enemy.
A second later, I also charged in, but I stayed close to the edge of the room, maintaining as wide a field of view as possible. Cassandra followed with a slight delay, mirroring my movement but running counterclockwise from the entrance.
In just five seconds, we were already in formation!
{Drop dead!}
Eva reached an optimal distance—about 20 meters from the monster—stomped her feet to the ground, and fired her blasters. Two beams, one red and one white, shot forward at literally lightspeed.
But what happened next defied all expectations.
*PING!*
The beams, as if hitting a reflective surface, bounced off the T-Rex’s body. The two beams struck the walls, leaving finger-deep, melted holes in them.
"What the...?!" I reacted a second later, then quickly regained my composure.
Without hesitation, I gripped my Mining Laser tight, aiming at the monster’s eye—the softest spot I could target. I pulled the trigger, causing the internal mechanisms of the laser to vibrate before firing a blue beam a second later.
Follow current novels on freewebnσvel.cѳm.
The shot landed dead-on, striking the monster’s eye, but—
*PING!*
Just like before, the beam deflected helplessly, hitting the wall behind it. Although, unlike Eva’s attacks, the mining laser managed to carve a massive three-meter-deep hole into the material—but that didn’t really matter.
"It fucking bounced a laser off its eyes!" I growled, unable to believe what had just happened. "Is that thing from planet Krypton or something?!"
{And what imaginary planet is that now?! You’ve been spouting nonsense since earlier! Focus on the fucking fight, Arthur!}
Eva growled as she zigzagged, using her powered suit’s thrusters, drawing the T-Rex’s attention. Thankfully, it wasn’t too fast, but given its massive size—towering over five meters tall and stretching seven meters from head to tail—each step sent it forward like a missile.
If she got cornered, she’d be swallowed in one bite!
’But lasers don’t work, and I doubt the railgun will either. What can we use...?!’
I racked my brain, mentally listing the items we had available. But before I could waste seconds overthinking, a glimmer of hope appeared before us.
*ZIIIN!*
Another laser beam flew—from the opposite side. Cassandra, with an expression so serious it seemed out of character, had fired her blaster. It zipped through the air, heading straight for the T-Rex. I expected it to deflect just like before, but—
The beam slipped right into the monster’s open mouth!
A perfectly timed shot, right as it was about to bite at Eva!
The laser burned through the inner wall of its cheeks and exited the other side, leaving a thumb-sized hole through its flesh. At that moment, my lips curled into a crescent.
"... Nice one!" I cried in shock and joy.
With her "lucky" shot as a clue, Eva and I had simultaneously figured out exactly how to cook this reptile!
