Double Yolk.
People usually say that when you fry an egg and two yolks come out, it's your lucky day.
But what should I call it in this case?
'......What's there to call it? It's the worst.'
I looked at the two kin before my eyes.
Two that were not merely born of the same clutch but had hatched out of a single egg.
These bizarre twins, evolved into different metas, glared at me.
The attack-specialized higher species, 'Blade-Tooth Madam.'
The defense-specialized higher species, 'Ironclad-Scale Bouncy Jelly.'
Facing one was hard enough, and now there were two, and the two of them joining forces at that.
At this rate, I could never win on my own.
'With the Blade-Tooth Madam, you might as well say all ten tentacles are electric saws, and the Ironclad Scale goes around carrying ten bulletproof riot shields. Both of them are a massive pain.'
As I had felt when fighting the Worker Crant the other day, an opponent who has put every stat into defense is a bad matchup for me.
On top of that, the Ironclad Scale's defense was a good five times better than that of the Worker Crant I had fought before.
Because the jelly-like flesh sitting beneath those black, hard scales dispersed most outside impacts.
'If they double-team me in a cramped place, there's no way out. I'd better get out of here first.'
I spouted ink at the two kin, as much and as wide as I could.
When the sticky ink blocked her view, the Blade Madam went into a fit.
Because she had the sad memory of her blades stopping dead on account of my adhesive ink.
The Ironclad Scale stepped forward, shielding the Blade Madam.
WHOO-SH!
He curled his short, thick legs like shields and guarded every direction.
He seemed to think I would attack after cutting off their vision.
But I had already slipped out past them and was running for my life.
'Just you wait, someday!'
A line like a 3rd-rate villain's in a cartoon.
Usually, when you bolt while saying something like that, they just let you go, but...... the two kin seemed to have no such intention.
...WHIIIIIIIRR!
The Blade Madam's tentacles began to spin at high speed.
The Ironclad Scale, too, came after me with his ten shields in tow.
Electric saws on the right, shields on the left.
With the strongest attacker and defender pressing in at once, there was nothing to do but run.
SWOOSH—
The instant I passed under an arch of rock, I shot ink into the gap.
KRRRRRRK!
The ink spreading out in the shape of a spiderweb net.
It looked as if the Blade Madam's saw blades would be wrapped in sticky ink again, but.
BO-OM!
When the Ironclad Scale pushed his shields straight forward, a current rose and tore the ink net apart.
BOOM! POW! BO-OM!
He shoved as many as ten shields forward by brute force and blew the water itself away, so the ink cleared quickly too.
'So if you're strong, you can use shields like that too.'
I turned and shot out light.
...FLASH!
At that very moment, the Blade Madam stepped forward.
She reflected my light back with the saw blades sprouting from her tentacles.
'Ugh!'
The light scattered off the irregularly sprouting saw blades was not as bright as the light I had sent, but I still could not help frowning.
BOOM! POW! WHOOSH!
When I shot ink, the Ironclad Scale swept it away by waving his shields like fans, and when I shot light, the Blade Madam tilted her blades and reflected it.
'But fighting up close would be suicide.'
The Blade Madam's tentacles, in charge of attack, would tear my skin like paper, and I had no attack technique to pierce the Ironclad Scale's armor and shields.
Worse, those two moved faster than I did, so the distance was steadily closing.
I stopped now and then to spray ink and shoot light, but even so, they were gradually adapting.
'I need to open up some distance.'
First I had to get out of this straight tunnel.
Dodging this way and that around stone pillars, I fled toward open ground.
From here on there were quite a few places to hide.
I swam toward where the sea urchins were gathered.
Behind me, the Blade Madam and the Ironclad Scale came on, smashing every sea urchin in their way.
It was only natural, but the sea urchins' poison spines did nothing at all to stop the two kin.
When the Ironclad Scale batted the sea urchins away with his shields, the Blade Madam sent a swirl of slashes through the gap.
BABABABABABAM!
The slashes swept past, leaving long scars in the floor.
I very nearly lost all my tentacles.
SWOOSH—
I left the sea urchin field and slipped into the anemone forest.
'This way, they'll have no idea which direction I fled in.'
Anemones have lower defense than sea urchins.
But at blocking sight, they are far better.
Because if you push through sea urchins it shows, but anemones soon cover the gap you leave.
Sure enough, once I had passed through the sea urchin field into the anemone forest, my pursuers began to flounder.
I swam zigzag through the anemone forest, tangling my path into a mess.
......And then.
[Gluk— Glururk—]
[Grrrrrk— Grrrk—]
The two kin seemed to put their heads together and whisper about something.
Before long.
'Huh? What's with those bastards? What are they doing right now?'
I could not help but open both eyes wide.
...CLAMP!
The Blade Madam stretched out her tentacles.
The Ironclad Scale stretched out his tentacles too.
Facing each other, the two wound their ten tentacles together and held on.
And soon, the Ironclad Scale began spinning the Blade Madam's body round and round with his short, thick tentacles.
WHUM— WHUM— WHUM— WHUM— WHUUUM—
The Blade Madam straightened her whole body like a single blade.
The Ironclad Scale spun the Blade Madam's body like a windmill.
Before long, a great whirlwind of blades rose up and began grinding up every anemone in the area.
'Uwaaaaaah! Insane!'
I was aghast, watching the anemone forest get laid waste.
If I got caught in that vortex and sucked in, I would end up like a health juice ground in a blender.
I clung tight to a rock and held on so as not to be dragged off by the raging current.
KRA-KRAKRAKRAKRAKRAKRAKRAKRAK!
Spinning the Blade Madam round and round, the Ironclad Scale turned the anemone forest into a wasteland.
And soon, on the now-barren plain, I was spotted clinging to a rock and straining.
'Two of you doing this is cheating!'
The instant the current stopped, I bolted.
The Blade Madam and the Ironclad Scale began chasing after me fiercely as well.
I burrowed into a narrow tunnel.
The two pursuers burrowed into the narrow tunnel after me.
My body was much smaller than theirs, so I had thought I might shake them off if I burrowed into narrow holes, but.
GURRRRRGLE......
Those two were mollusks too, so they squeezed through narrow gaps quite well.
Worse still, any tunnel mouth that seemed too narrow they widened with blade grinding, so I could see no way at all to shake them off.
But even so, I did not give up.
'Fine. Follow me if you can. In the end, I win!'
Sharp currents fired by the Blade Madam rained down from behind.
WHAM— BAM!
Feeling my body slowly being shaved away, I fled and fled.
Just then.
HALT—
I stopped running.
The tunnel ahead was blocked.
A solid rock wall stood squarely in my way.
If I wanted to flee somewhere else now, there was no passage anywhere.
A perfect dead end.
On a closer look, there was one small hole in the middle of the wall, but it was far too small and narrow even for me to get through.
As I turned with my back to the wall, two shadows stretched long before me.
GLURRRRRK......
The two kin, revealing themselves from beyond the dark water.
The Blade Madam and the Ironclad Scale were staring at me with nasty smiles.
A triumphant air, as if saying, 'Caught you at last.'
But.
'Well? Who's the one who got caught, I wonder?'
I still had not given up.
FLA-SH!
I gave off light at the greatest brightness I could produce.
The Blade Madam and the Ironclad Scale frowned but did not back off at all.
They spread their blades and shields in every direction to block my escape.
But I had no intention of running.
'I'll kill you with this light!'
I squeezed out every bit of strength and stimulated my light cells.
Bright light burst out like mad.
Of course, light by itself can do no damage, so the Blade Madam and the Ironclad Scale held their positions without any particular wariness.
Rather than attacking with their eyes shut, the two slowly closed the distance, cutting off my escape.
Their choice was very rational and efficient.
A strategy of not overreaching from a position of absolute advantage, slowly tightening the noose on the prey.
......But.
'That caution of yours, not attacking rashly, is exactly what will strangle you bastards.'
I called up even my last strength and gave off light.
Meanwhile, the Blade Madam and the Ironclad Scale closed in to within arm's reach.
At that very moment.
I turned off my light and threw myself flat on the floor.
[......?]
[......?]
The Blade Madam and the Ironclad Scale looked puzzled at my suddenly defenseless posture.
But they did not even have time to tilt their heads.
KA-BOOM!
Because out of nowhere, the wall at my back exploded.
The Blade Madam and the Ironclad Scale, closing in on me without a clue, took the shockwave full on their whole bodies.
[Wu-ooooooh!]
Amid rock fragments flying in every direction, a huge pincer appeared.
-<Scissor-Claw King of the Sunken Pirate Ship>
-A hermit crab wandering the floor of the dark deep sea found a home exactly to its liking.
This great pirate ship, which once roamed the seas and made its name known, has now fallen to being a mere fiend's nest.
-Combat Power: 1,003,021
-Traits: <Scissor Cut>, <Pincer Hammer>, <Scissor Sickle>, <Corpse Scavenger>, <Moving House>, <New House Syndrome>, <High-Pressure Jet>, <Tenacious Life>, <All-or-Nothing Victory>, <Single Combat>, <Impregnable Fortress>, <Seashell Bullet>, <Rock Paper Scissors>, <Spiral>, <Lurk>, <Seizure>, <Strong-Acid Innards>, <Back from the Brink of Death>, <Chain Destruction>, <Demolition Crew>, <Gigantification>, <Hell Bite>, <Hell Vortex>, <Abyss Drop>, <Intermediate Ice Resistance>, <Intermediate Electric Current Resistance>, <Omnivore>, <Glutton>, <Long-Lived Species>, <Vigor in Old Age>, <Stratum Severing>, <Sea Cut>
The monster with a Combat Power of 1 million had been drawn in by my light once again.