SSS-Rank Evolving Monster: From Pest to Cosmic Devourer-Chapter 100: Investigating

"Did you notice anything weird? For example, any traces of undead energy?"

Ricky’s voice was calm, but there was a sharp undertone beneath the words—like a predator testing the wind before a hunt. His compound eyes shimmered ominously under the faint glow of spiritual light, their multilayered pupils narrowing with focused intent.

Boar fell silent.

At first, he’d assumed the Venom Fang Overlord had summoned him to ask about that arrogant leopard—perhaps to scold him or question the bloodbath that had unfolded earlier. But to his surprise, Ricky didn’t mention it at all.

Instead, the question caught him off guard. Undead energy?

That wasn’t what he expected.

His massive form shifted slightly. Muscles tensed beneath his thick skin as he thought deeply, his snout scrunching in concentration.

After a moment, he finally replied in a low rumble:

"There was not a single trace of undead energy..."

But just as the words left his mouth, the implications behind Ricky’s question hit him like a lightning bolt.

The Overlords wouldn’t ask him this question for nothing, something must have happened?

His pupils dilated.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Undead... appeared near us?" he asked, voice hoarse with disbelief.

For a creature as experienced as Boar—who had survived countless bloodbaths and watched time change—few things could genuinely shock him.

But the undead?

So close to the Overlord’s castle?

That was a nightmare scenario.

His breath quickened slightly, eyes still wide.

Yet Ricky didn’t respond. He merely shook his head, slow and ominous.

Then—

Whoosh!

His body dissolved into a stream of thick, dark mana, vanishing from sight in a streak of black lightning. The window burst open with a gust of spiritual wind, blowing loose scrolls and leaves into the air.

Ricky shot across the skies like a shadow cast by death itself.

---

While moving Ricky contemplated.

Despite his quirky nature, Ricky understood the basics of science. He wasn’t a scholar—but even he remembered what a zygote was.

The beginning of life. The first cell. The seed from which everything else grows.

So an "Undead Princess Zygote"?

That name alone was enough to trigger alarm bells.

The birth of something unnatural. A queen embryo molded from death and decay.

Whatever was forming inside that cocoon... it wasn’t meant to exist.

It was the kind of thing that twisted fate and devoured balance.

---

Meanwhile, beneath a tree wreathed in glowing vines and vibrant spiritual energy, Noctyss lay lazily on her side, her robes loose and her hair cascading like ink across the grass. In one hand, she held a cluster of fruit—ripe Nine-Element Fruits, each one brimming with terrifying vitality. They sparkled faintly with power, a treasure that could make even Spirit Lords jealous.

She was nibbling casually, licking her fingers between bites, clearly enjoying her moment of stolen peace.

Then—

She froze.

Eyes wide. Fruit hovering inches from her lips.

Across the sky, a streak of black mana ripped through the clouds, headed straight toward her like divine judgment.

Her elegant brows twitched.

"Why is this abomination out here?"

The words echoed in her mind like a curse.

She didn’t even need to ask who it was. That ominous aura—the suffocating, deathly pressure—it could only belong to one creature in the entire forest.

"Mosquito..."

Her good days were over.

Until now, she had believed Ricky was in the middle of some profound retreat, probably gorging on pills and cultivating like a maniac. He hadn’t stepped out of his castle in days. Most assumed he was experimenting with dangerous arts or unlocking some ancient inheritance.

Noctyss had, of course, taken full advantage of his absence.

But now?

He was flying through the sky like a blade.

And that meant only one thing—

Something was terribly, horribly wrong. frёewebηovel.cѳm

As such, his sudden appearance caught her completely off guard.

Noctyss, who had been indulging in the forest’s abundant luxuries, froze for half a heartbeat—but only half. The next moment, a single word thundered through her mind like a divine decree:

"Follow me."

Ricky’s voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to.

That calm, resonant tone struck deeper than any roar.

Noctyss didn’t dare hesitate. Before she even realized it, her body was already reacting. The fruit slipped from her hand and rolled silently into the grass, forgotten.

She stood.

Her expression turned solemn as she trailed behind the shadowy blur streaking across the sky.

---

The place where the Undead Princess Zygote had taken root was unrecognizable.

It was as if death itself had descended.

All vitality—everything green and vibrant—had been ripped away. For several hundred meters in every direction, the forest had turned to ash. The trees were nothing but empty husks, brittle enough to crumble with a passing breeze. Even the soil, once rich with spiritual essence, had split apart—jagged cracks several meters deep carved into the earth like scars from a battle between titans.

When they landed, the air was thick and heavy, saturated with lifelessness. The atmosphere screamed silence, an oppressive stillness that made even seasoned powerhouses feel ill at ease.

Noctyss walked forward cautiously, her footsteps soft, but her gaze razor-sharp. Her pupils dilated as she surveyed the carnage, and then narrowed sharply when they locked onto the black-and-white cocoon pulsing at the heart of the devastation.

A grotesque thing.

Veins of blackish-red spiraled across its surface, and strange faces flickered like trapped souls—crying, laughing, snarling, whispering.

Noctyss’ voice dropped into a dangerous whisper, her breath catching for a second.

"Undead Princess Zygote... How the hell did it appear here?"

The words weren’t just surprise—they were alarm, laced with bitter recognition.

Ricky’s eyes twinkled at her reaction. As expected.

He hadn’t been sure, but he’d gambled on her knowledge—and it had paid off.

Without even glancing at the cocoon, his gaze locked onto Noctyss like a blade honed by intent.

"Tell me everything," he said, voice low but absolute. "No holding back."

His tone left no room for doubt, no wiggle room for games or evasions. It wasn’t a request—it was a command.

Even for someone like Noctyss, who had once stood high above mortals and monsters alike, Ricky’s authority at that moment was undeniable.

And beneath the strange, pulsing light of the zygote, surrounded by death and silence, she understood—

Something had been born here that should never have existed.

"Although the origin of the Undead Army isn’t entirely clear... one thing is certain." Noctyss stepped closer to the pulsating cocoon, her amethyst eyes glinting coldly as they scanned every inch of it. "Before the army arrives, the Undead Princess Zygote always appears first. Quietly. Patiently. Feeding off the surroundings... gathering the energy required to unleash the coming flood."

Her voice was calm, but underneath it was a depth of unease she couldn’t mask.

Ricky remained silent, processing the information as he stared at the grotesque cocoon. The pulsating veins, the faint whispers, the grotesque faces that danced across its surface—it all made sense now.

So... the Zygote isn’t the invasion.

It’s the harbinger.

A portal... that welcomes the swarm.

He shared this thought aloud.

Noctyss nodded without hesitation. "Exactly."

Ricky’s gaze narrowed. "Is there any way to stop it?"

At that, Noctyss didn’t even hesitate.

She shook her head firmly.

That single motion carried a weight heavier than words.

"That’s what makes the Undead Princess Zygote so terrifying," she explained. "Even if you find it—even if you find it early—there is no safe way to destroy it."

"You can only prepare... and hope you’re strong enough to survive what comes after."

Ricky’s brow furrowed. He didn’t like that answer. Not one bit.

He turned back to the cocoon. From the outside, it didn’t look all that dangerous. In fact, he had the feeling that if he truly tried, he could crush it with just a bit of pressure.

So why can’t it be destroyed?

Noctyss noticed his expression and let out a long breath.

"The Zygote exists in equilibrium," she said, her voice quiet now, like a teacher explaining to a child standing too close to a live bomb. "Right now, inside that shell, the forces of life and death are in perfect balance."

"Tampering with it... even slightly... would shatter that balance."

Her hand gestured toward the withered forest.

"And once that equilibrium breaks... the explosion will not just burn this forest to the ground—it will erase it from existence."

"No way...?"

This time, Ricky was truly stunned.

He stared at the dark, pulsating cocoon with disbelief in his eyes. That thing—small, silent, still—could cause such devastating destruction?

It was hard to wrap his head around.

Just... this little thing?

Enough to wipe out an entire forest? Maybe more?

Noctyss didn’t answer. She only sighed.

She had seen this reaction before—countless times, in countless faces. Shock. Denial. Then reluctant acceptance.

"You’re not the first to say that," she said softly, her gaze lingering on the grotesque structure. "That exact reaction... was the downfall of three kingdoms during the early stages of the undead invasion."

Her voice wasn’t bitter, just... tired. As if she carried the memories of what those fallen kingdoms had lost.

"The truth only became clear after repeated devastation."

Ricky’s expression turned grim. He still didn’t want to believe it, but something about the steady calm in Noctyss’ voice made it impossible to doubt her.

Besides, she had no reason to lie.

Moreover, she couldn’t lie to him.

He had already branded her soul. Her words—her very essence—were tied to him. Lies, even half-truths, would be impossible.

A heavy silence settled between them, broken only by the eerie, distant hum of the cocoon. Somewhere within, the zygote pulsed—feeding, growing.

Preparing.

And the forest, silent and still, watched as death took root in its heart.

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