CH 114

The ancestors of these life forms were born on a Hycean Planet.

The term “Hycean Planet” is coined from the words “hydrogen” and “ocean,” and refers to a planet with a global ocean beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

The habitable zone of a Hycean planet, which is larger than Earth and has a dense atmosphere, ranges from short distances where stars and tides apply, to long distances where starlight barely reaches.

The possibility of life on the Hycean Planets was pointed out by a research team from the University of Cambridge in August 2021.

And on one of the many Hycean planets in the Andromeda galaxy, life forms emerged and evolved as a natural probabilistic consequence.

After hundreds of millions of years, they built an advanced civilization, and from the perspective of humanity, they were a species similar in appearance to jellyfish.

Jellyfish are gelatinous organisms that float in the sea and use their tentacles to catch prey.

The difference between jellyfish and these species is that they communicate with other species by emitting electrical signals, cultivate themselves in the ocean, eliminate foreign enemies with their developed civilization, and eventually expand into space.

The advancement of marine organisms into space is more difficult than that of terrestrial organisms.

However, they have accomplished this by building civilizations much earlier than humans and by communicating more effectively than humans.

The question is, “Why do they go into space?”

This is because, after expanding their domain to the far reaches of the planet, they needed uncharted territory to continue to thrive.

However, interstellar travel faces two major obstacles: the speed of light, which is difficult to exceed, and the lifespan of living organisms due to aging. To solve the problems that stood in the way of interstellar progress, the Space Jellyfish have overcome aging and lifespan by transforming their bodies into quantum-thinking bodies.

Having solved the lifespan problem, the Space Jellyfish spread to neighboring star systems over time and developed various technologies.

First, energy technology was developed.

What was created was an advanced version of the Dyson Swarm, which efficiently captured stellar energy by floating a large number of concentrators around the star in a lean arrangement.

This ensured that there was no shortage of energy for activity within the stellar system.

Next, degenerate reactors were built.

These charge an artificial black hole and hold it in place electromagnetically. A black hole engine operating at the Eddington limit is automatically positively charged, making its retention easy.

The developed Degenerate Reactor became the standard engine for spaceships. Also, the intense electromagnetic waves generated by the Degenerate Reactor were used in the main guns of ships.

Finally, Gated Jump Navigation was invented.

This is an advanced form of quantum teleportation, in which a quantized object is reproduced at the end of a gate. Within the same galaxy, a gate is set up at both the source and the destination, and in exchange for an enormous amount of energy, the speed of light is exceeded.

Space Jellyfish, with their dramatically increased speed of interstellar information transmission and travel, eventually established a great interstellar civilization that spanned a vast area of space.

Many years have passed since the first exodus from the gravitational sphere of a planet.

The Space Jellyfish, which have advanced to about a quarter of the 260,000 light-year diameter range of the disk of the Andromeda Galaxy, are currently divided into five tribes.

The reason the Space Jellyfish, now quantum thought vessels, could not form a unified force was that they were of different species.

The five tribes were biologically related, but not identical species.

Although the genus of the taxonomic system is the same, it diverged before the establishment of civilization. If we were to express the racial relationship in terms of human beings, it would correspond to the primitive people who differentiated in the human genus about 1 million years ago.

Space Jellyfish have long been in a competitive relationship of a struggle for existence, or even worse, a predator-prey relationship, even before the establishment of civilization. In other words, the struggle among space jellyfish is a natural order that has been going on since time immemorial.

The oceans of the Hycean planet are vast, and there are many disloyal races that keep each other in check, and the space jellyfish that have reached an interstellar civilization without being able to completely destroy their opponents. disappeared, and the races were completely divided.

And were then engaged in an endless space race and competition for survival… or so it should have been.

First Contact was made in the Lemegeton Star System, the cradle of civilization, with the dominant force in the star system.

『You remodeled your bodies into quantum thought vessels and completely lost the mana you possessed. Aaah. What a waste. But I wonder if we can add to the miasma by cultivating other life forms.』

The visitor from afar exclaimed after immediately analyzing the space jellyfish’s means of communication.

Gremory, one of the five tribes, approached the existence with the isolated technology that arrived from outside the Andromeda Galaxy with the utmost caution.

“What do you want from us?”

It was a total surrender from the outset.

The Daemon King Theia, satisfied that the princess immediately bowed her head, showed her generosity.

『Domesticate the races that still have bodies, increase their production, and offer miasma from them. In return, you will be able to use magic elements to travel through higher dimensions.』

“I will obey your commands.”

Avoid rupture with total submission.

The choice made by the Princess of Gremory had an unexpected result: the acquisition of alternative energy and new technologies.

The degenerate reactor converts mass into energy, but if the dark energy flooding the universe is used, the fuel of mass becomes unnecessary. On the contrary, if it is used in a higher dimensional space, it can even cross the light speed barrier.

The newly acquired technology could be used in conjunction with the existing Gated Jump Navigation technology.

Two Gateships are deployed, information is linked by magic element engines, and a specific object is sent. Quantum information, which had previously been sent to distant places in exchange for enormous amounts of energy, could now be sent almost without restriction without using conventional energy.

The magic element engine technology could be used not only for information transmission, but also for attack and defense.

Imamia, the Princess of Gremory, gained overwhelming power, eventually conquering the Senate, seizing authority, and launching a war of aggression with the power of Daemons.

It was unreasonable that only one of the five tribes, that were fighting physically, began to use offensive magic, defensive magic, and teleportation magic at the same time.

Imamia’s war of aggression, in which she became Queen, drove three of the remaining four tribes to form a Tri-Clan Confederation.

The last remaining tribe, realizing that the Daemons were a much higher civilization, gave up its resistance and became subservient to Gremory.

The current five powers are 40% for “Gremory” and 10% for the subordinate “Sitri”.

On the opposing side, “Crocell” and “Leraje” are at 20%, and “Uvall” is at 10%.

The balance of power is tipping more and more towards Gremory, who has acquired Daemons.

As a countermeasure against the invaders, the tri-clan, who have suffered repeated defeats, have adopted a scorched earth strategy of advancing in the opposite direction while destroying the stars of the invaded star system with artificial black holes.

Even if the territory controlled by the invaders expands, if nothing is gained, the national power will not increase. And if a vacuum zone is created, opening the distance between the two sides, they can buy more or less time.

However, the disk of the Andromeda Galaxy is finite, and will eventually reach the limit of its expansion. There was no prospect of a breakthrough in the current situation.

「Orias Star System, report from Administrative Intellect. The Gremory Legion, stationed in the nearby sector, has begun to invade the system. The Commander of the Invasion Legion is the Duke-level Thinker, Ashen Adreana. The legion deployed so far is equal to the system’s defense legion, but reinforcements continue to arrive. The fall of the star system is estimated to occur in 4000 to 5000 hours.」

The Viceroy of the sector, Funeral Almaros, was displeased with the Administrative Intellect Orias, which was predicting its own extinction as if it were someone else’s problem.

However, defiance by the Administrative Intellect is impossible by design. Understanding this, Almaros held back his expression of dissatisfaction and took the stance of silently watching the two armies destroy each other.

Gremory’s legion, allied with the Daemons, continued to call for allies while maintaining a certain distance, and invaded after victory was confirmed due to the difference in strength.

Due to the desperate difference in travel speed, it is impossible to send rescue faster than Gremory. If they are obsessed with the star system, defeat is inevitable.

The countermeasure is to reduce the enemy legion as much as possible and destroy the stars so that they cannot be used before retreating.

Left to clean up after himself, Almaros was nicknamed “Funeral” by both enemies and allies.

“Perhaps it would be better for the future to flee to another galaxy.”

The Deputy Viceroy, Requiem Dina, suggested a last resort to Almaros.

It is not technically impossible to escape to the Milky Way Galaxy or other galaxies in the same local galaxy cluster. They would have to travel about 2.5 million light-years, but Almaros and his troops would not run out of time.

What lies beyond the escape is a possibility that does not exist in the Andromeda Galaxy.

The Andromeda Galaxy probably has no more advanced interstellar civilization than Goetia, the Space Jellyfish. It is still possible that there is an interstellar civilization on the other side of the Andromeda Galaxy that is similarly advanced, but a civilization of the same magnitude will not be able to defeat Gremory.

However, somewhere in the entire universe, a civilization far more advanced than Goetia is certain to exist. The only confirmed existence are the Daemons that give power to Gremory, but Almaros and the others do not believe that there are no other Daemons.

The encounter with a rival civilization will improve the situation for Almaros… that is Dina’s argument.

“Daemons, higher dimensional beings without physical bodies, need low dimensional intermediaries to interfere with the lower dimensional plane. Therefore, they cannot act without the help of a group like Gremory. And if it is about defeating Gremory alone, it is possible for a civilization more advanced than Goetia.”

Dina believes that any civilization large enough to reach the entire Andromeda Galaxy can win.

Unfortunately, there are no galaxies in the local cluster larger than the Andromeda Galaxy. However, an intergalactic civilization that has begun its journey from the galaxy in which it was born can defeat even Gremory, who has joined forces with the Daemons.

While Almeros does not deny the possibility, there was another problem with implementing it.

“I do not deny your suggestion. If we travel a few hundred million light-years, we might find it one day. But in a few hundred million years, Gremory will have become an even more powerful force. We who continue to flee will not be able to evolve, and the rift will only grow wider.”

“But we must avoid destruction. Surrender is not an option.”

“Of course. I will continue to fight in pain, through thick and thin, for the ultimate goal. But if the opportunity does not present itself by the time we reach the edge of the galaxy, we will flee.”

As Almaros continued to imagine reaching the end of the galaxy, the unmanned Crocell Legion under his command continued to fight and destroy the invading unmanned Gremory Legion.

The blue flames and red flames flickering in the universe erode each other. Eventually, the red flame forcefully pushes the blue flame inside.

「Orias Star System, Administrative Intellect, reporting.」

The usual scene was interrupted by an unexpected report.

「The Commander of the Invasion Legion, Ashen Adreana, has relinquished command of the forces and has made an emergency departure from the Orias Star System. Gremory’s ability to control the Legion has been greatly diminished. The Gremory Legion has halted its advance and changed its formation to a deep defense.」

“”………… Huh?””

Contrary to the always calm Administrative Intellect, the Sector Viceroy and Deputy Viceroy were stunned.

Immediately afterward, Almaros came to his senses and ordered all legions in the system to go on the offensive.

“All legions, immediately launch a full-scale offensive. The Motherlands, Uvall, and Leraje must be informed immediately of this unusual situation. Inform them that a counterattack on the widest possible area is required.”

At Almaros’ command, the blue flames flickered and attacked the red flames as they shifted into a defensive formation.

「Orias Star System, from Administrative Intellect. Will confirm with the Marquis-level Thinker Almaros, the Sector Viceroy. What is the basis for the decision to make an emergency communication to Uvall and Leraje without going through the homeworld?」

“It would be impossible for Gremory, whose victory was assured, to abandon the legion and withdraw, unless Queen Imamia, who is under contract with the Daemon King, was in crisis. Such an emergency exists. If we counterattack in a wide area, we can estimate the size and origin of the problem by the difference in reaction. On the other hand, if we don’t investigate now, we’ll never know. Hurry up!”

Following Almaros’ order, which radiated a will strong enough to pierce through the other party, Dina, the Deputy Viceroy, agreed.

“The Deputy Viceroy and Count, Dina, also acknowledges that this is an emergency and fully agrees with it. Make it so, now.”

「The emergency requirements have been met. Sending emergency communications to the Motherlands, Uvall, and Leraje.」

On that day, the Andromeda Galaxy was visited by a second traveler, following the Daemons.

Afterword

Thank you for pre-ordering the book edition of Volume 4.

I’ve been working on various things, such as solving a certain Duke’s device problem.

The book also includes a limited edition.

Please kindly order it (o_ _)o))