Chapter 15: Yad-Thaddag

Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe – 15

EP.15 Yad-Thaddag

"Did you confirm that? The giant monster reported in the outskirts of Sector C recently."

"Yes, we are currently tracking its energy. It seems to be roaming around the border between Sector B and Sector C, and there have been no reports of casualties yet."

"Keep monitoring it. If it seems dangerous, we'll deploy forces to eliminate it immediately."

"Understood."

The Space Environment Management Department.

One of the busiest departments in the Galactic Union.

They monitor energy fluctuations in the 24 sectors under the Galactic Union's jurisdiction, ensuring there are no dangerous elements.

Previously, they deployed small satellites across the universe for more detailed monitoring.

However, this led to cases where monitoring personnel would directly witness Outer Gods and suffer mental breakdowns.

Now, they use infrared and radio wave detection from bases spread throughout each sector.

When they detect threats like giant monsters or massive fleets of space pirates, the information is relayed to the Space Safety Management Headquarters, where countermeasures are devised.

Currently, they are tracking a giant monster estimated to be A-rank or higher based on its size and radio wave distortion.

Deploying one or two large warships is necessary, and even then, significant casualties are expected.

The protocol is to avoid provoking it unless its path or behavior poses a threat.

The estimated A-rank giant monster they detected is moving from the outskirts of Sector C towards the border between Sector B and Sector C.

Its path is skirting the boundary, so it seems unlikely to threaten any protected galaxies or planetary systems.

While dedicated personnel continued to monitor it just in case,

Beep beep beep—

Suddenly, alarms started blaring.

"This… this is insane…"

The employee cursed under his breath as he looked at the screen.

It was the same special alert they had encountered not long ago…

The screen kept flickering between black and normal.

"Code Black…!!"

The appearance of an Outer God, Code Black.

A special situation where the detected energy in space completely vanished in that area.

The size, shape, and the sudden tearing of space indicated the arrival of an Outer God.

"Damn it, not again…! Quickly, contact the team leader… no, Director Celeste!!"

The employees urgently contacted Celeste, the head of the Space Environment Management Department.

Receiving the call, Celeste rushed to the scene.

"Another Outer God appearance? We just had one recently…!"

He hurriedly checked the screen, incredulous.

Outer Gods never appeared this frequently.

Typically, they appeared once every few years, or at the shortest, every few months by Union time.

But it had only been a week since the last appearance.

'What, are they not counting the last incident because it wasn't a big deal?'

Celeste gritted his teeth in frustration as he examined the screen.

Something seemed off.

"…The size and void distortion rate. Isn't it almost identical to the one we saw before?"

Since living beings couldn't directly observe Outer Gods, they identified them by the size, shape, and distortion rate of the empty energy signals.

The size, shape, and distortion rate were all very similar to the Outer God that had appeared and disappeared suddenly a week ago.

It hadn't even been given a codename due to the lack of time to analyze it.

'Could it be that it's returned to cause a major incident?'

Celeste thought, but something felt strange.

The Outer God had appeared right in front of the estimated A-rank giant monster.

As evidence, the giant monster had suddenly stopped moving and seemed to be confronting the Outer God.

"…What the hell is going on?"

"What should we do? Should we contact the Safety Management Headquarters?"

"Yes, we don't know what might happen. The Outer God could do something, so we need to prepare a response…"

As Celeste was giving instructions,

"Huh?!"

An employee watching the screen suddenly shouted in surprise.

"What? What is it?"

Celeste asked urgently, and the employee pointed at the screen with a trembling voice.

"The, the giant monster just… vanished."

"What? What do you mean?"

Celeste pushed aside the employees to check the screen himself.

Indeed, the icon representing the giant monster had disappeared from the screen.

'Could that Outer God have done this?'

The giant monster?

It appeared suddenly and then…

Why?

Questions flooded his mind, but there was no way to answer them.

After annihilating the giant monster, the mysterious Outer God seemed to have completed its task and tore through space, disappearing into another dimension.

"…Both of them are gone."

"..."

The sudden situation had passed too quickly.

Celeste and the employees were left speechless, staring blankly at the screen.

At that moment,

"Director Allegros from the Safety Management Headquarters has arrived!"

"What's the situation now? Explain it to me again!"

Allegros rushed in, demanding an explanation.

Celeste and the employees could only look at him in silence.

The situation had already completely ended.

#

"So, the creature that had disappeared suddenly reappeared, annihilated the A-rank giant monster we were monitoring, and then vanished again?"

"Yes, that's the situation."

"…Huh."

Celeste reported everything he had witnessed to Elder Edgar.

After hearing the report, Elder Edgar sighed deeply and shook his head.

"This is unprecedented."

It almost seemed as if the Outer God had helped the Galactic Union.

Previously, it had caused a panic on a single tourist ship and then disappeared without further incident.

And now, it had actually helped?

'This feels like something out of myth.'

Gods who created the world and aided their creations.

It felt like witnessing the gods from the ancient myths of various races.

"Is the site where the giant monster died being investigated?"

"Yes. The Safety Management Headquarters is sending ships and personnel to the site to recover the giant monster's remains."

"Good, the remains of the giant monster will be useful for research, so make sure to secure them properly."

"Of course."

For now, all they could do was recover the remains of the already dead giant monster.

The giant monster's body, from its skin to its blood and internal organs, was valuable as both material and research data.

Honestly, dealing with an A-rank monster would have required several medium-sized combat ships from the Galactic Union, making it a costly endeavor. But now, we had gained a significant advantage without lifting a finger.

'A benevolent Outer God… or perhaps we just don't understand its intentions.'

Regardless of its motives, its actions greatly benefited the Galactic Union.

During its first appearance, it caused some damage, but it also led us to discover Eugene, a genius Tera technician.

This time, it directly killed the giant monster, providing direct assistance.

'Maybe not all Outer Gods are harmful to us.'

It made sense when you thought about it.

Higher-tier Outer Gods all possessed their own intelligence and curiosity.

While most of the time, their intelligence and curiosity had adverse effects on space-dwelling life forms, there could be instances where they acted beneficially.

'We can't draw conclusions from just this one instance. We need to observe whether this new Outer God is truly friendly towards us.'

It would be wise to monitor it separately.

For that, we needed to assign a codename to this new Outer God.

"Codename, huh."

"I do have a suggestion."

When the topic of a codename came up, Celeste proposed an idea he had already thought of.

"Yad-Thaddag. It's the name of a benevolent god from Yorein mythology. The leader of the good gods who opposes evil gods and protects their creations."

"…I see. So, you hope this Outer God will become a protector and helper for us."

Elder Edgar nodded, seemingly pleased with Celeste's suggestion.

Thus, the new Outer God was given the codename 'Yad-Thaddag.'

#

Yad-Thaddag?

Hmm… In that universe, it's said to be a god from Yorein mythology, but what I know is that Yad-Thaddag is the leader of the Elder Gods in derivative works based on the Cthulhu Mythos.

It's somewhat similar yet different.

Or perhaps they're intentionally giving names that fit well?

Well, it doesn't really matter… but it does feel nice to be given the name of a benevolent god.

Not that I'm particularly kind to all the races in the universe…

This time, I acted to ensure my avatar and old man Jupiter wouldn't die.

Still, it's better than other Outer Gods who crush everything like ants or those like Nyarlathotep who destroy and study out of curiosity.

I mean, not only did I remove a threat, but from their perspective, they also got valuable research material for free.

Thinking about it that way, I must seem like a real angel to them.

…A benevolent god protecting its creations.

Since I did it to protect my avatar, Eugene, I guess it's not entirely wrong.