Chapter 161 - 156: The Queen’s Evolution
The number of remaining bandits dwindled. Having watched their comrades die in various ways, their minds had long since shattered. All that was left on their faces was numbness.
"Group Seven, cast [Aegis of Will]."
A golden glow flashed briefly between the bandit’s brows and vanished.
An assistant fed him a portion of the main brain tissue.
One second, two seconds... A minute passed.
The bandit didn’t scream, he didn’t turn into an imbecile, and his head certainly didn’t explode.
He just sat there, his body trembling slightly. His eyes were shut tight, and the veins on his forehead bulged as if he were enduring immense pain.
[Spiritual Pollution: 5%... 10%... 15%...]
The pollution value rose slowly but steadily, finally stalling at the 19% threshold, firmly suppressed by that layer of golden light.
After another five minutes, the bandit’s trembling stopped.
He slowly opened his eyes.
What kind of eyes were they?
He opened his eyes. His left eye was a human brown, filled with the exhaustion and fear of having survived a catastrophe.
His right eye, however, had transformed into a deep, profound purple, with motes of light swirling within.
But no matter how Velin stimulated it, there was no longer any reaction.
’This counts as a success, I suppose.’
Velin recorded the conclusion in his notes, then turned and left.
Behind him, Valerius and the assistants would handle the follow-up. He had already obtained the data he needed.
「Two days later, in the isolated laboratory of Origin Society’s Research Institute No. 2.」
Velin performed a final check of all the apparatus on the lab bench, confirming the position of each Extraordinary material.
The Heartstealer’s main brain was submerged in a temperature-controlled nutrient solution. The pale purple, fragmented tissue still emanated a heart-palpitating spiritual fluctuation.
He didn’t intend to have Sarah directly consume this extremely dangerous sample.
"Go on," Velin issued a command to the Insect Queen beside him.
Sarah docilely raised a forelimb. A Worker Ant crawled out from the shadows and stopped in front of Velin.
Velin tore open an [Aegis of Will] Scroll, and a golden glow enveloped the Worker Ant.
Then, he scraped off a tiny, fingernail-sized shred from the main brain.
The Worker Ant crawled over and swallowed it without hesitation.
Its body just trembled slightly before becoming still again.
[Trace amounts of a highly active spiritual source detected... Absorbing...]
[Aegis of Will barrier is effective. Spiritual Pollution has been nullified.]
[Absorption complete. Subject is stable. Spiritual Power has been temporarily increased by 9%. This effect will decay in 180 seconds.]
’Foolproof.’
Velin wrote in his notes.
He looked up at the Insect Queen.
"Sarah."
"Father." Sarah’s thoughts resounded directly in his mind.
"This main brain... only you can absorb it completely. I’ve found a way to block the mental shock, so there’s no risk of your consciousness collapsing. However, the vast stream of information it contains might induce unknown changes. Are you afraid?"
"Your will is the Swarm’s will." Sarah’s reply came without the slightest hesitation.
Velin said no more.
After using another [Aegis of Will] Scroll, he pushed the entire glass container holding the main brain in front of Sarah.
The Insect Queen swallowed the pale purple main brain along with the nutrient solution.
"VMMMM—!"
An invisible shockwave of Spiritual Power erupted from Sarah, spreading outwards!
The Magic Lamps in the laboratory flickered wildly, and the glass apparatus rattled and trembled.
But at the center of the storm, Sarah was unharmed within the glow of the [Aegis of Will].
Meanwhile, Velin’s panel was updating rapidly!
[Subject’s mind is being corrupted]
[Subject has come into contact with a highly active, unknown spiritual source! Fusion in progress!]
[...Fusion progress: 5%... 10%...]
To be absolutely safe, Velin thought for a moment, then chugged an entire bottle of [Potent Clear Potion].
Just like last time, he channeled all his Spiritual Power into a barrier, projecting it into Sarah to help her endure the pain of the fusion.
As Velin’s Spiritual Power made contact with the spiritual pollution from the Heartstealer, he realized that after absorbing the Heartstealer’s main brain, Sarah’s body seemed to be transforming into an entirely new bloodline!
Soon, a line of golden text popped up amidst the wildly scrolling data stream!
[’Heart of the Swarm’ bloodline detected. Unknown resonance with highly active spiritual source has occurred... New evolutionary path has been generated...]
[Calculating evolution plan...]
[List of required materials has been generated. Please complete the ritual before the abnormal spiritual fluctuations dissipate!]
[Countdown: 300 seconds]
Velin’s pupils contracted sharply.
He didn’t even have time to examine the long list of materials before he turned and rushed toward the lab bench.
He had spent a fortune building this top-tier laboratory for this experiment, and it contained the vast majority of Extraordinary materials he could procure!
Boosted by [Torrent of Intellect], Velin’s brain operated at high speed. His arms flew as he grabbed, weighed, and mixed ingredients from piles of bottles and jars.
One after another, he poured priceless materials into a massive container without the slightest hesitation.
There was no time for precise measurements; he relied entirely on his instincts and intuition as an Alchemist.
In just three minutes, an entire vat of a viscous, crude-oil-like potion that emitted an eerie glow was prepared.
Velin rushed back, practically dragging Sarah, and shoved her into the container.
"TSSSSSS—"
Corrosive white smoke shot into the air.
Through the smoke, Velin saw Sarah’s carapace rapidly dissolving in the potion, yet it also seemed to be getting reshaped by another force.
A giant stone cocoon made of chitin, muscle, and Extraordinary materials rapidly formed within the smoke.
At that moment, all the data on the panel vanished.
Only a single, constantly flashing golden countdown remained.
[Bloodline fusion in progress... 120 seconds]
Exhausted, Velin staggered back a few steps and leaned against the cold wall, panting heavily.
The laboratory gradually fell silent, with only the giant stone cocoon pulsing slowly and rhythmically.
He knew he had succeeded.
After an unknown amount of time, the cocoon’s pulsing grew stronger, and fine cracks began to appear on its surface.
CRACK...
A crisp sound.
A fissure split open at the top of the stone cocoon.
What emerged was not the insectoid limb Velin had expected.
It was an arm.
An elegant, fair-skinned, and flawless arm... the arm of a young human girl.
Velin was stunned.
CRACK... CRUMBLE...
The fissure widened rapidly as fragments broke away.
A cascade of dark green hair slipped out, followed by a smooth forehead, a well-defined nose, and long, closed eyelashes.
The upper half of the stone cocoon shattered completely, revealing the "being" within.
It was a half-human, half-insect creature with the face of an exquisitely beautiful girl.
Her features were delicate, and her long hair cascaded down her smooth back.
Her skin was like the finest porcelain, glowing with a faint halo under the light of the Magic Lamps.
Her lower body, however, remained a somewhat terrifying insect form.
Countless layers of dark green carapace were stacked upon each other, with Runes faintly glinting within.
Six thick, sharp, multi-jointed limbs supported a broad insectoid abdomen.
Sacred and bizarre, beautiful and terrifying.
Two completely opposite qualities had merged into one within her.
She slowly opened her eyes.
They were eyes with the same purple pupils as the Heartstealer, and as Sarah awakened, they released an intimidating light.
She looked at Velin. Her eyes still held the same attachment as before, but... there was now the added majesty of a higher being.
For a moment, Velin’s mind went blank.
Then, a very practical problem popped into his head—her upper body was naked.