My Children Swarm the Cosmos – Chapter 8

𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 (3)

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Experimental Subject 412 flew and arrived at Subject 457’s hive.

Subject 457’s hive had a cave-like structure built on the ground, with huge beehives piled on top of the hive in the shape of a woman’s swimming cap.

The wide-open entrance was infinitely dark and deep, like the giant maw of a creature living in the abyss.

Subject 412 walked confidently into the hive after retracting his wings into his body.

Then, the 1m diameter round insects attached to the ceiling of the spacious room emitted light. They, too, were chimerazs that followed Subject 457’s collective consciousness.

“Gloworm.”

As the dark space became brighter, the outlines of objects were revealed.

Experimental Subject 457 was sitting on a throne-like seat with its back against the wall. In front of her, 16 chimerazs were lined up on the left and right like a guard of honor, all bipedal.

They seemed to be a little over 2 meters tall, with narrow, slit-like eyes, a flat nose, no lips, and teeth exposed. And the blades protruding from both wrists like wrist blades seemed to be their weapons.

Subject 412 stopped there and looked at her on the throne.

“You’re sitting there like the king of this hive.”

“It is the behavior of an experimental subject to act like the ruler of a species. Is there a problem?”

Jijijik. . .

Subject 412’s right arm transformed into a blade.

“No. I think it’s great. A throne like that and a great guard of honor.”

“You, who eats your own kind, don’t have the right to praise me.”

“I’ll be sure to learn from the way you built this kind of hive and your side as a ruler.”

“You must have intended to eat me, too. You must have intended to take away my abilities developed through my efforts and take away the abilities of other members of the same race. Am I wrong?”

“I will become the ruler of the chimerazs. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“That’s why you’re called a monster. A monster that devours human knowledge, the abilities of its kind, and our hive as it pleases.”

Immediately after Subject 457 declared this, the 16 elite chimerazs lined up in front of the throne moved at once.

Keureureureung. . .

Their threatening sound was filled with murderous intent.

“Subject 412. I’m going to kill you here, dissect your body, and analyze it.”

“That is impossible.”

He denied it with a single stroke.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because the side of you as a ruler that you showed me was nothing more than sitting on that ‘low throne’.”

At his remark, which she didn’t know whether it was sincere or provocative, Subject 457 gritted her teeth so hard that it made a sound.

“This son of a b*tch spits that out as a word. . .?”

“You can’t become a ruler with your individual fighting power and legion control at that level. How can someone who can’t fight and can’t control a large force sit on the throne? . . .That’s why I said the throne you’re sitting on now is low.”

The conversation stopped there. The 16 elite chimerazs rushed at Subject 412.

They were weapons with two legs and two arms. Close combat with such things was quite difficult.

Unlike other chimeraz groups that generally walk on many legs, the movement is irregular.

“Kill that b*stard!”

Subject 412 countered by twisting his body or swinging his own sword while the elite chimerazs slashed him. However, the elite chimerazs dealt with Subject 412’s movements cleverly while reading them. It was about predicting his actions while watching Subject 412’s right arm or leg.

It was the first time he had felt the enemy’s gaze while fighting.

𝘒𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘩!!!

The guys must have shared Subject 457’s emotions in waves, and they even let out a monstrous scream possessed by evil.

When he swung the blade of his wrist, he dug in his hate-filled teeth when his arm was cut off. Subject 412 was cut in the arm, his shoulder cut, and his side stabbed without a break in the offensive.

𝘚𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘴𝘩!

Every time that happened, his black armor was repaired almost instantly. Blood poured out from the wound, but the skin quickly healed. In the broken part of the armor, wriggling cells flowed out like threads, entwined with each other, and quickly hardened.

One, two, and three of them were cut down and collapsed. The elite chimerazs surrounded Subject 412 and struggled, but somehow the outcome of this battle seemed to be already visible.

The number of elite chimerazs was decreasing one by one, but Subject 412 showed no sign of losing momentum.

“A monster-like b*stard!”

Subject 457, sensing the ominous feeling, got up from her throne herself.

𝘑𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘬. . .

At the same time, the wall behind the throne split vertically, creating an escape route. This was an attempt to escape while the elite chimerazs were buying time.

However, Subject 412, who was fighting by moving his body in microseconds, was also watching her actions.

It was a very short moment.

Subject 412 suddenly stopped fighting. He stopped his busy legs and lowered the blade of his right arm, which he had been swinging at the elite chimerazs, to the ground.

It became a momentarily, but extremely defenseless posture.

𝘌𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘬!

Of course, the elite chimerazs did not miss the opportunity. As if they had been waiting, they all rushed at Subject 412, grabbed his body, and bit him savagely.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥!!!

Subject 412 took a few steps forward while suffering enormous damage. In the process, as the armor was broken and torn, Subject 412’s main body inside the armor was exposed forward.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥!!!

He came out of his armor and ran as it was. He threw his black armor to the elite chimerazs as bait, at the maximum speed he could muster.

“Hieek. . .!”

Did it take 7 seconds for this strategy to succeed? Subject 457, who was running away behind the throne, was suddenly grabbed by the nape of the neck.

Then, a group of elite chimerazs rushed towards the throne to protect their master.

At that moment, Subject 412 grabbed Subject 457 by the neck from behind.

𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘤𝘬!

And, as expected, he turned Subject 457’s body and showed it to the elite chimerazs.

“Eugh. . .!”

It was a sudden hostage drama.

The elite chimerazs stopped instinctively. Everyone stopped moving.

In the ensuing silence, the elite chimerazs gritted their teeth and growled. They glared at Subject 412, who had taken their master hostage.

Eventually, Subject 457 raised both hands.

“I-I got it! I understand. For now. . .”

𝘒𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘶!!!!!!

Before she could even say anything, Subject 412 ripped off her head.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

I can see it.

Some of the chimeraz groups that were fighting each other in my hive have changed their targets. This is the result of Subject 433 and Subject 457’s groups coming under the control of my collective consciousness.

In a 4-to-1 fight, it was now a 2-to-3 fight, with 3 to 2. That number is directly linked to the odds of winning.

My children, who had been pushed helplessly, now had the same number of heads as the opposing group.

The hive growth method absorbed from Subject 411 and the underground resource supply method through the roots enabled me to grow more hives more quickly.

The genetic information of Kabana, which I absorbed from Subject 433, was redesigned to allow Kabana to be born from eggs.

The genetic information of the elite chimeraz group with bipedal locomotion, which I absorbed from Subject 457, was also revealed. I was able to create eggs that could produce those guys through the hive’s spawning organ. However, those individuals have high intelligence, so they require more effort to produce than chimerazs of the same size.

I don’t need a perfect guard of honor yet, so I only made a few as imperfect test subjects.

𝘎𝘺𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘩!!!

The mighty roar of the reborn Kabana spread far and wide.

I’m sitting on Kabana’s head. I could have ridden on Kabana’s snout, but I didn’t. It is to visually show my majesty to the children with low intelligence.

Hundreds of children gathered outside the hive.

‘𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.’

My children growl and scream, burning with murderous intent.

‘𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴.’

I check the information by borrowing the eyes of the Flies.

Even at this moment, I am losing my territory in the artificial human city. But it’s okay. I can finish it soon.

The hives of Subject 428 and Subject 429 were merged into one hive, and the two experimental subjects who joined forces were now calling in troops to prepare for my offensive.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Subject 433 and Subject 457’s waves have been cut off. Both of them were eaten by that b*stard.”

He is Subject 428, who is tall and has a thin build. He has a considerable number of troops and unique chimerazs, ranking 17th in the overall ranking.

The one standing in front of the hive with him is Experimental Subject 429. She is wearing an oversized top that makes her hands invisible.

“Can we win?”

She doesn’t have a large group, but she’s the 20th overall, and she’s an unrivaled expert in handling tentacles.

“It doesn’t matter if we can win or not right now.”

“Then?”

“One will survive in the end anyway.”

“. . . . .”

Experimental Subject 428 and Experimental Subject 429 are usually close friends. They are in a relationship that has had a positive effect on each other’s overall ranking by studying together and sharing their knowledge.

Even though they had a future in which they would eventually kill each other, the reason why the two experimental subjects were able to share their knowledge was probably because of the relationship of trust.

Human society defines this intangible relationship as ‘friends’.

“Even in this preliminary selection, even after the screening of the chimeraz project is over, one will survive in the end after killing each other. That one person becomes the ruler of the chimerazs.”

In the distance, Subject 412’s group is gathering across the withered forest.

“Surviving until the very end is important.”

“Why are you explaining what everyone knows?”

“Just in case, run away.”

“What about you?”

“I lose mobility if I transform.”

𝘎𝘺𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘩!!!

The roaring Kabana tramples the chimerazs below. Hounz, who is instinctively full of murderous intent, jumps in droves. Elite chimerazs with bipedal locomotion swing the blades of their wrists around Kabana.

Subject 412’s group overwhelms the opposing group as soon as they enter the battlefield.

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘱. . .!

Subject 428’s group, responding to Subject 412’s group, was organized with a chimeraz called Tritula.

It has the shape of a spider the size of a tank, but it has three legs, and the leg at the back is larger than the other two legs.

And the reason why Tritula has a body structure with poor mobility with three legs is because of its unique armament called the venomous stinger.

The mouths of the Tritula group, lined up in a row, open like flower petals.

Puh-hak!!!

The Tritula group fires dozens of bone darts along with highly toxic saliva. The bone darts, fired at a speed that is invisible to the eye, were so numerous that it was almost impossible to avoid them.

That’s how the Hounz in the front lines fell.

Subject 412, who witnessed this from the top of Kabana’s head, felt a strong curiosity.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥. . .?’

Subject 412 doesn’t know, but Tritula’s bone darts can pierce a target at a speed of 280 m/s.

It has a lower hit rate than human firearms and a somewhat slower speed than old-fashioned gunpowder-based bullets.

However, the extremely sharp shape of the bone dart and the fact that it fires dozens of them at once makes it more powerful than an old-fashioned bullet in some ways.

𝘗𝘶𝘤𝘬!

A bone dart also pierced Subject 412’s left chest. The bone dart pierces his black armor shallowly and injects venom into his body.

Subject 412 immediately pulled out the bone dart and analyzed and detoxified the venom in his body. While doing so, he commands with waves.

‘𝘎𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴.’

It is a chimeraz with a long-range attack method close to that of human firearms. Those creatures seemed to Subject 412 to be very desirable targets for absorption.

Subject 412’s group does not stop even after being hit by Tritula’s bone darts. When the individual running ahead collapses, the individual following steps on or jumps over the collapsed individual. In that way, they charge without hesitation toward the creatures their master told them to kill.

Dozens of chimerazs sacrificed themselves, and Subject 412’s group reached Subject 428’s Tritula formation.

At that moment, creatures that had been cleverly hiding behind the Tritula formation all at once revealed themselves.

𝘒𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘬. . . 𝘒𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘬. . .

That was the true identity of the group that Subject 429 led.

The wrinkled tentacles are divided into countless segments like earthworms, moving flexibly and strangely. That tangled mass of purple tentacles was one creature.

The tentacle group, slightly smaller than Tritula, Subject 429 calls these creatures Hydra.

The Hydra group, located behind the Tritula formation, blocks the Hounz group that approached the fastest with its tentacles.

𝘒𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬! 𝘒𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬!

Every time countless tentacles move strangely, an unpleasant cry echoes from within the tentacles.

The Hydra group stretches its tentacles in front of Tritula, tying up the Hounz, snatching them, lifting them into the air, throwing them away, and gnawing at the flesh with the round mouths at the ends of the tentacles.

Hydra’s tentacles had tremendous regenerative power and growth power. They trample on their opponents freely by expanding or contracting to an unimaginable length.

‘𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴?’

Subject 412 cannot implement it with his abilities. Therefore, this is also a coveted target for absorption for him.

𝘒𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘬. . .! 𝘒𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘬!!!

The last words of the Hounz group, who rushed ahead, are filled with pain and anger.

Then, the elite chimerazs with two legs rushed in and cut off the tentacles, and the following Hounz group jumped in and dug into the Tritula formation.

Bright red bloodstains and flesh tarnish the withered grass. The sound of creatures’ bodies being ripped and pierced is intertwined with screams.

If even a flyer were to come down, a river of blood would spread out. Even if there was fog, the air would be red with blood droplets.

The way both groups clash and kill each other is primitive compared to the battles of the artificial human army, but it is much more painful and brutal.

And there seems to be an inexplicable danger in the fact that these creatures fight like this, a completely different kind of danger from the destruction felt in human firearms.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“. . .! . . . ! . . . !”

Subject 412 is now holding his head as if he has a headache.

“Euuuuugh. . .”

The reason he is suffering is because the scale of the fight has grown. It is a storm of emotions and sensations felt by hundreds of chimerazs fighting.

The pain of the children seems to tear at his flesh, the anger seems to squeeze his heart, and the storm of cognition seems to shake his mind.

He receives everything his group feels, thinks, and sees as waves.

He could cut off that painful wave on his own, but if he did, he wouldn’t be able to command the group.

A chimeraz that does not receive commands is not a chimeraz, but just an undeveloped wild animal.

“Kabana. . .”

𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘸𝘭. . .

Kabana answered in a low voice.

Subject 412 catches his unstable breath.

“Get ready to run.”

He’s handling too many numbers by himself. The nerves all over his body are bothered, and the information rushing into his head is confusing.

‘𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 100 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴.’

He doesn’t want the fight to drag on.

Children are dying up ahead.

He finds it all distressing.

So he makes up his mind.

𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘥𝘥𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘥𝘶𝘬!!!

Wings grew from his shoulder blades.

‘𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺.’

𝘎𝘺𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘢-𝘢𝘩!!!

Kabana and the group escorting Kabana form a line like an arrow. They charge forward as it is. They break through Tritula and Hydra’s camp in one breath, causing a huge amount of dust to rise behind them.

Then countless bone darts and tentacles fly. This time, it is aimed at Subject 412, who was on Kabana’s head.

𝘛𝘢-𝘢𝘵!

Subject 412 jumps by kicking Kabana’s head. The bone darts pierce shallowly into Kabana’s head’s exoskeleton, and the tentacles are hit by Kabana’s tail and become tangled.

Subject 412 flies with the power of his wings. His ability showed superior majesty in this primitive battlefield, and he landed far away, behind Tritula and Hydra.

He reached the enemy’s hive in one go.

In front of his eyes, Subject 428 and Subject 429 are standing. Their expressions clearly show signs of embarrassment.

On the other hand, Subject 412’s suffering expression is not exposed thanks to the black armor.

‘𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.’

Subject 412 retracts his wings into his body. And, like the elite chimerazs, he extends the blades long from both wrists.

Subject 428 examines his wrists.

“That. . . It looks like the one Subject 457’s group used.”

There is no answer to that.

“Tsk.”

Subject 428 clicked his tongue and began to transform without warning. It was a rapid transformation that could not be stopped.

𝘑𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘬!!

In an instant, he transformed into a blue Tritula.

It seems to be twice the size of the Tritula in the battlefield. And in the flower-like mouth, human gums and sharp teeth are visible.

Then, Subject 429, who was next to Subject 428, prepared for battle.

𝘑𝘶𝘳𝘶-𝘳𝘶𝘬. . .

Purple tentacles flowed down from under both sleeves of Subject 429 like cotton pulled from a machine. In the meantime, she remains calm.

“It won’t be easy. Facing both of us at the same time.”

Unlike her, Subject 428 seems to have become more aggressive as he transformed into Tritula.

“I’ll kill you and chew you up!!!”

He had to face her with tentacles hanging down and him who had become a giant blue Tritula at the same time.

In such a situation, Subject 412 declares. In a trembling voice, whether from suffering, excitement, or fear.

“I will take your transformation ability and tentacles. . .”

Even in this situation, he was focused on strengthening the race rather than survival.

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