Chapter 261: Simulated Universe: Swarm Disaster 『 Part Two 』
「 This time, Stelle was choked awake by the thick stench of smoke filling the cabin.
She slowly sat up, her gaze locking onto a pair of sharp green eyes.
"Awake?"
The owner of the voice this time was no soldier, but a golden-haired woman. She sat languidly directly opposite Stelle, her slender fingers toying with a short blade that glinted with a cold light. She wore a form-fitting dress of black leather, another curved blade fastened at her waist, a faint smile gracing her beautiful face.
"…Where the heck has this sent me?" Stelle asked the air as usual, and Herta immediately responded in her ear: "If I remember correctly, this should be a group of bounty hunters. The diverse insectoid ecology of Lepismat had attracted galaxy-wide bounty hunters for nearly ten thousand years to come and hunt. This squad is merely one of them."
"Didn't we agree to witness the ascension of the Swarm King?"
"Don't be impatient, Stelle. The Simulated Universe requires deduction. The result of the Swarm King's ascension is certainly important, but the process is equally impossible to ignore." Herta suddenly reminded her, "You should also ask this lady plenty of questions; this is also a crucial link in the simulation."
"Oh… okay."
Stelle looked around—sure enough, the cabin was packed with all manner of hunters. Some were wiping down their weapons, others whispering amongst themselves, but their gazes frequently darted toward the golden-haired woman, their eyes filled mostly with skepticism and discontent.
Stelle pricked up her ears and discovered that most of this dissatisfaction stemmed from the golden-haired woman's decision to travel to Lepismat for the hunt, believing she possessed "Aha-tier credibility."
Stelle could tell that wasn't exactly a compliment, so she asked her why she insisted on going to Lepismat despite everyone's opposition.
"Because—" Her voice was relaxed, like a sponge that hadn't absorbed any water, "This is merely a game of compiling an insectoid compendium."
"Huh?"
The woman paid no mind to Stelle's astonishment, simply continuing to smile to herself: "Before the grand banquet begins, the control of desire requires greater focus, to avoid anyone making a blunder."
Having said this, she folded her arms elegantly across her chest, leaning forward slightly, her golden hair cascading over her pauldrons as she extended an inviting hand toward Stelle.
Stelle took her hand without hesitation, and at the same time, the surrounding scene began to shift rapidly. Stelle, in the identity of a bounty hunter, arrived on Lepismat with the main force, where they erupted into conflict with the Elydichnan army stationed there.
Stelle stood at the edge of a cliff, the biting wind carrying the foul, fishy stench of the swarm as it rushed toward her face. Her eyes widened—the scene before her had already exceeded the scope of what common sense could explain.
The entire plain was writhing.
Hundreds of millions of the swarm rose and fell like a tide, the sound of their carapaces grinding together like a million rusty knives scraping against one another. Whenever the hunters' artillery fire cleared a blank space, these bugs would instantly replicate to fill the gap.
Further out, a massive mound of earth suddenly swelled up from the ground, and a bug comparable to a battleship burst from the soil, revealing a maw full of jagged teeth as it swallowed an entire squad of hunters on the spot.
"It seems the Elydichnan army has also conscripted the bugs as weapons." Herta's voice appeared lightly behind her.
"Is this the power of Propagation?" Stelle turned back to ask.
"No, replication and division are inherent characteristics of these bugs, unrelated to the 『 Propagation 』. Tayzzyronth hasn't even appeared yet." Herta frowned with a touch of disdain, urging, "Hurry up and move; the smell of bugs is truly awful." 」
「 .....」
〜One Punch Man World〜
Inside the Monster Association—
Watching the swarm on Lepismat spread like a black tide, devouring everything in its path, Homeless Emperor sat cross-legged on a rock, chin in hand, admiring the scene with great interest.
"Tsk tsk, the replication ability of these bugs is much stronger than yours, Black Sperm."
He grinned, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
Black Sperm, who had been lying lazily to the side, immediately jumped up upon hearing this, veins popping out on his white face:
"You idiot, I can split into over 54 trillion individuals! And I can recombine! You think these bugs are worthy of comparing to me?!"
Homeless Emperor smiled, his tone leisurely.
"But they don't need to recombine—you recombine because you can't win in a divided state, you're afraid of constantly dying, but the bugs don't care about individual death at all."
He pointed to the mountains of insect corpses on the screen,
"The living bugs constantly replicate and divide, whereas you… lose one, and you have one less."
Black Sperm was momentarily at a loss for words, but soon stubbornly retorted:
"Tch! So what? I can still blast them apart with one punch!"
"This time, the Simulated Universe will feature the Star God of 『 Propagation 』. Who knows, maybe the Path will have an effect on you."
"Will it let me split infinitely?"
Black Sperm muttered.
"Maybe it will?"
Homeless Emperor smiled faintly, but after turning his face away, the smile quickly vanished.
…Being able to witness the birth of a Star God directly this time was undoubtedly a significant opportunity for him.
He very much wanted to know if the Lord 'God' who bestowed power upon him had any inextricable connection with the Star Gods. If he was indeed a Star God Himself, then wouldn't he, having received His gaze and the blessing of power, be… an Emanator?
A surge of excitement and pleasure welled up in his heart, causing the corners of the Homeless Emperor's mouth to rise subconsciously.
If he were an Emanator, then ruling this planet seemed quite reasonable to imagine, didn't it?
( Translator-kun: Good luck, buddy. Even if you become an Emanator, your opponent could be on par with a Star God or even higher than THEM. )
—
「 Bounty hunters usually prefer to live in groups, but when Stelle arrived at the settlement, she found that the usual noisy clamor had vanished into thin air, leaving only silence.
Stelle arrived at the female leader's room and pushed open the wooden door. What seeped through the crack was not lamplight, but some kind of viscous, fluorescent green insect blood.
The room was full of crawling swarms; some were already dead, while others were still writhing.
The golden-haired female leader had her back to Stelle, her slender silhouette outlined with a dazzling golden rim by the sunlight outside the window, the two gun-blades hanging at her waist refracting blinding spots of light.
Stelle jerked back a step, her back hitting the doorframe. A piercing chill shot up her spine, making every hair on her body stand on end.
"Herta, th-this…" Her voice stuck in her throat, turning into a raspy gasp.
"Don't be nervous, Stelle. You won't come to any harm in the Simulated Universe." Herta comforted her in her ear, "According to the data, this female leader used something called 'Insect Powder Witchcraft' on her hunter companions."
"What is that thing?"
"I suspect it might be some kind of hallucinogen… capable of inducing false perceptions in people." Herta explained, "As for the purpose, it was to purge dissidents within the hunter group. Anyway, Stelle, your current identity is the only hunter who hasn't been hallucinated, and what you need to do…"
Stelle only then noticed that a gun had appeared in her hand at some point, its cold muzzle pointed directly at the woman in the room.
The female leader had her back to Stelle, her slender silhouette outlined with a dazzling golden rim by the sunlight outside the window. As the instigator of it all, her reaction seemed quite calm.
"You can silently count a few numbers in your heart." Herta's voice was almost pressed against Stelle's ear, "Then aim at her temple and fire." 」
「 .....」