Chapter 262: Simulated Universe: Swarm Disaster 『 Part Three 』
「 "Can I choose not to shoot?"
Just as Stelle was about to ask, the gun in her hand discharged of its own accord with a sharp bang. Amidst the report of the gunshot, the female leader dissipated like a wisp of passing cloud.
"—Obviously not," Herta remarked coolly. "The role you are playing is that of the swarm's last remaining Bounty Hunter, who departed the Lepismat immediately after firing that shot."
"I have a question." Stelle surveyed the scenery around her, which was gradually fracturing and dissolving. "The female leader used insect-dust sorcery on the Bounty Hunters, so why was the specific Hunter I'm portraying able to remain lucid?"
"Who knows? Maybe it was the power of love?" Herta spread her hands in a shrug. "Alright, alright, don't fixate on such trivial details. In short, after you killed the female leader, it signified the final curtain call for the Bounty Hunters on the Lepismat. From that point on, this place became the domain of the Elydichnan army."
The scene shifted abruptly, and Stelle found herself back in the encampment of the Elydichnan army. The camp was suffocated by the overwhelming stench of insects; the sticky mud underfoot was mixed with fluorescent green hemolymph, dragging out into long, viscous filaments with every step.
Nearby, several soldiers sat around a burning pile of insect carapaces, incinerating a mountain of bug corpses. The crackling and popping of the fire sounded like a dense, rhythmic drumbeat.
With the Bounty Hunters having completely exited the stage, the Elydichnans' slaughter of the planet's insectoid species only intensified.
Yet, amidst the carnage, a single Coleopteran insect silently unfurled its wings. From within the blood, shattered shells, and mucus, it charged toward the sky, leaving behind all the chaos, the slaughter, and the endless smoke of war.
There was nothing heroic about its ascent. The viscous blood of its kin trailed from its wingtips in thin, silken threads, like the uncut umbilical cord of a newborn. Occasionally, fragments of shattered armor peeled from its body, falling like teardrops into the sea of fire below.
"Herta, you're not trying to tell me that little bug is the Star God of Propagation, are you?" Stelle stowed her binoculars and addressed the empty air beside her.
"What else? How did you think a Star God's ascension worked? Cleaving a path with thunderbolts? Welcomed by starlight?"
"Ugh…" Stelle couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Stelle, you know that before the Droidhead ascended to Aeonhood, it was just a celestial computer built by Zandar to solve the mysteries of all things, right?" Herta suddenly changed the subject. "Before they ascend, they are all ordinary. Ordinary enough that… you would struggle to even notice them."
"Then what did they experience in that gap between being ordinary and becoming an Star God?"
"…Good question, Stelle. If I could answer that, would I still need you to help me test the Simulated Universe?"
Stelle scratched her head sheepishly.
"Hey, everyone, come look at this!"
In the distance, a soldier cried out in astonishment, summoning the others. Stelle followed the soldier through the camp. After opening a protective barrier, the scene before them caused every soldier present to draw a sharp breath in unison.
Countless dense swarms of insects had suddenly gone rigid. Their compound eyes turned simultaneously toward the horizon, as if witnessing something invisible to human eyes. Immediately following this, they began to converge and merge, engaging in mating and reproduction right where they stood inconceivably.
The antennae of giant borers and flying insects intertwined, "gluing" together in grotesque postures. Even when soldiers torched these bugs with flamethrowers, they continued their mating motions until the very last second before crumbling into ash.
"That's disgusting…" Stelle felt her stomach spasm.
"It seems… 『 Propagation 』 has been born." Herta sighed. "The Swarm Disaster that will sweep across half the universe… is about to begin." 」
「 .....」
〜OVERLORD World〜
A Star God has been born? But he hadn't seen anything at all.
Ainz, who had also heard Herta's voice, used a certain tier of magic to enhance the vision of the gathered Guardians, attempting to find any trace of 『 Propagation 』 in the dark red sky of the insect planet.
"Ain… Ainz-Sama!"
His thoughts were first pulled back by Mare's terrified voice.
Withdrawing his gaze, Ainz saw Cocytus kneeling on the ground in agony. His mandibles trembled incessantly, and his six limbs were twisted in a highly uncoordinated posture, exerting such pressure that his exoskeleton armor was cracking, emitting a sound that set one's teeth on edge.
"That urge… Ainz-Sama, I…"
His usually deep voice had become hoarse, as if he were fighting something for control of his own body.
(Cocytus's condition is clearly the result of a mental-type magic attack… Has the Great Tomb come under assault?)
(But Demiurge had already set up his domain and barriers beforehand. By all logic, they should have received a warning for any magic capable of affecting the Great Tomb. So what is this situation?)
The sudden appearance of a phenomenon that defied common sense caused Ainz to panic momentarily.
But he quickly regained his composure. He observed that among the Guardians, not everyone had been subjected to this mysterious attack like Cocytus—it was only him.
Hypothetically, if a mental attack could affect the Level 100 Cocytus and was powerful enough to bypass the pre-established barriers, then logically everyone in the Throne Room—including Ainz himself—should have been unable to escape it.
Could it be… that he is the only special case?
"Ainz-Sama, if it were a mental attack, it shouldn't have targeted only Cocytus,"
Demiurge noted, also spotting the anomaly.
"I believe we should dispatch someone to inspect the interior of the Great Tomb."
"Mm."
Just as Ainz was about to designate a Guardian to investigate, he suddenly received a warning regarding a hostile incursion.
—From the Ninth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
"Eh?? The N-Ninth Floor?!"
Albedo's eyes went wide instantly.
The Throne Room they were currently standing in was on the Ninth Floor!
Not only that, but the Ninth Floor was the stratum she was personally responsible for guarding. How could anyone dare to cause trouble right under her nose?!
More importantly, she could understand someone attempting to launch a raid on the Great Tomb, but to reach the Ninth Floor, one would necessarily have to pass through floors one to eight. Yet, the Guardians of the Eighth Floor were all present here, and not a single one had received a notification of an enemy attack!
"Heh, the attack is coming from the servants' quarters… Interesting."
Ainz let out a low, muffled laugh.
"All Guardians, excluding Cocytus, come with me."
Through teleportation, the group arrived at the servants' quarters in the blink of an eye.
But what followed—
The scene before them practically stunned everyone present.
Entoma (the arachnoid) from the Pleiades Battle Maids was selflessly engaged in an 'intimate exchange' with Kyouhukou (the giant cockroach). Her wide maid sleeves brushed against the newly formed spiracles on his insect carapace, and those pores immediately sprayed out a warm mist laden with pheromones.
In an instant, the entire room was filled with a pungent and nauseating odor.
—
( Translator-kun: Oh well, Entoma and Kyouhukou Ship just got sailed. )