Selfish Motives

‘How... How can such a thing exist?!’

Celia trembled uncontrollably all over, unable to muster even a shred of strength to resist.

The energy she had previously sensed from the captured worker ant was nothing more than a faint fluctuation.

She had instinctively realized that this unknown energy fluctuation was the way the ant colony communicated with one another.

Consequently, she had poured all her heart and soul into studying these fluctuations, aiming to craft a spell that could interfere with or even sever their communication.

According to her plan, this scroll was supposed to achieve exactly that.

But the reality was entirely different.

She had thought it was merely a standard communication system, but in truth, it was a massive hive mind—an intricate, web-like network linking the consciousness of millions of individuals into a single, unified whole.

Now, Celia felt as if she had been stripped naked and cast into this unimaginably vast spiritual realm she could never have conceived.

‘Could this be the Outer God's...’

Within the hive mind, behind the massive silhouette of Elise staring at her with eyes full of hatred, Celia faintly sensed an even grander, more terrifying presence.

She struggled to lift her eyes, shivering violently as she gazed at that entity whose mere outline she could not even discern.

Intruding into this unimaginably vast hive mind subjected Celia's mind to a devastating, crushing pressure.

In terms of the sophistication of an individual consciousness, Celia was undoubtedly far superior to Elise.

But behind Elise stood a massive army of hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of individuals.

This was not something a single human mind could ever hope to withstand.

It was a colossal spiritual entity in its own right, one that could only be harnessed by a lifeform that had existed within it from the very beginning.

And now, this immense spiritual entity was focusing all of its hostility solely on the intruder, Celia.

“Ugh... Ah...” Celia groaned in agony.

There was only one reason why Celia was barely able to maintain her sense of self in this devastating hell without completely collapsing.

Her own self-awareness was even more steadfast than that of Elise, the strongest individual currently in the ant colony.

Yet even the hardest rock would eventually be eroded and ground down, bit by bit, by the endless winds and sands of a desert.

If she remained here for too long, her sense of self would ultimately dissipate.

“Ah!” Celia let out a piercing shriek.

Fortunately, the power of the scroll was quickly depleted, and Celia's mind was snapped back into her own body.

In reality, the entire process had lasted less than a minute.

But in those brief sixty seconds, Celia had exhausted all of her willpower and strength.

Her eyes rolled back, and she lost consciousness, collapsing straight to the ground.

By now, the screams of her allies could no longer be heard on the battlefield.

In every direction, there was nothing but a dense, swarming sea of ants.

【Elise ordered the capture of her nemesis alive】

The ants, which had been gathering the corpses of the fallen enemies to convert them into nutrients, immediately turned toward the unconscious Celia and began to capture her.

Everyone, including Marquis Lumiere, paid for this defeat with their lives, their bodies torn to pieces on the spot. Only Celia was an exception.

The silk spat out by the spider ants bound her securely.

Then, the ants injected a toxin into her body potent enough to paralyze a human, plunging her into a state of suspended animation.

Although Celia was the nemesis Elise had targeted from the very beginning—the entity she hated most—she alone was spared.

‘Why... Why didn't you kill me?’ Celia cried out in despair within her mind.

Even Lin Miao, who had informed Elise that Celia was the true enemy, did not know the reason behind this.

When Celia woke up again, she found herself in the original nest inside the terrarium.

This was the deepest part of the ant nest, inside Elise's massive, exclusive chamber.

Celia looked at the colossal creature before her and gasped, “You are... the true Queen of the Great Devourer!”

Although she had regained consciousness, Celia's body remained completely immobile.

She was tightly bound by sticky silk and suspended in midair, positioned at eye level with Elise, whose size was vastly superior to her own.

In the heavy darkness, the only source of light was the glint reflecting from the compound eyes of the surrounding ants.

“...”

Elise remained silent, offering no response.

Celia bit her lip hard as she stared at Elise.

Although it had only been for a brief moment, she had once connected to the hive mind of the ant colony and caught a glimpse of its true nature.

Thus, Celia recognized Elise's identity.

Yet she did not know how to describe the entities before her.

These insectoids, known as the Great Devourer and feared by all, far exceeded her imagination.

They made no vocal sounds.

The only sound in the entire chamber was the rustling of their crawling bodies.

In this eerie silence, a spine-chilling sensation washed over Celia, causing goosebumps to break out all over her body.

Unable to bear it, she struggled and spoke first to break the silence.

“Why... why did you spare my life?” Celia asked, her voice trembling.

She had to say something, or she felt she would go mad.

【Elise has developed a deep interest in her nemesis】

“Ah!” Celia let out a terrified shriek.

Of course, Elise could not understand her words, but she indeed had not killed her and was filled with curiosity toward her.

Elise's antenna, longer and more slender than a whip, began to slowly drift across Celia's body.

Terrified, Celia squeezed her eyes shut and struggled desperately, yet she could not escape Elise's inquisitive and curious touch.

【The strength felt, the physical composition, the scent, the senses】

【All of this is no different from the other humans we have grown tired of eating. What on earth is it that makes her dare to oppose us? Why did the Great One designate this human female instead of anyone else?】

Elise desperately tried to find anything unique about Celia.

She believed Celia must possess something special to have constantly opposed her.

In truth, information regarding Celia had been stored in the memory of the ant colony for a very long time.

The very fact that she had managed to survive and repeatedly fight against the ant colony had always been a thorn in Elise's side.

‘What if I could find out what makes her so special?’ Elise pondered.

The most troublesome enemies were often those who understood one's weaknesses best.

Ultimately, Elise concluded that Celia's special trait lay in her spirit—specifically, her self-awareness.

After all, she was the first to dare attempt an invasion of the ant colony's hive mind.

【Most importantly, Elise did not want this anger and hatred to vanish in an instant】

Yet, the greatest reason of all was Elise's own selfish desire.

She felt that tearing Celia to pieces and devouring her in an instant, as she did with other prey, would do nothing to appease the immense resentment built up in her heart.

In Elise's eyes now, Celia was no longer just an enemy.

She was the very first true nemesis the entire ant colony had encountered, one recognized even by the Great One in the heavens.

Pacing in front of the terrarium, Lin Miao froze in his tracks at the sight of what happened next.

In the heavy darkness where Celia could not see, Elise produced from her body a brand-new mutated species that she had personally bred and experimented on for a very long time.