Humanity

‘The food is too large to swallow completely.’

To conduct his experiment, Lin Miao had used humans as the feed—the easiest, and in fact, currently the only available food source.

However, the final conclusion was that human genetic information was still far too vast for Elise.

Currently, what Elise probably needed was food like a “normal” goblin—a species recognized as an intelligent lifeform but with relatively low intelligence and no divine protection.

Under normal circumstances, Elise would still need a significant amount of growth and time before she could completely devour an intelligent lifeform like a human.

‘No.’

Yet, even though Elise knew it was impossible, she endured the intense strain the backlash placed on her body, swallowing Ye Yunshang's blood drop by drop.

This was the result of her intense desire and obsession to devour and completely possess this power.

Before this, she had devoured countless humans on Terra.

Among them were renowned powerhouses and superhumans who had surpassed their limits through divine protection.

But the gift bestowed by Lin Miao, imbued with his divine power, possessed something that none of the humans she had previously eaten ever had.

‘This is the power of humanity.’

In the end, with an obsession that defied imagination, Elise broke through her physical limits and found a new path.

She accepted a portion of human genes and began to evolve once more.

【The vassals felt the change】

The entire colony, performing their respective duties as always, felt their Queen's evolution.

This was a leap that transcended past limits, a moment of evolution entirely different from anything before.

“Could this be...?”

Celia, a member of the special task force who had been carrying out sabotage missions across the Elven Empire, was currently taking a brief rest.

Because a portion of Celia's mind was also connected to the hive mind, she immediately sensed that a strange change was taking place.

Sensing that something was about to happen, she immediately spread her wings and soared into the sky.

Celia wanted to go to the original nest where Elise resided and see it all with her own eyes.

“Your Majesty, perhaps you should wait a little longer. If you mutate too hastily, who knows what will happen!”

Celia intuitively felt that Elise was pushing herself too hard out of her obsession with humans and her yearning for Lin Miao's love, so she tried to dissuade her.

If Elise drew closer to humanity, it wouldn't be a bad thing for Celia herself, who was human. The problem was that if Elise became warped through an incomplete evolution she wasn't fully prepared for, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Celia had dedicated all her efforts to studying the Great Devourer before joining the colony. Now that she was actually a part of it, she understood the Great Devourer quite thoroughly.

Celia had long understood that evolution was not about finding a single, absolute answer, but about adding more choices amidst countless unknown variables.

“How is this possible...?”

Celia rushed to the original nest—Lin Miao's terrarium—and muttered blankly to herself.

Lin Miao's terrarium no longer functioned as an ordinary nest; instead, it was treated as an exclusive palace serving only the original Queen, Elise, carrying Lin Miao's wish for her to remain there forever.

In the Queen's most spacious chamber, a massive cocoon that once occupied more than half the room now lay split open, reduced to shattered pieces drenched in sticky mucus and bodily fluids.

‘Where did she go?’

Although Celia had integrated into the hive mind, her ability to manipulate it was very weak. Consequently, queens with a higher Divine Status could easily interfere with her through the hive mind.

Therefore, as was the case now, once Elise concealed her presence within the hive mind, Celia could not find her.

Whether in the hive mind or the physical world, Elise had left her original position and erased her presence entirely.

Not knowing where Elise had gone, Celia looked around. To see more clearly, she used magic to conjure a light, casting it upon her surroundings.

“Ah!”

In that instant, something lunged out of the darkness, knocking the startled Celia to the ground.

Terrified, Celia felt the breath knocked right out of her.

She widened her eyes to see a strange figure with long black hair reflected in her pupils, straddling her fallen body.

“Queen!”

The mask on the figure's face slowly dissolved, finally revealing the countenance hidden beneath.

Celia felt the immense presence within the hive mind once more, she instantly realized that this mysterious woman before her was Elise, and she gasped in shock.

Fair, snow-white skin, long, straight black hair, and finely defined facial features.

Only her eyes were pitch-black like an abyss, with crimson pupils glowing faintly in the darkness.

“Ce... lia.”

Soft pink lips parted, revealing a red tongue inside.

Then, clumsy as a child learning to speak, yet carrying an exceptionally beautiful and clear voice, words slipped from her mouth.

Having finally acquired human vocal cords, Elise was attempting to use spoken language for the first time.

Looking at the flustered Celia, the corners of Elise's mouth curled slightly upward into a natural, clear smile—one she no longer needed to force open with her hands.

...

‘I am so happy.’

Having checked her status before emerging from her cocoon, Elise was extremely satisfied with her evolution.

Devouring and absorbing the power of an intelligent lifeform recognized by the Divine Net was entirely different from any previous predation or evolution.

First of all, everything had changed—from her ability to perceive the world to her way of thinking with high intelligence.

Even when looking at the same things or hearing the same sounds, she could think much deeper.

She could engage in more complex reasoning around a single topic and had gained the ability to think from entirely different perspectives.

She finally possessed the power of a freer, more expansive imagination.

It was as if she had finally acquired an operating system capable of optimizing and efficiently running the powerful hardware that was the hive mind and her deliberately developed, advanced brain.

The clarity Elise felt now was like taking off a pair of dirty, fogged-up glasses and putting on a pristine, clean pair.

“She looks a bit like Ye Yunshang... and Celia...”

Lin Miao stared blankly at Elise, who had emerged from her cocoon, and muttered in surprise.

Just as he observed, Elise's face and body now bore traces of both Celia and Ye Yunshang.

Her face, in particular, was practically identical to the naturally beautiful Celia, save for her thick black hair.

Anyone who didn't know better would easily mistake them for twins.

【Elise now believes that the Great One will also grant her love】

The biggest reason Elise had immediately devoured human genes, despite the side effects, was none other than her appearance.

Because after growing to a certain point, Elise had vaguely sensed that the feelings Lin Miao, as a deity, harbored for her were different from the feelings he had for others.

In fact, those vague feelings weren't just directed toward Celia.

Whenever he saw women who fit Lin Miao's standards of beauty, such as Ye Yunshang, those feelings would be triggered.

“Uh...”

Lin Miao's heart skipped a beat; he could not deny this fact.

Celia's appearance had been exceptionally beautiful from the very first moment he saw her, and those feelings were simply an unavoidable human instinct. Lin Miao could not deny any of it.

Naturally, this was a feeling he had never been able to give Elise.

And compared to other emotions, this feeling was so trivial that it hardly mattered if it was ignored.

Yet Elise, who wanted to possess everything of Lin Miao's, could not tolerate others having what she could not. Ultimately, consumed by recurring jealousy, she had made this decision to seize it for herself.

‘As expected.’

Perhaps this was the correct judgment that hit the nail right on the head.

Because at this very moment, seeing Elise's transformed appearance, Lin Miao's state of mind shifted.

At first, Elise had gone from a common, plump-bellied queen with six legs to an indescribably terrifying hybrid, and finally to a somewhat human-like existence.

Over this time, Lin Miao had developed a deep bond with Elise, and his state of mind had evolved alongside her.

“Queen, it seems to me that your evolution is still incomplete.”

Celia forced down her shock and stood up, swallowing nervously as she looked at Elise standing before her.

【Elise does not deny this】

Although she resembled a human in many ways, strictly speaking, the current Elise had not completely replicated humanity.

Because she had poured all her limited resources into her appearance, while Elise's body looked human on the outside, her internal state was highly alien, making it difficult to call her human.

Her pitch-black pupils and the black, bodysuit-like exoskeleton covering her entire body were the first proofs of this.

Unlike Celia, who wore symbiotic carapace ants over a perfectly intact body, Elise's flesh was fused with that exoskeleton.

Smooth curves revealed a female figure that rivaled Celia's, but the internal organs beneath her skin—such as her reproductive and digestive systems—were vastly different from those of a human.

She was still not used to using her vocal cords, so she still prioritized communicating through the hive mind.

The instability that Celia had feared—stemming from Elise failing to fully absorb humanity and only taking a fraction of it—was thus laid bare.

Yet even so, Elise was highly satisfied.

Through the clearer connection between them, she sensed that the way Lin Miao looked at her had changed.

The reason was by no means solely due to her appearance, but Elise did not know this yet.

She simply assumed on her own that this was the emotion called “love” she had heard of, and immersed herself in it.

‘If the Queen only absorbed the evil side of humanity, then...’

Celia had accepted fusing with the Great Devourer to save as many humans as possible, but she knew that humanity was far from perfect.

Humans could easily become their own greatest enemies.

If Elise absorbed that aspect, she might become far more cruel and vicious than her current, machine-like state, turning into a slaughterer.

“Magic!”

At that moment, Celia gasped in surprise as she saw Elise reach out and unfold a magic circle.

The magic circle shot toward the ceiling, blasting a large hole through the thick roof of the nest, allowing the bright light from outside the terrarium to flood into the dim underground cavern.

The cylindrical beam of light shining down from the hole in the ceiling enveloped Elise alone, looking almost like holy light.

Sliding gracefully, Elise spread her arms to enjoy the light. Her body then contorted as cells protruding from her back and underarms rapidly divided, transforming into spider-like legs that slowly crawled up toward the hole in the ceiling.

‘Perhaps this is an unstoppable tide.’

Celia also spread her wings, flying out through the passage in the ceiling. She let out a soft sigh at the sight before her.

For Elise was pressing herself happily against a massive finger descending from above.

The finger stroked Elise's head, clearly demonstrating its will.

In Celia's eyes, the sheer intensity of Elise's obsession and desire had driven her to undergo multiple absurd evolutions.

And because of this, the Great Devourer colony had now grown strong enough to stand against all other deities who sought to conquer the world.

This was the trajectory they had traveled, and the path they would continue to walk in the future.

【All vassals have been stimulated】

The impact rippled across the entire colony.

Elise's mental growth did not stop at the individual level.

The entire hive mind grew along with her.

Celia broke into a cold sweat as she felt the massive consciousness expanding.

Because she had already experienced firsthand how Elise's mental growth could shake her own position.

What's more, not only did Elise now look similar to her, but she could even freely use magic that had once been exclusive to Celia.

In truth, Celia also deeply yearned for Lin Miao's attention.

If Lin Miao were to ignore or deny Celia's requests, she would be unable to persuade Elise to stop any potential slaughter of humanity.

But even so, she couldn't just run over to that finger right now and offer her head to be petted.

And so, Celia's expression grew increasingly solemn as her mind raced.