Chapter 213

Deep within the Nest.

While maintaining the group consciousness and assessing the situation, Brain falls into deep thought.

…

Upon detecting enemy intrusion, Brain had sent out a group of lower-level Cryptids.

Despite the numbers being somewhat formidable, it was merely a contingency measure in case they were wiped out instantly without gaining any intel.

The expected enemy force was the kind that could easily obliterate them, making this a sacrificial scouting maneuver.

Still, the enemies hovered around this meager force, behaving in a conspicuously odd manner, as if they were up to something.

– What in the world are they doing?

Their actions were strange but seemed to indicate some ulterior motive.

Still, now that the enemies had penetrated the den, there was no time to deliberate leisurely.

Brain’s options boiled down to either sending out further forces to attack or retreating.

Then, through the collective consciousness, instructions were relayed.

…

“Eh?”

Just as the cryptid group was about to break through, Seoli’s voice was heard.

“Seoli? What’s wrong?”

“Small Mama! Zzzz-ing Zzzz-ing is strange!”

“Huh? The Zzzz-ing is strange?”

“Yes! Deep inside! It’s getting farther away!”

Seoli nodded vigorously in response.

“Huh? Getting farther away?”

“Maybe they’re retreating?”

Nisia’s statement.

“That could be it.”

The Cryptids that reappeared here didn’t spread out or take aggressive actions.

Which meant the enemy’s purpose likely wasn’t to reclaim this area or attack immediately.

Though we couldn’t pinpoint their true intent, if they weren’t here to fight and an unexpected danger arose, retreating wasn’t entirely out of the question.

Of course, we weren’t going to let them leave without a fight.

“We need to quicken our pace. Seoli, send the beast back up.”

“Yes! Beast!”

In response to Seoli’s shout, the beast knight promptly returned to the surface.

Once confirming that, preparations for the fight began.

“Nisia, can I leave this to you?”

“Yeah, just tell me the direction.”

A trustworthy reply.

With a nod, I focused on Nisia’s navigation role.

“In that case, let’s move straight ahead first!”

“Got it!”

A faint vibration resonated through the body.

Responsive to Nisia’s control, the black tank broke through the Cryptid group, spewing napalm from the four flamethrowers attached to its arms before enemies could even get close.

“Kiaaaaak!”

The enemies were instantly burned away by the scorching heat.

Some tougher ones formed a living blockade by crowding the corridor, but the tank unleashed a barrage from its extended shotguns to cut through them.

“Turn left here.”

“No, right over there!”

Following my directional prompts, Nisia moved without hesitation.

The black tank penetrated through the Cryptids by spewing napalm and firing off a hail of pellets, forging ahead like a sharp blade cutting through bamboo.

As we descended a few more levels, the composition of the predominantly lower-level Cryptids began to shift dramatically.

“Krrr…!”

“Shishh!”

Vanguard and Centipede.

Not quite Predator-level, but the mid-level entities capable of threatening armored vehicles nonetheless blocked our way with menacing growls.

“Edu!”

“Got it! Colossus, unload everything!”

The black giant stepped forward, unleashing all its firepower forward.

A massive tremor shook the interior, shrouding it in explosions, fire, and thick black smoke.

“Kiaaaak!”

The enemy ranks cringed under the relentless barrage, and without missing a beat, Nisia concentrated fire straight ahead.

“Haaat!”

Nisia plowed through the enemies defending the passageway, increasing speed to break through the enemy lines.

While fending off the surging opponents, Nisia continued heading deeper underground.

After the intense battle, we finally reached the inner parts of the den.

However, what awaited us there was an unexpected scene.

…

Brain was trembling, surrounded by lower-level Cryptids.

Just that was odd enough, but looking closely revealed that Brain’s and the lower-level Cryptids’ bodies were drenched in blood, making it look like the lower Cryptids were attacking Brain.

“Uh?”

The moment Nisia let out a startled voice, the lower-level Cryptids pounced on the trembling Brain.

The horrifying sound of flesh tearing and something breaking filled the air.

moments later, Brain’s body slumped, and something waddled toward him.

A tiny figure with unmistakably bright purple hair.

Though she superficially resembled an ordinary child, the way she mingled with Cryptids and the inexplicable certainty within me brought one word to mind.

“Purple Queen?”

The words slipped out automatically.

Even though the distance was too great for her to have heard me, the small child lifted her head, startled as if she had.

Her eyes stared blankly at us, sucking her finger.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, she snapped out of it and reached her hand toward Brain’s remains.

A white sphere floated into the air.

The levitating orb flew into her petite body and merged with a flash of light.

The Cryptid group parted as the child waddled toward us.

“Edu, this child…”

Nisia’s concerned tone indicated she felt something similar to me.

“Yeah, let’s get down and have a closer look.”

We all disembarked from the Squire.

A small child awaited us.

As the child mounted Nisia’s back and approached the girl, the girl slowly raised her hand, which had been occupied sucking her finger.

Pointing at Seoli and Ryong.

“…Sisters.”

She said this, then moved her hand toward us.

“So… Mother?”

As she directed at us, an announcement popped up in my mind.

– You’ve achieved a special condition. The ‘Encyclopedia’ function has been upgraded to ‘Herd Management,’ and the ‘Mother’ characteristic has been enhanced to the ‘Queen’ characteristic.

“Mother? Queen?”

I’d never heard these terms.

I pondered if I had such characteristics, but then the little girl with purple hair—the Purple Queen—tiptoed toward me.

“…Mother, did you come to help?”

Despite her hesitance, her fluent speech was oddly out of sync with her youthful appearance.

And that was the hallmark feature of the Purple Queen and the reason she had earned her nickname of ‘Nightmare.’

Though different from the White Queen spreading terror with her monstrous armies at the front lines or the Red Queen sowing fear by directly engaging in violence, the Purple Queen was a unique threat rooted in intelligence.

One could roughly infer from her fluid speech; it was the queen’s anomalous intelligence that led to her being called ‘Nightmare.’

Unlike ordinary Cryptid Queens, the Purple Queen possessed differentiated intelligence and relentless curiosity, always trying to understand and then annihilate her target.

It’s no wonder that combating her would induce nothing less than a nightmare.

A creature that learns to kill you—what could be more frightening than that?

“Mother?”

A voice urging me for an answer.

“It’s not exactly-”

“…Mother, aren’t you going to help?”

Her big eyes widened, and then she slumped her shoulders like the Purple Queen.

Seeing her exaggeratedly disappointed posture, I quickly added:

“No, I didn’t mean I wouldn’t help, but Mother needs to know what’s wrong to help, right?”

An appropriately maternal response drawn from raising Seoli and Ryong.

The Purple Queen lifted her head, shoulders that had slumped now straightened.

“…Yeah, I’ll tell Mother.”

…

An abandoned old military factory site.

Near the entrance, soldiers in full-body armored exoskeletons with assault rifles exchanged glances.

The emblematic red and black colors of the 1st Division’s insignia adorned the soldiers’ gear.

As the team leaders looked to their side, Simonia, who gently lifted her sunglasses, issued quiet orders.

“Enter.”

Crash!

The soldiers rushed in, violently bursting open the heavy entrance doors.

“Clear!”

“Proceeding according to plan!”

Watching the soldiers rush in, Simonia followed shortly after.

The warm, greasy scent of oil mixed with the metallic aroma unique to robot factories hung in the air.

Furrowing her brow ever so slightly, Simonia continued forward as reports from various squads flooded in.

[ Squad 1 has secured Area A; no resistance from the enemy! ]

[ Squad 2 entering Area B; we’ve found a few unarmed robots. What should we do? ]

“Produced here?”

[ No, it doesn’t look like it was produced here. ]

“Well, don’t destroy them until we’ve checked the data.”

[ Understood! ]

[ Squad 3 securing Area C; engaging with guard robots! ]

Intermittent gunshots and the heavy stomping of the soldiers’ advancing footsteps.

As Simonia continued further inside, she arrived at the facility’s main hub.

“Tch.”

Simonia grimaced.

The tracks scattered around clearly indicated someone had been there very recently, yet the person who’d left them was nowhere to be found.

[ Squad 1 has secured the area, but the target is not in sight. ]

[ Same for Squad 2. ]

Continuous reports.

Yet, the answer she sought was not among them.

“Escaped again, like a rat,” she muttered.

A significant amount of time had passed since Simonia began tracking the former President, who was pursuing Edu.

This should have been enough time to uncover some leads, yet the former President had skillfully evaded their pursuits as if they’d anticipated their every move.

“Could there still be someone in contact with him?”

Simonia’s expression darkened as her gaze slowly turned upward to the defunct surveillance cameras within the facility.

[ Hmm. ]

The ashen sensor stared directly back at Simonia watching from the screen.

A moment later, Simonia swerved and disappeared from the screen. The skeletal president who had once occupied the office covered the portable terminal linked to the security camera.

[ Sharp, indeed. Shall I kill her or… ]

The former president paused in thought.

[ Nevertheless, we must find another way to change this situation…]

Then, through a secret communication channel reserved for presidents, a piece of information arrived.

[ Hmm? ]

The skull-shaped head flickered, and the president, now far from the facility, slowly rose to his feet.

[ These maid robots who are unfamiliar with human culture… This smells interesting. Where exactly are you located? ]