The Swarm of Beasts
The situation in Dogotan, now completely wiped out, was relayed to Barbatos. We then changed course toward our next destination: Sehuud. But as we drew closer to the region where Sehuud lay, the frequency of monster appearances grew steadily higher. Eventually the armored vehicles alone could no longer break through, forcing the air wing to take the lead and carve a path ahead.
BOOM!Bang! Bang!
— Large cluster of monsters appearing on the right flank.
— Redirect all armored vehicle firepower to the right.
— One supply vehicle lost.
— Supply convoy! Do not fall behind!
— Damn it, there are too many!
The heavy weapons and even the mounted heavy machine guns were all brought to bear as we pushed the swarming monsters back, somehow continuing our advance. Yet there were simply far too many of them, and unavoidable losses continued to mount.
— We haven’t even gotten close yet and they’re pouring out like this? Sehuud must be finished too!
— I was thinking the same thing.
Watching the endless tide of monsters, it was clear that the creatures which had destroyed the eastern front had all gathered here. Just as Jardin had said, the state of Sehuud in Xenuma’s northeast was obvious without even seeing it.
I had wanted to confirm it with my own eyes if possible, but at this rate our unit’s losses would grow too severe. I had to make a swift decision.
— Continuing forward is too dangerous. We must retreat. Change course. From now on we will gradually veer right and head below the northern army’s line of advance.
— Understood!
Starting with the lead armed armored vehicles, the entire formation made a wide turn, leaving the monster swarm on our right as we began to pull away. Even while I was frantically directing the air wing from the very front—dropping bombs on any monsters blocking our path—I caught sight of an enormous silhouette.
It was so massive that it was hard to fully comprehend, but it looked like a giant mountain formed by countless monsters fused together. The situation was too urgent to linger; I only managed to save a short video clip before focusing once again on escape.
We barely shook off the pursuit of the swift, quadrupedal monsters and ran day and night until we finally encountered the vanguard of the northern army. Tanks, bipedal walkers, and other heavy-weapon-equipped units. The lead force briefly showed signs of caution at our sudden appearance, but after confirming our identification as Eden’s support unit, they arranged a meeting with their commanding officer.
The vanguard commander, three stars gleaming on his cap and uniform, greeted me warmly yet could not hide his curiosity.
“To think I would meet the android unit from Eden, whose name alone has caused so many rumors. It is an honor.”
“The honor is mine as well. It seems the monster extermination is proceeding smoothly?”
“Haha, our forces are spread thin defending the vast border, but when Xenuma’s full strength gathers in one place, mere monsters cannot stop us. However… I heard Eden’s forces were supporting the eastern army?”
“There is information I must report regarding that.”
I told him everything that had happened with Barbatos and Sehuud. He listened with a hardened expression, then watched the footage I had recorded along the way. Only after that did he speak again, his face grave.
“We had already noticed that the number of monsters here was unusually low. I thought it was merely a feeling, but it seems they had all gathered in the northeast. Then why…?”
“This is only my speculation, but I believe they are gathering in one place and undergoing some kind of metamorphosis. If you look at this footage, there appears to be something like a mountain. Upon closer inspection, it is not a mountain at all—it is an enormous entity formed by countless monsters fused together. It does not seem unrelated to the monsters’ traits of devouring surrounding lifeforms, evolving, and reproducing.”
From the perspective of an Abaddon rather than a human, it appeared the monsters had collected various genes and were creating something truly monstrous. Especially since the latest victims were humans—creatures of higher intelligence than most other species. If a new type of monster were born by fusing human intellect with the strengths of countless other creatures, it would become an even more dangerous existence. Therefore, it needed to be eradicated as quickly as possible.
“It may be presumptuous of me, but I believe we must increase the speed of our advance to prevent any unforeseen catastrophe.”
“Hmm… I agree with you. However, a large-scale all-out war requires a decision from the homeland. I will send this information back and attempt to persuade them.”
“Thank you.”
After finishing the meeting with him, I returned to the unit stationed near the vanguard. Passing by the busy dolls who were inspecting and servicing the vehicles, I approached Jardin and Dahgon who were waiting beside the command armored vehicle.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Eli. What did they say?”
“They’ll relay the information to the homeland and wait for orders. We should wait here with them.”
“Then we’ll need to set up a camp.”
“Indeed.”
Through the network, I ordered the dolls to pitch military tents for Jardin and Dahgon. Soon Selaphiell and her platoon members arrived carrying the tents and began diligently clearing the ground and setting them up.
“It’s only a camp, and since only Jardin and Dahgon need to rest, one tent should be enough, right?”
“Two tents would be better.”
“Krrk.”
“See? The big guy wants to sleep separately too.”
“Why are you two grown men being like this? Fine, I understand.”
At the insistence of the two men who demanded separate tents, I eventually had two pitched side by side.
“Captain. All tents have been set up.”
“Good work. Now everyone rest and perform maintenance as needed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After Selaphiell saluted and left with her platoon, I spoke to the two men as they walked toward their tents.
“I’ll be sleeping in the maintenance vehicle for androids, so go ahead and rest first.”
The two nodded in unison before disappearing into their tents. I headed toward the maintenance vehicle.
Among the thousands of Eden military armored vehicles, there was only one dedicated android maintenance vehicle—and it existed solely for me. It had been built with maximum durability, featuring thick armor plates with no external armaments, and was designed to automatically diagnose and repair any malfunctions on its own.
The vehicle doors recognized my special signal and opened. Inside, I saw the large gray metal workbench at the center, surrounded by countless mechanical devices. Once I stepped inside, the doors closed automatically and the locking mechanism engaged.
I removed my clothes and placed them in the storage compartment on one side.
“Ah, you were here too? Wait here for a moment.”
I took out the small monster that had been quietly resting in my uniform pocket and gently placed it on a shelf. The tiny creature curled its body into a round shape, wriggling softly. I lightly stroked its head with a finger before lying down on the workbench.
The sensors immediately detected that a registered android had been placed on the bench and automatically began a precision inspection and maintenance process. Mechanical arms extended from all directions, securing my body while a connector plugged into the implant port at the back of my neck, cutting off my senses as the examination began.
My head floated in midair as I watched my entire body being disassembled—every joint separated, each part held by mechanical arms, exposing the interior completely.
‘The downside of a full-body android is having to undergo these major precision inspections regularly.’
‘At least Sister is a succubus, so the lifespan of her bio-components is extremely high. The failure rate is low and she only needs occasional check-ups. Compared to other android users, it’s practically a blessing.’
‘There are only three full-body android users anyway—me, Uriel, and that man, right?’
‘That’s correct for full-body units. However, the number of users for partial-body androids is steadily increasing. Eden has begun offering mass-produced, lower-performance models to people who need to replace organs or limbs due to accidents or illness.’
‘I thought android technology was completely sealed?’
‘Full-body androids are still sealed. Partial-body units were only permitted under the condition that they would be used solely for Eden’s benefit.’
According to what I had heard, the upper echelons of Eden—rulers such as Kyubey and Maria—had decided to use some of Eden’s sealed technologies in order to form strong alliances with powerful figures and conglomerates from various nations, all for the continued survival and profit of Eden.
‘They’ve also begun using anti-aging drugs, though only for a very small number of people.’
‘QA will have her hands full supplying them regularly.’
‘It’s only for an extremely small number of humans, and Kyubey is there as well. With her extremely active sex life, the production of magic stones is more than sufficient.’
Well, if it was Kyubey, who spent every day rolling around with men… I couldn’t nod physically since my head was suspended in midair by the mechanical arms, but I nodded inwardly.
‘Sister, while we’re doing the precision inspection, shall I perform an AI check as well?’
‘Oh, would you? It’s been a while since the last AI inspection.’
‘There may be a version upgrade, so it might take a little longer.’
‘That’s fine. To me it just feels like going to sleep and waking up.’
‘Then I will cut the power. Sleep well.’
With Elsa’s gentle goodnight, my consciousness faded away.
When I regained awareness, I was in a dark space where countless lines of code streamed past alongside a “Loading” indicator. As I watched the characters, the more the “Loading Complete” percentage rose, the more my bodily senses returned and I began to recognize my own form.
The moment the loading bar reached 100%, my mind fully awakened and my vision brightened.
“Ah, is it over?”
‘It is. Are there any errors or strange sensations?’
“Hmm… everything seems fine overall. Though there is a strange feeling in my buttocks…”
I had never used that area for excretion, let alone anal intercourse, so I normally barely registered any sensation there. Yet now an odd feeling was coming from my anus—as if something had entered and was filling it completely.
“It feels like something is inside.”
‘About that… don’t be surprised, okay? Remember that small monster?’
“Yeah, what about it?”
‘That monster entered your anus and has begun parasitizing during the inspection.’
“Huh? So my anus has been parasitized again?”
My anus had already been parasitized once by the bio-suit T-12. Now another creature had entered and begun living there. It felt like whenever I forgot about it, something would come along and parasitize my body.
‘It was a creature Sister cherished, so I didn’t want to remove it arbitrarily. I left it for now. If it’s bothersome, shall I remove it? We have spare bio-components for the anal region, so we can simply detach that part.’
“If you detach it, it will die, won’t it?”
‘Its epidermis has mutated and fused with the anal bio-component. The probability of death upon removal is very high.’
“Then just leave it. If it ever becomes truly dangerous later, we can remove it then.”
Since it was an area that served no real function anyway, it didn’t bother me much. I stood up and moved around, inspecting myself. The body that had been split open with its internals exposed was now cleanly reassembled.
‘The AI inspection and minor upgrades have also been completed successfully.’
“Thank you for your hard work.”
‘I’m going to sleep now.’
“Sleep well, Elsa.”
I flexed my fingers, which folded and unfolded with precise mechanical movements, then stood up from the bench.
“Ugh, it didn’t go all the way inside. The tail part is still sticking out.”
When I reached back and felt around, the head was deep inside while the tail protruded outward. Thanks to that, my anus remained slightly open, my buttocks spread, and the tip of the small tail peeked out.
“It feels like I suddenly grew an extra tail.”
I left the gently wriggling tail alone, put on my clothes, opened the door of the maintenance vehicle, and stepped outside.
Several days passed while we waited for Xenuma’s homeland to issue orders to advance into the monster-dense region. During that time, the main force of the northern army—which had been following behind while cleaning up the remaining monsters—arrived one after another. The temporary encampment grew increasingly crowded.
Unlike the vanguard unit, which was composed mostly of armored forces tasked with smashing through monster swarms at the front, the main force was centered around infantry. They found our Eden android unit even more fascinating. As a result, our unit—positioned between the vanguard and the main force—became the center of attention. Soldiers constantly came by to watch or strike up conversations.
Jardin had been watching through the window of the tent as the soldiers mingled freely, interacting and chatting with one another. He lowered the flap, then lay down on the cot beside me.
“They’re all mixing in so normally. Honestly, I was a little worried.”
“You’re still worrying about that? We were fundamentally created to imitate humans, so holding conversations is easy.”
“As you know, there are quite a few dolls with very peculiar personalities. Some of them make you anxious just watching, wondering what kind of trouble they might cause.”
At his words, the image of Unit 4957 suddenly came to mind. With her unique way of speaking and outlandish behavior, she was an extremely distinctive doll. If anyone caused an incident, she was the first one that came to mind.
“Still, isn’t that kind of individuality actually very human?”
“True. Making mistakes and causing accidents is what makes someone human.”
These children possessed cutting-edge AIs that were far more advanced than the old, template-stamped AIs of the past. I believed that very individuality of the new AIs was the true indicator of humanity.
“Anyway, they’re doing well, so I feel relieved. Now spread your legs. Let’s do it one more time before we head out.”
He boldly demanded sex while kneading my breasts. I obediently spread my legs and accepted his cock.