Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Deception (4)
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‘How fascinating.’
The system that the Deities of the Divine Net created on their own to compete over Earth was incredibly intricate and realistic, with a strangely familiar vibe to it.
The same went for transactions transferring ownership of one’s own Subordinates or forces.
The transferor had to hand over control exactly as the buyer desired. That was the ‘order’ they had established, and most Deities strictly adhered to any order once it was set.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Nice to meet you.”
The company I was taking over this time was no different.
Strictly speaking, what I was receiving was people.
The company president, who was the owner, and a handful of key Hunters.
Everyone else was just ordinary folk who knew nothing.
“The Great One mentioned you. The new one sent by Him...”
“Please don’t stand on ceremony. Treat me casually.”
Baek Jin-seong, the youthful president in his forties, had been an elite graduate of a top university working at a major corporation. With help from the Deity who chose him, he founded the company and became its loyal servant.
He was an accomplished elite whose age and social standing were incomparable to mine. Yet right now, he was gauging my mood.
That was because I’d demanded that the Deity who’d been using him as a Subordinate introduce me as the new proxy.
From the start, it was common among Deities for someone—not me specifically—to take over a proxy’s Subordinates and naturally absorb their forces that way.
The only difference was that I’d disguised myself as a Deity rather than a proxy.
“Everyone’s caught off guard by the sudden decision. The Great One has been completely silent lately, out of nowhere.”
“Don’t worry. I’m hearing everything He has to say. Nothing will change much.”
There was no need for any power plays.
Baek Jin-seong, who was openly showing his anxiety in front of me, along with all the other Subordinates, had already lost their connection to the original Deity.
Instead, I’d told them all communications would go through me.
That alone was enough to control them. After all, once they’d tasted a Deity’s power, they couldn’t easily break free.
“So, we just keep working like before?”
“Of course. Don’t mind me at all. President Baek, you can keep being the president as always.”
There had to be a reason all Subordinates trusted and followed their Deities so blindly.
Blind faith and devotion like that were what goddesses demanded.
Baek Jin-seong’s eyes showed fear of losing what he had, and I had no intention of taking it from him.
“This is plenty.”
Instead, I picked up the fist-sized mana stone he’d brought and smirked.
It was labeled as a C-rank mana stone.
I wondered what value this mana stone would hold and be reborn with inside the breeding ground.
[Asmora marvels at the gift from the heavens]
To test it out, I got home and immediately placed the mana stone into the breeding ground.
Its size, similar to my fist, meant it was about the same as Asmora’s current body.
Asmora, who’d only seen much smaller mana stones until now, couldn’t hide her shock at its massive size.
“My god, a mana stone that big...!”
And through the hive mind, Seira—who was conducting research in the old Holy Kingdom’s lab—reacted the same way upon seeing it.
Seira seemed to grasp its value far quicker than Asmora.
Her dramatic reaction, hand over her mouth, was gratifying proof of her hard work and dedication.
‘Recycling existing mana stones is inefficient, and mining mana stone veins requires specialized equipment, time, and labor. I can just hand them over like this.’
I’d also set up a stable way to siphon mana stones from reality.
If I supplied them periodically like this, the ants could rapidly evolve their massive horde.
I didn’t see it as cheating.
Unlike other Deities who already knew and possessed so much, I couldn’t give my Subordinates any real knowledge or info. This was how I had to help them.
“The Great Existence has resolved our last remaining worry. Now it’s just a matter of applying it in practice.”
Seira dove straight into her research with total confidence, swiftly reaching the final stages.
New hearts made from mana stones, to be implanted into the ants.
Only Seira—who knew both human knowledge and the ants’ genetic info—could create them. Just as she’d said, after infiltrating the Empire and glimpsing their advanced magitech civilization, she produced results at breakneck speed.
‘I wonder what’ll happen.’
I had no idea either, so I watched tensely as Seira sliced open a Worker Ant’s chest, implanted the fist-sized mana heart, and performed the surgery. Several failed Worker Ant corpses littered the area already, but given the experiment’s scale, the casualties were quite low.
[Asmora senses the change and shudders]
The experiment finally succeeded, and its effects were immediate. The moment she sutured the wound, it regenerated rapidly.
The Worker Ant shot upright, and sensing some massive change in its body, Asmora grew excited.
[Asmora orders the immediate creation of more hearts to send to the nest. Asmora is convinced that redistributing the energy absorbed by mutants through these new hearts will enable unprecedented evolution beyond previous limits]
“Calm down, Your Majesty. The Demonic Power Hearts I’ve made come in various sizes tailored to specific standards.”
Asmora, frustrated by limits, wanted to test that power ASAP, but Seira calmly showed off samples of different types, indicating she still had more to explain.
“Even this tiny heart is enough for Small Worker Ants. But do elite combat troops really need such precious mana stone hearts? These are the new hearts meant for concentrated investment in frontline fighters.”
[Asmora believes only the largest heart containing the greatest power is necessary]
“No. Size, power levels—everything must be strictly categorized. Otherwise, there’s a risk of internal backlash or explosion.”
Seira, now fully versed in ant biology and hierarchy, had already completed all preparations and designs.
Asmora’s ability to freely create mutants from devoured genetic info, paired with Seira’s power to infuse them with new strength.
At last, their synergy was truly taking effect.
[Asmora uses the new categorized hearts as Seira instructed]
Worker Ants carried Seira’s mana hearts to the nearest nest.
The new spawning bodies there were producing cell masses for mutant evolution per Asmora’s orders, and the Worker Ants tossed mana hearts onto the freshly extruded sticky clumps.
The cell masses writhed, enveloping the mana hearts and forming massive cocoons together.
Thanks to Seira’s efforts—having learned intimate ant details from the symbiotic mutants parasitizing her body inside and out—the biological tissues fused seamlessly with the mana hearts.
[The cells react to the mana stone’s power]
As per Asmora’s design, the mutant cells—laden with the inner power absorbed from devoured prey by the spawning bodies—fused with the mana stones, reborn inside the cocoons as entirely new mutants.
The Worker Ants moved the cocoons to a special chamber.
‘The difference is obvious even from the cocoons.’
I could instantly spot the disparity between mutants growing with mana hearts and those without, letting out a small sigh of admiration.
Unlike regular mutants, those with mana hearts formed vastly larger cocoons of deeper hue, faintly glimmering from within.
[Asmora witnesses the horde’s new leap forward]
After maturing, a new soldier finally emerged from its cocoon, revealing its enormous body.
The previous Heavy Armored Ants and Saw-Wing Ants were the largest mutants Asmora had ever produced, from devouring giant armored beasts.
But this new Heavy Armored Ant had shattered those limits—achieved solely for ants—through maximal energy from the mana heart.
Larger bulk, heavier frame, proportionally greater power.
Just as other Deities’ forces developed civilizations ignoring physics with magic or sorcery, the ants had harnessed that power to a higher level than before, successfully mass-producing new monster types.
“Impressive. If a beast that size charged us back then, we’d have collapsed even more pathetically. So, what’s the name of that monster you essentially created?”
“Surpassing mere inner power storage, these new mutants born with explosively potent mana hearts are called Tyrants. They’ll be the core troops of Belzahad from now on.”
Count Merlen and Seira stood atop a ruined city spire, gazing at the colossal monster bursting from the nest as they spoke.
Its sturdy exoskeleton, three horns jutting from its head armor, thick and robust six legs propelling that massive frame.
Even from this distance, the Heavy Armored Ant·Tyrant’s size was clear; it rivaled the main building of the large mansion right beside me.
An elephant would be headbutted aside in one go. Could a mutant starting from an ant truly grow that huge?
[Asmora is immensely satisfied with the new mutant’s power, burning with vengeance and hunting lust toward her enemies]
Naturally thrilled with her new power, Asmora immediately prepared for war.
To crush the forces under Deities including the Lucadian Empire that humiliated her, and make the horde prosper further.
“Are you truly certain? That after they sweep this world clean and expel all other Deities’ forces, they’ll simply leave this land. Is there any guarantee those savage beasts won’t massacre the defenseless survivors per their brutal nature?”
“...I believe it. Through our connection, I’ve seen His true heart.”
As if piercing her intentions, Seira looked up at the sky—at me beyond the screen—in response to Count Merlen’s words.
Seeing her eyes, I gave a wry smile.
I planned to use the ants later to drive out the Outer God invading Earth, so I never intended to keep the endlessly warring, devouring ants chained to this planet.
[Asmora orders Seira to make a heart just for her]
“I wondered when she’d ask.”
The original Queen, Asmora, was driven by endless gluttony from the start.
Always craving more, she naturally ordered Seira to craft a heart for her own implantation.
To evolve into a stronger, superior being via a mana heart herself.
“I’ll prepare it right away. Using the mana stone He gave us.”
Seira said she’d make it from the mana stone I’d put in the breeding ground and asked Asmora to send it to the lab.
Asmora promptly dispatched flying mutants to deliver it at top speed.
On my screen, Seira stood under the massive mana stone’s shadow—far larger than her body—visibly gulping.
“Then I’ll begin processing.”
Seira, swathed in parasitic Shellback Ant mutants, began transforming her arms—specifically her fingertips.
Her fingers elongated like sharp blades, fitted with specialized tools for carving mana stones. She personally sliced and shaped the enormous stone into form.
[Asmora is memorizing the entire process]
Seira couldn’t handle every step herself forever. Asmora, with no intention of allowing that, was learning it all.
So the entire horde could do it independently without Seira’s aid.
Creating cutting-edge tech was hard, but repetitive actions and processes suited ants perfectly.
‘Seira probably knows it too.’
Watching her focus intently, I decided to grant her new status once Asmora could handle everything alone. What would Asmora think? Her talents and power were overwhelming... but to me, who’d watched her from birth through growth, she still seemed like a willful child.
Guiding a child’s growth meant teaching and awakening them. To truly rule as the Deity of Asmora and the ants, I needed to firmly grasp their queen first.