52. Pet Human (5)
52. Pet Human (5)
Have you ever had your head explode? Or have you ever had an experience similar to that?
Naturally, no one would be able to explain that experience. Because if you had the experience of your head exploding, you would have died right then and there.
But I have.
I hadn't considered that my saliva would even restore mana. But the moment I realized that saliva restored mana, Gwen's eyes changed in an instant and blew my head off.
Having my head blow off was a truly horrific experience.
I don't think I felt pain.
No, I don't even know if I should call this pain. My head definitely blew off.
But it wasn't like a "Uaak!" feeling; it was more like being shaved away. My consciousness, that is. And it felt like the Queen's consciousness was filling in that shaved-away, emptied-out consciousness.
Even without this, it felt like the Queen's consciousness was gradually merging with mine day by day, but in this case, it felt like it was taking over, not merging.
In a word, it means I feel like shit.
On top of that, once my head exploded, I instantly entered the consciousness of every Creature in this world.
I felt all the senses of tens of thousands of Creatures in an instant.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch—the senses of every Creature currently in my Hive Mind burrowed into my mind.
"Fuck."
A similar phenomenon occurred when I smelled the smoke of burning human flesh. But the scale was on a completely different level.
Back then, I had just properly felt the Hive Mind and grasped it with my own hands, but this time, the Hive Mind was burrowing into my hands.
As soon as my head fully regenerated, my vision returned, and all my senses came back, Gwen, who was right in front of me, came into view.
In the process of blowing my head off, Gwen's arm must have exploded too, because one of her hands was gone.
Ha... this is annoying.
No matter how fine I am, the sensation of having my head blow off is not one I want to feel again.
Still, the one fortunate thing is that I found out I don't die.
Even though I transmigrated as the Creature Queen, it was a fact I didn't know—whether I would die or not.
I had an aversion to dying. Even the word "aversion" is weird. I was just scared.
I could tear off my hands or wound my body, but I didn't blow my head off with the intention of dying.
It's weird to think about blowing my head off when I was a human to begin with.
Still, thanks to Gwen, I learned that I am an existence that doesn't die.
At least, unless all the Creatures die and I'm the only one left in the Hive Mind.
But that's that, and a head explosion is a head explosion.
Gwen's appearance, eyes wide open in great shock.
[ Queen-nim! ]
[ Queen-nim!!! ]
"Lea-nim!"
At the sound of the loud explosion, numerous Creatures and humans came to where I was.
"Ha..."
No matter how I think about it, I can't let this slide.
Even if they are pets, a Pet Human that bites its owner hard needs strong discipline.
I grabbed the head of Gwen, who was staring at me with wide eyes, with both hands.
I gently rubbed Gwen's trembling eyes with my thumbs.
And.
Puuk.
"Geuuuuuuugh...!!!"
I couldn't vent my anger with just that, so I drove my thumbs in deeper and twisted.
"Kyaaaaaaah!!!"
Only then did Gwen let out a feminine scream.
I pulled my thumbs out of Gwen, whose body went limp, and returned to the bedroom.
==
"Ssssss...! Hooooo...."
I hid my trembling legs by shaking them vigorously, as the fear from when my head exploded and I died and came back to life wouldn't fade.
To calm my pounding heart even a little, I inhaled the smoke created by burning human flesh into my lungs as much as possible and exhaled.
While doing so, I thought about how human emotions are truly weak.
Even though I knew I wouldn't die, the fear that felt like death was no joke.
It's not like I hadn't felt this kind of fear before.
I felt it when a drunk driver narrowly grazed past me while I was living in Korea.
That wasn't the problem.
The problem was that the drunk driver killed a human who was walking right in front of me.
I didn't see the corpse, but I even developed trauma from the blood stretching out on the ground.
I remember having a really hard time because of that trauma.
I struggled for a long time because of just one scene like that.
Thinking about it now, how useless it was to struggle for a long time just because a human died in front of me, when I wasn't the one who was hit.
Because of one such creature.
When I think about things like that, human emotions are truly too fragile.
Honestly, it would be fine if such fragility didn't exist.
"Are you alright?"
Yui said, approaching me as cautiously as possible.
I looked at Yui. Yui was nowhere to be seen with that cold, secretary-like demeanor; she was walking on eggshells around me.
It can't be helped.
Right now, strange energy is radiating from me as black energy, mana, and Holy Power mix around my body.
I don't know how to define this, but my energy filled that bright, palace-like bedroom like black fog, creating a more ominous atmosphere than anything in a typical horror movie.
I don't really care, but it seems scary from a human's perspective.
But it can't be helped. Because I can feel through the Hive Mind that even the firefly-like Creatures lighting up the bedroom are trembling in fear.
I put down the pipe tobacco, rubbed my face dry, and tried to compose myself as much as possible.
"I'm fine. I need to take a bath for a moment and collect my thoughts."
"Then should I call Amber?"
I shook my head.
I had already called Amber via the Hive Mind.
Amber, having already heard my order, was coming to the Colony faster than anyone.
"Understood."
As soon as Yui nodded and moved away from me, I walked straight to the Bathhouse.
While walking, I caught sight of Narim and Erina, who had fainted because they couldn't withstand my energy.
==
Amber, who had become so Creature-like that it was strange to even call her human, came to the Bathhouse so quickly she was sweating.
While getting a massage from Amber, I pondered what to do about Gwen.
She's a truly tough human.
To think that after over 100 people were murdered in front of her more horribly than any human, she would try to kill me the moment she gained mana.
"Amber."
"Yes."
We've become quite close since we've been sticking together for so long. Actually, we naturally became close as her body and mind became Creature-like, but we've built up a lot of affection since we touch bare skin every day.
"How should I kill that violent nature of Gwen's?"
"When you say Knight Commander, it refers to the person with the best skills and the strongest mind in that city."
"That's right. To think she could have that kind of willpower after refusing food and drink for a week and watching 100 humans die in front of her."
"Then how about the method you originally intended to use, Lea-nim?"
Come to think of it, I originally intended to make Gwen kill humans herself.
"If she endures that too, it wouldn't be bad to target her maternal instinct."
"Maternal instinct?"
"Humans are truly simple beings. Their minds can be changed by signals flowing from their brains, regardless of their will."
"Can you tell me more specifically?"
"Yes. Do you know the fact that humans can get pregnant with monsters?"
"I know. I heard it when Amber told me about Adventurers."
"There are monsters that make humans pregnant. Representative examples are Goblins and Orcs. And among the women who were defeated and raped by such monsters, surprisingly, those who become pregnant with monsters do not want an abortion."
"Huh...?"
"Of course, not all women think that way. But such women are seen more often than you'd think. And regardless of the opinions of such women, they are forcibly aborted. Because, in the end, what they have to give birth to is a monster."
Contrary to my expectations, it was quite a dark topic.
But Amber's words also make sense.
Anyway, one of my goals is to see how strong a Creature is born if it's born from the body of a human like Gwen.
The reason I hadn't done that until now was that pregnancy is quite tricky, so I hadn't thought about it.
But if it's Gwen, who has that kind of mental strength, wouldn't it be quite possible?
I'm worried that Gwen might see her belly pregnant with a Creature and tear it open herself.
I wanted to make her a Pet Human in as intact a state as possible, but if she's already showing that level of violence, that's impossible.
"I know it's uncomfortable for Lea-nim to use Holy Power, but since you know her mind is that strong, I think it's fine to do as you wish."
"Yeah. That seems right. Thanks for the good advice."
With mental strength this strong, even if her limbs are torn off and her eyes are crushed, her mind won't break even if she has an unwanted pregnancy.
"I'm curious. What kind of expression will that Gwen make when she gets pregnant with a Creature?"
And then, I'll have the born creature eat humans.
The Creature she conceived and gave birth to eats humans.
It's the best scene.