54. Pet Human (7)
54. Pet Human (7)
I wanted to impregnate Gwen with a creature because I wondered if a creature born from a human with an affinity for mana would be able to wield mana itself.
Because right now, my kids can't handle mana. They love eating humans who have mana, but they can't make that mana their own.
It's truly inefficient.
[ Unbelievable. How. A creature is... mana... Analyzing. Grasping. Confirming. ]
Evolute seemed fascinated by the situation, too, stroking Gwen's belly, which had swollen up because of the creature inside her womb that was sucking up mana with its tentacles.
[ Long-term. Mana. Held within. Gwen's egg and Raksha's gene combination. Mana-affinity. ]
"Gueeeugh...!!!"
"Huh?"
Gwen's body started to shrink.
She started losing weight in real-time, and her skin began to shrivel up with a jjeojeok sound, even starting to bleed.
Meanwhile, Gwen's abdomen began to expand just as rapidly.
[ Judged as overgrowth due to mana. 1 minute until birth. Absorbing energy meant for 3 days in just 1 minute. Gwen's life is in danger. ]
Looks like it.
I urgently pulled Evolute's tentacles out of Gwen's mouth and pressed my lips against hers.
It wasn't to kiss her.
I gathered as much saliva as I could, let it flow into Gwen's mouth, and placed my hand on her body to pour in my Holy Power.
The creature inside Gwen's belly kept devouring so voraciously that I felt like even the mana in my own body was being stolen away.
"Gueeeeeeeugh—!"
Gwen's belly swelled up to a problematic degree, and then.
Chwaak!
"Whoa?"
A slender hand burst out of Gwen's belly.
The problem was that the hand didn't come out from a normal place, but burst right out of the middle of her abdomen.
Blood sprayed from my Pet Human's abdomen as the creature tore open her belly with its own hands, climbed out, and stood on the floor on two feet.
A kid that grows, is born, and stands on two feet just one day after conception?
Well, it's not just a normal kid, but a child with creature genes, so...
A snow-white face, snow-white hair, and features just like Gwen's.
It was a child so identical that no one would have any problem calling it Gwen's daughter.
Except for the eyes, which were inverted like mine, and the sharp teeth that couldn't possibly belong to a human.
'There isn't a single similarity to Raksha...?'
I had introduced the genes of the creature species called Raksha into Gwen's womb, but not a single characteristic of a Raksha was visible.
Raksha.
The term I use is Mimic Creature.
The species name of the Mimic Creature is Raksha.
The word "Raksha" doesn't really roll off the tongue, so I just call them Mimic Creatures.
A Raksha's original form is a round sphere.
Such a sphere remembers the form it wants and transforms, but the appearance of the Raksha born from Gwen's womb right now just looked like Gwen's daughter.
If you consider the strength of a Mimic Creature, they aren't exactly a strong entity.
The reason I had Gwen pregnant with such a creature is because a Raksha is a Mimic Creature.
I thought it was the most suitable for impregnating a human. I figured that because a Mimic Creature has the characteristic of being able to freely change its body, wouldn't it be able to combine well with human genes? That's why I had Gwen pregnant with Raksha genes.
Ttolmang-ttolmang.
Raksha looking around.
I pulled my lips off Gwen's mouth, which I had restored to its original state, and stood up.
I was worried for a moment that Gwen might die, but fortunately, I managed to barely restore her with my saliva and my Holy Power.
Gwen, whose eyes had returned to normal thanks to Heal and my saliva, saw the Raksha she had given birth to and experienced pupil tremors for the first time.
Honestly, I have the same reaction.
A Raksha that grew in an instant and was born by bursting through her belly in an instant.
That Raksha looked at Gwen once, looked at Evolute, looked at me, and then cutely trotted over to me and hugged me.
Whether I should call it fortunate or not, the Raksha Gwen gave birth to was, naturally, already included in my Hive Mind.
[ Amazing. How did this situation... Very curious. I wish to try it again, but. Assessing Gwen's condition. A significant amount of life force was extorted. I judge that if she gets pregnant again, she will die. ]
At Evolute's words, Raksha, who had been burying her face in my body, turned her head and spoke to Gwen, who was staring at her blankly.
"Mother, thank you for giving birth to me."
"Huh?"
[ Raksha. Intelligence level. Judged to be at the level of a 10-year-old human. ]
"Whoa... No, well... She does look like a 10-year-old... but, hey, to what extent does she have intelligence?"
It was so weird because she was speaking so naturally, with clear pronunciation, and even using honorifics.
"I have inherited a part of my mother's memories."
"Oh... Then do you definitely recognize Gwen as your mother?"
"Yes. Gwen is the grateful mother who gave birth to me."
"Then what about me?"
"The Queen is the greatest person in this world and the one I must serve."
[ Excellent. ]
"Even so, she was born from Gwen's womb?"
[ In every creature's genes. The Queen's genes exist. The strength of a creature is mostly. Determined by how much of the Queen's genes are present. ]
Huh? Was that it?
[ All creatures. Every single one of them has the Queen's blood flowing through them. And if the Queen's genes and blood are flowing. They are unconditionally included in the Hive Mind. Come to think of it, while Gwen is in the position of a mother. The Queen can also be called Raksha's mother. ]
I looked at Raksha, who was still hugging me.
I can feel it through the Hive Mind, but Raksha currently possesses absurd strength.
Even I, the only one in the legion who possesses mana right now, can feel it.
That she has several times more mana than Gwen, who is at the top even among humans.
It seems this monster was born because I kept replenishing Gwen's mana, and she absorbed all of that, too.
Not to mention her physical body.
Since the strongest human body and a creature's body have combined, there's no way she wouldn't be strong.
However, it's questionable whether she can use Mimicry.
The reason Raksha can use Mimicry easily is because they have a more flexible and free-spirited body than other creatures. Instead, they have a weaker body than other creatures.
Although she does possess a stronger body than a human.
"Queen."
"Huh? Oh."
"I'm hungry. Is it okay if I eat Mother?"
"...Huh? Ah, no, that's probably not a good idea. Evolute."
[ Yes. Understood. ]
Evolute raised its tentacles and dragged down a few humans who were in a cocoon state.
"Thank you."
Gwen's daughter bowed to me and started chewing on the humans inside the cocoons.
I was curious how she would eat with that small body and small mouth, but in an instant, her mouth tore open, and she boldly chewed up the humans.
"Th-this... wh-what..."
Gwen was greatly agitated as she watched the scene of the daughter she had just given birth to eating a human.
"How..."
But she couldn't help but be agitated.
A monster that looks like Gwen's daughter to anyone's eyes is chewing on a human.
"Must kill—"
Thump.
Gwen tried to draw up mana at the sight of her daughter eating a human, but having already had all her mana absorbed by her daughter, along with her life force, she was mentally exhausted despite my healing, and she lost consciousness and collapsed.
==
It was a few hours later that Gwen regained consciousness.
Feeling someone wiping her body, Gwen opened her eyes and saw a child who looked exactly like her own childhood self wiping her body.
However, knowing that the child was not a human but a monster, Gwen immediately and roughly swatted away the hand of the child who was wiping her body.
"Mother. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet. Such sudden movements are bad for you."
While Lea is her top priority, Raksha, whose next priority is Gwen, the one who gave birth to her, genuinely recognizes Gwen as her mother.
Of course, when she was first born, she was so hungry that she said she wanted to eat Gwen because she was the only human around, but that was just because the existence of a creature itself cannot endure hunger.
Having eaten two humans, Raksha no longer felt hunger, and although she was a creature, she was genuinely taking care of Gwen.
"Damn it...!!!"
Gwen's mind was complicated by the daughter she had given birth to, who was taking care of her with an expression of genuine concern.
If she closed her eyes and kept her mouth shut, she really did look like her own childhood self.
But the moment her eyes and mouth opened, it was clear she wasn't a human, but a monster.
Her brain knew that the being in front of her wasn't her true daughter, but her body was reacting.
Even though it was a being forced into existence by a creature, in the end, it was a being that grew and was born from her own ovaries and womb.
From her appearance to her way of speaking, her actions, everything was exactly like her.
It was natural, as it was a being created through Gwen's genes and memories.
"Mother, could you give me a name? The Queen calls me Raksha, so I want to be called something a little different. Raksha is, come to think of it, like calling Mom 'human,' so I need my own name."
"Ah..."
Gwen couldn't refuse the request from the Raksha who had her own childhood face.
"...Stacey."
"Stacey... That sounds like a really good name. Thank you. Mom."
Stacey smiled brightly and took Gwen's hand.
Gwen, who had never had a family until now, was so confused that the child she recognized as family for the first time was both her daughter and a monster.