Chapter 99: Spider Aftermath

Choose one of the following.

1.       Let the system handle the conversion process

2.       Let the subject take control of the conversion process

3.       Take manual control of the conversion process

Back here again, huh. It's been a while. I looked around; the same never-ending inky blackness dominated everything. I liked it. It was weirdly comforting. But enough about me. Let's move on to why I'm here. I looked back at the box floating in front of me, the same 3 options as before. Now, while I am tempted to pick and choose myself, letting Penn do it herself does intrigue me a little bit. She's an eccentric character, so I'm curious to know what she would choose. Besides, she did help a lot in defending the hive. I can let her have that much.

<Well, that settles it.>

I'll leave it with you, Penn. I focused on option 2, and suddenly, the menu disappeared. The black void started to fade and swirl, and before I knew it, I was in my bedroom, next to a large grey cocoon.

< I look forward to seeing what you grow into>

I slowly sat up on the edge of my bed. I was barely involved in the actual fighting, but my body feels like it's been through hell. But enough about me, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. We were attacked, and we fought, but the casualties we lost were too many. Looking at my system, we are down from 1258 to 900. Dammit.

<curse those spiders! To kill so many of my children.... I'll slaughter them all!>

A burning inferno of rage coursed through my veins. So many are lost for no reason at all! Fuck! Damn those accursed spiders. Their leader will pay for what they’ve done in ways that will even make the devil himself uncomfortable. But right now, I need to focus on rebuilding what was lost and, most importantly, increasing the strength of my hive.

<I’ll also need to improve my control over the hive. My orders and commands during the attack were too slow and clunky. Were I just a bit better at controlling my hive, maybe we wouldn't have lost so many.>

I shook my head; there was no point dwelling on that. I need to focus on the present. I slipped out of my bed and headed out into the hatchery

<Thankfully, they didn't come to this place>

If I had lost any of the breeding stock, I would have really been screwed. That tells me one thing: the person who did this isn't very smart, or their intel on our hive wasn't great until I know for sure. Looking for a new location to call home isn't too bad an idea

<Mother!>

I looked  to the side just in time to see Sally heading my way, followed by azuura

<Sally, azuura. How have you been? Have you recovered well>

< We've been fine, mother still sore in places, but I'm fine.> Sally replied. You wouldn't guess that looking at her. Her maid's dress has seen better days. Large tears were all over the dress. In some places, the dress is held together by literal strands of material. And let's not talk about the many blood stains this dress had. I'll have to get some more somehow.

<How is the hive?>

Sally and azuura shared a glance before nodding at azuura.

<Mother, we've found something whilst you were converting. You must see it right now>

Their faces were serious; something serious had happened.

<Lead the way. On the way, fill me in on the state of the hive>

<Yes, mother....>

.......

<And that's all of it.> azuura said as we flew down the tunnel. Finishing his report. It wasn't good. Many of the tunnels were damaged in the attack and need extensive repair.

Additionally, we lost many workers in the attack, and clearing and repairing it will be slow until I replenish the numbers. And that's just the workers. With so many combat-capable units lost, I seriously question our ability to defend ourselves. Damn those spiders.

<Focus your efforts on rebuilding. Take our dead and the spiders and use them to feed the next generation. I dont like it, but we dont have enough workers to deal with that many dead. Using them as food is the second best option; also, let the nurses know to get the breeding stock ready for my arrival. >

I'll relay the message to the others.> Sally said in my arms.

<Also, Sally, you need to get the ability to fly at some point. This is getting ridiculous now.>

She let out a small laugh < I'll get to work on it, mother.>

We kept flying until we hit the end of the tunnel, where the final battle took place. We kept flying a bit more until I caught a glimpse of a large number of warriors and spitters crowded around one area.

< What's going on here> I asked as we came into land. The warriors turned and faced me as i arrived.

<Mother. We found someone>

Someone? The warriors parted ways and made a path for me that led into a small room that had been dug into the tunnel walls.

<Just what do we have here?> I said as I entered the room.

“Please just let me go. I didn't want to help those accursed spiders!”

I was met with a weird furry creature with a pink snout. Sally entered the room shortly behind me. <We found him in the tunnels; that the spiders dug. He was already unconscious. When we found him.>

“it looks like a mole” I said. If I had to be specific, he's a sort of human-mole crossbreed. The creature had brown/grey fur that looked wet, small, beady black ears, and short, stubby hands with bright yellow claws. It's a funny-looking thi-

“Hey! Im not just a mole im a Talverin! We are not the same. Do not mix us-“

“You will be whatever I want you to be, Mole!” I bit back! His eyes met mine, and a wave of fear washed over him. The effect of my title finally kicked in. I stepped closer. The mole man's head tilted up as he tried to meet my eyes.

“I .... I.... I'm sorry!”

“I dont care for your apology. Tell me why you are here. Mole man.” A deep guttural growl came from my side. I glanced to my right and caught a glimpse of the blade of a warrior.

“I would start talking. He hasn't been fed in a while....”

“It was Samantha!” the mole man snapped. He folded like an omelette

“Samantha? Elaborate…”

“The silkwrith queen. Samantha is what she calls herself.”

“I see. And why did “Samantha” attack me? I've never met or attacked her or her kin”

The mole man looked down. “I don’t know…..Honestly, I don’t know…. S….. she's crazy. That much I can tell you. She captured me on the surface on the way to my delvehold. She kept me in a cage, fed me-“

“I dont care what she did to you.” I snapped, “Focus. You must have some idea of why she attacked unprovoked. It's stupid to waste so many resources just to attack me.”

“I honestly dont know! But.... when she told me to find you. She called you 'False queen'

False queen? Why would she-Wait for the skill upgrade! When I upgraded to hive leader, my authority extended to all arthropods. ALL OF THEM. Dammit!, It must have made her aware of me. If she is calling me the false queen, then it all makes sense. Her motive for wanting me dead is obvious. She doesn’t like my authority over her, and she wants me dead. It's a stupid motive, but it's a motive nonetheless. However, there is one other thing that's bothering me.

“So she told you to find me. How did you do it?”

He suddenly shrank away. Dammit. Do go quiet on me now.

“Answer me, mole man!. Because of you, hundreds of my children are dead. I need answers.”

“I can't.... I've already said too much. If she finds out, she will kill me.”

Instantly, my tail shot out and wrapped itself around his neck and tightened.

“And you think I won't?! Talk”!

My tail coiled on itself like a snake tightening around him. He spluttered and the colour left what pale skin I could see.

“Ple…se……..ill talk”

Instantly, my tail unravelled, and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

“Talk”

“H....Heat!”

A low growl came from me. “Elaborate!”

“Okay… OKAY! They sent me to scout out for your hive. What gave it away was the heat. This place is too hot! It stands out like a sore thumb. After that, the spiders did the rest. They kept me nearby in case you ran away!”

“See, was that hard?” My tail unravelled, dropping him to the ground.

“I'll be leaving. Thank you for the intel.”

“w....wait. Please let me go.”

I chuckled. “No”

“b...But I helped you!”

“Yes......and? Sally, grill him for anything else you can find out and report back to me. Do whatever you need to do. Just don’t kill him.”

<Yes, mother. What will you do now?>

<My duties as the queen. This hive won't replenish itself. Once I'm done with that, there will be hell to pay.>