‘Is she really going to make a goddess, a god of an entire world, attempt to integrate with the colony?’
Without the ability to skillfully control the hive mind like Elise did, even a Legion Commander would be unable to read all the information and intentions.
Celia watched nervously as Hestia was transported to Elise's secret laboratory.
This was indeed a matter of utmost secrecy.
Lin Miao had personally instructed them to continue their Outer God roleplay for as long as possible.
At the same time, this process could be seen as a preventative measure to stop other deities from swarming them as the ultimate threat.
In any case, those who integrated with the colony would never leak the secret. However, since the number of servants who did not belong to the hive mind was growing on the lands they ruled, the Great Devourer prioritized strict confidentiality.
“I still don't quite understand. Currently, the Goddess's servants are in a state of deep sleep, and most of them have no idea she has been defeated and fallen. On top of that, the Goddess herself has already been subdued. What more can be done in this situation?”
“All the answers can be resolved with a single method: the Goddess voluntarily cooperating with us.”
“How is that even possible?”
As the latest to join, Yuno, who had the lowest adaptability and understanding of the colony among the Legion Commanders, was still filled with doubt.
This was especially true given her personality; she wasn't the type to comb through the hive mind and bend over backward to understand the detailed plans.
Celia explained the details to Yuno.
“It shouldn't be possible, which is why the Great Queen's will is to turn the impossible into reality.”
Celia couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecatingly, finding her own words somewhat absurd.
Naturally, this prompted a counter-question from the other side.
“How?”
Yuno, wearing her menacing helmet, tilted her head and asked. In truth, the other Legion Commanders shared similar thoughts.
Goddess Hestia would rather perish alongside all her servants than suffer the humiliation of surrender.
The pride she possessed as a deity who had reigned for so long was not something that could be shattered by ordinary means.
【Elise is preparing to conduct the experiment】
Yet, Elise wanted to achieve precisely that.
By utilizing all the knowledge, technology, and experience accumulated by the colony so far, she intended to carry out the most intense experiments and modifications.
If Kerrigan had demonstrated the peak of the colony's martial prowess in her duel against the Goddess, then Elise intended to show the true terror of the Great Devourer in her own field of expertise.
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
When Hestia gradually regained consciousness.
For a brief moment, she thought she was dreaming.
The fact that her consciousness still existed when she should have perished was hard for her to accept.
“What on earth is going on...”
It wasn't just her consciousness that remained; her physical body and soul were also completely intact.
Hestia looked around in panic.
In the dim darkness, she clearly saw her current state.
Squirming, bright-red fleshy walls covered every direction, webbed with blood vessels and tentacles. Hestia's body was firmly embedded within this mass of flesh.
The exoskeleton spear that had pierced her abdomen was still there.
She furrowed her brow, feeling tiny tentacles spreading outward with the spear as their center.
These tentacles, covering her body from both the outside and inside, had already fused with her blood vessels and nervous system.
【Connection Error】
She instinctively tried to access the Divine Net, but she could not connect.
Hestia's Divine Net was now completely non-functional.
Without any servants or territory, she was nothing more than a slightly stronger deity.
“Who are you?”
Even so, she instinctively stared into the depths of the darkness.
At that moment, accompanied by a soft chuckle, a figure emerged from the deep shadows.
“Your face is different.”
Hestia suddenly thought it was Kerrigan.
But she was slightly different from Kerrigan.
Her figure was much slenderer than Kerrigan's, appearing more “human-like.”
Unlike Kerrigan, who wore exoskeleton armor, Elise's thin skin and membranes, which wrapped around her voluptuous body, fluttered and squirmed like an elegant dress.
“Former Goddess. In this place, you cannot use your divine power.”
Elise smiled as she spoke.
Hestia bit her lip.
To Hestia, they were monsters completely different from existing deities or Outer Gods.
No matter how much people discussed it on the Divine Net forum, no one could uncover the true identity of the Great Devourer.
‘Fear? Me?’
Hestia suddenly realized she had goosebumps all over her body.
Fear of the unknown was something even deities could not escape.
It simply rarely manifested because there was almost nothing a deity did not know.
She was shocked by this fear of the unknown, a feeling she had not experienced in ages.
“You will get nothing from me.”
Hestia forced her voice to rise, her long, flowing golden hair swaying with the movement.
“That is not true. Your body belongs to us now.”
Instead, Elise took a step closer, grabbing the subdued Hestia's face and grinning.
Hestia stared into Elise's shimmering crimson eyes, momentarily speechless.
The intense obsession and fixation burning in those eyes were even stronger than the fighting spirit Kerrigan had displayed.
Without Lin Miao's restraint, the sheer potential and madness, which could have spiraled out of control to an unimaginable degree, danced wildly beneath that beautiful human skin.
Honor, self-respect, pride... everything Hestia wanted to invoke got stuck in her throat, utterly crushed by that madness.
“Once your modification is complete, we plan to use you as a core component of our military's space nest. You will surely find satisfaction in the joy of being the first mothership-class individual to integrate with the colony.”
Elise mentioned her so-called “goal”—the space nest.
She looked like a child immersed in a beautiful dream.
Regardless of whether the other was listening, she poured out words only she understood, chatting cheerfully to herself.
“During that process, we will also take measures to ensure you can detach from the space nest at any time. Whenever that happens, you must act as a member of the colony.”
“What on earth am I listening to?”
Hestia could not understand most of what Elise was saying.
No, to be precise, it was more like she was desperately trying to deny it.
Not only did they want to forcibly modify and exploit her body, but they also intended to use her at their whim whenever they pleased.
For a moment, she thought they had forcibly saved her life for this purpose, but on second thought, she had already lost all her power and fallen. She was bewildered as to why they would invest so much in her.
What shocked her even more was that, for this highly inefficient and absurd plan, Elise had not killed her servants but had instead forced them into hibernation.
“This is insane, utterly preposterous.”
“No, after the modification, you will reclaim your godhood. Your servants will be loyal to you once more—or to be precise, loyal to us.”
“That makes absolutely no sense! The church members will wake up and grant me godhood again? While I'm still trapped in this disgusting lump of flesh?!”
“Yes.”
Hestia shook her head, her voice rising at last.
This was a shocking, grotesque idea that completely defied common sense.
Naturally, she would deny it and feel terrified.
Yet, Elise nodded with absolute certainty.
As if to say that no matter how much she struggled, it would be futile.
“The fact that you can reclaim your godhood later means I can modify you however I want right now.”
Elise wore a sinister smile, her eyes scanning Hestia's face and body.
Hestia's eyes widened, her face betraying an uncontrollable terror.
To put her in an irreversible state, and then force her to regain her godhood.
In this way, even if Hestia regained her status as a deity, she would be reduced to a mere puppet.
‘Impossible, that can never happen. Ugh, I will never yield to you...’
What terrified Hestia the most was that she herself could not be certain whether Elise's words would come to pass.
“S-Stop!”
As Hestia spiraled into terror, Elise snapped her fingers, summoning the worker ants.
The biological experiment officially began.
Rate on N.U.
