“How terrifying.”
Hestia had to admit it.
If the Great Devourer were like the Outer Gods she used to know—mere incarnations of destruction and slaughter—it would actually be much easier to deal with.
She wouldn't have to ponder what was best or what was the next best alternative, nor would she have to fear an unknown future.
But the Great Devourer did not do that.
From the moment they first met, they had acted far beyond common sense, doing things to her that she could never have imagined and forcing her to make choices she had never even dreamed of.
Unpredictability—the ultimate advantage the Great Devourer took pride in.
Having ruled for countless ages, Hestia knew many things, but conversely, her ability to deal with the unknown had gradually withered.
This meant her thoughts and values had unconsciously become rigid.
Hestia only now realized that this was the true reason for her defeat, but her body no longer belonged to her.
Celia looked up at Hestia, her tone low and solemn. “Goddess, the other deities only wish to harm your vassals and plunder your property.”
Hestia lowered her eyes slightly and said slowly, “...That is common. I used to do the same.”
Seizing the opportunity, Celia asked softly, her tone carrying a hint of enticement, “Do you not want a chance at revenge? Revenge against those who betrayed you and used you until the very last moment.”
This rhetoric of Celia's was clearly carefully crafted using the hints Lin Miao had given her.
Celia informed Hestia that the deities of the Divine Net had been incredibly slow to form an alliance.
Furthermore, she told her that they were trying to plunder and seize Hestia's legacy.
‘How shallow. You are the real enemies, yet you want me to direct my anger at them. But...’
Hestia shut her mouth and silently stared at Celia.
With half of her face covered by a mask, leaving only her mouth exposed as she spoke, Celia was clearly a unique individual.
Celia was by no means a puppet devoid of self-awareness.
Even though she had fallen, Hestia was still a goddess. She still possessed this level of insight.
It was not difficult for Hestia to perceive that Celia had her own motives while cooperating with the colony.
And now, Celia was persuading and threatening the goddess to become just like her.
Hestia bit her lip, facing that intense greed and obsession that sought not only to control her body, but now even to dominate her heart at will.
“Celia, does the colony you serve completely possess your heart?”
Hestia thus asked.
Celia paused briefly upon hearing the question.
“The colony is an ecosystem.”
At one point, Celia had feared the colony more than anything else, willing to pay any price to eradicate it.
She had believed that one day, the colony would cover the entire world.
Even after learning about the vastness of the universe, her thoughts had not changed.
It feared no opponent; it could adapt to any variable and evolve.
If the world grew larger, it would simply take a bit more time.
“It will replace the existing ecosystem and become a new one, so we can only adapt to the new order within.”
Celia did not intentionally hide her purpose.
In any case, the entire colony, including Elise, and even Lin Miao, knew Celia's goals.
“Species that cannot adapt to the changes in the ecosystem will go extinct. My role is to persuade these people to adapt to the new ecosystem. Do not fear the colony. Becoming one with the colony also means you can leverage its power in turn. We are in a symbiotic relationship.”
“Do not fear? You dare say such things to me... to a goddess?”
“This is another ecosystem of this universe created by the Great One.”
Of course, although they had achieved glorious military exploits in a short period, it was still just a drop in the ocean compared to the vast universe.
Compared to the grand order created by the Divine Net, the new ecosystem of the Great Devourer that Celia claimed was still far too weak.
Yet, Hestia could not refute this.
Not only was she the one who had been thoroughly defeated, but for some reason, she felt that Celia's unwavering belief would actually come true.
‘If it is a new ecosystem...’
Hestia's gaze wavered.
If the Great Devourer truly became an ecosystem, then the individuals who adapted to that environment first would gain a significant advantage.
Though it was merely wordplay, the damage to her pride would be greatly reduced.
There was a vast difference between surrendering and yielding versus taking the initiative to adapt first.
“What can your master offer me?”
Hestia finally showed a willingness to negotiate the price of cooperation.
Celia smiled slightly. “If you willingly accept your role, we can promise to grant you more freedom.”
The negotiation process between Hestia and Celia was shared in real-time with the hive mind.
Elise accepted the outcome of the negotiation.
In any case, what Elise truly wanted was to thoroughly utilize Hestia's power.
Torturing her was of no importance.
‘This is enough.’
Lin Miao, who had been watching from the sidelines, did not raise any objections either.
For what Hestia requested as the price of cooperation was not unreasonable.
Thus, things began to progress smoothly.
“Phew...”
First of all, Hestia obtained more freedom.
The punishment of being turned into a living specimen as a bio-battery was so terrifying that Hestia valued physical freedom above all else.
The intention of teaching her a lesson before attempting negotiations seemed to have worked.
Before long, Hestia's limbs, which had been embedded in the fleshy wall, were released. The spear that had pierced her body to serve as an external neural hub wriggled over like a giant slug. After fusing with a symbiotic carapace ant, it turned into a liquid that clung tightly to her body.
Unlike her usual clothes, the sensation of it clinging tightly to her body made her uncomfortable, causing her to frown, but that was all.
Notably, the abdominal area where the spear had once pierced remained a large gaping hole.
Hestia seemed to find the scar embarrassing and quietly covered it with her hand.
Celia helped explain, “At least within this cavern, inside this Sacred Brood Nest, you may move around as you please. You have officially become a member of the colony, so you can also issue commands to lower-tier units. If you instruct the worker ants, they should be able to satisfy all your requests, please be aware.”
“But don't I still have to sit over there periodically and voluntarily offer up my power?”
Hestia pointed her hand toward a corner of the nest as she spoke.
The place where Hestia had previously been embedded was now transforming into a new shape along with the wriggling pulsations.
It was a grotesque form woven from writhing blood vessels and muscles—a giant chair.
In exchange for her physical freedom, what Hestia needed to do was sit on that chair and inject her divine power into the nest just as before.
Indeed, the moment Hestia sat on the chair, emerging tentacles wrapped around and pierced her body.
Hestia actively released her power through those tentacles.
This was better than having her power forcibly drained, but it was by no means a pleasant experience. Thus, Hestia leaned back, crossed her legs, her facial expression rigid.
‘It's complete.’
Celia finally looked up at the completed Sacred Brood Nest, which was the core component of the new space nest.
A biological organ consisting of a cavern the size of a football field, the goddess positioned within it, and a complex and bizarre biological system capable of converting and amplifying energy of different statuses and forms.
All of these converged to form a complete heart.
“Sacred Brood Nest, beginning transplantation.”
Elise smiled radiantly, finally officially initiating her plan.
At the same time, accompanied by a massive tremor, the giant heart gradually began to rise.
This heart, which had originally been buried underground, rose into the sky. Its destination was a plain, where a massive and vast object had already roughly taken shape.
“This is...”
Seeing that object with her own eyes for the first time, Celia murmured blankly.
Looking up from the ground, its colossal volume even surpassed the old city of the Goddess of Light Association nearby.
The vast area was entirely composed of living biological organs—a space nest constructed using all the nutrients and technology the colony had painstakingly absorbed.
Its overall shape resembled a giant earwig, curling its body into a ball and lying on its side.
The surface was entirely covered in a thick, hard black exoskeleton. Although it was massive in size, the interior was hollow. There were no internal organs; instead, it was a space large enough to accommodate the production and maintenance needs of several colonies.
It carried dozens of resonance spindles of various sizes to generate energy.
Even so, it was still not enough. That massive space nest was currently missing its most crucial part, waiting.
Descending from the sky, the Sacred Brood Nest—which had now become Goddess Hestia's new palace—slowly landed on that empty spot and fused with it.
Tissues connected like blood vessels, and the writhing flesh merged as one.
“Oh...”
Currently, Hestia's senses, connected to the Sacred Brood Nest and its neural network, were spreading throughout the entire space nest via the newly linked neural pathways.
Still seated on the extraction chair, Hestia widened her eyes, unable to stop herself from letting out an exclamation of awe.
Sharing vivid senses with such a massive biological nest was a first-time experience even for a goddess who had once lived in a grand sky palace.
“The first space nest, Abyssal Palace.”
Witnessing all of this through the screen, Lin Miao muttered to himself as he watched the giant beast, which was radiating immense energy, slowly stand upright and rise into the sky.
He knew who the entity inside the heart of this nest was, so he felt there was nothing wrong with calling it a palace.
The Abyssal Palace was not just another giant mutant.
The materials required to create it, the process of obtaining those materials, and the achievement of weaving and processing it...
For a colony that could even prey upon and absorb deities, was there anything in this universe that it could not devour?
The appearance of the Abyssal Palace—a space nest-class individual newly integrated into the colony system—was proof of this.
The Abyssal Palace could be regarded as the symbol and proof of all this.
...
“This is even more novel than I imagined. My eyes and ears have been expanded, allowing me to see and hear so much more... This feeling is truly mysterious. To think my will can actually drive this colossal body.”
On the screen right in the center of Lin Miao's field of vision, Hestia was talking excitedly and endlessly, with Celia watching her from the side.
“The trial run seems to be highly successful.”
The test flight of the Abyssal Palace had already concluded.
After all, this was the first individual of its kind born within the colony. Just like when a new species appeared, they collected data first through various tests.
It flew back and forth between the atmosphere and orbit, was subjected to attacks to test its defensive capabilities, and in turn, fired at full strength to unleash astonishing firepower.
Although it was not a purely combat-oriented unit, because its size was so massive, its firepower also reached the absolute peak level.
The firepower of the main cannon was poured onto an uninhabited open space in the Pioneering Zone. Instantly, dozens of kilometers of land melted, and everything on the surface turned to nothingness in a split second.
‘She adapted so quickly. Is this the capability of a veteran deity?’
Throughout this process, Hestia adapted much better than Lin Miao had expected, and she actually seemed quite happy.
By connecting the Abyssal Palace to her own neural network, she controlled this massive creature at will, practically as if it were her own body. She seemed excited by this, unconsciously smiling as she sat on the extraction chair.
This saved Elise a lot of effort.
If Hestia had been unable to adapt or cooperate, Elise might have had to control it directly through the hive mind, but now that seemed unnecessary.
Lin Miao closed the screen at that point.
“Regarding the raid on the Tier 6 rift that appeared in the West Sea, we are to cooperate with Japan... Do you think that is fine?”
Lin Miao had been staring blankly into space, but he turned his gaze upon hearing the voice. Ye Yunshang was looking at him with a worried expression.
Although he had been somewhat distracted by the matter of the Abyssal Palace, Lin Miao was currently listening to a rather important report.
Ye Yunshang knitted her brows slightly and said in a low voice, “If we do this, the possibility of clashing with the forces on the Dragon Nation's side will increase.”
Lin Miao's expression was calm as he replied composedly, “It cannot be helped. The deities currently carving up the world are all eager for competition. In competition, conflict and war are inevitable.”
Ye Yunshang was worried about conflict, worried about war.
From a certain perspective, this was only natural. She was both a vassal and a resident who had to continue living on this land.
At the same time, she was someone with a hero complex who wanted to save humanity.
But unfortunately, in the short term, sacrifices would likely be unavoidable.
The deities on Earth had to engage in a continuous war of attrition so that Lin Miao could mobilize the Great Devourer to easily breach the enemies' home bases.
However... after these sacrifices, when everything came to a successful conclusion.
Only after driving the Outer Gods and the deities of the Divine Net out of Earth could humanity find peace and freedom once again.
“Proxy, the freedom you speak of will be realized under the rule of 'that Lord,' right? Because our victory is that Lord's victory.”
“Correct. And that Lord will not stand by idly. Upon this land, chaos will vanish, and a new order will arrive.”
But that was not all.
Lin Miao had long since subtly indicated his goal to Ye Yunshang.
Even if they achieved victory in the competition surrounding Earth, enemies still lurked in all directions.
He had no intention of letting Earth return to the past, only to face threats that might descend at some unknown point in the future.
Even if no deities descended, that chaotic and disorderly era would never return to his Earth.
Lin Miao had drawn inspiration from the way the Great Devourer colony thoroughly nurtured the territories they occupied.
Therefore, he planned to treat this land in the same manner.
‘That is the end of the path I must tread.’
Even deities who had reached the high-tier could not escape worry and confusion.
This path was not what Lin Miao wanted, which made it even worse.
Not just Lin Miao, but many deities were currently pouring out their respective worries and hesitations in the Divine Net forum.
Therefore, Lin Miao had been constantly striving to learn from the Great Devourer.
Even if there was confusion and worry, there was never any hesitation in action.
Lin Miao still believed his essence was closer to that of a human, but this would not have a negative impact on his actions and outcomes.
“Therefore, Miss Ye Yunshang, please be sure to work even harder from now on. In the distant future, when that Lord truly becomes the ruler of this world, you will be the leader of that Lord's army—the queen who controls the new order that ordinary people on this land know nothing about.”
Lin Miao stood up, offering Ye Yunshang some words of encouragement before he departed.
Watching her pale face as she nervously managed a nod, Lin Miao was truly unsure if she actually took his words as encouragement.
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