The passage connecting the Upper Layer and Middle Layer of the Great Ello Dungeon.
I was waiting there.
My current body, the one serving as the Queen, had grown quite a bit.
In terms of appearance alone, it was practically indistinguishable from the original Queen.
Thanks to that, the passage—which should have felt spacious—now felt cramped.
While I was mulling over that, my visitor arrived.
"Oh."
The Demon King offered that greeting with a casual wave.
The main body had warned me—"The Demon King's here, so get the hell out"—but I'd judged it was worth meeting this Demon King at least once to try and have a conversation.
And sure enough, the Demon King who showed up was completely different from last time, greeting me in a laid-back manner.
Last time, I was killed without so much as a word. Quite the turnaround.
Oh.
Crap.
I can't speak.
Right—I'd forgotten. I normally communicate just fine with the main body through soul-link telepathy, so it slipped my mind.
*'Oh, right. Without telepathy, we can't actually talk, can we? Sorry about that.'* The Demon King picked up on my thoughts and spoke to me through telepathy, as though reading my mind.
Did the Demon King always have telepathy?
Well, whatever. If we can communicate via telepathy, that works just fine for me too.
*'So which one are you right now?'* I already knew the connection between us and the Demon King fragment had been severed.
In other words, the Demon King fragment had lost the battle for dominance over the soul, and as a result, the Demon King itself had gained control of consciousness.
That was the logical conclusion.
But the presence I'd been sensing from the Demon King this whole time felt much closer to the Demon King fragment.
Seeing the real thing in the flesh, I couldn't tell whether the Demon King had won or the fragment had.
*'Both, kind of. That's probably the closest answer.'* *'What do you mean?'* *'Exactly what it sounds like. I'd say
Demon King Ariel, merged with the original fragment?
No—I'd actually predicted this. It wasn't a total surprise; I'd considered the possibility. But seeing it play out in person was something else.
*'So you ended up as the Demon King after all. What a shame.'* *'Hey, that's harsh!'* But it's true, isn't it?
Where did that charisma from our last meeting go?
Ah, now that I think about it—me being able to have a perfectly normal conversation with someone else is already weird in itself.
Thinking about it that way, I really can't think of the Demon King as a stranger anymore.
*'So what are you going to do from here on out? If you're planning to pick a fight with the main body, I'd advise against it. She's busy working on becoming immortal as we speak.'* *'What kind of terrifying project is that?'* *'Laying eggs like crazy and mass-producing evacuation shelters.'* *'Ah. So that's how she managed to resurrect so calmly even after I killed her before.'* *'Oh, crap.'* The Demon King didn't know about that?
That was a slip-up.
*'Ah, it's fine. I have no intention of being hostile anymore.'* *'Oh, really? If so, then that works for me.'* Safe.
Well, even if she'd known, dealing with every last egg would be virtually impossible at this point, so it wouldn't have changed much anyway.
*'Yeah. I figured cooperation beats hostility, don't you think?'* The Demon King smiled.
And in that smile, I sensed a deep, bone-chilling rage.
That, right there, was the Demon King through and through.
*'Makes sense. Well, I don't see the problem. The main body's probably thinking the same thing—something has to be done about the world, right?'* *'Exactly. Gyurie doesn't seem to have realized it because she doesn't have the authority to interfere, but the world's collapse is going to begin any moment now. That absolutely must be prevented.'* *'Right. Well, the main body apparently wiped out a whole army at a pretty impressive pace, so maybe that bought us a little more time.'* *'What's that? Tell me more.'* And so, in fits and starts, I told her the story of how the main body had charged into war and committed a massacre.
*'Good job!'* *'Is that really okay to say? That's technically the religion that worships you and your master, you know.'* *'It's fine. They've lost sight of what really matters. If anything, the Divine Word Church is still more reasonable.'* *'Oh, is that so?'* *'It is. The Pope of the Divine Word Church has maxed out on Taboo, after all.'* *'Seriously?'* *'Seriously. So while I wouldn't go so far as to call them allies, they'd probably agree with our thinking to some extent. Of course, since they prioritize the survival of the Human race above all else, they might not see eye to eye with us in the long run.'* *'Hmm? The way you're saying that, it almost sounds like you're fine with the Human race being wiped out.'* *'I am.'* *'You are? Your master would probably be pretty upset about that, though.'* *'I've accepted that. I'm sure mixing with a part of you has twisted me quite a bit. My way of thinking has changed dramatically.'* *'Ah, I see. Whether that's a good thing or not, I honestly can't say.'* At any rate, the Demon King apparently had no issue with the main body's actions.
Rather, she was apparently giving a thumbs-up.
*'So anyway, I'd like to meet with the main body to discuss a ceasefire and possible cooperation. What do you think?'* *'Let me see... Hold on. Let me check something real quick...'* Hmm?
Wait—this can't be— *'Hm? What's wrong?'* Oh, you've got to be kidding.
The main body—she finally did it.
No, wait—this is totally unexpected.
*'Sorry. I'm going to disappear.'* *'What?'* There's probably no time to explain.
It seemed that with the main body's deification progressing, I was being absorbed back into her.
If the other Queens were in the same situation, the same was probably true for them.
Well, well.
It wasn't death, exactly—more like returning to the original sheath. But my existence as an individual would cease to be.
I wasn't sure what would happen to this body, but if the soul was being pulled out, wasn't that basically the same as dying?
The Demon King—her connection had already been severed, so she should be fine.
If there'd been time, I could have used teleportation to guide her to the main body's location. Sorry, but you'll have to track her down on your own.
When you find her, she'll be ready to talk.
And then, pulled by the main body, I was ripped out of the Queen's body.