A lot has happened, but somehow, I am still alive. Perhaps it is better to say I have been reborn. My head is a bit confused, so to organize my emotions, let me reconfirm who I am.
I am a Chimera Ant Queen. I have no name. Let's just call me the Main Body. I am a hybrid ant possessing the properties of insects, plants, and metal. Recently, a new element called virus-type nanomachines was added to the mix, and I am becoming a creature that even I don't fully understand.
However, it is not as if I have become completely mechanical. The contents of my exoskeleton and my internal organs are mostly raw flesh, just as before. It feels like I am being parasitized by—or rather, living in symbiosis with—the nanomachines. I am something like a cyborg.
I was born as a soldier ant, but I can still produce eggs just as before. I suspect this is because I was produced as a clone of the Queen Mother. The reproductive consumption of the Chimera Ants and the self-replication function of the virus likely fused to cause this change.
It is unclear if the other soldier ants had the same body structure as me, but it seems I am the only one who inherited memories and escaped the virus's control thanks to a suppression program. I managed to block the virus from overwriting my collective consciousness, allowing me to maintain my former self.
And then there is my other form, the silver-haired girl, Quinn. She is a Nen doll created by the Nen ability 'Idolatry'. Her appearance hasn't changed, but I decided to tweak her name. I hereby newly name her Quinn Almeiza.
It is derived from Luan Almeiza, who gave me the memory data regarding the virus suppression program. Since I inherited a part of his memories through reproductive consumption, he is not unlike a father to me. Following the human custom where a child inherits the father's surname, I incorporated it into Quinn's name.
My goal is to escape this Dark Continent and go to the human world. Then, I will make the name Almeiza known to the world and leave my mark on history!
...Wait, hasn't my personality changed a bit from before? No, it must be my imagination. I think I was always like this.
With a new body and a fresh mindset, I challenge the harsh nature again today. Frightened by the approaching unknown threats, my journey continues side-by-side with death—
There is a wide variety of monsters on the Dark Continent. There are so many you could sweep them up and throw them away. For example, the carnivore currently chasing me at breakneck speed is a common sight in this area.
"Guooooooo!"
It is a dinosaur type, about 30 meters in length. It has eight legs and a skeletal structure that looks like four extra legs were grafted onto its abdomen. The hind legs are slightly more developed than the others, but it uses all of them for walking, and every one of them is powerful. Its head is large, taking up about one-fifth of its body. It is violently carnivorous and attacks any prey that enters its sight indiscriminately.
Compared to the monsters I have encountered so far, in terms of size, it is about lower-middle class. There are plenty of giant creatures exceeding 100 meters in length that could easily prey on this thing. However, to such super-giant creatures, a little ant like me is rarely recognized as food. I probably wouldn't even be a snack. So, as long as I watch out for their presence to avoid getting stepped on, avoiding them isn't difficult.
The troublesome ones are medium-sized individuals like this dinosaur. It clearly recognizes Quinn as food and attacks persistently. Its strength is extraordinary, and I cannot stand against it even if I reinforce myself fully with Nen. Well, small ones are even more troublesome than medium ones, though. Experience tells me that the smaller they get, the more dangerous they tend to be.
Anyway, what I want to say is that we are in a predator-prey relationship, and there is an absolute difference in strength between us. I sometimes launch attacks fully reinforced with aura, but that is like a stink bug releasing a foul odor at a bird; from their perspective, it is nothing more than a minor annoyance.
If I clashed head-on with monsters like this, I wouldn't have enough lives no matter how many I had. I possess quite a few lives, but it is still not enough. Therefore, I have no choice but to diligently avoid them by erasing my presence and traces, watching the wind direction to leave no scent, and identifying territories from the tracks of moving enemies. And even after doing all that, there are times when I cannot escape their wild instincts. Just like right now.
A death race takes place in a forest of giant ferns. The surrounding trees are no obstacle to the enemy. It mows down trees like papercraft, sending debris flying into the air as it heads straight for us. If there were more appetizing prey nearby, its attention might shift, but so far, there is no sign of that.
There is no doubt I am in a critical situation, but this is an everyday occurrence. I had the composure to think calmly. In the worst case, I can avoid it by using Quinn as a decoy. More importantly, because of this situation, there was something I wanted to test.
Through the battle with the Calamity-class threat 'Almeiza Machine', I took that power into this body. by manipulating the suppression program, I coexist with this virus without being consumed by it. If I release this program, the nanomachines will fulfill their original function and demonstrate their threat to the fullest. I hold the control rights, so to speak.
There is no reason not to use this power. While making Quinn run, I moved the Main Body. On Quinn's shoulder, the Main Body turned backward to face the dinosaur-type creature. I aimed the large ovipositor extending from my buttocks to my back at the enemy. This is the injection port for the cysts.
Those infected by the Almeiza Machine have their bodies remade into piles of junk upon the onset of symptoms. At this time, a cyst injection port is always formed on a part of the body. A cyst is a bullet packed with the virus, and the injection port is like the muzzle that fires that bullet. A creature shot by this becomes infected with the virus, develops symptoms immediately after, and turns into a pile of junk.
The ovipositor on my body should serve the same role. I should be able to shoot cysts.
I hesitated for just a moment. In my case, the ammunition fired from here is an egg. This egg is contaminated with the virus, so its function is no different from a cyst. If I cut the suppression program, I should be able to infect the enemy without issue.
However, that means discharging an egg from inside my body to the outside, which can be called laying an egg. For me, that was a major trauma. The old me would have felt a fierce sense of rejection at the idea of laying eggs.
That hesitation vanished in an instant. inside that disposal site, I experienced laying eggs countless times. I have overcome my emotional scars, and I am here. I don't need to think about anything; I just need to do what must be done now. I fired the egg at a target so huge it would be harder to miss.
'Eroding Machine Bullet (Cyst Shot)!'
Pop
...
...
...Did it hit?
I think it was fired with the force of a pistol, but conversely, if you ask whether this monster would take damage from being shot by a gun, the answer is no. If anything, my butt hurts from firing. Smoke is coming out of the tip of the tube.
The enemy's skin was thick. It continues to run as if nothing happened.
It seems that to fire a cyst and cause the opponent to develop acute symptoms, the bullet must reach inside the body. This virus infects just by touching the body surface, but that is normal infection, and symptoms won't appear without waiting for a incubation period of six months to a year.
There is no point in making it sick six months later unbeknownst to anyone. This is the result of firing with such confidence...
But then, I had a flash of inspiration. The bullet I shoot is an egg—meaning it is a cyst, but at the same time, it is a life form housing one of my consciousnesses. What would happen if I made this egg perform 'Ren' immediately after impact? If I make the virus eat the large amount of aura released by Ren, wouldn't the egg itself undergo a fulminant reaction? And if I involve the enemy in that reaction...
It is worth a try. I fired a bullet at the monster again.
'Eroding Machine Bullet (Cyst Shot)!'
...
...
...What happened?
No change can be seen in the enemy. If I strain my eyes, it looks like something resembling a red wart has formed where the bullet hit, but the enemy continues to chase without caring at all.
The level of strength was too different. There is a suitable reason why this virus has not caused a massive pandemic in this place. Does it mean that under the abnormal ecosystem nurtured by the Dark Continent, even a virus with terrifying proliferation power cannot infect easily?
I should focus on escaping. If I keep up such a flashy chase, there is a danger of encountering another threat. Just as I started to think that, a change occurred.
"Guo, ga...!"
Suddenly, the dinosaur's running speed dropped rapidly. It staggered and stopped, let out a pained groan, and then lost its balance. With a roar, its colossal body collapsed onto the ground.
For the time being, I used 'In' to erase my presence and quietly observed the situation. I performed a search using 'Resonance', but I didn't sense any particular danger. I cautiously approached the dinosaur.
The enemy was completely dead. Was my attack the cause of death? There was no particular change in appearance, nor did it seem to have suffered acute symptoms. In the first place, from the virus's perspective, it feeds on the host's life energy, so it would be troubled if the host died easily. Is there some other factor?
While investigating, I found a strange plant growing around the base of the jaw. A red cactus. About four cacti, roughly 30 centimeters in size, were growing in a cluster. Compared to the dinosaur's giant body, they were merely the size of small warts, but the red cacti glowing dimly like jewels stood out.
I have a very strong idea of what this cactus is. This is likely the 'Red Plant' that existed in my birthplace. It is growing in the spot where I shot the 'Cyst Shot' that I forced into a fulminant state with Ren. In other words, my egg transformed into this plant.
Most likely, this is not a plant. It is a form taken by a cluster of nanomachines. While conventional viruses would change life energy into something looking like mechanical junk, the virus I possess seems to take on the appearance of a red plant.
My upbringing is likely related to this. It is thought to be the influence of my exoskeleton being made of metal derived from that plant. In the process of fusing with the virus, it might have settled into this form.
I don't particularly mind that, but it is a mystery why the dinosaur died just from being hit by this cactus. Aside from the cactus growing, there is no other particular trauma. Its body remained clean, as if it had been poisoned...
"Poison?"