After reverting to his “original” form, Helzar led the Swarm and the Lava Queen to a small city. His target was an apartment, a big one, and they didn't take long finding one.
These sorts of buildings were practically everywhere!
The Swarm did just that. The Lava Queen had some complaints, but she was swayed by Helzar after a long while of convincing.
‘I got data from the Lava Ants earlier in the morning. Before the next phase of the plan, I want to upgrade the Spawns.’
Currently, the Swarm consists of the three centimeter Motherbugs and one centimeter Spawns. As for Eaters, eggs, Spawnligs, and the other insects that Helzar created, they were sacrificed to delay Alex.
‘I’ve only got a few hundred Motherbugs, but I'll be recycling them anyway.’
Although Helzar was pleased that the Spawns could be three centimeters big, a bit more than an inch, they remained inferior to the Lava Ants.
‘It’s time for some tedious work,’ Helzar sighed.
Helzar said, turning around when the Lava Queen called him out.
With an incredulous tone, the Lava Queen crawled toward Helzar, easily dwarfing the former.
Helzar hissed.
Seeing the Lava Queen remain doubtful, Helzar scoffed.
Helzar opened his wings, taking flight inside one of the tunnels that the Swarm dug out. When he reached the deepest part of the nest, he retracted his wings back to his body and glanced around.
‘Should suffice,’ Helzar hummed. The chamber he’s currently in is only three inches big, making it impossible for the Lava Queen to enter unwelcomed or unnoticed.
‘If she uses her abilities, then things would get dicey… but with her?’ Helzar scoffed. ‘She looks like a stubborn, reckless woman. She’s like a loyal duchess to her king.’
Obviously, the Lava Queen didn't view Helzar as her king, but Helzar was confident that the Lava Queen wouldn't use underhanded means.
‘Let evolution begin, and the Swarm to grow.’
Helzar placed the Nest down, peering into it's stomach and pouring his soul energy inside it.
+++-+++-+++
The day Helzar walked out from his secret project, a week had passed. Helzar had been keeping in touch with the events happening during that time, and he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Lava Queen had talent in “silent killing.”
The news was filled with missing person cases, and everyone was attributing it to a mysterious serial killer mastermind.
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Hearing the Lava Queen's remark that reeked of hidden satisfaction from the praise, Helzar held a sneer beneath his mind.
As he spoke, Helzar placed down the egg he was holding using his mouth. Then, he ordered the Spawns to bring him fresh human meat, one that was soaking with blood.
With a resounding peal of laughter, Helzar watched the egg sucking blood, before it quickly grew to a “Swarmling.”
He grew tired of making too many names, settling with calling his insects “Swarmlings” when they reach their second phase in life.
As the Swarmling ate more of the meat, even the Lava Queen couldn't help getting intrigued.
When the chunk of meat was gone, the Swarmling still had yet to mature, prompting Helzar to order another chunk of nutrition.
Alas, after eating three big chunks of human flesh, the Swarmling's appetite was satiated and began to mature. With great intrigue, the Lava Queen watched in fascination.
The Motherbug was four centimeters big, just a centimeter shy from Helzar's size. It had three pairs of legs and three pairs of wings. While it lacked mandibles, its mouth was full of sharp teeth. Its “upper” body was only a centimeter big, while its abdomen was three centimeters big.
‘Un… der… stood…’
However, when receiving a broken reply from the Motherbug, Helzar was stunned and annoyed. He didn't do anything, though. He wasn't about to kill the creature he spent an entire week creating!
Helzar declared, ordering the Swarm to feed all the food within the nest to the Motherbug. The Lava Queen was displeased because her larvae were going to starve for a day, but Helzar paid her no heed. Instead, he gave the Motherbug some soul energy and watched it produce thousands of eggs in mere minutes.
Unfortunately, the Swarm swiftly ran out of food, forcing Helzar to halt the “factory” he created.
‘It’s time to recycle the Spawns and Motherbugs.’
During the seven days, the three centimeters Motherbugs produced three centimeters Spawns. They were doing well for hunting humans, but Helzar had no second thoughts in “recycling” them. He fed them to the eggs which turned into Swarmlings, before maturing into adult Spawns!
The new Spawns were four centimeters big, and not only were they tougher and stronger, they gained an ability like the Lava Ants.
‘Their mandibles and claws are sharper which is always good, but the ability I managed to create is the key.’
If not for the Lava Ant's “lava venom” not being compatible with the Spawns, Helzar wouldn't have spent seven days trying to create the Motherbug.
The newly matured Spawns surrounded Helzar, all of them bowing at their king and creator. Their exoskeletons were as black as the night sky with a ring of blue on their abdomen. The blue ring wasn't there for aesthetic purposes.
Rather, it was a deadly weapon the Spawn can use at any time.
Wishing to fulfill Helzar's wishes, the Spawns focused their energy on the blue ring on their abdomen.
The Lava Queen asked, calling her Lava Ants to her side. The usually dark tunnels brightened as the ring on the Spawns’ bodies glowed an ominous blue.
A centimeter long tentacle waved around his body, anticipating the new journey before them.