Ben was stupefied after hearing the Icebug Queen speak in the General's voice in Spanish. Then, before he could wonder how she acquired it, she switched to English.

"The Humans of the South are gathering an army to block our expansion into their lands."

Her voice now sounded like it belonged to a Black Texan woman.

The two hundred Royal Guards and Icebug workers somehow understood her message and began screeching in rage at the audacity of the humans.

"Yes, my children! Their bodies will become food for our larvae, and their weapons will decorate our walls if they dare to oppose us."

Ben had heard from Soma that the neighboring nations surrounding the UGP borders were on the defensive and rejected all military assistance requests. He wondered if they finally realized the monster threat would spread into their countries sooner rather than later if nothing was done to push them back?

The swarm began clapping their mandibles or appendages that weren't used for walking as a way to voice a cheer. As the Icebug Queen basked in her children's praise, the space in front of her grew hotter. Blue flames flickered into existence on the ground before turning into a bonfire that lit up the Queen's chamber.

Ben retreated towards a spot where the light of the Blue flames could not reach and hid there to avoid detection since his camouflage skill could not prevent a shadow from being formed behind his body when bright light was shined on it.

After waiting several seconds, the light from the flames dimmed until they disappeared entirely.

He poked his head out just enough to watch what was going on. He found a monster in the shape of a Hercules Beetle covered in heavy metal armor cracked all over like a spider's web. Blue flames and the pungent smell of phosphor emerge out of those cracks. Its body is the same height as a fully grown African Bull Elephant, but the massive horns on its head stretched the same length as its body.

Two massive Saphire-like gems rested on the spot where the eyes are supposed to be located. They were illuminated by the blue flames that escaped its mouth whenever it opened up.

Icebug Queen. "Chimera Ajax?"

The Bug monster, who she called 'Ajax,' made clicking sounds with its mouth and released blue flames into the air through the cracks in its armor, but it was quickly interrupted by the Icebug Queen.

Icebug Queen. "You don't have to struggle with pheromone communication. I have assimilated enough Humans to speak in their language."

The Hercules Beetle paused to process this information before replying to her in a New York male accent.

Ajax. "You like speaking in English?"

Icebug Queen. "I am growing fond of the complexity and variety of all your languages, not just English. It offers more vocabulary that pheromones alone fail to convey. So what brings one of Empress's Chimeras to my chamber?"

Ajax. "The Empress wants an update on the Chimera army she ordered you to create."

Icebug Queen. "I have made five Chimeras so far in five days."

Ajax. "Only five? Did you at least make them as strong as me?"

Icebug Queen. "I can only use the 'Chimera Egg Creation' skill once a day on only one Egg. Though they are quite strong, their minds are unstable and rebellious. So I must directly control their actions with my willpower to carry out my commands."

Ajax. "Did you fuck up somewhere while creating them?"

Icebug Queen. "I do not have the same access to the Empress's unique skills to create Chimeras like you."

Ajax. "If that's the case, then the Empress isn't going to be happy with you. You know what she does to the Queens who disappoint her, right?"

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

There was an awkward pause between the two.

Icebug Queen. "I know... so I produced a Queen egg that will be capable of meeting her demands but in a different way."

The Icebug Queen ordered her Royal Guards to bring out the Queen Egg. A Red insect Egg, the size of a Basketball, is gently placed in front of Ajax for his inspection. The Blue flames coming out of the Hercules Beetle grew until the Egg was clearly visible in the dark chamber.

Ben had seen this Egg before a few days ago and knew it was a future Queen. It mostly had to do with the fact that the Queen herself constantly tended to it and her royal guards protected it. The other Eggs she birthed were quickly transported by the workers to the incubation chamber of the hive.

Ajax. "Why is it so tiny?"

Icebug Queen. "When this Queen hatches, she will be far smaller than us."

Ajax. "How small?"

Icebug Queen. "Six foot tall and the Chimeras she births will be the same."

Ajax. "What good are Chimeras who are stuck at that pathetic size?"

Icebug Queen. "Before I answer that, can you explain how you retained your sanity when you were reborn as one of us?"

Ajax. "Why are you bringing that up?"

Icebug Queen. "It might help you understand my reasoning."

Ajax. "Fine... I don't remember much from that life, but I had a natural affinity with Bugs... even my monster partner was a Hercules Beetle, so it wasn't difficult to adapt to this body."

Icebug Queen. "Can you think of any other factor?"

Ajax. "Well, I despised humanity and thought they deserved extinction. The Empress said it was one of the reasons why she chose me out of all the human memories she assimilated."

Icebug Queen. "In the end, your mind accepted your new body and your new purpose when the Empress inserted your memories alone into the Chimera egg, right?"

Ajax. "Ya, I guess so. So what's your point?"

Icebug Queen. "Over the last few days, I have determined that implanting random memories from several Tamers into my Chimera eggs is the wrong approach."

Ajax. "What the fuck! No wonder they are unstable! Just try one Tamer mind in one Chimera body and see what happens."

Icebug Queen. "I do not possess the skill to differentiate the memories of those I assimilate like the Empress. As a result, they all merge into my consciousness, and I cannot recreate their separate identities when it comes time to insert them into the Chimera Eggs."

Ajax. "That means there is no hope of you creating a Chimera like me, right?"

Icebug Queen. "Before you think of reporting my failure. Know that the Queen in the Egg in front of you has the right skills to identify suitable minds like yours from those she assimilates and insert them into Hybrid Chimeras shaped like Humanoid-Bugs."

Ajax. "What's wrong with regular Bug-Chimera bodies?"

Icebug Queen. "One of the Chimeras I designed to look like a Human ended up being the only one who retained most of his sanity. Once I discovered this, I began searching through the Human memories I assimilated to research why this was the case. I concluded that most humans have an instinctual fear and hatred for our kind."

Ajax. "Wasn't that obvious?"

Icebug Queen. "I may be speaking to you like a Human now, but your minds are still alien to me. There is too much information to sift through in their memories for me to solve and understand their views."

Ajax. "Ah... that makes sense. But can they be as strong as me with their small bodies?"

Icebug Queen. "I have designed the new Queen's skill to allow her Chimeras to harness the same powers they possessed while they were Tamers and modify it to fit the strength of a Chimera like you. So in a way, they can become as strong as you or even stronger given enough time and experience to level up their abilities."

Ben's mind recoiled from this revelation. So those Chimeras he saw before were creatures created from eating Tamers? If what the Queen said about her Egg's potential comes to pass, then the future Chimeras will possess Tamer monster skills and human intelligence. The Icebugs would counter the only advantage the UGP had over them.

The need to capture that Egg and destroy this Icebug Queen started overwhelming him. A voice in his head appeared, telling him its time to act. Ben let go of the control of his body, and the 'Great Dreamer' took over.

Ajax. "The Empress will be disappointed with their size, bu-"

Ajax paused as he got distracted by something.

Icebug Queen. "What is it?"

Ajax. "I thought I heard the Empress say something in my head."

Icebug Queen. "Impossible! She is not capable of cross-dimensional telepathy."

Ajax took a few steps back away from the Icebug Queen. The Blue flames on his body flared up, and the smell of phosphor grew stronger.

Ajax. "Why am I hearing my father and mother? They are supposed to be dead!"

Ajax heard the Great Dreamer's 'Whispers of paranoia' skill. Ben's monster partner decided that the mental willpower of Ajax was far weaker than that of the Icebug Queen.

Ajax. "Helena? How the fuck are you in my head! I killed and buried you with my own hands!"

The Blue Flames and phosphorus gas coming out of the cracks in his metal armor increased in volume until the Ice on the walls and armor on the Royal Guards started melting. Finally, most of the Icebug workers collapsed due to the toxic fumes.

Icebug Queen. "Ajax! I command you to calm down! Your flames are hurting my children!"

Ajax tried to calm down, but when he turned his head towards the Queen, he screamed in fear as her body was replaced by one of the many horrors from the Eldritch Abomination Vision. Instead of a nightmarish creature with tentacles and fangs on its mutated body. The creature that stood before him had the faces of every single person he once loved and killed during his life as a human.