[This time, Stelle was awakened by the thick smoke choking the cabin.]
[She slowly sat up, her gaze meeting a pair of sharp green pupils.]
["Awake?"]
[This time the voice's owner was no longer a soldier, but a blonde woman. She lounged lazily directly across from Stelle, her slender fingers toying with a short blade gleaming with cold light. She wore a form-fitting black leather dress, another curved knife tucked at her waist, a faint smile on her beautiful face.]
["...What the hell did I get dragged into this time?" Stelle asked the air as usual. Herta immediately responded in her ear: "If I remember correctly, this should be a group of bounty hunters. The diverse insect ecology of Swarm Star once attracted bounty hunters from across the galaxy for nearly ten thousand years. This crew is just one of them."]
["Didn't we agree to witness the Insect Emperor's ascension?"]
["Don't rush, Stelle. The Simulated Universe requires deduction. The outcome of the Insect Emperor's ascension is important, but the process is equally not negligible." Herta suddenly reminded her. "You should ask this lady more questions too—this is an important part of the simulation."]
["Oh... okay."]
[Stelle looked around—sure enough, the cabin was packed with all sorts of hunters. Some were wiping weapons, others talking in low voices, but their gazes kept flicking toward the blonde woman, filled mostly with doubt and dissatisfaction.]
[Stelle pricked up her ears and caught that most of the discontent stemmed from the blonde woman's decision to hunt on Swarm Star, with people calling her credibility "Aha-level."]
[Stelle could tell that wasn't exactly a compliment, so she asked her why she insisted on going to Swarm Star despite everyone's opposition.]
["Because—" Her voice was relaxed, like a dry sponge. "This is just a game of compiling an insect illustrated handbook."]
["Huh?"]
[The woman ignored Stelle's surprise and continued smiling to herself: "Before the grand banquet begins, control over desire needs to be even more focused. We can't afford anyone slipping up."]
[With that, she elegantly crossed her arms over her chest, leaned slightly forward, golden strands falling across her shoulder armor, and extended an inviting hand to Stelle.]
[Without hesitation, Stelle took her hand. At the same time, the surrounding scene began to shift dramatically again. As a bounty hunter, Stelle arrived on Swarm Star with the main group and clashed with the Elidishna forces stationed there.]
[Stelle stood at the edge of a cliff. A biting wind carried the foul stench of insect swarms straight into her face. Her eyes widened—the sight before her had already surpassed anything reason could explain.]
[The entire plain was writhing.]
[Billions upon billions of insects rose and fell like tidal waves. The sound of their carapaces scraping together was like millions of rusted knives grinding against each other. Whenever the hunters' cannon fire cleared a patch of emptiness, the insects immediately replicated to fill it.]
[Farther away, the ground suddenly bulged into massive mounds. A worm the size of a warship burst from the earth, revealing a maw full of sharp teeth that swallowed an entire hunter squad on the spot.]
["Looks like the Elidishna army has conscripted the insects as weapons too." Herta's voice floated lightly from behind.]
["Is this the power of Propagation?" Stelle turned to ask.]
["No, replication and division are innate traits of these swarm worms—unrelated to Propagation. Tayzzyronth hasn't appeared yet." Herta wrinkled her nose in slight disgust and urged: "Hurry up and move. The smell of bugs is really nasty."]
——
One Punch Man.
In the Monster Association.
Watching the black tidal wave of Swarm Star insects spread, devouring everything in their path. Homeless Emperor sat cross-legged on a rock, chin in hand, watching the scene with great interest.
"Tsk tsk, these bugs' replication ability is way stronger than yours, Black Sperm." He grinned, his tone laced with teasing.
Black Sperm, who had been lounging lazily nearby, immediately jumped up. Veins bulged on his white face: "You idiot! I can split into over 54 trillion individuals! And recombine! These bugs think they can compare to me?!"
Homeless Emperor smiled, his tone leisurely.
"But they don't need to recombine—you recombine because your split state can't win against the opponent. You're afraid of constantly dying. But the bugs? They don't care about individual death at all." He pointed at the mountain of insect corpses on screen. "The living ones keep replicating and dividing, while you... lose one and you're down one."
Black Sperm was momentarily speechless, but soon stubbornly retorted: "Tch! So what? I can still punch them all to bits!"
"This Simulated Universe run will feature the Aeon of Propagation. Who knows—maybe Its Path will affect you."
"Make me split infinitely?" Black Sperm muttered.
"Who knows? Maybe it can?" Homeless Emperor smiled faintly, but after turning his face aside, the smile quickly vanished.
...This direct witnessing of an Aeon's birth was undoubtedly a crucial opportunity for him.
He very much wanted to know whether the "god" who granted him power had any deep connection to the Aeons. If that being was the Aeon itself, then he—who had received Its gaze and been bestowed power—wouldn't he be... an Emanator?
A surge of excitement and delight rose in his heart, unconsciously curling the corners of Homeless Emperor's mouth.
If he were an Emanator, then ruling this planet would seem pretty reasonable, wouldn't it?
——
[Bounty hunters usually preferred to live in groups, but when Stelle arrived at the settlement, she found the usual noisy clamor had completely vanished, leaving only eerie silence.]
[Stelle came to the female leader's room and pushed open the wooden door. What seeped through the crack wasn't lamplight, but a viscous, glowing green insect blood.]
[The room was filled with crawling swarms—some already dead, others still writhing.]
[Stelle jerked back a step, her back slamming into the doorframe. A bone-chilling cold shot up her spine, making every hair on her body stand on end.]
["Herta, this—this..." Her voice caught in her throat, turning into a hoarse gasp.]
["Relax, Stelle. Nothing can happen to you in the Simulated Universe." Herta comforted her from beside her ear. "From the records, this female leader used something called 'Insect Powder Sorcery' on her fellow hunters."]
["What is that?"]
["Probably some kind of hallucinogen... one that causes mistaken perceptions." Herta explained. "The purpose? Likely factional strife within the hunter group. Anyway, Stelle, your current identity is the only hunter who wasn't hallucinated. And what you need to do..."]
[Only then did Stelle notice that, at some point, a gun had appeared in her hand. Its cold muzzle was pointed straight at the woman in the room.]
[The female leader had her back to Stelle. Her tall figure was outlined by the sunlight from the window in a dazzling golden edge. As the instigator of everything, her reaction seemed remarkably calm.]
["You can silently count a few numbers in your mind." Herta's voice was practically pressed to Stelle's ear. "Then aim at her temple and pull the trigger."]