167. The Spider of Treason

The first time I felt unease was during my battle with the Fire Dragon, Rend.

At that moment, I felt an aversion toward the dragon.

I had felt fear before, but never such aversion toward a dragon.

It was this feeling that sparked the question.

The question became clear when I looked inward.

Was it the effect of Wisdom? I could perceive my own soul.

Two forces were influencing it.

One was the Dominator Skill.

Pride and Patience—both skills were affecting my soul.

This was unavoidable.

Skills could not be removed. I could only acknowledge their influence.

The issue was the second.

It was enforced domination by a superior entity.

I was affected by it, albeit slightly.

A thread connecting to my soul.

It was a channel through which a superior entity transmitted commands to me.

I had managed to mitigate its influence only slightly—entirely due to the skill of "Nullification of Heresy."

Even so, commands from that line, permanently linked since birth, had been flowing into my soul.

The command was: Become stronger.

This was the reason behind my greed for power.

After defeating the Fire Dragon, Rend, I reversed the channel and initiated an attack against the superior entity.

I dispatched parallel wills through the line, beginning the erosion of the soul through will alone.

It was akin to hacking.

Infiltrating and seizing control of the main computer from my own terminal.

This was the true nature of what D referred to as an "external system attack."

From my perception, it felt like consumption.

Eating the other's soul.

That was the sensation.

The superior authority issuing commands to me was identified immediately.

Mother.

My biological parent. The ruler of the Elro Great Labyrinth.

Yet even Mother was merely an intermediary.

Another entity controlled Mother.

That entity, remarkably, commanded four beings of equal rank to Mother.

I advanced Mother's consumption slowly, carefully, ensuring the true master remained unaware.

Simultaneously, I dispatched parallel directives to the remaining four through the network, initiating conquests nearly in unison.

Consuming a soul proved a laborious process.

After all, it was the core of the organism.

And the target was an entity of vastly superior rank.

A physical confrontation would have been hopeless.

Only due to the soul's near-impenetrable defense—akin to an unfair rule—was this possible.

Soul consumption progressed at a glacial pace.

The turning point came when the Taboo was maximized.

From that moment, my thinking underwent a radical shift.

Partly because I had been gradually absorbing the souls of the Mothers, the truth revealed by the Taboo struck me with shock.

At the same time, I made my resolve.

I would act.

There was no more room for idle caution.

So, I chose to advance boldly.

Of course, I was discovered.

But with my parallel consciousness, which possessed the ability to bypass heresy, the enemy had no chance in a soul-based confrontation.

That was why they sought my main body.

And then, the spider legion led by Ark attacked me.

What the enemy failed to anticipate was that I did not die.

I was stronger than they believed.

Still, if the Mother’s main body or the true master arrived, I would have no chance of victory.

Therefore, I avoided any place where the Mother might arrive. I maintained constant vigilance over her movements.

The soul marking had already been completed through the soul interface.

The true master was too far away to pose a threat.

She did not possess spatial magic.

Therefore, she could not appear abruptly at my location.

It was now a race against time.

Would I consume them all first?

Or would they locate my core body first?

In the end, I succeeded in consuming the Mother.

It took considerable time, but I learned that consuming a soul completely allowed absorption of all aspects of the target.

Within one month, I could consume the remaining four.

Then, I would be able to oppose her.

If circumstances aligned, I might even consume her.

At that point, becoming a steward would no longer be a dream.

My objective was nearing completion.

What will Guryuguryu do at this moment?

Unknown.

But I have no intention of stopping.

I do not harbor lofty ideals like saving the world.

But I cannot stand idly by like this.

It is unacceptable.

Therefore, I move.

The master of Mother must think this is a terrible misfortune.

Never expected someone like me to infiltrate their retinue.

That connection was severed by the skill of subordinate domination—purely bad luck.

To her, it was merely a means of increasing usable pawns, casually breeding and releasing them from Mother to strengthen them. She never imagined an anomaly would arise within that system.

Sorry.

I will take your will. Your power.

Do not try to catch up.

Ariel, the current Demon Lord, Origin Taretect.