180-minute body, moving
The main body departed with high spirits, yet the situation remained unfavorable.
I do not know why the Earth Dragons of the lowest layer are opposing the Demon Lord, but I cannot believe they will prevail against that Demon Lord.
As I have inherited the Queen's memories, I possess a general understanding of the Earth Dragons' strength—residents of the same lowest layer.
The Earth Dragon leader is moderately strong, but still falls short of the Queen's level.
Even if they gather, their numbers will mean nothing before the Demon Lord's overwhelming stats and game-breaking abilities.
There is a sense that the Earth Dragons understand this yet still challenge the Demon Lord.
Otherwise, such a proud race would not resort to a retreat tactic clearly meant to buy time.
Yet I do not understand the purpose of the Earth Dragons buying time.
What are they waiting for?
Guriguri?
No, if the Demon Lord is moving so conspicuously, and still hasn't appeared, I don't think that man is involved.
It's unlikely that Guriguri, who holds administrative authority, is unaware of the status of their subordinates.
They must be aware—and choosing to ignore it.
That means the Earth Dragons attacking the Demon Lord are acting on their own.
The Earth Dragons, who have remained dormant at the lowest tier for a long time, now acting independently against an opponent far above them in rank.
Their intent is unclear.
Pondering what is unclear won't lead to anything.
Just as the Earth Dragons acted without regard to Guriguri's will, I will act without regard to the main body's intent.
Ah, Testes.
Can you hear me, everyone?
〈Signal strong—proceeding〉
(Same here—proceeding)
[Same here—proceeding]
"Same here—proceeding"
Yeah.
No response from the Demon King's designated operator.
〈Eh? Something wrong?〉
The Demon King's designated operator is currently engaged in continuous attacks against the Demon King.
The Demon King is fighting back with equal desperation.
Likely, they lack the capacity to communicate with us.
〔Seriously? And what about the fake-death strategy?〕
Ah, that.
Probably, the Demon King already knows they're not dead.
(That's bad!)
Otherwise, there'd be no reason for the designated operator to initiate attacks independently.
"Then, we should move as well?"
Yeah.
The main body just revived and is distracted—so I took the initiative to contact you.
(Understood. Then, beginning operations.)
What are the current infiltration rates?
〈Around 85%〉
(Just over 80%)
〔Approximately 70%〕
"Uh, around 60%"
Low.
There's nothing I can do! I'm the last one to emerge!
Well, that's true.
Can't you hurry up a bit more?
[We've been hurrying all along.]
I know that.
(You're really flustered. Is something bad happening?)
It's not confirmed yet, but the Demon King and the Demon King's attendant are holding their own—much closer than we are.
And somehow, it feels like we're being consumed while trying to invade.
〈That's bad!〉
We don't know which way it'll go yet, but there's a risk of being fully absorbed.
(That's bad. If that happens, direct soul attacks won't work anymore.)
[Then we'll have to fight the Demon King head-on?]
"With that one?"
That's exactly it.
We need to boost the main body's combat capacity as much as possible, while we still can.
That's why I want to absorb the remaining Queens as quickly as possible.
[Understood. Situation confirmed.]
[Starting immediately.]
Take care of it.
Phew.
Now the other Queens' handlers have begun moving as well.
It was too dangerous to act while the main body remained weakened, so we held back. But now that it has revived, we should not fall behind anyone except the Demon King.
Though, being elated after revival, I might make a careless mistake somewhere.
I’ll pray I don’t.
Is there anything else I can do?
In terms of enhancing combat strength, resting and waiting for status recovery is the most effective.
After all, even though I am a borrowed body, I possess the same strength as the main body.
My revival alone doubles combat capacity.
That is significant.
Still, my recovery is considerably slower than the main body’s.
The body continues to swell unnaturally, yet core stats remain insufficiently restored.
Recovery to full capacity will take considerable time.
In that case, it is better not to move recklessly.
Attempting movement in a weakened state risks greater damage.
I will remain still and wait for recovery.
For now, I can only hope the main body and other fragments coordinate effectively.
The role of the Demon King is particularly critical.
Whether the Demon King role succeeds or fails will determine the course of events going forward.
I would prefer to support the Demon King, but that is not possible.
I, and the other Queens, are already fused with our respective Queens—over half the way—rendering simple soul-based movement, as before, impossible.
The only reason I could transfer to the egg was because I relocated the entire Queen entity.
I have already incarnated.
Existence beyond soul alone is no longer possible.
It has already undergone this transformation.
To provide supporting fire as the Demon Lord, the main body must generate a new parallel consciousness.
Yet I anticipate the main body will not produce any further parallel consciousnesses.
This state represents the absolute limit.
The main body's soul can still be divided while retaining its original form.
Generating a parallel consciousness is equivalent to dividing the soul.
Further generation would cause the main body's soul to degrade progressively.
Due to skill effects and absorption of the Queen and Demon Lord souls, the main body's soul is already distorted.
Further generation would lead to the worst outcome.
Soul collapse.
That is equivalent to death.
Even with a system granting immortality, resurrection is impossible if the soul collapses.
The hardest part is being forced to sit and wait.
I'm counting on you all.