The Priestess Who Gives Birth to Death and Insects

“Alright~ My homunculus babies! We’ve arrived~”

“Marlang…”

“Marlaaang…”

“Alice…Teachew…”

“Only follow Marlang…”

“Want to follow too…”

Fira Dunhill led nearly 5,000 combat homunculi and arrived at the lower layer ruled by Alice.

Even at this very moment, the lower layer was undergoing constant redevelopment and reconstruction by all sorts of drones and construction machines that shared Alice’s consciousness, as well as colossal mechanical tendrils spanning the layers.

The population of the lower layer was endlessly vast, so they were building houses for them one by one. The work of reorganizing the chaotic roads was ceaselessly ongoing, making it look like a high-tech mechanical city from afar.

“Hehehehe~ It’s alright! This beautiful girl will have fun with our homunculus babies! Now, what do you want to do?”

“Uuu! Hate Fira Aunt!”

“You little sh… Ahem! This girl is not an aunt!”

It seemed the combat homunculus Marlang Legion liked Alice more than Fira.

“Are you Fira Dunhill?”

Fira turned her head towards the voice calling her.

“Ah, you are…”

“Sabrina, once the owner of the Tenebried Barony… but now, thanks to the grace of Governor-General Alice, I’m the number one Labor Party member and executive in the lower layer.”

“Labor Party? What is that?”

“It’s a position created by Governor-General Alice to manage the lower layer… but in reality, it’s a way of allowing me to do what I need to do by borrowing the authority of Governor-General Alice.”

“Aha- So you’re the Governor-General’s proxy~”

Sabrina.

The demon baroness who was in crisis outside the outer walls due to the attack by Ernest Rail and the Dawn.

After various events, she led the demons into the lower layer where Alice resided as Governor-General. Now, Sabrina had become a proper authority figure in the lower layer and a representative of the demons. The demons, with their innate strength and mana affinity, became a select unit maintaining the lower layer’s security.

“I’ve heard the story. Combat homunculi… Governor-General Alice has brought in some outrageous children again.”

“Hehehe, our Alice is so charming, it can’t be helped.”

“As someone who has received grace, I can’t disagree.”

Saying so, Sabrina gestured to the residents wearing red armbands.

“Comrades! These children are the Governor-General’s children who will be newly moving in! Each of you take one and lead them to their new homes!”

“Understood!”

“Move quickly!”

“Don’t worry, children. We will guide you to your homes proactively.”

“Eeeh…? Marlang?”

“Little comrades, rest assured! When you get home, you can eat white rice and meat soup!”

Though they all had calloused and rough skin, and intimidating impressions due to being hardened by labor, their minds and hearts had been indoctrinated with the red ideology, making them excellent Labor Party members.

If they were the residents of the lower layer from the old days, they wouldn’t hesitate to be consumed by petty lust or attempt human trafficking upon seeing a lovely child like Marlang, but now everyone was deeply absorbed in the excellence of the red ideology!

Naturally, the Labor Party members would guide the homunculus Marlang to their homes with a kind attitude.

As the red workers and Labor Party members each took a combat homunculus with an innocent expression and led them home, the red square emptied, leaving only Fira and Sabrina.

“Ahem, by the way, Sabrina.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Have we perhaps met somewhere before?”

“…That’s a coincidence. I was just thinking the same thing.”

Even though it was clearly their first time meeting, Sabrina and Fira felt a strange sense of déjà vu as they looked at each other.

It was like meeting someone familiar…

A feeling of seeing a close friend after a long time.

“Ah.”

“Oh my.”

Sabrina and Fira simultaneously felt something and hardened their expressions.

Of course, the two had never met directly.

But blood spoke.

The soul spoke.

A connection that had been continued somewhere.

A single commonality and connection that linked the two, who had never met before, settled simultaneously in the souls of Fira and Sabrina.

Sabrina bowed her head and treated Fira with a much more respectful attitude than before.

“…Nice to meet you for the first time. Beelzebub, the right-hand of the Demon King.”

“Aah~ So that’s what it was. Sabrina, you felt it too?”

“Yes. Not a memory, but the souls and spirits of our ancestors whispered it first.”

This wasn’t just simple knowledge or memory… it was something that resided in the realm of the soul, of instinct.

“That Alice is… the benefactor and master we should serve… the Demon King.”

“….”

“Perhaps this also includes that this is the only and precious last chance given to us, who are full of sins.”

★

★

★

The sight of a young child in the form of an adult woman, and not just any adult but one with a strangely swollen belly like a pregnant woman, caused my thoughts to momentarily freeze.

Even when seeing fairly cruel and harsh scenes, I didn’t feel like this. It was a feeling of being viscerally twisted inside.

‘Right, that child is probably the “priestess who gives birth to death and insects”.’

If you asked me if I recognized the young spirit of the ‘priestess’, it would be difficult to explain in words.

It was a feeling close to an almost indescribable sixth sense or instinct.

Half of my body is an android shell, and the other half is turning into an organic being similar to a human, so it wouldn’t be strange for strange senses to develop anew.

Perhaps what humans commonly call intuition has been amplified to the point where I can physically feel it.

Well—I’ve met Marlang and the immortal girl, dolls I took from Ernest Rail in the lower layer, including the combat homunculi.

It’s not like I have a fanatical love for children, but I definitely don’t hate them, and whether I intended to or not, I’ve met quite a few children and have somewhat learned how to handle those with innocent and pure spirits.

Of course, it can’t be said that those who breathe fire from their hands and create energy and vitality are ordinary children, but their spirits and purity are those of innocent girls. In fact, not only the immortal girls but also the combat homunculi depend on me entirely and obey me.

And I felt that innocence and purity in the ‘priestess’ before my eyes.

“Ehehehehehe~”

What on earth is this feeling of automatically uttering ‘Uttae-ttae~’ from the appearance of a clearly mature and beautiful adult woman?

It could be felt as the cuteness of naivety or purity, but the place I happen to be in now is the Enchantment of the Fallen layer, a place of fanaticism, blood, and skin being offered as sacrifice.

It’s a place that would be terrible by ordinary human standards, and it’s not a place where such a pure-spirited girl should be.

“New guest. Long time no see! Valet oppa! A guest, right? My guest. Right?”

“Yes-right. But-don’t-approach-too-much. This-person-is-high-ranking.”

“Wow, a high-ranking person? Are you like a prince or princess from heaven?!”

“That’s-right.”

The simple dress with frills that she was wearing, the kind that children would wear, fluttered loosely.

I thought I had witnessed quite a few terrible sights in the Ark, but this is a bit…

My head hurts a little.

“Alice-nim, this-child-is Sira.”

“You call her a child.”

“…Yes-Sira-is-at-most-2-years-old.”

Ha, 2 years old.

2 years old… she’s 2 years old, but her body is completely mature, and she’s even carrying something, some kind of life.

Surely Valet and the other executors didn’t violate Sira!?

If these executors did that, I think I’d kill them first, mission or not.

‘Ah, that wouldn’t be it.’

What is the biggest disadvantage of the executors who have undergone full-body surgery?

It’s that they literally become androids, and their overall reproductive functions are removed.

Of course, the more expensive and advanced the surgery, the more diverse the options, and there’s no need to remove reproductive functions, but… what these executors received was enhancement surgery on all parts of the body except the brain.

It’s a body that eliminates disadvantages and weaknesses and is solely for fulfilling the duties of combat and executor.

Of course, they wouldn’t have genitals, and they wouldn’t have sexual desire….

“Alice-nim, what’s-wrong? Is-there-something-you’re-curious-about?”

“Ah, um. No. Nothing…”

Let’s apologize inwardly for having harbored suspicions about them when they’re already eunuchs.

Even the way Sira treats Valet and the other executors is very friendly, almost like a close neighbor or family member.

It means that the executor corps, including Valet, haven’t been mean to Sira in their daily lives.

Judging from the fact that Sira uses the title ajusshi without hesitation, it’s presumed that they’ve all been kind to Sira privately.

Anyway, Sira is 2 years old.

She’s only 2 years old, but her mental age is estimated to be at the level of a kindergartener… or perhaps a little better. Should I say that the growth of her intellect and intelligence itself is fast?

No.

Since this area follows unbelievable laws regarding the birth and growth of living things, the growth rate of the mind and body may vary from individual to individual.

“Guest, guest! Nice to meet you! I’m Sira!”

“…Ah, yeah. Hello? I’m Alice.”

“Alice! Pretty name! It’s a name from a fairy tale!”

“Is that so.”

“Alice, are you perhaps a great person? Valet and the other guys are so obedient!”

“That’s right. If I told those guys to move that mountain, they’d really move it, you know?”

“Eeeh, people can’t move mountains!”

“No, those guys can do it.”

“Liar!”

“Oh dear, I’ll have to really show you later, won’t I?”

“…Alice-nim…?”

“Just kidding.”

It was only after seeing Sira’s innocent face that I could finally understand the mission details.

The Ark Central Administration made a contract with ‘Hell’ to obtain energy or something. In exchange for the contract, Hell receives something from the ‘priestess who gives birth to death and insects’.

That something is probably the ‘death’ and ‘insects’ that the priestess will give birth to…

I don’t know if this is a literal meaning or if it has other symbolic meanings, but the central administration has assigned me as a supervisor to ensure that Sira safely gives birth to the price to be paid to Hell.

‘Haa, I didn’t always think the missions would be rewarding or clean… but this time it’s a bit disgusting.’

Sira, as if she doesn’t know what she is or what will happen to her, just circled around me with a face that was happy to meet a new friend.

“-Sira-it’s-time-for-the-pilgrimage.”

“Aww! Already!? Hiiiing… I wanted to play with the guest….”

Sira made a face as if she was disappointed, then shrugged her shoulders as if she couldn’t help it and approached the executor.

“Alice-nim-will-also-go-don’t-worry-”

“Really? The guest is going too!?”

“Yes-”

“Yay!”

I glanced at Valet, and I heard a small voice, ‘I will inform you of the daily life of the person under surveillance.’

Right, I’m this child’s supervisor and Overseer, so I need to know what she does on a daily basis.

Sira hugged me like a doll.

I’m not that light, so how can she lift me so easily?

She doesn’t seem to be weak, unlike her appearance.

“Hehehehet~ Good~ Good~ It was a bit gloomy with just those guys, but Alice is pretty like a doll, so the pilgrimage will be fun today!”

“But Sira. What exactly are you going to do on the pilgrimage?”

“Ah! I’m going to gestate! Inside my belly!”

“…?”

What.