By Zephyria Alec compared this Eldermilli Peninsula to a beehive. However, unlike a typical beehive, it was a colony formed by various species, so he added that competition, food chains, and symbiosis existed within it.
The food storage, where corpses found throughout the peninsula were rotting away, was where the demon beasts, which served as outer-work bees, brought food and temporarily stored it. And this food was not for all members of the colony, but only for the Queen, the core that laid eggs, and the offspring that would be born from the eggs.
The demon beasts of the peninsula in the breeding season or when the Queen was sensitive did not eat food unless they were on the verge of starvation, but only collected it. That was why there was no trace of food in the stomach when he cut open the avian Deformed species before.
In addition, Alec explained that the reason why the demon beasts of the peninsula did not go outside and performed their respective roles inside was partly for some symbiotic relationships, but also because they were drawn to and controlled by the Queen’s instructions given through pheromones and Ultrasound.
Dermokas’ Ultrasound could only be heard by members of the same species, but the Queen’s Ultrasound, which possessed the genes of this Dermokas, was a higher concept, so it applied to all demon beast individuals with that blood flowing through them, he said.
And Alec’s words made him understand that all the demon beasts that could not go out of this peninsula and were controlled were, in fact, connected by the blood of one Queen individual.
“Are you saying that all the demon beasts on the peninsula came from one core called the Queen?”
Leonardo, who had been looking at the circle in the very center drawn on the ground, asked with a face that was a little hard to believe. That was because it was not easy to accept that creatures with different appearances, characteristics, and sizes came from the same womb.
Alec, who had been drawing with a branch, raised his head with a somewhat ambiguous expression and answered.
“Hmm… if your question is whether all the demon beasts on the peninsula are descendants of one core, then I can say yes, and if you’re asking if they came from the womb of one core, then I can answer that it was like that in the past, but not now.”
Kenneth’s face, who had been listening from the side, was filled with question marks at Alec’s answer. Leonardo’s expression was not much different. Seeing that, Alec added a little more.
He said that the past he was talking about was, to be more specific, before something happened to the Queen of this colony.
Originally, the Queen’s pheromones existed to captivate and control the demon beasts in the peninsula, and at the same time, to suppress the spawning functions of other females, making her own existence the one and only creator.
Therefore, in the past, only one Queen individual, who possessed the genes of all demon beasts, laid eggs, but due to some incident, this Queen fell asleep for a very long time, and that had continued until relatively recently, he said.
As a result, the spawning functions of other females that had been suppressed were revived, and as individuals other than the Queen were able to lay eggs, the breeding speed and number of demon beasts increased exponentially.
However, recently, several phenomena have been discovered that are suspected to be signs that this sleeping Queen has awakened. Alec cited the sudden increase in Deformed species in the peninsula in recent years as the most representative phenomenon.
“The genes of the peninsula’s Deformed species are in a shape where the genes of existing demon beasts are mixed in an unbalanced way. So, depending on the gene combination, various types of Deformed species are captured. But the only individual in the peninsula that possesses all the genes of these Deformed species is the Queen. In other words, the birth of the Deformed species means that the Queen has awakened.”
However, Leonardo, who heard that, asked with a face that was a little unconvinced.
“Isn’t it a bit of a stretch to simply connect it like that? It’s possible that the Deformed species were born from interspecies mating between existing demon beasts, and those Deformed species mated again and laid eggs.”
“It’s hard to see the recently appeared Deformed species as having been born that way, even if they were Deformed species that existed before.”
“Why?”
“It’s not impossible for demon beasts to mate between different species, but it’s not that common. If the genetic traits are different, the probability of fertilization after mating is extremely low, but there are too many parts that cannot be explained theoretically to say that a large number of Deformed species have poured out in a short period of a few years, breaking through that probability.”
While Leonardo narrowed his brow, Alec added.
“Oh, and you know that Deformed species gather together and form nests with the same species, right? If the Deformed species were born from interspecies mating of existing demon beasts as you said, the genetic combination types would be too diverse, so they wouldn’t even recognize each other as the same species. Then there wouldn’t have been a phenomenon of forming nests either.”
Leonardo, who had difficulty accepting the suddenly appearing concept of the Queen, asked a few more questions because the discomfort did not go away. However, listening to Alec’s words that answered all his questions, he eventually had no choice but to acknowledge the existence of the Queen of those demon beasts for the time being.
“And according to my guess, the Deformed species currently in the peninsula cannot lay eggs through mating. I can’t be sure that they have spawning ability, and the reproductive function of common demon beasts develops after 10% of their total lifespan has passed, but those guys haven’t even aged enough to spawn.”
Alec estimated that it had been less than two years since the Queen had awakened.
Leonardo was able to understand through his words why the Deformed species individuals that were being discovered now were almost invisible when he came to the peninsula before. According to that claim, the Queen had not yet awakened at that time, so they had not been born yet.
“But you guys, do you know exactly what the meaning of Deformed species is?”
Silence lingered after Alec’s sudden question. It was because he had asked something so obvious.
Kenneth, who had been listening silently, couldn’t stand the silence as it continued, so he cautiously looked around and answered.
“Uh… isn’t it that we collectively call the first discovered demon beasts that we haven’t seen before Deformed species?”
It was a question, but it was an answer with some conviction. But Alec shook his head, as it was not the correct answer.
“The Council or the military may use it that way for convenience, but the meaning of the word Deformed species used in academia literally refers to a deformed form. In other words, it means an abnormal state.”
The Deformed species of the peninsula had weak survival skills and short lifespans, unlike the existing demon beasts whose species had been established.
The reason for this was that each species of demon beast had internal organs that allowed them to adapt to the environment and survive, but the Deformed species’ jumbled gene combination prevented these organs from performing their functions properly. Therefore, they were not born normally.
“But can a core that suddenly lays a lot of eggs in this abnormal state really be called normal?”
Leonardo narrowed his eyes at Alec’s leading question. He recalled the causes of the Deformed species he had seen so far, derived a conclusion, and opened his mouth.
“She fell asleep for a long time without receiving a supply of nutrients, so the core’s body must have weakened or there must have been a problem with her reproductive function. That’s why she gave birth to abnormal Deformed species.”
Alec smiled with satisfaction at his neat answer and said.
“That’s right. The sudden birth of many Deformed species means that there is something wrong with the core as well. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are no old ones among the Deformed species in the peninsula now, but there are almost no young ones either. They are all in the growth stage that is more than half a year old or just becoming adults.”
The images of the demon beasts he had hunted quickly flashed through Leonardo’s mind as he listened to Alec’s words.
“Do you know what this means? It means that the Queen’s reproductive function has had problems to the point that she hasn’t been able to spawn for quite some time.”
Kenneth’s mouth gradually widened next to him. Come to think of it, he remembered hearing several times in the interim reports shared by each battalion that after exterminating the Deformed species, they had always checked for eggs or young ones, but had not found any.
But after recalling that, Kenneth felt that Alec’s words and the information he had previously had were subtly inconsistent. He listened quietly to the conversation between the two people in front of him, thought carefully about the distorted part, and cautiously opened his mouth when the conversation was briefly interrupted.
“Um, but you know.”
The two people who had been talking turned their heads to him. Kenneth looked back and forth between the two and asked.
“Then… that egg that Blaine and I saw. What was that back then?”
What Kenneth was talking about was the large, bluish-white egg they had seen when they met the outsider. Leonardo’s brow also gradually furrowed as he pondered the question. Now that he heard it, it was strange.
“You said that the birth of a Deformed species means the Queen has awakened. The thing inside that egg also looked completely different from the existing demon beasts of the peninsula, in my opinion. So, I was guessing it was a Deformed species….”
Kenneth tilted his head, as if still unsure as he spoke.
“If the Queen has had problems with her reproductive functions and hasn’t laid eggs for quite some time, does that mean it’s not a Deformed species born from the Queen? But then, only the Queen can lay eggs because of the pheromones….”
His last gaze and question were directed at Alec. He had many questions, but he reduced them, mindful of the situation.
Leonardo’s gaze also turned in that direction.
Then, Alec, who had been looking at Kenneth, suddenly started clapping with a satisfied expression. Leonardo and Kenneth stared at him blankly, unable to grasp his bizarre behavior.
“Finally, the question I’ve been waiting for is here.”
Alec, who was clapping, answered as if he had induced the question himself. Then, he hammered it home with a follow-up confirmation.
“That’s not just a Deformed species. It’s an egg that will become the next Queen.”
“The next Queen?”
Leonardo and Kenneth, who had briefly made eye contact, turned their heads and asked simultaneously. Alec grinned at that.
“I just said it, didn’t I? That a lot of Deformed species are suddenly being born means there’s something wrong with the core.”