Whoosh—
An Angeloid took Sariel from Setsuna and brought her back to the Astral Express for a physical examination and treatment.
"Mother!"
Ariel was overwhelmed with emotion and anxiously remained by Sariel's side.
"She spent far too long as the System's core. Part of her body has been assimilated by this world, and she's extremely weak right now. She needs to return and recuperate."
Setsuna glanced at Sariel.
"Then..."
Ariel hesitated.
"She won't die, so don't worry. She simply needs some time to recover. We'll find a way to repair her body."
Setsuna replied.
"Mm!"
Although Ariel had never met Setsuna before, after witnessing him effortlessly rescue Sariel and inject energy into the entire planet, she realized that this man was anything but ordinary.
"Thank you."
"I... I'll stay with her and take good care of her."
Ariel bowed to Setsuna.
She trotted after the Angeloid and watched Sariel depart for the Astral Express aboard a shuttle.
What about me? What about me? What about me?—
Wait! Hold on!! I'd already accumulated enough experience points and was just about to evolve!!
Now that the System is gone, am I doomed to remain a spider monster for the rest of my life?!
Spider scuttled around Setsuna and Wakaba Hiiro.
Her parallel heads erupted into an argument within her mental space.
Wah, I told you we should've evolved earlier! Look what happened now! This is all your fault, Body Brain!
It was clearly Information Brain who kept scouting the enemy and told me to harvest experience first, then evolve once we had time!
Ah, it's all your fault, your fault, your fault!!!
Bang, bang, bang—
Body Brain, Magic Brain, Information Brain , and Spider's primary consciousness launched into a noisy group comedy routine.
She argued with herself for quite some time while rolling back and forth across the ground.
At last, she pitifully poked Wakaba Hiiro's leg and spoke in a timid voice.
"I..."
Setsuna found the sight amusing and picked Spider up.
"Aren't you pretty cute like this?"
What part of me is cute?!
A stampede of ten thousand horses thundered through Spider's mind. She turned her head and pointed one of her forelegs at the vampire baby cradled in an Angeloid's arms nearby.
For the first time, Setsuna saw expressions of jealousy and envy on a spider monster's face.
She was human to begin with, and she's already this cute! She'll definitely become even prettier and more capable once she grows up, right?!
What about me? What about me? What about me?! Am I doomed to remain a spider monster that crawls around in dark corners for the rest of my life?!
I want to wear pretty dresses and clothes too! I want to go shopping with everyone and eat at restaurants! Aaaaaaaaaah—
And isn't the Starsea Empire supposedly populated entirely by girls? If I go there looking like this, I'll definitely be treated as a pet, right? Or were you planning to raise me as a pet from the very beginning?!—
In her mind, she complained about Setsuna hundreds of times at lightspeed.
Yet only a few words escaped her mouth.
"N-No..."
"Hm?"
Whoosh—
Wakaba Hiiro projected a holographic screen and broadcast Spider's inner monologue for everyone to see.
She crouched down and studied Spider with great interest.
"You're surprisingly emotional. Besides, being a pet isn't so bad, is it?"
"Oh—"
Komekko, Silver Wolf, and the others marveled at Spider's solo rap.
"I thought you were quiet and bad at communicating. It turns out you simply don't say much out loud."
"Ha."
Setsuna nearly burst out laughing.
Wakaba Hiiro had spent every idle moment watching Spider, thoroughly examining her inside and out.
As an administrator, detecting the thoughts of others was hardly difficult.
"???"
"Eek—"
Spider was horrified. She had never imagined that Evil God D would publicly execute her like this merely for entertainment.
Ah, I'm dying of embarrassment!
I can't go on living! Aaaaaaaaaah—
After rolling across the ground several times, she extended a tiny claw, formed a Dark Bullet, and fired it into her own head.
Bang—
"Urk—"
"I'M DEAD—"
"...Wake up."
Wakaba Hiiro nudged the upside-down Spider with her foot.
"Don't think I don't know about your Immortality skill. You can't die. Even though the System has disappeared, its blessing remains effective."
Then I'll use dark magic.
"I can resurrect you, then project every experience and inner thought you've had since birth and broadcast them on a loop throughout the Starsea Empire and this world."
Aaaaaaaaaah—Are you the devil?!
Spider gave up resisting.
"Pfft—"
After watching Shiro make a scene for quite some time, Setsuna placed her in front of himself and examined her.
"Hm... Even though the System and your evolutionary path have disappeared, allowing you to assume a human form still won't be difficult."
"The System merely provided you with additional energy to reshape your body. The same result can be achieved through biological methods or magic."
Huh? Really?!
Spider immediately perked up and stared eagerly at Setsuna.
"Mm."
He placed one hand on Spider's head.
"Release your control over your body and leave the rest to me."
"Okay!"
Body Brain instinctively obeyed and surrendered complete control of the body to Setsuna.
Hum...
An enormous surge of magic power poured into her.
She felt as though her entire body had been submerged in a vast ocean of magic.
At the same time, the magic began reshaping her body bit by bit, almost as though her entire form were being broken down and reconstructed.
It sounded terrifying, but for a monster, it was hardly a serious matter.
Whoosh—
A sphere of light enveloped the surroundings.
Her consciousness was extracted, severing her control over her body.
The Queen Taratect's body was freely reconstructed, twisted, and transformed.
Following the appearance he remembered, Setsuna created a new body for Spider.
A few minutes later, the dazzling light faded, and Setsuna clapped his hands.
A girl with long silver hair appeared where Spider had stood.
She had delicate features and held her head slightly lowered, her arms resting naturally at her sides. She wore a simple, pure-white dress.
"Mm..."
The girl slowly opened her eyes, revealing crimson pupils. At first, she appeared somewhat confused.
She looked down at the ground.
Mm. Human feet, not spider legs.
Then she lowered her gaze to her hands and clenched her fists.
Human hands, not a spider monster's forelegs.
Next, she saw her reflection in the metallic hull of the ship.
"Hehe."
Spider gave a foolish giggle.
Yet her heart was already surging with emotion.
I turned into a human?! Aaaaaaaaaah?!—
How did he do this? And isn't an Arachne supposed to be half human and half spider?!
Is this real? I look so cute! I'm even cuter than I was in my previous life! No, I'm cuter than Sophia and all the other reincarnators too!!
Ah, so this is a god? Kami-sama!!!—
"According to your evolutionary path, your next stage was originally supposed to be Arachne. That was too troublesome, though, so I skipped straight to the end and created an entirely new body for you."
Setsuna pinched Spider's cheek.
"Take some time to get used to it."
"Okay!—"
Shiro was overjoyed, although her face remained as expressionless as ever.
She barely managed to squeeze out a smile.
"Th-Thank you!"
"Mm."
Setsuna glanced over the Trailblaze team, then checked the personnel list.
After taking control of the entire world and locating Spider, Ariel, Sariel, and the others, most of their objectives in this world had been completed.
Only a few matters involving the world's background remained.
He beckoned to Wakaba Hiiro.
"Help me contact Meido and ask whether she's interested in cosplaying somewhere else."
"And where did those dragons run off to? They drained the planet's energy and thought they could simply flee? Not a chance!"
"Go. Capture them and make them Potimas' roommates."