"Rumble—"
A dull tremor rose from beneath their feet, as if some gargantuan beast deep within the earth's core was awakening, struggling, and attempting to tear apart the cage imprisoning it.
On the second floor of the laboratory, everyone felt the increasingly clear vibrations.
The metal floor shuddered, the overhead lighting tubes swayed unsteadily, and dust from the corners of the walls trickled down.
Leah's expression changed slightly, and she instinctively moved behind and to the side of Lilith.
The five Reincarnators were trembling even more, their faces pale.
The aura surging from the depths of the underground was tyrannical, primal, and mixed with the depth of the ocean and the coldness of an Alien.
It pressed down on everyone's hearts like something tangible, making it almost impossible for them to breathe.
"Clang—!!!"
A crisp, loud bang echoed from deep within the passage leading underground.
It was the sound of chains snapping.
Chains weighing hundreds of tons—shackles that had imprisoned this behemoth for who knows how long—were snapped by brute force at this moment!
Immediately after—
"Hiss—!!!!!!!"
A screech so sharp it nearly tore their eardrums, like a physical sound wave, surged frantically out of the underground passage!
In that instant, all the glass in the entire laboratory shattered simultaneously with a boom!
Shards flew everywhere, and sparks flew!
Everyone instinctively covered their ears, their faces contorted in pain.
The screech didn't seem to travel through the air, but rather pierced directly into the depths of their brains, agitating every nerve.
And amidst this terrifying wave of sound—
"Screech—!!!"
The ear-piercing sound of metal tearing came from the ground beneath everyone's feet.
A massive claw covered in a deep blue Exoskeleton, like a ghostly hand reaching out from hell, forcibly tore open the steel-reinforced floor that was dozens of centimeters thick!
The tips of the claws were curved like hooks, each over a meter long, glinting with a cold light under the pale emergency lamps.
It gripped the torn metal edge and pulled down hard!
"Creeeak—Boom!!"
Another claw pierced through the floor from the other side!
Both forelimbs exerted force at the same time, and that indestructible steel floor was torn, twisted, and flipped open like fragile cardboard!
A massive gap, large enough for a giant beast to pass through, appeared before everyone.
Below the gap, in the deep darkness, something was rapidly climbing upward.
"Whoosh—whoosh whoosh whoosh—"
Dozens of thick tentacles suddenly shot out from the gap!
The surface of each tentacle was covered with dark red vessel-like patterns, and the ends were tipped with hooked barbs like sharp daggers!
They accurately plunged into the metal ceiling above, embedding themselves deeply!
Muscles contracted, exerting force—
"Rumble—!"
That massive body was being forcibly dragged up by these tentacles!
First came the head, covered in a heavy Exoskeleton.
It was elongated and hideous, with a fan-shaped crown extending backward over the skull.
Unlike a normal Alien Queen, this Queen's head had two dark gold vertical pupils on either side!
Aliens originally had no eyes; they perceived the world through pheromones, heat, and vibration.
But after fusing with the T-virus and the queen bee placa parasite, this Queen had evolved.
It had gained a more direct and advanced form of perception—vision.
Those dark gold vertical pupils, now like two lanterns from the abyss, slowly opened.
The pupils contracted and focused.
In an instant, an indescribable sense of dread swept across the hearts of everyone present.
Next, following the head, was a thick neck, a Torso covered in layers of Exoskeleton, and a thick, powerful tail that had evolved into a flat, wide blade at the end.
It completely emerged from the experimental space below, pulled up by its own tentacles.
Those hundreds of tons of chains that had imprisoned it for so long now hung limply from its Torso like tattered decorations.
It slowly turned its head, its dark gold vertical pupils scanning this unfamiliar space.
And then—
Its gaze froze.
It fixed on one direction.
A petite, silver-haired figure standing barefoot amidst the ruins.
The second floor of the laboratory fell into a dead silence.
Even the sound of breathing had vanished.
The five Reincarnators covered their mouths tightly, for fear of making any sound that would attract the giant beast's attention.
Their legs were shaking, their faces pale as paper, and their pupils reflected that terrifying figure that blotted out the sky.
Leah gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to retreat, but instead stood behind Lilith, shielding her from the front.
Only Lilith remained.
She still stood barefoot where she was, tilting her head slightly, her crimson eyes calmly meeting those dark gold vertical pupils.
No fear. No retreat.
There wasn't even any extra emotional fluctuation.
On the other side.
The old man looked at this scene and couldn't help but murmur in a low voice, his tone carrying uncontrollable trembling and fanaticism.
"Success, success! This is simply... beyond expectations!"
His gaze was fixed on the Alien Queen; his look was like a creator admiring his most perfect masterpiece.
"This Alien Queen is enough to go head-to-head with most SSS-Rank Hunter today! Combined with that army of Dinosaur Aliens, even a true SSS-Rank would have to think twice!"
His voice grew louder and more frenzied.
"England will have a second SSS-Rank! A true SSS-Rank comparable to Corpse Slaughter! Brandy! You—"
His voice stopped abruptly.
Because he finally noticed Brandy's expression.
Brandy showed no wild joy, no excitement, not even a hint of the smugness of being about to control a giant beast.
His face was even uglier than those trembling Reincarnators.
Pale and stiff.
The figure of the Alien Queen was reflected in his pupils, but what was reflected more was confusion, bewilderment, and a gradually rising fear.
He had tried.
The moment the Alien Queen appeared, he had issued a command to the queen bee placa parasite through the neural interface in his mind—
Summon the Alien army.
Obey my will.
Submit to me.
However... there was no response.
His command was like a stone dropped into the ocean, not causing a single ripple.
He could sense that the parasite was still alive and still connected to the Alien Queen's nervous system.
But it seemed to be suppressed by some even more powerful existence, suppressed so thoroughly that it couldn't transmit any instructions at all.
The Queen Bee-type Plaga, the strongest parasitic control unit, an ultimate control entity fused with the T-virus!
At this moment, inside this Alien Queen, it was actually like a hibernating worm, completely useless.
Brandy's mind went blank.
Then, he saw it.
The Alien Queen moved.
The tentacles embedded in the ceiling were pulled out one by one and retracted into its body.
Its massive claws, covered in heavy Exoskeleton, landed gently on the ground, making the metal floor tremble again.
It took a step, then another, walking in one direction.
Toward Lilith.
With every step it took, the ground shuddered and the metal twisted.
With every step it took, Brandy's heart sank further.
Ten meters.
Five meters.
One meter.
The Alien Queen's massive figure, large enough to blot out the sky, stopped in front of Lilith.
It lowered its head.
That hideous head, covered in deep blue Exoskeleton, slowly bowed down.
In those vertical pupils, the tyrannical aura vanished.
In its place was an emotion that Brandy could not understand, yet it made his whole body go cold.
Awe.
As if... a subject was meeting its King.
Lilith reached out.
That fair right hand was gently raised.
Her fingertips touched the Alien Queen's bowed head, the hard surface of its Exoskeleton.
The Alien Queen did not dodge or resist.
It even slightly narrowed those dark gold vertical pupils, and a low, satisfied whimper came from deep within its throat.
Like... a giant dog being petted by its master.
The entire laboratory fell into a complete, deathly silence.
The old man's mouth hung open, unable to say a word.
The fanatical expression on his face had completely frozen, shattered, and transformed into an unbelievable daze.
Brandy's legs went weak, and he almost fell to his knees.
He finally understood.
The meaning behind Lilith's previous casual remark—
"When it wakes up, will it listen to you, or to me?"
It wasn't a threat.
It wasn't a provocation.
It was just a fact announced in advance.
From beginning to end, the control methods they were so proud of.
The plan they had spent their life's blood designing, the second SSS-Rank of England they had gambled on by betting the lifespan of a Balancer—
Before her, it was all just laughable, futile struggling.
She! It was as if she were the source and the end of all Alien bloodlines, the true Sovereign of the Aliens.
Within her body flowed a bloodline even more terrifying than that of an Alien Queen!
Lilith withdrew her hand, the corner of her mouth curling into a very faint arc.
She didn't look at Brandy or the old man; her youthful voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet laboratory.
"Not bad."
"A bit more obedient than I imagined."