Her Majesty's Swarm

Plan B

♱

I relaxed in the wagon, letting the slavers' leader handle the reins.
Burying my face in my newly bought bedding, I deeply inhaled its pleasant scent. Soothed by the fresh smell, and reassured by the presence of the Ripper Swarm watching over me, I began to doze off.
Still, I was unsure about what to do next. I'd bought a great deal of meat from the town's butchers, which would allow me to greatly increase the number of Swarms, but what was I going to use them for?
The Swarm believed I would guide them to victory. But victory over what? Did they wish to conquer the whole world? Or was there some other kind of triumph they desired? Just what sort of objective did they want me to achieve?
All I could hear from the collective consciousness were voices crying out for victory, but none of them described what that victory stood for. They merely said they wished for the Arachnea's queen-myself-to lead them to victory. So, in response, I could only torment myself in an attempt to figure out what it meant.
Even my attempt was being transmitted to the Swarm via the collective consciousness, but they kept crying for victory all the same. But if they didn't know how to define that victory, what was I supposed to do?
"Say, Swarm." I lifted my face from the covers, looking up at the Swarm watching over me. "What do you want me to do?" The Ripper Swarm tilted its head slightly in a gesture that implied it didn't quite understand what I was asking.
"What we crave is victory, Your Majesty," it answered.
"But what kind of victory is that? World conquest? Forming a nation?" I could have asked the collective consciousness directly, but I preferred speaking face-to-face. I wanted to hear what the Swarm had to say. It may have been connected to the collective consciousness, but right now this individual was separated from the others, fulfilling the task of his defending the queen. Perhaps its response would be different.
Just what kind of victory is it seeking? Does it wish to conquer this world after all? Is "victory" forming an Arachnea empire? Are there other victory conditions that haven't occurred to me?
"I do not know. However, we simply hold an immense longing for victory. We desire nothing more than victory, and that will never change. We are sure that you will be able to guide us to the victory we desire, Your Majesty. We trust you to no end, and we wish to serve as your hands and feet as we achieve victory. We are certain you will be able to guide us, Your Majesty." "You guys..." The pressure was on. The Swarm trusted me wholeheartedly at the moment, but if I made a mistake in my "command" of them, there was the risk they might rise up in revolt and turn me into ingredients for the next generation of Swarms instead. Being linked to their consciousness only exacerbated that fear.
They were my charming, beloved bugs, but terrifying monsters all the same. I had to act in a way that would never disappoint them. That said...
"This is complicated," I whispered to no one in particular.
It really was. In the game, you could win because you were up against someone else. But my scouting had been fruitless so far and only extended to a small part of the world. Any enemies I had were at most the poachers and slavers that disturbed the elves' village, and they were no match for the Swarm.
Who was I supposed to win against? I needed to lead my adorable little Swarms, but toward what, exactly? To call this situation "complicated" would've been an understatement. I had no enemies to speak of at the moment, no concrete goal. What would I fight, and what would I gain from fighting? Unlike the game, there was no clear-cut opponent.
Suddenly, the carriage came to a halt.
"What's the matter?" I peeked out from the body of the carriage to see what had caused us to stop.
In front of us were several people clad in leather armor standing in formation. They had short bows in their hands, and their arrows were nocked and aimed at my slaver-puppet. I could sense danger; it was clear from their gazes that they were out for blood.
"Moisei!" One man, who looked to be their leader, raised his voice at the slaver. "Looks like ya made a real profit today, ya jackal! But you 'aven't fergotten about that debt ya owe us, 'ave ya?!" Ugh. Not only is he a slaver, but he's in debt too? He's seriously useless.
"I'll be takin' yer cargo as a, uh, li'l deposit toward yer debt." I couldn't let them do that. This was my precious cargo, not his.
"Check every corner 'a the thing! Go on!" The men moved in to inspect our carriage.
This is bad.
I only brought one Ripper Swarm with me today. While I contemplated my chances of success, the armed group circled the body of the carriage.
"Huh?" One of the men pulled a crate full of meat off the top. "What the hell? It's all meat! What were you thinking?!" "Oh! And ya got a lovely li'l slave with ya, too. If we sell this one off,
that'll completely clear yer debt, eh?" They had also found me, and apparently thought I was a slave. They couldn't have imagined that my relationship with the slaver was quite the opposite. I stayed still so as not to provoke the men, instead fixing a loathing gaze at them.
So they're slavers too. In other words, scum worth less than the lowliest dog. Does society benefit whatsoever from these people drawing breath?
Even if slaves aren't illegal in this world, I can only see these people as vile,
offensive wastes of space.
"Hey, Boss, how about we sell her-" "Wait a sec... Isn't there somethin' weird back there?" The ruffian was so focused on me he failed to see it.
Yes, the Ripper Swarm standing behind me.
A split second later, the Ripper Swarm's scythes severed the head of the ruffian leaning into the carriage, causing blood to gush out from his neck stump like a fountain. It spurted, then died out, then spurted again, matching the man's final heartbeats. It was almost comical in a way.
How is death comical, you might ask? Well, they were slavers. The same kind of trash that would kill and kidnap elven children. And as my conscience was linked to the Swarm's hivemind, I could kill hundreds of them and not feel so much as a pang of guilt.
I had already decided that there was nothing wrong with killing people like them.
"What...? What the hell did you do?!" "Boss! It's a monster! There's a monster in here!" The armed men flew into a panic as the Ripper Swarm tore through the carriage's canopy and sprung out, then charged at them. There was no need for me to give any orders. All I needed to do was inform the collective consciousness that these men were dangerous.
"Shit! Shoot it! Kill the damn thing!" The ruffians' boss fired his short bow toward the Ripper Swarm, but the arrow simply bounced off its exoskeleton. The metallic snap of the arrow was soon followed by screaming.
"Freaking monster!" The other five realized their arrows were useless, and instead took out halberds and claymores to challenge the Ripper Swarm. It may have deflected arrows like they were nothing, but it would take a beating from these heavy lumps of metal.
The Swarm's scythe-like arms were torn off and its fangs bashed in. The longer the Ripper Swarm fought, the more tattered it became, its form eventually becoming irreparably mangled. Even as it was dying, it waved its scythes in a desperate attempt to protect me, fatally bit into the enemy with its fangs, and stunned them with its venomous stinger.
That's enough. You can stop now.
At least, I wanted to say that, but I was too much of a coward. Instead, I allowed the Ripper Swarm to die in my place. It was the rational choice in order to defend the queen-myself-but even so, words of condemnation and guilt surfaced in my heart.
The Ripper Swarm shredded through the remaining ruffians, stabbing them with its stinger. It was a truly savage battle. But the enemy fought back defiantly, gravely injuring the Ripper Swarm. I could feel its impatience through the collective consciousness.
"Fall back! Move, move!" Eventually, the Ripper Swarm cornered the three remaining members of the group, but they immediately fled the scene. They got on their horses and galloped down the main thoroughfare in order to escape. "Ripper Swarm!" Now that the fighting had ceased, I rushed to its side.
"You're... not fine, are you...?" The Ripper Swarm's body was mangled. The halberds had torn off its legs, and the blow of a claymore had cracked its head. Ripper Swarms were initial combat units meant for early-game rushes, and as such, they weren't all that powerful. If the enemy were to deploy units that had upgraded defenses and the like, they could be cleaned up rather quickly.
And yet, I had forced such heavy responsibility onto it.
"Your Majesty... Are you unharmed...?" "I'm completely fine. But you..." The Ripper Swarm was worried about me even now.
"Rest assured. We are all in one, and one in all. My consciousness will remain in the collective, and so we need not fear death. What frightens us most of all is the possibility of you falling to harm, Your Majesty... And so seeing you are safe puts us at ease..." Having uttered these last words, the Ripper Swarm departed this world.
No, it did not depart. Its will remained in the collective consciousness formed between myself and the countless other Swarms.
That's right; the Swarm did not know death. Until the very last of their kind was exterminated, this one Swarm's consciousness would be preserved within the group like a single flicker in an undying flame. That Swarm's lofty desire would linger in the collective consciousness, shared by its brethren and passed down to the next generation of Swarm.
In a manner of speaking, the Swarms were immortal. So long as the queen serving as their core and the collective consciousness remained, their presence would linger even if their physical form died. The will of this brave Swarm that had fought to defend its queen would never disappear.
"I'm sorry. I still can't accept this." I dug a hole in the ground at the side of the road with the help of my puppet, and we buried the Swarm's body. In my own way, I mourned its death. The Swarm had no need for prayer, but in that moment, I felt the need for it.
And it was true. The will of the Ripper Swarm that died lingered on in the collective consciousness. It would be passed down to another Swarm and one day reappear before me, swearing its allegiance once more. That was the strength of the Arachnea's collective.
As for me, however, I was an individual with my own set of emotions,
and I wasn't fickle enough to simply accept that another one would take its place. It had fought bravely to the bitter end, and I couldn't accept its efforts being undone.
I had just borne witness to a death; it was, essentially, the first blood that had been shed under my dominion. It was also the first real, burning hatred I had ever felt. The first deep regret I had ever known. The most transient mercy I had ever harbored. I was feeling a storm of other emotions I couldn't put into words.
My inner conflict coursed through the Arachnea's collective consciousness, but the Swarm didn't seem to assent. Perhaps it was because only one Ripper Swarm had been killed. If we were to go to war, hundreds of them would be sacrificed. Seeing it happen for the first time made me very emotional. The first death of one of my Swarm rattled me to my very core.
Another feeling began to bloom within me, even as my heart was nearly overwhelmed by the collective consciousness. It eased my grief for this single unit and inspired me instead.
"If they hit us, we'll hit back. I'll inherit your will," I said, placing flowers on the Ripper Swarm's modest grave.
Upon returning to our base, I began preparing for the revenge I would exact in its name.
Yes, I've finally found an enemy to defeat.