The Queen Part 3

( At the same time.)

" The signal of 'Madness' is getting stronger during our battle." Tracker 101 says as he sees his Astral Tracker Device beeping the first sign of an Abnormal Spirit, the power of Madness.

"( What should I do? should I tell captain Raymond about this or... )" Tracker 101 says as he then sees the Soul Knights are going in disarray for the Hollows led by Cráneos Buitres had already killed half of their numbers despite the Hollows only survives by a small number due to Captain Raymond's Astral Ability.

" [Astral Soul Ability: White Hand Claw] " Captain Raymond says as he uses the ability to claw the Hollows with his thick and sharp ice claws like a tiger claw, the claws not only give the enemy fatal damage but also have some what we call an After Effect which is.

[ Freeze Contact ]

[ This is the after-effect an enemy would experience after the White Hand Claw landed a hit into their body, the after-effect is basically like a hunk of ice would grow out from the body since the freezing effect constantly freeze the blood inside the enemy's body. ]

With this ability alone, Raymond manages to handle many Hollows from the Paquetes, resulting in the Paquetes only having a handful of men that survived.

" C'mon you Hollows, what's the matter!? " he says while piping his smoke.

" Is my ice too cold for you!? " he smirks while continuing to attack the remaining hollows.

As he attacked, he immediately clawed a hollow before him, giving him the [Freeze Contact] effect immediately but was then stopped by the leader of the Paquetes itself, Cráneos Buitres.

[ Tormenta de arena (Sand Storm) ]

[ This ability looks like a normal sandstorm but it's not, the storm itself is actually made from A condensed Sharp Sand made from Astral Energy. ]

[ This ability is an Area Type Attack but despite it, Cráneos had mastered very well making it controllable as this Tornado won't hurt his subordinates. ]

" Wha... what the...? " Raymond says as he was immediately swept up by the storm, he and the other Soul Knights are sucked into a powerful and destructive sandstorm since inside it exists sharp condensed sands that will hit you like an ultra-speed thrown knife.

" Die all of you! " Cráneos says as he swept all the Soul Knights in.

" Dammit... " Raymond says while holding onto the ground as the others then did too including tracker 101 who is lucky to hold a near-hard rock as he then hides behind it to avoid the very sandstorm.

" That was close..., I never thought that a Hollow would have an ability this strong," he says while hiding behind, as he hides, the Astral Tracker Device shows an increased power of Madness signal, right below him.

....

( Below the Soul Knights. )

[ Location: Subterraneo ]

The Carroñero Queen continues the story where she left off for her story now enters the phase where she first entered the Subterraneo.

" After taking some time torturing and ending the professor..., I immediately felt a sudden pain in my body with a cause unknown to me. "

" At first, I thought it may be just me feeling weakened after all of the torture but in fact, I immediately realized that the pain might caused by the liquids injected into me by the professor back then. "

" Feeling it, I want to talk to the professor but it's too late for I've already killed him at that very moment right after I eat his Astral Core for good. "

" Because of that, I immediately tried to find a good shelter, fearing that there might many hollows that will see me in that weak state at the moment, I tried so hard to walk and find a good shelter and after some time, I somehow tripped into a quicksand which immediately led me to this very place. "

" The place where I can call a 'haven' " she explains as she tells that the Subterraneo was once a pristine place of an oasis, rich with Astral Energy in each, its floras and faunas which she then takes for granted right after she falls.

" Time over time, I ate the very things that existed inside this place, I ate it all until my body grows as it also gives me some new abilities, thus that is how I first unlocked the ability to create an 'underling', a Subordinado that inherited some of my body features but also loyal despite them being mostly mindless," she says as she looks at her Carroñero Hive Army around her, all of them just standing around her and always follow her every whim without question.

" My subordinates, dear little Ordinario (Shiro), are basically just an extension of my existence. "

" They were spawned only to gather more food supplies rich with energy inside the vast Subterraneo. "

" But, even after I possess an army that would sustain me... "

" There was a time when all of those peaceful raiding and gathering days are disrupted. "

" For a Monarch came. " the Queen explains while remembering it well.

< The Carroñero Queen is reminiscing about the past. >

< Astral Player will be given the [Memory Scenario] >

"( [Memory Scenario], what is that!? )" Shiro says as the System Screen shows itself in front of him, revealing the cutscene of the Carroñero Queen's past as in that memory, it shows the Carroñeros are all killed by some kind of a flying lizard Monarch, the monarch was strong but it seems he's already wounded even before entering the Subterraneo and fights the Carroñero and the Queen as well.

The battle was so fierce as the Monarch then transforms into some kind of a big creature that looks like a Giant Lizard, with wings. The lizard Monarch then bursts fire from its mouth, destroying almost anything while the Queen uses every ability she obtained during her years of gathering to defeat him.

"( No way, the Carroñero Queen is this strong? )" Shiro says as he sees that the Queen had many powerful abilities and skills in her arsenal, unlike Shiro who can't level up and has to rely on his Level 1 pieces of equipment and also since he can't unlock any skill.

" In that battle, I was so drained, as I used the obtained powers I have over the years of my tortured experimentations and my gathering days, I finally managed to defeat the Monarca despite some losses over my Spiritual Form. "

" For that Monarch Spirit from an unknown Region, just easily destroyed the most powerful parts of my insectoid form, making me have to wait for more years to let it grow again. "

" But, despite all of it, after I finally defeat him at the place of his corpse in my hive," she says as she points to the giants' lizard corpse that Shiro was bonded to with the unknown liquid which immediately made Shiro believe since the Monarch in the System's cutscene is similar with the giant corpse, based on its structures.

"( Oh, so it's true... ) "

"( The Queen manages to defeat it. )" he thinks to himself, while the Queen then lowered her head again as she then approached his face and says.

" So that is my story... " she says while rubbing Shiro's face in affection.

" I know that some of its details might impress you in some way, but... "

" I have to say that not many Spirits could be like me... "

" Not you, not the Desierto Hollows, even the Monarchs," she says while licking Shiro.

" So what do you want from me? after telling me your story? " Shiro asks with sharp eyes since he knows that he would be eaten sooner by this monstrous Hollow Ascedente Spirit.

Seeing Shiro's eyes, the queen smirks as she then responds.

" No, dear, I would not eat you but rather. " she then grips Shiro, unbinding him from the unbreakable liquid.

" I will take some time playing with you since I'm really bored. " the Carroñero Queen smirks with joy.

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Extra:

The Giant Lizard Monarch that the Carroñero Queen and the Hive Legions defeated is actually one of the Dragon Monarch Spirits that existed in the Astral World. In the Astral World, once a Spirit achieves the Monarch stage or at least becomes an Ascender they would have the ability to transform into a Humanoid-like form like the Dragon Monarch in this chapter when he enters the Subterraneo.

So technically the Carroñero Queen should've been able to achieve humanoid transformation but it seems there is something lacking inside her.