https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=22647781





Why doesn't he have any comrades who look like him? Or rather, why can't he find a seedbed that can take his form no matter where he looks?

The question, once it had sprouted, flooded the king's thoughts like a torrent.

*

A certain planet.

A miraculous planet where a star exists in a perfect location, where life has been nurtured over the course of over a billion years, and where intelligent lifeforms were born after countless extinctions and evolutions.

And so, aliens set their sights on it, and in exchange for building a facility for themselves - the coming-of-age ceremony performed by that race... a facility to store and fight the extremely vicious lifeforms, they had given the planet a little civilization.

After being used several times, it collapsed spectacularly. The aliens who had come for that purpose, before coming of age, were defeated by the monsters and wiped out, causing the entire facility to explode.

However, what was unexpected was that the monsters had not yet been completely eradicated. One monster was lucky enough to escape the explosion and managed to crawl out from under the rubble after a while, and at that point it was no longer under the aliens' surveillance.

At that point.

It was almost destined to become the ruler of this planet.

*

By implanting an egg-like substance that would become the basis of its existence into others, the monster was able to reproduce at a speed incomparable to that of a life form that gives birth and grows.

It turns the parasitic life form, or rather the egg, into a cradle in which to give birth, and at the same time learns to steal the composition of that life form, and after determining the direction of its growth to have a body stronger than that of the life form, it tears open its stomach and cries out for birth.

Although its nature alone is already ferocious, the monster's aggressiveness is unmatched to begin with.

The exoskeleton-like skin is extremely sturdy, and its tail, which is longer than its body, is capable of skewering and lifting up life forms that are equal to or greater in weight than itself.
Its limbs are sharp enough to cut through metal, and it has the agility and strength to run in all directions at speeds that no bipedal lifeform could possibly escape.

Furthermore, if it manages to slip through these natural spears and shields and inflict a wound on it, the acidic blood that runs throughout its body will spurt out, strong enough to melt anything.

But more than anything else, what is unique about it is its flat, eyeless and noseless face, and its abnormally elongated back of the head. For some reason, it has normal vision and smell, and from inside its mouth there is another small mouth that grows out like a tongue. This second mouth is its strongest weapon, and what makes it the monster it is.

The second mouth is fired with such incredible speed that it is almost as if the long back of its head was made for this purpose. It has such excessive power that it can easily pierce even thick metal plates. It is unlikely that any life in the universe could defend against it.
And...it was difficult for ordinary life forms to even inflict a wound on this monster, which was able to reproduce as if by stealing all other life, and its body was so aggressive that it could not help but destroy all existence other than itself.

And to add insult to injury.

By chance - and hopelessly unlucky compared to all the other creatures that had originally lived on the planet - the monster had survived because of a life form with one of the finest bodies and intelligence in the universe, which had given the planet civilization.

Although the intelligent life forms living on the planet had also begun to develop a civilization, it had only just begun to have wings on their bodies.

So there was practically no way to resist the monster once it had begun to reproduce, and any tactics that had managed to reduce its numbers slightly would not work a second time.

By the time the alien culprit noticed what was going on, the entire planet would be in the hands of a single monster, and there was nothing even the aliens could do about it.
















Having time to spare sometimes makes you think about things you hadn't noticed before.
Only at the beginning did he devote his body and mind to breeding. No matter how far he went, there was no one to get in his way, and although he might kill a few of his brethren, if he took measures, it wouldn't happen again.
He advanced into the sea and reached another land. There, too, breeding continued without problem.
Everything was going smoothly, and in that moment the king realized that even his instinct to breed was being fulfilled.
--Where is the seedbed that will take on a form like his own?
That question arose.

The king woke up at the bottom of the rubble, inheriting the relief and anger of the queen, who was barely hanging on to life, and cried out upon the surface.
However, he realized that he still didn't know why he was born at the bottom of such rubble, or why the queen was close to death.
Among the small fry who didn't even pose an obstacle, they were an intelligent species, somewhat formidable. Although they had handled explosions, they had never created such a large mountain of rubble.
As king, he had transformed in a different direction from the queen and had never grown to such a huge size, but no matter how far he went, he would never encounter a being that could bury the queen at the bottom of such rubble.
He had used many different life forms as seedbeds, but he had never found a life form that could possibly take on a shape like himself, no matter where he went, no matter how far he searched, to the ends of the sky or the bottom of the ocean.

His thoughts now had more room to maneuver, and one unsolvable question after another was born.
The king had abandoned even his responsibilities as king and was running around trying to solve those questions.
It was not because he felt lonely or any such weak emotion. A life form that was aggressive in every respect could not possibly harbor such emotions. But simply, he felt uneasy about the fact that the question would remain unsolved no matter how much time passed.
He didn't care if his control as king weakened one day and an individual would emerge that would become a queen on its own.
However, no matter how much he explored, he only found out a little.
He returned to the place where he was born and simply dug through the rubble, and found the skeleton of his former seedbed. It had the same distinctive mouth and hairstyle as him.
The weapons and armor it was wearing were of overwhelmingly higher quality than those possessed by the intelligent races of this world.
It was so dazzling that it began to doubt whether it could even be living on the same earth.
Where did this seedbed come from? How strong is it?
The king, who had ruled the planet in the blink of an eye, no longer allowed his will to be swayed by his instinct to reproduce, and simply faced the corpse.
No matter how much he stared at it, it would not solve anything, but the king no longer had any other interests on this planet.













The king's doubts were suddenly cleared up, without any effort on his part.

A mass had fallen from a height that was out of reach even if the king had tried to use the winged lifeform as a seedbed and send it flying into the sky.

The lifeform that emerged from it was far stronger and smarter than any other on the planet.

Brandishing a variety of weapons and firing light bullets from its shoulders that made its body explode, it instantly turned dozens of its brethren into lumps of flesh, and even slaughtered the queen, taking her skull before mounting the mass and returning.

It always wore armor on its face, so it was unclear whether it actually had the face shape of a king, but it was said that its hairstyle was exactly like the king's.

The king was convinced that it was the being that had become his seedbed.

It no longer mattered that it had become a queen of its own accord and that a new force had been created there. The king strictly ordered that the life not be killed and brought to him, so as not to let it escape.
He also added that if they were killed or used as breeding beds without permission, then that was the time to use his power to crush their influence, to the last.

Starting with the visit of one of them, those creatures began to come again and again.
The king was eager to get his hands on them, without understanding that now, when the entire planet was becoming the property of monsters, was a good opportunity for a hunter who roamed the universe to have some fun.
However, although he found out that these creatures often landed near the queen in order to slay her, none of them ever landed near him, the king.
Also, for a mere soldier or the queen, it was extremely difficult to capture such a creature, which was capable of slaying even the queen alone, and even if it was caught, it would sometimes explode spectacularly, engulfing everything in it and turning it into dust.
The question of why he had been born amidst the rubble was solved.
But more than that.
No matter how much he waited and waited. The hunter never came towards him.

Even though he was far stronger than the queen, as the one and only king. Perhaps it was because his small size made him hard to spot from high in the sky, or perhaps he knew he could not defeat him.

But if that was the case, he decided to hide and take up position in a place where there were several queens nearby, and he stayed there for a while longer.

The hunter, unaware of this, came down nearby.















The hunter who came down encountered the king early on.
This monster had risen to the top in a different way from the queen, and everyone was certain that there was no way it could be defeated, even if the monster was skilled enough to hunt the queen alone. Having been born from the hunter as a breeding ground, it was a hated being, and everyone had to admit that its strength was outstanding.
Its body had grown larger and stronger than the hunter's.
Furthermore, it was thought that even the weapons that were the crystallization of the hunter's civilization would not work against this unique individual who had become king.
With it suddenly appearing before his eyes, the hunter had given up on his own life, but he still readied his weapon, ready to do his best.
However, the king was unaware of this resolve, and with a desperate attempt to fight it out, he flicked the weapon out as if it were a flying insect, pushing it down and ripping off the armor from its face.
...Finally, finally he caught it.
Like himself, its mouth and fangs were split into four. Just by touching it, he could tell that its body was denser and firmer than any other life form on this planet. It catches the light bullets that it fires from its shoulder without a scratch. It's annoying so he crushes them, then destroys the ring on its arm that appears to be used to self-destruct.
Wanting to stare at every inch of its body, he goes on to tear off all the equipment from all over it.
Not understanding what the hunter wants to do, he doesn't care one bit that it is simply terrified. Monsters do not have the nature to consider others.
But the king did not want to kill it. It was his first possession of his origin.
It's not like he wants a member of his kind who shares the same origin. He is enough as king.
Simply put, the living origin was a treasure that the king had pursued for a long time, and which he had finally obtained.
Like a gift from a child given by its parent, the king decided to make it his own with an innocence so pure that it lacked even malice.
After stripping it naked, he caressed it over and over again, as if enjoying the body itself.
The King's emotions had finally reached their limit.

Unlike other monsters, the King did not have the ability to use any living thing as a seedbed and give birth to more of his kind.

Instead, he had acquired the ability to lay eggs on pregnant living things, more than the number of fingers on his body, and rewrite all of the fetuses into those of his kind, thereby rapidly increasing his numbers.

This was evident from the fact that he was not pregnant. Therefore, even if he had engaged in sex, the fetuses would not be rewritten into his own children, and countless children would not cry out from his belly.
However, it was an act for the purpose of reproduction. And like the majority of other living things, it was an act that was instinctively exciting and accompanied by pleasure.
And for the first time, combining this with joy in his own origins, even though he understood that the act was meaningless, it was the most exciting act for the King ever.
The six-fingered hand was large enough to cover his face with just one, and strong enough to easily tear his neck off. The Hunter was forced to face it as the hand was placed on the side of his head.
Countless drools dripped along with the warm breath.
The hunter felt endless fear and despair at the king, who clearly did not show any signs of being ready to kill. The hunter was confident that he could kill the queen alone, and had thought that even if he was defeated, he would not end up being used as a breeding ground, but would be able to commit suicide with pride.
He had never imagined that he would end up like this. That just trying to strike back would result in him choosing the path to hell.
His head was firmly fixed in place, unable to move an inch. In front of him, from within the four fangs that resembled a hunter, was another mouth, and its greatest weapon, a second mouth. He could see something rising from within.
Before he noticed, the king's throat was also bulging. It seemed unable to wait any longer, and something leaked out of the second mouth and began to drip. It slid down his cheek along with the drool and was something like an egg.

...It was trying to lay eggs on him.
It was trying to have sex. The hunter, forced to realize this, screamed more than he had ever screamed before. More than when he had overcome his coming-of-age ceremony, or when he had finally secured victory after days of deadly combat. His throat felt like it was being torn apart, his chest like it was bursting.
However, his body, restrained by his limbs and tail, could not be freed no matter how hard he tried. No matter how hard he tried to look away, the face of the monster king came closer.
Inch by inch. It was as if he was reluctant to reach the act he had been waiting for for so long, but he could not wait any longer and many eggs spilled onto his face.
After a long but short time, as if he was teasing himself, their fangs met.
The king avoided the hands that had been on the sides of his head and closed his mouth, which was twice as big as the hunter's, over the hunter.
But the hunter kept screaming. Only the fingers and toes, which were still moving slightly, continued to struggle meaninglessly. As if loving every bit of the hunter, the king embraced him with both arms that no longer needed to be restrained.
The monster's greatest weapon, its second mouth, penetrated deep into the hunter's throat. It did not hurt the hunter, but it did stop him from screaming.
And once he got that far.
The king could no longer stop his own urges, his love.
The organs inside his body that create children worked at full capacity, sending many eggs through his chest and down his throat and into the hunter.
The hunter's eyes immediately rolled back as he felt the eggs being endlessly forced directly into his stomach. However, he was not allowed to lose consciousness from the nausea. The eggs were gradually compressed as they were stuffed into him, and he began to scream. Soon they were lodged in his esophagus, and the king released his mouth for a moment.
He was deeply disappointed that he could only fit this much in, but he could not help but pour out his still-boiling passion onto the hunter.
The hunter weakly spits eggs from his mouth. The king also holds his stomach and makes the hunter vomit them out.
The hunter lets out a weak groan and is confused for a moment as to why he is doing this.
After making the hunter spit out a certain amount, the king, unable to wait any longer, brings his mouth closer as eggs begin to leak out again. Once he sees this, he cannot help but understand.
That he has become the king's sex slave. That he will be forced to continue this act as the king's greatest arousal, without being killed, for all of his days until he dies.
No matter how much the hunter asks himself why he has had to go through this, he cannot understand.
















The heartless moans echoed again and again in the space.
Since then, dozens of hunters had been captured by the King himself and crucified on the walls. Under each of their drooping heads, there was an egg lying about. Eggs laid not for the purpose of reproduction, but solely for pleasure, and then crushed, rotting and withering without achieving their goal.
The subordinates who had been ordered to look after them continued to feed the King's possessions today as well.
At first, the subordinates also fed them by mouth, which was the easiest method, but the King could not bear it. They chewed them well, dissolved the nutrients inside their bodies, and spat them into their palms, then forced them into the King's open mouth.
Calmly, calmly.
And yet, the King returned home in high spirits again today. In his arms was a hunter, whose mouth was covered in the King's saliva.
The newly captured hunter was stunned at the sight that unfolded before his eyes, but was not allowed to resist and was handed over to his subordinate and crucified anew.
The King looked at the captured treasures with satisfaction as usual, and stopped to look at the oldest hunter.
Then, he was unaware that the head armor had also served as a respiratory system on other planets.
The King was dejected to see that the hunter was already exhausted and did not have much time left.
So the King broke free of his restraints and embraced the hunter, and this time he began to lay eggs while standing.
His body was so weakened that he could no longer even move his fingertips. But suddenly it started to move.
The king did not stop, even though the number of eggs that he would normally hold back was stuffed into his stomach. Until now, he had not poured his love out to the point of killing him. Since it was going to be the end anyway, the King removed such holding back.
The hunter's body was hugged tighter, his bones creaked, and he began to scream as if his flesh was about to burst. The king's body leaned forward, his fangs digging deep into the hunter's body. The pitiful, pathetic hunter's stomach swelled even as he was hugged tightly.
His weakened body trembled, unable to give up on life. It trembled, but only trembled.
And then, abruptly, it came to an end.
The eggs that had been stuffed into his stomach, having reached their limit, burst one after another. The liquid inside, the acidic egg liquid, cruelly dissolved the hunter's body from the inside, and he died.
But the king continued to lay eggs, driven by his relentless love, and soon the lower half of the hunter's body separated from the upper half and fell off.
Seeing this, the king was dejected again. He took his mouth away from the upper half of the hunter, his face stained with despair and drool. The eggs were falling helplessly from the torn body along with a large amount of blood.
One of his treasures had been destroyed.
However, not to waste anything, the king began to put it all in his mouth. By taking in every last bit of flesh and bone, as if to ensure he would never forget it.
Once he had finished putting the entire upper body in his mouth, he reached for the lower half, which had fallen off.
Like this, the extravagant sounds of meat being eaten and bones being crunched echoed around for a while.
Once that subsided... The king, who still had plenty of love left in him, began to search through the treasures he had collected, wondering which one to exert his power over next.
As he did so, screams rose up from the captured treasures, but the king found even that endearing, and moved on to convey his overflowing love, which no matter how much time passed.




------------------------------------------


　何故、己のような姿形をした仲間は存在しないのか、いや、己の姿形となる苗床はどこを探しても見つからないのか。
　一度芽生えたその疑問は、濁流のように王の思考を覆っていった。

*

　とある星。
　程良い場所に恒星が存在し、億を超える歳月の末に生命が育まれ、幾多の絶滅と進化の末に知的生命体が生誕した奇跡の星。
　そしてそれに目を付けた異星人が、自分達の為の施設−−その種族が執り行う成人の儀式……凶悪極まりない生命と戦う為、それを保管する為の施設を建造させる事と引き換えに文明を与えてもう幾許。
　それは何度か使われた後に、派手に崩壊した。目的の為に訪れた成人前の異星人達が、その化け物に敗北して全滅した事で、施設ごと爆破する形で。
　しかし想定外だったのは、それでも化け物は完全に絶やせていなかった事だった。運良く爆発から逃げ延び、暫くして瓦礫の下から這い出す事に成功した一匹の化け物は、その時点で異星人の監視からも外れていた。
　その時点で。
　それがこの星の支配者になるまで、定められたようなものだった。

*

　その化け物は、他者に己の素となる卵のような物を植え付ける事で、子を産んで育つ生命とは比較にならない速度で繁殖する事を可能としていた。
　卵もとい、寄生した生命を己を生む為の揺り籠へと変えるそれは、同時にその生命の組成を奪うように学習し、その生命より強い肉体を持つように成長の方向性を定めた上で、腹を食い破って産声を上げる。
　その性質だけでも凶悪であるに程があるのに、元々からしてその化け物の攻撃性は群を抜いている。

　外骨格を纏うような表皮はかなりの堅牢さを誇っており、また体長以上の長さを持つ尾は、自身と同等以上の重さを持つ生命を串刺しにして持ち上げる事も可能とする。
　手足は金属をも切り裂くほど鋭く、また二足歩行の生命体では到底逃げ切る事の出来ない速度で、縦横無尽に駆け回るだけの俊敏さと力強さを兼ね備えている。
　更にそんな天然の矛と盾をくぐり抜けて傷を与えれば、その身に張り巡らされた、何者をも溶かす程に強い酸性の血が吹き出してくる始末。
　だがしかし、それらよりも何よりも特異なのは、のっぺりとした目も鼻もない顔に、異様に伸びた後頭部を持つ頭部だ。何故か視覚も嗅覚も普通に備えていれば、口の中からはもう一つ舌のように生える小さな口があった。その第二の口こそが、その化け物を化け物たらしめる最強の武器である。
　その第二の口は、長く伸びる後頭部がその為にあると言って良い程に驚異的な速度で射出される。分厚い金属の板ですら容易く貫通する程の、過剰とも言える威力。それを防御出来る生命は、宇宙の中でも早々に居ないだろう。
　そして……そんな並の生命では傷を与える事すら難しく、他の生命の全てを奪うかのように繁殖を可能とするその化け物は、その肉体に相応な、自分達以外の全ての存在を滅さずには居られないと言う程の攻撃性を持っていた。

　更に追い打ちを掛けるように。
　運良く−−この星に元から生きていた他の全てに対しては絶望的に運悪く−−生き延びたその化け物の基となったのは、この星に文明を与えた、この宇宙においても指折りの肉体と知性を持つ生命体であった。
　その星に生きる知的生命体にも文明が芽生えているとは言え、それは精々体外に翼を持ち始めた程度。
　それでは一度繁殖を始めたその化け物に抗う術は無いに等しく、辛うじて多少の数を削る事に成功したような作戦も二度は通じない。
　元凶である異星人がその異変に気付いた時には、最早その星の全てがその化け物一体の手中に収まってしまう事は、異星人ですらどうしようもない事であった。

　余裕というものは、時に今まで気付いていなかった事を考えさせる。
　繁殖に心身を割いていたのは最初ばかり。どこまでも行こうが我が身の障害になるような存在は居らず、多少同胞が仕留められる事はあれど、対策してみせれば二度目は訪れない。
　海に進出し、別の大地へと辿り着き。そこでも恙無く繁殖は進む。
　全てが順調に進むばかりの中、繁殖という本能すら満たされつつあるのを王が悟ったその瞬間。
　−−己のような姿形と成る苗床はどこに居る？
　その疑問は湧いてきた。

　瓦礫の底で目覚めた王は、辛うじて命だけは繋いでいた女王の安堵と、そして怒りの意思を引き継いで地上へと産声を上げた。
　だが、何故あんな瓦礫の底で己は生まれたのか、何故女王は死にかけていたのか、そのどれもを知らないままである事に気付いた。
　障害にすらならない雑魚ばかりの中では多少手強い、知的な種族。それらも爆発を扱う事はあったが、あそこまでの瓦礫の山を作り出す事はなかった。
　王として女王とは別の方向へと変貌を遂げた己は女王のような巨体になる事もなかったが、そもそも女王をあんな瓦礫の底に埋められるような存在は、どこまで行こうとも出会う事はなかった。
　様々な生命を苗床にしてきたが、そもそも己のような姿形に成りそうな生命、苗床にはどこに行こうが、空の果てや海の底まで探させようが見つかる事はなかった。

　余裕の出来た思考は、次々へと解けない疑問を生まれ出させる。
　王は、最早王としての責務すら放って、その疑問を解決しようと奔走していた。
　寂しいだとか、そんな弱々しい感情を抱いていたからではない。そんな感情を、隅から隅まで攻撃的な生命体は抱くはずもない。ただ単純に、その疑問がいつまで経とうとも解決されない事が気持ち悪くて仕方がなかった。
　その内、王としての支配力が弱って、勝手に女王となる個体が出てこようが気にしない。
　しかし、どれだけ探求しようとも、分かった事はほんの少ししかなかった。
　生まれた場所に帰って瓦礫をただひたすらに掘り起こせば、骨と化した、己の苗床だった存在が見つかった。それは、己と同じような特徴的な口と髪型をしていた。
　また身に纏っていた武器や防具は、この世界の知的な種族が手にするそれらより圧倒的に上質なものだった。
　まるで、同じ大地に生きている事自体が疑わしい程のそれ。
　……この苗床は、どこから来たんだ？　どれ程に強いんだ？
　瞬く間に星を支配した王は、とうに繁殖という本能に意志が靡かれる事もなく、ただひたすらにその死体と向き合う。
　どれだけそれをじっと見つめようとも何も解決しないが、最早それ以外に王が抱く関心など、この星にはなかった。

　その王の疑問は、王の努力とは無縁に、唐突に晴らされる事となった。

　翼を持つ生命を苗床にして、遥か空へと飛び立たせようとも届く事のない高みより降ってきた塊。
　その中から出てきた生命は、この星のどの生命よりも遥かに強靭であり、また、賢かった。
　何種類もの武器を振り回し、また肩からは体が弾けるような光弾を撃ち出してくるその生命は、何十もの同胞を瞬く間に肉塊へと変え、女王すらも屠り、その頭蓋を持ち去った上で、またその塊に乗って帰っていったという。
　顔には常に防具を身に着けていたから、実際に王になるような顔の形をしているかまでは分からないが、髪型は王とそっくりだったと言う。
　王はそれが己の苗床となった存在だと確信した。
　勝手に女王と成り、そしてそこで新しい勢力が出来ていた事など、最早どうでも良い。王は何よりもその生命を逃さないように、殺さずに己の元にまで連れて来るように厳命した。
　また、もし殺したり勝手に苗床にしたのならば、その時こそ己が力を以てその勢力を一匹残らず叩き潰すと加えて伝えた。

　一体が訪れて来た事を皮切りに、その生命は何度も、何匹もやってくるようになった。
　星全体が化け物のものになりつつある今こそが、宇宙を駆ける狩人にとって程良く遊べる狩猟の好機である、などといった事は理解する事もなく、王にとってはそれを手中に収めようと躍起になる。
　しかしその生命は女王を屠る為に、女王の近くに降り立つ事が多い事までは分かったが、王である己の近くには誰も降りて来ない。
　また、ただの兵隊や女王にとっては、女王をも単独で屠る事の出来るその生命を捕えようとする事は相当に難しく、捕えられたとしても何故か盛大に爆発を起こし、全てを巻き込んで粉微塵となったという事もあった。
　何故、己が瓦礫の中で産声を上げたのかという疑問が解決した。
　しかし、それより。
　待ち続けても、待ち続けても。己の元へはその狩人は一向にやって来ない。
　女王などより、唯一絶対な王である己の方が格段に強いというのに。体が小さくて遥か空より上の宙からでは見つけ辛いからなのか、それとも己には勝てないと理解しているのか。
　だがそれならばと、姿を隠して女王が何匹か近くに居るような場所に陣取る事にして、それからもう暫く。
　それに気付かなかった狩人が、近くに降りてきた。

　降りてきた狩人は早々に王と遭遇した。
　女王とは別の形で頂点に立ったその化け物は、女王を単独で狩れる腕利きであろうとも勝てないと誰もが断じていた。狩人を苗床にして生誕したそれは、忌み嫌われている存在である、という以上に突出した強さを誰しもが認めざるを得なかった。
　狩人より強靭に、巨大になったその肉体。
　更に王と成った特異個体の前では、狩人の文明の結晶である武器ですら通じるとは思えない。
　それが唐突に目の前に現れれば、狩人としては最早自らの命を諦めながらも、それでも全力を尽くそうと武器を構える。
　だが、そんな覚悟など露知らず、王は決死の思いで突き出された武器を羽虫を払うかのように弾いてそのまま押し倒し、その顔面の防具を引き剥がした。
　……やっと、ようやく、つかまえた。
　己と同じく、四つに割れた口と牙。触っただけでも分かる、この星のどの生命よりも密で引き締まった肉体。光弾を肩から撃ち出してくるのを、無傷で受け止める。鬱陶しいので握り潰して、それから自爆するのに使っているらしき腕の輪も破壊する。
　その肉体を隅々まで見つめたくて、更に全身の装具も全て引き剥がしていく。
　狩人が何をしたいのか分からず、ただひたすらに怯えている事など微塵も気にしない。化け物には他者を慮るような性質など持ち合わせていない。
　だが、王はそれを殺したくないと思っていた。初めて手に入れた己の起源。
　別に基を同じとする同族が欲しい訳でもない。王は己だけで良い。
　単純に、生きている起源は王にとって長い間追い求めてきた、そしてとうとう手に入れた宝物だった。
　まるで幼子が親から貰った贈り物のように、悪意すらない程の無垢さで王はそれを我が物とする事と決めて。
　肉体そのものを堪能するように、全裸に剥いた後に幾度と撫で回していけば。
　感情の昂りがとうとう限界を超えた。

　王は、他の化け物とは異なり、生命であればどれでも苗床として、同族を生み出せるという能力は持っていなかった。
　その代わりに、妊娠した生命に卵を指の数以上に産み付けて、胎児の全てを同族へと書き換える事で一気に数を増やすという特性を獲得していた。

　それは子を宿していない事など見れば分かる。だから、行為をしたところで、胎児を我が子へと書き換える事も、その腹から幾多の子供が産声を上げる事もない。
　しかしそれは繁殖の為の行動であった。そして、それが本能的に興奮し、快楽を伴う行動である事は他の大多数の生命と変わらなかった。
　また、初めて己の起源を喜びと相まって、意味のない行動だと理解しつつもそれは王にとって今までの何よりも昂る行為と成り得ていた。
　その六本の指のある、片方だけで顔を包み隠せそうな大きさと、首を容易く引き千切れるであろう強さを持った手。狩人は、その手を側頭に添えられて顔を合わせられた。
　生暖かい吐息と共に、涎が数多に垂れる。
　明らかに殺す様子ではないその王に対して、狩人は果てしない恐怖と絶望を抱いた。女王を単独で屠る自信のあった狩人は、万一敗北したとしても、自らが苗床にされる事まではなく、誇り高く自死を遂げる事は出来ると思っていた。
　こんな目に遭うとは想像もしていなかった。せめて一矢報いようとした事自体が地獄への道を選ぶ結果になっていたなどとは。
　頭は強く固定されて微塵も動かせなかった。目の前では、狩人を模した四つに割れた牙の中から更に口と、最大の武器である第二の口が覗いている。その中から何かがこみ上げているのが見えた。
　気付けば、王の喉にも膨らみがあった。待ち切れないように、第二の口から漏れ出してきたそれが垂れてきた。涎と共に頬に落ちて滑り落ちていったそれは、卵のようなものだった。

　……この自分に、産卵しようとしている。
　性行為をしようとしている。

　それを否が応にも自覚した狩人は、今までの何よりも叫んだ。成人の儀式を乗り越えた時よりも、幾日の死闘を繰り広げて勝利を掴んだ時よりも。喉が千切れるばかりに、胸が張り裂けるばかりに。
　しかし、四肢と尾を使って拘束されたその肉体はやはりどれだけ力を込めても自由になる事はなく。必死に目を背けようとも化け物の王の顔は近付いてくる。
　少しずつ、少しずつ。長らく待ち望んだ行為に至る事を惜しむように、けれど待ち切れず幾多に卵は顔に零れてくる。
　そんな自分で自分を焦らすかのような、長いようで短い時を経て、牙と牙が接触した。
　王は側頭に添えていた手を避けて、狩人よりも一回りも二回りも大きい口を狩人に覆い被せる。
　それでも狩人は叫んでいた。僅かに動く手足の指ばかりが無意味に足掻いている。王はそんな狩人の全てを愛するように、拘束する必要のなくなった両腕も使って狩人を抱き締めた。
　化け物の最大の武器でもある第二の口が、狩人の喉の奥深くへと侵入した。それは狩人を傷つける事はなく、しかし叫ぶのだけは止めさせられる。
　そして、そこまで辿り着いてしまえば。
　王は最早、己の衝動を、愛を止める事は出来なかった。
　体内の子供を作る器官が最大限に稼働し、胸を、そして喉元を通って狩人の中へと幾多に送り込まれる。
　そうして直接胃の中へととめどなく押し込まれていく卵の感覚に、狩人はすぐに白目を剥いた。しかし気持ち悪さから意識を失う事も許されない。詰め込まれた卵は段々と圧迫され、悲鳴を上げていく。すぐに食道で留まり、王はそこで一度口を離した。
　たったこれだけしか詰め込めない事に心底落胆しながら、しかし今だに滾り続けるこの情熱を、この狩人に吐かずには居られない。
　口から力なく卵を吐いていく狩人。王も腹を抑えて吐き出させていく。
　狩人は弱々しい呻き声を上げながら、何故そんな事をするのか、少しの間困惑に包まれたが。
　ある程度吐き出させた後に、また待ち切れないように卵を漏れ出させながら口を近付けてくる王を見てしまえば、どうしても理解してしまう。
　自身が、王の性奴隷となった事を。殺さずにずっとずっと、これから死ぬまでの全ての日々を王が何よりも興奮する相手としてこの行為を続けさせられる事を。
　狩人は、何故そんな目に自分が遭う事になったのか、どれだけ自問自答しても分からなかった。

　心有らずの呻き声が、その空間で幾度と反響し合っている。
　あれから何体も何十体も王自らの手によって捕獲され、壁に磔にされた、幾多の狩人。その項垂れた頭の下には、等しく卵が転がっていた。繁殖の為ではなく、快楽の為だけに産み付けられ、そして本懐を遂げる事なく潰れ、朽ち枯れていく卵だ。
　世話を命じられた配下は、そんな王の所有物に対し今日も栄養を与えていく。
　配下も、最初こそは最も簡単に口移しで栄養を与えていたのだが、王にとってそれは我慢がならず。良く噛み砕き、体内で溶かした栄養を一度手の平に吐き出して、それを強引に開いた口の中へと流し込んでいく。
　淡々と、淡々と。
　そんな中、今日も王は上機嫌に帰宅した。その腕には、口周りを王の涎で覆われた狩人が抱えられていた。
　新しく捕えられた狩人は、目の前に広がった光景を見て愕然としながらも、何の抵抗も許されないままに配下に手渡されて新しく磔にされていく。
　そして王は捕えた宝物達を今日も満足気に眺め、最古の狩人に顔を止めてじっくりと見た。
　頭の防具が、異なる星での呼吸器の役割も果たしていたとは露知らず。
　王はその狩人が最早弱り果てて先も長くない事に落胆する。
　それならば、と王は拘束を引き千切って狩人を抱き締めて、今度は立ったままに産卵を始めた。
　とうに指先すら動かせず、弱り切った肉体。だが、それが唐突に動いた。
　いつもなら止めている数の量が腹の中に詰め込まれようとも、王は止めなかった。今まで、殺してしまう程の情愛をぶつける事はしていなかった。どうせ最後になるならと、そんな手加減を取り払った王。
　狩人の体がより強く抱き締められて、骨が軋み、肉体が張り裂ける悲鳴を上げ始める。前のめりになる王の体、狩人の体に深く食い込む王の牙。抱き締められながらも膨れ上がっていく惨めで哀れな狩人の腹。
　弱りきった肉体はそれでも生を諦めきれずに震える。震えて、しかし、震えるだけ。
　そして、それは唐突に途切れた。
　腹の中に詰め込まれ、限界を迎えた卵が次々と破裂していた。中に詰まっていた液体が、酸性の卵液が狩人の体を体内から無惨にも溶かしながら、狩人は事切れていた。
　それでも留まる事のない情愛の元に王が産卵を続ければ、程なくして狩人の下半身は上半身と分かれて千切れ落ちた。
　それを見て、王はまた落胆する。上半身だけになった狩人から口を離し、絶望で染まった、涎塗れな顔。千切れた胴体からは多量の血と共に卵が力なく零れ落ちている。
　宝物が、一つ壊れてしまった。
　けれど無駄にしないように、王はそれを余さず口に運び始める。肉も骨も余さずに、この身に取り込む事で忘れまいとするように。
　上半身を全て口に運び終えれば、千切れ落ちた下半身にも手を伸ばして。
　そうして派手に肉を食む音と骨を噛み砕く音を暫くの間、響かせ続ける。
　それが収まれば。
　まだまだ余力があるにも程がある愛を、次はどれにぶつけようかと王が集めた宝物を物色し始める。
　すれば捕えられた宝物達から悲鳴が等しく立ち上り、しかしそれすらも王は愛しく思いながら、己のいつまで経とうと収まらない、溢れる愛を伝える為に足を動かしていった。