No one could possibly imagine it.
Beneath that kimono, on the body that wasn't even wearing underwear, there were still traces of her recent self-release—along with sensations she couldn't bring herself to put into words.
That… was the source of her guilt.
Especially when she was facing Tatsuki.
The man she'd fantasized about was standing right in front of her—and her daughter was right behind her.
That wave of self-disgust spread through her entire body, making her instinctively want to escape, but this was a moment she couldn't run from anymore.
She took a deep breath, forced her heart to steady, and asked, "What do we need to do now?"
Everyone else looked to Tatsuki too.
It was obvious—Tatsuki was the group's anchor.
Tatsuki rubbed his chin and scanned the room before shaking his head. "There isn't much information from the Apocalypse Game yet. For now, all we've got is this round table."
A large circular table sat in the center of the space.
This central area connected to each person's room, and each door had a corresponding chair in front of it.
"Let's sit according to the seats assigned to each room."
With Tatsuki giving the order, everyone immediately moved.
The instant everyone sat down—a rotating holographic projection appeared above the center of the table.
It was a tapestry of stars.
In the deep vastness of space, a spiraling galaxy turned slowly—its strange beauty and mystery drawing everyone's eyes.
The hologram showed a galaxy made up of countless stars, planets, nebulae, and black holes.
They rotated in the endless void according to an unseen order, forming a grand and complex celestial system.
Yukino and the others saw a massive black hole at the galaxy's core.
Its gravity was so immense that even light couldn't escape. Around the black hole—ring after ring of stars revolved, forming a brilliant halo.
Their light flooded the entire galaxy, making it shine in the darkness of the universe.
Within the rotating galaxy, there were countless planets and moons. Some orbited stars; others drifted freely between them.
At the galaxy's edge was a vast nebula tinted in different colors—red, blue, yellow…
Under the light, it shimmered like a rainbow painted across the sky. Matter inside the nebula continuously gathered under gravity. It might form new stars and planets… or even new black holes.
The entire spiraling system felt like a clock that never stopped—every part moving to its own rhythm.
Stars burning. Planets spinning. Nebulae shifting. Black holes devouring.
All of it—a dance of life written into the galaxy itself. The pulse of the cosmos.
The hologram displayed the galaxy's majesty so perfectly that people nearly forgot where they were.
Then, abruptly—text appeared, cutting through the beauty.
[Swarm Galaxy: A galaxy completely infested by an interstellar swarm!]
As the words appeared, the image changed.
The colorful starfield turned into a gray, deadened galaxy. The hologram zoomed in. From the galaxy to a single star, then to a planet orbiting it, then further, until the planet's surface filled the display.
"Those are… monsters?" Mrs. Yuigahama's eyes trembled as she covered her mouth. "So many…"
The planet's surface was crawling with them—packed together in dense, endless clusters.
The ground beneath them was entirely coated in something like a living, writhing carpet of flesh: a grotesque creep that pulsed as if it had blood.
Some of the creatures had spikes, claws, and fangs. Others wore bizarre armor-like shells or swollen sac-like bodies.
Another line of text appeared:
[Interstellar Swarm: A species that plunders life across the universe.]
Then came an introduction to the Interstellar Swarm. A mysterious biological collective. Its existence surpassed human understanding and imagination.
In the boundless universe, the Interstellar Swarm—through its unique survival methods and terrifying reproductive power—became a wonder that was also a nightmare.
Their body structures were extraordinarily complex. Their size ranged from microscopic to colossal, and their forms varied wildly. Their skin displayed dazzling colors, like starlight flickering across a night sky. Their bodies were covered in countless tiny feelers.
These feelers helped them sense their environment, capture prey, and even communicate.
Their way of life was equally strange. They didn't rely on fixed habitats—rather, they could roam freely through space.
They could live on different planets… and could even survive on the surface of a star.
Their food sources were absurdly broad. They could consume almost anything—rock, metal, living organisms—everything could become nutrients.
That terrifying digestive ability allowed them to survive in extreme environments.
Their reproduction was just as abnormal. They could multiply through fission, egg-laying, spores, and other methods.
During reproduction, they generated a special energy field—an energy field that could transform surrounding matter into new lifeforms.
This allowed their numbers to explode, making them one of the largest biological collectives in the universe.
Their society was highly structured.
A strict hierarchy. Within it, every Swarm unit had a fixed role and responsibility.
Some searched for food. Some defended territory. Some existed purely to breed.
This extreme organization and cooperation was exactly why the Swarm could survive and expand across the universe.
However, when their numbers became too great, they could devastate nearby planets.
Their overwhelming vitality and reproduction also meant that, in certain extreme situations, they could become an uncontrollable catastrophe.
"Ugh—so many bugs!" Chika shrank back. In her eyes, those monsters were just… bugs, and she was terrified of bugs.
"This is insane… does that mean this entire galaxy got eaten by things like this?" Marin voiced the question no one could answer.
Just reading the description was enough to understand how horrifying the Interstellar Swarm was.
"Nearly limitless diet, explosive reproduction and growth, strict hierarchy, and the ability to cross interstellar distances…"
"If all of that is real, then consuming an entire galaxy is absolutely possible."
Miyuki had already forced herself into the scenario, analyzing it coldly and rationally.
Everyone's expressions turned heavy after hearing that.
Because it was very likely their enemy this time was exactly this Interstellar Swarm.
But Tatsuki's expression turned… strange. Interstellar Swarm?
He didn't even know what to say.
Because those Swarm creatures looked way too much like the Zerg from StarCraft.
As the hologram panned, he caught several silhouettes at a glance—and his eyes twitched. You've gotta be kidding me.
Zerglings. Hydralisks. Roaches. Ultralisks… It wasn't kinda similar. It was the same thing wearing a different skin.
Sure, these ones had more feelers and their colors were even more exaggerated, but the Zerg DNA was practically screaming through the screen.