Chapter 21: Natural Resources

Eating a literal continent, particularly one of the largest ones, had given Belle an immense infusion of size and advancement. She had never once felt more in-tune with her body. She could nimbly navigate the environment of near-Earth space like it was nothing. Earth’s gravitational tug against her was but an afterthought with how efficient her body’s steam jets had become. She had them on the back of her titanic ankles, hands, and about her limbs.

Belle glided across the globe like a bird through the sky, circling its prey. She laughed, overjoyed, as she dipped her hand into the world’s surface. Fingers larger than countries easily tore entire continents from the surface. By now, they were bereft of all human life, and thus she showed little care towards the stuff as she moved it into her mouth.

Her toes were titanic terrors as she dipped them onto the surface of North America, just to see how it would feel. It felt like she was stepping on water. The ground felt liquid when faced with the sheer force exerted by the scale of her existence. She swirled her foot around but once, whipping the continent into a molten frenzy before she resumed her ‘flight’ and feasting.

She licked at Antarctica, biting into it as well. Even without a sense of taste she could feel its refreshing cold as it slid down her throats.

Asia, Europe, and what was left of the Americas was handedly consumed soon after. She had eaten all the land the planet had to offer. The Earth cried out in agony, and bled molten lava which swarmed the globe to boil the ocean.

She pursed her lips to that fiery hot bounty and brought it into her being as well. Matter was matter, and she had evolved to process all energies the Earth had in store. There was nothing the planet had that she couldn’t handle, basically.

Belle slurped the planet’s erupting lava. She sucked up the oceans. She grew all the while, bigger, better. She grew large. By the time the Earth was picked clean down to its hot, rocky iron core, her form was so megalithic she could wrap her lips around it like a piece of candy.

She did so, and swallowed. Her digestive system got to work, and she experienced her biggest growth spurt yet.

The power was intoxicating, her existence in that moment so sublime that she couldn’t help but moan. Belle had gone from reporter to world eater within the span of 2 years or so. She was phenomenal. Never before had she felt so good.

Perhaps the millions salving away in her sex had something to do with the feeling, too. The thought made her laugh.

As the Earth’s core digested, she converted the vast energy and mass it offered into numerous improvements and plenty of growth. Her metal form stretched out, jets retreating as she devised more subtle ways to move through space. Parts of her body took on a glassy sheen for a moment, as she invented, then and there, ‘panels’ which could get a head start on harnessing the energy of the sun.

Belle decided to address her people. The humanity she owned. Her subjects, her minions and worshipers.

Her voice rang out across every speaker in her body.

“How is all of humanity doing? This is your gracious Belle speaking, the divine being you’re lucky to have as your god. I just wanted to let you all know that I just finished swallowing down planet Earth, your old home.”

She laughed, witnessing the mixed faces of joy, revulsion, and confusion among the millions filling the cavities of her steamtech body.

“I hope you all can appreciate being within me. I’m the only thing protecting humanity form deep space, after all. That alone is proof of my godhood over you. I could easily kill you all with but a thought now, just some laxity on my end and you’d all be exposed to the cold, depressurized void of space.”

Once again, she laughed.

“Don’t worry though, I wouldn’t do that. I’ll always hold the human race in high regard, even as I expand my domain to encompass much more.”

She started to drift towards Mars, licking up Earth’s moon along the way.

“That’s right, I plan devour every planet starting at Mars, before looping back to take on that sweet, sweet star. After that, well, my universal conquest will begin.”

Belle paused a moment, just to smile to herself.

“I’m sure you’re all very happy at this news, I know I am.”