5

KING OF THE ANTS

About a year before the Korea-Japan alliance arrived on Jeju Island, the Ant Queen had a thought.

We must leave this island behind.

It was now nearly impossible to find prey, so her children frequently resorted to eating one another. By the time the population of the ant colony had hit several thousand, there was not enough food to sustain all the subjects of her queendom.

We cannot go on like this.

If the ants’ first mission had been to conquer this island, then their second mission was to leave and find someplace teeming with life to build a new empire.

However, the queen recalled the powerful intruders who had encroached on the island a few times. Although the queen’s army had been able to defeat them, her subjects had sustained great damage as well. So many of her children had sacrificed their lives during those battles. Would they be able to fight them off in another land as well?

I need a more formidable soldier.

Her subjects required a mighty soldier to lead them. Thus, she decided on the direction of her species’ evolution.

About half a year later, the queen birthed said soldier; it was born from a combination of her mana and the plentiful nutrients she had consumed. She created a dangerous killing machine designed specifically to deal with the formidable humans. Using her resolve to create a powerful soldier and the prime directive to kill all humans, she manufactured a monstrosity.

Her beastly child was born with a skill called Predation, which gave it the ability to absorb part of an opponent’s magic power and knowledge by consuming them.

I want to get stronger.

The beast even preyed on its own kind once it realized its true capabilities, and the queen let it happen, because what it wanted and what she wanted were one and the same.

The queen was delighted as it got stronger with each passing day. As its strength surpassed that of the queen, she steadily prepared the new soldiers it would lead.

Almost there…

However, in the middle of the process, intruders arrived on the island once again. They were smaller in number but much stronger than the previous parties.

The queen had to smile, though. It was the perfect opportunity to test her creation’s power before waging war on humans in another land. The queen sent it along with the other soldiers to protect her queendom.

It completed the task she’d given it. However, it returned to find the queen dead.

It was furious. Fortunately, there were still many humans left on the island at which to target its rage.

The first to fall was the human king. The monstrous beast made quick work of all its subordinates as well. That was when one of them yelled something at it as he sobbed before finally being killed.

What are you?

The Predation skill allowed the beast to absorb the critical thinking abilities of the humans it consumed, so it pondered the question.

What am I?

It had simply been one of the queen’s soldiers until then, but what was it now that the queen was dead? It was the only being capable of leading the soldiers of this empire.

It knew only one word fit to call someone in that role.

…King.

Having eliminated the king of his enemies, the monstrous beast believed he was qualified to be a king.

Crunch.

The Ant King bit off the head of the last human standing. But then…

He suddenly gazed in the direction of his castle. An enormous amount of energy was emanating from the queen’s final resting place like an oncoming storm. It wasn’t the kind of power a mere soldier could possess.

…Another king?

The beast slowly rose and moved toward his castle, instinctively realizing that a threat had arrived.

It was a bolt out of the blue. The mood in the control room of the TV station switched from that of a party to a funeral.

The broadcast of the raid had been going smoothly up until the appearance of the ant with wings. They were flooded with calls voicing complaints and concern as soon as they hastily shut down the stream.

Riiing!

Riiing!

An employee cautiously walked over to the executive director and reported, “Sir, I was told that our phone lines are about to break down from so many viewers calling in.”

The director looked up. “So what? Do you expect me to show them that damn ant ripping hunters apart?”

“N-no, sir.”

The broadcast had been cut just when the magic-beast ant began single-handedly destroying the hunters. Naturally, the audience was desperate to find out what was happening, but the network couldn’t exactly broadcast Hunter Ma being tortured or Hunter Min being eaten.

The director moaned while burying his face in his hands.

“It’s over… It’s all over.”

This had been an all-or-nothing gamble with the network’s fate hanging in the balance, and it had come crumbling down because of a single ant.

“Over…”

There was a heavy silence in the room. No one dared to open their mouth…except one person.

“Huh?” A producer had been somberly monitoring the incoming feed. “S-sir!”

“…What?”

“Someone else just appeared on the scene.”

The director responded without moving. “Unless Jesus Christ himself shows up, I don’t want to hear it.”

“But…!”

“It’s all over.”

Realizing the director wouldn’t listen to anything he had to say, the producer turned the volume up as high as it would go.

SKRAAAH!

SKREE!

The air filled with screams from the ants. The director finally raised his head in shock, and he wasn’t the only one. Every employee in the control room rushed closer to the main monitor. Exclamations tumbled out of their mouths.

“……”

The dazed director finally lifted himself out of his chair. The crowd of employees parted to let him through. The contents of the monitor were reflected in his eyes.

“Dear God… Oh lord!”

The director invoked a god he didn’t believe in, then started barking at his crew.

“Don’t just stand there! Why aren’t you airing this? Do you want to be held responsible for withholding this kind of footage from viewers?”

The director could barely contain his excitement, but the producer urgently brought him back down to earth.

“Sir! If we start broadcasting now, we have to go live. It’ll air in real time without a second’s delay. If an emergency comes up, we can’t do anything about it!”

The ten-minute delay between the transmission they’d received and the broadcast they were airing had been used up when they’d halted the stream.

“…We’re putting everything on the line.”

“Pardon?”

“We’ve already stopped the broadcast once, so we have nothing to lose anymore.”

“Th-that’s true.”

Suddenly, an unknown hunter came into the camera’s frame. They couldn’t tell if the hunter was Korean or Japanese or whether he actually was a hunter, but they’d been granted a second chance at a gamble they thought they’d already lost.

The director solemnly gave the order.

“Air it. No matter what happens, just air it.”

He pulled out a chair and took a seat next to the producer.

“Our network’s future is in that man’s hands.”

“Arghhh!”

Even on the brink of death, the cameraman had no regrets.

Pretty much everybody dreamed of this, of becoming a hero. He would have even been happy being a hero’s sidekick if he couldn’t be the hero himself. When he’d been working the odd assignment for the network as a cameraman, he had never dreamed he’d get that opportunity.

But then he’d awakened as an A rank and gained experience as a hunter. And finally, he’d ended up on this raid. Because of that, he’d had the chance to capture the spectacle of Korea’s representative hunters successfully taking down an S-rank boss on film.

I’m the one who did that.

This footage would let people know of the sacrifice made by the S-rank hunters in order to exterminate the ants. That was good enough for him. He felt like all his efforts as a cameraman and as a hunter had been rewarded.

He did have one regret, though.

Dad…

After his mother had died of cancer, his father had raised him as a single parent. The cameraman now felt a profound sadness at not being able to see his father ever again.

Crunch!

He didn’t feel a thing as an ant bit down on his shoulder, as he’d already lost the use of his arm a while ago. He’d endured until now because of his natural resilience as a tank, but he was reaching his limit.

Thud.

He dropped to his knees. Even in this moment, his father was the only thing on his mind.

I can’t believe the last conversation I had with him was whether he’d eaten dinner.

Had he known this would happen, he would’ve made more of an effort to speak with the old man. He wished he’d canceled his previous engagements and spent the day with him that time his father had visited Seoul. Alas, time had flown by, and regret had come too late.

The cameraman looked up. The horrifying mandibles of the magic-beast ant descended toward his head. His mana reserves had dropped so low that he was unable to protect himself with Reinforcement.

Tears welled in his eyes.

Sorry, Dad.

But instead…

Krsh!

With the loud noise of a shell being cracked open, fluid splattered all over the cameraman’s face.

“Huh?”

A silver blade had penetrated the ant’s skull. The cameraman’s eyes followed the length of the blade to land on another ant with some red plumage attached to its head.

An ant killed its fellow ant?

No, it wasn’t an ant. He’d mistaken it for one because both figures were swathed in black. A mysterious warrior dressed in black armor withdrew their sword out from the ant’s carcass.

Thud.

The ant fell lifelessly to the ground, and when the shadowy warrior stepped aside, a familiar man approached and yelled at him.

“Open your mouth.”

“Pardon?”

Before he could process the request, the man forcefully grabbed the cameraman’s chin and poured an unknown liquid into his mouth.

“Cough, cough!”

The cameraman swallowed all the liquid even as he choked on a bit of it. He covered his mouth with his hand as he asked, “Wh-who are you?”

The man didn’t answer, turning toward the other ants instead.

Wh-what…?

Confused, the cameraman quickly got to his feet.

Wait a minute…

His legs were moving. And that wasn’t all. He hadn’t realized it immediately, but his arm had recovered as soon as he drank the liquid.

What’s going on?

Had that man done something to him? There was no other explanation.

It was then that the cameraman abruptly recalled where he had seen that face.

No way. Could he be…?

Jinwoo calmly took stock of his surroundings.

……

He was relieved he’d had the foresight to hide one of his soldiers in President Baek’s shadow the day he met the Korean team members in the Hunter’s Association gymnasium.

It appeared as though the TV broadcast hadn’t been airing live, and the actual situation was much more serious. Jinwoo saved the cameraman first, since he was the weakest among the hunters here, but the S ranks were still surrounded by ants.

What should I do?

Fang could easily clear them with his fire breath, but Jinwoo couldn’t guarantee the safety of the S-rank hunters. He needed another solution.

Jinwoo quickly made a decision and turned to the giant next to him.

“Iron!”

The soldier smacked his chest as if to say that he knew exactly what to do. Iron’s heavy body lumbered forward. He puffed up his chest and gave a great shout.

GROAAAAAAAR!

Ping!

The effect was incredible. Every single ant in the vicinity quickly turned their attention to Iron and rushed him.

“Good job.”

Jinwoo patted Iron’s shoulder and summoned the two daggers he’d acquired after killing the Demon Monarch.

The Demon Monarch’s Daggers…

The daggers’ blades shone under the glare of Jongin’s light magic.

SKRAAAAAW!

SKREE!

A tidal wave of black filled Jinwoo’s vision as several hundred screaming ants simultaneously rushed him.

He gripped his daggers tightly and then disappeared from view.

SKRAAAA!

Soon, Jinwoo’s soldiers and the ants were locked in a fierce battle.

Meanwhile, Yoonho, who was in better shape than the others, hurriedly moved his fellow hunters to a safe corner. Thankfully, everyone was still breathing. The cameraman hastily lent him a hand.

The two men were able to safely finish their task because Jinwoo, or rather, Jinwoo’s minion, had lured the ants’ attention with an Aggro skill.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

Dongwook leaned against the wall to catch his breath and grabbed Yoonho’s arm.

“Wh-what’s going on? Who’s fighting now?”

His vision was blurry due to an injury to his eyes. Yoonho covered his hand with his own.

“Master Ma, it’s okay now. Everything will be fine.”

“……”

Yoonho turned to watch Jinwoo. While the others were still unaware, Yoonho had a rough estimation of how powerful Jinwoo was. He couldn’t help but be alarmed when Jinwoo had suddenly appeared where the soldier in black armor had stood. Before he knew it, though, he’d yelled at Jinwoo for help.

As Jinwoo and his soldiers charged at the ants, Yoonho’s legs almost buckled in relief at the sight. As he expected, the ants that had been a real challenge for Yoonho and his teammates were quickly mowed down by Jinwoo as if they were toy soldiers.

SKRRRAAAA!

The screams coming every which way from the ants were quite nauseating.

Yoonho let out a sigh of relief.

Everything’s fine now.

He didn’t say this to Dongwook but thought to himself. Renewed hope for surviving this ordeal blossomed in his chest. He trusted in Jinwoo’s power more than he’d ever trusted the twenty-plus Japanese S-rank hunters.

…I guess there’s no place for me in this battle.

Yoonho settled down beside Dongwook with a smile. The only thing he could do currently was silently observe Jinwoo at work. He turned to the cameraman and gestured to Jinwoo.

“Please follow that man closely. You’ll witness something incredible.”

He had only heard about the red gate and the Hunters Guild incidents from others. This was his opportunity to see things unfold with his own eyes.

“Yes!” The cameraman kept his distance so as not to interrupt the battle and trained his camera on Jinwoo.

The strike squad’s job was done, but he still had work to do.

Gulp!

He swallowed hard.

SKRAW!

Jinwoo cleanly sliced an ant’s body in two and looked around the area. He’d already dealt with about half the ants. He’d cut down a countless number of them without breaking a sweat. Truth be told, this was less of a challenge for him than the top floor of the Demon’s Castle.

Should I speed things up a bit?

He inspected the black smoke coming off the ant corpses and gave an order.

“Arise!”

The cameraman’s blood ran cold.

What’s going on?

Something strange was happening. Wind was blowing through the underground cavern, which should’ve been impossible, and it sent a chill up his spine.

And also—

Right as he noticed the eerie silence that had settled over the area…

KREEEEE!

Black hands shot out from the ground as deep moans echoed through the space.

Tak.

Tak.

The hands slammed down firmly on the stone of the cavern and pulled their respective bodies up out of the shadows.

“Whoa!” The cameraman inadvertently gasped out loud. His eyes were wide, and he began to panic. Despite the things he’d seen as an A-rank hunter, he couldn’t believe what he was witnessing, so how would the viewers at home react to this?

As he continued to stare aghast, the owners of the black hands fully emerged.

Magic-beast ants?

At a glance, the creatures looked just like the ants, save for the black smoke rising off their bodies. It was hard to tell if they were solid or made of gas. It was like someone had made magic-beast-ant models out of black dry ice.

Several hundred of these creatures emerged from the ground.

The cameraman’s heart pounded, and he had trouble breathing. Yoonho also couldn’t help but gasp at what he was witnessing. Though he was calmer than the cameraman, his mouth hung open, too.

Those… Those are all his minions?

Unlike the two men who were at a loss for words, Jinwoo regarded his additional soldiers with satisfaction.

Excellent.

Jinwoo’s shadow soldiers now outnumbered the magic-beast ants.

I don’t have to raise a finger anymore.

He returned the Demon Monarch’s Daggers to his inventory and relayed his first order to his new recruits.

Don’t leave a single enemy alive. Go.

SKRAAAAAAH!

Just as the ants had rushed into the den earlier, Jinwoo’s shadow beasts swarmed toward them. The endless horde of ants was swept away by a sea of black.

Yaaay!

The control room of the TV station burst out in loud cheers.

The executive director leaped to his feet and clapped. “That’s it! Yes!”

A weight lifted off his shoulders as he watched the refreshing sight of the ants getting wiped out. It was like ten years of indigestion had been instantly cured. Had there been no one else around, he would’ve asked the producer to send him this video clip. He could’ve used the footage to de-stress for months and years to come.

It had been devastating to see Hunter Byunggu Min’s tragic death. It had felt like the sky was about to come crashing down when the only healer on the team died at the hands of the magic beast. Still, if the remaining members could safely escape from the ants’ cave with the help of the mysterious hunter…

That would be the best-case scenario!

The Korean team had already accomplished their main mission of assassinating the queen. Without a way to breed, the ants would soon vanish from the island.

And what about the Japanese team? Since they’d abandoned their mission, not only did Korea not have to fulfill their promise to Japan, but they had the right to hold them accountable later.

The cherry on top was that this footage could be sold for a mint.

The director’s face was aglow.

Where did this lucky charm come from?

The director’s eyes twinkled as he watched Jinwoo. That was when one of the crew members approached him.

“Sir!”

The startled director shot out of his chair.

“What now?”

The director’s face hardened. Things had been going swimmingly, so what could’ve gone wrong this time? His heart was already racing. He was starting to intensely dislike the employees who reported things to him. If he could prevent bad news by simply forbidding them to speak, he would.

This is driving me crazy…

Unaware of his boss’s thoughts, the employee’s face glowed as he exclaimed, “That man, I found out who he is!”

The director’s eyes grew wide.

“What?!”

Inside the president’s office at the Hunter’s Association…

Crack!

President Gunhee Go quickly let go of the couch armrest. The doctor seated next to him looked at him.

“President Go…”

“…I got a bit too excited.”

He had unintentionally clenched his hand and crushed the armrest. But how could he not get worked up after seeing that footage? His emotions had welled up as he watched Jinwoo’s performance on the sizable TV.

If his body had allowed it, he would’ve participated in the raid as well.

“Getting overexcited isn’t good for your health.”

Gunhee nodded.

There was only one reason why he, the president of the association, wasn’t in the mission command room. Whether the operation was a success or a failure, the stress would’ve been too much for his heart. For that same reason, his doctor had elected to stay and monitor his condition, as even watching it unfold on TV was risky.

Should I have stopped President Go from watching the raid?

The worried doctor questioned his own judgment, but he shook his head as he took in his patient’s expression. Ever since Hunter Sung had initially appeared, the president’s smile hadn’t left his face.

“It’s Jinwoo!”

Gunhee’s shout when the situation had switched from desperate to hopeful still rang in the doctor’s ears.

Gunhee laughed.

I can’t believe this.

He delicately gripped the armrest of the couch again. He needed something to ground himself, as his body was itching to join the fight.

How did Hunter Sung even get there?

Gunhee was rather curious about that. How was Jinwoo able to arrive on the island teeming with ants without anyone knowing? But that kind of thing wasn’t important.

What was important was that Hunter Sung was there at all. Because he was, there was hope for the other hunters yet. Those two facts were all that mattered.

That was when…Gunhee stared in shock as he watched Jinwoo extract shadows from the corpses of the ants to create more soldiers.

That young man lied to me.

That wasn’t just a hundred minions. Even based on a rough estimate, there were at least three hundred. Even so, Gunhee didn’t look like someone betrayed. He wore a pleased grin on his face.

He said that he wanted to fight magic beasts.

Gunhee now understood Jinwoo’s reasoning behind that statement. With such power, Jinwoo would be unafraid to face any magic beast. He actually seemed exhilarated, and anyone watching him would feel the same.

So why had Jinwoo declined the invitation to join the Korean team in the first place?

I guess he had something more important come up.

Gunhee firmly nodded. A man who looked like that when confronting magic beasts would’ve otherwise joined the raid team. Gunhee became lost in thought as he wondered what Jinwoo’s reasons were for not participating.

Bang, bang!

Jinah, who had been studying in her room, went out to the living room at the racket.

“Mom?”

“I’m sorry. That was too loud, right?”

Jinah shook her head. The volume had already been turned down to a point where it was barely audible so as to not disturb Jinah’s studies, so she didn’t want her mother to make more of a fuss.

“No, it’s okay, but what’s wrong? Is the TV broken?”

“It just stopped working.”

“Where’s Jinwoo?”

“He’s right here.” Her mother blinked in surprise. “Oh, where did your brother go? He was here a minute ago.”

Jinah shrugged and opened the door to Jinwoo’s room.

“Jinwoo?”

He wasn’t in the bathroom, either. After searching the whole apartment, Jinah turned to her mom.

“What were you two watching?”

“The Jeju Island raid.”

“……”

Jinah felt a sudden uneasiness as she recalled that the rest of the apartment building had been rather noisy for a while now.

Could it be…?

She rushed back to her room and turned on her cell phone. As she did…

Yeaaaaaah!

As intense cheers exploded from every corner of the building, Jinah froze in shock at what she was seeing on her phone screen.

“Jinwoo?”

As soon as he’d finished off the ants in the queen’s den, Jinwoo sent his soldiers back to his shadow. Not all the ants that had been dispatched throughout the island had returned, so Jinwoo figured his priority should be getting the hunters to a safe location before they ran into more of the monsters.

Some of them are injured, after all.

He walked over to the raid team. With the exception of Yoonho and the cameraman, the rest seemed to be in pretty dire shape. Haein was still unconscious, and the other three hunters’ injuries were definitely serious.

“Where’s Hunter Min?” Jinwoo asked.

Yoonho shook his head with a mournful look on his face.

“……”

Jinwoo summoned healing potions to treat the hunters. He had to feed them the elixirs, since they lost any effect if he wasn’t holding on to them.

“Mm…”

With each draught, another hunter recovered.

“Huh?” Taegyu blurted out as he sat and patted himself up and down.

“But…”

Jongin’s and Dongwook’s wounds were also healed.

“Hmm…”

“Cough!”

Jongin hadn’t the faintest idea what was going on and blinked at Jinwoo in confusion.

“Hunter Sung? Why are you here?”

“Let’s talk outside.”

“Oh…” Jongin took in their location and nodded.

They were in the deepest part of the ant cave—not the best place to have a conversation.

“Master Sung!” Dongwook, whose eyesight had been restored, clasped Jinwoo’s hand firmly. “You were the one who fought those ants, weren’t you? Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Jinwoo responded to Dongwook in the same manner. “Let’s talk outside.”

“Understood.”

Haein was the last one. Jinwoo’s forehead wrinkled as he bent down in front of her.

That’s odd… Her life force is too weak.

He was filled with a sense of foreboding as he carefully poured the potion into Haein’s mouth. Sure enough, a message immediately popped up.

Ping!

Jinwoo frowned. When he lowered her head back to the ground and pulled his hand away, he saw that it was covered in blood.

……

That damn ant. The beast had given one of the most distinguished Korean hunters a life-threatening injury with a single blow. The other hunters had survived not through their own power but because the ant had been toying with them.

Jinwoo’s expression hardened.

But first…

Treating Haein’s wound was the most urgent priority. She needed to get off the island as soon as possible and see a healer, since potions weren’t having any effect.

“Let’s hurry.”

Jinwoo gathered Haein’s prone form in his arms and stood. The other hunters got to their feet as well. As he tried to hurriedly lead everyone out of the queen’s den, Jinwoo let out a long exhale.

……

Yoonho understood why he did. Jinwoo passed Haein to the guild master, who took her with a flustered expression.

“I’ll help you.”

Jinwoo glanced at them all and firmly stated, “Please do not intervene. It’ll go faster that way.”

“Jinwoo, you mean—”

Jongin tried to say something despite not fully understanding the whole situation, but Dongwook shook his head and cut him off. Though the tank hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he’d been able to sense what Jinwoo had done to the ants from start to finish.

Jinwoo was correct in this instance, but Yoonho was still worried.

“Hunter Sung.”

Jinwoo turned to him.

“I know how strong you are. There probably isn’t anyone who understands that better than me. However…” Yoonho’s expression was serious. “You’ve already summoned too many minions, haven’t you?”

Why would that be a problem? Jinwoo stared at Yoonho, uncomprehending. Flustered at the lack of reaction, Yoonho hurriedly explained.

“You’ve probably consumed a ton of mana already. What are you going to do if you run out?”

Jinwoo understood now. Guessing from what Yoonho was saying, other hunters who used summoning magic required a lot of magic power to cast their spells.

They don’t need to know that summoning my shadow soldiers doesn’t use up mana, do they?

His shadow soldiers clearly didn’t look like run-of-the-mill minions anyway. Jinwoo chose his words carefully.

“My minions don’t consume much magic power, so there’s no need to worry about that.”

“Huh?!”

“What?!”

Yoonho and the cameraman exclaimed at the same time.

Jinwoo didn’t need a ton of magic power to summon all those minions? Did this man have any weaknesses?

……

Jinwoo looked toward the exit of the cave to avoid explaining things further just in time to see ants rushing inside.

So many of them.

They had an injured member, so there wasn’t any time to waste. Jinwoo activated Monarch’s Domain for the sake of efficiency. The ground beneath his feet started to turn an inky black.

But before he could summon his soldiers, an ominous wind blew in from the other side of the cave.

……?

Jinwoo sought out the origin of this sinister energy.

It was one of the ants. Despite being similar in appearance to the others, this one clearly stood out from the pack.

It’s him.

Jinwoo instantly identified the Ant King. The Ant King also noticed Jinwoo and leisurely made his way over.

“Human… The energy is strong in you.”

He spoke in Ryuji’s voice.

Remembering the nightmare they had just endured, the other hunters backed away, but Jinwoo held his ground and quietly leveled a glare at the beast.

The Ant King stood in front of Jinwoo.

“Are you the king of the humans?”

“…To think a bug could talk.”

At Jinwoo’s mild response, the ant’s face twisted horribly.

Using the strength he’d inherited from the queen and the power he’d amassed from Predation, the Ant King combined all his magic power to make his body expand. He was originally the same height as Jinwoo but quickly grew to one and a half times his opponent’s size.

He roared as loudly as he could right in Jinwoo’s face.

SKRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Jinwoo didn’t even blink. Instead, a grin spread across his face.

“You’re finally starting to resemble a bug.”

He then unleashed his own magic power.

“We lost communication with Goto?” President Matsumoto’s face was ashen.

His subordinate handed him a headset. “Would you like to listen?”

President Matsumoto snatched the headset and shoved it on. The employee played the recording for him.

Beep.

“We lost contact after that.”

President Matsumoto was stunned as he removed the headset. From the occasional creepy noises and the bone-chilling sounds from the magic beast, he could draw only one conclusion.

The ant can speak like a human? And it killed off Goto?

This wasn’t part of the plan. Their plotting and preparation had been perfect, so how…? His hands began to tremble ever so slightly.

“…Sir?”

President Matsumoto quietly hid his hands once he realized his subordinate was watching, and he changed the subject.

“Where is the magic beast that ki—that could talk?”

He couldn’t bring himself to call it the magic beast that had killed Ryuji.

“It disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

The beast had been powerful enough to kill Ryuji, so how was it possible to lose track of it with their mana-detecting camera?

The employee pointed at the monitor as if anticipating this very query.

“That light represents the magic beast’s mana.”

The camera registered magic power as light. The bigger and brighter the white spot was on the monitor, the more powerful the source. Once Ryuji’s and the Japanese hunters’ lights blinked out, the biggest, brightest spot also vanished.

“Oh no…,” President Matsumoto groaned.

The enemy had excellent control over its own magic power.

That’s why… Because it could…

This was why the research team had failed to notice it.

It was their complete loss. Japan had paid the price by losing ten of their highest-ranking hunters, including their strongest. It was an incredibly high cost for a single mistake, especially considering the potential aftermath awaiting them.

What if that horrible magic beast crosses the ocean…?

President Matsumoto couldn’t exorcise the dark thoughts from his head.

But at that moment…

“Found it! It’s revealed itself!”

President Matsumoto’s eyes shot open.

“Where is it?”

“It’s in the queen’s den.”

“……”

That was where the Korean hunters were fighting off the returning hordes. They were hanging on for now, but the new creature was beyond anyone’s imagination.

I suppose they’re done for.

That’s what President Matsumoto thought, but he stared as something caught his eye.

……?

Another light had suddenly blinked into existence in front of the horrifying beast.

“Wh-what’s that?!”

Shocked, President Matsumoto looked at the member of the research team, who vigorously shook their head.

“I-I’ve never seen such a huge signal before.”

It seemed to be on par with, or possibly bigger and brighter than, the magic beast’s. But more shocking were the several hundred tiny sparks surrounding it.

The head analyst of the research team, someone who’d inspected surveillance videos as a living for many years, had never seen anything like this.

Oh……

They couldn’t help but marvel as the smaller lights repeatedly split off from and joined with the larger one. However, President Matsumoto didn’t have time to be impressed.

“The Korean team is filming the raid, aren’t they?”

Since the Korean team was still alive and kicking, the broadcast was most likely still going. President Matsumoto was dying to know what was happening.

“The Korean broadcast! Pull the Korean broadcast up on the main screen!”

Instantly, the image of a man facing off against an ant appeared on the giant monitor President Matsumoto had indicated. He swallowed hard as he took in the fellow’s face. A bead of sweat dripped down from his temple and clung to his chin.

That man… Is he the one controlling all those lights?

In front of this newcomer was a magic beast much larger than the average ant. President Matsumoto’s heart raced as he felt the ant’s overwhelming presence through the screen.

……

He was stunned.

Just then, the ant made the first move.

The Ant King struck Jinwoo in the face.

Pow!

It was a strong enough blow to nearly bend Jinwoo backward, but he held out by digging into the ground with his heels.

……!

The ant had put his full force behind that punch, but the human had taken it without a problem.

“You withstood…my power?”

The ant had been aiming to kill, but his attempt had merely pushed Jinwoo’s head to the side. However, there was no time to be surprised as Jinwoo threw a punch of his own.

Whoosh…

Ka-pow!

It connected with the ant’s face dead-on and slammed him into the wall.

Bam!

The wall caved in like a meteor had struck it. For a brief moment, the whole cavern shook from the impact.

“What kind of ant talks that much?”

Stunned viewers stared at the technical difficulties notice that had interrupted the broadcast on their screens.

“The hunters… What’s happened to the hunters?”

“What was that ant just now?”

“Are you serious? How could they cut the broadcast at a time like this?!”

A magic-beast ant had appeared out of nowhere, and the hunters had been helpless against it. To the viewers who had been celebrating the death of the queen, that last scene of the winged magic-beast striking the hunters down had been sobering.

The host of the livestream came on-screen.

“Ah… This just in.”

The host sorrowfully reported the death of Hunter Byunggu Min to the audience and added that the status of the other hunters in the ant cave was currently unknown.

“Damn it!”

“The hunters killed the queen, so why are they dying?!”

“Where’s Japan?”

“Isn’t this an allied raid? What’s the Japanese team doing?”

Some people were angry, others were worried, and still others were grieving. The news of the possibility of the hunters not making it out alive despite risking their lives to fight the magic beasts ran rampant. Despite the stream cutting out, the audience rating shot up even higher.

“Oh!”

The host’s somber face brightened as they received an urgent message.

“An unidentified hunter has appeared on the scene! We will return to the live broadcast shortly.”

That single announcement was enough to reenergize the weary audience. Soon, the live feed was back up.

“What?”

“Oh my gosh!”

People jumped out of their seats as the images of shadow soldiers filled their screens. The soldiers were locked in combat with the swarm of ants that kept pouring into the queen’s den.

The camera stopped panning to zoom in on a close-up of a single person. It was hard to make out who this was, as the camera was too far away.

“I’m told that those armored soldiers are the minions of the hunter being shown. I’m also receiving news that most of the other hunters are safe and sound.”

The anxious audience cheered at this. They started yelling encouragements at their screens.

“Crush them all!”

“Yes! Go get ’em!”

“Let’s go!”

That was when the unidentified hunter summoned a slew of new soldiers who immediately began massacring the ants.

Whoooaaa!

People lost their minds and threw their hands in the air. Those seeking retribution for family or friends they’d lost to the ants teared up at the long-overdue sight.

The host raised their voice as if they had been waiting for just the right time to share this next bit of information.

“Ah! We’ve just confirmed the identity of the hunter!”

Everyone waited attentively for them to continue.

Who could that man be? What was the identity of someone who could rescue S-rank hunters from a place overrun with S-rank magic beasts?

“It’s Jinwoo Sung, the tenth S-rank hunter of Korea! He’s a mage hunter, and summoning magic is his specialty!”

Viewers were especially thrilled that this incredible hunter was decidedly not Japanese.

They watched as countless ants were destroyed in no time. But just as the group of hunters was about to escape from the cave, they were blocked by yet another swarm of ants.

“Huh? What?”

“That’s…”

The winged ant they’d seen just before the broadcast cut earlier casually strolled out from the pack. Ants with wings were still uncommon, and its face was easily distinguishable from the horde.

Those at home were perplexed.

“The heck? It’s not dead?”

“That monster’s the one that beat up the hunters earlier, isn’t it?”

“Why is it back?!”

The winged ant stopped in front of Jinwoo.

Those knowledgeable about the different classes of hunters were devastated by this matchup.

“Oh no, he’s a goner.”

“How could a mage hunter let a magic beast get so close to him?”

“Run while you still can!”

The magic beast had knocked out Haein, a brawler, with a single punch. The outcome here was already decided. When the ant suddenly grew in size, the anxious audience began to panic. People screamed in horror as the scene unfolded.

And then…

Pow!

Those with weak stomachs squeezed their eyes shut as they expected the magic beast to split the hunter’s head wide open.

But strangely, Jinwoo was completely fine.

Huh?

Hunter Ma, a tank, was knocked down with one punch, but a mage hunter survived?

The audience was already flabbergasted, but then…

Ka-pow!

The ant was slammed into the wall.

“……”

“……”

The viewers were having trouble processing what had just occurred, but when the camera panned to show the Ant King stuck in the wall…

Yeaaaaaaaah!

They exploded in cheers once more.

“Whoa!” The cameraman’s jaw hit the floor.

He’d felt nauseous at the ant’s initial strike, since he’d already seen what the beast could do when he’d attacked Hunter Cha. But though this was the same ant that had played around with six S-rank hunters as if they were toys, Jinwoo had blown him away.

The cameraman’s outburst was a knee-jerk reaction.

Are the other S-rank hunters that weak?

No, that couldn’t be the case. These were hunters who had bravely fought and expertly eliminated the S-rank queen, after all. It was genuinely strange that the mutant ant had overwhelmed the hunters and stranger still that Hunter Sung was able to punch the lights out of that beast.

Gulp!

The cameraman forced down his excitement and swallowed hard.

The reactions of the other hunters weren’t much different. While everyone else was busy excitedly watching Jinwoo, Jongin suddenly glanced around.

The cavern was littered with ant corpses. At first, he’d thought the others hunters had worked together to defeat them while he was unconscious. Looking at Jinwoo now, though, he suspected differently.

Did…Jinwoo do this on his own?

His eyes shook as he hurriedly counted the number of bodies.

SKREEEEEEE!

Jongin turned back at the unexpected roar.

The Ant King was seething as he pulled himself out of the debris. The air in the den seemed to vibrate with tension.

Hmm…

Jinwoo stared at the ant, puzzled. The creature had suffered less damage than he’d expected.

Is it because of his exoskeleton…?

The hard shell covering the beast’s entire body was durable beyond any known organic material. Jinwoo would have to crush him with brute strength. He needed a hammer rather than his usual daggers.

The muscles on Jinwoo’s shoulders and arms bulged, and the air grew heavy. The Ant King finished his roar and snarled as he spun to face Jinwoo.

“How dare you!”

The gap between the two quickly narrowed as they sped toward each other until they were finally face-to-face. They exchanged heavy blows without holding back.

Ka-pow!

Bam!

Thwack!

The other hunters were astonished as the cave trembled from the clash of magic powers. The waves of mana made even the S-rank hunters feel sick.

“Hurk…!”

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, I’m fine.”

Compared to the rest of them, the cameraman was only an A-rank hunter and so was trying his best not to vomit from nausea.

Urgh…

His face was pale, but the reason he could keep smiling was…

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

To think a lone hunter could keep pace with such a creature…!

…because he saw hope.

Ka-boom!

Jinwoo was definitely taking damage as well, but the Ant King’s shell was clearly starting to crack, and these changes to his impressive frame hadn’t escaped the beast’s notice.

Krik!

Krik!

His exoskeleton, which was harder than any known metal, was starting to show hairline cracks.

In comparison, his enemy seemed to be enduring the ant’s blows.

Could it be…? An impossible theory popped into the Ant King’s head.

A-am I physically weaker than the human?

Even though the human was only half the magic beast’s size?

Unfortunately for him, that was when…

Crack!

The ant sustained a hit on his side that both felt and sounded different than earlier. His exoskeleton didn’t hold any nerves, so he spared a glance down to check the situation and discovered something shocking.

…It’s split open.

There was an actual crack. It was small, but it was spreading like a spiderweb. It was a clear message that the Ant King didn’t have much time left.

He quickly turned his attention back to the fight, but Jinwoo wasn’t an inexperienced newbie who’d pass up an opportunity while his opponent was distracted.

Wham!

The beast’s face turned around to one side.

……?

He staggered as he felt the blow even under his impenetrable facial exoskeleton. He was barely able to regain his balance before he took another punch under the jaw.

Thud!

The ant’s chin snapped upward.

This inferior creature is…!

The ant could only glare down as his head was forced upward.

This human was powerful…but brute strength was all he had. The Ant King had several deadly weapons up his sleeve.

As soon as the Ant King righted his head, he opened his mouth and shot out a venomous needle attached to the end of a long tentacle. It was an unavoidable close-quarter attack directed straight at the enemy’s face.

Ffft…

The human immediately jerked his head out of the way to avoid getting stabbed, but the ant was pleased with the result. The needle had scratched the human’s cheek.

Got him!

That should suffice. The Ant King had consumed cone snails and absorbed a skill from them called Paralysis Venom. The most lethal toxin created by any living creature had been mixed with his magic power to create a concentrated venom. The Ant King had used Predation to manufacture a deadly poison.

You’ve given me a hard time, human.

Even the slightest scratch would paralyze the nervous system in the blink of an eye, causing the opponent to lose control of their body. His enemy unable to resist him, all the Ant King would have to do was crush the opponent once and for all.

“……?”

The human looked bewildered as the poison began spreading through his body.

“Behold the power of a king!”

The ant gleefully lashed out at the human’s face.

However…

Whud!

The human raised his left hand to block his claw.

……?

The ant had but a brief moment to wonder how the human could move his arm before…

Ka-pow!

…the man swung his other fist and sent the ant tumbling across the den.

KEH!

For the first time, a cry of pain spilled out from the ant.

Ping!

Jinwoo checked his notifications at the sound of the electronic chime.

So I guess this is why he was so happy?

No wonder Jinwoo had sensed confusion from the ant when his opponent could move unimpeded.

What a fascinating development. What Jinwoo found marvelous wasn’t his detox buff but the fact that, at some point, he’d gained the ability to sense the emotions of magic beasts.

I think it started with my battle with the high orcs…

He’d just assumed that he’d been able to understand their emotions through their facial expressions and gestures, but unlike the high orcs, the ant wasn’t a humanoid magic beast. Other than occasional distortion, the ant was rather expressionless.

Is this due to the perception stat?

Since all his stats had increased drastically, his perception stat had likewise increased exponentially. It was possible that he’d unlocked some kind of ability when it had reached a certain level.

…Anyway, no time to think about that now.

His focus had to be on killing the beast and getting off the island.

Jinwoo ran toward the Ant King as he tried to get back up.

……

Jinwoo could feel the beast panicking. His continuous attacks had almost broken through the exoskeleton. Just a little more…!

Jinwoo closed the gap between them in an instant and executed a flying kick.

Blam!

But the ant was already gone, and his foot slammed into the ground.

“Where did he go?”

“He disappeared!”

While the hunters scanned their surroundings for the ant, Jinwoo calmly looked up. The creature had used his wings to fly above their heads.

This is quite convenient.

Jinwoo smirked. It was a simple task to track the ant by his emotions. The creature had gone from panicked to nervous and was now delighted.

The Ant King changed his tactics.

If the human’s specialty is physical strength, there’s no need to face him head-on.

The ant’s true specialty was his speed. That was how he’d done away with the man who had lied about being the king of humans without a shred of resistance. Trying to defeat Jinwoo in combat had been an attempt to show off.

The Ant King decided to give up on this vain gesture and put his other abilities to good use.

Shf, shf, shf…

The ant shrank back to his normal size, and his claws lengthened into sharp blades.

His claws…

As he watched the ant’s physical transformation, Jinwoo had a hunch the creature would change his method of attack.

Vmmm…

Jinwoo brought out two daggers from his inventory and held them tightly.

Whoosh!

The Ant King dived toward Jinwoo at an incredible speed.

……

Jinwoo concentrated. As time slowed for him, Jinwoo was able to see each and every movement the ant made. Jinwoo was most confident in high-speed combat, so he was finally in his element.

The king’s claws came fast, but Jinwoo easily blocked them with the tips of his daggers. The ant landed on the ground, and Jinwoo spun to face him. They collided spectacularly.

Ka-clang!

Klang! Klang!

The ant was growing more and more unnerved with each attack they exchanged.

Impossible!

His enemy was as fast as he was. Not only that, but he was getting faster with each passing moment, as if his muscles had just finished warming up.

How can…this be…?

The king had been able to resist losing ground during their battle of strength, but now he was slowly sliding backward. One step, then another. The farther back he fell, the more cracks appeared on his exoskeleton.

And the farther he retreated, the more confident Jinwoo grew.

I can finish this.

Jinwoo could sense the ant’s increasing distress. He was starting to falter.

In Jinwoo’s opinion, the ant wasn’t any stronger or faster than Balan, the Demon Monarch. Objectively, the ant might actually be the same level as Balan, or perhaps even higher. However, Jinwoo himself was much stronger than back then. He had leveled up quite a bit thanks to the completion rewards he’d received from the Demon’s Castle quests.

Putting myself through all that was worth it.

He was finally able to experience how much his abilities had increased thanks to this particular opponent. He was absolutely exhilarated.

When the king took another step back, Jinwoo pushed two steps forward and…

Fatal Strike!

His dagger finally penetrated the ant’s armor. Fatal Strike was a skill that granted extra damage when he precisely targeted an enemy’s weak point, and thanks to the cracks spreading across the Ant King’s entire exoskeleton, the beast’s whole body was a vulnerable spot.

Shhhk, shhhk, shhhk!

Tens of Fatal Strikes consecutively hit the magic beast.

Mutilation?

Since he had acquired a new skill, he decided to use it. In an instant, the dagger stabbed the Ant King’s weak points multiple times, mutilating him.

Shhhk, shhhk, shhhk, shhhk, shhhk!

SKRAAAAAAW! The Ant King howled.

While he writhed in pain, Jinwoo cut off an arm.

Slash!

The long black limb fell limply to the ground.

GRAHHH!

With that, the Ant King hurriedly launched himself into the air, abandoning any pride and desire for revenge. His survival instincts kicked into full gear. However, Jinwoo wouldn’t give him so much as an inch.

The Ant King sensed someone chasing after him and looked back.

The human is…flying?

Jinwoo had flung himself into the air using Ruler’s Hand, and he proceeded to cut off one of the king’s wings.

Whud!

The Ant King started to fall to the ground. As he did, in his shock and fear, he desperately tried to think of a way to escape his fate.

I…I have to think of something I’m better at…

Strength, speed, and even the ant’s secret weapon, venom, hadn’t worked on the human. The ant couldn’t think of anything else. Did he not have a single advantage?

Then, just before he lost hope, the magic beast remembered one last thing he had in his arsenal—numbers.

The human was but one enemy while he commanded an army of several thousand ants. His brave warriors were awaiting his orders at this very moment.

The Ant King pointed at Jinwoo with his remaining hand as he awkwardly pulled himself up.

SKRAAAAAAAAA!

At the furious screech, the swarm of ants rushed inside the den.

What now, human?!

SKRAAAAAAAAA!

The ant’s scream was never-ending. It was his attempt to both regain his pride and boost his soldiers’ spirits.

The king leveled a confident gaze at the human.

“……”

Yet the ant was met with a sea of black crashing in from the other side of the den as well.

Go!

Jinwoo gave an order to his shadow soldiers. The Monarch’s Domain he’d activated earlier was still going, so his strengthened shadow soldiers charged at the enemy.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Their thunderous footsteps echoed throughout the cavern.

And…come forth.

Last but not least, Jinwoo summoned Fang. Fang looked around and scratched the back of his head as if he felt awkward at being summoned all by his lonesome.

Jinwoo spoke firmly to Fang as he placed the Sphere of Avarice in his hand.

“Only target the ants. If so much as a spark touches any of the humans, I won’t be summoning you ever again.”

Fang gave a confident nod and, after sizing himself up with the Song of Giants, began to spew pillars of fire.

FWOOOOOOOM!

Even though Jinwoo had seen Fang do this often enough, he was amazed nonetheless.

It feels like his flames are getting bigger as time goes by.

Perhaps it was because Fang’s level had increased?

While Jinwoo was taking in the familiar sight, the other hunters had quite a different response. They had been watching the battle between Jinwoo and the Ant King intently when the sudden appearance of a monstrous-looking minion made them all gasp out loud. Some had a more extreme reaction than others.

“Th-that’s a minion? You’re honestly telling me that’s a minion?” Taegyu yelped as he pointed at Fang.

The other hunters’ mouths were hanging wide open, yet no one could answer him. Everyone had the same thought. Was that thing really a minion? From his look and abilities, he seemed more like a demon king incarnate!

In any case, ants were being incinerated by the blasts.

The Ant King started to tremble.

These are the human’s soldiers…?

Hundreds of the king’s subjects were literally evaporated in less than a minute as they were engulfed by the strange monster’s flames.

For the first time ever, the Ant King was afraid of another being. He felt an insurmountable wall between their skills and came to the realization that he had no way to overwhelm this enemy.

He had been utterly defeated.

But how…?

Even though I was brought to life to battle powerful humans…

That was the king’s only purpose in life. He’d nurtured his power for the sake of his mission. He’d even absorbed the abilities of humans. And yet the ant couldn’t defeat Jinwoo.

The Ant King quivered and turned his back on the fight. He needed to get as far away as possible from this human. In that instant, his concern for his kingdom and soldiers was erased from his mind.

Thanks to the healing skill he’d acquired from one of the humans, his severed wing had regenerated quickly. He flew into the air.

I must get as far away…

But then…

Thud!

The magic-beast ant plummeted to the ground as an invisible force pushed down from above.

GRAH!

Fluid sprayed out of his mouth as he smashed into the floor of the cave.

Jinwoo had used Ruler’s Hand like a flyswatter. He walked over to the ant without delay.

I can’t let him go.

The king was a powerful magic beast, and Jinwoo wanted to extract his shadow, no matter what. And in order to do that…

I need to kill him first.

The Ant King spotted Jinwoo’s approach. The ant looked so terrified that Jinwoo almost pitied him.

S-SKREE!

The Ant King eventually tried to crawl away. Gone was the majestic attitude he’d displayed when he’d toyed with the other hunters.

“There, you’re finally acting like an insect.”

Jinwoo quickly caught up to him and unleashed Mutilation at his back.

As he did, a message appeared.

Ping!

Yes!

Jinwoo pumped his fist. But his elation didn’t last long.

“Hunter Sung!”

Jinwoo turned around at Yoonho’s call and saw the guild master’s dark expression. He quickly made his way toward him. The other joyous hunters turned to face Yoonho as well.

“Hunter Cha is…”

Yoonho didn’t finish, but Jinwoo could sense Haein’s dwindling life force. It didn’t look good.

Jinwoo’s face hardened.

There wasn’t much time. Even if he used Kaisel to fly Haein out, who knew how long it’d take to get to a hospital and find a healer who could treat her?

There has to be another way…

After thinking deeply, he sensed a solution pop into his head. Jinwoo stood from where he’d been crouching by Haein’s side.

Then he turned to the cameraman.

“Could you please turn off the camera for a moment?”