Shadows of the Swarm
“Lord Yorcan is late.”
Deep in the forest. In the clearing shrouded only in pale moonlight, a band of warriors had gathered.
Yorcan had set off separately to buy them time. He was an excellent warrior, accompanied by a helpful mage. No one thought he'd run into trouble. But... despite the considerable time that had passed, there was still no sign of him.
“Huh?!”
“What's wrong?”
They peered around, wondering if Yorcan had arrived. But all that returned was a deflated reply.
“No... it's just, there are these bugs...”
“Bugs?”
The warrior shrugged his shoulders. They were in the heart of a deep forest. At night, bugs crawling around was the most natural thing in the world, wasn't it?
“Aren't you too tense? Making a fuss over a few bugs.”
“...No. The bugs... they're kinda weird.”
“I said quit overreacting.”
“No, really, they're strange.”
Sssshhh...
The warriors glanced around. From the unseen darkness. The sound of bugs rustling busily through the underbrush reached their ears.
It was the most ordinary scene in a forest. But...
“...”
“...”
For some reason. The warriors felt an inexplicable awkwardness.
Did bugs... normally move all at once like that...?
“Weird, right?”
“Yeah, a bit weird.”
Maybe it was just their overactive nerves. But they couldn't shake the feeling that... the bugs were watching them.
The warriors tried to brush off their worries. Bugs spying on people? As if that could happen—
It was right then.
“Ugh, uwaaaah—!”
“Where?! What's happening?!”
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air. The moment the warriors rushed toward it...
“...W-what the hell is that...!”
A chill froze their limbs in terror.
“S-save me—!!!”
“...”
“...”
One warrior's body was covered head to toe in an enormous swarm of bugs...! Everywhere except his face!
“Crazy!”
“A cloak! Get a cloak!”
The warriors swung cloaks to brush off the bugs. But they couldn't.
“...!”
A man emerged from the darkness. Strangely disconcerting... he was dressed in a perfect formal suit.
Jet-black hair and sharp eyes. An aristocratic air and measured steps. All the warriors froze.
Even as they stood there. The poor warrior remained buried under the swarm...
“S-save... save me...!”
“...”
“...”
The warriors couldn't bring themselves to charge the man. The aura alone told them. He was no pushover.
The man who had appeared with countless bugs in tow. Dante Aision quickly scanned the surroundings.
Her Highness the Princess isn't here.
Dante wasn't sure whether to be glad or disappointed. It seemed the princess had been moved deeper into Liberation Army territory, as she wished. Which meant she'd been dragged to an even more dangerous place...
I need to hurry.
If he slipped up even slightly and she was taken all the way north. It would be more than Dante could handle alone. No time to dawdle.
“Wh-who are you...! Who the hell are you?!”
One warrior glared and shouted at Dante. But Dante had already gauged their level.
Yorcan and the mage must have been their top fighters. These guys weren't bad... but far too weak to stop him.
Dante looked at the enemies and spoke.
“From now on, I'll be asking the questions.”
“What...?”
At the same moment— countless bugs poured down on the enemies like hail.
“Ugh, uwaaaah!”
“What is this—!!!”
The foes panicked at their first taste of bug magic. A normal bug tamer's assault might have ended in mere confusion.
But Dante was no ordinary bug tamer.
The Noon Fairies. Honeybees gleaming like red spots stabbed their venomous stingers into the enemies.
Once. Or twice. Men staggered like drunks or collapsed outright into sleep.
“W-what the...!”
In the blink of an eye. Over ten warriors hit the dirt.
Only one remained standing. Dante walked straight toward him.
Click, clack... His gait was impeccably steady. But around him writhed a chaotic swarm of bugs...
Bugs held some primal terror for higher primates. Dante Aision was their lord.
And so. The man felt an indescribable dread just looking at him...
“Where is Her Highness the Princess?”
“...I-I can't say...!”
“Is that so?”
Dante extended his hand. Then something horrifying happened.
His palm split open thinly— and a flat, elongated bug began wriggling out.
“!!!”
The warrior froze in terror, unable even to twitch a finger. The bug slowly caressed his cheek.
Then— fully emerging from Dante's hand, it began crawling across his face.
Dante's cold voice rang out.
“I'll ask again. Where is Her Highness the Princess?”
“I-I don't kn—”
In that instant— the bug stopped right before his eyeball.
As if curious, it tilted its body, quivering. Then, ever so slowly, it slithered under his eyelid.
“Ah... aaaah... aaaah—!!!”
“I'll ask again. Where is Her Highness the Princess?”
“Stop—! Stop it—! I'll talk! I'll tell you—!!!”
The bug Dante had released was none other than a symbiotic parasite.
In ancient primordial times, it was just a common parasite... But stimulated by mana, it awakened magical abilities—the symbiotic parasite.
True to its parasitic origins. It was expert at burrowing into human flesh.
Before he could resist, it slipped into his eyeball. There was space between the eyeball and socket. The parasite knew how to tunnel through shallow flesh using mana.
The parasite vanished completely. Dante whispered to the warrior.
“Can you feel my bug beyond your eyeball?”
“...!”
“It'll easily reach your brain by boring through the optic nerve pathway.”
“!!!”
“Speak without a shred of deceit. Try any tricks, and my bug will devour your brain.”
The warrior trembled violently. The man before him was utterly terrifying. He couldn't even look at Dante's face, collapsing flat to the ground.
“Th-the Princess...! She's gone to meet the operation commander...!”
“Who is the operation commander?”
“I-I've never seen him before either! It's true—!”
“Northerners? Imperials?”
“N-Northerners...!”
“Guide me. Do it right, and I'll remove the bug.”
“...”
“Even if I die, the bug keeps moving. Only I can safely extract it. So abandon any foolish thoughts.”
“O-of course...!”
The warrior barely stood. The wriggling sensation beyond his eyeball was utterly chilling.
He glanced at his ten fallen comrades, speechless.
Lord Yorcan... the mage... taken down by this guy...?
Only then did he belatedly realize how too smoothly this operation had gone.
Raiding the coming-of-age ceremony venue in the imperial capital. Kidnapping the imperial princess... It couldn't have been this easy.
A trap...!
Information must have leaked. That's why this horrific bug tamer appeared...!
We're done...! It's over...!
The moment he was infected by the bug. All will to resist vanished.
His mind filled only with the thought of reaching the commander and begging for help...
The commander will know what to do!
“Th-this way!”
Clinging to that faint hope, he led Dante to the commander's hideout. It wasn't far.
Princess Esilia was bound with ropes and forced into a chair. Operation commander Ruston cackled down at her.
“Kuhahaha! The empire's idiots are beyond words!”
“...”
“Needed a secret spot away from prying eyes, so they cleared out the guards? And you, the princess, thought it was quiet and perfect for a stroll? Hahaha! This is next in line for the throne?!”
“...”
“Actually, perfect for us! If a wretch like you becomes empress, you won't dare touch our kingdom. The empire will rot from the roots under your incompetence!”
Ruston bellowed with hearty laughter. What a glorious day!
Originally, they'd planned to raid the ballroom and snag some noble's kid as a hostage. That alone would have satisfied them. But the ultimate prize was, of course, the imperial princess...!
Who'd have thought they'd capture her in one go!
As Ruston roared with laughter—
Pfft.
The princess let out a small chuckle too.
“Laughing?”
Ruston didn't like her reaction. She still hadn't grasped the situation... Typical of the empire's empty-headed 'ladies.'
But. At Princess Esilia's next words, Ruston stiffened slightly.
“The empire's rotting away even without your concern~”
“...Have you lost your mind? You, the future empress, saying crap like that?”
“Who knows~? I'm an adult this year, but I haven't even heard the word 'heir' yet~?”
“...”
“Well, the Prime Minister's busy~, and Father's not well~, so maybe they've put off such headaches for now~”
Ruston scowled. He couldn't make sense of what the princess was saying.
“Then just demand the succession ceremony.”
“Oh my, but I don't want to die yet~?”
“...”
“It's prettier to wait quietly like a demure lady~ The Prime Minister wants that too~”
“...”
“But if you keep harassing the Northern Duke, my ascension keeps getting pushed back~”
Ruston said gravely.
“Harassing? Don't delude yourself. The duke harasses us. We're just claiming the rightful rights of Northerners!”
“Northerners' rights?”
“Carmilton was a proud independent kingdom just 300 years ago! But the cursed royals threw away their crown and chose to become the empire's dogs!”
“...Pfft.”
“You laughed again?”
Princess Esilia narrowed her eyes and retorted.
“To you, 300 years is 'just,' huh~? Do you live to 300 like Lizardmen~?”
“...You bitch!”
“And the old Carmilton royals made a deal with the empire. Carmilton blocks the monsters flooding from the north. In return, the empire supplies weapons and food. That's why the Carmilton duke is a very special noble even in the empire.”
“...”
“What could Carmilton possibly gain from independence? It's already one body with the empire. The Carmilton duke is one of the empire's most renowned dukes—”
“Shut your mouth—!!!”
“...”
“A starving wolf is better than a fat pup—! Even if we die torn apart by monsters! Carmilton must remain Carmilton! That's the duty of the northern folk—!”
Princess Esilia fixed Ruston with a venomously cold gaze.
...Though bound and helpless. Ruston felt a shiver of fear in that look.
“Do all Northerners really think that way?”
“Of course!”
“Really. Really. Even if they become monster fodder, they want independence from the empire?”
“Obviously—”
“Proud sons and daughters of the north vanishing into monster maws. Your glorious culture and history buried in blizzards and freezing away. Even if that happens... you want to be an independent nation?”
“...Of course!”
“Is that just your thought? Or every Northerner's?”
“...”
“There~'s my answer. Pathetic.”
At that moment—
Slap!
Ruston couldn't hold back his rage and backhanded Princess Esilia's cheek.
“Don't spout off when you know nothing—! Imperial princess!”
“...”
“Still so cocky! I'll drag you north right now and beat that arrogance out of you from the ground up!”
Despite the slap. Princess Esilia's gaze didn't waver.
Her eyes remained steadily cold and dark.
“Who put you up to this fanaticism? The Hand of Power, I presume?”
“Ha! We think and act by our own will!”
“I'll take that as you don't want to say.”
The door opened, and someone spoke.
“No, what was all the commotion? Did you just lay hands on Her Highness?!”
“Tch. So what? She's our prisoner anyway.”
“No...! Even so!”
“If you're gonna nag, get out!”
A brief argument ensued. Right then.
“E-enemy attack! Enemies have appeared!”
“Already?!”
Ruston glared at Princess Esilia, then turned.
“Protect the princess at all costs and pull out!”
“Yes!”
The moment his men moved to transport her—
“Ugh, uwaaaah—!”
An enormous swarm of bugs flooded into headquarters. Chaos erupted in seconds.
“Bugs?!”
“Insane...! Where did these come from?!”
In the pandemonium. Cockroaches swarmed around Princess Esilia, forming a protective circle.
“What the hell are these?!”
Ruston shouted in panic. But...
“Ah, ahahaha...! Ahahahaha—!”
“???”
Princess Esilia. Burst into laughter, as if reveling in the chaos.
Ruston thought she'd lost her mind. That instant.
Bang—!
The door flew open. A man in a black suit appeared.
Princess Esilia called out in a voice laced with mirth.
“You've arrived~ Dante~!”
Through the open door. People lay collapsed in the hallway, unmoving. All taken down.
By a single bug tamer.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Dante bowed politely. The bugs folded their wings quietly too.
“I've come to escort you.”
Princess Esilia burst into laughter.
“As expected... you're the best, Dante~!”