Chapter 35
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Through the Screams, to the Kingdom (3)
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“It's beyond here.”
Ma Dongpal, who had been walking silently behind me, stopped.
I nodded.
“Yes, the queen ant should be beyond this.”
Beyond the earthen wall blocking the passage.
That was the final destination of this ant nest.
A pattern was carved into the massive earthen wall erected in the passage.
“Some kind of mural… Do ants even know how to draw?”
“They're monsters, after all.”
Various patterns, drawn by ants using their sharp mandibles as carving knives.
It depicted a giant ant surrounded by many oval spheres.
Pheromones constantly flowed from beyond the earthen wall.
The stench emitted by the Amur queen ant.
“Asha, are you sure you're okay? It'd be better if you just stayed here.”
Ma Dongpal said to the Russian Hunter standing beside me.
“…”
Asha didn't answer.
At some point, her complexion had become noticeably pale.
I thought her mana had been depleted, but that wasn't it.
“You're already poisoned. I've let it slide until now, but this is the limit. There's bound to be a toxic mist spread all over the other side. Even you won't be able to handle it.”
The queen's pheromones were, in themselves, a poison.
In other words, it was as if a deadly toxic mist was spread throughout the entire cave affected by the pheromones.
“Without the blessing of nature, even I would have collapsed long ago. Hunter Kim Hanul, too… I don't know what it is, but it seems he's receiving a top-tier blessing. But you're not, are you?”
Ma Dongpal's gaze brushed past me.
He was right.
I was physically unaffected by the queen's pheromones.
[Gardener's Blessing - Poison Resistance Lv.5]
Because the blessing of the Divine Seat was flawlessly protecting my body.
But Asha loaded her mana gun and spoke softly.
“I'm fine. I can still handle it. I'm a Hunter contracted with a Divine Seat, too. I can endure this level of poison.”
“Stop being stubborn and listen to me, you brat.”
Ma Dongpal growled.
But Asha didn't even bat an eye.
“You're the one at your limit, old man.”
“Limit? Shit, what a load of crap. If I become a weakling just because I can't use one skill, am I even an S-rank Hunter? Don't underestimate me. I'm Ma Dongpal. Ma Dongpal, the Fiery Fist of Sindang-dong.”
Ma Dongpal clenched his fist.
A normal fist, not the paw of a beast.
Ten minutes ago, he had returned to his human form.
He could no longer use Divine Advent.
Watching the two bicker, I spoke up.
“I can go in alone.”
“We can't have that.”
“That's not happening.”
“…”
Their replies came at the same time.
Such prompt answers that it was almost awkward.
It wasn't that I didn't understand how they felt.
They wouldn't want to burden me, a clear outsider and not even a fellow guild member, with everything.
And it wasn't as if either of them was so incapacitated that they couldn't fight at all.
“Hunter Kim Hanul, I've already shown you my lowest of lows. As a guild leader, I've done nothing but show one pathetic side of myself after another. But still, I don't want to leave everything to you until the very end. Let's fight together.”
“Same here. Don't worry, I can protect myself.”
Asha seemed to have already accepted that my combat prowess was superior to hers.
So I said just one thing.
“Don't push yourselves. The queen ant here will be very different.”
“Right, no ordinary ant could spew out poison this potent. But.”
Suddenly, a red aura enveloped Ma Dongpal's fist.
“It's still just a bug.”
With those words, he slammed his fist into the earthen wall before him with all his might.
*KRAAANG!*
An explosive sound echoed thunderously through the cave.
*Crumble!*
The earthen wall blocking the way collapsed with a roar.
*Whoosh!*
At the same time, a dense, green mist surged toward us.
“Ugh…!”
“Guardian, bestow the breath of nature upon these mortal bodies!”
Ma Dongpal's shout rang out.
As the mist slowly cleared and my vision returned, I saw the two of them cloaked in a light green aura.
Even though she was protected by the Divine Seat's blessing, Asha's face was deathly pale.
“See? I told you to stay back, you brat. Hunter Kim Hanul, do you need it too? I can cover one more person.”
“…”
“Hunter Kim Hanul?”
I heard a voice calling my name.
But I didn't answer.
It would be more accurate to say I couldn't.
Because a new message had appeared before my eyes.
[The Sage is analyzing the queen ant's pheromones...]
[My child, my dear child. Have you come to help your mother?]
The toxic mist, formed from the queen's screams, thinned.
A vast cavern reminiscent of a circular arena.
The ceiling, covered in some unknown moss, had cracks through which a faint light poured.
Below it was an ant.
A giant ant, the size of a small building, its lower body making up two-thirds of its mass.
[With those tiny feet, have you come to see your mother?]
Originally, this place was a space for the queen alone.
She must have laid countless eggs in this cavern, watching as the worker ants carried them away.
This was the very heart of the ant nest, the queen's audience chamber.
“What is this… How grotesque.”
But not anymore.
Hundreds of eggs, each the size of a grown man, lay neglected and scattered around the queen ant.
And inside those eggs.
Was not the larva of an ant, but something else.
“...!”
Asha covered her mouth.
She, too, had vaguely realized.
That the larvae of the burrower flies were eating the ant eggs.
[Come closer. I have been feeling lonely lately. It's a strange thing.]
Surrounded by the burrower fly larvae, the queen ant spoke.
[I have so many children, yet for some reason, I am so very lonely.]
Because those are no longer the eggs of ants.
[I feel my body growing weaker these days. I crave something sweet.]
Because there are no more worker ants left to care for the queen.
[My body is a little itchy. Won't you scratch my belly for me? Just like always, a gentle scratch with your mandibles will do.]
Because countless grotesque forms were clinging to the queen's body.
I have to think rationally.
Don't look away from the sight before me.
I am seeing her words, invisible to anyone else, but.
For that very reason, I alone had to remain calm.
In the end, both the Amur ants and the burrower flies are just monsters.
“…”
But my emotions surged.
Before, in the Garden of the Abyss.
When I saw the members of the Indomitable Guild drive countless Pygmalets to their deaths and laugh.
The emotion I felt then reared its head once more.
*Zzzt.*
*Bzzzz.*
The burrower flies clinging to the queen ant reacted.
Hundreds of red eyes were attached to the ant's abdomen, and they were all turned this way.
*Wooooong!*
The air vibrated madly.
The light pouring from the cavern's ceiling was obscured.
A swarm of hundreds of insects had taken flight.
Burrower flies were everywhere.
*Crack.*
They burst out, shattering the eggshells.
They flew up from the queen's body.
And they leaped from all over the earthen walls covered in the unknown moss.
“What the hell! I'm gonna develop an insect phobia I never had, for real!”
*Thwack!*
Ma Dongpal threw a punch at a burrower fly coming at him.
But for every one he smashed, three more swarmed him from all sides.
It was the same for Asha.
She was firing her mana rifle like a machine gun, but there were more insects rushing in than falling down.
Can they handle this?
I quickly assess the situation.
It's either impossible, or they'll have to pour all their strength into this for at least a full day.
I didn't want that.
I wanted to end everything as quickly as possible.
[Flames of Hellfire]
*Fwoosh!*
The flames devised by the Ogre Archmage erupted on the blade of the Emperor's Scar.
I swung it at the charging swarm of flies.
*Fzzzzt!*
A few of the incoming burrower flies failed to evade the flames spreading through the air and were incinerated.
The foul smell of burning chitin filled my nostrils.
The flames lingered in the air for a moment as if suspended, causing the flying burrower flies to flinch.
Taking that chance, I detached a bead from my bracelet and spoke.
“Guild Leader, Asha.”
“Did you… call, Hunter Kim Hanul!”
“Yeah.”
The two Hunters, fighting for their lives a short distance away from me, answered.
“Aside from that queen ant and these winged insects, any monsters that appear here from now on will be my tamed friends. So please don't mistake them for enemies and attack.”
“Tamed…! Ah, understood.”
After confirming Asha's nod.
I rolled the bead in my hand.
*Poof!*
“Kiit.”
The Lizardman High Priest that appeared with the mist greeted me with his eyes.
“Jen Karuk, cast Ancient God's Tears. Wipe out as many of these insects as you can.”
“Kit.”
Jen Karuk slammed the staff he was holding onto the ground. *Thump!*
At the same time, a massive torrent of water gathered around the Lizardman.
*KWAAAAA!*
The torrent soon turned into a storm, raging like a blade as it began to expand its reach.
*Shhhshhh!*
A water sword splitting into a thousand streams. The flies it touched were torn apart and swept away.
A clear stream of water was washing over the room teeming with insects.
“W-what is this…!”
I heard Ma Dongpal's shocked voice beside me.
Even he hadn't expected such a large-scale spell.
But this wasn't the end.
Dozens of flies had been annihilated, and many more would die.
But hundreds of insects still remained.
So, while swinging the flame-wreathed Emperor's Scar, I brought up the status window.
[Consume 1000 Gold to hire a Lizardman unit?]
As I hired them, a fist-sized crack appeared and spat out a bead.
A transparent bead with green dots embedded inside.
I catch it and throw it immediately.
*Poof!*
This time, a slightly darker gray mist enveloped the area.
And then.
The twenty Lizardmen, hired with all my remaining gold, appeared.
“Shiit.”
The Lizardman at the front of the lined-up unit bowed his head.
The one holding a glaive.
It was the Lizardman chieftain I first fought in the Garden of the Abyss.
“It's been a while.”
The glaive-wielding Lizardman nodded.
“I'm sorry about last time.”
I had beaten him half to death.
He had every reason to hold a grudge.
But the Lizardman shook his head.
It meant that he had lost the fight because his own strength was lacking.
“...Alright. I'll be counting on you from now on.”
“Shit.”
The Lizardman leader blinked lightly and bowed his head.
I confirmed his loyalty.
This was enough.
As the twenty Lizardmen were summoned, a welcome information window popped up.
[Due to the Lizardman Swarm Bonus, the power of spells cast by Jen Karuk increases by 40 percent.]
Thanks to that, the number of fly swarms swept away by the water spray increased even more.
Asha and Ma Dongpal were also dealing with the insects more efficiently.
Now I could turn my attention elsewhere.
[My child.]
Surrounded by those that are not her children.
[What in the world is this?]
To the being pouring out her rage for them.
[Can you not hear your mother's words?]
The cavern where sharp streams of water shook the earth.
*Rumble.*
In the midst of it all, the ant began to rise.
Its mandibles, capable of easily slicing several humans in two, spread apart.
Its antennae, easily over three meters long, trembled madly.
Its jet-black compound eyes were aimed directly at me.
And the queen spoke.
[I see.]
“Let's go.”
[You are not my child.]
“Form the Trikeon defense formation and protect me as we advance.”
[What are you? What kind of beings would invade this far, and what do you hope to gain by trampling upon me and my children?]
“That queen ant is greatly weakened. The Trikeon defense formation's shield should be enough to withstand it.”
To her, I am a different species.
I tore through the ant nest and trampled the monsters blocking my path to gain something.
I arrived here with a single purpose.
In that sense, I was an invader.
No different from the flies buzzing around.
But now.
[What in the world are you, that you would try to ruin the kingdom I have built?]
“Get as close to that queen as possible. There's something I must do before killing her.”
Besides sending one monster to the Lord's Castle, another purpose had emerged.
***
For some time now, the queen had been very perplexed.
The light had faded from her kingdom, once overflowing with vitality and pheromones.
It was before her nuptial flight.
When she had wandered in search of a place to settle and chanced upon spending a night.
It resembled a certain ant nest that had fallen to ruin.
When did it become like this? She decided to think back a little.
- Your Majesty, a worker ant carrying grain has collapsed. It wishes to die. What should be done?
One day, a sturdy soldier ant had asked.
The queen had said, 'Do your utmost to save it.'
It was her child.
A mother could not abandon her child.
- Your Majesty, the collapsed worker ant has taken its own life.
Did she cry upon hearing that news?
Bury it well.
She thought she had said that.
But that was all.
The monarch had too much to do to cling to the death of a single child and grieve.
- Your Majesty, a plague of unknown origin is spreading. The infected ants are taking their own lives.
It was from then on.
- Your Majesty, the nurse ants have an urgent report…
- Your Majesty, the commander of the soldier ants has collapsed. The cause is still…
The brilliant light that had shone upon the kingdom began to fade.
The queen's antennae twitched.
It was to ponder more deeply.
But it was difficult.
For some reason, her more recent memories were even hazier.
The last was the male ant who had always stayed by her side.
- Your Majesty, you must flee your kingdom.
It was an incomprehensible pheromone.
This is my kingdom.
Why on earth must I flee?
What am I to flee from?
Where am I to go?
But there was no reply.
The male ant disappeared after that day.
- Glory to you, Your Majesty.
Just as she was beginning to miss him, a new male ant began to stay by her side.
- Everything has returned to its rightful place. Your kingdom will continue to prosper from now on.
For one of her children, he was a bit unusual.
His wings were long like blades, and his compound eyes were as red as blood.
Still, it was a relief.
Since he said the kingdom had returned to its original state, she only needed to be faithful to her duties as queen.
But the words of the vanished male ant continued to linger.
- Flee.
I see.
I finally understand what he meant for me to flee from.
It's them.
[What in the world are you, that you would try to ruin the kingdom I have built?]
These beings who are tearing my beloved children to death.
There is no doubt.
But, I cannot flee.
She was now the last remaining monarch of the ants in the world.
Therefore, this kingdom, this castle.
The monarch must protect it.
The queen rose from her throne.