#269. Leave LA. Right Now.
Styx.
The boundary between this world and the next. This river, often depicted in Greek and Roman mythology as the river of the underworld or its goddess, appearing as a Gate skill was nothing short of ironic.
Because Gates didn't belong to this world.
So how did Gates manifest beings rooted in this world's common knowledge as skills, items, or monsters?
No one knew for sure, but scholars and Hunters speculated that Gates were spaces that embodied humanity's collective consciousness and unconsciousness.
Original skills were a prime example.
Even without acquiring skills from a Gate, rigorous training allowed Hunters to develop their own unique abilities with similar effects.
Hunters themselves were inextricably linked to Gates, making the theory quite plausible.
It had been the same when Joo Se-ah obtained "Styx's River" during her Slayer days.
In a red Gate, facing the infamous balrog in several near-death encounters, she had desperately needed near-immortality to win the war against monsters. As if hearing her plea, the Gate granted her this skill.
The Styx River from myth, which had made Achilles immortal by dipping him in its waters.
A powerful skill drawn straight from that motif: "Styx's River."
Though she had only just reached S-rank, the moment Joo Se-ah activated this skill, she would transform into a being no peer could dare underestimate.
Styx's River
An aurora bloomed from Joo Se-ah's feet, enveloping her entire body.
Red, blue, green, and yellow twisted chaotically, warping the surroundings like blazing flames.
As she took a step toward the queen, three divine-form wasps sensed the threat and blocked her path.
But.
In the next instant, Joo Se-ah was past them, standing before the queen.
The divine-form wasps belatedly realized they'd lost their target and whipped around in shock.
They ripped out their wings, intending to wield them as weapons like the champions. New wings sprouted in the wounds.
As the battle-ready divine-form wasps lunged at her back—
"You guys gotta play with me."
Go Eul-ji stepped forward and clapped her palms together.
Boom!
An invisible force crushed the three into a tangled heap. They writhed to escape, but it held firm, squeezing them like flies from both sides with formless energy.
Ordinary fifth-generation hornets would have been flattened, but the divine-forms endured Go Eul-ji's assault.
"Was that too weak since it's my first try?"
Since entering the hive, Go Eul-ji hadn't unleashed her full power even once. Her skills were mostly wide-area attacks, and she feared collapsing the tunnels and harming the surface.
Fighting with her power half-sealed had led to a realization.
'If I'm scared of breaking walls, I can just attack and block myself.'
That impromptu creation was her provisional "Cymbals."
She couldn't perfectly control the force yet, but devising and applying a skill on the spot demonstrated her overwhelming talent.
Her relaxed face, devoid of tension, enraged the divine-form wasps. They gnashed their mandibles and surged with power.
As all three pushed back, the squeezing force shattered instantly. Their wing-blades targeted Go Eul-ji.
She pulled the Dragon Scale Hairpin from her disheveled hair, neatly re-twisting it into a bun and pinning it firmly.
The hairpin glowed faintly, its light seeping into her. The divine-forms tensed.
"Don't go tattling to your mom that I hit you."
The divine-forms charged.
"'Cause you're about to get hit by our mom too."
Joo Se-ah hurled herself at the queen.
Before a monster at least ten times her size, her human frame looked fragile enough to be crushed instantly.
The queen exploited the mass difference, slamming down a foreleg.
Joo Se-ah didn't dodge the obvious attack. Bracing her legs and core, she crossed her arms in an X to block.
Kwang!
The floor where she stood didn't just crater—it shattered. Dust billowed from the cracks, spreading everywhere. Nearby hornets were swept away by the shockwave.
But Joo Se-ah was unscathed.
"Sorry, but big lugs are my specialty."
With those words, she swung the Macaruin gripped in her right hand.
The mana-charged blade sliced the queen's leg. As the startled queen retracted it, Joo Se-ah leaped, driving her mana-infused hand-blade into the limb.
The queen had no time for pain. Joo Se-ah, clinging tight, used the pulling force to vault higher—now at the joint between foreleg and chest.
The glowing red-hot Macaruin pierced the seam. Joo Se-ah twisted her lower body like opening a can, circling the thick leg rim. The blade carved deep.
The queen shrieked and flapped massively. Powder scattered from her wings into the air.
Joo Se-ah pulled her tattered armor coat's collar over her mouth and nose. Even potent poisons barely fazed her, but she wasn't taking chances.
Then the queen opened wide at the spreading powder. Liquid spewed, igniting it into spreading flames.
The fire raced along the powder, engulfing Joo Se-ah's position in seconds. A massive explosion followed, and the queen excitedly fanned the blaze.
Futile.
"That all you got? Fire another one of those beams from before."
Joo Se-ah had slipped from the flames, now beneath the queen's jaw. She shed her barely-clothing armor coat.
As if understanding, a golden laser fired from one compound eye—the same from her debut.
"Hmph!"
Joo Se-ah raised her left arm, blocking without evasion. The aurora flared brighter on impact. She snorted, deflecting it aside. Hornets in its bent path melted instantly.
The queen hadn't expected even this attack—the one that had blasted Joo Se-ah moments ago—to fail. Insect panic showed on its face.
"Macaruin. Spear form."
The longsword shifted back to spear.
Joo Se-ah thrust high, charging the queen's underbelly. Mana extended the spear several meters.
It raked chest to abdomen. Burning stench rose; molten goo dripped.
As Joo Se-ah emerged opposite, the tail stinger struck her abdomen sneakily. Her spear clattered, powerless. She grabbed the stinger with both hands.
"That all?"
Kwajik!
"Kiyaaaaak!"
The stinger snapped. Yellow venom hit the floor, smoking black.
Joo Se-ah brushed her abdomen—only a hole in her clothes, abs unscratched.
She kicked the spear to her right hand, gripping firm.
"Queen with this weak shit? Lucky you. But that's the end of it."
The queen felt terror for the first time.
Me? To that tiny thing?
Pride stung, but fear dominated.
"Die."
"Kiaaaah!"
The queen's scream echoed past Joo Se-ah, filling the hive.
The familiar sonic wave reverberated through the hive, rousing the royal cradle's hidden occupant.
The being inside set aside its gluttonously devoured meal.
It was annoyed. The most delicious part interrupted.
A small body with a round, hard section. Crack the shell for juicy, firm fruit-like meat—chewy, bursting with flavor. Never boring.
The interrupter was the royal cradle's master.
The royal cradle: where the queen grows.
Home for the next queen.
Irksome, but she couldn't ignore the previous queen's call.
Devouring her would claim the hive's throne, using the nutrients to lay eggs and expand the next generation. A stronger predecessor ensured a mightier successor.
The new queen decided on an early coronation.
She tore free. Viscous fluid gushed out.
Only after the emptied cradle collapsed did she emerge.
The new queen sought her predecessor, heading outward.
"The raid's started?"
Kang Moo-hyuk got the call from No Song-rin. Joo Se-ah had rushed deepest first, with Go Eul-ji following.
—The rest of the party is delayed installing comms gear, as per your orders to maintain contact no matter what.
"Good work. The hive maps you scouted were huge help. Prep for contingencies—keep comms linked. We'll ready here too."
Ending the call, Kang Moo-hyuk summoned Thomas.
"Prep that plan early."
"Prep? We held off 'cause outcomes were uncertain."
"Just got routes to the core from Gunpowder and Call My Name. Overlaying No Song-rin's path shows this."
He stacked transparent sheets on an LA map. Blue, red, green lines marked each.
He pointed to the converging ends.
Kenneth Ann State Recreation Area.
LA's Central Park, the largest urban park.
"No tall buildings. We can operate without evac worries."
"Full power, no holds barred?"
"It's a park, but facilities exist. Urban squeeze changed it. People might linger. Prep slow and steady—for the critical moment."
Thomas looked tense.
"Frankly, precise control's harder than spamming spells."
"Too tough?"
"Nah, who do you think I am? Tough, but I'll give it my all."
"Thanks. It's our best shot with current resources."
Aila got a call from World Hunter Federation HQ.
Nikola Tarabik.
"Thousand Eyes calling? Using modern tech?"
—Feels awkward after so long.
"This about that prophecy before you left? The ominous light?"
—Yes. Watched since, worried for you.
"Saw something?"
—Seen it or not? Hard to say.
"Tell me straight."
Dry swallow over the line. Tarabik steadied.
—The bright, ominous light persists. Death's glow. But now... it's clearly golden.
"Golden?"
—A throne in gold, decreeing death over the city.
"......"
—No form visible, but the sense was clear.
Aila's face hardened.
"Unknown entity related?"
—Maybe. Previously shadows... this differs...
"Got it. I'll investigate myself."
—That's why I called. Aila, leave LA. Right now.
Tarabik's tone was grave.