Boom!
Hoshino ran with everything he had, the sheer force of his mana-enhanced sprint tearing through the forest. Trees cracked and splintered in his wake, roots ripped from the earth as he blurred past them like a missile.
Boom!
He could still hear their battle.
"Hang on, Fushijima!" Hoshino choked out between gasps, leaping across a wide ravine. Mid-air, he slammed his hand against his earpiece. "This is C-Charlie. Over! It's here! The thing is here, Goto-san!"
He landed on the far side in a skid, kicking up mud and leaves.
"Fushijima's trying to hold it off, but I don't know how long he can..."
Shhk!
Something sliced through the air.
A blur passed him by, too fast to see, embedding itself into the trunk of a massive tree just ahead.
Boom!
Hoshino froze. His pupils shrank to pinpricks. His hand hovered stiffly near his earpiece, unmoving. His breath caught in his throat.
Beep.
—This is A-Alpha. Can you describe the monster? Is it the Queen? Hello? Respond.
Beep.
—Hoshino! You and Fushijima need to get out of there! Don't stop running! I'm on my way! The power I'm sensing… it surpasses ours by at least ten times!
But Hoshino didn't move.
He couldn't.
The voice on the other end might as well have been coming from underwater.
His eyes locked on the object stuck in the tree.
It was a sword. Fushijima's sword.
Still gripped tightly by a severed arm.
Blood ran down the handle in rivulets, soaking into the bark where it pierced the trunk.
"...Fushijima," Hoshino whispered, barely audible.
Plop.
The lifeless fingers loosened. The arm slipped off the hilt and fell into the growing pool of blood below.
"F... Fushijima?"
His voice cracked as his stomach turned. Bile surged up into the back of his throat.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears, drowning out the rest of the world.
For a single moment, the entire forest was silent.
Then...
Rustle.
The bushes behind him twitched.
The hairs on the back of his neck shot up.
"Aaaaagh!"
Hoshino screamed and bolted, pure panic overriding every thought. He tore through the trees like a man possessed, branches lashing at his face and arms, lungs burning with every breath.
Buzzing.
Faint at first. Then louder. Closer.
That sound, like the wings of something massive, echoed behind him.
He pushed harder, somehow running even faster despite the pain.
Then, ahead, a figure emerged between the trees.
A girl. Cap missing, but unmistakable.
Kanae.
A glimmer of hope burst in his chest.
And with it...
Agony.
---
Boom!
A deafening sonic boom tore through the forest as Kanae sprinted forward, her feet barely touching the ground. Trees blurred past, the wind shrieking in her ears.
"Please… let me make it in time," she whispered, her voice tight with desperation.
The killing intent she'd felt just moments ago, heavy, suffocating, and cold, was unlike anything she'd sensed since Hosha. It couldn't be as powerful… it shouldn't be. But for something to echo even a fraction of that demonic presence?
No ordinary S-Rank would survive.
Her eyes locked on the tree line ahead.
The edge of the forest, she was almost there.
And then she saw him.
Hoshino.
He was running toward her, panic etched into his face, his body staggering from exhaustion. Relief bloomed in her chest.
"Oh thank god!" she breathed...
...but the words died on her lips.
She saw the moment hope lit in his eyes.
She saw the moment it was torn away.
A black claw burst through his chest from behind, piercing straight through with brutal force. Blood sprayed from the gaping wound.
"No!" Kanae screamed, twin swords already flashing into her hands.
She leapt.
CLANG!
Metal screeched as her blades met a carapaced arm, the impact hurling sparks through the air. The force of the collision kept her suspended, her feet off the ground.
That's when she saw it, really saw it.
The monster ant.
It was black, pitch black, and stood fully upright like a humanoid. Its chitin was sleek, almost polished, with a grotesque sheen. Its crimson eyes were shaped like pentagons, unblinking and cold. Towering over her, it exuded raw, unrelenting power.
Its right arm was embedded in Hoshino's torso, having impaled him clean through from back to front.
Its left arm had caught her twin blades effortlessly.
Kanae felt her heart sink. It's stronger than me.
The ant raised its impaled arm slightly.
"Aaaaagh!" Hoshino's scream split the air.
Kanae's breath caught in her throat. "S-stop… stop it…"
But it didn't stop.
The arm moved again, slowly, agonizingly, dragging itself upward through torn flesh and shattered bone.
"Aaaaagh!"
Higher.
"Aaaaagh!!"
And higher.
"STOP IT!!" Kanae cried, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes.
Then...
Shlck.
The arm ripped free, and with it, Hoshino's head.
It flew through the air like a discarded doll, vanishing into the trees.
Kanae landed hard, feet skidding across the forest floor. She staggered back, swords trembling in her grip.
And there it was.
The mangled body of Hoshino crumpled to the earth with a sickening thud.
A broken mess where her comrade used to be.
In the sky above, thunder rumbled, distant but deep. Moments later, the rain came, cold and steady, soaking the battlefield.
Kanae stood frozen, transfixed by the sight before her. She didn't know how much time had passed. It could've been seconds. It felt like hours.
Her answer came sharp and sudden.
A claw sliced through the air, aiming straight for her throat.
It should have connected, clean, precise, and powerful enough to decapitate any normal human.
Kanae's body jerked to the side, spinning mid-air as she dodged the attack.
The ant halted mid-strike, its eyes widening in surprise. It had landed the blow. It was certain of it. So… how?
Kanae's eyes regained color. A red gleam lit them from within.
"You bastard!!"
She twisted above the ant and brought her twin blades down in a decapitating arc.
But the ant moved. With one arm, it casually blocked both strikes from behind and pivoted, thrusting its other fist straight into her abdomen.
It missed again.
Kanae was already behind it, both blades angled low toward its waist.
With a sudden gust, the ant blasted upward, wings roaring. It flipped mid-air, then dove down in a flash, reaching out to grab Kanae's head.
It missed again.
Now, she was beside it, parallel in the sky, her body poised and ready to strike.
She didn't hesitate.
Her twin swords stabbed toward its side...
Clank!
Both blades shattered on impact against the creature's thick exoskeleton.
Kanae's eyes widened. She leapt backward immediately, landing with a skid across the wet earth, heart pounding.
The ant landed gracefully, claws twitching, eyes burning into her with silent judgment. The question in the air was unspoken, but obvious.
How had she dodged all those fatal blows?
---
Radiant Ring
Type: Accessory – Ring
Effect: Grants resistance to decay and time-based effects. Increases the wearer's resistance to status conditions (slow, freeze, rot) by 40%.
Special Ability – Temporal Shift: Temporarily accelerates the wearer's personal time flow, granting 100% evasion of all attacks for 5 seconds.
Cooldown: 1 hour
---
Kanae felt the warmth from the ring on her finger fade. Its glow dimmed.
Her five seconds were up.
A spark of lightning licked her hands. She brought them together, her right hand clenched as though gripping something invisible, her left palm open in front of it.
With a steady motion, she drew her right hand back in an unsheathing motion, as though pulling a blade from her very skin.
A weapon materialized in her grasp.
---
Radiant Clawblade
Type: Sword
Attack: 450
Speed: +30%
Special Ability – Magic Siphon: Absorbs 10% of the enemy's magical energy with each strike, replenishing either mana or stamina depending on attack type.
Effect: Deals an extra 25% magic damage against magical beings. Can dispel active buffs on hit.
---
Kanae gripped the single-edged katana with both hands, settling into a ready stance, blade angled directly at the ant.
White began to creep into her hair, starting from the tips and crawling upward.
Her pupils narrowed into slits, shifting from a glowing red to an eerie orange.
The air around her shimmered, twisting unnaturally, strands of wind flowing around her body like she existed in a space half a second out of sync with reality.
The ant stared at her, unmoving. Its red eyes flickered with something like curiosity. Slowly, it raised its claws, preparing to attack.
But then, it stopped.
It turned toward the massive ant hill at the center of the island.
Kanae's newly sprouted fox-like ears twitched.
She could somehow hear screeching from the ant hill.
The monster flared its wings and, with a sonic boom, launched into the sky, vanishing like a red comet into the clouds. It didn't even spare her a final glance.
Kanae blinked, stunned by the sudden retreat. She watched as the ant monster soared toward the hilltop and vanished into its depths.
Her transformation faded. The slitted eyes dulled, her hair returning to its natural shade. Her body trembled from the aftermath.
She dropped to her knees, gasping.
"That was... terrifying," she whispered.
She drove the Radiant Clawblade into the ground and leaned on it, trying to steady her breath as the rain soaked through her clothes and the thunder rolled again above.
---
The Rendezvous – A Few Minutes Later
The surviving members of the Draw Sword Guild gathered near the beach, where the ruined port lay in eerie silence. Rusted cranes and broken cargo crates marked the area as a place long forgotten, abandoned since the first wave of monsters had made landfall four years ago.
Kanae sat on a shattered slab of concrete, soaked in rain and blood, as she gave her report, voice low and unsteady.
Mari Ishida knelt beside her, placing a comforting hand on Kanae's back. Her expression was somber.
Kumamoto stood nearby, arms wrapped around himself as he shivered violently. "I knew it," he whispered. "This raid is a bust."
Goto stood at the center of the group, as the rain ran down the blade of the sword resting on his shoulder. "Earlier, Matsumoto reported that the remaining ants have turned back. They're all returning to the anthill."
"The jammer isn't working?" Ippei Izawa asked. He was at Goto's side, concern etched into his features. Beside him, Kei adjusted his posture uncomfortably, his body tense.
"It appears so," Goto replied.
"The Queen somehow slipped past the jammer. I heard her screech myself," Kanae murmured, not lifting her head. Rain dripped steadily from her chin.
"Regardless," Goto continued, "if the ants are withdrawing back into their hive, the Korean Hunters stationed there will be overrun. And considering the creature that attacked us…"
He didn't need to finish the sentence.
Silence fell over the group like a pall.
Apart from Goto and Mari, everyone else had seen what remained of Hoshino and Fushijima.
The memory alone was horrifying.
"There's nothing more we can do for them," Goto said at last, his tone final.
"I can still smell it…" Kei muttered, clutching at his gas mask and pulling it tighter over his face. "It's not going away, it's getting stronger."
His voice shook. "Like it's… close."
Goto's eyes narrowed. He turned on instinct.
Shing!
A blinding flash. A clang of steel.
A shockwave rippled through the air as Goto's sword met an unseen strike.
Mari Ishida flinched, eyes wide. She hadn't seen it, had only felt the wind of death brush her neck.
Kanae stood in front of her, sword raised in a defensive arc, as she deflected the claw headed for her neck.
Across from them, Kei ripped off his mask and vomited into the sand.
Ippei stood frozen, staring.
The ant had returned.
Its black carapace gleamed wet in the rain, crimson eyes glowing with unnatural intensity. The air turned thick, suffocating, its presence was more than just menacing. It bled red, like the aura of a dying sun.
Kumamoto fell backward, scrambling away across the wet sand.
Ippei shakily drew his twin bladed tonfas, but his arms trembled too much to steady them.
Kei collapsed to his knees, retching again.
Mari was frozen in place, her breath caught in her throat.
The ant stared at them all.
And then it spoke.
[I am here for the King.]
Its voice echoed inside their minds, distant yet deafening. Everything else, the rain, the wind, even the ocean, seemed to fall silent in its wake.
Kanae's stomach dropped. 'It's already back? Then... the Korean hunters…'
'They're all dead.'
Goto narrowed his gaze. 'Kanae was right. This isn't just another ant. It's something else.'
He stepped forward calmly. "Everyone fall back," he ordered. "Now. This creature… it has quite the threatening presence."
[I am here for the King,] the ant said again, eyes gleaming as it tilted its head.
'An ant… that can talk?' Goto's aura began to rise, a pale, radiant white leaking from his body, trailing upwards like mist.
The ant stared at him curiously.
[You? You are the King?]
Goto smiled coldly. His sword lifted into a ready stance, and his aura flared like a miniature sun, casting milky light across the beach. His eyes turned pure white.
"Yes," he said. "In fact... I am the King."
[KEKE.]
The ant's mandibles clicked together in what almost resembled a smile. Its claws grew longer, sharper, and its aura expanded like a crimson flood, drowning the landscape in blood-red energy. The pressure cracked stone and bent the metal beams of the ruined port.
Goto's confident expression flickered for just a moment.
'This… magical power. It's just like… that demon's...'
'No. It doesn't matter. I can do this. I can win!'
He roared and charged.
His white aura surged forward like a blade of light, his sword gleaming as he swung.
"Die!!"
Crack!
Slice.
Thud.
Rain fell.
The beach was silent.
The Draw Sword Guild stood frozen.
Goto's head hit the sand.
His body fell a second later, split from shoulder to hip in a clean diagonal cut.
The ant turned to the rest.
[He was not the King.]