Chapter 44

The office was engulfed in a clash of colors. One side was bathed in deep, luminous green, threads of mist swirling like faint silk and webs pooling and swaying. The other side blazed crimson, streaked with sparks of black lightning that shimmered and snapped as the auras pushed restlessly against one another.

“Now then… what exactly do you want, Monarch?” Kaede said, leaning forward, voice low and commanding.

From the moment Nisha had stepped into the office, Kaede had been wary. The aura that followed the woman, far superior to Becquerel’s, was enough to put her on alert. But it was the message that had arrived moments ago that truly set the stakes.

---

You’re in the presence of a Monarch.

---

Nisha glanced around slowly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Ah. A pocket dimension. Very clever. I can see how much you care about your subordinates.”

Kaede blinked, concealing her surprise. ‘A pocket dimension? So that’s what this is? I thought the soundproofing and wards were simply to block noise and magic. Not to isolate space itself…’

“Of course. This should tell you I’m not in the mood for jokes. Try not to test my patience.” She offered a faint smile, brushing a strand of hair from her face. 'Please buy it. Please buy it.'

Nisha sank back in her chair, brushing an imaginary speck from the surface of the desk. “It certainly does. Though in the end, it won’t matter, which makes this almost amusing to watch.”

Kaede tilted her head slightly, voice softening to a dangerous edge. “Won’t matter, huh? And why is that?”

Nisha shrugged languidly. Suddenly, her skin shimmered and peeled apart like a shed exoskeleton. Segments of chitin and translucent membranes unfolded until a nine‑foot tall, monstrous figure replaced the well-dressed woman. “Because you have only two choices,” she said, voice rising with a faint hiss. “Cooperate and do my bidding… or I make you cooperate. The result will be the same.”

Kaede stared for a moment, momentarily taken aback, then sighed and sank into her chair. “Wow. That escalated quickly.” She waved a hand, brushing insects from the air. “Look, I get it, you’re strong. Probably strong enough to make most people here soil themselves. But trust me when I say this, you really don’t want to pick a fight with me. Nobody wants to pick a fight with me.”

A faint, almost teasing smirk curved her lips. 'Well… except for Payne. That guy kept up with Maple for years through sheer stubbornness and skill. Even when I grew far stronger than him, he still scared the hell out of me.'

With that, she waved a hand and reshaped the giant chair Nisha now occupied, making it larger and sturdier until it fit her monstrous frame. Kaede sank back herself, brushing hair from her face, voice low and confident. “So, are you going to tell me what you want… or not?”

Nisha blinked as the chair beneath her grew twice its size, reshaping itself to fit her monstrous frame. An amused smile crossed her lips. “Alright, then. I’ll oblige you.”

She leaned forward slightly, voice soft but commanding. “I want you to open a portal to the Chaos World.”

Kaede tilted her head, brushing hair from her face. “Chaos World? That sounds… oddly familiar.” She rested her chin on her knuckles. “Oh, right. That’s what Hosha called that Red Gate we came out of.”

Nisha scoffed, brushing a long, sharp fingernail across the surface of the desk. “That’s where you’re wrong, little hunter. The Red Gate is only a door, one that leads to a much larger prison. A prison built for special inmates too strong to be kept within ordinary dungeons.”

“Prisons, huh?” Kaede said slowly. “That’s what Hosha called the dungeons too. And he mentioned Monarchs, going so far as to call himself the Monarch of Lightning.”

Nisha let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “It appears that in our absence, the rabble have started to fancy themselves kings.”

Kaede watched the monstrous woman, unfazed. “So you’re supposed to be a Monarch? What exactly makes you different?”

Nisha smiled, a faint crack sounding as her skin shimmered. Suddenly, a long, chitinous centipede emerged from within her body. The monstrous thing slithered forth, curling and twisting until it settled across her shoulders like a living shawl. Its faint green glow pulsated as she announced herself.

“I am Querehsha, the queen of insects, and the Monarch of Plagues.”

Kaede didn’t flinch, didn’t raise a brow. She simply watched, resting her chin atop her palm. After a long moment, she shrugged. “Hi, I’m Maple. Nice to meet you.”

Querehsha froze, blinking slowly as if expecting more, shock, terror, anything. When none came, she sighed and shrank down, reshaping herself into a more human-sized form. “That’s it? ‘Hi?’” She tilted her head. "It appears I forgot you humans don't know what a Monarch is."

Kaede offered a faint, unimpressed smirk. “Yeah. That’s literally why I asked what a Monarch was. You still haven’t explained it, by the way.”

Querehsha faltered, realizing her blunder, as a faint blush crept across her pale skin. She averted her gaze, voice tight. “I tire of your questions, human. Now, open a portal to the Chaos World.”

Kaede raised her hands in frustration. “How am I supposed to do that? The Red Gate is responsible for opening the way, not me.”

Querehsha shook her head sharply. “Incorrect. As I told you before, the Red Gate is merely an entry point to a larger prison created by the Fragments of Brilliant Light. It cannot transport you to the Chaos World. You arrived there by your own power.”

Kaede frowned. “You’re not listening.”

“No, you’re the one not listening,” Querehsha snapped. Her form shimmered as countless tiny shapes surged and twisted just beneath her skin, a hint of the monstrous nature within. Then she drew in a long, slow breath, her body settling until she appeared fully human once more.

“Or,” she said quietly, voice sharp as a blade, “do you not possess the ability to create portals?”

That stopped Kaede cold. “Portals…?” she repeated slowly, brow furrowing as the word sank in.

---

“I KNOW YOUR KIND.” Becquerel managed to say as he resisted the force behind the blow. “PREDATOR DEMONS. FROM THE LOWER MAWS OF THE DEMON REALM. NOTHING BUT BARBARIC ANIMALS...” His words were cut off as the predator’s fists won the struggle.

The ground shattered and Becquerel was sent smashing into his throne.

The massive predator bellowed in what might have been either a laugh or a screech.

---

“Portals… to the lower maws of the Demon Realm,” Kaede said slowly, tasting the words. “That’s where Hosha said the predators came from.”

“The Demon Realm,” Querehsha echoed, patting the centipede on her shoulder as she pondered. “That’s not exactly adjacent to my domain. But I can make the journey in a few hours, especially now that Baran is dead. The Demon Realm is already fragmented, separating from the Chaos World.”

Kaede watched the Monarch of Plague closely, and a thought surfaced unbidden. 'There's also Pandemonium… Back in the game, it gave me the ability to summon a hundred monsters and two Oni. What would happen if I used it now?'

Querehsha rose to her feet, the centipede crawling down to her waist. “Enough talking. Make the portal.”

Kaede raised an eyebrow. “And why exactly would I do that?”

The Monarch didn’t answer with words. Instead, she surged apart, her body disassembling into countless writhing black shapes, a monstrous silhouette of chittering insects and crawling legs. Suddenly, a massive hand crashed into the wall behind Kaede with a resounding BANG, and a voice like a hive of locusts hissed from within the shifting mass. “I grow tired of your games, girl! You will do as I say... or else…”

WHOOM!

A shockwave of crimson and black erupted from Kaede, filling the room like a storm. The wave of energy blasted the crawling insect form apart, burning countless tiny bodies to ashes. The monstrous silhouette reeled backward.

Kaede rose from her chair, crimson eyes blazing. A massive, black steel shield materialized beside her as midnight armor surged across her body like molten shadow, locking into place. The air shimmered with her aura, pressing down like a mountain.

“Wanna go?” Kaede said coldly, voice thrumming with restrained violence. “Then bring it.”

Crack!

A sharp sound rang out around the room. Then another. And another. The walls of the office shuddered as faint cracks began to splinter across its surface.

Querehsha smiled, a gleeful, monstrous expression twisting across her shifting, insect‑formed body. “I hope you didn’t expect a mere pocket dimension to hold me,” she hissed, voice like the sound of countless legs crawling over dry leaves. “You seem confident in your strength, Kaede. But tell me... are you confident in that of your subordinates?”

More and more insects surged forth from the Monarch’s body, the formless silhouette growing taller, darker, and more monstrous. The pressure of her aura bubbled and churned, filling the room until it felt like a living, breathing thing.

Kaede narrowed her eyes, a faint line of tension appearing between her brows. 'I can take her down instantly. But if I do… every attack I launch capable of doing that will obliterate Musashino. None of the guild will survive.'

Querehsha tilted her head as if reading the thought and slithered closer, voice dripping with sadistic glee. “Why restrain yourself, little hunter? Let’s make this a proper fight. A place where you can bare your fangs… and forget about your precious friends.”

Kaede clenched her fist until the sound of metal creaked within her gauntlet. Damn her.

Then, exhaling slowly, she closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, the crimson glow was sharper, brighter.

With a whisper, a swirling, deep‑purple portal unfurled beside the far wall. Oddly, no Predators emerged from it, as if the gate itself responded to the weight of Kaede’s will.

Querehsha’s monstrous smile widened, splitting her insect‑shrouded form as she began to slither backward toward the portal. “Hahaha! So you can make a gate after all.” She waved one long, spindly hand, voice rising like a screech. “Come then, little mortal. Come to my world, if you dare. Your corpse will make for quite a delightful feast.”

With that, the Monarch of Plagues sank backward into the swirling darkness, disappearing from view, her laughter echoing until it faded into silence.

Kaede stood still for a moment, fists clenched tight, crimson light burning in her eyes. “Alright, then,” she growled.

A few seconds later the portal closed as Kaede walked through it.