Ch 217: Jeju Island.
[You were right. I needed this.] thought Akeno as her now considerable group reached the building of the Korean Hunters Association.
[Right? Nothing like just setting everything aside for a few days, only needing to follow your favorite dragon's commands.] smugly said Albion, and Akeno could picture her smirk.
[You're still getting a Crest next time.] promised Akeno, thinking about the one on her back. As agreed, Albion hadn't let it evolve to its final form, and the Crest would disappear after fifteen days. Assuming she wanted to get rid of it. It did make sex feel even better, after all.
[I look forward to it. I want it in front, too, so I can look at it.]
Yoo Jinchul was waiting in the lobby, and smiled as they walked in.
"Greetings, everyone." smiled Jinchul. "The chairman is waiting in the conference room along with the other S-rank hunters."
"Hello. I hope they didn't wait for long." smiled Akeno.
"No. You are still coming early." said Jinchul, opening the elevator's doors.
With Jinchul, Akeno, Jinah, Jeanne, Alter, Gina, Lee Bora, Lee Joohee, Meilin and Heejin, all dressed in the same black and gold armors and black robes, the cabin was crowded.
As it rose, Akeno idly wondered if Jinchul was aware that accompanying him in this little metal box was the greatest concentration of combat power this world had ever seen. The nine members of Noah's faction could easily have taken over Korea or the United States, had they chosen to.
"We have requested three choppers from the army to transport the first wave. We must be on the rooftop in ten minutes." mentioned Jinchul. "A-rank and B-rank Hunters will follow on warships for the clean-up."
"Yes. We are ready." nodded Akeno.
They left the elevator, and Woo Jinchul led them to the same conference room where they had previously discussed the situation with the dungeons, the Monarchs and the Rulers.
About twenty people were already standing inside.
"Greeting, Chairman." smiled Akeno as they entered.
"Hi, Miss Himejima." smiled Go Gunhee. "Today is the day. Are you all ready?"
"We are." nodded Akeno, turning to the middle-aged man on the Chairman's right.
"Miss Himejima, this is Shigeo Matsumoto, the Chairman of the Japanese branch." said Go Gunhee.
"Greetings, Chairman. I have heard about you." smiled Akeno.
"You're the famous Hunter who exceeded everyone's expectations." smiled the man with short black hair and sideburns, with a short mustache and goatee. "You heard about me? I hope what you heard was good things."
"Not really." said Akeno, still smiling. "I only hope that the Japanese S-rankers are coming with us out of an honest desire to put an end to the threat of that ant colony, and not because of some… ulterior motives."
That certainly put a damper in the mood, as every S-rank hunter present, Korean and Japanese alike, froze and started looking at each other.
"Some kind of ulterior motive, you say?" frowned Shigeo.
"Yes." said Akeno, her smile cold. "Like for example, seeing this crisis as an opportunity to decrease the number of Korean S-rank Hunters. But I am sure that my source must be misinterpreting your good intentions. Surely you wouldn't stoop that low, when the very survival of humanity on this planet is threatened."
"That is a ridiculous claim." replied Shigeo. "The first ant scouts killed close to two hundred civilians on our own shores. Whoever your source is, they are making a grave mistake."
Had Akeno been an ordinary Hunter, Shigeo would have been so angry that he might have rescinded his offer to help the Jeju island raid, despite the benefits Korea had offered them.
But Akeno Himejima was the one Hunter who helped people affected by the Eternal Slumber disease, and had recently proved that she could make other Hunters more powerful. Half the Japanese Hunters in the room had come on a large part to benefit from her services. He could not afford to antagonize her, or he might even see some of the A-rank and S-rank Japanese Hunters moving to Korea.
"I am glad this is all a misunderstanding, then. My apologies for bringing it up, Chairman." nodded Akeno.
She had offered Shigeo Matsumoto an off-ramp, but her goal had been reached. The Japanese Hunters wouldn't play games, when even fulfilling their goals would cause suspicion, and the Korean Hunters would be on guard.
Akeno introduced every one of her companions, and the Japanese Hunters stiffly introduced themselves in turn.
Their leader, Ryuji Goto, was the Guild Master of the Draw Sword Guild. Almost all Japanese S-rank Hunters were part of it.
The man looked to be in his thirties, possessed sharp features, with unruly hair brushed backward and a pointed bread. He was dressed in a black and copper colored armor partially covered by a long black coat, like most members of the Draw Sword guild, and was a swordsman through and through. A long Katana with a red sheath hung from his waist
Akeno knew that he intended to gain achievements in this raid and become a National-Level Hunter.
Kanae Tawata was a tall woman with long black hair styled into two pig tails, red eyes, and looked to the be cool and jaded type. She didn't wear armor like the others, preferring lighter clothes. Black pants, black hat, a pink jacket that she kept partially opened and falling off her shoulders and black tank top. A large black tattoo covered her left arm and shoulder, and part of her chest. She was armed with one katana and another sword, but Akeno thought she only used one at a time, since both sheaths were fixed on her left side.
Akari Shimizu had large light brown eyes and light orange-brown hair that she wore in two buns with neck-length hair strands hanging on either side. A huge battle axe was strapped on her back, despite being classified as a Healer. She had a lollipop in her mouth and looked curiously at Akeno and her group.
Mari Ishida was a short young woman with brown eyes and orange hair in a bob cut. She was armed with a spear.
The six other male Japanese Hunter held little interest to Akeno, and she barely remembered their names.
When the introductions were over, Akeno and the others greeted the Korean S-rank Hunters, and Go Gunhee cleared his throat, smartphone in hand.
"The choppers are coming, so if you ladies and gentleman could follow me to the rooftop…"
The Hunters nodded and followed him.
Go Gunhee and Shigeo Matsumoto wished them good luck, not bothering with a speech since everyone was very aware of the stakes.
Minutes later, they were on their way. They had mixed together, and Akeno was in the same compartment as Choi Jong-In and Ryuji Goto.
Akeno had no doubts that in the other choppers, the members of her family were being questioned about their power-up, and would do a good job promoting it. Without a doubt, she would be asked questions before long as well. But she first had something to ask about, and she turned to Choi Jong-In.
"So, what is the plan?"
"The Japanese Hunters will split into four teams and spread over the island, causing the ants to leave their nest, and the Korean team will enter the nest to kill their Queen, then leave. With the Queen dead, the Ants would be doomed even if the follow-up clean-up operation failed."
"At least, that was the plan, until you mentioned that Ant King." bitterly smiled Jong-In.
"Five separate groups is too much for us to protect effectively, when the Ant King has the initiative of which group to engage and plenty of cannon fodder to slow down reinforcements, and casualties are unacceptable." frowned Akeno. "It should be three groups or less."
"I am still not completely convinced that this Ant King exists." shrugged Ryuji. "Much less that I can't deal with it."
"Here's what I suggest." said Akeno. "We will all land in one spot on the island. When the ants attack us, Jinah will do something that is certain to elicit a strong answer from the ants. Their Queen will realize that throwing cannon fodder at the meat grinder will be useless, so the Ant King will come."
Choi Jong-In glanced at Jinah who was sitting near Akeno.
"What do you plan to do?"
"I inherited the power of the Shadow Monarch." shrugged Jinah, and Jong-In inhaled sharply, looking worried.
"Are you… him?"
"No. There is no risk of that. Troubleshooters are immune to possession." said Jinah.
"What are you talking about?" frowned Ryuji.
Akeno glanced at Choi Jong-In, who shrugged.
"Ryuji-san, what did the Chairman told you about us, and the looming crisis?"
"He told us about you being able to upgrade other Hunters, although your method is apparently faster with female ones."
"That is correct. What else?" asked Akeno.
"He warned us about flying ants reaching our shores, the Jeju raid, and a new kind of enemy called the ant king that would be comparable in power to Kamish."
"I do not know about Kamish, but the Ant King isn't something the average S-rank could deal with, yes. The Chairman seem to only have told you about what you wouldn't outright dismiss as fantasy tale. If you survive this raid, I will tell you about the reason Dungeons exist, the Monarchs, and the Rulers."
"You know why Dungeons have started appearing?" frowned Ryuji.
"Yes. And why they only appear in cities. We will tell you later, after you have a chance to see the Ant King for yourself. Just don't try to be greedy and attack it on your own. You won't become a National-Level Hunter if you're dead, and my backer won't reward me if any S-rank Hunter dies. That would make me very angry."
Ryuji frowned more as Akeno made him very uncomfortable. She didn't just know about Shigeo's plan, but also seemed to know about his own goal as well. His ambitions weren't all that secret or hard to guess, but she seemed too certain.
He sighed and decided to bid his time and continue this conversation after the raid, as he didn't want to antagonize her, either, at least until he got her to upgrade his abilities.
"Assuming we go into a single group, what do you intend to do if the Ant King doesn't come, and they try to swarm us?" asked Choi Jong-In.
"We can deal with swarming B-ranked Ants, even if they all fly. If the Ant King doesn't come, we can either slowly advance, or split the group in two, with three or four troubleshooters protecting those who will stay behind, and a handful of the strongest of us attacking the nest itself. But you yourself are the raid's leader, I won't object to your own plan, as long as there are at least three Troubleshooters per group. Three may not be enough to kill the Ant King, but they should at least hold on long enough to be reinforced."
"…We won't split up immediately and try your suggestion." finally nodded Choi Jong-In. "If no Ant King come, it won't be too late then to split and take on the Ants from several fronts."
"Thank you." smiled Akeno.
"I, too, would like to end this raid without any casualty." smiled the Red-haired man as he adjusted his glasses with a finger.
The flight lasted about thirty more minutes, and the pilot's voice sounded from the intercom.
"We've arrived in view of Jeju Island."
Akeno looked at Jinah, Meilin and Heejin, who were in the same chopper, and steeled their determination. Soon, they would be busy, and…
"Flying ants are coming!" shouted the pilot.
Akeno reacted instantly and jumped forward, pressing the intercom button near the cockpit's door.
"Open the rear hatch, now!"
Barely a second later, the rear hatch started opening.
Akeno jumped out, deploying her fallen angel wings and getting a little distance away from the chopper and its rotors. She accelerated forward, seeing two dozen calf-sized red ants heading toward them.
Akeno created a half-dozen light sword and started hacking away. The ants were fast, but not very agile in the air, and their wings were easy targets. She made short work of them all, the few who hadn't suffered lethal wounds still having lost a wing or two and plummeting from the sky.
Akeno gestured to the chopper's pilot, and the three helicopters followed her to a cliff.
The first chopper landed, and the Hunters quickly came out, helping Akeno as the ants were starting to organize a counter-attack. Large waves of flames flew over Akeno's head, crashing into the ants and incinerating them in droves.
"What were those black wings? I didn't know you could fly." said Choi Jong-In.
"You didn't need to know, until it was needed." smiled Akeno.
"…Are you perhaps related to one of those rulers?"
"No. Their wings are white. Thunderio."
A stream of golden lightning burst from the magic array in front of her right palm, and a dozen more ants died as the lightning forked to strike many of them.
As soon as the third chopper unloaded its passengers and flew away to join the fleet's air cover, Jinah walked closer.
And as she walked, her shadow grew and expanded. Her 90 shadow soldiers started emerging from it, ignoring the gasps and shocked expressions of most S-rank heroes, and formed the frontline.
Igris walked to stand by Jinah's side, and she nodded at him.
"Igris, when the Ant King comes, I will count on you." smiled Jinah, and Igris saluted with his sword and a nod.
"You guys should remain vigilant, ants may start climbing the cliff to flank us!" called out Akeno as she looked back at the Hunters, and they nodded, watching the skies and the fight intently.
The ants were engaging the shadow soldiers, but despite their number advantage, they couldn't make any progress. The shadow soldiers were more powerful and had more range with their weapons. And whenever one of them suffered an injury, they could simply regenerate by taking some of Jinah's mana.
"Arise." called out Jinah. Over a dozen shadow ants were revived and attacked their former comrades.
"This is the power of the Shadow Monarch…" breathed Baek Yoonho.
"Only a small fraction of the power Ashborn possessed. I still need time to grow and master his inheritance. But still, pretty cool, uh?" smiled Jinah, then she sobered. "Until you remember that the Monarch of Destruction is just as strong as Ashborn was in his prime."
"King of Destruction?" asked Ryuji.
"Antares, Monarch of Destruction, and also known as the King of Dragons. Kamish's boss." shrugged Akeno, looking carefully at the flying ants, searching for the Ant King. She guessed that when he would show up, they wouldn't have much time to react. "Antares will come soon, and when he does, we will kill him."
They already had killed hundreds of ants, but the assault was only intensifying.
After a few minutes, Jinah decided to release the ant soldiers, and their forms dissipated as if they were made of smoke. When Akeno looked at her, Jinah shrugged.
"They fought like beasts and didn't stay in formation. they were getting injured too often, costing me too much mana. I'll extract more if needed."
Igris suddenly jumped to the side and collided with something big and black that had come from the right. Igris and this enemy both crashed into the mass of ants in front of the shadow soldiers, and the ants strangely stopped their assault and retreated, their antennae waving around furiously.
Igris jumped back as the ant king got to his feet, the intense pressure emanating from him dwarfing the Hydra Akeno had faced during her trial.
Akira made a step back in sudden fear, aware that before Igris suddenly moved, the black creature had been headed straight toward her, and she only had seen a blur from the corner of her eye.
Without Akeno needing to order it, every person able to cast Augment used it.
The Ant King was a large and muscular humanoid ant with a black armored exoskeleton, glowing red eyes, sharp claws, two small pincers extending from his abdomen, and four transparent ant wings.
"This is…" started Choi Jong-In, shocked. it was one thing to know about a powerful enemy. It was quite another to see it standing in front of you, to feel its malevolent aura dwarf and smother you.
"And, that's the Ant King." nodded Akeno, equipping an Eclipse on each hand.
"You…" said the Ant King, with a grating voice that was barely understandable, as if he spoke for the first time. Which was likely the case. "…death."
Igris lowered his center of gravity and jumped forward with explosive force, swinging his huge sword hard at the Ant king.
But the latter was even faster and jumped to avoid the blow, then grabbed Igris by the arm and threw him into the mass of ants behind him.
The ants bit into Igris, trying to tear him apart, and he frantically slashed with his sword and kicked ants away to free himself.
While Igris was busy, the Ant King glared at the invader for an instant, then jumped toward the nearest shadow soldier with the speed of a bullet. His sharp claws split the first Shadow soldier at the waist, and the Ant King kicked another to the side, making his way to the Hunters.
Jinah used Shunpo to appear near him and swung her swordstaff. The Ant King lifted a forearm to block her attack, confident in his defense, and the blade bit deeply into it.
The Ant King flinched and jumped back, nearly tearing the weapon from Jinah's hands.
It jumped to the side to evade Igris's sword, who had freed himself from the ants, and immediately flew away!
"Oh no, you don't!" shouted Akeno, summoning her Holy Lightning.
A streak of golden lightning fell from the cloudless sky and hit the Ant King mid-flight, stunning it and causing it some burns, but it recovered before crashing in the island's wooden area and kept going. Before anyone else could react, the Ant King dove under the cover of the trees.
The ants on the ground were also putting some distance between themselves and the Hunters.
"Damn." muttered Jinah.
"Is the Ant King a coward?" asked Gina.
"No. It will die to protect the queen." sighed Akeno. "I think he either decided that fighting in ant tunnels would negate our numbers advantage, or…"
Akeno's words trailed off as flying ants after flying ants were coming out of the woods.
"Or they're trying an aerial assault next." finished Choi Jong-In.
"And the Ant King will likely try swooping in while we're busy with the red ones." grimly said Baek Yoonho, hoping he was wrong. But that was what he would do in the Ant King's shoes.
Although the Ant King didn't have shoes.
Baek Yoonho considered himself rather strong. He knew he wasn't the strongest of the S-rankers, but he was far from weak, either. But this Ant King made his blood run cold. Just from the beast's aura alone, he knew that he didn't have a chance to stand against it.
Deciding to go all out, he activated his transformation ability, turning into a tiger-like humanoid monster with white fur, pure white hair, sharp claws, and prominent fangs. His strength and speed were increased in that state.
"Jeanne, seconds after the ants attack, use your noble phantasm, please." said Akeno, and Jeanne nodded, her battle flag unfurling.
When the number of flying ants reached about two thousand, by Akeno's estimation, they all moved forward while spreading out, intending to attack the group of Hunters from all sides.
Most melee-focused Hunters paired themselves with those able to attack from a distance, ready to shield them, while the casters launched their spells skyward. Some of the Shadow Infantry spread out among them to do the same, and the twenty shadow mages Jinah has summoned added to the anti-air barrage. Akeno and all those able to use Hard Light Arsenal manifested over fifty light swords and spears together, and attacked any flying ant within fifty meters from the group.
The wingless ants were resuming their assault as well, and some huge white ones appeared among their ranks. Jinah decided to extract some ants from the countless corpses to reduce the pressure on the shadow infantry holding the line.
"The strength shining in my flag. The brilliant heart of my comrades. All is for Human Order's sake. Here is where we stand! Luminosité Eternelle!" shouted Jeanne as she raised her battle flag high, and a golden aura spread from it, forming a golden shield and repelling the ants that were getting closer despite their horrendous losses.
Akeno also unleashed her Aura of Domination. She didn't see any obvious effect, but every little bit would help as the ants were going all-out.
And as they had expected, the Ant King came charging in, using the sun to mask his approach.
It intended to perform hit-and-run attacks, beheading one or two humans each time, using its huge speed advantage to its full extent. With the number of magic-casting humans decreasing, its flying brethren would quickly overwhelm the others.
And its plan suddenly stopped when its body crashed at full speed against Jeanne's noble phantasm, her golden shield stopping it cold with a great bang.
The Ant King fell to the ground, stunned, and Alter used Shunpo to appear near it, swinging her battle flag in a downward move while using Juggernaut.
The Ant King lifted both arms above its head to parry, but the crushing blow forced it to his knees, and the ground shattered under it. Jinah swung her swordstaff, aiming for the Ant King's neck, and the Ant King, who couldn't use his arms to block in time, lifted his shoulder to block, trading a fatal injury for a serious one.
The Ant King opened in mandibles, and a barbed tongue stuck out of great speed, surprising Jinah. She still managed to tilt her head aside, only receiving a cut on her left cheek.
This made her furious, and Jinah grabbed the tongue before the Ant King could retract it.
Akeno, using her new Ghost Walker ability, appeared behind the Ant King before it noticed her, and drove both of her black swords deep into its back. She channeled Holy Lightning through the blades, and the Ant King spasmed uncontrollably, until Jinah drove her swordstaff through the Ant King as well. And she immediately released her weapon with a yelp.
"Akeno!" shouted Jinah accusingly. She had gotten shocked as well as the Holy Lightning passed from the Ant King's body through the swordstaff and into her hands.
"Sorry!" apologetically smiled Akeno, freeing one of the two Eclipses from the paralyzed Ant King's body, and quickly lopping its head off.
Jinah recovered her swordstaff, her fingers still shaking a little, and they resumed the fight without waiting.
There were still plenty of ants trying their best to kill them.
After a few minutes, the attack stopped.
Thousands upon thousands of ant corpses had formed a wall, seemingly conveying their collective desire to keep the invaders away from their nest. A thousand more corpses were floating in the waters under the cliff.
Jinah walked in front of the Ant King's corpse, and took a deep breath.
"Arise."
Bleck Miasma oozed from the corpse and coalesced into a black arm. The shadow Ant King extricated itself from the body, and knelt in front of Jinah, head bowed.
"I'll name you… Beru." smiled Jinah, happy to have a second strong shadow under her command. The Ant King seemed happy to receive a name, and he moved to the wall of ant corpses, starting to create a path through it.
"Beru?" asked Akeno.
"I don't know. It just felt… right somehow." shrugged Jinah. "how many levels did you get? I got eight."
"Not surprising, considering the number of kills you and your shadow soldiers raked up." grinned Akeno.
"Yeah. Arise." said Akeno, turning to the pile of corpses, and nearly four dozen ants joined the ranks of the shadow infantry.
"I suggest we all take a break before we continue." said Choi Jong-In, and Akeno nodded.
The Ant Queen wasn't going anywhere.
With the Ant King and the vast majority of the ants dead, The Queen only had a few hundred worker ants and four guardian ants remaining, and she had recalled them all inside the nest for a last stand.
She knew she couldn't escape in time. There was nowhere to escape to in the first place, as the invaders would search the island until they found her.
They were smart, too. When they attacked, they had split up into five smaller groups, simultaneously attacking the nest's five entrances, and each group was led by those black humans or ants that refused to die no matter how much they were bitten. Her ambushes and flanking attempts all wound up in complete failure.
One of the invading groups finally reached her royal chamber. The last thing she ever saw was the black human soldier with the long crimson mane and red frayed cape jumping high above her guard to reach her, driving his two-handed sword into her head.