I stepped through the ruined gardens, the smell of blood and ozone thick in the air. On the other side of the shattered estate, where the shadows pooled deep, a figure stepped out.
The darkness seemed to cling to him, like it was part of his coat. It was Jin-Woo. His face was hard, his eyes scanning the area. They landed on me and stopped. Surprise flashed across his features, then settled into a look of grim relief.
"Samuel?"
I halted. A real shock of surprise hit me, followed fast by a wave of warmth. "Jin-Woo. You're here."
He gave a short nod, his eyes running over me quick, like he was checking for damage. "You look stronger. But you should go home. Look after Esther and Jin-Ah. This is too dangerous."
I shook my head. I felt that same stubborn, protective instinct for him that I knew he felt for me. "No. You go. Protect them. I'm here to end this."
A small, tired smile touched his lips. "One of us has to back down. You should."
I laughed, a light sound that felt strange in all this heaviness. "No way. You do."
We stared at each other. It felt weirdly familiar, like two friends arguing over who would pay the bill, but underneath it was all deadly serious.
"Let's make a bet," I said, my tone playful but my eyes firm. "Whoever is the MVP when this is over gets a party from the loser. Food, drinks, the whole thing."
Jin-Woo actually grinned. "Deal. The loser pays big."
I nodded, then my face got serious. "Ohh yeah, Jin-Ah awakened."
His eyes widened. Shock, then a deep, immediate concern flashed across his face. "What? When? Is she okay?" His hand clenched at his side. He looked like a worried older brother.
"I took care of it," I said, keeping my voice calm and steady. "I gave her a bit of a training plan for the time being . She's safe with Esther."
I saw the tension leave his shoulders. It was replaced by clear trust. "If you've handled it, then I don't need to worry. Thank you."
I smiled. "Good. But I hope you keep that face when I ask for her hand in marriage."
Jin-Woo looked utterly baffled, his eyes wide. "What? You did what?" Confusion and surprise fought on his face.
I laughed. "Exactly what you think. We've slept together."
"Is Jin-Ah okay with this?" he asked quickly.
I nodded. "She's the one who started it. She's happy."
Jin-Woo sighed. A long, weary sigh. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well... if she's happy, I won't stand in the way, as it is she has suffered a lot, and I don't want to take her happiness away. As it is, she's closer to you than me these days.
I don't know what we would have done without you and Esther. I would constantly worry about her even on raids, but with you and her around, I can always rest assured, knowing as long as you guys are with her, she's always protected and safe."
His words filled me with a deep warmth. "Thanks."
He managed another small smile. "Esther is like a second mother to us. As long as Jin-Ah is happy, it's okay. I trust you, brother."
The memory washed over me, sweet and clear. I remembered the first time I met Jin-Ah. She was just a tiny thing, maybe four years old, hiding behind Mother Park's legs, all big eyes and shy fear. That lasted exactly until I pulled a small, fluffy teddy bear from my bag. Then she'd launched herself forward, a sudden burst of trust, and claimed both the bear and my lap as her own.
That was how it started. She'd fall asleep curled against me during picnics with our mothers, Esther and mother Park, who were neighbours and friends. She'd force me to play house, always insisting I was the dad. Every time I appeared, she'd cling to my leg or my arm, a silent command to stay. She played with Jin-Woo too, but with me, it was different. With me, she was in charge.
I protected her. From kids at the park who tried to take her toys, from school bullies who made fun of her for being quiet. I made sure no one made her cry. In return, she decided she didn't need any other friends. "I have Sam," she'd tell her mother, simple as that.
After mother Park's coma, that bond became my duty and my purpose. I protected her personally. She'd sleep over at our house, and half the time she'd end up in my bed, a small warm weight beside me, asserting her authority. "You have to take care of me," she'd mumble in her sleep, or declare when she was awake.
And I never pushed her away. Not once. If anything, every time she leaned in, I just pulled her closer. She was this precious, fragile thing that had decided I was her safe place, and I was determined to be just that.
Jin-Ah had woven herself into my life as tightly as Esther had, a sister in all but blood, and later, the foundation for something even deeper. Remembering it all, a soft, unbidden smile touched my lips. She had always been mine to care for.
I grinned. "Then let's get back to them fast. We've got a bet on."
We attacked.
Jin-Woo's power unfurled around him. Shadows bled from the ground and from the fallen bodies of ants, both old and new, rising as silent, loyal soldiers. From the darkest pools, three familiar forms solidified with terrifying speed.
First, Iron—a hulking knight made of solidified shadow, his massive form crashing into the front lines with earth-shaking force, his spiked mace swinging in wide, brutal arcs that shattered chitin and bone.
Beside him, Igris materialized, a stoic general with a sword of pure darkness. He moved with lethal grace, his blade a flickering extension of Jin-Woo's own will, parrying plasma bolts and cutting through evolved hybrids with precise, unerring strikes.
Further back, Tank formed, raising his shadowy cannon arms. Volleys of concentrated darkness exploded amidst the swarm, scattering ants and carving openings in their relentless advance.
Alongside them, scores of other shadow soldiers—lesser knights, mages, and assassins—poured forth, a tide of darkness answering the tide of chitin.
Jin-Woo himself moved among them. He was not just a commander; he was the spearhead. He vanished from one spot and appeared in another, his twin daggers, Kamish's Wrath, leaving trails of violet light as they found joints, eyes, and throats.
His movements were a blur of pure, devastating speed and precision, a dance of death where every step was a kill, every twist avoided a retaliatory strike. He fought in perfect, silent synergy with his shadows, a whirlwind of destruction cutting a path straight into the heart of the swarm.
I fought differently. I brute-forced my way through. I didn't summon any weapons; my fists were enough plus I didn't have any to begin with. I punched through ant carapaces, felt them crack and splinter under my knuckles. I shattered limbs, grabbed bodies, and threw them aside like trash. "Die!" I yelled, my anger a hot fuel that made me relentless.
In the back of my mind, I thought to Gaia, "When do I get my real combat powers?"
Her voice answered, warm but firm. "Finish this mission first. Then you will receive them."
I bickered internally, like a kid wanting a toy. "Come on! I need them now! Just give them to me!"
Her tone became patient, like a mother. "No. You do good work first. Consider this a test. Solve this problem, and then you get your reward."
I threw a tantrum in my thoughts. "That's not fair! I'm fighting with my bare hands!"
Her voice turned serious. "Samuel, this situation is partly your fault."
I was shocked into silence. "My fault? How?"
Gaia's voice in my head shifted, becoming hesitant, almost awkward. "The… orgy. I mean the sexual activity you had in the villa with your mother and her friends."
I felt a jolt of confusion. What about it?
She continued, her tone embarrassed. "Your semen… It is not normal. It is coated in your unique mana, influenced by the system's power, and carries a fragment of my own energy. All of it mixed together. For creatures that live by nature's simplest law—survival of the fittest—such a substance is… it is like a divine nectar. The ultimate prize."
I just listened, a cold feeling starting to form in my gut.
"For beings like these ants, your bodily fluids—your sweat, your blood, and especially your semen—are a powerful lure. It makes them stronger. They will do anything to get more of it. And a lot of it was left behind in that villa. The ants can smell it. If even one ant tastes a single drop, the entire hive will know. And most importantly, the queen will know."
The cold feeling turned to ice.
"To them, it marks you as the prime source. The best genetic material. The queen does not just want to conquer. She wants to breed. She wants you for breeding. Insects follow the strongest scent, and your scent is now the strongest thing in their world."
I was stunned silent. My own actions had painted a target on my back in a way I never could have imagined.
Gaia's voice became very serious, very clear. "Samuel, their every action now has one simple goal. They are not just attacking. They are trying to capture you. The ant queen is planning to have sex with you. That is why they are hunting everyone to find you. That is their only purpose now."
I was stunned. "My... My semen caused this? And you knew from the start?"
"No," Gaia's voice was firm, patient. "I have been searching for the reason behind their behavior since the Jeju incident began. I only just discovered the truth when I looked into your memories. I saw it.
An ant, consuming your spilled semen. Worse, she was the queen herself. That is why they have been searching for you. Before the mutation, they would have used the remnants of your semen for simple nourishment to get stronger. But after the change... they became almost human. The queen can now directly procreate with you. You are her primary target."
She continued, her tone growing graver. "The monstrous mutation itself is not your fault. That was the work of Outer Deities and their Avatars. They are using Jeju as a testing ground, a conduit to see if any enemies on Earth can pose a threat to them. They are your future enemies."
Rage, hot and sharp, flooded me. But underneath it, a cold, sinking feeling spread through my gut. Guilt. My carelessness, my actions in that villa... they had painted a target not just on me, but on everyone here. Those women, suffering in the dark, the hunters being torn apart... it happened because the queen was looking for me. Because of what I left behind.
"Which gods? Who do I have to kill?" My thoughts were a snarl, directed at myself as much as at the distant enemies.
"Solve this first," Gaia urged. "Their full forms cannot descend yet; the planetary barrier still holds them at bay. But they have planted their Avatars on Earth through cracks formed from constant attacks. Those Avatars are here now, doing their masters' bidding. Be careful. Finish this quickly."
The guilt twisted inside me, sharp and urgent. 'I had to fix this. I had to end it now. And the Avatar who caused this mutation, who turned these insects into this nightmare... I would find them. I would make them pay in ways far worse than anything those innocent women had suffered.' A cold, focused fury joined the heat of my rage.
I took off, running at a faster pace. I brute forced my way through the ant lines with a renewed, white-hot fury. Every ant I shattered was a step toward fixing my mistake. Every hybrid I broke was a down payment on my guilt. I was headed straight for the villa's heart. I had a queen to kill, my own mess to clean up, and then I had an Avatar to find.
On the other end of the compound, Cha Hae-in led her team in a silent advance. They moved like ghosts, weapons ready. But a B-rank hunter named Min, his nerves frayed, stepped on a dry branch. The snap was like a gunshot in the quiet.
"Found you," a hybrid's voice rang out, clear and cold.
Ants poured from the ruins. Cha Hae-in didn't hesitate. "Stay behind me!" she yelled, stepping forward to meet the charge. Her sword was a flash of blue light. She moved faster than sight, cutting down soldier ants with every step.
She danced between the larger hybrids, her blade finding joints and eyes, slicing off limbs and drawing deep gashes in their tough hides. She was a storm of skill, fighting with a fierce, calm fury, drawing every enemy toward herself to shield her team.
But the hybrids she faced were different. They had fed on powerful hunters. Their strength and speed were monstrous. They began to surround her, their numbers endless. They grabbed at her arms, tried to crush her in their grips.
One finally caught her wrist, its hand like iron. Another claw hooked into her shirt and ripped. The fabric tore away. Another tore her pants from her. In moments, she was naked, her slim, powerful body—firm breasts, a narrow waist, every muscle defined—exposed.
She did not stop. She did not even seem to care about her being naked. Her face was set in a mask of pure focus. Even naked, she fought.
She twisted free, elbowed a hybrid in the throat, used her freed hand to drive her sword into another's side. "Fertile," one hybrid stated, watching her fight, but she was doing real damage, cutting them down faster than they could grab her.
Seeing her A and B-ranks being overwhelmed, their attacks useless, Cha Hae-in knew it was over. But not for them. With a final roar of effort and grief, she gathered her mana. Not for a killing blow, but for a signal. A brilliant, searing blue flare of pure energy shot from her free hand, rocketing high into the smoky sky. The message was clear: Run. Now.
"Go!" she screamed toward where she knew Gina and Lee Bora were hiding, her heart breaking even as she said it.
The lower ranks saw the flare. Gina, clutching Lee Bora's arm, whispered, "She saved us." With tears of shame and terror in their eyes, they turned and ran, the image of their captain's capture burning in their minds as they fled to find a way back to the mainland.
The hybrids saw her resolve. She was still fighting, still damaging them, even now. She was too dangerous, too unwilling to yield. Three of the largest, strongest hybrids—ones that had eaten S-ranks—converged on her at once. They took brutal hits from her sword to get close.
One grabbed her sword arm and twisted until the bone strained. Another punched her hard in the stomach, driving the air from her lungs. A third struck the side of her head. The world went dark and silent for Cha Hae-in. Her fierce fight ended not with a surrender, but with a hard, sudden knockout.
When she woke, it was in the dark catacombs. The sticky silk bound her, but unlike the others, they had not stopped at simple bonds. They had wrapped her entire body from neck to ankles in layers and layers of the tough silk, like a cocoon, leaving no room to move a muscle.
They had even wound it tightly across her mouth. They had seen her fight. They knew her strength. They would take no chances. She was their most prized capture, and they would not let her escape for a single moment before the queen could use her.
(A/N: If you are unable to follow, I'll explain the order of events. While the teams from across the world were being sent to Jeju Island, the women were already stuffed with ant eggs. By the time the eggs hatched and some time had passed, the teams arrived, met with their respective scouts, formulated a plan, and attacked the ants from all sides, surrounding the villa.
During this time, the Korean hunters were all briefed about the worsening situation on Jeju and were sent with their respective teams. By the time the Korean teams landed, the teams from around the world were killed, the women were captured, and some had even been assaulted. This was the situation when the Korean teams arrived in Jeju.)
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