章 71: Jeju Island Aftermath
Walking out of the mountain, we're embraced by the rain.
'Why is it raining, nothing bad happened?'
As if to answer my question, Ma Dongwook, who carried the team radio, stuttered, "Goto Ryuji's half-eaten… corpse was discovered. If that's true, then doesn't that mean that… monster… ate Goto to gain his voice?"
All of us remain dead silent, proceeding to the shoreline where we'd be picked up. As everyone board the helicopter, Jinwoo and I stand just outside.
"We'll stay behind here."
"Huh? Why?"
Being asked by Baek Yoonho, I answer, "We still have something left to do."
Baek desperately wanted to ask more, but his eyes turn downcast, "I see. Because… It's still not over."
Jinwoo then turned his head to the still ant infested skies.
"I'll clear the way for you guys, and then clean up the remaining ants."
Jinwoo then pulled a new shadow from his army.
"Kaisel."
Boarding the huge shadow wyvern, we kill the ants that blocked the helicopter from ascending and then head straight back to the Ant Nest, where the two of us would collect new soldiers.
"Since you brought me all the way out here and broadcasted me on national television, I think it's only natural that I get to kill the remaining ants and their eggs."
Feeling Jinwoo's eyes bore into me, I shrug my shoulders.
"Sure, feel free to even make this legion of ants into your army. But you don't get the Queen. That ant is my right."
Instead of agreeing to the terms, Jinwoo summoned his Shadow Magicians and started to bomb the ant eggs.
"You're lucky they still give experience."
Leaving Jinwoo to his own devices while questioning how I should rebuild our relationship; I stroll into the throne room.
"Such an abundant yet weak aura."
Kneeling next to the disfigured Queen Ant corpse, I rest my hand on its head.
"Ascend."
Like a flashbang, my surroundings changed to pure white. But just as soon as it had come, it went.
⸢You have successfully extracted the Light⸥
Looking at my new Soldier of Light, I feel myself get a little bit giddy, both impressed by its appearance and newfound power.
Unlike Asmund or Bingha, this Soldier was dressed in a white carapace with a texture like her original appearance and instead of pincers, she wields a pair of sickles. Along with that, her helmet had enlarged eyes which glow an eerie red, but the part where her mouth should be shielded by a layered metal covering.
⸢[?? Lv.1]
Rank: Virtue ⸥
"I wonder if Jinwoo will allow me to keep at least one of the Royal Guards."
As I head off to go and ask him, I freeze in my tracks.
'My savior… Please give me a name…'
Craning my head backwards, I stare wide eyed at the reborn Queen Ant who spoke through my mind.
"How are you able to 'talk' with me?"
'I was able to… It was my only form of communication to speak to my children.'
"Then why do you choose to serve me, if I killed you and your children?"
'You have not yet killed us my savior… we are but on the edge between being saved by you… or lost to a pitch-black space where we'll stay for an eternity. I wish to serve you because I don't want to stay there.'
"So, in other words, I was simply the better of the two options."
She lowers her head even more.
'You cannot put it so simply savior, my faith for you runs deeper than I could ever describe.'
"That works for me then." I nod my head, "From this day forward then, you shall be known as Aeri.
'Thank you… my savior. And if I may be so impertinent, could you please save a few of my children… just one will suffice…'
Nodding my head, Jinwoo enters the room at this moment and pauses.
"That's the Queen Ant?" He points at Aeri.
"Yes, she is."
"But like, wasn't she huge… How'd she get so small?'
"Don't ask me." I shrug, "It's just how it works. Plus, Aeri made a request of me."
Jinwoo raises his eyebrow.
"She asked for me to allow one of her children to ascend."
"Just one?"
I deadpan, "Well, she obviously wants more, but she said at least one would suffice."
Jinwoo huffs, "You can have one of the Royal Guards… and any ants you kill on the outside, you can also have."
Giving Jinwoo a deep bow and my sincerest thanks, I raise one of the Royal Guards and head outside the mountain to leave Jinwoo to raise the Ant King.
'Thank you, my savior…'
"Think nothing of it… It's the least I could do for killing you. But now that we're finally outside, I want to see what you can do Aeri. So… kill as many ants in the sky as you possibly can. With each you kill, it's one more child you'll have back."
Aeri instantly perks up at this and her mouthpiece opens to reveal a deep red abyss.
---
⸢Aeri is using [Skill: Manipulative Scream]
Effect: Aeri will let out a scream where any living creature weaker than her in an effective radius will be taken under her control. The closer the creature is to Aeri's level, the more difficulty there will be in controlling its movements/actions. ⸥
---
Letting out an earth-shattering scream (literally), all the ants in the sky freeze before then aiming themselves towards Aeri and flying leisurely towards her. Landing on the ground around us, my eyes scan across the thousands of ants.
"That… is impressive."
Immediately, Aeri drops to her knees and screams in my mind, 'Thank you for the praise my savior… but the show is not yet finished!'
Saying that, Aeri disappeared from her spot, leaving a lingering afterimage, before her figure started to run around in a circle, beheading every ant whose neck crosses with her sickle. Within moments, thousands of ant corpses were what surrounded me.
'There are still about 500 ants left alive who were outside the effective range of my skill. I apologize for my incompetence my savior.'
As I go to express my awe instead of disappointment, Jinwoo plops down next to me and rubs his forehead.
"What the hell. When I told you that you could have the ants that you kill out here, I didn't expect you to just suddenly kill thousands of them."
"Well, it's not like I can add all of these to my army, I still have a Soldier cap after all. Plus, there are still 500 ants that haven't been killed yet."
Jinwoo was obviously annoyed but let me get to work on creating more Soldiers since it was the deal that he himself made. With about 1,000 ants added to my army, I left the remaining corpses to Jinwoo and head back home.
Nearly a week after the raid was concluded, a grand memorial was set up for the deaths of the S-Class Hunters who'd lost their lives to the Ant King, as well as for the civilians and awakened who lost their lived defending themselves against the remaining ants.
Placing my flower, I walk away, giving a nod to all those I knew through the lines of people who were also here to pay respects. Getting a rather amusing reaction from Hae-In, Jinwoo and I are sat down by Mr. Go.
"So… the two of you plan on creating a Guild? People with S-Rank Hunters Licenses don't need a Guild Master Permit. All they need to do is give the association a call. We will take care of the rest." Mr. Go informs us. "Also, I was wondering… was it either one of you who placed a barrier on Jeju Island?"
""What?"" Jinwoo and I ask.
"There was an incident of people passing out when they went to take care of the ants and collect magic crystals. They were all A-Rank, or B-Rank Hunters, including the members of the Knights Guild. I was asking because I thought either one of you had forgotten to mention a set barrier."
"Neither one of us can do that." I answer.
Mr. Go sighs, "I see… Well, thank you for your time. The guest I've been expecting has come earlier than expected, so excuse me."
Standing up, Jinwoo and I return to our car, only to be stopped in our tracks by Senior Agent Adam White from the United States Bureau of Hunters.
"I went to go meet the two of you in your office, but it was hard to find you. Please understand that I did not have the intention to meet you at a place like this."
"Alright then, why did you want to meet with us?"
"There is some information I want to give you. And you probably won't hear this information from any country or institute that exists. Only we have this information."
He then proceeded to explain why he was giving us information and the pros for him doing such, but neither Jinwoo nor I felt like the information would be reliable. Though, with one word, our interests were peaked.
"Upgrader… Do you know about the 'Awakener who can increase the ability of another awakener'?"
Entering his car which was rather close by, we're introduced to the Deputy Director Michael Connor, who takes us into a room and sits us down. Sliding a file out in front of himself, Michael doesn't even try to hide that the purpose of this meeting was to have us immigrate to the United States. Yet, neither of us were impressed and asked about Norma Selner, aka. The Upgrader.
"Bring in Mrs. Selner."
Stepping into the room is a middle-aged woman with dark skin, curly black hair, and bright turquoise eyes. Currently, she's wearing a large hat and a cream-colored jacket over a white bouse and a business skirt.
Instantly, I felt a little unease at being in the same room as her, and I can't help but wonder why.
"As you know, al the awakeners have a limit. No one can exceed it. So, unless you are reawakened. You will never be able to reach a Higher Rank. It's basic knowledge for a Hunter."
"So, Mrs. Selner…" Jinwoo leans forward, intrigued.
"Yes, I can help other go past that limit. I can raise it by helping them go through three stages. But I'm not certain on whether I should call it reawakening them by force or raising their potential."
"What she says is all true. But, once she uses her power, she must rest for a long time… So, only a few awakeners can be chosen each year to earn the benefits." Explains Michael.
"So, then why are both of us here?" I can't help but ask.
"To show you Madam Selner's powers and what they could do for you."
"But how much can they do for us?" Jinwoo asks.
"It depends," Mrs. Selner answers, "Once someone finishes the third stage, they can feel at least 20% or maybe even 30% stronger."
"And so, we want to offer one of you a gift on behalf of Madam Selner to increase your power. But you'll need to decide amongst yourselves on who'll receive Mrs. Selner's gift."
Hearing that, I immediately back out, something about this still felt off to me.
Jinwoo gives me the 'are you sure?' look and when I nod my head, he lets Madam Selner grab hold of his hands, and then stare straight into his eyes. As she's using her powers, I sense of realization dawns on me as well as the reason why I felt uneasy.
Her power felt eerily like Enmu's Powers (Lower Moon One), or rather, to the rope that was held by the children he was manipulating.
Madam Selner's power was the equivalent of Soul Probing. Madam Selner would then find the boundaries of the soul and their weak points, so that they could grow their soul room and consequently, grow more powerful. After all, the body follows the constitution of the soul and cannot expand past those limits, lest those limits placed on soul itself is expanded instead. But this power can be easily abused since the soul in the weakest part of the body if you can locate it.
Broken from my inner ramblings, by Madam Selner's scream, we have a gun pulled on us and a shivering Madam Selner covering her ears.
Being escorted out of the room by Adam, he tells me that I can collect my gift when Madam Selner is ready again, but I politely refuse for both personal and protective reasons. After all, unless Madam Selner wanted to experience the same thing again, this subject won't be pressed.
After that, Jinwoo and I are driven back to our car. On our way home, we find ourselves stuck in traffic.
As we sit there in comfortable silence, we get a call from Mr. Go.
クリエイターの想い 
Kogatsu
Kogatsu "Men may die, but the fabrics of free institutions remains unshaken." - Chester A. Arthur
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