061 – The War of the Nymphs and Princesses #3
━Orolong~.
The black-bodied Empress Ant sparkled like obsidian.
It spoke to me, but I couldn’t understand the words. However, I sensed it had no malice towards me.
The reason was simple.
It had brought the ghost spider, Kkungkkungi, who was trapped in a cage, before me.
I freed Kkungkkungi.
━Hioong…!
Kkungkkungi climbed onto my shoulder.
Soon, the Squirrel Beast, Kkungkkung, perched on my opposite shoulder, bristled its fur while looking at Kkungkkungi.
━Grrr…!
These two clearly didn’t get along.
Their growling next to my face was quite loud.
━Orolong…!
The Empress Ant continued to speak after releasing Kkungkkungi.
At that moment.
GooOOOoooo-.
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.
The soil of the nearby castle walls crumbled, and the ground cracked with a loud sound.
━Jujiji, jujiji-.
━Gyujik…! Gyujik…!
The ants trembled in fear at this ground rumbling.
And the nymph Inoi felt the same.
“This ground rumbling is not an ordinary tremor…! This Inoi knows…! Something terrifying is lurking in this castle…!”
Something terrifying.
Does that mean it’s an entity powerful enough to shake the ground?
Soon, the Empress Ant began moving its front legs vigorously.
Swish, swish, swish-.
Its actions looked urgent, and there was a hint of fear.
I didn’t know for sure, but I could tell it was scared of something lurking somewhere in the castle—something that terrified these ants.
The ants mixed sugar and honey with water, which they must have somehow obtained from somewhere.
Then, they formed it into round shapes, creating candies that were impressively yellow and round like the sun, which was surprising for ants to make.
“It’s the candies of the honey ants…! They are said to be very delicious…! A delicacy that one can taste if they become friends or subordinates of the honey ants…!”
Inoi’s mouth opened wide in astonishment.
However, we couldn’t taste the candies.
A great amount of candy.
The ants placed it on a large wooden board and started moving somewhere.
After some time, something gigantic was seen lying sprawled across the wide castle ruins.
It lay flat, but its size was about 2 meters, and it had a long snout.
An elephant?
No, it was a bit different from an elephant.
It was an anteater!
A gigantic giant anteater!
It had six legs and two tails.
It was not just large but had a very bizarre appearance.
━Foolish ants. Hurry and submit your honey and candy to me. Otherwise, I will lick you all up and eat you! Lick and swallow!
I was startled by the voice of the giant anteater, which spoke as it opened its mouth.
Its voice was rough, and its vocabulary was odd, but it was clearly speaking!
Inoi was equally surprised, it seemed.
“This Inoi has never seen such a terrifying monster…! It’s definitely a monster that despises ants…! The kingdom of honey ants is being oppressed by that fearsome monster…!”
Indeed!
I was starting to understand.
The honey ant empire ruled by the Empress Ant seemed to be dominated by that gigantic anteater.
That’s why it had attacked people and stolen a large amount of sugar without permission!
To meet its tribute quota!
━There’s a strange smell. It smells like nymphs. It smells human!
GooOO-.
The giant anteater lifted its body.
It stood tall at 4 meters.
Its size and force matched that of an ordinary building.
It lifted its front legs high and stamped them down.
Kuuuuunng-!
The ground shook with a thunderous sound.
Was this the source of the ground rumbling?
━Do not hide. Come out. Or else. I will eat the ants. Lick and swallow.
The giant anteater stuck out its tongue.
Its tongue was incredibly long.
With that tongue, it would lick up countless honey ants.
I had no choice.
Thinking of Angangi, I stepped forward.
“Here I am!”
━Incredible. A human. Is this Orormera trying to confront me! I am Orthos. And the son of Chimera. A monster!
Swish-.
It seemed the name of the giant anteater was Orormera.
Soon, Inoi, who had been hiding behind a pillar, spoke.
“The son of Orthos and Chimera…! Truly a terrifying monster…! Although it’s lower in lineage than Hydra or Sphinx, it’s a monster that heroes must conquer…!”
━Mwahaha. Heroes. Died in this castle. Humans. No heroes. Orormera. No match!
Indeed.
It seemed that many humans had perished in the war that occurred in this castle.
After that, the honey ants scavenged the abandoned fortress.
And the giant anteater, Orormera, that had chased the honey ants settled in their home.
No heroes existed in this land to defeat Orormera.
So what am I supposed to do?
In my opinion, that guy’s threat level was at least B rank.
He might even rival the Troll King I met last time.
What if such a monster managed to slip out beyond the cracks?
It would create many issues in various ways.
“I have no choice. I am Haildo, who will soon be B rank! Anteater Orormera! I will defeat you!”
I will save the princess and the emperor and protect the castle from the monster—.
It was a magnificent heroic tale.
Even if the princess was an ant and I was also from the land of ants!
“Unleashing magic!”
Swish-.
I immediately unleashed my magic.
At that moment, I sensed the energies of Kkungkkungi, Kkungkkungi, and Angangi.
As they drew strength, I pulled out the Beam Shavel.
━Incredible. A weapon!
Orormera raised its front legs towards me.
Its claws were horrific, shaped like enormous hooks.
But fortunately, its speed wasn’t fast.
Swish-.
Upon swallowing the blue candy given to me by Lee Jin-A, my previously excited heart calmed.
Let’s think rationally.
The fact that its speed wasn’t fast—
Alternatively, it means that this demon doesn’t need speed to survive. It must have some other advantages.
Is it because its skin is thick?
“Leg cut!”
Swish-.
I actually brushed between its legs and sliced its ankle, but the wound was shallow.
It had thick fur and even thicker skin.
“Indeed, it’s tough for the ants. Then rather than a stab, it’s a hit! Kkungkkungi!”
━Kkungkkungi…!
Kkungkkungi was riding on the back of Angangi, who had flown into the sky.
With a leap-.
Kkungkkungi jumped down from a high position.
It spiraled around and crashed into Orormera’s head.
“RamG Thunder!”
━Grrr…!
BAM-!
Kkungkkungi collided with Orormera’s head like lightning striking the ground.
A loud impact was heard, and Orormera’s body shook.
━Kuaaak! That hurts!
Indeed.
It was resistant to stabs, but it lacked resistance to hits and shocks.
━Gyujik-. Gyujik-.
━Gyujik─.
The ants were greatly startled by this scene.
Perhaps they were amazed to see the monster that oppressed them shaking and suffering?
Soon, Angangi, who had soared into the sky, spoke.
━Zzji…!
It seemed to say, “Cheer up! Fight together!”
Soon, countless ants charged towards Orormera.
And I could feel something like the will of the swarm embedding in my magical territory.
It was a sensation similar to when I controlled Kkungkkungi’s body.
Perhaps now I might be able to take on that monster?
“Let’s aim for its weaknesses like the eyes or nose!”
I manipulated the swarm of ants to target Orormera’s biological weaknesses.
The ants surged towards Orormera like a wave, covering its body in black.
━You! Ants! I will lick you up!
Swish-.
Orormera, extending its tongue.
I seized the moment and charged toward it.
“Asurapachun!”
Zzzuuhng-.
And I sliced off that tongue in one stroke!
It had no thick hair on the tongue, so it was cut much more neatly than I expected.
━This is absurd!
Thud-.
The giant anteater Orormera fell to the ground with its severed tongue.
# # #
━Orolong…!
The black Empress Ant waved its front legs wildly at me.
I couldn’t understand the words of the ants well, but it seemed to say, “You are the hero of our ant kingdom…!”
It was true.
I had just defeated Orormera!
In fact, compared to how scared the ants had been, it was quite simple to deal with him.
If the ants had worked together, they might have been able to take him down by themselves.
But perhaps it was hard to unite in the presence of a predator.
━Zzji…!
Angangi seemed to praise the ants, saying something like, “Well done!”
The ants continued to swarm around Angangi, and there were so many of them.
“Angangi is quite popular.”
“Indeed, it’s the Empress Ant…! By the way, most individuals besides the Empress Ant are female…!”
Is it true?
Not an ant empire but rather an ant harem.
Angangi was truly a hot ant.
I thought she was just our cleaning worker at home, but it turned out she had an amazing status.
━Orolong~.
The Empress Ant said something to Angangi.
In my opinion, it seemed to be saying, “Let’s live together from now on.”
Indeed, the ants followed Angangi.
I suspected the reason I could control the ant forces, even for a moment, was because of the Empress Ant Angangi.
If Angangi hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to penetrate the pelt of that powerful anteater.
So what happens now?
“Angangi, this is your homeland. If you want to be with your kind, you can stay with them.”
Will I part ways with Angangi here?
With every meeting comes a farewell.
I had grown quite attached to Angangi over this time, so it felt regretful to part ways.
━Zzji…!
However, Angangi withdrew from the ants and clung to my leg.
It was as if saying, “This is where I belong!”
Indeed, that seemed to be the case.
Suddenly-.
The crack shook violently.
“Orormera was the core of the rift.”
The giant anteater Orormera.
It seemed that by defeating him, this rift would collapse.
If I stayed here, I would be flung out beyond the cracks.
I should escape before that happens.
“Then let’s go!”
I had to leave this mystical castle behind.
A multitude of ants followed closely behind me, which was an astonishing sight.
Finally emerging from the rift.
Pop-.
A familiar face appeared before me.
“What’s this, you? Seo Ye-rim, isn’t it?”
“Haildo! You were also inside the rift!”
Bubbling-.
Seo Ye-rim seemed surprised by the swarm of ants pouring out of the rift.
“Ugh, what’s this! So many! Haildo, move back!”
Whoosh-.
Seo Ye-rim raised a flame in her hand.
I hurriedly stopped her.
“Hey, you don’t need to fight. I came to a good compromise. The ants won’t be recklessly stealing sugar from people anymore.”
“You solved it?”
With narrowed eyes, Seo Ye-rim looked at me.
Didn’t she believe me?
Soon, the ants neatly brought out Orormera’s fur, skin, bones, and tendons from the giant anteater.
It was an enormous amount, and it looked like incredible raw materials at a glance.
“Did you take him down?”
“No, to be precise, we did together—.”
Swish-.
My gaze shifted to the woman standing next to Seo Ye-rim.
She had unusual blue hair.
Was she slightly taller than Inoi?
Another nymph?
I momentarily thought so, but no.
She had quite a famous face.
“Are you Cha Yura?”
Cha Yura.
She was the representative of the third generation of Awakened Ones who hadn’t gone through my hands.
The first generation was Kang Cheol-Min and me.
The second generation was Yu Ara and Seo Ye-rim.
The representative of the third generation would undoubtedly be Cha Yura.
“Are you the Squirrel Beast Haildo? Nice to meet you. I’m Cha Yura. But did you really solve the ants’ problem? How?”
It seemed difficult to explain in words—.
I showed her the video captured on my body cam.
The footage of the giant anteater being defeated by the ants and us attacking together.
“This Orormera seems to be at least an A-grade monster. I mean, for it to fall so helplessly like this. I checked your profile, and you’re a C-rank Awakened, aren’t you?”
Cha Yura scanned me from head to toe.
Then, her eyes widened in amazement, “Ooh─.”
Then Cha Yura frowned.
“But what’s this about?”
Cha Yura seemed bothered by Inoi who kept pushing her forehead against her.
I spoke to Inoi.
“Inoi, Cha Yura isn’t a nymph. Even if you press your forehead like that, you can’t greet her.”
“……!”
Inoi was taken aback.
Soon, Inoi looked directly at Cha Yura and expressed great admiration.
“Ahh…! I thought she was just a larger nymph…! As expected, now that I see she doesn’t have pointed ears…! She was just a small and petite human like a nymph…!”
“Puhat-!”
Soon, Seo Ye-rim, who had been listening to this, burst out laughing.
To think Inoi mistook a person for a nymph.
It was indeed a funny story.
Crumple-.
But Cha Yura frowned.
Was the remark about being small a complex?
So I pulled Inoi’s arm.
“Be careful what you say. No matter how she looks, she’s the daughter of Korea’s highest power. Normally, people like us wouldn’t even have a chance to meet her in a lifetime. She’s like this Empress Ant here.”
━Orolong~.
If she were to take offense, it would be a big deal in many ways.
It seemed Inoi understood my words soon.
# # #
Dududududu-.
Cha Yura got on a helicopter and returned to Seoul.
Then, she fell into momentary thought.
“Having summoned two S ranks simultaneously indicates that this ant incident was a significant problem.”
Cha Yura was enjoying a sabbatical abroad.
This ant incident had been serious enough to warrant calling her back, after all.
And a mere C-rank nobody solved it?
“Seo Ye-rim, it seems you have a reason for lurking around.”
Cha Yura continued to replay the video of the giant anteater Orormera being taken down by the ants and people.
Orormera.
Although it was a minimum A rank monster, it had been subdued in less than a few minutes.
It was a clean, straightforward piece of footage.
At this point, it could even be called a ‘hunt’ rather than a slaughter.
“If I were alone, I could have easily taken down a monster like that anteater. Yet, a C-rank can produce such performance? Is it merely the first-generation training?”
In truth, the real problem wasn’t the anteater.
It was the countless “honey ants.”
PhD researchers estimated the threat level of the honey ant colony to be T rank.
After emerging from the rift, they all mysteriously vanished somewhere—.
“If it’s not a coincidence that it seems you can control those ants….”
Cha Yura picked up her phone.
And spoke to her father.
“I think I can end my sabbatical now. And since Lee Joon-Hun was demoted from S rank, isn’t that position still vacant?”
━Do you have someone to recommend?
“Oh—. No, it’s not certain yet.”
Cha Yura.
She decided to keep an eye on the future peculiar man’s movements.
