by Yuri Ajin
“Rogers.”
“Lucas. How are things?”
“So far it’s calm. Insectoids, as you said, are still motionless,” he answered. “And who’s this with you?” He nodded at Kai and his group.
Only Exorcists from the Union and Central Alliance were supposed to attend this meeting. The soldiers were elsewhere, preparing for the upcoming raid, and awaiting orders.
“Oh, these are our allies who kindly agreed to join us here today,” Rogers replied, making Lucas raise his eyebrow in surprise.
“Is that so?”
They’re just a bunch of Soul Stage brats and one Exorcist, he thought. Why are they getting special treatment from the Union? Wait... His gaze settled on Kai. He doesn’t even have an aura! Why didn’t I notice it immediately? Why is this weakling here? What is Rogers thinking?
“Don’t underestimate their strength.” Rogers smiled slyly, noticing the confusion in Lucas’s gaze. “By the way, what’s going on with the Mexicans? Are they still in or not?”
“They agreed to help us two weeks ago, but they never arrived. I suppose they changed their mind in the end. I tried to contact them today, but they didn’t answer me. I don’t know if they’re ignoring us or what.”
“I see. I hope that they’re not dealing with another rebellion.” Rogers sighed. “It’s fine, though. I didn’t really rely on them much, so their absence isn’t a problem. Let’s do what we can with what we have.”
“Agreed.”
“Okay, let’s get ready then. I’ll see you all in an hour.”
***
Ever since the hive appeared, the insectoids had been idle and the dome stayed closed. Still, no one was going to wait for them to poke their ugly faces out.
Using explosives, the soldiers made a hole in the hive’s wall, which awakened the dormant insectoids. Not that it mattered, anyway, as they would’ve woken up the moment they trespassed on their territory.
Having quickly dealt with several dozen young insectoids, they finally entered the hive. Inside was a huge maze. As the Union already had experience with hives, they knew that all the tunnels would eventually lead them to the very center and the queen. All they needed to do was determine the shortest route, which was easily done by using their energy-sensing abilities.
The group was divided. The Union, together with Kai and his group, disappeared into one tunnel, and the members of the Central Alliance in another. They’d inevitably meet, but this way they wouldn’t interfere with each other.
***
A tall man with short dark hair and a beard looked at the artifact in his hand. Cutting off its energy flow, he felt himself becoming visible again.
The man’s name was Alexander White, but most knew him as the Champion — the head of the Western Alliance and one of the few peak-level Exorcists on Earth.
In the past, he was famous as the strongest fighter in mixed martial arts, undefeated for a very long period of time. He lost only once, in one of those underground fights. He met with the so-called “King of the Fighting Pits,” who instantly brought him back down to earth.
From that moment on, he swore that he’d train, become stronger, and take back his crown and title. However, eighteen years ago, his opponent was murdered. But that didn’t stop Alexander. With the arrival of the System, he was eventually able to become stronger than anyone who dared to challenge him.
Living as a fighter, Alexander felt like a fish in water when cultivation became available to humans. Not only did he have no issue defeating Demonids, but he became the first Exorcist on Earth. Not only that, but he was also able to create the strongest Alliance in America. It could be said that among the humans, there was no one more formidable than the Champion.
Turning around, Alexander nodded at his men who were also shaking off their veil of invisibility. There were no less than four hundred of them. Looking at the artifact again, he couldn’t hide his surprise.
“I see you like it,” said the pale young man standing next to him. “If you continue to help us, you’ll be given plenty more rare artifacts, techniques, and resources.”
Alexander hid the artifact in his Ring and then glared at the young man. Usually, his glare made people cringe. Sometimes, they even shook with fear. But the initial-level Exorcist before him didn’t even blink.
“Not a bad toy, I can’t argue,” Alexander said, turning his gaze back to his hands. “I just hope that you’ll keep your end of the deal and that you won’t leave us hanging.”
“Of course not,” the young man answered with a nod. “If you fulfill your end of the deal, that is. You’ll become an official ally of their race. The spirit contract with the queen has already been signed... And now, if you’d be so kind, kill the intruders. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.”
Chapter 13
RAID, Vol. 2
Half an hour had passed since the beginning of the operation. The Union and Kai’s group had already managed to progress quite deep into the hive and fight off groups of insectoids they encountered on the way, but they were still far from the queen.
“This is going almost too smoothly…” Christopher muttered with a frown.
“Well, there’s less of these things compared to last time,” said an Exorcist walking next to him.
“Yes, but don’t they reproduce?”
“Who knows? The first raid was six months after their appearance, so maybe they don’t start breeding right away?”
“Perhaps…” Christopher nodded, but he still felt anxious.
A couple of feet away, Kai’s group was leading its own conversation.
“You know, you changed since coming to Earth, Kai.” Ivsim turned to his friend.
“Really? How so?” he asked, genuinely surprised.
“Your attitude. You’re a cheeky guy, but I’ve never seen you be this arrogant.”
“Ah, I get what you mean.” Kai chuckled. “But I wouldn’t call it arrogance, rather… Disgust and loathing. And even then it’s only toward the soldiers.”
“Interesting.” Ivsim smiled slightly. “And what’s the reason for that?”
“Think back to your training. Remember what you had to go through in order to get where you are now? We’re following the true path of cultivation, which is paved with blood, sweat, and tears. How many times have we almost died to progress? And what have the locals done? Their strength is fake! Here, if you want to learn a technique, you consume a Crystal. You want to master a Force? Use a Sphere. Looking for knowledge? Simply get another Crystal! Take Luke, the Lord, for example. He didn’t know a damn thing about cultivation, but, at the same time, he used his strength to intimidate people and get whatever he wanted!” Kai sighed. “I know that I have no right to judge those who had no other choice but to go down the wrong path, but nature can’t be controlled. I feel like this hostility comes from the very soul...”
“How unusual... I never thought about it in such a way. I think I understand what you’re trying to say.” Ivsim nodded.
“My rant aside, I understand that the Union uses its power not only for its own gain but also for the benefit of others. I can’t help but respect that,” Kai added. “I don’t know, I have a prejudice toward some of these people, but I’m trying to work through it...”
The conversation was suddenly interrupted when a wave of danger swept over everyone, making them look around in search of its source.
Far ahead, three figures appeared — initial-level Exorcists.
“It looks like it’s time to fight,” Rogers said. “Diamond, Dale, each of you take one.”
“Understood!” the two replied.
“Christopher, Nathan, you take the last one.”
“Yes, sir!”
The four of them moved forward to carry out the order. Rogers, not wishing to linger in one place for too long, decided to be quick about this. He could’ve sent all the Exorcists, but that would’ve left the soldiers unprotected. Since they were on enemy territory, there was no need to take that risk.
Dale was the first to defeat his opponent. Closing the distance in a blink of an eye, he rained down blow upon blow on the insect with his fists. Judging by the blue glow that had enveloped him, Kai wagered that he was using a Gold-rank technique.
The next to enter the battle were Christopher and Nathan. The former locked his opponent in close combat, while Nathan stuck to long range and his gun, relying on Water techniques. Judging by how in sync the two were, they had been working together for a long time.
The last to join the battle was Diamond. His opponent was about to attack Dale, as he was the closest, but they jumped back rather suddenly at the lost moment.
The sound of a gunshot rang out.
Without even moving, Diamond broke off a chunk of chitin from one of the insect’s limbs. Replying with a hiss, it activated a technique, instantly restoring the chitin, and then began to grow in size. Its eyes turned crimson, and its appearance became even more menacing. In two seconds, it almost doubled in height.
Interesting, Kai thought as he observed the insect with his energy vision. It’s making itself stronger by strengthening its Cover. Tho, I don’t see the other two doing this so I don’t think that this is a race skill. What kind of Forces are these? It reminds me of Fang Bao’s technique... Hmm...
Diamond remained as calm and collected as possible, which allowed him to concentrate. Taking aim, he opened fire again. His Gold-rank pistols were superior to ordinary firearms in that they could fire much quicker. To keep his opponent at bay, he immediately used his ki and Forces.
The monster lost one of its arms with a deafening screech. In the next instant, the same fate befell its leg. The bullets had been boosted to such a degree that they could now rip off entire limbs together with the chitin.
What the actual fuck?! Kai thought, trying not to show his surprise. The Force of Arrow also works for firearms?! No, no, there’s more to that... I’ve never seen anything like this before... It’s something... Something affecting the metal... Magnetism? Does such a Path exist?
The insectoid, hell-bound on fulfilling the order it had been given, leaned on its remaining limbs. Just as it was about to lunge at its opponent, it noticed an azure glow appear around the barrel of one of Diamond’s pistols.
“Fall of Dawn,” he said and pulled the trigger.
A beam of saturated energy burst out of the gun’s barrel at the speed of light. The insectoid’s body was instantly destroyed.
***
With his opponent taken care of, Diamond helped the others finish off their targets. In total, the encounter lasted only a couple of minutes, after which they were able to continue their journey through the hive.
The reason why they had won so quickly was simple — there were more of them. The insectoids were incredibly strong, but the Union members, unlike the aliens, were from this world and thus didn’t have their powers limited. More than that, insectoids didn’t differ from one another when it came to strength and skill, which the Union had learned during the raid in Colombia. They were much stronger than humans, but they used almost no techniques or Forces. That is, they relied more on quantity rather than quality, which was why they reproduced so rapidly.
After the battle was over, a special squad collected the corpses of the killed insectoids, so that the Union could examine them and use them as resources.
Their group kept moving, but they didn’t meet any Kaoh’s again, which was somewhat alarming. Especially in those moments when they’d come across the nooks in which their opponents were supposed to be, but which turned out to be completely empty.
Even with all the insectoids that they had killed so far, there was no chance that they had gotten rid of all of them. So, either the Alliance was unlucky to meet most of the enemies, or something had happened in the hive.
“As expected,” Laura said. “The closer we get to the queen, the narrower the tunnels become. It’s dangerous to continue as a group.”
Just as she said that, the tunnel before them began to grow narrower. There were several branches in front of them, each of which was much smaller than the corridor along which they had been going so far. They’d either have to stretch their troops along a narrower passage, which was rather risky, or split into groups, which was no less dangerous.
Having decided that splitting into groups was less risky than walking in one long row, they formed eight groups, singling out strong fighters for each. Kai and his friends also had to split up, since their team contained the strongest members of the squad.
***
“We’ve been informed that groups Seven and Five have finally met enemies. The former met two Exorcists, and the latter faced one Exorcist and two dozen Source Creation-level insectoids,” reported the officer whose task was to maintain communication with the other groups. Given the fact that there was always a huge amount of interference in the hives, this wasn’t an easy task.
“The others should run into them soon, too. Report immediately,” said one of the nine Alliance Exorcists who had been assigned command of Group Eight.
“Roger!”
“We should also stumble upon these insectoids soon too...” he added.
However, even after fifteen minutes, they didn’t meet a single insectoid, which made them tense up and become suspicious.
“This is rather unusual,” Kai said with absolute calmness. “How come we’re the only ones who still haven’t met a single enemy? Have they decided not to defend this particular tunnel?”
“We’re practically at the queen’s door. This place should be swarming with enemies. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t like it one bit.”
“Door…” Kai muttered, and then suddenly fell silent. “I think they’re underestimating us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t something feel off?”
Concentrating, the man focused on his aura. After a few seconds of searching, he finally sensed an insectoid approaching at high speed. It was an Exorcist, yes, but it was completely alone.
Kai didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt rather cautious and alarmed.
***
Fifteen minutes earlier, Group Five
“An Exorcist and twenty insectoids at the Soul Stage,” Laura said as the enemies entered the field of her scanner.
“Can you deal with the Exorcist?” Ivsim asked.
“Of course,” she replied with unshakable confidence.
“Okay, then I’ll take care of the rest.”
“You were looking for an excuse to warm up, weren’t you?” Lilly grinned, looking at her friend.
“Yeah. Something like that.” He nodded. “I haven’t had a chance to test my strength for a long time... You don’t mind, do you?” For the past year and a half, he had honed his skills, mastered new techniques, and studied the Forces. Half a level from the Exorcist Stage, Ivsim was stronger than ever before.
“Be my guest.” Lily shrugged. “I’ll wait here then.”
“Thank you.” He smiled.
Laura listened to their conversation, marveling at how relaxed they were. Although she didn’t know what Kai’s acquaintances were capable of, she was in no hurry to underestimate the Kaoh’s. Even though they were just at the Source Creation level, they still posed a threat to anyone of a similar level, even if they used exoskeletons and modern weapons.
Before she had the time to even take a step toward the enemy Exorcist, Ivsim disappeared, only to instantly reappear near one of the insectoids. Before his opponent could realize what was going on, it fell to the ground, green liquid oozing from under the chitin and from its eyes.
Although she had already seen the manifestation of the Forces of Sound, Lily had never seen this particular technique, called the Touch of Death. This was the first technique that Ivsim created on his own. With one blow of his hand, he could transfer the power of Sound into the opponent’s body, destroying their organs and instantly killing them.
His fight against Fang Bao inspired him
to make this technique, as he never again wanted to feel as powerless against his opponent’s defense as he did back then. With it, he could win against almost any armor of a similar level.
Having dealt with the first insectoid, Ivsim immediately went to the next. He wasn’t going to stop until he had killed all of them. After that, he’d help Laura against the Exorcist.
Ivsim had never fought against true masters before. But he had been dying to do it ever since Kai’s fight with Luke.
***
Next to the two insectoid corpses stood Elize with a look of extreme disgust on her face.
“I kinda expected more from them...” She grimaced, glancing at the mangled corpses.
Turning around, she looked at the members of the Union. One glance was enough for all of them to stiffen up in fear. Everyone had assumed that she and General Sean would take on one insectoid each. The man even thought that he’d have to help the girl.
To their surprise, Elize simply stepped forward, brought her right index and middle fingers together, and then ran them horizontally through the air as if they were a sword. Her nails flashed scarlet for a moment, and the insectoids were suddenly split in two.
Although the sight wasn’t terrible (though it was shocking), the echoes of her incredible power still made them tremble with fear.
“Should we move on?” she asked, looking at the pale soldiers.
I wonder if old man Rogers knew who he had invited to join us... Sean thought, swallowing hard.
They were about to continue when the hive suddenly shook. They heard the sound of a terrible explosion through the walls.
“S... sir!” the voice of the communications officer came when the shaking had stopped. “We lost contact with Group Eight.”
***
Groups One and Three, led by Rogers and Diamond, were approaching the central chamber. Their squads met minutes earlier, as their tunnels had merged into one.
“Dale is on his way,” Diamond said. “As expected, he didn’t have any problems either.”
“Groups Four and Six are also catching up with us. Group Eight didn’t encounter any enemies, and Five and Two will be a little late. Although they had no difficulties,” Rogers reported.
