The appearance of a giant Chimera Ant Queen sends ripples of distress throughout the Valmese continent. Kite, Morgan, and Owain continue inland to find the root of it all and cut it off at its head.
However, the true terror of the Chimera Ant Crisis has only just begun…
Chapter 2: Into x The x Forest
The Valmese sun beamed brightly across the noon sky, beating harshly upon the denizens below. Heavy hooves raced across the plains, the horses refusing to be distracted from their end goal. Atop of them, their riders steeled their gaze forward, knowingly marching themselves into the unknown. They had a job to do, and by Naga they were going to see it through.
Pokkle, an expert hunter of all sorts of wonderous beasts. Whether they'd be as small as a Uni-Mouse or as fearsome as a Wyvern, the orange-haired archer refused to turn down any chance to claim the head of rare game. Which is exactly why he was travelling to the Southern Valm Border alongside his friends Pekuba and Balda, and his girlfriend, Ponzu. His thoughts ran back to how they got to this point as he let his horse carry him along.
The four of them had heard of rumors of massive insects in the area from a drunken man in a tavern. Most of the patrons believed it to be nothing more than the ramblings of a madman, yet the hunter knew better. He could tell that despite his intoxicated state, the drunkard was definitely telling him the truth. And that was all he needed to set off his hunt.
Pekuba and Balda, two of Pokkle's hunting buddies, had gotten the news from him and had decided to join him on the hunt. As the three men were beginning to set off, they had been stopped by their fourth member, a turquoise-haired girl named Ponzu. He remembered how she had adjusted her large, yellow hat before getting up into Pokkle's face angrily.
"I don't care if you think this might be dangerous," Ponzu had cried. "I'm coming along too. You'll need my beekeeping or else you're gonna be sorry! Besides, what kind of dickhead leaves his own girlfriend behind as he goes off to have fun on his own?! I'm a hunter too dammit!" Pokkle had tried to look at his friends for help, but the two men simply looked away and whistled. Knowing there was no way out of this, Pokkle relented to his girlfriend's demands and they all departed.
Without even realizing it, Pokkle and his group had reached the forest border. The massive trees stood tall against the Valmese winds, refusing to budge beneath the powerful gales. Their mere existence felt like it was nature's way of keeping intruders out… or maybe it was to keep whatever lurked inside this forest in.
The professional hunter dismounted alongside his team as they departed into the woods, steeling themselves for whatever horrors they may encounter. The forest's edge disappeared behind them, as if sealing them inside to bear witness to its own personal Hell.
"Oi, Colt." An alligator chimera called out. The condor-like leader turned to address his fellow ant in response.
"Hmm, what did you need, Gattor?"
"I wanted to know if you heard the rumors." The gator ant asked in a hushed tone. Colt quirked his eyebrow at this.
"Rumors?"
"Yeah, apparently one of our squads were found dead. Riddled with numerous injuries. Peggy's looking at em if you want to go check em out."
"I see. But still, what rumors are you exactly talking about…?"
"I think it's better if I show you." He motioned for his fellow leader to follow him into the halls of the hive. They walked through the echoing chambers, the hardened dirt sounding out their footsteps. Colt then took some notice of the work being done by their carpenter ants. They worked tirelessly for the Queen to craft a mighty nest for them to call home. Although the structure was still a work in progress, with gaps to the outside still visible, it was coming along nicely. He smiled to himself as he kept following Gattor, internally musing to himself after admiring the carpenters at work.
'They work so diligently for the Queen. Now if only Rammot could show the same enthusiasm the worker ants do…'
"Peggy, we're here!" Gattor yelled aloud. A rockhopper penguin-like chimera ant stopped reading through a massive tome of his and looked up. The smaller Squadron Leader was in a small room all by himself, surrounded by countless books and tomes. They were multiple pillars of tomes stacked up nearby him, with some even being a good foot or two taller than the penguin. And lining the walls were even more pillars of unread text, yet arranged so the contents of the books matched up with one another. Truly an organized mess. Peggy closed his tome and nodded towards the two ants.
"Ah, good to see you Gattor. And you as well, Colt." Colt in turn nodded back to the smaller squadron leader. "How are the names treating you two, if you don't mind me asking."
"I enjoy mine a lot. Gives everything I do a little more oomph, you feel me?" Gattor happily proclaimed. Colt chuckled a bit before responding as well.
"It was strange at first, but now I've gotten used to it. I wear my name with pride, proud to serve the Queen."
"I'm glad to hear that." Peggy smiled. "Now then, I assume you've come here to inspect the bodies of the dead peons we found earlier?"
"Yes, what happened to them exactly?" Peggy scratched his head as he recalled everything concerning the corpses.
"Hmm… Well, these two are pretty simple. Look, you can clearly see the slashes where swords and axes dug into this one. Meanwhile, the other is riddled with arrows and gouged by what seems to have been a lance. It's this last body I'm confused about."
The trio looked over the last peon's corpse. Nothing visible was noticeable at first, it was relatively untouched in terms of physical damage. But upon further inspection, the peon's exoskeleton was marred with an inky, black residue. Constricted portions of the insect's carapace seemed to suggest that something with crushing tendrils was what did it. The flesh of the chimera was completely exsanguinated, leaving its corpse pruned and shriveled.
"Damn, I still don't know what could've caused this." Gattor said, crossing his arms in confusion. "Nothing we went over so far follows whatever did this one in. Any ideas?"
"I doubt it could've been some type of constrictor snake, our forces are too strong to die to those things." Colt pondered aloud. "I'm just as stumped as you are."
"I'd done some more reading while you were gone, Gattor," Peggy began, getting the two squadron leaders' attention. "This may have been impossible with conventional weaponry, but what about unconventional?" Noticing the confusion still etched onto his fellow ants' faces, he explained. "What I mean is, this was not a physical weapon. It was magic. Specifically, Anima magic."
"Magic? Anima? What's that?" Gattor asked.
"Simply put, certain humans can use willpower to cast 'spells', using tomes as a conduit. They can be used offensively for attacking, or supportively with healing staves. There are 3 major schools of magic: Thunder, Wind, and Fire. These three are the basic spell types used by practically every mage. As for Anima magic, they are a lot more versatile than the standard magic used by the common mage, but require a lot more concentration or even things such as your blood or lifespan. A truly Dark Art."
"How strange. Do you know which spell was used to kill this peon?" Colt questioned the penguin. He put a flipper to his chin before nodding.
"Yes, I believe I do. It was a spell that drains the target's life, the user absorbs that stolen lifeforce. It is called Nosferatu." Peggy laid his book down next to him and furrowed his brow. "From now on, we must keep a close eye on these humans. Their ways of combating us are strange, yet effective. Mankind's ability to adapt to change is truly terrifying. If they learn the Queen's our lifeline, they'll come for her head!"
The instant Peggy said these words, Colt's expression turned to one of anger. Not at Peggy, but at the humans, and his own desire to protect and serve his Queen as dutifully as he could.
"And that's precisely why we must do everything we can to protect her." He then muttered something under his breath, faintly so that his fellow leaders didn't hear him. But the rest of his own mutterings ended up being spoken aloud.
"Reina… Leave her safety to me."
"…?" Gattor raised an eyebrow at this statement. Likewise, Peggy also did a double-take.
"Reina? Who is Reina?" Upon hearing this, Colt grew confused about his teammate's ramblings.
"I should be asking you that. Who's Reina?"
"D-Didn't you just mention that name…?" Gattor asked in confusion.
"I did? No, you must've misheard me." Shaking his head, Colt began to feel like he was getting off-track. "Forget it, it's nothing major. We need to focus on the matter at hand, man's tenacity. We just need to use their own weapons against them. More than likely, only the ones on our level can hope to use these magic weapons efficiently, but the humans don't know that. We'll keep them intimidated with that." With a resounding yes from his comrades, they left the winged chimera alone with his thoughts. The black-haired squadron leader relaxed before his thoughts took him elsewhere, unsure of what had happened.
"…Reina…?"
The Chimera Ant nest had transformed into a mighty fortress seemingly overnight, hosting many tunnels and paths throughout its interior. It now stands proudly at a hundred and three meters, towering over the forest it had made its home in. Its great imposing shadow covered most of its perimeter. None of the native wildlife dared to approach the massive nest, a primal fear prevented any creature from approaching the daunting structure.
Its interior was riddled with many twisting turns and tunnels, making no sense to anyone that wasn't a chimera. Despite its internal layout, the nest didn't echo loudly, leaving an unnerving calm settling into the base. The constant pulsing of eggs in each sector of the nest could be heard as one walked through the halls, but ended as soon as they left.
As a slight buzz reached their ears, all available squadron leaders convened for a war council in the central gathering hub. Peggy stepped into the middle and began reading through his book. The leaders listened as the strategist gave orders to the groups. One of the leaders, however, decided to voice his opinion.
"Ah man, Peggy, why can't I go instead?" A cheetah-like ant groused. "The only thing that's left Northwest of here is that Volcano! Why can't I be the one chasing around the humans in that new village we found?" Colt immediately snapped at him.
"Cheetu! We do not hunt for sport! We live to serve the Queen, and we must only bring her the required amount of food she requested." Cheetu simply put his arms behind his head, leaning back onto the nest's walls.
"Okay, okay, I understand, Colt. We'll get our job done, right Zazan?" The cheetah man turned towards a female Chimera Ant with long, purple hair and a scorpion's tail. She simply crossed her arms and scoffed.
"I'll fulfill my quota. But I don't need you breathing down my neck when it comes to my hunting." She raised her head up defiantly and smiled. "I do things my own way. I enjoy watching humans run around before meeting their end at my hands."
"What did you just say!?" Colt glared at the scorpion woman, who merely shrugged. Cheetu chuckled a little before turning to an exit tunnel.
"Well, that's that, I guess. Let's go Zazan!" As they departed, Cheetu's voiced echoed throughout the halls. "Don't get too worked up Colt! Life will be a lot easier if you learn to relax every once in a while." Colt watched their retreating forms before clicking his tongue in agitation.
"They dare do things their own way?!" The condor-like ant growled. "Their squads will break apart if they keep this up!"
"As much of a benefit naming ourselves gave us," Peggy began. "It's been promoting an unhealthy wave of individualism amongst our leaders."
"We need to take steps to prevent breakdowns in our command structure. We won't be able to sustain if this keeps up."
"I agree wholeheartedly." Peggy flipped through a few pages of his book before closing it, resting it under his arm. "Meleoran and Yunju have yet to make an appearance in our councils." Upon hearing this, Colt sighed before raising his head up high and yelled for all of the hive to hear.
"Meleoran! Stop hiding and show yourself!"
With a slight shimmer on the stalactites, a pair of chameleon eyes made themselves known to the residents of the council room. Before long, the rest of the chameleon's body materialized as he dropped down onto the dirt floor. He dusted off his grey sweatshirt and pants and sighed.
"I just want to make one thing clear, it's not my fault Yunju isn't here."
"You were hiding so you weren't to be blamed, correct?" Peggy asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde-haired chameleon. "You are a Squadron Leader, aren't you?"
"Where is Yunju?" Colt interjected, anger rising in his voice. "Where did he skulk off to?!"
"See, this is why I hide myself in the first place." Meleoran sighed. "I always get yelled at for everything…" Upon seeing Colt's irritation and fearing another tongue lashing, Meleoran quickly submitted. "Fine, fine, I'll talk! Just don't yell at me again, jeez."
"I'll ask again, where is Yunju?"
"He ran off with his goon squad to hunt some more humans. For fun, naturally. You know that Yunju." Meleoran shook his head disapprovingly and shrugged. Colt was surprised by this and began to press on.
"Which sector did he head off to? Was it a new village?"
"Nope, not at all. Although, I'm glad it wasn't one, lest he kill them all for himself… No, you remember the humans who fought back? Those guys toting swords, axes and whatnot?" Upon seeing the shocked expressions of his fellow leaders, Meleoran continued. "Yeah, those guys. He went to hunt them down, yammering about wanting to make them all his pets. Seriously, that Yunju… he always has to go overboard with everything…"
"M-M-MONSTERS!"
"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MEEEEE!"
"RETREAT TO THE FORTRESS!"
The screams of terrified men rumbled through the dense forest, its unearthly calm giving an even more ominous feeling to the deadly truth of its insides. The trees seemingly gave way as a group of men wearing purple and gold clothing ran out in utter fear. One dared to look back behind him, with the last thing entering his vision was his own comrade's body careening into his skull, snapping his neck and killing him instantly. The rest of the fallen men's group continued to run in panic, unaware of the corpse trail they were creating for their pursuer.
With a sickening crunch, a swordsman's head was pulverized under the hoof of a centaur-like chimera ant. His lower portion resembled a white stallion, yet its upper torso resembled a well-built man with reptilian features. The creature raised its hoof before grinning evilly.
"Come on, that wasn't even fair. I just stepped on you and you snap like a twig!" His cruel, gravelly voice mocked the corpse underneath him. A female chimera that had mosquito-like traits hovered down next to the reptilian centaur before letting out a horrible laugh, albeit muffled due to the white, cloth face mask she wore.
"Yes, entertain us more! Give us more satisfaction!" A rumbling noise from the bushes came from the left of the larger chimera, giving way to an ant that boasted multiple arms like a centipede.
"That's right! You better get to running then, our captain Yunju here is giving you a head start!" As the two lackeys continued their horrid laughter, the men kept running, hoping to see their fortress once more. The blue-haired centaur let a devilish smile creep onto his face before calling out to the retreating men.
"Run for your lives!" Yunju bellowed in triumph. His gaze remained steady on the forms of the soldiers, ready to kill once again. "Until you are dead." His tongue flickered for a second before he charged up for another sprint. This was going to be a fun hunt.
Glug, Glug, Glug.
A sharply dressed Koala-like Chimera Ant continued to drink from his gourd, ignoring the dumbfounded expression of the brigand before him. The large man had gotten himself cornered by the creature before him, his back ended up hitting the wall of a cliff. He desperately tried looking around for an exit, but the dense forest refused to part open a path for him. The pink marsupial creature stared at the tattooed mass of muscle before him before sighing to himself.
"I suggest you don't try and do something you might regret," An uncharacteristically deep voice came from the fluffy ant, sounding more like a contract killer than a child's toy. "If you do, I won't be held responsible if you die." A cold gleam shone in his beady eyes, making his intention known. Despite his stature, this creature demanded respect. However, the bandit refused, despite fear and confusion rattling his brain.
"W-What the 'ell are ya yammerin' about, you damn animal!?" He slurred out in a panic. Despite his words, the man's grip on his hammer was starting to quiver, his knuckles turning bone-white. "Learn yer place, under the foot of us almighty men!" The koala took another sip from his gourd and quirked his brow.
"Animal? Almighty Man? I don't get it. What's so different between us?"
This was not the response the savage wanted to hear as anger and fear flared up throughout his body. He lunged forward with his massive, imposing hammer and swung at the ant.
"SHUT UP AND DIE, INSECT!"
The Chimera Ant took the blow, the hammer colliding with his skull and turning his head with the force. His body, however, did not follow the momentum. The brigand stared; shock written across his face as the Chimera Ant simply shook off the hit. Blue blood drippled down the side of the koala's head as he sighed to himself again. He looked back at his assailant and let out a cruel grin.
"Didn't your mother teach you how to answer people's question politely? There's no saving you now, old man."
BLAM
Before the bandit could react, a hole the size of a small ball was planted deep inside his forehead. Immediately, water began to shoot out from every orifice on his face, effectively drowning its owner if he wasn't already dead from the headshot. The last thing the man saw was the ant before him speaking.
"I hope you become a better person the next time you reincarnate."
His eyes rolled back as he finally fell down. When the brigand's body hit the floor, blood oozed from where the water had violently ejected itself, the man's corpse laid still on the ground. The koala stared at the corpse before huffing to himself. He turned to the cliff wall ahead of him and spoke once more.
"You can stop hiding now, you know."
A mass of dirt and rock on the cliffside wavered slightly before it completely dissolved. What was left in its place was a man-sized chameleon wearing grey sweatshirt and sweatpants. He chuckled as he jumped off from the rocky wall, stroking the yellow tuft of hair on his chin.
"Your warning was directed at me, wasn't it?" Meleoran grinned. "Threatening your squadron leader isn't going to win you any favors, y'know, but I'll overlook it because I'm nice." The chameleon man walked over the dead body and shook his head. "And you killed another one. You know they spoil easily, right?"
"I'll just deliver it before the end of the day." The fluffier ant replied, adjusting his tie a bit. He then huffed in annoyance. "People like him anger me! They don't realize how insignificant their life is. If he just listened and walked away, I would've shown him mercy."
"Mercy? Like the 'mercy' you showed that little red-haired girl yesterday? She was still crying even after you blasted her head with the water shot." The squadron leader grinned again as annoyance made its way onto his underling's face. "If I were you, I wouldn't give them a chance to run. I got smarter ways to capture my prey, you see. I can just say don't move and they'll listen. I am a superior officer after all." He chuckled that last part to himself.
"Hmph. Whatever."
"You should learn to restrain yourself, Koala. Even though I'm very lenient with what you guys do, I am still your superior." He pointed a finger towards the fluffy killer. "If you really enjoy killing that much, why don't you enlist in the feed-collection team instead?" The reptilian ant then sauntered off, arms behind his head and not a single care in the world.
Koala stared back at his commanding officer before letting his annoyance seep onto his face once more. He let out another huff before going to lift the body of the bandit he killed. His thoughts went back to his carefree leader before sighing.
"You're hopeless."
The corpse of a purple-and-gold clad man laid in the center of the group of hunters, a massive three-clawed gash furiously raked into his back and extended onto his arm. The grass around him had since been stained with his blood and dried up. And following him, the corpses of his comrades. Both behind and ahead of him. Where they trailed off into was unknown territory, but the fact remained. Something unnatural had slain these men.
"What the hell…" Pokkle was the first to inspect the corpse, curiosity getting the best out of him. To confirm his suspicions, he rummaged through the man's body before finding a necklace with a strange six-eyed symbol for a pendant. Gripping the pendant in his hand, the hunter furrowed his brow in confusion, more questions than answers appearing to him now.
"What's wrong Pok?" Balda asked, running a hand through his spiked up black hair.
"These men were Grimleal, or at the very least associated with them." The purple-turbaned hunter brought a hand to his chin as he held his gaze on the swordsman's corpse. "But why are they all the way out here, in Valm? They're based in Plegia, and as far as I know they haven't made any real moves since the Ylisseans defeated Gangrel all those months ago. Something's not right here…"
"This doesn't sound good at all." Pekuba muttered, arms crossed to stop them from shaking. Pokkle nodded silently before letting himself reflect upon their newest findings.
'Whatever made these wounds wasn't human, that's for sure. If it's the monster we're looking for, we're not even close to being ready for this hunt, not with our current members at least."
Before they could continue to investigate further, the sounds of uneven footsteps crunched onto the grassy floor of the forest before them. From under the shade, three large, man-sized insects came forth. They stopped to inspect their latest prey, as if waiting for a response. Pekuba cried out in a panic, making them continue their stride.
"M-Monsters! They found us!"
Pokkle was sweating bullets, ready for a tense battle. He strategized quickly before clenching his fist in anticipation.
"Pekuba, Ponzu, Balda!" He yelled at his teammates. "Get ready to run on my signal." The monster insects closed in on them, ready to collect their newest prey. However, Pokkle was prepared. His fists began to glow with a supernatural energy before he ascended into the air, forming his fingers into the action of firing a bow. His aura got stronger as it morphed to resembled a bowstring being held back.
"Rainbow! Red Arrow!"
An arrow made up of red energy formed in Pokkle's fingers before being fired into the skull of one of the ants. It ignited in a bright red blaze, incinerating the ant's brains from the inside. All that was left was an arrow-sized hole in its head as the chimera fell dead. Its brethren watched their fallen comrade die, slightly shaken by the sudden appearance of a strange, new weapon. Using their shock, the young hunter used that as his chance to escape.
"Everyone, run now!" Pokkle cried, his group now dashing away from the ants. The two remaining bugs began to rush after the retreating hunters, eager to hunt new prey. After his team got a sizable distance between themselves and the ants, Pokkle readied two more arrows and aimed. When he got a perfect angle, he charged his aura bowstring back and taunted them.
"Look over here, you damn bug bastards!" The ginger hunter cried out. The two chimeras turned and found a blazing arrow lodged deep into both of their heads, killing them instantly. Without looking back, he ran away, regrouping with his team. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of cruel eyes stared at him before disappearing back into the forest's brush, letting its massive scorpion tail slash along the trees viciously.
Pokkle kept running before he managed to rejoin his team in a ruined village. They took refuge behind a house and caught their breath. Pekuba was the first to speak.
"Damn it, we're way out of our league here. We need to contact the Guild, the Army, anyone!" The man curled up on the ground and began clutching his stark white hair in a panic. 'I don't want to die here, not in fucking Valm of all places…"
"Yeah, I agree," Balda gulped. He shakenly turned to Ponzu, who was currently catching her own breath. "Ponzu, can you send out a message with your scout bees?" The turquoise-haired girl nodded before summoning the insects from her large, yellow hat. She then bit her thumb, using her blood as ink and hastily scrawling onto a piece of paper. When she was satisfied with her work, she coated the paper in her aura as her drones took off.
"There, I sent an SOS out. My drones will only seek those with a powerful Nen signature. The only problem now is figuring out how to escape." Ponzu pointed past the three men into another clearing behind them. "There was a cliff over there, maybe we'll go there and get a good vantage point. From there, we'll make our way out of this hellscape."
"Gotcha. Everyone, let's roll." With Pokkle's words, they made their way into the cliffside clearing, unaware of an ungodly menace stalking their every move. The being chuckled to itself before going to greet its newest prey. A crunch of leaves behind it stopped it dead in its tracks.
"Pike? Is that you? Announce yourself if it is." A woman's voice called out. No response came, which made her wary. She stepped out of the shadows of the trees, revealing a woman with magenta hair and wearing a yellow sports bra and panties. Her scorpion-like tail gnashed violently at the air as she regarded the beings before her. They looked human, but they didn't feel human. They were more like rotting corpses that were only moving due to a higher will.
Zazan raised an eyebrow at this. If they weren't humans, she wouldn't bother with them, but these things were eyeing her down maliciously. "What do you things want? I'm busy right now." The various undead abominations stared at her a bit longer, unsure of how to act around the chimera ant. As if they were getting orders on how to deal with her. Zazan grew annoyed and growled. "If you don't have any words for me, then buzz off. Or do you want me to kill you instead?"
"K…Kill…?" One of them garbled. "Kill… whooo…? You…?"
"Me? Hmph, unlikely." She flipped her hair in extravagance showing off to the undead crowd before her. "I am Zazan, the Almighty!"
"…Only… Master… Almighty…!" The living corpses before her groaned. Before the chimera could give a rebuttal, the crowd of six brandished their weapons at her. "Kill… ZAZAN!"
"Kill me, huh." The Squadron Leader's tail lashed viciously. "Try it, you damned tools."
Countless Grimleal mages and soldiers laid dead inside the fortress. Either they were pierced by needles, necks snapped, or had their skulls pulverized by hoofprints. Their corpses littered the dark, damp hideout. The only thing illuminating its insides were torches and the stray flames left by failed or misfired Elfires. Yunju wiped the blood off of his hoof using the body of a dark mage he had slain before he turned to the bloody mess that was the main sorcerer's throne. He frowned as he remembered the man's final request.
"Please, give me to your Queen! This life of mine… it's not worth living anymore. Give me a new one, dammit!"
Nelson, the man said his name was. Yunju had no idea why he complied with the man's dying wish. Was it because he still had a quota to fill? Or maybe he was bored with all his killing? Or maybe he still had a small shred of humanity left in him. He didn't know, nor cared to bother with such questions. He simply sent them off to Colt and was done with it.
Hearing a familiar buzzing of wings, he turned towards the entrance to the war chambers. He was welcomed to the sight of Mosquito and Centipede, having returned from their final scouting. And in their arms were two panicking humans, as he requested.
"These were the last toys we found Captain!" Centipede proudly exclaimed.
"I couldn't smell any more humans in the fortress, only their rotting corpses! Kyahahahaha!" Mosquito laughed horridly. Yunju grinned as he went to inspect his two newest torture toys.
"Heheh, what a nice haul. Strip them down and have them collar-" Realization suddenly struck the centaur chimera ant. "Wait, Mosquito. Did you say rotting corpse smell?"
"Hm? Yes, I did. Is there a problem, Captain Yunju?" The female chimera looked confused as her Squadron Leader went into deep thought.
"…Centipede, put those things up somewhere that we can find them later. Something's not adding up here…"
"Aye aye, Captain!" Centipede dragged the screaming men off into another room as Yunju folded his arms over his chest. He may have been a killer and a sadistic one at that, but Yunju was no fool. He knew something was strange with that report.
"Mosquito. Are you sure there's nothing alive here?"
"As sure as I can be. Every human is either enslaved or killed."
"I see. Having their corpses be rotted when we only killed them just a half hour prior is strange. They don't spoil that quickly, I don't think. Plus, Colt's peons should have already carried out the ones we'll make into meatballs. Something else is in here with us…" As if on cue, the two chimeras heard a noise come down the hall, edging closer towards them with every beat.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The uneasy sounds of hooves walking along the cobblestone floors put the Chimera Ants on edge. Centipede came back just in time to feel the aura of an unusually malicious being draw closer. The trio braced themselves for what was to come, and after what felt like an eternity, the source of the noises and aura came through. It was a human on horseback, wearing rather ornate armor. However, upon detecting his stench and seeing how the person himself was, it was probably safe to assume he was not human after all.
The horse and rider both appeared to have purple smoke ejecting from their many orifices, and glowing red eyes that bored into the souls of whoever dared to stare back. Their skin was riddled with stiches and held a deep purple hue. Although he carried himself like a human, he more resembled a walking dead rather than a person.
Yunju was the first to speak. "Huh? Who the hell are you? You ain't human, I can tell that much. If you turn around right now, I'll let you go. You're not our prey." He motioned for the rider to leave. The man in question simply stared down at the corpses of the Grimleal that littered the war room, silently judging each and every one of the fallen. Yunju took note of this and continued. "If you were wondering, yes. I killed them and I'd fucking do it again. Were you friends? If you were, I might have to kill you too." He flickered his tongue in excitement, anxious for another fight.
The purple man hopped off his horse and rummaged through the body of a Grimleal mage before grabbing a strange pendant. He opened his mouth to speak, purplish-black smoke exhausting from it.
"You will have no need for this any longer." The Paladin then sneered at the dead body. "Master needs you not. Be glad that he sent me to fix your failures." With a brutal crunch, his foot pulverized the head of the mage before the rider pocketed the pendant. Yunju laughed aloud as he did, grinning from ear to ear.
"GAHHAHA! You are one messed up dude! That's one hell of a compliment coming from me." The chimera's expression then darkened. "However, try not to mess with food. You spoil my food, I kill you. Got it?" The rider simply stared at the beast before him. After a long, tense staredown with the Chimera, he finally spoke again.
"Are you threatening me… insect?" He spat the last part with venom. The centaur took great offense to this as he snorted angrily.
"You. Fucking. WHAT?!" Yunju's face turned into a crazed smile as his two lackeys got into a battle stance. "Before I tear you apart limb by fucking limb, what should I call you? Just so I know who I'm crushing under my heel!" The Paladin retrieved a rather ornate and ancient lance from atop his horse before walking up to the three insects. He held a neutral gaze, but his eyes spoke untold volumes of absolute despair and agony for his victims.
"I am Equus of the Deadlords. And this fortress will be your tomb."
The midday sky loomed over the grasslands with barely a cloud in sight. The wind whistled through the leaves; the sound eerily similar to the screaming of men. The grand trees of the South Valmese Forest's borders were seemingly staring down its newest visitors, a team of five it appeared to be. The dense wilderness before them felt like the Jowls of Hell opening, ready to swallow its victims whole once more.
Before any of them could move, a drone bee buzzed out from the foliage, a note tied to its body. The tallest member of the group held out a hand and instinctively released his aura. To his surprise, the bee reacted with apparent joy and landed in his hand. Carefully untying the paper note from its small, fuzzy body, the lanky man waved it goodbye as it departed off towards greener pastures. He read the note silently at first, then closed his eyes before announcing what it said.
Giant Chimera Ants in S. Valm. Any and all capable Nen Users SOS.
"This isn't good," Kite muttered. "Looks like our trip's gonna be a lot more dangerous than we thought. You two," He turned to his two newest members. "Are you boys still interested in coming along?" The blonde and navy haired boys nodded, giving their answers as well.
"Of course!" Morgan said eagerly. "We'll assist any way we can."
"My sword hand swings at your side, Sir Kite!" Owain proclaimed. "Let us show these Chimeras what for!"
Kite smiled at their enthusiasm before turning to his other companions. "As for you two, ride back to the main team and alert them of the current situation. We've got a high-class threat on our hands, and we'll need all the help we can get. They shouldn't have left the main camp yet, so regroup and head towards Roseanne. I have a friend there who can help us out."
"Got it, we'll let them know. Be careful guys." Stick said before getting back onto his horse. "Let's get going, Podongo." The small brown girl nodded in agreement as they rode off. The remaining trio waved off their retreating forms in the horizon until they were just a speck in their field of view. They then turned to face the jaws of the forest, a menacing aura seemingly oozing off of it.
"Well then, there's no turning back now." Kite lowered his blue cap over his eyes, shadowing them. He turned slightly to face Morgan and Owain, curious on their reactions. The two teens' resolve hadn't wavered one bit as they continued staring down the massive trees before them. They had steeled their courage, as if they faced death time and time again. Satisfied, Kite stared straight ahead and readied himself to set out. "Let's go!"
With that command, the three men ran into the forest at breakneck speeds. And like clockwork, the forest closed itself off once more, trapping three more unfortunate souls inside its maws.
The trees were becoming fleeting images in her view as she kept running. Ponzu's legs refused to give out just yet as she hurriedly made her way towards the exit of the forest, or at least a safe zone. The enclosed forest only helped to heighten her fears of being stalked down by the killer chimeras. And whatever the hell those other things were. Ponzu tried desperately to block out the prior events from her mind, but she couldn't, the past few minutes replaying in her head clear as day.
…
The group had reached the cliffside clearing without notice. Upon staring off the side of the cliff, they had heard some manic laughter and attempted to locate its source. The owner was a crazed insect monster toting a Thunder tome, cackling like a madman at every spark it let go. Alongside it, several other chimera ants had dragged their newfound prey along, ready to serve it to their Queen. The group backed away from the cliff, disturbed from the events unfolding before them.
"Come on, Pok. We have to get going now!" Pekuba cried out. "I don't want to be here anymore!"
"I know, I know dammit!" Pokkle snapped. "I want us to leave too, but how we're going to is the issue."
"Figure something out soon, man! Let's just get the hell outta here!" The moment Pekuba screamed this out, a large insect came out from the ground behind him and struck his head clean off. A second later, an axe wielder with purple smog emitting from his body emerged from the brush and slashed viciously at the monster, but missed. It ended up only hacking off Pekuba's arm instead. The remaining three looked on in shock as the white-haired man's head bounced along the ground helplessly before it stopped upright, staring directly at his group and body. With one last pulse of life left in his severed head, the man cried out at the top of his lungs.
"THEY'RE HEEEEEEREEE!"
"AAAAHHHHHH!" Pokkle was the first to act, readying his Nen Arrow once more.
"Rainbow! Blue Arrow!"
A blue Nen Arrow formed in his fingers as he fired it off, piercing through the skulls of both ant and fighter. The insect fell to the ground dead, whilst the fighter stumbled back a bit before disintegrating into a violet smoke. The moment the smoke cleared, two more purple axe users stomped out the woods, the same purple haze billowing from their mouths and red eyes glowing with hate.
"FUCKING HELL, RUN!" Pokkle yelled out. As they turned to move away, they noticed something climbing up the cliffside. Clamoring itself up the cliffside was a massive green and black tarantula, yet the ends of its four forelegs were human hands with four digits instead of five. The most standout feature was its face, which resembled an old man with greying hairs on the side of its head. And on its forehead was a spiderweb pattern plastered onto it. "A… A human face?!"
"What the hell is going on?!" Ponzu cried out.
"Fucking shoot them already!" Balda yelled in a panic.
"Orange Arrow, Fire!" The flame-colored arrow sailed through the air at high speeds, the wind howling as it attempted to bore a hole through its next victim. But in a cruel twist of fate, the spider caught the arrow mid-flight, holding it to its face. In their state of shock, the giant spider leapt onto the cliffside, eyeing down the three humans and two undead axe wielders.
"I wonder," The spider chimera drawled. "Is this what they were going on about? But I can see it so clearly. Are you telling me not even grunts could see this?" He peered down at the arrow a bit more before narrowing his eyes. "Ah, I see now. Whatever energy you're surrounding yourself in, that is the source of this weapon's energy. You'll make such a fulfilling meal for our Queen.
"But first," The massive spider tossed the arrow into the head of one of the axmen, right before it was about to lunge at him. He grabbed the falling axe right before it collided with his head. "I should take care of the small fry. But I want to also capture you guys as well. Hmm, these are tough decisions… Oh, I know!" He stood up and shot out his web from his abdomen, aiming straight for Pokkle. The hunter dodged out of the way, but didn't realize until it was too late that Balda was behind him. The web stuck onto the man's back and hoisted him into the air.
"BALDAAAAA!" But it was too late. The black-haired man was pulled towards the spider, and in one motion, only a sickeningly vile sound could be heard on the clifftop.
CRUNCH
Balda's face was torn clean off by the jaws of the chimera ant, leaving only the bloody, broken half of his skull visible from the front. Pokkle looked on in absolute horror and despair, watching yet another comrade die in front of him. The purple axe warrior attempted to use this opening to strike at the chimera, but he simply used the corpse as a shield before swatting the warrior into a tree, it returning to smoke upon impact. After realizing what he just did, the spider gasped in shock.
"Damn! I keep doing that on instinct." The monster spider continued to berate himself. "We're not supposed to spoil Her Majesty's food, dummy! Ooh… Commander Zazan is going to be LIVID when she finds out."
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Pokkle cried out in pure rage. The spider looked up for a moment; he caught another orange arrow meant for him. But the moment he did, the ginger hunter was on him in a flash, aura coating his fist. It collided with the chimera's face, sending him reeling in pain. As more blows landed, the chimera ant was left in a state of panic, unsure of what to do.
"Time out, time out! I still have things in my hands!"
"SAY YOUR GOODBYES, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Pokkle readied a new arrow in the chimera's face, close enough so it couldn't dodge or catch it. This will end its life and avenge his friends; he was sure of it. He pulled back and got ready to fire off the blazing red shot.
SNIKT!
Pokkle's body was sent into a state of paralysis almost instantly. A Scorpion's stinger sunk itself into the nape of his neck, forcing him down. The massive spider turned to see his savior, which was none other than his Squadron Leader, Zazan. She had looked like she took some minor scrapes, but nothing major. She grinned at the fallen hunter before pointing at the spider.
"Pike, you fool. The way you fight is always full of holes. All you had to do was just drop what you had in your hands!"
"O-Oh! You're completely right, Commander Zazan!"
"Furthermore," Zazan then lashed her tail down at the purple fighter by Pike's legs, the latter unaware that it was crawling towards its weapon the entire time. "You should pay attention to your surroundings more. Had he got up sooner, you would have most likely died.
"With that being said, we should head home." The squadron leader hoisted the unconscious human over her shoulder and turned around. "This human has enough nutrients to match a thousand regular ones. Good job, Pike."
The chimera ant now known as Pike had his face light up in absolute ecstasy. He raised his hands up high, praising his leader like a Goddess. "I am unworthy of your praise, Commander!" Tears comically welled up in his eyes as he was overcome with emotion. As the chimeras slinked back into the forest, Ponzu watched them before running in the opposite direction…
…
She hadn't stopped running since. She knew that they wouldn't kill Pokkle immediately, he was too valuable and too resourceful to die like that. So, she just had to make a break for it and find confident Nen users to fight off these menaces. Part of her also wished she'd run into the emperor himself just so he can slaughter all of the ants with his army. Raze the whole damn forest if he had to. Ponzu didn't care, she wanted these abominations dead. This wasn't even counting those corpse-like axmen that assaulted them as well. This whole forest just wanted their heads.
Soon, she saw a light up ahead. 'Yes!' she thought. 'A way out! I'll find help and we'll rescue Pok! And soon, we'll be back together aga-'
ZZAP
In a flash of light, a thunderbolt pierced Ponzu's forehead and exited through her skull. The wound was instantly cauterized by the voltage, but the last thing Ponzu saw was a reptilian-like monster with fish-like attributes holding a Thunder tome. Her dying tears fell down her face as her body collapsed onto the ground, dead. The red-haired ant stared at her body for a few moments before grinning manically to himself, jolting her over and over again.
"Keheheheh… KYAHAHAHAHAHA!" The ant then grabbed her lifeless body by its legs, getting ready to devour his prey. "Holy shit! Hunting… is so much fun!" The forest went silent as the monster dug into his prey, leaving nothing behind. The only sound that echoed through the empty wilderness was the sounds of a savage predator savoring his latest kill.
The trees rustled restlessly as an ominous wind blew through the forest. Kite, Morgan, and Owain surrounded a large, bloody puddle on the ground. The only indicator that it was even a human were the torn clothing littered around it and the giant, yellow beehive hat, all covered with blood. Owain reeled back in disgust at the sight, the scene making him sick to his stomach. Morgan, although he too was disturbed by the mess before him, was more focused on finding out what caused this. He gasped slightly, kneeling down to inspect the blood.
"Is this… magical residue? The staticky feeling I'm getting from the blood… this person was electrocuted to death." Morgan pulled his hand back. "But the Valmese rarely employ mages, and they certainly wouldn't be around here."
"Grimleal..." Owain muttered under his breath, any mirth in his voice gone. "There must've been a sect stationed here for some reason. But why?"
"Who knows, but one thing is for certain." Kite spoke up, catching the boys' attention. "This wasn't done by a human. This is the work of a Chimera Ant. They must have killed off the Grimleal that were in this area as well. Them using their weaponry is not good news in the slightest. We need to hurry; we can't allow these things to continue evolving like this." The trio ran ahead, vowing to stop the outbreak by any means necessary. But even they were unaware of the troubles that awaited them deeper into the forest.
The situation has taken a turn for the absolute worst.
And that's a wrap for Chapter 2! Had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and although some parts were revisiting scenes from HxH, I do have main points being set to split up from here on out. I'm really excited to see how things go with this! Any and all reviews will be greatly appreciated! Huge thanks again to Nivilack again for beta-ing the story! Really awesome guy, go check him out! His stories are pretty good!
Btw, come join the Fanfiction Treehouse! There's a lot of really cool people there who also write and such. It's mostly Fire Emblem, but there's other topics you can discuss with everyone as well. I get pretty good advice from there as well, so it doesn't hurt to come in and see what's up.
Discord Code is: 9XG3U7a
That's it from me, until next time!