Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Izumi POV.
I stretched lazily as I walked through the city ruins. I looked around and couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the sight. Jeju Island was practically a ghost town. Nothing remained here but destruction, death, and rubble.
The only thing I knew about Jeju was what little I'd seen in pictures and videos, like in some TV series or similar things, in both my life, and the contrast between the two was truly stark. It was… sad.
Even so, I couldn't help but sense it. Now that I was so close, my Observation Haki was hitting me hard. The Ant King was on the island. His presence was unmistakable. I had only ever sensed one person who could surpass him, and that was All For One, so it was truly impressive that a monster was capable of reaching such a level. And it said a lot about All For One that he was able to surpass a monster in that area.
"Focus, Miyamura," Tawata snapped seriously. "We're not on vacation, this is dangerous," she added. I just hummed softly and nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm always ready," I said distractedly. I could hear Tawata grumble in annoyance. And I wasn't lying. My body had been tense even before I set foot on Jeju. That damned King Ant had me on edge. My Observation Haki was screaming, and I was prepared to act at any moment.
The Ant King had been able to kill the S-rank hunters with such ease and terrifying speed that a simple oversight could make him too late to get them to safety.
It was something I had to avoid.
Fortunately, I had made preparations for this situation. I could only hope they would turn out well.
I continued walking with Tawata and we went deeper into the forest. She took care of killing the straggling ants here and there without any problem until we reached the spot we needed.
"This is A-Alpha. Respond in order." I heard Goto's voice from the earpiece. Tawata became serious and looked at me intently. I nodded in her direction.
"B-Bravo, ready." Tawata said immediately.
"C-Charlie, Ready." "D-Delta, Ready." Listen to the other two groups respond in the same way.
"Everyone, release your auras, now," Goto ordered. And I, as expected, obeyed. I let my aura explode outward along with Tawata's, though my aura easily surpassed hers, I still held it in. I could feel the auras of everyone else around Jeju exploding powerfully.
Look towards the Hallasan volcano, once an awe-inspiring sight. Now, it was nothing more than a giant anthill. And when you kick an anthill, the ants come out to play. Thousands of ants fluttered out of Hallasan and scattered in all four directions, forming different groups.
I looked at the hundreds of ants heading in our direction and stared at them boredly.
"Miyamura! Snap out of it!" Tawata yelled as she sliced an ant in half. I just hummed softly. I gently grabbed Mai before slamming my foot to the ground and moving through the ants. Dozens of ants fell behind me, easily sliced in half. I dodged one of their attacks before decapitating it.
I glanced in Tawata's direction to see her busy killing ants on her side. I just hummed a tune before dodging an attack from two ants and decapitating them with equal ease before stopping when an idea struck me.
I glanced at Tawata once more; she had her back to me, engrossed in her ants. I smiled broadly before moving swiftly. I grabbed one of the ants with my hand and then shoved it back into my shadows with a swipe.
With the Korean group, I didn't know how many ants Taylor could take back to Japan. But… now that I was alone with Tawata, and she was too busy to see me, why not take some for her?
I'm sure no one will miss a few ants, and Taylor will be very happy about that.
"You're an idiot," Mai said playfully through our mental link, thanks to soul resonance. I chuckled, killing a couple more ants before slamming a third to the ground and letting it sink into my shadows.
"You're jealous," I said mockingly. Mai snorted.
"Getting monster woman-eating ants? Yeah, right." Mai said dryly. "I'm sure she'll keep giving them those weird names." She added playfully.
"They're not weird names," I said playfully. Mai raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Quasimodo," she said simply. I chuckled.
"It's an excellent movie. If you didn't see it, you didn't have a childhood. And considering you grew up with the Zenin, I'd say you didn't," I said mockingly. Mai snorted.
"Yes, an 'excellent' movie, 300 years ago," she said dryly. "And I'll let you know my childhood was good, thank you very much." Mai retorted, almost offended. I chuckled as I continued killing insects. "Besides, you can't have an opinion on names. Those weapon names you choose are questionable." She grunted. I snorted.
"I don't choose the names, those are their real names, " I retorted, almost offended. "And excuse me, but Thousand Demon Daggers is a cool name," I said immediately. Mai snorted.
"First of all, so far, of all the weapons you've created, I've never seen the 'real' ones you say exist, so from my point of view, you're creating them."
"Second, it's a sword, a katana, not a dagger. And even if you're referring to fragments, they're fragments, not daggers, so the name doesn't make sense. And I can't even split into a thousand fragments, I can manage at most half that amount. And there's absolutely nothing demonic about it." Mai said dryly. I snorted and pouted.
"It's a great name," I retorted with a pout. "It can be broken into a thousand pieces, we just haven't even had a chance to perfect it yet. You're such a spoilsport," I said dryly. Mai snorted playfully.
"Whatever you say," she said playfully. "By the way, stop putting so many ants in your shadows. You were supposed to have emptied your shadows so nothing would interfere with your fight against the mutant ant," she said dryly.
"Mai, don't worry. If I really need to, I'll let them go." I said easily. Mai just snorted, but nodded. I was about to continue speaking before I stopped and looked up. I could see the fire of Huntress Choi attacking a group of ants.
"Looks like the Koreans are just getting started." I said aloud, this time to get Tawata's attention as well. She killed the ant in front of her before looking up at the sky above Hallasan.
"Don't get distracted, we have our work to do," Tawata finally said before continuing to kill insects.
"Yes, yes, yes," I said dully as I continued killing ants one after another.
"And Miyamura," Tawata said, drawing my attention. "Don't let your guard down," she said seriously. I looked at her, surprised.
"Do I need to be careful of anything?" I asked curiously. Tawata just frowned before killing an ant.
"Maybe," she finally said. "There's... I have a bad feeling. Just... take care." She said finally before looking away and continuing to kill ants.
"Do you think she knows about Goto?" Mai asked seriously.
"I doubt it." I said honestly, "Maybe she noticed some things that didn't add up, or it could be her Huntress instincts, or her Haki, she could even be sensing the Chimera Ant King. It could be anything, but I don't think Goto would be careless enough to tell her about the plan to assassinate me. Unless, of course, she planned to kill her too. " I said with a sneer.
"If you say so. Now, let's keep killing these ants and prepare to face a real monster, " Mai said solemnly. I nodded. I let my Observation Haki and my foresight start working overtime. It was time to face the ant king. Even with everything at stake, I couldn't help but let a smile of anticipation grow on my face. "Damn deranged monster," Mai said, seeing my smile. I just smiled even wider.
------------------
Taylor POV.
We all stood as we approached Jeju Island. Immediately, we could sense the enormous amount of aura that the S-rank Japanese hunters were releasing from various points around Jeju. I glanced toward where Izumi's aura was emanating from before focusing on what truly mattered.
"What a huge amount of Aura..." said Huntress Baek as she looked out the window. We all saw large numbers of flying ants emerge from the anthill that was Jeju and chase the auras like moths to a flame. Even so, several ants headed toward us.
I blinked as the ants entered my radio. I frowned. I could sense the ants, but I didn't take control of them immediately; it was as if someone had already taken the driver's seat of a vehicle. I could feel the queen's presence controlling the ants. It was… truly curious. It was the first time I'd been able to compare and observe someone with a similar ability to mine.
Even after training, it still felt strange having to strain my quirk to control an insect, but I did it nonetheless. I felt strong resistance from the queen's control, but with a little effort, I was able to push her away and wrest control from the insects that had gotten close enough. There were at least half a dozen of them.
I could still sense the queen. Not as an influence on the ants, but as someone who wanted to regain control of them. She was constantly attacking my quirk, completely furious that I had taken control of her children. Even so, my quirk barely flinched at the queen's efforts.
I guess that answered whether my quirk was stronger than her control.
"The Japanese must have begun their attack," Huntress Choi said calmly as she walked toward the cargo door that was beginning to open. "Let me take care of them," she said as she positioned herself in the now fully open rear door of the helicopter.
"Um... It's not necessary," I said timidly, interrupting her. "The ants entered my range; they're under my control," I added quickly. Huntress Choi turned slowly and stared at me. I returned her gaze as Huntress Choi stared back at me, grateful to myself for having put on my mask earlier.
Huntress Choi finally saw the flying ants I was controlling again, which were hovering without approaching the helicopter. Huntress Choi finally sighed. I shuddered when Huntress Ma burst out laughing and slapped me on the back.
"You took away Huntress Choi's chance to show off!" Huntress Ma said playfully. I grimaced. Huntress Choi snorted.
"I'll go find out how strong these guys are," Huntress Choi said before jumping out of the helicopter. We all moved closer to the edge.
"Oh, oh, it was a joke, she'll be okay?" asked the huntress Ma worriedly.
"She'll be fine. Her quirk is strongest when she can unleash it without restraint," Huntress Cha said calmly. Just as she had said, we saw Huntress Choi descend, flames swirling beneath her feet, amidst a swarm of ants. And then, the entire crater was engulfed in flames, instantly burning them all.
I frowned slightly. Even from that distance, that fire was stronger than Azula's and Todoroki's. Just as I expected from an S-rank hunter. In a few seconds, the fire disappeared, leaving only charred ants and ashes everywhere.
"It's safe for you to go down now, guys," Huntress Choi said calmly through the earpiece.
"So... in the end, she did pull it off?" asked Huntress Ma. Huntress Baek burst out laughing. "Now... seriously," said Huntress Ma, her smile fading. "The plan we're following right now might look a lot like our previous attempts."
"We could end up trapped inside the ant cave and perish. The Japanese hunters will only be able to hold their attention for about an hour. Within that time, we must go and assassinate the queen. In short, prepare for anything. Let's go." Huntress Ma said seriously, and the S-Rank hunters jumped up without hesitation.
I followed, but instead of dropping down like them, I landed on one of my new ants standing on its back and began to descend with my new insects. When I finally landed, I saw Huntress Choi creating a web of fire above our heads.
Even though I didn't know it, I was staring, almost mesmerized, at everything around me. This... was a giant anthill. A real anthill made inside a volcano. I knew it was supposed to be a terrible sight—after all, this was Jeju, an ancient inhabited island—but the anthill was fascinating to behold.
"You can really control them, huh?" asked the curious Huntress Baek, watching my insects' behavior and pulling me out of my reverie. I nodded. "What's your rank? How many of them can you control? " she asked quickly. I opened my mouth and just then felt the nullifier activate on Jeju.
I shuddered when I felt it strike with my quirk, but days of training with the nullifier I'd created, Power Load, had prepared me enough. My quirk didn't suddenly drop like the first time, though it did reduce my range slightly, but on the plus side, I no longer felt the queen battering my quirk like a raging battering ram; in fact, it became easier to control the insects.
"Right now, a 5-block radius. The nullifier just activated, so the Queen has no influence over them. I'll be able to control any that enters my range," I said immediately. "It's not nearly enough to cover the entire anthill, but it'll be impossible for them to surround or ambush us. I'll be on the lookout for anything," I told the hunters without hesitation. They nodded seriously.
"That's good," said Huntress Baek. "Can you help search for the queen with your quirk?" she asked immediately. I shook my head.
"Like I said, my range is 5 blocks. Not far enough. But if these things are mimicking real ants..." I frowned as I looked around. "Ants don't build their colonies randomly. The structure depends on the species and the environment. But there's usually a pretty clear distribution."
"The areas closest to the surface are usually used for transit, storage, or defense. The more important something is to the colony, the more protected it tends to be. Although, while it might suggest the Queen resides in the deepest part, it's not really necessary; it's one of the most common mistakes."
"The queen doesn't have to be physically at the deepest point. She needs to be in the safest and most efficient location. There's a difference. She needs protection. A relatively stable temperature. Constant access to food. Access to the chambers where the eggs and larvae are located. And depending on the species, she needs an efficient network through which the worker ants can reach her and leave again."
"The queens are the center of the colony. But not necessarily the geometric center. Anthills are three-dimensional. They aren't houses with neat rooms. It's a truly interesting and very efficient structure. There are main tunnels, secondary tunnels, storage chambers, brood chambers, and resting chambers. They even build efficient ventilation systems and are able to position the different chambers to heat or cool important areas using the sun's position. The levels and corridors are designed to create air pockets in case of flooding. And much more—ants are truly marvelous at creating anthills."
"Even if the ants don't receive direct orders from the queen thanks to the nullifier, everything ends up connected to her presence. And if we follow that organization, then-"
I stopped abruptly when I realized I'd been rambling about ants on international television for quite some time. I could see the S-rank hunters from Korea staring at me, completely bewildered. I just blushed and pointed to a particular hole with my finger.
"It's that way," I said shyly as I blushed.
"I didn't understand half of what you said," said huntress Ma, without any shame. I shuddered slightly.
"Forget that. Are you really sure it's that place?" asked Huntress Baek, looking at me seriously. I just nodded. My quirk, before awakening, required me to familiarize myself with and form bonds with the colonies I wanted to control. I had helped build dozens of artificial anthills since I was a child, all of different sizes and with different kinds of ants. After I started controlling them directly, I had discovered and learned much more than I knew before. I could distinguish any location from an anthill, as long as it was of a species I knew, with the same ease as my own ants.
"There's only one way to find out," Huntress Choi said before creating dozens of fireballs and launching them at high speed toward all the holes. The fireballs flew in every direction. After a few seconds, all the holes seemed to light up except for one—the one I had pointed out. The S-rank huntress stared at me, and I suppressed the urge to squirm.
"Skitter, if you would be so kind as to guide us to the queen," said Huntress Baek playfully, taking a step to the side. I pouted before sighing.
"I'll... do what I can." I said with a sigh. Then I hit the ground and the little toad appeared from my shadows.
"What is that?" asked the huntress Lim cautiously. The toad opened its mouth before releasing a swarm of insects.
"Where I keep my swarm," I said vaguely. A dense swarm began to fill every corner of the anthill, and I started tracking them as far as I could. "Let's go," I said easily before starting to walk.