"Jacques is called the Bug Monarch, and is accompanied by a huge army of insects. Be especially careful of the worms; they're actually parasites. If you're not careful, Jacques will use the parasites to take control of your body."

"Anything else?" Kang Oh asked.

"Jacques can also transform into a giant insect, and he uses seven different poisons that mirror the colors of the rainbow. Make sure you avoid his purple breath. It's about as strong as our Dragon's Breath."

"Understood."

"Let's go."

"Yes, sir!"

They were extremely confident. After all, the Divine Dragon was coming along!

"Gainus," Gracius suddenly said.

"Yes?"

"Bring Ruinari with you." Gracius pointed at the Birdman. "Jacques and Kragon are our responsibility. If anyone should be killing them, it should be us."

"Yes, Mother." Ruinari deeply bowed his head.

"We'll feel a lot safer with you, the strongest Birdman Warrior, at our side. Thank you, Lady Gracius."

Their party was now complete. It consisted of the Predator, the Wind Archer, the Legendary Healer, Deborah's Priestess, her protector, the Divine Dragon, and the strongest Birdman Warrior!

All of them were fully qualified to fight the Mayanes, the ancient tribe that dreamt of supplanting the gods.

"Follow me." Gainus entered the left mirror, which acted as Jacques' prison. It let him pass without any resistance.

Kang Oh went in next.

Swish!

He passed through the mirror and entered a completely different world.

* * *

[You have entered the Sealed Area, Snow-White Plains.]

It was as if the entire world was covered in paper. After all, sand, pebbles, and heaps of earth as white as snow went as far as the eye could see. There was no grass or trees here, which made it seem even more barren.

It truly was a snow-white plain!

However, there was a single, giant structure here. It was cone-shaped, but it was perforated with holes; holes that were large enough for a person to go through.

"That's Jacques' home. It's better that we not enter. It's teeming with countless insects, poisonous or otherwise," Ruinari said after he'd passed through.

"Then we have to drag him out," Gainus said.

"That would be for the best."

"Let's go."

Once they all made it through, they headed over to the tower. Since it wasn't that far away, they reached Jacques' home in no time at all.

But once they got close, the scenery completely changed.

Bzzzzzz!

They heard the sound of insects' wings.

Flying insects rushed out of the tower. There were wasps, monster dragon flies, hideous mosquitoes, and even one that couldn't be identified at first glance; it was as long as a centipede, but it was capable of flight.

All of the insects were at least the size of a human head. Moreover, they were extremely fast, so their bodies painted the sky black.

"Whose head do you think you're flying above!?"

He may look like an old man, but Gainus was a dragon underneath! And he wasn't just any dragon either; he was the Divine Dragon. Gainus raised his staff.

Judgment of Fire!

Roar!

Rippling white flames erupted from his staff, which burnt the insects to a crisp! He had killed hundreds of insects with a single spell.

However, this was only the beginning. Gainus consecutively cast powerful spells.

Thousand Chain Lightning!

Ice Storm!

With a crack of thunder, lightning flashed. At the same time, countless ice shards filled the sky. The term 'catastrophe' was the best way to describe the scene.

The Birdman Warrior, Ruinari, got into position. He opened his wing-arms and softly swung them.

Wind God's Trick!

Whenever he swung his arms, he created a vortex, which promptly consumed countless bugs in its way.

Gyaa!

Waryong opened its mouth and spewed red flames. Its master, Sephiro, was shooting the insects out of the sky, showing off his skills as an expert marksman.

Kang Oh swung Blood. A single swing of his blade would fell countless bugs and fully stack his sword.

Blood Bomb!

Boom!

Scarlet energy exploded from his body, turning any nearby bug into dust.

Eder also used explosions as a means of attack. He would shoot bone shards everywhere and promptly cast Bone Bomb right after.

Cyndia clasped her hands together and cast a God's Blessing on her allies. Muhawk stood beside her, cutting through any insects that came her way.

The winged insects, which had once blanketed the sky with their numbers, had noticeably dwindled down.

However…!

The white sand and dirt began to bob up and down.

Bam!

A parasite, which looked like a worm the size of a forearm, popped out of the ground. Its head was shaped like a sea anemone, so it was covered in countless tentacles.

"It's a parasite! Don't let it infect you. If you get infected, then you'll be controlled by the enemy!" Gainus yelled urgently. Then, he formed a barrier around himself, preventing the parasite from getting any closer.

The others prevented it from closing in on them too.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The ground cracked open, and more disgusting insects crawled out. If you had entomophobia, then you'd have fainted by now. That's how many insects had come out of the ground!

"Exterminate them!" Gainus said solemnly.

Burning Land!

A raging fire suddenly surged.

Hiss!

The insects were burnt to a crisp. However, some of them had managed to pierce through the flames. And it wasn't a small number of them! These insects possessed hard exoskeletons, which shielded them from the flames.

Kya!

A strange-looking insect, which looked like a spider with pincers, and flames on its forehead, opened its claws. There was a hole in-between its claws, which sprayed green liquid like a water gun.

That was just the beginning. Venomous insects began spraying their poison everywhere too!

Hiss! Hiss!

Once the poison touched the flames, it turned into black smoke.

"Watch out for the poison!" Kang Oh yelled after cleaving through a monster dragon fly.

"Please eat this!" Eder pulled out black spheres from his medicine bag, and began throwing them at his comrades. Kang Oh took the drug and ate it.

[You have eaten Eder's Special Antidote.]

[Detoxifying your system.]

[Your poison resistance has been maxed out.]

[Duration time: 5 minutes]

[If you are poisoned, then the medicine's effect will wear off much faster.]

"Oh goddess!" Cyndia clasped her hands together.

Holy Domain!

A cross appeared over her head, and yellow light spread from beneath her feet, as if it were oil floating on water. This prayer increased her allies' resistances, defense, and HP regeneration while within this zone.

"Blow, wind!" Ruinari bowed down, flattening his body, and began spinning like a top. An intense wind began to blow from his body.

Whoosh!

The wind blew away the poison.

Hiss! Hiss!

Realizing that their poison hadn't worked, the insects quickly charged at their enemies. Any winged insects that were still alive kept flying around, distracting Kang Oh's party.

Moreover...!

Kuha! Kuhaaahk!

The ground shattered, and out came even more insects.

Four mantises, which stood more than 2 meters tall with sharp, glimmering blade-arms, had appeared. They opened their gigantic wings, and flew for some time.

Mantis Demons!

Mantises were considered the most powerful insect-type monster, and these mantises were the apex of their species.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Whenever they swung their arms, they would unleash a biting wind with a sharp 'swoosh'.

Then, giant, heavily armored scorpions surged from the ground.

Armored Scorpions!

These insects charged at their enemies like a tank. Strangely, there were large-headed ants riding on their back.

Cannon Ants!

They spat potent acid. The combination of the two made them much harder to deal with than if they had fought individually.

"Stop them!"

"Die!"

Kyaaa!

Ptoo! Ptoo!

Kang Oh's party and the insects engaged in an intense melee battle.

While Sephiro and Eder were running from a Mantis Demon, Kang Oh climbed on top of an Armored Scorpion and killed the Cannon Ants riding it.

The Divine Dragon, Gainus, and the Birdman Warrior, Ruinari, were doing far more than the rest of them.

"You bastards!" Gainus stomped on the ground.

Earthquake!

Lava Eruption!

The ground cracked open, releasing lava like a fountain. Several of the Armored Scorpions fell into the chasm, and the lava pillar melted away the mantises. Gainus's skill in magic was frightening. As expected of the Divine Dragon!

'I should get close to him.' Kang Oh pledged upon seeing his unfathomable strength. When this battle was over, he'd make full use of his silver tongue!

However, there was someone else he wanted to get to know.

It was Ruinari, the green-feathered Birdman Warrior that flew through the air! He opened his wings, releasing a giant, golden bird-shaped aura that shredded the insects.

Wind God's Fluttering Wings!

Though they'd killed several of the flying insects, a ton of them still remained. And yet, with a single attack, Ruinari had killed them all. The attack was both extremely powerful, and covered a wide radius.

'An attack of that magnitude? Is it a secret move? He looks like a Fighter, but I'm pretty sure he's a Master.'

In other words, Ruinari was on the same level as the Invincible Gladiator, Burkan. It wouldn't hurt to get closer to someone like that!

"Hoo, hoo."

Was it because he'd used such a powerful attack? Ruinari landed on the floor and did nothing but catch his breath.

'Alright, let's start showing them what I can do.'

Gainus and Ruinari were both powerful beings. He wouldn't be able to increase his closeness with them by just flattering them a ton. First, he had to get them to acknowledge his skill. Only then would he be able to get through to them.

Kang Oh switched to Ubist.

Devil Trigger!

He instantly transformed into the Jet-Black Demon, and kicked off the floor. His target: an Armored Scorpion!

Kya!

It swung its thick claws at him. At the same time, Kang Oh swung his sword.

Tempest Tiger!

The golden aura struck the scorpion. However, it didn't really do much; perhaps it was because he no longer had his necklace, which quadrupled its power.

'It doesn't matter.'

He'd only used Tempest Tiger to draw its attention anyway.

Soon enough, Kang Oh landed on its back!

Ptoo! Ptoo!

The Cannon Ants, which were already there, spat their acid at him. However, Kang Oh's necklace began to glow with dim light.

Moon's Protection!

This barrier would nullify any and all attacks for three seconds! It had completely blocked the acid.

'My turn!' Kang Oh horizontally swung his blade in a wide arc.

Abyss Claw!

A three-lined black aura followed his blade.

Split! Split!

The Cannon Ants' heads were incredibly tough. However, Abyss Claw ripped them apart. That's just how powerful it was!

'This is just the beginning!'

"Haaht!" Kang Oh cried out, and went on a rampage.

Slash! Lightning Breath! Darkness Strike! Fire Bomb!

Bam, bam, bam, bam!

His fierce assault pushed the Cannon Ants off the scorpion's back. Then, the Armored Scorpion attacked Kang Oh with its tail.

Whoosh!

Its poisonous stinger gleamed.

"Hoo." Kang Oh took a deep breath and waited for the right moment.

Soon enough, the poisonous stinger was right before his eyes!

'Now!'

Transcendent Blade!

Swish.

His blade flashed, leaving behind a single line in the air. That line crossed through the scorpion's tail, cutting it in two.

Kuhaa!

The Armored Scorpion screamed in pain.

"Become my experience points!" Kang Oh raised Ubist high up, and then swung downwards. Once his blade cut through its thick shell and made contact with the soft flesh underneath...

Lightning Breath!

Crackle!

The electric blast coursed through the Armored Scorpion's body, killing it instantly.

[You have defeated an Armored Scorpion.]

[You have leveled up.]

"Next!" Kang Oh leapt into the air.

'I've found my next prey!'