—Snap!
Kanzaki Rei casually gripped the Insect King by the neck, holding it up as easily as one would lift a frail chick.
"So… you're saying your name is Nieya."
"So you do have a name."
This Insect King was clearly different from the others. Its intelligence far surpassed that of ordinary monsters.
Ever since returning to Rain Town, more and more irregularities had begun to surface.
Things that shouldn't exist were appearing in its vicinity.
A Level 9 Diviner like Pali.
Meiser, who had realized his own contamination and was subconsciously seeking to escape it.
And now—a bug monarch whose intelligence clearly exceeded that of most monsters.
In truth, compared to a normal human, Nieya was still somewhat deficient.
Irritable. Incapable of calm reasoning. Arrogant. Stubborn.
But its pattern of thought…
Was already approaching that of a human.
And yet—
As Kanzaki Rei held Nieya by the throat and locked eyes with it, he realized—
There was no spirituality within it at all.
A being without spirituality… yet possessing this level of intelligence…
"Why are you invading Rain Town?"
"Why would I tell you?!"
—SHING!
Nieya's tail lashed out violently from behind, thrusting forward like a spear toward Kanzaki Rei!
—CRACK!
The elongated tail snapped cleanly before it could even reach him.
Kanzaki Rei's voice grew slightly colder.
"I don't think you understand your situation."
Pressure radiated outward.
—HUM—
In that instant, Nieya saw Kanzaki Rei as if he were an Eighth-Tier monster.
Terror flooded its mind.
"Weak insect."
"You have one last chance to answer."
"If I'm not satisfied…"
"Then die."
Kanzaki Rei lifted Nieya higher with one hand.
Nieya panicked. "This… this is the Hive's command!"
"The Hive ordered the attack!"
"There are powerful mages here, powerful warriors… we were told to eradicate all humans—especially Izparut, Akase, Kumironi, and others like them!"
Strange.
How had Izparut's name spread so far?
And if they truly intended to kill Iz—
Would they only send this kind of trash?
Was it simple arrogance?
Or was there another motive?
Rain Town… the Rylen Continent…
This place was becoming the eye of a storm.
Kanzaki Rei held Nieya aloft.
Around him lay a field of corpses.
With a single thought, every monster in the vicinity of Rain Town had already been eliminated.
As for those farther away…
He made no move to intervene.
—Shua!
His perception stretched into the distance, catching sight of Izparut and the others. After rescuing several towns, they were heading toward an open rift…
So they had gone to investigate.
No wonder…
Kanzaki Rei had been wondering why, given their speed, they hadn't arrived sooner.
In a flash, he recalled the complicated, guilt-ridden expression Izparut had worn after Kanzaki Rei killed Nieya in the previous timeline.
He must have blamed himself for not returning sooner.
But for someone like him…
If he ignored those other crises, he wouldn't have been able to live with himself either.
—Snap!
Bands of sealing rings suddenly manifested, wrapping around Nieya from all directions.
A black cube formed, enclosing it completely.
Nieya was sealed.
Through these rifts…
One could likely reach the Hive itself.
Ordinary adventurers would never enter such a rift.
After all, countless monsters poured out from within—stepping inside would be equivalent to walking straight into the enemy's stronghold.
And even if one entered…
Whether they could return was another matter entirely.
Thus, no one dared.
「Future Simulation」
Kanzaki Rei closed his eyes, projecting forward.
Within the simulation, he stepped into the rift.
What he saw was a gray, desolate world.
In the sky floated massive hive-like structures.
Suspended midair were countless裂隙—cracks—each one opening into different scenes.
From those enormous hive masses, endless swarms of insects poured out, streaming into the rifts.
A single cluster…
Could number in the tens of billions.
This…
Was the Hive.
Within the countless cracks in the sky, different landscapes were reflected—each one seemingly leading to a different location.
There was no way this was an invasion limited to Rylen alone.
And as Kanzaki Rei arrived—
Swarms surged from all directions, encircling him completely.
—BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ—
Most of the insect monsters were Tier 3 to Tier 4.
On most continents, that tier would already represent core fighting forces.
Here?
They were everywhere.
Among the swarms, there were also numerous Tier 5 and Tier 6 giant insects.
Deploying even a fraction of these creatures would be enough to annihilate weaker kingdoms like Loren or Ruijia.
A nation like Ruijia, even at its peak, had only a handful of Level 6 class-advancers.
—SPLASH!
Acid. Venom. Stingers.
A storm of attacks rained down toward Kanzaki Rei!
—BOOM!
With a single motion of his hand—
Flames erupted.
Clusters of insects detonated like fireworks, bursting apart midair.
To think…
That by following these rifts, one could actually reach the Hive.
No one had ever imagined such a path before.
So many had searched desperately for the Hive's location.
And yet—
It had been here all along.
The nearby swarms were annihilated—but more quickly surged in to replace them.
At the same time—
Kanzaki Rei's sharp gaze caught something in the distance.
Within a far-off rift…
A figure.
Humanoid.
Someone else?
But in the next instant, his view was swallowed by the swarm!
—WHOOSH!
A violent gale erupted.
Wind blades sliced through the air like scales, shredding everything in their path. Green ichor and red blood sprayed everywhere—the entire area turned into a grinding slaughterfield.
When the obstructing swarm was cleared—
The distant rift he had glimpsed was now completely engulfed by insects.
…Heh.
It wasn't hard to understand anymore.
Why no one knew the secrets within this place.
Anyone who entered…
Never returned.
Stepping into this rift meant plunging alone into a monster-infested Hive.
The outcome was almost always death.
Kanzaki Rei turned to look behind him.
The rift there—
Was the way back.
He reached out, attempting to touch it—
A sharp pain shot through his hand.
Approaching the spatial boundary didn't feel like teleportation…
It felt like disintegration.
This rift—
Was not meant for humans.
It was designed for monsters.
And moreover—
It was one-way.
Humans could enter from the outside…
But could not leave from within.
…How meticulous.
This wasn't the work of mindless creatures.
Fortunately—
He was still within a simulated future.
Kanzaki Rei let out a quiet breath.
And then—
The air suddenly rippled.
—HUM—
A wave of mana spread outward like concentric ripples.
That fluctuation—
It felt familiar.
Identical to his own.
Kanzaki Rei's eyes snapped toward the source.
Far in the distance—
Was Izparut fighting?
He had just seen him enter the rift earlier.
So he had come here as well…
And yet, Izparut had never mentioned it.
Which was why Kanzaki Rei had never known.
…Then—
I should go take a look.