[Rein Town]
Akasei and Kumironi hurried back to Rein Town.
What greeted them was a field of slaughter—monster corpses strewn everywhere.
And yet… not a single human casualty.
"Did Iz's magic array activate?" Akasei murmured, scanning the surroundings.
He was still only a Level 3 Gatherer, but he possessed a solid grasp of monster anatomy and corpse identification.
These monsters…
It was obvious they hadn't been killed by Iz's magic.
Someone else had acted—someone overwhelmingly powerful—wiping them out in an instant.
That level of strength… could rival a Level 7 Class Advancer.
But in a place like Ruilen… where would a Level 7 come from?
A trace of doubt flickered in Akasei's mind.
Kumironi extended his perception, sweeping through Rein Town to check for survivors.
There truly were no injured.
But…
Kanzaki Rei was nowhere to be seen.
Akasei turned back.
"Iz still hasn't come out?"
"Should we go back and check?"
Iz had said he'd scout the situation and return shortly…
"Let's take a look," Kumironi said as he rejoined Akasei after completing his inspection.
Akasei nodded. "Yeah."
He glanced at Obades beside him. The man gave a steady, silent nod in agreement.
…
[Hive]
"So that's how it is…"
—Whoosh!
Iz and Kanzaki Rei tore through the Hive at breakneck speed.
Violent surges of magic ripped across the sky.
Swathes of insect swarms were reduced to ash, and near the countless rifts, trembling adventurers—on the brink of death—were rescued amidst the storm of destruction.
Kanzaki Rei glanced across the battlefield.
"There are… way more people coming through these rifts than I expected."
Calling it billions would still be an understatement.
As far as the eye could see—wherever the view wasn't obstructed—rifts filled the world.
Even within the range of his perception alone, tens of billions of rifts stood open.
And every single one of them… was part of a greater whole.
These rifts weren't magic.
For Iz to understand them, she needed more information.
She had to witness their complete structure before she could reproduce them through magic.
Which meant—
She needed to find their source.
The being Kanzaki Rei had identified…
The Phase Spider.
"Mm," Iz responded softly.
"It's hard to imagine… just how many places are being invaded by these nests."
Every rift that opened could mean the fall of a village… or a town.
As they drew closer to the central mass of the Hive above, the density of insects surged.
Buzzzzzzz—
"Who—?"
"Intrusion?"
"Intruder!"
"Intruder!"
"INTRUDER!"
…
The moment they crossed a certain threshold, a deafening chorus erupted across the sky.
The buzzing of countless insects merged into something resembling human speech, overwhelming their senses.
Buzzzzzzz—
Purple-black butterfly-like monsters began to drift through the air.
Pfft!
Pfftpfftpfftpfft—
Iz's elemental sea surged like a tidal wave, instantly annihilating the butterflies one after another.
A dense, violet poison gas rapidly spread through the surrounding space.
Potent.
Extremely potent.
But it meant nothing to Kanzaki Rei's [Calamity of Poison].
And Iz had more than enough methods to neutralize it.
From Iz Parult, Kanzaki Rei had already witnessed the [Seventh Forbidden Magic — Elements].
Within the arcane symbols Iz had left him…
Even two [Primordial Forbidden Magics] were included.
It was practically… a save file.
A complete bypass of comprehension and learning—directly loading the strongest possible state.
"I feel like these monsters… don't actually have much desire to attack," Iz said.
Kanzaki Rei nodded. "I noticed that too."
"And… there are always some that slip through."
Even within Iz's all-annihilating magic, certain monsters would somehow survive the onslaught.
Kanzaki Rei paused, thinking for a moment—then let out a quiet, cold chuckle.
"How interesting…"
"They're using us to evolve."
Iz's eyes sharpened. "I saw that as well. So that's what's happening."
More and more insects were becoming immune to fire, lightning, and ice.
Some had even begun using Iz's magic to temper themselves—
Instead of taking damage, they were growing stronger.
Earlier, there hadn't been nearly as many of these evolved specimens.
The Hive had never regarded Iz as a true threat.
Instead, it was using the invaders to cull the weak…
And using Iz's magic to cultivate stronger offspring.
To the Hive—
They were nothing more than nutrients.
Fine.
Then grow all you want.
That suits me just fine—
—Buzz!
At that instant, Kanzaki Rei's senses screamed in warning.
With his Heaven-Reaching Supreme State, he froze time in an instant—
And saw it.
Right beside him, already within striking distance, was a shadow.
A black mantis-type monster, no larger than a thumb.
Eighth-Tier Monster.
It had appeared.
And—
It was wearing armor.
As a blacksmith, Kanzaki Rei could immediately tell—
This wasn't ordinary equipment.
It was Eighth-Tier gear.
He had never heard of monsters wearing equipment.
Monsters relied on their innate physical strength.
No one crafted gear for monsters—and even if they did, no monster would willingly wear it.
But this creature…
Shattered that understanding.
Even more—
Kanzaki Rei sensed something else.
Intelligence.
Move—
Within the frozen time, Kanzaki Rei acted.
[Skyflow — Ninth Form: Trace]
In an instant—
Countless fine marks spread across the mantis's body.
Every single one infused with lethal toxin.
[Divine-Tier · Calamity of Poison]
Because of time regression, none of his items could be brought back.
No matter how many potions he crafted, they couldn't cross back into the past.
But—
With Calamity of Poison, all toxicity was preserved within his body.
Even without potions, returning himself was enough.
[Phase Mantis][Second Insect Legion: Phase Legion][Monster Tier: 8][Creator: Phase Grandmother]
In that instant—
Kanzaki Rei's vision pierced deeper.
He saw it.
A silkworm-like entity, its body shimmering with the colors of the cosmos.
From its tail, it continuously excreted a substance resembling living eggs.
The eggs fell into a radiant, multicolored pool below.
And from each one—
A Phase Spider.
A Phase Mantis.
A Phase Void Cicada.
A Phase Devouring Ant…
What… is this?
So many Phase Spiders—
And each one was the weaver of an entire Hive rift.
The moment he made contact with the mantis—
A realization struck Kanzaki Rei.
This place…
Might not even be the complete Hive.
It might only be a fragment—
A part of the legendary Hive.
And worse—
There could be many more such Hives scattered across the world…