Chapter Text
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," Jong-In said, plastering an amicable smile on his face.
Sung Jin-Woo didn't smile back. His face was a placid ocean; a blank canvas void of color. He was silent.
It was unsettling, but Jong-In was used to being unsettled. Hunters led strange and unnerving lives, and Jong-In would never have survived long enough to head the most powerful guild in South Korea if he couldn't weather a little silence.
"To be honest," Jong-In continued, still smiling, "I wasn't sure you'd actually show up."
"I wouldn't have," Jin-Woo said, "but you made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
The heady thrill of that bit deep, but Jong-In didn't let the triumph show on his face. "You're a difficult man to read, but I've had some unique moments to try in the last few days. I saw your face when you were sparring with Goto Ryuji."
The slightest tightening at the corner of Jin-Woo's mouth, and Jong-In's triumph sang sharper; on anyone else, that tightening would've been a frown.
"He's an impressive fighter," Jin-Woo said, not so much conceding a point as stating a fact. "It was an interesting match."
"Before Hunters Cha and Baek put a stop to it," Jong-In noted, watching the way those blue eyes flickered with a whisper of regret before stilling again. "Rumor has it, the Japanese contingent were as surprised as anyone to see your name wasn't on the list for Jeju Island."
Jin-Woo frowned, and this one he didn't bother smoothing out of sight. "Is that what this is about? Jeju Island?"
"What else?"
"No more recruitment speeches then?"
"I've already given you two; I doubt a third will do me much good." Jong-In slanted his smile wider, flashing teeth. "Though if I'm wrong on that, just say so, and I'll happily -"
"You're not."
Jong-In inclined his head. "Then Jeju Island it is."
"You're not the first to ask me," Jin-Woo said. "The Association came knocking first. I turned them down."
"I know," Jong-In said candidly. "I read the report."
Something dangerous rose like electricity into Jin-Woo's eyes. "Did you?"
Jong-In didn't react, though every instinct he had told him to guard, retreat, raise a flame against the predator prowling near. Instead, he took the time to imbue his voice with a rich tone of airy complaint. "It didn't include the reason for your refusal."
And it hadn't. But Manager Woo Jin-Chul was the type of honorable man who appreciated Jong-In's motivations enough to warn him: Hunter Sung is deeply devoted to his family. I can only imagine he would see any intrusion into their privacy as a threat against them, so if you value your life, Hunter Choi, approach this question with caution.
Jong-In hadn't needed telling twice.
The danger in Jin-Woo banked, but didn't go out. "Hmm."
"Why you refused is your business, and I respect that," Jong-In assured him, though he might not have respected it quite so well for anyone else. "It won't stop me from asking, or from trying to sweeten the deal with anything I think might entice you."
That had been slightly more emphatic than intended; it made Jin-Woo blink with something like real surprise.
"What is anything, exactly?" Jin-Woo asked slowly.
"Anything is anything." Jong-In spread his hands, keeping his smile fixed firmly, provocatively in place. "Why do you think I opened by offering to let you wipe the floor with me?"
It had been an urge born of impulse, though not an action built from one. It had taken several favors cashed in and a rather irritating phone call with the Department Chief of the White Tigers for Jong-In to acquire Sung Jin-Woo's phone number. The message Jong-In had sent to that number was short, but carefully thought out.
Care for a match, one mage to another?
The response had been tepid, but not uninterested, and a series of quick exchanges had led them to Jong-In's office at Hunters HQ.
Where an unsmiling Jin-Woo stared at him, eyebrows slowly rising.
"Wipe the floor with you," Jin-Woo echoed mildly. "Isn't that selling yourself short? I wouldn't have thought it of you."
"I know my strengths," Jong-In said, "and a mage trying to power down an assassin in a head-to-head spar is not a match destined to go in my favor."
Something sly slid into and then out of Jin-Woo's face. "My registration doesn't list me as an assassin."
Jong-In adjusted his glasses. "And yet, I was on that observation deck with Chairman Go. What is that old saying? Seeing is believing?"
Jin-Woo sighed, slumping just a little. "I knew that fight was a mistake."
"But you did it anyway," Jong-In said, "because Goto is a powerful S-Rank, a step above most, and power is your greatest temptation. That's how I knew what to say to get you here."
Something predatory pulled Jin-Woo's spine straight. "Like baiting a trap."
Jong-In breathed slowly, evenly, and felt the reality of his peril like a knife to his throat. "I have no desire to trap or ensnare you. It was an honest offer. One mage to another."
"You just finished pointing out I'm not a mage."
"It's clear you're not only a mage," Jong-In clarified simply. "My offer stands."
Jin-Woo studied him, the knifepoint of his attention shifting to something a little less lethal, and a lot more curious. It was the most present and interested expression Jong-In had ever caught on that solemn face. "As a sacrificial lamb?"
Jong-In leaned back in his chair. "Hardly. You have unprecedented strength and abilities, but you're also the most restrained S-Rank I've ever met. In true combat, there's no question you're fast enough to kill me before I could even raise a hand against you, but I'm banking on the fact you won't."
"That's quite a gamble."
"Less than you might think. I read more of the KHA's reports on you than just your response to Jeju Island."
Access to the assessments from the Hwang Dong-Suk and Kang Tae-Shik incidents had cost him another favor, but a lesser one; Chairman Go was as eager as Jong-In to have Sung Jin-Woo join the fight on Jeju Island, and reports were a small price to pay for a shot at that.
Jin-Woo considered that carefully. He was a lion on the savanna; full of kill ability, but lacking intent. "And? What did they tell you?"
Jong-In shrugged. "That you can kill, and likely have, but you don't. Not unless forced to it by the actions of others."
"That's a pretty way of justifying murder."
"Yes, it is. And I, for one, am pleased with your survival."
Jin-Woo's eyes glittered in warning. "So I could live long enough for you to use me to your advantage?"
"So we could use each other, to our mutual advantage," Jong-In said smoothly. "I'll be candid. I want you on the Jeju Island raid. I'm willing to pay or do a lot to make that happen."
Jin-Woo smirked a little. "Like letting me wipe the floor with you?"
"If that interests you. I doubt I can furnish you with any real challenge, but I'm happy to pit my magic against yours. Perhaps we can see who between us is the true Ultimate Weapon."
That did interest him; Jong-In could see it in the way his tranquil expression lit briefly electric before stilling again. "And if that's not enough?"
"The sky's the limit. Name your price."
Jin-Woo examined him, something unsettlingly animal in his hungry interest. "What if what I want can't be paid in titles or gold?"
Jong-In kept very still, though the gutshot of that made his mana shimmer with shock. He swallowed, forcing his smile not to change, even as his perceptions did. He leaned back in the chair, making his limbs sprawl more loosely, more deliberately.
"As I said," Jong-In purred, thick with innuendo and intent, ignoring his hammering pulse. "Any price."
Jin-Woo stared blankly for a moment, before he seemed to realize the implications. His eyes went wide and shocked, two hands raising to flail a denial. "Not like that! I didn't mean it like that!"
"Oh." Jong-In deflated, unsure whether he should be relieved or disappointed. Maybe neither. Or both. "My apologies. You just seemed to imply -"
There was a look of dismay on Jin-Woo's face as he continued to windmill his hands. It was a startlingly human expression. "No, no, entirely my fault. Sorry!"
"Ah." Jong-In blinked, flustered, trying to regain his footing in an already uncertain landscape. "Well, if you change your mind -"
"Not interested," Jin-Woo interrupted, a flash of something ugly and fierce flashing across his face. "Definitely not interested."
Jong-In sat up pin-straight, letting the sting of that pass over him harmlessly. So, Sung Jin-Woo was put off by same-sex advances, while Jong-In had obviously just signaled that he definitely was not. Unfortunate; not to mention embarrassing. Humiliating, even.
Still, Jong-In mused, boxing up and quietly putting away any personal disquiet he might have. The situation wasn't disastrous. Jin-Woo hadn't reacted violently or even truly negatively. He wouldn't have been the first man Jong-In had propositioned either for business or pleasure who responded to the flirtation with thrown fists and shouting, nothing so polite as a mild rejection when -
"I meant trading sex for favors," Jin-Woo said.
Jong-In blinked, his rapidfire thoughts coming to a halt. "What?"
Jin-Woo was studying him closely, blue eyes fixed on his face. "I meant I wasn't interested in trading sex with you, or anyone, for favors owed. When I have sex with someone, it'll be because we both want it, not because one of us wants something else."
Jong-In kept blinking, feeling a little unmoored by this turn of events. "Okay?"
Jin-Woo kept watching him. "You'd really have done it though, wouldn't you? Slept with me, I mean, to get me to come along?"
Jong-In flushed, scrambling to cloak himself in the tattered remains of his dignity. "There's very little I wouldn't do, within the bounds of dubious morality, to secure your participation on Jeju Island."
Jin-Woo looked skeptical. "And all to get me on a raid that already has fifteen S-Ranks pledged to it? One that should be an easy win?"
Jong-in grit his teeth, feeling real anger flare. He didn't quite manage to delete it entirely from his tone. "You weren't there for the second and third Jeju Island raids. Those were considered easy wins too, and we all know how they turned out. Yes, I'm willing to pay whatever price you demand to have you with us."
"Even if that price puts you in harm's way," Jin-Woo prodded, in the same way a child might prod at an open wound to see if it was still bleeding. "Even if it means you might get hurt."
"Whatever price," Jong-In repeated, and meant it. Anything was worth putting an end to the nightmares, the uncertainty. The helplessness. The guilt.
Jin-Woo blinked slowly, and Jong-In prepared himself to bend further; to beg, if need be. Some men needed that extra push, the visual and metaphorical evidence of their superiority, their ability to put an opponent on their knees -
"Okay."
It was Jong-In's turn to blink. He sat back, frowning. "Okay?"
Jin-Woo nodded, solidly opaque. He stood. "Okay. I'll join you."
"You will?" Jong-In repeated, before pushing more confidence into his tone. "You will. But we haven't actually settled on a price yet?"
Jin-Woo's eyes were distant, fixed on a far away point as he thought. "We can work that out later."
Suddenly suspicious, Jong-In glared narrowly at the man. "We can work it out now."
Jin-Woo glanced back at him. "What happened to any price?"
"Nothing happened to it. I just appreciate knowing what I'm committing myself to doing, before I do it."
"I'm not actually interested in coercing anyone into doing anything they don't want," Jin-Woo said. "You can have this one for free."
Jong-In couldn't believe his ears. "For free? You don't want anything for joining the raid?"
A faint smile touched Jin-Woo's mouth. "What, altruism and national loyalty isn't enough?"
"That was exactly Chairman Go's argument and you turned him down!"
"His pitch wasn't as passionate as yours," Jin-Woo said, which made Jong-In flush a horrific red. "Oh, on that note, do me a favor? Let the Chairman know I changed my mind?"
"Of course, but -"
"Raid leaves tomorrow afternoon, right? Noonish?"
"Right," Jong-In confirmed faintly, "but -"
"Good," Jin-Woo said decisively, and vanished.
Not blinked away too fast for the eye to see; not jumped and landed out of sight. Literally vanished on the spot, dissolving into shadowy darkness and leaving only the faint outline of a dark silhouette behind before that too disappeared.
"Huh," Jong-In said, staring at the spot Sung Jin-Woo had occupied not moments ago. "Well. That's interesting."
~*~*~*~*~
The Ant Queen's boss chamber was stifling. Hot and musky, overwhelmingly cloying with the scent of chitin, ichor and fire. Jong-In had long grown immune to the rancid scent of burning beasts, but this far underground, with no airflow, the aroma was overpowering.
The strike team were all professionals, though; they didn't comment, although Jong-In had seen Lim Tae-Gyu turn green more than once, and Cha Hae-in had her hand pressed to her face every chance she got.
Sung Jin-Woo, of course, didn't even seem to have the decency to notice.
"Wow," Jin-Woo commented, surveying the ruined remains of the Ant Queen's corpse from close range. He turned thoughtful eyes to Jong-In, speculative and wry. "I guess you guys didn't need me, afterall."
Jong-In refused to be embarrassed; refused to even acknowledge the possibility of his own overreaction. "Raids of this nature can be unpredictable. I'm glad we didn't require your help this time, but we just as easily could have."
Jin-Woo raised both eyebrows, hands in his pockets, as casual as though he'd just strolled out his door heading to the grocery store. "Nothing here even gave you guys pause. I've literally done nothing but watch."
And watch, deliberately; he didn't say it, but they all knew. From the moment Jin-Woo had found out the raid would be recorded and televised for the world to see, he'd been candid that he wouldn't be participating in the fighting unless absolutely necessary. It had been disappointing for most of the strike team, and no doubt for all those watching in the world, as the mysterious new Korean S-Rank continued to keep his secrets. But of course, they were secrets no one had any ability to pry from Jin-Woo until or unless he chose to reveal them.
"Excellent," Jong-In said, painting a brittle smile on his face. "Then, since you've done nothing but watch, I imagine that means you'll have constructive feedback to provide us later?"
Baek Yoon-Ho made a soft sound of disbelief, but Ma Dong-Wook just laughed. "Between the live recording and Hunter Sung, it's like we brought along our own surveillance team! Good thing we managed to down the boss, or we would've been in trouble for sure."
"The slightest misstep in a battle of this type can lead to disaster," Jong-In agreed.
Yoon-Ho shifted on his feet, his shaggy head bowed in grim remembrance. Next to him, Min Byung-Gyu, a fortunate last minute addition to the Jeju Island roster, put his hand on Yoon-Ho's shoulder in quiet commiseration for their long-dead friend.
"We just took down the Queen Ant of Jeju Island," Byung-Gyu said, a quiet invocation. "Eunseok can rest in peace."
Jin-Woo glanced in their direction, his gaze thoughtful. He said nothing.
"A victory well earned," Ma Dong-Wook agreed, and Jong-In had just opened his own mouth to comment when -
He jerked around, startled. Alarmed. "My fire prison was just broken."
"What?" Tae-Gyu said, also turning. "That makes no sense. We should've had plenty of time to -"
"Something's coming," Yoon-Ho and Jin-Woo interrupted simultaneously. They shared a look, having just enough time to size one another up before all eyes were drawn to the dark maw of the tunnel entrance, where a lonely biped ant was walking slowly forward.
The barest pulse of crippling mana had just started to roll forward when Jin-Woo went from being at the dead Queen Ant's side to materializing at Jong-In's.
"Pull back," Jin-Woo said, his eyes fixed on the approaching ant. "Whatever happens, don't interfere."
Jong-In frowned at him, and could see from the lurching movements of the group that he wasn't the only one appalled by that order. "You can't -"
"You can't challenge this one," Jin-Woo said. "You'll only die, trying."
And then he was striding away, easy as you please, to intercept the creature before it could finish crossing the chamber.
Hae-In staggered after him, clutching a hand over her white face, her voice a muffled ruin. "We can't just let him -"
But she was interrupted by, of all things, the ant.
"You are all weak," the creature hissed, sibilant and grotesque. "And yet, you killed her. You killed our queen."
Jong-In felt a chill creep down his spine and doubted he was the only one.
"What?" Byung-Gyu whispered, staring, fascinated. Horrified. "Since when can they? How can it talk?"
That chill was spreading through Jong-In like the subtle lick of fire, insidious, consuming. "They've been evolving. First wings, then bipedal limbs. Now, apparently, speech."
"That's crazy," Hae-In said, but she didn't refute him because he wasn't wrong.
"Weak," the ant chittered again. "Weak! Killing your soldiers is not enough. Tell me, where is your king?" It paused, surveying the group, each of them stiffening and drawing back as it looked at them, until at last its wandering eyes had nowhere to go but Jin-Woo. It clicked at him, slow and creaking. Angry. "Is it you?"
"Cute," Jin-Woo remarked casually, standing well within striking distance, far too close -
As if reading Jong-In's mind, Byung-Gyu hissed an alarmed breath between his teeth, fanning open his spellbook. "What is he doing? Why would a mage-type get so close to what's obviously a melee fighter?"
"I don't know," Jong-In said through gritted teeth.
Then the first punch was thrown, and every preconceived notion Jong-In might've had about Jin-Woo was thrown straight out the window.
He'd known Sung Jin-Woo was strong; they'd all known it. One could hardly miss it. But this -
"My God," Byung-Gyu heaved, swaying beneath the blowback of the battle as Jin-Woo and the ant exchanged hits, toe-to-toe. "I've seen Yoon-Ho fight, but this? This is insane!"
Dong-Wook planted his feet, struggling alongside the rest of them to stay upright. "Are we sure Hunter Sung is a mage?"
"If that guy's a mage, I'll eat my bow," Tae-Gyu grunted, sheltering against the wall.
Jin-Woo and the ant blew past them, a whirlwind of fists, battlecries and flashing talons passing near enough for Jong-In to feel the cutting sting of the air. Near enough to hear it when Jin-Woo gasped something pained, dropping to one knee. Over his head, the ant hissed its pleasure, the thin whip of a stinger slipping in and out of its mouth in a taunting flash.
"Poison," the ant chittered with relish. "A mixture of toxins. Soon you will lose all ability to move."
"We have to help him," Hae-In gasped, taking one determined step forward.
Tae-Gyu seized her elbow, holding her fast. "Are you crazy? Did you see how fast that thing moved? Not even you could dance around it."
She tried to shake him off. "We can't just let it -"
"We're not," Byung-Gyu said, flicking to a new page in his book. "I can cleanse poisons from afar."
A moment later, Jin-Woo was back on his feet, ramming a fist into the ant with enough force to send it careening into a wall. Jin-Woo followed after it, smashing hard into the pillar when it darted away at the last second, one whole half of the cave slumping inward with the resulting rockfall.
"My God, Byung-Gyu," Yoon-Ho said, sounding one part surprised and two parts impressed, "when did you get that fast? I didn't even see you cast!"
But Jong-In was watching Byung-Gyu's face, while the others continued to watch the battle, and the man was shocked; completely stunned.
"But," Byung-Gyu said, looking at his book held aloft as though it contained secrets only he could read, "but, I didn't?"
"Didn't cast?" Jong-In confirmed.
Byung-Gyu nodded dazedly, and they shared a look. Apparently, Jin-Woo was full of more surprises than even Jong-In could have anticipated. The first ever assassin-mage on record, and also the first melee-type Jong-In had ever heard of having a healing or holy magic ability. Jin-Woo was a true enigma, fitting no mold, no existing archetype. He was painfully, spectacularly unique.
The battle between Jin-Woo and the ant escalated, if such a thing were possible; they darted from wall to wall, floor to ceiling, chasing each other in jagged cuts and slashing steps throughout the chamber as they tried their best to crush each other with their bare hands. Jong-In had never seen anyone or anything move so fast, so hard, or so relentlessly before.
"I can see why he didn't want us interfering," Yoon-Ho said, feral eyes glowing gold and darting as he did his best to keep up with the intricate maneuvers. Jong-In had long since given up trying. "Even if we all worked together, I can't see us doing anything but getting in the way."
No one protested. Speed at this level was beyond the capacity of a normal human brain to measure; even if Jong-In imagined his fire could damage the ant, there was no way he ever could've gotten off a hit before it slashed him into tiny, bleeding ribbons.
At one point, Jin-Woo threw his daggers, two points of ethereally glowing light as they whipped through the cavern before reversing course in mid-air to arc back toward the ant and shatter through its heavy carapace as if gliding through water.
The King of the Ants screamed, and writhed, and slowly crumbled as Jin-Woo cut it into pieces again and again until its regenerative ability faltered, then splintered, then collapsed, utterly spent. When the ant died, it did so silently, its chittering snarls laid to rest by Jin-Woo's blades.
"My God," the cameraman breathed, his words shuddering out like a prayer as the dust settled. "Did we, is it finally over?"
Not seconds later, though, the air began to shiver with the rumbling vibration of a thousand beating wings and skittering claws and they were all reminded: The Ant King had never been alone.
"You had to ask, huh?" Dong-Wook sighed.
The tunnel entrance clouded with dozens, then hundreds of silhouettes, practically crawling over each other to pour down the path toward them, surging in a frenzy of angry, directionless violence.
"Shit," Yoon-Ho cursed, his red hair beginning to bleed white, claws extending. "Guess it's round two?"
But Jin-Woo had apparently had enough of sitting things out.
"Iron," he called, and suddenly something dense and loud and enormous was erupting from the ground, coiling upward from the inky black of Hae-In's shadow and coalescing into the form of a darkly glowing figure holding a shield aloft.
The shadow of the armored giant roared its defiance and crashed headlong into the swarming ants, sending waves of them into the air with a mighty swing of its axe.
"What the hell," Yoon-Ho said, speaking for all of them as they stared. "What is that?"
"No, what is that?" Hae-In corrected, pointing a little further along the tunnel floor, where two, three, and then a dozen and more new shadowy forms were coalescing.
"Go," Jin-Woo ordered, his eyes fixed on the ants.
One of them, trailing a red banner helmet and a sword as long as it was tall, actually bowed its head to Jin-Woo in a low, almost courtly maneuver. Then it slid into a classic offensive guard stance, impossible sword held aloft and parallel to the ground, before charging forward. A sea of shadows followed.
"I don't understand any of this," Yoon-Ho said in a daze. "What are all these things? Did you summon them here?"
"Is that your mage power?" Byung-Gyu asked, staring along with the rest of them as the shadow army and the ants clashed in a cacophony of shrieking cries. "Your specialty is summoning magic?"
"Something like that," Jin-Woo said. He looked shockingly unhurt for a man who'd just single-handedly ripped apart an S-Rank monster. "That ant must've killed some of the Japanese contingent before coming in here. I can't feel the shadows I sent with three of them."
Loud exclamations followed that, but what caught Jong-In's attention was -
"You sent shadows," Jong-In repeated, "with some of the Japanese S-Ranks? Not visibly, or we'd certainly have heard about it before now." Speculation ran rampant; he visualized seeing that first shimmering inkblot rise from behind Hae-In to become a gargantuan soldier. "You plant them inside other people's shadows, don't you?"
Jin-Woo slanted Jong-In a look, but not with warning; with interest. Inviting Jong-In to finish.
"You've planted one in each of our shadows, too," Jong-In realized, certainty ringing through him. He heard the startled murmurs from the others, alarmed and wary. "Haven't you?"
Jin-Woo didn't react to the accusation, either to confirm or deny, justify or defend. He only smirked, blue eyes sparking with that same lazy triumph Jong-In had glimpsed in him before. A predator, toying with its prey.
Jong-In shook off his own response to that indolent look, the goosebumps it prickled over his skin. "Can you tell how many of the Japanese hunters were killed?"
"Not in total," Jin-Woo admitted easily. "Goto is still alive. That much I know. Oh, and that berserker, whatever his name is."
"Atsushi Kumamoto," Hae-In offered.
Jin-Woo shrugged.
"Oh." The cameraman put a hand to his helmet, first surprise and then dismay creasing his face. "Oh, no."
Jong-In and the rest of the strike team zeroed in on him, while behind them the racket of battle raged on. "What? What is it?"
"The ants are swarming past the island," the man gasped, face paling as he listened to whatever his broadcasting manager was telling him. "The signal disruption stopped working! The ants are attacking the carrier ships at sea."
The strike team jolted to attention, sharing alarmed looks.
"Without a leader, the colony's been thrown into chaos," Jong-In said grimly. "They're swarming, trying to find somewhere to retreat, only there's nowhere on the island they can go."
"There must still be thousands of them," Yoon-Ho growled. "If they reach the mainland -"
Hae-In unsheathed her sword, staring down the long tunnel teeming with giant insects. "We have to make sure that doesn't happen."
Jong-In flexed his fingers, feeling his rings slide smoothly past one another, fire nipping at his knuckles. He turned to Jin-Woo. "If I light up this corridor, will you be able to reform your shadows afterward?"
Jin-Woo didn't answer, frowning into the middle distance with something frustrated in his face.
"Hunter Sung!" Jong-In barked, gratified when it made Jin-Woo blink, those eerie blue eyes sliding toward him. "Either dissolve your shadows, or my fire will consume them. The choice is yours."
Jin-Woo sighed, coming to a decision. "New plan. I'm going to exchange with a shadow on the mainland, and the rest of you can start clearing from here with whatever Japanese hunters remain." He waved a hand, cutting outward in a near-angry motion. "We'll pincer them in the middle."
"Exchange with a shadow?" Byung-Gyu echoed, frowning. "What does that even -"
"Ah." Jong-In punched out a breath. "This explains your little vanishing act the other day. Not so different from your ability to send shadows with other people, I presume. Some kind of shadow teleportation?"
Jin-Woo gave him an enigmatic look, striding past, back to where the body of the Ant King lay. "Turn off the camera."
They all rustled with surprise, the cameraman most of all. "What?"
"Turn off the camera," Jin-Woo repeated, almost conversationally. "Or I'll break it."
"Oh! Oh, of course," the man stammered, removing his helmet and thumbing the camera off.
Jin-Woo stood over the Ant King in perfect silence for a moment, as if gathering strength. He took a breath. "Arise."
The word crackled with power, shivering through the air like a living thing. The shadows in the room contracted, flinched, and then writhed. The body of the Ant King melted into darkness, and then that darkness pooled together to rise into winged, shimmering life.
"What," Yoon-Ho whispered.
Dong-Wook shook his head. "That's not ordinary summoning magic."
"He's a necromancer," Byung-Gyu gasped, saying out loud what they all knew and dared not speak.
Necromancy. The power to raise and command the dead; to grow stronger while enemies weakened. To build potential and awesome force with every battle and every kill.
It was an impossible ability. A terrifying one.
(An intriguing one. Beguiling.)
"Oh," Jong-In whispered, shocked at his own traitorous thoughts, at the unprecedented swell of something new and hungry inside him.
Jin-Woo looked over his shoulder at them, at Jong-In, that now-familiar light of animal interest surging. He smiled.
"Beru," Jin-Woo murmured, as the wispy form of the Ant King stretched its inky, glittering wings. "His name is Beru. He'll keep you safe. Igris, you're with me. I need to make sure my family's okay. Meet you all back home."
And then he was gone, a shadow soldier rising to take to his place.
"Did he just," Dong-Wook started, stopping halfway through.
"His power is unreal," Yoon-Ho said in a hushed, wavering voice. "Doesn't even feel human."
Byung-Gyu shook his head, his gloved hand coming down firmly on Yoon-Ho's shoulder. "The best of us might seem inhuman sometimes. It doesn't make him a bad person."
Yoon-Ho gave him a look, affection and irritation combined. "That so?"
Tae-Gyu shook his head. "That guy took down an ant that murdered at least three S-Ranks, and could've murdered all of us. And he did it alone, with his bare hands. That isn't human."
"Bare hands and blades," Hae-In corrected, looking at her own sword thoughtfully. "Those daggers. Where did he even get them?"
"It'll do us no good to speculate," Jong-In said, doing his best to swallow past the desert dryness of his own mouth, the sight of Jin-Woo's power playing before his eyes again and again. "We've been given a job to do. I suggest we focus more on that, and on the fact that Hunter Sung saved our lives, and less on the means by which he did it."
"Right," Byung-Gyu agreed. "Yeah. Necromancer or not, he saved us. If he hadn't been here, who knows what might've happened?"
For some reason, that sent a chill down Jong-In's spine, like the ghostly touch of a premonition. Maybe it was just the wind, churning from the nearby battle.
Maybe not.