The Seed of Fear

Seo Hae-jin crouched on the hillside above the village.

The sky was turning pale with dawn.

From here, he could see the whole settlement laid out like a map—rows of tile roofs, fences, crooked alleys.

Smoke drifted from a few chimneys. No one moved outside. Not yet.

But he could feel them inside their houses, whispering. Afraid to step into the light.

His hand rested on his knee. The Symbol glowed faintly under the skin, pulsing with stored energy.

> > [Larvae Stored: 87 Units]

[Available Biomass: 63 Units]

He could hatch hundreds more if he wished.

It would be easy.

A thought, and this place would become a nest.

He closed his eyes and let his mind drift into the Hive Link.

All the larvae waited for his command—quiet, obedient, hungry.

He selected four.

Deploy.

Four black shapes shimmered into life in the grass before him.

They were small, no bigger than a finger, but he knew their potential.

"Find entry," he murmured.

The larvae began to crawl down the slope, legs moving in perfect synchrony.

He watched through their senses—four different angles, four different trails.

One slipped under a fence.

Another climbed a rain barrel.

The third found a crack in a brick wall.

The last followed the smell of stale bread into a cellar window.

Perfect.

---

Below, the villagers were finally starting to emerge.

A woman carried a basket to the well, glancing over her shoulder every few steps.

Two men carried shovels toward the edge of the woods, talking in low voices.

No laughter. No children playing.

They all felt it now.

A weight pressing on their hearts.

Fear.

Seo Hae-jin watched them without expression.

---

The Hive Link pulsed again. One of the larvae had found a storeroom lined with sacks of grain.

He tasted the stale flour through its senses.

But something else, too—a warm draft carrying the scent of sweat.

Humans.

Two of them, crouched over crates. Counting supplies.

He focused on the larva's simple mind.

Wait.

The creature froze in place, hidden between burlap sacks.

There would be time for killing later.

---

His attention shifted to the second larva.

This one had found a sleeping woman. She lay on a straw mattress, face turned to the wall.

Her breathing was steady.

He felt the larva's hunger sharpening.

Feed.

It moved fast. Climbed the blanket. Bit down on the back of her ankle.

She stirred, mumbling something, but never woke up.

The venom spread in seconds.

> > [Unit Consumed Prey.]

[Growth: +1 Level.]

[Current Level: 6.]

He felt the satisfaction ripple back through the link.

One life extinguished.

Nothing changed in him. No sense of triumph. No regret.

Only progress.

---

Outside, a child began to cry.

The sound was thin and hopeless, echoing across the empty square.

Seo Hae-jin tilted his head, listening.

That was how it always began.

One death. Then another.

Soon the fear would become desperation.

And desperate people made mistakes.

---

He lifted his hand. The Symbol brightened.

> > [Deploy Ten Larvae.]

Ten more black shapes appeared in the grass, shifting restlessly.

He watched them crawl past his boots, fanning out in all directions.

He could already see the future—this village overrun, every home infested, every heart broken by terror.

He didn't need an army of soldiers.

He just needed time.

---

The Hive Link flickered again.

One of the new larvae had found the well. The water smelled of moss and old iron.

Contaminate.

The larva crawled down the stones and slipped beneath the surface.

When the villagers came to drink, they would swallow the poison without knowing.

It was efficient.

---

He stood, brushing dirt from his knees.

The valley below looked peaceful, golden in the morning light.

He knew better.

He turned and began walking up the slope, away from the village.

There was no need to watch every moment.

The larvae would do their work.

He would return when the time was right—when they were weak enough that even the strongest among them couldn't resist.

---

At the ridge, he stopped to look back.

A single wisp of smoke curled from a chimney, rising into the pale sky.

In a few days, there would be no fires left to light.

He placed his hand over the Symbol, feeling its cold pulse.

Then he walked into the trees, leaving silence behind him.