Eyes of the Capital

Dawn cracked over the trees, turning the clouds amber.

The four mages rode in silence.

Their mana steeds galloped lightly over the earth, hooves leaving glowing trails.

Robes fluttered behind them, marked with the deep-blue insignia of the Guild of Aether Response.

They weren't ordinary mages.

Each one had fought monsters, raided dungeons, and survived cursed zones.

They'd dealt with plagues before.

But none of them knew what was waiting here.

---

The lead mage raised a hand.

"Stop."

The steeds halted instantly.

The other three looked up.

They saw it too.

Smoke. Still drifting. But old.

The kind that lingers after flesh has burned.

"Are we too late?" one asked.

The leader didn't answer.

He reached into his cloak and pulled out a crystal orb.

Mana flared inside it like trapped lightning.

"Tracking pulse: on."

The orb floated forward, spinning slowly.

It turned once—twice—then stopped.

It pointed toward the ruins of the village.

Dead center.

---

They approached on foot.

Swords ready. Spells primed.

The air felt wrong.

Heavy.

As if something had poisoned the wind itself.

They walked past broken fences, scorched stone.

And then they saw it.

The hive.

Rising from the earth like a black wound.

Throbbing. Breathing.

"I thought this was a village," whispered one of them.

"It was," the leader muttered. "Now... this is something else."

---

Inside the Hive, Seo Hae-jin stood motionless.

His eyes glowed faintly as he watched the mage team approach.

Not directly.

He saw through the eyes of Skarax.

The Sovereign Commander crouched near the ceiling, hidden among spines of black resin.

Its blades twitched. Its mind burned with command.

---

> > [Prey Class: Mage / High Mana Capacity Detected.]

[Threat Level: Moderate.]

[Hive Directive: Analyze / Devour / Adapt.]

Seo Hae-jin whispered across the link:

"Let them enter. Then teach them fear."

---

The mages reached the main chamber.

One raised his staff.

"Light surge," he said.

Magic flashed, revealing the full scale of the nest.

Cocoons.

Bones.

Webs.

Egg sacs pulsing like hearts.

The youngest mage gagged.

"Dear gods…"

The leader stepped forward.

He reached toward one of the walls.

"It's alive."

Then Skarax dropped behind them.

---

The impact shattered stone.

All four mages turned.

Too slow.

Skarax blurred forward.

His left blade slashed in an arc—ripping through a defensive barrier like paper.

Blood sprayed.

One mage hit the wall, chest torn open. Dead instantly.

---

The others reacted.

"Mana shield!"

"Chain bolt!"

Lightning surged through the air.

Skarax's body jerked. Chitin cracked.

But he didn't fall.

He roared—deep, distorted, shaking the whole hive.

Predator bugs poured from the walls.

---

The chamber turned into a storm.

Magic clashed with claws.

Blades met fire.

One mage spun in place, unleashing a cyclone of wind.

Bugs flew backward, crushed against the resin.

Another mage activated a binding rune—roots surged from the ground, wrapping Skarax's limbs.

For a moment, the Sovereign Commander was pinned.

His body sizzled under magical light.

---

Seo Hae-jin watched it all.

Expressionless.

He reached into the Hive Link.

"Show me what you've learned."

---

Skarax's eyes flared.

Mana Reversal activated.

The roots binding him twisted—then shattered.

He raised one blade.

Void Claw.

A line of black mana tore across the chamber.

The cyclone mage tried to raise a shield.

Too late.

He split in two.

---

The last mage panicked.

Ran.

Not toward the entrance—toward the egg chambers.

Skarax didn't chase him.

He waited.

Watched.

---

Seo Hae-jin murmured:

"Let him see."

---

The mage reached the core.

He saw the egg fields.

Thousands.

Each one pulsing.

Each one waiting to hatch.

He screamed.

Then Skarax appeared behind him.

Silence.

A blade entered the mage's spine.

He fell, twitching.

Alive—but fading.

Perfect for study.

---

Seo Hae-jin walked to the core himself.

Skarax stepped aside.

The last mage blinked at him, eyes wide with pain.

"You… you're not even—"

"Human?" Seo Hae-jin finished.

He looked at his own hand.

Chitin slid over his fingers.

Insect. Flesh. Hybrid.

"Not anymore."

He touched the dying man's chest.

The Symbol burned.

> > [Memory Drain Initiated.]

[Magic System Accessed: Aether Binding / Runecraft Signature.]

[New Trait Gained: Spell Pattern Recognition.]

His eyes flickered.

Now he understood magic.

Not just how to block it.

How to use it.

---

He stood and turned to Skarax.

"Begin analyzing Aether structure. Design new Hive casters."

"Yes, my Sovereign."

---

Fro

m the core walls, the first eggs began to glow with new color.

Mana-reactive.

Mage-killer breed.

---

Outside the hive, Sky Crawlers circled.

Scanning. Mapping. Preparing.

They had seen enough.

The Hive would spread again by nightfall.

---

And the Capital would realize soon—this wasn't a plague.

It was an invasion.