Capital Response

The alarm bells didn't ring.

They exploded.

Mana towers across the Royal Capital flared blue, pulsing with emergency signals.

Guard captains shouted orders.

Sky Knights launched from high platforms.

The Mage Guild scrambled warlocks and diviners.

Even the civilians could feel it.

Something had gone wrong—worse than plague, worse than rebellion.

Three border villages were gone.

A supply caravan lost.

A four-mage scouting team—silenced.

No survivors.

No explanation.

Just silence.

---

In the High Hall of Sorcery, eleven archmages met in secret.

Their eyes glowed with binding sigils and knowledge forbidden to common men.

They hovered around a projection crystal.

Inside:

→ A black nest

→ Towering walls of bone and resin

→ A swarm like a living tide

One mage clenched his teeth.

"This isn't natural."

Another whispered:

"It thinks."

---

High Marshal Andren—battle-scarred, steel-eyed—slammed his hand on the table.

"No more waiting."

He turned to the General of the Vanguard.

"Mobilize five legions. Burn the forest. Purge the mountain."

---

They thought they still had time.

They thought numbers could save them.

---

In the Hive, Seo Hae-jin stood atop a growing spire.

The wind touched his long coat. His eyes shimmered with a light that was no longer human.

Below him:

→ Three fully developed nests

→ 45,000 active bugs

→ 600 predator-class units

→ 1 Sovereign Commander

→ And now…

The Mageborn Brood

---

Deep inside the central Hive Chamber, magic swirled like a whirlpool.

A new egg cracked.

The creature that stepped out had a human shape, but no face.

Veins of mana-glow ran through its limbs.

Its hands dripped with energy.

It looked like a sorcerer made from insect blood and arcane fire.

> > [Unit Hatched: Mana Host / Level 78]

[Skills: Arcburst, Null Weave, Hive Echo, Spell Theft]

The Hive had evolved again.

---

Skarax knelt beside it.

"They are ready."

Seo Hae-jin looked past him.

Eggs glowed in the walls. Hundreds. Thousands.

Mana-reactive. Flight-capable. Telepathic.

---

He touched the Hive wall.

> > [Hive Expansion Interface Accessed.]

[Planetary Domination Thread Unlocked.]

[New Mode: Hive World Origin – 7% Progress.]

He didn't smile.

But the cold inside him deepened.

---

Then a signal hit the Hive Link.

Not from within.

From outside.

---

> > [Enemy Formation Detected: South Quadrant.]

[Military Detachment: 5 Legions Approaching – 2,500 troops.]

[Est. Arrival: 3 hours.]

Seo Hae-jin closed his eyes.

He felt every insect still.

He whispered to the Hive:

"We don't wait."

---

Across the tunnels, the Hive pulsed.

The eggs hatched faster.

Predator bugs sharpened their claws on the walls.

Wings unfurled.

Larvae swelled in their chambers.

The Sovereign Commander raised his claws, then roared:

"We advance."

---

Three hours later, the vanguard of the Royal Army reached the base of the mountain.

Marching under banners of gold and flame.

Their captain raised a crystal to the air.

"Scan. Atmospheric trace."

The crystal flickered.

Then shattered.

> > [Mana Saturation: 478% Above Threshold.]

[Contaminant Presence: Hive Residue Detected.]

Someone in the back vomited.

The air was alive.

---

Then they saw the first predator.

It was waiting for them in the open.

Huge. Armored. Still.

A soldier aimed a crossbow.

But it didn't move.

Until they stepped forward.

---

The Hive erupted.

---

Hundreds of bugs burst from beneath the soil.

Wingborns dropped from the trees.

Sovereign units leapt from cliffs.

Spells fired—light, fire, arcane chains.

Some hit. Some killed.

But more kept coming.

Too fast. Too many.

Too evolved.

---

Within minutes, the front line broke.

Bugs tore through steel.

Sky Crawlers lifted knights into the air and dropped them.

Mageborn units drained spells, reversed them, killed with stolen magic.

A fireball meant for the Hive turned in mid-air—consuming its own caster.

---

From above, Seo Hae-jin watched.

Eyes blank.

Emotionless.

Learning.

Every attack, every formation—recorded.

Combat data absorbed.

Used.

Integrated.

---

When the last man screamed, the system chimed.

> > [Tactical Sweep Complete.]

[Biomass Gained: +9,880.]

[Evolution Path Unlocked: Siege Breed / Gravity Maw / Phase Shell Armor.]

[Assimilation of Human Military Tactics: 41% Complete.]

He turned to Skarax.

"Prepare to assault the

next city."

"Which one, my Sovereign?"

"All of them."

---

From the Hive spires, Sky Crawlers lifted into the air.

Thousands.

Carrying larva pods.

Carrying war.

Carrying extinction.

The world would burn.

Not because of hate.

Not because of revenge.

But because Seo Hae-jin willed it.