Kang Oh was eagerly killing bugs when he heard…

"Kuhaaaaaaa!"

A huge roar echoing through the air.

'What is that?'

Kang Oh turned his head towards the source of the noise. There, he saw Jacques, sporting the Mayanes' trademark angel wings. He looked much younger than Krishan or Diabol. If he were human, then he'd be a middle schooler.

Flap, flap, flap!

Jacques forcefully flapped his wings and approached Kang Oh's party. Once he was close enough, he beamed.

"Who do we have here? It's Gainus!" He looked at Gainus happily. It was as if he'd just seen an old friend.

Kyaa!

Suaah!

The insects backed off and gathered around Jacques. Then, they flattened their bodies as if they were bowing in respect. As expected of the Bug Monarch.

"Jacques!" Gainus glared at him. How many of his brothers and sisters had Jacques killed!? Though it had been several years since the war, the sight of a Mayanes was enough to make him tremble with rage.

"Ooh. The one and only god, Maya. Thank you so much for sending this damn lizard into my den!" Jacques stared at the sky and stretched out his arms.

"You even sent me such delicious looking prey." Jacques looked at Kang Oh's party insidiously. He may look young, but his gaze was certainly not.

"Hehe, don't worry. I won't kill you. I'll imprison you and drain you of your life force for the rest of your lives. Ah, besides you. I'll completely destroy you." Jacques grinned, and looked at Gainus murderously.

'He's..'

"Insane," Kang Oh muttered.

He definitely acted the part. Sephiro and Eder simultaneously nodded their heads. You could tell that he was mentally ill at a single glance.

"Nevertheless, his strength is the real deal. Don't let your guard down," Gainus said.

"Yes."

Kang Oh's party assumed battle positions once more.

"Kang Oh, do your job," Gainus said, singling him out. It was clear what this 'duty' was referring to.

'Overcome Jacques' immortality with Demon Sword Ubist!'

"Of course."

"Remember, you'll have me to deal with if you fail or die halfway through. You can count on it," Gainus said brutally. Of course, that wouldn't make Kang Oh back down.

"I never fail."

He was as immodest as always.

"I'll be watching."

"As you wish."

Kang Oh, still assuming his demon from, tightly gripped Ubist.

"You done talking? You could've kept going." Jacques grinned.

It'd been a while since he wanted to sock someone's smiling face. That's just how unpleasant Jacques' smile was.

"Shut up and die." Gainus slammed his staff onto the ground.

Lightning Bolt!

Crackle!

Lightning fell from the sky, aimed right at Jacques' head. However, Jacques was completely unharmed. A scorched insect fell to the floor instead.

"Hehehe, I'll kill you after I'm done playing with you! Go, my faithful servants!" Jacques yelled.

Kuhaaa!

Kyaa!

Their master had given the order. The once still bug army viciously charged at Kang Oh's party. Plus, new insects popped out of Jacques' home.

A shadow was cast over their heads!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

They were giant moths. Whenever they flapped their wings, toxic powder would spread everywhere. Moreover, they shot powerful beams from their eyes.

A new, bizarrely shaped insect made an appearance too. Its tail was as long as a dragon fly's, but it had a mosquito's legs and a spider's head. This hideous insect also had two pairs of wings, which were covered in transparent scales.

Its total wingspan was 3 meters long.

It was called a Sjak. Jacques had created it by fusing several different insects together using the God of Creation's power.

Ptoo! Ptoo!

They began spitting sticky liquid from their mouths. A shower of yellowish phlegm descended upon them.

There were several other winged insects that hadn't participated in the battle. Thus, the sky was blanketed by insects once more.

However, that wasn't everything.

Twitch! Bam! Bam!

Mantis Demons, Armored Scorpions, Cannon Ants, parasites, and poisonous spiders popped out of the ground.

There was even an insect the size of an elephant. Its head was like that of a beetle's, yet it had four thick, pillar-like legs. The ends of its legs were hooked too. It seemed like it specialized in brute strength.

Thud! Thud!

It seemed extremely heavy too, as the ground would shake with every one of its steps.

Gulp. Sephiro swallowed. He'd hunted several monsters before, but he'd never fought against such a huge army of powerful insects. Thus, he couldn't help but be anxious.

Eder, Cyndia, and Muhawk sported similar expressions. There was no sane human who could look at this and laugh... Oh wait, there was.

Kang Oh grinned, his eyes gleaming.

'Mm, come here, my precious experience points. The more the merrier. We're leveling up a ton today!'

At that moment...

Whoosh!

A black tsunami, or the insect army, came charging at them.

* * *

Ice Storm! Burning Land! Thousand Chain Lightning! Lava Eruption! Earthquake!

These spells all brought disaster, yet Gainus cast them repeatedly!

"Let's play!" Mayanes Jacques unfurled his wings and flew right at him. Then, his right arm transformed into a sharp drill. The tip was coated in a navy blue liquid.

Navy Blue Poison: Pain Worse than Death!

Jacques possessed seven different poisons, which corresponded to the colors of the rainbow. The Navy Blue Poison inflicted incredible pain onto its target. The pain was such that people would voluntarily beg for death.

"No thanks." Gainus slammed his staff onto the ground.

Water Wall!

A wall of water suddenly rose from the ground.

"Hehe." Jacques flapped his wings even harder and pierced through the Water Wall.

That's what Gainus had been waiting for. Blue lightning flew at the soaked Jacques.

Chain Lightning!

"Ain't gonna to work!" Jacques extended his left hand. Then, a thick-shelled insect, which looked like a shield, popped out, and took the lightning in his stead.

"My turn!" Jacques threw the scorched insect away, charged at Gainus, and swung his right drill arm.

"Hmph."

Acceleration!

Gainus's body glowed. His body's natural speed had been multiplied by a factor of two or three, allowing him to dodge the attack.

He counterattacked immediately.

Cold Wave!

Befitting a dragon, the greatest of all lifeforms, Gainus was capable of casting powerful spells without an incantation.

Whoosh!

A freezing cold wind, one that'd make your teeth chatter, flew towards Jacques.

"Kiki!" Jacques flew upwards, dodging the Cold Wave, and then raised his left hand into the air. A navy blue spear appeared in his hand.

Navy Blue Poison Spear!

"Kyaha!" he screamed, and then threw the spear! The poison spear came right for Gainus's head.

Magic Barrier!

A blue barrier surrounded Gainus.

Bam!

Upon impact, the blue spear transformed into toxic powder and lingered in the nearby air. Gainus hadn't expected this. With the poison still out there, Gainus was forced to maintain his barrier. After all, if he dispelled his barrier, then he'd be poisoned.

Dragons were almost immune to poison, but Mayanes Jacques' poison was an exception. Several dragons had been poisoned by him in the past.

"I said, let's play!" Jacques suddenly appeared in front of the barrier, and attacked it with his drill arm.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The barrier began to crack.

"Hmm."

If Gainus wanted to attack, then he would have to dispel his barrier. But if he dispelled the barrier, then he'd be poisoned.

'Then I just have to go somewhere else.'

Gainus's body faded.

Teleportation!

"Where do you think you're going!?"

Jacques pierced through both the barrier and Gainus. No, it looked like he'd pierced him. However, his drill arm had hit an afterimage, a result of Gainus's Teleportation spell.

Whoosh!

A lump of ice came flying at Jacques from behind. He quickly turned around and swung his drill arm upwards.

Split!

He could see Gainus's wrinkled face from beyond the perfectly split ice.

"Gainus!"

"C'mon!"

Gainus and Jacques' battle continued.

* * *

Swish!

A Mantis Demon swung its sharp blade at Kang Oh. However, Kang Oh took a step back and avoided its attack. Then, he stepped forward and cleaved through its side.

[You have defeated a Mantis Demon.]

Kang Oh swung his sword again and again. He didn't stop, even for a moment.

He aimed for the winged insects' weakness, their wings, sliced at their relatively weak exoskeletons, or attacked the segments in-between.

Swish, slash, swish, slash!

Red shards of light kept bursting out!

Whenever Tempest Tiger, Lightning Breath, Abyss Claw, etc. were off cooldown, he'd use them, and kill a ton of insects in the process.

On the other hand, the insects spewed poison, or attacked with their poisonous stingers or tentacles. However, their attempts to kill him always failed.

Kang Oh's evasion was unparalleled, and he also had his Hyper Intuition, which would tell him where they were attacking.

"Haht!"

He leapt into the air and swung his sword in midair. Then, the monster moths and Sjacks plummeted to the floor. It looked like he was carelessly swinging his sword, but he had actually aimed for their wings.

Once he landed, he leapt over a nearby parasite. Kang Oh grabbed onto its tail region, and slammed it onto the ground.

Thump!

Then, he stomped on it! The parasite was completely flattened.

[You have defeated Jacques' Parasite.]

"Next." Kang Oh swung diagonally, killing four insects. After that, he rushed forward. His striking, jet-black tail swished behind him.

While running, he threw Fire Bombs in front of him!

Roar!

The flames engulfed the insects, burning them to a crisp. Then, a shadow cast over his face.

A beetle with an armored head and four hooked legs attacked him! It swung its four legs simultaneously. If he moved incorrectly and got caught in one of those hooks, then his body would be ripped apart.

However, its attacks were too slow. So much so that he sighed.

He easily dodged the attack, and left a lengthy scar in the middle of its body. However, the shards were black. His attack had been enhanced by Fang-Bearing Blade, allowing him to completely nullify its defenses.

Kang Oh kept up the momentum. He used its tough exoskeleton as a foothold, leapt into the air, and swung his sword downwards.

Tempest Tiger!

It was as if a golden hammer had slammed into the giant insect's head.

Bam!

It reeled from the immense force.

Tap.

Kang Oh landed on the floor and leapt into the air once more. Then, he swung downwards at the insect's head; it still hadn't regained its composure.

Whack!

That's exactly what he wanted to hear. What a refreshing feeling! Shards of red light burst out en masse.

The beetle fell over backwards like a tree that'd just been felled by a lumberjack.

Thud!

White sand flew into the air.

Kang Oh quickly climbed onto its body and stabbed it.

Stab!

A beast-shaped wave coated his jet-black blade.

Darkness Strike!

Boom!

His demon sword pierced through its body, and the black wave completely crushed its insides.

[You have defeated a Giant Insect.]

[You have defeated it using Darkness Strike.]

[Stats have been stolen.]

[Physical +1]

The bugs were clearly no match for Kang Oh. They were nothing more than experience points for him.

Kang Oh instinctively sought an even stronger opponent. He aimed for none other than Mayanes Jacques, who was currently fighting Gainus!

"You're… next."

Abyss Transfer!

Kang Oh sank into the deep darkness beneath his feet.