An Ignoramus's Fight

Three humans were standing in a staredown in a small alley surrounded by old, dilapidated-looking walls. The gloomy sun above was shining down the alley's floor, which was filled with corpses of ants that had been mangled by their own kinds. A strong, stinging odor came out of the ants' dead bodies, accompanying the smell of trash and incense that had permeated the whole place.

Ivo, standing between his boss and the ant woman, was in a fighting stance. He held his knife tight with his right hand while his left hand remained ready for his ability. Thieves were usually granted high speed and agility by their Deity, so they were able to avoid attacks easier than a heavy role like Jacco. That way, the newly contracted Ignoramus could focus on his usual role while Ivo kept the enemy's attention on himself.

"Boss, we don't know what kind of attack she uses. Do you have any idea?" asked Ivo, almost whisperingly.

"I don't have a damn clue. If only Hymes were here, he would be able to analyze her," he replied honestly.

On their last Zodiac Syndicate gathering, Graham had explained several Deities, some of whose abilities should be a match to what the enemy was using. However, Jacco's memory was not one of his strongest points, so he had forgotten all except for his own and one more that he was interested in: The Deity of Dispute and Animal Languages.

"Damn that Hymes! Where did he get all his knowledge?" he cursed, and then, suddenly his eyes opened wide while looking at the enemy as if he had just got an epiphany.

The woman in the bizarre dress seemed to be talking to the ants around her! It appeared that she was giving them commands!

"I think I know what she is! Damn! How could I forget!" he shouted almost too loudly from excitement.

Jacco's past experience suddenly surfaced like it was being pulled by something. It brought back the mission where he had to cause a distraction in the middle of the street so that Graham and Luuk could steal something from a certain individual. The detective had briefed him only shortly about the target since he wasn't directly involved in the Theft, but it was enough for him to analyze the woman's ability.

"What? Tell me, boss!" asked Ivo without taking his eyes off the woman.

"She's a Contention! That's why she can talk to those ants! That means, she can also make us fight against each other. However, I can negate that ability with mine, so don't you worry. About her shapeshifting ability..." Jacco paused, trying to read the content of his memory that had just been recalled, "it must mean she's a Malady. It means she can spread illnesses, so that will be the most dangerous one!" he explained.

"Wow, boss, I didn't know you're that knowledgeable!" praised Ivo.

Besides Ivo, the woman also looked surprised. The man's words were loud enough for her to hear and she appeared to have not expected him to know that much.

"Knowing about my contracts won't help you survive," she scoffed. She seemed to have finished giving commands to the ants, which were now circling around her like a spinning chakram, "Now, you two will die silently. You can blame your bad luck of sniffing around where you shouldn't."

The woman with the red dress made of countless ants extended her right hand with her palm facing up, and then began chanting something under her breath. Suddenly, a dark orange orb was magically formed on her palm, floating mysteriously before shooting towards Ivo.

The blonde Thief's eyes were suddenly filled with hatred the moment the strange orb entered his body. It was like he had been struck by an ability similar to Jacco's and the man was now turning around, ready to attack his boss.

Still protecting the incense that was now almost fully burned, Jacco had anticipated the woman to make his ally turn against him. Quickly, he began chanting himself.

"Fighting allies is forbidden!"

The smoke from the incense intensified, rising up from its tip. Magically, it blew towards Ivo and enveloped him. The moment the man inhaled the smoke, his expression rapidly turned normal. The man then confusedly turned back towards the enemy, not understanding what had just happened.

"So you're able to do that? No wonder he's not affected by your Zone in the first place. I must admit that your abilities are troublesome, but you still won't win against me, especially since your companion is just a mere Earl rank," the woman commented bitterly. However, Jacco wasn't paying attention to what she was saying.

Badum! Badum! Badum!

Jacco had at one point taken out his iron stick and started beating the plate that was strapped around his waist, strengthening his ally with his War Drum.

Dash!!

Taking his chance while the woman was speaking, the empowered Ivo quickly dashed towards the woman, his pocket knife in an attacking position. His speed was much higher than usual, thanks to Jacco's beating of the drum. The Thief then jumped over the barrier of spiraling ants underneath and aimed for the woman's neck.

"!!"

Suddenly, the ants that were forming her dress crawled towards her neck, creating a kind of protective armor. Layers upon layers of red ants tangled together around the spot that was about to be struck by the knife.

Unable to change his trajectory, Ivo's knife stabbed the red armor and sunk its sharp edge into it. However, the ants' hard carapace and flexibility managed to stop the knife from fatally wounding the woman, although she was still injured artificially.

Having nowhere else to land, Ivo had to step on some of the ants crawling around the enemy. The moment his shoes touched the ground, countless red ants began creeping up his body. Although individually they were minuscule, in a large group like that, they would be able to completely overwhelm the man in no time.

"You've made a mistake!!" the woman didn't give the Thief a chance to pull his knife out and commanded the ants on her body to strike the man.

"Fighting is forbidden in this area!"

Jacco had noticed the woman's intention of attacking and quickly activated his Mediator ability. He used the smoke from the incense, which already enveloped the whole area, as a medium for the ability, causing it to burn even faster.

Since fighting was forbidden, the ants were now unable to attack Ivo, which gave him a chance to retreat. He stomped frantically to get those on his body to fall back down and then crushed them under his shoes.

"Thanks, boss! You saved me!" said the blonde man gratefully. He kept an eye on the woman who was dumbfounded by what had happened.

A few seconds later, the incense was completely burned out, deactivating both Jacco's Zone of Hatred and Neutral Zone. Luckily, most of the ants surrounding them were already dead, so they didn't need to be wary of being attacked from the rear as well.

Having taken a step back herself, the woman was now holding her neck, in the spot that Ivo's knife had grazed. Her face looked enraged and her aura became more dangerous.

The woman opened her mouth and seemed to have begun chanting something under her breath.

"Dumbass! Stop her!" Jacco shouted.

Badum! Badum! Badum!

The War Drum felt like it was resonating inside Ivo's very soul, beating along with his heart and filling it with power. The blonde Thief quickly rushed towards the woman again, ready to attack.

Meanwhile, Jacco was busy beating the drum with one hand and preparing another stick of incense with the other. He needed to get ready in case he needed to get Ivo out of a dangerous situation once more. He had to be quick if he wanted the smoke to cover the whole area again.

As if already expecting Ivo's attack, the woman ordered the ants to cover her body again, protecting the spot where the man was about to stab her.

Seeing the ants that were crawling around to protect her, Ivo made a swiping motion with his left hand and began chanting.

"I, in the name..."

"Don't!!" Jacco suddenly interrupted.

Since he was unable to steal the armor, his attack was met with layers of ants that cushioned his strike. His knife, again, only grazed the woman's skin without injuring her substantially.

"Argh!" the ant woman groaned.

After attacking, Ivo didn't let the woman strike back. He quickly stepped back with the help of the empowerment from his boss's War Drum and strike another spot. However, the ants were very fast. His attack was again met with resistance. After that, Ivo quickly retreated since his goal of interrupting the woman had at least been achieved.

"Why did you stop me, boss?" asked the man curiously. He began stomping around again to get rid of the ants climbing over his shoes. Lucky for him, he was wearing thick shoes and denim pants, so they couldn't easily reach his skin.

"Can't you see this?" Jacco showed his underling his left arm, where the itch had happened earlier.

The area where he had scratched before was all red and swollen. Although his face didn't show any pain, the man's forearm looked disgustingly bad.

"The ant caused the itch and now my arm is like this. Don't fucking let them bite you!" he warned Ivo.

"Okay, boss, thanks for the warning. But then how am I supposed to deal with her? Her ants always negate my attack, and I can't steal anything else from her," he wondered.

"I will support you with the next attack. Go and attack her!"

While still beating his drum with his left hand, Jacco extended his right arm and began chanting.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"

Dark orange tendrils came out of Jacco's palm and quickly launched towards the enemy. The tendrils drilled themselves into the woman's skull without her being able to dodge them.

Seeing his boss's ability successfully landed, Ivo closed in on the woman and jumped over the ants circling around her, and aimed for her face, which was not protected by the ants.

The woman seemed to want to dodge, but instead, she froze in place. However, the ants under her command still moved quickly enough to protect her face from the man's attack.

Whoosh!

Smoke suddenly filled the area, and with it, a strong scent of incense that smelled like wood and flowers burned together. Although soothing to Ivo, it seemed that the incense smoke had an opposite effect on the woman and the ants.

The tiny red creatures that were circling around her began falling under frenzy, indiscriminately attacking each other. The same was also happening to those covering the woman's body. They began biting, headbutting, and clawing anything in their path with their strong mandibles.

Before the woman was able to regain control of the ants around her, Jacco quickly chanted.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"

Once the tendrils got into her, instead of trying to stop the ants from fighting, the woman looked at her enemies instead.

"How dare you!!" she yelled angrily. Although she didn't look like she fell directly under Jacco's ability, the woman seemed to be a little more irritable than before. Her abnormally pale face had turned reddish in color and her fists were all clenched up.

Again, the woman began chanting something under her breath.

"Ivo! Don't let her spread disease!" shouted Jacco, predicting what the woman wanted to do.

Badum! Badum! Badum!

The drum kept beating and with it, Ivo dashed forward at a frightening speed.

Now that the ants protecting her were busy fighting among themselves, she had nothing else to protect herself.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"

Dark orange tendrils shot out of Jacco's palm and drilled into the woman's head. With that, she would have a very high chance of making a mistake with her next course of action.

Stab!

This time, Ivo's knife struck directly at the woman's chest. Because of Jacco's ability effect, she had incorrectly dodged forward instead of backward, practically sending herself to be an attack target for Ivo.

Blood began pouring out of the wound on her chest as Ivo pulled out his knife. The woman's expression became murderous and her anger reflected in her eyes.

"I will not let the two of you out of here alive!! I will make sure to kill you slowly and painfully, and let my babies eat you while you're still at your last breath!" she threatened. Her twisted expression showed the seriousness in her words.

Because of Jacco's Zone of Hatred, the woman had lost reason and was extremely infuriated despite being at a disadvantage. Her ants had almost all died and she was without any weapons. If she wanted to, she might be able to run away by turning back into an ant and slithered somewhere the two men couldn't reach, but instead, she chose to fight.

It was the perfect scenario for Jacco, since he also had an interest in having the woman dead.

Dash!!

The enemy suddenly rushed towards Ivo, who met her charge with a knife attack.

Slash!

The woman protected herself by making an X with her arms, but Ivo's empowered attack was able to injure her deeply, sending blood splashing everywhere. Despite that, she kept the arms there to protect against subsequent attacks.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"

Once more, the tendrils drilled into her skull and rendering her next course of action a mistake.

Using the chance, Ivo quickly ran towards the woman and aimed for her unprotected stomach. His blue eyes were sharply reflecting his intents to kill, and the grip on his knife showed his resolve. In order to survive, he had to finish the enemy right there without showing mercy.

Stab!!

Without being able to dodge correctly, the woman stood in place. The sharp, cold knife that the man with the blonde hair was holding was now deeply lodged in her stomach, tearing apart anything in its way.

Stab!! Stab!!

After quickly pulling out the knife, Ivo stabbed the enemy a couple more times in quick succession, wounding her even more. Her blood was pouring out of the open, gaping flesh that the knife had created and she stumbled to the ground, no longer able to hold herself up.

Ivo held his bloodied knife and stood beside the woman's dying body. Jacco got closer and looked down upon the enemy that had almost killed the two of them. There was no guilt in their hearts at all. After all, fighting and killing had been a part of their lives since a long time ago. Their eyes only showed relief and, to some extent, expectation.

"Who the fuck are you and why did you try to kill us?" asked Jacco.

"I... I refuse to... die here...!" she said, her breathing was very heavy and her voice sounded distorted like she had blood in her throat. She ignored Jacco's question completely.

The woman's eyes were staring at Ivo with hatred and contempt, while blood kept coming out of her wound.

Not long after that, her eyes became lifeless and her breathing stopped completely; she had died.

Whoosh!!

Suddenly, her whole body burst into flames, consuming all of her flesh and bones and turning everything into ashes. All the ants that were on her body shared the same fate as their master. In the end, all that was left of her was contract scrolls and a round object with a distorted form.