Chapter 2

Just as the sword was about to pierce her, a hand suddenly grabbed Loki's wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Wait, we can't kill her."

Loki looked at the hand that held him and was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Raven!"

Raven Austria

The army's general and the current strongest Awakener.

A man who rose from humble beginnings and saved countless lives with swift actions for years.

He was known as the Hero of humanity.

But his close friends knew about his intense hatred for the Chimera creatures.

Yet now, right before Loki's eyes, he was preventing him from killing the very being responsible for the existence of Chimera creatures.

****

"Raven!"

Loki furrowed his brow, witnessing Raven's dire condition.

His black uniform was torn and tattered, with a few holes, and parts of it missing. But the most noticeable injury was his mangled arm, hanging and still oozing blood.

"Loki… I need you to step back,"

Raven's grip on Loki's wrist tightened. His piercing reddish-golden eyes, resembling the sun, were fixed on Loki.

"What's the meaning of this? Why are you stopping me from killing her?"

"I'll give you a satisfactory explanation once you step back."

Loki involuntarily tightened his grip on the hilt, causing Raven to increase the pressure on his wrist.

Loki felt like his arm was about to break, but his face remained unchanged, showing no signs of pain. After studying Raven for a while, he shifted his gaze toward the queen, who was silently observing their exchange. She was cautious not to say anything that might trigger a violent reaction.

Observing Loki's deep contemplation, Raven grew a bit anxious. Even though he was stronger than Loki, he couldn't stop him from killing the queen if he decided to.

"Loki, just listen to my explanation first, then you can do whatever you want to her."

Loki complied with Raven's suggestion for a moment before nodding. The black sword slowly dissipated and merged with his shadow.

"Explain!"

Loki uttered a single word, giving Raven one chance to provide a reasonable explanation for stopping him.

'It's not like she can go anywhere with her current condition anyway.'

He stole a glance at the queen before turning his attention back to Raven.

"Thank you for your understanding. I promise you that...

But before Raven could finish speaking, the queen, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.

[Keke, yeah, Loki, just be a good boy and listen to your 'friend's' explanation."

The queen emphasized the word 'friend,' whether intentionally or unintentionally.

"Shut up, ant."

Raven kicked her head, sending her sliding a few meters.

"Just because I stopped him from killing you doesn't mean you're safe yet."

Raven secretly wiped the sweat from his hand and thought.

'Why is this bug spouting nonsense at this time? Doesn't she know he's an unpredictable lunatic once provoked?'

Raven feared that Loki might lose control and act on a whim. He was wary of Loki because he couldn't understand how his mind worked. Sometimes, Loki followed his whims, doing things he found interesting even if they harmed others. Raven even wondered which side Loki belonged to.

"Listen, Loki, you don't have to listen to her nonsense; she's just—"

"Just tell me the reason you stopped me from killing her."

"Huh?"

"Why are you looking surprised?"

Raven was indeed surprised. He thought Loki might attack the queen, which is why he tried to talk him out of it. But it seemed he was wrong, as Loki merely spared her a glance.

"I thought you might try to attack her."

Loki tilted his head in confusion.

"Why? Because of what she said?"

"Yeah."

"Why would I care about the words of a dying ant? I thought you knew me better."

'There's no one in this world who knows what you might do or think, you bastard,' Raven shouted in his mind.

"A-Anyway, the reason I stopped you from killing her is because of the dungeons."

"Dungeons? What does that have to do with her?"

Dungeons, often referred to as gates, are magical tunnels that lead to different dimensions. Some experts speculate that these gates serve as portals to entirely new worlds. However, their theories remain unconfirmed because as soon as hunters step into a dungeon, they are confronted by monsters that exist only in fantasy.

Dungeons first appeared 40 years ago, about 10 years after the Chimera creatures' appearance.

Some speculate that their appearance is related to Chimera, but others think otherwise. If Chimera had the means to create dungeons, humanity would have perished long ago.

"I thought it was already confirmed that the monsters in the dungeons aren't related to Chimera in any way."

Loki's words were based on their numerous observations that the monsters from dungeons attacked Chimera creatures as much as they attacked humans. Besides, most of the monsters in dungeons were unintelligent, unlike the Chimera.

"It's not quite what you're thinking."

Raven shook his head and looked seriously at Loki.

"There's indeed a connection between dungeons and Chimera, or more precisely, the Chimera queen, but it's not what we all thought."

"What do you mean?"

"If the Chimera queen dies, all the gates around the world will experience a dungeon break."

"Impossible."

Loki couldn't control his emotions and interrupted Raven before he could finish speaking. His pale face showed disbelief and horror, which was entirely justified.

Every time a dungeon appeared, the hunter association and the guilds were responsible for clearing them as quickly as possible. Leaving them uncleared for too long would lead to disastrous consequences.

When a dungeon formed, it would gather Mana from the surroundings. Once it reached a certain limit, the gate containing the monsters in that dimension would break down and shatter. This was known as a dungeon break, allowing the monsters inside to cross into the human world and attack civilians.

Of course, the higher the rank of the gate, the longer it would take to experience a dungeon break, giving hunters enough time to clear them. But in the current situation, this mechanism was more of a curse than a blessing because there were still many high-rank gates that remained uncleared.

'If what Raven said is true, then when all these gates open, it will truly be hell on earth.'

Just the thought of tens of thousands of monsters spawning from dungeons and roaming the streets, wreaking havoc on everything, sent chills down Loki's spine.

'It will truly be the end of humanity.'

Loki took a deep breath and focused his gaze on Raven.

"Is what you said really true?"

Loki had hoped that Raven might be making a sick joke, even though he knew Raven wasn't the type for that.

Unfortunately, the response he received wasn't what he expected.

"Yeah."

Loki narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Did you use your ability to know this information?"

Loki knew that Raven possessed a very special ability called foresight, which enabled him to glimpse fragments of the future. With it, Raven had prevented many events and catastrophes that could have weakened humanity's power and potentially led to its downfall against the Chimera. This earned him the title of the Hero, as without him, many would have lost their lives.

"Indeed, I had a vision right after the battle."

"You shouldn't hav—"

Loki had wanted to say that Raven didn't need to use his ability because he knew its drawbacks, but he stopped himself.

'If he hadn't used Foresight, the dungeons would have undergone a significant change, many cities would have fallen, and countless lives would be lost.'

Loki understood that Raven's actions were justified. If he hadn't used his ability and stopped Loki in time, they would have suffered a great loss even if they had won the war.

'But even so, the drawback of his ability is too much.'

According to Raven, the price and side effects of foresight were his lifespan. The more glimpses of the future he saw, the more years he had to give up.

'How many times has he used it, and how much time does he have left to live?'

Five years.

Ten years.

Loki didn't know, but he was aware that Raven was the person who had suffered and sacrificed the most.

'He truly deserves the title of Humanity's Hero.'

Not many people could make such a selfless sacrifice without expecting anything in return.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it."

Raven gave a bitter smile after seeing the concern on Loki's face.

'Well, it's not like I'm going to die because I used my ability, because I don't have such an ability. It's just memories from my first life.'

Yes, the reason he was able to predict certain events wasn't because he was a seer or had the ability to see the future; it was because he was a regressor.

"But couldn't there be another reason behind dungeon breaks? Maybe the gates reached their limits ahead of time or something like that..."

Loki didn't want to believe that the Chimera queen and dungeons had such a relationship.

'If that were the case, then how should we deal with her? We can't kill her, but we can't keep her either. The moment she recovers from her injuries, no one will be able to stop her. The only reason she lost this time is because she got careless, which I doubt will happen again.'

"I don't know,"

Raven shook his head a bit. Even in his previous life, the reason behind dungeons remained a mystery, but he attributed the cause to the queen because it happened right after her death.

"But I know what I saw. The moment she died, the gates will experience a dungeon break, which is too much of a coincidence."

He could be wrong, but they couldn't risk such an outcome, no matter how small the chances were.

Loki listened to Raven's explanation and agreed with him to some extent. But his thoughts were occupied with something else.

He remembered the queen's words from earlier: [There's no strong person who will be able to stop us.] At first, he thought they were meaningless words spoken by her to shake him, so he didn't take them seriously.

But now, after hearing Raven's words and considering what the queen had said, he reached a certain conclusion.

'The queen isn't our strongest enemy.'

According to her words, there were enemies equal to or even stronger than her.

'For a formidable being like the queen to be just a foot soldier, how powerful are the ones behind her?'

Loki's mind raced with theories and thoughts, all based on the limited information he had.

His breathing became heavier.

"Loki, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Raven noticed Loki's condition and called out to him. But Loki gestured for him to give him a moment.

'Calm down, calm down.'

Loki took a deep breath to calm his mind. His thoughts had led him a bit astray, and his paranoid nature had driven him to imagine the worst possible scenarios, giving him a headache.

'I still lack the information to reach the right conclusion; it would be hasty to only think of the worst possible outcome.'

There were still unknown factors and questions that prevented Loki from finding the truth.

'If the queen's death triggers the dungeon breaks, then was this her plan all along? Did she know about this or not? Then why doesn't she just kill herself and cause a catastrophe? Or is there something preventing her from doing so, a restriction for the outbreak to happen? Or is this just a guarantee for her life? She knew that we won't kill her once we knew the consequences, is that why she didn't show any sign of despair, because she knew that she won't die?'

Countless thoughts crossed Loki's mind, each followed by numerous questions.

He shook his head slightly to clear his dizzy mind.

'Damn me and my paranoid mind.'

Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the queen with heavy steps. With each step, his body trembled as if he were carrying a heavy weight.

Raven followed closely behind. He wasn't too worried about Loki doing anything that might endanger the queen, especially after understanding the consequences. He knew Loki wasn't the impulsive type blinded by hatred who couldn't see the bigger picture in this situation. That's why he didn't say anything and followed from behind. But he remained tense and ready for any unexpected situation, just in case.

Loki stopped a few steps away from the queen. Even though she seemed helpless, he couldn't be careless, especially knowing her regenerative ability.

"Tch,"

He clicked his tongue in annoyance after noticing that her large wounds had already stopped bleeding.

"Hey, listen, ugly ant. I'm going to ask you some questions. If you answer properly, we might consider making your experience less painful."

The queen lifted her head and fixed her eyes on Loki.

[Keke, is this the way you should speak to your queen, Loki?]

"Hum, I never acknowledged you as my queen in my heart. I only said those words to gain your trust, which was quite successful because of how naive you were."

[Keke, your words wound my heart.]

"As if you have a heart to begin with."

Loki's expression twisted with pure disgust.

'They seem close.'

Observing their interaction, a strange thought crossed Raven's mind.

'I-it couldn't be that they have that kind of relationship, could it? Loki would never do that, right?'