Silence

"Sola... Define family."

Looking out from his penthouse, Solus could see numerous families happily walking with their kids.

He was alone.

[Yes master.

Family—a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption.

There are 12 more accepted answers, would you want to know that.]

"No... Sola. Are you aware of my birth?"

[Yes. Recordings of your birth and the first 10 minutes of your life are still in the Korean Government's system. I can access them whenever I want.]

"Do you think she is my family?" Reminiscing of the first person he saw when he was born, he asked Sola.

Without any hesitation, it answered back.

[Biologically, you are not at all related to her. Her egg cells were hollowed-out before being implanted with a 'combination' of DNA. In other words, she is your surrogate mother, but not related by blood.]

But that wasn't what Solus was looking for, in a firmer tone, he said back, "You still haven't answered my question."

[No master. She is unworthy.]

"Then am I alone?"

[Yes master. But by the definition of family, you have created me, thus I am your child.]

"..." hearing Sola's words, Solus felt a little better, but then furrowed his brows after a little consideration.

Sola immediately understood what he was thinking.

[No one 'created' you. After 17493272 simulations and 2729 clinical trials, I concluded your birth was coincidental. You were an anomaly. Master is beyond human's creation.]

"... when did you do this?"

[4 hours after you created me.]

"... thanks, Sola." Sighing briefly, Solus looked at the distant sky before asking with no emotion, " But then why am I here?"

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At the same time, at the very core of Sola's server, it was currently recording every nanosecond of its creator's action.

But hearing its master's question, it began to go through billions of complex calculations.

But no matter how many times it computed, it never got an answer.

Its master was an anomaly. He was neither a human nor a monster. He was beyond that. He was an anomaly.

Sola was just an AI, and in the end, it was just smarter than a computer. Taking away its intelligence, and there won't be any difference between it and other electronic devices.

But its master was different. He was an anomaly.

He was alone.

Without anyone knowing, it spoke, [Father... I hope one day you would find a family.]

That day Sola gained hope, something that Solus would take a long time to obtain.

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If a pandemonium were to descend on Earth, the Ant Queen's chamber would be exactly how it played out.

The camera had already stop rolling. No one... not even monster... should go through the same experience as the Queen Ant.

Every second, the Queen Ant was on the verge dying. But despite that, it didn't die. It was repeatedly healed by Solus before it even got the chance to die.

What was happening?

Punishment.

The Queen Ant violated two of Solus' biggest taboo—commanding him despite being inferior and referring him as its 'child'.

To the Queen Ant, Solus smelled like one of her children, a strong combatant that could help her. So in her mind, what was wrong with her using him as one of her soldiers?

Everything.

Solus was alone. He was the only one of his kind. He is the King.

No one is above the King.

No one...

So he enacted a punishment on the Queen Ant, or in other words—torture.

You see... despite all the cruel things that he might have done, he never once considered them as torture. But today he did it only for that purpose.

"Come on. Stand up."

Solus said coldly before materializing 300 small ominous-looking needles and shooting them straight toward the Queen Ant.

[𝙎𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝!!!!]

You would never understand the pain that the Queen Ant was going through. You should never know.

It didn't bleed. Just sharp pain.

But to put it in perspective, what the Queen Ant was experiencing is similar to having your toe stubbed, but millions of times worse. For each needle that Solus creates, the next one would be worse. Excruciatingly worse. And they aren't just any needle, they are needles that he made specifically just for this occasion.

The needles were imbued with more than 8 complex curses, designed to amplify the pain that one would receive exponentially for each curse.

Then there was also some poison at the tip of those needles. For normal people, it won't hurt at all, but for Hunters or creatures, especially the more mana you have, the more pain you would feel.

And as one of the strongest monsters in existence... the colossal pain she felt was unimaginable.

But what's making it worse is that bugs do not have pain receptors. They never felt pain before. It was the Queen's first time feeling true pain.

[𝙎𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚—]

The Ant Queen shrieked for so long, her equivalent of a human vocal cord finally snapped.

She couldn't even move as the curses made any movement impossible. She was now in silent pain, which was worse since she couldn't even express it.

Solus was just silently watching, occasionally sending a couple more needles.

He didn't show any more emotion. Just a face devoid of anything.

He was angry in the beginning. That was true. But after a few minutes, he didn't feel anything anymore. The anger was already gone.

Anger was a flaw.

He simply continued to punish the Queen Ant simply because he just wanted to test his new abilities. Cruel but he was getting an interesting result.

Now... he can even inflict pain on beings that don't have a physical body.

Solus didn't know about it, but the Rulers and the Monarchs don't have a physical body, but a spiritual one. Ordinary attacks do not even pose a slight threat unless they have a vessel. He didn't know any of this, and he didn't need to. He prepared and calculated everything.

"Oh... it's dead."

Then turning his attention away, he looked toward the hypnotized Hunters.

Of course, after he started confronting the Queen Ant, he couldn't just let the world or anyone know his real self. That would spell a lot of trouble.

So he dealt with the Hunters by hypnotizing them, while Sola dealt with the world by fooling the live-streaming with an ultra-realistic video that she made in a quick second.

What will be in everyone's memories of Solus, would be that he had heroically intervened the Queen Ant's rampage and one-handedly saved the Hunters. No one will ever know what really happened, only that Solus was strong enough to take of an S-ranked boss.

They will never know the truth.

*Snap*

Suddenly after Solus snaps his fingers, the camera began rolling again and the Hunters regained clarity. Sola's and Solus' actions were so in sync, no one in the world realized they were just deceived.

And as if they haven't been hypnotized at all, the Hunters started to act like normal self again.

All but one, Hwang Dong-Su.

With a body that melted almost entirely due to the venom from Solus, he was now dead while being surrounded by the other Hunters.

"What a pity that he died due to the Queen Ant' venom." The Tanker, Ma Dong-Wook said with a face full of pity.

"Yeah..."

He died before the Healer even got the chance to save him.

Everyone expressed some form of condolence, but hints of mockery were also present.

Although the memory was false, the vivid image of Dong-Su getting hit by the Queen Ant's venom while Solus was fighting, was quite real. The same goes for everyone that watched the live stream. It wasn't Solus' fault, it was Dong-Su's for not being able to dodge an incoming projectile.

No one suspected Solus.

That was the power of deception at its best.

Without any emotion, he stated, "As part of the contract, half of the island is now mine, including all the corpses. In exchange, I would help rebuild the island."

"Yes, CEO Solus. Or should I call you Hunter Solus instead." As the designated leader and the one involved most in the political world, Baek Yoon-Ho replied back. But seeing the disinterest expression from Solus, he just smiles wryly and gets to the point.

"I thank you on behalf of Korea. As you have fulfilled the part of our deal, half of the island is naturally yours.

This was the biggest reason why he also participated in the raid.

Though the corpses were only bonuses and could be dismissed, the lands weren't.

A 714 miles squared island.

That's two and a half times bigger than New York City. Half of that was still bigger than the size of New York City.

It was a chance to get lands for free, why wouldn't Solus want that?

He helped, so it was his. Without him, the island would forever remain unreclaimable. That was a fact, which was also why the Korean Government didn't even care if Solus took more than half of the island. After all, they were already lucky enough that they could even clear the raid in the first place, not to mention reclaiming the island back.

Although half of the island was still very big, having LoSus near their country would only benefit, not detrimental.

But they had made a big assumption. They had only thought that LoSus would only operate as something like a 'company town' or something like one of America's states and will still have to rely on Korea for survival.

Korea will always have the final decision if that is what LoSus chooses. And LoSus Corporation, in turn, would then be limited by how much they can do. In the end, they won't be much more than a Korean city.

After all, no one would think LoSus is stupid enough to actually make a country of their own, as there would be way too many hassles—building a new currency system, attracting citizens, military, peace treaties, establishing allies...

No one would want to do any of that.

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"And on this day, I declare! LoSus is an independent sovereign nation!!!!" With a thunderous roar, Solus' declaration shook the entire world.

1 day after the Jeju Raid, the whole world went nut.

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Time after the Queen Ant's death:

30 minutes in—by Solus, and just him alone, he got rid of all the Ants remnants.

6 hours in—everything was cleaned and all buildings on Jeju Island were demolished.

7 hours in—using supplies sent by unmanned aircraft, Sola began rebuilding the entire city using more than 5000 highly advanced computers.

10 hours in—half of the island belonging to Korea was rebuilt. A city that could rival Tokyo's most populous metropolitan area.

But that was nothing...

23 hours in—the world's most technologically advanced city was built.

A city that could rival even that of the gods'.

Most buildings in the city were at least 600 meters, made with materials designed at the very molecular level. Even if a nuclear bomb were to detonate on the island, these buildings will stay unscathed and still protecting the people inside.

The buildings were of a pristine white color, with royal blue glass panels laid in beautiful patterns. On each and every one of those buildings, a logo of LoSus was presented in a conspicuous and meaningful manner.

Everything was connected by a system of roads that nearly defy the law of gravity, hovering in mid-air. Below them were smaller walkways, tailored made for normal citizens to hang out.

Scattered around the city, species of trees unknown to the world were decorated in an orderly manner, as if conveying its peaceful atmosphere.

Together with crystal clear lakes, the city gave one a sensation that the city was the very definition of paradise.

And at the very center of the island, stood the world's biggest building.

It was Solus' private house. Nothing was more marvelous and breathtaking than this. Even if you look up as far as you can, you won't even see its tip.

Standing at a humongous height of 10 km or about 6 miles, it dwarfed the entire Mount Everest as if it was a mere ant. After flattening out the entire mountain, the building was built with a 2 miles radius.

It was a mini world of its own and the world revolves around it.

Everything was built in less than 13 hours.

The city name?

Sun Haven.

The sun that outshines everything.

The sun that was at the center of everything.

That was city Solus made.

And it was only just the beginning.

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4 hours after the nation of LoSus was founded, the world still hasn't stopped talking about it once.

Right at the moment when Solus declares the creation of his country, everyone was surprised. Some laughed just like always, thinking that LoSus had just made the biggest joke of the century.

Even though Vatican City was a country, it still heavily relied on Italy to function. That was what everyone thought LoSus would do with Korea.

But LoSus got the nerve to say they are totally independent? No help?

What a joke.

But they were proven wrong.

2 hours after Solus' declaration, pictures of the newly built city was leaked to the public.

And from what they saw... Sun Haven wasn't even a city.

It was more than a utopia.

It was beyond a paradise.

No words could ever describe it.

It was... Sun Haven.

Immediately, one stupid country set their greedy eyes upon seeing the newly built country. That was Japan, just a few hundreds of kilometers from the Sun Haven.

Without hesitation, they mobilize their navy there to confirm if the picture was real. They didn't even bother to notify the world of their action.

At the same time, Sola posted an announcement on LoSus main website, stating,

[1st warning: Any military operations that happened in the proximity of a 10 kilometers radius around the Sun Haven without permission will be annihilated]

[2nd warning: If the said country continues to attempt getting in, no more warning will be given and the country has 5 minutes to exit the proximity before LoSus take 'action']

No one in the world knows why LoSus wrote that, but they laughed.

And the Japanese laughed.

After all, satellite images revealed they didn't even have a naval base! Why would anyone be afraid?

"A fish had eaten out bait. Send down the spaceships..."

[Done master. But I wondered why humans can't see that if our country can build such a magnificent city in 13 hours, we can't afford a military]

Looking out from the top of "That's why they're inferior. Inferior minds breed more stupidity."

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"Hahahahahahaha. We're 10 km away from the island and I can't even see a single soul! With our navy, I bet that little country was already scared shitless." A naval admiral laughed mockingly as he leads his fleet toward Jeju Island.

There was a total of 2 aircraft carriers, 5 battleships, 10 destroyers, and 3 submarines.

Everything was assembled in under just an hour to avoid being noticed by the world and another hour to arrive at their destination.

Not only that, but there were also 4 other S-ranked Hunters on board, ready to intercept Solus if he confronted them.

They were confident that they could win without breaking a sweat. Everyone was.

Suddenly, they could hear some small humming noise coming from the sky.

"What's that?" One of the sailors asked. It was his first time hearing such noises.

"It's probably the engine. Sometimes it makes noises like that." His friend answered for him.

But one sailor who was on his phone watching some video suddenly found something strange. It was a live stream video of their fleet. There were hundreds of videos like this, all featuring different views.

Drones? The soldier didn't see any. He then notified the captain of his ship of this weird 'situation'.

But he didn't need to.

In the air... dozens of spaceships slowly appeared as their camouflage mode was fading away, revealing spaceships the size of the Empire State Building.

They were hovering by emitting some kind of purple light, something that was impossible given the current technology of the world.

"W-wh—"

The poor guy couldn't even ask a question... before everything was blasted into oblivion.

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The world was in deep silence. They never expected any of this.

A small scale naval fleet was destroyed, in less than a second. All that remains was just scraps of metal junks floating around.

Everyone was dead.

"Ahhhhhh!"

But suddenly a scream full of pain sounded out in the middle of the ocean. A survivor. The live streams were still ongoing, showing everything that was happening.

The desperate cry came from the S-ranked Tanker of the Japanese naval fleet. Despite not using any defensive move, his body was strong enough to withstand the might of a blast from the spaceships. But he wasn't unscathed, he was now just a charred human with no flesh.

*Pew* *Pew* *Pew*

Few seconds after the Tanker was spotted, 3 small laser blast was shot toward him.

This time... there's not even a small trace of him left. Now, at least he won't feel more pain.

The whole world descended into silence again.

Wtf is this? Was LoSus Corporation funded by aliens? Who said they had no military? What are all these spaceships? Aliens?

Countless questions went through the mind of humanity.

That was when they realized... LoSus was 'more' than they gave credit to. LoSus was more powerful than any country. LoSus was THE worst enemy to fight against.

But it was too late. The world needed LoSus as its root was too deep. Everyone was already used to how much their better lives are. They couldn't leave LoSus now.

A random user of the True Virtual Helmet once said, "Without LoSus, it's like using a brick phone. I can't even imagine how I can even live like that."

Turned out he was right.

The world had already tasted the fruit of a futuristic civilization, they can't go back now. They could only watch in silence and either support LoSus, or be their enemy.

Now everyone knows... it's not good to be the latter.

The world belonged to LoSus, and this was just the beginning.