Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Taylor POV.
Izumi was fighting the mutant ant head-on. I could see the surprise on the faces of all the other S-rank hunters when they saw Izumi able to keep up with the monster that had defeated all the other S-rank hunters on the island, including Goto.
I… felt powerless. Once again.
I bit my lip hard as my eyes tried to follow the fight. It was way beyond my skill level. I had no doubt about that. But looking back at the fight, left behind by him, was… annoying.
The same thing had happened with All For One. Izumi had attacked her, and I hadn't been able to do anything. At that time, I could take comfort in the fact that he had Ryuma and All Might by his side during the fight. But here? Here I was alone. And I couldn't do anything to help.
Impotence. Weakness. Frustration.
And a dozen other feelings I didn't want to categorize surged inside me. I needed to become stronger. I knew it. Izumi and the others mentioned that I was already far enough along, but… that was hardly true.
I needed, no… I wanted, I wanted to be by Izumi's side, not behind him, not being protected by him, I wanted to fight alongside him.
Unfortunately, that wouldn't be possible in this fight. I audibly swallowed my frustration before taking a heavy breath.
"Is he really... is he really doing it?" asked the huntress Baek, surprised and hopeful. Neither of them wanted to continue talking or interrupt. We just watched the fight.
Until that monster screamed. And the fight turned into a complete disaster. Not in the sense that we were losing, or that Izumi was losing, but simply that now we were a dozen and a half people fighting against hundreds of completely disorganized ants. Or at least, at first.
Each of the S-rank hunters was a seasoned veteran. It was truly astonishing how quickly they adapted on the fly without even speaking. The groups formed without a word, and each one held their position without hesitation.
And while Izumi and the mutant ant bounced around, mowing down everyone in their path, including the entire crowd, not caring about all the destruction they caused around us, I joined the huntress Cha. She was the only one I was more familiar with when it came to fighting.
I just kept attacking with Shusui, slashing ant after ant. I could feel the headache hitting me hard, but not enough to incapacitate me. The mutant ant had completely disabled my quirk.
That scream she'd used had stripped me of my control over the ants and turned them against me. I could feel how that scream had completely shattered my quirk. I'd been forced to kill my small reserve of monster ants. I still felt a pang of pain at the loss of the only royal guard we'd had to kill.
I really wanted to take it with me to Japan. Unfortunately, my quirk was completely useless against monsters now. I could still sense my normal insects, but otherwise, I was hitting a brick wall trying to control the ants.
I gritted my teeth and pushed my quirk even harder. I could feel a throbbing headache at the back of my head, but I still didn't give up. I kept pushing and pushing, trying to break through that damn thing the mutant ant had made.
My head was throbbing, but I could only smile when I finally got one of them under control. I didn't even hesitate to use it to attack the rest of the ants. Unfortunately, the other ants immediately swarmed it and knocked it out in a fraction of a second.
I just growled loudly before my quirk kicked in. It was trying to break through the damn mutant ant's control like a damn battering ram. My body was bouncing automatically from side to side.
It was barely enough. I growled loudly once more before pushing my quirk once more toward another ant. Only to see Izumi and the mutant ant appear in front of me as I fought. I watched as they exchanged hundreds of attacks that obliterated all the ants around them in a split second, and then they moved on.
I could only watch the fight uselessly. I bit my lip until it bled. Finally, I made up my mind and focused on my quirk. I took a heavy breath before unleashing it on that damned mutant ant. Just like before, my quirk was practically destroyed by the mutant ant's willpower.
I stumbled back as if I'd been physically assaulted. I gritted my teeth before pushing back. I used my Quirk like a blunt object and tried to hit the mutant ant, but the result was the same. Still, I didn't give up. I kept hitting and hitting and hitting. And my Quirk was destroyed every single time.
I could feel the blood trickling from my nose as I strained. My head felt like it was going to split from the intense headache. My vision began to blur, and I took deep breaths as I tried to stay conscious.
I took a heavy breath and regained control. Then I controlled my quirk and pushed back at the mutant ant. When my control was rejected once more, I didn't rush. I controlled my breathing and recovered for a few seconds before continuing to push. Slowly and steadily.
The mutant ant was focused on her fight with Izumi, and it was clear she was in trouble, so she couldn't fully concentrate on fighting my quirk. My quirk began to slowly erode her defenses, her will. Slowly and steadily.
I couldn't help Izumi in a direct fight, but this? This… maybe I could do it… I just needed to distract it for a few moments so Izumi could defeat it immediately. I just had to—
…for a few moments? If I could wrest control from the mutant ant… was it necessary to kill it?
I swallowed audibly as a stupid thought crossed my mind. It was one thing to take in a monster ant, even a royal guard ant was borderline, but… this mutant ant?
That ant… could fight at Izumi's level… that… would mean it could help Izumi when, not if, but when something like this happened again. That…
I couldn't help but lick my lips lightly. I just... I just needed to get closer. I could push my quirk harder if I were closer.
It took me a full five seconds to consider it. And all I could do was curse because I knew this was something Izumi would do. Even so, I couldn't help but feel drawn to it. My breath came in ragged gasps and my gaze hardened. If Izumi was capable of doing stupid things… what was one more?
"I need you to cover me!" I yelled to the Koreans and then to the Japanese. They all looked surprised when I moved away from my post. There were insects inside Izumi's clothes, barely surviving the incredible speed at which he was moving. "IZUMI! I have an idea!! " I yelled to Izumi while trying to keep up with him.
"Ah?! Now?! Can't you wait?!" Izumi shouted tensely. My eyes tried to follow him from side to side, but I could barely see them. I squeezed Shusui tightly.
"No! It has to be now! It's stupid! Really stupid!" I yelled at Izumi once more. It was stupid. Really stupid. Maybe she was going to kill me.
"Huh?! Of all the things you could have learned from me, that's the one you choose to emulate?!" Izumi even paused to stare at me incredulously before defending herself once more and starting to fight the mutant ant again. I watched her anxiously.
"Izumi!" I practically begged in her direction.
"Aahh! Fine, fuck it! What do you want?!" Izumi finally shouted. I looked at him anxiously.
"I need to get closer to the mutant ant!" I told her immediately. Izumi stopped in the middle of the fight only to stare blankly at me, taking a punch to the cheek. I made a face when he hit a wall.
"Skitter! What do you think you're doing?! Stop distracting him!" Tawata asked incredulously, looking in my direction. I just stared at Izumi, who emerged from the crater his body had formed. Izumi just stared at me as if he were searching for something, and I stared back.
"You'll get your damn chance." Izumi growled. I smiled at her, delighted.
"No! Kill that ant right now!" one of the Japanese hunters shouted. I was already running in Izumi's direction. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. It was thumping so loudly I could hear it muffledly in my ear, yet I didn't stop.
I slammed my fist on the ground, and a small toad emerged from my shadows. It opened its mouth, and I sent all my insects inside, or simply made them kill themselves. Finally, after a few seconds, I had no insects under my control. Nothing to distract me. Just me and my quirk against that damned mutant ant. Nothing else.
My breath came in ragged gasps. I ran back and forth, narrowly dodging the ants. They were fast, but I didn't need to fight them. I simply jumped around them and dodged them as I followed Izumi.
It was hard to keep fighting. I was starting to sweat, my body felt hotter, my breathing heavier. Even so, I kept moving. My eyes just followed Izumi until he stopped.
Izumi seemed more annoyed than anything else by the fight. So he stopped, his eyes darting across the ants. Then he hovered in mid-air before landing on the ground, and opened his arms. His swords, still imbued with Haki, fire, and lightning, seemed to gain strength, and I could sense his Conqueror's Haki.
"En-Ō Santōryū : Ippyakusanjo Hiryu Jigoku"I heard Izumi murmur before he bent down and crossed his arms in front of him. Then he launched himself forward at terrifying speed.
Everything behind Izumi shattered into a massive crater. All the ants on his forehead were crushed before they could even touch him, and he ignored them without hesitation. Izumi had only one target: the mutant ant.
She seemed to finish eating the remaining crystals and screamed in fury. Her malicious aura seemed to grow, and now renewed, she lunged at Izumi. They collided with such force that the entire nest shook in a massive earthquake.
I looked anxiously ahead only to see Izumi walk right past. Then the volcano we were standing on was split in two. A huge fissure appeared before us, and sunlight streamed in.
Then I saw the mutant ant. Its entire body was torn apart. Its arms and legs were chopped into such small pieces that it looked like pulp. The mutant ant was still alive, but it was nothing more than a torso and a screaming head.
Izumi had won; he had severed the ant's limbs and it had fallen to the ground. This was my chance. My body moved immediately. Even completely defeated and destroyed, the closer I got, the more I could feel its presence.
I moved through the ants. Izumi simply turned in my direction and didn't even hesitate as he moved. He ran past me and killed all the ants that were following me in one swift motion as I ran towards the mutant ant.
Just like before, my quirk was shattered, but even so, I kept pushing hard. Its defenses were almost completely eroded. Finally, I approached the mutant ant and looked at it with determination.
I could feel its anger, its hatred, its power surging out in waves. My quirk tried to push against it, but it was difficult. The ant screamed once more, attracting dozens more. Izumi appeared beside me. His swords danced around me, and I felt completely safe under his protection, so I focused on the single task before me.
I took a step forward, pushing my quirk forward with all my might. I could feel blood trickling from my nose, but I didn't care. I kept hammering away, no matter how many times my quirk was shattered. I kept striking again and again, one step at a time.
It was just a damn torso and a head, and yet, its power shattered my quirk with extreme ease. But I didn't give up. I kept moving forward. I kept pushing. My steps grew heavier, slower. My breathing became increasingly ragged. And my heart pounded so hard it echoed in my ear. But… I finally reached her. I was just inches away. She just screamed again in fury. I just screamed back and threw my head back.
"Submit! I'm the damn queen!" I couldn't help but scream furiously before slamming my forehead against hers. I groaned in pain as my forehead bruised. Then I used my Armament Haki to coat my forehead and headbutted her again. "Submit!" My forehead collided with hers. The mutant ant screamed in fury.
"WEAK QUEEN! I WILL NOT SUBMIT! " roared the mutant ant. I understood her perfectly; even without insects, I had been able to understand her. But I ignored her; I wasn't interested. I just roared once more before headbutting her once more, and then again, and again.
"I AM THE QUEEN! YOU WILL SUBMIT!" I shouted once more in response. My forehead slammed against hers again. I could see her forehead crack, but I still didn't stop. I kept pushing my quirk in with force, each blow fracturing more and more of her defense and willpower.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!" roared the furious mutant ant. To my surprise, I saw one of its arm stumps bubble and then suddenly grow. My eyes snapped open as my body jerked. The ant's arm swung and struck me. I looked down only to see my left arm mangled.
Izumi moved behind me, and the ant's arm was severed as the mutant ant screamed. Instead of feeling pain from my missing arm, it only made me angrier; I roared with fury and slammed my forehead against the mutant ant once more.
"SUB-MIT!" Between each syllable, my forehead struck her, cracking her skull deeper and deeper. My Haki was breaking down too. I could feel the blood trickling down my forehead, staining my face. My breathing became ragged, though I felt more energized than ever, stronger than ever. Just one last push. I channeled all my strength into my Quirk.
I was the damn queen, my quirk was unbeatable, I would take damn control of her, there was no other option. I could feel my heart pounding and felt as if something inside me finally gave way. I could feel a surge of power being pushed out of my body.
"AARRHHG!!" I roared with determination, feeling all my willpower surge forth and pushing against my quirk. I slammed my forehead against the queen ant once more. I felt my quirk shatter and my willpower pierce through the mutant ant's last defenses. I entered the mutant ant's mind and destroyed everything in my path, wresting control from her.
I threw my head back, laughing uproariously at my success. I could feel my vision double as the mutant ant came under my control. We both stared at the ceiling. Then both my visions blurred as both of our bodies began to fall unconscious, yet I couldn't help but smile faintly as a feeling of triumph filled my chest.
"Yes... I am... the... damn fucking queen." I stammered weakly with a trembling smile on my face.
"Conqueror's Haki?" I heard Izumi's surprised voice before I fainted along with both bodies.
Author's Notes: And with that, the fight ends. Yes, it was much shorter than I expected, and very, very anticlimactic. I'm sorry about that.
It was difficult to write this fight. Or rather, difficult to choose Ant King's power level. In the manhwa, Jinwoo defeats Ant King with little difficulty; Jinwoo was simply taking a stroll through Jeju. But in the anime, the fight was much more even, even with Ant King taking the lead a couple of times, at least until Jinwoo received his upgrades. And with Izumi at least at the same level as the current Jinwoo… yes, it was complicated to make it more difficult.
And honestly, there wasn't much I could do to lengthen it or make it more complicated. Jeju wasn't meant to be a long arc. Although, there were several options to make Ant King stronger, but I really didn't want to drag it out. This, as you saw, was more for Taylor, obviously.
By the way, one option to make Ant King stronger was for him to eat Goto and gain some real, visible ability, unlike what happened in the canon. Yes, it was implied in the canon that he ate Goto and gained something from him, but since Goto's abilities were never explained in detail, it was a bit ambiguous or boring. So, perhaps giving Goto a Quirk that Ant King then stole was one way to make him stronger.
The other option was eating animals and insects. He got super poison from the cone snail. And if you're wondering about his regeneration, he got it by eating newts and salamanders. All of this was pushed to an extreme level by his power. There are dozens of animals and insects that, by pushing their biology to the limit, could count as having extremely strong Quirks, like an electric eel.
I also didn't want Ant King to abuse his regeneration to prolong the fight. Mainly because there are already, and will be, too many enemies who abuse their regeneration. And giving all enemies regeneration to increase their difficulty seems a bit boring, really.
And the last option to lengthen this was to delay the Jeju raid. If the raid hadn't happened immediately, right after Ant King was born, it would have been extremely different because Ant King's growth rate would have been truly terrifying. Even if he attacked low-level people, he could push their Quirks to a terrifying level.
That said, the ability to improve by eating different animals will be left for Taylor to discover and start improving Ant King, because obviously, eating people is out of the question.
But enough of my rambling. I really hope you liked it. As I said, it wasn't meant to be long, but I'm sorry if it felt too anticlimactic. There are still several chapters left in this arc. Then, maybe some POVs before moving on to the next arc.
Author's Notes 2: I've come here with pictures! As always, I've had some time and played around with the AI, because I can and I enjoy it, and I have some Taylor images I'd like to share.
https://imgur.com/a/cu1sC8H
I hope you like it!
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.