Alex felt exertion building in his legs, but the rush of adrenaline and the torrent of mana inside him kept driving him forward. He reached the top floor, shoved the rooftop hatch open, and climbed the last few steps until he finally emerged into the open. Cold air struck his face, carrying the scent of forest earth and the sharp ozone radiating from the armored hornets.
He sprinted toward the edge of the building, and the moment he reached it, his eyes widened as the world unfolded before him. What he had assumed was a lone structure surrounded by primitive wilderness was anything but. From the height of five floors, he saw dozens of buildings just like the one beneath him—five to six stories tall, stretching for hundreds of meters, spaced out across the landscape. Their rectangular, uniform design suggested old academies… or abandoned military barracks. Entire clusters of these massive structures were encircled by dense forest, creating a surreal blend of decaying modernity swallowed by untamed nature.
Alex shifted his gaze toward the buildings now overrun by the armored yellow hornets. Two entire structures were blanketed by them—thousands crawling over every window and wall like a living coat of armor, rippling in slow, chilling waves. The colossal hornet—the "Commander," as Alex had named it in his mind—sat perfectly still atop one rooftop, like some monstrous statue awaiting a signal… or watching.
God… that's an entire army. But why these buildings? What are they after? What's inside?
He squinted, trying to pierce the distance and the forest's thickness for any clue.
Then—amid the distant hum and the rustle of wings—Alex heard something else. A soft whispering sound, faint but unmistakable. Not from the hornets… from below.
He followed the sound cautiously to the far end of the rooftop overlooking the area directly beneath the building.
And then he froze.
There was a girl.
A girl with long black hair cascading down her back. She wore dark green and black clothing that blended perfectly with the forest around her. Stranger still, three small black butterflies hovered around her in silent, eerie orbits. She stood beside the charred, bloodstained corpse of an evolved goblin—one disturbingly similar to the one Alex had fought. He couldn't tell how the creature had died, not from this distance, but its presence confirmed one thing: the girl was either a fighter… or a survivor.
A surge of relief shot through him.
A human. There are actual humans alive in this damned place.
Until now, part of him had feared this world belonged solely to monsters—or that its civilization had been wiped out long ago.
As soon as Alex fixed his eyes on the girl, she looked up—meeting his gaze instantly, as if she had sensed him. Her eyes were pitch black and fathomless, like a starless night. And then, without warning… she vanished.
"What—what the hell? Is this an illusion? Am I hallucinating from exhaustion?" Alex rubbed his eyes frantically.
And at that exact moment, a quiet voice whispered behind him—soft, but cutting through the cold air like a blade.
"Are you truly that exhausted that you're seeing illusions?"
Alex spun around with a speed fueled by pure instinct.
She was there. Standing behind him. Only a few meters away. Appearing out of nowhere.
The three black butterflies drifted around her calmly, giving the entire scene a surreal, unsettling atmosphere.
Alex's body reacted before his mind could. Mana burst through him, activating the full defensive surge of the Armored Octopus Shield. His stance tightened—half ready to attack, half ready to defend.
But then everything stopped.
The girl wasn't moving. Her eyes locked onto his—calm, unblinking, and disturbingly steady.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice quiet but firm. "Who are you? And which faction do you belong to?"
Alex froze—not from fear but from utter confusion. Her beauty barely registered in his mind. What stunned him was the clarity of her words echoing in his head… in his native language.
"Y–You're speaking… my language?" he blurted out, momentarily forgetting the teleportation-like movement and the ominous butterflies. He even forgot she had already spoken to him once at first sight.
The girl didn't blink.
"My language? Do you not understand Spirit Speech? What are you talking about?" Her tone remained flat. "Answer my question. The disturbances here are dangerous."
Alex ignored the question, trying to steady his overwhelmed thoughts. "What do you mean… faction?"
He hesitated—then chose honesty. There was something in her gaze that made lying feel pointless.
"The truth is… I just found myself here. A portal appeared in my room—back in my world—and it dragged me here. Ever since I arrived in this damn building, I've been attacked nonstop by monsters." He raised his hands, anger and exhaustion spilling out. "What is this world? What's happening? The goblins, the hornets… why am I here?"
Her eyes widened slightly—not in shock, but in calculation.
"A portal… from 'another world.'" she repeated slowly, as if tasting the words. "Then you're not from here. That explains the unstable mana surging through your body. It was on the verge of rupturing moments ago."
Alex stepped back, startled by how easily she read him.
"You know about mana… what is all this?"
"This world is called Marnus, at least for us." she replied coolly. "And the goblins are part of the 'Invasion' pouring out of the Gates. As for language—using mana combined with the ability of your True Name lets you communicate with any living creature. Even children master it."
She glanced toward the forest where the swarm loomed like a storm.
"But that's not my concern now. I have work to finish. You're new… strange… but not part of the Invaders."
"Of course I'm not with them! I just killed a giant hornet—and an evolved goblin!" Alex shot back sharply.
She watched him again, eyes searching his soul. Then she pointed toward the forest.
"The swarm is preparing. If you have no faction, you should stay quiet and out of sight. The factions of Marnus don't welcome unknown outsiders. Hide, or you'll become easy prey for the larger hornets."
The moment she finished speaking, she vanished once more—leaving Alex alone with the cold wind, the distant hum of the swarm, and the emptiness of the rooftop. The butterflies faded with her, dissolving into the air like black sparks.
Alex stood there, stunned into a new level of disbelief.
"Marnus… the Invasion… mana communication?"
He shook his head violently, trying to absorb it all. Then he looked again toward the hornet-covered buildings.
"At least… I'm not alone. But that doesn't make this any easier. What now? Do I hide like she said? Or do I follow her—to get the answers I need?"
He turned toward the staircase. The swarm still dominated the horizon.
He had seconds to choose.
And the world wasn't going to wait.