Holy Power was a concept most people here had never heard of before.
Even Seira Redenverk, who had spent over a decade researching mana and magic since first awakening to it as a young mage, was no exception. She couldn't help but be intrigued.
But Daniel was already swarmed by Count Dyke and countless others, making it impossible to get close.
Though she bore noble blood, Seira was now a fallen noble with nothing to her name—a drifting leaf. She couldn't muster the courage to approach Daniel first and ask.
"You seem to have something special about you."
"...Me?"
But in that moment, to her astonishment, Daniel smiled and approached her first.
Caught off guard, she hesitated and stepped back.
"It's definitely a power similar to mana, yet fundamentally different."
"That's exactly right. Similar, yet different. A mage who's studied mana should adapt to this power quickly enough."
Seira stared blankly at the Holy Power Daniel demonstrated by raising his hand.
Unlike mana, it possessed remarkable expansiveness and fluidity.
She nodded unconsciously at Daniel's words that its true value shone against Demonic Power.
"This is the power bestowed by a great god."
"A... god?"
Seira flinched at Daniel's matter-of-fact tone.
Of course, various religions had always existed.
But as a mage, Seira fundamentally didn't believe in gods—entities that couldn't be explained by mana.
After all, most things gods could do, mana could accomplish too.
"I used to think the same until recently. But now we have proof and witnesses, don't we?"
Daniel gently placed his golden-glowing hand on Seira's shoulder.
It was an impertinent act for a noble, but she couldn't push it away. The moment they touched, a warm power began seeping into her body.
It was a potent healing force that swept away all the fatigue and minor muscle aches accumulated in her body.
'This is Holy Power...'
"What do you think? Doesn't serving the great goddess and receiving her teachings sound appealing? Join our Golden Mandate Society, and that grace might descend upon you too."
Experiencing this power for the first time in her life, she widened her eyes in awe.
Seeing her reaction, Daniel grinned slyly, stroking her cheek as he whispered.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Subordinates have discovered another abandoned village]
"Looks like all the locals in the area have already evacuated."
A peaceful lunchtime on an ordinary weekday.
Using smoking as an excuse, I'd come up to the rooftop alone. In the empty smoking room, I gazed at the screen only I could see.
It showed scout ants busily discovering an abandoned village.
There were plenty of usable items left behind. Proof of how hastily they'd fled.
But such discarded goods were of little use to the ants.
The evacuees seemed headed for nearby fortresses or cities.
With armed soldiers and defenses, those places were beyond a single hunting unit, no matter how strong the ants had become.
It would take multiple hunting units combining into a thousand-strong army to even attempt a fight.
'Isn't the territory too vast?'
Even at a glance, the area the ants had spread into seemed excessively large.
To the ants, there was no distinction between people from this territory or that one.
Anything alive and moving was just prey.
This naturally multiplied the enemies they had to face.
And unlike a game with turns, everything unfolded in real time, shifting rapidly.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Under the Prime Queen's leadership, subordinates are reorganizing their units]
Of course, the ants had the ability to recognize and respond to this swiftly.
They gathered vast information from all directions through the hive mind, reallocating forces with optimal efficiency and reforming hunting units.
Administration and logistics were crucial pillars of any army.
The ants handled it via their collective consciousness with a speed and precision even I, watching through the Divine Net, couldn't match.
And that capability only grew more refined and faster with experience.
As long as no new variables arose, the ants were likely to succeed in another large-scale hunt.
"Huh?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Subordinates are bewildered. New enemies have appeared]
But right then, those variables emerged on one battlefield.
It happened to a hunting unit en route to a rally point where other units were gathering to assault a fortress.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Ambushed hunting unit is bewildered. Enemies spotted them first and attacked without hesitation]
The screen switched urgently, revealing ants locked in fierce combat with humans.
The ants were a single hunting unit of about 300. The humans numbered similarly—a organized troop.
'Not ordinary adventurers?'
Having observed that world closely and recorded much, I'd learned plenty in the process.
Judging their type by attire and combat style was one such lesson.
Those in casual gear fighting in small skirmishes were called adventurers.
Since starting their full invasion of southern human forces, ants clashed most often—and favored—them as prey.
Many bore mana, prime material for hive and individual evolution.
But these foes wore unified metal armor and weapons, with proper banners flying.
Clearly, well-trained regular soldiers.
'They're strong.'
My face hardened as I watched them tangle with the ants.
They were different from previous opponents. Even skilled adventurers were few in number.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Subordinates are confused by a new type of power]
"Behold! The power bestowed by the goddess purifies these wicked monsters!"
And that wasn't all.
A knight at their center boldly swung his golden-glowing sword. The massive variant Soldier Ant—its body covered in venomous spines—had its thick jaws and head cleaved in two in one strike.
'How is that possible?'
My eyes widened in shock.
The chimeric Soldier Ants I'd dubbed variants had exoskeletons and Magic Resistance tough enough to shrug off a warehouse-shattering spell head-on.
Terror to countless adventurers and locals, and this knight felled one single-handedly.
"Kill them! Drive out the minions of the wicked demon god!"
"The goddess's blessing is with us. Charge!"
Looking closer, it wasn't just the knight.
A robed priest aimed their staff like a mage, unleashing radiant light that enveloped the soldiers.
I clearly saw Venom Ants' venom evaporate into smoke upon contact.
Boosted morale drove the soldiers to push back the ants.
Ants pierced by spears fell; those blasted by magic charred black and tumbled across the ground.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Defeat. Subordinates acknowledge defeat and begin preparations against the new enemy]
The confident hunting unit realized these humans were no mere prey.
Judging victory impossible, the ants abandoned dead kin and wounded comrades without hesitation, turning to flee.
"W-We won!"
"The monsters are running!"
Cheers erupted from behind as they slew many ants.
The lighter blow was partly because it was a scouting skirmish—and perhaps because they'd already survived a near-nest raid by orc might.
'Damn. Was I too complacent?'
I felt the same.
The ants' slaughter weighed heavy, but it only proved our road ahead was long.
We too were just prey in that vast world.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Subordinates review plans. Due to new enemies, they have paused attacks]
If those foes guarded the fortresses or cities we targeted, losses would exceed a single unit's annihilation.
Now capable of such calculations, the ants held back, waiting for a strategy instead of charging blindly.
'Those people... They called the ants minions of the wicked demon god. Coincidence?'
I pondered that scene all day.
The attackers' confident shouts suggested unwavering faith in something.
Blessings from the goddess. Power from the god.
In the past, I'd have dismissed it. Not now.
With a bizarre system calling me a deity, their foes could be subordinates of another deity. It wasn't baseless.
'But even if so, what can we do?'
The issue: even if true, our fate was sealed.
The ants still couldn't fully comprehend my words.
Their instinct for hive growth and evolution inevitably clashed with surroundings.
And I lacked means to communicate with other deities.
This insane system restricted functions upon my abnormal awakening, blocking deity chats entirely.
"Hah."
I shook my head with a short sigh.
No time for overthinking.
A formidable foe appeared; surviving the fight came first.
My subordinates and domain were those ants and their nest. Their annihilation meant my death.
"No. Win this. You have to win."
I hurriedly opened feed bags, tossed food into the enclosure, then grabbed my phone to find the next ant.
Original plan was Honeypot Ants storing honey in their bodies, but I changed it.
Now, combat-specialized ants for raw fighting power made sense.
'How much more must the queen evolve to devour more than the ants?'
For the first time, the queen's once-blazing growth felt slow. That battle had shaken me deeply.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Queen discerns that the power held by some inflicted heavy damage on evolved individuals]
I wasn't the only one racking my brain.
The queen was striving to strengthen the hive against this foe.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Queen holds data on all individuals. Heavily damaged ones all had high ratios of absorbed Demonic Power from growth processes]
Demonic Power—a force akin to that world's mana, as far as I knew.
I recalled notifications of absorbing it from goblins, orcs, and magical beasts.
"Could it be a counter to Demonic Power?"
The highest-probability hypothesis flashed through my dazed mind.