Chapter 74: Chapter 73

'Pontifex? Again?'

Suho made a puzzled expression.

The situation was completely different from that of Rakan, the King of Beasts, but a similar result came out.

It was because of Gray back then, but Rakan was friendly to him from the beginning.

So, he gladly made Suho a pontifex for Gray.

But this time it's 'extortion'?

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch, bursts into laughter as he sees Querehsha's bewildered look.]

[Rakan, you bastard-!]

Querehsha burst into anger at Rakan.

[How dare you interfere with my sacrifice when you are already dead!]

Suho finally realized.

At first, he thought Rakan's intention was the 'Title: Natural Enemy of Insects'.

It wasn't.

Now, it seemed that Rakan's real intention was to forcibly take the position of 'Pontifex of Insects' from Queresha.

Suho looked back at the remains of countless insects scattered everywhere around him.

All of those were also part of Querehsha's soul.

'Extortion...'

Sometimes, when you fight with someone, there are times when you curse and say, "Know that today will be your memorial day!"

But looking at it now...

'Is this enough to be considered holding a memorial service with my own hands?'

Outside, the Queen Bee Arsha and Lee Minseong were offering countless humans as sacrifices for Querehsha.

However, Suho actually sacrificed the ancestral rites inside with Quarehsha's own insects.

'Does this make sense?'

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarc, explains that Querehsha's insects are grudges that were originally eaten by Querehsha.]

'Grudge?'

So, in the end, Suho paid Quaresha the grudge of the dead bugs instead.

'Ah, so that's why it was the Pontifex of Insects and not the Pontifex of Querehsha.'

Querehsha is one and a colony.

In other words, Suho became a Pontifex of Querehsha by offering sacrifices to insects.

[... You won]

Eventually, a declaration of defeat flowed out of Querehsha's mouth.

There was still more than enough time before the quest ended, but Querehsha already felt tired like she aged a hundred years.

[Ha. This bastard is more bug-like than any other bugs. No wonder he wasn't just someone else's son...]

As the bugs scattered from Querehsha's huge body, their size began to decrease.

Then, she transformed into the female body that had fought against Sung Jinwoo a long time ago and landed in front of Suho.

Ring.

[Remaining time: 1 hour 29 minutes 34 seconds]

[You have completed 'Urgent Quest: Querehsha's Solitude'.]

[Your level increased!]

The quest was completed even before 4 hours had finished.

The will of Querehsha, who forcibly executed the quest, was completely broken.

She glared at Suho with eyes full of bitterness.

[You know what? It's as if you killed me twice.]

'I'll ask just one thing.'

Suho interrupted Queresha and asked directly.

'Did you plan the disaster outside?'

[Ha. That's absurd.]

Querehsha bursted into laughter.

[I am a monarch who died a long time ago. All I can do is wander in the world of nothingness, so what the hell could I have planned?]

'Queen Bee Arsha. Also, Lee Minseong.'

[Who is that?]

'She doesn't know?'

Suho was confused.

Querehsha had a dull expression, as if she had no interest in the subject.

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch, explains that a dead monarch has no influence in the real world without a pontifex.]

It was just as Rakan said.

A dead monarch can do nothing.

Rakan also usually fell asleep in the world of nothingness, but was able to wake up and watch the outside world only when Suho did something related to him.

It was through a channel called 'dream'.

Same goes with Querehsha.

'It's really absurd.'

The way Suho looked at Querehsha changed slightly.

Outside, Arsha and Lee Minseong are sacrificing countless lives for the purpose of inheriting Querehsha's power. Who would have thought that Querehsha, the person involved, was unaware of that.

[I know roughly what the situation is.]

Querehsha snorted.

She collected bugs from the floor, made a chair, and sat cross-legged on it.

[There have always been bugs targeting my power. Even after I became a monarch, the quarrel continued endlessly.]

Before she knew it, Querehsha became a proud queen just like when she first appeared, recalling fierce memories from her previous life.

[I was the only emperor who survived and reigned in that fierce struggle, and at the same time I was also a prey that could be eaten by someone at any time.]

A fierce world of eating and being eaten.

It was the world of insects.

[In other words, any insect can become a monarch if they eat me.]

'So the people outside are trying to hold a ceremony to be a successor...'

[You probably mean they're trying to use me and my grudge.]

The corners of Querehsha's mouth curled up and a mischievous smile formed.

That smile somehow looked forced.

[They don't serve me, they're just hungry demons who want to devour me. Just like what you did to me just now.]

Suho, embarrassed for nothing, opened his mouth after thinking about it.

'Didn't taste very good, though.'

[Hey...!]

Querehsha furiously clenched her two fists that were holding the armrests of her chair.

However, she soon smiled and leaned back in her chair.

[Yeah, well... In the end, if I have to be eaten by someone, it's only natural for me to be eaten by the one who killed me. If your father had been a bug, he would have fully inherited my power right away.]

The reason he couldn't do that was because Sung Jinwoo was a human, not a bug.

It was the same for his son, Suho.

[No matter how much you ate my bugs here, you will never become the Plague Monarch. Your qualification itself was not enough.]

'So, just pontifex after all?'

[Ha. I also had no intention of giving that. Do you think I'm just simply pretty? Anyway... since I was robbed off Pontifex, I would be grateful if you find me a descendant who can inherit my power.]

'Who's pretty?'

[Isn't this pretty enough by human standards?]

In response to Suho's reply, Querehsha showed off her appearance in a female form.

'Enough with your jokes. What can I do as the Pontifex of Insects? In the case of the Pontifex of Beasts, the descendant can possess my body.'

[Hngggg?]

When Suho lifted cute Gray with one hand and showed him, Querehsha clicked her tongue.

[Rakan is also pitiful. His heir is such a clumsy one-day puppy.]

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch, feels like crying...]

Suho smiled lightly at Rakan's message and looked at Gray.

[Gray Lv.14]

Fang Wolf

Thanks to the hard hunting of insects today, Gray's level doubled.

'I envy you.'

[Hnnnggg?]

Suho's level was now 29.

It was only natural that the higher the level, the more experience was needed to level up.

Leveling up in such a short amount of time was amazing enough.

Considering that time stands still in the real world, it was like he suddenly became stronger in less than a second.

Querehsha looked at Gray like he was insignificant to the world, but at the same time, she looked envious.

[Still, I envy Rakan. I can't believe I'm looking for a descendant among blood relatives. There's not a suitable one, so it's impossible to be strong.]

'What? Being the Pontifex of Insects is completely useless then.'

[Instead, something else is possible.]

As soon as Querehsha finished speaking, the message window opened in front of Suho.

Ring.

[The quest completion reward has arrived.]

[The following rewards are prepared.]

Reward: 'Blessing: Plague Protection'

[Blessing: Plague Protection]

This is the protection of the Queen of Insects, the Plague Monarch.

The Plague Monarch, Quehresha, has chosen you to be her Pontifex.

Pontifex can infuse his body with deadly poison.

-Effect 'Poison': You can freely deal with the ingested poison.

'Oh?'

Suho's eyes lit up.

Indeed, it was a blessing worthy of the name of the Plague Monarch.

Thanks to Kandiaru's blessing, he was immune to all poisons, but now he can handle the poison freely beyond immunity.

[You can rejoice to your heart's content. From now on, you will become a walking plague.]

Querehsha crossed her arms triumphantly and proudly proclaimed to Suho.

[What do you think? It will be much more useful than having a puppy like that on your body.]

* * *

Meanwhile, over the heads of Lim Taegyu and Baek Miho, who entered the beehive at that time...

Wiiiiiing-

All the clouds in the sky had suddenly turned into swarms of bees.

"Ugh. This kind of thing is troublesome to deal with."

Baek Miho had a puzzled expression.

Against such a large number of small monsters, the only thing she could do was to endure with her body.

Increase mana power to amplify defense power.

However, Lim Taegyu felt more futile.

He was an S-Class hunter, but he was just an archer.

Because of that, most of the skills he had are those related to bows.

The new skills he learned by paying expensive money to buy runestones were all things that increased his agility and precision.

However, the problem was that Lim Taegyu ingested too much Royal jelly, so it was difficult to defend himself with mana powers like Baek Miho.

"I'm sorry, but I'll be under your care."

"Why did you have to follow us here?"

"...."

Lim Taegyu hid behind Baek Miho with an embarrassed expression.

But then an ominous feeling came over his senses.

"Wait. Those bees...!"

"What?"

"...!"

At that moment, the bees began to explode on their own.

As the golden mist covered the area at the same time as the explosion, Lim Taegyu hurriedly shouted.

"Hold your breath! The mist may be the same kind of poison I had been poisoned with!"

"...!"

Baek Miho hurriedly held her breath, covering her nose and mouth with her hands.

If she becomes addicted to that mist, she might not be able to use mana like Lim Taegyu.

'Wait. Hunter Sung Suho?!'

Baek Miho suddenly remembered Suho and looked back.

She was worried about the safety of Suho, a C-class hunter, in an emergency situation where even A-Class herself and S-Class Lim Taegyu were in trouble.

However...

'... Huh?!'

Baek Miho was shocked.

Instead of holding his breath, Suho was actually breathing in as much as he could.

"What...!"

Baek Miho held her breath again when she almost inhaled poison mist while trying to stop Suho.

A system message appeared in front of Suho as he smiled strangely.

['Poison: Lee Minseong's Royal Jelly' was inhaled.]

[You can handle 'Poison: Lee Minseong's Royal Jelly'.]