—Chwarrr.

As the golden mist began to rise, the Locust King's wingbeats echoed through it—each one carrying a strange, mournful tone as it spread through the valley.

Cho didn’t translate, which meant there was no specific meaning behind the sounds. But in my ears, they felt like a sorrowful funeral dirge.

The yellow mist curling up like incense, the rhythm of the Locust King’s wings—it all felt like a ritual farewell.

It made sense.

Anyone caught in that golden fog would certainly die.

If it were poison, there might at least be an antidote. But this wasn’t a toxin. It was a fungal spore, born of the Locust King and part of a symbiotic relationship.

If the Locust King didn’t save them himself, then the spores would take root and kill the hosts—growing mushrooms inside their still-living bodies.

And yet, even surrounded by death’s fog, the swarm didn’t stop eating.

Within that cloud of spores, the locusts continued tearing at each other—biting wings and torsos.

Whenever body fluid spilled, it was like a dinner bell. Dozens, even hundreds of them swarmed the injured one, ripping it apart.

Then more fell, and the madness spread like a wave.

They were unaffected by the spores, at least on the surface.

The mist posed no immediate threat they could perceive.

But that didn’t mean it was harmless.

This mist was certain death—spores that would take root the moment they landed.

The locusts had no idea what was coming. But death was working its way inside them even now.

“Maybe they don’t feel threatened because they’re desert locusts, not Korean field locusts?”

Desert locusts are born in sandstorms. To them, golden dust isn’t a sign of danger—it’s just background noise.

But the moment the mist dispersed, scattering across the valley, something changed.

The swarm, which had been stable until now, suddenly began to twitch and hop—erratic movements, then stillness.

Then they froze completely. Not a single twitch.

Moments later, they started moving again—only now, with eerie synchronization.

As if entranced, they spaced themselves apart, and began to dig.

The same jaws and forelimbs that had just torn apart their kin were now scraping at the earth.

Death had come much faster than I’d expected.

“What the hell...?”

The Cordyceps spores emitted by the Locust King were more potent than I’d imagined.

The infected man (the translator) had taken hours before he started digging. But these locusts?

The transformation was nearly instantaneous.

The fungus had hijacked their muscles and nervous systems—and now, it controlled their bodies completely.

“That’s terrifying. Is it because of their smaller size? Or do insects get overtaken faster? Wait—Cho!”

Suddenly, I remembered something important.

I turned to Cho, who was watching the swarm intently.

“Cho, just in case—hold your breath like you did when we were underwater, alright?”

—Tsrrr. 『Okay, Dad.』

The spores weren’t likely to reach us at this distance, but I couldn’t take chances.

Since becoming aquatic, Cho could hold her breath for thirty minutes.

And the last thing I wanted was to see mushrooms growing out of my daughter’s head.

Even if, technically, a mushroom cap on Cho’s head might be kind of cute.

“But still—she’s my daughter. She’s cute no matter what.”

—Tsrrt? 『What is, Dad?』

“Ah—nothing! I didn’t say anything.”

Oops. I’d accidentally sent my inner thoughts to Cho’s channel and had to cover it up.

When I looked back down, the locusts were gone.

Only a few mutilated bodies and trails of body fluid remained.

The rest had buried themselves.

“So that’s how those Cordyceps fields were made... One of them had hardly any grass, and I thought someone had buried the locusts. But no—they devoured everything, then dug themselves into the earth.”

At that moment, the Locust King began to move.

He slowly walked across the now-empty field and stopped at a single point.

There, he used his jaws to lift something from the ground.

A glint of light reflected from his mouth.

“What is that?”

I leaned out, trying to focus my vision.

But in doing so, I dislodged a pebble from the ledge.

—Tak. Tadat. Tak. Tak-tak...

The sound started small but echoed sharply across the valley as the stone bounced down the slope.

“Wait—this feels familiar...”

Then I looked down—and locked eyes with the Locust King.

He launched straight at us.

—CHWARRRRRRRR!

***

He landed on a rock near us, right next to Cho.

I was stunned by his appearance.

Last time I’d seen him, it had been from a distance—maybe ten meters or more. But now, he was just a few meters away.

I could see everything.

His back was covered in red spines and a tough chitinous shell.

His thin, shimmering wings sparkled like polished glass.

Unlike typical locusts, he had the build of a stag beetle—sturdy, regal.

My heart pounded uncontrollably at the sight.

“Damn. He’s magnificent.”

As I stared at him, he stared back at us.

His eyes flicked between me and Cho.

It must’ve been strange for him, seeing a human and a spirit beast side by side.

People and beasts often reacted that way to us.

I raised a hand awkwardly.

I hadn’t planned to introduce myself yet, but this surprise meeting left me no choice.

“Uh... Hi.”

Startled, he scraped his legs and wings together to produce sound.

—Chwarrrk! Chwarrk!

—Tsrrrrt. 『You dare return here?! You should’ve considered yourself lucky to escape with your life yesterday—and yet you return?! Why?!』

Still furious.

I bowed my head immediately.

If I wanted to talk, I had to calm him down first.

“I’m sorry. My people broke their promise yesterday, and I take responsibility. As their leader, I should’ve kept things in order...”

—Tsrrt. 『I’m sorry, too.』

Cho bowed beside me, and the Locust King flinched—then stepped back.

He seemed to pause, thinking, and then gave a lower-pitched scrape of his wings.

—Chwarrrr...

—Tsrrt. 『You... you’re the one I saw at the end yesterday, aren’t you? I wasn’t imagining it. What are you? You don’t seem to be human...』

As expected, the Locust King was intrigued by Cho.

Likely because he’d lived alone for so long—he had no idea what she was.

I gently patted Cho’s head.

“This is Cho. She’s not human, that’s true. She’s a different species—but I’ve made her my daughter. And I never got to introduce myself yesterday, but I’m called So-ryong.”

—Tsrrr. 『I’m Cho.』

—Chwar.

—Tsrrrt. 『Cho... So-ryong... Those are your names?』

“Yeah. Do you... have a name, maybe? Could I hear it?”

Surprisingly, even though he seemed like a spirit beast who had lived alone in these highlands, the Locust King knew what a name was. When I asked, he hesitated, his wings playing a shy tune.

—Chwarrrt.

Tsrr. 『I... I am called Changcheon.』

“He told me right away? He really must be a sincere one, probably never met another soul before.”

Despite what happened yesterday, he answered so bashfully, it was obvious this was the first time he'd ever shared his name with anyone.

He must’ve overheard people passing through and named himself after their language.

So I praised the name right away—his back legs were trembling slightly, as if nervous.

“He’s embarrassed, huh?”

“Changcheon... That’s a beautiful name. It means ‘Blue Sky Above the Heavens,’ right? It fits this place perfectly.”

Tsrrr. 『It really is beautiful!』

Changcheon—Blue Sky Above the Heavens.

As I emphasized how fitting it was, his once-rigid antennae gently drooped to the sides.

Then came his soft, bashful reply.

—Chwarrr...

Tsrr. 『R-Really?』

But almost immediately, he shook his head and clicked his wings again, this time with sharper tone.

—Chwarrrk!

Tsrrrr. 『That aside—why have you come back here? If you’re here to steal more mushrooms and think apologizing will save you, then I won’t forgive you.』

His guard was back up. Our chat about names and Cho had momentarily relaxed him, but now his suspicion flared again.

I waved both hands quickly.

“No, think about it. If we were after your mushrooms, wouldn’t we have gone back to that same spot—or another one? This place hasn’t even finished growing yet.”

At that, he turned to look at the fresh Cordyceps field he’d just planted.

He seemed to agree.

—Chwarrr...

Tsrrt. 『Then... why did you come here?』

To clear the air, I explained everything—why we were here, and what really happened yesterday.

“We originally came here to find the locusts.”

Chwar?

“Yeah. There were several sightings of locust swarms here.

If they flood into the central plains, they’ll destroy all the crops. People could die. That’s why we came to stop them. Yesterday, while searching for them, we stumbled upon your Cordyceps—so that’s how it all happened.

Cordyceps, the mushrooms you cultivate, are actually used as medicine to save sick people.”

—Chwarrr...

He nodded as I spoke. He seemed to understand.

Now it was time to ask the real reason I came—to save the infected man.

“And the reason I came here today... was to find you.”

Chwar?

“Yeah. Last night, a man who inhaled your spores started digging into the ground with his own hands.

I know he was in the wrong, but we want to save his life.

If there’s any way at all to cure him... could you tell us?”

—Chwarrr...

Tsrrt. 『So you came to save that fool’s life from yesterday?』

“Yes.”

The Locust King paused for a moment, then gave a solemn nod.

—Chwarrr.

Tsrrt. 『Fine. I will save [N O V E L I G H T] him. But in exchange, I want a favor.』

“A favor?”

—Chwarrrk.

“What kind of favor?”

—Chwarrrk.

Tsrrr. 『I’ll tell you after I save him.』

“...Alright.”

I could feel that the infected man didn’t have much time left.

I immediately turned back toward the campsite with Cho at my side, calling out mentally to the others.

『Hwa-eun, the locusts are all dead. I spoke with the Locust King, and everything went well. Everyone, regroup at the campsite. Now, please.』

“Got it, So-ryong. Let’s gather up, everyone.”

Tsrrrt. 『On my way, Dad.』

Kyuu. 『Coming, Grandpa!』

We arrived at the camp first.

No one else had shown up yet—only Sister Seol was there, tending to the infected man.

She rushed to me the moment she saw me.

“So-ryong! It’s bad!”

“Huh?”

“Something’s starting to rise from his head!”

I ran over.

The infected man's twitching had stopped—but now a bulge was forming at the base of his skull, pushing toward his head.

—Chwarrrrrrr.

Seeing this, the Locust King landed beside us.

With wings wide open, he hovered briefly, then descended, stepping up beside the infected man.

Then—he lifted a front leg and smacked the back of his neck.

—Smack!

The skin split.

From the base of the neck burst a red mushroom stalk, oozing like blood.

“So that’s it—if you create a new exit for the fruiting body, it won’t try to sprout from the head.”

Before the mushroom cap could fully open, the Locust King snapped it clean off.

That was it. The treatment was complete.

Then he gently set the torn stalk down beside him—and spat something out in front of me.

A small, shiny object.

—Chwarrr. Chwarrk.

Tsrrt. Tsrrr. 『Now that I’ve removed the stalk, it won’t grow back. His body will recover soon, and he’ll regain control. Whatever grew inside him will dissolve over time—no need to worry.

And in exchange... I want you to identify this.』

He had spit out a silver needle.

Not quite like the ones I knew—but somehow familiar.