With the queen dead, Auren hears Commander Kieran speak up. "You see those eggs there? That must be the core of the nest. Over there, next to the rocks. Torch them next."
"Commander, wait," Leira yells, stopping him. "I see something else. Please spare the eggs for now. Auren, follow me."
Curious, Auren follows her toward the eggs, and his eyes immediately lock onto something strange—a giant, white, star-shaped object. It looks soft and moist, almost too perfect in shape and texture to be some ordinary fungus growing in the dirt, half covered in webs.
"That's the… fungus you mentioned," Auren says, staring at it. "At least it seems that way. Let's burn it down quickly and be done with it."
"All these spiders were infected with it," Leira says, voice firm. "And these eggs are surrounding it. It looks like the fungus is able to influence the spiders somehow, maybe even control them. I think these eggs can be saved."
"Saved?" Auren asks, frowning. "Why would we save them? And the eggs aren't what I'm concerned about right now. Why should we care?"
"It's a species worth preserving," Leira says with heavy conviction, meeting Auren's eyes without blinking. "We just need to deal with the fungus first. I believe it's the reason for their violent, frankly insane behaviour. These spiders could be a big help to Hollow Blade. I'm completely serious."
"Vice-Leader… surely you can't take her seriously?" Commander Kieran interrupts from behind.
"Let me first take a look at this thing," Auren says, activating Gyo and staring straight at the white, star-shaped fungus.
But what am I even looking for? This thing might have properties that influence living beings, but it's not like I can see 'control' itself, even with Gyo. Still… it doesn't feel normal at all.
"I see… Aura. Life Force," Auren says slowly. "It's definitely alive." He looks down toward the ground. "And it's deeply connected to other points. Its roots are spread all over the nest—there are way more mushrooms than I expected. Are there even mushrooms like this? Never heard of them."
"It's not a mushroom in the traditional sense, Auren," Leira corrects him. "Also, judging by the amount of Life Force, this is the core. It's in the very centre of the nest, and it looked like the queen was protecting it specifically."
"I see… but why does this thing have so much Aura in the first place?" Auren wonders, still staring. "The sheer volume is unbelievable. It's far more than I have. It's more than all of us together, even including the Commander, and at least a couple more Nen users."
"Hey, you're supposed to be the Nen genius, but aren't all living things alive?" Vanessa chimes in, sounding annoyed that she's being ignored. "Of course, all living things have Aura. Obviously, plants are alive and have Aura."
"Fungi are not plants," Leira corrects her, "but you are right about that part. As the name suggests, Life Force exists in everything that lives. Still… this situation is strange indeed."
"Also, it should be a tiny amount, so little that you can barely see it, even with Gyo," Auren states, sounding more and more curious. "I told you how much Aura this thing contains. More than the Spider Queen, and even more than us. And its aura is quite dense and pure. The quality is on a level I haven't seen yet. This mushroom or whatever... it could be centuries old. By the sheer amount of its life force its incredibly rare and precious."
He glances at his sword. "I can see Eternity drawing Aura on its own. It feels like it could take days to absorb it all if I don't make physical contact with it."
There is only one thing Auren needs to do.
Auren cuts off a tiny piece of the fungus.
"Analyse this small piece," Auren orders. "After that, destroy the rest of that piece."
"It could hold a tremendous amount of potential," Leira says, questioning him again. "Do you really want to destroy it?"
"Analyse it right now… afterwards destroy it. This is an order. I'm not taking any risk with a thing that can potentially influence living beings," Auren orders, his voice stern for once.
"Understood," Leira states, picking up the small piece from the ground immediately ordering Oculus to analyze it.
"As for the rest…" Auren whispers with a greedy smile.
The choice is obvious…
Auren pierces Eternity deep into the white star-shaped fungus, and he immediately feels an explosion of Aura as an incredibly dense amount is drained and absorbed into his weapon.
"This is incredible…" Kieran mutters, seeing the Aura transfer right before his eyes. "So much Aura…!"
"I wish I could absorb Aura, too," Vanessa says. "I would become so powerful."
"Forget it… it's almost impossible," Neffi replies. "His weapon is special, as you know, and the cost of it isn't something you want to shoulder. Do you?"
Vanessa immediately shakes her head, obviously agreeing with her.
It takes almost three minutes for Auren to fully drain the Aura.
In that time, the remaining spiders are burned or shot to death, as the soldiers continue their assault, searching the rest of the nest for any remaining spiders.
Finally, the fungus collapses, withering in front of their eyes. It turns into a lifeless husk that resembles the moulted skin of a snake, already crumbling into the ground, then getting blown away by the wind.
Meanwhile, Eternity glows with such a dense Aura that the black blade shines like never before. Suddenly, the Aura in it shifts. Auren can see the Aura getting used up right before his eyes, causing a change within Eternity itself.
A white pattern begins to form at the base of the katana as more and more Aura is consumed, colouring the traditional edge pattern, which was almost invisible, and now displays a white, wavy form.
However, the Aura is quickly used up, and only around five percent of the wave pattern turns white. The rest remains completely black.
That's progress… but what does it do? I can feel Eternity getting even stronger, but there doesn't seem to be an additional effect… not yet. What happens if the entire pattern turns white? I guess there's only one way to find out. Now that it has partially changed, the biggest hurdle has already been cleared. I just need more Aura.
"Vice-Leader," Kieran says, making Auren turn around, slightly surprised.
"Yes, Commander?" he asks.
"What do you intend to do… with the eggs?" Kieran asks. "I'm still convinced we should burn them down with the spiders."
"Auren, we shouldn't," Leira says, pointing toward the ground. The withered main body of the fungus is barely visible now, almost fully blown away as she kicks the largest piece into a nearby burning web, making it ignite and burn. "With the fungus gone, these are merely animals. I believe they could be valuable assets. Their species is unique."
Decisions, decisions…
"Are you ready to take responsibility for the consequences of that choice, Leira?" Auren asks, voice firm. "It could cost you."
"I am," she replies instantly.
"Commander," Auren says, looking at Kieran. "Are you and your soldiers capable of defending our people? Are you willing to risk your lives for them?"
"Of course!" Kieran replies.
"Then the decision is made," Auren states. "Take the eggs. Have the soldiers help you, but no more than a couple of hundred. Also, you'll be in charge of the entire process. Don't think you can just save them and then move on. You're in charge! At the slightest risk of danger, it will be your responsibility to immediately get rid of them."
"I thank you for the trust. You'll see this was the correct decision," Leira says, already moving. Waving over a couple of soldiers, she has them start collecting eggs, but she still looks dissatisfied. She keeps circling the area until she finally picks up two especially large eggs, ones that look different from the rest.
"These eggs… are queen eggs," she says, as Oculus analyses them. "Along with a couple of normal eggs, this is all we need."
"Pack them up then," Auren says. "Commander, I want everything else torched to the ground."
"Understood," Kieran replies.
Under Auren's and Kieran's supervision, the soldiers burn the nest to the ground, creating a fire so tall that it engulfs a large part of the nearby forest in a huge inferno.
Meanwhile, the soldiers stand a little away, where no trees are growing.
"Was it smart to create such an inferno, Auren?" Eren asks him.
"Yes," Auren says. "We can't risk letting parts of the fungus escape, and we can't risk these crazed spiders getting away."
"The Vice-Leader is right. This is the correct decision... we can take care of the fallout later," Kieran replies. "Not that it matters. We have enough forest and trees closeby. We just have to wait until the fire stops so we can leave. It may take a while."
"I'm taking care of it right now," Auren says, raising his hands towards the sky.
Heavy Rain!
His Aura spikes, gathering around him, and then his hands before it shoots into the sky, quickly disappearing from view.
Just seconds later, a large unnatural cloud forms directly above the nest and the inferno, immediately causing a heavy rainfall to pour down onto the burning forest.
"That is so cool," Vanessa says, staring towards the cloud.
"This is impressive," Kieran says. "At this rate, the fire won't be a problem."
The flames, slowly but surely, grow weaker and weaker until they die down within minutes.
"Let's pack up and leave," Auren says, walking away from the barely smoldering forest and the completely burned-down nest. "We have lost enough men, and I want to make sure the injured are fine."
After a debrief in Outpost 7 after taking care of the injured, the group splits back up. The majority of the soldiers drive back towards Landing Point A, while a smaller part drives towards the other outposts closeby.
A large escort, now under the command of Leira, is tasked with guaranteeing the safety of the eggs and not taking any risks.
Auren, Neffi, Vanessa, and Eren return to the landing point in their car.
As they drive towards the container city near the harbor, the Elders are already waiting for him.
"Vice-Leader, a word!" one of the male Elders yells, clearly looking stressed.
"Sure... but I thought Kieran already briefed you remotely?" Auren asks, slightly confused.
"Yes, a truly fantastic job, we are immensely grateful," the other Elder says. "But this is not what we wanted to talk to you about. We have a code red... the unexpected and worst-case scenario has happened!"
"Auren... we have found a boat nearby... quite close to Landing Point B," Elder Kirda says in a low voice. "It was empty."
"So?" Auren says. "It's not like that's anything special, right? We have so many boats used for fishing and even transport. Is someone missing? An Accident?"
"The boat... It's not one of ours... and it was empty. We have a spy in our midst... a spy from the outside!" Kirda yells.
"How...?!" Auren wonders, now quite worried as well.
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