Alice: What!?
While Alice was shocked, Marco knew what she was talking about, Promestein wanted to create her own version of the Six Ancestors Seal, so she could seal the Monster Lord and start Illias' plan to become the ultimate being.
Magic Engineer: N-Now… Can you free me?
Marco: I give you 5 seconds to get out from this room. 5…
She immediately ran away, and when Marco reached 2, she was out from the room, climbing the stairs as fast as she could. Meanwhile Marco put back the gun on his pocket and a strange pressure filled the surrounding air.
It was the Queen Ant, and Marco was ready to fight against her.
Marco: Alright, she is here…
Alice: Then… You'll need to excuse me, I'll let you deal with this location, there is something I need to do.
Alice left to do her things, and Marco was looking towards a corner of the room, where the Queen Ant came out, she had a black exoskeleton, while the soft parts of her body was brown, like every monster girl she had boobs moving in the air, and she had 2 pair of arms.
She had white short air and amber eyes, and on the top of her head there was a crown.
Queen Ant: I am the Queen of the limitless ant army… Human, or whatever you are, who are you to stand in my path?
Marco: 'Queen of the Ants… Huh, I wonder how Gabriel felt when he found himself in the body of Meruem…'
Marco: Whatever, I am here to bring you down.
Queen Ant: Oh? You think you can beat me?
Marco kicked the ground, and thanks to the wind, he was able to reach the Queen Ant in an instant, surprising her.
Marco: I KNOW I can beat you.
Then he twisted his body and threw a kick downwards while using the power of earth, the Queen Ant used all 4 of her arms to block the kick, but…
*Crack*
All 4 of the arms broke, and the weakened kick hit her face, bending her body forward, but she didn't fell in the ground and just backed away with a broken nose and gritted teeth from anger.
Queen Ant: How can you be so strong!?
Marco: This is how I am, now I will give you a last chance, surrender, and you and your children will be unharmed, otherwise you will force my hand against you. You already saw how easily I am able to beat you.
Queen Ant: ...I don't intend to beg for my life, nor do I intend to stop my revenge. I will not stop until I rule over this town and enslave all the humans.
Marco extended an hand, and wind came around creating a blade made of wind which was rotating around Marco's arm, this is one of the tricks he was able to use, combined with the possibility to make shield from wind, he is able to use Sylph's powers to a level never seen before.
Same thing with Gnome, he could create walls of earth with a swing of his hands, and if he wishes so, he could create mud dolls like Gnome.
Marco reared back the wind blade, ready to behead the Queen Ant, when Alice jumped into the room while using her original form, carrying the Grangold King by his neck, and yelled.
Alice: Wait!
Queen Ant: ...Who are you? What business does a powerful monster like you have here?
She studied Alice for a moment before her eyes widened in surprise.
Queen Ant: It can't be… Are you…!?
Alice: It's just as you think. However right now, my identity does not matter.
She talked while dropping the king onto the floor.
Alice: This man wants to say something. You should listen too, Queen Ant.
Queen Ant: Very well… Since it's an order from you.
The Queen Ant nodded respectfully at Alice, then turns in anger towards the Grangold King.
Queen Ant: ...What do you want to say!? What does the one who was in charge of oppressing me and my children wish to say!?
Grangold King: ...That's right, I was the one in charge. I'll become your slave.
The Grangold King timidly raised to his feet as he talked to the Queen Ant. But his answer just enraged the Queen Ant.
Queen Ant: ...Is this a jest? You are a leader like me, are you not!? Do you have no pride at all!?
Grangold King: I'm not making a joke, I mean it. In trade… Will you please forgive the rest of the citizens?
Queen Ant: ...I see, so you are trying to bargain. Did you think I would simply nod my head and agree? Do you understand how much suffering you humans caused my children and I!?
Grangold King: I know… I know now, but I didn't before… To ask forgiveness now is selfish, I know…
Queen Ant: Then why!?
Grangold King ...We didn't notice. We thought your Ant Girls were like unfeeling machines… We never considered them actual beings… Just dolls with hands and feet to work. As for the Queen… We thought you were an evil existence outside human understanding.
Marco: 'Who the hell are you talking about? Aizen?'
Queen Ant: No! We're…
Grangold King: ...That's what we all thought until this happened. You have feelings just like us… The days they went through until now were full of pain and suffering. And for you to be kept imprisoned and sealed as your children suffered…
We… We didn't realize that monsters had the exact same thoughts and feelings as us humans…
The king spoke as he sadly looked at the ground. While he stopped speaking, Alice started talking.
Alice: Queen Ant, don't you think the same way? These tiny, weak humans are undeserving of any notice, are they not? Their lives are meaningless when compared to your powerful existence, right?
Marco frowned, offended from her words, he himself was able to beat a Heavenly Knight if he fights at his 100% and uses all 4 the spirits when he gets Salamander.
Alice: But the feelings these humans hold are the same as us monsters. They feel sadness, pain, and happiness just as we do. Just because they are weaker than you does not mean that they cannot feel the same things you do.
Queen Ant: …
Alice: ...If you do the same thing as the humans did, then this entire situation will repeat. Only this time you will be the one treating the enslaved humans as unfeeling dolls. You will be the same as the oppressor you feel so much hate towards right now.
These words were familiar with Marco, since he told them at her before jumping at the castle, even if he talked more about the subject. Then Alice's gaze turned towards Marco, he frowned and had a face that said "What the hell you want me to do?", and she closed her eyes.
Alice: ...Now then, I'm tired. You take over talking, Marco. This is where your little dream world building comes into play, right?
Alice's expression was the one of an amused person while Marco's eye twitched.
Marco: 'That little…' *Sigh*
Marco closed his eyes before he took out a cigarette and smoked, to relax his mind.
Marco: Alright… Queen Ant, what do you want to do?
Queen Ant: I want to enslave the entire Grangold.
Marco: And what would happen when you succeed?
Queen Ant: Obviously the males and females will be used from my children, and the high quality ones will be used from me.
Marco: Let me rephrase the question, what would the other kingdoms think about when they heard about your success?
Queen Ant: ...The-
Marco: ...They would be alarmed and think that an army of monsters would attack them too, forcing them to either being more cautious with the population or attack you, no matter how many of you and your children there are, you can't beat more than a million of people and heroes.
The Queen Ant stood silent, she didn't have a comeback for that, she didn't understand anything about the technology here, but other people could have something to use against them, bombs, catapults, etc…
Marco: And for this, if you and the Grangold King here would try to be peaceful with each other, shit like this would not happen, I will not be forced to do useless work for the coexistence between humans and monsters, and everyone will live happily.
… Now I'm going to take a piss.
Marco left from the room and entered the nearest bathroom, while Alice turned towards the Queen Ant.
Alice: Well, like Marco said, you should think about every option before choosing. This retaliation won't solve anything…. Won't you stop this now? For your own sake, this should end now.
Queen Ant: If it's an order from you, I have no choice but to reconcile with them…
Alice: I'm not giving you any stupid orders like that. If you can't bring yourself to reconcile with them, then this evil will continue. And knowing Marco, I doubt he will really care about your decision…
After falling silent for a while, the Queen Ant slowly turned towards the Grangold King.
Queen Ant: ...Do you regret from the bottom of your heart the labor forced on my children?
Grangold King: ...Yes, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. If you desire, I shall have all of the citizens apologize too. Surely they all realize the grievous error we have made until now.
Queen Ant: From here on and forever after, do you vow never to do anything similar?
Grangold King: ...Of course. We now know that you have the same heart as us humans. It wouldn't be possible to force labor on anyone like that.
Queen Ant: Very well… Then let's assume it has ended. Perhaps our rebellion has crossed a line, too. I shall release all of the captured humans. King, I believe in your words… I would shake hands with you, but…
She tried to move her broken arms, and the King nodded with a smile. Marco turned back and asked.
Marco: Alright, how did it go?
Alice nodded with a smile, meaning that everything ended well, Marco deactivated the Chakra Gate and threw away his cigarette before stepping on it.
*Ding*
*Special Quest[Successful]: Fix the things at Grangold.*
[SPECIAL QUESTS]
1st. Kick Gabriel's ass
2nd. Achieve coexistence between Monsters and Humans
3rd. Kill Illias
4th. Return to Lucifina's grave
5th. Visit every places in Illias Continent, Sentora and Hellgondo
6th. Turn back to Sabasa Kingdom