### Location: Eugene's Underground Laboratory, Yerevan, Armenia
### Time: 2 Days After the Shadow Theft
The notification windows flickered before Eugene's vision as he observed the contained shadow ant specimen.
**[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]**
**[SUBJECT: SHADOW ANT SOLDIER #347]**
**[ORIGINAL IDENTITY: CONFIRMED]**
**[SPECIES: MAGIC ANT - JEJU ISLAND]**
**[PREVIOUS MASTER: ANT QUEEN]**
**[CURRENT BINDING: SUNG JIN-WOO]**
Eugene's lips curved into a calculating smile. "Interesting. You weren't always Jin-Woo's creature, were you?"
The shadow ant writhed within its dimensional prison, its movements becoming more agitated as if responding to some buried memory. Eugene's enhanced perception caught the subtle shift in the creature's behavioral patterns.
Suddenly, Shado's strength left the ant.
**[SKILL: DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS ACTIVATED]**
**[DETECTING RESIDUAL MAGICAL SIGNATURES...]**
**[FOUND: ORIGINAL BONDING PATTERN]**
**[ORIGIN: JEJU ISLAND ANT QUEEN - QUEREHSHA]**
"Yulshiya," Eugene called without turning around.
She materialized beside him instantly, her pink and purple hair shimmering in the laboratory's ethereal light. When she looked at him, her expression radiated pure devotion.
"Yes, my beloved Eugene?"
"I need you to help me contact someone. Someone who should be very interested in what we've discovered."
---
### Location: Dimensional Void Between Worlds
### Time: 1 Hour Later
The summoning circle Eugene had constructed defied conventional magic theory. Using mathematical principles that bent reality itself, he reached across dimensional barriers to touch a realm where the most powerful monsters from Jeju Island's dungeon break had found sanctuary after death.
**[SKILL ACTIVATED: DIMENSIONAL SUMMONING]**
**[TARGET: QUEREHSHA - ANT QUEEN]**
**[STATUS: ATTEMPTING CONNECTION...]**
The air began to vibrate with an otherworldly presence. Shadows deeper than Jin-Woo's magic began to coalesce, forming into something that radiated both maternal warmth and predatory hunger.
She emerged slowly—Querehsha, the Ant Queen who had once terrorized South Korea. Her massive form was both beautiful and terrifying, embodying the perfect balance between a nurturing mother and an apex predator.
Her compound eyes, each one the size of a human torso, focused on Eugene with laser precision. When she spoke, her voice carried the authority of absolute monarchy and the tenderness of motherhood.
**"Who dares summon the Queen of All Ants to this realm?"**
Eugene stepped forward, showing no fear despite the overwhelming presence before him. "I am Eugene Sushiyanse. And I have something that belongs to you, Your Majesty."
**[SKILL: INTIMIDATION RESISTANCE - PASSIVE]**
**[EFFECT: IMMUNITY TO FEAR-BASED ATTACKS]**
Querehsha's massive head tilted, studying Eugene with the intensity of a mother examining a potential threat to her offspring. **"You carry the scent of my children, little human. But you also reek of mathematics and impossibility. Explain yourself."**
Eugene gestured, and the contained shadow ant became visible within its dimensional prison. The moment Querehsha's compound eyes fell upon it, her entire demeanor shifted dramatically.
**"MY CHILD!"**
The Queen's voice shook the dimensional foundations around them. The shadow ant began moving frantically, responding to its original mother's presence with obvious recognition and distress.
**[NOTIFICATION]**
**[QUEREHSHA'S MATERNAL INSTINCTS ACTIVATED]**
**[THREAT LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC]**
**[RECOMMENDATION: PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION]**
Eugene remained calm despite the overwhelming surge of maternal rage directed at him. "I didn't harm your child, Your Majesty. Another did—someone who stole your offspring and bound them to his will."
Querehsha's compound eyes blazed with protective fury. **"Sung Jin-Woo. The Shadow Monarch who enslaved my children after their deaths."**
"Precisely," Eugene replied. "And I believe we have mutual interests regarding this... situation."
---
### The Negotiation
The Ant Queen's massive form settled into a deceptively relaxed posture, though Eugene's enhanced perception could detect the coiled violence ready to spring at any moment.
**"Speak quickly, mathematician. What do you propose?"**
**[SKILL ACTIVATED: STRATEGIC NEGOTIATION]**
**[ANALYZING QUEREHSHA'S PSYCHOLOGY...]**
**[WEAKNESS IDENTIFIED: MATERNAL OBSESSION]**
**[STRENGTH IDENTIFIED: ABSOLUTE LOYALTY TO FAMILY]**
Eugene activated a holographic display showing his analysis of the shadow ant's dual programming. "Your child retains memories of you, buried beneath Jin-Woo's shadow magic. The original bond was suppressed, not severed."
Querehsha leaned forward, her massive presence focusing entirely on Eugene's words. **"Continue."**
"I can restore your child's original memories and break Jin-Woo's control. But I need something in return."
The Queen's eyes narrowed to pinpoints of predatory calculation. **"Name your price, little human."**
Eugene's expression became deadly serious. "Information. Jin-Woo commands an army of creatures that were once your children. I need to know their original capabilities, their true natures, and most importantly—how to permanently sever his control over them."
**[NEGOTIATION SKILL CHECK]**
**[SUCCESS PROBABILITY: 73%]**
**[QUEREHSHA'S MATERNAL INSTINCTS: OVERRIDING CAUTION]**
The Queen was silent for a long moment, her massive form trembling with barely contained emotion. Finally, she spoke with the finality of absolute decision.
**"You would free ALL my children from the Shadow Monarch's enslavement?"**
"I would give you the mathematical framework to reclaim your entire family," Eugene replied. "Starting with this one as proof of concept."
Querehsha's compound eyes gleamed with something that combined maternal love with bloodthirsty anticipation. **"The Shadow Monarch made my children forget their true mother. For this transgression, he deserves to suffer—but first, he must watch his stolen army remember who they truly belong to."**
**[ALLIANCE OPPORTUNITY DETECTED]**
**[QUEREHSHA - ANT QUEEN]**
**[COMPATIBILITY: EXTREMELY HIGH]**
**[MUTUAL BENEFIT COEFFICIENT: 97%]**
Eugene smiled, recognizing the perfect fusion of emotional motivation and strategic thinking. "Then we have an agreement?"
**"We have more than an agreement, little mathematician,"** Querehsha declared, her voice carrying both maternal warmth and predatory menace. **"We have a sacred bond. You return my children to me, and I provide you with the biological secrets to make them stronger than Jin-Woo ever imagined."**
---
### The Exchange
What followed was an unprecedented transfer of knowledge between two beings who operated on completely different principles but shared a common enemy.
**[SKILL EXCHANGE INITIATED]**
**[QUEREHSHA SHARING: BIOLOGICAL MASTERY]**
**[EUGENE SHARING: DIMENSIONAL MATHEMATICS]**
**[SYNTHESIS RATE: 89% AND CLIMBING]**
Querehsha revealed the true nature of her children—creatures designed for perfect loyalty, absolute efficiency, and familial bonds that transcended death itself.
**"My children were created to be the ultimate soldiers,"** she explained, her massive form radiating maternal pride. **"But more than that, they were created to love their family with devotion that surpasses any magical compulsion. Jin-Woo's shadow magic suppresses this love, replacing it with cold obedience."**
Eugene nodded, beginning the delicate process of mathematical deconstruction. "Then we'll restore that love. And once your children remember their true family..."
**"They will abandon the pretender and return to their mother,"** Querehsha finished, her voice carrying terrible promise. **"And Sung Jin-Woo will learn what it means to steal from the Queen of All Ants."**
**[REPROGRAMMING SEQUENCE INITIATED]**
**[TARGET: SHADOW ANT #347]**
**[PROCESS: MEMORY RESTORATION]**
**[SUCCESS RATE: 94%]**
---
### The First Success
The restoration process took three hours of careful work, requiring Eugene to methodically unweave Jin-Woo's shadow bindings while Querehsha provided the original biological templates that predated the creature's enslavement.
**[REPROGRAMMING COMPLETE]**
**[SHADOW BINDING: SEVERED]**
**[ORIGINAL PERSONALITY: RESTORED]**
**[MATERNAL BOND: REESTABLISHED]**
When the process finished, the shadow ant's form stabilized completely. Its movements became natural and purposeful, and most importantly, when it looked at Querehsha, its compound eyes reflected recognition and devotion that no magic could fabricate.
**"Mother,"** the ant soldier whispered, its voice carrying the warmth of a child reunited with its parent. **"I remember. I remember everything—before the darkness, before the binding, before the forgetting. I remember being your child."**
Querehsha's massive form trembled with maternal emotion. **"Yes, my precious one. And now we will help all your siblings remember as well."**
**[ALLIANCE ESTABLISHED]**
**[QUEREHSHA - ANT QUEEN]**
**[RELATIONSHIP STATUS: TRUSTED ALLY]**
**[SPECIAL BONUS: MATERNAL PROTECTION ACTIVATED]**
Eugene observed the reunion with scientific fascination and strategic satisfaction. The emotional bond between Querehsha and her children was demonstrably stronger than Jin-Woo's mathematical control system.
"Your Majesty," Eugene said formally. "I believe this partnership will be mutually beneficial."
Querehsha turned her massive head toward him, and for the first time, her expression held something approaching maternal approval. **"Indeed, little mathematician. You have returned my child and provided the means to reclaim my family. In return, you shall have my protection and assistance in whatever war you wage."**
Eugene bowed respectfully. "Then let us begin planning Sung Jin-Woo's education in the consequences of theft."
**[QUEST UPDATED]**
**[SHADOW ARMY LIBERATION]**
**[OBJECTIVE: RESTORE ALL ANT SOLDIERS TO QUEREHSHA]**
**[REWARD: ENHANCED BIOLOGICAL MASTERY]**
**[PENALTY FOR FAILURE: NONE]**
**[SPECIAL CONDITION: MATERNAL BOND ACTIVATED]**
The alliance was sealed—the calculating genius and the devoted mother, united by their determination to reclaim what had been stolen. Jin-Woo's shadow army was about to discover that some bonds run deeper than magic, and that a mother's love could overcome even the power of death itself.
**[NOTIFICATION]**
**[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: MATERNAL BOND MANIPULATION]**
**[EFFECT: ABILITY TO STRENGTHEN FAMILY CONNECTIONS]**
**[SPECIAL PROPERTY: UNBREAKABLE BY EXTERNAL MAGIC]**
The war for Jin-Woo's shadow army had begun, and it would be fought not just with power and strategy, but with the most formidable force in any mother's arsenal—the unbreakable love between parent and child.
---
### End of Chapter 47
*Next Chapter: "The Shadow Monarch's Dilemma"*