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The cavern shook as if something beneath the earth itself was clawing to get out. The walls quivered, stones rained down, and the swarm corpses scattered about twitched like puppets pulled by invisible strings.
And in that chaos, Arthur sat. Legs crossed on the cold stone floor like a monk, hands resting calmly on his knees, Kamish's twinblade lying across his lap. His eyes were closed, his breathing calm as ever, unbothered by the tremors that made the cave seem ready to collapse on him.
The sound came first a grinding crackle of chitin scraping against rock. The ground split, and from the abyss crawled a being that filled the cavern's vast expanse.
The Ant King emerged.
He was monstrous, a behemoth wrapped in black armor-like chitin, spiked ridges jutted from his back jagged shoulders, and his claws, long, serrated looked as if they could tear through steel or cleave mountains without effort. Each step thundered, the ground groaning beneath his massive oppressive aura.
His head rose, mandibles twitching, and then two glowing red eyes pierced the darkness, burning like twin furnaces of hatred. His presence alone was suffocating, oppressive, as if the whole cave bowed beneath the weight of his existence.
Arthur didn't move. He sat there, calm, casual, like a man who had been waiting on a late guest. Slowly, his eyes opened violet light flaring faintly.
"Oh, there you are," Arthur said, his voice smooth, almost bored. He brushed some dust off his shoulder as if to punctuate the point. "For someone who's supposed to be fast, you sure took your time."
The Ant King froze mid-step, towering above him, its claws poised to strike. Its mandibles clicked together with a metallic screech before a guttural voice, rough and alien.
"Arrogant… human."
Arthur's lips curved into a grin. With measured calm, he rose to his feet, twinblade in hand, his violet gaze locked on those burning red eyes without any sort of hesitation.
"Did I offend you somehow, bug?"
The Ant King was silent. He lunged.
The air cracked from the force of his movement an enormous clawed fist crashing down with the weight of a mountain.
Arthur's fist met it head-on.
The collision was catastrophic shockwaves burst outward in every direction, sending dead swarm bodies flying like leaves in air. The cavern itself trembled, the echo of impact rolling like thunder through its depths.
The Ant King didn't slow. His second claw slashed in from the side, the serrated edges shrieking through the air, fast enough to split stone.
Arthur vanished, Speed Step carrying him clear just as the claw carved through solid rock, leaving a canyon-like gash in the cavern wall. He reappeared several paces away, sliding lazily to a halt, spinning his blade once in his hand like a man warming up rather than one fighting for his life.
"Woah," Arthur said with a laugh, tapping the flat of the twinblade against his shoulder. "No restraint whatsoever. Both of your attacks were meant to kill.."
The Ant King screeched a sound that would make normal men give up, the echo grinding against Arthur's ears like blades.
He sighed, rolling his shoulders. "I shouldn't expect grace or noble traits from you like Igris anyway. After all…" His glowing eyes narrowed, his smile sharpening. "…you're just a bug, Beru."
The moment the name left his lips, the Ant King lunged again, faster, more savage, red eyes blazing with fury.
Arthur's grin widened. "That's it. Show me what you've got."
Beru blurred into motion, his towering frame moving with a speed unnatural for his monstrous size. The black chitin shimmered under the dim light as claws like scythes tore through the air, each swing fast enough to slice stone as if it were paper. The oppressive aura rolling off him was suffocating, predatory.
Arthur met him head-on.
Kamish's twinblade flashed a streak of crimson steel weaving in impossible arcs as it clashed against Beru's claws in a storm of sparks. Each impact echoed like thunder, shockwaves shattering the cavern floor, scattering debris everywhere.
Steel and claws shrieked against each other in a relentless rhythm. Strike, parry, counter. Beru's claws blurred into a whirlwind, each slash fueled by savage intent, while Arthur's blade flowed with precise elegance.
He fought with unnatural calm, his breath measured, movements smooth. Where Beru was all rage and monstrous violence, Arthur was calm, precise in his attacks, his violet eyes sharp and unblinking even as claws passed inches from his throat.
Beru attacked with a double strike, claws crossing like guillotines meant to bisect him. Arthur ducked low, sliding beneath, twinblade carving upward in a flash that grazed across Beru's armored chest. Sparks flew, the sound a shriek of metal on stone, but the exoskeleton held.
Beru snarled, mandibles clicking furiously, red eyes blazing like twin furnaces. He spun, his leg a massive pillar of black armored chitin whipped around with terrifying speed.
Arthur brought up his blade to block, but the force was overwhelming.
The kick slammed into him like a battering ram.
The cavern wall cracked and cratered as Arthur's body smashed into it, rubble collapsing around him in a storm of dust and stone. The ground trembled beneath the impact, and for a moment, silence fell.
Beru straightened, towering in the haze of smoke. His claws flexed, dripping dust and sparks from the clash. His voice rumbled low.
"Is that… all, human? You're.."
He stopped.
From within the smoke, a faint violet glow flickered. Not fading. Growing.
Then the world blurred.
Arthur erupted from the haze at superhuman speed, the twinblade glowing with lethal shadow energy. In the space between one moment and the next, he was upon Beru.
A single stroke. Clean. Ruthless.
The cavern echoed with a wet, sickening crack as one of Beru's massive arms was severed at the joint, green acid spraying across the ground. The limb fell with a thud.
Arthur stood there, blade extended, his violet eyes burning. He smiled not wide, but sharp, predatory.
"Don't let your guard down," he said, his voice calm, steady as if lecturing a student. "you see… I need strong, aware soldiers after all."
Beru staggered, red eyes blazing hotter, his body trembling between fury and pain. His mandibles snapped, and a screech tore out of his throat, shaking the cavern like the roar of some eldritch god.
Arthur only rolled his shoulders, lowering the twinblade slightly, violet light still glowing from his gaze. Calm. Relaxed. Almost amused.
"Good," he murmured, as Beru's murderous aura surged. "You're finally starting to take me seriously."
The cavern quaked as Beru's screech built into something deeper, darker an ear-deafening roar that reverberated through every stone and vein of earth. The swarm in the distance that didn't want to involve themselves here answered in kind, their cries echoing like a chorus of doom, but even they fell silent when their king began to change.
Arthur tilted his head, twinblade balanced loosely in his hand. His violet eyes narrowing.
Beru's massive frame trembled, his black chitin cracked,not breaking, but reshaping each fissure glowing faintly. Plates shifted and layered, growing heavier, sharper, until his body resembled armor forged from the abyss itself. His exoskeleton became even tougher, but each line pulsed with faint crimson veins, a living armorplate that looked both indestructible and alive.
His claws elongated, both monstrous and elegant, their edges glowing faintly red as though they were heated to a killing point. They dragged against the stone as he lifted them, carving grooves.
Then his wings spread.
Now expanded into monstrous, armored spans four wings stretched long, their edges razor-thin, shimmering with an oily, dark iridescence. They beat once, and the gust hurled dust and rock across the cavern like a storm, the wind laced with a suffocating killing intent. With another beat, Beru lifted from the ground, hovering, the air screaming under the power of those wings.
The glow in his red eyes intensified, burning with intelligence now, not just instinct. He was no longer merely a beast, he was an apex predator ascending into something more, something closer to nightmare incarnate.
Arthur, still standing calmly amidst the chaos, gave a small, crooked smile. He twirled the twinblade lazily in his hand before resting it back against his shoulder.
"Ah," he said dryly, voice cutting through the oppressive aura. "The classic second phase."
Beru's wings thundered again, shaking the cavern as if the earth itself feared him.
Arthur raised a hand in mock patience, his eyes half-lidded, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Don't worry, I'll wait. Wouldn't want to interrupt your big dramatic transformation." His tone was perfectly even, mocking yet calm, as if they were two actors rehearsing rather than locked in a battle to the death. "After all…" He gestured faintly with the blade, his amusement showing in the faintest lift of his brow. "It's a rule that shouldn't be broken."
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want