I walked with Ronan and Elena, whose hand I held. The corridor was long and widened as we advanced.
Branches began to appear, but I decided we should move forward if we wanted to reach our destination.
After an hour of walking, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel.
"Let's hurry, but be careful," I said, releasing Elena's hand and heading toward the light.
As soon as we arrived, a scene unfolded before us that left us stunned.
Crystals covered the walls, ceiling, and even the ground, reflecting light across the cave and making it shine with beautiful illumination.
A crystal pillar extended to the ceiling, which had an opening through which the sky could be seen—it was the way out.
But what prevented the three of us from leaving immediately was the massive creature standing before the pillar.
"Queen Ant," I murmured, watching the black, hard-bodied ant. It was enormous, larger than anything else. Its huge abdomen, occupying half its body, ended in a spear-like stinger—I had a feeling it was poisonous.
Its long, sweeping antennae detected even the slightest movement. Its eyes could see in every direction. Its scissor-like mandibles could cut steel like paper. Its huge mouth could swallow us whole in one bite. Its long tongue could strike at any moment. Its long, serrated legs could slice us in a single strike.
And, of course, white flowers covered its entire body.
"Damn," I muttered in disbelief, sweat covering my body from the beastly aura the queen had released.
"Nox, please tell me you have a plan," Elena said nervously, fearing the queen could attack at any moment.
"Of course. My plan is simple: try not to die," I said with a tense smile as I looked at them.
They swallowed hard at my words, realizing there was no escaping this ant.
As soon as we finished speaking, the queen moved.
She leaned forward, pressing her six legs to the ground, then charged directly at me.
'Damn, why me?' I cursed in my head, blocking the ant's threatening mandibles with my sword. The force was immense, like being hit by a train, but I held on using the chains of darkness I wrapped around me and anchored to the ground.
I pulled ten chains from the ground, immobilizing the ant and pressing it down.
Before the ant could break the chains, Elena had already moved.
She leapt onto the ant, aiming for its slender waist, hoping to split it in half. Her sword glowed with radiant light as she struck with all her might.
Clang!
The sword hit the waist, which blocked the blow as if it were nothing, leaving barely a small burn mark.
Ronan, attacking from the side, summoned a ball of air and threw it under the queen. It exploded, sending the queen crashing toward the ceiling before she fell, shattering crystals everywhere.
The attack didn't hurt her much, but it annoyed her slightly.
The queen turned her eyes toward Elena, whom she had burned, and her bristly tongue shot out at incredible speed.
"!!!"
Elena dodged to the side, but the tongue pierced her shoulder and came out the other side.
"Elena!" I shouted, watching her dragged helplessly by the tongue before being thrown against the wall with force.
"Ughhh!"
Elena screamed in pain as she fell face-first.
"You bitch," I cursed, focusing all my energy, and charged toward the ant.
I attacked from the side, targeting her front left leg.
Clang!
The Crimson Scythe struck her leg, sending a strong tremor through our bodies.
"Seems tough. How about this?"
Darkness enveloped my sword, taking on a saw-like shape that sliced through her leg.
"I did it!" I said with joy, but my actions seemed to anger the queen, who attacked me with her hind leg, aiming to decapitate me.
I bent just in time and rolled under her.
I raised my sword and stabbed her chest, my darkness moving like a saw.
The queen leapt upward to evade my strike, but I managed to leave a wound on her chest.
She tried to crush me beneath her, but Ronan intervened, pushing me out with his wind.
Elena had already recovered, having seen the poison in the queen's tongue.
"Sorry for my previous injury. Now I'm serious," she said, her expression deadly as she looked at the queen with intent to kill.
But the queen began to tremble alarmingly.
"Damn, don't tell me—"
Before I could finish, the worst happened: vines erupted, covering the queen's body, reconnecting her severed leg.
The aura became violently intense, shaking even our bones. Without my sword's power, I would have lost my composure. I looked at Elena, who endured it, and Ronan, who unexpectedly remained standing.
'I thought he would fall,' I thought.
I didn't dwell on it; after all, he must have strengthened his will during our journey.
The ant moved, running toward us with incredible speed.
The three of us split—Ronan and I attacked from the sides, while Elena took the front.
Elena collided with the queen like a meteor, stopping her with all her strength. Blood poured from her mouth as she resisted with everything she had.
I summoned spears beneath the queen while Ronan created a ball of air above her, forcing her to bend and lose balance.
The spears pierced the queen slightly, but it wasn't enough to stop her. Her tongue shot toward Elena's head, but this time Elena was ready.
Hands of light emerged from her shoulders, grabbing the tongue and encasing it in light until it burned.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the tongue turned black and fell lifeless to the ground.
The light arms then struck the queen's face with rapid successive punches.
During Elena's fierce attack, I enveloped my sword in darkness, striking at the queen's legs, trying to knock her down. Ronan did the same.
After dozens of rapid attacks, all her limbs were severed, and her face was shattered.
The queen screamed in rage, releasing a destructive force that threw all of us backward.
Vines erupted from her body, connecting to the ceiling and lifting the queen upward.
She now resembled a spider more than an ant, aiming her abdomen at us and firing her stinger like a projectile toward Elena.
'You can't dodge this,' I thought in panic.
Elena raised her sword and reinforced her body with all her strength, and the collision happened.
Explosion!
The stinger pushed Elena backward, piercing the wall and digging through the crystal to form a long tunnel.
"Elena!" I shouted, rushing into the tunnel to save her.
"I'm fine," Elena said, emerging with her hands horrifically damaged, blood streaming from her hands, eyes, and mouth.
"Your body!!" I said, rushing to catch her before she fell.
"Don't worry. I'll heal," she said, enveloping her body in light. Her body began to recover quickly.
"Finally," I sighed in relief, embracing her fragile body.
"What about the queen?"
As soon as she asked, we heard an explosion behind us. Moments later, Ronan appeared.
"I killed the queen. She had turned into nothing but a powerless shell," he said with a weary smile, though a strange feeling lingered in my mind.
"Good. Nox, how about we rest a little?" Elena suggested, pain etched across her face.
"Of course. Ronan and I will prepare food. You rest, please," I said, placing her gently against the wall, making sure she was comfortable.
I looked toward Ronan and signaled him to follow me.
.....