The lair was a writhing mass of buzzing wings and scuttling legs - a sea of endless bug soldiers closing in on Glacius and Peggy.
Glacius, his jaw tight and his usual calm slipping, was impaling wave after wave of the creatures with his ice spears - sharp shards of frozen death piercing through exoskeletons with cold precision. But the more he struck down, the more seemed to crawl out from the shadows.
"Tch. Endless pests..." he muttered, his breath visible in the frigid air.
Peggy was still bound by the thick, sticky silk - coated in filth and bug residue. Her once-radiant golden armor was stained with grime, her wings flickering faintly beneath the gunk.
"Ugh! This is disgusting!" she groaned, twisting in the webbing.
Glacius didn't even spare her a glance as he launched another ice spear - this time aimed at the silk itself. The freezing shard tore through the threads with surgical precision, causing Peggy to drop to the ground in a heap.
"Finally." Peggy shivered, wiping the goo off her armor with a look of pure revulsion. "I feel like I'm gonna throw up..."
Glacius coolly stepped back from a wave of bugs, forming an ice wall to buy a few seconds of space. "You're welcome, by the way."
"For what? Letting me sit in that for so long?"
"I didn't have to free you, fairy. I could've just left you there to decorate their nest. You were blending in quite well."
Peggy shot him a glare. "Charming."
But there was no time to bicker further - the ice wall was already cracking under the relentless onslaught of bug soldiers.
Glacius kept striking - ice spears, frost blasts, freezing winds - yet it wasn't enough. The bugs weren't slowing down.
And worse - he couldn't think.
There was no time to strategize. The constant movement, the relentless swarming - it clouded his usual calm, analytical mind.
"This isn't working," Glacius muttered, feeling a rare pang of frustration.
The bugs were like a hive - not just mindless creatures, but following commands, attacking in organized surges. He knew there had to be a weak point - something holding their structure together - but his thoughts were drowned out by the constant battle.
Peggy noticed the slight crease in his otherwise impassive face.
He was trying to think.
But he couldn't.
And that meant they were in trouble.
Biting her lip, Peggy glanced at the overwhelming swarm. There was no plan - no clever tactic. Just pure chaos.
So she did the only thing that came to mind.
"Hey, ugly bugs!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing through the lair.
Glacius blinked. "What are you doing?"
Peggy, her wings flaring with a faint golden glow despite the filth still clinging to them, began darting through the swarm - not fighting, but drawing their attention.
"Come and get me! I'm sure I taste better than ice!" she taunted, weaving in and out of the bugs' reach, using her speed and light magic to flash bright bursts and disorient them.
The bug soldiers hissed, wings buzzing louder as many peeled away from Glacius - chasing after the glowing target.
Glacius' eyes narrowed.
"She's an idiot," he muttered.
But the noise faded - the relentless attacks on him slowed.
And with that brief moment of quiet...
His mind finally cleared.
Observing their patterns, Glacius noticed something.
The bugs weren't attacking randomly - their movements were coordinated.
Every wave seemed to ripple outward, responding not to instinct, but to orders.
And the source of those orders...
His gaze flickered to Venox - the Bug Tribe general, perched smugly on his throne.
The bugs didn't just follow instinct. They followed their leader.
If Venox was the one controlling their movements - like a queen in a hive - then cutting off the head could finally break their unrelenting numbers.
A slow, cold smirk spread across Glacius' face.
He finally found their weakness.
"Venox..." he muttered. "Your soldiers are nothing without you."
Now, all he had to do...
Was kill the general.
Peggy, still dodging the enraged bugs, caught sight of Glacius' shifting expression.
"You figured it out, didn't you?" she called, breathless but grinning.
Glacius' cold gaze met hers for a moment.
"You're a reckless fool," he replied flatly. "But... yes. I did."
The lair's air grew heavier, a sharp chill spreading from Glacius as he locked eyes with Venox. The bug general's wings flickered, his sharp mandibles clicking with anticipation.
Peggy, still dodging the stray bug soldiers, noticed the shift in Glacius' stance - colder, more focused. She muttered, "Here we go..."
With the bugs still swarming after Peggy, Glacius took his chance.
He charged.
In an instant, ice spread beneath his feet, forming a frozen path that let him slide forward with breakneck speed. His hand ignited with a brutal shard of jagged ice, and he thrust it straight toward Venox's chest.
But the general was quick.
Venox darted to the side, his wings giving him an unnatural speed. He retaliated by firing a stream of sticky, venom-laced silk from his clawed hands - an attack that Glacius narrowly avoided with a backward slide.
Their battle ignited.
Ice spears versus bug silk. Frozen gusts against winged strikes.
It was an even match.
The clash of elements was a storm of cold and poison - frost meeting toxin, ice shattering against organic filth.
Venox clicked his mandibles in a sinister grin. "Your tricks won't work on me, ice-demon. The Bug Tribe doesn't fear the cold - we thrive in the dark."
Glacius didn't respond - his silence was louder than any retort.
The battle raged on, Venox zipping through the air and striking with swift, precise attacks, while Glacius stayed grounded, his ice forming an expanding frozen field that slowed Venox's movements bit by bit.
It wasn't long before the tide began to turn.
Glacius was adapting.
He wasn't just attacking blindly - he was studying. Watching every twitch of Venox's wings, every flick of his claws. Calculating his speed, his angles, his habits.
Then, after a sharp clash of ice and silk, Glacius stepped back and smirked coldly.
"I know your every move now."
Venox's grin faltered. "What?"