The severed head of the fallen Zombie Ant twitched.
Then it moved.
Tendrils of purple root-like fungus writhed from the neck, dragging the head slowly—steadily—across the ground.
It crawled toward the waiting body, inch by inch, like something death itself hadn't agreed to collect yet.
The unnatural bond between parasite and corpse worked tirelessly, pulling the pieces back together with silent, grotesque precision.
Luis trembled in the grip of the other ant. His face was smeared with dirt, streaked with ash and fear.
His small hands clenched, not in defiance, but in helplessness.
His eyes searched through the smoke and the shadows, and found one of the only people who had spoken to him like a person.
"Big sis… June?"
The words were small. Barely a whisper.
But they reached her like thunder.
June's lips parted. Power still flickered at the edge of her staff, a whisper of flame trembling in its core. But it didn't release. Her eyes locked on Luis, and the wall she wore like armor faltered—just for a moment.
Her hands lowered.
The spell dissolved, vanishing into fading embers.
"I can't… my spell would hit him too. He's right in the blast zone."
Dimitri slowly lowered his shield, the metal still faintly warm from the last impact. His sword dipped beside it, no longer raised but still ready, like a storm held behind calm eyes. He turned slightly, his voice low and steady.
"Noah, my friend, do you have a plan? You always seem to shine in these messes."
Noah didn't answer right away. His eyes flicked between the ants, the hostage, the recovering corpse, the others. His grip on his flintlocks tightened ever so slightly.
"I'm the go-to guy now, huh?"
His voice carried a dry edge, but it cracked faintly at the end.
Then something shifted.
His gaze stilled. His breath hitched.
And his eyes shivered—just for a second—like something behind them had cracked open. Thought moved across his face in waves: calculation, doubt, defiance… and then decision.
"I'm about to do something very, very stupid."
Dimitri grinned, a quiet, knowing curve of the lips as he raised his sword once more.
"That's the Noah I know."
Without a word of warning, Noah moved.
He burst forward like a shadow torn from the earth, his feet slamming against the charred ground as he charged headfirst into the formation of the two Zombie Ants.
His flintlocks blazed to life mid-sprint, unleashing a flurry of Mana Bullets that streaked through the air, each shot aimed to wound, distract, provoke.
Robocrab reacted instantly, its claws adjusting as its glowing red eye locked on target. Laser beams crackled out in rhythmic bursts, carving smoldering lines across the hardened shells of the undead creatures.
The Zombie Ants reeled, screeching at the unexpected assault. Both responded at once—mandibles widening as streams of purple goo spewed forth, sizzling through the air with venomous speed.
Noah dropped low.
He slid beneath the incoming acid, the blast of heat from its passing brushing against his face. The dirt tore beneath him as he slid deeper into the formation—right between them—narrowing the distance where they were strongest.
They responded without hesitation.
Their mandibles snapped down in deadly arcs, massive jaws striking like hammers. Noah twisted, ducked, rolled—dodging one, then another.
But not all.
A sharp strike clipped his side, followed by another that slammed into his shoulder, sending a jolt of pain through his entire frame.
He groaned, the sound low and strained, teeth gritted as he pushed through the impact. Blood welled at the edge of his coat, a dark smear against scorched cloth.
But he didn't stop.
He was in too deep now.
And the plan had already begun.
A soft glow pulsed beneath Noah's feet.
A green magic circle unfurled across the ground, spreading like petals in bloom beneath scorched soil.
The runes shimmered gently, and in an instant, warmth surged through his body—soothing the sharp sting in his side, knitting the pain into something manageable. The gash across his shoulder dulled. His breathing steadied.
Fiona's healing.
Just enough.
Noah didn't slow.
He pressed forward, weaving through snapping mandibles and splashes of purple acid, his flintlocks spitting fire in return.
Each shot was a scream of defiance, clearing his path one blast at a time. Robocrab fired in sync, precision lasers slashing across the ants' legs to break their rhythm.
Step by step, he closed the gap.
Until he reached him.
Luis was still trapped between the two undead giants, barely able to move, his frame shaking with every tremble of the ground.
Noah reached out, grabbed him by the arm—and in that same moment, one of the ants lunged.
Its mandibles snapped shut around the boy, not yet crushing, but holding—threatening.
Noah didn't hesitate.
He leveled his flintlock and fired point-blank. Again. And again. Mana Bullets tore through fungal shell and necrotic muscle, each impact bursting with searing force.
The ant reeled, twitching under the barrage as Robocrab joined in, laser beams carving deep into the joint where mandibles met the skull.
The grip loosened.
And in a final pull, Noah wrenched Luis free.
The boy stumbled into his arms, coughing, terrified—but alive.
The ground shook behind him.
The moment Luis was pulled free, the Zombie Ant responded. No pause. No warning. It lunged with everything it had left—mandibles wide, limbs driving forward in a burst of speed that could tear through bone.
This was its chance.
Noah turned, saw it coming, and smiled through the danger.
"Hey, kid… ever wondered what flying feels like? Rhetorical question, by the way."
Without hesitation, he tossed Luis upward with both arms. The boy let out a startled cry, arms flailing, weight lifted from danger for a single, perfect moment.
From the edge, Fiona launched into motion. She timed it flawlessly, catching Luis mid-air with surprising grace, her arms wrapping around him as they both rolled back to safety.
The ant was already upon him.
Noah twisted low, ducking beneath the sweeping mandibles as they cut through the air where his head had just been. The wind from their force brushed past his cheek.
He rolled to the side, came up in a crouch, flintlocks already raised.
He fired.
The shots hit dead-on—bursting through the creature's face, through its eyes, through its twisted fungal crown. Robocrab fired with him, twin beams searing the air as the head snapped back under the weight of fire and fury.
Noah stood there, breathing heavy, wounded, bruised, and barely holding himself together.
He scoffed.
"Noah, you absolute idiot… risking everything for an NPC? Brilliant move. Truly, top-tier genius right here."
And still, he didn't stop smiling.
One of the remaining Zombie Ants surged forward, fast and low, mandibles wide and gleaming with fungal sheen.
Its aim was true—straight for Noah's throat. The ground trembled beneath its charge, its jagged legs pounding with relentless rhythm.
"Incoming!"
Dimitri's voice cut through the chaos.
And then he was there.
From the side, like a wall crashing into a storm, Dimitri collided with the ant mid-charge.
His shield struck its body with thunderous force, sending it skidding across the battlefield, legs flailing as it slammed into the ground. The impact left deep gouges in the dirt.
June was no longer on his shoulder.
She was already in place.
Feet planted. Staff raised. Eyes cold with focus.
Dimitri didn't look back.
"Now, June!"
June's staff hummed, the air bending around her as heat rippled outward. Mana swirled like a living storm, fire gathering at the tip in wild, untamed colors—red, orange, a pulse of unnatural green.
She spoke, not as a plea, but as a verdict.
"Be reduced to ash and take your filth with you… you miserable crawlers."
The fire answered.
Noah and Dimitri sprinted away from the epicenter, boots slamming against earth as the first wave of chaotic fire burst outward behind them.
Heat surged like a tidal wave, licking at their heels as they dove clear, the roar of the spell swallowing the world in its path.
Behind them, the flames descended.
The decapitated Zombie Ant twitched where it lay—its head half-reattached, tendrils binding it like thread through a rotting wound.
But the fire reached it before the process could complete. Chaos fire engulfed its form, each color burning with its own hunger. Red licked through its limbs, green burrowed into its core, and blue scorched deep through the cracks in its shell.
But it didn't fall.
It writhed.
Its body convulsed in place, limbs scraping at the ground as if trying to claw its way back to the living. The mushroom-ridden flesh sizzled but refused to give in completely. Even decapitated, even burning, it fought to stay whole.
And so June continued.
The fire swirled at the tip of her staff, raging brighter, growing hotter, pulling more magic from deep within her core. She didn't waver. Not even when the ground at her feet trembled violently.
Two more were coming.
The earth split with sharp cracks on either side of her—mandibles erupting upward, each pair tied to a rising head of a Zombie Ant. They came fast, jaws open, one from the left, one from the right. There was no time to dodge. No time to speak.
But June didn't flinch.
She didn't spare them a glance. Didn't move a muscle. Her eyes stayed fixed on her half-burnt target, her hands steady, her voice cold and controlled.
Because she knew.
Her allies were watching.
And they would not let anything reach her.
Dimitri and Noah moved the moment the mandibles broke the surface.
The Zombie Ant to June's left had barely emerged when Dimitri crashed into it like a landslide.
His shield struck its rising body with crushing force, knocking it sideways and forcing it halfway out of its burrow. Soil scattered. The creature shrieked in frustration, legs scrambling for traction.
It didn't get the chance.
Noah was already there.
He fired on instinct—a barrage of Mana Bullets slamming into its limbs and thorax, each shot punctuated by the sharp hiss of Robocrab's lasers.
The ant's body jerked with each impact, stunned and staggered, its attempt to recover crushed beneath their relentless coordination.
The second ant reached higher—mandibles stretched, jaws clicking toward June.
But it didn't close.
Fiona was already in its path.
She didn't hesitate. She jammed her quarterstaff straight between the gnashing jaws, locking them open with sheer force and timing.
The ant thrashed, but the weapon held—braced with both hands, anchored with her full weight. She gritted her stance, feet digging into the ground.
And in that same breath, Aiko arrived.
She was a shadow in motion, quiet and clean. Her katana shimmered as it left the scabbard, guided by a will that didn't doubt. With one fluid arc, she swept past the crippled ant Dimitri and Noah had pinned.
The blade found its mark.
The head separated in a single, elegant motion—no resistance, no pause.
It fell with a heavy thud, twitching once before going still.
The body followed.
"This one's rampagin'!"
Fiona's voice came sharp and breathless as she held firm, her quarterstaff still wedged tightly between the ant's mandibles.
The creature thrashed wildly, slamming its head from side to side. It struck trees with violent force, splintering bark and cracking wood with every movement. Each blow threatened to shatter the staff or rip it free.
Noah's eyes locked onto it—calculating, cold.
"Let's finish this."
He raised his flintlocks without ceremony. The barrels flared with mana as he unleashed a storm of bullets, each shot driving into the ant's carapace with snapping force. Sparks burst from impact points, cracks forming in the fungal plating.
It screeched, enraged.
The Zombie Ant tore away from Fiona, flinging the quarterstaff aside with a violent jerk. Its eyeless face twisted toward Noah, locking onto the one who hurt it most.
It charged.
And fired.
Purple goo shot forth in a stream, sizzling through the air, melting everything it touched. Noah ducked beneath it, rolling low, the ground searing behind him.
But the ant never reached him.
Dimitri was already there.
He stepped into the charge with perfect timing and slammed his shield upward in a powerful arc. The steel met chitin with a thunderous crack, snapping the ant's head backward and lifting it clean off the ground for a breathless instant.
The creature hung there—off-balance, exposed.
And very, very vulnerable.
Aiko stepped forward, her movements unhurried, quiet amidst the fading noise of battle.
The last Zombie Ant still writhed, its head raised from Dimitri's strike, body staggered and limbs twitching in search of footing. It no longer attacked. It simply stood there—unstable, empty, waiting.
She walked toward it with calm purpose, her steps light against the torn earth.
With both hands, she gripped her katana's hilt and scabbard. Her eyes slowly closed, not out of fear, but in quiet reverence. There was no hatred in her posture. No vengeance. Only stillness. Only respect.
"Your suffering ends here, Ant-san… may your spirit finally find silence."
Her blade moved.
A whisper of metal.
She drew in one perfect motion—so fast, so smooth, the wind didn't even stir. The cut was neither forceful nor dramatic. It didn't need to be. The precision alone split the final thread.
The ant's head fell, severed without resistance.
Its body followed a breath later, crumpling gently into the earth.
Aiko stood for a moment longer, her katana now silent in its sheath. Then she turned.
A soft smile touched her lips, the kind born from closure, not pride. She walked away without a word, like bidding farewell to something that once was.