As I charged into the swarm of ants, for a moment, they hesitated.

It seemed to be because of the powder Tatiana had thrown. When I was fighting them one by one in the tunnels, I hadn’t noticed, but here, in this open space, I could feel it more clearly.

The ants' movements were definitely slower.

Taking advantage of the moment, I swung my axe through the air, and the sound of several ant heads hitting the ground echoed around me.

Without pausing, I moved forward and swung again.

The new axe felt slightly different due to its weight and size compared to the old one, and it took some getting used to. But after a few swings, my body began to adapt, and I found a comforting sense of familiarity.

Heavier than before, the axe actually felt more stable.

Even though the ants were encased in iron-like exoskeletons, they were sliced cleanly as soon as the blade met them.

As I ran, my axe cut through the air again and again, and the bodies of ants split in two, scattering across the floor in a flash.

The faster I swung, the fewer ants remained. Before long, their numbers visibly diminished.

Yet, no matter how many I killed—dozens, hundreds—their numbers seemed to replenish almost immediately. New ants crawled in from the tunnel, replacing the dead.

They just kept coming, an unending stream of ants.

I glanced toward the tunnel entrance, and what I saw was an endless line of ants, their bodies pressed together, moving in.

Honestly, I had not expected there to be this many of them.

‘Well, all right.’

If they were coming to me instead of making me chase them down, it was actually convenient. I had to kill every one of them underground anyway, and this way, they were saving me the trouble.

A considerable amount of time seemed to pass as I swung the axe without pause. The floor of the vast space was now littered with the bodies of ants, piled so high that there was barely any place left to step.

The once steady flow of ants was now noticeably thinning.

It seemed they were finally running out of numbers to overwhelm me with.

Around that time, I began to realize that perhaps this wasn't just a feeding chamber after all.

The ants had fought far too desperately for it to simply be a place to store food.

And as I listened to the agonizing cries of the people, I belatedly understood something.

What was inside their bodies were eggs.

Most likely, these people had eggs implanted in them, just like the ones we found in the forest.

Unlike before, the people’s bodies were covered in something. Perhaps the ants had figured out through trial and error the best way to preserve human hosts.

Even the faint light seeping in from the ceiling seemed to be deliberate, as if the ants thought humans needed light and sufficient oxygen to survive.

This place was probably a hatchery, or a nursery.

In the center, a few people were showing strange symptoms.

Their mouths were wide open, foaming, bubbles spilling from their lips.

I was focused on them when suddenly several ants approached, raising their rear ends high.

In the dim light, I could see their stingers—dark, sharp, like needles.

Do ants have stingers?

I found it odd for a moment, then I saw ants clustering together behind me.

Like warriors preparing for battle, several ants lowered themselves while the stinger-bearing ones climbed on top.

As if some kind of signal had passed among them, they advanced on me from all directions, like an oncoming tide.

I needed to finish these ants quickly so I could check on those people exhibiting strange symptoms.

I raised my axe high into the air.

If I swung it in a wide arc, I could take out the ants surrounding me in one blow.

As my arm reached up, I felt the air shift.

Before I could understand what had happened, the ants around me shattered.

It was as if an invisible hammer had slammed into them. The ants that surrounded me broke into pieces.

I glanced behind me, just in time to see an ant raising its stinger, and I understood.

The spirit armor attached to my right arm must have activated. Until now, I thought the armor only extended a little around my arm, but it seemed the range was wider than I had realized.

While the ants hesitated in confusion, I let the axe dance in my hands.

I couldn’t let the armor steal the show.

If the axe skills my mother taught me were overshadowed by some armor, it would tarnish her reputation as the strongest.

As I wreaked havoc in the open space, the remaining ants began to flee toward the tunnel.

Ignoring them, I approached the people who had shown abnormal behavior.

There were five of them.

Foam bubbled from their mouths.

One man's eyes rolled back until only the whites showed, and his body convulsed. At that moment, small ants began to crawl out of his mouth.

Before I could even consciously process it, I understood on instinct.

The newly hatched ants were eating their way out of his body.

The convulsing man's body went limp, and the person beside him foamed at the mouth, opening and closing his mouth over and over again.

Though no sound came out, I could tell from the movement of his lips what he was trying to say.

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Kill me, kill me, please, kill me.

I knew what he was asking without needing to hear his voice.

I gently struck the man's neck with my hand.

His head lolled to the side, his neck broken.

The foaming people were likely moments away from having ants crawl out of their bodies.

They were already standing at death’s door, clinging only to their pain.

As I checked the area, I found several more people in the same condition, hidden in the dark corners.

I snapped their necks to end their suffering, then looked around.

Most of the people left weren’t foaming at the mouth, but they didn’t seem to have much hope either.

In this world, even a minor injury could be fatal.

If luck wasn’t on your side, a broken arm or leg could lead to death.

And if they had ant eggs growing inside them, there was no way they would survive.

But they might still have family.

Family who could say their final goodbyes.

Though painful groans and pleas for death echoed around me, I refrained from extending a merciful hand any further.

Meanwhile, the two children continued crying loudly.

They were the only ones here who did so.

Only those two children said what they felt and cried as much as they wanted.

Maybe, just maybe, these kids were unharmed.

For some reason, the ants might not have laid eggs in them yet.

The thought quickened my pace as I turned toward the children.

When I reached them, the little girl, who had been hiding behind the boy, screamed in terror.

"... Waaah... It’s a monster... The monster is here to eat us... Brother... It’s a monster..."

I slowly crouched down, trying not to frighten the children.

“It’s okay. The monsters have run away. You’re safe now.”

At my words, the girl began sobbing hysterically, unable to catch her breath.

“Brother... The monster talks... The monster talks like a human... I’m scared... Brother...”

“...”

Was I the monster she was talking about?

The boy, who was trembling in front of me, spoke through his tears.

“...Ju... It’s okay... He’s not a monster... He’s a person...”

At least the boy seemed to understand the situation.

That was a relief.

The girl was still too scared, her brother’s voice not reaching her. She kept screaming and crying.

If I tried to approach her in this state, she would probably have a fit. So, I decided to start by freeing the boy from the substance that encased him.

It felt hard but also slightly sticky.

Carefully, I began peeling it off, making sure not to hurt him. Thankfully, the substance came off without damaging his skin.

Maybe it was like glue, only loosely attached to his skin. Either way, I let out a sigh of relief.

Perhaps in reaction to my sigh, or maybe because of the fear of the current situation, a whimper escaped from the boy’s throat.

But perhaps because his sister was beside him, he managed to hold back his tears and kept talking to Ju.

“It’s okay, this man came to help us. Don’t cry, Ju. It’s okay now.”

Perhaps the boy was also scared of me.

By the time his entire body, down to his feet, was freed, the girl seemed to finally understand that I was human. She looked at me through tear-streaked eyes and asked between sobs,

“... Then why does Mister have a face like a monster?”

“...”

Children can be so brutally honest.

Unable to answer, I simply began peeling the material off the girl.

The boy remembered exactly what had happened since they arrived here.

After the two of them had been brought in, another person had come, but they had died soon after.

The boy whispered in a shaky voice.

“The ants... they cut that person into pieces and took them somewhere else. Ju didn’t see it, but that’s what they do when people die. They cut them into pieces and take them away. Even the people in those beehive-like things, when they die, the ants cut them up and take them.”

The boy was trembling, but he didn’t cry.

I placed a hand on his head.

“You’re brave.”

“...”

“You held on well.”

The boy shivered silently, his shoulders trembling.

I took the two children in my arms and called for Rella.

Rella had been hopping around, catching stray ants, but when I called, she flapped her wings and rushed over.

I placed Rella on my head and headed toward the entrance.

Thin rays of light streamed in through the ceiling here.

It meant we weren’t far from the surface.

Since I didn’t know the way, there was only one option to get out.

We had to go up.

“Hold onto my neck tightly.”

As the children clung to me with their small arms, I took a deep breath.

I cloaked my face in wind and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Everyone get back! If you don’t, you might die! Move back!”

The sound of my voice echoed, amplified by the wind.

After shouting several times, I gathered wind in my hands.

I shot the wind toward the ceiling of the tunnel, and with a deafening noise, the cave exploded.

“The sky!”

The girl’s voice rang out as the darkness of the ant nest gave way, a massive crater forming in front of where I stood.

----------------------------------------

In the city, there were rundown buildings scattered everywhere.

Some seemed like they could barely house one or two people, while others were so small it seemed impossible for anyone to live in them.

These buildings were meant to be obstacles if enemies entered the city.

They were built to be demolished, at least to slow down an advancing force.

The city where Abel had lived didn’t have such buildings, but as a former guard captain, he knew of their existence.

This was his first time seeing them in person.

“This way! Knock it down! Quickly, move it!”

At the command, the soldiers began demolishing the buildings.

Since they were built to be demolished, certain parts of the buildings collapsed easily when struck.

In no time, the alleyways between the buildings were blocked off.

“Herd them this way!”

At the soldiers' shouts, the people shifted their movements.

They were desperately trying to drive the ants that had emerged from the holes into the enclosed areas.

Abel and the men from the “Victims of Helga’s Rampage” group were also swinging their weapons at the ants.

“Long spears! Where are the long spears? I need two men!”

As a man who looked like a captain shouted, a few soldiers who had been thrusting their spears at ants rushed over.

Abel and his comrades, who had been pushed back, managed to hold their ground thanks to the spear-wielding reinforcements.

‘Impressive.’

Abel swung his weapon, inwardly admiring their teamwork.

The ant exoskeletons were incredibly tough, making them difficult to fend off.

But thanks to the nets, the long spears, and the coordination between adventurers and soldiers, the damage caused by the ants had been minimized.

It wasn’t just the soldiers.

The citizens of the city were also fighting valiantly against the monstrous ants.

It seemed they were somewhat used to fighting such creatures, given their proximity to the Forest of Demons.

Of course, there were many who fled as well.

And it appeared that the city had a water mage.

A beautiful female mage manipulated water from nearby barrels to block the ants' path.

She also seemed to be knowledgeable in herbs; she sprinkled some powder in certain areas to keep the ants away.

Mage, soldiers, adventurers, and civilians.

If even one of them were missing, the city would have been overrun by the ants in no time.

‘But we can’t keep this up.’

Despite everyone’s efforts to block the ant holes, they were reaching their limit.

It hadn’t even been half a day, yet exhaustion was already visible in everyone’s movements.

No matter how hard they tried, it would be the end for this city.

And Abel and his comrades would die as well.

‘This is all my fault.’

Abel bit his lip.

After exposing the bandits, Abel and his comrades learned that the barbarian they had thought was Helga was actually named Rafa.

And he was a man.

That meant that this Rafa wasn’t Helga.

No matter how Helga looked on the outside, she was definitely a woman.

But until he confirmed it with his own eyes, Abel couldn’t be sure.

Everyone had thought Helga was a man, until she revealed herself.

Maybe this time it would be the same.

That was why Abel had decided to stay here.

He didn’t care if he died.

But he couldn’t let his comrades die because of his mistake. That was something he wouldn’t allow.

Just as he made that resolution, a scream echoed from a short distance away.

Abel turned his head and saw a large pair of antennae rising from one of the ant holes.

Soon, a huge head emerged.

“!”

It was different from the others.

It was several times larger.

“It’s the queen! It’s a queen ant!”

Someone shouted, and screams erupted from all around. Some people started to run.

Soldiers and adventurers rushed toward the queen.

“Stay calm! Hold on a little longer! Rafa is coming! Trust him and hold your ground!”

The guard captain shouted, and in that instant, the ground trembled, and someone’s voice echoed from below.

He was yelling for everyone to get back.

The moment they heard the voice, the adventurers began shouting.

“It’s right below us!”

“Get back! Run!”

“Forget the ants and just run!”

“It’s Rafa!”

“Whatever it is, run! Get out of here!”

Not fully understanding what was happening, people began to flee.

Abel and his comrades also ran, following a soldier who took off beside them.

He had no idea what the noise from below meant, or why the adventurers were yelling for everyone to flee, but if the front line collapsed, the only option was to run.

No one wanted to be eaten by ants.

The queen ant had fully emerged from the hole, but by then, everyone had already fled.

They ran as fast as they could, desperately escaping.

At this point, Abel no longer knew if they were running from the ants or because of the sound that had echoed from below.

One of his comrades fell.

Abel stopped to help him up, and at that moment, a tremendous noise erupted, shaking the ground.

Dust and debris shot into the air.

His ears rang, making everything sound muffled.

For a moment, time seemed to stop.

People, ants—nothing moved.

“Dear god…”

Abel muttered unconsciously.

The ground that had been in front of him just a moment ago had completely disappeared.