Their break turned out to be over quickly.

Orion, accompanied by Amelia and Karteira, turned around and moved back to the first room where they fought, but had to retreat because of the number of corpses blocking their movements.

This room clearly disgusted Amelia, and once again, it didn't miss doing so.

"For the love of the world!? What are they doing?"

The bugs were eating the corpses of their deceased comrades.

"At least they made room for us."

Orion joked about this sight, readying himself to piggyback Amelia.

She climbed on his back and received Dawn and Dusk from him. Karteira, on their side, activated the 'Cerulean Aegis' ability to be their shield.

She was perfect for her role in a room where bugs weren't flying. More than anything, she was now at 100% power, having her right leg healed to its most pristine state.

"Time to finish this and kill a second 'Corrupted Lord', don't you think?"

With a tone that showed his eagerness to finish the fighting as fast as possible, he came out of the tunnel and entered the room.

The pools of green insect blood seemed to have either vanished, or it was possible they'd been slurped by the bugs still alive.

At least there were no more obstacles on their way toward the complete annihilation of the bugs.

Their luck was that insects never thought about escaping alone. They all followed the deaths of the others, leaving no one alive in case of an attack.

That's why there weren't any surviving insects in the other room.

Orion believed that there would be four rooms underground, created by the 'Lords' themselves, with the last one being the center roots of Tiohr-nam and the ring she so fervently protected until now.

"Don't go too hard. I don't want you to be exhausted now."

Karteira threw a jab at Orion and ran in front of them, instantly catching the beasts' attention.

"Don't worry about me, and worry about yourself."

Feeling the power of the 'First Gear', he ran with Amelia on his back toward the swarm of insects away from Karteira.

"This will be easy and quick, Amelia; go wild."

"Yes!"

The fight was way different from the first time they recklessly moved through the place.

Karteira had her senses cleared of fury, as she appeared calmer than ever before. The pain of her scar was a reason for her constant anger while fighting, the other being the enemy that injured her.

Now that both were gone, she was back to her senses.

She was still having the time of her life fighting. Karteira was still the same battle addict after all. But her smile was different, her moves were different, and the way she relied on them was different.

'I'm thankful to have the strongest fairy with me. Without her, I wouldn't even win this fight.'

While thinking that, Orion saw her pierce the head of an ant with her tail.

Still stuck in its head, she pushed the bug to the floor to push the stinger further in and tried something different.

She lifted the ant high above her and leaned sideways. The bug was now in her grasp, and she smashed it down against another bug.

Using the dead ant like a hammer to pound her enemies to the ground, Karteira ravaged their ranks with efficiency.

'This hurt quite a lot. I don't think I'll use my tail like that unless I find a way to make it painless.'

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

'Well, at least I tried.'

After smashing a hundred insects, she twisted her body and retracted her stinger, making the beat-up corpse fly across the room in a pile of living insects.

'Not bad.'

Orion watched this scene while Amelia was casually cutting a grasshopper in half. Without even looking at the gory result, she pierced the next bug and moved to her next target. The process repeated itself again and again.

'Those two, they are getting better. Meanwhile, I haven't done much except fire at a few flying bugs.'

He was feeling a bit sad. He usually liked to hunt, but this time, there was nothing for him to do since he was only carrying Amelia around.

When he felt Amelia strengthen her grip on his waist, he realized something he shouldn't have.

'Wait, I never realized how thick her legs were. Maybe all the training made them tougher?'

He glanced at Karteira and saw the same thing. Even through her plates, he could tell that her thighs were pretty thick. As thick as his, but most likely less.

'Was I a thigh man all along?'

'Orion! Damn it, what are you thinking in the middle of a fight?! Focus, for crying out loud!'

Realizing his own desires, he switched his thoughts and focused back on the battle, although there wasn't much to fight anymore.

A few more bugs came from the tunnel in front of them, and that was it. They had already killed more than half of the legion previously.

"Wait? That's it? We're already done?"

Everyone felt bad for the bugs, as they didn't even put up a fight like the last time. What was different this time?

An hour has passed with them fighting everything in the room. There were no bugs left alive anymore. The second legion of bugs was defeated, with only the 'Lord' remaining.

"So, do we wait here for their boss? Or do we move further? Because it reeks in here."

Green blood was sprayed everywhere, and compared to the flying insects, their blood didn't smell like roses.

"I'm sure we won't have to wait too long. We can go back to our bags while we wait; at least the smaller beasts shouldn't bother us over there."

The group moved back to the tunnel while keeping an eye on the room in case the 'Lord' were to appear.

After a while, the air began to heat up drastically.

"Here it comes. It's the same feeling as before. Don't get grossed out again, Amelia."

He smirked at his friend.

"I can't do anything about that! Have you heard of a single woman loving gross insects?"

Karteira nodded at her remark.

"I'm sure there are some that like them, but I agree. I don't think a woman would like such a disgusting... creature."

Orion was now looking at the second 'Corrupted Lord'. Another sickening combination of bugs walked inside the room from another tunnel.

It had the head and wings of a hornet, the body of an ant, and the legs of a grasshopper.

"Hiiiie! Can't we just kill this thing already?"

Her face turned pale at the sight of this monstrosity. Karteira moved closer to her and patted her back.

"Well, this might be easier than you think. Look."

Orion pointed at the 'Lord' that was looking around the room. Seemingly seething in anger at the sight of its dead pawns, it began to breathe fire on its dead subordinates, burning them to a crisp.

On its forehead, a massive black orb-like item with countless veins was plainly exposed. The second one was on the last segment of the ant's body.

"I can see the cores, but don't you think it's too easily accessible?"

This was a fair observation, and Orion agreed with it. This gave him an idea.

"It can't hurt to try, can't it? Give me Dawn, please."

Half understanding what he was planning to do, she gave back his light magic.

"Alcyone. Time to pierce this damn thing."

The dagger changed to a white crossbow. Inside the groove, a lethal arrow appeared.

"Orion! What are you thinking?! You know it won't end well if you use that!"

"What? Are you scared of being buried alive? It won't happen, since its body seems quite thick. It won't pierce through."

The arrow he was using right now was the triangle-shaped tip, the same that drilled through Kiel's neck during the ritual. Except this time, he had more strength behind his shots.

"Can you-"

"Never."

"Fine! Alright."

Karteira watched as they exchanged comments, completely oblivious to the situation.

"Amelia, I'm sorry, but what is he going to do?"

With an innocent gaze, Karteira asked her.

"Something you won't believe until you see it. Just watch... You'll understand."

"Aren't we going to fight it?"

Orion turned and looked at her.

"After I fire this arrow, you have to attack. Don't miss the opportunity, alright?"

He winked and placed his right knee on the ground. With his crossbow in hand and his view of the target clear and stable, he activated 'Calm Analysis' to find the right moment.

Still hidden out of the massive insect's view, Orion used his concealment to preemptively strike.

"What do you mean by that?"

Karteira looked to the side as she got embarrassed by the sudden wink.

When he felt it was the right moment, Orion pressed the trigger.

*Click*

Instantly, a gust of wind lifted the two women's hair as the arrow pierced through the insect's head, drilling its way into its brain and its entire body.

The arrows churned the inside while blood sprayed all around. It didn't take long before the arrow stopped.

'As expected, it's tough on the inside. The arrow was unable to pierce the second core.'

Now understanding and completely in shock, Karteira needed a few seconds to comprehend what happened.

'I saw it. He fired the arrow, and it began to spin at an incredible speed. It made a hole in the core and continued to pierce through right after.'

Amelia, who looked at this scene without blinking, notified him of her observation.

"Orion, something is weird."

He acknowledged the same thing.

"It didn't die even though I pierced its brain and pulverized its organs. I know, just like the previous 'Lord' right?"

Amelia was staring at the bug that writhed in agony. The time Karteira took to process was the time the bug needed to start healing.

A dark purple mist appeared around its head, and slowly, its body began to recover.

"Karteira, remember, don't miss this opportunity."

He moved out of her way and urged her to go inside. He didn't forget to boost her speed at the same time.

'Does he want me to give the finishing blow?'

A large, beastly smile appeared on her face.

'Can I really do this?'

She readied her gauntlets.

"Rip and Tear!"

The two gauntlets changed to their razor-like form.

"Doesn't that smile scare you, Orion?"

Shaking his head, he watched as Karteira walked past them.

"It doesn't. In fact, I quite like it. It is similar to the one you wear when you cook. Less wild, of course. And you?"

He laughed and patted Amelia on the back.

"I see. I don't mind it, either, since it's not directed at me."

While Karteira walked further into the room, Orion stared at her back.

"Go wild, Karteira."