Ansel grunted from behind.

Kai raised his palm in the air, fire erupting from his fingertips. The flames formed a swirling vortex, incinerating the first larvae who launched at them.

But as the stench of burning chitin filled the air, the new nightmare revealed itself.

It wasn’t just that the larvae were merely overgrown versions of their brethren. Their segmented bodies, thicker than a man’s torso, were adorned with jagged stone spikes that ran down their backs like a macabre crown.

The ethereal blue glow from the Atheum stones cast a light that gave them a horrifying look as their inky black bodies moved forward with ease.

Kai’s fire hadn’t harmed them much due to the spikes protecting them.

Before they could fully process what was before them, the larvae used the spikes. They launched a volley of rock-like projectiles with a sickening snap. The missiles whistled through the air, leaving trails of glower embers as they reached the shield of a guard who stumbled back before Feroy caught him.

“Ah! What was that?!” A guard from behind shouted, but there was no time to linger and think.

Kai looked at Gorak who was already tightening his grip around his weapon. His eyes lingered on him for a second before he said something incomprehensive, loud enough for his team.

Finn and Finnigan responded with a grunt.

In a snap, Gorak, the leader of the mercenaries stepped forward. His spiked club was over his shoulder.

“Raven!” His voice was loud.

The rest of the crowd took a step back, letting the mercenaries handle the monstrous larvae without interrupting their team rotations.

The elven archer in the back swiftly aimed at the larvae’s head. Her aim was perfect, and her arrow glowed, and shimmered through the air, cutting it into pieces as it finally hit the larva in a heartbeat.

It was clear that she was using her spirit’s energy.

Without a pause, next came Finn’s spear. His leg movements were fluid while he jumped on the larvae. He hammered the spear against the larva’s frontal part, bruising its cover voluntarily.

He rolled off the floor with ease and attacked the same larvae from behind. The monster let out a cry in pain as the spear drew black blood. The stone cover was harmed as it splattered around.

“Actra, shield now!” Kai yelled before more larvae could rush in.

Actra immediately flickered his wrist. A spell structure lit up on his palm and immediately a shield separated the guards from the larvae, leaving the mercenaries to deal with one of them.

Raven shot four arrows right at different parts of its segmented body. Carefully aiming at the coverless parts, oozing blood out like a fountain from its sides.

The larvae were stubborn. It kept spitting acid all over the floor. In large balls that Gorak barely avoided as his spiked club thrashed its head over and over.

Without a command from their leader, Finnigan launched at the larvae, his sword in his hand. Raven from behind said something inaudible as Finnigan’s sword glistened with green energy.

It stuck the larvae’s face. The larva screeched as the sword sliced the face from its body.

The latter part of its body shook vigorously for a few seconds before it completely lay still.

But it wasn't the end.

Seeing one of their brethren dead, the larvae standing behind launched themselves at them and more of the acid flew, hitting the shield.

The mercenaries barely avoided getting crushed as they dodged to the side.

Kai gaped as cracks started to appear on the shield and Actra gritted his teeth, putting more mana on top of it, trying to hold them.

However, everyone knew it was going to take only a moment before the shield broke for real.

We need to be on the charge!

Kai frowned before looking at Killian.

Feeling his gaze, Killian looked back and an inaudible conversation passed by them as they both nodded.

“Mage Actra, let those bastards in,” Killian’s voice was gruff.

He waved his sword in the air, twisting it around in circles while preparing for what was yet to come.

“Are you sure?” Actra’s voice was shaky.

“Yes,” Kai said briefly.

The shield took off, while the larvae spat acids all over the place.

“Cover!”

Kai stood behind a guard as they moved away from the acidic gooey balls.

“Get behind me,” Actra said while he protected them from the larvae’s attacks by building small shields that were easier to keep up for him.

SCREEECH!

While they were busy avoiding the acidic substances, Killian sprung himself on a larvae. His sword was on the larvae’s head as it started to bite at it.

Raven’s voice came loud and incomprehensive. Kai looked back and saw her tall figure at the back commanding her spirit.

“Take it out!” She yelled with a grunt as her ever-ready arrow found its way to larvae. Her aim was diligent and powerful.

Killian ran forward and jumped hanging onto the larvae’s slick body. His fingers dug inside its body while he climbed up and withdrew his sword.

Suddenly, the sword glistened with a green glow. By this point, Kai knew that her spirit had the power to give temporary enchantments to weapons. What kind? He didn't know.

His eyes went to Finnigan's sword. The man was thrashing against a larva, jumping as the giant creature tried to make him paste by jumping on top of him.

But the glow wasn’t there.

It seemed like she could only enchant one weapon at a time.

“AH!” Killian grunted again as he moved with purpose. His sword jabbed and thrashed on any skin he found.

SCREE!!

The larvae tried to use spikes, but it was soon on the floor, unable to deal with the speed Killian was moving.

His movements were a sight to see. Like a dance with a sword. His entire form was solid in every attack he launched.

An Enforcer’s agility and strength could be compared to at least a combination of twenty normal untrained men. And it showed.

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He swung, deflecting the missiles that the larvae aimed at him. But as soon as he put space between him and the monster, he closed it with an even more powerful sword hit.

Like that, he killed one larvae and moved to another.

One disadvantage of the larvae was their speed. Unlike the smaller ones, they couldn't move fast enough and it gave Killian the edge, just enough to come out on top.

Soon, he had killed three and only two were left.

Killian ran around one larvae, with his sword to his side.

The larvae’s spiked stone fell on the ground, barely missing Killian’s shoulder. He didn’t pause, didn’t flinch, and he dug his sword deep inside its body.

“ARGH!” He dragged it along its segmental body. Slicing it into two. Blood spewed all over his body, drenching him. He didn’t stop until he was at the very back of the larvae.

He threw his sword in the air and jumped to the next larvae while catching it with one hand and aiming it right at the last remaining larvae.

The monster shrieked as it hit its inky black, large eyes. The larvae shook its head roughly. Killian’s sword found its other eyes. He pummeled it on them, drenching his arms with its nasty blood.

The monster struggled, but Killian didn't let go and kept going deeper into the larvae's skull before it was sprawled on the ground, unmoving.

Killian took deep breaths as the glow dimmed, nodding at Raven as thanks. When he had been busy with the group of larvae, other guards had dealt with the ones he had missed.

Kai quickly sent a small ball of light towards the chamber the spiked larvae came from, looking for any they might have missed.

Nothing.

With a smile, Kai looked at the guards.

“Forward!”

He commanded everyone.

It took a moment for them to register it. A few guards were sitting against a wall while the others were tending to their injuries, but Kai also saw a lot of them looking at Killian in awe.

Although the other Enforcers had dealt with a few larvae, none of them were at the level of Killian who had taken on a group of them himself. Kai saw a few of them, particularly Feroy and Bord, looking like they were wondering when they would be at that level.

Even Actra who had been shielding the guards with his vines and keeping the larvae in check seemed a bit stunned, but he hid it quietly.

Killian slowly made his way through the massive dead bodies and curtly nodded at Kai.

“Let’s go,” Kai said, hiding the pinch of pride that surged inside his body.

They moved forward, leaving behind the dead bodies of the larvae. They had to move past the Atheum-filled walls and ceilings.

There was only one passage and as they moved through it, the dim light from the Aetheum lessened and they were swallowed by an oppressive darkness that pulsed with a sickly sweet stench. Bioluminescent fungi clung to the damp walls.

Kai lit up a light ball immediately, but this time, it wasn’t a big one that emanated through the entire closed space, rather kept track of their feet and where they were headed. He didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention from any larvae.

The sounds of their footsteps blended as they walked at the same pace. The air became thicker with less oxygen to breathe. But the mana inside the cave kept increasing as they walked and even the flow was a bit different, hinting at the monsters up ahead.

Kai stole a glance at Actra whose usual mask was replaced by a mixture of fear and confidence.

“We’re walking on the dents of the nest. The queen's chambers should come to be near,” Kai said in a hush.

Actra nodded. “The mana flow is a bit different here. We should keep an eye out for anything that might attack us,” he said.

The floor and the walls got wetter as they met with a division. Kai walked through one side and saw how the partition was only for a small area. The two ways adjoined to one right after the division ended.

He turned to let them know, but before he could say anything, his eyes went to the dark ceiling behind the group.

There’s something there!

The inky black bodies glistening went unnoticed by Kai, and seeing his eyes, everyone else turned to look up.

“Run!” He shouted.

Within a moment, the group came behind the partition that kept a lot of them hidden from the crawling larvae on the ceiling.

The larvae noticed their shift and spat acidic goo at the men. One went straight at a guard, burning his back completely.

The guard muffled his pain and fell on the floor.

Actra’s shield was quick to hover over them. The larvae increased their attempt by quickening their pace.

Kai threw a [Firebolt] hitting the larvae that were to the front.

ZZZTT!!

The larva hissed in pain while the others stopped, clearly wary of Kai.

“Killian, prepare the potions,” Kai whispered and looked at him with stern eyes.

He nodded and started whispering about the plan in his mind to the guards that were beside him.

Kai launched two more [Firebolt] above the shield, hitting the larvae, and burning their flesh.

He could take these normal-sized larvae down single-handedly, but rather than wasting his mana, the potions would easily lessen their numbers that had almost taken the entire ceiling under their control.

With a pre-arranged signal, Killian launched himself forward, leading the charge, Feroy right on his back. His staff trailed on the damp floor.

Simultaneously, three guards who stayed back under his instructions threw potions at the larvae, burning half of them down and the rest slumped down one after another. The heat was intense, immediately accompanied by the malodorous burnt smell that had become familiar to everyone's nostrils.

The sweet smell of the nest combined with the burnt smell— was not a good combination.

The twins grabbed something from their back pockets and pounced. They were blades. Sharp, and slicing through the larvae. Their movements were similar to wraiths. The blades blurred as the larvae fell with loud screeches.

We need to end them fast.

Kai frowned, hoping no other monster would attack from behind as they dealt with the ones on the ceiling. They’ve already encountered at least fifty of these monsters and he had no idea how many more were left.

The guards fought with a good sense of where to hit them due to their recent encounter.

Kai, who stood a bit far unleashed a torrent of fire, engulfing the larvae in a searing inferno. With that, every larvae fell on the floor, emptying the ceiling. His fire lit the rest of the pathway, giving them a good idea of what lay ahead.

Actra summoned thorny vines from the very floor of the nest, binding creatures’ limbs in a writhing mass who were trying to run away.

Gorak stayed behind while observing and letting Finn, Finnigan and Raven take care of what was left. Raven’s arrows, Finn’s spear and Finnigan’s sword worked in sync.

The Enforcers were right behind. Their weapons clashed with the larvae's body parts, spurting blood from everywhere.

But the one who surprised Kai the most was the travelling desert warrior— Ansel.

He spun, jumped and moved with extremely swift agility. Often he’d slow his attacks but would pick himself right up, timing them to match the larvae's moments and killing them quicker than the others.

After all, he was no Enforcer. But for a normal human, he had an appreciable amount of energy, skill and technique.

The larvae’s numbers quickly depreciated as they worked their way through them, but then suddenly, a sharp sound came from the side.

Kai turned his head and saw a guard crumpled on the ground, clutching a wound.

A larva was upon him, ready to eat him up whole.

Kai quickly threw a [Firebolt] at the monster and it shrieked back. It gave the guard the opportunity he was looking for and even though he was on the ground, he grabbed his spear that had fallen and pierced it right through the larvae’s body.

It seemed to be the last larvae alive and once he was dead, the guard finally took a sigh of relief as a few others came to his rescue with a potion.

Just as Kai was thinking the threat had passed, a primal dread washed over him. It wasn't a sound, not exactly, but a shift in the very fabric of the mana around them. The air crackled with raw, pulsating power— a power, unlike anything he'd sensed before.

The cavern floor trembled beneath their feet, sending a jolt of panic through the group.

Their answer materialized in a flash.

They all looked behind to where Kai was— at the entrance of the path of the partition.

Kai turned around and ran back to the small space where the floor was filled with larvae dead bodies.

From the depths of the chamber, a monstrous creature lumbered into view.

“Fuck…” Kai muttered slowly. The queen — IT WAS THE QUEEN!

Kai gulped a good amount of saliva as he took in its body. He felt his imagination being crumpled to the ground, seeing the queen as it was even bigger than what he had expected.

Its segmented black body, easily twice the size of the largest larvae they had encountered, filled the chamber like a living battering ram.

Its glistening carapace reflected the sickly green light of the fungi, casting grotesque shadows on the cavern walls.

Colossal mandibles, dripping with a noxious liquid, hung open in a silent scream. Glowing eyes, the size of cartwheels, burned with a powerful malice. This wasn't just a monstrous insect; it was a living embodiment of rage and hunger.

The queen reeked the smell of mana.

With a deafening screech that sent shivers down their spines, the queen larvae launched itself towards them.

“MOVE!” Killian’s voice echoed through the cave.

A volley of acidic projectiles spewed from its maw, each the size of a man's head and leaving sizzling trails in their wake as the guards rushed to get back to safety.