It had been almost an hour since the swarm had entered the Queen’s gravesite, but the myrrh ants continued their assault. The banging of their bodies against the Xiangorite dome rang out like the crashing of symbols in every direction. Master Zoe tried her best to remain composed, but even a war veteran barely couldn’t stand the constant relentless barrage. Already Jason’s composure was breaking screaming at the top of his lungs confined in the echoing shell of elemental mineral.

“Make it stop, make it stop!” Jason cried.

“Bios, keep it together, keep concentrating!” Master Zoe said knowing they would die if he lost a second of focus.

Bios tried to concentrate, but his strength was weathering. His arms and muscles were cramping, his focus was being lost in the chaos outside. He tried to focus on the same image he had in his head the whole time, the circle, the dome and the lives of his companions. Yet, mixed in that image as the swarm of countless myrrh ants outside the shell. As they danced around the image in his head, he felt the circle image crack along with his composure. So did the shell of vibrating Xiangite around them.

Crack! Master Zoe noticed the break in the shell right away. She thought Anthony was strong, but forgot even he had not experienced the hardness of war. Unlike Jason he could tell he was trying his best not to crumble for the faith of both of them. He was just like his father, stubborn to the point he would sooner die of exhaustion than admit defeat.

As the dome shield slowly cracked around them, Zoe came up with a desperate idea. Although Anthony had held his composure longer than she thought, his true potential would be tested with this despairing act of fate. In order for anyone to survive she could only hope it would pull them out of the fire.

“I’m sorry, Bios!” She took her hands off her ears and began rubbing them together very feverishly creating static sparks.

Jason turned his head and looked at Master Zoe’s, knowing that technique she was conjuring. The sparks from her hands were the sign of setting up an Electrocute Technique. From the look of her eyes beneath her mask he realized the unspeakable danger that was on the way. Sharp points of claws and fangs had broken through the barrier.

“Stay clear of the walls!” Zoe called slapping Anthony on the back.

Zap! The moment Anthony felt her touch, a surge rushed through him and the barrier. In that moment Anthony saw the image of Water and Fire connected together in a great sphere. Lightning much like fire began spreading through the Xiangite sphere expanding the barrier into a fine mist.

Jason watched as the shield of a dome lit up with sparks all around him. If it weren’t for the masks and suits they wore, every hair on his body would be standing up. The sound of claws and teeth crashing ceased and were replaced with the cries of thousands myrrh ants calling out in pain. Anthony kept tough but so close to exhaustion he pulled the last of his strength into one final cry.

“Yah!” The dome exploded into a fine mineral powder all around them all around brimming with white fire.

The explosion of lightning pouring through the swarm was enough to knock every ant on the ground twitching in shock. The force of thunder even knocked several myrrh’s into the new walled exit crumbling it into rubble. When the rocks were setting, there was silence in the cave, but nobody had time to savor it. The first thing that Master Zoe did was check Anthony’s pulse on his neck to see if he was still steady.

“You okay, kid?”

“I...I think so.” Anthony felt winded and soar from the shock, waking up every nerve in his body.

“Good, then let’s get out of here.” She picked the jar from the ground and placed it in her bag. “We don’t know how long that swarm will stay down.”

Jason was stunned himself, not from the electric shock but from the shock of seeing so many white and black myrrh ants collapse all at once.

“Jason, we’re leaving!” Master Zoe grabbed Anthony’s arm and placed it over her shoulder to carry him. “Help me with Bios, quick!”

Jason noticed one of the insects had already started to twitch with signs of life, snapping him out of his trance. As instructed he helped pick up Bios by the other arm and held him up while wobbling passed the open exit. Through the rubble and dirt they managed to move as soon as a few myrrh Ants started to regain their composure pushing the heavy rocks off their bodies. A small troop of white and black myrrh ants emerged from under the rocky rubble, by the time that the rest of the swarms started heading back into the colony. Yet, instead of joining them, they’re heads were drawn by the soft sound of footsteps echoing away from the swarm.

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The trio was halfway toward the latch when Anthony started to regain his strength. The shock of electricity to his nerves, once numbing, had turned into a light tingle in his limbs.

“I think I can walk on my own now.” Anthony grabbed his head and started to regain his bearings.

“Alright, let’s hurry, we’re almost at the exit.”

A screech cried through the tunnel as everyone looked into the darkness. From behind them they saw the form of black and white myrrhs approaching them.

“They’re coming.” This time Anthony helped Master Zoe by grabbing her arm and placing it over his shoulder. “Forgive me Master Zoe, but we must make haste.”

Jason rushed to help with Master Zoe, her lighter frame made it easier for both of them to carry Master Zoe out on their good legs than her one missing leg. The myrrh ants were scratching, clawing, prepared to wreak a horrible revenge for the damage they had suffered. The adrenaline in Anthony’s body pumping, giving him a second wind to help his mentor move even a little bit faster. It was a race to the exit with the ant’s slowly picking up speed, propelled by their six legs.

“I see it, the door’s up ahead!” Jason saw the glimmering of its unique metal structure.

“Get Master Zoe to the exit!” Anthony said, letting go of her arm.

“What about you?” Jason watched as he drew his crystalized dagger again.

“I’ll buy you time!” Anthony turned around to see the heads of the myrrhs peeking out of the darkness, their mandibles claws stretching out toward him thirsty for blood.

“What are you waiting for Tilt, let’s move it!” Master Zoe knew he was right.

The first thing a soldier should do is get the injured to safety, and although ashamed to admit it, being around Anthony when he was on the war path would only slow him down. So, the rest of the way Jason carried her to the great metal door leading to the mining tunnels, hoping Anthony could deal with a few myrrh ant’s all by himself.

By his count there were about 5 black myrrhs and 3 white myrrhs, while the black type favored stinging, the white myrrh’s preferred cutting with their large pincers. All Anthony had to do was be cautious as most of his energy was spent in the last attack that stunned them. Hopefully they would be just as winded as him considering the amount of voltage they took.

To kill myrrh ant was not easy, but required the utmost concentration. They attacked with claws, teeth and stings coated in a powerful venom that could kill any man in an instant. The first that struck for Anthony, he parried and grabbed its head and used his blade to separate its head right at the joint. While the head still moved it effectively rendered the body immobile. This tactic worked well on black myrrhs but the white ones were a little tricker.

Since a white myrrh had good reach with its long claws it was harder to remove their heads. The only way he could take them down was by cutting them at the legs, slicing off their source of the body before finishing them off at the head as well. It was a lot more tiresome, but without magic it was the most effective. The white and black myrrh worked together like a trained platoon, and any lesser hunter might have fallen long ago, but Anthony had fought them many times before. It’s what every Grade E hunter had to pass before hunting a beast in the wild. Although it was mostly done in groups, Anthony had done it on his own.

By the time most of the Ants had been subdued, Jason and Zoe were already out the door.

“Bios, run for it!” Master Zoe called seeing that reinforcements were already underway.

Anthony didn’t notice but one black myrrh was not completely subdue. Its neck had been snapped but not completely severed and only one thing was on its mind to kill and destroy the intruder. It ran as fast as him trying to gain speed as he rushed up to the door. Anthony reached out for Jason when ant’s whole body leaped out toward his chest.

Zap! A beam of Holy light came out the tip of Master Zoe’s scalpel slicing the Black Myrrh’s body completely in half. Anthony was shocked to see that such a powerful move could be applied with such a small surgical tool. The small tip of the blade completely shattered as a result. Zoe dropped it to the floor and assisted Jason helping Bios out the door.

“Come on kid, you’re not dead yet!” She called as the reinforcement of Myrrh Ants came rushing toward the gate.

As Athony made it through, Master Zoe slammed the door behind them and moved aside. From behind the thick elemental steel they could hear the muffled sound of ants crawling and scratching in a feeble attempt to break through. The trio took a sign of relief under their gas masks knowing that they were safe for a moment.

“Those doors should...withstand...the swarm.” Master Zoe breathed heavily under her masks.

“What about...the walls of...dirt and rock?” Anthony asked equally out of breath.

“We better leave...before they figure that out.” Master Zoe got back off leaning against the wall.

“By the kings!” Jason practically collapsed from the exhaustion and the pounding of his heart.

Motivated by mutual survival they all headed right for the secret exit they had entered.

“By the way Bios...you owe me a new scalpel.” Master Zoe laughed as she placed her arm over his shoulder.