The ants poured in waves, each one at least a meter tall. They were smaller than the one Aren and the others had killed earlier, but their numbers made them far more terrifying. And this time, it was not just one type.

Worker ants. Soldier ants. And others whose sole purpose was to spit venom.

Without hesitation, Aren activated Shadow Sense for the first time.

The invisible field spread outward, covering a hundred meters.

What he sensed made his blood run cold.

Their numbers were already over a hundred.

"…Shit."

For a brief moment, the thought crossed his mind.

Maybe I should have agreed to retreat.

But the idea vanished just as quickly. He was already here. And even if he wanted to retreat now, the swarm would not allow it.

They would have to fight.

Leon moved first.

Metal spikes formed in the air around him, sharp and gleaming. He created over ten at once, clearly pushing his current limit, then unleashed them in a single motion.

The spikes shot forward like artillery.

Each one pierced cleanly through an ant's head, cracking exoskeletons and dropping the front line instantly.

Aiden followed.

He exploded forward, sword clenched tightly in his hand. His movements were fast, frighteningly so. Each slash carried explosive force, cutting through hardened exoskeletons as if they were paper. Three ants fell in the time it took most people to blink.

Behind them, Kira stayed back.

She raised her hands and formed ice lances, hurling them one after another. Despite being calmer than before, she still could not bring herself to move to the front. The sight of the ants was enough to keep her rooted in place.

Even so, her spells landed true, impaling ants and slowing the swarm.

A loose formation formed naturally.

Then Aren moved.

He summoned Fang and his merged wolf.

Both shadows launched forward immediately, crashing into the swarm. Fang tore through ants with brutal efficiency, while the merged wolf smashed through their ranks, scattering bodies.

Aren followed closely behind.

His claw strike came down in clean, lethal arcs, cracking skulls and ending lives instantly.

[You have gained 20 Soul Fragments]

The system's notification appeared the moment one fell.

"Tsk."

Aren ignored it.

"Is there a way to silence this?" he muttered.

The system went quiet.

Good.

An ant attacked from behind, venom spraying through the air.

Aren raised his wolf guard, blocking the attack. Fang leapt forward at the same time, biting deep into the ant's neck and ripping its head clean off. Another ant rushed him from the side. The merged wolf intercepted it, slamming it backward. Aren followed up and finished it with a single strike.

Aiden flashed past him.

So fast, Aren barely registered the movement.

Three ants stood ahead of Aiden.

He thrust once.

All three dropped.

Only after they fell did Aren realize Aiden had stabbed three times. The motion had simply been too fast for the eye to follow.

Aiden landed cleanly and flicked his sword, blood splattering against the stone.

"We have to keep moving," he said, already launching forward again.

Aren watched him for half a second.

"…You think I'll let you upstage me?"

He clenched his fists and leapt onto the back of his merged wolf, Fang running alongside them.

The ants swarmed, too many.

They clung to the wolf's body, biting, clawing, weighing it down.

Aren clicked his tongue and leapt off just as the merged wolf collapsed beneath the weight.

He hit the ground and rolled before throwing a full punch into the nearest ant. His fist shattered its exoskeleton, purple blood sprayed as the skull collapsed.

He didn't let go of the corpse.

Planting his feet, Aren swung the dead ant like a weapon and smashed it into another charging from behind. The impact sent the second ant flying into the wall with a heavy crack.

Aren exhaled sharply.

Shadow Sense kept him aware of everything around him. Nothing could sneak up on him, but it came at a cost.

The constant drain on his soul energy was heavy. Between Shadow Sense, Fang, and his other skills, his reserves were dropping fast.

"Tsk… I need more soul energy."

He deliberately did not summon the boss wolf to fight as well. That was his trump card. He would not use it unless things became truly desperate.

Another wave rushed him.

Fang slammed into one ant, tearing it apart, but others slipped past. One leapt high, mandibles opening as venom sprayed through the air.

Aren raised his guard. The attack struck, but droplets splashed past it. Pain exploded across his skin. Before he could fully react, another ant lunged low. Its mandibles clamped around his bare ankle.

"Gah!"

Pain surged as blood spilled.

Without hesitation, Aren kicked upward, flinging the ant into the air, grabbed it mid-motion, and slammed it into the ground. The skull shattered.

But then he felt it.

A pulsing sensation in his leg.

His vision blurred.

"…Poison."

Acting instantly, Aren pulled a healing potion from his inventory and drank it in one gulp.

Warmth spread through his body.

The pain receded.

He straightened slowly, eyes burning as he looked toward the swarm. "I'll make sure I kill every single one of you."

The ants screeched in response, and the swarm surged again.

As the swarm pressed closer, Aren's Shadow Sense suddenly flared, picking up something. Something was wrong.

An ant had slipped past Leon and Aiden. Then another. And another.

His awareness snapped to the rear.

Kira.

Several ants had broken through the line and were rushing straight toward her. Aren's eyes flicked in her direction, and his heart sank.

She was frozen, completely still.

Her eyes were wide, pupils trembling, her hands shaking uncontrollably as the ants closed in. If she did not move in the next second, she would be torn apart.

"Tsk."

Aren clicked his tongue sharply.

"What the hell is she doing?" he muttered.

For a split second, he considered ignoring it. This was not his problem. Everyone here was responsible for their own survival.

But then a memory surfaced without warning.

A narrow alley. Fists slamming into his ribs. Laughter. Footsteps passing by. People looking away. People pretending he did not exist.

His jaw tightened.

He hated that memory.

He hated the feeling even more.

"…Damn it."

He might not want to be anyone's savior, but he refused to become that kind of person. If he could save someone standing right in front of him, then he would.

Gritting his teeth, Aren lunged toward Kira.

He summoned his merged wolf and several shadow wolves at once, ignoring the drain on his soul energy. The shadows surged forward, slamming into the ants charging him, forcing them back and tearing open a narrow path.

Aren sprinted.

When ants turned to intercept him, he vaulted over them effortlessly, twisting midair and unleashing claw strikes that cleaved through their heads before landing and continuing forward.

"Kira!"

He closed the distance in a heartbeat.

She was shaking violently now, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes, her body refusing to respond.

"This girl…" Aren growled.

At the last possible moment, he reached her.

He grabbed her by the waist and shoved her sideways with all his strength. At the same time, he twisted his body and unleashed an upward claw strike.

The claws tore straight through the ant lunging for her, ripping it apart from mandibles to thorax as purple blood sprayed across the stone.

Aren did not have time to recover.

The force of his own momentum slammed his back into the cave wall.

Hard.

The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, and he collapsed to the ground, coughing as he tried to push himself back up.

Too slow. The swarm had already reached him.

More than ten ants surrounded him instantly, encircling his fallen body. Mandibles snapped open and shut, chittering loudly as they closed in.

Their target was clear. Aren.

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