"Wow, I already feel like I can't go on much further. I've even lost track of the time. I'm so tired; I feel like taking a nap. This is really tough. How are we supposed to do this for seven days straight?" Isla panted, struggling to keep running, her legs wobbling beneath her.
"Come on, Isla, you can't give up now. We're already three and a half days in. You've made it this far, so don't quit on me now," Rory urged, his voice steady but concerned.
"Easy for you to say. You were training to be a warden. I have zero combat training at all," Isla gasped, her breaths shallow, her legs heavy as stone.
"If we stop now, we'll never make it back in time. Remember, we have a strict time limit," Rory reminded her, his pace unwavering as he ran beside her.
Ari, unlike the others, didn't even feel tired.
My endurance as an ant far exceeds anything I could've achieved when I was human. Back then, I was hopeless in every physical education class—always the slowest, always the weakest. Now, I feel invincible, as if I could run forever, Ari thought as the wind whipped past him, his limbs light, his movements effortless.
"Hey, Ari, slow down! Don't forget we're traveling as a squad. We can't afford to separate," Rory called, his voice carrying through the trees.
"Wow, he's really fast for an ant with no military training. He might even be faster than most corporals," Isla said, a flicker of admiration breaking through her exhaustion.
"Yeah, he's something special. And once he's finished this training, he'll be a powerful ally we can depend on," Rory replied with a rare, genuine smile.
Far away, in her private chamber inside the colony, Princess Tanya sat alone, the weight of her thoughts pressing down on her. Her gaze lingered on a small wooden carving Vladimir had given her years ago.
"I'm still at a loss for words," she whispered to herself. "Vladimir was like a father to me. He made me smile, laugh, and feel safe. I trusted him with all my heart. His soothing words, his constant protection—I believed in him. But he betrayed me. He kidnapped me for ransom. Everything he did, all the memories we made together… were they all lies?"
Her chest tightened as tears pricked her eyes. "If I hadn't given Ari the chance to explain himself, if I hadn't smuggled him out of his cell and past the warden, we would all be dead now. I said such horrible things to him, thinking he was the enemy, but he saved us all. He chose to stay and fight for our colony.
I still can't shake the thought because I'm too weak. I'm still hung up on the past while he has to face whatever lurks beyond the colony. Ari's is there now, facing threats I can't even imagine. Please… hurry up and get stronger. And be careful."
"I can't go on anymore. We've been at this for days. How much time have we used up so far?" Isla panted, her legs trembling, her vision blurring from exhaustion.
"We're about four days and nights in," Ari answered calmly, not even breathing hard.
"If you knew you couldn't handle being a military ant, you should've stayed in the mines or kept reaping food for the colony," Rory teased, smirking.
"Why you—shut up, Rory! I'm doing the best I can here! I wasn't born all buff and strong like you, you know?" Isla huffed, her cheeks puffing out in a pout despite her fatigue.
"That's no excuse. Ari's not as lean as me, and he's doing better than everyone else," Rory shot back, a teasing edge to his tone.
"Alright, we've covered a great distance. Let's search for that plant and head back now," Ari said confidently, his voice carried the firmness of someone used to giving orders.
"Who the hell made you leader?" one of the ants snapped, stepping forward until his shadow fell across Ari. His antennae twitched in irritation, and his hands clenched on the hilt of his mandibles in a slow, threatening rhythm. "Don't you dare boss us around. You're not one of us."
"Yeah," another added with a cold sneer, "you might have the Queen's approval, but we will never accept you as one of us." His eyes swept Ari from head to toe, as if trying to find flaws in every movement. He angled his mandibles forward slightly—just enough to make the threat clear without crossing the line into outright aggression.
A few other squad members murmured in agreement, exchanging low, bitter words. One muttered just loud enough for Ari to hear, "Waltzes in from our prison and gets special treatment… must be nice."
Ari didn't rise to the bait. His face was unreadable, but his hands tightened around the hilt of his mandibles.
"Hey, that was really harsh!" Isla snapped, stepping toward them, her voice sharp. "Did you forget he was the one who saved us?"
"Saved us?" the first ant scoffed. "He wouldn't have needed to if he hadn't been here in the first place. We've been preparing to fight for this colony long before he showed up. You think one lucky guess makes him better than the rest of us?"
"It was a large-scale coordinated attack, and our own commander, Vladimir, betrayed us, you fools!" Isla's voice rang sharp through the tense air. "If Ari didn't warn us and we hadn't prepared, all of us would have perished." Her eyes darted from face to face, searching for even a flicker of recognition, but all she found were hardened stares.
"Say what you want," he growled, voice low but seething, "but this bastard is nothing special."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the squad. Some shifted their weight, while others just stared at Ari with that same cold detachment—as if he were still an outsider, no matter what he'd done.
Isla's fists clenched, but Rory stepped between her and the others, cutting her off with a sharp glance.
"Enough," Rory said firmly, though his voice carried a warning edge. "We're tired, we're on a deadline, and we're possibly in enemy territory. You want to argue about who belongs? Do it when we're safe in the colony."
The hostile ants backed down a half-step but kept their eyes locked on Ari, their antennae still angled in aggression. The air between them felt heavy, like the forest itself was holding its breath.
A faint rustle pricked at Ari's ears—subtle, but out of place in the dead stillness. His head tilted slightly, eyes lingering beyond the trees.
"Did you hear that, Ari?" Rory asked without looking at him.
"Yes, I did," Ari replied quietly, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
Rory's voice hardened. "Stay on guard, everyone. Form a circle and draw your mandibles."
The squad obeyed, though some did so slowly, their attention still half on Ari. Their antennae flicked restlessly, as they quickly snapped into formation, mandibles drawn tight, their bodies trembling with the electric tension of impending danger. Suddenly, the forest fell eerily silent, as if holding its breath. Then, without warning, a splash of green liquid arced through the air, glittering in the muted light and capturing every eye in an instant.
The acid landed on five ants, instantly sizzling and melting through their exoskeletons. The horrifying sound of flesh dissolving filled the air as smoke curled from their bodies. Their screams pierced the silence, echoing through the trees until only their mandibles remained.
One of the remaining ants—the same who had snarled at Ari before—gaped in shock, his voice shaking with fear. "Impossible… how can we possibly defend ourselves against such an attack?"
He spun on his heel, desperate to escape. But before he could disappear into the shadows, a fresh stream of acid hissed through the air and struck him squarely. His body convulsed violently as his exoskeleton burned away in an instant, collapsing into a lifeless heap.
The acrid stench of burning exoskeletons made Isla gag. Her entire body shook uncontrollably, terror rooting her to the spot. She clutched her mandibles tight, eyes wide and glassy with fear.
More acid flew toward Ari's direction, aimed straight at the paralyzed Isla.
"Move out of the way!" Ari shouted and shoved Isla aside, the acid splattering on the ground where she'd just stood, burning holes through the leaves and soil.
"That's acid secreted by some insect! Don't let it touch you or you'll die!" Ari yelled.
The squad panicked, scattering in all directions. More acid rained down, claiming ten more ants. The remaining survivors fled, leaving only Ari, Isla, and Rory behind.
"Stay close! Don't separate!" Rory ordered, gripping his mandibles tightly; however, none of them listened. They ran away.
Laughter echoed through the trees. Three termites emerged from the shadows, their grotesque forms oozing acid from their hands.
From the shadows, a termite's cold voice slithered through the trees. "Such pitiful, weak insects. Dying without even seeing the face of their killer. Pathetic."
Another chuckled darkly, stepping into view with a cruel grin. "I love it when they scatter like that, so I can pick them off one by one and improve my aim."
What the hell… termites? But in our world, their acid could only irritate ants. Now it can kill instantly, Ari thought, unnerved.
And just like the ants of this world, the termites bore the uncanny blend of insect and human features. Their upright posture mimicked that of a human, their limbs jointed yet structured in a way that resembled arms and legs. Their hands—if they could be called that—were clawed but still faintly human. Their exoskeletons, however, were yellowish—softer in appearance, but dangerous.
"These ones seem to have some sense. I'll make quick work of them with my acid," another termite mocked.
"Be careful, guys. These are monsters," Rory warned, his muscles tense.
"There are only three of them, yet they've wiped out so many of us. They're strong. I have to protect Isla and Rory," Ari resolved, steadying his breath, his grip on his mandibles tightening.
"Rory, Isla, take the one on the left. I'll handle the other two."
"Are you sure you'll be okay, Ari?" Isla asked, trembling, her mandibles quivering in her hands.
"Please don't worry about me. Just focus on surviving. Rory, I'm counting on you to protect her."
Ari sprinted toward the two termites as they squirted more acid. He weaved through the deadly streams, the sizzling liquid burning through anything it touched. With lightning speed, he closed the distance and slashed one termite cleanly in half with Valeria's father's mandibles.
They're soft and easy to cut. Their defense is weak, but their attack is deadly, Ari noted.
Isla clumsily swung her mandibles, serving as a decoy while Rory circled the termite. The termite spat acid at Rory, but he dodged and struck its neck with all his might, severing its head in a powerful blow.
"Damn you, ants! You killed my brother! You'll pay for this!" the last termite roared, unleashing a barrage of acid at Ari.
Ari darted through the assault, the air sizzling around him. The termite's frustration mounted. "What the hell is he? Why is he so fast? It's not possible!"
After narrowly dodging a particularly vicious stream, Ari lunged and stabbed the termite's stomach. The termite screamed as green acid gushed from the wound, burning through the earth.
"This isn't over! I'll find you! I'll kill every last one of you and your colony!" the termite snarled before fleeing, his movements desperate and erratic.
Ari remained poised, mandibles raised, watching until the termite disappeared.
The forest grew silent once more, save for Isla's ragged breathing.