Back in the southern burrows, the bodies of hundreds of moths lay lifeless across the ground. A few ant soldiers lay among them, their exoskeletons stained with dirt and blood. Wounded soldiers groaned as their comrades helped them move, while others knelt beside the fallen, checking for signs of life.
"Make sure the wounded are taken to the safety point outside the burrows. Treat their injuries as soon as they arrive," Valeria said.
"Yes, Captain!" several soldiers responded.
Valeria watched as the soldiers supported them toward the exit. She turned her attention to the bodies scattered across the ground.
Her fists tightened.
"We lost more than a handful this time," she said.
Her gaze dropped to Luminara, slumped on the dirt.
It could've been worse.Without her ability, we'd have lost a lot more.
Ignatia touched down in front of Valeria, her thorny whip coiled at her hip. Her purple wings gave one slow beat, stirring the dust around their feet. Her eyes moved across the soldiers sitting and lying on the ground.
"How are the others?" Valeria said.
"Most of the wounded are being treated. The remaining guardians are sweeping the area for moths," Ignatia said. "We shouldn't see another large attack here. Not for now."
Valeria nodded. "Good. Then we move."
"You want to go after Magnus now...?" Ignatia asked.
Her hands trembled slightly at her sides. She curled her fingers into fists.
"Yes. That's the whole reason we came here. It's why I followed Ari's strategy in the first place," Valeria said.
She turned away and took a few steps before coming to a stop. Then she glanced back at Ignatia.
"Isn't that why you came here, too? To defeat Magnus?"
"Of course." Ignatia's eyes narrowed. "As long as he's alive, all of this will have been for nothing."
Valeria watched her closely.
"You say that, but something feels off." She paused. "I can sense your fear."
Ignatia's eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
Valeria turned and continued walking.
"I can understand why you're afraid. You've witnessed his strength more than once, so you know what he's capable of." She glanced over her shoulder.
"Fear isn't necessarily a bad thing in battle. It keeps you alert."
Valeria slowed her pace slightly.
"But if you let it control your decisions, it'll only hold you back."
Ignatia stood still for a moment as Valeria move farther ahead. She slowly loosened her fingers, then took a breath and followed.
As Ignatia walked, the sound of Valeria's footsteps gradually faded.
Then a memory surfaced.
Luminara's hand flew to her face.
She screamed, clutching at the wound as pain tore through her.
"Luminara!" Ignatia shouted.
"Now die."
Magnus raised his blade and brought it down.
Seraphina shoved Luminara out of the way.
The tip of his blade grazed her neck.
Seraphina winced. Both sisters lost control of their flight, their wings faltering as they fell from the sky.
"I've got you!"
Ignatia dove after them.
She stretched out both arms and caught the sisters just before they hit the ground.
The impact knocked all three of them into the grass. They tumbled across the ground, their bodies rolling through the flattened grass until they finally came to a stop near a tree stump.
Ignatia struggled to move. Her arms shook as she dragged herself forward, pushing against the grass one arm at a time.
"...Sister."
She reached Luminara and gently turned her over.
Her breath caught.
Where Luminara's eyes had been, there was nothing.
Only hollow sockets remained, their edges cracking and flaking away as pale dust drifted from them.
"Ignatia..."
Luminara's voice was hoarse and unsteady.
"Take Seraphina... and go."
Ignatia stared at her, unable to look away.
"Please. Fly as far as you can."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Please. Just listen to me. I can't protect you anymore."
Luminara's trembling hand reached toward her sister.
"Just... go."
Ignatia blinked. Her steps slowed as she returned to the present, the southern burrows coming back into focus around her.
He's going to pay for what he's done.
Ignatia and Valeria continued through a narrow tunnel. The passage grew tighter as they moved deeper inside, forcing them to lower their heads beneath the rocky ceiling.
Eventually, they reached a steep rock wall. The ledge above them stood several meters high, its surface rough and uneven.
Ignatia spread her wings. Once she was in the air, she turned and held out a hand.
Valeria bent her knees.
In an instant, she sprang forward, her feet striking the wall as she ran straight up its surface. She pushed off the rock and vaulted onto the ledge, landing at the top.
Valeria looked down at her.
Ignatia looked up, her mouth parting slightly.
"Let's go..." Valeria said.
She took a step forward.
Her antennae twitched.
Valeria stopped. Her hand moved toward her mandibles, and she unsheathed them and swung.
A quill struck the edge of her mandible and bounced away.
Valeria immediately darted, swinging one blade forward.
Shink!
"Ngh!"
The blade cut across the moth's torso as he emerged from the shadows. He staggered backward, clutching his chest.
Ignatia flew up and landed beside Valeria.
"Mirage..." She muttered, her jaw tightening.
Blood trickled from beneath Mirage's eyes as he stared at Valeria in disbelief.
"How...? How were you able to locate me?"
Valeria let out a slow breath.
"If that's your idea of concealment, then you've got a long way to go."
"I won't die here...! Not until the two of you are dead!"
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Multiple quills shot out of the darkness, streaking toward Valeria.
She reacted immediately, raising her mandibles to deflect the incoming projectiles.
One quill struck her shoulder. Another pierced her arm.
Valeria's expression tightened as she staggered half a step.
Ignatia unsheathed her whip and swung it across Valeria's front. The weapon snapped through the air, knocking the remaining quills off course. Several clattered against the stone while others scattered across the ground.
Valeria looked up.
A female moth hovered above them, her large forewings and hindwings lined with sharp quills. Her wings spread wide as she gazed down.
"Vespera..." Ignatia muttered.
"That's as far as you go," Vespera said, looking down at Mirage.
"Honestly, why am I not surprised? All of you are useless. Especially you Mirage, you serve no purpose in Magnus's future."
Vespera stuck out her tongue briefly before drawing it back into her mouth.
"How pathetic. Just looking at you makes me sick."
Mirage gritted his teeth. His mandibles tightened as he glared at her.
"But I have to hand it to you. You sure know how to put on a show when Magnus is around."
"Either way, I still need you to get rid of them, so..."
Valeria straightened, gripping the quills embedded in her arm. She yanked them out one after another, blood trickling from the wounds.
"Save your strength, Ignatia. This isn't a fight you should take on. Remember, you still have Magnus to face."
"You're right... but if I leave you here—"
"I have no intention of going down to the likes of them," Valeria said, tightening her grip on her mandibles. "I'm the captain of Queen Celeste's army for a reason. So don't worry about me."
Vespera smirked from above.
"Such bold words coming from a lowly tunnel dweller. Tell me..." She tilted her head, spreading her wings wide. "How exactly do you plan to reach me from down there?"
"She doesn't have to."
A voice cut through the air.
Without warning, a long whip shot upward toward Vespera.
Her eyes widened. She twisted her body to avoid the strike, but the whip caught her shoulder.
The weapon snapped taut.
Before Vespera could pull away, the whip retracted, dragging its hooked tip back through the wound.
"Aaagh!"
Blood ran down her arm as she clamped a hand over her shoulder.
Ignatia turned toward the voice.
"Alistair..."
The whip retracted at startling speed, its long length folding back into itself until only a compact hilt remained in his hand.
"Pardon the intrusion, Your Majesty, but it seems you needed my assistance."
Alistair bowed.
Vespera gritted her teeth.
"You're dead!"
She flared her wings, sending hundreds of quills raining down on them from above.
Alistair released a slow breath, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"I hate it when people interrupt my fun moments..."
He raised the hilt.
"Serpentine Shield."
His whip shot outward, extending rapidly before bending and twisting around him, Ignatia, and Valeria. The weapon coiled around them in multiple layers, its movements shifting in different directions.
What is this?
Valeria's eyes following its rapid movements.
Quills struck the twisting whip from every angle. Each impact sent a sharp crack through the air as the projectiles are knocked away.
Vespera laughed.
The barrage continued for several seconds before the final quills fell away.
Did she get them...?
Mirage watched toward the cloud of dust.
The whip continued whistling through the dust, intercepting the last few projectiles as the cloud began to settle.
Vespera eyes widened.
No way...
"How are you still alive?!"
"Naturally," Alistair replied.
The whip stopped moving. Its long length rapidly folded back into itself until the hilt rested in his hand once more.
Alistair lowered his arm and sheathed the weapon.
"So, how about it, Ignatia?" He asked.
"You know, I really hate your guts. You're exactly like my sister."
Ignatia folded her arms, then let out a quiet sigh.
"...But you saved our lives. So, thank you, Alistair. I mean it."
"Well, of course. I'm under your sister's orders, after all. She's my Monarch."
"Yeah, yeah. You don't have to remind me."
"Now, run along and take care of Magnus for me."
He waved Ignatia off.
"I'll handle these two."
"You're a fool if you think you can fly away with your life after taking on two of Magnus's elite moths," Vespera said.
Ignatia glanced at Alistair before turning toward the tunnel.
"I'm leaving it up to you, Alistair."
She spread her wings and shot toward the tunnel.
"Follow me, Captain of the Ant Soldiers!"
Valeria sheathed her mandibles and sprinted after Ignatia.
"As if I'd let you pass me!"
Mirage raised his hindwings.
Three quills shot through the air toward them.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Alistair's whip swept across their paths, intercepting each projectile. The quills ricocheted off the weapon and clattered against the cave floor.
"Now, now. I'm the one you'll be fighting, so pay attention. Otherwise, it'll cost you."
"I don't have time to deal with a Guardian," Mirage said.
"Oh, is that so?" Alistair tilted his head, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Then stick around. I have a score to settle with you."
Mirage's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Alistair's smile faded.
"After Magnus inflicted decay on my goddess, you had the audacity to stab her in the back. Repeatedly."
His fingers tightened around the hilt of his whip.
"She suffered because of you. Now, it's your turn."
Mirage studied him for a moment before letting out a short laugh.
"I see. So you're her Guardian?"
His smile widened.
"How pathetic. If your Monarch was too weak to protect herself, perhaps you should blame her instead of me."
Alistair's blue eyes narrowed, catching the faint light filtering through the cavern.
"I'm glad no one's here to witness this."
His thumb shifted against the hilt.
"The only ones who ever witnessed what happened that day, aside from my goddess and me, are already dead."
He raised his whip above his head.
Air rushed through the cavern. Dust swept across the floor, and loose stones rattled against one another. A deep rumble rolled through the walls as cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet.
Mirage's hands trembled.
I've heard stories about this power... No way. Could he have really achieved it?
He swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on Alistair.
If that's true...
His entire body stiffened.
Then Lord Magnus doesn't stand a chance!
Vespera's wings jerked against the sudden current. She glanced toward the trembling walls, then back at Alistair.
"What is this pressure...?"
Alistair rolled his wrist. His whip unfurled overhead, its long length twisting through the rushing air.
"Now then..."
"Let's see how long you can survive."
He thrust the hilt forward.
"GEN—"