The relentless attack on the hunters and the ants shook the mountain to its very core.
The hunters pushed forward.
The numbers of black smoke growing less and less with each passing moment.
Drones harbored back and forth across the battlefield.
Some delivering medicine.
Some location aid for other hunters to quickly assist.
Men in suits watching point screens.
Their very breath hanging with each passing second.
The mountain started to sing lower and lower.
Five hunters standing at the forefront.
Making quick work of the ants.
The system spoke.
*"Mid-level joint fusion skill. Luminous Slash."*
A powerful beam taking the shape of a slash tore through everything it touched.
Wiping it away cleanly.
The hunters began to smile.
Drawing closer to the top.
The ants quickly stopped.
The noise of the black smoke pausing for a moment.
Then the slow vibration of wings humming through the air.
Their enormous bodies shaking.
An odd feeling settling across everything.
They slowly moved back.
The hunters found themselves happy.
Thoughts bursting out into the air.
One soldier's voice rising.
Carrying a brilliant smile with each word.
"We're pushing them back!"
Many shouted alongside him.
The mountain rang with it.
---
Then within the mountain—
A giant rift.
Tearing through time and space.
A scar in the world itself.
Blue wound glowing and moving like water and light simultaneously.
Evidence of something ancient.
Something fundamental breaking open.
Within it—dark underground tunnels.
At the center of this wound in the world—giant blue crystals embedded in the earth.
Giving life.
Many ants.
Many more.
Dark silhouettes taking shape.
Moving forward.
Each step shaking the tunnel.
Beyond that.
Going deeper.
Then deeper still.
The shadow of something else.
Different from the rest.
More human in shape.
But ant in nature.
And something else entirely in between.
It screamed.
The sound filling up the endless dark tunnels.
Moving outward.
Touching the rift.
Leaving it.
Entering the mountain.
All the way to the top.
---
A sea of red fog poured out.
Consuming the top of the mountain.
Leaving half the base exposed.
The hunters stood and witnessed it.
Dread taking over.
Fear following immediately after.
Those consumed by the fog began bleeding.
Non-stop.
From the eyes.
From the ears.
From the mouth.
From the nose.
From every opening in the body.
Excruciating pain followed like a river with no banks.
The earth started to shake.
Giant hulking ant-like creatures emerged.
Different from the others.
Moving in formation.
Taking shape with purpose.
The system spoke.
*"The Royal Guard has entered the battlefield."*
A surge of shock moved through the hunters.
Fear following directly behind it.
The smiles gone.
The shouting gone.
Just silence where victory had been moments before.
And the red fog continued spreading.
Moving downward.
Consuming everything in its path.