Loud smashes echoed across the training grounds, each impact kicking thin clouds of dust into the air.
Ari shifted sideways, the soles of his feet scraping against the packed dirt.
Lancelot lunged forward. His mandibles sliced through the space Ari had occupied a moment earlier. The strike cut through the air with a sharp hiss, missing by only a few inches.
"Unsheath your mandibles and stop running," Lancelot said.
He planted his foot and pivoted sharply, locking eyes with Ari.
Ari smirked.
"There's no need to."
Lancelot tightened his grip on his mandibles. A vein pulsed near his temple as he returned the smirk.
"You'll pay for mocking me."
Dry dirt shifted beneath his feet as he lunged forward again.
His right mandible swept across in a wide slash.
Ari leaned back just enough for the blade to pass in front of him.
Lancelot pressed the attack immediately, sending a quick series of strikes at his shoulders and torso.
Ari slipped between them with ease. His armored feet scraped lightly against the ground as he moved.
Whoa, if I'm not careful, I might actually be crushed, he thought.
"Got you this time!"
Lancelot thrust his mandibles forward, feinting to the right before pivoting sharply to the left.
The sudden shift kicked up a spray of dirt.
Ari dropped low.
In one smooth motion, he spun to the side and swept Lancelot's legs out from under him.
Lancelot's eyes widened.
A heavy thud echoed through the clearing.
Dirt scattered as he hit the ground face-first.
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Then Isla quickly covered her mouth. Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold back a laugh.
Lancelot lifted his head and glared at her.
She immediately looked away.
"It's not my fault you barely last five minutes," she muttered.
"I heard that..."
Lancelot said.
Isla's antennae twitched.
The amusement vanished from her face.
Lancelot pushed himself up and brushed dirt from his exoskeleton.
"I don't see you putting in the effort to get stronger."
"So... sorry," Isla said awkwardly.
Ari scratched his cheek and stepped closer.
"I think you're improving. It's better than yesterday's attempt."
Lancelot slid his mandibles back into their sheaths and let out a long breath.
"You're not helping."
Ever since the food expedition two days ago, Lancelot had asked me to train with him.
He never told me why.
But it feels personal somehow.
Ari watched Lancelot settle back into his stance.
Whatever his reason is, he's taking this seriously.
Guess he's not quitting anytime soon.
A short distance away, near the colony's entrance, Beatrice and Lily watched the spar.
Lancelot slashed at Ari but he dodged.
Beatrice's eyes widened slightly.
"He hasn't even drawn his mandibles yet," she said quietly. "And he still somehow managed to overpower Lance Corporal Lancelot."
"Yeah." Lily rested her hands behind her head. "He's really something, isn't he?"
Her gaze drifted toward Ari.
"They're both Lance Corporals, but Ari feels like he's on a completely different level."
A few workers passed through the entrance behind them, their footsteps crunching against the dirt.
"No wonder the Captain keeps an eye on him," Lily continued.
She glanced sideways at Beatrice.
"And no wonder he gets under your skin so easily."
Beatrice's antennae twitched.
"Under my skin?" She turned toward Lily. "Don't be ridiculous."
Lily's smile widened.
Beatrice folded her arms.
"He has potential, yes. But that doesn't mean he bothers me."
Lily studied her for a moment.
Then she looked back toward the training field.
"If you say so."
Lancelot swung both mandibles down in a sharp arc.
Ari stepped aside.
The blades struck the ground with a dull crack, sending dirt scattering across the training ground.
Lancelot pulled back immediately, refusing to give Ari a moment to breathe.
Now that I've actually fought him, I get it.
His grip tightened.
Ari isn't just fast.
He's getting stronger at an unbelievable rate.
Another attack.
Another dodge.
There's no way I can beat him right now.
That much is obvious.
His jaw clenched.
But I refuse to stay weak.
The memory of the food expedition surfaced in his mind.
The flies.
The battle.
I barely managed to hold my own against those flies.
While Ari wiped out dozens of them.
He even injured their leader.
Lancelot's chest rose and fell steadily as he watched Ari evade another strike.
I'm scared.
The thought came so suddenly that he couldn't deny it.
I'm scared that one day an enemy will appear that even Ari can't stop.
An enemy that none of us can stop.
His eyes sharpened.
The hesitation faded.
That's exactly why I have to keep fighting him.
I have to get stronger.
Lancelot charged again, putting all his strength into a wide swing of his mandibles.
I'll force him to take this seriously.
Ari's antennae twitched.
His eyes narrowed.
A faint sound reached him.
Not from the training ground.
Not from the entrance.
From below.
What's that?
The noise came again.
Distant.
Muffled.
Ari raised a hand.
"Wait, Lancelot."
Lancelot didn't stop.
He pushed forward and swung again.
Ari sidestepped the attack, but his attention was elsewhere.
His reaction was just a little slower.
A sharp sting shot through his side.
Lancelot's mandible grazed his exoskeleton.
Ari clenched his teeth.
Without thinking, he turned and drove a kick into Lancelot's face.
"Gah!"
Lancelot crashed onto his back and skidded across the dirt.
The training field fell quiet.
Ari wasn't looking at him anymore.
His gaze was fixed on the tunnels.
"Did you hear that?"
Lancelot groaned and rubbed his jaw before glancing toward the colony.
"It's probably just the worker ants."
Ari didn't answer.
Isla's antennae shifted.
"What is that?" she asked.
Ari was already moving.
His legs carried him toward the tunnels before he could even explain what he had heard.
The further he went, the clearer the sound became.
Scuffling.
Hurried footsteps.
Someone scrambling through the passageways.
Ari slowed.
A shadow emerged from an air shaft ahead.
A smaller ant pulled himself up from the opening. He looked younger than anyone else in the colony.
His movements were clumsy, but determined.
Ari narrowed his eyes and stepped forward.
"Hey."
"Ahh—"
The young ant froze.
His antennae shot upright.
For a second, neither of them moved.
"Who are you?" Ari asked.
The younger ant stared at him.
Then his body tensed.
He was getting ready to run.
Before he could move, another voice echoed through the tunnel.
"Edwin..."
Edwin flinched.
"No way...but how?"
A figure suddenly dropped from above and landed behind him.
Ari blinked.
Wait... isn't that Valeria?
Valeria straightened and brushed a speck of dirt from her arm.
"Of course it had to be you again."
Edwin spun around.
"Don't you have anything better to do?!"
Valeria let out a long sigh.
"That's my line."
She grabbed one of his antennae and started dragging him forward.
"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!"
Edwin stumbled after her, trying to pull free.
"Let me go!"
His feet scraped against the dirt.
"I'm not staying down here any longer!"
Valeria didn't even look back.
"That's not your decision to make."
Ari blinked.
"Wait... you two know each other?"
Valeria shot him a glance before grabbing Edwin by the back of his neck.
"He's my younger brother."
Ari's mouth opened slightly.
"Your brother?"
Edwin struggled against her grip.
"Let me go! I don't belong down there! I should be training with the others!"
"You know the laws," Valeria said. "Worker ants aren't allowed on the surface until they turn sixteen. And you're not allowed to train with the soldiers either. It isn't your fate..."
"That's a stupid rule!" Edwin snapped. "I'm fourteen! I don't care about fate! I'll get strong and protect everyone!"
Valeria sighed, her grip relaxing slightly.
"Edwin..."
"I don't care what they say!" he shot back. "Dad fought! You fight! Why can't I?!"
Ari studied Edwin.
I never actually thought about it. There are younger ants here in the colony too.
No wonder I've never seen any of them... they're hidden underground.
His gaze shifted to Valeria.
"So they're just... kept down here?"
"It's for their own safety," she insisted. "The surface is dangerous. If they were up here before they were ready..."
"They'd have a chance to grow strong instead of being treated like helpless insects!" Edwin interrupted. "I want to defend the colony just like you."
For the first time, her expression cracked.
Only for a second.
"Father...didn't want that for you."
Edwin eyes widened, but he stood his ground.
"You don't know what he wanted."
A heavy silence settled between them.
Finally, Valeria sighed.
"Come on. We're going back down."
Edwin clenched his hands at his sides, but didn't resist.
"Oh, and Ari."
Valeria turned around.
"Yes, Captain!"
Ari straightened instantly.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll be on patrol duty on the outskirts and in the forest. You'll be given the details later."
"Um... yes, Captain."
"And also..."
Her gaze sharpened.
Her eyes glinted.
"Forget what you saw here."
"...Yes."
She guided Edwin toward the lower tunnels.
Ari hesitated.
Ari waited.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Then he quietly followed after them.
I need to see this.
Hopefully she doesn't spot me.
The deeper they went, the cooler the air became.
Then the tunnel opened into a vast cavern filled with young ants of all sizes.
Some could barely walk, while others were closer to Edwin's age.
They were playing.
Training.
Talking.
Living in a world completely separate from the colony above.
Ari exhaled slowly.
"I had no idea..."
"Most don't."
Ari nearly jumped out of his exoskeleton.
He spun around.
Valeria stood behind him with her arms folded.
"Uh..."
He scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry."
She didn't look surprised.
"Now do you get it?" Edwin asked. "We're not weak. We're just kept down here, waiting."
Ari looked around the cavern.
He might be right...
But...
He turned to Valeria, his gaze firm.
"Captain, I know it isn't my place to say this, but maybe they should get a chance to go above the surface."
Her eyes narrowed.
"That's out of the question," Valeria replied, her tone clipped. "Especially with the season approaching. This rule has existed for generations to protect the colony. There are monsters that hunt younger, weaker ants. Because of their inexperience and lack of strength, they're easy prey. Letting them onto the surface now would be reckless."
Neither of them said anything more as Edwin was led back to his place among the others.
But as Ari turned to leave, he stopped and looked back once more.