Shinji's group continued their advance. They only needed to push through one last dense thicket to reach their destination.
Lio led the way, his blade slicing through the thick grass and tangled vines with a dry shink sound. The others followed closely, scanning their surroundings with caution. At the rear, the brothers Lumber and Gumber were still busy wiping their spearheads, trying to remove the dried ichor from the previous battle.
"Bull shit. This mantis blood is stuck fast."
When the final layer of brush was pushed aside—the sight before them left everyone frozen in their tracks.
The Fairy village was no longer a village. The wooden houses that once stood side-by-side were now nothing but a graveyard of ruins. Support beams were snapped, roofs were scorched black, and some areas were completely pulverized, as if a titan had stepped on them. Ash and debris covered the ground. Scattered through the overgrown weeds were ivory-white fragments—arm bones, leg bones, and tiny fairy skulls. Surrounding the village were massive pits, plunging deep into the dark earth below.
The air was heavy, thick with the suffocating smell of damp rot and old ash.
"This is horrific..."
Shinji whispered, his voice barely audible. Behind them, Omelet stood paralyzed. His eyes trembled as he stared at the carnage. Memories were ripped from his past and thrust into the present: the village swallowed by fire, the screams, the clashing of steel, broken wings falling to the dirt... and his own cowardice. He had been so afraid of death that he turned his back and fled, abandoning his father's hope.
Omelet burst into tears. They rolled down his cheeks and fell into the mud. He clenched his fists, his entire body shaking. Akidou and the others rushed to his side.
"I... I'm so useless..."
Omelet sobbed, striking his own chest.
"I shouldn't even be alive..."
Akidou immediately grabbed his hands, holding them firm.
"No! No one has to die!"
Akidou's voice was resolute.
"You are our friend. You can't change the past, but as long as you are here, anything is possible!"
Meanwhile, far away in Heavenfield, Supreme Commander Odin had just returned. His expression was uncharacteristically grim. Without a moment's hesitation, he issued an order.
"Send word. The Supreme Commander summons the three Grand Commanders back to Heavenfield!"
An undercurrent was rising, and he could feel it in his bones.
Back in Greenpath, Omelet bowed his head, his long hair nearly touching the ground. Surrounded by his friends, his small frame shuddered with every breath. Slowly, through the hands on his shoulders and the steady words of his comrades, he took a deep breath and tried to stifle his sobs.
Akidou let go. Omelet stood up slowly, wiping the mud and tears from his face, though his breath was still shaky.
In the meantime, Alba had been scouting the perimeter of the ruins. His eyes landed on a familiar object near a collapsed house—a stone axe, crude but sharp. It looked newer than the one he had seen before. Alba opened his mouth to call the others, but seeing them occupied with Omelet, he decided to investigate on his own.
The deeper Alba went into the village, the more uneasy he felt. Some houses weren't just destroyed; they were buried under mounds of earth, as if something from below had reached up to swallow them. Several large pits gaped like black maws, leading deep underground. On the soil were thousands of tiny, overlapping footprints—not human, but insectoid.
Alba peered into one of the holes. It was pitch black. But deep in that darkness, he saw something sharp reflecting a sliver of light.
Whiz—!
An arrow shot straight up from the pit. Alba flinched, diving to the side as the projectile grazed his shoulder and slammed into a tree trunk behind him. From the hole, a creature emerged. It stood nearly as tall as a man, but its head and thorax were those of an ant. It stood on two legs, its mandibles clicking as it gripped a stone weapon.
Then, another appeared. This one held an axe—identical to the one Alba had just picked up.
At that same moment, back with Shinji's group—the sound of movement erupted throughout the village. From the pits all around them, countless giant ants rose to the surface. They were armed with primitive stone spears, swords, and axes, quickly encircling the area and blocking every exit.
From the back of the swarm, a larger ant stepped forward. It looked aged, with long antennae drooping down and a large eyepatch covering one side of its face. It wore thick, layered stone armor. It drew a stone blade from its belt and pointed it directly at the group.
A raspy, guttural voice rang out:
"Kill the humans."
The surrounding ants cheered, raising their weapons and clattering their mandibles together like war drums. The group quickly stood back-to-back, dropping into defensive stances.
It was then that Lumber and Gumber realized something was wrong. Their wooden crate—it was gone. The brothers scanned the area in a panic, only to freeze.
The crate was sitting right at the feet of the Ant Leader, being used as his footstool.