It happened in an instant. The knights didn't have time to turn around when a sharp screech resounded from behind.
Blood splattered all around the cave. Only one knight reacted in time and pivoted to block the attack.
A symphony of metal on metal knocked the boy back to his senses. Shifting his body, he froze, a grim expression plastered on his face.
What stood a couple of metres before him was a grotesque ant-like creature the size of a horse.
Its body consisted of two wide, round, brown segments held together by a grey metallic exoskeleton.
It had two bulging eyes that seemed to reflect every scene at once, and two scythe-like mandibles protruded near its mouth.
Its six legs sprawled around its body, holding the huge ant upright. Its front two legs clashed in a dangerous dance with the knight.
The knight swung furiously, but no damage could be seen.
The sword bounced off the hard outer shell. Not even a scratch left behind.
One of the ant's legs slammed into the sword.
Knocking the knight back and forcing him to the ground, he grunted as blood spilt from his mouth before pushing his body back up.
He knelt less than a foot away from the boy. Standing back up, something shifted within the knight. His sword seemed different. The air around it subtly moved, coalescing around his sword as he charged forward.
The knight clashed with the ant once more, dancing between the two long legs that were flailing rapidly trying to hit the knight.
The knight switched between stances, with both hands holding the sword, putting all his strength into his left foot and swung upwards.
Using every ounce of strength he had, the sword met the ant's leg, and a sound resounded.
Falling to the ground, one of the ant's legs was cut cleanly through, and black blood poured from the spot where the ant's leg once was.
The knight didn't miss a beat, pivoting once again and rotating his hands counter-clockwise, bringing the sword down one last time.
He sliced cleanly through the ant's neck, decapitating it.
The ant's body went limp as its head rolled on the ground, a puddle of black blood forming where its head once was.
It all happened so fast that the boy had no time to react, standing there motionless trying to comprehend what just happened.
He could see everything clearly: how the knight moved, how the sword changed according to how the knight shifted his weight through his body.
A surge of information raced into his mind.
Then there was the sword itself that had changed, allowing the knight to cut cleanly through the ant.
Feeling a dull ache in his head that knocked him out of the train of thought, it felt like he was back to a month ago, the day of his awakening.
Before the pain could consume him, he froze.
Three more ants rose from behind the piece of broken rock that lay protruding from the entrance the first ant had made.
A sense of hopelessness pricked at his mind, it felt like even the world didn't want them to leave this cave.
Turning slightly to see behind him, he witnessed chaos. Workers ran in every direction—some on the ground, others swinging their pickaxes in a desperate attempt to fend off the ants.
Bodies were strewn all around the tunnel, a metallic smell filling the atmosphere, a few of the lamps were still held up shedding light on the horrors in front of him.
The front of the tunnel seemed to be broken through. The knights were either still fighting or long gone.
Spinning back, his focus locked on the lone knight who was still fighting. Two more ants' bodies lay lifeless on the floor.
But the damage that had gradually built up on the knight was taking its toll.
The once silver armour was now covered in shades of black and red.
A huge gash was outlined on the torso.
The knight's breathing had changed—more tired, more ragged.
The ants seemed to have focused all their efforts on the front so only a few ants were in the back.
He needed to do something, but he didn't know what. The carnage around him overloaded his brain. A sharp pain struck from behind his eyes, as sweat began to drip profusely.
Fear was overcoming him.
Everything went silent.
Just as the thought entered his mind, he noticed something: He could almost hear a stampede of footsteps rushing through the tunnels.
His heart sank, the second wave was coming.
Just as all hope seemed to be lost.
Then he saw it—six knights clad in silver armour rushed into the tunnel.
The commotion had drawn them inside with their swords drawn. They charged forward.
But unease kept spinning in his mind—the knights were here, so why could he still hear more thumping? Before he could call out, four ants emerged from the broken crevices at frightening speeds, ambushing the knights.
In the blink of an eye, three knights fell, blood spilling from the gashes made by the ants' legs.
One had been flung across the cave; a sickening crack resounded. The knight's lifeless body slumped against the wall.
The other three knights froze, fear etched onto their faces. Before anything could happen, one of the knights shouted.
"Retreat!" he screamed, turning around to run
"Blow it up! Block the cave!"
At that moment, one of the knights dropped to the ground; he planted both his palms flat on the ground.
All the ants focused on the lone knight kneeling on the floor.
Glancing intently, the boy saw the shift in the air around the knight's hands. The air pulsated near him.
Vibrations could be felt from where the boy stood, starting slowly, and the vibrations gradually grew.
Reverberating all up his body, he didn't need to know what the knight was doing; they had told him whatever was happening now would collapse the cave.
Though frozen in place, his body reacted, adrenaline taking over with one thought in his mind.
Survive.
Rushing forward to where the knight had fallen, the one who had slain 3 ants all by himself, he lingered for a moment taking in the scene.
The knight that once looked stronger than the world itself lay lifeless, still clutching his sword.
Bending down, tightening his grip around the hilt, he moved forward a few steps. He came face-to-face with a lifeless ant.
It was disgusting black blood littered the floor forming pools—it was the ant that had been decapitated.
Without a second thought, he thrust the blade into the squishy underbelly of the ant's body.
The ant's outer shell was rock-hard; he had seen it in the clash with the knight.
Making an incision, he pushed with all his strength as he pulled the sword down, using both hands.
The cut wasn't big, but it was just enough to fit himself through.
Brownish green fluid spewed out, shards of rock and minerals following the stream of sludge.
Questioning what he was doing, he squeezed his body through.
As his body filled with vile sensations.
A loud muffled boom shook through the tunnel.