"This time, I will protect you."
He spoke confidently and Imperia—
"I know, Father."
Her eyes softened a little.
She never doubted that for even the slightest second. Every time the mission ended in the past, it was never because an Ant managed to reach her.
No, her Father never let that happen.
The Mission ended because her Father died, protecting her, making sure she didn’t feel any pain and Imperia...
She did not like seeing that sight.
For now, however, she didn’t say anything. She had seen how hard her father had worked, she had seen how much he had improved, she trusted him, this time—
They would win.
With that thought in her mind, the little Ant looked at her father one last time, then, she walked inside.
The vines moved again, the shell closed and the Brood Chamber sealed itself.
Then, it happened.
Ba-dump
The chamber pulsed.
An ancient power spread through the entire Hive.
And at the same time—
The Swarmmind Link entered Kael’s mind.
"Haaah..."
Kael was prepared. This time, the sharp pressure didn’t hurt him, he was already used to it. Hundreds of thousands of thoughts rushed into his mind, fear, loyalty, hunger, readiness.
There was also information about movement.
Antennae touching stone, claws gripping roots, the smell of damp soil, the tremble of distant tunnels, the position of every Ant.
Kael could feel every little thing.
And this time—
He did not collapse.
Imperia had already taught him there was no point in listening to all the voices or understanding all the emotions in his head. She could do it, he could not. This was the difference between them, between a Human and the Mother of All Ants.
What Kael needed to do instead was—
To command.
He needed to divide them.
Scouts.
Soldiers.
Workers.
Burrowers.
Shield ants.
Acid ants.
Needle ants.
Carriers.
He needed to group them together. Tens of thousands of ants with the same purpose were no longer ten thousand different ants, they were a single command stream.
And Kael could handle that very easily.
Soon, Kael’s mind began to comprehend everything. He managed to piece together a map of this place, a living map that highlighted all the tunnels. The Brood Chamber became the very centre, every path leading toward it became clear, every weak point, every open tunnel, every hidden crack, every possible route—
Kael could see it all.
And as if the system knew he was ready—
[Wave 1 – The Firemaw Beetles]
The message appeared.
Kael’s smile disappeared.
The ground beneath him trembled. From the far tunnels, a horrifying screech echoed through the Hive, then came the heat.
A river of fire rolled through the tunnel, burning the moss on the walls and turning the air sharp and dry.
Kael didn’t react to the fire, his focus was on what came behind the fire.
The Firemaw Beetles.
Huge chitin-armored beasts the size of horses, their shells glowed red like heated metal, molten saliva dropped from their mouths and hissed as it touched the ground. Fire blasted from vents on their backs as they charged forward.
This time, Kael did not move to face them directly, he only raised his hand and the ants moved.
Shield ants rushed to the front and formed multiple layered walls inside the tunnel.
The first layer took the flames and their bodies burned.
Kael’s mind felt the pain they felt, but he tightened his jaw and steeled himself without losing focus.
"Second layer, brace."
He commanded.
The next line of shield ants locked themselves together. Worker ants moved behind them, dragging wet soil and mineral dust from side chambers.
"Now."
The workers threw everything forward.
Wet soil struck the fire, mineral dust filled the air, the flames weakened, steam exploded through the tunnel. The Firemaw Beetles charged through it with their burning mouths wide open.
"Burrowers."
Kael commanded and deep below, the burrower ants tore through the support lines, a side tunnel collapsed, cutting off part of the beetle wave and forcing them into a narrower path.
"KRRIIEEEKKKKK!!!"
The Firemaw Beetles screeched, but this alone wasn’t enough to stop them, they pushed forward.
Their fire vents opened again and this was exactly what Kael was waiting for.
"Acid."
He commanded and tiny acid ants crawling along the ceiling instantly dropped onto the beetles’ backs.
Many died instantly from the heat. Again, Kael felt the pain they felt, his focus, however, remained on those who survived.
These released acid into the fire vents and—
"KKRRRIIEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!"
The beetles roared in pain, their vents bursting as the flames exploded backwards, burning their own, otherwise seemingly indestructible bodies.
"Advance."
Kael commanded and with that, heavy soldier ants rushed forward, their mandibles clamping onto the enemies’ legs, joints, and eyes.
The Firemaw Beetles fought back like monsters. Many of Kael’s ants were crushed under their bodies, many were burned. Shield lines began collapsing as well.
When he first started fighting like this, the ants’ deaths pained him. It wasn’t just the feeling of shared pain that he felt through the Swarmmind Link, just the fact that he was pushing so many of his ants to their deaths was painful.
He, however, quickly understood the truth.
This was the only way.
It was the same back in his real world. Even in the Heights, he lost a considerable number of people. Those were the deaths he needed to live with.
Perhaps...
One of the purposes of this trial was to prepare him for just that.
Kael thought inwardly, then, he emptied his mind, throwing all such thoughts away. He couldn’t let them appear, not in the middle of the battle.
His eyes shone with a cold light.
Every time an Ant died, he felt their final thought.
Mother.
Protect Mother.
And Kael—
He promised himself that he was going to do just that.
So, with a solemn look on his face, he continued.
"Third group, circle from below."
He commanded and the remaining ants moved again.
The burrowers opened hidden paths under the beetles, the soldier ants rose from beneath them and attacked their soft underbellies.
"Acid units, mouths."
Kael commanded.
The beetles opened their jaws to release another wave of flame and the acid ants leapt in fearlessly, their bodies melting from the heat, but before dying, they let out all the acid inside them, taking down the beetles with them.
And just like that—
One by one, in front of the ants’ relentless, fearless attacks—
The Firemaw Beetles fell.
And Wave One was cleared.
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