Kira watched in pure horror as the ants closed in around Aren.
She knew it was her fault.
If she had moved, if she had reacted even a second faster, he would not be there. Yet instead of stepping forward, her fear only doubled. Her body refused to obey her. She stood frozen, shaking uncontrollably, eyes stretched wide as tears streamed down her face.
She could not move.
Aren felt the bites before he could even register them.
Sharp pain exploded across his body as mandibles tore into flesh. His body jerked violently as blood splattered across the stone floor in an instant. The sensation was overwhelming, brutal, suffocating.
But what filled his mind was not the ants.
It was the past.
Dark alleys. Circling figures. Fists crashing into his ribs and face like hammers. Laughter growing louder the more he struggled. The feeling of being trapped, powerless, abandoned.
Something inside him snapped.
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Aren roared from the depths of his chest. The sound tore through the cavern, echoing violently against the walls.
His eyes burned.
A claw strike exploded outward, larger and more violent than anything he had unleashed before. It was raw, fueled by rage, pain, and hatred. The attack tore through the heads of multiple ants in an instant. Their bodies were flung into the air, spinning helplessly as if caught in a massive vortex.
Silence followed for half a breath.
Aren slowly pushed himself to his feet.
Blood drenched his body, dripping from torn flesh and soaked clothing. But beneath it all, a grin spread across his face.
Low. Savage.
"I’m not the same person anymore," he growled under his breath.
The next moment, he summoned the boss wolf.
It materialized beside him in a violent surge of shadow and lightning. The massive beast stood tall and imposing, black lightning ripping across its body and crashing into the ground like living thunder.
Its presence alone stole the air from the cavern.
The ants froze.
Even Leon and Aiden turned instinctively, eyes widening at the sight of Aren standing there, drenched in blood, his aura twisted and defiant. He did not look like someone on the brink of death.
He looked like someone daring fate itself.
’People in my past life wanted me dead,’ Aren thought coldly. ’In this life, my parents couldn’t care less. And now a damn angel from this trial wants me gone too.’
His savage smile widened.
"Screw all of it. You won’t see my fall."
The boss wolf opened its jaws.
A massive breath of black lightning erupted outward, ripping through a cluster of ants in an instant. Their bodies disintegrated under the electrical storm, exoskeletons shattering as they were blown apart.
Aren charged right behind it.
His feet slammed into the ground, each step heavy and violent. He leapt into the air, eyes locked onto a single ant below. His fist came down like a meteor.
Crack.
The skull caved in instantly.
Blood sprayed as Aren planted his foot, twisted sharply, and released another claw strike. The attack ripped straight through the head of a second ant, killing it on the spot.
"Hahaha... hahaha."
Aren let out a hearty laugh as his body spun, as if he was drawing excess joy from slaughtering the insects. His fist collided with another ant, crushing it completely, and a notification immediately followed.
[Level Up, +4 Stat Points]
"I guess I can’t silence all the notifications," Aren thought mid-motion, lips curling upward. "But this is good. I’m one step away from level ten."
By now, the final wave of ants had poured through the caves and reached them. These were the last ones.
And to Aren, they were no longer enemies. They were soul fragments waiting to be harvested.
His eyes gleamed as he took a step forward, ready to continue.
But suddenly, he coughed.
A mouthful of black blood spilled from his lips.
His vision blurred.
"Shit," he cursed as his knees buckled and he dropped to one knee, staring at the ground as the world began to spin.
"Aren! Are you alright?" Leon shouted, trying to rush toward him.
But the ants blocked the way, surrounding Aren completely. Aiden tried to break through as well, but he was forced back.
Aren was alone.
His entire body pulsed violently, pain rippling through his veins. He didn’t need to think long to understand what was happening.
Poison.
The venom from the ants that had bitten him earlier had spread too far, too fast.
"Tsk... I don’t have any potions," Aren muttered before coughing again, more black blood spilling out. He gritted his teeth and forced himself back to his feet, every movement shaking.
Even so, he forced a smile onto his face.
"There’s no way I’m staying down because of venom," Aren said hoarsely. "I said I’d kill you all first, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do."
He took a shaky step forward, and an ice lance shot past him.
It pierced straight through the head of an ant that had been charging at him, pinning it to the cave wall.
Aren turned his head.
Kira stood there, her expression completely different from before. Fear still lingered, but now it was mixed with resolve. Her hands were steady, her eyes sharp.
Seeing her like that gave Aren a push he hadn’t realized he needed.
Before he could say anything, she pulled a potion from her inventory and threw it to him.
He caught it instinctively.
Aren stared at the bottle for a moment, genuinely stunned that she would give it to him.
"I owe you my life," Kira said firmly.
Aren let out a strained smile, popped the cap, and drank the potion in one gulp.
He exhaled deeply as warmth spread through his body. The poison burned away, the pulsing pain faded, and his wounds sealed themselves shut.
His vision cleared.