Hopper lunged, his mandibles slicing through the dust-laced air like a pair of twin guillotines. Ari met the charge head-on, body calm and unmoving.
"Watch out!" Anastasia shouted, already in motion before her mind caught up with her body.
"Stay back!" Ari snapped, his voice sharper than steel. He planted his feet and raised his mandibles in perfect form—honed and instinctual. The instant Hopper's blade-like mandibles crashed into him, the world snapped with sound. Sparks burst outward in every direction.
Ari didn't flinch.
The ground beneath him cracked from the force, but he stood firm, the pressure sliding off him like rain on stone.
"I thought that I told you not to worry about me," he said through steady breath, his eyes never leaving Hopper's. "I'm fine now."
Anastasia blinked. Not from fear. Not from pain. From awe.
That wasn't bravado.
It was certainty. Unshakable. Something had changed in him—not just physically. His entire presence radiated composure, focus. Gone was the reckless, desperate boy she had trained back then. In his place stood a warrior.
Hopper's body flickered. A blur. He vanished, only to reappear several feet back, eyeing Ari with growing confusion.
"Why..." he muttered, voice low and dangerous, "why does it feel like you've evolved during the fight?" His expression tightened into a snarl. "Doesn't matter. I'll kill the both of you."
Crack.
The sound of the air splitting came before the movement. Hopper vanished again—then reappeared behind Ari, mandibles already mid-swing, a glint of murder in his eyes.
But he wasn't fast enough.
Anastasia was already there.
She intercepted the strike with her own crossed mandibles, the force of the impact thunderous. Her body rocketed backward like a broken arrow loosed from a bow. She hit a collapsed barricade, splinters and stone flying on impact.
Dust exploded around her.
"A-Anastasia!" Ari's voice cracked, but he didn't dare turn around.
She coughed, arm trembling, but managed to lift a hand.
"I'm fine…" she wheezed, coughing again. "Just fight!"
Relief surged through him. But he didn't let it slow him down.
He exhaled—long, measured.
Then he focused.
No fear. No fury. Just instinct.
Hopper came again—like a phantom storm—but this time, Ari didn't budge. He flowed with the movement, deflecting each blow with chilling precision. Hopper's savage slashes met Ari's calm rhythm. Every clash of mandibles was a symphony of sparks and shockwaves, but Ari parried, spun, countered, ducked. His motion was almost artful.
And yet, his thoughts were clear.
So this is what that system meant. Looks like it really is powerful. A skill that sounded as stupid as that one… actually awakened a passive ability… from kissing Anastasia. Now I fight like a true ant with battle instincts instead of the rational thinking of a human. I can read him. Predict him. My body just moves… on its own.
Every twist, every pivot was seamless. Even his breathing timed with his footwork. The wind seemed to flow with him, trailing behind like a loyal shadow.
Anastasia, battered but never broken, climbed to her feet and staggered back toward the fight. Her eyes locked on Ari. Then widened.
His stance. His movement. His timing.
His technique… he's reacting before he even thinks. His instincts have improved drastically all of a sudden.
This wasn't the Ari she met and captured on the outskirts of the colony months ago—not the one who commanded them against Helena's army, nor the one who fought the termites as a recruit or went on the expedition. He was now strong enough to hold his own.
She smiled despite the ache in her bones.
"Alright, Ari," she called. "Then let's end this together."
"Right behind you."
They attacked in sync.
A blur of motion, sparks flying. Hopper parried Anastasia's frontal slash—but left himself exposed for a heartbeat.
Ari punished the mistake.
He slashed Hopper's side, forcing the monster back. But Hopper twisted with terrifying speed, his counterattack sweeping low. Ari ducked under it by a hair. Anastasia dashed in again, leaping high, her mandibles poised.
For a second, Hopper's torso twisted just enough. A glint of scar tissue flashed in the torchlight.
There.
Ari's eyes sharpened. But the scar disappeared as Hopper spun again, evasive as ever.
"He protects that scar," Ari said between breaths.
"You're right. I realized that he is covering it now, just like a dragonfly guards its hoard. That scar… wasn't just from any wound. It was the mark my father, Captain Terrence left behind years ago" Anastasia said.
"We need to find a way to get to it. It might be our only shot at taking him down," Ari said.
Anastasia nodded grimly. "I managed to graze him there earlier, but it was a fluke. We need to break his rhythm. I'll go frontal. You bait him left. I'll fake high, force his guard up. That's your window."
"Got it."
They launched their plan.
Anastasia assaulted him head-on, relentless. Hopper's focus shifted toward her. In the corner of his eye, Ari blurred to the left, then darted right—drawing just enough attention.
Anastasia shouted and leapt.
Hopper snarled and raised his guard, expecting the blow from above.
He fell for it.
Sliding beneath Anastasia's cover, Ari's mandibles pulsed with faint energy. He shouted and slashed upward with all his weight behind the strike. The blade tore through flesh, opening Hopper's old wound with a sickening crack.
"Now!" Anastasia screamed from midair, spinning.
Her mandibles carved down into the exposed scar in a powerful arc.
Blood exploded in a red spray. Hopper reeled backward, a guttural growl erupting from his throat. He crashed to one knee, his chest heaving. The wound pulsed—deep and savage.
Ari and Anastasia stood side by side, gasping.
"Did we… did we really just—?" Ari panted.
"I can't believe it," Anastasia said. "We actually cut down Hopper…"
Then the air shifted.
Hopper twitched.
Then laughed.
"You… pathetic insects…" he hissed, voice trembling with hate, "dare to cut me?"
His frame convulsed. Muscles bulged beneath his armor-like exoskeleton. His veins glowed green. His chitin grew darker, thicker—metallic. Deadlier.
Then came the smirk.
Without warning, he vanished.
Ari's heart seized. He caught the blur—but too late.
Hopper materialized beside Anastasia.
"No!!"
Ari lunged—
—but the strike had already landed.
A brutal slash tore across Anastasia's chest. Her body flew like a ragdoll, slammed into a cracked pillar, and crumpled in a heap. Dust engulfed her motionless form.
Far above, Tanya watched the battlefield with her tiny hands pressed to her mouth.
Her pupils quaked as she saw Anastasia's body hit the ground. Blood painted the dirt. The sight broke something in her.
"N-No… no, please, no!" Tanya cried, voice shrill and cracking with despair.
Her antennae trembled. Her shoulders shuddered as she backed away from the edge, landing flat on the ground beneath her for support.
Tears streamed freely down her cheeks. The proud fire that had burned in her eyes earlier—when she saw Ari stand firm—was gone now, drowned in terror and helplessness.
"Anastasia… get up," she whispered. "Please… get up…"
The dust slowly cleared.
Anastasia lay in a twisted position. Blood pooled around her. A deep gash marked her abdomen. Her eyes were dull—barely open. Her chest moved, but faintly.
Dead silence.
Hopper chuckled. "Looks like I finally got rid of one of you pests. And it's Terrence's failure of a child, no less—following her father's footsteps to the grave."
Something inside Ari broke.
He fell to his knees. His hands trembled. The breath left his lungs in a stuttering wheeze. The pain in his chest was unbearable. He stared at her motionless form, paralyzed.
"No…" he whispered. "It can't be… Anastasia!!!"
His scream shook the very chamber.
The world turned gray.
His heartbeat echoed louder than any sound.
I was too slow… even with all this power… I still couldn't protect her…
Then—something. A whisper in his soul.
Her voice.
"Ari listen, when we fight, we fight to defend our colony. If a comrade gets severely injured or is knocking at death's door, your performance cannot waver. In real combat, we don't have time to save them—the enemy wouldn't give us that luxury. So if you're ever in that predicament… just stand and fight with all your strength. Win as quickly as possible so you can save them. But also keep this in mind—we are the last line of defense for our colony. If we fall here, the whole colony falls."
His fingers clenched.
Blood seeped from his fists. His breath steadied. His eyes burned—not just with fury.
But with clarity.
With purpose.
He stood, mandibles gripped tightly in hand.
"You still want to fight me?" Hopper growled. "After watching your commander—who's way stronger than you—fall prey to me in seconds? How foolish."
Ari looked up. His gaze was steady. Hard. His aura no longer burned wild—it focused, condensed like a blade honed to perfection.
"Yeah," he said softly. "I'm going to make you pay… for every drop of blood you spilled from her."
The air shifted.
The wind whispered.
"I will defeat you, Hopper!!" he shouted—and lunged.