Chapter 278 Cycle of Life: Holy Version

It has been four days since Synthia and the others placed the [Holy Core] inside the tunnels. Twenty four hours after placing the core, the eggs hatched, they hatched small football sized golden ants with fragile looking carapaces. Kate, Mark and Simon thought that they were kind of cute, but their opinions quickly changed when they saw what happened next. After the six hundred or so tier one holy ants hatched, the queen's chamber instantly turned into chaos. The ants started to savagely rip each other apart, savagely tearing their siblings apart and devouring them, and just like that, within the day, their numbers were cut by more than half and the remaining ones started evolution. Within the next hour, they hatched from their cocoons, a little bigger than before, and started devouring the carcasses of their dead siblings, before the savage brawl started again. They brutally ripped each other apart until only a hundred or so was left within the chamber and the chamber was filled with corpses of the dead. Once again, the cycle repeated itself, and once they were out of their cocoons, the shrill screams of dying ants echoed throughout the cave system. Until finally, only a dozen or so were left evolving into tier 4s. In all, the entire process from them hatching to becoming tier 4s was only a little over a day. And just like that, they spent two days in the caves.

"T-that, that was brutal." Simon said as he looked at the corpses littered everywhere

"Hah, if you think this is brutal, then you should see what we are going to do next." Castiel said with a wide smile and the five of them started racing through the tunnels. By now, the [Holy Territory] has spread through a few of the tunnels. The creature's that lived in the tunnel have made sure to avoid the [Holy Territory thus far, and Synthia and Castiel knew that once the [Holy Territory] spread too far, the other beasts will start to leave. Which means they needed to act fast. With familiarity, they navigated the tunnels and quickly arrived outside.

"Hold hands, and channel all your holy energy into Synthia." Castiel said and they instantly followed his command, linking hands midair. Channeling their holy energy into Synthia, her body started to glow, and she started to speak, except the words that left her mouth weren't in English. Strange archaic words that the Angel(lessers) didn't understand flowed from her lips like an incantation and they soon noticed a change. A giant golden rune that looked like a magic circle lit up above the mountain, before the entire mountain was bathed in golden light.

"Angelic Ritual: Divine Prism." Synthia said and the light that bathed the mountain became more solid, creating solid barriers on all sides of the mountain.

"That's amazing." Kate praised, and Synthia coughed up blood and almost fell to the ground, but Castiel caught her

"I've got you. We should head back inside." Castiel said and carried Synthia inside

"I don't get it. Is that barrier supposed to trap the ants inside? Does that mean we are trapped inside as well?" Mark asked nervously

"No, the barrier simply prevents living demonic creatures from passing through. Angels and creatures with holy energy like the ants can pass through easily. The idea is that the prism covers the entire area of the mountain, even the area beneath ground. Which means no demonic creature can come in or go out." Castiel said and the three of them pondered why Castiel and Synthia would do something like that

"You....intend to convert the tier 3s and kill the tier 4 demons that remain inside the mountain don't you. While also providing a safe environment for the ants to grow stronger." Kate said with wide eyes

"Bingo, we wish to gain more holy beasts as variety is key. We need as many different types of soul crystals as possible." Castiel said as they arrived back at the [Holy Territory].

"It should take a few hours before they hatch, so I'm gonna need you to watch over Synthia for now. I have work to do." Castiel said and left.

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'Found you.' Castiel thought as he looked at a rat like creature, no bigger than the tier 4 ants he fought a two days ago. It's fur was silver with patches of red and it's eyes were crimson. The creature was obviously a tier 4, which is why Castiel intended to hunt it down, the [Divine Prism] wasn't as strong as it seems. With a few powerful attacks from a tier 4, it would more than likely break apart, which means that it would be best to eliminate any tier 4 within the prism. Castiel was sure that once the [Holy Territory] starts to spread throughout the mountain, the beasts inside will be frantic to leave and they will frantically start attacking the barrier. To lower the possibility of the prism being destroyed too soon, eliminating the tier 4s inside was paramount. But that was not the only reason, when the ants finish evolution, they are gonna be hungry and the queen is going to need sustenance to start reproduction.

'Harsh is the cycle of life.' Castiel thought before attacking the rat.