Too Fast!

"Shooting the queen out of her cocoon?!" Ian mused, his voice tinged with disbelief. "How do you propose to do that?"

It irked Ian how so easily Aldrich had proposed a plan like that to them, as though it was going to be as easy as fishing for a marriageable woman among the list of available... Around.

Aldrich gave him a pointed look, his confidence unshaken despite the doubting eyes of Ian.

"Does your visual ability let you see something beyond a physical barrier?" he countered. "Because without knowing where the queen is inside the cocoon, how do you intend to hit her?"

Ian's question was not without merit.

It was a problem Aldrich had considered, especially given the formidable barrier of the cocoon.

However, his mind had already worked out the solution.

"I wish my sight granted me such clarity. If it did, my shooting would be much easier," Aldrich replied.

His tone was light, but there was a hint of longing.

He imagined himself as a bowman with the power to pierce through solid structures.

How unstoppable that would make him.

The thought lingered for a moment, but Ian, ever pragmatic, snapped him out of it. "How do you plan to proceed, then?"

"Better if I show you," Aldrich said, pulling out three arrows from his quiver, letting them rest comfortably in his hand. He turned toward Fiona. "Fiona, can you summon your familiar?"

Fiona, ever so understanding and patient enough, immediately summoned her familiar, the small fox named Tulip, who had yet to grow into her full potential.

Aldrich placed the arrows on his bow, adjusting them just so, ensuring they were pointed in different directions, marking the unique trajectory each one would take.

"Light them all up," he instructed briefly. His command was clear, and Fiona nodded without hesitation, controlling Tulip to ignite the arrowheads with her innate elemental power.

"Wait," Ian interrupted, a realization dawning on him. "You're planning to burn the cocoon down?!"

"Precisely," Aldrich affirmed, his voice tinged with pride.

The plan, in his mind, was simple yet effective. "Burn it, force the queen to emerge, and then we have a clear target to strike. We kill two birds with one stone."

"Can you even make the shot from here?" Ian asked sceptically.

The distance was immense, and while Aldrich's eyes could see far, there was more to a successful shot than just visual clarity.

Aldrich smirked. "I think the distance is just right."

With that, he drew the three arrows back, the bowstring taut under his practised grip.

The flames danced on the arrowheads, crackling in anticipation.

With a swift release, he fired them.

The arrows flew upward, their arcs high and graceful, before diving toward the cocoon below.

Aldrich wasted no time. "More."

Without hesitation, he knocked three more arrows, readying them for Fiona's familiar to light up once again.

The process repeated, each arrow adding to the fiery assault on the cocoon.

The flames spread quickly, engulfing the surface in a cascade of heat.

The cocoon caught fire, its outer layers cracking and blackening under the intense flames.

Panic spread among the ten guards who scrambled to respond, and more ants began to pour into the lair from the numerous holes in the walls.

The ground beneath their feet trembled as the ants surged forward from ahead of the cave they were currently hiding in.

Camelia was the first to recognize the danger, being that she sensed the tremor for what it was.

"We need to leave, now!" she shouted.

But it was already too late.

As she turned to flee, a massive swarm of ants appeared ahead, their march relentless and swift, as though they were being chased.

Realizing they had no choice but to act, the four of them ran toward the exit, leaping out of the hole and landing in the open space immediately exposed to the ants.

"Okay... maybe we didn't think this through," Aldrich muttered, his voice strained.

They had no cover now, and the ants quickly identified them as intruders.

The ground was alive with the movements of the swarm, and soon, the four were surrounded.

The ants brandished their weapons, closing in with lethal intent.

Ian could have gloated, perhaps, but the urgency of the moment left no time for that.

He drew his weapon and prepared for a fight.

But then, a sudden shriek split the air.

It came from the burning cocoon, and soon, the rest of the ants joined in, shrieking in unison.

The sound was deafening, and for a moment, the entire cave seemed to vibrate with their collective wailing.

And then—silence.

One by one, the ants dropped to the ground, their bodies unmoving, lifeless.

"What just happened?" Ian exclaimed, his voice full of confusion.

"I think... they just died," Camelia replied, her voice uncertain.

But it was the only explanation that made sense.

The ants had all fallen at once, their wails suddenly ceasing.

The only thing capable of affecting the ants generally is none other than what affects the queen.

As she is the head and the central figure to all operations going on in the colony, she alone has the power to directly or indirectly influence all ants in her colony.

In this instance, the death of the queen could be the only explanation as to why all the other ants would fall dead at the same time.

Aldrich's eyes turned toward the cocoon.

It was still burning, more fiercely than ever. "Guess I overdid it with the fire," he said, his voice a mixture of surprise and satisfaction.

His plan had worked, maybe even too well.

"The queen's dead, and so are the ants," Ian said with a hint of awe. "You did it."

Aldrich let out a small chuckle. "Does that mean I should think things through a bit more before rushing into action next time."

But his words were not without a hint of relief.

The plan had worked, and it had worked in their favour.

For now.

But Fiona, ever cautious, was not so quick to relax. "Do you guys not find this a little too easy?" she asked, her voice laced with unease.

They all paused, the weight of her words sinking in.

It had been too easy.

All that effort put into planning setting all this up and giving them two weeks or so to sort things out only to have it end this way?...

It seemed questionable indeed.

"You shouldn't say things like that, Fiona. It's like tempting fate," Aldrich warned, his eyes narrowing.

He had seen enough novels and anime to know how one careless remark could bring unwanted consequences.

Fiona's unease however was not entirely unwarranted.

The situation felt too smooth, too easy.

They hadn't even broken a sweat, and yet... The job is done!

Aldrich, sensing the tension, turned to Ian. "Can you lead us to the exit? Camelia and I will go get Trevor while you hold down the fort."

"I should check the cocoon... make sure nothing's out of place," Fiona insisted.

Her instincts were sharper than most, and something about this didn't sit right with her.

As she moved closer to the still-burning cocoon, Aldrich watched her carefully. "What else could possibly—"

Before he could finish, the space around the cocoon warped, and out stepped a figure, cladded in Eldora's institute uniform.

"A student?!" Ian mused aloud, but the words barely left his lips before the figure vanished from sight.

In the blink of an eye, the figure reappeared directly in front of Fiona.

She had no time to react.

With a swift thrust, the figure drove his fist into her chest, breaking through her skin, a spray of blood marking the air.

"FIONA!" Aldrich screamed, his voice filled with horror and disbelief.

Fiona stumbled, her hands clutching at her chest as she collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from the wound.

It had all happened too fast