Blade Over Magic

Chaos II

Sparrow didn’t even consider probing the ant. She used Overclocking without any hesitation and rushed at it, her body leaving blue afterimages as she ran circles around the creature to look for an opening.

However, she very quickly discovered a problem.

It wasn’t that it had an airtight defense. Rather...

’It’s not defending at all. No... it’s watching me.’ The thought made her feel a deep sense of discomfort. Those bug-like eyes simply followed her movements without any indication of action.

It sort of reminded her of when she fought Xander...

Gritting her teeth, she finally moved in to attack.

Appearing in a blindspot, she slashed at the ant with both of her swords, but once again, it simply raised one of its bladed limbs and caught the attack, not showing even the slightest indication of having received any sort of shock or impact.

Sparrow didn’t just end it with that, though. Using her force magic, she made her body rotate in a manner that defied logic, allowing her to change positions midair and deliver a kick at the ant’s head.

It leaned back to dodge, but that’s when the hidden blade in her boot emerged and slid across its face.

Sparrow kicked back, flipped once, and landed on the floor, then she rushed forward again, not waiting to see the results of her attack.

Rather, she drew several throwing knives and threw them at the ant, all of them suddenly flying in unpredictable angles and attacking at different speeds to throw it off.

The ant’s eyes moved rapidly as it tracked all the movements of the knives, but then Sparrow moved a piece the ground beneath its feet to the side, causing it to temporarily lose its balance.

She finally reached it at this point, and she stabbed both blades towards its neck while the throwing knives shot at different parts of its body. It looked like it was unable to defend and was wide open.

Yet throughout everything, Sparrow noticed that the ant hadn’t panicked. Rather, it seemed to be observing everything with a note of curiosity.

’Move your head.’ Her pupils shrunk at the subconscious thought, and she dived to the ground.

A red line appeared in the air behind her, and she spared a glance to her back. What she saw made her back get covered in cold sweat.

One of the mountain peaks suddenly had a red line appear across it, then it ’slowly’ slid off and fell to the ground.

Then she looked forward just in time to see the ant straightening, the throwing knives that had been about to strike it falling to the ground, each also having a red line appear on them before falling apart.

”Fast... pressure... unpredictable...” The ’ant’ spoke in that hoarse voice, as though contemplating which word to use to describe Sparrow.

Then it settled on one.

”... Annoying.” Sparrow’s breath hitched as she met its gaze.

It was looking at her like she was a bug. A fast, unpredictable, annoying bug.

Sweat dripped down her brow, and she found herself gulping.

It was then that she felt it clearly.

’This thing can kill me.’ The thought was clear. She didn’t mean if she wasn’t careful, it would kill her. Or a slight mistake would lead to her death. No.

The thing in front of her, was entirely capable of ending her life regardless of any actions she took. As for why it hadn’t done so yet.

’It’s studying me. Is it learning?’ She wondered and gripped her short swords tighter. Then amidst it all, she smiled slightly.

”Annoying, huh? Says the ant—”

The ant waved one limb, and a vertical red line appeared on Sparrow across her body.

She didn’t even know when it moved...

Blood sprayed, and Sparrow grunted as she tumbled across the ground, having been hit by something.

She quickly looked up, and her breath hitched.

Standing where she’d been, Zeke could be seen, his posture slightly staggered, and his right arm, the one he’d used to push her out of the way, sat on the floor, blood gushing from the open wound.

”Zeke!” Sparrow yelled, and the latter’s face was pale and distorted from the pain, but he didn’t make a sound.

Instead, as he fell due to losing his balance, he abruptly twisted his body, splashing some of the blood that gushed from his wound at the ant. This blood rapidly turned into a green poisonous mist that engulfed the ant’s upper body.

Then he spat out two needles from his mouth which shot towards its eyes, but it somehow sensed them and shifted its head, causing both needles to bounce of its shell.

Just then, roots burst forth from the ground and wrapped around its lower body.

”... Wind Magic: Jet Stream!” A horizontal funnel of wind blades as thick as a house suddenly engulfed the ant, and Sparrow quickly grabbed Zeke and his arm before dashing away from the attack.

The captain exhaled and lowered his outstretched fist, his gauntlets glowing with runes as the attack faded, revealing a ravine where the attack had passed, and in the center, there stood the ant. No signs of damage.

A red blur and a flash of electricity moved in at the same time. Ragna and Bodhi appeared at the sides of the ant. One swung his axes and the other his sword.

The ant raised its limbs and blocked. The resulting explosion rocked the surroundings, throwing dust and debris high into the air, but despite this...

’What is...’

’This thing made of?!’ The two men gritted their teeth as the ant didn’t budge in the slightest.

”Stellar Ray!” A beam of starlight smashed into the exposed chest of the ant and threw it backwards until it crashed into the side of one of the mountains.

”Is everyone okay?” Aubrey and Falael ran up to Sparrow who was feeding a potion to Zeke while holding his severed arm to the stump so it would reattach.

”We’re alive... but the main issue is that thing.” She looked in the direction where Falael had struck the ant, and the half-elf snorted.

”I’ll need someone to buy me time to—”

”Duck.” Aubrey suddenly said.

”Huh?” They blinked. Then she roared.

”Everyone Duck!”

All the veterans immediately dived to the ground just as a red line appeared across the entirety of the frontline, then the consequent destruction followed, and any unlucky soldier who had been standing in the path of the attack was severed in two along with all the outposts.

Luckily, Curtis had been carried out of the mage tower, otherwise, it would have collapsed while he was inside.

Looking up through the dust, Aubrey said in a suppressed voice as she caught sight of the approaching figure.

”That thing... It’s closer to a true demon than a simple ant. It must be what the queen had been nurturing in those special eggs.” Falael glanced at her and asked.

”Can you read its information.” Aubrey shook her head.

”Only bits of it... The demonic corruption around it is interfering with what I can perceive. That’s why the telepathic link got cut off in the first place.” At this point, everyone else had stood, each some distance away from the ant that had stopped advancing, its head tilted.

”... Where’s Xander?” Sparrow asked as she gripped her short swords, entering Overclocking once again.

”Why do you think we aren’t dealing with the remaining ants anymore?” Falael grumbled, and Sparrow’s eyes widened before she looked up.

Near the peak of the destroyed mountain the ants had spewed out of, all of them were gathered there like a dark cloud around something.

”Don’t tell me... he’s handling all of them by himse—”

”Move!” Everyone followed Aubrey’s warning without thinking, and criss-crossing red lines appeared in the area in a vast range, shredding everything in the vicinity into tiny chunks.

Falael ground their teeth and aimed their wand to fire an attack, but as soon as they did, the tip of a bladed limbs was reflected in their eyes, just inches away from their face.

Before it could impale their head, though, a mana arrow hit the side at just the right angle, redirecting the thrust so it would pass Falael’s head.

Roots then burst from the ground and grab the ant, dragging it from Falael and intending to smash it into a rock, but red lines appeared on them and they got cut apart, freeing the ant. But as it was midair, another powerful funnel of wind blades engulfed the ant, sending it barreling towards the mountain.

It twisted midair and planted its feet on the mountain side, preparing to shoot at its next target, but a blue flash appeared above it. It held up its limb just as Sparrow crashed down on it like a meteor, throwing it to the ground where root spikes were waiting for it.

Red lines appeared on those spikes right before it landed, slicing them apart. Yet when it did land, the severed spikes suddenly burgeoned and exploded, bathing the ant in a corrosive substance.

It hardly seemed perturbed, though, and looked up to see Bodhi high above it, his sword having been covered in layers of electricity and extended to over a dozen meters in length.

With a roar, he slashed down, creating a massive crevice where the lightning blade passed while electricity blanketed the area.

He landed near the rest and exhaled.

”Tell that at least did something.” He glanced at Aubrey, but her face was dark.

”... No damage whatsoever.” She started to draw her bow.

”But it seems to be a newborn and lacks combat experience. We can use that to our advantage and—”

”Found... You.” A voice came from within their midst, and everyone’s heart sank.

Aubrey turned to see the ant looking down at her, its limb prepared to thrust.

”Pest...” It thrust forward, and blood was spilled.