Horrific Revelation

’A demon crystal.’ Xander blinked when he saw the thing.

Demon crystals were essentially corrupted mana cores which beasts possessed. Corrupted by the demonic corruption.

While initially useless to people and downright harmful due to the demonic energy in them. If they could be purified, they could serve a multitude of purposes, one of which included acting as mana batteries essentially.

Xander was just about to warn Keir about consuming it when Keir, while still holding it between his teeth, exhaled a tuft black flames that engulfed the crystal. And to Xander’s shock, when they subsided, what remained was a pure white and blue crystal than shone in the dark.

Then Keir promptly swallowed it and burped in satisfaction.

"..."

"..."

Xander and Aubrey looked at Mary, who just sighed and shook her head.

’Don’t attach reason to dragons. It will give you a headache.’ She explained simply.

’... I suppose being around Mia all the time makes that a little easier.’ Aubrey scratched her head. And they watched as Keir returned to Xander’s shoulder.

’Doesn’t he want the remaining crystals?’ She questioned, and Xander relayed the question, only for Keir to snort.

’My best guess is that he has no desire to take the cores from the other ants since you’re the ones that killed them. Everyone to their own loot.’ Mary offered an explanation.

’... Fair enough.’ Xander sighed. ’However, we’ve already wasted enough time here. Extracting crystals will take too long.’ As he said that, Mary simply twirled her finger, and the bodies of all the ants got diced into countless tiny pieces, leaving behind their demonic crystals.

’I have no qualms acting as a porter or accomplishing menial tasks, milord.’ She said dutifully, and Xander blinked before smiling.

’Alright, thanks.’ He nodded, choosing not to make a fuss over it.

After the crystals were stored away, the group continued.

Using Aubrey’s perception, they evaded most groups of workers, and when they encountered a group they couldn’t avoid, Mary would isolate the surroundings, and they would make quick work of the group.

In just 20 minutes, Xander judged that they had covered at least ten miles with how fast they were running. But despite that...

’It’s the same scenery no matter how far we go. I feel like I’m in a maze.’ Xander frowned. He thought that the scene would have changed at least a little bit, but it was just the same stuff. If not for Aubrey, they would have no doubt gotten lost by now.

’We should be deep enough now, right?’ Aubrey asked, and Xander lingered for a few seconds, then he nodded, slowing to a stop.

’Alright. Get started, we’ll stand guard.’ Xander said, and Aubrey nodded.

She held out her hand, and Xander took out a special stick of chalk from his ring and gave her.

Before they came, he had outlined three primary objectives for their squad.

First, get an idea of the overall size/structure of the colony.

Second, find evidence of different types of ants and assess their danger level.

Third, find the queen, and if possible, other queens if there were any.

The first goal relied on Aubrey, and the third was linked to it.

Xander watched as she started designing a spell formation with herself at the center, and for a moment, he couldn’t help but feel proud.

Since they began working together, Xander learned that Aubrey never attempted to expand on her perception magic despite being knowledgeable because she already lacked confidence in it.

But after he started teaching her how to fight, along with helping her improve her perception magic, she slowly found her confidence again. Enough to lean back into her specialization. And what she was doing at the moment was a result of that.

A few minutes later, the formation was complete, and Aubrey connected herself to it. As soon as she did, an invisible wave spread out, and she sat down cross-legged.

’Depending on how large the colony is, it will take me quite a bit to map out the entire structure. In the meantime, I’ll transmit what I see to Mary so she can quickly create a map in real time.’ Aubrey explained before closing her eyes.

At the same time, Mary took out a blue orb which was actually a recording device and gave Xander a thumbs up.

Xander just nodded. He planted his sword in the ground and rested his hands on the pommel, waiting.

Time passed slowly.

Occasionally, a few worker ants would pass by, but thanks to Mary’s stealth, they were never noticed. However, Xander wasn’t happy for two reasons.

’First of all, even though the workers are huge, why exactly are the tunnels so massive? You could pull a carriage in here and still have space to spare.’ He looked around with a frown.

’Second, why are there so few workers?’ It simply made no sense.

Despite how far they traveled, Xander had only counted a total 112 worker ants, most of which they avoided. Which such a large area, the numbers had to be more. But as things stood, they were barely enough to register as a threat even to this squad.

Which is what made him feel so uneasy.

Because usually, there is meant to be a steady stream of ants going to and fro, but here? They were barely there. Which made no sense.

As he was contemplating this, Aubrey, who was engrossed in her task, suddenly flinched.

’X-Xander, something is coming this way from the left tunnel up ahead. It’s big.’ She transmitted quickly, and Xander pulled his sword out of the ground eyes narrowing.

His body tensed as he raised his sword.

He felt it first.

A faint tremor in the ground. One that rapidly grew stronger as whatever approached got closer.

Shortly after, Xander suddenly understood why the tunnels were so large.

The ant was massive. So much so that multiple workers could climb its back and stay there comfortably. It’s large head was disproportionately large compared to its body, unlike the workers.

Its shell was also much darker, almost black, and its mandibles almost resembled massive, jagged blades that were meters long each, yet razor sharp.

Its antennae towered like small trees on its head, and its legs, of which there were 12 instead of 6, were equally massive.

Its body was equally terrifying. The thick shell didn’t just have protrustions, but numerous writhing tentacles that oozed a very suspicious dark liquid, and, unlike the workers that had too many eyes. It only had one. A singular, glowing purple eye that sat vertically on top of its head.

But that’s not what made Xander feel cold.

Rather, it was what sat on its back.

They were folded, and they were a bit hard to see from the ground. But they were undeniably there.

Wings.

The soldier ant could fly.

And it wasn’t the only one either.

A group of three massive creatures emerged from the tunnel, and Xander tensed. He had faith in Mary’s ability to keep them hidden, but he wouldn’t hesitate to act at the slightest hint of them being discovered.

The three lumbering soldiers glanced down at the workers passing by. Both sides wiggled their antennae at each other, communicating.

Then, slowly, they moved away. The soldiers traversing deeper into the colony.

’Wh-What were those...?’ Aubrey, whose eyes had been closed, still perceived the three massive creatures, and Xander took a silent breath.

’Soldier ants. Those were the soldier ants.’ He replied quietly, his expression solemn.

Even Keir looked concerned, his small face scrunched up slightly.

’Mary, did you get that?’ He asked.

’Correct.’ Mary replied simply as she reviewed the footage.

With that, Xander sighed and focused on standing guard once more.

Nearly thirty minutes passed when Aubrey finally finished what she was doing. But the way she reacted... didn’t bode well.

At first, she frowned, then paled, then went as white as a sheet, then her body started trembling.

’Aubrey?’ Xander was immediately concerned. Concern that spiked when she quickly turned to the side and vomited, expelling her dinner in panic.

’Aubrey!’ He knelt next to her and patted her back, waiting for her to calm down.

She coughed a few times, then she turned towards him, her eyes filled with unbridled terror.

’X-Xander... It’s worse... gods is so... so much worse than we could have guessed...’ Her thoughts were jumbled, and he placed both hands on her shoulders.

’Aubrey. Take a breath. Tell me what you say.’ He said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. But even then, it took her nearly a minute to regain her composure. And when she finally explained, her voice was shaky.

’The spell I used... allows me to map out a vast area by linking my senses to the surrounding mana. It intentionally avoids being detailed to avoid overloading my brain... but for large areas, it’s good enough...’ She started, and Xander nodded, knowing this already.

’But...’ She gripped his arms tightly, her eyes wide with terror. ’Even... even after going to the limit my brain could handle despite the watered down details... Xander, I wasn’t able to map out everything... no... what I managed wasn’t even half of it.’ That made Xander’s jaw clench.

’... And how much did you map out?’ He asked carefully, and she had to take a deep breath before looking him straight in the eyes.

’... Almost 200 miles in a circle... As for down. It... it just kept going...’ Xander’s pupils constricted, but Aubrey wasn’t done.

’And... there were numerous large spaces I detected. Dozens of them. And each one... even the smallest of them was bigger than Landor in its entirety, and while I couldn’t see the details, I know that there were a LOT of creatures moving in and out of them. I didn’t dare to count.’ By the time she finished, Xander fell silent.

By the side, Mary who listened to the telepathic conversation, frowned a little.

Then Xander spoke.

’How close is the closest space you detected?’ At that, Aubrey pointed a trembling finger in one direction.

’A few dozen miles that way.’ Xander stared after her finger, and his expression darkened.

... Because that was the direction the soldier ants had gone.