The battle in the depths of the ant nest had reached a fever pitch of total, nearly uncontrollable chaos. The powerful and oppressive aura of the ant queen felt closer than ever, as if the entire stifling stone tunnel was breathing in rhythm with the queen’s heartbeat heavy, threatening pulses of pheromones. However, the closer they got to the main nest, the more insane the flood of ants became. It wasn’t just soldier ants and elite variants emerging from the side holes anymore; even ordinary worker ants now desperately blocked their path, as if the entire colony had been fully mobilized to defend their queen to the last drop of blood.

Sylvia felt deep frustration stabbing into her mind. Her usually agile and lethal undead body now felt restrained. She, who was used to fighting in open areas where her Abyss Chains could streak freely like bloodthirsty dark serpents, was now trapped in narrow tunnels that severely limited her movements. The slimy, slippery walls often blocked her chains’ paths, causing loud CLANG! sounds when they struck stone. Using powerful fire magic was too dangerous in this enclosed space; the risk of running out of oxygen or causing a tunnel collapse was too high. Her zombie claws also struggled to reach the tight corners where smaller ants crawled nimbly. "Damn... this place really restricts everything," she muttered coldly while slashing a reckless worker ant with a loud RIPPP!. Green fluid spurted onto the wall, leaving an increasingly pungent acidic smell.

Even so, Sylvia did not stay idle. Her sharp zombie claws slashed several approaching ants with fast and brutal movements, immediately injecting zombie poison into their wounds. Some of the affected ants began to change their skin paled, their eyes glowed red, and their unnatural roars echoed through the tunnel as they turned to attack their own kind. It helped buy time and create small chaos in the enemy ranks, but the overall number of ants was simply too many. They truly could not advance any further. The enemy lines grew denser, glossy black bodies filling every inch of space ahead like a moving living wall. The scraping sounds of legs krrrt... krrrt... krrrt... filled their ears, mixed with emergency pheromone roars that made their heads spin.

Sylvia gritted her teeth, her mind working hard amid the chaos. Her dark red eyes narrowed sharply, searching for a gap or new strategy. Then, a dangerous yet brilliant idea emerged in her mind. "Stacia! Create a teleport portal back to the large kobold area from earlier!" Sylvia ordered firmly, her voice echoing coldly even as her breathing grew labored.

Stacia, who was slashing with her jet-black wings, was momentarily surprised. "Huh? Now? In such a narrow space?" she asked in confusion, her wings still slashing SLASH! SLASH! at two approaching elite ants. But seeing her sister’s serious and determined expression, she nodded without further questions. Her grimoire opened quickly, its pages spinning on their own in the air. Dark purple spatial runes appeared and rotated on the tunnel wall. "Alright... Spatial Gate!"

A shimmering dark purple light appeared on the tunnel wall, forming a stable circular portal. On the other side, the large and open kobold area was visible, with a high ceiling and space for free movement. Fresh air from there flowed slightly into the tunnel, a sharp contrast to the stifling acidic stench.

"Go now!" Sylvia shouted while quickly handing Sol to Alicia. "Take Sol!"

Her two sisters didn’t ask many questions. Stacia and Alicia immediately leaped through the portal together with Sol, who meowed anxiously, its golden fur still wet with green fluid. The moment they disappeared, Sylvia stood alone in the middle of the raging sea of ants. Her cold pale body was surrounded by dozens of black monsters ready to tear her apart.

In both of her palms, flames began to burn fiercely. In her right hand, compressed pure white War Sun Flame, its light blinding even in the confined space. In her left hand, jet-black Death Flame full of thick death aura, as if swallowing the surrounding light. The two opposing flames she slowly merged with maximum concentration. White and black mixed into something strange, horrifying, and unstable a spinning fireball with clashing dark and holy energy, emitting dangerous black-and-white sparks. The air around the orb hissed and trembled.

Sylvia compressed it even denser, using nearly all the remaining mana in her undead body until the fireball shrank to the size of a human head but was extraordinarily dense, pulsing like the heart of an ancient monster. "This should be enough... to clean everything up at once," she whispered coldly, cold sweat dripping down her pale forehead.

She ordered the zombie ants she had created earlier to buy as much time as possible. They tore, bit, and held back the enemy lines in front of her with unnatural roars. Sylvia threw the mixed fireball upward with a precise arcing toss. The orb fell slowly toward the swarm of ants, as if gravity itself was reluctant to touch it too quickly. Its strange light reflected off the black exoskeletons, creating horrifying shadows.

Now was the time. Sylvia activated Void Shift, her body turning into a jet-black shadow that streaked rapidly toward the still-open portal. Behind her, the fireball was almost touching the floor in the middle of the sea of ants.

Five... four... three...

Sylvia leaped out of the portal just in time, her shadow form appearing in the large kobold area. "Stacia! Close the portal now!"

Stacia reacted instantly. Her grimoire glowed, and the portal closed quickly the moment Sylvia’s feet touched the ground. CLICK!

And then...

...BOOOOMMMMMM!!!

A massive explosion occurred behind the newly closed portal. The powerful shockwave shook the entire dungeon area like a violent earthquake. Even from the spacious kobold room, the tremors were still extremely strong and terrifying. The floor shook violently, large stalactites fell from the ceiling with CRASH! CRASH! sounds, and dust and stones flew everywhere. The explosion echoed like continuous giant thunder, followed by a blast of hot wind seeping through the cracks.

Alicia hurriedly created a thick, gleaming white barrier. Stacia added a stable spatial magic layer to dampen the shockwave. Sylvia immediately reinforced both layers with Abyss Chains forming a thick, sturdy black net, while Sol released a bright golden barrier that coated everything with warm light. The multi-layered barrier shook violently, cracks appearing everywhere like glass about to shatter. The power of Sylvia’s combined flame explosion was truly extraordinary; the clash of holy and death energy created an uncontrollable destructive reaction.

The tremors continued for nearly ten full seconds, as if the entire Greywood dungeon would collapse into pieces. Sylvia felt tremendous pressure in her chest, her undead body trembling as it endured the leaking energy waves. Finally, the tremors slowly subsided, replaced by an eerie silence and thick dust that blanketed everything.

Sylvia released her Abyss Chains with ragged breathing. The three of them, along with Sol, slowly walked toward the source of the earlier explosion. The sight that greeted them left them utterly shocked even the usually cold Sylvia froze for a moment.

The entire ant nest area had been completely destroyed. What remained was a massive gaping crater, dozens of meters in diameter and depth, as if the top of a mountain had been sliced off by a god’s sword. The crater’s edges were full of cracks and melted stone debris due to the extreme heat. Thick black-and-white smoke rose upward like smoke from hell, carrying the smell of scorching, burned flesh, and scorched earth. Not a single ant remained, even bones or exoskeletons had vanished, leaving only fine ash floating in the wind. The surrounding kobold area was also heavily damaged, with cracked walls, rippling floors, and several collapsed tunnels.

Sylvia’s system notifications rang nonstop, filling her mind like victory bells.

[EXP +12500]

[EXP +9800]

[EXP +15200]

[EXP +8700]

[Level 81 → Level 82]

[Level 82 → Level 83]

...

[Level 97 → Level 98]

[Level 98 → Level 99]

[Level 99 → Level 100]

Sylvia’s level jumped dramatically all the way to Level 100. An enormous warm flow of energy made her body tremble violently, new power surging through every undead cell. Her Abyss Chains felt heavier and stronger, regeneration became nearly instant, and her aura of death grew even thicker. Stacia and Alicia also felt significant power surges through their soul bond. Stacia’s wings fully recovered, and Alicia’s spirit body light grew brighter.

But Sylvia collapsed weakly at the edge of the crater, her legs no longer able to support her. Her already pale face turned even whiter, her body trembling from total mana exhaustion. Even regeneration slowed dramatically, with small wounds still visible on her skin. "Ha... ha... that... was really exhausting," she murmured with a tired faint smile, her breathing ragged.

Stacia and Alicia immediately approached, gently helping their sister stand. Sol meowed worriedly while rubbing its small warm head against Sylvia’s, its tail curling around her neck.

"Sylvia... you were too reckless," Alicia said softly while channeling a bit of her refreshing spirit energy into her sister’s body. The white light eased the fatigue and accelerated regeneration.

Stacia laughed lightly even though her face was also pale from mana exhaustion. "But the result... was truly extraordinary. The entire ant nest was wiped out in a single explosion. You really are the Queen of Death."

The three of them stood at the edge of the newly formed massive crater, surrounded by stone debris, ash, and slowly rising smoke. A cold wind blew from the depths of the crater, carrying the scorched smell and a bittersweet scent of victory. The destruction they had caused was truly beyond imagination proof of the three sisters’ increasingly mature combined strength.

Sylvia stared at the crater with slightly dimmed red eyes but full of satisfaction. "We did it... but I need a long rest. My mana is completely depleted. It feels like my soul almost came apart."

After that, the three of them sat at the edge of the crater, taking time to recover after the long battle and the devastating explosion that had transformed the entire dungeon area. Stacia shared some recovery potions from her inventory, Alicia continued channeling spirit energy, while Sol lay on Sylvia’s lap, meowing softly as if comforting her.