Nmo and Nellio continued moving, turning down one corridor, then another, and another, continuing like this. In one hallway, they nearly collided with a group of panicking disciples, and in another, they passed a bunch of screaming girls running in the opposite direction.
Nmo stared at them as they disappeared, but Nellio ignored them, pushing forward.
"…Why are they so exaggerated?" Nmo asked.
Rumble! Another rumble shook the building!
"… It's probably because this is the first time something like this has happened," Nellio said with a slightly distracted voice.
In the long history of the Azurefell Family, not once had they been attacked on their home grounds. This was part of the reason why they were so slack on their security.
They turned another corner, then suddenly—
Nellio stopped in his tracks, his eyes flashing.
"…Oh?"
Nmo nearly bumped into his back.
"What? What is it?" He leaned to the side to try and see what had stopped Nellio.
Nellio pointed ahead, and Nmo followed his finger.
Not far away, standing stealthily near a side door leading outside were two familiar figures. Unlike those faceless disciples from before, these two were a lot more discreet and less panicked. Looking closer, they almost seemed ready to depart, both holding packed luggage and clearly in no state to fight.
They were Lalume and Nenl Azurefell!
Both girls froze when they saw Nellio, but Nenl's reaction was much larger than Lalume's, probably because she was carrying a huge bag that had been slung over her shoulder. Mm, also, the bag was so large it looked like she had packed half her household into it, making her look a bit like good old Saint Nick! She was just missing the red pajamas…
Nellio stared at them for a long time.
Lalume: "…"
Nenl: "…"
They looked like two children caught in the act. One was a mature big sister whose face turned a slightly darker shade of red, and the other looked like an energetic brat, who was more likely to attack you than concede in a conversation. In short, they were an 'Onee-sama' and a 'Tsundere'…
Nellio: "(≈`˛ ´≈ з)"
The two boys looked at the two girls….
The chaos seemed to bleed away as the awkwardness saturated the air.
As for where this awkwardness came from? Well—! That was because these two were clearly deserters! They were planning to run away instead of fighting for the family!
He didn't speak.
Nellio's brain was having a hard time accepting what he saw.
"…What… exactly are you two doing right now?" He couldn't help but try to confirm his suspicion.
Nenl slowly shifted the bag behind her back, awkwardly looking away.
"Just… going for a walk, Hehe!" She didn't even flinch when saying this…
Lalume facepalmed. "…Nenl!" She cursed!
Nmo blinked. "…At midnight?" He muttered from the back.
"With luggage?" Nellio added.
Nenl sighed dramatically.
"Fine!"
She dropped the bag on the floor with a heavy thud! "We're leaving, ok? Is that what you want to hear!"
Nellio, hearing exactly what he didn't want to hear, crossed his arms and frowned in disapproval. "…You're running away? The family needs you. Why now? Don't tell me you're scared of a few bugs?"
"Correct!" Nenl proudly confirmed!
Nellio: "…"
Lalume: "…"
Nmo: "…"
The Bugs Hiding in the Dark: "…?"
There was a moment of silence…
"That's a terrible idea! What are you even thinking!" Nellio spoke in a harsh tone.
"You're an idiot!"
Nenl shrugged innocently. "Remaining here seems like a worse choice, doesn't it? Just because you want to pretend you don't know what's going on doesn't mean that it's not true…"
Lalume quietly nodded beside her, slightly surprised by Nenl's self-awareness.
"…We're done with the family, and now is the perfect time to cut ties."
"This wasn't even our own idea! The old man suggested it too!"
"Did he really?" Nmo asked, his head poking out from behind Nellio.
"W-well! He, uh, kinda did, subtly, between the lines…." Nenl's head turned more and more as she spoke, her voice getting lower and lower, losing confidence…
Nellio: "…"
This girl was clearly lying, regardless, she had a point, but…
His expression darkened.
"You're forgetting something, aren't you? Something very important? Even if you want to leave…"
Nenl tilted her head, obviously knowing what he was referring to, then smirked.
"The bloodline curse, right-right? Hehe, how could I forget? I'm not a child, dummy!"
Nellio nodded seriously.
"If you leave the family territory for too long, it will start to drain your lifespan!" His voice lowered. "You will definitely die! Even knowing this, why do you still want to leave? Don't tell me you think a few years of freedom are worth your future? Ridiculous!"
Nenl stared at him, then she chuckled.
"…Are you sure?"
Nellio frowned.
"What do you mean?"
What did she mean?
Nenl gestured towards Nmo.
"Check it!"
Nmo blinked.
"…C-check me? …Why? What's wrong with me?"
"Just do it!"
Nellio hesitated, then raised a hand. A faint rune with a very special appearance and a bright red light flickered to life on the back of his hand, then he examined Nmo's body.
A moment passed, then Nellio's eyes shot open in shock.
"…What!"
He checked again.
The result didn't change!
"…Impossible! Why—"
Nmo looked nervous, shrinking his neck.
"…What happened? What's wrong with me?"
Nellio slowly lowered his hand, the spiritual energy dissipating in the wind with the red rune.
"The curse…"
He stared at the two girls in disbelief.
"…It's gone!"
Nenl smiled.
"Told you!"
Nellio's mind raced.
The bloodline curse could only disappear if—
His eyes widened! It clicked into place in an instant! What did he, Nmo, Lalume, Nenl, Nmo and the two Twins all have in common!
His eyes turned.
"Could it be, no… unless…"
Somewhere outside—
BOOM! Another shockwave rolled across the territory…
* * *
The family territory had become a storm of chaos filled with destruction and constant battle. Formations were failing as the surrounding buildings broke and collapsed. The ant army flooded through greenery and corridors alike, overwhelming the Azurefell family in wave after wave of relentless pressure. In the middle of everything, Petra simply walked forward with slow steps, and directly behind her, Luna followed in silence.
The two small figures were not only difficult to discover, but also completely unchallenged.
Luna's expression remained cold and aloof, but the short fragments of chains that had once bound her legs were now dragged across the ground like a discarded relic.
Ahead, several guards rushed forward, attempting to intercept Petra's advance.
Unlike before, when it was extremely obvious, these guards had already been consumed by the chaos, confused by exactly just who their enemy was. They saw Petra, but beyond knowing that she was an outsider, they didn't know anything else.
Unfortunately, they didn't even get close.
Petra raised her finger and slightly swiped at the space before her.
A swirling cloud of ethereal mist swept outwards, causing their bodies to dissolve into dust in an instant. With Luna here, Petra no longer had to worry about 'killing the wrong person'. Not even their bones were left, clearing the path.
She didn't even look as they passed.
In her eyes, they were literally dust in the wind.
Another figure leapt from a rooftop above her, causing the air to suddenly split with a violent hiss.
Petra, without even turning her head, waved her arm, and following it, a massive, ethereal black centipede erupted from the depths of her sleeve, shooting forward as she waved her small hand.
Swoosh!
Its segmented body shot through the air like a living claw, skewering the attacker and crushing him, before whipping him aside and retracting back into the folds of her clothes while its 'projection' re-wrapped around Petra's wrist.
More enemies appeared from the side.
Feeling this, Petra tilted her head slightly.
Behind her head, idling in her hood, the Sky Strike Dart Frog opened its mouth.
With a low croak, dozens of piercing tongue-driven strikes shot forward, hitting target after target, causing them to scream as they were dragged into the depths of its stomach, never to be seen again.
Not long after, Petra was surrounded again, but unlike before, she waved her hand.
A long blue shadow slid out from her hat and passed over her shoulders, wrapping around her neck.
The Nine Nights Leviathan, seemingly weightless, unravelled from her neck like a scarf formed from a streak of flowing silk, then it struck out following the trajectory of Petra's hand! Like a blade cutting through the night, a streak of silver-blue light swept around Petra, piercing through her surroundings, and impaling all her enemies one by one as if it were a living spear.
It passed through them like butter, following a perfect arc, not even slowing down in the slightest.
After none were left, it returned.
-
Petra continued walking, and as she did, not once did her expression change…
Behind her, Luna fought, but her style had changed.
While Petra moved like a quiet cloud, Luna moved like a vengeful blade!
One practitioner rushed towards her, and Luna stepped forward and struck him directly in the throat with her palm, crushing it with a flash of light.
Another lunged from the side, but she twisted, grabbed his arm, and slammed him violently into the stone path before finishing him with a brutal kick to the chest. There was nothing elegant about her movements, nothing restrained, she fought with direct, shocking violence, which was very unlike her.
Although her expression hadn't changed, it was clear that she was very angry, because anything that came close was struck down immediately!
* * *
At the same time, to the side—
Nellio stepped into a ruined garden, his clothes stained with dust from the collapsing debris.
After splitting up, everyone had gone their own way.
If the two girls wanted to leave, he wouldn't stop them, but he still had a duty. As for Nmo, he would let him choose his own path and not interfere.
He looked up after dusting himself off, but he froze when he saw the scene in the distance.
A sense of helplessness washed over him as he finally understood the severity of the situation.
Laid out before him, he saw massive ants everywhere, countless clan members scattered across the ground, collapsing buildings, bloodshed and death, an unimaginable sea of poison, and in the middle of it all, he found Petra and Luna calmly walking through the destruction like night fairies...
His eyes shifted to Luna, then back to Petra.
He could no longer blame Nenl and Lalume for their choice.
Now, he only hoped that Nmo would choose to leave as well…
For a long time, he simply stood there, unsure of what to do.
"…Should I even join the fight at this point?" For the first time that night, Nellio Azurefell genuinely wasn't sure what to do...
* * *
Some time later—
The battlefield had grown even larger and showed no signs of stopping.
What began as an internal collapse had now exploded beyond the Azurefell Family's control. In their growing desperation, several signals had been sent and many allies had been called. Practitioners from nearby factions, guests, and those with long-standing friendly relationships all began pouring in, attempting to stabilize the situation and fight off this massive army of insects that continued to grow.
Naturally, it didn't work...
No, if anything, it only made matters worse, serving only to add fuel to the fire.
More people meant more targets, and more targets meant more chaos. Within this chaos, it became impossible to discover the 'truth' behind this ant army. If they were smart enough, then perhaps they would realize that the defeated opponents, at least, those designated as 'unimportant', would be used as biomass to spawn more ants—
Unfortunately, things had already gone out of control, and the ant army was too well entrenched by now, so the majority of the 'signs' had already been concealed…
-
Somewhere far away from the main battlefield, Petra kept walking.
She was no longer looking for a fight, instead, she was silently searching. Her eyes moved from one place to another, scanning the landscape as she grew increasingly impatient. She didn't stop for long, but each time she did, she would sweep the surroundings and question who she could, and when she found someone still conscious, she would pause briefly, interrogate them, then move on.
Her voice was terrifyingly calm, completely unbecoming of a young child, and most people didn't even get the chance to answer because the moment they hesitated—
Poof! A cloud of glass-filled blue powder smacked them in the eyes!
A moment later, they would spill everything…
And so—!
Petra moved on…
She passed through shattered buildings, broken halls, and collapsed corridors, stepping over debris and unconscious figures. She explored inside and outside, traveling to every corner of the Azurefell Family. The poison thickened wherever she went, and the ants would pre-emptively carve open a new path through the estate, allowing her to move deeper and deeper into the ancestral land.
But still, even with thousands of eyes looking, no matter how hard she looked, there was no Lilly!
Petras' mood continued to worsen…
-