Standing before them was a Bloodscythe Ant of terrifying size.
Its exoskeleton resembled some kind of translucent armor, gleaming with an oily sheen. The hind-abdomen, dark red to the point of black, bulged with heavy, poisonous fluid. At its tail tip, a sharp stinger jutted out—one look was enough to know this thing meant trouble.
At this moment, the Bloodscythe Ant was barely ten meters away.
Its massive body blocked the exit of the school building completely. If they wanted to get out, they would have to defeat this giant insect.
Hayes stared at it without even blinking. "You two—fall back."
Albert steadied the girl who had run straight into them, grabbed her arm, and retreated with her, helpfully reminding, "Be careful not to get stung. It's poisonous."
He wanted to help—of course he did—but he knew very well his presence would only get in Hayes' way.
Hayes nodded slightly without speaking, clearly searching for the Bloodscythe Ant's weakness.
The bug was huge, but his snow leopard form was even bigger.
If Hayes transformed, he would completely clog the hallway from wall to wall. So he could only fight in human form—and it had to end quickly.
After all, human skin that split open from a single swipe was vastly different from the hardened hides of mutant beasts.
Hayes narrowed his eyes, gaze finally settling on the insect's joints—the thin points connecting the head, thorax, and abdomen. Those were the weakest places on the Bloodscythe Ant's body.
But before he could strike at those points, he first needed to get close.
The Bloodscythe Ant, thrilled to discover more prey, glared with its fist-sized black eyes, oblivious to the disaster about to befall it.
It paused—then locked onto its target—and immediately lunged straight at Hayes, unable to contain its excitement.
Its giant mandibles shot toward Hayes in an instant.
The insect's jaws snapped open and closed aggressively, clashing in the air with crazed force—two spear-like points aimed right for Hayes' slender waist—
"Watch out!" Albert, fully focused on the scene, couldn't stop himself from shouting.
He had no doubt: if those "giant pincers" caught any prey, the sheer crushing force would cut the victim in half on the spot.
Crack!
The Bloodscythe Ant's mandibles came together with a vicious snap—but the blood-splattering scene it expected never happened.
Hayes had undergone close-quarters combat training in the military; his flexibility and explosive power were exceptional.
His movement was light—faster than the Bloodscythe Ant's. In the moment before anyone else could react, he pushed off the ground, twisted mid-air, and slipped past its attack like a falling feather.
In just one second, the tables turned.
Hayes spun in the air, then suddenly dropped onto the top of the Ant's head, straddling it. His long legs clamped tightly around its massive skull—and twisted hard.
CRACK!
This time, the sound was unmistakably real.
Albert's vision blurred; Hayes moved so fast he could barely follow.
Seconds later, the Bloodscythe Ant's head separated cleanly from its thorax. The once-arrogant, murderous giant insect let out no further sound before—
BOOM—
Its entire body collapsed onto the hallway floor.
The whole thing hadn't even lasted half a minute.
Albert and the girl were both stunned.
Especially Albert—he suddenly realized he still didn't fully understand just how brutal Hayes could be.
Two seconds later, he finally reacted and took a few steps forward.
"What do we do now? Should we head out?"
A sense of dread rose in his chest.
Bloodscythe Ants were social insects—they never appeared alone.
If they saw one, that meant…
The injured girl spoke up abruptly, her voice trembling with fear.
"No, don't go outside! They're everywhere—those ants are all over the place! The whole school, the field, the paths—everywhere!"
As expected.
Hayes frowned slightly, those finely shaped brows tightening.
"In that case, don't go out yet. From the situation, the ants seem to still be outside…"
He hadn't finished when one of Hayes' three subordinates came running down the corridor in a panic.
When the man spotted the dead ant on the floor, he froze for a moment, then quickly changed expression and reported,
"Sir, a large number of aggressive mutant red ants suddenly appeared outside. Rough estimate—over three hundred. The entire campus is in chaos!"
Three hundred…
Hayes' expression sharpened, and he began thinking rapidly.
"Understood. Where are the other two? Did they notify the others?"
The subordinate wiped sweat from his forehead.
"As soon as the ants showed up, we started helping drive the swarm away. Then I suddenly remembered I needed to report to you. The signal flare's already been fired—everyone else should be arriving soon, sir—"
He hadn't even finished speaking when Hayes was already unbuttoning his shirt, striding toward the building's only exit.
"You—come with me. As for you two…"
He turned back to Albert and the girl.
"Hide here. Unless I send someone to get you, don't come out."
And with that, he walked straight toward the door.
Albert: "Wait—"
Going out was one thing, but stripping in front of people seemed a little… inappropriate.
Without thinking, Albert reached out and covered the girl's line of sight.
"Don't look. It's indecent."
Girl: "...?"
Fortunately, Hayes didn't continue undressing.
He only had time to roll his shirt sleeves down to his shoulders before—
Rip—
His dark trousers split apart in long strips as his body expanded.
In an instant, Hayes burst free from the constraint of his clothes, transforming into his massive, sleek beast form—
A majestic, towering snow leopard, strong and elegant as a living mountain.
His subordinate followed close behind, shifting into a crocodile-lizard hybrid before charging into battle.
Albert ran to the doorway, checked the situation outside, then quickly shut the glass doors of the building before returning to the girl's side.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere safe first."
He and Hayes had chosen this school building precisely because it was remote and quiet; the Bloodscythe Ants hadn't yet swarmed here in large numbers—but they probably would soon.
Even though the glass door was shut, it wasn't locked, which meant it was still far from safe.
To be safe, he led the girl into a classroom deeper inside the corridor. After closing every door and window, he told her,
"Wait here for a bit. I'm going to look for a first-aid kit."
He had checked her injuries earlier—she was lucky. Her thick cotton coat had taken the worst of the bite. The wound looked frightening, and the blood had soaked through the exposed stuffing, staining it red, but her internal organs weren't harmed.
Albert gestured for her to press the blood-soaked coat against the wound to slow the bleeding. After giving her these instructions, he stood up to leave.
But the girl grabbed the hem of his clothes at once, shaking her head in fear.
"Your wound needs treatment as soon as possible."
Albert's expression was unusually calm and gentle, not the slightest hint of irritation.
"Infection and blood loss aren't things you can afford to ignore here," he said softly. "I need to find supplies to treat you, okay?"
For some reason, his voice at this moment carried a strange power—something steady, convincing… almost professional. Very different from the way he acted around Hayes.
The girl blinked, stunned for a moment, then slowly released his clothes and nodded through her tears.
Albert glanced around. "Good. I'll lock the door from the outside before I go. If a mutant creature gets in, hide under the desks. Do whatever you can to avoid being seen."
He left the classroom. As he walked, he thought to himself:
A regular classroom probably wouldn't have a first-aid kit… Maybe the nurse's office, the lab, or some teachers' offices might.
But after checking them all—he came up empty-handed.