Kresor stumbled through the cavern like a man already half-dead.
Every breath scraped his chest like broken glass. His armor was in tatters, his skin leaking blood in dozens of places, and his vision blurred until even the walls seemed to breathe. He didn't run anymore—he dragged himself forward in uneven jolts, leaning on instincts far older than courage: the instinct to survive.
A collapsed stone pillar lay ahead. Using the last shreds of strength he had, Kresor threw himself behind it, pressing his back against the cold surface. His heart hammered so wildly it felt like it was trying to escape through his ribs. His throat burned. His hands trembled. His mind screamed.
He wasn't supposed to be here.He wasn't supposed to be fighting like this.He wasn't supposed to be dying like this…
He curled tighter behind the pillar, forcing his breath to slow. Just one moment. One second. One heartbeat. Just enough to—
A chilling tremor rippled through the ground. Kresor's eyes widened. The earth vibrated again… heavier… closer. Like two massive drums pounding inside the cave. Then they appeared. Two Guard Ant Demons, towering, armored in chitin as black as burnt obsidian. Their heads twitched with sharp, unnatural speed, mandibles clicking, each click echoing like a knife against steel. Their multifaceted eyes glowed with a cold, predatory sheen.
At first… they didn't notice him. Kresor pressed a hand over his mouth, holding his breath so tightly his lungs screamed. Sweat ran down his face. His heart thundered. And then— He looked at their faces. Their monstrous jaws. Their twitching antennae. The dripping strands of flesh hanging from their mandibles.
Something inside him snapped. A raw, terrified scream ripped out of him before he could stop it. The two Guard Ant Demons froze. Then both heads snapped toward him at once. A sound like cracking bone echoed as one Guard hurled its massive claw forward. The stone pillar shattered into a thousand fragments. Kresor barely rolled away, feeling the wind pressure of the strike slice the air like a guillotine.
Debris exploded everywhere. He staggered up, chest heaving, and ran—limping, stumbling, slipping on the black stone floor—back in the direction he had come from. But fate was cruel. Workers—dozens of Worker Ant Demons—were already flooding in from that corridor, their small but vicious jaws snapping, their bodies swarming with sickening determination.
Kresor froze mid-step. Workers ahead. Guards behind. Surrounded. Completely. A ring of chittering death closed around him. Mandibles clicked, legs scraped across stone, and the cavern filled with a rising buzz… the sound of hunger. Kresor's shaking hands balled into fists.
He squeezed his eyes shut. Norphis… Kael… Seren… Clauiy… Their faces drifted into his mind—warm, strong, hopeful—and something sharp twisted inside his chest. "You have to become strong, Kresor." "Keep going." "You're not alone." "Don't give up."
Their words layered over each other, heavy, emotional, painfully distant as if heard from underwater. A sob ripped out of him. He bit down on his trembling lip. And then— He lifted his shattered helmet, fitting it back onto his head with hands that barely worked. Among the broken debris, something glimmered.
Rode's shield. Kresor snatched it with both hands. The cracked metal felt pitifully light. Worthless. Barely holding together. He faced the approaching demons, tears blurring his sight. "Come… come on!" Kresor screamed, voice cracking. "I—I'm not scared! I'm not! COME!"
The two Guard Demons surged forward. Kresor charged too. For a heartbeat, it looked brave. For a heartbeat, it looked like defiance. But reality is colder than hope. The first Guard's claw slammed into the shield. Rode's shield didn't break. It disintegrated. Metal exploded into dust. The same blow smashed into Kresor's helmet, shattering it like a cracked egg—scraps of iron clattered across the cavern floor. Before he could even process the pain, the second Guard struck.
The attack wasn't a slash. It wasn't a stab. It was a full, brutal chop—a guillotine meant to cut prey into pieces. Kresor screamed. The claw tore through the right side of his body. His right eye burst with blinding pain. His right arm split open, nearly severed. His right waist was carved to the bone. Blood sprayed across the cavern in a horrific arc. He didn't fall. He was thrown.
The Guard Demon swung its claw again and Kresor's broken, half-mangled body was hurled through the air like a discarded doll. As he flew, his consciousness flickered. Images flashed.Questions he never dared to ask spilled into the darkness of his mind.
Is… this… the life I wanted?
Why am I always so weak?
What did I do wrong?
Why do I suffer like this? Why… why… why?
Why can't I just be strong? Why do others always have to save me?
The air rushed past him, carrying the metallic scent of his own blood.
Why… me…?
His body collided with a massive stone gate with a bone-crunching impact. The world shattered. Kresor slumped at the base of the gate, limp, bleeding out. His vision dimmed. Then went black. He didn't feel the Guard Demons grab his legs. Didn't feel himself dragged. Didn't feel the ancient gate creak open. His consciousness hovered somewhere between life and death. But he heard something. A voice. A disgusting, motherly hum. A lullaby dipped in venom.
The Queen had awakened. The massive black doors groaned open as the guards dragged Kresor through the dirt. His blood left a long, broken trail behind him. They pulled him into a colossal chamber—one that felt less like a nest and more like a cathedral built for a forgotten god. Shattered pillars leaned like dying giants. Ancient murals were smeared in filth. Chains dangled from the ceiling, clinking softly. At the center stood a corrupted throne—rusted black, covered in cracks, and carved with once-holy inscriptions now stained with decay.
"THE LIGHT WHERE CRIES."The words glowed faintly on the broken throne, pulsing with a grief long lost.
And resting in front of it… was the Queen of Catena-3.
She was enormous—easily twice the height of a man. Her body was armored in shimmering obsidian plates, each etched with natural runic patterns. Her limbs were long and blade-like, moving with predatory elegance. But her face—her face was horrifyingly humanoid:smooth pale skin stretched unnaturally, eyes wide and unblinking like a porcelain doll, a warped smile stitched too high on her cheeks, mandibles curling from each side.
Her presence alone felt like a living curse. The Queen slowly opened her empty, doll-like eyes as the guards threw Kresor at her feet. "Ahhh… my little children." Her voice dripped with a sickly sweetness. "You always take care of your mamma." Her smile widened as she stretched, bones cracking. She scanned the room. "Now then… who made the silly mistake in handling my storage?" A worker ant crawled nervously forward—the same one that first attacked Kresor. The Queen bent slowly, cupping its face with surprising tenderness.
"Oh, my sweet little boy…" Her tone turned cold. "Why would you disappoint your mamma like this?" Before the worker could squeal, she grabbed its legs— RRRIPPP!
Kresor flinched as she tore the creature in two and shoved its twitching body into her mouth. The crunching echoed through the hall. All the other ants recoiled in terror; even the massive guards lowered their heads, shivering. Then her attention slid to Kresor. Her pupils narrowed to tiny dots of hunger. She crawled toward him on all fours, her joints bending backward like a spider. She leaned down, her tongue dragging along Kresor's cheek.
She shivered. "Mmm~ tasty. Tasty." Her voice vibrated with delight. "A coward's blood. Soft flesh. Sweet fear. You will be delicious." Her claw rose—aimed directly at his heart. Kresor's eyes snapped open. He saw her twisted face inches away. Instinct took over—he rolled, dragging himself toward the gate. He couldn't stand. Couldn't breathe. His entire right side was shredded—his eye, his arm, part of his waist gone or hanging by threads. Blood gushed with every movement, each breath a scream.
Still, he crawled. Drag—pant—drag. The guards blocked the exit. Workers swarmed behind them. He turned, crawling the other way, looking desperately for any escape. Behind him, the Queen laughed. A hollow, echoing, bone-chilling laugh.
"Run, little prey. Run.Where will you go?Everything here belongs to me.Your flesh… your fear… your life."
He kept dragging himself, leaving streaks of red across the cracked stone. Her voice followed him like poison.
"You'll be nutritious for my eggs.Your suffering will make my children strong.You should feel honored."
Kresor ignored her—kept crawling, inch by inch. The Queen's smile twitched. He was ignoring her. Her delight twisted into irritation. She lashed out—her claw wrapped around his neck.
"Enough."
She hauled him like a broken ragdoll and hurled him across the chamber—straight into the corrupted throne.
CRACK!
Kresor's back slammed into the stone. He slid down, collapsing into the throne's seat as if it were claiming him. Blood spilled freely, coating the ancient engravings. His head fell sideways. His breathing faded. The Queen approached slowly, savoring the moment.
"Still hoping to be saved?No one is coming.This is my colony…and you… are nothing." She raised her bladed arm to tear through him—
The scene snapped to the hatchery—dark tunnels lit by the sickly glow of luminescent fungus. Rows of eggs pulsed like beating hearts. Larvae writhed inside translucent shells. Guard demons patrolled between them, massive and disciplined. Worker ants delivered half-chewed meat directly into larvae mouths, each feeding accompanied by squelching noises.
Norphis gagged. "Yuck… they're feeding them mouth-to-mouth? What even is that? And why does it smell like rotting socks and vomit?" Kael observed calmly. "These are Guard-types. Stronger than the ones outside." Clauiy frowned. "But Master, why destroy the eggs? We came here to save Kresor." Kael picked up a chunk of meat and tossed it toward a cluster of larvae.
The larvae twitched—then turned feral. Teeth burst from their tiny mouths as they shredded the meat violently, devouring it like wild beasts, snapping at each other, fighting over each scrap. Kael smirked. "We won't disturb them." He tilted his head. "But who said they won't disturb us?"
Clauiy stared at the scene… then nodded. "Understood. They need to be cleared. Or they'll swarm us." Norphis cracked his knuckles. "I'll handle the larvae. Clauiy, you take the eggs. And Sir—" Kael put a hand on his shoulder. "No need. I'll handle everything." He signaled Norphis."Bring me my coat." Norphis rushed to him, dramatically holding out Kael's coat and hat. "Sir! Your—your majesty—your drip!" Clauiy elbowed him. "Stop worshipping him. He's just a guy with a hat." Kael stepped forward. "Both of you—back to the entrance. It's about to get dangerous." They cleared the area.
Kael rose into the air, arms spread. His voice echoed: "Purity Conjugate — Norgato Veil." A massive transparent black dome materialized, swallowing 90% of the room. Everything inside froze mid-motion. Larvae suspended in the air. Eggs halted mid-pulse. Guard ants locked mid-step. Time itself vanished inside the veil. A guard tried touching the barrier— It vaporized instantly. Another fired an energy blast— The dome absorbed it like a void. Kael lowered his hand. "Veil… Demolish." The sphere shrank rapidly. Anything touching the shrinking edge burst into particles. Larvae popped like bubbles. Eggs collapsed into dust. Guards disintegrated silently. Kael landed, balancing the now-tiny black sphere on the tip of his finger—and then it vanished.
Norphis and Clauiy approached slowly, staring wide-eyed. "W-what even was that?"
"Does he even have limits?"
"He's terrifying."
"He's stylish, I'll give him that."
"Shut up, Norphis." They bickered until— Boris's voice cut through their minds.
"Kael… Kresor's purity signal is gone. I cannot see him anywhere." Kael froze. "…What?" Boris's tone trembled. "Something else is there. Something… strong. He is inside the Queen's chamber." Norphis stepped forward. "He can't die. He's my friend—my brother!" Clauiy clenched her fists. "He wouldn't just disappear!" Kael exhaled slowly. "The Queen. She's with him." He turned, eyes burning. "Move! We run. Now!" Clauiy panted, "Why not teleport!? We could reach him instantly!" Kael shook his head. "Kresor's purity is too faint. I can't lock onto him. This ruin is cursed—divine abilities won't function. We get there on foot." He snapped on his coat and hat. "Faster. I can sense her aura."
Darkness.
Kresor floated in a void.Bleeding. Terrified. Alone.
Why am I so weak…?
Why do I always suffer?
Why can't I be strong like them?
Why do others have to save me?
Why do I have no one…?
Why am I the coward…?
Someone… anyone… please…I want to live.
I want to live…I want to live…
The darkness trembled.
A throne appeared far away—the same corrupted throne he sat on in the real world.
A shadowy figure sat upon it.
Its voice crawled into his mind:
"Kresor Scolenhurt…So you are the new Heir…"