All at once, the red ants take their sights off of me and turn to face Adofu. Even though they went through the trouble of hardening the ground beneath my feet to stop me from moving and restructured the ceiling to make it into a weapon, the red ants still straight up abandoned their best chance at killing me.
It’s likely the effect of the magic skill [[Decoy]] that Adofu just chanted. It seems to have the power to attract attention to oneself.
Thinking back to when we first met, when I was preoccupied with Adofu, I couldn’t feel the presence of the hero approaching from behind me at all. I thought that was the effect of the hero’s [[Stealth Step]] and [[Mirage]] skills, but it seems that wasn’t the only thing. Adofu must have used [[Decoy]] back then beforehand.
“Kuchaa!!”
The red ants rush toward Adofu. Adofu tries to fight back, but gets surrounded to an unreasonable degree. A red ant in front catches Adofu’s large sword in its mouth, stopping his attack. Another red ant from behind uses the opportunity and bites down into his shoulder. Adofu is then pulled down on the spot as is.
For Adofu to throw himself into that mountain of red ants, the enemy probably didn’t expect it too. In order to buy me time so that I could break out of this [[Clay]] that’s restraining me, he put his life on the line as a decoy. I hurriedly try to escape from the [[Clay]], but I can’t pull my feet free.
Even though I knew that it wouldn’t work, I still hate that I can’t pull my feet out. When I try lifting my feet with all my strength, the ground gives a slightly gruff creak, but that’s it. Not even a crack appears. It seems like the more I hurry, the more time I waste doing nothing. I’m struck with a feeling of powerlessness. BREAK DAMNIT, BREAK! WHY WON’T YOU BREAK!?
Of course, the red ants’ attack isn’t over with him just being pulled down. Despite being defenseless, Adofu’s doing a good job at not getting crushed. Once again, the red ants gather together and begin piling themselves on top of Adofu.
“Guugaa!!”
With all my strength, I stab my fangs into the ground. I feel the impact reverberate throughout my head and at the same time I feel the ground starting to crack. Again, I stab my fangs into the ground. I knock out three of my fangs.
My fangs got pulled out and my mouth is dripping with blood. However, a crack finally appeared. I kick out of the ground with all of my strength. The crack enlarges and the ground disintegrates, releasing my feet.
“Kucha?” “K-Kucha!!”
Hearing the sound of me getting out and returning, some of the red ants look back at me.
Jumping up into the air, I bring my head back and swing it forward hard enough to send the ball rabbit flying off of it.
”Peefuu!!?”
Curling up my body while extending my neck, I open my large mouth and catch the ball rabbit within it. From there, I switch over to [[Roll]]. Sorry, ball rabbit. I had no choice but to use [[Roll]].
The ball rabbit’s [[Light]] vanishes and the surroundings become completely dark. However, I’ve got the gist of my surroundings and the red ants’ locations.
Now to go and retrieve Adofu from under the pile of red ants… No, even if I attack, will I be able to topple that mountain of red ants? Besides, I’m certain that just a few moments ago a number of red ants started to look back at me again. Even if I jump in and help Adofu, it’s clear that the other red ants will obstruct my efforts.
Well, if these are the stakes, then I guess I’ll just have to take a gamble on this one. I direct my momentum vertically to the direction I was travelling to Adofu and head straight for the wall. Because of the darkness, I don’t have a very good grasp of the distance between me and the wall, but I still accelerate with all I’ve got and continue heading straight toward it.
My back slams into the wall. It feels like my body is being crushed. With a supreme thud, the sound reverberates and the surrounding passageway shakes. I wonder if the thud caused the red ants’ struggle to stop?
”…Kucha?”
From within the darkness of the nest, a lone red ant’s cry echoes throughout it. The bustling sound of the red ants that had been going on up until a moment ago suddenly stops, making the singular cry of the red ant seem that much louder.
Then, a part of the ceiling in the passageway breaks away and falls down. Although it’s only a part of the ceiling, it’s a solid chunk of sand made up of the red ant’s hardened clay. Depending on where it lands, it has the potential to deal a lot of damage.
As the ceiling collapses, lumps of dirt and stone also fall.
“Kucha!!” “Kuchaa!!”
“Kuchaa!!”
Understanding what the sound means, the red ants disperse.
For now, I’m glad that it went well. Because the red ants had altered the walls to hide in them, the ceiling’s support for the passageway had become unstable. Furthermore, because a part of the ceiling had been reshaped into a spike, there’s now a structural weakness. On top of that, because I added a big shock there, the warped section had to bear even more weight, weakening the supports and causing the ceiling to begin collapsing.
A boulder falls from overhead and grazes my shoulder. That was dangerous, it could’ve done some serious damage if it hit me.
For now, I want some light. I spit out the ball rabbit with a *betugh* and catch it on my head. The ball rabbit, now soaked in my saliva, quickly sticks to my head.
…Although it seems like it wants to give its harsh opinion, it instead stays silent and uses [[Light]].
I crouch, bend down, and run through the passageway. I head toward Adofu while avoiding both the falling debris and the red ants trying to escape. The red ants seem to be trying to escape from here, but one of the red ants still has its sights set on me and throws themself at me.
”Kuchaa!!”
I swing my claws around and gouge the red ant. Whether it was because it crashed into a falling object, got weakened by poison, or had taken damage during battle, the red ant stopped moving after only that single blow.
[Obtained 432 Experience Points.]
[Title Skill [[Walking Egg: Lv–]] activated, 432 bonus points obtained.]
[Level of [[Evil Plague Dragon]] has increased from 64 to 65.]
My level went up again. My level sure does rise quickly, but I thought that I’d face more danger here. Even If I went back in time I would do the same.
Adofu’s limp, bloodied body falls to the ground. The red ants that had gathered around him already dispersed after being surprised by the collapse.
Adofu’s mouth moves, giving me relief that he’s still alive. But, that relief is momentary. A large chunk of clay is falling down toward Adofu.
I throw myself toward Adofu and defend against the falling chunk of earth with my back. The chunk of clay crumbles as it impacts my back. I somehow managed to make it in time.
I lower my head, stick out my tongue, and retrieve Adofu into my mouth. After that, I start to run away together with the red ants.
The areas around the passageway where the red ants tampered with the walls will collapse as is. I have to escape to somewhere safe.