Too Stubborn to Die

The party got a moment to say their goodbyes before they were whisked away, surrounded by System energy, and carried off to their own worlds.

For a moment, Aaron felt weird to be back. Then he looked around and realized he was still in the ant colony. It was bigger than he remembered, and it seemed the new royal chambers had been built down in the chamber where he fought for his life.

And it was absolutely teeming with life.

“These guys are damn persistent, aren’t they?”

“BAHA! We have been awaiting your return, human! And we have prepared our revenge for our mother!”

Aaron turned. Behind him was a huge queen ant surrounded by an army of her warriors, and one particularly obese ant.

“I have been preparing this trap ever since you—”

*Splat*

“Shit, I got it all over me,” Aaron said.

In an instant, he had flashed over to the ant and obliterated it with a single punch.

“Yuck,” he muttered, brushing off the green goop.

“MOTHER!”

The horde of ants surrounding him screeched in unison and charged as one, led by the fat one.

Aaron raised a brow. The fat ant looked oddly familiar, and when it shot toward him, it was waaay faster than he had expected. The air seemed to ripple around it, and a formidable aura spilled—

—aaaaand it was dead.

“Huh?” The ants glanced around at each other as the shadows came to life, and screams echoed through the underground caverns for miles.

“I really have gotten stronger, haven’t I?” Aaron said, stretching off and shaking like a dog as he tried to get the green guck off.

Aaron ducked as a huge ant flew over his head, and silver beams of light blasted into others.

“Looks like it's time for a little work.” Aaron cracked his knuckles.

What followed was a brutal one-sided beatdown and the complete extermination of the colony.

Experience rewarded for killing many beasts!

[ Precise Bombardier Pugilist ] has LEVELED UP!

138 → 139

Title Acquired: Genocide Prodigy

Exterminate an entire species

Reward: +10% All Stats

“Huh, that is one troubling Title… Hey, did you guys get this too?”

“Yeah,” Talia said, brushing herself off as she appeared beside him.

“When did you change?”

“Like it?” She twirled.

The corset, with plates of armor woven into leather, fit snugly, and the black leather skirt created quite the ensemble with her fishnets and knee-high, thick platform goth boots.

“Yeah, it suits you.”

“Can’t complain with extra Stats, but I think I’m going to keep this Title hidden,” Soohyun said as she walked out from an adjoining tunnel.

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best,” Aaron said and looked over at Zero.

Zero [ Level 134 ]

Titles: [ Genocide Prodigy ] [ Giant Slayer ]

“Hey! Cut that out, Zero. You’d better change that Title!”

“Woof!”

“I don’t think he’s listening,” Soohyun said.

“He better damn well start, then!”

“Explaining your pet’s Titles is going to be interesting,” Talia noted.

“Ooh, bugger it,” Aaron groaned. “I’m sure people have seen worse. Or at least I hope they have.”

Zero began happily panting.

“Don’t look so smug,” Aaron pointed.

“Well, we’re done here,” Talia said. “About time we check out Dober, no?”

The jungle was eerily quiet when they got out, and moments later, they reached the outpost. But it was in ruins and appeared to have been abandoned some time ago.

“This doesn’t look good,” Aaron said, glancing around at the obvious battle damage.

“Yeah. He’d better hurry. Hopefully they just fell back to more defensible positions in Dober,” Talia said.

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They didn’t waste a second, jumping up into the air and rushing toward their homes. Heck, Aaron even still had a Skill point to spend, having been too distracted with the auction.

But that could wait. Dober needed them.

Dober

The once-proud town had seen better days. Corruption was spreading, turning the earth sickly gray, and killing anything that attempted to grow. Although it was temporarily held back to the east by a barrier specifically raised to keep it at bay.

Still, the barrier didn’t stop the dead. That required a group effort, everyone pouring resources into the defenses. System Credits were spent on new walls and turrets as they were destroyed.

A no man’s land of wrecked land lay between the battered walls and the enemy, dozens of defenders scattered across it, their weary bones only just holding out.

And at the center of town, hundreds of noncombatants gathered. It was a daily gathering; they donated all of their mana to the mana core network that fueled the barrier. And when they were done, they were exhausted, barely able to walk, but at least the corruption was kept back.

Julius sighed, looking out from his office across the broken land. It was depressing. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Already, he had lost too many of his prized fighters and was barely managing to hang on as it was.

A man knocked and entered, stopping before his desk and waiting for Julius before speaking. “Scouts have reported back. This isn’t good, Julius. A new wave is marching on us, and they come with more constructs.”

“More of those damn things?” Julius turned to face him.

“Yeah, two dozen.”

Julius’ jaw dropped. Two dozen?

“Not possible…”

“I’m afraid it is, sir.”

He turned back to his window and silently looked out across the defenses. They had defeated the constructs before, but it had taken everything they had.

And sure, others had grown thanks to the nonstop combat. They had gained in levels and even grades. But twelve? Even all of the D-grades he had left wouldn’t stand a chance against twelve of those damn things.

“What are we going to do?”

“The only thing we can. Gather everyone up. If that bastard is going to destroy us, then let's give him fucking hell. I’d rather die fighting than cowering.”

The man nodded. “I’ll gather them up in the courtyard.”

Julius took his time, lighting a cigarette and enjoying the view with a whiskey before heading down. It’d been a good fight. They had bravely stood their ground, but it was simply too much.

Even if their defenses had held up and they could take the undead constructs down, the corruption was too much. It made anyone who fought them for too long sick. And it was poisoning everything around them.

As he enjoyed the sunset, he sensed their approach. It was time. With any luck, he’d get to kill a few before he went down.

Stepping out into the courtyard, Julius eyed his battered army. They looked rough, but not defeated. He could see it in their eyes. Even if this was their last fight, they would give it their all.

“I know you’re all weary from battle,” he said. “I know it has been hard to hold out. And that the enemy never gives us rest. First, it was the ants and the jungle beasts that pushed us back from their homes, and lives were lost. Then, Darius and his undead struck. It has felt never-ending. One problem after another. But know I am proud of you all. You have done so well to make it this far. However, I must ask one last favor of you. Fight with me again. One last time to show those bastards who we are. They think we will grovel. That we will plead for our lives. Let’s show them otherwise.”

A tired but defiant cheer sounded out through the crowd. They were ready.

Julius held his head high, taking the vanguard as he led them out through the gates and to battle.

They knew what awaited them. Unfortunately, no amount of courage was enough, and the situation quickly soured. The constructs of death were enormous, and as they approached, they shot out necrotic magic, destroying several turrets in a single blast. And at their feet, a horde of ravenous undead charged.

He led their strongest in attack, meeting the enemy head-on, and for a moment, it actually looked like things were going their way as they pushed the wave of undead back, but then the corruption struck.

With each death, their forces were weakened, and the constructs turned their attacks from the walls and turrets upon their forces, sending blasts of green, necrotic power rippling through their ranks and tearing their lives away.

He turned just in time to see a D-grade warrior disintegrate before his eyes.

Julius shook his head. It was hopeless. But they couldn’t surrender now.

“Give them hell!” He shouted, activating a Skill, firing it toward the enemy, and cutting down a couple of undead as they charged. “Show them what we’re made of!”

“It’s hopeless, Julius,” said an archer at his side, firing into the enemy lines as quickly as he could. “We have to fall back! There are too many! Those constructs are too powerful, and the corruption is getting thicker!”

“We can’t!” Julius shouted back as he crushed a skeleton. “There’s nowhere to fall back to. The turrets won’t hold them, and we’ll be pushed back toward the forest. It’s either this or ants! Now rally to me!”

In that moment, he saw a chance. The lead construct had pulled away from the rest of the enemy force, marching ahead of them and firing its attacks at the walls. If they pushed now, and hit it hard and fast, focusing all of their power on the construct, then perhaps they could take it down, and give the enemy pause.

It was a long shot, but it was hope.

“This is it, everything on—”

But just as he was about to give the command, his chest sank. He had felt something. Something horrible. A terrifying aura, and it was getting closer, fast! His hair stood on end, and a shiver traced his spine.

No, it can’t be. Darius? Has he come to finish us himself?

The situation was bad enough already. But if Darius had joined the battle, there was no chance of survival.

I guess this is it then. Our final stand

“We’ve fought bravely—”

Interrupting his roar, a reverberating thud echoed out from the lead construct, and a shockwave blasted outward, knocking down dozens of undead that were around it.

“What the?”

The undead construct, made of bone and flesh, groaned, then it looked up and fell over.

“What?” Julius muttered and looked around. “How in the?”

Suddenly, a bulge formed in the construct's guts, and it exploded outward as a figure flew out, straight into another construct, which groaned and fell over.

“Who-what?”

A second later, something flew out from it, slammed into another construct, and blew it into pieces with a massive explosion.

And that was only the beginning of it. The figure shot out again, a blur of action his eyes could barely keep up with, and then the shadows came. Creeping up from all around, shadows whipped up around the undead army, turning the chaotic battle into madness.

Julius didn’t know which way to look, and a moment later, another figure rushed past him, and he saw their massive sword cut straight through one of the constructs as if it were butter.

“Wait, I know her! That’s that girl! I remember her! She went looking for…”

Julius’ jaw dropped. It couldn’t be, could it? Those shadows… That power…

“A… a…” he was lost for words. They had been pushed to the brink of destruction and were destitute. But this… it changed everything. “Is that? No, it can’t be, can it?”

A moment later, as he was still gathering his thoughts, the battlefield turned on its head as one construct after another was completely obliterated, and Talia materialized.

In seconds, dozens of undead were torn apart by her shadows, and she gave him a wink as they pulled one apart with her hands.

“So gross. That corrupted aether is sickening as ever.” She held a hand to her mouth and coughed. “But it doesn’t hold a candle to the death god’s.”

A second later, another construct exploded into pieces, and a figure slammed down in the middle of the battlefield, causing a shockwave that blasted away at least a hundred undead, crumbling them to pieces where they landed.

“Huh. You know what, I was actually worried,” Aaron said as he looked up at Julius. “When I felt that corrupted aether, I thought we were in for trouble. But it's fucking piss weak compared to the death god’s.”

“Aaron??? Is that really you?! I could kiss you on the lips! You’ve saved us all!” Julius threw his hands up and fell to his knees.

Julius had never been so happy to see someone.

“Please don’t. I really don’t need any more romantic rumors,” Aaron groaned.