Death Ascension - Chapter 81

All the close combatants rushed to the Queen while the Almagi busily drew their combo circles.

“MELEE, FALL BACK!” Finn commanded.

Like well-trained soldiers, the members quickly retreated to the sides, clearing the path for the combat Almagi.

“Fire Burst!”

“Wind Slash!”

“Spark!”

“Water Boa!”

“Erode.”

Brilliant colors flashed as the spells went off from several directions at once.

The Queen who had nowhere to go raised her gigantic body and slammed her head against the chamber’s ceiling.

BAM!

The whole chamber shook as if struck by an earthquake, and large chunks of debris fell, squashing thirteen unlucky humans to death. The Queen endured the human’s joint effort as she rammed her head up.

“Stay still, M*therf*cker!!” Kaede cursed.

He ran to the Queen’s backside. From her thorax down to her abdomen. He equipped Nostalgia and attacked amid the raging chaos.

Ping!

<Warning: Atmospheric mana level is dangerously low.>

<System Notification: The Body reinforcement will be canceled in T-10 seconds.>

As the shining blue panel began its countdown, Kaede felt his body shrink. He could feel his power dissipate along with his tripled stats.

All the piled-up exhaustion seemed to crash down on him like a tsunami.

Ping!

<Skill: Rally Lvl. 1 is forcefully canceled>

Even the members felt their energy drain.

“Right now?! Seriously?!” Kaede forced his body up, using the cursed rapier as a cane.

THWACK.

THWACKK! THWACKKK!

He relentlessly stabbed the ant queen. Again and again. With all the energy he could muster.

‘Please just die! please!’ he chanted like a mantra.

The others also continued their assault.

It was all or nothing now.

They can’t back out now when the sweet end was in sight.

For the last time, the ant Queen weakly headbutted the ceiling…

Then she collapsed.

After the arduous battle, finally, the queen was defeated.

But she did not go down without a fight.

BAM! BAM! BAAM!!

Her last attack caused the dirt ceiling to cascade like a waterfall, burying seven more people. Their crimson blood dyed the ground like sacrifices to appease a wrathful god.

Only then did warm daylight stream through the wide hole and the surviving humans squinted at the dazzling whiteness. The world above was covered in snow and a chilly winter breeze blew inside the quiet chamber.

‘It’s over… at last…’ the members savored the cold air.

It felt like forever since they inhaled such fresh air. Their lungs that grew accustomed to the putrid stench of decomposing monster corpses swelled with their deep sighs.

‘Ah… I didn’t know breathing clean air was such a luxury…’

After a hellish week inside the ant colony, the people discovered bliss in the tiniest things. From the things they took for granted: clean air, sunlight, a peaceful sleep, safety from monster invasions… they learned to treasure ‘Life’

Then their gazes shifted to the man who stood atop the ant queen. Despite his tattered clothes and bloody figure, their prince, whose arms were spread wide to welcome sunlight, seemed to shine.

The members could not help but gulp at his majesty in admiration. When they beheld the young prince’s divine appearance, their hearts involuntarily trembled.

The silence that engulfed the Queen’s chamber broke with a thud.

One by one, the people knelt on both knees and bowed.

“LONG LIVE THE THIRD PRINCE!!” they all chanted, gazing at Kaede in reverence.

<Skill: Full integration Lvl. max is canceled.>

Mikael returned full control to Deon. He knew this was a monumental event that Deon needed to feel with all his being so, he floated beside his royal partner and whispered,

“Kid. Remember this sight and engrave it to your soul.”

Deon slowly nodded.

The view from above, from a position of power, was something that the young prince never experienced. He was always behind his brothers at all royal functions and when he does take the stage, the third prince was too busy making himself invisible to actually look at the people.

But now…

There he was… standing above his subjects as a proper monarch… receiving their veneration.

The back of his eyes burned and tears welled up as he muttered, “Sir Mikael… what do I do?”

Mikael looked at him in puzzlement, “What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Sir Mikael, what do I do…” Deon repeated, “I’m so happy I could probably die…”

At this, Mikael weakly laughed, ‘Of course, you should be. They are the people you saved.’

Deon silently wept, trying to maintain his dignity.

‘So this is what it’s like not to be useless…’

‘All the hardship…’

‘All the pain…’

‘It was worth it.’

The young prince had his first taste of power and became addicted.

‘I want it…’

‘I want more.’

Deon, the prince with no ambition, finally thirsted for more power.

Mikael eyed the boy and thought, ‘I hope this much is fine.’

He acknowledged that an adequate amount of ambition was good for the prince but he also worried that Deon would grow too greedy like all the rotten people on earth that he knew.

‘Well, as his guardian angel, it’s my job to lead him down the right path.’

Suddenly, the sunlight grew dim and several silhouettes appeared, peeking through the hole.

“PRINCE AVERY! WE FOUND THEM!”

Noise immediately filled the serene chamber as royal knights dropped rope ladders for rescue.

One by one, the relieved members were hoisted up and a satisfying tone rang in Mikael’s ears.

Ping!

<System Notification: Player Mikael has received 1000 Karma points for saving 100 people.>

<Total Karma points: – 100 KP>

Mikael danced in euphoria, ‘OH YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! That’s what I’m talkin’ about! WOOOOOHH!”

As Mikael was rejoicing, the crown prince, Avery Hensworth, approached his youngest brother in large strides.

“DEON! Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? And what are those?!” Avery’s rapid-fire questions ended with him pointing incredulously at the dead ant queen and the Dragon skeleton behind it.

“I’m fine, brother but… how did you find us?” Deon asked.

“A Crimson Knight said he felt the ground shake a while ago.” Avery explained, “We’ve been searching for an entrance to the colony for a week but with no luck, so we took our chances and here we are…”

Avery looked at his youngest brother with warm eyes. He might be a little stoic, but the eldest prince cared a lot about his weak sibling.

All 18 years of his life, he treated Deon as a small bird that needed protection. Even if it meant caging him within the castle walls, Avery was determined to never let harm befall his brother yet… seeing his brother now, the crown prince felt a sense of incongruity.

‘Something’s strange…Is this really my brother?’

–Chapter end–