Asumi, in the middle of the crumbling maze, faced off against three brave ants.
The three ants stood together, number twenty-two questioned, "Eighteen, now what do we do?" Eighteen replied, "Alright, you two, round up. I've got a plan."
The two ants came closer, butting heads with eighteen. Then number fourteen asked, "So, how do you suggest we defeat this beast alone?"
Eighteen sighed and muttered, "As much as I'd hate to admit it, but we are outmatched. The only thing we can do is slow him down."
Then twenty-two asked, "But how? He's huge. If we try to gang up on him, he'll just take us out one by one." Number fourteen agreed, saying, "Yeah, she's right. So, what do you suppose we do?"
Number eighteen knew it was going to be hard, but I need all of us to work together and pull him," she said, pointing at the shaking ceiling. The rest responded, saying, "Yeah."
Number eighteen added, "We are going to pull him there." Number twenty-two, understanding the simplicity of the task, commented, "Seems easy enough." Number fourteen cheered, "Yeah, let's do it!"
Now organized, they stood back at the side. Meanwhile, Asumi, looking at the system window as they did, saw them all sprinting towards him, their feet a blur of shadow.
Getting close to Asumi, number eighteen snapped her mandibles. "Now!" Then twenty-two bit onto Asumi's leg, pulling it. Asumi turned his gaze to the weakling that thought it could take him on.
Eighteen gripped onto twenty-two's abdomen and started pulling. Number fourteen did the same to eighteen. Together, they all started pulling Asumi's leg.
Asumi muttered, "Wait, what's this?" He snapped his mandibles in annoyance. He placed his five other legs strongly on the ground, gripping it, but they still managed to pull him, dragging him slowly to the spot.
Then the ceiling, a layer of sand shaking, finally fell on Asumi, burying him alive. The ants, thinking they had won, muttered, "Wow, it actually worked," said number twenty-two.
Number eighteen responded, "Like I always say, teamwork is the best way to do a job." Number fourteen snapped her mandibles in satisfaction.
Then suddenly, the layer of sand started shaking. The three of them turned their attention to the sand, eighteen muttering, "Impossible, it should hold him for a couple of minutes. How is it already moving?"
Then Asumi emerged from the sand pillar, shaking off the excess sand on his body. He turned his piercing gaze at his enemies, muttering, "I don't know how you thought that would work on me, but my exoskeleton is as hard as they come."
He darted towards number fourteen, gripped her head with his mandibles, and pulled it off. In fear, number twenty-two turned her head and saw number fourteen's body fall on the floor, lifeless.
Fear and anger gripped her as she muttered, "Why you! That's my sister!" Then she sprinted towards Asumi. Asumi muttered, "Oh, please. That never works."
He sprinted towards her, ramming into her, picking her up, and slammed her into a wall. Number twenty-two coughed out blood.
Asumi let go of her, and she fell to the ground. Asumi, seeing the wall shaking, left her and walked away, muttering, "That makes two."
Then the wall fell on number twenty-two, crushing her completely. Number eighteen took Asumi by surprise, sneaking up to him and biting onto his back leg when he'd least suspect.
Asumi felt something gripping onto his back leg tightly. He shook his leg very fast, throwing her off. Asumi looked to the side and saw a piece of his leg was missing.
The ant on the ground with its back facing the ground when Asumi walked up to it and picked it up with his mandibles.
The ant, facing Asumi, snapping her mandibles, said, "It's over. The others should have already escaped. You lose, monster."
Asumi mused in confusion, "Ugh, what the hell is this idiot talking about?" Asumi shot his mandibles in half, cutting the ant in half. Its body dropped to the ground.
Asumi raised his gaze to the ceiling and saw cracks moving through it. Then he turned his gaze to the path he used to get here and saw two walls collapse on each other, covering his exit.
Asumi, stranded, mused, "Oh crap, now what?" The ant general and her troops darted out of the maze through the entrance as the last ant came out, the entrance of the maze caved in.
They all turned and watched as a depression spanning up to one meter appeared, the ground pressing down on itself, shocking the entrance troop.
A scout team muttered, "What? It was that big?" Then an ant walked up to the captain and asked, "Is the beast dead?"
The general sighed and said, "Yes, it is. But why at the cost of so many of our sisters?" She mused, unsatisfied with all that has happened. Then she uttered, "Scout captain."
The ant stepped forward, meeting the general. "Yes, general?" he answered. The general replied, "Status report. How many are still alive?"
The scout captain replied, "Sad to say, but one hundred and four still remain." Then the voice of another ant said, "Make that one hundred and ten."
The scout captain turned and looked at them, saying, "Group one, where have you been? Did you see anything in that hole?"
The scout leader of group two replied, "Oh, it's nothing worth bothering about." Then the general said, "Okay, then join the troop. Let's head back."
The ants in group two joined their rest ants, and together they all marched home to victory, the general leading the troops. She mused, "For some reason, I can't help but feel uneasy."
As
With his stomach full, he muttered, "I must become stronger."
Asumi spread out his wings and took flight once more, soaring high above the field of towering grass below. "This is only the beginning," he muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
With a final glance back at the grassland, Asumi flew away, on his preparation for his next Battle with blade the one eyed green hunter