The general and her remaining scout troops rushed down the hole ready to avenge their fallen sisters.
Meanwhile, Asumi, at the east corner of the maze, looked at the map and saw that the red dot on the entrance of the hole was wide. He muttered, "What is that, a glitch? No, that shouldn't be possible."
Then the larger dots spread out into smaller dots into the maze. Asumi, seeing as the red routes poured into his maze, muttered, "My god, realizing what this means."
Some of the enemy dots were close by. Asumi mused, "Crap, there are too many of them. Charging in now without a plan is basically suicide."
Then an idea struck Asumi's mind. Knowing what risk it posed, he sighed and muttered, "I hope this doesn't kill me." Then he heard the troops marching close.
The ants, searching all over the maze, a small group of scouts were getting close to Asumi in the dead end.
An ant scout walking in front of her group was excited and wanted to share her thoughts with the rest of her group. She said to the rest of her three friends, "General Ember's words really do touch the heart. Now I'm really pumped to face the monster that slew our sisters."
The other three walking together at the same pace sighed and said, "Quiet down, number twenty-five." Number twenty-five responded, still feeling excited, "I know, but I can't help it."
Then the middle ant walking in the group felt an eerie presence. It muttered, "Quiet, I sense something."
The other two walking together at the same pace with her sighed and mused, looking at her, "Ugh, typical number eighteen, she's always too cautious."
Number twenty-five smiled and said, "Relax, eighteen. There is no way that beast can take us down. We'll suppress it with our sheer numbers."
The ant scout at the left in the group, number twenty-two, said, "Ugh, now you are stealing lines, twenty-five."
Then Number eighteen saw the mandibles of a huge creature coming out of the shadows. She muttered, "Number twenty-five, look out."
Number twenty, confused, tilted her head to the side and asked, "What?" Then Asumi attacked her, pulling her into the shadows of his maze.
Number eighteen felt a shock run down her spine. Then she turned to the other two scouts, still shaking in fear from what they had just witnessed.
Number eighteen muttered, "Don't just stand there. After it." They both nodded and followed her. Together they rushed through the path to save number twenty-five.
Running through the path, number eighteen mused, "I hope we aren't too late. Please."
But when they got there, they didn't see the beast who took her. Number twenty-two said, "Where did it go?"
They looked ahead next to the wall and saw the body of number twenty-five on the floor, laying lifeless. Her body was split in two from the center.
Shivers went down each of their spines. Number eighteen screamed, snapping her mandibles in sadness and frustration.
Meanwhile, Asumi climbed the ceiling, his transition seamless. "No time to waste," he mused. Then he climbed down behind the ants. They looked at Asumi with revenge etched on their faces.
Number eighteen told the rest of her friends, "Get him." Then the three of them started chasing Asumi. He came out of the dead end, and the ant general saw him and said, "Everyone after him." Together, a full army was now on his tail.
Asumi muttered, "Shit, not good." He turned the opposite direction and started running, navigating himself down the maze. The ants followed him in haste. Occasionally, Asumi rammed his head into thick walls, which cracked and crumbled down. Eventually, he reached the center.
Now in the center of the maze, an opening with no paths to follow, Asumi was finally cornered. The ant general walked to the front of the troops, saying, "It's over, menace. Surrender yourself, and you'll be publicly executed at the ant colony."
The ants slowly surrounded him, putting pressure, making the scene intense. Asumi slowly stepped backwards until his back hit the wall. Asumi snapped his mandibles in frustration, musing, "Shit, now it has come to this. I hope my analysis was correct."
Then suddenly the entire maze began to shake, ceiling started crumbling. The ant general looked at the beetle in front of her. She muttered, "Wait, what did you do?" Then one of the ant scouts muttered, "General, the whole place is coming down. We have to evacuate."
The other scout reassured, "She is right. If we leave the beast here, there is no way it will survive. But if we fight it now, most of us won't make it out alive."
The general, looking at the options, sighed and said, "Everyone, let's roll out." The ant troops nodded in response, about to go when an ant said, "Wait, I'll stay behind."
The general looked at the ant and muttered, "Number eighteen, are you sure?" Number eighteen snapped her mandibles in response, "Yes. He killed number twenty-five. I must make sure he suffers the same fate she did, even if it's the last thing I do."
Then the general said, "Fine." Then the remaining two ants in her group said, "Wait, us too. Number eighteen can't do it alone. She'll need help."
The general, looking at the three bold ants in front of her, said, "Well done, you three. Your names will not die among our ranks."
The three ants replied, "Indeed. You have our utmost respect, general." Then the general said, "Alright, everyone, move out."
All the ants, using pheromones, were able to navigate a way through the crumbling maze. As they ran through the maze, ceilings and walls fell on unsuspecting ants, hitting their bodies and pinning them to the maze floor.
The general turned back and saw some of her soldiers fall to a painful fate. She turned her face forward, snapping her mandibles in frustration. "Everyone, keep moving!" The ants kept running.
Meanwhile, Asumi, now alone with three ants, muttered, "Phew, they are gone. But why did they leave three ants to slow me down?" Asumi used his danger detection skill to check the stats of the ants.
[Stat Comparison:
Asumi level: 6 | Ants level: 5
Strength: 2.6 | Strength: 1.]
Asumi smirked deviously, musing, "Yeah, this is gonna be easy."