The battlefield was chaos incarnate, but Ashfang thrived in chaos. She crouched low amidst the ruins of her kin, her six crimson legs coiled beneath her, ready to spring. The lesser cursed winged tigers swarmed the hive forces, their claws and teeth tearing through the ranks of worker ants and soldiers. Screeches of pain and battle cries from her kin mingled with the roars of their predators, but Ashfang's compound eyes remained fixed on her target.
The master-ranked cursed winged sabertooth tiger.
It loomed like a god of death, its snowy fur streaked with the blood of ants, its four massive wings sending gusts that scattered ash and debris. Its saber-like fangs gleamed with venom, dripping onto the scorched earth as it circled the battlefield. Every motion was a dance of calculated malice.
Ashfang's antennae twitched as the tiger dove again, striking down another squad of soldiers with terrifying precision. The queen had tasked her with one purpose: eliminate the abomination. It was a challenge worthy of her name, Ashfang, the Inferno Sentinel—a name bestowed by the queen herself.
To Ashfang, the name carried weight. It was both a blessing and a burden, a reminder of her duty to the hive. Protect the colony at all costs. Even if it means my life.
***
For five agonizing strikes, she had watched the tiger dive into her forces, tearing through her kin with ruthless precision. Each strike was a calculated massacre. It moved with the intelligence of a seasoned killer, targeting key groups of soldiers to disrupt the hive's formation.
The first dive was brutal. The tiger's claws slashed through a battalion of worker ants fortifying a defensive line. They barely had time to react before they were torn apart, their bodies scattered like leaves in a storm. The survivors tried to regroup, but the tiger unleashed a devastating blast of blue flames, incinerating dozens in an instant.
The second strike claimed one of her elite soldiers, Brightcarapace. Ashfang's comrade had stood her ground, her hardened exoskeleton glowing with the protective sheen of fire magic. Brightcarapace leaped to intercept the tiger mid-dive, but the beast twisted in midair, its venomous fangs lashing out in a brutal counterstrike. The venom melted through Brightcarapace's carapace, leaving her to collapse in agony as the tiger crushed her underfoot.
Ashfang's mandibles ground together as she watched her sister fall. Not yet. Wait for the opening.
By the fourth dive, Ashfang's patience was wearing thin. The tiger's arrogance grew with each strike, its movements becoming bolder, more reckless. It swooped lower with every attack, relying on its immense strength and the cursed energy that shielded it from harm.
One more dive, she thought, her antennae twitching with anticipation. Just one more.
When the tiger descended for the fifth time, Ashfang's body was coiled like a spring, ready to explode into action. Her remaining squad of elite soldiers flanked her, their mandibles glowing with heat as they waited for her signal.
The tiger's target was a group of fire workers attempting to shield the hive's entrance with molten rock. The beast dove with a thunderous roar, its claws extended to tear through their ranks.
"Now!" Ashfang screeched.
She leaped, her body a blur of crimson and molten gold. Her magma-coated mandibles struck first, piercing the tiger's chest as she slammed into it with the force of a falling meteor. Lava spewed from the wound, solidifying into jagged rock that locked her in place against its fur. The tiger roared in fury, its four wings beating wildly as it tried to shake her off.
Her squad followed, swarming the beast with the precision of a well-oiled machine. One elite soldier, Emberfang, targeted the tiger's left wing, biting through the joints with molten mandibles. Another, Stonecarapace, focused on its underbelly, delivering a series of precise strikes that cracked its cursed aura.
But the tiger was far from defeated.
It lashed out with its Supersonic Roar, a concussive blast that shattered the lava formations on its body and sent Ashfang and her squad flying. Ashfang hit the ground hard, the impact snapping two of her legs. She scrambled to her feet just in time to see the tiger charge, its venom-coated claws slicing through Emberfang's abdomen. The soldier collapsed in a heap, her body dissolving under the corrosive venom.
Stonecarapace managed to dodge the tiger's next strike, but only barely. The beast retaliated with its Flame Tail Strike, a devastating sweep of its flaming tail that struck him across the head. His carapace cracked under the impact, and he fell, his glowing mandibles dimming as life faded from his body.
Ashfang's vision blurred with pain and rage, one of her compound eyes darkened where the tiger's claw had raked across her face. The beast's cursed energy pulsed around it, a tangible wall of malice that sapped the strength of her remaining soldiers.
But she could see it now—the signs of fatigue in its movements, the blood seeping from the wounds they had inflicted.
"We are the hive," Ashfang snarled. "We do not falter!"
She unleashed her ultimate ability: Magma Cataclysm.
Lava erupted from her body in a massive wave, engulfing the tiger's legs and wings. The molten rock solidified almost instantly, pinning it to the ground.
"Strike now!" she commanded.
Her remaining squad surged forward, their mandibles glowing with the heat of fire magic as they bit into the tiger's exposed flesh. One soldier severed its right wing entirely, while another gouged out its remaining eye.
The tiger thrashed wildly, its venom-coated fangs snapping at anything within reach. One soldier was caught in its jaws, her body crushed before she could scream. But the others pressed on, their attacks relentless.
Ashfang felt her strength waning, but she knew this was the moment. With a final, desperate leap, she plunged her magma-coated mandibles into the tiger's throat. Lava surged into its body, melting flesh and bone from the inside.
The beast shuddered, its roars fading into a gurgling whimper. Then it collapsed, its massive body slumping to the ground in a smoldering heap.
Ashfang staggered back, her legs barely holding her weight. Blood and molten lava dripped from her injuries, and her remaining soldiers were battered and broken.
She turned her gaze to the hive in the distance, the towering structure that housed her queen and the future of their colony.
"The hive lives," she thought, a flicker of pride piercing through her pain. "That's all that matters."
With a final, laborious step, she began her retreat, her mind already planning for the next threat. For there would always be another.
But for now, the hive had survived. And so had she.