Without thinking, Ari pushed off the ground.
Before the moth could tense his wings, Ari was already behind him.
The moth's eyes widened. His antennae jerked.
Ari swept his right mandible across in a level strike. The sharpened edge cut through the wing membrane.
A sharp tear split the air.
The moth stumbled forward, one foot scraping through the soil as his torn wing sagged against his side.
Dark fluid ran from the severed veins and dripped onto the ground in uneven drops.
He pressed a hand over the wound, staining his palm. His jaw tightened as a pained click slipped from his throat.
"I'll kill you, you damn tunnel dweller."
He forced himself upright and turned toward Ari.
Ari adjusted his footing and lowered his stance.
Can I really beat this insect in my condition...?
The air suddenly whistled.
A thorned vine whip shot in from the side and coiled around the moth's body before he could move.
The barbs dug into the plates of his exoskeleton, carving thin lines through the armor. Blood seeped from the punctures.
"Ahhh!"
The moth twisted around.
The butterfly was on one knee beside the tree, the whip handle clenched in her hand.
No... way. This can't be happening.
Her red eyes narrowed.
"This is the end for you, Vorn," she said. "Rot in whatever hell is waiting for you after death."
Her arm tensed.
She pulled hard.
The whip tightened around Vorn's body. Its thorns drove deeper, cracking through the plates of his exoskeleton before cutting into him.
A raw scream tore from his throat.
His body gave way beneath the strain and split cleanly apart.
Both halves struck the ground with dull, wet thuds. Dark blood spread slowly through the soil.
She drew in a slow breath.
"Serves you right..."
Her fingers trembled around the handle before loosening.
The whip fell slack at her feet, its thorns catching faint moonlight.
She let her back rest against the tree trunk. Her shoulders dropped as she slumped there, breathing heavily.
Ari's breathing gradually steadied as he kept his eyes on the moth's corpse.
She's terrifying...Even in her condition, she still defeated him.
His fingers tightened around the handles of his mandibles.
The purple-haired butterfly turned toward him.
"Huh?" she asked. "Who are you?"
Ari flinched slightly. His antennae straightened at once.
"I know you heard me, Ant," she said. "Why did you save me?"
Ari stopped where he stood. His breath caught in his throat.
He swallowed, then drew in a slow, careful breath.
Her eyes are terrifying... It feels like she's staring straight through me.
There's no way she can be the one that voice was telling me to save... right?
"Have you lost your voice?"
Her eyelids lowered, and the red in her eyes fixed on Ari without blinking.
"I spoke to you," she said. "Now answer me."
Ari quickly straightened.
"I'm... Lance Corporal Ari. I saved you because... a voice in my head told me to!"
She blinked once. Her lips pressed into a thin line.
"A voice in your head?" she asked. "You expect me to believe that?"
She placed one palm against the tree trunk and pushed herself upright.
Her body swayed for a moment. She caught herself, then gripped her wounded arm with her free hand.
"You risked your life because of a voice in your head?"
She released a slow breath through her nose.
"And how many times has that voice led you before?"
Her gaze moved over him, pausing on the cuts along his arms and the dull layer of dried blood and leaves across his armor.
Ari's mouth opened, but no answer came out at first.
"I... I don't know what it was," he said. "But it felt real. It sounded like someone was calling for help. Someone who didn't want you to die."
The Butterfly watched him without speaking.
The night stayed quiet between them. Only Ari's uneven breathing and the faint rustle of leaves overhead broke the silence.
After several breaths, the tension around Ignatia's eyes eased. Her voice remained low.
"Then you're either a fool or something beyond us decided you were meant to stand here tonight."
She turned her head slightly.
"Either way, Ant, you've stepped into a battle far beyond what you understand."
Moonlight caught in her red eyes as she looked back at him.
"From this moment on, your actions and your loyalty belong to me. Do you understand?"
Ari's brows pulled together.
"What... what does that mean?" he asked.
His antennae jerked.
Ari moved before another word left his mouth. He stepped in front of her and raised both mandibles.
A sharp ring split the air.
Metal struck metal as Ari's blades cut through the incoming projectiles. Broken pieces spun past him and scattered across the dirt.
Small sparks skipped over the ground before fading.
Ari planted his feet and stared through the thin haze ahead.
A moth hovered beyond it, its wings beating in short, steady bursts.
Another shape emerged from the shadows nearby. Its wings were half-spread, and several quills were already drawn back.
This isn't good... We're surrounded, and both of us are hurt.
A shadow swept across the ground.
A group of moths dove from above, their wings flaring wide as volleys of quills burst from their hind wings.
Ari looked up.
Crap...
His foot struck the ground.
Both mandibles flashed through the air in tight arcs.
Each strike met a quill in midflight. Metal rang with every impact as broken shafts spun away from him.
How is he deflecting all of them...?
The next volley came faster.
Ari's shoulders tightened.
I can't block them all...
He lunged toward her and grabbed her arm.
The force of the motion pulled her off balance as he hurled her clear of the attack's path.
She hit the ground hard. Dirt pressed against her palm as she caught herself on one knee.
Her eyes widened as she looked back at him.
He's willing to face all of them alone... just to protect me?
A quill cut through the air and struck Ari's leg.
"Ahh!"
Blood welled around the wound at once and ran down the joint.
Ari dropped to one knee.
He gripped the shaft, then tore the quill free with a harsh pull and threw it aside.
Blood spattered across the dirt in thin arcs before soaking into the ground beneath him.
"Damn it..." he said.
Ari pressed one hand against his injured leg and forced himself back up.
His stance shifted unevenly. His knees trembled as he put weight on the wound.
I've never fought aerial insects that can attack from a distance before.
His eyes followed the moths circling above.
I never thought moths could be this strong. If they stay out of reach, all I can do is defend myself. And if I stay on the defensive... there's no way I can win.
He drew in a slow breath and scanned the sky.
I need to think of something. Fast.
His gaze shifted toward the butterfly.
"I don't know which colony you crawled out of, or what connection you have to the War Monarch," a moth said, glaring down at Ari. "But if you think you can take us on, you're already dead."
A smirk pulled across his face.
He's right. I'm no match for them... not down here.
But what can I do?
The moth's black exoskeleton caught the thin moonlight. His wings flexed behind him, and the quills along them lifted one by one.
"Still...you'll be the first one we impale, Ant. And I'll make sure your death is slow."
Ari set his feet apart and raised his mandibles.
His legs shook.
The edges of his vision blurred.
Sweat ran from his chin and dropped onto the dirt.
Ari blinked again.
The world vanished into darkness.
No shapes. No moonlight. Nothing.
What the hell is this...?
Ari's eyes widened.
Pain burst through his leg.
Then another quill drove into his arm.
The wet sound of barbed shafts tearing through flesh carried through the darkness.
A low groan slipped from his throat.
He forced his feet to move.
Both mandibles swung through the dark in wide, uneven strikes.
Clang! Clang!
Two quills struck his blades and spun away.
A third quill buried itself in his shoulder.
Ari's breath caught.
His jaw clenched as blood ran down the plates of his exoskeleton.
This darkness... it isn't natural. Are they doing this?
This is bad... They used the hallucination dust from their forewings.
Ignatia watched Ari turn toward empty space and slash at the air.
If he doesn't get out of there soon...he'll die.
"Hahaha!"
"Feeling lost, Ant?" A voice called from the darkness.
"You ants put far too much faith in your eyes. Take that away, and down here... you're just prey waiting to be picked apart."
Ari turned toward the voice.
Nothing.
A quill cut past his face and opened a thin line across his cheek.
Ari clicked his tongue.
"Damn it!"
He slashed toward the sound with both mandibles.
His blades met empty air.
The laughter came again.
Closer.
"You can't defend yourself from something you can't even see."
A hard blow struck Ari in the chest.
His body lurched backward. His feet scraped over the dirt before he caught himself.
He bent forward and spat blood onto the ground.
What was I thinking? Why did I save her?
The old me would've never thrown his life away for someone else... so why did I?
I'm so tired...
His fingers loosened around the handles of his mandibles.
So this is it...
A sharp whistle split the air.
A clean metallic slice followed.
"Who are you?!"
Screams broke through the darkness; short, strained, and cut off one after another.
The black mist began to unravel. Thin strands curled away from the ground and faded into the night.
Ari blinked as dim moonlight returned.
Bodies lay scattered across the dirt.
Black exoskeleton plates. Torn wings. Broken quills.
What...? But how...?
His knees gave out.
Ari stumbled forward and dropped onto them, one hand pressing into the dirt to keep himself upright.
A voice came from above.
"What a pitiful sight... Seeing you like this, Sister." The voice carried clearly through the clearing. "What would your loyal servants think?"
Ari's head jerked upward.
His eyes widened.
A figure stood above them, her outline visible against the night sky.
Wait... is that another butterfly?
Short orange hair shifted in the wind. Blue eyes caught the moonlight as she looked down at the clearing.
She descended and landed in front of Ignatia. Her wings folded behind her.
"Of all the people who could have come to my aid..."
Ignatia lifted her gaze.
"It had to be you, Seraphina."
Seraphina smiled.
"Now, now, Sister." She raised one finger. "You sound almost disappointed. Would you have preferred that I let the moths finish you off?"
"It would have been better than listening to your patronizing tone."
Ignatia's eyes narrowed.
Seraphina tilted her head.
She returned her whip to its sheath. The weapon curled against her side.
"Your words really hurt, Ignatia," she said. "But even so... I forgive you."
She smiled again.
Then her gaze moved to Ari.
"It doesn't bother you that this poor Ant risked his life for you, does it?"
Seraphina stepped closer. Her movements were slow and unhurried.
She crouched in front of Ari and lifted his chin with two fingers.
Ari's cheeks warmed as he looked into her blue eyes.
"It's hard to believe he was moved by your brutish nature enough to defend someone like you."
A vein pulsed at Ignatia's temple.
"Who are you calling brutish, you two-faced creature?" Ignatia said.
Seraphina's eyes glinted.
"Look at him. He's already finished."
Ari's body sank further into the dirt.
His mandibles slipped from his hands and struck the ground, their edges dull with blood.
"At the very least..."
Seraphina bent closer.
"You were brave," she whispered.