"Wow, this place seems so different. Dragon was right. The similarities just highlight how unalike everything else is. I wonder how many of the changes are due to no... heroes." I look around. "Riley?" My little sister is gone. Or, more precisely, I'm gone.

Instead of the small city I had just been in, I'm now in a dimly lit tunnel. On the plus side, it's tall enough that I don't have to crouch. On the negative side, I'm surrounded by a swarm of gigantic dark-shelled insect people.

There's a pause as I take in my surroundings. At the same time the gigantic humanoid ants all turn to face me. They're eerily synchronized, and it doesn't help that it's completely silent. A moment later, they all turn and begin sprinting away from me.

I blink.

That shouldn't be possible. Crowds can't move that fast, but the ants are perfectly coordinated. They don't trip over one another. If even a singular one of them fell, it would result in a massive pileup. Instead, they all leave my sight in a matter of seconds.

"Huh."

That was weird. Where the Hell am I? I put my hand on the wall. It's made of smooth compacted dirt. I must be underground.

Why didn't Dragon tell me that there are giant ants living underneath Earth Iota? I mean, that's a pretty big difference. Unless... She couldn't sense them.

That would mean... They're the ones kidnapping people?

Dragon said there was a loss of matter, but what if it wasn't gone, but instead just moved where she couldn't see it? That seems like the case.

So what next? Ears of Babel aren't picking up any signals. Not surprising considering how deep underground I must be. Plus, whatever means the ants are using to escape Dragon's detection probably block any communication anyways. What I need to do is find the missing people...

"Riley?"

I look up and down the tunnel. My sister's nowhere to be seen!

"Riley?!"

If these ants did anything to her, I swear I'll...

*Panic negated by Gamer's Mind.

Wait, wait, wait. If there's one thing Riley wouldn't be in danger from, it's strange animals. As long as it's alive and not a robot or projection or something she'll be just fine.

Probably.

I choose a direction at random and start to jog down the tunnel. I still need to find her and the other missing humans. Assuming, of course, that she got abducted as well. The other humans might not be so lucky. I can't think of a reason for kidnapping them that's benevolent.

I skid to a stop as a double row of larger ants come into view. Ah, that's why the tunnel is so tall and wide. Like their smaller brethren, they have a dark carapace and stand on two legs. Unlike the ants I first saw, they're huge. They only have two arms that end in growths that don't look like they have much flexibility. Instead it's as if they are wearing spiked gauntlets.

In fact, they look like their only purpose is to punch things.

There's no way something like that could evolve naturally. Especially not from the smaller ants. Are they the work of a rogue bio-tinker? Is this possibly a Cauldron facility? That would explain both the human kidnapping and hiding from Dragon.

Well, maybe not the kidnapping. Alexandria swore that they stopped their more morally dubious activities. Of course, it wasn't like I personally knew everything they did. So it's possible.

No more time for wondering. The ants charge at me.

I settle into a boxing stance and smoothly duck under the first punch. Doing so is second nature with the skills I've gained from Little Mac's grinding. I don't even need Threat Sense to let me dodge the telegraphed attack.

I jab and the chest carapace of the ant in front of me shatters. Green blood seeps through the cracks at it falls down.

The others press the attack, but I'm too fast and too strong. Even when another group approaches from behind I'm in no real trouble.

Sway, jab, duck, uppercut, hook, straight.

The tunnels would've been blocked off by the fallen bodies of my foes, except that the smaller ants weave through the press of bodies and pull away the corpses.

After five minutes, I'm getting bored. It might be time to un-Inventory something to speed things up. An ant hive has how many members? I can't kill millions of ants with my bare hands.

Okay, I might be able to eventually. I don't WANT to kill millions of ants with my bare hands.

I'm just about to pull out a laser cannon, when all the ants stop at the same time. They turn around and retreat en mass.

Huh? I tilt my head.

That's some impressive coordination. But why did they decide to flee? Also, how? Ants communicate with pheromones, right? Ears of Babel should let me pick up on that, but I didn't 'hear' anything.

Is it a biologically programmed response? When facing a predator, run away after X amount of time if you can't win?

Are they falling back to protect their larvae or queen or something? Maybe the smaller ants have been evacuating this whole time.

There's only one way to find out. I continue my trek down the tunnel.

I've barely taken two steps when a monstrosity charges me from behind. It looks like someone took half a dozen of the larger ants and fused them together in some hideous crime against nature.

It has wings, five arms, half a dozen mouths that I can see, and far too many legs.

-0 HP

I block its punch and counter. The carapace cracks a little under my blow, but that's it.

-0 HP

-0 HP

The chimera ant has too many limbs, and I can't dodge them all. Of course, his blows can't actually hurt me, but it's better to avoid attacks if you can. I could use Threat Sense and Teleportation to dodge them entirely, but I want to hide that I can do that.

The monster takes a half-step back and opens its mouths. Fire, acid, and electricity will billow out and engulf me. Once again, I take the ineffective hit. I'd rather show off my durability than my mobility. It's better to advertise one or the other, and its already seen me take a hit.

-0 HP

-0 HP

-0 HP

Of course, my clothes aren't as tough as I am. That's unfortunate.

Whatever. I dash through the clouds and strike his open mouths rapidly in succession. THAT gets a response as the multi-limbed terror roars.

I'm not sure if it's in pain or rage. Heck, it might even be excitement. Regardless, it viciously resumes its attack.

I catch a flash of color out of the corner of my eye. Another ant has appeared behind the monstrosity. It looks similar to the smaller ants except that it's slimmer, has a differently shaped carapace, and is colored a brilliant blue.

The newest addition doesn't join the fight. Threat Sense tells me that it's not going to do anything to me.

A friendly ant? Could it be sapient? Or is it an observer? Does it, perhaps, allow its maker to monitor things through some sense link?

That would be something Riley would do.

"[Disintegration Beam]"

The blue ant says something strange, and suddenly the multi-limbed ant has a few less appendages.

*ERROR Gamer's Body bypassed.

I don't have time to contemplate what happened to my opponent as I collapse on the ground. I can barely move my head, but I somehow manage to look down at my body.

Or what's left of it.

From just below my clavicle - it's gone. My waist and legs are in a pile beside me, but my torso has vanished...

...Oh.

...It was disintegrated.

I want to cry foul since I have 100% resistance to that damage type, but something seems to have gone wrong.

I've experienced my own death in simulations countless times. I don't need Gamer's Mind to stay calm. I wonder what will happen next? I don't think I can regenerate from this.

...That's a lot of blood.

"Xrn. You struck me with that."

I look up. Did the large ant just speak English? I try to respond, but I have no lungs.

My head slumps. I feel tired and dizzy. It's getting hard to think.

...That must be due to bleeding out.

...The world starts to fade to black.

My last thought is of Riley.