The Hive

  Amari didn't run. He blurred.

  Without the 400-pound pack, his muscles—conditioned to move under crushing weight—fired with explosive torque. He covered the distance to the Matriarch in two heartbeats.

  "Niko! Eyes!" Amari barked.

  He didn't need to explain the plan. Niko was already in the air.

  The Assassin Shadow-Stepped directly onto the Matriarch's cephalothorax. He drove his jagged dagger into the cluster of red eyes on the left side.

  SCREEE!

  The Matriarch shrieked, thrashing her head. She tried to buck Niko off, but the Shadow Walker clung to her carapace like smoke.

  She was distracted.

  Amari slid underneath her.

  He targeted the third leg on the right. The joint was thick, armored in purple crystal, but Amari knew the anatomy. Even crystal had a fulcrum point.

  He wrapped his arms around the leg, planted his feet, and heaved.

  [Steel Bones: Maximum Output]

  He didn't try to break the armor. He used the Matriarch's own momentum against her. As she reared back to shake Niko, Amari pulled the leg forward, destabilizing her center of gravity.

  The massive spider tipped.

  BOOM.

  She crashed onto her side, eight legs scrambling for purchase on the slippery webbed floor.

  "Hit the underbelly!" Amari yelled. "Niko, shear the silk glands!"

  Niko dropped from the head, sliding under the beast. His dagger flashed, cutting the spinnerets to stop her from webbing them further.

  Amari climbed onto the thorax. He began raining punches down on the crystal armor.

  CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

  His fists were harder than hammers. He wasn't using mana. He was using kinetic density. Each blow sent spider-web fractures through the purple shell.

  The squad watched in horror.

  To them, it looked impossible. The Porter—the F-Class luggage carrier—was wrestling an S-Rank dungeon boss and winning.

  "How?" Miller whispered, clutching his empty staff. "He has no mana..."

  The Matriarch panicked. She realized she couldn't crush the thing on her back.

  She screeched, a high-pitched sonic wail that stunned Niko, knocking him back into the shadows.

  She rolled, throwing Amari off.

  Amari landed in a crouch, his boots skidding on the stone.

  The Matriarch scrambled upright. She was bleeding green ichor, her armor cracked, her eyes blinded on one side. She was hurt. And she was furious.

  She turned.

  She didn't look at Amari. She looked for the weakest threat. The one that couldn't move.

  She looked at Jace.

  The Tank was lying near the wall, clutching his broken arm. He was pale, barely conscious, trying to drag himself upright with his good hand.

  The Matriarch lunged.

  "No!" Amari roared. He sprang forward, but he was twenty feet away. The spider was faster.

  She raised a foreleg, the tip glowing with violet venom, poised to impale the fallen Tank.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Amari knew he wouldn't make it.

  But Caelum was right there.

  The Prince was standing ten feet from Jace. He had a clear line of sight. He had drunk a mana potion during the fight. His staff was glowing faintly.

  "Caelum!" Amari screamed. "Shield him! Earth Wall! Cast it now!"

  Caelum looked up.

  He saw the spider looming over Jace. He saw the leg coming down.

  He had the mana. He had the spell. An Earth Wall would deflect the strike for the one second Amari needed to close the gap.

  Jace looked up at his Prince. His eyes were wide, trusting.

  "Your Highness..." Jace wheezed.

  Caelum raised his staff.

  But he didn't look at Jace. He looked at the spider's mandibles. He looked at the venom dripping from the claw.

  Fear gripped him. Cold, absolute terror.

  If I cast, Caelum thought, she'll look at me. She'll attack me.

  Caelum lowered his staff.

  He took a step back.

  "No," Caelum whispered.

  Jace’s eyes changed. The trust vanished, replaced by a terrible, heartbreaking confusion.

  The leg came down.

  SHUNK.

  The obsidian claw drove through Jace’s chest plate like it was paper. It pinned him to the floor.

  Jace gasped once. Blood bubbled past his lips.

  He didn't scream. He just stared at Caelum, his hand reaching out slightly, before dropping to the stone.

  The light in his eyes went out.

  [PARTY MEMBER DECEASED: JACE (TANK)]

  Silence filled the room. Even the monster seemed to pause.

  Then, the roar came.

  It wasn't a human sound. It was the sound of a reactor going critical.

  Amari didn't run this time. He exploded.

  He hit the Matriarch like a cannon shot in a room too small for the noise.

  BOOM.

  He slammed into her side, knocking the massive beast off Jace’s body.

  She tried to turn, to bite him, but Amari was already on top of her head.

  He didn't use technique. He didn't use leverage.

  He grabbed the two largest mandibles with his bare hands.

  [Void Body: Limit Break]

  The veins in Amari’s neck turned black. The air around him distorted.

  He pulled.

  C-CRACK.

  With a wet, tearing sound, he ripped the mandibles cleanly off the Matriarch's face.

  She shrieked—a gurgling, broken sound.

  Amari didn't stop. He drove his fist into the open wound, past the shattered armor, deep into the wet meat of her brain.

  He found the core.

  He squeezed.

  CRUNCH.

  The violet light in the room died instantly.

  The Matriarch collapsed, twitching once, then falling still.

  Amari stood on top of the corpse. He was covered in green blood and black slime. He was breathing hard, steam rising from his shoulders.

  He held the shattered remains of the Boss Core in his hand.

  He looked up.

  Niko stepped out of the shadows. He looked at the dead spider, then at Amari. The Assassin bowed his head slightly.

  Amari dropped the core. He jumped down from the corpse and walked over to Jace.

  Miller and Sara were crying, huddled in the corner.

  Caelum stood frozen, staring at the body of the boy who had died protecting him.

  Amari knelt beside Jace. He closed the Tank's eyes.

  Then, Amari stood up and turned to the Prince.

  He walked toward Caelum.

  "You had the mana," Amari said. His voice was terrifyingly quiet.

  Caelum flinched, backing away until he hit the webbed wall. "I... the lag... the casting time..."

  "You had the mana," Amari repeated, stepping closer. "He looked at you. And you let him die."

  "I am the Prince!" Caelum shrieked, his voice high and hysterical. "I couldn't risk the Heir! He is a Tank! It is his job to die!"

  Amari stopped.

  He looked at the shivering, pathetic boy in the platinum armor. He wanted to kill him. Every cell in his body screamed to tear Caelum’s throat out right here in the dark.

  But he couldn't.

  If he killed the Prince, the Kingdom would burn the Academy. He wouldn't be able to find the others. He wouldn't be able to stop the Farmer.

  Amari took a deep breath. He shoved the rage down into the Void, letting it burn there like cold coal.

  "Niko," Amari said, not looking away from Caelum.

  "Yes?"

  "Help me loot the body," Amari said coldly. "We need to make this look like a victory."

  Caelum blinked, confusion breaking through his panic. "What?"

  Amari leaned in, his face inches from Caelum’s.

  "You're going to tell the Dean that Jace died holding the line while you charged the final spell," Amari lied. "You're going to tell his parents he died a hero."

  Caelum stared at him. "Why... why would you help me?"

  "I'm not helping you," Amari whispered. "I'm saving the school from the embarrassment of admitting their Golden Boy is a coward."

  Amari turned away.

  "Pack it up. We're leaving."