Chapter 23 Scourge Of Ants

*FIUUSHH!!*

Hit and run, guerrilla tactics, dirty means.

So long as it allowed him to achieve his purpose, the conqueror would use it without shame.

His spear pierced through, going through the first ant that dared go through the corner, he had seen this passage several times across the days and he had seen an ant being killed by him the same amount.

His smile widened as the ant constricted in pain before being lit up flames.

It's pained howls deterred the rest from going further inwards, they were ten ants, they had fallen so many times, tripping against the roots on the ground that it was unbelievable.

In the way, more than five had died already.

"YOU SLIPPERY RAT!"

Constantine smirked, that gaze would never leave his sight, he continued running to the next checkpoint.

[+1000 Karma Points]

"Ah-?!"

He stumbled into one of his own roots before even realising what was happening!?

"Zebellia!!"

Some of the ants quickly lunged at him, trying to take advantage of his 'mistake'!

*FIUUSHH!!*!

He nearly didn't evade that spear.

[*cough!*]

He felt outraged when she finally made a noise, and it was a cough!

Could she even cough where she is!?

With a swift kick, he kicked the chest of the ant that was on top of him, crawling backwards he started to run again, panting… this simple thing had disrupted so much of his energy and plans.

He hated to make mistakes, even if this wasn't a mistake per say.

[I'm sorry… it wasn't my intention] Zebellia spoke with a rather weak voice, but his wrath couldn't be quenched.

He was convinced that she wanted him dead!

…

With his plans disrupted and momentum lowered, Constantine had to sink into the ground, one of his secret passages once his mana was about to run out.

Ten ants died, the plan was to slaughter all of them.

"Ugh!" He held his bleeding arm, at some point he got injured, his dirty self crawled in the tunnel.

"How could you? I could have died!" If that spear had been a little more to the right, it would have been his head instead of the poor rock.

[…] Zebellia didn't say any words.

Deciding to rest and recover his mana to cast a healing spell on himself, Constantine simply crawled his way to the next complex of tunnels, he had left marks prior to guide himself in the darkness.

He couldn't even use light magic.

Constantine was enraged with Zebellia, their previous words, to some extent were a charade, he was amused with her company and he could tell she too enjoyed to be together with him, even if this relationship of sorts was toxic.

But right there… it was a direct threat to his life, the meter increased right when he committed that mistake, let alone he knew exactly where every root was.

That root had risen more than it had been previously, altered.

"Why did you do it…?" There we're so many ways he could be punished, or the karma get increased… why at that moment? He was a millimetre away from death.

Unbeknownst to him, Death aura lingered slightly around his body, he had survived… but it hadn't been due to his own skills.

[You have to understand, you're being punished… whenever the trial decides to punish you is not always in my control… I didn't bring you to this cave, Constantine….] Her words were clear, she punished him before during his time with Aurelianne, but it wasn't her decision to send him to this cave.

"… But it was you who punished me when I was back then with Aurelianne..." he glared at the nothingness.

[I did, but your punishment was the frustration you felt, as for sending you here… that was the trial. You will understand everything once you're a magus…] She said… going along their accord, she had to accredit him.

[+100.000 Karma Points]

"I hope you will explain everything then, Zebellia…" He said fiercely, but his fierceness wouldn't be met with submissiveness.

The world stopped and the Valkyrie didn't take kind to his words.

It was as if two fierce beasts were having an argument.

[Hmph! Don't speak to me like that, even if you nearly died, you have that deserved… I was merely saying… it wasn't me, I didn't want your death] having answered that with a surprising stutter, she spoke no more.

**

**

"Ugh!"

Constantine's head protruded from the soil and the group couldn't finally sigh in relief.

"Constantine!" The first to run after him was Zamira, she tried to pull him up and his body crawled on the soil.

"Are you okay?" One of the guys asked as everyone encircled him.

"I'm… okay…" He said, panting and holding his spear lest any of them decided to get funny.

"Thank you very much, but… what are we going to do now? There is barely any air left here." Anna, the other girl, asked.

"We're resting for now, then we escape… I have a complex of tunnels, we just have to crawl through, but…

Looking at the bulky men, he didn't even know if those guys would fit in.

They understood his gaze and looked troubled.

"Don't worry… you will surely fit inside." He assured, not so confident.

[Pervert…]

*Pft*

He shivered but maintained his poker face, Zebellia is still in the shadow zone.

"I'll rest for a while, until then, be ready… we might get the beating of our lives if we're discovered."

[Not as much as Luke, dude is probably getting impaled as we speak, and not in a good place]

Constantine grit his teeth and resisted the urge to laugh, meanwhile Zebellia, looking at his repressed laughter, pouted.

[Why won't you laugh?]

"Is that even funny? Keep trying…" He mocked.

[You, with an -F are the most appropriate to gauge whether a joke is funny or not?~]

He shook his head, still believing those metrics are wrong.

And if they were calculated with someone with that proficiency in maths, more so.

[There is something I still don't understand…]

"What is it?" He deemed himself merciful enough to answer her enquiry, after all, he did think her comments were amusing even if he'd not admit it.

[Why did you cut down all the paths to the clearing? Even the one you were escaping through? All of them closed… wouldn't you have met a dead end eventually?]

"Hehe~ no reason in particular… I merely wanted to test… how many of them I could kill with my bare hands… ten it was, nothing more, nothing less…" Smirking evilly; he lay back and said no more.

[…]

Zebellia wasn't convinced by his answer, and she didn't deem it important enough to keep questioning.

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And even then, she and the group would never realise, for those slim walls were far too efficient in concealing the muted wails coming from the other side.