The group had been following the ant for what Liora calculated to be 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Not because the path was long, nor because they had been ambushed by endless swarms of ants. On the contrary, the mutilated Lurker was likely guiding them along the shortest, safest route.
The reason for the cursed 36 minutes was the ant's pace
.
It was no surprise that an ant with a third of its legs severed was rather slow. And due to blood loss, the ant grew even slower. Liora didn't thought that was possible. This forced Liora to summon a green bubble to heal it slightly.
The image of Liora healing the ant was shocking, even for herself. Jhon even regretted not having his phone to take a picture.
They had adjusted their formation—identical to before, but with the ant in the center. Once again, Jhon lamented not being able to photograph four Transformers protecting a Lurker
.
They were close to reaching the egg chamber—or at least, that's what Liora thought according to her mental map.
But just as she was about to deliver the good news…
They heard it.
A dry, broken scream. Pure pain. It came from a side cave, a dark slit in the rock.
Liora froze for a moment. No hesitation.They turned.
The air inside the cave was thick, hot. The smell hit first: blood, fear, something rancid. In the center, a giant rat crouched over a body. Matted gray fur, filthy. Its eyes glowed with a feral, almost intelligent hunger. Its jaws cracked and ground, crushing flesh and bone.
The student was still alive.His arms hung limply. His legs trembled involuntarily. His face, smeared with blood, was frozen in a mask of absolute terror. Each spasm weaker than the last.
The group entered without thinking.
It wasn't a strategic decision. It was instinct.
Even if it was an exam.
Even if only the most ruthless would advance.
Even if the academy demanded they step on one another.
Sacrificing someone like this was not an option.
The rat lifted its head, hissing, guarding its prey.
Rylan was already moving. He ran straight at it, no shout, no hesitation, with a clear intent to save a comrade.
The others followed quickly, just in case. Liora even created a blue bubble and a red one, one in each hand. Her attention drifted for a second to the trapped student. The face seemed familiar—perhaps she had crossed paths with him in a hallway before.
Her gaze dropped to the boy's bracelet.It wasn't glowing.
The thought hit her late, uncomfortably. Shouldn't it have activated by now?
Her eyes shifted to the rat, raising a second doubt—according to Victor, there shouldn't be a rodent-type monster in this exam, and certainly not in ant territory.
Then it hit her.
Liora shouted at Rylan—"It's a trap!"—but it was already too late.
A metallic click sliced the air, followed by a sharp whistle. Instinctively, in less than a blink, Liora traced the projectile's path: the arrow was coming from behind.
She spun with feline speed, extending the blue bubble just in time. The projectile hit the protective surface and ricocheted, arching dangerously.
The arrow flew toward Jhon, who had no time to react. It lodged in his shoulder with a screech of wood and metal.
"Fuck," he muttered, gritting his teeth as he leapt back.
At the same instant the arrow whistled, a pale, weak-looking boy with mint-green hair dropped from the ceiling with a thud. His palms opened, revealing two curved stingers, black as obsidian.
Without a second's pause, he thrust his right hand toward Liora. The blue bubble she had just used to deflect the arrow still vibrated in her hands; she barely rotated in time, feeling the sharp sting as the stinger pierced her.
Without wasting a beat, the boy aimed the second hand at Emma's back, who hadn't adapted to the situation yet. The stinger sank halfway before Liora reacted, summoning the red bubble in time to twist the attacker's arm, avoiding more serious damage.
When Rylan heard Liora's cry, he halted his attack immediately. The hesitation gave the monstrous rat-Transformer the opportunity it needed: it stopped pretending to feed on its companion and slashed wildly at Rylan's side.
The blow tore into him, throwing him off balance for a fraction of a second. That split-second was enough for Rylan to finally understand the situation and react: his left saber shot toward the rat's neck. It dodged nimbly with a feline twist, claws grazing dangerously close.
Rylan didn't waste a moment. His attention shifted to the other supposed-out-of-action Transformer. Brad rose from the floor, frustration twisting his face. His plan hadn't work like they planned. With a quick gesture, he summoned his weapon: a heavy double-bladed axe, each edge forty centimeters long, the ethetic edge humming with contained power.
The monstrous axe descended with force, and Rylan had no choice: the weapons clashed with a metallic roar, vibrations shaking the floor, sparks flying.
Emma spun toward the boy who had stabbed her from behind. Rage consumed her; she hated cowards, those who attacked from surprise instead of confronting directly. Without hesitation, she activated her trait: Primordial Strength.
The active trait allowed her to temporarily enhance her physical strength and power, channeling etheric energy into every muscle and bone.
Her body began to glow with a pulsating orange light, each strike heavier and faster than normal. Perfect for breaking defenses, knocking down enemies, or dominating hand-to-hand combat.
With a surge, Emma leapt toward Alex with devastating force. She threw her right fist wildly toward his head. He reacted quickly, tilting his head back to evade and attempting a counterattack, but Emma's power was such that the rush of air alone dragged him backward, forcing him to regain balance against the incoming concentrated strike.
Liora fired a red bubble at Nina. Nina responded immediately: the crossbow twanged, the arrow hitting the bubble, exploding midair before reaching its target.
The rat abandoned Rylan without hesitation and charged straight at Liora. She reacted instinctively, compacting herself and enclosing her body in a blue bubble. The impact was brutal. The creature slammed her several meters back against the cave wall. The rock creaked. The bubble dissipated.
Before she could catch her breath, she heard the dry click of a crossbow again. She saw an arrow coming. She dodged by inches; the projectile embedded itself in the wall.
With the brief space gained, Liora looked up, analyzed the field. She located each teammate, weighed advantages and disadvantages, and began devising a strategy to turn the situation around. The rat and Nina were approaching from different angles. The rat would arrive first.
As the creature landed, Liora fired a red bubble at point-blank. The explosion struck the monster's chest, forcing a wet, piercing scream and making it recoil.
From the flank, Nina de-summoned the crossbow and appeared with a stone dagger in hand. She advanced relentlessly, stabbing directly at Liora's torso. Liora blocked instantly, summoning a blue bubble around her arm and the blade. The movement stopped dead, as if hitting an invisible wall.
Nina's eyes widened in shock.
Liora didn't give her time to think. She enveloped her fist in a red bubble and drove it into Nina's stomach. The explosion was contained but brutal. The girl was flung backward, spitting blood as she hit the ground.
The rat lunged again. Liora wrapped herself in the blue bubble just before impact.
The first strike slammed her against the wall. The second made the bubble vibrate, rippling like water about to break. The third arrived without pause; claws and jaws struck the barrier with a dry, repetitive sound, too close.
Liora gritted her teeth. She felt the ether flow from her core into the bubble, constant, forced. Each charge stripped away a fraction of her control. The surface pressed inward, deforming dangerously close to her body before expanding again.
Liora had no choice but to endure the blows. The relentless pressure from the rat, combined with the wound Alex had inflicted, tore at her without mercy, and the blood kept flowing.
The rat didn't stop. Strike after strike. The bubble began to groan—not with sound, but with tension: an internal pull, as if something inside was about to tear. The rock behind her crept millimeter by millimeter; pressure boxed her in between monster and wall.
Liora poured more ether. Dizziness rose up her neck, breath shortened. She knew it wasn't enough. She could maintain it a few more seconds. Maybe less.
From behind came the sound she wanted.
The click of the crossbow being drawn.
Liora lifted her head. Her gaze fixed beyond Nina and the rat, and a wicked smile spread across her face.
The rat hesitated. Nina too. Both sensed the shift, that strange instant when the threat no longer came from the front.
"Now!" Liora shouted.
A heartbeat later, the air was pierced by a heavy, dull shot, unlike any crossbow bolt.
Nina felt the impact before understanding it. A brutal blow to her back. The air fled her lungs. She looked down in disbelief and saw the bullet exit her torso, tearing flesh and blood in its wake. Her expression froze, as if her mind refused to accept what her body already knew.
Her bracelet glowed red.
"One down," Jhon shouted arrogantly from the back of the cave, smoke rising from the barrel of his summoned rifle.