The black crystal field shattered like a drowned shore collapsing inward. Fragments scattered across the tunnels, grinding against stone like obsidian sand, while the living pulse of the anthill died in a single, irreversible moment. What had once been a breathing nest was reduced to silence under Kiaria's deliberate extermination.
The tunnels beyond were not empty. Other treasure hunters still existed–scattered across distant veins of the anthill–but the sudden void left by Kiaria's act crippled their paths. Most would struggle to kill even ten beasts before the hunt unraveled completely.
But the annihilation did not end with silence.
It awakened judgment.
The Association's grand formation stirred first, its consciousness forced awake by an anomaly far beyond predicted thresholds. Emergency sub-formations activated instantly, ripping candidates out of combat zones, flinging them into sealed regions to preserve the integrity of the assessment.
Then–
Something older stirred.
