The bugs were massive, each one easily the size of a large dog, their elongated, segmented bodies covered in a hardened chitinous shell that resembled layered armor more than anything natural.
Their legs were long and jointed, ending in sharp, hooked tips that dug into both the ground and the walls with ease, allowing them to cling and move from any angle without losing balance.
Some clung to the walls, others to the ceiling, their movement unsettlingly fluid as they shifted positions with minimal sound, save for the constant, low buzzing that filled the corridor.
Their wings were thin but wide, almost translucent, beating at a rapid pace that created a steady vibration in the air.
But what stood out the most... was their front.
Their heads were narrow and slightly elongated, fitted with forward-facing mandibles that twitched constantly, opening and closing with a faint, rhythmic clicking sound.
Beneath their bodies, a long, needle-like stinger extended downward, slightly curved, its tip coated in a dark, viscous fluid that clung heavily to it.
Words only visible to Cain appeared above them.
[Blood Midge D-Tier]
"Everyone, get into position!" Quasi shouted as he stepped forward, already bracing himself at the front with his massive shield raised.
Cain tightened his grip on his staff, preparing himself, but his attention flickered briefly across the rest of the group. They were calm and focused in a way that felt almost routine.
Even the twins, who had been playful moments ago, now carried a sharp, serious edge.
So this was what a real party looked like.
"Hera! Cain! Disrupt them!"
Hera didn’t wait for him to finish.
Her grip tightened, the air around her dropping in temperature almost instantly.
Long, jagged ice spikes formed in an instant before shooting outward like spears.
They tore straight into the swarm.
Several bugs were caught mid-motion, their bodies pierced clean through before they could react, their momentum forcing them deeper onto the spikes as their wings stuttered and failed.
The impact was violent.
Some twitched briefly before going still, their bodies sliding down and hitting the ground.
Others managed to evade the initial strike, and the moment they broke formation, Cain stepped in.
With the staff amplifying his output, he used [Fireball], firing controlled bursts of flame, each shot deliberate and measured.
Unlike Hera, he couldn’t afford to waste mana, so he focused only on the injured ones, finishing them off before they could recover.
The ones that survived faltered, their movements breaking as they dropped lower, their flight turning erratic, the buzzing growing harsher, more aggressive.
"They’re coming down!" Barack called, shifting his stance as he prepared for ground engagement.
Quasi adjusted his footing and raised his shield in a single, practiced motion, angling it forward, not just to block, but to control the space in front of him.
The first bug slammed into it.
A sharp metallic crack rang out as its mandibles scraped violently against the surface, its hooked legs digging in as it tried to climb over.
Quasi didn’t push it off.
He held it there, and then retaliated in the same motion, bringing his great axe down in a heavy arc that split the creature cleanly in two.
Before the body had even hit the ground, he followed through by driving his shield downward with force, the impact producing a deep, grounded sound that sent a sharp pulse outward through the air like a ripple cutting across still water.
The reaction was immediate.
The bugs turned, every single one of them, their attention locking onto him as their bodies angled forward as though something had forcibly drawn them in.
Cain recognized what this was. "Aggro."
Quasi didn’t move.
One rushed him, then three more, and within seconds the rest followed, all of them hitting him at once.
Mandibles slammed against his shield, claws scraping violently as they tried to latch on, their bodies pressing forward with relentless force.
The combined impact forced him back half a step, but he didn’t lose his footing.
Instead, he leaned into it. Held it. Then shouted after a few secons:
"Now!"
Barack moved instantly.
With the swarm fully focused on Quasi, the openings were obvious.
He stepped in from the side, his blade cutting through the cluster with precision, no longer restricted by split attention. His strikes came fast and heavy, each one deliberate as he targeted joints, weak points, and exposed undersides.
Hera followed, shifting her focus.
The aerial threats were no longer a concern.
Now that the swarm had been drawn together, she adjusted her output, no longer spreading her power but driving it forward in controlled bursts.
Ice surged into the cluster, freezing sections of it in place, locking bodies together just enough to disrupt movement and create resistance within their own ranks.
Barack stepped into the frozen mass without hesitation.
His blade struck with full force, cutting cleanly through immobilized bodies.
The ice didn’t hinder him; it helped, anchoring the creatures in place so his strikes could land without resistance, each blow cracking through both shell and ice alike.
From the side, Ava and Avery moved at the same time, advancing together at first before Ava suddenly broke off, and what followed was no longer just speed but something far sharper and more controlled, a burst of motion that tore through the battlefield like a blade through paper.
In a single pass, she cut down three bugs, their bodies exploding into fragments of limbs, wings, and shattered shells before they even had time to register what had hit them.
She stopped briefly, grinned, then moved again, slipping along the edge of the fight, cutting down anything that tried to break away from the main cluster.
Avery, in contrast, held her ground.
Positioned just behind the front, she intercepted anything that slipped through, her strikes heavier, more controlled.
Where Ava was explosive, Avery was precise, each movement measured, efficient, with no wasted motion.
One managed to slip past Barack and dart straight toward the healer, Adel, its movement sharp and sudden.
But the moment Avery’s eyes locked onto it, its body halted mid-motion, freezing in place in a way that felt unnatural, as though something invisible had seized it completely.