Beatrice's squad began their return beneath the night sky.
Faint moonlight filtered through the forest canopy. Gaps between the leaves revealed small clusters of stars overhead, their light barely reaching the path below.
They moved through the section of forest where the vines had been cut away days earlier. Broken stems and dried leaves still covered parts of the ground, crunching softly beneath their feet.
Beatrice led the squad at the front of the formation. One hand rested near the hilt of her sheathed mandible as her eyes tracked the darkness ahead.
Behind her, Quinn held the right flank.
The other two Lance Corporals covered the left side and the rear, their attention shifting between the trees and the path behind them.
Ari and Nova remained in the center.
Leaves had been wrapped around Nova's head, the sap along their edges darkened as it dried. She stayed close to Ari, keeping his weight balanced against her shoulder.
His arm rested across her back. Every step he took was slow and deliberate, his body leaning into her whenever his legs weakened.
His breathing remained steady, though it came unevenly at times. Each breath brushed against Nova's antennae, and the warmth made them twitch.
A faint heat rose across her face, but she adjusted her footing and kept moving.
Quinn glanced over from the right flank. "Um... Nova, are you sure you can handle carrying him?"
"Yes... I'm fine," Nova said.
"Stay alert. We'll reach the colony's outskirts soon," Beatrice said, glancing back.
"Ah... r-right, Beatrice," Ari said.
He shifted his weight, his arm tightening slightly across Nova's shoulders as he tried to take more of his own weight.
Nova looked up at him. Her steps slowed for a moment as she watched him straighten his back and stand a little taller.
"What is it?" Beatrice asked.
Her voice carried through the quiet forest, but she kept her eyes on the trail ahead.
"I was wondering..." Ari muttered. He
Do you think that centipede was behind the earthworms' disturbances in the northeast crater too?"
"That crossed my mind," she said. "But I doubt it."
She moved beneath a low branch without breaking her pace.
"Even if a centipede that size showed up near Lily's unit, she could handle it. I don't have any doubts about that."
Her gaze shifted briefly toward the dark trees on their left.
"Besides, she has five Lance Corporals with her. Their mission was probably over long before ours."
Ari's mouth lifted into a faint smile. "You really trust her, don't you?"
Beatrice did not answer right away.
Ari tipped his head back, looking through the gaps in the canopy. Moonlight touched the side of his face as the squad continued forward.
I wonder how Lance and Isla are holding up. This is their third mission, after all.
Lancelot's probably still charging in without thinking... and Isla... she's probably still too nervous.
A large shadow passed over the squad, cutting off the thin moonlight above them.
Ari looked up.
For a brief second, he caught the faint outline of wings glinting between the branches. They swept overhead and disappeared into the darkness, sending a cool rush of air through his hair and across Nova's cheek.
What... was that?
Nova shifted beneath his arm when his steps stopped.
"Why did you stop?" she asked.
"It's nothing," Ari said quietly.
Then a faint voice slipped into his mind.
Please... she needs help... don't let her die...
Ari's eyes widened.
Please... she needs help... don't let her die...
The voice came again, softer this time, but closer.
Please... she needs help... don't let her die...
A sharp pain tore through the side of Ari's head.
"Ahhh!"
His grip loosened around Nova's shoulders.
"Ari?" Nova said.
But his legs gave out.
He slipped from her support and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Both hands flew to his head as his scream echoed between the trees.
"Ari!" Nova dropped to her knees beside him.
Quinn spun toward the sound. "What happened?"
She crossed the distance in a few quick strides and looked down at Ari as he curled slightly against the ground.
"Don't make too much of it," Beatrice said.
Her expression did not change as she watched him.
"He's injured and worn out. It was only a matter of time before his body gave in."
Beatrice looked toward Quinn.
"Quinn, carry him. The sooner we reach the colony, the better."
"Right..." Quinn said.
Ari pressed one hand harder against the side of his head. His breathing came out unevenly as the pain slowly began to dull.
What was that voice just now?
It keeps repeating... telling me to save someone. But who?
"Lance Corporal Ari... can you hear me?"
Quinn's voice cut through the noise in his head.
She crouched beside him, one knee pressed into the dirt as she studied his face.
"Yes... I can," Ari said.
He blinked several times. The trees, Quinn's face, and the pale light above them shifted in and out of focus before his vision finally settled.
That was the sixth time I called his name before he answered, Quinn thought. Something isn't right.
She straightened slightly, keeping one hand close in case he fell again.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Nova asked. "You're not hurt anywhere else, are you?"
Nova moved closer and took hold of his arm. Her fingers tightened around him as she searched his face.
"I'll be fine," Ari said. He looked at her. "Thanks... for worrying about me, Nova."
Nova's face flushed at once.
"I-I'm not worried about you!" she said, pulling her hands back and waving them in front of her chest. "You collapsed out of nowhere and almost dragged me down with you. Don't get the wrong idea."
Without her support, Ari lost his balance.
He slipped sideways and hit the ground with a dull thud.
Ari groaned, lifting his head from the dirt. "That... hurt."
Nova bent toward him, her hands hovering uncertainly above his shoulders. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Quinn looked from Nova to Ari. "I think it would be better if I carried him."
"Yeah..." Nova said, lowering her eyes. "Maybe you're right."
Ari planted one palm against the ground and started to push himself up.
Then the voice returned.
Please... hurry... before it's too late.
His body went still.
I don't understand. Who are you? Who am I supposed to save?
His jaw tightened as he pressed his fingers against the side of his head.
Where is that voice even coming from?
A memory forced its way into his mind.
Large wings cut through the night sky. Moonlight ran along the thin veins spread across their surface.
The air around them shifted with every beat.
Below the wings, a face came into view.
Teeth clenched in pain.
One hand gripped a bleeding arm.
Then Ari saw those eyes again.
Deep crimson.
"Alright, Ari," Quinn said, stepping toward him. "I'm going to carry you now."
Ari suddenly straightened.
His knees nearly buckled beneath him.
"Easy!" Quinn held both hands up. "Don't push yourself."
Ari did not answer.
He lurched forward, his steps unsteady as he moved past her.
Both mandibles slid from their sheaths with a sharp metallic scrape.
Quinn blinked twice. "Huh?"
"Wait, Ari!" Nova said. "Where are you going?"
She stumbled after him, loose soil shifting beneath her feet as she reached for him.
"Wait... Nova, stop."
Quinn's hand closed around Nova's shoulder, halting her in place.
"We can't break formation," Quinn said. "Not when we don't know what insects are out there. And with our squad already weakened, we can't afford to split up."
"Quinn is right."
Beatrice approached with her arms folded, her expression unchanged.
"We can't be reckless. We need to return to the colony."
Nova turned toward her. "But..."
"I won't put the soldiers under my command in danger," Beatrice continued. "Whatever reason he had for running off, his life is in his own hands now."
She stopped and faced Nova directly.
"Stay in formation, Nova. That's a direct order."
Nova's lips parted, but no words came out.
Beatrice's pace slowed as she looked toward the trees Ari had disappeared through.
The branches near the trail still trembled from where he had forced his way past them.
What could possibly make you run off alone like that, you fool?
Her jaw tightened.
You can barely stand, and yet you ran off without saying a word.
She released a quiet breath, straightened her posture, and resumed walking.
"But... what if something happens to him out there?" Nova asked.
Her voice came out faint.
"Ari... why?"
Her fingers curled at her side as the squad continued forward.
Ari pushed through the dense growth ahead.
Vines crossed his path at knee height and chest height. He cut through them with quick, precise swings of his mandibles, the severed pieces dropping into the grass around his feet.
His feer caught against an exposed root.
"Uaah!"
He pitched forward and hit the ground hard.
For a moment, he stayed there with both hands pressed into the dirt. His arms shook as he forced himself back up.
I don't know where that voice came from... or who it wants me to save.
His breathing grew rough. Sweat gathered along his brow as his vision blurred at the edges.
But I can't stop. Something is pulling me this way.
Could it be the system? Is that voice... calling out to me?
Ari swallowed and shook his head once.
No. I didn't see the interface appear.
The forest gradually thinned.
The trees gave way to an open plain bathed in pale moonlight.
Ari slowed at the edge of it. His chest rose and fell heavily as he tightened his grip around both mandibles, trying to steady the tremor in his hands.
Then he heard it.
Metal clashed in the distance.
A second sound followed.
Something tore through flesh.
Ari froze.
His antennae twitched sharply as he turned his head from side to side, listening.
The noise came again.
It was distant, but clear enough to reach him across the plain.
Ari looked up.
The same pair of wings he had seen before cut through the air above him.
A figure hurtled toward the ground.
It crashed into a nearby tree with a deafening thud.
Dust and splinters burst outward.
Ari threw his arms over his face.
When the dust began to settle, his eyes swept upward.
Dark shapes fell from the sky in quick succession.
They struck the ground around him with sickening thuds.
Ari turned.
The plain was littered with blood, torn limbs, and fragments of shattered wings.
His breath caught in his throat.
He staggered back one step. "What... is all this?"
"Tch... why won't they all just die?!"
The voice came from near the tree.
As the dust cleared, Ari turned toward it.
His mouth opened slightly.
A female insect lay half-slumped against the trunk.
Purple hair spilled over her shoulders and down her back. Her red eyes glowed fixed on the bodies scattered across the plain.
Several shallow cuts crossed her cheeks and forehead. Blood ran down one arm as she clutched it tightly against her body, red drops slipping between her fingers and falling into the grass.
A thorny whip rested folded at her side.
Her teeth pressed together until her jaw trembled as she lifted her head.
"I swear... all of you will pay for slaughtering my guards," she said. "With your blood. Even if it takes my last breath."
Is she a butterfly...?
Ari stared at her wings, damaged and streaked with blood.
It's the first one I've seen since I appeared in this world.
Hurry...
The voice rang through his head again, thin and urgent.
A moth landed several paces away.
His expression remained flat as his feet touched the ground.
His exoskeleton was murky black.
"Give my regards to your pitiful guardians," he said.
Jagged quills protruded from his hind wings, their barbed tips catching faintly in the light.
Save her...