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Ervas and Veronica noticed the creature escaping from within their range of detection… or more precisely, the thousands of tiny creatures.
?
"What is that?" asked Ervas.
"It seems to be a colony of many ants…" said Veronica.
"Let's catch them, they might also serve as good allies if they were able to survive down here where Pete used to reign," said Ervas, as both he and Veronica flew towards the colony of metallic ants that were running away from them, they seemed a bit camouflaged through the use of the Stealth Skill, but Ervas and Veronica saw right through them.
Flash! Flash!
The metallic ants cried in panic as Ervas and Veronica flew at an incredible speed that fairly surpassed them! They tried to spread around them in different smaller groups, but they were all caught in capsules made out of Telekinesis by Ervas.
"We got them!" said Ervas.
"I've always wanted to have an ant colony on earth when I was a child," said Veronica.
"Yeah, me too… I guess that's because we used to be one on Earth…" said Ervas.
"Yeah, and-"
Before Veronica could continue her words, the voice of a youthful man resonated within the minds of Ervas and Veronica.
"Please! Have mercy on my siblings and mother! Take me, but let them go!"
"…Eh?"
"Huh?"
"…"
"Did that… ant… just talked now?" asked Veronica.
"I think it was just our imagination, we can connect our souls so we might have the same hallucination-"
"It is not a hallucination! I am an Ant that can speak words through my mind! It is a spell called Telepathy! It cost a great deal of Mana, so I might not be able to continue… Please!" asked the voice once again.
Ervas and Veronica glanced at the Metallic Ant Colony, which resembled a large mass of tiny metallic insects, when each little creature was together in the colony, their mass formed up to one meter of height.
"I heard it again, it might not be a hallucination, Ervas," asked Veronica.
"…Perhaps," said Ervas.
Both of them then glanced at the ant colony, looking for the one who spoke to them.
"Who is the one that talked? …Am I really asking these ants if they spoke?" wondered Veronica.
"I… I did" said a slightly bigger ant that was being carried by the thousands of smaller ones around the sea of ants. It resembled a simple ant, but it was covered in an exoskeleton of metallic silver, however, it seemed to be wounded, lacking most of its legs alongside a large chunk of its abdomen… Ervas and Veronica wondered how it was still even alive.
"You're an ant that can talk… I swear, this day does not stop having surprises" said Veronica.
"Are you hurt? Why didn't you heal your wounds? You seem to have been enduring them for a long time… any monster should have enough vitality to recover their wounds sooner or later…" said Ervas.
"This is… because it's a curse! A monster named Accursed Living Armor inflicted this wound on me after I defended my siblings… it's a curse that inhibits my regeneration and slowly drains my mana away-"
The ant's voice was suddenly cut off as it showed a tired expression on its tiny head, it had run out of Mana.
Ervas and Veronica glanced at each other as they touched the tiny ant with their fingers, the rest of the ants tried to defend the ant, but he stopped them by raising one of its legs in a sign.
"Healing Touch," said Ervas, as a form within his fingers golden glows of light began to flow like mystical rives around the air, flowing towards the tiny Ant as it began to slowly recover its wounds.
"Let me take out the curse for you…" said Veronica, as she expanded a small tentacle from within her Abyssal Soul that entered the ant's flesh and slowly cleansed the curse out of the wounds as if she were licking it out.
Suddenly, as the curse was taken out, the wounds began to recover at a faster pace, surprising the ant.
"And have some Mana too," said Veronica, granting her mana to the ant through Mana Transfer, the No-Attribute Magic Spell.
The ant's wounds began to heal as even its tiny legs and the rest of the abdomen grew back, although they were only covered in a weaker nonmetallic exoskeleton, seemingly needing some time to grow a hardened shell.
"Ooh! This… This is…! Thank you, thank you!" cried the ant with a very polite voice.
However, as Veronica inspected the ant's soul through the 'cleaning' that she did to take away the curse… she noticed something very strange and also oddly familiar about this ant in specific.
"This soul… he's a reincarnated being," said Veronica.
"Is it? I guessed as much, it can talk after all" said Ervas.
"Huh?! How could you tell?! And… wait… are you reincarnated people as well?!" asked the ant in surprise and awe.
"We are. And you… Do you know about something named the Samsara System?" asked Veronica.
The ant suddenly became shocked and even paralyzed! It clearly knew about the Samsara System, without its help, he would not be alive right now as an ant!
"I…. Impossible! Have any other of my companion died before me… or perhaps after me? No, you are already a grown-up adult and that child is clearly at least four years old… How could it be? Who might you be? Are you from… Earth? From the printing company! Do you remember me? I am Daniel!" said the ant.
Suddenly, Ervas and Veronica fell silent… as a bloodthirsty aura began to leak from within their bodies, engulfing the entire colony as it quivered in fear.
"Unngh…! Ah! You… This is… this is…! Could you be… Anastacia?! I mean… Veronica! The lost coworker!" asked Daniel, the ant, as he realized who one of the two reincarnated people in front of him could be. If no one else had died before him, the obvious person that could have reincarnated before him that knew about the Samsara System was Veronica, or formerly known as Anastacia, the Demon Queen!
Ervas and Veronica's souls suddenly emerged from within their bodies as they entangled together like a specter of gray colors, covered in a cloak made of abyssal darkness and golden halos over its spectral existence, Daniel could barely hold on to himself as he felt the deadly pressure of a being that could easily squash him to death in mere seconds! The whole colony, including the queen, had fainted out of horror! Although they were not dead, thankfully.
"T-This… I… I am sorry! I… I did not know that you were truly Veronica… I am… I know the sins I have committed… I still carry them on my shoulders every day! You do not know… how deeply sorry I am for what I have done… becoming a mere Ant, something looked down on by every living being in the world is a fitting punishment for what I have done… But if it might clench your rage, slay me… But please, I implore of you… let my family life!" implored Daniel with all the strength he could muster.
He was not capable of crying, but he would be crying tears of guilt if he were capable of. The pain of what he had done in his previous life, the sins he had committed… everything was constantly eating his sanity away. It had not passed a single day since he has not felt like his whole life was always a lie.
The converged soul of Ervas and Veronica grabbed upon Daniel with its sharp claws, as it glanced at it with its enormous crimson eyes… Its voracious jaws were about to devour him! However, as Daniel mustered the words about 'let my family live', reason suddenly came back to their converged minds, which were simply infuriated to the point of losing their sanity.
"…Family?" it asked.
"Yes… please… don't… Ungh… Aaghhh… Please! …They had been everything for me since I reincarnated in this world… please… everything… everything except them!" asked Daniel.
"Hahaha… Hahahaha! Now you are imploring me?! After you took everything from me!? After you took everyone from me!? After you destroyed my life?! After you killed everyone I loved?! After you even… AFTER YOU EVEN KILLED THE CHILDREN THAT IMPLORED TO YOU, KNEELING IN THE GROUND AS THEY CRIED OUT OF PURE FEAR?! COULDN'T YOU TELL THAT THEY WERE MY FAMILY AS WELL?! YOU DAMNED HYPOCRITE!"
The roar of Ervas and Veronica's combined soul resonated like a furious and ominous monster from the abyss, everyone present became completely paralyzed, the sheer fury exuded from such words and cries not only carried rage… but also incredible sadness, despair, and guilt.
However, Daniel, as terrified as he was, kept imploring.
"Please… I am… Do whatever you want with me… but please… Agh…!"
Ervas and Veronica felt as if their minds were in total chaos… they were in between doing what they desired the most or not… the thought of deciding their next course of actions ate their minds away…
"Ervas! Veronica! Stop! Stop!" cried the voice of Jason, running towards them.
"Veronica! Boy! What are you doing?! What is this commotion?" asked Anna.
"Ervas-san… Auntie Veronica…" muttered Pekorina.
"What… What is happening?" asked Acathea.
"Auntie! Ervas!" cried Amelia.
"My lords, please, calm down your anger!" asked Lilith.
"Mama! What is going on?" asked Aqua.
"Veronica! Veronica, stop! Stop!" asked Shade, who was currently at Aqua's side.
"Ervas! Ervas! Do not be angry! You are… You're scary!" said Gaia.
"Ah…" muttered Ervas and Veronica's voice, glancing at their beloved family… they also had a family in this world, just like Daniel had made a new one now.
"Unnghh…! Please…" muttered Daniel, he was barely resisting with all the mana he had been given… he was just a few seconds from bursting into their claws and dying right there.
However, the grip loosened, as Daniel was finally able to catch a breath.
"Ungh… Haahh…" the small body of Daniel trembled as he became paralyzed, yet somehow, due to his strong soul, he has not lost his consciousness out of pure fear, unlike his brethren.
The souls of Ervas and Veronica went back to their original bodies, as they fell silent while glancing at Daniel with their bloodthirsty crimson eyes.
"Tell me… How far are you willing to go for your family, Daniel?" they asked at the same time.
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