It was almost as if it had heard my thoughts—the monster snapped its wings open abruptly, a sharp crack echoing through the air. The gleam bouncing off its chitinous plates blinded me for a moment, like a flash of metal under the sun, before a gust of wind—violent as a storm’s beating—nearly knocked us to the ground.

The air carried the freshness of wet grass, but mixed in was a pungent, nauseating odor, probably coming from the beetle itself—a stench that seemed to cling to my nostrils and refuse to leave. Around us, the buzzing of wings returned, now louder, resonating like an enormous swarm. The sound came from every direction, accompanied by the snapping of branches and the heavy thud of steps on the damp ground.

Alice swallowed hard beside me, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the forest around us. A chill ran down my spine, and the only sound I could manage was a shaky whisper: “Yeah... I’m not liking this sound at all”

Next to me, Alice let a shadow of apprehension take over her face as she stared at the colossal monster before us. You could almost read her thoughts just by watching her tense expression, as if every muscle in her face was screaming silently. To be fair, I wasn’t much different—though there was a crucial distinction: this wasn’t the first time I’d been in a situation like this.

Logically speaking, I know I’m incapable of fear—and maybe that’s precisely why I feel I should be the one to ease the tension weighing on everyone else. It’s like, by standing firm, I can give them the ground they’re losing. After all, that’s a task only I can handle. I’ve never really considered my condition a good thing... at least, not until now.

With that thought, I shifted my female body forward, feeling the weight of the earth under my feet. Alice noticed my movement and turned her face toward me; our eyes met, and for a moment, she seemed like she wanted to say something—her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

At the same time, I had my male body step forward, stopping right in front of her. I raised the dagger in a firm gesture, the blade catching the light, and offered a half-smile to break the tension.

“Alice, you ready?” I asked, my male voice soft yet carrying a determination that cut through the air: “Let’s take this thing down!”

I glanced quickly over my shoulder and met Alice’s eyes, letting a gentle smile play at the corner of my lips. Honestly, I’m not the type to act with that kind of confidence—I usually prefer to stay quiet, analyzing every detail around me and letting my thoughts spin.

But if this little gesture could ease some of the tension she was feeling, then I didn’t see a problem in showing it, even if it wasn’t natural for me.

Fortunately, my words seemed to have an effect. Alice gave a tentative smile in my direction—a smile that, though slightly forced and anxious, was infinitely better than the fear that had dominated her face before.

“You’re right...” she murmured, drawing in a deep breath as if pulling courage from the very air around her. Then she straightened her shoulders, and her eyes shone with renewed determination: “Let’s take this thing down. Justin, Noa!” Alice’s voice rang firm as she raised her fist forward.

Alice seemed more energized than before—which, honestly, was a good sign on its own. Still, no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, there was no ignoring the gravity of our situation. The danger was real, and even Alice’s sudden optimism didn’t seem enough to shake that suffocating sense of being trapped.

She seemed aware of it too. Her eyes, though shining with determination, held a shadow of worry as she finally asked, voice low and tense: “But how do we do it?” She furrowed her brow, scanning around as if seeking answers from the forest itself: “I can’t find a spot that looks vulnerable enough to attack”

Honestly, Alice was right—the beetle was almost entirely encased in black armor, so dense and shiny it seemed able to withstand any blow. Just looking at that shell made me feel like nothing could pierce it.

Deep down, I still held a glimmer of hope that some of my abilities might work against it, but there was no way to be sure. Attacking without thinking would be like throwing myself straight into death.

Still, with no concrete plan in mind, there was only one option: try, at the very least, to disrupt its movements—even if only enough to buy a few precious seconds.

After a few seconds trying to organize the whirlwind in my head, I took a deep breath and turned to Alice. My male body was still adjusting to the new stance, each movement a strange reminder of the shift. My eyes met hers—steady, almost cold—before my voice came out, low and controlled: “I’ll try aiming for its legs”

I let my thoughts echo in silence for a moment, almost speaking more to myself than to her: “This thing’s strangely agile for its size... and if its whole body is covered in that shell, it doesn’t make sense that it moves this fast. Of course, I’m not sure if any of this makes sense when we’re talking about a giant monstrous beetle”

Hearing me, Alice stayed silent for a moment, eyes fixed on me as if gauging the seriousness of what I said. Only then did she shift her gaze to the beetle’s legs. Her expression tightened almost immediately, forming an instinctive scowl.

“Think you can pierce that shell?” she asked, skepticism heavy in her tone: “It looks... way too solid”

Personally, I felt the weight of my next words, a melancholy different from the energy I’d shown moments before. Still, lying to Alice made no sense. I took a deep breath before speaking, voice low and contained: “It’s pretty unlikely I’ll get through... but it’s still better than just standing here waiting for it to crush us. If plan A fails, I go straight to plan B” I tried to smile faintly, mostly to convince myself rather than reassure her.

Alice blinked rapidly, as if trying to process what she’d just heard. Then she turned to me, brow slightly furrowed, lips parted, showing genuine confusion: “Plan A? Plan B?” she repeated, voice heavy with uncertainty, as if trying to guess whether this was a joke or some secret code.

I opened my mouth to answer, but before a word could escape, the ground beneath my feet trembled, a soft wave rolling across the soil like a silent warning. My body—still in its female form—stayed fixed, eyes on the enormous beetle ahead.

Then I saw it: its legs shifted just a few inches forward, enough to make the earth quake as if acknowledging the creature’s presence. Immediately, an annoying buzzing filled the air.

From the dense forest around us, flies and grasshoppers began emerging, flying in small swarms. Fewer than before, but still enough to make the path a torment.

I could already feel the irritation building—this was going to be a nuisance to deal with, again. I thought about the situation for a few moments, feeling the weight of silence stretch around me, before finally turning to Alice—still in my male form. Updates are released by ɴovelfire.net

The truth is, no solid plan came to mind, no matter how hard I tried. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus, and in a more serious tone than I intended, asked: “Alice... do you think you could paralyze that beetle?”

Alice stayed silent for a few seconds, her gaze fixed on some distant point as if gathering courage to speak. When she finally spoke, her words were exactly what I feared: “I’m not sure...” she said, voice low and hesitant: “It seems way stronger than the flies and grasshoppers. And even if it works, I doubt it would last more than a few seconds”