The buzzing of the swarm intensified, until the gentle beating of their membrane wings against the air built and overlapped to a deafening roar. The swarm of ants rose from the canopy of odd trees, moving as one entity as they did so.

A black wave rose from the luscious green ocean, a tidal wave that grew higher and higher before finally descending upon them in one swoop, eager to drown their victims and devour them down to the bone.

CRACKOOM!

The crashing of thunder valiantly clashed with the roar of the swarms wings, overwhelming the orchestra of wings for a moment as a streak of lightning carved through the black tsunami, splitting a path in its wake. Yet as charred corpses fell limply to the ground, the scar that had been made in the tidal wave was quickly repaired, as more insectoid bodies poured into the gap. In seconds, the gap had been filled and the scar healed, as if it had never existed at all.

More roars of thunder followed the last, as streak after streak of dazzling lightning tore into the approaching wave, only to have their damage immediately repaired. Yet even in the face of this futility, the lightning continued to carve through the air. It was not just pure white lightning, but streaks of soft blue lightning carved into the swarm as well.

However these streaks of light did not leave burned, charcoaled corpses behind. Instead they froze whatever they touched. Those who were struck true by it had their bodies frozen solid, their expressions still twisted into that of ravenous hunger and rage, only to fall to the ground and shatter on impact.

Smouldering remains and skittering ice cubes were not the only things littering the ground beneath this encroaching swarm. Many living insects slammed against the ground, splattering it with green blood. They were torn from the skies, some with their wings ruined with smouldering holes or frozen solid, others with their bodies half destroyed.

Yet those who lived, no matter their state, continued onwards with endless willpower, fuelled by their ravenous hunger as if nothing else mattered. Even if they had to drag themselves across the ground or charge forward, leaving their guts trailing behind them in the process.

As the insatiable swarm drew ever closer, the streaks of lightning were soon joined by other attempts to squish their approach. Hunks of stone, with even the smallest being the size of cars, or as well as the wreckages of cars themselves were thrown through the air like children's toys. They slammed into the ants, splattering them impact as they tore into the swarm before eventually losing their momentum as they were swallowed up.

Before the first had even fully slowed, three more were following behind.

The air trembled as explosions rung out after the other. Small, seemingly innocuous spherical cannisters bounced within the horde of chitinous bodies before finally erupting into dazzling displays of fire, blooming into beautiful flowers of death that devoured everything in their vicinity, and disrupted the formation of the encroaching swarm.

Yet despite all of these efforts, they were ultimately ineffective in stopping the advancement of the black tidal wave of drooling maws. Even if they had cut their numbers down by half, that still would have left hundreds if not thousands of ants eager to tear the flesh from their bones. Their numbers were just... inconceivable and truly terrifying.

They were barely out of the city, yet thankfully far enough from their own civilisation within the old cities bowels that their destructive efforts wouldn't be heard by their citizens, and yet this was what was waiting for them?

Was this a result of the Shattering, or was this swarm always here simply consuming and growing without enough predators to stop them? If they did not properly take care of this issue, could it appear once again and overwhelm their city with an army even larger than this?

However, as if this tidal wave of devouring maws was not enough to worry about, the swarm did not seem to be entirely unified in its advance. From the surface of the approaching black wave, a tendril had sprouted. A tendril composed of hundreds of ants, that was stretching high into the air, as if it was trying to touch the pair of distant figures that hung in the sky.

***

A plume of azure flames descended from the heavens, swallowing the approaching contingent of the endless swarm. Omelette beat his wings heavily against the air, staying in place as the column of roaring flames poured from his mouth continuously.

It broke the charge of the extending tendril, yet it could not stop them all. Like a river crashing against a rock, the black stream broke apart, splitting into smaller 'droplets' that consisted of small groups of ants, who immediately buzzed around the azure plume and dove towards the Wyvern whilst it was otherwise occupied.

While the Wyvern was a decidedly delectable feast just waiting to be plucked and devoured, not all of the stragglers of the swarm dove towards it. For there was another entity in the sky.

His face illuminated by the azure glow of Omelette's flames, it was clear to see the strained and anxious expression on Seth's face as he shot through the air like a bullet. His feet were planted firmly on the body of the [Little Prick], a spear capable of growing or shrinking at will.

Surfing on the back of the spear, Seth rode the air currents like waves of the ocean as he dipped, ducked, dived and dodged through the onslaught of voracious ants that were lunging at him from every possible direction.

They were not as unified in their assault as those who were attacking in the black wave, yet that did not make them any less dangerous. However, just because he was dodging did not mean that Seth was helpless nor that he was incapable of fighting back, far from it.

Ink flowed from his collarbone, flowing rapidly over his metallic arm and began to form itself into a weapon. At the same time, Seth pushed off from his spear shaped surfboard, leaping into the air and immediately twisting his body into a flip.

A mere moment later, gnarled chitinous claws whistled through the air where his body had just been. The ant, having just missed its meal, let out an irritated, drool dripping snarl, only to have its torso explode outwards as a Manticore spike tore through its body like a bullet before it twisted in the air and shot off towards its next victim, leaving the ants corpse to plummet to the ground.

The spear Seth had been previously riding upon kept its trajectory as it began to spin on its axis, its pointed tip stirring up the air as it spun like a drill. When it met the flesh of an ant, it met absolutely no resistance. The tip easily piercing through its armour before the drilling action tore apart the gooey flesh beneath its natural armour.

The spinning action of the spear made sure that any viscous green blood that dared drop onto its body was immediately thrown off, so that it stayed perfectly clean and a stable foothold.

As soon as the spear tore itself free of its flesh, it began to shrink. With every inch it shrunk, its speed increased, until it was the size of a standard arrow, albeit an arrow made of pure steel. It moved like a silver blur, becoming nothing but a silver line in the air that carved through anything that dared enter its path.

It soared with curving paths, as if it was the tip of a brush painting a macabre portrait of death and destruction within the air.

The wind whistling by his ears once more, Seth plummeted towards the ground like a meteor as a group of three ants blocked his path. They were practically crawling over each other in the air, their insatiable hunger clear as day, as they were already salivating and chomping at the air as they no doubt imagined what he would taste like.

Seth simply narrowed his eyes, his course staying true, as the ink finally compressed and manifested itself into a weapon.

His fingers curled around the hilt of the newly formed sword. It was named [Fjord Carver] and took the form of a falchion with a variety of barnacles encrusting the spine of its blade. This sword was not from his influx of Requitals, but was instead a welcomed gift from his time in the endless meadow.

It had saved his life when he was trapped there, but now it would reap theirs.

Three times he swung the blade, three times it whistled through the air as he sliced through nothing. Yet even though he struck no flesh, he didn't need to. With every wave of his sword, a crescent moon of salt water burst forth from the blades tip, following its path through the air.

The crescent blades of water raced forward, biting into chitinous armour of the buzzing ants.

By the time Seth reached these voracious beasts, all he was falling past was blood splattered chunks of flesh that had been cleanly cleaved in twain. They continued upwards, only from their previous momentum, before succumbing to gravity once more and falling into the body of the ravenous black wave, where they were devoured by their own kind.