Extra's Death: I Am the Son of Hades

Karax POV (The Champion of Sanguiscreech Ants)

Karax stood on the edge of the chamber wall.

His compound eyes were locked on the figure vanishing into the upper tunnels. Nameless Death. He was gone, just like that.

He had not said a word, nor did he attack them again.

Karax should’ve been relieved, and a part of him was. But the feeling that settled in his chest wasn’t peace.

It was shame.

The greatest threat the colony had ever faced had simply walked away. Not because Karax fought him off. Not because they’d won. He left on his own.

Karax—Champion of the Sanguiscreech Colony, First Claw of the Queen’s Court, defender of the tunnels—had done nothing.

Nothing at all.

His mandibles clenched.

He remembered the way Nameless Death had stood there. Surrounded by those six orbs, his body a mass of scars and quiet fury.

Even at Level 2, he radiated danger so intense it made Karax’s carapace tremble.

Karax had faced multiple Level 5 Gods alone before, and he had come out on top in those deadly battles.

But Nameless Death wasn’t like them. Even for Karax who prided himself in his violence, felt fear when he stood before Nameless Death.

His very presence crushed something inside Karax. It was as if his instincts knew he weren’t meant to survive someone like him.

And yet… he had turned away.

Just walked out.

Karax didn’t even try to stop him. He didn’t say a word. He just let him go.

The other ants around him buzzed softly.

Murmurs of relief rippled through the crowd.

Several soldiers even chuckled. A few patted each other’s shoulders. They believed they’d survived something terrifying, and they had.

They believed they had ‘earned’ it.

Karax gave them a tight smile, hiding the disgust twisting in his gut. He didn’t want to ruin their joy. But inside, it burned.

They are celebrating survival, he thought bitterly. But we would’ve died if not for his mercy.

A mercy granted by an enemy.

It twisted Karax’s gut.

He was supposed to be the blade that pierced threats before they reached the Queen. The hammer that shattered invaders. But all he’d done was stand there.

Motionless.

Helpless.

As the others drifted back to their duties, Karax remained where he was.

He remained silent, watching the vertical shafts and the horizontal tunnel.

Then came the sound of footsteps.

He turned.

Level 3 ants—thousands of them—emerged from the far tunnel, worn but intact.

These were the warriors that had pushed into the jungle’s inner circle. The main force of the colony. They’d been gone when Nameless Death attacked.

At their front was Commander Arelas. His body was marked with jungle moss and tiny cuts from inner-circle flora.

“Karax,” Arelas called out as he approached. “We need to talk. It’s urgent.”

Karax straightened. “What is it?”

Arelas didn’t waste time. “Zagerus is returning.”

The name hit like a blunt stone to the chest.

Zagerus.

The humanoid monster who’d been tearing the Forest of Red Silence apart.

He was the one who attacked the Colony weeks ago, and annihilated most of them.

“He’s coming back?” Karax asked, frowning. “Why?”

“No idea,” Arelas said grimly. “But he’s moving through the canopy paths toward the outer circle. Our scouts spotted him an hour ago. His direction is… deliberate.”

Karax’s legs stiffened.

Then the air shifted.

It was subtle at first.

All Karax felt was a strange tingle crawling over his shell. The world seemed… denser, and colder, as if something terrible was pressing down.

And then he recognized it.

“…Berserk Death elementals,” Karax muttered.

The other ants began murmuring, confused.

“Why are they so active?” one asked.

“Did something die nearby?” another said. “Or is someone strong fighting? That’s the only time Berserk Death Elementals surge like this.”

Karax wasn’t confused like them.

He was horrified.

This density…

“They’re trying to possess someone,” Karax whispered.

Then came the scream.

It echoed from deep within the central chamber. The Queen’s chamber.

Every ant in the area froze.

Karax didn’t wait.

He bolted down the tunnel. Each step of his was swift like the thunder.

By the time he reached the chamber, the scent of death had thickened.

It did not fresh blood, or pure Death.

It was more chaotic. It was….

The Berserker.

The Queen stepped out from the curtains.

No… not the Queen.

It was her body, but the mind was not her.

Her elegant antennae now twitched erratically. Her glowing blue eyes were gone, replaced with dull crimson. And her body posture had changed.

She no longer moved with grace and command.

She moved like something else was inside her. Something furious.

Karax stared, chest tightening.

“Berserker,” he said under his breath.

The possessed Queen looked at him, and the voice that came from her mouth was not hers.

“You weak little insects,” Berserker snarled. “You ruined everything.”

No one moved.

Karax couldn’t speak.

“You had him,” Berserker growled. “He was perfect. A true warrior in the making. I gave him the path. He was supposed to entertain me, and perhaps become my successor.”

The Queen’s head twitched, then straightened.

“But you made him soft.”

Berserker’s tone darkened. Rage spilled through every syllable of his.

“He saw your pathetic faces. Your trembling bodies. And he pitied you.”

She— no, He stepped forward.

“He should’ve conquered this colony. He should’ve killed every last one of you. But now he’s decided to never invade again unless the other side antagonizes him first.”

The Berseker paused as he snarled.

“He retreated. Because of you.”

None of the ants moved. Not a single one.

Karax tried to step forward.

He couldn’t. His legs refused to budge.

It wasn’t fear. It was something deeper, something ancient.

They were born to protect the Queen.

They weren’t made to fight her.

And now… she was the enemy.

Berserker’s grin twisted across the Queen’s mandibles. “If he won’t become the weapon I wanted, then I’ll make sure you insects pay the price for it.”

He launched himself forward.

The first ant died without even blinking due to the brutal slice through the chest.

Then the second.

And the third.

The chamber turned red.

Screams. Crunches. Blood.

The Queen—possessed and ruthless—moved through them like a storm. He didn’t let any of them escape.

Karax stood frozen.

He wanted to move.

He needed to.

But something inside him shattered.

The Queen was everything. The center of their colony. Their mother. Their voice. Their life.

Now she was the hand of death.

Ant after ant fell. Veteran warriors. Hatchling caretakers. Even the broodmothers. None were spared.

Arelas tried to stop her. He got in one hit before his head was crushed.

Karax took one shaky step back.

His heart was pounding.

Why was this happening?

Why his home?

Why now?

A moment later, the Queen turned toward him.

He didn’t raise his claws.

He didn’t try to dodge.

“Haah, champion? Look at yourself, insect. You are trembling as your brothers and sisters are being slaughtered. This is why I didn’t want to dirty my hands with weak blood like yours.”

But now the Berserker was angry.

He pierced Karax’s abdomen in a clean strike, rupturing his insides.

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