The ancient ruin had become a frozen battlefield.
The entire cavern was covered in thick layers of ice. Frost climbed the stone walls like living roots, spreading across ancient engravings and broken pillars. The air itself looked pale white, as though the cold had frozen even the atmosphere.
Everywhere—
Ice.
The countless flying ants that had once filled the cave were now frozen in midair like trapped sculptures. Some were stuck to the walls. Others had fallen onto the icy ground with their wings locked open.
Even the enormous ant queen had been frozen.
Its massive body was trapped beneath layers of thick crystal ice, its grotesque face twisted in rage. Sharp frozen mist leaked from its jaws while its giant wings remained motionless behind it.
The cave had fallen silent.
No screams.
No buzzing.
No chaos.
Only the sound of cold wind moving softly through the frozen cavern.
Aaron stared at the frozen world around him with narrowed eyes.
Even his legs were still partially trapped in ice.
He slowly forced himself free, cracking the frost apart with strength alone.
Crack!
Crack!
He finally stepped out and looked toward Jade.
Then he paused.
Jade looked terrifying.
His entire body was covered in frost.
Snow particles drifted around him naturally.
His hair had turned almost completely pale white from the overwhelming cold aura.
Even his eyes no longer looked human.
They were cold.
Emotionless.
Like frozen stars.
When Jade turned toward Aaron, Aaron instinctively felt danger.
Not fear.
Danger.
Aaron frowned slightly.
"Never mind," he muttered.
He had wanted to ask where Jade had been hiding earlier.
But looking at him now…
Aaron suddenly felt that asking was a bad idea.
Jade walked forward slowly.
Each step he took froze the ground beneath his feet.
Crack…
Crack…
The ice spread naturally from his footsteps.
Behind them, Ella was still frozen from the waist down. Frost covered parts of her arms and shoulders, but she was already breaking free using brute strength.
She looked at Jade with visible shock.
"What exactly did you do…?" she whispered.
Jade didn't reply immediately.
His breathing was heavy.
Releasing that amount of cold aura had nearly destroyed his body.
He had compressed the cold inside himself for too long.
If not for Ice Vine strengthening his organs and blood circulation, his body would have collapsed before the release even happened.
Jade looked at the frozen ant queen.
"We don't have much time."
Aaron nodded immediately.
The three of them understood the danger.
The ice would not hold forever.
And once the ant queen regained freedom—
That horrifying scream would return.
Aaron clenched his fists.
"We kill it now."
Jade nodded.
Then—
The frozen battlefield exploded into motion again.
Aaron vanished first.
Boom!
The ground shattered beneath his feet as he rushed toward the ant queen with terrifying speed.
Even with his power suppressed by the ancient ruin, Aaron still moved like a monster.
Purple aura wrapped around his fists.
Shadow and flame mixed together around his body.
He appeared before the frozen ant queen instantly and unleashed a barrage of punches.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Each strike landed precisely on the cracks already formed on the queen's shell.
The frozen armor shattered apart piece by piece.
Fragments of ice and shell exploded into the air.
Meanwhile—
Ella moved next.
She rushed toward the swarms of frozen flying ants surrounding the queen.
Even frozen, they were dangerous.
Some had already started twitching inside the ice.
Ella summoned a short blade from her waist and slashed through them rapidly.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Frozen ant bodies shattered apart continuously.
Green blood sprayed across the icy ground.
The moment the ants died completely, the pressure in the cave weakened slightly.
Ella realized something immediately.
"The scream is connected to the swarm!"
Aaron heard her.
"Then kill all of them!"
Jade finally moved.
His vines erupted from his chest.
But now—
They no longer resembled ordinary vines.
Ice Vine had transformed them completely.
Crystalline vines shot through the cavern like frozen serpents.
Their surfaces were covered in razor-sharp thorns.
Cold mist leaked from them naturally.
The moment the vines touched the frozen ants—
The ants shattered apart instantly.
Jade controlled dozens of vines simultaneously.
Some pierced through swarms.
Some wrapped around pillars to launch him through the air.
Others protected Aaron from hidden attacks.
Even Aaron looked surprised.
"This thing got stronger again…"
Jade ignored him.
His focus remained entirely on the ant queen.
Then—
Crack.
A sound echoed through the cavern.
Everyone froze.
The ant queen's ice prison had begun breaking.
A massive crack spread across the frozen shell surrounding its head.
Then another.
Then another.
The queen's enormous eye slowly opened.
The eye was filled with madness.
And hatred.
Aaron cursed under his breath.
"It's breaking free already!"
The ant queen suddenly twitched violently.
BOOM!
Part of the ice exploded apart.
A terrifying scream instantly began forming inside its throat.
Jade reacted immediately.
"Ice Vine!"
Dozens of frozen vines shot forward simultaneously.
They pierced directly into the queen's mouth before the scream could fully release.
SHRIEEEK—!
The scream came out distorted.
The entire cavern shook violently.
Blood exploded from Jade's ears instantly.
Aaron staggered backward.
Ella dropped to one knee while clutching her head.
Even weakened—
The scream was still devastating.
The vines inside the queen's mouth began freezing rapidly.
Jade's cold aura spread directly into the creature's body.
The ant queen struggled violently.
Aaron saw the opportunity.
His eyes flashed purple.
"Shadow Punch!"
He vanished.
Then appeared directly above the queen's head.
His fist descended like a meteor.
BOOOOM!
The queen's frozen skull cracked inward violently.
The cave trembled.
But the queen still wasn't dead.
Instead—
Its body suddenly began glowing red.
Jade's eyes narrowed.
"That can't be good."
The ant queen's remaining flying ants suddenly rushed toward it frantically.
They crawled onto its body.
Then—
They began melting into it.
Aaron's face darkened.
"It's consuming them!"
The queen's aura exploded upward.
Its body started mutating.
Extra limbs burst out from its shell.
Its size expanded further.
The frozen cracks repaired themselves rapidly using flesh and hardened armor.
Ella cursed loudly.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
The pressure inside the cave became overwhelming.
Some survivors near the entrance collapsed unconscious instantly.
Even Jade felt his breathing become heavier.
The queen's new scream finally erupted fully.
SHRIIIIIIEEEEEK!!
The sound wave blasted through the cavern.
Ice shattered everywhere.
The remaining frozen ants broke free instantly.
Jade coughed blood.
Aaron was thrown backward.
Ella smashed into a pillar hard enough to crack stone.
The queen had evolved.
And it was now stronger than before.
The monstrous creature raised its enormous body higher.
Its wings spread open.
Its countless eyes locked onto Jade.
The queen had realized something.
The greatest threat here…
Was him.
Suddenly—
The queen rushed toward Jade.
The speed was horrifying.
Its gigantic body moved like a blur.
Jade's pupils shrank.
He instantly activated Mind Deceiver.
Tiny movements.
Weight shifts.
Eye direction.
Everything became calculation.
The queen's claw descended.
Jade moved sideways barely in time.
BOOM!!
The ground exploded apart.
Jade used a vine to swing upward immediately.
Another claw followed him.
He twisted midair.
The attack missed by centimeters.
Aaron suddenly appeared from the shadows and struck the queen's side.
BOOM!
The shell cracked slightly.
But the queen retaliated instantly.
Its tail smashed toward Aaron.
Aaron crossed his arms defensively—
CRASH!!
He was blasted through multiple stone pillars.
Dust exploded everywhere.
"Aaron!" Ella shouted.
The queen ignored everyone else.
It focused entirely on Jade.
Its mouth opened again.
This time—
Jade saw glowing energy gathering deep inside its throat.
A stronger scream.
Much stronger.
Jade's instincts screamed danger.
If that attack landed directly—
Everyone here would die.
Jade inhaled deeply.
Then his cold eyes narrowed.
"Then let's freeze everything."
The Ice Vine around him began expanding wildly.
Cold aura flooded the cave again.
But this time—
The cold was far denser.
Far deadlier.
Even the stone floor began freezing solid instantly.
Aaron climbed out from the rubble while coughing blood.
Then his eyes widened.
"What is he planning now…?"
Ella felt chills run down her spine.
Jade floated slightly above the icy ground while countless crystalline vines spiraled around him like dragons.
The entire cavern darkened.
Frost covered the ceiling.
Snow began falling inside the ruin itself.
The ant queen hesitated for the first time.
Fear appeared in its countless eyes.
Jade slowly raised his hand.
Then all the vines pointed toward the queen simultaneously.
The queen released its scream.
At the exact same moment—
Jade unleashed everything.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!