Lewd skill in a filthy world

Limping away through the dark curve, Shin's ears still weren't working properly after being smashed so brutally against rock. The constant ringing drowned out everything else. He couldn't rely on his hearing anymore. And injured as he was—pain blooming in almost every limb—it was near impossible to even focus on his newly acquired Ant-Sense trait. All that occupied his mind now was survival. Escape.

From what he'd pieced together since being thrown into this hellish, beast-infested dungeon—or whatever this place was—each type of monster claimed a territory of its own. The Tsukuma beast, for instance, hadn't stepped beyond its den. When he'd crossed into Ant territory, it didn't dare follow him. It only growled from its obsidian cave like a god denied blood.

But if this pattern held, then that meant something worse was ahead. The probability of death could only keep increasing.

As he dragged his bloodied legs down the dim, winding path, he could still feel slight tremors under his feet. Vibrations. Faint, but there. Probably the Ant soldiers, still hunting him. He couldn't tell if the enemies were closing in or just toying with him, letting him think he had a chance. Unbeknownst to him, Ant soldiers were already tunneling beneath him, using a network of honeycombed tunnels carved through the rock, and following the scent of his blood like a swarm of death, burning with vengeance.

He only realized how close they were when the tremors grew violent. Cracks spiderwebbed through the stone behind him, each fracture groaning as if the dungeon itself was crying out in agony. Shin instantly summoned two clones, their forms phasing into existence with flickers of distorted light and coughing shadows. He kept his pace at fleeing without bothering to stop. Thanks to their shared vision, he could still see what was happening.

The ground burst open with a deafening explosion, and the Ant-King emerged like a nightmare ascending from below. It didn't just crawl out—it launched itself into the air, crashing back down into a superhero landing, right before Shin's clones. Its body radiated with a menacing purple aura, its twitching mandibles gleaming like curved blades ready to slice flesh and chew through bone.

And then the swarm followed.

Ant soldiers poured out from the fissure behind their King in a grotesque display of unity. The ones that had climbed up first reached down, grabbing onto others below, and creating a living ladder, climbing over one another, their claws scraping rock and bone until about more than 250 of them were out.

Shin's clones shifted into combat stance. They had no weapons. Just raw fists and a shared will to protect their original.

Shin kept dragging himself, even as his body screamed for rest. He could feel the numbness in his legs, the sharp pains pulsing behind his eyes, but he refused to stop. He hadn't come this far to die now.

He hadn't done anything yet to confront whoever was behind these systems… whoever could bring his grandmother back. He hadn't even done a fraction of what he needed to. And then there was Elena, the girl who had stolen his heart. The girl he didn't want to use like the others. He wanted to love her for real. He hadn't done anything to bring her back to life either.

All the more reason to survive.

His empty gun dangled from his chest like a dead weight. Useless. He yanked it off and tossed it to the ground.

"You can use the gun to fight off the ants!!" he shouted to his clones.

The clones stepped back slowly, their eyes fixed on the advancing swarm.

But they never reached the weapon.

With barely a flicker, the Ant King moved faster than the speed of sound toward them, and slammed his fists straight through both clones. His blow pierced their guts, shredding through their forms and dropping them to the ground, twitching with holes in their torsos.

"Shit…!" Shin coughed. "This thing's… a nightmare…"

He spawned two more clones in desperation, but the King barely waited for their forms to finish forming before slashing through them with his claws, shredding them like worthless insects.

Panic.

Shin's breath hitched. His heart thundered. His foot snagged on a decomposing corpse on the ground, its face twisted mid-scream— and tripped, crashing to the floor with a gasp. He rolled, instantly crawling backwards with his hands, pushing with his feet, dragging himself away like a cornered animal.

The Ant King strolled toward him with confidence, its soldiers in tow.

"You're a bold little maggot, human, aren't you?" the King hissed. "You dared destroy one of the Queen's eggs…? No human has ever done that."

Shin spat blood, laughing weakly. "Guess I'll go down in insect history then. Maybe you'll tell your grandkids about me."

The Ant King chuckled, amused. "Still mouthing off while staring death in the face? Humans are truly strange creatures. Smug even when I can hear your heart screaming in fear from here."

"Really?.." Shin said with a strained smirk. "And here I thought you bugs had no ears."

"You were an interesting one. Weak… but clever. But thanks for the lesson. Next time, I won't hesitate. No more curiosity. No more games. Just death. Because humans like to buy time with words."

The King raised a clawed palm, pointing it at Shin like a judge passing sentence.

And then—he unleashed fire.

A gout of flaming energy exploded from his hand, surging forth in the shape of a dragon's open mouth, roaring with rage and heat. The dungeon lit up in infernal red as small insects in the dungeon scattered into the cracks, and shrieking as their shells sizzled.

But right before the fire could reach him, a shadow fell.

An inhuman figure appeared behind Shin like a phantom, wrapping its large grayish wings around him, shielding his body from the fire. The flames crashed into the barrier with a roar, lighting the wings aflame, but they held steadily.

As the blaze died down, the Ant King waited, expecting to see charred remains of Shin's bones, but instead, a pair of wings slowly unfolded.

And Shin… was still alive.

He stared up, eyes widening in disbelief.

A grotesque figure stood over him with a red skin, a face that looked human twisted with goat-like features. Horns curled from her forehead. She didn't say a word as she stumbled slightly like she was weak, then stepped forward, placing herself between Shin and the swarm as if protecting him.

"It's you again!!" the Ant King hissed. "Tch… A human in demonic skin. Came for another beating?"

Shin's jaw slackened as he got a better look at the figure that just saved him. She was barely clothed—if at all. The Ant King was right. She looked more like a demon than anything else. Her red skin shimmered like fish scales, acting almost like armor, stretching from her twisted face… all the way to her toned backside that Shin had the unfortunate angle to witness.

"Feline, the Ant King," the demon said in a deep, feminine voice. "Such a delicate name for a male bug. Take. Your. Attack. Back."

Her gray wings began to spark—one after the other, small flickers turning into roaring flames. Fire flared wildly as she pointed them toward the Ant King.

Then—she fired.

"Fall back into the tunnels!!" came Feline's voice, commanding his horde.

The ants scattered as the Ant King launched his own flame in retaliation. The two infernos collided midair in a violent clash, the pressure so intense it warped the air itself. The dungeon became a firestorm, fire roaring across the walls, the stone glowing red as molten veins split across the ground.

Their attacks refused to yield. Pressure built. Until—

BOOM!!

The explosion ripped through the ceiling. Rocks and debris crashed down. Dust clouded the air. The dungeon shook like a beast trying to wake. The blast sent both the demon and the Ant King flying in opposite directions.

The demon crashed backward—slamming into Shin, both of them skidding across the floor like broken dolls. Blood splattered. The demon laughed darkly, blood bubbling from her mouth.

Shin shoved her off, grabbing his dagger with shaky fingers.

She had helped him, yes. But that didn't make her a friend. What if she just wanted to devour him next for herself?

He pointed his dagger toward her, ready for anything.

But… she didn't attack.

She only lay there, groaning, and smiling through her pain.

And then, her body began to shift.

Her red skin cracked… and peeled like a molting snake, revealing pale, fragile flesh underneath. The scales fell like ash, the horns retracting, her form shrinking, getting smaller and smaller until she wasn't a demon anymore, but someone he knew.

Shin's eyes widened. His mouth went dry. "W-What…? It's…?! How—You're—"

She coughed, her voice trembling. "No time. Go. The ants are tunneling again. You need to move—now."

The earth trembled beneath them.

These damn ants… they just wouldn't stop. But could he really walk away and leave her?

TBC