In Danmachi with My System

Liliruca knew that this day would come. She had felt it in the way they looked at her. She saw the crooked smile of the man who grabbed her arm. There was no astonishment when they hurled her into the midst of the Killer Ant horde.

Her small body hit the ground, and when she raised her head, she only saw a sea of red eyes in the darkness.

Those scarlet eyes inched closer, ever so slowly.

Her primal survival instinct at this scene should have been to flee, yet terror rendered her immobile. She found herself paralyzed.

As those monsters closed the gap, a cold thought crossed her mind:

'Ah. I see... Is this how I'm going to die? Maybe this is the karma for everything I've done.'

She smiled sadly. She curled into herself, hugging her knees as rivulets of sorrow cascaded down her dirty cheeks.

She wept in silence.

She dared not utter a sound. It would prove futile. She had learned this lesson on the day she became a supporter. Outcries in the dungeon would summon no aid, only further troubles.

The ants advanced along the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. There were too many of them, surrounding her from every direction. The only way out was obstructed by these monsters, which crept ever closer.

At that moment, Liliruca fully understood the essence of "despair". Cold sweat ran down her back and she trembled as if she had been cast into a tub brimming with broken ice.

Everything had gone wrong.

Because of those adventurers she had been put in this situation. Those bastards treated her like a piece of meat to distract them. She could say with certainty that it wasn't the first time they had betrayed her, but this was the cruelest.

Of course, their excuse was, "You're a thief; you deserve what you get." It wasn't like she had a choice. She worked hard, carrying the equipment of these adventurers as support, and got crumbs in return.

But they soon realized that it was easier to blame her for a non-existent theft so they wouldn't have to pay her. And after so many times... she ended up becoming a thief. What else could she do?

The world was cruel, and being considerate and kind wouldn't fill her stomach.

―Krieek!

There was a rather impatient ant. This killer ant moved its mouth and made a high-pitched sound as it ground its jaws. It approached faster with its front arm, which had four claws. The glow that burned in its eyes like coals in a furnace made everyone fear it.

Separated by a few steps, a trembling Liliruca and a hungry ant looked at each other.

The killer ant moved first. Its companions seemed to enjoy the fear on their prey's face, but it, unable to wait any longer, skipped all the ceremonies.

Although it was the first to attack, its claw failed to catch its prey. Liliruca knew its attack patterns very well so she had unconsciously dropped her body to the side.

―Kriik?

At that, the ant emitted a sound of confusion and then became furious. Lili seemed to realize something at that moment.

'Killer ants don't behave like that.... They now look smarter and show.... emotions.'

She had enough experience to back up that statement. All that was missing was a glance at the other ants. Their heads turned towards their enraged comrade seemingly deriding its failure to capture her.

"Ah..."

As she studied the unusual conduct of the ants and grew more fearful, one of them shoved aside the one that had failed and replaced it without a second thought. The monster's claw drew a white arc through the air.

Lili saw it approaching from the right side, but it was slow compared to her enemy's attack. Her flesh split open and red blood spurted from under her clothes.

"Ahg!" She released an agonized shriek.

Another claw landed on her arm. Not only did it cut her, but the blow pinned her against the wall. Her body slid down and her bottom landed atop her large backpack.

'Why...'

'Why haven't they killed me yet...'

Painfully, she raised her gaze to meet the ants' stares. There was no hate in those eyes. There was no hunting instinct.

She saw amusement in those empty eyes.

Amusement. Something that should not exist in a low-level monster.

It seemed that all her knowledge of Killer Ants had crumbled in this encounter. No matter how you looked at it, the monsters had changed.

Had someone or something influenced them?

Lili had no way of knowing, especially with ants clawing at her legs and arms. She huddled there, lying on her side, when suddenly a piercing scratch came from below. The claws of one of the ants had ripped open her large backpack, and the items inside scattered across the floor.

Amid tears of pain, she opened her eyes, and a gleam flashed in her deep brown irises.

'Is this... a magic item...?'

She had stolen it the day before. An overconfident adventurer had left it lying around while drinking in the tavern. It looked like a stone, deep red, almost as if it burned from within. She had no idea what it really did until now. But this stone lit a spark of hope in Lili's heart.

With trembling hands, she pulled it out of the pile of objects. She didn't know much about magic, but technically a magic item could be used by anyone.

"Please... work... work... I beg you, work!"

Gritting her teeth, she murmured over and over until the whisper became a scream. The world around her seemed to stop in her despair. Then a roar of flame erupted from the rock in her hands, fire violently erupting between her fingers.

In a matter of seconds, the fierce blaze engulfed her body, and the approaching Killer Ants had no chance to react. The monsters screamed and writhed in the heat as the flame consumed them. The red exoskeleton quickly turned black and crumbled like ash. But there was much more left, and the magic item would not last long.

The fire went out and the rock shattered into pieces.

"Ah... Only one use?"

Lili let out an unpleasant sound.

After all, what was supposed to be her lifeline ended up killing only five Killer Ants. Considering there were about fifty of them, it was practically nothing in comparison.

Lili leaned against the wall, panting, smoke billowing around her. The flames hadn't slain many, but it had created a wall of fire a few meters away. And the ants hesitated to break through it, making faint sounds from the other side.

Soon she heard the scratching of ants approaching again. Eyes redder than flame watched her, inching closer.

As she tried to steady her breathing, the trembling in her legs became uncontrollable.

'What am I going to do now?'

The fire had made her escape even more difficult. Even if she somehow managed to get through the wall of flames, what then? Without someone to help her, there was no hopeful path.

But of course, there was no one to help her.

Without much hope of survival, she grabbed an object from the pile. She opened the water bottle and poured it over her body.

Without looking back, Lili stepped toward the wall of fire.

There was no other way. Lili gritted her teeth as she felt the heat's oppressive embrace. Her shoes began to melt and the skin on her arms, which she used to shield her face, blistered painflully. The kind of pain that would make anyone scream. But Lili pressed forward without stopping.

"Hah, hah... Ugh!"

When she finally emerged from the ring of flames, the air in her lungs rose like a wave of hot coffe, leaving her gasping for air. In between, the pain had nearly paralyzed her, but she fought back and stayed alive.

Grimacing, she looked up. In fact, pain had not paralyzed her, but the scene in front of her had. Dozens of killer ants were staring at her, making strange noises.

"I see...it was no use getting out... I have no escape from the beginning."

As she backed away in panic, the ants in front of her suddenly moved. However, instead of moving toward her, they moved sideways, leaving a gap in the horde.

Then a body fell forward. A man. One of the adventurers who had betrayed her. Lili recognized him at once. His leg was broken―or to be more precise, severed―hanging at an unnatural angle, and his eyes were filled with horror and rage at the same time.

"Damn you! Why did you do this to us? When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you!"

Amid the crackling flames, the man screamed and spat in the air.

He tried to get up, but something knocked him back to the ground. The tendons in his legs had been severed. Lili didn't see who or what had done it, but it could have been done deliberately, with the intention of rendering him helpless.