CHAPTER 16: I PRACTICED ARSON AND MY STEPSISTER GOT A FREE HUG

I didn’t hesitate. "Three!" The moment Natalia’s command hit my ears, I thrust my palm forward and channeled everything I had into the Ember ability.

But this wasn’t the careful, controlled flame I’d produced earlier. This was raw power surging through unfamiliar pathways. The fire erupted from my hand not as a small projectile but as a roaring torrent of flame that streaked across the chamber toward the nearest oil-dripping stalactite.

"Shit!" I hissed as the flame shot out with far more intensity than I’d intended. Perfect for my "untrained late bloomer" act, but potentially catastrophic for our actual situation.

The System chimed in, unhelpfully: [Congratulations on your authentic performance! Nothing sells ’new to my powers’ like almost killing yourself and your target!]

The instant my flame touched the mineral oil, everything went to hell.

WHOOMP!

The sound was less an explosion and more a physical force that slammed into my chest. The oil didn’t just ignite—it detonated, setting off a chain reaction as the fireball expanded outward, catching other stalactites and creating a cascading inferno. The ceiling of the chamber became a sea of fire, raining flaming droplets onto the Rust-Mite nest below.

The creatures scattered in blind panic, their chitinous bodies crackling as they caught fire. Their shrieks filled the air—high-pitched, metallic sounds that made my teeth ache. Some dropped dead on the spot, while others ran in crazed circles, spreading the flames to their brethren.

"Holy shit," I breathed, watching the chaos unfold. This was destruction on a scale I hadn’t anticipated. Even in my Yakuza days, I’d never created mayhem this spectacular.

The nest itself was now ablaze, the dried secretions that formed its outer shell burning like paper. Through the dancing flames, I could see passages inside collapsing as support structures weakened and gave way.

"That was... excessive," Natalia said, her voice half-stunned, half-impressed.

I turned to offer some quip about beginner’s luck, but the words died in my throat. A massive chunk of the burning ceiling had broken free and was plummeting straight toward us.

"Move!" I shouted, but it was too late for both of us to clear the impact zone.

Natalia had turned to look at what had caught my attention. I saw her eyes widen behind her mask, saw her body tense to dodge—too slowly. Pure instinct took over. I lunged forward, planting my feet wide for stability, and grabbed her around the waist. I yanked her back against my chest just as the flaming debris crashed down where she’d been standing a second earlier.

The impact sent a shockwave across the ground. Natalia stumbled backward into me, her body momentarily limp with surprise. I tightened my grip, one arm locked firmly around her waist while my other hand braced against the rock wall behind us. Her back was pressed flush against my chest, her head tucked under my chin. I could feel her heart hammering, matching the frantic pace of my own.

For one frozen moment, we were molded together like a single entity. The heat of her body seeped through our clothes, and I caught the scent of her beneath the sweat and cave dust. This close, I could feel the slight tremor running through her frame, whether from adrenaline or the shock of our sudden contact, I couldn’t tell.

"Go!" I growled into her ear, my voice rough with urgency. "Now’s our chance!"

I released her and gave her a firm push toward the now-undefended entrance to the nest’s central chamber. The move broke whatever spell had momentarily paralyzed her. Natalia stumbled forward a step, then found her footing and sprinted toward the objective without looking back.

I followed close behind, feeling the satisfying weight of my footfalls as I pounded across the rocky ground. Training had transformed the soft, wheezing pig into something with endurance and actual muscle mass. I wasn’t winning any beauty contests yet, but I could move when I needed to.

[Seduction Progress: 41%] the System announced. [Physical contact achievement unlocked: "The Protective Embrace." Target’s heart rate increased by 32% during contact. Well played, Scumbag.]

We reached the entrance to the central chamber without encountering resistance. The surviving Rust-Mites were too busy either fleeing the flames or trying to save their nest. The tunnel sloped downward, surprisingly wide and tall enough that we could run at full speed. The walls here were smoother, almost polished, and lined with the same glowing red crystals we’d seen earlier.

"Be ready," Natalia called over her shoulder, not slowing her pace. "The Nest Mother will know we’re coming."

I didn’t need the warning. The tunnel opened into an enormous spherical chamber, easily thirty meters across. Unlike the rough-hewn passages we’d traversed, this room was almost perfectly round, its walls coated with a glistening, resin-like substance that reflected the light from scattered crystal formations.

And in the center, perched on a mound of pulsating egg sacs, was the Nest Mother.

"Fuck me," I muttered, taking in the creature’s massive form.

The Nest Mother resembled the other Rust-Mites only in the most basic sense. Where they were the size of large dogs, she was as big as a city bus. Her segmented body gleamed with a metallic, copper-red carapace that looked thicker and far more formidable than her offspring’s. Six enormous jointed legs anchored her to the egg mound, while four smaller appendages near her head twitched and flexed, ending in wicked, scythe-like claws.

Her head swiveled toward us the moment we entered, compound eyes flashing with an intelligence that her brood had lacked. Two massive mandibles clacked together, creating a sound like swords clashing.

"That’s not an E-Rank," I said, stating the obvious.

"D-Rank at minimum," Natalia replied, her voice tense. She raised her hands, the purple aura of her telekinesis flaring to life around them. "Maybe C."

"We should get out of here," I suggested, taking a step back toward the tunnel. "This isn’t the job we signed up for."

Before Natalia could respond, the Nest Mother let out a piercing shriek that vibrated through my bones. The walls of the chamber trembled, and small fragments of crystal rained down from above.

"She’s calling for her brood," Natalia said. "We need to kill her quickly or we’ll be overwhelmed."

"Did you miss the part where she’s the size of a bus?"

Natalia flicked her wrist, and a protective barrier of swirling purple energy formed in front of us. "I’ll keep her busy. You circle around and look for weak spots. Use your fire on the egg sacs if you get a clear shot. That might distract her."

I wanted to argue, but the Nest Mother was already charging, her massive bulk moving with surprising speed. Natalia thrust both hands forward, and her telekinetic barrier expanded just in time to absorb the creature’s first attack. The force of the impact slid Natalia back several meters, her boots leaving furrows in the chamber floor.

"Go!" she shouted, strain evident in her voice.

I broke left, sprinting along the wall of the chamber. The Nest Mother’s attention remained fixed on Natalia, who was now actively fighting back. She had gathered debris from around the chamber—fragments of crystal, rocks, even pieces of molted carapace—and formed them into a swirling vortex that she hurled at the monster in concentrated bursts.

Each impact tore chunks from the Nest Mother’s armored hide, but the damage seemed superficial. The creature screeched in rage and redoubled its assault, mandibles snapping at the barrier while its clawed appendages tried to find purchase around the edges.

I circled behind, approaching the egg mound. Up close, the sacs were even more disturbing—translucent membranes through which I could see the shadowy forms of developing Rust-Mites, their tiny legs occasionally twitching against their prison walls.

Perfect target.

I summoned the Ember ability again, focusing on control this time rather than raw power. A ball of flame formed in my palm, hot and steady. I lobbed it onto the nearest cluster of eggs.

The effect was immediate and horrifying. The eggs burst with wet, sizzling pops, releasing clouds of noxious steam. The embryonic Rust-Mites inside writhed briefly before curling up and going still. The smell was indescribable—a mix of burning metal, sulfur, and rot.

The Nest Mother’s reaction was even more violent than I’d anticipated. She abandoned her assault on Natalia and whipped around, mandibles spread wide in what could only be described as maternal fury. Her compound eyes locked onto me, and I saw my death reflected in each faceted surface.

"Shit shit shit," I backpedaled, nearly tripping over my own feet in my haste to put distance between us.

"Satori!" Natalia shouted. "Keep moving!"

I didn’t need to be told twice. The Nest Mother charged, her massive body bulldozing through her own egg mound in her haste to reach me. I sprinted along the chamber wall, acutely aware that if those mandibles caught me, I’d be snapped in half.

Natalia hadn’t been idle. While the Nest Mother’s attention was on me, she had gathered every loose object in the chamber into a concentrated sphere of telekinetic energy. I could see the strain on her face, sweat beading on her forehead beneath the fox mask.

"Duck!" she yelled.