Standing before them now were six figures, six ants that were clearly unlike the others, and in turn unlike each other. Six ants against seven people, plus the escaping nest that was still begging for death as it fled.

It might have been running on unsteady legs, but the bulbous bastard was surprisingly quick, already having disappeared into the thickets of trees thanks to the distraction of these 'Ant Generals'. The only thing that let them know he hadn't completely disappeared was the distant wheezing whispering of understandable pleas for a merciful death.

Coming to the same conclusion about their numbers that he had, Astra subtly looked over her shoulder and gave Seth a particular look out of the corner of her eye before focusing back on the enemy. If anyone else were to see it, it would seem like she was simply trying to tell him to hide while they took care of the real threat.

Understanding the true intention of the look, Seth nodded his head as he changed his expression to that of fear and dread, constantly glancing between the mysterious ants as he backed away. His acting skills might have needed some work, but he was still doing a wonderful job exuding his best 'background character' aura.

He let it leak out of him, overwhelming any possibility that he could be a threat and allowed him to fade into the background where he belonged while all of their focus was on the 'true' combatants. To these ants, he might as well have been another tree swaying in the breeze.

Once he was sure he was fully faded into obscurity and being ignored more than a homeless person begging outside of a shopping mall, Seth slunk his way back into the trees and circled around the inevitable fight scene, heading towards the fleeing living nest. As he ran, he recalled the [Little Prick], letting it shrink fully back down to the size of a miniature crossbow bolt and slot back onto his bracer.

Occasionally he had to pause and perk up his ears, listening for the distance cries of death and correcting his direction in the process. This nest was definitely persistent and slippery, but it's host was going to get what he wanted in the end.

However, while he was tracking the roaming nest of bloated flesh by the distance sounds of its pleas for death, Seth was keenly aware that he was not the only one doing a spot of hunting.

He was being watched. He was being followed.

Detecting such things was an ability that came naturally to most people, a remnant of your evolutionary needs to know when one is being stalked by a predator. However Seth's sixth sense, at least for this sort of thing, had been especially honed from his own personal experiences of being stalked by a completely different, yet equally dreadful, type of predator.

He would never thank his spectre for this, of course. She didn't deserve to be thanked for being a crazy stalker, but it was still a useful skill nonetheless.

In fact, he had thought that he had been losing his touch with it lately. He had been getting that creeping feeling he often got with his spectre all the way over here, and especially when they had been in the woods. With the woods, he mostly chalked it up to the ants, but as for before that, he couldn't explain it.

He considered paranoia, but that clearly wasn't the case. His senses were working perfectly, in fact he could feel the daggers his latest stalker was plunging into his back with its glare. This one was much more predatory, in the traditional sense, than he was used to.

It's hunger and bloodlust was palpable, and absolutely unbefitting of a true assassin. If it wanted to sneak attack him, it really should have trained itself to contain such auras. But what could he expect from a lowly ant? A tiger would be more suited for such tasks, but definitely not an ant.

The hunter had yet to make its move just yet, although what it was waiting for he had no idea. Seth simply ignored it for the time being, letting his senses keep an eye on it instead while he focused the majority of his mind on finding the nest. A prospect that was working splendidly, as he was quickly gaining ground, which thoroughly displeased.

'Come on... What are you waiting for? An invitation? Come on then, Come and get some you big ugly bastard.'

As if it could hear his internal pleas, or perhaps simply because it was getting sick of listening to the nests pleas, his new stalker finally made a move. His sixth sense flared up, alerting him of the rising bloodlust, no doubt because it was already imaging ripping him apart and feasting on his flesh.

Shaking his head, Seth waited until he could feel the air breezing on his neck before making his move. Just before it's pitiful assassination attempt could land, Seth swerved to the side, a glistening set of claws just barely passing by his face.

At the same time, he flipped the [Little Prick] into his hand and wielded it like a basic dagger, holding it in a reverse grip. He thrust his hand back, plunging the tip of the arrow directly into the lunging ant's eye.

Against his expectations, however, there was no screech of pain nor squelch of steel piercing flesh. There wasn't even the disappointing scrape of it glancing off the ants armour. It had hit its mark, plunging deep into the eye just like he had intended, but there was no blood, no pain. No wound.

Continuing on its path from its lunge, the ants body completely phased through Seth's arm before hitting the ground with a tumble.

Quickly rising to it's feet, he was faced with the sight of a humanoid ant, just like the rest. However this ant had an exoskeleton that was like pure white jade, all apart from a black blotch across its forehead. It almost looked as it had styled its shell to look like it was casting a shadow across its face, but was too stupid to realise it needed a hood to complete the look.

Truly a terrible assassin, but with a curious ability.

The ant clacked its mandible's at him, letting out a arrogant laugh as it spread its arms wide, inviting Seth to take some more swings at it.

Not wanting to look a gift horse, or gift ant, in the mouth Seth eagerly obliged. He lunged forward, holding his crossbow bolt sized spear like a dagger as he swiped, slashed and stabbed at the jade armour of the ant.

Each swipe was not just made to damage, but to experiment since he had been given the perfect opportunity. He slashed at its armour, swiped at the joints between the armour which was usually a weak spot, and even stabbed it directly in the chest, letting his hand linger in its body.

Each time, each attack, passed through the jade ant like it was nothing more than an illusion. It's body dissolving into an ethereal fog on contact with his weapon before rapidly reforging into the Jade Armour once more. It was utterly futile, something the ant seemed utterly aware of and thus took great amusement in.

The more he attacked, the more it laughed. It was having fun playing with this human, and would have even more fun feasting on his flesh.

Seth stepped back and, with a sly smirk on his face, poured a trickle of mana into his legs and leapt over the ant. He flipped in the air as he did so, swiping at its head and causing it to dissolve into that ethereal fog once more.

When he landed, he immediately thrust his weapon forward and commanded it to grow. The spear obeyed, enlarging in his hand and thrusting its own tip into the Jade Ant's smoky throat, to no effect what so ever.

It laughed again, clacking it's mandible's to form words in broken English, just like the toweringly tall ant.

"Puny Human... Does not learn. You will d-"

It's arrogant mockery was instantly cut off, replaced by choked whimpers as five spectral threads wrapped themselves tight around its smoky throat, compressing the jade smoke tight together, with his spear still lodged where its physical throat would be.

"I've killed plenty of wraiths in my time. Killing you? It's child's play. Now, what will it be? Death by threads or death by spear? Actually... I'll choose for you, I'm kind of in a rush."

Clenching his fist, Seth's threads tightened their grip on its throat. It's strained whimpers turning into fearful choking before even that was too much for it. In an instant, the threads snapped closed, slicing the ethereal neck in two.

It might have been intangible, but it was still the ants throat. However, as it's head bounced off the ground and rolled to a stop against his foot, Seth twirled his spear and plunged it through the ants head, just to be sure.

[Congratulations. You've earned a Requital.]

'You were a downright terrible assassin, so I hope you make for a better piece of equipment. That was pretty easy though, I wonder if the others are having just as good luck with their insects that need crushing.

Now... where did that nest run off to?'