Incubus Living In A World Of Superpower Users - Chapter 438

Capítulo 438: I Hate Bugs

Ethan leaned his elbows on the old wall, letting the breeze lift heat from his neck. Everly leaned beside him, tipping her head just enough to knock his shoulder.

Evelyn stood on the other side, her hand flat on the stone like she was feeling a pulse. No one said anything foolish.

No one promised what the day hadn’t earned. The exam watched their pause with the same sharp interest it had shown during the fight. He let it.

He looked at them both. “We’re good,” he said.

Everly laughed softly between breaths, the kind of laugh that carried pride without showing off. “We are,” she said.

Evelyn’s mouth curved into the faintest smile. “Not perfect,” she said. “Natural.”

“Natural’s enough today,” Ethan said.

They pushed off the wall together. The terrace sloped into a new path, the ground changing from clean stone to dirt cracked by roots.

The trees pressed in tighter, green shadows stretching across their boots. Ethan tightened the strap on his pack and checked his knife again out of habit.

The sim shifted its air the way a room shifts before it decides to test you. He felt the weight of it.

The system cleared its throat, smug as ever. “So, about those coins,” it said, voice sliding in smoothly.

“You could invest in survival upgrades. Or, and hear me out, you could keep buying scented candles for your dates.”

Ethan nearly tripped over a root. “Not the time,” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Everly asked, eyebrows raised as she looked back at him.

“Talking to yourself again?” Evelyn asked, dry but not unkind.

Ethan coughed into his hand. “Just reminding myself of the rules.”

“Sure,” Everly said with a grin. “Tell your imaginary friend I said hi.”

The system snickered in his head. “They like me. Admit it.”

He ignored it and kept walking. The forest opened into a clearing that smelled wrong. Sweet, too sweet, the way fruit rots when no one picks it.

The ground was studded with holes the size of shields. The dirt around them was damp, churned like something heavy had moved in and out too many times.

Ethan stopped. “Hive,” he said quietly.

The warning was late. The first buzz hit the air, a low vibration that built until the whole clearing shook.

Insects poured out, bigger than any swarm had a right to be. Their bodies gleamed black and green, wings clear as glass but strong enough to shake the air.

Mandibles clicked as they surged forward, a wave of stingers and wings.

“Of course it’s bugs,” Everly muttered, drawing her blade. “I hate bugs.”

“Keep the line tight,” Evelyn said, calm as ever. She shifted to the left, her stance sharp and ready. “Do not let them surround.”

Ethan lifted his hand. Illusions flared to life, flames dancing high and bright. The swarm recoiled, wings thrumming unevenly as the false fire flickered across their sight. It bought them heartbeats.

“Good trick,” Everly shouted, already swinging. Her blade cut two out of the air, wings scattering like broken glass. “But there are too many!”

The system chimed in cheerfully. “You know, you could buy a firebomb right now. One coin. Maybe two. Think about it. Cheap investment.”

“Shut up,” Ethan hissed, ducking as a stinger sliced the air where his head had been.

“Excuse me?” Everly yelled, dodging her own swarm.

“Not you!” Ethan snapped, throwing another illusion of fire across the clearing. The bugs scattered again, only to regroup. Their hum rattled in his teeth.

Evelyn stepped before him, precise strikes cutting wings clean off bodies before they could dive. “Focus!” she said. “They are not endless. They are under pressure.”

Everly laughed breathlessly as she swung wide, her blade flashing. “Pressure’s fine. Pressure’s just loud homework!”

Ethan smirked despite himself. He layered more illusions—shadows of burning branches falling into the swarm. Bugs broke formation, confused by a flame that wasn’t there.

That gave Everly her window. She spun, driving her blade through three at once, and whooped like she’d scored a point in a game.

More poured out. The clearing buzzed like the inside of a hive turned inside out. Evelyn’s voice cut through.

“Tighten!” She pulled them back to back, and the three of them formed a circle. Her cuts were short, efficient, each strike ending where the next began.

Everly hacked wildly but never sloppily, her chaos kept in check by Evelyn’s control.

Ethan filled the gaps with illusions, bursts of fire, shadows of falling rocks, and false openings that tricked the swarm into colliding with each other.

The system hummed. “You’re welcome, by the way. I’m saving you coins. You’d be dead without my restraint.”

“You’re annoying,” Ethan muttered, stabbing one bug that had gotten too close.

“Talking to yourself again?” Everly gasped between swings, grinning through sweat.

“He does that when he’s stressed,” Evelyn said, not looking at him, her blade already flicking another stinger away.

“I’m not stressed,” Ethan said, ducking another dive.

The system laughed. “Sure you’re not.”

The swarm thinned. Piles of broken bodies buzzed weakly on the ground. The air still hummed but softer now, the fight bleeding out of the hive.

Finally, the last of the insects broke formation and fled into the trees, wings whining as they vanished. The clearing fell quiet but for their breathing.

Everly collapsed onto a rock, arms spread wide. “That,” she panted, “was disgusting. And fun. Mostly disgusting.”

Evelyn sat more carefully, wiping her blade clean. Her breaths were steady, though sweat darkened her collar. “Too loud. Too messy. But effective.”

Ethan lowered himself to the ground, his back against the same rock Everly had claimed. His chest rose and fell hard, but his hands were steady.

“Teamwork,” he said dryly. “Apparently, it means surviving together while yelling at bugs.”

Everly laughed, throwing her head back. “Best definition I’ve heard.”

Evelyn’s lips curved again, the smallest smile. “Natural,” she said, echoing her earlier word.

Ethan closed his eyes momentarily, listening to their laughter mix with the faint rustle of the forest reclaiming quiet. The exam had seen what it wanted, and he was sure of it.

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