SSS-Ranked Trash Hero: I Was Scammed Into Being Summoned-Chapter 88: Heart of the Hive

The air in the clearing was thick enough to taste. It carried damp earth, the sharp metal smell of blood, and the oily sweetness of the Worm Mother’s bile.

Lena stood at the edge of the open space, her lungs burning. Beside her, Skall was completely focused. He didn’t look like the lazy mercenary from the courtyard anymore. His stance was low, his two short swords held in a reverse grip that felt natural, almost like a hunter ready to strike.

Far away, the main battle sounded like a dull, steady rhythm. Lena could hear faint shouts from Captain Vane’s soldiers and the clash of spears against shields. She knew they were holding, but she also knew they were being pushed back under a mass of pale, moving bodies.

"They won’t last forever," Skall said quietly, almost lost under the Mother’s heavy heartbeat. "The longer we wait, the more die."

"I know," Lena replied.

Lena focused, trying to recall how it felt to use her skills, and within seconds her body and mind began to remember.

She closed her eyes for a moment and activated Life Sense.

The world shifted. The darkness didn’t go away, but now it was layered with heat and energy. To her sides, far away the soldiers appeared as bright, flickering lights, surrounded by many dim, cold sparks, the offspring. But directly ahead, the Worm Mother burned like a sun. A huge mass of raw, living energy.

And she wasn’t alone.

Under the ground, Lena sensed larger shapes. They moved slowly, circling the Mother like predators in deep water.

"Go," Lena said.

She didn’t run; she moved smoothly. This was Demonic Grace. To anyone watching, it looked like she was just moving fast, but her feet barely touched the ground. Every step was controlled. She didn’t stumble on roots or slip on moss. She moved with quiet, controlled precision.

The Worm Mother reacted. A psychic scream spread through the clearing, not heard but felt deep in their bones.

The ground burst open.

Three huge worms, each as large as a fallen tree, broke out of the dirt between Lena and the Mother. Their bodies weren’t soft like the offspring. Thick plates covered them, dark like burned bone. They had no eyes, only wide circular mouths filled with spinning teeth.

Lena didn’t slow down. She turned sharply, her body tilting just enough to avoid a strike from the center worm. As she moved, she activated Charm Aura.

It wasn’t meant for affection. In battle, it distracted. A soft wave of pink and gold spread from her, clashing with the dark forest. The three worms paused. Their simple minds were confused by a sudden calm that didn’t match their instinct to attack.

It lasted only a second, but that was enough for Skall.

He moved like a blur. One moment he was beside her, the next he was on the back of the left worm. His blades flashed. He didn’t strike the armor. He aimed for the small gaps between the plates.

Two clean strikes. He cut through the creature’s nerve cord. The worm went still at once, its body collapsing with a heavy impact. Skall didn’t watch it fall. He was already moving to the next.

At the edge of the clearing, the fight was turning brutal.

Captain Vane stood at the center, her copper skin marked with gray blood. "Hold the line! Front rank, thrust! Second rank, overhead!"

The demon soldiers moved as one. Their spears rose and fell together, forming a solid wall that crushed the incoming swarm. But for every group they killed, more climbed over the bodies.

Ollen and his guards held the eastern side. They lacked discipline, but they fought hard. Dren, the large mercenary with tusks, cut through worms with heavy swings of his blade, his blue skin covered in sweat. Beside him, Tok fought in silence. Each hit from him sent force through the worms, destroying them internally.

"There’s too many!" one guard shouted before being dragged down by three creatures. He disappeared under them, his voice gone within seconds.

"Keep fighting!" Ollen shouted. His sword snapped as he struck a worm’s head. He grabbed a spear and kept going. "Lena is inside! If she kills the Mother, this ends! Hold!"

Back in the clearing, Lena struggled.

She had reached within twenty feet of the Worm Mother, but the ground kept shifting. Every time she tried to push forward, another protector rose, or part of the Mother’s body lashed out.

She avoided a tail strike, the force of it pushing air past her. She realized she couldn’t reach the Mother while the protectors remained. They were too fast and too well-timed.

It was time to stop holding back.

"Skall! Cover me for ten seconds!" she called.

He didn’t answer. He simply moved, placing himself between her and the remaining protectors. His blades spun, forming a tight barrier the worms couldn’t break. He faced two massive creatures without slowing down.

Lena stood still and took a breath. Then she dropped her human act.

Shape Shift (Partial).

Her nails extended into sharp black claws. Her eyes changed from calm brown to a glowing red. A faint dark mist rose from her shoulders, and the air around her turned cold.

She didn’t draw a weapon.

She didn’t need one.

She lunged at the nearest protector. It snapped at her, but she moved faster than it could follow. She caught its upper jaw and forced it sideways.

The worm struggled, and Lena saw her chance. She drove her palm into the soft part of its throat.

Mana Drain.

This was her most dangerous ability. It didn’t just take energy—it consumed everything.

The worm didn’t just die. It dried out. The energy she saw through Life Sense flowed into her, forming a dark swirl. Its body turned gray, then brittle. Muscles shrank. Within seconds, it became nothing but an empty shell.

Power rushed into Lena. It felt strong and unsettling. Her heart pounded, and her eyes glowed brighter.

She turned to the Mother.

The Mother screamed, a sharp sound that cracked nearby trees.

More protectors appeared. Four, five, six rose from the ground, forming a wall around her.

Skall landed beside Lena, covered in gray blood, his breathing heavier now. He glanced at her changed form but didn’t seem afraid.

"That’s a dangerous skill," he said, shaking blood from his blades. "But we’ve got a bigger problem. The hive is coming back. Look."

Lena looked.

Through the trees, the swarm returned. They had left the soldiers and were rushing back. Thousands of pale bodies moved through the forest like a wave.

The sounds of battle in the distance stopped. Now there was only the noise of creatures moving fast through the brush.

"The distraction is over," Lena said, her voice now sharper and unnatural. "They’re coming here."

"Then we end this now," Skall said. He stepped forward. "I’ll make a path. You strike the heart. Don’t miss."

"I won’t," she said.

The protectors charged. The first wave of the swarm entered the clearing.

Lena and Skall stood back-to-back for a brief moment. Ahead was a wall of giant worms and the massive Mother. Behind them was a flood of smaller ones. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

They were surrounded and outnumbered.