I hoped it was not too late to turn this around.

I quickly slithered up the egg cluster and attacked the carrier wasp by strangling it.

As far as I knew, the creature did not know I was aware of it yet. So the sooner I took action to stop the wasp from going further in, the better chance I have to escape.

The carrier wasp struggled under my constriction hold, as it tried to throw me off, but I quickly revealed my stingers and ground them into its skin in an attempt to control it with [Mind Chain].

With the knowledge of previous experiences, I was able to take control of it with ease to make a hasty retreat.

But then, I felt the rush of wind and something fast zipped over my head, slicing off one of my wasp's antennae.

I felt a shiver. I recognised that attack after seeing it in action so many times. And soon, the lithe figure of a wasp with bloody armour emerged from the isolated tunnel, confirming my suspicions.

The red flash of the scary wasp was a striking sight among the crumbling grey tunnels as it sped through the air with a blur, moving towards me much faster than I could retreat.

Only then did I realise my mistake in taking control of the wasp. There was no way I could outrun something like it with a weak carrier wasp with luggage. I should have found another escape route instead!

But I couldn't abandon it now as that would make things much worse, so I pushed my wasp to fly with all its strength, rising high among the tunnel walls to put more distance between my nemesis.

Deep down I knew it was impossible. The scary wasp was faster and an expert at ranged attacks. It was only a matter of time before it sent out another wind blade.

So when I rose high enough, I sliced open the cluster's membranous bindings, allowing the eggs to roll away.

The scary wasp would not expect to be bombarded by a slew of eggs, and I hoped this gave me enough time to get away.

But just as I thought I'd slowed it down, it spun insanely fast in the air, pushing back with its wings to create an undercurrent that let it evade all eggs and come out unstained.

Before I could get out of the shock, two of its blades shot out and nicked my wasp's abdomen on either side.

I was beginning to get more and more frustrated.

I thought flying would be difficult for it due to its injuries, but it was every bit as fast as usual. I did not slow it down at all, if anything I'd just succeeded at angering it more.

My earlier tactic was a failure, so I rushed into an old chamber filled with broken walls and a series of unoccupied tunnels to get out of its sight. The scary wasp continued to follow so I ducked behind one of the walls, to sting him as he crossed the threshold.

But as I lunged forward, the scary wasp jabbed out its blade in an attempt to stab me. My reflex kicked in and I sprung back to evade, but that only put me in a disadvantage as it immediately sped towards me, closing the gap in seconds to throw a kick at my abdomen.

I felt a crushing weight that knocked me back through the walls of the chamber and I ended up under a pile of rubble.

I was disoriented and my wasp was still alive, but when I attempted to fly, I felt a sharp pain coming from my back, where the impact had bent my wings out of shape.

They still moved but they were too twisted to allow a smooth flight.

But I couldn't think about that right now, because the scary wasp landed at the crash site soon after me. I only had one shot at getting out of there so I tested my wings. They trembled weakly, but it was enough to get myself into the air.

I launched myself at it, intending to keep it busy before finding a chance to fly away, but on closer inspection I saw the wound on its thorax that was inflicted by the wasp queen earlier, so I made a jab at it.

But the scary wasp quickly sidestepped and my claws only managed to graze the wound. I failed with my attack but it seemed I succeeded in making it angry.

It retaliated with a raging screech and in one fluid motion, the limbs of my wasp were cut clean.

I shrieked at the sudden assault of sharp pain and tried to turn away but the scary wasp which should've been behind me, was now flying overhead with a blade in hand.

It unleashed a barrage of attack towards me and I felt flashes of pain as its blades sliced through my wings, completely rendering them useless.

Unable to stay afloat, my wasp quickly plummeted to the ground and with a last bit of effort, I turned it around midair in a bid to shield my original body from the impact of the fall.

I released [Mind Chain] as soon as we hit the ground but the wasp was still alive so I swiftly killed it by crushing through its thorax.

〚You have defeated LV8 Iuvenis Hesperia〛

〚+ 39XP〛

〚You have gained a level!〛

But it was not enough to make a difference!

"What do I do?" Panicked and out of options, I asked Sensei.

«Something feels odd. I think it is testing you» Sensei replied calmly. «It had many chances to kill you, yet it did not. It must be after something, so try to find out what it wants.»

I gritted my teeth in anger. The only thing it could possibly want was to have me for dinner. How could Sensei suggest something like that?

However, when I thought about it, this wasp's speciality was long ranged attacks but it barely used them. It had ample opportunity to kill me even before I noticed its presence and yet its first shot had missed.

My visibility was low with all the dust raised by the fallen debris. I couldn't find the trace of the scary wasp and just as I was about to use [Mana Sense] again, I heard something land softly against the rubble.

The next moment I was bombarded by a long piercing sound that seemed to echo inside my skull, invading my senses. It was painful as if someone was stabbing my brain over and over.

«Calm down, Aurelia.» I was able to hear Sensei's voice even through the pain and the loud screech ringing in my head. But I was shocked by what he said next.

«It's just trying to establish a mental link. Bear with the pain and try not to fight it.»

What?! Mental link?

The more I heard it, the more the high pitched, harsh grating tones resembled those that the wasp's used to communicate. Now that I knew, I listened more and soon the sound got quieter, the painful screech shifting to something resembling a low, deep voice.

[The Queen's chambers.] I froze at the cold tone of the commanding voice in my head.

[Why were you in there?]

I shrunk my head back in reflex. It really did speak!

With a voice as sharp as its wind blades that froze me in terror, the scary wasp stepped out of the shadows, its bloodstained armour looking every bit as foreboding as a reaper of death.

«It is conversing telepathically. You can project your thoughts through the link it established and respond accordingly. Why don't you try it?» Sensei advised, not at all bothered by what was happening.

I was petrified. There was no appropriate response I could think of that would let me keep my life.

And what was I supposed to say? It sent shivers down my spine.

[I hate those who use pawns to fight their battles.]

It sounded furious. Was it angry because I killed its fellow wasp?

The scary wasp landed close to my dead wasp and began to inspect it with its back towards me, like it did not view me as a threat at all. I felt helpless which soon turned into frustration and anger.

Even if it was extremely strong and I was going to die, I wouldn't go without putting up a fight.

So with that thought, I decided to attack it first.

But as I approached it, something about its behaviour seemed odd.

The wasp had its back to me and it was moving slowly, almost as if it was baiting me into attacking it.

[Why did you stop?] The wasp spoke out, seemingly noticing my hesitation.

[If you can land a hit on me, I may forget I ever saw you.]

I scowled at his rudeness and gave an arrogant reply. [It's pointless if my opponent isn't even trying.]

The scary wasp turned around to face me. [I've never seen a snake fight the way you do. All the chaos in the hive, was that your doing?]

It seemed like a question but I could feel he already knew the answer.

I considered my next words carefully.

There was no point in lying, but If I admitted to the truth, there was a chance I would be killed for all the destruction I caused. There was no correct answer, but one thing about its actions so far was clear. He had an obvious distaste towards his queen.

So maybe I could use that...