The queen's chamber felt like an isolated world, the hollowness of the space snuffed out every sound - from the general buzzing of wings both far and near, to the usual bustling atmosphere of the hive.

Silence befell everywhere like a blanket of chill, leaving nothing but a deathly stillness.

Before me was a wide chamber, shaped like nature's amphitheatre, full of pristine grey walls that spanned many columns stretching high up to the ceiling.

These pillars were evenly spaced on either side in distant rows that made the chamber appear never-ending.

Like a visage of calm and tranquillity, it appeared to be a space cut away from it all, and the further I ventured in, the more I began to feel uneasy.

It almost seemed designed to intimidate.

Flanked on either side by tall pillars, I followed the path inside, keeping my eyes open for any surprises.

The lizard followed behind me closely, looking all around tensely as we moved.

I focused ahead, keeping calm and alert.

However, I soon came to a stop as I noticed something ahead. The feeling of uneasiness only amplified at the sight of a tall shadow behind one of the pillars.

I immediately scanned it with [Mana Sense] but it revealed nothing. There was no trace of mana or aura to indicate a presence.

Yet, there really was something there.

I was confused.

Was it actually possible for something alive to not contain any mana?

Unsure if it was simply a product of my imagination, I reluctantly moved closer to investigate. The ambiguous shadow was still there and I was now more curious than scared.

And as I further inched closer, I was able to make out a hunter wasp every bit as intimidating as the scary wasp.

They possessed the same streamlined build with sharp, powerful limbs. Except it was not him.

There were subtle differences. Its colouring was off, the shade a tad too light compared to the deep green lustre of the scary wasp's shell. The claws were a bit more hooked compared to the straight ones that had injured me many times.

After fighting him for many days, these subtle differences seemed too obvious to me.

It gave off no sign of life so I appraised it.

----------------

LV19 Verum Hesperia

Specie: Ailith Vespoidea

HP: 0/170 Defence: 119

MP: 0/68 Intellect: 59

SP: 0/139 Magic: 72

Attack: 128 Agility: 120

Skills:

[Sting Whip: LV10] [Accelerated Flight: LV4]

[Pain Toxin: LV6] [Exoskeleton: LV7]

[Paralysis Venom: LV10] [Bite: LV8]

[Scent: LV4] [Compound Eyes: LV8]

[Aerial Manoeuvring: LV2] [Grip: LV5]

[Directional Stability: LV7] [Lift: LV8]

[Leadership: LV5] [Razor Claw: LV7]

[Deadly Stinger: LV8] [Flight: LV10]

Title:

[Hive Member]

Resistances:

[Piercing Resistance: LV7]

[Wind Resistance: LV8]

[Pain Resistance: LV9]

----------------

The differences in the results were far too big. It wasn't nearly as powerful as my rival.

In the overall bleak surroundings, this wasp stood out even more. There was a perfectly cut spherical hole on its thorax, like it had been pierced by a rather large drill. It bore no other injuries besides this, or sign of force and there was not even a shred of dust on its body.

The corpse looked largely undisturbed, even though it looked like it had been dead for a long time. I noticed a faint glow of light rebounding from one side of its lustrous shell.

I didn't want to think too deep about its circumstances so I turned around to venture deeper into the chamber, where I was met with the sight of another dead wasp - this one kneeling in a prone position on the ground.

There was a similar spherical hole cut out of its thorax like the corpse before and noticing this pattern, I continued down the path and as expected, I spotted yet another corpse.

And that wasn't the last one either.

The further I ventured inside, the more corpses I discovered. I began to follow the trail of bodies and moved deeper into the chamber. After travelling a fair distance, I began to pick up the unmistakable scent of water.

Water?

I felt like I was being thrown for a loop, until my eyes were attracted towards a large hole cut out of the wall, perfectly oval in shape and so high up, it showered the rest of the chamber in a faint glow.

Eerily quiet, the view from the 'window' was lined with many kinds of glowing moss, creating an idyllic scene that took my breath away.

And at the bottom of this window were multitudes of wasps that all looked like the scary wasp, frozen in many forms, some kneeled, some stood, some had their heads raised high gazing up at the oval window. All of them were devoid of mana and had the same vacant looks and spherical holes cut into their chests.

But as we crossed the scattered line of corpses, I noticed the lizard appear beside me, trembling from head to tail.

Seeing it so agitated somehow made me feel amused and I smirked.

'I dare you to follow me again. Hmph.'

I ignored it and scanned around each corpse with [Mana Sense] and finally, I was able to pick up traces of mana which surprisingly brought me back to the window.

As I looked up, there was a lone figure sitting languidly on the ledge. It was a wasp that looked similar to the others, and yet different. It had the same proportions, only slightly smaller and unmistakably female.

Her armoured body was a lustrous green, tinged heavily in luminous hues of blue and red. Translucent red wings draped down her back like a cloak and the eerie white light upon touching them broke into tiny little stars that Illuminated the chamber with a reddish glow.

No sound came out from the shimmering emptiness around the figure, making the rustling of water from outside and the faint echoes of small animals echo inside.

Ding!

[Adept Level Quest - Find the Hidden Queen. Complete!]

[Quest Reward 80XP has been issued!]

I immediately lowered my head and urged the lizard to do the same.

Her regal appearance and calm demeanour were enough to convince me she was the queen and I did not risk appraising her because I knew it would be perceived as an attack.

Unruffled by the breeze, the queen was still and restful - lazy even.

As I begun to think of the next step, I felt a familiar, sharp pain in my mind. It was much sharper but way less painless than when the scary wasp did it.

Then after a brief silence, I heard her voice, low and smooth like liquid silver, lacking all the harshness and discomfort that was evident in the tone of the scary wasp.

[Wonderful isn't it? Ekharkai carved out this view for me so I wouldn't feel lonely.]

Her words were that of fondness, like a mother describing a wayward child. But her tone lacked the warmth that made it convincing.

[Ekharkai?] I asked, confused by the term.

[You spent so much time with that child, yet he did not tell you his name.]

Suddenly I felt under scrutiny, like she had judged my appearance and found me inadequate.

I did not like the feeling at all.

Nevertheless, I relented. [He said he did not have one.]

The queen sighed.

[Ah yes, he wouldn't know. I name all my children as soon as they return to me, but none of them can bear these names. They only breed individual thoughts and rebellion.]

I snuck a glimpse at all the wasp corpses around me. Each one was above LV 17 and they were all similar to the scary wasp Ekharkai, in style and physique. But like poor imitations of the original that all lacked something that made them unique.

[What are these?] I asked, feeling a bit more brave.

[My children. Berak, Setra, Umie, Tesik, all of my greatest works. I infused my will upon them, commanded them to eat their fill of their enemies and every creature that crossed their paths. [Yet none of them could surpass him in strength and power.]

There was a brief but heavy silence before she spoke again.

[Ekharkai was my first and my most perfect creation. The others simply couldn't catch up to him no matter what I tried. Disappointing.]

Despite what the Queen said, I couldn't ignore that they all bore perfectly identical holes in their thorax.

Contrary to what I thought, the queen did not look injured at all and it dawned on me that I had made a big mistake. I was expecting to find her weakened or near dead, but her body didn't have a single scratch on it.

But why did all these wasps have gaping holes where their cores should have been?

I could not appraise the Queen so I simply took a closer look and examined her appearance more carefully.

Her body on the outside was uninjured but her mana told a different story.

Under [Mana Sense], her outline that should have been a vivid cyan blue was marred with slashes and other puncture wounds.

Parts of her body were completely devoid of mana, appearing pitch black in a patchwork of scars that looked like she had been savaged by a mob of vicious attacks.

The circular mass of liquid at the centre of her thorax, that should have been a deep blue, was dull and almost murky white. Unseemly and misshapen, like a chunk of it had been pierced and left to bleed out. From the extent of her internal injuries I was surprised she was even still alive.

[You killed them.] I said unhesitatingly and that got her to move.

The queen unfurled her red wings on the window's ledge and slipped down, descending slowly in an updraft.

[You sent them out to hunt and return stronger, so why?]

I asked the question although I already guessed the answer.

The queen did not react. She simply hovered above the corpses like she was immune to gravity.

And the moment she spoke all of my tension faded away and I found myself lured in by the low hypnotic voice that sounded peaceful.

[Their lives were never theirs to begin with. They were born for me and shall live out their lives, only to serve me.]

Then I heard the system ding as a new alert flashed in front of my eyes.

〚『Obsidian Horn』has neutralised the effect of low level『Coercion』〛

I felt as if a glass shattered and my mind became clear again. And as I realized what just happened, I noticed the lizard at my side was not so fortunate.

Its eyes were glazed over and its open mouth was drooling.