"I would like to assist too, but in his current state...he can't tell a friend from a foe. If I interfered, I would likely die by his hands rather than another wasps' attacks."

Also, what if he blames me for her death? I mean, he left me in his chambers and yet, I'm safe and sound while his Queen ended up dead?

I didn't know how to answer that question. And I didn't know if I could lie to his face.

«You don't need to feel guilty. You didn't have a choice.» Sensei spoke as if he sensed my thoughts.

I hate it when he does that.

He sighed before continuing. «We don't know how he'd react when he learns you're behind his Queen's death. But if he dies here, I know that you'll blame yourself for a very long time.»

«You can choose to leave him in the dark or own up to your actions and explain your side to him. Whatever you do, just make sure you don't regret anything later.»

I hate to admit but Sensei was right.

As I looked on, the gap that opened up, instantly closed around the scary wasp, like a trap the Queen had set before she finally made her move.

Jabbing out a swift claw, purple blood splattered everywhere as her claw went through the side of his thorax. He was unable to dodge, and the wasps around him blocked his path.

He sliced through her massive limb, breaking free of her grasp and blood sprayed as he slid off of her claws. And almost immediately, swarms of wasps gathered around her large body, closing the gap to protect her against his counter assaults.

Limp, weak and body dripping with bright green venom, the scary wasp was a pitiful sight. Although he was fast, they gave them no chance to land any blows and his wound was deep.

While he continued to attack, the Hive Queen simply hid and used all the wasps gathered around her as shields.

It was too uneven.

I was getting upset from watching - she really beat the Hidden Queen at how scummy she was.

What he needed was a gap in the Queen's defence, however small.

If I let him die, there was no telling if the Hive Queen would let me go, but if I saved his life, maybe he wouldn't care so much about his dead queen.

Was there a reason he was fighting so hard to keep her above the surface?

Using [Shadow Shroud], I blended into the darkness and quickly joined the fray while the Queen's wasps gathered around the wounded scary wasp.

Silently moving through the crowd of wasps, my plan was simply to reduce their numbers in particular spots to give him a chance to breakthrough. But with all their focus on attacking him, a rather large gap had opened up in the Queen's wasp defence on its own.

They saw him as the only threat and had gotten careless!

After evolving, I realized my abilities had improved in proficiency quite a bit. Using my [Heat Sphere] barely depleted my mana, like before. [Shadow Shroud] worked like an active camouflage and the range of vibrations I could detect had also increased.

I had gone from barely making out shapes in the distance through my eyes to spotting a gap in their defence from so far away.

And I didn't hesitate to rush in.

The Queen had all her attention on the scary wasp and did not notice me sneaking up on her. On reaching her, I swiftly sank my fangs into one of her six limbs. She reacted by stomping the ground with her venomous legs.

But I evaded her attempts to stab me by slithering around her leg with agile movements. Twisting upwards to cement my hold, I tried to constrict her as best as I could. My reinforced stingers smoothly dug into her flesh, before crushing her exposed limb.

The Queen let out a loud screech and tried throwing me off her leg but to no avail. The scary wasp was quick to notice her distress and the gap in her drone defence.

But that wouldn't long last as the wasps around already noticed me and rushed to close the gap and trap me inside. I just needed the opening to stay just a little while for the scary wasp to rush through. So I tested out my [Coercion] on the wasps closing in on me to try and slow them down.

I felt a searing headache immediately after I activated it, that made me wince.

My head throbbed with intense pain from the visceral backlash that made me see black spots. Had I tried too large an effect for a beginner skill?

But somehow, I was still able to convey my intentions and the wasps in my surroundings that were about to rush to the Queen's defence slowed down while some even collided with each other, creating an even larger gap for the scary wasp to use.

Now if only he could get through. Or we'll both die here.

The scary wasp was intensely fighting through the swarm of wasps that tried to block his path, but he soon noticed the unusual behaviour of the Queen who seemed to be fighting off an invisible enemy.

He quickly tore through to the attacking wasps and came in front of the queen, before immediately sending out a wind blade towards her crushed leg.

Sensing impending danger, I immediately let go - and barely escaped the wind blade that brutally severed the Queen's limb from her main body, opening up a gaping wound in her thorax.

The cries of the Queen were deeply satisfying, but my body trembled in annoyance at my narrow escape.

This reckless wasp! How can you not see this cute snake here?

The Queen was being drowned by a destructive barrage of wind blades ravaging her body and I quickly put myself at a safe distance.

My intention was to scale her and find a chance to use [Mind Chain]. But now, I didn't have much thought aside from staying clear. I wasn't reckless enough to attempt it, with the scary wasp completely unleashing his fury onto the Queen.

The wasps around her were caught up in his attacks, and even the ground around the Queen was utterly decimated.

Just how effective was the [Shadow Shroud] skill that he didn't notice me?

I wasn't invisible per say - aside from blending in with the darkness when I stayed still, if one looked closely they would definitely feel my presence.

I could only imagine the scary wasp was too furious and had no interest in anybody else at the moment.

The Queen's swarm was still recovering from my incognito attack, so I was able to slip away to practice [Poison Magic]. I had to think which attacks of mine would be effective at a distance.

The wasps were still gathering around the front to protect the Queen when the scary wasp burst through their midst, seizing a nearby wasp from the fold with insane speed and proceeded to tear its limbs apart in a series of attacks that left it unrecognisable.

Soon all that was left of it was its barbed stinger which he used like a blade to beat off the other wasps that pursued him, before sending it soaring through the opening that had yet to close. Like a lance it pierced through the injury of the Queen's severed limb. And before the wasps could cover the opening, more wind blades followed soon after, creating more devastation.

I could hear the Queen's cries of anguish echoing through the chaotic sounds of battle - but I was too caught up in my own pursuits to feel pity for her.

Gathering in the air in front of me were two orbs of liquid. [Poison Fang] was a noxious shade of green while [Pain Toxin] was clear like water. I fused them together with [Poison Synthesis] to create a substance that sizzled on contact even before the poison set out to work.

Then, I took advantage of the chaos created by the scary wasps attacks to contribute my share of the battle.

I directed the liquid shot of poison towards the gigantic Queen, especially targeting her open wounds. She recoiled violently with a sharp shriek, and the wind blade that she could have avoided, ended up dealing a terrible blow that severed a second limb.