My senses went on high alert and my thoughts filled with panic. Was he going to kill me?

[Thank you for your assistance.]

The scary wasp spoke after a pause and I sighed with relief.

However, the scary wasp's claws were still placed between the horns on my head and I tried not to move. He didn't squeeze or press down at all, yet I felt their sharp sting.

What the hell?

It took me less than a second to understand the ramifications of such a gesture and my face immediately darkened.

W-wasn't this a...head pat?

It was a head pat.

I felt mortified and completely insulted. This wasp did not see me as anything threatening, rather my status had been reduced to that of a small animal. I didn't know which was worse - suffering multiple defeats at his hand or this.

Yeah, this was worse.

"I'm going to kill him." I seethed with rage.

I heard Sensei's teasing snicker and didn't know which of the two pissed me off the most.

"He needs to die." You both need to die.

«Calm down.» Sensei nervously coughed. «At least he's not suspecting you for his Queens death.»

Was that supposed to make me feel better?

How am I supposed to go around confidently in the future after this? How can a snake become the pet of a wasp? Wasn't that subverting the evolutionary chain?

I felt something sting my eyes.

[Did you forget how to speak?] The scary wasp's gravelly voice sparked with annoyance.

[No!]

I slowly slipped away from his clawed limb and responded curtly, suppressing my anger to give him a blank stare.

[My contribution was only a small part of your victory, I'm surprised you noticed at all.]

No, you would've become the Queen's snack if I didn't intervene and distract her at the right time.

[You would have won even without my help anyway.] I continued to speak all the things I don't mean, while keeping my inner thoughts private.

I couldn't wait for the day I carved this scary wasp up.

«Why not speak your true feelings?» Sensei interjected with a laugh.

Ugh… I should learn to hide my thoughts from him first.

And then maybe eat Sensei too.

The scary wasp remained harsh, my words having no effect.

[Your flattery is not needed. Tell me, why have you come here?]

He was definitely a tough one.

I reasoned he was tense because of his injuries. His body had several deep wounds that were healing, albeit slowly and there was a horrible stab wound on his thorax too.

Yet, he was still standing like nothing was wrong. Either he had incredible mental fortitude or his [Pain Nullification] or some other unknown skill was at max.

[You are wounded. I can help you to heal.]

My potion probably wouldn't have any effect on wounds that severe, but I suggested it as a sign of goodwill. It would be a shame if he died before he could prevent more wasps from leaving the hive and wrecking havoc outside.

However, the scary wasp would not let me get near him.

[It's not poison.] I frowned. Wasn't he a bit too wary of me?

Even after reassuring him, the scary wasp remained tense. Not that I didn't think of using my poison on his wounds, I simply reasoned he would kill me faster than my poison could kill him.

[Why did you attack the queen alone?] I asked instead.

Scary wasp winced. Perhaps it was too soon to ask.

If I went off the assumption that everything he told me about his queen was correct, there was no need to reveal anything if I thought she was already dead. To an outsider like me, it would simply look like he voided our initial plan and attacked the hive queen alone without any cause.

[My reasons don't matter anymore. The act is already done.]

There was a touch of sorrow in his voice, but he no longer backed away from me, so I grew confident and pressed on.

[What will you do now that she is dead?]

As was often with acts of revenge, there wasn't much planning beyond the deed. From how recklessly he fought, he probably didn't expect to survive the fight, let alone kill her.

I was met with silence.

He really was difficult to talk to. If I didn't keep asking questions, entire conversations would pass like this, so I pressed on.

[Some of the wasps are leaving the hive. How can they do that when you are rightfully their king.]

The scary wasp was taken aback. [King?]

[You are the strongest now, and you are the only one who can lead them.]

[I am nobody's king, I am just a-]

He directed his eyes towards the open window, stopping his speech mid-sentence. I sensed he wanted to say more but I was startled when I heard the buzzing vibrations of something fast moving through the air.

Something was coming. Two 'somethings' in particular.

Appearing abruptly through the window, were two evolved wasps that looked similar to the scary wasp, but not quite. They entered the queen's chamber and began to look around, taking in the wreckage. They were less impressive, clumsy in appearance, duller in colour and somewhat less deadly.

They looked more similar to the dead wasps around us with holes in their chests, and on seeing the battle worn scary wasp, the two wasps became alert like they wanted to flee. I could only conclude they were outside and just now returning to the hive.

I appraised them accordingly.

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

LV20 Verum Hesperia

Specie: Ailith Vespoidea

HP: 183/183 Defence: 126

MP: 75/75 Intellect: 68

SP: 146/146 Magic: 89

Attack: 137 Agility: 140

Skills:

[??????: LV??] [????????: LV?]

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

LV23 Verum Hesperia

Specie: Ailith Vespoidea

HP: 198/198 Defence: 139

MP: 110/110 Intellect: 95

SP: 158/158 Magic: 127

Attack:118 Agility: 154

Skills:

[?????: LV??] [??? ?????: LV?]

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

They were impressive for mere fledglings.

If the queen was still alive, she would no doubt have used [Coercion] on them to stop them from fleeing, then gored them while alive to take the power they possessed for her dying core.

In a way they were lucky it was not her meeting them today.

The two wasps on seeing the scary wasp stopped fidgeting - abandoning their plans to run, they fell on their knees, heads bowed low in respect.

And on seeing this I smirked - there was no way he was getting out of this now. Seeing he was the strongest in the room, they must have equated his presence to that of the queen.

With the hidden queen dead - the hive would expand even without the capacity to make more, because the new wasps that returned would be kept alive. And once they rounded up the escaped wasps, the labyrinth would be a much safer place for my little snakes. Problem solved.

[You are their king.] I insisted with a smirk. [A leader must not abandon their kin!]

There was no way I was letting him off, he had to take responsibility.

[Silence! Why would you suggest such a thing?]

The scary wasp did not look convinced. [What do you want? You must be after something to suggest this farce.]

Damn, he was perceptive! I felt myself sweat.

[The queen was cruel, and she did not treat you well - just look at how many dead wasps fill this chamber. I want nothing more than to restore order.]

The scary wasp flinched. If my guess was right, he knew all the wasps here were dead due to his own queen. My intention was to make him feel guilty for her wrongdoings.

Watching him carefully, I put on my most sorrowful voice.

[I understand you wish to leave, but you can reverse what the queen did by becoming a proper king. If you gather the survivors and train them under your leadership - without distinguishing between which wasps belonged to which queen, you could create a great force.]

[Why would I do something so troublesome?]

[You've always wanted to do something about her. Now that you finally stopped her, shouldn't you finish what you started?]

I was betting on him. Although he was vicious, he seemed more reasonable than the previous two rulers, maybe even less of a tyrant. If he took the two new wasps as captains and trained them, he would certainly become more powerful.

Since I saved his life - although he was initially so against accepting my help, he probably felt he owed me something. And I knew he would maybe perhaps listen to me?

It was a good exchange, but for how long?

The only way to guarantee a promise was through submission. I was willing to take the chance - at least until I was capable enough to defeat him. Then he would become my captain and all the wasps under him would belong to me by proxy.

Hehehe… what a beautiful dream.

The scary wasp gave a low grunt.

His face revealed nothing. Did he agree? I really couldn't tell.

But I took him not killing the new wasps as a good sign. Since the two were still kneeling, I decided to retreat. It was a good time for him to get more acquainted.

[Wait.]

Unfortunately, the scary wasp noticed me leaving.

[For your efforts in helping me, I will forbid my brethren from hunting any hatchlings.]

I froze. How did he know I had hatchlings?

[Like you.]

Hatchlings like me? Didn't he see how much this snake had grown?

This *******.

I grumbled and turned around to leave.

Outside the hidden Queen's chamber, I took in a big breath and immediately sped towards the host graveyard. I better grab the lizard and finally leave this damn hive before anything else unexpected crops up.

Suddenly, I began to yearn fondly for the cave I was born in and my cute, clumsy siblings.