The Empress's Gate (2)
That evening.
I trudged back to the bees' secret apartment only minutes before the Empress's Gate was set to begin.
Ganeungi and the Devil-Bee search party, who had been waiting like stone statues the entire time, rushed over at once.
[Wasp. Attracted. Waterfall faction. Spy. Captured.]
“Lock him up for now.”
[Now. Immediately. Explode. Not?]
“No. First, gather all the queens from the Crevice faction.”
I called every queen from the Crevice side, who had been preparing for battle, to one place and spoke.
“Everyone here! Do not enter the Empress's Gate.”
Buzz buzz buzz buzz—
The queens who had been looking forward to the contest were thrown into confusion.
“You all heard it too. The late Empress's will states that whoever fights hardest under the full moon becomes the new Empress. Participating would be a betrayal of her.”
One queen spoke up, frustrated.
[Then. Waterfall Queen. Empress. Ascend. What.]
I answered.
“The Waterfall Queen will not become Empress.”
[We. Withdraw. Waterfall Queen. Empress. Certain.]
“No. The Waterfall Queen dies during the race today.”
The bees were shocked.
[Why? How?]
“Because I will kill her.”
[You? How?]
“I am entering. The Empress's Gate!”
Buzz buzz buzz buzz~
Buzz buzz buzz buzz~
The queens were stunned.
[You. Qualification. Have?]
“Anyone stung by the Empress's stinger can participate, right?”
The bees looked incredulous and pressed further.
[Normal venom. Not. Empress venom. You. Survive. Can?]
“I can.”
[By the way. You. Wings. Have?]
“No.”
[Then. How. Race?]
I gave the queens a few instructions and left.
* * *
After the meeting with the Crevice queens, I went straight to the organizers and declared my intent to enter the Empress's Gate.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz~
Buzz buzz buzz~
Tens of thousands of honeybees erupted into chaos when they learned the Crevice queens were all withdrawing and that I would compete instead.
The Waterfall faction protested that “non-bees cannot enter the Empress's Gate,” but the objection was immediately dismissed.
Word had spread through the moderates that the Waterfall Queen was twisting the late Empress's will, and rumors were already flying among the worker bees that I might be the “Firefly Empress.”
Forcing me out under those circumstances would damage the new Empress's authority and risked sparking open revolt.
The first trial, the Empress's Stinger Test, began.
Bees of the same species are usually resistant to one another's venom.
So this first gate was little more than a formality, like checking an ID.
But because I was the first outsider ever to attempt it, every eye was on me.
Could this strange creature survive the sting of the late Empress?
Thud—
Seven or eight workers gripped the Empress's stinger and drove it into my thigh.
I folded my arms, lifted my chin, and slowly closed my eyes.
Dizzy~
It was the first time I had felt anything like this since becoming a Beginner Poison Immunity user.
After discharge I had quit smoking, but I still enjoyed the occasional beer or two.
Yet after the battles on the third basement level, even that pleasure had vanished. Soju, sorghum liquor, whiskey, even 80-proof absinthe all tasted like water.
“Aah~”
But after so long, I finally felt a warm, spreading pleasure throughout my body.
Still, the honeybee Empress's sting was less intense than the Devil-Bee Empress's.
If the Devil-Bee sting felt like two or three bottles of soju, this was maybe one or two beers.
Even so, it was something.
After so long… this feeling.
As I trembled with pleasure, the bees stared in horror.
I felt so good I even sang a little song.
- Mom, sis, let's live in a beehive~
- Inside the royal cell, sparkling royal jelly~
- In the storeroom, a sea of Gaeggul~
- Mom, sis, let's live in a beehive~
When the startled workers tried to pull the stinger out, I held up a hand.
“Wait. …Just one more minute! Aah!”
* * *
[Empress's Gate. Flight Race. Participants. To your marks!]
The flight race was about to begin.
Sixteen Waterfall queens lined up at the starting line.
Every one of them glared at me with murderous intent.
One openly threatened me.
[Black-headed animal. You. Today. Die.]
I ignored her and took my place beside Ganeungi.
The course ran inside the Crevice Empire's hive—twenty laps between the floor and ceiling of the apartment complex built in the rock crevices.
Ganeungi explained that the Empress's Gate was traditionally held in a much larger field.
But given the current crisis, it was being run indoors for security.
Too many bees leaving the hive risked a surprise attack by the hornets.
The organizers approached me.
[Escort warriors. Two. Confirmed.]
“Ganeungi is here.”
[Only one?]
“There's one more. She's just running late.”
Escort warriors were often not bees, so the organizer did not question it.
[Race. Your turn. Before start. If not arrive. Disqualified.]
And then the real main event of the Empress's Gate began.
The Waterfall Queen who had posted the fastest lap time took off first, flanked by two massive 5-meter queen bees.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz~
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz~
Excited honeybees beat their wings in support. With hundreds of thousands of giant bees flapping at once, it felt like my eardrums would burst.
Even chants of
[Waterfall. Empress.]
[Waterfall. Empress.]
had already started.
But when the second queen launched, the workers were stunned.
Whoosh whoosh~
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~
Two enormous hornets appeared as her escorts.
The workers froze.
Waterfall faction bees quickly tried to spin the situation.
[Escort warrior. Free choice. Hornet. Also fine.]
[Black-headed animal. Participating. Hornet. No reason. Not allowed.]
[Honeybee. Hornet. Same bee. Same bee. Solidarity.]
Once the second queen started, the third and fourth followed, each escorted by two hornets larger than themselves.
The deafening cheers died away.
No one could cheer while their sacred ground swarmed with their ancient enemies.
Even the Waterfall Queen's own workers fell silent, unable to support what they were seeing.
Bringing in mortal enemies just to win?
That made no sense.
Every worker bee felt the same.
Then one of the escort hornets casually snatched and ate a larva.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz~
The workers were outraged, but they could not disrupt the sacred ceremony.
The hornets' outrages continued.
They snatched larvae while flying the track, smashed parts of the hive, and even tasted stored honey.
I lay on the starting line with my arms behind my head, watching the chaos.
Ganeungi was nearly in despair.
[What. Do. This many. Hornets. Crevice sanctuary. Location. Exposed.]
All sixteen Waterfall queens except their leader had launched with hornet escorts. Thirty hornets and two giant queen bees now flew inside the hive.
My turn was coming.
Once the three moderate queens also departed, the organizers finally ordered me to start.
I was last because I had no recorded lap time.
Every bee turned to look at me.
How was a wingless creature supposed to fly?
I raised my hand to the sky.
At once the entire Crevice sanctuary darkened and brightened repeatedly.
Something circling above was blocking and unblocking the mana lights on the ceiling.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz~
Buzz buzz buzz buzz~
Every bee looked up.
Their expressions were far more shocked than when the hornets had appeared.
[Ultra emergency! Ultra emergency! Bee-eagle! Appeared! Bee-eagle! Appeared!]
Exactly.
Hornets could be driven off with thousands of sacrifices.
But a bee-eagle entering the hive meant certain destruction.
I stood up slowly and shouted.
“Don't be afraid. That one's my escort warrior!”
The bees looked doubtful.
This creature seemed clever, but controlling a savage bee-eagle?
Flap~ Flap~
Yet the sight before them was enough to make them faint.
The bee-eagle flew straight to me, folded its wings, and bowed respectfully.
I climbed onto its back with Ganeungi.
Then I shouted loud enough for every bee to hear.
“Byte-12, do not damage the hive. Got it?”
Kweeek~
“Instead… see those queens and hornets flying right now?”
Kweeek~
“Kill them all. It's fine.”
Flap~ Flap~
The giant bee-eagle beat its wings powerfully and soared above the apartment complex.
The bees were speechless.
Could the hive really survive?
Yet the bee-eagle displayed incredible maneuverability between the narrow hive structures.
The hive had been built wide enough for a 3-meter Empress to pass through.
Even so, the bee-eagle's 5-to-6-meter body flew through the rock crevices without touching anything while beating its wings—an astonishing feat.
And it never slowed down.
Queen bees are famous for both size and speed.
During the nuptial flight, only the fastest, most enduring males can catch them.
But the bee-eagle was far faster.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
It snatched the first queen and her two hornets in its beak and hurled them to the floor.
Thud, thud thud—
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz~
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz~
The watching bees exploded into panic.
The bee-eagle quickly hunted the second and third queens and their escorts with blinding speed.
* * *
“By the way, Eunpa. In the end, what's the difference between virility and ability points?”
“It's much better than normal ability points, right? You can lend it out.”
“But once you lend it once, it's gone, so isn't it the same as ability points?”
“The difference is you can raise charm, which normal ability points can't increase. Plus… there's a way to get the lent points back.”
“How?”
“Eat Gaeggul.”
“Stop joking.”
“I'm serious! There's a real elixir called Gaeggul. It's honey still inside the comb. Once you eat it, you can freely move the virility you lent around again.”
“Whoa, that's awesome? But where do you get Gaeggul?”
“That's the problem. You hardly ever see bees in the Tower. You mostly find them when you go through portals for quests to other worlds. But they hide so well that finding them is no joke.”
* * *
Yet…
I had found bees in massive numbers—the very ones said to be so hard to locate.
And if I became their Empress…
Gaeggul!
I would be able to eat as much as I wanted.
Then I could freely move over 200 points of virility wherever I pleased.
So.
I made a bold investment.
The 100 virility points left over after eating the royal jelly last time.
I poured every last one into agility.
Agility has reached 111.