The Queen (2)
“Chitter!”
“Hiss!”
Giant wolf spiders.
A man was listening intently to their report.
“What? You sighted a Guardian?”
A man with striking green hair.
The 3rd Division Commander of the Spider Legion.
TerKala.
He rose from his seat with a grave expression.
“Chitter!”
“Hmph.”
The wolf spiders weren't mistaken.
Their greatest strength was their exceptional eyesight, after all.
“A magic-powered combat golem, huh...”
He had once invaded a Dragon's Lair alongside Vermith on a previous continent.
Among the many guardians he'd faced then...
The magic-powered combat golem had left a particularly strong impression.
“Royal Grade, you say?”
“Chitter!”
“I see... Then we pull back for now.”
Regular magic-powered combat golems weren't much to fear.
They were like ordinary soldiers.
But a Royal Grade magic-powered combat golem was incomparable to mere foot soldiers.
To put it in perspective, it was like a great general—or a superhuman.
The sheer caliber of its power was on another level.
In short, it was beyond what he could handle alone.
Only a Division Commander-level foe could match it.
“Seems like it came from the central region... Hmm. Looks like there's a Dragon's Lair there too.”
The presence of a Royal Grade magic-powered combat golem suggested it wasn't an ordinary dragon's lair.
It was likely one of the lairs belonging to a Genesis Dragon.
Genesis referred to origins, and Genesis Dragons were those born with the primal power of the primordial universe.
'Could it be from the lair of the Elemental Dragon or Chaos Dragon that Lord Vermith seeks?'
It might even be an Omega Dragon.
After all, there had been reports of its power fragments discovered among the ant tribe.
Either way, if a Genesis Dragon's lair truly existed...
It would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to achieve unparalleled merit.
'I need to scout the central region.'
Of course, scouting wouldn't be easy.
That was why everyone avoided the central area.
“For now, we withdraw.”
He glanced toward where Silvaner was positioned.
“Hope she has the sense to retreat on her own.”
Silvaner, the 4th Division Commander of the Spider Legion, had no experience facing a Royal Grade magic-powered combat golem.
Which meant she didn't grasp its terror.
'Come to think of it, the mantises are the same.'
The current Mantis Legion—from the Commander down to the Division Commanders—were all new blood.
The previous generation had been wiped out fighting dragons.
'The puzzle pieces are falling into place.'
Karmarks.
A powerhouse capable of wounding him.
It fit if they'd encountered that Royal Grade golem.
'The mantis Division Commanders might all drop dead today.'
Not a bad outcome at all.
If the Mantis Legion's forces weakened, the Spider Legion could finally challenge for the top spot as the 1st Legion.
“Let's go.”
He withdrew from the battlefield with the wolf spiders.
Kaboom!
Overwhelming energy burst from Archeron's energy core.
Along with it, razor-sharp energy blades extended from both his arms.
Shing! Ziiiiiing!!
High-frequency vibrating energy blades.
Blades capable of slicing through anything with lethal force.
Whoosh!
The high-output thrusters on his back activated, deploying into glowing wing-like shapes.
Not just for propulsion—they enabled high-speed maneuvers rivaling teleportation.
“Archeron. Eliminating enemies.”
Boom!
Archeron's body turned into a streak of light, charging straight into the enemy ranks.
“Wha—?”
Kaboom!!
Velgram's arm, transformed into a scythe, clashed against Archeron's energy blade, unleashing a massive shockwave.
“Grr... Impressive.”
Velgram was genuinely awed.
A condensed mass of tremendous energy.
A golem capable of this?
She'd never heard of such a thing.
'Not going to be easy to subdue.'
Before the thought fully formed...
Archeron's energy blades traced dazzling arcs, pressing Velgram relentlessly.
Slash, stab, swing, slice, reverse slash, spinning slash, parry and counter, thrust and twist, smash, sidestroke, overhead chop, reverse spin slice.
'Grr...'
Velgram's wounds multiplied.
She'd evolved a tough exoskeleton like a stag beetle or rhinoceros beetle.
Yet in moments, countless gashes marred it, fraying at the edges.
'I misjudged.'
Not easy to subdue? What a joke.
Subduing it was out of the question—surviving its onslaught seemed impossible.
This trajectory led to certain defeat.
She needed a way to turn the tide.
Then!
“Raaagh!”
“Everyone, swarm it! Help the Vice Commander!!!!”
The panicked 1st Division Commander Lekar and 3rd Division Commander Kalomir lunged at Archeron simultaneously.
“Stop—!”
Velgram tried to halt them.
They couldn't even block a single strike from it.
Archeron's combat power now rivaled Lord Karmarks.
She wanted to scream at their recklessness.
Slash!
“Guh.”
With a death rattle, 1st Division Commander Lekar's head flew into the air.
His eyes held utter disbelief at the situation.
Meeting that gaze, Velgram snapped awake as if doused in ice water.
Until now, they'd always been the predators—plundering and hunting.
Growing too comfortable in that role, they'd let complacency creep in unnoticed.
They'd believed they'd remain hunters forever.
But in this moment, that illusion shattered.
'...We're the prey now.'
Slash!
With that realization...
3rd Division Commander Kalomir lost his life too.
“Keron.”
The golem simultaneously aimed its cannons at the mantises swarming from all sides.
Kaboom!!
It fired laser beams mercilessly.
The giant mantises vanished in an instant, vaporized.
Velgram ground her teeth.
She finally understood the despair of the prey they'd hunted all this time.
Guilt?
None of that.
In a world of survival of the fittest, weakness was the only sin.
And so, the emotion surging in Velgram now was...
'I'm furious.'
Grrrrr.
Furious at her own weakness.
Furious that she couldn't avenge her mate Jalares.
In that instant.
“RAAAAAAGH!!”
A roar erupted from her throat.
“Beep beep bleep! Warning! Warning! Target's combat power is surging rapidly.”
Archeron's head turned toward Velgram, having swept away the charging mantises.
An unknown aura emanated from her body.
Her combat power skyrocketed.
Left unchecked, she felt like she'd evolve into some unknown entity.
'Archeron!'
Seojun's shout rang out as he watched the battle.
Kaboom!
Slash!
Archeron shot forward like teleportation, its energy blade severing Velgram's neck clean.
It happened just as she was on the verge of evolving into something.
Thud.
Roll roll roll.
Velgram's head hit the ground.
At the same moment...
Pssshhh!
White steam billowed fiercely from Archeron's body.
“Energy core overheating. Overheating. Terminating Combat Mode Lv5.”
Pssshhh.
Archeron reverted to its original form.
“Whoa.”
“Archeron won!!”
“Chuuu!”
“Popo!!”
We watching from the lair erupted in cheers all at once.
“Phew. That was close. Really.”
“Right? If we'd given her just a bit more time at the end, something huge might've gone down.”
“Yeah. But what was that? A ★ symbol floated above her head.”
“Huh? A ★?”
“Yeah. Didn't you see it?”
“No... I didn't see anything...”
I tilted my head at Bellerin's reaction.
Clearly, a star-shaped mark had appeared above Velgram's head at the end.
I wasn't seeing things—it persisted even when I blinked.
“I didn't see it either. Still, leaving her be would've been bad. Looked like she was attempting transcendent evolution.”
“Transcendent evolution?”
“Yes. It's when a species breaks its limits to become a new existence. Rare for insect kinds... Fascinating.”
Whoa.
So that was a sign of transcendent evolution.
'Does that mean the ★ shape is connected to ★ fragments?'
My gut told me it was.
“Keron. Collecting spoils.”
While I pondered...
Archeron began gathering loot.
'Oh.'
I let out an exclamation.
The enemies were numerous, so the haul was unprecedented in scale.
Countless mantis exoskeletons and magic stones.
And a whopping 7 ▲ fragments.
'No complete ★ though.'
The Grim Reaper.
Weaker than Velgram, yet it dropped a ★.
Maybe not purely based on raw power?
'Could be tied to transcendent evolution.'
Various hypotheses swirled in my mind.
“Keron. Attempting contact with Lili tribe.”
Meanwhile, Archeron finished cleaning the battlefield and approached the Lili tribe's sanctuary.
Now, it was time to meet their queen.
Roooar.
Kaboom!
A powerful sonic wave burst from the crystal floating in the sky.
“Kieeeek!”
“Kieeeek!”
“Kiiiiieeeee—!”
The giant centipedes exposed to the wave writhed in agony before stiffening rigid.
Dead.
'Grr...'
Karsera clutched his ears, staggering back from the battlefield.
'Why is that crazy monster awake?'
How had it roused from slumber?
Its master, the outer god slumbering here, was confirmed to still be in deep hibernation.
“Those who trespass the Realm of Light shall not return alive.”
Ziiiiiing.
Kaaaa—boom!!
The crystal executor, Kalasion, now fired beams of light.
Centipedes grazed by them ignited and vanished.
'Insane.'
Karsera hurriedly widened the distance.
He could somehow endure the sonic waves, but not those beams.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Karsera fled the valley at top speed.
Fortunately, Kalasion focused solely on exterminating the centipedes nearer the barrier.
Grind grind grind!
Clear of the battlefield, Karsera gnashed his teeth.
That mad executor had inflicted near-total annihilation damage.
Far heavier losses than anticipated.
'But I confirmed the Light Barrier's location.'
Not a total loss, even if the costs outweighed the gains.
'I'll be back soon. Just you wait.'
Next time, without fail.
Karsera gritted his teeth once more and departed.
Elatrium buzzed with activity.
Archeron had returned triumphantly with the Lili tribe's queen, Erillia, and her subjects.
“Wel... come... We wel... come you...”
“The queen... of the Lili... tribe... A joy... indeed...”
“Pleased... to meet you... Lili queen...”
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
Erillia greeted the Elatria with a radiant smile.
“Such... fine manners...”
“We'll make... fine part... ners from... here on...”
“Let's get... along well...”
Rumble!
The entrance opened amid the Elatria's welcome.
“Ahh! Your Majesty!”
“We greet Your Majesty!”
“Sob... It's such an honor to see you again, Your Majesty.”
The Lili tribe welcomed Erillia with tears streaming down their faces.
“I'm sorry for worrying you all. I heard you pleaded with this place's master for my safety. I'm so grateful to everyone who cared for me.”
“How could we not worry for Your Majesty!”
“We're the grateful ones that you're safe!”
A brief melodrama unfolded.
To the Lili tribe, their queen was utterly irreplaceable.
“Keron. Master awaits.”
“My apologies. We've tarried too long. We should first thank this place's master.”
“Follow.”
Archeron opened the dimensional gate first and entered.
“Hoo.”
Erillia took a tense deep breath and followed.
And there she saw.
A human man frolicking with a dragon hatchling.
A slime and hamster tilling a field of spirit herbs and elixirs.
An elf diligently forging something with a hammer.
Even a hojin tribesman waving his hands pointlessly in the air.
'Wha... What on earth is this combination...?'
The interior of the lair.
It was a scene utterly unlike anything she'd imagined.