Chapter 4
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Queen Hornet
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"A bee...? Or not?"
[What do you mean by that?]
Breaking Army Star replied to Sejin's cryptic mutter as she tilted her head.
"Nah. A hornet maybe?"
Sejin whispered softly, stroking her chin.
"Bingo. It's a giant hornet. Ew."
There's that saying, right?
If it sounds like a drone, it's a giant hornet.
A single giant hornet crouched there, its steel-colored wings folded tight.
Every time it fluttered them, a mechanical droning buzz shook the air.
It was loud enough to make her ears ring.
That thing was one hundred percent a giant hornet.
"Whoa."
Her jaw dropped.
So this was a giant hornet straight out of hell?
Gave her the creeps.
A groan slipped out involuntarily.
The alternating yellow and black stripes looked downright menacing.
This hellish giant hornet was as big as a truck.
Just looking at it made her skin crawl, shoulders hunching up on instinct.
"That's so gross."
[Queen Hornet.]
"What?"
Breaking Army Star repeated the name of the demon in response to Sejin's quiet question.
[It's Queen Hornet. A queen, no less.]
"Just looks like a regular giant hornet to me. Though those aren't wings—more like steel plating?"
[Take a look at the back. Seems like it's just started building a hive and laying eggs.]
Only then did Sejin shift her gaze to the queen hornet's rear. White eggs gleamed between the sturdy combs of the hive.
[Looks like it's trying to establish its colony. Exhausted from laying eggs, but don't let your guard down—its power surpasses a normal Queen Hornet.]
Sejin wet her parched mouth with saliva at Breaking Army Star's warning.
"No way I'm letting my guard down... not with that face."
What kind of giant hornet was truck-sized?
She'd never seen a hornet like that.
Even if giant hornets were the kings of wasps, this was ridiculous.
Ugh. Sejin's face twisted in disgust at the bug before her—she who hated insects with a passion.
If one of those invaded her home? She'd abandon the house in a heartbeat.
Just its appearance alone cowed her. She'd closed countless gates, but this was her first bug-type. Her body trembled.
She clamped her mouth shut before a whine could escape.
What if she couldn't do it?
Didn't matter if she didn't want to—she had to.
So the answer was a swift finish.
With resolve to end it fast, Sejin poured energy into her right hand.
A cluster of shimmering blue light gathered at the red dot there.
Whoooosh.
Suddenly, wind swirled around her.
Ding-a-ling.
With a clear bell chime, a talisman-adorned artifact appeared in her hand.
It resembled the bells shamans used for divinations, but Sejin's had long strips of blue, red, and white cloth dangling from it.
"Kinda shabby."
[Hey!]
Breaking Army Star erupted in fury at her dissing his equivalent of a sacred offering.
"When am I gonna collect all seven Seven Stars bells anyway."
Just one bell hung there.
It symbolized the Breaking Army Star she'd accepted.
[You might not revere a god, but calling it roadside dog shit...!]
"Uh, uh."
[Listen here, I'm a god speaking and...]
"That thing. It's looking right at me, isn't it?"
The Queen Hornet's black eyes held no emotion—an endless abyss of darkness, like staring into an infinite void.
The moment their gazes locked, goosebumps erupted across her skin, freezing her in place.
Breaking Army Star's voice boomed in her dazed mind.
[Dodge, Sejin!]
"Eek!"
Gripping the bell, Sejin tumbled sideways and whipped her head around.
Where she'd stood moments ago, the Queen Hornet's razor-sharp foreleg was embedded deep.
"What the—no way a hornet's leg looks like a mantis claw! Why is it like that?!"
Even amid the chaos, its steel wings thrashed, blaring noise. As it struggled to yank free its foreleg, Sejin's eyes widened.
[Hurry, summon it!]
Snapping to, Sejin raised the bell high.
Calming her mind, a gentle breeze stirred around her.
The wind gathered near the bell, forming a yellow talisman paper ahead. Red pictorial characters adorned it. She tapped it with the bell.
Whoosh—whoosh.
The long tricolor cloths at the artifact's metal frame whipped wildly, as if alive.
Fwaaah!
Blue light exploded from where bell met talisman.
Wind howled around the floating talisman, tousling Sejin's bound hair.
"Lend me your power."
⟨ Summon: Bulgasal ⟩
Sejin's soft voice overlaid with a gravelly old man's growl, like two speaking as one.
A magic circle etched into the ground, the talisman's characters glowing blue.
"Come forth. Bulgasal."
The blue circle passed through her body.
Rooooar!
A beast's cry echoed from the heavens.
The Bulgasal Sejin summoned resembled a rhino but dwarfed even the Queen Hornet slightly.
Its jet-black iron armor gleamed in the darkness.
Hot steam snorted from its nostrils.
With steel-black fangs bared sharp, the Bulgasal—now a spirit beast bound to Sejin—mounted her back and glared at the Queen Hornet.
"Let's go."
With only Breaking Army Star's power, she couldn't manifest Bulgasal for long.
Ten minutes tops. She had to finish within that.
Sejin pointed the shaking bell's end at the Queen Hornet.
"Take it down."
As if acknowledging the command, Bulgasal pawed the ground like a bull ready to charge.
It lunged like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Sejin couldn't sit idle either—she channeled energy into her artifact.
Blue light rippled across the bell, transforming it into a bow longer than her torso.
Twing-twing.
The Queen Hornet's stinger failed to pierce Bulgasal's tough hide.
True to its orders from Sejin alone, Bulgasal charged headlong, slamming its horn into the queen.
Wham!
"Good job."
Cheering it on from behind, Sejin gripped the bow.
She raised the ornate gold-and-blue bowstring slowly, held at an angle.
Bzzzz.
No arrow needed.
Boom-boom-boom.
The Bulgasal, reborn as Sejin's spirit beast from wicked ghost, poured every ounce of strength into pressing the Queen Hornet relentlessly.
Not yielding, the queen raised a foreleg to seize and shake Bulgasal's horn.
One shot. That's all she needed.
Sejin's eyes overflowed with blue light as she patiently waited.
[Aim for the eye!]
The bow—Breaking Army Star's form—vibrated in her hands.
"Hoo."
Deep breath out. Sejin drew back the golden bowstring taut.
Kaboom-kaboom.
As Queen Hornet and Bulgasal wrestled, slamming and shoving, the wooden cavern shook like it might collapse any second.
Every time Bulgasal pressed the advantage, strength drained from Sejin's body.
"Hah... hah."
Hard to even stand.
She swallowed her ragged breaths.
With only Breaking Army Star's power, she could feel her limit approaching fast.
Yanking down her black cap, face tilted up awkwardly, she locked eyes on her target.
Bzzzzz.
A translucent blue arrow materialized on the empty golden string.
[Now!]
The instant Breaking Army Star spoke, Sejin released the drawn string.
Pwaang!
The arrow grazed her cheek and pierced the Queen Hornet's eye—pinned beneath Bulgasal—dead center.
"Got it."
[Don't drop your guard.]
Breaking Army Star tsked at her pounding heart, warning her to stay vigilant ahead.
"I knoooow. Geez."
Grumbling, Sejin lowered the bow and watched the thrashing Queen Hornet.
In agony, it spread its wings wide to flee, but with one eye ruined, it only staggered without direction.
Thud-thud. Crashing into thick wooden walls, it plummeted. Bulgasal seized the moment, ramming with its full body.
Splat.
Like hitting a speeding dump truck, the queen tumbled limply.
And that wasn't the end—Bulgasal's thick hoof stomped down, crunching the queen's head with a sickening crack.
The watermelon-splitting sound made Sejin hunch her shoulders.