Ch.21: Great Green Poison Hornets
--<3rd PoV>--
The house now stood empty.
Its grand halls echoed with silence. All items of value—gold, potions, rare scrolls—had been carefully stored away. Only ornamental vases and tapestries remained. They gave the place a lived-in look at a glance.
Ray had gone through everything twice. He checked every drawer. Every shelf. Nothing important was left behind. They wouldn't be returning to Lushthron for quite some time.
He knew it. His jade-green eyes scanned the rooms. A faint smirk played on his lips. Better safe than sorry.
He set to work. A multitude of magical locks and defensive formations were applied.
He used several 4th and 5th circle magic scrolls. All had been ordered and prepared well in advance. Blue runes glowed on the doors. Protective barriers shimmered faintly. They layered across the house in an intricate, invisible network of protection.
No thief would dare try. Ray didn't want to take any chances. He stepped outside. The morning air was crisp. The locks hummed softly. The house was secure.
The three of them agreed to meet at the Adventurers' Guild. Each would carry or purchase what they believed necessary for the journey ahead. Seraphina had gone off on her own. She was animated. Full of energy.
She rambled about "must-have survival tools" and "raw camping vibes." Typical, Ray thought.
'Always charging headfirst.' He shook his head.
Meanwhile, Ray and Lilia were already finished. Their preparations were done. They had packed early. The magic locks were set. They were ready to move.
They walked side-by-side through the bustling streets of Lushthron City.
Life was as lively as ever. Merchants shouting. Adventurers bartering. The aroma of street food filled the air.
Lilia's ruby-red eyes sparkled. She tugged Ray's sleeve gently. "…Can we eat something? Just a little? Please?" Her voice was soft. Pleading. She gave him the biggest puppy eyes she could muster. Ray blinked. Not understanding her meaning.
"Why are you asking me if you want to eat something."
"Why..." She hummed, "Of course it's because I want to eat with you!"
He looked at her, unimpressed. His platinum blonde hair glinted in the sun. "No." Her expression drooped.
"Your cooking is enough for me."
At his words she hung her head down mumbling to herself in low voice. "…Last time in town," she whispered. "Maybe forever."
Ray clicked his tongue. His resolve crumbled. "…Tch. Fine. But only this once," he muttered.
Just because it was their last day here, not because he was soft on her or anything.
"Yay!"
Lilia beamed. Her joyful voice echoed. The snack raid began. At the first stall, a vendor grinned.
"One roasted meat skewer is ten copper coins for two!"
Ray tossed a gold coin. It glinted in the air.
"Keep the change," he said coldly. He didn't spare the man a glance.
Lilia clutched her skewers, passing one to Ray.
Her cheeks puffed as she chewed. Looking like a cute hamster.
Whichever shop they passed, the Vendors gave her extra. They were charmed by her glowing excitement. And Ray's over-the-top tipping was always there.
Similar scenes followed.
Everywhere they stopped, Ray paid with gold. Never asking for change.
Never smiling. His voice stayed indifferent. "Keep it."
Lilia's arms filled with snacks. Pastries. Candied fruits. Fried dumplings. She hummed happily. Her voluptuous figure swayed under her adventurer's tunic. Ray rolled his eyes. But a faint smile crept onto his face.
Her cheer was infectious. Even he couldn't deny it.
They continued along the cobblestone streets. Lilia nibbled something fried and crispy. Her silver hair bounced with each step.
She glanced at Ray. "…You know, it's weird thinking about how we all met." Her voice was warm. Nostalgic.
Ray glanced sideways. "Hmm." He kept his pace steady.
"This city… I spent half my life here, hiding in the shadows, until you saved me," Her voice was warm. Nostalgic.
"You taught me how to live like a normal person. You gave me a reason to keep going—a purpose. And more than anything, you gave me my life back. Now I can step outside, talk to people… without them looking at me like I'm some kind of monster. I don't have to hide anymore. All of that… it started here. And even now, this place still feels a little like home." She said with emotion in her voice.
"Thank you for all that master." Lilia said softly.
Ray shrugged. "It was nothing. I saved you because you are important to me." He said turning to look at her face. "Don't think you can escape from me just by saying thank you. You will have to serve me all your life whether you want it or not." His words taking a sharp edge at the end.
"Hn." She nodded happily, her cheeks growing flushed.
"Still this place wasn't bad. Good memories." Lilia beamed.
Ray paused for a second. "…Yeah. It wasn't all bad."
His tone was plain. But it wasn't cold.
Lilia smiled. "Lots of good memories!"
She munched another skewer.
Ray chuckled. Her enthusiasm warmed his pragmatic heart.
The Adventurers' Guild loomed ahead. Its stone facade was carved with sword motifs. Lilia, still chewing, suddenly stopped.
Her gaze froze. "…Ray-sama, that—"
Her voice was stunned.
Ray followed her line of sight. His eyes widened in disbelief. "The hell…"
A massive camping bag towered before the guild. Easily over nine feet tall. At least five feet wide. It floated a few feet above the ground.
Attached to its base were two long, shapely legs. Feminine. Slim. Familiar. Toned and graceful. Clad in tight adventurer's boots.
It was Seraphina.
She stood proudly. She carried the oversized bag on her back like it was nothing. Her crimson mane peeked out. Her golden-red eyes glinted with determination.
A platinum metallic armor on her athletic frame, with the gear hugging her generous curves.
The bag wobbled slightly. The three of them stood face to face now.
Ray and Lilia looked at her as if she had grown two heads. Seraphina returned the expression. Her face mirrored their confusion.
"…Why are you carrying this much on your own?" Ray asked.
Lilia nodded. Her snacks teetered.
"…And why are you not carrying anything?" Seraphina fired back immediately.
Her voice was sharp.
"Huh?" Ray and Lilia said in unison.
The confusion echoed on both sides. From Ray and Lilia's perspective, Seraphina looked ridiculous.
That massive bag. No space storage bag. Just raw strength. She was a walking mountain.
Meanwhile, Seraphina was equally baffled. Neither Ray nor Lilia had visible luggage. Just stylish, sleek waist pouches. No packs. No rolled blankets. No supplies.
They looked like they were going shopping, not venturing into wild territory.
Ray suddenly looked as if something clicked. "…Wait."
A small frown formed. He looked straight at Seraphina.
"Don't tell me… you don't have a space storage bag."
Seraphina tilted her head.
"…What is that?" she asked.
Genuine confusion. Her voice was puzzled.
Ray and Lilia both fell silent. Their eyes slowly widened.
'She really took the idea of going wild… to the absolute extreme.'
...
In the midst of a sparsely wooded forest, a group of teenagers could be seen sprinting with everything they had, their expressions taut with urgency and panic.
Their rapid footsteps thundered across the uneven terrain, kicking up soil and leaves as they pushed forward, desperately trying to widen the gap between themselves and their pursuers.
But it wasn't just fear of the unknown that drove them forward—
It was the knowledge that what chased them was far more terrifying than any ghost from a bedtime tale.
Far worse. It was a hoard of monsters.
Large bee-type monsters buzzed behind.
From a distance, these flying beasts might have resembled an exaggerated form of a cartoonish bee-like creature.
They looked like a certain Pokémon.
But up close, their appearance was anything but comforting. Their twisted bodies bore a sickly green hue, speckled and streaked with unnatural white markings that looked like mold growing across rotting flesh.
Some of them were scarcely larger than a hummingbird, darting through the air with unnerving speed and precision.
Others were as large as full-grown hunting dogs, their buzzing wings producing an ominous tremble in the air as they flew.
Each carried a suffocating aura of toxins. A foul, putrid stench lingered wherever they flew, overwhelming the senses with the sharp sting of poisonous vapors.
It wasn't just an unpleasant smell—it was a physical reaction.
Anyone too close would feel their stomach churn and their limbs weaken, the body instinctively recoiling from the chemical blend of paralytics and corrosive venom the hornets released into the environment.
Despite their terrifying presence, Great Green Poison Hornets were not typically aggressive creatures.
In small numbers, they were considered low-threat monsters, usually ranked between F and D.
However, when stirred into a swarm—
When unified in the thousands—
They became a living nightmare, elevated instantly to A-rank threat level or higher.
Historically, these creatures were escapees from dungeon ecosystems, eventually adapting to natural forests far from human interference.
They formed intricate hives deep within secluded biomes and rarely engaged in conflict with other species unless provoked.
And yet… here they were.
Pursuing a group of humans with such relentless aggression, it begged the question—
What exactly had these three done to earn their wrath?
To find the answer, one had only to shift perspective forward, to the very teenagers fleeing through the woods.
Ray led the charge. His jade-green eyes burned with focus.
He actively used his aura. The white-blue energy pulsed around him.
His face was composed, but tension lined his jaw and brow. Every few seconds, he threw a sharp glance behind him, tracking the enemy's position and calculating possibilities.
Lilia, running beside him, had fully activated her support magic. Multiple buff spells danced around her figure in faint pastel glows, enhancing her speed, agility, and stamina.
Even though her breathing was labored, her steps remained light and quick, fueled by a sense of danger and duty.
Only Seraphina looked almost unfazed. She hadn't even activated her aura yet. Her pace was swift, but her breathing calm.
The faint smirk on her lips hadn't faded, even as the monstrous buzzing closed in from behind.
Her composure—at such a critical moment—only served to fuel Ray's growing frustration.
"You just had to, didn't you?" he snapped without looking at her, his voice laced with thinly veiled anger. "Was it really necessary to take all the honey from the hornet colony?!"
Seraphina, completely unbothered, answered as if they were having a casual conversation over breakfast.
"You just don't get it. If you knew how good this stuff tasted, you wouldn't be complaining."
Ray's eyes narrowed, disbelief breaking into his voice. "Like hell, I would!"
His voice grew sharper as he continued. "Not only did you steal all the honey—you even burned down the whole damn hive! Now every single one of those bugs is out for blood!"
Seraphina only shrugged, her tone still relaxed. "Why are you getting so worked up about it?"
Ray nearly stumbled from sheer disbelief at the question. "Are you seriously asking that?!" he exclaimed, his tone now cold and deliberate.
"Because of your little honey heist, I didn't even get the chance to collect the bodies of the last four hornet sub-types."
He clicked his tongue in annoyance, glancing ahead before continuing.
"I had only thirteen of the full taxonomy in my collection. Without the remaining samples, it's going to be a lot harder to continue progress on the potion I'm working on right now."
Seraphina blinked, looking genuinely surprised by the comment. Realizing the real source of his irritation was from not being able to collect all specimen rather than being in this situation.
She hadn't considered that her little escapade could have affected something Ray was seriously working on.
She still shrugged. "You'll find more bugs."
Ray scoffed. "Not like these!"
Their bickering continued, back and forth, without losing a beat.
Meanwhile, the buzzing behind them intensified.
The swarm was gaining.
That's when Lilia's panicked voice rang out, sharp and high.
"It's over!" she cried, her eyes wide as she skidded to a stop. "There's no way forward! It's a valley!"
Ray and Seraphina both turned toward her voice, alarm jolting through them.
"What?!" they shouted at the same time, their bodies halting just short of the edge.
They had run themselves into a trap.
Before them stretched a steep cliff, the rocky valley yawning below.
The sides were too sheer to climb down safely, and there were no obvious paths across.
Behind them, the hornets grew louder, the air thickening with poison and wingbeats.
In an instant, the lighthearted tension was gone.
Their green bodies glinted in the sunlight.
Ray's face hardened. Lilia's hands trembled.
Seraphina's smirk faded. Her hand gripped her sword.
All three of them now stood side by side, their expressions grim.
The time for bickering was over.
With a hoard of poisonous bugs at their back. A dead end at their front.
Ray's jade-green eyes scanned the swarm. Lilia's 6 summons now getting into formation.
Seraphina drew her blade. The valley's wind howled.
The fight was coming.
_______________________________
To Be Continued:
[Word Count: 2195]
A/N: I have come to realize that the MC's power system is somewhat complex I will explain it in an auxiliary chapter. Also sorry for such late updates, I am often not satisfied with what I write, then I delete it and rewrite and this time it happened 3 times, I am still not satisfied with this chapter but I am still uploading it, thinking 2 or 1 good chapters a week is not better than 3-5 good chapters a week. Following which, I will start uploading more frequently from now one, just note that it may not be as good without great edits.
H75N.