The roar came before the creature appeared.
The ruined tunnel shook violently, sending chunks of stone tumbling from the ceiling. Civilians screamed as the healers hurried them toward the evacuation route.
Then the Hive Queen emerged from the fog.
Her body was the size of a truck, armored in layers of chitin slick with dripping green fluid. Six powerful legs dug into the stone as she crawled forward, each movement shaking the ground. A long stinger curled above her back, easily longer than Hitake was tall.
Hitake's eyes widened.
[TARGET IDENTIFIED]
Name: Hive Queen
Level: 8
His Eyes of Truth activated.
The Queen's body became a web of information.
Mana flooded through her limbs. Her armor was thickest around her torso. Her six eyes tracked movement independently, making it almost impossible to approach her unnoticed.
Then his Analyze Weakness activated.
Red lines appeared.
Left rear leg.
Several joints.
And—
Her chest core.
Hitake's expression tightened.
The core was heavily protected, but there was a brief opening whenever she committed to a full charge.
A few seconds later, the communications device on one of the instructors crackled.
“All teams, fall back! Repeat, fall back! Queen is too high level!”
The order spread through the tunnels.
“Fall back!”
“Get the civilians out!”
“Don't engage the Queen!”
Zena looked toward the lower tunnels.
Her expression darkened.
“We can't.”
Hitake followed her gaze.
Behind the collapsed section of the tunnel, several voices could still be heard.
The civilians.
Twelve of them.
Trapped behind the rubble.
The healers were trying to clear a path, but they needed time.
The Queen's mandibles opened.
A low hiss rolled through the chamber.
Zena tightened her grip on her daggers.
“We can't leave them.”
“We don't have to fight her,” Hitake said.
Zena looked at him.
His eyes remained fixed on the Queen.
“We just have to stall her.”
John stepped forward, shield raised.
“For how long?”
Hitake glanced toward the evacuation route.
“Five minutes.”
John stared at him.
“Five minutes?”
“That's what the evacuation needs.”
Silence settled between them.
Then Nefertiti appeared beside Hitake.
Only he could see her.
She folded her arms and smiled.
“Ooh.”
Hitake didn't look at her.
“That doesn't sound reassuring.”
“Stupid. Brave. Completely reckless.”
She leaned closer.
“I like it.”
A golden notification appeared.
[FATED QUEST UPDATED]
SURVIVE YOUR FIRST COMMAND
New Objective: Stall Hive Queen for 300 seconds.
Timer: 05:00
Hitake stared at the timer.
“You've got to be kidding me.”
Nefertiti smiled.
“Good luck, darling.”
“Great.”
Hitake raised his sword.
“No pressure.”
The Queen charged.
The ground exploded beneath her weight.
“MOVE!”
Hitake vanished.
His Agility carried him sideways just as one of her legs crashed through the ground where he had been standing.
The impact sent stones flying.
Hitake rolled across the floor and came up behind her.
His Eyes of Truth followed every movement.
Analyze Weakness flared.
The red markings shifted across the Queen's body.
“Zena!”
“I'm ready.”
“Left rear leg!”
Zena disappeared.
She moved through the Queen's blind spot and slashed downward.
Her daggers cut through the exposed tendon.
Green fluid sprayed across the floor.
The Queen shrieked and stumbled.
“Now!”
John stepped forward.
The Queen reared.
John's eyes widened.
He remembered Hitake's command.
“Shield bash!”
He planted his feet and drove his shield forward with everything he had.
The Queen's descending leg smashed into it.
The impact nearly broke his arms.
Acid sprayed across the shield.
The metal hissed and began to melt.
John gritted his teeth.
“Still standing.”
Hitake darted forward.
One strike.
He cut into a joint.
He moved away before the Queen could retaliate.
Another strike.
Dodge.
Another.
The blade scraped across her armor.
He couldn't overpower her.
He didn't need to.
Every attack had one purpose.
Keep her focused.
Keep her moving.
Keep her away from the civilians.
[04:32]
The Queen swung all three legs on one side.
Hitake ducked beneath them.
A fourth leg swept across the ground.
He jumped.
His body twisted through the air.
The stinger came down.
His eyes caught the movement.
Too fast.
Hitake twisted violently.
The stinger missed his chest by inches and punched into the stone.
He landed and immediately drove his sword into the soft joint beneath the Queen's abdomen.
The Queen screamed.
Her entire body bucked.
Hitake was thrown backward.
He landed hard.
[03:47]
“Hitake!”
Zena's voice cut through the chamber.
He pushed himself up.
“I'm fine!”
“You're lying.”
“Probably.”
The Queen turned toward him.
All six eyes focused on Hitake.
He felt something cold settle in his stomach.
She had chosen him.
Good.
That meant the plan was working.
“Come on,” he muttered.
The Queen charged again.
Hitake ran.
Not away.
Around her.
Every step was calculated.
Every movement depended on his Eyes of Truth.
He could see the flow of mana before each attack.
He could see the muscles tightening before the Queen moved.
But seeing wasn't enough.
One mistake—
The Queen's claw caught him.
Hitake twisted, but not fast enough.
The edge tore across his side.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
He crashed against the ground and rolled several meters.
“Hitake!”
Zena started toward him.
“Don't!”
He forced himself upright.
Blood ran down his side.
His breathing had become shallow.
Hot.
Sharp.
Every breath hurt.
Zena stared at the blood.
Her expression changed.
“Hitake.”
“I'm fine.”
“You're not.”
“I said I'm—”
The Queen roared.
Hitake turned.
The creature reared.
Its stinger rose high above its body.
Then its aim shifted.
Toward the civilians.
The healers were dragging the last group through the evacuation passage.
They had no idea what was coming.
Hitake's eyes widened.
“No.”
The stinger launched.
He moved.
Not because he was stronger.
Not because he could stop it.
Because he was fast enough to try.
Hitake sprinted across the chamber.
His Agility pushed his body beyond its normal limits.
The stinger descended.
He jumped.
His sword flashed.
He drove the blade into the soft joint near its base.
The stinger veered sideways.
It missed the civilians by inches.
Then it slammed into the wall.
BOOM!
The impact threw Hitake backward.
He flew nearly ten meters before crashing into the floor.
His sword skidded away.
For several seconds, he couldn't hear anything.
Everything was blurred.
His vision struggled to focus.
His ribs screamed every time he breathed.
[01:02]
Hitake tried to stand.
His leg shook.
It nearly collapsed beneath him.
“Get up.”
Nefertiti's voice was different now.
Quiet.
Serious.
“Get up, Hitake.”
He clenched his teeth.
“I know.”
“You're not done.”
He reached for his sword.
His fingers closed around the handle.
The Queen turned.
Furious.
All six eyes locked onto him.
Hitake slowly stood.
His body was damaged.
His breathing was broken.
But his eyes remained clear.
Analyze Weakness activated.
Red lines appeared across the Queen.
Most were useless.
Some had disappeared.
Then—
One remained.
The chest core.
Hitake watched the pattern.
The core became exposed for approximately two seconds after a full-force charge.
He understood.
“That's it.”
The Queen lowered herself.
John saw what was happening.
“Hitake!”
The Queen charged.
John stepped forward.
“Not him!”
The collision sounded like thunder.
The Queen slammed into John's shield.
John was launched backward.
His boots carved lines through the stone.
His armor cracked.
His shield split down the center.
But he didn't fall.
He slowly pushed himself upright.
“Go.”
Hitake looked at him.
John gritted his teeth.
“Finish it.”
Hitake nodded.
Then he ran.
The Queen's body filled his vision.
Every instinct told him to dodge.
Instead, he ran straight toward her.
Ten meters.
Five.
Three.
The Queen's chest opened.
The core appeared.
Two seconds.
Hitake jumped.
His sword came down.
00:01
The blade struck the glowing core.
It didn't pierce it.
It couldn't.
The force of the impact nearly shattered Hitake's arms.
But the Queen flinched.
Her entire body recoiled.
00:00
The timer vanished.
A deafening roar filled the Hive.
Then the ceiling exploded.
“MOVE!”
A wave of lightning crashed down from above.
BOOM!
Three third-year students dropped through the opening alongside a heavily armed instructor.
Lightning spells illuminated the entire chamber.
The instructor raised one hand.
“EVERYONE FALL BACK!”
The third-years attacked.
Lightning spears tore through the Hive.
The Queen screamed and stumbled backward.
Another spell struck her armor.
Then another.
The Queen finally turned and retreated into the deeper tunnels.
Her massive body disappeared into the darkness.
Silence followed.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then someone shouted.
“THE CIVILIANS ARE OUT!”
A cheer erupted.
“We got them!”
“All twelve!”
“They're alive!”
Hitake's knees finally gave out.
He dropped to the ground.
Zena was beside him almost instantly.
“You idiot.”
Hitake blinked.
“You're welcome.”
“You absolute idiot.”
She grabbed his shoulder carefully.
“You're bleeding everywhere.”
“I noticed.”
“You could have died.”
“But I didn't.”
“That isn't the point!”
John limped toward them.
His shield was almost completely destroyed.
His armor was cracked across the chest.
He looked exhausted.
But he was smiling.
“We…”
He took a breath.
“We did it.”
Hitake looked at him.
John glanced toward the evacuation route.
“Everyone's alive.”
Hitake smiled.
“Yeah.”
John lowered his broken shield.
“Everyone's alive.”
Hitake looked upward.
Through the massive hole in the Hive's ceiling, he could see the night sky.
His body was wrecked.
His ribs felt like they had been crushed.
His side was covered in blood.
But the system prompt glowing before him was green.
[FATED QUEST COMPLETE]
SURVIVE YOUR FIRST COMMAND
Reward: 40 Attribute Points
Team Casualties: 0
Hitake stared at the words.
Then he smiled.
“First mission.”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“We survived.”
Zena looked at him.
John smiled.
And somewhere deep beneath the Rotting Hive, far beyond where the Queen had retreated, something else stirred.
The foreign energy wrapped around the Hive Queen's core pulsed once.
Then again.
A faint voice echoed through the darkness.
“Kael…”
The Queen stopped.
Her six eyes turned toward the deeper tunnels.
Something was coming.
And whatever it was—
The Hive Queen was afraid of it.