The men obeyed Killian’s command immediately.

They started moving away from the partition, heading towards the same direction they came from. It was their only way. If they stay still, one of the volley-sized acid balls could melt them to the ground.

Kai needed something to distract the queen and buy them time to prepare a counter-offensive. But the more they ran backwards, the more he knew the queen would ramp up its attacks.

They soon returned to the room where they had fought off the larvae.

EEEECRH!

The queen was right behind them. Its head almost touched the ceiling of the cavern. Despite its size, compared to the other larvae, it was faster.

Kai turned around on his feet and threw a [Wind Spear] attempting to distract it. While the men behind him fastened to put a decent distance, Kai’s feet slowed down as he saw the spear cutting through a corner of its body.

The monstrous queen sent another ear-piercing roar and the next second, the spot where his spell had made a dent closed as quickly as it appeared.

The next second, acid flew towards them.

A sickening thud echoed as one of the projectiles she sent slammed into a guard’s shield. Its acidic spray ate through the metal with a hiss.

“Ahh!” The guard’s scream halted everyone there momentarily as he threw the shield aside and backed up.

The acid found its way to his flesh and melted through his armour. He crumpled to the ground, a smoking husk.

Kai’s eyebrows furrowed.

He looked around for anything that could help him in the chaos. Something to help him halt the queen, but there was nothing.

Much to his terror, the queen spat another acidic volley.

To match it, Kai burned up his mana and formed a quick structure for a [Firebolt], but this time, he changed it and made the bolt much larger.

He aimed right at the acidic ball.

The clash of both acid and fire exploded with a loud noise. Its remnants flew in the air and turned to thick vapour.

The guards scrambled behind, and Kai’s movements faltered. There was no running anymore and the only way was to deal with the queen.

He scanned it briefly before the queen's numerous eyes fell on him, sending shivers down his spine that he quickly ignored.

The monster grunted as if appraising Kai before a low growl burst forth, vibrating through their very bones.

With another growl, a sudden surge of power, and a wave of vibrant, dangerous, pulsating mana erupted from the queen.

That…

Kai’s thoughts halted when he saw larvae crawling on the ceiling.

He also saw the ones they had fought before the partition appearing from behind the queen. They didn't have time to check whether they were dead due to the queen's sudden appearance and as he stared at them, he saw their wounds knitting themselves shut.

The scars they previously received from Kai’s flames and Actra’s vines were no longer there.

Their movements seemed visibly faster as they launched the attack, far more aggressive than the last time.

Kai threw [Wind Gust] keeping away the larvae.

His grim frown deepened as more and more of them appeared. Anger flared in his gut, but he forced it down. The queen’s face twitched in some unknown emotion.

He took a breath. Now wasn’t the time for rage. He needed to keep his emotions in check.

He slammed his spear against the ground, a silent command to everyone in the back. The mercenaries, Enforcers, guards and even Actra understood what it meant.

They formed a protective ring and took their formations, prepared to handle what was going to come next.

Kai unleashed a torrent of fire, a swirling inferno that carved a path through the horde of larvae.

It was a desperate attempt to create a barrier between them and the enraged queen. "Brace yourselves!" he roared, his voice cutting through the din of battle. "The real battle starts now!"

Despite the battles they had, the guards' numbers were surprisingly intact. The potions and coordinated attacks had taken their toll on the larvae. They might be battered, but they were far from being broken.

Kai flickered his wrist and threw a [Inferno] burning more larvae down. They fell on the floor, but before the queen could heal them, a few guards moved to the front, their weapons aiming at the annoying creatures screeching on the floor.

Before they could cease them, the larvae got up, yanking themselves forward, in a moment of inexplicable strength. They crawled, spitting acid right at guards.

The men jumped back, unwilling to burn themselves.

“The larvae are being powered by the queen. Keep on your guard!” Kai shouted, flickering his wrist and jumping back to avoid a group of larvae that rushed at him. He cast another [Inferno] attempting to throw the larvae away.

“Killian! Take care of them!” Kai ordered. “Enforcers, follow Killian!” he said as his eyes made contact with Bran, Bord, Nelson and Gareth.

They all swung forward in a blur, going after the groups of larvae stacked together.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Ansel launching at the larvae. He leapt up to the side as a larva charged, but before it could touch him, his spear hit its sides.

The larvae let out a loud screech in pain, but another strike pierced its head. Even as its wounds began to knit together, Ansel kept stabbing, ending its life and moving to his next target.

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Kai smiled at him before looking at the queen. It was time to move back to their main plan.

Looking back, he saw vines binding larvae in one place as guards stabbed their bodies. Actra stood at the back and their eyes matched as Kai gestured.

He immediately understood and frowned before moving towards him.

Both of them stared at the queen.

The queen’s eyes were on the larvae, attacking with spitballs that the men dodged. As more and more of its children died, it seemed to flare up, letting out loud growls.

“Wait for my command, and then attack,” Kai whispered, noticing the queen’s aura emanating, healing the larvae.

He prepared spells on his palm, his breath quickening and his posture steadying. A few seconds passed by and he waited, then suddenly the queen’s eyes fell on him.

“Now!”

Kai and Actra launched a combined assault. He unleashed a series of [Firebolts], aiming for the queen’s black, inky, glowing eyes, hoping to blind it or disrupt its focus.

Right behind him, Actra weaved a series of structures in the air.

Thick, emerald vines erupted from the cavern floor, coiling and twisting towards the monstrous queen. They lashed out like living serpents, aiming to bind the creature's body— doing their best to halt its movements!

But the queen was simply too powerful. Its body was strong as it snapped the vines with a sickening crack, emerald ichor spraying across the damp stone like bioluminescent rain.

Fury, raw and primal, contorted the queen's face.

Its acidic attacks, dripping with a caustic liquid that sizzled ominously, snapped at them with terrifying speed.

Kai, caught off guard by the sudden surge of aggression, barely managed to deflect one with a hastily conjured wall of fire.

The heat singed his arm, sending a jolt of pain that ripped through him. He gritted his teeth, the metallic tang of blood filling his mouth.

His mana came rushing in as anger boiled through every cell. I can heal myself later, he told himself.

He tightened his arm around his spear and launched at the queen. A fire spell first, then an attack from the spear. He thrust, swept and slashed it at different angles. His fire found its way to different parts of its humongous body.

But the queen's skin was thick. His attacks left only shallow scratches.

Even his flames which could potentially burn most larvae to crisp weren't potent enough against her.

Kai threw a [Inferno] at the queen's head, aiming to put a safe distance and launched its spear forward, running behind the queen, attacking somewhere around the belly.

Its oily hide acted as a barrier. His spear mark was gone before it inflicted any lasting damage.

Kai’s breath wavered as disbelief flooded him.

He had heard of the queen's strength and read about it, but its regenerative abilities were beyond his plans.

This was something he hadn’t expected, a creature far more powerful. But there was no time for dwelling on the unexpected.

I need to think. I need time to prepare!

With a mental shrug, he barked a command at Actra, his voice hoarse from the exertion."Hold it off! I need to focus!"

Actra, his face grim with exertion, nodded and wrestled with the queen.

His elemental magic seemed paltry against the queen's raw power. He strained, his hands glowing with a desperate intensity as he conjured more and more vines, each one a desperate attempt to slow the queen's relentless rampage.

As the queen battled with the vines, Kai kept looking for a weakness.

Countless spells came to his mind. He was still in the 2nd circle, but he knew 3rd circle spells that could damage the queen. It's just the mana cost was too much and they were underground, so it might just end up using all the oxygen in here, killing everyone.

Still, there was no time to think.

Every second mattered and after going through the spells he knew, one came to his mind.

He took his time to weave the spell patterns for it, careful to not make a mistake. One pattern appeared in his palms, then the second one, and by the third, Kai felt a pressure on his shoulders that almost made him stagger.

It was called [Dragon's Breath].

Obviously, it wasn't a real one since it was impossible to replicate it, but it was one which closely resembled it and if he was right, he would be enough to burn the queen.

“Anglo Granda Zakai!” He slowly muttered the incantation, mana rushing out of him as the structure lit up.

For a moment, Kai felt like the spell was pulling energy straight from his soul as a massive dark flame burst forth, obliterating everything in its path.

With Actra’s vines barely managing to hold the queen, the dark flames hit right on its cartwheel-sized eye and caused the queen to stagger. It hit the wall, shaking the whole cave down.

The impact of the flames caused the queen to scream in agony as over half of its face peeled away. But it wasn't dead yet.

While trying to keep himself intact, Kai sent another [Inferno] at it, pushing a generous amount of mana on the spell, slightly increasing its effect and hoping to end the battle.

The flaming inferno hit right where the dark flames had before engulfing other parts of its bodies. Another scream burst from the queen.

The men who were fighting the larvae paused for a moment, clearly wondering if it was over.

But then, amidst those cries, it roared and balanced itself once again. Kai's face paled as he took a step back.

Actra had managed to tie vines around the queen, but fueled with the lethal rage, it ripped free from the restraints.

With a burst of speed that seemed impossible for its massive form, it rampaged around the chamber, its glowing eyes burning with a manic intensity. The damage Kai had done seemed to not affect it.

Panic surged through the ranks of the battered group.

Guards scrambled for cover, some falling victim to the queen's flailing limbs or the acidic spray that dripped from its mandibles. Their shields barely covered their entire bodies as the queen was all over the place.

Even the larvae, caught in the crossfire of the queen's mad frenzy, were not spared. Their segmented bodies were ripped apart, their acidic ichor adding to the scene in front of them.

"Berserk state!" Actra roared. "It'll destroy anything in its path! We need to get out of here!"

Kai’s jaw clenched as he shook his head. "No! We can't just escape! It would simply—"

His words were cut short by a deafening crash that shook the very foundations of the cavern.

The queen, in its crazed rampage, had slammed into the cavern wall with a force that sent tremors through the chamber.

Chunks of rock rained down, narrowly missing some of the already injured guards.

Kai cursed, his mind racing for a solution.

Think, Kai. Think fast.

He fumbled through his repertoire of spells, searching for anything that could exploit this unexpected turn of events. But his mind was a blank slate and his mana reserves weren't enough to do another [Dragon's Breath]. Frustration crawled at him as the monstrous queen continued its rampage.

Everything slowed for him as his thoughts rose high.

Then, as his gaze swept across the cavern in a desperate search, it landed on the pulsating mana stones embedded in the ceiling. A spark of inspiration ignited in his eyes.

"Actra!" he roared, his voice hoarse from the exertion. "Protect the guards!"

Actra, following Kai's gaze, understood his plan instantly. "That’s crazy!" he barked.

“Protect the men!” Kai said again, completely ignoring Actra’s hesitation. His focus was laser sharp on the Atheum.

With a surge of mana, he unleashed a torrent of fire bolts, not directed at the queen, but at the Atheum high above.

The cavern echoed with a deafening explosion as the mana stones shattered, showering the chamber in a blinding white light.

The shockwave from the blast rippled through the air, shaking the very foundations of the nest.