The first gulp of air didn't last him long. The sprint had put too much pressure on his poor lungs which weren't used to much exercise. As Mir was forced to jump out of the knee-deep water, he regretted cooping up inside his room during the entirety of his free time. He hadn't foreseen how taxing an adventure into these sacred grounds could be on a regular shut-in whose only ventures outside were to attend college.

The moment his head broke out of the surface, several low whistles tore through the air. Mir felt a burning sensation on the palm that was covering his face protector.

One of the icicles had finally pierced through the jacket!

A searing sensation spread through his palm even though the ice melted away immediately. Mir was certain that a good amount of the poison had seeped into the injury.

Without a second thought, he dived down once more, this time planning to swim away a bit further underwater. Due to the shallow depth, he didn't really have to swim. He used his hands and feet to push himself forward, delving deeper into the stream.

He began to feel a new wave of terror as he realized that this stream was deeper than he had anticipated. In the dark, he hadn't really managed to gauge much, but it hadn't appeared to be too wide. But even that thirty-something meter breadth seemed to be hiding a depth that could definitely store a surprise for inexperienced explorers like him.

He rapidly did his best to shift his momentum sideways underwater, hoping to stay close to the bank.

But all the physical exertion was taking its toll. He lost his breath once more and had to come up to get air.

This time, the icicles came half a second later, as he managed not to make too much sound.

By the time his head went back down, several of them tore through the surface of the water where his head had just been.

Feeling like he was getting into his groove, Mir began to crawl further from the approaching bees.

The third time, only two icicles came towards him, as he had changed his direction too rapidly. The fourth time, he managed to do it so silently that the bees didn't even notice his emergence and disappearance.

The fifth time, he found himself emerging near a thicket of weeds, perfect for a better cover.

In the meantime, Murray must have been done something impactful, because the bees began to grow more and more agitated with every second. It didn't take much longer for them to begin receding in number. From hundreds to mere dozens, and then only a handful that continued to roam the surface above his head, unwilling to leave. Maybe these few had been left here as long-term scouts. The bees had to have some experience in dealing with human explorers. Their hive was right at the periphery of the sacred ground where even the weakest human would strut around confidently.

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Mir felt the pain in his left hand beginning to increase. Deciding it wouldn't be safe to delay treatment, he ignored the threat the remaining bees could pose and crawled back towards the bank from the waist-deep water.

However, the moment he left the thicket, something began to pull his legs back gently beneath the water.

Mir felt his heartbeat spike up so hard that he could feel every pump on his ribs, behind his skin. It had to be some stray weeds!

His head broke out above the surface in panic as he struggled to free himself from whatever it was that had attached itself to his legs.

Thankfully, he could reach the bottom of the water easily here, and a panicked search let him discover some rocks nearby. Taking one in each hand, he chose to turn back to hack at the weeds. But a sharp, picking sensation jolted his head as two more icicles hit him with the accuracy of a veteran marksman.

The bees had noticed him already! Fuck!

Mir dunked his head below and tried to feel which part of his feet the weeds had wrapped themselves around....except, when his gloved hands touched the 'weed', it felt rather meaty and rubbery.

There were several such rubbery appendages wrapped around both of his feet, and he felt more such appendages coming into contact with the hand he was using to feel them up.

Octopus? Impossible! There was no freshwater- Oh!

He had almost forgotten what kind of area he was in. Mutations could definitely allow a saltwater creature to thrive in freshwater. Mir wasn't delighted to make the discovery. In his terror-induced mania, he felt like he was entering a haze. He removed his other hand from covering his face protector, allowing water to seep into the jacket through the tiny holes. His hands worked to their best ability to hack away at the meaty tentacles tightening around his feet.

The disturbance he was creating in the riverbank seemed to attract more bees nearby. The humming and buzzing over his head grew in volume.

As the water began to drench his throat, neck, and chest through the holes, Mir entered a state of absolute frenzy. He could feel countless pricks crashing onto his back. But the disturbance he was creating in the water made it hard for them to target his back properly. Most of the pricks were being weakened by displaced, disturbed water leaping up in waves, forming a dancing barrier above his back.

The frenzied attack seemed to alarm the octopus. It pulled back its tentacles, letting Mir crawl free. But the bee problem had worsened. Barrages of icicles, even liquid sprays of poison were being hurled at his body from every angle.

Mir's mind rapidly worked to create a makeshift solution. The uncomfortable dampness in his body due to the intake of water suddenly gave him an idea.

Mir unzipped his jacket slightly and laid his body down into the water once more, this time making sure that he wasn't near any weeds.

Water began to slosh inside at an incredible speed, filling up his jacket rapidly.

Within half a minute, Mir's airtight jacket doubled in size, water bubbling around all four of his limbs, as well as the torso.

Dunking his head further in to take in one last surge of water inside the jacket, Mir zipped it up, sealing the water inside around his body.

And then, the angry bees saw a much bigger target rising up from the water fearlessly. After a moment of confusion, they still attacked it indiscriminately. But the rubbery material of the jacket was now enforced with the soft cushioning of the water in many areas, be it his feet, hand, or back. The icicles bounced off after hitting their target accurately.

And this time, the bees felt a new crisis.

Their stings could no longer produce Purplevein poison. Most of them had run out of their small reserves.

Ordinary stings couldn't easily penetrate the thick jacket. Even their fast, powerful icicles rarely managed to pierce the material.

While some bees chased their slow, staggering target through the woods, a large number of them returned back to the hive to replenish their poison supply...only to find it in ruins.

A low, but impactful hum spread across the army of bees in the woods, alarming their entire population.

The Queen is dead! The queen is dead!