“Are you going to open another portal?” Stella asked, looking at Tafel with a sheepish expression.
“According to Kim Hajun, I shouldn’t have to,” Tafel said with a furrowed brow. One whiff of insect gold was all the insect-type Oebu Sin needed to send out a swarm. Although Kim Hajun had verified her method of luring the bugs would work, she wasn’t too informed on the details.
“Well, when are they coming?” Stella asked, tilted her head. “What if they’re unaware of the insect gold because the breath attacks wiped out the bugs that noticed it?”
“Then that’d be your fault, wouldn’t it?” Tafel asked, looking down at the fairy queen.
“That’s why I’m trying to fix it by getting you to open another portal,” Stella said, nodding her head and beaming up at the demon. When she saw Tafel’s unmoved face, the fairy queen lowered her head and sighed. “I wish I got Erin’s innate ability instead.”
Tafel’s expression darkened. It was a good thing Stella didn’t gain the power to command people to do things against their will. At least, with the fairy queen’s current innate ability, she could only hurt people’s ears—which was still pretty bad.
“Great! I knew you’d listen,” Stella said, turning her head away from Tafel. The demon blinked and followed the fairy queen’s gaze. There was a portal forming in air above the clouds, slowly elongating as if someone were ripping apart the sky with a single finger.
Tafel gulped. “That wasn’t me.”
“Huh?” Stella asked, tilting her head to look up at the demon. “What was that?”
“That’s not my portal!” Tafel shouted as she stretched out her arm and retrieved a black staff from her cache. Her imprint appeared on her forehead as her purple eyes shone. “Everyone, get ready!”
“Wait!” Vur said and stood on his hindlegs. A third pair of legs sprouted out of his body by his shoulders, and he leaned back while flinging his upper legs outwards as if he were about to embrace a meteor. Cloudy wisps surged out of the tips of his claws, the dense substance flying towards the portal opening in the sky. As the portal grew, so did the cloud of sticky strings in front of it.
“Hey,” Volearden said. “That’s that bug’s technique—the long-looking one’s.”
“You mean Geomi?” Fern asked.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Should be,” Volearden said and shrugged. “How many other bugs have names?”
Swarming sounds filled the air as the portal in the air widened, the sky wrenched open, revealing a dense horde of insects, their background unable to be discerned due to the sheer number of them waiting to pour in. The instant they could, the insect-type Oebu Sin flew through—straight into the web Vur had weaved. Before anyone could react, a massive white dog the size of a dragon leapt through the air and chomped down on one of the trapped insects. Flames burned within its mouth, smoke leaving through its nostrils and ears, as it landed on the ground with a thump. When the insect was determined—by the dog—to be perfectly cooked, the flames dispersed, and Sir Selddup crunched down. A moment later, the dog’s eyes widened. “It’s a top-class ingredient!”
The dragons and phoenixes shifted their gazes onto the portal. Vur’s web of sticky threads grew denser and denser with every passing moment, but a few insects still passed through. They were covered in sticky strands, unable to flap their wings as they plummeted to the ground where they were mercilessly pecked apart by the phoenixes curious to see if the ugly bugs were actually precious ingredients. The birds’ eyes lit up. “They’re better than lobster!”
“Their shells are delicious!” another phoenix said as it gulped down a chunk of shell and flesh.
“Harvest them!” Malvina shouted. “Make sure they’re in good condition!” She waved at the dragons. “I’m talking to you big lugs too! Be mindful of squishing them.”
Vur nodded. As the new leader of the dragons and phoenixes, it was his job to keep his people’s spirits up, and what better way to do that than by giving them a reward? “Whoever brings back the most meat will get a promotion.”
Tafel turned her head towards Vur, staring at him hard, but he didn’t look back.
“Go!” Volearden said. “The web can only hold on for so long!” The armored dragon paused as the dragons and phoenixes went ahead, jumping and leaping into the sky. Actually, with Vur’s strength, it was possible for the insects to never find a way around the web. The armored dragon shook its head before jumping into the air as well.
Tafel pursed her lips. If she used her flames to attack the Oebu Sin stuck in the webs, then the threads would burn, setting the bugs free. Unlike the phoenixes, she couldn’t go up there and pluck the insects out of the web like berries off a bush. The demon’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the web, and after a moment, her eyes lit up. “I’m going to fight a few bugs too,” she said to Vur as she switched out the black staff for Chi’Rururp, her trusty, eyeballed sword. She opened a portal in the air beside her and stepped through, reappearing by the web. A pair of mandibles was slicing through the sticky threads, and soft munching sounds reverberated out from within the threads.
Tafel took in a deep breath and stabbed her sword in the direction of the sound, her expression unchanging as she pierced through something hard and squishy. The munching sounds stopped, and the mandibles stopped slicing the threads.
Stella watched the demon from Vur’s snout before patting the dragon’s scale. “Is this the only thing you’re going to do?” the fairy queen asked. “Slow them with a web?”
Vur shook his head. “I’m waiting to see the bugs use their skills,” he said while continuously emitting threads, replacing the ones that were destroyed or detached from the mass. “I hope they can teach me something.”