The problem with insects was that they never came alone.
Axel crouched behind the thick log, golden eyes scanning the restless swarm ahead. Dragonflies the size of daggers buzzed in tight formation, twitchy and jittering, jaws gnashing with insectile hunger. If he charged in recklessly, he'd be torn to shreds in seconds.
He wasn't that stupid.
"Appear," he whispered.
Shadow materialized in his palm: sleek, black, and eager.
Axel didn't swing it.
Instead, he pressed his fingers to the grip, feeding mana into the sword's core. Immediately, the weapon slipped through his fingers and into the earth, vanishing like smoke into the grass.
Connection made.
His breath slowed as he closed his eyes, syncing with the blade. In that moment, his mind left his body. He could see, not with his eyes, but with Shadow's vision. A strange, muted perception that picked up every motion, every tremble of wind across wings.
Mana drained slowly, steadily, from his body as the sword slithered unseen through the undergrowth.
Then–
Strike.
Shadow lunged up from the soil like a spear of darkness, slicing straight into the swarm.
Wings tore. Limbs dropped. Bug juice sprayed across glowing grass.
Axel didn't stop. He guided the sword like an extension of his own limbs, lashing through the cloud of dragonflies with clean, efficient arcs. Shadow danced among them, untouchable, and their sharp little mandibles couldn't even scratch its darkened edge.
One. Two. Ten. Gone.
He cleared a path with precision and cruelty. Only when the gap was wide enough did he open his eyes again.
"Appear."
Shadow reformed instantly, swirling like a storm of black mist before solidifying back into his waiting grip.
Axel exhaled, sharp and controlled. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, but his hand didn't tremble.
"Let's find the boss," he murmured, wiping his brow.
And then, blade in hand, he pushed deeper into the glowing forest.
The scenery began to change. No longer wide patches of clearing with dispersed hives. Now the terrain narrowed. Roots overlapped, forming uneven ridges, and the air grew heavy with the scent of rot and honey.
That's when he saw it.
A twisted tree, twice as tall as the others, sat at the heart of a clearing. Its bark was black and oozing sap, and from its branches hung thick honeycomb slabs, each pulsating like breathing organs.
And nestled at the center of the largest hive…
The boss.
It clung to the tree's trunk with four legs, its body plated with golden chitin. Wings like broken glass twitched behind it, too damaged to fly. But its stinger…
Was longer than Axel's sword.
"Great," he muttered. "Oversized murder hornet."
The Hive Tyrant turned its head.
It saw him.
Axel didn't wait for a grand entrance. He pressed two fingers to Shadow's hilt.
"Vanish."
The sword dispersed, melting into the shadows beneath his feet. The forest floor darkened with his mana's imprint.
He sent Shadow out underground.
The Hive Tyrant screamed, an awful, clicking shriek that echoed off the trees, and from behind it, smaller creatures stirred. Not bees or dragonflies this time.
Larvae. Thick, squirming, half-evolved bugs, each the size of a dog, rolled out of broken combs and began slithering toward him.
"Gross," Axel muttered.
A blip of sensation hit the edge of his mind; Shadow was in position.
He focused.
From underground, the blade shot up directly beneath the Hive Tyrant's abdomen.
Squelch!
The sword embedded deep, cutting up through soft tissue and punching through carapace. Golden fluid sprayed from the wound.
The beast shrieked again. This time, in agony.
Axel summoned Shadow back to his hand in a blink.
Appear
The blade reformed, drenched in golden blood. It felt heavier, as if it remembered what it had done.
Axel rushed forward.
The larvae lunged, trying to bar his path, but they were sluggish. Newborn and unrefined. His blade cut them down with practiced rhythm: one swing to cleave, another to dismember.
Slash. Pivot. Parry a lunging mandible. Dash again.
His breath was sharp, controlled. His footwork light but grounded.
He reached the base of the twisted tree. The Hive Tyrant was writhing in place, wings fluttering, stinger twitching erratically. But it was wounded now, its movements slower, less precise.
Perfect.
Axel reinforced his arm. White light surged from his wrist to his elbow.
He leapt up, one jump, two steps off the bark, and slashed across its face.
The blade bit deep, catching the Tyrant's eye. It screamed, stumbling backward, nearly detaching from the tree.
Axel landed, his knees buckling slightly, but he didn't hesitate.
He spun the sword in reverse grip and drove it up under the chin of the insect, the point bursting through the top of its head.
CRACK.
The forest went quiet.
The Hive Tyrant twitched once.
Then collapsed, the tree groaning beneath its weight.
Axel let out a long breath. Sweat poured down his face, his mana dangerously low now. His fingers trembled, but his grip never faltered.
"Boss clear," he whispered to no one.
The dungeon shook greatly, as if acknowledging the completion of its challenge. The portal back home shimmered into existence just behind the twisted tree.
Axel gave Shadow a small nod.
"Good work, partner."
The sword pulsed once in reply.
Then vanished into smoke.
But Axel didn't leave immediately.
He looked up at the blackened tree, the twisted trunk still weeping thick, amber-colored sap. He stepped forward and dipped two fingers into the gooey substance. It clung to his skin like glue.
Then he brought it to his mouth and sucked it clean.
His face scrunched up instantly.
"Blegh, bitter as hell."
Not at all sweet like honey, despite the appearance. It tasted more like spoiled tree bark dipped in iron and regret. But even as he gagged, he could feel his body responding to it. His mana replenished, his senses sharpening just slightly. It was disgusting, but potent.
Very nutritious but also very barf-worthy.
Next, he checked the honeycomb itself. Several pieces lay cracked open from the Hive Tyrant's collapse. Axel crouched and gave one a cautious sniff.
Rotten.
Thick black mold had started to form in the center, and the wax was dark and collapsed inward like spoiled meat. Absolutely inedible.
He stood up, brushing off his hands.
"Gross."
With that, he walked toward the shimmering portal, leaving the dead forest of glowing trees and insect corpses behind.