"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
A raging gust tore through the air. A cluster of fist-sized bees were caught in the spiraling wind, spinning helplessly inside the vortex. Their fragile wings shredded; their chitinous bodies were slashed apart by the pressure.
When they hit the ground, none could rise again.
"Open, Gate of Capricorn!"
A flash of silver light burst forth, and from it emerged a tall, composed man with the head of a goat, wearing a crisp tuxedo and dark sunglasses.
He adjusted his cuffs elegantly and immediately went to work, each punch precise, clean, and devastating. Every blow swatted down a bee as though swiping away a fly.
Lucy cracked her whip, sending one bee crashing into two others, and turned toward Rhodes with a proud grin.
"How about that, Mr. Rhodes? This is Capricorn! He was my mother's Celestial Spirit! Isn't he amazing?"
Rhodes nodded slightly, arms folded. "He's strong, no doubt."
He studied the Spirit's movements carefully. When they first met, Capricorn had been an opponent, back then, his aura had been entirely different.
Even now, the way he moved felt like someone trained for close-quarters combat rather than support.
"However," Rhodes added casually, "given our situation, you'd be better off summoning Sagittarius, Scorpio, or maybe Aries."
Capricorn paused mid-swing and glanced back, nodding respectfully.
"Miss Lucy," he said with his usual gentlemanly composure, "although I am confident in my ability to protect you, Mr. Rhode's assessment is sound. In our current environment, efficiency takes priority."
He turned toward Rhodes and inclined his head slightly.
"I daresay, Mr. Rhodes, you have the insight of a seasoned Celestial Spirit Mage yourself."
His tone was polite, but Lucy immediately caught the teasing undertone.
"Hey! Don't get the wrong idea—I was just introducing you two properly!"
Capricorn's next attack was a perfectly executed whip kick, sending one bee flying straight through two others. He pushed his sunglasses up with a graceful flick.
"I see… what a considerate reason," he said smoothly.
Rhodes deadpanned, "Right, right. Touching story. Now stop flirting and summon someone more efficient before Wendy passes out."
Lucy puffed her cheeks. "Fine!"
She dismissed Capricorn in a swirl of starlight and raised two more keys.
"Open, Gate of Sagittarius!"
"Open, Gate of Scorpio!"
Twin portals flashed open, and two new Celestial Spirits appeared in bursts of golden light.
Sagittarius drew his bow in one smooth motion, releasing a rapid stream of shining arrows, so fast it resembled a magical machine gun. Each arrow whistled through the air, piercing bees mid-flight with pinpoint accuracy, sometimes taking out two with a single shot.
Beside him, Scorpio twirled his scorpion tail with a grin. "Heh, leave the cleanup to me, babe!"
He swung his tail wide, releasing a roaring sandstorm that scoured the air clean. In an instant, dozens of bees were swept away in a single arc.
Rhodes stood beside Carla, observing calmly. He cast a series of aura enchantments to bolster Sagittarius and Scorpio's power output, then folded his arms again, letting his own creations take the field.
Even his Void Worms joined the fray, clambering over each other, forming jumping towers to intercept the lower-flying bees.
It wasn't pretty, but it worked.
The only downside: the casualty rate was abysmal, it took five or six Worms to bring down a single bee.
Carla clung tightly to Rhode's leg, refusing to spread her wings under the buzzing chaos above.
"This is the first time," she muttered, "I've ever thought you didn't have enough of those Worms."
Rhode's tone stayed flat. "Indeed. If this keeps up, we'll be here all day."
He looked up at the sky, black with bees, and couldn't help but feel a grudging respect.
"The two from Phantom Wing actually made it through this… impressive. Though I doubt they came this deep."
When they'd first entered the mountains, the bee population had been normal. Plenty of daylilies, sure, but when he'd scanned them earlier with crabs, they'd appeared as nothing more than ordinary flowers.
Now, however, deep within the mountain's heart, the truth was laid bare: the bees were everywhere.
Swarms upon swarms filled the sky and trees, each emerging from what once seemed harmless flora.
Even more troubling, Rhode's Void vision should have broken through stealth magic, couldn't pierce the bees' disguises at all.
Had they really mastered transformation magic that advanced?
It was the only logical conclusion.
He released a few Crabs and Wolves, ordering them to scout the mountain and locate the mastermind, or the hive.
The poor crabs were immediately besieged by stray bees. But their thick shells and enhanced speed kept them mostly unharmed.
The Wolves slinked away quietly, their dark bodies blending into the shadows. Even the bees didn't notice them slipping by.
As dusk crept over the mountains, neither the Crabs nor the Wolves had returned with any findings. The swarms above showed no sign of thinning.
Rhode's expression grew grim. This mission was turning into a headache.
'Five hundred thousand for this? Absolute loss.'
With an irritated sigh, he summoned the Hex Dragon Soul. Tilting his head back, he exhaled a wave of silver-blue lightning.
The torrent roared upward like a living storm, swallowing the sky. The current split into countless crackling chains that illuminated the valley in flashes of azure fire.
For a brief moment, it was as if a thunderstorm had split the heavens open, clearing the air between the twin peaks and letting sunlight stream through the fading clouds.
The pressure on Wendy and Lucy instantly dropped. Only a scattering of low-flying bees remained.
Before they could even catch their breath, Carla suddenly pointed to the horizon.
"They're coming again!"
Between the mountains, countless tiny black dots surged forward like smoke. The sound alone made Lucy's scalp tingle.
"How can there still be so many!" she gasped. If Rhodes weren't here, she'd have grabbed Wendy and run already.
But just as the next wave reached them, Every bee vanished.
Wendy's Sky Dragon's Roar struck empty air. Lucy's Star River cracked against a rock.
Scorpio's sandstorm tore the needles off a pine tree, and Sagittarius's seven arrows flew harmlessly into the mountaintop.
The Void Worms were baffled. Those mid-jump fell back down in confusion, while the ones that had bitten onto bees nearly broke their jaws on nothing. They hopped about restlessly until three Void grubs hissed to stop them.
Rhodes frowned. Even he couldn't make sense of this.
The two Celestial Spirits exchanged polite nods and returned to the Star Spirit Realm. Wendy and Lucy, drained of magic, collapsed back-to-back.
"Is… it over?" Wendy asked weakly.
Lucy groaned. "I'm so done with bees…"
"It shouldn't be that simple," Rhodes said quietly.
Through the Crabs' shared vision, he confirmed it, the bees were gone everywhere.
"Mr. Rhodes! Miss Wendy!"
A loud, hoarse voice came running up the slope. It was Seemes, breathless and carrying Rocker over his shoulder.
"Please, help him!"
The Void Worms parted instinctively, clearing a path. Seemes knelt, gently setting Rocker on the ground.
"He was bitten by a snake! Please save him!"
Wendy gasped at Rocker's pale face and darkened lips. She tried to stand, but Rhode's hand pressed gently on her head.
"Stay down."
He crouched beside Rocker, palm glowing. "Ocean Healing."
Waves of silver-blue light rippled out.
Rocker's breathing steadied, his color returning slightly. But Rhodes could feel it, the venom's curse still lingered deep inside. This was only temporary.
"He'll hold for a while," Rhodes said. "Wendy, recover your magic first."
"Okay…" Wendy looked back anxiously before sitting cross-legged to focus.
Rhodes turned to Seemes. "Tell me everything. Why did the bees disappear right when you arrived? Did you trigger something?"
Seemes quickly explained the entire encounter, the golden apple tree, the snakes, the transformation, and the battle with the Three-Headed Dog.
Lucy frowned in thought. "A tree turning into a snake… and then a snake turning into a dog?"
Rhodes crossed his arms. "Yeah… feels oddly familiar."