Chapter 101 – The Mysterious Palace
A piercing screech tore through the forest.
It was the Hive Queen's call—a signal that traveled for miles. Other monsters would instinctively scatter at the sound.
It's over… Daphne felt her heart sink.
They were deep in the Plague Zone now, where the number of monsters far outstripped the outskirts.
With swarming venomous bees and their swamp-leaf antidotes running low, she knew this could very well be her grave.
Moments later, the forest came alive with chittering.
Slender silhouettes emerged from the mist.
Bzzzzz…
A dense swarm of toxic bees clouded the canopy, draping the forest in a sickly green veil.
Ralph swallowed hard. Even though he knew this was part of the plan, every hunter's soul carried the instinctive dread of monsters—especially Hive Queens.
He rushed back to Sadie's side, dagger drawn and trembling in his grip.
Sadie herself paled. She had never seen so many Hive Queens gathered in one place. Facing a single one usually required great effort. Facing this many… could they really survive?
She turned, worry in her eyes, toward Gideon.
The priest, however, was calmly estimating the distance between the monsters and his wards.
Around Daphne and the first Hive Queen, he had laid out six concentric barriers.
The innermost was a demon-binding circle.
The five others were anchored with holy relics of varying ages—some as weak as one year, others as potent as twenty.
Gideon himself stood within the circle marked by the ten-year relics.
If anything went wrong, he could retreat instantly.
And now, the Hive Queens had stepped right into the "kill zone."
Daphne's face turned ashen. She even considered turning her pistol on herself—better a swift death than being driven insane by the Queens' poison.
Regret gnawed at her. If she hadn't begged for this priest's help, maybe she would've had a chance.
Clap. Clap.
She spun around.
The priest was applauding—applauding—drawing the monsters' attention.
"Ladies of the Hive, noble bees," Gideon said, after a brief pause to decide on the proper honorifics.
"In these crowded forests, we understand your attempt at symbiotic living—to save on housing costs, so to speak.
"But the venom you produce pollutes your environment, spreading suffering.
"The Lord watches from above. Abandon the evil in your hearts, and you will find release."
The clearing fell silent.
The Hive Queens stood motionless, as if truly listening.
Daphne's eyes went wide. She slapped herself twice, convinced she was hallucinating.
Is this priest… redeeming monsters?
She knew the Church practiced "consolation rites" to guide lost believers back to the path of virtue. But monsters? That was madness.
Has this priest lost his mind?
Her doubts spiraled, but when she looked back at the two Aled hunters, they showed no alarm.
Have they gone insane too? Or is it me? Am I already possessed?
For the first time, real fear twisted inside her chest.
She wondered if she had already been parasitized, and all this was a cruel illusion.
Before her thoughts could sink deeper, the forest shifted again.
The Hive Queens raised their hands in unison, clutching at the hives embedded in their ribs.
From within those grotesque cavities seeped black miasma, reeking of rot and corruption.
At Gideon's words, however, holy light kindled in their palms.
The moment they touched the miasma, it began to dissipate.
---
Meanwhile, at the heart of the Plague Zone…
A buried palace stirred. Its walls were carved with ancient sigils, its floors marked with strange glyphs.
A massive stone pillar stood beside the throne, wrapped in a heavy chain—the other end snapped long ago.
On the throne sat a figure draped in black robes, its face hidden.
But when it lifted its head, pale bone gleamed beneath the hood.
It opened its jaws, uttering words in a tongue older than memory:
"Tenebrae iterum expulsae sunt."
(The darkness has once again been driven out.)
The skeletal hand rose, summoning vile energy. Shadows gathered before the throne, forming a circle.
Within it, an image appeared—forest, mist, slender silhouettes.
"Interitus."
(Slaughter.)
The shades in the image froze, then all marched in one direction.
But then—
A burst of pure holy radiance flared, consuming the vision entirely.
Ssszzzt.
The skeletal figure hissed as its hand blistered in the light. The connection was severed.
Boom!
It slammed the throne, frustration rattling the palace.
Darkness welled up from behind the throne, cloaking its wounded arm.
Again it spoke:
"Longinquus."
(Withdraw.)
The palace sank back into silence.
---
Back in the forest.
Gideon narrowed his eyes, chanting exorcisms to stabilize the wards.
From his perspective, the Hive Queens had just undergone a strange shift—black corruption had bloomed through their bodies, momentarily blocking his Exhortation of Atonement.
He had acted swiftly, completing a full banishment rite.
Now, the Queens stood calm once more.
Some were even purifying themselves, tearing the hives from their own bodies.
Daphne rubbed her eyes hard.
I'm not dreaming, am I?
She had been sure they'd die here. Yet the priest had done something—and now, the most dreaded monsters of Saint Freyan had halted their assault.
But what happened next stunned even Sadie and Ralph.
The Queens turned, as though following some command, and began retreating in unison.
Then—
Thud!
They slammed into an invisible barrier.
Zzzzt!
The sound of burning flesh filled the clearing.
The Queens thrashed madly, heedless of the pain, throwing themselves against the unseen wall.
"Hey! Don't go yet!" Gideon's voice rang out, almost annoyed.
He'd only redeemed a portion of them. The rest hadn't been cleansed.
And those were valuable points toward his skill proficiency!
Gideon hurriedly dissolved the demon-binding array, afraid the swarm of monsters would all be purified before he could finish working on them.
But things did not go as he wished.
Once the Hive Queens broke through the first barrier, they kept fleeing outward.
Some even threw themselves into the wards on purpose, sacrificing their bodies so their companions could escape.
And it worked.
The monsters pushed their way through, reaching the zone anchored by the five-year relics.
All the while, Gideon called after them, desperately trying to "persuade" them.
"Stay a little longer! I inherited the Lord's mercy—I mean you no harm!"
"Look at your sisters, they're doing just fine!"
He pointed at the Hive Queens still trapped within the circle. Those ones were calmly using their ribbed hives to siphon the surrounding plague-mist, showing no hostility at all.
But the escapees never once looked back.
"Hey! You!" Gideon shouted, pointing at a Hive Queen that had hurled itself against the three-year barrier. "Sacrificing yourself for your kin—that's noble! I admire that spirit!"
Yet before the words even faded, the creature clawed its way to the barrier again, forcing itself through. Its body disintegrated into ash in an instant.
Gideon froze, hand still raised mid-gesture.
The forest became the stage for a bizarre scene. Hive Queens willingly perishing, others scattering into the night—while a lone priest tried to recruit them with earnest speeches.
Finally, with no other choice—and mindful that he still needed live monsters to grind his skill proficiency—he dispelled the rest of the wards.
The moment the twenty-year relic's light winked out, the Hive Queens stopped hesitating.
In a rush of wings and poison-mist, they vanished into the forest at full speed.
Silence fell.
The once-crowded clearing was suddenly empty, leaving only a handful of stunned humans staring at each other in disbelief.