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Still, he was able to make up most of it, slowly going through a few entries.

The loneliness must be hard on her, confined to this chamber. I try to visit as often as possible, speaking to her in soothing tones, even though I doubt she truly understands. But perhaps, in her own primal way, she feels the care I put into her growth.

The entries, scrawled in a hurried hand, chronicled the observations of what he assumed to be a researcher— someone who referred to the monstrous queen with a disturbing tenderness.

He flipped the book around again and tried to see if there was any more information. The dust had clung to it and there were no handprints imprinted on it, meaning it wasn’t used in a very long time.

He opened it again, skimming through different passages.

Well, well, it seems like whoever this guy was really into Sonia.

One passage gushed about the "adorable little darling" and how her "iridescent body already gleamed so beautifully, even at this small size." Another spoke of the researcher’s hope that the queen, whom he endearingly called "Sonia," would grow up "big and strong, the prettiest queen this nest has ever seen!"

Kai winced. Pretty? Strong, sure, but pretty? The image of the monstrous queen he had just faced, its glistening maw dripping with caustic acid, flashed in his mind. He fought back a shudder.

The researcher then detailed his experiment.

The abundance of Atheum in this chamber was supposed to accelerate Sonia’s growth. "With all this magical energy," the entry read, "she should be a real terror in no time! Can’t wait to see how big you’ve gotten, my little queen. I know you must be lonely down there, but I’ll be back soon to visit!"

Kai snorted. Lonely? The researcher clearly hadn’t considered the other creatures dwelling in the nest – the very ones Sonia, in her ravenous hunger, would likely devour. The absurdity of it all, the bizarre affection for a monstrous creature, left Kai with a hollow feeling in his gut.

He clutched the book tighter, his initial urge to destroy the eggs momentarily forgotten.

This wasn’t just about wiping out a potential threat now; it was about unravelling why the man had put the queen here and if the book wasn’t touched for years, does that mean he was dead? Or had forgotten about the nest he created?

Kai tucked the book into his satchel, questions buzzing in his head.

He had a feeling this researcher, and whatever secrets this book held would be very interesting to go through. Going by how the man had planted the queen here, he was probably a Mage.

The book was more of a journal and he had only read a few like these before. Most of them he had found in ancient ruins.

He patted his bag again before moving carefully around the chamber.

Countless eggs aside, it was mostly empty. He searched for any secret opening, thinking maybe there could be more to this, but no.

Every corner was an unarguable ending. No dents, no hidden passages. Just the larvae eggs. He even thought maybe he could find something more about this absurd researcher— but there was nothing other than the journal.

Before leaving this hellhole, he had to finish his task.

His eyes went to the eggs that glistened, seemingly like they were staring at Kai, waiting to burst out of the shell and suck the little life out of him.

I need to burn these little bastards to the ground.

He raised his hand in the air. Only a small amount of mana was left in his very being, but he knew it would be enough for the eggs. They weren’t known to be sturdy after all.

Kai unleashed a first circle [Burning Hands], bathing the chamber in cleansing fire.

The pulsating Atheum and the glistening eggs writhed as a large burning hand grasped them, their chitinous shells cracking and sizzling like bacon in a frying pan.

The stench of burning carapace filled the air.

You wouldn’t like what happened to your darling Sonia’s eggs. Kai scoffed at the absurd usage of names.

I hope I find something more than a disturbing lack of common sense in this journal by whoever the Mage researcher is.

He gave a final sigh at the burning eggs and quickly carried himself out from the same way he walked in.

***

Exhaustion hung heavy in the air as Kai emerged from the tunnels, his steps slow and measured.

An acrid tang of burnt chitin clung to his clothes and the memories of the battle clouded his mind for a brief second.

He had almost given up on defeating the queen for a while, but thankfully, he had managed. Way better than the last time with the necromancer at least.

He looked at the settlement that bustled with activity: guards who were less wounded, their faces drawn with fatigue, tended to the wounded, the green-tinged potions working their magic as expected.

"Killian," Kai said, his voice hoarse. "Give me a report on the deceased guards… And everything else"

Killian cleared his throat. "Yes, Lord Arzan. We lost eight good men," he began, his voice heavy. "A mix of Enforcers and mercenaries are injured. But they should be okay with proper tending once we’re back," He paused, then continued, "The life potions you provided were invaluable. They stabilized the worst of the injuries quickly, stopping them from getting worse even if they didn’t heal them straight away."

Kai nodded slightly. The weight of eight deaths hung on his shoulders for some reason. "How many are left fit for duty?"

"Thirty-two," Killian replied promptly. "All Enforcers and the core of the mercenary group."

"Good," Kai said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "They’ll need to carry the ones who can’t walk back to the city." He looked around at the weary faces, then back at Killian. "Prepare a feast for them tonight, in the city. Let them celebrate their victory. Announce them as heroes, but hold off on any official pronouncements until after the funeral processions."

"Of course, Lord Arzan." Killian nodded curtly.

Kai’s eyes then moved towards the men and Raven huddled in different places. The mercenaries were talking in hushed tones. Mostly, Finn was explaining something that happened inside with his arms in the air, making gestures to tell the events.

Gorak noticed Kai’s eyes on them and nodded. It was a brief, respectful nod. Kai returned it without a pause.

He was about to talk to Killian to start packing things to head back to the castle when his eyes landed on Actra.

His shoulders slumped, but feet hasty, he walked away, moving towards his horse, wanting to get out of the settlement now that the battle was over.

Kai let his frown linger for a few more minutes, seeing him completely disappear out of sight.

"All good, Lord Arzan?" Killian’s voice took him out of his thoughts.

Kai nodded. "Let’s head back. Pack everything."

***

Two days bled into one another as he handled the aftermath of the battle.

After the funerals, a feast was prepared and although everyone enjoyed it, Kai knew that losing people in the mines and the faces of the larvae would haunt the guards for a while, as was the case after every battle.

Fortunately, it would fade and in a week or two, things would be completely back to normal— just as before.

Retrieval teams were sent the very next day and they hauled away the bloated corpses of fallen larvae, their chitinous shells still glistening an unnatural green as they carried them back.

Francis planned to sell them with Malden’s distribution network. The merchant knew someone who had connections with the Alchemist guild in the capital.

After rounds of negotiations, the price of 300-500 gold coins per corpse was decided, depending on how good of a condition it was. As there were 45 of these corpses, they were going to make a hefty profit.

Though he had sold the corpses of common larvae, Kai had decided to hold off on the queen’s corpse. Malden had been desperate, offering 5000 gold coins for it, but Kai had refused.

The greedy merchant had looked like he was even ready to take on debts for the corpse since it was so rare to come by and a few Mages and Alchemists would pay their entire savings on it.

But Kai restrained and put up a firm rejection.

He wanted to keep its outer shell and carapace as materials and its heart was something that would be perfect to build up as a golem core.

Francis, apart from handling business with Malden, set himself up to get the mines working back again now that they owned it entirely.

They weren’t going to open up the nest area of the mine right away as they needed to clean it and do more inspections, but they could still mine out the iron.

Two days went by like that for Kai as he handled that with Francis, but on the third day, he walked towards a part of the estate he rarely visited.

Dust motes danced in the pale light that filtered through a grimy window as he reached a heavy oak door.

A lone guard stood before it. He seemed nervous, fidgeting his fingers and shifting from one foot to another. Kai could understand his position by his appearance— a young recruit, wide-eyed and fresh out of training.

The guard flinched as Kai stood there, not expecting to see him.

"I need to go inside. Step aside," he said and the guard quickly got out of the way, not even daring to mutter a word.

He wondered why the guard was so scared, but he didn’t care enough to ask and knocked on the door.

There was no response. He knocked again and it was the same.

A tense silence hung in the air, broken only by the ragged breaths of the young guard. When a few seconds passed by, Kai sighed and pushed the door open.

The room beyond was a stark contrast to the rest of the estate.

Sparsely furnished, it held a desk piled high with dusty tomes and scrolls. On the side, tons of plants were flowers stood right in front of a window through which sunlight rained over them.

Actra sat hunched over a desk, his face pale and drawn with a book in front.

He looked up as the door creaked open, his eyes widening in surprise as they met Kai’s gaze. The book clattered to the floor, its contents spilling out. He didn’t bother to bend down to collect it.

Kai offered a weary smile. "Actra," he said, his voice gentle and calm. "Can we talk?"