Niva stood up as Tamae and Brukk left. She looked at Alvaric, who was sitting casually on a stone chair.
"Why did you dare threaten the people of Chillg city? Isn't that extremely dangerous? Can we even win?" she asked, her gaze filled with disbelief.
The Kingdom of Valanthria was incredibly powerful, composed of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. They had seven main generals, ten reserve generals, hundreds of commanders, thousands of captains, and various other elite troops.
Alvaric didn't know that. Niva didn't either, but she knew from the memories of her ancestors that the Kingdom of Valanthria was indeed strong.
Going against them was far from a wise choice.
And yet Alvaric did it.
"Aren't you afraid they'll attack our colony?" Niva asked again.
Alvaric appeared completely relaxed. From his face alone, it was clear that none of this was outside what he had already considered in his mind.
Alvaric wouldn't do something reckless unless he was truly cornered—like when he went against the Giant Sandworm.
Alvaric instead picked up a cup, poured some water into it, and took a sip before answering, "What's there to be afraid of? We have Lyrith. She is incredibly powerful."
Niva wanted to argue, but no words came out. It didn't make sense to claim Lyrith wasn't a powerful individual.
Yet, anxiety still filled Niva's mind.
"Is she really that strong?" Niva asked.
"I've never defeated Lyrith, and that's a fact," Alvaric replied.
He stood and walked toward the Queen Ant Bee. He laid his body down. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again.
"I don't know if compared to the rest of the world she's still the strongest. But one thing…" he turned to Niva. "Lyrith could destroy this colony on her own."
Niva's eyes widened. She was truly shocked to hear that. She wanted to deny it again, but she had already fought Lyrith and… she ended up dead.
For someone who had once been killed by Lyrith, it felt too arrogant not to acknowledge her strength. Even if she now looked like a child.
In fact, no one knew where Lyrith was at the moment. Ever since she arrived at this place, she had been wandering around the nest, playing with the Ant Bees.
She blended in very quickly.
"I believe in you," Niva said.
Alvaric closed his eyes. "I just want to protect my family. That agreement must be made so they don't attack this place."
Niva smiled. She knew very well that her master would protect the Ant Bee colony.
***
Tamae and Brukk had already left. They glanced toward a hole nearby and shook their heads in confusion at the sheer number of tunnels.
"What should we do?" Brukk asked.
Tamae shook her head. "I don't know. But we should head back first." They started walking. Dozens of Ant Bees passed beside them.
This place felt like a city. There was never a pause in the movement.
Even when they entered the forest, they still encountered Ant Bees. Not just one or two, but dozens.
"This really doesn't make any sense," Tamae complained.
She raised her hand, drew her sword, and prepared to slash one of the Ant Bees. Tamae wanted to try something.
"If I kill one of them… will she notice?" she whispered.
In a swift motion, Tamae slashed toward one of the Ant Bees.
Brukk saw it and rushed forward, trying to stop Tamae's strike, but it was too late. He was a step behind.
Baam!
Suddenly, a burst of magical energy exploded. The gust scattered dust and leaves. Brukk had to turn his face away.
When they looked at Tamae's sword, their eyes widened.
"You…"
"Don't kill them!" Lyrith shouted.
Her gaze was razor-sharp, filled with fury. A moment later, magical energy surged from within her body.
Tamae and Brukk immediately dropped to their knees. Tamae even let go of her sword.
The sword was now in the hands of a girl with horns and exotic skin.
"I'll kill you if you dare harm my friends!" she threatened.
She threw the sword and vanished in an instant. She truly disappeared, as her magic and presence were completely gone.
Tamae and Brukk stood, but their hands and legs were trembling in fear.
"Wasn't that girl…"
"A demon, right?" Tamae added.
Brukk nodded. "And she's siding with the Ant Bees." He could never have imagined this would happen. "What's going on with that Ant Bee colony? This is seriously strange. It doesn't make any sense at all."
They both knew about the Demon race. That race had existed before the Demi-humans walked this world. You could say that Demons were the first inhabitants of this world.
But they had gone extinct thousands of years ago. None of them were supposed to exist anymore. And yet, one appeared before them.
Of course Tamae and Brukk were shocked.
"If this is how it is…" Brukk swallowed hard. "We don't really have any choice. Fighting the Ant Bee colony isn't the right move. That would be suicide."
Tamae was still staring at the spot where the demon girl had stood. She couldn't believe what she had just seen.
She didn't even blink—so stunned she was.
An ancient being from thousands of years ago had appeared before her, but this was just too strange.
"Why is that Ant Bee colony protected by two ridiculously powerful beings? One is a monkey-type demi-human, and the other… an ancient being like a Demon. What's so special about the Ant Bee colony?"
No matter how hard Tamae tried to think, she couldn't find a logical answer. All of this was too irrational.
This wasn't just strange. It was madness.
***
Far away, or more precisely on Earth, Marie was in her room, flipping through some notes.
She was trying to find out more about the human currently on the training planet.
"Alvaric should be there, right? But why is he in the dungeon?"
That made Marie confused, puzzled. She didn't understand at all. She wanted to find any record of Alvaric. She hoped that what she saw inside the dungeon wasn't Alvaric. That it was merely something resembling him.
"No. I'm sure that's not Alvaric," she said seriously.