NOVPUBWhisper looked around and saw what alarmed B666666 so much.
The sight was a complete shock.
A creature seven times her size, a legendary bee-killer, a murder hornet, was hovering in the air only a few meters away from Whisper, as if it just flew from behind Farini's head. Its wings beat so fast they became a blur, but despite that, produced no noise.
An ordinary hornet could be killed by a team of trained, equipped and experienced Warriors. But a single bee, even a Beehound like Whisper, had no chance against one of these monsters.
Worse, this hornet was definitely an evolved one. Ordinary hornets buzzed with the noise of a dozen bees when they flew, especially with how fast they could do it.
Now it was a monster deadly in open combat that could still approach stealthily and ambush!
The hornet opened her mouth full of dagger-like teeth. A droplet of poison gathered on her long and already bloodied stinger. From this distance, killing Whisper for the hornet was a matter of a single pounce.
Whisper froze, unable to move from fright, as the hornet landed on Farini's shoulder, close to his collar. The monster turned her head, as if evaluating her prey.
B666666 kept flying toward them, shouting warnings, and now other bees joined her. Some readied whatever weapons they had—mostly just utility knives.
The mountain that was Farini's body jolted when he staggered back, shocked by the sudden
movement. The hornet took flight again, but her head was turned toward the human, not any of the bees.
The realization poured on Whisper like a bucket of cold water.
A single human would've been more than enough meat for an entire colony of hornets to last for a long while. But murder hornets were creatures whose drive to kill outpaced their need for food.
Whisper was not shocked to see one targeting humans if it thought that it could kill them. But she was definitely shocked to see a hornet evolve so far.
'Farini, beware! The hornet—the killer—is right behind you!' she warned. 'Her sting is lethal!'
'What?!' Farini jolted even more, turning his head around wildly and raising his weaponless hands. The movement scared the hornet away, but only for a moment.
She moved with grace and speed that made it impossible for a single human to hit her with bare hands, then sat right on Farini's cheek and raised her stinger.
Was this the danger Oracles warned Whisper about?
Farini raised his hand in reflex to slap the hornet away, but it was too fast, and he was too slow.
Whisper dashed forward first, at the full speed of her evolved wings. Although her only weapon was only a dagger that won't even be able to pierce the enemy's armor, at this moment Whisper didn't hesitate.
He was *her* human, and nobody else could touch him!
Also, Farini was more important to the Empire's plans than Whisper herself—he had to live!
Whisper's dash was so fast that the headwind forced her to close her eyes and attack blindly. But she was faster than the hornet's sting.
Whisper's dagger smashed into the hornet's wing, nicking it and breaking past to slide off the back chitin plate. The hornet turned around, losing her hold on Farini to swipe at Whisper with all four arms.
'Attacker. Die!' the hornet's thoughts echoed in Whisper's head.
She dodged most of them, but one clawed arm struck Whisper's shoulder. It was a glancing blow, but it was enough to throw Whisper away like she weighed nothing. Pain flared from four cuts.
As Whisper beat her wings to keep herself afloat, she felt she was lucky to get off so easily. Her reflexes and her thick skin protected her from broken bones or instant death.
Farini slapped his face, and the hornet flew away from his cheek to dodge. She darted to a position on the opposite side from him and hovered, planning her next attack. The hornet's speed must've also evolved—she flew as fast as Whisper herself.
'Agent Whisper! What's your status? We are going to reach you soon!' Sergeant Beemarine messaged Whisper anxiously.
She heard the buzzing of more wings approaching and saw that the Beemarines were returning from their search at full speed to join the fight. Very soon, they were going to be there.
Whisper let out a breath of relief and sat on Farini's head, where she had the best sight of the surroundings.
'Just a hornet?' Farini thought, raising his hand again. 'Why is it trying to sting me?'
The Builder Bees approached close enough to the site to attack the hornet if they wanted to—or to be attacked. Whisper's heart sank when she saw the hornet turn her head and wave her antennae at them.
"Whisper, we will help you!" B666666 shouted, only for Whisper to shout at her right back.
"Get away! You will just die to that thing!" 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"We can—"
The hornet darted toward the Builder Bees.
Whisper gasped and followed it, but this time she was too slow.
The monster tore through the ranks of builders like a hand tears through falling water. Blood sprayed around from four sets of claws. Massive teeth tore off someone's head and threw it to the side like something entirely unneeded.
Five Builder Bees died in an instant before the hornet moved aside again, preparing her next attack. All too late, Farini waved at it, but only made her fly aside.
B666666, one of the survivors, stared at the monster with wide eyes.
"Well, now we *definitely* need to kill it!" she shouted in the next moment. "Whisper, join us! It's revenge!"
"Stay away, idiots!" Sergeant Beemarine shouted, joining the fray. "Dying is our job, not yours!"
'Holy Whisper, what sort of a devilish creature in the guise of an insect is this?! It kills you with such ease—what should I do?!' Farini thought, now with much more concern.
Whisper grimly gripped her dagger.
If the Beemarines present could defeat this hornet, this was great.
If not…
'We will fight the hornet until we win, or until reinforcements come. Escape is not an option.'
