Chapter 55: A New Enemy

Shot from the direction of the terrifying aura, the flying object refracted what little light there was, its form shimmering a vibrant green in the air as it cleaved through many rows of hexagonal walls in a straight line until it reached its target.

A diagonal slash appeared across the wasp's face and its head burst open where the projectile struck, beheading it in a single shot.

The decapitated wasp's head soared through the dusty air, bursting out in a rain of purple, before dropping with a loud clatter on the ground.

The wasp's huge body however, stayed in the same place as it slumped into a tragic heap among the dust and debris. I stared at it in horror and disbelief as the body fluids emptied out from what was left of its head, leaving a hollow husk only a few paces ahead of my position.

The weapon was not a blade but something like a curved and elongated claw that was thin and delicate like paper. However the devastation it left in its wake was unbelieve when considering its appearance.

It was strong enough to slice through the wasp's hardened shell and its thick mandibles like it was nothing. That power along with its speed made it all the more terrifying.

As the claw continued on its path of destruction, all around me were the dry crackling sounds of crumbling, now amplified in the quiet as the long claw sliced through more of the walls unimpeded, before curving in the air to return back to the creature.

I held my breath at the raised dust and scattered debris, becoming as still as possible to erase all traces of my presence. I was frozen in fear as I helplessly looked on. The wasp chasing me had died without even setting eyes on its killer.

I stared at the sliced open head of the bulky wasp where bits of brain matter splattered across the floor and the grisly purple ichor splashed against the surrounding walls.

It made me shiver.

If I'd crawled just a little closer, would I also have ended up in the same way?

What sort of absurd creature was this to kill so efficiently?

With my instincts screaming to flee and Sensei's warning, I knew better than to approach it. There were walls in front of me so I could not look ahead, but with how easily it had cut through those walls, I remained still so my presence would not be known.

Yet my curiosity to see the creature eroded all the rational thoughts and won over the fear restricting my body. I lifted my eyes, extending [Heat Sense] past the limit towards the creature.

If I was going to die again, I would like to look at the face of my killer this time rather than helplessly getting stabbed from behind.

The creature's heat trace revealed an outline resembling a wasp, but it was vague, and it moved too sinuously unlike its rigid brethren.

Hovering over the ground was an upright figure that was taller and more streamlined than any other wasps I'd seen. It had a lean abdomen as opposed to a large one with six limbs like the usual hunter wasp but less distinct separation across its body.

Its lower legs were much longer than the other four and shaped for running like that of a feline, with a body that was meant to stand upright rather than a hunched form. The wings behind its back were long and thin and although they were vibrating behind its back at a fast speed, the wasp's body hardly moved and stuck high in the air like it was levitating.

I was amazed at the hexagonal walls that had been sliced through. The cuts made were as thin as wire where not even a blade was as precise, which made me wonder where the projectile had come from.

Looking at the wasp's heat outline, it's barbed stinger was still attached, until I focused [Heat Sense] on its other limbs. Unlike its legs the remaining four limbs were shorter and attached to its streamlined thorax like two pairs of arms.

Displaying muscular segmented ridges, many bladed long claws extended from its arms below the elbows, separated evenly like ribs glistening in metallic green. The one that had been shot earlier was now resting in the creature's arms. This wasp was unlike anything I'd ever seen, and I could only watch, spellbound by its aura.

Which begged the question, if I appraised it, would it know?

Sensei had said it could pick up my temperature if I came closer, but he didn't say anything about its detection.

«Appraisal is out of the question.» Sensei's response was curt. «It wouldn't show you its full status and the uncomfortable sensation the wasp would feel after being appraised will alert it immediately.»

I was even more curious about this terrifying wasps identity. It wasn't carrying any injured bodies like the bulky wasp earlier so it wasn't for maintenance. Its appearance was similar to that of the hunting wasps that brought in fresh hosts, yet it was uniquely different and it wasn't small like those wasps handling the eggs either, so what was it?

Where had the wasp I followed earlier gone? Did it get attacked by it as soon as it entered like the wasp that pursued me, or had it escaped?

Scanning the spacious chamber around the wasp, I didn't see any extra bodies so I couldn't be sure, but the space was large enough with plenty of spaces it could be hidden.

The wasp was very likely to be dead, but for what reason was this wasp attacking its own brethren? The likelihood of it being a 'Queen' wasp was high but if so, what is it doing in such a shabby place?

The head and the body of the dead wasp were close by. If it was hunting, wouldn't it come to pick up the corpse soon?

Anticipating this, I started to move backwards, away from the corpse, extending the gap between myself and the source of the terrifying aura in case it came close.

In order not to get noticed, I had to retreat extremely slowly, to not increase my own body heat. But the wasp after retrieving its long claw, stopped hovering in the air and started to move almost at the same time as me!

The terrifying wasp took off into the air and flew to the centre of the cavern in a quick blur. However carefully I was moving, it still seemed to have noticed me!

I stopped my movements, alert and focused on the flying figure. But instead of approaching me, it ignored the dead wasp's corpse and entered the large hole at the centre of the cavern's tall ceiling, disappearing from view.

The suppressing aura of the wasp vanished with it and I could finally breathe easy, but I did not feel any relief. With it gone I waited a moment to be sure it wouldn't return before releasing [Heat Sense], and once again my vision was plunged in grey.

My MP had reduced considerably, but for the moment that wasn't my concern. My body felt cold and in shock like water had been poured over my head, waking me suddenly. Whether it was unaware of my presence or it had chosen to ignore me, this wasp was still a dangerous flaw I'd overlooked, and with the existence of this uncertain element, I lost confidence in my plans of escape.

My whole plan had been based on the wasps I'd seen previously, but now that an unknown kind existed, would the same plan hold up?

With such an entity around, would all the host's I'd assembled survive long enough to matter? If they could all be destroyed just as easily by this wasp, was there any point?

The futility of my endeavour so far made me realise I should have stayed in the host chamber like a well behaved snake instead of moving around recklessly. The exit I was looking for was nowhere in sight. If anything I was now too afraid to proceed.

Traces of its heavy aura still lingered and the fear I felt refused to subside. It was no longer here but its impact on my psyche was all too real, like a raw nerve that had been touched.

I tried to shake off the effect to no avail. Was this intimidation the result of it being a higher level than myself or was it caused by a skill?

"What kind of skills does it have to emit such an aura of death?" I tentatively asked Sensei.

There was no way for me to peek since its level was higher than mine but luckily my system wasn't bound by such constraints. He had to know what skills it had so why not ask him.

Sensei's response was blunt as usual. «You have appraisal, yet you still ask me such questions. If you want to know then get [Appraisal] to LV10. There's no free passes or short cuts.»

Seriously? Even at the brink of death he remained so stubborn.