Lincoln fought multiple bees, using his sword to parry numerous stingers. He also used his gun to headshot as many as possible.
"There's no end to these things," thought Lincoln as he shot another bee in the head that tried to sting him from behind.
The others had their own fights with the swarm; Ronnie Anne was firing arrow after arrow, using her bow like a melee weapon to knock out a few who got too close. Sid was using her naginata as a spear, driving it through as many bees as possible. Clyde was smashing their skulls left and right, tearing off their stingers, and using them to kill others.
"They just keep coming!"
"One goes down, and two more take its place!"
"Guys regroup at the shrine," radioed Lincoln.
Everyone ran for the shrine fighting off the bees along the way. Once everyone was inside, Lincoln used his mana to block the entrances, keeping the bees out as they tried to break through the ceiling.
"This is crazy; no matter how many of these things I kill, more keep coming, and I'm almost out of arrows,"
"How are there so many?" Asked Clyde.
"Mom once told me insects in their native environment can multiply faster. I guess the hive was probably in the millions before they were transformed," explained Sid.
"So, how do we kill the rest of them?"
"I think I might have a solution," said Lincoln, summoning an arrow with a pyramid-shaped point.
"Lincoln, what is this?" Asked Ronnie Anne.
"It's a special arrow I was working on back in the other world; it has a spell infused into it that activates once it's fired; I call it a Caster,"
"Why didn't you give this to me sooner?"
"This one is a prototype and the only one I have, I made it while I was tracking down Adonis but never tested it, and I didn't want to risk you getting hurt,"
Ronnie Anne felt touched by Lincoln's concern for her safety; at that moment, she didn't mind being lovey-dovey like Bobby. However, the moment was ruined by the sound of aggressive buzzing and the ceiling cracking.
"Uh, guys, they're starting to get through!" Yelled Clyde.
Lincoln immediately handed Ronnie Anne the arrow before firing his guns through the hole, chasing them away. Suddenly all the bees began buzzing in rhythm as if they were preparing for a final assault.
"Is that flight of the bumblebee?"
"Ronnie Anne, fire the arrow straight up. If it works as intended, it will unleash the spell called "Million rain,"
"What's that?"
"You'll find out,"
Without a second thought, Ronnie Anne loaded her bow, pulling back on the string causing the tip to glow. As Ronnie Anne aimed her shot, she saw how the bees were coming. With no time to lose, Ronnie Anne fired the arrow through the hole at the bees. The bees managed to avoid it; however, when the arrow reached high enough, it exploded like fireworks into a bright light, catching their attention. Mesmerized, the bees only stared before something came down, impaling one of them, then another. Dozens of spikes made of light came crashing down like a rain shower, each hitting its targets. While some became stuck in the buildings below, the sound of frantic buzzing could be heard until it became lower and lower.
"Did that really finish them off?" Sid asked.
"Probably not all of them, but judging from the sound, I'd say a pretty good chunk of them are gone," Lincoln answered.
"Wow, Linc, you basically made a magical weaponized firework." Praised Clyde.
"Nah, to be fair, fireworks were technically weaponized already, all I did was make one that came with shrapnel when you think about it."
"You know the old saying, float like a butterfly sting like a…sorry," said Clyde as everyone gave a hard stare.
As everyone left the shrine, they saw numerous dead bees all around; those who weren't dead were dying.
"Looks Like we got all the workers," said Lincoln. "I think we can still make it back,"
"Wait, if these were only the workers, then what about the queen?" Asked Sid.
Everyone's eyes widened as they heard a loud buzzing. "Aw… SHIT!"
The group then witnessed a large shadow in the moonlight looming over them.
Everyone was shocked, but then the shadow started getting smaller.
"If this is the Queen…" Clyde started.
"But queens aren't fighters; they just lay eggs." Sid pointed out.
"We're not dealing with ordinary bees." Both Lincoln and Ronnie Anne said together.
The shadowy figure then surprised them all by landing in front of them instead of attacking. Not only that, it did not look like what they had expected. This monstrous bee looked human, or rather humanoid. It stood on two legs with two arms that ended in hands, and the third set of legs looked very much like the trademark body parts of a praying mantis. The wings were black, and the entire body was striped yellow and black horizontally, and apparently, it had a feminine shape to it with curves just like a human female. The head was human in appearance, too, though the expression was not friendly.
"So you are the one who killed my children," the queen said in a buzzing voice.
"Uh, guys, it can talk!" Said, Clyde.
"Who are you?" Lincoln asked.
"I am Queen Bea, and you dare attack my brood,"
"Listen, lady, your kids attacked us; maybe you should've taught them not to pick fights they can't win," said Ronnie Anne.
Queen Bea started buzzing aggressively at Ronnie Anne's comment but calmed down.
"No matter, you two will do in rectifying what you've done," she said, pointing to Lincoln and Clyde.
"Excuse us?" They replied.
"While I can lay eggs that will grow into the workers you eliminated, I must be impregnated to produce ones like me, so now you two will serve your new queen and will help me repopulate the hive that you carelessly jeopardized by killing my workers,"
Everyone looked in shock, realizing what Queen Bea had just demanded.
"Sorry, but we're spoken for," said a disgusted Lincoln.
"You have no choice; now serve your queen!" She said, buzzing aggressively.
Queen Bea knocked Sid and Ronnie Anne away using her mantis-like forelegs before lunging at Lincoln and Clyde. Queen Bea grabbed Lincoln and Clyde by the necks with her humanoid hands before dragging them high in the air.
"The air is starting to get thin. I can feel it through my helmet; she's trying to drag us into the stratosphere and knock us out," said Lincoln.
"You'll be less resistant once you're unconscious,"
Both Lincoln and Clyde struggled to break Queen Bea's hold on their neck.
"I sense a strong aura from you both… our offspring will be powerful!"
"If we were you, we'd be more concerned about your broken teeth than having children," said Clyde calmly.
"I don't have broken teeth,"
Lincoln and Clyde both threw a straight into Queen Bea's face; the sudden pain caused her to drop them both as she grabbed her face and screamed.
"You have now BITCH!" mocked Lincoln as he fell.
Lincoln and Clyde began falling to the ground at top speed.
"Clyde, get on my back,"
While Doing so, Lincoln activated his wings, and the two began gliding to the ground.
"When did your suit have wings?" Clyde asked.
"I've always had them,"
"Any chance you can give me some?"
"Sure, after we get home,"
"Sure thing, buddy,"
Lincoln and Clyde came soaring down; unfortunately, Lincoln didn't account for Clyde's extra weight, causing them to crash into the west building. As Ronnie Anne, and Sid ran to the building, they were relieved as the two walked out, stretching from the hard landing.
"On second thought, I think I'll pass on the wings," said Clyde.
Before Lincoln could respond, they all heard a loud buzzing before Queen Bea landed on top of the shrine.
"You two, you dare reject your queen and strike her!?"
Lincoln and Clyde look at each other before turning back. "Yeah, pretty much,"
Enraged, Queen Bea's buzzing became more aggressive before calming down.
"I see; you two are too resistant to see the opportunity I am giving you; it seems I'll have to break you both physically first,"
Queen Bea charged them full force; however, this time, Lincoln was ready. Using his sword to parry one of her forelegs while Clyde grabbed the other. Wanting revenge Ronnie Anne and Sid jammed their weapons into her back, making her scream in pain.
"Take that, you insectoid bimbo," said Sid as she and Ronnie Anne removed their weapons.
However, to their shock, her wounds began healing.
"How is this possible?" Said, Ronnie Anne.
"I was afraid of that. She's a greater demon,"
"What do we do?" Asked Clyde.
"First this," said Lincoln as he summoned a pellet. "Everyone close your eyes!" Yelled Lincoln.
Slamming the pellet on the ground unleashed a flash that blinded Queen Bea since she didn't have eyelids.
"Aaah! My eyes!"
"Now run!"
Everyone ran to leave the compound, finding the hummer on the outside and driving off.
"Lincoln, what did you mean back there that she was a greater demon?" Asked Sid.
"Greater demons are like mid-tier; they're stronger than regular demons and the level right below a demon Lord; some even have the potential to become a demon Lord themselves,"
"And our attacks?"
"Our attacks won't kill a greater demon; the only way to hurt/kill one of those is with either the hero's magic or a holy weapon, and we don't have either; damage from non-holy weapons will heal almost instantly"
"Our weapons aren't holy?" Asked Clyde.
"No, I didn't have time to make any of those. The only way to create a holy weapon is for a weapon to soak in holy water for 24 hours, and I couldn't get any holy water before we had to come here"
"You have to have fought these guys back in the other world, so how did you beat them then?" Asked Ronnie Anne.
"You can temporarily make your weapon a holy weapon for a few hours by pouring holy water on it; the only way for it to be permanent is to soak it for 24 hours,"
"So where are we going to find holy water?"
"We can get some from a local church; It's the only way to take her down; once we lace our weapons with it, we'll be able to damage her in a way she can't instantly heal from,"
"Linc, we can't just go into a church and buy holy water." Ronnie Anne reminded him. "And we can't risk leading that bitch to the city,"
"Damn it, you're right,"
Back at the compound, Queen Bea finally got her vision back but was now even more enraged.
"You dare to dishonor your queen again; I will make you suffer."
Queen Bea's body began growing as her body began changing like in a body horror movie as she started screaming loud enough to be heard for miles.
"Shit, she's coming, and holy cronenberg!"
Everyone could see in the mirror that Queen Bea was indeed chasing them, but she now resembled her workers, but twice their size, her forelegs were spiked, and her face was twisted into a permanent frown instead of a smile. Immediately started slamming her forelegs and her stinger down, trying to hit the hummer, but Lincoln dodged each attack. Changing tactics, Queen Bea, began spewing the sticky honey slime from her mouth, trying to capture them.
"Hang on, guys, I'll lose her in the jungle,"
Driving into the jungle, the group was now safe for the time being, now that Queen Bea couldn't follow through due to the size of her form. Swerving, Lincoln tried his best to avoid the trees as the buzzing sound became faint. Eventually, they were close to reaching a clearing,
"Do you think we lost her?" asked Sid.
"Maybe, at least, we'll have time to devise a plan to…"
"Lincoln Ahead!" yelled Ronnie Anne.
Just outside the clearing, the ground had been covered in the sticky slime; despite Lincoln's effort to stop, the hummer skidded into the slime, getting stuck immediately. While Ronnie Ann, Clyde, and Sid were safe due to their seatbelts, Lincoln wasn't lucky as he didn't fasten his in time, and the sudden stop sent him flying through the window.
"Lincoln!" yelled everyone.
Once again, Lincoln's armor saved him from major damage, and he got to his feet dazed but okay. Before Lincoln could react, Queen Bea appeared behind him, showering him with slime that hardened into a cocoon trapping him.
"Let me out of here, you bug-eyed bitch!"
"No one escapes the queen," said Queen Bea, lifting up the trapped Lincoln. "I'll be back for you!" she said to Clyde before attempting to fly off.
Ronnie Anne quickly climbed on top of the hummer aiming one of her remaining two arrows as Queen Bea flew off. She didn't know what good it would do, but she had to do something; she wouldn't lose Lincoln again.
"Ronnie Anne, what are you doing?" said Sid.
"I'm not losing him again! I've lost him too many times before, but never again! Not to Stella, the other world, or this bug-eyed bitch, I don't know what this arrow can do, but it's gonna do something!" said Ronnie Anne as her body started glowing.
Clyde and Sid watched in amazement as Ronnie Anne was illuminated with a purple aura as she pulled back on the bowstring.
"C'mon, Santiago hit the mark," she thought as she released the string and sent the arrow flying.
In the air, the arrow transformed into a beam of purple energy that went straight toward Queen Bea. Distracted trying to make a getaway, Queen Bea failed to notice the beam of energy coming towards her before it was too late as her forelegs were blasted off, forcing her to drop Lincoln. With a scream of pain, Queen Bea realized she wasn't regenerating much, to her horror. She looked down and saw Ronnie Anne loading her final arrow; fearing for her life; Queen Bea flew off but not before stating,
"This isn't over, human!"
With Queen Bea retreating, for now, Ronnie Anne stopped glowing. She took a deep breath in relief, but afterward, she started feeling dizzy before she started to faint, only to be caught by Sid.
"I got Ronnie Anne. Clyde, you go help Lincoln,"
Clyde nodded as he jumped out of the car; luckily, the slime had hardened, making it safe to walk on. Clyde ran to where Lincoln had landed, expecting him to be still trapped. To his surprise, Lincoln was just climbing out of his prison.
"Lincoln, how did you get out of that thing?" Asked Clyde. "Did the fall break you out?"
"No, I was struggling to break free when suddenly it cracked. After that, I saw someone standing over me; I thought it was one of you guys, but when I got free, they were gone, and you were running up to me,"
"I didn't see anyone, but listen, we need to hurry back to the others and help Ronnie Anne,"
"Wait what's wrong with her?"
"Later, let's go,"
Lincoln and Clyde ran back to the hummer as Ronnie Anne finally collected herself when Lincoln deactivated his helmet.
"Ronnie Anne, are you okay?" Asked Lincoln. "Wait, where's Queen Bea?"
"She flew off; you should've seen it; Ronnie Anne blasted off her mantis claws with that energy arrow you gave her, and Boom, they were gone, and she flew off like a coward," cheered Sid.
"Energy arrow?" questioned Lincoln. "I never gave her an energy arrow,"
"Then, how did I do that?" Asked Ronnie Anne.
Before anyone could contemplate how this happened, Clyde chimed with urgent news.
"Guys, I just saw on my watch we've got about 45 minutes to get back to the rendezvous point before the plane leaves,"
Realizing the time, Lincoln sent the hummer back into his pocket dimension before summoning his dirt bikes. The gang took off after changing into regular clothes. Dozens of thoughts were racing through Lincoln's mind, how did Ronnie Anne defeat, Queen Bea? Where was Queen Bea now? And a few others, but his biggest priority, for now, was getting to the plane.
After getting to the village, they quickly dropped off Sid; Lincoln told Sid to keep the suit in case she needed it, while Sid promised to keep an eye out for Queen Bea while she was still in the country. With Sid safe, the rest raced back to the rendezvous point as fast as they could, utilizing a shortcut through the jungle.
Fortunately, they encountered no more troubles or obstacles along the way, though when they got to the plane, unfortunately, it was taking off.
"Wait, come back!" called Clyde.
"Damn it!" Said, Ronnie Anne. "Now, what do we do?"
"I may have a solution," said Lincoln.
"Don't tell us you built a plane when we weren't looking." Asked Clyde.
"What? Don't be ridiculous, Clyde; I didn't build a plane,"
"Oh, okay,"
"I stole one," he boasted.
"You what!?" said both Clyde and Ronnie Anne.
Lincoln stuck out his hand, summoning a magic circle; rising up was a small jet, to the surprise of Ronnie Anne and Clyde.
"Lincoln, is that a Cirrus Vision SF50 Jet," asked Clyde.
"Is that what it's called? I didn't check."
"Where the hell did you get that?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"I found it in the hangar after I disabled their plane. I also took something else I found, but I'll show you after we get home,"
"How are we supposed to get home, Lame-o? None of us can fly a plane,"
"Maybe we won't have to," said Clyde.
"huh?" Said, Ronnie Anne.
"Judging by the serial number, this Jet is the latest model meaning it has a fully automated pilot system that can take off and land,"
"A literal autopilot?" Lincoln asked.
"The closest we can currently get, at least," Clyde replied.
"Clyde, how do you know about this stuff?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"Oh, I heard my dads talking about these jets once; they said the newest models like this one are worth about $4,500,000,"
"Well, now it's mine; let's pick the lock and see how to work it,"
Picking the lock, the door opened into small stairs allowing access. The interior resembled a car with a pilot, a co-pilot seat, and two more behind them. The two seats in the back had built-in fold-away tables. Behind them was a small amount of unused space.
"Not bad. I see a lot of potential, could use a bathroom, and I can put in a workstation For on the move repairs and crafting," said Lincoln. "I'll have to reinforce the exterior and interior with LILLY and definitely place some enchantments for magic protection, gut the fuel system, and use elemental stones to power it, and weapons are a must," said Lincoln, thinking aloud.
"Lincoln, before you go any deeper on how you're going to redesign this plane, maybe we should focus on getting it back home," said Clyde.
"Right, sorry,"
Checking out the navigation system station, it looked advanced but not too advanced.
"Lisa, are you there?" Asked Lincoln, calling on his phone.
"I'm here, Lincoln; what happened? Myrtle called and said the pilot left without you guys,"
"He did, but listen; I found another ride. It's a plane I stole from the La Sombra HQ. It has an automated navigation system that should get us home, but I don't know how to use it, and I don't know how to fly manually. Can you hack it and program it to take us back to Royal Woods?"
"Psst, child's play, male sibling," said Lisa. "Just connect your phone to the system and I'll do the rest.
Doing as Lisa instructed, Lincoln linked his phone to the navigation system via the built-in USB stick in his phone. Lisa then instructed everyone to take a seat, so Lincoln sat in the pilot seat, and Clyde beat Ronnie Anne in a game of rock paper scissors for the co-pilot seat, forcing her to sit behind Lincoln. Within minutes the plane's engine started revving as the controls moved on their own, and the plane was positioning itself to take off.
"C'mon, Guardian, let's go home," Ronnie Anne said with a smile as the plane took off, leaving San Lorenzo behind.
Elsewhere
As Edgar Allsand waited for La Sombra to arrive with his plane and the gem at the secret airfield he originally landed in miles outside the city. He was becoming more and more frustrated by every second that passed.
"Where are those fools?"
Edgar was supposed to leave San Lorenzo early in the morning; however, no one from La Sombra had shown up with the gem or his Cirrus Vision SF50 Jet. Suddenly an alert on his phone with a local news update went off. To Edgar's shock, the update was about how the La Sombra organization was apprehended early this morning; some were dragged away screaming and ranting about giant killer bees and a man in orange and black armor calling himself the guardian. However, none were found, and those men were taken away for psych evaluation and how the local government approved the nature preserve.
"What? They were captured? Am I stuck in this mudhole of a country now?"
With no other choice, Edgar decided to call his father to inform him.
"Hello, dad, we got a problem; La Sombra has gone under; I think those mercs that Loud hired had something to do with it,"
Angry, incoherent phone chatter.
"Also, I also need a new way home; the plane is missing,"
Angry, incoherent phone chatter.
"What do you mean I have to figure out for myself!?"
Angry, incoherent phone chatter.
"How is it my fault they lost the treasure and the plane?!
Angry, incoherent phone chatter, phone hanging up.
"Dad…Dad…DAD! Damn that fat bastard, I'll slit his throat the first chance I get!" He said. "Till then, how am I supposed to get back to Michigan?"
"I could give you a lift," said a female voice behind him.
Edgar turned around, and his face quickly turned from annoyed to horrified upon seeing what was behind him.
"For a price," said the voice before it started buzzing.
End of Ch. 13