Symphony for the Insect Princess

He bowed gracefully and apologized, with a hint of joking in his words, but it didn't cause me any inconvenience, so it didn't matter.

"Right away, Miss Zelah?"

"Leave the City Lord's Mansion first. The safe distance is one kilometer in radius."

"Excuse my rudeness, but from what I know about you, if you don't want to be eaten up, you have to retreat at least twice as far as this."

"No, no, it doesn't have legs this time."

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"Where on earth is it, Nairis..."

Amidst the blood and corpses on the ground, Aisia frowned. She had questioned (and tortured) all the guards she met along the way, but still had no reliable clues.

Now we can only admit one fact - that is, Nairis is probably no longer in the City Lord's Mansion.

(The only option is to leave the City Lord's Mansion temporarily and search outside? But this will inevitably get involved in the dispute over the great secret treasure... Hmm?)

If you think about it differently...

Nairis was also the one who discovered the great secret treasure—although it was a fake—and was connected to the great secret treasure in this subtle way.

Perhaps, by following the clue of the great secret treasure, we might really gain something?

"There's nothing we can do. This is the only way—huh?"

Aisia heard a strange sound, lowered her head, and looked at the floor in the pale moonlight.

Some strange things appeared on the body of the guard she had just killed. They were small, and many of them gathered together and crawled around.

It's bugs.

Many worms - or things that looked like worms - crawled silently out of the shadows in the corridor and gathered around the corpse.

Chewing the corpse.

Eat it.

The strange noises I just heard were these little gnawing sounds.

"Uh……"

Aisia frowned. Although she'd done plenty of heavy work and seen countless corpses where skin and bones had melted into one, the sight of this unappetizing sight made even her scalp tingle. The worms burrowed and burrowed beneath the surface and skin of the corpse, crawling and gnawing as they went. The corpse was reduced to nothing but bones at a visible speed, until nothing remained.

Where did the bugs come from?

It is impossible for ordinary worms to eat corpses in groups. These worms must be very low-level magical beasts, someone's familiars.

Insect messenger?

Insect magic was also considered a form of black magic in the past, but its presence was far less strong than necromancy, sacrificial magic, and the like. True insect masters were extremely rare, and each of them acted low-key and kept their whereabouts secret. There had never been a famous insect master in history.

But this time, this insect familiar had set his sights directly on the City Lord's Mansion? Or was he actually teaming up with someone else and simply sending his insect familiar into the City Lord's Mansion to act as a scout?

But anyway——

"...As expected, I still have some physical resistance."

Many worms noticed Aisia and crawled toward her. She sighed and pulled a small, fingertip-sized glass tube from her space ring. Inside was a highly concentrated insecticide (which evaporates rapidly upon opening the lid, completely killing all insects within a 200-meter radius. It's harmless to humans and is patented by Aisia). The space ring wasn't just an arsenal; it also contained a variety of reagents Aisia had prepared.

Aisia threw the glass tube to the ground. She could already imagine the scene of white smoke rising and insects dying one after another.

before that,

A clattering sound filled the air, and the corridor's sturdy walls shattered, large pieces of rubble peeling off! The rustling sound grew closer, and countless densely packed red dots emerged from the inside of the crumbling wall! They were countless worms, worms, worms, thousands and thousands of them overlapping, constantly wriggling and making strange squeaking sounds!

“——Gu!”

Aisia quickly covered her mouth and took a few deep breaths to suppress the nausea. As if drawn by the bright light, these worms, the lowest-level magical beasts, crawled out of the wall and spread in all directions! Their movements seemed slow, but their speed was actually astonishingly fast!

This is not "reconnaissance", it is "attack"!

Aisia immediately pulled out three bottles of the same insecticide and dropped them to the ground simultaneously! Pungent white smoke filled the air, and a large number of worms were reduced to corpses, but new worms continued to emerge from the holes in the wall, an endless stream! Aisia sighed, thinking there was no point in wasting time in such a disgusting place. She immediately leaned against the inner wall, farther away from the worms, and quickly left.

boom! ! !

Aisia retreated at top speed! Just moments before, the inner wall where she had been standing suddenly collapsed, and several long, thick worms burst out! These worms, covered in a thin layer of carapace, were as thick as bamboo poles, their petal-like mouthparts utterly terrifying! They weren't merely disgusting creatures; they were truly lethal weapons!

(Oops--)

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! ! !

The entire mansion was shaking slightly. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all shattered by the monster worms that had been lurking inside. They were like soldiers who had been lurking for a long time, rushing into the battlefield at the most unexpected moment!

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Oh my god! Kerrigan is spreading bugs!

Chapter 89: Insect Love Girl

The entire mansion was shaking. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all shattered by the monster worms that had been lurking inside. They were like soldiers who had been lurking for a long time, rushing into the battlefield at the most unexpected moment!

Only then did Aisia realize it.

The entire corridor - no, the entire City Lord's Mansion is no longer the same as it used to be.

The ceiling, floor, and walls all looked solid on the outside, but in fact they were all hollowed out on the inside, and the bugs had been hiding inside for ages.

From a long time ago.

The city lord's mansion turned into an insect nest.

As soon as she realized this fact, Aisia got goosebumps.

Bugs, bugs, bugs, they were everywhere, omnipresent, filling the entire City Lord's Mansion.

How many bugs are spying on you in the corridor you walk through every day?

How many bugs are crawling under the table and chair you are sitting on?

How many wriggling little creatures are hidden in the pillows we use and the quilts we cover ourselves with every day?

"Don't think about it anymore..."

The more she thought about it, the more her hair stood on end. A sour feeling slowly rose from her stomach, and Asia forcibly stopped thinking.

Then, take out the shotgun and load it with special lava bombs.

boom! ! ! ! !

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"Bugs, bugs, bugs, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

"Climbing on me!"

"Why can't the Shield Armor stop them!?"

"They can eat magic power!!"

"Don't panic! Just a worm... GAAA ...

The entire City Lord's Mansion was in chaos, especially the guards. When the first batch of worms fell from the ceiling, no one realized the seriousness of the problem. It was not until the ceiling, walls, and ground all broke and countless worms poured in like waves - it was too late.

The main entrance hall had been overrun by worms. Worms of all sizes rained down like raindrops. Many as thick as tree trunks roared and charged, easily overpowering even the most well-trained guards! Every second, a guard was devoured by the worm tide, and every moment, a guard was swept into the gaping holes in the walls and floors by giant worms and disappeared. The hall had become a nest of alien creatures!

"Where's Lord Sarnris!?"

"Where's the captain?"

"Lord Pierce can't be contacted either!"

"Retreat! Retreat first!!!"

The guards finally gave up resistance. Continuing to confront the ferocious insect swarm proved pointless, so they decisively abandoned the struggle and rushed towards the main gate of the City Lord's Mansion. The gate remained wide open, and everything outside appeared normal. It seemed only the interior of the mansion was ravaged by the insects!

In this case, as long as we go out first——

"Hey—what are you doing!?"

The two guards standing by the gate, named Mal and Polo, looked obviously abnormal at this moment.

Even though they were surrounded by a swarm of insects, with worms crawling all over their bodies, they didn't look panicked at all and their expressions were normal. For some reason, the insects on their bodies didn't seem to have any intention of harming them.

They ignored the bugs on their bodies and stood on either side of the gate, holding the capstans beside it. The gate was controlled by a complete set of magical engineering equipment. The two capstans were switches set for easy operation, and normally only those with extremely high authority could release them. How did these two people—

“Wait! Stop it—!!!”

The team leader shouted quickly, but Mal and Polo turned around at that moment and showed empty smiles.

Then, just as the guards were about to rush to the gate, they pulled the capstan—

“—Stop it, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!”

It was too late. The gate crashed down with a loud bang, completely blocking the way out! The gate was made of extremely strong material and was covered with complex magic circles. It was impossible for the guards to force it down!

The swarm of insects has caught up with them, and those who are a little slower are overwhelmed by the swarm of insects with screams. The rustling sound of their crawling makes people's hair stand on end!

"Are you guys crazy?!"

The leading team leader was so angry that his veins popped out. He grabbed the collars of the two men and spit all over their faces.

"The most important thing now is to retreat! Do you really want everyone to die? What the hell are you doing?!"

But in the face of the barrage of scolding, the two still had empty smiles on their faces.

And his body began to tremble unnaturally.

"Hello? You guys..."

The team leader, noticing something was wrong, immediately left the two behind.

At the same moment, the two men's heads exploded from within! A large, slug-like mass emerged from within, dark red and covered in veins resembling nerves and blood vessels. It was incredibly disgusting! Only then did the team leader realize—now that they'd been acting strangely since they emerged from the dungeon, they were probably already dead, their brains taken over by the monster, becoming someone's puppet!

“…Who? Who…did this…huh?”

In the chaos, there was only one girl who was out of place in this extremely heavy environment.

I have an impression of this outstanding face. It seems to be a maid in the city lord's mansion.

She walked gracefully through the doors and approached

That posture was too natural, too calm, and too graceful, which even made people suspect that she was the owner of the City Lord's Mansion.

The insects did not crawl onto her, but circled around her at a distance of about one meter, automatically making way for them, just like servants welcoming their master home.

now,

Before rational thinking,

As guards, as soldiers, as human instincts, everyone has understood one fact.

This girl is the culprit!

"attack!!!!"

Without hesitation, everyone still able to move attacked the girl simultaneously! Facing the approaching swords and magic, the girl gently raised her hand, and dozens of worms covered in hard shells burst through the floor to block the attack! She took advantage of this opportunity to gracefully bend down, her hands touching the ground.

"Summon—a sea of ​​maggots."

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"Ahhhhhh really! I can't burn them all and I can't kill them all!"

There were simply too many worms! Aisia had no choice but to evacuate quickly along the corridor. It wasn't that the problem was unsolvable; they could easily leave by bombing the City Lord's Mansion, but she didn't want to waste any more ammunition on that!

After a brief thought, she ran towards the stairs leading to the lower floor, but—

"...?"

At first, she thought the house was flooded.

The shimmering water surface flooded up, and most of the downward stairs were submerged in water. The part below this floor seemed to have become a swamp, just like a flood.

But looking more closely, it wasn't water at all.

It's bugs.

Countless, white, twisting, squeaking maggots.

If every drop of flood water was replaced by a maggot, this would probably be the visual effect.

"Ugh!?"

Aisia quickly covered her mouth. This time, she was really about to vomit! No one could endure this. Countless, countless, countless, countless maggots tangled together, forming an endless flood that even swallowed up half of the City Lord's Mansion! This place was no place for people to stay!

"Is this the only way—"