Nameless King

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Osvald swung his fist and killed a Cosmic Beetle.

"Are there fewer of them here than I thought? Don't they need to defend their home?" Osvald said, walking down the narrow, dark tunnel.

"They've probably decided to fight us in the same place. Queen Beetle definitely knows we're coming."

Wain and Osvald decided to act at once. After the village, they planned to head for the nest of Cosmic Beetle. At first, the Beetles tried to defend their home and prevent Wain and Osvald from invading, but Beetles were powerless against them.

The Beetles' nest was filled with tunnels and forks. Wain and Osvald changed paths from time to time and constantly changed tunnels.

"Do you hear that?" Osvald asked.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

"Roooooooaaaaaaarrrrr!"

Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a roar was somewhat human-like.

"Oh, looks like someone got tired of waiting for us." Osvald smiled and looked into the left tunnel, that's where the sound was coming from.

"Is that the Queen?"

"Probably, either way, we'll find out soon enough." Osvald shrugged.

"Osvald, I want to ask you something."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Deal with the bugs, but don't touch the Queen. I want to fight with her myself." Wain said seriously.

"Are you sure? The Queen is definitely a lot stronger than that Lizard."

"Yes. Don't worry about it." Wain said coldly.

"It's up to you. In that case, don't count on me." Osvald waved his hand.

Wain nodded and walked calmly forward. There was a faint but very powerful and deadly aura emanating from him.

'Looks like he was hurt by defeat, ah, he's still too young, but his skills are actually amazing. Maybe he can even defeat the Queen.'

Wain realized that he was much weaker than Osvald even in this Zone. In the battle with the Lizard, Osvald was holding back on purpose because he wanted to watch the fight, and Wain was against him getting involved again. He wanted to win without relying on anyone else's help, because he wouldn't have the invincible Osvald with him another time.

The roar kept appearing from time to time, showing them the way, and after a few forks, Wain and Osvald reached the right place. It was the core of the Space Beetles' nest.

Wain stepped forward, and several beetels flew in front of him. They were not attacking but moving from one point to another at a frantic pace.

"Surely they were waiting for us...?" Osvald was puzzled. The beetels weren't even paying attention to them, it was as if they didn't exist.

"Look. " Wain pointed to the massive beetle in the center. It was several times the size of the others, it was the Queen.

The Queen had the same white stripes on her body as the Lizard. It, too, had absorbed some of the energy from Soul Pearl.

Whoooooosh.

Beetels flew around the Queen and opened small spatial holes. They disappeared quickly, but energy managed to seep through them, which turned into threads and headed toward the Queen.

"Is that a cocoon?"

"Looks like it."

The threads gradually grew larger, and a cocoon appeared around the Queen, which eventually consumed her completely.

Osvald could have destroyed the Queen right then and there, but he didn't.

"Ready? Judging by the aura, the Queen will get even stronger." Osvald smirked.

"Yes. Let her absorb as much energy as she wants. It won't change anything anyway." Wain stood against the wall and smoked.

Whooooooosh.

Suddenly, a white root emerged from the ground and stuck into the cocoon. Strange energy emanated from the root, very powerful and pure.

"What? This root has the energy of Soul Pearl?" Osvald was surprised.

"Hmm? What does that mean? Do Soul Pearls have something to do with plants?"

"Normally not, but it looks like Soul Pearls have connected to the roots and turned into a tree, most likely, the main base of Pearl Hunters is there. The tree sprouted, and those lucky enough to find the roots could get a piece of the power and absorb it without harm."

"Shouldn't Soul Pearls be depleted because of this?"

"No, don't worry about that. On the contrary, it becomes more powerful since there is an exchange between energies, only beings strong enough to absorb energy so that the body won't reject it. Maybe the pearls here are even bigger than I thought."

"I see. That's even for the best. It would be a great start to becoming a Pearl Hunter."

"Ahahahaha, man, it's a dangerous path, even I had a lot of trouble doing it, but if you're so confident in your decision, then I'll share my experience with you." Osvald laughed.

"Sure." Wain nodded, "I'll never forget the feeling when I absorbed a Soul Pearl."

The cocoon gradually enlarged and filled with energy. Thousands of beetels began to tire, opening spatial rifts in such an area was challenging. When the job was done, the beetels flew away to the sides and watched the process intently.

The energy in the root was not infinite either, it was completely dried up and disintegrated into small pieces.

"Great, looks like it's finally starting soon." Osvald smirked, and the first crack appeared on the cocoon.

Whooooooosh.

The beetles opened their wings wide and began to flutter as if to welcome the rebirth of their Queen.

Crackle.

The cracks got bigger, and the cocoon shattered into many pieces. A thick vapor burst forth, and a tall figure emerged from the cocoon. It stepped forward and emerged from the cloud of steam.

The Queen looked like a human now. She had long purple hair, wide black eyes, and many protective plates all over her body. She had four transparent wings on her back and a powerful aura emanating from her.

"Thank you for waiting." The Queen said slowly, looking at Wain, "You wanted to fight me? Then, go ahead. I'll show you that you are nothing before the power of the whole nest."