The Gran Beetle lumbered forward, each step deliberate and earth-shaking, the underbrush snapping and cracking beneath its colossal legs. Rigan shrank back, trembling violently, his tiny frame dwarfed by the monstrous insect before him.
“You… you don’t understand their true power! They may look slow and clumsy, but—”
His words were cut off mid-sentence. Without warning, the Gran Beetle surged forward, charging at the Dark Queen with a speed that defied its massive size.
“What!?”
The Dark Queen’s eyes widened in shock. The first impact sent her hurtling backward with bone-jarring force, crashing into a towering tree. Splinters flew, and the tree toppled with a deafening crack. The sheer destructive force of the collision left no doubt: the Gran Beetle was no ordinary foe.
The Dark Queen staggered to her feet, her composure intact but her armor now bearing jagged dents and scratches. Never had I seen her struck like this, never had I seen her falter. The difference between this creature and the monsters we had faced before was staggering.
The Gran Beetle didn’t pause. It lunged again.
“Don’t get cocky! Take this—Frecche Oscurité!”
A ring of black magic appeared beneath the Dark Queen’s palm, and sharp obsidian arrows shot toward the monster. This was the spell that had defeated the Hayonei brothers. Yet, the Gran Beetle’s armored exoskeleton deflected every projectile as if it were made of steel.
The Dark Queen’s eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn’t expected her attack to be useless. Helpless, she took another savage impact, slamming into a jagged boulder. Dust and shattered stone erupted into the air like a miniature avalanche.
“You should have run!” Rigan shouted, panic cracking his voice. “Its armor repels every attack! And it’s not just fast—it’s cunning, calculating… smarter than its size would suggest!”
“Zeke! If we don’t act now, the Dark Queen will be crushed!” I cried, drawing my sword in response. “We have to combine our strength and stop it!”
Zeke’s lips curved into a calm, confident smile.
“Chris… you’re seriously underestimating her. One monster like this? She can handle it alone.”
Through the haze of dust, the Dark Queen emerged, unflinching and graceful. Despite two full-force tackles that had leveled trees and pulverized boulders, she stood almost unscathed. Watching her, I felt my own weakness painfully.
“Well, you’ve got some fight in you,” she said coolly. “If you were from my world, I might even consider taking you as a subordinate.”
The Gran Beetle lunged a third time, but the same brute force tactic no longer worked. With a powerful leap, the Dark Queen arched through the air, evading the charge with fluid precision.
The monster skidded to a halt mid-air, spinning to face her. It spread its armored plates wide, attempting a strike from above.
I thought she’d be trapped—vulnerable in the sky—but with an almost imperceptible twist, she floated, barely moving, elegantly avoiding its attack.
“Wait… she can fly!?” I whispered to Zeke.
“Anyone can with levitation magic,” he said nonchalantly. “Our mana is halved since we arrived in this world, so we can’t sustain it long or fly fast—but that’s why we haven’t needed it until now.”
The Gran Beetle circled midair, preparing for another assault, its every movement a terrifying blend of power and precision.
“Charging with nothing but brute force? How dull,” the Dark Queen taunted. “Such one-dimensional attacks will never let you dominate this mountain.”
She danced aside once again, graceful and swift. The Gran Beetle responded with a breathtaking maneuver: it flipped midair, head-down, and unleashed a storm of jagged ice shards toward her.
“That thing… it can use magic too!? Zeke, we have to help!” I shouted, my voice trembling with disbelief.
Zeke, unmoved, watched calmly.
The Dark Queen barely flinched. A few shards grazed her shoulder and leg, but her expression barely shifted, her stance unshaken. Then, her hand flared with a searing heat, and the ice shards vanished in an instant—evaporated by her fire magic.
With fluid elegance, she propelled herself toward the Gran Beetle. Its relentless ice assault melted harmlessly in midair.
“Is that all your magic can do?” she said, closing the distance. “Then give up already.”
She condensed a black orb of energy in her left hand, and with a thunderous roar, struck the Gran Beetle in the abdomen.
BANG!
The colossal insect froze midair, convulsing violently as foam flecked its jaws, before plummeting slowly to the ground. One single, devastating blow had felled it.
Rigan and I gaped, utterly stunned.
The Gran Beetle showed no sign of slowing, unleashing another barrage of jagged ice shards with terrifying speed.
“Hmph. Repeating dull body slams, then following up with magic once your opponent gets used to the brute force… clever,” the Dark Queen said, her voice calm yet sharp. “But playtime is over.”
With that, she extended her hand, palm wide, and in an instant, every ice shard hurtling toward her evaporated—vaporized by an intense wave of fire magic.
Heat magic.
Before the dust even settled, she surged forward, charging straight at the Gran Beetle. Again and again, the monster unleashed its icy spells, but each one was obliterated midair, disappearing like mist under her power.
“Is that all you’ve got? Then surrender!” she called, advancing with unrelenting speed, closing the distance with every step.
I could hardly fathom how she planned to take down a creature whose impenetrable shell had shrugged off even her most potent obsidian arrows. The Gran Beetle’s armor was no ordinary defense—it was nearly invincible. How could anyone breach it?
I had no idea. Not even a hint.
The Dark Queen drew closer, gathering a sphere of black energy in her left hand. Her aura surged as she pressed herself into striking range.
“Haaaahhh!”
With a single, thunderous punch, she struck the Gran Beetle squarely in the abdomen.
BANG!
The colossal beast froze midair, convulsing violently, froth flecking its jaws, before slowly plummeting to the ground, twitching uncontrollably. One punch. That was all it took.
Rigan and I gaped, our mouths wide with disbelief.
The Dark Queen hovered back gracefully, her expression as composed as ever.
“Quite a struggle, wasn’t it?” Zeke said, chuckling.
“Hmph. The only reason it was challenging is that my mana is halved in this world,” the Dark Queen replied lightly. “With my full strength and my blade, that creature would have been finished with a single blow.”
A single punch, and a monster clad in near-impenetrable armor had been vanquished. I could only stare in stunned awe. There was no denying it: she was unstoppable.
“Th… this is incredible!”
Rigan, who had been trembling moments ago, bolted forward, eyes shining with excitement.
“Please… let me become your apprentice!” he begged, dropping to his knees in front of her.
The Dark Queen blinked, surprised at the sudden plea.
Rigan had always dreamed of becoming the strongest monster, and after witnessing her overwhelming might, it was no wonder he wanted to train under her. In some ways, I could relate.
Zeke stepped forward, a grin on his face.
“And what is your goal, Rigan? To attack humans? Conquer the world?”
Rigan lowered his head, voice steady but quiet.
“I… I just want to become stronger. That’s all. I was born small, weak, and always bullied. My kind, the Licants, are considered low-tier monsters. Some are mid-tier or even high-tier, but I… I’m a Baby Licant, the weakest of the weak. Smaller, weaker, and less magical than the rest. I can’t even beat ordinary humans.”
His gaze lifted, unwavering, burning with determination.
“I was born the weakest of the weakest. But I won’t curse my fate. I’ve decided… I will rise from the weakest to the strongest!”
Zeke’s eyes sparkled. He grabbed Rigan’s shoulders firmly, shaking him with excitement.
“Rigan… I like your spirit! Come with us! Chasing the dream of going from weakest to strongest—that’s the coolest goal I’ve ever heard!”
“Don’t waste your life hiding in a mountain,” Zeke continued, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. “If you want to become the strongest in the world, see it! Fight it! Train with us along the way! Right, Queen? Chris?”
The Dark Queen gave a subtle nod, calm yet approving.
Zeke’s gaze flicked to her, his expression suddenly mischievous.
“You’ll take care of him, yeah? Feed him properly, walk him, make sure he’s looked after.”
…Wait, what?
I almost laughed. Not exactly a pet situation, but the Dark Queen didn’t react to his comment, and I thought it best not to argue. One wrong move, and I’d be on the receiving end of that punch again.
And so, our traveling party gained a new, small but determined companion—one whose heart burned with ambition far larger than his tiny frame suggested.
To be continued…
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