Empty Nest

"What?" Agario nervously said as he furrowed his eyebrows. "I do not follow, high commander."

"You're the one who ordered one of your men to destroy the Kalesa and release the horses yesterday, right?"

A gasp of shock escaped Agario's mouth. He knew that one day, they'll find out what he did to the Kalesas and the horses, it's just that he didn't expect the high commander to find out this early.

"You wanted to buy time to make a plan to get Lyrica out of here, right?" Gilberto mouthed. "I bet going into the beehive is also your plan to drive her away. Or maybe not? Maybe you have something different in hand, but due to Riko's sibling's illness, you were forced to make changes with your plans."

Agario could not stop himself from sweating nervously as the high commander continues to point out everything they have planned all too accurately. It was already too late for him to recompose himself as Gilberto is observing his every reaction to every single word he said. By now, the high commander is certain that all the things he mouthed are correct, and there's no way for Agario to deny it.

"I pity you, Agario." Said the high commander once again as he stands up and approaches Agario. "You all wanted the girl to get out of Kruule, hoping that one day, she'll come back and save you all, isn't that right?"

Agario recoils from the high commander, but Gilberto would only continue to go after him.

"Let me tell you something, Agario. Whatever you're trying to do to get the girl out of here, whatever hope you have in you and everyone else, in the end, it's all meaningless."

Agario continues to take a step back until eventually, he finds his back pressed against the wall. Instinctively, his hand reaches for his sword. But before he pulls out his weapon, he pauses. His will to live is keeping himself from going against the high commander.

"Tch...!"

Before long, the high commander's terrifying eyes are right on his face, looking down on Agario who couldn't draw his weapon.

"Lyrica will not leave Kruule. Your salvation will never come."

Agario froze before the sight of the high commander standing right in front of him. However, unlike the others who couldn't even bat an eye on Gilberto, the commander kept his chin up. He did not look away, the two kept on glaring at each other for as long as they did.

It's almost as if Agario is accepting the high commander's challenge—to see what the outcome of his plan will be. Will they be able to drive Lyrica away? Or will she stay in Kruule just like what Gilberto said?

"Let's wait it out and see what happens, shall we?"

The high commander steps back and goes over to his seat. He then invited Agario to sit on the other chair before ordering the Alkalde to make them tea.

Agario takes a deep breath before sitting on the chair, facing the high commander.

***

Back in the west mountain, Lyrica, Riko, and the others have reached the entrance that leads to the beehive.

"Before we enter, what's the plan?" Cardo asked Magdalo from the back.

Right then, the veteran knight states their plan is to do a quick sweep. They'll enter the beehive as quietly as possible. Once they reached the location of the mother bee's honey, Riko will proceed to extract the honey he needs and make their way out of the hive quickly.

They did not mention that the Wither Bees are quite intelligent and they can also detect unwanted presence in their hive. Apart from everyone, Lyrica is the only one oblivious of this information.

Without further ado, Magdalo and Roberto lead the way inside. As they entered cautiously, they begin to light their torches, allowing them to see the path forward.

So far, they haven't encountered anything other than small critters like a lost White Rabbit, and some species of spiders that Lyrica set on fire with her fire torch.

They kept pushing forward, but they don't seem to be getting where they want to be.

"Hey, are you two sure this is the way to the beehive?" Inquired Lyrica towards Magdalo and Roberto. "I feel like we're just exploring an abandoned mine at this point."

"Don't worry, this is the way."

"We're close, so we need to be quiet now."

Just like what Roberto and Magdalo said, the cave is indeed the right way. And in fact, they are close. Not long since then, the two knights leading the way stopped moving forward.

The girl takes a peek from behind the two knights and sees an open area being illuminated by Magdalo's fire. Again, he told everyone to be quiet and cautious before moving forward.

The group tries to spread out, each fire torch in their hands chase away the darkness covering the wide area. And right then, the giant beehive that is covered entirely with thick wax and holes filled with honey reveals itself before them.

"This is it," Riko exclaimed.

"How ridiculously big is this beehive?" Lyrica asked herself as she looks around in wonder.

"Hey, we don't have much time." Said Magdalo towards the young knight and Lyrica worriedly. "Go get the honey you need!"

Right as the veteran knight hurried the two to get the mother bee's honey, Cardo who's on the other side of the giant formation of wax that's sticks itself in the middle of the ceiling and on the ground.

The group goes over to where Cardo is. And there, they see the enormously big hexagon hole on the giant wax. The fragrant smell of the honey that's coming from the hole soothes everyone's mind. Its magnificent smell gives off the impression that it was stored in there not too long ago.

"This has to be it."

"Yeah. But it's strange."

The honey seemed to have been stored not long ago, however, they haven't encountered a single Wither Bee ever since they entered the beehive. Not even the mother bee is present in the area. Lyrica could not help but feel a bit anxious.

"They probably went out to get some food."

"Yeah, that must be it. While they're still out, we should be gone out of here, too."

Roberto and Magdalo lied to Lyrica. Everyone except the girl knew that the Wither Bees already took notice of their presence even before they entered the beehive. They can tell the Wither Bees are already waiting for their chance to strike, hence why Magdalo and the others are being cautious.

Lyrica went ahead and dips her index finger into the honeycomb. Right after that, she begins to suck her finger that's covered with honey. In that instant, her eyes widened.

"Delicious... It's seriously delicious!"