Ignorant

Magdalo and the others make their way out of the beehive. Soon after long trekking through the cave hastily, Cardo and Magdalo along with Riko who's being carried by the veteran knight are the first ones that got out of the cave.

"Hey, where are Marlo and Roberto?" Asked Cardo as he looks around the area.

"They were lagging behind," Magdalo replied as he carefully puts down Riko on the ground. "We'll wait for them here."

Right as Cardo and Magdalo pull out their weapons while waiting for Marlo and Roberto to come out of the cave, Riko glares at the veteran knight from behind.

"Magdalo, you b***ard!" Said Riko breathlessly. "Lyrica said what we were planning right before our very own eyes, she already got the message. We didn't have to leave her behind!"

"We do." Magdalo nonchalantly replied. "Because if we don't, we're all gonna die. The plan was no longer for her, but for us to leave and get the honey to your sister."

"So we're just gonna leave her to die there alone?! For us?!"

"What makes you think we left her for dead inside that beehive?" Magdalo turns around and glowers at the young knight. "We went there with a plan to trap her in the beehive because we believe she can survive against those creatures ALONE!"

In other words, if they stayed there with Lyrica, the girl might not be able to focus on defending and take action by herself. They all left the beehive so that the same thing that transpired in the Forest of No Return wouldn't happen again. Because like Lyrica said, they just lucked out.

"You're a knight, and I'm a knight, too. So I know what you feel right now." Said the veteran knight. "You wanted to help. Everyone else is thinking the same thing. But right now, the only way we can help her is to get out of her way."

"You have to remember, she's the one that knocked out the Guardian Snake so we can escape the forest altogether. We basically owe her our lives."

Riko shifts his gaze to Cardo as the knight interjected between the young knight and Magdalo.

"The Wither Bees are nothing compared to the ruler of the forest, although they are indeed trouble when they attack in a group," Cardo added. "Whatever the case, if she's truly the one that will save us all, then we've got to trust her."

Riko is a knight, just like everyone else. It is their instinct as a knight to help others and not leave everyone behind. The young knight still wants to go back and help Lyrica, but after hearing what Cardo and Magdalo, Riko finally realized it is no longer his instinct as a knight to help others that's fueling his thoughts. Instead, it's his ignorance.

After what happened back in the Forest of No Return, he swore not to let his emotions cause another person's life. He swore not to let anyone die for his sake ever again. This blinded him to the fact that if not for Lyrica's incredible power, they'd all be dead.

It doesn't matter to him whether she can take care of herself or not, Riko is not gonna let anyone die again, especially for him and his sister's sake. That is what's inside Riko's head until now. But thanks to the two veteran knights, Riko's eyes have been opened.

There is nothing wrong with helping others, but if it's truly his desire to help, then...

"I have to act rationally and not act like a suicidal b***ard whose own vows blinded him."

Riko's words attracted the two veteran knights' attention. He stood up and looks at them with his head held high.

"I'm sorry for acting stubborn and ignorant... and an idiot."

Cardo and Magdalo wordlessly look at each other as the young knight continues to speak.

"But now, I get it. I know what I have to do now." Riko takes a deep breath and exhales. "Thank you, Cardo, Magdalo."

The two knights look at each other once again before Cardo nods his head at Magdalo and turns around to look at the cave entrance. On the other hand, Magdalo faces Riko.

"In that case, go."

Magdalo orders the young knight to get the honey they took to his sister. But in that exact same moment, Cardo sees the cave gradually lit up.

"Hey, they're coming."

Magdalo and Riko face the cave entrance. And before long, they see Marlo come out while seemingly riding the earth he manipulated. It's almost as if he was using a skateboard, except it's a small formation of dirt he was riding on.

As soon as he got out of the cave, he jumps over and rolls to the ground. The moment he stood up, the three immediately saw the terror in his eyes.

"They're coming!"

Saying that, Magdalo and the others begin to hear the sound of Wither Bees flapping their wings increasingly loud.

At that moment, two Wither Bees came out of the cave and shoots their sting right towards Riko and Cardo.

"That won't work here!"

Just then, Marlo steps in front of the others and touches the surface. At the same time he raises both his hands up in the air, a wall of dirt emerges and blocks the stings.

"It was so terrifying being chased by them from behind. But now that we're outside that beehive, even I will be more than enough for you, you stupid insects!"

"Riko!"

"Yeah!"

Riko and Magdalo use the moment to charge at one of the Wither Bees.

"Lakas!"

As he empowers his strength, Magdalo charges head-on and attempts to land a strike on the Wither Bee. The monster is quick to dodge Magdalo's sword. But unbeknownst to the creature, Magdalo and Riko already anticipated its move.

Without the Wither Bee knowing, the young knight already positioned himself behind the creature. With his own Lakas already activated, Riko's sword pierced the back of the Wither Bee, resulting in the monster flailing about in pain.

Riko was forced to pull out his sword as he falls to the ground. But at that moment, Magdalo leaps right in front of the Wither Bee and leaves a few deep slashes before kicking it on top of its head, sending the creature to the surface.

As the young knight and Magdalo goes to deal the killing blow to the Wither Bee, the other tries to intercept them by shooting another sting. But its attack was effortlessly deflected by a block of dirt that floated right in front of its trajectory.

The Wither Bee glared daggers at Marlo.

"Crap, I angered it!"

This allowed Cardo to charge up his magic tool sword with his mana. Cardo bellows on top of his lungs as he sends a powerful sword wave towards the Wither Bee. However, the sword wave was so strong that Cardo couldn't control it properly.

In the end, the Wither Bee narrowly dodges it after seeing the sword wave heading straight for its head. The sword wave flew into the air until it disappeared.

"You idiot!" Marlo shouted. "You know you cannot control a sword wave that strong!"

"I was trying to kill it in an instant!"

Meanwhile, Riko and Magdalo finally land the killing blow to the Wither Bee by putting the blade of their swords through its head.

"It's dead."

Right after that, they shift their attention towards the other Wither Bee Cardo and Marlo are trying to fight. They were about to go ahead and help the two knights when suddenly, they see the silhouette of someone moving at an incredible speed lunging at the Wither Bee.

The silhouette makes quick work of the creature with his dagger, slicing up every single part of the Wither Bee's body, cutting up its wings, limbs, and its head in just a matter of a couple of seconds.

"Looks like I made it just in time." Said the man as he descends on the ground along with the lifeless Wither Bee. "Thank you for making the ground so easy to run to, Marlo."

"Roberto!"