Wings of Hives
Night again.
The second hive stood where the caravan had died.
Its walls pulsed softly—alive, breathing, growing.
From the outside, it looked like a crater filled with spires.
But inside, it was something else.
A world of tunnels.
Silken walls.
Living chambers.
Egg sacs hanging like chandeliers.
And at the center, Seo Hae-jin stood in the darkness, eyes closed.
Listening.
Feeling.
The Hive Link wrapped around him like air.
Thousands of signals pulsed in sync.
And from deeper within, something new stirred.
---
> > [Advanced Evolution Detected.]
[Strain: Wingborn Predator.]
[Level: 61.]
[Status: Humanoid Form Compatible.]
He opened his eyes.
Across the chamber, the egg split open.
A black figure stepped out.
Two wings folded against its back.
Its chest rose and fell—humanoid but wrong.
Too many joints.
Eyes glowing faintly red.
It dropped to one knee before him, insect voice echoing through the link:
"Sovereign. Command me."
---
Seo Hae-jin studied the creature.
He didn't smile.
He didn't praise.
He simply raised a hand.
"Take flight."
---
The Wingborn launched into the air, breaking through the open hive dome.
Above the trees, it soared, scouting wide arcs around the mountain.
Its senses fed straight into the Hive Link.
Heat patterns. Mana waves. Motion trails.
Everything.
Seo Hae-jin saw the world through its eyes.
Faster now.
Smarter.
More evolved.
---
The system displayed more data.
> > [New Bug Variant Unlocked: Sky Crawler.]
[Flight Unit Capacity: 320.]
[Spawning Protocol: Activated.]
Already, eggs were hatching in the upper spires.
Wings folded. Membranes shimmered.
Within an hour, hundreds would take to the skies.
---
Down below, in the roots of the nest, biomass surged.
Predator bugs lined up to consume the corpses pulled from the latest raid site.
Two small farming settlements had fallen overnight.
No survivors.
The Hive didn't need survivors.
Just growth.
---
Then the system pulsed again.
> > [Royal Capital – Mage Guild Transmission Intercepted.]
[Message: "Unknown biological plague. Villages lost. Immediate investigation requested."]
[Tracking Spell Activated.]
He paused.
They'd finally noticed.
Too slow.
But now they were watching.
His fingers closed into a fist.
---
Across the cavern, another figure emerged.
This one was different—taller, armored in chitin so dense the light bent around it.
Its head was shaped like a crown.
Its hands ended in blades.
Eyes burned with mindlight—intelligence, memory, calculation.
A Sovereign Bug.
High-ranking.
The first of its kind.
---
> > [New Unit Created: Sovereign Commander – Codename: Skarax.]
[Level: 102.]
[Abilities: Void Claw / Hive Pulse / Mana Reversal / Commander's Link.]
The creature knelt.
Its voice echoed, deeper than the others.
"We live to serve, my Sovereign."
Seo Hae-jin said nothing for a long time.
He just looked at it.
A perfect weapon.
Born in the nest.
Loyal by design.
---
The Hive Link deepened.
His control extended further now.
He could feel the thoughts of thousands.
Not words—instincts. Urges.
They wanted to hunt. To fly. To kill.
He allowed it.
---
He stepped forward, standing atop a high spire overlooking the night sky.
Wings buzzed in the dark.
The Wingborn were flying.
A swarm of black shapes against the stars.
And below them, the land lay still—unaware, unready.
---
"Begin planetary spread," he said.
His voice was quiet.
But every bug in the Hive heard it.
---
> > [Territorial Expansion Unlocked.]
[Hive Mode: Colonization.]
[Target Zones Selected – Eastern Valley / Riverfront Town / Mana Relay Outpost.]
---
Across the region, larvae crawled underground.
Sky Crawlers flew low, scouting for prey.
Predator units massed on roads, hidden beneath moss and stone.
The second wave had begun.
---
In the distance, four mages rode through the trees on mana steeds.
Blue cloaks. Guild crest glowing on their backs.
They carried scrolls, staffs, tracking crystals.
They were the first official response team from the Capital.
They would reach t
he edge of the destroyed village by dawn.
They thought they were coming to investigate.
Seo Hae-jin had already marked them for consumption.
---
He turned to Skarax.
"Kill them slowly."
---
The Sovereign Commander bowed, then vanished into the hive shadows.