Strictly speaking, the one who had torn apart the inside of the Redrump’s den was the injured honeybee himself. As he pushed through the thick vegetation blocking his view, his arm got scratched by a branch, and he bit back a groan as he muttered to himself.
“…Where the hell am I?”
His head was spinning in a daze from confusion and shock. He needed fresh air to clear it. Taking a walk to calm his pounding heart, he had wandered off—and in this tropical rainforest, where every tree and vine looked the same, he had gotten himself hopelessly lost. The gravity of the situation slowly began to set in, and fear crept in. In this perilous place where every creature oozed venom and fought desperately to survive, he was now completely alone.
“I-I need to get back. Fast.”
Trembling in the hot, humid jungle, the honeybee hurried his steps. Unfortunately, the faster he moved, the deeper he wandered into the labyrinth.
I’ve got to go back… Back and then…?
But what was he going to do once he got back? Was he going to face Hurel? Talk to him face-to-face? He wasn’t sure he could. Yet, he also didn’t want to keep wandering through this dark, eerie place.
That’s when the loud rustling came from the thicket nearby.
At first, it sounded like the chirring of insects—jjeereureuk, jjeereureuk—but the closer Blaine crept out of curiosity, the clearer the sound became.
“Help me! Please, someone help!”
It was a cry for help. In the middle of some tall, sharp-edged grass, a creature had collapsed in a heap, sobbing with a voice so thin and fragile it sounded like it might break at any moment. Drawn to the voice, Blaine instinctively stepped closer—but then froze.
Something about this felt very familiar. A chill ran down his neck, and his brain rang with warning bells.
“Sniff sniff, my leg hurts so bad… please, someone save me…”
Crying pitifully, the creature had buried his dainty face in his palms, shoulders trembling. He had beautiful black hair with a hint of blue, and though his stature was similar to Hurel’s, something about him seemed delicate. Fragile—yes, that’s the word. The way that handsome, tearful man sat there, begging with eyes full of desperation… it didn’t feel unfamiliar to Blaine at all. Something about it tugged at an instinct deep inside him.
But instead of rushing over to help, Blaine hesitated—and muttered.
“…I’m a wasp, you know?”
“…Huh?”
“I said, I’m a wasp.”
He repeated himself clearly. The beautiful face, previously smeared with sorrow and pain, now twisted in bewilderment.
“O-oh, you’re… a wasp. But could you still maybe—”
“And you are what, exactly?”
“Huh?”
“I told you what I am. So you tell me—what are you?”
The man blinked, his moist blue eyes shifting side to side before he opened his lips to respond, cheeks still streaked with tears.
“Well… I’m… uh, a butterfly. A butterfly, yeah…”
Blaine’s expression twisted in disbelief, and he let out a hollow, bitter laugh. A butterfly? A prey species that could get eaten any time, and yet he was asking a wasp—someone who just admitted what he was—for help? No matter how desperate he was, who in their right mind would do that?
That’s suicide.
Now that Blaine thought about it, the guy’s body seemed… off. His dark clothes made him look slender, but his exposed wrist had prominent veins, his hands were large and jointed, his neck thick and muscular. Once he looked closer, it was impossible not to notice. The saying really was true—you see what you know.
“……”
Ignoring the man’s desperate pleas, Blaine slowly began to step back. But suddenly, he dropped to a crouch. The man looked at him, baffled.
Crack!
“Argh?!”
Something small and grayish—no bigger than a chestnut—came flying through the air and smacked him in the head. Reflexively, the man grabbed his temple and looked down.
It was a rock.
Before he could even process what was happening, more rocks—just as large—came hurling at him, two, three, four in a row.
“Ugh, h-hngh! Bastard!”
“Wha—?! Ow! That hurts!”
“You scamming bastard! Piece of shit! I hate your kind the most!”
Blaine, who had been holding back all his frustration and grief until now, suddenly burst out sobbing and began chucking rocks and clumps of dirt like a madman. The black-haired man raised his arms in panic, shielding his head as he backed away, utterly flustered.
“Wh-what the hell is wrong with you?! If you’re not gonna help, just walk away—what is this bullshit?!”
“Why do you trick people?! If you’re gonna eat me, then just eat me, assholes! Why do you lie?!”
It’s to make it easier to eat them, obviously! Even in this savage jungle, the name alone was enough to make creatures run in terror, and yet now, the infamous predator—revealed to be a scorpion—was getting pelted with rocks, utterly speechless.
Could this day get any worse?
“You soulless bastard! Do you get off on playing with people like that?! You think it’s fun to deceive others?! Freakin’ pervert!”
He could’ve just ignored the lunatic and walked away, chalked this hunt up as a loss. But listening to this big-chested idiot rage at him started to really piss him off.
He wasn’t that crazy, but he knew a few idiots who thought they were invincible just because they had tough exoskeletons and brute strength. And where were they now? All dead—taken out by his stinger, stabbed right through when they least expected it. They writhed, begged, and then died like worms.
Judging from this guy’s appearance, he wasn’t even a giant hornet.
Easy pickings.
Besides, this jungle? His turf.
“Why… hngh… why would you…”
“This is just… absolutely ridiculous…”
“Why’d you do it, Haniiiiii…!”
Oh? So now he’s sobbing like a baby. The scorpion smirked silently as he crept closer, tail low and hidden behind him. For a moment, he had the dumb thought: Would eating a lunatic make me go insane too? But then the hunger kicked in and drove the thought away.
“Ugh…!”
Collapsed in the grass, bawling his eyes out just a moment ago, the honeybee suddenly clenched his fists and sprang to his feet. The scorpion, who had been ready to lunge with his tail, tripped and nearly toppled over.
He’d almost impaled himself with his own stinger—a humiliating way to die, not to mention stupid. His heart skipped a beat. Meanwhile, Blaine’s mind was so filled with spiders that he couldn’t think of anything else.
At first, he had felt nothing but betrayal and anguish. But after crying his heart out, a thought began to form—Even if I have to fight Hurel to the death, I should at least try talking to him.
Yeah. Just running away won’t solve anything. No matter what happens, I need to talk to him.
“Okay… First I need to find my way ba— gasp!”
Just as he finished making up his mind and stood tall, a stunning face popped up right in front of him, making the honeybee choke on his own breath in shock. He was so startled, he nearly had a heart attack.
Gone was the pitiful act. The scorpion now stood cold and silent, eyes burning with fury.
“You son of a…”
“Wh-what are you—oof!”
Blaine tried to back away, but the scorpion was faster. In an instant, he grabbed Blaine by the collar, his grip so tight the bee couldn’t even breathe. He could only let out a choked moan. The strength was overwhelming—his lungs felt like they were being crushed. Paralyzed by fear and oxygen deprivation, Blaine could only watch helplessly as the scorpion raised his venomous tail high.
At death’s doorstep, Blaine did what every living thing does—he regretted.
If I knew I was gonna die like this, I should’ve just let Hani eat me…
That thought somehow hardened his resolve like cold steel. No. He couldn’t just lie down and wait for the end. Even if it was pathetic, even if it was hopeless, he had to fight.
He’d faced what felt like certain death before and somehow made it through.
Even if this time really was the end, he didn’t want to give up.
So, Blaine clenched his teeth and began pummeling the scorpion’s arm like a madman.
“Argh! You bastard!”
Twisting his head to the side, Blaine bit down hard on the scorpion’s hand—so hard his jaw nearly popped. The strength of his bite was enough to leave marks even on a spider’s nape.
He didn’t care if all his teeth fell out—he bit down with everything he had.
“Ow!! Gross!”
The pain was sharp enough, but the sight of clear, sticky saliva dribbling down from Blaine’s open lips onto the scorpion’s hand made it even worse. Disgusted and unable to take it anymore, the scorpion let go of Blaine’s shoulder and slapped him across the face.
Blaine flew through the air and slammed into the ground.
His vision flipped. His head spun. He couldn’t even tell which way was up anymore. And then, something flew past his side, faster than an arrow.
