Meanwhile, the White-Striped Redrump—infamous for his fickle nature, known to either heal wounds or devour the injured alive depending on his mood—was utterly fed up with the suffocating humidity of the tropical rainforest. All he wanted now was to go home and soak in a cold bath. But since he’d caused a mess, he had no choice but to tag along. Still, he was reaching his limit.
“Hey, we’ve searched this much and there’s still no sign of him. I bet he’s already been ea—”
“Sage sir…!!”
He had just started to complain out of boredom when the rhinoceros beetle suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth in a panic. If anyone else had interrupted him like that, he’d have sliced their wrist off and used it as interior décor. But Shane simply stopped talking, obediently.
“Shut up for a sec.”
“Y-Yes! I’ll ask him to be quiet, just please let this slide—”
“No, you. Shut your damn mouth.”
General, who truly hadn’t done anything wrong, closed his mouth with teary eyes.
With the beetle silenced and the gray spider quiet thanks to the beetle, a tense silence settled over the dense jungle. And with that, what had seemed like just the wind now revealed itself to be something more—an audible voice.
Shane wasn’t angry, but his cold expression as he slowly walked forward made him look even more terrifying. Then again, that was just his default face, so there was nothing new there.
“Why’d you do it, why… sniffle, Hani…”
Well, aren’t your ears sharp? You actually picked that up.
Shane followed after the spider’s ominous back, staring pitifully at his peer who had completely lost his mind over some guy.
As his view cleared, what he saw was a predator, dark blue hair flowing beautifully in the breeze, pinning down a massive form and preparing to devour it.
The poor thing, trapped and unable to move, was a honeybee—one whose size Shane was very familiar with.
“What… what is that creature? Isn’t it dangerous?!”
“Looks like a blue scorpion. Their venom’s strong and their exoskeleton’s thick—annoying to deal with. But hey, at least there’s two of us.”
Granted, we don’t exactly make the best team… but still better than going in alone.
While Shane was calmly plotting, a sound sharp as a fired crossbow bolt whizzed past General’s ear.
Thud!
It wasn’t until he saw the black-haired man—who’d been threatening Blaine—go flying that General realized Hurel had just launched himself onto the scene faster than an arrow.
“……”
“Well, of course he’d do whatever the hell he wants, wherever he goes.”
“W-We should help, right? Isn’t that dangerous?!”
Aren’t you supposed to be his friend? Aren’t you even worried?! General hopped from foot to foot anxiously, but Shane just blinked with glazed-over eyes, stifling a yawn.
Worried? Please. If he gets beaten to death by the scorpion, I don’t have to waste time making medicine. Win-win. Of course, he didn’t say that out loud. Unlike Hurel, Shane had no intention of giving up his reputation management.
“What the fuck is this guy now? What the hell is happening toda—”
If the scorpion had known those would be his last words of the day, maybe he would’ve chosen something a little classier. But alas, no arthropod could see the future—and just like that, the scorpion took a fist to the jaw and hit the dirt.
But that wasn’t the end of his suffering.
Born with a thick exoskeleton and a venomous stinger, the blue scorpion had reigned as a top predator of the tropical rainforest. He had probably never experienced what it felt like to be beaten like a rug on a rainy day. Even though it wasn’t raining, the suffocating humidity made the dust kicked up by the beating hang heavy in the air.
He didn’t get a single hit in.
To anyone with a pair of eyes and a working conscience, the one-sided brutality would’ve been enough to induce nausea.
“Guh—! Ack! Nghk!”
“Uhh… hey…”
Watching Hurel easily grab a scorpion the size of his own body by the collar and beat the ever-living hell out of his face and torso, General wasn’t even surprised anymore. But he was distracted by the honeybee seated next to him—mouth agape like a stone idol, watching the bloodbath unfold in first class.
“Hurel. Hey. Hurel…”
Shane tried several times to remind him there are people watching you, but realized Hurel’s ears were effectively blocked. With a sigh, he gave up.
Whatever. Let him dig his own grave.
***
With no further need to step in, Shane ended up spectating from a great vantage point. If he had snacks, it would’ve been perfect. He patted the trembling rhinoceros beetle who was huddled against his side.
The scorpion’s supposedly tough exoskeleton crumpled beneath Hurel’s shoe like tofu. Or maybe more like a tomato being stomped into pulp. The blood that splattered stained the jagged leaves nearby, and the spider’s fluttering, snowy white hair was now streaked red from the force of his attacks.
“Grrk…!”
With his jaw cracked and defenseless, the scorpion took a brutal heel to the gut. Splat. Red liquid exploded like spilled paint, splashing across the spider. The sticky, iron-scented fluid smeared his eyelids and cheeks, causing his brows to furrow. He stepped back a few paces—then noticed a creature standing less than two meters away, slowly turning to stone.
“…Hah.”
That wasn’t the gaze of a sane man.
Those pitch-black eyes burned like the gaze of a monster that craved blood. His once silver-white hair had turned red. No—his whole body was drenched in crimson. He looked like a demon dragged straight out of hell.
Maybe it was the blood spray, but one of the spider’s eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly approached. Blaine, acting on prey instinct, instinctively stepped back. That’s when he saw it—Hurel’s lips curling into a lopsided grin.
Cold. Cruel. Devastatingly beautiful.
“…Are you afraid of me?”
Blaine’s throat bobbed visibly as he swallowed. Hurel stepped in as Blaine stepped back, expression hardening into a chilling mask.
“Why do you keep running away? Are you that scared? Am I so disgusting you can’t stand it?”
“Hurel…”
At the sound of his name—two syllables whispered from the honeybee’s lips—Hurel’s brow twitched. His cold sneer widened as he abruptly closed the remaining distance. That icy, sculpture-like face was now just inches away, and Blaine clenched his damp fists as he swallowed again.
“What, now you’re too afraid to even speak?”
“Ghk…!”
He thought his neck was being ripped off. The pale white hand clenching the back of his neck cut off the blood flow to his head, and his vision began to blur. As the darkness crept in, Hurel’s full, red lips inched closer to his own. The scent of fragrant wood flooded his senses.
Afraid they’d kiss, Blaine squeezed his eyes shut. But the soft, plump press of lips never came. Instead, delicate fingertips brushed along his lower lip—feverishly hot.
Seeing the trembling honeybee with his eyes shut tight, Hurel bit his own bottom lip. He had thought that once he found the bee, it wouldn’t matter how he felt—he’d just drag him back by force and chain him up if he had to. But now, seeing Blaine physically shaking and trying to pull away, something inside him snapped.
“Bee-Bee, I…”
God, he wanted to break this creature’s wings, snap his legs, drag him back, force-feed him medication, make sure he could never run away again. If he didn’t, he might just rip him to shreds right here.
Unconsciously, he squeezed tighter. The honeybee let out a pained whimper.
