The Eccentric Entomologist is Now a Queen's Consort

The moon hung high above the border village, its silvery light casting long shadows over the cluster of quiet houses. Beneath one of the larger structures, hidden away in a concealed cellar, a group of five assassins huddled around a dimly lit table. The atmosphere was tense, each of them clutching at weapons or fidgeting with pieces of gear. Veltra, the leader, stood at the head of the group, her sharp eyes scanning their faces as she spoke, her tone cutting through the tension like a blade.

"We can't afford mistakes," she said, her voice low but firm. "Our target is critical. The Envoys of the Serewyn Prince must not leave this region. If they reach the border, it's not just our failure—it's a direct threat to our employer's plans."

One of the assassins, a wiry man named Lorn, adjusted his bracers, muttering under his breath, "Still don't get why the last team failed. They were supposed to handle this already."

Veltra's gaze snapped to him, her sharp eyes narrowing. "And yet here we are, picking up their slack. We've received one garbled signal from them—something about 'ants,' if you can believe that. Probably interference or some fool's error."

A younger assassin, Delin, frowned, the tension evident in his brow. "Ants? Like… the insects? That's the last thing they sent before going silent?"

"Forget it," Veltra snapped, slamming her hand on the table. "Whatever happened to them doesn't matter now. What matters is ensuring we succeed where they failed."

The group fell silent, the weight of the mission pressing down on them like an invisible hand. Veltra leaned forward, spreading a map of the village and surrounding areas on the table. Her gloved finger tapped a marked location near the outskirts.

"The signal originated from here," she said, her tone commanding. "A small patch of forest outside the village. We'll move in teams. Lorn and Delin, you'll cover the perimeter. Drey and I will scout the source. Ven, you'll secure the entry point."

They nodded, their faces grim as they checked their weapons one last time. Moving under the cover of darkness, the assassins slipped out of their hidden base, their dark clothing blending seamlessly into the shadows, their footsteps muffled against the soft earth.

The forest was eerily quiet as they approached the designated area, the usual hum of nocturnal life strangely absent. Veltra held up a hand, signaling the group to stop. Ahead, the faint outline of a massive hole loomed in the ground, its edges unnaturally smooth and precise. A cold wind wafted out from the depths, carrying with it an unsettling silence that prickled the skin.

"That's... bigger than I expected," Delin murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, his hand hovering near his dagger.

"Looks like a hideout," Lorn said, peering over the edge, his brow furrowing. "Maybe they dug it out as an escape route."

Veltra crouched beside him, her expression hardening into stone. "No signs of tools or disturbance. This wasn't dug by human hands. Magic, perhaps. Or something worse."

Drey shifted uncomfortably, his grip tightening on the hilt of his dagger. "You think they're down there?"

Veltra didn't answer immediately, her eyes scanning the dark, yawning entrance of the tunnel. Finally, she gestured for Ven to take up a position at the hole's edge. "You guard the entrance. The rest of us will investigate."

The group descended cautiously, their boots finding purchase on the unnaturally smooth walls of the tunnel. The air grew colder as they went deeper, their breaths misting in the dim light of their lanterns. The tunnel stretched on, its walls curving slightly, as though carved with precision by something far more capable than human hands. The dim glow from their lanterns cast dancing shadows that seemed to shift and writhe with every step.

"This doesn't feel right," Drey muttered, his voice tinged with unease, his eyes darting to the shadows at the edge of the light.

"Stay focused," Veltra snapped, her voice a harsh whisper that echoed faintly in the confined space. "We're close. Keep your eyes open."

They moved deeper into the tunnel, their footsteps echoing faintly in the oppressive silence. The faint chittering sound began to grow louder, an unsettling noise that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, like the whisper of unseen predators. Delin stopped suddenly, his eyes wide as he pointed to a discarded piece of equipment on the ground, the metallic sheen catching the lantern's light.

"Technomancer tools," he said, his voice hushed with disbelief. "They were here."

Veltra knelt beside the items, her gloved fingers brushing over the cold metal. "No bodies. No signs of a fight," she said, her tone clipped, her mind racing.

Lorn shifted nervously, his shoulders tensing. "Maybe they left."

"Or maybe they didn't," Veltra countered, her voice sharp and unyielding. She stood, her hand tightening on her weapon. "Stay together. We—"

The chittering grew louder, cutting her off like a blade. From the shadows ahead, something moved. It was fast, almost too fast to track, and before anyone could react, the lead scout let out a strangled cry. A massive, ant-like creature lunged from the darkness, its mandibles snapping shut around his torso. Blood splattered across the tunnel walls as the creature dragged him into the shadows, his screams cutting off abruptly.

"Fall back!" Veltra shouted, her voice slicing through the chaos. "Regroup!"

Chaos erupted as more of the creatures appeared, their glossy exoskeletons glinting in the dim light like shards of obsidian. The assassins fought desperately, their blades and projectiles bouncing off the creatures' armored bodies. The ants moved with terrifying precision, their attacks coordinated as though guided by a single mind.

"They're too fast!" Delin shouted, slashing wildly at one of the creatures. His blade glanced off its shell, and the ant's mandibles snapped dangerously close to his neck, the sharp click echoing in the confined space.

"Why do they act like they understand us?!" Drey yelled, his back pressed against the tunnel wall as he fumbled to reload his crossbow, his hands shaking.

One of the creatures, smaller and more agile, darted forward, its body glowing faintly with an eerie luminescence. It fixed its gaze on Delin, who froze, his eyes glazing over as though caught in a trance. In an instant, he turned on his comrades, his blade swinging with deadly intent.

"Delin! What the hell are you doing?!" Lorn shouted, blocking the attack with his own weapon, his face twisted in shock and confusion.

"He's not in control!" Veltra barked, her blade cutting through the air as she parried another strike from one of the ants. "It's them! They're making him do this!"

The assassins' formation crumbled as panic set in, their cohesion unraveling like frayed thread. Veltra tried to rally them, shouting orders, but the creatures were relentless, their onslaught unyielding. One of the assassins fumbled with a satchel of explosives, his hands trembling as he tried to ignite the fuse.

"I'll collapse the tunnel!" he yelled, desperation seeping into his voice. "It's the only way!"

Before he could light the fuse, a massive, frog-like variant of the creatures leapt from the darkness, its powerful legs propelling it into the assassin. The man screamed as the creature crushed him against the tunnel wall, the explosives falling harmlessly to the ground, their potential snuffed out.

Veltra's eyes darted around, taking in the carnage with a grim determination. "We're being herded," she realized, her voice barely audible, the weight of the truth sinking in. "They're driving us deeper."

The creatures' movements became even more coordinated, cutting off escape routes and forcing the assassins further into the tunnel. Veltra gritted her teeth, her mind racing as she tried to come up with a plan, her breaths shallow and rapid. She pulled out a small, spherical device, its surface etched with intricate runes, her fingers trembling slightly.

"This will call for reinforcements," she muttered, her thumb brushing over the activation rune, her voice a fragile thread of hope.

Before she could activate it, one of the ants lunged, its mandibles crushing the device in her hand with a sickening crunch. Veltra stared in stunned silence as the broken pieces fell to the ground, her last lifeline shattered. The creature loomed over her, its antennae twitching as though studying her, its unblinking eyes filled with a cold, alien intelligence.

"No…" she whispered, her voice trembling, the weight of realization pressing down on her. "They're not just killing us."

The ants closed in, their movements deliberate and unsettlingly calm, their presence suffocating. Veltra's breathing quickened as she realized what was happening. These weren't mindless monsters. They were capturing her, their intent clear in their calculated actions.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she glanced around, seeing her comrades one by one meeting horrifying ends. Lorn was the first to fall, his desperate swing at one of the creatures missing entirely. The ant moved with calculated precision, its mandibles snapping shut around his throat. Blood spattered across the walls as his body crumpled, lifeless, leaving Veltra frozen in place for a fraction of a second.

"Lorn!" Delin's voice broke through the chaos, filled with terror. He barely had time to react as another creature lunged, its glistening exoskeleton reflecting the dim light of the tunnel. It struck him with its sharp forelegs, pinning him to the ground. His screams echoed, raw and guttural, until a larger variant drove its appendage straight through his chest, silencing him forever.

Veltra tried to focus, to block out the gruesome scene unfolding before her. "Regroup! Fight!" she shouted, but her voice felt distant, almost drowned out by the cacophony of chittering and dying cries. Drey attempted to follow her command, his crossbow trembling in his hands as he aimed at one of the ants. The bolt ricocheted harmlessly off its armored shell. The creature retaliated immediately, rushing him and slamming him into the tunnel wall with a sickening crunch. He slumped forward, his face twisted in agony, before his body stilled.

Ven, the last of her team still standing, made a desperate move to escape, running toward what he thought was the tunnel's entrance. He didn't make it far. A glowing ant with eerie, hypnotic patterns on its body emerged, its tendrils coiling around him. His frantic movements slowed, his eyes glazing over as the creature forced him to walk back toward the center of the chaos. Veltra watched in horror as Ven, no longer in control of his actions, was pushed directly into the waiting mandibles of another ant. The sound of bones snapping echoed through the tunnel.

It was just her now. Her breaths came in shallow gasps, and every instinct screamed at her to run, but her body refused to move. A sharp tug at her hair yanked her back to reality. She cried out, her head snapping backward as one of the ants gripped her crimson locks with its claw-like appendages. The sharp pain coursing through her scalp only added to the terror coursing through her veins. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire

The last thing she saw before being dragged into the shadows was the glint of intelligence in the creatures' unblinking eyes, and the horrifying realization that they understood far more than she had ever imagined.

The chittering continued, growing fainter as the tunnel returned to its eerie silence, leaving no trace of the assassins except for their abandoned tools and faint traces of blood.