Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 202: Book 3: Chapter 53: Hive Queen

Read chapter 202 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 3: Chapter 53: Hive Queen Chapter 53: Hive Queen The tunnels stretched on like veins through a rotting carcass, twisting tighter the deeper they went. Every step was harder now, not just from wounds or exhaustion but from the unknown threat of what waited below. Their steps scraped against stone slick with moisture, the only rhythm to accompany their breathing was the faint, wet drip… drip echoing off the walls. Alex walked near the front, his senses wide open despite the constant strain it placed on him. [Aether Sight] painted the way in front of him in threads of faint energy hues. Despite the overwhelming earth aether, lines of other energy ran through the tunnels as well, showing filaments bending toward a convergence further down. Each slow pulse of those filaments was deep, thrumming against his rocky backdrop. Whatever was ahead… it was powerful. Tom-Tom padded beside him, the little lizard's clawed toes clicking against the stone. The kobold’s snout twitched and jumped, sniffing at each branching passage before grunting and pointing his claw to steer them down one tunnel or another. Alex trusted him, they all did, Tom-Tom’s nose was uncanny. But the Hive didn’t give them passage freely. The hiss of chitin came from a side tunnel, followed by the wet scrape of claws. Soldier chimeras rushed in, their armored bodies gleaming in the faint aether-glow. “Brace!” Eric yelled before firing off a flash of lightning. The squad answered, falling into the rhythm of a new battle despite their injuries. Spells exploded, fire lit the tunnels, and shadows carved across the stone. Alex surged forward when he saw an opening, [Shield] forming in front his fist as he cracked a chimera’s skull into the wall. It was a move he had tried on instinct. Using the [Shield] spell to turn his fist into hammer blows rather than explosive attacks from [Flare]. It worked rather effectively. Despite never getting hit at all, pain lanced up his arm, every tendon shuddering against the strain of his own attacks. But he bit down the groan in his throat and kept moving. A cast of [Wind Lance] tore into another beast, distracting it just long enough for Lance’s saber to split its carapace. Each clash was short, and costly when it came aether reserves. By the time the last chimera soldier twitched its final death spasms, half the squad was bleeding again. Though nothing mortal, just old wounds being split open and never gaining a real chance to heal completely. “Keep moving,” Holly urged. “We bleed standing still," Myrae agreed. And so they pressed forward. Minute by minute, step by step, until time itself seemed to grow weary of their travel. The complex underground hive system may have seemed endless, but it didn’t last forever. The tunnel widened gradually, the walls opening in ridged layers like the ribs of some ancient beast. Then, all at once, they emerged into a chamber so vast it stole their breath. A cavernous hollow stretched before them, gargantuan in scale. Stalactites the size of towers hung overhead, each pulsing faintly with veins of aether. The walls were slick with glowing moss and webbed with tunnels, hundreds of openings like hungry mouths gaping into the abyss. The squad slowed as they crossed the threshold of the cavern. Their weapons were raised but their feet dragged from the pressure they felt inside the area. The air was thick and damp, alive with a low thrum that seemed to vibrate through the very ground. Every step they took echoed, each sound bouncing in the vastness around them. At the far end of the chamber, a raised dais loomed from the stone like it had grown there. Cut steps lead up to a throne carved directly from the rock. The entire area was cast in stark contrasts, deep shadows and bright mosslight. And upon the dais’ throne, sat the Queen. Her form was disturbing in every way human eyes would attempt to make sense of a person, but couldn’t. She had a humanoid silhouette at first glance. But like her captains, her s