Lika stepped out of Pai Mansion as a torrential downpour turned the city streets damp and muddy.
Inside Pai Mansion, lights blazed for Miss Manny's victory celebration. Almost all Guild members had arrived, but Lika had sneaked out alone.
Holding a pink umbrella, Lika hurried down the deserted street when an insect-drawn carriage sped past, splashing yellowish mud across her expensive maid's uniform.
"Dammit..."
A flicker of venomous resentment crossed Lika's eyes as she dabbed at the stains with a handkerchief, only spreading the dirt further and deepening her frown.
Everyone knew Lika was Manny's most favored maid—reliable, quick-witted, and having served Manny since childhood. Though technically mistress and servant, the two girls of similar age were like sisters.
Moreover, Lika enjoyed Manny's deep trust, entrusted with managing the bee venom crucial to Manny's life. Every day, she used the only key to retrieve the sealed medicine from the warehouse for Manny—a routine so ingrained that Manny even confided in her about Rick.
"Should I change? Dammit... why now!" Lika sighed heavily, rushing toward a nearby dry cleaner.
Inside Pai Mansion, the lively ball contrasted starkly with the foul weather outside. Under bright lights, dressed-up guests laughed and chatted, while gorgeously attired ladies flitted through the crowd like butterflies.
Rick sat alone on a sofa away from the dance floor, an untouched glass of expensive red wine at his side. He brooded silently like an ancient statue.
His all-night talk with Arthur had revealed much, and his experiences over the past half-year had sped his growth—he was no longer the ignorant youth from half a year ago.
The Defenders and Twelve Alliances—these secret organizations held all the levers of human society. The Defenders had support from some city lords and the Insect Association, while the Twelve Alliances relied on city lords and parts of the Assassin's Guild. On paper, the Defenders held a clear advantage. After all, people preferred controlling their own fate, making the Defenders' dominance in this hidden struggle only natural.
Yet the Merchant Guild, the largest and wealthiest of humanity's major forces, remained unaligned with either organization—a fact that struck Rick as incredible. Though merchants ideally stayed neutral to please all sides, could the Defenders and Twelve Alliances truly have no designs on the Guild?
The Twelve Alliances, in particular, could reverse their disadvantage and surpass the Defenders instantly by seizing the Guild.
"If I were with the Twelve Alliances, I'd never miss the Guild's weakest moment. But... how will they strike?"
Rick felt uneasy, unable to sort his jumbled thoughts.
Suddenly, a massive lightning bolt flashed outside. The ballroom's skylight was torn open by howling wind, causing the lights to flicker as icy air rushed in.
"Close the window!"
As chamberlain, Gria flusteredly ordered attendants to close the window, but suddenly, Rick leapt from his chair as if electrocuted. The sofa he'd been sitting on split in two the moment he stood.
Everything happened too fast for Rick to warn anyone. The attack escalated like a thunderclap into chaos.
Countless shadows stormed Pai Mansion. Even guests in formal attire pulled knives from their jackets, stabbing the bodyguards protecting them. Pandemonium reigned, leaving Gria dazed and confused.
"Frontal assault and internal rebellion! These bastards dare to act so brazenly?"
Watching the scene, this was no mere assassination—clearly a meticulously planned storming. Those seeking Manny's death intended to breach Pai Mansion's defenses directly, timing their attack when guards were rotating and vigilance was lowest.
And it coincided perfectly with Lord Arthur's sudden departure from Ison City.
Too many coincidences. Had Arthur abandoned Manny? Or did the attackers know he had to leave? Or was this Arthur's ploy to lure the enemy out, with Manny as an unwitting bait?
Countless possibilities flashed through Rick's mind, but amid the chaos, he couldn't judge. The only thing he could do was reach Manny as fast as possible. Regardless of the truth, he remembered his duty as a bodyguard.
Grimacing, Rick cut down several attacking shadows. As more surrounded him, he staggered, using the splendid Ghost Step technique to create a trail of afterimages, slipping through the killers and leaping to the second floor toward Manny's room.
Manny had gone upstairs mid-dance to inject her bee venom, but coincidentally, her portable kit was empty. She'd sent Lika to retrieve more from her packed luggage.
By now, Manny should have finished, but her absence filled Rick with dread.
Downstairs, the slaughter was one-sided. Most bodyguards fell to the sudden betrayal of "guests," and incoming assassins took control with skilled teamwork and ruthless tactics, cutting down loyal Guild guards and butchering high-ranking members who supported Manny.
"It's over..."
Gria stared at the bloodshed, recalling Rick's earlier roars and plea to delay Manny's departure.
"Dammit... If I'd trusted Rick more, been firmer with the Guild elders, maybe..."
Regret contorted his face, but three ferocious assassins appeared, their serrated insect-limbed scimitars arcing for his throat.
"It ends here... Sorry, Manny..." Gria closed his eyes, bracing for death.
Ssss!
The sound of blades tearing through rags rang in his ears, and Gria felt warm droplets spatter his face.
"So... being killed doesn't hurt at all..." he mumbled.
"Idiot! What nonsense are you spouting?"
A sudden bark jolted Gria. He snapped his eyes open to see a man in a black trench coat standing before him, three mangled, bloody corpses at his feet.
Gria touched his throat, expecting a gash, but found it intact. The blood on his face belonged to others.
Relief surged through him. "Shust!" he yelled.
"Idiot, why shout? No one's raping you!" Shust shot him a glare, flicking a strand of spider silk that sliced a leaping assassin in half.
"Hey, it's chaos here—even tuxedoed bastards are pulling knives," another voice said. Gria turned to see Balzac.
"Looks like you still haven't learned assassin basics," Shust said, slaying a Guild member who showed no hostility. He licked his lips cruelly. "Safest way: kill everyone."
With a flick of his fingers, Shust's invisible spider silk webbed the entire ballroom. Cold light contracted, and countless people were shredded by the sudden Heavenly Wolf silk. A few assassins reacted, leaping into the air—only to meet Balzac, the "All-Around War Insect."
In seconds, Pai Mansion's elegant ballroom became a sea of corpses. Gria couldn't believe Shust would massacre friend and foe alike—among the dead were loyal guards and slaughtered Guild elders.
"How could you... how could you..." Gria paled, lips trembling.
"Shut up. I wouldn't be here if not for that idiot Rick," Shust spat, his murderous eyes gleaming with excitement. "Rookies, let me show you how an ace assassin works!"
Shust's sudden appearance on the first floor triggered a ruthless massacre without distinguishing friend from foe. Though his methods were extreme, this bloody tactic instantly intimidated the black-clad assassins storming Pai Mansion. The traitors who'd been preying on allies in the chaos were too terrified to blend into the crowd.
The once-chaotic first floor fell deathly silent. Staff and assassins alike stood frozen, warily eyeing their surroundings. No one knew how many spider silk traps that damned madman Shust had set—no one wanted to become a faceless pile of gore in an instant, not even killers who'd long ignored death.
Upstairs, Rick had no idea his most crucial ally had arrived. Focused entirely on Manny's safety, he cut a bloody path through the corridor, but as he rounded a corner toward Manny's room, a ruddy-cheeked, white-haired old man blocked his way. Rick halted instinctively, facing him.
"Fane..." Rick eyed the old man coldly. He'd long suspected Fane—the Guild headquarters inspector's role was too sensitive. But Rick had found no flaw, and Gria had kept core plans from him, so Rick had forgotten about him. Now it seemed this lurking old fox was indeed a killer sent by Diago.
"Fane, heh... yes, that's my name now. But fifty years ago, I had a nickname—Fane the Iceman!" Fane smiled, stepping closer. Overwhelming pressure enveloped Rick.
"Insect Master!" Rick realized with horror that this unremarkable old man possessed Insect Master realm power. Recalling "Fane the Iceman," he remembered this fugitive had a Grade 1 wanted warrant from the Insect Association.
"You don't look like your wanted poster," Rick stepped back warily.
"Changing one's appearance is easy—aren't you the same?" Fane smiled, flicking his wrist. Three ice shards shot for Rick's face like throwing stars.
Rick, already on guard, back-flipped just in time to dodge, but Fane closed the gap, fist aiming for his face.
With a "boom," Fane's fist pierced through Rick's face and slammed into the corridor wall. Almost simultaneously, a sharp scythe slashed at the back of his head. Rick sidestepped to block, and the ice longsword shattered. He flipped several times in the air to dissipate the blow's force.
"Arthur's Ghost Step is indeed remarkable—faster than mine," Fane assumed a fighting stance, another ice blade materializing in his hand. The floor beneath him instantly froze, and soon, the entire corridor was covered in glistening ice.
"What a powerful Insect Master..."
Rick eyed the icy floor. Clearly, Fane aimed to restrict his Ghost Step with ice. For Lord Arthur, mere ice wouldn't hinder his Ghost Step, but Rick couldn't move with the same ease.
"A tough battle? I have no time for that." Rick's gaze crossed Fane to the room at the corridor's end.
Dead silent, no sounds of struggle.
When Rick wasn't around, Manny had four skilled guards. If they weren't traitors, no one could assassinate Manny instantly. But if they were traitors... The thought was terrifying.
"No... It can't be..." Rick murmured to himself.
"Hehe, worried about the little miss? Don't fret—it'll end soon," Fane sneered, reading Rick's mind.
"End soon? So there are traitors inside." Rick charged, red-eyed, but the ice floor restricted his agility and speed. His anxious mindset made his attacks predictable, and Fane easily parried each strike.
"Is that all?" Fane laughed scornfully, eyeing Rick's labored breathing. "Know the fundamental gap between Insect Masters and Insect Generals? Hahaha... Masters can wield insect power at will, perfectly controlled, because their eggs have fully hatched and merged with their bodies. Generals? They're just poor fools relying on insect killing instincts. You think you can surpass me like this?"
Fane's understanding of Insect Masters sounded shallow to Rick, who'd heard Arthur's detailed explanation. But deeper knowledge couldn't bridge the gap—experience and realm couldn't be made up with a single night's lesson.
"We'll see."
Rick stubbornly leaned on his blade to stand. Though the surrounding temperature plummeted—he could almost feel his feet freezing—his blood surged, and the long-dormant egg within him suddenly thrashed wildly.
In nature, higher insects inherently dominate lower ones. A single rank difference may be subtle, but two or more is stark. Rick's Soldier-Class Scythe Worm was far below Fane's Heavenly-Class Ice Silkworm. However, the unmodified wild egg retained strong insect consciousness and survival instincts. Now, under the Ice Silkworm's overwhelming pressure, the Scythe Worm egg triggered a survival-driven evolution beyond Rick's awareness.
Crack!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the egg's shell within Rick, and a unique energy seeped from the fissures. Unbeknownst to him, he stood half a step from his dream of Insect Master—though that step might lead not to mastery, but to becoming a worm-juice oozing monster.
As if being flayed alive, Rick felt a massive vortex whirl inside him, threads of power filling his body.
A shattering sound echoed in his mind, something breaking free. Blurred lights flashed repeatedly in his thoughts.
Across from him, Fane couldn't fathom Rick's transformation, but when a golden light phantom materialized behind Rick, Fane's horror knew no bounds.
"Wh-what nonsense... Is he not an Insect General but... but..."