The falling stalactite pierced through the Vespoid Queen's abdomen, dark green insect blood gushing out as its piercing shrieks echoed through the waste disposal cavern.
At that moment, the same thought crossed both young hunters' minds, this Vespoid Queen was finished.
Yet as they cautiously approached the Queen's side with weapons drawn, ready to deliver a mercy strike, the severely weakened Vespoid Queen suddenly spread its wings again and began thrashing violently.
The stalactite that had pinned it to the ground was shaken loose, but in the struggle, the penetrating wound in its abdomen tore open even wider.
Insect blood, unknown viscous fluids, and substances resembling organ fragments gushed out like a spring, soaking large patches of the ground.
As Isis moved closer, her peripheral vision caught a flicker of movement. Instinctively, she raised her great shield slightly.
"Bang!"
A screeching sound like scraping blades echoed from the shield, the powerful impact pushing her back several stumbling steps, nearly causing both her and Altaïr behind her to fall.
It was the Vespoid Queen's fluttering wing, seemingly light, thin, and insignificant, but its force was not to be underestimated.
The two dared not approach further. Monsters in this dying-but-not-dead state were the most dangerous. Knowing they were doomed, they would stop at nothing to drag their enemies down to hell with them in their final moments.
After another bout of violent struggling, the Vespoid Queen finally managed to flip itself over. It spread its crumpled, somewhat deformed wings and began fluttering them with all its might.
Was it trying to take off? Where could it possibly fly in this condition?
To avoid being counterattacked, the hunters who had backed away quickly closed in, attempting to stop it.
Perhaps because it was literally fighting for its life, the Vespoid Queen's takeoff was faster than any of its previous attempts. Though it didn't gain much altitude, it managed to leave the ground, stumbling erratically as it flew up along the slope.
No matter how awkward its flight appeared, its speed still surpassed what hunters on foot could match, especially on such a steep incline.
Though they knew the creature couldn't escape, watching their prey move away from them made the young hunters inevitably anxious. Isis instinctively raised her Slinger, aiming at the not-yet-distant Vespoid Queen and firing her hook claw.
Seeing this, Altaïr quickly followed suit, firing his own hook claw as well.
Normally, to reliably latch onto a Monster's body using a Slinger required a special component called the "Clutch Claw," which neither of their Slingers were equipped with.
But their Slingers were no longer the outdated models from ten or twenty years ago, both the hook claws and spring mechanisms had been significantly upgraded.
The two hook claws latched onto the Vespoid Queen's thoracic and abdominal carapace respectively. As the mechanisms rapidly retracted, they carried the two hunters "flying" up onto the Queen's body.
"Screech...!"
The Vespoid Queen let out a sharp cry, but as the hunters tightly gripped whatever handholds they could find, preparing to deal with its struggles, they realized the Queen had no intention of paying them any attention. Instead, it further accelerated its flight speed.
It flew past the slope, then ascended upward along the chute the hunters had used to descend.
The passage was narrow, preventing it from fully extending its wings, yet it refused to give up. Using its not-particularly-strong six limbs, it clawed and climbed upward, inch by inch.
Clutching the Vespoid Queen's abdomen, Isis gripped her Gunlance with one hand and prepared to thrust it into the creature's wound for a decisive blow.
Altaïr, positioned higher up, urgently called out, "Stop! We're not tethered, if it falls, we'll plummet with it!"
Realizing the danger, Isis sheepishly withdrew her weapon. The two hunters remained clinging to the Vespoid Queen as it continued its ascent.
The nearly vertical, two-hundred-meter shaft took the giant insect several minutes to climb. The light above grew increasingly bright, and when the Vespoid Queen finally emerged from the slag-dumping opening into the open-air Solar Furnace, Altaïr and Isis realized dawn had broken.
The Elder and artisans waiting anxiously nearby recoiled in terror at the sight of the enormous Vespoid crawling from the tunnel.
Twisting its mangled body, the Vespoid Queen lifted its head toward the rarely seen blue sky, spread its wings, and prepared to take flight.
But it had forgotten the two hunters still clinging to its back.
Just as it lifted off the ground, poised to soar into the clear sky, Isis shoved her Gunlance barrel into the wound previously pierced by the stalactite and triggered the Wyvern's Fire.
Simultaneously, Altaïr rose to a half-crouch and drove his Iron Gospel deep into the junction between the Vespoid Queen's head and thorax.
"BOOM!"
The detonating Wyvern's Fire nearly severed the creature's body in two, while the piercing longsword severed several critical nerve clusters.
The Vespoid Queen emitted one final shriek before collapsing lifelessly to the ground, the light in its compound eyes fading to a dull, ashen gray.
Covered in insect blood and viscous fluids, the two hunters rose from beside the Vespoid Queen's corpse.
The hunt was successful. The mission complete.
Yet as they gazed at the fallen Queen lying supine, as if determined to stare at the blue sky even in death, and recalled its desperate, final climb to reach the outside world, neither hunter could summon any sense of triumph.
The Professor approached.
Taking in the young hunters' solemn expressions, he immediately guessed their turmoil. "Respect nature. Honor life. But don't empathize too deeply."
After a brief pause, he continued, "Don't project excessive sentimentality. Its motives were likely simpler than you imagine. If it truly yearned for freedom or the open sky, it wouldn't have entrenched itself here, it could have left long ago. The destruction of its nest and mortal danger were its real reasons for fleeing."
Altaïr and Isis exchanged glances, suddenly feeling less pity for the Vespoid Queen.
Click! Click!
Nearby, Erik snapped several photos of the corpse with his portable camera before looking up in disappointment. "Would've been better if it were alive."
The Professor shot him a sidelong glance. "If it were alive, you'd be its meal. Stop complaining and fetch the dissection tools."
—--
The Solar Furnace was temporarily sealed for safety, all reflector panels closed as artisans entered the waste disposal cavern for cleanup.
Further investigation revealed the Vespoids had blocked most of the drainage passage with rocks and secretions, causing accumulated slag to form a warm nest that ultimately spawned the Vespoid Queen.
To put it simply, this Vespoid Queen and the swarm that shouldn't have appeared in the desert region were actually products of human and Vespoid collaboration.
This was an exceptionally unique case. The Professor planned to compile it into a report for the guild headquarters while also publishing a paper, which would undoubtedly spark considerable discussion in academic circles.
His student Erik, along with the two young hunters, would even receive co-author credits, though none of them particularly cared about that.
What do hunters care about most after a hunt? Monster materials, of course.
Altaïr and Isis claimed they were accompanying the craftsmen as guards to ensure no remaining Vespoids lingered in the caves, but their real purpose was carving materials from the massive pile of Vespoid corpses.
Like Konchu, Vespoids contain thick bodily fluids that serve as excellent adhesives, widely used in equipment crafting.
They collected at least thirty units of monster body fluid, along with even greater quantities of paralysis stingers, Vespoid wings, carapaces, and other parts. The amount was enough to last a lifetime for equipment crafting, so they planned to sell the surplus to reclaimers and split substantial profits.
Then there were the Vespoid Queen materials.
According to the Professor, due to the rarity of Vespoid Queens and their materials not being significantly stronger than regular Vespoid parts, few craftsmen specifically design equipment for them.
Altaïr couldn't help feeling disappointed, he had been looking forward to acquiring new armor.
However, the Professor promised to reserve some materials for them, describing them as "superior substitutes" for regular Vespoid parts. These would be sent along with a "mysterious reward" later, urging him to anticipate the delivery.
Altaïr was fiercely anticipating it.
In contrast to the outsiders' lighthearted mood, the Elder and others appeared deeply troubled.
Just as Isis had casually remarked earlier, everyone from the Elder and Supervisor to the craftsmen wore expressions of devastation while staring at the massive accumulation of slag and scrap metal.
How long would it take to clear all this? Not to mention the necessary cave modifications to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
Extended work suspension was inevitable.
Astronomical penalty fees.
P.S. The protagonist will get new equipment too 0v0