Chapter 348: Hybrid item
Rossbert believed that Eman was not an ordinary person. He was a great person— someone who could achieve great things in the future. Maybe it was a blind belief, but Rossbert already saw how capable Eman was. But honestly, looking at the enemy, it still worried him a little. After all, it was a disaster level Eman was up against. Those who knew— knew how terrifying the so-called disaster monsters were.
The storm howled like a living thing.
Thunder cracked across the sky as torrential rain lashed down in sheets, turning the heavens into a roiling battlefield of wind and lightning. Flashes of white-blue lit the dark clouds—and amidst them, three figures carved a path through the fury of the storm.
A monstrous shriek echoed across the night sky.
The Killer Queen Bee.
Her massive, armored form tore through the storm, wings slicing the air with terrifying force. With every beat, a shockwave thundered outward. She was a flying fortress of destruction—her stinger glowing with venomous energy, her burning red eyes locked onto her prey.
That prey—was Eman and Little Sky.
Riding atop a mythical beast, he clenched tightly to the thick fur of Sphin.
Sphin soared through the air with powerful wings.
Beside him, Little Sky was gripping onto Sphin's mane.
Although the rain was unceasing, the two of them didn't seem to get wet by it. Thanks to Sphin's Emerald Barrier. It prevented any drop of the rain from drenching them.
"Faster, Sphin!" Eman shouted over the roar of thunder.
Sphin answered with a guttural roar that shook the clouds, then tucked his wings and dove—lightning and emerald aura were dancing along her body as she evaded another volley of stingers launched by the Killer Queen Bee.
Eman could barely come up with a better solution to solve the problem. The enemy wouldn't let him concoct a plan. Anyway, he had led it away from Rothsport—into the heart of the storm—where no one else would be caught in the crossfire.
He couldn't let it harm anyone in the town— not while he was still breathing.
The Queen shrieked again and surged forward with unnatural speed.
"She's adapting, Milord!" Little Sky growled.
"We need to end this now."
He raised his hand, and a glowing interface appeared—runic, foreign, a system only accessible to him.
He scanned it, looking for something helpful in their current situation.
Within its menu, he browsed the Shop Panel. There, he saw something unexpected. He noticed something, a blueprint.
A fusion of ancient magic and modern knowledge.
He selected it: Magicburst Lance Missile – Stormpiercer.
It was the first time he saw an item that was a hybrid of otherworldly and magic.
<It's because Host's level gone up to such extent to which new type, such as hybrid items, were now accessible to purchase.> The voice of the System suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Without delay, he purchased it to test its capability. Deep inside, his heart ached a little because of the hefty amount of Soul Points he needed to spend for such an item.
However, due to the opponent's durability, Eman had no other method to defeat it. All his current attack methods seemed to be useless against it. Nuking it was also impossible because despite its massive size, the bee was quite agile.
Now he could only gamble to this hybrid item. The Magicburst Lance Missile.
Sphin let out a growl as the Queen closed in again. "Hold steady!" Eman barked.
A spear-sized stinger shot through the rain, crackling with lightning—Sphin rolled midair, narrowly avoiding it as it exploded behind them like a thunderbolt.
Eman's hands worked fast, channeling magic and binding the components in real-time. Runes floated around him, spinning violently in the air.
"This weapon will only fire once," he muttered. "If I miss…"
He didn't finish the thought.
The weapon began to form in his hand—a glowing, volatile lance pulsing with magic and gravitational force, lightning curling around its tip.
"NOW!"
Sphin beat his wings and surged upward.
Eman stood on Sphin's back, rain pelting the emerald barriers, and stormlight flashing across the sky.
The Queen lunged.
And Eman threw the Stormpiercer Lance with all the force he could muster.
A streak of blinding light cut through the storm, heading straight for the Killer Queen Bee's heart.
The Stormpiercer Lance howled through the sky like a comet torn from the heavens.
It didn't fly blindly.
It locked on.
The moment it launched, it went straight to its target like an obedient puppy.
The Killer Queen Bee's eyes widened.
Perhaps, at that moment, it realized the danger. Perhaps its ancient instinct screamed at her to flee. But it was too late.
The lance shifted mid-flight, adjusting with unnatural precision through the swirling wind and rain, threading through lightning bolts as if the storm itself parted before it.
"Direct hit…" Eman breathed, gripping Sphin's mane as they soared through the downpour.
The Queen shrieked and turned to flee, wings thrumming wildly. But the lance was already at her thorax.
Impact.
BOOOOM!!
A blinding light exploded in the sky.
The storm convulsed. Thunder roared like a god's fury unleashed. A shockwave rippled through the clouds, splitting the heavens open with raw force.
From the ground, Rothsport's defenders looked up and froze. Even through the storm, even through the chaos, they saw it—the sky igniting in white-blue brilliance as a massive creature flailed and screamed in the air.
A blinding arc of energy pierced straight through the Killer Queen Bee's chest, tearing through carapace, flesh, and bone.
The monster's wings snapped.
Her shriek turned into a low, gurgling roar as the magic destabilized inside her. Cracks of light erupted from her body, and in a final, explosive pulse of force—
Explosion.
Eman himself was surprised at the power of that item. He did not expect it to be this powerful.
A while ago, far from the storm, deep within the confines of a shadow-drenched chamber, a group of robed figures stood in a silent circle. The only light in the room came from the center, where a large, floating crystal orb projected a swirling, storm-ridden sky.
Within the orb, the image of the Killer Queen Bee filled the space—wings tearing through the clouds, venom dripping from her monstrous stinger.
The Blessed Church watched, cloaked in black ceremonial robes trimmed with silver runes, their faces hidden beneath low hoods. Though they called themselves devout, their hearts were anything but holy.
They were the ones who had awakened the ancient terror. The ones who had led her from her slumber to send her against the Empire—to crush its defenses, and open the path to their true conquest.
"She's magnificent," one whispered, voice low with awe. "Truly the Queen of Terror."
"She will bring the Empire to its knees," said another. "The towns are only the beginning. Once Rothsport falls, the Capital will follow."
A flash of lightning lit up the orb.
Suddenly, one of the robed men tensed. "What's that…?"
Within the orb, the Queen shrieked—and a beam of concentrated magical energy, wreathed in lightning and gravity, soared straight into her chest.
The chamber fell deathly still.
Impact.
The vision inside the orb turned white.
Thunder boomed.
When the image cleared, the Queen was no longer triumphant. Her wings shattered. Her armor cracked. Her body ruptured from within by unstable magic.
One of the figures stumbled back. "No… that's impossible!"
"Who did this?! Who in that miserable town could have crafted such a weapon?!"
Another robed figure stepped forward, narrowing his eyes as the orb zoomed in, focusing on the winged creature.
"Wait… that's no ordinary beast."
The image sharpened. And there they saw two people on top of the beast. One of them has little frame like a child and the other was clearly a man.
Eman. Holding onto his beast as they hovered in the sky like a defiant phantom of light.
"That man…" one of the cultists growled. "He's the cause of that explosion just now."
"What? Who is he?" Asked the eldest among them, his voice was cold. "I don't know, but he used something… unnatural."
"The Lance…" another whispered. "It moves like it has a will of its own. What kind of magic was used to make it like that?"
A silence fell over them.
Then the elder spoke again, slowly, voice seething with contempt.
"So this… worm dares interfere with our divine plan. He must be eliminated!"
"…then let him see what it means to defy the Blessed Church," a younger member hissed, his voice carried a tone of anger.