Chapter 277

Chapter 277

Rift, Ceres’ Delusion #4

Goddess Ceres.

The goddess who oversees the change of seasons, grain, and the harvest of fruits. In this uncivilized medieval world, which has yet to escape the framework of an agrarian society, the majesty and power of Goddess Ceres are immense.

As far as I know, most peasants, who make up a significant portion of the world’s population, are followers of Goddess Ceres.

It has been mentioned before that the more followers a deity has, the greater the influence of their shrine, and the greater the influence of the shrine, the more exalted the deity’s majesty becomes.

Thus, the power possessed by Goddess Ceres is immensely potent, to the point where about thirty years ago, it brought a long-lasting winter that killed many people.

Sweel, a goddess who kills people through the change of seasons.

Why on earth did she do such a thing?

If I were in their place, I wouldn’t have believed in a deity like that. In fact, after that seemingly endless winter, the influence of Ceres’ followers reportedly greatly diminished.

It is safe to say that the domain of the goddess has fallen to the point where it resembles a dungeon. The sites of Ceres’ shrines have been largely abandoned and deteriorated.

Zzzzz-.

At that moment, a sound of large wings flapping came from somewhere. Thus, I, along with Vine and the Amazon Sisters, instinctively lowered our heads to hide among the piles of flowers.

Whoooom-.

Then, something resembling a giant helicopter flew over our heads. Sweel, of course, there’s no way a helicopter could exist in a world like this. Its true identity was a honeybee as large as my head.

Sweel, what kind of bee grows to that size?

It’s incredibly astonishing.

Luna would have enjoyed seeing it. Not only Luna, but if my father or mother were here, there would be plenty for them to enjoy.

Nevertheless, with such a large bee, getting stung would certainly be incredibly painful. So we stay low and hope it moves on without causing problems.

It’s easy enough to hide among the scattered flowers.

“Sister, the ground, the ground has hit my face.”

“You’re the one who laid down, Antiope. d*mn, the drink is stronger than I thought.”

“But it’s better than being affected by the pollen. Let’s just wait for the bees to pass.”

While lying face down for some time, a single ant passed in front of me.

Dal-gak, Dal-gak.

Of course, this ant was as large as my arm and appeared quite powerful at first glance. I grabbed it by the waist and lifted it off the ground.

Zzi, Zzzi.

In response, the giant insect flailed around in my hand, trying to break free.

Despite its size, it wasn’t very strong, nor aggressive in nature. Perhaps I could catch it and make it a friend of Keng Keng.

However, raising ants and spiders together might be too difficult, so I gently placed the insect back on the ground.

Zzu.

In return, as if thanking me for letting it go, it moved its antennae a few times, then disappeared into the distance.

Sweel, it was indeed a very large ant.

A really big ant. What am I doing here?

While the overwhelming scent of flowers fills the air, and insects as large as my arm are abundant, my mind begins to feel increasingly hazy.

“Hassan, are you alright?”

Just then, the voice of Vice Vine from behind me snapped me back to reality.

“I’m a little sleepy, but I’m fine.”

“Sleeping here would be fatal. Let’s crawl forward as we are. We need to find the core of the dungeon and destroy this space.”

“The core of the dungeon?”

“Likely, there will be some special artifact, being, monster, or whatever you call it at the center of this strange domain. Destroy it, and the dungeon will collapse and vanish.”

Ah.

I’ve actually heard quite a bit about the core of a dungeon.

It could rightly be called the central core that forms the dungeon. The staff of Clepios I once held in my hands might have been the core of the dungeon—it triggered the collapse when I obtained it.

“Is there an artifact here by any chance?”

In response to my question, Vice Vine, who had been crawling behind me, answers.

“It’s unlikely. According to records, Theseus fought and severely injured the guardian here, sealing the entrance to the rift with a massive rock. So, the core of this place is likely that guardian.”

Guardian.

Is it like a boss?

Maybe it’s that guy down there.

While lying down, I slowly raised only my head.

Though they all seemed to have missed it, in the middle of this bizarre garden, there was a fairly large tree. And hanging from that tree, there was a beehive the size of a cottage.

The odd buzzing emanating from within felt undeniably ominous.

“Could the beehive be connected to the guardian?”

“That’s correct. The queen of the wasps residing in that hive is the guardian who oversees this domain.”

d*mn.

Bees!

I can’t believe I have to deal with wasps even in this crazy world. The pent-up anger inside me seems to be boiling over as the hornets, all around the size of a Pokémon, buzz around my head.

Let me go! Let me go!

At this point, I heard a strange voice.

“Um, didn’t you hear any voices?”

“Voices? Besides the buzzing wings of the bees, I hear nothing.”

“No, I’m certain I just heard a voice.”

I focused harder.

Through the winds blowing and shaking the flowers, amidst the buzzing wings of bees and the clattering steps of ants, I distinctly heard someone struggling loudly.

No, it’s not fair! I won’t let myself be beaten by the likes of you! Daughter of Rane, Kiria! Let me go!

“Augh, sheesh.”

“Hassan, it’s dangerous to raise your head!”

I slightly stood up from my spot and turned my gaze skyward, where I saw a disheveled young lady caught by a giant hornet. She had black hair and a small frame. I recognized her.

Why is she there?

While various thoughts swirled in my mind, I knew this wasn’t the time to be distracted. Whatever it was, it looked incredibly dangerous.

No, you bastards! Let me go!

Whooom.

The more the girl struggled and screamed, the more attention she drew from the bees flying around, and already several had started forming a guard in her direction.

“There really is someone. Who is that? What on earth is she doing here?”

“Vice Vine, don’t you have a good plan? If we don’t do something, that girl will be killed by the bees!”

“At this moment, there’s nothing we can do. While our attention is focused on her, let’s continue to make progress in hiding. In fact, this might be a good thing.”

“What?”

“While attention is drawn to her, we can make a surprise attack on the beehive.”

Vice Vine’s attitude was extremely cold. It seems the plan was to use the young child as bait to avoid the bees’ attention and approach the hive.

“That kid-.”

But maybe the effects of intoxication had slightly worn off, as Hippolyte frowned deeply with her flushed face.

“That’s the guy from last night. Maybe the information leaked. This is my mistake. I’ll rescue her.”

And she stood up immediately to shout.

“Bug bastards, Hippolyte, daughter of Mars, is here!”

The cry was like a thunderous crack, bold and confident. Even Antiope, who had been staggering from the drink, jumped to her feet in shock.

“Sister, what’s going on?!”

“d*mn, the drink wasn’t strong enough. I knew Mars’ daughters weren’t suited for infiltration, but now we must fight!”

Whooom-.

The bees began flying rapidly toward us in a fierce manner. I also stood up, drawing my cudgel.

“Hey, d*mn wasp bastards!”

Honestly, my patience with the wasps was at its limit. I had good support. Now thinking about it, I decided to avenge the honeybees sacrificed to wasps and the hive’s grievances.

Whooom-.

Suddenly, all the hornets began flying toward me.

“Wha-what the hell?”

Bzz, Bzzz.

The hornets, as big as my head, were sticking to my body, which was terrifying enough to make me lose strength in my legs.

“Hey, hey d*mn it!”

Their beak-like mandibles and sharp sting continuously attacked my body. It was so painful that I nearly shed tears.

“What the hell, d*mn bastards! Why are you attacking only me?”

Is the cursing making them angry?

The first provocation came from Hippolyte, yet why are the hornets only attacking me? It’s so unfair that I almost wanted to lash out in anger.

“Hey, d*mn let go, bastards!”

So I tore the insect bodies off me with my gauntlets and stomped on them with my feet. Pah-.

However, the huge hornets were as tough as their size suggested, refusing to break or crush easily.

“Ahh, Aaaah-!”

“Incredible, surrounded by Basikir’s wasps yet showing no signs of succumbing to the poison! Truly remarkable resistance! Even an elephant would have died from such a dose of venom!”

“Don’t just marvel and do something!”

“Wait a moment, Hassan. It seems the bees aren’t trying to k*ll you. Let’s observe the situation for a bit. I don’t sense hostility from them.”

As Hippolyte said this at that exact moment,

Whooom- my leg suddenly floated up as the hornets held onto my limbs and started flying off somewhere.

*

When I opened my eyes, I didn’t see a horrifying wasp nest.

Instead, there was an elegant chair made of wood, a carpet made of deer or roe deer skin, and a gracefully seated woman who was looking at me.

The first thing I noticed was her long boots. Their pattern alternated between black and yellow, resembling a wasp’s tail.

The pattern on her gloves was similar, and the plain black dress covering her chest looked quite simple. However, on her forehead rested a small tiara studded with amber gems.

What the sweel? Is this the queen bee?

She seemed quite peculiar for a queen bee. Most importantly, she wasn’t even a bee. With her short and neatly cut blond hair, her pointed ears were unmistakably-.

“Nymph?”

“Yes! That’s right! I am Doris, the Nymph of Honey Water! I am also the daughter of the great ocean! And I am the guardian of the domain that controls the bees!”

What is this “Nymph of Honey Water”?

Sure, I’ve heard of ditches, streams, and sea nymphs, but this “Nymph of Honey Water” is the first I’ve come across, making my head spin. Around her, giant hornets buzzed.

The situation was hard to understand, but one thing was sure: this was the one controlling the swarm of bees.

I tightened my grip on the cudgel in my hand, preparing to swing it at any moment and asked.

“Are you the one controlling the bees?”

“I’m not controlling them! The bees are my friends! The nymph of honey water is close to nature! We are fellow comrades who stand together-!”

The nymph Doris answered confidently to my question. I noticed from our brief exchange earlier that she was rather loud.

Every sentence ended with an exclamation mark, and her vocabulary seemed slightly lacking.

Is there something wrong with her?

However, she didn’t seem hostile towards me, so the tension built from fighting off the hornets slowly eased.

A nymph that handles bees? That’s fascinating. In fact, Paranoi also used flowers and vines to create golems.

It appears nymphs naturally have a strong affinity with nature and abundant magical power, making them capable of Druid-like behaviors, hence their popularity as materials.

“So, nymph, why did you bring me here?”

“I don’t know! That’s why! We will find out now!”

“What?”

“I must find the lost treasure of Ceres! And it’s highly probable that you have this treasure!”

“What treasure?”

“Pretending doesn’t help! The tiara given to me by Ceres is reacting wildly to you!”

The nymph of honey water pointed confidently at the tiara on her head with her finger. However, due to her violent movement, her tiara fell and rolled on the ground.

Tunggg… Degurgu.

The large gems embedded in it were scattered on the floor.

“Bro-ken?”

The nymph Doris made a woeful face, and the hornets started buzzing around noisily.

Shortly after, some large honeybees that emerged from somewhere picked up the fallen tiara and attached the gems and the tiara with something that looked like beeswax and neatly placed it back on Doris’s head.

Wing wing.

What are you showing me, sweel?

“Now it’s fixed! Anyway, you suspicious black-haired person! I saw everything when you stole Ceres’s treasure! Hand it over!”

“What? What exactly are you asking me to hand over?”

“The treasure from thirty years ago that you tricked me into taking! Because of that, I’ve been cursed and can’t step a foot out of here-! Therefore, all black-haired people are potential suspects!”

I started to understand why the Samarian kid lying on the floor had been dragged away by the bees and why they only attacked me.

It’s because of the color of my hair that I get discriminatory attacks even from bees!

[Afterword]

There might be a few typos…!!! 4 days in a row… But there is a reason for it ㅠㅠ… I might not be able to upload more than one chapter tomorrow…

I have a terrible cough and need to go to the hospital… How can I catch a cold when I don’t go out? I send you all a Voodoo spell for good health, especially during this seasonal transition. Be careful!

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