Tangled

"Damn you!" Steel roared as he felt the poison moving through his veins, it would only take a little over a minute before he is completely paralyzed after which his heart would stop beating, leading to a slow but painful end.

"Feeling regretful for looking down on me?... Too late, I give you three minutes before you'd have to return to your abode in Alfheim. Don't worry, before you leave though, I'll give you the benefit of watching me rip your contractor to shreds." Queen Bee said with a sinister grin.

Steel reached to his face and ripped off the sticky yellow liquid that Queen Bee had used to blind him. His facial expression was even more fierce as he glared at the hateful insect that chose to set her sights on his contractor.

"You think I'd let you have your way!"

Queen Bee chuckled at Steel's resolve. "You don't have a choice, just wait for the poison to take effect, it would be fun to see you howl in pain."

Steel tried to move but ended up stumbling. "Damn it, the poison is acting fast."

"Still trying to fight?... Hah, pathetic, you should give it up. Just watch and see what happens next." Feeling excited, Queen Bee turned from Steel and placed her sights on Laura.

"I'll be with you shortly… bitch."

Laura at the other end was already feeling a stifling aura inch close to her with each passing moment.

Of course, she was well aware of the situation Steel was in due to the relationship that exists between a Magician and her summon but she remained calm.

Steel had assured her. She believed that the silver-haired monkey wouldn't make big claims, thus she was willing to trust him even though she was feeling pressured.

"Come on, Steel, stop that crazy bug lady."

A minute slowly passed by as Steel tried to get to Queen Bee but the latter used her superior speed to remain just out of reach, causing the spread of the poison in his body to hasten.

Suddenly, he let out a pained groan as he dropped to one knee, his eyes filled with unwillingness. "Damn it…"

He tried to use his arm to prop himself up but only stumbled even further. His pathetic state was captured by Queen Bee as she was quite satisfied with the result.

Even though she wanted to skin Laura alive, she still had to ensure that Steel was out of the fight to avoid any unfavorable variables from popping up.

Seeing as the paralysis portion of her poison had taken effect, she prepared to leave.

"Seeing as you no longer have any fight left in you, I'm afraid I will have to take my leave to find better… prey." Queen Bee finished as she turned and zipped toward Laura.

At this point, Laura's movement slowed down as Queen Bee unleashed her aura on her, causing her defensive formation to fall apart.

Lisa took advantage of the holes that had just opened up to unleash her attack once again.

A second later and several afterimages of her whip appeared and rushed at Laura. The latter tried to move but unfortunately, Queen Bee's aura was just too dense for her to ignore.

Resolving herself, she decided on another option, channeling her magic into the necklace on her neck.

It was a chain necklace with a single colorless crystal in the shape of a kite embedded at the front.

An unassuming piece of jewelry at first glance but this was actually the strongest Magic artifact that Laura had in her possession.

It was called Invisible Tower and it allowed its wearer to manifest a shield based on the amount of magic poured into it.

Capable of blocking attacks from Intermediate as well as early circle Advanced Magicians, it was indeed a handy accessory for Laura to have.

For someone at the level of Lisa who was a single circle below Laura as the latter was an Intermediate Magician at the Sixth circle while the former was an Intermediate Magician at the fifth circle.

This meant that Lisa's full-powered attacks wouldn't be able to harm Laura no matter how hard she tried, but then again, a strong enough attack would surely place a strain on Laura and what's more, there was still a more powerful and vengeful Queen Bee waiting to get her hands on her.

Laura's situation was certainly beyond grim.

Wham

Laura gritted her teeth as the whip lashes struck the shield, each one heavier than the last.

By the sixtieth strike, Laura was forced to cough up blood due to the backlash she was receiving.

Unfortunately, she was unable to dodge due to Queen Bee's suppression. What's more, the moment the whip lashes ended, Queen Bee would make her move.

Laura's situation was practically sealed.

Just as she lost all hope, a friendly voice spoke to her. "Don't you trust me?"

Her eyes lit up once again. Taking a look at the audience, she ended up meeting Max's gaze. The latter looked worried as he appraised her condition.

Laura felt warm inside. "Don't worry, I've not given up just yet."

With a firm heart, Laura shot a fiery gaze at Lisa.

Seeing her remain defiant even as her situation did not look good at all, Lisa felt the urge to curse out loud as her plans for Laura to fall into despair kept on failing.

Faced with no other choice, she decided to end it. Since her whip can't break Laura's defense, she withdrew it and gave Queen Bee an order. "Teach her a lesson."

Queen Been snorted. "I would have done so even if you didn't tell me."

Suddenly she disappeared from her position.

She was meant to appear next to Laura so she could begin dishing out the horrifying things she had thought of doing to Laura's pretty face, but would things be so straightforward?

Eaaaahh

A pained scream echoed across the coliseum.

Queen Bee reappeared in her previous position but this time around she seemed… tangled?