Epic of Bee

Chapter 283 Trial Of Steel Pt 1

"I still think this is a bad idea, and we should be coming down there, but I know you have to do this. I just don't like it," Sakura said as the wind blew around us as Helaina, her, and I all stood atop the ship.

The city below us was nothing like anything I had seen in this world, and it even made the high-tech cities of Earth look like they were from the stone age. This place was more like a cybernetic city, but it was hard to get a look at the people that were walking the streets far below. The buildings were all massive, and there looked like an endless number of them. The buildings were either gray or white in color, but I couldn't really tell since the night was so dark.

"Yeah, I feel the same way, Sakura," Helaina said as she stared down at the city below us with a worried look on her face. "But this is what we need to do. We are new to this, but Ashia is not just doing this for herself. She is trying to protect her own people, and she can't do that from the other side of the world. We all will be with you, but we also all believe in you, my Queen. You have already done the impossible more times than I would like to count since I met you, and I think this is just another step in your journey."

It was nice to know that at least one of them had confidence in me, but Helaina was right, and I would do this. The only way for me to gain control and trust of the Meccat race was to complete the Trial of Steel and then defeat the King of the Meccat. Then I could get going to take out the Divinity spike before it hurt people that I cared about. There was a lot riding on my winning; people counted on me to save them from disaster and from imprisonment. It was a lot to ask of a girl, but what could I say. I was the Queen, and this is not what queens normally did, but I was far from normal. I was born with nothing but rose up, and I have been working on building a kingdom where everyone could live together, but now I am trying to save them from extinction.

"I am sorry, my Queen. I should be bolstering you instead of complaining about things that can't be changed," Sakura said as she put her hand on my shoulder and gave me an encouraging nod. "You need to go down there, Ma'am, and show them who's boss!"

I nodded at Sakura before turning back to look at the city below me one last time before speaking again. "Okay, then, let's do this." Then without waiting for another second or saying another word, I jumped off the side of the Massive ship into the air, falling towards the giant rent in the center of what looked like a perfect city. There was a massive barrier surrounding the city, and we had stopped just before it, but now I used it like a slide as I dropped down to the front entrance of the city.

Two massive Ravagers with red eyes and bodies like metallic skeletons of big cats were waiting for me. I slowed down using gravity and lighted on the ground, then I waited. I expected both creatures to attack me, but instead, their eyes went from red to blue, and then they started to project an image of a Meccat face.

"So! You are the one that has come to challenge me?! The first non-Meccat to ever take the Trial of Steel! This is quite the event, but are you sure that you are ready for this? My Ravagers will not go easy on you, and nor will I! I don't really enjoy the job, but I don't really want to give my place as King up, little DragonBee Queen!"

"Yeah, I know, but if you don't really like the job of being King, I think I might be a bit more Koala-fied than you for the job, so why not just Lettuce just set our differences aside, and this foolish fighting?" I asked, almost ready to spit my tongue out as puns found their way into my speech.

"Spoke like a true Goddess! Little Queen, you will make a fine ruler, but these rules are as old as our race and then must be respected. If you wish to command one of the most fearsome races this world has ever known, you must prove to be stronger than us!" The King said as he moved his hand slightly to signal the Ravagers and me. They charged towards me, but I did something that seemed almost like a dance around them, changing two arms into cannons while the other two smashed through reality to grab two BeeBliss Blades.

I didn't want to kill, but if the King told me to, I would do what I had to. It was an incredible feeling as I slashed at the Ravagers with my blades, sending them flying backward with their metal bodies rolling across the ground. My cannons fired back and forth, blasting things into pieces until nothing moved any longer, and everything was silent once again in front of me. The barrier at the entrance of the city came down, and I walked forward. The King was nowhere to be found, but his voice came all around me.

"Congratulations! But this is only the beginning! I will see you in the center of the city, DragonBee Queen! Try to keep your head up, though; I would hate to lose such a promising ruler so soon!"

The King disappeared, and everything ahead of me started to change around me. The environment turned from that of night into day in an instant. The whole landscape around me became one of ruins like it had been abandoned for centuries, even if it looked new and polished just seconds ago. Nothing was moving, but then suddenly, I was attacked by more Ravager creatures as they came at me with their claws extended, ready to tear my body apart before devouring my soul.

I attacked, slamming my blades through their chests and tearing out wires. I blasted them as they lept at me, and then I sliced them in half, leaving nothing but carnage behind me with broken machines everywhere. I had seen a strange landscape from above when I had been looking from the ship, but they had some reason to change the landscape. I knew I was being watched and that they were studying my every move.

An army of Ravagers tried to attack me all at once, but I used two of my arms to create a spinning blade shield like a blender in front of me, just as they attacked. The blades cut them to pieces, and then the barrier lowered some more so I could continue on toward the center of the city. Not only did each section change, but I had to clear it before moving forward. This slightly reminded me of fighting to destroy the W1 Virus in Helaina, but there were no extra lives this time, and I had to fight with what I had.

So far, I had taken almost no damage, but it felt like they were just trying to wear me out before a serious fight. I was sure that there was going to be some type of midway boss, and I was not disappointed after clearing the next area.

"Look at you! Halfway already?! I didn't even go that fast! If you do win, we can booth rub it in that golden womanizer's face! Haha!" The Meccat King cheered as I entered what looked like a garden filled with metallic flowers, but they still all looked beautiful.

This time there was only one Ravager waiting, but this one was the same size as me and looked more like a samurai than a beast like the others. Then it looked at me, and I could see the hunger in its eyes as it charged toward me. As I blocked and dodged the sword swings,  I knew what I had to do. With each sword swing, the blade on its arm would get stuck in the ground or be blocked by one of my forearms that changed into a shield.

I slashed at it with my blades and hit it in the side, sending it flying across the room toward a group of roses as they were cut down like wheat during the harvest season by a combine harvester. It got back up, but I was ready this time as we charged toward each other once again. This time though, instead of blocking or dodging his attacks, I used Nectargy energy like an aura around me and blasted him away from me; slamming him into another group of metal flowers, causing them to explode upon impact while purple smoke rose high above us all filling the air.

The Ravager got back up again so quickly that you would think he never even touched anything as he came charging at me yet again for another round, but once more, I dodged out of the way. I used both hands with blades to slash vertically against its chest itself, making wires come flying out behind it before bringing one hand down diagonally across its chest.

Sparks flew everywhere, along with some strange blue liquid that dripped onto the floor, covering the entire area in multi-colored light. The battle continued like this for quite some time until finally, after cutting off every limb from his body and then blasting what was left into pieces until nothing remained—showing how vicious these creatures could be when they were ordered to show no mercy. They remove all emotion/compassion leaving just a desire for destruction/annihilation.

The barrier lowered yet again, and the environment changed to that of a desert for what felt like miles. It looked just as hot as Texas in mid-summer, but I didn't have time to think about that though. I needed to stay focused on my mission, proving myself worthy of being Queen, which also meant taking this stupid King out too!