"We may have been thrown out of the main family, but your elder brothers and I continued pursuing our grandfather's dream," the hybrid told the larvae.
But before he could continue, a manly voice interrupted him, stating, "Yo, father. Have you been slacking off, or why haven't you sensed my existence yet?"
Shocked by what just had happened, the insect abruptly turned before examining the creature that resembled him with its thousands of kaleidoscope eyes.
"Jasper, my eldest son," he whispered as he gently grazed his son's cheekbones with his claws. "You have finally returned."
Unlike him, his son was a meter shorter but still reached an astonishing height of three meters or, for our American brothers, 10 feet. But that wasn't the only difference. Jasper had a bulkier exoskeleton that was hazelnut brown while only having one pair of dim golden wings.
"Yes, father," he replied while flexing and rattling his exoskeleton as loudly as possible. "I have infected the nearby villages just like you told me. But I also ended up shedding my exoskeleton."
"I see, I see," the father laughed, and the antennas on his head began twitching slightly at the exciting news. "With that, we come one step closer to achieving our goals and proving that this is the superior path."
After stating that, the father grew serious again. "Son, we got a problem. It seems like someone, or some people seem to be interfering with our insect harvesting."
"I see… but don't worry. I will be taking care of these pesky humans that stand in our way," Jasper replied as he cleaned his antennas before asking, "Have we made any progress in the insect queen project?"
"Yes, we have. Your sister Brigida should soon metamorph from her current larvae state into a hybrid like us," the father explained.
"That's perfect," Jasper laughed out loudly before leaving the cave in a good mood.
A few days passed, and Luz and Liv finally stood in front of the mansion's gate.
"That damn merchant," Liv cursed weakly as the gates opened. "He really left us alone and drove off when we jumped out of the carriage. I will kill that man…."
But before Liv could continue ranting and wallowing in self-pity, a shadow fell upon her, sending shivers down her spine. 'Not good,' Liv thought as she knew who it was.
A female wearing a traditional long-sleeved black dress ending at her ankles with white trim leaned against the door. She complemented her black gown with a white apron and a matching headpiece.
Luz immediately recognized the person and gulped. It was none other than the head maid Deline, who made her first debut in chapter 12 but never played any significant role till now.
"Ay, Ay, you only bring problems, sis," Deline sighed before shaking her head. As for her face, she had a stern look on her face as her chestnut eyes stared right into the eyes of her sister Liv, ready to kill her on the spot.
"I-I- I am sorry, sis," Liv hastily replied as she comprehended the graveness of her situation.
A light breeze swept against Deline's face, exposing her pointy elf ears, which had been hidden behind her chestnut hair till now. With a cold voice, Deline finally replied. "Do you have any idea how much chaos you caused, threatening a fucking family war against some peasants!?"
"I know," Liv replied, embarrassed before trying to justify her action, "But…."
"NO BUTS," interrupted Deline, her elder sister, that lost her cool for a moment. After sighing, she continued, "Because of your actions, Master Brian has to visit the main family and defuse the situation there since they were preparing for a goddamn war because of you."
Luz, who had been quiet until now, cracked a little grin as he felt schadenfreude at what was occurring. At that moment, Luz wanted to do nothing more than whisper into Liv's ears, "I told you so."
"Anyway. Master Brian awaits an explanation from you, and he also told me that the moment you are back home, you are under strict house arrest till then," Deline continued.
After sending Liv to her room, Deline finally shifted her attention to Luz. "Ay, Ay. I'm sorry that my sister is only causing trouble for you. Anyway, Master Simon, as well as Master Brian, want to talk with you."
Somewhere else, in front of a giant fortress that would dwarf even Master Brian's, a man radiating an aura that would force anyone onto their knees was welcomed at the gates.
"It has been a long time since I've visited this place," he muttered as two guards dressed in black armor led him inside.
However, the moment the man took his first step into the estate, kids of various ages jumped out of his shadow, grabbing onto the man and forcing him onto the ground.
"Master Brian!" shouted one of the maids in a shrill voice, scared that she was witnessing an assassination.
But the man in his thirties only laughed loudly in amusement as he petted the kids while resting on the ground. "My, my, you all have grown stronger." As for Master Brian's face, it was jagged, and a scare covered his left eye.
"You should visit us more often, Brian," grumbled a kid the age of ten while pinching the Master mage's cheek. A different kid shouted, "Look, Brian has grown a goatee," as it grabbed after it.
"Wait, stop," Master Brian commented hastily before jumping into one of the kids' shadows, vanishing immediately.
"Wait, where the hell did he escape!?" The kids began looking hastily in all directions as some vanished in the shadows of others.
"He escaped through our shadows. We cannot let that geezer get away!!" yelled an older kid, and the rest of the kids soon disappeared into the shadows. And so the hunt for Master Brian began.
Unfortunally for them, however, Master Brian was far away by now. A few minutes later, he reappeared in a prestigious room where a group of mages of all ages and races sat quietly at a long table.
Master Brian shifted his gaze through the rows, and a smile formed on his face as three of the mages that were present caught his eye.
The first one was a sleepy dark elf, whom Master Brian mistook for an empty seat as the person became almost one with the darkness.
As for the other two, it was the strangest duo Master Brian had ever seen. A four-meter (americano: 13 feet) tall gorilla quietly occupied two chairs while an octopus that vanished and reappeared every few seconds rested on its shoulder.
"Is that thing glitching!?" Master Brian wondered as he took his seat at the table.
Author note: Sorry that I haven't uploaded anything over the last few days. If there is anything you want to see in my story, feel free to tell me it in the comments, and I might include or exclude it.^^