The next day, Lyra joined the caravan, prepping for the mission.

A few of the newer recruits couldn't hide their fascination with her—Lyra's reputation as a fierce strategist had made her a constant topic in Alliance circles.

Her intense, no-nonsense demeanor held everyone at a wary distance, casting an almost chilling silence over the group.

In the lead vehicle, Lyra's commanding look unnerved even the driver, whose sweaty hands shook on the wheel as he narrowly avoided clipping a tree on a sharp turn.

In the backseat, Todd and Caesara exchanged glances, clearly reading each other's thoughts: 'When the SHE is around, you just keep your head down and hope for the best.'

Suddenly, a Lev pulled closer, signaling Lyra's ride to stop.

When the window rolled down, it was Miller who appeared, grinning smugly. Leaning in, he gave Lyra a look that was every bit the arrogant display of a man used to flaunting his rank.

"Miss Shedd," he drawled, "your cooperation will be needed on this mission."

Lyra's cold, calculating stare met his, sending a shiver down Miller's spine despite himself. His gaze flicked upward, quickly confirming that there were no surveillance drones or backup units in sight. Feeling reassured, he resumed his arrogant smirk.

Meanwhile, back at the base, Kogar rushed into Cohen's office, visibly tense. "Sir, Miller switched shifts with Larry at the last minute!"

Cohen, deep in conversation with Chuck about migration logistics, clenched his fist over the files, fury flashing in his eyes. "Get him back here. Now."

Cohen knew Miller had been making under-the-table deals with the caravans, but now he was clearly aiming to pull Lyra into his schemes. That crossed a line Cohen couldn't ignore.

"But Larry's injured, and the caravan's already too far out," Kogar replied, hesitating.

"Then they go without an escort," Cohen responded, his tone icy and final.

Chuck, leaning back with his hands behind his head, chuckled lightly. "Relax, Cohen. Lyra's more than capable of handling herself. I doubt she'll fall for whatever Miller's planning." But Cohen shot him a hard look.

"It's Miller's life I'm worried about," Cohen retorted, disdain heavy in his voice.

Chuck raised an eyebrow, surprised by Cohen's unyielding stance. "Well, if Miller gets himself killed, that's on him… Wait." Chuck suddenly sat up, his relaxed demeanor shifting to concern. "I just remembered something important."

Cohen's gut twisted. "What is it?"

"This morning, the Channing family's caravan arrived—guarded by a new escort, a SUPREME."

Cohen's jaw tightened, and he threw Chuck a sharp glare. "And you're just mentioning this now?"

Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. "Get the Lev. We're going after them."

Chuck let out a grumble. "Hardly my fault you didn't read the notices…" But he was already being dragged along by Cohen.

*****

After two relentless days and nights of travel, Lyra finally reached the rugged mountain range, guided by faint psychokinetic traces of the queen bee.

"Ugh, I'm gonna fall apart from all this driving!" Caesara groaned, stretching as she heaved a small cannon onto her shoulder. "That blasted queen bee sure knows how to cover ground!"

Todd removed his dusty glasses and squinted at the landscape. "Seems like she's really making a play for her freedom."

The queen bee had been dodging them for days, slipping from one hiding spot to another.

Ever since Lyra had returned to Wyrmtrace, the level-six messenger bee had all but disappeared, using her cunning to ditch every tracking device. She even severed her ties to the caravan, and attempted to wipe out Lyra's psychokinetic mark.

But now, with the entire swarm exhausted and the queen herself too drained to keep up the chase, she'd finally halted, letting her defenses drop.

"So, this is it?" Caesara scoffed, raising her cannon and locking her gaze on the queen bee's shadowed form in the distance. "One good shot and she's toast!"

Lyra held up a hand, stopping her. "We had a deal," she reminded, her voice firm as she assessed the energy simmering around the queen bee. "If she wants to leave, I won't stop her."

But if the queen bee decided to retaliate, Lyra would respond without a second thought.

"So, what's the plan?" Caesara asked, lowering her weapon but staying alert.

Lyra glanced at the rocky terrain around them, her eyes narrowed in calculation. "If she's chosen this spot, there's probably a mineral vein underneath. Start digging. We're not leaving here empty-handed."

It had to be a high-grade deposit if the queen bee had picked this as her spot for leveling up, and the team wasted no time, setting up their equipment to begin excavation.

Caesara gaped. "Seriously? Mining now?"

"What do you think she controls the queen bee for?" Todd replied with a shrug, adjusting his glasses again. "Sis Marv is all about squeezing every last bit of value, even from a runaway monster."

"No wonder she's where she is," Caesara muttered, half in awe.

Nearby, Miller's ears perked up, his interest ignited. "A high-grade deposit?" He raised his hands, as if claiming control. "Alright, everyone, stop! I'm taking charge now—you'll follow my lead!"

The workers paused, looked at him, then immediately returned to their tasks.

"Who's this joker again?" one worker muttered.

"Military rep sent to 'supervise' us," another replied, suppressing a grin.

"Supervise, my foot. He's more useless than Caesara out here."

"Maybe he's here for comic relief?"

Their comments left Miller fuming, red-faced, and feeling like a complete outsider. He stormed over to Lyra, nearly spitting with anger. "I told you all to follow MY orders!"

Calmly, Lyra sat by her three-dimensional map, monitoring as the probe mapped the mountain's structure. Without even looking up, she reached out and pushed him aside. "Move."

"What's your problem?" Miller fumed. "The queen bee's just waiting to evolve and wreak havoc, and you're all busy digging for minerals? And don't forget, you're only permitted here for seven days—then you're out!"

"I'm talking to you—mhmph!"

A band of green energy wrapped around his mouth, instantly silencing him. His soldiers tensed, hands inching toward their weapons, but Caesara moved swiftly, draping her arm around one of them with an easy grin.

"Relax, boys," she said, voice calm but with an edge. "Miss Shedd thought he could use a 'dust mask.' No need to be all skittish." She raised a brow. "Unless you'd like one too?"

The soldiers exchanged glances, then warily backed down, knowing the Stellar Caravan had a no-nonsense reputation. As the caravan was connected to Cohen, most escort teams treated missions with them like a routine gig, respecting boundaries and steering clear of interference.

Miller's eyes bulged as he tried to wriggle free, but Lyra's binding kept him utterly immobilized. His frustration grew, seeing the crew treat the site as if it were their personal territory. But for all his struggles, he was completely stuck.

Moments later, the excavation team broke through to the vein, and the crackle of the radio brought confirmation: "We're in! It's a high-grade deposit—hardness level-eight!"

Lyra leaned forward, eyes sharpening. "What's the estimated reserve?"

"Still scanning."

"No need for full confirmation—just start the extraction." She looked over at Caesara. "Head inside and keep the operation steady."

Caesara blinked, then looked between herself and the looming mountain, her face suddenly uncertain. "Me? Uh...the queen bee's holed up in there, about to level up…"

Lyra's mouth curved in a faint, chilling smile as she tilted her head toward the seemingly empty sky. "Trust me, it's even more dangerous out here."

The underlying menace in her tone was enough to send a shiver down Caesara's spine, but she swallowed her nerves and led her team into the mountain, determined.

Hours stretched on as crate after crate of high-grade minerals were lifted to the surface. By the time the first star dipped below the horizon and rose again, they'd reached the halfway point of Lyra's permitted stay on Wyrmtrace.

On the fourth evening, Cohen and Chuck finally arrived.

"Lyra—"

But before Cohen could continue, the ground beneath them began to tremble violently—the queen bee's advancement had begun.

Supreme on Wyrmtrace

Lyra quickly marked the location as "the Queen Bee Mountain" on the holographic map, her fingers working deftly as tremors shook the earth.

Rocks and dirt cascaded down the slopes, making the mountain appear like a great, slumbering creature that had just stirred awake.

The air grew dense with chaotic waves of superpower particles radiating from the queen bee, wild and unchecked. It created a gravity that made it hard to remain standing.

From deep within the mountain, Caesara's voice echoed urgently through the comms as she directed the crew to evacuate.

"Forget the equipment—just get out, now!"

Engineers in safety helmets and goggles scrambled up, filing out with impressive speed.

As the last worker emerged, Caesara gathered her superpower and teleported herself and a few crucial machines out in a blur of motion. She landed with a metallic clang, the machinery tumbling to the ground, and she collapsed, catching her breath.

"Who said it was safer inside?" she gasped, glaring at Lyra. "I was nearly swallowed up by that queen bee's superpower vortex!"

The sheer energy of the queen bee's advancement was massive, far exceeding what any human could release.

But before she could recover, an eerie silence fell over the area.

Caesara felt the prickling chill of danger, instincts screaming at her.

"What… what is that?"

Todd's hands shook slightly as he adjusted his glasses, his voice barely above a whisper. "Could it be… a Supreme?"

In the clouds above, a man had appeared. He was cloaked in shadow and power, his form seemingly etched from the heavens themselves.

Wisps of cloud swirled around him, framing him in a picture that was both ethereal and foreboding.

Chuck's expression darkened immediately. "It's Caius... THE Caius."

There were only seven Supremes in the Alliance, four of whom held military ranks, while the remaining three—including Caius—were free agents.

Supremes were bound by Alliance rules that kept them out of large-scale battles, but beyond that, their activities went largely unchecked.

Fury ignited in Cohen's eyes. "How could a Supreme have landed on Wyrmtrace?"

A Supreme's uncontrolled power could easily destroy an entire ecosystem.

Surface-level destruction was one thing, but any disruption to the atmospheric or subterranean layers could wreak long-term havoc on the entire planet.

Battles involving Supremes historically left lingering superpower imbalances, creating environmental instability for anyone who dared to live or work in the affected zones.

With mounting dread, Cohen launched into the sky on his hoverboard, his face hard as he ascended to Caius' altitude. "Sir, what brings you to Wyrmtrace?"

Caius had been ignoring the commotion below. He turned his gaze to Cohen, nodding slightly upon recognizing him. "I'm here on behalf of… someone with certain interests."

The implication was clear—he was there for Lyra and her crew.

Cohen's frown deepened as he realized the extent of this intrusion. Wyrmtrace was under his jurisdiction, yet somehow, a Supreme had been smuggled in under his nose.

Cohen's patience snapped; it was obvious his leniency had been taken for weakness.

"I'll have to insist that you leave Wyrmtrace immediately," Cohen said, his tone sharp as steel.

Caius' previously neutral expression hardened, and a cold light flickered in his eyes. In a single, unsettling motion, the clouds around him dispersed.

That was a silent but potent display of his power—and his displeasure.

The moment Cohen met Caius' gaze, a wave of overwhelming dizziness hit him, his vision blurring as though he'd been thrown off balance by a powerful gust.

Gritting his teeth, Cohen bit down hard on his tongue to hold onto consciousness.

Caius' voice was smooth, almost mocking. "Young Whyte boy, you must realize—your father's influence doesn't extend here, let alone over ME."

Cohen's jaw tightened, a bitter frustration boiling up within him. His father, Frederick, might be the strongest below Supreme level, but even he had limits against such power.

Cohen scoffed, a sound laced with disdain, then he turned away, knowing they couldn't directly confront Caius without risking catastrophic damage to Wyrmtrace.

Landing beside Lyra, Cohen's tone was colder than usual. "We'll fall back for now. We can't act recklessly with him here."

But Lyra's expression remained steady, calculating. Her eyes held the sharp glint of someone who saw more than just the immediate threat. "Leaving isn't an option."

Before Cohen could respond, a piercing, otherworldly shriek split the air.

The ground quaked violently, nearly knocking everyone off their feet. Some fell, landing hard enough to scrape and bruise.

Cohen swiftly activated his gravity control, grounding everyone to steady them against the tremors.

At the mountain's peak, a brilliant white beam shot out, illuminating the summit.

A massive bee with reddish-brown shell and translucent wings emerged, radiating an energy of new, terrifying power.

Caesara's eyes widened in horror. "Isn't that… the messenger bee? It's leveled up to seven!"

And then, a second monstrous bee appeared, its body just as fearsome, joining the first and standing guard on the mountainside.

Both stayed still, crouching protectively as if bracing for a larger force.

Though the queen bee herself remained hidden, the sheer concentration of superpower particles had intensified, swirling into a massive vortex over the mountain.

At the base, every superpower monitoring system went into overdrive, alarms blaring across the control room.

On the holographic map, the energy levels around Queen Bee Mountain had spiked, breaching level-eight and hurtling toward level-nine.

The technicians exchanged horrified glances, triple-checking the readings before rushing to Chuck's office.

Chuck paled when he heard the confirmation, nearly leaping out of his chair. "Are you sure this isn't a system error?"

"No, sir—no error. The particle concentration around there is confirmed above level-eight and rapidly nearing level-nine."

The implications were dire. A level-eight beast was bad enough, capable of unleashing mass destruction. But a level-nine monster was an entirely different threat—its power could warp the environment, transforming the very landscape into a deadly trap for anyone in its path.

Chuck's voice crackled over the base's intercom in an urgent broadcast. "This is Vice Admiral Chuck Cohen. All personnel are to evacuate immediately. Master Peculiars, prepare for a full assault on the queen bee!"

Cohen's gaze darkened as he looked at Lyra. "Do you think you can control her?"

Lyra gave him a small, satisfied smile, appreciating his confidence in her. But she shook her head. "Instead of asking me, perhaps you should warn that Supreme Peculiar to stay out of it."

As if on cue, a cold, piercing wind swept through the crowd.

Caius landed gracefully nearby, his presence heavy with authority.

"Hold on," he murmured, his voice deceptively calm.

An eerie, powerful pulse of energy radiated from Caius, rolling over everyone like an invisible wave.

Within moments, a hypnotic haze settled over the crowd. The weaker technicians dropped instantly, unconscious where they stood, while even the higher-level personnel, including Chuck, stumbled, visibly dazed.

Cohen fought to shake it off, gritting his teeth against the pull of Caius's superpower. "You're crossing the line!" he snapped, fury evident in his voice.