Chapter 42 Leave to Freedom
Celia was a little frustrated, but her expression didn't seem too surprised, as if she had known for a long time that she wouldn't be able to leave Hallownest.
"Try to come out again, I'll see what rune that is." Darien said to her.
"Then I'll try again." Celia took another step towards the exit.
She took a step forward, but before her body was exposed to the sunlight, she was blocked back by a floating rune barrier.
The runes appeared and disappeared so quickly that Darien only saw part of them.
"Celia, please walk through them a few more times. Seville, please help me draw them all, as many as you can," said Darien.
They then spent some time recording all the runes they could see, and Darian had a rough idea of what formation it was.
"This is a formation targeting the Queen Bee. Every queen cannot leave the Holy Nest. The queen's blood inherited by the worker bees and bee guards is not as strong, so they can leave. Your blood is too strong, so you are restricted here." said Darien.
"But those aunts and sisters, they won't leave here either." Celia said in confusion.
"They are drawn to you," Darion thought for a moment. "The Queen's bloodline draws them, and you are anchored in Hallownest."
"Hmm..." Celia sat down against the wall. "A long, long time ago, I don't know how long ago it was. Mother Roland said that back then, the worker bees and bee guards were much more lively than they are now. They had their own thoughts and made mistakes. But after a riot, they all changed. Those who survived lost their wisdom, and the queen became more powerful, but she couldn't leave the group."
"A lot of worker bees and bee guards must have died during the riot, so a lot of larvae are urgently needed to expand the colony again... So the queen is imprisoned here? She is an important breeding tool. The entire Hallownest is actually more like being controlled by the worker bees." Darien expressed his speculation.
"I don't know. I haven't seen more bees. The drones died before I was born. Many of the young bees born with me died, and some became my sisters. Mother Roland said that I was her chosen child and the last queen of Hallownest." Celia said slowly.
"I've lived too long, so long that they're all dead. I've tried to go everywhere here, played many treasure hunts, and I knew a long time ago that there was no way out of here..."
She talked a lot. She hadn't talked so much in a long time. Because she met them, she was willing to talk.
"We can find a way, right?" Miss White Stork asked Darien.
"It's okay. I have a lot of money. I can hire you to come back here and tell me stories." Celia fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist.
"Celia, you said you've been everywhere here, but have you seen these runes appear anywhere else?" Darien asked.
"Let me think about it." Celia lowered her head. "All the cracks and exits have them... and then there's, um, at the very bottom of Hallownest, at the Ancestral Stone. Mother Roland took me there, and many mothers are there."
"Take us there. I have a way to break the formation so you can leave." Darien said.
"Darian, I dare say this is the best news I have heard today." Miss White Stork breathed a sigh of relief. Her mood had been up and down for a short period of time, but now she could finally calm down.
"I can also travel with Celia. Jenny and I have no plans to go home for the time being. Celia, you can also go home with us. My sister will like you very much." Kenneth scratched his head.
"Sister Celia, he is right." Jenny Pig nodded vigorously.
"I will go. I'll take you to find the stone, and then I can go." Celia was happy again.
They were now at the very top of Hallownest, and it would take most of the day to get to the bottom.
But now it’s different. There is no one else in this nest, and Celia has no intention of coming back, so she can just blast it directly from the top to the ground.
Darien pulled out a Molotov cocktail.
"Wait a minute!" Miss White Stork hurriedly stopped him.
"Any other questions?" Darien asked puzzled.
"Well, there's still a lot of mead and royal jelly in the storage room. It seems a bit of a waste to keep them all there, right?" Miss White Stork hinted.
"There are still a lot of them there, all of them are my food." Celia also remembered.
"Can you eat something else?" Miss White Stork was worried that she would starve to death after eating the royal jelly because she had nothing else to eat.
"I don't know, I haven't tried it," said Celia.
"Sevier, give her an apple." Darien was also a little curious.
Sewell took an apple from the picnic basket.
"I want one too." Jenny Pig looked at the red apple eagerly.
Severo pulled one out.
Celia and Jenny Pig sat together, in front of everyone, and took the first bite of the apple.
"It's sweet and delicious." Celia's expression was surprised. "It has a crunchy texture and can be chewed."
"Do we have any other food? Let her try it." Darien said.
"We also have ham and canned fish and pickles," said Sewell.
Celia sat down before the food and tasted each one.
"It has a very strange taste, I've never tried it before," she said.
"You should taste the saltiness and the flavor of meat. Can you eat it? Will it have any effect on your body?" Darien asked.
"It's edible, very special, and should be considered delicious, because I want to eat more." Celia licked her lips and said.
Before blowing up Hallownest, they went to the storage room and looted the royal jelly and mead inside.
"Okay, everything is fine now. Everyone stay away. I'm about to start." Darien took out the Molotov cocktail again.
There were continuous bombing sounds in Hallownest. He brought enough Molotov cocktails to blow up the entire Hallownest.
Luckily for them, they made it to the Ancestral Stone Celia had mentioned in relative safety and speed before Hallownest collapsed.
"This place is really..." Miss White Stork raised her head, not knowing what to say.
This place looks like a small square, with stone slabs paved neatly. In the middle is a stone as tall as a person, and at the edge of the square are huge white bones.
They are very tall, with their upper bodies somewhat human-like, while their lower bodies are completely insect-like.
These are the remains of queen bees.
"I'm leaving, Grandma Fiona, Great-Grandma Natalie..." Celia said goodbye to the corpses one by one.
"What are you going to do?" Miss White Stork asked Darien.
"Blow up this formation." Darien said.
"Is it that simple?" Miss White Stork was shocked.
"Of course not. There are some other steps required, but they would take too long to explain," said Darien.
Sewell took two bottles of purple potion and walked around the central stone, pouring them on himself.
Darien waited for the potion to seep in, then uttered a long, awkward spell.
The purple potion burned under the effect of the spell, and the pale flames enveloped the central stone and burned more and more fiercely. The runes on the ground slowly floated out and were deformed and twisted by the flames.
"Mom..." Celia suddenly looked up at the top of the stone.
The burning of those runes meant their release. The queen bees' souls, which had been imprisoned for so long, broke free when the magic circle lost its effect and appeared in front of everyone.
"Long time no see." Darien politely greeted Queen Roland, the only person he knew.
"Long time no see, Darien." The shadow of Queen Roland laughed.
"Mom, it's been a long time since I last saw you either." Celia said with her face raised.
"My dear daughter..." Queen Roland stretched out her forelegs in a hugging gesture.
Celia opened her arms to welcome the shadow.
Many phantoms also slowly descended, surrounding the last queen bee.
"Go, go, leave here, my daughter... Go, go, into the free wilderness... Goodbye, my daughter..."
The shadows enveloped Celia, their voices sounded like chants, and Darien could feel the joy in these souls; they were genuinely happy for Celia.
He didn't interrupt or urge them. This farewell could last a little longer. They had plenty of time anyway.
Celia tilted her head back, allowing those empty souls to touch her cheeks and her body. Although she couldn't feel it physically, she knew it was a touch between souls.
"Goodbye, Mom. I will walk the entire road and become the best adventurer, I promise." she said.
Those souls all laughed, and their laughter echoed in the cave, like the continuous tinkling of wind chimes blown by the wind.
The pale flames were still burning, and the souls of the queen bees gradually dissipated and left. They were finally freed and could finally leave the place that bound them.
Darien had heard a story that souls would burst like bubbles when they ascended, and when those souls disappeared, he seemed to hear the sound of bubbles bursting.
"Thank you." Queen Roland said to them with a smile before she completely disappeared.
"You're welcome." Darien nodded to her.
Sewell stood behind Darien and waved to the queen.
"You're welcome." said Miss White Stork.
Kenneth and Jenny Pig squatted on the side, waiting for them to finish the ceremony and then leave together.
Celia picked up all the bones so she could take them outside with her, it would be her trip as well as theirs.
The pale flame burned out, and Darien took out the familiar Molotov cocktail.
This was its last use in Hallownest.
Everyone covered their ears skillfully, except for Sewell who covered Darien's ears.
The Molotov cocktail smashed onto the ground with a loud bang. This time the shaking was more violent than ever before. The ground in the square cracked and all the bricks and stones fell off.
"Ahhhhh!" Miss White Stork jumped and screamed.
"Are we going to be buried here?" Kenneth held Jenny Pig and dodged several rocks.
Darien couldn't stand steadily and leaned all over Sevier.
"Oh no! That stone seems to be related to the stable defense formation of the entire Holy Nest. This place should collapse!"
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