CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31: THE CROWN AND THE CRAWLERS

The fused Queen’s steps cracked the clearing, each clawprint smoking black. Gold ran from her mandibles in ropes, dripping steady. Her wings twitched once, spraying ash in waves.

Buzz dragged himself upright, Zza’s silk tight around his chest, his arms, his legs. His claws trembled, split to the bone, but he lifted them anyway.

"She wants us," he rasped. His eyes locked on hers, glowing with rage. "Then she gets us first."

Zza’s claws dug into his, binding tighter. Her voice cracked, sharp through the smoke. "She doesn’t take us easy. She doesn’t take us at all."

The Queen lunged.

Her claw slammed down, tearing the earth in two. Buzz shoved Zza back just far enough to take the blow head-on. His arms locked, his body bending under the force, his chest burning like it would cave. Blood poured down his shell, soaking Zza’s threads.

She screamed his name, silk flashing as she lashed more threads across his arms, pulling with him, forcing the strike back. "You don’t hold this alone! Not while I’m here!"

Buzz bared his teeth through the pain, his voice raw. "Then push with me!"

Together, they shoved. The Queen’s claw lifted a fraction, ichor dripping heavy. Her mandibles snapped, her wings beating hard enough to split the canopy.

Buzz’s vision blurred, his knees shaking. He thought this was it—until the rhythm started again.

One Scarab, broken and limping, slammed his claw against the dirt. Another answered. Then another. The rhythm spread, weak but alive.

Centipedes dragged themselves together, forming shaky coils that wrapped her ankles. Glowbeetles sparked faint light, blinding flashes firing in ragged waves. The Elder dropped one last net, threads frayed and smoking but holding just enough to anchor her wings.

Buzz’s chest heaved. He felt their rhythm, their voices, their bodies pouring into his own. His claws burned hotter, his strength pulling from more than blood.

He roared and shoved harder. "She bleeds because we make her bleed!"

Zza screamed with him, silk burning through her hands. "We break her because we refuse to break!"

The Queen shrieked, ichor spraying across the battlefield. Her chest wound flared open again, spilling rivers of gold. Her balance broke, her body tilting, her wings slamming into the dirt.

The army roared. Scarabs pounded claws until they split. Centipedes squeezed until their coils smoked. Glowbeetles burned their last light into her eyes. The Elder’s web locked tight, threads glowing white-hot.

For a breath, she fell.

But she was not finished.

Her glow folded inward, condensing into her chest. The wound sealed into fire. Her eyes burned hotter, her roar splitting the air. The shockwave threw Scarabs tumbling, ripped Centipedes apart, burned Glowbeetles out of the sky. Even the Elder’s threads snapped, the web collapsing in ash.

Buzz and Zza crashed to the ground together, their bodies smoking, their silk torn. They staggered, bleeding, broken—but upright.

The fused Queen loomed over them, her body towering, her claws dripping fire. She leaned low, her voice a hiss that filled the clearing.

"Mine."

Buzz spat blood at her feet. His voice shook but carried. "Never."

Zza pulled herself against him, her silk wrapping them both. Her whisper trembled, fierce. "If she wants us, she’ll choke on us."

The Queen’s wings flared, glow swallowing the field.

And then the drums started again. Louder. Stronger. The coalition, shattered but unbroken, rising one more time.

The fight was no longer survival. It was crown against crawlers.

And the forest watched to see who would stand.

The fused Queen’s glow burned so bright the clearing drowned in gold. Ash spun in spirals around her wings, the soil under her claws glassed black. Her mandibles spread wide, rivers of ichor dripping steady. She towered above them, every step promising to end everything.

Buzz stood with his body shaking, blood dripping from every crack in his shell. Zza bound herself tighter to him, silk stretching from her arms to his, her claws trembling but locked. Their breaths came ragged, uneven, but in rhythm together.

"She won’t stop," Zza whispered. Her eyes shone wet, but her voice held steady. "Not until she owns everything."

Buzz spat, red mixing with ash. His voice rasped like broken glass. "Then she breaks here. She breaks on us."

The Queen lunged.

Her claw came down fast, glowing white-hot. Buzz roared and lifted both arms, catching it. His legs buckled, blood poured down, but he locked himself against her weight. Zza screamed, silk flashing as she lashed strands over his arms, pulling, anchoring, forcing the blow up.

The impact shook the clearing. The ground cracked wide. Ash poured up in clouds. Buzz’s chest rattled. His arms screamed. He thought his bones would snap.

Then the drums began.

Scarabs, barely standing, slammed their claws into the dirt. One rhythm, broken but loud. Another answered. Another. The beat rose again, carrying through cracked shells and bleeding claws.

Centipedes dragged their coils across the battlefield, wrapping the Queen’s ankles, burning themselves against her ichor but refusing to let go. Glowbeetles flared wild, their lights chaotic but blinding, flashing in her eyes. Even the Elder, shaking, dropped frayed silk from the canopy, strands that caught her wings and smoked but held for a breath.

The army rose.

Buzz’s body pulled strength from their rhythm. His roar ripped raw from his throat. "Push with me!"

Zza’s voice broke beside him, fierce through the tears. "Push her down!"

They shoved, silk binding, claws tearing. The Queen’s chest wound cracked wider. Golden ichor sprayed across the battlefield in rivers. Her balance tipped. She staggered, wings thrashing against nets, her body jerking back.

The army screamed as one, every voice raw, every body thrown into the strike. Scarabs pounded until their claws split. Centipedes burned their coils into ash. Glowbeetles dimmed themselves to smoke. The Elder’s web collapsed in fire.

And for a heartbeat, the fused Queen fell to her knees.

Buzz dragged Zza close, their foreheads pressed together, his voice shaking but certain. "We make her fall. All the way."

Zza’s claws dug into his, silk glowing red-hot. Her whisper cracked but steady. "Then we don’t stop until she breaks."

They surged forward, claws and silk driving into her chest. The army roared with them, pounding, coiling, burning. The Queen screamed, her ichor flooding the clearing, her glow flaring wild.

And then—she retaliated.

Her wings snapped open, blowing the army back in a storm of fire. Scarabs hurled through the air, their drums shattering. Centipedes split apart, coils torn loose. Glowbeetles blinked out mid-flight, falling as husks. The Elder’s canopy collapsed, threads burning to ash.

The coalition broke.

Buzz and Zza hit the dirt, smoke curling off their shells, their silk in tatters. They pushed themselves upright anyway, leaning into each other, bleeding but standing.

The Queen rose from her knees. Her glow pulsed steady, her mandibles dripping thick. She looked down at them, her voice rolling through the silence.

"Yours ends. Mine begins."

Buzz coughed blood, grinning wild through it. His claws lifted again, trembling but high. "Then choke on mine first."

Zza bound herself to him once more, her voice trembling but fierce. "If she takes us, she takes us fighting."

The Queen spread her wings, her glow swallowing the forest whole.

The final duel had begun.