Chapter 855 - Sarah Meets Her Demons
With a mighty bellow Sarah burst around the corner with myself and Tiny right on her four heels. The demons responded quickly, the two closest, both of the slaughter demons, turned towards us in a flash, transforming themselves into a spinning whirlwind of death before I could blink. I should clarify that I mean very fast there, some human idioms will take longer than others to go away.
Behind them the more spell oriented of their group get to work, the grudge and envy demon putting their minds to work with a level of force I can feel even from here. Not that Sarah minds. Armour or not, she barrels forward with the unstoppable momentum of a freight train, her paws thudding into the ground so hard it shakes. A product of the first stratum she might be, but she is still an absolute unit and I think the demons are just as susceptible to being flattened by a ten ton bear as anything else I've ever fought. It's clear from the outset that our opponents have been warned about us. Sarah might come as a surprise, but a giant ant, a couple of demons and a big ol' monkey aren't exactly difficult to spot.
With how close we managed to get to our targets the mad charge is over in seconds and Sarah crashes into the demon's ranks like a tsunami of furry muscle. The slaughter demons are nimble and lithe, nothing like the chubby or bulky sort of demon I've seen a lot of. From looking at them one could be forgiven for making the assumption that ninety percent of their bodies is some sort of blade, but that would be nonsense, the true percentage comes closer to sixty percent, or so I'm told. .
They slide around Sarah's charge, attempting to dig into her flank as she barrels past them but Tiny and I don't let them, rushing to meet them head on. Agile as a fish they change tack halfway through their strikes and divert them towards us. I rely on my foresight and heightened reflexes to catch the blade on the perfect angle of my carapace, deflecting much of the force of the blow before I bring my mandibles to bear, already having infused them with force magic.
Despite my flawless defence, the red-stained blades of the slaughter demon are unbelievably sharp and still manage to remove a small chunk of my diamond carapace. These guys are proper deadly. My force empowered mandibles snap forward with devastating force crunching together with a piercing sound that rings through the tunnel but unfortunately they close on empty air, the demon having danced backwards out of my reach.
Tiny's approach is a little different than mine and I can't really say if he does better or worse. Carrying all his momentum forward he leaps, unfurling his wings and beating them down in one great thrust to give himself as much speed as possible he hurls through the air like a furry bullet. Rather than fend off the demon's strike, he simply sticks an arm out and allows his opponent to cut halfway through it, the slaughter demon displaying consummate skill by avoiding the forearm guards and penetrating deep into the flesh. Except that Tiny cares little for the wound, a wild grin spreads on his face as the blade of his foe becomes stuck on his impossibly tough bones. Light flashes across my eyes as Tiny unleashes his coiled right arm, delivering a devastating punch straight to the chops of the demon, sending the creature flying backwards.
Did he manage to land a punch? Yes. Is his left arm totally useless? Also yes.
Sarah continues her forward press, her jaws snapping and front claws slashing at anything that gets close enough. Already I can feel the rage building in her as a number of minor wounds are inflicted, her anger is like a physical presence with its own rhythmic heartbeat, one that can be heard thundering through the air as she fights. Behind us Al and Invidia put their minds to the test, pitting their force of will against our opponents who are trying to force the mana around us to yield only to them. Invidia is also kind enough to fling some healing magic at Tiny, hopefully enough to close over the wounds.
The front of the fight quickly devolves into the traditional monster versus monster gnashing and slashing but the demons are craftier than most opponents. Sarah's offensive finally runs into a wall in the form of the blood demon, a horrific looking entity who appears to be half red liquid and half roiling demon-flesh. The creature burbles and hisses as its body literally boils, slamming itself into the bear and sizzling her skin and muscle, further enraging the savage bear who begins to slash and tear blindly, hoping to rend the fluidic monster in front of her.
The slaughter demon in front of me is as difficult a foe, its body and mind appear heavily mutated to be nimble, its limbs bend at impossible angles as it flings out blades like whips. I push forward, relying on my foresight and reflexes to protect me as I pepper it with spells. Force magic isn't strong enough to do the job that I need it to, the hard skin and condensed muscles of the third stratum monsters is way too tough for the pure bolts of kinetic energy to do much, but I have plenty of other tricks up my sleeve. What's interesting about the slaughter demons is that they don't have all that much mass.
With a lurch of my minds I dump the force magic from my mandibles and pump them full of gravity mana whilst peppering the monster with a series of ice spears. It slices through them with ease but the distraction buys enough time to fully charge my jaws as I lock them in place.
YOINK!
DOOM CHOMP!
Strong as an ox with a great weights routine, the slaughter demon reacts with alacrity, forcing its claws into the walls and digging in with its blades to prevent it falling into my mandibles, but so long as it can't dodge backwards, there's no escape. With a shattering crunch the dark mandibles of energy slam shut on my foe.
COMBO!
Once I have the wiggling little blighter in my grip I refuse to let it go, my jaws pump open and shut at a rapid pace, blurring the edges of the mandibles in my vision.
"HARRRRRR!"
Wreathed in lightning, Tiny bounds forward to aid Sarah against the blood demon as his initial opponent recovers from the devastating right cross to the face it experienced at the start of the fight. Unwilling to allow its ally to be outnumbered, the pride demon steps forward, its noble physique a sharp contrast to the nightmarish frames of its allies. Before he can get too far, Crinis makes her move.
In a flash the light is sucked out of the tunnel and a dense forest of limbs begins to extend from the walls and out of mid-air. Twisting and seeking, they stretch toward the demons, phasing out of physical existence as she tries to grasp their minds and limbs.
The demons counter immediately. Before my eyes the darkness shatters and a dense ball of roiling blood winks into existence before it begins to expand. Over the span of a second the blood demons pours an immense amount of mana into it before tying off the spell and unleashing it on us. The moment it does so a tidal wave of frothing red liquid explodes outwards, turning the tunnel into a raging flood ground in an instant.
With almost no time to prepare my brains spin on overdrive. As Tiny unleashes every ounce of lightning mana within his body into the oncoming tide, my minds grind out lava magic and I weave faster than I ever thought I could. A counter wave of molten rock is formed, rising up in front of Sarah just before the blood hits and the tunnel is seared as a blast of red steam and super-heated liquid sprays across everyone.
When the mist clears the tunnel is an absolute mess, pools of blood and hissing black lava are everywhere. Standing in the middle of it all is a gigantic bear. And she is mad.
-x-X-x-
In that brief window of stillness, as Sarah stood soaking and burned in the tunnel, the demons heard something that they would later wish they had never had the misfortune to hear. It started as a low growl in the back of the great bear's throat, a rumble that shuddered through the air and rattled against my carapace. But it didn't stop there, it quickly grew in volume and intensity until it became an endless bellow of rage and madness that drowned out every other sound.
Her claws and teeth glittering with a violent red energy, Sarah's aura rises in intensity until I feel as though it's trying to press me against the wall. She did not want to be caught in the middle of the blood and lava collision and her temper is flaring something fierce.
If I can sense it, then the demons certainly can as well. There's a certain wariness to their movements now as they prepare themselves to continue the fight, but I don't think they're ready for what's coming. The envy and grudge demons are still locked in a battle of mental supremacy with Al and Invidia. The grudge demon is a rather hideous sight. Almost like a billowing cloud of menace and ill will surrounding a hunched, grim looking entity. Despite what Allocrix had to say, it doesn't appear all that difficult to destroy, but I'll have to take his word for it.
In an attempt to block our path and protect the more vulnerable members of its group, the greed demon finally steps forward.. I can see the traces of Grokus in its shape and form, although not nearly as corpulent it still has a significant amount of pure mass. Perhaps it will be able to stand its ground in front of an enraged Sarah.
"GAUUUUUUUUU!"
Or not. Her anger having reached its peak, the bear lashed out fiercely, carving red gouges through the air before rending the blood demon straight through the middle. Her success only emboldens her as Sarah starts to charge forward, straight into the waiting arms of the greed demon. The two large monsters clash with enormous force, but Sarah doesn't take a backward step as she snarls and snaps at the corpulent demon with her teeth.
[Let's go Tiny! Follow up behind Sarah!]
With his arm partially healed Tiny is ready to go once more, the lightning flickering around his frame again as he readies his fists. My minds spin at a dizzying pace as I try to work out the best plan of attack, feeling out the situation with all of my senses as I charge. Despite being literally split in twain, the blood demon isn't out for the count yet, its strange half fluid half flesh body already in the process of drawing itself back together as it slashes out towards Sarah. We can't have that happening! The omni-elemental construct spins and whirls within my mind, the many layered sphere churning out mana as my mind constructs cooperate to make the thing dance.
A searing jet of blue flame erupts from in front of my mandibles, torching the blood demon and sizzling it even as it tries to regather itself.
[Tiny! Give it heaps!]
Without needing more encouragement, the big ape leaps forward, both arms raised above his head before he brings them down in a shattering impact that rattles the floor, discharging the lightning he built up straight into the weakened demon. If it's still kicking, then it sure isn't going to be doing anything to harm us anytime soon. The envy and grudge demons at the back are growing ever more frustrated in their attempts to gather mana and weave their spells, the suppression of the two brainy beings behind me has been too much for them to overcome so far, but a deep flickering green light within the winged eyeball tingles my danger senses more than a little.
Without hesitation, I dash forward, my legs firing and my brains blazing as I spin together a series of condensed force bolts over the course of a second. I run an arc around Sarah who continues to savage and bully the greed demon in front of her, with the big thing holding its ground so far. As I draw closer I infuse my body with Will energy, using the Vestibule to fuel my strength before I place my six legs carefully and time my Skill activations to fire a triple Dash at the last possible second, unleashing my force bolts at the same moment as I Charge into the demon's flank.
Despite being a hefty demon the monster is knocked to the side as I unleash all of the force I can muster and blast the thing straight into the side of the tunnel, leaving Sarah with nothing in front of her for a brief moment. The enraged bear soon fixates on the pride demon who had stepped forward to assist its now stunned ally and I swear the swagger in its step falters for a brief moment as he stares down the Asura.
The unending roar of malevolence continues to shatter all of our ears, or send every hair along my body shaking as if I were standing in the epicentre of an earthquake in my case.
[Tiny, deal with the fat one! Crinis! I need you to help me with the envy demon!]
The pulsing green energy is growing stronger within that eye every moment and once charged that beam is going to do serious damage if we let it. With Sarah pulling aside the only obstacle still remaining between us I rush forward to engage the backline, my mandibles wide open and a Doom Chomp primed and ready to go. Before I can reach my target, the grudge demon leaps in front of me.
The demon is small and surrounded by a strange gaseous cloud, its body hidden behind the ever shifting vapour. Unwilling to allow it to slow my charge I rush straight through it, slamming my mandibles shut after infusing them with wind mana.
An inrush of air compresses around the demon, compacting the gas before my jaws slam shut.
What the heck?! It's as if I didn't bite anything at all! I may has well have bitten steam! Directly in front of my face, the demon reforms in an instant and I feel a powerful sluggishness overcome my limbs. I think this darn thing just cursed me somehow! Dammit! I feel so weak!
Unable to advance as quickly as I want, I watch as the envy demon continues to build its energy until the eye is gleaming bright. Desperate to avoid getting blasted in the face with a laser of death I spin together a host of force bolts, launching them at the side of the eyeball just as it leaned forward to unleash the beam.
Struck at the last second the eye swings to the side, scorching my side with immense heat before it's directed into the wall of the tunnel. A few moments later, Sarah arrives on the scene, having already dealt with the pride demon she crashes down on the flying eye like a collapsing house, putting a rapid end to the fight. I mean, the grudge demon is still here, but I have no idea how to kill it and I'm not sure how well it'll be able to fight on its own. The next thing we have to do is work out how to calm Sarah down…
-x-X-x-
[I am really sorry about that.]
[Hey, don't worry about it. You've apologised already, I'm fine, you're fine, we're all fine.]
[I mean. Sure, but I still feel bad. Is there anything I can do?]
[No, seriously, it's already healing. There's no issue here.]
Calming down the rampaging Asura bear turned out to be easier than I thought. She might be an unstoppable killing machine when she gets going, but she's still limited to the strength of her tier. Between Tiny, Crinis and myself, we manage to slow her down enough that she eventually came back to herself. I mean, I did get bitten in the process, but it's not too bad.. My legs grow back fast and I'm pretty nimble on five anyway. It was the deep grooves she managed to cut into my carapace that I found more frightening. That's just with her jaws, imagine if she got a full swing with her claws?! Scary…
Once we managed to subdue the bear and she calmed down, it was time to harvest our gains, consume the Biomass and decide what to do with the grudge demon.
[They are an interesting type of demon,] Al remarked. [They aren't exactly impossible to destroy, but it is extremely difficult and involves spending far more effort than is usually considered worthwhile.]
[When I bit it I felt like I'd chomped nothing at all, then I got hit with a curse that made me feel super weak!]
[Yes, that's right. The grudge demon is quite weak, but if you 'destroy' it, then you will be hit with a sapping curse that drains your strength for a time.]
[The ultimate sacrifice play…]
[Well we may as well send this creature on its way.]
So saying, Al enveloped the little demon in a pillar of flame before detonating it and dispersing the grudge.
[What the heck?!]
[It will take some time for it to bring itself back from that. Of course, this means that I will suffer its curse for longer, but it does not affect my mental abilities so I shall be fine.]
They may be weak, but somehow I find the grudge demon quite scary. So persistent!
[What happens when a grudge demon evolves?]
[Due to their low offensive power, it is supremely difficult for grudge demons to accrue experience. Despite being so hard to kill, examples who have managed to reach tier seven are vanishingly rare. Should they succeed though, the resulting demon is immensely powerful.]
[Yeesh. I hope I never meet one.]
Once we clear up the battle site we gather once more to plan our next move.
[This was only one of the hunting parties sent out from Orpule and tangling with them was no joke. That proves two things, that we were right to be cautious and that we were right to hunt them down. If the Colony has to deal with these dudes themselves then we are talking about a lot of dead ants.]
[And these were only tier six. I can't imagine what the tier seven demons are like,] Sarah says.
[They're messed up, big time,] I say, not looking at Al. [So I think our best course of action is to keep hunting through these tunnels to see if we can find any other groups and then check back in with Vibrant. We know three groups came out in this direction so I'd like to find at least one more before we leave, but we can't be sure that they are even in these tunnels to start with.]
[You think they might have gone elsewhere?]
[Who knows?] I shrug with my antennae. [It's possible that they entered the tunnels but at another point we don't know about.]
[How many of these groups left Orpule so far?]
[Ten according to the general Emilia. They've scattered all over the place.]
[It's unlikely that we're going to get them all.]
[No chance. But we should make every effort to find as many as we can. We have two days before we need to regroup with the Colony so we need to move quickly.]
[Are you able to do that, you're missing a leg remember? Sorry about that, again.]
[It'll grow back in a few hours, I've mutated specifically for that purpose.]
[You mutated to grow your legs back faster? How often does this happen?]
[More often than I'd like…]
I turn to Brilliant who managed to keep her head down and not run off for once during the fight.
"You did a fantastic job helping us track these guys down. Now I need you to do it again, about ten times."
"Ten?! You really think you're going to be able to catch them all?"
"Nope, but I'm going to try."
"Fair enough," the little ant looks back and forth. "So, which way are we going to go?"
She makes a good point, we pursued this group quite a long way.
"Let's head back to where we entered the tunnels, I'm guessing that if more than one group came down here then they would have split up and gone in different directions, otherwise we would have found them together."
"Makes sense."
I let the others know the plan and we head back toward the entrance. There's still more monsters and ghasts on the way which we make sure to put down and feed as much experience and Biomass into the hatchling as we safely can. She's tier four now, but I'll be a lot happier when she reaches tier five. Bringing her down here was always a risk, but it's served a few purposes. Namely, accelerating her growth, and making sure that I was able to oversee her education.
Champion monsters, and champion ants in particular, are a little weird. The way they inspire followers and loyalty is a good thing, Vibrant and her squad have been an amazing asset to the Colony, but there's also a risk. If a Champion was raised within the nest? With all the rest of the hatchlings? What sort of influence would she have on them? How effectively would she have absorbed the lessons of the tenders who may be inspired to follow her directions instead of their own?
Since I'm one of the few who seems resistant to the strange charisma that's exuded by the Champions, I'm in the best position to educate them. I'm not just trying to get Brilliant to agree with everything that I think, but I'm trying to create the space that she needs in order to develop into the ant that she wants to be. When I eventually let her loose on the Colony she'll at least have a solid conceptual understanding of who she is and what she's passionate about.
I also get the opportunity to make sure that she's not obsessed with something that'll get all of us killed.
[All right. This is where we entered.]
The path branches from here in three different directions, meaning we have two possible avenues of investigation.
"Do you sense anything, Brilliant?"
She hesitates.
"Nothing right now. The trail may have gone cold given how long ago they moved through here."
So we just have to guess. Ah well.
[This way. Let's see what we can see.]
-x-X-x-
The Colony was like a boulder rolling down a hill. The moment the wave ended they had exploded outwards, and their momentum had only grown as time had passed. The more they expanded, the more nests they created, the easier it was for them to continue the process. More Queens allowed more eggs to be laid, which grew the workforce which meant more nests could be constructed. Only months ago the Colony which had been confined to a single nest now boasted six satellite nests with four new main nests under construction. Kilometre after kilometre of tunnel was now the claimed territory of the ants, along with numerous expanses which they harvested vociferously, using every resource on hand to sate the unending hunger of the brood.
This relentless growth made it inevitable that they would eventually encroach on the interests of another power, but Coolant hoped that day was still far off. The destruction left behind by Garralosh meant that the first stratum and surface were clear of any major influence for a great distance around their main nest. The frontier kingdoms no longer existed and thus all of that empty Dungeon had become ripe for conquest. Likewise, the lands to the south were abandoned wilds, deemed too bothersome to settle by the established empires of the surface. Already the Colony had cleared swathes of land, establishing farms, roads and prepared sites for villages and nests.
The second stratum was more crowded, since the Colony knew that to their east the Empire of Stone simmered, still smarting from their earlier defeat. It made no sense to expand in this direction, that would only shorten the time needed for the golgari to threaten their interests. The third stratum was likely to be even more contested. Perhaps not one neighbour would object to the growth of the Colony so close to their doorstep, but two, or more. The golgari almost certainly maintained a presence on this stratum, rich with resources and hunting grounds as it was, but who else might they run into?
This was a question that the strategists and thinkers of the Colony obsessed over daily.
Coolant had been amongst the first to consider that she and her siblings knew precious little about the factions and kingdoms of the world, potential allies and enemies all of them. This was essential knowledge that could guide their actions to the best outcomes possible. Who could they afford to offend? Who did they need to avoid? It was for this reason that the mages began to spearhead an effort to question and learn from as many of the people who came under their 'rule' as possible. The refugees of Renewal and the people of Rylleh were all untapped sources of intelligence that could add the detail and colour that was so lacking in their picture of this world. Today the council member had come to the intelligence gathering station the Colony had established in the underground city where willing volunteers were interviewed and their information collated.
"How goes the day's proceedings, Accountant?"
The rather idiosyncratic ant looked up at Coolant through her ridiculous and oversized glasses.
"Very well! The merchants have proven to be a wealth of information once we understood what they wanted."
"They wanted to be paid?"
"How did you know?"
"They always want to be paid."
"I… suppose that's true, isn't it?"
"So, what did we end up having to give them?"
"Nothing. The faithful barricaded their homes and stores until they volunteered to talk to us."
Coolant slapped her forehead with a front leg. The humans could be very enthusiastic when it came to helping the Colony, sometimes more than was necessary.
"Make sure we give the merchants something for their time. They only recently calmed down and we don't need them getting riled up again."
The longer the Colony was in charge of Rylleh, the more they had learned running roughshod over everyone all the time wasn't always the best decision. Sure, if they chose, they could dedicate the resources to locking down any whisper of dissent in the city, but why bother? They had much more important things to do! Better that the systems they put in place and oversight they had installed keep things running smoothly. This way the ant presence within the city itself could be kept to a minimum.
"So, what have we learned?"
Accountant pushed her glasses up with one leg, a habit that caused a flash of irritation to run through the elder mage. Why the heck did she need glasses anyway!? A useless non-monster fixation! In truth, the glasses did in fact serve a purpose. Accountant had them made in order to provide magnification since she spent such an inordinate amount of time perusing human documents in her role. The glasses themselves were a work of art, hundreds of individual lenses aligned perfectly to her compound eyes to provide the necessary focus to read the tiny writing. The best part? She didn't have to use any mutations or evolutionary energy to achieve the effect!
"Our understanding of the trade routes and goods exchanged with the Kaarmodo to the north has grown extensively. The sand lizards are a fascinating society with a relationship that borders on symbiotic with their attendants -"
"But are they likely to fight us?"
"Oh yes, absolutely. They are very territorial according to the people we've spoken to. Obviously, we don't have much by way of verifiable history here, but from what we've been told the Dungeon society of the Kaarmodo is amongst the oldest on Pangera."
"Interesting. What of the Brathian?"
"Ah, the water people. Yes. Apparently, there is a small population of them within the lake next to the former kingdom of Liria, though their main strongholds are far from here. Their presence in the third stratum is weak, for fairly obvious reasons, though we have learned that they covet territory in the fourth."
"Any ideas on why?"
"Nothing definite."
"What about these so called 'old kingdoms'."
"They are far from us right now, much further north, beyond the lands claimed by the Kaarmodo. I'm sure that we will run into them eventually, but so far we haven't interacted with them in any meaningful capacity."
"Have the people here had much to do with them?"
Accountant hesitated.
"It would appear not. It is… difficult, as I understand, for people who live on the frontier to visit the old kingdoms."
"What about to our west?"
"From what I understand there is some conflict to be had in that direction that remains unresolved."
"Between who?"
"The Kaarmodo and the Mother Tree."
"The Bruan'chii?"
"Indeed."
Coolant fell silent and thought for a moment.. There likely wasn't much they could do to interfere in that mess at this time, but in a few months, when the Colony had extended their reach into the third stratum and begun to extract resources from it? The tree had reached out to assist the Colony in their time of need and she would make a powerful ally.
-x-X-x-
I have seen many things, dear readers, been to many wild wonderful and dangerous places, but even I felt a moment of trepidation as we passed between the legs of a giant carved statue of an ant and the hard stone closed around us. My two guards and I had now left the world of the sun behind us and delved within the nest of the Colony. I have to admit that this is the first time in my long life that I've willingly plunged within a nest of monsters, though my apprehension was somewhat mollified by the smiling guide at my side and the children running before me.
"Was that statue another depiction of the… great one?" I asked my guide, Emilia, mainly to distract from my feelings of discomfort.
The young woman chuckled a little before replying.
"Although there are many, MANY depictions of the Great One, that statue is an exception."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. That was a memorial placed in memory of Grant, one of the first twenty ants of the Colony to be raised by the Great One, and who sacrificed her life against Garralosh, helping to bring about that monster's defeat."
"Sounds like quite a story."
"Yes. I was a young girl then, but I can still remember the sounds of battle from the shelter where the children were kept. When we finally learned that it was over I almost couldn't believe it would be possible, that this beast who had destroyed kingdoms was defeated by these ants."
We fell into silence as we continued to walk, the path sloping downward at a steady pace before it turned to the left and began to spiral. We'd gone down perhaps a hundred metres before the tunnel opened into a wonderfully pleasant welcoming chamber, with human attendants, comfortable chairs, thick woven rugs on the floor and core enchanted lighting along the ceiling.
"This seems… oddly luxurious," I murmured.
"The Colony is quite spartan when it comes to their own accommodations, they usually don't have rooms of their own but sleep in designated chambers with hundreds of others. When it comes to their guests however, they are extremely generous. Watch."
So saying she stepped to one of the human attendants, dressed in much the same way as my guide and entered into a brief, whispered conversation. When Emilia returned to me the other woman had left the room, but returned a few moments later holding a tray laden with a teapot, cups and delightful little cakes. Such a sight warmed my heart dear readers, you can imagine how much I had missed my tea! And let me tell you that the ceramic work on the cups and pot where just spectacular. Ornate little flourishes abounded and when I leaned close I could see the flowers painted on the side sported small ants foraging amongst the petals.
We were invited to sit in the comfortable chairs and enjoy our snacks, which I did! I was halfway through the delicious cake when a realisation struck me. I turned to Emilia to see her watching me with a wide grin on her face.
"All of it was made by the ants," she confirmed for me.
"Even the tea?"
"Especially the tea."
· Excerpt from Chapter Seven of 'Traveling Tolly in the lands of the Colony' published in the Monthly 'Pangera Gazette'
Victor looked out at the transformed city of Roklu with satisfaction. Even now the plate bristled with ants at work, carvers and soldiers doing the heavy lifting and putting the finishing touches on the new defensive works. Small forts in the shape of anthills were now dotted throughout the city, giving the ants a fallback position and safe firing platform. The pillar above the city now sported similar protected hollows formed by bonding stone to the harder material of the pillar itself. Any approach to the city from the air would be subject to a bombardment of spells and acid that would put even the most powerful tier six minds to the test.
Although they lacked their human allies and the potent buffs that they provided it was hoped that these home ground advantages would be enough for them to utilise the sheer weight of numbers to the fullest extent, holding off any demonic assault whilst their own offensive reaped the rewards in Orpule.
Tens of thousands of members of the Colony remained within the city, dug into position and ready to fight at a moment's notice. When the enemy came, they would be made to understand the folly of challenging the Colony!
"How goes the preparations?" Advant asked, crawling up into the central compound where the general had made herself at home.
"Just about done. The last few days have been hectic, but I think we're ready."
"There's been plenty of work to go around," the soldier agreed, "not that I was worried we wouldn't get it done."
"No, everyone knows how much is riding on this. With the Eldest personally involved, everyone is more than prepared to give their all."
"Are you going to be alright here? Will the contingencies be enough to handle a tier seven if it appears?"
Victor shrugged her antennae.
"You cannot engage in conflict that is totally without risk. We have done everything we can to minimise it, but an element of chance will always persist. With the information we have to hand we have made the best decisions we could. It should be enough."
"Well I wish you all the best. If all goes well, I'll see you when the column returns with word of our victory."
"Yes, shouldn't it be leaving right about now?"
"The departure has begun. I just thought I'd check in with you before I went on my way."
"Why thank you sister, that warms my heart."
"You're very welcome."
The two enjoyed a moment of silence as they looked out over the vast emptiness that surrounded the city.
"All right. I'll be on my way."
"Tell the Eldest that we have things looked after on this end. Make sure they do their job properly."
"I will."
So saying the large soldier moved swiftly, dashing away and into the city to reach the edge of the plate. Before long she had reached the outside and began the long, arduous climb down the pillar along with a vast horde of her siblings. From a distance it almost appeared as if the pillar were alive, covered as it was in a writhing carpet of enormous ant monsters. When they reached the floor they spread out into one enormous column hundreds of metres wide that trailed through the Plains of Leng. Every ant stepped in perfect unison, the combined sound ringing throughout the stratum like a fearsome bell, like a giant knocking on the world's door.
Even the ever present demon larvae, rattled by the vibrations that shivered through the solid stone beneath them, moved far afield from the mighty column, revealing wide swathes of the floor to light for the first time in centuries.. The ants were on the march.
-x-X-x-
It was a tired and bedraggled group that I led out of the tunnels after a few days of hunting. Trying to track down the groups of demons that had escaped from the city proved to be a massive pain in the business district, much as I expected it to. Nevertheless, when we finally made our way to the plains outside of Orpule around which Vibrant and her gang were still running laps, we returned triumphant! Seven out of ten groups successfully annihilated! It was rough going, especially toward the end when everyone (other than me) was tired, but we persevered! The destruction of these groups will surely cause some pain for the city which will soon become part of the Colony's territory!
Gweheheheh.
Brilliant was instrumental in bringing about this outcome, her ability to tap into the residual memory of the Dungeon itself was the only way we could track the wayward demons. As a side benefit, we've gotten close to pushing the hatchling to tier five in what must surely be the most rapid ascent of any ant in the history of the Colony! Another ten levels and she'll have it! Once the battle for the city is done, getting her to evolve is going to be my highest priority! Once she reaches that stage she'll be decently strong and I won't have to worry about her evaporating in a puff of smoke when some demon looks at her the wrong way.
"Hey-hey, Senior!" Vibrant greets us enthusiastically when she finally loops around the city and back to our side. "Nice to see you again! How'd things go? Good I hope! I'm sure they were good! Hello Crin-Crin! Are you ready for more tag? I sure am!"
The machine gun of pheromones into my face is as unpleasant as ever and it's almost a relief to encourage the eldritch horror riding on my back to go have some fun with her friend whilst the rest of us take stock for a moment.
"How many were you able to destroy, Eldest?" the general Emilia approaches, ready to record our latest results.
"We managed to track down and annihilate the sixth and seventh groups who deployed south. It wasn't easy, especially since the trail had gotten so cold, but we managed it in the nick of time."
"Another three groups were sent out since you left, which means there are six still out there."
Dang it.
"Well, that means the demons remaining in the city are even fewer I suppose. Keep our claws crossed that the defence will manage to hold back at Roklu. Do you suspect any tier sevens left the city?"
"We can't confirm it, but we believe that it's likely. Some of the groups had fluctuating mana readings which is almost always a sign that concealment is taking place."
"There's no way they sent out more than one right?!"
"We don't think so. The mages in our group expect that it was a decoy effort to make it harder for us to work out which disc carried the tier seven."
"Sneaky…"
[Anthony… can I go sleep yet?]
[Ah! Sarah, don't sneak up on me like that!]
[I'm bigger than you, how on earth can I possibly sneak? That's not important. Sleep is important. Where are we resting?]
[Ah, it's over that way.]
"I'll be back later, I think the group is in dire need of a nap."
It hasn't all been running laps for Vibrant and her crew. She has all castes as members in her posse and the carvers have been busy laying the groundwork for the coming invasion. Two kilometres from the base of the pillar that supports Orpule the staging grounds have begun to take shape, including a convenient rest area that Sarah, Tiny, Invidia, Brilliant and Al can pile into for some well-deserved snooze time. After days without rest, constantly roaming through the dangerous, lava-filled tunnels, I can't really blame them for being low on energy. With my twenty bodyguards and the huge numbers of ants teeming throughout this area of the stratum, I've generally been fine. Vibrant's group never left my range throughout our time on the prowl, evidence of the increased potency of my reforged Vestibule.
If I actually took mutations to increase the range… it might get pretty crazy. As it is, every time I improve the organ, the range is increased as a by-product, enough that I'm content with it.
Speaking of mutating, I should get some more of that done while I have the chance. I've managed to put away enough Biomass to pay for another few upgrades and the fight tomorrow promises to be a tough one.
I look up at the city of Orpule. Bigger than Roklu and not by a little bit, the demon city is made up of several layers rather than just the one. I don't know how they've done it, but several of the giant plates have extended out of the pillar, allowing for multiple levels of buildings. Other than the primary level, the others are still much smaller, clearly in the process of expanding to reach their full size. I really do have to find out how they've done it, induce the pillar to grow more levels. We could do with more space in Roklu, since that's likely to be the primary staging ground for the Colony on this stratum.
With the others settled down to rest, I make myself comfortable and prepare to mutate. Before I can get started, I feel something tickling through Vestibule, a drip of Will that quickly turns into a flood. The unified determination of the invasion force wells up inside me, a powerful rise in emotion that almost drives me to my feet and sends me charging at the base of the pillar on my own. I restrain myself with some effort. Tens of thousands of ants all with a singular, unified purpose are enough to have a strong effect on me, even if I guard against it. I'll need to be careful over the next few days.
I crawl to a higher vantage point and look out, hoping to see the arriving force. It takes a little while, my eyes still aren't amazing at a long distance such as this, but eventually they become more than a blur on the horizon. A huge column of ants marches forward, indomitable and unyielding. Before they are anywhere near me I can already feel the vibrations of their steps through the ground. With this many members of the Colony within range, the Vestibule once more floods my body with energy as the whispered Will of my siblings pulses in my veins.
We aren't holding much back for this assault. Now that we've gained a foothold on this level, it's imperative that we hold it. The opportunities and experience we can harvest from this stratum are the key to unlocking more tier six ants. We haven't even begun to explore what rare resources we may be able to tap. Rather than take a backwards step, we've decided to use this conflict with Brixin to expand our footprint instead. Aggressively seize more land that we can then consolidate. Once we've secured our gains, it won't end there. The Colony is forever growing, with an inexhaustible demand for Biomass and cores. We will push and push until something decides to push back.
That's when the real fun starts.
-x-X-x-
Fire iron. Magma crystals. Ash shards. Pyrestone. Along with cores of the demons themselves, these make up just a few of the precious resources that make the third stratum such a hotbed of conflict. For as long as the powers of the world have known of the demon layer, they have fought over it. Territory secured here has always been precious, especially in those areas where the mana flows thick, and the treasures are abundant. Due to a number of factors, such as the difficult of coexistence with the demons and managing the fallout of their endless battles, securing a safe holding is a constant drain on whoever should attempt to do so. The borders between the various powers are thus in a constant state of flux, rich mining grounds changing hands on a weekly basis. Though the rewards are well worth it.
Fire iron. The precious ore can be found within the stone between layers, or indeed in molten pools mixed with lava. Filled to the brim with fire attuned mana, the weapons forged from this material can become so hot that there are reports of them melting the armour of the foes they were used on while there were men inside it. When properly utilised, it's even possible to forge a suit that would allow a being to dive into molten rock and come out unscathed.
Magma crystals are far rarer. An infused form of quartz, these crystals are so dense with concentrated mana that they can spew forth a flow of lava for hours at a time without needing to be recharged. It was the Legionem Abyssi who were the first to learn how to safely carve slivers of from the gems and apply them to the tips of arrows, a trick that might have been better had it never been learned at all.
Ash shards. A grim material that skirts the edges of the forbidden. The power of ash is a breath away from that of disintegration and annihilation. Capable of dissolving a person whole, it is by far the deadliest substance that can be mined in this stratum.
Pyrestone is the one building material that allows a permanent structure to be formed in the land of fire and ash. Without it, putting one brick on top of another and expecting it to be there the next day would be all but impossible. Resistant to heat and seemingly immune to the degrading power of ash, even at the deeper layers where it becomes more potent, Pyrestone is the bedrock of civilised existence within the world of demons.
Excerpt from 'The third stratum: a primer' by Mallin the educator.
As the vast army of the Colony flowed into the area around Orpule they set to work like a well-oiled machine. Soldiers peeled off the line and started to set up patrols and a perimeter even as the carvers began construction of a vast project. It was fascinating to watch it happen, sitting up on my rock it almost reminded of looking at timelapse videos of ants at work. A flurry of activity, dirt getting moved around with thousands of little bodies rushing here and there. The main difference in this instance, of course, is that every being I see is a fully sentient creature. There's no wasted movement, no back and forth, just a clean execution of a previously agreed on plan that was carefully considered.
In ten minutes, tons of rock has been shifted, clearing the ground for what is to come. The vast field of plains around the pillar that supports the ceiling so far above our heads is effectively surrounded, teams of ants having formed a living wall around the city. Still, the vast concentration of the army remains here, close to me, feverishly building in a long line that extends from my position all the way to the base of the pillar. Fifty minutes later and by now even the demons should have been able to work out what is happening. The beginnings of a vast rampart are taking shape the likes of which this stratum may have never seen before. Several kilometres long it will reach from the ground all the way up to the lip of the plate on which the demon city sits. A truly ludicrous undertaking, but one that the Colony will attempt to execute even so. Huge trails of soldiers and scouts have formed in all directions, hauling hundreds of tons of stone every minute back to the construction site where mages and carvers broke it down and fused it into the ever-growing ramp.
It was glorious, it was mad, and it was amazing all at once.
This is the power of the Colony when they bring their numbers to bear. This is what forty thousand of us can do when we work together in harmony. In a year there might be a million of us, or even more. What wonders will we be able to accomplish at that time? I can't help but get shivers as I think about it.
But now's not the time for sitting around on my backside daydreaming! Eventually the city is going to start to retaliating, firing spells and dropping rocks on us as we build! At that time, I need to be on the frontlines, ready for action, which means I need to be mutating and resting my mind now, to ensure peak performance when the battle is at its peak!
No longer willing to stuff around and watch others work (think of my reputation!) I rush down into the resting chamber in which my group is already slumbering and prepare to mutate. This mainly involves making sure that nobody can see me, and I'll be protected during 'itch time'.
With this job done, it's time to weigh my gains. How many points to I have to work with?
Five hundred and forty-seven. Not bad for a week's work, especially considering the fact I've been sharing the food with a host of tier sixes (and a seven). It's enough for me to take three of my organs… aaaalmost four of them, from +25 to +30.
Which of the lucky body parts will it be?
-x-X-x-
Ah mutating. The subtle joy of making some selections within your mind and then having your body literally transform into a better and more capable version of itself. Not only is it mega-convenient, it's super addictive. The feeling of constant improvement is just fantastic. So it's with a giddy joy in my heart that I start perusing the menus and looking over my status, trying to decide which of my many organs and body parts needs to be upgraded next. Obviously it's an important decision, we have a big fight coming up, multiple tier seven opponents will be present in the city, so I'll need to be at my combat peak.
But then, what entails the combat peak? My carapace and mandibles are upgraded, that's fantastic, obviously, but what comes next in terms of offensive and defensive priority? Is it my legs? Speed is always good and they harden up a little when I mutate them, which reduces the chances of going without limbs, which has been a recurring issue. No wonder the way ants fight each other on Earth was to pull the legs off. It's a low blow, but it's effective as well. The weakness was the legs all along.
So legs are an option. My regenerative plating is another strong contender. Tier seven demons are going to be able to put some serious hurt on my carapace, I've no doubt, so being able to absorb some of that impact and regrow my diamond covering that much faster would be a boon. But then again, there's the mental edge. I could upgrade my brains rather substantially with this Biomass or I could improve the coordination cortex and give each of my brains a small boost that way.
There's always the gravitational mana gland as well, now that I think about it. A big ol' gravity bomb is what got me out of the last fight against a tier seven alive and if I'm being honest, it's going to be my trump card going into this one as well. Having more gravity mana on hand to throw about sure doesn't hurt.
Of course, improving my nervous system would also be a wise investment. I took my antennae all the way to +30 last time around, so it would make a lot of sense to go ahead and improve this now so I can keep up with what my future sense is telling me.
Gah! So many decisions!
All right, I only get three so I might as well spread the love out rather than concentrate it in one place. I'll improve my coordination cortex. That'll give each of my brains a small but noticeable boost and help me on the magical side of things. I'll also improve the gravitational mana gland. Each improvement gives greater capacity, faster regeneration and so on, but lately I've been mutating it to pre-condense the mana for me and that has been a serious help in making the gravity bomb faster to cast. It might only be doing ten percent of the work I need, but it makes a huge difference in the heat of the moment. Finally, I'll improve the inner-carapace plating.
As good as my reflexes are, especially when combined with my future sense, Grokus showed me that I can't always rely on being able to dodge away, even against foes as ponderous as he was. I fully expect to take some hits in this battle and by improving the plating I'm giving myself the best possible chance to survive.
In terms of the individual mutations, it isn't that hard to pick out what I want from the exhaustive lists. As I stated, the condensing effect I've been adding to my gravitational mana gland has been great. It's actually an idea I stole from Tiny believe it or not. He added this effect to both of his lightning mana glands a long time ago and it was only much more recently that I decided to follow suit. The carapace plating has a mix of mutations so far, aimed at improving its ability to absorb forceful blows as well as healing the carapace above. I think I'll look at emphasising the former rather than the latter. The healing effect I get from the plating is good, but that isn't why I purchased the organ, I purchased it to help shore up my defence against solid, concussive blows. Making sure it's working at maximum capacity in that respect is going to be the best choice right now.
In fact, when I next evolve, I might look at reforging the carapace plating along with the carapace. Rather than add the healing effect, I could go all in on bulking up my defence and add an additional organ or element to repair damage to the carapace on the fly. Even those diamond bugs I was offered last time… I'm not especially comfortable with having little parasites inside my carapace, but if they can strengthen and repair it, then it'll be a worthy trade.
Anything to make the diamond shine brighter!
With all of that done my upgrades look like this:
Braced Healing Inner Carapace Plating +25 -> Fortified Healing Inner Carapace Plating +30;
Unyielding Coordination Cortex +25 -> Indomitable Coordination Cortex +30;
Compressing Unending Gravity Magic Gland +25 -> Forceful Unending Gravity Magic Gland +30;
And those three upgrades are going to cost me just FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY BIOMASS. Holy moly things are getting expensive at this tier. I seriously need to prioritise mutating my stomach the next time around. I need to squeeze all the Biomass I can out of the prey I get because I need literally thousands of points to get myself to fully upgraded. This is likely the downside of adding too many different body parts and organs… but it'll be fine. As long as I spend enough time I'll eventually get to max. Considering I need to reach level one hundred and sixty to evolve again, there's almost no chance I reach that level cap before I finish my mutations. The sheer volume of experience required is just mind boggling. Although, knocking down a tier seven opponent is worth quite a few levels… hopefully I'll get the chance again tomorrow.
With my selections made it's time to put my head down and confirm my choices. I may as well let my mind get some rest whilst I'm at it. For a battle of this size, I need to be as fresh as I possibly can.
When I feel the itch start to roll over me, I almost welcome it. Then it erupts from inside my brain and I immediately hate it again.
DAMN ITCH! WHY MUST YOU TORMENT ME!?
-x-X-x-
The defensive strategy of the Colony is a brutal one. Though they shy away from attrition warfare in principle, they have been known to engage in it when the grim calculus of war is sufficiently in their favour. If you are losing ten soldiers for every ant you kill, then that isn't a fight that will go well for you. However, committing meat to the grinder is often the only avenue that the damned insects will leave open for you. The records are filled with example after example of the superiority of their defensive construction. The generals have a saying: "Leave three ants on a rock for two days and you'll find an impregnable fortress when you get back." The folly of rushing to engage the fortifications of the ants has been proven time and time again.
Their mages are well trained and strong, adaptable and with excellent coordination. The spell barrages that would-be attackers are forced to endure are harrowing. If you manage to neutralise the mages with your own, no easy task, then you still have the literal rain of acid to deal with. Their artillery ants are capable of firing the stuff a kilometre, spraying wide areas with a mist that will strip flesh from bones if given the chance. Suppose you manage to overcome that obstacle, you advance into their fortifications, likely an anthill since that's their favoured configuration, then what?
A bloody grind of a battle where you are forced to assault layer after layer of walls, traps and pitfalls, that's what. The ground will open up behind you to vomit out hundreds of ravenous monsters, rivers of acid will explode out of nowhere, bursting from concealed storage chambers and flowing down the hill, literally taking the feet out from under you. It's a nightmare, but it's not impossible. With sufficient numbers, grit and clever tactics, you can overcome this hurdle. But what have you won? The answer is nothing. You have conquered the outside of the anthill, which is nothing. All the things they want to defend are INSIDE the hill, which means the true test is yet to come.
Fighting the ants within the tunnels of their own fortress-hills is some of the most brutal fighting I've ever seen in my forty-year career. I've witnessed veteran soldiers come out of those tunnels as shivering wrecks, completely broken from the experience. It's dark, it's cramped, and at any time, from any direction, a veritable horde of terrifying monsters could burst out through the walls. Fighting the ants outside is hard enough, within the narrow confines of their nests? They turn into another beast entirely.
My official recommendation for assaulting ant fortifications is this: don't.
Establish ranged superiority and throw stuff at it until it crumbles into dust, then burn the dust until nothing remains but a puddle of molten rock. It takes a long time, requires a massive concentration of valuable assets, but it's the only way that works.
· Excerpt from 'Report and Theory on assaulting Ant strongholds' by Robert Stronghand.
When I snap out of torpor, I find that the rest of my group has already abandoned me, leaving me inside the small resting chamber all on my lonesome. It's fine though, my feelings aren't hurt. I'm tougher than this! Dammit… I need a diamond covering for my heart. I head out of the chamber to find the Colony has been anything but lazy whilst I was… taking a tactical nap. Construction on the ramp has continued at a vicious pace and already the mighty edifice rises high into the burning air of the third stratum.
Seriously, there must be tens of thousands of tons of stone used to make this thing, if not more. It's bonkers. Still, the Colony is doing it! A constant stream of construction materials flows into the site but not as many as before. As I take a look around, I can see that a large concentration of ants has been assembled toward the tip of the ramp and that some form of conflict is taking place there. It's already started?! I need to get moving! Flexing my legs a little I quickly dash forward, scanning around me to find the mana signatures of my crew.
[Sarah? Tiny? Crinis? Invidia? Where are you guys?]
At first I can't spot them but as I run up the base of the ramp and head towards the emerging end of the massive thing I quickly recognise them up ahead. They're already at work!
[Guys! Why didn't you wait for me?!]
[Oh! Hi Anthony!] Sarah greets me. [We thought it would be best to let you sleep. You've been up for a long time after all.]
[But don't let the fighting start without me! I need to be here to help out!]
[It's fine. There isn't all that much going on just yet. If things were getting too crazy we would have definitely made sure you were around.]
She's right. When I eventually make it to the end to find all of my pets, Sarah and Al gathered there, I realise that what I was seeing was only the initial salvos of what is sure to become a hectic battle. Right now, the distance between the edge of the plate and the ramp is still hundreds of metres, too far for most monsters to harm each other, except of course, the spell slingers. Already a fiery exchange is taking place as the demons throw literal fire and a host of ant mages, along with Invidia and Al, fire back whilst protecting the horde of workers continuing to complete the ramp.
From Sarah's point of view not much is happening since she can't do anything to contribute, but there's plenty that I can do!
[Time to put my incredible shielding skills to good use!]
I've been training for this moment! Full of confidence I rush to the front and begin to weave together some defensive barriers, putting all of my mental constructs to the purpose. Thanks to the upgraded coordination cortex, each of my brains has received an additional boost to their individual working capacity, along with their ability to cooperate, giving each construct that extra bit of oomph! Yes! Come to life my shields! Defend the Colony as they work to bring us to the peak!
Except that my shields are shattered almost immediately…
Dammit! I still haven't grinded enough on the defensive magic! My priority has been on force magic over the last week, I haven't had enough time to rank it up that far! From his position hovering just over my right shoulder Invidia continues to pump out enormous barriers with almost contemptuous ease. His silent judgement burns me like a hot needle.
[You've been practicing this for ages! Give me a break!]
His eye looks down on me.
[Your Skillssss. I do notsss need themsss.]
OOF.
[I'm still helping anyway!]
So my barriers aren't that great, but I can keep spinning them and throw some ordinance up at the demons firing on us at the same time. Keeping the opponents on the back foot will reduce the heat on our workers and helpfully I'll have enough time to rank up my barrier magic!
-x-X-x-
Sarah paced back and forth on the ramp as she strove to keep her bubbling anger from rising up. Though she put a brave face on it, she was still scared. Scared of this battle, scared of what the Colony was attempting to achieve, scared of being so high up on a ramp with no rails and scared of herself. The battle against the golgari back at the nest had taught her a lot about herself, about the kind of person she'd been when she first arrived in the Dungeon and the kind of person she was now.
Most importantly, she'd come to acknowledge that her fear was the source of her anger, not a by-product of it. Her rage was a reaction to how scared and hesitant she had been when she'd arrived in this world as a little cub, newly formed in the first stratum and forced to fight for her survival from the very first minute of her creation. It was strange how those memories remained so fresh, even now, decades later, she could still remember the terror she'd experienced during her first fight. A rat-toad had found her not five minutes after spawning, as she'd still been stumbling about the tunnel trying to understand how to move with her new legs, shocked and confused about what had happened to her and desperate to understand where she was.
They were ambush predators, the rat-toad, and this one had been holding onto the roof waiting for prey to wander under it, which she had foolishly done. If it hadn't been for her tough hide she might have been done for then and there. As it was, she lost a chunk out of her shoulder before she knew she was under attack, the sudden pain flooding her system with adrenaline as she'd lashed out in a panic. Luck more than anything else had kept her alive through that battle, and the fear that had bloomed in her heart at that time had never left her, even to this day.
And it never would. She was coming to accept that now, after so long. She wasn't like Anthony, who'd somehow embraced his new life with an innocent glee that she could never hope to replicate. She didn't belong here, in this place, in this world, but she was trapped with no way out. So all she could do was learn to control her fear, to experience it without letting it control her. Once she achieved that, once she had it within her grasp, then she would also control the rage.
It was there inside her now, churning away in a constant feedback loop that kept it moving, kept it growing. Rather than shy away, she leaned into it, allowed herself to feel it, to acknowledge it and in that way, slow it down without letting it die. It wasn't time yet. Soon, but not yet.
The air around her boiled with explosions, ice, curses and lightning as the Colony and demons waged a magic battle even as thousands of ants continued to labour on the ramp, extending it now only with earth magic, manipulating the stone with their minds from a distance rather than risk precious carvers stepping into the firing line where they couldn't protect themselves. There was nothing she could do to help at this point, nothing at all, so she paced. Paced and focused inside.
[Come and get it you morons! Eat fireball! Wait… fireballs probably suck against these guys… Eat ice-explosion! Hah!]
A constant stream of chatter came from Anthony who appeared to be having the time of his life running back and forth on the very edge of the ramp, stepping forward every time it grew as much as a centimetre and flinging spells directly into the faces of the demons. He never seemed to run out of energy, probably a mutation or organ, not that she was going to pry, she had other things to focus on.
Every minute that passed the firestorm of magic grew more intense, spiking the fear within Sarah ever higher as she managed its rise. She wasn't even aware of it as she paced back and forth, but a low growl had begun to resonate in her throat, vibrating through the air and growing in volume all the time. As the ramp crept closer and closer to the lip of the plate, her rage grew ever more intense, a red filter fell over her vision as the Asura within began to beat with the thumping rhythm of her anger.
It was a familiar feeling, one she had lived in fear of for so long she almost couldn't remember a time that she didn't, but now she did not shun it, she sought instead to ride it. Her growl rose and rose and she rose with it, riding high on a wave of boiling rage that sought to drive her consciousness away from her body but she allowed it to buffet her without relinquishing control.
The moment the ramp finally drew close enough, she felt herself roar, unleashing her bottled emotions in one air shattering bellow before she dashed, rushing toward the edge and leaping off it. It was a bizarre feeling, as if she were a passenger within her own body, but unlike the previous times this had happened she wasn't banished to a little corner of her own mind, a locked box where she hid herself away, instead it was as if she clung to the back of a bucking bull, except that the bull was also her.
Within a mighty crash, she landed on to the plate right in the face of a mighty horde of demons who immediately turned their ire on her. She was lashed with flame and fangs but the pain only strengthened her further. The Asura bear was engine and rage was the fuel it burned, the more they attacked, the more she swelled with power until her fangs and paws leaked red energy that intimidated all around her. A thud she heard only distantly told her that Tiny had joined her, leaping across the gap with his wings to aid him and landing amongst the demons around her with a devastating blow. With the space he had bought her she leaped forward, claws flashing, jaws snapping and the enemies around her rose to meet her challenge.
She was amongst it then, battling hard against the monsters in front of her, the growl in her throat having grown to a never ending roar and at this point it became too hard to hold on. At last the bull had its way and she was flung off, falling down into the dim corner that she knew so well.
Even as her control slipped, she still felt a momentary surge of triumph. She had held on longer than she ever had before, and with a little luck, this time she might just come back faster as well. If she kept trying, perhaps the day would come when she was finally the one in command of herself.
-x-X-x-
Sloan looked out over the seemingly endless open space of the third stratum with trepidation in her heart. Everything that could be done had been done. The city had been rebuilt from the ground up, its defences strengthened, over ten thousand valiant ants were in position to act as the garrison and fend off any assault, an assault that they knew would be coming. She just hoped it would prove to be enough. The Colony was still untested against the demons, one surprise attack was not enough to determine how well they matched up, and without the humans along to boost them there was every chance things would go much worse for her and her siblings in this battle than the last one.
The tier sevens were also a great concern. Despite all of their efforts, the Colony still had far too few tier six members. The power gap only continued to grow the further up the tiers a monster went which meant that this deficiency would be hard to overcome in the short term. If one came to this city, then they would most likely be able to hold. If two came… things might get difficult. Measures were in place and she could only hope that they proved sufficient.
Scouts bristled all over the city, up and down the column as well as a good distance away on the plains, hiding amongst the boundless throng of demon larvae. A relay of mages, able to pass messages between each other at the speed of thought would likely be the way the Colony first received word of the impending attack. Until that moment came, she could do nothing but wait. When time ticked over and the seventh day arrived a soundless disc of pure magic glided out from its hiding place amongst the mountainous outcroppings of rock several kilometres from the city. Then another, and another rose to join it, each of them bristling with demons.
Word raced through the messenger network before a minute had passed and just like that the defenders of Roklu shifted to an active footing, with ants settling into their prepared positions and readying themselves for the battle to come.
Seemingly without effort the demons glided through the air, rising until each of their discs had reached equal height with the plate of the city before they halted, waiting for each of them to be in position. There were five discs in all, each of the hunting parties that the Eldest had failed to find appeared here, an unknown number of tier seven demons among them. Brixin was not content to merely defend her own territory, she sought to control and dominate and that could not be achieved from a purely defensive position. Her aim was the same as the Colony's, to win it all, to take new territory whilst protecting that which she already owned.
One way or another, one of them would get what they wanted.
Once all of the discs were in place, they began to glide forward in unison, approaching the city at an accelerating pace. Thousands of eyes watched them approach. Hidden behind crenelations and concealed within folds of stone on the pillar the ants watched and prepared. The demons clearly knew what was coming, well before they were within range a host of shields and barriers began to form around each of the discs, protection enough to stop a mighty barrage indeed.
But perhaps not enough to stop ten thousand ants hell bent on protecting what is theirs.
"RELEASE!" came the call from the pheromone glands of hundreds of generals all around the city.
In one unified moment, from thousands of individuals, came a deluge of acid and magic that no demon could possibly have foreseen. The plate and pillar blossomed like a flower as the trails of fireballs, ice, lava and every other element homed in on the discs. The demons didn't attempt to dodge, they just accelerated, putting all their effort into shields to protect them. It was never going to be enough.
The Colony's barrage didn't stop, instead it only grew more intense the closer the discs came to the plate. Demons dropped from every disc, on every side of the city, but still they came on. When they finally made contact with the city, it wasn't the graceful and controlled landing they had probably imagined, instead, they crashed, ramming into the stone ramparts around the outside of Roklu like battering rams, the demons of Orpule were thrown from their perches and rolled in the rubble before they leapt to their feet and began the assault.
Sloan was everywhere, rushing through the command centre like a mad thing, listening to every report, communicating with every scout.
"Where are they…" she muttered to herself as the fighting heated up all around the city. "How many did they send?"
The moment the demons set foot on the plate they were assaulted on all sides by coordinated teams of ants who subjected them to a constant run of attacks. The Colony didn't seek to destroy their opponents immediately, wary of biting off more than they could chew, instead they opted to wear their opponents down, and in so doing, force the tier seven demons to reveal themselves.
It was a lone mage, hidden in a fold of stone on the ground who detected it first. At tier five, she'd done all she could to improve her ability to sense and manipulate mana outside of her body, hoping to specialise in defensive magic and protect her sisters, just like the little winged guardian protected the Eldest. Straining with every fibre of her mind she reached out and tried to pierce the veil that the demons maintained even now, warping and twisting the mana that emitted from their cores.
Then, she broke through, for just a fleeting instant, but what she sensed was enough to send a ripple running through every segment of her carapace.
[Tier seven!] she hollered to the general behind her over a mind bridge. [TWO OF THEM!]
The moment Sloan received word she turned to the waiting scout by the entrance of the command hill.
"Two of them on the west side. Deploy countermeasures."
In a flash the scout was gone, her message delivered in a speed that Vibrant would approve of. Moments later, a deep rumbling began to be felt through the feet of every ant in Roklu, as if the plate itself was shaking. The vibrations only grew in intensity as the moments passed, until every member of the Colony, even on the pillar, could feel it. It had taken a huge amount of effort to raise this force to the sixth tier, now they could only hope it would be worth it.
"Please don't mess this up you idiot," Sloan begged of the empty air.
"WE SEEK!"
-x-X-x-
The Immortals thundered through the wide streets of Roklu, a tidal wave of chitin and steel that seemed to rattle the foundations of the world itself as they ran. How many tons massed their combined charge? Who could say, certainly not Leeroy, who ran deliriously at the head of their flying wedge formation.
"This is it my sisters!" she roared, blasting her pheromones wide as they ran. "We run in the darkest hour! We run to bring glory! Immortal no more! WHY DO YOU RUN?!"
"WE SEEK!"
"SEEK NO LONGER! LAY DOWN YOUR SEARCH! WE HAVE BEEN TORMENTED BY A QUESTION AND I TELL YOU THAT THE ANSWER IS HERE AND NOW! THIS IS THE MOMENT! THIS IS OUR TIME!"
Within each and every carapace covered abdomen the hearts of Leeroy and her loyal adherents beat with wild abandon. Before them lay the mightiest foes the Colony had ever faced. Dreadful in their power, fell in their purpose, the demons would slaughter thousands should they be left unchallenged. Each and every one of the Immortals knew that they would pay any price to prevent that from happening.
Although, to tell the truth, they yearned to pay that price!
Surely now they would fall! Though this select group had been raised to the sixth tier, they were not as mighty as the Eldest, did not possess their wisdom or strength, so how could they hope to prevail against such dreadful odds? They wouldn't, they couldn't! But with their final breath they would drag their enemies down into the abyss with them, saving their family and freeing themselves.
Despite their weight, the ground was eaten up quickly by their furious charge. The prospect of imminent death spurred them on to run faster than they ever had before, charge more desperately than could have been previously imagined. Soon, the target of their wrath was in sight.
The demons did not appear overly special when compared to the others around them, not much larger, nor much more powerful than the rest of their group, but the evidence provided by their sister was all the Immortals needed to commit themselves wholly to the fight. They would not take a backward step!
"Brace!" Leeroy roared and the ants to her left and right lunged forward until their armour had interlocked with hers.
The motion was repeated down the line and in the lead position Leeroy was overcome by the sensation that their wills had truly become unified. Were she to lift her legs from the ground the unstoppable momentum and strength of her siblings would still carry her forward to glory.
"Remember the inner fire and bring them down with you!"
The group of demons, only six in number, realised their deception had failed the moment the wave of furious insects had appeared. Amongst them, the two most powerful had sneered, despite the forceful charge of the insects they felt no fear. No longer constrained, they allowed their power to swell, blanketing the area with an aura of violence and decay that sent the rest of the ants skittering backwards.
The demons believed this was a sign of fear, whereas in reality the Colony was simply making room for what was about to take place.
Emboldened by the retreat of the weak who had fled at the first sign of their power, the two tier seven demons stepped forward boldly, willing to take the charge of the Immortals head on. A curious decision. When the two sides met the sound of screeching metal and shattering stone sent the hairs on Sloan's antennae dancing all the way back in the command hill.
Like a freight train running off the rails, the Immortals smashed into a wall, paused momentarily, and then punched right through it. The weaker demons were reduced to a fine mist as Leeroy and her sisters perfectly executed their final surge, combining their Dash and Charge Skills in one ecstatic surge. With the force of an explosive harnessed in insect form, they ran straight through their foes before collapsing in a tangled heap on the other side.
"Right yourselves! It's not over yet!"
Amongst the twisted piles of wrecked buildings and tortured armour, Leeroy and her sisters began the desperate fight to break free. Several of them were injured, some limbs had been shattered at the moment of contact of the collapse afterward, but all had to be put aside so that they might finish the fight. For she was not wrong in her assessment, their leader. Though wounded, their two great foes had not fallen in the initial charge, and now the irate demons sought to exact terrible vengeance upon the armoured insects.
Now the battle began in earnest and Leeroy, the most battered of all the cadre, felt her veins blaze with joy as she stood, her helmet twisted across her head, before she once again raced forward to join the fray. Mandibles flashed and snapped as the two mighty demons roared, spitting fire, slicing with blades that split steel and carapace with equal ease.
It was a desperate struggle, with neither side willing to give an inch, but it quickly became apparent that although their opponents numbered but two, the ten Immortals were outmatched. Even though they shrugged off the overwhelming pressure the demons brought to bear, despite causing significant injury in the initial charge, the ants lacked the speed and power necessary to contend with enemies such as these. The monsters danced amongst the ungainly armoured figures, slashing with wild abandon as they sought to end the fight quickly and complete their task.
But Leeroy and her sisters would not be brought low so easily! The more they were wounded, the more elated they became! As their HP dropped lower and lower, their hearts soared higher and higher! They fought more savagely! Snapped their mandibles more viciously!
Every moment that passed, the Immortals felt the fire in their veins grow ever hotter, for they knew that which their opponents did not! Without conversing, without collaborating in any way, it so turned out that all ten of them had taken the same evolution at tier six. The System had looked into their souls and seen that they were worthy, and so had bestowed upon them a most powerful evolution, with an organ that would see to it that they accomplished their purpose!
Even now as the strength in her limbs was fading, Leeroy could feel it within her now, pulsing with power that only grew as she drew ever nearer to death. Only when she breathed her last would it unleash its full might and pull these foul creatures who sought to bring harm to their family into the afterlife along with them!
As the battle raged on, the demons became increasingly frustrated. These horrendous ants simply refused to die! No matter the injury inflicted they would come back, snapping their mandibles with ferocious energy which seemed impossible to snuff out. The two combatants were incredibly aware of the vast numbers of weaker ants who simply watched them from a safe distance, no doubt ready to leap into the fray the moment these armoured beasts were defeated.
The two demons decided simultaneously that they could drag out this fight no longer, they were weakened and injured as a result of this disaster, they could not afford to let these undying insects exhaust them further. Acting as one they marshalled their remaining strength and unleashed a devastating wave of power, a combination of fire and ash that swallowed everything around them in a fifty metre radius.
When she saw that deadly conflagration ignite between the two demons, Leeroy felt a wave of peace wash through her being the likes of which she had never felt before. With the last of their strength, the Immortals dove forward into the expanding sphere of destruction in order to bring themselves as close to their enemies as possible. Though they would die, they would succeed in defeating their enemies and thus live in glory.
"Farewell sisters! Be at peace!" Leeroy flung one last message to her sisters before each of them were consumed.
When the blast was finally cleared every building within its radius had been reduced to a smouldering heap of slag. Drained, but victorious, the two demons surveyed what remained of their foes, little more than mounds of smouldering Biomass and superheated metal. They had no time to celebrate however. Already the surrounding insects were moving to confront them.
Then something strange happened. An upswell of power that they did not recognise began in each of their fallen opponents that grew so quickly they had no time to react before it burst forth in radiant light. Each of the defeated ants became bathed in golden flames that grew in intensity until none could bear to look at them. There was no heat, only a pure light that could be seen kilometres away, piercing through the ash of the third stratum.
The two demons were bewildered, but unharmed, and when the mysterious fire vanished they despaired, as they found themselves once more staring at the ten massive insects, completely unharmed, though without their armour.
Each of the Immortals froze for a moment out of pure confusion. They had died, they were sure of it… just what had happened?!
As one they threw open their status screens and inspected their new organ, demanding the System display its description.
[Phoenix Fire Organ: Throughout the course of battle this organ will consume the strength of its holder, empowering itself as they draw closer to death. When the host expires, it unleashes the contained energy in a wave of flame that will annihilate -]
Each of the Immortals realised at the same moment that when evolving they had stopped reading at this point and confirmed the selection on the spot. Leeroy hadn't even noticed that there was more text at all!
[- any injuries the host bears, bringing them back from the brink of death to live again.]
The battlefield remained frozen for a long moment as each of the ants tried to process what they had just learned.
"DAMMIT!" Leeroy screamed.