Chrysalis

Only now do I remember my two passengers that I’d thrown off in a rush. Poor Crinis! The little thing can’t even see!

[Crinis! Crinis! Where are you?!] I frantically yell in my mental channel.

Turning quickly I unceremoniously drag the Queen this way and that until I notice some movement in the grass on the forest floor. Rushing over I see several little tentacles extended straight up, wiggling frantically.

There it is!

I carefully place one of my legs so that it is just touching the seeking limbs.

[It’s me! Climb up!]

Moments a later a much more relaxed blob is resting on my back and a very small worker has emerged from behind a nearby tree to climb up onto my head. Mini crew assembled I return, Queen in tow, to the scene of the carnage.

Surrounded by the remains of her own deceased children the Queen isn’t looking good. A horde of workers are rushing about her, their anxiety is plain in their disjointed movements, darting backwards and forwards, unsure what they should do to help the situation.

The human Queen seems rather unhappy about being this close to such a massive monster but I hardly care. Her people are what caused this problem, if she gets uncomfortable I’ll shed no tears. If she tries to harm the real Queen then she will very quickly regret it.

"Mother! Are you ok?!" I cry.

In my mind I hadn’t imagined she could be injured this badly, she’d always seemed so indestructible that even if I worried about her getting injured, I hadn’t really believed it would happen.

Her super hard carapace met its match in those devastating sword skills today, numerous cuts and gashes mar her body, some of them very deep.

"I will ... be ok" she replies, her usual calm voice strained to the limit.

"Can you heal yourself? Cast some magic?" I urge her worriedly.

She doesn’t reply for a moment, her great body heaving as she labours to draw in air.

Strength" she manages

the heck does that mean? She can’t concentrate enough to

my antennae almost without thinking about

Holy heck!

Right in the center of her thorax a deep and wide wound has opened

Is that her core?!

that skill gone any further then it might have damaged the core directly, something I feel very confident would be immediately fatal to a monster. Just a few more inches

the thought I turn on my mana sense and examine her core. Usually blazing bright, her core is more of a dim ember right now. Why is her core so weak?! It should be full of mana and packed with energy! Is this why she seems so weak? Is

difference I start pulling all of the mana I can out of my own core and sending it in a stream of mist towards the Queens. Without knowing if it will help in any

a slight different I think? The response I get seems a little more energetic this

getting enough

shout as loudly as I can to all of the surrounding workers, "rush in there and destroy everything and then take mother inside and protect

more mana then placing her inside the farm is going to be the best place we can find in the short term. If the workers pack in there tightly enough then there is practically no chance that a monster will be able to spawn

you can you need to heal yourself!" I urge the Queen, "your

worried she’ll start trying to heal the injured workers before she bothers to cast the spell on

moving towards the farm. Half the colony has assembled to help her, many workers walking straight

watch her go,

to trust that

the top of the anthill where several workers have surrounded him, tapping him with antennae and taking the odd nibble as he resolutely lies

the workers as I move past, dragging the human Queen up the side of the ant hill towards the opening at

is going to

mentally I slowly lift my head until my captive is forced onto her toes. Eventually she reaches up to grab my mandibles with her hands in order

begin the decent. Fortunately we don’t need to go far until I can stash the Queen in my own

lower her to the

second I do, a Titan-Croca

rocks back and forth within my head as if it were a bell that had been struck by a hammer.

BOOM!

I’d actually been hit. Despite being disoriented I can tell that my body hasn’t been hit. Something is attacking my mind!