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

can’t concentrate enough to cast the spell? Does she not

concerned every moment I start to tap up and down her wounds with my antennae almost without thinking about it, my ant instincts kicking in and overriding my more rational behaviour as

Holy heck!

cuts is way too deep! Right in the center of her thorax a deep and wide

Is that her core?!

it might have damaged the core directly, something I feel very confident would be immediately fatal to a monster. Just a few more inches and mother would

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

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 way I persist until my core has

different I think? The response I

she not getting enough mana

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

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 and have a

need to heal yourself!" I urge

to heal the injured workers before she bothers to cast

walking straight under her and using their own backs to lift up

watch her go,

trust that my siblings will be

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

move past, dragging the human Queen up the side of the ant hill towards

now is going to be getting her

grab my mandibles with her hands in order to help carry her weight, rather than have all of her body weight hanging from

go far until I can stash the Queen in my own personal chamber near the top

inside I lower her to

a Titan-Croca smacks

forth within my head as if it were a bell that

BOOM!

been hit. Despite being disoriented I can tell that my body hasn’t been hit. Something is attacking my mind! Darkness threatens to overwhelm me but I barely manage to hold on