Chrysalis

Why are the monsters of the third strata called demons? This is a question frequently asked of me by those unfamiliar with that particular strata, or less well read on monsters in general. It's a general misconception that it was the civilised races of Pangera that designated the monsters of the third strata as 'demons', as a response to the particularly intelligent cruelty inherent in the more highly evolved monsters encountered there. This simply isn't so. It was, in fact, the System itself that assigned the name of demon to those monsters, probably long before any surface being encountered and slew one.

As to why this may be the case? Ah, here we come to the crux of the matter. This question is the cause of much debate and speculation in the academic community even to this day, and despite what many of my colleagues believe, I don't think it will be possible to arrive at a conclusive answer.

Some posit the theory that the System itself contains a sense of 'good' and 'evil', and use the language associated with various Skills, Classes and monsters to support this idea. The argument has some merit, I admit. Various healing classes, or those with a predilection to endeavours that one can argue are for the immediate benefit of society, do in fact receive affirming and positive language in their descriptions as given by the System. Other classes that are… less savoury in nature, such as torturer, executioner or thief, are far less complimentary in the text, though it must be noted that neither does the language of the System strictly condemn such classes.

So it is by this argument that the most 'evil' of all monsters have been denoted by the System as demons, as they are the most deserving of this title. Others argue that this concept is inherently flawed, as all monsters from the Dungeon are, in essence, highly motivated killers. The less intelligent monsters may pose less of a threat than their smarter… colleagues… but the motivations of both are similar: kill, eat and grow stronger.

It's only the natives of the third strata, to my knowledge, that seem to enjoy what they do, even go out of their way to inflict pain, fear or terror in their victims. There have been numerous witnesses to testify that the demons will act like this even when preying on each other. And each demon will attempt to indulge itself according to their nature as described by their species. Wrath demons engage in horrific displays of anger and rage against those who they see have wronged them, Greed demons will go to absurd lengths to collect and accumulate that which they desire whilst delighting in the pain inflicted, Envy demons are known to strip everything from their foes, reducing them to literally nothing before dealing the final blow.

Why do they act this way? Why have they been named and designed to be this way by the System? In my humble opinion, there are none who can say for certain.

• Excerpt from Lecture Series "On the nature of Demons" by teacher Sooka of the Tempest Alliance.

been two damn days and we haven't had much of a break in that entire time. Constant fighting for this length of time is enough to take it out of anyone, even a tier six, as it turns out. We did actually try to bury ourselves into a wall and hide from the wave for a while, but it wasn't too effective. I don't know if the monsters here are smarter or if our cores are just too easy to detect through a few metres of collapsed tunnel wall, but no sooner did we seal ourselves into a pocket of air that we'd dug out than

so persistent! Leave

with every step and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't super interested in taking a peek. This is the new frontier! The next leg of the Colony's conquest of the Dungeon! What will the terrain be like? What sort of tunnels, what sort of mana, are we

action,” I scent a

do you mean?! Aren't you curious to catch a glimpse of the third strata? Not to mention the benefit to the Colony if we can block an entrance to our territory

we stop the flow of demons into the second strata beneath the Colony the pressure on all of the

that you remain alive," comes back the reply, "going further into the teeth of the wave isn't worth the

easier if you

than you think. We've done as much as we can whilst also

a

"… yes."

Protectant and her crew that I do, in fact, know exactly what they've been up to. Their thoughts and desires, their Will, has been flowing into the Vestibule, being enhanced by the Nave, and giving me a window into their activities. What they want, what they do and how they do it, aren't really mysteries to me anymore, especially when I'm actively paying attention. I'm sure the information I can glean from an individual ant when I focus on them would be overwhelming were I to try it back in the nest, but it's fairly trivial for me to

levels," I urge them all, directing my scent widely across the ceiling where the rest of them are hiding, "I know you've been working hard

have reached a much higher level of power, making us a mobile fortress that the Colony can fling at our enemies. Certainly we'd have been able

forward again!" I declare. "We aren't going home until I catch a glimpse of the third strata. If you

ones who commissioned you in the first place. Having reaffirmed my desire to push on, the group girds themselves and continues to press onward into the teeth of the endless flood of monsters. The deeper we go, the more necessary it becomes for the bodyguards to get involved, working in groups to knock monsters off balance, put damage on targets from range with coordinated acid barrages,

the faintest hint of warmth brushing against my carapace. Thank goodness! The temperature was getting so low that my legs were on the brink of locking up. The more we move, the warmer it gets, and the fewer shadow monsters we see, as if