Chrysalis

I mean… he's fat. Like. Really fat. I probably shouldn't focus on that too much, considering that this demon is almost certainly seventh tier, the first that I've ever seen. But still, he's like… a mega-chonker.

Atop that bulbous mass of flesh, split through the middle with a grotesque mouth that even now is stuffing itself full of Biomass from trays heaped with the stuff on either side of the figure of the city lord, the shockingly humanoid upper body looks down on us with thinly veiled contempt.

"Why have you entered my city, Insect?" he demands, staring hard at me.

Why is he singling me out? Is it my carapace? The precious diamond that I carry? You can't have it! This carapace belongs to me, certainly, but also to the world! I am merely it's caretaker, shepherding this glorious form through the Dungeon so that uncultured swine might gaze upon my magnificence and achieve enlightenment!

"This is one seriously pompous fatty," I complain to Brilliant, "not to mention rude. The least he could do is offer some of that Biomass to us."

When I don't scent a reply from the little ant, I focus a little more in her direction and only then do I realise that the poor thing is frozen in place, totally overwhelmed by the dominant aura of malevolence rolling off the powerful demon in front of us. A tier three monster standing in front of a tier seven, it's to be expected. I myself haven't experienced that sort of disparity since the first time I laid eyes on Garralosh.

I really need to ask Granin about this strange manifestation of power as I understand very little about it. Is it simply the difference of intensity in the core that causes this effect? Is it a biological sense that's inborn in monsters so that we can tell the more powerful specimens when we come across them? A curious thought. I reach out to the grotesque mound of flesh in front of us with my mind.

[Mind retracting your aura a bit? My sibling here is still young.]

High above the heaving flesh, the demon's eyes glitter with malice.

"I will not," he replies.

I shrug my antennae.

might be construed as an

Those eyes narrow.

me? In

I suppose if you wanted to interpret it that way, then I

have you shredded to gobbets

to put

two of us stare at each other for a long moment before

and experience the delights of the third stratum. Are visitors welcome in

bulk. It's not like I can even avert my eyes from that heaving gut, I have near three-sixty degree vision! My change in tone seems to have taken this ruler by surprise and he regards us in silence for a moment. I'm hoping this is a good sign. Spirit of adventure is all well and good, but I'd much rather I didn't plunge the

Grokus," he finally speaks and introduces himself. "Generally speaking, visitors are welcome, albeit rare, in my city. Visitors from above are even more rare, there are few who would brave the dangers of the descent. I would have you know, that I am already aware of

of a capital

my territory will be met with extreme force. I have struggled long to gain my position

I shrug.

by the presence of

with

seem to be what you were suggesting

mandibles and wave away the

for us to be somewhat cautious. I for one, have never set claw in a demon city and had no idea what to expect. I certainly didn't realise that I'd be dropping down into the city lord's compound. So

by that much. Clearly he hasn't benefited from a maxed core at each stage of his development. That doesn't mean I'm equal to him, a gap in tier represents a doubling of potential after all, but he isn't that much stronger than I am. With all my allies present, I'm confident we could make a mess of the place, though I expect that's why I detect so many strong demons nearby. Grokus isn't taking any