Chrysalis

In the back of my mind I worry that the king chubster himself, Grokus, might have seized the hatchling the moment she slipped away from us, to use as leverage, or just to eat, who knows? But from what I can tell, the trail leading to the little runaway doesn't lead back to the column in the centre of the plate, in fact, it seems as though it’s looping around the outside.

Stupid hatchling! You just wanted to go sightseeing that badly?! When I catch you, I'll dangle you over the edge for a week! See if that doesn't fulfill your need for a good view!

[Master! Do you sense her?] Crinis asks.

[I do! But the trail is weak. Can you see anything?]

[Her mana signature is so weak,] she frets, [it's almost impossible to find her when we're surrounded with so many tier six monsters.]

That's something else to remember, even if they didn't all evolve perfectly, each and every single monster around here is the same tier as us. If all of these demons decided to fight us at the same time… it wouldn't be pretty.

[This way!] I cry as the sense from my vestibule veers sharply one way.

[No! She's looping back! This way!]

A hard turn brings us smack into the middle of a pack of demons coming in the other direction, a variety of shapes and forms, all grotesque and deadly in their own fashion.

[Move it!] I bellow.

CHARGE!

rock reverberating with his battle cry as he slams his way forward, both fists pounding into the stone. The ruckus we cause is undeniable

is the last thing we need… Maybe we can

hard left, we'll try to lose them around

teetering buildings. A difficult manoeuvre that has strained my legs, but with any luck we've managed to break line of sight between us and our pursuers. Now quickly! Onto the trail

BOOM!

time and has ploughed straight into the building on the left… that's perfect. Driven even further into his rage by the offending structure, the

the wall! Come on!] I urge him and he shakes off the bricks and bounds to his feet, leaving a new collection of

the air, they make a perfect spotlight for the first pack of demons, who quickly follow after

you were supposed to have the fanciest feet?!] I yell at Tiny but he's too far lost in his rage to hear

a problem… nothing I can do about it now though. Recapturing the hatchling is all that matters now! How many tens of thousands of new ants have been born between Vibrant and Brilliant! She might be a handful, and a massive pain in the abdomen, but Vibrant is one of the strongest and most dedicated ants

is the Colony ever going to develop to the point that they aren't dependent on me to protect them?! They need to be able to stand on their own six legs! I can't

to take that a step further, aren't I throwing myself into trouble and the Colony is the one pulling me out of

Worry about it another

I'm going over the top! As I speed toward another building, instead of going around it I simply raise

BOOM!

running, followed by Tiny's bellow and the harsh impacts of fists striking home with tremendous force. Next thing, two

Wonderful.

I get my

wisp of energy trickles into the vestibule, snapping my attention around just in time for my antennae to catch a whiff of the little ant. With one dashing leap I throw myself across a gap and onto a