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!

Skill, sending the pack of monsters scattering like bowling pins. Thankfully they were all the more slender types of demons otherwise it might have been like headbutting a brick wall. Tiny bellows once more, the rock reverberating with his battle cry as he slams his way forward, both fists pounding into

is the last thing

Take a hard left, we'll try to lose

my non-inconsiderable weight around a hairpin turn, dashing into an alleyway between two teetering buildings. A difficult manoeuvre that has strained my legs, but with any luck we've managed to break line of

BOOM!

turn in 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 giant ape lashes out, his powerful arms

bricks and bounds to

and slashing at the air, they make a perfect spotlight for the first pack of demons, who quickly follow after us. Just…

yell at Tiny but he's too far lost in

really tipped him over the edge. Which could be 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

importantly, without capable and selfless champions, how 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

made that I'm the one who puts the carapace in the fire most of the time. Actually, to take that a step further, aren't I throwing myself into trouble and the Colony is the one pulling me out of it? Isn't that carapace in

another time!

an ant, dammit! I'm going over the top! As I speed toward another building, instead of going around it I simply raise my front legs up and dig in with my claws, racing up the side of the wall and over the

BOOM!

later! The sound of demonic shrieking and blades striking flesh rings out from below me as I continue running, followed by Tiny's bellow and the harsh impacts of fists striking home with tremendous force. Next thing, two demons are thrown out the side of the building with tremendous force, smashing into a neighbouring building and smashing that wall in

Wonderful.

my mandibles on that

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 nearby building where, looking down into the alley, I see a