Chrysalis

The closer I look, the more certain I am. It isn't much, a scratch under any other circumstances, but considering that Grokus has managed to keep himself entirely pristine for the duration of this fight, something has definitely changed.

[You know, I don't think I will, surrender that is. I have a suspicion that things might just be turning to my advantage.]

[Nonsense,] the huge demon scoffs, [unless you have another of those spells in you, then it's merely a matter of time before you are devoured from the inside out.]

[You so sure about that? Your left claw isn't looking its normal self.]

I can almost see the massive city lord hesitate for a moment before he raises the claw to inspect it more closely. Sure enough, the damage has not been fully healed, a split running along the topmost digit.

[Impossible!] he gasps before he can stop himself.

[Not healing as much as you'd expected eh? Perhaps something has gone wrong?] it's now my turn to taunt the much larger monster as my brains race to think of what could possibly have happened.

[Tiny, scorch him! Give him a blast of lightning!]

All too happy to unleash violence at the slightest provocation, the ape lets loose an arc of lightning that plays across the city lord’s flank, burning a groove in him and filling the air with the scent of sizzled Biomass. Crucially, the damage remains, healing, but far more slowly than before. An idea begins to take shape in my mind and I can't help giving voice to it.

[You've always been eating Grokus, eating and eating away, but where has all the Biomass gone? You really expect me to believe you've just been racking up thousands of Biomass points for no reason? I don't believe it.]

the still form of Grokus, watching him through my multifaceted

Biomass regeneration storage, don't you? You've been packing it away into this regen gland for decades and then pretending you were invincible. Every time you get damaged in any way, you heal up in an instant and pretend you were never hurt in the first place. You can depend on your impressive

demon as I lecture, expounding on my

regenerating the entire time, weren't you? That must have sucked. Like, that must have really sucked. The moment you healed, it was all ripped away just as fast. How much Biomass did you chew through in the duration of that spell? Must have been a lot. Must have been ALL of it, in fact,

turn to face

you're barely healing at

as if

still standing, and so long as I am you will continue to suffer. Unless you can finish me off in

stiffen my legs to

I was here by myself, but

turn to

"GET HIM!"

range of my pheromonal

THE COLONY!" floods the area as each and every one of them rushes forward heroically and a rain of acid and spells

the limit to zig and zag left and right. Focusing my mind, I watch carefully. Listening to the hidden signals emanating from my antennae I watch the now desperate city lord like an ant-hawk.

Grokus!] I bellow as I bite down

but the massive demon still represents a great threat to my siblings, which means I want to keep his focus on me as much as possible whilst I remove his ability to harm them. Without the use of his arms, he has only his aura to rely on. Which will work, given enough time. I mean, we're racing

Crinis! Pour it on!

Crinis leap into the fight with gusto, ripping and tearing, punching and smashing with all they

like this!] Grokus bellows in my mind. [I have ruled for hundreds of