Chrysalis

The Queen was having a great day. Her mandibles gnashed with joy as she rushed across the plains, the small demon larvae wiggling out of her way as she chased down her prey. It had taken some time to get down the pillar, avoiding the inhabitants of the plate city as her delegation made their way down below.

“Mother, surely now you’ve had enough. Isn’t it time to return and see to your tasks?”

The Queen continued to munch on Biomass as she replied.

“Yes, I do believe you are right. This has been a most pleasant hunt, but I am nearly full. I thank you for allowing me to indulge myself.”

She was acutely aware that she had inconvenienced her children with her demands, which was precisely why she didn’t like to do it. The frustration she felt at being coddled had bubbled under the surface for a long time before she had finally had enough. With this outing, she felt her stress had been relieved. For at least a good while, she would be able to accept her children being overly protective.

“It’s time to return to the nest,” she announced. “Is everyone here? Make sure that none are left behind.”

The guards reacted a little oddly as their roles were flipped from trying to shepherd the Queen to being shepherded by her in a flash. She rounded them up, thanking them for their hard work, ensuring that each and every one of them was accounted for before they began to make their way back to the pillar.

Half the distance had been covered without incident, crossing over the plains as the larval demons scurried out of the way, but before they could complete the journey, something changed.

swinging wildly as a faint scent brushed against them. She wasn’t sure what it was

coming”, she warned her

chief guard replied. “You should get

Queen clacked with

than you children, do not be

the Queen. She repressed the urge to thwack them, they were only acting out of love, as her friend Enid had told her. Despite their actions being sub-optimal and

fight with her own protectors moments before they were engaged in battle. Instead, she braced herself, antennae beginning to shine with healing mana as she prepared

of larva. Frenzied bloodlust rolled from the creatures in waves, and the moment they

demons had emerged, battle was joined, the two sides clashing against each other with total abandon, each knowing that in a fight between monsters, the one who hesitated was sure to

magic that washed over her children as she charged forward,

There was no consistency or pattern among the attackers that she could detect. The demons came in all shapes and sizes, some gouting flames, others were dervishes covered in spinning

the demon, the more capable of reason they became, yet these creatures seemed devoid of thought. Each one radiated a single-minded obsession with death and destruction,

to team up on the demons, lunging and ducking, latching onto legs,