Chrysalis

Any conflict against demons within the third stratum is almost certain to end in failure. Not only are the native monsters resistant to, even empowered by, the conditions which are draining to almost all other life-forms, but the nature of the demon life cycle ensures that any long-term conflict will turn into a grind that cannot be won.

Over time, the larvae will mature and the demons will become the beneficiaries of a bottomless pool of fresh troops.

Even more difficult, is the disturbing nature of the third stratum in regards to warfare. This layer of Dungeon, more than any other, seems to thrive on chaos. The more fighting, the more carnage, the more it seethes. The mana thickens, the rate of larval spawn and development skyrockets. It’s as if the third stratum itself were a living thing, a beast that became invigorated by death.

Madness begets madness in the third. Leave the demons to their battles, it never pays to get involved.

- Excerpt from “Demonology” by Xinci.

Vibrant’s fighting style hadn’t so much evolved over time, as accelerated. As her Skills improved, primarily her “Dash”, “Charge”, “Lunge” and “Quick Chomp”, she’d been able to perfect her hit and run tactics to the point most enemies never got the chance to hit her back.

She ran forward, flickering over the landscape, mandibles flashing out to bite into the enemy, and then be gone, dozens of metres away by the time they recovered. A particular evolution in the approach that she loved was the latest leg mutation. Rather than simply increasing her speed, which had been her go-to approach so far, she’d decided to take an option that made the muscles and tendons inside the leg more durable to tension, effectively increasing her turn speed.

Now she could zip and zag to her heart’s content, moving so quickly that no enemy could possibly hope to track her through the battlefield. It was an incredibly fun way to fight, and she loved it.

“Hi-hi!” she called to her family as she raced forward, antennae waggling with joy.

The situation didn’t look great for the ants, they were being heavily pressured by the demons who continued to emerge from the tunnels below in a steady stream of flame, blades and teeth.

It didn’t rattle her confidence, though. As far as Vibrant was concerned, the Colony was invincible; a fight they were yet to win was simply a fight that needed more ants to turn up.

so this battle

the observers, she simply

CRUNCH!

sound came first, a mighty snap that resounded like a thunderclap. A split-second later Vibrant reappeared, already a dozen metres away and turning back for another pass, her claws kicking up dirt and larval demons as she shifted

rage as a leg collapsed under his weight. Others reacted, turning back, faces twisted in anger, only to see the large soldier was

FLASH!

She vanished.

CRUNCH!

against her carapace by the force of

rushed out after her and she felt

With

from the

BANG!

They roared in anger, but it was a waste of precious time. Before they realised what had happened, she’d turned and was upon

quick to see. A streak of light blasted by them, so fast they may have imagined it. But

CRUNCH!

to appreciate what had happened, what would continue to happen if they tried to chase down this creature. Those unfortunates felt a chill. The ant was simply too fast, they would never touch her. If they remained in the open field,

through their bloodlust, took root in them,