Chrysalis

Odin skulked amongst the larvae that covered the ground. Now knee deep, the newborn demons were even more frenzied than normal, hacking and tearing at each other with wild abandon.

He’d been one of them not that long ago, it was difficult to remember that sometimes. Weak, having to climb up over his own kind in order to survive. Just like his life as a human.

Idly, he wondered just how many larvae were spawned across the entire stratum in an hour. Billions? Trillions? Breaking a few eggs to make an omelette was one thing, but the inefficiency in this process was almost offensive to him.

Loss of life was something Odin could relate to, given his previous line of work, but each death was supposed to be significant. It should mean something, when a creature dies. Most of these larvae wouldn’t make it past tier two, and none would remember them, or even notice their passing.

Getting melancholic. Focus on the job, he admonished himself.

Lowering his frame, he turned his head from side to side, imitating the sweeping hunter’s gaze that evolved demons adopted on the plain. Despite appearances, he only had eyes for the ants.

They were everywhere. Everywhere. Groups combed through the larvae like gold-hunters with metal detectors, every now and again snatching up a specimen and examining it. The lucky, or unlucky demon was either placed back with the others, or stowed carefully in a bag, thrashing like a wild… demon.

Ants travelled in huge lines, thousands of them, following trails just like an ant on Earth would, except these were even more orderly. They carried all sorts of things; metals, ores, Biomass, cores, shipping materials from distant parts of the Plains and pouring them into the gigantic nest that loomed in the distance. It was as if that immense structure were a monster itself, all the wealth and resources that could be gathered for kilometres around were flooding toward it in a ceaseless flood.

Odin was sure he could see them scuttling about on the roof overhead, though what they might be doing up there was beyond him.

Every time a group seemed as if it might come nearby, he would shift his direction, moving away from them without seeming to. A cold, tense feeling coiled around his monstrous guts, a sensation that he had felt only a few times before.

way into their compound and found

within the seat of their power. To reach even this seemingly innocuous

ultimate

needing help, but here, in this world, where the rules weren’t fully understood, he needed to adapt. If that meant clutching onto the leg of

Over there!

he swung his head in that sweeping gesture once more, he caught a glimpse of what he’d been hoping to see. Easy to pick out, even when surrounded by others of the same species, the giant ant moved over the plains like a King.

the three monsters he had seen following the creature before. Each was powerful, stronger than he, maybe, but they were nothing compared to what he saw in

to let go. He could see it in the other ants as well. When the giant one passed them, they would turn, ever so subtly, to watch it go, before straightening

as this one, this was exactly what he

quite

nonchalance, every inch the prowling demon looking for prey, he watched the group's movements,

and the demons who plagued him into a direct confrontation without revealing himself, that may be for the best. If the ant was victorious, then he would

helpful messenger, he could reveal the danger and provide advice. The issue with this approach was that he lacked mastery of the magic that allowed him to converse with others. If demon speech

ants worked with some demons, that much he knew from observation, but it

No.

and remain in the shadows, that’s where he, Odin the feared assassin, was most

ant had drifted close, too close for comfort, he would need to adjust his angle. The small demon hovered over its dark carapace, along with the black blob of… something. Good,

was the

ripped through his body, causing his muscles to