Chrysalis

Somonax’s face is twisted into a permanent grin, her needle-pointed teeth as long as a man’s arm flashing in the red light. From her back, the thousand wires spring, each connected to one of a thousand blades.

I’ve used almost all of my Altar energy to tie down Torrifex and Pyrixan for the moment, but I’m doubtful those two bombs will be strong enough to kill them, which means I need to make the most of this two-on-one time I have with this demon of endless slaughter.

[Alright, Al. If you’ve got anything left to give, you better give it now. I’m going to run in and see what I can get done.]

[I will try.]

I’m keen to give him a motivational talk, a bit of the ol’ ‘there is no try’ stuff, but I don’t have it in me right now. I knew running headlong into the tier eight demons was going to be tough, but right now, I feel like I’ve unleashed everything I have and they’re just taking it. Once my Altar runs dry, they’ll be able to squash me like a pancake at festival time.

Time to go for it!

Somonax grins… or… just maintains her normal expression, as I turn and rush directly at her, launching a barrage of compressed stone spears as I do.

Those blades make quick work of the projectiles, shards of stone go flying in all directions as each spear is detonated when cut. I knew she’d be able to defend herself, all I wanted to do was tie down at least some of her limbs as I made my approach.

Dash!

I lunge forward with all my speed the moment I pass within the range of her wires, and it’s a good thing I do. From a dozen different directions, hundreds of those gleaming red blades slash down and the best direction for me to dodge is forward.

Even so, I get a few slices on the rear-guard for my trouble.

always the commercial

stone spears continue, and each one is expertly shattered by a slash from the demon. She’s not even moving her body at the moment,

future-sight antennae are on fire as I receive tingling warnings of hundreds and hundreds of individual movements at once. Even with so many brain constructs to process the input,

time I change direction. The closer I get, the faster and more concentrated the blade attacks become, until I feel I’m facing a storm of swords rather than a demon. She’s basically making a

test. I didn’t harden my defences this much to shy away from

Here we go!

as I rumble toward the enemy, my jaws pulled back ready to bite. Immediately, a rain of

Oof!

spearing toward the demon. Somonax tilts

A chance!

VOID CHOMP!

dark light manifest themselves and begin to close on Somonax, but the demon doesn’t seem

THUNK!

hundred swords come down together, concentrating their force on a single point as they attempt to stab through my carapace. The force of the strike sends my legs splaying wide and the underside of my

her trouble, the demon has managed to sink her weapons almost thirty centimetres into my carapace, almost

you

but I don’t get the feedback I

where the enemy went. She’s above me! She

the air, Somonax pulls her thousand blades together, forming them into a gigantic point that she aims straight at my midsection before plummeting down with

fast that dodge was. Not

I can