“What reason would this young lady have to take her children into the nest?” I leaned toward Emilia and whispered.
The old rumours came back to me in that moment. Were these children about to be sacrificed to slake the insect hunger for flesh?
“The Colony runs a daycare program for young children twice a week.” She smiled gently. “Mothers can come and spend time with each other as their children play with the hatchlings and take lessons from the Brood Tenders.”
“Brood tenders?” My curiosity seized hold of my imagination before I processed the idea of insect childcare.
“They are the caste of ants specially evolved to raise the young and teach. They are hyper-specialised in this field and provide heavy bonuses to anyone under their tutelage. Raising the young of the Colony makes them immensely busy, but for two days a week, the Colony allows children from Renewal to take advantage in order to benefit the children.”
“And how does this benefit the Colony?”
“A stronger Renewal means a stronger colony. Our citizens work with and for the Colony. Our guards take tours of the Dungeon side by side with them, we trade with them, they trade for us. There isn’t an alliance or any such thing between the Colony and the survivors of the frontier kingdoms. Though they have never demanded anything from us, we are essentially one and the same. They have never failed to help us when we asked, and they help us constantly without us even having to ask. If we have any honour at all, then we have no choice but to do the same.”
Do you understand me now, dear reader? A fearsome den of monsters this nest may be, but it is also a location for schooling children. My feelings were very mixed.
[Do you really think you can outlast me, INSECT?] Grokus gloats as he swept toward me again.
I’m beginning to think that despite how threatening and surprisingly quick his charges are, they aren’t really intended to hurt me. All the massive city lord has been doing is keeping me dodging and hopping out of his way whilst his insidious aura eats me from the inside. Obviously, if he did manage to catch me and stuff me in his maw, that would be a bonus.
[I think you’ll find it a little more difficult to take me down than you think, big guy,] I say.
And he will, but I’m not as confident as I should be. My Mind Constructs continue to churn, drawing out and compressing my Gravity Bomb while my main mind remains free to manoeuvre my body. The spell is growing within me at a tremendous pace, but I dare not release it half-baked. I need this spell to turn the tides on Grokus, and I’ve already seen how resistant he is to spells, shrugging off all the damage I can do with basic elements without breaking a sweat. If the Gravity Bomb isn’t enough to hurt him, I’m going to be in big trouble.
One thing going in my favour is that Tiny and Crinis have finished working on the other demons with the help of the Colony. Spells and waves of acid, along with attacks from the soldiers closest to the front, have been enough to tip the battle in their favour, and my two pets are free to help me take on the big guy.
[Be careful!] I warn them. [His aura will cause damage over time. Make sure you don’t stay close to him for any length of time. Use your lightning, Tiny, and Crinis, just try and chip away from range. If you get caught up in his area of effect, I’m not sure how long you’ll last.]
I might be in a position to endure for a while, but neither of them possess the kind of reserves I do when it comes to healing. Tiny in particular has very little going for himself in this department, which means he won’t be much use for the fight. Still, he does what he can, and as I continue to dodge away from the demon, bolts of lightning come arcing over to stab into the city lord, along with barbed limbs that emerge from the shadows to slice at his legs.
It doesn’t do much, but every little bit helps at this point.
He charges my way again and I leap to the side at the last minute, avoiding the swipe of his claw by the barest of margins and ducking in to unleash another Chomp Combo that doesn’t seem to do anything.
[You think you can hurt me, pathetic creature?] Grokus laughs. [Just accept your fate!]
[I got a feeling that you might be changing your tune soon enough,] I say as I hop away.
[Your spell? I can feel you charging it. I’m looking forward to the moment you unleash it and realise that it hasn’t worked. Perhaps then the despair will grip you firmly enough to surrender to your fate.]
[You wanna eat this one? I think you might find it gives you indigestion…]
Is that damn spell ready yet!
[I fear nothing that you are capable of, LITTLE THING.]
It’s close. I’m packing the Gravity Bomb with every ounce of Mana I possibly can. It’s an ominous ball of darkness hovering in my awareness, just begging to be unleashed on the world. All I need is a little space and I’ll let him have it!
142. Confronting our Demons, Part 7
In desperation, I turn the final stages of forming the Gravity Bomb over to my main mind, the only brain I have that specialises in handling Gravity Mana. I can immediately feel the difference, but I still need the support of the sub-minds to keep things flowing as I piece together the biggest bomb I’ve ever made. When I let this go, it’s going to get messy around here…
“Back off a little more!” I warn the Colony. “Make sure you get a solid grip on something!” After a moment I add, “That goes double for you, Protectant! Create some space and hold on tight!”
I’ve no doubt my defenders have been hovering closer than they should be against a foe like Grokus, and the odds are they’ve taken a good chunk of damage from his aura effect just trying to stay near to me. Claws crossed they take my warning seriously. It’d be a massive waste of the Colony’s resources otherwise.
[Unleash your spell!] the city lord taunts as he rumbles forward, the very rock beneath our feet now crumbling under the constant battering. [I almost hunger for it! I hunger for your despair!]
Enough of this guy’s freaking mouth already! Sharp pains stab through my insides as I skitter out of the way of his grasping hands, prompting me to activate my healing gland once again. The soothing liquid regenerates my missing health in short order, but the rate of decrease is continuing to ramp up. Eventually, I’ll run out of juice and be eaten up from the inside out. This is one heck of a nasty power!
But I won’t have to worry about that… I hope. My Gravity Bomb is ready.
A nervousness wells up within me as I behold the condensed ball of Mana that I’ve created. It practically pulses with dark light, the only thing in the stratum with a larger appetite than this tier seven demon. Let’s hope he enjoys it!
My brains strain to contain the unstable construction as I suddenly Dash backward, triggering three separate Dashes with each pair of feet to create maximum distance.
[If you’re that hungry, chew on this!] I yell as the spell is unleashed.
The moment I release it, the world fades to black and I hunch my body low to the ground, clinging to the rock with my claws as hard as I can. Even so, my weight lifts for a horrifying second as the spell travels away from me, trying to draw me after it. A second later, the terrifying noise of it reaches my ears.