The trick now is going to be getting her down there.
Shrugging mentally, I slowly lift my head until my captive is forced onto her toes. Eventually she reaches up to grab my mandibles with her hands in order to help carry her weight, rather than have all of her body weight hanging from her neck.
Once this is done, I begin the descent. Fortunately, we don’t need to go far until I can stash the queen in my own personal chamber near the top of the hill.
One inside, I lower her to the ground and release my mandibles.
The second I do, a titan-croc smacks me directly in the brain!
At least that’s how I feel. My mind rocks back and forth within my head as if it were a bell that had been struck by a hammer. Gritting my mandibles hard, I try to shake it off. What the heck was that?
BOOM!
Another one. My body physically recoils as if I’d actually been hit. Despite being disoriented, I can tell my body hasn’t been hit. Something is attacking my mind! Blackness threatens to overwhelm me, but I barely manage to hold on to consciousness.
It’ll take a hell of a lot more than that to put me down.
It’s pretty obvious who the culprit is. The queen is sitting on the dirt floor of my chamber, fingers placed on her temples as she stares daggers at me.
I will never yield to you!
The rage I felt at watching my mother crawl away on the edge of death explodes in my heart and burns away the dizziness. These damn humans have killed so many of us today, you want to try and take me out too?
Pouncing forward, I open my mandibles wide, threatening a fatal strike.
Before I can get close enough, my mind is struck once more. Not with a hammer, but a drill!
Pointed, insistent pressure batters at the walls of my mind, trying to tear down my defences and invade my thoughts. I have no idea what sort of attack this is, but I sure as hell don’t enjoy it. Dammit. If only my core wasn’t so tapped out, I might be able to push back with Mana in some way.
All I can do is stoke the fires of anger within me and use it as fuel to endure the pain. As the drilling pushes harder and harder against my mind, I push back just as hard, even as it intensifies the pain.
My vision has gone completely blank at this point, the pain in my mind is making everything white. I flip on my Mana Sense, hoping I might be able to make something out. To my surprise, I can. A glittering bridge-like magical construct has been formed between myself and the queen. The main difference being the part that touches me is less a friendly, welcoming path and more of a pointed needle.
Mind Magic!
I redouble my efforts to push back. Who knows what might happen if she succeeds in this attack. She might just kill me or she might take control of me. I have no idea what Mind Magic is capable of.
God, it hurts!
Our mental bout continues until I’m sure the torture will go on forever. My mind feels like it’s breaking apart at the edges.
Then, suddenly, the pressure evaporates.
My vision floods back and I’m shocked to see the human queen stumbling to one side, surprise written all over her face and a tiny ant latched onto her ankle!
Vibrant!
31. Talking Points
The queen was just as mentally invested in our contest as I was. With the sudden bite of Vibrant, she has completely lost her focus, freeing me from her mental assault.
I can’t waste this chance.
I leap, mandibles wide open, ready to deliver the fatal blow. I’d originally wanted to keep this queen alive. Firstly, reprisals. If her death was somehow pinned on us, or if people came following her trail, we could be in big trouble. At the very least, we would have to pick up and relocate the colony again, something I’d rather not do if I didn’t have to. Secondly, information. If I were to take this opportunity to try and develop my Mind Magic skills, I could communicate and exchange the safe return of this queen for information of this world and the surrounding area.
This is critical info for me. The knowledge I could harvest from one captive human about the surface society would be worth mountains of metaphorical gold. Learning about the locations of cities, the culture, about the Dungeon, magic, weapon skills, everything.
Information is king!
With an actual person to interrogate falling into my lap, I refuse to throw away the opportunity. Well, now that I know the queen can assault my mind directly, I’ll have to give up on it. Who knows what’s possible when you dominate another’s mind with magic? Not this ant!
Can’t take the chance! I’ll have to snip the neck zone and worry about the ramifications later. Perhaps there’s still a chance I could get some information from the captain up above. It’s unlikely he would want to share after his queen is trimmed, but it’ll be worth a shot.
[Hold, monster!] a desperate voice rings within my mind.
I freeze on the spot. My mandibles are mere inches away from the royal neck. It would take me a fraction of a second to complete the motion and bring my jaws together.
An uneasy pause.
We stare at each other, eye to compound eye. Flipping on my Mana Sense, the queen has managed to hastily construct a similar Mind Magic bridge to that which Formo the Sophos used to communicate with me. However, where Formo’s bridge was an immaculate golden lattice woven with exquisite, intricate care, this one looks like the technique used to darn socks. Rough!
I shouldn’t be too surprised, since she did manage to construct it under duress. Hopefully she managed to make it so that it works both ways. What the heck do I say though? This is a ruler, used to respect and deference. I should try not to be too rude. Then again, she did try to stab me in the brain with magic, it wouldn’t pay to be too polite.
[Speak or die!]
I think I struck the balance there quite well. Good going, Anthony!
Staring into the face of a terrifying Dungeon monster, the queen is managing to keep her equilibrium quite well, all things considered. With my words ringing in her mind, she seems a little taken aback and pale as she ponders her next words.
[How is it you can understand me?] she eventually asks, sounding completely bewildered.
What do you want me to say? That I was actually a human in the past? That I was reincarnated into this body and have been making the best of my new life as a monstrous ant?
[You tried to speak to me without knowing if I could reply?] I ask.
[When you were able to resist my mind blade, I thought it was strange that a monster would have such strong force of mind. When the alternative was having my head cut off, I thought attempting to communicate would cost me nothing.]
True enough. Perhaps most monsters wouldn’t have been able to fight off that Mind Magic attack. Not that I was able to fight it off completely, rather, I managed to not die until I was saved by Vibrant.
The little worker is currently still threateningly positioned near the queen’s ankles, clicking her mandibles savagely. Clearly she isn’t satisfied with this queen’s current state of not dead. I have to think of something else to say now. Dammit this hard. Try to stay polite!
[Why should I let you live?]
Nailed it!
The queen seems slightly taken aback by that statement. It takes her a few moments to reply.
[What is it that you want?]
Gah! More questions? I guess it seems reasonable she wouldn’t know exactly what a monstrous ant colony would want with a living human queen.
[You’ve attacked my family, injured my queen, and killed hundreds of my siblings. The first thing I want is an explanation for this invasion.]