Chrysalis

Advant told me I should "Preserve my thoughts for future generations of the family," so… I guess this is me… doing that? To be honest, she's been hassling me to do this for ages. Only after going on about the "immense value such a record will hold for the young" and how "inspiring such a document would be to the hatchlings" did I agree, but I'm seriously regretting now that I've started.

Is it really necessary to preserve my thoughts anyway? Everything I've ever done is depicted (somewhat) accurately in a stupid statue somewhere.

Actually, I want that on the record! I NEVER asked for all the murals and statues! In fact, I tried to get them banned! So much for respecting the wishes of the Eldest….

Alright, if you are smelling this scent recording, then here are the words of the Eldest, recorded to further the prosperity of the Colony and to motivate the youth!

Firstly, I want you to poke and bite Advant everytime you see her. Not hard, but enough to be annoying and to hamper her in whatever she does. Yes, that includes during Torpor. May she never know a moment's peace.

Second. Live freely, be true to yourself, and cherish the bonds of family that tie us together. That's the whole point, right?

- Excerpt from "The Recording of the Eldest"

Addendum: For the record, I believe the Eldest was joking. Please stop biting me.

- Added at a later date by Advant.

[I see you, little worm!]

[Excuse me? You calling me a worm? You wanna get chomped?!]

A suffocating aura of power wells up as the demon rises from the layer below and I get a clean look at it. I kind of wish I hadn't.

Big, bigger than me even, with smoke and fire rolling off its shoulders in waves. Four arms that each end in thick, wickedly curved claws, and a face that not even a mother could love. Unless that mother was a similar-looking demon.

Something like a cross between a jackal and a flaming pit, the monster's appearance is… unpleasant. Let's go with that.

What's more, this powerful presence, battering against me… it reeks of violence and all-consuming flame. This dude has to be one of the tier eights. I've never met such a powerful monster before.

[The Demon God has led me to you!] The demon roars gleefully. [You and your kind will be excised from this place, in HIS name!]

[We kind of like it here. If you want to kick me out, come and try it.]

I push back against the demon with the force of my will, and I swear the air between us begins to crackle. Even crushed on all sides by so many scurrying little larvae, the little demons do their level best to get the heck out of our way.

All of my minds spin up to full activity, I'm holding nothing back. I seriously wish I still had a full tank of Gravitational Mana to work with, but I'll have to make do with what I've got. I call into existence as many mind constructs as I can support with my current abilities, dozens of the things. I reach out and seize control of the surrounding mana, drawing it into me in a constant stream.

Mandibles flex, legs brace. I start to channel gravitational mana and my carapace thrums to life. My Vestibule thunders with an endless river of power that fills the Altar to bursting. I'm ready to rumble.

[Gladly!]

I expect the demon to rush at me, those claws are clearly designed for both ripping, and tearing, but it doesn't happen. Instead, he heaves in a breath and I feel like the air pressure around me drops precipitously.

Then he breathes out.

My antennae go rigid as an image of a particularly crispy future blasts into my brain and before I can think, my body is already moving. Energy flows from the Altar as I dash, my ten ton body flickering to the side and reappearing a hundred metres away.

Just in time for what I can only describe as an explosion contained in a jet of flame to rocket past me, incinerating everything caught in its path.

[Master! Are you alright?!] Crinis cries in my mind.

[I'm fine! You stay over there. That's an order! This isn't someone you can tangle with. That goes for you, Tiny, and you, Invidia as well. Keep yourselves well clear.]

Ah.

"Protectant, get your squad the hell away from me. If you didn't get fried by that blast, you might by the next. Nothing for you to do here."

I hope they listen to me. If not, there won't be much of a future in store for them. This monster is serious business!

Fully upright, this demon must be standing over thirty metres tall. Each step is that of a giant, crunching into the stone with the force of the impact.

[Still alive, little worm? Good!]

[You're gonna regret that….]

Eat Gravity Bomb!

HOOOOOOOOOOOWL!

A smaller bomb this time, thrown together as quickly as I could, but infused by the Altar, screams into life. The dark sphere rockets through the air toward the massive demon, who grins and blasts it with fire.

I mean… sure? Go for it, champ.

I kick my legs into gear and start circling around. If there's anything left of him when the bomb is done, I want to be in position to do some serious chomping. Too many have underestimated this spell. I'm sure this moron is the… same?

When my senses report to me what is happening, I tell them to go back and double check, but the second opinion turns out to be the same as the first. The dense mana contained within my spell… is being eroded by that fire!

Holy moly! There's something off about that demonflame, seriously off!

When the bomb makes contact, it's shrunk to less than half what it was when I fired it. Luckily, that's still enough to cause some serious damage.

I can't see exactly what happens when the dark sphere expands to cover the demon, sucking in and annihilating everything lost inside, but I imagine he ain't happy.

With all the power burned out of it, the bomb itself isn't as impressive as I would have liked, far weaker than the one I hit Grokus with, even accounting for the Altar. No way he's dead.

The flickering ball of doom finally fades away, and sure enough, the massive demon is still standing. What's more, he's still grinning.

That, is not good.