Chrysalis



Gweheheh. Feeling a little heavy over there? Is your guilty conscience weighing you down?

Or is it the weight of the gravity well I've snuck underneath the stadium yoinking you down to the ground?!

Muahahahahaha!

It's not as if I even need to do it. I could turn their entire half of the pitch to muck and bury them in it, or wash them away with a solid wave of water without having to bind the Endless to the ground, but I'm doing it anyway.

They dare to try and poison the great me?! I have no choice but to exact terrible vengeance!

At the same time, I also want to get this match over with. The Call is ridiculously painful and I'm desperate to leave this stratum and get deeper into the Dungeon as soon as possible.

At this rate, I might end up calling Brilliant to warp me out of the Stadium in front of the whole crowd the moment the match is done. I'm struggling over here!

I've got three more turns of offence, which I'll obviously skip. I've scored a point already, all I need to do is prevent those hatchlings from scoring one and I win anyway.

Let's get this over with!

When everything is set for the next round, I smash the ball immediately, and then smash my mandibles together in another display of primal intimidation. The crowd loves it, so I give them a little sugar, waving my antennae toward the seats and ensuring every corner of the stadium gets a look at my best profile angles.

Time to humble some hatchlings again.

~~~

"Any idea why we're being pulled down into the ground when the rounds start?" Washingtant asked. "I can barely move."

"The Eldest is breaking the rules," Solant replied, carefully watching their opponent across the pitch. "Doubtless they are using a type of mana that is banned, something advanced that is creating this downward pressure."

"At this point, I'm not even sure they have to," Leonidant muttered. "The Eldest is much stronger than we anticipated."

"Yet they refuse to score, and there lies our hope of victory. The Eldest will complete their final offensive round before we do. If we conserve our energy, and conceal our tactics, it's possible we could even the score on the final play."

"It wouldn't be a win," Leonidant pointed out.

Solant clacked her mandibles solemnly.

"But it wouldn't be a loss. Unless the cake we fed the Eldest shows some powerful effects soon, I believe it may be the best we can hope for."

~~~

"We return to the Endless now. It's their offensive possession, but the Great One has been giving them no room to move, no room to breathe in these last few exchanges."

[You aren't wrong, Peter. Overwhelming magical power has been the name of the game for the Eldest and so far, the Endless just don't seem to have an answer. Their legs appear almost glued to the ground with indecision, something we generally don't associate with this team.]

"They take up their formation now, hoping to change the flow of the match. Another new look from them, very wide but rather thin, with almost the whole team on the forward line, ready to advance."

[I'm curious to see how they move in this round, and just what the Eldest is planning to do, we've seen different mana types from them round to round and this could be something new again.]

"Here we go! IMMEDIATE wall of fire! Look at the blaze!"

[I can't believe how fast that was, and it's within regulation height as well.]

"Right across the midline, a blazing wall of flame so intense the heat is radiating through the shielding, and I'm telling you listeners at home, I can feel the sweat building on my forehead as I speak. What's the reply from the Endless? Once again, they've been slow to get off the mark, very unusual for these ants, but they are advancing, forming an earth dome to try and combat the flames…."

[I really don't think, no, it isn't going to work! The Eldest is pumping so much mana into that fire the stone and dirt is becoming red hot the moment they draw too close. If they can't quell the flames, they won't have any hope of advancing.]

"The mages prepare to do just that. A multi-pronged approach, I believe?"

[Good eyes, Peter! Yes, the Endless are manipulating a combination of air, water and earth to try and defeat the wall of flames. Earth to smother the fire, air to thin out the oxygen and the water to douse the flames. It's unusual to utilise such a roundabout method, but when going against a stronger mage, they may think this will give them a chance.]

"Time is running low, however. They have to advance and do it soon. The Endless approach the wall…."

CRUNCH!

ROOAAAAR!

"AND THE ELDEST SPRINGS THE TRAP! Lunging through the flames in the blink of an eye, the Great One scatters their opponents and smashes the ball! Just like that, it's over!"

[Distracting the opponent with the fearsome fire wall, only to abandon the spell and make a tough, physical play to shatter the ball. The Eldest really is putting on a show in terms of their all around ability in this game. As good as they are, the Endless can't match them in magic, or in physicality.]

"Those lightning fast lunges… I know I've said it a lot, but the action really does happen as quickly as I blink. One moment, the Great One is in one spot, the next, in another."

[I'll have to take your word for it, since I lack eyelids, but yes, I too can't see it happen. In addition to the speed, the strength, the balance, the precision, all of it is at an unprecedented level. I honestly don't know how any ant or team of ants could hope to stop that.]