Chrysalis

As cool as he'd tried to play it, Isaac wasn't exactly pleased to be where he was. The ground beneath him felt like fire against his boots and the air itself scorched his lungs whenever he took a breath. Sweat fell in a constant stream from his brow and he'd stopped bothering to try and wipe it from his eyes. There was plenty more where that water came from, the ants had loaded them up with canisters of water before they'd come down and most of the human contingent had knocked the lot of it back before they'd even set foot in the city.

"HOLD THE LINE DAMMIT!" he roared as he furiously worked his spear, trying to hold the demonic push as far from his person as possible.

On either side his fellow soldiers roared along with him as they grit their teeth and dug in their heels, using micro dashes to slam their weapons into the demons whenever they found an opening. The constant drone of the priest behind him was a reassuring sound, since it meant that Isaac and his group wouldn't be without the powerful buff that was keeping their heads on their shoulders anytime soon.

"HOW MUCH LONGER?"

"Captain! Sir! I don't know!"

"THAT'S ABOUT AS USEFUL AS A BARREL OF PLOPS YOU DAMNED MORON! YOU REALLY THINK WE CAN HOLD LIKE THIS FOR LONG!?"

Isaac felt sure his mother would be less than impressed by his tone and his language but he had to say that the current situation was trying his patience something fierce. His squad had been flanking the demon position that surrounded the huge monster that was holding off the Colony on the outskirts of the plate when they'd run into a group of four moving to reinforce the suspected tier seven.

Naturally, he had to cut them off and prevent them from joining the main fight, but that left he and his small group facing against four bloodthirsty tier six demons, which wasn't a fight they would win, or come close to it. The last few minutes had been a desperate, all or nothing struggle to prevent his soldiers from getting eaten, an endeavour in which he'd been successful… so far.

Backed into a corner with spears forward, he didn't like the way the four demons were leering at him, as if they were considering what sides to serve him with.

"Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on! COME ON!" he screamed as he raised one hand to present a rude gesture to the four monsters.

He never did find out if they understood what the gesture meant. One moment they were there, about to charge into the blade of his spear and rip him apart, the next they were… gone. A fine mist all that remained of them.

"Uh, captain?" one of his men whispered with awe. "Was that you?"

Isaac turned to the poor fool slowly.

"No it wasn't me you idiot! If I could turn demons into mist whenever I wanted, you think I would have let them kick our arse all over the street?!"

"Probably not, sir."

The tension gone out of him, Isaac collapsed into the wall next to him.

"Probably not…" he agreed.

Still hidden from perception overhead, Allocrix looked down on the relieved humans with mixed feelings.

[You are certain that your master would wish these to be saved?] he asked his floating companion.

[Their livessss belong to the massster,] the envy demon hissed back at him, [none shall take from him!]

Allocrix took no offense at this, he was no stranger to the ways of demons, and the obsessions of envy were quite familiar. He dismissed the matter from his mind and continued to make his way toward the billowing mana of Mongu'nin, his recent rival. Allocrix did not yearn for combat, or vengeance, he was not built for such things. Instead, an insatiable flame that hungered for knowledge burned within him, a flame that Grokus and Mongu'nin had stifled and made difficult to feed. For that reason, they needed to be removed and he would lean on Anthony and his Colony to make it so.

Floating above the wreckage of buildings and the teeming ants, he saw the massive form of his foe rise out of the smoke. Mongu'nin might have been a more recent arrival to tier seven than Allocrix, but he was powerful nonetheless. A war demon was a force in and of itself. Tall, with an imposing physique covered in devastating spikes and deadly scythes attached to its hands, this particular species of tier seven demon was known throughout the third stratum as a creature not to be trifled with in a direct confrontation.

But with help… Allocrix was confident he could win.

[As long as you can keep him away from me,] he informed his newly found ally, [I will be able to defeat him, but it will take time.]

[Doessss he regenerate?]

[Irritating. Yes, the more wounded they become, the faster they will heal themselves. It is necessary that we apply a savage burst of damage as he weakens in order to finish him off.]

[I can facilitatesss thissss,] Invidia's eye gleamed.

The two of them fluttered over a scene of destruction, where thousands of ants formed a living barrier around Mongu'nin and a cadre of demons who had run to his support. Allocrix thought their decision to defend the city foolish, but could understand that the demons were not to know the ants may spare them. He allowed the veil to fall, revealing himself to all as he allowed his thoughts to roll over the assembled monsters.

[My name is Allocrix,] he stated evenly, his tone as unruffled as his emotions, [I have come with this ally of Anthony to slay this demon. Stay out of my way.]

In the centre of the mess, Mongu'nin raised his head to see his hated prey drifting closer of his own accord. Elation filled him as the hundreds of wounds across his body sizzled and slowly began to close.

"COME, COWARD! FACE THE BLADE YOU HAVE FLED FOR SO LONG!"

Those fearsome scythes flexed menacingly before the giant war demon launched himself into the air, face twisted in rage. The ants fell back, letting the huge demon through uncontested so that the new arrivals could deal with these enormous beast they had struggled to contain. Invidia flexed his immense mental prowess, grasping and shaping the mana in the air with effortless ease. In a flash he pulled it all together in the form of a barrier in front of the rising demon, which shattered into nothing when the war demon reached it.

Mind constructs spun as Invidia drew on more mana, he pulled some from his own core even as he reached out to grasp more energy in the air around himself. Another barrier, another and another flickered into existence, layered on top of each other and these too broke all too quickly.

This was when Al stepped in. With a concussive blast that impacted the air with a visible wave, he condensed a ball of pure fire down and let it detonate right in Mongu'nin's face. The heat rolled over all of the assembled monsters as the massive form of the war demon rocketed back down to the city before he smashed into the stone below. The two of them, Invidia and Al, hovered over the rising cloud of dust and ash as they watched for movement.

"HAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAHA! I CAN FEEL IT!" the giant demon rumbled from below them.

Invidia set his minds to spinning once again. This would be a difficult battle.