Chrysalis

Staring down the barrel of tens of thousands of monsters is quite the sight. I mean, I've seen some crazy things since I've been here, my first meeting with the Queen comes to mind. Seeing a bus-sized ant is something that leaves an impression on you after all. Laying eyes on Garralosh was quite something as well. A crocodile monster that'd grown to be bigger than a t-rex was absolutely terrifying. I still can't believe I survived that encounter despite being outmatched in every way.

Grant, your sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Idly, I almost want to try and calculate how many tons of Biomass are throwing themselves at us right now. It must be in the thousands, surely. A tidal wave of carapace and mandibles, gnashing for my precious, diamond coated self.

No matter how much more powerful than an individual termite we are, there's no chance we can avoid getting buried under the weight of numbers. Almost like fighting against ants… at least now I can experience just how terrifying it is for our opponents…

"Protectant. I hate to do this to you all, but you have to get involved in this one. We need to buy as much time as we can for the Colony to get here."

"…"

"Really?" I sigh. "You think I have time to deal with your shyness right now?"

"I'm not shy!" comes the reply as my protector materialises out of thin air. "I'm trying to continue my mission! Exposing us to your enemies makes it harder for us to do our work!"

"Don't be arrogant," I warn her as I eye the approaching horde. "You aren't even tier six monsters. I highly doubt the ka'armodo can't sense you if they really try. Whatever stealth effect you have going on, it's not omnipotent. I'm not sure what you can do to help in this situation, but anything at all is going to be useful."

"This is certainly dire. We will do everything we can. You will not die while a single one of us lives."

My antennae quiver, on the verge of delivering my justice, but I control myself. I can't blame these twenty for their attitudes, they were basically brainwashed into it from the moment they were born. If only I'd gotten to them first and instilled my own brainwashing of self-preservation!

"As if I'd let you die first," I mock. "Just watch, I'll leap in slow-motion to catch a bite that was meant for you. It's going to be super dramatic, so wait for it."

Tiny and Sarah have almost reached the front of the wave. Their charge has gained momentum and the two of them are positively crackling with energy. Tiny still has enough juice in the tank to raise his fur and coat his arms in writhing bolts of lightning. Wings unfurled, he almost floats as he bounds forward, his fists aglow with power. Sarah is a rather more intimidating sight. The great bear almost looks bigger than normal as glowing red energy burns in her eyes and coats her claws. In the back of her throat, the endless roar has begun to rumble out, growing in volume every second.

More than anything else, the roar tells me that she has thrown herself completely into the rage. She knows she can't hold anything back right now. Even if she's buried beneath a mountain of termites, in that condition she'll just keep fighting through them until she literally can't move any more.

Just before the two sides slam into each other, Tiny peels back his lips and unleashes his ear-splitting scream. The sound is deafening; like a lightning bolt it shatters the air and overwhelms everything within range. Almost comically, the wall of termites rushing towards them freezes for a split-second, the monsters stumbling over each other as they lose momentum at the last moment.

Similar to ants, termites don't actually have much in the way of hearing. But just like us, they are very sensitive to vibrations. In fact, some breeds of termite are known to spread alarms by banging their heads into tunnel walls, alerting their nests to potential danger. Their fine-tuned sense is now turned against them as Tiny unleashes his rage.

The two giant monsters crash into the wall of termites like an avalanche. His fist drawn all the way back, Tiny steps gracefully forward, his body rotating in perfect harmony to deliver the biggest right-cross of his life. A fist of pure energy materialises and drives into the monsters like the fist of god, crushing hundreds in a single blow. For her part, Sarah acts much as one would expect an enraged berserker bear to act. Without hesitating, she simply ploughs directly into the enemy, biting, roaring and slashing with her claws. In moments she is out of sight, literally buried under a mountain of termites.

We can still hear her though. Even where she is, the roar she emits never ends. Not to mention the truly horrifying sound of her claws as they rend everything in her path.

[That's the basic idea. Are you ready Crinis?]

[I will unleash everything that I have. Wish me luck, Master.]

[Of course! Make us all proud.]

With a final ripple of joy, Crinis sends her main body into the shadow, vanishing from in front of me. Then the forest begins to emerge. Crinis has a limited amount of shadow flesh, and under normal circumstances she reserves it to replenish her tentacles as they are destroyed. After all, despite its many advantages, shadow flesh isn't high on the toughness scale. Normally it isn't a benefit for her to use all of her reserves to manifest extra tentacles, but her dedication in learning tentacle-fu has paid dividends. Now that her control has reached rank six, she's able to handle more than ever before!

From the shadows around us an endless stream of writhing limbs emerges, twisting around each other before they extend, directly towards the onrushing termites! Despite Invidia's best efforts, the left front is still looking grim. His laser has been expended and needs time to power up, and though his explosions are effective against the densely packed termites, there's simply too many for him to handle alone.

The wave of monsters meets the forest of tentacles head on, and the result is a grind-fest that only a horror enthusiast could enjoy. Tentacles grapple and grind as the termites bite and chew, neither side willing to give an inch. In the midst of it all, Crinis emerges with her real body, her three maws feasting on every ounce of Biomass they can reach.

With a constant supply of Biomass, she'll be able to replenish her shadow flesh at a decent clip. It's a losing battle, she will run out eventually, but for now she can hold the line. I uproot my feet from the floor of the tunnel and shake out my legs.

"Time to get in there gang," I tell my defenders before I turn to observe the two fronts. "Now to pick which side needs my attention."

My mana might be dry, but I'm packed full of stamina. Time to chomp!