IMPERIUM INSECTUM

45 minutes earlier……

“Maybe jumping down from my room was a bad idea.”My ass throbbed in agreement. Nevertheless, what's done is done. Luckily it's pretty late, so nobody noticed. I dropped into a crawl, crossed the inn garden, and climbed over the fence. For an expensive inn, the security sure is pretty lax. As soon as I was over, I quickly ran into the town sticking close and into the shadows. This town was completely different at night than it was in the morning. The streets are empty except for the odd drunken fellows who probably won't even know I'm here. I chuckled. What a perfect night for mischief.

I felt one of the flies crawl outside of my body.

<mother? What are we doing?>

<I have a few goals to achieve, but my top priority is finding a secluded place in this town. I want to build a small hive here.>

<here? Why? What's wrong with the forest?>

<Nothing, my child. However. The humans I need to grow my hive are located here. Sure, it is possible to move them from here to the main hive the logistics of that are too difficult for us…Yet. So having a small hive here would be great, preferably somewhere away from people with an underground section.>

<woooooow, mother is so smart>

<he he. I guess I am>  

<What else do you want to do tonight?>

<well if we fail to find a location for our hive, I want to at least practice my magic. Right now, I have one spell [null release]. I want to figure out its ins and outs before using it in a battle.>

<Okay, Mother! What can I do to help?>

<Grab a few of your brothers and start looking for a place we can set up shop. Or, find me some people I can practice on, preferably homeless. We don’t want anyone to come looking for them>

<Yes!>

He quickly scurried back inside my body, and in no time, a small swarm left my body.

“And now we wait…”

20 minutes earlier……

I dashed through the back alleys of the town. One of My children had alerted me to someone who met my criteria perfectly. My heart was racing. It's been a while since I've killed something, even more so since I've killed a human. I wonder if this is how serial killers feel? I could feel my face twisting into a demented smile as I bolted to the location. The streets blurred as I made my way past them.

<MOTHER! UP HERE!>

My head snapped towards his direction. He was perched on top of a rooftop.

<Up there, huh>

My pincers shot out of my back and dove into the nearby wall. Thankfully my torn pincer had healed, making this a whole load easier. My pincers dug deep enough to hold me, but not so deep they go through the other side.

My pincer became more accurate when climbing the building. I couldn’t describe it, but it's like I had an idea of what were the best places to put my pincers. I shot up the building like a bullet reaching the roof in no time.

<Where are they?>

<Down there>

I glanced down towards the street. There were 2 homeless people, a young girl and a thin wiery man.

<They are not ideal, but they will do. Have we found a place to stay yet?>

He shook his head. That’s annoying. Oh well, ill just have to make do. I sat on the edge of the building and observed the two. My heart was racing. It's been a while since I've killed anything human. Don’t get me wrong, animals and monsters are okay. But there is something about humans that’s more……. exciting. I watched my prey as it begged for a couple more minutes before finally deciding to move.

<Finally> 

I scurried back down the wall towards them. I have to be quick. I don’t wanna lose sight of them.

I landed on the ground and quickly sprinted over to the alley they were in. I ran up to and hid behind a set of boxes. The alley was a tip. Littered with old newspapers and rotten garbage bins and the smell, let's just say I WILL need several showers when I get back.

“Can you just walk For once in your life!” the man yelled. I quickly ran and hid behind a set of old wooden crates that were stacked on one side of the alley.

“No can do, boss!” I peeked around the corner just in time to see the girl jump down the manhole. Nows my time. I stepped out behind the boxes. I just need to-

*KA. TUNK*

Fuck! I hid right back behind the set of boxes. I looked down at the ground, and there was a trash can lying on the floor, spilling its guts out. Shit, I got too excited. I need to be more careful. It would be bad if I spooked him.

“Hello? Someone there...”

I waited and waited until finally, he gave up and climbed down the manhole. I stepped out again from behind the boxes and made my way to the manhole cover. I placed my ear against the cover and listened. I could hear the two talking. I gently lifted the manhole slightly and signalled for my child to come over.

<Follow them> I whispherd. He quickly dove into the manhole as I quietly shut it again. I listened against the cover and waited for the voices to get more and more distant before finally climbing down the hole.

<Fuck, it stinks down here>

My feet gently clanged against the steel wrungs of the ladder as I climbed down. As soon as I landed, I activated my [INSECT VISION]. It wasn’t too dark in here, thanks to some basic lighting. But I want to have every advantage I can.

I swiped away the notification I had more important things to deal with. I closed my eyes and used the [Hive Weave]. Suddenly my head was filled with an ungodly amount of information. I filtered out all the unnecessary and focused on the child nearest to me

<That’s him>

I opened my eyes and started following them from a distance.

10 minutes earlier

I've been tailing them for a while now. Whilst the original plan involved rushing them, I changed my mind. I've been listening in through my son, and apparently, they are heading to some place called “the underground.” From what I've gleaned from their conversation, this is the place they call home. If that’s true, then this is great for me. A whole society of undesirables I can use to my advantage. This is an opportunity that’s too good to pass up. However, because of this I've been having to follow these 2 snails as they slowly meandered their way home.

<Can you two hurry up! I'm bored> I yelled internally.

“HEY, YOU TWO, STOP!”

I stopped dead in my tracks. Who was that? Suddenly the sound of footsteps pounding the ground echoed through the tunnels. I quickly hid behind some cover just in to hear the sounds of some other people running in what sounded like heavy armour.

“Did you catch them?”

“No, sir!”

“Bah, useless! Go alert the others. I'll tail them. Maybe they can lead us to the underground. If we find that place, they're gonna be promotions for all of us.”

“Yes, sir!”

The echoes of heavy armour continued as he ran away. Interesting, so the Ashdowns themselves are looking for that place. Unlucky for them and these 2 guys, I already have my eyes set on that place. I slinked out of my hiding space. Using my pincers, I climbed up and onto the ceiling like a spider and approached the guards. Luckily they were heading my way, so I wouldn’t have to go that far.

“Do you really think we are gonna get a promotion?” One of the two guards said.

“Fuckin hope so. I'm sick of tired of trapping through shit and ass-smelling water looking for those “People” if we can even fucking call them that. Do you know how many boots I've gone through this month.”

I stopped ahead of them. My heart trembled. Is this how a spider feels when I fly lands into their web? I licked my lips. This is gonna be fun.

“Let me guess th-“

“THREE! Pairs jared. I can't afford this shit any more.”

Now!

I retracted my pincers, and fell like a stone on top of one of the guards.

“W- wh”

Before he could react, I straddled him and swung my arm across his face blinding him. He let out a guttural scream as blood streamed out of his face and onto a pool on the ground.

I turned around just in time to see the other guard on his feet sword in hand.

“Get back Monster”

I smiled and stood up. “If it's any consolation. When I'm done with you. You won't need to worry about shoes any more.”

“ArgHHHHHhh! IM GONNA KILL YOU”

He charged at me with his sword raised. I swung my claw towards his sword, and the two clashed, sparks flew across the tunnel. He pulled his blade back and swung at me again and again. Each time my claws met his sword sending more sparks into the dark tunnel and lighting it up like a Christmas tree. We continued like this for what felt like ages, the impact of his strikes vibrated through my arms, but I persevered; my plan was starting to work, and his swings were starting to slow down. I could tell from the Sweat was pouring down his face. He can't keep this up for much longer. I dodged one of his swings and swung my claw towards his stomach. He jumped back. Dammit so close, but this is good gaps were appearing in his defence. The guard roared, and he sprinted towards me. He raised his blade high above his head and swung it to my head. I raised my arm and stopped the blade dead in his tracks. Before he could pull away I cupped my free hand around the blade.

<Null release!>

Mana flowed to my hand. And exploded across the blade.“ArghhhAAAA!”

The blade disentegrated along with his hands.

“AHHHH YOU BITCH. My Hand. What did you-“

 I curled my hand into a ball and delivered a heavy blow to his ribs. A loud crack resounded through the cave as his ribs caved in half. The man crumpled to the ground like a sack of brick.

“That can't be all, can it? Weren't you going to kill me?”

The man wailed like a banshee, unable to talk to me. What a disappointment.

“Your pathetic.”

I wound up my leg and delivered a swift kick across his face. Knocking him into a stagnant puddle. I walked over to him and kicked him onto his back.

“Arghhh! You Bit- ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

I slammed my foot onto his broken ribs.

“Ooooooh yes. Please, more like that.”

I pressed harder into his broken ribs. His screams sounded out through the cave. I know I should probably shut him up, but this is too enjoyable. Every scream sent waves of pleasure through my body. I slowly increased the force on his ribs more and more. He squirmed under my foot as he tried to escape, but it was hopeless. I  had no intention of ever letting him leave. With all my strength, my foot ploughed through his body. Blood squirted out of his body and onto my armour. His body let out a few pained gasps before finally giving out.

His body jerked into the air as I pulled my foot out of him. Chunks of his organs and meat hung from my leg. I look back down at his gored, disfigured body. His intestines, liver and stomach had spilt onto the ground, lathered in his blood. His skin was getting paler by the second as his blood left him. It was truly my best piece of work. Too bad I can't leave it here. I placed my hands on his corpse. I closed my eyes and felt my mana flow into my hands.

<Null release!>

The inky black mana flowed over him, disintegrating everything it touched and leaving no trace. I watched his clothes, flesh, and meat disappear, not leaving dust. Soon Nothing existed of him. I gulped. I have to be careful with this.

I stood up and returned to the other guard. He was still rolling around screaming. I walked over to him and silenced him with one move of my clawed hand.

I quickly searched his person, but he had Nothing valuable except a large satchel bag. I emptied the contents onto his body and slung it over my shoulder.

<Whilst I'm here, might as well grab a snack>

I grabbed his arm and, with one sharp twist, snapped it off his body. I quickly erased his body and started to chase the 3^rd and final guard.

<let's hope those two are still alright>

Present

“The names Diva. Can you do me a favour and Die for me?” I smiled. Look at these shivering like cornered rats. Obviously I had no plans to kill them yet. But they didn’t know that

“Oh, and don’t run. It's not fun to chase you.”

“W…w…ww..what are you” The man spat out.

“What I am doesn’t matter. What does matter is-“In an instant, I lunged and grabbed his neck

“achhh!..... wait ….. DON’T!”

“Oh, and why shouldn’t I?”My hand gripped tighter, causing him to squirm. I glanced towards the girl. She was shaking like a leaf. I gave her a smile. Causing her to tremble a bit more.

“You haven't answered my question. Why shouldn’t I kill you? You do look quite tasty.”

“ARGHHH. I…I….can… Arghh..give… you…..money.”

“HAHAHAHAH, you can do better than that” I put more pressure on his neck. He was nearly blue at this point.

“We…can….argh……serve you?”

“Tempting, but what use do I have for the likes of someone of no importance like you? Please, try again.”

“…..Its…. all….we….have”

I glared at him, before finally dropping his arm.

“Fine. from today onwards. Your body, mind and soul are for me to do what I please. Am I understood”

“Yes”

“Yes, my queen. SAY IT RIGHT!”

“Yes! MY QUEEN!”

“Good. Now tell me. Where is the underground.”

“Uhhh… ahhhh… its-“

“SPEAK! Or ill pull your tongue out!”

“NO, DON’T! PLEASE! I can't tell you. I CANT!”

“Are you refusing an order?”

My pincers shot out of my body. I'll show him I'm not joking. I took a step forward.

“WAIT! Don’t hurt him.” The girl ran in front of him and blocked my way.

“Oh, another one who wants to be punished.”

“No. my queen. Don’t misunderstand. We can't tell. It's impossible.”

Before I could respond, she opened her mouth wide and lifted her tongue. On the underside of her tongue was a tattoo in the shape of a face with a Cross where the mouth is.

“My queen. Even if we wanted to. We couldn’t tell you it was part of the contract we signed.”

“Is that so. And how do I know you're not lying.”

“I can't convince you. But please believe us.”

I stared at the timid girl. She was still shaking like before, but her words had an air of confidence in them. Either way, I need to verify what they are saying is true before I can proceed. Fuck this is annoying.

I slunk my pincers back into my body.

“Ill believe you for now. ” Her body relaxed a bit. Looking her over, she wasn’t too bad looking with a cute freckly face and red hair. I licked my lips. Thinking about it. It has been a while since I got some action. I walked over to the girl. She started to back away, but it was too late. I delivered a swift smack to the side of her head, knocking her out.

“SALLY! WH-“

I quickly moved toward the man and gave him a swift punch o the stomach knocking the wind out of him and putting him to sleep.

<Perfect now to find a place to put them. I have no intention to fuck in the sewers like a rat.>

I looked towards the man; he wasn’t too bad looking either. Maybe I can test out my other set of equipment tonight as well.