IMPERIUM INSECTUM

<Mother>

<mother>

I could hear a voice calling to me. Who was this again? Why did they sound concerned?

<Mother you have t̸̳͑̃o̸̢̮͎̽̓́͝ ̷̧͚͗̓̾͘ḡ̵͚͕͐̈̓ė̶̝̎͠t̷̼͖͔͆͆̈́̚ ̷̼̃͗̉̿ù̷̺̭̭̏͘ṕ̸̖̞̦!̵̘́́̀̾≯̼̳͒͆ ̸̤͕̳̬̎̔͂>

What? I did catch that last bit also; why are you so damn loud. I'm not dead yakno-

<MOTHER!>

My eyes shot open only to see my world surrounded by orange and immense heat. I slowly sat up as my head throbbed heavily.

-30 HEALTH    NEGATIVE STATUS EFFECT ADDED: Concussion

 

<aghh what the…. What happened???>

<I don’t know, Mother, but you must get out of the building-“

The world around me began to rumble. I looked up just in time to see a large gaping crack form in the roof.

<What the?>

<MOTHER MOVE.”

The roof roared as a large chunk of roof fell to the ground. I quickly scurried to the side just in time to see the roof smash into where I was.

<That was… Holy fuck>

<Mother, we must escape.>

I nodded. We need to get the fuck outta here. I stood up and started to walk towards the exit, But something stopped me dead in my tracks. Something is missing, something very simple- Apollinaris! Where is she? How the fuck could I forget?!

<Apollinaris! WHERE IS SHE? Have you seen her?!>

< I don’t know, but mother, you must escape if you die->

<I don’t care! I won't leave until I find her! So help me look!>

I slowly stood up.

<Woah>

My vision blurred, but I quickly shook it away. I must find her!

“Apollinaris! APOLLINARIS WHERE ARE YOU!”

The ground shook again as another piece of roof smacked into the ground. We need to hurry the fuck up. This building won't last much longer.

“Help”

 

I heard a cry for help. Could it be Apollinaris? It's too muffled to tell. I Bolted over to where the voice came from. Find a room in flames, with destroyed walls and burnt debris everywhere. The air was filled with cries of pain and the sound of roaring flames that had claimed many lives

<Over there!> My child yelled. I snapped my head towards a large pile of burned rubble. I scrambled over and started ripping up rock after rock digging

“Apollinaris! Is that you!? STAY WITH ME!” I kept digging and digging until finally; I pulled up a rock that finally revealed a face. But sadly, it wasn’t the one I was looking for

“Oh, thank god! Please help me; I'm stuck! I can't.”

“Bah, waste of time.”

“What?”

I quickly scrambled away from the pile and started scanning the room. She had to be here somewhere.

“PLEASE DON’T JUST LEAVE ME! PLEASE HELP, PLEASE”

 I ignored the pleas as I turned my attention to another trapped voice and another. So many people trapped, all screaming for help. I checked each mountain of rubble to find Apollinaris, but she wasn’t in any of them.

<Mother, we must escape. This is the 8^th pile you->

<NO! SHE HAS TO BE HERE! SHE CANT BE GONE! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT NOW ALL OF YOU HELP ME LOOK>

The remainder of my children flew out and started scanning the area. I don’t care if anyone sees the true me. Finding her is the most important thing; consequences be damned. I raced around what was left of the hall. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker, making it harder to see. What was more alarming was the screams that had been constant since I'd woken up were starting to die down. I am running out of time. If I dont hurry, the smoke will claim her.

I climbed over a mix of collapsed stone and metal onto the other side of the hall. Was she really blown this far?

“fuck!” a voice in the smoke said. “We have to find the body of at least one of the Ashdowns. Or the boss will be pissed.”

“Fuck that! Do you know how many rich Fucks are here? We could get enough money to escape this shithole town and live a cosy life afterwards.”

I lowered myself to the ground and moved closer to the two. So they are responsible for this. The anger inside me began to boil. But I shook it away. Apollinaris first, everything else second. I slowly slithered across the rocky floor, looking for any sign of Apollinaris.

“I wouldn’t do that. The boss won't tolerate it.”

“Fucks he gonna do. By the time he notices, I’m long gone.”

“Deee…vaaaaaHHHH” My heart raced its Apollinaris she was still alive!

“Oh fuck, this one’s still alive!”

“Shit, she might have heard us quickly finish her off!”

Without warning, my body moved.

“DON’T YOU LAY A SINGLE HAND ON HER!”

I  flew straight into the rear of one of them, tackling them to the ground. In an instant, I started clawing at him, my claws digging into his throat and face killing him instantly. 

I looked over to the other, who was holding a makeshift sword.

“What the!” My claws flew clean across his throat before he could realise what was going on before his head was swiftly dislodged from the rest of his body.

“Apollinaris! Apollinaris! Are you still with me!”

“Deeee vaaaaaa”

 “Don’t worry, I'm coming”, I Sprinted towards her voice. The thick smoke made it impossible to see more than a meter in front of me. But that wasn’t gonna stop me. I searched the area for her, leaving no stone unturned until finally, I saw a familiar-looking mushroom cap.

“Apollinaris!” there she was; her mushroom cap was peaking out to the air whilst the rest of her body was covered in rubble. I quickly scrambled to her side and started ripping rock after rock off her face.

“Just hold on! I'll get you out of there!”

I pulled off one final rock that exposed her face. “Oh god, Apollinaris!” I cried. Her face was bruised beyond recognition. Her eyelids had puffed up so much that she was pretty much blind, and her face all shades of dark purple.

“Diva… your alive… I was worried-“

“Shut it! Save your energy Im gonna get you out.”

I started throwing rocks off of her, but it was an uphill struggle. The More and more rocks I cleared, the more fell to replace them. I looked around me. The flames around me started to re-erupt and get brighter. The oxygen is gonna get snuffed out of this room fast if I don’t hurry up.

“Im gonna use my magic. I'll try to be careful, okay?

She nodded as much as she could as the mana started to build in my hand. I forced all of it as quickly as I could into the palm of my hands. My blood vessels boiled and seethed under the pure amount of mana, but I ignored it. I kept forcing more and more mana until.

“NULL RELEASE!”

I smacked my hands against the rubble as a wave of dark inky black mana rolled over the rocks, disintegrating a good chunk of the rubble pile without missing a beat. I summoned up more mana, and I did it again and again, carving out heaps and heaps of rubble away from her.

 

 

FUCK OUTTA MY FACE! STUPID SYSTEM!

I pooled more and more mana in my hand, more than I had ever done before. This had to be the last one. We don’t have much time. I looked around me. The flames had gotten worse. It’s a miracle that we are still breathing.

“ diva…stop..”

“BE QUIET!”

My hand smacked into the last pile of rubble, and with all the mana I could muster, I sent a wave of null mana through the rocks. The inky mana rolled across the rubble and up the far wall disintegrating it.  

“That’s it, Your free!”Without missing a step. I grabbed her body and lifted her into a princess carry. I started running towards the hole I made. But a large trembling roar stopped me as a large piece of rubble blocked my way.

<Fuck, the whole building is coming down>

<MOTHER! OVER HERE! ESCAPE THIS WAY!>

The ground around me trembled again as more and more rocks fell to the ground. Fuck it. No time to question it. I ran through the thick smoke towards my child's voice as the roof of the building crumbled and fell apart around me. My legs carried me over sharp rubble and broken dead bodies as the once magnificent manor fell apart. The smoke partially cleared, allowing me to see my child hanging around at the entrance of the hall

<THIS WAY MOTHER! RUN!>

I sprinted to the entrance and turned left as he bolted up a set of stairs. My legs bolted up the now burned circular stairs.

<HURRY, MOTHER, HURRY>

Suddenly the whole building shook as a large section of the twisting stairs broke and fell to the ground In front of me, but I didn’t stop; I increased my speed, getting as close to the edge as I could possibly dare I. Lept. We soared across the gap. Whether or not I was going to make it wasn’t a question. I HAD TO MAKE IT. I got closer and closer to the other side, and with a  resounding thud, I landed. But I was not out of the woods. I started sprinting again as I followed my child along burning corridors.

<QUICK FOLLOW!>

My son Dove into one of the rooms. I quickly followed behind him just in time to see him fly out of a window. I took the hint and sprinted as fast as I could towards the window.

“This is gonna hurt Apollinaris!” I yelled as I lept through the window into the night sky, just as the room behind me exploded in a fireball. However, we weren’t out of the woods yet. The ground was rushing towards us quick.

“Shit!”

I tightly pulled  Apollinaris onto my chest, turned my back to face the ground, closed my eyes, and waited to hit the ground. Fuck this is gonna hurt.

 Suddenly a loud wooshing sound came from below us. I quickly looked behind me just in time to see a large torrent of water shoot towards me. The blast of water wrapped around us and killed all our momentum before dumping us on the ground.

“W…what the?”

“Deeva, are you hurt?”

I looked at Apollinaris, whose hands were glowing bright blue. “ Apollinaris you-“

“Your…not…hurt….das….good”

the blue mana slowly dimmed and then disappeared entirely.

“No! nononononononon NO!” I quickly put my finger against her carotid.

“Come on! Come on! She cant  Be – A PULSE! She’s alive,” but she needed help fast. I lifted her back into the princess carry and ran to the front entrance where the carriages were. My feet pounded against the mansion grass as I wrapped around the burnt building just in time to see dozens of water mages dressed in red trying to control the flames. Dozens of people were laid injured on the ground. Nobody was there to help them. I looked all over for my carriage, which was fucking missing! The cowardly fucker ran away. I looked down at Apollinaris. She was getting paler by the minute. She needed help now, not later.

I hugged her tightly as I sprinted down the drive into town. She will not die on me!

----------

Sometime later in a clinic not to far away......

“Wooo, closing time! Time to head home.” Doctor Nick said aloud. He had just finished writing his clinical logs for the day and was just about to leave.

“What? You're going home. Didn’t you hear that blast?”

“Oh, it's probably nothing, just some magician who got overzealous with their magics again.” He said, putting on his coat

“Doctor, please,  what if someone is injured and they need your help?”

“I highly doubt anyone got-“

*BAM!*

I snapped my head to the door, which had just been kicked off its hinges.

“Are you a doctor!”

“Y…..yes”

“Help her!”

The lady brought the girl to doctor nick. She was injured badly. Covered in bruises and burns and paler than a ghost. Just what happened to her? I looked over to doctor nick, who was probably asking himself the same question.

“Just what the hell happened to her?”

“THAT’S NOT IMPORTANT! CAN YOU HELP HER”

The doctor kept looking at the girl. She was gonna die if she didn’t receive help. We need to do something..

“We are a small clinic, but we will do what we can! Aiesha, get the Healing table ready!.”

“Yes, doc!” I sprinted away.

“Thank you…. Thank you……thank………..you” I looked around Just in time to watch as the lady collapsed into Doctor nicks arms.”

“AIESHA HELP!”

“YES, DOC!”

------------

Diva pov:

“APOLLINARIS!” I yelled as my eyes shot open, only to be met with an inky dark void.

“Back here again, huh.” It was the void I found myself in last time. I guess I overdid it in some way again, huh.  I slowly wrenched my body up. My body was aching all over. Why did I do this to myself? Suddenly, like before, a large sharp gust of cold wind blew past me, signalling the arrival of Cindi.

The gust of wind abruptly stopped, just like before. I turned around, and there was my frail servant Cindi.

“Cindi, It's been a while” I walked up to her. She was sitting in an old frail rocking chair. Cindi's body slowly groaned as she looked at me.

“Mas…ter…” She sputtered out.

“Shhh…. Don’t talk.” I interrupted. “You’re too weak. You need to recover.”

She slowly shook her head. Cindi raised her crooked and frail arm. All of a sudden, golden mana rushed from behind her. The mana continued to rush past us before finally settling and separating into 4 blobs.

“What is this?”

The 4 blobs twisted and turned and shaped themselves into 4 body parts 1 was a set of golden arms, the second one was a pair of legs, the third was a torso, and 4^th and final one was a head with long flowing hair.

“Fi...nd……..im…..port….ant…. give….strength….”

“Stop. Don’t push yourself….I understand”

3 of the glowing pieces disappeared except  the arms

“Close…..”

“Will these help you regain your strength”

She slowly nodded her head. The final gold set of arms faded into nothing. Her body was visibly shaking, and her breath was ragged.

“give…..mas…ster…..pow..er…….i….rec…over….as…we…ll”

Her head slumped to her chest as she passed out.

“I understand, Cindi.”

-----------

Aiesha pov:

“How long has she been out for, doc,” I asked

“About 18 hours. Mana exhaustion will do that to you.”

“Mana exhaustion?”

“Yep, it's why she collapsed like she did. Mana exhaustion has a nasty habit of hitting you all at once; The symptoms are pretty much non-existent as well,  making it hard for people to notice, especially if their body is full of adrenaline.”

I let out a deep sigh. “Are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?”

Doctor Nick took a sip from his cup.

“What is there to talk about.”

I gave him a deadpan stare, and he just shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, I don’t know. THE FACT THAT SHE IS AN INSECT!”

He took another sip of tea. “And? This town is full of demi-humans.”

“But none like that!”

He put his newspaper down and folded up his glasses.

“Aiesha, look, rule number 1 of medicine is to not discriminate. When she is here, she is our patient And besides, did you notice that she wears a mask. Reactions like yours are why she probably hides herself. Just because she is different doesn’t give you an excuse to discriminate. ”

“Its not discrimination” I argued. “It's just when I'm around her…… it's like all my fight-or-flight senses kick into overdrive. I want to run. Run as fast and as far as my legs can take me and then run some more…. You feel it as well, don’t you?”

Doctor Nick paused, His fingers wrapped firmly around his cup of tea and his eyes firm.

“Yes... I feel it as well. But we have a duty of care to our patients. No matter how they make us feel.”

He took another sip of his tea.

“This conversation is over. Go upstairs and check on our guests.”

“But!”

“No buts, GO!”

I groaned as I left the table. I quickly pulled one of the newspapers from the nearby stand and headed upstairs. Why is he making me do this? My feet filled with dread as I made my way up the stairs and onto the corridor.

“Door number 6…..Door number 6…door number- here it is. Unfortunately”

 I took a deep breath. It's just a patient. Just a patient. You’ve looked after plenty of them. This is no different from that. I took one more breath and pulled the door open. Immediately my heart began to race. I could feel every fibre of my body telling me to run as fast as I could. I took another step and another; the feeling of dread got worse and worse with each step. Curse Doctor Nick for making me do this; CURSE HIM.

As I approached her, I continued walking forward, the sense of dread getting worse. I don’t know how long I was walking for, but eventually, I made it to her body. Her face was a mix of intense angular features that made her look like a demon. Could she be a demon? I shook away that scary thought. I don’t need that right now. I swiftly put the paper onto her desk table and quickly turned around. I am not staying here for longer than I fucking need to

I started walking when suddenly something grabbed my shirt.

“Where do you think you're going?”