IMPERIUM INSECTUM

It’s been a while since Sally had left. Is she okay? I put my ear against the door. Nothing, no sounds or anything. It's been a while since I heard anything from out there. I only heard the sounds of intense fighting and Sally, but it sounded like she won. Dammit! Just what is going on out there? Should I go outside and explore? I know it sounds stupid, but what else should I do? 

I slowly slumped down to the floor. Being here reminds me of that day. It was the same back then.

‘No matter what you hear, you don’t come out’ That’s what she said to me that evening. That’s what mom told me before she…..

I shot up to my feet. No. Not again; I’m tired of people constantly putting their lives on the line to save me. Mom did it, Sally did it. I’m tired of it!

I crawled up to the door and slowly opened it. The smell of blood and dust filled the air. Was the fight between Sally and the assassin really that serious? I Quietley stepped out of the store cupboard and into the library. The destruction was immense. Dozens of bookcases were sliced to pieces like they weren't even there. Just how intense was the fighting in here?

I peeked around one of the corners, and there it was a man's dead body. I guess Sally did win in the end, which was good for her. I should rendezvous with her so we can make a plan. I peeked around the hall and noticed the door I came in with was still intact. Quickly and quietly, I made my way towards the door. The sooner I find Sally, the better. Maybe we will be able to get in contact with Diva and make a plan to retake our home.

“Once I find Diva, Everything will be fine. It has to be fine.”

Suddenly, the big wooden door opened. Instantly hid behind some wooden furniture.

“Dammit, this whole thing has been a mess from the start.” The man said. He was quite tall and well-built, somebody you wouldn’t want to mess with.

I quietly watched him as he walked towards the body in the room.

“So this is what happened to you, jester. I can't say I'm surprised. You were always too rash and too hasty. *sigh* We wouldn't be here right now if you had just followed the plan. Honestly, what a shit show. Because of you, I've lost Blaze and Blitz and possibly the rest. I've left Mirage and the others in the hope that he can buy me time to find this girl. Luckily, I won't need to look far as she’s listening in on me right now.”

Shit! How did he?

“Little girl, I'm not as green as the other guys, okay. Now I’ve had a really stressful night. So, can you please come quietly?”

Crap, what do I do? Do I run? I don’t think that’s possible. Fight? But I don’t think I could win. Dammit, what do I do? WHAT DO I DO?

“You’ve got 5 seconds, 5, 4, 3, 2”

“Wait!” I yelled as I came around the corner with my hands up.

“Just wait”

“Oh, thanks for this. It saves me having to find you.”

“Just tell me. Who sent you? I need to know that much, at least.”

“Cant, client confidentiality and all that. You know you and your friends have given me a lot of trouble. first, it was the red-headed lady and now this weird insect-looking one.

Insects looking one? Diva?! She’s here!

“Where is the insect-looking one.”

“Where she is doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you come with me.”

“no! I won't. Too many people have put too much on the line for me just to give up and go quietly.”

“So you’re gonna fight me?”

Green mana erupted from my hands. “What do you think?”

*******

The sound of several dozen feet running filled my eardrums. The man said he was just ahead, so that meant the library. That’s good; it's a nice open area to fight in.

<You guys remember the plan>

<YES MOTHER>

<Good, don’t fail me>

Suddenly, there was a loud thunderous rumble akin to an earthquake up ahead. Crap, it looks like he’s found Apollinaris.

<HURRY!>

The worker pushed himself harder, almost doubling his speed. Good boy, I'll have to reward him later. We ducked around corners and sped down corridors until a large wooden door was in front of us.

<CHARGE!> I Yelled. The worker burst forward with a wave of speed, sending us forward through the door.

“Apollinaris!” Dust and dirt filled the air. Blocking my vision. Crap! Just where is she?

“AGHAAAAAAAAAA!” Apollinaris yelled as she flew out of the smoke into the nearby wall. In an instant, I was off the worker and by her side.

“Apollinaris!” I yelled as I shook Her body. She didn’t look good. She was covered head to toe in bruises, cuts and scrapes.

“Hey! Apollinaris, I’m here!” No response. Crap, don’t tell me. NO! She can't be.

“Hey! Wake up!” I shook her a bit more, And suddenly, her body lurched forward as she started coughing blood and dirt into my face. Thank god she’s okay. I pulled her into a hug. “Apollinaris im so hap-“

“Diva, No time, listen. Be careful. He’s strong. No matter what I did, it couldn’t hurt him. He’s unkillable. Just run its…the only…way… to……wi..n” Before I could reply, her eyes closed, and her body went loose.”

<Mother is she>

<She’s Fine!>

I gently laid her body on the ground.

<Mother let me.> One of the nature workers said. His mandibles started growing green, and suddenly, a thick earth dome wrapped her body.

<Thank you>

“So you made it through the others. Ya know, I had a feeling we would end up fighting each other.” The smoke and dust settled, revealing him standing in the centre of the room.

<Now!> Instantly, the 5 regular workers charged towards him.

“Hahaha, Right off the bat! OKAY THEN!” the man started moving as the workers swarmed over him. I charged forward instantly as I went to help the workers. At the same time, a small swarm of flies flew out of me.

<You know the drill: go for the eyes! and poison him if you can!> The flies surged forward his eyes. Distracting him enough for the workers to start landing hits on him.

My pincers shot out of my back, and I ran to join the fight. The man raised his fists and took several steps back. One of the workers arrived in front of him and clamped onto his Right leg, causing him to yelp. Another arrived And went for the other leg, but he quickly pulled it back, causing the worker to sail past him. Suddenly, the ground around him shook as two large leafy vines flew up and out of the ground and shot towards him. I looked to the side, and there they were, the two nature mana workers, out of sight but very much in the fight.

“How Annoying!” He yelled. “Just like that girl!”  He tried to move away, but the worker's weight made it difficult. The vines diced towards him, And with all his effort, he managed to move out of the way. However, it wasn’t over yet. The swarm of flies arrived, and they began to harass him, biting and making his life a living hell.

I used my children's assault to my advantage. As I ran up to him, Black mana swirled around my fist as I approached. If this works, we can end this in one blow. I got closer and closer. My children, sensing my intent, fought harder to keep him distracted. The mana burned and bubbled under my flesh until I couldn’t hold it anymore.

<Back away now!> They all instantly retreated. The man turned to face me and put his hands up to b, lock the blow, but it was too little too late. The fist connected with his arms. There was a loud snap as the initial blow broke both his arms, but then the null mana surged forward through his flesh, then through his internal organs and then out the other side, leaving nothing but a clean, rounded hole in the centre of his chest. The shock was still on his face as his body went limp, and his blood splattered onto the floor.

<Mother, we did it. We won!> They all moved towards him, but I signalled for them to stop. My instincts were screaming at me. This fight was easy. Too easy. I took a few steps back away from his body and watched him. Suddenly, His body began to convulse and twitch like it was possessed.

<Get ready, all of you! This fight isn't over> I yelled as I watched as The hole in his chest started to stitch itself back together. Soon, the hole was gone, and his convulsions stopped.>

“I take it you were playing with me earlier.”

“Was it that obvious?” He said, standing up like a mummy. Of course, the leader of the group would have something like this. Regeneration, and by the looks of it. Very good regeneration.

“So what will you do now? I've been stabbed, impaled, beheaded and exploded, and still nobody has been able to kill me.”

“Haven't you heard the old saying. Nothing lasts forever. You may be tough, but you're still just a man. I will find a way to stop you. That you have my word.”

“Oh, I look forward to this, but don’t expect me to make it easy for you” Suddenly, he tapped his stomach, and a white wave of mana rolled across his torso. The white wave moved across, revealing loads of unique tattoos all over his body. However, that wasn’t the most concerning part. Each tattoo was of a different weapon, ranging from spears and flails to large war axes. He put his hands on one of the tattoos, and black smoke erupted from it. And before I could say anything, a large, wooden bow was in his hands.

I took several steps back, and the workers instinctively moved forward in front of me.

<Keep him distracted, and don’t get yourselves killed.>  Instantly, they all moved forward to fight. Now think, how do we beat this guy. With that level of regeneration, killing him conventionally isn't possible, so what then? Wearing him down is an option; I doubt he can keep regenerating himself forever, but that would mean turning this into a fight of who can last the longest. Which is bad because I feel like the odds in that fight are in his favour. What if-

<Mother!>

I snapped out and leapt backwards just in time to see a hail of arrows land where I was.

“Did you thinking was just gonna ignore you this whole time.” He was moving faster this time, easily Dancing around the workers and making it difficult for them to latch on and slow him down. He got some distance and quickly let off another volley of arrows at me. Ii quickly moved to the side and behind a destroyed bookshelf.

Dammit, he’s fast and agile as well. Dammit, I need to do something! What if I hit him with a big enough attack? I could theoretically kill him outright in one hit, but that’s too risky. If I miss it or it simply doesn’t work, it could leave me without mana and very vulnerable. Besides, the one thing I learned from my last fight is that null mana isn’t the “I win” button I thought it was. Dammit, this is tricky. What the hell can I-

<MOTHER ABOVE>

I looked up and caught a glimpse of two arrows heading towards me. I quickly scurried over to the next piece of cover. A few feet away. I looked back towards where I was and noticed smoke coming from the two arrows.

“They couldn’t be”

Before I could say anything else, the arrows erupted in a loud explosion, spreading fire and completely eviscerating my cover.

“You can't keep hiding forever! You will eventually run out of cover!”

Aghhhha!What do I do against this guy?! He’s just got too much going for him! Damnit, this is so-

<Mother? Are you okay?> I looked around, and there was one of the special workers in front of me.

<I’m fine, just->

<Above you, mother!>

I turned around to see another exploding arrow, but before I could move, green mana erupted from the ground, and a dome of earth appeared around me. There was a loud, dull thud as the arrows went off on top of the dome.

<Sorry for interrupting your mother. Are you okay?>

I looked back at him, and a wave of realisation washed over me. Dammit, I'm doing it again. Excluding my children from the fight again. Think, what can we do to beat him? We can't kill him normally so…......I patted my hands on the ground and looked up towards the worker again, and then it hit me. Yes, that will work.

I pulled the worker in for a hug and relayed the plan to all the workers through the [hive weave.]

I looked back at the worker, who glared back eagerly. <I’m counting on you> he nodded. Green mana came from his mandibles as the dome suddenly disappeared. I ran out of cover and charged towards the man with my claws raised.

<back of all of you!>

All of the workers backed away as we both clashed.

<You all know what you need to do. Get to work, all of you. I'll buy time with him!>

I pushed back slightly and cleaved forward with my claw. He ducked to the side, easily dodging my claw; however, my swing managed to get his bow, destroying it entirely. I swung again with my other hand, but this time, he was ready, and he managed to jump a few feet back.

“Don’t run away from me!” I yelled as I chased him down. More black smoke billowed from his body as he pulled a large blade from his tattoos.

Our bodies collided with each other. My claws and pincers ground together, sending sparks across the room. Suddenly, he hiked his blade up, sending my pincers and arms flying away. He quickly followed through, bringing the blade crashing down on my head. Instantly, my pincers formed an X as the blade smashed into me.

“Come on, there has to be more you can do than that.” He said smugly. “if not, you might as well give me the girl right here and now.”

“Don’t get cocky kid.” Suddenly, black mana started to ooze out of my body and slowly blocked my vision until!

“[NULL SHROUD]!” I yelled, And the mana exploded in a burst around me; the man quickly let go as the mana engulfed his blade. However, I was Not done yet. Seizing the opportunity, I charged towards him and, as hard as I could, punched him across the lower jaw, completely removing it. I threw more fists at him, each covered in inky black null mana. Each punch carved more and more out of his body. Blood soaked the floor. Any normal person would be dead by now, but not him. I could see his body heal. Everything was removed with ease. Dammit, it’s like running up a hill coated in oil. No matter. I just have to keep him busy. That is all I have to do.

“Take this, you annoying cockroa- AGHAAAAAA”

 My vision suddenly went white as something bright overtook my vision

“Arghaa!!! What are you planning now, cockroach!”

I slowly opened my eyes, but I still couldn’t see anything. Except for white

“dammit!” I put my hand across my eyes and sent a wave of healing mana towards it. I felt my eyes get hot as I tried to heal the damage. Eventually, I  moved my hand and opened my eyes. My vision was still a bit blurry, but They should recover.

A wave of tiredness sent me to one knee. Dammit. I forget how much stamina I use when I perform that healing spell, even for such a tiny little thing. I slowly stood up to my feet to look around. He was nowhere to be seen.

“Guessing by the fact you haven't attacked me yet. Those wounds of yours haven't healed yet.” I scanned the room, looking for any sign of him, but nothing. It was like he was never here. Where the hell could he-

“THINK FAST”

“ARGHAAAAAA!”

W…. What the hell was that? I looked down, and there it was. A solid steel spear lodged into my stomach. Just when did he?

“Oh, was I too fast for you?” His voice said behind me. I snapped my head around, and there he was now, wearing a special pair of boots.

“These were given to me by a recently deceased friend of mine. They don’t make me as fast as him, but they get me pretty close.”

“And? Should I be scared? You’re not the first speed freak I've killed, and you certainly won't be the la-“ Instantly, I raised my arms in a cross just in time to block his punch. The speed of the punch sent me back a few feet. All 4 of my jabbed straight into the ground, and I immediately came to a dead stop.

I looked up to the boss and gave him a cheeky smile. “You gotta a lucky shot, remember. Don’t think it will happen twice.” His face twisted in anger as a silver canister appeared in his hands.

“This fight ends now!” He threw the canister towards me, I blinked, and there was a loud bang. By the time I opened my eyes, there was only some smoke in front of me. So that’s what blinded me earlier: A flashbang or something close to it. My pincers pulled themselves out of the ground, and I walked forward. Sharp pain emanated from my abdomen, but I kept moving. It was the spear. Every part of me wanted to pull it out, but I held off. It being stuck in there is probably what's stopping me from bleeding to death. As I moved, I felt a tugging in the back of my mind…. No, the weave. So my children are ready.

<My flies, are you still there?>

<Yes, mother> I heard several small voices speak out. They were all in hiding watching. Good, they can sense my intention.

<You are my eyes. You have to let me know when he is coming> I lept forward and landed in the centre of the library.

<We will only have one chance at this> We watched and waited in silence. I could feel him watching me like a hawk. Waiting for any small gap. We both knew it. Whoever wins or loses here is decided at this moment. My children were ready. I was ready. Now, all I need is to wait for him. My heart raced because of the anticipation.

*CRACK*

I snapped my head around.

<MOTHER BEHIND YOU>

<NOW!>

“TO SLOW”

I snapped my head around, and there it was. A giant war hammers the size of my face. The world slowed down to a crawl. I can’t dodge this. He’s too close. If that hits me, I'm done for. Finished. However, despite that. I'm not worried; actually, I'm confident. I don’t know Why, but my instincts tell me Everything will be fine. I closed my eyes and waited. It must have been a few nanoseconds, but at that moment, I felt it. The ground beneath me shattered into dozens of tiny pieces, and we started falling.

Time returned to normal as we started falling. I looked around, and surprise was plastered all over his face as his war hammer completely missed.

“What the just what is- AGHHHHHA!!!!” he screamed as I hooked one of my pincers into him.

“WE'RE FALLING, DUMBASS, AND YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!” I pulled him close as we fell towards the yellow murky ground.

“What are you crazy! I will survive the fall. You won't!”

“HAHAHAHA. YOUR RIGHT. I AM CRAZY” He tried to fight and punch me back to escape, but I held him tight. He wasn’t going anywhere. The ground got closer and closer, and our speed increased until we splashed hard into the yellow ground.

“What the hell is this stuff? It's not solid at al- AGHHHHHA!” He screamed as I unhooked my pincer and kicked him away. The yellow substance was thicker than molasses and hard to move through.

<Mother. Raise your hands!>

Instantly, they shot up, and 2 workers wrapped their claws around them and pulled me out.

<Thank you. And now, we wait.>

I watched as he struggled to move. He summoned a bunch of weapons from his body and tried to use them as leverage to get out.

<Make sure he doesn’t escape!>

On cue, two large stones flew from behind me and towards him, stopping his escape. I watched eagerly as the man struggled to move in the thick wax. Soon, his movements began to get more sluggish as the wax around him hardened.

“AGHHHHAAAA PULL ME OUT AND FIGHT ME PROPERLY!”

I chuckled and watched as he continued to move. I could see it,  the desperation on his face. He knows what's coming, and there is nothing he can do about it. His movements got slower and slower until, eventually, they stopped entirely.

<Is it good to walk on?>

<Yes, mother. It's solid now.>

<Good, bring me down.>

They lowered me gently onto the ground. It was firm like concrete. No way he is getting out of there. I chuckled as I walked up to him. His head was sticking out of the ground like a garden gnome.

“Trouble?”

“SHUT UP” He bit back. “Just what is this anyway!”

“Wax. And a lot of it. You see, these lovely children really aren't made for fighting. They are made for building and digging; as you can tell from this massive hole, they are very good at it.” One of the workers flew past, and I pulled him in for a hug.

“However, making wax this runny isn't normal for them, and they really exhausted themselves doing it.”

“So now what!” he yelled! “you’ve got me stuck here. It still won't change the fact that you can't kill me!”

“is that true, though? I mean, really? Sure, you are tough to kill, but immortal, I doubt that. You have very good regeneration, but even someone like you can't regenerate forever, can they? Anyway, it’s a mute argument. You will die here. That’s what I promised you earlier. Even if I have to stay here and keep ripping your head off for hundreds of years, you will die here. And you have no one else to blame but your greed because you came here! You killed some of my family; you tried to take what I hold dear to my heart!”

The man let out a soft chuckle. “Just what the hell are you?”

“What am I?” I said with my voice dripping with venom. The worker in my hands quickly scurried away as I walked towards him.

“What am I?” I said, arriving in front of him. “I am Diva. Queen of the Alvearix and soon-to-be conqueror of this world.” I grabbed a lock of his hair.

“Any last words?”

“Go fuck yourself, Diva.”

I smiled and started pulling, and soon, the lovely screams started.