Between a Rock and a Carapace

86. Demonically Delicious

My massive ant body hurtles through the air as if I’ve been fired out of a cannon with my mandibles open wide. The air whistles, pushing my antennae back against my head with the force. I’m seriously rocketing at top speed, I can almost taste that demon! Even as I prepare for the chomp, the monster doesn’t appear to have given up. Resentment and anger are accumulated in that eye, and it flashes blindingly green!

I knew it would come down to this. I’ve no way to dodge and no way out. Flying head on, if that laser hits me, it’ll drill straight through my head and roast my brain, I can’t allow that to happen!

All four of my brains reach out to the demon and grasp hold of the immense Mana flooding into that eye. Being so close, I can feel the weave of Mana being concentrated, and even in this situation, I can appreciate the sheer skill on display. The dense threads of Mana are being woven with such speed and precision it’s shocking. The little demon is painting a four-dimensional masterpiece with thousands of individual brushstrokes in a matter of seconds. The mastery such a feat requires is astounding!

Desperate to prevent the laser beam from firing, I use every bit of my Will to rip the Mana apart. My jaws are prepped to crunch, a contest of minds takes place, and I’m severely outmatched. As I try to wrest control of the demon’s Mana and break it, destroying the fragile work, it tries to lock the Mana in place, holding it firm and denying my attempts even as it races to finish the spell before I can bite it.

I’m left in awe at the sheer mental power of the creature. So this is what a true master of magic looks like! Even though it has evolved one more time than I have, I really didn’t expect the difference to be this severe. How the hell does it pack so much raw brain into that tiny body? It’s insane!

It might be an unfair arm wrestle, but it’s one I have no choice but to win! Victory or defeat is measured in a matter of milliseconds. In this strange, slow-motion world we occupy, I can already see the dark energy manifesting, my Omen Chomp taking shape at the edges of my mandibles. In less than a second, they’ll expand and close on the soft, squishy body of this demon—hopefully ending it.

Frantic to make that a reality, I redouble my efforts. If you build, then I’ll destroy! RIP! RIP! RIP! RIP! RIP! RIP! RIP! Every mind I possess works at maximum capacity. My entire body is screaming in pain.

To my horror, my antennae begin to tingle, and something I really don’t want to see begins to take shape in front of my eyes. From the centre of that bulging eyeball, a phantom laser lances at my head, directly between my eyes.

NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NOOOOO!

I’m so damn close!

Tear! Destroy! Demolish! Anything! Like an insane child going to town on a piñata, I cannot be stopped, recklessly bashing every piece of Mana I can get my mental hands on.

But it’s not enough! The Will of the demon is as solid as iron and the real laser blasts out from the eye, spearing down the trail left behind by its future echo. AHHHHH—NOOOOO!

MOTHER!

CHOMP!

Silence reigns over the combat area as the dust settles. For a brief, paralysing moment, I’m not even sure if I’m alive or dead. My body feels dead. Am I dead? Is Gandalf going to speak to me again, or will my soul just dissipate into nothing? Geez, my head hurts. The worst part of four brains means four simultaneous headaches is a real thing I have to deal with. It sucks.

But if my head hurts… then I must be alive. Surely, you don’t get afterlife headaches? I attempt to wiggle my antennae, and to my joy, I find I can still move them! Aha! I live! I’M ALIVE!

Almost unable to believe it, I start tapping my head all over with my antennae, just trying to confirm that my head still exists. I swear I saw that laser zap straight into my head…

Then I find it actually did. Right between my eye orbs, a significant hole has been drilled directly into my carapace. In a thousandth of a second, it probably would have tunnelled all the way through and into my brain. My body goes completely weak with relief. That was way too close. Holy moly, I can’t take many more of these!

At the same time, a giddy excitement wells up inside me, making me shake with silent ant-laughter.

I live! Against all the odds, I still live! Screw you, Dungeon! Get stuffed, Shapers! I roll with all the punches and I’m still kicking! This insect is here to stay! BWAHAHAHAAAAA!

Wait a second… I haven’t received the Dungeon notifications!

I roll to my feet and scrabble to turn around. Where the heck is the demon? Heart in my mouth, I rush to where I’d collided with it and breathe a sigh of relief. It might not be dead, but it’s not looking so hot. The eye has been crushed and its body is a wreck. It’s a minor miracle that it’s still alive. The tenuous connection between us still exists, and a voice whispers in my mind.

[I wanted… your everythinggg.]

I look down on the now pitifully broken body of the demon.

[You… are freakin’ weird, man. I can’t lie.]

CHOMP!

[You have defeated a Level 57 Luminare Daemon Invidia (VI).]

[You have gained XP!]

[You have reached Level 24. One Skill Point awarded.]

[You have reached Level 25…]

[You have reached Level 26…]

[You have reached Level 27…]

[You have reached Level 28…]

The moment the demon is confirmed dead, something bizarre happens. As if a hole connected to a world of grossness opened, a flood of brain matter and bits explode out the back of the demon’s head. The creepy mouth also materialises a connection to the main body, and launching out from behind comes a gigantic, distended stomach. In a matter of seconds, a huge pile of offal has appeared, steaming in the dim light of the combat area.

Uh… delicious?