A/N: Probably only one chapter today, will still try for two.

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The lizard was a magnificent specimen and the largest creature Damien had ever seen, at least since his rebirth in this cave. He was a mostly tan reptile, with scattered patches of darker and lighter browns. At nearly a foot long from nose to tail, he was truly a monster. Thick jagged scales covered his legs, and spikes studded out at the base of his broad triangular head and down his sides. There was not a single weakness in it's defenses. It was a lizard Damien was familiar with. He had found a bearded dragon. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" He screamed in his heart. Even before he had dominated the ant colony, a titan had wandered into his domain.

As Damien watched, the reptilian beast slowly descended into his domain. And with it came a rush of strength. Merely accustomed to feeding off the mana of insects, just the aura of this mighty being filled him with awe. Before, he had been proud of his maggot legions, but one look at this lizard showed how naive he had been. This single being could wade through his armies without a second thought, microscopic maggot mouths fruitlessly bit down on armored scales. It was a humbling experience, but such thoughts were drowned out by greed. With every step the ambient mana this creature released was worth a thousand maggots. He taunted the creature with his flies. Damien gleefully sent them to their deaths to lure in this rare treasure.

As the bearded dragon marched onwards down the tunnel, Damien ordered a platoon of maggots forwards to meet him. Onwards they wriggled, all for the glory of their lord. As they neared the mighty dragon, their tiny squeaks and squeals sounded their fearless charge. But it was all in vain. The lizard slaughtered them. First he lunged forwards and it's tongue shot out to grab the leader. As he chewed the maggots swarmed, but with every step his massive foot snuffed out another maggot. His shifting body pulverized the helpless creature and his tail knocked them around simply by his movement. In a matter of moments, all lay still except for the intruding reptile. And he ate his fill. Feasting on the guts of the fallen fighters. Damien cheered. The destructive power of this mighty creature was truly awe inspiring. But just as he began to celebrate, the lizard turned to leave.

"Wait!" He tried to call out as panic gripped him. His heart's glow flickered as he cried out. But the mighty behemoth continued his trudge along the tunnel. He sent his flies to tempt him into returning but the majestic beast would not be swayed. Soon he had crossed the threshold of his den, and wandered off into the light. Damien began to despair, but the lizard was gone. There was no brining him back. All of that mana, gone. All of that strength, gone. He had a chance to infinitely increase his power, and he had allowed it to walk right out of his lair. As he was sulking, lost in self pity, a faint tapping brought him out of his reverie. Something was tapping on his heart.

He looked up, and saw Shelia standing at his side, gently tapping on the flickering ruby gem in the middle of the lair. And all around him, his maggots were swarming, leaving a respectful circle around their master. Even the flies and a few ants had come. They had all sensed his distress, and they had all rushed to him. To protect him, to save him. They couldn't understand the meaning of his emotions, they were far too simple for that, but they were still his minions. They were connected to him. A part of him. As he watched the seething masses of maggots, the buzzing squadrons of flies, the few young ants who had felt his pull, and his mighty huntress Sheila, he found strength in their unwavering loyalty. Even if they were all insects, he would work with what he had. He would grow in time, and the mightiest lizards would fall under his sway.

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The reptilian invader had proven just how feeble his defenders truly were, however he had already begun to absorb a far more fearsome force. The ant colony still rested within his domain, but only a few ants had begun to submit to his rule. The youngest ants, the oldest, the crippled, and the eggs were the first to come to him, those too weak to resist. But he needed more. He widened the tunnel into the lair, making a broad passage. As he did, he forced all of the mana he had gathered from the reptile into the colony, and held it there. Over the course of the coming days, the concentrated energy began to change them. The newly hatched larvae came out larger, although many were deformed or died. Some would have extra legs, or larger pincers. Those who survived were far stronger than their older brethren, and were completely indoctrinated under his rule. The grown ants fed off the mana as well, and more and more of the grown ants began to bend the knee to their new sovereign. Those who submitted grew more quickly, as the ambient energy recognized them as part of the lair. At first they mingled with their siblings, but as the changes became more pronounced, the wild ants turned on them.

As the newborns were corrupted by his power, and those who accepted his rule grew stronger, the ants sensed they were not a part of their colony. Whole hatcheries full of larval ants were slaughtered as the ants tried to purge the invaders, and so began the second war. A mere quarter of the ants had accepted Damien, but none of the soldiers had come and the queen still resisted his influence fiercely. He organized his ants into squads, and systematically blocked off as many paths as they could. Those which could not be held, he collapsed. Every tunnel they could use to escape to the surface was sealed. This resulted in large sections of the colony being cut off, both from his influence and the heart of the colony. As his ants slowly fortified the colony sections around the tunnel to the lair, he ordered his maggot troops to march, and thousands of his mightiest maggots rippled along the tunnel.

His black airborne cavalry squadrons swooped overhead of the seething column to quickly reinforce his ants, however they were too large to fit into the ant tunnels. Knowing there would be no room to fly, and that most of them would fall in battle. He ordered them to land and allow their wings to be torn off by teams of ants loyal to his cause. The flies screamed, but bore the pain as ordered. It would be cramped, but the flies could now wage this subterranean war.

Damien's first priority were the eggs and ant larvae being slaughtered. Despite their enhancements, ant larvae were utterly powerless and only survived by being fed by their colony. His ants secured a few of the hatcheries, and with the sacrifice of hundreds of ants and wingless flies their escape path was secured. Ant workers rushed past the fiercely pitched battle lines to grab the young and whisk them away. Despite their efforts, the soldier ants blasted through every defensive position they tried to hold. As the enemies swarmed down the tunnels, his troops were unable to gang up on individual enemies like the had before. The flies were mighty, but their size and lack of pincers left them grossly inferior to the soldiers. Everywhere they fought, his troops were pushed further and further back. They only served to stem the tide by choking the pathways with their corpses. That never held them for long, as the ants quickly dug around or hauled off the bodies.

His valiant troops held the line at all cost as he directed, however halfway through the evacuation of the young the full cost had been paid. The enemy hordes swarmed over fierce battlefields littered with the corpses of his loyal servants. As tunnel after tunnel was abandoned, soon his rescuing troops and the young still remaining were cut off. As the enemy swarmed over their positions, they were slaughtered to the last man. In the darkest hour of this war, his new nemesis arrived.

The great lizard hadn't appeared for three days, but at this moment of crisis, the monster rushed down from the world above. As countless of his troops fell to hold back the wild ants, the brazen scaled beast crashed through the line of ants carting the young. The casualties to the rescuers were minimal, but that was not the lizards target. He had spotted the marching column of maggots as he entered the cave. Even as the first maggots were nearing the front lines to join in the defense his rear guard had been scattered by the unassailable beast. For the many ants who survived, he ordered them to drop their precious cargo and rush to the aid of his maggot army.

Any other time he would have allowed the beast to take it's fill, but now he was at war. He couldn't allow it to run free at the peril of his army. Even as the wild beast thrashed around and gobbled up the helpless maggots, the tiny ants raced to climb up it's legs. Hundreds of maggots were crushed, pulverized, bitten or eaten but the ants charged on. As if climbing a walking mountain they were blown aside by the slightest movement. But with each step of his armored legs, the ants rushed to grab on to the foot before it moved. As the first few grabbed hold, the lizard payed no notice. Soon his back was covered with dozens of ants, and still he payed them no mind, but then they reached his head. They went for the eyes, they crawled into his ears. A recent wound had left a cut across his face, and they crawled into that too. The lizard flailed, and scrambled to escape, slamming his head into the ground to crush the attackers.

He couldn't dislodge them however, and quickly bolted for the cave exit. Satisfied, and not yet ready to kill his future minion, he called the troops back. But the damage had already been done. The lizard had drawn his focus away from the battle, and all of his forward troops had been slaughtered. Not a single ant remained aside from the workers carrying the infants, and all of his fly cavalry he had sent had fallen. But now the maggots had finally arrived. Their march was slow, but their numbers were endless. Drawn out of their narrow tunnels, the ants had lost their advantage. Just as in the first war, his casualties would be high, but there was no hope for victory for the ant colony which had already suffered so many casualties.

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The battle dragged on for hours. The ant workers and warriors valiantly defended their home and their queen, and made full use of the energy they had absorbed during his efforts at conversion, but his maggot horde knew no limits. The lizard had not dared to return since he was run off, but he was still wary. A full brigade was sent to the tunnel entrance to stand guard. Though they would be powerless, they would serve as fodder to prevent him rushing off to war again. With each passing hour, fewer and fewer ants remained to hold the line. Tunnel after tunnel was collapsed, leaving only a single path to the queen. And soon only the last soldier remained. It was a mighty warrior, and he had slaughtered thousands of his troops and with every kill had grown stronger. His armored hide had grown too thick for his maggots or his ants to bring down, and his rampage ran unchecked even after his brothers had long since been trampled into the dust. And it was then that his trump card finally made her appearance.

Sheila had watched the battle from above as ordered, nestled in the roof of the tunnel. And as she eyed the rampage of the greatest ant, Damien finally allowed her to strike. She released her hold on the dirt, and plummeted down to the battle below.