The Roach

Jumping from the roof of the ceiling I landed with a heavy thump, scattering dust everywhere, my ravenous gaze focused on the source of my ire.

Eight stupid unwanted humans.

I felt no compassion or goodwill to the species before me whom I had once been a part of.

They were in my land, my home, and they were not welcome.

Even as my anger broiled, a calmer part of myself asked, 'What value might these humans offer to me?'

'Knowledge, resources, servitude, Food?'

Saliva dripped from the corners of my jaws and I absently swallowed it back.

Most of those things I already had, I did not need more servants right now, I had Lescar, Roulette and Dwayne for that, I did not need more knowledge, Lescar alone was enough to cover the basics and regular adventurers as they were called were unlikely to know anything truly valuable.

In terms of resources, I had no desire for such things, I, being a cockroach, had no use for the vast majority of human pleasures or tools, I did not want for any such things as currently, they would only go to waste, what good was a sword to a fingerless invertebrate, besides I could always just take their stuff from their corpses.

As for food...

I looked at the humans, my antennae flicking excitedly, the humans did look succulent, well rounded and juicy.

'Very juicy...' my hungry eyes focused on the blonde women in the middle, for whatever reason her very presence here called to me, the women was not big, meaty or particularly good looking, but something about her was delicious, the thin brown-haired man next to her was also very appealing but not as much as the women.

The fluids in my mouth oozed out once more without my bidding.

'Those two looked like good eating.'

Behind me in the distance I sensed Roulette bounding toward me and way behind her, struggling to keep up was Lescar, still holding Dewey as she ran, legs swinging furiously as she did her best to stay within eyeshot.

Lescar wouldn't approve of the slaughtering of the hapless humans before me, she still possessed that both vexing and anchoring human quality, known as empathy.

I did not dislike the quality, it had its uses, but right now...

My mind ran over the negative effects Killing the humans might have on Lescar's view and disposition towards me.

She would surely not enjoy it, even if she had been, and still was a thief.

From what I could ascertain from the short time excavating the depths of Lescar's mind, Lescar was no stranger to the brutality and mercilessness of the world, but she still carried some sentimentality around the lives of other humans.

My concentration partially diverted, I sent a part of myself down the connection I shared with Lescar, while I glowered at the humans, making sure they didn't move.

As I touched her mind I felt her emotions wash over me.

Anxiety, a dash of hope, a dousing of heavy dread and anticipation, Lescar's mind was embroiled in doubt, she did not detect my presence as I surveyed her emotional state, but her reluctance to slay her fellow man was obvious in her feelings.

'Troubling' I murmured to myself, Lescar was certainly opposed to killing people.

Sending a more condensed mental pressure I probed at the swirl of her emotions and felt Lescar look around wide-eyed with a start, the emotions flowing around the tendril I had pushed into her mind.

"Master? what is it?" Lescar said nervously, having felt my touch.

A little taken back that she had discovered my probing, I answered unhesitantly.

"Mmm... Just checking in, try to keep up."

Without waiting for her to respond, I broke contact with the panting Lescar, the connection returning to its normal passive state.

It was not possible for me to change Lescar's mind so soon on this matter, I would just have to ease her into it, true killers weren't made in a day.

This did mean, however, that she wouldn't be looking in on my homicide with any goodwill, anytime soon.

I could use familiar synergy to increase Lescar's bloodlust artificially, but I sensed that was a risk both to her mental wellbeing and my own powerbase, that particular power of mine caused a startling change in the girl and I was certain abuse of the power would result in consequences...

'Perhaps it would be better to spare these humans...' I clicked quietly

Since Lescar was such an important piece in my plans, it was best if she was kept relatively happy and if that meant making some small compromises, it was allowable.

I continued to weigh up pros and cons of such an action, my anger cooling as I considered things more deeply.

There were a few good reasons to keep these adventurers alive, Lescar could perhaps work something out with them, learn some tricks, or if befriended these humans might provide an easier method than the one I had planned for establishing myself on the surface.

There were more possibilities, but these two were the foremost important ones to me.

Having come to a positive conclusion I was about to tell Lescar the good news when I spotted it.

To the left of a pale human wearing a strap full of vials, a crystalline piece of what was mine lay disturbed.

It was one of the many soulstones that embedded themselves in my glade, a veritable piece of my claim over this place, it was damaged, pulled from its rightful place on the floor.

The crystal deposit yanked from the floor, relit the dying embers of my anger.

"Greedy humans," I hissed my jaws rattling and clacking at my displeasure, my mind changing tracks in an instant.

Taking what was mine was unforgivable.

"No clemency for those who take from me," I growled, the leafy spines on my back rising as my fury did, mercy forgotten, I gave my familiars instructions as my eyes bored into the human garbage trespassing on my lands.

"These humans are prey," I said, hissing through my familiar bonds "and I don't want a single one still alive after we have finished with them."

Course decided, I turned my attention to my heaviest hitter, without moving my head from its place observing the adventurers.

"Dwayne," I said through clenched mandibles. " These creatures are our enemies and I want them vanquished,"

Dwayne was off to my side laying low, staying well out of sight of the humans, his experience and expertise as a hunter showing itself readily in his swift and practiced movements.

The brawny bat looked up at me half-concealed in the shadows, undoubtedly invisible to the humans poor Nightvision.

"How should we proceed with their slaughter then my king?" Dwayne asked, his eyes looking unimpressed with the humans before him.

Answering Dwayne's question immediately I said, "I will give a signal and when I give it, come down from the ceiling and split these sheep up, I don't want the herd to be rallied together."

When he heard my orders he gave a crisp bob of the head, eyes narrowing as he surveyed the soon to be battlefield, after a brief inspection of the landscape Dwane turned back toward me, eyes now lit with eager anticipation.

"As you say your majesty, so shall I perform." The bat said reverently, bowing his head before creeping away and climbing a viny wall stealthily, he would soon be ready to pounce.

Without moving my head as I stared down the disquieted adventurers, I addressed Roulette, she having just arrived behind me, still out of sight of the humans.

"Roulette get behind those humans and when I say so, kill the back lines with your tail and drag them into the darkness, make sure to be swift."

Not particularly puffed from running behind me the whole time, Roulette instead of moving to do my bidding, asked curiously, eyes peeking around my form to glean a look at the adventurers.

"Are those two-leggers the same kind as big sister?"

Attention diverted for a second I regarded Roulette with my almost 360-degree vision, Roulette hadn't caught on yet that we were going to kill these humans.

"No," I said seriously before I added with an afterthought "They are 'bad' humans and will steal our food and home if we let them live."

Roulette's response was prompt and animated.

"What!" Roulette said aghast, round eyes widening, "they will steal our food! No! They should get there own frog, that frog is ours!"

The hackles on Roulettes back had risen making her look larger but not more threating, she now looked like a fluffy ball, with a rat tail popping out the end.

It would have made me chuckle if I weren't so occupied with 'cleaning house.'

Roulette was almost as worked up as I was, but then she valued her food highly and got very protective of it, especially when it was her favorite.

"No stinky two-legger is going to eat my frog!" Roulette said angrily, Tail whipping about violently "what are we going to do about these stinky two-leggers dad?"

"We are going to kill them," I said dryly before continuing, repeating my earlier instructions, " get behind them and wait for my signal, when I give it, kill the back most human, be sure to remain unseen," I emphasized, " if the humans spot you I might not be able to help you if things go poorly."

Failing to notice the note of warning in my voice, Roulette nodded, whiskers quivering with energetic anger.

"I'll get that stinky big two-legger dad! don't you worry Roulettes on the case."

I frowned internally, my antennae twitching ever so slightly at Roulettes overtly confident words and strangely modern speech, but said nothing as Roulette moved away, such things were not important right now, I had opponents to vanquish.

Scampering off in a wide arc, Roulette made her way behind the humans who were so focused on me that they failed to notice a vividly white rat creep up behind them, truly a blunder on their part.

'Everything was almost in place, well almost everything,' I thought impassively feeling Lescar finally arrive behind me panting hard as she tried to catch her breath.

It was already decided that the humans before me would die, but still, I had to ask Lescar whether she would join in or not, it would affect the way I would have to deal with her in the future, but that didn't mean I was happy with this outcome.

Instantly I turned cold words upon her, asking the still panting Lescar grave questions, my back to her as I spoke.

"First familiar of mine..." I said heavily before saying more sternly, " Will you fight these humans? or is it too much for you little girl?"

Bent over trying to restore her stamina with Dewey clutched under her left shoulder, Lescar looked up at me with an enquiring and bewildered look.

"What!?" Lescar spluttered.

Having just arrived it was understandable if frustrating that she misheard me, so I repeated myself slowly.

"Will you fight? or will You leave your share of the work to your fellow familiars?"

The mocking edge implied in the last sentence was palpable, I wanted her to know she was letting me down, that she wasn't playing her part, that she was breaking her promise.

Eyes wide as saucers, Lescar fumbled her words as she tried to respond.

"I... I don't want to kill other people, ....at least not unless I have to..."

Lescar' was staring at the floor, her dirty auburn hair obscuring her eyes as she mumbled incoherently, her words barely making it across the mental bridge.

She couldn't do it, she wasn't ready to kill another person yet.

I sighed long and hard to myself, it was no good, forcing the issue would result only in poor performance and resentment, I didn't need that right now.

Disappointed I said coldly, my voice as hard as flint even as the message was soft, at least I thought it was soft.

"Lescar... stay back if you are unwilling to fight, think about what I have offered you and know that the path ahead is steeped in blood."

Grinding my jaws together in frustration, I offered one last piece of information to the glum Lescar.

"No queen ever 'took' power without a trail of corpses in their wake," I clacked severely, "if you really want what I offered you, you must be prepared to kill without mercy."

Leaving an uncertain Lescar to consider my words, I turned my attention entirely to the enemy, my thoughts playing across the connections.

"Now, what am I going to do with you sorry sheep."

I icily regarded the cretins who had so foolishly barged into my most precious of places, there were eight of the fools, they held their weapons out in front of them, all but the foremost women quaking in apprehension.

'Pitiful worms' I growled, my gaze passing gradually over the sorry excuse for humanity before me.

I was unimpressed by the human specimens before me, their stats were not compelling, I had already established that fact when I analyzed them during my time on the roof.

They were weak, their stats lagged behind Lescar's own, and Lescar was only 13, adults were not supposed to be this puny.

Air rushed from my mouth as I crunched my jaws together, the humans jumping at the sudden sound, weapons poised to strike.

Aside from the older woman at the front of their group, the humans all shook slightly, I could smell the thick stink of fear rising from their smelly human skin.

The humans were right to be afraid, they were surrounded even if they didn't know it yet, I looked up to the ceiling and past the fearful adventurers at my two waiting underlings.

Dwayne clung to the ceiling, claws dug into the stony roof as he waited for my signal, he was ready to sow chaos, his tongue gliding over his enlarged canines as he anticipated tearing flesh.

Roulette was lurking just out of sight within tail reach of the back most humans, the youngest looking members, she too was ready to strike, I could feel her anxious excitement as she lined up her bladed weapon.

My familiars were in place, it was high time the culling began.

I stepped forward prompting a rapid response from the quivering humans, the old lady at the front lowered her spear and stabbed at me, trying to keep me from advancing, she succeeded, I stopped moving forward.

The old lady said something spinning her spear before slamming it onto the ground, her words being unrecognizable to me as she was not my familiar, what she said seemed to hearten the adventurers resolve and bolster their courage.

The adventurers edged forward, swinging their weapons while shouting obscure phrases at me, maybe they thought they could intimidate me like some common beast?

"Bunch of fools," I whispered to no one in particular.

The humans had already made a number of mistakes since they arrived in my domain.

Firstly and primarily, they had entered my domain, secondly, they stole my things, thirdly, they forced their way into my most precious home, and fourthly, they had failed to account for any monster save for myself.

The humans were entirely focused on me, so much so that they missed all the signs that they had been surrounded.

I chortled, the anger and irritation fading away, as the thrill of a good hunt began to take over, my antennae writhing frantically in response to my change in mood.

'Such easy fodder.'

With a casual wave of my antenna and a brisk command, the gutting of these sheep began.

Naython

"AHHHHRRRRRRRGGGHHHH!"

"JAQUESIN!?"

Naython watched horrified as the same spiked twitching appendage that had killed Jerrel, struck out at great speed catching the pale alchemist in the shoulder, piercing through Naython's cast wards with a silver sheen as if it were never there, going deep into the poor man's collar bone drawing out a shriek of pain from the slender alchemist.

"Ahhh!" Jaquesin hissed, grabbing at the bony weapon as it sat buried in his flesh before calling out with a pained voice "The fuck! Get this out of my shoulder!"

The sharp limb was protruding out of Jaquesins shoulder, having disarmed the wounded man in the process of attacking, Jaquesin was unable to just cut off the limb as it struggled to unplug itself from the wound.

This gave Naython the briefest moment to oggle the crude weapon that had so effortlessly broken through his wards before he rushed to dislodge it from Jaquesins shoulder, it was a coarse and vulgar weapon that was clearly the tail or limb of some vast creature, that creature still hiding in the darkness, the limb was lined with bony spikes and plating and beneath that Naython could see rippling and coiled muscle, contracting forcefully.

The profane and jagged weapon of bone and sinew twitched and convulsed like a writhing worm causing the struggling Jaquesin great pain, Naython glanced hurriedly at the vile appendage, he did not recognize the weapon, that could only mean...

"Another Mutant," Naython hissed, gritting his teeth, still grappling with the thrashing limb, while mutants were almost always more dangerous than their standard counterparts, they normally also had glaring weaknesses that could be exploited, the problem was that Naython had no idea what species of mutant he was dealing with or what area it leaned toward.

Whatever the thing was, it was fast, really fast and refused to show itself in the lights held by the party, preferring to remain elusive in the flickering shadows at the edge of Naythons sphere of moonlight, only striking with the long-bladed weapon attached to its body.

The only clear thing Naython could deduce about the creature was the red gleam of its reflective eyes, as it shifted and twisted like mist in the half-light, it refused to show itself, it was nimble.

'And deadly,' Naython internalized as he worked alongside Nox to free the alchemist from the beasts hold, It had pierced the defensive wards Naython had recently cast with ease, killing Jerrel almost instantly despite the presence of the ward in effect.

The chilling scarlet gleam of the creature's eyes in the shadows moved to the left pulling Jaqeusin along, dragging both Nox and Naython as it did with ease, brushing roughly against Naython, he felt the first crawling fingers of despair touching his mind again as unpleasant memories of pale flesh resurfaced, but shoved them back down, 'now was no time to let the past hold him down, he had a family to protect.'

Naython was tempted to look back at Heather but resisted the urge, he couldn't afford to do that right now, he and Nox were barely holding the struggling limb down as it was, preventing it from dragging Jaquesin off much like it had done to Jerrel.

Even while he fought and held hope Naython was afraid, two or more monsters, likely mutants were attacking and the team currently had no way out.

On one side the largest and most gargantuan insect Naython had ever seen, on the other a shadowy monster that struck unbidden from the dark with deadly precision, it was a nightmare.

The giant cuspid cockroach, sickly yellow eyes indifferently staring, was, for now, being held back by Gerdur as she stabbed and swung at the large beast.

Either side of Gerdur, Carstah and Patreek assisted the old lady brandishing their own weapons with vigor, helping Gerdur drive the insect back.

Every time the insect took a step forward Gerdur would jab at its eyes, every time it tried to brush aside her attack and charge Carstah would raise his spear into an impaling obstacle, and every time the large invertebrate tried to rake Gerdur with its talons Patreek would step forward tower shield in hand and block the attack.

It was amazing that Gerdur was able to keep such a large monster at bay and Naython held great trust in the elderly veteran, but even then something about the giant insect's unhasty movements and almost lethargic attacks put Naython on edge, it was too calm, too reserved, a behavior no beast normally displayed.

Compared to its earlier display of speed and ferocity, it was sluggish, apathetic, Naython could only hope Gerdur and the others had a firm handle on the dangerous monstrosity.

"At least my wards are working properly on their side." Naython muttered, the diminutive white glow from his ward still sheathing the vanguard, making the giant bugs attack's less impactful.

The vanguard was faring far better than the rear guard, poor Jerrel never had a chance, even the wards had not saved him from the silver sheen of the bladed appendage.

Directly behind Naython the small of her back pressing up against his own, Heather stood steadily incanting under her breath her eyes blank and staring as she bent the laws of reality to her will.

Heather was chanting quietly, hands held out to either side, she was weaving together a potent destructive spell, a golden light slowly growing in brightness around her.

Heather was a sun mage who focused all her study into destruction and beam attacks and when she charged up a full shot she could instantly kill even a troll in a single blow.

If the team could hold out until she finished that spell, it would make winning this battle almost certain.

The problem with this was that a spell-like that was not easy to cast and required that Heather spend some time uninterrupted while she built up the spell and the monsters either side of them didn't look inclined to wait for that.

This was one of the tactics the team fell back on when directly engaging the enemy was a poor exercise in self-preservation, defend and hold the line until Heather could unleash a devastating blow, in this team tactic every member played a part.

Each team member knew their role and played it accordingly, moving smoothly with practiced grace at least on the side of the vanguard, the rear guard was down a man and Jaquesin was still pinned by the thrashing limb, his ranged vial based support not able to make its appearance.

Naython's short glance at the companions at his back returned to focus on the shadowy attacker that had killed Jerrel, the red eyes hovering in the distance, he needed to be on guard himself, if he were to do the best for his party.

More deaths were a distinct possibility if victory were to be sought.

And Naython knew who he would pick to live if it were to be only one.

Wrinkling his nose in distaste of the idea of only one survivor, but still formulating ideas unconsciously, Naython tried to pull the flailing spasming thing from Jaquesin's shoulder, tugging and yanking on it, but only managed to cut himself on the bladed protrusions and cause Jaquesin a great deal of pain.

Nox likewise had little success and instead had resorted to pummeling the writhing thing, His teeth drawn into a sneer as he flailed at the bony limb, eyes wild and bloodshot, Naython knew little of Nox but he was certain he and Jerrel had been good friends.

"Get it out! get it out!" Jaquesin called out frantically, his normally reserved mannerisms gone like the wind as the bladed weapon writhed and bucked under Nox's assault.

Sensing that continuing to wrestle with the bladed limb would be pointless Naython called out "Hold still!" lifting up his sword and lining it up with the bony limb.

If he couldn't pull it out he could always cut it off.

Naython raised his blade high and swung down, aiming to get as much force into the blow as possible so he could free his friend, he had put a lot into that strike so it came as a mild shock when his attack connected with nothing.

As if it had sensed his intentions, the limb boring into Jaquesin's shoulder had gone taut and wrenched backward with extreme and unreal force, dragging a screaming Jaquesin away from Naython at a rapid rate.

"What?!" Naython said having staggered off-balance, Nox was likewise unbalanced and thus unable to pin the appendage, not held in place anymore Jaquesin was no longer next to them but quickly disappearing into the darkness, a trail of blood behind him as the thing impaling him receded.

"Jaquesin!" Naython called out desperately, running after the disappearing alchemist before stopping in his tracks when he heard it.

"NATHON! GUYS! HELP! PLEASE! DONT LET IT-"

RRRRRIGGGKKKKK!

The wet tearing sound heralded silence, Jaquesins cries for help having ended abruptly, cut off before he could finish, a short gurgle sounded followed by the sounds of soft flesh smacking against the hard stone floor.

Soon the quiet slaps of meat against stone were replaced with a moist ripping sound and the echos of chewing.

The chewing was loud, the cavernous environment magnifying the sound to audible and disturbing levels.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The horrible sound continued even as the red eyes remained still.

crunch, crunch, crunch, slurp!

The awful sound reverberating in his ears, Naython backed away his sword held out before him, the cold sweat on the back of his neck doubling, it was already too late for Jaquesin, a second man had already been reduced to monster feed.

Arriving next to Nox, back almost touching Heathers once more, Naython said aloud in almost a whisper, cold sweat running down his back twofold, "Gerdur! we lost Jaquesin..."

"What! Fuck!" Gerdur cursed eyes never leaving the roach even as she growled in anguish, hearing Of Jaqusesin's death Gerdur was no slower than usual giving her orders having quickly come to a decision she said in a growling rasp.

"Carstah! guard the rear! Me and Patreek will handle this bug!" the old woman barked, her voice trembling with anger, "Support Naython, the creatures must not reach Heather if we are to survive this!"

"On it!" Carstah said not bothering with his usual boasts, backing away from the enormous cuspid cockroach warily before turning and standing beside Naython and Nox, leaving just Gerdur and Patreek to fight off the bug alone.

"Having trouble Naython?" Carstah said grimly barely glancing at Naython as he observed the blood strewn floor, the only signs that Jaquesin had just been there.

"A little, no, a lot actually," Naython said just as darkly, still eyeing the crimson slits as they bobbed up and down in the pitch black outside his moonlight spells radius, "the monster back here is really fast and won't come close enough for me to get a good hit in, Nox cant hit It either."

Nox grimaced, clutching his own sword, a long sword with a serrated edge meant for causing extreme bleeding, his range was greater than that of Naython's shortsword yet he too was unable to hit the beast.

"Well it is good I'm here to help the two of you fledglings out," Carstah said a speckle of his characteristic cockiness surfacing, "I wouldn't want one of our team mascots 'the love birds' to get hurt."

Carstah spun his spear in a flashy twirl before slamming it butt first into the ground, spear tip gleaming, eyes narrowed and a slight grin on his face as he too stared into the darkness watching the shadows carefully for movement.

The obvious signs of fear Carstah had displayed earlier had disappeared, only a subtle trembling in Carstahs spear told Naython how shaken he really was.

"Carstah," Naython cautioned, taking a stance on Carstah's right, "don't get reckless this creature can break through my wards with ease, getting hit would be fatal."

"Hah!" Carstah snorted "unlike you Naython I have never really relied upon wards."

The slight trembling of Carstah's spear ceased as his grip became iron and his eyes steadied.

"The natural way of fighting is just that deadly," all outward signs of fear or apprehension eradicated Carstah's grin was wider than ever if filled with fury.

"Too bad Jaquesin is no longer with us," Carstah said in his normal drawling voice " He would have loved to dissect this thing after I've spread it guts all over the walls."

Taking a step forward Carstah slammed the butt of his spear into the ground again, attracting the attention of the beast, the telltale sounds of its feeding upon its previous victims stopping altogether as the reflective eyes rose to regard them once more.

The last part of Carstah's sentence was laced with rigid anger, despite his casual mentioning of Jaquesin's death, he too was also greatly upset about Jaqesin's recent demise.

Taking the lead, speaking in his restrained and practically false drawl Carstah made up a swift plan, even as the red eyes slowly drew closer, "We will have to surround this creature, it seems to only have one of those long blade weapons meaning it cant attack more than one person at a time,"

Carstah gestured, taking a hand off his spear to point Naython and Nox to some space distant either side of himself," If we surround it we can attack it freely from all sides with far less worry of being hit as we force it onto the defensive."

The plan was somewhat of a risky one as it left Heather exposed to attack, the person they were meant to be guarding and someone Naython certainly wanted to keep safe, but that would only be a problem if the monster in the shadows managed to slip past the three men.

Even if Carstah was a prideful hardass who took advantage of being second in command frequently outside of combat, it was at times like this Naython really appreciated him, he was a prick but a dependable one.

The red eyes of the monster that killed Jerrel and Jaquesin crept forward but stopped at the edge of Naythons moonlight spell, hesitating to move any closer.

"Prefer to skulk in the shadows huh? cowardly little Bastard!" Dashing forward Carstah called out swaying past a lighting fast strike of the bladed appendage, "follow me! we're killing this wretch!"

Following closely behind Carstah at a run, Naython and Nox each defected a couple of blows aimed at their heads.

Now that the creature could no longer surprise them it was easy to evade or parry its attacks, a beasts wit was nothing to human training and ingenuity, the creature's attacks also were becoming increasingly rapid and frantic, each attack more off-center and erratic than the last.

Perhaps the monster was realizing its folly and was panicking, Naython hoped so, he really wanted to kill this monster and take the flanking pressure off the team.

Carstah still ahead of Naython lunged forward suddenly, spear flying forward at a squirming shadow.

"Got ya you twitchy bastard!"

"Squeak!"

The shadow squealed and thrashed throwing itself to the right, directly in front of Naython, red eyes flashing, the mystery shadow monster was revealed in the light of Naython's spell.

It was a white rat, an albino, one not even large enough to be considered a dire rat, the only thing impressive about the midget dire rat was its tail, which was disproportionately long and large, edged in bony spines and sharp spikes, the very same appendage that had killed two men.

"The heck!" Naython heard Carstah say "It was a rat?!"

Naython's own surprise was minimal, the creature species mattered little when it could swiftly break wards and kill people in a heartbeat, it just had to die.

Swinging low at the white rat, Naython aimed to take its head clean off.

"Squeek!"

The white rat bleeding from the wound in its side Carstah had marked it with, was still fast enough to slide under Naythons blade, long-tail whirling and whipping at Naython, forcing him to stop mid-attack and defend.

"Stupid rat!" Naython cursed, the rats tail manging a small cut on his cheek having breached both his wards and his defending sword.

The white rat made to dash past Naython towards the empty space behind him, but Naython wasn't going to let Jaquesin's killer escape so easily.

Reaching down with his blade Naython sliced at the albino rat, the rat swerved at the last moment but not fast enough to avoid a telling strike.

"Squeeeeeeak!"

The rat stumbled, tail waving and writhing, its left ear was little more than a bloody stump now and the rat was flailing wildly. lashing out randomly with its meaty and powerful tail.

The tail smacked into Naython's sword with such force that he was pushed back a few feet.

"Keep it there Naython we're coming!"

Carstah said this with conviction as he sprinted over, spear out in front of him aimed like a lance towards the rat, he was going to impale the small rodent all the way through.

"Yeah!" Naython replied shortly unable to say more as he fended off the rat's desperate barrage of strikes, it obviously knew it had to break the encirclement or it was doomed and so it attacked Naython with feverish vigor.

If nothing else the rat was smart enough to understand basic tactics.

Pulling his head to the right and avoiding a slashing vertebrae Naython counterattacked and achieved another light wound on the frantic animal, scoring a shallow cut across the fur of the creature's nape, the blade just missing a fatal blow.

"Squeeeeeeeeak!"

The white rat hopped from foot to foot, its hackles raised, white fur stained with blood, both its own and its enemies, the animal looked harried and panicked, Naython couldn't tell what it was thinking but escape was surely on its mind as it surveyed its surroundings with wet eyes, Naython could almost swear he could see tears in the creatures wide crimson eyes.

Carstah and Nox were almost upon it and soon the dangerous rat would be no more.

"Worst rat ever!" Carstah snarled plunging his spear forward, the tip drawing closer to the white rat with every passing instant as the man charged forward.

Three things happened in rapid succession within those moments, one, the rat scrambled to avoid the spear plunging toward it, two, the large cockroach facing off against the vanguard made a resounding clack with its jaws, and three, a massive shadow crushed Carstah under its weight, knocking the moonlight spell out of Naythons control as something rushed by.

"ARRRRRRHHGGGHHH!" Carstah yelled in the sudden dark as something hairy huge and wreathed in violence pinned him under its great weight knocking the spear from his hand.

Confused and in the dark Naython hurriedly tried to reignite his lost spell, Heather and the light-emitting from her were too far away for him to properly see what was happening and without his moonlight spell active his wards would not function either.

He worked fast, throwing the energies together in a haphazard manner, he had to be fast, he had a horrible gut-twisting feeling that another monster was attacking.

"What the hell! ARGHHHHH!" Carstah let out a second scream as the thing on him shifted its weight, its long talons drawing blood from the man's hand as he reached for his spear.

Naython felt despair as his eye strained to see what had happened to Carstah, but ultimately he already knew, a third beast had come, seemingly another mutant.

It was impossible for three separate wild species of monster to be working together cohesively, and three mutants? that was impossible, something or someone had to be controlling these creatures.

Whoever or whatever they were, they wanted Naython and the rest of the team very dead, it was the only plausible explanation for three separate creatures to be working together.

Naython was sure that this was why things were as they were, monsters never worked together, someone was commanding them, controlling them.

Even if Naython had realized this, he was in no position to do anything about the mastermind behind the attack, his hands were full trying to stay alive.

The monster perched on Carstahs back growled softly at Carstah, its brilliant Orange eyes glaring at the surrounding humans, being the only truly visible thing in the brief dark, regarding the humans with all the enthusiasm a fox would a coop of chickens.

The pitch-black mass pinning Carstah opened its mouth, long fangs and canines gleaming, glistening as its flaring orange slitted eyes focused down on the humans around it, it was salivating, whether from hunger or the simple prospect of a fight, it was unknown, but the creature, either way, was overjoyed.

The creature, maw gaping in a feral grin, massive and threatening, closed its eyes becoming invisible, its massive frame melding with the dark, it had disappeared.

Unable to see anything Naython kept working on the moonlight spell urgently, he was beginning to hear odd crooning growling sounds that were getting closer, he didn't have much time.

with his spare sword arm Naython swung blindly trying to keep whatever monster lurking in the darkness back, he needed more time.

Working hard on the spell Naython heard the air displace and flinched backward feeling a flash of pain across his other cheek and a wet warmth running down his face, he was bleeding, that mutant rat was still here too.

"Shit!" Naython growled, precious seconds passing by as he dodged and weaved blindly.

Naython hadn't stopped trying to recast the moonlight spell ever since it went out and finally managed to get it back, the visage of the new attacker becoming plain to see, it looming directly over Naython as the light flickered to life.

Panic-inducing, the creature right in front of him was panic-inducing, It was massive, covered in mottled grey and black bristle-like fur and hide, and was hunched over like a great monstrous gorilla that towered over him, possessing long thick forearms with flaps of taut skin hanging from the back of its arms, at the ends of its limbs the beast held itself upright with its knuckles, giant talons protruding from the backward-facing, grasping fingers.

Upon its head large pointed ears shaped like jutting horns sat, giving the creature a demonic appearance, bellied by a coarse mane of long dark fur that covered its entire neck running past its mouth.

From its open hanging mouth, hot breath fell from its jaws in great puffs of steam the air passing by enormous teeth meant for rending flesh and breaking bone, two teeth, in particular, being larger than the others, were so large that they jutted far out of the monster's mouth like daggers.

The giant beast was heavily muscled, the bulging biceps showing through the thick hide, even with the great weight the creature was obviously meant to fly or at least glide, the conjoined wings on its arms being a testimony to that, overall the creature looked like the result of a demonic bat that had copulated with a gorrila.

Naython had no idea what creature this was, he had not seen its ilk before, it had eyes like no other.

The eyes....

The eyes of the deadly beast were huge but narrowed with animalistic cruelty, the depths almost vermilion at the core before tapering off to a dusky and vivid orange, the eyes held a liquid and mesmerizing quality that drew the attention of onlookers in equal parts dazed fascination and fearful apprehension.

The giant devil bat locked eyes with Naython and soon Naython was unable to look away, his hearts already speedy rate kicking it up a few more notches, as his fear surged up a level, skin crawling and forming goosebumps.

The hulking creature had a presence that rivaled that of the large roach, Naython was feeling less confident with every second looking into the creature's eyes.

He felt like curling up into a ball and giving up, they were doomed, they couldn't win, couldn't hope to compete with the Demons that held dominance in the depths, everything was hopeless, he should just give in, let his passing be more painless.

Words like this played over and over in Naython's mind as those enormous glowing eyes held him captive, it felt like he had been standing there for an eternity feeling less and less every moment, except for fear, that kept growing and growing.

Naython would have succumbed to the siren calls of his own doubts and fears if he didn't have durty and love.

Duty to his team, and love for his future wife Heather.

Reminding himself of his obligations and ties, Naython wrenched his eyes away from the captivating and terrifying gaze of the bat.

Snaping back to reality Naython felt his mind clear and the artificial fear disperse as he repulsed the attack with his will.

"My heart is anchored! You cannot tie me down beast!" Nathon shouted at the hulking brute of a bat despite knowing the creature wouldn't understand.

Or he thought it wouldn't, in response to his words the bat's eyes widened perhaps in surprise or perhaps in admiration before narrowing once more and giving its reply.

"UUUUUURRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!"

The brutes jaws unhinged showing the full display of the monsters many sharp jagged teeth, its roar covering Naython in spittle and blood, the smell of fresh meat strong on its breath.

Naython didn't wait for the creature to finish its roar and instead slashed at the large beast with his sword.

Much to Naython chargin the sword merely cut a shallow paper cut in the things hide, irritating the huge bat, which flicked the blade aside with a talon, before, with an uncharacteristically annoyed look for a bat, and faster than Naython could react, it lashed out, catching Naython square in the gut with its thick fist and talons.

"Oooof!" Naython choked as he soared airborne for a few feet before crashing hard into a wall bruising his shoulder and neck.

"Naython!" Heather called out in a scared voice.

Hearing the voice of his dearest, Naython could not remain still on the floor and pushed himself gradually to his feet, despite being thrown headfirst into a wall at what felt like terminal velocity Naython rose to his feet still dizzy but able to fight, his wards which had reactivated the moment he restored the moonlight spell had saved him from becoming a mangled corpse.

"It's alright Heather I'm still here..."

Grabbing his sword off the floor Naython barely had a second to react before another fist was swinging his way, staggering out of the way Naython wanted to counterattack but had no opportunity as the bat continually tried to pummel him into a human pancake.

Naython lept sideways evading another fist narrowly as the bat advanced single-mindedly on Naython, the bat was ignoring the Injured Castah in favor of attacking Naython, behind Carstah Naython could see that Nox was dead, his sword covered in blood the mans head was hanging onto its neck by only a sliver of skin, the lifeblood pooling on the ground around him.

Another dead comrade presumably killed in the period of dark.

Naython could see that Carstah was picking up his spear in one hand. his other hanging limply by his side, he would not be very capable of fighting right now, but Naython knew from experience that such a thing would not stop Carstah.

Carstah was vulnerable and could no longer use his left hand, the bat having mangled it badly during the period of darkness during which the wards had been down, even so, the bat was ignoring all other targets just to attack Naython, it knew he was the source of the wards, that or its master did.

Right beside the hulking frame of the bat, the albino rat was waving its tail and whipping it at Naython trying to impale him as he danced away from the bat, the creatures were working in sync trying to cover each other's pauses in attacks.

Naython was more worried about the rat's attacks which could pierce wards than the enormous bats which couldn't and so did his absolute best to avoid its swipes and stabs, the cooperation, however, of these two creatures confirmed it.

There was no doubt about it now, the creatures were allies and were coordinated, they had a master and things would improve if they could find and eliminate the master, But where?

'Where was the master?'

Naython wanted to search his surroundings for them but couldn't afford any attention, pressured as he was by the two monsters.

He could however still talk.

"Damm it!" Naython said furiously blocking and weaving like a maniac " Gerdur someone is controlling these things we have to find the controller!"

On Gerdurs end the cockroach had become suddenly more agitated and was moving at stupendous speeds lashing out with spiked legs and crunching jaws only to be met with a systematic and bombastic set of strikes from Gerdur, the two beings were trading blows at a rate Naython knew he couldn't match, making him suddenly glad he was fighting the monster before him and not the ridiculously fast insect.

The old woman was going all out trying to kill the large insect but had not succeeded so far.

No one was stronger than Gerdur or more experienced in physical combat within the team, not even Carstah could beat the old crone, so the fact that the insect was keeping pace with Gerdur was concerning, Gerdur would not be able to help Naython back here.

Naython ducked under a claw and hopped over a tail as the bat and rat continued to focus him down not giving him a moment to rest as they continued their onslaught.

Naython was running out of breath rapidly with this strenuous and stressful exercise, suddenly the bat dropped back to all fours and charged eyes narrowed scrutinizing Naythons movements, directly behind the bat Naython could see the white rat clinging to its back, riding the larger beast as it plowed towards Naython.

Naython tried to evade by leaping and rolling sideways but was too slow, the bat bulldozing him to the ground.

Struggling to breathe under the weight of an enormous bat, Nayhton couldn't reach his sword which had been Knocked from his hands, both hands having been grappled by the giant bat which wasn't attacking merely holding Naython still, an impassive snarl on its feral face.

'No...' Naython said inwardly, what was happening now was bad, really bad, Naython was immobilized by the bat and if his thoughts were correct it was doing this so the rat could land a fatal blow on him.

It was at that moment when Naython saw her, the mastermind behind this attack.

Being sprawled on the ground on an angle Naython was facing towards Gerdur and the roach, able to see the two still fighting at a breakneck pace, but it wasn't the bug or Gerdur that drew Naythons attention, it was the slight figure just barely visible behind and to the left of the cockroach that drew Naythons staring eyes.

It was a person, a human, one that was standing casually beside the monsters unharassed and unharmed.

This had to be the controller of the beasts, Naython was unable to see the controllers face as their hair hung in front of their eyes but he could practically feel the evil grin that was surely stretching their face into a twisted expression, it made him feel sick.

Naython called out to Gerdur once more still pinned to the floor by enormous fists.

"Gerdur the controller! is on your left behind the bug!" this time Naython was sure Gerdur heard him as she began edging towards the left while dueling the insect, hopefully, Gerdur could reach and dispose of the controller.

Having given the message Naython continued with a renewed fervor to escape from the bats grasp, he had spent irreclaimable seconds warning Gerdur, spent seconds that might just cost him his life.

"No!" Naython choked aloud trying to struggle free from the monster's grip, but to no avail, its grip was iron.

The white rat finally clambered over the bat's shoulder and peered down at Naython with an almost waspish expression, it's one remaining ear flicking with markedly obvious displeasure as its tail rose high into the air ready to drive home death.

"NO!" Naython called out again kicking with feet in an effort to free himself, he couldn't die yet! his team needed him!

The white rat struck out, the bony scythe-like tail shearing towards him, the glint of silver covering the bladed vertebrae again.

To Naython the blade felt slow and his body unresponsive as he watched the weapon sluggishly plunge towards him, it felt like time had slowed but the reality was it hadn't.

In the last moments of his percieved life, Naython's body had gone into overdrive, senses pushed to the limit adrenalin surging, the body firing everything off in an attempt to stay alive.

It achieved little but forced Naython's perception of time to slow, forcing him to watch the bony lance driving towards him as his body moved with all the speed of growing grass.

'I'm about to die' Naython realized, the bony spikes coming closer with each passing instant, he couldn't do anything, he was unable to move squashed under a large monstrous bat, about to be decapitated like poor Nox.

It was sad, Naython felt sad, but he was helpless, he could only watch and accept death.

"No..." Naython whispered once more the blade almost at his neck, the silver sheen reflecting in his retinas.

Just as the tip of the rats bladed tail reached him, light erupted in a violent stream, blowing away the spear-like tail and flinging the devilish bat off him like an unwanted ragdoll, during the stream of lights passage Naython heard the rats squeals of pain and the bats base roar of agony and a third more soothing voice.

"Get away from my man you dirty animals!"

Heather having finished her long casting time was throwing beams of light from her hands like spears to tremendous effect, driving the monsters back instantly and disintegrating the rat's tail.

Her hair and hands were wreathed in golden light, making Heather look like a descending angel as she flung out judgment upon her enemies, Naython had never been so happy to see his future wife so riled up and violent.

Heather advanced towards the injured bat and the rat which seemed to have passed out, its entire tail little more than a steaming stump.

The bat, one of its arms blackened from the beam attack picked up the rat with its remaining good hand and began to flee into the now distant darkness.

Heather did not feel inclined to let them escape.

Firing a third beam, Heather blasted the bat's legs from out under it, the monster wasn't going anywhere.

Eyes filled with righteous anger, softened as she approached Naython, standing guard over him as he clambered to his feet, she said softly.

"I'm so glad I finished in time."

Heather's eyes looked watery and she looked like she wanted to cry and hug Naython at the same time but she didn't, her hands were still sheathed in destructive energies, and she needed to finish the job off.

The large cockroach that had been dueling Gerdur had stopped and flinched back as a spear of sunlight flew at its head, the creature avoided the attack just barely and now looked hesitant to continue fighting, its antenna flicking anxiously as it backed away, its head swiveling slightly to look at the felled monsters behind the team.

The creature clearly wanted to flee and the figure next to it was no longer obscured with shadows the blazing light from Heather's hands sweeping away the darkness.

The mastermind and the one responsible for the deaths of three team members stood blinking, the sudden light being harsh on her eyes.

It was a girl probably no older than 14, but the team felt no more inclined towards mercy, three comrades had died because of this fight.

Not even bothering to ask questions Heather lined up her aim, Naython didn't know whether she was aiming for the bug or the girl responsible for leading the monsters but he didn't care, both should die.

Jaquesin, Nox, and Jerrel deserved that much at least.

Panting Gerdur backed away and Let Heather take vanguard, Now that Heather was charged, she was the most capable member in the party.

Victory was assured, Naython was so glad.

At the start of the conflict- The Roach

Roulettes tail puncturing a man's throat was only the beginning of the bloodletting.

Roulette having practically decapitated the first human moved in to grab another, while she did that I had some idle thoughts as I waited for the right moment to unleash Dwayne.

Moving forward to engage the adventurers myself I paced myself and calmly attacked the frontlines of the humans, my only goal was for now to distract the humans.

I attacked with a lackluster speed and effort, enough to put the old women and two men either side of her on guard but not enough to tire me out in any way, I wasn't giving my all to this fight yet but the humans at the front were more formidable than their appearance and stats suggested, sometimes even managing to slip in a counterattack against me in the short pauses between my strikes.

I was not surprised, Lescar had been more or less the same, none of these attacks made contact with anything vital simply glancing of hard chitin, even so, I had managed a direct strike on the shield user next to the old lady and it did surprisingly almost no damage, I wasn't going all out trying to hit them yet but the lack of damage was suspicious.

Examining the humans more closely even as I fought them, I noticed a subtle white glow present on every human that was not there earlier.

'Magic? some natural phenomena?' it was probably magic, which meant someone was casting it.

'Who is casting it' I thought, searching the remaining humans with an inquiring eye.

The humans all wore armor and carried weapons, proper weapons like swords and spears rather than daggers, I couldn't see a single stereotypical wizard getup among the adventurers, but then who said a mage had to dress like a mage.

There was no reason to look different in a party when fighting opponents, it would only attract unwanted attention to your more important members, no, the location was the deciding factor and if I had to guess where a mage would be stationed it would be the middle.

My eyes focused on the tasty blonde morsel and the skinny appetizer behind her, these two were dead center in the formation and both were muttering things under their breath constantly if my leg hairs were still accurate, not to mention they both had little floating balls of light around them, a bit of a giveaway really.

These two were the magic casters, they needed to die pronto, magic was a wildcard in my calculations and could result in a devastating loss if not nipped in the bud,

"Dwayne, Roulette" I pulsed "see the two humans in the center? kill them fast, they are the most dangerous."

"Affirmative," Dwayne rumbled shifting slightly on the roof.

"Eh ok," Roulette sent shortly, struggling with the pale human who had disturbed my soul stone.

Even though I had to eliminate the magic wielders as fast as I could, it still was not time to unleash Dwayne.

On the other side of the humans from me, Roulette, having succeeded in wrestling the pale skinny human away from the others, tore out that screaming humans throat, gnawing on the quickly bleeding out man habitually, she always did that if undisturbed during a fight, it was another of her quirks, one the humans could not stop as she was far out of their reach, skulking in the black of the darkness.

Well, it wasn't black to me or any of my familiars but the humans surely felt it was, lacking night vision as they were.

Seeing the blood and torn flesh my hunger rose sharply, I had heard that human flesh tasted like pork and soon I would find out if that piece of information rang true, my stomach churned feeling very empty even though I had eaten recently, Digestive fluids again leaking from my jaws, 'I liked pork it had been my favorite in my last life.'

Having lost another man to Roulette, the skinny brown-haired human, one of the mages holding up an orb of light, called out to the old woman I was battling, she responded and looked anguished, her face scrunching up and her attack speed doubling.

I smacked multiple stabs and swipes away from my eyes and soft joints with my forelegs and flicks of my antennae, the old lady was definitely mad, she was actually threatening me with her speed, almost landing deadly blows on me as she went to impale me through the eyes.

'Just dandy.'

I couldn't take this old lady casually anymore, effort was required.

Having been pushed back a few feet, I dug in my spurred legs and charged forward seeking to keep up the pressure, the bearded dim eyed man with a large shield stepped in front and braced against my charge.

THUMP!

A flash of white light blared as I struck the shield, my great momentum instantly halved then quartered forcefully as I pushed the warrior back a few steps, his booted heels grinding against the floor, but that was it, the shield wasn't even dented.

I looked with irritation at the undamaged shield and man behind it, some sorcery or other was definitely at play here, those two mages had to die and soon.

Stepping around the shield-bearer the old woman again bombarded me with a barrage of rapid and precise strikes, forcing me to engage her again in a flurry of blows.

That last death had really riled her up, making a sound that to me sounded like a racking cough the old woman ordered a change, one of the men supporting the old woman responded to her gruff commands and moved back to engage Roulette with the other two humans fighting her.

Roulette even while avoiding direct confrontation would be hard-pressed to avoid these humans if they really pressured her, she had already sustained some light injuries that concerned me, it was high time Dwayne made his appearance.

"Dwayne!"

"On it! Your majesty!"

With a screeching bellow of "Glorious!", Dwayne dived from the ceiling knocking aside the humans who had begun to converge on Roulette, ripping into a dark-haired man who had been knocked prone on the floor and mauling the man, digging deep trenches of torn flesh in the pinned man, almost ripping the poor sods hand right off.

Roulette and Dwayne were fighting the sheep and so far doing a good job, Dwayne's attacks seemed less effective than normal while Roulette seemed unaffected, her tail killing and carving up enemies as well as it always did, noticing the unnatural ineffectiveness of his attacks, Dwayne and Roulette had come up with a tactic, together they had eliminated another human, using team combo attacks to kill the man, Dwayne immobilized the human with grasping claws and brute strength shrugging off minor damage and using his thick leathery forearms as bracers to close on the human and seize the man in his claws, once in Dwanye's grasp Roulette impaled then decapitated the man with another one of her silvery tail strikes.

Those silvery attacks I saw her do occasionally had to be some hidden skill or something analyze had failed to pick up, as she always seemed to do more damage when she used it.

Either way, the battle was going very well for my band of wildlife and it looked like my larders would soon be stocked with new cuisine, a new source of nutrition.

I sensed Lescar walk up behind me, her uncertainty still present as she watched in clear view of the humans, she was exposing herself and without permission, I was annoyed at this but it only reinforced the idea that these adventurers could not leave the sewers.

They had seen Lescars face and that would surely ruin my plans if they were to escape alive.

One of the human mages, the brown-haired man, gasped and pointed at Lescar shouting out something but soon was too busy to do more as Dwayne sent a fistful of talons at his face, almost managing to blow the man's head off as he barely evaded the blow.

The same man was soon pinned under Dwayne's bulk as Roulette scampered up his back ready to deliver the blow on the mage.

Hopefully, with the death of that mage, my attacks would actually deal some real damage.

Feeling like I would soon hold victory in my jaws my thoughts diverged 'I hope they taste like pork I'm getting peckish'. I considered optimistically as man and monster clashed violently in front of me, my own fight having settled into a back and forth between me and the old lady.

It was as I had such a wayward thought that something broke me out of my pleasant thoughts with a jarring searing pain.

The whole sewer was suddenly lit up with the radiance of a rising sun as power I had not expected manifested itself in a pure white beam something rarely seen if ever in a sewer, the darkness that had been hiding my familiars was banished as if it had never been and I was in pain, great pain.

I checked myself over, I was still in one piece, no damage,

'It isn't my pain' I realized.

Reaching through my connections I found the source or rather sources of the pain.

I reached through the bond and was engulfed by agony, hot burning surging agony.

Dwayne and Roulette were both in immense pain and their pain was my pain, the beam of light had struck them and this was the result.

I felt it all, Dwayne's entire left arm and leg were constantly emitting thick cloying waves of torment and Roulette was incoherent as she thrashed and convulsed on the floor her breathing shallow and coarse, her tail was no longer responding but the pain it had felt still coursed through Roulette's body.

"What happened?" I said aloud more angry than afraid.

The humans were still alive and I could not spare too much energy on minding the far ones, the old lady was attacking me more ferociously than ever.

"Your majesty..." Dwayne croaked through the pain "powerful magic... Run save yourself!"

I could see from where I was standing that Dwayne was on the ground half of his body charred black, small flames smoldering on still burning patches of fur, his left arm and leg were useless he was lying on his side swinging his one good arm around in an attempt to keep the injured human spearman away from both himself and the unconscious Roulette.

Roulette was less obviously damaged until one beheld her tail, it was gone, blown off, evaporated, the only thing left was a bloody charred stump, both of my primary fighters were disabled and vulnerable.

The blonde female mage who had stayed away from the fighting for the whole fight until now stepped forward hands glowing like little suns her companions standing around her but not in front of her, wide victorious smiles on their faces, they were confident they had won.

The blonde mage swung her arm forward as if launching a spear and a beam of golden searing radiance came sizzling towards me, on reaction alone I scuttled out of the way.

My instincts were whispering to me again that a single direct hit from that attack could spell my doom.

The tides of battle had turned in an instant, now I was in a poor position, I was not the predator anymore, it was time to go.

I looked at my remaining and still possibly useful familiar Lescar, the others were doomed useless now, it was best to grab Lescar and flee the battlefield, my plans would have to change though to accommodate that.

As I considered ways to escape Dwayne said in a whisper while dying, disrupting my thought process.

"Run your majesty... save yourself," These sudden words perturbed me, Dwayne's words were filled with sincerity, he genuinely wanted me to escape, the honest words of my underling touched something inside me, a part of me I had forgotten, resurfacing in my heart.

It was... guilt... What an uncomfortable feeling, I tried to shake it off but it would not leave, I was leaving a loyal servant behind, a servant dedicated to me, my servant.

It was with this that I realized that I did not want to let Dwayne die or Roulette for that matter, it would be wasteful, a loss, and also irk what little empathy I had left.

I did not want to lose anything else.

Dwayne was mine! Roulette was mine! the cave was mine! the sewers the plants and creatures here were mine! they were all mine!

A pride that had silently built up whispered to me, told me that I had earned every last piece of what I owned, with blood, metaphorical sweat and the diligent application of my mind, it was something only I should have and no one could take it from me.

Letting all thoughts of escaping drift away I stood tall facing down the mage with laser beams for hands stoically, I held nothing back, I was fighting now for everything I owned, my life, my familiars and my ambition.

The humans had been addressing Lescar as if to question her for some time now as I considered my options, obviously, the humans had decided Lescar was the master, naive, but I told Lescar to say nothing, these invaders deserved nothing but death.

Letting the floodgates of the energies inside me burst open fully for the first time ever, I opened up all the connections I shared with my familiars even Roulettes and Dwayne's, letting my energy fully flow with no restriction.

The world around me darkened like my hateful and bloodthirsty mood, the powerful light from the blonde's hands no longer being strong enough to restrain the rampant malicious energies forcing the cave to darken.

Lescar beside me gasped and her eyes rolled back showing white as the energy I released washed over her, I felt her heart quicken and that hunger wake up inside her, one I vaguely remembered battling some time ago the memory now there but indistinct.

Beginning to chuckle and giggle Lescar grabbed her head with both hands, her mouth set in a grimace that was slowly turning into a demented grin.

She was hungry now but I still felt her rational mind present, fighting down the unholy urges she was getting.

While the issue of Lescar's sanity was a thing, I had bigger problems right now, she was not why I presently released my power, it was for my other belongings.

Now bathed in shifting turbulent power through my familiar connection Dwayne began thrashing, charred flesh and hide falling away in strips to reveal new skin, raw but whole, black veins filled to the brim with power, pulsing visibly.

Dwayne's rampant thrashing kept the spearman trying to finish him off at distance but It would not last forever.

As I had hoped, synergy promoted recovery, Dwayne would not die now but he would likely be useless for the rest of this fight, Roulette was still unconscious but I could see the stump of her tail wriggling, a growth already forming.

My familiars would survive, I just had to win this fight and I would...

Lescar dropped into a crouch her strange wavering blade already unsheathed, she looked absolutely feral, it was unacceptable if she tried to join in, as she was now she would only cause problems.

"Drawback Lescar you said you didn't want to participate earlier," I reminded her.

Lescar's eyes cleared somewhat and she responded mentally with some effort.

"Yes... But its hard to focus what did you do? I feel strange... wrong..."

"I have done this before but it seems you forgot last time, just drawback and try to resist whatever crazy urge you get I will explain later."

I got a distant reply of confirmation from Lescar as she struggled with her rampant hunger.

Perhaps not liking Lescar's strange behavior the human with laser hands launched another beam, but this time at Lescar, preferring to keep my servants alive I stepped into the attack with some trepidation.

The beam of light hit me in the side, it really hurt but it did not pierce my exoskeleton, reinforced by my overflowing energy it currently was, the blonde mage who had struck me with her beam attack blanched when she saw I didn't fall instantly but swiftly made to strike me with another beam of pain.

Like I would let that happen again, I moved rapidly vanishing into the darkness, dragging a grimacing grinning Lescar by the collar with a hind spur, the darkness had become thicker another aspect of the forest I now knew attributed to me.

Hiding in the dark protected me but it would not protect my unconscious familiars, I needed to attack.

Having fully unleashed my power without restraint I now knew the truth of this forest, this forest was truly mine, in every way and fashion, it was soaked in my aura, drowned in my essence and pliable to my will.

I was the heart of this forest, the center, the very thing that brought this place into reality, I was still unsure why, but I knew it was true.

My ever-reliable instincts were telling me again.

I had the whole of the underground forest on my side, all I had to do was call.

Without further hesitation, I did just that.

"SKREEEEEEEEEE!"

Rubbing my back legs together in my trademark battle cry I beheld instant results as if the forest had been waiting for me.

Gathering rapidly, vast swarms of pythonpedes, fanged mice and every kind of small critter imaginable within my domain surged and tumbled around me, gathering under their king, their sovereign, their master.

Me.

Gathering my hordes of vermin and insects with my newfound command over the- no, my forest, I turned my eyes upon the humans once more, the humans had lost their smiles and were now looking wildly about at the floor seething with life, very hostile life.

They looked lost, confused and scared, even that old lady could no longer hold her composure and looked visibly strained, the fear was intoxicating to see on their faces.

I would get more before they died, they owed me that much at least for being such an inconvenience.

"Devour them," I commanded to my swarms.

A living wave of claws, teeth, stingers, and fangs billowed forth eager to feast on the intruder's flesh.