As the transporter started to bloat with wriggling worms and unstable energy, the flower-parasites became immediately attracted to it like moths. Some of those creatures swam through the acidic waters disregarding the injuries, and the enslaved spiders that we had been sniping fell from the ceiling, adding pressure at us.

The corrupted beast moved its tentacles swiftly, chopping at the creatures, but a pair of flower-parasites jumped at its body, one of them managing to distract it by planting its roots in one eye.

The cave trembled as another wall collapsed, and even more parasite flowers surged from our left, rushing directly to the bloated unit.

"Great, now we have two fronts to fight!"

My tanks moved back to close our lines and kept pushing any enemy out of the shore, trying to earn us more time.

As I kept tampering with the core and the transporter, I triggered it to start releasing a ton of energy that started burning and hyper activating the worms. Those who survived mutated and grew larger, deadlier.

The modified transport started to tremble, unable to withstand the sheer amount of pressure it was put into, and its shell began to crack.

"Oh, no, no!! Off you go!"

I panicked and grabbed it with my tail, making sure not to put too much pressure with my pincers. I started to rotate, gaining momentum, and after one full spin, I released it.

The octopus and the parasites looked at is as the unit finally burst open mid-air and started to pour a rain of acid and voracious worms.

Most fell over the body of the near-dead octopus, filling it with maggots that began to feast and multiply, creating a living barrier of death.

* ROAAGHH!!!

The corrupted beast saw it and panicked, retreating and trying to avoid the red tide of vermin. It had learned a painful lesson and wanted to avoid the horrible creatures at all costs.

But when the broken core started to crack and burst energy, the parasite-flowers jumped forward and captured it, disregarding the damage. When one died, devoured by the vermin, another took its place.

- "Host, the tunnel is finished! The transporters are widening it for you to pass while the mantis brood descends."

I nodded, giving orders to the hunters to snipe at the creature's eyes as I walked back to the tunnel, exhausted and drained of biomass and energy.

My health had taken a few hits over the last fights, and I was about to collapse. I turned and clicked my message for the Queen.

"I'm gonna expand the tunnel for us, get ready to escape!" She nodded and remained behind, waiting for my signal.

The corrupted octopus finally decided to throw itself to the fight. After several failed attempts, it managed to capture the broken core while all the parasite-flower creatures assaulted it.

They tried to grow roots on its flesh, trying to stop it from putting the core on its maw, but it opened its jaw filled with dozens of sharp and pointy fangs and tore a piece of its own tentacle, some parasites, and even blood worms.

"That creature is fucking mad!"

It then started to roar and fell to the waters. I noticed its psychic aura wavering as pain distracted it, like a sea in a storm.

Without waiting to see the result, I split my mandible and started digging with the transporters to make the tunnel broader.

I managed to descend a couple of meters until we hit a secondary underwater tunnel, I clicked again, and I moved aside to let the transporters and mantis offspring to pass.

Less than a minute later, only the Queen and my tanks hadn't descended.

I started to get worried and moved closer to the tunnel. Then, I heard a screech, followed by a loud crack. "Darwin!! Report! What happened?!"

- "Host, the Queen Mantis has suffered a stab wound before escaping, her situation is critical."

I rushed back to the cave where the corrupted beast was fighting off my tanks and the parasites alike. The creature was mutating yet again, growing and changing in grotesque ways while its skin was destroyed and devoured.

The worms seemed to have turned a part of it as they multiplied inside it, and dark blood poured from several dozens of wounds.

"Fuck!!" I saw her on the ground. She was bleeding some ichor through a wound on her thorax. She wasn't able to breathe correctly, her bumpy eyes dimming by the second.

"It's okay. We're almost out of here!"

Next to her was a piece of tentacle that she had hit and severed by her terrible strike. She didn't go down without a fight.

I ordered a transporter to come back and pick her up when I noticed a terrible danger. I only managed to turn around before a tentacle burst from the red and dark waters and coiled around me, crushing my chitin and damaging my biomorphs.

"AGHH!"

I activated my spores, but the creature didn't bat an eye.

"D-Darwin!! Bring t-the fucking core!"

- "Host, that will attract every creature and force us-"

"Exactly!! AGH!"

He immediately made the transport carrying the medium core climb through the tunnel, and the flowers turned mad at it.

They stopped caring about the corrupted octopus and turned their attention to the core that was releasing energy and rushed towards it.

The creature got distracted, but it didn't release me just like that.

While the transporter was climbing the ceiling trying to avoid all foes, I started to bit and mangled the tentacle that was holding onto me.

At every bite, I ate more and more flesh, but I could feel the corrupted blood too, infecting me. It was pulsating, like trying whispering just one word, over and over.

...consume...

I kept biting and tearing flesh, as my life depended entirely on it, and at last, I managed to tear apart the freaking limb of the creature.

My body fell to the ground, devastated, with just a few hp left. I felt how my consciousness was about to shut down. But I kept advancing.

I managed to reach the tunnel and descended through it. It was a fall into darkness and a reality check.

How can I help others if I can't save myself?

I needed more strength, more power. That was all I could think when my body hit the secondary channel. It was dark on those waters, and my vision was failing.

I created a tank with the last reserve of biomass to destroy the tunnel.

I could hear Darwin saying something, but I couldn't be sure.

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

Darwin took control of the tank, and it immediately started to erode, just as he knew would happen.

Without a proper body, his will would destroy any Tyranid he was put into, just as Kai had to be into a Norn Queen to avoid his soul from contaminating everything solely by breathing.

The rest of the mantis brood was in disarray, as their Queen had died.

Darwin looked at them and turned to examine the body of his Queen, the one that Kai had been forcefully transferred.

It was dying. The biomorphs and general structure had accumulated too much damage, and they needed resources to be repaired.

Darwin started to push the body, moving away from the cave and the fight that was taking place there. It was no longer their fight, so all he cared about was the survival of the main body.

Once they arrived at a seemingly safe place, he then turned. The mantis had been following it by default, expecting to find a place to heal and then leave. But Darwin needed resources and biomass to repair the body of the Queen. And Kai was no longer here to stop a Tyranid from doing what it was best. Consume.

The first strike was swift and unexpected. He snapped the creature's neck and went towards the second.

This one tried to defend itself, but Darwin avoided the fast strike and pierced its thorax.

The third one and the fourth tried to move back and attack when Darwin advanced, but its body had deteriorated beyond repair.

He did not move. And the mantis did not advance, still wondering why this creature suddenly attacked them.

From the main body, several small collectors started to spread, devouring the fallen or severely injured prey. Once enough biomass was consumed, Darwin created another unit, a fighter, and advanced, pushing the tank's body as a meat shield.

The mantis attacked at it, but Darwin pierced their necks with two sharp talons and moved forward.

It took a little more than 3 minutes to kill every survivor.

The collectors devoured all of them in one hour.

After twelve hours, Kai woke up again.