The smell was overpowering. The taste unimaginably bad. My nose. My mouth. My ears. My hair. All filled with the substance that was none other than demon shit.

As I was pulled deeper into the hive, I could feel baby demons being shoved passed me on their way to wreak havoc, their small bodies encased in a slimy warm embryo sack. I tried my best to grab onto one, hoping it would pull me with it but it was no use. The sack would rip open exposing a child from hell that screamed and kicked for a few seconds before dying only moments later. From my studies, I knew that the offspring of a hive such as this did not take very long to grow, however, if the growth process was interrupted in any way then there was a serious chance that a major organ in the spawning process would not have been developed yet.

Then, a thought hit me. Why was I trying to get out in the first place? Wasn’t this the only way to kill one of these things? By destroying the core? Sure, there were specific weapons to take down a hive so one didn’t have to venture inside of it. Weapons such as ballistae with thick arrows or very long pikes, both having red alchemical spheres attached to them.

But I only had myself. Myself, and the red bomb in the palm of my hand.

And so, with great strength, I made myself relax and let the hive pull me deeper into its body. My lungs were already beginning to strain, the oxygen of the weak breath I was able to take seconds before being pulled into the shit was depleting fast. This would have to be a get in and get out mission but… how was I going to get out? No time to think about it now, I would just have to rely on my instincts.

I expected my journey inside the hive to go on forever until the tentacle that gripped my foot let go of its excruciatingly tight grip, leaving me in the middle of nowhere. It was trying to suffocate me!

The saltiness of the mush was not helping the pain that I was feeling from my hanging cheek meat and I tried my best to ignore it and come up with the best plan of action. My instincts told me to follow where I thought the tentacle had retreated to, and since my options were limited and I was about to die with lungs full of fecal matter, decided to go with that.

Letting go of my polearm, which floated in the hive as if it were gelatin, I swam through the shit in hopes that I would soon find the core. My lungs were screaming, pleading with me to open my mouth and take a big breath of brown hive but of course, I refused. Instead, I did this:

“Almighty, give me the strength to defeat this deliverer of evil, this unholy birthing apparatus. If you still find favor with me, oh great Almighty, then be with me and help me to deliver this sanctuary of this demonic presence. Allow me to be your holy weapon, your holy warrior as I smite this engine of demon creation.”

A surge of energy rushed through me, whether it was divine or just me feeling more confident, I swam with it. I stroked as hard as I could, keeping my eyes shut and concentrating on the goal rather than the pain in my face but also being sure not to grip the red sphere too tightly. My lungs felt as though they were about to take over my mouth and force it open at any moment.

And, just when all seemed lost and I was about to pass out, I toppled forward and out of the brown sludge. If there were demons in this room then I was ill prepared to face them because I was far too busy heaving in large breaths with a decent amount of hive as well. Luckily, I was able to stand with my head still attached to my body.

The room was small but tall enough that I could stand in. In the center was a red throbbing fleshy ball that was pulsing at a very angry pace. I doubted it was acting this way before I fell into its quarters, interrupting its baby making process.

Sludge tentacles appeared out of the ceiling and whipped at me immediately. Unfortunately, my cheek flap was slapped and I screamed bloody murder as I was slammed against the back wall. I ducked and dodged the best I could, my left hand grabbing at a polearm that was no there. I was getting whipped back and forth and no part of my body was safe from its onslaught.

I was slapped in the face, the chest, the back, my arms, my legs, and even the tops of my feet. My brain was going into a mode of panic, trying to figure out anyway it could stop this terrible pain. And finally, I came to a decision on how I was going to end this fucking thing.

I charged towards the red throbbing meatball, taking horrible slaps all over my body. More tentacles appeared and waited for their turn to get at me. I tried my best to cover my face but it was no use. It felt like years until I was standing in front of the core. I could feel the red alchemical sphere in my palm and it was like the hive knew what I was about to do because it was screaming at me now, actually screaming! How it was creating sound without a mouth, I had no idea.

I grabbed the stem that was attached to the top of the core and could feel blood or whatever life source this thing used rush between my grip. Then, pulling all the power I could muster, I shoved my demon hand straight into the fleshy ball.

I squeezed my fist.