The giant roars as the inside of his closing fist is made into mince, phantom blades formed from magic unevenly dicing everything that touches me. Blood sprays messily all over me as chunks of flesh fall by my feet.

I’m released before I’m even truly caught, the giant named Giant, roaring as he pulls his hand back from the blender that I have become. Not a transformation I ever intended, but a welcome development no less.

I turn my ‘loving’ attention to the giant and his grabby hand, specifically on his elbow struck through the ground. It couldn’t possibly be a more obvious target if there was a bullseye painted on it, and I’m not one to turn down a chance to disarm my enemies.

As I construct an annihilation bolt in my chest, my talent gathering mana from the ether, the ground trembles beneath me. I do a little dance to try and keep my feet while the ground rebels against me. Stumbling to and fro, back and forth, I watch as Giant tears himself from the earth, making an even larger target of himself.

A perfect chance to pop his head like an overripe pimple, but a buzzing insect decides to interfere.

I burn mana in my mind, slowing my perception of time, but even so Beetle is too fast. A bladed limb is thrust into my side, around the metal plating of my armour, but I don’t react.

I don’t need to. My defences are still active.

When the blade strikes against my cloth armour, annihilation magic bursts forth to consume the weapon. The mana cost is adding up quick, but I haven’t the luxury of efficiency.

Beetle’s blade arm is splintered and shattered by my magic. The bleeding limb causing enough pain to make even the insect flinch.

She’s vulnerable for only a moment, but with a spell already charged a moment is more than I need.

I let the powerful blast of magic lash out at the insectoid creature who thrusts out another of her limbs in a panic, catching the spell. The destructive magic unravels, realizing itself along her second bladed limb, filling it with ashen cracks that explode with hot flames a moment later.

The shards of mana dense chitin fly as dangerous shrapnel in all directions. My defences destroy those that hit me, costing me even more mana.

Unfortunately, there’s more where the first two came from. Four more weaponised limbs are set and ready to stab at me, without counting the four that she stands on.

Beetle slides another bladed limb towards me in a fast slash, but it’s deflected by Eshya’s readied blade, as she steps in to protect me. The rapid exchange that follows proves that the elf’s ability with the sword is far from average. Her blade shifts fluidly, deflecting each and every strike while glowing with dense mana, Eshya doesn’t retreat a single step in the face of the powerful enemy.

I know for sure that Eshya is not the most powerful warrior around, her mana is much more limited compared to the insect opposing us, but that doesn’t seem to matter. At least, not until she tries to launch an attack of her own.

Stabbing at the exposed frontal flesh near the joint of Beetles legs, her sword fails to penetrate, which surprises only the unharmed insect. Eshya spits a harsh curse, returning to a defensive stance.

Skill and natural ability simply can’t make up for lacking power.

Even before I came here, I could easily beat the most talented MMA fighter in the world, so long as I’m allowed to chop off his arms and legs before we start the fight. Talent and Skill means nothing without the power and means to express it.

Eshya is putting up quite the fight considering her debilitating condition, which is what a weak mana form is in a fight like this, but the illusion of strength is gone. Beetle gives up using her blades and leans into a shoulder slam instead.

I summon an annihilation bolt targeting the insect as Eshya responds with her sword, but Beetle weathers them both, taking the hits on her hard exoskeleton, hardly even slowing.

Eshya takes the full force of the charge, flying back hard enough that she splinters the tree she’s thrown back into.

“Eshya!” I scream, throwing another quickly summoned bolt at the insect that decides to retreat a few steps while dodging the magic. Her shoulder is shattered where my first spell hit her, and it seems the damage is significant enough that she doesn’t want to suffer another.

“I’m… good.” Eshya says, crawling out from the tree she’s imprinted in and lifting a potion to her lips with a trembling hand. She stumbles over to me, her sword still clutched tightly, though it’s clear she’s not going to be able to put up a serious fight anymore.

Roach tries to charge at us and help his… mate? Sister? I don’t really care as long as it’s not both, in which case… actually, I still wouldn’t really care. In any case, he’s given a sharp kick to the kidney region, while enduring a whirlwind of magical wind blades thrown by Vii.

He isn’t given another option but to defend himself against the pair.

Seia is currently locked in battle with Giant, who’s finished pulling himself from the ground with the terrifying ease of an undead on Halloween night. Not being rotten helps his efforts, I think.

As a wounded Beetle approaches us, the rest of the massed gremlin mages and soldiers are gathering together. The soldiers guard the mages who are preparing a powerful spell while staring at me with a deep blend of terror and hatred.

Vii flies overhead trying to distract them, but they weather the storm while casting their magic.

“We should-” Before I can even finish the sentence Red falls from the sky, tearing through the line of mages. Flying lizard warriors glide in after her, killing every last wood weaver in the time it takes them to scream, but while those on the surface die, there’s a larger magic stirring under the ground.

Supporting Eshya by the shoulder, I pull her close while blasting the ground under us with annihilation. As the roots twist and churn, turning the whole battlefield into a churning sea of clinging roots. Eshya and I stand on the lone island of still earth, laced with ash from my annihilation, while the rest of our warriors fly above the violence.

The two bugs dance on the shifting roots, while Giant simply ignores the movement under his feet. Besides a nearby beast, buried in the churning earth, Leai and Seia are the most affected. Using the magic to boost their movement, they bounce madly about, keeping their feet off of the ground.

A familiar snake rears its head high, while gliding over the twisting earth. A small creature is embedded in the healed part of it’s flesh, where the remnants of a potion is weaving the last of it’s flesh back into place.

“Together!” The snake hisses, lashing out at the last surviving gremlin soldiers stuck to the earth by the magic of their own allies. Shen steers the massive serpent towards the giant, which Seia is still fighting.

Seia lashes out at the beast, using the same movement abilities as her sister. Bouncing off of a tree, she flies at the giants face feet first, but he sees her coming. A swift backhand snaps her out of the air, sending her flying back towards Shen.

The large serpent twists about itself, catching Seia from the air, before continuing to charge at the beast. The roots on the ground aren’t strong enough to hold her down.

“Together!” Seia shouts from atop the snakes head, building up a powerful magic.

Shen launches herself at the giant, and he reaches out to catch her by the neck with the hand that’s still whole. Seia isn’t about to let that happen, blasting a pressure wave down towards his hand and letting Shen’s serpentine body slip through his grasp.

Shen doesn’t waste the opportunity wrapping around the giant’s arm, and crawling all the way up to his neck. She constricts, bending his bones and she tries to choke him to death.

While Giant struggles with the pair, Beetle and Roach cut through the chaos to try and take my life. Red lands ahead of them, using a glowing red dagger to throw Beetle back while Roach is kicked down by Leai who seizes on his distraction.

Vii floats in close to me and Eshya, unable to find something to do.

“Guarded retreat to the lake.” Red sends over the group channel. Leai and Seia instantly react, making a run for me and Eshya.

I throw a few annihilation spells at Giant and the bugs as the twins arrive, snatching me and Eshya from the ground and bounding away with us. I ensure my defences are controlled manually to keep from blending Leai as she carries me away.

“She’s escaping!” Giant roars, as he pulls Shen from around his neck. “Don’t let her get away!”

Beetle and Roach leap into action, flying towards us with a combination of powerful leaps and buzzing wings. Leai and Seia barely keep ahead of the pair, even with Vii throwing around gusts of wind at the insect pursuers.

My own attempts to keep them away miss spectacularly and trying to figure out how to guide the missiles while carried over Leai’s shoulder isn’t working out. Instead, I build up a pair of powerful spells, letting my talent build up the mana on each while I wait for my chance.

Some beasts scatter in our path, others leap at us, hoping to catch the flying little morsels. Roach and Beetle slap aside anything that reaches for them, and even as Red dives down from above, Roach catches her short and deflects her attacks.

Giant chases after us, roaring in frustration. Shen is still wrapped around his arm, crushing it, while the rest of our flying warriors harass him.

Leaving behind the underground wood weavers, we separate the three elites from their supporters. Yet, even for all our efforts, the bugs continue to prove themselves dangerous. Rather than targeting me, they focus on Leai who’s carrying me.

A blade stabs through her side, and I react only in time to blast the bladed arm off before it can be pulled back out. Roach, tries for another stab but Leai is already slipping away with me in her arms.

I try to fumble with my healing potion, but with how fast we’re moving, I can’t do anything about her injury.

“Not much further.” Leai says to herself leaping from the ground past a small battle between gremlins and bone spur bunnies. Beetle makes an approach but Vii blasts her with wind, forcing her just far enough away to miss us.

It seems the pair of bugs are growing a little lethargic, but they’re hardly the only ones. My mana is only barely above the lower limits of the liquid stage, and I’m already working on converting the mana that I carried with me in a spare mana battery.

To ensure I could be carried, I couldn’t bring too many batteries with me. I haven’t even had the chance to fully refill what I was carrying with me for the city assault.

“Duck!” I shout at Leai, but she’s already moving before my mouth is open. A massive tree flies through the air at us, a thick branch missing us by a hair, but Leai doesn’t pause.

Seia flies slightly behind us with Eshya in her arms, kicking Roach away as he tries to come at us again. Red has finally caught up again and slashes the bugs back as he tries to recover, but even her blade can’t do much damage to him.

If I could land a proper annihilation bolt…

“They’d burst open, their organs and flesh like confetti at a funeral.” I rant, building the magic up and trying to force it to move as I want it to.

Leai laughs wheezily, spitting out blood.

“I’d like to see that!” She shouts, happily. “We’re here!”

With barely any warning we fly out from the forest and dive into the golden-blue waters. Seia follows us, pulling Vii along by the legs as she holds Eshya with the other arm.

The bugs follow, but as they try to swim for us they’re blasted back by powerful torrents of pressurised water summoned by Seia and Leai. As they real from the blast, dozens of dark tentacles wrap around their bodies, pulling at their limbs and trying to tear them apart.

Bessy floats up along the drowned forest side, where thousands of roots form the foundation of the forest we just leapt from.

The pair of insects aren’t so easily torn apart however, and their many bladed limbs start sawing at Bessy’s tentacles which don’t have the strength to tear the bugs apart.

“Let the whale have them!” Leai sends joyfully over the group chat, directing my eyes towards the deeper part of the lake. A massive whale sized beast, with the whiskers and face of a catfish, is swimming towards us with a burning rage evident in every swing of its tail.

In less than a second it crosses the distance between us, opening it’s mouth wide as it makes to swallow us.

Bessy throws the pair of bugs towards the open maw. They struggle to try and swim away, but pressure blasts from the twins push them into the waiting maw. The bugs flail wildly to try and escape, even as they disappear down the whale’s gullet.

This doesn’t stop the hungry beast from wanting more, but the twins blast us out of the way with playful ease. Waves of magical pressure push through the water like powerful water jets, dodging the whale which slams up against the base of the forests roots.

Bessy buries herself in the wall while moving countless tentacles up into the forest floor. Anchoring herself firmly, she pulls, dragging down the massive, scaled form of Giant.

His body slams into the water, before hitting the whale below. Shen untangles herself swimming her new reptilian host away from the struggle and towards us as the two massive creatures behind her struggle to untangle themselves from one another.

“Over here.” Seia messages us, waving us over to a hole in the wall below the forest. Countless roots hold together the dirt and soil foundation of the forest, but that doesn’t mean that it’s completely impassable.

A burst of blood and flesh spreads out from the whales side as a pair of chitinous forms tear themselves free of the aquatic beast. This isn’t enough to kill it, the flesh reknitting itself, as the whale turns towards the bugs. Giant refuses to let it go after them.

As we race towards the tunnel, I condense all the mana I can spare into one final bolt, aimed at Giant. I don’t get to see if it hits or not, as I’m dragged into the dark waterlogged tunnels under the forest.

I don’t get to watch the violent struggle that ensues, but it seems less and less likely that we’re going to kill any of the three elites.

Holding my breath through the rapid twists and turns, by the time my lungs start burning for air we finally arrive. Leai tosses me to the ground, wet and soggy like a drowned rat.

At least it’s nice to see that our base is still under our control, even if the roots surrounding us don’t feel particularly comforting anymore.

“Home sweet home.” I say, pulling myself up as we check over our wounds. Leai pulls out the bladed limb, while tossing down a potion. Eshya is checking over her sword and Vii is shaking the water from her feathers.

Lakesh looks over at us without even quirking an eyebrow at the sight.

“How’s business?” I ask him.

“Busy.” He replies. “We have plenty of corpses piled up and could do with some recharging on the rifles batteries if you have a moment.”

“Demoted from empress to magical mana source.” I say, ringing the water from my hair. “You still have ammo?”

“Some.” He replies, smiling slightly, though it never quite reaches his eyes. “Glad to have you back.”

“Glad to be back. Now, let’s go kill some things.”

“Leave me some gremlins.” Eshya says with a vicious smile.

“Don’t take my share.” Leai says, smiling even as her wounds seal over.

“There’s more than enough to go around.” I chide them. “Now, let’s tear them limb from bloody limb. I think I’d like to try bathing in their blood.”

“I’d rather you leave their blood to us,” Lakesh says with a toothy smile. “Unless you intend for us to drink your bath water?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Skills & Stats

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 1307 units

~Mana distribution:

Category Current Max. Defence 60% 98% Offense 20% 84% Mana Sense 20% 100% Recovery 0% 65% Gluttony 0% 61% Misc. 0% 81% Efficiency 100% 100%

~Favourited Skills:

-Tag and Film

-Mana surge movement

-Annihilation defence

-Annihilation flame burst