Uggg, that D##n Bruton and his stupid ideas… He actually thought that by pissing Alaine off that he was in some way helping me?

Hell… To think the women even went as far as to release several of her gate limiters… Those things are kind of in place for a reason.

Don’t ask me why the hell Alaine and my strength have ten permanent limiters, it just is.

From what little of Ant Queen’s memories that I managed to inherit, there was some sort of divine entity hovering over Aristocles. Hmph, that bastard probably is responsible for this.

I mean, WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS PUTTING COLLARS ON ME AND ALAINE?

Feh, whatever.

Hey why can’t I feel my everything…?

Oh right… Bruton tricked Alaine into getting mad…

Well, my arms thoroughly thrashed. Oh, i’m going to make him squeal like pig when I get my hands on hi-... wait, Alaine just smashed one of my hands!

...That clever bastard! He totally planned this didn’t he! I totally bet he did! Oh, I hope he enjoyed the show because I am gonna… Nah, best not damage the personal, kind of need them.

Oh hey, some real big bugs are coming at us… Ah, I don’t care, i’m gettin some lovin from my sweet Alaine.

Aww yea!

No.. no I should at least let her know, maybe some of her temper can be loosed on those things.

... I almost feel bad for those mindless pieces of trash. If it was a race with sentients, I might feel some feels for sicking an emotionally unstable Alaine on them…

I mean, I have some of her thought process still in my head here, I know full well how she’s reacting to all of this. Kind of why i’m able to not want to kill that stupid Bruton right now.

Ah hell, the Aristocles part of me is acting up again, i’m just rambling on and on and oh hey, those bugs got closer.

“Alaine, there’s a big bug coming at you from behind you know.”

“What of it Aren… I just need another moment with you and i’ll have calmed down.”

“I’m well aware, but you see, I’ll find it much more attractive if you… say… use that anger to lead the troops to destroy the Mosquito nest in that tree?

Pretty please?

I’ll throw in a kiss if you do it quickly.”

“Mnunnunu… promise?”

“I promise”

Gah, when Alaine get’s like this, it’s like looking at a little puppy, my heart’s going all mush…

There there…

Go slaughter the Mosquitoes so you can stop CRUSHING ME!

What was it for my first limiter again? I know Alaine’s first three are based on her temper, so she’s probably got just one… no, the fact my arm is totally numb right now means she’s released the second one too.

Man, she does not handle jealousy well.

I wonder if Aristocles would mind me using his mental log… Nah, he’s cool with it I’m sure…

Aren’s log, some world date, unknown, age, about a week old, i’ve just reached the surface and began killing some seriously big Mosquitoes, it’s a good thing old man Aristocles left me with most of his fighting tricks, elsewise i’d have been skewered…

--- An angry image of Aristocles appears in Aren’s mind and takes the mental log away from him.

But… but, I’m special too! Give me back my log you old man!

Oh hey, so when did that giant bug get that close…?

~***~

The humming grew louder as the Horseflies grew closer and closer to the immobile Aren and Alaine.

Both Aren and Alaine were fully aware of the coming attack, but simply had no real interest in doing anything. The reason, was because Alaine had gotten angry enough to release two of her limiters.

The limiters were the result of the interference of both the divine being of Aristocles’ home world, and the divine being of the current world. The level of power that the divine being supporting Aristocles and Ant Queen through the process of Symbiosis had been far too great for the power of the soul that each of them carries and as such defied the set laws of the world.

To get around that, all that was needed was to put several limiters on it and call it a day. The divine being that supported Aristocles was nearly out of power, so doing anything more than this was far beyond it’s capabilities.

Aren possessed extremely high physical and mental strength. His ability of the [Regenerator] allows him to recover any physical damage that has been dealt to him, no matter how great the damage, he can restore his flesh and carapace so long as his vitality remains.

The cost lies in requiring twice the hp that would normally be lost from the injury. The toll it takes on Aren’s mind and body are extreme in drawn out engagements. While you can restore the damage, the fatigue will certainly remain. If the hp were to hit 0, his body would simply have hit it’s limit and cease function.

This, however, was not the reason for the pair’s calm demeanor.

Their calm lied within the might of the Matriarch of the Firebreed.

The first of the Horseflies closed the distance in an instant, it’s massive spear aimed directly at Alaine.

There were several shouts from various warriors that had come escorting Alaine and thus were not distracted by the Mosquitoes that had continued their assault on the main warrior cluster.

It was during their frightened shouts that the Horsefly hit it’s mark.

The impact was frightful, the damage caused was intense with life’s blood and chunks of meat flying everywhere.

Of course, it was the Horsefly that had suffered such a cruel end. It’s body dangling by it’s spear, held by Alaine herself.

The moment it closed the distance, Alaine had grasped it’s spear, and as if exploding within, the Horsefly crumbled to pieces.

Seeing this, the other Horseflies kept their distance as if surveying the situation. After all, these Horseflies had lived many generations of fighting and killing, they have a much better sense for a fight than the mindless Mosquitoes. That said, it only falls down to instinct as the Horsefly does not have that much more mental acuity than the average Mosquito.

The reason for the Horsefly’s death is due to Alaine’s ability. Where Aren has the ability [Regenerator], Alaine was granted the ability [Retributioner] which exchanges all damage that would normally be dealt to the body and hp into one’s mp pool.

The cost is equal to one half of the hp that would have been lost. To add onto this already terrifying passive defense ability lies it’s offense form wherein all damage is reflected unto the attacker for twice the mp. On top of this the damage can be increased up to a modifier of x10, though increasing the damage dealt from x1 to x2 would cost x10 mp and from x1 to x3 would cost x100 mp and so on.

Regardless, so long as Alaine has mp, she can never be injured as well as any opponent that dares harm her will find themselves causing great injury to themselves.

This is the reason for the calm nature of these two powerful beings. The strongest ability of the Firebreed, the divine wrath of the strongest of all the Firebreed, the power of their Queen.

~***~

Yeeep, Alaine destroyed that thing. I wonder what modifier she used on it, I mean really, the thing popped like a zit…

“Goodness Alaine, what modifier did you use on that thing?

It was totally overkill…”

“Hmm? Oh, well since you said you would take care of me if I got rid of them quickly, i’ve turned up my passive Retribution modifier up to the maximum of course.”

-_-’ …

I forgot that she can be on the extreme side sometimes. She just always looks like the cool beauty type, so I forget how sensitive she is when she feels insecure.

(

(

(>.>) No.. Better idea, i’m going to run every single one of the fighting warriors through drills under Bruton’s name.

(>.>) They won’t be just any drills either, HAHAHA, they will be the most Spartan demonic

drills I can think of that will rend their souls. With that, they will come to blame Bruton for their suffering and-

(

(

(>.>) But it’s FUN!

(

(>.>) Hell ya brother!

() OK YOU IDIOTS, ENOUGH PLAYING AROUND, we need to deal with the real matters at hand.

---All of the dozen’s of Aren’s present “Sir yes Sir!”

“Alaine, even with you, I doubt with you burning at your maximum damage modifier that you will be able to eliminate a Mosquito hive cluster at an elevated position with only our Guard unit.”

“Who said I was only going to be using the Guard Unit? I set things in motion such that even if the entire Tree ant army were at our door, we would be able to repulse them.”

“When the heck did you manage that?”

“The second we saw the first Mosquito in the sky of course. I sent Elenet down with orders for the Blacksmith, Construction, and 5 Battle units.

Speaking of which, given the resources available and the time we’ve bought them… I’d say that they should be arriving…

About…

Now.”

~***~

Just as Alaine says this, the marching sound of hundreds of warriors could be heard from the tunnel’s entrance.

As if on cue, soldier by soldier, file by file, dozens of warrior ants marched from the tunnel into the open field.

In each of their hands was a thick sharpened spear crafted from the thicker roots found within the entire hive network.

Since working with the wood with their hard carapace claws was easy work, these makeshift spears could be created rapidly without issue. In their other hand were several thinner wooden polls.

After only a minute, all five combat units had exited the tunnel network and were establishing a fortified perimeter around the tunnel entrance.

The bustling movement of supply unit warriors was constant as they delivered dozens of replacement spears and polls for the Battle warriors to make use of.

While the spears wielded by the warriors were quick to create, they were far from solid or resilient. In fact, after just one use, it was probable that the spear would break and the warrior would require a new one.

It was beneficial that not only were these spears in good supply due to how quickly they can be created, but also that each warrior has their claws, so they are not totally helpless by any stretch of the imagination.

By this time, Alaine had already escorted Aren over to the mouth of the tunnel to be looked over. While he could always remove his first limiter and thus release enough power to be able to restore himself right then and there, there is a cost for pushing through the limiter. The strain on their soul energy by pushing through each level of limiter is quite high.

At this moment, Alaine had already pushed through not one, but two of her limiters, meaning that Aren could not afford to use his strength without it being absolutely necessary. Should both Alaine and Aren be out of commission at the same time, it would prove disastrous should even one other insect faction enter the fray.

The moment Aren was in a secured location and no longer under any real threat, Alaine finally could get serious.

Her eyes burned with a burning vitality as she roared to the warriors around her.

“FIREBREED, LET’S GET RID OF THAT MOSQUITO NEST SO WE CAN ESTABLISH FIREBREED DOMINANCE OVER THE FOREST!”

With a resounding “HURAAAAAAH” from the numerous warriors, they all began moving towards the tree.

Forty first day of Spring, Alaine of the Firebreed sets forth.

[Ant Tensei - Chapter 11 End]