Protectant, Guardiant, Shieldant, Defendant, Armourant and the others stood silently as the Eldest collected themself and settled to watch the three guardians fight. The purple sphere of mana had extended once again, crushing any weak monsters into the ground before they even had a chance to attack.

They felt… useless.

“Have you ever seen anything like that?” Guardiant asked, her pheromones unusually hushed. “I can’t even imagine being able to tip the balance in a fight like that.”

She spoke what each of them felt, deep in their hearts. Protectant had been speechless as the Eldest had battled against the titanic demon. The creature had been like something from a nightmare. Over thirty metres tall, it towered over them, wreathed in flame and ash, any one of its strikes would have ripped all twenty of them to pieces.

Even now, the aftershocks of that battle rattled the land around them. Stone continued to burn, or shatter. A significant area had been destabilised by the spells the Eldest had cast and parts crumbled down into the lava below, taking thousands of smaller demons into the fire.

The Eldest had warned them, many times, that they needed to evolve lest they become unable to perform their task. As a group, they had acknowledged the reality of this, but they hadn’t understood it fully.

Against a foe of that magnitude, they were worse than helpless. Even had they sacrificed themselves, all of them, it would not have swayed the battle in the slightest.

Shortly after their birth, the Council had tasked them with an important mission, critical to the future of the Colony. They had to ensure that the Eldest was kept safe, from all threats, even the Eldest themself.

As they were, it was impossible for them to complete their mission. Resolve hardened within each of them.

“Tier six is not going to be enough,” Protectant said. “Not even close. Tier seven may not be enough. We have to level, mutate and evolve, as fast as possible.”

“Isn’t that what the Eldest told us we were supposed to do?” Guardiant asked, scratching at her carapace with a foreleg.

Nineteen others shifted awkwardly. Protectant sighed.

“This is simply another instance where their wisdom far exceeds that of the rest of us. Even the Council did not predict things would come to this.”

How could anyone have predicted that things would come to this?

“We will operate in reduced shifts. Our primary responsibility will be to level and move toward perfect evolutions. When all of us are tier six, the work will have only begun.”

The others nodded. This was necessary for them to perform their role. The Eldest must survive.

~~~~~~~~

Odin was shaking. Such power! Such unbridled, raw, power! When the two monsters had clashed, the ground shook, stone shattered, even the rock he had clung to had trembled, as if intimidated by the ferocity of the combatants.

What he had witnessed resembled the wildest fever dreams of a film director rather than something actually possible in physical reality.

Torrifex had loomed large in his mind as an unbeatable existence. The monstrous demon was overbearing in every possible way. Even standing close to the beast had singed him, despite his heat resistant demon skin. Of course, nothing matched up to Arconidem, but the Demon God was far away, whereas Torrifex had been right next to him.

Yet the ant had won. Anthony had won. That mighty, seemingly invincible demon had retreated, actually retreated, after being fought off by an opponent he couldn’t outmatch in strength, guile or speed.

After a life lived on the edge of life and death, the former assassin had thought he had seen everything, done everything, but now, an all new world of possibility had opened up before him. If Anthony was able to defeat the three demons who still haunted his dreams, then he would be free. Free! What could stop him then? What could get in his way?

If he progressed far enough, fought long enough, then he too would wield the strength necessary to stand alone. Unlimited power was there, all he had to do was persevere, then reach out and take it!

All he needed was time. He needed a shield that could protect him from the enemies that sought to control him.

Anthony could become that shield. The Colony could become that shield. He would throw all of his support behind the ants, do whatever it took for them to triumph over the demon uprising. That would buy him the time he needed to grow.

Once the Colony had succeeded, he would be able to strike out and make his own way, rising to the top.

Who knows? If he were successful enough, perhaps even the mighty Arconidem himself would fall. Odin the Demon God had a rather nice ring to it. Better than the nickname he had been given in his past life. Whoever had thought to call him “Odin the Black Wind of Shadow Who Reaps in the Night” had been trying way too hard. Odin the Demon God. Simple, clean, powerful.

Below, Anthony continued to rest, his six legs folded beneath him as he rested his carapace on the stone floor. The powerful gravity field he generated was so strong that the newly spawned larvae beneath him couldn’t even show their faces.

For now, you are the mighty one and I will hide in your shadow. But it won’t always be that way. I, Odin Malum, swear it!