Chrysalis

I watched in surprise as Sarah, of all the monsters on this ramp, sailed through the air and crash landed on the plate, soon followed by Tiny. Luckily the Colony wasn't as distracted by their antics as I was and utilised the distraction to extend the ramp in a rush, crashing it into the side of the plate as the demons poured their fire into the two monsters.

"Get in there!" I roar and Dash straight across, activating my Charge Skill and ramming into the first demon I see.

Behind me comes a literal wave of insects as the massed ranks of my siblings establish a beachhead in Orpule by simply shoving themselves bodily into the demons defending the city, pushing back the front ranks through sheer force. Our enemies aren't without their own strengths and the battle quickly escalates as those demons more suited to close combat find themselves with thousands of targets to unleash their craft upon. It's these kinds of situations in which domain magic is at its most potent and I'm not the only one with this idea.

An immediate war for control of the ambient mana erupts as mages on both sides exert their will. Small pockets of control form here and there allowing domains to flicker to life a few moments later. The demons clearly favour fire or strange swirling flecks of darkness that I can only assume is ash, which makes sense since those are the dominant forms of mana in this stratum. Wherever they touch the ants are seared or worse before they can retreat back to safer areas.

Drawing on the only mana I don't need to fight for control of, I reach deep within and pull out swathes of gravitational mana, swiftly forming it into a domain spell that spreads to crush the surrounding demons down to the ground. At least, I would have liked it if they were smashed into the ground, but despite my best efforts, the gravity domain doesn't have the necessary oomph to overwhelm monsters of this stratum. That's not to say it has no effect however. The moment the added pressure bears down on them, the monsters around me visibly slow down as they exert far more force jus to remain standing. Every time they extend a limb to fight it becomes that much harder to hold it in the air.

With the added condensed effect from my most recent mutation the mana is already fairly thick before I even get my minds onto it, which saves time and effort, allowing me to give the mana a quick compression session before I flip it out into the domain, increasing its effect beyond what was possible when I first learned this spell.

The broader battle has become enormously hectic as more and more ants pile into the narrow landing strip that we've secured, forcing their bodies into the fray and ramming into the demons to try and create more space for the ants behind them. It's numbers versus quality right now, each individual ant is not nearly as powerful as the demons they are facing, but with enough bodies and minds packed into the area it won't be possible for us to lose, which is exactly why the defenders of the city are working so hard to deny us any ground.

Fancy tactics don't work so well when the crush is this intense, no matter what either side intended we've been quickly drawn into an arm wrestle. In the thick of things, I take it upon myself to dive into the more powerful of the enemy domains, taking the damage on myself and countering with my own revolving shell of mana. Of course, behind me comes Tiny, Crinis and Invidia. The combined strength of us four tier six monsters, with near perfect cores and evolutions, is more than most tier six demons can stand against, especially when we're backed by thousands of supporters. Mandibles gnashing, minds spinning, I ram forward again and again, bashing my body into the wall of demon flesh in front and demanding that they yield ground to me.

In these cramped quarters, there is of course one monster who is able to reveal her strength perfectly. The constant din of Sarah's roar somehow keeps rising, growing louder and louder until it feels like every part of my body is vibrating with it but then it just keeps going! Even the demons are intimidated by her as her claws rip jagged red gouges out of the air and her jaws glow with terrible, dark light. Fingers crossed she'll be able to come out of it alright this time, though I kind of get the feeling that I might be missing a leg somewhere down the line.

The brutal, face to face attrition continues seemingly without end, but the moment enough space has been established, the Colony gains valuable reinforcements, fresh off the ramp!

"Hey there! It's good to finally be up here! I've been running circles for so long it feels like I might have gotten dizzy! Nice-nice! Who needs help first? Is it you?! Or you?! Or maybe I just help all of you at once! Let's go everybody!"

A blast of rapid-fire pheromones hits everyone in the plate as Vibrant and her crew make their presence known. With enough space to manoeuvre on the plate they can use their speed to their advantage, cycle charging all over the place and causing headaches for the demons. Vibrant in particular is a menace. No sooner has she crashed into a particular pack of demons like a cannonball, moving so quickly she almost can't be seen, than she's righting herself and picking up speed again, heading for another area of the battlefield! At her mass and strength, each of those charges carries unbelievable force, like a car travelling a hundred kilometres an hour, the impacts are absolutely shattering, but she seems to pick herself up each time in a matter of moments. There must be some mutations or organs at play there! I'll have to check her core again at some point…

Faced with this relentless and unending grind, the demons cannot hold their ground and are constantly forced back. Progress is slow, but for every metre we gain more ants are able to force themselves onto the platform and shove harder, whereas the surface area of the creatures against us just keeps getting larger, giving us more space to push. Pretty soon the fire raining down on the ramp itself has dwindled to nothing and the mages are engaged in a constant back and forth right over our heads.

Things are looking good for the Colony but I can't help but worry. Where's Brixin and the other tier sevens? They have to be around here somewhere, but wherever they are they haven't deigned to reveal themselves yet…

All I can do is push forward until they are forced out into the open…