IMPERIUM INSECTUM

I chuckled as the life left the nun's eyes. God, it's been so long since I've killed anyone. I forget How FUN IT IS! I pulled my pincer out of her stomach, and she collapsed like a sack of bricks.

“CLARRISSA NOOOOOO!”

Heh heh, he- more victims for me to have fun with….. Oh I'm gonna enjoy this night filled with blood and pain....

 

5 days earlier- 3 days after diva converted Sally…

“PUUUUUSHHHHH!” I yelled as Apollinaris gave birth to her 7^th and final larvae.

“Come on, you can do it!” We had been going on for around an hour or so; however, thanks to my midwife title, it had been going smoothly.

“Just a little bit more and…. There.” Her head rolled back as she gave birth to one last final Larvae.

 

“Wow….” I held the squirming larvae in my hands. He was a dark brown colour in comparison to his brothers, and his eyes had a greenish tinge to them.

I moved over to Apollinairs and gave her a kiss.

“Thank you for giving me this special child.”
She raised her head and gave me an exhausted smile. She was drenched head to toe in sweat, but she still looked pleased. I grabbed a nearby towel, wrapped the larvae up, and put them with the rest.

<Don’t worry, mother. We will look after them now.>

I nodded and looked up at the 4 nurses Sally had given birth to and nodded.

<Look after them.>

I took a deep sigh. It's been 3 days since I started the conversion process, and it's safe to say not much has happened. I went with Apollinaris back to the warehouse to set up an area for her mushrooms to grow and start to give us a stable food source. Until they are fully grown, I regularly go to several butchers around town to get raw meat for them to eat.

I also I gave the workers down ther their first task. They are building a tunnel from my house's 1^st underground floor to the warehouse; this should allow for easy access for me to get there. The downside is that they are digging very deep to avoid hitting any sewers and such, so it's gonna be a while. One of the workers said it would be a month, but with double the workers, it could be in half that time.

I entered the room in time to see Apollinaris being looked after by several nurses.

<How is she…>

<She is fine. just need some rest…>

<Odd. Sally was fine the last time. Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. This is Apollinaris’s first time, after all.>

I left the room and headed down towards the training room. Besides the constant back and forth to the warehouse, I've also been spending some time down there training. I arrived in one of the store rooms. I looked for a wooden broom and pulled. There was a loud rumble as the stone wall opened. Honestly, there is no surprise I never found it the first time seriously Deckard had problems.

I headed down the stairs quickly and, in no time, was back in the training room. It was set to the running track mode. I quickly chose a lane, and after a quick warm-up I started running. One thing I've noticed is physical training can also increase stats. If I quickly pull up my status.

 

 

I've gained a slight increase in stamina from 600 to 610. It’s a small increase, but that does mean that it is worth it to always train

 

Nice. Let's see how far I can go this time.

……..

“I……cant……any….more.” I collapsed onto the ground. In total, I had run 6 laps, so around 18 km or around half a mile. I couldn’t dream of running like that in my previous life.

“Wow… impressive”

I looked over and saw Apollinaris to the side, along with a few nurses helping her.

“Thanks……I ……did…2….more…..laps….then…usual,” I said as I slowly got up to walk towards her.

“You want something to eat?”

“If ….. you don’t mind.”

And with that, we headed back upstairs. Yep, this has been my life for the past couple of days. It has been peaceful, but I am itching to do something; anything; all this calm is killing me. I NEED action; I NEED blood on my hands. I took a deep sigh; it couldn't be helped. I guess I'll just have to keep training as much as I can so I can be as ready as I can.

Present day……The day of the meeting…

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come?”

I shook my head. “No. Sally hasn’t woken up yet. I need someone here to make sure she is okay. The nurses could handle it, but I think a familiar face would help.”

“Okay…Just..Dont almost die again?”

I Kissed her on the cheek and slid my mask to the side as I climbed into the carriage. The carriage lurched forward as we made our way to the oldest house.

I looked down at the flowing red dress that Ilza, the tailor, had made for me. After I told what happened at the ball, she was more than eager to make me a new one. I opened my red purse, and inside was the mushroom and a bag of gold coins. I did consider bringing a weapon but changed my mind. My pincers are good enough, anyway. I looked out the window and watched the town fly past me, from large mansions down to lavish shops. All in all, the journey took 20 minutes until finally a large hotel with the words “Oldest house” came into view. The carriage quickly pulled up to the entrance.

A bell rang, signalling our arrival. I opened the door and was met with a man with a man wearing a suit.

“Miss diva, I suppose.”

I nodded.

“ I am….. the one who wrote the letter. Er, please follow me. We must hurry. We can't keep the master of the house waiting.”

I nodded, and we headed inside. As soon as he opened the door, I was hit with the scent of cigarette smoke and music. The floors were made out of red carpet. And white stone. I looked to the sides and could see men in expensive suits surrounded by scantily clad women drinking from expensive bottles of alcohol. This place looked like a high-end speakeasy straight out of the 40’s.

“Quick, we must hurry.” He said.

I snapped out of my stupor and followed the man.

We took a sharp left and headed up a set of stairs. The music faded as we made our way up the stairs and along a large wooden corridor.

“This is where I leave you, I'm afraid. Andre and Titus are in there.”

I nodded to the man as he turned and left.

I looked at the large wooden door and smiled. For some reason, I was excited. I don’t know what will happen, but I do know it will be interesting.

<Into the lion's den I go>

I pushed the door and was met with a large brown office. With a large U-shaped sofa in the centre. The walls were covered in paintings, and the room reeked of cigar smoke and whiskey. Andre and Titus sat on the sofa in the centre.

“Well, look who finally showed up….” Titus yelled.

I quickly moved over to the sofa and sat opposite Andre and Titus.

“seeing how I'm late, Let's get down to business”, I Said. “I was proposing a three-way split between us. On the profits made and.”

“Slow down, woman,”

“Diva”

“What?”

“My name is Diva.”

“Pffft, whatever you say, woman,”  Titus said, taking a puff from his cigar. Ya know it's at times like this I'm happy I wear a mask because my face right now is less than pleasant “You talk like those mushrooms are hot shit. Yet, I haven't seen them in action. For all I know, you could be offering us something as useless as a pair of reading glasses for a blind man.

I pulled the blue luminescent mushroom out. “Then why don’t you try some?” prick.

“Haha, nice try…. But I think I'll pass; However, I do have someone else in mind.”

He snapped his fingers, and the door burst open. Suddenly, two almost naked brown-skinned women came in, dragging some destitute man into the room. “PLEASE TITUS ILL GET YOU YOUR MONEY… JUST GIVE ME A Wmmmphhhhhh!” one of the ladies took a dirty rag and shoved it in his mouth, silencing him. They dragged him in front of us before throwing him to the ground.

“Who is he?”

“Nobody important. Can you give him a piece?” Titus said coldly.

I looked at the man covered in several cuts and bruises, and judging from his stench, he hadn't showered in weeks.

I tore a piece of the mushroom and passed into one of the ladies.

“If you don’t mind….”

She looked at me and Titus, who nodded. She took the mushroom, and in one ultra-fast motion, she pulled the rag out of his mouth and shoved the mushroom in. The man tried to fight back, but eventually, he swallowed.

“And now we wait…”

We waited for a brief moment as nothing happened, then all of a sudden, the man's eyes started to space out as he started to glance around the room.

“Whasch growing on why there Flying Squirrel ON titush”

“HAHAHAH, he’s tripping balls.” He said as the man tried to stand up. The girls tried to stop him, but they were stopped by Titus. He ran around the room and danced and chanted and spoke incomprehensible nonsense. I think Apollinaris might have overdone it a bit. However, as quick as his high came on, it faded. The MAN Collapsed to the ground in a sweaty pile. The girls ran over to check on him, only for him to fight them off.

“MORE! TITUS, I NEED MORE!!!!!!”

“And it's addictive as well…. Perfect”

The girls tried to restrain him, but he proved to be difficult to handle.

“If it's that good with just a small amount, what would happen if they ate the entire thing?” Andre said.

“THEY WILL BE SEEING STARTS TILL THE END OF DAYS HAHAHAHAHA Okay, woman, I’m interested in your product. I think we can-“

“MOAR….. I NEEEED MOAR!!!!”

 He let out a deep sigh. “I really do have to do everything, don’t I?” Titus stood up and took a single step. Suddenly, there was a blur and a gust of wind. I looked around, and there he was. The fat blob stood right behind the man.

Titus wrapped his ogre-like fingers around him, and with one twist and a loud crunch, he was dead.

“Can you deal with that, please….”

The two girls nodded as they lifted his body out of the room.

“like I said, I like what you are offering. Now let's get to the meat and potatoes of this,” He said, taking a seat. “you want an equal 3-way split; that’s correct?”

“Additionally, on top of that, I want something from you.”

Titus razed an eyebrow. “You see, I’m in the market for women… lots of them, for a…..A project I'm working on.”

“Oh, so you are one of those

people. Fine, then I propose a change to the cuts. You get 20, and me and Andre get 40 each.”

This mother fucker.

“I think I'll pass.”

“I think you fail to understand your cut is 20  to cover the cost of the women you will be getting and to cover the costs of helping you set up your business.”

“What makes you think I need help?”

He laughed. “I investigated you, lady and the only assets you have are a small warehouse and a mansion. Besides that, nobody knows who you are. Face it, you need all the help you need.”

Fuck. His logic makes sense, but there is no way in hell I am walking away with 20 per cent…

“30 per cent”, I spat back.

“hahaha, 25 per cent. The highest I will go. If you don’t like it, you are free to. “

“SIR!”  a man yelled, kicking the door down.

“WHAT IS IT!” Andre yelled.

The man covered in cuts and bruises came to a halt in front of us.

“It’s the boys that work at the orphanage.”

“What about them?” Andre asked

“I caught some of them siphoning money out of us.”

“Those insolent insects did WHAT!” Titus said, smashing his fist onto the table, causing a crack to appear in it.

“When I tried to confront them about it, they attacked me. I heard one of ‘em say that they are thinking of skipping town TONIGHT!”

“Those pieces of shit……'ll have their blood!”

“Shit Titus, this is not good. The ashdown explosion happened in our territory. If word gets out about this, people will start to question our leadership.”

“Then it settled. Ready the men, I'll go there and-”

“NO!” Andre yelled. “If people see us roll up with the men, they will know something up. We need to keep this quiet. We need someone not related to us.”

“Who?”

Andre looked towards me. My face curved into a wicked smile. There will be lots of blood tonight.

“her?!……this woman? Andre, are you insane?”

“Do you think you could handle it?”

“If it's just killing people, Sure. My hands aren't unfamiliar with human blood.”

Andre looked back at Titus, who then looked at me.

“Fine. She can do it. You do this, and you get your 30 per cent and you in.”

I stood up and walked towards Titus. “Is it a deal then?” I said, raising my hand. Titus instantly grabbed mine and shook it.

“deal. You kill everyone in there, okay.”

“Understood”

“And remember….. No witnesses”

My lips curled into an even deeper smile. “OF course”

“Follow me”, Andre said as he quickly walked out of the room. I quickly followed him, and in no time, we were outside, where a carriage was waiting for us. We quickly climbed in, and the driver sped off.

“Well, Diva, I would like to say you handled that pretty well.”

“Pretty well? Andre, I barely did anything.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Titus is very intimidating and persuasive.”

“Hmmm. If you say so.”

The carriage took a sharp left and sped down the road.

“Hey, Andre, are you not mad that I asked Titus for the women instead.”

“Not at all. It's better this way, in fact. Titus is the man you go for that stuff in this town. I'm more of a fixer.”

“Fixer?”

“I fix problems people have with each other. So things like assassinations and sabotage and a small amount of espionage.”

“A real jack of trades, huh…”

“Yep,” He said as the carriage took another sharp right and increased the speed.

“What should I expect in there.”

“I don’t know. This place was one of our fronts for money laundering. We put in an orphanage because it’s the last place people would look.

“Is that so,” I said with a grin as I started to undo my clothes.

“Why are you?”

“I just got this dress. I don’t wanna ruin it. What? Never seen a woman naked before? ”

“Plenty, actually.”

I passed him my purse as I slipped out of the red dress. By the time I was out of it, we had just stopped in front of a large church-like building with the words “Eupharns little Apostales” Written on a rusty sign on the nearby wall. I quickly lept out of the carriage, leaving Andre alone.

“I'll meet you on the other side once you're done. Titus is gonna want proof of the kill. So bring him something.”

“Like what?”

“I Duunno. An arm or a leg. You'll think of something.”

“Wait before you go, here.”

I threw my mask at him.

“I don’t think I'll be needing this.

He took the mask and shut the door. The carriage lurched forward, leaving me in front of this walled orphanage.

< let's go have some fun.> I sprinted forward and lept over the wall.

<Mother… are we going to be sneaky or are we going to be loud>
I looked to the left and saw one of my children hovering next to me.

<Well, there is only one answer to that question, isn't there?>

 

 

-------

“And the handsome knight slew the dragon, ending its evil rampage forever the end.”

I shut the book and was met with the begging eyes of all the children

“No, you can't have another story. It's past your bedtime.”

“AWWWWWWW!” They all exclaimed as they begged for another.

“No, it's past your bedtime. Okay? You have-“

*DING DONG*

A guest? at this hour?

*DING DONG*

“Alright, children, BEDTIME NOW!”

They glared at me for a second; however, seeing my face, they all scurried into bed. I did a quick head count to confirm that all 30 of them were in bed before heading to the door.

“Good night, children. No shenanigans, okay, and no matter what you hear, don’t leave this room.”

I switched off the light and quickly headed downstairs.

*DING DONG*

“Sister Clarissa!”

One of the other nuns ran to me.

“Do you know who it is?”

“No. After that scuffle that happened in the basement, all the men have been panicked and trying to move everything out. I’m scared.”

“Relax Tiffany. We are here for the children. What happens down there has nothing to do with us-“

*DING DONG*

“Now, excuse me, our guest must be tired of waiting.”

I quickly turned and left before Tiffany said anything. Whilst the events earlier have me concerned, I have to be strong for the children and for Tiffany and the other nuns. As the head nun, if I start to falter, everyone else will follow. But still, the way those men were moving it was like they were trying to run away. Just what did they do. A sense of dread started to encroach on me, but I shook it away. I have faith in Eupharn that nothing will happen

*DING DONG*

“Yes! one seccond!” I said as I unlocked the door.

*creeeek*

I snapped my head around and saw a small group of children peeking at me at the top of the stairs.

*SIGH*” Go back to bed, you lot!” I yelled as the last lock on the door was undone. I wrapped my hand around the handle and pulled.

“I’m sorry, but if you're looking to adopt, you have to come back in the morn-“

*SCHLURCH*

A sharp pain rocked through my body from my stomach. I looked down and was met with something long, piercing through my body. W..what is that?

“Oh, I’ve missed this…..It's a shame it had to be you, though you are quite the good-looking nun.”

I looked up to the voice and was met with the inky black eyes of a crazy, grinning monster surrounded by dozens of flies.

*SCHLURCH*

I let out a soft scream as whatever it was sank deeper into my body. The sound of blood. My blood slapping onto the ground filled my ears.

“I guess it isn't all too bad. I do see another nun up there. I guess I do get to fuck a nun today.” What is this monster… how could it. Nothing makes sense….why is everything getting dark?