IMPERIUM INSECTUM

*20 minutes earlier: DIVA POV*

“FASTER! OR SO HELP ME, GOD. THERE WILL BE NO DOCTOR ON EARTH THAT WILL FIX WHAT I DO TO YOU!”

“WAAAAAAA PLEASE MISS I'M GOING-“

“STOP CRYING AND MOVE! OR ILL-“

Suddenly, A hand wrapped itself around my shoulder and pulled me back to my seat.

“Okay, I think that’s enough. If you threaten him anymore, the driver might wet himself.”

“UNHAND ME AT ONCE! OR ILL-“

“CALM! I don’t know what’s got you so worked up, but staying calm is the most important thing we can do now. When you get mad, you make bad decisions that make everything worse.”

I growled back at Andre before sitting back in my seat. He's right. I need to be calm. But it’s just so hard. I hate this. The moment I go away this happens Aghaaaa! It's so infuriating!

“It’s happening again...”

“What is?”Andre asked; I looked up at Andre and let out a sigh. Nothing important. I just need to get home. Fast.”

“Tell me, Do you have a plan? Anything at all? What are you gonna do when you get there?”

“Walk in there and kill everyone. That’s my plan.”

“That’s not a plan, that’s a goal. We need to make a plan, even if it’s a bad one. It's still better than Nothing. Okay, From what you’ve told me. We are facing a group of unknown individuals of unknown strength we should -.”

“woah, let me stop you there. What do you mean we?”

“ I mean me and you.”

“ What? Why are you helping.”

“Think of it as returning the favour for what you just did for us, and besides, A little bit of help goes a long way.”

“……Fine. But you’re doing this because you want to understand. I. owe. You. Nothing. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

I sat back down in the seat and listened as Andre explained his plan…

******

“let go of her.”

I ground my null mana-covered feet into the horrid melted face left on the ground. Just what the hell is this freak?

“Now! Or else!”

The face screamed as it suddenly changed from the same pure white marble colour as the floor to a dark brown muddy colour. That explains how Sally missed it. He can camouflage. What a very tricky ability. I increased the flow of mana to feet, causing a huge cloud of black mana to flare up. He let out an even more blood-curdling scream before finally pulling away from under us. The brown mass moved a few metres away before slowly starting to shape itself into that of a human.

“IIIIIIT B.B.BB.BB. BURNS. Mu..st…..go……Normal….”

I looked at the man standing furthest away and gave him a grin. He looked at me perplexed before his eyes finally bulged upon realisation.

“Sludge! Stop!”

The man’s wailing muffled the sounds of anything else as his body slowly formed back into that of a human, well, mostly. A large gaping hole appeared in his chest where I had been standing. As if on cue, blood started to gush out of the wound, so much in fact that in just a few moments, He collapsed into a pile on the ground.

 

“That’s 1 now, the rest of you.”

“W…w…what the hell boss. She just killed Sludge by standing on him.”

“I know.”

“And She completely stopped my attack. I don’t know what the fuck she did to my attack, but it's gone, like completely gone it! Like it didn’t exist anymore!”

“I saw.”

“Boss, we need to call it quits here. lets-”

“SHUT UP BULLSEYE!”

I Looked up to the one who held a bright purple bow in his hand.

“You tried to kill my daughter, didn’t you?”

He shrunk back. Any bit of composure he had was gone. “No…It ….w…was a mistake.”

“Let's all relax here.” The leader said. “I think it's time I introduced myself. I’m King, the leader of this group of individuals. You are?”

I glared at him. Does this fool really think I'm gonna tell him my name? Even if it did, It wouldn’t matter. He’s gonna be dead soon anyway.

“Judging from that stare, you're not in the mood to talk.”

Really? What gave you that idea?

“I Just wanna say. Our problem is not with you. Our mission is to apprehend a certain target. A girl, who looks like a mushroom.”

What? These fuckers are after Apollinaris! I looked down at Sally, so that’s why she was fighting so hard. She was defending her. I could feel my blood boiling by the second. None of these people are leaving these grounds alive.

“First, you intruded on my hive, then you killed my child and injured my daughter, and Now you tell me you planned to kidnap the p

My hand smacked into the wall behind me, causing the whole room to shake and dust to fly off the wall as a giant crack appeared in the walls.

The man instantly put his hands up. “I know, and I'm sorry. This was never part of our plan, so I want to propose something. We leave now and never come back, and I'll give you the names of the people who asked us to do it. How does that sound>”

“Vermin….”

“What?”

“VERMIN ALL OF YOU! NO! I REFUSE! YOU ALL DIE HERE!”

In an instant, I launched up to the second floor and slashed forward towards Bullseye. However, before I could land a hit, a large burst of Grey smoke erupted from where he was. I pushed on with the attack and swiped through the smoke with my, but annoyingly, I hit Nothing. Suddenly, the smoke lit up bright purple, and I instinctively ducked to the ground just in time to see a purple bolt fly over me.

“Dammit, I missed. I need to move.”

“You're not going anywhere!” I yelled as I leapt up and charged through the smoke. But it was too late. He was already on the other side of the hall. Dammit, he’s fast. Okay, change of tactics. Let's go with Andres's plan. I need to create as many holes in the building as I can.

I jumped onto my foot and ran. I have 5 men to deal with 1, 2, 3….. Where are the other 2. I looked around the room, but there was no sign of them. Dammit it, they’ve gone to look for Apollinaris. Ok, I need to be quick and- I screeched to a stop as my instincts screamed at me to duck. As I did, I felt a gust of wind brush across my face as my giant fist ploughed into the wall next to me. Instantly, I dove into a roll and put some distance between me and the mountain of a man who was just behind me.

“Well dodged misseh. I was sure I ‘ad your head there. I hope you can give me a better fight than your little lass did!”

“ Being fast is a common theme among you lot. No matter, I CAN ALSO PLAY AT THE SPEED GAME ”

I lunged forward towards him whilst raising my left arm at the same time. Null mana surged up my arm as my fist shot forward like a bullet, causing a jet of inky black mana to shoot out. The brute's eyes bulged as he quickly moved to the side, narrowly dodging the fatal blow and losing one of his arms.

“Die!”I yelled as My pincer swung Out. My pincer swung towards his chest, aiming to secure the fatal blow, when suddenly something silvery flashed in front of my eyes. Instantly, I raised my arm Into an X just in time for an axe to crash into my arms. Sparks flew from my armour as the blade ground against it.

“Dammit, Who threw- Guaghaaaa!” I yelped as a solid punch hit me in the stomach and sent me flying into a wall far side of the building

 

 

Rubble and debris fell on me as I smacked into the wall, sending waves of pain dancing up and down my body,

“Hahaha , I LIKE YOU LASS. STRONG AS AN OX AND AS ROUGH AS ONE.”

The axe flew to his hand again. Suddenly, electrical shock erupted from the axe as he placed it against the wound, Cauterising it. Fuck, this guy is strong. I need to be careful when dealing with him and my mana usage. Null driver is off the table until I'm sure it will guarantee to kill. I can't waste mana like that. I looked towards where I had hit the wall. Moonlight was streaming through the holes and cracks left in the walls. Good, this is perfect. Having them make the holes in the walls raises less suspicion.

“I hope you ‘avent given up already. This fight just getting interesting.”

I slowly stood up to my feet. “Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? I'm gonna kill all of you.”

“That’s what I like to ‘ere”

Lightning suddenly crackled down his axe as he flung it towards my direction. Bolts of lightning arched across the walls and floor, leaving a trail of destruction behind it.

“Fuck it's fast, cant dodge!” I yelled as the axe collided with my hands.

 

My arms and fingers spasmed as I held on to the axe as electricity flowed into my body. The smell of burning flesh hit my nose as my body struggled to deal with the strong electrical current.

“FUUUUUU- Got….to……”

Inky black mana suddenly rippled up and engulfed itself around the axe. Consuming it and reducing the handle and everything except the axe head to Nothing. Causing it to fall onto the ground like a lifeless body

“Freyah……You….”

The brute howled as lightning erupted from his feet and his body. as he hurtled towards me.

“I need to move NOW!”

I lept to the side just in time to see him collide full speed into the wall, destroying it entirely and exposing it to the outside. Fuck, this place is gonna be a nightmare to repair. I shook my head. I needed to focus. The large hole he made will be Perfect for Andre. I just need more of those.

“You missed.”

A loud roar erupted from him as More lightning arched all over the place.

“Don’t make fun of Me!” He barreled towards me again. I quickly jumped down onto the main floor, causing him to smash into another piece of wall, exposing more of the central area to the outside. Hahaha, this is working as planned.

“Hahah fucking idiot, you're meant to hit me, not the wall.”

“ARGHHHAAAA, I’m gonna Kill ya!”

The man yelled as dozens of electric bolts jumped across the room. Hahaha, easy bait. All I have to do is move to the side and

*SQUELCH*

“What the?” I Looked down and noticed my feet were stuck in some green glowing goop. I tried to move my feet, but I couldn’t. It was like glue. Is this what a fly feels when it's stuck in fly paper?

“Up *COUGH* here”

I looked up, and there he was, a sickly green man hanging from the ceiling

“What *Cough* Did that *cough* Bitch do to me!?” A large gash was down his body from Sally's blades. Heh, good girl. Will reward later.

I released null mana to my feet, breaking the stupid gunk around it. “ Doesn’t matter. Judging by your looks, you will be dead soon.”

“watchu say *cough, cough* Bi-tch” *Thump*

The man fell hard onto the floor. The poison is doing a number on his insides. It’s a miracle he’s still able to move. He slowly raised to his feet and put his arms up to fight. What a fool.

“Don’t worry. Seeing how I'm kind. I'll finish  you off before the poison does.”  My pincers shot out of my body, and I lept towards him.

“Die!”

“Like hell! I will!” Suddenly, his stomach inflated, and before I could react, a torrent of vomit shot out of his mouth and straight into my body, Taking me off my feet and into the nearby wall.

 

Shit not good! I need to-

 

“NOW! BOTH OF YOU!” The frog yelled. Suddenly, my vision was filled with an impossibly bright purple and Yellow flash. as the brute and the archer let out their attacks.

“[NULL SHROUD}!”

ALL the remaining mana in my body exploded out into a massive ball around me. There was a loud, thunderous roar as all our attacks collided with each other. My mana fought with theirs as I tried to erase as much as it could. But it was a losing fight. Streaks of yellow and purple started to eek through into the inky black ball I was surrounded by.

“No! I CANT. I WONT!”

 

I reached into the depths of my body and pushed as much mana as I could out into the ball, but it was a losing battle. More and more purple and yellow streaks increased and increased suddenly, a bright blue blast suddenly overtook everything, and then my vision went black.

****

 

I slowly opened my eyes. The sound of water gushing into the room filled my ears. Just what happened? Did I get them? No, I don’t think so. I looked up at the several holes Made into the wall. As planned, torrents of water were flowing into the building.

“took you long enough, Andre.” Suddenly, there was a loud wooshing sound as a pillar of water pooled into the shape of a human.

“Sorry, this spell takes a while to charge up.”

“You don’t say…”

I tried to Move, but the water stuck to me like glue, holding me down like glue.

“Andre, what are-“

“You are hurt, and you have little to no mana. Rest here; I’ll take care of these two.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but I couldn't spit a single word out. Dammit, but he’s right. I can't do anything like I am.

“Judging from your expression, you’ve accepted I’m right, good. Here have this.”

He quickly rummaged through his pocket before pulling out 2 vials blue vials and a green one. He swiftly kneeled down, pulled the cork off the vials and tried to put it against my lips. But I instantly moved them away.

“Really? You still don’t trus-…….. Look, If I wanted to kill you, I would just do it now when you’re weak and defenceless. Drink them. it will help you recover.”

He put it against my lips again. I exchanged glances between the vial and him before finally submitting. I opened it wide, and he poured them both in. They had a bitter and rancid taste, like I was drinking a mixture of spoiled milk and lemon juice.

 

 

“Woahh.” Electrical shocks flowed up and down my body, slowly invigorating me.

“That should help you recover. Now, it's time to deal with the remaining headaches.”

As if on cue, a bolt of lightning shot out a large bundle of rocks. The large brute rose to his feet. He looked a lot worse for us. His body was covered in dozens of burns, and one of his eyes was completely black; however, despite that, he still looked ready for a fight.

“Bullseye?, frog?” He called as he looked over the room for his friends.

“I'm here!” a voice responded. “ I’m *cough* *cough* Okay.”

I looked up towards the voice, and there he was, the same stupid archer from before. Unscathed and unmarked from battle.

“Frog? Where are you? Come out. We need to-“

“Your friend’s dead.”Andre interrupted coldly.” He raised his hand, and a watery tendril rose up, holding the still-twitching body of Frog. He’s a tough one to still be alive.

“Well, close to dead anyway.”

“What the? - Who are you and what-“ Before the archer could finish, The watery tentacle flung the body of the frog into a nearby wall, splattering blood and guts all over the place like a bug hitting a windshield.

“Who I am is not important. However, the only thing you need to worry about…” The water around him swirled and twisted around his body, levitating him in the sky.

“Is how you're going to try to make it out of here alive?”