Chrysalis Chapter 1697 - Captured
A stalactite zoomed toward her, but Elsi’s reflexes took over. Like a mid-air dancer, she spun to parry the stone and flipped, landing firmly on her feet. She glanced up—or perhaps down—at the tunnel floor far below, wondering how she might return to it.
Shamus had managed a somewhat graceful landing as well, though he let out a grunt as his boots hit the stone.
“What kind of magic is this?” he muttered, staying low to the ground with his gaze locked on the distant skirmish.
“I have no idea,” Elsi replied, taking a position right beside him.
“Were you able to sever the mind bridge?” he checked, but she simply shook her head. “Me neither,” he grunted. “That beast must possess a formidable mind to bypass our enchantments.”
In the Dungeon, mental illusions were a staple tactic for the most lethal monsters. Every delver utilized some form of protection against them.
The battle… was a disaster. Shouts of fury and cries of alarm echoed through the cavern as the majority of the delvers had plummeted toward the ceiling, just as they had. Being professionals, it didn't take them long to adjust their footing and restart their assault, only for the gravity to flip once more.
Elsi let out an involuntary yelp as she began to fall again, this time in the natural direction. Shamus was prepared; he landed smoothly and pressed himself against the rock to hide his presence. She managed a decent landing herself, planting her feet and quickly diving into a covered position.
The delvers actively engaged in combat weren't as fortunate. Caught in the middle of dashes or strikes, they fell clumsily, with several colliding into one another upon impact.
[Hah! You lot can’t even figure out which way is up!]
The ant continued its mockery, and a chill of dread ran down Elsi’s spine. Could this creature truly invert their world at a whim? How could anyone possibly fight such a thing?
Even more concerning was the beast's condition; she noticed it was virtually unscathed. Only moments ago, it had been buried under a hail of strikes and spells, but now that the delvers were disoriented, she had a clear view. No matter where she looked, the damage to the carapace was nothing more than superficial, and even those minor marks seemed to vanish with impossible speed.
“Did you catch that regeneration?” she whispered urgently.
“I did,” Shamus replied darkly. “There’s a powerful healing gland inside that thing.”
Regeneration fluid was a substance monsters produced naturally, but it was beyond the reach of humans.
[I’ve given you plenty of opportunities,] the ant stated with a condescending tone.
Elsi tensed up, bracing for the next move. Was the slaughter about to begin? Was it time to flee? Could the delvers somehow reclaim the advantage?
A spark of purple light flickered deep within the ant’s carapace. It pulsed twice before erupting outward, an expanding dome that moved at terrifying speed. It swept across the stone, staining everything it touched a deep purple. As the first delver was engulfed, they were slammed into the ground as if hit by a falling mountain.
“Run!” Shamus bellowed.
By the time Elsi turned to follow, he was already gone, his explosive speed launching him forward in a dash. She braced her legs and leaned into a sprint, her heart hammering against her ribs as she prepared to leap.
She wasn't fast enough.
The light swept over her and—CRACK!
Her head slammed into the stone with enough force to knock her unconscious for a moment. When she groggily came to seconds later, she saw nothing but darkness. Her face was pressed into the floor of the tunnel; her nose was clearly broken, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
?
She attempted to stand, or even just turn her head, but it was futile. It felt as though a mountain was resting on her back; she couldn't move an inch. Every attempt to shift her neck only seemed to grind her face deeper into the rock. The weight was absolute. Panic surged as she realized she couldn't even draw breath; she lacked the strength to pull air into her lungs.
It defied logic; such a thing should be impossible!
She tried to fight back mentally, using her skills to dismantle the mana pinning her down. Elsi recognized she was trapped in some kind of domain; while breaking such a thing was difficult, it shouldn't be impossible.
And yet… the energy was so incredibly dense it felt like trying to punch through a brick wall with her bare hands. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't get a grip on it.
Terror took hold. Was this really the end?
As if answering her, heavy vibrations thrummed through the rock as something massive approached. Each stride of the giant monster made the ground tremble, and with six legs, the footsteps were constant. The sound grew louder until the beast stopped right beside her. She didn't have to see it; she could feel the monster’s core, radiating like a star directly above her.
[Well now. Up you get.]
Suddenly, the crushing weight vanished. Gasping for air, Elsi rolled over and inhaled deeply, desperate for oxygen. Looking down at her as if she were nothing more than… an insect… the massive creature watched her with cold, diamond-like eyes.
[Let me grab your friend as well.]
A sharp gasp sounded nearby as Shamus reacted just as she had. Her heart sank. He hadn't made it out either.
[I expected a bit more from you people,] the ant mused. [You came here to hunt my family, and this is your best effort? Pathetic.]
Elsi remained silent, choosing her words carefully. To take down a monster of this caliber, thirty or forty delvers would normally spend weeks studying and preparing. A dozen of them caught off guard never stood a chance.
There was no point in explaining that to the monster.
[I’m inside your head. You don’t need to tell me,] the monster remarked.
Elsi’s eyes went wide, and she immediately tried to quiet her thoughts.
[Get up. Come on, stand up. I don’t have all day to wait for you to find your breath.]
Prodded by the creature, Elsi stumbled to her feet, watching Shamus do the same. The monster hemmed them in, looming over the two delvers while they waited for the inevitable.
[Do you… have any conception… of what I’m worth?] the ant questioned.
Elsi blinked in confusion.
[P-probably a great deal?] she guessed, uncertain of what the creature wanted to hear.
[? Please. You clearly have no clue what you’re looking at. Here, take this.]
Raising a massive foreleg, the creature offered something held in its claws. Elsi reached out, and the ant dropped the object into her hands.
The weight nearly sent her back to the ground; it was far heavier than expected. Looking down, she saw she was holding a palm-sized shard of the material that composed the monster's shell.
[That is a specially compressed form of diamond. Extremely dense, highly mutated—a completely unique material. This is the kind of stuff you find in the sixth stratum or deeper, and I’m covered in tons of it. And that’s just the beginning. My muscles? My eyes? Look at them! Unsullied Crystal. Imagine the price a king would pay for one of these. I’ve got Twilight Filament antennae and Soul Crystal organs. This body is worth more than the entire Silver City. You won’t see a prize like this again for the rest of your lives.]
Elsi was having a hard time wrapping her head around the situation.
“Why are you telling us all this?” Shamus asked. “Why give us this?” He pointed to the chunk of diamond.
[Because you need to show it to the others,] the ant replied flatly. [I don’t have the time to go crawling through every tunnel searching for delvers. It’s much more efficient if they come looking for me.]
“Why would you want that?”
[Because I am the one hunting you. Every last one of you. That group back there is just my first catch, but they won’t be the last. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill them. In fact, I’m feeling charitable. Tell Green Mountain they can buy them back. My rates are reasonable.]
“Do you honestly think delvers will be so blinded by greed that they'll come for you? We aren't that stupid.”
The ant clacked its mandibles together in that same rhythmic, staccato way.
It was laughing.
[Yes, you are,] the ant assured them. [Now run along. We’ll be seeing each other again soon.]