52 Mantis of War

As we stepped through the portal, we did not appear in an area that seemed normal. There was not a large room, or a body of any kind. Rather we found ourselves in a room that resembled the shrine of the goddess of war. Instead of a statue of the goddess was a statue of an Arachne. The half spider, half human man statue seemed to produce a pressure of holy energy, but it was nothing compared to the pressure that was produced by the goddess.

A masculine voice sounded in the room; it had no discernable location. Rather it seemed to come from everywhere as it bounced between the walls.

"LITTLE HUMANS WHO HAVE DARED TO INTERUPT MY PLANS. YOUR ACTIONS ARE JUST A MINOR SET BACK, BUT YOUR DEATHS WILL CAUSE MUCH MORE ISSUES FOR THAT OLD HAG OF A GODDESS YOU SO BLINDLY FOLLOW. REJOICE, AS YOUR DEATHS WILL FEED MY EVER-GROWING ARMY"

Pain filled my body as I was forced to my knees by the growing pain that seemed to come my very soul, my soul resisted the calling of the God, Inside I could feel a small presence wrapping its self around my core, refusing to budge. I began to circulate my core, pouring all the power I could into the small presence. I gave all that I could to the presence, hoping that it would make even the slightest of differences.

Beside me Hylia was in a much worse condition. Her chest was cut wide open as a small mantis crawled out of the wound. Hylia looked on in horror as the black mantis began to rapidly grow, its exoskeleton absorbing the blood from its host. Her wound healed rapidly, and was completely gone by the time the mantis had fully developed.

Its once black skin had changed to a deep blood red. A black line, exactly the same as the one on Hylia's face, appeared on the mantis's head. Its glowing red eyes never left Hylia, as it slowly stretched its new body.

The Pressure from the bug god focused on me for a moment, rather it focused on the small presence inside of me. I was struck with inspiration as I attempted to use my stealth on the presence inside of me. For some reason it worked, as I felt the presences 'presence' become more obscure, hidden from outside view.

The insect gods focus slowly faded from me, seemingly giving up on what it was looking for.

"IT SEEMS ONE WAS A FAILURE, BUT THEE NEWLY UPGRADED MANTIS OF WAR SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE LIKES OF YOU. GO MY CHILD. KILL YOUR MOTHER AND BRING ME HER HEAD."

The shrine around us disappeared, putting us in a room similar to where we had originally fought the mantis. At this time a message appeared from the dungeon.

Rewards: ???

Penalties: Death; massive casualties to the kingdom (You cannot refuse)

The mantis did not stand idle as the messages appeared. It moved towards Hylia at a rapid speed. Its movements were much faster than before, even faster than in its enraged state. The scythe like hands sliced through her skin, causing blood to spray over the mantis. The exoskeleton greedily absorbed the blood, seemingly growing stronger with each drop.

My mana was incredibly low, I had used it all to keep the presence inside me from being forced out of me. I had enough for a single spell, but there was not a single spell I had that was strong enough to kill the mantis is a single blow.

The mantis continued to slash at Hylia, her body becoming a mangled mess. Blood was flowing at an alarming rate, all of it being absorbed by the mantis.

Understanding dawned on me as I watched this, and quickly took action. I moved quickly while maintaining my stealth, soon appearing beside Hylia. I silently cast a spell, placing it on her chest. The mantis struck before I had the opportunity to move my hand, luckily it missed my fingers by a matter of millimeters.

A fresh spray of blood was absorbed by the mantis. Its body now was at its peak state. Hylia did not have enough blood to continue feeding it. The mantis moved. It's powerful Scythe heading directly for Hylia's neck.

The scythe stopped short an inch, as the mantis stood silently in place. Its blood red eyes staring straight forward, and its breathing slow and steady. I sighed in relief; my sleeping poison had taken effect right on time.

Hylia on the other hand was not in good condition. She had lost too much blood, the light in her eyes was slowly dimming. She needed blood, or she would die. I slight my wrist, attempting to force my blood into her. But it was useless. She was not a vampire, nor even a magical beast. She was a half beast man. She could not even evolve. How could she absorb my blood?

My eyes moved to the mantis before me. It stared straight forward, in a deep sleep. Its mouth was wide open, as it had been preparing to eat the decapitated head of its victim.

A grim smile appeared on my face and I stared at the mantis's mouth. My mana was recovering, slowly but it was recovering. I would only need a minute for what I planned on doing.

Time passed slowly, beside me Hylia was taking her last breaths. If I could not do this, if it did not work then she was going to die.

Finally, my mana had recovered enough. I placed my right hand over the mantis's open mouth. I rapidly cast my grenade over and over into its mouth, I cast until I had no more mana left. My body fell to the floor. With my mana exhausted all of the energy I had remaining was gone. I slowly closed my eyes as the explosions rang out.

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