Seeing it hobble out of the tunnel it had dug so many minutes ago was quite the experience for the Entity. There was no emotion other than the cold calculation of how it was meant to survive the next couple of minutes. Everything seemed more and more likely to cause an end for the Core, to the point where it was all… near-impossible to win against. The Queen had superior numbers, superior power, and strategies that the Entity had not been able to plan against without making answers that were impossible to start with.
‘I sense your despair, little rock,’ the Queen could be heard saying. ‘Have you finally realized the fact of the matter? No matter how many of my people you slaughter, there is one thing you will never be able to do. You can’t kill me. The moment that your focus falters, I will do everything you own for myself. Each piece of ground, every single creature, and every proof that you ever existed will be mine instead. You will be nothing. I will own you.’
The Queen continued in her words, never stopping to breathe or waver. No point was found in listening on, the Entity instead spending its time making sure that the Worm was watched over well. Its head hadn't owned enough energy to grow back its entire body, forcing the creature to make a couple of smaller tendrils to move around with. Not that such an unwieldy piece of Bone and nothing else was to be taken lightly. None of the Core’s creatures had any chance of winning in a fight against it due to the sheer fact that it was with so much defence. Even just [Biting] it at full force would provide nothing but making the attacking creature infected with the Darkness as well.
Mana was running low, the Entity needing to allocate more and more to keep the Queen contained. The ant just seemed to get more Mana with every passing second instead of less. Was that yet another part of the connection with the Darkness or did she just work that efficiently with her Mana-Container? There was something in it, even if the Core couldn't figure it out for now. Setting up a mental reminder to increase the input over time, it began to try and figure out some form of a solution.
The [Worm] was still moving towards the monarch yet was too far out to begin a real problem just yet. Through… the Core glanced up towards the ceiling yet again, noting that it hadn't realised that part of it yet. Doing so freely, it allowed something closes a ton to hit the head of the creature. It did… nothing? Yes, it did not give the creature a single scratch on the head, the Worm seeming to barely notice the tons of stone that reached it. Giving it a wall of rubble to get through did nothing to stop it either. And the Core knew why the [Skill] used previously still in effect! It was simply letting the [System] do the work, letting everything that hit its head be thrown to the side or outright destroyed. And since it didn't have anything but ahead at the moment, it was basically… unstoppable by the means that the Core had. Physical attacks were useless and anything with Mana would simply be absorbed. Just how was this going to turn out in its favour.
Maybe stop it from coming close at all? Attacks from above had no effect but maybe pushing it mildly from beneath could work… No, it would take too much energy to quite literally push it back. Yet… the prospects of making it fall through the ground and a long way down did seem promising in at least alleviating the problem temporarily. What would it take for it to be taken off the short-term? Ten meters? No, it had to be at least fifty. While not the most pleasant of quick jobs to undergo, the Core did feel like it had some chance at doing-
And… those dreams were ruined. Even when being overly positive about making the resources at handhold for a literal pit of extra depth, it was impossible nonetheless. Not because of the digging itself or anything but because of where the Entity would be forced to dig into. Just beneath, twenty meters deep, was the Manalock room, filled up with more of the Core’s energy that could be realised. Digging through it was impossible, the Panels leaking more Energy during their destruction than what could be managed. And that didn't even account for how the remaining creatures would lose their last possible point of retreat if the creature was thrown down there. Its ability to rip and tear would only be worse if allowed to get down.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The truth was slowly beginning to settle inside the Core’s mind. Without the space, without the energy, and without the ability to hurt the creature, there was quite literally no way to stop it. The thickest of walls would go without notice, even, for the creature wasn't even looking with eyes of any kind. From the very start, those glistening teeth had only sought out its Queen.
…
Wait. That was it. The Queen. She was the lynchpin in it all, wasn't she? Without her, nothing else would work. Nothing could be done without her direct involvement in every step of the way. Without her help, the [Undead] would become nothing but a mindless puppet, never able to get its strings pulled. At the current time, the [Worm] was made to seek out its mistress yet the moment it had done so, it would need another set of orders to continue. Orders which the monarch would provide the moment that it came within the needed distance where communication was possible, even with the large encircling of energies. The second that it did, the Queen would likely order it to attack the Core’s domain with every piece of its will, letting nothing remain. In fact… that was something the Queen would help with if given the chance.
Or… no. Before anything else, she would take the Core for itself, not letting it get away from another battle of wills again. The last had been ended prematurely but it was becoming more and more obvious that such a thing wouldn't happen again. No, the Intelligent Ant was dead-set on owning it, on making sure that it was without anything else but the power of the Entity. With all her creatures done, she wanted it as a trade. She wanted revenge. And that equalled the possession of the Core, the total and utter forced servitude. Because was how the [Battle of Wills] could end. The total and utter servitude of the other participant. The Core knew it would happen when the Queen was able to escape. It could already see her preparing for it, turning and moulding her Mana into the perfect weapon alongside that constant burst of Darkness.
Oh, how the Core hated that darkness. It had all but surrounded it in the last fight, making it see nothing but the void for what had felt like an eternity while only being in the lower numbers of a few milliseconds. It had been so quick yet also so fast. It had seen… something which had helped it along. Something which had been there since the middle, stopped by the Queen having had the time for preparation of a strategy. Even now, the Core thought that it could have won on the opposite side if it had been allowed to make a scenario up.
…
It really was a stupid, little rock sometimes, wasn't it? Looking at the progress of the [Worm], the Core went into the planning stages of what was to come. It only had a few seconds to work with before things would start becoming serious. The beast with only a head to work with was coming ever closer. Even with just a rolling manoeuvre, it could get within the radius needed for new orders. Not that the Queen would know instantly but the sheer fact of it being possible was enough to make it
‘You are planning something,’ the Queen sneered. ‘Your Mana is moving and your emotions are swirling around the scale. You are sure that you are unsure about your happiness about being sad. Your inside makes about as much sense as what you’re trying to do.’
‘I am trying to reach a resolution where we’ll both survive this encounter,’ the Core replied, not caring about that very open hint about its planning. It wasn’t like the damn thing would even think that it would even dream of doing such a thing. ‘Whether you like it or not.’
‘Do you think yourself to be the one in control of this situation? The moment your grip loosens, the connection to your precious-’
Just as the Queen wasted a moment to put power behind a curse, the Core dropped every piece of defence in place to stop the ant from assimilating. The process started without her direct control yet it also opened up the gateway to her innermost Mana-Pattern. Ripping at it, the [System] gleefully came into play.
Warning!
You are trying to take control of a foreign Entity’s Mana! A [Battle of Wills] has commenced.
This was the moment it all came down to. It was life or death for the Core.