Chapter 27: Bug Hunt

"I now understand why you were able to get to Level 2 so quickly," Shakti said to Taylor, a note of awe and respect in her tone.

The two of them were watching as several members of the Ganesha Familia, mostly Level 1s but with a couple Level 2s with the Tamer Development Ability.

It'd been three days since the confrontation with Apollo at his banquet, and two since Lili had been freed from Soma's clutches. The Hestia Familia, led by Vice-Captain Bell, was hard at work in the Dungeon hunting monsters on the first few floors, helping Emma, Leo, and Silva get used to fighting monsters, while Taylor herself was with Shakti and the Ganesha Familia working on gathering monsters for the new monster taming and harvesting operations.

Taylor snorted at the comment her fellow captain had made, but couldn't deny the sight was impressive. They were on the 7th Floor, collecting Purple Moths and Blue Papilio. Large, specialized cages lined the floor, and Taylor was filling them up with the monsters. These cages were mounted onto handcarts in preparation for leading them out of the Dungeon when they were finished.

There was also a Blue Papilio clinging to her back and not going into a cage. Taylor had decided to grab one for herself, feeling worried about reprisals from the Apollo Familia, and Shakti hadn't said anything against her doing so.

While the Tamers went around the floor grabbing Purple Moths, dozens of Killer Ants under her control patrolled the outer edges of the harvest area, driving off other monsters and keeping the tunnels safe for the Ganesha Familia workers. It was a well-oiled machine of chitin and sweaty flesh that was doing the work of days in mere hours.

There was a crackling noise as the wall nearby broke, revealing a Killer Ant, but Taylor didn't even both to alert anyone as it was already under her control long before it even managed to fully escape the embrace of the Dungeon that'd birthed it.

The Hunter Development Ability had shown its worth very quickly after obtaining it. The first thing Taylor had learned about it was that it granted a sort of 6th Sense to her regarding when monsters of a type she'd already slain large numbers of were about to emerge from the Dungeon's walls. With it, she could sense whenever a monster would appear. No more ambushes, at least from monsters she'd killed a lot of.

Then, there was another benefit to the Ability that had helped today as well. Hunter granted a sort of tracking ability, again only for monsters that Taylor had slain a huge number of, but still quite useful. It passively granted her awareness of her surroundings, letting her know if a certain type of monster had passed by recently, but if she focused on it, the parahuman could detect traces of monsters. It was almost like a video game, where the footprints of a character would become visible when searching for them.

'And at higher ranks, I'll bet Hunter will become even more useful,' Taylor thought to herself. Perhaps she'd even be able to eventually detect the monsters themselves in real time, instead of just their tracks?

"We're approaching the limit," Taylor warned, glancing around at the dark stone walls as a few more Killer Ants popped out nearby. Instead of controlling them, she ordered Chris to decapitate them before they fully emerge.

The Dungeon had yet to react to the large-scale use of Taylor's Skill today, though the parahuman knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. Ever since she'd slain the Black Goliath, the Dungeon had grown… well, displeased with her was the only real way she could explain it.

If Taylor took control of too many monsters, the bizarre underground realm got angry. Of course, all it could do was spawn more creatures, and on the 7th Floor, that just meant more insects for her to command. Sure, the Dungeon would settle down if she left or waited a couple of hours without taking over any new monsters, but for the other adventurers in the Dungeon, that was still quite dangerous, and Taylor did not want to be responsible for their deaths, so she made it a rule for herself to only dominate a few dozen monsters each time she entered.

For now, once they were inside the cages of the Ganesha Familia, she could stop directly controlling them, and with their minds subdued and freed from the Dungeon's malevolence, they were easy enough to handle even without her influence.

"This is good enough for a start, then," Shakti said, before clapping loudly to draw everyone's attention to her. "Alright, wrap it up, people! We're done here! Prepare to head back up!"

The Ganesha Familia's adventurers nodded and began to organize themselves, the Level 2s taking up the vanguard position while the Level 1s crowded around the handcarts and cages. Last but not least, Taylor, Shakti, and Chris took up the rear-guard position, and the convoy trundled off back towards the surface.

With the Level 2s leading the way, the expedition made good time. Other adventurers knew to get out of the way when people with cages and the elephant head emblem of Ganesha started coming through, and the swathes of Killer Ants under Taylor's control helped clear out paths quite a bit as well.

The Killer Ants made short work of the any monsters that popped up on the 6th Floor. Even the War Shadows could be overwhelmed and ripped to shreds by a sufficient number of them.

"Finding out what they need to eat is gonna be interesting," Shakti said as they reached the 5th Floor.

"Regular moths are herbivores. They eat seeds, nuts, and grains," Taylor informed her. "When raising domesticated moths, they can be fed flour and rice. Dried fruit makes for a good treat. The Purple Moths shouldn't be any different."

"And Blue Papilio?" a nearby Level 1 asked curiously.

"They are basically giant butterflies. And those drink flower nectar in the wild, like hummingbirds," Taylor replied as she stroked the head of the monster clinging to her back. "For the Blue Papilio, you'll likely need to feed them honey, fruit juice, and sugar water."

"That'll be expensive," another Ganesha Familia member groaned. "Sugar mainly comes from Telskyura and the tropical countries with sugarcane. Demeter has a few sugarcane plantations in the south near Melen, but they're not nearly as productive as they could be."

"Hmm. Good to know," Shakti said slowly. "I should have guessed you'd already know what their diets were."

"I raised a lot of different types of insects for a while," Taylor confirmed, recalling the times she'd been told by the PRT she could only use butterflies, ladybugs and other 'harmless' insects as a Ward. In order to have something to do, Taylor had taken care of them herself and gotten a lot of experience tending to her swarm's needs.

After a little bit, the group returned to the 1st Floor, and from there, made their way up to the surface. There was a couple of Guild clerks waiting for them, who immediately approached and began to inspect the cages as well as the monsters within them.

One of them sighed when they spotted Taylor with a Blue Papilio on her back but said nothing when the Level 2 handed over a bunch of Magic Stones to pay for the registration of her newest member of her swarm.

"Twenty-eight Purple Moths and six Blue Papilio," one of the inspectors said after he finished counting the monsters the Ganesha Familia were taking home with them. "That'll be three million, four hundred thousand valis, Miss Varma."

"Of course," the Level 5 adventurer said, taking out what looked like a stamp-seal made of ivory from one of her pockets and pressing it against the document the Guild employee presented to her. It left a magical imprint in the shape of the Ganesha Familia's emblem, along with a few extra runes in Koine to tell the Guild whose account to debit.

"Your new monsters' registration and tags will be ready by tomorrow," the clerk informed Shakti, who nodded gratefully before motioning towards her team.

"Back to the Menagerie, people!" she ordered, and the caged monsters were trundled out into the street as the Tamers brought their latest haul back to their base.

"Care to join us and see what their new homes will look like?" Shakti asked Taylor, who nodded.

"Yes, thank you," Taylor said, following along.

They reached the ridiculous statue-building, but instead of going in the front, they went around back to a secondary gate. Once inside the Ganesha Familia's compound, they descended into the underground level where the monsters used by the Tamers were kept, and was led by Shakti to a section that had been cleared out and replaced with a single giant cage. It was large enough to hold around fifty monsters comfortably, and decorated to resemble the 7th Floor with dark stone pillars for resting on, as well as a couple stone fountains for water.

"We wanted their new home to look similar enough to the Dungeon so the shock wouldn't be too overwhelming," Shakti explained. "We're looking into making space above ground when we're certain they can be trained and used properly, but for now, this is their home."

"Well, it looks good to me," Taylor said after inspecting it.

The bars were too close together for any of the monsters to squeeze through, and there were a couple of blackout curtain that could be drawn across the cage to block sight to calm the monsters.

A couple of fan-like magic tools were also scattered about to blow the powder back into the cage to prevent the Purple Moths poisoning anybody by accident. Or on purpose. They were still monsters, after all. Taylor didn't know what would happen to a monster she had dominated if she left it alone for a long time. Would it revert? Or would it stay docile?

"Glad to hear it meets your approval," Shakti said with a grateful nod. She then snapped her fingers, and her Familia began to open the cages up. Taylor then helped one last time by commanding the monsters to enter their new home.

A few more instructions were given to the monsters, mostly pertaining to obedience and acting like normal moths and butterflies and not bloodthirsty killers, and Taylor was done with her part of the deal.

"If this works… well, it will really go a long way towards helping the city and the adventurers," Shakti said, gazing off into the distant future. Taming and breeding docile moths and butterflies to harvest their medicinal powder could only provide benefits.

"I hope it does," Taylor agreed. "And don't forget the deal."

"Of course, we all signed the contract," Shakti nodded. "Naaza gets access to the materials we harvest in exchange for a favorable rate on all potions, and you get first pick of any newborns to raise for your swarm as the price for you helping us control and train them."

There was a lot more to it than just that, but that was the gist of things, and Taylor nodded, pleased by the results.

"Care to walk with me?" Shakti asked after a bit.

"Sure," Taylor agreed, and the two wandered out of the underground pens and into the zoo, where the Ganesha Familia corralled their Tamed beasts and allowed civilians to look at monsters from a safe distance. One of these caged exhibits was a Bloodsaurus, and Shakti made a beeline towards it.

"That's an impressive beast," Taylor said, praising the enormous dinosaur-like monster. Its scaly red skin had thick black stripes covering its body, marred here and there by pale patches of scars. It warily watched Taylor, Chris and the yet-unnamed Blue Papilio approach, but did not do anything as Shakti hopped the fence and approached its side.

"Thrasher has been with me since before I came to Orario," Shakti said, patting the monster's leg.

"Sounds like an interesting story," Taylor said, and the Tamer chuckled.

"Somewhat. My father was a hunter in kingdom of Hodu to the south-east, near Telskyura, and one day he came home with a huge red egg he'd found in the jungles. I begged him to give it to me because I thought I could hatch it into a giant chicken," Shakti revealed. "Of course, it turned out to be a little different from what I expected. Thrasher imprinted on me, and, well, I figured the best place to raise him would be Orario. Wild monsters can benefit from eating Magic Stones, even if they lack one of their own, though the effectiveness is reduced somewhat."

"Makes sense," Taylor hummed, looking up at the huge dinosaur. Then, after a bit she decided to voice a question she'd had for a while.

"How does the Taming ability even work?" Taylor couldn't help but ask.

"Hmm, how to explain…" Shakti muttered, thinking it over. "Imagine you can feel the emotions of a single living thing. But you can't communicate with it or tell it what to do. You know when it is hungry, when it is angry, and so on. Then, as you bond with it, meeting its needs and caring for it, you start to be able to… nudge its mind, I guess? It's not truly commanding it like what you can do, but the stronger the bond, the more it becomes possible to exchange information and intentions through the link. At D-rank, a Tamer is able to know where their companion is, regardless of distance, and judge their condition."

"So, like a Familiar?" Taylor wondered, thinking of the pets wizards and witches of Earth Bet's fiction would have had, and Shakti nodded brightly.

"Yes, exactly! It's not perfect, but with time and training, a Tamer can observe what is around their companion judging on their emotions," Shakti said, snapping her fingers. "For instance, in the Dungeon, Thrasher here could tell if a monster was nearby by its smell. He can then 'tell' me a monster is approaching by sending me his emotions through the link we share. It takes a bit of nuance to understand properly, but I can differentiate between, say, an Orc and a Minotaur based on the way Thrasher send me these feelings and impressions."

"Fascinating," Taylor muttered. It sounded similar yet different to the way her own power worked. "How many creatures can a Tamer control at once?"

"It depends," Shakti admitted. "At I-rank, upon first receiving the Developmental Ability, an adventurer gains an instinctive understanding of a monster's – or any animal, really – wants and needs. If they're hungry, thirsty, and so-on. They can create a bond with a single monster as well that grants all of that sensory sharing stuff I mentioned earlier. Then, upon reaching H-rank, a Tamer can begin making an emotional bond with a second monster and control them more thoroughly. At every rank after that, they can increase the strength of a single bond, or branch off and create a new one. By that logic, a person could create up to ten individual bonds at S rank. And I've heard rumors that at B-rank, an adventurer can see through the eyes of their bonded creature."

"I see. What happens when a monster with a bond dies?" Taylor wondered.

"I've never had it happen to me, Thrasher is the only critter I've ever bonded with, but from what I know from other Tamers, it's like it… resets? They can make a new bond and strengthen it. Though at F-rank, since Tamers can sense the emotions of all other living beings, even people, who are around them, suddenly losing an old and strong bond can be emotionally devastating, and lead to depression," Shakti claimed. "Some have compared it to losing a child, or loved one. Hence why most Tamers in Orario prefer to bond with Dungeon-born monsters to use in combat, as they are so vicious and hate-filled that when they inevitably die, the breaking of the bond does not affect the Tamer as much. It's hard to grow attached to something that is always trying to kill you, after all."

"Wait, hold up, you can tell how I'm feeling?" Taylor asked, surprised, eyes narrowing at that little tidbit.

"Yes. Though it is very… weird, being able to detect your emotions when they're diffused through your swarm," Shakti said. "It's like looking at a fog made of colors."

"I see. Is it easier to Tame wild monsters compared to the ones in the Dungeon?" Taylor wondered, deciding to avoid thinking about a bunch of people being able to see how she felt whenever they wanted. Although it did give her a few ideas for fighting Tamers in the future if she ever needed to.

"Yes. Wild monsters are basically just animals. Dangerous, but capable of being taught, especially when young," Shakti said as she tossed some raw meat to her Tamed companion. "The monsters from the Dungeon, though, are nearly impossible to control. They just have too much hatred in them."

"The rule of thumb is the bigger the Magic Stone, the harder it is to Tame," Shakti continued. "And a Level 2 Tamer won't be able to Tame a monster that is, say around Level 3 in strength. Most Tamers try to bond with weaker monsters at least a Level weaker than them in order to have better control."

"That tracks with what I've experienced," Taylor agreed.

"What is it like?" Shakti wondered, turning to Taylor. "You can feel the minds of the monsters under your control, yes?"

"You're right, I can," Taylor nodded. "And it's true. The Dungeon born monsters' minds are full of nothing but bloodlust. Without it, there is barely anything else. I had to train Chris, Anne, and the others to eat and drink when they needed to, and to sleep when they got tired."

"Speaking of Anne, how is she doing?" Shakti inquired.

"Better. She stopped growing, at least," Taylor said. "Though she can barely move anymore. If not for Debbie digging out some extra space, she'd have gotten stuck in her den with how fat she's gotten."

The Killer Ant under her control had swollen to truly massive size, or at least its abdomen had. It was enormous, the chitin straining and peeling back in places. Taylor had an idea about what was happening: Anne was transforming into a queen after eating all those high-quality Magic Stones.

Soon, she would be laying eggs that would hatch into Killer Ants, which Taylor was curious about. She brought up her suspicions to Shakti, and the captain nodded in agreement.

"It does sound like that," the Tamer commented. "Be careful. We don't want monsters to accidentally get loose. The Guild and the rest of the Familias would come down hard on us for that, and our efforts to raise these monsters would be severely curtailed, if not outright stopped."

"Are there any other populations of Killer Ants on the surface?" Taylor asked.

"I've heard there are Killer Ants in the Kaios Desert, though they are a devolved variant known as Giant Sand Ants," Shakti said. "And there are some in the jungles around Telskyura."

"I see. I've heard there are spider-like monsters in the Dungeon as well. Have you ever seen any?" was Taylor's next question.

"Oh, absolutely," Shakti said with a grimaced. "They're nasty things. Arachne live in the Dense Forest Ravine and look like a human woman from the top up, but have the lower half of a spider. They can also spit acid capable of melting armor. Their nickname is 'Maneater.'"

"Because the nudity distracts men?" Taylor guessed. Shakti nodded.

"There's supposed to be another something even deeper called a Deformis Spider, though I've never seen one since they only exist past the 50th Floor, and I've never gone further than the 44th."

The two of them chatted for a bit more about monsters and the Dungeon until it was almost noon, at which point they decided to go have lunch together.

However, things took a dark turn as when they left the Ganesha Familia's compound, both of them were able to spot a thick pillar of smoke rising up into the sky in the west, and a thrill of fear shot through Taylor.

'That's in the direction of the church!' she realized.

While there were plenty of things in that direction, an uneasy feeling had settled into her stomach, and she knew deep in her gut that it was her home that was on fire.

Memories of Brockton Bay and Earth Bet rushed to the fore of her mind, and all around her the insects of Orario began to buzz and shriek.

"Taylor!" Shakti called out, placing a hand onto the parahuman's shoulder. "Calm down!"

Taylor flinched at the contact and glanced over at the other captain. A momentary flash of guilt ran through her as she realized that the monsters she'd just delivered were going crazy as well, along with any others she could control.

Quickly reaching out, she clamped down hard and shut off their aggressive behavior. The monsters under her control immediately went still. There was no reason to freak people out.

"I need to go," Taylor told Shakti, who merely nodded in understanding.

"I'm coming with you," the azure haired woman declared.

The two rushed out of the Ganesha Familia compound, the Level 5 captain easily able to keep up with Chris as it carried Taylor across the city while the giant blue butterfly flew after them.

'Please, be safe!' Taylor pleaded in her mind, praying that Hestia, Bell, and the others were safe.

And if they weren't… then Orario would witness the return of Khepri.

111 &&& 111

Rushing towards the church, Taylor could detect several adventurers just at the edge of her swarm's senses. From their position, they were standing on the roofs of the nearby buildings.

'Seven of them. Hyakinthos, two Level 2s, and three Level 1s. They're underestimating us,' Taylor thought to herself angrily. They were going to regret that.

'But first, there's something else I have to make sure is taken care of,' she thought angrily.

"Shakti! Please go find Hestia and protect her," Taylor requested.

"You think Lord Apollo would be stupid enough to order an attack on another god?" the Ganesha Familia captain asked incredulously, glancing over at her.

"If he's willing to do this, then he would be willing to attack my own Familia in other ways," Taylor replied. "I would put money on some people harassing Bell and the others while they're in the Dungeon, and I wouldn't put it past Apollo to try and destroy the Jagamarukun stall Hestia works at."

"Damn it," Shakti growled, recognizing that both scenarios were very likely. She immediately split off, rushing into the marketplace where Hestia was peddling her fried potato snacks.

"Don't kill any of them!" Shakti called over her shoulder, a pleading note in her voice. Taylor didn't response. She just urged Chris to run faster.

As she got closer, Taylor was able to detect the roaring flames through her swarm that was stationed there, the spiders she used for spinning silk cowering from the flames, many already dead from the fire, heat and smoke, while without her to control them, the monsters had only been able to fall back on old instincts and attack.

It did not go well for them. The Gun Libellula had been slain, Taylor no longer able to detect it. Anne had been too large to move from her den and was unable to flee from the smoke. She was starting to choke and asphyxiate.

Debbie was doing better, her massive bulk and lack of eyes and other visible weak points to target allowing it to tank the flaming arrows being shot at it. Unfortunately, the Apollo Familia's adventurers were nimble and kept away by staying high on the buildings. Debbie rampaged and slammed into the buildings they were standing on, tearing them apart and causing tremendous property damage, but was unable to harm any of the archers as they simply leapt aside.

Now that Taylor was on the scene, she could start influencing her swarm, and like a maestro conducting an orchestra, the shadows of Orario sang with her song.

First, she ordered her spiders to evacuate and carry what they could away from the building in question. Next, Debbie stopped wildly attacking and threw herself at the flames, rolling through the flames and smothering them in dirt.

As for the adventurers, her smaller bugs rose up, buzzing furiously as they struck back, biting and stinging. The archers immediately panicked.

"What's going on?!" one of the adventurers exclaimed.

"It's Weaver! She's here!"

"What?! But she should be in the Dungeon right now!"

"RUN!"

"Do not retreat!" Hyakinthos shouted.

Taylor decided to punish him for this foolish decision, and had her insects burrow into his companions. Eyes, ears, noses, and mouths were attacked, the soft flesh an easy target for her small critters.

Very quickly, the Apollo Familia routed, unable to keep fighting.

"YoU sHouLd RUN!" Taylor roared at them, forming a bug clone in front of the captain.

Hyakinthos fired a few arrows, trying to cover the retreat of his team, but they passed harmlessly through the cloud of bugs making up her clone. In response, Taylor sent the swarm towards him, but he was fast, and blitzed across the rooftops away from her.

Taylor grit her teeth. She could pursue, and a part of her desperately wished to do so, but she could still feel the crackling heat of the blazing church behind her.

In the end, she decided that her home was more important than pursuing revenge, and focused more on saving what she could while putting out the blaze.

A few minutes later, most of the church was gone, replaced by charred ruins, a pile of sooty, partially burnt objects lying in the lawn. The bed and some other furniture had been retrieved mostly intact, but the couch was completely ruined. The cooking supplies and clothing weren't looking good either.

Worse was the loss of life. Over half of the spiders had perished and a large number of the silk garments had melted or otherwise been ruined. And then there were the monsters. The Gun Libellula and Anne were dead, the former slain by the Apollo Familia, the latter suffocated to death from the smoke.

"I'm so sorry, Anne," Taylor said softly as she stared at the huge pile of ash that was all that remained of the Killer Ant. She had been close fully finishing her transformation into a queen, but now that would never happen.

Disappointed, Taylor bent down to pick up the Magic Stone from her remains, but as she got closer, something seemed off.

"What the…" Taylor muttered as she sifted through the ash. For some reason, there were multiple lumps buried within. After something digging, she extracted a Magic Stone, but also something else. It was round and slick, like a black, glossy pearl.

"She laid an egg!" the parahuman gasped. Anne had managed to lay a single egg before dying, the metamorphosized Killer Ant leaving behind a single second-generation monster before succumbing!

Her awe was cut short as her swarm detected movement at the edge of her control, and tensed for a moment before recognizing the hum as Hestia and Shakti, the former being carried in the arms of the latter.

The parahuman left the cave and walked back out to meet the Familia's namesake, and watched as the two arrived.

"Taylor!" Hestia cried out, jumping out of Shakti's arms and rushing at the taller girl. She threw her arms around Taylor's waist, crying into her stomach.

"It's okay," Taylor said awkwardly, patting her back. "We can rebuild. And replace the things we lost."

"I'm sad because I was worried about you!" Hestia shouted, glaring up at Taylor with teary eyes.

"Oh," Taylor muttered.

"Yeah. Oh," Hestia huffed, pouting a little. She then blinked at the round and black orb Taylor was holding. "Hang on, is that…?"

"Anne didn't make it," Taylor said. "But she managed to lay an egg at the last minute."

Shakti perked up, intrigued. She directed a curious glance at the egg, her interest in monsters piqued by the presence of a genuine monster egg.

"Were you okay, Hestia?" Taylor asked. "You weren't hurt or being harassed?"

"Some Apollo Familia members tried to interfere with my business, but a couple of my regular customers intervened," Hestia said.

"That's a relief," Taylor said.

"Yeah, nobody wants to get on the Sword Princess' bad side," Hestia nodded. Before Taylor could comment on that, something pinged against her senses.

"Heads up," Taylor said as more familiar hums appeared in her swarm's range.

It wasn't long before Bell and the rest appeared, looking dirty and tired but also extremely cheerful. They'd been chatting and joking with each other as they'd approached, so they hadn't been in trouble, but when they came into view of what was left of the Hestia Familia's base, all of them jerked to a halt.

"What happened?!" Lili screamed, her expression of horror mirrored by the others upon seeing the church. All save Bell, who was staring at the scene with a very worrying lack of emotion on his face, his hands clenching tightly into fists.

"The Apollo Familia happened," Taylor said bitterly.

"So, it was them," Shakti muttered. "I was afraid of that."

"Are you alright?" Hestia asked them. "Did the Apollo Familia try anything against you in the Dungeon?"

"Luan, that little coward, tried to Parade Pass us on the 6th Floor," Lili said, spitting out her fellow pallum's name.

"Ah, the one from the other night," Taylor muttered, recalling him.

"It didn't work," Iris chuckled. "The look on his face when we killed all of those monsters, even the War Shadows, without breaking a sweat, was hilarious!"

"We decided to leave after that, though," Bell said. "We'd already been down there for a while, and, well, I had a bad feeling."

"I'm glad you're safe," Taylor said, relieved it wasn't anything too bad and that Emma, Leo, and Silva hadn't been hurt.

"What are we going to do now, Lady Hestia?" Leo demanded, grabbing onto her sword's hilt tightly.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Hestia declared, and everyone straightened up unconsciously at the sharp tone in her voice.

"Taylor, I want you to go to the Apollo Familia," Hestia ordered with barely contained fury. "And in my name, declare war upon that arrogant narcissistic arsonist."

"As you wish," Taylor said darkly, her swarm buzzing furiously around her. Apollo was going to suffer for this.

"What are you going to do, Lady Hestia?" Bell asked.

"I am going to wait at the Tower of Babel," Hestia stated. "Because if Apollo wants a War Game? He's going to play by my rules!"

She then turned to Shakti. "Thank you for protecting me, Miss Varma. I have one final request for you, though."

"Ask away," the captain replied.

"Can you go bring Ganesha to Babel as well? Tradition dictates a third god to act as a neutral observer. And he's the only one I trust to be neutral that Apollo would accept as well."

"Of course," Shakti said. "I'll go request his help immediately."

"Thank you," Hestia said with a sigh.

"And what should we do?" Emma inquired.

"For now, sort through what's left and see what can be recovered," Hestia asked. "We'll find a place to sleep after I return from Babel."

"And stay on guard," Taylor requested. "We don't know what exactly will happen, but if any other Familias try to take advantage of this, be sure to give them a black eye."

"Yes, captain!" everyone called out.

Before departing, Taylor made sure to hand over Anne's egg to Shakti. She had no way to take care of such a fragile object right now, and the Tamer captain was the best choice.

The older adventurer was clearly surprised, but she nodded, and promised to protect it. Taylor and Shakti then left, each of them going in different directions.

Hestia had told her to do as she pleased to the Apollo Familia, but she could not harm any of them. And Taylor would not harm a hair on any of their heads. Apollo had to be in one piece so he'd able to reach Babel and accept Hestia's declaration of a War Game, after all. But they would experience the wrath of Weaver - no, they would experience Skitter, Warlord of Brockton Bay.

As Taylor strode towards the ostentatious manor, she gathered more and more insects to her side, adding everything she came across until the streets were filled with a living tide of chitin under her command.

The people who were out and about wisely ducked inside nearby structures, not wanting to be swept up into the enormous storm of bugs.

For once, Taylor was not riding on Chris. The Crystal Mantis had suffered some burns from helping rescue what they could from the church, and he was a bit too conspicuous. This was a stealth mission, where Taylor for once did not want to be spotted. She kept to the alleyways, avoiding being spotted. Only her swarm was visible, and it was a clever distraction. While everyone was staring at the tide of insect, they'd never pay attention to a lone figure darting through the shadows.

It wasn't long before the enormous home of the people who'd attacked her came into view. Through the swarm under her control she was able to detect a few things that were going on within. There were fifty adventurers within the building, and Hyakinthos was speaking to Apollo in a throne room. She felt her rage boiling over as she eavesdropped on the conversation between them.

"Did you succeed?" Apollo inquired.

"We burnt the place down as you instructed, Lord Apollo," Hyakinthos stated.

"Hmph. I doubt there was much to actually destroy," Apollo scoffed. "They were living in a hovel, from what I was told."

"Indeed. It was pathetic," the captain agreed.

"Did you manage to kill any of those filthy monsters?" Apollo wondered.

"One of them was slain. I am unsure about another, and the Dungeon Worm was able to resist my arrows," Hyakinthos replied.

"Whatever. Our goal was accomplished. Next, I want you to go to the Guild and complain to them about how the Hestia Familia's Tamed monsters tried to attack you unprovoked. Then, spread some rumors about that as well. Make them become pariahs in Orario. Then Hestia will have no choice to but hand over Bell to me!"

Taylor snarled, having heard enough, and she lashed out, commanding her swarm to attack.

"APOLLO!" Taylor roared through her swarm as it engulfed the gaudy mansion that the other Familia called home.

She could hear the screams of fear and shouts of disbelief. Many were running around in panic, trying to find her, but she wasn't going to be found that easily. She wasn't even in the mansion, despite how some adventurers claimed she had to be close by in order to control her massive insectoid legion.

But she ignored them, because the only two people that mattered right now were Apollo himself and his captain. The Level 3 adventurer had leapt protectively in front of the self-proclaimed god as soon as her bug clone had manifested inside the throne room. Meanwhile, Apollo was staring at the swarm in disgust as he sat on his ego-stroking seat. Seriously, who built a chair to have their own face on the armrests?

"Hyakinthos, dispose of this pest!" Apollo ordered, and the captain of the Familia obeyed, drawing his bow and firing in a swift motion, almost too fast for her to perceive. Well, he tried. But his arrows simply passed through the bug-clone harmlessly.

"That didn't work the last time you tried it. What made you think it would be able to do so this time?" Taylor asked, genuinely curious if the human captain had some sort of mental problem. That was the only reason she could think of for doing something so stupid.

"Why are you here?" Apollo demanded when he realized that this messenger would not be so easily dismissed.

"You attacked our home. Attacked my friends in the Dungeon. And demanded one of our own as another 'trophy' for your sick amusement," Taylor said, anger bubbling forth in her voice. "So be it! The Hestia Familia declares war against the Apollo Familia!"

"You? Declare war on us? Hilarious," Apollo said mockingly. "We have done nothing wrong! Those 'attacks' were simply misunderstandings! And it is obvious that a boy as talented as Cranel would be better suited in a larger, stronger Familia."

"Your lies are painfully obvious," Taylor spat at him. "But it doesn't matter, in the end. You've poked the hornet's nest, Apollo. Now, it's time to pay the price."

All across the mansion, the swarm buzzed angrily, and then began to attack the surroundings. Ants and beetles tore apart curtains and toppled expensive vases and statues, and termites savaged the furniture as well as the support beams of the building itself. And, of course, the armory was ravaged, with the bows, spears, and leather armor gnawed apart by countless mandibles.

In mere minutes the entire Apollo Familia's base was in ruins. It was still standing, but it would need a lot of time and valis for repairs and refurbishment.

This, of course, infuriated Apollo, especially when the throne he was lounging upon fell apart underneath him, weakened and riddled with holes by a swarm of termites.

"YOU BITCH!" he screamed in rage. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

"Consider it retribution for your misdeeds," Taylor replied. "Hestia awaits you at the Tower of Babel. You can either apologize, or suffer another humiliating defeat in a War Game. The choice is yours."

With that, the bug-clone collapsed, and the swarm began to disperse. The bugs and assorted creepy-crawlies didn't leave, though, and began to mindlessly infest the mansion, worsening the damage.

Her message delivered, Taylor returned to her Familia and what was left of the Church. It was time to prepare for battle. The Apollo Familia and all of Orario would learn what the price of attacking what she cared for was.

111 &&& 111

Author's Note: Did you enjoy the chapter? I hope you did! And if you want early chapters or to support the writing process, check out Akashicrecordstrue on Patty-ron or Akashicrecords on Kofi!