Reincarnated as a random race, of course I got goblin.

Chapter 128 - Pest Control

Time seems to slow to a crawl as I impatiently wait for Shadow to finish the Spring. Pacing the room, I glance between the openings into the magma-tube-system. Indeed, it was odd that there were so few monsters about. 

They're either hiding or killed by the invading Pyre Myrmidons. The five Yuki-Onna that were summoned by Shadow flinch when I give a displeased huff. 

Thorncutter is spending the down-time eating the weapons the Pyre Myrmidons were using. Seems ready-made equipment like this is more effective nourishment than the raw parts of monsters. Already, I can see that her shaft, previously a matte black metal, has changed colour and texture to be more reddish brown and chitinous. 

"Oh, this is neat..." She pauses halfway through a shield made of layered-together ant foreheads. It's the fifth she's eaten so far. 

Her form glows as it does when she enters her 'weapon mode', but instead of a naginata, she takes the form of a kite-shield. Its edges are jagged and point in all directions, seemingly meant to snag the blades of attackers. 

She glows again before returning to her snake-like true form. "Seems I can embody different kinds of weapons after eating enough of them. It's really uncomfortable though." She somehow manages to frown despite her lack of facial features. 

"That's nice. It should give us some more options in the future, but if it's really as bad as you claim, we won't force you." Although this is a welcome development, it's not too useful yet, especially if it's uncomfortable for her to use. 

"There, it's done." Shadow sighs. "I'm going to need to lay down for a bit..." She mumbles, already drifting off to sleep even as I re-join our bodies. I glance over to the Divine Spring. Its lovely craftmanship is evident even if we did rush the job. 

The mycelium of the Miragia is eagerly draping itself across the statue, dangling just above the waters of the Spring, the desire to enter is evident- yet it still waits. It's not ready yet. 

"Soon, Muspel, you will be reborn. Your original Maker is waiting for you to awake." I gently speak, caressing the thickening coils of fungal matter. The mere presence of the Divine Spring is reinvigorating the Miragia.

"Master, we need to tend to the Myrmidon Queen." Thorncutter reminds me as she coils up around my torso, all the better to snuggle up against me when we're not in combat. "Who is Muspel?" She asks once we've left, following the pheromone trail left by the invading Pyre Myrmidons.

"There's an old faith in my original World, where it was said that the source of primordial light and fire was a realm called Muspelheim, located at the far south of a giant void called Ginnungagap." I pause my explanation as we come across a troop of Myrmidons.

With the aid of the five Yuki-Onna, it's quick and easy to deal with them. They don't even need to be frozen solid, just enough to slow them down as Thorncutter and I cut them apart. 

"I thought It would be fitting that the Demigod of Heat be named in a similar vein to Yggdrasil, which in the same faith was the tree that held the world in its bough." I finish explaining. 

"I see! How interesting, this other World of yours..." Thorncutter seems eager to learn more of my old World, but this isn't the time. We're steadily closing in on the Queen, the stench of the pheromones almost making me want to vomit. 

Of course, as we get closer to the Queen, the amount of Myrmidons increase. The Royal Guard type also starts showing up. Unlike their common Worker sisters, they are fully upright, using one pair of legs to walk on, and the other two pairs are for wielding weapons. 

Their elegance in quad-wielding rapiers is something to behold, but they're just as quickly cut down as the others. The fewer Myrmidons left alive once the Queen is felled, the better. Once they lose their cohesion, they lose their main advantage, which is team-work and numbers.