《The Demon Within》
Ch.1: The Awakening
¡°Finally done with the 2nd level,¡± I grumble. Beside me lay several of my classmates panting heavily. ¡°We still have 18 more levels to clear,¡± a voice resounds. I am too tired to trace the owner of the voice, but it sounded feminine. Currently, we are inside the Fritzy Dungeon. It is a narrow space of around 10m diameter, and the air is heavy. It is also hard to see, and even though we have been in the dungeon for two hours, our eyes have not yet adjusted. I¡¯m sure I wouldn¡¯t even have dreamed of doing this a few days ago. I mean, I did not even imagine that such a thing exists.
A few days ago, Deml and some other people summoned us inside a mythical place. I really have no idea why our class was chosen, but everyone from my class was summoned. What happened later still remains a mystery to me. I somehow fainted due to exhaustion then and did not listen to whatever Deml was saying. Basically, this country, Napja, is in a dire situation.
It somehow has miraculously managed to provoke all the superpowers of this world. How they did it, neither concerns me nor interests me. I sigh, my friend beside me watches me sigh, and pats my back. I¡¯m sure he said something along the lines of ¡®Keep it up¡¯, but I didn¡¯t hear it. Deml is right in front of our squad. He always wears a grey robe and hides his face. I¡¯m guessing he has some sort of burn over his face, but I don¡¯t dare ask him that.
Most of the times, he speaks so strongly that I can visualize his expressions even if I cannot see his face. Somehow, he, who always remains hidden, is really strong. I¡¯ve never heard him praising himself before, but the sentences "Deml is one of the best swordsman of all Napja" and "Without Deml, Napja would have already been done for" found their way into my brain. I do not remember who spoke them, but wherever I go, people know Deml.
Deml announces that it¡¯s the end of the break, and we start advancing downstairs to the third level.
At the front of the squad after Deml, there always is Iou and his friends. Iou is pretty much the daredevil of our class. However, he is also strong. His friends, Clair, Rudolf and Shizu are all strong too. Clair is a female who excels at healing. When in trouble, she increases the health of a person and, well, she just saves them. It must be mentioned that she easily gets tensed. I¡¯m not counting on her to do any miracles when it¡¯s a tight situation. She easily loses her cool.
Rudolf is perhaps the second strongest person in this dungeon, first being Deml. Of course, outside dungeon, most of the people are stronger than him. But taking into consideration that he¡¯s only started training four days ago, he is strong. To be honest, I had expected Iou to be strongest, but it seems Rudolf is stronger than Iou by a fair margin. Rudolf is hot-blooded. He easily flares up and is easiest to make fun of. He¡¯s perhaps the most dedicated out of us students. Due to his arrogant personality, he often ignores what Deml tells us. He¡¯ll be one of the first to die.
The last one is Shizu. There is probably no one in this dungeon as trustworthy as her. She has been practicing sword in a dojo since she has been five, so her swordsmanship is no joke. She and Deml talk often. I guess swords-freaks get along well. She has participated in many kendo battles, so she always has her cool. Always calm and collected, she accurately strikes the weak point of the enemy. Apparently, her strength seems to be at par with Rudolf¡¯s at a glance since they pretty much get rid of the lesser demons in a single stroke. But when some strong demons appear, it is clear that who punches in most of the damage. However, she is not inferior to Rudolf in any sense of fighting. She makes up for her lack of strength with her speedy agility and finishes striking the demon more than five times when Rudolf only manages four.
These four are always the vanguards of our squad. Clair stays a bit behind than the other three though, because she doesn¡¯t have any strength or agility. She can only heal from a distance the injured allies. Apparently, all four of them have been friends since they were children and can coordinate easily.
By the way, currently in my hand, I have a dagger. When Deml had asked me which weapon would I prefer, I had chosen a dagger. I wield a dagger in my left hand as well, although my dominant hand does most of the work. I¡¯m not used to dual-wield daggers. My stats, at the very best, are average. As such, I stay in middle of the formation and when a demon strays out from its gang, I ambush and quickly finish it off. We clear the third level. Practicing against these demons gives us experience, and so, increases our stats.
The reason that I¡¯m average is not because I am weak. I am simply not interested, and hence slack off from practice. After all, there is no need for me to work hard for a country that I do not even belong to. I¡¯m not sure why the others are doing it. Perhaps for a stupid reason. Maybe they think it is cool to be summoned in a different world and then fight like the heroes of various fairy tales. I will definitely not spend my time supporting this country. However, Deml forces everybody to enter in a dungeon, even if they are not practicing.
On the fourth floor, I get to finish off three demons. On the fifth, I manage to kill two. The demons get stronger as we advance downstairs. As such, the top most floor is the first floor, and the down most floor is the top floor. Advancing downstairs rather than advancing upstairs is always creepy. There¡¯s this kind of eerie feeling that you can¡¯t get rid of. When we reach the sixth floor, there is a large demon waiting for us. Sometimes, Deml had said before, strong demons appear even in the dungeon of small. After all, there are bosses that control the areas. ¡°Every place has a food chain, and some demons love to eat the flesh of their fellow race,¡± Deml had said when he was explaining stuff about the dungeon.
Well, I wouldn¡¯t go as far as to classify demons as a single race like Deml. There are demons that look like bats, and there some that look like wolves. It is just too rash to call every creature that has grayish skin covered with black lines as a demon. There must be demon species, and races.
What we have in front of us was, without a doubt, boss of the sixth floor. However, we had the numerical advantage. Beating all thirty of us would be impossible for it. Despite that fact, I cannot disregard the thought that he might gravely injure or kill two or three of us. Although I¡¯m sure Deml will jump in and kill the demon in one strike if he sees that somebody is in danger. The first one to charge in is Iou. He quickly rushes and pierces the knee of the large demon. Iou is a lance-wielder. He carries a long lance with which he pierces his opponent.
The demon is not only strong, but also agile. He speedily kicks Iou with force, causing Iou to fall back several steps behind. Clair quickly rushes to him while Rudolf guards her.
Watching the scene unfold, the group rushed in. Except me, I¡¯m dumbfounded and busy. I¡¯m busy figuring out the structure of the demon. It looks like a standing goat, maybe. No, I¡¯m sure that I¡¯m wrong. I thought of goats because of the horns on the demon¡¯s head. But, I¡¯m undoubtedly wrong. After all, the demon cannot be compared to any structure, pattern or life form that I know. Yes, the demon is not like anything. Like how all people are dissimilar. So what do you do when there is a lifeform like anybody else? You have no choice but to acknowledge them as a new lifeform. A new species. A different kind.
When I clear my thoughts, I am staring up the demon. All my classmates have surrounded it and are attacking his knees like crazy. Mages, behind me, launch some spells at the demon which are aimed for its head. I should attack a bit. Thinking that, I rush in as well. Half of us are divided at each leg of the demon. The struggle continues for a while, and I manage to hit the demon some dozens of times. Still, to me, it seems that we have only half-killed the demon. When I think that we will need about ten more minutes to finish him, Shizu poses herself and her sword in a weird manner.
She is directly pointing the sword at the demon¡¯s head, even though her sword possibly cannot reach the tall demon¡¯s head. The next instant, she lowers her sword and shouts ¡°Blossoming Petals¡±. Her sword gets replicated into several swords and they fly in the air while she holds her original sword. Without waiting for a moment, the swords fly to the head and pierce it while she jumps on several people and deals a heavy blow with her sword on the demon¡¯s stomach.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.With this, he is done for. While I appreciate her for pulling out such a flashy stunt, I¡¯d rather prefer that she would have struck a place from where the blood wouldn¡¯t fall on me.
Having black demon blood fall on you can never be good. And it¡¯s not that easy to get rid of. But ah, well, that was splendid. What she just pulled out was a magic called ¡°Blossoming Petals¡±. All of us can train for a skill and acquire it. There are no status windows here to inform you how powerful your skill is or how efficient it is. You just have to imagine the skill, then train it until you master it. I take a look at Deml. He seems to be pleased, I think, even though his expression can¡¯t be seen. While Deml annoys me to some extent, I also agree with him. She must have invested a good amount of time and effort to learn that skill.
After we rest for a few minutes, we continue and clear the sixth floor, too. The campaign proceeds without any events until the 20th floor. We encounter a boss again, on the twentieth floor, the last floor of our campaign. Fritzy Dungeon does continue downstairs, but Deml has decided that for today we¡¯re only going until the 20th floor. It was a really good decision. Because I can clearly see that all of us tired, exhausted and want to get out of here as soon as possible.
How I wish he had made it the 19th floor. Because what awaited us on the 20th floor was the boss of the dungeon. All of us knew that the boss of 20th floor is at least three-fold times stronger than the one on the 6th. The level of our opponent was increased, but we had not grown much. We only had few of our stats raised that were not even comparable to our opponent. The demon boss raged at us, and we started fighting it.
While we were struggling, many students looked at Shizu. They were expecting for the spell to occur again. However, that spell requires a lot of magic power. It would take a long time for Shizu to reassemble that much magic power in a short time. Besides, this boss wasn¡¯t going to go down with only one fatal blow. We will need more than five ¡°Blossoming Petals¡± to finish him off completely, and that isn¡¯t possible.
Iou climbs the leg of the monster and runs up towards its shoulders. Then, he takes his lance and pierces it several times on its shoulders until the demon roars and goes berserk. It makes hasty movements, trying to make Iou fall, and it succeeds. Then, when it was about to stomp on him, Iou pierces the lance in its leg. The demon groaned, while Rudolf jumped at Iou to clear him away from the demon¡¯s foot. Clair quickly followed and healed Iou.
The demon cries out, enraged at Iou, brings his hand down and easily sweeps , both? Clair and Iou. They both collide into the wall on side and groan out loudly in pain. It was a good thing that Iou was the one to take the direct hit, and not Clair, because then, Clair ? who was with a low defense ? received much less damage. Rudolf rushes to their help, while Delm quickly unfastens his bag and took out some containers. The containers were potions. You could always rely on them when you were hit. They heal you to some extent. He quickly made Clair drink the potion, and then did the same with Iou.
While three of vanguards were away, only Shizu was defending the front-line. Some male classmates of mine tried to move in front but the demon let out a roar and dealt a blow with its hand which made the others retreat. While the demon was about to land another blow, I rushed in.
I jump on the hand that it has lowered and run on it to his shoulder, imitating Iou. And then, I strike the wound Iou had inflicted several times. The demon gets so enraged that he starts shaking me much more violently that what he had done with Iou. I know that if I get flown away, I will hit the wall. Then, Deml will interfere and kill the demon instantly to save me, so I do not hesitate. Everybody quickly gets away from the demon because of its aggressiveness.
I continue to slash its shoulder, but then he thinks up a very, very heinous parting gift. It deliberately falls on the ground with full force, breaking down the floor, and the floor below it, and many floors below it, and we fall down rapidly some several floors down. It was good that everybody had moved a fair distance away from the demon, or they would have been involved in this mess too.
However, I soon regret the decision. When I open my eyes, I am alone in deep down in the dungeon. There is nobody but me and the dead demon here. Although I¡¯m sure that there are many demons lurking out on this floor too. There is no doubt that I¡¯m in a fatal situation. My body is exhausted and there are many enemies out here. From the looks of it, I must have fallen some 15 floors down. Okay, this is bearable. Help will arrive in some hours.
So, I wait. I wait for a long time.
A day has passed.
Another day has passed.
This is weird. There shouldn¡¯t be anything wrong with climbing down 15 floors and rescuing me if Deml¡¯s with them. So why is that no one has come to my rescue? Please, come fast. I¡¯m hungry too. I haven¡¯t eaten anything for two days now. What is wrong with all of you?
This is wrong. This is not how you deal with these sort of situations. I¡¯m hungry. I want to eat something, anything, however bad it tastes. But I have nothing. For some reason, demons here do not approach me. I¡¯m not sure whether the reason is that a boss has fallen beside me and hence do not see me, or whether they think that I¡¯m not worth eating.
The third day passes. I¡¯m really hungry now. And I haven¡¯t drank anything either. My throat is dry, and my stomach grumbles every hour. My limit is approaching. And I feel as if I¡¯m being driven at insanity. Please, just come, everybody, anybody, somebody and help me.
The fourth day passes. I¡¯m really at my limit now. I¡¯m breaking, both physically and mentally.
On day five, despair is all over me. They say you can live for weeks without food, but for me, someone who hasn¡¯t really went through any hardships, even five days seem hard. I cannot continue. I open wide my mouth and bite the demon¡¯s flesh. It tastes horrible. But I don¡¯t care. I continue eating it until I¡¯m satisfied.
And then, I scream. My entire body hurts, and my throat is literally crying. My chest feels heavy and my vision gets blurred. I pant heavily. I can¡¯t stop this pain, this pain which is like my insides are turning upside down. I want to vomit, but my body won¡¯t let me.
I curl up like a small ball, tears in my eyes, hugging my knees, still feeling the pain as intense as before. This pain won¡¯t even let me sleep. All I can do is to close my eyes, wishing the pain to end. If I had known that eating demon flesh or drinking demon blood would have such adverse effects on me, I would have never ate it.
Why is that I only felt this pain when my meal was over? Probably, the reason is that as long as I continue taking in the demon meat, I will not feel pain. So, I get up, and grab a bite. Yes, I affirm, I was right. Completely right. The pain stops momentarily. I was right. Why was I right? Why couldn¡¯t I be wrong? My being right affirms a completely detestable fact.
I suffer for another six hours before taking in another bite. And I continue the entire schedule every day. And, at end of two months, I end up eating every single part of demon except his skeleton. Black lines start emerging on my arms. My eyes turn blood red, and my hairs grow long and turn red too. My height increases by some 15 cm, my insides cry out as they adjust to the tremendous change in my body.
And then, I am reborn. Not as a human, but as a demon.
Next Chapter
Thank you Coreh_ for proof-reading
Ch 2: Progression
The change that had taken place after I ate the demon had shocked me. Because I ate the demon, my stats were increased considerably¨Dexcept the intelligence one. I guess demons don¡¯t really have intelligence. Of course, there was no way to confirm this as there was nothing such as stat window here. However, I could feel that I¡¯ve become stronger, faster and my movements smoother. Maybe I can even fight on even grounds with Deml now.
But for now, I¡¯m not concerned with that. I¡¯ve managed to climb up two levels in these five days. Although I¡¯m confident in my abilities that I can take out the small monsters of this floor and all the above ones, I¡¯m not willing to risk fighting a boss. If I¡¯m around the 40th level, the boss will be incredibly strong. It will prove impossible defeating him. Thus, I advance slowly, being very cautious.
I¡¯ve formed some possible scenarios in my head. Deml and others must have thought that I¡¯m dead so they didn¡¯t rush to rescue me, or Deml used me as an example to teach others that it is important to listen to him so that they don¡¯t die. He also knew that I wasn¡¯t even slightly motivated to do anything for this world. It is entirely possible that abandoned me to teach them a lesson. Anyway, I¡¯m pretty sure that nobody would have cried over my death (according to them). Claire might have cried since she is weak-willed, but she would have cried regardless of who died, so she¡¯s not included. Well, I don¡¯t mind since I didn¡¯t have any close friends in my class.
Two demon foxes jump in front of me. Their size is at least twice of the normal foxes, and they don¡¯t really resemble foxes that much, but it¡¯s convenient for me to name them like this. They are four legged creature with black skin. It is hard to see the black lines on them due to their black skin, but they are definitely there. When they charge in, I fall back, wielding my daggers, I slash across the belly of one fox. He cries in pain, falling back instantly with its high agility. Still, you might have four legs, but your agility is not a match for me!
This time, I charge in to kill the demon fox, but the other demon fox jumps on it and pushes it away from my path of attack with a body slam. ¡°So you didn¡¯t abandon him,¡± I say to the demon fox who rescued his comrade. It feels weird that even demons have better ideals than humans. I know that he cannot comprehend my words, but I speak again. ¡°So you didn¡¯t abandon him.¡±
It growls on me, taking a defensive stance. Apparently, he intends to protect the injured one. I sigh slightly. I turn away from them, having lost a reason to fight.
In a few seconds, the sound of growling fades. I turn back and see nothing. I see a huge staircase going upstairs. I climb it, thinking that I¡¯ve climbed yet another floor. Only about 38 floors or so to go. I wonder what my classmates are doing. One possibility that I¡¯ve always considered in the back of mind that they somehow got wiped in between the floors of 20 and 40 while they were climbing down to rescue me. But, that cannot happen. Deml is far too strong to be beaten on levels like those. I have managed to defeat all the normal monsters on these levels with ease. For Deml, who might be several floors above this along with 30 people, it is not a difficult job.
When I finish climbing up the staircase, the first thing I see is a medium-sized demon. It¡¯s a bit larger than fox, but still not very large. And it has four legs. Somewhat looks like a unicorn, although it has almost pure black skin. A black unicorn, I guess. There is also a horn on its head. It charges at me with incredibly velocity. Since I was not expecting this, my reaction is a bit delayed, and it rams me and I roll down the stairs. I taste blood in my mouth. I slowly get up, swaying a bit. The unicorn-like demon glares at me. However, I do not falter.
I slowly start walking up the stairs, this time, fully prepared. That unicorn must be a sub-boss. It starts dashing down the stairs and I start dashing up the stairs. ¡°The meal for today is ready¡±, I mumble to myself. I haven¡¯t eaten anything since the boss demon 5 days ago, so I want to eat. My mouth starts watering. Before I¡¯m able to strike it with my dagger, it jumps over me and gives me a kick from behind. I groan in pain, my back greatly injured. But I manage to turn back and block one of its kicks just in time. It seems unpleased with the result and tries to shake free of my grab, but I do not let it go.
I smoothly take out a dagger and keep slashing it in its legs. The unicorn falls, fully unbalanced with one leg injured and the unevenness of stairs, not able to stand up quickly. So, I charge in without mercy, and slash through its back, making black demon blood spill on me. And then, I start eating it, bit by bit. It is too big to carry, so I decide to take as much as I can after eating a fair amount of meat.
I was expecting a horrible taste, but it surprisingly tasted delicious. In a fortnight, I¡¯ll be out of this dungeon. It would feel so good to have warm light shine on my skin again. I continue venturing inside the dungeon, retreating upstairs continuously.
When I¡¯m around 25th floor, I feel as if something is watching me. I immediately turn back to find a short-heighted girl standing there. Her hair was short, too, and they were red like mine. Her eyes, pale blue, were staring right into my eyes. She was dressed normally, in comfortable leather clothes to fight against the demons. I stood frozen for a second watching her, but I immediately regained my calm and approached her.
Before I could speak anything, she asks me, ¡°Oh, finally a demon with some intelligence. What brings you here?¡±
¡°I¡¯m lost,¡± I reply, honestly.
She looks at me without any change in expression and continues, ¡°Why did you enter this dungeon in the first place?¡±
I reply honestly, once again, ¡°To get stronger.¡±
She nods . ¡°I¡¯m Rhea, one of the strongest vampires in this world. Don¡¯t be so surprised,¡± she says again, ¡°Vampires age very slowly. I¡¯m at least 550 years ago. What clan are you from, demon? You don¡¯t seem like from the incubus or the goblins. Not the zombies, either.¡±
¡°I¡¯m human,¡± I reply. She doesn¡¯t say anything. Before I notice it, some part of my left cheek gets scratched. Black blood starts running through it. ¡°You lie,¡± she affirms, ¡°You¡¯re a demon. I can sense demon blood in you.¡± I instantly take a step back. This entity is dangerous. If she could scratch my cheek without me noticing it, she probably would be able to rip me apart easily.
¡°You don¡¯t have to lie, you know, if you don¡¯t want to tell your clan.¡± Rhea says, without a change in expression. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me asking your intentions, I won¡¯t. But tell me, where is your destination?¡±
¡°The surface.¡±
¡°Just what would you achieve by going up the surface? It¡¯s filled with greedy humans. Better settle down on the lowest floor. The demons in the depths do not attack and live in harmony. Although before you reach the depths, there are hundred floors full of aggressive demons.¡±
¡°I guess, yes. You¡¯re rather talkative, aren¡¯t you, Rhea?¡±
Her expression doesn¡¯t change but I feel as if she¡¯s annoyed. When she opens her mouth, I notice her abnormal teeth ¨DNo, rather, fangs ¨D for the first time. The ends of are long and sharp. Perfect for digging into someone¡¯s neck.
¡°Didn¡¯t your clan teach you to pay respects for someone that is superior to you?¡±
She is too strong for now. I should avoid fighting her. She¡¯s even more danger than any of the bosses here. ¡°A-ah, right,¡± I reply hastily, ¡°I forgot. Please excuse my rudeness.¡±
She instantly grabs my collar and repeats her question, ¡°Which clan do you belong to?¡± God, she¡¯s stubborn.
Then, she suddenly lets go of me. ¡°Oh, how stupid of me,¡± she mutters to herself, ¡°I finally get it. You¡¯re a stray demon, right?¡±
I¡¯m not sure, but stray demon probably refers to a demon that does not belong to any clan or a demon who was banished from his clan. Either ways, it works for me.
¡°Ahahaha, you¡¯re right.¡± I reply back, sort of trying to make a smiling face while being cautious. Even a hundred Deml¡¯s won¡¯t be enough for this monster. Strangely, everybody in this world spoke English ¨D Demons, humans and all types of species. Well, those who can¡¯t speak, don¡¯t, though. Like, a dog barks in here too instead of speaking in English. I¡¯m talking about the magical species that can speak. English isn¡¯t regarded as the human language, but rather the universal language in this world.
I wait for her to speak because I think I¡¯ll screw up on paying respect when I speak. When neither of us speaks for a couple of minute, she turns away. I instantly say, ¡°Please stop.¡±
Stop, I want to say to myself, but my body moves nonetheless. My chest tightens up thinking the horrible thing I¡¯m about to do later. Stop moving, my body. Please stop. She turns back towards me, still as expressionless as usual.
¡°May I have the privilege of accompanying you?¡± What the heck are you asking, you dumb retard. Apologize right this instant and continue advancing upstairs. How did such a horrible thought enter my mind?
She ponders for a while, and then, nods¨D not questioning me about the change in my plan or anything. She just says in a quiet voice, ¡°You may follow me.¡± Perhaps the reason she does not view this as abnormal is because there have been many people in the past who have travelled with her. Or maybe she doesn¡¯t think me accompanying her will change anything. ¡°However, I¡¯m not responsible for anything.¡± She speaks.
A shiver runs down my spine.
A shiver runs down my spine because of what I am planning.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.She doesn¡¯t notice anything, and just continues walking, taking long strides, and I change my route again, advancing to the bottom of the dungeon. Sweat starts running on my face, even though it¡¯s not even hot in here. She just walks, not even bothering to look back.
And that¡¯s better for me.
It¡¯s been two days since I¡¯ve started accompanying Rhea. I don¡¯t dare taking her name out, and I hardly converse with her. Even if I talk to her, I only use ¡®you¡¯. Because I have no idea how to address her. She spoke something about demon customs and stuff, but I really idea what they call their superiors. ¡®Elder¡¯ Rhea? ¡®Miss¡¯ Rhea? ¡®Legendary¡¯ Rhea? Though all of them are better rather than just addressing her as Rhea without any honorifics, they sound retarded.
¡°Do you know why there are aggressive demons for the first hundred floors?¡± I ask her.
¡°Although humans aren¡¯t as strong as demons, they are intelligent and can form a large group. As I¡¯ve told you before, there exists a demon colony below this dungeon. The first hundred floors are to drive out humans or any beings that are not needed down there. Even demons have to descend one hundred floors. There¡¯s no shortcut.¡±
I nod, and notice a jewel fallen on the floor. I pick it up. I¡¯ve picked lots of stuff that look pricey so that it may help me later on.
Due to Rhea¡¯s extraordinary abilities, we¡¯ve managed to descend fifty-six floors in just 2 days. When she deals with the demon that attacks her, I pretend to take a break and eat a part of the demon¡¯s flesh. As such, my stats rise immensely without having done any practice. She defeats the bosses of each level easily. In two minutes of time, she¡¯s done killing a boss monster.
What she claims about being one of the strongest vampires must be true after all. I was around the twenty-fifth floor when I met Rhea. And we¡¯ve descended 56 floors since then. Then we must be around the 81st floor now. In half a day, we will probably be at the last floor of this dungeon, the 100th floor. Well, at least I hope that. So, I must muster up my courage in this half a day.
Before advancing on the 100th floor, Rhea stares at me and says, ¡°The next floor is really hard to clear. I cannot guarantee your safety. Rather, I cannot even guarantee my own safety. It is the last and strongest resort against humans.¡± When she says that, I tense up. A floor which even one of the greatest vampire has difficulty clearing? That sounded like a real challenge. It turned out to be like she said. It was completely different than the 99th floor.
When we arrive on the 100th floor, my eyes are wide open. The reason being that this floor is distinctively different than all others. It¡¯s a spherical coliseum, extending to a large width. The walls of the coliseum are a shade of white and blue, making it seem like ice. In contrast to the walls, the floor is still the same dusty brown.
And in this spherical battlefield, there are only 5 entities. Me, Rhea, and three other demons. I think one of them is the boss and the other two are the sub-bosses.
Maybe you¡¯d expect some huge looking titans on the 100th floor, but these demons were small. Well, not really. Not really that small. Somewhat small size for a demon, I mean. They were down on all fours, and looked at us, intrigued. I could relate them to polar bears, given their bear-like structure. One of them was larger in size than the other two, and he also had pure black skin as compared to the grayish skin of the two others.
They gave off so much bloodlust that one could tell by looking that these demons were way much different than that of 99th floor. For a moment, Rhea seemed amazed, even though her expression did not change. Suddenly, she accelerates and dashes in. She¡¯s going in for a kill.
She moves towards one of the sub-bosses first. Since two of the three monsters look totally alike, I¡¯ve come to a conclusion that both of them are sub-bosses and the remaining one is the boss. Even I know that it will be hard for Rhea to take on all of them at once, so I try luring out the sub-boss. My stats were raised considerably because I had eaten monsters of these lower levels, like, level 99th for instance. Even if all of them weren¡¯t boss level monsters, any normal monster on 99th level is bound to be as strong as the boss of the 45th level.
She possesses no weapon, but only uses her claws and spells to attack. I did not notice it at the time when she scratched my cheek, but that was indeed done by the claw of her index finger. She jumps over the sub-boss, pretty much ignoring the laws of physics which are very well made. Then, she rolls and lands on its back, digging her nails in his body.
Her nails normally do not look abnormally long. However, when she battles, they grow to a good length and strengthen enough to dig into a beast. Must be a skill or something. The sub-boss becomes enraged and uses momentum to shake her off, and then stomps over her. That¡¯s the first fatal blow dealt to Rhea since I¡¯ve met her. She frantically tries to get up, while I try to reach her while avoiding the sub-boss that is trying to chase me.
That instant, the boss moves. He hurriedly covers the distance and both of the demons double team on Rhea. ¡°Well, this is better,¡± I mutter silently. I try to deal a fatal blow to the sub-boss, but it either keeps blocking them or dodging them. Annoyed, I fall back and try to regain my calm. However, it doesn¡¯t let me rest and charges in faster than I fall back.
¡°Screw you,¡± I say loudly. I try imitating Rhea, and jump over him. The maximum height that my jump can reach turns out much less than Rhea and I end up crashing with the demon¡¯s neck. Somehow, even though I did not insert much power in my jump, the demon seems to be in pain.
Ah, I didn¡¯t realize this simple fact earlier. Even demons have weak points. And usually, for any animal or human, the neck, especially the back of neck is a weak point ¨D the nape region. So, I should abuse that fact, but not now. Or else what I¡¯ve been preparing for two days will be in vain.
I must wait. I must strain out this battle.
I take a glance at Rhea and find out that she¡¯s having a great deal of trouble fighting both the demons. Although it appears that her position is better than mine. Ah, that¡¯s not good, is it? After all, she needs to be exhausted when this battle is done. For my plan to work, you need to tire her out, demons. To prolong the battle I only dodge and strike at places where the demon wouldn¡¯t particularly get hurt.
Once again, I take a glance at Rhea. The sub-boss has fallen and she¡¯s only battling the boss. However, she looks exhausted. She¡¯s fighting the boss at par. The boss is slightly weaker than her, but since she¡¯s exhausted, he¡¯s slowly gaining an upper hand.
The demon tries to kick Rhea with his right front leg, but she dodges to the left and injures the boss from below him. The demon tries to move from that position so that he can see Rhea and attack her, but she skillfully keeps hiding between his four legs.
I start speeding up and try damaging the sub-boss that¡¯s attacking me. However, it¡¯s too strong for me. Even Rhea had a problem dealing with it, who is at least 5 times as strong as me. However, I must escape him quickly. And so I do.
I run towards Rhea who is battling the boss. Actually, they¡¯re pretty much done. In the earlier battles, Rhea was going straight for win. But now, she¡¯s desperately trying not to lose.
I approach her, jump, and land a blow on the boss. She stays silent for a while, but then heavily damages the boss while I act as the decoy. And before the other sub-boss approaches us, we¡¯re done with the boss.
And then she leaps at the sub-boss, too, and slams down his abdomen. The demon falls down, toppling badly, but still alive. And then he manages to kick Rhea. She goes up like a projectile, hits the wall of the coliseum and falls down, her back to the ground. Some boulders fall down on body, blocking her way out.
¡°Help me out,¡± She says, still expressionlessly. Apparently, the last blow really hurt her. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t have any problem for slamming out of the way, but she was tired, exhausted and hurt. ¡°I can¡¯t get up,¡± she informs me expressionlessly. Her tone doesn¡¯t sound like someone pleading for help.
I approach her and stare down at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Won¡¯t you help already?¡± She asks expressionlessly.
¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I say.
¡°For what?¡± She asks me back.
¡°For devouring you.¡±
She looks at me, confused, but still expressionless on outside.
¡°You know,¡± I say, ¡°It somehow stroked my mind that you were a really strong demon. So, as such, I really couldn¡¯t¡ get over the urge¡ to devour and eat you.¡±
Then, for the first time, her expression changes. Massively. Her expression turns to that of a frightened rat. She tries to resist and get up, but my dagger pierces her heart. I attack her again and again, making sure that she is dead. Can¡¯t be taking risks with vampires.
In this time, the sub-boss gets up too. But I don¡¯t let him advance. I instantly deal coup de grace to its neck, and it falls down, tumbling.
And what is left is me, and four dead bodies of demons.
And in three weeks, only I¡¯m left.
Next Chapter
==================Author''s Note==================
Probably will release chapters biweekly/weekly. What do you want to see ahead ^_^?
Thank you Coreh_ for proof-reading.
Ch 3: Submission
I stand up, done with my meal. There are two doors in the coliseum, the one which I entered through and the one waiting to be opened. I can pretty much imagine what is inside in that one though. Rhea was advancing downstairs because she wanted to settle down there. She wanted what was beyond that door.
I haven¡¯t moved from this place for three weeks. According to Rhea, countless superior demons have already passed this dungeon to descend down into its depths. Though only after killing the various bosses of this dungeon time and again. That means even if no one actively replaces the dead demons, they reproduce and keep up the numbers and strength by themselves.
No one has bothered me ¨Dand my meal¨D for an entire of three weeks. Nobody came from above, and nobody came from below. Maybe the demons from above can sense my strength, and thus fear me. Well, they might have even recognized me as the boss of hundredth floor.
My stats have risen to abnormal degrees. Nobody can show me these values, and nor do I precisely know, but I instinctively know they are high. I have even gained a [skill], which much like Rhea''s, turn my fragile nails into deadly claws. I didn¡¯t bother to name it since its not useful to me.
My intelligence probably is the lowest stat right now. Well, it¡¯s not because I¡¯m dumb or anything but because demons usually posses very little intelligence.
¡°Time to get moving,¡± I mumble to myself and am surprised. It came out huskier than what I had grown used to. I say a few random sentences to get used to it but this will take some time. Nowadays I mostly use my mouth for eating and not for speaking. Not like there is anyone to speak to anyway.
I get up to the sudden creak of the door.
A woman who looked to be in her twenties came out. After seeing me, she just walks up to me. She touches her brown hair and asks, ¡°Have you seen a blonde girl who¡¯s a bit short in stature somewhere around here?¡±
¡°She was supposed to meet my master three weeks ago."
I narrow my eyebrows and ask, ¡°Why do you want to know?¡±
¡°Since she hasn¡¯t arrived yet, my master sent me to search for her. Ah, also, she¡¯s a vampire, if that helps. Her name is Rhea.¡± She doesn¡¯t seem to have noticed the skeletons. Well, they are closer to the other door, so she probably can¡¯t recognize them at this distance.
I reply, ¡°I know of only one vampire named Rhea. I had met her three weeks ago.¡±
¡°Oh? Then do you know where she is right now?¡±
¡°Of course. Follow me, I¡¯ll take you there.¡±
I take her to the skeletons and she questions me, ¡°What is this?¡±
¡°The remains,¡± I tell her, ¡°The remains of my food.¡±
¡°What? That¡¯s so gross¨Dyou¡¯re a cannibal? Wait, surely you didn¡¯t¨D¡±
¡°Yes, I did,¡± I reply as I point towards the smallest of the skeletons. ¡°She was tender and sweet. Like a piece of paradise.¡±
She blankly stares at me for a second, but then hastily unsheathes her sword. I take out my daggers too.
She charges in. A demon with a sword? Guess not all of them have melee abilities. I¡¯m just a novice, but even I can tell that she¡¯s just a beginner with a sword. There¡¯s really is almost no gain in devouring her. What about the one she calls her ¡®master¡¯, then?
She tries to attack me, but its easy enough to side-step. So easy that I dodge all of her clumsy slashes. I close in and push her back with her every miss. Soon enough she has her back to the wall.
I take the chance and grab her by her throat. ¡°It¡¯s my turn to ask questions.¡±
¡°Who is your master?¡±
She struggles but quiets down after a vicious, but a futile struggle for freedom. ¡°What makes you think that I¡¯ll tell you?¡± she asks me, completely enraged.
¡°I¡¯m the one who is asking the questions here. But I will let you know two things before I start, I don''t like to speak much, and nor do I like to repeat myself. So, lets try again.¡± With my eyes closed, I slowly exhale before asking,¡°Who is your master?¡±
¡°¡he¡¯s the head of this colony.¡±
¡°What else?¡±
¡°He¡¯s the prince. There is no one stronger than him here,¡± She further adds,¡° He does have a big personality though. His highness, Modric.¡±
¡°That¡¯s just the first name. Tell me the entire thing,¡± I demand with a squeeze on her neck. It made her cough blood.
She grimaced. ¡°Modric Clayrest Askadon, Crown prince of Askadonia, Prima of Grust.¡±
¡°Askadonia? Prima? Grust? What¡¯s that?¡±
She eyes me suspiciously, ¡°You don¡¯t know? Askadonia, the name of our glorious kingdom.¡±
¡°Tell me about this. About all this.¡± I demand.
¡°Named after the royal family of Askadon¡¡±
I tighten my grip to make her continue when she stops. She coughs and starts speaking again.
¡°Prima, the ruler of Grust. Its a rank of nobility. Grust is the name of demon colony down here. Its one of the largest colonies of Askadonia. Are you not from here? Even small children know about this¡¡±
I look at her because she starts digressing. She understands at once and continues in a loud voice, ¡°Modric Clayrest Askadon is the ruler of Grust. The King sent him to rule... probably so that he gets to learn a bit about life.¡±
¡°And has he?¡±
She sighs, and replies, ¡°No, not really. Like I said, he has personality problems. I¡¯ve answered all your questions. Let me go. Please.¡±
I look into her eyes and say, ¡°Not yet. Take me to him. You don¡¯t particularly like him either, do you? I¡¯ll get rid of him.¡±
She looks at me as if I¡¯m a madman at this. ¡°That¡¯s not an easy thing to do. He is the crown prince. You will face severe consequences for even trying to mess with him. That vampire and my master are worlds apart. He would break you with a click of his fingers.¡± She speaks with a deep voice.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°I don¡¯t need you to worry about me,¡± I reply, ¡°Take me to him. You are still young¡ you wouldn¡¯t want to die young, would you?¡±
She stares straight into my eyes, and I strengthen my grip. She struggles, waits for a minute and replies, ¡°...Fine. But promise me...please don¡¯t kill me.¡±
The door opened under a pub and we had to walk out of it to see the city.
With a cursory glance I see no big difference from a human city.....except maybe the fights everywhere. I have seen three already, and its only been about five minutes since I set foot in Grust.
¡°Quite a rowdy bunch, huh?¡±
The woman who¡¯s accompanying me nods. ¡°Superiority is determined by strength, so fights are frequent.¡±
¡°Well, I can¡¯t complain since I¡¯m going to start a fight too.¡±
When we walk further, I notice a man going berserk in a store. He was destroying things and nobody was saying anything. Hmm¡ my gut tells me that¡¯s the idiot I¡¯m looking for.
¡°That¡¯s him,¡± She tells me.
¡°I figured,¡± I tell her.
Burly, broad shouldered and black haired. Tall too. Apart from that, he has two horns on his head, unlike most of the demons I¡¯ve seen. In half a minute, we¡¯re staring at each other. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± He asks my hostage, ¡°I goddamn told you to search for the female vampire named Rhea!¡±
¡°I¡¯ve come instead,¡± I speak, ¡°She¡¯s otherwise occupied. I have come on her behalf.¡±
He shouts at me, completely angry, ¡°What¨D? I¡¯m more important than any crappy circumstances! Who are you to her, anyway?!¡±
¡°Like I said, I¨D¡± Before I finish, he fells me with a punch to the face. I see the black blood dripping down my nose. My face is so....bloody, so...why am I smiling?
¡°You piece of crap¡ who the hell do you think, you piece of crap are directing that godamn impudence at?¡± He roars at me.
At least learn to speak properly...
With my dagger out, I charge in. Without a weapon in hand he dodges my slashes and charges at me. He probably has a lot of power so it¡¯s way easier for him to deal damage with his fists and kicks. I keep up my onslaught, but I have yet to land a hit on him. And all the rubble caused ¨Dby our berserking prince¨D is a great hindrance to me.
I fall back, faking tiredness, hoping that he chases after me. Which he does without thinking, and I run out of the store. He breaks down the store door and chases after me.
He looks at me with bloodshot eyes ¨Dseems like he is really angry. He charges in straight, like a bull and I easily dodge. He maybe powerful but he¡¯s an idiot. ¡°Don¡¯t try to ridicule me any further or you¡¯ll be sorry,¡± He speaks threateningly. I pay him and his threats no heed as I keep trying to trying to slice him.
He dodges with the help of his godly perception everytime. He manages to land another punch on my face as I recklessly charge in. He grins and runs to me. I just manage to sidestep in the nick of time, or so I think when he suddenly changes the trajectory of his punch and it hits me in my defenseless chest.
The punch throws me a few meters back, but I taunt him by laughing at him. ¡°Time for payback,¡± I say as he foolishly tries to kick me. I easily dodge that predictable attack and stab him in his right shoulder, albeit I did not manage to go in deep. ¡°You sure are tough...¡± I grumble, ¡°Just what are you made up of?¡±
We switch between offense and defense many times before realizing that we¡¯re equal footed. There is a huge mob of people staring at us with awe. From the corner of my vision, I see demons betting and cheering for us. My hostage looks surprised. It seems that she didn¡¯t expect us having such a close match. We¡¯ve wrecked too many things, and he¡¯s keeping me too busy to keep count.
Modric Clayrest Askadon lunges in faster than the earlier times and catches me by surprise. I receive an uppercut to my chin, his abnormal strength even lifts me of my feet. Cursing deeply, I get back up, but only to be kicked on my chest. I cough out blood as I¡¯m thrown into the air.
He lets down his guard since he thought he managed to land successive fatal blows on me. So he attacks me again, I feint a dodge, and deftly pierce his neck with my dagger.
He takes a step back, surprised, so I take the chance to take my other dagger and jab it into his head.
With two daggers into him, he quickly falls down and the audience falls silent.
With some effort I cut off his hand and take a bite to proclaim my victory. I can see some of the audience expressing their disgust at this, but they say nothing. A minute passes and they¡¯re still silent. Then, my hostage does an action that I do not understand very well at first. The audience follow her and do the same.
I look at them and smirk as I see them kneel.
Author''s Notes: Hope you like this~ A comment is always appreciated. If you don''t like it, please tell me why. If its a bit stiff/sorry, I''m sorry, but I did my level best. Thank you for helping me with this, Senpai~
Next Chapter
Ch 4: Domination
Two weeks later¡
The throne I sit on probably isn¡¯t as grand as the one that the Demon Lord Askadon sits on, but it¡¯s grand enough for me. The temperature isn¡¯t too hot and the occasional breeze is relaxing. Just sitting on the throne makes me relaxed¨Dhowever, Aline is complaining to me which took all my relaxation away. Aline Eragon was the name of the woman that I had threatened.
She usually is quiet, but if a topic that she likes emerges, she gets a really talkative. She¡¯s helpful, very observant, but mostly very distant towards me.
And now, ¡°Please do something!¡± she complains to me, ¡°Rulers are not just supposed to relax on their thrones.¡± Her soft brown hair bouncing as she shakes her head, remonstrating me.
I stare at her and ask, ¡°Are you telling me that retarded prince before me used to do this administrative stuff?¡±
With an expectant look in her black eyes, she shouts, ¡°Yes! Modric Clayrest Askadon was bad at this, but he at least made some effort and did work.¡±
Honestly, she would look a lot more threatening if she wasn¡¯t so short.
But hmmm... does she expect me to make the same effort? I¡¯m a bit taken aback since he didn¡¯t give off such an impression, but its too much trouble for me. ¡°Anyway ¨D¡± Before she gets a chance to continue, I wave her off.
¡°Just do it yourself,¡± I tell. As I tell her, she jumps in delight and asks me with starry eyes, even more so than when she thought I''d do the work, ¡°Did you just give me the permission to rule the colony?¡±
¡°Just as my... regent?,¡± I tell her, ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m supposed to do and it sounds too troublesome. Don¡¯t soil my name, Aline.¡±
It¡¯s a wonder that she still talks to me. I thought she would go against me since I had forced her, but she became excited when I became the ruler. She also came to me and asked me to let her work under me. There really was great merit in keeping her alive. She¡¯s famous and well respected, and the best of all, she can happily do those bothersome administrative tasks.
I yawn, and walk out of my throne room. There are a few subjects in here but they almost never speak to me. All they do is report everything to Aline. I have a feeling that all of them hate or resent me. The Eragon family is one of closest aides of the Demon Lord Askadon and Aline is a member of that family. That was the only reason she was allowed to serve under Modric, or simply the previous ruler, even though she had almost no experience and was young.
My so-called subjects display no change in their expression as I start walking out of the room. They were used to my attitude; earlier, they used to ask Aline to stop me, but never in person. Now they are totally apathetic towards my actions.
I get out of the throne room, only to find another a long corridor decorated with high quality artworks and sculptures. I inspect a few pieces of work as I stroll ahead. I wonder if any of these are made by humans.
I couldn¡¯t tell what the sculptures were made of when I touched them but I enjoyed looking at some of them. Soon, I even reached the end of the second long corridor. The men standing there opened the gate for me and I stepped out.
Although, I¡¯ve announced that I¡¯m open to challenges and duels, yet I have not received a single offer. Aline had insisted that I should at least wear my lordly garb when I go outside, but I blatantly ignore her warning and go off roaming with my usual clothes.
¡°Why is everyone staring at that person, Mother?¡± I hear a small boy¡¯s voice.
¡°Shh! He¡¯s our new Lord. Don¡¯t stare at him too much. Keep quiet, will you?¡±
¡°Why, mother?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t ask too many questions!¡± She scolds the small boy. I wanted to tell that person that I could hear her even though she spoke softly but decided against it.
Recently, whenever I pass through an area, they keep staring at me. I¡¯ll never get used to this feeling.
As I walk further, I hear a loud voice behind me, ¡°I found him. Rick!¡±
I continue to observe as the so-called Rick shouts back to the man who shouted earlier. ¡°There¡¯s no need to scream that loud when I¡¯m right next to you!¡±
He continues, ¡°Don¡¯t just stare at me, you fool! Contact the princess right now!¡±
The other nods, and runs back.
I wonder what¡¯s this commotion about¡ I continue to observe them as a beautiful girl appears. She had fiery red hair, green eyes and an athletic build.
It was clear that her and Rhea were leagues apart in terms of beauty.
With grace in her steps she walks to me .The denizens of my colony watch with bated breath.
I¡¯ve thought about this recently, but humans have common features, like every human has 2 eyes and one nose, but there is nothing fixed for demons. So their appearances vary greatly. Although, I have observed that the more intelligent they are, the more they look like a human. For example, Rhea and Aline don¡¯t look much different than humans. The girl, who appeared to be no more than 18, looked unbelievably human. If there weren¡¯t horns on her head, I would have never guessed that she was a demon.
She only slightly bows after approaching me, and I do the same. She studies me with her faintly glowing green eyes before saying, ¡°Nice to meet you,¡±
I just nod back, not bothering to reply.
¡°Sister to Modric Clayrest Askadon, I¡¯m Erika Devonshire Askadon. I permit you to just call me Erika.¡±
¡°What brings you here?¡± I ask her. Before she starts speaking, I add, ¡°I really don¡¯t want to make too many enemies. Especially not with the Demon Lord.¡±
If I go around making an enemy out of every one, I won¡¯t last long.
¡°Fear not, I¡¯m not here to take revenge. I couldn¡¯t have cared less about what happened to my stupid brother,¡± She replies with a wide smile.
¡°If you say so,¡± I instantly get to the point as I want to avoid talking for too long, ¡°What brings you here, princess of Askadon?¡±
As she plays around with her red hair, she replies in a strict tone, ¡°Although my father does not harbour any ill feelings towards you, he wants Grust back. Grust has been a very important place to my father and it¡¯s also one of the cores of Askadonia. More importantly, father was going to gift me Grust on my birthday.¡±
I shrug. ¡°So you want to have a duel with me?¡±
I really don¡¯t want to fight her even though I had no doubt that she¡¯ll be very delicious. I could not see another¡¯s aura, nor did I have any skill that let me know her fighting prowess. Her level of confidence and manner of speaking make me believe that she¡¯s really powerful.
Rick starts speaking behind her, ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll win against the princess? Dream on. Pretty funny, don¡¯t you think, David?¡±
The other man, who was called David, starts laughing loudly as he hears Rick¡¯s remark. ¡°Brat, you might think Modric was stronger than our princess because he was the crown prince, but that¡¯s not true. Our princess is at least ten times stronger than Modric Clayrest Askadon.¡±
¡°Bwahaha, you underestimate our princess, David,¡± Rick tells David, ¡°She¡¯s at least hundred times stronger than anyone alive. The only exception is His Highness.¡±
¡°Shut it, David and Rick. You¡¯ll end up scaring up him.¡± Erika orders them, ¡°Haven¡¯t I already told you not to open your mouths when I¡¯m speaking?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, Erika,¡± I assure her, ¡°I won¡¯t be scared. Anyway, continue what you were saying before.¡±
She starts speaking again, ¡°I¡¯ll be giving you two choices, Lundel,¡± She continues speaking threateningly, ¡°You could either duel me and die, or integrate into Askadonia and live.¡±
Its been so long since someone has spoken my name...
¡°If I choose the second option, can I assume that Grust will still be mine?¡±
¡°Its a shame, but yes. Grust of Askadonia shall be co-cooperatively ruled. If we have conflicting opinion, we will duel it out. Naturally, the duels between Lords will not last to death,¡± She replies.
I roll my eyes at her reply, knowing full well how unfavourable it will be for me. ¡°You have two days to decide,¡± She says as I see her retreating back.
¡°So that¡¯s what happened¡¡± Aline says after sighing.
I nod, letting out a sigh, too. ¡°What do you know about her?¡±
¡°Just some things...¡± She speaks with a low voice, ¡°She currently is the strongest among demon royalty.¡±
I frown, ¡°Why was Modric the crown prince, then? Isn¡¯t the hierarchy in kingdom strength-based?¡±
She replies back, ¡°Erika Devonshire Askadon declined her right to the throne. She could have been the demon Queen and a good one at that, but unfortunately, she had no interest in the country.¡±
¡°How strong is she? Isn¡¯t Modric older than her?¡±
¡°She¡¯s one of the youngest within her siblings. She¡¯s only one-twenty years old. About her power¡ she would probably be as strong as the almost-thousand-year-old-Askadon when she¡¯s only two hundred years old.¡±
I look at Aline, surprised. ¡°Just how did she acquire that much power?¡±
¡°She has the power of Phoenix,¡± She says, ¡°People have seen her in flames, burning everything else to crisp. There are many rumours behind it, like how she has inherited the Phoenix¡¯s soul from the Phoenix itself, or how she actually got them after she defeated the Phoenix.¡±
¡°Those don¡¯t sound true,¡± I mumble.
¡°They might be,¡± Aline says.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.¡°Do you think I have a chance agains¨D¡± I speak but am interrupted.
¡°None,¡± Aline blatantly tells me.
She continues, ¡°Erika is also known for also treasuring her servants and allies. She¡¯s that type of a person-- best ally that you could ever get or the worst enemy that you could ever get.¡±
I grumble in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ll just accept her offer. Its not like I need to keep Grust with me, but... ¡±
She continues what I had left unfinished, ¡°But your pride won¡¯t allow you to surrender peacefully or is it because you¡¯re so greedy you wouldn¡¯t give away a single possession of yours?¡±
¡°Both,¡± I reply. ¡°What would have you done if you were in my shoes, Aline?¡±
I have a feeling that this is the first time that I¡¯ve had such a long conversation with her. I shouldn¡¯t have tried to avoid her. She¡¯s calm, full of information and of great strategic importance.
¡°I would integrate into Askadonia, seek an audience with Askadon to impress him. But I guess that¡¯s just me. You will be seeking Askadon for a completely different reason, won¡¯t you?¡± She smirks at me, seeing that I¡¯ve made up my mind.
¡°I don¡¯t want to make too many enemies, but I guess I¡¯ll have too¡¡±
The next day I and Aline reach the place where Erika was dwelling. We are rudely greeted by David and taken near the garden, where we see Erika and Rick sparing. Erika keeps dodging with graceful and minimal movements, while inflicting heavy damage and sending Rick flying away many times. It doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯s using any of her Phoenix¡¯s skills.
After she had beaten Rick to a pulp, she finally notices us and approaches me.
¡°Please have a seat,¡± She speaks, as she directs me towards a chair. Aline stands near me, Erika sits opposite to me on a chair, crossing her legs to express her dominance and asks me, ¡°Have you decided on what you are going to do?¡±
I nod and she says, ¡°I hope for both my and your good that you¡¯ve chosen the wise option.¡±
I nod and say, ¡°Grust will be integrated into Askadonia once again. It should be jointly-ruled by the two of us accordingly bywith our earlier conversation. The only thing I demand is that I should be granted an audience with Askadon.¡±
¡°My Father does indeed seem interested you, so he¡¯ll grant you an audience with him if you ask for it. When would you like to meet him?¡±
¡°As soon as possible,¡± I reply.
¡°I will make the arrangements,¡± she says.
¡°Today is a boring day, don¡¯t you think so?¡± She asks me all of a sudden.
¡°Yes, it sure is,¡± I reply back.
¡°Do you want to try having a spar with my servant Rick? I need some good entertainment on this boring day.¡±
I¡¯m a bit interested in the power of her servants, so I decide to go ahead with it, only with a bit of twist though.
¡°Declined,¡± I tell her, ¡°I won¡¯t accept a spar. Only a duel.¡±
¡°You sure have some guts,¡± Rick says while grinning, ¡°Want to duel to death? Although I might end up leaving you alive if you end up looking so pathetic that I actually feel pity for you.¡±
¡°Sure, I like duels to the death,¡± I tell him.
¡°Princess, please don¡¯t interfere no matter what happens,¡± Rick says, as he cracks his knuckles, ¡°I¡¯ll show him his place.¡±
¡°You¡¯re one of my best servants--don¡¯t disappoint me, Rick. It would hurt to lose you.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, Princess, bwahaha, I could win against this runt with my eyes closed.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t forget what you have said, Erika,¡± I glare at her, ¡°You must not interfere no matter what happens.¡±
She nods, and says, ¡°Also, all that is done is for good. We won¡¯t hold out against each other, no matter what the result is.¡±
The princess smirks at me and I give her a ¡® I¡¯m ready¡¯ signal. She nods, tells Rick something and we start fighting in this open space.
Rick looks down at me with his tall physique and then starts attacking me with a punch. Despite having a big body, he attacks fast enough and I fail to avoid two out of five punches. I retreat back, cursing, ¡°These punches are even more stronger than Modric¡¯s!¡±
¡°Naturally,¡± Erika says, ¡°I myself have searched for these top-tier servants. We could have taken Grust from you whenever we wanted, but that could cause too much collateral damage.¡±
¡°Stop running away!¡± Rick shouts to me as he skillfully feints with a punch to hit me hard in my face. I fly back, get up and spit out the blood in my mouth. Rick probably doesn¡¯t know this, but I¡¯ve already fully devoured Modric and have just as strong punches and kicks.
¡°Time to switch to offense,¡± I whisper to myself.
I run up to Rick, kick him from below, making him lose balance and then swiftly kick him again on his chest to make him slide back. ¡°When Modric gave me that sort of kick, I flew backwards¡¡± I grumble as Rick had only slid a few centimeters back.
He gets back on offense real fast while attacking my vital points like the back of my neck. I fall down to the floor, and dodge by rolling as he tries to stomp on me. I steal a glance at Erika, who is faintly smiling. She is thinking that her servant is at an advantage and hence is taking pleasure from it.
¡°Its alright,¡± I tell my myself, ¡°she¡¯ll lose that smile soon. Soon, and very soon at that, she¡¯ll be staring at me helplessly. Smile while you can, Erika. Time to get serious.¡±
I finally take out my daggers, and randomly slash at Rick. He completely dodges most of them, and the ones that land only slightly cut him. He grins, but I start circling him. He tries to throw in a blow, but I easily manage to foresee this and side step them with the unusually high perception that I acquired from Modric. He tries to hit me again and again, but fails every time.
Finally, he rages and gives me a huge opening to strike at. I instantly throw my dagger down and punch him there. Both Aline and Erika look at me with a confused look which reads ¡®Why didn¡¯t you use the dagger?¡¯ all over it. Rick shouts something that I don¡¯t bother to hear, and charges in at me. Again, I drop my dagger as he shows an opening and kick him there.
After several cycles of this, Aline finally understands what I¡¯m doing and looks at me with a smile. Erika has stopped smiling, but that¡¯s not enough for me. After a few more cycles of him not being able to land a hit, Rick finally stops attacking stupidly. I land a few non-fatal blows on him, and he doesn¡¯t rage out like earlier.
What do you mean¨D best possible ally and worst possible enemy? That just means her weakness is seeing her servants and friends suffering.
Within ten minutes, I am controlling the entire duel. I only deal superficial blows as I slowly beat down Rick. After a few more cycles, Rick finally stops attacking and defending as he falls down, tired and exhausted. I don¡¯t let him get the rest that he wants, as I instantly kick hard into his stomach a few times. He throws up and falls down again.
Erika takes a step ahead to stop me from attacking Rick anymore, but Aline firmly grabs her hand and says, ¡°You said you won¡¯t interfere no matter what happens.¡±
So Erika only watches me thrashing Rick around with a helpless face. Her best companion or rather, a servant to her, is getting completely dominated by me and she can¡¯t do anything-- nothing at all.
She averts her eyes, but turns them back onto me when Rick begs, ¡°Please...spare me¡¡± I do not listen to Rick as I kick him around. ¡°You might be nice enough to say ¡®I might end up leaving you alive if you end up looking so pathetic that I actually feel pity for you¡¯,¡± I tell him, ¡°But I¡¯m not and never will be.¡±
I punch, kick prolonging his suffering before saying, ¡°Although I might spare you on one condition¡¡± I tell him, evoking a small ray of hope within him. ¡°What...is...it?¡± He asks in a tired voice.
¡°If Erika kneels to me, I¡¯ll let you go.¡±
The ray of hope within him instantly dies out, and he looks down.
¡°I¡¯ll never bow to--¡± Erika starts speaking; I thrust my daggers into Rick¡¯s heart as soon as I hear her speaking that, and she stops.
¡°You could have saved him, you know,¡± I tell her, ¡°Anyway, Aline, how long has it been?¡±
Aline tells me back, somewhat blanched at what she had witnessed, ¡°About three hours, My Lord.¡±
¡°Time passes so quickly,¡± I tell her, ¡°I guess it¡¯s true that the time moves faster when you have something to enjoy it in . That was fun, Erika. Was it a good enough entertainment for you, for your boring day?¡±
David hastily runs to Erika. I approach Erika and repeat what she had said, ¡°We won¡¯t hold it out against each other, no matter what the result is.¡±
I¡¯ll make you regret making an enemy out of me, Erika, even if its slowly and steadily. Erika slowly regains her senses and nods with fire in her eyes. ¡°I won¡¯t hold it out against you...¡±
¡°Lets get moving, Erika,¡± I whisper slowly into her ear, ¡°Askadon is next.¡±
Author''s note: I''m so sorry for the delayed chapter. I actually finished writing it a day ago but wasn''t confident that its good and matches the storyline. This shouldn''t happen often, but I might get busy with real life once in a while but I''ll still write since I really love writing this...
Thank you Coreh_ for proof-reading and giving me some ideas~.