Rey surveyed the desolate plains as the Baaghror half-stomped, half-limped his way towards them. Kassandra's grip tightened on Rey's arm as the clearly wounded Tigerman marched towards them. He didn't have his weapon on him, and he was running low on Mana as well, but with Kassandra and the others, they should have no problem taking him down.

  Rey saw no other Tigermen on the horizon, and there were hardly any other places to hide in the plains, which contained nothing but scorched, craggy ground. However, if they had made themselves invisible, then Rey would have had another problem.

  "Rey, I thought you said you took care of all of them," Kassandra said.

  "I might have stretched the truth on that a little bit." She glared at him. "But it's fine, Kassi. It's only one of him. I took care of the rest, and I'll surely take care of this one, too. Can you run and get the star-crossed lovers and my scythe and your bow and any incendiary grenades that you happened to have bought in your travels?"

  She nodded and left without a word. Seeing this walking feline had disturbed her. She clearly hadn't gotten over her last encounter with them. Who could blame her? These things practically decimated them. They had made them look like kids who had gone on to fight UFC champions.

  As the Tigerman limped closer, Rey couldn't help but feel he seemed familiar. It wasn't like he could tell the tigers apart by looking at their faces, but this one was different, and he was battered as all Hell. He had many gruesome scratches as if he had wrestled with a bear. He wasn't bleeding as the blood had congealed, saving his life. One of his eyes was almost swollen shut. He had a gash on his chest that went diagonally from his shoulder to his ribs. His pants were so torn and filthy that they looked like shorts that Rey wouldn't even use to clean the tires of his car.

  It was a miracle the tiger was even alive, let alone walking.

  Kassandra returned by the time the Baaghror crossed the small crater that his great Gravity Orb had created. She handed him his scythe and aimed at the bruised Tigerman. Ajay and Filomena took up positions on Rey's left, their hands lit up with their respective elements.

  "I would stop right there," Rey called when the newcomer was ten feet away. "This is my grove now. I pissed on it to claim it, and the rest of us have been pissing and shitting in a hole behind that bush."

  "Does he really need to know that?" Kassandra hissed.

  "Why are we even talking to him?" Filomena snapped. "Let's just kill him."

  A fireball blazed to life in Ajay's hand, while Filomena was holding a lightning bolt, and Kassi looked ready to explode the battered Tigerman's head.

  Rey moved in front of them, stretched his arms wide, and put his back to the bruised pussy…cat. "Wow. I leave for five minutes, and you all unlock the Psycho mode skill. He is a living being, not a demon."

  Kassandra moved closer so he wasn't blocking her shot. "Rey, he's here to kill us and his friends are probably already here, waiting to ambush us."

  "I have no friends left," the Tigerman said wearily. "Your actions saw to that...Rey."

  This made Rey turn. He was sure he had heard his voice before. Then he noted his abnormally large height. It was just that the Tigerman was hunched over that made him seem shorter than he was.

  Rey's brow furrowed. "Aearbon? You survived?"

  "Yes, I survived. I saw every last one of my friends perish, thanks to you. We fought the demons with everything we had. Even after they acquired their souls and became demons, they still fought, but we're just mortals, and in the end, we perished. Every single one, save for me. I've cursed myself for living when everyone else fell…more than that, I curse you." He growled. "You took everything from me!"

  His shout was enough that the others were ready to launch their attacks, but Rey waved them down.

  "What do you want, Aearbon?" Rey asked.

  "Our fight wasn't concluded. You ran before you could deal the killing blow. You accepted my challenge, and the challenge only concludes when one of us cannot fight or no longer breathes."

  "But you can no longer fulfil our original terms," Rey replied. "So, there is no reason for us to fight."

  "You coward!" Aearbon snapped. "You won't even show me the decency of giving me a warrior's death."

  "Rey, we shouldn't—" Ajay began, but Rey cut him off with a look.

  "I won't fight you…without a prize."

  "You've already taken everything from me! I have nothing to give you."

  "I can think of one thing. If I beat you, I will have your eternal servitude, and if you manage to kill me, then my friends will not avenge my death."

  "Rey!" Kassandra exclaimed as lines of worry creased her forehead.

  "Have I ever told you how beautiful you look when you're so concerned for me?"

  It didn't change her worried expression much. "It's no time to joke, Rey."

  "I know, it's not, that is why I said it. Also, none of you will interfere; this is between me and him. This goes for all of you." He eyed Kassi in particular. "No matter what happens, even if I'm dying, you will not interfere. Promise me."

  He got reluctant nods from his friends. Though Kassandra took the longest, she stared into his eyes for a long moment before finally nodding.

  "You better not die," she whispered.

  "Why do you sound like I'm going to my death? Look at him, I'll be done with him in no time. Besides, did I mention that I almost killed him when he was at full health? In his half-decrepit state, I'll gut him in no time."

  With that, Rey walked over to Aearbon and smiled. "So, time for round two."

  With a deep breath, the Tigerman stood to its full height of nine feet. It was something to stand against a creature that tall. He was sure; he heard someone gasp. It was probably Ajay. Too bad, they didn't know what Rey could do now. He had beaten this behemoth, even when he didn't have his fun balls.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Before Rey could even launch his first move, the tiger's clawed hand moved at blinding speed. Rey barely brought up his arm to block it. The blow was so strong that it sent him rolling on the ground, but that wasn't even the worst part. His scythe went flying from his hand, and his arm screamed bloody murder.

  Aearbon was on him in a heartbeat. He punched down in rapid succession. The first blow nearly knocked Rey's light out. Before the second one landed, he activated Repulsion, sending the massive tiger flying into the crater.

  He stood and checked his arm. He could already see the bruise forming where the tiger had nearly snapped it in two. Thankfully, it wasn't broken, and moreover, it was his left arm, the less dominant arm. So, on a scale of importance, it was a 5 at best, but it still hurt like a motherfucker.

  Blood dripped from his nose. He wiped it on his sleeve and shrugged. It was the result of his becoming overconfident. He quickly checked his Mana.

  [Mana: 108/590]

  It was enough to kill the tiger twice over. By the time Rey went to where he had shot his enemy, the tiger had vanished. He was nowhere in sight.

  "Not this again." He groaned.

  "Where is he?" Kassi asked.

  "He's invisible. He did the same thing last time. Don't worry, he'll show himself soon enough."

  True to his words, he did. Unlike last time, the tigerman was enraged enough that he didn't bother taking it slow. Puffs of dirt flew into the air as he dashed towards Rey. He swung his scythe just in time, but the tiger stopped it.

  It looked like his scythe was stuck in mid-air, but the Tigerman had a vice grip on it. Rey couldn't even yank it from his grip. Then the Tigerman did something that surprised Rey so much that he forgot that he needed to be pissed about it.

  Aearbon snapped his scythe's shaft in half. Rey's eyes widened as he stumbled forward, and a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen. Five small trails of blood dripped from his midsection where Aearbon had thrust his claws inside him.

  [+1 Endurance]

  "Okay, that is not nice." Rey managed.

  Kassandra cried out as Aearbon reappeared and punched Rey into the ground. Then he was on top of him, slashing and punching away. The first few landed and nearly cut his arms to ribbons, then he activated a Repulsion. The tiger's claws bounced off his arms. Fueled by pain, rage, and whatever chemicals his body was illegally manufacturing, he kicked the giant murder-cat square in its worst possible spot—his chest, right where it had that gruesome gash.

  Aearbon stumbled backwards as he cried out, while his body casually forgot how to keep blood on the inside. Then Rey cried out as he somehow got to his feet, because he used his ripped arms to push himself off the ground, and they expressed their protest by giving him an unhealthy dose of pain. He didn't have a weapon anymore, but he didn't need one.

  He ran for the tiger and punched him in the chest with everything he had. Aearbon staggered backwards. Rey activated Gravity's Domain with seventy percent gravity. The massive Tigerman fell, and it was like a shockwave went through the earth. Rey thrust his arms out and activated two Gravity Orbs, each with 50% gravity, on either side of him, locking his arms in place.

  [+1 Magic Affinity]

  Rey stood over him and punched him in the face three times before the pain from the blows got too much for his clawed-out arms. He extended a hand out towards the half of his scythe that still had the blade attached to it, and activated Attraction. His broken weapon flew into his hand. He raised the weapon high and brought it down on the tiger's head.

  To his credit, Aearbon didn't flinch, didn't close his eyes. He stared death in the eye like a true warrior.

  Rey stopped his blow at the last minute and bopped him on the nose lightly. "I win."

  "DO IT!" Aearbon raged. "Kill me."

  Rey stepped off him and collapsed on the ground beside him. He rested his back against the Tigerman's massive chest. "I already beat you. I don't need to kill you."

  "I lost. There is no reason for me to live. At least this way, my ancestors will look on me kindly that I tried till my very last breath."

  Rey ignored him and looked toward his friends. Most looked at him as if he were mad. As history had repeatedly proven, sanity had filed a restraining order against him. Killing Aearbon would net him a shit ton of experience. Was he going to do it? Nope.

  "You see, Aearyboy. I quite like this spot. If I killed you here, then I would effectively be ringing the dinner bell to all the demons in the surrounding area once your soul arose, and I would hate to ruin this decrepit countryside with all the rotting demon corpses. Besides, the deal was that if I win, you're officially my unpaid minion for eternity."

  That stilled the tiger. His friends had come towards them. Rey raised a hand, stopping them at the edge of the domain.

  "Can someone please get me a Healing potion?" Then looked at his injuries. "Maybe two, because it is hurting worse than the time when…" Toramael tried to geld me.

  Kassandra, who looked ready to faint from worry—or so Rey thought—came prepared, and she tossed him the two Healing potions. He corked open the first one and slowly poured it over his arms. They had been sliced to ribbons, so it took more than he had anticipated. By the time the wounds closed and left a lovely patchwork of scars on his arms, there was hardly a swig remaining. The rest, he chugged, which would fix most of his superficial injuries. He could heal everything, but why waste Healing Potion on bruises that would heal on their own?

  Then he looked at the second potion in his hand and sighed. He figured he might come to regret this, but it needed to be done. He took the potion and started applying it to Aearbon's injuries.

  "Rey, what the hell are you doing?" Kassi cried.

  "Rey, stop!" Ajay said.

  "Have you gone fully insane?" Filomena snapped.

  "Oh, babe, I went insane a long, long time ago," Rey shot back.

  "What are you doing, human?" Aearbon tried to squirm away from Rey's touch but failed miserably.

  "What does it look like?" Rey asked. "I'm healing you."

  "Why?"

  "I can't have my slave all battered and bruised. Now, can I?"

  All four kept voicing their concerns about Rey's sanity, but he didn't pay them any mind. By the time he was done, Aearbon looked even more fearsome than when Rey had first laid eyes on him. Thanks to his ever-growing collection of 'almost died' souvenirs.

  Aearbon was healed, but he looked like he wanted to cry. His eyes were glistening as he looked straight up at the dark, craggy sky with lava veins.

  "You just want me to suffer till the end of my days," Aearbon said, resigned to his fate.

  Rey sighed and turned off all his gravity skills. The orbs and the domain vanished, freeing Aearbon. He sat up and looked at Rey. Even sitting down, the Tigerman was almost looking Rey eye to eye.

  Rey placed a hand on his shoulder. He knew what the others were thinking, but he felt a kindred spirit with the tiger. Almost five years ago, Rey was him. After Kassandra died, he didn't see the point in living anymore. When he died, he nearly didn't go back to retrieve his soul and let his mind wither away.

  He sighed. "Believe it or not, I know exactly what you're going through…Or I will, when my friends perish, and I alone have to go on."

  Aearbon frowned, so Rey quickly explained to him that he was a Seer and what the future held for him and his friends. He didn't believe it at first, but his friends backed him up, who were standing beside him now.

  Rey squeezed his shoulder. "I have seen enough of the future to know that if I don't change certain events, then in a few months, I will be in the same position as you. And I've felt the pain that my future self will feel. It was why I left them." He glanced at Kassandra. "I just couldn't bear to see their deaths." Again.

  She quietly slipped her hand in his. He gave her a small smile as he squeezed her hand before turning to the Tigerman.

  "It's why you didn't see me when they set up camp in your grove. If you had, things might have transpired differently. Anyways, I can't take back what I've done, but I can do something for you. My first command to you, my slave, is to live. I cannot command you to forget those you've lost, and you never should, but don't give up on life. Not because of the mistakes of an asshole like me."

  Tears dripped from the tiger's fearsome eyes.

  "And now, I free you from the bonds of servitude," Rey said, making the tiger stare at him. "What? Don't take this personally, but I'm not really a cat person."

  Especially after Dequa, that bitch or whatever the cat equivalent of a bitch is. Rey could never forget his first great betrayal after turning into a demon. He barely survived that encounter.

  His friends looked at him and shook their heads, as they snickered, while Aeabon looked at them as if he, himself, had gone mad.

  Their relief lasted for less than a minute as something roared in the distance. Rey snapped his eyes to the sound and the blood drained from his face.

  Three Luthrols were dashing towards them.