"You're mine, Scratcher!"

  Druso roared, lunging toward the enemy general. However, the latter seemed pleased with what had happened. He raised his right hand, ready to strike the wanderer with a spell. Druso didn't care; he had gained too much distance to risk losing it with a careless dodge; he would take the blow head on and attack.

  "You fell into my trap! Now I will make you understand what it means to feel despair! Dark Necrofear!"

  After those simple words, Druso began to see everything blurry. Around him, there was only darkness and nothing else. His heart was beating at an alarming, almost painful rate. He felt fear for some reason, and his will was slipping away. His courage seemed to melt like snow under the sun.

  "Where have you gone, you coward?!"

  The warrior roared in vain.

  "This is the power my Absolute Lord has given me! The darkest fear! Hahahaha!"

  Druso felt a sharp pain in his back and noticed blood falling to the ground behind him. He had been wounded.

  "Bastard!"

  He screamed, before being struck again and again. In the pitch darkness, he couldn't see anything; how could he fight back? Not only his sight, but even his other senses had also been blinded. He was helpless, powerless against the growing sense of terror in his heart.

  Is this the power of Almodeus? The darkest fear? The most absolute terror? Impossible...he would be a God.

  Druso refused to believe he was facing a deity; it was absurd. Then a multidirectional voice echoed in his ears.

  "You're just a fool, lizardman! My passive ability—Traitor— increases the damage I deal with attacks from behind or when I'm out of sight! With the power bestowed upon me by my Absolute Lord, no one can beat me! Hahahaha!"

  The voice of that psychopath of Scratcher echoed in Druso's head, followed by another blow to the back. He didn't know how many more blows he could take, and he certainly couldn't fight in that condition.

  "Heartsteel!"

  A voice broke through the red monster's laughter, turning it into cries of rage. Lulu had just used a spell to increase Druso's courage, negating the terror effect caused by Scratcher. The effect of the Heartsteel spell was a lingering one, about a few hours, consequently rendering another instance of Dark Necrofear ineffective, and also part of the Traitor passive.

  "Thanks, Lulu! I owe you a favor!"

  Druso shouted, smiling. He felt his senses returning; he was wounded, but still in the game.

  "Noooo! The power bestowed upon me by the Absolute Lord! Die, you dirty bitch! Frost Ray!"

  In a lightning-fast move, Scratcher struck Lulu with a beam of ice, severely damaging her and knocking her to the ground. The monster took advantage of this and lunged toward the druid, ready to finish her off. Without her, the enemies would be unable to regenerate or cast powerful spells.

  "Lulu! Noooo!"

  Druso began to run as fast as he could. To save Lulu, he would have gotten in the way and taken all the damage. It wasn't a logical choice; he should have attacked Scratcher and not focused on defense, but the risk that Lulu could even get slightly injured was clouding his clarity. Now he was fighting with his heart, not his brain.

  "Bloody lunge!"

  Scratcher strengthened his claws with a skill, ready to deliver the final blow to Lulu.

  "Hey! Take it out on someone your own size!"

  "Hm?!"

  Before the red monster could deal a killing blow to the girl, Kan stepped in and was stabbed in the left side. Blood began to drip from the wound—the demonic general's claws had managed to pierce the monk's mighty scales, digging into the muscles of his ribs. Despite that, the colossus gritted its teeth and endured.

  "Damn, that hurts!"

  Kan groaned, watching Scratcher's claws pierce his chest and dig deep. The only real satisfaction at that moment was the enemy general's shocked expression.

  "How are you still standing, you brute?!"

  The monster declared in confusion.

  "This is a small thing for me!"

  Kan retorted proudly, before raising his right fist to the sky.

  "Stone Skin! Power Punch!"

  Taking advantage of his opponent's inability to move, Kan activated a double power-up and punched Scratcher in the face, sending him flying several meters and landing face-first into the filthy swamp water.

  "Druso...I'll leave the rest to you!"

  The colossus muttered, before placing his hand on his wound. Kan fell to the ground, exhausted, not only from the damage he'd taken, but also from the energy he'd expended fighting the Ink Assassins— and the effects of the previously nullified Frost Ray had returned to bite him at that very moment. Lulu stood beside him and tried to staunch the bleeding. She was too weak to use high-level healing magic, but she would stay by his side; Kan was her ally and had saved her, after all.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Darkbright was in a tight spot.

  Despite his confidence, he was in dire straits. Tiberio was managing to penetrate his defenses with that enormous sword, while Sakka and Shark had easily destroyed the two fallen angels, reducing them to works of art.

  How could this be happening? How could I be losing?!

  Darkbright couldn't understand it. He had been enhanced—his strength was no match for what he had when he was just Captain Bork. He had no memories of his life serving the Theocracy, but he didn't care. Almodeus's words had proved true: he was now serving a being far superior to the Twelve Gods.

  I can't disappoint my new master! I can't!

  He tried to use the sword summoning spell again to attack the enemies, but Tiberio was too close to him to use it effectively. Darkbright would have risked impaling himself, as the swords tended to spawn outside the radius, then strike toward the center of it.

  “So? You’re not so strong now, are you?”

  “Be quiet, lizard!”

  With a powerful swing of his mace, Darkbright managed to push Tiberio off his back, as he continued to taunt him. The dark cleric continued swinging his mace, but was easily stopped by his enemy. Given his level, Darkbright was stronger than his opponent, but his sword skills left much to be desired; that was where Tiberio was aiming to best him.

  “Die, you damn piece of shit!”

  Darkbright summoned another spirit sword, sending it at Tiberio, but Shark stepped in between, parrying the blow with his bone spear.

  “Thanks, Shark! I owe you one!”

  “No…Problem.”

  “You only know how to play as a team or what?! It doesn't matter, I'll kill you all anyway!”

  Darkbright decided to use his secret weapon.

  “Sunrise and Eclipse!”

  It was his more powerful attack: a level 6 spell that could blind the enemy, then strike them with a dark beam from the sky. The perfect fusion of light and darkness, of the holy and the corruption. The spell even had additional effects if cast during the day or night: in the former case, it would increase the duration of the blindness; in the latter, it would instead enhance the damage of the dark beam.

  Why hadn't he used it before? Simple—energy expenditure. After using that attack, Darkbright could only cast one more spell before running out of magical power. He had to win with that move, otherwise he'd be defeated in the long run.

  However...

  “Sand Storm !”

  ...Tiberio wouldn't let him use his most powerful blow without trying to stop him. Before the spell could be cast, Tiberio used one of the few spells at his disposal, which created a large sandstorm nearby, obscuring Darkbright's vision, forcing him to cast the spell at random. Needless to say, it missed its target.

  “Damn! How can you see a thing in this storm?!”

  “We lizardmen are full of surprises, and always ready for anything!”

  Sakka fired a precise arrow at Darkbright's left hand, knocking off his shield, while Shark chopped off his right hand with a slash, completely disarming the demonic general. Obviously, Darkbright wouldn't have died from such a wound, but now he could no longer fight hand-to-hand.

  I only have one chance left!

  In desperation, Darkbright activated the Thousand Swords spell again. There was a chance he would strike himself, but he had to risk it all. It was the only way he could win. The spell was cast without issue and a dozen swords spawned around the general and the three lizard heroes.

  “I don't care if I die! I'll take you to the grave with me!”

  Darkbright's words were those of a madman, but he didn't care. He would kill them right there and then, but...

  “W-What?”

  ...A large stone wall had risen to protect the three heroes. It had been a spell from Tiberio—Earth Shield—a defensive spell that created two-meter-high stone walls around the caster. In one fell swoop, Tiberio and the others had completely defended themselves from Darkbright's final attack, who remained the only remaining target.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The monster wanted to scream, but he couldn't. One of the swords was faster and pierced its leg. Another struck its side, and a final one cut it in half, sending its upper body falling into the filthy swamp water.

  H-How did I lose? I was reborn! I had a new purpose! M-My new God abandoned me? Why...why have you abbandoned me, Lord Almodeus? What did I do wrong? Why...why...why...why...why...

  Those were Darkbright's last thoughts before death took away his breath. Tiberio and the others watched in amazement as Bork's soul left the monster's lifeless body, before retreating who knows where. They would have felt sorry for him, had they known his spirit would be tortured again and likely transformed into a different monster.

  This was the end of the experiment A-2000: Darkbright.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Marquis Baldur wasn't a clever man. He squandered the family fortune like an idiot with dodgy business deals, married a cold-blooded woman just for money, and neglected his daughter to increase his own power. In short, he didn't do anything right in his life- not even once.

  However, Baldur always came out clean from his shady mistakes, without facing too many consequences. His luck only ran out when he insulted the wife of the wrong demon. In a single night, his mansion was destroyed, his soldiers murdered, his family scattered, and his fortune entirely stolen by an unprecedented monster.

  And what happened to him? Well...he was offered a seat at the table—the one where Shockwave dissects his guinea pigs.

  After days of torture and experimentation, nothing remained of the Marquis but his soul. Somehow, unknown to all but his tormentor, Baldur was transformed into an experimental killing machine. A completely free brainwashing turned him into a devoted puppet.

  That was his punishment: to serve those he had angered. Of course, his soul would be tormented forever. Baldur's body and mind had been completely reset, but his spirit had not. He would suffer until the end of time, forced to watch the consequences of his actions unfold before his helpless eyes.

  What a sweet vision...

  However, Kan's fist had finally revealed the hidden truth behind the red general of Almodeus's army. This was what Marquis Baldur had become; this was what he was destined to be until the end of his days: this was where his poor life choices and his stupidity had led him.

  Experiment A-2001: Scratcher.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Die, Scratcher!"

  Druso roared, lunging at the red monster, who quickly rose to hit feet, though part of his face had been destroyed, revealing a human visage beneath the crimson skin.

  "Don't underestimate me! Transmigration!"

  With a simple word, Scratcher suddenly vanished from the wanderer's sight, only to reappear behind him to attempt to finish him off with an attack empowered by his passive ability. However, Druso managed to parry the blow with his sword, then took a few steps back.

  "You wanted to activate your passive ability? Predictable..."

  The hero commented, but he had little to boast about. Druso was badly injured and didn't know how much longer he would last.

  "M-Middle Heal..."

  Lulu whispered, in pain. Before passing out on Kan's body, the druid cast a healing spell on Druso, stopping some of the lizardman's wounds from bleeding. She was exhausted, but at least she had managed to level the playing field between her beloved and the enemy general.

  "Enough! I'm tired of all these interruptions! It's time to end this once and for all! Bone Bullets!"

  Scratcher prepared to fire at the girl, but a slash from Druso knocked him back, causing more pieces of skin to fall off, revealing more and more of Marquis Baldur's remains.

  I have to finish this, and fast!

  Druso gripped the hilt of the Lich Bane and activated its effect, channeling all the energy he'd gathered during his fight with Scratcher—and the residual energy from his encounter with Kan some time before. The sword's blade began to glow, growing larger and brighter.

  "Scratcher! I agree with you on one thing, you know? It's time to end this once and for all!"

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  -Mana Slash

  That was the Lich Bane's ultimate ability, capable of unleashing a powerful blow by using absorbed energy. A mage with a barely important name had created it to turn mana into a weapon even if the enemy was capable of nullifying his spells.

  However, he could never have predicted that his greatest invention would be used against him by a brave lizardman he met by chance during one of his travels.

  The mage was a fool to challenge him. He was cut in half by the same mana blade he had forged after years and years of experimentation. He had thrown his life away—and for what? Nothing...or at least, his death had had one effect: allowing Drudo to obtain the weapon that would help him obtain the title of hero that he now wielded with pride.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Druso raised his sword above his head, ready to swing at Scratcher. The blow was fully charged, and he had only one strike left; Druso would have fainted from exhaustion immediately afterward. He might even have died, had his body not been able to handle all that power.

  “It's time to end this, once and for all!”

  "No! I'll hit you first! Bone Bullets!"

  Scratcher began firing wildly, trying to kill Druso before he could attack him with his most powerful blow. It was the demon's only hope for survival—the only way to win that battle.

  I have to endure the pain! For them!

  Druso endured the enemy attacks, gritting his teeth. The bullets pierced his skin, causing severe wounds all over his body, but by sheer luck, they missed vital points. He had to resist—he had to do it for all those who had fought alongside him.

  For the young people who gave their lives on the field.

  For his brother Tiberio who was facing Darkbright.

  For Kan who had protected him.

  And finally for Lulu, with whom he had foolishly fallen in love at first sight.

  Everyone was either busy fighting or injured. Druso couldn't let them down after all they'd done for him.

  “Scratcher…Go to hell!”

  Having bought himself enough time, Druso activated his sword's most powerful ability: Mana Slash. He felt his strength ebbing away, feeling the Lich Bane's massive energy far surpass his current level. This was the most powerful blow Druso had ever unleashed. Had he used it during the fight against Kan, it would have surely killed the monk. Ultimately, he had been right to hold back until that moment.

  "Go! Mana Slash!"

  In one fluid motion, Druso summoned a massive beam of blue mana, hurling it at his enemy. The projectiles Scratcher was wildly firing were completely eclipsed by that phenomenal power. Unfettered by any restraints or obstacles, the beam of light reached the demonic general, striking him squarely. The monster fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Red lightning began to erupt from Scratcher's body, as his red skin cracked and flaked under the pressure.

  "Nooooooo! My Absolute Lord...I beg for your forgiveness!!!"

  Scratcher barely managed to finish his pleas, and then exploded into a thousand pieces. Nothing remained of the red monster except a cloud of smoke billowing in the wind. A red A made of flames appeared from the ashes of the deceased Scratcher. Druso felt observed by that unusual phenomenon, but he didn't have time to react, as the flames had already dissipated.

  "It's done..."

  Druso smiled, then fell to the ground, exhausted. His open wounds burned at the contat with the filthy swamp water, but he didn't have the strength to get up—not after the toughest fight of his life.

  "Hurray!"

  "Great!"

  "We won!"

  The exultation of his companions reached him. Although unable to raise his head and see with the victory with his own eyes, Druso sensed that the undead army had been exterminated and the war was over.

  We...won...

  It was at that point that, for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, he let go and allowed himself some well-deserved rest.

  “We did it…”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "They did it..."

  Almodea commented, stunned. She hadn't expected the undead army to be defeated. However, she wasn't worried about that situation; surely her father would do something to fix the situation.

  "Incredible."

  Shion added, busy massaging the demoness's wings.

  "The battle is over! Who wants to throw another party? While we're at it..."

  Almodea asked, turning to Shion, Hirashi and Huna- the latter half asleep on the white giantess chest.

  "I'm in, Noble Almodea!"

  Shion replied promptly, smiling as usual.

  "Huh? Y-Yes! I'm in!"

  Huna stammered, trying to wake herself up and return to a more professional state, which wasn't easy after she realized she'd drooled slightly on Hirashi's top while she was half asleep.

  "That's fine with me."

  The pale giantess nodded, not at all annoyed by Huna's involuntary gesture, who was now blushing with embarrassment, mentally scolding herself for having disrespected her superior so much.

  While the four were getting everything ready, Ryu was in the bathroom, arguing with the toilet.

  "Hey! How this thing works?! Do I have to put my hand inside the hole?"

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "They did it..."

  Hardshell muttered, watching Scratcher explode.

  "Yes, I won the bet."

  Frederica added, chuckling, though inwardly she feared that she would be hit with the same punishment that would befall Hardshell for that damned failure.

  "Unfortunately..."

  The colossus grumbled, rising to his feet. He was visibly dejected, but couldn't hide the smile that was forming on his face.

  "That was magnificent, though! Those lizardmen really proved themselves to be valiant warriors! They deserve my respect."

  Hardshell's mind was racing. He could send two of the three monsters assigned to him—why the restriction in the first place? Why couldn't he just take to the field himself? He still hadn't figured it out. Even though he had been given explanations, he did not understand them.

  Maybe I should have sent the Iron Maiden along with Darkbright.

  The third and final monster given to him was a level 33 undead creature: the Iron Maiden. She didn't have a lot of offensive moves, but had high physical resistance and the ability to deal reflected damage.

  She would have paired perfectly wwitha support monster like Darkbright, who didn't perform well with Scratcher, a highly mobile assassin. Ahhhh! It's all too complicated! Too many combinations!

  Hardshell's head was starting to smoke from how little he was used to thinking. He was truly in a state of absolute confusion. It wasn't like him to think at all, yet he was doing so. He was really trying to figure out what he'd done wrong, but he couldn't manage to understand his mistakes, even though Frederica had already told him what those were several times. Hardshell wasn't acting stupid out of pride, but because he was genuinely incapable of such complex reasoning. If he had been on the battlefield, perhaps Hardshell would have been able to understand something thanks to his beast instincts, but he couldn't go there because of the orders he had received—and sitting at the table wasn't helping.

  "Damn! I can't understand! Fuck! Fuck!"

  Hardshell began to shout random things, slamming his large paw on the ground, shaking the camp. He stopped short only when he felt a calm hand touch his neck.

  "Calm down, damn it! You want to destroy everything?!"

  Frederica's cold words contradicted the warmth of her touch.

  "Yes...you're right."

  Hardshell responded simply. His anger, stemming more from confusion than defeat, had subsided completely. He didn't want to hurt his maid unintentionally—that would be wrong. Furthermore, Hardshell's shallow attention had been captured by the movement of something behind the girl.

  "Frederica..."

  "Yes? What's wrong? Do you want me to feed you to calm you down—"

  "Can I touch your tail?"

  The tent fell silent. The sound of a slap echoed, followed by furious shouts.

  "Are you stupid?! What's wrong with you, you fucking retard?! Does that seem like the right time or the right thing to say to a female or one of your servants?!"

  "Sorry...I haven't thought about it thoroughly."

  "You haven't thought about it at all! You need to use that big head you have more! Even if it is empty!"

  If before it was Hardshell who was angry, now the role had passed to Frederica. Even though she was just a servant, she was scolding her superior as if he were a child who had done something wrong.

  "Sorry, I was wrong. It's just that you have something beautiful."

  "Don't give me compliments like that, idiot! Do you have any idea what they do to a girl?! Besides being stupid, you're also clueless?!"

  "I am...what? I stayed in the part where I was retarded and stupid, not clueless."

  "H-How can you...why are you like this?! What is your problem?!"

  "I-I...don't know. When I see your tail, I want to touch it. This time I asked, because you scolded me the other times when I did not ask..."

  "I...I...Ahhhhhh! You're impossible to understand! But I shouldn't be surprised! You don't even understand the basis of girls' feelings! You are- uhu?"

  While the two were arguing- or at least, while Frederica was doing everything she could to keep her head up against Hardshell's stupidity-a crow entered the room and opened its beak, creating a magical channel of communication. It wasn't the first time Fear Tower had communicated with them that way.

  The maid was the first to to calm down and approached it.

  "This is Frederica. What can I do for you? I understand...I'll report it! Have a good day, Master Sergio."

  After the she-wolf finished listening to thosewords, she moved towards Hardshell, who already knew what awaited him.

  "Hardshell...or rather, Master Hardshell. You are summoned to Lord Almodeus's office. Right now."

  The colossus sighed at this news, which was definitely not a good sign.

  "Yes. Let's get ready and go."

  Hardshell briefly returned to his gaze on the magical screen before him. They were busy tending to the wounded. He smiled slightly, then sighed again and shook his head, visibly dejected.

  "It's a real shame that they have to die anyway..."