A man walks through a mountainous region, his dark brown, almost black, long hair trailing behind him. The white sash across his shoulders trails back beneath his armpits and dances along with his hair in the wind.

  A red foreign garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body wrapped from left side to right with a broad sash keeping it closed is worn above black pants that are baggy to below the knees, then they abruptly narrow at the calves. Split-toed dark leather boots with wooden soles adorn his feet, giving a clacking sound to his steps.

  On his hip, a curved, single-edged blade with a squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands is worn with the edge facing upward. Running his hand through his hair, pushing it back out of his face, he sighs.

  In the distance is a stronghold situated against an almost vertical background. Staring at the stronghold, he touches the hilt of his sword and rhythmically taps his fingers against it.

  Why am I the one who has to be sent here? How come I always draw the short stick and get stuck with all these crappy missions?

  I cannot remember the last time any of the other seven were sent out to traipse across two kingdoms and hunt someone down in a damn mountain fortress. No, they get easy assignments like gathering information or ruling over the Isles.

  Well, it cannot be helped; that bastard will not be allowed to continue his destruction of this world. We couldn’t do anything about the first two that he managed to find. They were far away and weaponized before we even realized he had found them.

  This was one of the three that we found due to the energy pulse almost a month and a half ago. The other two seem relatively safe, but this one is already being corrupted by his essence. If they are allowed to flourish, either he will have a corrupt Han Kami on his side or a new weaponized essence to corrupt more land.

  It really doesn’t matter which happens; neither of them are good for us. It will be best to just swiftly end this one. The other two will most likely need to be dealt with as well, but they are not in metamorphosis like this one is.

  I can even sense one of his servants guarding her from this distance. To send such a powerful being, he must have high hopes for this one. To flagrantly break the terms such as this, he is just asking for the others to step forward, and we cannot allow that.

  The man shakes his head as the images of the ‘others’ flash through his mind. Humming a long-forgotten tune, the man continues walking through the region as if he had no cares in the world.

  The native creatures and beasts cower in fear of his presence and flee as he passes. Even those who are known to be territorial and vicious act as if he is not crossing their territories and try to make themselves invisible.

  When he sees some of the creatures fleeing, he simply smiles and ignores them, continuing on his way. That is right, run away. Flee for your lives.

  Laughing maniacally to himself, his eyes narrow on the path leading up to the stronghold. He can sense the corrupt presence of many life forms moving around the gate and walls in the distance, but he doesn’t hesitate even a little as he strolls forward up the narrow path.

  As he nears the gate, the creatures seem to react to his presence and start to form simple defenses. A group of five leaves the gate, snarling as their companions close and bar the gate.

  Their master had given them orders to eliminate anything that came near the stronghold, but that its defense was more important. They could not allow a single living thing in without his orders.

  Even if they are craving something to fight and eat, they will not disobey their orders; they will hold this gate no matter what. Closing its eyes, one of the creatures focuses on the connection with its master and informs him of the situation. When its eyes open, they have a new, eerie glow to them.

  From the room in the most secure part of the stronghold, the indigo creature in front of Lady Elizabeth closes its eyes and tilts its head as it watches through the eyes of the minion who reported to it.

  A strange human is walking toward the pack of its minions that charged out of the gate. The human does not seem to pay any attention to them as they approach him.

  When the creature is about ten feet from him, he draws his sword in a quick slashing motion, and a wave of fire bursts forth, incinerating the five creatures in seconds. They never even had a chance to react before they were killed and turned to dust. The human walks forward with a smile on his face and his still flaming sword held out to his side.

  The indigo creature opens its eyes and looks at the girl in front of it, tilting its head side to side as if considering something. Coming to some silent conclusion, the creature steps forward, grabs the girl roughly, and tosses her on his shoulder.

  Lady Elizabeth lets out a scream at the sudden change in the creature's behavior and struggles to try to free herself from its grasp. Ignoring her, the creature turns and heads deeper into the stronghold.

  Mentally, the creature reaches out to all the many of its subordinates and tells them to swarm the front gate and kill the intruder at all costs. Walking through corridors Lady Elizabeth has never seen, the creature makes its way far past anything that had been remodeled by the Duke of The Terrace and into ancient tunnels.

  Lady Elizabeth stops screaming and struggling as the darkness envelops them. She has no idea how long they have been heading down this twisting path and is reminded of the tunnels that she escaped down with Lady Rosalee and Max.

  Eventually, they come to a small room full of rotted and destroyed supplies from days before even her father was born. The creature sets her down in the far side of the room before turning and leaving the room. Closing the damaged door, the creature walks about twenty feet from the room before stopping and baring its teeth. Thick globs of drool fall from its mouth.

  ? ? ?

  As the ash of the five creatures blows away in the chilly wind, the man stretches his neck. It has been a long time since I could let loose like this. I will have to savor every moment here since I do not know when I will be able to do this again. Maybe this isn’t such a shitty assignment afterall.

  With another slash of his sword, a sword blade made of energy and fire destroys the first gate leading to the stronghold. The creatures jump off the walls and rush out of the gate surrounding the man.

  He never slows; even as the circle around him closes as the creatures charge, he simply slashes his sword, and anything that gets close to him is cut apart. The creatures howl in agony as all of the cuts they receive are also set aflame.

  Their usual durability and regeneration are nothing in front of the blazing sword. Pushing through the pain, they continue to attack the man even as limbs are lost.

  He releases no more energy blades and just keeps the flames bright and hot upon his single-edged sword. Anything that enters ten yards around him is almost instant cut; each attack is efficient and devoid of any excess movements.

  Perceiving the smallest of movements in the creatures, he anticipates where they will move and how they will strike. His sword moves in advance to intercept even before the creature's movements have been carried out.

  The first wave that was in charge of guarding the gate is eliminated without any hassle; what parts haven’t been turned to ash still burn. A few of the creatures may still be alive and might even be able to survive the flames spreading out from their wounds, but they are no longer able to fight or pursue him, so he ignores them.

  He can hear the sound of many more creatures rushing towards him as he continues forward. I wonder how many people have been turned into these things.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I believe the intelligence had said that the duke had sent over a hundred and fifty men after already having sent some scouts and builders ahead. It will be tiring having to slay all of them like this. I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge, but these things are just garbage.

  The shine and desire seem to fade from his eyes, replaced by a cold, almost dead look as the next wave of creatures reaches him. As with the first wave, these fall and burn before his blade.

  Having lost track of the time, he cannot help but yawn as he climbs some stairs and enters the main living area of the stronghold. The air is thick with smoke and the smell of burning flesh.

  He looks out of the balcony and at the part of the stronghold he had just crossed. Countless creatures lay dead and dying, all of them burning from his flaming sword.

  For the first time, he pauses as a stench assaults his nose. Holding his arm in front of his face, he peers around a corner and sees a pile of filth and gore next to a well-used firepit.

  By the gods, what foul sorcery was this half-god doing? How could they put up with this stench? They must be more beast than human at this point. I guess working with him has corrupted them further than we thought.

  Shaking his head, he turns and looks around the room. I don’t see anymore of those creatures around. I guess I must have killed most, if not all of them, that leaves the servant and the Han Kami.

  I wonder where they have gotten off to. I hope they weren’t scared off and ran away. Where would the fun be in that? They both should be a lot stronger than the trash I have been fighting. Hopefully, they will give me some entertainment before they die.

  He closes his eyes and tries to block out the stench of rotting filth, focusing on the energy in the room around him. After a while, he is able to sense the trail left by the creature and its summoner heading deeper into the stronghold.

  Found you.

  Smiling, he sheathes his sword and starts to follow the energy trail. The path leads him out of the area that the builders had repaired and made livable and deeper into the old, ancient, unused portion of the stronghold. He holds his left hand out palm upwards, and a fire flickers in the air above it, providing him with the light to see down the dark passageways.

  This entire area looks completely unused. They must have only set up the outer area of the castle for the Han Kami before she turned them all into mindless minions.

  They probably never thought they would have to travel this far inside to be safe. Outside of me or a margrave who could deal with all those minions without providing her with numerous bodies for her to twist into new minions.

  It would have been like dealing with a fortress-dwelling necromancer, only with stronger pets. Given enough time, this place might have ended up like a new land of the dead, only with corrupt, twisted humans instead of undead and skeletons.

  When he turns a corner, he hears the first sound since entering these unused areas and looks upon the growling indigo beast before him.

  “You sure ran deep in here instead of just fighting me. Are you that scared? I thought all of his servants were fearless abominations that craved nothing more than ripping and tearing apart anything that he hasn’t ‘blessed.’ So why did you run?”

  The creature does not reply and simply rushes at the man. Foolish beast, just as mindless as its minions. This won’t even be slightly entertaining, dammit.

  Drawing his sword in a quick cut, he releases his flaming energy only to see the beast grin and throw itself to the ground and curl into a tight ball.

  What—

  Before he can even finish his thought, the flame expands uncontrollably and explodes, filling the passageway with fire. It takes a while for the explosion to end and the heat to start to die down.

  The creature is heavily burnt on any exposed areas of its body, but is not in critical condition. As it stands up, the damaged skin sloughs off its melted wax-looking skin and appears to be no worse off than before the explosion.

  Coughing, the man waves what remains of his sword and tries to clear the smoke around him.

  Fucking hell. I cannot believe it managed to figure out that my power would backfire down here. I didn’t even consider that with no fresh air and all of the dust in this tight, dry confined space, my flame abilities would cause such a combustion. That creature definitely is not mindless but very damn sly.

  Squinting through the ash and smoke, he makes out the creature as it bares its teeth once more. Patting off the still smoldering bits of his clothing, he glares back at the creature with a pissed-off expression.

  When the creature charges forward, he charges right back at it. They collide with massive force, sending shockwaves down the hallway, clearing some of the smoke.

  The creature swipes with its claws and tries to bite him, but he simply moves out of its way, his speed far faster than that of the beast. He strikes with his fists.

  First punching one of its extended arms that tried to slash him, a fiery shockwave is released on impact, spinning the creature away from the point of impact. With it turning away from him, he is able to release a barrage of blows against it without it being able to defend itself.

  Each one of his blows releases flames and massive shockwaves. The creature is unable to defend against such force and is driven against the wall of the passageway. Venting all of his anger at being caught in the explosion and losing his weapon, the man pummels the creature without giving it a second to rest.

  The weird, semi-liquid-looking, melted flesh burns with each blow, and the bones underneath begin to shatter. Trying to do anything to fight back, the creature struggles to move away or turn around, but the man keeps releasing the fiery energy with each blow, keeping it pinned.

  After a while of beating the creature, it collapses to the ground at his feet. Not even considering stopping, the man simply moves to stomping on it instead, still releasing energy with each blow.

  He finally stops his assault when his near-endless supply of energy seems to be running low, and he bends over, placing a hand on what might have been the creature's back at one point. Without even saying a final word to the creature, the man shoves a large portion of his remaining energy into the creature, immolating it.

  Standing up from only the ashes that remain, the man straightens his clothing, his lip curls in disgust at the state of them. Destroyed! These were my favorites too! How dare that pathetic abomination dishevel me like this!

  Breathing out a deep sigh, he looks down the path where the creature stood. The tunnel seems to end here, but there is a door there on the side. The creature seemed to be guarding it.

  I guess the Han Kami is waiting inside. Dammit, with the amount of energy I have left and no weapon, this will be harder than I thought. That door probably stopped most of the explosion, so the air in there will not be safe for me to discharge any energy either.

  They surely are not making this easy on me. Oh well, I came this far, I might as well see it though. I won’t have it heard that I am a coward afraid to face some pathetic little Han Kami.

  Moving to in front of the door, he kicks it as hard as he can, sending its mostly destroyed self flying into the room.

  The door crashes into the wall next to Lady Elizabeth, who is curled up on the floor, sobbing. The man snatches a piece of the broken door that was still attached to the hinges and lights it on fire before tossing it into the room.

  No explosion? I guess the air must have less dust in here. In the dull light, he sees the girl crying on the floor and approaches her with guarded steps. Crying? What is this? Giving up as soon as her guardian dies? This is just… pathetic.

  The girl turns and looks up at that man in smoldering clothes. “W-who are y-you?”

  Approaching her, he holds his hand out for her to take to help herself up, but his eyes show his caution. Something isn’t right here.

  “I am Homusubi. I believe you are Lady Elizabeth Margaret Grey?” Homusubi forces a smile as he looks down at her.

  Lady Elizabeth’s eyes widen, and she grabs his extended hand, helping herself up. She keeps the urge to grab hold of him and hug him tightly in check. “Did my f-father send y-you?”

  Homusubi shakes his head, answering her question with a single word. “No.”

  Homusubi’s other hand, which she is not still holding, rushes forward and grabs her by the throat, slamming her hard into the wall. She isn’t even given a chance to react before she feels an energy crash in through her chest and spread throughout her body.

  She tries to scream louder and harder than she ever has before as every cell in her body feels as though it is being set on fire, but Homusubi’s hand tightens around her neck, smothering any sound. He never releases the grip, even as she is set ablaze and he holds her against the wall until she turns to ash.

  “One less Han Kami to worry about.” Dusting his hands off, Homusubi turns and leaves the now lifeless stronghold.

  ? ? ?

  The Margrave Bradley Vince rides alongside Max and Lady Rosalee, his mind keeps going over how Max could have beaten the paladins from Eschaton. The three of them are making their way back to Sir Clara Darvill, who they assume is still fighting stone giants.

  They are all relaxed by Bradley Vince’s calming aura. Even if something were to suddenly attack them, they know he would be able to protect them. Bradley nearly falls off his horse; he is so startled when Max lets out a shout.

  “Liz!” Max turns and faces off into the distance. His face is taut, and his fist clenched at his side.

  “What in the hells boy? What is the matter with you?” Bradley shouts more sternly than he should, clearly rattled by the sudden outburst.

  Glaring at Max, he jumps again when Lady Rosalee begins to scream in agony on the other side of him. Turning quickly, he dismounts and reaches out, grabbing her shoulder.

  “What’s the matter with you now!?” Lady Rosalee shakes uncontrollably and falls against him, hugging him and sobbing. Patting her on the back, he turns to look at Max.

  “Why did you shout out what is going on—” His mouth hangs open, and he doesn’t finish his sentence; he only looks all around them with a confused look upon his face.

  Hearing Lady Rosalee’s scream, Max turns toward her. “What’s wrong? Did you hear… Fuck.”

  Max tilts his head back and grabs both sides of his head. He closes his eyes tightly and counts to ten before opening them again, but the ceiling tiles of his school are still there.