The demon held out his hand like a loaded gun toward the three too far behind Asura and Mel. Asura pondered if there was anything he could do to interrupt the shot but found nothing. The shot would be released far too quickly to intervene. Asura bit the inside of his cheeks while charging forward into the crowd of Grulls and Knogth to start a fight. He could only pray the others would manage without him.

The five Grulls raced towards Rose, Tristen, and Gabe, focusing their attention on the monsters in pursuit. However, as the demon uttered a cackling laugh as if preparing to strike, a startling crack of lightning rang through the building. The sound of wood striking the rubber left the monsters crying out in agony as they crabbed at their heads.

A baseball shot through the group of monsters and past Asura, whizzing like a speeding bullet through the building. Before Asura could recognize what occurred, the baseball changed directions as it became parallel with the demon's outstretched arm. The baseball shot into the demon's hand with a thunderous pound of flesh being smashed.

Mr. Smile's hand was thrown to the side as he released his force into the world. A loud explosion shook the building, leaving another gaping hole through its side. Rubble fell from the ceiling, and dust scattered in a massive cloud that engulfed several destroyed piles of machines.

Asura figured the demon would become enraged by the attack, but Mr. Smiles energetically laughed while throwing his hands into the air with joy.

"Oh, this is so much fun! Instead of striking me directly, you shifted my hand!"

Mr. Smile threw his hand to his side as he turned his head toward Tristen, who held his bat beside him. Tristen's eyes were focused on the demon as he created another ball in his palm, his mouth tight as he prepared for a counterattack.

"But, now what? You've given me another bullet in this game of roulette. Will I save it? Let it fester? Build it up and release it?"

The demon silently walked behind the racing monsters he unleashed,

"It's just like pain. Bottle it up and let it marinate! Isn't that right, Melody? How's your sister?"

The fire in Mel's eyes raged on as she grinded her teeth. Asura cursed as he realized the demon was taunting her.

"MEL! HE'S BAI-"

A Knogth swung his fist at Asura, striking the distracted ogre in the chest. Asura grunted, bracing himself as his side went backward from the heavy blow, yet he remained steadfast. The ogre retaliated with a swift but powerful double hook with both his right fists. His upper and lower fists exploded with white flames as they slammed into the chitinous armor.

The Knogth staggered, falling to its knee as it fell back. The force from the mana and the strength of an ogre caused its head to crack from the point of contact, yet the beast recovered. It roared with fury as it pulled its sword with its other hand upward to slash at the ogre with savage intensity.

Asura laughed mockingly at the Knogth's attempt, kicking its wrist and causing its hand to fly back.

"Not this time, buddy."

Before Asura could strike again, two more reached its brother's side. The two large monsters barreled toward the ogre, pushing him backward and away from the wounded Knogth to let it repair.

"Fuck, I forgot you guys ain't stupid."

The remaining two Knogths placed their hands upon the wounded Knogths' shoulder, expelling their quotidian mana into its body like humans would. The Knogths' cracks slammed together as the chitinous material was pulled like cloth, stitching and mending the weakened areas.

Asura slung his fists in a flurry of blows, trying to break through the two Knogths blocking his path, yet the two never yielded. They swung their monstrous swords with technique as if they were experienced warriors. The ogre's path was blocked as he exchanged blow after blow.

His clothes tore as the swords raked against his skin, unable to cut through his tough exterior. The left Knogth raised its sword high, giving Asura the opening to duck beneath and close the distance. Asura drew his left fist to his side, mana surging through the runes and firing in rhythmic bursts like pistons in an engine.

"Hey, bastard!"

The Knogth pulled his sword up to defend against the strike, but Asura spat out white flames from his mouth, splattering it across the monster's face. The Knogth cried out as the flames burned its eyes, unleashing an insect-like painful screech.

Asura drove his fists into its chest and unleashed a devastating explosion of white fire that blasted them apart. A loud crack of chitin splitting erupted as the thunderous explosion rang out through the room. The force sent the Knogth backward before collapsing to both knees. Its chest had caved slightly, cracks splintering out like a spiderweb as dark blood spilled out onto the floor.

The ogre never relented, trying to finish the Knogth before it could recover. Asura rushed forward but found four Knogths before the bleeding one.

"Shit. It's a loop."

Two of the Knogths began to heal their wounded comrade while the others raced toward Asura. "Eventually, I'll win when they run out of mana..." Asura thought as he glanced at Mel and the group behind him. Mel was tied up with three remaining Grulls, with two dead and burning at her feet.

However, with every shot she fired, she struck the demon with another, feeding its bank of kinetic force with more ammunition. Thankfully, Rose, Tristen, and Gabe had killed the five others swiftly, leaving their corpses on the ground behind them as they joined together with Asura.

All that remained were the five Knogths, three Grulls, and the problematic demon still lingering amongst them. Mr. Smiles watched them as if they were merely entertainment, unworried about joining to help the monsters it allowed to be slaughtered. With every death, Mr. Smiles seemed to find joy in the cries of agony, humming and swaying as it eagerly watched Mel as if obsessed.

The demon spoke as it watched Mel fight, ignoring every shot that struck its head as if it were nothing. It relished the hatred in her eyes,

"Your parents would be so proud of how you've grown from the scars I carved in your soul. Isn't it wonderful? How pain makes us grow."

Mel screamed out intensely,

"Shut the fuck up, you demonic piece of shit!"

Mr. Smiles's smile grew wider, tearing more of his flesh,

"We change from pain, like flowers blooming after a storm. I changed you. I made you beautiful."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Mel shifted her gun's form into another elephant rifle, ready to fire the large rounds at Mr. Smile's head. However, Asura cried out again, screaming desperately to stop her,

"YOU'RE GOING TO KILL THE OTHERS YOU DIPSHIT! EVERY TIME YOU SHOOT THAT GUY HE GETS STRONGER!"

Mel hesitated and pulled the barrel to the Grull before her. As it leaped up at her face, she fired into its chest, causing its body to rip apart from the large caliber round punching through its body. The Grull hit the ground silently, making only the dull thud of its body flopping against the floor before bursting into amber flames.

Mr. Smiles waved his hand at the nearest Knogth that healed the wounded soldier. Without question, the Knogth pulled away, obeying the demon's command immediately. Asura tried to draw its attention, but the other two rejoined the fight, leaving him with four opponents before him.

"A little help here, guys? I know you're busy and all-"

Another crack of lightning rang out, followed by the sound of a baseball striking one of the Knogths in the leg before changing direction and striking a Knogth beside the other in the head. Asura smirked, watching the two stagger from the blows.

"Alrighty then, thank you."

The ogre seized the opportunity, swiftly striking at the staggering Knogths. Meanwhile, the remaining two advanced from behind their brethren, rushing forward to protect their pack. Before they could intervene, a wrecking ball hurtled toward the one on the left. The Knogth was ready, raising its blade just in time to deflect the attack.

The wrecking ball slammed into the ground with a crunch as it dug into the floor. Another crack of lightning cried out, followed by the thunderous boom of a baseball striking the right Knogth. Just like its brother, this one defended itself, quickly adapting to the Paladins' attacks.

Its large sword swatted the swift baseball as if it predicted its path, shattering it into shards of light that twinkled as it fell through the air like powder. Rose's calm voice called out to the group as they fought,

"Tristen, aid Mel. Gabe and I will help Asura."

Asura tucked his arms into a fighter's stance, protecting himself as Lydia had shown him in their training. He raced forward, striking at the two advancing Knogths while the others recovered and followed.

"I don't need help! Go to Mel!"

Gabe's heart raced as his brother ran to Mel. Although his brother was strong, the red tally above his head was still present. It had faded a little, telling Gabe that he had begun to heal, but the looming threat of the black tally left him hesitant. Gabe held his shield as he stood beside Rose,

"We need to perform an exorcism on the demon."

Rose shook her head as she pulled her weapon's chain back and swung it once again at her foe. As the weapon soared toward the Knogth, she observed it raise its sword into a guarded stance. It was going to block once again. However, this time, she altered its course, releasing a torrent of black water that rained onto its head.

The Knogth staggered back, surprised by the sudden downpour that covered his vision. Seizing the moment, Rose corrected its swing, launching another strike that caught the Knogth off guard. Her wrecking ball slammed into the Knogths shoulder, crushing its chitin-covered body like a bug under a hammer.

"We can't. We have no way to pin it down."

"We have to-"

"We can't, Gabe! That thing won't let us start one. The moment we speak, it'll kill us."

Gabe shifted his gaze to Mr. Smiles, the demon swaying as if uninterested in the other toys. Its sight was trained on Mel.

"I don't understand-"

Rose swiftly interjected,

"Listen, Gabe, Asura called this thing a demon. It's different... He never calls a monster a demon. This isn't a shadow. It may not even work."

Gabe looked down at his shield, a large dent still present in the metal. The sight of his arm being broken in its weapon form left him terrified. It was nearly impossible to break his body once it hardened and changed form. Yet, his arm was now crushed inward.

"I believe it..."

Gabe poured out his mana into the group, fueling them with his mana and acting as their battery. His golden arm flashed as he grasped his shield with it, and then, with a fierce resolve, he hurled it forward toward Asura.

"ASURA! CATCH!"

As he fought against the two Knogths, Asura looked back briefly, following the shield as it soared toward him. The two Knogths had pushed Asura back slightly, causing him to growl in frustration as they struck him several times. The right Knogth lifted his blade high, swinging his behemoth of a blade at the ogre's head.

Relief washed over Gabe as Asura snatched the shield out of the air as it drew close, pulling the shield to his side, his four arms bracing it against the attack. The chitin sword met the shield with a harsh, grinding sound. Sparks flew as its rough texture scraped across the metal.

The Knogth's arms were sent to the side as if he had put all of his strength into the strike, leaving him open as his arms followed his sword to the ground. Gabe called out again,

"SWING IT"

Asura obeyed the command with unquestionable faith. His arms grabbed hold of the shield, swinging it as if it were a weapon. In its flight, the shield's shape changed as its body emitted a golden light that blinded the Knogths around Asura.

The shield flowed and reformed, condensing into a rod before stretching into a pole. At its peak, a blade of gleaming metal unfolded, becoming the head of a monstrous great axe. The silver blade displayed deadly simplicity, boasting of a brutally efficient purpose to kill.

A brown handle for grip and only the chilling gleam of a killing edge. With stark similarity to its owner, the weapon reflected its humble master. The ogre smiled like a child who had obtained a toy he had been told would never grace his hands.

As he swung with all his might, the blade struck deep into the Knogth's head, cleaving into its chitin armor like a blade through the grass. The sickening wet crunch of the metal stopping in the other side of its skull left the ogre with goosebumps.

The axe was stuck as if in a tree, leaving Asura to pull it out with his foot.

"This... Is so badass... I'm a fuckin gladiator bitches!"

The ogre raised the axe up high, displaying to the others what he wielded. The other Knogths were mortified by the sight, realizing the ogre wielded the ability to use a holy weapon. It was one thing to wield holy mana, which had caught them off-guard upon their arrival, but a holy weapon was another beast to overcome.

A perfect weapon that would never yield to another. To shatter a holy weapon was to overcome the blessings of an archangel. The feat was utterly impossible except for a king, a testament to the power they wielded. Hephestine forged every holy weapon in the heavenly forges gifted by Judex Divinum.

Gabe scratched at his neck as Asura announced the presence of the weapon, worried about the demon's reaction to such an event. Yet, the demon remained uninterested in the others, fully intent on watching Mel struggle as the Knogth charged toward her.

As Tristen joined the fight, offering Mel support, Mr. Smiles's demeanor shifted. The fleshy smile remained fixed, yet it seemed hollow as if straining to maintain its cheerful facade and on the verge of twisting into a frown. The demon announced with a hissing tone,

"This isn't fun."

Before Mel and Tristen could react, they were driven violently into the ground. An unseen force, like a colossal anvil, slammed down upon them, crushing them with unnatural power.

Their screams of agony pierced the air as the ground around them buckled and cracked, the force of the impact radiating outwards in a devastating shockwave. The sight left the group speechless with wide eyes as Mel and Tristen lay on the ground.

Beside the two, the Knogth was left wounded, broken, and shattered as it knelt on the ground. The blood poured from its body for a moment before rising back into its body as the quotidian mana started to mend its wounds. It was a race against the clock, whether the monster would heal before they could save their friends.

Mr. Smiles chuckled as he turned to Asura, Rose and Gabe,

"A little more pain and the game becomes thrilling!"

Asura acted instinctually, trying to rush away and save the two Paladins without a second guess. He pulled the blade to his side, ready to strike at the demon, but as he started to rush away, the Knogth, still alive at his side, grabbed its chest.

In a horrendous cry of pain, the chest of the monster burst as if against its own will, causing the blood to break through the chitin. The blood twisted and conjoined into tentacles that lashed out, grabbing hold of Asura and entangling him in a net of lashing vines of blood.

"It wouldn't be fun if I made it easy."

The demon walked toward Mel as if to collect its prize. Before the other two Knogths could join, Rose expelled an explosive cannon of black water into their chests, knocking them back. Rose tried to advance toward the demon as Gabe swiftly rushed to Asura's side to free him from the entanglement.

The demon's grip tightened Mel's throat, lifting her struggling form into the air. Its face, devoid of features save for the black, oozing smile, stared at her with chilling emptiness. As it lifted Mel up, two red tallies hung in the air.

With a swift kick, Mr. Smiles sent Tristen flying to Gabe's feet, two crimson tally marks hovering above his injured form. The sickening thud of his body striking the ground left Gabe nauseous, struggling to move as he jumped to his brother's side. However, Gabe immediately poured out his mana, starting the healing process to remove the tallies before they received a third. The demon spoke with a happy tone as he asked,

"Just like how I killed your mother. Do you still hear her cries? Isn't it nostalgic?"

Mr. Smiles let out its revolting jester-like cackle as it turned to the others,

"Move, and she dies."