Like a large beast, the blood spread outward, shifting into a large pair of jaws that stretched downward from the hammer's head towards her shoulder. The bloody maw remained open momentarily, dripping onto the concrete below.

Then abruptly, the liquid jaws slammed shut with explosive force, chomping down on her arm, devouring it whole. Asura's eyebrows shot upward as he witnessed the large bloody figure implode, consuming itself as it wrapped around her arm, taking its newly adopted shape.

The blood segmented itself into groups like muscles around the bone. Wrapping, twisting, stretching, its grotesque appearance began to take shape. The form of a disgusting, enormous, veiny gauntlet with sharp claws emerged as the blood hardened. Upon drying, the once bright crimson color darkened into a blackish red. Asura could only watch as she brought down the monstrous gauntlet on top of his head.

He tried to prepare himself, bracing his four arms above to absorb the blow. However, what caught him off guard was the weight of the gauntlet. He expected it to be fairly light due to the material the body was crafted from. How wrong he was... Channeled within the gauntlet was the leftover mana from the other monsters that were killed earlier, increasing the weight by tenfold what it normally would have been.

Limping and waddling his way over, Wain stood horrified as he watched the large claw crash down on Asura, sinking him into the floor from the unexpected weight. The large gauntlet dug deep into the ground, creating a massive indentation as its claws plunged into the concrete with ease. She laughed triumphantly,

"Oh, the mighty Asura, the big bad warrior, to think he would fal-"

Wain began to rush towards Asura but stopped as he watched the massive gauntlet rise from the ground. Although the gauntlet was heavy, it was nothing to an ogre like Asura. It didn't matter if it were three cars stacked on top of him, the ogres were relentless and resilient creatures who didn't understand the word, surrender.

Grasping the large fingers that were part of the gauntlet, he dug his hands into its bloody armor. Asura clenched his teeth as he began to snarl. Her prideful words echoed in his ears repeatedly, enraging the ogre. He was the only one who gets to gloat before enemies. He is not to be gloated to. Raising the gauntlet off his body, he let out an intense roar.

Annoyed that he was lifting it, she decided to reform it back into a hammer.

"Well, that was unexpected... This was fun, Asura, but my master got away safely, and I was told not to continue a meaningless fight. Which means my jo-"

Before she could finish, she felt Asura's presence behind her. "How did he?-" She began to think about how Asura moved within the shadows, hiding his presence, but froze as her eyes locked with his. Although fires raged around them, illuminating the surrounding area, he stood perfectly in the shadows where light never touched. Like a hunter who knows perfectly how to conceal himself, the ogre stood motionless.

The only distinguishable feature was his white eyes, floating in the darkness that cloaked his entire body. His cold, merciless gaze made her tremble. It was as if she were face to face with a demon... Spreading across his face, a sinister smile revealed his sharp white teeth. Terrified, she watched in horror as he grabbed her waist with two of his arms. He whispered in her ear,

"I can smell you... Sorry, that was a joke I always wanted to use."

With his other two free upper arms, he interlaced his fingers, locking them together. Raising the arms high, he prepared his worst. Trying to twist and break free, she frantically struggled against his iron grasp. Unable to get enough room to strike with her hammer, the Beastman resulted in a more primal reaction, thrashing around. With one final attempt, she threw herself forward, attempting to bite at his neck.

However, her effort was wasted as Asura brought down his hands like a hammer striking iron on an anvil. Bludgeoning the side of her head, her neck snapped from the force causing her head to smash into her chest. The force broke the Beastman free from his grasp, sending her body straight into the ground, crushing her head against the concrete under the weight of the impact.

Wain was horrified. He had never heard such a sound. An entire skull was crushed in a moment, alongside the bones in her body that seemed to snap and be crushed all at once, conjoining into one large crunching noise. The action spoke volumes of Asura's strength. He knew the ogre was strong, but this was... Well if he said monstrous, it would be expected. But rather, it exceeded monstrous, it was titanic. To kick a bear that weighs a ton? Rip chunks of rock from the ground? It was extraordinary! The thought of being on the other end of his strength made Wain shiver.

Although he found the sound of the bones being crushed appalling, the sound of her body regenerating was far worse. Her body twisted from the mangled state it was left in back into a humanoid figure. The sight made him vomit. It was different seeing it happen from a human-like body. It felt unnatural as if it defied what Judex Divinum intended.

Flesh and bones pulled themselves back to their sockets and correct positions. Groaning from the pain of suffering such a blow, the Beastman began to move. Like a contorted puppet, her legs shifted back to her hips as she crawled across the floor with her bloody fingers. Asura stood amazed, finding the regeneration awesome! Wain, on the other hand, became nauseous,

"This is wicked dude. Like damn-"

A thunderous boom interrupted his speech as Asura was shot backwards from a giant gauntlet slugging his chest.

"Like I was saying..."

Rising to her feet, Wain watched as she dusted off the large gauntlet now connected again to her arm. It was unbelievable how fast she could swap the blood into a large object. She shot a glare in Asura's direction as her body finally managed to return to its healthy state.

"My job here is done, you annoying dipshit! Until next time when I can rip those arms off your body. I'll leave you with a present boys."

Wain watched as she suddenly fell backward. Upon hitting the ground, her body splashed part into a pool of blood that splattered all over the floor. The raging fire danced on the liquid's surface, revealing its bubbling nature. "It was active..." Wain thought as he waited for the present. Asura watched as Wain just stood motionless, staring at the pool of blood. Asura asked him,

"What are you waiting for?"

Wain rubbed the back of his head anxiously and looked at Asura.

"The present she mentioned. It can't be good."

"Thanks for the help by the way. We could have killed her."

Wain shrugged,

"I thought you had it, my bad. Can you say what you said earlier about me not joining the fight so I can record it? Would love to replay it when you moan about it next time..."

The cultist bodies, unusually unbothered by the raging fire, began to melt. Wain hadn't noticed it before, but even within the fire, the bodies remained. As if something externally prevented them from being harmed. Deforming into pulls of blood, each one rolled across the ground, joining with the large pool made from the Beastman's body.

Once all of it reached the middle, it stopped. Taking upon the form of a summoning ritual, it created rings filled with demonic runes. Watching the large summoning circle burst into purple flames, Wain cursed,

"Fuck, we need to leave."

Before he could move, the flame suddenly extinguished, leaving the impression of failure within the two. Confused, Asura stood there for a moment studying the failed ritual,

"Guess she failed?"

The awkward pause made Wain feel even worse. "What was going on?" He watched as Asura walked up and touched the ring. Instantaneously, the floor within the ring sank into a pit that created a massive sinkhole. From over the edge of the sinkhole, the sound of monsters roaring erupted, growing louder as if they were approaching.

Their paws and hooves clashed with the ground. Wain's heart stopped upon the realization... it was a stampede. Asura ran away from the sinkhole as if he were responsible like a child doing something he was warned against. As the ogre fled, Wain watched as monsters poured from the large opening,

"Oh..."

"One... Two... Ten... Thirty. Oh fuck, it was more than fifty." Asura counted. Due to the fire being the only source of light, Wain was only able to recognize the ones that were closest monsters. A few were faster than the others, bursting forward from the pack and jumping at Asura.

"More Hell Hounds," he groaned as he punched each one that leaped through the air. Yelping in pain from being struck by his fist they scattered around him, recovering and ready to attack. Their nails clattered against the concrete as they circled the ogre. Asura was surrounded. He yelled back at Wain.

"Oi, can't you deal with these? Summon those animals or whatever again!"

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Wain yelled at Asura.

"I can't! I can only form them if I have a certain herb! I don't have enough herbs left to deal with all of them."

The situation was becoming dire as the horde poured towards the two. Partnered by the fact that Asura had the inability to kill them in general, Wain panicked. He pulled out the last herb he carried within his bag, smoking it quickly. Exhaling the smoke, the dense cloud swirled into the shape of a wolf. Without thinking, he jumped onto its back. Wain commanded the wolf to head towards Asura with haste.

Jumping over the Hell Hounds, it landed gracefully next to his partner. Asura was ready and excited about a fight, but Wain was not. They needed to leave now! A Hell Hound attempted to pounce at Wain, but the smoky wolf caught it within its jaws, clamping it down on its neck.

Killing it instantly, the Hell Hound burst into flames as the holy mana purged its existence. Prepared for a showdown with his friend Asura laughed, he was so ready to fight the horde of monsters! "How cool!" He thought as he raised his arms in anticipation. However, the wolf quickly grabbed Asura with its mouth as if he were its pup. Struggling to free himself, Asura angrily shouted in defiance.

"What are you doing? Let's fight them! There are only about fifty of them. We can take them! I ain't no coward!"

"We won't be able to kill them! You'll keep pounding away until you eventually get eaten!"

The wolf's body seemed to move unnaturally fast for its size. As if there were no resistance, it turned around swiftly and raced off. The wolf's stride outpaced the monsters as it darted away from the factory, leaving the monsters to pursue their next meal. With little light provided by the street lights, it was difficult for Wain to make out the monster's figures as they traveled down the street.

Bursting through the town, following them like a sea of gnashing teeth and fur, the monsters obliterated anything in their paths. Cars were crushed as the bears trampled over the parked vehicles, leaving nothing but piles of scrap. Barely fast enough to stay ahead of its pursuers, the wolf put everything it could into running. The sudden jerky movements whipped Asura around, swinging like a piñata on a tree.

Trying to keep hold of Asura, the wolf groaned as the ogre began pounding at its mouth, trying to release himself. Wain became worried as he watched the wolf's size decrease as they traveled farther away from the factory. His creations could only remain if the smoke didn't disperse.

Something the wind did not help prevent as the current began to eat away at the edges. Worried they were running out of time, Wain looked back briefly and watched as the monsters smashed through the corners of houses lining the street.

Finally, they arrived on the street where the cathedral was. Relief swept over Wain as the building grew in size as they approached. After thanking God, Wain closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Abruptly, the wolf's body dispersed underneath him. Sending the two falling to the floor, Asura and Wain suddenly struck the ground, sending them tumbling.

After rolling for a few seconds, they finally came to a halt. Asura pushed himself off the ground and began running towards the monster, but he stopped when he noticed his friend's condition. Wain was lying and groaning on the floor while holding his head.

Seeing the pool of blood underneath Wain's head, Asura let out a sigh. "I could just leave him? Just let him be... Surely, he will be fine, right? No monsters will get to him..." Asura debated with himself in his mind. After letting out a depressed sigh, he picked up Wain and continued to run towards the cathedral.

From behind, an unusual repeated thumping noise came from his right. He was very familiar with the sound, hearing it often in action movies. It could only mean one thing... a grenade launcher. Slowing down, he turned to look behind him as simultaneous explosions erupted in the horde of monsters that pursued him.

He turned to where the source of the thumping came from and saw Mel standing with a silver grenade launcher in her hands. Her eyes locked with Asura's for a second. "Uh, oh." Asura thought as she glared at him. Gripping the launcher tightly, she did her best to compose herself, but her hands shook from her anger. Her lips were pressed tightly into a thin line before she began to mouth to Asura,

"You are so dead."

Distracted, Asura had his back turned as two magma bears approached him. Mel turned to stop them before they could pounce on Wain, unworried about the ogre. However, she watched Asura turn, punching them both in the face as he held Wain. Their large heads caved under the force of each punch, causing them to collapse instantly as their skull smashed into their brains.

Not wanting to lose an opportunity to fight, Asura tossed Wain onto the grass in front of a house, figuring it was safe enough now that Mel was so close. Wain yelped as he fell to the floor, suffering from his head wound.

"Help! Ahp!"

Turning back towards the monsters, Asura leaped into the large sea of moving fur. "Magma bears, Hells Kittens, Hell hounds... Oh hey, a new face! Griffins!" Asura distinguished the creature in the large mound of beasts. A large lion with an eagle head soared through the air, striking Asura's chest as it swooped down.

Flying for a second, the two crashed to the ground as Asura grabbed its neck with all his arms. Slowly, he began to strangle the large creature, choking it as he restricted its airflow. A loud snap made it obvious he had broken its neck, and the large beast slumped to the floor, becoming motionless. Although they were usually impressive and noble beasts, Asura was their worst nightmare.

From the crowd, two Hell's Kittens pounced out of the grouped monsters towards Asura but were met in the air by two large chunks of rubble he ripped from the sidewalk. The chunks of concrete slammed into their jaws and faces, causing them to fall backward onto the floor. Disoriented and dazed, they shook their heads violently, trying to recover from the blow. Asura shouted with joy as the battle continued,

"This is freaking awesome! Nah, wait, that didn't hit the spot. Fucking awesome!"

Another Griffin struck Asura as it swooped down from the sky, tackling him to the floor with its large claws. As he fought the large beast, more joined the attack, overwhelming the ogre. Hell Hounds bit his legs, trying to rip them off and tearing through his pants. The Hell Kittens joined in, slinging acid vomit all over his body that began eating at his skin. Mel watched as the monsters piled up on Asura, causing a massive pile to form. Bears, griffins, all of them.

Mel really wanted to let it continue for a while, but there were so many monsters she couldn't. She sighed sadly as she turned her launcher into a minigun. Its six silver barrels began to spin, releasing a storm of bullets. Tearing and ripping through flesh, she killed most of the monsters terrorizing the town before lastly turning it to Asura.

Somehow, the slippery ogre managed to wiggle his way out and now stood on the top of the corpses piled beneath him. As the bullets tore through their bodies, the large beasts roared in agony as they fell to the ground. Once the cries from the monsters ceased, Mel slowly stopped firing in Asura's direction. Her minigun's barrels were glowing bright red like the molten table earlier and released smoke from each hole.

Studying the dimly lit street, Mel stood silently momentarily, waiting for anything to move. "Nothing..." It was silent. She turned to Asura, watching as he wiped his hands together. He stood proudly like he had just created a masterpiece. His magnum opus of fights, he would call it. Asura couldn't help but watch as she approached the bodies. Her minigun was now two pistols, the original form.

Just to make sure none of them survived, she watched as each body began to ignite after making sure to shoot each one in the head. Erupting in holy fire, the individual bodies became engulfed by a holy fire that left only ash. However, he was uninterested in the cleanup process of a fight. Asura returned to where he left Wain, who was still groaning in pain on the floor. Reaching down, Asura picked him up by the uninjured arm, and with his other two hands, he smacked his back.

"See, I told you it would be easy."

Satisfied that Wain did not die, Asura threw his fists in the air in victory. Laughing maniacally again, he shouted.

"Awesome."

Mel rolled her eyes at his comment, still clearly frustrated with the situation. After finishing the monsters off, she stormed over to the two boys. Angrily, she grabbed their ears, dragging them back to the cathedral as she grumbled to herself. Asura called out in pain,

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, stop it! What did we do?"

Asura grabbed his ear, but she smacked him hard enough for him to obey. Ignoring his pleas, she pulled them inside,

"You are in deep shit sneaking out at night, okay! The captain wants a word or two with you both after pulling a stunt like this!"

Rushing up the front steps, they arrived at the doors. Mel pushed the two inside as she stood in the door frame. Asura watched as she angrily slammed the doors,

"NOW I HAVE TO GO CLEAN UP YOUR SHIT, SO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING TO HIDE FROM THE CAPTAIN!!! GO!"

Imagining the old man angry, they both were filled with dread, knowing their fate might be sealed. They both sulked as they walked down the hallway, hanging their heads low as they headed toward their demise. Asura whispered to Wain,

"What do we say? Um... We just got pancakes, alright? Nothing else... no monsters... cultists, just pancakes. We both need one story, okay?"

Grabbing the back of his wounded head, Wain groaned, knowing he could not lie to get out of this. This was his fault. He would take responsibility. Arriving at the office, they both entered and before Asura could even talk, the old man's aura made both falls to their knees.

His eyes glowed violently, filled with an uncontrollable fire behind them. The air felt like it was burning, making it hard to breathe. Being crushed by the weight of his aura, Asura and Wain pleaded for their lives.

"Look, look, look, I uh, um. We were investigating the pancakes! Um, wait... eating.. Oh, all right, we investigated cultists. Nothing too serious, we actually did good by stopping them. They were about to kill an old man..."

Asura turned to Wain with wide eyes,

"What happened to the old man, actually?"

Wain's slight head shake made Asura pause momentarily, realizing neither of them knew what had happened to him. Turning back to the old man, Asura nonchalantly continued the conversation,

"But like, we totally saved him, and he is safe... somewhere... I think, but that's beside the point, there was this guy and he had a scar and a cool robe."

Wain groaned as his head throbbed, listening to Asura's rant. He interrupted the ogre before he could continue,

"I'm sorry. I took Asura out for food, and we got caught up in a fight with cultists, and we didn't know what to do. Asura fought them and dispersed the meeting. We did our best. I'm sorry for leaving. We will face whatever the consequences are."

Hearing that they fought with cultists, the old man lessened his raging aura and holy mana that filled the room. Rubbing his temple, the old man let out a deep breath. After the pressure was lifted, they both fell on their butts in relief as sweat dripped down their faces.

Sighing in relief, Asura sat down, propping himself on his lower two arms. However, his relief did not last long as the old man squatted in front of him. Asura waited for the old man to blink but he did not, his eyes were locked on his.

"So, what happened with the cultists?"

Asura looked away nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"So uh, I sensed those evil bast-... evil cultist guys and headed towards the factory with Wain. We got there, and they were sacrificing some people, and I thought, hey, we need to save those guys cause we're the totally cool Temple dudes who do that as our job. I jumped down and fought them, stopping their little meeting and stuff. We beat them, and a stronger monster from the beast race showed up. Super powerful and stuff. She was a real bi-... annoying woman. We had to run, though, because she summoned like fifty monsters."

Scratching his beard, the old man looked at Wain and then back at Asura. He stood up without a word, walking back to the window in his office. With his back turned to the two boys, he stated,

"I won't punish you this time because I know you aren't lying. The old man is fine, he managed to escape and came here. Mel will hunt down any remaining monsters."

The old man turned to look at Wain, who sat on the floor, resembling a puppy begging not to be punished for its crimes. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, the old man continued,

"Wain, you're coming with me, and Asura, you're locked in your room until further notice. If you pull something like this again, I'll send you to hell personally."