Was it simply nerves? Anticipation? It had seemed only days ago when this exact situation befell his castle. When he had to watch all his minions fall. When that wizard and his army came to end his reign once and for all. Just the memory of that arrow in his head felt as fresh now as it did back then. That wizard and his horrid knights.

But all the same, he knew turning back was unthinkable. Not after everything he’d done to ensure his kingdom’s safety. Not even against the only human that could kill him.

“You alright, boss?” Jeffrey asked, bringing the hellspawn back to reality.

He gave a small nod, his gaze still looking out to the entrance of the tower.

After the mess that was the SWAT Team massacre, he knew it would take some time to get their castle back in working order. In fact, Gingee had already started on clean-up efforts, eagerly devouring all the bits and pieces of those left behind. It was as much as the devildog could do at the moment.

Even as naïve as Gingee tended to be, they were never shy about showing off their concerns. Or voicing them, for that matter.

“Bark. Master is worried for ghost friend too?” Gingee asked.

Luizitine shook his head. “Karla knows how to escape if things get too costly. She’s smarter than that. I’d be more concerned about…”

His voice trailed off a moment. Was it wise to tell them the truth now? The honest truth? As much as he’d come to trust them, he was still a pillar in the kingdom’s eyes. Someone they’d look to for strength and guidance. For protection. To tell them the truth would mean loosing a bit of that power. Possibly even shattering their illusion of safety completely.

How would they take the honest words of their king when he told them he couldn’t defeat the wizard for good? That even killing him would only delay his return for another decade or so if they were fortunate. Or perhaps even less time if they were really unfortunate. Would they take such news in stride? Would it bring them any peace? He’d attempted to explain such matters to them a few times, but the gravity of his message never seemed to stick for long.

When it came down to it, matters of magic and the cycle simply went over the minds of his minions. So what good would telling them now do them? It was useless.

“I’d be more worried about the wizard,” Luizitine said dryly.

He looked out to the doors, still seeing no signs of him yet. As useless at it was, he couldn’t help but remember his promise to himself. That he’d put their needs in greater consideration. Granted, he doubted they’d understand it all, but perhaps it was better to be frank anyhow, if only for their safety.

“You’ve all gotten stronger,” Luizitine said, “but the power he holds is unlike anything that exists on this planet or in this cycle.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

He watched their reactions, Gingee stopping their feast while Jeffrey simply looked up surprised. Whether or not the words would stick remained to be seen, but at least they seemed to be listening this time.

“He is the most powerful human I’ve ever encountered,” Luizitine went on. “He’ll die a thousand times and still show up on our doorstep the next day. He’ll never stop coming.”

Just the memory of that man filled Luizitine with rage. How many worlds had he lost to him? How many people had he taken? Would he take? It was an endless cycle that he knew he was powerless to stop, but he’d devoted himself to fighting anyhow. For all their sakes.

“I may not be strong enough to stop him,” Luizitine said. “We are equal in power. But I promise you-“

“Can I eat him?”

Luizitine’s words stopped dead, the hellspawn’s head jerking to the lizard sitting next to him.

“W-what?” he asked.

“Can I eat him?” Jeffrey repeated, his tongue flicking out. “C’mon boss. I never ate super-human before. Might be tasty.”

Luizitine could only stare back in response. Something that was only made worse as Gingee spoke up.

“Bark! I wanna try wizard-human too.”

Jeffrey jumped up. “See! Gingee get it!”

Luizitine pinched his forehead.

“Damn you, Gingee. Damn you.”

Why? Why did he even bother with the formalities? They never worked and they probably never would. Not with the increasing amount of simple-headed minions he had now and knew for a fact would continue to grow after they secured Angelas from the tower.

Suppose if I died now they’d barely last a day or two.

He groaned to himself, only growing further agitated when the front door was violently thrown open.

Perhaps less. Dammit, Karla.

Wood and brick flew in all directions, a cascade of glowing white light filling up the room. Both Gingee and Jeffrey turned to it with looks of curiosity rather than the concern they should have held. Yet another clear sign of their likely doom. Luizitine made a mental note to subject all of them to extra drills in the junkyard after everything was over. Especially for Gingee and Karla, the latter of whom had evidently been the target of the light attack.

“Uh. Hey, Lui!”

He groaned at the ghostly voice, Karla poking her head out from underground.

“I think the wizard guy’s here,” she said. “Except…it’s not really a guy. I think he’s a she.”

He pinched his forehead again.

“Bark. Master! Wizard-human! Wizard-human!” Gingee shouted.

Before Jeffrey could so much as utter a word, Luizitine put up a hand to stop him. Two simpletons he could handle, but he refused to indulge all three at once. Not now. Not when their biggest threat was standing right in front of them with his – or in this case, her – army at her back.

Floating through the air in a ball of light, the wizard was glaring at Luizitine in his newest form. A woman, as Karla so graciously tried to put it. She seemed a bit bigger than his last form, a more athletic frame leading the charge rather than the scrawny kid he’d died to in the last world. And she was a lot less passive.

“Spirit of Gale!”

The massive winds rocketing forward were enough to sheer sections off the wall, bricks and concrete sent flying forward.

“Soul of Cold!”

The debris stopped dead as a glacier of ice formed, it too being sheered into pieces on contact with the blast of wind.