“Floor eighty, huh?”

We had leapt out of the moving elevator and onto another floor. Expecting to find armed guards ready to attack us, all I can see around me right now is—

“Why?!” Bran complains, picking himself off the ground and peeling a bloodied flap of skin off his clothes. “Why is every floor already a bloody mess?!”

—More bodies. Skinless corpses lay scattered across the floor, the flesh stripped from their bodies as if they had just been freshly peeled.

“Hmm. I suppose we’ll have to take the stairs the rest of the way.” No longer on top of my shoulders, Mei-Mei turns away from the smoking elevator shaft, leaving me to carry only the tree.

Trudging through the gore and towards the stairway, we pause as we spot something buried beneath the dead. Pulling the bloodied bodies aside, a familiar metallic sight is revealed.

A large metal bunny—a massive drill atop its head—lays underneath. It’s the same kind of thing that attacked us back in the Curse Ward yesterday. Its eyes are blank and sparks are gently buzzing from gashes in its side, clearly dead. Judging from the different bodies surrounding it, both the guards and prisoners must have worked together to take it down.

"This thing is crazy..." Bran comments as we stand around it. "It's like sticking a drill on a tank..."

"You're right," I agree. "It's exactly like that, yeah." I have no idea what a 'tank' is but I agree anyway. Maybe it'll make me sound smart if I pretend to know what I'm talking about.

Moving on from the scene, we continue into the stairway and make our way down the stairs. Strangely, the flaps of flesh seem to continue down as well. We follow the unravelled people-peel down the stairs and past several floors until—

“Quiet! He’s still in there!”

“He took out three of those metal things on his own! We don’t stand a chance!”

Hearing some hushed murmuring from below, I heave the tree over my shoulder—ready to swing at any sign of danger—and quietly make my way towards the voices as Bran and Mei-Mei follow close behind. As we climb down another floor, we spot the source of the whispering, and they spot us.

“Ah! It’s—! Oh... It’s just more prisoners,” one man shouts, raising his weapon, before promptly lowering it again.

“Fweh? What’s going on here?”

A large group of people—both prisoners and guards alike—stand around together, glaring nervously out of a doorway marked with the number ‘74’.

“We’re trying to get the hell out of here! That’s what!” a prisoner answers.

“That’s right!” a guard chimes in. “But the stairway ends here and the rest of the stairs down are on the other side of seventy-four!”

"Hm? Why are guards and prisoners teaming up?” I ask. “Shouldn’t you be fighting?”

“Screw that! After the Spire started shaking, all hell broke loose! Once those metal creatures started popping out of the floor, we realized the only way we’re getting out of here alive is by working together!”

I see. When the top floors of the prison started to shake and crumble under Lust’s rampage, those metal bunnies must’ve started coming out all over the Spire and begun attacking people. Intent on leaving this place, both prisoners and guards figured it was probably best to just set their differences aside and focus on surviving, I guess. That’s fair.

“So?” Mei-Mei speaks up. “Why are you waiting around here then? Why not head through already?”

“We can’t! There’s someone in there! A prisoner... A bunch of us have been following behind him since eighty-three but—”

A sharp scream rings out from inside and the group shudders as they pull away from the doorway in fear.

“H-hey, what floor are you three from?” one prisoner asks. “Maybe you can deal with him...”

“Ninety-nine!” I answer. “Curse Ward!”

“Eh? Ninety-nine?..”

“They’re from the Curse Ward...”

“I think that’s the Man Eater the Warden was talking about...”

The prisoners and guards all whisper to one another before turning back to us again.

“If you’re from ninety-nine, do you think you could deal with the prisoner in there for us?” one of them asks. “We can’t deal with him on our own. That guy is a monster...”

“Yeah!” another chimes in. “I heard it took one S-Rank and three A-Ranks to take this guy down.”

“Mm, putting him on eighty-three was a mistake. His crimes could have been a lot worse if those adventurers didn’t happen to be in the right place at the right time...”

All the prisoners and guards nod in agreement with one another.

Fwah! This guy sounds like a big deal! Fighting him sounds like it might be kinda fun!

“I’ll do it!” I grin back at them with a thumbs up. “I’ll just be one sec!”

Moving past the crowd, I make my way to the doorway, the tree still slung over my shoulder.

“Nice! Thanks, Boss!”

“You’re the best, Boss!”

“We’ll follow you forever, Boss!”

The guards and prisoners immediately start cheering me on, giving me praiseful slaps on the back as I make my way past them, earning myself a weird nickname in the process.

“Look after these other two while I’m out there, ‘kay?” I say, nodding to Mei-Mei and Bran who decided to stay back until the way is clear.

“Sure thing, Boss!”

“We’ll guard them with our lives!”

As I step through the doorway to floor seventy-four, a final warning calls out at my back.

“Watch you don’t let him grab you, Boss! They call this guy the Peeler after all!”

Fweh? The Peeler? Where have I heard that name before...?

Stepping into the room and past the skinless, bloodied bodies strewn across the floor, I spot a figure further in, hunched over the body of a guard.

“Heh. That’s a satisfying one...” he chuckles to himself as he digs his gnarled fingers through the guard's metal breastplate like butter and begins scraping at the flesh underneath. “Sure wish it was a nice young girly though... Hm?”

Hearing me approach from behind, he stands up and turns around. Locking eyes with me, a dirty smirk spreads across his face and he licks his lips.

“Hey, girly,” he says. “I remember you.”

A large, muscled man—a huge scar across his bald head—looks back at me, rolling a thick slab of flesh between his bloodied fingers.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Fwah! It’s you! The Peeler!”

I remember him! It’s the same guy that I met on the carriage that took us to the Spire. He was kinda friendly at first but quickly became distant with me for some reason. I don’t really know why... I haven’t seen him since we were all lined up in front of the Warden on the first floor and then sent off to different parts of the prison.

“Well?” he says, still donning his dirty smirk. “Heh. I bet you finally get it now, don’t you, girly?” He gestures around the room to all the stripped bodies and flaps of skin splattered across the ceiling, floors, and slowly sliding down the walls.

Fweh? Get what? What am I supposed to be getting? Is this some kind of bizarre confession of love maybe? Is the Peeler flirting with me? Do these flaps of skin spell out some kind of secret, lovey-dovey message meant just for me? I still don’t get it at all!

Noticing the confused expression on my face, the Peeler clicks his tongue and starts running straight toward me.

“Tch. Don’t think you’re hot shit because you got sent to ninety-nine!” he yells. “This time I’ll make sure you really get it!”

As the Peeler runs toward me with hands outstretched in front of him, my back muscles start to twitch uncontrollably—an intense feeling of danger emanating from his direction.

“When I get my hands on you, I’m gonna peel that stupid look right off your stupid fa—!”

The Peeler’s upper body suddenly explodes in a shower of gore, everything above his waist immediately evaporating into a mist of blood as only his legs continue their way forward, eventually slowing to a stumble as they hobble past me and fall to the floor with a wet plop.

“Truly wonderful!” a woman booms from the other side of the blood mist. The flecks of blood still hanging in the air immediately dissipates, spraying out across the room in front of her from nothing but a shout of her deep and powerful voice. A hulking, muscular figure beams down at me—her towering height standing almost as tall as Mom—arms folded in front of her bare chest.

“Gyahahaha!” she laughs heartily. “You were a strong foe! You have my respect!” She gives a slight nod at the remains of the Peeler behind me and shakes some of his bloodied chunks out from between her toes.

Slicking her fiery hair back behind her pointed ears, she continues to beam down at me with a huge grin still plastered across her face.

“’Twas rude of me to intrude upon your battle! My apologies! Gyahaha!” she laughs, not really sounding very apologetic at all. “Would striking a man from behind be cowardly? ‘Twas a thought that crossed my mind, yes. ‘Twould be rude to do so, would it not? However, the thrill of a free-for-all lies in the knowing that anything could happen! Being attacked by anybody at any time, even in the midst of battle! ‘Twould surely be rude of me to deny somebody else that thrill, would it not?”

“Fwahaha! It’s cool!” I shout back, matching her energy. “Don’t worry about it!”

“Hoh?” Her yellow eyes seem to light up even more at my words. “You have a wonderful air of strength about you! Sturdy and unwavering! Pray tell me your name!”

“It’s Pepper! Pepper Black!” I reply, proudly puffing out my chest.

“Gyahaha! Very good!” she responds, puffing out her own chest in kind—each hearty laugh sending a ripple of twitching muscle down the entire length of her chiselled body.

I’m impressed. With a body like that, this is obviously a woman who trains each and every one of her muscles with the love and respect they deserve!

“Well, Pepper Black! Allow me to introduce myself in turn!” Without the grin falling from her face, she gives a low bow my way. “Choco Valentine, Queen of the Desert Elves!”

As a sign of mutual respect between two beefy muscle-lovers, I feel compelled to return her bow with one of my own.

“Or, if you would...” she continues. “Please call me Lust! ‘Tis a title I’ve grown quite fond of! Gyahaha!”

Lust—the woman imprisoned on the highest floor of Surstrom Spire and said to be the very incarnation of violence and bloodshed that even the Warden was fearful of. Apparently this woman was even able to clash heads with Mom back in the day and come out of it alive. Finally gazing upon her now, I don’t doubt that claim one bit.

“Well!” Lust beams from above me. “’Twas an honour, Pepper Black, the Sturdy and Unwavering! No matter the outcome, whether I die in the next few moments or a thousand years from now, I shall remember you for as long as I live!”

In a flash, Lust’s leg moves in a rapid blur. Instinctively, I cover the top of my head with the trunk of the tree in my arms and a sharp pain suddenly rattles through my whole body. I feel myself being pushed against stone and metal as I crash through the floor before crunching to an eventual stop, still standing in the same position with the tree raised above my head.

“...Fweh?”

I look down at my aching arms, and then up at the ceiling—a gaping hole sending a shower of debris crumbling down onto me.

Did she... kick me? Into the floor? Where the hell am I now?

Looking around, I spot the number ‘73’ painted on the wall, as well as a group of wide-eyed guards standing nearby, a shocked look on their faces.

“H-hey!” one of them shouts at me. “You shouldn’t be here! Prisoners should be in their—!”

“Gyahahaha!”

A crash from the ceiling cuts him off, and a dark, red-haired woman lands atop them in a mist of blood and dust. As she walks her way over to me, she casually swipes aside the surviving guards as they attempt to scramble out of her path.

“Truly wonderful!” she booms. “Every strike should be intended to kill! ‘Twould be rude otherwise, of course! And yet, you still live! Unscathed, no less! Truly wonderful!”

Shaking away my dizziness, I grab the tree by its branches and sling it over my shoulder, ready to attack. If it's a fight she wants, Pepper Black is a woman who is more than willing to give it to her!

Lunging forward, I swing the tree in a downward arc with all my strength. Lust doesn’t block, instead taking the challenge head-on. Literally. A resounding thunk sounds out across the room as the log connects with the top of her head, sending quaking shockwaves into the air, tearing up the floor and walls as it echoes across their surface.

“—Gyuhuun~♥!”

Still standing, an oddly cute noise escapes Lust’s lips as she pushes the log off of her and looks up at me with a flushed face, a trickle of blood snaking its way down her forehead from where I struck her. I notice her legs quivering slightly as she scrunches up her toes, digging them into the floor.

... Fweh? ‘Gyuhuun’...?

“Truly wonderful!” she shouts, a slightly higher pitch to her voice than before. “’Tis been decades since I received such a pleasan— such a powerful blow! Truly wonderful!”

Even though we’re in the middle of a fight, the sudden feeling that I’ve unintentionally committed sexual harassment again washes over me for some reason...

Yanking the log back toward me for another swing, I’m suddenly stopped by Lust’s foot slamming on top of it, pinning the tree to the floor. With a jolt of her other leg, she swings it across the air between us. Letting go of the tree, I duck backwards just in time as her kick slices the air in front of my face.

Immediately, I lunge back into range and begin pummelling her with a flurry of blows. Blow after blow, I strike at every inch of her exposed body without letting up. My fists feel like they’re connecting with hardened steel as each punch digs into her, seemingly to little effect. The shockwaves rippling off of each blow cause the entire floor to cry out in distress, before collapsing beneath our feet. As we fall, Lust suddenly locks her legs around me in mid-air and we crash to the floor below. The hard concrete digs at my back while Lust pins me to the ground, an ecstatic look on her face.

“Truly... wonderful...” she pants between heavy breaths as she beams down at me with her flushed face.

For just a moment, my heart skips a beat at the thought of having a big naked lady straddling me—before her huge fist slams down against my face, sending any stray thoughts I had rattling against the inside of my skull.

Over and over she pummels at my face and further and further down we fall as floor after floor collapses under her heavy strikes. The taste of my own blood fills my mouth and I quickly find my mind becoming blank...

Fweh? That’s weird... Why isn’t my body moving like I want it to...? I want to fight back, but...

Flailing my arms out above me, I rake my nails across her body, digging them into her flesh. She doesn’t let up, however, continuing to pummel away into my face with an ecstatic grin.

It wasn’t supposed to go like this... I was supposed to beat the Warden, beat Lust, and then take the Spire as my own. I’m supposed to be the Strongest Demon after all... This might be the first time I’ve ever... lost...

The pain wracking my face and body eventually fades into the background, the sound of Lust’s pummelling becoming nothing but a gentle throbbing in my ears.

Before my consciousness leaves me completely, I notice a flickering flame in the corner of my fading vision. With a sharp howl, it charges in from the side, clamping down on Lust’s neck with its flaming jaws and tearing her off of me, dragging the two of them down somewhere out of sight.

“Gyahaha! The thrill of a free-for-all!” I hear Lust call out, before quickly fading out of earshot and down into the floor below.

Relaxing my aching body, I let my head tilt back and instantly feel the rush of blood flowing up to it—or down to it, maybe? Am I upside down? What floor am I even on? I don’t know... I can’t tell...

...

I hope Mei-Mei and Bran are okay...

As the consciousness leaves my body, everything around me turns to white and— A voice inside my mind suddenly calls out to me from the endless white space.

“Yo! Pepper! Long time no see! Mind spotting me for a bit? This one’s a heavy one!”