As I floated in the endless void of my mind, things just felt wrong. I knew why I was here. I had lost against myself, which was a weird concept. The other me had played it out better. Put more thought into how things would go down. And now that I was floating in the void that is my thoughts, I wondered if I even had a chance from the start. Was I the reason so many people would die?

As these thoughts filled my brain, something shoved a thought into my mind. 'Why was I not fighting my copy to the death?' At first, that was a ridiculous notion, but the more it was crammed into my mind, the more sense it made. If I had to die, I just would kill what was going to kill me. I was surprised I hadn't thought of it before or at all.

Of course, I knew I was being manipulated but indulging in mass slaughter just felt right. Ever since the system came, things have just made sense. It was a true paradise for me to be able to submit myself to these feelings of joy while being celebrated for it.

Another thought forced itself into my brain, and in response, it whipped into a frenzy. Not at the thought or who sent it but instead, it resonated with the message. The hunt must go on.

[Monstrous Instinct(Rare) has reached the conditions to evolve to Draconic Instinct(Masterwork)]

[Draconic Instinct(Masterwork) - You know your place, and it's devouring your enemies. Gain a 1% increase to all stats per skill level. ]

My eyes opened.

~~~~~~~~~~

Luke was kneeling in the dirt, armor and skin torn and battered, leaning against his sword, gasping for breath. This monster wouldn't even kill them but instead would remove a digit every time he caught one of them. Luke had only been caught three times so far, and he was the best off. Sarah had five fingers left while Elizabeth just had four. James was down to two. Then there was Tabitha, who had been disqualified from the 'game' as she wouldn't play or even moving right now.

The sad thing was that it had only been two hours, and they had only got in one good attack. That was only 300 people, and Luke was out of mana and stamina. As large as his resource pools where a two-hour fight was just too long. He was constantly coughing up wads of blood from healed internal wounds caused by the overuse of magic. Luke resided himself, knowing that they would only get one or two hundred more people to safety.

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Luke had prepared for this day from day one, and he couldn't help be overwhelmed by the general's strength. Even when he had his resources full, he had been caught three times. Luke could barely comprehend the pain Jace must have gone through from the tidbits the general dropped. When Luke had been hit with that pain-enhancing skill, he almost died of shock. To think that someone was able to survive two days of that pain was insane.

Luke hoped that Jace was alive, but it felt like it honestly didn't matter. Even if Jace showed up, he would just lose again. Still, Luke had to fight; if he didn't try his damndest to save as many people as possible, he would be a failure of a hero. Gritting his teeth, Luke forced himself up to see his tormenter lounging around with a lazy smile on his face. He knew that they couldn't do anything to him and now just toyed with them. The general opened his mouth, no doubt to taunt them when a roar erupted miles away. The ground shook as disbelief filled the general's face. Something was coming, and it had to be Jace. The general recovered and started laughing hysterically. That dragon still thought he could win. Well, he would show him how baren his future was.

The ground shook more and more violently, and the air was filled with the sound of snapping trees like twigs, and it wasn't hard to notice that the sounds were getting closer, fast. The general started to sweat a little as he did some mental calculations. Jace was moving much faster than before, and he had no clue how.

Soon individual footsteps could be heard slamming into the ground as Jace approached. Another roar rang out, and the general prepared himself for Jace's arrival. No one dared to interfere with the general as he prepared, knowing he would just swat them down.

Then Jace came into view, sprinting through trees and screaming like a mad man. Luke took back his thoughts of Jace still keeping his mind after those 48 hours. Then the two titans clashed, sending out a powerful shock wave that forced Luke to take a step back. Jace had landed a punch on his copy's face sending him stumbling backward in disbelief. He seemed to want to be shocked, but Jace didn't let him have the time and followed up with a slash with his claws that scraped against the general scales digging deep groves and drawing blood. Another punch followed, then a slash. Jace was not letting up and was tearing through the general. The general, for his part, just looked bewildered and shocked. As if he was surprised that anything could lay into him this hard and did nothing to stop it.

Jace took full advantage of the general's distraction and rended one of his arms, sending the massive arm to thump on the ground. This seemed to wake the general up, and he threw his first attack this fight. A punch.

The general cocked his arm back faster than Luke could blink and socked Jace in the face sending the latter stumbling backward. The general then activated a skill, and his wounds healed instantly, his arm growing back.

He asked Jace one question, "Why do you fight so hard when you can't win?"

Jace smiled in the most feral way Luke had ever seen, and it sent a shock down his spine. Jace then showed his blood-covered hand. "IF. IT. BLEEDS."