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Criminal Lord
Chapter 9. The Volcanic Dungeon

Chapter 9. The Volcanic Dungeon

Crash!

“Ow, that hurt hella bad,” Terry said as he began to shake around upon the hot rock beneath him. An aura of shadow encircled his bleeding body as his frigid blood began to boil from the incredible heat.

“Boss? Boss! What the heck happened?!” cried Ryan as Terry’s face lay buried into hard earth, unable to see his surroundings while his body lay severed, bleeding, mangled, and trembling.

“Roar!!” Terry’s body began to shake uncontrollably as he screamed in anger and pain.

“Boss!?” cried Ryan as he ran to Terry’s raging body.

“Well, I’m glad that he has finally reached a sufficient level for me to use this fully. But still, I wonder how he has his skills maxed out. With such power, he is the perfect vessel for one such as I,” said Terry as his blood began to violently gush out of his torn torso.

[Activating Blood Regeneration]

The blood began to come together in the massive sprays as it flowed into figures. The blood began to darken and color into a shade of brown from clotting of the blood as it soon solidified and formed a crotch, then legs, then feet, then toes. While the makeshift limbs were of the opposite color to Terry’s snow white skin and flesh, the blood had become flesh that replicated his great muscles and strength which made such power quite worthwhile and beggars couldn’t exactly choose. At least not in the current world anyway.

“Damn, what in the hell, you’re the one who controlled my body back in the cave weren’t you?” Terry said as his new legs began to wobble and shake as he was picked up from the ground which caused him to finally see what surrounded him.

The surroundings were bright with lava of incredible amount and heat flowing throughout the area.

Terry saw many panicked refugees as they huddled together in fear upon areas higher than Terry who was surrounded by lava. But once Terry had begun to stand, many of the refugees stopped dead in their tracks to await his orders, out of fear for his incredible strength turning upon them even if he was very far away.

Terry couldn’t see the many thousand refugees before him as his eyes adjusted to the lighting of the underground chamber he believed he was inside. Many were bleeding profusely and some probably even died before him although he couldn’t do much for them when he was in worse shape. In fact, letting the weak die would be his best option. Especially since Terry’s eyes began to glow red and his fangs began to form while saliva dripped from his long tongue at the sight of fresh blood. But still, he could only assume that little less than 20 thousand or so refugees inside the dungeon out of a possible 40 thousand who could’ve. There were several answers such as the soldiers killing, cowardice, or one other probable answer, they were moved to another part of the dungeon, from what Terry could assume. Regardless, Terry needed to straighten many things out as fast as he could in order to proceed through the dungeon safely.

“Boss? What are you talking about?” Ryan asked in shock at Terry being lifted from the ground and talking to himself.

“Heh, I have two souls inside this one body of mine, isn’t that right Mr. Vampire?” Terry said with a groan of discomfort as he wobbled around, adjusting to his new limbs made solely of blood as they slowly clotted to become flesh.

“Wow, you remember me even when I attempted to keep you asleep. Either way, I only came because you almost got me killed again out of stupidity. You really should’ve laid low but just couldn’t resist becoming a regicide. I still have no idea how a hero could’ve possibly gotten maxed skills so early. And the fact that you became a vampire and absorbed my soul into your body, those were the only reasons you have barely survived until now. Even so, most heroes can only gain such skills from having been very powerful in the past world of sorts which almost no hero is. So tell me, just what the hell kind of world did you come from?” asked Terry again.

“Heh, not telling me your name eh, well then, to put it simply, I’m the one human whose dream was to completely change the world by murdering all who opposed me. All other people pale in comparison to me, and even here, with the powers of this place, I shall realize my ambitions,” Terry responded proudly.

“Heh, my name is Din Tur Levianne although Din will suffice. Now that I know your intentions, I can put my trust and support wholeheartedly into you. Well, I guess that for now, we should organize everything here. And as we’re living together, you should know that my knowledge is linked to yours so you’ll know quite a bit about this world like when using Vampiric Mind. but first, look into that arm band you were given, it has quite the treasure inside,” said Din as Terry’s legs began to stabilize and harden before Terry controlled them to familiarize himself with them.

“Honestly, you feel just like some form of artificial intelligence. Well whatever, you saved my life so we could be partners in crime,” Terry said with a snicker.

“Umm… Boss?” Ryan asked in concern.

“Heh, I know, those damn parasites are gonna die in this heat after a while. The only thing keeping them alive at the moment is how they all have darker skin but even that is very weak protection to something like this. I can imagine that some have even died from this,” Terry said as he began to pull upon the arm band from Gilian.

[(High) Spatial Storage ArmBand currently full, do you wish to open? Yes/No]

[‘Yes’ has been selected, opening selection]

“Damn,” well, that problem’s been fixed,” Terry said gruffly.

“But… Boss… are your legs really okay? And are you sure you’ll be fine?” asked Ryan again as he walked slowly closer to Terry, avoiding the several puddles of lava that surrounded him.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine, the other voice you heard is to thank so I shouldn’t die right now at the very least. However, those parasites will die really soon if they don’t have the proper equipment to survive, of which I have,” Terry said.

“Well then, if you are okay with it, I recommend you put some clothes- what?!” cried Ryan as a massive set of pitch black armor appeared before Terry before he began to place it upon his naked body. Terry then proceeded to place a helmet, greaves, gloves and some trousers upon his body before holding a new, massive, black sword tightly in one hand.

[Equipped Items=(Dwarven Flame Masters’ Masterpiece) Breastplate, Greaves, Trousers, Gloves, Helmet, Greatsword; 50 second lava immunity at per attack or surrounding. Ability to manipulate and/or nullify flame and lava in direct contact with items]

“Here, your average clothes were meant to keep you fast and look like my slave. Now that such a disguise is no longer needed, wear these,” Terry said as he handed Ryan a set of powerful red items which were in obvious contrast to the black behemoth which was Terry.

“Well, as your slave, I must perform optimally in order to best please and serve you,” Ryan said as he placed the light but strong armor upon himself. The red armor was masterfully made and quite smooth. Being mostly red, the purpose was obvious, it allowed the controlled magnification of flame of many kinds. The pair of knuckles which Terry had given Ryan were of a different purpose which was to absorb flame from opponents, however, such abilities worked perfectly for Ryan who was attempting to strengthen and control and power as a legendary class.

“Hey, come up here and help us!” yelled some refugees.

“Yeah, master Gilian said you’d help us, survive so hurry up and give us some armor as well, we’re burning up here!” yelled some more.

“Damn parasites,” Terry said under his breath as he stared upon them with eyes of utter pity and sadness along with reluctance. After all, he would be wasting such nice equipment on fools who would only weaken him. Well, better to spend resources on people rather than simply throwing stuff away if he found something to replace the stuff. After all, being a packrat was worse than being penniless to Terry.

“Uh, Terry, if we do wish to reach them as high as they are, we’ll need to find a way through there,” said Ryan as he pointed to a tunnel that seemed to lead a bit higher from where Terry was.

“No need, thanks to Din, I have much better control over my skills now and can differentiate them pretty well too. I still don’t get how the hell the both of us ended up here while they’re there, but whatever. Stay here for now.” Terry said as his shoulder tensed a bit.

[Activating Blood Wings]

Blood began to flow freely from Terry’s body as he felt it moisten his skin before seeping out of his thick armor and forming two large wings of blood before clotting together to form dark, hardened flesh that could move even while separated by thick armor.

Terry moved his new limbs a bit before jumping high into the air and flying several meters up to the refugees before landing on the high platform where they stood.

“Make room,” Terry said impatiently as the refugees moved away from him while some made annoying comments to him and kept asking to get them away from the dungeon as fast as possible.

Gilian you bastard! Terry thought, these fools know nothing about the dungeon. Wait, maybe the leaders were to manage everything with the rabble but as I don’t see them and they're probably having their hands full right now. Damn, this situation should be awesome but is actually just sh*t. Well, I guess there’s no other choice as I’m not a leader other than for people to rally behind.

“Here,” Terry said as he began to empty out much of the garbage equipment from the armband he had. Items continued to appear before the refugees as Terry simply stared blankly before himself and looked at a sort of window which displayed thousands of items. Such a treasure, it could hold so much stuff even though it was so tiny, how magnificent. If brought to Earth, Terry could fill explosives inside and use whenever he wished. Well, it’s not like it would matter as his raw strength could probably do similar things.

While Terry produced the armor, the people ran to don the armor in order to protect themselves from the massive heat of the lava that wasn’t very far away.

Eventually, Terry had emptied much of the ‘worthless’ equipment to give to the refugees before he stopped. There weren’t enough for everybody and he wished to save more in case he ran into the valuable refugees, but around 50% at least had gotten decent armor. Terry would’ve given more, but everything else was too valuable to waste on trash who would likely die soon. Even on Earth, where Terry allowed even homeless people in massive debt to follow him, he would first force work upon individuals before they had earned a gun before they were shipped directly to the front lines. In the scenario Terry was in at the moment, he was acting completely out of kindness.

“Hey, there should be more, right?” asked some angry refugees.

“Please, the heat is too much, I also need a weapon, gimme something!” yelled some others.

The refugees fought each other violently over the equipment from Terry. The children could only wear the cloth armors and hold small daggers while the strong adults took swords and armor. Many used the given weapons to fight amongst each other in greed as they had never been given anything before and all had to survive alone. While they were all similarly treated, the refugees had almost no kinship. Such a disgusting sight. Not even animals did such things. Well, Terry didn’t care about them and was merely listening to what Gilian had ordered considering he had been the one to provide Terry with such resources.

Even so, in the world Terry resided, numbers didn’t matter and humans needed strength and skill rather than simply a weapon to use, making only those with the rare ratings and above worthwhile to Terry.

“Hey! We know you have more, why don’t you give us your own armor and sword along with that arm band with all that stuff. Surely there’s enough for all,” said a few large male refugees as they picked up the strongest of the weapons Terry gave.

“Please sir, take us with you, we can’t survive with these weaklings,” said several women of pretty good looks as they also advanced upon Terry while making seductive poses.

[Activating Appraisal]

“Haah, all trash huh? What a shame. Then again, having the separated groups be of equal strength would make me, Ryan, and these parasites equal to those of rarity and training. Besides I’m also really hungry. I should’ve learned my lesson when I was betrayed once before and died. After all, further betrayal will only create further heartbreak that I must endure to fix the world,” Terry said as a tear streamed slowly from his right eye as his fangs formed completely and a smile appeared across his face.

“I expected you to catch on but still, people like you can’t understand us. After all, Gilian gave you that so it’s only right for us to get all of it. You got lucky and don’t deserve to lead us. You even killed Gilian and wounded us. You deserve to die! Everyone, we need that stuff more than him and he’s being greedy! Get him!” yelled many men as they charged at Terry. Several of the refugees were reluctant to approach a man who saved them but they needed to do whatever it took to survive and become the strongest amongst their group. Well, even so, those who followed fools were more foolish and therefore innocent to Terry in simple situations like the one he was in, if anything, Terry would kill brutally, but only the instigators rather than followers. The resulting ghouls would do the dirty work for him. After all, he was the Criminal Lord, not a hero of justice or savior. He might not kill the indirect enemies, but that meant nothing about someone else killing instead.

“What the hel-”

Chomp! Tear!

“Aargh! His head!” screamed a man as blood splattered across his thin armor before a claw entered his body and removed his heart.

“Don’t worry, we’ll kill him together and split the reward! We have nothing to fear once we get the spatial storage item! Just kill him, after all, he was going to leave us here anyway or use us as cannon fodder like Heckel!” yelled another man.

Slash! Splurt! Rip! Suck!

“Nng! I’m glad for your betrayal. After all, the blood of my enemies tastes far sweeter than that of a friend or the innocent,” Terry said in a low growl. Heh, Terry thought, I can talk with my fangs out, nice!

Of course you can, your level has increased much since you left the tarantula cave, responded Din in Terry’s head.

Heh, you’re like a guide inside my own mind, this is neat except for the fact that you seem to enjoy my suffering and the suffering I cause, Terry thought.

Heh, I am a vampire, besides, many skilled heroes and warriors have a fairy or soul inhabiting their body to help with quite a bit such as navigation and the like, responded Din.

Well, I’ll contact you later, right now I have some parasites to slaughter, Terry thought excitedly as he continued to tear through his weak foes.

“Heek! You’re just a monster, we can kill y-”

Slash! Suck!

“I grow bored of killing you fools as I gain nothing in return. Even using you for amusement is a waste,” Terry said in his low growl.

“We can live? Seriously? Please forgive us, we meant no harm, just help us!” begged many of the people as Terry turned around to jump back down from the platform he had ascended to.

[Activating Raise Ghouls]

“Please help us,” begged several refugees as they came closer to Terry while many stayed back in fear and out of some moral decency for being spared. Although none said a word… except one.

“They want to kill you!” yelled the voice of a child as those around Terry advanced faster upon him by stepping through the dead refugees whom Terry so easily slaughtered.

“To bad, those who are unable to provide shall be stripped of everything and killed! You were going to kill us anyway, now we can survive!” yelled those around Terry as they attempted to strike Terry with their weak weapons.

Grasp! Crunch! Chomp!

“Eek!” screamed many refugees as the bodies of the fallen began to move with great strength as they began to tear those around Terry with ease before feasting upon them with their mouths if their head was connected or a mouth would form inside the abdomen utilizing the ribcage as a mouth of sorts. Shockingly, even though they were corpses, the ghouls were far stronger than the refugees who wielded weapons and armor. Maybe because Terry had gained such high levels. Terry needed to test just how far his strength had come soon.

“Well, you would be right about most people killing you all regardless but as a truly kind person, I genuinely planned to spare you, until you attacked me again. Heh,” Terry said as he simply jumped from the platform, down to Ryan. “I hope that you all become truly strong, if you survive and become strong enough to one day kill me, then I’d be honored.”

Terry landed again up the hard rock where Ryan stood and looked to his slave.

“One problem Boss,” Ryan said weakly to Terry in some fear.

“Yes?” Terry asked as he pulled his wings closer to his armor to make for easier movement and make sure that they didn’t possibly get in his way.

“There, in the lava, I think that there’s some kind of shark or something,” Ryan said in fear as he trembled weakly while trying to stand firm and please Terry.

“Damn, I forgot just how weak you are, well, the armor I gave you should make up for a bit. I didn’t give you any accessories and whatnot to test you, but with me at my level, you’ll be fine,” Terry said with a smile as he followed Ryans eyes into one of several massive lava pools surrounding them. While Terry knew he could’ve just taken Ryan and flown far away since there was nothing but trash around Terry, he wished to see just how strong the creatures of The Volcano were. Especially since the creature before him was the only one he could sense.

[Activating Appraisal]

[Lava Serpent=strong]

“Ryan, lucky you, this thing is really weak to me but will help you out quite a lot if you can kill it. Well, it could kill you within a few seconds so I’ll help you out. Don’t worry though, once you kill it, you’ll be able to survive much easier here,” Terry said with a massive smile as he held his greatsword tightly.

Ryan continued to shake in fear which was understandable since he was probably much weaker than his foe. Simply staring at the beast before him could even cause a heart attack if Terry wasn’t careful. There was only one thing left to do.

Sploosh!

The creature inside the lava finally revealed itself after much swimming around inside it’s home. Lava rained from the splash which the creature caused by jumping out of the lava at great speed.

“Damn, well, we are immune to such stuff for quite a while so that threat means nothing. Now then, you’re one massive creature outside of the lava. I think that you’re like what, 11 meters long? Damn, your body is covered in cool scales that have been smoothened by lava. You’re basically the outcome of a snake f*cking a fish or something. Oh, except I think a centipede must’ve jumped in too considering how I can see so many sharp legs at your sides. Well, your body looks just like a snake so I guess ‘Serpent’ is a fitting name. Well, whatever,” Terry described as he loosened his grip upon his blade and smiled while covering Ryan’s view of the incredible beast as it lunged upon Terry.

[Activating Demon King Aura]

The massive creature stopped dead in its tracks as it placed its head upon the hot, hard rock of the chamber in submission to its new master.

“Nice, considering how this one isn’t so much stronger than me like that worm was, I have a loyal slave now. Congratulations, you have guaranteed your place in this world for now,” Terry said happily. As he stared in awe at the beast before him as it prostrated to him.

I recommend that you use this thing to lead you to another strong opponent, after all, you’ll need all the strength you can get with the final boss at the end of this place. The creature I sense is of immense power as the boss of this dungeon. In fact, this creature was one of the weakest creatures here, said Din. Besides, leveling up is all that you can do since almost everything has been looted already here. The only reason that monsters are still here is because those who cleared here before left plenty of monsters to reproduce.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Well, thanks for the help, as you are somebody I can trust with my very life, your opinion will always be heeded, Terry responded in respect. But one thing, I sense much hate from you, tell me your story.

That shall be for another time. After all, we need to survive before either of us can achieve our goals, Din said, avoiding the question.

“Ryan, don’t worry, you can now see it as it won’t hurt you while under my control,” Terry said as he moved away from Ryan, allowing him to gaze upon the massive, lava-covered beast.

Gulp!

“Umm, y-yes Boss. what do we do now,” Ryan asked weakly.

“Well, we will ride him to find another foe while also getting you used to these things,” Terry said kindly as he looked above, towards the refugees who stared in awe and jealousy but said nothing out of fear.

Ryan became silent and resolved himself to not waste further time in fear.

“Remember, we can handle being atop him for a while before taking a break to regenerate our protection. Either way though, with how that thing’s a centipede and snake, he’ll be hella fast,” Terry said as he walked toward his new pet with Ryan in tow. The 2 men climbed atop the molten creature as heat coursed through their bodies, but their armor kept them unharmed.

[Lava protection=50...49...48]

“Alright, now just hold on tight,” Terry began as he frowned.

Din, I can actually communicate with this thing right?” Terry asked angrily.

Yeah, just use your Vampiric Mind, vampires talk to monsters and such all the time. Although, it's mostly just orders as most are just manifestations of magic.

[Activating Vampiric Mind]

“Take us to the closest of the leaders here. I know you’re not the only one here with territory to rule,” Terry said as he and Ryan, upon the back of the serpent, rushed through one of the several tunnels leading deeper into the dungeon.

Terry smiled as he began to see orange blobs of lava hopping around the tunnels within a few minutes of the raging speed atop the serpent. The creature was faster than any car Terry had driven in his lifetime and felt very thrilling. The appearance of monsters also meant that Terry was close to his target. While the serpent just tore through the table upon the ground though, the ones of the air such as bats and lizards were dealt with by Terry using even more Demon King Aura as killing the creature would be a terrible move when he hadn’t yet met the leader.

After a few more minutes of riding through the tunnels, Terry finally reached an open room which was filled with monsters. And in the back, there stood a massive beast surrounded by gold, bones, gems, and artifacts along with a massive green egg which pulsed constantly and looked as pure as quality jade. The beast was a dragon that was massive as it’s length measured 11 meters and its height measured 8 meters. Several red scales stretched all over its massive body along every nook and cranny while it lay upon its treasures. Several horns portruded throughout its body and were each as sharp as a spear on their own. A long tail lay dipped into a small pool of lava behind the dragon as it stared angrily at not Terry, but his pet serpent while revealing its massive, sharp teeth each dripping with magma.

Inside the room, there were many smaller serpents as well as blobs of lava called lava slimes and great beasts made of burning rock known as lava golems among few others.

[Activating Appraisal]

[Magma Elder Dragon=????????] Notice ?????????

“Tell me, Vampire, what exactly are you doing here?” asked the beast in a frightening voice. An aura of raw power began to engulf Terry and his team as the dragon before them watched intently. The aura was so much that Ryan was soon rendered unconscious as the serpent upon which Terry sat began to shiver fiercely.

“We are merely passing through, looking for allies to recruit and enemies to slaughter, save us some time and tell us which you are among the two,” Terry said with a small grin as he forced his serpent to move closer to the dragon atop his mound of treasure as a few of his minions blocked the path.

“Tell me, what exactly makes you think that you have a chance in hell against me?” asked the dragon as it beckoned Terry closer and caused the minions to move away.

“I merely wish to clear this dungeon and become strong enough to achieve my goals of becoming the ruler of this miserable world,” Terry said proudly as he reached the massive mound of treasure atop which the dragon stood.

“Heh, well there's something you should know then. If you can kill me, you’ll be able to go straight to the miniboss of this dungeon known as Colloseum Kingsman. That is, if you can kill me,” said the dragon as he readied his mouth to swallow Terry whole after hearing a response.

“Calm down, I’m not here to antagonize you, especially since you are strong enough to kill me quite easily. My intention was to possibly gain your help or some such, possibly by offering to allow your rulership of this place or help with your escape from here,” Terry said with a smile as his serpent continued to shake violently beneath.

“Few attempt to reason with beasts of such power as me, but that alone means nothing, your strength is what matters. If you can somehow defeat me, then I’ll consider it-”

[Activating Demon King Aura]

“Ooh, so that’s how you gained control over that serpent, heh, and you’re also a demon rather than solely a vampire, well then, I shall further test your skills. Attack with the intention to kill as I shall do similar!” roared the dragon as it launched its massive jaws upon Terry.

[ACtivating Spur]

[Activating Blood Wings]

[Activating Acrobatics]

[Activating Overwhelming Strength]

Terry held his sword high as he leapt high into the air with the help of his wings while looking down upon his two slaves and the minions of his foe who remained unmoving as he zipped forward and brought his sword crashing down upon the head of his foe.

“You’re fast, very fast and strong too, but I will die before I offer aid to one such as you!” roared the dragon as its head began to glow and Terry felt incredible heat even through his armor and frigid blood.

“Shit!” Terry cried as he attempted to jump away quickly but was too late.

Wshh!

Molten magma erupted from the mouth of the dragon as it began to lift its tail high in order to sweep off the possible ashes that lay atop its head.

Clang!

“Alright, alright, we done?” asked Terry as he brought his large, heavy sword to a loud tap upon the dragon’s head.

“Hah! Hahahahahahahaha! You can resist Hell’s Forge Flames” roared the dragon as immense power radiated from its very breath, causing most other creatures in the room to go limp in either terror or submission.

“So the dragon feels amused at my victory, does he? I’m glad, after all, you could’ve slaughtered me quite easily had you tried hard enough. Tell me, why did you listen to reason?” Terry asked as he jumped from atop the dragon’s head to the back of the shivering serpent as it continued to secrete quite a lot of lava naturally, making it a comfy lava bed for those who could survive it.

“Because you yourself are reasonable, you haven’t killed more than maybe 3 of my minions who gave you no other choice. That army who came last, slaughtered all of my minions and tried to attack me to steal my stuff,” began the dragon as he calmed down and his minions moved far from Terry and his groups as Terry kicked Ryan violently off of the serpent as his body began to steam.

“Interesting, so…?” Terry asked as he began to snicker.

“I killed many of them yet bruised, beaten, and bloody, they managed to enter the portal to the miniboss of this dungeon after taking a few of my trinkets. The fact that you’re not an army though, proves that you’re not who I want, I have no problems with you,” continued the dragon.

“Interesting, these minions are much weaker than you so I am glad that such a test was placed. After all, if I attacked, I would be attacked and lose a valuable ally. So tell me, how much did they steal? I wish to employ you so pick a good price,” Terry asked annoyed.

“For a mere human, you are both reasonable and smart even if simplistic. Looking at your strength, I can’t imagine that you’ll have a chance against even Coliseum Kingsman who’s a miniboss. Hmm, for your level to be acceptable, you’ll need to kill at least one of the dungeon leaders of which many are too weak. Well, you should go to the other strongest leader who is a hellspawn, a giant flame spirit. Although he’s weaker than me, he has several strong creatures serving him unlike mine which I use my power to protect. Kill him and the others as they are hated by most, unless you’ve got a better idea,” the dragon explained.

“Sure, you’ll have to lead us there since my pet here doesn’t seem to know the way, but still, there’s one thing that I’d like to mention to you since I’ll probably not need to get into too many fights by doing so,” Terry mentioned.

“Go on,” The dragon replied cautiously.

“Have you ever heard of Thomalus?” Terry asked.

The dragon’s eyes lit up in anger as magma dripped fiercely from its mouth.

“What does that name have to do with you?” asked the dragon angrily.

“Tch, if I read your mind you would likely impale me so I’ll refrain. Tell me, if I supposedly had several fingers of Thomalus, could you forge me a hand?” Terry asked uncertainly. This isn’t gonna get him to kill us right Din? Cuz I barely survived his previous attack with the armor intact and I hope he actually knows what I’m talking about, Terry asked.

Don’t worry, few dragons have the ability to forge certain weapons and such of which their very heart is needed as a forge. The heart helps use flame of great power and can be used to forge many weapons so it can be reused. He probably knows about the concept though and is likely protecting himself from getting his heart ripped out for a human who would betray him, responded Din.

Damn, I gotta rip out his heart? Then what, I just have it touch my blades and a new item just appears after a flash of light? Terry asked sarcastically.

What are you talking about? Din asked in shock.

Oh good, I’m glad it wasn’t something that stu-

How did you know, most heroes are shocked when hearing that from what I’ve heard?! Din asked, impressed.

Oh f*ck this, Terry responded angrily as he continued to stare at the dragon before him as it remained ready to slaughter him within an instant.

“Do you think that you can kill me?” asked the dragon angrily as it readied to fight again with no restraints to kill the threat before itself.

“Woah! Woah! Chill out man, I said hypothetically but whatever, I guess I’ll just kill the dudes you asked me to. I wouldn’t destroy such a good friendship like this after working so hard. But still, you mind telling us how to get there? These guys got no idea,” Terry asked in surprise.

“While you may have my respect, I don’t trust my very life with you in the slightest. After all, you humans are what killed many of my brethren for similar weapons,” the dragon said.

“Back to that? Well, it's not like all humans are bad, all humans are bad except for me and those who serve me. C’mon, humans kill each other more than all others so trying to exterminate would be best if you left people to themselves and just killed a leader or something,” Terry said.

“Sure, Dorian will lead you to the hellspawn cave,” said the dragon as it signaled for a small lava slime to lead Terry. The slime hopped out from a small group of other slimes and mounted the serpent as the group would be riding it.

“How is he gonna be a guide like this?” Terry asked in surprise.

“Slimes have no gender but can change the shape of their bodies at will so it can become an arrow for direction. I wish you the best of luck, but don’t attack others, the hellspawn are the only ones who serve as a threat to me,” the dragon said.

“Heh, sure. Getting and executing orders within seconds is fun, I haven’t done so in a long time. Well, wish me luck!” Terry called out as he jumped atop his pet serpent after grabbing Ryan and began to ride towards his target.

“Urk! Boss? Wha-what is this heavy green thing in my lap?” Ryan asked as he began to move atop the speeding serpent through the dark tunnels of rock and streaks of magma.

“Shut up, I gotta concentrate! But it’s the bait for a powerful beast, so don’t drop it,” Terry said with a laugh as he constantly watched the blob of lava before him in order to properly steer his pet towards his target for elimination.

Honestly, not even I would have such an idea and skill to take the egg right from the dragon while using Demon King Aura to silence the minions, Din laughed.

Heh, had the dragon had any strong minions, I would have no chance, but even if, the dragon should’ve realized just why I used such weak energy to make it submit rather than calling me weak. In fact, I had years of success just because fools underestimated me, Terry responded humorously.

I just hope you made the right choice and it doesn’t incinerate you which would actually ‘kill’ you unlike in the throne room.

Smash!

Slither!

Splurt!

“I told you that I’m here to talk. What, is your boss so weak that he can’t communicate with me?” Terry said with a smile as he stood atop his pet serpent as a massive red creature stood in a pool of blood and flesh before him while a large golden sword fell from high in the air where it was once held by the now burning corpse as Terry stood before a large gate of solid… flesh?

“Burn this sh*t down,” Terry growled to his pet as it squirmed, attempting to sooth the several of its broken legs from being hit by the massive beast that now burned before the group.

“This sword may be worse than mine, but storing items of even remote power is always good. Especially since I got rid of a lot of the garbage,” Terry said as he raised the massive sword before him into his arms before storing it into his armband.

Whoosh!

“Ooh, nice! Such a theatrical entrance is something I love. No reason to keep you guys out,” Terry laughed with a beaming smile. Several, large red insects scurried across the hot, rocky floor along with large red apes covered in muscles and hardened skin. The strongest of the beasts though, were the massive, bones-covered brutes of incredible sized flesh and weapons. All the way in the back, in theatrical nature, stood the largest of the creatures, a big, black, blade covered ball of flesh suspended in the burning air above a golden throne.

Fwip!

“So you’re the hellspawn? Interesting, do you know why I’m here?” Terry asked as he stood in the entrance of the massive room before him. Many of the enemies before Terry stared immediately upon the intruder and as they were mostly r*tarded monsters with decent strength, they lunged at their foe without much thought while the probable leader in the back watched intently with an eye that appeared from the orb of flesh.

Should we thin out the crowd? Terry asked excitedly as his frigid blood began to rush.

Why not, that big bastard in the back is probably waiting for just that. But make sure to ration your strength out to avoid getting overwhelmed, responded Din.

Heh, these guys are all dead anyway when it shows up, Terry thought.

You’re one f*cked up dude, said Din.

“C’mon Ryan, lets f*ck these guys up. Besides, you can handle them pretty well as they’re not f*cking dragons. With my help, you’ll hopefully raise your level a few times,” Terry said as he chucked Ryan from his place atop the serpent towards the angry mob of little less than 2 hundred massive monsters. “Stay here and guard the egg,” Terry ordered his pet as he drew his massive sword with both arms before charging into the mob of numerous foes.

“Boss! Help!” cried Ryan as he became surrounded by the insects on all sides such as large centipedes, spiders, and worms who all attempted to mutilate his body through his thick armor.

Wham!

A massive axe that shined brilliantly inside the dark, magma lit cave, was thrown at Ryan, giving him mere seconds to dodge before burying itself deep into the rock behind his head. Ryan struggled frantically to break free of the surrounding monsters but to no avail as their hot bodies pressed up against his powerful armor, attempting to find an entrance and devour him. But even before being eaten alive, his body was burning from the beings of uncontrollable flame and magma which radiated from their bodies and would soon cook him alive.

“Sorry, but as my servant, you are responsible for offering me more than you are given, and as you’ve been given a lot, your death may be of more value than your life,” Terry said as he continued to cut through his foes. Had the foes been strong, Terry wouldn't have been able to be distracted. But the simple fact that the mountain of strength cutting through his foes like butter wasn’t helping his comrade meant one thing, this was a test where someone’s very life was on the line.

“Mmf!” screamed Ryan as he was overtaken by the insects surrounding him while most of the stronger beasts of actual strength followed Terry.

“Sh*t! He’s really gonna die at this rate, haah, I guess there’s no choice at this point,” Terry groaned as he continued to hold off several powerful enemies as he was surrounded by blows.

[Activating Blood Contract]

“...you may not die without fighting for my sake to the very end and by slaughtering all those who would dare harm you…”

Fwoosh!

“Finally, although… that flame is so hot that he may actually melt the armor. Well, that armor is meant to control and even magnify fire so it can probably handle the same flame,” Terry said as he continued to follow his cycle of blocking, parrying, slashing, crushing, and finally impaling each and every of the weakest foes. The fact that Terry even had wings that could maneuver through all attempts to damage them only served to make him nearly invincible as he avoided the foes of even the most remote strength before impaling the weak.

“Aaarrrggghhh!!!!!!!!!!!!” screamed Ryan as his body erupted in flame far larger than the crowd of insects surrounding him in lava. The flame didn’t incinerate all the monsters, but not a single of the group escaped unscathed while few were burnt to a crisp beneath the large brown man.

The thick black helmet began to melt off his face as Ryan frantically attempted to remove it before his flaming hands grasped his now molten face as it steamed with streaks of red, flaming blood and tears spilling from the eyes of the man in excruciating pain and paralyzing pain. Ryan continued to scream and served as a perfect distraction for the stronger foes Terry was facing. While most of the creatures had roars and even skills to control each other, a scream of genuine and true, excruciating pain would obviously surpass the rabble of mindless fools.

Rumble! Rumble!

“Damn! Ryan is even making this room shake!?” Terry cried in shock as he watched several pieces of rock break from the ceiling of the room he stood in.

Roar!!!!!!

Rumble! Rumble!

“Oh, I almost forgot about that damn dragon, well, unless the n*gga in the back moves to personally attack my serpent with the egg, my plan will work perfectly,” Terry laughed as he swung his massive sword behind himself to block a massive blow aimed upon his head.

Stab! Stab! Crack! Smash! Whoosh!

“Cough! Cough! Ow, this sh*t hurts!” yelled Terry as several flaming blades of steel and bone as well as some shining white material, penetrated deep into his vampire body.

[Activating Blood Conversion]

[Activating Alchemic Blood]

“I was hoping to wait longer and coat more of you in mine as well as your own blood, but as I’m low on time, you guys may get a taste of true power and skill,” Terry coughed up along with several spits of blood from the several holes in his body. The weapons of the many enemies lay buried inside Terry’s body as blood spilled forth yet the armor seemed perfectly fine. In fact, not a single crack was visible and when the monsters attempted to retrieve their weapons for a second strike, the weapons wouldn’t budge. Then again, not much strength could be used on account of how they had all begun to steam and lose the flame from their bodies. Not just those around Terry either, nearly all of the monsters became weakened by the damage and even writhed in the pain.

What did you do!? Asked Din in shock.

I thought that you would know on account of how you were the one who retrieved the venom which I used for this very occasion. I just added a bit of crusader blood and wanted to see. Sadly, such little blood didn’t do much more than stun these fools, but the amount with how I utilized many of their corpses too should make this worthwhile. Although, why exactly is my armor fine even when I was impaled? Terry explained.

Heh, you’re probably the scariest hero in existence who takes the title and f*cking burns it after mangling it beyond recognition. Well, your armor is very strong and durable. If it broke after a few hits, why would it be so valuable? It’s not the best armor ever, but is meant to be durable, after all, the armor of this world doesn’t follow the rules you know. Think of the armor as being able to recover whenever pierced or broken through. The armor may not be invincible but it is hella durable, explained Din.

Terry knocked out most of the weapons that lay buried inside his armor before raising his sword to continue slaughtering the distracted foes.

[Level Up! 70/100]

“Graaaagh!!!!!” continued Ryan in raging pain. While he was able to easily incinerate any and all of his nearby foes, his level limited him from actual control over his flaming state.

Damn, Terry thought. If he stays like that, he won’t gain any more levels and will stay weak. Well, I guess I’ll have to use this again.

[Activating Blood Contract]

“Graagh!!!” Ryan continued to scream as he began to move his flaming arms from his steaming face and held his flaming knuckles tightly before charging into the mob of crippled insects who clung weakly to life.

Smash! Stab! Crack! Crash! Bam! Clash! Boom! Whoosh! Bang!

Ryan tore through his opponents and stepped upon several charred corpses with loud crunches. While low leveled, he was a legendary class and was in his powerful mode or whatever which would put him in another coma for a while. But before that, he was easily able to slaughter the small fry’s for Terry. Maybe even a one of the-

Smash!

Sh*t! How did one of the Hellspawn get there? And it’s the biggest one too, Terry though as he ran over to help Ryan.

“Urk! Graaghh!!!” roared Ryan as he smacked his powerful knuckles upon the right side of the large shining axe of the foe before him in order to parry it.

“Gwuo!” roared the massive red beast as it tensed its muscles before pulling its weapon back and bringing it down directly upon the flaming Ryan.

Slash! Crack!

“No!” yelled Terry as Ryan struggled to block the massive axe of his foe but to no avail as it fell clean and tore through his flaming shoulder before being pulled back up again.

“Damn it! They realize that they can’t hit me and are going for Ryan. no matter how strong he is now, his level is too low! No wonder even a trained army couldn’t force through here! I have to get Ryan out of here or hurry up!” Terry yelled frantically.

[Activating Spur]

[Activating Blood Wings]

[Activating Acrobatics]

Whoosh!

Terry sped towards his mangled comrade as the mortal blow was brought down upon the shaking, screaming flame of a man.

Clang!

Terry threw his massive black sword in an attempt to knock away the killing blow of his opponent before rushing to his wounded comrade.

Punch!

Ryan used the bought time to punch strongly with his usable right arm. After all, if he could handle being literally burned alive, what would a mere broken arm do?

Clang!

The massive brute before Ryan wasn’t weak though and instantly knocked down its weak attacker as more foes surrounded the weakened man while some more continued their assault upon the large serpent as it remained inside the entrance to the room, spitting lava and devouring those that came too close. While the entrance was massive and several of the monsters could possibly surround the serpent, none of the monsters were too fast nor able to fly in any way. Even so, the amount of monsters was insane for a lone serpent even if it was one of the leaders that owned an entire area. The fact that the serpent was protecting the large green egg only served to weaken it as well.

The only reason that the group was surviving as long as they did was because Terry was able to narrowly avoid the strong foes as they were surprised. Also, the seeming leader who still floated above the massive throne, watching its minions or whatever fight did nothing and probably just offered Terry some time to amuse it.

Terry drew a pair of black daggers from his armband now that he had thrown his sword and used them to block the massive strength of his foe. Since he was already trying hard to control his serpent and fight with his life on the line, Terry couldn’t exactly count upon his Demon King Aura and could rely only on his own strength… or could he?

Many of the monsters rushed from their midst and moved to the sidelines where Terry, Ryan and the serpent remained, leaving few behind for their dead and dying comrades. With their back covered, the groups advanced strategically and organized upon the weakened team.

Barely able to resist for more than a minute or so of the little more than a hundred, powerful foes who were both prepared and angry, Terry stumbled to the ground while many monsters managed to fell the powerful serpent who used much of its final moments to lower the egg safely and kill quite a few monsters in reckless bites and strikes.

Many of the monsters moved to grasp the protected egg as well as finish the bruised and weakened Terry who tried hard to protect Ryan who weakly defended from the onslaught from his foes.

Shove! Stab! Stab! Crush! Crack!

[Activating Blood Regeneration]

[Activating Raise Ghouls]

“Hah, hahahaha,” Terry laughed as his face began to stretch and his jaw dislocated to make room for several long fangs that replaced his original white cubes of teeth.

The several monsters raised their weapons and laughed in triumph with their final blows as they stared hungrily at Terry before bringing down their weapons towards his cold flesh covered in armor.

Stab! Stab! Crunch! Crack! Bang! Bam! Boom! Slash! Slice! Splurt! Spray!

“Cough! Cough! Cough Cough Cough!” choked Terry as he spit out what little blood he had that wasn’t reused to heal himself.

Although, even more than Terry alone, full gallons of blood spilled to the ground as the dead monsters of all different species began to stand and use powerful weapons to impale many of their own kind.

“Now that the sides have been evened out a bit, why don’t I make my counterattack?” Terry said as he lips apart to showcase his deadly fangs in a terrifying smile before lunging at his opponents with the long and sharp daggers in each of his hands.