For a long while, I had become numb to pain. To a certain degree, at least. Had taken my share of injury—more than most, I was willing to bet—but the part of me that was quite attached to my mortality wasn’t keen on taking any more punishment than I deserved.

As I struck the floor with a thud, my vision spotty, I reckoned I had reached that point. My arms felt sluggish. The sword already escaped from my grasp. I pawed at the ground to push myself up, but was unable to gain purchase. My nose burned with the thick fog of the humming machine, causing my eyes to water. All in all, not exactly the way I planned to go out.

I heard the footsteps of my opponent behind me. Heavy. With singular purpose. My teeth clenched in anger, knowing all those reliant on me to not fade away. I was the star of the show.

Wings burst from my back, immediately severing off as my opponent slashed down. I had saved my own skin through my demonic form blunting the strike. Although my demonic strength was weaker, it gave me enough of a boost to roll over to my front.

Standing over me was a female Minotaur. I didn’t need the System to tell me that, for several reasons. Short brown fur, eyes full of fury, and a harness made of thick leather straps. The bloodied axe she held looked eager for more of me. I just really wanted a sandwich. Her follow-up slash came down, and I grasped at the spear on the floor, bringing it around just in time to block the downward slash. The axe split halfway through the weapon’s shaft and it buckled toward me.

I didn’t even have anything to say. No STAR screens to come through and tell me how injured I was. The throbbing at the back of my head, and how slick my hair was back there, gave some hints. As the Minotaur withdrew her weapon, I lashed out with my shoe, catching her in the shin.

She grunted as she stepped back. “Stay still, human.”

“No,” I managed, although the effort made it felt more of a monologue. With whatever strength I could muster, I tossed the split spear at her as I rolled away. Getting to my feet was a lot more difficult than I could remember, despite having the same amount of them. I wobbled and wavered as if I were surfing, riding the shifting brickwork and avoiding the shark snaking toward me.

I shifted, mostly inadvertently, as her next strike flashed past me and struck the wall. I winced from the sound and shot a glare at the machine across the room that was clouding my mind and distracting me. My left hand refused to go for the knife on my belt, so my right stepped in. I back-slashed wildly, only catching some light purchase on my assailant due to how unpredictable my movements were.

She growled and grabbed at my neck with one hand. I stabbed her forearm to convince her to let me go. It took three strikes before she saw my point of view and relented. As she released me, she pushed me back with the blunt end of the axe. I stumbled and hit the back of my head against the wall, sparks flooding through my vision again. Something wasn’t quite right.

I slumped down as her sharp blade once again slashed against the stonework. Powdered granules of gray rained down on my bloody hair as my eyes finally caught up to reality. I was rather tired of this charade. What I wouldn’t give for Ren or Wolf to be here assisting me.

The Minotaur spun the double-headed axe around in her hand; the wall doing more damage to one side of her weapon than I had to her. Rather than strike me down where I sat—miserable—she took a couple of steps back and held her axe at the ready.

“Lot’s of fight left in you.” She grinned, which was uncomfortably sinister. “Stand and make your death worthy.”

I wasn’t a fan of that plan.

She wasn’t going to let me get out of it by remaining in place, that loophole was soon to be patched up as she would put a hoof through my skull at the mere suggestion. I wasn’t quite immune to that sort of attack yet.

I flexed my toes in my shoes. They were numb, as was my left hand. It had been so long since I had been humbled that I was almost happy—or perhaps that was just due to the blood loss.

Still, I smiled as I struggled back up to my feet. System-created who could taunt and grant temporary mercy - that was the real tasty morsel here. For all the bad the Lady in Red had done to get to this point, I was almost envious that she had managed such a feat. If it was even her, and not something she was just taking credit for.

“I warn you,” I said, slurring slightly as I shook in place. “I’m rather famous for winning things like this.”

“You are a rat looking for cheese where you do not belong.” Her tongue ran across her large but rather flat teeth. “Soon your head will be decorating my horns.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I wasn’t about to say it out loud, but her horns were a lot stubbier than I had expected. Barely had the space for my skull. My right hand came up, and the dagger slipped from my loose grip. I pulled a face as it clattered to the floor.

“Oh, may I pick that back up?” My grimace was hopefully convincing.

Although her dark eyes narrowed at me, she gave a brief nod.

Much more impressive than the Crimson Shadow bringing these smarter Monsters to life, was giving them the same flaws the gang had. I could even laugh if my head didn’t feel like it was about to explode.

I shuffled my legs into a sturdier stance and leaned down to reach for my blade. Blood drops pattered to the gray bricks, along with some sweat. Making a right mess of the place. To think, this was all due to a sandwich. My right eye twitched in time with the occasional hum coming from the infernal machine. Fingers wrapped around the handle of the dagger.

Slowly and deliberately.

All eyes on that process.

I stood back up straight, vertigo almost tipping me over backwards. “May the best magician win, then.” My mouth all smiles. My eyes burning purple. My plan clicking into place.

The Minotaur had enough word games and intended to make this a short duel. My left hand lashed out, splattering her face with blood. The cut on my arm had been bleeding all this time, and by cupping it and leaning over, I had managed to gather up almost a handful of my precious red liquid.

That didn’t stop her from slashing out, however, but when she had cleared her eyes, I was gone. Dagger in her side told her I had moved to her blind spot, but as she turned and punched out with her fist, I wasn’t there either.

“Quit hiding, worm,” she hissed, turning in place as she held her axe ready.

I made my appearance, jumping up behind her and putting the belt around her neck. I fell back with my bodyweight, more due to exhaustion than intent, and pulled the loop tighter. Stealth and evasion weren’t really natural traits I possessed, but distraction and obfuscation were. I had made minor noises as she turned to keep her eyes in the opposite direction to my actual location.

Or at least, that’s what I told myself. I took an elbow to my left arm as she tried to push me off, almost breaking the numb limb. She didn’t have the range of motion to hit me with the axe as I kept my body as close to hers as possible. After three failed strikes, she dropped the weapon in favor of grasping at the belt to pull it away. I knew that she was much stronger than me.

As I braced my foot against her back, I let go of the belt with my right hand and pulled the dagger from her side. The Minotaur tried to buck and shift away from the inevitable, but all that did was tighten the grip of the belt around her throat. She wavered before dropping to her knees. Before she tried to roll on the floor to escape the pressure, I brought the blade into the side of her head.

First stab was blocked by her hand, the second was clear. It was over by then. The rest that followed were just insurance.

I dropped the dagger as the Monster slumped over, my ragged breathing agony for my lungs. Part of me knew I had taken more damage than I had registered, but adrenaline had me ignoring it. At least until I could win.

For a moment I just stared, dumbfounded, at my own survival and the gall of my enemy to be overconfident again. Why couldn’t they learn? Eventually, when it felt like I wasn’t about to spontaneously combust or turn into a puddle, I scowled at the machine.

It was difficult to take in, not half because of my wavy vision. I had no doubt it had something to do with either the sleeping spell or the STAR-removing curse. I stepped over to it, the taste of ashen flesh in my mouth. Whatever it was, it was foul.

There were no dials or moving parts. No switches or buttons to press. Perhaps this wasn’t the whole of it, and it was controlled from the floor above. There was a handle on the chunkier left side. I wasn’t looking to get another curse, but I sought answers.

I gripped at the warm metal handle with my right hand, my left returning to being useless. As the muscles in my arm screamed in resignation, I pulled it up.

A large section of the metallic contraption opened up on a back hinge, like I was opening up a barbeque grill. An apt comparison once I saw what was inside. Even without my System, I knew who and what this was.

On top of sheets of vented metal, a figure lay. Burned beyond comprehension, the heat washing over me was sweltering. Yet they still lived.

Eyes of glowing light turned slowly to me, a strange amount of panic in them at seeing their trance interrupted. This was the spellcaster. I wasn’t exactly sure how I knew, but all the puzzle pieces fit the narrative I was eager to believe. This machine was using up his life to maintain the spell on the town where my Guild was being kept captive. Like a blood ritual, just more incendiary.

I slammed the lid shut before he could move.

No. I was done with this place. Stepping back, I extended my palm toward him. Paused it in place and forced my left to come up and held my right wrist. I couldn’t fight against a spellcaster like this. It took enough of my willpower to keep my brain from leaking out of the back of my skull.

But I was uncontestable. This was all connected. I just had to trace the lines until I drew the picture I wanted. My teeth clenched together as I forced my willpower through my hands.

At first, nothing happened. Rules were enforced.

Then I started getting my own way. My extremities burned as if I had stuck them inside the infernal machine myself. I shook and vibrated with agony. The blood leaking from my injuries felt warmer against my cooling skin.

With a reality-ripping burst, my patron demon shattered his way out of hell, plunging directly into the machine.

I dropped to my knees as I watched him carve his way through the metal like butter, shredding the trapped caster with little difficulty. If only I could have done that at the start.

Such thoughts fell from my mind as messages pinged through my Chat. I skipped through them to the last one, something that gave me more energy than fighting for my own life. It was sent a little while ago.

[Ren: We are under attack.]