Just like before, the red haze coalesced into a familiar figure. As it condensed and took shape, the Demon Lord Skalyt sneered down on me once again. This time, however, she had her weapon in hand at the ready. It was a fiery red scythe that looked as if it was made from the very essence of malice itself.

[Name: Demon Lord Skalyt | Level: 3000]

[Health: 15,000,000 | Strength: 10,000,000]

[Speed: 5,000,000 | Magic: 6,000,000]

Even though she had the same levels, her stats were massively larger than before. Still, I had to stop myself from laughing. I far surpassed her in all areas, and I could still pump those numbers up with the Stat Points I was awarded.

"So, you've returned," Skalyt's voice echoed, the very air around her trembling with power. "You dare to challenge me again, mortal?"

"I did tell your specter that I'd be back," I grinned at the demoness, holding out my ring. "But I kinda want to see what would happen if you faced her yourself."

I activated my ring's effect, summoning the specter of Skalyt. A blue mist emitted from my ring, coalescing into a copy of the boss standing before me.

The real Skalyt's eyes widened in surprise.

"You dare?" she snarled, her grip tightening around her scythe as she warily gazed at her copy. The specter of Skalyt looked at me with a mix of anger and curiosity, unaware of the original standing behind her.

"Why have you summoned me again, mortal?" the copied Skalyt snarled at me. "And to the place of my previous death?"

"Just a little experiment," I replied, smiling widely as I checked the remaining time. Damn, four hours left. "I want to see how you'd fare against yourself."

The Skalyt specter whirled around, finally noticing her original. "What sorcery is this?" she roared. "An imposter daring to take my form!"

"Imposter? You are the one who is an imposter!" the real Skalyt bellowed, her eyes flashing with rage. "How dare you mock the great Skalyt with this parlor trick?"

Faintly, I wondered how Levius would react upon seeing his specter. He'd probably be ecstatic at the chance to fight himself. Maybe I could find a way to revisit the 30th floor...

As the copied Skalyt quickly forgot about her hatred towards me, her eyes locked onto the real Skalyt, and a fierce battle of wills ensued. The real Skalyt stepped forward, her eyes alight with a fiery challenge. "You will not replace me!"

While the two Skalyts were busy trying to decide what to do, I went ahead and redistributed a majority of my Stat Points. I did miss the old effect of my ring, which allowed me to summon the last entity that killed me for free, but I guess the Risk cost tradeoff made it worth it to be able to summon any entity that I killed.

I pumped up my four core stats beyond seventy million, rounding out my Risk at two million. That left me with about half the original Stats Points I gained. Before I could ponder what to do with the rest, a white system message flashed before me.

[System alert: Abnormality detected.]

[Error: Original entity and specter existing at same time. Attempting to troubleshoot...]

"Huh?" I blinked at the message. The system had never acted like this before. I glanced between the two Skalyts, each eyeing the other with contempt. The real Skalyt raised her scythe, and the specter mirrored the action. Suddenly, they both twitched then froze in place.

"Sephera, what's going on?" I asked, watching the Skalyt duo with a mix of curiosity and concern.

[I'm... I'm not sure, but it seems like it has something to do with the Skalyt specter.]

"Indeed," the Soultaker finally spoke, though it sounded a bit nervous. "I wasn't sure at first, but now I'm certain. By calling forth her specter, the system thinks you've violated the rules of the dungeon. It's trying to reset the simulation to correct the error."

"What the fuck? So summoning the dead is considered a violation?" I stared at the system message, feeling a sudden cold sweat break out. I didn't plan for this. "That doesn't make sense. Then how would Necromancer-type Players even function? They exist in Last Stand, right?"

"It's... not exactly an undead skill," the sword corrected me, shaking slightly. "Do you know what a specter truly is?"

"Kinda? I just know that it's something like unconscious versus conscious," I muttered back, watching as the two Skalyts began to glitch in real time. That didn't look good.

"Ugh, once again, your Admin is useless when it comes to giving you information," the Soultaker grumbled, causing blue screens to cover the sword with indignant messages, "but that's not too far off. Raising the undead is simply reanimating what was once alive, correct?"

"Well, yeah," I nodded, my eyes flicking between the frozen, glitching Skalyts. "Are you saying that me summoning specters is not the same thing? Is it cause I don't have the original bodies or something?"

"No, dumb- no, it's not. Specters are a completely different entity from the undead. In fact, I'm not quite sure whether to categorize them as living or dead," the Soultaker said, sounding almost apologetic for its earlier frustration. "They're more like... echoes of the deceased, the very essence of their being before they died. Normally, only one version of a creature can exist at any given time. Summoning a specter while the original is present is a paradox I believe the system wasn't designed to handle."

"Damn, what the hell? But wait, I was able to exist at the same time as my specter the first time I ran the Grudge dungeon. Why didn't the system do anything then?" I asked, seeing the two Skalyts now breaking down into red cubes of light. Everything around me was also frozen in place as the entire dungeon began to tremble.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

[No... you weren't, exactly. Remember when I was successfully able to talk to you in your ghostly form? You were in Limbo- the same place where you can fight your own specter.]

A shiver ran through my body. The trembling grew stronger, and I realized the gravity of the situation. If the system wasn't designed to handle this, then what would happen to the dungeon, the game, or even the world itself?

"The only person I knew that could handle such a paradox was my master," the Soultaker continued. "But I don't know the exact ways he was able to do so."

"Fine, fine!" I gritted my teeth, trying to dismiss the Skalyt specter. It sucked that I wouldn't be able to use specters against their originals, but I guess I didn't really need them much at this point with how strong I had been growing.

Except... the Skalyt specter was refusing to be dismissed. Or rather, I didn't have any control over her.

"Wait, what's happening?" I panicked, as the tremors grew stronger. Oh fuck, don't tell me I was going to get done in by a game bug. I didn't even mean for this to happen.

[System alert: Compensating for abnormality...]

[Replacing Demon Lord Skalyt with appropriate entity for Player Luquier Vaunt...]

[Adjustments complete. Reinitializing dungeon...]

[Player, be care-!]

In the best way I could explain it, it was like the dungeon turned off for a moment. A soft pop was the last thing I heard.

Then, a roaring sound filled my ears as the dungeon re-materialized around me, the tremors subsiding. The blue screens and messages vanished, and my heart pounded in my chest as I took in the scene before me. The Skalyt specter was gone, and in her place stood an eerie figure that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

It looked like a man, wearing sophisticated armor that seemed to be made of pure shadow, with eyes that burned like molten gold. The air around him was charged with power, and his presence was like a storm that could not be contained.

He had short, cropped white hair, and his face was etched with the lines of a man who had seen countless battles and lived through them all. This wasn't any ordinary enemy; the system had recognized my power and had brought forth something more... challenging.

[Name: Devil King Bathalt | Level: 6300]

[Health: 3.1+ | Strength: 2.7+]

[Speed: 1.5+ | Magic: 1.8+]

[Description: The current ruler of demons and hellspawn, Bathalt is a force to be reckoned with. His true power is unrivaled in the demonic realm, and he has the cunning of a thousand foxes.]

"Oh, fuck," I whispered underneath my breath, my grip on the Soultaker loosening. Forget Seth's Behemoth form- this boss was the strongest thing I had ever faced to this point.

Bathalt gazed around in wonder, taking in the new environment as if he had never seen the simulation before. His gaze fell upon me, and his expression suddenly changed into confusion.

"******? Is that you?" The Devil King's voice boomed through the empty village, echoing off the huts and rattling the very essence of my being. His molten gold eyes focused on me, and I swallowed hard, realizing that I may be in over my head.

"No... I was mistaken," Bathalt continued, his voice a mix of bewilderment and curiosity. "But you... you bear his aura. What happened to *******?"

I was just as confused by this outcome, but as much as I wanted to satiate my burning questions as well, the overwhelming pressure made it hard for me to breathe.

"How do you know my master?" the Soultaker shook in my hands. Bathalt seemed surprised to hear the sword talking.

"Oh? Thanatos? Is that you?" The Devil King began to approach me. While I wasn't completely frozen with fear, I was feeling a bit anxious.

"Not exactly. I'm just a fragment of my former self as a weapon," the Soultaker responded. "But, answer my question. How do you know my master?"

Bathalt's shadowy armor shimmered as he took a step closer. "The bond between you two is palpable. The echo of his power, his very essence is within you, speaking to me." He studied me with a critical eye, and I couldn't help but feel like I was being sized up for a battle I didn't know if I could win. "You are Luquier Vaunt, are you not?"

What the fuck?! How did the boss know my name?!

I glanced around frantically, realizing with dread that someone was missing from the entire situation.

"Sephera? What's going on?" I called out.

No blue messages. In fact, I couldn't sense her presence anymore.

"You know, it's quite rude to ignore someone when they're speaking to you," Bathalt said, a hint of amusement in his deep, booming voice. He snapped his fingers, and I immediately fell to my knees, pulled down by some invisible force. "That's better."

My mind raced with plans, trying to figure out the best way to defeat this somehow impossible foe. I still had roughly 149 million Stat Points left that I was going to invest in my gear and such, but right now, it seemed like I would need to use it.

Before I decided to dump the rest of my points into Risk and let Bathalt kill me to trigger Death Match, the Devil King stooped down to my level.

"Answer my question, child. Are you Luquier Vaunt?"

I nodded, gritting my teeth. "Yes, I am."

Suddenly, he stood up, a small smile on his face as he snapped his fingers. The force that had chained me down was gone, allowing me to move freely again. I was utterly confused, but I didn't dare to let my guard down.

"Don't worry, child. I'm not like the rest of the fodder," Bathalt sighed, conjuring a chair made of shadows for him to sit on. "While I am still part of the Matches, I'm not so dense as to fight against the mortal ****** chose to represent him. I may be stronger than you, but even a devil wouldn't wish to become involved in the illogical path you walk."

I blinked in shock, unsure of how to respond. The Devil King's demeanor was unlike any boss I had encountered in 'Last Stand'. The way he talked was eerily calm, like he was more of an observer than an enemy to fight.

"Sounds... sounds like I'll have to fight you eventually," I tried to lighten the mood while also reinforcing my resolve. Bathalt simply chuckled.

"Only if you make it past the 50th floor," he smiled, but it was neither warm nor hostile. "But for now, let us speak as two beings caught in this game of fate."

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to check on the dungeon's quest descriptions. I couldn't pull it up. "Don't you have to kill me?"

"And who said that?" Bathalt responded, his smile never wavering. "I am not bound by the same rules as the others here. I have not been slain yet, so my specter is still free. I'd like to keep it that way as well." He leaned forward, the gold in his eyes sparkling with a morbid curiosity.

"To certain beings like myself, the system is merely a suggestion. This dungeon is now my domain." The Devil King sat back, conjuring a glass of blood red liquid. "As far as you should be concerned, your best choice would be to entertain a conversation with me. After all, I'd like the chance to speak to someone who has been designated as ******'s successor, as well as locking up one of my subordinates to their will."

He glanced at me expectantly. I had already run the numbers in my head. I would very easily be able to get out of this if I provoked him into killing me to trigger Death Match, since my specter would be boosted beyond my estimates. However, I was also curious about my Title, and it seemed as though Bathalt was willing to explain certain things to me. Hell, he literally took control from the system and dominated the dungeon, not to mention he may have severed my connection with Sephera. What else did I have to lose?

Slowly, I plunged the Soultaker into the ground, sitting next to it cross-legged. Ignoring the protests of the sword, I nodded towards the Devil King.

"That's fine by me."

****

[Updating…]

[Name: Luquier Vaunt | Level: 1772]

[Title: Infinite Immortal (S)]

[Health: 75,750,000 | Strength: 77,300,000]

[Speed: 76,250,000 | Magic: 76,100,000]

[Risk: 2,000,000 | Stat Points: 149,675,975]

[Experience: 18%]