THUD!

The guard's lifeless body slumped to the ground with a dull thud, echoing throughout the dark and damp corridor of the sewer.

Kasumi stood there, gazing at the ebony dagger in her hand with wonder. The dagger was a work of art, its blade so sharp and thin that it sliced through the guard's throat with effortless ease.

'Hehehe~ A gift from Master….I love it' A small chuckle escaped her lips as she examined the dagger, feeling a rush of excitement coursing through her veins. It was a weapon unlike any other she had wielded before, and it was a gift from her master, along with the armor.

Step!.

"Hmm?" Hearing a soft step, she turned to see a woman materialize in front of her from a swirling white smoke.

"This dagger is incredible!" Viper exclaimed, her eyes literally sparkling with enthusiasm, she kept examining the ebony dagger in her hands, marveling at its sharpness.

"It is," Kasumi agreed, a satisfied smirk playing on her lips. Her violet eyes shifted from the dagger to the armor Viper was wearing.

A full dark metal bodysuit, the armor was so thin that it acted like a second skin, covering the body completely while allowing for maximum mobility. It was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, just like the ebony dagger.

"And that armor suits you perfectly," Kasumi remarked, nodding in approval.

"Mm…" With a mental command, Viper's half-face mask began transforming into liquid retreading to her neck.

"Thanks," she replied with a grin on her lips, the half-face mask dissolving with a hiss as it retracted to her neck, revealing the lower part of her face. "I don't think Master Aron has yet to realize how revolutionary this liquid metal is."

Yes, Aron's gift to the two women was Thyra's liquid metal. By some accident he somehow managed to split a piece of his armor and duplicate the liquid metal, giving him a whole new bubble of liquid that acted separately from his own armor.

"Ouch," Viper winced, bending slightly backward, cracking her back. "It's good that we didn't have to fight, my back is still sore" she admitted, feeling the stiffness in her muscles begin to ease as she stretched.

Kasumi nodded with a sly smile on her face "Just your back? Or your whole body, especially your lower half? After all, you asked for more than you can handle"

"!!!" Viper's cheek flushed with embarrassment, "N-No I didn't!...It was your fault"

"Oh really, my fault?" Kasumi pointed to herself, acting innocently. "I'm not the one who asked the man to fill her up over and over for a whole hour." She sneakily approached the extremely embarrassed Viper and whispered in her ear, "I must say you surprised me, Viper-dono. I didn't know that you have that wild side."

Viper's embarrassment deepened, her cheeks turning crimson as Kasumi teased her relentlessly.

"I-I mean, it's…" she stammered, her voice tinged with a mix of excitement and embarrassment. As she remembered the activity they had a few hours ago "It's been a very long time since I felt this way and the master is…very generous with his... gifts."

Kasumi laughed, a mischievous glint in her violet eyes. "Oh, I know exactly what you mean." She gently raised Viper's chin with her finger, gazing at her gray eyes.

"Remember, Viper-dono, your past doesn't matter, you now belong to my master. If you ever betray him or seek another man, I'll kill you myself, understood?"

Viper's eyes widened at Kasumi's sudden change in tone, her heart skipping a beat at the intensity of her companion's gaze. She nodded slowly, her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment but her expression serious.

"I understand, Kasumi. I won't betray him, and I'll always be loyal to him."

"Excellent." Kasumi's gaze softened, a hint of warmth returning to her eyes as she saw the sincerity in Viper's response. "Oh, and do keep what happened a secret from the girls, especially Pethra and Freya as they are the most...obsessive."

"!!!" Viper visibly shuddered at the mention of those two, mainly Freya. "I-I will."

Sigh.

Lucca, who was standing at the back watching the whole thing, sighed heavily. 'It looks like the private life of the lord commander is, well….not exactly peaceful.'

Just from Kasumi and Viper's brief interaction, and the look in their eyes as they kept gazing at the hole from which that serpent appeared, he understood that they were obsessed with him to a dangerous degree, even if they didn't show it overtly.

'I hope he doesn't wake up one day with a dagger to his chest.

…

"UGHAAAA!" Startled awake, a fat man bolted upright, screaming at the top of his lungs. He looked around frantically, trying to get his bearings in the darkness. His heart hammered in his chest, the echoes of his scream still reverberating in the confined space around him.

"A... N-Nightmare?" Winston held his head with his shaky hands, feeling the cold sweat clinging to his skin. He struggled to calm his racing heart, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he tried to shake off the lingering terror of his nightmare.

"T-That felt too real... inside that... beast was—" he swallowed his words, as he recalled something important. "Where am I?"

Winston's eyes darted around the dimly lit space, his heart still hammering in his chest as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. The darkness seemed to press in on him from all sides, adding to his growing sense of unease.

As his eyes adjusted to the faint light, Winston could make out the rough stone walls of the chamber he found himself in. The air was thick with the musty scent of damp earth, and the sound of dripping water echoed softly in the distance.

"Hmm?...What's that?" Narrowing his eyes, he spotted a figure at a distance.

A pale man in menacing black armor sat on a rock with his eyes closed, a massive ebony dragon head-shaped greataxe resting beside him.

"!!!" When the mysterious man suddenly opened his eyes, Winston felt as if icy fingers had clutched his beating heart when those crimson eyes locked with his.

The mysterious man flashed a sadistic grin, seeing the fear in Winston's eyes, and in the very next moment, amplifying the already existing fear into a paralyzing terror.

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HISS.

The darkness behind the man moved with a sinister presence, coiling and writhing like living shadows. Winston's breath caught in his throat as he watched in horror, unable to tear his gaze away from the unfolding nightmare before him.

'It's real!' The dark, ethereal crimson-eyed serpent slithered into view. At that moment, Winston recalled with chilling clarity that everything that happened in his nightmare was real.

'I need to get out of here!'

With every ounce of willpower he could muster, Winston forced himself to move, inching backward as the serpent's gaze bore into him like a predator stalking its prey. But his efforts were futile against the overwhelming fear that gripped him, paralyzing his every movement.

'I-I must...escape.' With great difficulty, he reached inside his coat and pulled out a small knife. Without hesitation, he stabbed himself in the leg, gritting his teeth against the pain as he sought to break free from the grip of terror. The sudden jolt of agony shocked his system, momentarily overriding the paralyzing fear that held him captive.

Immediately he bolted towards the exit behind him with a speed that didn't match his weight, unfortunately for him, when he reached the exit, his way out, that last shred of hope he had was crushed.

BAAM!

He slammed into an invisible barrier preventing him from leaving.

"WHAT!...NO!…NO!" Winston cried out in frustration, pounding his fists against the unseen force that held him captive. His heart raced with panic as he realized that escape was not an option, trapped in this nightmarish chamber with the sinister figure and its ethereal serpent.

The pale man in black armor watched with amusement as Winston struggled against the barrier, his crimson eyes gleaming with malice. With a cruel smile, he spoke.

"There is no escape," his sinister voice reverberated in the chamber. With a flick of his wrist, he beckoned to the ethereal serpent, and it slithered closer, its eyes fixated hungrily on Winston.

Winston's heart sank as the reality of his situation dawned on him. He was completely at the mercy of this sinister figure, with no hope of rescue or salvation. Perhaps it was the last vestiges of courage or a desperate act from a man ensnared in a corner.

Winston reached inside his coat, retrieving a small wooden bottle. He swiftly opened it and drank its contents.

Aron narrowed his eyes when he saw something strange. Rising from Winston's fat belly was a fire.

"Take…THIS!" The fat man opened his mouth wide, letting out a powerful stream of fire that engulfed the ethereal serpent.

'Oh! A dragon's breath?' Aron thought as he observed the flames streaking towards him. He didn't react or budge a single muscle. Why should he? He was a dragon born from flames; it would be an insult if he dodged that.

The fire washed over Aron in a blazing wave, but instead of consuming him, it seemed to merge with his very being, swirling and dancing around him like a cloak of living flame.

Sniff. Sniff.

Aron sniffed, detecting a distinct odor within the flames, his mind raced attempting to recall where he smelled it before.

'I know this smell…Ugh! It's on the tip of my tongue….OH! I remembered.' He gazed at the fat man, asking, "Hot pepper?"

Winston's eyes bulged in shock as he watched Aron effortlessly neutralize his flames, but what was more shocking was the pale man's question.

Not bothering to reply, Winston swiftly unbuttoned his coat, revealing a large, brutal-looking butcher knife with a serrated edge hanging on his right side. On the left side was a vast collection of small wooden bottles.

Quickly selecting a bottle, Winston drank its contents. Immediately after that, two distinct types of energy coalesced in his hands.

Water and wind.

Sniff.

With his heightened senses, Aron picked up the scent instantly 'Chili powder…his magic is based on food?...no spices'

"Python, bring him to me," Aron commanded, and immediately the ethereal serpent—who was, in fact, the greatsword Python infused with the ethereal energy of gluttony—hissed at his command, slithering towards Winston with menacing intent.

Winston's heart pounded in his chest as he faced down the approaching ethereal serpent, his hands trembling with a mixture of fear and determination. With a swift motion, Winston hurled the bottled energies toward the serpent, unleashing a powerful blast of wind and water that crashed against its ethereal form.

The combination of the two energies generated ice that rapidly froze the serpent's form, encasing it in a solid block of ice. Winston's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the creature become immobilized, its hissing silenced by the icy prison that now held it captive.

"I-I did it?" he asked himself in disbelief.

Clap. Clap.

Aron stood up applauding "Well done…a clever maneuver, what an intriguing magic you possess"

Winston gritted his teeth, seeing the smirk on the pale man's face, it was evident that he didn't take him seriously.

Aron, however, was on his alert from the beginning. He would never underestimate his opponent ever and would use all of his strength to crush even the smallest ant.

"Who are you? And why did you attack me?" Winston managed to ask after regaining his composure.

Aron's smirk widened as he regarded Winston with amusement, his crimson eyes gleaming with an intensity that sent shivers down Winston's spine.

"Who am I?" Aron mused, his voice smooth as silk yet laced with a hint of menace. "I am but a simple man seeking some payback."

Winston's heart raced at Aron's ominous words, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of his stomach as he realized the gravity of his situation. He had stumbled into something far more dangerous than he had ever imagined, and now he found himself face to face with a formidable enemy who harbored a vendetta against him.

"A-A payback?" Winston stammered, his voice trembling with fear and confusion. "But I've never done anything to you! I-I don't even know who you are!"

Aron's smirk morphed into a cruel grin, his crimson eyes glinting with malice. "Ah, but you did, you and your lord."

"Eh?" Winston's mind reeled, desperately trying to decipher Aron's cryptic words.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Aron's voice dripped with menace, "I am Aron, Lord Commander of the Frostguard and Grandmaster of the Watchers."

"!!!" Winston's eyes widened in disbelief at Aron's introduction. A realization hit him like a bolt of lightning when he understood why this man was here for him.

'He found out about the poison!" He swallowed his saliva when he recalled insulting the man moments ago.

"I..." Winston attempted to speak, anything to save his life, but Aron cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"Shhh…don't speak. I'm not interested in anything you say. I know that your lord ordered you to do it." Aron paused, letting his words sink in. "How can you two be that stupid? The Captain of the Palace Guards ordering a petty thief to poison the entire Frostguard…"

"...It was obvious that you were acting on behalf of your lord."

Winston's heart sank further as Aron's words confirmed his fears. He had been caught red-handed, and there was no denying his involvement in the plot to poison the Frostguard. His mind raced, searching for any possible escape from the dire situation he found himself in.

Aron's gaze bore into Winston with an intensity that made him feel like he was being dissected, his every thought laid bare before the Lord Commander's piercing crimson eyes.

"Please…" Winston's voice quivered with desperation as he pleaded for mercy, his eyes wide with fear. "I-I didn't have a choice! My lord, he…"

"QUIET!!" Aron's voice boomed through the chamber, cutting off Winston's plea with an authoritative force that sent shivers down his spine.

"I care not for your excuses," Aron said, his voice dripping with disdain. "You made a choice, and now you must face the consequences."

An immense pressure descended upon the fat man's shoulders, forcing him to the ground. With a casual movement, Aron raised his right hand, mentally summoning Nightfall.

FUSHHH!

The moment he held the Greataxe in his grip its blade ignited with dark-red flames. Casting sinister shadows across the chamber as Aron advanced towards Winston with deliberate steps. Winston's heart pounded in his chest as he scrambled backward, his mind racing with fear and desperation.

"Please, have mercy!" Winston pleaded, his voice trembling with terror as he watched Aron approach, the flames of Nightfall casting an ominous glow on his pale face.

But Aron's expression remained cold and impassive, his crimson eyes gleaming with a merciless intensity. He raised Nightfall high above his head, the flames flickering with malevolent energy as he prepared to deliver the final blow.

"Mercy is a luxury I cannot afford," Aron said, his voice echoing through the chamber with chilling finality. "You brought this fate upon yourself, little pig."

With a swift motion, Aron brought Nightfall down in a deadly arc, the flames of the greataxe trailing behind like a comet's tail. Winston closed his eyes, bracing himself. However…

CLINK!

Instead of the sound of flesh and bones, the sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the chamber.

"Oh!...Interesting, you know some tricks, little pig."

....

[Announcement: My new novel “An Orc with a System” was released in advance on Patreon for those who want to read it and support my work. It will come out for free on other platforms in the coming days. I hope you like it and I’ll be glad to know your thoughts. I'm ready to accept any ideas for the new novel, especially regarding skills, weapons, and magic. See you later and have fun!]

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