Asmodeus declared an end to discussion with the pointed end of his spear. The [Ranger] was never where the spear ended, and he fired over and over—killing the minotaurs. Arrows curved and ricoched, split into ten and back into one.

With a shriek of rage, Naski leaped at Kaden, who used [Split Second] to twist away and then [Moment of Speed] to end up behind her. As she spun, he slammed Remembrance down.

A runaway wagon impacted his chest.

Kaden couldn’t breathe, as Naski’s eyes gleamed with triumph.

He looked down. Her claws were so sharp they didn’t even hurt.

Also, they’d broken on the silver ribs that covered his chest.

“I’m starting to think it’s not going to work out between us.” Kaden kicked her and then, with [Moment of Speed], slammed Remembrance into her chin, sending the Daughter sailing.

Asmodeus’s shout of triumph drew Kaden’s attention. The Demon Lord had wounded Viktor, and the Ranger was now purely defensive, dodging strikes as Asmodius’s spear extended to impossible lengths, covering the temple without Asmodeus even leaving his throne where he stood.

Kaden had the most glorious, terrible idea of his life.

He sprinted for the throne, climbing up to leap and brought down Remembrance’s axe head on the top of Asmodius’s skull. The hammer screamed with power, resonating in the mana beads that covered Kaden.

Asmodius reached up and felt of the back of his head, looking at a drop of incandescent purple blood on his palm, and roared.

Kaden dropped to the ground and used [Moment of Speed] to burst between the Demon Lord’s feet as Asmodius spun to slam his spear down through the throne.

Viktor fired a [Mana Arrow] the width of Kaden’s arm.

Many colleges of magic had debated Demon anatomy. They did not eat. Their sexual organs could be positioned almost anywhere. They did not excrete, and yet, Kaden formed a hypothesis that the area where their anus would have been was in fact sensitive.

He formed this based on the scream of agony that Ass-modius let out, but he was already sprinting for his life, straight toward the Demon King. Mana Loop, Remote Mana Loop, Sharpen, Weave—[Split Second] as the spear came crashing down an inch from Kaden’s nose.

Asmodius was done playing, he raised the spear again, again Victor fired through the portal that would have taken Kaden behind the Demon Lord. That spot was, in fact, a weak point, as this time the arrow burst through Asmodius’s stomach, revealing a Demon Seed as big as Kaden was tall.

With a pained cry, Asmodius dropped his spear, and Kaden lunged forward, taking it into Inventory. Sometimes, Inspiration shared a bed with Madness. “It worked just like you said it would, Naski! He dropped it, I took it, and now, Viktor’s going to kill him. You are a genius.”

For the slightest moment, the Demon Daughter’s face remained blank.

Comprehension dawned as Asmodius screamed to the heavens.

Directive Acknowledged. The Entity [NASKY] has been severed from association with [ASMODIUS 1.7334x221].

Asmodius lunged forward, not at Kaden, but at Viktor, who had put his bow away. “Oh, no. A trap. I did not see this coming. Help, help.”

The Demon Lord barrled straight into him, knocking half a dozen more Minotaurs through the Portal, which slurped closed.

Three Minotaurs remained, all level thirty. And the Demon’s Daughter, who sat on her knees, wailing to the sky. She gripped her chest as though wracked with agony. Normally, Kaden would have struck quickly, aiming to kill at least one of the minotaurs. Right now, all he could do was run, fast as he could, straight for the exit. “We have to leave now!”

“We can’t remove the chains on these six,” Eve said. “The Horror can’t even digest them”

“Put their corpses in Inventory, it’ll pull them out of the chains.” Kaden tossed the Corpse Inventory to Eve.

“They’re not dead!” Eve shouted. “Oh. Give me a moment.”

Kaden had his own problem. The three remaining Minotaurs, in the absence of their demon lord continued to look from where the portal had stood to the empty throne.

Naski had no such issues. And [Identify] had changed.

[Disowned Daughter Naski - Vengeful Demon]

This Demon, through your machinations, has been disowned by its master and cast out of the hierarchy of Hell. No longer safe in its home dimension, it will never rest until it kills you and everyone you love. There is no escaping its vengeance, there is only delaying the inevitable.

Level: 27

HP: 1800/2000

Mana: 300/300

Skills: Daughter’s Lullaby, Weeping Wounds, Infernal Fire, Hatred Mark

Talents: Fleshless, Undying, Determined, Survivor

She had a three level advantage and also a real grudge against Kaden on account of the whole killing her sister, getting her Daddy killed and also maybe ruining her relationship with every Demon in Hell. Some beings took offense at any little thing.

Kaden met her attack with his own, short jabs that reset the range and pace to take away her momentum. “Kill faster! I mean, rescue faster!”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Men being rescued didn’t usually scream for someone to ‘please don’t do this’ but there were bad choices and worse choices.

“I leveled again!” Eve said. “I mean, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I do understand why Assassins level so quickly. I’m going to hit twenty five at this rate—I mean, I regret this, sir. If I had any other choice—”

“Do it!” Kaden shouted as he blocked Naski. She was operating on pure rage, if she settled down and used skill, they’d all be in trouble.

“Done!” Sara shouted. “Gods, that is a lot of XP.”

“Activate your [Recall],” Kaden said as Naski scored his cheek with her claws.

The Demon’s Daughter looked down, focused, and her claws glowed with purple, as the glow of fire in her eyes dimmed.

In the split second she wasn’t looking, Sara and Eve faded away.

Kaden leaped over one of the boulders—and into [Stealth]. Naski was a bright orange glow in his Demon Sight. She didn’t sprint blindly, but held still, sniffing the air, and began to slowly stalk forward, hands spread in front of her as though she could feel Kaden’s trail.

Maybe she could.

With every step she took, Kaden took one as well.

Your skill with Stealth has increased.

Stealth had reached level five, meaning the core of his competency was complete. From here, it would increase in effect, and in environments it worked in. The skill was now comfortable, like a fitted glove. Maybe a fitted shoe, one for sprinting, since that’s what Kaden was going.

Naski now wore a wicked grin that showed all her teeth. “Oh, where have you gone, Kaden Birch? Why run? I’ll give you what you asked for now. Oh, yes I will. You will beg to give me the eye. You will pray for me to kill you. You will—”

Kaden took a risk. He swung Remembrance, striking the hammer head on a boulder so the head swam and rippled. Naski’s howl of joy gave him adrenaline to run and swing, run and swing.

He wound up for a swing—and she leaped onto the rock he hid on. No time to stop, he followed through, slamming into the boulder, and releasing all the built up blows. The boulder exploded, cracking down the top, but Naski landed on the rubble like a butterfly landing on a flower.

She was prepared for that.

When he took half the boulder into Inventory, that she wasn’t prepared for. She fell, landing on her back.

Kaden had already turned and sprinted for the gate, skipping the path, dodging through the rock formations. There, the FarPortal he’d arrived through still flickered. Olidar had said he could pass through but Demons couldn’t.

Something felt wrong.

The only sound was the goat men running away. Kaden leaped and scrambled, climbing an outcropping higher and higher. Beneath him, Naski leaped out to attack nothing. Kaden was already above her, jumping from outcropping to outcropping , even when he sent a terrified demon bird flapping.

“Never escape! Death is your decree!” Naski shouted.

“Daddy disowned you. Actually, Daddy is too stupid to disown you, but Grand Daddy definitely disowned you.” Kaden caught his breath and gauged his next jump. No directly led straight toward the portal.

A crack echoed through the landscape of hell, sending goatmen bleating in terror. Another crack. And the growth of rock he perched on wavered, trembled. Kaden leaped for the next one and missed, falling, flailing to catch himself eight feet off the ground.

[Split Second] saved his life as Kaden dropped and rolled. His belly burned and gushed red as Nashi nibbled thin strips of skin from her claws and painted her cheeks with his blood. Two could play that game. He swung at her, then redirected to land a blow at the base of a growth.

“Missed,” Naski said, drawing the sss into a hiss.

Kaden leaped backwards with [Moment of Speed] as the monument collapsed, and sprinted for the edge of the forest. Ten steps from the FarPortal, Kaden spun and drew the Levicon Blade. Though it was only a couple inches long, the blade would always cut. He met a swipe from her and sheared a finger off, then another, and another.

Battles had momentum.

It hadn’t shifted, but it stalled. Kaden no longer considered Naski unkillable. “I’m going to cut out your core just like I did your sister. I’m going to bleed it just like I did hers. And you know what you’ll be? A pile of gold. A treat for the Mages.”

“I. Will. Kill. You.”

He nodded. “If you can, do it. Otherwise, I’m going to put away my knife, walk through that portal, and leave you here. That portal won’t work for you. You’re not a human. You’re not part of the Demon Hierarchy.” Kaden glanced east to west. “This place is nice. Enjoy it.”

“[Hatred Mark]” Naski said.

You have been marked by Naski, the Disowned Daughter. She will be able to track you anywhere.

“Here’s the problem with that, Nasty. Track me everywhere. Track me anywhere. Follow me to the ends of the earth, and here’s the problem. You still wind up with me. Goodbye.” Kaden didn’t turn around.

Viktor would have totally turned around. Viktor would—

You have helped defeat a Demon Lord.

You have gained experience.

You have gained a title.

[Planes Breaker]

You were not afraid to cross the planes of existence and strike down one of power. By doing so, you have earned a bonus. Damage against entities from other planes is greatly boosted.

Warning - Structural Entity has been slain. Preparing for Restructure. Stand by while minor disputes are settled for announcement of new rulers.

The announcement meant Viktor had succeeded in his quest to kill the Abyss Lord. But Viktor had also said the names alone would do a thousand points of damage. He sprinted for the FarPortal.

Naski was right behind him. He could hear her. Even more, he could feel her through the Hatred Mark. He triggered [Moment of Speed] and poured every point of mana he had into it.

Claws ripped at his back as the light enveloped him—and he blasted out the other side, rolling through the long grass.

“Eve! Healing!” Sara shouted.

[Life Transfusion] from Eve was a full burn of Mana. His health didn’t rocket, though it did rise slightly. It dipped down as Eve applied [Life Burn] over and over. “You’ve got some sort of status. Hatred Mark?”

Kaden sat up and reviewed his logs. “The real problem is [Weeping Wounds]. It’s a tier two status effect.”

“Thank the All-Root!” Olidar shouted as he came running. “Ravena, he’s got a nasty Status. Can you purge it?”

“Weeping Wounds will expire on its own at dawn,” Ravena said. “For now, we just keep him topped up. Please, I don’t want to sound callous. Do you have the other Adventurer?”

“Oops. I meant to stick him in Corpse Inventory, but I didn’t have a ton of time. Turns out, you can pull corpses straight out of manacles with [Inventory].” He dropped the man on the grass.

Roots grew up from the ground, meshing over the man and dragging him deeper and deeper into the earth. Mana surged upward, filling the man, who arched his back and screamed.

“You are safe,” Ravena said. She called and a pair of Druids came running. “Put him some place quiet. Stay with him. If you must, use [Sleep Whisper] on him.”

Then she pivoted and looked to Kaden. “Do you know? Were the [Rangers] successful?”

“They killed Asmodeus, I got XP for that. But something else happened.” He shared the system logs. “Did none of the twelve make it back?”

Ravena looked away. “They’re seven levels deep in Hell. If there are survivors, it will take time for them to fight their way out. Could be minutes, could be months.”

Kaden didn’t want to ask more, but Sara came to stand beside him. “Ask Kaden. We had no choice but to kill the adventureres who were alive and take them into Corpse Inventory.”

Another Druid spoke. “Because of magic manacles that no one has ever seen that couldn’t be cut or opened or anything. And the XP gain you got was really just a side effect of your heroic actions. Oh, I heard your lies. You house an entity that would destroy this world. He—look at what he did to his chest, and the Blood Healer profited most.”

Kaden reached into Inventory and pulled out a mound of stone. And the manacles attached to it. “Give me your hand. I want to demonstrate something.”

The Druid stepped back. “You see how it looks. You understand—”

“Go. I’ll report to the Circle myself,” Olidar said. “Come with me, you three. Ravena, you’re welcome, or you can tend your patients. I want to know what happened. I want to know everything. An Abyss Lord was slain. A group of hostages was rescued. Asmodius is dead—”

“And Weaponless.” Kaden pulled out the spear—which had shifted, becoming his size, not more than four feet long. “And Asmodius disowned the Daughter he brought to kill us.”

Olidar held up a hand. “Stop. Just stop. You need food. You need water. And you need to start from the beginning. All of you. Everything.”

It was going to be a long night.