-Mike-

Mike’s fist trembled to the rhythm of Charlie’s screams as Ptolemy’s headless body fell to its knees, still holding onto his cleaver with a tight grip before flopping onto the ground.

Mike’s chest was visibly expanding with each harsh breath– his eyes were locked onto his blood-shrouded fist.

You got him! Michael felt relieved from within their shared body, though that relief would turn to horror upon hearing the sounds of metal scrapping against the wooden floors reverberating off of the walls.

I...Spoke too soon.

Mike’s eyes darted toward the headless corpse, seeing it moving as if it were still whole with the cleaver in its hand.

“What the fuck is that?” Charlie’s voice trembled as they watched it rise to its feet. Though headless, Ptolemy’s body still acted as if it were aware of its surroundings. Where its neck was once attached to its head, tentacles made of a similar pink tissue that one would find in their mouths were raised from within its wound, searching the room as if they were its eyes.

Mike felt a cold rush dance across his skin, a chillness that intensified once all four of those slimy, pink tentacles turned to face him. With a stutter in its step, Ptolemy’s corpse stepped forward, swinging the cleaver wildly and aiming directly for Mike’s throat. Using his lone arm, which was then freed, and his enhanced speed, Mike grabbed Ptolemy’s wrist when the cleaver was mere inches from his throat. Ptolemy’s tentacles wriggled sporadically like enraged snakes, stiffening and pointing themselves at Mike’s face. Mike winced before crushing Ptolemy’s wrist with his strength which was still doubled due to his Rage Blessing.

The moment Ptolemy’s bones cracked, those tentacles attached to his corpse squirmed as if they were screaming; perhaps they were trying to scream, though they lacked the mouth to do so.

Mike twisted the creature’s arm, employing the ‘death roll’ technique utilized by crocodiles to rip the limbs off of their enemies. The corpse’s bones snapped and Mike tugged toward himself, ripping the arm from Ptolemy’s body.

An eye for an eye.

Using the sharp, broken edge of the bone sticking out from the severed arm, Mike impaled the corpse in the heart, though it did not die. Without hesitating for even a split second, Mike summoned his greatsword, which immediately fell to the ground due to its weight. Though he lacked an arm, Mike was determined to still make use of that heavy weapon of his, making up for his lacking arm with his boost in statistical strength.

Those lava-filled veins of his bulged in his arm as he lifted his gargantuan sword with all of his might, grunting and wincing as he pushed through the pain. With one mighty, horizontal slash, Mike chopped Ptolemy’s corpse in half, ending its second life for good; at least, he hoped.

Mike unsummoned his blade, feeling relieved of its weight. With his single hand, he started untying the ropes around his feet, glancing at Charlie momentarily. “I’m getting us out of here.” Mike told them, freeing his left leg first. 'Christ. We can never catch a goddamned break!'

Once both legs were free, Mike lept off of his table and began untying Charlie. Occasionally, he’d check Ptolemy’s corpse, though it seemed a third life was unlikely as it remained idly on the ground.

By the time Charlie was back on their feet, there wasn’t any time to catch a breath or celebrate. "Your arm! Try a potion!" Charlie said quickly.

This entire time, Mike's watch was blaring due to his low health, he was too engrossed in surviving to notice. Mike's potion materialized in his hands and he took a sip. His Health Points were refilled and his wound closed; however, his arm did not grow back...

Before Mike had any time to feel sorry for himself, the commotion they caused attracted the attention of those from outside of the kitchen. The double doors leading into the dining area opened, allowing a handful of creatures with tentacles for heads to stumble inside.

It's not just Ptolemy!

“So that’s their true forms. This was all just a trap. Another gimmick floor! I knew something was off!” Mike said through his teeth, once more summoning his greatsword which smacked the ground the moment it materialized.

“Damn it!” Mike muttered, using his entire body to gather enough momentum to swing the greatsword up to his shoulder.

Just beside him, Charlie pointed their staff at the undead tentacle demons and began blasting them with magical arrows. Despite these arrows impaling their bodies, they had little effect on the monsters. 'Shit.' Charlie thought. 'I can't afford to use my bigger spells and waste stamina...'

“Stay close!” Mike instructed, running forward like a madman, clasping his greatsword tightly. With one single swing, Mike slashed through three of the hellspawns, only for his blade to run out of momentum and slam into the ground. Mike grunted, spotting one more demon in the room with them, running and reaching toward him with its tentacled face.

“RAAAAAAH!” Mike bellowed, using every ounce of his strength to barely lift his blade enough to sever one of its legs. The monster fell, grabbing onto Mike’s foot with a trembling hand. “DIE!” Mike ordered as he impaled the creature with his greatsword, falling to his knee as he did so.

As Mike was breathing heavily on the ground, still holding the handle of his sword, Charlie approached him from behind, kneeling down to his level whilst placing a hand on his back. “Are you alright?” they asked gently.

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Mike growled and shrugged Charlie off of him. “Of course I’m alright. I don’t need your pity.” Using his sword to support his weight, Mike rose to his feet and stepped toward the kitchen’s double doors before spartan kicking them open. After stepping through the busted open doors, Mike’s eyes doubled in size.

The entire community of supposed humans had all been transformed into those slimy creatures, eyeing them with their sentient tentacles. “There’s gotta be at least fifty of ‘em.” Mike whispered. Though he feigned having plenty left in the tank, swinging around his greatsword with a single arm was exhausting and the effects of whatever drugs were given to him were still taking effect.

Give me the body. I can blast them all away right now!

“No.” Mike growled. ‘There’s no way I’m letting the kid bail me out again. I’m not weak!’

Dude, you have one arm! You can’t use your weapons like that! We’re a team, remember?

“I don’t need help from a snot-nosed brat who can’t even swing a sword. Shut up.”

As the two of them argued, the creatures shambled toward them like zombies; all the while, Charlie was staring at Mike with trembling eyes and furrowed brows. “Just give Michael the body!” they told Mike, though Mike’s bestial gaze he gave them upon turning toward them silenced Charlie.

"You shut the hell up. I’ll take them all on myself. Just watch.”

What the hell has gotten into you!? From Michael's perspective, the two of them were finally starting to work as a team. However, Mike didn't share the same sentiment.

Mike ignored Michael and dashed toward the crowd with his greatsword scraping the ground behind him. ‘I’m not the weak one!’ he kept repeating in his mind. Though he attempted to keep it hidden from his party: especially Michael, Mike was growing insecure about his own abilities. ‘Kid thinks he’s better than me just ‘cause he can shoot fireballs from a distance. Don’t forget who you’re sharing your body with!’

Mike’s anger was steadily growing, as was his stats due to his Rage Blessing. It was subtle, but his hold on his greatsword was becoming stronger and the weapon itself was feeling lighter.

Stats Mike Vitality 10 (45) Intellect 10 (45) Agility 13 (48) Luck 10 (45) Strength 13 (48)

With crazed eyes, Mike swung widely at the crowd, slicing and dicing through each creature as if he were chopping through walking sticks of butter. Though his strength was lacking due to only having a single arm, his legs were fully functional, taking full advantage of that boost to agility that he received.

Mike was like a streak of lightning, bolting from one side of the room to the next as he continued cutting down their numbers. Despite these monstrosities' terrifying appearance, Mike was making short work of them. In terms of strength, they weren't any stronger than a normal human and Mike's strength had grown around five times that of a normal man by this point. A distorted grin formed on Mike's face, feeling invigorated as he dominated those traitorous bastards! "That's right! Don't you fucking forget who I am! I'll take you all on!" The cadence of Mike's voice was hectic; it was then that Michael and Charlie truly understood there was something wrong with him. Michael could feel Mike's enjoyment of the brutality through their body. Quite frankly, it made him sick.

'I forget...he wasn't sent here by mistake.' Michael thought as he watched the bloodshed through Mike's eyes. 'He belongs down here with these guys. He takes pleasure in moments like these. He takes pleasure in killing those in his way; those who've wronged him.'

Before long, that bloodshed ended and Mike found himself with his back facing the pile of bodies left by none other than himself. With heavy breaths and a fanged grin on his face, Mike could feel his body trembling, not from fear, but from pure bliss.

"Uhm...Mike." Charlie mumbled.

"What!" Mike shouted like a monster, still feeling the adrenaline coursing through his body. His eyes first locked onto Charlie, though they slowly lowered to see the sea of corpses in front of them all culminating into one form.

What. The. Fuck.

The corpses began forming into disfigured limbs, each limb being the size of four or five human beings.

Are they making a meat megazord...?

"The hell is a megazord?" Mike muttered, still gawking at the corpses becoming one. Before long, a hulking giant had been formed in front of them, its entirety being made up of the chopped-up pieces of the corpses Mike had created. Each piece was being held together by tentacles wrapping themselves around each other. If these tentacles acted as their brains, this monster was one big hivemind.

Behind the monster, the kitchen doors opened and the bodies left inside were being pulled toward the collective body. The last corpse to become one with the monstrosity was Ptolemy's, being placed at the top of it all as they head.

Despite not having a mouth, the hivemind spoke with a voice so loud, that the ground beneath them trembled.

"We. Will. Become. One." it said, pointing a finger made of arms and legs at the Tartarus ascenders.

Mike, Michael, and Charlie could all feel a sickening feeling within themselves.

It was clear what the monster was implying.

If they were to fall here, they too would become one with it.