Kragg walked off the stairs and growled at the shut doors before him. In his long trek, he had encountered open archways and entrances, but never one that was shut. The door smelled of nothing, odorless and indecipherable, the contents of the mysterious room behind unknown to his acute nose. Kragg stepped forward and placed his palm on the azure door with golden engravings lining the edges. It pulsed and glowed blue when he made contact. Contrary to his expectations, the door swung wide open without any trouble.

Immediately, a sharp, static air pushed back, slowing his gait for a moment and prickling his skin in electric shocks, faint yet powerful enough to irritate his sturdy exterior. Kragg bared his fangs, which slowly protruded out, and morphed into his half-lion form, the ends of his grown fur sticking out like needles as it endured the static filling the room. A great pillar was in the center of the round room, surging a font of Ein from the floor to the ceiling. Kragg noticed its similarity to the great glass tubes he once slept in, except this one acted as a tunnel for Ein to funnel in.

'Kragg…' Restel squirmed in his shadow.

'Quiet. It's not our prison.' Kragg chided Restel without fierceness in his voice, having a soft spot for her. One little thought could spiral out of control in her worry-ridden head that always jumped to the worst conclusions. With her falling silent, he roamed and circled the room that oddly reached a mere double his great height, not done in the style of the halls of grandeur he visited earlier. Kragg scoffed and shook his head, tossing away any useless thoughts. He only needed to find his enemies and kill them, the thinking to be left to Lordy, Marcus, and Santen.

He snapped his head toward one of the three doors that swung open with a loud bang, extending his claws out as he pounced on the intruder. It didn't matter if he couldn't see the person; his instincts, the lion's pride and desire for domination, screamed for him to act and fight. Lightning focused on his claws, concentrating into a hot-white glow as the excess streaked behind. He intended to kill the person while unaware since detecting anything past the doors was impossible, so surely, they didn't have a clue of his presence. However, the powerful intruder swatted him on his claws with a heavy fist.

Blown away, Kragg slammed his bare feet down and dug his sharp toes in as he skidded backward, carving fine lines on the ground. He focused on the hulking behemoth that entered and roared, the foundations of the room shaking as the immense Ein tore the air in devastating waves, forcing the static away. Its eyeless sockets, dark and crying bloody tears, turned to him, and its maw of sharp dagger-like teeth widened further, amplifying the murderous roar.

"This scent. Impossible." Kragg snarled. There was no mistaking the scent of his Lordy wafting over from the creature. But that was impossible.

'K-K-Kragg. The Lord told us of him.' Restel stammered out in fear. A nonverbal growl forced a squeal out of her, and she quickly said, 'It–it's the Sweeper. It has the blood and flesh of many people in it.'

"Ah…The New Dawn?" Kragg glared sharply at the Sweeper, his pupils forming thin slits. The ends of his fur settled as lightning clad him, diffusing the static suffusing the air and crackling in coils of lightning along his fangs and claws. The Sweeper, as Restel called it, was frighteningly powerful. That fact his lightning-infused claws failed to pierce its fist was evident of its power. The towering figure that overshadowed even him and the dense rippling muscles blatant under its steely skin made it seem impervious to damage.

"Well. Well. This is quite an interesting haul! Marvelous! The failed Experiment 23 of the predator series. I had heard you escaped with the perfect Reis user and entered Fallen Heaven. I thought you would have wasted away a long time ago. Perhaps some secrets still live in your body. That can wait until I dissect you." An unsettling, gentle voice echoed in the room, ranting on as if he loved his own voice. Kragg spotted a face emerging in the bare chest of the Sweeper, a pair of white eyes emitting madness and delight behind the thin glasses.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Faust!" Kragg dashed and swiped a claw of dense lightning. The sharp metallic clink from the Sweeper's arm blocking his claw silenced the crackling of his lightning. The lion in him roared in frustration at how easily his blow was halted in place, unable to carve a fraction of an inch closer. A smile lifted from Faust's lips, and the Sweeper countered. The feeling of knuckles digging into his stomach forced Kragg to gag, his spine reeling and lurching forward in pain. He felt a second fist hammer on his face and slammed him to the wall. The pain was the worst in his mouth, and Kragg spat out one of his fangs, his pride wounded by two simple punches. Restel cried from his shadow, and he forced himself to stand tall, glaring at Faust.

The bastard had visited the lab where he and Restel were imprisoned long ago. He could still remember the maniacal smile and the heartwrenching laughter of the self-proclaimed pioneer as they were strapped on cold, metal tables, forced to endure his playful scalpel. He had endured the pain, but Restel's cries of agony could not be ignored, and he was helpless at that time. Remembering the painful past, Kragg bared his claws and fangs again, unwilling to back away.

"Experiment 23. Though you are a fine specimen, my Sweeper is perfection! A symphony of the crossing of blood and flesh. Previous battles have shown its limitations by relying on brute strength despite its capability of utilizing Reis. What it lacked was a rational mind that honed its immense power. A better mind that understood it. Me." Faust smirked and used the Sweeper's abnormally large hand to adjust his glasses. "I once thought of you as a potential prospect, possibly one that could replicate what your master had done. But we both know you have no potential. However, you may be useful in drawing your master out. My Sweeper is the future, not him."

Kragg let out a burst of boisterous laughter and regrew his missing fang, spitting out the last bits of blood. "You get off on the sound of your own voice like always. You cut into me, dug into my entrails, and pierced needles in my eyes. But your voice was the absolute worst of all the tortures. Nonstop. Words and words and words. Shut up! You don't deserve to fight against Lordy. Your disgusting failure will be a fine meal."

The third door swung open, attracting their attention. Kragg widened his eyes at the sight of Auren and the two children of Lordy. He growled and shouted, "Auren! What are you doing here?"

Auren faltered before bouncing back with excitement, unshed tears moistening his eyes. "Kragg! I'm glad to see you. Santen is behind us and needs your help. He's against Lelith Lilisa!"

"Hah?!" Kragg stared blankly at Auren in disbelief but snapped out of it. Faust stampeded to his side and swung his trunk-like leg, blowing great gales as it rushed past Kragg. He flipped over, dodged, and flickered toward Auren at lightning speed, grabbing the trio of Lower Marshal Exalts and throwing them out of the room through the doorway Faust came from. The idiotic brat got up and ran back, but Kragg slammed the doors shut.

"Kragg?" Auren pounded on the door in desperation, his powers clearly unable to ram it down. "Kragg! Run away with us!"

"Oi, little brat. Don't order me around. You can't even bark well enough." Kragg growled and faced Faust, who looked entertained by this scene, a hateful display of sadism, the kind that forced unending suffering onto him. The mere memory flared his anger, his sharp teeth scraping sparks off each other. On behalf of Restel, who shivered in his shadow, he couldn't back away. He said roughly, "Lordy said our revenge was no longer abandoned. Our fight against the New Dawn is here. This is mine. My prey is before me. Go on and do your task. Don't disappoint Lordy."

A clamor rose behind the door, and Auren's muffled cries diminished away, presumably forced and pulled up the stairs by Lordy's children. His laughter spilled out, still amused by Auren's antics and idiocy. The fool cared too much. Kragg took a harsh step closer to Faust and hunched over, hanging his burly arms down in a formless stance. He growled, "I've been waiting. I'll carve out your heart. It's nice that you brought your face right where it is. Two in one. Thank you."

"So that's the Index. It was truly a tremendous loss for the New Dawn to lose him during the purge. Do you call him Auren now? Quite amusing. Can you consider that a person?" Faust mocked with a smug smile. "The leader's orders were to avoid your group…until now. A great deal of value exists in the Index. That idiotic leader should have ordered his retrieval long ago."

"You talk too much. A dead man should stop talking." Kragg grinned fiercely and went down on four legs, mimicking the stance of a lion on the prowl. "At least tell me if you enhanced the flavor of flesh."