James stood at the edge of the wall where he had a clear view and started building a spell. It was the first time he could build and use a single spell this powerful. The spell formation aligned in his mind and a physical representation of it radiated out from him. One by one, mages approached and poured their mana into the spell. It took three minutes to build.

Derek become a whirlwind of death, his burning red eyes a beacon of unstoppable rage. The battlefield transformed into a landscape of carnage. Magic swirled around him as every one of his skills was pushed past their normally restricted limits. His rage and force of will refused to allow weakness to contain him. Lightning coursed off him as he ran across the devastated battlefield, finding the largest threats and eliminating them without mercy. Heads and torsos exploded around him. The near limitless regeneration of the trolls wasn’t even a consideration. Ogres might as well have been toddlers before a dragon. Flames billowed around him, cooking the surrounding flesh. The divine magic of the celestial mantle was a mix of charged elemental energies.

James gave Marie a nod when he was ready. At her confirmation, he released it. An orb of clear plasma materialized above Derek, tracking his every move. Suddenly, it plummeted. Like a colossal droplet, its metaphysical form splashed onto him. Fueled by the surrounding flames, a cataclysmic explosion radiated outwards. The very ground trembled under its force. A shockwave of displaced air surged towards the assault force, threatening to hurl them from the wall. An artificial barrier capped the spell’s vertical reach, causing it to fan out horizontally. Within sixty feet of Derek, a silent void emerged where life once thrived; every creature was obliterated into bloody ashes. Beyond this zone, up to fifty feet from the epicenter, the spell’s force was still formidable. Creatures were lifted off their feet, becoming airborne projectiles that crashed into their comrades further back, creating a domino effect of chaos and destruction.

Like a raging beast set free, a bestial roar, fueled by a surge of rage, power, and exhilaration, erupted from him. He launched himself at the dwindling horde. His sword fell away, forgotten by the madness, as his fists took over, satisfying the primal nature. His armor, destroyed by magic and might, fell away in pieces, leaving him naked and covered in monster’s blood.

Kill. Destroy. Ravage. The purpose appeared in his mind, the pleasure of his slaughter bringing a smile to his face. He was fulfilling his purpose in the world. With only his smile and fists, he destroyed, with each surge of magic he ravaged. Each death brought euphoric satisfaction, driving him further down the path paved with the corpses of his enemies.

He barely registered the pain from the spells and weapons that struck him. They were mere pinpricks, drowned out by the sheer ecstasy of the battle. The horde fought back, but swords failed to cut him, axes failed to chop him, spears failed to pierce him, magic washed away under his might.

Tears continued to stream down Marie’s face as she witnessed her husband’s mind giving up control to the fury. He gave into his rage, sourced from the decades of pain. Carson stepped next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. She turned and hugged him, continuing to cry. She didn’t want to watch, but she had to.

To everyone else, the realization that someone so powerful had been hiding among humanity was terrifying. The thankfulness that they might live quickly faded as it turned to concern and then to fear. It felt as though one had awakened to discover a beloved puppy transformed into a raging monster overnight.

When Derek felled the Minotaur King with a single blow, the monsters’ order and composure collapsed. They should have fled, but they couldn’t. Every single monster, desperate for survival, driven by their own bloodlust, threw themselves at him. The monsters were helpless and the assault team knew it. They watched as Derek brutally slaughtered hundreds. His fists and his magic showed no mercy and gave no quarter.

Marie stepped out of Carson’s arms and moved to James’s side, her voice trembling. “James,” she whispered, the weight of her decision pressing down on her. “Prepare the strongest sleep spell you can manage, but make the duration only a few minutes.”

James nodded and started the formation. He was skeptical about its effectiveness against Derek. His natural magical resistance was strong and it would take an insane amount of mana to brute for a manipulation type spell through his defensives. Then, with the added fact that the more alert and aware the person was, the more difficult the spell was to take hold. This was the most difficult situation where he would have to use the spell.

“His fury should end in forty-seven seconds.” Marie said, using her future-sight to see the possibilities, but it was pretty clear. “I’ll give you the signal.”

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James knew he had to modify the sleep spell to pierce Derek’s defenses. He poured all his mana into the spell, reducing its duration to boost its potency. Sweat dripped down his face as he concentrated, aware that time was running out and failure was not an option.

Derek’s rampage never ceased, but became erratic as the enemies were fewer and further between. With unyielding brutality, his fists crushed everything in their path. He roared like a primal beast as his hand slammed into a minotaur’s skull four times before it broke through. Derek remained oblivious to the minotaur’s lifeless eyes and its limp form. Dead after the first blow, but he couldn’t tell in his rage. He moved to the next monster, simply crushing its skull with a fist. Then the next, he used as a living weapon, taking the orc by the arm and swinging it around like a mace, using its body to crush goblins and hobgoblins. Derek roared as the arm came free and his weapon was useless.

“Oh, no.” Marie muttered. “His fury isn’t fading. Oh no, oh no. no. no. no.”

Her fear was palpable, not just for Derek, but for what his transformation signified. The man she loved was slipping away, replaced by a being of pure rage and destruction. The violent smile on his face was haunting as his blood covered form tore through monster after monster. Marie hated herself for wondering who was the actual monster. She worried about what would happen if she couldn’t bring him back.

She had seen this instance of Derek’s future, but the chances of it happening had been so slim that she didn’t even plan for it. Even as he moved from monster to monster, slaughtering them, his active spells didn’t fade like they should have. With his abilities active, anything James did to him wouldn’t be affective.

“When you see his abilities fade, take the shot.” Marie said to James.

James nodded as she hopped off the wall, only to almost fall when she landed on a corpse pile. The silent assault team watched as Marie approached the raging monster. There were so few monsters remaining that they were turning to flee, but had no chance as Derek flashed from one end of the battlefield to the other. His physical abilities so high that he was way beyond humanity.

“Derek!” Marie shouted as she got close. “Derek! Stop, Derek!”

Marie’s voice broke through the haze of euphoria and exhilaration. He turned towards her, his body moving on instinct. The rage simmered, but a part of him recognized her, even through the red haze of bloodlust. She was his anchor, the one thing keeping him tethered to reality. His body flashed as he appeared in front of her. The suddenness of the situation caused her to recoil as she met his burning eyes. The magic flowing around him was gone, only leaving his physical enhancements active as he returned her look.

James activating the spell he had been building. A beam of dark purple energy to shoot from the orb. The beam slammed into Derek’s back. Derek’s aura of bloodlust and rage fought the spell as his defenses struggled to repel it. Then, his innate defenses and magic resistance both tried to dismantle the spell formation. Derek went still for a moment as his mind warred with the offensive magic contrasted to Marie’s calming presence. His body tried to fight the magic, as it affected him directly.

For the first time in hours, something actually hit him and was effective. Like a raging beast hit with a tranquilizer dart, Derek’s body slowed as it warred with the magic. He resisted the pull of the spell as much as possible. Derek’s body finally locked up, and he dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Marie, unable to hold him up, eased him to the ground as the battlefield fell silent.

The few remaining monsters, now freed from their own bloodlust, turned and fled. They stopped for nothing until they disappeared into the tree-line behind the school. The biggest monster was the one lying unconscious. The assault team was as still as the rest of the city. Marie watched him for a moment, then returned to the assault team. Every one of them watched her as she approached. Nobody said anything. The stunned silence was deafening.

Marie approached the commander, tears staining her cheeks. “Looks like we’re done here,” she whispered.

The mission commander took a deep breath, his gaze still fixed on Derek’s unconscious form. The weight of the situation pressed heavily on him. “I’ve seen many things in my life, Marie,” he began, his voice rough, “but nothing like this. Nothing like him. Long live The Ravager.”

Marie nodded, her own heart heavy with the burden of her choices.

With great effort, the commander tore his eyes away, took a deep, steadying breath, and then commanded, “Healers tend to the wounded! Get cleaned up and collect our dead! They deserve a hero’s farewell. Leave the traitor’s people here to rot.”

The assault team seemed to wake from their stupor and moved into action. Each one of them was wary of the fallen monster in their midst. The assault team moved into action, their steps cautious, almost fearful. Each soldier glanced nervously at Derek’s fallen form. Each one of them was wondering who was the real monster. The battlefield was eerily silent, a record of the maelstrom of violence that was The Ravager. The ground was soaked through with blood and viscera of slain monsters. Whispers passed among the troops, a mixture of awe and fear, as they were almost afraid to wake the sleeping dragon.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of burnt flesh, and the quiet was heavy, almost suffocating. The smell was further emphasized by the sound of sobbing and vomiting as the rest of the raid team dug through the corpses of monsters to find the bodies of the dead.

Marie watched from a distance as mourning already began. She watched the team with a heavy heart. She knew her goal with this battle was completed, but the cost would haunt her forever. This battle would never be forgotten, both the serious threat of the monsters, malignant allies, and most of all the strength of The Ravager. The biggest monster on the battlefield was not the horde they had fought, but the power that now lay dormant within Derek.