~~~June~~~

June cursed silently at Stanley as the magic coalesced brighter and brighter around her. He'd dragged them here on his crazy witch hunt, and now she was surrounded by magic that she couldn't reflect away. There wasn't even a notification that she could attempt to copy the spell if it was something good.

There was a sudden lurch in her stomach. The light vanished. And only darkness took its place.

"Monster incoming." Stanley's cold voice echoed in that darkness before she could do anything more than confirm her shields were still active on the others, which told her they remained beside her where she'd last seen them. Then light bloomed overhead and she realized they were all somewhere else entirely, including Stanley. He was sitting cross-legged in the air like he always did and staring at a wall with his soul-black eyes as he added, "Kill it."

He looked and sounded completely emotionless, and she still wasn't sure if she preferred this to when he was angry. Both were disturbing in different ways. When he was angry, it felt like any wrong move could bring that rage down on her head. Conversely, this didn't feel much better. When he looked at her like this, it felt like he was observing a bug crawling up his sleeve and contemplating whether to brush it harmlessly away or pinch it between his fingers.

Despite his motionless and emotionless demeanor, June knew he was responsible for the light and... something else. Ever since she'd added psionics to her repertoire, she could feel whenever Stanley used his power. It didn't tell her exactly what he was doing, but the ripples were there, and it was the primary reason she never used the copied skill around him.

Not that it mattered. Stanley's so-called legendary skill was nearly worthless. She couldn't do half the shit Stanley could, and that was after she'd wasted a permanent skill slot on the damn thing! It should have been called telekinesis instead of mind over matter. Weirdly though, it didn't use any mana...

She didn't get to dwell on the issue for long. Almost as soon as Stanley had spoken, a wave of magic crashed into her like a sledgehammer and nearly drove her to her knees with its power. Luckily, this magic was targeting her and the others directly enough for her shields to work.

Debuff Deflected: [Quiescence of the Feast] Aura of the Docile Feast

She reacted instinctively to copy the magic attacking her—like she always did—sacrificing a few more copies of her most useless skills to make room. Though she'd never seen a deflect instead of a reflection before...

Skill Copy Failed. Skill Exceeds Copy Limits.

Skill Level Up: Copycat Mirror

That was impossible! She'd copied Stanley's legendary skill without issue, and his was the strongest power she'd ever come across. At least it would be if she could ever figure out how the damn skill worked! Never mind that she'd also failed to reflect the magic—a mere debuff. It wasn't even a direct attack, and it was draining her mana like nothing else she'd ever seen!

The overpowering magic didn't arrive alone. A man appeared in the room along with it—almost certainly the source of the attempted debuff—and possibly the monster Stanley was talking about? Though he really did look like a human... if very out of place. A lot like Stanley, in fact.

He looked slightly younger than Stanley, so... old. He was wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and slacks, but his clothes were only partially visible beneath the thick leather apron that adorned his figure as he frowned around the room at everyone and muttered, "Intruders?"

Stanley wasn't attacking him, so June held back as well, trying to keep an eye on every entrance the real monster might come through.

Meanwhile, the man held up one hand with his fingers contorted in a strange gesture, and from his hand pulsed a blinding white light.

June tensed and squinted against the glare, but when Stanley still failed to react, she did the same. Through squinted eyes, she watched as the light seemed to shine into and through everything—walls and people alike. Even her shields didn't block the light but appeared as a visible aura around everyone except Stanley. That wasn't all. It also shone into the floor and ceiling, illuminating a familiar pair of magical circles above and below them. The same magic circles that had brought them here...

"Who among you created this?" the man asked, his frown shifting into a smile. "It is exquisite!"

"Who are you!?" Quinn demanded. "Where are we!?"

The man only glanced at each of them before shaking his head. "It wasn't you? A pity." He lifted his free hand and pointed at the magic circles, whereupon a pencil-thin red beam shot out and carved both circles in half. "You see, I abhor uninvited guests."

Stanley still didn't react as the magic circles flared and collapsed, and June started having a bad feeling about the man in front of them. Stanley had said there was a monster coming and to kill it, but nothing else had shown up. Only this man, or what looked like a man. One who had drained her mana down to almost half already. If this was the monster he'd been talking about, then why wasn't he killing it? Unless... he hadn't resisted that debuff?

It was a ridiculous idea. Stanley resisted everything! Even Brett's mental domination! Why would he fail now!? Was it really that powerful? More importantly, what did the debuff do? Going from the name alone, she surmised it was a calming effect, but since Stanley was already emotionless, she couldn't tell if it had done anything to him.

Should she shield him? Adding another person would only increase the mana drain exponentially, and shielding Stanley was the worst in that regard. Besides, there might be a cheaper option, and they didn't really need Stanley. He wasn't the be all end all that everyone liked to think he was.

Obviously, the others shared some of her concerns regarding this... man, though none of them had attacked just yet. Roland was practically drooling as he stared hungrily at the man. Quinn was suspicious and angry that the man had ignored his question, and Brett was his usual nervous self. They only needed a nudge to kick things off, and June provided it using another of her permanently copied skills. Mind Sway.

"Kill him!" Quinn yelled while he simultaneously summoned a black hole in the strange man's head. Or where his head had been... because the man reacted faster than any of them had expected. Well, most of them. After the way it appeared in the room and the strength of its magic, June had expected it to be fast, hence why she didn't want to be the one to attack first.

Still, Quinn wasn't a rookie when it came to combat. He was already moving and managed to dodge away when the man appeared beside him to take a swing at his head. It helped that he dropped a spread of smaller black holes between them to prevent any pursuit.

Roland had a sort of sixth sense for living things and wasn't phased in the slightest by the man's abrupt relocation. He was already lunging towards his back when the newcomer pulled up short to avoid the black holes. Unfortunately, his target reacted like he had eyes on the back of his head and reached back without looking to catch Roland by the throat. Worse, June saw his hand change an instant before it made contact, turning into something scaly and clawed.

Those claws sank deep into Roland's throat as the man slammed to a stop. Then the man swung his monster arm and threw Roland away while ripping out his throat in a spray of blood, even as he dodged another black hole aimed at his head.

Roland didn't go far. His own hands grasped claw-like at the man's arm and refused to let go, and his hungry grin never wavered as he greedily drained every drop of life force he could from the man.

It helped that Brett finally acted, and he didn't hold back, going straight for the domination with his first attack. June smiled as the man went to his knees, his free hand clutching his head and his face a rictus of agony. Especially when another black hole appeared, one big enough that it swallowed his head entirely.

She stopped smiling when a clawed hand wrapped around her neck and she watched his smiling head regrow almost instantly before her eyes. "Turn off your shield or die."

How did he know she was the source!?

June scrambled to free herself from the claw and pushed back with as much mana as she could spare, even as her gaze leapt to Stanley. She'd screwed up. This monster was too powerful. She needed to shield Stanley and snap him out of... The claws punctured her skin, digging deeper like shards of ice beneath her flesh.

Behind the monster, she could see Roland charging her way with that same stupid and hungry grin on his face, even as blood poured from his still shredded and gaping neck. Brett and Quinn weren't moving, but they were looking her way with shocked expressions. None of them would be fast enough to save her, and if their attacks had already failed, then none of her copied skills would make a difference.

So she pulled back her shield. "It's off!"

The claws stopped digging deeper, and the man narrowed his eyes at her. "Yourself as well."

June could see the others behind him, all of them now standing still with the same blank expressions as Stanley. She couldn't let herself end up like that. It would be all over. "I... it's passive!"

He studied her silently, and June clung to the fact that she wasn't technically lying. Her skill was basically passive when used only on herself, but she could and had turned it off before when she needed healing and the like. She just really didn't want to do that right now.

The claws withdrew, and she clapped her hands over the wounds while watching his scaled hand shift back into normal-looking human flesh in the blink of an eye. Luckily, he hadn't hit anything vital, so she wasn't in danger of bleeding out. Though she was still very much in danger.

"Very well!" he said, suddenly smiling with an expression she really didn't like. "Uninvited as you were, you are still the first new guests I've had in quite some time. I suppose I could overlook your rather crass introduction and offer you a proper welcome. Though I do detest any such outbursts from my... guests."

He removed the apron as he spoke and threw it casually over his shoulder. It vanished into thin air before hitting the ground, and he glanced at Stanley with a frown. "Stop looking at me like that."

Stanley's eyes turned from black pits into the usual violet, and the man nodded once before heading through a pair of swinging double doors. "Come along into my parlor, then. Despite the interruption, dinner will be served shortly."

Dinner? June flinched when the previously motionless people all started moving after the man, with Stanley still gliding along in midair. Why was he still using his power when no one else was, and why didn't the monster tell him to stop? Was he only playing along? He wouldn't do that, would he? He was her only hope of getting out of this alive, though, technically, the monster hadn't actually killed anyone yet. Not even Roland, who must have drained enough life from the monster or had enough stored, because his throat had already stopped bleeding when he trudged past her.

She reluctantly followed the others as slowly as she dared through the double doors and into the darkness, out of Stanley's light. There was nowhere else to go, and no other exit from this room.

The light shining through the porthole windows on the doors was all she had to illuminate her path, along with a faint violet glow from Stanley's eyes ahead. She trekked slowly after them until another light source appeared ahead—light shining through another set of double doors. One by one, they passed through those swinging doors, with June bringing up the rear.

It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the new light, and when they did, she froze in horror.

Human corpses dangled from meat hooks. Hundreds of them. In long rows stretching off into the distance of what she now assumed must be a meat packing plant. The sight was enough to glue her feet to the floor, and she only resumed moving with effort when the monster paused and glanced back with a terrible glint in its eye.

June followed. She wasn't ready to fight yet. Her mana was low, and while her skill could protect her alone indefinitely against even this monster's magic, that wouldn't be enough, especially not when it did nothing to shield her from physical attacks. What she needed to do now was get the shield on Stanley, and for that, she needed more mana. Far more.

Ideally, she would shield everyone at once and long enough for them to kill this thing. For that, she needed her mana to regenerate. Which might take too long. She needed to stall before they reached... wherever it was they were heading.

"What is this place?" June asked, stopping and looking more closely at one of the dangling corpses. It was a man. Naked, completely hairless, and with one leg missing, including his genitals and a butt cheek. "Why all the..." As she stared at the body, trying to appear genuinely curious, it dawned on her that the wounds didn't look at all like an injury. It looked more like the pieces were surgically removed. Or maybe carved off by a butcher...

"This one was... disappointing," the monster said from right behind her, and June couldn't help her flinch at the suddenness of his relocation. It had to be teleportation. Even Stanley couldn't move that fast. Not without making a sound. "One of my earlier guests, and one with a particular knack for hopping about. Unfortunately for him, I found a better specimen soon after... but you know what they say, waste not, and all that. Besides, his life can still serve to sustain those with greater potential."

"You found a..." June's voice choked off when she finally realized what was bothering her about the corpse. It was breathing! She leapt back with a gasp and a fresh wave of horror. "H-he's alive!?"

The monster frowned at her. "Of course. Fresh meat is far preferable to the alternative."

"Fresh... meat?" June forced out, her gaze trailing over more of what she'd thought to be corpses, most of whom were missing pieces. All of whom were still breathing, and one of which had a gaping hole in his torso that let her see the single remaining lung slowly inflate and deflate. She was sure there should have been more organs in there... and none of them were bleeding despite the open wounds. "You're eating... them?"

"Nothing so banal, I assure you," the monster said calmly. "I am granting them a gift by allowing them to be a part of something much greater than they ever could have imagined."

"By eating them!?" June didn't want to piss off this creature, but she couldn't help the shrill tone of her voice, and she couldn't seem to catch her breath, either. This was so much worse than she'd thought.

"You humans always seem to have trouble understanding anything beyond what you can see," the monster said, while he smiled dreamily at the dismembered man. "But I'll admit, I do enjoy the... process."

"You're not... human?" June asked, her reeling mind grasping at whatever she could to delay the inevitable while her eyes refused to look away from the rows and rows of strung-up men and women.

Strangely, the idea that he was just another monster made her feel better about what she was seeing. But not much better.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"I once thought I was," the man said with a sigh. Then he smiled. "The system saw the truth in me, though. It showed me what I truly was. What I was always meant to be!"

"What truth?" June whispered, her breaths coming in short, nearly panicked gasps.

"That I am a king!" he exclaimed, dragging her gaze back to him. "That I am meant to rule this world and all of its people!" He smiled at her. "You too will have a place. You and your friends. The tribute of life and power you have brought me will at last find its destined purpose when it becomes a part of me!"

She couldn't look away from the ecstatic monster. He was a cannibal. An insane cannibal. And he was going to eat all of them if she didn't do something to stop him. Her mana was still too low to shield even Stanley alone for any length of time, and even if she did, what was to stop this thing from killing her first?

He gestured toward the others, all of whom had stopped in place for his little speech. "Come along now. The work of a king is never done, and I have much to attend to."

"Wait!" June exclaimed, frantically trying to think of something to say. "We can help you!"

"Of course you can," he said. "And you will."

"What... wait, what about the undead!?"

His expression darkened. "They are the ones who sent you here, are they not?"

She nodded rapidly. "Yes! You don't want them turning all your food into undead, right!? We were hunting them! We can help you kill them!"

"No." He shook his head, and her flicker of hope died as his smile grew. "They are nothing more than an annoyance. I will deal with those rotten creatures in due time, and fret not; you will all play a role in destroying the abominations."

"But..."

"Enough dawdling. Come!" He grabbed her arm and dragged her through the next set of doors, revealing countless more humans dangling from identical hooks. Like the rest, none of them bled, either from the hooks piercing their flesh or from the missing pieces some had lost.

Her panic and dread only grew as he dragged her toward the end of a line, where ominous and empty steel hooks glinted silver in the light. Her mana was barely above a quarter, but she was about to act when he released her arm. Instead, he approached Quinn.

"Disrobe," he ordered, and Quinn immediately started removing his clothes, though in no particular rush, almost as if he were half asleep. While he undressed, the cannibal traced a finger through the air, leaving a glowing green line behind. He moved in smooth, practiced motions until he'd drawn out a strange and complex pattern in the air. Then he drew a line from the pattern to Quinn's forehead.

As soon as the line made contact, the glowing pattern shifted into... words. Words she could read and in a very familiar format. It was a status screen!

Status

Name: Quinn Salvatore

Race: [Caster](E-grade Human)

Titles: N/A

Traits: [Adaptable](35%) [Proud]

Class: Bringer of Oblivion (Legendary) - Level 78 (Advanced)

Class Skills: Black Hole (Legendary) - Level 89 (Advance...

That was all she got to read before the letters swirled back into nonsense, and the cannibal nodded with a smile. "Excellent. He will serve his king well indeed."

He left the pattern hanging in the air and drew out another beside it, this one comprised of glowing red lines. Then he shoved the entire thing into Quinn's chest, where it vanished, before lifting the man up and impaling him on a pair of hooks that burst from his chest just below his shoulders. Yet not a drop of blood spilled from the man.

June grimaced and tensed as he turned back, but he only went after Roland next, repeating the process. While he worked, he spoke.

"I suspect you were bluffing about that skill you are hiding behind, and for your sake, I hope that is true. Fighting my power will only bring you unnecessary suffering, and I have no desire for that. I am a merciful king, and I share that mercy with all who feed me their gifts."

June wasn't buying it, but she said nothing while he scanned Roland. This time she didn't bother trying to read the status and instead backed up a few steps before touching a woman dangling beside her and casting a different copied skill. Mana Drain.

Unfortunately, it was only a copy, and she'd never made the skill permanent. Why would she? It was pathetically weak, and she'd only kept a few charges for absolute emergencies, something she was regretting now.

The flesh beneath her hand felt disturbingly warm for the state the woman's body was in, but she ignored her discomfort and quickly spent all the mana drain charges in rapid succession while the cannibal stripped and hung up Roland. It gained her another ten percent of mana.

Some of which she immediately spent on a Mind Sway against the cannibal when he turned to look at Brett next. Despite what people might think of him, she cared for the man. He was attentive, sweet, just the right amount of submissive, and yes, a little naive.

He definitely never would have had the guts to build his harem if not for her wanting to bring some other women into their bed... and so what if some of them had to be coaxed in!? They would have all died if not for Brett's power. They should've been grateful that was all they had to do! It had been so perfect... until the undead ruined everything with their damn miasma!

So she nudged the cannibal's mind as delicately as she could, away from Brett... and toward Stanley. The bully could take some punishment, and he deserved it for the way he treated Brett! Hell, for the way he treated all of them! "Stanley's really powerful," she said, drawing his attention and reinforcing the sway with her voice. "Once you have his... gifts, you should be able to handle anything, no problem."

Sway was useful, but it was nowhere near Brett's domination ability. An ability that she unfortunately couldn't copy without potentially killing Brett... Still, it had its uses. The closer she pushed someone towards doing what they would've done anyway, the easier it was. Also, maybe Stanley would snap out of it himself if he got impaled on a meat hook?

It worked. The sway, not Stanley waking up. Not yet. The cannibal paused, his gaze drifting away from Brett and landing on the other man. He drew the line to Stanley's forehead, and despite the circumstances, June felt a shiver of excitement to see what secrets Stanley's status might hide.

Only, nothing happened. The line to his forehead shattered and took the entire glowing pattern with it.

The cannibal frowned, leaned closer while muttering something, then lurched away with a horrified shout of, "What is that filthy creature doing in here!?"

June flinched back as well, and it took her a moment to realize what he was looking at. He was looking down where both of Stanley's hands were draped over the small, unmoving pug in his lap. "You mean Caffeine?"

He rounded on her with fury in his gaze. "Why didn't you tell me he was carrying that... that... beast!?"

June reflexively backed up a step. "I..."

But the cannibal didn't press; he only rounded on Stanley. "Get rid of that thing at once!"

Stanley didn't move, and his hands remained on the sleeping pug.

"Did you hear me!? Drop it at once!"

Stanley still didn't move.

"Stop using your power."

Stanley sank to the floor, legs still crossed, pug still in his lap.

"Stand up!" the cannibal screamed. It seemed he really didn't like animals, and June was wracking her brain about how they could use this to their advantage when Stanley finally responded.

"I can't," was all he said, his voice monotone.

"You..." the cannibal screamed before abruptly calming down. "Can't?" He frowned intently at Stanley's face, crowding close and studying his eyes. "Why can't you?"

"Caffeine is sleeping."

"Disrobe."

"I can't."

June hid her smile. For once, Stanley's twisted obsession with his dog might come in handy. It was also the moment she was waiting for, so June sent another sway at the cannibal. "It's just a dog. Kill it, and..."

He stepped back from Stanley and looked at her with a flat expression. A sinking feeling crept into her heart as those insane eyes bored into hers. Then he frowned. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I didn't..."

"The first time I could understand. A mistake born out of fear. But trying to manipulate me into doing your bidding? Trying to manipulate your king!?"

"No!" Time was up, and she cast her shield on Stanley. Or she tried to, anyway, but her spell hit an invisible wall and never reached the man. "I would never..."

"Lies."

June stopped pretending and unleashed her magic. Not at the cannibal, but at Stanley, trying to break through whatever was blocking her shield.

A bolt of lightning struck and revealed a glowing box around the seated man. Twin red beams launched from her eyes but only splashed harmlessly against the barrier. The crystal shards that appeared from her hands and shot his way all shattered uselessly on the wall. She even tried a Mind Sway before resorting to shoving him with Mind Over Matter. None of it made a difference. None of it could even touch the man inside the box.

The cannibal watched her calmly the entire time, as if he had no expectation she might succeed. Then he smiled, lifted a finger, and shot a bolt of lightning at her.

Spell Reflected: Electric Arc (Epic)

Skill Copy Successful.

It shot right back the way it had come, along with the copy she'd made. He caught both in the palm of his hand, then shook his head while glancing at his slightly blackened skin. "A reflection and a copy?"

While he was distracted, June threw herself bodily at Stanley, only to slam into a solid wall. She ended up in a heap on the floor and felt hot tears threatening to slip free as the hopelessness of her situation settled in. She pounded a fist on the invisible wall. "Damn you, Stanley! Do something!"

He did nothing. Only sat there like a worthless idiot with his hands resting on the equally worthless... She froze. Had his hand just tightened around Caffeine? Was he fighting the debuff?

"There, there," a soft voice said in her ear while a hand gently stroked her head. "Fighting the inevitable will only cause you unnecessary suffering. Accept your purpose. You will become more than you ever thought possible."

"I can help you!" June pleaded. "Me and Brett! We'll bring you more people! There's a kid that can remove the miasma! We'll bring him to you!"

"He, too, will join me in due time."

"But the undead are..."

The hand on her scalp tightened, clamping down painfully on her hair. "You think I don't know your game?" he hissed into her ear. "You are like all the rest, conniving, duplicitous, but... there may be another way."

He dragged her up with the hand in her hair and pointed her at Brett. "This is the one you care for? The one you seek to preserve? The one you say will serve me in life?"

June nodded frantically, as much as she could with the vice grip on her hair. "Yes! He will! We both will!"

"You truly care for him?"

"I do!"

"Excellent." He turned to Brett. "Use your domination on her."

"What!? Nooo!" June met Brett's blank eyes as the man turned to her and she had a single instant to decide what to do. She made the only choice she could.

Debuff Reflected: [Mental Domination]

Permanent Skill Copy Successful.

Skill Removed: Mind Over Matter (Legendary)

New Skill Acquired: Mental Domination (Legendary)

Her mind slid easily into his, crushing everything he was and tying the strings of her control on what little remained. She watched through her welling tears as the last light went out of his eyes. Then a single tear ran down his cheek, and his gaze somehow became even more dull. Even more lifeless.

Then her own vision turned into a blurry mess, and she sank to the floor. "No..."

"So you weren't lying," a voice said, and June looked up through her tears to see the cannibal studying Brett, then his gaze shifted to her, and he smiled. "You truly couldn't turn off your magic... or, perhaps, you simply chose to save yourself?"

"Die, you bastard!" June screamed from her knees and cast her newest skill on the monster. Not only that, but she ordered the puppet that used to be Brett to do the same.

It felt like hitting a brick wall with her mind. There was no give. No cracks in the wall. It was nothing like the first time. Nothing at all.

She hung her head in defeat and let the tears rain down onto the cement floor. It was over. She'd lost everything but her life, and that would follow soon enough. If she was lucky...

"You truly did care," the hateful voice said.

"Go fuck yourself," June whispered, because she didn't have the energy to scream like she wanted to.

"I won't tolerate such language from my subordinates," the monster said. "So if you wish to serve, then you will refrain from vulgarity in my presence."

Of course! The flesh-eating cannibal didn't like cursing! Because why not!? Then his words caught up to her, and June lifted her head. "Y-you're not going to kill me?"

"You said you would serve. Have you changed your mind?"

She thought about it this time, really thought about it. She could help a monster devour hundreds or even thousands of people, or she could die. It was really no choice at all. She took one last look at Stanley, their supposed savior and now just another drooling idiot, then brushed a sleeve across her eyes and said, "I'll do it."

"Excellent! I hadn't thought to recruit servants, but I suppose it is only fitting for a king." He glanced around at the macabre scene with a wide smile. "Perhaps I will recruit more in the future. There is plenty of work to be done after all."

She hung her head, but then there was a squelching noise and June looked up to see Brett, or what used to be Brett, now impaled on the hooks while a happy monster stroked his cheek fondly. "Convenient, isn't it?" he said, turning to smile at her. "You can gain his power without stealing what is rightfully mine. You know, I may have underestimated your ability at the start, but serve me well and I will ensure some scraps of my power fall to you as well."

He turned away then, waving a hand impatiently. "Run along now and bring me the boy you spoke of." He rubbed his hands together. "It will make everything that much easier... oh, the exit is that way."

June nodded, numb, and climbed to her feet. "Sure."

She paused beside Stanley and reached a tentative hand toward him. Nothing blocked her, but she pulled her hand back without touching him. "You know, if anything can kill you in this dungeon, it's this guy."

When she looked up, she found the monster studying her with a suspicious expression. "I'm not trying to trick you this time. It's just... if he kills you, then I'm dead."

She wasn't trying to trick him, but she'd be lying if she said there wasn't the tiniest hope that Stanley might still snap out of it and kill this fucking thing. Plus, if that was going to happen, she'd really like it to happen before she went and tried to feed Zeke to a cannibal... How the hell she was supposed to make that happen was another problem entirely.

"Remove the animal," the monster said with a shudder. "I detest the things. I'll deal with the man."

June took a step back, shaking her head vigorously. "He'll kill me."

"Nonsense. He is under my spell. Now do as you are told!"

She shook her head again. "I want to live. If you are going to send me on a suicide mission, then just kill me now and get it over with."

The cannibal frowned at her for a long moment, then pulled a thick, elbow-length leather glove out of nowhere and approached Stanley. "We will work on your obedience later."

He gingerly reached for the pug, as if he were about to touch the most disgusting thing in the world... and Stanley's hand snapped out to latch onto the monster's gloved wrist.

"Let go of me!" the cannibal exclaimed, the outrage clear in his tone as he now strained to reach Caffeine.

"I can't," Stanley said, still in the same monotone as the glove creaked beneath his tightening grip.

The monster glared at him from inches away as a knife appeared in his free hand. "Fine," he huffed. "I suppose I can prepare you immediately, then."

He thrust the knife toward Stanley's throat, and June saw Stanley’s other hand lift from Caffeine's back to intercept the blade. Neither hand nor blade reached their destination.

A sound echoed through the building instead. A sound she would never forget and would recognize anywhere. A sound that felt as it shook the very fabric of reality itself.

Caffeine was growling.

You have felt the Wrath of the Beast Lord.

You are stunned.

June hadn’t realized how much noise there was in here until the silence fell in the aftermath of that all-encompassing noise. Absolute silence. No one breathed. No one moved. No one could move, not even if they wanted to.

She didn't even notice the absent weight of the cannibal's magic until it slammed back into her shield right as she gasped for breath with suddenly freed lungs.

Debuff Deflected: [Aura of the Docile Feast]

The cannibal was still angry, but she saw something else appear on his face the moment he could move again. For the first time, she saw fear on his face, and that fear drove him to do the dumbest possible thing he could have done in that moment. He redirected the knife to stab Caffeine.

June was turning to run before her conscious mind even made the choice. Then the world exploded, and she knew only one thing as a wave of debris sent her sailing through the air.

Stanley was finally awake. And he was pissed.