It was just past 9:40 PM when Sekh, Tilde, and I entered the dungeon’s lobby. It was mostly empty, barring a few late-night adventurers who wanted to enjoy the thrill of fighting without having to deal with other people. I couldn’t blame them, honestly. It was always a pain to assimilate during certain times because it felt like each room had a dozen people. That was why we hadn’t been coming here. Out of the past 15 days, I stepped foot in here maybe three times. From what I heard around town, Noelia abused her authority to claim entire rooms as her property and refused to let anyone else enter. Of course, the rooms she was ‘guarding’ were the ones that were more likely to spawn treasure chests, but people couldn’t go against the word of a Soul Warrior. As such, for fear of the whole dungeon eventually becoming her property, more and more people flooded into the mines in the early morning hours to get ahead of everyone else. Seems like no one wanted to go late at night, though. 

After her attendant’s death, I thought Noelia would have dialed back on the selfishness, but that didn’t happen. 

Scarcity, even if manufactured, was enough to bring anything to a standstill. Dungeons were not exempt from that. From what Sekh said, this dungeon would fade far sooner since it was expending more mana than usual to continuously spawn the dungeon boss, the monsters, the treasure chests, and the natural resources, though it still had a few decades of life in it.  

“Hey, how do you feel?” Tilde asked as we proceeded. I had my eyes on the 3-D model of the dungeon, which guided us through a path with the lowest chance of encountering a person.   

“About what?” I asked. A second later, we stopped by a room filled with a single goblin for Sekh to test her gear. And it. Was. Beautiful. She looked so striking when she used her shield to parry an incoming thrust, knocking the dirty bastard off balance, and launched a devastating strike with her mace. She split its head open, causing the pink brain matter to ooze out from its nostrils and ears. Sekh stood over the goblin’s corpse like the Dark Lord of Tyranny that she was, staring down at her mace and how bloody it was. She brought it close to her eyes and examined the bloody spikes. 

“I love it, my liege. It’s perfect for me,” Sekh said when she returned to me. Her pretty face was all smiles as she carefully placed her most prized possession back on her hip. 

We continued walking as Tilde answered my question. “About what? Are you shitting me? You do realize that you spent two weeks planning a murder, right? Believe it or not, Noelia hasn’t done anything directly against you. You’re as much a stranger to her as she is to you.” 

“Does that matter? I thought you’d be happy knowing I don’t see her as anything more than food. That’s why it was easy to study her movements and figure out the best time to strike.” 

“Do you feel like a hunter?” I thought about Tilde’s question for a while. Truthfully, I was a predator. At least in this case. I studied Noelia and her attendants for weeks and refused to do anything until I understood her. No, it was more than that. I’d never comprehend what went through her mind, but her physical actions? Her day-to-day schedule? Yeah, that was something I could grasp. The more I thought about it, the more I felt something warm in my stomach that caused my mouth to subconsciously drool. 

“I suppose I am. I feel more alive now than I did living two decades as Shuuta Fenton. After being prey, it feels good to stand on the other side of the fence.” 

“That’s a good answer, but don’t forget you’re still weak as shit. What kind of dumbass predator bites off more than what she can chew?” 

“You don’t think we can pull this off?” I asked Tilde. She shook her head and made it very clear that if she believed I wasn’t ready, she would have said so.  

“Let me ask you something,” Tilde said as she hovered in front of my face and flew backwards. “If Noelia was a decent person, would you still hunt her? What about if she was as friendly as Irisa? If she was, and you two became friends and later found out she was a Soul Warrior, would you turn your fangs against her?” 

“...The last thing I want to do is betray those that have my trust because I know how hard it stings... But I also need the power of a Soul Warrior to grow stronger myself. The greatest choices require the strongest wills, right? Sometimes, you must do something for the sake of your dreams, even if it means going against your word. So yes... If Noelia was pleasurable and became my friend before I knew she was a Soul Warrior, I would force myself to assimilate her corpse after killing her. At least, I would hope so.” 

Our idle conversations continued even after we reached the bottom floor, where more derelict mines awaited us. The path became a little more complicated, but it wasn’t what we hadn’t seen before because we had already been here once. 

It was dark, dirty, and dusty. 

Orphaned mine tracks were literally everywhere, and some mine carts were purposely pushed in front of the doors and paths we needed to enter. I didn’t know if the dungeon did it or if Noelia or her guards were responsible. It didn’t matter since Sekh was strong enough to kick them away, sending them rolling and crashing once detailing.  

After about 45 minutes of pure walking with little discussion to break up the egregiously silent atmosphere, we turned a corner and saw the flickering warm glow of an orange flame at the end. Our destination was close at hand, and we had arrived just in time. We rushed into a nearby room that acted as the latrine. The smell was diabolical, but I’d been forced to suffer through things worse than shit and piss. Tilde wanted to complain—I knew that from her body language—but even she knew to be quiet. As for Sekh? She was locked into combat mode and focused on the upcoming fight. 

I spied on Noelia and her surviving attendants. They had finished looting the chest that spawned after the boss’s death.  

“We’re heading back in fifteen minutes. This’ll be the last one tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll hit up Ria and take a bath,” Noelia said, her voice coming from down below since I was spying on her with my map’s satellite mode. She looked at the Crocofolk, Gatorfolk, and Tigerfolk. Those three had more of their bestial traits on display, only having a humanoid body while everything else was related to their race. The sole human amongst her attendants was the one that had died. 

Hiding in the latrine was weird, but if we had remained where we were and they rounded the corner, we would have been spotted immediately. The next fifteen minutes proved to be the longest of my life as we waited for the right moment. Too hasty, it would be us against a Soul Warrior and her allies. Too late, and I wouldn’t have enough time to prepare. 

I endured the headache satellite mode gave me, then slightly twitched when the mountainous stone doors raised to the ceiling. Noelia and her attendants stood up, dusted themselves off, and walked past the threshold into the waiting darkness, where the boss of this dungeon would die again for the umpteenth time. 

“Alright... Go!” Sekh and I ran like the wind down the corridor and rushed in when the twin stone doors slammed shut. I knew from watching Noelia and her group that their quickest kill on the boss took fourteen minutes, and that was when they were in perfect condition and not a man down. Tilde asked why I couldn’t just run in earlier and shoot the Crocofolk and Tigerfolk in the leg to further slow them down, and yes, I did think of that. The problem was the teleporter. When I killed Niva and destroyed the damage transfer seal, it was assured that Noelia would panic, yet I didn’t think she would die. Had I made my presence known, she’d instead go straight for the teleporter to get help since it connects to the lobby.  

“It’s good you came to that conclusion. You don’t want to do the first thing that pops into your brain. Look at things from multiple angles and plan them out as much as you can,” Tilde said, patting my back. I turned to the person leaning against the wall.  

She was a powdered blue half-breed—a cross between a cyclops and a Lizardfolk. If you wrote down a list of maladies you could visually verify, it’d be a mile long. Her red eye was swollen, puffy, and full of dirt and grime, so I had no idea how she was opening it. Since she wore a tattered robe, the litany of scars, bruises, burns, infected cuts, and evidence of terrible abuse was on full display, from the top of her patchy head to her blackened feet. Some sick bastard even took a burning poker and branded her stomach. A disgusting crust of feces and urine almost glued her bottom to the ground from where she hadn’t moved in days.  

Her human-like ears were hanging down and connected to her head by a thin piece of blood skin. Dark red blood coagulated around her neck, thighs, upper arms, and forearms—the exact spots where she used to have scales.  I didn’t see them anywhere, so I partly wondered if they were sold for money. It was the same with her tail. It was there the first time I saw her in the guild, but now it was nowhere to be found. Her listless eye was glazed over with a dark shadow. If she was looking at me, I didn’t know. 

I lifted Reina’s gun and pressed the warm barrel to end Niva’s tortured existence. 

Tortured existence? That’s familiar.  

“When I pull this trigger, your heart will be destroyed, and your life will end. I assure you it will be painless, and you will not feel anything. I’m not doing it for you or to put you out of your misery, but I need to kill Noelia. Find solace that you can haunt her in the afterlife.” 

Sekh put a hand to my shoulder. She looked at Niva, who blankly lifted her head with the last remnants of her strength. As she stared that nearly dead eye towards us, brand-new wounds started to manifest over her face, covering what little virgin skin she had left with more evidence of despair. The sickening sizzle of cooking meat radiated from her crooked nose. 

Niva opened her mouth, but nothing came out. 

 I was just about to pull the trigger when someone had something to say about what was happening. 

“WAIT!” exclaimed Tilde, who flew around to stand in front of my gun. 

“We don’t have time for this shit,” I replied.  

“Hear me out, alright? Lizardfolks evolve into Scalefolks, and Scalefolks into Dragonfolks. You know, dragons? Dragonfolks are super rare. You know what else is rare? Summoners. Look at her with [Analysis]. You’ll be surprised. Honestly, I’m disappointed you didn’t think to do it.” 

“Okay, I did. She knows [Summon Magic: Spirit (Lv. 1)] and [Mana Language (Lv. 1)]. So what? Hurry up.” I wasn’t mad because my Wrath was set to 0—I kept forgetting to keep it on 5— but I was annoyed. 

[Mana Language] is a language skill, yet there’s a level attached to it? No, I can worry about it later. 

“Dragons are powerful creatures. They’re feared for a good reason. [Summon Magic: Spirit] can call spirits from the Spirit Realm. You can add catalysts to entice or lure away spirits of a particular element if you’re fishing for something unique. I'm just saying, what's a better catalyst for summoning a draconic spirit than a Dragonfolk? Big Tits, use your tyrannical knowledge to help me out here!” 

“The nuisance is right, my liege. Dragons are otherworldly in their strength—draconic spirits, more so if their summoner is of reputable power. At my prime, nothing could match me in pure combat, but the Ancient Elder Dragons came the closest in raw destructive potential,” Sekh added. 

“That sounds good, but she has that collar. I don’t know how to break...” 

Break...? I wonder... 

I stowed my gun and turned to Sekh. “What happens if you use [Tyranny Control] on a slave belonging to someone else?” 

“The symbol of their slavery, be it collar, bracelet, seal, or anything else, is erased, and mine replaces theirs because [Tyranny Control] stands at the top of the hierarchy. Are you suggesting...” 

“Yes. When does that happen?” 

“When I’m spreading the blood. If I stop there, it eventually times out. The erased seal does not return.” 

“Take my blood and break that collar.” Sekh responded with a resolute ‘my liege’ and started to work, but she purposely stopped about halfway. Sekh walked backwards and stared as the blood on Niva’s forehead traveled to the collar. It absorbed the crimson liquid, then scattered like mist in the wind, revealing the only portion of Niva’s skin that wasn’t covered in warts, wounds, or blood. A second later, Sekh informed me she received the title [Seal Breaker (I)]. 

"And that's the secret of [Tyranny Control],” Tilde said. She fluttered around Niva, who groaned in a silent voice. “On top of being unbreakable by anyone, including the user, it is a skeleton key capable of granting freedom to anyone not enslaved by it. How ironic is it that both effects reside within the same Divine Armament? A hero of justice would do anything for the latter, while someone wanting to spread tyranny would sacrifice their loved ones and the world for the former.” 

 Niva’s dried, cracked lips started to bleed when she barely opened her mouth. I turned away from her because I had more important things to do. I didn’t even want to waste time confirming my theories, so I took a knee in front of the campfire and steadied my gun. [Water Blade] was channeled. It was my strongest single-target damaging spell. My finger was off the trigger, but I was prepared to blow the brains off anyone who left the boss’s chambers. Straining my ears, I thought I heard screaming, but it was too dull. 

We waited and waited, the readiness on our faces never disappearing for a moment. Ten minutes? Nothing. Twenty? Nothing. Forty? Nothing. Noelia wasn’t dead, though. Her HP wasn’t even filled by a thread, but it was there. 

But then I heard a distinct noise of stone moving. The towering twin doors slowly ascended into the ceiling, revealing the bloody, fatally wounded Noelia Carpenter. Her face looked like she saw death in the truest sense. Her olive-colored skin was on display since the clothes she used to wear were scorched from the raging wall of electrified flames thrashing behind her, which blocked her from something very important.

How ironic her prolific disregard for her safety when fighting prevented her from accessing the teleporter, the one thing that could save her life. Thick gashes covered her from head to toe, and she limped with something awful when she tried to move towards us. 

“P...otion... N...iva...Give...to...me...” croaked the Soul Warrior. The moment she moved her lips, a layer of dead skin and ash drifted away from her face. She took one step, then two, then collapsed to the ground. 

And then I saw her back... 

Black. Pure black. [Analysis] said she suffered from third-degree burns. Her bones were exposed, yet they were scarred the color of charcoal. It was difficult to even imagine the pain she felt when the flames consumed her. After forcing everything onto Niva, Noelia was finally getting her just desserts. I walked towards her, kicking her to her back while groaning at the flaky skin just oozing off her. She panted and whimpered, yet my attack didn’t do much because her nerves had been destroyed. 

Really, it was a miracle she managed to walk to the door, much demand a potion. It appeared the fire was dying down, so I investigated the boss’s chambers once more to see a half-burnt goblin with metal fused to parts of his body. [Analysis] told me I was eligible to assimilate it because I was stronger than it. The corpses of the three attendants were unrecognizable. Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to eat them. But since I organized their deaths, credit was given to me. 

But not the experience. That was a damn shame, but Noelia was still gripping the cusp of life... 

I crouched down, pressed the barrel of my gun to her head, and prepared to shoot [Water Blade]. Something compelled me to look up, and when I did, I met Niva’s eye. Time slowed to a crawl as we stared at each other. Perhaps I was waiting for her to nod or speak. Or maybe I was wishing for it. In the grand scheme, it didn’t matter because I had someone to kill. 

Bang! 

You’ve reached Lv. 9. You’ve gained 0 SP. You’ve gained 28 SP from Sekh. 

New Title: [Soul Warrior Slayer (I)] 

“Who knew killing a Soul Warrior would give so much experience? It’s nice to jump up 4 levels. Sekh, did you get 56 SP?” 

“I did, my liege,” Sekh replied, who stared at the brutalized remains of Noelia’s head. After excusing myself, I grabbed her corpse and dragged her into the boss’s chambers to assimilate them all at once.  

You’ve assimilated Glog, Metalborn Prince of Goblins. 

New Skill: [Power Strike] 

New Skill: [Leap Smash] 

New Skill: [One-Handed Hammer] 

You’ve assimilated Groak and acquired 33SP. 

You’ve assimilated Ligor and acquired 41 SP. 

You’ve assimilated Elba and acquired 34 SP. 

You’ve assimilated Noelia and acquired 36 SP. 

[Soul Armatization (Lv. 1]) has progressed to [Soul Armatization (Lv. 2)] 

“Hey, maybe that’s the secret to unlocking my Soul Weapon,” I said when I returned to Sekh. “If we come across any Soul Warriors, we might as well organize their deaths for the experience and progress.”  

“Makes sense. Between you and I, Soul Warriors are a pain in the ass. You get over-emotional beings from another world that are guaranteed—whoops, almost guaranteed—to come with incredible power. You’re a right jackass if you don’t think they’re going to use and abuse it,” Tilde replied. “I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times. All it takes is one pissed-off powerhouse to blow up a city or village, and it goes from there.” 

I turned back to Niva, and Tilde asked me what I was going to do. “She’ll be an investment. If I’m right, Gloria was the one who found Niva and gave her to Noelia to act as a ‘shield.’ There’s bound to be some animosity in there somewhere. Besides, I didn’t have Sekh free her for the hell of it.” 

“Oh? If she refuses to help you, are you going to go back on your word and use [Tyranny Control]?” Tilde asked. 

“Nope. I’ll never force someone to become my slave. However, I can offer her a chance to get revenge. Sekh, can you...” I was going to ask Sekh to carry Niva, but she started to move. With one hand grasped against the wall behind her, she attempted to stand up. She balanced on wobbly ground as the tattered cloth fell to the floor. Tilde immediately threw up after seeing the damage done to Niva’s crotch. She had a penis like me, yet it looked like someone had taken a hammer and smashed her crotch against an anvil. The skin around her inner thighs was infected with scabbed-over claw marks as if someone had tried to literally tear the diseased skin. She held out both arms...but everything below the elbow on her right arm dropped to the ground. 

Niva didn’t look down at her missing arm or the blood dripping from the exposed wound. She took a step forward, but everything immediately below the left knee smashed into the dirty ground with a sickening sound. Unable to balance herself, she soon tumbled forward and fell. [Analysis] said she was alive. Unconscious but alive. 

Blindness, fractures, mutilated ears, blunt force physical trauma, scarring, necrosis, a sexual disease, scabbed-over claw marks, rashes, a fever, and an infection. Goddamn... Her HP is nearly empty. 

“You know what? Maybe you should kill her. You still think she can fight with those gnarly wounds? I don’t expect her to last through the night. Really, she should have died weeks ago.” 

“I don’t know why she clung to life, but she did. Maybe she wanted to outlast Noelia? Or maybe she wanted to kill Gloria. That’s a long shot, but if so, she’s just like me in that regard. And I said she’s an investment. I won’t kill her.” 

“Whatever you say, Master. Don’t know how well a cripple can fight. Maybe bait? Even if she can summon spirits, what good can she do if she can’t walk?” Tilde asked, pointing at the missing limbs and charred foot. 

“This world has magic and potions, so there’s bound to be something. And that’s enough questions. Sekh, pick up Niva and carry her. I’m sorry, but it’s going to be gross. When we get back to the shop, hop in the bath and clean up.” Sekh nodded and lifted Niva’s body, marveling at just how weak and frail she was. Her sunken chest highlighted her ribs, and her remaining arm and leg were almost as thin as sticks. Standing at just a hair over 4’11, Niva was shorter than everyone I knew except Tilde. Even Erin—Karen’s Barclay daughter—was taller by a good four inches. 

Sekh and Tilde proceeded to the teleporter to the lobby and waited, and Tilde shouted that it was probably a good idea to assimilate Niva’s arm and leg. After doing that, and not getting anything from it, I hastily looked around this shitty little camp for anything worthwhile when my foot kicked against something hard and metallic. Looking down, I saw something I never expected to see... 

.45 ACP Handgun (0/3) 

No, that wasn’t just a .45 pistol. It was a goddamn Colt 1911 classic! It had dark gray grips, not brown like what I was used to, but it was the very definition of my favorite pistol in the world.  

After some searching through the supplies Noelia left about, I discovered seven more pistols just sitting underneath a blanket. All looked mostly the same, but the grips were a different color, and some of them came with extended magazines, sights, or barrel add-ons. When I analyzed them, they turned out to be rare drops from the boss. It seemed the loot was partially randomized within some predetermined vector. I checked my map for more, but I didn’t get any hits 

Now that I was thinking about weapons, I searched for Noelia's hammer and followed the glowing waypoint.  

• Flaming Shocker (2/2) 
  • Fire: (Lv. 2) 
  • Lightning: (Lv. 2) 

That’s a shitty name. Okay, so Noelia enchanted her red and yellow hammer with mana to attack with fire and lightning. Better take it. Selling it is risky, so I’ll keep it locked up in my storage until I find a use for it. 

I did one last look and found a satchel of gold coins that belonged to Noelia, then Sekh called out for me. I said a small apology and ran over.  After confirming the lobby and surrounding areas were empty with my map, we stepped through the teleporter and towards Ria. Thanks to my map, we avoided everyone, and even managed to sneak through the gates during the guard change. Absolutely no one saw us. Accomplishment welled within my heart because the plan went off without a hitch.  

Well, most of it. Now? I had to find a way to convince Irisa and her parents to keep Niva at their house. I was sure we all agreed on Noelia being awful and deserving of death. And they were kind-hearted. They took me in, so I figured they wouldn’t mind Niva. 

If they did? I had something in reserve. I had enough money to take a wagon or a ship to another country. Options were there, I just didn’t want to have to use them.