Mia’s heart hammered in her chest. The overwhelming pressure of two Grade 0 artifacts weighed on her like a suffocating blanket, draining her once formidable hydromancy. The water vortex at her command trickled uselessly around her feet, a pale echo of its former power.

  A jagged laugh tore from her throat—raw, manic, mirroring the chaos inside. “So this is it? This is how I die?” she choked out, eyes gleaming with twisted amusement. “What a sick joke.”

  Her left eye darkened, sclera turning an inky black while the iris burned a vivid, unnatural blue. Knight and Scholar froze, recognizing the all-too-familiar signs of a soul teetering on the brink of frenzy.

  “How fitting,” Scholar sneered. “You’re becoming the monster you always were.”

  Mia snorted a bitter laugh. “I’ve heard the legends—only Michello, Priest of Half-Insanity, ever harnessed madness. Why not me, too?” Her grin was unnerving, exuding macabre excitement at the imminent plunge into the unknown.

  “Don’t fool yourself!” Knight roared. “You’ll end up a Frenzied abomination, worse than death!”

  But Mia barely heard him. The rush of madness intoxicated her, eroding every barrier of reason. “This sensation,” she whispered, almost reverently, “is exquisite. I… I want to see more.”

  Even as she spoke, her body warped. Her right arm lost its shape, the flesh dissolving into a writhing mass of water that spilled from red-tinged cracks in her skin. Liquid sloshed around her like a living entity, each new wave pulsing with uncontrolled power.

  Despite the raw pain and horror of the transformation, Mia laughed again—louder, deranged. Knight and Scholar looked on with shared dread, aware they no longer faced the skilled hydromancer from before, but something far more volatile and unhinged.

  A suffocating aura filled the room, the walls shuddering beneath Mia’s violent energy. Her dark, half-crazed laughter reverberated like a dirge, an unmistakable sign that there would be no turning back.

  She flexed her new watery limb, eyes flickering with savage delight. “I still have some control,” she muttered, her voice chilling in its calm. “Let’s see what this new body can do…”

  Mia’s glowing eye flickered—just long enough for a glimpse of Jack’s next move. Yet even with her foresight, she wasn’t fast enough. Iron spikes tore through the earth beneath her, one piercing her arm. She hissed in pain, her limb liquefying to absorb the blow. Frost crackled along her fingertips, launching razor-sharp shards of ice toward Jack. But he was already in motion, his sword morphing into a swirling tempest of blades.

  “You’re not getting away,” he snarled, each muscle tensed for the kill. Mia responded with a burst of water, coiling around his legs in a suffocating torrent. But Jack’s blood flowed freely, feeding the hunger of his cursed armor. With a roar, he shattered the watery binds.

  Behind him, Elizabeth moved like a conductor at her podium, fingers dancing across the Book of Unlovable Blessings. “Slow,” she commanded, voice soft but deadly. Mia’s movements faltered, her vortex weakening under Elizabeth’s debuff.

  For a moment, it seemed over—until Mia’s eye ignited with fierce light. She’d seen this outcome. The ice under Jack’s feet fractured, then erupted like a geyser, impaling his armor and flinging him into the air. Blood spattered the earth where he landed in a ragged heap, gasping for breath.

  Elizabeth cried out, but Mia was faster. Water surged around Elizabeth’s ankles, freezing on contact. The icy shackles held her firm while Mia’s smile curved into cold satisfaction. “I’ve already seen how this ends. You can’t stop me.”

  Jack’s enraged bellow echoed across the battlefield. Spikes burst from the ground once more, converging on Mia with lethal intent. Meanwhile, Elizabeth grasped the Stomach of the Gluttonous Monarch, a void-like maw that devoured the ice in a single gulp. Free at last, she lurched forward to rejoin the fray.

  Jack rose, blood streaming from his wounds, fueling his armor’s relentless thirst for pain. Though his breathing was uneven, his eyes burned with unbroken resolve. Elizabeth, every page turn draining her stamina, pushed through her own exhaustion. The hallway shook from the force of their clashing powers; none of them dared relent.

  Mia stood at the epicenter of devastation, her water-formed arm twisting with lethal grace. A cold smile curved on her lips as she faced Jack, who glared back through blood-soaked armor. “This is pointless,” she murmured—her voice barely piercing the roar of churning water.

  In one fluid motion, her watery limb lashed out, wrapping around Jack’s throat like a tightening noose. He grappled at the liquid coil, armor feeding on his blood in a desperate bid for strength, but it wasn’t enough. Bit by bit, water forced itself into his mouth and nostrils, robbing him of breath.

  “Mia!” Elizabeth shrieked, surging forward with her cursed tome. Yet her vision blurred; pain burned through the empty socket of her missing arm. She remembered too late that every use of their artifacts exacted a terrible price.

  “Mia… stop!” she pleaded, voice cracking. The Book of Unlovable Blessings slipped from her grasp. All she could do was watch, helpless, as Jack’s final cries were swallowed by liquid fury. Spikes burst from the earth—one last frantic assault from his armor—only for Mia’s water to devour them.

  She remained impassive, eyes cold, as Jack’s struggles ceased. His body sagged, eyes dimming to emptiness.

  “One traitor drowned, one to go,” Mia said softly, no trace of remorse in her tone.

  Elizabeth collapsed to her knees, stifling a sob as Mia let the body fall. Around them, the world seemed to hold its breath—silent witness to a vengeance that had devoured them all.

  Jack’s body hit the floor with a dull thud, water still dripping from his slack jaw. Elizabeth’s scream tore through the silence—raw, ragged with grief. She reached out, forgetting for a moment that her left arm was gone. Reality crashed in with cruel finality, and her sobs wracked her chest.

  Mia stood over Jack’s corpse, her glowing eye flickering but her expression cold. No trace of remorse softened her features. Another life ended at her hands—another casualty in this endless cycle of violence.

  A twisted fury ignited in Elizabeth, burning away the haze of sorrow. She staggered to her feet, each breath trembling with rage. The Stomach of the Gluttonous Monarch pulsed at her side, hungrier than ever, feeding on her wrath. Its abyssal maw yawned open, distorting the air with a force that threatened to consume everything—water, blood, even aura. The ground cracked, pulled into the swirling void, as though the entire classroom was collapsing into an endless hunger.

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  For the first time, Mia’s composure wavered. She felt the artifact’s pull, an inexorable drag at the very core of her being. Around them, water churned violently, responding to Mia’s desperate attempt at control. But Elizabeth pressed on, voice trembling with fury and heartbreak.

  “You killed him,” Elizabeth hissed. “I’ll erase you—devour every last piece of you until nothing remains.”

  The gaping maw lurched forward, consuming debris, shattered ice, twisted iron—every remnant of the battle. Mia braced herself, left eye flaring like a beacon in the dark. Slivers of possible futures flitted through her mind, branching, twisting, merging. She saw ways to escape, paths to survive.

  With a swift flick of her wrist, Mia commanded the water beneath her to explode upward. The sudden torrent surged around her in a protective sheath, momentarily disrupting the Stomach’s gravitational pull. Her water-formed arm elongated into a sinuous whip, snapping toward Elizabeth in a bid to end the fight before her foe could recover.

  Elizabeth’s hand shot up, clutching the cursed tome. “Silence,” she hissed, her power slamming into Mia like a mental sledgehammer. Sensations dulled, her movements slowed—but only for an instant. Mia’s watery limb struck Elizabeth with brutal force, sending her staggering backward. A heartbeat later, the Stomach’s suction faltered as Elizabeth struggled to remain upright.

  Seizing the opening, Mia reshaped her limb again. A massive wave crashed forward, threatening to bury Elizabeth beneath its weight. But Elizabeth, battered yet unbroken, drove the Stomach into the floor. Its maw yawned wider, lunging hungrily for Mia’s watery arm. The void’s pull intensified, threatening to dismantle Mia’s entire form. Visions of her own end flickered in her mind, her glowing eye betraying a flicker of doubt.

  Elizabeth spotted the hesitation and advanced. “You’ll be devoured,” she rasped. “You’ll die—a murderer’s end.”

  Mia’s gaze hardened. “I saw this already,” she murmured. With a sudden blast of will, she tore her arm free from the Stomach’s grasp, condensing it into a glistening ice spear aimed straight at Elizabeth’s heart.

  Weak and unable to dodge, Elizabeth braced herself—only for the Stomach of the Gluttonous Monarch to react instead. A grotesque, leathery tongue darted out, wrapping around the spear and devouring it whole. Its vile, echoing laugh reverberated across the battlefield.

  Then the artifact turned on its wielder. Before Elizabeth could comprehend the betrayal, the tongue coiled around her neck and yanked mercilessly, severing her head in one swift motion. Blood sprayed across the floor as her body collapsed, and the Stomach’s voracious maw consumed its final offering, leaving nothing but a grisly silence in its wake.

  The Stomach of the Gluttonous Monarch let out a maniacal laugh as it devoured Elizabeth’s remains. Each crack of bone, each wet tear of flesh echoed through the silent classroom. It turned without pause to Jack’s lifeless body, swallowing him and the artifact he bore in a single, grisly motion.

  The feeding ceased, leaving the chamber eerily quiet. Suddenly, the bag writhed, its form bubbling and contorting into a mass of thick black sludge. Mia’s glowing eye flickered with disbelief—this was never in her visions. She watched, stunned, as the sludge stretched and reshaped, limbs solidifying into a humanoid figure.

  What emerged stood as a young man. Dark purple hair framed hollow sockets where eyes should have been, and two ram-like horns curled from his brow. A crimson robe hung from his shoulders, buzzing insect-like wings fanning beneath, and a slender black tail flicked idly behind him. One of his fangs was missing, giving his sharp grin a lopsided edge.

  “Though that meal was mediocre at best,” he said, his voice both smooth and irritated, “it was enough to revive me…though in this pathetic state.” He ran a hand through his hair, scowling down at his newly formed body.

  Horror replaced Mia’s shock—this twisted creature had devoured both Elizabeth and Jack. She charged, her water-arm reforming into a massive wave. But in a breath, the man’s hand was at her throat, clamping on as though her neck were made of vapor.

  “You look like a savory dish,” he mused, leaning in. His missing fanged grin twisted mischievously, then he pressed his lips to hers in a slow, consuming kiss.

  Horror jolted through Mia’s body as she felt the corruption—the madness warping her flesh and mind—drain into him. The cracks across her skin sealed, her distorted arm reverting to warm flesh. Her once-burning eye dimmed to its original hue.

  Satisfied, he let her fall in a trembling heap. “Much better,” he murmured, a dark amusement threading his tone. His empty sockets almost shone with triumph as he surveyed her reclaimed human form.

  “You were quite a lovely meal.”

  Mia, still struggling to catch her breath, stared up at him in disbelief. Her body—once corrupted and powerful—had returned to its human form, leaving her feeling vulnerable.

  “For that delicious meal you provided me,” the man continued with a lazy, cheerful tone, “I'll let you survive, madam. I should probably provide my name, that’s the least I could do for someone so… delectable. My name is Baal. Baal Zebub, the second Monarch of the Abyss, the Gluttonous Monarch.”

  The name alone filled Mia with dread. The Abyss was a realm few on Earth understood—its horrors whispered in nightmares. To hear that the being before her was one of their Monarchs ignited a primal fear, and her body grew cold.

  “So, you’re the Sin of Gluttony,” Mia spat, trying to push through her fear. Anger flared within her. Her hands clenched into trembling fists. “We worked hard to kill Invidia, and here’s another one of you bastards.”

  Baal chuckled softly, a disturbingly casual sound. “Sin? Oh no, no, no, don’t place me on that level,” he said, waving her words away as though they were an amusing joke. “The Monarchs rule the Sins. And while I am no longer the official King of the Abyss… trust me, my power is more than enough to slaughter everyone here if I wished.” He grinned widely, revealing sharp, mismatched teeth. “But don’t worry, I don’t plan on it. I’ve taken a liking to you, human.”

  Mia’s heart pounded, but there was nothing she could do; her power was gone. Facing Baal—the Gluttonous Monarch—filled her with terror.

  “Now, come on,” Baal said cheerfully, his mood shifting disturbingly. He reached out and grabbed Mia by the arm with a firm, unyielding grip. “There’s a delicious buffet just ahead, and someone was kind enough to leave it behind for me.”

  Mia stumbled as Baal began dragging her down the corridor. They passed through a darkened hallway until they reached a horrifying sight: corpses of A.E.G.I.S. agents lay scattered across the floor, bloodied and broken, and among them, the unconscious bodies of her students.

  Mia’s breath hitched. Her eyes widened in panic as she pulled away from Baal’s grip, rushing to her students’ side. Thoughts flooded her mind. “No… this wasn’t supposed to happen. They had been safe in the bunker. Why had they left? What had happened here?”

  Kneeling beside the nearest body, her trembling hands checked for a pulse. Relief mixed with horror when she realized they were alive—but barely. Their shallow breathing and battered bodies spoke of a brutal crossfire.

  Baal watched her with idle curiosity, tapping his chin. “Are these kids important to you?” he asked, tilting his head like a curious child.

  “Yes… very,” Mia replied, her voice unsteady.

  “I see,” Baal mused, as if deciding something trivial. “Well, since I’m in a good mood, and you’ve been so kind to feed me… I suppose I can heal them. But first, my meal.”

  Mia’s heart sank as she watched Baal stretch his arm forward. His hand morphed grotesquely until a gaping mouth formed in its center. The corpses began to float, drawn toward the void-like mouth. With a sickening pull, the bodies were swallowed whole, disappearing into the abyss of Baal’s hunger.

  Unable to stomach the sight, Mia looked away.

  Once Baal had finished, he snapped his fingers and the air shimmered with a strange green light. Glowing particles rained down, and slowly the wounds on her students began to knit together. Bones reset, bruises faded—though they remained unconscious, their injuries were completely healed.

  “There you go,” Baal said, dusting his hands off as if he had performed a minor favor. “They’ll wake up soon enough, good as new.”