They say bringing fists to a knife fight is foolish and knives to a gun fight equally so. Today, I was bringing fists to a magical knife fight.

  The debtors of Charles’ grand wish-making empire came with the full force of a beast that knew that it may not have another chance to eat again. Ravenous gazes and reckless charges converged in the center of the cells. Directly atop me.

  It truly was perfect.

  I ducked under a sword that spewed ice from the edge. I punched up at it, knocking the sword upwards and freezing my knuckles. Frost coated my arms and I moved to counter. But, instead I twisted my body to dodge a spear with a white-hot tip. I raised my forearm and blocked a crushing blow from a fist covered with a Sin-got gauntlet.

  Frenetic, frenzied attacks assaulted me from all sides in an attempt to overwhelm me. There were openings to return fire, of course. No group of strangers could perfectly coordinate without coming across issues.

  The ice sword and a sword made from bone smashed into each other in an attempt to find the same piece of flesh. Screams from the black fire within the blade clashed with the freezing gale to create the sounds of a failed Arctic expedition. Within that window the discord created, I delivered a solid punch into one of the demons.

  They were flung backwards into the cells and smashed into the wall with force. But, they immediately got back up to their feet and resumed the melee.

  It was like that for all the attacks I delivered. All of the victims of my strikes were strong enough to require at least two. Even if I was unable to use full force to keep my defenses high, none of the demons sent to kill me were pushovers. While a couple had died, none were blood balloons waiting for me to pop.

  Charles always had an eye for quality.

  I flushed the hallway with tar and the group leapt backwards. I sprayed my acid and demons with large shields and armor that bled mana stood in the way to take the brunt of the attack. The group stood around me, waiting for the tar to end and to rush back in. Those there was desperation within them, there was no foolishness.

  They had good senses as well.

  I leapt from inside the spray of tar, my fist pulled fully backwards and my stats ready to do significant damage. The demons on the other side showed surprised expressions, but did not look panicked. The shields in the front were raised and the demons behind braced the front for the incoming impact.

  My fist smashed into the shield, pushing the entire formation back by a few feet. I heard a few grunts from the demons all being pressed together in a mass of flesh.

  But, they held.

  A fist sized dent remained in the defiant shield wall. It taunted me, ordering me to obliterate it and any hope that they carried with it. As they scrambled to recover, I punched it again, sending them further backwards.

  It still stood.

  The demons from the other corridors pushed through the tar. Burning black sludge clung to their bodies, but I did not pay attention to them. There was something more important to be destroyed first.

  I punched, over and over again. Until the demons behind me bore down on me. I slashed my axe tail behind me, catching someone in the chest while I punched another time. I took a spear to the shoulder, but punched again. Now, the shield was more dent than anything else. The hand that held it was rubbed raw by the forces that were inflicted upon it. Their arm appeared broken, but a look of determination carried in the eyes that waited just behind the metal surface; held up by all the demons behind it.

  No nail stands defiant to the hammer. I gripped my fingers on the shield and ripped backwards. The support behind the demon braced for a push and did nothing to protect from a sudden pull. I heard another crack as the weakened arm failed to keep a hold of the shield.

  I turned around and smashed the shield into the ground, blocking the path behind me before I shifted the tar to plume around it like a black geyser. Shouts and scrabbling could be heard as the demons reorganized and moved backwards.

  The demons that once held up the shield had demons swarmed around him. The ground shook as a massive club was slammed into the ground. Spikes of concrete shot up from the floor, trying to pierce my heart. With an open-palmed strike, I turned it to dust.

  “It’s far too crowded, isn’t it?” Charles’ voice sprang up through the universal intercom. “Allow me to remedy that.”

  A rumble covered the building. My footing was tested beneath the violent movement from the floor. The stones tilted and tried to send me sliding backwards. I dug my talons into the stone and anchored myself to the ground.

  The mass of demons that were now slightly above me, unable to keep their weights up, tumbled down into me.

  I turned the situation into a feeding frenzy. The first demons to fall found themselves in a blender of fists and teeth. But, quickly, too many demons fell and a wall of flesh smashed into me. My talons popped free and we were sent into the shield which also was quickly overwhelmed.

  As we all fell, I gnashed at anything that was close enough to my teeth while swords and spears and axes tried to pry open my scales and get into my flesh.

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  The hallway opened up behind us and the concentrated mass fell in all directions like the world’s worst group skydiving event. Those of them that could fly or levitate pushed themselves away from the group. I flapped my own wings, but the demons around me gripped their arms around my wing and kept them from moving.

  “If that’s how you want to play it,” I said with a grin.

  I wrapped my arms around as many of the demons as I could and maximized my defense. Seeing my response, some correctly tried to pry themselves free of my grasp, but I would not let them. Most remained resolute, determined to see me to the bottom and earning my deep respect.

  Eventually, the ground delivered the greatest punch. A loud wet crunch surrounded me as the air was forcibly expelled from my lungs.

  A loud metallic crash rang out right next to me. I turned my head to the side to see the metal kennel joined me down at the bottom.

  All around me was death. Mushed bodies, mangled limbs, crushed skulls that oozed blood and brains surrounded me. I flung myself up to my feet and saw that a few had survived. Cushioned by the deaths of others, they tried to get away from the carnage.

  I would not let them.

  With the large space at the bottom of the corridor, I was able to use my favored strong attacks to the fullest. Damaged bodies were obliterated into their finale from my most powerful punches. One, two, three, four; all but one of the remaining demons from the pile had perished.

  I watched them run, trying to find where their weapon had fallen to. Suddenly, they lacked confidence. I could smell it. I craved to push it further in a frenzied chase.

  It was not so much a chase as they could never have hoped to outrun me. I sprung into the path they were running in and planted my feet. I could see their eyes widen; calculations were run at record speed behind eyes that rapidly looked in any direction that could get them away from me.

  A direction that didn’t exist.

  They did not stop in time to prevent themselves from running into my fist at full speed. I don’t even think they registered the fact that they had died. Like hitting a parked semi at over a hundred miles an hour, there was nothing left of their upper torso, just a red mist that spread through the air.

  I looked around to see a ring of demons surrounding me while several more flew in the skies above me. They did not intend to waste the sacrifices. They all moved at once at similar speed. They composed their forces in a way that there was an even distribution of spearmen. The ground beneath me turned into sucking mud that caked my feet and ankles. Slowly, they were learning to work better with each other.

  With great discipline, they struck forward in unison, focusing on my more immobile legs. Burning, cold, acid, and all other sensations met me as they leaked through the small wounds they managed to take.

  Arrows and javelins rained from above, sticking into my wings and trying to keep me grounded.

  I pulled my leg against the mud while I sprayed my [Draconic Breath] in all directions. As soon as I got my leg free, magical chains sprung from the ground and snared both my legs. More sprang up to try to immobilize my arms.

  I raised my fist and slammed it into the ground as hard as I could. The concrete split open on impact and a large fault line spread through the floor. The shaking forced the demons to brace while more projectiles rained from above.

  I punched again, growing the crack significantly as it spread underneath of the demons who began to keep attacking with spears while others blocked with shields.

  The crack started to reach the walls and slowly climb up. I could hear the structures groan as they were weakened beneath the damage I was causing.

  A small hammer was flung at me. It hit me square in the head. Lightning scattered in all directions, causing my muscles to spasm involuntarily. Another volley of attacks scraped against my scales, eroding my defenses.

  Seeing the effect of the hammer, more lightning came my way. A lightning bolt appeared in a flying demon’s hand and was flung down upon me. An explosion of light rocked the room, temporarily blinding and deafening me.

  But, this one was only damage. Even without sight or hearing, I still knew where my fist was and where the ground was. I punched again, feeling the multitudes of pain hit me in hopes that I would eventually be passivized.

  I could still feel the vibrations in my feet with each punch, whispering to me that the next one would surely be the one that would bring it all down. When that promise wasn’t delivered, it would tell me again that it was close. Just another hit. Endure the pain a little more. Live just a moment longer and soon-

  A punch smashed into the ground and I heard the satisfying crack that I was hoping for. The ground lurched and rose unevenly. The magic and stone that held it together had broken and it could no longer keep its shape. Rooms formed around demons before collapsing with them inside. Bloody fountains and surprised screams sprung out at random. Large chunks of concrete fell from the sky. One crushed a flying demon before landing atop part of the ring.

  No amount of coordination could work its way through the chaos. Some tried admirably, but their wary eyes were too focused on surviving the room than cornering me.

  The mud and chains soon disappeared, the focus or life required to maintain them extinguished.

  But, I was glad to join them on their uneven ground. I flung myself into their disorganized ranks, punches and tar were sent at everyone and everything. They tried to rally, to surround me and kill me, but there were too many openings; too many opportunities where a lapse in focus allowed me free reign.

  While they feared what the room’s collapse would do to them, I harbored no such fears. Crushed by a rock, mangled by wild magic, or turned into a pin cushion, none of it mattered for I needed them all dead, even if I did manage to survive.

  “As your numbers dwindle, I will only grow stronger!” I proclaimed, throwing another punch that ended a new life, allowing me to purchase a level and raising the limit of my [Hoard].

  Slash, punch, bite. Rip and kill until there was nothing left. At a point, I began to resent the kills that the room obtained as though they were stealing directly from me. Their flesh wouldn’t sate me like the ones ended by my own hand. Flaps of meat from the deceased dangled from my mouth while I tried to collect more.

  Then, like a glass dome dropped from a desk, the mana shattered completely. We were sent flying through the ether in all different directions. Wild magic struck me from every direction, ripping away chunks of my vitality. I could hear screams all around me as though they were directly on top of me. But, I saw and felt nobody. I was simultaneously overcrowded and impossibly alone.

  In a belch of magic, I was sent back out into the world. Blood and bricks and mana sprayed me into a rock wall before it all imploded back into the void.

  I laid still on my back, breathing heavily and recovering strength. I seemed to be in a cave. What cave and where, I had no idea. At the very least, I didn’t seem to be in a Dungeon. There was an exit somewhere. But, for now, I could afford to take a short rest.

  A sharp pain stung my chest. My eyes drifted down to see a black arm reaching out from my shadow. A dagger that exuded black wisps was clutched in its hand. Blackened blood spilled from the wound causing waves of pain to wash over my body with every heartbeat.

  “How long were you in my shadow?”

  “Since you first left to meet Grendel,” G?lge answered impassively. The shadow man rose from my silhouette and stood over me. “You never know what a wild dog will do when it runs out of things to bite.”

  “You came at a good time. All of my other playmates are dead. I needed some new flesh.”