[Ishmael]

  Of course the castle was covered in crosses. More of the followers of that false prophet who promised heaven to those that don’t deserve it. It figures that the folk of the cloth that made their way down here would be the ones foolish enough to bite at Ecstasy. It made sense that they forewent speaking ill of the rest in exchange for going after the one that they perceived as the folly of womankind.

  I wasn’t blind to the attitudes of those that prayed alongside me. I heard how they spoke of their wives and daughters. Rumors would bubble up and disappear about what happens in their households behind closed doors. There was a prevailing thought amongst those men about the women in their lives.

  Property.

  They view Ecstasy as a purely feminine beast and find safety in denouncing her when they do not chase after the rest. Though, it didn’t help that it had been the only form I’d seen so far. But, I wasn’t here to philosophize over why a bunch of old church folk hated a succubus, I was here to swallow this place whole.

  I saw fires already burping out of broken windows by the time that I flew over the location. I wondered if Ecstasy outsourced this job to multiple people.

  I wasn’t going to wait and find out.

  It was a perfect opportunity to try out my newest combination. I focused my mind on a location atop the roof. Though it was difficult to spot at this distance, I saw my black mana accumulating atop the castle.

  I pulled back, my flaming fist cocked back and primed for the trigger pull. I swung my fist forward. Though it fully extended, I felt the mana continue to carry it forward. In an instant, my flaming fist appeared right on top of the magic resting on the castle roof.

  [ICBM]

  The castle exploded upon impact. Golden light and flames danced around inside the structure. I could hear yelling, but, from this distance, it was all an incomprehensible screech.

  A few golden spells fired up at the sky towards my position. Most missed, but the ones that did connect harmlessly bounced off my scales and dissipated into dust. It stung slightly on my scales, but I saw no indications of damage done.

  “What a downgrade,” I sighed. “Alright, let’s clear you motherfuckers out.”

  I flapped my wings and dropped into the castle like a bullet train. I summoned my tar on the floor. This time, I wanted to make some impact. I would punch it personally with my full might and leave nothing but ash behind.

  More golden spells and shouts came up to stop me, but it was like throwing pencils at an enraged bull. Pokes and prods did nothing to slow my destructive descent.

  A golden ball formed around my body. I crashed through it, my momentum slowed slightly at the impact before another golden barrier shatter. And another. And another. All combining to slowly arrest my speed.

  Good, keep fighting, keep trying; it’s pointless. I can end this whenever I so please. Show me your last desperate move before this place disappears.

  “Ishmael!”

  My eyes flicked over to see a burning woman with a horse skull plastered on her face. It hadn’t felt long since we had last seen each other, she hadn’t looked like she changed at all. The charred corpses around her made me smile.

  I decided that I would do a good deed today. I could feel the hatred radiating off of Vendetta’s body. I feasted upon the corpses that piled high around her, their stats growing my own to far greater heights. I would give her the keys to blow this fucker all the way up to Heaven. I needed to see it, how far she would go.

  “Ignite it,” I offered.

  “Gladly.”

  There was no hesitation. There was no consideration over whether or not it was a smart idea. She didn’t even think about whether or not she’d survive and whether or not I’d let her return from the grave. As soon as I gave her my spell, she launched a torrent of fire right on top of it. I smiled, for these idiots were the ones that were going to keep me perfectly safe.

  “Wait! The fire, stop the fire!”

  Ah, I knew that voice. Armaros crawled his way out of the shitter to be here. No wonder she was so incensed. Good, he should have had the opportunity to die at her hand in the first place. I maximized my magic to the fullest to allow her the greatest grand finale possible.

  “Bomber.”

  As soon as flames touched the tar, the whole world turned white. A roaring explosion deafened my ears and buffeted my free protection. The barriers broke one after another before a diluted blast smashed against my reinforced body. Even with all of that protection, it still hurt quite a bit. My body steamed as I dropped down to the ground. My feet slammed on the carpet, sending Armaros’ and everyone else’s ashy body parts into the wind.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  There was nothing left of the fortress. Vendetta’s hateful flames left only steaming corpses in its wake. My mouths appeared from the void to consume everything in sight. Enemies, allies; everyone except for Vendetta and Armaros.

  The demon of hatred died where she stood. Her magic turned her body to a blackened husk. I touched her gently and her skin disintegrated.

  “You showed me something amazing, you deserve to wake up. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for everyone else.”

  “Who are you?” A voice commanded.

  I saw a group of armored demons approaching my position. Unlike the priestly robes of those within the fortress, these looked like knights; crusaders. Either way, they looked at me with a great deal of hate. But, there was just something about them that disinterested me. I couldn’t really bring myself to care.

  “I don’t have time for any of you,” I said. “You’re too late, go home.”

  The armored demons looked at each other in confusion. It appeared that my bored attitude wasn’t what they were briefed to expect.

  “Not before you tell us where our allies are.”

  “Oh, is that all?” I asked. I moved my hand down and patted my stomach three times. “Sorry, I ate them all.”

  The group rushed me. There were about a half dozen that moved in unison. Their weapons appeared out of their inventories, all of them glistening with mana enchantments.

  I scratched the scales near my ear hole. I don’t know if it was because of all the bodies I just ate, but all of them looked quite slow in their movements. Never mind sprinting, these guys looked like they were moving at a brisk jog; people who would wake up at 4:30 in the morning to hoof it around the neighborhood and lose a few pounds.

  [Bomber] ripped into the first one. I could see their surprise at how fast I moved. Their chest cavity erupted, their body too weak to face someone with their own personal style.

  Their flesh spread out all over the ruins of the fortress, causing the rest to hesitate. Only one had the bravery to keep on the fight, determined to make it so that their comrade’s death wasn’t in vain.

  [Bomber].

  More scraps of what used to be a person spread out over the landscape and into the eager mouths of [The Devouring]. Now, the demons that stood in my way were truly horrified by the situation. It appeared that, with this newest consumption, we had reached such a stat gap between us that they could hardly withstand my [Aura of Fear].

  “It seems that the lot of you aren’t worth my time,” I said. “Go away, you’re boring me. You’re staining the memory of somebody who was strong.”

  But they all stood there in place, looking at me with stupid expressions. Was there fear so great that they couldn’t even think?

  “Let’s do something fun,” I suggested. “If you run away, it means that you don’t want to be eaten. If you stay put, then you want to die.”

  They looked at each other and then back to me. Idiots.

  “Start running,” I snarled.

  All four of them started to run away. They kept looking over their shoulder at me to see if I was going to pursue.

  I wasn’t. Instead, black mana hung in the air behind them. It offered cover for the flaming fist that was swinging forward.

  [ICBM].

  All four of them were gone in an instant; turned to meat and swallowed whole. Silence, once again, returned to the battlefield.

  I heard movement near me. The fire demons body was nearly done reassembling itself. My interference with her sworn enemy’s regeneration had guaranteed that she would win the race back to life.

  “You’re back with the living,” I said to Vendetta.

  “Armaros!” She screamed as she scrambled up from the ground.

  Her eyes widened as she looked at the destruction wrought upon the fortress. That surprise turned to confusion as she looked around and saw that this fortress was no longer populated by anyone, friend or foe.

  “Where’s everyone?” She asked in confusion.

  “I ate them, they won’t be returning,” I answered plainly. “As for Armaros, he’s right there. I figured you’d be upset if I consumed him without you seeing.”

  Vendetta gave me a blank look. I wasn’t sure how attached she was to her new followers. I just assumed that she viewed them as expendable. If she really fought for them, I could be convinced to give them back. Maybe.

  “Thank you. I have something special planned for him,” Vendetta said with a smile. Her fist burned bright with black flames. She continued to incinerate the regenerating body, delaying it for a few more futile moments.

  “Ishmael…”

  We turn our heads to see three more demons looking at us in abject horror at the carnage that had been unleashed. I could see the three of them shaking in the face of my [Aura of Fear], my stats dwarfing theirs.

  A gorgon, a headless bitch, and…

  “Yoshitsune,” I say, a grin crossing my face. She didn’t waver when she looked at me. “I didn’t think that you’d show up. You’ve been ignoring my messages. I was upset. I was hurt.”

  I could see Yoshitsune flinch when I said that; the soft-hearted woman that she was. There was no rage in her over the death of her comrades. There was hardly any emotion on her at all, just pure shock.

  “It’s alright, none of that matters now that you’re back,” I reassured. “I’m a forgiving person, I’m sure you have a very good explanation. Come with me back to my place and you can tell me all about it. I have a nice little tower in the southwest. It's boring, but I think you prefer it.”

  A twisted expression crossed Yoshitsune’s face. A war waged deep inside of her. Those stupid ideals were making her beautiful again; frustratingly beautiful.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  Maybe that was what I was truly attracted to; a hopeless situation. There was no other reason to be with Miranda. There is no reason to keep trying to win back a person that does not align with who I am. But, I had already made one concession to sacrifice a thing I loved. I was not so willing to make another so soon.

  “No,” She said again; this time, far more emphatically. “I will not return with you. I must overcome you if I wish to save you.”

  “Save me?” I asked with a chuckle. “Save me from what?”

  “Yourself,” Yoshitsune said regretfully. “You need to have the chance to be a good person. You have to abandon all of this violence.”

  “Are you making me choose between my two loves? I’m sorry, Yoshitsune, but I’m not the kind of guy that likes to give things up.”

  Her sword slid out of her arm and gleamed in the perpetual twilight. I licked my lips at the sight of the weapon. I wanted to know how badly it would bite into my flesh. I needed to know just how far she would go to put me down.

  “Then I will force you to.”