But wait.
Would Alicia really revel in the suffering of others?
Sure, she was perverse and sneaky, but she was also quite pure.
{Master, the contradiction.}
Moving on.
Was this guy afraid to fight back?
Or had I boiled his blood so much he saw me as his executioner?
Not that it mattered.
Even if he attacked, Abaddon's Jaw would eat up all his magic—
Making it seem like I had an invincible nullifying barrier.
So really, it was pointless.
I had even blessed him with some of my "etc." abilities—Which Platform refused to show you guys, by the way—
And Mr. Devil was…
Hmmm. Not looking good.
He had blood coming out of his eyes.
It had only been fifteen minutes or so.
Was he okay?
Was I being too harsh?
Maybe he needed a rest or something.
No!
A warrior never rests!
I didn't rest when Sarvest was on me like a horny rooster, not until Dearth saved me.
So…
"Trigger, Tamayo, Shizuka, Hachiman." I called my generals. "You can also bully him if you want."
They were more than happy to obey.
I warned them he was quite powerful. But they didn't care.
Tamayo even whined about how she could handle it on her own.
They were shadow summons anyway.
If they died, I'd just resummon them from the Shadow Realm.
So death?
Not a problem. Would it even be considered death anymore?
What I did want, though,
Was to see what they brought to the table.
And…
Let's just say—
They were meaner than me.
Trigger scattered that Owl-head of his, while Shizuka moved like a tyrant, slipping between his perception and biting the living darkness out of him.
Since they traveled through shadows, Mr. Dumb Devil never saw them coming. Every time they emerged, his reaction was the same—stunned, frantic, scrambling to defend himself.
Though, I had to give him credit. He was probably thousands of years old, meaning he wasn't stupid.
He just wasn't ready for this yet.
So, should I show him some respect? Maybe let him kill my subordinates?
…If he could, that is.
He relied a lot on hellfire, which was no joke. Even for me, that was a high-level spell.
{That is incorrect, Master. You can, in fact, use the Hellfire spell far better than the devil.}
(Haha, this is news to me, professor Platform. I mean, I've never even used the spell in my life.)
Great. Another ability I had but never got around to testing.
One day, I just knew I was going to yell, "Platform, Hellfire! Now!"
And she'd probably say, "Oops. Sorry, Master. That was just a normal fire spell. My mistake."
I could already see it happening.
{Master has such little faith in me.}
(After the stunts you pulled with Pluto's sword and Levina's battle?! Of course I have little to no faith in you!)
Meanwhile, Trigger slapped Mr. Owl-head so hard he soared through the sky.
It was almost pitiful—the way he was flapping his wings, desperate to escape—only to realize this area belonged to us now.
Tamayo had used one of her insane, reality-warping powers to cut off his flight. Combined with my overwhelming magical pressure, those majestic wings of his were now purely decorative.
Before he could crash, Shizuka's deadly ice darts funneled toward him. A logical person would defend, and he did—throwing up layered barriers in a frantic attempt to shield himself.
But too bad.
They all passed through, utterly tearing into him and freezing his insides.
Courtesy of Tamayo's reality warping.
Any other being would've died instantly from just one of Shizuka's ice shards.
But this devil?
He was still hanging in there.
Shizuka's stats were stacked, same as Hachiman's.
Shizuka was kind of an ice princess of death, while Hachiman? A swordsman-wolf hybrid with a tail that could morph into a silver curved blade.
That thing could slice through steel like a piece of wet paper.
{Elite Jōnin: Shizuka}
Frozen Shadow – Supreme Gift: Freeze.
{Elite Jōnin: Hachiman}
Severer – Supreme Gift: Swordsman.
Apart from their main specialties, both had various abilities similar to Trigger, like [Shadow Creation] and [Fear Aura].
Seriously.
I mean, SERIOUSLY.
If these guys ever turned on me, I'd definitely frown.
And before our lab rat even hit the ground—like they had some personal vendetta against him—the three Specters lunged.
Growling. Tearing. Devouring.
I didn't know if they were hungry or just mean, but they shredded him without hesitation.
He curled up, using his arms to shield his head—
Yeah, a safety precaution, by the way.
Take notes. Always protect your head and neck when attacked by a predator.
I had assumed Shizuka would be the laziest of the bunch, but nope. She was the real monster here.
She pinned him down with one paw and started tearing off his dragon wings.
…That's gotta hurt.
The wet snap of tendons, the harsh crack of bones—I could hear every bit of it.
Shizuka was a menace.
Says the Fenrir who literally told her to bully him, though.
At that point, the devil panicked and unleashed Hellfire again.
Clever.
The Specters scattered instantly.
Oh, it seemed as though, he wanted to fight back now!
But sadly...
"You've had your fair share of fun. Let me trample on him too."
Tamayo entered the show.
By now, my four horsemen of the apocalypse—actually, just the Phantom Fangs—had already battered the monster reptile into submission.
And yet, against all odds…
It didn't shrink back.
I almost respected it.
This is kind of random, but back in Gihon, I once watched humans cook fine dishes, purely for entertainment.
They had that dead-eyed, resigned look while they worked, though.
…Was it because they were nervous? Shy?
A glorious and majestic, 20-foot-tall Fenrir was watching them, after all.
Still, I picked up a lot about reptilian cuisine that day.
You never know what skills will come in handy in the future.
I'll be sure to impress the guys with my cooking prowess!
(Platform, you still remember all the recipes, right?)
{You forgot?}
(I forgot.)
*
Tamayo didn't just trample the devil.
She unleashed everything. All her tail abilities—on him.