???

Kashi's measured gaze regarded the flaming figure with interest. "If I may be so bold as to inquire your name?"

The figure pulsed as if considering the question. "Yes," it decided. "I suppose it would be difficult to converse with someone whose name you do not know." It continued as Kashi nodded, "I am called Ruse, Primate of Merriheim. You have intruded rather rudely into my domain. Repercussions for your ignorance will come soon enough. But first, this claim you have. Is it true?"

"My Lord!" Froy interjected. "Surely you do not take this heathen's words to hea—"

"It is," Kashi confirmed.

"Shu—"

"Froy!" The flames incensed in tandem with the primate's rapid rebuke. They relaxed soon after. "Do you question me!? IN front of a prisoner no less!?"

Kashi glanced at Froy and shrugged. He said nothing, but his mocking eyes held clear meaning. Failure, man. Yous a failure.

Froy struggled to maintain his emotions in check. He glanced wistfully at the hammer that lay at the dwarf's feet. That seemed to calm him down some. He turned to the primate and bowed, remorseful. "My apologies, prime. It would seem I require more training."

"See that you get it," advised Ruse. He returned his attention to the daeben. "My subordinate does have a point, misguided as he is. While I do believe your claim, could you give us an example of such information you hold? To appease those," he glanced at Froy, tone bitter as he finished, "who would doubt my judgment."

Kashi closed his eyes in thought. A minute later, he opened them, having reached a decision. "Fine, I suppose I too am in the mood for a little story-telling. Let's see what would be the best part. Ah, how about the moment he finally acquired the ability to reach for the gods themselves."

"Every one of our members, down to the cleaners, know the story behind the calamity."

Kashi smiled. "Then, I suppose they also know he was originally a Summoned?" Froy and Nadir's confused gazes answered that question. "And that like all Summoned, he suffered under a limiter? Do they also know of how he finally re—"

"Enough." It might have been Kashi's imagination, but the flames seemed to be smiling. "You just confirmed beyond a doubt your knowledge of our god." The flames pulsed as if in laughter. "Rejoice daeben; you get your wish. We will extend your life until we extract every last piece of knowledge from you." Kashi made to say something, but Ruse continued, "Do not attempt to return to your world. If you are ever found out of your body, we will destroy it. It's been a week since your capture. After observing your fellow Summoned, I'd say that gives us four weeks to collect all we need. Not a lot of time, but we'll take what we can get before you warn your guild members."

"So you figured me out," Kashi admitted with a short laugh. "Well then, you have four weeks to torture and gain your information, while I have four weeks to escape and slaughter all your men." Red eyes gleamed above a sinister grin. "May the best man win."

"Oh, this won't be a contest," Nadir promised as he cracked his knuckles. The flames snuffed out with a rush of laughter as his fist connected with Kashi's face.

Several hours later, Kashi twisted his neck. He released a sigh at the 'crack' which was followed by a surge of relief through his neck muscles. He then spat out blood and winced as he licked his sore lips. The injury had already begun to heal, good. "Surely, you aren't done?"

Nadir's eyes widened with fear as he took a step back. He had spent several hours on the daeben with every weapon available to him. At first, the halben had been reluctant to use full force, so he did not kill the daeben before time. However, he soon abandoned that notion when all that met his attacks were a series of low grunts and winces. "You schcuck! See if I don't wipe that expression of your face!" He made to raise the clawed whips, but his swing stopped short of the daeben. Sweat poured down the halben's face as he realized he had run out of strength. "Damn armor," he cursed. "Putting too much weight on me."

Kashi's playful gaze met his. "Sure, it's the armor."

Nadir raised his hand but stopped mid-way. "No point to this. We'll continue tomorrow." He turned to two ghouls stationed by the door. "Put him with the other one. It should be happy after months without a friend," he said, a malicious grin corrupting his features.

The ghouls stepped forward and hoisted the daeben to his feet. Kashi looked into Nadir's eyes and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Wha-" BAM! Nadir crumpled to the floor from the force of Kashi's forehead against his nose. He blanched at the flowing blood as he shook his head in an attempt to regain his bearings.

Kashi glanced at the ghoul to his right and shrugged. "He slapped me twice." The ghoul tightened its grip around his arm. "You heard the man: away with me."

Kashi glanced at the dwarven statue as the ghouls ushered him past. The priest, Froy, had looked at this thing with disturbing lust. Then there was the way his blood was reacting to it. It definitely raised suspicions. He added finding out the truth of the sculpture to his to-do-list. Four weeks he had told the primate. In reality, he only had about three at the most – three weeks to complete all of his objectives.

During Kashi’s deliberation, they climbed up a flight of stairs, out of a dungeon, and were now crossing a stone bridge. A grin spread across the daeben’s face at the structures of stone built into the vast caverns, but more importantly, the men and women who glared at him with unbridled hostility. The heat of all the flowing rivers of lava and stinging sulfur could not match their intensity, and burning hatred. "Found you," Kashi softly announced in a sing-song voice.

The ghouls pushed him across, and soon he was temporarily lost to the dwarfs' hate-filled glares.

Outskirts of Meilfour.

Merriheim.

30th Jundalph, 1093.

Kashi stumbled, breath ragged as he fought to sustain consciousness. Blood trickled from a terrible gash on his forehead, down the length of his cheeks. His left arm hung limply to the side, also severely bloodied. His right rand balanced on a quiver of arrows buried in the earth as he dropped to a knee, features twisted with pained fatigue.

It had been little over thirty minutes since Hektor, and the felines made their escape. Since then, he had managed to hold the line against the ghouls, until eventually, all their focus shifted only to him. It was tiring and bloody work, but he had managed to stay alive so far. As long as he stayed that way, Hektor should have enough time to warn the others, so they set up a defense perimeter.

Kashi made to his feet, but they buckled underneath him. He collapsed to a knee, unfocused eyes struggling to see into the fiery distance as a maniacal laugh reached his ears.

The ghouls parted, and a man he would later come to know as Nadir stepped forward. "Fool! You crossed Chaos! This is your punishment!"

Kashi tuned the idiot out as he boasted about his guild's greatness and the daeben's eventual demise. Kashi focused his thoughts on one question: had he done enough? Any more than this and his life might seriously be in danger, especially now that they seemed to have brought a general.

However, just as Kashi was about to give up, a recent memory gently invaded: A song Lunette had composed because of their desperate battle against Belrug. A song she wrote so she never had to rely on something like the 'Book of the Damned' again. He chuckled to himself as he scrolled through his inventory and pulled out a pair of headphones. He wondered if she was performing the same song at her concert.

The Emporium.

Meilfour, Merriheim.

30 th Jundalph, 1093.

Lunette and Shadow glanced at each other as shouts of "Encore!" "Encore!" filled the Emporium—the sheer force of the choreographed desire sent shivers down her spine and the stadium's walls.

The duo glanced at Lufer, who shrugged with a knowing smile. "The people are waiting."

"Say, sis," Shadow called as he strapped on a guitar. Without the [ Amplify ] skill, no one could hear his voice over the din of the crowd. "You ever think this would happen?"

"What would?" Lunette asked.

"Us, here, now. Playing for a crowd this big. Did you ever think we would make it?"

Lunette's eyes washed over the crowd, taking in the joyous screams and whistles sent her way. She fought back a sniffle. "I wasn't sure we'd still be alive, let alone make it this far," she admitted. "But I had to stay positive. Lord knows you weren't a source of optimism."

Shadow snorted. "Yeah, right." He too glanced at the crowd who had begun to quiet down after realizing their wish would be granted. "Damn it, my debt to that asshole keeps increasing. We really owe him big time."

Lunette nodded, a soft smile playing on her lips. "That's why we have to do everything we can to repay him." With that, she waved to the crowd with a beautiful smile. [ Amplify ] activated as she called out, "Hello, Merriheim!" The audience screamed their greetings back, with bonuses like "We love you, Lune-chan!" "Marry me!" Lunette chuckled as she continued. "This song is dedicated to all you adventurers out there who like to brave dangers. When things get tough, and you can't seem to find a way out, I want you to remember this song..." [ Amplify ] temporarily switched off as she whispered, "Wherever you are." [ Amplify ] reactivated, she led softly, voice washing the crowd with the sensation of relief after a grueling day's work.

You are listening to Final Stand

Rejuvenation: Health Regeneration increased by 25%

Mana Regeneration increased by 28%

Haste induced:

Agility increased by 25%

Duration: 7 Minutes.

Kashi wobbled to his feet, staggering left and right before balancing awkwardly by spreading his legs. His breath steadied, surrounding flares reflecting in awoken blood-red eyes. Black headphones crowned his head, Lunette's daring voice urging him on.

Nadir paled when he saw the vials in the daeben's hands. "Quick! Finish him!"

Five ghouls, already aware of his heightened magic resistance, raced towards him, the air exploding beneath their feet as they kicked off.

Kashi lazily ducked, allowing the first's clawed hand to swing harmlessly overhead. The daeben staggered forward, then shot off the ground. He slammed into the body of the second, and they both collapsed in a confused heap. Kashi was the first to recover, springing to step behind the lot of them.

Kashi downed both potions in one swift gulp, grinning as the effects swiftly took over. However, one of the downsides to having a large amount of health reared its head. The potion barely restored 50% of his total health. His mana, though, was almost full.

Kashi evaluated his position. His quivers were buried in the earth behind the five ghouls. Over a hundred ghouls and their general were at his back. He swallowed a deep breath, then softly released. Thanks to Suzuki's training with the Gladiators, the daeben could better picture the art of circulating power through one's body.

The energy he released as he accessed both Ferulic's Spirit and Drakul's Dream caused the earth to rumble in anticipation. Small pebbles levitated off the earth as his mana began to take on a physical form. Settling into a stance, he challenged, "Come!"

War cries tore through the night as ghouls rushed as one towards their prey.

Even through Lunette's desperate cries, Kashi could hear them coming. He stomped the ground, channeling Ferulic's spirit into the earth through his legs. BOOM! Ghouls were launched into the air by serpentine earthen dragons, which then arched downward and crashed against another cluster below.

The ghouls, unable to feel pain or fear, continued their charge over the exploding corpses of their mates. Kashi slid his right foot down and to the side as a ghoul charged from there. His foot destabilized the advancing ghoul, whose outstretched arm he caught with his left. He placed his palm on its mid-riff, tossed it over his shoulder and face-first into the earth. He quickly broke its arm, then slid the armored glove it wore off it.

Kashi jumped back as an ax slammed down and beheaded the ghoul. Debris scattered around from the tremendous impact. Without a moment's pause, he dashed forward and climbed onto the ax. Two steps up, and he was up over it, with his legs wrapped around the large ghoul's neck. He donned the glove as he twisted in place. The ghoul crumpled as its neck snapped.

Kashi rolled to his feet, dodging arcs of fire and ice, respectively. It seemed they'd decided to go for it regardless of his resistivity. Good choice. A slight tightening around his right wrist drew his attention, and he looked down to see, and he looked down to see the armored glove had fitted itself to his hand, a large, dull gemstone at its center. Well, time to test out his theory. A chance came the very next second.

Kashi caught a sword's edge before it could cleave through, his eyes boring into the ghoul's. Kashi yanked forward, drawing the ghoul closer. Kashi released the sword and grabbed the ghoul's face. With a loud cry, he channeled his mana into the glove. BOOM!

The gem and ghoul exploded in unison. The latter from thousands of volts directly to the brain, while the former from the undammed spirit force that invaded it. Kashi had no time to admire his recent discovery as he dropped to the earth, dodging a supersonic kick launched at his face. Kashi kicked hard against the gems in the supporting leg's boots. The ghoul's eyes widened in question as it was suddenly launched high into the sky by the explosion beneath his feet.

Kashi kicked toward the heavens, raising dust as he did. His fist broke through, along with an air dragon that exploded on impact, knocking onrushing ghouls on their backside. The daeben continued his lone struggle against the impending horde, weaving, kicking, and yelling his way through the roaches.

However, no matter how many Kashi blew away, more just appeared in their place. For every one he kicked down, four pounced. But a contradiction to all this gave Nadir pause and prevented him from joining the battle—the more desperate the situation, the wider the grin on the daeben's face.

What's more, despite the ghouls overwhelming numbers, they had not managed to land a single life-threatening blow. A scratch here and there to whittle Kashi down sure, but nothing that could endanger him. His fears turned to joy when eventually numbers won, and the ghouls pounced on the daeben like hyenas on their prey. They piled on top of each other, choosing to suffocate or crush him beneath their collective mass. "Hmph, its ov—"

BOOM!

A blood-curdling roar rent the night as ghouls were tossed aside like ragdolls. Nadir felt his blood freeze at the Draku—no, no, it wasn't a drakul. Drakul's had long snouts like that of a lizard. This thing looked human, save for the scales that lined its body, and the tail coiled on the ground. Fear gripped Nadir as he realized the impossible reality. This wasn't a Drakul's transformation. This was the form reserved for the highest beings in the food chain... the fabled Elder Dragons of Skyrmdoor!

Nadir raised his sword, and mana pooled into it. He couldn't allow Kashi to complete this transformation! Not now, not ever. He had to silence this infidel now. Fortunately, the time between conversions was a being's weakest point. He swung down, and a steady stream of raw energy advanced on the beast.

Instinct kicked in, causing the Draenor (Dragon-man) to turn to the stream. It raised its left hand. Pff. The mana diffused harmlessly against the Draenor’s arm.

"Not done yet!" Nadir cursed. The mana pools on his armor swirled, then pulsated, granting him even more power—power he then transferred to the stream. However, despite his best efforts, he could not even scratch the monster. "Fire!" he cried. "Fire! Fire! Fire!"

The ghouls heeded his desperate cries as each fired a respective streak and form of energy at the beast. The Draenor roared in defiant protest as it suffered their attacks, determined to stand its ground.

"Maximum output!" Nadir ordered. "I don't care if your gems shatter! Kill the damned thing!"

The Draenor fell to its knees as the assault intensified threefold. Its arms dropped to the earth to support its body but soon gave way. Duff… It then collapsed to the ground.

"Don't slow down now," Nadir ordered. "Kill the damn thing!"

ROOAR! BOOM!

An explosion of wind and pure energy blasted the ghouls aside and overloaded all gems in the vicinity.

Nadir frantically tore off his glove and tossed it to the earth as an orchestra of explosions announced the birth of something greater than all—something that lived beyond the confines of human reasoning.

Night-black wings unfurled, wiping away dust clouds as a serene form peered into the sky above. It raised a clawed hand to the sky, then paused. "...Not yet, huh," it muttered. Solemn scales burned off as the daeben once again collapsed to the earth.

Nadir slid down a crater the recent explosion had created, to the daeben at its center. He raised his blade, weapon poised to end Kashi's life.

"Stop."

Nadir frowned, as his superior ordered the daeben's return... Alive . He hated it. As a warrior, he knew a threat when he saw one. This daeben was not just a threat to his master, but potentially the entire Order. However, there was nothing he could do about it. Right now, orders were orders. He hoisted the daeben over his shoulder and clambered out of the crater. He administered a sleeping drug that was to work on Summoned, just to make sure, then tossed him onto the back of his horse.

Nadir mounted, then with one last disbelieving glance at the crater, he galloped hard.

Fifteen Minutes Later, Hektor returned with Jade and Syèl. But by then, it was too late. All traces of Nadir and Kashi’s battle had disappeared from the entire region.

Meilfour, Merriheim.

2nd Muriel, 1093.

Kashi glanced at the deep, well-like depression the ghouls dragged him to. So this was where he would be spending his time for the next two weeks. Both ghouls shoved from behind, and he advanced to the edge. He estimated about a ten to fifteen diameter range. Kashi glanced down the rabbit hole and sighed. What the hell, might as well get it over with.

The ghoul stopped him before he could jump. Kashi looked at the ghoul's outstretched arm on his shoulder. What now? The ghoul kept the gloved on Kashi's shoulder as another of its kind unlocked the chains that bound his legs.

Kashi released a relieved sigh as they also removed the shackles on his. He massaged his wrists and was about to give a word of thanks when... BAM!

Kashi whirled around and glared at the ghoul who had kicked his backside. Gravity took over as the force evened out, and dragged down the pit. He righted himself mid-air, then crashed against the hardened earth, crouched low to absorb the impact.

Kashi raised his head in shock as something growled and barrelled him to the floor. He tussled with the being and was forced to stifle a cry as it bit into his shoulder. "Get off!" Kashi screamed as he kicked against the ground.

The force pushed both Kashi and his assailant towards the wall. Kashi then pressed his hand against its chest and pushed it back over his head. Bang! Its head slammed against the wall with a sickening crack, then fell limp over his frame.

Kashi pushed the unconscious assailant off of him, wincing as he massaged the spot its fangs had dug into. Exhausted, he sat down and took a deep breath. He tapped against the assailant to check if it was still alive. Its chest rose to the touch, but that was the least of the daeben's concern. He hadn't noticed due to the adrenaline, but now the unmistakable softness beneath his left hand worried him.

Activating [ Dark Eyes ] confirmed his concern. His assailant was a girl—more specifically, a female daeben. Much worse, however, was the realization that came with the floating diamond above her head. She was a Summoned.