Kai took a deep breath of forest air, allowing himself a moment of satisfaction. He’d destroyed a puppet and gained valuable intel. The avatar’s blood trickled into his armour. Not enough to refill his essence.

  Shapes lurking among the trees cut his celebration short. They crept closer.

  He sighed.

  His [Easy Prey] Curse was a nuisance, but it proved useful now. The blood donors delivered themselves. Convenient. Attracting prey beat chasing them. The faster he filled his reserves, the faster he’d get back to his crew—and Earth.

  He levelled his sword and rolled his neck, ready for a harvest.

  The shapes didn’t attack. They inched closer, but hesitated. Why weren’t they coming?

  Kai glanced at Botis. The Demon stood with his spear upright, gripping its haft. Malice radiated from his dark armour.

  Shadow sat on his haunches. Jaw open in a yawn, exposing dagger-like fangs. Bone spikes riddled his dark fur.

  Oh. These intimidating bastards are scaring the food.

  Hunting abominations using teleportation was easy enough. But every teleport consumed essence he’d need to replace. He’d been away from his crew long enough. With the Demon reinforcements, they should’ve crushed those weak abominations and cleared a path by now.

  No sign of them yet.

  What was keeping them? Knowing his luck, something terrible and devastating. He had to get back. But arriving drained of essence would do more harm than good.

  “Botis, Shadow, give me some space. You’re scaring Alu’s food.”

  Shadow sank into the ground, creating distance. Botis stood unmoving, like a gargoyle.

  “Apologies, My Lord. But I cannot do that.”

  Kai frowned. What happened to his unquestioning obedience? He could force Botis’s compliance using their soul bond, but that was a last resort. He’d rather not control his subordinates’ enslaved wills unless necessary. Abusing soul commands could foster resentment, forcing him to rely on compulsion.

  Persuasion, duty, and obligation were cleaner ways to manipulate. Better for morale. Same result.

  He lifted his chin. “You’re refusing my orders?” That kinda line usually worked on conformists.

  Botis bowed his head. “I mean no offence, but my orders are to protect you. I cannot abandon you while enemies surround us, lusting for your supple flesh. If I allowed harm to reach you because of my absence.” He shook his head. “I would rather perish, My Lord.”

  His honour and sense of duty trumped his adherence to authority. Honour was for fools, but duty could be redirected.

  Lusting for my supple flesh?

  That accurately described how his Curse affected abominations. But he wasn’t a helpless baby. He was Death God’s chosen heir.

  “Do you think I’m a weak infant who needs your protection?”

  Botis’s eyes darted around, avoiding Kai’s gaze. Seconds passed. He cleared his throat. “That’s…not the issue. As your bodyguard, I must—”

  “It’s my Curse!” Kai took a deep breath, forcing calm. “It makes me seem weak. But you saw me fight Renzo, didn’t you?”

  “The human?” Botis glanced at the avatar’s corpse. His brows furrowed. “You missed every strike except the one he allowed. Though your form was precise and admirable.”

  Not the best showcase of his abilities, to be fair. “I’m tolerating your presence because extra hands are useful. But I won’t let you slow me down.”

  Botis didn’t yield.

  Kai found a compromise. “Hide your presence, but stay close. Jump out if I’m in danger.”

  Botis nodded and sank into darkness. The shadow slid away but remained within Kai’s sensing range.

  He spun his sword idly. “Look at me. Alone and vulnerable. I hope nothing tries to eat my supple flesh.”

  The abominations pounced.

  Warped creatures emerged from hiding, rushing forward. Kai’s dark blade welcomed them. He blurred through them, separating heads, carving flesh, impaling hearts. Blood sprayed and surged into his armour.

  Alu feasted.

  These weaklings weren’t his match.

  When his essence peaked, he ordered Botis and Shadow to return. The remaining abominations grumbled and backed off. Body parts and innards littered the ground.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Kai gestured at the carnage. “See? I’m stronger than I look.”

  Botis offered a tight nod. “Your hidden power is devastating, My Lord.”

  Kai couldn’t tell if that was sarcasm. Didn’t matter. He started back toward the cave. “Keep up.”

  *****

  Kai drained abominations on the way back, refilling the essence he’d spent teleporting. They reached the cave quickly. Botis and Shadow couldn’t match his speed, but they kept up.

  The battle was over.

  His crew gathered near the cave mouth. Demons gutted corpses, retrieving Darkshards and piling them near Alira. She grinned as she stuffed shards into her satchel.

  The path toward the village was clear, except for the bodies.

  Kai’s jaw clenched as he strode toward Alira.

  “Didn’t I tell you to retreat to the village?”

  Alira looked up from her riches. “Huh? Didn’t you send these Demons?” She shrugged. “Things calmed down after we handled the abominations. I thought you’d appreciate us adapting.”

  She gestured toward the forest. “You told us to clear a path—the path’s clear. We needed to recover our essence, so we’re collecting shards before we leave.”

  She grabbed another Darkshard from the pile, throwing it into her satchel. “Moving through the forest with low essence is suicide. And we’ll need the money. Two birds, one stone.”

  Kai’s glare softened. Her arguments were solid, and things had worked out. For now. He pulled out his infinite storage bag and handed it to Botis.

  “Put the shards in the bag. She’s right. We’ll need the money.”

  “As you command.”

  Kai turned back to Alira. “The Demons would’ve protected you through the forest.”

  “They might’ve helped with the abominations, but I don’t know them. I’d rather not rely on the mercy of strangers.”

  Fair point. He scanned the others. Lilith and Merek sat atop Dark Horses, prepared to retreat at a moment’s notice. Silas was in his humanoid form. Dark circles shadowed Rusk’s eyes as he leaned against Butcher. He must’ve fought hard.

  Levi looked fresh as ever, though his expression was dark. He stepped toward Kai to complain, but Kai cut him off.

  “Rusk, get on Butcher. Retreat to the church with Lilith and Merek.”

  Rusk’s eyes widened, but he nodded and mounted Butcher.

  The Demons stopped carving corpses and formed shadow weapons. They positioned themselves between the forest path and the cave. Silas transformed into a walking flame, joining the Demons’ defensive line.

  Old Haggar left the Demon line and approached Kai. “Sharp senses.”

  Botis returned the bag, then gripped his spear. Shadow stood beside Kai, growling. Alira watched Kai stow the bag and followed suit. Levi joined them. Both readied their weapons and faced the forest.

  Rusk, Lilith and Merek galloped toward the village.

  “This is why I didn’t change my orders when I sent reinforcements,” Kai said.

  Dozens of lizard-like abominations burst from the forest, crashing into the Demon vanguard.

  Drakmar.

  They’d struggled to kill one of the regenerating bastards in the First Trial. A couple of Drakmars would’ve torn Kai apart back then.

  Things were different now.

  Drakmar were smarter than the average abomination. They didn’t rush the Demons with reckless aggression. They coordinated strikes in groups of three, creating openings in the Demons’ defensive line for the others to file through.

  Kai vanished and appeared beside a trio of Drakmar who’d broken through. His blade flashed, decapitating one beast before the other two realised he was there. He disappeared again, beheading a Drakmar approaching the breach. Their advance halted—the Demons patched the gap. Demons in the second line surrounded the two Drakmar, attacking from all sides. Two more reptilian heads hit the ground.

  Kai tore through space, emerging near Alira and the others. He shook his head. “Fighting makes noise. Noise attracts nasty bastards like these. Money’s nice, but useless if you die before spending it. Next time I give you an order, how about you follow it to the letter?”

  Alira’s jaw clenched. She gave a stiff nod. “Understood.”

  “I’m not included in that, am I?” Levi’s brow furrowed. “I did as you commanded. Nobody died.”

  “True, but you let Alira ignore my orders and endanger everyone. Don’t let it happen again. If I’m not around to enforce my word, I expect you to step up.”

  “How is that fair?” Levi mumbled. Kai ignored him. Since when was life fair?

  A Drakmar’s jaw split open, black flame pouring toward the line of Demons. Silas thrust out a blazing hand. The fire halted, then reversed, scorching multiple Drakmar. Not enough to kill them—they’d heal unless burnt to ash—but their fire wouldn’t get past the wraith.

  A trio of Drakmar leapt through the air, clearing the Demon formation. Stone cracked under their feet as they landed between Kai’s position and the Demons’ back line. A perfect opportunity to cause chaos.

  But the Drakmar caught sight of Kai and couldn’t help themselves.

  Their long mouths leaked globs of drool. Their eyes burned with ravenous hunger. They rushed toward him.

  He gestured at them. “All yours.”

  Levi huffed as he raised his red blade. Alira dropped into a fighting stance, levelling her ice blade. Botis stepped in front of Kai, angling his black spear.

  Haggar stayed put. Kai looked at him.

  “Too old to fight?”

  Haggar chuckled. “Elders should sit back and let the young ones have a turn. What’s your excuse?”

  Kai shrugged. “They've gotta deal with the consequences of their actions, or they’ll never learn.”

  Levi swiped a finger along his sword. A bloody sphere rose above him, raining red spears on the approaching trio. He blurred, stabbing the farthest Drakmar in the chest. The bloody spears bounced off the others’ scales. Kai started to tell the vampire decapitation was the only way to kill the bastards, but stopped. The Drakmar Levi stabbed turned grey and lifeless, then crumpled to the ground.

  Convenient.

  Botis lifted his spear and threw it toward the Drakmar nearest Kai. The air split with a clap. The abomination’s head exploded as the spear ripped through. Before it flew into the throng of Demons, the spear hung in the air, then returned to Botis’s outstretched hand.

  Impressive.

  The last Drakmar ran toward Kai. Botis raised his spear again, but Kai grabbed his shoulder. “Let her take care of it.”

  Botis nodded, lowering his weapon.

  Alira blocked the Drakmar’s path and swiped at it. Black claws knocked her blade aside with contempt. Its other fist crashed down toward her. She slipped the blow, thrusting her palm into its torso. Ice surged across its upper body, freezing its arms in place. It bit at her in frenzied desperation but caught a mouthful of air. The ice spread to its head, and the Drakmar splintered into frozen shards.

  Scary.

  The Demons kept the Drakmar at bay, but Kai could sense more coming. They couldn’t hold forever.

  He nodded to his rebellious crew members. “Good job. Time to retr—”

  A screech tore through the sky, vibrating in his bones. A deep voice boomed.

  “Impertinent fools! I warned you!”

  Kai had sensed it, but looked up to confirm, hoping he was wrong.

  Hope was a fickle thing.

  Massive wings blocked the moon, casting the area in deeper shadow. Dark scales gleamed like obsidian armour across its body. A Dragon.

  Its jaws widened, revealing rows of teeth longer than Kai’s forearm. Swirling flame amassed at the back of its throat, growing brighter with each second.

  Ashes.

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