Jean quickened her pace; Ilya's coughing was only getting worse. “What happened after I blacked out?”

  “That bastard Ian slashed us all with the same sword he attacked you to infect us. He didn’t kill us after; he piled us up without touching us right where you disappeared.”

  Jean's indignation only increased. “And what happened to the king?”

  Ilya coughed for quite a while before she was able to speak. “After giving us the beating of our lives, Ian amputated the king's hands and thrust the sword into his belly! The strangest thing was that he didn't resist.”

  “Why only kill him? Was it because of his blood?”

  Ilya held back the coughing. “He didn't kill anyone! The king didn't die.”

  “What?! But you just said...”

  Ilya writhed in pain while holding back the urge to scream. Seconds later, she lost consciousness.

  “No, no, no! I have to hurry!”

  Jean ran up to an intersection. Two long corridors on either side with closed doors, and a third path leading deeper but without any doors.

  Jean carefully placed Ilya on the floor and kicked the doors. First normal, then imbuing her leg with red. Nothing she did mattered. The doors dissipated the damage by glowing in an almost black purple tone. A magical seal protected them; her power wasn’t enough.

  On the verge of bursting with anger, she opened the map and checked the arrows. They changed to mark a new path toward the doorless opening. She rushed down with Ilya in her arms. Anger boiled inside her; she wanted to hit Ian in the face with all her might.

  Guilt gnawed her soul too as she descended the endless corridor of large ashlars. She eventually descended a set of 5 steps, sometimes more, but no matter how far she went down, the monotonous surroundings seemed infinite. There were no cobwebs, no souls, no... sound?

  Three men's voices were heard up ahead after finally reaching a turn. Jean didn't slow down even when she saw the light of two torches in the distance. She considered pleading for help, but they sounded untrustworthy.

  “Hey, man! Did you hear that?”, said the one with the loudest and deepest voice.

  “Yes! Something's coming!”, replied an older man.

  “Wasn't that area sealed off?”

  “Get ready, it might be one of those goblins!”, said a third man, the youngest by far.

  Two of them interrupted her path as they unsheathed their weapons. Before breaking through at any cost, she decided to give them a chance. “Out of my way! I have to get to a shrine!”

  Two torches passed to a single bearer. The young man. The other two threatened her with their large two-handed swords. “Stop right there! You're not going anywhere!”

  Jean stopped. She knew that they couldn't see her yet in such darkness, and took the opportunity to put Ilya on the floor. Curled up in a ball, the young girl was shaking uncontrollably. That made Jean's heart shrink so much that she unconsciously raised her voice until she almost screamed. “I'm going to repeat it one last time...!”

  “I don't care if you repeat it thirty times, bitch!”, scoffed the older one.

  “I carry someone with me at risk of succumbing to corruption. I myself am infected. If you bother me one more second, I'm going to feed on your FUCKING SOULS!”

  The young man took a step back, but not the other two. However, they thought about it when they saw a red glow running towards them.

  “Oh, crap! She's a Berserk!”

  “Haven't you heard about the eating of our souls part?! What if she's a demon?!”

  The other also had doubts. “I've never fought a Berserk, let alone a demon.”

  “Shut up, you fucking morons! You're so dumb you believe everything anyone tells you.”

  “But what if…”

  “Even if that were the case, you have nothing to fear! I've fought some myself! They all die when you cut them in half or pierce their hearts!”

  The other two looked at each other hesitantly, but not so much as to give ground. Identify made an appearance on the seventh step, giving Jean a pretext to vent the stream of anger drowning her.

  Human Player

  Alignment: Hostile

  Level 22

  Name: Ok-Zor

  Skills: [Mist Slash], [Mist Thrust]

  Marks: [Bandit], [Killer], [Thief], [Rapist]

  Highest Attribute (Strength): 29

  Details: An enemy of this level should not pose a challenge to you despite your affliction.

  “Motherfuckers! I've made it very clear that I need to get through because someone is dying and you... You…! Don't expect mercy!!”

  “Cut the fucking chatter and attack, bitch! Or are words all you've got?!”

  For the first time, Jean prepared to use advanced effects. She had never done so until now because of the high mana consumption, and because she believed it was more important to reserve it to be able to heal herself in case of emergency. That mattered little at the moment.

  Her body glowed red, yellow and orange. She didn't equip any weapon, she simply charged with the shield ahead.

  “Hey man, she looks big! Fucking big!! Are you sure you already fought demons?!”

  “If I ever hear you doubt me again, I'll kill!”

  Her mana dropped to almost 50%. The air around her vibrated as she passed; the corridor was about to become a boiling kettle.

  “Are you looking at that?! That's not a Berserk!! She's a fucking Champion!!”

  “Shut up and attack at once!!”

  Very few people could do what they witnessed with their eyes wide open and their hearts pounding. Even so, they stood their ground. They took a step forward as they raised their greatswords above their heads. Their blades began to surround themselves with a strange halo that advanced at great speed forward, slicing the air in its path after the descent of their weapons.

  Dozens of sparks flew on impact against the shield, slowing her onslaught. The shield deformed and almost broke in four, but held up thanks to the new brown effect.

  The men began to prepare the same attack, but it was too late. Jean was one stride away from running them over. The impact sent the attackers crashing into the wall on either side while sending the last one flying through the air. He and the torches flew more than 8 meters.

  Jean put her knee on the chest of the boldest one and began to punch him. There was anger bottled up in every blow. From remembering her life on Earth. From feeling betrayed. From her helplessness. Everything enraged her. Every breath of air she took only fueled the frustration inside her more; she should never have never trusted Ian.

  The young guy grabbed one of the torches and hastily crawled away in terror, leaving behind the unmistakable smell of urine and shit. “She's a demon! A demon!”

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  The cries of pleading and pain woke Ilya. The sight was terrifying. The two bandits desperately tried to stop Jean's relentless punches to no avail; she was especially careful not to crush their heads or break any vital organs.

  “JEAN, ENOUGH! STOP, JEEEEEEAN!”

  Ilya's voice was like a beacon in the storm. Jean noticed her hands dripping with blood. It didn't feel good to realize that she acted like a child crushing a snail for fun.

  The whispers also asked her to calm down. There was no need to keep remembering young Jean savagely beating some children at school, taking revenge for what they had done to her friend. There was no need to remember that that act opened the door to the abuse she received later. The beginning of the hell that had changed her and never let her be herself again, that had led her to end up suppressing her anger until her will was practically broken.

  “Sorry, I've... I've lost my mind!”

  With two punches, she exploded the skulls of the bandits, illuminating everything in red. She transmuted their weapons and devoured their bodies to immediately pursue the one with the torches. He had managed to gain some distance, but realizing that he couldn’t escape from her, his legs faltered and he fell flat on his face.

  “No, please, mercy!”

  Jean stomped on the ground. ”Which way is the damn way to the surface?“

  “Don't take me to Oblivion! Please! I beg you!”

  Jean clenched her jaws. “Either you tell me which way is the way out to the goddamn surface, or you're next!”

  “The surface?” The guy looked both ways and then at her. “It's too far away and it's too complicated to get out. Besides, why would you expose yourself to the sun? You'll get burned!”

  Jean rolled her eyes. “God! This guy is a moron!”

  “Go ahead! If you do something stupid, it will be the last thing you do! Are we clear?!”

  “But I don't want to go to the surface...” Jean raised her fist imbued with red. The guy cringed and started to cry. “...t-the others will kill me if I do!”

  “What others?!”

  “The boss and the others!” He managed to say, snot running down his face.

  “How many are they?”

  The guy thought about it for a while. “Five hands?”

  “Five hands? Are you... Ok! It doesn't matter! Are they stronger than these two weaklings?”

  He nodded. Jean went back to Ilya and took her in her arms. She looked very weak. Devouring was the only thing that brought good news.

  [You have gathered a lot of new genetic information. After combining it with the material you have already obtained, you have created the following skills:]

  [You have learned Mist Thrust — Basic Rank.

  Energy projection in the form of a thrust. Its power decreases with distance and has a maximum range of 5 meters. It consumes stamina and no effects can be added to it.]

  [You have learned Mist Slash — Basic Rank.

  Energy projection in the form of a slash. Its power decreases with distance and has a maximum range of 5 meters. It consumes stamina and no effects can be added to it.]

  [Block and Deflection Weapon Mastery has increased to Expert Rank.

  You are now able to block and deflect attacks regardless of their power; block attacks from all angles without destabilizing yourself; and finally, add expert effects to this weapon mastery].

  [Efficient has increased to Expert Rank.

  You consume 15% less mana and stamina.]

  Jean stood in front of the defecated guy. “Lead the way! If you hinder me, I'll crush you! If you lie to me, I'll crush you! And if you piss me off, rest assured I'll crush you! Have you understood, worm?”

  The guy struggled to his feet, his legs resembled those of a newborn fawn. “Don't take me, please! Don't take me to Oblivion!”

  Ilya raised her hand to get Jean to look her way, but it remained an attempt. That didn't stop her. “What was that for? You did the same thing with the goblins.”

  “They deserved it! Torturers, murderers and rapists deserve everything bad that happens to them! I spare this one because he's just a moron who got together with the wrong people!”

  “You're going to kill them all to help a thief?”

  “If they don't step aside, you betcha!”

  Ilya coughed deeply and then closed her eyes. The whispers alerted her that she was approaching stage two. In a couple of hours, it would be irreversible.

  Jean hurried through the interminably long corridors. After a few more intersections, she caught sight of a burly guy with a torch in the distance. “What's going on? Why the rush?”

  The moron replied as if he had forgotten that Jean was there. “Help! I found a demon!” He was quick to cower as he realized his mistake. He turned around to the darkness where Jean hid and muttered. “Sorry!”

  The other man was too far away for the light of the torch to reveal Jean's presence, and her footsteps were mistaken for those of his companions. “Cut the nonsense! I'm not in the mood!”

  Not seeing Jean, the fool thought she feared her burly companion. His chance was now or never. “A demon is on my heels! Warn the boss if you don't want to end up in Oblivion! I've seen it with my own eyes! He's already taken Ok-zor and Vam!”

  “Stop with the tasteless jokes! I didn't feel like entering this shitty place either and I put up with it! It's not my fault that the door seal vanished on your watch”, he said pointing to the open door he was standing at.

  The fool dodged his companion and climbed up some side stairs. “By the gods! Did you shit yourself?!” Behind him were more bandits. None of them took his attitude very well. “Enough of this bullshit! And where are those two slackers?!”

  “I tell you the damned truth! A demon is behind me! She's very strongz...” He was so nervous that he bit his tongue.

  Jean watched them from the refuge of darkness as she explored her possibilities. A room filled with bandits and dimly lit by their torches cut her off. The roots of a large tree peeked out from one wall and the floor, but the strange thing was the hundreds of runes engraved in a patterned border on that same wall. Ornaments that extended along the walls and pillars. She also caught a glimpse of a perimeter walkway leading to a second floor.

  What had that place been? An ancient tree god worship hall? What was clear was the spaciousness. There was plenty of room to fight with a certain amount of comfort. However, she wouldn’t do it yet. She put Ilya down again and she finally approached. Her footsteps broke the awkward silence on the bandits' side.

  “Your friends have hardly served me as a starter! They made the wrong choice to block my way. I want nothing from you! I'm just trying to get someone to a sanctuary to heal her. Let me pass and you will live!”

  Six men unsheathed their weapons as soon as they heard her voice. All armed with long swords and wearing furs over dirty, deteriorated clothing. They posed a normal threat, and minus the moron, they were all murderers and rapists. There was even a torturer. Very nice people with whom she felt like discussing the violence that was pressing to come out.

  The bandits gathered at the end of the corridor through which Jean slowly walked along. The moron couldn't help but raise his voice in panic. “What are you doing?! Go call the boss!! She’s very strong!!”

  “She's only level 13! If you want to go cry to the boss, go! We'll stay and chat with her!”

  “Yes! Especially chat!” Everyone except the moron started laughing. “Tell the boss we won't touch her if he leaves us have fun with her later. But, if he doesn't hurry, we'll start without him.”

  The moron stood staring at them not knowing what to do. “Run!!!”

  Jean observed the situation with a smile. Their lustful gaze and wicked smiles didn't lie. On Earth, she had never aroused anyone's lust; she had nothing that men were interested in. However, although feeling desired by them was revolting, she had to keep smiling. “Do you want me to get ready for your boss or shall we warm up a little?”

  That caught them off guard, but none of them put away their weapon. However, the biggest surprise was about to happen. She took off all but her underwear.

  The whispers informed her that her mana was already full again, ready to be spent wildly. “Come on, guys! I'm sure we can figure out how to kill time!”

  “Buy me more stones, please!”

  Jean sensually caressed her generous bust and then slowly slid her hands down to her waist to finally hide them behind her ass. There, she rearranged the weapons in the quick-access and equipped one of her last remaining stones.

  Hidden from the light of the bandits' multiple torches, Jean cast Explosive Rune on it. Slowly. Very slowly. Imbuing it with Perception, Dexterity, Agility and Wisdom effects. There was not a single flash to make them wary, but none came close. Lustful yes, but not stupid.

  “What are you waiting for? Are you going to make me do it by myself?”

  They looked at each other. They didn't believe that after threatening them, she was serious about sex. Four of them stepped forward with a tent in their pants. They had never seen such a beautiful woman and it clouded their judgment. It was a mean looking, rat-eyed guy who interceded. “Let's see if you're so arrogant when the boss arrives!”

  Jean backed away very slowly, diving into the darkness of the long corridor.

  “Where are you going, bitch? Don't chicken out now!”

  She snorted as her contemptuous look was the last thing they saw. “I'm not interested in cowards and weaklings!”

  “What did you say?!”