Below the Krumbledome’s arena in a sinkhole of debris, Greed snaps her fingers from atop her throne of rubble. Immediately, the dozens of armoured knights at her command begin their charge at Lust.

  Just moments ago, these same knights were scattered across the battlefield, their limp bodies buried amongst the rubble after their initial attempt at overcoming Lust. But after Greed's arrival, the atmosphere of hopeless defeat was flipped on its head. Despite their clearly broken bodies struggling to keep them on their feet, the knights are now throwing themselves towards their almost-certain deaths without any sign of fear or hesitation, fuelled by nothing more than sheer motivation and love for their queen.

  “Gyahaha! Truly wonderful!” Lust laughs, standing proudly at the centre of all the commotion. Flecks of red spray from her mouth with every hearty chuckle, and every movement of her body causes more blood to ooze out from the many wounds torn across her scarred flesh, burnt and blistered in messy patches from Mei-Mei’s explosion.

  Though the expression on her face certainly doesn’t show it, Lust isn’t exactly in great shape either. I mean, when you look at the state she’s in, the injuries of all the Queen’s knights look like paper cuts and stubbed toes in comparison.

  I’ve kinda ignored the thought until now but, realizing this will probably be the last time I get to see her in action, it’s starting to weigh on my mind a little...

  Lust is dying.

  I could smell it on her blood when we fought up in the arena. I can see it in the odd paleness of her dark skin and the way her bright yellow eyes appear clouded over as if struggling to see straight. And most notably, I can tell by the fact that these knights are still alive to begin with. The Lust I fought back at the Spire was smearing inmates and guards across the prison walls with as much ease as butter across hot toast.

  As excited as I was to come down here and join the fray, I can’t shake this odd feeling in my chest that’s keeping my feet glued to the spot. I want to keep watching her. I want to watch this last grand performance of a woman even Mom couldn’t put to rest over their entire thousand-year feud. To bear witness to the final flames of a living legend, burning brightly up until the very end before exploding violently and beautifully into the afterlife.

  It doesn’t take long for the first rush of knights to make their way to her. Lunging at the hulking woman with weapons drawn—

  “Gyahahaha!”

  —They quickly find themselves rolling and spluttering across the rubble once more, having been swatted away by a swift slap or kick.

  Each knight that rushes in to attack her is promptly dealt with before having a chance to attack. But, watching from the sidelines, I can tell that this pattern won’t last forever...

  “Gyaha—! Gyu—?!”

  After brushing one charging knight away, a sudden attack from behind strikes the back of Lust’s knee, tearing a gash down her calf and causing her to stumble slightly before quickly swatting the new threat away as well.

  Though she had sensed it coming, the state of her injuries had dulled her reaction time, resulting in a direct slash to the leg. Although only a small and insignificant injury to someone like her, these things definitely add up. And if you end up collecting too many of them, soon you’ll find that little injury you had might not be so ‘little’ anymore...

  Emboldened by their comrade’s success, the attacks of the knights become quicker and fiercer, giving Lust even less time to react. One gash soon becomes two. Another stumble from Lust quickly makes an opening for three. With each new wound that Lust takes, a fraction of her strength is shaved away, creating another opening for another knight to strike.

  On top of that, it seems Lust no longer has the power to finish them off in a single blow, instead sending their bodies barrelling across the debris where they eventually pick themselves up again, stumble to their feet, and then charge towards their target once more.

  I’m certain their bodies will give out far before Lust’s does, but just how many loyal fighters does Greed have? How many of them are still here in the stadium? How many are out there in the city, making their way here after hearing about their queen being in danger? More than Lust can deal with in her current state, I’m sure.

  As the fight rages on, I notice the nearby Greed chatting away with her golden attendant standing guard beside her.

  “You know, you don’t have to stick so close to me, Lemon,” the Queen tells her, idly kicking her little legs out in front of her. “You can go help if you want.”

  “Your safety is my foremost priority,” Lemon replies. “Should the stadium collapse upon us, or should Lust decide to attack you directly, I will be here to prevent any harm from coming to you.”

  “Is that so...? You know, you looked awfully excited when the others mentioned wanting to hear my stomach rumble. That wouldn’t be the reason you’re sticking so close, is it?”

  “O-of course not, my Lady! D-d-don’t tease me with such preposterous accusations!” the knight stammers back. “Besides, I fear I wouldn’t be of much help as I am now...”

  Stifling a wet cough, the knight tries awkwardly in vain to wipe away the blood bubbling out from beneath the gaps in her helmet with the back of a golden gauntlet.

  “Perhaps if I still had my weapon,” she continues. “I would be of more use...”

  “Wait, you lost your trident? Again?”

  “W-well, it may have slipped from my grasp in my battle against Lust...”

  “You threw it again, didn’t you?”

  “...”

  “Alright, I’ll help you look for it after lunch.” Greed breathes an exaggerated sigh, before breaking out into her signature smirk. “Just take it easy for now, alright?”

  “As you wish, my Lady.”

  With a mischievous smirk still on Greed’s face, the two of them turn back towards the battle raging on against Lust.

  Battered soldiers continue to whittle away at Lust’s flesh, slashing and stabbing at her at every moment they can find an opening in the thrashing woman’s bloodied rampage.

  Hm...? Is it just me or are there more of these knights now? It’s hard to tell since they’re all the same brand of faceless fodder in a silver tin, but it definitely seems like there are more of them now than there was when I got here.

  Turning my attention from the fight for a moment, I notice the occasional knight appear at the edges of the sunken arena before quickly scrambling down from whichever level of the stadium they arrived at and joining their comrades in battle.

  Fwah! There are more of them! They keep on coming too! Maybe we will end up with an entire city’s worth of soldiers dropping into the stadium after all.

  Judging by the way Lust’s freakish grin continues to widen—the corners of her lips threatening to split apart as they stretch across her face—it seems she’s noticed the increase in opponents too.

  I watch on as another knight takes a lunging stab from behind, using the distraction of one of his comrade’s thwarted charges as an opening to attack. With sword held tightly in both hands, the man manages to drive the tip of his blade into the back of Lust’s thigh. However, the sword only manages to find its way through a few short inches of flesh before being abruptly halted by the tightening flex of Lust’s muscular leg.

  Unable to drive the sword further in, the man gives a grunt as he attempts to pull his weapon free again, but it’s no use. The blade is being firmly held in place by the tight grip of Lust’s thigh muscles.

  It was a trap.

  “Hoh...? Finally... caught one...”

  “...?!” The man barely has a chance to react before Lust’s huge hand grips him by the face and slams the back of his helmet into the rubble below, pinning him to the floor.

  It looks like she’s realized she doesn’t have the strength to batter them to death anymore so she’s opted for individually popping each of these knights like little grapes between her fingers instead.

  The man screams out in agony as Lust’s large hand tightens around his head, the crumpling metal of his helmet digging into his scalp as his head is slowly forced into the jagged rubble underfoot. But before she can deal the final crunch—

  “... Hoh?”

  Hunched over the screaming man, Lust pauses for a moment, turning her attention to something along the edges of the arena and out towards a still-intact section of the stadium. From nearby, the low rumble of many stampeding feet can be heard, quickly making their approach. No... Not feet. Hooves?

  Bursting out from one of the open levels of the stadium— Centaurs! A whole herd of half-and-half horse people are now leaping down into the pit and galloping their way through the arena. Charging past the injured knights slowly limping across the battlefield, they make a direct beeline towards Lust, their powerful hooves kicking up clouds of dust in the wake of their aggressive stampede.

  Releasing her grip on the knight at her feet, a grinning Lust turns to face the stampede with arms outstretched, ready to intercept the brunt of their charge.

  “You won’t take any more lives here today!” the male centaur leading the charge cries, before colliding with the towering woman. Slamming his shoulder into her abdomen, the man wraps his arms around her thick torso and attempts to force her back. “For our Leader!”

  “That’s right!” another yells, joining his comrade as he too slams his body against Lust’s. “I’ll never forgive the slaver scum that mistreated our people and this city that allowed it to happen, but if it’s for our Leader...!”

  “Gya...haha...!” Lust splutters out a laugh as she forces them back, each hearty shake of her body showering blood and bile across her attackers, alongside the thick crimson steadily oozing out from each wound across her torn flesh.

  “Because our Leader wanted to save everyone...” Another centaur joins the clash, pushing up against the two ahead of him.

  “As if we could leave our Leader behind...”

  “To save everybody...”

  “That’s what our Leader wanted...”

  Centaur after centaur charges ahead, ramming their large, sturdy bodies into the fray as they huddle together, pushing up against Lust with all of their strength. At first, Lust seemed to have the advantage, but as more attackers continue to pile up against her, it’s clear she’s now struggling to force them back. The terrain of wreckage beneath her feet isn’t steady enough to support her strength, and any attempts to brute force her way forward only causes her toes to grind further into the floor as she’s slowly pushed backwards against her will.

  Where did all these guys come from anyway? From the collars around their necks, I can tell that they’re slaves. Instead of escaping, did they all wanna fight Lust too? I mean, I totally get it. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, after all. Even if I have experienced it twice already.

  They also keep yelling something about some kind of ‘Leader’ or whatever. No idea who that’s supposed to be. Queen Kokoro, maybe? I didn’t think they were on super great terms with the Queen though. You know, because of the whole ‘slavery’ thing and all.

  As the shoving war continues, one centaur in particular rushes in to scoop up the wounded victim of Lust’s attempted head-crushing, heaving the bleeding soldier across her lengthy back and hurrying him out of the fray.

  Seemingly noticing me from afar, her face lights up.

  “Leader!” she calls, before galloping over towards me, carrying the man along with her.

  “Fwah! It’s Buttercup!”

  It’s Buttercup. The cute centaur woman I met back at Cinnamon’s camp. Like me, she’s technically one of Mash’s slaves now after I bullied him into buying her the other day. It makes sense that she’d wanna stick around to cheer on Team Mash during the final fight of the tournament. Not that I know where Mash even is right now.

  “I’m relieved to see that you’re still alive,” she says, trotting over to stand by me as we watch the battle from afar. “As expected from our Leader!”

  Okay, I’m starting to think ‘Leader’ is just some kind of centaur slang for ‘friend’ or ‘comrade’. Like calling somebody your ‘bro’ or ‘homie’ or something. Or like how Mei-Mei always calls me ‘idiot’. Because I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to be the ‘leader’ of exactly.

  “Mm!” I grin back at her. “You too, Leader!”

  “Huh? Me...?” Her face turns noticeably red as she looks away bashfully. “W-what are you saying, Leader? The only one fit for that role is you. I was only following your will. I could never...”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Yeah, I’m still confused. I tried to throw it back at her but she reacted really weirdly to it for some reason. If it is slang, maybe I’m just using it wrong. Let’s just continue to ignore it. That’s probably for the best.

  “Leader, I’m sorry...” she continues. “I know you had intended for me to break our comrades out of captivity and for us to escape this city without you during all the commotion...”

  “Right...”

  “But after I released them from their cages and the stadium began to collapse around us, we began to clear an escape route through the rubble, only to find a group of the Queen’s knights already clearing the way.”

  “Okay...”

  “As we prepared to fight them, they stopped us. ‘You’re friends with that Baby Eater, right?’ they had asked. ‘Well, I just watched her save three of my buddies out there. Consider this our way of paying her back.’ And with that, they helped clear the way, and let us leave.”

  “I see...”

  “But I couldn’t leave. None of us could. Because even though you saved us, and gave us back our humanity, it’s not until now that I finally realized what those things truly meant, as well as the true extent of your ambition. Because it’s not just us you wanted to save, it was everybody. Us, the knights, and even the slavers. Everybody. Friend and foe. Even those that mistreated you. You longed for a future where the entire world could exist without hatred, fear, or violence. That’s just the kind of person you are.”

  “Sure...”

  “So, I’m sorry, Leader. But as much as you want us to run, we won’t do it, even if you order us to. Because we share the same ambition as you now. And we won’t back down until we save everyone!”

  As Buttercup comes to the end of whatever it is she wanted to tell me, she shoots me an expectant look.

  “Mm. Don’t worry about it,” I tell her with an understanding nod. “It’s cool. I totally get it.”

  I totally don’t get it at all. Nor do I understand anything she was trying to say. In fact, about halfway through I stopped paying attention because I saw Lust grab some horse-dude by the hind legs and toss him fifteen feet into the air and I had to stop myself from laughing at how funny it was. Now Mei-Mei and Bran are shooting me a really suspicious side-eye as well, like they’ve just heard something wildly unbelievable come out of Buttercup’s mouth and are blaming me for it for some reason.

  In times like this, I think it’s best to just smile and nod and pretend I know about whatever it is I’m pretending to know about. It seems to work too, as a look of relief washes over Buttercup’s face at my words of reassurance.

  “I knew you would understand,” she says, before turning back towards the fight. “Now, I’m not a fighter, so I’ll continue saving as many injured as I can. But it won’t be long until the others arrive to back you up! Until then, I promise I won’t let anyone else die!”

  “Huh? Ah, uh, yeah. Sure.”

  And with that, the woman gallops away, and I send her off with an absentminded wave. I like Buttercup, but I’m a little too preoccupied with what Lust is doing to think too hard about her confusing delusions.

  At this point in the fight, the weaponless centaurs—in their attempt to hold Lust down—are being tossed around the arena by the giant wounded woman. Losing the shoving match but intent on winning the contest of brute strength, Lust began reaching wildly into the group of attackers and grabbing hold of whatever she could. Arms, legs, fur, tails. Whatever she manages to get a grip on immediately gets sent up into the air with a quick flick of the arm and a hearty laugh.

  Hm? Oh, it looks like another bunch of unarmed slaves has made it into the arena and are trying their luck alongside the centaurs. Just a bunch of dudes—elves, humans, wolfmen—with collars on and not much else. Like, literally not much else. Just a pair of pants. Really tight pants too for some reason. Dammit, why did a bunch of gross, shirtless dudes with tight pants suddenly show up? It’s actually starting to annoy me. And why are all of their bare-chested bodies glistening brighter than the knights in silver armour? Is that... oil? Why are they all oiled up? Isn’t that weird? The hell is up with that?

  “It’s weird, right, Bran?” I ask, turning to the man next to me.

  “Yeah!” he answers back, seemingly just as annoyed as me. “And why the hell are they all greased up?! The hell is up with that?!”

  As expected of Bran. When it comes to complaining about things, I know I can always count on him to have my back.

  Somewhere along the sidelines, a man’s voice directs the greasy shirtless men onwards, skilfully guiding each individual slave across the battlefield as they drive them towards the most optimal positions to strike at Lust from.

  “This is our final performance together!” he shouts. “So let’s make it shining!”

  Oh, right. It’s that guy.

  From the sidelines, Glam the Style Master of the Elitist Four continues shouting instructions to the men under his command. He’s the guy I knocked out of the tournament a few days back by punching all of his slaves in the throat. No wonder all these shiny, shirtless weirdos are running out onto the field. They’re his shiny, shirtless weirdos, all oiled up and ready to be launched into the sky by a grab-happy Lust. Like the Analyst, I guess he decided to stick around and help too.

  Unlike the other day, his annoyingly combed quiff of blonde hair is now a dishevelled mess, and his too-tight clothes are all ripped and stained with dirt and dust.

  I watch as the slaves under his command approach the still-rampaging Lust as she continues throwing knights and centaurs across the field. As expected, as soon as one of them enters her range, it isn’t long before he too is grabbed and flung—

  No, wait! He slipped free! She couldn’t get a hold on him and he slipped free before she could throw him!

  Slipping from her grasp, the weaponless man throws himself at Lust, attempting to hold her down and give the armed knights and more powerful centaurs greater opportunity to strike at her.

  “Fwah! I thought Glam was just a weirdo who liked greasing up shirtless dudes for no reason but it was actually part of his strategy all along!”

  “I dunno...” Bran replies, glaring suspiciously across the battlefield. “He looked really surprised when that guy slipped out just now.”

  “He did,” Mei-Mei adds. “And I’m pretty sure they were already well-lubricated before Lust even entered the field.”

  From the sidelines, Glam the Style Master occasionally shoots quick, nervous glances our way as he pretends to not hear our comments about him.

  Oh. I guess he is just a weirdo after all.

  With the added difficulty of having to peel off the gross, greasy dudes that keep throwing themselves at her, Lust is clearly struggling even more to deal with the onslaught of attackers. Little by little they hack away at her, draining her strength and slowing her movements. On the other hand, the number of her attackers only seems to be increasing as more and more arrive from outside the pit and join the fray.

  And it’s not just people throwing themselves at her either. Along the inner edges of the stadium, people have gathered together across all levels, throwing anything they can get their hands on down into the fighting pit. Stones, bricks, broken furniture, cooking utensils. Whether passing a makeshift weapon down to their fellow fighters or nailing Lust with a heavy handful of something from afar, a random assortment of objects rains down from above.

  From the level directly above me, I can make out two men chatting to each other as they too throw things down.

  “It’s a bit ironic, ain’t it?”

  “What is?”

  “Well, back at the Spire, Lust was the one attacking us from the floor above. Now we’re the ones attacking her from the floor above this time! Haha—! Oof.”

  “Quit joking around, I daresay! This isn’t the time!”

  “Ah, lighten up. You elves are always too awkward.”

  “And you wolfmen are far too boneheaded, I daresay! Just shut up and keep throwing things!”

  “Yeah, yeah...”

  I can’t see what they look like from down here, but the two of them do sound weirdly familiar for some reason...

  “Hey, gorilla.” A tug at the hem of my skirt pulls me from my eavesdropping.

  “Slow loris. Gorillas aren’t cute.”

  It’s Mei-Mei. Trying to get my attention.

  “What even—? No, forget that. Look.” A squinting Mei-Mei points a finger out in front of her, dragging it slowly along the air as she tracks something running across the battlefield. “What is that? I can’t see it from here.”

  "Hm...? It's just some gross, little— Oh! Wait, it's that girl goblin! The kinda cute one!”

  “Dammit. And what’s she doing?”

  “She’s... Fwah! She’s attacking Lust! She just jumped onto her back and now she’s clawing at her neck!”

  “Don’t sound so excited about it, idiot!” Mei-Mei complains. “Dammit, where’s that sweaty greaseball that’s supposed to be looking after her? I haven’t had the time to study her Curse yet and I won’t be able to if Lust suddenly—”

  “Ah...”

  “... What happened?”

  “Lust threw her.”

  “...” The only response Mei-Mei can offer is a defeated sigh.

  Well, I’ve seen many of those little green gremlins survive worse things than that. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Probably.

  Watching the battle rage on for a while, it soon becomes clear that Lust will not be winning this fight. Her body is too torn and bloodied, and she no longer has the strength to deal with the overwhelming numbers that continue to swarm her. If Mom hadn’t wounded her so badly back in the Spire, this would have gone down a whole lot differently. I’m not sure the city would still be standing if that were the case. Hell, I don’t know if I would still be standing.

  This time, it’s my turn to breathe a sigh.

  “Alright. Guess this is my last chance...”

  —And then I take a step forward.

  If anybody’s going to finish off Lust, it’s going to be me.

  Reading my intent from the centre of the arena, Lust lets out a tremendous laugh.

  “Gyahahahaha!”

  Her laughter rumbles across the broken stadium, shaking the fractured foundations of the collapsing structure, and the hearts of all within earshot. An instinctual fear washes over the arena, and those who were so boldly charging at her just a moment ago are now frozen in place, chilled into stunned hesitation.

  Using their moment of fear as an opening, she swipes a thick arm across the air in front of her. Despite the state that she’s in, it still has the strength to blow her attackers back, shrugging every last one of them off of her in a single swing like flies. It’s a feat of strength only somebody like her could pull off.

  The force of effort immediately sends her into a coughing fit of blood and vomit, but still she doesn’t fall. Instead, her clouded gaze is fixed towards me.

  “I see! ‘Tis finally the end, is it...?” she muses aloud, a grin still on her face. “I was having such a wonderful time, I did not notice it creeping up on me!”

  “... Mm.” All I can do is offer a short nod in reply as I continue my slow walk across the sunken arena.

  The sounds of battle have completely died down now, save for the murmurs of laboured breathing, the creak of the collapsing stadium, and the soft crunch of dirt and stone debris beneath my bare feet with every step I take towards Lust.

  All eyes are on the two of us now, with no one daring to make a move for fear of crumbling under the weight of such a heavy atmosphere.

  This is it, huh? The final battle to the death against Lust. The woman even Mom considered a nuisance. Maybe even her rival. This situation is like a dream come true for me. So why am I feeling so bummed out about it...?

  It’s a question I already know the answer to.

  It’s because I’ll miss her.

  I haven’t had the chance to know her long, but I like Lust. And it’s not just that I like her. I truly respect her too. She's a woman who lived her life the way she wanted to and clearly had a blast doing it. She’s the same as my mom and sisters. And now I’m going to be the one to put an end to her fun. Just like I did to my sisters. Just like I did to Mom that day I was born...

  “Gyahahaha!” Lust’s booming laughter snaps me from my sour thoughts, causing me to stop in my tracks. “Why such a regrettable expression? ‘Tis not a face one should be making afore the climax of such a thrilling battle!”

  “...” I open my mouth to answer, but she soon interrupts with a wet chuckle.

  “To be dealt a fatal wound by my beloved Gluttony, to then be given the opportunity to fight her daughter to the death! ‘Tis truly wonderful indeed!”

  “...”

  “I could not have asked for something more wonderful! ‘Tis a highlight of happiness in a life lived to the very fullest! If I was to have but one regret in this moment, it would be...” Lust pauses for a moment in thought, before breaking out into laughter once again. “Gyahaha! I can’t seem to remember! ‘Tis completely slipped my mind! Gyahahaha!”

  Ah, Pepper... How could you be so damn lame?

  Shaking the useless thoughts clouding my mind, I face the grinning woman across the field and offer her a grin of my own. The absolute biggest one that I can.

  —And then I laugh.

  “Fwahahaha!”

  Today, Pepper Black is a woman who is going to live up to the title of Strongest Demon! And not just because I want to make my family proud or follow in their footsteps, but because I want to send Lust off with the final satisfaction of knowing that she was beaten by the absolute strongest there was! And most importantly, I’m going to have fun doing it! More fun than Lust even! I’m gonna beat her at that too, dammit!

  With a grin on my face, I explode off of the ground, pumping my muscles into overdrive as I cut across the sunken arena in a direct beeline for Lust. The fractured floor of dirt and rubble cracks and shatters beneath each heavy step I take forward, and the muscles in my right arm throb in anticipation as I wind up a killer punch fuelled with every last ounce of greasy chicken protein coursing through my body from my feast before the fight.

  “Gyahahaha!”

  Lust does the same, exploding ahead as she clenches her fist in excitement for the imminent final clash to come.

  Anybody unfortunate enough to still be standing across our path quickly finds themselves either diving to safety in a hurry, or forcefully shoved aside without a second thought.

  As we sprint towards each other with wild abandon, ready to unleash every ounce of strength we’ve got in our next and final attack—

  A fluffy flash of white suddenly appears ahead of me.

  As if suddenly appearing out of thin air, a girl is now stood in my path with arms outstretched, urging me to halt. Her skin tanned, and her hair white, with two fluffy little ears sitting just above her fluffy white head.

  It’s Biscuit.

  “Fwah—?!”

  As soon as the memories of her come flooding back into my mind, I immediately grind to a halt to stop directly in front of her. Surprisingly, Lust does the same, stopping just a short distance away from the two of us.

  “Fwah! Biscuit! What’s up? Actually, do you mind giving me a second first? I’m just gonna finish off Lust real quick and then we can talk all you want. It shouldn’t take too—”

  Biscuit cuts me off with a sharp shake of her head. Her body is trembling, and her cheeks are stained wet beneath puffy yellow eyes, reddened from the tears she’s clearly been shedding.

  “I think...” she begins, arms still outstretched and in a voice so soft only I can hear her. “... I think Lust might be my mom.”

  ...

  “... Fweh?”