What… what is it?

  That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I stared at the creature before me.

  She lay chest-down, her face uncomfortably close to mine, her golden pupils gleaming with an unnatural radiance. Long, glossy strands of dark fur, no, hair. It cascaded down her back, shimmering under the dim light.

  I couldn't look away.

  It wasn't just fascination; something about her gaze held me captive, ensnaring my senses. My thoughts grew sluggish, my will slipping away like water through my fingers.

  Was I being charmed?! I didn’t know exactly how a charm worked, but this had to be it. The sensation was eerily similar to the description of Lilura’s ability, Lilura, the succubus who could entrance prey with a mere glance.

  "No matter how I look, you are just too big to be an ordinary snail. What are you?"

  Her voice had a strange allure, wrapping around my mind like a silk thread.

  She called me big.

  A surge of satisfaction swelled within me. Being large and towering over others. It was a goal I held dearly, a symbol of power. And now, someone had acknowledged it. But just as quickly as that pride rose, it shattered.

  Because then, she stood.

  Towering.

  Massive.

  I craned my gaze upward, struggling to grasp just how enormous she was. Holy hell. Was anything supposed to be this tall?! No, there was one, Marax. Maybe he was even taller than her.

  Talking about Marax… what did happen to him after the rockfall? The terrain had shifted violently, burying parts of the battlefield. Was he—?

  "I'll deal with you later. I have more pressing matters to attend to," she declared, brushing off our encounter as though I were insignificant.

  And with that, she turned away.

  A deep frown settled on my face, but before I could process my thoughts, an agitated voice cut through the air.

  "Now, evildoers… prepare to be—

  She paused, blinking in confusion.

  "…Where is everyone?"

  I stared at her, baffled. Was she… stupid?

  Something about her gave off a dangerous, unpredictable aura. Not the malicious kind, but the kind that made it seem like she could destroy everything around her without a second thought.

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  My instincts screamed at me to assess her strength. Activating [Comprehension], I focused on her—

  —only to be met with nothing.

  No information. No numbers. Just an overwhelming force slamming into me, rejecting my attempt to analyze her.

  Pain flared through my mind. The sheer intensity of it forced me to sever the skill immediately, gasping as I reeled from the backlash. What the hell was that?!

  A desperate cry snapped my attention elsewhere.

  "Argh! P-Please… save—!

  A man, drenched in fear, scrambled for his life.

  And looming over him was none more than?...

  Marax.

  His massive form was unscathed, his presence more oppressive than ever. He held the man effortlessly, thick fingers wrapped around his neck. The human’s body convulsed in terror, but Marax paid it no mind. He simply squeezed.

  A sickening crack echoed through the battlefield.

  The man’s lifeless form dangled limply before Marax discarded him like trash. Panic erupted among the remaining survivors. Most bolted in different directions, desperate to escape. The unlucky few who remained were paralyzed, frozen by the sheer dominance exuding from the Greater Demon.

  Marax wasn’t about to let them go.

  Limbs elongated, stretching unnaturally as he tore through the fleeing masses. One swipe from him and limbs severed. Another caused bodies to split apart. Some he crushed beneath his growing palms, reducing them to mere stains on the battlefield. Others he merely hacked into pieces with his transfigured arms.

  A massacre.

  Unstoppable carnage.

  Marax was in complete control.

  "Inconceivable! I command you, Greater Demon! Heed my call!"

  A voice rose above the chaos. The so-called leader of these fools had mustered the courage to stand, hands raised as he ordered Marax to obey.

  I didn't think there would be any crazy enough to think they could control Marax, much less get him to submit.

  "We summoned you! You are bound to our rule! Subservient to our—

  SQUASH.

  Marax's palm came down, pressing the leader’s skull into the dirt. A muffled squelch followed as the body crumpled under the sheer force, flattened beyond recognition.

  "Tch. Annoying."

  I figured as much. You don't go flexing your weak self before a Greater Demon. Especially one who held dominant powers like Marax.

  Marax flicked his gaze around the battlefield, searching for something. For someone.

  "Where are you, abominable larva?! Come out and face your doom!"

  His neck twisted unnaturally, muscles tightening as he scanned the wreckage. Shit.

  Before he could spot me, another figure caught his attention.

  "Another?" Marax mused, eyes narrowing. "No matter. Die like the rest of your crew."

  His arm stretched, morphing midair into a jagged blade as it hurtled toward the tall creature.

  This was my chance.

  I turned, muscles coiling as I prepared to bolt. If Marax was occupied, I had a window to escape.

  Were the thoughts I held on to.

  But then—

  I froze.

  Not out of guilt. Certainly not because I owed this strange being anything. I owed her nothing, nor would I risk my life to stay behind and participate in a willing slaughter.

  Rather, I stopped because?...

  Because Marax’s attack never landed.

  His limb? It severed.

  I saw it with my own eyes, but how?! There was no motion, no visible strike, just an instant decisive cut. One moment his attack was extending, the next… gone.

  Marax let out a guttural snarl, but almost immediately, the wound closed. Flesh regrew at an unnatural pace, restoring his severed limb in seconds.

  "A self-regenerating Demon… A Greater Demon, no doubt," the creature mused, eyes locked onto Marax.

  She wasn’t panicked.

  That was unsettling.

  "No chance for peaceful negotiation, then?" she sighed, her tone oddly calm given the situation.

  "You damned! You damned elf! How dare you harm me?!"

  Marax's fury erupted. His entire body trembled with rage, muscles bulging as veins pulsed beneath his dark skin.

  You idiot.

  What was she thinking, provoking Marax even further?

  This was about to get much, much worse.