I had just stepped into the fucking Demon Lord’s palace.

Before me, I saw a big room with pillars. Walls and floor, everything was obsidian. The only lighting came from blue mana lights sitting atop silver decorations. The ambiance gave off an eery atmosphere.

There were traces of glistening blood on the gray-black tiled floor.

「Allen: HA…」

The situation was so absurd that my neurons shut down.

「Allen: HAHAHA!」

I laughed, driven by hysteria and euphoria. Everyone was determined to drive me insane.

Klenn with his microaggressions.

The Cougar, for making it awkward as fuck.

Master Zavir, for being a stubborn broken record.

The stalker spirit, for harassing me when my pants were down.

Radendouche, whom I could have shared mutual success with but chose to antagonize me.

Demons, for killing those who first showed kindness to me.

Feras, who brought hurt to my friends and prevented me from freely enjoying my dreams.

Alher, for being a bitch who hated me for petty reasons.

And this fucking kingdom…

For making me walk to the final boss without even a shred of warning.

But it was okay,

because I was here to

KILL! MAIM! BURN!

Technique users, and mages, all stern-looking and seasoned, poured from the portal, taking repair behind me. This was a fucking suicide mission.

『Blackfist: Be our shield. We’ll do the heavy lifting.』

Fuck that, I thought, smiling. If I have to kick the bucket, I might as well go all out.

「Allen: BLOOD SHALL FLOW APLENTY.」

Random words came out of my mouth while I checked that the chainsaw was safely secured to my left gauntlet.

「Blackfist: First Group, with me! Second Group, defend the portal! Third Group, cover our back!」

The commander was shouting orders, then glanced my way.

『Blackfist: Be ready to follow my directions.』

A hissing shout came from our right.

「Demons!」

My gamer reflexes, honed by countless hours of deathmatches, kicked into action. The demon’s head exploded, hit by the bolter projectile. I didn’t even need aim assist. Not that I had implemented it yet.

+100 EXP

The demon wasn’t alone. Four more demons, their skin color ranging from red to blue, launched a simultaneous magical attack while taking cover behind the small archway they had appeared from.

「Allen: 【SHIELD】!」

As soon as it appeared, the shield collapsed. But the fireballs, and whatever else they had cast in the mix, exploded ineffectively without damaging the soldiers behind me, who had, in turn, raised their own shields.

「Allen: FEAR NOT BROTHERS, FOR I HAVE COME.」

I was already moving forward the moment I cast the shield, the chainsaw spinning to life.

『Blackfist: Hey! WAIT!』

I passed the small archway, swinging my chainsaw left and shooting the bolter to my right. Screams and blood filled the air. I had killed four demons in a single move.

+400 EXP

You leveled up! You’re now level 10.

This room was similar to the previous one. A big space with pillars. A hundred demons were now looking at me, first with confusion, then with rage.

My heart was beating loudly, and my mouth was curled up in a devilish smile.

「Allen: XENOS SCUM!」

All hell broke loose. I shot down a dozen even before they managed to approach me, then I holstered the gun and grabbed the chainsaw with both hands.

『Blackfist: What are you doing?!』

I waited for the demons to surround me, then I spun around.

You leveled up! You’re now level 11.

Spin to win, motherfuckers! I had practiced the move during the tests. A small amount of dizziness was a small price to pay.

Red blood danced in the air, along with the limbs of my foes.

This is it… The feeling of power was intoxicating.

BATTERY 95%

「Allen: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!」

I screamed, waving a fist to the air.

The other demons stepped back and parted ways to let a bigger demon through. He was as big as the MPA, wearing massive black armor, and holding an oversized hammer. He tossed his helm away, hissed some foreign taunt, then immediately prepared to swing.

Being hit by that hammer could pose a problem, so I dashed backward just in time to avoid the deadly blur by inches. The hammer exploded into the ground sending shrapnel in all directions, even hurting some of the demons surrounding us.

Only then did I notice our soldiers had joined the fray, but I didn’t let that distract me.

That armor looked too thick. I let the chainsaw fall and, as I dashed forward, I grabbed hold of his hammer just as he was preparing to swing again. I used that chance to get up close and personal. My right gauntlet closed around his throat and clenched.

【BURST CLENCH】

He resisted for a second, his eyes bulging.

The Armor’s gauntlet clenched with sudden violence severing the big demon’s head from the neck. Good job tossing your helm away.

Battery 90%

+300 EXP

I shoved his corpse away but kept the hammer.

「Allen: IT’S HAMMER TIME, SONUVABITCHES!」

I shouted as I swung the oversized hammer, killing another three demons.

+300 EXP

One sneaked under the blow and attempted to hit me with a shitty mace.

* CLUNK *

He realized his mistake pretty quickly as I wrapped my gauntlet around his skull and crushed it like a ripe tomato. I swung his corpse against his comrades. Some started losing morale and ran away.

Fireballs flew from behind me, hitting them. I twisted my visor to see my comrades taking care of the lesser demons. These were no normal soldiers, the way they moved and killed… These were elites!

I picked up the chainsaw from the ground.

Three robed demons emerged from the chaos headed in my direction. Magicians. I tossed the hammer their way, but it bounced against a magic shield and hit the ground.

【ENABLE MAGICAL COUNTERMEASURES】

MAGICAL COUNTERMEASURES ONLINE.

I launched myself against the demonic trio. They screamed in surprise when their prepared spells failed.

MAGICAL COUNTERMEASURES OFFLINE. RECHARGING.

Battery 82%

Magical countermeasures consisted of an experimental system, devised by me and other enchanters. It was better than just spraying anti-magic randomly because it targeted and unraveled any spell within a short radius. The fact it went down so quickly meant they had been casting heavy stuff.

Oh well, I had no idea of their capabilities, nor had I any intention to find out.

My chainsaw sparked against their overlapped triple mana shield. Too bad it was an obsidian-tipped oversized chainsaw. I pushed it deep into the middle demon’s chest.

His scream turned into a wet gurgle as he collapsed. More blood!

+150 EXP

The strength of the shield diminished. I pulled off the chainsaw, quickly sneaking my right gauntlet into the fissure, and grabbed the demon on my left.

「Allen: HERE’S JOHNNY!」

My Shining reference was wasted on him. I smashed his face against his own mana shield. Thrice, with satisfying crunching sounds and blood dripping midair, then I finished him with the chainsaw.

+150 EXP

The last mage, who had jumped back and dropped his shield, began glowing incredibly bright.

Whatever he had in mind was foiled by a swordsman, who lopped his head off. I forgave him for kill-stealing my target. He nodded to me and moved on.

More demons flowed from the other two archways into the current room.

「Allen: THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT TO BURY!」

I yelled eagerly, launching myself into the fray.

KILL!

The next moments felt like a blur. I moved around delivering death without stopping, and before long, I ran out of demons to dismember.

MAIN!

I felt alive.

BURN!

You leveled up! You’re now level 11

Battery 50%

The progress notifications were turning out to be a little distracting in this situation. I needed to keep an eye on the battery level, not the EXP.

【NOTIFY PROGRESS FALSE】

I sent the command to my 【All-Ring】.

Notifications of type PROGRESS set to FALSE

Alright, I was good to go.

「Blackfist: Haul the corpses toward the Archmage! Quick!」

Archmage? I turned, staring with surprise.

The pale man who looked tired was weaving some sort of magic. Dead demons started standing up.

Necromancy! One of the forbidden magics. This was my first time seeing it in action. So we had an Archmage with us? Our chances of surviving rose by a few points. I started to believe we may actually get the job done.

Only, one though?

「Blackfist: Third Group, protect the Archmage until he’s done, then rejoin the vanguard!」

The pale man was busy doing something more than just raising dead. Some of the corpses melted and joined together into big and fleshy abominations. I actually felt comforted that someone playing dirty was on our side.

Commander Blackfist approached me, shooting a look of equal scowl and awe.

『Blackfist: I can’t decide if you’re brave or suicidal…』

「Allen: I AM THE HERALD OF DEATH.」

I responded with a military salute. The commander had nothing to complain about since I had shielded everyone to the best of my capabilities. In fact, we had yet to suffer a single loss.

He stared at me for a moment before turning back to the other men.

「Blackfist: Upstairs! That way, let the Armor take the lead!」

The commander shouted, and so I obliged.

We fought our way upstairs in what seemed an endless march. The pale archmage had rejoined us along with the rear guard. I followed the directions I was given and dispensed carnage.

Battery 25%

We had lost four people, but everyone continued forward with unwavering determination. I liked to think that my display of prowess was inspiring fearlessness in them. Without the MPA, I would have no doubt died like a dog many times over. But inside it, I was an instrument of death. The MPA had received but minor damage, not impacting its effectiveness.

I ripped off a demon’s head along with its spine. Some odd-looking misshapen demons appeared in the distance, quickly heading our way with twitchy motions.

「Blackfist: EVERYONE! RETREAT AND TAKE COVER!」

The commander suddenly shouted with urgency. Everyone moved back. I dashed backward as well, spinning up a shield, unsure of what we were facing.

A demon making moaning sounds rushed ahead from within our ranks. Was it a zombie or something?

Suddenly, I got goosebumps all over me and heard a high-pitched sound. The undead demon exploded right in the face of the misshapen ones. It was no mere explosion either. It had been like a sudden white expanding flash, followed by a loud crack.

It left behind only statues of ash which crumbled into dust.

The fuck was that? I wondered, amazed.

More sinister magic from the Archmage. He was turning half-dead demons into suicide bombers for our cause, but it seemed to take a toll on him because Blackfist was holding him upright.

I didn’t need spelled to me that this was another kind of forbidden magic.

『Allen: What were those?』

I asked about the misshapen demons.

『Blackfist: Painwroughts…』

The commander said curtly. That sounded ominous, but I shelved that thought because it was time to change batteries.

「Allen: REQUESTING BATTERY CHANGE!」

I said the moment we settled inside an empty room. Commander Blackfist nodded and motioned to the ones who had been carrying my spare. I noticed the pale archmage turning his head around left and right as if looking for something.

「Pale man: Commander, this room looks differen-」

I was about to kneel down to let the guys carrying the spare battery perform the deed when the wall behind them wavered into a blur and disappeared. An illusion!

In but an instant, we were overwhelmed by a sudden surge of fear and pain, all combined. Misshapen demons with twitching limbs and creatures made of smoky blackness ambushed us. The two carrying my battery stood there paralyzed and were met with a massive spiked mace swung by one of the painwroughts. I couldn’t react fast enough. The replacement battery was split in half, and the two men met a worse fate.

My mind went very quiet.

「Pale man: Shield your minds! Why… so strong…」

The archmage—one of the few who was still able to keep moving—tried to cast something, but the black creatures were on him before he could finish. He had to switch to an anti-magic field to keep them at bay.

Despite the armor protections, I was hit with the full brunt of pain and fear.

I felt like in a dream. Something primal awakened in me.

Pain became anger.

Fear became thirst.

A sense of euphoria so powerful it made my eyes cry filled my whole being.

I moved without thinking toward the nightmares assaulting the archmage. I slammed hard on them, grabbing one by the scruff. I brought it face to face with me and stared it down.

Its’ gaze sent a stronger wave of fear within me.

Yes, make me feel alive.

I clenched the gauntlet. The creature turned to smoke and tried to escape.

But the smoke got pulled toward me by an invisible force.

Battery 25%

What did I just do?

I had no idea how, but it seemed that I had just consumed a nightmare creature. Suddenly, all of them turned their attention to me, the painwroughts as well.

For a moment, my consciousness lapsed.

When I came back to myself, I was holding my right fist deep into a black wall. I pulled it back, revealing the gory remains of what had once been a painwrought’s upper torso.

「How…」

Someone spoke from behind me, and more muttered intelligibly.

I felt drained. I was experiencing a mild shock, nothing I couldn’t deal with. I turned around to assess the situation.

Dismembered limbs and blood littered the battlefield. Had I done all that?

I couldn’t see any nightmare around, nor could I remember anything from the instant my mind blacked out.

A fourth of the First Group forces had fallen to the surprise attack. The survivors were hiding behind thick layers of physical and magical shields. They were eyeing me warily.

「Allen: THREAT EXTERMINATED. AWAITING COMMAND.」

I glanced at the replacement battery. It was beyond salvage. I would have to do without, I looked at the current battery level…

Battery 70%

I stared confused at the HUD. I hadn’t simply imagined it. I literally had absorbed that nightmare.

So it was true then… I was attuned to fear. Was that good or bad?

「Pale man: How did you do that?」

The archmage asked, his eyes round and rather scary looking were fixed on me with tangible intensity. He looked like he wanted to tear me apart to see how I worked. I had no answer to give.

「Blackfist: We have no time for discussion…」

The commander said, trying to sound clearheaded, despite his trembling limbs.

「Blackfist: How further from here?」

「Pale man: According to the extracted memories, very close… That way.」

The pale archmage pointed toward the large staircase, previously hidden behind the illusory wall. The doors at its apex looked fancy. Very suited for a boss room.

「Blackfist: We have to hurry up! 」

Blackfist turned my way and spoke through the ring.

『Blackfist: You stay here.』

『Allen: But-』

I tried to retort, not hiding my discontent.

『Blackfist: We all clearly saw you’re attuned to the fear Aspect. Exceptionally so. Just now, your presence amplified the nightmares’ power.』

『Allen: …』

Was that true? Or did he just want someone to blame?

『Blackfist: You don’t even notice the fear you’re projecting right now, do you?』

I wasn’t actively projecting anything at that moment, but… the soldiers closer to me were shaking. A side-effect of consuming those nightmare creatures?

『Allen: … No, sir.』

I admitted. Blackfist scowled under his visor.

『Blackfist: What we are about to face is the Nightmare God’s Chosen One. We can’t afford any further risk.』

That was the end of our secret conversation, then he switched to voice.

「Blackfist: Stay here and assist the rear guard. Under any circumstance, do not join us unless explicitly asked to. Is that clear?」

「Allen: UNDERSTOOD.」

I confirmed. All the better, my brain still felt a little scrambled, and I was having trouble thinking clearly. I needed a little time to recover my wits.

Blackfist turned to the archmage.

「Blackfist: Can we raise more undeads?」

The pale mage shook his head.

「Pale man: I can’t do anything with those…」

He said pointing at the carnage. Courtesy of Allen.

「Pale man: And my vows forbid me to use my powers against our own deads. Moreover, I need to conserve mana for confronting our target.」

「Blackfist: I see…」

The commander turned to his men, raising a hand to demand silence. All chatter died down, and everyone straightened their spines, giving their full attention.

「Blackfist: This is the moment of truth.」

Blackfist said in a dead cold tone.

「Blackfist: How long we prayed for this day? Our one chance… to deliver retribution!」

The men bumped their fists against their chest.

「Blackfist: The Dream of the Three Kingdoms… Our dream, shattered by a coward hiding inside his obsidian tower!」

Gauntlets hammered again. Louder now.

The Dream of the Three Kingdoms… I had not expected to hear that in this situation.

「Blackfist: Today, we repay deceit with deceit! Today, the Black Guard fulfills its purpose!」

The fists hammered again.

How old were these men? Sometimes I forgot that awakened people could live on for centuries. They were fighting for something that happened a century ago.

Commander Blackfist Raised a sword and turned it against the gilded doors.

「Blackfist: Let us teach them… that shattered dreams have the sharpest edges.」

And so the First Group marched upstairs. The pale man, whose name I still hadn’t caught, shot me a long sidelong glance before hurrying after them.

It would be a lie if I said that Blackfist’s speech hadn’t moved me. He hadn’t needed to scream or amplify his voice to make himself heard. Was I growing soft?

One man stayed behind, with the task of coordinating with the Third Group. We waited in silence, far away from each other.

There was another exit in this room, similar to the one we had come from. No foe had yet approached from that side, so I eyed both entryways warily, expecting the worst.

We heard footsteps approaching from the way we came. I positioned myself next to it while the soldier took cover behind the corner leading to the stairs.

I aimed the bolter toward the entrance, holding my breath. The footsteps grew louder.

The men from the Third Group streamed forth, and I lowered my gun, exhaling in relief.

「The Commander?」

One of them asked.

「Upstairs. He ordered to send half the men onward and leave the rest here in defense. Healers to go midway to assist both sides.」

Said the soldier, who then rushed upstairs to rejoin the First Group.

「What’s going on? Is there a nightmare?!」

Some of the soldiers started asking, twisting around, trying to find the source of the fear they were experiencing. My aura was affecting them, and I couldn’t control it.

「Allen: THE NIGHTMARES HAVE BEEN EXTERMINATED. I SHALL GUARD THIS ENTRANCE.」

I excused myself, walking toward the other corridor to lessen the effects of my unwanted aura. It will wear off, won’t it?

Explosions shook the ground. Looks like Blackfist has engaged the enemy.

Despite this fear attunement problem, they hadn’t sent me off or tried to kill me outright.

And they trusted me to guard their back and protect these guys.

It felt nice not being thrown in the grinder the instant my unwilling affiliation with the Aspect of Fear became known.

* BEEP *

A sudden notification appeared on the MPA’s HUD.

SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED: 30 BREATHS LEFT

I blinked twice, not comprehending.

What?

My heart skipped a beat.