"Get ready!" Haltir screamed. He jolted forward, running to the center of the wagon circle. Thirty enormous warriors joined him, men and women, that dwarfed even the basketball players I knew. Besides Haltir, they had no weapons but wore gauntlets with spikes on the knuckles. Spread-out, they could almost look across the wagons.

I had not seen the demons yet, and when I heard something scramble up the wagon, I looked up. Something ran forward, jumping across me, screaming as it rushed the warriors in the middle.

"Get ready to pick off those that are pushed back!" Three hissed, four of the wooden daggers Agga had made him in his hands.

I barely heard him, staring at the purple-skinned, black leather-wearing things that came swarming across the wagon. They looked like giant gremlins, triangular faced with massive bat ears and a double row of teeth. Some had swords, others daggers, and they just swarmed forward. The Giantblooded didn't wait but jumped at them, and within moments every one of them was engaged with four or more of the Gremlin demons.

Haltir stood in the center, his ax making large, sweeping motions, moving so fast it almost seemed like a blur. None of the demons got within two meters of him without getting wounded. Their blood was an almost glowing deep pink.

Three suddenly hit my shoulder, pointing at a demon that had fallen on the ground a meter or so in front of me. "Stop daydreaming! Finish it!"

Jumping forward, I swung my ax down towards the ugly thing. It was shaking its head, seeming somewhat groggy, and my ax struck it on it's collarbone. A splurt of pink blood sprayed along my ax blades, and I quickly yanked it back out, turning to look for more.

"Its head!" Three roared from the side.

Turning around, I saw the Demon was still alive. It's glowing purple eyes burning with hatred as it stared at me.

Cursing, I slashed at it, but it rolled out of the way. Following it, my second strike hit the back of its bald head, and its head split apart. Black and grey goo was inside, nothing even reminiscent to brains, and as I stared at it in disgust, I saw small worms crawl through it.

I turned around and swallowed, feeling my dry fish lunch go back down.

"FIGHT!" Three roared, and I turned to another demon.

Minutes passed at a grueling pace as my arms became heavier and heavier. The middle of the wagons was now swarming with demons, and I could hear the clash of swords from outside the wagons as well. The Giantblooded were still mowing through the demons, but all of them were bleeding from innumerable wounds. Two of them lay unmoving on the ground, face down in a pool of red and pink blood.

"We are dead!" I groaned as I moved with my back against the wagon. Three was standing not too far off, breathing heavily. He, too, was wounded, a long gash just below his cheek hanging wide open and showing me part of his upper molars.

"Not yet. Keep fighting!"

Roaring, he jumped towards three demons that got flung our way by one of the Giantblooded.

At first, it seemed as if there was no end to them, but eventually, I noticed we were no longer just picking off those at the edges. More and more of the demons lay unmoving, heads cracked, or even fully removed on the ground. I could barely lift my ax at this time, all four of my arms feeling like jelly. Over half of the Giantblooded was down, those that remained still fighting with a vigor I couldn't believe.

Haltir was still wielding his ax in their midst, his motions a bit slower than at the start, but the look of resolve on his stained blood face no less.

Then all of a sudden, there was nothing left to fight. Looking around, I saw weary mercenaries look around, but all the demons lay slaughtered around us. The sounds of combat from beyond the wagons were still there, though.

"Follow me, "Haltir said as he marched to one of the wagons. The Giantblooded followed with a complaint, but most of the mercenaries sat down where they stood. Three and two other Grablons moved towards me. "We need to help the ones outside before more show up." Three said.

More? I groaned as I kept trying to summon my status. When it finally showed up, a wave of energy coursed through me, and looked at it.

> Derived Strength: 11

> Derived Dexterity: 15

> Derived Constitution: 10

> Derived Intelligence: 4

> Derived Common sense: 1

> Derived Charisma 1

> Total mass: 70 KG

> Current weight: 70 KG

Active attributes: (Easily changed)

> 23/25: Muscle mass

> 01/80: Fat

> 22/25: Coordination

> 20/20: Stamina

> 03/20: Learning rate

> 94/199: Knowledge

> 02/20: Beauty

> 00/99: Grooming

> 02/40: Well spoken

Shit, I'd maxed out muscle mass, meaning I wouldn't be getting any stronger any time soon. Weighing the ax, it still seemed too cumbersome. Perhaps I really needed to get a lighter one until I got more power.

"Come, Est!"

Groaning, I followed Three and the other two Grablons. They moved towards one of the charbulls, blocking the opening between two wagons with its massive bulk. They dashed below it, ignoring its bellows of indignation.

Following after, the warmth from the Charbull almost made me want to put my back against it's stomach. I ignored it, crawling up and looking around. A brawl was going on not too far away, and looking around, I saw the battle outside the wagons had turned into separate pockets of fighting.

Some of those Demon knights were now in the middle of it, their massive blades rising and falling as they massacred the mercenaries. Dozens lay on the ground unmoving, but even more of the demons were down.

"We need to kill those Knights, "I said, my game mentality kicking in.

The others were already heading towards the nearest one, and I quickly followed them.

"Don't get too close to the front or back of those Demonsteeds; they bite and kick, "Three said.

"Where are those archers?" I said, turning around and looking at the tops of the wagons. They were empty, and I didn't see any of those elves around.

"I don't know, but that will have to wait for later, get ready. We need to pull him off his horse. Aim for the joints when we do!"

Three ran forward, circling around a chaotic battle between two dozen still standing mercenaries, twice as many Gremlin demons and one of those knights. The Knight stood at the side, and we circled around until we had a clear path.

Three and the other two spread out until we were flanking the Knight. From this close, I could see that his armor was dented and had cracks. His large sword was chipped, and he was only wielding it with a single arm. The second hung motionless from its side, an arrow piercing the elbow.

The sight of the arrow caused me to look around as we ran forward. Who had shot it? All I saw was daggers, swords, and a few spears.

We had reached the Knight, and I slashed at the sword suddenly hissing towards my face. My ax blade struck the sword and knocked it aside, but my hands were almost numb from the blow. That thing was way stronger than me! Dodging to the side, I saw it swing at Three, and as it did, I had an idea. Without waiting, I jumped forward and struck at the belt, holding the saddle in place. I slashed through the side of the black horse, and the belt together with the Knight immediately sagged sideways, falling off the horse.

"Behind you!" Three's warning came at the same time as I heard hoofbeats, and I jumped sideways. Something struck the side of my head as another horse thundered past me, and I felt a burning pain from my temple. My health bar popped up for a moment, blinking yellow, and only half full. Scrambling up, I touched the side of my head and saw glistening red blood on my fingertips.

The Knight was turning back around, heading straight for me, and I felt my senses heightened, the sounds drowning away as my hyperfocus turned its attention fully to the Knight. It held the sword in it's left hand, so I jumped right, turning mid-jump and slicing for the leather straps holding the saddle down. The ax bit into the side of the horse but missed the straps, and I cursed. Getting back on my feet, I ran to the horse that was turning for another pass. Holding the ax with a single hand at the back of the handle, I swung it at the horse's lower leg. The ax bit deep inside the leg, and with a loud crack, it snapped. The horse made a high pitched screeching noise like some massive bird and buckled.

Something hissed towards me, and I dropped to the ground, feeling the Demon's blade knick my leather armor and slice across my shoulder. My hit points dropped to thirty percent, and I began to panic. Rolling aside, away from the stomping horse that was trying to keep its balance, I got up and slashed at the other leg. This time the ax sliced clean through, and a third of the leg toppled away. The horse toppled, falling towards me, and I jumped back, landing on my ass. A massive weight collided on my chest, and first, I thought it was the horse. Then I felt two hands grip around my neck, and I began struggling to get the Demon knight off.

It was far stronger than me, and I felt it's hands squeeze my throat shut. I couldn't breathe, and using all four of my arms, I tried to push the Demon off. The corners of my vision became blurry, while the sounds around me dulled. My hit points bar hovered in front of me, and it began steadily lowering, twenty percent, sixteen, twelve.

I could barely see it when a massive influx of strength and energy surged through my body. Feeling my muscles bulge, I grabbed the demon's arms with two of each of my own. Gritting my teeth, I clenched and moved, and finally, the hands around my throat left. Drawing in gasps of air, I held the arms with two of mine while the lower two grabbed the exposed neck below the helmet. Squeezing, I felt the flesh compound and a soft pulse below my fingers. I didn't care. Tensing my body, I began lifting my upper body and the entire Demon from the ground. Using one hand to shove off, I stood holding the Demon spreadeagled one hand, squeezing its neck. I tried kicking me, but I slammed a set of knuckles in its throat, and it began coughing. My ax lay not too far away, and I dragged the Demon the two steps needed. Then I lifted the ax with my foot, grabbed it, and easily raised it with one arm.

The weight didn't seem so bad, not as prohibitive as before. Instead, it felt perfect! Releasing the chokehold, I slammed the ax blades' tips between the edge of the helmet and the armor, and a wave of pink blood washed across it and the armor. The Demon stopped struggling, and I released it. It fell on its knees and slumped to the side.

My mind was calmer now, and I knew I had triggered the ability, Last-ditch effort. Temporarily double muscle mass, but how long was that? I had better hurry. Turning around, I saw the Grablons standing around the first Demon Knight we had attacked, stabbing it every time it slashed at one of them. I ran forward, holding the ax in one of my hands, wishing I had a shield. As soon as I got stronger, I had to find one.

Three saw me running towards them, and his eyes widened. Then he nodded and attacked the Knight drawing its attention. Without slowing down, I slammed into it, shoving it away with three arms. I had expected it to topple over, but instead, it flew forward a few meters before slamming into the ground. Running after it, I placed my foot on it's struggling form and slammed the ax on the back of its plated helmet. The helm dented but held, and I continued hitting it until the struggling stopped, and the dent was so big I reasoned the thing must be dead.

Drawing a deep breath, I looked up to see the three Grablons look at me with wide-open eyes. I was about to say something snarky when I felt as if someone had turned out the lights. The last thing I realized was that Last-ditch effort, must have ended, and then my consciousness was gone.

--

My vision returned, and I knew right away that I wasn't awake yet. Or perhaps I was, but not in the way I wanted. I was moving through a building, the lights off, and debris littered the floor. From outside came the sound of explosions, screams, and collapsing buildings.

My head turned to look into a room, and I saw two bodies amongst a room that had probably exploded. There were blood spatters all across the walls and something that looked like a dismembered hand on the ground.

I was inside my real body again! Holding my thoughts, I tried to keep from alerting the AI or whatever it was that had taken over control. If I was in here again, it meant there was still some form of connection between us. Did that mean I could draw him out and take back control somehow?

The thing inhabiting my body walked us into a room with a massive wall of shattered windows. What I saw outside made me shiver, the first thing my body did as I'd expected it to, together with hairs standing on end and the color draining from my face.

Outside, buildings were on fire, some toppling over, while demonic things shot through the air. Some carried screaming people with them, dropping them down to their doom.

We stopped moving, and I heard my own voice laugh softly. I'd never known how annoying my laugh could be.

> Are you back again, human? Why don't you tell me how you managed to escape last time?

I didn't respond, hoping if I stayed quiet, the thing would think it was just a mistake.

> You can't hide from me! I feel you in there, watching. Not so sure of yourself now, are you? Well, let me show you something beautiful!

We moved closer towards the window, and my head angled up. Red clouds hung in the sky, bolts of lightning cracking horizontally through the air between them.

> This world is now ours, as the other should have been. Luckily, this one has no pesky magicians to lock us away! Besides, your people take well to the presence of the Allmind, much better than those on Kernstalion ever did!

My head turned slowly. Below I saw figures running through a street, chased by others.

> Enough. Soon I won't need your weak shell anymore and will rid this world of it's atrocious presence…

The voice halted, and I had the feeling it was thinking about something.

> Let's play a game…

A clock appeared before me, one that was counting down from 289 days, a second at a time.

> You have almost one year left to find a way to end the connection between your mind and this body to save your feeble mind. After that, I will have created my true shape and will discard this body!

A hollow laugh filled the empty room, and I realized it was my own voice. I barely recognized it. Feeling something push me away, I wanted to ask where Sandra was, but I held myself back. There was no guarantee it would tell the truth, and even if it did, how would I know?

My vision faded, then my hearing, and a moment later, I blanked out.