Alphonse used his hand as a visor to block out the blinding light. At the side of his peripheral vision, Haydon appeared like a phantom as his dagger pierced forwards.

Move… Move! Alphonse's legs were trembling. Blood seeped out from his eyes as he felt the intense strain [ Spectral Rage ] had on his body and mind. Biting his tongue, he used the last ounce of his strength to stomp forwards, his body traveling towards the monster’s blind side like a bullet. His [ Quiet Steps ] skill was activated as his footsteps turned to a small muffling noise.

Haydon’s dagger emitted a sinister black shadow, a faint noise of wailing appeared from the shadow as it neared the throat of the monster.

Oh, I need to dodge it? The officer thought as the feeling of danger emitted from the small weapon. With a puff of smoke, his body reappeared… right next to Alphonse.

Alphonse used the sudden opportunity to clasp his arms around the officer’s body in a bear hug.

“Fine, I’ll just suck you dry, then!” The man in the officer’s clothing gave off a sinister smile as small cone-like bone spikes lodged themselves into Alphonse’s skin.

Alphonse’s eyes drifted downwards as he saw the small bone spikes act like straws as they began sucking away his blood. He could feel his mind slipping, the control he could maintain had vanished, and all that was left was a blood crazed demon. Alphonse’s teeth glowed with a vicious dark shadow, the shadowed maw of Alphonse opened wide.

The officer broke into an after image as he appeared together with Alphonse. His mind refused to let go of the monster.

Memories that weren’t Alphonse's own flashed within his mind. A female Orog and a blue-ish green, delicate baby with small sharp teeth protruded from its mouth as they both lay on a forest floor, covered in blood. Alphonse’s heartbeat rushed blood through his body as a feeling of uncontrollable rage fueled adrenaline into his arms. The monster’s arms deformed under the intense pressure from Alphonse’s crazed strength.

The monster's previous pale countenance was becoming flushed red as his snake-like limb thrashed around, destroying the stone floor of the castle grounds.

Black tusks appeared from Alphonse’s teeth as the shadow completely enveloped the officer's head, as his bite almost erased the entire upper half of the monster’s body. Alphonse reached into the creature's body as he grabbed hold its still beating heart. Alphonse squeezed his hand as the soft flesh squeezed through his fingers. The wriggling organ twitched to a stop as Alphonse’s mind returned to normal.

A sudden wave of emptiness took control of Alphonse’s body. His arms and legs wouldn’t listen to his commands as he fell to the ground. His eyes lethargically moved around the courtyard. A small smile crept up from his lips as a feeling of elation filled his heart. He felt free.

For the first time in a long time, no nightmares came to haunt him, nor did stray voices interrupt Alphonse from his sleep. He didn’t care where he was, or what kind of danger he was in… He just didn’t want the peace to end.

***

Alphonse’s eyes were still closed as he felt the rocky ground below. He took a deep breath but halted mid way as an intense pain assaulted him from within. Ah, the air smells like shit. Alphonse grumbled. His eyes peered open as he looked over at the rest of his group.

Kristen was nowhere to be seen. The others were busy resting their dreary bodies, having exhausted all of their energy in the fight before.

“Look who’s returned to the land of the living.” Markus said they tied Alphonse's arm close to his chest.

“Are you sure this is the land of the living? The amount of death I've seen here… I don’t think I can even count that high.” Alphonse said before his eyes turned cold. “Kristen?”

“Ah, the bitch ran off.” Markus spat on the ground as his face turned to a scowl. “What’s the call then, pompous wizard?”

“Who are you calling pompous? At least I have the basic intelligence to know when to dodge an attack. I’ve never seen an arm turn to spaghetti before.” Gabriel crossed his arms as his eyes looked at Markus’ bandaged up arm. “And why the hell would I make the call?”

“Always looks like you want to take control. Don’t think I’ve forgotten you almost turned us into charred corpses without warning.” Markus said.

“Yeah, well, I was pissed, alright? Not like I expected him to shrug off a damned meteor.” Gabriel shook his head, as he was reminded of his helplessness. “Probably had some anti-mana properties. There was no way he should have walked away from that.”

“You put a lot of energy into it alright, thought you were going to shit yourself.” Tariq laughed as he taunted the young wizard.

“Should we run after them?” Oskar opened his mouth. He felt bad seeing everyone’s exhaustion. This is way out of my league… Oskar clenched his fists as he thought. If he made one wrong move, he would have been slaughtered. He didn’t have Haydon’s agility, Markus’ constitution, Gabriel’s powerful intelligence, nor Felecia’s holy healing.

Oskar’s eyes rested on Alphonse. It was hard to put his finger on it, but he had changed. His previous tense shoulders had relaxed. He looked free. His rate of improvement is terrifying, but it’s not only that, he’s too crafty. Oskar remembered when they were in the maze. Alphonse could adapt to the monster’s fighting style and use it against them… as if he were their kin.

What do I have, what can I do? The thought tormented him. He wanted to help. But he also didn’t want to die…

“We’ll rest first, can’t do anything against nothing if we don’t have the energy to even lift our fingers.” Alphonse said.

“Felecia, how are you feeling?” Alphonse said. Once again, they were saved by a person who barely reached his shoulders.

“Just… tired,” Felecia said as she shook her head to wake herself up. “I’ll heal you right away.” Her tired arms could barely lift her staff.

Alphonse quickly held her arm down. “Not so fast. Focus on yourself first.”

Felecia’s eyes roamed around at the group that was left. Markus flashed her a stupid grin. Haydon nodded towards her, agreeing with Alphonse. Gabriel… looked away with his head held high.

“Don’t mind him–Felecia–you know what he’s like. If his magic staff was shoved any further up his ass, he’d be a clothing pole.” Markus' eyebrows raised as the wizard flashed a frown.

Felecia couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Thank you, everyone.” She wiped a tear from her eye. As she engraved everyone's faces into her memory. Without each member working together, they wouldn’t have made it this far. Her stressed mind relaxed, even if it was only for a moment.

With everyone resting, it was Alphonse’s time to stay on the lookout. He opened his status page as the dopamine filled messages entered his mind like a drug.

< Hunger is satisfied >

[ Homunculus consumed ]

| 13.3 Strength added.

| 18.4 Dexterity added.

| 16.9 Constitution added.

| 19.6 Intelligence added.

| 4.3 Wisdom added.

| 1.4 Charisma added.

…

…

What, how many skills did that fucker have?! Oh, give me the big wind blade skill! Alphonse placed his hands together in a prayer in his own mind.

It’s not what I wanted, but… awesome. The officer using that movement skill was still fresh in his mind. If not for some luck they would have… Alphonse thought of the consequences, but shook his head from the thought. What’s done is done.

With the sudden increase in intelligence, the voices were almost completely droned on. The only thing he could make out were faint murmurs. With being able to finally think clearly, his mind wandered to Lucus. Wait for me Lucus, I don't care about your motives; I don’t care if you want to see your family… I’ll fucking gut you like a dog. That is the price of your betrayal. A demon-like grin appeared on his face.