“H-Hey! Are you guys sure this is a good idea?”

  A short boy named Baku asked, holding a wooden staff. It was a magical item that enhanced his magic, even though he was only a level 2 sorcerer.

  “Don't worry! It's a simple mission! We just need to collect some herbs in this area.”

  Ekeran, the group's leader, answered him. He was a skilled swordsman, but still quite mediocre compared to others in the Empire. He was a promising young man, but his bad temper had reduced him to being an adventurer in a Silver-ranking group.

  “B-But…Many groups have disappeared! Even those higher in rank than ours!”

  He replied. He wasn't entirely wrong; they were currently in the Black Terror Forest. It had always been a cursed area, where disappearances were the order of the day. Recently, bodies had been found in nearby villages. They belonged to adventurers who had ventured into that same forest on assignments.

  What terrified him most was the state in which the bodies had been found: with a forced smile on their faces.

  “Stop talking bullshit!”

  Ekeran shouted at him, silencing him. The two other party members, Bolkus and Lalampon, the tank and the archer, remained silent. Their leader had a terrible temper, so much so that many called him an asshole.

  “Hey! What is that thing?!”

  Bolkus's shouts caused everyone to turn toward the spot he was pointing to. A female figure, approximately five feet and five inches tall, was slowly approaching them. Her body was hidden by a gray cloak.

  The only thing visible was her right hand, which gripped a triple-pronged wooden staff, and a tuft of gray hair pointing upward.

  “Now I get it! This mess is all the work of a stupid enchantress!”

  Ekeran roared, drawing his saber.

  “Kill her! Baku! What are you doing standing there?! Use a spell!”

  “R-Right away!”

  Frightened, he raised his staff and fired a Magic Shot spell. It wasn't very powerful, but it was still his strongest spell.

  “Holly Barrier.”

  The masked figure's words were followed by the opponent's blow being cancelled.

  “B-But…It’s impossible!”

  “What’s wrong with you, Baku?!”

  Ekeran scolded him.

  “Don't you understand?! The spell she casted was level 6! We have no chance! She would be on par with the great Yami Paradox Atem! The most powerful sorcerer in the Ashen Kingdom! He's considered the equal of the highest enchanter of the Theocracy! We're screwed!”

  A vein began to pulse on Ekeran's forehead.

  “Shut up! Cast another spell!”

  “It wouldn't have any effect because of her barrier!”

  As the two argued, the mysterious figure spoke more words.

  “Death Rise.”

  Skeletons began to emerge from the ground, adorned with armor and shields on their shoulders.

  “She c-can use holy and necromantic magic?!”

  “Why are you so surprised?!”

  “Ekeran, you idiot! Those two types of magic can't be used by the same individual! It's the basis of magic!”

  For Ekeran, who was not a magician, that explanation meant little or nothing.

  “You're useless!”

  The boy shouted at him, then turned to the party archer.

  “Lalampon! Shoot some arrows!”

  “They wouldn't have any effect because of the barrier! Now let's run! The undead are advancing!”

  “You're all useless! Useless idiots!”

  Ekeran tried to advance toward the armed skeletons, but stopped quickly. An innate sense of terror was overcoming him. Perhaps it was due to the undead's hatred for the living.

  “R-Run!”

  Seized by terror, Ekeran began to run in the opposite direction. His companions also fled.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Ekeran Termitan, this was the name of the leader of the Silver-ranked group called “Silver Blade”.

  He had always been skilled with the sword, but never enough to become someone of note. He became increasingly petty and reckless, taking on tasks his party couldn't handle. After dozens of failures, his group gained a bad reputation and fell into disgrace.

  This only fueled Ekeran's anger and temper. He became blinded by his thirst for power, leading his party on even more reckless and deadly missions.

  He had managed to survive until that moment, but now…

  “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

  …He was running through one of the most dangerous places in the Nexia Empire: The Black Terror Forest.

  Unfortunately for him, he was left alone. During the escape, his group had split up, but he didn't care; now he just wanted to get home safe and sound. He didn't care about the others.

  Why is everything so bad?!

  He cursed his bad luck.

  “…What?”

  He stopped to catch his breath. It was then that he realized he was facing someone.

  “And who are you?!”

  It was a dark, but undefined figure.

  “Me? I am you…”

  “Huh?!”

  He opened his eyes in dismay when he noticed that the creature before him was identical to him, only resembling a faded shadow.

  “W-What do you want?”

  “Me? Just to show you how much better I am than you!”

  His copy drew the sword and charged.

  “Tsk! You're just a bad copy!”

  Ekeran clicked his tongue and parried the blow with his blade. A clash between mediocre swordsmen began.

  At first they seemed equal, but the original was starting to suffer from fatigue, while the shadow didn't seem tired at all. This irritated him—a narcissist like him couldn't bear to be inferior to anyone, not even himself... or a copy.

  “Look at you! You're pathetic!”

  The shadow mocked him.

  “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

  He continued to hit his double, but was knocked down with a kick.

  “Is that all you can do? You're just a shadow of my greatness!”

  “Stop joking!”

  Ekeran stood up abruptly. He was tired, but his anger was blinding him completely.

  “I'm no one's shadow! I'll use my best technique right away!”

  He gripped the sword so tightly that his hands bled.

  “Strong Arm Strike! Strength! Great Blade Assault!”

  He leaped towards his copy, unleashing energy beyond the normal human.

  “Die!”

  His face twisted into a macabre smile. He would finally win against a strong opponent. He would advance his career, he would become more than the scrap he was now.

  “You're pathetic…”

  His copy's voice reached his ears. Blood began to spray his face.

  “How?”

  The shadow was still alive, but to say that nothing had happened would not have been correct.

  “My…Hands…”

  He looked at the ground in dismay. His hands lay there, on the ground, like broken toys.

  “Waaaaaaah!”

  He looked at the areas where his limbs had been. Now there were only spurts of blood.

  "No…"

  Ekeran began to cry. What could he do now? Would he remain a nobody? Was this Ekeran Termitan's fate? No, he would not survive to become a nobody.

  “Look at you! You could have been so much more…”

  The shadow mocked him.

  “Shut up, you…Huh?”

  He noticed that the shadows had multiplied. There were about ten of them, all with his face and physique, but their clothes were different. Some had a regal air, others were holding a child or a beautiful woman beside them.

  “What the hell…Is going on?”

  “This is what you could have been if you hadn’t gotten lost along the way.”

  “W-What do you mean?”

  “These are your various futures. If you had been successful, you could have become a family man, fathered children to whom you could teach your knowledge, or even become king!”

  “Shut up! I can do it! I…I…I can do it…”

  “You don’t believe it either, do you?”

  “Will you shut up?! I…Ah!”

  The shadow kicked him to the ground, as if he were a bag of garbage.

  “Why don’t you shut up? Enjoy your death, idiot!”

  Ekeran began to cry bitter tears as he bled to death, mocked by all the opportunities he had wasted in his life.

  “Come on…Don't cry! You're supposed to laugh in life!”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Lalampon Lacustre was a skilled archer, but terrible in his ways. He enjoyed beating women in brothels. He hated his job and wanted to enjoy life, but that required money. He began gambling and became deeply in debt.

  Now he was fleeing through the Black Terror Forest. They would pay him enough to pay off his debts, but he would surely spend them on women or cards.

  “Shit! What a shitty job for a few bucks!”

  He huffed, stopping behind a tree to catch his breath. It was then that he noticed a large chest in front of him. He wouldn't have paid it any mind if it hadn't been for a small gold coin. It was then that he approached to examine it.

  “It's…Authentic! I found a treasure! Hurray!”

  He forgot his fear and didn't even wonder what a damned chest full of gold coins was doing in the middle of a forest.

  “Let's see how many there are! Who knows how many women I can buy! Maybe I'll even get a noble title!”

  He opened the chest and nearly looked up. It was full of gold coins, enough to live off the proceeds. He threw them at himself and even put them in his mouth to bite, trying to determine if they were real.

  Crack.

  “Crack?”

  He heard a strange noise, like something being snapped in half.

  A gold coin shouldn't crack…

  He looked at the coin in his hand and shuddered. In place of the gold coin was an insect, half-eaten by the bite. He immediately felt like vomiting when he realized the top part of the insect was still in his mouth.

  "How disgusting!!!!!!"

  He spat and looked at the rest of the box. All the coins had turned into insects, which were slowly crawling out of the box.

  “No! No! Stay away from me!”

  He was afraid of insects. They had been scary to him ever since a cockroach crawled into his ear. He felt like vomiting.

  “Leave me alone! Leave me alone!”

  He started to walk away, but the box began to move, revealing a row of sharp teeth,

  “Uh-A mimic?!”

  Mimics were a race of monsters, capable of taking the form of objects, luring prey close enough to eat them.

  The monster's tongue grabbed him by the belly, covering him with insects.

  “No! Let go of me! Let go of me!”

  The monster didn't listen to him and devoured him all at once.

  “Let me out! Let me out, please!!!”

  The insects began to crawl into his mouth, eyes, ears, nose, and every other opening he had. He could feel them moving under his skin, but he couldn't do anything about it. He was stuck there, in that little trunk.

  He began vomiting, but it did nothing to stop the influx of insects into his body.

  “Be careful not to digest this right away, little mimic.”

  A female voice spoke, massaging the upper surface of the monster, as if it were a puppy.

  “Leave him alive a little longer. At least, until my brothers come back.”

  She sighed, trembling slightly. She seemed anxious for some reason.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Bolkus Ice-Mustace seemed like a brusque, big man, but in reality he was the hero of his village, beloved by children and admired by adults. He had always defended his home from monsters, ensuring peace.

  Until the children in his village began to fall ill, one after another, eventually dying from excruciating fevers and intestinal pain. He had always been a very strong man, so much so that he decided to join a group of adventurers to earn money so he could hire someone to care for the village children.

  Unfortunately, things weren't going well for Bolkus. Their leader was a narcissistic idiot, the archer was greedy, and the magician...he was fine, maybe even too shy to make a career.

  “I should never have accepted the job…”

  He sighed. He had been against entering the Black Terror Forest, but he hadn't had a say in the matter.

  “I hope the others are well…”

  Despite the difficulties, he was still concerned for the fate of his companions. Bolkus was kindhearted, deep down.

  -This way…

  “Huh? Guys?”

  He heard a voice calling him and followed it. He made his way through the trees, until…

  “What? But…Nicolas!”

  …He didn't see the body of a child on the ground. It was one of the village's sick child. He still remembered when he promised he'd return with the cure for his and his peers' illnesses.

  “Nicolas! Are you okay?”

  He threw himself on the ground and took the little body of the child, who didn't look more than six years old, into his arms.

  “B-Bolkus?”

  “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the village?!”

  “The village? There isn’t…A village anymore.”

  Bolkus's heart stopped. What did he mean by that?

  “W-What does that mean?”

  “While you were gone…The monsters…”

  The child raised a small arm to the right. Bolkus followed the direction and…

  "No…"

  …He saw his village in flames. The trees of the forest had disappeared, and now only his native home remained, burning as if he had been shown hell on earth.

  “Without me…The village was too weak to defend itself…”

  -Look at your nightmare. It's all your fault.

  The mysterious voice was right: it was all his fault.

  “Bolkus…”

  Feeling called by the child in his arms, he decided to lower his gaze to help him.

  “Nicolas! Don't be afraid! I'm here! Nothing will happen to you and…”

  “It's too late…Why have you abandoned us?”

  His eyes widened at those words.

  “Abandoned? No… It’s not like that! I…”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Nicolas's body caught fire in front of him.

  “You betrayed us!”

  The child was reduced to dust before Bolkus could reply.

  “No…It’s not true…”

  Tears began to roll down his cheeks as Nikolas' ashes fell from his arms.

  He had failed.

  He had disappointed everyone.

  What was the point of living now?

  “What did I do?”

  He shifted his gaze to the village in the background, which continued to be devoured by flames.

  -You disappointed them…

  "Yes…"

  -You let them down.

  “You are right.”

  -Let me help you…

  “Who are you?”

  -Your worst nightmare…But there's a way out, you know?

  “You say?”

  -Yes. You have two choices before you.

  Two heads appeared next to him, one on the right, the other on the left.

  -The first is to try to escape this forest, but what would you do after that? You no longer have a village to return to...

  “And the second one?”

  -It seems obvious to me…

  The left head moved slightly, glancing at the burning village.

  Join your friends in oblivion. This is the help I offer you. It would give you the chance to make amends for your sin…

  "Yes, you are right…"

  With red eyes, Bolkus began walking toward the ruined village. Tears of sadness streamed down his cheeks.

  Nikolas…Guys…This is how it should end…

  The man's tears began to evaporate; the flames began to consume his flesh.

  In this desperation…We can all die together…Like a family.

  -Even heroes are devoured by nightmares…

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Baku Go' had always been an insecure boy, spineless and not at all skilled at manual labor. When he discovered his affinity for magic at the age of ten, he was overjoyed. He dreamed of becoming a powerful wizard, but fate had other plans.

  His magic only reached level 2, so he was barely above mediocre. Despite his training, he couldn't have advanced beyond that level. He would always remain a mediocre magician, nothing more.

  Even in his own party, “Silver Blade,” he was treated like a doormat by everyone except the group’s tank, Bolkus, who thought he was a good guy.

  And here he is now, running away from a swarm of undead.

  I've been worthless all my life! I don't want to die here!

  He wanted to be the main character, but he couldn't even call himself an extra.

  I have to survive! I have to survive!

  A skeleton's hand reached out to him, grabbing him by the shoulder.

  “Uhhhha!”

  He screamed in terror and, trying to free himself, tripped over a small rock, fell to the ground, and rolled toward a creek. He landed on a rock.

  “Ahhhhh!”

  He hit his neck on a hard rock.

  “I-I can't move…I heard a crack…”

  He tried to move his arms, but couldn't. He was paralyzed from the neck down.

  “I can't die here… Like this… I won't be remembered…”

  He saw undead approaching, but they ignored him as if he were a minor insect.

  “Not even those who hate the living see me as worthy of killing myself…”

  He would have died there, silent and in pain.

  “No…I don't want to die like this…No…”

  He began to cry, but no one heard him. No one cared, not even the monsters who ran that forest like a circus of horrors.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Uhahaha! Did you see what an idiot he was?! He fell like an idiot! Did i said already that he was an idiot?"

  One of the three figures on top of the hill from which Baku had fallen laughed.

  “You're really weird, brother.”

  The only girl in the group muttered, hidden by her gray cloak.

  “For now I'd say our plan is working well…”

  The third figure, the most inhuman among them, declared.

  “What do we do now, brother?”

  “Let's keep going like this. He'll come to us…”

  Having answered this, he disappeared into thin air, as if he had never been there with them.

  “Uh! Uh! Uh! Our older brother is too serious!”

  “No, you're the one who's too stupid…”

  The smiling figure placed a hand over his heart, as if to indicate that he was hurt, when in reality he was not at all.

  “You're hurting me like this, little sister!”

  “Shut up…Let’s get back to work.”

  With that, they too disappeared as if they had never existed.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Here we are at the last village! Anna's village!"

  Nark stated, pointing to a wall in front of them, which caught the attention of the armored warrior at the back of the wagon, who leaned toward his apprentice, whispering:

  "Since when has there been a stone wall around the village? Do you think the villagers built it?"

  "I don't know...But I like it! Even if it seems a little weak."

  The red-haired apprentice replied, with his usual airy, sunny manner.

  "True, it was certainly rushed. I'll send some support to redo it. If C was lucky with the Marquis, this place will be ours. It's our duty to defend the village from external dangers."

  Almodeus, disguised as the knight Amon, wasn't surprised that a recently attacked village had requested healing potions, but he laughed under his helm at the coincidence he was witnessing.

  "I notice they've made the lawn too! There are just a few bushes near the entrance to the little wall."

  The other commented, disguised as an inexperienced apprentice magician, while laughing with her usual cheerful manner which was taken by everyone as normal.

  "Here we are..."

  Nark said, stopping the wagon in front of the village gates, then making his usual out-of-place joke.

  "Do you know where the bell is?"

  Fiora, the expedition's leader, immediately stood up and began scolding the boy, while Roman laughed heartily. During their discussion, the two undercover demons wondered how the others knew what a bell was, given the medieval age of the place.

  "Stop! Don't move!"

  A voice spoke, but no one could see who the speaker was. Nevertheless, Fiora and her group dismounted from the wagon and formed into formation, while Amon and Alcina remained calm and seated.

  "Raise your weapons and you are dead!"

  The same voice spoke again, but this time it was accompanied by movement: pitch-black beings, relatively short, with white eyes and no mouths, emerged from the bushes near the entrance to the wall, armed with chipped iron swords and wearing dirty leather vests.

  "And what the hell are these? I've never seen monsters like this!"

  Nark asked, as he lowered his two sabers, watching more of those strange beings come out of the village gate, followed by a pair of similar creatures, about two meters tall, much more robust than the previous ones and without armor, which allowed the visibility of a red A on their chest.

  "They are Ink Wanderers!"

  Alcina replied, smiling and getting off the cart, standing next to Fiora.

  "Ink...Wanderers? Do you know them?"

  Fiora asked curiously, as she inspected the larger monsters. It was clear she had never seen anything like them.

  "Yes, we've encountered them before! They're undead that can be summoned using dark ink. The smaller ones can merge to create Greater Wanderers, the larger ones back there."

  Alcina informed them.

  “They can also be generated without fusion, but it requires more ink, obviously.”

  Fiora was surprised by the apprentice's knowledge. How could a novice sorceress who didn't know many of the basics know monsters considered rare even by them, Gold-rank hunters?

  "I trust your word, Alcina. Do you think we can beat them?"

  The duelist asked, watching her companion out of the corner of her eye, secretly hoping for a positive answer.

  "I don't think so. Being made of a solidified liquid, they're quite resistant to attacks with thrusting or slashing weapons, but the larger ones are the real problem..."

  Alcina paused and used her gloved hand to point to the larger monsters in the rear.

  "In addition to the properties of normals, they have increased size and strength equal to that of ogres..."

  Fiora seemed surprised by the detailed explanation; she hadn't expected such basic beings to be difficult opponents. Luckily for her, the situation seemed to be at a stalemate- in fact, neither group seemed inclined to open fire first.

  These Wanderers must have been summoned by Amy.

  Almodeus moved his head towards the monsters.

  She used the spheres I gave her; from what I can see, there appear to be around thirty. She could have used just one sphere, or two at most. After all, the fear she felt on the day of the attack, combined with the grief over the loss of her parents, must have charged the spheres with a lot of dark energy. However, these monsters could blow Amon's cover; I have to address that problem ...

  He decided to stay seated on the wagon and observe the situation.

  "Here you are, Kajaly! We've been waiting for you..."

  Everyone's attention was drawn to one Inca Wanderer in particular. He was one of the small ones, also armored and carrying an iron sword, but unlike the others, he wore a headdress similar to a Russian hat, which made Almodea wonder if communists existed in this new world.

  "My name is Kajaly! I am the captain of the Wandering guard in the service of the Chief! Why have you come to the village?"

  The newcomer thundered, and from now on Alcina would call him, in her head, "the Russian."

  "We're here to deliver healing potions! What the hell do you want?!"

  Nark replied, in a tone a little too pretentious, which instead of clarifying the situation, aggravated it, causing the Wanderers' white, pupil-less eyes to narrow slightly.

  "What are we doing, Kajaly?"

  “Should we warn the Chief? How can we know it's not a trap?”

  "If we have the Chief come running, we risk her being injured, it would be an irreparable blow for us. However..."

  As Kajaly argued with one of the Wanderers, she paused and looked at Amon, a worried look on her face.

  "I'd like to avoid the battle. These guys seem much stronger than the normal bandits, especially the one in black armor. He doesn't look like he's joking around..."

  Amon, for his part, simply stood up and moved aside his crimson cloak, revealing the red "A"s on his shoulder pads. A simple movement, which would normally have been mistaken for a showy gimmick, but for the Wanderers, it had another meaning. Not so much for the action itself, but for the symbols revealed through it.

  "Red A's? It could be..."

  "What do you say, Kajaly? That he is an emissary of the Absolute Lord?"

  "That's not necessarily true! In this world, it could have another meaning!"

  "So, Kajaly?! What are we doing?"

  The Wanderer in charge didn't respond, still unsure. If he were truly dealing with an ally of his Absolute Lord, it would be disrespectful to be aggressive; if, however, he turned out to be a stranger, completely unconnected to the aforementioned monarch, it would be risky to trust him. He had to find a solution, and quickly.

  "You, in black armor..."

  He pointed at the knight with his sword.

  "Those A's on your back...What do they mean to you?"

  The question was direct, yet perfect: every being under the rule of the Absolute Almodeus knew that their master always gave various reasons for his obsession with that letter. However, the real reason was far simpler and less convoluted than one might expect from such a wise and mysterious being.

  "These A's? They mean a lot, but I'm keeping them because A is the most beautiful letter in the alphabet, right?"

  The answer made Kajaly recoil, the intensity and certainty of the tone carried an extreme conviction, that only a being could have.

  "A-Absolutely Lord?"

  The Wanderer muttered under his breath, now aware that he was not just a subordinate before him, but Lord Almodeus himself. Moreover, the cloaked girl next to the foil duelist could most likely be none other than Her Excellency the Most Illustrious Almodea. Kajaly had so many questions: why were they masked? Why hadn't they revealed themselves immediately? Why were they in the company of humans? It all made no sense to him at that moment.

  "W-What can I..."

  "Mr. Wanderer, are you okay?"

  A female voice interrupted Kajaly, making him turn around immediately, with a short respectful bow.

  "Boss! W-Welcome..."

  He wanted to answer his Boss's question, but he still didn't know how to look at the situation.

  "Excuse me, but did that thing call that little girl Boss ?"

  Nark asked, pointing with one of his sabers at the newcomer. To him, it was an ordinary face, but one already familiar to the two incognito demons. It was Amy, the girl to whom Almodeus had entrusted ink spheres to summon the Wanderers.

  "Yes, she probably summoned them..."

  Alcina said, hiding under her cloak. She had to prevent Amy from recognizing her, or the two would start arguing. Even though she had cast an illusion spell on herself, it was likely she would recognize her anyway.

  "Summoned?!"

  "Yes! I already explained that these monsters are summoned, didn't I?"

  The girl's response further confused Nark. He couldn't fathom how a young girl, who looked no older than fifteen, could summon such high-level monsters. High-level, in a manner of speaking, considering they were only level 20 Wanderers.

  "You are the one who summoned the Wanderers, right?"

  Amon's thunderous voice echoed through the area. He stepped from the chariot, his movements swift and confident. The others took it as a show of strength. Moving like that before an enemy of dubious power who held you at gunpoint required courage, or madness, or both. However, only Alcina understood that such confidence was fueled in part by the knowledge that the Wanderers had recognized their true ruler.

  "Y-Yes, who are you?"

  "My name is Amon, I'm part of Lady Fiora's team. We've come to deliver the healing potions you requested."

  "Oh, yes! Thank you so much! Sorry about the Wanderers, we've been having some trouble lately..."

  "It's not necessary..."

  Soon after, the situation was resolved and the wagon was able to enter the village.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Our Absolute Lord, we beg you to forgive our insolence!"

  Kajaly begged, bowing to Amon, closely followed by the other Wanderers who had joined him behind an isolated building, under the pretext of settling some matters.

  “There’s no need to apologize, Kajaly.”

  “I have so many questions for you, my lord! I hope you'll answer them. We want to help you as best we can!”

  "All in due time. Now listen carefully, I have some commands for you..."

  The group of Wanderers raised their heads, ready to obey.

  “Anything you want. Every wish of the most powerful demon will be granted!”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Here we are, the Black Terror Forest. It looks like a normal forest, but I sense a lot of dark energy within. Strangely, though, this energy seems familiar to me...

  After saying goodbye to Fiora and company, Amon and Alcina headed towards the outskirts of the city of Arel to check out the famous "Black Terror Forest." The magic energy present was high, almost too high for normal magical beasts. They had kept their disguises on to avoid attracting too much attention if other adventuring parties were nearby.

  "Dad, is it normal for there to be fog in a forest?"

  "Not in these weather conditions. Follow me, Almodea, but keep your guard up!"

  "Yes, Dad!"

  The two demons couldn't afford to be mean. Honestly, Almodeus was pleased to see his daughter maintain her usual cheerful and carefree attitude.

  They entered the dark fog, entering the depths of the forest. It was immediately obvious that this was no ordinary place; instead of the sounds of fauna and flora, they could hear disembodied footsteps, laughter coming from all directions, and shadows moving in the darkness. They continued for hours, but nothing happened.

  A human might have thought to run away from danger, but a fear-expert demon like Almodeus understood that whoever was causing these events didn't mean to kill or harm them, at least not yet. He was just toying with them, as if it were all a joke, a barroom joke, or...A prank.

  It's clear something's out of the ordinary here. We've been walking for hours and haven't encountered a single animal or magical beast. Only laughter and inexplicable phenomena—not to me, obviously; it's basic psychological tactics. Whoever's playing with us is trying to scare us, and it's a shame I know more about fear than anyone else.

  "Dad, I'm a little bored . Do you want me to send Almy to check out the area?"

  "No, that's not necessary. I think we're getting closer to the person responsible..."

  Oh, those responsible. If the barroom gossip Fiora overheard is correct and the mysterious Four Jesters are behind all this, then we'll have to deal with the Demonic Kingdom of this world, and that could be a problem. Although, I have a different theory about who's behind all this...

  He snorted under his helmet. He remembered the laughter of an acquaintance he knew. Indeed, this type of torment was typical of some beings best avoided, lest one die.

  "I have to admit, this setting reminds me of..."

  Almodea's words were interrupted by an unnatural darkness. It was as if the sun had suddenly set. Everything suddenly went black, reducing her field of vision to less than two meters in front of her nose.

  "DARKNESS!"

  The word echoed in the minds of everyone present. Even though it was a sound, it could be described as black, monstrous, and distorted. Almodeus drew his sword, as something from the depths of the forest attacked his daughter from behind, lunging at her with inhuman speed. Without even seeing it clearly, he swung his greatsword like a club and struck the creature, hurling it against a tree with such force that it collapsed on top of him.

  "Dad! Watch out!"

  Almodea leaped behind her father and caught some daggers thrown at her from who knows where. A normal human would never have been able to catch knives thrown at such speed.

  Almodeus turned to the girl and nodded. He noticed purple liquid on the daggers.

  Poison?

  Whoever was playing with them was starting to get serious. However, this didn't bother him at all; in fact, he smiled under his helmet.

  I think I know who's behind it all. If my theory is true, then we might be facing beings. Beings stronger than the Four Jesters...

  "Mhhh...It's all too familiar."

  "Do you think so too, Dad? So it's not just my imagination..."

  "No, little spot. It's not."

  He didn't have time to look around when he heard someone move behind him. That someone was imperceptible to human senses, but not to his, which were anything but human. He immediately turned, swinging his sword into the void . Or at least, that's what it would have seemed like to someone observing the battle.

  Whoever was behind Almodeus a few minutes earlier had been able to avoid my shot.

  "Are you my nightmare, or am I yours? "

  The voice from before spoke again, and the same creature that had been thrown against the tree lunged at them again, only this time it aimed directly at the knight. The blades on the stranger's arms clashed with Almodeus's sword, locking the two in a stalemate.

  Given the proximity, it was finally possible to see the attacker hiding in the darkness: he was covered by a black cloak, but a humanoid torso could be seen underneath, without legs and with two sharp blades on his arms, fused to the limb itself.

  My theory was true, as far as I can see! I recognized the creature's style, or should I say, the creatures.

  "We meet again, huh?"

  He asked, lowering his sword, signaling his no longer interested in fighting. Normally, that would have been a death sentence, but the creature before him widened its pupilless eyes slightly, then opened them wide in shock.

  "What? Wait! Those A's on the shoulders...Is that possible?!"

  The demon easily pushed the creature away and raised his right hand, ready to snap his fingers.

  "That's right..."

  Snap

  The darkness around them suddenly ceased, returning to its previous state.

  "Wait, but he is…"

  Almodea was left speechless when she recognized the mysterious creature.

  "Uncle Nocturn?!"

  The creature nodded, retracting the blades that protruded from its arms. His name was Nightmare, and he was none other than one of Almodeus's underlings in their old world, and one of his daughter's uncles, as well as the leader of the infamous Terror Trio: Nocturn, Demon of Nightmare.

  "Almodea? Then I suspected correctly! The one in armor is none other than... "

  "Yes! Almodeus himself! Long time no see, old friend!"

  Nocturn stared at the two through the eyeholes in his cloak, revealing his white, pupil-less eyeballs. The demon also lacked a mouth, which was why he spoke telepathically and his voice always sounded strangled.

  "You know, ever since I heard DARKNESS, I've been thinking you were behind it. After all, you've always been one for making catchy statements before attacking! Your fighting style also helped; rushing at a blinded enemy with your blades drawn has always been your tactic."

  "As cunning as ever, I see, Lord Almodeus. Our plan worked in the end."

  "Our?"

  Almodea raised an eyebrow, confused by the situation.

  "Nocturn is an excellent killer, as well as an excellent psychological torturer. However, he didn't do it all alone..."

  Almodeus commented, turning to the tree behind him and pointing his sword at its crest.

  "Right, Shaco?"

  From the tree he had pointed to, a figure of medium height descended, dressed as a clown, with a red jester's hat, empty white eyes and a face frozen in a perpetual smile.

  "Uh Ah Uh! Almodeus, is that really you?"

  Shaco laughed in his face. He was almost always laughing, not even Almodeus could tell if the clown was truly insane or not. He didn't even move his mouth to speak, so much so that his face resembled a pale mask part of his clown costume. This madman to the core was none other than Nocturn's brother and the most chaotic member of the Terror Trio: Shaco, Demon of Madness and Chaos.

  "Yes, it's me! I see you've been busy, huh?"

  "Uh Ah Uh! Of course you do! But tell me, big boss, since when do you go around cosplaying as Abadon?"

  Wearing the armor, Almodeus closely resembled Abadon, the Demon of Courage, both his rival and friend. It was precisely in homage to him that he chose that attire for the hero Amon, as well as to find beings who would recognize the armor, proving they were of the same world.

  "Yes, yes, let's skip the pleasantries! I assume you two are responsible for this place's recent 'resurgence,' right?"

  Shaco started laughing again, so much so that he looked like he was about to explode.

  "Not entirely correct, Boss! Anxy also helped us out!"

  Anxy was short for Anxiety, the Demon of Anxiety and self-doubt, the younger sister of Nocturn and Shaco. She was the most balanced and least bloodthirsty of the Terror Trio, as well as an expert mage. Despite being a demon, she was capable of using holy magic.

  "Is Anxy here too? Very good..."

  "Excuse me for asking, but I still don't understand the uncles' plan. Can someone explain it to me?"

  Almodea turned to her father, but it was Nocturn who spoke up.

  "When we found ourselves in this world, we assumed that the Absolute Almodeus was also there, since we are connected to him. So we thought we'd cause as much terror as possible to lure him! However, having no information about this world and not wanting to draw too much attention from troublesome people, we decided to use a more discreet method..."

  "And you did well, dear Nocturn! In fact, you lured me here!"

  Shaco burst out laughing as usual, pulling out two poisoned daggers, which he began juggling with.

  "Ha Ha Ha! Yeah! Although I didn't expect you to do such a masquerade, Boss! It's hilarious!"

  The clown suddenly became serious.

  “But the armor doesn't suit you at all..."

  "Always kind, huh?"

  Shaco came back amused and started laughing like crazy.

  "Oh Oh Oh! Nice to please you, Boss!"

  "Yes, yes, luckily I have patience..."

  Almodeus sighed again and looked at the two demons. Nocturn was a loyal and reliable servant, while Shaco was a living cataclysm. In power, they were only slightly inferior to his daughter. Both could destroy entire cities in a single day. In a short time, they had increased their military might exponentially.

  "Very well, I'll have someone send for you, and then take you to the Fear Tower."

  "The Fear Tower?"

  "Yes, Uncle Nocturn! She was teleported with all of us inside! The entire facility! Even the underground labs..."

  "Do we know what force summoned some of the most powerful beings in this very world? Not to mention the fact that it managed to summon the Absolute Being himself? Who can be so crazy? "

  Almodeus shrugged, sighing under his helmet.

  "We still have to figure it out. However, we've already accomplished something this week, Nocturn! Can I count on the Terror Trio's help?"

  Nocturn bowed- if someone without legs and floating could do that. He lowered his head, showing submission.

  "Yes, my lord. We descended fear demons will blindly obey the will of the Absolute Lord of Terror! The strongest of all…"

  By "derived demons," Nocturn meant those directly derived from other demons. He was the nightmare demon, derived from fear. The same process applied to Shaco and Anxy.

  "Well, then, I'll wait for you at the Fear Tower. Go get Anxy, I have a meeting with my wife for now."

  The demon took the phone and began typing in Shockwave's frequency, ordering him to open a portal to his location.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  C sat on her husband's throne. It was extremely uncomfortable for her, given her small size.

  Almodeus is too tall…

  She huffed and took some documents from the drawer. They were fake contracts drawn up by Sergio. For some strange reason, she could understand the language of that world, but not the writing. This didn't apply to her husband or daughter, who could understand everything. The same was true for Hirashi.

  “Mh?”

  She looked up and heard the door open. She noticed her husband's figure entering the office, greeting her warmly.

  "Welcome back, darling! How did your first adventure with Almodea go?"

  "Everything was fine. She had a great time!"

  Almodeus sat down in his armchair, placing his wife on his lap, as if she were a child.

  “And what about you and the Marquis? How did it go?”

  At the question, C frowned. Thinking about that idiot didn't make her happy.

  "Not well, my love..."

  "Does that mean he refused the negotiations?"

  What do I do? Do I tell him the truth? There's a risk he'll commit a genocide... But it's better to be honest, especially with Almodeus.

  She was panicking internally. She didn't like lying to the man, or being, she'd fallen in love with, but was afraid of his reaction. She took a deep breath, then relaxed her shoulders.

  "Yes, and not only that. He also treated me and Hirashi very badly, solely because we were both women."

  C began, huffing in irritation at the memory of the situation she was describing.

  “Hirashi defended me from his abuse and was verbally attacked. It was embarrassing, and I can tell you that-"

  "WHAT DID HE DO!?!?!?!?!!?"

  She stopped immediately. The earth began to shake after Almodeus's angry shout. The demon's rage was so great that it shook the tower's foundations. It felt as if the planet was about to split in half from the vibrations alone.

  "That disgusting human scum! How dare he?! He will pay with a fate worse than death!"

  Almodeus's right eye emitted a flame that reached the ceiling, while the tower continued to shake under his screams. It seemed as if even the structure was frightened by its master's fury.

  I have to calm him down before he commits genocide...Again.

  She'd lost count of how many worlds her husband had destroyed. There were certainly a lot.

  "Honey! Calm down, please! Let's think..."

  She approached and clasped her small hands with her husband's colossal ones, trying to calm him. It seemed to be working—after their gazes met, the flame coming from Almodeus's eye died down. He was slowly calming down.

  It took a few minutes, marked by sighs and low groans.

  "Yes, you're right. But we have to take action!"

  "Love, I know! But we can't just go off and cause a massacre! The servants aren't to blame; in fact, one of them was very kind to us..."

  Almodeus relaxed at his desk and began to think. If he let go, there would be nothing left…literally.

  "We must find a way to gain control of the village and some of the Marquis's possessions without risking our presence being revealed, but how?"

  "Um...Sir, I have an idea."

  Their gaze shifted to one of the robots in the room. It was Sergio, the most brilliant mind in the Fear Tower. He had recently entered, drawn by the screams and earthquakes.

  "Go ahead, Sergio! Let's hear your ideas. After all, you're our economic expert and master strategist."

  Sergio approached the desk and bowed before the Queen and King of the Fear Tower, who were sitting together on the throne, one above the other.

  "I've devised a plan that could allow us to obtain not only Anna's village, but other assets as well! As well as—"

  An evil smile spread across the robot's face.

  “-Just revenge against that disrespectful nobleman!”

  "Go ahead, Sergio. I'm listening..."

  Almodeus leaned forward, visibly interested, in a certain sense urging his subordinate to speak.

  "...I'm all ears!"

  Hearing his subordinate's plan, a macabre smile spread across the Absolute Lord's face.