"Do you see it?"

  A bearded man at the head of his group asked. From the clothing beneath his armor, it was clear he was a cleric. They typically served as healers in the rear of the army, part of a medical unit. Killing them in battle was considered a war crime, since they weren't fighting, but merely providing medical support. Furthermore, they were men in service to the deities, so killing any of them was considered a grave sin.

  "No, but it should be quite nearby. The princess said they were here..."

  One of the soldiers following him replied. He was from one of the Imperial divisions, as was evident not only from the crest on his breastplate but also from his equipment. Leather armor and a spear; that was all. If his weapon broke, he wouldn't have another. He'd been issued only one anyway. Even having a bow was a luxury.

  "We are in the service of Prince Zangan and Count Bonaparte! We shouldn't have been fooled by that girl's title!"

  One at the back of the group roared, visibly frustrated.

  "I know, but it was Count Bonaparte who gave us this assignment! Find the bandits and bring them to justice!"

  The soldier beside admonished him. Despite being only a count, House Bonaparte was among the richest and most affluent. No one in the entire Empire of Nexia was more connected than Count Never Bever Bonaparte. He was a man capable of managing information so well that was always ahead of the competition. No one would want to have him as an enemy, not even the nobles of his own faction, the aristocratic one.

  "Yes, yes. Anyway, they'll get out of jail right away! Because one nobleman says this, another says that... It always ends the same way!"

  "It's not up to us to judge the system..."

  "Shhh! Be quiet!"

  The soldiers all fell silent when Carvin- the expedition's captain- a stocky man in his fifties with a black goatee, ordered them to do so with a sharp shout.

  "Look over there!"

  The big man pointed to a sort of camp near a cave. The others smiled; they had hit the mark. For weeks there had been several attacks on merchants from the Bashad Federation, and legal trade had suffered as a result. They had been marching for days to clear out the bandits in that area.

  "Here we are! Let's go!"

  One of them shouted, but was immediately stopped by a companion.

  "Wait! This could be dangerous!"

  "What? There are fifty of us! And we have another troop of three hundred men behind us!"

  Not boasting great strength, the imperial legions had to rely on sheer numbers.

  "Now be quiet!"

  It was the captain who silenced them with his strong, authoritative voice. Many of them were commoners, taken from the countryside by the nobles of the Imperial faction, so their unprofessional behavior was normal, but Carvin couldn't accept it. He was a highly decorated soldier, after all.

  "Let's go, but let's be careful!"

  The man drew his sword and began to advance, followed by his subordinates.

  "What the hell happened here?!"

  One of the soldiers shouted, seeing a myriad of corpses strewn across the ground. The situation was clear; the bandits had been eliminated before their arrival. No, eliminated wouldn't have been an appropriate term in that case. There wasn't a single corpse that hadn't been torn to pieces. Some had been so badly damaged that it would have been impossible to identify them, or even distinguish the sex.

  "They beat us to it..."

  One of them commented, astonished.

  "Did Prince Bilius' team get there first?"

  Proposed another one of them.

  "No, his departure is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Something else has to do with this..."

  The Emperor had agreed to send the first Prince to the battlefield, but only if he departed a day later than the other expeditions. The excuse was that it would take longer to prepare his equipment, but the truth was quite different. The Emperor hoped that the other teams would do most of the work, thus avoiding danger to his foolish son.

  In the end, he made the right choice...

  Carvin had already sensed something wasn't right. The bodies had been torn apart by a beast, not a human. Reducing corpses to that state would have been a challenge even for adventurers.

  "Hey! Look!"

  One of the soldiers pointed to something in the distance. It looked like a woman, but with red skin and horns on her forehead. It was obvious to everyone what it was.

  "A succubus! What's she doing here? Could it be that somewhere there is an arcane sorcerer or a necromancer?!"

  The soldiers panicked at the sight of a demon. They knew what they were, but no one had ever seen one. Their fear only increased when they noticed there were actually two demons. The captain began banging his sword on his shield to silence his comrades, who were starting to talk a little too loudly for his liking.

  "Shut up! Demon or not, they did us a great favor! Now let's kill them and take credit for the deed! Roberdick!"

  The cleric stood at attention when he heard his name.

  "Yes?"

  "What can you tell me about these succubi?"

  The cleric cleared his throat and tried to recall what he'd read during his studies. Knowledge of monsters was quite limited in the Empire. Unfortunately, this also applied to magic, which was viewed as sleight of hand by the high nobility. The nobles were reluctant to fund academies or knowledge in general, as it wasn't profitable.

  "They are demons that range between level 10 and 20. They can use spells up to 3rd level and tend to be very lustful or greedy."

  Carvin turned to the two women in the distance, then returned his gaze to Roberdick.

  "We're sure they're normal succubi, right?"

  The cleric swallowed and looked at the women in the distance again. He wasn't sure how to respond, but appearing incompetent would be a terrible move. Roberdick was on the battlefield seeking a promotion, and appearing useless would be severely reprimanded by his superiors at the temple. In that case, it wouldn't be his fault, since even the highest temple prelates wouldn't be able to answer the captain's question with certainty.

  “So, Roberdick?”

  "Y-Yes, I'm sure! They only have two horns! If they were Succubus Queens, they would have four!"

  Good...

  The captain smiled at that response and turned to two of his men.

  "Draw your swords and go kill them!"

  One of them opened his eyes, confused.

  "B-But captain! Wouldn't it be better to attack them all at once?"

  Carvin's eyes widened at their refusal. The captain approached the two, his demeanor stern and intimidating. He was the leader, and no one could disrespect him. He had fought for that title, and wouldn't let some cowards like those two tarnish it before his eyes. He could have gone himself and set a good example, but it would have been too dangerous if those two succubi were using themselves as baits—it was possible they were accompanying a higher-level monster.

  "No buts! Besides, the succubi know spells up to level 3! If they had an area-effect one, it would be the end for us! Go ahead and attract their attention; we'll support you from the distance!"

  In practice, the captain was using the two men as cannon fodder. They couldn't refuse to obey his order or they would have died anyway

  "C-Certainly, Captain!"

  The soldiers drew their swords and began to approach the succubi, under the gaze of their comrades, grateful that it was not them at that moment.

  What happened next sent shockwaves down the spines of every man on the team, including Captain Carvin. The two demons had just decapitated both of the men sent, with a single, sharp blow to the neck.

  "I-Impossible! Roberdick?!!"

  Carvin turned to the cleric, demanding an explanation. Two demons of that level could never have done such damage, not even against low-ranking soldiers like the Imperial ones.

  "Succubi have physical strength equal to that of a human woman, this is too much! I don't know what happened! I swear this is not normal!"

  Seeing the surprise on the clergyman's face, the captain frowned.

  He's a completely useless idiot!

  Carvin raised his right arm and pointed at the enemy demons. Only one move was logical in that situation.

  "Archers! Shoot!"

  At that order, all the bow-wielding soldiers, who were not many, launched a shower of arrows at the succubi.

  "Impossible!"

  The captain began to retreat; cold sweat running down his back. The arrows that had been fired had bounced off the skin of the two succubi, astonishing everyone present. The only real effect that rain of steel had was to attract the attention of the two demonesses, who charged toward the human battalion.

  "They've targeted us! What are we going to do?!"

  The soldiers began to panic when they saw the succubi approaching. Even Captain Carvin, who promptly ordered a retreat. It was obvious to everyone by now that they had no chance against such high-level monsters.

  “Retreat! Retreat, now!”

  Carvin shouted at the top of his lungs, causing everyone to run away like scared rabbits in a reckless and staggered manner.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  After walking several dozens of meters and reaching a nearby hill, the soldiers rested to catch their breath—not that they could run any longer. Fear had given them wings, but now they were completely exhausted.

  "What were those women?!"

  "I don't know, but they would have killed us for sure!"

  “By the Gods! What monsters!”

  The soldiers seemed to be panicking, and the captain couldn't contain them. Even he wouldn't have been able to do much against those two. The battle would have been a one-sided massacre. The best idea would have been to rejoin the rest of the battalion. They would number over two hundred and could easily eliminate the two women without any trouble.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Raaaghhhh!"

  A roar drew the soldiers' attention, and they looked up to see a sort of humanoid demon swooping down on them like a vulture. It was completely different from the two succubi before.

  "Draw your swords!"

  Carvin roared, but not everyone was able to follow his advice. One of the soldiers was struck down by the demon and instantly dismembered. His death was brutal and painful, but it gave the others the chance to stab the monster from all sides and end his life.

  "What was that?! A demon too?!"

  The cleric asked, running his hands through his hair, before receiving an unexpected answer.

  "It was actually a Half-Demon!"

  The soldiers all turned to whoever had spoken and saw the two succubi from before, flanked by a third one, plus a fourth woman standing at the head of the group. She was much taller than the others and appeared to be of a different race. Her wings were big, similar to those of a dragon. She had a smile plastered across her face.

  "Y-You...What are you doing here?!"

  Captain Carvin asked, trying to sound confident- and failing miserably.

  "We're here to find strong beings! Are you strong?"

  "Strong beings? Why would you seek them?"

  "You don't need to care why! Are you strong or not? If you're not, you'll be killed..."

  The captain stepped forward and drew his sword, pointing it at the demoness, staring at her with a determined gaze.

  "I am Captain Carvain of the Nexia Empire! I have fought countless battles, and I will not be treated like this by a monster! You want someone strong? Then come forward!"

  “I am Almodea Fearterror and- “

  Carvin didn't let her finish introducing herself and lunged at the opponent, who remained still and smiling, as if she were looking at a cute little animal like a bunny.

  "You humans are all the same. So funny and so willing to die!"

  With a swift, decisive movement, Almodea slammed her fist into the man's belly, piercing his armor and ripping through, as if it were a piece of cardboard.

  "Pathetic...And to think I even introduced myself like a nice girl!"

  Almodea simply withdrew her arm, throwing the man's body to the ground as if it were garbage. The other soldiers stared in astonishment; of the powerful Captain Carvain, only his disemboweled corpse remained.

  "Girls, kill them all..."

  The succubi started to move, but stopped when the cleric threw himself to the ground and began pleading, his eyes started filling with tears. Everyone was surprised, both demons and humans.

  "Please! Spare us, or at least me!"

  "And why, if I may ask? What's so important about you?"

  The tearful man raised his head and stared at Almodea, trying to figure out how to respond. His life was at stake.

  "I am a cleric of the holy church of the Bardo God! Please, let me go! Otherwise, paladins will come looking for me!"

  Almodea's gaze lit up, while the soldiers' eyes filled with indignation at the clergyman's words. They hadn't expected such cowardice.

  "A cleric, huh? Oh my God, I've never met one! Girls, new order! Kill everyone expect him, okay?"

  The succubi nodded and threw themselves on the soldiers, beginning yet another massacre that evening.

  "Thank you! Thank you!"

  Said the cleric, starting to wipe the tears from his face.

  "Take and interrogate him, then let's take this man to the tower."

  "W-What?"

  When the man realized that he would not be released, he tried to escape but was caught by one of the succubi, who broke his leg and began interrogating him with brutal aggression.

  “Ahhh! Let go of me! Let go of me, please!”

  Almodea rolled her eyes at those complaints, visibly bored.

  "While you're doing this, I'm going to see if I can find that El Kaiser guy."

  She declared, taking flight and disappearing into the sky, completely oblivious to the pain felt by the man behind her.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  How boring! I'm tired of wasting time! Killing can be fun, but I'm tired of facing only humans and bandits...

  Almodea snorted. She'd been wandering for over half an hour now, and yet nothing; there was no sign of the human nearby. She was getting tired of wandering aimlessly.

  "Oh, for fuck’s sake!"

  She huffed angrily before sitting on a tree branch. Almodea had fun, but it would be a problem if she returned to the tower without even a single hostage; was like failing the mission.

  Dad will scold me if I fail!

  She brought her hands to the hair and snorted again.

  "Almy! You take care of it, okay?"

  Her shadow, nicknamed Almy, came to life on its own and began moving in one of the possible directions. Being incorporeal, it was very fast and would have found that human in no time.

  El Kaiser was just a man running, he couldn't have gone too far, right?

  "How boring! Why did everything have to go this bad? Oh well, at least I have the cleric..."

  Almodea snorted, very annoyed by the whole situation. Failing a mission would be embarrassing. She was the daughter of Almodeus, the most powerful being in existence; she couldn't fail. She couldn't be a disappointment to her father, especially since she was level 100—losing to weaker beings would be like losing to an ant.

  “...The night here isn't bad."

  She commented, looking at the star-filled night sky, calming herself down. Where Almodea came from, the sky wasn't like this. The sun of hell was a giant red A, and the night was black as tar, devoid of stars. To see them, she'd have to go to earth, but Almodea didn't do that often.

  “Mh?”

  Out of nowhere, a huge beam of light appeared in the sky.

  "What?!"

  Almodea brought her hand to her chest, right on the A engraved on her belly. Something was wrong—she had felt pain for some reason.

  "My shadow...was destroyed?! How?! Could it have been the human?"

  It was impossible. Her shadow was a level 40 independent monster, and El Kaiser would have been at most level 25. It would have been impossible for Almy to lose to him, especially given her immunity to physical attacks.

  What if that human was stronger than I'd imagined? But why he run away, then?

  Wasting no time, Almodea took flight and sped toward the area where her shadow had been destroyed. Almy would regenerate in time, but everything she had seen was lost.

  Damn! Damn! Damn!

  The girl patted herself on the head. She'd been reckless and hadn't used her ability to observe what Almy was seeing, and now she was destroyed because of her. Almodea should have considered the presence of someone strong, which was difficult when she thought herself invincible against the natives of that world.

  “Huh?”

  Arriving at the site, she saw a group of about ten people inspecting another cave. They were all dressed in different outfits and didn't look like soldiers, since only three of them were wearing armor.

  And who are these? Humans?

  Almodea landed not far from them, and was immediately attacked by those in the rear, who unleashed various spells upon her. However, they were ineffective due to the demoness's high magic resistance. Only spells of level 7 or higher could harm Almodea's physical form, and there was no guarantee she would feel any pain at all.

  "You are stronger than the bandits, I will have to capture you..."

  She prepared to attack them, but was beaten to the punch by one of the men in the group. A young boy lunged at her, brandishing a large halberd. The boy's weapon collided with Almodea's right hand; the red claws grazed the unfamiliar metal, managing to resist.

  "Hmm... Remarkable! Are you able to resist a blow of mine?"

  Almodea commented, visibly surprised. The boy was able to match her in terms of physical strength, at least for now. Between the two of them, he was doing all the hard work, while she could have used much more strength or attacked with magic.

  -But Almodea decided not to use spells in that situation.

  "You're not bad, human! You'll make a great plaything!"

  She increased her force and pushed forward, destabilizing the enemy's posture, before sending him away with a well-aimed kick. Despite his high-level armor, the attack had been effective.

  This human is strong...A normal one would have died.

  An attack of that force would have caused the internal organs of anyone to explode, even monsters as large as ogres or orcs.

  "This monster is strong..."

  The boy commented in return, resuming a defensive stance. The armor seemed to have cushioned any potential physical damage, but was not damaged in any way.

  “Sir Axel! Could this be the woman we are looking for?”

  A big man in the rear asked.

  "No, the woman we're looking for is much taller! This one is probably a high-level demon or dragonoid! Be careful!"

  Axel replied, before charging Almodea again. The girl parried the blow easily, resuming a contest of strength.

  "Do you really think you can beat me, human?"

  She asked, pushing Axel away slightly.

  “Tch! Don’t underestimate me!”

  The young man roared, starting to sweat from the physical exertion. His arms trembled, while Almodea's remained still, as if her muscles weren't tiring in the slightest. To be honest, she didn't have any muscles or ligaments that could get tired in the first place.

  "Lady Sabia! I don't think I can beat her quickly! Use that...now!"

  Almodea seemed confused by her opponent's statement. What did he mean? Did they have a secret weapon? She shouldn't have been worried about something like that given her strength- but then why didn't she feel confident? Almodea realized too late that, at the back of the group, stood an old woman intent on chanting a strange spell, with a strange object in her hand.

  That object...

  Almodea didn't know why, but she felt that strange crown was powerful. The energy it emitted was something that surpassed even the golden cross Bork used some time ago.

  I don't know what she's doing, but I have to stop her! I feel like I have to do it!

  Almodea shouldn't have let the old woman use it— the instincts told her so. That's when she lunged at the woman, but Axel stepped in and tried to stop her.

  "Get out of my way!"

  Almodea swung her claws with such force that hurled the young man away as if he were a sheet of paper. The girl didn't even stop to kill him; she had already targeted another man, standing between her and the old woman. Almodea lunged at the old woman at inhuman speed, aided by her wings.

  “Stop, mon- “

  One of the group members raised his sword- as big as a tree trunk- and lunged at the girl, but was instantly slaughtered, as were two other members who had gotten in his way.

  Almodea's advance was halted once again by Axel, who managed to reach her and stand in front of the girl, blocking her with his halberd. However, only then did he notice the demoness's strength had increased compared to before. Now it was too much to handle—his arms would soon give up.

  "You're annoying! Get out of the way!"

  Almodea roared as she struck Axel with the claws, knocking him to the ground. With no enemies left who had the strength, or courage, to stop her advance, the girl lunged for Axel's throat, but was interrupted by a beam of light that struck her full on.

  What? What's happening to me?

  Sabia's spell had been cast and had reached its destination, and now Almodea was feeling its effects.

  "Submit, monster!"

  The old woman cried, holding among her hands the divine object known as “The Crown of the Shattered Queen.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Things shouldn't have turned out that way.

  Axel and the Scriptures of Discord weren't targeting Almodea, but coincidences had led to that situation. They were there to eliminate a powerful threat, unaware of the girl's existence.

  If only Almodea hadn't been distracted, if only she hadn't sent her shadow to randomly search for El Kaiser, and if she had completed her mission without believing it was all a game—maybe things would have turned out differently.

  But now it was too late. Almodea had been struck by one of the Reia Theocracy's most powerful artifacts: "The Crown of the Shattered Queen." A magical object difficult to use, nearly deadly, yet extremely powerful. It granted control over the will of any creature, while leaving them conscious. It was a brutal treatment, but one the Theocracy was ready to use without hesitation for the survival of the human race.

  For the first time, Almodea felt a piercing pain in her head.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Ahhh!"

  Almodea fell to her knees. Her head was pounding and she felt strange. The more time passed, the more confused she was. A shape began to form around her forehead, resembling a cracked crown made of blue crystals.

  No…I can't be beaten! I'm Almodeus's daughter, for fuck’s sake! Dad…He'd hate me if I were weak. I...Can’t be weak!

  "Submit!"

  Sabia shouted again, but Almodea had completely lost the will to listen to her.

  "Shut the fuck up! Absolute Ray!"

  The girl roared, managing to raise her right hand toward the old woman. After a few seconds' delay, a red beam shot from the limb, aimed directly at the woman who was subjugating her. Almodea wanted to use another spell, perhaps an area effect, but she couldn't. She felt her head pounding more and more. It shouldn't have gone that way.

  Almodea had always been immune to mind control. Any magic of that kind should have vanished as soon as it came into contact with her, but in this case, it hadn't—she was in a terrible pain.

  I can't lose! I can't! I can't! I can’t! I am...Fear! I am...Almodea!

  A new emotion began to overwhelm the girl: anger. The pain was making her angrier than she could ever imagine. Her body began to mutate, becoming more bestial and less friendly.

  -The Scripture of Discord had angered the very person whose anger they should have feared the most.

  "Shield of the God!"

  One of the men in the group shouted, standing in front of the old woman. He held two powerful shields fused into one, making his weapon resemble a colossal wall. He had activated all his defensive abilities, and his shield- also a relic of the gods- was ready to take the blow.

  However, it was not enough.

  Blood from multiple people flew everywhere. The red beam fired by Almodea penetrated the shield easily, shattering it to pieces. The man spat blood and leaned forward as the blast pierced his chest, finally reaching Sabia, who was seriously wounded in the side.

  "Lady Sabia! Ribombè"

  Axel couldn't help but shout the names of his fallen comrades. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as he saw the corpse of the man known as The Shield of God killed in a single blow. His shield, left behind by the Twelve Great Gods and which had seen dozens of battles against beings of immeasurable power, now it lay shattered on the ground.

  "I must obey..."

  Axel whirled around to face Almodea, who was still kneeling on the ground, visibly confused. Normally, the effect of The Crown of the Shattered Queen was instantaneous—but the girl still hadn't been subdued, despite all the time that had passed since the artifact's activation.

  "How come you're not submissive yet?!"

  His cries were filled with anger and resentment. Had they lost so many men and relics of their past just to slightly stun the enemy? Axel refused to believe it.

  “How can you challenge the power of the Gods?!”

  Axel roared again, rising to his feet with the aid of his halberd. His determination was the only thing keeping him upright after all the strain that was put on his body.

  However, Almodea ignored him completely, as if he weren't even there. She stood up, her hands touching the crystal crown around her head. Her claws clutched the pieces of the crown, with a rage that surpassed any emotion Axel had ever witnessed.

  "I must obey...MYSELF!"

  With a furious cry, Almodea shattered the crown on her head. The earth shook beneath her feet, as her body emitted such energy that it made Axel's heart tremble, as if he were facing something far more powerful than a god.

  “I am Almodea Fearterror! And I will remain so until the end of time! I will decide who and what I am! No one will deprive me of that! NO ONE!”

  With that final outburst, Almodea slammed her hands on the ground. The enormous energy she had accumulated while resisting the object that was plagiarizing her mind was released in one fell swoop. The size and intensity of the roar spread far and wide, shaking the earth to its very core.

  -It wasn't a spell, nor was it a skill. It was the rage of a desperate girl.

  "Retreat! Take the wounded and leave! Greater Teleporation!"

  Axel and his allies vanished just before being hit by the massive shockwave, which reduced the area to a huge crater. In the center, Almodea stood motionless. Despite a smile on her face, red tears were streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably. Her anger had completely disappeared, giving way to sadness.

  “Dad...I disappointed you...Again...”

  And with that, Almodea collapsed to the ground.