We walked into the arena. My insides had long frozen, even the urge to piss myself vanishing.

  The stands spiraled up from the pit, packed solid with every species of demon I’d ever seen and at least a dozen new ones. Some of them had wings, some had scales, and most had too many teeth. They hooted and howled, throwing bones, coins, and what might have been candy wrappers.

  Takezo only frowned when we got closer to him.

  Francesca and I couldn’t stop spinning, every demon staring at us more terrifying than the other. Takezo only looked ahead though.

  I stopped to trace his gaze.

  Up above the tribune in front of us, empty stairs snaked up to a throne. On the throne sprawled a woman in a mixture of armor and a suit, her angelically beautiful face braced on her palm, her horns long, narrow, and pointing forward.

  I leaned toward Takezo. “Who’s that?”

  “The end of our path.”

  The woman raised her hand, and all the demons instantly fell silent. The arena went from deafening noise to absolute silence when one could hear his own heartbeat in an instant.

  “How did you get here?” the woman asked, voice pleasant and melodic, expression bored.

  “I should ask you the same,” Takezo shouted back, taking one step forward. “How did you get on Earth, Kallisto? Who brought you here?”

  Oh… I froze in place. Francesca glanced at me, puzzled, but I couldn’t answer.

  Kallisto laughed merrily, as if hearing a fun joke. “Good one, Boy. Do you expect me to tell you that, so that after you die, you can return to Hell, and find a way to tell the people from wherever you came?”

  Takezo awkwardly nodded.

  “I remember you though.” She leapt from the throne and landed on one boot on the edge of the arena’s wall. Her cloak, woven from nails and interlocking chains, flew around her, gleaming as if alive. “You are Shinmen Takezo, aren’t you? I’ve killed you already.” She closed her eyes for a split second and then grinned. “And I still have your soul in my cloak.”

  Her presence hit me like a speeding train. Her aura shut all air inside my mouth, squeezing my entire body from everywhere at once. In that second, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, I couldn't think.

  Every cell of my body froze with a single thought overpowering all functions.

  Death.

  This wasn’t like with Isabella though. It wasn’t her magical aura or anything real that froze me in place.

  Her presence alone did all that.

  Takezo gulped dryly. There was no way out. He drew his sword and grabbed it with both hands. Horns bursting out from his forehead. “Guess I’ll find out what happens when two identical souls meet.”

  I caught my assault rifle and lowered my stance, bracing its butt against my shoulder. Might as well die fighting.

  Even Francesca spread her legs slightly and lowered her chin into a combat stance.

  Kallisto scooped her cloak with her hand, which made it reform into a long spear. She jumped from the wall into the arena.

  The second her boot touched the ground, she bolted forward with a hypersonic boom. In a split second, Francesca shoved me to the side, Kallisto reached us, and ran her spear through Francesca’s chest in the place where my head was a fraction of a second ago.

  Kallisto whirled, swinging the spear like a scythe. She swatted Takezo away and finished the swing by running the blade through Francesca’s throat. Kallisto almost cut her head off, blood spraying everywhere.

  I finally braced my leg against the ground, stabilized, raised the rifle, and fired. Bullets roared into the arena, hitting Kallisto.

  She didn’t even react, turning to stab at Takezo instead.

  The bullets simply bounced off her. And so did Takezo’s blade. He slashed down, then stepped forward, and slashed up in the follow-through. Both cuts hit her square, all just sliding over her. She didn’t block or dodge. Instead, she stabbed him in the gut.

  Takezo bent forward, impaled on her spear. Kallisto grabbed after his horns, but he jumped backwards. In a whirling move, he sheathed his sword, took a lower stance, and then stepped in when she stabbed at him again. He slipped under her spear, drawing his sword with a hypersonic boom.

  He cut her across the body, whirled, and cut her again, square in the side. His blade barely scratched her outfit. When the second slash landed, she caught one of his horns with her left hand and slammed her knee into his face. A bone-freezing crunch echoed through the arena.

  Takezo’s body jerked back, flying from the spear.

  She turned and, in a blur, darted to me and stabbed me straight through the rifle. Her spear pierced the metal as if it were nothing, together with my armor, and I barely bent my body so as to not get run through. The blade still cut my side.

  Kallisto followed through, but planted her leg into the ground and spun into a roundhouse kick.

  Her heel crashed into my face, breaking my helmet’s visor, crushing my nose, and throwing me away. My back slammed into the wall, ears ringing, breath bursting out from my lungs.

  Takezo got up, propping himself up by his blade.

  With a smirk, Kallisto turned towards him, catching her spear with both hands.

  A drone hit Kallisto and exploded. The shockwave threw Takezo away and pinned me to the wall. More explosions thundered from the stands, the demons screeching.

  Kallisto burst out from the explosion, unscathed, stabbing at Takezo.

  In a burst of wind, Saito landed in front of Takezo. With horns out, black eyes, and wreathed in a whirlwind, he didn’t look human at all.

  He parried the stab, but Kallisto rammed into him with her shoulder, knocking him away.

  Another drone hit Kallisto, exploding, this time more into heat and smoke, and less into force.

  I pushed myself off the wall, landed on my feet, and coughed up blood. Fuck. My vision blurred. The only thing I could see clearly was Francesca’s lifeless corpse.

  Chains grabbed me from behind and yanked me off my feet.

  How did she get here?

  More chains grabbed Takezo. They took us to Isabella, who sat in what looked like a giant sling made of her hair. She observed us with a cold, focused look, dressed in her usual outfit, just with combat boots.

  Demons on tribunes tried to claw their way to us, but more drones hit them, tearing them apart with explosions.

  Saito exchanged a few blows with Kallisto. He landed a few slashes, but she ran her spear through his chest.

  The hair sling catapulted us into the air. Isabella’s hair pulled us to her, forming a shell around us to make us glide.

  I tried to talk, but just spat out blood. Takezo didn’t look much better, bleeding from the eyes, ears, and mouth.

  I looked back. The whole stadium smoked, the roars of demons getting distant.

  Something flew out of the smoke, heading for us. As it approached, I realized the strange shape was a rocket-propelled glider, on which stood a woman.

  Kallisto.

  “Incoming,” I squeezed out of myself.

  Isabella’s hair moved us slightly away from her, and she turned into a figurine made of hair.

  The glider rammed into us from above, Kallisto running her spear through Isabella’s form.

  The hair split apart, tore the glider to shreds, and caught Kallisto.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  We started falling.

  Kallisto whirled, tearing the hair.

  We crashed. I hit the ground rolling and tumbled through the street before hitting a burnt car. Takezo landed near me, crashing into the remnants of a traffic light.

  Isabella and Kallisto landed in a chaos of chains, hair, and a swinging spear.

  I pushed myself from the car. Shotgun? No, too much collateral damage. I spat out blood and drew the two guns.

  Takezo fell from the pole, but not flat. He braced himself on his feet and gripped the sword with both hands.

  We needed an opening though.

  In the absolute chaos of chains and a spear, Kallisto tore enough of the chains, forcing Isabella to reform.

  “Go for the portal,” Isabella shouted and threw herself backward to dodge the incoming stab.

  Kallisto bolted after Isabella in a blur.

  Isabella bent to dodge, the spear grazing her.

  Too fast. This was too fast for me to hit anyone. I glanced over my shoulder. We were only about a hundred yards away from the Tokyo portal.

  I could run.

  But I wasn’t leaving Isabella behind.

  I raised one gun and fired at Kallisto. The AI's aim did its work, hitting her in the face.

  She didn’t react at all, chasing Isabella with the spear instead.

  Takezo bolted towards Kallisto.

  In a burst of wind, Saito reappeared, landing near Isabella.

  Kallisto sported a chuckle and gripped the spear closer to the butt. She stabbed at Isabella, slid aside, swung to swat away Takezo, and turned the swing into a stab at Saito.

  Isabella twisted her body away. Takezo ducked under the swing. Saito got hit square in the chest.

  He grabbed the spear to hold it in his hand.

  Isabella turned into chains again and caught Kallisto by the neck, lifting her up for a split second.

  Takezo gripped the sword in both hands and sprang forward into full-force stab at Kallisto’s face. His blade hit but just slid off her face.

  Kallisto jerked her body so strongly she tore apart the chains. She kicked Takezo in the gut, which threw him up and swatted Isabella away. The second Kallisto landed, she stabbed at Takezo. He couldn’t dodge due to being mid-air.

  I shot Kallisto again, but still no reaction.

  She stabbed Takezo three times in the body, each time the tip of her spear exiting cleanly through his back, and then kicked him away, sending him tumbling on the street.

  Isabella’s hair extended, caught Takezo, and threw him into the portal.

  Kallisto turned, blocked an attack from Saito, and kicked his knee, blowing it apart.

  Isabella bolted from her, grabbing me with a group of hair strands and a steel barrel from behind one of the burnt cars near the portal.

  Kallisto threw her spear. In a hypersonic boom, the spear grazed me, nearly tearing a hole through my body. It hit the steel barrel, pinning it against a wall, making blood burst out of it.

  Isabella stopped, sent a burst of chains towards the barrel, and threw me into the portal.

  As I flew, Saito slashed at Kallisto once more.

  She caught his hand, crushed his wrist with a twist of her hand, kneed him in the gut, and pulled him forward. He tried to brace himself, but the destroyed knee offered no support.

  He fell face-first on the street. Kallisto stomped on his head, blowing it apart like a rotten apple. She bolted towards Isabella, stretching out her hand.

  The spear flew out from the wall, returning to Kallisto’s hand.

  I hit the portal and passed straight through. On the other side, I slammed into the soldiers who were trying to lift up Takezo.

  Thanks to that, I fell on my feet and bolted back towards the portal. Or, well, tried to, because my knees wobbled, so I could barely make a step.

  On the other side of the portal, Kallisto reached Isabella. She stabbed three times while Isabella tried to evade by throwing herself back with her hair. Two stabs missed, but the third one hit Isabella in the gut.

  Kallisto withdrew the spear and spun. She swung the spear in a wide arc. The blade blurred through the air and cleaved Isabella in two at the waist. Kallisto finished the spinning cut with a kick, hitting Isabella in the chest, sending the top half of her flying while the bottom half remained where she was.

  Isabella landed barely ten feet away from the portal, blood flying everywhere.

  I froze in my step. Fuck.

  Isabella floated into the air, the air around her blurring. She raised her hands towards Kallisto, just as the demon princess charged. Magic spun before Isabella’s palms, collapsing unto itself, forming a miniature black hole. Kallisto stabbed her spear into the ground to stop herself from being drawn into the black hole.

  The black hole pulsed, growing, drawing towards itself everything from the street, including light itself. Another pulse, and then the black hole imploded into a point, which exploded. The entire world tore apart in front of Isabella and shattered into an absurd blast.

  The recoil threw Isabella backward. Her back slammed into the portal. But she couldn’t pass through. The continuing blast pinned Isabella to the portal, tearing apart her hands and forearms until only elbow stubs remained.

  When the blast finished, she fell on the ground in front of the portal.

  I reached the portal and ran back through. No sign of Kallisto. I stopped above what remained of Isabella, two-thirds of her torso, a neck, a head, and two stumps reaching barely beyond her shoulders.

  I drew my knife, stabbed it into my arm, and cut it upwards to the wrist. Blood poured out, raining on Isabella.

  I had realized what had happened. My blood allowed me to pass through the portal. Isabella knew that, which was why she forced me to put stats into endurance, which sped up my blood replenishment.

  Every day I slept at her place, I woke up lightheaded because she drained my blood through the night to build up a stock. She entered the portal by covering herself with my blood, and the steel barrel she had stashed away, the one Kallisto destroyed with the spear throw, contained my blood, her key to return.

  I started getting lightheaded from the blood loss. Didn’t matter. I grabbed Isabella by the shoulder with my other hand, and while still pouring my blood over her, I dragged her back through the portal.

  She didn’t go in easily, but I did pull her through.

  I looked around, searching for Elshiko. She stood above Takezo, a playful smile on her lips.

  “Elshiko,” I shouted. “Can you heal her?”

  Elshiko glanced in my direction. “I’ll call Dotty. She has picked up some necromancy recently, so she can make a cute little half-zombie out of her.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

  Shit.

  Shadow!

  Time around me froze, and Shadow appeared, towering above me and Isabella, completely out of place in the clean, perfect suit. “Decided to spec into necromancy?” he asked.

  “No!” I shouted and conjured the skill tree. Isabella wasn’t dead yet. Organs still hadn’t poured out of her, so she must have held them in with her shields. For as long as the shields held, she was alive. Though not for long, most likely, being reduced to head, neck, two stubs for arms, and about a half of her torso.

  I conjured the skill tree, looking for the healer skills. The earliest actual healing spell was level fifty.

  I was level nineteen, so not even close.

  Fuck.

  Desperate, I looked at the next system skill…

  Skill name: System intervention

  Usage: Once every 666 days

  Effect: Ask the system administrator to intervene with the world of living on the user’s behalf.

  And that required level twenty.

  Damn it all.

  I watched Francesca and Saito die today. I wasn’t going to do the same with Isabella.

  “Shadow,” I said, “After I’m done allocating stat points, unpause time, and then pause it immediately after I level up.”

  Shadow scoffed. “Would you like fries with that?”

  Not the time for jokes. I conjured the stat tree. All right. I needed to be faster. I had forty-five points to allocate. That many weren’t needed, so I put twenty-five points into speed to unlock the quickdraw passive. And then, I dumped all the remaining stats into endurance. That gave me an extra chance to survive my own injuries.

  I had the stats vanish.

  With a wave of his hand, Shadow had the time resume.

  I pulled power into my eyes. The world’s colors switched, revealing the auras of people. To my luck, one of the soldiers close to me had a red aura, and the others near him did too.

  In a seamless move, I drew my shotgun straight to the demon soldier’s head. At the same time, I started taking two hand grenades from my pocket. I squeezed the trigger. The weapon fired and splattered the man’s skull.

  The moment the recoil allowed me to, I moved the shotgun two inches, and fired. She second shot decapitated another soldier.

  Ding! Level up.

  Time froze.

  I conjured the skill tree and allocated a point into system intervention. This better damn work, because I just murdered two innocent men for it.

  I waved at Shadow.

  He vanished, time unfreezing in that instant.

  I instantly used the system intervention skill with a single focused thought: heal her.

  Time froze again. The corpses of the men I shot didn’t even manage to fall to the floor.

  This time, however, I could move. The hell?

  The floor broke near me. A tree grew out, turning from a tiny sprout into a full-grown tree within a second. The trunk opened, and a woman stepped out.

  She wore heavy boots, baggy, oversized pants, a massively oversized hoodie with the text Hail Satan! on it as if it were the name of a metal band. Over the hoodie hung about thirty amulets, each with a symbol of a different religion. She had long, black nails, black lips, a pale, angelically beautiful face, messed-up, overgrown hair, and antler-like horns.

  I could speak, but found no words. This was not how I expected the administrator to look.

  She walked to Isabella and tilted her head. “Are you sure you want me to heal her? It looks like a lot of work.”

  “Yes. Can you do it?”

  “I can… but it’s so much of a bother.” She yawned, raised her hand, and blood shot out from the demons I just killed, from Takezo, and from me. It floated into the air, gathering around the administrator. “People usually summon me to save themselves or to do something stupid. That’s always easy.”

  Breathless, I stared at her.

  Administrator fueled the blood to Isabella, refilling her veins while also weaving itself to create new skin, flesh, and bones. “Do you want her with all limbs, or can I skip the legs or something?”

  “All limbs, full functionality, everything good as new, ideally made to her physical prime,” I specified.

  “Geesh. I need to make this skill’s cooldown longer. Once every two years per mage is way too often for this much work.”

  I said nothing, staring instead.

  Like a seamstress weaving a new scarf, Administrator recrafted Isabella’s hands, pelvis, and started working on her legs. At the same time, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a blunt.

  I walked a bit to the side of her to verify I wasn’t imagining things.

  But she also took out a lighter, struck it, and took the first puff from the blunt. The restoration spell kept going though, recreating Isabella’s legs. “I suppose you do insist that she needs feet, right?”

  “Yeah, they are kind of important.”

  “Pervert.” She took a long drag and blew out a ring of smoke. The restoration spell finished, and Isabella was back to having all her limbs. Administrator let the remaining floating blood fall on Isabella, covering her like a twisted blanket.

  The administrator turned and tossed away the half-burned blunt as she walked back to the tree. “I really need to take this skill off the skill tree. Shouldn’t have ever put it in there in the first place.” She walked into the tree, merging with it. The tree withered to nothing as quickly as it grew.

  Time unpaused.

  I exhaled, exhaustion washing over me. Isabella twitched on the floor, looking at her own new hand in disbelief.

  Movement from behind the portal caught my attention.

  Kallisto stood on the other side. Her armor-suit destroyed around the shoulder, torn at multiple places, her shoulder marred with a large bruise, a light cut on her cheek dripping blood.

  Damn it.

  Even that black hole spell barely wounded her.

  Someone tackled me, and three more soldiers pinned me to the floor, disarming me while pressing a gun to my face through the hole in my helmet.

  Kallisto scooped the blood off her cheek, licked the finger, and spun to leave. She tossed the spear to her back, which spread back into the cloak of interwoven nails and chains.

  Someone kicked me in the head.

  That knocked me out.