Glam the Executioner was on cloud nine. There was nothing that excited him more than situations like these. The competent warriors of the Grand Fortress of Sishet were slowly dying to the demons in his surroundings, and in his hand he held none other than the leader. His face was contorting in horror, his eyes were quaking in anger, his ragged breathing just went to show his psychological state. It was all simple bliss.

  The warriors would soon die, the mages would soon fall, and the fortress would soon become theirs. That was their commandment, their mission, their sole purpose?— well, at least that’s what the council wanted them to believe. For Glam it was different, for him it was the simple joy of trampling others that made him feel fulfilled.

  He let out a rushed breath as he peered at the chief of the Grand Fortress on his grip.

  “Well…?” His voice drew out. “Are you going to do anything, or are you just going to watch?” He smiled as his voice dropped to a whisper. “Are you going to watch everything you worked so hard for be ruined?”

  Almost instantly, the man on his grip tensed, his face turned ashen, and Glam felt excitement well within him. That expression, that look; it was all so perfect.

  “Y-You?—!”

  The man tried to move but Glam in response punched him in the stomach. A pained howl echoed along with a burst of blood, like a dying animal he twisted. Blood poured out of his mouth.

  “Now, where was I again?” Glam tilted his head before smiling. “Ah, right. Once I’m done with you, I will go inside that fortress, and with every single person; every single inhabitant, I will do this to them.”

  He leaned over towards the now dying man.

  “I will tell them that it was your failure that led to this outcome.”

  In response, the leader of the Grand Fortress shifted but was unable to do anything. He couldn’t even speak anymore, but the despair that was visible on his face was worth more than a million words in Glam’s eyes.

  He let out a happy long breath.

  This? He smiled. This is what it means to live.

  Glam chuckled, and then cocked his arm back to put the man out of his misery. While he would’ve loved to keep playing, he did unfortunately, have a job to do.

  “It was nice, fortress leader,” he said with a smile. “May the gods forgive you for your failures?—”

  A gust of wind passed, and Glam shivered slightly, his speech interrupted. He frowned.

  What was that?—?

  “Hey,” a voice echoed on his ear. “I heard you’re pretty strong…”

  Glam felt his entire body shiver and immediately threw the leader of the Grand Fortress off to the side, then with a fast dash he separated himself from the person behind him, leaving a few dozen meters of separation. He frowned. How did he fail to sense that person?

  Must’ve been because I enjoyed myself… Glam reasoned and finally turned to look at his attacker.

  There, he saw a cloaked person, their mere presence had an aura of black flames, their face wasn’t visible, but when he laid eyes upon them he had an awful feeling premonition.

  The person looked up, their massive sword leaning against their shoulder as they smiled. Their pearly whites becoming fully visible as they spoke.

  “Just how strong are you, I wonder…?”

  The way they spoke, like a battle-starved maniac, filled Glam with dread, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he chuckled.

  “Appraisal speaks for itself,” he shrugged. “I’m pretty close to Level 400.”

  “Not bad, this makes it easier to judge myself then.”

  Hearing the person before him, he frowned. At this point, their gender wasn’t a mystery, but what kind of woman would be strong enough to be this confident against him? He didn’t know any, the strongest was that elf archmage but her demeanor didn’t resemble this. He sneered and got ready for battle, but by the time he blinked she?—

  Was gone.

  Glam felt danger and raised his arms to block, and almost simultaneously he was hit. It was as if a charging bull struck him, both his arms shot with pain and the top half went numb. His vision reeled and his body was launched at supersonic speeds. He crashed against a mountain in the distance as his momentum finally stopped.

  Glam frowned and raised his arms but he paused. In place were just two stumps.

  “No wonder it went numb,” he sneered.

  He channeled his mana and a moment later two shadows streaked through the air, then raising his arms they collided. With a meaty sound, his arms fused whole once more but what he saw made him frown. They were covered in burn marks. That was going to need quite a lot of Healing Potions to fix. However, he didn’t have the luxury to think about that anymore.

  With a scoff, he hardened his arms and swung.

  A loud clang echoed through the air as he finally saw the silhouette of the flaming black shadow he was fighting. With a growl, he pounced. He wasn’t going to let her hide once more!

  Stomping his foot, he channeled the skill he always used, [Hand of the Arcane - Telekinesis] and with it, he made the woman facing him stumble. Her poise immediately broke, and he seized the chance as he channeled all his strength. He drove his fist directly into her stomach, producing an audible and loud crunch. Then with another hit, he broke his ribs, then with another he broke her arm, and finally with a loud and angry snort, he headbutted her.

  Immediately, she went flying and rolled across the landscape, clouds of dirt and dead plants billowed.

  That ought to put her out of commission for a bit. His attacks weren’t normal injuries, but rather each punch twisted the connective tissue. Even potions would struggle to put someone like that together, let alone normal healing skills typical of warriors.

  “You underestimate me.” He shook his head before turning back in the direction of the fortress. “Now it’s time to finish my missio?n.”

  Glam took a step, and along with it he heard a horrid creaking behind him. Frowning, he turned and saw the black figure twisting and healing at a ridiculous speed. Moreover, she was already in front of him once more.

  “In comparison to that hydra you’re quite weak. It’s quite a disappointing thing.”

  Hydra? Weak? Just what was this person on about? Glam frowned.

  He cracked his shoulders. “It seems like you haven’t learned your lesson. I won’t be so kind a second time.”

  The woman had no response, instead she readied herself for battle and this time Glam wouldn’t be caught off guard.

  In a blink, he appeared before her and swung his fist, simultaneously using Telekinesis for an easy hit to veer off her sword. But to his surprise, she let go of it and punched. Her hit struck true on his chin, except it did? nothing. Such was the power of a 7th Rank Skill, [Hand of the Arcane - Telekinesis] was just that strong.

  And it didn’t end there. He immediately triggered a different Skill, [Hand of the Arcane - Reflect]. In an instant, the woman’s head rocked back, experiencing the same punch she had given him. And more importantly, it gave him an important opening.

  He extended his hand and grabbed onto her neck intending to snap it but as soon as he made proper contact with the flaming black aura he? flinched in incredible pain as the black flames greedily wrapped into his entire arm.

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  A curse?!

  He backed off in a hurry as the woman swung towards him. The flames subsided once he blocked her sword, which caused him to frown. It was quite the interesting curse. Did it mean he had to defeat her in a contest of endurance? Well, he was confident in that too.

  His gaze sharpened and he began using Telekinesis to the max to speed up his movement and slow down the woman, but even though it worked at first she began to counter him something that surprised him.

  Was she too near the fabled 8th Advancement? He finally decided to use True Appraisal.

  [??? [Legacy Branch of Primordial Demonic Blood]. Lvl. 240]

  What?—?!

  His side got hit by a sweeping arc and he was nearly cut in half as he was launched back. But the pain was secondary to the what he had just witnessed. His Appraisal Skill was True Appraisal, meaning if the information he had learned were fake, he’d see something indicating so. Instead, he saw her true Status along with a mysterious main class. But the class was secondary, what truly shocked him was the fact that this woman was a whole 140 levels below him! And a whole 3 Advancements below him!

  He braced himself to block the incoming assault, but even as he did his best to withstand the demonic barrage that was assaulting him he couldn’t comprehend it. In terms of Strength they were similarly matched, in terms of Agility it was the same story. Sure he wasn’t using every Skill at his disposal, but this realization was absolutely ridiculous.

  The only way that made sense was… that’s right. She must be using every single trump card at her disposal to keep up! It all made sense now.

  “I got you now,” Glam grinned.

  All he needed to do was push just a bit harder and she would collapse. And then, when that happened, only one fate awaited her.

  He used Telekinesis to the max to send the woman flying backwards. The resistance he felt when doing so was at least ten times higher than the chief of the Grand Fortress, which just went to show how many trumpcards she was using, but it also assured him that this state was her limit.

  As a Hand of the Arcane most of his Skills were limited to creating physical phenomena with magic, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have further means to boost his strength. After all, even if his Class was that of a Mage, his Legacy Branch specialized on anything but magic. As a Great Brawler of the Council he had numerous means of boosting his strength within his Legacy Branch.

  First was [Destined Nemesis], which essentially once his opponent dragged on the fight long enough they’d become his Destined Nemesis and upon receiving that effect Glam would receive numerous buffs against that person. But this was the passive of the ability, what mattered was the active. Which at the cost of a one week cooldown would allow him to instantly declare a nemesis and also receive boosted buffs.

  And that wasn’t all, there were also Skills such as: [Great Brawler’s Exhiliration], [Council’s Great Agent], [Great Brawling Psychique], among others. Their effects varied, but what mattered was that right now most of their conditions were being fulfilled and boosting his attributes. From Council’s Great Agent granting him attribute boosts if his mission was being interfered with, to Great Brawler’s Exhiliration hitting the charge limit as it became ready to unleash.

  And that wasn’t counting his Trump Card main class Skill.

  “You’re finished.” He smirked and pointed at her. “You’ve interfered with my mission, and now I have no choice but to eliminate you, you nemesis of mine.”

  Instantly, two Skills fully activated, and he didn’t stop there as he used Brawler’s Exhiliration and his physique Skill. His attributes nearly doubled as he vanished from sight and appeared before the woman. Then with a wicked grin, he attacked.

  A flurry of blows went towards the woman, all of them laced by the destructive power of Telekinesis, such a combo was bound to destroy any Warrior under Level 400 if caught off-guard. The dull sounds of strikes echoed in the air as he grinned, but as he focused he saw it?—

  She was blocking almost every single one with deft precision.

  She was certainly being pushed back, but at the same time she didn’t seem to be struggling too much. Something was wrong.

  Glam had fought people of his level and none of them had such endurance. With a frown he continued on fighting, speeding up to the max and that’s when she finally started to let up. A strike to the arm, one to the ribs, one to the face. It was almost like a methodical beat down, but it wasn’t easy, far from it.

  “Just… die!”

  He roared as he hit, she blocked with her sword and it?— snapped in half as his fist dug through her stomach and broke right through it. A hole was punched right through as innards sprayed and her body was launched flying.

  Blood rained and he finally took a deep breath. That hit had destroyed at least a third of her torso on the lower part.

  “She should be?—” And he frowned.

  Rather than deactivate, Destined Nemesis instead intensified his boosts, meaning that his target was far from dead.

  Just how much can she endure?! Glam started to panic. Can she truly compete against me?

  With a frown he turned in her direction only to see her re-appear, her body knitting together almost as if it were an undying puppet. A gross and unnerving sight. Was she perhaps some kind of undying zombie?

  It seems like I’ll have to use ‘that’....

  He took a deep breath as he prepared himself, and… the woman sighed.

  “In the end, I stand no chance of defeating you without using Curses as attacks, let alone doing so without using my other power.”

  Glam glared at her. “Are you insane?! I have over 3 Advancements on you, of course you stand no chance!”

  In response, she shook her head. “Maybe if I was just a normal Cursed Berserker I’d stand no chance, but given I have access to many things, I thought I’d be able to hold back more than just this.”

  He growled, “You?—”

  The woman dashed in front of him, and she lightly swung an open vial on her hand, sprinkling its contents towards him.

  “Catch!”

  It was probably a curse, but the amount of a few drops would do nothing to him. With an angry swat, he tore the droplets out of the air and?— a soul wrenching pain exploded upon his arm. Even though his Curse Resistance was on the 7th Rank thanks to Mercoth this pain was…

  “You bitch! You are use some kind of acid on me?!”

  He swung at her but missed. But it didn’t matter, such cheap tricks wouldn’t do much more than delay him.

  Instantly he entered close quarters combat with the woman once more, but this time he found his right arm being sluggish, and that wasn’t all there was also something else?— something a lot more unsettling.

  [Curse Resistance has leveled up from 7th Rank level 3 to 7th Rank level 4.]

  His Curse Resistance was climbing.

  Such a realization filled him with dread, what kind of person would possess such powerful curses? Almost simultaneously a memory entered his head.

  “Hey, I heard Zodos got done in?” Glam asked Mercoth.

  The man who was smoking as always simply shook his head. “I knew he was too overzealous.”

  Glam chuckled, “Hehe, that’s what he gets for bragging his status as Dargon’s disciple. Who killed him anyway?”

  Mercoth puffed out some smoke. “Some lady called Amber, apparently neither him nor his companion got to run.”

  “Eh… seriously?”

  That… it almost came with a headache as pain shot through his arm.

  Could it be?

  This person’s Legacy Branch was exactly the same?— No, but that woman was never meant to be this strong. It didn’t make sense.

  With a powerful punch he blew off her arm, but almost simultaneously it regenned. Then, with a swing of her sword, a cut went right through his chest. For the first time in a while, he was back to taking proper damage.

  Blood splattered and Glam mended his wound with Telekinesis as he resumed the fight, this time another memory appeared. One that was hundreds of years old, one that he had almost forgotten.

  In an underground facility, Glam was following after a respected executive of the council.

  “Master …, I overheard people talking about issuing a kill on sight order for a low level elf, are they really that important? Can such a low level really do anything to our mighty council?”

  “Glam, there’s something you must understand. Kill orders can be done for numerous reasons, not only because they have become obstacles towards us,” the executive said simply.

  “What other reasons could there be to make every single member want to kill them if they see them?” Glam asked confused.

  “Well, that’s rather simple, Glam. For instance, they might have connections to the primordials, or they may be in possession of things that transcend this world.”

  “Do such people truly exist?”

  The executive paused briefly and looked up at the ceiling, speaking wistfuflly.

  “The world is much vaster than you can ever imagine…”

  Glam shook his head, the pain from being headbutted echoing across his entire cranium. His thoughts in complete disarray as he frowned.

  There’s just absolutely no way?—

  [Curse Resistance has leveled up from 7th Rank level 4 to 7th Rank level 5.]

  A notification interrupted his thoughts as his head was plunged into an icy abyss.

  Glam looked over towards his companion who had his signature forlorn look, after a moment the man exhaled the smoke from his lungs as he spoke.

  “Amber the Cursed Berserker. The higher ups have announced an official bounty on her, and every squad that’s in the republic should be on the lookout for her.”

  Glam raised a brow. “And what’s the verdict? To capture her?”

  There was an uncharacteristic pause from Mercoth, before he finally lowered the paper and spoke simply.

  “Death. Kill on sight.”

  Mercoth’s casual voice rang with chills in his mind as all the pieces of the puzzle clicked together for Glam. The Legacy Branches coincided, because they were the same woman, and the reason Zodos was chasing her was because she had gotten an artifact of supreme importance related to the Primordials.

  The reason she was this strong, was most likely related to that. The reason the curse hurt so much was because it was also most likely related to that as well. It was something that transcended this world. The reason for her being so strong at this level was also due to these factors.

  Everything suddenly made sense, but at the same time he felt himself pale as another realization struck him. His arm was burning in severe pain.

  “Well, I guess it’s time to properly use Curses,” the woman suddenly said.

  If her curses transcended this world then?—

  “Mercoth!” He screamed at the top of his lungs. “SAVE ME!”

  And almost at the same time, the woman extended her hand and whispered?:

  “Battery?—”

  A flash of purple flames covered him and a moment later, the explosion of otherworldy curses engulfed him.