She is a skilled warrior, I cannot deny that.

  Shion couldn't help but think this as her sword clashed with Scylla's mace. Even though she was holding back on Almodea's orders, she could sense that her opponent was extraordinary compared to the average of her race. Honestly, if she'd faced her as a mere Level 20 Oni, she probably wouldn't have beaten her easily. It pained her to admit it, but without Hirashi's training she would likely have died from her injuries even if she had won in that case.

  I also owe much of the work to the magic Lady Almodea used to empower me and the weapon she gave me.

  Shion swung her sword again, managing to graze Scylla's left arm, then closed the gap between them with a powerful kick. Between the two, she had the upper hand and was almost entirely unharmed, not to mention that the enchanted sword's magical properties were regenerating her stamina and muscles, a luxury Scylla lacked.

  The ogre's body was beginning to give way, while Shion seemed only slightly sweaty and barely tired. Despite exchanging blows for over half an hour, it couldn't be considered a fair fight, and the state of their bodies was clear enough evidence.

  She continues to fight even though she is exhausted. Her loyalty to the Orc King must be truly profound.

  She began to respect the other warrior – not only for her strength, but also for her ideals. Just like Shion, Scylla was fighting for someone important; theirs was not a clash between mere warriors, but between guards defending those they loved. However, for that very reason, Shion could not allow the duel to end in anything but victory.

  Lady Almodea told me not to kill her, but that doesn't mean I have to lose or draw.

  Shion hated losing, but this was different. Losing a duel where she was fighting for herself was barely fine, but not winning when she was fighting for the woman she loved? That would be a mortal sin of the worst kind. She would rather impale herself with her own sword than go back to Almodea claiming she'd lost. It was a stupid thought, but she couldn't help but feel that way.

  “Prepare yourself! Because now I will show you the true strength of an Oni!”

  She warned her opponent then, with a powerful blow of her sword, shattered Scylla's mace. It was a miracle that that piece of stone had withstood so many blows from a legendary-level weapon. If Shion hadn't held back so long, she might have inflicted the same fate on the ogre as the mace.

  “Damn! How are you so strong?”

  Scylla roared, falling to one knee. It had nothing to do with Shion's blow or the loss of her weapon; her body was starting to give out.

  “I knew Oni were strong, but I didn’t think they were this strong.”

  She admitted, barely managing to get up. From what Scylla knew, Oni were skilled warriors with both sword and fire, and she'd prepared herself accordingly when she recognized the woman before her as such. But Shion wasn't what she'd expected: she hadn't used any magic and relied entirely on physical strength, and somehow she was far superior to her in this situation.

  Seen in profile, the two women appear similar in build and musculature, leading one to assume they were equals in that regard, but that wasn't the case. Scylla knew Shion was holding back, yet she hadn't expected to be so outmatched. Even her stamina and counterattack tactics, which she prided herself on, didn't seem to work against such a disparity.

  -In a contest to see who can hit the hardest, she would have lost.

  “Unfortunately for you, I have reached level 40 and have been empowered by my mistress.”

  “Level 40?! Are you kidding me?! It’s even superior to the Great Gerud.”

  “Great Gerud?”

  Shion's voice grew colder as he heard those words. How could Scylla use an honorific to refer to the man who had led the attack on her village and brought the Dark Jade Oni to the brink of extinction? Under normal circumstances, she would have immediately lost all respect for the other woman and killed her, but Almodea's order still stood, and the girl's word was absolute to Shion. So, she tried a different approach, one that someone who thinks with her fists like her would never normally use: talking.

  “Why do you dare address that scum with an honorific?”

  She asked coldly, receiving an equally cold look in response.

  “How dare you call the Great Gerud scum! He is a loyal servant of His Majesty Gherdmiude! He is even curing him of an illness that has weakened him!”

  “Illness? What do you mean?”

  "Shortly after our alliance with the trolls, His Majesty the Orc King suddenly fell ill. The Great Gerud offered to heal him, declaring that the loss of the King would be a catastrophe...and I can't blame him. His Majesty is good incarnate, he wants only the best for us!"

  Shion remained silent, but her gaze warmed slightly, becoming less cold and judgmental.

  Tokka never told us anything about this disease contracted from the Orc King. Scylla was fooled.

  She'd been right to talk to the other woman without killing her, since she finally understood the situation. Shion's grip on her sword loosened slightly; their very fight was futile at that point.

  “You’ve been fooled, Scylla. Gerud isn’t saving the Orc King.”

  “And how can you say that? You're just an intruder, an invader!”

  “Adn are you not? It was your orc companions who attacked our Oni village without warning! You and those damned trolls massacred everyone and razed my home to the ground!”

  "What?"

  Seeing the surprise on Scylla's face, Shion raised an eyebrow in confusion.

  Does she know really nothing? Is she really in the dark about everything?

  “Y-You're lying...”

  The ogre woman stammered, gritting her teeth.

  “We orcs are no saints, that's true! But we'll never wipe out an entire species from the face of the forest! We sometimes attack lizardmen villages because we're driven by hunger! We don't do it with malice or cruelty! We're simply desperate!”

  Scylla continued, growing more and more agitated.

  “I refuse to believe we could be guilty of such a massacre! We have suffered since the day we were born; we are not so ruthless as to make others experience the same pain we do! What evidence do you have to support what you say?!”

  “The evidence? You want evidence?”

  Shion's voice tightened, causing the other to nod shakily. It was the perfect opportunity to press her, and she knew exactly how.

  “I have an entire village destroyed and burned. There aren't even any bodies because you all ate them. Is that enough proof?”

  "I..."

  Scylla shook her head, clenching her fists tightly.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t believe this! This isn’t something our King would allow! Maybe it was just the trolls! This has nothing to do with us!”

  "But isn't your King their ally? If everything is as rosy as you say, something's wrong. Even if the trolls were truly responsible for everything and you orcs were innocent, why weren't you notified? That means they don't trust you, right?"

  “...”

  “You don't know how to answer that, do you? It seems obvious to me; how can you justify genocide?”

  Scylla remained silent for a minute or two. It was clear she was having an internal debate, a sign that she truly wasn't aware of the actions of her kin or allies. Shion had been more brutal with her words than with her own sword. It was a first for her.

  “I’m sorry, I’d like to believe you…but I can’t.”

  Scylla muttered, throwing away the remains of the destroyed mace in her hand and clenching her fists – ready to fight barehanded against an armed opponent.

  “And even if it were, it doesn't change the fact that my duty is to defend the King! I'm sorry for what happened to your village, but my duty remains the same. If I must die for your vengeance, so be it! But I can't refuse to do my best to protect the one who has given me everything in life!”

  “...”

  This time it was Shion who didn't respond. She felt profound respect for the other woman, even if she was an enemy. She simply sighed, sheathing her sword behind her back.

  “If you want a fistfight, that's fine by me. Just know that I won't go easy on you.”

  She declared, before charging forward.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  After the two women ended up fighting in another room, Almodea turned her attention to the door and, with a simple snap of her fingers, removed the defensive spell. She had used a level 8 spell called Greater Uncurse, which allowed her to remove specific types of lingering magic.

  "It was easy, but it still was level 5 magic; whoever cast it must be stronger than the average person in this world."

  As soon as she tried to open the door, she felt her body slowly begin to stop, as if under the influence of some poisonous magic or the like.

  A paralyzing effect? Were there more defenses on the gate? No…this appears to be an ability.

  Whatever it was, it wasn't strong enough to work for long. Almodea continued to slowly move her hand toward the ring that allowed her to open the gate, pretending she was slowly being blocked by the skill. It was all a charade to uncover a presence lurking nearby, one she had only just sensed, having been preoccupied with other thoughts before.

  "Bwaahahaha! I finally managed to catch one of you!"

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  A medium-tall figure dressed in a white suit and a plague doctor's mask appeared from a passageway. He walked confidently, confident of being immune to any threat. However, as soon as he got close enough, his eyes widened in surprise. He could hardly believe that the girl before him could move without a problem.

  "So you're the demon who allied himself with the Troll King? I expected something more..."

  “Huh?”

  The newcomer gritted his teeth in irritation when he saw that Almodea was able to speak and act despite having activated her paralyzing skill. She didn't seem the least bit intimidated by him, and stared at him with a goofy grin on her face.

  "Who the hell are you?!"

  “The one who commands the army that is devastating this place.”

  “Y-You what?! How dare you try to foil the Great Gerud’s plan?!”

  "Gerud? Oh, yes! The one who led the attack on the Oni village! I've heard about you..."

  Almodea snorted in annoyance—she'd expected much more from the powerful demon Ryu had warned her about, and instead, here was a measly level 35 Greater Demon. He was even short and wore a mask. Sure, the outfit was cool, but the fact that he was so weak detracted from the whole thing.

  “...Honestly, I expected way more. Now I understand why it took you an army of pigs to wipe out the Oni.”

  "And who cares about the Oni!"

  The other roared, putting a hand to his forehead, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. His previous confidence seemed to have given way entirely to anxiety.

  "This invasion of yours is unnerving, and it came at the worst possible time! A little more and I would have created a creature on par with the Archdemons!"

  Like the Archdemons? Do you mean the evolutionary stage or the famous Twelve Archdemons I've heard so much about? It doesn't matter, I'll kick their asses anyway.

  Almodea was ready to pounce on Gerud, but he had already lost himself in dramatic monologues, striking poses like a 70s show diva. If she hadn't found the whole thing funny, she wouldn't have stayed to listen to him with a smile on her face.

  "That's why I've scattered seeds everywhere! An attack here, a conquest there – All so that the most powerful of pawns would be born! A being capable of destroying the Doom Troll if he ever rebelled against Him!"

  Him? Does that mean Gerud isn't the boss here? This story is finally getting interesting!

  "Why do you want all this?"

  She decided to ask, placing a hand on her hip.

  "Why? Because He has ordered it so, and so it shall be! But enough of the chit-chat! Now I will destroy you and then I will eliminate all the other invaders! Prepare to—"

  "You talk too much..."

  A punch to the face interrupted Gerud's rant, hurling him through the door, which collapsed as if made of papier-maché. Finally, Almodea entered the famous laboratory Ryu had mentioned. It was where Gerud conducted his experiments and, according to Scylla, it also appeared to be the quarters of the Orc King.

  She hadn't expected anything beyond that door, but what she found truly surprised her. A creature was chained to the wall – apparently unconscious— and a table full of tools lay beside it. Among all the tools, a gigantic cleaver, bloody and likely infected with the most vicious bacteria, stood out; it was clearly a place where basic sanitation was largely unknown.

  Almodea had no idea what purpose a cleaver would serve in what looked like an operating room straight out of a horror movie, but she didn't ask—it wasn't like she cared that much. To be honest, she was more interested in the music in the background, likely generated by a previously cast bardic spell. She recognized some instruments as violins and basses, but not being a classical music expert, she immediately gave up trying to identify the rest of the magically reproduced instruments.

  "Cough Cough! What the fuck?!"

  Gerud stood up in pain, his mask shattered by the impact. He seemed to be struggling to breathe without it, as if the air itself was contaminated.

  "Damn you! You're just a foolish girl! How dare you face the Great Gerud?!"

  A strange red energy surrounded the demon, causing his clothes to suddenly change. His mask had repaired itself and turned gold, and his outfit became a white coat, complete with a matching top hat and a walking stick with a gold knob at the bottom. Along with the change in attire, Gerud's demeanor also seemed to have changed: his bravado had visibly increased, as had his aura, much more elevated and menacing, now exposed and visible to the naked eye all around him.

  "Finally everyone will see the true power of a superior demon!"

  The background music changed dramatically, with various bass and violin solos, followed by a few trombone blasts. It seemed to be in tune with Gerud's mood and emotions. Almodea raised an eyebrow at this; she wasn't particularly knowledgeable in bardic magic, so it struck her as curious.

  "Wait, why the fuck did the music change?"

  "I was ordered not to intervene personally, but I no longer care! I am the great Gerud! Now I will destroy you and turn you into fodder for the grandest of experiments!"

  "Stop fucking monologuing and tell me why the damn music changed!"

  She asked irritably, but was again ignored by the delirious demon. Had she hit him too hard with her fist?

  “I’m so over this shit.”

  "This place will be your tomb, girl!"

  “That is some bullshit, you know?”

  “Be quiet, foolish girl!”

  Gerud roared, releasing more and more of his demonic aura. It was a blatant display of strength, something bold demons like him often did. They demonstrated their supposed superiority that way, so much so that it was easy to tell a demonic being's level precisely because they were often the ones telling you.

  “But feel honored, my dear! You will witness my final technique! Omega Death!"

  A powerful beam of energy shot out of Gerud's hands and hurtled toward Almodea, who was still asking about the music in the room. That seemed to be the demoness's only concern, as she didn't even notice the attack being unleashed upon her.

  “Do you know what your problem is?”

  She muttered when she noticed that beam of light that was about to hit her.

  “You have some really cool names for your skills, but not the strength to back them up.”

  Almodea simply snapped her fingers, saying something under her breath.

  “Absolute Devourer.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Tsk! There's no way a Lesser Demon without lineage can...Huh?!

  Just before the blow could collide, a red vortex appeared out of nowhere, taking the form of a gigantic dragon's mouth with sharp teeth. Omega Death was absorbed and devoured in one gulp by those scarlet maws, which vanished shortly thereafter, leaving no trace of either itself or Gerud's attack. It was as if neither of them had ever existed.

  "What the hell? Damn you! How dare you?! How dare you?!"

  Gerud declared, stamping his feet like a child. He couldn't sense his opponent's aura, much less her lineage—that undoubtedly meant she was a Lesser Demon, the lowest evolutionary stage of their race. Yet she had stopped his attack using magic he himself didn't recognize.

  “That was my strongest shot! How did you do that?! Who the hell are you?!”

  "My name is Almodea Fearterror..."

  Gerud found himself paralyzed by sudden terror, which incapacitated him and prevented him from moving as Almodea slowly advanced toward him. The demoness's eyes had turned blood red and he could clearly see that she had stopped joking. One question kept ringing in his head: "Who the hell is this girl?"

  "...And I'm angry, very angry!"

  Almodea's boot heels clicked on the rock, and her hands clenched into ever-tightening fists, so much so that she looked as if she wanted to break her own fingers. Her nails became sharp dragon claws, and a tail sprouted from her lower back.

  "You wasted my time, destroyed the Oni village I was supposed to subdue, and—most importantly—hurt MY Shion 's heart! For this, you will die a slow and agonizing death! I will show you no mercy!"

  A punch to the face shook Gerud, freeing him from his paralysis and shattering the beak of his mask. He had to cast a spell to close the hole; the outside air was noxious to him, and he could only breathe using the masks given to him by his master, who was also the one who had made him addicted to being in the first place. It could be considered punishment for past failures.

  "Damn you! I'm a Great Demon!"

  He declared furiously, overcome by a moment of uncontrollable, repressed arrogance. All those months hiding behind Laplace and his own cowardice had turned Gerud into a ticking time bomb of narcissism.

  “How dare you?! You should bow to me and—”

  Another punch, this time straight to the stomach, made him recoil further. The blow was so hard that the lower part of his mask, along with his mouth and nose, was covered in blood. Gerud realized his words were only making the situation worse, but he couldn't contain his arrogance; he seemed almost a slave to it.

  "How dare you?! I am-"

  A straight kick to the chin sent him tumbling to the ground, silencing him once and for all. His jaw was broken, but thanks to Gerud's regenerative abilities, he would be able to speak again in a few minutes.

  "You give yourself all this praise and titles, like Greater Demon or Superior Demon, but you don't seem like much to me..."

  The demoness's words were harsh and devoid of sarcasm. He truly couldn't understand how such a thin and gaunt woman could possess such physical strength. Gerud was still wondering how she had denied her ultimate technique, capable of annihilating a mid-level troll with ease.

  It doesn't make sense...How can she be so strong?! I can't see her aura and she has no lineage...It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense!

  Almodea advanced confidently, wings outstretched, and a new change in music followed. The classical melody that had reigned until then was suddenly replaced by a heavy metal beat Gerud had never heard before.

  Did she take control of my magic? No…she didn't just stop there. She rewrote my entire spell!

  Taking command of a bardic spell was one thing, but rewriting it was another. Could Almodea really be that powerful? Was Gerud really that outclassed? It couldn't be, he refused to be defeated by someone who appeared out of nowhere! But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel his heart pounding, his survival instinct screaming at him to drop everything and run away as quickly as possible.

  -Then, he finally saw something that made his eyes pop out of their sockets.

  "Holly shit..."

  "Holly shit is right, you fuck stain! Listen to this awesome villain as music?! Even your own magic knows how fucked you are!"

  Almodea took another step forward, causing a no longer so bold Gerud to retreat.

  It's impossible...Impossible!

  Gerud had seen it, he had finally been able to see it: Almodea's aura. It was a devastating, unreachable quantity of demonic power—something he had never seen before, something that seemed borderline divine, or even greater. If his materialized aura could fill part of the room they were in, Almodea's would easily outgrow the entire mountain.

  “T-Thats fucking broken! Impossibly broken!”

  “Not as broken as you ass is gonna be once I’m done with you.”

  It was then that Gerud's attention shifted from that infinite amount of energy and returned to the girl, who was less than two meters away. The goofy smile still dominated her face, but there was something unsettling about it. It was a mask, but unlike his own, which served to compensate for a weakness, Almodea's mask was meant to hide her devastating power.

  The demoness's next words were proof of this.

  "And you know why? Because you're so pathetic I wouldn't even keep you as a slave! You, a superior demon? You look more like shit under my boot!"

  Those words wounded Gerud's pride, bringing it to an all-time low. His arrogance was rising in his stomach, and he couldn't help but voice his frustration, spewing out words like undigested poison.

  "You damned bitch! You're just a whore! He 'll make you pay for meddling in his plan!"

  Gerud clenched his fists and attempted an authoritative pose, but the sinister smile plastered across Almodea's face made the process difficult. He knew what he was doing was pointless, he was provoking someone stronger, yet he couldn't stop himself from voicing his arrogance, as if cursed by something.

  “Oh yeah… Him! Why don’t you tell me in detail about this Him, would you? After all, he’s almost as responsible for my Shion’s suffering as you are.”

  The girl declared warmly, smiling happily.

  “If you tell me everything, I’ll make sure your death is slow and painful – but not an eternal ordeal, okay?”

  Almodea took a step forward...and Gerud felt all the arrogance that had been left in his stomach disappear. He couldn't even fathom what was happening to him anymore; his emotions continued to shift every second. One moment he was terrified of the girl, the next he felt like a lion and wanted to answer her in kind, and the next he was back to being as frightened as a scared kitten.

  This isn't just magic! T-This is worse! Much worse!

  Seeing Almodea's claws getting closer, Gerud immediately turned to the unconscious figure chained behind him. He didn't want to do what he was about to do, since the experiment wasn't yet complete, but he had no choice.

  "Wake up, Gherdmiude! Wake up fucking now!"

  "Hmm? Wait! That thing's supposed to be the Orc King? What the hell did you do to him to make him look like this? He looks like a wrinkled pig!"

  As the chained creature opened its white, pupil-less eyes, Gerud struggled to his feet, clutching his stomach with one hand. Almodea's blows had severely damaged him, despite them being merely punches and kicks. Further proof of the unbelievable strength of that cursed demoness.

  "Doom Orc! Help me! Kill her and devour her! Then you will become as powerful as one of the Archdemons!"

  The chained figure seemed unresponsive, as if unable to understand the command. Gerud gritted his teeth at the awkward situation; if only Laplace had been there to help him, perhaps they could have escaped without wasting too much time.

  “Damn you! Why is it that when you need to scare me, you're always ready to go, but when you need to be helpful, you seem fucking retarded?!”

  “You’re really terrible as a B-list villain from volume five of a light novel, who’s nothing more than a henchman for some bigger guy, you know? If you were to end up in an anime adaptation, you probably wouldn’t make it past the second season. I give you... thirty minutes of screen time at best.”

  “What are you even talking about?!”

  Gerud and Almodea's conversation was interrupted by a powerful tremor in one of the adjacent rooms. It almost sounded like a full-blown earthquake.

  “What the hell are you doing, you idiot girl?! Do you want to tear this place down with us in it?!”

  “Hey! I have nothing to do with that! Did you see me do something?!”

  “Huh?”

  Gerud was 100% sure that the earthquake was Almodea's fault, but he didn't understand why that damn girl was lying about it.

  What does she gain from-

  His thoughts were interrupted when a second tremor occurred, causing the wall separating the Slaughterhouse from the adjacent room to collapse. Someone had just intervened in the clash—or one-sided bullying—between Almodea and Gerud.

  “What the hell is going on?!”

  -But, the real question to ask was: this someone... whose side were they on?