*BOOM!*

Dust and splintered bone rained down as the massive Imp Lord stepped into the clearing.

He was a giant compared to his kin, standing twelve feet tall, his skin the color of cooling magma.

Veins of actual fire pulsed beneath his rocky hide, and his bat-like wings spanned twenty feet.

In his hand, he dragged a massive Great Axe carved from a single slab of obsidian.

ROAAAAR!

The roar flattened the surrounding ferns. The Drifters in the cages covered their ears, wailing in terror.

The Imp Lord looked around. He saw his settlement in ruins. He saw the piles of broken bodies.

Then, his yellow, reptilian eyes locked onto the small figure standing in the center of the carnage.

A human. Wearing a trench coat and a metal mask.

The Imp Lord sniffed the air.

The Imp Lord blinked, smelling the mana of a teir 3 human, he threw his head back and laughed. It was a deep, rumbling sound like boulders grinding together.

"A bug?" the Imp Lord boomed in guttural Abyssal.

"A weak little bug killed my people?"

He scraped his axe along the ground, sparking flint and fire.

"A weak human drifter nontheless?" the Lord growled, stepping forward.

"I will enjoy eating your marrow while you scream."

Hearing such a threat, Damien didn't move.

He stood with his arms hanging loosely by his sides, the dark chains trailing in the mud.

'Quite big, I hope he's stronger than the rest,' Damien thought

The Imp Lord charged.

Despite his size, he was fast.

He crossed the distance in a single leap, raising the obsidian axe high above his head. The blade ignited with Hellfire.

"DIE!"

The axe descended, a strike capable of splitting a tank in half.

Still just like before Damien didn't dodge

Instead, he crossed his arms in front of his face in an 'X' shape.

RATTLE.

The chains wrapped around his forearms, creating a makeshift shield of woven Abyss Iron.

KA-BOOM!

The impact shook the entire clearing. The ground beneath Damien's feet shattered, creating a crater three meters wide. Mud and water exploded outward in a shockwave.

But when the dust cleared... Damien was still standing.

His boots had slid back six inches, carving deep furrows in the earth. But his arms hadn't buckled.

The obsidian axe was resting against the crossed chains. The Abyss Iron hadn't even scratched.

In fact, the metal seemed to hum, absorbing the kinetic energy of the blow and dispersing it harmlessly.

"Solid," Damien muttered,

"Good material," Damien nodded approvingly. "Hephaestus outdid himself."

The Imp Lord froze. He pushed down with all his might, his muscles bulging, but the "weak" human didn't budge.

It was like pushing against a mountain rooted in the earth.

"How?" the Imp Lord roared, confused. "You are... small!"

He pulled the axe back and swung again, a horizontal cleave aimed at Damien's waist.

Unfortunately, Damien at this time had already been satsified with his tests for the new weapon

"Test complete," Damien said coldly.

Muttering this, he didn't block this time.

As the axe swept toward him, Damien flicked his left wrist.

The chain shot out like a Viper. It wrapped around the handle of the axe.

TIGHTEN.

Damien yanked.

He didn't use Tier 3 strength anymore. He let a sliver of his Celestial Life Physique leak through.

SNAP.

The Imp Lord's grip broke. The massive obsidian axe was ripped from his hands and flung into the jungle.

"My axe?!" The Imp Lord stared at his empty hands.

Before he could react, Damien flicked his right wrist.

THWIP.

The right chain shot forward, stiffening into a spear under Damien's Will.

The serrated blade punched straight through the Imp Lord's right shoulder, pinning him to the massive totem pole behind him.

THWIP.

The left chain followed, piercing the left shoulder.

THUD.

The Tier 6 monster was crucified against his own village totem in the span of a second.

"GRAAAH!" The Imp Lord thrashed, his wings beating frantically, but the Abyss Iron chains held fast.

"You..." the Imp Lord spat blood, his eyes burning with hate. "You are not... Tier 3..."

"No," Damien walked closer, the chains remaining taut. "I'm not."

The Rat King's Toxin began to work. Black veins spread from the wounds, fighting against the Imp Lord's natural regeneration.

The monster gagged as his blood began to curdle.

"Regeneration is annoying," Damien whispered, walking up to the pinned giant.

"Let's speed this up."

He placed his gloved hand on the Imp Lord's chest.

"[Hollow King's Authority]."

VOOOM.

Shadows erupted from the chains themselves.

The Abyss Iron acted as a conduit, channeling Damien's pure, liquid darkness directly into the monster's bloodstream.

The Imp Lord's eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to scream, but only darkness poured out.

He withered. The shadows ate his mana, his flesh, his very existence.

In five seconds, the twelve-foot giant collapsed into a pile of dry, grey dust.

CLATTER.

With the death of the Imp Lord, a massive, fiery red crystal fell into the dust.

[Item: Imp Lord Core (Tier 6)]

Damien picked it up and tossed it into his Void gem.

He retracted the chains, the metal links clicking softly as they disappeared up his sleeves.

"Clear," Damien announced.

Isabelle dropped the stealth field and the gravity barrier. She walked into the clearing, stepping over the corpses without a glance.

"That was fast," she noted.

"It really was a good idea to make this weapon," Damien said, adjusting his mask.

He turned toward the center of the Settlement.

The three rib-bone cages were still standing.

Inside, the Drifters, a mix of ragged Humans and Elves were huddled in the corners, staring at Damien with wide, terrified eyes.

They had prayed for salvation.

But watching this masked figure dismantle a Tier 6 monster with such cold efficiency... they weren't sure if they had been saved or simply transferred to a new owner.

Damien walked up to the central cage., He looked at them with expectancy.

Rasing a hand. A single chain link shot out and shattered the bone lock.

CRACK.

The cage door swung open.

The Drifters flinched, but no one moved.

Damien stood there, wind swirling around his trench coat.

"Relax, I'm not here to eat you," Damien said, his metallic voice cutting through the silence. "And I'm not here to rescue you."

He pointed a gloved finger at the group.

"I have questions. Specifically, about the geography of this hellhole."

He leaned in.

"Who here knows the way to Layer 3?"

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