Сhapter 1.

The smell of blood and sweat was unbearable in the damp, dark iron cell, where no sunlight ever penetrated. The cold stone walls, the suffocating atmosphere of despair and pain, and the lack of any ventilation probably made it the worst place possible on this floating island.

The little creatures gathered in a makeshift circle. They stomped their feet, protruded their sharp teeth, and laughed a hideous laugh. Energy boiled in their blood, making them jump with excitement. They watched the two demons fighting each other avidly.

The red-skinned demon with the two black stripes leaned over, raised his hands with his fingers spread apart to make his hands appear larger, and hissed at his opponent. The other demon, with one half-broken horn, spread his arms even wider but stood on tiptoe to make himself look taller and larger. They danced threateningly around each other, trying to intimidate their foe before the fight began.

The demon with the broken horn could not withstand the tension any longer. He lunged at the attack and in one swift leap managed to take his enemy by surprise. He pushed his opponent to the ground and tried to grip his neck with his teeth, but the second demon put out an arm, which became the victim of the bite. The first blood spilled onto the smooth stone floor and the crowd exploded with excitement. The screams grew louder and the foot-stomping only intensified. The demons supported their chosen champion as best they could.

However, not all of the red-skinned creatures were subjected to the herd instinct of bloodlust. In one corner, where even light from the lit torches could not reach, there was a lone demon hiding. It looked no different from the others, except that its small horns were irregularly twisted, and it was much smaller than its congeners.

Demons were the spawn of war. They were born, lived, and died for only one thing...violence. Destruction, murder, and fighting were their form of entertainment. Except that the demons themselves, despite their love of fighting, also loved to flee the battlefield whenever they sensed that their opponent might be stronger. Cowardice and boundless bloodlust are the best descriptions of these monsters.

And one of them was just now demonstrating a vivid example of trying to avoid any conflict. It was not a conscious desire, but rather a survival instinct. This little demon, cowering in a corner, felt his weakness in comparison to the others. He knew that if he was spotted, these things would immediately use him as a chance to establish their dominance here. The strong beat the weak, there is no more eternal rule in the world.

[Received the skill of stealth (level 1)!]" the alarm rang in the demon's head.

"Congratulations, host! You just got your first skill. I've only been your System for two minutes and already such incredible success. I already feel like the two of us are going to be at the very top very soon!" - said a very polite and obliging voice.

The demon, who was trying not to draw attention to himself, who even tried not to breathe too loudly, jerked his tail in surprise and the sharp end caught the iron bars of the cage. There was a sound of metal clashing against metal.

The frightened little demon did his best to shrink in size, and pressed his body even deeper into the edge of the corner, hoping that none of the other monsters noticed him.

To his luck, it was at that moment that the fighting of his congeners in the center reached the culminating and bloodiest stage of the battle, and no one cared what was going on in a distant part of the cage.

"What are you talking about? The skill of Stealth is given to anyone who has been near another creature for a few minutes without being noticed. No skill in the universe is easier to earn than this one." - Another voice came through. But now it was a woman's pleasant and very melodic voice. It was like a fairy singing on a moonlit night.

"Are you the spirit of the Goddess of Lust? What are you doing here? - The spirit of the God of War asked.

"Working...Just like you...I'm giving him a system..."

"What system? The Lust system to the imp? What kind of nonsense is that? It's my host! Get out of his body."

The poor little demon's brain was in complete disarray. Not only were there somebody's sounds and speech in his subconscious, but they even seemed to be having a conversation with each other. The demon began to shake his head. He wanted to banish the cursed voices, but no matter how hard he strained, no matter how hard he did it, nothing worked. The voices grew louder and more frequent.

"The imps have a Lust System, too. They can evolve into succubus or incubus...so it's all right on my end. You might be the one in the wrong place."

Even though imps were considered some of the weakest beings in the universe, they had one striking feature. While other races or demons were limited to only a few evolutionary paths, imps could choose from a myriad of options. In the vast majority of cases, they naturally continued their evolution as a killing machine, but occasionally some representatives chose the other direction. Like incubi or succubi, as the Lust System said.

"These creatures were born for war and killing...they are my perfect commodity. I told you to get out of this body." - The angry voice of the War God System grew more and more insistent.

"I can't leave this body. If I do, my rating will fall to the bottom and then it might be my last host... I won't let that happen. So you will have to leave this demon." - As the Spirit of the Goddess of Lust spoke, the mood of her tone changed dramatically. From sad and almost pleading to firm and resolute.

The little demon trembled with his entire tiny body. His head was in agony, a sharp pain piercing him from the power overload. Moreover, his temperature rose rapidly with every second, so much so that even the demon, born to be able to survive in the flames of the Abyss, began to feel the heat.

"I have the same situation. I can't leave this host myself either...Well, I wasn't going to linger long here anyway. The world is certainly interesting, but staying in it with such a weak monster is complete madness. So I suggest we get rid of it quickly and then we can change our target. The death of a host doesn't lower the rating, you know?"

"No, no, and no. It's unprofessional to kill a living thing, just for your selfish motives. I won't go for it..." - The Lust System replied coldly and very seriously.

Neither of the two arguing spirits even paid attention to the seemingly most important creature-their host. The poor demon was already lying lifeless on the floor, drool pouring uncontrollably from his open mouth. His body jerked from side to side like a broken puppet. His body heat reached unimaginable temperatures that even his flame-resistant skin began to crack.

"Are you fucking playing a game with me? We ended up together in the same body... You know damn well that's not the way it works. Yeah, I've never heard of such a thing ever happening. I suggest you leave, you refuse, I suggest you get rid of the host and then we'll be free, you refuse. What is wrong with you? Are you the Spirit of the Goddess of Lust or the Spirit of the Goddess of Idiotic Decisions?" - A gruff, authoritative voice reprimanded his companion in an admonishing tone.

"No, I..." she wanted to finish the sentence, but suddenly she caught a strange sensation. It was as if the energy around her had become extremely unstable.

"What's going on?"

The little demon, whose brain had already completely refused to perceive what was happening, flew up into the air itself. His body was thrown upward and hit the iron grate with a clang. Then he was flung the other way as if an otherworldly ghost was playing with him like a toy. It flew over the pile of red-skinned monsters and slammed into the bars once more.

The imps, who had been watching the nearly-finished fight, stared dumbfounded at their flying counterpart. The noisy underground room, a few minutes ago filled with screams, laughter, and clanking of metal was completely engulfed in an unnatural silence. Everyone froze with curiosity and fear at the same time, looking in the direction of the little demon's fall.

"What the hell is going on?" - The spirit of the God of War yelled irritably. In all his long career he had never seen anything like it.

But when the flabby, lifeless body of their host collapsed to the floor, it wasn't over. Concentrated clots of multicolored energy began to burst out of the body like fireworks. And then explode in front of a crowd that had lost any sense of self-control. The demons ran away frightened and curled up on the opposite side of the cage.

"It's the soul...it's exploding. Looks like the demon's body couldn't handle two systems at once." - answered the same confused and tense female voice.

The last particles of the torn soul suddenly stopped exploding and dissipating, they swirled over the imp's body in a vortex, raising a strong current of wind around it.

The vortex grew more dangerous, absorbing more and more particles into itself. Its energy illuminated with a strange glow the hitherto darkened area of the underground vault.

Bang!

The vortex unleashed a shockwave in all directions. It even bent the bars of the cage, and the poor demons pressed together until they seemed like a pile of garbage. Many were traumatized and internally damaged. Moans and screams filled the quiet space again.

But most of all, the two spirits were in shock.

The soul was destroyed. The creature was finally and irrevocably dead.

Except that somehow, incomprehensibly, the spirits that had merged exactly with the soul were not dispersed along with it. What's more, they hadn't even left the body!

"Why are we still alive?" - asked the spirit of the Goddess of Lust in an uncertain tone.

"...I have no idea. Perhaps we are somehow attached not to the soul but the body. Well... that was certainly all very interesting, but since there is no host, shouldn't we be sent to another?"

"Something else...scares me." - Fear permeated every word she said.

"What?"

"I...I can't... can't leave this body!"

"What does that mean?"

The spirit god of war tried to detach its tendrils from the dead demon's body, as it had done so many times before, but nothing came of it. They stuck firmly in place as if they were the original part of him.

"I don't understand, are we stuck in a lifeless body forever? Until the end of time?"

"It's not dead...don't you feel that all the organs are still working. I can even see the heart beating."

"Then...can you control the body?"

The spirits without a second thought decided to try to control this piece of meat. They directed their ethereal tendrils toward the various parts, hoping that it would work. But the body was still lying on the dirt floor, and it stayed that way.

"Looks like it's no use," the spirit of the Goddess of Lust sadly rendered her verdict.

"I guess you're right..." - was about to answer her unwilling comrade in misfortune, when suddenly there was a sound:

[Right-Hand Control skill received (1/100)]