Give 'em Hell

        Winter began to pack his things, Mari following him around the office as he grabbed some of the paperwork to take with him. "You've been going out a lot lately, and now on a trip?" She asks half annoyed. "Who are you taking with you? When did you get a girlfriend, sir," Mari teased. "I'm going alone, and will you quit with that?" Winter replied as he left the office. Just as Mari gave up her pestering, Winter was through the door. He returns to where he had previously opened the dungeon and reentered with his key into the demon castle. "When I defeated Cerberus, I was level 20. Now, I'm level 60," Winter thought. "Which means I won't be running into as many difficulties as before," he added, headed to the entrance. Fire blazed with incredible heat, the marked door was closed and was unharmed by the fire all around it. Winter placed the key in, and the door opened.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Received A [Quest],"}>it rang as Winter was walking through the doorway<~< p>

        "There doesn't seem to be any monsters here. Is this just a hallway? That must be the exit, though," Winter saw another door at the end of the hallway.

~>System<{" 1 [Quest: Collect The Demon Souls (Part 1)]! Demons' Castle is Swarming With Demons. [Player] Will [Receive] a [Special Reward] For Defeating [The Demons] And [Collecting Their Souls]. [Quest Requirements: 10,000 [Reward 1. Choose Any Item From Shop, Reward 2. Bonus stats (+20), 3. Undisclosed Reward],"}>it rang, displaying the quest to Winter<~< p>

        "Oh, it has been a while since my last quest," Winter mumbled to himself. "Wow, the rewards look awesome. It would be worth it to just finish this quest if the second is too hard," Winter thought, beginning to walk down the hallway. Suddenly, the door closed with a loud boom. "But, the fact that the rewards are amazing means this quest is going to be that much harder," Winter added, reaching the end of the hallway, and opening the door. "I don't see a single beast yet, but," he began, as he looked out to see an expanse of a destroyed city. "I didn't expect this. This place looks so different," he looked around. Through the clouds, he could see the red moon, a nearly full city that was set ablaze by an unending fire. "I have to collect 10 thousand demon souls," Winter thought, looking to his left to see some red eyes behind the smoke and dust. "Which means there are at least 10 thousand magic beasts inside this castle!" Winter added, watching demons emerge from the rubble.

~>System<{" Each [Demon] The [Player] Defeats Will [Provide] With At Least a [Single Soul]. However, [Demons] Multiple [Souls] Can be Found on [Upper Levels] of [Castle],"}>it explained to Winter<~< p>

        "I told people I was going on a trip, but I'm not sure if I can finish this quest within a week," Winter smirked, holding his bag by his side. He sat it down and began his slaughter Among the demons. "Even though fighting them is easy for now, I'll be racing against the clock!" He smiled.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Defeated: [3 Low Ranking Demons]. Obtained [300 EXP], and Demon Souls],"}>it displayed<~< p>

        Winter Throndsen sat down at a table, in an incredibly fancy restaurant, setting his utensils down after his meal. "So, you're saying you want to fund my ideas, as long as I join your guild?" He asks his hands on the table. "Yup!" Tyler replied before taking a bite of her meal. Now that she is older, she dressed quite formally for this occasion and has grown much more cunning. "What do you want?" Mr. Throndsen asks, skewing his eyes. "I don't understand why you can't decide. Your youngest son took the rights to EWR and your eldest is doing lowly work. Don't you think that should be the other way around?" Tyler asks. "It's out of my control now," he replied, rolling his eyes. "But doesn't it keep you up at night? Knowing an idiot like a boy with the name 'Winter Greats' is making executive orders? Entrusting all that power to someone like him," she was about to continue until something snapped in Mr. Throndsen. "So what if I hate him? What more is there to do, now? I'm no longer on the board, and the only one with enough power to give the ownership away is Mr. Greats himself," he explained. "Yes, but Cyrus has been plotting. He's hated where he is since the beginning, and has gotten very close to killing Mr. Greats, multiple times," Tyler replied. "I've come into contact with higher powers. We can remove him from that seat, and give the rights to the rightful heir of your company," she explained. "High powers? What do you mean?" Mr. Throndsen asks, "It's become increasingly clear that your youngest son has grown in strength, and has become increasingly stronger each time he has come close to death," Tyler explained before taking a sip of her wine. "Do you expect me to use my name's fame to collect an S-rank strike squad to murder my youngest son?" He asks with a raised eye. "Far from it. Rather, I'm collecting them for another reason. For now, I've contacted two. One I knew from high school, and a retired Mythic in perfect health," Tyler replied. "I look forward to finding out why you're trying to recruit these Mythics," Mr. Throndsen replied. Winter stepped over the mound of demon corpses. "I've still got a long way to go, but things should get easier with my daggers leveling up soon," he looked at his daggers.

~>System<{" [Item: Ultimate Daggers] [Rank: S]. [Type: Dagger]. [Attack: +420] [+10 Agility]. Daggers Made From the Blood of The Despicable Ultima. Power Ultima Still Remains, Thus Enabling Dagger to Evolve And Advance in Complexity With Each Level. [Effect: Evolution] Level, Can be Improved Grow Complexity. Additional Strength] Depending on strength stat [Player], dagger will increase attack points. Bleed] Opponent Will Lose 1% Health Every Second. Paralysis] Paralyzed at a Certain Rate. [EXP Remaining: 10],"}>It is explained in a pop-up in front of Winter<~< p>

        "This better be good," Winter jokes.

~>System<{" 309 The [Player] Has [Defeated] a [Low Ranking Demon]. Obtained [100 EXP], [Demon Sous Collected: 10,000],"}>it rang<~< p>

        "The first few stages of the Demons' castle weren't that difficult," Winter thought. "Looks like I've cleared this area," he spoke to himself. "The beasts were d-rank at most. Despite that, I was still able to accumulate a good amount of experience points," Winter thought to himself, headed to a beam of light in the sky. "Usually, I'd have to go through nine c-rank dungeons to gain a single level. But here, it only takes four hours to level up," Winter added to his thought. "As my level increases, the amount of experience points required to level up also increases. That means it'll gradually become more difficult for me to level up," he thought. He reviewed to his encounter with Erik Finley. "When I met him, I realized that I'd only just reached the level of an S-rank. I have to pick up the pace if I want to become stronger," Winter thought, sighing. He looked down to see what he had obtained from his recent slaughter.

~>System<{" [Item: Entry Permit]. [Rank: None]. [Type: An Permit That Allows The [Player] to [Ascend] [Second Floor] of [Demons' Castle]. [Divination Circle] Move Between Floors. This Only Access on [First Floor],"}>it displayed over the paper Winter is holding<~< p>

        "Time to go up to the next floor," Winter looked up at a beam of light, "A divination circle that allows me to move between floors. That's probably what that beam of light is," he watched the sky rumble as the beam loomed in the sky. "That's where the EWR tower used to be!" Winter thought. "I need a shadow soldier to get there, anyone will do. Come forth," he commanded. The Boss Ice Bear formed before Winter. "Oh, I forgot how big you were, nearly as big as a fucking tank," he placed his hand on his chin. "Oh well. Let's just get going" Winter leaped up on the Ice Bear. After leaping up onto the Ice Bear, Winter looked up to see some demons in their way. "How annoy-" he began- "ing!" Winter was pushed back by the Ice Bear's sudden speed. The Boss Ice Bear dashed and forced themselves past the demons. "Woah! That was badass! You're a tank," Winter rode on the bear. "You can be named Tank," he smiled. "Now! To the divination circle!" He commanded as Tank forced themselves through more demons.

        Back in Flore, Cyrus was deep underground, beneath the EWR tower. Heavily evaluated by the Mythical Dungeon Association and the Board members. "Is that him?" A Government Official asks. "Yes, sir," A member of the EWR Board replied. "What tests have been completed so far?" The Government Official asks. "The majority of them. He has two left," the EWR Board Member explained. "What's his score so far?" The Government Official asks again. "He has a 100% so far," They responded. "Very promising," The Government Official smiled, watching Cyrus going through his second to last test. "How are we going to conduct the final test? Wasn't Winter Greats on leave?" The EWR Board Member asked. "I've contacted the Scavenger guild, and they sent an S-rank Mythic over to help with the evaluation," the Government Official explained. "That's right, The S-rank Billy Bob was attending personal business, so is he on the way right now?" The EWR Board Member asks. "He's waiting for the final test," The Government Official explained. Billy Bob was walking through the building, in a sour mood. "Ugh, just my luck," he thought, deeply annoyed. "I wanted to kill that piece of shit with my own two hands, but he died at that stupid Collapsing Dungeon. What terrible timing," Billy thought to himself, teeth gritted.

        "Each floor of the Demons' Castle seems to be separated like they are they're own worlds," Ultima began, talking to himself mostly. "On each floor, beasts with entry permits have so far appeared at random. Only by obtaining these permits can Winter use the divination circles to move to the next floor," Ultima explained.

~>System<{" [Item: Entry Permit]. [Rank: None]. [Type: An Permit That Allows The [Player] to Ascend Next Floor of [Demons' Castle],"}>it Displayed to Winter<~< p>

        "Since this castle has 100 floors, this place is probably made up of 100 different worlds if I think about it," Ultima thought to himself. "Although, Winter has been quickly ascending the floors," it thought. Winter tore into a demon, "The mid-ranking demons are probably more or less C-rank," Winter looked down at the corpses. "The high-ranking demons are probably exponentially stronger. Just like how S-rank Mythics are compared to an A-rank," Winter thought. The System then rang, and Winter turned his head to view the new alert.

~>System<{" [Alert]! The [Skill: Commander's Touch] Has Leveled up!"}>It rang<~< p>

        "The only problem with this dungeon is that this is a fight against the clock," Ultima commented. "If there are 100 floors, I don't know if I'll be able to reach the top within a week," Winter thought to himself. "When we first got the key, I was afraid it led to an S-rank dungeon right off the bat, but these battles have been pretty easy, so Winter has been pretty relaxed," Ultima thought. Winter watched the counter of the demon souls he's collected rise quickly, as his shadows fought for him.

        On The Fifth Floor, Winter came across a more powerful, larger demon. The Ruler of The Lower Floors, The Avaricious Vulcan. a morbidly obese demon about the size of a small building, with red skin, three glowing red eyes, sharp teeth with large lower fangs, and four horns. He only wielded a large wooden club. In front of him stood several guards. "This must be a boss-level demon-" Winter guessed- "He might be tubby, but he seems dangerous. I'll have to take him on myself," Winter thought, setting his backpack down. "Let's get this down and over with," he watched his shadow soldier mages build up a massive fireball, and throw it over Winter, and at the demons. "Kill any survivors," Winter commanded, going invisible. The surviving guards attacked the shadow army, clashing with a terrible furry. "Although these guardsmen are high-ranking demons, my Shadow Soldiers have been leveling up with me. They've become reinforced due to my intelligence stats. With each addition to my intelligence, the more I can extract, store, and more mana enriched I'll be," Winter thought to himself. "Since they've been boosted, I should have more than enough mana to allow my shadows to recover," he added. "But the tubby demon hasn't made a move yet," Winter thought, with a sneaking suspicion, watching the obese demon sit on his throne. "It can't be this easy. He must be at least," he continued in thought but never got to finish. He watched Vulcan speed off, and swing his club at his Shadow Soldiers. While Vulcan's attention was on his Shadow Soldiers, Winter shook his fear away, and rushed towards the demon, bringing his fist back for a punch. "You obese bastard," he cursed, punching the demon in the face with all of his might. The Shear force sent the demon back, flying through buildings and skyscrapers. "I punched him in the heat of the moment, but I didn't expect that from me!" Winter thought, with surprise. "You Have been getting stronger, Winter," Ultima replied. He looked back up to see Vulcan walking back, with only some bruises on his body.

~>System<{" The [Ruler of Lower Floors, Avaricious Vulcan] Has Used [Skill: Rage],"}>it rang<~< p>

~>System<{" [Vulcan] is in a [State of Rage]. All Stats Have Increased by [30%],"}>it added<~< p>

        "This is a similar skill that Cerberus had!" Winter thought. He watched Vulcan rush even faster from before back, with his club over his shoulder and head. "He's become faster?! This bitch!" He thought. "Iron!" Winter yelled out, bringing a hand out behind him. Iron roared and threw his shield over to Winter as fast as he could. Through the battlefield, it flew, and with his right hand, Winter caught the shield. Swiftly, he brought it in front of him, holding his ground. Just as he lifted it, Vulcan roared and brought his club down onto Winter as hard as he could. The mana, and shock wave that resulted was immense. Winter's feet were brought through the ground, and a creator was created by the sheer force that Vulcan was attacking Winter with. "I can withstand his blows thanks to my strength, but I have to find the right time to fight back," Winter thought with his teeth gritted. "I need to attack right when he lifts his arm," Winter added, watching Vulcan's attacks. Right as he lifted his arm, bringing the club up and over his head, Winter leaped up and slashed at Vulcan. It never landed, unlike Winter, Vulcan had his feet on the ground and had stepped away. "Did you see this coming, or is he too fast?!" Winter thought, watching Vulcan make his attack. "I can't move very fast mid-air. How can I-?" He thought to himself, then it came to him.

~>System<{" [Skill: Commander's Touch] Has Been Enabled,"}>it rang<~< p>

        Winter brought a right hand out in front of him. "Even if I can't push him, I could just use the recoil of my attack!" He thought, being blasted back by the skill. "Let's never do that again-" Winter slid on the ground, glaring at Vulcan. "I can't attack him without putting myself in danger. Trying to read his movements while also aiming an attack won't work," Winter thought. "First, I need to slow him down enough to land attacks," he thought, looking around. He found a leaning skyscraper, "That'll do it," Winter grinned. He dashed, sprinting towards the leaning tower. Vulcan followed, breaking through buildings as he roared. Giving chase like Cyrus once had. "Good, he's following!" Winter thought, looking back to see the chubby demon following him. Vulcan was slowly catching up, but that didn't seem to phase Winter, as he was getting ever closer to the leaning tower. "Time to give it a shot," he thought, speeding even faster towards the building.

~>System<{" [Skill: Speed] Has Been Activated,"}>it rang in Winter's ears<~< p>

        Scaling the building, he quickly outpaced Vulcan within seconds. Before he even knew it, he was trapped. Vulcan tried to stop, but it didn't seem he could in time. "You just noticed?" Winter asks, looking down from the side of the building, punching his hand into the concrete, and grabbing a steel beam. "At this speed, your fat ass won't be able to stop the entirety of your momentum on your own," he leaped off the side and pulled down on the leaning tower. Vulcan was skidding against the ground, watching Winter fall with the building. With both daggers in his hand, Winter passed over his shoulder, cutting through his neck, shoulder, and shoulder blade in one strike. Then, the building crashed into him, burying him in rubble and concrete dust.

        "Winter Greats? I haven't seen him recently," the elderly lady replied. One of Winter's neighbors. "Strange, well thanks for the information," Jonah replied, walking back over to the street. "No luck?" Parklin asks, standing by the car. "Nope, by the sounds of it, he's on a business trip or just disappeared," Jonah explained. "How do you know that, Mr. Jonah?" She asks, "Well, his car is still in the driveway, unless he has another car he just upped and disappeared," Jonah explained, walking over to the car, hands in his pocket. "Feels like we haven't learned anything new coming here," Parklin crossed her arms. "Something's off. There's no evidence of him leaving the country, and he hasn't withdrawn any money from the bank, either. He hasn't even used his debit card," Jonah leaned against the car. "H-hold on, how do you know all of that?" Parklin asks, a little creeped out. "Keeping tabs on Mythics is my job. He was last located by some obscure skyscraper. Mysterious, isn't it?" Jonah asks. "Maybe... He's been kidnapped?" Parklin asks. "Winter Greats? Kidnapped?" Jonah laughed, "To kidnap him, you'll need a squad of S-ranks. You'd know best, Parklin, since you saw him in action," Jonah explained. "Where could he be, then?" She asks, pulled in many directions by the conversation.

        Vulcan lays dead, buried by rubble and concrete dust. "That wasn't so hard!" He waved the dust out of his face. "Ooh! Loot!" Winter grabbed the items Vulcan dropped.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Obtained [Item: Demon King's Earring], [Orb of Avarice], [Vulcan's Horns], And [Fragment World Tree],"}>it rang<~< p>

~>System<{" [Item: Fragment of The World Tree]. [Rank: S]. [Type: Material]. Scrap Wood From "Vulcan's Club" Made a Branch Tree. All Remnants Contamination Have Been Removed the Fragment. This Tree Contains Powerful Magic And Can Therefore be Used to craft High-Quality Item,"}>it explained to Winter<~< p>

        "Wood for high-quality magic items?" Winter asks, "I'll keep it for now, just cause I don't know what it'll be needed for," he moves on to the next item.

~>System<{" [Item: Demon King's Earring]. [Rank: S]. [Type: Accessory]. [+20 Strength] Health]. Set Effects Will be Activated When This Item is Worn With The Ring. [Set Effect 1: Locked]. 2: Locked],"}>it displayed to Winter<~< p>

        "Set effects? I hope the other demon bosses drop the other items," Winter put it on himself. "And finally, there's this. Its effects are super powerful, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to use my magic very well with this job," he looked at the orb in his hand.

~>System<{" [Item: Orb of Avarice]. [Rank: A]. [Type: Magic]. An Made Petrified Blood From The High Ranking Demon, Vulcan. It Amplifies [Player]'s Magical Abilities And Inflicts Greater Damage on an Opponent. [Effect: Appetite for Destruction: Magic is Increased Twofold],"}>it displayed for Winter<~< p>

        Igris returned to Winter, dropping several demon heads by Winter as Igris kneeled. "Okay, this is starting to get out of hand," he began, "Because of you, He's doing it too," Winter replied, awkwardly watching Iron drag Vulcan's head behind him. "Besides, I was the one who took him down, not you!" He thought. "Well, you let me borrow your shield, so I guess you did help," Winter sighed. "Well, why don't we try the orb out, one of you shadow mages, come forth," he commanded. One appeared before him, "Here, now use this to blast a fireball," Winter handed the mage the orb of Avarice. The Mage built a massive fireball above his head and threw it into a building. A massive explosion consumed the building and a couple more around it. "Good, it works," he smiled. "Mages back home killed to get their hands on this orb," Winter thought.

        "What a surprise, coming back here to fight one of the best Jaegers on the planet. Quite the treat," Billy chuckled. "Let's just get this over with," Cyrus transformed into his manifest. Scaly armor covered his body with veins of flowing mana, a mask with horns going straight up from each side. His hair flowed in the powerful magic waves rushing through the testing room. "Sir, there is someone here to meet you," spoke an assistant to the Government Official. "Hm? Who is it now?" He asks, turning around to see who is entering the room. Her high heels clacked on the ground, and her slender and curvy figure was covered by the shadows in the theater-like viewing room. "I've got information you might want, sir," Tyler's pink eyes glowed through the darkness. "What might that be, miss?" He asks with an unconvinced expression. She sat down on the seat in front of him, putting her feet up on one chair. "Dungeons, magic beasts, Mythics. They're only symptoms of the disease. Powerful forces have reawakened, and it will bring about catastrophic destruction if we leave it to grow," she explained. "What is your goal with this?" He asks, getting uncomfortable. "It's like a weed, feeding on our world and everything around it. I'm here to stop it, and completely uproot the damn thing," Tyler explained smugly. "What is this 'catastrophic destruction', then?" The Government Official asks, "I can't say just yet, but it's right in our backyard," she explained. He laughed, "You came all the way here to stop the destruction, but can't tell us what it is? I have no idea what you're talking about, but wouldn't you agree that there is strength in numbers?" The Government Official asks, "Against such a force, numbers are meaningless. Putting together a team of mediocre Mythics will fail. They'll only bring the catastrophe quicker. You should already know this since you have so little power over Mythics," Tyler explained, "Does she not know who I am?!" The Government Official thought, clearly annoyed. "So what do you mean for us to do with this information? Listen, lady, you're wasting my time with this bullshit. It sounds like only you can combat this problem," He replied, "I have a couple of ideas," she replied, smirking smugly. In that same moment, Cyrus began gathering an immense amount of mana. The Government Official trembled uncontrollably, but Tyler only smiled.

        Deep within the demons' castle, a graveyard lay silently. Suddenly a beam of light came from the earth and shot up into the sky. Illuminating the graveyard. An old, wrinkly hand was lifted. Its long, black nails pointed down at the ground as its old, torn robe fell back to its elbow revealing a red, weaved bracelet. Suddenly, zombies and undead monsters rose from the same graves, forming a massive army of the dead. Restless spirits flew above then, aroused by the necromancer, but unable to physically affect the battlefield. The Arch lich sat upon a throne of bones and rotten wood. Decorated in a similar way, "Iron, Igris. Mind clearing a path for me?" Winter asks, confronting the lich without much fear. Both formed from his shadow, sprinting as fast as they could towards the lich, more soldiers formed from his shadow. They formed a formidable line to break their phalanx. The two arms clashed, and despite being outnumbered, the Shadow Soldiers were crushing bones, armor, and skulls. The Arch Lich was thoroughly confused, searching the field for their master. "What's wrong? Surprised at their strength?" Winter asks. The lich looked to its right, finding him standing upon a tall building, illuminated by the blood-red moon. "Yeah, I was too. I'd bet you didn't see this coming, right?" He asks again, his eyes brightly glowing an aquamarine. The archlich flinched, trying to call upon a soldier who could help. "Do the undead feel fear?" Winter asked himself, looking down upon the lich, "There's only one way to find out," he leaped down, cutting through the lich with ease.