The Trio continued their march upwards, the ether slowly purifying them with every demon they killed.

  Most of them were easy to defeat, a simple tactic of going feral on them and then sleeping until the wounds had closed seemingly perfect for this kind of action.

  After fighting four Imps on the fourth level, they expected three hellhounds to await them on the fifth layer. Thus, the humanoid Monstrosity facing them was quite a surprise.

  It looked like a werewolf had a child with an Imp, its room barely large enough for it to spread its wings, the massive claws the only weapon they managed to see.

  They charged it together, thinking a quick fight to be the easiest solution.

  As the Beast inhaled sharply, Goron pushed Norman to the side and quickly pieced the memories of relaxing petrification and Ether skin together, his resolve the primary emotion used in that cast.

  And indeed, the fusion made him even more of a boulder, the pure ether rejecting the Infernal and instead coursing through his body.

  He felt how the effects clicked together to create a new spell, his sheltered form quickly dissipating as he chose to do what once would have been his doom.

  "Taglock of wrath, ethereal skin of anxiety, Groundbound dissapointment. You damned giant puppy, you could have reached so much, and now you are embarrassing yourself. For being an absolute disappointment, I'll punish you."

  Thus, his powered up punch landed in the beasts burning maw, clogging it as he grabbed its ugula and swiftly tore it out.

  "Yeah, that's what I thought. A damned disappointment. Even those hellhounds on the lower levels managed at least some level of resistance..."

  He felt how his words strengthened his hits' impact, the damage much deeper than mere punches against its skin.

  "I came from another world over here and died twice to make a living, and now you want to tear it down? Steal my immortality by killing me in an area that does not support my skills? I am Thimon fucking Major, and this worlds rules are for me to exploit. You get it? You demons might do deals or something, but I fool the reality around us. If you think you can stand in my way, you're gonna be torn apart. You get it, fleabag?"

  His every hit was pummeling the creature, the dissapointment weighting the demon down, and the anxiety it began to feel feeding into the ever growing power of his hits.

  "That's what I thought. Now, get gut."

  He was at the height of his pummeling when his spells suddenly fizzled out.

  He felt empty as it happened, the anger and hatred he bottled up his entire life cooking over as he he saw it, and the ether eagerly responding to his emotions, only to exhaust him to the bone.

  "I should have been better prepared..."

  He mumbled, before he sat down in exhaustion.

  Immediately, the other two took the confusion as an opportunity to attack the creature, spear and teeth stabbing at it, as the blackish blood began to boil his face

  The beast did not like that and took a step back, trying to free itself from the hooked end of the spear and ignoring the Bol chewing on its ankles.

  "Does it hurt? this speer is the best weapon our people got, and now you know why it got that name, thrice cursed fiend!"

  Norman called, not expecting the creature to move with the force it did the next moment, the desperate look in its eyes not the warning that the Ranger expected when it cleanly ripped itself off the spears end, grabbing the weapon as its wielders grip relented in horror, it threw the offending stick across the room and began to attack the challenger it currently considered the most dangerous.

  With one of them already on the ground and that pesky mutt only gnawing on its ankle, he was ready to claw that bastard into pieces.

  Sure, his intestines where hanging from his belly and his movement was severely hampered by the digestive fluids currently earing away at his legs, but he would be back once enough Mana was gathered again. His only job was to purify the Mana to ether, and in return he would be allowed to revel in the suffering of his enemies.

  His assessment of his foes was quickly proven wrong as Norman drew a dagger and a sword. The Demon was surprised at the swiftness with which his opponent attacked him.

  The fight became a battle of wit more than raw power, as the ancient warriors clashed blade against claw, holding eye contact for a solid second as they tested eachothers strengths and weaknesses.

  It was only after a minute of fighting that something changed.

  Until now she had remained in the shadow, waiting for an opportunity to strike, and utilizing a specific blade lock to jump into the fray.

  Noone expected the fight to end as Frostbite lunged, her teeth ripping her opponents throat apart and throwing his head across the room.

  Norman just fell over, groaning in dissapointment as he decided that just sleeping would be better than accepting the Bols help.

  Thus, the three just slept, one to regenerate the feeling inside him and use more magic, one to escape the danger of possibly being incorrect in his world view, and the third just because she really enjoyed hugs and cuddling.

  Somewhere far above them, an ancient creature awoke, its eyes fixating on the tresspassers within its domain.

  "Someone attempts to cleanse the world... or maybe they just want to explore this foreign place out of curiosity... let's see what we can learn about them."

  The creature gazed at the metallic sheen of its scales, a smirk spreading as after what must have been a millenia or more, his scales where still as perfect they had always been.

  As he spread his wings and roared to announce his presence, the challengers remained asleep, but he knew that its presence would pervade their sleep, for nothing could ever truly rest in a Dragons presence.

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