''What a bullshit.'' Alaric gritted his teeth and stepped back. He really never thought something like that could happen.
But now… how the hell was he supposed to defeat Morris—no, the demon king.
In just a blink, Morris's figure vanished from his sight. A stabbing, tearing pain exploded in his abdomen. He nearly blacked out on the spot, but he forced himself to stay awake, shivering, then collapsing to the ground.
''Wow, this body is so damn quality.'' The demon king chuckled, savoring his strength after landing a single punch into the slave's stomach.
But his expression quickly shifted to boredom when he looked at the slave—pure disappointment in his eyes.
''And you're… too weak. I can't even test out my new body with someone like you.''
He nudged the slave lightly with his foot, checking whether he was dead or not.
''Hey… wake up. Play w—… Uh…''
Suddenly, the demon staggered a few steps, clutching his head in pain. His brows furrowed as he gritted his teeth.
''W-What's happening?''
Half of Morris's face twisted into a different appearance. With a shaky voice, he spoke:
''Y-You picked the wrong body to possess. I'm the one blessed by the dragon king. With the dragon king's willpower… I'll expel you. A-And I'll be the winner.''
''Just a lowly lizard.'' The other half of the face distorted and grinned. The demon was clearly shocked by the situation, but it didn't matter much. He just needed a bit more time to erase the last pieces of Morris's soul and fully take over the body.
However… he seemed to have forgotten someone was still here.
''It's my time.''
With a face as pale as a corpse, the slave barely managed to throw a necklace-wrapped punch straight into Morris's face.
Bang!
A sharp, bone-deep pain shot through his fist the moment it connected. With such thin arms and barely any muscle to support the bones, he felt every joint scream, like they were about to snap apart.
He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to endure the agony.
His breathing turned ragged, harsh, like he was on the edge of death again. His insides felt crushed after that brutal punch from Morris earlier. A horrible pain—damn it, he knew he couldn't last much longer.
''M-Must… quickly…''
His vision blurred, but he still tried to lock onto where Morris was and took a shaky step forward.
''I-It's so annoying… such a pathetic worm.''
With a face twisted in mania, Morris wobbled, then in a sudden, lightning-fast motion, kicked the slave. The impact launched the slave across through the rocky platform like a ragged doll for a few while, sending the slave tumbling straight into the abyss below.
Finally, Morris slumped down, sitting cross-legged to meditate, desperately trying to focus and erase the last pieces of the old owner's soul.
***
"I'm gone?"
"If so…"
"At least I did my best… I've got no regrets."
"I just hope in the next life, I'll be reborn as someone better."
"...Fuck! If I'm already dead, why is that terrifying pain still on my body?"
…
"N-No, wait? I'm… not dead yet?"
The Alaric weakly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the abyss below—dark, deep… so far down he couldn't even see the bottom. Feeling the biting wind cutting through his wretched body, he turned left and right. Finally, he looked up.
"Sure… that's my blessing."
He forced himself to smile as he looked at his right hand, still hanging onto a jutting rock sticking out from the cliff wall thanks to the necklace acting as a rope to keep him. Maybe his body was just too light and thin—that must be why the necklace hadn't snapped yet.
"You still want me to survive… but for what? To suffer this agony a little longer? Or just to let that monster finish me off?"
As soon as he said that… the jutting rock started cracking. He had no time left to choose.
"Tsk. So you're forcing me, huh? Give up and die like a coward… or try, and die like a brave one."
A small flame ignited in his eyes. He chuckled.
"Of course… I'll die like a brave one."
He reached out to grab another jutting rock and pulled himself up.
Again.
Again.
Again.
After minutes of struggling to climb up the cliff's edge, he then managed to breathe in as much oxygen as he could. He knew he might not get another chance the next moment.
For some reason, his mind was the clearest it had ever been. Maybe all that pain had helped him. Adrenaline pumped through every vein, keeping him alert and forcing his bleeding body to stay alive.
He heard nothing—only his heartbeat.
He stepped forward lightly, heading toward the shadowy figure sitting far away at the center of the rocky platform.
Each step. Each step.
He pulled the necklace off his right hand, letting the chain extend into a one‑meter length while muttering to himself:
"Go to hell."
Without hesitation, as fast as he could, the slave wrapped the chain around Morris's neck and strangled him from behind.
To Morris's bewilderment, he instantly fought to pry the chain off. But the moment he touched it, a flame burst across his hand—like a demon grabbing a holy cross.
Confusion and terror twisted his face. He knew exactly what that thing was. That explained why earlier he'd suddenly felt his body weakening after the slave's punch.
"Y-You fucker?! W-Why do you have that cursed thing?!"
But the slave ignored the demon king's scream and kept choking Morris with everything he had… He wouldn't stop until one of them died.
"Shit! L-Let me out!"
The demon gave up trying to pry the chain off. Instead, he swung a reverse punch toward the slave's hips. Each strike shattered most of the slave's already fragile bones. He knew his only chance to escape this situation was to kill the slave before the chain sealed his soul.
However, after a few reverse punches, his body began convulsing violently. It seemed the body's original owner was fighting back against the demon as well.
"A-Argggg…"
"F-Fuck… you three trash!"
At that moment, countless waves of regret washed over him. What had he done wrong? The perfect plan… he had nearly succeeded… except for the final step.
Oh… that was right! The slave… he was the one who ruined the final step of his plan.
Fury burned in his eyes as his vision began to blur, his soul gradually expelled from his body… until it was completely sealed by the necklace.
[You have sealed the demon king.]
[You have killed a green-core summoner.]
[Congratulations, Host! You achieved the impossible]
[You have accomplished the final challenge of the Nameless God]
[The system is analyzing your progress to grant the reward of the Challenge]