Alvaric's body was thrown forward, crashing hard onto the ground. Blood spurted from his back—his flesh torn open, skin ripped apart. The pain surged through him, but only for a moment. His body healed within seconds.
Zurath stood frozen. His claw was still dripping with blood. He growled softly, then hissed, "He's regenerating."
The wide gash on Alvaric's back was already closing. Slowly, the torn flesh fused together, the bleeding stopped, and his skin restored itself as if it had never been wounded. He stood again, facing the still-shocked Zurath.
From a distance, the Lizard Girl narrowed her eyes. "Regenerating that fast? How is that even possible?"
Zurath took a step back. His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Are you some kind of artificial creature? Or... a result of an experiment?"
Alvaric didn't understand it either, but what he did know was that this regenerative ability came from his class: Human Hemomancer, a unique class that had never existed before. Its downside was his very limited MP—he could barely use any magic.
But that wasn't a big issue since he was a superb close-combat fighter. In fact, he was arguably the best among all of them. He would not die unless his HP dropped to zero. As long as that hadn't happened, Alvaric could be considered immortal.
"Why do you want to kill me?" Alvaric asked.
Zurath clenched his fists as memories of his wife and child's death came flooding back. "You... you foreign beings killed my wife and child. You burned our forests, our homes, stole everything we had—and you even ripped open the chests of my wife and child just to take the crystal inside their bodies!"
A powerful aura erupted from Zurath, consumed by rage. "You are monsters!"
Alvaric, who had been angry at first, fell silent. Confused by Zurath's words. It felt... familiar. Very similar to what the Awakened did when entering a dungeon through a portal.
They would kill the monsters inside and take whatever they could. But they were supposed to be killing monsters, because monsters came out from portals and attacked Earth, nearly causing the apocalypse.
"This is strange." Alvaric's head throbbed. So many things didn't add up. "We're supposed to kill monsters. There's no way we would attack any other beings unless... unless you showed hostility first."
Zurath laughed—loudly, bitterly. "Showed hostility? That's hilarious." His gaze sharpened. "I welcomed them warmly back then. I even offered them food. And they repaid me by killing the people I loved the most. Do you still want to claim that was my fault?"
Alvaric was speechless. He couldn't answer. His mind was overloaded with too much conflicting information. He struggled to organize any of it. It was too much. Alvaric shook his head repeatedly, pulling at his hair in frustration.
In his heart, there was a bias he couldn't shake off. He was human, after all. A part of him insisted: Humans can't be at fault. There must be another explanation. We're not evil.
Alvaric nodded slowly. "There must be a mistake somewhere. Maybe..." He swallowed hard. "Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. Maybe... our languages were different, so—"
Suddenly, Alvaric realized something.
He could speak with the wolf-man in front of him. They could understand each other clearly. Language wasn't an issue. Alvaric fell into deeper thought, struggling to find an excuse for humanity's actions.
He kept thinking endlessly, desperate to avoid condemning humanity. He still believed there had to be a mistake somewhere. "Yes," he said, looking at Zurath again. "It must not have been humans. It was someone else disguised as us."
"They all looked just like you. Even their aura was the same as yours."
Thump.
Alvaric was truly at a loss for words.
[New Mission Added]
[Mission: Kill Zurath and his followers]
[Reward: None]
[Penalty: Death]
Alvaric was stunned by the mission prompt. It was something he didn't want to do. But Zurath and his subordinates were already preparing to strike. Zurath hated Alvaric deeply—because he was human. That hatred ran deep.
"Kill him!" Zurath commanded again.
Alvaric laughed. "Right. For the mission."
He had found an excuse to kill.
With a smile, he charged forward. The battle resumed. This time, Alvaric went berserk. He never stopped. Even when he got hit, he didn't dodge. He relied on brutal counterattacks. In just a few minutes, he had killed half of his enemies.
The longer the fight went on, the more dominant he became. His opponents were overwhelmed. Even Zurath was slashed and seriously wounded—he vomited blood, his body poisoned.
"I'll kill you!" the Lizard Girl shouted.
She tried to charge at Alvaric, but Zurath stopped her. He turned and hurled her backward with great force. Then, he stomped the ground. A wall of earth rose between them. The Lizard Girl couldn't get through. She screamed, begging Zurath to cancel the spell.
But he didn't. "Go! You must survive. Become strong. I have high hopes for you. I beg you."
"No!" the Lizard Girl shouted. "I will not leave you, Master!"
"I've come to see you as my daughter, Alice. Please, live on. I care for you," said Zurath.
Alice kept pounding on the wall in front of her. Tears streamed down her face. She fell to her knees, devastated at her own weakness.
"I beg you—live!" Zurath cried one last time.
***
Alvaric charged again. Zurath used his earth magic to fling Alvaric's body repeatedly. Then he lunged in and clawed at him. But every wound Alvaric received healed moments later.
Zurath shook his head. "It's impossible to defeat this monster."
Zurath was slowly accepting his fate. He thought he had grown stronger over the years. But in the end, it was all the same. He would die at the hands of the creature he hated most. His revenge would never be fulfilled.
Zurath smiled bitterly. "Come, monster! I'll give you the most painful death I can manage."
He unleashed all of his remaining strength. Magical energy surged from his body. His form grew larger, more muscular. He was three times stronger now. He launched himself forward and attacked with rapid, ferocious slashes.
He was faster, stronger. But one thing made him lose—Alvaric kept regenerating. Slowly, Zurath's magic energy drained. He began to tire.
That was when Alvaric began to dominate. "Humans aren't evil," Alvaric said.
He stabbed Zurath in the stomach. The poison spread quickly. Zurath coughed blood and collapsed. He laughed faintly, coughing between breaths.
"Humans aren't evil? What a funny thing to say," Zurath mocked.
Alvaric felt insulted. He drew the Crimson Sword Demon. "You attacked us first. What's wrong with fighting back? You creatures have no shame!" he yelled.
Zurath kept laughing. "You... are selfish."
Crack.
The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed clearly. The sword stabbed into Zurath's chest, splitting through bone and heart.
Zurath fell silent. His eyes widened briefly, then slowly faded. His breathing grew shallow.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"...Alice..." he whispered faintly, before finally falling motionless.
"Live on."