Alter Adam had finally calmed down, convinced that his last, cruel attack had successfully neutralized all remaining nuisances upon the cosmic plain. The attack had not been strong enough to achieve fatal consequences because the wound transferred to everyone was laced with potent Devilish Energy, which burned the recipients and caused agonizing pain but also fiercely forced their bodies to cling to life.

Everyone who had still been standing had collapsed to the ground, and only Adam remained visibly resistant to the crippling effect. Alter Adam, never losing his horrifyingly placid smile, gave a signal to his subordinate.

"That is enough, Charles."

He stated, his voice entirely dismissive of his former task.

"You can stop watching him now. I will take charge."

Charles obeyed instantly and retreated, allowing his leader to advance slowly across the jagged, dark rock. Alter Kazue had also managed to struggle to her feet and violently wiped the tears and grime from her face after her moment of raw, miserable frustration just moments before. She walked until she stood beside Charles.

"Welcome to the winning side."

The blond remarked, his tone dripping with practiced sarcasm. Alter Kazue clenched her fists and teeth, but she refused to give him a reply, her mind consumed by the fresh wound of her past.

Meanwhile, alter Adam reached the spot where Adam lay, still struggling to recover. He gripped the boy tightly by the hair and yanked him upward. With that look of profound delight at seeing the pain flicker across his counterpart's face, alter Adam seemed to be physically restraining his own laughter.

"Nothing would please me more than to kill you right here, right now."

He admitted with a cruel smile.

"But I cannot do that yet. I still need you alive, until the connection is fully established and I can cross 'to the other side,' after which I will finally be able to—"

However, Adam interrupted him with a soft, dismissive laugh that was completely unexpected. Alter Adam immediately stopped speaking, and for a brief, shattering moment, he lost his smile entirely, his eyes widening in confusion.

"Why are you laughing?"

Alter Adam demanded.

"For someone called 'The System's Scourge', you are rather talkative and extremely arrogant."

Adam stated, his voice surprisingly firm.

"What happened to you, or me, for what it matters, to end up like this? I knew I could be naive and inexperienced in many areas, but I never thought there was a possibility of me turning into such a stereotypical person… In fact, I do not even feel that you are real. Are you carrying out some kind of performance?"

For some inexplicable reason, those cutting words seemed to pierce directly into alter Adam's highly controlled psyche. The phrase "you do not even seem real" resonated in his mind, repeating itself incessantly. His eyes opened wide, losing their malicious laughter completely and replacing it with anger.

While Adam was still speaking, his counterpart simply tightened his grip and brutally slammed him directly against the ground without releasing his hair. Alter Adam appeared genuinely incensed, his dark eyes radiating a sinister light that contrasted sharply with his patched appearance, truly giving him the aspect of someone sprung from a nightmare.

"What could someone like you possibly know of what I have had to endure?"

Alter Adam asked, his tone dark and deep with contempt.

"Someone who has had a tranquil life and whom destiny has favored, you have no idea what it is like to be on 'the other side'."

Following the raw outburst, alter Adam raised the arm that held the boy, watching as Adam's face was bleeding in some parts from the impact, especially where his glasses were finally broken, but without any noticeable severe wounds, proving the undead's enormous physical resistance.

"It seems ironic how you, despite being favored by destiny, continue to closely follow 'his' footsteps."

Alter Adam said, letting a faint, dry laugh escape him.

"While I have had to make every possible sacrifice to distance myself as much as possible from resembling our original version."

Alter Adam was about to continue his dissection when he suddenly noticed something profoundly wrong. In a terrifying instant, Adam's chest mutated rapidly, generating a massive mouth filled with sharp fangs from which a ferocious blast of cursed energy erupted like a cannon shot. Alter Adam managed to dodge the attack thanks to his superhuman reflexes, but the sudden, unexpected move caused him to release Adam in surprise.

The boy took immediate advantage of the distraction. His exhaustion and pain, which had been a mask partially maintained by the Archdevil's aid, vanished, and he retreated backward with incredible speed.

While moving, Adam engaged in an internal conversation with Malzaphir.

"I did what you requested."

Adam communicated mentally, focusing his will inward.

"Is that enough time gained?"

The Archdevil's voice boomed inside his consciousness.

"It is sufficient, vile human. I feel the presence of those two users around and know they are recovered for this moment."

Adam accepted the information as fact.

"Perfect."

However, just as he formed the thought, alter Adam reached his position in a single, devastating leap, smiling maniacally and with an arm extended, clearly intending to subdue him again.

"I cannot believe you made me monologue like a fourth-rate villain."

Alter Adam stated, his voice tight with fury.

"That is why I hate the stupid 'narrative'... The first thing I will do is tear out your throat so you cease to be a nuisance."

The move had been sudden and swift, and it would have been utterly impossible for Adam to evade it in such a short time. However, just as alter Adam moved to grab him, a gigantic, spectral claw erupted from the boy's body, originating from the Demon-Type ghost residing within him. The claw impacted alter Adam, who withstood the blow, but the resulting shockwave was enough to create necessary distance between the two again.

Using Adam's mouth and voice, the Empress within him spoke, her tone radiating raw, contained fury.

"Cease your distraction, Lich."

The Empress hissed.

"I will also lend my power to ensure this bastard is finished."

Adam again retreated further, surprised by the Empress's forceful intervention; it seemed that she had taken it personally after alter Adam had vanished the other Empress. He spoke mentally to the Archdevil within him.

"The Empress is one thing, but why do you want to help so willingly?"

He asked with a rush. The Archdevil merely laughed, the sound a low, rumbling earthquake within Adam's skull.

"I am seeking more amusement, and aiding you seems like the most entertaining option."

Malzaphir stated with ease, as usual.

"Hmm… If that is all it is, then I will not accept your help."

Adam responded with a clear and unusual tone.

"After all, the deal was that I had to entertain you on my own merit, right?"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Malzaphir fell silent at the unexpected challenge. The Empress screamed mentally at Adam.

"What in the hell are you doing, you stupid Lich!"

The boy, however, maintained his stance, refusing to yield.

"I am simply upholding the deal we made."

Meanwhile, alter Adam had reincorporated himself and launched another charge toward him, this time with greater force. Adam did not seem worried, unlike the Empress, who was frantic. However, before alter Adam could reach the boy again, the voice of Malzaphir began to laugh thunderously inside his head one more time.

"Vile human!"

The Archdevil roared, the sound filled with delight.

"I cannot believe it. A mere mortal trying to blackmail an Archdevil! That, that is certainly entertaining and intrinsically arrogant on your part."

Malzaphir's voice was now filled with cold curiosity.

"However, you have piqued my interest. What exactly do you want in exchange? It is abundantly clear that this is your intention."

Adam smiled, the motion surprisingly easy despite the raw internal struggle.

"I will accept your aid, but in return, I require two things… The first is that you give me all the power you can provide, and the second… that once this is over, you tell me why you did it, what about my counterpart forced you to intervene so directly."

Although Adam could not see the face of Malzaphir because he was only a voice in his head, he could feel, almost unconsciously, the Archdevil's eyes glow and a smile etch itself onto his form. Finally, the voice boomed with finality.

"I sometimes forget the reason why we entered into the previous contract in the first place."

Malzaphir acknowledged, almost like he was recalling an extremely funny joke.

"We are certainly compatible: dark, manipulative souls… Deal."

Adam's power exploded instantly. When alter Adam finally reached his position, he was violently repelled by a sudden explosion of cursed energy that threw him backward.

The power that Adam had demonstrated in the previous scenario, the raw, uncontrolled strength that had nearly ended the lives of his friends, had returned, but this time, he was in complete control, with the cursed energy of the Empress and the devilish energy of the Archdevil Malzaphir augmenting his capabilities to their absolute maximum.

Without wasting a moment, a torrent of specters emerged from Adam's mouth and hands: Ghoul-types, Feral-types, Drake-types, and DeathKnight-types flooded the zone like a true sea of nightmare creatures. These covered alter Adam completely and surged toward Charles and alter Kazue. However, the mission of this ghost horde was not to cause them harm, as Adam knew their level was too low to succeed, but simply to buy a moment while the rest of the ethereal entities scattered around to gather the wounded and transport them as far away as possible.

The ghosts were instructed not to harm Arion either. The elf was horrified to see the sea of undead and tried desperately to defend himself, but his attacks passed harmlessly through the phantoms. However, seeing how the ghosts began to carefully carry the wounded away, he understood that, strangely, they were now on his side, so he followed them.

It did not take long before alter Adam cleared the specters that covered him with a single, powerful sweep of his arm. Charles and alter Kazue did the same with their katana and light sword, respectively. But by then, Adam had already summoned the heavy cavalry.

[Notice: The summoned 'Cursed Emperor of Envy - Rank A+' has answered the call of its master.]

[Notice: The summoned 'Daemonium Gigantiphage - Rank A+' has answered the call of its master.]

[Notice: The treasure [Spectronomicon - Rank ?] has resonated with the cursed and devilish energy of its master, temporarily evolving into 'Ancient Ethernomicon - Rank A+'.]

[Notice: The summoned 'Abbess Xinhui' has resonated with the enhanced parasitic and devilish ability of its master, temporarily evolving into 'Plague Queen: Abbess Xinhui - Rank S-'.]

The four primary entities immediately positioned themselves around Adam at the same time as his title [Commander of the Truly Strong] took action.

Abbess stood on his right, her form radiating terrifying, refined power. She was terrifyingly beautiful, covered in a rigid, organic, red armor that gave her a chitinous, queen-like appearance, with eight massive, jointed legs arching from her back like skeletal wings, sharp and deadly, and a face that was both regal and entirely alien.

To his left, the 'Ancient Ethernomicon' floated happily, with the appearance of a large person with a perfectly smooth white orb, resembling a compacted mini tornado, as a head, with a large ring of ethereal echtoplasm encircling its head like a planetary ring.

Behind Adam stood the gigantic Demon-type, the Daemonium Gigantiphage, a towering translucent monster with massive horns, fierce eyes, thick muscles, and dark, leathery wings, his immense form easily the size of a building.

Finally, directly in front of Adam, the 'Cursed Emperor of Envy' stood, its twin-crowned heads twitching with immense, contained emotion. Its chest's blue flame was burning like never before, and its four arms, each ending in a gleaming golden scythe, sharpening with excitement.

Alter Adam observed the imposing display for a moment, but then he began to laugh, finding the effort pathetic.

"What exactly do you think you are going to achieve with this?"

He asked, his tone still condescending.

"Fight? You are supposed to be intelligent. You must know that this is completely useless."

Adam, however, immediately refuted the claim, his voice now steady and amplified by the power surging within him.

"That is not true. I do not need to defeat you to win, and you know it."

Alter Adam frowned instantly, the first genuine sign of doubt crossing his face.

"Arrogant little—"

But before he could finish, two figures flashed past his side. It was Charles and alter Kazue, both launching themselves toward Adam at full speed, understanding that the boy now represented a clear, imminent danger, and neither of them could afford for something to happen, the blonde was terrified of the reaction that his leader could have in case it all failed, and the girl had already betrayed her team, there was no way she would leave it be for nothing.

Alter Adam clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed that his two subordinates had acted without receiving explicit orders, but decided to use their movement to his advantage.

"They will at least serve as bait in the meantime."

The patched boy muttered to himself.

"I want to avoid using more force than necessary when dealing with him... I do not want to kill him by mistake, not yet."

However, none of Adam's formidable summons, nor Adam himself, moved. As alter Kazue and Charles closed the distance, they were abruptly intercepted by two new figures that appeared in the blink of an eye.

Alter Kazue's sword of light was blocked by Kazue, who had appeared there because her Personal Skill [The Protagonist (?)] had finally activated completely, healing her devastating wounds and allowing her to move with total freedom. She had arrived with a wide, confident smile, using a sword of black fire, which was actually Dora converted into an elemental blade, to halt her counterpart's advance.

The same sudden interception occurred with Charles. His katana, imbued with potent devilish flames, was stopped cold by a punch from Drake imbued with Imperial Ki, arresting his charge completely.

Charles was surprised at first, but then spoke calmly, almost mockingly.

"Move aside. You have already been lucky that your lives were spared, but that will not happen a second time."

A couple of feet apart, alter Kazue glared at Kazue with pure hatred.

"Why do you not just stay dead and stop tormenting me?!"

Alter Kazue screamed. However, neither Kazue nor Drake responded immediately. Both simply closed their eyes for a brief moment of quiet focus and then spoke in chilling unison.

"I do not have time for small fries!"

Guided by the effects of the Plot Device: 'The Best Day of our Life!' used earlier, both were at the peak of their capabilities, their minds now operating with a flawless understanding of the limits of their current abilities and what they were capable of achieving. Drake was the first to move. A System screen appeared before him.

[The Subclass [Adaptative] has been updated after facing a higher-ranked enemy.] [List of stored Adaptations:] *Holy Paladin *Dragon Slayer *(new) Devil Hunter

Charles barely had time to react to the ominous message, as the two legendary jade swords materialized instantly out of nowhere right next to him and delivered two powerful, simultaneous cuts that not only shattered Charles's katana but also left a huge X-shaped cut across his entire chest. The blond screamed the instant his body registered the catastrophic damage, and he fell to the ground, incapacitated.

Something similar occurred with Kazue. She released the lock she had with alter Kazue and assumed a position as if she were about to draw her sword made of black fire... In that moment, the entire world turned a profound, consuming black, as if everything had ceased to exist, leaving only a massive image of Kazue's eyes in a horizontal strip across the void, an effect so large that everyone present could see the image.

Following the sudden visual disruption, the world returned to normal, and Kazue stood up again, never losing her victorious smile.

Alter Kazue did not understand what had happened. She screamed and tried to attack again, but then an enormous, flaming wound appeared, running across her entire body. The girl did not even have time to scream; her eyes rolled back white, and she collapsed directly to the ground, unconscious.

Alter Adam watched the sudden, rapid neutralization of his two subordinates. He remained still, without losing his cynical smile, but a shadow of cold awareness crossed his eyes as he watched Adam, Kazue, and Drake position themselves together, staring him down.

"Ho-ho… Interesting."

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