The cavern was silent save for the hiss of cooling magma and the ragged breathing of my victorious team. The colossal corpse of the Infernal Juggernaut, Hephaestus, lay broken and dark, a monument to our overwhelming power. Its molten heart, the S-rank mana core, was now exposed, a fist-sized, multi-faceted obsidian gem that pulsed with a deep, internal, orange light. It was a star of condensed, volcanic power, a prize of almost unimaginable value.
And I wanted it.
The hunger was a physical thing, a gnawing emptiness in my soul that screamed to be filled. The power I had devoured from the Gorgon-Hydra had shown me what true strength felt like, and this core was the next step on that divine path. I could feel its raw, chaotic energy calling to the tyrant within me. Taking it was the logical choice. I was the leader. My strength was the team's strength. The argument was simple, irrefutable, and utterly selfish.
But as I looked at the faces of my team, I saw the flaw in that logic. They were not just my tools anymore; they were honed, intelligent weapons, and they were beginning to chafe under my absolute rule. Masha and Jin stood with a wary, coiled tension, their expressions a mixture of awe at our victory and a deep-seated resentment for my methods. Eric's loyalty was a bedrock, but even bedrock can be fractured by too much pressure. To claim this core, to once again declare my divine right to all spoils, would be a step too far. It would be the crack that shattered my empire before it was even built. A smart tyrant knows when to tighten the leash, but a brilliant one knows when to loosen it.
With a profound, internal sigh of regret, I let the hunger go. I was playing a longer game now.
"I am out of the race for this prize," I announced, my voice echoing in the vast cavern.
Every head snapped in my direction, their expressions a mixture of shock and utter disbelief.
"What?" Masha was the first to speak, her voice sharp with suspicion. "You're just… giving it up? The most powerful core we've ever seen?"
"My recent gains have been substantial," I said, my tone one of magnanimous, weary leadership. I gestured to my black sword, Soul-Drinker. "This weapon, and the power I absorbed from the Hydra, have brought me to a new plateau. To take this core as well would be… an inefficient allocation of resources. The team is only as strong as its weakest link. It is better to raise the strength of the whole than to grant more power to the one who already has the most."
It was a perfect lie, a beautiful piece of strategic generosity that cost me nothing but my own greed. It reframed my tyranny as a form of selfless, logical stewardship.
The tension in the cavern immediately shifted. The resentment in Jin's eyes softened into confusion. Eric's conflicted expression cleared, replaced by a renewed, profound respect for my 'wisdom.' But my withdrawal did not bring peace. It simply opened the floodgates.
"I should have it," Lana declared immediately, stepping forward, her Serpent's Tooth crossbow held loosely in her hand. "My skill is weapon-based. More raw power means more force behind my attacks. I can be a better, more effective killer for the team. For Dante."
"No," Erica countered, stepping in front of Lana, her hands sparking with contained fire. "My pyromancy was useless in this fight. I was relegated to defense. If my core power is stronger, I might be able to overcome a creature's immunity. I need it to ensure I am never a liability to Dante again."
"It should go to a frontline fighter," Jin interjected, his voice a low growl. "Eric or myself. We take the most punishment. We need the raw durability and strength that a core like this would provide."
The argument devolved quickly, a tense, bitter negotiation born of desperation and ambition. They were all correct. They all had valid reasons. And I could see the cracks in our hard-won unity beginning to spiderweb. This was the inevitable outcome I had predicted. Only one could have the prize.
It was Masha who silenced them.
"Enough," she said, her voice not loud, but carrying an authority that cut through the bickering. She looked at each of them, her gaze cold and analytical. "Lana, you have a new weapon. Erica, you have your Sunstone. Jin, your gauntlets. Eric, your greaves. You have all received powerful artifacts in the last week."
Her gaze settled on her own frost-covered grimoire. "This book is a tool, a library of techniques. It does not fundamentally increase my own power, my own mana pool. In the fight against the Hydra, and again in this one, I was the linchpin of the strategy. And in both fights, I was the first to be completely drained. My effectiveness is capped by my own reserves. Of everyone here, I am the one who would gain the most strategic benefit from a larger pool of energy. It would allow me to control battlefields for longer, to cast more powerful spells, to be a more effective asset."
Her logic was cold, flawless, and utterly undeniable. The others fell silent, unable to refute her claim. She had not argued from a place of desire, but from a place of pure, tactical efficiency. She had used my own language against them.
I gave a slow, deliberate nod. "Masha is correct. The decision is made. The core is hers."
There were no more arguments. Masha knelt by the Juggernaut's corpse and carefully extracted the pulsing obsidian gem. As she held it in her hands, she looked over at me, her expression a complex mixture of triumph, gratitude, and a lingering, unwilling admiration. I had given her this. My act of 'mercy' had granted her the power she craved. I had just bound her to me with a chain far stronger than fear: a debt.
While she began the arduous process of absorbing the core, I turned my attention to my own prize. I walked to the shattered, cooling corpse of the Infernal Juggernaut. Its power was gone, but its form, its essence, remained.
I placed my hand on its obsidian head. "Your war is over," I whispered. "Your fire is mine to command."
I reached out with my will, and this time, the process was completely different. There was no agonizing, soul-tearing struggle. The elixir from the Pool of the Firmament had fundamentally changed me. My body was no longer a fragile, mortal vessel; it was a reinforced crucible, forged to contain divine power. My will, honed by the experience of enslaving a god, was now a sharp, precise instrument.
The Juggernaut's spirit, a being of pure, elemental rage, met my will. It was a powerful, furious thing, but it was simple, direct. It was not the ancient, vast consciousness of the Hydra. I met its fire with my own cold, empty void. The struggle was brief, intense, and utterly one-sided. With a final, silent roar of surrender, its spirit broke and flowed into me, settling into the slot I had emptied by releasing the Orc Champion. It was done. The pain was minimal, the process efficient. I had grown.
"Another one for your collection," Lana purred, appearing at my side.
"A magnificent addition," Erica added, her voice full of awe as she came to my other.
I ignored them both, focusing on the new, complete roster of my shadow army. My power was now terrifying in its scope and versatility.
First, The Guardian. The spectral Wardcrafter. My absolute, personal defense. A silent, ever-present shield.
Second, The Crimson Juggernaut. The ghost of Derek. My vengeful shock trooper, a weapon of psychological terror and brutal force.
Third, Edgar. The ghost of my lie. My loyal analyst, his spectral Appraisal skill a constant stream of battlefield data fed directly into my mind.
Fourth, my masterpiece, Ouroboros, the Abyssal Shadow. The ghost of a god, a being of living darkness and unmaking void, my ultimate trump card.
And now, the final piece, taking the seventh and last slot: Hephaestus, the Infernal Juggernaut. A walking siege engine of obsidian and magma, a being of pure, unstoppable force and fiery destruction.
My army was complete. Seven slots, filled with six beings of immense power. A guardian, a berserker, an analyst, a god, and a titan. If I had unlimited mana, I could have walked out of this forest alone. I could have killed my own team right here, ended the charade, and claimed the final prize for myself. The thought was a tempting, seductive whisper in the back of my mind. No more acting. No more managing their petty emotions. Just pure, absolute power.
I looked over at my teammates. They were gathered around Masha, who was now glowing with a faint, orange light as the Juggernaut's core integrated with her own. They were tired, but they were stronger than ever. They were my army. My living army. And for now, they were more useful alive than dead.
"We are done here," I announced, my voice pulling them from their reverie. I turned my gaze toward the dark, foreboding entrance of the lava tube, toward the world that lay beyond. "Zone A holds nothing more for us. We are strong enough now. We are ready."
I let my gaze sweep over each of them, my eyes burning with a cold, final purpose.
"We are moving to Zone S. The final trial, the Bone Dragon, awaits. Prepare yourselves. The real war is about to begin."