Charles

I glared at my opponent, the verdant green covering me like a protective membrane. I wanted to fight. To kill. To show the world my power. And yet, before letting loose, something scratched against the anger flaring in my mind - a small voice, whispering why.

Normally, I would have ignored the doubts, as deep thinking didn't help with winning battles.

Normally, that is.

This situation was anything but normal. And because of that, I stopped, my flames stilled in confusion at the sudden inaction. The twin green snakes hovering over my shoulders hissed and purred, nearly self-aware, distinct, and almost alive.

Something wasn't adding up.

In the background, I could still hear Gangria egging me on, ordering me to deal with the problem. The new possibilities nearly drowned me in choices. It was a refreshing, empowering thing to be on the offensive - for the first time in what felt like forever - with the freshly baked level 80 system-reinforced power.

And yet, as a demigod, standing against what? A level 40 or 50 monster, even if it was a unique one… where was the excitement in that? It was just bullying the weak.

I could just slap Leon and break his neck. It would be easy, barely an inconvenience. But, as I took a few first steps to do just that, a thought struck, freezing me in place. The way that two-headed Goddess spoke… what did she say? What concrete words were used? I remembered, and the doubts started gnawing on my spine.

Maybe it wasn't as simple a problem to deal with as I thought.

Maybe it was a test.

A way to gauge how a new divinity would behave given power. Because power corrupts, or rather, it tears down any fake societal and moral norms, leaving only bare ego on display.

I stilled my flames, focusing even harder on control, moulding fires like clay, and then willing them to spread out like an oil spill. The greenish "Fire Wall" looked more like "Fire Sea", but it fulfilled its role - stalling for time. Leon wasn't so far gone as to simply charge into a sure death. He instead focused on throwing ice boulders, spears, and needles my way.

I ignored him.

I had to think. I had to understand.

There was something different about me now that I had evolved. I stopped being human, yes, but there was a deeper, more profound change, too. I just didn't have time to explore it because of all the shit happening around us.

My lips quivered, remembering that a large part of "that shit" was Gangria's torture treatment. I never ever wanted to be on the receiving end of such… experimentation. The cold hands rummaging through my memories were something hard to forget.

It was much more fulfilling to deal such cards to the others than to experience them myself.

As I calmed down and started to reach within, I noticed in the corner of my eye that the Goddess's smile started to reappear. It was a small thing, with the corners of her mouth barely lifting. There was even a drop of what I could only describe as appreciation swirling in her gaze. It took all my willpower not to shudder in response. Being a target of a monster's curiosity was never a good thing. Especially if the monster in question possessed two pairs of eyes.

Yet despite these setbacks, I still managed to let go of my fears.

It took me a minute, but an understanding dawned. A few forces clashed in my mind, each influenced by different parts of my new physiology. Or my soul. It was hard to tell, sometimes.

The Dungeon part wanted nothing more than to kill off the undead and then recreate him in my own image. I already had some deathless companions; what was one more? Not to mention the temptation of capturing his essence and "repurposing" it was immense. Such was Dungeon's greed.

The last dredges of humanity that remained, carried by a memory of simpler, happier times, mostly felt revulsion. After all, Charles had been taught all his life that those already dead were the enemy. There was a sliver of pity, the recognition of how duty more often than not ended in death or betrayal. Non's situation helped too… still, the desire to kill remained as the main motivator.

And the newest part of my psyche, those with the freshest paint, was the demigod mantle lurking under my mind's surface, wanting to flex its shiny powers. To transform Leon into something more. To give him a new purpose, maybe even turn him into a living being, thus allowing the madness of undeath to fade. It was a drive to show off, to excel. To fulfill the duty for which I was made.

I hummed.

The choice was clear. I could repurpose, destroy, or transform. And the fact of the matter was that even having this choice was a privilege of the strong.

My hesitation was temporary. What was the point of becoming a demigod if I didn't use my mantles? A shit-eating grin slowly formed on my face. "I see." I mumbled and noticed Gangria perking up even more.

It was concerning.

Yet, I had more important problems on my plate than reacting to a crazy Goddess, no matter how loud my subconscious mind shouted. As I warred with hesitation, the flames surrounding me faltered too, and Non used that gap to appear by my side. This forced me to remember that the fires could be manipulated to behave much differently than normal. I just didn't have time to experiment with them.

How embarrassing.

The former undead was smiling, but I could sense the deep unease hidden underneath her mask, the hesitant question of whether I was still the same man who granted her wish. Was I still the one she swore fealty to?

In response to these thoughts, I simply ruffled her hair, and Valkyrie's shoulders relaxed. "Don't let Agnes see what you are doing." She teased. "She wouldn't condone having concubines on the side."

"My fiancée knows the difference between affection and love." I shot back.

"As you say, Master." She straightened, the tease vanishing from her eyes. The temptress persona retreated, and only the fanatical soldier remained. "What are your orders? Shall I give these winged freaks a trashing? Or maybe this vile undead needs to be turned into ashes? Command me!"

Before I could answer, Leon's anger had risen to its peak. His ineffective attacks only amplified his rage beyond reason. Non's casual disdain probably didn't help, either. He screamed, his voice strained. "Help me, cowards! Do you think that the newly born demigod will let you leave? There will be no forgiveness - especially after you attacked his lover! Get out of here and fight like men!"

"Or die, like trash you are!" He added venomously.

I chuckled. How fast have I forgotten about the ways of the weak? If an enemy was insurmountable, gather allies until it wasn't. Apes together strong!

The levitating castle remained silent for a few moments before its gates opened and a host of winged elves emerged, looking solemn and noble. I nearly spat on the ground. Their faces sure poised them like some kind of saviors, when they were nothing more than hateful raiders.

An unknown elf was at the front, with the former leader meekly taking place behind him. This new one was distinctly different from the others - he radiated power, but also looked old and fragile. Like, really old. His skin was sallow under the golden armor, covered in warts and blotches. The eyes, once bright and yellow, now barely opened, hiding the bloodshot orbs full of boredom. It was a strange look for a race that prided itself on its ethereality.

And yet this old man was the most powerful being out here, besides myself.

"Normally, we would spit on your cooperation, corpse." The lead elf hewed his words. "But the sons of Justice must endure many indignations, until the prophesied time comes when the true God resurrects."

His gaze turned to my blazing form, bowing slightly. "We salute the new demigod, and beg for the begones be begone."

I observed him and his troops for a moment before answering. Strangely, there was no anger in my mind… only disgust. "You wanted to cleanse my people. Kill love of my life. And now that the situation had changed, you dare to parley as equals?"

"That we do." The old one simply nodded. "The children of the Aeon do not bend their backs. We stand proud and tall against all odds."

"Like hell you do." This time, I actually spat on the ground, forcing a flinch from the surrounding angels. "You are just a bunch of hypocrites, thinking yourself better than others because of your faith." The green haze on my shoulders intensified. I suddenly understood where the disgust was coming from. "A bunch of old relics desperately clinging to the past, using your borrowed power to bully others into submission."

"And, worst of all, you don't understand that there's nothing more permanent than change." I looked him in the eye. "Not to mention you didn't even introduce yourself… so much for repentance." I sneered.

"You toe a dangerous line, o new divinity." The oldie warned. "My name is--"

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"I don't care." I interrupted. "I do not need to know the names of dead people."

"You!"

"Catch."

I threw a frisbee-like plate of fire in their direction, willing it to explode into an animated construct. The missile arrived nearly instantly, and only the old elf's intervention stopped the green flames from decimating his cohort.

The flame and light collided, with my attack redirected but not stopped. The air keened as our powers clashed, and the elf grandpa panted before turning his reddish eyes toward me. "You will regret this day, false divinity!"

"And now your real colors are coming out." I murmured, ignoring the knife-ear and his indignation. "Non, do try to kill them, but remember to retreat if the situation seems unfavorable."

She nodded, her eyes glinting with a fierce light. "I will make them pay! Agnes is not their toy to play with!"

"And you…" I turned to Leon. "It seems like I need a more delicate touch." I mused, suddenly reappearing near his left shoulder, the snakes immobilizing him with ease.

"It will only hurt a little." My hand pierced through his ribs. "I promise."

He screamed as I rummaged inside. I shook my head. "So exaggerated". Thankfully, the skeleton's magical core was easy to find, on account of the brightness and mana it excluded.

As soon as my fingers closed on his heart, the screams took a different note. Whereas earlier the shouts were carrying mostly anger, now they had been joined by the undercurrent of fear. Still, despite the horror, Leon managed to actually spit a few words.

"Kuh, kill me! I would rather die than be disgraced!" Hearing these familiar lines, I couldn't stop myself from chuckling. This didn't endear me in the slightest to my captive. I shrugged.

It was not important.

I refocused on the problem before me and tried to use my innate ability to influence his very being. To change what he would become, as was my birthright… I tensed and promptly hit a wall. I didn't expect Leon's fierce resistance.

It was weird.

The domain of transformation might be a new power in my arsenal, but using it was mostly intuitive. Controlling it happened just like how I ruled over my flames - with a heavy dose of focus and a pinch of otherworldly imagination.

And now the feedback from my new domain suggested that the subject would rather break than allow the change to happen.

Huh.

That was a conundrum. I could always force the last step and then rebuild his soul from the scraps that survived, but it was a distasteful solution. And even worse, it would feel like a loss. To sacrifice such a powerful tool to this kind of compromise reminded me too much of the Lich's failed summoning of Henrik Waltzer. All that pomp, all that wasted effort, and what he gained was merely an empty husk.

Ah.

That reminded me. The answer was here all along. Simplest solutions were the cleanest and most beautiful. Like a certain bald driver once said… Family. That's the only thing that matters.

And I had a perfect candidate to fulfill that role.

"Guardian!" I roared, my voice easily travelling through rock and the Dungeon's defences. "Return to the surface! I have a job for you!"

I could feel the commotion as my faithful retainer made his way upward, fighting against the grain of the evacuation. Dungeon creatures were still flowing to the lower parts of the underground, despite the apparent cessation of hostilities. Yes, Gangria halted her domain expansion, or whatever the hell her corruption aura was, but I wasn't naive enough to believe in her goodwill.

The girth of underground levels and the dungeon stone stacked between her and those I cared about were a feeble barrier, but a barrier nonetheless. They could buy priceless seconds.

Leon squirmed, trying to get free, as I wasted time observing a game of tag between Non and the elves, her punches and daggers bleeding them a little with every passing second. At her side stood an eastern dragon, made from the verdant flames that coalesced into a coherent form. It was swerving and weaving, scattering the proud knife-ears like flies when it - every so often - breathed out an area attack.

My fun had been cut short by an armored figure that appeared in the middle of the Dungeon's entrance - a man clad from head to toe in iron, carrying a large sword, and walking with the surety of someone knowing their strength.

Guardian, one of my first warriors, and, more importantly, the only remaining part of the Waltzer family.

"You want humanity to prosper, right?" I started asking the twitching undead. For a few seconds, Leon just glared in my direction, and just when I lost hope for an answer, he grated out a few words. Somehow, even without skin present, I still felt he was sneering at me.

"N-not l-l-liiiike you'll understaaaaand." He gasped. I loosened my fingers a bit, and his defiant energy returned. "Monsters like you only have one desire - to kill and destroy everything the civilization holds dear." I refrained from pointing out that he was also one of these monsters. "So, to survive, we need strength. Strength at any cost. Strength to dictate our own terms to this cruel world. There is simply no other way…"

"No other way to survive this cursed place and its cruel gods." He added after a second.

"Not sure why the gods are suddenly a problem." I murmured before continuing my poorly constructed coercion under his heated gaze. "Don't you have a family? Henrik Waltzer was a hero. You were not far behind, or so I heard." I frowned. "How it is that neither of you had any children? Not even bastards? I would guess that at a certain point, women were throwing themselves at you!"

"What's with this topic of conversation? Are you asking about my kin to hunt them down?" The Lich asked suspiciously, while glancing at Guardian standing nearby. Then he suddenly grinned. "Too bad. None of the many people who once shared my blood are alive. Watzer's line has long been extinguished. My enemies made sure of that." He whispered.

I sighed dramatically. "Ah, hells, I'm bad at segways." I pointed dramatically. "You see, not all Waltzers are dead. One had actually survived. I dragged him out of hell myself! I present you… Daniel Waltzer! The only surviving son of Henrik Waltzer! And your nephew by blood!"

There were a few seconds of silence, with both Guardian and Leon staring at me incredulously. From my retainer, I felt a feeling of apprehension, with a healthy dose of fear that soon had been replaced by anger. The undead was harder to read.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Leon asked tiredly. "You can't just grab a humanoid monster and declare it my kin! What do you think you are doing?! My family is long dead; I buried them myself! And now you come in, and dare to lie straight to my face!"

He heated up. "I will kill you! I'll murder this whole place, and not even sand will remain intact, when I'm done WITH YOU, demigod, or not!"

Seeing him starting to spiral, I took a deep breath, wondering if the 'light touch' really was worth the trouble. I was never a people person, and it was showing. Yet before I could start berating the crusty old skeleton, another voice joined the conversation.

"Buried yourself?!" Guardian words trembled with rage. "BURIED YOURSELF?! Aunt Maria, little Catherine, and her older brother, Joan. Father Henrik and my mother, Aurelia, with three dozen servants. My half-brother Thomas, and his little brother, Julias, with their mother, concubine Henrietta."

"Wha-, what are you, how… how do you kn--?"

"Those are people you killed, uncle. Those are the innocents who were victims of your betrayal! Those are my family whom you MOST CERTAINLY DIDN'T BURY!"

Guardian… no, Daniel Waltzer snarled, before lifting the bag of bones in the air. His uncle didn't react to the violence, taking the anger with open eyes while hanging limply in his hands. "So don't you dare to mention them so carelessly! Don't you dare to spout nonsense about responsibility and revenge, you trash!"

"Do you think I didn't see you try to resurrect Father to further your agenda?! You have no leg to stand on, traitor! No honor! You just use, and use, and use, not sparing a single thought about how the others feel! You were always that way, and even death couldn't change that hateful side of yours!"

Guardian Daniel threw his uncle to the ground, and the Lich bounced in what would be a comedic fashion, if not for the seriousness of the situation.

My servant proceeded to take off his helmet, and to my surprise, it wasn't a completely inhuman visage that greeted us. On some level, I remembered he evolved, with the lack of soul-stabilizing cables and his new mobility proving the depth of the change, but I still didn't expect that from underneath the metal peeked a human, if somewhat pale, face.

"I'm a monster, too, uncle. It was the only way to survive… so forgive me if I don't take you sanctimonious bullshit seriously."

"D-Daniel, my boy? Is that really you?" The Lich whispered, his hands stretched out, like he was begging for alms. "How? How are you… I searched, I swear by the Gods, I wanted to find you all…"

"I was buried alive, uncle. I was left to rot. I screamed for help until my voice grew hoarse and my fingers broke digging through the stone, desperately hoping for rescue that never came." He glared at his kin with utter contempt. "And you, instead of saving what little remained, chose to wallow in self-pity." He sneered before spitting on the ground. "We begged for salvation, and the way it gave way to madness. To this day, I remember their voices growing quieter and quieter… before being extinguished completely."

The young man shook his head before exhaling. "I don't know why I bother. You are nothing but a disappointment." He turned back to me. "My Lord, I know what your intentions are, but… I must refuse. There is no bond here. It's our people that need me, not this… thing that masquerades as my uncle. They truly need a helping hand, a protector, and I don't intend to disappoint them, just like he disappointed me. Our people, monstrous and not, need a Guardian, and I want to fulfill that role with honor." He bowed deeply, sent a last glare at the curled-up skeleton, and departed.

The silence bit deeper this time, with the fight between Non, the flame dragon, and the elves seemingly hanging in balance. We ignored their explosions and shouts as the Guardian's steps faded into the distance.

"I… I really… I really fucked up, didn't I?" The Lich whispered, his blue eyes growing dimmer with each word. "I was too caught up in power struggles and grand battles to understand what was most important. Too focused on saving the world."

His voice hitched. "Th-there's no coming back, isn't there?"

"There may be a way." I said as I edged closer. It wasn't the result I imagined, but hells, if it worked out, then that was fine! "Daniel works under Silver Oasis and serves its people. While I can't guarantee anything, if you stay at his side, you may yet repent. At the very least, you will see him often." I tempted.

The undead's gaze felt flat. "I can see what you're doing, you know?"

"But do you have any other answer than the one I'm giving?" I grinned.

He kept silent for minutes before exhaling. With decrepit slowness, his head rose, and the blue ice of his gaze met the fiery red of my soul. "I suppose not. I don't have to like it, but the answer is clear. Maybe some merciful gods remained on this husk of a world." He glanced at smirking Gangria before adding. "Just make it quick."

"Sure. It won't even be painful." I lied without a blink. "So just… relax."

I called upon my mantles, and both Chaos and Transformation responded with glee, threading faith like it was a warm blanket. The magic and Anima descended upon the undead laying before me, and infiltrated every part of his body. I knew what would happen next, as the Change drew heavily from the Before's mythology, adding the nonexistent yokai to the present.

The battle in the background quietened, as both elves and Non observed this fresh miracle. One pair of blood-tinged eyes felt especially prickly, and I suddenly found myself hesitating. There was something suspicious about them.

Still, there was work to be done, as my mantles continued with regrowing the flesh, skin, and hair. The change came haltingly, with the whole process looking rather barbaric.

The black hair and piercing blue eyes were what emerged first, then a muscular abdomen with arms and legs. A clean, pristine face filled in later, without a speck of beard or mustache.

I turned back to ask Guardian how his uncle looked before, only to notice that Leon now had tits.

And there was a distinct lack of balls.

Fuck.

I made a Yuki-Onna, not Yuki-Otoko, didn't I?

"What have you DONE?!" Leon's (or should I say Leona?) scream of terror sounded nearly cute.

What didn't sound cute was the other shout. "I understand now! Only by experiencing divinity can one resurrect you, My Lord!"

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