As far as subterranean passageways went, the staircase to the Water Artifact's cavern felt...reassuring, honestly.

  Anything would've been after Caelryn Cave. These halls were lit by visible light-stones rather than ambient Fell magic. There weren't ancient skeletons littering the floor. Simon didn't even sense a foreign presence attempting to intrude upon his mind! He may as well have been going for a relaxing jaunt through the woods.

  He also knew his perspective was...not the norm. Katarina was shivering, and only some of that was due to the cold.

  She kept close behind him as they descended.

  It was a longer trip than anticipated. The stairs were twisted and meandering, unnecessarily so, taking sharp turns and doubling back upwards at times.

  Perhaps to discourage thieves from journeying down to pilfer the Water Artifact? Its theft would have damned Springwater Village just as much as any Fell Beast. Valtia's Severed Isles seemed to be wholly dependent on functioning Artifacts to survive – without them, civilization would crumble overnight.

  But how are Artifacts created? And who sells them? Whoever owns the means of production would have a stranglehold on all of society.

  Simon shook his head, centering his focus. There would be time to theorize later.

  For now, he should use this opportunity to re-review his plan of battle before reaching the Beast's lair.

  The first step was to acknowledge that he was putting himself at risk. He could strategize and scheme until his brain overheated, but no plan survived contact with the enemy – especially not an enemy so much stronger than him. Challenging this Fell Beast was like walking into the open mouth of a hungry lion.

  Within the next hour, he might be dead.

  Yet that was still a risk he was willing to take. Partially for the benefits it would afford him...but mostly because Springwater had no other recourse. If he didn't slay the Beast, thousands would perish. Simon refused to believe that inaction was free of consequences; he couldn't just wash his hands of the situation and pretend everything would turn out fine.

  Which wasn't to say he intended on becoming a martyr. If all went as planned, he should be able to win with nary a scratch on him.

  It was a simple strategy: don't butt heads with the unstoppable monster juiced up on stolen Artifact mana. Simon held no delusions that he could succeed where Springwater's militia had failed – not in a direct fight. However, his Fell-Touched nature afforded him unique advantages that normal humans lacked.

  Most notably, Fell Beasts appeared to be terrified of his Shapeshifted demonic arm. The Red-Eyed Hunter had been sent screaming for the hills at the mere sight of it.

  If that was because of an instinctual pecking order – where Demons sat higher on the Fell totem pole – then Simon might literally only need to lift a finger to win. With any luck, the Beast in the cavern would take one look at him and promptly exit stage left, burrowing another tunnel as it retreated.

  Granted, this hypothesis was based on a sample size of one. Maybe the Red-Eyed Hunter was just that cowardly. He shouldn't count on things being resolved so easily.

  That was where Fell Harvest came in. When Simon used the Skill on Lucette, it had immobilized the slaver, locking her body in place. Despite the longsword still clutched in her hand, she'd just laid there and watched as her life's embers faded to nothing.

  He was hoping that same effect would happen again. If Fell Harvest's drain successfully paralyzed the cavern Beast, then their difference in strength hardly even mattered.

  Simon would only need one well-timed grab to kill it.

  In this scenario, I suppose that makes me less of a fighter and more of an assassin. The people of Springwater had been unable to defeat the Fell Beast because they couldn't outpace the creature's unnatural regeneration. Simon wouldn't do any better on that front. Raw power wasn't the answer here.

  Yet even the most feral, hulking creatures could be toppled by a knife to the heart.

  Of course, he couldn't expect this Beast to be as susceptible to Fell Harvest as Lucette. With respect to the monstrous slaving woman who had pushed his faith in humanity a few inches deeper underground...

  Actually, never mind, no respect necessary. From what he'd heard, she did not measure up to the cavern Beast. They weren't remotely in the same caliber.

  Neither was Simon, but Kill and the spare Warding Orbs should help bridge the gap. It was partially why he'd boosted his Intelligence; to give the Demonic Skill a bit more oomph.

  With that in mind, Plan A could be summed up as:

  Step 1. Get reasonably close to the Fell Beast (without dying, preferably).

  Step 2. Hit it with a Kill empowered by all of Simon's MP.

  Step 3. While the Beast is momentarily stunned, deposit all of the Warding Orbs around it in a circle, emulating Kirkelas' prison in Caelryn Cave.

  Step 4. Fell Harvest.

  Thus, the fight would end before it ever truly began. No matter how long it took to fully Harvest the mana-engorged creature, Simon would drain and drain until every last drop of its energy had been depleted. Weakened by Kill and restrained by Wards, the Beast would be powerless to save itself, staring up with fear as Simon presided over its final moments, his gaze cold and unfeeling.

  Less of an assassin – more of an executioner.

  That covers Plan A. Now, as for Plan B–

  His thoughts were cut short when he turned a corner and found that the staircase had ended. Approximately six feet down, there was an open doorway, its thick metal gate ripped off the hinges and tossed aside like crumpled paper.

  As soon as Simon caught sight of the entrance, an overpowering aura slammed into him in a tidal wave of emotion. Whereas Kirkelas' prison room had felt oppressive, dominating, and pitiless, this sensation was one of dread and despair. As if the Sealed Demon had been an apex predator, while the Fell Beast was cornered prey.

  Desperate cornered prey. The kind that would tear your throat out in a panic.

  If Simon hadn't already built up a tolerance to Fell auras when visiting Kirkelas, he would've probably struggled to maintain his balance. Nevertheless, his knees still trembled – which made it difficult to assist Katarina when the woman nearly collapsed.

  "What is that?" she murmured, eyes wide as she leaned on him for support. "It can't be the...I've seen Fell Beasts before, they weren't...we aren't even inside the cavern yet."

  "Yeah. It's strong. There's no shame in staying behind."

  Katarina glanced forward at the entrance to the cavern, then back at the claustrophobic staircase they'd descended from. A fierce debate took place beneath her expression, weighing the pros and cons of waiting alone in a creepy-ass underground hallway versus waltzing straight into a potential deathtrap.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  To Simon's surprise, she eventually gestured forward, a determined grimace on her face. The transmigrator took point, feeling increasingly concerned, but wanting to size up the Beast before making any rash judgments. Katarina followed.

  Both of them started questioning their decision the instant they stepped inside.

  This cavern was even more spacious than the one housing the Sealed Demon of Ruination. It was hundreds of feet wide, and far taller...with dim lights barely illuminating a scene out of a nightmare. Bloody stains of viscera streaked across the rocky floors, as if numerous people had been dragged or thrown with great force, their bodies rupturing and spilling out like squeezed toothpaste tubes.

  Nine corpses were visible among the carnage. Some had been stripped of flesh, not a drop of blood on their skeletons, virtually licked clean. Others looked half-eaten, their assailant distracted by other prizes partway through its meal.

  The people in Jonathan's clinic were those who'd managed to escape the Fell Beast's wrath. These were the people who hadn't.

  Pieces of rock and debris were also scattered around the cavern. The solid stone floor had been dented in various locations, as if hammered by the fist of a rampaging colossus. Other sections appeared scratched and scarred, with long, frantic lines carved from what could only be a Beast's claws.

  In the center of the cavern, Simon saw a raised platform. It was connected to a winding apparatus that snaked down from the ceiling – presumably to feed water up into Springwater's plaza fountain. And on top of that platform, clutching the glowing blue Water Artifact in its tender embrace...

  Was the Fell Beast.

  Twice the height of a man, and with ashen gray skin pulled tightly over its frame, the Beast was a creature of contradictions. It seemed both muscular and emaciated, with bulging limbs contrasted against a torso so thin that its rib cage nearly pierced through flesh.

  Despite the wickedly sharp blades protruding from its hands and feet, the monster was attempting to grasp the Water Artifact as if its claws were fingers. It was a Beast, yet when looking at its two legs, two arms, and vaguely humanoid body shape, someone with exceptionally poor vision might have squinted from afar and assumed it to be a person.

  Any notions of humanity went out the window when Simon's gaze traveled up to the Fell Beast's face. Instead of eyes, ears, or a nose, three-quarters of the monster's head was taken up by a jarringly gargantuan mouth. Said mouth was currently hanging open, drool and saliva collecting in a puddle below. Within, there were four rows of thousands of teeth that ranged in size from pinpoint needles to miniature daggers.

  I hear...a sound. Heart pounding, blood pumping, Simon focused his attention. Think it's coming from the Beast. He peered closer, observing how the creature's body moved rhythmically up and down, its torso heaving, almost in time with–

  Realization hit him like a bucket of poured ice water.

  The Fell Beast was weeping.

  Some indiscernible emotion coiled in Simon's gut. Identi-

  Invisible knives stabbed behind his eyeballs. For an instant, his vision wavered as the world shifted and churned. It was reminiscent of when he'd used Identify on Kirkelas, except less severe – meaning it didn't have the good grace to make him black out and spare him the pain.

  Then the sensation passed. Just like that. It faded so quickly he was half-convinced he'd imagined it.

  Until the Beast's Identify window popped up.

  Name: The Ravenous Wanderer

  Description: Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Always. So hungry. Eat. Eat. Feast. Still hungry. Why. Stop. Please. PLEASE. MAKE THE HUNGER STOP.

  Estimated Level: 39 (17 when not mana-gorged)

  Someone let out a harsh intake of breath. Maybe it was him, or maybe it was Katarina. Perhaps both of them.

  Regardless, the Fell Beast immediately ceased its weeping. With jerky, stiff motions, its body shifted. An eyeless face turned to stare at them.

  And in a voice like sandpaper dragging across their skin, it spoke.

  "...Mana...?"

  We shouldn't be here.

  The thought came with startling clarity, all of the details Simon had seen and witnessed coalescing into one singular fact. They shouldn't be here. This creature exceeded even his most pessimistic expectations. It was a foe he should be confronting months if not years from now, with more Levels and combat experience and reliable allies at his side.

  Plan B it is, he determined, with rising urgency. Plan B was much simpler than its predecessor. If the very first step of Plan A was unfeasible...if Simon didn't believe he could get reasonably close to the Fell Beast...without dying...

  Then they needed to run. "Kata–"

  It was his Shapeshifted right arm that saved them.

  When Simon turned to warn Katarina, his demonic limb tensed, as if resonating with the Fell aura in the air. Its reaction seemed involuntary, like how some people's bones ached before rainfall.

  That was warning enough.

  Instinct propelled him. No movement was wasted. In one motion, Simon pushed Katarina with all of his Strength, using the rebound to help launch himself backwards as he jumped. They both went flying in opposite directions.

  Less than a second later, a darkened beam of Fell energy lanced through the space where they'd been standing. The Beast screeched as it poured a concentrated line of mana out of its gaping maw. Its mana-ray impacted the hallway behind the front entrance, causing everything to shake as the cavern trembled like an earthquake.

  The wounded Springwater soldiers had never mentioned anything like this. Either it'd slipped their mind – highly unlikely – or the Beast hadn't used this attack on them. Hadn't needed to.

  We were fed bad intel. What else was the Fell Beast capable of when sufficiently motivated?

  The mana-beam dissipated shortly after. In its wake, it left a picture of unfettered destruction. The cavern's front entrance had been demolished, the ceiling caving in entirely. An impenetrable wall of rock was obstructing what had once been a path to safety.

  Escape was now impossible.

  The creature tilted its head at Simon's demon arm. Although it lacked most facial features, he could still guess what it was feeling based on body language alone. Similar to the Red-Eyed Hunter, there was a primal fear of Demons lurking behind the Ravenous Wanderer's sightless gaze.

  Yet that fear was nothing compared to the hatred. Nothing compared to the hunger.

  "GiVe Me YoUR MANA!"