I swing at the Roach Empress from the right. One of her insect-like arms flings up to catch it. Cracks form throughout her arm as the soul-sledgeTM crashes into it.

  She uses the arm directly below the one I just injured to strike at my gut. I drop the soul-sledge as the soul returns to me and I grab onto her arm mid strike. I see her soul dim. Oh, she already knows!

  With one fluid pull, I rip her arm off. The Roach Empress screams, and it sounds more human than I expected. Her antenna flicks and blue lines form. She disappears before I can grab at her again.

  With Magical Aura Perception, I find her at the edge of this massive cavern. The look of indifference is finally replaced with hate and spite. I look at her with glee.

  I take this moment to take stock of my new abilities.

  Soul Conjuration / Level (1)

  (You have come to master the fire within your soul. Through your great understanding, you have learned how to create more of your own soul. You also gained the ability to repair your own soul once it becomes damaged.)

  At no cost bring your soul into reality

  Expend Mana to temporarily create more soul

  Expend Mana to repair your soul

  Aura of Constitution / Level (1)

  (You have mastered the enhancement and reconstruction of your own body. Your aura now passively remembers how to treat your body.)

  At no cost increase Durability and Strength by (50%)

  Expend Mana to repair your body

  Instant Position / Level (5)

  (Through great focus, you have changed the value of your position. The fact of your position has become an opinion, and your opinion is fact.)

  Expend Mana to realize your position

  Excessive Momentum / Level (1)

  (You’re a bad person. You bring fear and death wherever you go. You come at the cost of everyone around you.)

  At the cost of your enemies increase all stats by (50%) over time

  I stare at the description for Excessive Momentum. All the fun I was having is ripped away at such a simple insult. A pit is formed in my stomach. Why does it have to insult me? Wasn’t this new skill made just for me?

  Aura of Constitution coats my right arm as I catch a kick from behind me. I glare back at the Roach Empress with my one eye. Its face is filled with panic as its antenna swings around again.

  I blow Frost Breath at its head and the antenna freezes to a stop. I grab at its neck and slam the roach into the ground. It squeaks out as I tighten my grip on its throat. “I’m going to kill you now.”

  Its soul brightens and the Roach Empress lets out an ear piercing screech. I let go of the roach and grab at my ears as my head fills with voices. You’re a psychopath! What have you done?! Because you were bored?!

  You’re a ba-

  Aura of Constitution shifts to my leg and I kick the bitch. She is sent flying, but stops mid-air. Two ornate butterfly-like wings sprout from her back and she looks down at me. The gash that's in her side from the kick, regenerates rapidly.

  I glared back at her, “Please, just stop saying that.”

  She tilts her head at me. Her soul tells me that she is confused. She doesn’t understand what I mean.

  I frown, is she not in control of the voices?

  I grit my teeth as Aura of Constitution is fully manifested. I use Soul Conjuration to create a sledgehammer made of soul.

  The Roach Empress points one of its arms at me and lets out a human scream. Suddenly I’m surrounded.

  (Roach Gladiator / level 27)

  (Roach Gladiator / level 25)

  …

  (Roach Brood Queen / level 28)

  (Roach Brood Queen / level 25)

  …

  Dozens of roaches appear out of thin air all around me. The Roach Empress is a fucking idiot.

  Spikes of black fire stick out of every inch of my body. I break them off and with Magical Aura Manipulation, I launch the spikes out in every direction. A tidal wave of soul fragments wash over the hoard of roaches. They are completely unimpeded by the projectiles sticking into them as they continue to rush me.

  The Roach Empress clicks her mandibles in amusement at the attempt. I simply snap my fingers as I glare at her.

  The soul fragments detonate as they get crushed by Magical Aura Manipulation. I black inferno erupts all around me as they all instantly die. Legs and heads and bits of roach flesh are flung out in every direction. The entire cavern is lit up by white fluorescent light so bright it washes out all color.

  You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 27)

  -

  less experience rewarded

  ---

  You have slain a (Roach Brood Queen / level 26)

  -

  less experience rewarded

  You have leveled up! (31 → 32)

  -

  You have earned (5) stat points

  (Soul Conjuration) has leveled up! (1 → 2)

  The Roach Empress stares at me with horror.

  I raise the soul-sledge and with Aura of Constitution on my arms I swing. I appear directly in front of the empress mid-swing with Instant Position. She moves her head just enough to dodge it, but her right antenna is ripped clean off.

  I click my tongue as she clicks her mandibles. Suddenly a spray of bright green fluid shoots out her mouth. I block it from getting to my face with my arms, but the fluid immediately starts eating through my robes and skin. Acid!

  The empress kicks me as soon as I get distracted. I’m flung towards the ground. I manage to reorient myself and land on my feet with aura on my legs.

  I look up and move out of the way to narrowly dodge a swing. The Roach Empress swings again with a separate arm and I block it with aura coating only my arm. My eye widens as a blade digs into my flesh.

  Scythe-like blades, similar to the Roach Gladiator, extend out of her six arms. Six? Didn’t I-

  I block another swing with my arm, but this time I conjure a soul-dagger and lop off the blade before she could pull it back. I jump back as she whiffs another swing.

  This time I watch closely and she regrows her Scythe-like blade on her arm. That’s some powerful regeneration.

  That’s fine, it just means I need to kill her in one hit. You’re-

  I appear behind her with Instant position and throw a punch at the back of her head with Aura of Constitution. Her head explodes into a green spectacle of viscera. I grin as the Roach Empress stops moving.

  You’re a bad person-

  “What?”

  The back end of a blade slams into my ribs. Blood spills out my mouth as my ribs shatter and my organs rupture. I didn’t manage to block it with my aura in time. My limp body is flung across the room.

  I focus everything into repairing my organs as I fly through the air. I ignore slamming into the wall as I piece together my insides. It takes about 30 seconds to no longer be on the edge of death.

  I pry my eye open to find the Roach Empress. I find her rapidly flying around randomly and attacking everything. The roach obliterates the rocky floor as she swings at nothing. A few of her own children are caught in the rampage and torn apart.

  You’re a bad person-

  “Fucking hell!” After I heal myself to an acceptable degree I stand up just in time for the headless Roach Empress to fly directly at me. Its head is halfway reformed.

  I blow Frost Breath at it and it doesn’t think to dodge. I side step the frozen roach and grab onto its wing and rip it off. Its other frozen wing breaks away as it rolls along the ground. You’re-

  “Shut the hell up!” I appear standing on top of its back. I pull whatever it regenerated of its head off its shoulders. An arm swings back at me, but I catch it and rip it off as well. A grab another arm and twist it from the body. Then a leg, then an arm, then another regenerated wing.

  Its head starts to reform again, so I stomp on it. I keep my foot dug into its neck so its head can’t come back again. I keep pulling limbs off and they keep coming back.

  I will keep pulling limbs off until this insect is fucking dead.

  ---

  Toulif is sprinting at full speed. Well, as fast as he could with the multiple turns and the demon's direction.

  Beatzuly hangs on tight to Toulif’s shoulder “Take a right there, then go left!”

  Toulif bolts through the cavities of the dungeon. He can’t let his sister die. He will not let this become his failure.

  Toulif turns another corner and finds a monster blocking his path.

  (Roach Gladiator / level 27)

  Toulif grips his sword as the monster shows signs that it’s about to teleport. The monster vanishes and Toulif swings behind him to only find that the monster isn’t attacking him. The monster slinks away behind the corner they came from.

  Beatzuly frowns “Is it running away?”

  “Doesn’t matter! Where to next?”

  The demon blinks at Toulif “Right! That way!”

  Toulif continues to run only to find more roach monsters. All of them completely ignore Toulif and the demon as they run past them. Toulif doesn’t have a skill that lets him sense the emotions of others like some demons do, but he can tell.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  All of these monsters are running in terror-

  Toulif furrows his brows, “What in the dark supreme one?”

  Beatzuly’s eyes widened “Toulif, we are almost there but…”

  Toulif frowns as he thinks of why these monsters are running. He has an idea “What is it, demon?”

  Beatzuly confirms his suspicions “There’s a demon with the Roach Empress.”

  Toulif grimaces “It must be her.” Toulif turns around another corner and he sees a familiar white light shine around the next turn.

  The demon grabs onto Toulif’s collar as she finds a better purchase. “Who’s her?”

  The cultist and the demon turn the corner and find a massive open cavern. What they see in that moment brings them to a loss of words.

  Absolute destruction-

  The floor, walls, and even the ceiling are all ruthlessly cracked and broken. Massive pools of black fire are scattered about haphazardly. Hundreds, no. Thousands of roach monster corpses are viscerally torn apart and scatter about everywhere. Everything from Roach Legions to Roach Gladiators and Roach Brood Queens are among the dead.

  The sight nearly makes Toulif vomit, and he has seen some things. He gulps saliva as his face contorts “Tiffany is here.”

  He looks a Beatzuly and even the demon seems shocked “The Roach Empress is dead. What sort of monster is Tiffany?”

  Toulif shakes his head as he enters the war zone “A demon.”

  Toulif starts walking through the maze of black flames and destruction around him. The Roach Empress is dead, so there is no reason to rush anymore.

  The cultist and the demon eventually come across a still alive Roach Gladiator, except it doesn’t attack them or even run away. The roach has its bladed arms wrapped around its torso and it repeatedly slams its own head into the ground.

  Beatzuly stares with her mouth open as Toulif walks past it. The demon is evidently shaken “T- that's psychic damage! Only an extremely powerful demon can cause psychic damage to this degree! What the fuck did you summon?!”

  Toulif grit his teeth at the accusation “I didn’t summon anything! This was Eva’s doing. She isn’t hostile… For now… I hope.”

  Beatzuly eyes widened at Toulif. Her lips quivering “I- I don’t think I want to be here anymore! Let’s go back!”

  Toulif scoffs “Are you stupid? You still need to find the Roach Empress if you want to go back to hell, or do you want to stay in the mortal realm forever. You know, I could just go back on my own and you can find the empress yourself. If it’s already dead, then I have no reason to be here.”

  Beatzuly blinks rapidly at Toulif “On second thought, lets stick together! It’d be safer that way!”

  That manages to get a light chuckle out of Toulif. Despite his stoic expression, Toulif is completely terrified at this point. He really needed some relief.

  Beatzuly sits on Toulifs shoulder with a deep frown. She points in the direction they need to walk in and Toulif follows. To where the corpse of the Roach Empress is, and where Tiffany is.

  Toulif decides to ask “What’s the demon doing?”

  Beatzuly wraps her arms around her legs as she sits. “Nothing, they are just… standing over the Roach Empress. Hey, what kind of demon is Tiffany?”

  Toulif gulps “It shows that she is a Monk, but that's just her class apparently since she is in a human form.”

  Beatzuly furrows her brows “Human form?”

  “Yes, she claims to be an Eldritch Horror.”

  The demon's face becomes frozen in an expression of fear “I… See.”

  Eventually they turn around a large boulder and find Tiffany and the Roach Empress. The empress’s corpse is a sight to see. They’re piles and piles of insect arms, legs, and wings surrounding the two. The eviscerated torso of the empress lays at Tiffany feet.

  Tiffany turns to the two arrivals and it makes them tense. She is completely covered in roach blood. Her hair is disheveled and scars coat her body. Toulif notes that she somehow had attained armour at some point as well. It’s a deep red color and covered in sharp jagged edges. The most notable thing about the armour is the spikes that come out of the knuckles. A powerful magic seems to be infused with the armour.

  Toulif thinks, where did she get that armour? But, the Eldritch Horror's glare stops him from asking. Toulif instinctively uses Identify on her.

  (Excessive Monk / level 38)

  Her real level-

  “Took you two long enough, enjoy your stroll?”

  The cultist and the demon freezes-

  ---

  You have slain a (Roach Empress / level 50)

  -

  Massive experience rewarded

  You have leveled up! (32 → 38)

  -

  You have earned (30) stat points

  (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (9 → 10)

  (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (8 → 10)

  (Mana Cycling) has leveled up! (5 → 7)

  (Frost Breath) has leveled up! (9 → 10)

  (Instant Position) has leveled up! (5 → 6)

  (Aura of Constitution) has leveled up! (1 → 4)

  (Soul Conjuration) has leveled up! (2 → 3)

  (Excessive Momentum) has leveled up! (1 → 4)

  Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill

  -

  (Terrifying Presence)

  Alert / (1) Class Skill slots remaining

  You have completed the objective (Extermination!)

  -

  Applying rewards

  A suit of armour just popped into existence the very moment I got the notification that the Roach Empress died. I didn’t even need to put it on, it just appeared directly onto my body. The robes I was wearing seemed to have just vanished at the same time, however I’m not particularly worried about it. They were heavily damaged at this point anyway.

  The armour feels special too. There's magic lofting off it. Although when I use Observe on it.

  (Enchanted Armour)

  That’s all I get.

  I sigh at the lack of an explanation. “I don’t think you’re going to tell me what this armour can do, are you?” I ask in thin air. A grey notification screen appears with black letters.

  Nuh- uh!

  “Yep- that’s what I thought!” I shake my head as I go through the rest of the notifications. My eye stops at the… New class skill?

  Terrifying Presence / Level (1)

  (You have changed your aura to appear terrifying. You will intimidate everyone around you. This will affect both friend and foe.)

  This skill is passive and cannot be deactivated

  This skill will become less effective against those far higher leveled than you

  Shit-

  I wasn’t even trying to get a skill like this! I mean, it’s cool though! But not being able to turn it off is a real problem. Wait, this will only happen when I manifest my aura, right? I can’t activate Obscene Presence without manifesting my aura so, Terrifying Presence should work the same.

  I nod my head at the thought. Welp, it’s not like I can get rid of skills, or at least, I don’t think so.

  I snap my head to my right. That's a demon and a cultist, no wait…

  (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (8 → 9)

  That’s Toulif and Geltor? No, not Geltor. I think it’s a Nav Imp though.

  I shrug. I don’t care why they are here right now and I have something else I need to attend too. I have 40 unspent stat points right now. I grin as I think about what to spend them on.

  I put 12 into Agility, 3 into Endurance, and 4 into Intellect. That brings all of them to an even 50. I just did it for the sake of my OCD and not for any deep reason. I dump the last 21 into Durability for the hell of it. I very much like being a tank and having absurd durability is fun for me.

  I sigh as I pull up my status, I feel so stupid strong right now.

  “Status.”

  Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human)

  Alignment (Chaotic Neutral)

  Class (Excessive Monk) / Level (38)

  Stats / Stat Points (0)

  Strength (96)

  Durability (135)

  Agility (50)

  Endurance (50)

  Intellect (50)

  Soul (96)

  Intrinsic Status

  Vitality (100%)

  Stamina (38%)

  Sanity (85%)

  Mana (100%)

  Traits

  (Interloper)

  (Serial Killer)

  (Ydri’s Jester)

  (Sadistic)

  Skills

  (Quick Thinking) level 10

  (Pain Tolerance) level 10

  (Observe) level 3

  (Mana Cycling) level 7

  Class Skills

  (Obscene Presence) level 2

  (Magical Aura Perception) level 9

  (Magical Aura Manipulation) level 10

  (Frost Breath) level 10

  (Instant Position) level 6

  (Aura of Constitution) level 4

  (Soul Conjuration) level 3

  (Excessive Momentum) level 4

  (Terrifying Presence) level 1

  I look over at Toulif and the demon's souls, they sure are taking their sweet ass time. I frown as I look down at the Roach Empress’s corpse.

  That voice it created is still ringing in my head. I think that this fight would have been way more fun if it weren't for that.

  I’m a-

  It is raining outside.

  An old man sits, relaxing inside his greenhouse. The air is humid and hot. He scratches his head as he turns his head to the other shoulder to rest on. He lays on a pool chair with his phone on his lap.

  The plants shift slightly from the breeze, flowing through a cracked window in the roof. The plant gently caresses my face as I stand over the sleeping man. My heart beats loudly in my ears. My breathing starts to quicken as I bite my lip.

  The man's eyes crack open slightly as he turns to me. Warmth starts to fill my body.

  The old man blinks “Who?”

  My knife glides across his throat. My heart slams into my chest as the old man falls off his chair. He knocks over a massive plant and its pot shatters beneath his body. I slowly smile as I watch the man slowly bleed out at my feet.

  I hear the greenhouse door open-

  I quickly turn around at the unexpected witness and throw my knife at them. My eyes widen as the knife sticks out of the little girl's chest. She couldn’t be older than 10 years old.

  She collapses to the ground-

  My heart slams into my chest and my breathing becomes ragged. The little girl stares at me with shock in her eyes and gasps for air. I need to put her out of her misery.

  I walk over to her with indifferent eyes. My heart beats even faster and my eyes twitch involuntarily. I stand over the girl and I go to grab my knife. I can’t leave it here.

  “You’re a bad person.”

  I stop-

  I stare at the girl and my hands start to shake violently, without permission.

  My face contorts in ways I don’t understand, without reason.

  I ran away, without leaving.

  I look at the Roach Empress with a feeling I don’t really understand. A pain starts to come from my missing eye. I don’t think it's real pain, my Pain Tolerance is too high level for me to notice. But I can still feel it.

  My frown deepens as I whisper to myself “I know.”

  Toulif and the Nav Imp finally reach me. I glare at them with my one still intact eye. What took you guys so long! I had to go through an entire emotional flashback because they decided to drag their damn feet.

  I grimace as I manifest my aura to fuck with them. “Took you two long enough, enjoy your stroll?”

  The two idiots freeze in place.