In the troll lair there was only one law that had never changed over the centuries: the strongest ruled. Whoever held the title of Troll King was considered the most powerful of the tribe, as well as the most ruthless, and Yeddu was no exception. His brutality and sadism were known throughout the great Dark Jade Forest, along with his great dream: to conquer the entire forest, subjugating and crushing anyone who dared oppose him.

  “The strongest must reign over all!”

  He spoke to justify himself, as if that single sentence were enough to explain why he truly wanted to do something so selfish. Even his most trusted subordinates knew it was only his thirst for power that drove him. If he won and subjugated the forest, the Troll King wouldn't stop there; it was predictable that he would encroach on the territories of the Empire and the Kingdom simply because he could, not caring about the suffering of his people.

  To succeed in his quest, Yeddu would have to first exterminate the Oni, an extremely powerful tribe, skilled users of fire—one of the few things that could effectively kill a troll, as it nullified their regenerative ability. Although he had a numerical advantage, reaching the Oni would not be easy, as he would first have to cross the orcs' arid and impassable territory. Another option would have been to pass through the swamp to encounter the lizardmen—physically weaker, but skilled warriors, who boasted six powerful heroes equipped with legendary magical weapons.

  Both of these enemies were at a disadvantage against them in a one-on-one scenario, but the environment and poor warfare tactics on the troll side would surely lead to a long-term defeat for Yeddu's forces. He couldn't afford that; it would deplete his own forces before the real hostilities against their true enemies, the Oni, even began.

  It seemed his ambitions would forever remain just that: paltry thoughts. However, it was precisely in that moment of stalemate that Yeddu was approached by two demonic beings, named Gerud and Laplace.

  The two demons, sent by a mysterious agent, offered the Troll King all the assistance he needed to conquer the forest—such as top-notch enchanted weaponry, cutting-edge warfare tactics, and military training for every single soldier—all in exchange for his loyalty to their master. Of course, Yeddu would have killed them after achieving his dream, but he couldn't deny that the two had proved very useful, even allowing him to learn the Ruthless Devourer skill, thus unlocking the Doom Troll evolution, effectively becoming half-demon.

  The thing he most appreciated about that skill was its food chain functionality. If a subordinate he'd infused with a weakened version of Ruthless Devourer devoured and absorbed something, part of the absorbed energy would go directly to the King, without him having to lift a finger.

  -It was essentially free power.

  Finally, after all those years of dreams and failed plans, Yeddu had the power to conquer the Dark Jade Forest—and he put it to work without delay: he subdued the orcs with Gerud's help and then used them to attack the oni en masse, overwhelming them with an advance of unprecedented and unexpected violence, nearly exterminating the entire race. With the goblins too weak to resist, the only real enemies remaining were the lizardmen, who were also easily eliminated.

  However, something unexpected happened. Out of nowhere, a new contender for the throne of Absolute King of the Forest appeared. His name was Almodeus and now Yeddu found him before himself, right there, in the hall where he had dreamed countless times of his own coronation as King of the Dark Jade.

  The duel he was about to engage in would decide the fate not only of the entire conflict, but also of his own kingdom and his ambitions. If he didn't want everything to collapse, rendering all his efforts futile, Yeddu had only one thing to do: win!

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Since you're the master of the house, I'll give you the honor of the first shot..."

  Almodeus hadn't even finished speaking when Yeddu's nearly four-meter-long sword swung down, heading straight for him. The demon didn't move an inch, taking the blow on his shoulder without a groan.

  "Huh?"

  "What is it? Is something wrong? You seem a little confused, buddy."

  The sword hadn't even scratched the demon. Contorting his face in an irritated grimace, Yeddu swung his weapon again, aiming for the arm this time, where the biceps normally resided. As before, the blow connected without any problems, but Almodeus again remained unscathed.

  "What?! Grrrr!"

  The giant took a few steps back and looked from his sword to his opponent. Then, turning his back without the slightest concern or respect, Yeddu motioned for a couple of his subordinates to come to him. In an instant, the greatsword sliced through the shoulder blade of one and the chest of the other, sending them crashing to the ground.

  What the hell is this idiot doing?

  Yeddu watched with satisfaction as his subordinates fell in pain and nodded, having empirically verified that there was nothing wrong about his weapon.

  "Something tells me you would have hit them even if they hadn't had the regenerative ability, wouldn't you?"

  Almodeus's comment didn't worry Yeddu at all. The damage inflicted on the two subordinates was slowly healing, like a videotape rewound backward.

  "The strongest have the power to decide the fate of the weakest, that's clear...but your methods still disgust me."

  Almodeus took a step forward, his desire to engage in that fight practically nonexistent; to him, it seemed like just a game. Yeddu, on the other hand, saw the duel as the final step towards realizing his dreams, so he gripped his sword in both hands, awaiting his opponent's arrival.

  "Sire! This being has exceptional strength! You must all unite to defeat him!"

  "Shut up, you idiot snake! I'm more than enough!"

  The demon was assailed by a flurry of slashes. That kind of attack, launched by an opponent of Yeddu's size, would have been devastating to any being, but not to Almodeus. Even those attacks, capable of shattering a ship like the Titanic, caused him no pain. The sword sliced through the wind and crashed into his neck, knocking his top hat aside.

  "For Almodeus's - alias myself- sake...can you not ruin my clothes?"

  Almodeus adjusted his headgear, huffing and ignoring his opponent. Only after wiping the dust from the impact did he look up at Yeddu, as if he'd just remembered his presence.

  "Have you already finished?"

  "Damn you!"

  Determined the weapon to be ineffective, Yeddu shifted it to one hand and punched with the other. That colossal limb, larger than a sledgehammer, would have shattered anything in its path. The blow would have been lethal to a human, but Almodeus took it full in the face, without flinching or moving.

  "How boring you are..."

  He muttered, then dusted off the affected area with one hand, interrupting Yeddu's attack. The Troll King’s face twisted into a confused and irritated grimace, then he stared at his opponent, still completely unharmed despite the various attacks he had endured.

  "You, who are the great King of the Trolls, have already finished fighting?"

  "Your defense isn't bad, but you're still a weak inset...Gwaaaaah!"

  Almodeus took another step forward and swung his humble walking stick, taking off Yeddu’s entire knee. Physically unable to remain standing, the colossus staggered backward and fell heavily to the ground, raising a great cloud of dust.

  "An insect isn't necessarily weak. You may have a brain the size of an acorn, but you should have figured that out by now, right? You can't win. You can't hope to beat me! Bow down and pray for your life! Maybe, if I'm in a good mood, I can even spare you."

  The spectating trolls gasped in astonishment at their leader's pitiful defeat. Almodeus sighed in annoyance when he saw Yeddu grunt back at him: at this point, a monster who refused to understand his own weakness was useless and worthless.

  Hmm?

  However, the situation was different for those who were smart enough to wait for the right moment to escape.

  "Nikusa, don't let him escape!"

  The woman turned to Vennominon, who had blended in again and was trying to slink away. In a second, she was in front of him, blocking his path. The difference in size between the two was almost comical; the snake-man looked like a lamb compared to the tall, pale woman.

  "And where do you think you're going, little one?"

  "You busty slut!"

  Vennominon shouted, transforming his hands into two sentient cobras and using them to bind Nikusa, immobilizing her.

  "I'll crush you to death!"

  "Excuse me?! Who did you call busty slut?"

  Nikusa easily freed herself from Vennominon’s grip and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him with one hand, as if the snake weighed nothing.

  "N-No! Wait! Wait! Have mercy! I was joking! Forgive me!"

  The woman's icy gaze made him collapse. He couldn't explain how Nikusa possessed such physical strength: despite her large frame, she wasn't a mountain of muscle like a troll or an orc, yet she had freed herself from his grip without even trying.

  "Keep him alive for now, I have some questions to ask him later..."

  "Okay, okay! How lame..."

  Almodeus looked at Nikusa, who stood near the entrance to the room; Vennominon's neck still locked in a steel grip with her thick fingers.

  "Oh, right! No one must escape, am I clear?"

  "Whatever you say, Almodeus – but you owe me a favor!"

  Nikusa snapped her fingers and black slams, made of pure chaos energy, blocked all possible exits.

  “And what are these?!”

  A few brave trolls attempted to lift or break them, but as soon as they touched them, they began to disintegrate, reduced to a heap of utter nothingness—as if they had been removed from reality entirely. The only thing that remained of the poor unfortunates was the memory of them in the minds of their companions, nothing else.

  Almodeus looked from them to Yeddu, who had gotten back to his feet.

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  "You've finally recovered...are you ready to give up?"

  "Fuck you, bastard! I'm the Great Yeddu and I don't...Gwaaaah!"

  Almodeus swung the common stick like a cricket bat, striking Yeddu in the chin and knocking his jaw off, carving a furrow across the lower half of his face. Everyone present swallowed at how easily the intruder had just deprived the King of his mouth.

  "You bark better than a dog, you sack of flesh! Why don't you shout a little for me, when you can talk again?"

  "W-Why...Why aren't my attacks working on you?! What is this? Magic, maybe?!"

  Those were the first words the troll spoke as soon as his jaw was fully regenerated.

  "Call it what you want...the fact is that between the two of us, you're the one who's backing away!"

  It was true, Yeddu was retreating – taking up his sword – and Almodeus was coming forward, chasing him.

  "How strange! I, who am only a weak intruder, am advancing while you—the great Yeddu—who is the valiant King of the Trolls, are retreating? How can this be explained?"

  Nikusa answered him, laughing loudly at the situation.

  "Because the real weakling is that stupid troll with the sword big enough to make up for something down there - in between the pants! Right, little serpentine?"

  "O-Of course! The troll is the weakest!"

  Almodeus nodded at those words and Vennominon's strangled whimper.

  "I see, I see...now it's all clear! That seem a valid explanation! The weak one here is the one who didn't submit when he had the chance!"

  "You bastard!"

  "Silence, you arrogant fool!"

  For a second, Yeddu's terror gave way to rage, and he swung. Almodeus simply parried with his staff, not even attempting to dodge or defend himself, leaving the other with no chance to parry or dodge in return. The staff swung once more, taking away both of Yeddu's elbows.

  "Gwaaaaaaah!"

  Fear crossed the faces of the trolls watching the battle. How could their powerful leader be struck down so easily? Why were Yeddu's attacks having no effect on this mysterious demon? What would happen to them once the duel was over?

  "You're lucky to be a troll! With your regenerative ability, you could come back to life even if you were reduced to a pulp. But that racial trait won't work against me! You still feel pain, and that means I can subject you to sweet agony without holding back to much! You won't die if I push too hard, will you?"

  With another blow, he took off half of the King’s head. A normal creature would have died, but Yeddu was visibly reverting to his original form. Once regenerated, the troll's face filled with fear, twisting in a way he wasn't used to, the intense terror twisting his mind.

  "B-But...who are you?! Why my attacks don’t work on you?! How do you have all this power?!“

  "I am fear, terror...death even! I am the one who came to bring you the sweet embrace of the absolute eternal end!"

  Almodeus's face twisted into a sadistic smile, revealing razor-sharp teeth and an unmatched killer instinct. Yeddu let out a sigh and turned to his soldiers on the stands, shouting like a madman.

  "K-Kill him, now! All of you!"

  "Oh? You are truly a weakling, then! To shatter the sacred honor of our duel by calling on your other allies to support you...that's worthy of a weakling like you! I grant you that."

  The demon declared, doing nothing to stop Yeddu from calling for help, but it was all in vain. Trapped by fear of the stranger, the underlings moved slowly. As stupid and less than brilliant as the trolls were, they had seen with their own eyes the strength of their adversary.

  "What are you doing standing there like mules?! Get out of here! That's an order!"

  They still didn't move; they couldn't. The same was true for Almodeus. Everyone present was stuck in a precarious balance. If the demon moved, the others would flee and it would be a real pain to slaughter them all one by one. Besides, he was enjoying too much the sweet, primal fear of death the King was experiencing as he shouted at his subjects.

  "Here we are, my King!"

  A battle cry rose from the battlements, and ten sturdy trolls in black armor rushed onto the battlefield to support Yeddu, who burst into laughter. It seemed the presence of those soldiers had heartened the king, restoring some of his lost swagger.

  "Hahahaha! Now that my best and bravest trolls are here, you have no hope, you stupid insect!"

  "Are you sure of that? It took them a long time to intervene, didn't it? Were they afraid? Maybe they're not as brave as you think..."

  That question brought the terror back to the colossus's face as he stood up with the help of some of his subordinates. They did nothing else, also paralyzed by fear. If Yeddu – who was the strongest among them – hadn't been able to defeat the intruder, how could they?

  "I'm bored. I think we should call it a day. You've been a great disappointment, Troll King."

  Almodeus activated a skill – it was one of his most powerful abilities and he thought it was wasted on such individuals, but he didn't want to waste any more time against an opponent who had already lost all his interest.

  "Death Aura!"

  “No! Wait! Wait! I give up! I give up! Have mercy! Please! Noooo!”

  Those were the Troll King's last words before the magic activated.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Yeddu was always ambitious.

  Born into the great troll tribe of the Dark Jade Forest, located within the borders of the Nexia Empire and not far from the Ashen Kingdom, he was unloved by his parents. From the time he could walk, he was forced to forage for his own food, hunting or stealing from weaker trolls. Only he knew how many times he'd been robbed of carefully killed prey, or how larger trolls exploited him to get their way. They were stronger than him, so Yeddu couldn't refuse.

  Everything changed when he became an adult. At the time, the tribe consisted of two factions of trolls: the ice and the mountain ones. The two types, despite their differences, lived in harmony and rarely encountered racial clashes. Fighting didn't require being racist; it was almost a sport for them.

  “A troll is still a troll!”

  Always declared the King of the time, Dovregubben, an ice troll who had proven his strength in battle and managed to become the ruler. Yeddu admired and envied him at the same time. It was well known that mountain trolls were stronger than their ice cousins, so how on earth could their ruler be one of the latter? He couldn't explain it to himself. Yeddu truly couldn't understand how someone weaker than him could be his superior: trolls are still trolls, regardless of their type, but a mountain troll like him was necessarily stronger. Why was he a subordinate? That didn't sit well with him, and he decided to look into the situation.

  One evening he met Dovregubben in the throne room and confronted him, questioning his strength. The king replied that his strength lay in his brains as well as his brawn. Thanks to his vision, he had managed to unite two troll tribes into one and create a veritable military force, complete with an impregnable fortress.

  “I ensured the happiness of us trolls.”

  Dovregubben declared, but to Yeddu those were just excuses. He had been raised on the principle of strength and, given that, he would not submit to a weak king. A violent clash ensued, and Yeddu immediately began to lose. He was stronger than his opponent, but less skilled with the sword, but he did not lose heart.

  Yeddu feigned exhaustion and pleaded for mercy, appealing to the king's do-gooder nature. Dovregubben sheathed his weapon and approached to speak—a grave mistake. With a swift movement, Yeddu seized upon this moment of vulnerability and bit out Dovregubben's jugular vein. The two could not kill each other due to their regenerative abilities, but that wasn't enough to stem Yeddu's bloody rage.

  Unrestrained, the troll began devouring his king with such fury that it outstripped his regeneration. Each time a piece of flesh reassembled, Yeddu devoured it with interest. Within hours, nothing remained of the king.

  -He had succeeded, Yeddu had been able to kill the King! Now he would become the ruler.

  However, this charge did not come without repercussions. The ice trolls, learning of what had happened, immediately attempted an uprising, but it was nipped in the bud by forces loyal to Yeddu. Outnumbered and out armed, the ice trolls abandoned the tribe, retreating deep into the mountains, far from Yeddu's kingdom.

  He didn't care; they were the weak link and, as such, unnecessary. The real problem was the internal squabbles. Very few were truly loyal to Yeddu; most followed him because they were afraid of his strength, not because they admired his rule as they had with Dovregubben.

  “No matter how much they complain! I am the King and I am the strongest! The trolls will be great, I assure you!”

  He proudly declared to Ipaka, his most faithful servant. Yeddu saw no problem with his despotic rule; the world ultimately revolved around the strong—and he considered himself the strongest of all. Taking advantage of his position, he immediately began siring as many females as possible to increase their numbers and produce strong heirs. His intent was clear: he would make his tribe the most powerful in the world, so much so that he would become not only the King of the Trolls, but also the King of All!

  No! It can't end like this!

  - Unfortunately, those dreams of glory were dashed the moment Yeddu met someone stronger than him: Almodeus, the Fear Demon.

  He can't do this! I can’t die! I am the Troll King! I am...I am the strongest.

  These were the last thoughts of Yeddu, the Troll King, moments before his adversary's spell activated, plunging his mind into eternal, incapacitating terror. He lived for another five long, painful seconds, so long they seemed like centuries, but there was no brain activity from him.

  After all, how can a mind think while it is overwhelmed by absolute fear?

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Death Aura!"

  A dark aura emanated from the demon and spread all around. The trolls on the stands, clad in black armor, and Yeddu himself fell to the ground like puppets with severed strings, without moving a muscle afterward. Though their bodies were still warm, it was clear that life had completely left them. Only the voice of the sole survivor of that massacre echoed in the room.

  "W-What did you do?!"

  Vennominon stammered, shocked and fearful.

  "I just used a simple skill..."

  Almodeus replied, bending down to examine the sword of the deceased Yeddu.

  “Trolls may have high physical resistance and an almost unmatched regenerative ability, but they are not immune to instant death.”

  He replied, in a detached tone.

  “You have no value in my eyes, never have. However, I wanted to see if you could be of use to me before I killed you. But since this idiot refused to submit, I had to vent my anger..."

  "I submit to you – Oh, glorious lord!"

  Almodeus stared at the pleading snake and shrugged, totally uninterested.

  "Okay, the offer to submit to me still stands after all."

  "Scary! Do you really not care about me? I am Vennominon Ziggurat! The direct successor to the throne of the serpent men!"

  "Really? Then what are you doing here, licking the Troll King's ass?"

  "Well..."

  Vennominon hung his head, bitterly.

  "My sister Vennominaga stole my throne! I was the heir!"

  He roared with fervor, then remembered who he was talking to and immediately reverted to a more humble and submissive pose.

  "I was heir to the throne by royal right, but she was chosen by the serpent goddess. Naturally, I rebelled, and after she defeated me, I was exiled!"

  "So you have come here to offer your services in exchange for help in regaining your lost throne, am I right?"

  "You’re right! Oh, but I can't expect more from you, supreme demon!"

  “Enough with the compliments. And if you want to use an adjective to describe me, use Absolute; I think that's much more fitting.”

  Silence fell between the two. Almodeus was considering how to proceed. It was only after a few minutes that he asked Vennominon something, still gripped by Nikusa.

  "The snake men live underground in this forest, right?"

  "Yes! We live in a cave complex right under these mountains! Very deep!"

  "Understood. Once this story is over, you'll have to tell me everything about your race."

  "C-Certainly! I'll tell you everything! Everything I know, as long as you, of course...well..."

  Vennominon stumbled and Almodeus motioned for him to continue.

  "May you let me live!"

  "So be it, but if you ever dare to betray me–"

  "I-I would never betray you, my Absolute Lord! Only fools would do that! Fools so foolish as not to notice how your icy eyes regard every other being like ants on the side of the road!"

  "Is that a skill of yours?"

  "No... but I can see it! All it takes is some intellect to understand that you are on another level, oh Absolute Lord!"

  "If you say so..."

  Almodeus assumed it was a racial quality of the serpent men of that world. The magic system was similar as was the level system, but some things differed. For example, the Battle Arts didn't exist in his old world, and only ice trolls possessed the fabled regenerative ability, while in this reality, all beings belonging to that race possessed it.

  "Nikusa, let him go."

  "You sure?"

  "I'm sure."

  The woman released her grip on the snake's neck, which dropped to the ground and bowed, awaiting direction. At that moment, a portal opened before him.

  "This will be your first order: tell whoever is on the other side of the portal everything you know. Do I make myself clear?"

  "Y-Yes, sir!"

  Without hesitation, the serpent slithered forward, disappearing into the portal. Almodeus simply sighed, then looked at Yeddu's corpse lying in the center of the room.

  Who knows what happens if I turn a Doom Troll into a zombie troll...

  His interest was piqued by that prospect. Almodeus could infuse the bodies of the deceased with negative energy through his skills, effectively generating zombies or undead versions of such creatures. These were mindless creatures, but depending on the raw materials used, the skill could create more powerful zombies—the most famous of which was the zombie dragon.

  He picked up Yeddu's sword from the ground. Like any weapon enchanted with basic magic, it could adjust its length based on its wielder. Almodeus wasn't particularly interested in that weapon: it wasn't particularly powerful compared to those he possessed, nor rare enough to deserve a place of honor in the heirloom room.

  This could be useful for buffing up some of Almodea's minions, or someone else.

  He'd think about using the weapon later; he had other things to worry about now. The trolls had been defeated, but that didn't mean the war in the Dark Jade Forest was over. They were the victors, and as such, they would have to decide the new order of the forest.

  Hopefully, this will also fix the Guild problem.

  Ever since Almodea had committed that massacre on the night he was supposed to capture El Kaiser, the Guild had been hounding Almodeus—or rather, Amon—for information on the mysterious vampire or demon who had exterminated one of the Imperial legions. It was precisely the Guild's fault that he'd been so busy recently, and he could finally resolve that tedious situation and help Almodea gain some experience in one fell swoop.

  “What do we do now, Almodeus?”

  Nikusa asked him, sounding bored.

  “You go back to the tower, I will stay here and prepare the congress of victors.”

  He replied, making Yeddu's sword disappear into thin air.

  Or...Oh, I've got a better idea! I should talk to Sergio about it, but it ties in well with the original plan for Almodea. It's risky, but it's great for her to gain experience. C is on board, and I hope she is too... forcing my daughter to do something she doesn't want to do is just not my style.

  Having thought this, Almodeus returned to experimenting with the bodies of the deceased.