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nI stepped out of the corridor and looked to either side at the massive tan stone walls Grogvel had raised. Now they would be forced to only attack me and not get to the village. Still, there was something that was bothering me.

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"Wataluga, do you know why they aren't attacking yet?

" I asked one of the many copies of him on the beach.

nThere wasn't much to him because there were about twenty of him spread across the beach. Soon, Wataluga would make a barrier to block the view of the oncoming Mutalisks, but not until I fell back.

nI wanted to try and hold the beach area for as long as I could before falling back. While it was more dangerous out in the open, I would be able to expand and attack them with all of my abilities.

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"He is waiting for you to signal that you are ready,

" Wataluga said with a soft voice, and I turned to focus on him.

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"Signal? Why would he be waiting for a signal?

" I asked because I was beyond was perplexed by this.

nWhat was this like, some kind of game or something? I had never heard of something so ridiculous in my entire life!

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"Is this the way of Demon Kings, who always want to see a good fight, win or lose? Even when you die, they just go back to someplace and wait for their turns to rise again, so most of them don't care what happens; they just thirst for the battle lust of battle,

" Windorf said as his windswept body formed in front of me.

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"What do you mean by a thirst for it? Are you using that as an expression, or is there something I don't know?

" I asked Windorf curiously.

nI was interested in knowing about this, and if they were going to wait for my signal, I could learn something. This might be valuable information about the one at The Center of Everything, and anything I could glean I would need.

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"Demons that are Kings of D Rank or higher become stronger by taking in raw hatred, anger, anguish, and pain. They drink these emotions in the greatest battle and are constantly fighting. Demons on this island are children compared to that monster out there, and he is a child compared to the one from the depths or on Gardania,

" Windorf explained, and that made sense.

nI had never gotten to see the Demon King, but it made sense why he would have constant fighting around him with his tournament. That also meant that Zero, the Demon King, would be getting constantly stronger.

nThis was the one thing that made me question if not taking the Hero System was the best choice. I had made my bed, and now I had to lie in it; there was no going back now.

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"So, then what do I do to get this party started?

" I asked as I put my arms up and stretched, leaning to both slides.

nSuddenly, the water about three hundred feet off the shore started to churn and froth as a deformed green lobster

/five-armed crab rose up. The thing was huge!

nThere must be fifty feet of it sticking out of the water and just the ugliest thing that I had ever seen. My excitement drained away for this fight as I looked and the abomination that floated with a clearly visible hideous grin on its misshapen face.

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"So, yer the Hera I erd bout? Ya don't look like much? All dem prudy blue Demon gals not feedin ya right?

" A loud pirate-sounding voice called out across the water to me.

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"Is this a contest? I didn't know that I was supposed to dress up all funny like you! I wish someone would have let me know because I feel like you are going to win the ugliest creature to grace this world!

" I called out, and the Demon King chuckled, making a loud and rumbling sound.

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"O ye be a talker with ye fancy words! Let's see de jokes ye make as the boys are rippin ye arms off! I gave ye a chance to git a yer walls up, but now it be time for a fight, Pink Man! Alright, Gettem, and come back with him in chunks!

" the Demon Sea King roared and sunk back into the water.

nAs he did, the waves started to get stronger, then the water started to churn, and I stepped back. Disfigured forms started to rise out of the water six to eight feet tall, and every one of them looked different.

nIt was almost like some had been playing with different shellfish parts and then just stuck them together. I closed my eyes one more time as the creatures started to howl at the sight of me and charging up the beach to me.

nThis was going to be one of the most challenging fights I had ever been in, and the odds were stacked against me, but I had my friends here to help me. Like Hero had told me, people were relying on me to win and continue surviving.

nI had to make it to the end, and finish this all for the last time, and bring balance back. That meant that no matter what, I had to win every time, there were no more do-overs, and I have already given everything up once for this.

nI opened my eyes as red lines of power blazed up my arms like spider veins, and these Mutalisks were leaking out energy in droves. The Fire Fore Pact absorbed it, and my sense started to peak as the world around me slowed.

nI heard a beat in the back of my mind, and that turned into a song that got louder as the creatures got closer. I smiled, thinking back briefly in my room right before a fight and this song would come one, a blood-pumping track by Rage Against The Machine.

n'Some of those that workforces are the same that burn crosses! Uh! Killing in the name of!'

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