It's official.

This ruthless system is trying to get rid of me.

[Urgent Quest: Defeat The Enemies!]

Defeat the enemies? Are you serious? Those "enemies" aren't goblins or skeleton mobs—they're a half-mad Minotaur juiced up on conspiracy steroids and a goddess with a personal vendetta against anything with a Y chromosome. And somehow I, a very mortal, very breakable demon prince with exactly zero interest in suicide, am supposed to defeat them both.

Hold up a minute.

First, I can work with the goddess to rid us of the Minotaur.

That was the thought, anyway—the hopeful, survival-driven thought. Except there was one tiny, inconvenient, galaxy-sized problem: Artemis would sooner strangle me with my own intestines than accept me as an "ally." I was a man, breathing the same air she despised. If she had a choice between teaming up with me or drinking Minotaur piss, she'd pick the piss.

So, yeah. No "team-up route." Not unless I could somehow trick her into it, and let's be real, tricking a goddess mid-rage-fight wasn't exactly in my wheelhouse.

The Minotaur, on the other hand… well, he was frothing at the mouth, regenerating like a freak, and radiating raw berserk will. The odds of diplomacy were right up there with me asking him to politely stop trying to gore Artemis and instead fist-bump me.

Which left me in the one place I always seemed to end up: royally fucked.

BOOOM!

And just then, Artemis again got flung—and this time, she crashed through three marble pillars before rolling across the cracked ground in a spray of dust and broken stone.

The Minotaur bellowed, chest heaving, horns glinting red as if the blood mist itself had lacquered them. Its eyes, pure madness and hate, snapped toward Artemis's fallen form.

Good. Focus on her. Not me.

I took Muramasa out of the System Inventory with a flick. And pulled up my Status Window.

• Name: Dominic Nocturne von Morningstar

• Race: Demon (Suppressed) / ???

• Level: 15 —>20

• Job: None

• Rank: H

• Title: [Dances With Wolves, The Forsaken Lucifer(Locked)], [He Who Shouldn't Be Awake(Locked),]

• HP: 1040/1040 —> 1090/1090

• MP: 0/740 —> 0/790

[Stats]

• Strength: 173 —> 178

• Agility: 119 —> 124

• Stamina: 104 —> 109

• Intelligence: 74 —> 79

• Sense: 94 —> 99

—Available Stats Points: 0 —> 30)

30 free stats points are available from the penalty zone from earlier.

And two random loot boxes should still be sitting around in my inventory. One blessed, another cursed one.

Not survive. Not dodge until morning. Do not pull a smart escape plan. No, the Lucifer System wanted me to "defeat" them.

"Defeat my ass," I muttered, gripping the hilt of Muramasa as its venomous glow pulsed like it was thrilled to taste divine blood.

The blade thrummed in my hand, and even though the tooltip had screamed Replica, it was no toy. Each second I held it, I could feel it whispering—sharpness building, thirsting.

The Minotaur roared again, pounding forward, and Artemis rolled to her knees, blood streaking down her cheek. Her silver eyes flicked toward me for a fraction of a second. Just a fraction. And I knew—if I made the wrong move, if I even breathed too loud, I'd be skewered between them like the world's most unlucky kebab.

But the system wasn't going to let me hide.

[Failure to Engage: Penalty Countdown Initiated. 10… 9…]

Fuck.

I popped open my Inventory in panic. Blessed Random Box, Cursed Random Box. Both waiting, untouched.

"Alright, RNGesus," I hissed. "Screw me gently."

I cracked open the Blessed Box first—better to start with hope before the cursed one inevitably bent me over.

A swirl of golden light flared, and something heavy clattered into my palm. My breath caught.

An ordinary-looking chain, littered with runes that pulsed like devouring suns, materialised in my palm.

[Item: Chains of Enkidu]

— Rank: Divine

— Effect: Crafted to bind and control gods, it serves as a restraint for the powerful, acting as a "lynchpin of heaven" to guide beings back to their divine creators. The more Divine a target, the stronger the binding.

— Magic Nullification: Nullifies all magic within the area it restrains.

— Limitation: Against non-divine beings, it functions only as an exceptionally durable chain.

…

My knees nearly buckled.

"You've got to be shitting me."

Of all things to pull, I actually landed this. A divine-grade restraint, forged to shackle gods themselves.

Muramasa pulsed in my other hand, venomous and bloodthirsty, and now this chain—something that could actually tilt the battlefield. For the first time since the quest window appeared, survival didn't look like a fantasy.

The problem?

To use the chain, I'd have to throw myself right between the goddess and the monster.

Now it's time to see what cursed one will throw at me...

I popped the cursed one.

A hiss, not golden this time, but black—like tar boiling over molten iron. The box cracked apart, and something oozed into my palm, heavy, cold, thrumming like a heartbeat.

A mask.

Jagged, bone-white, streaked with crimson veins that pulsed faintly as if alive. The inside was lined with fangs.

[Item: Berserker's Curse Mask]

— Rank: ???

— Effect: Once worn, the user's mind is drowned in a frenzy, amplifying physical stats by 200%. Pain dampened. Fear erased. Reason… compromised.

— Penalty: The more it's worn, the less chance of removing it. Extended use risks permanent madness.

— Warning: This item has a will.

My hand twitched, almost against my will, the mask angling toward my face like it wanted to clamp down.

"Hell. No."

I shoved it back into Inventory so fast I nearly dislocated my wrist. Great—one god-killing chain, one demonizing brain-destroyer. Thanks, System. Balanced as all things should be.

[Penalty Countdown: 5… 4…]

Shit. No time.

The Minotaur thundered forward again, Artemis bracing with silver arrows forming a wall. The two collided, shockwave rattling the ground, pillars cracking. My lungs seized. The chain pulsed hot in my hand, as if hungry.

I had two options:

Chain the Minotaur, gamble Artemis doesn't immediately turn me into demon sashimi.

Or chain Artemis, and pray the Minotaur's rage tears her apart before she tears me apart.

Neither screamed "long life expectancy."

[Penalty Countdown: 3…]

Fuck it.

I sprinted forward, Muramasa hissing, Chains of Enkidu coiling like a serpent around my arm.

"Come on, you bastards," I muttered. "Let's see if suicide counts as victory."

Seeing me running awkwardly toward the main battlefield, Artemis's gaze flickered to me for a second before she resumed her fruitless assault on her monstrous opponent—but that flicker was enough.

The Minotaur's head snapped in my direction, nostrils flaring, blood-steam snorting out like twin cannons. Its madness latched onto the weakest prey in sight—me.

Perfect. Exactly what I didn't want.

[Penalty Countdown: 2…]

My legs pumped harder, Muramasa humming venom at my side, the Chains of Enkidu tightening like they could taste a god in the air. The marble ground shook as the Minotaur abandoned Artemis, pounding toward me with a roar that made my eardrums scream.

Artemis's silver eyes widened—not at the Minotaur, but at me. Her jaw clenched, bow half-raised, but hesitation flickered. Kill me, or let me draw the monster's wrath?

[Penalty Countdown: 1… Engagement Required.]

The System's cold words seared across my vision as the Minotaur's shadow swallowed me whole.

"Alright, you overgrown beef steak," I snarled, whipping the chain forward, runes blazing gold against the crimson mist. "Let's see how you like divinity biting back!"

The Chains of Enkidu exploded from my arm, coiling midair like living serpents, lunging straight for the bull's horned skull.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING, MAN?! THIS IS NOT SOME—"

Artemis paused mid-yelling as the Minotaur ignored the ordinary-looking chain and let it wrap around its massive frame with a sound like molten iron searing through flesh.

The Minotaur roared, a noise so raw it shook cracks through the marble floor, but the Chains of Enkidu didn't snap or bend—they tightened. Runes blazed like suns across its hide, each one sinking deep, burning through the crimson mist that had been fueling its frenzy. The monster thrashed, claws raking the air, horns gouging sparks from the stone as it tried to tear free, but the divine bindings only cinched tighter, dragging it to its knees.

Artemis froze. Her bow arm slackened, silver eyes widening in something dangerously close to disbelief. An ordinary chain can bring Ares-enhanced Minotaur to its knees?

"...H-How?! It's... working?"

"Hey, stop being stupidly cute and attack, damnit!" I shouted at her as she consciously pouted with an annoyed look on her face, still hovering in midair, bow trembling in one hand. Her silver aura flickered as if confused, almost embarrassed to admit that I—yes, me, Dominic Nocturne von Morningstar, mortal enough to get flattened by a falling satellite—had just done something that even she hadn't expected.

The Minotaur thrashed wildly, veins glowing crimson under its taut hide, steam curling off its massive shoulders. The Chains of Enkidu constricted with a life of their own, pulsing golden runes burning through every inch of its skin. Sparks showered from the contact points as if the very air around it had caught fire. Its eyes, wild with rage, flickered between me and Artemis, like it couldn't comprehend why this puny mortal had suddenly become the centre of its universe.

"Don't… just… stand there, dimwit!" I barked, teeth clenched, muscles screaming. "Do something! Hit it while it's kneeling!"

Her bowstring twanged, silver light crackling along the length of her arrow, but her hesitation was… real. For a heartbeat, she wavered, almost like she didn't trust me—or maybe didn't want to. That heartbeat was enough. The Minotaur roared, a sound like mountains grinding together, straining against the bindings. The golden runes bit deeper, searing across its skin, and smoke hissed as crimson fog dissipated in waves.

I couldn't wait any longer. Muramasa pulsed, venomous and hungry. Its blade practically screamed in my hand: "Feed me, prince." I lunged, sidestepping a thrash of the Minotaur's clawed hand, and slashed across its exposed chest.

Muramasa literally drank onto its glowing, still-repairing flesh like a predator tasting prey. The venom from the blade sizzled, black smoke curling up as it met the Minotaur's unnatural vitality. Muscle twitched and seared simultaneously, veins glowing crimson as if the beast itself was trying to burn the poison out. And yet, it hurt. That much was obvious—the roars weren't just anger anymore; they were pure, unfiltered agony.

The Chains of Enkidu coiled tighter, constricting its shoulders, twisting around horns, chest, and massive limbs. Sparks of golden light shot off the runes like lightning, igniting the steam curling from its nostrils into small, furious tornadoes of fire. Each coil tightened on instinct, responding to my will even as my pulse hammered in my ears. The Minotaur's thrashing became desperate, its knees scraping against cracked marble, hooves gouging the ground.

Artemis's silver arrow finally fired, splitting the air like a meteor. The projectile struck the Minotaur in the chest, fizzling against the aura of the Chains, but it was enough. Enough to make the beast stumble, to give me leverage. I leapt onto its back with Muramasa raised high, letting the venomous blade bite into the nape of its neck, feeling the unnatural heat surge into my arms. Pain? Yes. But Muramasa was drunk on the divine-tinged blood, growing sharper, hungrier.

"Hold still, you overgrown bastard!" I hissed, riding atop the heaving mass of muscle, golden runes wrapping like living serpents around the horns. The Minotaur's roars rattled the air, but the Chains didn't let go. Sparks and steam intertwined, pulsing with the rhythm of its heart, matching my own. Its eyes, those wild crimson orbs, flickered with rage, confusion, and—dare I say it—fear.

And Artemis… she finally moved. Her silver arrows streaked through the air with precise arcs, striking at open gaps where the Minotaur's muscles flexed under the Chains. Each hit drained a fraction of its vitality, feeding the bindings rather than healing the berserk monster. Her movements were tense, deliberate, every shot measured, but the corner of her mouth twitched as though she was… impressed? The faintest acknowledgement, and I almost snorted in disbelief.

The Minotaur thrashed violently, but each movement was slowed by the golden runes, every swing a calculated exertion, and each hiss of venom meeting flesh fueled Muramasa further. I leaned in, digging the blade deeper into the sinew, feeling the beast's furious heartbeat hammering against my chest. Its massive head snapped toward me, foam and blood spraying from its snarling mouth, but the Chains held it tight, and I wasn't letting go.

"Time to finish this," I muttered under my breath, Muramasa and Chains of Enkidu pulsing in tandem. I swung my blade in a wide arc, venom flaring outward, and at the same moment, tugged the Chains taut with every ounce of my strength. Sparks flew, golden runes screaming in agony against crimson flesh. The Minotaur let out a deafening roar, limbs flailing uselessly as the combination of divine restraint and venom tore into it like a storm.

Conqueror's Will and Armament Core flared from the very soul of my existence at an erupting volcano, and coiled around Muramasa, dying its crimson blade into darkest matter in a twisting halo of absolute dominance. The world seemed to shrink, the air vibrating with the raw pulse of my Sovereign Haki, spilling over into every nerve in my body. Muramasa wasn't just a blade anymore—it was a channel of inevitability, a conduit for willpower that made the Minotaur tremble, even as it struggled with every ounce of berserk fury.

The golden Chains of Enkidu screamed in tandem, tightening like living serpents as runes ignited along their length, each pulse synchronised to the rhythm of my heartbeat. I could feel the Minotaur's resistance, its rage, its raw, unbridled energy, trying to corrupt and burn through the bindings—but it wasn't enough. Not against this. Not against me.

I slashed again, venom lancing through the beast's neck, hissing against the crimson veins glowing beneath its hide. Sparks and smoke erupted, the smell of ozone and charred muscle filling my senses, and I could feel it—the beast was weakening, the berserk energy collapsing under the combination of divine restraint, lethal poison, and absolute dominance. Its thrashing slowed, horns scraping uselessly against the chains, eyes wild with confusion, rage, and fear all tangled together.

"Finish it!" I shouted at Artemis while I waited to deal the finishing hit to complete half of the mission.

***

Stone me, I can take it!

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