The massive corpse of the Gorgon-Hydra lay half-sunk in the black mud. A monument to a victory that had nearly killed them all.

Dante's mana pool was empty. The last bits of power spent on that final attack. He was leaning heavily on Erica and Lana.

His gaze drifted across the battlefield. Checking on his team.

They were a wreck.

Jin was on one knee. His new cloak torn. His sword arm trembling with exhaustion.

Masha was pale as death. Her own energy spent.

Eric's shield was dented and smoking. A ruined piece of metal.

They were alive. But they were broken.

Then his eyes landed on Rina.

She was a beacon of soft, green light in the grim scene. Moving from one comrade to the next.

She knelt beside Talia. Whose skin still held a faint, stony color. Weaving her life energy to clean out the last of the petrifying gaze.

Then she moved to Lana. Her hands glowing as she mended the deep gash on her leg.

'Rina's Vitae Weaving. It cleans out poisons. Knits flesh together. Controls biological life force.'

A cold thought cut through his exhaustion.

'The potential... complication from my night with Lana. Could Rina's power erase it? Could her healing prevent a child I have no time or desire to deal with?'

'Useful. Another problem, another solution. Everyone is a resource.'

His strength began to return. A slow trickle as the Manacore Pendant worked. Drawing in ambient mana to refill his empty reserves.

He pushed himself away from Erica and Lana. Standing on his own feet.

His eyes fixed on the true prize. The body of the serpent.

'Its size is breathtaking. A mountain of muscle and adamantine scale. A puppet of that size would be more than a weapon. It would be an army.'

'My limit of six summons feels like a cage. But for a creature like this, I would gladly empty it.'

"Dante, what are you doing?" Erica asked. Her voice laced with concern as he stumbled toward the massive corpse. "You need to rest."

"Winners rest," he said. His voice a low rasp. "We're just survivors trying not to die."

He reached the serpent's central head. Placed his hand on its scaly hide.

The residual power humming within it was immense. A sleeping god's thrum of energy.

He closed his eyes. Reached out with his will. Trying to grasp the wild spirit within.

The backlash was instant.

The moment his will touched the serpent's soul, it felt like grabbing lightning.

An ancient completely alien consciousness slammed into his own.

It wasn't born of pride or rage like Derek or the Orc Champion.

It was a will born of ages. A consciousness as old as the rocks and water.

The soul of the swamp itself. And it looked at his attempt to control it with the same indifference a mountain has for wind.

His mind buckled.

'It's like trying to pour the ocean into a cup. The serpent's spirit is too vast. Too powerful. Too ancient to be held within my soul.'

Sharp hot pain shot through his skull. He staggered back.

Drip.

Blood poured from his nose.

He had failed.

"Dante!" Erica cried. Rushing to his side.

"I can't hold it," he gasped. Playing the part, though the pain was real. "Its soul is too big. My body can't contain it."

Lana came to his other side. Her expression a mix of concern and curiosity.

"Then it's impossible? We can't use it?"

"No," he said. A new plan already forming. "I don't accept impossible."

He looked at his team. His face grim and determined.

"My summons are parts of my own soul. Pieces of my power given form. They're taking up space."

"If I'm to make room for this creature, I must first empty my house."

He focused his will. "Corruptor."

The hunched, seeping shadow of the Toximancy user appeared. Its violet eyes glowing.

The team watched. Confused.

"I release you," he said to the puppet.

He closed his eyes. Cut the link. The shadow wavered. Then dissolved into black smoke that was absorbed back into his being.

The power he'd used to maintain it flowed back into him.

He turned back to the serpent. Placed his hand on it again. Reached.

Again, the immense, unmovable will of the ancient creature met his.

It was still too much. He was pushed back. Another spike of pain shooting through his mind.

"Still not enough," he gritted out. "Its spirit needs more space than I can give."

"Dante, stop!" Erica pleaded. Grabbing his arm. "You're killing yourself! It's not worth it!"

"Everything's worth it if it leads to victory," he said. Shrugging her off. "Deceiver!"

The shimmering form of the Phantasmist appeared.

"You served me well," he said to the ghost. "But a greater purpose awaits."

He released it. Its form dissolving. Its power returning to him.

His army was now down to four.

He tried a third time.

Same result. The serpent's soul was a fortress. His will just a battering ram denting itself against unbreakable walls.

Lana watched him. Her head tilted.

"This is stupid, Dante. You're draining yourself for nothing. Even if you release all of them, you might not be able to hold it."

"Then what? You'll have nothing left."

'She's right. I look at my remaining summons. The Guardian. The Orc Champion. Derek's ghost. And Edgar, my loyal shadow.'

'I can't release them. Not all of them. They're my army. My shield. My tactical advantage.'

'To sacrifice them all on a gamble that's clearly failing? Illogical. Inefficient.'

He stepped back from the corpse. His mind racing.

Enslaving the spirit was impossible. But the spirit wasn't the only source of power.

A slow, predatory smile spread across his face.

An idea, brilliant in its simplicity and breathtaking in its boldness, bloomed in his mind.

"You're right, Lana," he said. "I can't enslave a god."

He turned to face his team. His expression shifting to grim certainty.

"But I can devour it."

They stared at him. Not understanding.

"Its mana core," he explained. His voice ringing with purpose. "The source of all this power. It lies within that corpse."

"Only one person can absorb a mana core. It can't be divided. Can't be shared."

He let his gaze sweep over each of them. His eyes burning.

"I led this battle. My strategy killed this thing. I saved not just Talia from near death but rest of you too. I combined necromancy and water manipulation. I gave everything to the fight."

"I burned through more mana than all of you combined. I risked my life and my power to make that kill happen."

He pointed at the massive corpse.

"That power is mine by right of conquest. I will absorb the core. I will become the strength this team needs to survive."

"I will become strong enough to win us the wish and bring Edgar back."

The silence that followed was thick with shock and dawning anger.

"You can't be serious," Masha finally said. Her voice dangerously quiet.

She had been silent until now. But his blatant power grab had finally drawn her out.

"You want to take it all? We all fought. We all bled. Talia was nearly turned to stone! Eric's shield is destroyed!"

"And I'm the one who saved Talia!" Dante shot back. His voice sharp and cold. "I spent massive amounts of mana on that whirlpool. I created the strategy. I made the final kill."

"A mana core can only be absorbed by one person. That's a fact. Not an opinion."

He looked at each of them.

"So tell me. Who here thinks they contributed more than I did? Who thinks they deserve it more?"

Silence. They looked at each other. But no one spoke.

"That's what I thought," he continued. "You want it to be 'fair.' You want to share. But you can't. One person gets it. One person becomes stronger."

"So the only question is: who?"

He spread his arms.

"Do you give it to Jin? A good fighter, but not a leader. Do you give it to Masha? Powerful, but she can't protect you. Do you give it to Eric? He's a wall, not a weapon."

"Or do you give it to me? The one who's kept you alive. No the one who have always kept you alive from the start. The one who actually deserves it."

"That's not leadership, Dante, that's tyranny!" Jin snarled. Stepping forward. His hand on his sword.

Erica immediately moved between them. Her hands sparking with fire.

"He's right!" she declared. "His strength protects all of us!"

"What good is it if we all become slightly stronger? We need one person who can face any threat! We need him to be unstoppable!"

"Exactly," Lana added. Her voice a low purr as she came to his other side. "Stop being emotional. Strength is all that matters here."

"And Dante's offering the best possible outcome. He gets stronger, we all survive."

The team was split.

Masha and Jin stood glaring. Their faces masks of betrayal.

Eric looked conflicted. His loyalty to Dante warring with his sense of fairness.

Talia watched silently. Her expression unreadable.

Rina and Kael just looked terrified. Caught in the crossfire.

"You can argue all you want," Dante said. His voice a final judgment. "But even if you disagree, you can't stop me."

"I'm the strongest. I'm the leader. The core is mine."

He looked at Masha. At Jin. His eyes daring them to challenge him.

"This is how we all survive. By making me strong enough to protect you."

He turned his back on them. A gesture of complete dismissal. And walked toward the corpse of the serpent.

Leaving them to choke on their anger.

'They can either accept their place in my kingdom. Or they can try to stand against me.'

'And they all know how that would end.'

The argument was over. The decision was made.

The tyrant was about to become a god.

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