If you're enjoying these stories, consider leaving a comment, review, or vote.
You can also visit the Pat** on at: belamy20
As Alma's emotions fluctuated, the entire mental world began to destabilize. The trembling space and distorted light caused Roy intense pain.
"Hmph! Little girl, barely grown and already trying to steal my man?"
Elizabeth, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, certainly had the right to call Alma, a mere twenty-something, a child.
Elizabeth unleashed her own mental energy to stabilize the surrounding mental space, shielding Roy from harm.
But Roy suddenly felt the atmosphere turn strange.
What was going on? Why did this feel like a love triangle showdown?
Caught off guard, Roy missed Elizabeth's shout.
"Roy!"
"Huh? What's wrong, Teacher Elizabeth?"
"This one's stronger than I expected. I can only hold her off. You'll have to figure out the rest in the real world!"
Roy hadn't expected Elizabeth to struggle against Alma.
"Got it!"
Elizabeth activated her power, forcibly tearing a rift in Alma's mental world and sending Roy through it.
Alma watched silently, not intervening until Roy vanished from the mental realm. Then she spoke.
"Now it's just you and me! Once I kill you, Roy will be mine!"
"Hmph! Big talk! Let's see what you've got!"
As she spoke, the sky transformed into a starry purple night, pressing down on the orange grasslands below.
Elizabeth revealed provides her demonic form, growing larger and larger until she dominated the entire sky.
But Alma wasn't backing down. Her mental form merged with the orange grasslands, becoming the earth itself to confront Elizabeth.
In truth, this mental clash was straightforward—a contest of whose mental energy was stronger and more abundant.
Elizabeth's demonic form and Alma's fusion with the earth were just visual effects, not particularly significant.
The real battle lay in the two colors dominating the mental world.
Purple, representing the Demon King of Sloth, and orange, representing Alma.
These colors were manifestations of their mental energies, symbolizing their struggle for dominance.
In terms of mental energy quality, Elizabeth, a demon king with millennia of renown, was undoubtedly superior.
But Alma was no pushover. Though she had only recently transformed, she drew on the power of a torch fueled by millions of souls, giving her an endless supply of mental energy.
In this scenario, unless Elizabeth could overpower Alma with sheer quality, she'd never outlast her in a war of attrition.
This was why Elizabeth chose to send Roy back to the real world—to find a solution there.
While Elizabeth and Alma faced off in the mental realm, Roy regained consciousness. He realized that while his mind had been in Alma's world, his body hadn't been idle. Unconsciously, he had walked deep into the laboratory.
"Where am I?"
Roy quickly checked his position using Miss Jay's military terminal.
"This is the lab. Alma should be at the center of the facility."
Amacham's core laboratory was a circular structure. The outer areas housed standard departments, while the most critical sections—like the genetics lab, Alma's living quarters, and her life-support system—were at the center.
Roy swiftly plotted the fastest route to Alma's life-support system: through a biological sample room, separated from her chamber by just two walls and a maintenance corridor.
With his strength, Roy could easily break through the walls for a shortcut.
Let's do this!
Along the way, Roy took paths where he could and smashed through locked doors when needed, soon reaching the biological sample room.
The room housed a vast collection of Amacham's rare biological specimens, both living and dead.
Among them were the Silent Seed Roy had found at the lake bottom and the strange underground fungus responsible for the eight-legged monster incident. Both required a host to mutate, making them relatively safe in isolation.
Roy even spotted a Predator skull—likely from the one killed in the first Predator movie.
No wonder Amacham, a corporate giant with seventy years of history, had such deep reserves.
It explained why, despite Iris's efforts, she could only imprison the current chairman without dismantling the company itself.
Roy glanced briefly at the specimens before searching for the wall leading to the life-support chamber, ready to break through.
Just then, a familiar, low voice caught his attention.
"Roy Black, didn't expect to see you here."
Roy turned to the source—a small biological display case containing a dark brown toad.
This toad was unique, with red hair and a thin mustache above its mouth, looking oddly human.
"R?"
The name slipped from Roy's lips. The toad's demeanor and appearance were strikingly similar to Mr. R, a high-ranking member of the Cabin Organization Roy had met before.
"That's me. But I'm no longer Mr. R. You can call me Reid."
The toad calmly confirmed his identity.
"How did you end up like this? Is this incident tied to the Cabin?"
"It's a long story. How about you let me out, and I'll explain everything?"
Roy glanced at the transparent display case. Reid was clearly trapped and wanted Roy to free him.
With a cold smirk, Roy shook his head.
"Why should I let you out? If I want the truth, I'll find it myself. People like you should stay in there and reflect!"
Reid grew agitated inside the case.
"Wait! Mr. Black, let's make a deal! I know you hate the Cabin. I can give you valuable intel about them! Look at me now—I'm harmless. All I want is to survive!"
Roy's interest was piqued. The Cabin's secrets were indeed tempting.
The mysterious organization had always operated in the shadows, and even FEAR knew little about them.
They were known to collect supernatural artifacts.
Roy had once speculated the Cabin was pursuing immortality, given their actions.
But immortality or longevity in this world always came with a price—one not everyone could accept.
Take vampirism, for example. It was the simplest way to live forever, but becoming a vampire meant serving the elder who turned you—a deal unacceptable to those in power.
Otherwise, why would the vampire council be so suppressed?
"What's the Cabin's goal?"
Roy turned back to Reid.
A smile spread across Reid's toad face.
"Mr. Black, I've defected from the Cabin. They're hunting me now, which is why I came to work with Harlan Wade. We share a common enemy. Why not team up?"
As a former high-ranking member, Reid was a skilled talker, quickly positioning himself as Roy's ally.
But Roy wasn't buying it.
"Cut the act! Tell me about the Cabin and whether you're behind this incident, or I'll squash you into a toad pancake!"
Reid knew Roy's strength. His smile froze, but as someone who'd climbed to power, he had some grit.
"Mr. Black, free me, and I'll tell you everything. Otherwise, just kill me and be done with it!"
Roy shattered the glass and grabbed Reid in his hand.
"You think I won't?"
Reid closed his eyes, playing dead.
"Do as you please!"
Roy was tempted to crush him, but the Cabin and lab intel were too important.
He could try using his Fear Incarnation, but Reid's frail body might not survive the mental assault.
"Fine, I'll make the deal."
Roy tossed Reid to the ground.
Reid bounced a few times but didn't complain.
"Mr. Black, you made the right choice! I hate the Cabin as much as you do. We can destroy that evil organization together!"
The word "evil" coming from Reid was darkly ironic, given his own history of misdeeds. Through the Eye of Judgment, Roy could see Reid's aura had turned pitch black.
"Hmph! Stop trying to cozy up! Spill what you know!"
Reid first explained why Amacham's lab had descended into chaos. As one of the few who remained sane after the incident, he was a firsthand witness.
"When I defected from the Cabin, I took some artifacts with me and sought Harlan Wade's protection. But that greedy bastard wanted to take everything from me. I had to team up with two dark web contacts to threaten him. On the afternoon of November 1st, while negotiating with Wade, something changed in the lab!"
Reid pursed his lips, lost in memory.
"Everyone around me went mad, screaming about hunger. I saw people start eating each other. The lab turned into hell!"
Roy quickly picked up on a detail.
"Did you give Wade something? The Origin Project ran for over a decade without issue. There's no way it suddenly went wrong."
Reid gave a bitter smile.
"Yes. Under Wade's coercion, I handed over an S-class artifact from the Cabin—the Famine Knight. It accelerated his experiments. But I swear, on the afternoon of November 1st, I checked the Origin Project, and everything was fine. Something else must've happened during my talks with Wade!
After the incident, to survive, I abandoned my body, trying to escape as a soul. But that woman created a soul torch, nearly sucking me in. I had to possess this toad to survive."
Roy immediately thought of the succubus still lurking in the lab. Was she behind this?
Reid's words sparked another question.
What was the Cabin really after?
From the Death Knight in the plane crash, to the War Knight in the Ravensfall incident, and now the Famine Knight Reid stole, the Cabin had collected three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Were they summoning a dragon or the end of the world?
The Death Knight was currently in Roy's inventory—a small silver lining.
At least the Four Horsemen couldn't be united.
"What's the Cabin's purpose? Why collect the Four Horsemen?"
Reid paused, surprised.
"Mr. Black, you know more than I expected. Yes, the Cabin has been collecting the Horsemen. They secured three: the Death Knight vanished mysteriously, the War Knight disappeared during Ravensfall, and I used the Famine Knight for the Origin Project. As for their true plan… do you know the Old Testament?"
"Of course."
The Old Testament was the foundational text of Judaism, an early version of Christianity, later rejected by Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
It was filled with narrow nationalism and values that clashed with universal principles.
In short, it claimed only one ethnic group was God's chosen people, while others were lesser and unsaved.
No wonder that group wandered for millennia—such "wisdom"!
Yet, Judaism still had fervent believers who did nothing but pray at the Wailing Wall, waiting for the Messiah.
Reid sneered.
"I don't know the Cabin's exact plan, but I have a guess. The Old Testament prophesies that when the apocalypse comes, the Messiah will lead a certain people back to Jerusalem, reviving their nation under God's guidance. Maybe someone wants to fulfill that prophecy."
Roy frowned. The idea sounded absurd.
But on second thought, given those people, it wasn't impossible.
Honestly, nothing they did would surprise him.
"Any proof?"
"No, just speculation."
Roy decided to shelve the matter and deal with the immediate problem.
"Tell me the locations of the Cabin's bases, and you can go."
"No problem!"
Reid revealed several key Cabin bases, though their strict management meant he didn't know all of them.
"Can I go now?"
"Go."
Reid hopped away, but then gunshots rang out, shattering his hind legs.
"Roy Black!"
Roy blew on his Smith & Wesson M629 Ivory Edition, feigning regret. He hadn't planned to let Reid off so easily.
"Sorry, I said I'd let you go, not that I wouldn't shoot you. If you survive this, maybe it's fate."
With that, Roy smashed through the wall and moved on.
Reid, now crippled but determined, crawled with his weak front limbs, struggling immensely.
"Roy Black, the Cabin, Harlan Wade… I can't die here. I'll have my revenge!"
He eyed the Silent Seed in a nearby display case—his only chance to escape.
But for a toad without hind legs, reaching it was a monumental challenge.
"If I can just get there!"
Unaware of Reid's struggle, Roy entered the maintenance corridor, confirming the life-support system's location.
"This should be it."
After verifying the position, Roy punched the thick metal wall, creating a hole, then tore it open wide enough to pass through.
Entering the life-support chamber, he found two figures in a standoff—one human, one spectral. Both were familiar: Point Man and Paxton Fettel.
They stood before an open life-support pod. Point Man's left hand was injured, and he aimed a pistol with his right at Paxton.
The gun was oddly designed, not a standard model—likely an experimental FEAR weapon.
Paxton, in his spectral form, frowned as Roy entered.
Point Man, relieved, called out.
"Mr. Black, Paxton moved Mother and Lady Iris to the synchronization chamber! Hurry and stop her!"
The synchronization chamber?
Roy knew it was in the central area, a lab for testing psychic abilities, according to the military terminal.
"What's Alma planning?"
"I don't know, but it's nothing good!"
Roy decided to trust Point Man and head to the chamber.
But Paxton spoke up.
"Heh! Think you can reach the synchronization chamber? Too late!"
Paxton sneered at Roy.
"No one can stop Mother's plan—not even you! Soon, she'll have the perfect body!"
Was Alma trying to possess Iris's body?
As Uriel's human vessel, Iris's body was exceptional, enhanced by an archangel's modifications, surpassing even Jennifer and Nidi's attributes.
But Uriel's soul should still be in Iris. Could Alma really erase an archangel's soul?
Or perhaps…
"I'm on it!"
Paxton, brimming with confidence, clearly didn't want Roy to leave. He unleashed his full mental energy.
"Roy Black, did I say you could go?"
The room plunged into darkness, with only Paxton's spectral form emitting a faint glow.
Roy couldn't fathom where Paxton got the nerve.
Though Paxton's mental power, enhanced multiple times, rivaled a malevolent spirit lord, it was laughable compared to Roy—like showing off in front of a master.
Wait, something's off with that analogy.
"Good dogs don't block the path!"
Roy transformed into his Fear Incarnation, his terrifying domain instantly shattering Paxton's spectral field.
Only then did Paxton realize the vast gap between them.
"Your power… I see! No wonder Mother chose you. You've been hiding your strength too?"
Despite his domain's destruction, Paxton wasn't angry. He looked at Roy as if recognizing a kindred spirit.
He'd hidden his own strength within FEAR, after all.
"We're not the same, Fettel! We're not alike!"
Paxton grinned menacingly.
"No! I can feel the power you're using—evil, terrifying, dark! That's no force of justice!"
His words made Point Man's gaze toward Roy complex.
Indeed, Roy's current form didn't scream "hero." He could easily play a big bad in a movie.
"Hmph! Power isn't good or evil—it depends on the user!"
With that, Roy shifted from Fear Incarnation to Ten-Winged Angel, radiant holy light dispelling the darkness.
Point Man was shaken, realizing how narrow his earlier thoughts had been.
"Impossible!"
Paxton, unaware of Roy's transformations, was stunned by the shift from Fear Incarnation to Ten-Winged Angel.
"Mr. Black, leave my brother to me. Don't waste time here."
Roy glanced at Point Man, who wore a resolute expression, clearly committed to something.
In his Ten-Winged Angel form, Roy could dispatch Paxton's spirit in less than a second, but he decided to give Point Man this moment.
Point Man had provided critical intel, so Roy would let him settle things with Paxton.
"Be careful."
Roy rushed out of the room.
Paxton didn't stop him, knowing he couldn't.
"Point Man, do you really trust Roy Black?"
Point Man, resolute, wasn't swayed.
"Trust doesn't matter. Mr. Black's actions speak for themselves. But you, Paxton—I'm sorry, but this ends today!"
Paxton sneered.
"With that weird gun of yours?"
Sweat dripped from Point Man's face, his left-hand injury causing intense pain.
"This is FEAR's latest prototype, designed for spirits—and blessed by Lady Iris!"
Paxton's expression darkened, his tone softening.
"Brother, are you really going to kill me?"
Point Man's eyes dimmed.
"Sorry, Paxton. For the sake of the world, I have to."
He pulled the trigger.
Meanwhile, Roy reached the synchronization chamber, filled with large spherical devices connected by intricate wiring, giving it a cyberpunk vibe.
Observing, Roy saw no sign of Alma or Iris. Were they inside the spheres?
The lab's central area had backup power, keeping the devices active.
Roy connected Miss Jay's terminal to the system, quickly hacking it.
As the spheres opened, Roy's vision blurred again.
An orange pyramid appeared, with Alma seated high on a throne, a massive torch behind her.
No sign of Elizabeth. Had Alma won?
Roy couldn't imagine Elizabeth losing, but archangels had fallen before, and demon kings weren't infallible. Maybe Elizabeth had faltered.
"Roy Black, no one can stop our union now!"
Alma's face beamed with triumph. The space around Roy shifted, and he found himself before her, his body completely restrained.
(Fear 2 Alma image)
Alma rose from her throne, approached Roy, and grabbed his chin.
"Are you ready? Let's begin!"
Roy never imagined he'd be overpowered by a woman. Being too handsome had its downsides—every female demon, bodhisattva, and ghost seemed to want his body.
But Roy, a top graduate of the Male Virtue Academy, fiercely resisted, though he couldn't break Alma's control.
"How do we start?"
Alma pondered. Her childhood lacked any education on biology, and though she'd "given birth" twice via test tubes, she had no clue about natural reproduction.
So, she kissed Roy, following her instincts.
Procreation is an innate mammalian instinct. After a passionate kiss, feeling Roy's intensity, she began to grasp natural reproduction instinctively.
Pushing Roy down, he found himself on a lavish, fairy-tale-like bed with high cushions.
"Oh! Is this the real process of reproduction? So wondrous, so unique!"
[Ding! Obtained Alma's Conquest Chest! Open now?]
Roy's attributes overwhelmed Alma, drowning her in desire, but her control over him didn't waver.
Suddenly, Alma glanced at the torch, spotting a woman with her hand on it.
"No! Weren't you dead?"
It was Elizabeth.
She smirked.
"Little girl, you fell for it!"
Elizabeth had faked her death to deceive Alma.
Though Alma's power exceeded the world's limits, her combat experience was minimal. Never exposed to society, she was naive to its dangers.
This time, her youth cost her, and Elizabeth outsmarted her.
Elizabeth swiftly seized control of the soul torch. Alma tried to stop her, but Roy transformed into his Desire Incarnation, using its power to influence Alma.
He also accelerated, infusing her with positive energy.
Though the influence was brief, it bought Elizabeth critical time. The demon king claimed the soul torch.
"No—"
Alma visibly weakened, the mental space around them rapidly dissolving.
Roy blinked and found himself in a spherical device, surrounded by twinkling lights, with Alma sitting on him.
Only then did he see Alma's true form—emaciated limbs like dry branches, yet her body still held nourishment, the kind that would never let a child go hungry.
(This vibe)
Her body bore glowing orange patterns, like burning brands, eroding her form.
Her body was on the brink of collapse, no longer sustainable even by life-support systems. Only the soul torch's immense mental energy kept her going, explaining her desire for Iris's body.
Roy grabbed Alma's frail neck, easily overpowering her, though his "weapon" remained inside her.
In the opposite sphere, Elizabeth had her hand on an unconscious Iris.
Roy realized Alma had used Iris's body as an anchor for the soul torch in the physical world. No wonder Iris was controlled—millions of souls' mental energy could overwhelm even Uriel's full form.
"Teacher Elizabeth, is it done?"
Elizabeth was absorbing the soul torch's power from Iris.
"Yes, it's over!"
With that, Roy snapped Alma's neck and tossed her aside.
But Alma didn't die easily. The Famine Knight's power kept her alive, though in excruciating pain as hunger consumed her mind—a sensation Roy had experienced.
Orange light pollution surged from Alma's body, seemingly to attack Roy.
To avoid complications, Roy drew the Eye of Death, preparing to use its conceptual power to end her.
As the Eye sensed the orange light, it vibrated but didn't resist, granting Roy Death Vision.
[Ding! Obtained Alma's Fate Chest! Open now?]
Alma died instantly, yielding a Fate Chest, but her powerful spirit lingered briefly.
Then Roy noticed something odd—her spirit was visibly pregnant.
Roy: ???
That fast? Even if souls could conceive, Roy had only infused positive energy for minutes. How was her belly already so large?
The pregnant Alma's spirit softened, her resentment seemingly gone.
As Roy stood stunned, a shadow appeared behind him, placing a hand on his back.
Instantly, black runes covered Roy's body.
Caught off guard, he lost control, his vision shifting to a red world reeking of sulfur.
Hell?
Roy was thrust into hell, along with the pregnant Alma, whose heavy sins pulled her into the hellish passage.
Elizabeth, tied to the soul torch, couldn't react, watching helplessly as Adra pushed Roy into hell.
"No—Asmodeus!"
The Eye of Death fell to the ground, and the Famine Knight's power merged into the floor.
University Arc ends. Next: Hell Arc!