Madman’s Retirement

In the cold western lands of the empire, upon a great fortress, an ear twitched.

The shadow of a sharp ear twitched as it sensed a familiar presence.

Killing intent, but a special kind, the likes of which only god level entities could sense, or those who had been exposed to it frequently would notice.

The kind that felt like the world itself had flared up, trembling in fury.

Creation itself seemed to swirl at the will of his old friend.

The man to whom the shadow belonged to, shuddered, as he felt this indescribable rage.

No one else noticed, as guards passed by, ignoring the young son of the duke, for he hid his tenseness well, and they merely greeted him and moved on.

It would not do for them to see their young lord trembling, for what could terrify him so.

Once they passed by, the shadow whispered.

"It's him" the shadow rejoiced. "He's finally here!"

The young heir of Bergstrom kept his face straight, yet disbelief sank in.

"And you're glad to sense him!?" he asked incredulously. That thing? That monster? Not even the dragons he had seen nor the beasts his father had slain had ever shown such horrifying killing intent.

"Grant is only like this when children are hurt in front of him. It stirs up... bad memories" The shadow paused as it reflected on moments gone by.

Bergstrom narrowed his eyes at that comment. "If that's the case..."

"Then he's really mad right now"

Ghhgh ghhgh

A goblin choked on its spittle, thrashing hopelessly in Grant's grip.

"Hatch."

With this one word, Grant tossed the goblin on the floor.

Perhaps the goblin felt confusion at that comment.

It likely did not for long.

Its eyes were quickly covered in a thin membrane, before a thin shell soon covered them, severing his eyes cleanly from the rest of his head, bringing the goblin more pain.

The eyes changed shape and size as they grew uncomfortably large within it's head.

Crck.

crck

crack!

The sounds of hatching could be heard, as the eggs thrashed furiously inside the goblin's head, as one hatched alongside the other, giving way to two little furry heads.

Inside the goblin's skull.

Needless to say, his death would be painful, as the sounds of the beast's first feeding went off in tune to the pitiful screams of the goblin.

It did not suffer alone, for the whole camp had gathered around the lodge where the women were stored, and thus they too, shared the fate worse than death.

Goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs alike all went down with but a word from Grant, and a tap on the head, as the law of creation roared into action, acting to satisfy Grant's desire.

Pain.

"Infestation."

"Bread"

"Crabs"

"Salt".

Ants, numbering in the hundreds pouring out of one goblins every orifice,

another finding it's pores squeezing out bread rapidly, before suffocating in a loaf of it's own making,

Another screamed as it tried to pull it's own chest apart, if only to stop the struggling crabs from bringing it pain,

and an old classic, turning fools into salt statues, when they look where they were not meant to.

No death that followed was a kind death.

It did not compare to what Grant did at the height of his power, but it was enough.

Enough to satisfy this desire growing inside of him.

Grant looked at the child in his arms.

No.

it was not enough.

But it would have to do.

The follower of Isis could only furiously pray at the sight he saw.

He hated goblins, those filthy defilers, but this sight, it was hard not to pity the beasts in spite of their nature.

He had been sent here as an A-rank assassin/scout to monitor the goblin fortress, and to monitor their tool, to ensure that their plan was not exposed to adventurers and the like, to make sure that any arrive here, stay here.

Blow darts tinged with sedatives and poison, either to kill, or to leave behind for the goblins to deal with.

He should have dealt with the intruder, but the fact that he didn't even realize the man was here until finding the corpses...

... This man...

All of a sudden, a great sense of unease settled upon the scout, before true fear settled on him, as if something far beyond his peruse laid its eyes on him.

Don't look don't look don't look don't look don't look...

Almost unnaturally, his head turned against his will as he found himself staring at the raven sage who was staring back.

"How..." he whispered.

He was very far away, countless stretches of the forest away that even an S-rank adventurer wouldn't notice him, thanks to the assistance of a magic tool that allowed him to scout from great distances, an enhanced telescope.

Yet with one glance, the man had located him, seemingly having been aware of him from the beginning.

The masked man stretched his hand out, and with every inch it stretched forth, he could feel his neck sweating, the presence growing ever so more present, and he could feel death itself almost upon him.

He wanted to run, scream, beg for mercy.

Yet he could not move, as if bound before execution.

And then it stopped.

Feeling the shifting downwards, Grant looked down at the child in his arms, struggling, seemingly with bad memories.

Pulling his hand back, he chose to use it instead to soothe the child, helping him to sleep peacefully again.

He would deal with this scout later. For now, he would put it to better use.

Like any good tail, one can always use it track down the rat that needed exterminating.

' flee, while I'm still feeling merciful'

The scout turned tail and fled.

He did not care if this was a trap.

Paladin Peter must know of this man, consequences be damned, lest he become a far greater obstacle down the line.

Seeing the scout fleeing tail between his legs and with a tracer spell on him, Grant turned his attention back to the massacre at hand.

Only one left after all.

Thwang!

A blade came swinging down out of nowhere, landing hard on the back of Grant's neck, being quickly repelled by a golden chain.

"Tch" came the disappointment.

"Pathetic" Grant sneered. "Is that all an ogre shaman can do? Cower in the shadows?"

The space behind Grant warped as a large figure made itself apparent.

A giant beast of a "man" came forward, with red flesh and a pair of horns mounted upon his head.

His size rivalling the likes of the minotaur, and the magical presence similar to one as well. His fangs, glaring as he grinned.

An ogre shaman, dressed in the classical shaman clothes.

"Hiding? No, merely waiting for you to empty your reserves. To waste such power on mere goblins."

The ogre chuckled disdainfully. He had seen the man's use of magics. Truly advanced, even he could admire it.

"To use magic on such a whim is costly, both in its magical and spiritual cost. You should've saved it for more important beings" He pointed out, indicating at himself.

"What's the difference between you and them? I'm putting down a wild beast all the same." jeered Grant, and yet there was no amusement in Grant's voice, making the mockery fall flat.

That didn't stop the ogre from taking offense, as his face twitched and he exerted his magics, causing roots to erupt from the ground and fly at Grant.

Grant whipped out his torch, lighting each root on fire, forcing the ogre to disperse his roots as he wouldn't waste his mana on pointless moves.

"An artifact? I wonder what kind that is. I'll find out after this fight." he commented as he unveiled a staff of his own, upon which the skull of an ogre could be seen, seemingly causing Grant's aura to grow fierce.

The ogre noticed this as he gloated. "Can you tell already? It's an ogre skull, belonged to that little one's father. I had to decide whether or not to feed it to him or keep it to use on my own equipment. Ultimately, I decided the boy had enough to eat." he commented nonchalantly, in spite of the cruel statement he had made.

"And his mother's bones were great for magics as well, so I kept a few for this." he said, proudly showing off his necklace, upon which certain bones gleamed.

Grant cocked his head.

"And you take offense to being called a beast? " He asked coldly. "Of all the most admirable qualities I have ever labeled ogre's with, it was their loyalty to their own. That community they had, in spite of being barbaric bastards. The desire to be great warriors, to follow their own code. And yet all I've seen is cowardice and your code nonexistent. To use children as weapons... how spineless." He spat that last word, his disgust evident.

"Haaah" the ogre sighed.

"I'm not like the rest of my kind. I'm smart, I'm better," he pumped his chest, as if he felt the need to show it.

"I know that one must use all they have at hand to become great in this world, unlike those dumb brutes. Honor is nothing without glory!" He shouted before turning his attention to the kid.

"And that kid." he indicated at the kid with his own disgust evident. "He's not even full ogre. His mother was a demon. A demon. It is a disgusting abomination, a half-breed and his father was a failure of an ogre, to copulate with an inferior race. I did him a favor, making proper use of him!" he proclaimed forcefully.

He began chanting as the runs on the staff and skull lit up, as the summoning began, his emotions having gotten to him, the ogre was determined to wipe the enemy in front of him from the face of the Earth, so that he may continue.

"Abomination..."

"Useful..."

Looking at the child, hearing that statement touched something in Gran.

"...half-breed bastards"

'Very well then, one good deed deserves another.

Just wait, I'll make you useful soon enough."

The ogre kept chanting as the mana coalesced into one spot, as a summoning circle made itself apparent, but Grant did not move.

He merely waited.

The ogre tossed bones into the circle, causing it to flare up and grow in strength.

Soon a large spirit emerged, followed by a burst of energy, changing the nearby land, burning trees and setting fire to all the nearby corpses and tinder.

The spirit emerged in the form of a large salamander-esque creature, purely formed out of fire.

"Behold! A baron level spirit!" boasted the ogre as he showed off his perceived achievement.

He probably was quite proud. A baron level spirit, according to the guild's measurement's is a S-level entity, capable of brining disaster to medium level towns, and for a small outpost recently established, it would be disaster.

"That's it?"

Grant was unimpressed.

"That's what you sacrificed all that you have? Your dignity for a mere baron level spirit. That sounds about right."

The ogre's face darkened in rage, and the spirit looked more agitated than before.

"It seems you are left with nothing but words. Sneer if you must at my attempts, but it'll be naught while you smolder to death." Raising his staff, he commanded the spirit to attack.

"Pluck the bird and bring me back the child. I have yet to feed him the rest."

The spirit lunged forwards in according to its master's call, as the heat grew greater.

A rattling sound could be heard as a golden chain flew forth, binding the spirit.

The flaming salamander struggled to no avail.

Grant paid it no heed as he moved forth, unhindered by the spirit.

Looking at the spirit bound,, panic flashed in the eyes of the ogre as he looked at the approaching danger, as he felt something crawling down his back.

Desperately, he began summoning roots and vines, minor spirits and even forms of undead.

Grant walked through it unyielding, slipping through some attacks, and facing others head on.

Step by step he got closer, and with every step the ogre found himself pushed further into a corner.

"Wait, perhaps I have something I can offer you! I've been in these forests for years! I know a few dungeons the humans do not know of! Secrets and treasures, easily within your grasp!"

Grant chuckled. "As do I. I know of all these treasures, and yet a lowly thing like you presumes to guide me."

Thwack

Grant's arm swelled unnaturally before backhanding the ogre, sending him through the corner he had been backed into.

Saurian martial arts. Not suited for the human body, as Grant felt his bones shatter to fragments, but all it took was a little reconstruction and the law of creation to fix his appendage.

Looking at the struggling ogre, he asked.

"His parents."

"W-what?"

"The boy's parents. If you could bring them back. Perhaps I would spare you."

The ogre looked at I'm with a now spite and hate-filled glance, fully aware that the man was merely taunting him.

"Fine then, kill me. To die this way is just fine." he said, attempting to find solace in the fact he would die to such a miraculous being, something work claiming as an achievement.

Grant shook his head.

Die?

No, he promised to make him useful.

Grant clasped the ogre's neck, lifting him up, as the ogre stopped struggling, having wasted all available options.

However, death did not come.

"I despise Zeus, but I admit, but even he had his good ideas once in a while". Grant said, as the pure malice poured out of his every word.

He pulled out a small stone, iridescent in its color, unrecognizable to the ogre.

He shoved it fiercely into the beast's throat as he commanded.

"Swallow." he said cooly, and the ogre could only helplessly choke on the rock as it slid down his throat.

An unknown energy passed through his body abruptly, powerful, yet there was something about it.

Something divine.

He felt a sense of reverence, and yet that reverence merely heightened his fear as he felt the energy flow through his veins, rearranging his very nature. It pervaded his body!

The ogre struggled in vain now, no longer surrendering feebly, while Grant enforced his will on the ogre's body, throwing him aside once he was finished.

"Do you feel it?" he asked as the ogre struggled to get up.

"You're immortal now." such words would be sweet were it not for the foreboding sense of helplessness overtaking the ogre.

"My magic where is my magic?!" he screamed, as he desperately tried to channel his magic, and though his mana stirred, it did not bend the way he wished.

He was magicless, the thing that made a monster a monster. Without magic, he was like a beast without fang, or even muscle.

Magic is what fuels a monster's body and without it they could do nothing.

He was nothing.

Grant chuckled. "What's the matter" he asked, "immortality not to your taste yet? Or perhaps, it's the side effects that get you?" he asked, the taunt obvious in his words.

"What have you done to me!" he shouted, trying to get up, only to stumble forward.

Grant cocked his head. "Equivalent cost of course. A mere monster at such a low level as you could not merely attain immortality so easily. It came at a cost, which I'm sure you can feel now, even as we speak. It's wonderful what one can do with such a small fragment of a Lazarus stone."

The ogre's mind was as much of a mess as his now feeble body, as he tried his best to understand what had happened.

"Come out now, there's no point in hiding! I know you're out there!"

Seeing no movement, Grant reached his hound out, as his divine realm opened.

Before anything could come out, a monster stumbled out, clearly afraid of the divine presences he sensed beyond the crack in the realm.

The dragon was familiar, one he had in fact, seen more than once.

A rather familiar dragon, he saw when he had killed the cockatrice, and when he had once plucked it during its time as a wyvern.

The dragon did not exhibit the fierceness of a dragon however, wobbling as he knelt down.

"This one greets your greatness." he said as his head hit the ground.

Grant did not respond to the greeting.

"I think you were the fourth one." he said, giving the dragon a once-over. "Whatever. I have something I wish for you to do."

"Of course, whatever I can do for you." the dragon's words were quick, just glad he would not be plucked once more.

The ogre's eyes widened as he looked at this dragon, this great being, top of the food chain, a disaster in its own right, bowing out of fear of the man.

He felt a great sense of foreboding when the man turned to him, the words confirmed with his next statement.

"Feed on this ogre, a limb a day. It may be any limb, or even an organ. head if you're feeling adventurous. But feed, and feed every day."

"...what?" the ogre asked, as he trembled.

"Very well your lordship." the dragon agreed, and yet there was confusion.

He could eat the ogre, but to what extent? Why? The ogre would die in a day or two. Immortals could still die, if his bloodline inheritance could be believed.

Grant smiled at the confusion, clearing them with a demonstration. "Observe." he said, and faster than the ogre or dragon could react, he pulled the ogre's arm off.

The ogre shrieked inhumanely, causing the child in Grant's arms to struggle a little, before Grant used a spell, to cover the kids ears, returning him to sleep.

The dragon watched the ogre, and surprise bloomed on his face as he watched the ogre's arm regrew, replaced by a brand new one.

Grant chuckled. "The beauty of my work. He's immortal, through and through, he will recover from any injury, no matter how horrifying or devastating, or even attacks to the soul. Of course, the result is that he can no longer use any form of energy, whether it be qi, mana, or mental, but that hardly matters does it.? After all, a meal is a meal, and in this case, he'll make a fine addition to your new hoard, no?"

The dragon's eyes widened, as he felt desire fill his heart.

Indeed, as a newly evolved dragon, he was planning to fill his hoard so he may attract a mate, but unwilling to raid that outpost directly, he would be forced to scrounge the forest, or venture into dungeons to build his hoard.

But now he had something extremely valuable. Infinite food. The ogre was not small, and even if it were not filling, it insured he would never run out of food, a treasure any dragon could appreciate.

"Indeed, my lord! This one cannot show his gratitude more!"

The ogre felt nothing but fear as he looked at the dragon who's eyes now shined, and the haunting light that shone through the mask's eyes.

"No..." he whispered; his weak body barely able to speak these words..

Crouching down, Grant drawled, as he mocked the beast viciously.

"You aspired to be powerful,

now you will be weaker then the weakest in all the lands,

You wanted to be remembered forever,

and now you will live forever,

You wanted to be more than you once were,

now you will forever be less than you were,

Your legacy shall now be everlasting,

as a dragon's everlasting gobstopper,"

He looked at the dragon.

"Well? Bon appetite."

The dragon bowed before Grant. "Truly, you are a great man." he praised.

"I will enjoy this gift you have given upon me."

And with that, the dragon left, with his prize in tow.