"Oni-Chan… It hurts. Stop hurting me!"
A young girl's raw screams tore through the air, each syllable punctuated by flames that engulfed her, only to vanish and fiercely reignite.
With every infernal burst, the child advanced, her slender right hand extended, a desperate plea in her innocent eyes. They fixed on the middle-aged man, who, in turn, slammed his large wooden staff onto the ground.
A crimson pulse of energy surged, erupting into fire directly beneath her.
Desperation etched his features, the man relentlessly pounded his staff, immolating her again and again. A spiderweb of scorched earth marred the cavern floor, charting her agonizingly slow advance.
Retreat was not an option; he poured every ounce of his divine energy into each strike. Yet, he couldn't deliver a swift end. The distance diluted the fire's potency, subjecting her to a tormenting hell. He could only pray she'd reduce to ash before reaching him.
"Oni-Chan! Please stop,"
She wailed, her voice now a chilling blend of childish agony and a taunting, melodic undertone.
She finally reached him. A few steps separated them, and the devouring flames consuming her dwindled to embers at her feet.
The man's eyebrows shot up in sheer disbelief. An unharmed, fair-skinned girl, barely four feet tall, stood before him. Only a few patches of burned skin and singed cloth marred her pristine appearance. Her slender form and glittering crimson eyes begged him to drop the staff, embrace her, and plead for forgiveness.
Instead, he drew a small, wickedly sharp knife from beneath his black cloak, revealing a rugged brown shirt and pants clinging to his slim frame.
He gathered his dwindling strength, lunging toward her, the knife clutched in his left hand, the staff still firm in his right. He swiped clumsily from her right, aiming for her throat.
But before his hand could connect, she vanished.
'Where did she go… wh—!'
Before he could even complete the thought, a sudden, brutal force seized the back of his throat, slamming him face-flat onto the ground.
He spat clumps of blood, the impact shattering several bones, granting him a brief, merciful unconsciousness. Then, he screamed, an agonizing sound, as large, sharp prickles pierced both his sides, tearing through his gut, pooling blood beneath him.
He clenched his staff and knife, desperate to control the searing pain, yet he could only helplessly turn his tear-filled gaze to the being that had done this.
The child!
She pressed her sharp leg nails deep into his body. His screams echoed uncontrollably inside the white cavern as the nails grotesquely lengthened, extending deeper within him.
The child finally revealed her true self. Her left hand still held his head pinned down, her right hand lifted, a gentle, almost beatific smile gracing her face.
The sharp nails began to rise. As they grew, her smile twisted into a maniacal grimace, grotesque lines spreading from her lips towards her small ears.
Suddenly, her mouth cracked open, far beyond human limits, below her lips.
"Oni-Chan, let's play!"
She shrieked, her jaw hanging maniacally open. She erupted into guttural laughter, her nails outstretched nearly half a meter, poised to slash him into nothingness.
Yet, amidst the monster child's frenzied cackling, one voice echoed in the back of his mind:
'You've done enough, Theron. You are not cut out for damage-dealing. You belonged in the backline relying on us!'
He bit his lips in raw frustration, rage burning like an inferno as he recalled those stinging words.
The thought of those bastards discarding him, despite all his humiliation and grueling hard work, ignited his very soul. He roared, his voice hoarse,
"I'd rather die trying than accept you're right, you bastards!"
He slammed the end of his staff onto the ground, summoning a torrent of fire with his remaining divine energy.
The ground vibrated, then erupted with flames far larger, far more furious than any he had created before.
The child shrieked like a wild wolf, her howls echoing as the fire blazed for agonizing seconds before abruptly vanishing.
As the inferno receded, the child's primal instinct prompted her to leap from atop the man, an innate understanding that the fire's fury wouldn't truly cease.
She screamed again, a surge of soaring pain shooting through her legs as she saw his knife lodged in her leg and piercing his stomach.
His trembling hands on the knife ensured she couldn't simply jump away. He pressed his hands onto her leg with each struggle, adding more pain to his already burned body.
His entire body turned black, smoke rising as his cloak fused with his burned skin, making him appear the true monster, hurting an innocent child, while her pristine fair skin remained seemingly unaffected by his fire.
But he knew the piercing screech meant he was truly hurting her. He couldn't stop until she was dead.
He bit his tongue, bracing for more pain.
Suddenly, the child, with her elongated nails, began to slice at his back, desperately trying to kill him before he could summon fire again.
His Vitality and Endurance were immense, allowing him to endure her torment for precious moments as he summoned mo re fire beneath his body, touching the staff to the ground once again.
The child screamed, feeling every flame burn her soft skin as it slowly blackened and melted. Before the fire diminished, he kept summoning…
Again…
Again…
Again…
Until his hand crumbled into ashes, the staff falling from his grasp, and his body turned to stone before disintegrating.
Even in this state, he remained painfully alive, his consciousness staring into an abyss of darkness, having lost his eyes a few summons ago.
Still, he mustered a smile in his mind with profound satisfaction as immense pain coursed through his body when a large, motionless mass slammed onto his back.
The monster child was dead.
With enough happiness to last a lifetime, he slowly lost consciousness as his mind replayed his final, triumphant moments. Then another, final voice, resonant and clear, interrupted his fading thoughts:
[Unexpected. You amuse me, young man.]
[SSS-Class Draconic Warpriest granted for his bravery!]