Asmodeus raised both hands above her head, attempting to summon a massive vortex of dark energy. The cavern shuddered as she tried to unleash her ultimate attack. The swirling black sphere sputtered violently and collapsed into a shower of purple sparks.
Vance watched her perfectly sculpted features twist into a severe pout. For a terrifying mid-floor boss, her face remained strangely expressive and incredibly easy to read. She completely lacked a poker face, which was a severe disadvantage in any confrontation.
Abandoning the complex magic, she coated her extended claws in a concentrated layer of dark mana. A simple physical swipe would easily tear him in half. She dropped her stance to launch a direct strike.
"Wait a minute!" Vance shouted, throwing both hands up. "Stop!"
Asmodeus dug her heels into the gravel and halted her charge. She tilted her head and narrowed her glowing violet eyes at his bruised form.
She recognized his absolute lack of offensive skills or magical power. Crushing him required zero effort, leaving her perfectly willing to play with her food before delivering the fatal blow.
"There is absolutely no reason for us to fight," Vance said, taking a cautious step backward. "We can just go our separate ways and pretend none of this ever happened."
The demon princess let out a heavy sigh, dropping her arms to her sides. "You dared to grab my breast in the middle of a battle, and now you ask to walk away? I expected a final stand from a brazen warrior, yet you offer me the whining of a coward."
'Talk-no-jutsu is not working. Let's try something else!'
His diplomatic approach failed entirely, so Vance immediately switched tactics and pointed a finger toward the tunnel leading outside.
"An army of S-rank Awakeners will arrive at this exact location very soon," Vance warned, keeping his gaze locked on her deadly claws. "You should save your energy and hide before they overwhelm you."
"Let them come," Asmodeus boasted, crossing her arms beneath her chest. "I will slaughter every single mortal who steps foot inside my domain."
"You came all the way down from the thirty-sixth floor," Vance countered. "The Tower's dimensional system is actively restricting your abilities. Your ultimate attack just blew up in your own hands. Down here on the twenty-first floor, you are just another nerfed monster."
Her violet eyes widened slightly. The logical threat registered in her mind as she glanced down at her sputtering, uncontrollable mana.
She looked back at Vance and stretched her lips into a wicked, fanged smile.
"You make an excellent point," Asmodeus purred, raising her claws once again. "I will simply kill you first and then make my exit."
'Fuck this didn't work either!'
Vance raised his empty hands, keeping his gaze locked directly on her glowing eyes. He needed to deploy his most dangerous weapon, and that was his encyclopedic knowledge of the game's lore.
The developer had written an incredibly tragic backstory for the thirty-sixth-floor boss, burying the details deep within optional quest fragments.
"The Demon King is dying," Vance stated, his voice echoing off the cavern walls.
The violent purple mana swirling around Asmodeus's claws instantly vanished. She froze in place, her leathery wings stiffening behind her back.
"Your father is sick, and the succession war has already started," Vance continued, pressing his advantage as she stood paralyzed by his words. "You are the youngest of the royal siblings. They targeted you first to thin the herd, forcing you to run. High-level bosses cannot simply wander down into the lower floors whenever they please. You had to burn a sacred artifact or an ancient spell just to bypass the Tower's dimensional restrictions and escape the slaughter."
Asmodeus lowered her arms entirely. Her jaw tightened, and her violet eyes darted across his bruised face, searching for any sign of deception.
A minor human possessing intimate knowledge of the highest demonic courts defied all logic. She kept her mouth firmly shut, refusing to ask how he obtained such classified information.
"You are trapped," Vance said, taking a small step forward. "If you return to the thirty-sixth floor, your brothers and sisters will butcher you for the throne. If you stay down here, the Vanguard guilds will eventually overwhelm your restricted magic and mount your horns on a wall. You are a dead woman walking."
The demon princess tilted her head, leaning forward slightly as she listened. Her expressive features betrayed a deep, undeniable curiosity. The fierce hostility had completely drained from her posture, replaced by the attentive focus of someone desperately looking for a way out of a corner.
"We are standing in the exact same trap," Vance explained, gesturing down at his own dirt-stained uniform. "My family sits at the absolute pinnacle of human society. They kicked me to the curb this morning because I was born weak and useless. They threw me out to die."
He leaned back against the jagged stone wall and let out a harsh laugh. "You can slice my head off right now and get it over with. Even if your incredibly kind and generous heart decides to take pity on me and spare my life, I will just get ripped apart by a random dungeon mob an hour from now. My death is an absolute guarantee either way."
Asmodeus uncrossed her arms and smoothed the crimson silk of her bodice. A haughty smirk returned to her flawless face, clearly pleased by his desperate flattery.
"You speak with a silver tongue for a discarded mortal," Asmodeus purred, stepping closer until her leathery wings cast a shadow over his face. "How do you possess such intimate knowledge of the royal demon courts?"
Vance tapped his temple with his index finger. "I awakened a unique insight skill. It gives me glimpses into the background of anyone I look at."
Her glowing violet eyes narrowed into slits as she analyzed his bruised, dirt-stained form. "Show me a path to survive this pathetic floor and exact revenge on my treacherous siblings. Do that, and I will let you keep your head."
'Let's fuckign gooo! It worked! Fuck you my fate! You can go die alone!'