Chapter 6: Effective Alarm Clock

A terrible scream ripped through the silent realm, something akin to the scream of a dying pig.

The sound tore Edol from his sleep, and an evil smile formed on his face as he bolted to his feet.

The so-called "alarm clock" he had made for Ugly wasn't too difficult to make… just a few spikes on the ground in front of the dome's exit.

The previous day he had discovered that the spikes covering the dome were hard, but quite brittle. It wasn't difficult to snap a few of them off, and it was apparent that Ugly hadn't noticed his actions.

It seemed Ugly had been preparing for a good day, putting his right foot forwards as he headed out for the morning. Now, his right foot had three hardened earth spikes jutting out through it.

"Hey, Ugly! Do you like your present?"

The demon snapped its glare towards Edol, but now the college student stood a solid chance in a fight. Ugly had lost one of its biggest advantages- its superior, trained movement. Now it was just a still target for Edol.

"You might be good at fighting, but you can't match up against a human's mind! This'll teach you to look down at me!"

Edol lifted his hand, revealing another of the earth spikes clutched between his fingers.

He charged at the demon, sidestepping its sword swing. Before he had a chance to strike at the demon, it pivoted on its left foot and swang its second sword, ending Edol's life once again.

Ugly seemed to forget about his foot injury for a moment, trying to charge at Edol the second he respawned. The demon stumbled after taking just two steps, an unbearable pain flooring its face. The increased pain didn't just affect Edol, but also the demon. Even for the battle-hardened demon, the pain from its foot was nearly unbearable.

"Not so tough, are you now, Ugly? This is what you've been doing to me!"

Edol tried to hit the demon once again, but met another swift end.

"Look, do you see me hunched over from the pain?"

Another failed attempt later, Edol respawned again, still taunting the demon as he charged back at it instantly. It was almost as if the pain didn't affect him at all.

"Wimpy demon, you can't even move after getting stabbed in the foot!"

Edol died again, but kept running at the demon each respawn, trying to find an opening in its defenses.

"Look how many times you kill me, but you act like this from a little poke?"

Edol died again, but this time he had managed to dodge three of the demon's attacks before going down, almost landing a hit on it.

"You're outclassed, demon! You looked down on me, but you're actually just a coward!"

The demon couldn't understand a word the hairless ape in front of him was saying, and it didn't really care.

The demon's eyes were red with rage. It wanted nothing more than to kill this scheming rat in front of it, but no matter what it did, the ape just kept coming back to life.

Edol charged again, his eyes focused on the demon's chest. He had played football (soccer) when he was a child, and he hadn't forgotten what he learned there.

The easiest way to read someone's movement was by watching their chest. If they were going to turn left, their torso would give away their intentions a moment before they made their move.

Edol feigned left, and the demon bought it. For the first time, Edol had an opportunity to land a solid strike on the demon.

He wasn't one to waste an opportunity.

He had already speculated on the weak points of the demon, and they were, for the most part, pretty similar to that of a human. The head, neck, and eyes would be good targets, but Edol didn't target any of these.

Since pain seems to be increased, why not make use of it and end this fight for good?

The demon's eyes changed from anger to horror as he saw what Edol was aiming for… but he had no way to defend.

The demon let out an odd grunt, seemingly begging for mercy, but Edol wasn't going to give up on his attack.

The steel toe of Edol's boot made contact with the poor demon's family jewels, sending it crumpling to the floor like a broken doll. Even Edol felt a tingle of danger as he watched the demon fall. The amplified pain plus that strike… Edol could only thank the heavens that the demon hadn't happened to strike him in this weak point.

"Fifty-three times you killed me, Demon. This is a fitting way for you to die."

Edol scooped up one of the earth spikes from the ground and made his way back over to the demon.

He looked down at the beast that had killed him repetitively, it was now scrunched up in the fetal position, looking as if it had lost its soul.

"Farewell, Ugly!"

Without any hesitation, Edol plunged the earthen spike into the demon's head.

The demon's body shook once, then faded away, almost as if it had never existed in the first place.

Edol stood up, letting out a deep breath.

After being killed over fifty times, the demon had finally fallen thanks to his trap.

A wonderful feeling washed over Edol. He had never felt more accomplished before in his entire life. Even despite his massive disadvantages, he had managed to defeat this powerful demon. The saying: "The greater the lows, the greater the highs" definitely applied here.

Now that he had finally won, it was time for Edol to leave this dim realm.

"Hello, Edol to whatever put me in here. I've beaten the demon, so can you let me out now, please? I still have midterms to do, and my family will be worried if I disappear for too long. Hello? Anyone there?"

No answer.

"Come on, I just killed that demon! That has to be worth something!"

This time, there was an answer. A footstep sounded somewhere behind Edol, relieving his worries. It seemed he wasn't really tossed here and forgotten, left to sit in this dim prison for eternity.

Edol turned to meet the newcomer.

"Awesome, you didn't forget about me! Hey, that was pretty coo-... No. No! Please no!!!"

The "newcomer" that had come to release Edol wasn't some mysterious new being. It wasn't even a new face.

"Please, if there is any god in this world, get me out of here! I promise I'll be your devout follower, just get me out of here!"

Unfortunately for Edol, there was no god here to save him. There was nothing here that could save him.

Ugly, the same demon he had just kicked in the balls and killed, walked out from the dim red mist. Its face was twisted in a whole new kind of fury.