Max stood before the mirror, fingers curling into a trembling fist. His reflection revealed strength—yes—but incomplete. A phantom of what he had once been.
"I need my full power back," he muttered. "System, what should I do?"
The voice in his mind answered without hesitation.
"To reclaim your full power, you must complete five tasks. First, defeat the Dragon God. Second, defeat the Demon Goddess. Third, defeat the Snake King. Fourth, defeat the Golem Titan. And fifth... claim the Sword of Hell."
Max exhaled slowly. "Understood. Open the portal to Hell."
A swirl of red energy formed before him. Max stepped in—his body vanishing into fire.
---
He arrived on jagged volcanic cliffs, where the sky burned crimson and the air tasted of brimstone.
The first battlefield.
The heavens tore open with a roar as the Dragon God descended—golden wings stretching across the sky, scales glimmering like molten glass. His fangs dripped with liquid flame.
"You dare return here?" the Dragon God's voice boomed like thunder.
"I'm here to reclaim what's mine," Max growled.
The beast attacked first, unleashing a wave of pure flame. Max dodged, the flames singing his cloak. He surged forward, sword slashing against hardened scales. The Dragon roared, twisting in the sky, tail sweeping the terrain and shattering stone like glass.
Max leapt, flipping in midair, and drove his blade down—but the Dragon caught it in its teeth. Then with a flick, Max was launched into a cliff face, buried in ash.
Coughing, he emerged, flames crackling in his eyes. "Bloodlust."
His aura exploded. Max vanished and reappeared behind the beast—his blade carving a deep wound beneath its wing. The Dragon screeched, rising higher, summoning a meteor of fire.
Max growled. "Then burn with me."
He dove upward, his fist glowing with magic, and punched through the core of the meteor. Debris rained.
In the air, he met the Dragon's eyes—and pierced its heart.
The god fell.
---
Next, the forest of shadows. Vines twisted like serpents. The sky above was eternal night.
Waiting at the center of a stone altar stood the Demon Goddess. Pale, seductive, with six wings of obsidian and eyes like galaxies.
"You came to die or adore me?" she cooed.
Max said nothing.
She waved her hand and illusions bloomed—his mother bleeding, Yelena weeping, Sunny vanishing into dust.
"Stop it!" Max shouted.
"I feed on your despair," she purred, her voice wrapping around his mind.
Max dropped to one knee, clutching his skull. "No... I am not your puppet!"
His aura snapped. A pulse of holy flame exploded around him, disintegrating the illusions.
Her eyes widened. "How?"
"I lived through hell. Your tricks are nothing."
He charged. She blocked with blades of shadow. They clashed midair—wings slashing, fire meeting darkness.
She pierced his chest.
He pulled her in with a bloody grin and whispered, "Burn."
Flames erupted point-blank, engulfing her as his sword tore through her spine.
She screamed, and vanished into nothing.
---
The desert. Endless, silent. The sand hissed under Max's boots.
A rumble echoed—and from beneath, the Snake King emerged.
Its body stretched a hundred meters, with scales harder than obsidian and eyes that hypnotized even gods.
"You will fall under my venom, child," it hissed.
"I'll cut you apart before your poison touches me."
The snake struck. Max barely dodged, tumbling over a dune as the tail slammed into the sand and blew a crater.
He activated a speed rune, vanishing and reappearing across the battlefield, carving strikes into the snake's underbelly.
But the Snake King wrapped around him, constricting—bones cracking. Max screamed.
Then—stillness.
He stopped struggling. His heartbeat slowed.
Until it ceased.
The snake laughed. "Dead."
But Max's eyes snapped open.
A surge of hellfire erupted from his pores, burning the snake's coils from within.
He burst out, spinning midair—his sword decapitating the beast in one savage strike.
Its head slammed into the dunes. The sand turned black.
---
Now, the Golem Titan.
Max climbed into the Iron Canyon, where the ground trembled. From the cliffs, a colossus formed from obsidian and magma stood—faceless, slow, and indestructible.
It moved like thunder.
Max's attacks bounced off.
Hours passed. Max dodged, bruised, cut. His magic drained.
He knelt.
Then he saw it—the glowing gem deep in the Titan's chest.
"I've seen your core now."
With his last strength, he threw his sword. The blade lodged into a fissure.
He leapt—grabbed the hilt—twisted.
The golem's chest split apart.
Max released a surge of flame so focused, it melted the gem.
The Titan crumbled, shaking the earth.
---
Finally, the end.
A temple of bones. In its center, a stone platform. Embedded in it—the Sword of Hell.
Its name rang in his mind. Fire King.
Max approached.
"So... I just take it?" he murmured. "Alright. Fine."
He gripped the hilt.
Pain exploded.
His skin began to burn. Steam poured from his pores. His muscles tore. Bones cracked. His screams filled the void.
His body melted—reformed.
Horns sprouted from his head. Wings of black iron tore from his back.
His skin turned obsidian. Eyes lit like twin suns.
He became something no longer human.
He pulled the sword free.
Its flames whispered his name.
Then—silence.
He walked forward.
Toward the Throne of Hell.
Thousands of monsters, beasts, demons—all gathered.
They fell to their knees.
Even the four he had defeated—the Dragon God, the Demon Goddess, the Snake King, the Golem—all revived. They too knelt.
He took the throne.
The entire realm shook beneath his aura.
An aura so vast it cracked the sky.
Max exhaled. His demon form faded—his human body restored.
He rested the sword across his lap.
And whispered...
"Time to rule."