The room around her blurred as shock numbed her senses. She couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. Her pulse pounded in her ears.

  Vey noticed her reaction and frowned. "Hey, you okay?"

  Echidna forced a shaky smile, hiding the storm of emotions raging within her. "Yeah… just surprised. That’s an odd thing to say."

  Vey shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. But it’s not my pce to question the Demon King. Anyway, that’s all I know."

  Echidna nodded absently, mind racing.

  "Typhon. Who was he really? Why did he speak of her? And more importantly… why did he know her old name?"

  "There's a possibility that it's just someone with the same name as mine. But putting that aside, this mean Typhon was just like, a reincarnator."

  She needed to find out. But first, she had to regain her composure.

  Echidna downed her drink in one gulp, the burning sensation grounding her. She forced herself to smile at Vey. "Thanks for telling me. This is… valuable information."

  Vey smirked. "Well, you did say we were allies now, right? Consider this my first contribution."

  Echidna chuckled, but deep down, unease coiled in her gut.

  This world held more connections to her past than she had ever imagined. And now, she needed answers more than ever.

  Remember The Shabby Market Guy?

  He now stood inside a shabby wizard store, a dimly lit and cluttered space nestled deep within the slums of the town. Shelves stacked with dusty tomes, rusted artifacts, and vials of strange liquids lined the walls. The scent of old parchment mixed with the acrid stench of burning incense, creating an atmosphere both mystical and foreboding.

  At the counter sat a wrinkled old goblin, his mottled green skin covered in warts and scars from a lifetime of experiments gone wrong. He looked up from a pile of magical trinkets, his beady red eyes narrowing in recognition. "Uno, you sneaky bastard. It’s been a while. Thought you got yourself killed."

  Uno smirked and pced a small wooden box on the counter. "You know me, Grix. Hard to kill something that doesn’t want to stay dead."

  The goblin chuckled, his jagged teeth fshing under the dim candlelight. He pried open the box, revealing a shimmering blue crystal pulsating with tent energy. "A mana core? From the dungeons beneath the city? How the hell did you get your hands on one of these?"

  "I have my ways," Uno replied cryptically. "Consider it payment for the st favor. I need information."

  Grix closed the box with a snap, his expression turning serious. "You're still chasing after the Champion, aren't you?"

  Uno leaned against the counter, his golden eyes darkening. "He’s more than just a nuisance now, Grix. He’s a disease. I’ve seen what he’s done to the demi-humans. Svery, mass executions, forced breeding programs. That bastard doesn’t just want to rule—he wants to break every st soul that isn’t human."

  Grix sighed, rubbing his temple. "I know, I know. Believe me, if I had the power, I’d slit his throat myself. But he’s protected by the church, the kingdom, and his little army of brainwashed pdogs. We need a real pn."

  Uno crossed his arms. "We don’t have time for a perfect pn. We just need an opening. Something to shake his foundation. That’s why I’m here. You always know things before anyone else."

  Before Grix could respond, the door creaked open violently, and a group of five thugs barged into the store. They reeked of ale and sweat, their ragged armor barely covering their scarred bodies. The leader, a burly man with a missing ear and a jagged scar down his cheek, sneered at the goblin.

  "Oi, old man. You forgot to pay up this week."

  Grix stiffened but kept his composure. "I told you, Gregor. I already paid the st time. You leeches are bleeding me dry."

  Gregor chuckled and leaned on the counter, knocking over a delicate gss vial that shattered upon impact. "See, that’s where you’re wrong. The Champion keeps us safe from monsters, keeps the town from falling apart. That protection ain't free, goblin."

  Uno remained silent, watching the interaction with a cold stare. Grix’s hands were trembling, though he tried to hide it. The old goblin had dealt with extortion before, but this time, something was different. Gregor’s smirk widened as he exchanged gnces with his men.

  "Speaking of the Champion," Gregor continued, "He’s the reason we even have a future. Before he came, demi-humans and women thought they were equal to us. Can you believe that? Now, thanks to him, women know their pce. What a hero, right boys?"

  His men ughed, one of them adding, "Yeah, those beast girls make for fine entertainment. Not like human women, always compinin’. The Champion gave us a gift, and we’re gonna enjoy every second of it."

  Uno’s grip on the counter tightened. His golden eyes turned sharp, dark tendrils flickering along his fingertips. "Say that again."

  Gregor finally noticed Uno’s presence and scoffed. "And who the fuck are you supposed to be? You got a problem with what I said?"

  Uno slowly turned to face him, his expression eerily calm. "You think what he’s done is a gift? You think breaking people, destroying lives, and turning women into cattle is some kind of blessing?"

  Gregor snorted. "Damn right, it is. The Champion gave us the right to take what we want. If you don’t like it, you can crawl back to whatever hole you came from."

  Uno exhaled slowly, his lips curling into a cold smile. "I was hoping you’d say that."

  The room grew unnaturally silent. The temperature seemed to drop, and the candlelight flickered wildly. Gregor’s men shuffled nervously as a shadow spread across the floor, moving unnaturally toward the entrance.

  Uno lifted his hand, and bck tendrils erupted from his fingers, slithering like living serpents. The door smmed shut behind the thugs, locking them inside.

  "What the hell?!" One of the men yelped, tugging at the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

  Gregor drew his sword, pointing it at Uno. "You bastard, you some kind of mage?"

  Uno didn’t answer. His form began to shift, his skin turning jet bck as his body contorted. His arms stretched unnaturally, fingers elongating into razor-sharp cws. His face remained impassive, but his eyes gleamed with predatory hunger.

  The first scream tore through the shop as Uno’s arm morphed into a massive bck-scaled snake, its jaws snapping around the nearest thug’s throat. Blood sprayed across the wooden floor as the man’s body went limp, his neck crushed in a single bite.

  "Monster!" Another thug shrieked, sshing at Uno with a dagger. The bde barely nicked his darkened skin before a second tendril shot forward, impaling the attacker through the chest.

  Gregor stumbled back, his cocky grin now repced with sheer terror. "W-Wait! We didn’t mean it! W-We’re just following orders!"

  Uno loomed over him, his monstrous form now fully revealed—a towering bck serpent covered in thick, abyssal scales. His mouth curled in a grin, revealing rows of dagger-like teeth.

  "Tell your Champion," Uno hissed, his voice yered with something inhuman, "that his reign is coming to an end."

  With a swift motion, the serpent shed out, wrapping around Gregor’s body. The thug’s screams were cut off as the coils tightened, crushing him like a brittle twig. The remaining thugs were already dead, their corpses littering the floor in pools of crimson.

  As the life drained from Gregor’s eyes, Uno’s form slowly reverted. He let the body drop, his golden eyes glowing eerily in the dim light.

  Grix, who had taken cover behind the counter, cautiously peeked out. "Dear Kas, Uno... You didn’t have to go that far."

  Uno wiped the blood from his face and turned to his old friend. "Yes, I did. They were never going to stop. You know that."

  Grix sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. "Yeah... I do. Just be careful, kid. The Champion’s spies are everywhere."

  Uno smirked, stepping over the corpses as he walked toward the door. "Let them come. I’ve been waiting for this moment."

  With that, he disappeared into the night, leaving behind a massacre and a warning—a storm was coming, and it wouldn’t stop until the Champion was nothing but a memory.

  "The Champion of Man"

  "Perverted Tyrant"

  "He Who Take Everything away from me"

  "Gods Biggest Mistake"

  "Loser Bastard"

  A Bunch of curse, each said with different voice echoed on Uno's head.