Wess shot the River King between the eyes.

The beam of blue energy from his Soul Manifestation slammed into the huge man’s head with a sizzling hiss. It sent the River King pitching back, where he crashed to the ground with a mighty thud.

Everyone froze.

Alex stared at the huge, fallen man, his the chains of his anchor still wrapped around his wrist. He hadn’t even had a chance to try and attack yet. There were several moments of silence.

“Huh,” Wess said. “Uh… my bad? I got a bit excited.”

The River King twitched.

Then he pushed himself upright. There was a smoking patch right between his eyes, where Wess’ magic had struck him. And that was it. Somehow, the extent of the attack had been a faint burn.

Anger twisted the River King’s wide features.

“Do you really think I’d be that easy to kill?” the large man demanded as he rose back to his feet. His huge tongue ran along his lips. “I didn’t get this far by being weak.”

Wess shot him in the head again.

The River King’s head snapped back and he let out a snarl of pain. This time, he didn’t fall over. He glared at Wess and bared his teeth in fury. There was a second scorch mark just below the first.

“I’m going to kill you, gunslinger. Painfully.”

“Huh,” Wess said. He looked down at his gun, then back to the River King. “I think my Manifestation is broken.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. There was nothing wrong with Wess’ magic. The River King was just incredibly durable. He was one of the wealthiest people on 274-50 — and something told Alex that he wasn’t going to go down too easy.

“Shoot him again,” Alex said with a grin. “But I’m glad I get a chance to hit this bastard myself. I’d have been pissed if you killed him that fast.”

“I’m not biting him,” Claire muttered. “I prefer leaner meat.”

“I’ll remember this,” the River King hissed. Then he thrust a hand into his mouth. There was a sickening squelch as he buried his arm all the way down to his elbow. Then, with a wet pop, he pulled free a golden coin.

“That’s hardly going to matter if we kill you here,” Derek said.

Then, with a roar, Derek charged him.

Alex was right behind him. He activated the Singularity Core the moment the chain connecting him to his anchor went taut, yanking the huge weapon out of the ground and sending it hurtling toward the River King.

The River King’s lips pulled into a sneer. He clapped his hands together around the coin he’d pulled out of himself.

Then Alex’s anchor slammed into his skull.

Derek’s sword was only an instant behind him. The blade carved straight through the River King’s stomach, biting deep into the huge man’s body before slicing out the other side.

Alex and the anchor landed several feet behind the River King. He spun toward the huge man to see the results of their attacks, only to find the sound of clattering metal ringing against his ears before he’d even managed to finish turning.

There was a massive hole in the top of the River King’s head. Golden coins poured from the gaping wound and spilled down his side from where Derek had cut him. They beneath the large man in a spreading lake.

The coins racing from the River King’s body clotted around the damage he’d taken, filling in the gaps until a perfect copy of his body had filled the injury, cast in shimmering gold.

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” the River King asked in a raspy laugh. “I—

Derek brought his sword down on the River King’s head, right on the newly reformed gold section where Alex’s anchor had struck him. There was a resonating clang. He staggered a step back, a powerful vibration racing down his sword and into his arms.

The patch of gold on the River King hadn’t even been dented.

“He becomes resistant to damage after he survives an injury!” Claire yelled. “Don’t—”

Derek swiped his sword straight through the River King’s body a second time. Coins showered out from the wound in a ringing river. The disgusting man’s laughter rolled across the clearing.

He drove a massive fist into Derek’s stomach. The force of the blow launched the berserker across the grassy floor, sending him bouncing across the hills before he skidded to a stop over a dozen feet away.

“Idiots,” the River King spat. “I clawed my way to the top before the System arrived. Then I did it again after. You really think I would be unable to fight against a bunch of little brats who got too big for their britches?”

“I don’t think you’ve clawed your way to anything with those chunky ass fingers,” Alex said. “And everyone who says that always ends up being sponsored by their dad or some shit.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The River King spun toward Alex with a snarl. “He only opened the door to the company! I did everything else myself!”

“Dude,” Alex said. “Seriously?”

Golden coins spilled from the River King’s lips. They cascaded down his mouth and rang against the pool growing beneath him. He thrust his hand deep into the pile. When he pulled it back out, a massive hammer was clutched in his grip.

What the hell is this magic he’s using? Can he just make whatever he wants out of gold? There has to be a limit to it. Is there a limited amount of damage he can take before he can’t replace parts of himself with gold?

“You should have just done what I said,” the River King said. “I’ll get what I want in the end. I deserve it.”

Claire’s eyes narrowed. The ghostly woman above her leaned forward, raising her hand up to her lips. A howling wind blew across the grassy field. Crimson petals spun through the air in a river that raced past the River King, enveloping his body in a slurry for a brief instant. Then they were gone, and all that remained were several clusters of red across his body.

Claire’s whip snapped out. It struck one group of petals. A loud explosion tore through the air as a flash of blood red light colored the ground. The River King staggered to the side with a snarl of pain. Gold rained down from a massive dent in his arm.

Alex didn’t wait for a written invitation. He leapt forward, activating the Singularity Core once again. The River King could feel pain. And that meant that, if the did enough damage fast enough, they had a chance of overwhelming whatever magic he was using.

Derek charged as well.

The River King swung his massive hammer for Derek. But, before it could connect, Alyssa slashed her brush down. Shimmering blue bands bloomed around the River King’s body, locking him in place.

A crack split the air as Wess shot the man in the eye. The River King screamed in pain and fury, but the sound was quickly replaced by a crunch as Alex’s anchor slammed into the side of his head.

Derek drove his sword into the River King’s heart in the same moment.

The huge man jerked, but he couldn’t even fall because of the bindings holding him in place.

Alex didn’t wait for him to recover. He reared back, drawing continuously on the Singularity Core as he swung the Anchor in a circle and brought it crashing back into the River King’s side.

Golden coins spun through the air. They rang against the growing pile on the ground in a ringing symphony. Then the coins beneath Alex’s feet shifted.

He banished his anchor and leapt back an instant before a spike sliced up, nearly impaling him from below. He skipped back, only to find spikes racing up for him from wherever the gold littered the ground.

Alex activated his domain and teleported. He reformed just in time to see several spikes pierce through the air where he’d been.

Derek was less lucky. A dozen spikes tore into his body from all around the gold beneath him. He staggered, blood spraying from his wounds.

The damage they’d done to the River King clotted over. Gold replaced flesh, and the huge man’s leering face reformed.

“I am the King,” the River King hissed. “And you are nothing but peasants. There is nothing in this world that cannot be bought. And that includes your lives.”

“Dude, daddy literally bought you into his company. You haven’t done shit. You didn’t even get here on your own. If you’re so great, why did you need House Starfallen to get you all the way to the end of the dungeon?” Alex asked. “Have you ever actually accomplished anything on your own in your life?”

“Why would I need to?” the River King asked with a leer. Gold rose up behind the man in a wave. It melted together into the form of an enormous, twenty-foot tall knight complete with an equally massive sword. “Hard work is for the runts of the litter. You exist to serve me. That is your purpose.”

Holy shit. What the hell is this guy’s magic?

“Guys?” Wess asked, his mouth falling agape as he stared up at the huge knight. “I don’t think it’s working.”

Alex gritted his teeth. “Is anyone holding anything back? We’re going to need more than this.”

“Just accept your inferiority,” the River King laughed. “I choose to make life easier for myself. Why would I bother wasting energy when there are far easier ways to solve a problem? Good riddance. What a waste of my time, the lot of you.”

The golden knight stepped forward. A shudder rolled through the ground at its footfall. Shadow passed over all of them as its huge golden sword rose into the air.

Alyssa let out a slew of curses.

Then she drove the end of her huge paintbrush into the ground and clapped her hands together.

“Partial Soul Manifestation: Dream’s End.”

She grabbed her brush, yanking it free from the ground and letting out a cry of defiance as she swept it down in a vertical line before her.

A stroke of gray magic slipped out from the brush in complete silence. It cut through the air in a split instant, passing through both the River King and the massive knight looming above him.

Both of them froze in place.

Then the knight exploded. Golden coins plummeted down like hail all around the River King. But the huge man didn’t even seem to notice. He had bigger problems. The golden portions of his body melted away, transforming back into flowing coins.

Blood flowed together with the rivers of gold.

The River King staggered. His hand shot up to his head. Then he looked down at his hand, staring at the blood staining his fingers.

“Kill him!” Alyssa rasped, dropping to one knee. “I weakened his Soul Manifestation!”

Alex teleported. He appeared right in front of the River King. Glass burst free from his palm as he drove it forward, thrusting it straight into the big man’s neck.

Coins sprayed across Alex.

The River King pitched back, falling to his backside as he grabbed at his neck. Fear and fury burned in his fishlike eyes.

“I’m coming for you,” the River King snarled. “All of you. You’ll never sleep easy again.”

Then he collapsed into a pile of shimmering gold.

All of them stared at the ground where the River King had been a moment before. Alex kicked the coins. They scattered across the ground. This wasn’t some magical effect. They were real coins. But there was no trace of the River King within them.

He was gone.

Alex slowly lowered his hands.

“He got away,” Claire said. “Slippery bastard.”

“He couldn’t fight for shit,” Alex said in disgust. “He just tanked our attacks and then ran the moment the fight turned against him. Lame.”

“What was that ability?” Wess asked, glancing at Alyssa. “Did you just destroy his domain? I didn’t know that was possible. How broken is that? Why weren’t you using it more often? It would have made things so much easier!”

Because that power is ridiculously strong. If anyone from a Great Family ever survived fighting against her, I’m willing to bet they’d do just about anything they could to kill her or get her on their side.

Out of the corner of Alex’s eye, he spotted Vincent. The man was staring… but not at him.

Vincent’s gaze was fixed entirely on Alyssa.

Ah, crap.