The Almighty Dragon General

James' brows twitched. "Did Zbynek and Lilibeth ask you to do this?"
The child shook her head. "They are always so mean. I don't like them."
James smiled wryly. "Uh... Are you coming with me?"
The child quickly nodded.
James held the child with one arm and leaped into the gigantic cauldron right away. He had no idea what would happen next as an unknown force pulled him down into the cauldron. Just then, the young girl stretched her hands and covered them over James' ears.
At the same time, James sensed a powerful sound wave travel past him. The sound wave destroyed the layer of Hadufen Gas surrounding his body almost instantaneously. Following that, a vicious wave of sword light washed over James. In seconds, his body was covered in numerous long, bloody cuts.
James clenched his teeth and steeled himself.
Despite the crippling pain, he did not let go of the young girl, who might be the only person that could save his life with all the challenges coming his way.
Soon afterward, James started seeing illusions before his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Quattro, running to him anxiously.
Eerily, Quattro only had his head intact. Below the head, only a skeleton was left of his body.
"James, save me! Please save me!" Quattro cried desperately and held his skeleton hand out in James' direction.
"Quattro!" James called out.
He extended his arm to take Quattro's hand. However, a soft, chubby hand slapped James' hand away before he could reach Quattro.
A beam of mysterious light shot out of the palm of that chubby hand next, shattering the skeleton Quattro instantly.
"Don't trust him! That was an illusion. You'll become just like him if you let him touch you."
The child warned sternly, "That was the Mervoelence Inner Demon found on the first level of Waltraud Abyss. They can assume the appearance of the people you know and miss. You can't touch them."
James gasped subconsciously.
Before he could say anything, James spotted a bunch of familiar faces in the distance this time.
These people were friends and acquaintances James had made during his time on Earth and in the Dark World, such as Henry, Langston, and Taran.
All of them looked like zombies as they came running wildly toward James in various bloodied and disheveled states.
The miserable and pitiful sight pained James. He hurriedly closed his eyes.
Even with his eyes shut, James could sense his friends moving closer to him. He felt as though his heart was being torn apart bit by bit.
"Master, it's me! It's Lesia!" Lesia's voice came from a certain direction just then.