Chapter 392

Chapter 392
## Chapter 392

The Demon King Descends (1)

Kaboom—!

“Slay them!”

“Those despicable cowards! How dare they trample upon our domain?!”

“For Hella-nim!”

A storm of noises, a chaotic melody of raw violence, reverberated through the atmosphere.

The odor of combat, an intense blend of gore, perspiration, and… an unfamiliar aroma, saturated the air, intensifying with every ticking second.

Combativeness, resolve, frenzy…

…a brilliant blossom of demise, unfurling across the warzone.

Under ordinary circumstances, Sipar would have plunged into the skirmish, savoring the mayhem and slaughter…

[“…Who goes there?”]

…but he was paralyzed.

The presence of the figures confronting him, their projections razor-sharp and overwhelming, commanded his absolute focus.

“Khahahaha—!

A four-legged monstrosity, its structure grotesque and disturbing, smirked to display its jagged teeth.

Two elongated, blade-like fangs and a multitude of lesser teeth, glittering in the bleak illumination.

And a serpentine tongue, darting rapidly from its gullet.

‘…What on earth is that?’

It stood roughly three meters in height, its torso stretching five meters, encased in dense musculature and skeletal plating, with a deep crimson mane cascading along its spine.

A beast that defied categorization, as though every apex predator and fiend in existence had been fused into a solitary, horrifying shape.

Even Sipar, a Cerberus, the ultimate predator of the Demon World, was unable to fathom its nature.

Yet he dared not underestimate it merely because it was smaller than his own form.

His primal instincts shrieked in terror.

And anyone beholding its mismatched eyes, ablaze with ravenous hunger and lunacy, the saliva spilling from its jagged jaws, would arrive at identical deduction.

It viewed him… as food.

And if he faltered for an instant… he might genuinely be consumed.

[“How insolent! How dare you gaze at me in that manner! I shall shatter your skull!”]

Inevitably, Sipar refused to yield.

His three countenances bellowed simultaneously, their features distorted by fury.

Yet that was far from his sole dilemma.

[“Grrr… Is that truly… the 14th Demon King?”]

[“Absurd. She perished. A millennium ago!”]

[“But… even if fractured, that is undeniably a Demon King’s…”]

[“A nascent Demon King? The 16th? At this moment? Out of nowhere?!”]

[“…What does this imply for our cause? What have we been spilling blood for…!”]

A figure, a female, reposed securely upon the spine of the monstrous beast, her dimensions negligible when contrasted with Sipar and her… steed.

She offered a subtle grin, her vision locked onto the three countenances, their features a blend of bewilderment and dread.

“Hmm~ So, this constitutes a Duke-level demon?”

A gentle titter, a sweet vocalization, resembling a melody.

“You are… striking.”

Her crimson eyes, their centers glittering like gemstones, flashed with an otherworldly light.

Hella, her vision sweeping across the gargantuan Cerberus, as though calculating its worth.

And her evaluation concluded swiftly.

“However… you remain… underwhelming. I could have managed without assistance.”

A brutal condemnation, a mocking delivery.

“Tell me, Dog Duke, are you… feebler than your peers? Or are you simply… fortunate…?”

“Khahahaha!”

“Or perhaps I held the criteria of the Demon World in too high regard?”

Her utterances, dripping with mockery and derision, formed a stark juxtaposition to her melodious tone and bright demeanor.

And the bizarre, unsettling snicker that followed them only magnified their impact.

It was evident she held no regard for his sentiments.

[“…”]

[区域“…”]

Sipar’s three countenances grew mute, their previous anger and outrage evaporating.

He reigned as a Duke, among the mightiest entities within the Demon World.

He would not be swayed by such… trivial provocations.

He had no need for dialogue. He would merely—.

[“I shall slaughter you!”]

[“Grrr—!”]

…Eradicate the origin of his irritation.

Kaboom!

Sipar, compressing his gargantuan frame like a coiled spring, abruptly propelled himself forward.

His supreme mass and velocity ripped through the atmosphere, disregarding all structural impediments.

Rumble—!

His cohorts, caught within the shockwave, sprayed blood and were propelled backward like pebbles.

They had been retreating ever since their commanders initiated their clash, yet the distance remained insufficient.

The zone surrounding Sipar, through which he had surged, was instantly transformed into a desolate ruin, as though a cataclysm had erupted.

“…He possesses quite the volatility. I would never desire him as a companion. He would obliterate my entire domicile.”

“Khaha!”

Yet the onslaught failed to even graze its intended targets.

The female and the beast, having repositioned away from the trajectory, giggled quietly.

Sipar, bracing for a subsequent strike, compressed his frame once more.

“He requires some… correction.”

And then,

…the reality inverted.

[“…?!”]

The noises of combat dissipated.

The recognizable scenery of Abnormal’s stronghold was replaced by a desolate ruin, a sterile clearing extending to the edge of vision.

「Heavenly Demon’s World」.

The personal domain of the Demon King, unleashed within the Demon World, its focus locked onto Sipar.

And this sterile vista…

…was an environment Sipar had encountered previously, an age ago.

[“…The Abandoned Lands?”]

[“L’rei’e—!”]

[“So it is you! What links you to the 14th Demon King?! How…!”]

His three countenances bellowed, and the serpentine appendage hissed with rage.

A potent demonic pressure, erupting from his gargantuan frame, triggered tremors and tempests, the atmosphere itself vibrating.

And the 「Heavenly Demon’s World」, incapable of entirely restricting his might, began to fracture and warp.

‘…Truly, he behaves like a feral beast. It is fortunate I arranged this beforehand.’

Hella, focusing her sorcerous might to anchor her domain, clicked her tongue.

She intended to absorb Abnormal following Sipar’s eradication, meaning everyone present, ally or adversary, represented a prospective minion.

Naturally, she found herself irritated by Sipar’s mindless violence, his apathy toward collateral ruin.

“Do you possess numerous inquiries?”

Hella leaped downward from the beast’s spine,

…and stroked its flank, her tone placid and resolute.

“I shall provide responses if you can overcome my… companion. All of them.”

She grinned pleasantly, her demeanor cordial and welcoming…

…yet the spiked scourge in her grasp, its jagged barbs flashing in the dimness, produced a dark and chilling juxtaposition.

“Though I question your capability. He functions as a specialist, after all.”

—A specialist in tracking… gargantuan beasts… precisely like you.

She smirked, snapping the scourge against the earth.

Swish—!

A violent report, resembling a firearm blast, and the ground beneath her boots fractured, launching debris outward.

“Let us conclude this swiftly. My agenda is demanding.”

She gestured toward Sipar, his gargantuan frame looming over her, and commanded,

“Advance! Davidson! Consume him!”

“Khahaha—!”

And Davidson, the Gluttonous Monster, evoked by Hella, Harley, the Fighting King, currently also the Mercenary King, masked and camouflaged to prevent drawing unwanted scrutiny…

…bellowed and lunged forward.

Crack— Crackle—!

His frame distended rapidly,

…until it nearly matched the scale of Sipar.

He unhinged his gargantuan maw, his jagged fangs flashing.

[“I shall shred you to pieces!”]

[“I care nothing for your status as a Demon King! I shall simply consume you!”]

Kaboom—!

And thus, the battle of behemoths commenced.

—

Rumble—!

Davidson remained mute. He preserved his four-legged beast shape, his actions predatory and mechanical.

[“You are reconstructing?! What sort of abomination are you?!”]

[“Kyaaa! Release me! You parasite!”]

“Khahaha!”

[“Grrr— You possess immunity against my venom?!”]

Harley, currently a celebrated icon within Auterica, recognized as both the Fighting King and the Mercenary King, had to maintain discretion.

Even if he operated as a sellsword willing to perform any task for the proper compensation, he could not overtly aid a Demon King within the Demon World, not while being celebrated as a champion.

‘And Siana is aware of Harley. I must remain cautious.’

It presented no difficulty for him, a shifter of forms, to mask his presence.

He merely substituted his humanoid components with the myriad beastly characteristics he had harvested, forging a novel shape, a fundamentally monstrous entity.

And thus, Davidson, the Gluttonous Monster, emerged.

‘…Yet battling with my techniques constrained is somewhat… taxing.’

His adversary was a Duke-level demon, among the apex entities within the Demon World.

And fiends gained amplification inside the Demon World. It was no simple feat to break him through physical power alone.

Swish—

Sipar’s serpentine appendage, striking like a lightning bolt, suddenly impaled him, its fangs plunging into his tissue.

A cataclysmic venom, capable of dissolving even the spiritual essence, diffused rapidly through his form.

Davidson’s anatomy swiftly adjusted and combated the toxin, yet he remained unable to entirely evade the initial trauma.

Crunch! Crack!

Sipar’s remaining two countenances, capitalising on the shift, clamped down upon his shoulders, their fierce jaws rending through his carapace and flesh, crimson fluid erupting into the air.

[“You unyielding pest! I shall shred you into fragments!”]

The central countenance, its mane tossing, a blemish slicing across one eye, unhinged its gargantuan maw.

A horrifying demonic compression, centered within its throat, flickered and throbbed, the product of meticulous focus.

Should Davidson endure a direct impact, he would forfeit half his structure.

Swish—!

Yet precisely as the energy prepared to discharge,

…a high-pitched, whistling vibration sliced through the atmosphere.

Whoosh!

A fountain of crimson erupted from Sipar’s central countenance as its lower jaw was lopped away, the concentrated demonic compression dissolving harmlessly.

[“Gah! You…!”]

The countenance, currently deprived of a third of its bulk, glared upward, its vision saturated with fury.

Toward Hella, who suspended herself in the atmosphere, her pinions vibrating softly.

She had sustained damage as well, her left eye and a portion of her skull obliterated, courtesy of Sipar’s assault exploiting a fleeting crack in her defenses… yet she appeared unaffected.

“Hehehe, I never stipulated that this required an isolated duel.”

She gestured mischievously at him, her tone casual and amused, as though treating the event as amusement.

She had evoked Davidson to terminate this rapidly. She harbored no intention of awaiting an equitable duel.

‘…I was merely… analyzing the conditions.’

This marked her primary confrontation with a Duke-level demon, hence she had been tracking, collecting metrics.

The Dark Duke might rank inferior, but the Dragon Marquis was indisputably mightier than this Cerberus.

‘…I have witnessed enough.’

Hella’s pinions expanded, and two gargantuan sorcerous arrays materialized on either flank of her form.

Accelerated sorcerous deployment, courtesy of 「Demon King」 and 「Magic Power Control」.

Following this, a volley of blindingly fast scourge strikes, their courses nearly imperceptible, descended upon the gargantuan Cerberus.

Swish! Swish—! Kaboom!

[“Kyaaa!”]

His defensive screens, meticulously erected, collapsed sequentially, and lacerations, profound and decaying, manifested across his gargantuan frame.

It proved problematic for him to evade, with Davidson pinning him down.

‘…This yields amusement. I am beginning to find exhilaration.’

The scourge she wielded was likewise extracted from Horus’s 「Golden Treasury」, presumably the Succubus Queen’s intimate implement.

It elongated and collapsed, its boundary seemingly infinite, slicing through space and dealing catastrophic trauma.

[“Ugh! You cowards! Such underhanded maneuvers! Evident of your ancestry!”]

“Listen, you possess four countenances. That double our count, even incorporating my companion.”

[“What lunacy…!”]

“Lunacy? Do not minimize your own traits. You cannot conceal your inherent reality, regardless of how much you masquerade as a wolf.”

[%@#@$#]

Hella persisted with her jeers, her sweet vocalization forming a stark juxtaposition to her severe phrases, while Davidson, capitalizing on his massive frame, pinned Sipar down, blockading his retreat.

[“Grrr— My reconstruction…!”]

[“The dominance of the 13th! She must have claimed it!”]

Her 「Destroyer」 attribute, an inherent trait, was neutralizing Sipar’s protections, his sorcerous insulation, his self-healing traits… everything.

Every strike, whether originating from her scourge or her sorcery, penetrated his protections and blocked his lacerations from sealing.

His countenances, which ought to have reconstructed instantly, remained… fragmented.

It functioned with incredible efficiency against elite fiends, who typically commanded supreme self-healing traits.

‘…And an additional piece.’

Davidson’s eyes flashed.

His frame commenced vibrating and contorting.

Crack— Crackle—!

He was replicating his adversary’s attributes, the techniques he had analyzed throughout their engagement.

His anatomy was altering dynamically, shifting and progressing, assimilating solely the advantageous characteristics.

Refined evolution, extracting exclusively the finest elements.

‘…As anticipated of a Duke-level demon. He scales vastly superior to those inferior fiends, even without digesting his core. Distinct facets even eclipse a dragon’s.’

And then, structures commenced sprouting from his shoulders.

A novel countenance, gradually gaining definition,

…until it stood identical to the remaining three.

Precisely mirroring… a Cerberus.

[“…Ha?!”]

[“…What is that entity…?”]

[“Huh? What? In what manner did he…?!”]

Sipar’s three countenances, which had been momentarily pulled away by Hella, were now saturated with bewilderment.

He existed as a Cerberus, so he recognized the phenomenon.

That represented no mere external replication. It partook of the identical… core essence as himself.

“Khahaha!”

“Khahaha!”

“Khahaha!”

The three countenances snickered in harmony, their jagged maws distended wide.

A sensation of dread cascaded down Sipar’s spine as he observed them.

‘…This portends catastrophe.’

It was… distinct.

They had posed a threat previously, but this… this represented a different tier.

He required a retreat…

Yet he was cornered, hemmed in, struck from every trajectory…

No path of retreat existed.

[“Kyaaa! What constitutes this?! Ugh!”]

[“Prevent him from clamping his jaws! That is… ugh!”]

[“Release me! Release me!”]

「Gourmand」 and 「Power of Gluttony」, which had remained dormant until this moment, at last ignited, their integrated dominance catastrophic.

No protection, no reconstruction, could endure its force.

They consumed everything, concrete or ethereal, even conceptual definitions.

Via three… no, four maws.

“Ah! The match is four-against-four now!”

Hella, her fingers resting upon her cheek, grinned radiantly,

…her alternate arm continuing to snap the scourge.