Demon King

[Gigaaaaak!]

In the middle of its hideous union, it fiercely resisted the blade. Twisting against my blade, it deformed its melting body even further as it formed a sharp spear. The spear flew outward, piercing through me. It didn’t matter how much defensive power Blood Baptism had; it would not last against this attack. This monster was too far above me in power, and when the fusion finished, it would only be stronger.

[Kyaaaagh!]

It was too late to withdraw. Even if my stomach was pierced and its tendrils snapped away at my soul, I had to see this through. My mind was weakening, one more wound engraved into my flesh. ‘Focus!’ I poured all of my mana into one point, at the tip of Blood Shadow. I had no time to think about the consequences.

[Aggggghhh!]

The monster’s head, now twice as large as it had been, was consumed by the bloody flames and dark lightning. Blood Shadow squeezed through it’s melding form, slicing into its vitals. Victory?

The wind blew through once more, a shock running through me. It strengthened this beast just as it sapped mine, amplifying the monster’s power for just an instant. But that instant was enough for its spear to power through my Blood Baptism, fully piercing my stomach. I didn’t have enough mana left to activate my stone skin—to defend against the spear in any way. Red blood flew through the air.

[You…you were…human. Just like me?]

I heard a voice through the haze. The will of the two monsters, once independent human souls, was pleading to me in a voice that I could barely understand. Was the effect of their union that brought reason to them? Or perhaps the danger they were in?

[Why are we fighting each other? The real enemy is that elf!]

I wasn’t interested in what it was saying. This monster seemed to be worried about me, now that it knew what I was.

[You have to kill that elf! That one!]

I realized it was because he had touched my soul that he had known. It was unfortunate for him that I had to kill anyone who touched my soul.

[Pull the sword free, it’s not too late! Do it now… Agggh!]

I pushed Blood Shadow in deeper, the body of the monsters that were so close to fully merging now engulfed in flame. The tendrils grasping onto me began to fall off in strands, the spear in my abdomen losing its edge. I slipped off the spear and collapsed onto the ground, listening to the monster’s final screams.

“It’s already too late,” I muttered weakly.

[You gained 689,842 experience!]

[You received 2 gold and 10 silver.]

[You have obtained a Fragment of a Fallen Soul.]

Just because I killed that enemy didn’t mean it was all over. The Wind of Eutinus would undoubtedly continue to empower the nearby monsters, perhaps even uniting them into even stronger beasts. It was too late to figure out why this was happening. Now, all I could do was survive with a giant hole in my stomach and my depleting mana.

‘Can’t help it now.’ I glanced over at Mireina, who was sitting still in the field. I didn’t want to show off my Predation in front of an elf, but now I had no choice.

“Thank you for the meal.” At this moment, with the enemies closing in on me, I didn’t have time to relax and eat the whole creature—especially not one this big. I swung my sword, cutting off the beast’s head and putting my hand on the rest of the body to store it away in my inventory.

[Kiaaaah!]

[Kugagaaaa!]

The monsters screamed out louder, their hostility toward me palpable now. ‘I thought they would go for Mireina first, but now they’re ignoring her for me!’ I was sure it was because I had stored the body of that monster in my inventory. Their merging didn’t care for living monsters; even a corpse would serve to make them stronger. These monsters that had been focusing on the elves now only wanted to merge with other monsters. As long as that remained to be the case, they would go for me first.

Mireina was no longer a target, and she wouldn’t die unless I did. ‘I’ll have to figure out what to do with her after this is all over.’ With that grim thought, I bit into the monster’s head. The flame-seared meat was greasy, tasting like a skewer of lamb cooked with way too much seasoning. A cheap place not far from my school came to mind. ‘God I miss the beer there.’

My eyes strayed to my stomach, the hole in it beginning to close. I didn’t have time to appreciate it, as I was forced to jump back to avoid three new monsters landing where I had been. They all looked up in unison, tears leaving their eyes as they opened their mouths to unleash that damned Madness noise.

[Kyaaaah!]

[Kiaaaah!]

[Kagagak!]

I ground my teeth, raising my tolerance against abnormal statuses. My thoughts began to calm, enough for me to notice something odd in their appearance. I was concerned that they would begin to merge, especially given how close they were to each other, but they appeared to have no intention of combining together. With my advanced sense, I could feel other monsters gathering beyond my field of vision. Far off, I could tell a union was already starting. ‘These monsters… they’re acting tactically. They’re delaying me to give the others a chance to merge. Why?’

I thought these monsters had entered the Rookie’s Battlefield to destroy the elves’ souls and steal their bodies. So why were they now trying to merge into one being, even at the expense of their own individuality? If the Wind of Eutinus wasn’t a new occurrence, and it had happened before, why hadn’t they merged before? ‘Does the wind give them back their sense of reason? How?’ I leaped forward, appearing in front of the monster that looked like a zebra. My sword lashed out, cutting down the monster’s body in front of me. I tried not to think about it, but the questions persisted in my head. ‘No point in thinking about it. It won’t matter if I cut them all down.’

I spared no mana, putting all my power into each attack. My Advanced Martial Arts skill sacrificed that mana to achieve a finishing blow, the zebra’s neck flying off into the air.

[You gained 320,190 experience!]

[You received 1 gold and 5 silver.]

[You have obtained a Fragment of a Fallen Soul.]

I activated my detection to its max. Read their actions and slay them. Put them in your inventory to eat later. Evade their attacks. I had to be everywhere. A bloody flame stretched out from Blood Shadow, cutting off the legs of a monster that resembled a crocodile. At the same time, a whip of black roses stretched out from the blade to wrap around its neck.

[Crush!]

A monster slammed into me, fangs of blood sticking into its neck from my immediate retaliation. The fangs suck at its contaminated blood, sating my thirst.

‘You’re mad at yourself for being in this situation. You know you can do better, but you’re mad because you’re not.’ I had to think of what I had seen on the second floor of Jinma’s tower. There, I had to conserve my mana. Here, I could feast to my heart’s content to supply my mana and stamina. ‘I have to move faster with each attack, a finishing blow.’

“Something big is coming! Caesia, run away!” I ignored her warnings, focusing on cutting down the enemy in front of me and biting into its neck. I had to move fast with Predation, slaking my hunger as soon as I could. Something suddenly felt off; the torso of the monster in front of me was hollowed out. I didn’t have time to register what was happening before a wave of energy and mana filled me. ‘Did I…do that with Predation?’

This was the first time I had used Predation in this way, but maybe it had become possible because its level had risen? I certainly hoped so, rather than I had been going about it in the most inefficient way possible up until this point. ‘No point in beating myself up either way, I just had to devour all the prey here.’

With a hunger that threatened to consume me, I tore into the monsters’ bodies. Black smoke welled around me, chewing and digesting their bodies instead of my mouth. It filled me with power, more than enough to maintain the smoke. Their bodies were being converted into energy for me to use, directly delivered into my body. A smile crossed my lips as I remembered the taste similar to that lamb I ate before. I moved slowly, feeling as if I had all the time in the world, toward the monster’s that were fusing.

It took less than fifteen seconds for the giant monster before me to be consumed entirely by the smoke, all of their power flowing into me. Their power was corrupted, capable of attacking the soul. A power that led to destruction.

[Strength has risen by 6.]

[Magic has risen by 3.]

[You have learned the special skill Demon’s Claw.]

[Beginner Demon’s Claw Lv1]

[You can use mana to manifest a part of your own soul to attack the souls of others.]

‘Ah…I see.’ It had taken me up until now to realize it. I had to come here, but the reason why was different than what Rain had thought. There was so much here that I could eat, so many things to devour and make me stronger. The reason behind this place or these monsters could be figured out later. I cleared my mind, feeling light as I stepped forward. I went ahead and devoured the monsters I had stored in my inventory, manifesting the demon’s claws, which had already risen to level three.

Mireina sat there with a blank expression as fully fused monsters started appearing behind her.

‘My prey.’