Kwaaaang—!
"Kill them!"
"Those rats who've been running away all this time dare to come here?!"
"For Lady Hela!"
Noisy sounds poured in from all directions.
Along with it, the scent unique to the battlefield, bubbling and vibrating.
From all over the battlefield, struggle, determination, and madness intertwined, blooming into a brilliant flower of death.
Normally, Syphar would have thrown himself into the flow and engaged in a frenzied party—.
[…What are you?!]
But he couldn't do that now.
The aura emanating from the beings right in front of him was too unusual to ignore.
"Kahahaha—!"
With a mocking cry, the bizarre four-legged beast bared its fangs.
A pair of long canines like a saber-toothed tiger and countless sharp teeth gleamed.
With a snake-like tongue wriggling in the center.
'What is that?'
About 3 meters tall and 5 meters long.
With an abundant dark red mane and a body wrapped in thick muscles and carapace, the creature had an indescribable appearance, as if all the ferocious beasts and magical beasts in the world were combined into one.
Even as the Monstrous Duke, the apex of all beast-type monsters, he couldn't grasp it.
However, it was by no means an opponent to be underestimated just because it was much smaller than him.
Syphar's instincts had been frantically ringing alarm bells.
Of course, even without that, anyone could see it by looking at the odd eyes overflowing with appetite and madness, and the drool dripping from its mouth.
That beast was looking at him as prey.
And perhaps… if he was careless, he might actually be eaten.
[How dare you! How dare you look at this Monstrous Duke with such eyes! I'll chew you up whole!]
Naturally, Syphar didn't accept it.
The distorted heads roared fiercely in anger.
But the problem wasn't just that monstrous creature.
[Krrrr— Is that… the 14th Demon King?]
[No, that's impossible. That woman is definitely dead. Over a thousand years ago!]
[But even if it's incomplete, that's definitely the Demon King's…]
[Then a new Demon King? The 16th Demon King? Now, so suddenly?!]
[…If that's true, what will happen to us? What was the point of fighting all this time…!]
A single figure sitting calmly on the back of the grotesque beast.
A woman, so delicate compared to Syphar, who was nearly 10 meters tall, and even the monstrous creature she was riding, smiled faintly.
Looking up at the three heads in confusion.
"Huhung~ Indeed. This is a Duke-level demon?"
With a light chuckle, a beautiful, singing voice flowed from between her red lips.
"It's certainly impressive, but…"
Her black and red inverse eyes sparkled.
Hela scanned the giant Cerberus with a strange look, as if evaluating it.
It didn't take long for the results of her assessment to come out.
"Well, at this level… it's so-so. It wouldn't have mattered much even if I came alone."
It was an absurdly negative review from Syphar's point of view, but…
"Monstrous Duke, are you perhaps a bit lacking compared to the other Dukes? Or are you just particularly lucky…"
"Kakakakaka!"
"Or did I overestimate the level of the Demon Realm?"
Insults that didn't match her enchanting, sweet voice and lively tone poured out, as if dissecting the opponent.
And a strange laughter that seemed to echo it.
There was not a shred of consideration for the listener.
[······.]
[······.]
Syphar's heads, which had been chattering noisily among themselves, all shut up at once.
The distorted head, which had been flashing fiercely, also fell silent.
He was one of the Dukes, the apex of the current Demon Realm.
There was no way he would be swayed by such cheap provocations.
There was no need for a verbal argument; he would just—.
[I'll kill you!]
[Kuhhh—!]
He would just eliminate everything he didn't like!
Kwang!
Syphar crouched in an instant and then shot out like a spring.
At the same time, his overwhelming size ignored all physical phenomena and tore apart everything in a straight line.
Kurrrrr—!
Subordinates from both sides coughed up blood and bounced away like pebbles, caught in the aftermath.
They had already sensed something was wrong when their leaders began to confront each other and had retreated to a distance, but that distance was meaningless in the face of this overwhelming destruction.
As if he didn't care about his own headquarters, everything around the path of the giant body instantly turned into ruins.
"…He has a terrible temper. If I raised something like that, there wouldn't be any furniture left in the house."
"Kahut!"
But the surprise attack didn't cause any significant damage to its target.
The beauty and the beast grumbled, having already moved out of the attack path.
Syphar crouched again for a follow-up attack.
"He definitely needs some discipline."
At that moment.
The world turned upside down.
[…?!]
The sounds of the battlefield that had been ringing from all directions disappeared.
The well-maintained scenery of Abnormal's headquarters was erased, and a desolate land stretched out.
A barren wasteland that instantly covered the surroundings.
「World of Demonic Heavens」
The Demon King's world, activated solely targeting Syphar, was overlaid on the Demon Realm.
And this desolate landscape with nothing in it.
Syphar, who had lived for a long time, had experienced this several times in the distant past.
[…The Abandoned Land?]
[Lerajeee—!]
[As expected! You! What is your relationship with the 14th Demon King?! How?!]
The three heads roared, and the snake head on the tail hissed repeatedly.
Powerful demonic energy erupted explosively from his massive body, causing earthquakes and swirling storms.
The 「World of Demonic Heavens」 began to creak under the aftereffects.
'Ugh, he's always rampaging like a beast without thinking. What would have happened if I hadn't prepared this in advance?'
Hela clicked her tongue lightly after pouring magic power to stabilize it again.
To her, who intended to take over Abnormal after dealing with Monstrous Duke, there were no enemies or allies; everyone was a potential subordinate.
So it was natural for her to be displeased with Syphar, who was causing havoc without caring about the damage to his own side.
"It seems you have a lot you want to ask."
Hela, who had been sitting on the monstrous creature's back, jumped off.
Then, patting its sturdy side, she spoke.
"Then I'll tell you if you can beat my baby. Everything you're curious about."
A bright smile accompanied her words.
However, the vicious whip covered in thorns in her hand was enough to make even that bright atmosphere feel ominous.
"Of course, I don't know if you'll be able to. Our cutie is a specialist in this field."
—Hunting big monsters like you.
Hela continued in a low voice, chuckling and whipping the ground.
Crack—!
Sharp cracking sounds and fragments of earth scattered.
"I have a lot to do, so let's finish this quickly."
She extended a hand and pointed at Syphar, who stood like a mountain in front of her, and shouted.
"Go! Davidson! Bite!"
"Kakakakat—!"
At her command, the mercenary king Harley… no.
The 'Gluttonous Monster Davidson,' summoned by Hela, roared fiercely and charged forward.
Crack— Crackle—!
Instantly swelling several times in size.
Davidson, who had almost caught up to Syphar's size in an instant, opened his mouth wide.
[Alright, I'll tear you to shreds!]
[I don't care about Demon Kings or anything anymore! I'll just eat you up right here!]
Kwaaaang—!
Thus began the clash of giant monsters.
***
Kugugung!
Davidson didn't utter a single word, and thoroughly maintained the appearance of a quadrupedal beast.
[To regenerate even after being torn by my teeth! What kind of creature is this?!]
[Kwaaak! Get off! Vermin!]
"Kahahaha!"
[Krrrr— Resisting my poison too?]
Harley, who had now become both a mercenary king and a fighting king, had become quite a celebrity in Auterica, so he needed to pay close attention to such minor details.
Even though he was a mercenary who would do anything for the right price, he couldn't openly go to the Demon Realm and help the Demon King while being hailed as a hero.
'Siana also knows about Harley. I have to be careful, as I don't know where word might get out.'
Since Harley was a mutant in his very existence, it wasn't difficult to disguise his identity if he put his mind to it.
He simply replaced all the human elements he had maintained with the numerous monster factors he had collected.
That's how his current form was born.
A gluttonous monster made entirely of non-human factors — Davidson.
'Still, it's a bit tough to fight with my potential limited and my skills sealed like this.'
Wasn't the opponent a Duke-level demon, standing at the peak of transcendence, where the gap between individuals was huge?
Moreover, he had the characteristic of becoming even stronger in this Demon Realm, so it was a bit difficult to overwhelm him with physical strength alone.
Swish—
At that moment, the snake on Syphar's tail shot out like lightning and sank its fangs into his body.
A deadly poison that instantly spread throughout his body, melting even the soul.
Davidson's body instantly adapted and resisted it, but he couldn't help but flinch for a split second.
Crack! Crunch!
Syphar's left and right heads, not missing that brief opening, bit into his shoulders.
The thick carapace and muscles were pierced by the tremendous bite force, and blood splattered.
[Persistent bastard! I'll tear you apart so you can't regenerate!]
The central head, with its thick mane and a scar on one eye, opened its mouth wide.
It seemed he had prepared it quite meticulously during the fight, as the terrifying magic power concentrated in his throat surged violently.
If Davidson were to be hit directly by that, even he would lose half of his body.
Sswaaaak—!
Just as the magic power was about to erupt from his mouth.
A sharp cracking sound tore through the air.
Pwhack!
Immediately after, a tremendous amount of blood gushed out as if a waterfall was flowing in reverse, and the fiercely boiling magic power scattered.
[Keuhk! You…!]
The central head, with a third of its massive head missing, glared upwards with eyes full of rage.
Towards Hela, who was swimming in the air, flapping a pair of wings.
He had been focused on attacking, so his defenses had weakened, and he had taken a hit that took out one eye and part of his brain, but as expected of a demon, he didn't seem fazed by it.
"Huhung, I didn't say we were fighting one-on-one."
Hela winked at the gaze that seemed to feel unjustly wronged.
Shrugging lightly as if it was no big deal.
She had deliberately called in a mercenary to finish this quickly, so there was no way she would just stand by until the one-on-one fight was over!
'I was just watching for a while to assess the situation…'
Since it was her first time against a Duke-level demon, she needed to accurately grasp his power this time.
Dark Shadow Duke might be different, but Demon Dragon Duke would definitely be much stronger than this Cerberus.
'I've got a rough idea, so this is enough.'
As Hela's wings spread wide as she soared high, large magic circles appeared on both sides.
Ultra-fast magic power construction through 「Demon King」 and 「Magic Domination」.
Immediately after, along with numerous flashes pouring down, a barrage of whips, barely visible, struck the giant body on the ground.
Swish! Swish—! Kwang!
[Kraaaa!]
The magic barriers he had painstakingly built up were mercilessly shattered by the attacks, and wounds steadily accumulated.
It wasn't easy for him to dodge with Davidson persistently clinging to him.
'This is good. I feel like I'm getting excited.'
Of course, the whip she was using was also taken from Horus's 「Golden Treasury」.
It was a weapon presumed to be the Succubus Queen's favorite.
The whip, which extended its length regardless of distance, tore through space, leaving fatal wounds.
[Kwak! You cowardly bastards! As expected, your actions are as despicable as your bloodline!]
"Hey, you have four heads, don't you? You still have twice as many even now?"
[What nonsense…!]
"Nonsense… Self-deprecation isn't good, is it? No matter how much you pretend to be a wolf, you can't hide your true nature."
[%@#@$#]
While she was attacking comfortably, taunting the opponent while Davidson used his massive body to restrict his movements, the destructive power generated was by no means light.
[Kuuu— Regeneration…!]
[The power of the 13th! This seed must have inherited that power too!]
Hela's trait, 「Annihilator」, crushed all of the opponent's defenses, such as his thick magic barrier and vitality, and reduced his regeneration to its lowest point.
Every single one of her attacks, whether with the whip or magic, was imbued with the power to penetrate defenses and suppress regeneration.
That's why the regeneration of his head, which should have been restored to its original state in an instant with a near-immortal level of recovery, was still sluggish.
It was an ability that was most effective against high-ranking demons, who basically possessed 「Super Regeneration」.
'One more here.'
Davidson's eyes, which were struggling with Syphar in the chaos, flashed.
Then, his body began to wriggle violently.
Creak— Crack—!
He imitated the opponent's traits he had collected while fighting.
The properties of his body changed in real time, taking only the better factors and applying them to his body.
Selective evolution that only adopted the opponent's strengths.
'As expected of a Duke-level demon. Even though I didn't absorb his essence, he's incomparable to low-ranking demons. Some parts are even better than a dragon's.'
The culmination was something sprouting from around his shoulders.
It suddenly emerged and began to take shape.
It eventually became a new head, identical to the one in the center.
Just like the Cerberus in front of him.
[…Huh?!]
[…What is that…?]
[Huh? Uh? What's that? How did you do that?!]
Confusion appeared in Syphar's eyes, which had been momentarily distracted by Hela.
As a pure-blooded Cerberus, he could tell immediately.
That wasn't just a superficial copy; it shared the same fundamental essence as him.
"Kahahahat!"
"Kakakakat!"
"Khakakat!"
As if mocking the flustered Syphar, the three heads burst into laughter at the same time.
Opening their mouths wide, filled with sharp teeth.
A chill of foreboding ran down Syphar's spine as he looked at them.
'Dangerous.'
It was an instinct.
This was different.
They had been threatening enough so far, but this was something even more lethal.
He had to get away somehow…
But now, being attacked from both above and below, there was no escape route left for him.
[Kwaaak! What! This again! Aaaak!]
[Don't get bitten! That's… Keuh!]
[Get off! Get off!!]
「Devouring God[1]」 and 「Power of Gluttony」, which had been hidden until now, biding their time, began to run wild.
No defense or regeneration could withstand them.
The combination of those two abilities devoured anything that entered its mouth, whether tangible or intangible, even if it only existed as a concept.
Through the two… now three mouths.
"Ah! It's four against four now?"
Hela brought a hand to her cheek and smiled brightly at the sight.
While continuing to swing the whip with her other hand.
[1] Previously translated as Food God