Chapter 143: I'm a demon, even without being told
Even after Bugitas had usurped the throne, the Noble Orc empire still had a strange order to it.
During the few days following Bugitas and his vassals' successful coup d'état, they had employed violence. They had killed those who disobeyed them and committed the previously-forbidden cannibalism. They confined the priests of Mububujenge, the evil god of degenerate corpulence who had provided many blessings to the empire up until then, as well as the flesh-wives that had been given for the Orcs to marry, in the churches.
However, after those few days, large incidents stopped happening. A number of women had been gathered, and some of the upset citizens and Orcs had been killed. This was indeed tragic, but on the whole, the damage and number of casualties hadn't been enough to shake the empire.
That was because Bugitas had sent generals like Budirud and Bufudin out to lead armies in various other regions, so there were less rulers in the empire. Most importantly, Bugitas had restrained his subordinates to some extent.
He couldn't inflict great damage to the empire that he himself ruled, and if he cornered Mububujenge too hard, there was no telling what she would do in desperation.
The evil gods who had once been a part of the Demon King's army were not involved in the maintenance and control of Lambda.
The gods of Lambda needed to hold back a certain amount of power to maintain the world, but the evil gods could wield their power as they wished.
They could even descend upon the world and go on a rampage until they were extinguished.
That was true for both the gods who had joined Vida's side like Mububujenge, and for the gods on Vida's side who had been forced out of their positions as gods.
Such an act was equivalent to self-destruction, and not something that a sane god would do. But for the evil gods, insanity was sanity.
As Mububujenge and the other gods maintained the barrier that protected the southern region of the continent from Alda, they were unlikely to lose themselves to desperation so easily, but caution was still needed.
If Mububujenge was alone, Ravovifard would be able to defeat her, but if the other gods were to sympathize with her and join her in her desperate act, Ravovifard would be at a disadvantage.
Thus, it was necessary to make them realize that nothing could be done even if they were to perform such desperate actions.
Ravovifard's objective was to take the other gods of the southern region of the continent into a religious system where he, the evil god of release, was standing at the top.
He would bring the gods over to his side, one by one. Ravovifard's power of release had weak effects on other evil gods, but there were many classic methods to employ, even without his special ability. Intimidation and persuasion were effective, even against gods.
But even this goal was nothing but a checkpoint. He would take in gods that obeyed him, seal away gods that disobeyed, increase his power, defeat Alda, the god of law and fate who was slowly but surely exhausting his power, and hold this world in his own hands.
This was Ravovifard's ambition, and the ambition of Bugitas who worshipped him.
An army was marching towards the empire that was working towards this ambition.
As the scout on the watchtower reported this news, the Noble Orcs looked and cheered at the sight of the army.
"Those are the flags of General Budirud, General Bufudin and General Bugyap! They've returned!" one of the Noble Orcs cried. "Hurry and open the gate!"
But another Noble Orc stopped him. "Wait!"
"Why?! If we show disrespect to the generals by making them wait, there's no telling what kind of punishment we'll receive!"
"You fool! Leaving aside General Budirud, as his army was sent to attack the Ghoul nation, why are General Bufudin and General Bugyap's armies here as well when they were supposed to have been dispatched to the High Kobold and High Goblin nations?!"
Having this pointed out, the first Noble Orc looked more closely at the armies led by the three generals.
Budirud's army might have returned after successfully conquering the Ghoul nation, but there was no way that Bufudin and Bugyap's armies would return from the nations they had been dispatched to unless Bugitas, the emperor, were to call them back.
No, if one thought about it, it was strange for Budirud's army to return as well. Even if they had succeeded, a large amount of it should have remained behind with only messengers being sent to deliver the news of success unless they had slaughtered every single Ghoul.
And the three generals were supposed to have been in separate places; why had they joined together to return to the empire?
And then the Noble Orc realized.
"Rebellion! It's a rebellion! The generals have betrayed us! Report this to His Majesty Bugitas and Chief General Buzazeos!"
"It seems that they've noticed. Well, then… Hold up the true flags! Hold up the flags of Prince Budarion and Talosheim, and deploy the army!" Budirud commanded, seeing that there were no signs of the gates opening and realizing that the rebellion had been seen through.
The generals' flags that had been held up high were thrown to the ground, and the flags of Prince Budarion and the empire were raised in their place.
And the air around Budirud was filled with tragic cries.
"I can't run, I can't run, I can't run, I can't run."
"I want to run, I want to run, I want to run, I want to run, I want to run."
"Impossible, impossible, impossible! We're done for!"
"This is the end! There's nothing but despair for me! Mommyyyyy!"
Bufudin, Bugyap, as well as Gargya who had usurped the throne of the High Kobold nation and Gido who had been ruling the High Goblin nation, were wailing with expressions of despair on their faces, their teeth chattering.
"You people… Nothing will change by being frightened and crying," Budirud told them.
"If nothing's going to change, let us do as we want! This is already the end for us!" said Bufudin.
"That's right! Look at the other soldiers, too!" said Bugyap.
The Orcs, Noble Orcs and the lookouts of the empire's gates hadn't noticed, but at the back, there were the High Kobolds and High Goblins that had been Gargya and Gido's subordinates. They were so frightened that their fear would be clear even to those not familiar with other races.
There were deep wrinkles in their faces and they were crying loudly. They looked as if they were about to go and die meaningless deaths.
… Though there were more than a few of them who were letting out broken laughter, too.
"See! We're not the only ones crying!" Gargya said, fully open to how pathetic he was.
"Bufuh," Budirud sighed, not looking particularly shaken. "You and I are commanders. Even if our soldiers are crying, how can we cry with them? Morale will drop, order will be lost and the army will stop functioning as an army. That would be like walking into a death that is right in front of our eyes," he said rationally.
"Our deaths, you say… we're already dead. We're dead, and so are you," said Bugyap with dull, lifeless eyes.
Indeed, the army marching upon the Noble Orc empire was made of Undead that Vandalieu had created from the corpses. A Zombie army.
Only the Magic Stones had been taken from the corpses of Bugitas's subordinates that had been killed in the various places, with no further dismantling carried out on their bodies, so that this Undead army could be created.
However, at first, Vandalieu hadn't intended to use almost all of the defeated enemies. In addition to the formerly important figures like Budirud, creating several hundred Undead and spreading them across sparsely in front of allied forces would have been plenty to use as a meat shield. That was what had been intended at first.
Recently-created Zombies have considerably lower Ranks than the abilities that they possessed while alive. By becoming Undead, these Zombies had lost the effects of Bugitas's False Guidance: Beast Path and, in Gargya and Gido's case, Ravovifard's divine protection… Of course, using Familiar Spirit Descent was impossible, too.
And their current master Vandalieu had no intention of guiding them, so they received only minimal effects from Guidance: Demon Path.
Thus, they had become far weaker than they were while alive. There would be no point in moving such a large number of such weak soldiers, increasing the time it took to move.
But things had changed when Vandalieu acquired the Corpse Demon Commander Job and the Group Binding Technique Skill.
Up until now, Vandalieu's Plant Binding Technique and Insect Binding Technique had allowed him to equip plants and insects inside his body and transport them, but with the restriction that he couldn't transport large numbers of them for long periods of time.
This was because of a limitation of the Skill's effects - living creatures took the nutrients they needed from Vandalieu while they were equipped.
Even if they were fine for short periods of time, Vandalieu wouldn't be able to provide enough nutrients for large numbers of living creatures, and he would die of starvation if he kept them equipped for more than half a day.
That was why Vandalieu always equipped insectoid and plant monsters that were resistant to hunger, such as Pete, Cemetery Bees, Eisen and the Slime Kühl.
Isn't there a Demon King's hump that can store large amounts of nutrients like a camel's hump? he had thought from time to time.
And then he had become able to equip Undead.
Of course, Undead didn't need nutrients. They could eat, but it wasn't a necessary act to maintain their own existence. Thus, Vandalieu wouldn't starve to death even if he equipped as many as it was possible to equip for long periods of time.
Thus, he had relied on the effects of the Zombie Maker Job and his vast amount of Mana to create Zombies from all of the intact enemy corpses, equipped them and then released them in a place some distance away from the Noble Orc empire.
Of course, as Vandalieu hadn't been present when the enemies in the High Goblin nation died, he had failed to gather a lot of their spirits, so Bugyap's and Gido's armies had much less Zombies.
And the reason the Zombies other than Budirud were in sorrow and despair was because of the words that Vandalieu had spoken to them as he released them.
"You are acting as a decoy and meat shield. Please draw the Noble Orc empire's eyes to yourselves, act as a wall for everyone from Zanalpadna and the Ghoul nation behind you, and fight the enemies. But don't cause harm to the empire's citizens or defensive installments such as the walls. And those who have not performed to my satisfaction and those who have disobeyed my orders will have their souls broken later," he had told them.
Since they were Undead, they hadn't really cared about the first part of these orders. They had already died, and their sense of pain was much different from the pain they had felt while they were alive. They wouldn't go out of their way to choose to experience a second death, but with Vandalieu ordering them, they didn't feel particularly reluctant about it.
After all, they had only just become Undead, so they hadn't spent effort to increase their Levels or Skills. Even if they died, they would just return to being spirits. They had nothing to lose.
But if their souls were destroyed, they would be annihilated in the truest sense of the word. With that said, having their souls broken wasn't the only thing they feared.
"We'll be neglected by him, thought of as nuisances and stepped on and broken like pieces of trash!" cried Bufudin.
"Ah, I want to end this, I just want to end it… how nice would it be if death was the end!" said Gargya.
Vandalieu had been their enemy while they were alive, but now, they perceived him to be charismatic.
Gargya in particular hadn't had anyone he considered precious to him other than himself while he was alive, so Vandalieu was now the only one that was more important to him than Gargya was to himself.
Vandalieu wouldn't even recycle his spirit to use as a power source for Golems; he would simply decide that he was unnecessary and dispose of him. The fear and despair at that thought was far more than the fear and despair of a second death.
But Budirud didn't look sorrowful at all. "Is that what you're worried about?" he said with a laugh.
"Is that what, you say?! Has your fear driven you mad?!" Bufudin shouted.
"What are you saying? I am very much sane. And thus, I shall tell you that if we achieve greatness during this battle, our souls will not be broken, even though we did all of those terrible things."
"Wha-?! How easy do you think that is?! We no longer have the Guidance or divine protection, and our Attribute Values have decreased! Many of our subordinates have even lost their Skills from the severe damage to their spirits! We're essentially papier-mâché soldiers, you know?!" Bugyap pointed out.
"And our enemies are the elite soldiers led by Chief General Buzazeos! Even with our joined forces, there is no way that we can defeat them!" said Bufudin.
Buzazeos was the general of the Noble Orc empire with the highest rank among those who had followed Bugitas. He was a powerful individual who had thus been given the rank of Chief General, and while Budirud and Bufudin had been dispatched outside the nation, he had remained to protect the empire along with the elite soldiers he had raised himself, acting as Bugitas's right-hand man.
He excelled not just as a commander but in his own fighting strength as well, and there was such a difference in physical strength between him and the other generals like Budirud that they wouldn't be able to defeat him in one-on-one combat. Now that they had become Undead with lower Attribute Values, it was possible that they wouldn't be able to defeat him even if they all fought him together.
And since he was behind sturdy walls, they wouldn't even be able to cross swords with him unless they approached and climbed over the walls.
There was an enormous pile of unfavorable circumstances in front of their eyes.
But Budirud spoke to Bufudin and Bugyap once more. "It's exactly as you say, and there is no path of escape for us. Even if we beg for our lives, even if we lick the feet of the families of those we have killed and press our foreheads against the ground to beg for forgiveness, it will all be meaningless to that person. In fact, it would only anger him more," he said. "With that being the case, we have no choice but to fight as we have been ordered. If you think that, your head will feel lighter and you will feel cheerful. Don't you think so?"
Bufudin and Bugyap exchanged looks.
"Now that you mention it, that's reasonable. You're right that we have no choice but to fight."
"There is no other way to make a favorable impression on that person now… we have to fight."
The fear and despair vanished from their faces as if melting away, replaced with the flames of insanity.
"That's right, we simply need to fight with everything we have," said Bufudin. "Raise your spears and fight! If your spear's tip is broken, then fight with the handle, and if the handle is broken, then with your fists and fangs. If your arm is torn off and your fangs are pulled out, grasp your arm with your other hand and wield it, or pull out your own ribs to use them as weapons. Come and fight! Even if this becomes your final fight, even if your soul is broken in the end, at least become a piece of trash with some value!"
As if responding to Budirud's words, the light of insanity glowed in the eyes of the Undead Noble Orcs.
"Fight! Fight!"
"Crush Buzazeos! If we can't defeat him as a group, then defeat him as a swarm!"
"Kill! Kill before you are broken!"
Before he knew it, Budirud had become the center of the Undead army, a position different to the one he had possessed while alive.
I've heard somewhere that there isn't a single madman that believes that they're insane, Vandalieu suddenly thought to himself as he walked towards the center of the city.
The Noble Orc empire's townscape was impressive, just as he would expect of a large nation.
Since the citizens were two-meter-tall Orcs and three-meter-tall Noble Orcs, each of the buildings were large and built to be sturdy. And the building materials had appeared to be stone at first glance, but it was something similar to concrete.
Earth, gravel and some kind of powder had been mixed, shaped and dry-hardened with small stones attached to it to create walls.
Vandalieu had only seen stone, wood or brick houses in human cities, so he was very impressed at how modern it was… though the truth was that if one didn't consider the cement of the concrete, it wasn't as modern a building material as Vandalieu thought.
But the empire's townscape was somewhat dusty now, with no sense of liveliness.
It was likely that the inhabitants didn't have the time to clean and take care of garden trees now, and the government had no intention of maintaining a lively, clean townscape.
"How sad," Vandalieu muttered as he walked boldly down the Noble Orc empire's main road.
Of course, there was a large number of other people going back and forth on the main street.
"BUGAH! BUBUHIH~!"
"Noble-Orc-sama, what happened?"
"Buh… Silence! You citizens are in the way! Go and stay inside somewhere!"
"Business is over! Close your stores!"
Armed Noble Orcs and Orcs were heading towards the gate in a great hurry. They were pushing the citizens on the main road away in a haughty manner, and the citizens had fear and bewilderment on their faces.
In an extremely ordinary manner, Vandalieu walked straight past them.
Vandalieu had killed every enemy that he had encountered so far, so the soldiers of the Noble Orc empire weren't aware of his existence. Thus, he wouldn't be noticed once he was inside the walls.
Of course, Vandalieu's appearance stood out enough to be conspicuous. If his odd-colored eyes and fangs were noticed, one could immediately tell that he was a Dhampir, and the fact that he was not a citizen of the empire could be revealed.
But if a small child like Vandalieu walked along while looking down, the large-bodied Noble Orcs and Orcs would only be able to see the color of his hair.
And since this was a time of emergency, nobody even gave Vandalieu a glance as he walked along the side of the road.
It was fortunate for Vandalieu that the Noble Orcs who followed Bugitas weren't wary of citizens.
"Well, if this didn't work out, I'd just fly through the sky and charge in directly," Vandalieu murmured as he headed towards the empire's castle.
He was infiltrating inside while Budirud and the Undead Noble Orc army were drawing the attention of Bugitas's subordinates. The plan was to continue on and slaughter Bugitas.
It was the age-old plan of taking out the leader because there were too many enemies.
There were all kinds of reasons for this - The empire would take too much damage before Bugitas was defeated if normal war was waged; it would take too long for Bugitas to step onto the frontlines himself; it would be tragic if things turned into a large-scale urban battle and the non-combatant civilians and Orcs and Noble Orcs on Budarion's side were to suffer losses; and Vandalieu had received reports from Iris and Miles that there was something suspicious going on in the Sauron Duchy - there were spies being sent in more frequently to conduct direct reconnaissance, so he didn't want to take too long here. But there was another logical reason for using this ancient tactic.
According to the information he had heard from the spirits of the generals that he had defeated so far, it was highly likely that Bugitas possessed a Guidance Skill or something similar to one, as well as the divine protection of Ravovifard, the evil god of release.
As Vandalieu was aware, the Guidance Skill provided more blessings to those around the Skill owner than just simple increases to Attribute Values. And for those being guided, the Guidance Skill's owner became a mental support to them.
Thus, if they lost Bugitas, who was thought to possess a Guidance-type Skill, wouldn't Bugitas's subordinates become weaker, experience a large drop in morale, and stop functioning as an army?
That was what Vandalieu had concluded.
Also, Bugitas, who possessed Ravovifard's divine protection, was apparently an important figure to Ravovifard.
According to Zozogante, the evil god of the dark forest, those who possessed a god's divine protection were like living billboards to spread fear and belief for that god, acting on the world's surface in the god's place. Thus, if the ones who possessed Ravovifard's divine protection were to be eliminated, it was possible that he would be left with no way to intervene with events in the world other than spending a great amount of his power to descend upon the world himself.
And divine protections were not things that could be given to anyone so easily.
One needed a certain mental connection to the god or be of a race that was close to the god to receive their divine protection.
Ghouls or plant-type monsters with Zozogante, Scylla with Merrebeveil and Lizardmen with Fidirg - these were races that were 'close' to their gods.
"But there aren't any races that are 'close' to Ravovifard, who only invaded the southern region of the continent recently. So, it's impossible to gain his divine protection without taking the time to form a mental connection with him. But this 'evil god of release,' I wonder what he is supposed to release you from. Considering what he's been doing, wouldn't 'evil god of usurpation' or 'the evil god of tyranny' be more fitting?" Vandalieu wondered.
"Danna, are you talking to yourself a lot because you're nervous?" whispered Kimberley, who was remaining invisible.
"Yes. I am in enemy territory, after all," Vandalieu replied in a small voice as he pressed on.
Along the way, he had passed by a unit of soldiers led by a clearly powerful Noble Orc wearing an impressive suit of armor, and a young man who seemed to be a Majin, leading several Lesser Demons.
That was probably Chief General Buzazeos and Gargya's Majin counterpart, Gerazorg.
They were quite slow, but it seemed that the attention of Bugitas's forces was solidly concentrated outside the city's gate.
"… They're taking too long to mobilize their forces. Aren't this Bugitas fellow and his subordinates too carefree?" said Kimberley, who had been a member of the Amid Empire's army himself while he was alive.
"Not that we'll take advantage of it," Vandalieu whispered back. "Maybe they're not under the assumption that there would be traitors if an enemy army closes in on the empire? And the people under Bugitas's influence generally have a tendency to become simple-minded, so I'm sure Bugitas himself will also…"
"You feel like you know his limits?" asked Orbia.
"By the way, Your Majesty, perhaps this conversation should not be heard by the prince…?" said Princess Levia.
"It's fine. He can't hear it unless I intend to let him hear it," said Vandalieu.
"Then it is all right."
As he conversed with the invisible Ghosts, Vandalieu finally arrived at the plaza facing the castle. Now that he had come this far, there were almost no people going back and forth, since the soldiers had headed to the gate.
"BUHAHAHAHA! BUKIBUKYUKYUH!"
"UWAH! Help me!"
"Please forgive us! Please forgive us!"
There was a commotion coming from several Noble Orcs, a girl about five years old who had been grasped and was being lifted up by one of them, and a woman clinging to her who appeared to be her mother.
"I see some Noble Orcs who can't fight on an empty stomach and spotted a mother and her daughter who were late in evacuating for some reason, and now they are trying to eat the girl as a snack," said Vandalieu.
"You can understand the Orc language, Your Majesty?!"
"No, that's just my intuition."
But it seemed that Vandalieu was right in guessing that they were intending to use the girl as food. The Noble Orc holding her opened his mouth wide, exposing his fangs, to bite into the girl's head.
"MOMY! I'M SCARED!"
"Bone Flame."
"NO… oh?"
Vandalieu's Dead Spirit Magic spell turned Princess Levia into a skeleton made of black flames, and her jaws tore the Noble Orc's head to pieces.
"Get up. Give that child back," Vandalieu ordered.
Right before the petrified mother's eyes, the headless Noble Orc Zombie bent down onto his knees and politely returned the girl back to her.
The other Noble Orcs and the other people in the plaza froze in astonishment. The mother and daughter were no exceptions, but the mother was the first to recover her senses; she took her daughter and ran off.
Vandalieu glanced at her for only a moment before looking forward again.
"… Danna, I don't have any complaints, but isn't that a situation where you would normally harden your heart for the sake of your plan?" said Kimberley.
"Kimberley, I'm a half-Vampire, so I'm already a demon without trying," said Vandalieu.
"That's not what I mean, but… Well, we've made it in front of the castle, so I suppose it's fine," said Kimberley.
"And we've already been seen," said Orbia.
"BUGAH!"
"BUGIH!"
The Noble Orcs, who had been petrified with shock at their comrade suddenly being decapitated and continuing to move while headless, returned to their senses and finally noticed that there was a strange child nearby.
They didn't understand the exact reasons, but they were certain that Vandalieu was the cause of everything and tried to attack him.
"BOH!" a voice roared.
A slashing attack was released from behind them, slicing them in two and continuing forward, closing in on Vandalieu like a whirlwind. The headless Noble Orc Zombie jumped in front of it, trying to block it… but he was cut apart easily as well, being of no use.
"Demon King's carapace, activate, Stone Wall."
The Demon King's carapace appeared over Vandalieu's arm, and he used it as a shield to block the attack.
The citizens remaining in the plaza screamed and fled, and the Noble Orcs nearby hastily fell back.
"I'll accept your loyalty for now," Vandalieu said to the Noble Orc Zombie's spirit as he looked at his enemy… the scythe-wielding Bugitas, who had attacked through his own subordinates.
"Bukukuh, you were mentioned in Ravovifard's Divine Message, after all. You monster, who holds multiple fragments of the Demon King," Bugitas said, giving a bold laugh as he acknowledged the defensive strength of the Demon King's carapace that didn't have a single scratch on it despite being struck by a martial skill from his enormous scythe. "To think that you would appear before me alone… No, with the monsters that are your subordinates, which means that the army outside is a decoy. A clever scheme like this could not have even been thought of by any of the wise men who have left their names in history. I suppose that is to be expected of a monster who possesses the Demon King's fragments and is capable of even destroying a god's familiar spirit."
Despite his words, Bugitas was behaving in a leisurely manner. His voice was deep and yet unpleasantly sticky, as if gooey strings were attached to it.
"I haven't been talked to with such clear sarcasm since my aunt's lectures on Earth…" Vandalieu muttered.
"Van-kun, I don't think it's sarcasm; he's being serious," said Orbia.
"That's right, Your Majesty. You said it yourself, didn't you? Bugitas has no knowledge when it comes to military strategy," said Princess Levia.
Vandalieu had thought that Bugitas was being sarcastic regarding the ancient tactic that he had used, but his mood improved upon hearing Orbia and Princess Levia's words.
Incidentally, Orbia and the other Ghosts had already revealed themselves, but Bugitas couldn't hear Vandalieu's whispered conversations with them.
"What is that look in your eyes? Don't tell me you're going to say that you're displeased with the way I cut through those useless fools as I attacked you," Bugitas sneered.
"I am displeased," said Vandalieu. "If you cut their bodies in half and let their contents spill onto the floor, the organs will be spoiled, won't they? Did nobody teach you to treat food with care?"
"… Are you a demon?"
Vandalieu was completely serious, but he was being called a demon for it. Wasn't that too much? And he was a half-Vampire, so he was a demon even if nobody called him one.
"Buguuh! On top of being strange, you're messed-up! Fine, I'll dispose of you before my loser of an aniki!" Bugitas recovered from his surprise and raised his giant scythe once more, filled with bloodthirst.
"… No, your opponent shall be me."
Golden hair and an enormous body emerged from within the unmoving Vandalieu.
Prince Budarion's arm and eye were stained black, and there was a black magic sword in his hands.
"… Hoh, you seem to have regained the arm and eye that I took from you, but you have stooped low enough to become a monster's underling, Ani-ue?" Bugitas said with a cruel smile as he looked at his brother.
Name: Bugitas
Title:[Usurper]
Rank: 11
Race: Noble Orc Plunder King
Level: 95
Passive skills:
Dark Vision
Superhuman Strength: Level 10
Strengthened Attribute Values when equipped with a Scythe (Medium)
Enhanced Vigor: Level 3
Status Effect Resistance: Level 5
Inferior Race Domination: Level 7
Mental Corruption: Level 4
False Guidance: Beast Path: Level 3
Intuition: Level 8
Demon King Encroachment Degree: Level 1
Active skills:
War-boar Scythe Technique: Level 3
Armor Technique: Level 3
No-Attribute Magic: Level 1
Mana Control: Level 1
Earth-Attribute Magic: Level 4
Life-Attribute Magic: Level 8
Transcend Limits: Level 5
Surpass Limits: Magic Scythe: Level 10
Coordination: Level 1
Commanding: Level 6
Familiar Spirit Descent: Level 10
Unique skills:
Ravovifard's Divine Protection
Demon King fragments:
XX
YY
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Chapter 144: Ravovifard's plan for certain victory
The soldiers under Chief General Buzazeos's command were fighting on a nightmare of a battlefield.
"BUHIIIIH!" a Noble Orc screamed as he thrust the tip of his spear forward, piercing the skull of an enemy whose organs were hanging out of his bloody abdomen.
Seeing his spear enter the enemy's cheek and emerge from the back of his head, the Noble Orc breathed a sigh of relief at his victory.
But despite having a crucial part of his brain pierced, the enemy soldier let out a groan and grasped the handle of the spear that had pierced him.
"BUHIH?!"
"Gobeh…"
The Noble Orc let out a stiff-sounding noise as he tried to take back his spear, but perhaps because he had lost his presence of mind, he didn't have his usual strength.
And as he stopped moving to try to take his weapon back, other enemy soldiers closed in on him.
"Gobeh…"
"Kill…!"
"Recognition… achievements…!"
"Buhiiiih… Buhiiiih…"
Orc Zombies and Noble Orc Zombies with their bloodstained entrails spilling from their bodies, the look of longing unique to those who had no future in their wide-open, hollow eyes, swung and thrust their weapons.
"BUGYAAAAAH!"
Surrounded and unable to move, the Noble Orc soldier let out a dying scream as he was buried among the swarm of Undead.
Such hellish scenes were unfolding all over the battlefield.
"How many times do I need to tell you not to step out before you understand?! Don't break your formations! Heavy troops, raise your shields and act as a wall to stop the Undead! Spearmen, thrust your spears between the shields! Leave it to the archers and mages to finish them off!" Chief General Buzazeos bellowed.
Each time he gave orders, a messenger turned pale as he ran out to relay these orders to the soldiers.
"Buguh!" Buzazeos groaned.
What's the meaning of this? Before, the soldiers would have obeyed my orders faithfully. I trained and selected the soldiers so that I could raise them to be able to do that. So why now, of all times? Buzazeos couldn't help but ask himself this.
At first, he had felt shocked upon hearing that an army of the Noble Orc empire led by three generals had begun a rebellion. But upon learning that they were a group of Undead soldiers that had become far weaker than they were while alive, he had felt disappointed.
Normally, even a swarm of Undead would have almost no coordination or proper distribution of roles. They were just a disorderly gathering that had no intents other than attacking the living.
So, the Noble Orc empire's soldiers couldn't be blamed for thinking that they could win this battle. However, looking back on it now, it had been careless to think this.
The rebelling army, which had raised Prince Budarion's flag and another unfamiliar flag, had attacked with such bloodcurdling expressions that it was difficult to believe that they were Undead. And even though arrows and spells poured down on them from the gate like rain, they had closed in on the gate without faltering and destroyed it.
Buzazeos had come running and taken command, managing to push the enemies back outside the gate, but… perhaps overly restless or overconfident in their own strength, soldiers had broken formation to charge in, one by one. These soldiers had been helplessly surrounded and crushed to death by the Undead, while the remaining soldiers hastily filled the gaps left by the ones that had broken the formation to hold the line, and this cycle was repeating over and over.
They were at the advantage overall; a third of the Undead army, including Gargya and Bugyap, had already been turned back into corpses. They would likely be able to defeat the Undead army within another hour.
But Buzazeos's irritation would not subside.
How many times have I given the same orders?! When did my soldiers become such bird-brains?! Even though they can see the reckless idiots being killed they keep going out and acting on their own if I take my eyes off them!
The High Kobold, and High Goblin and Kobold troops offered and dispatched by Gargya and Gido were proving useful, but Buzazeos needed to speak human words to give them orders. Perhaps this was adding to his irritation as well.
Now that things have come to this, I must step onto the frontline myself… what did I think just now?!
Buzazeos came back to his senses, startled. Before he knew it, his legs were carrying him towards the frontline of the battlefield, and he stopped himself as he realized this.
"Don't be so hasty, Buzazeos-dono," said a voice, calling out to Buzazeos in a flippant tone.
It was Gerazorg. He was a slender, playboy-looking individual with two twisted horns on his head, blue skin, a goatee on his chin and piercings in his ears, nose and the triangular tip of the tail extending from his waist.
"My Demons will exterminate the Undead soon," he said.
It seemed that he hadn't noticed the fact that Buzazeos has frozen in astonishment. He couldn't reach Buzazeos's shoulder due to the difference in their heights, so he gave him an overly-friendly pat on the side and stepped towards the frontline, taking his tamed Demons with him.
"Wait, Gerazorg-dono. It is too early for you to make your appearance," Buzazeos said, hastily stopping Gerazorg.
Gerazorg had always been nothing but a piece of scum, even before Buzazeos met him, but now, even though he was a fool beyond help, he was a piece of scum that could fight.
Though he had been dispatched to the Majin nation to stage a coup d'état by his master Bugitas, he had failed to gain supporters and fled shamelessly, crying and clinging to Bugitas and begging for one more chance. He was thoroughly useless as a spy.
But as expected of a member of the Majin race, he possessed exceptional fighting ability.
Despite his playboy-like appearance, he could use martial skills and multiple attributes of magic with considerable skill. Most importantly, he possessed the Demon Tamer Job, leading a pack of more than ten Demons of various kinds.
And like Gargya and Gido, Ravovifard had taken a liking to him for some reason and given him his divine protection.
Thus, with many leaders now gone and no top leaders other than Buzazeos, Gerazorg was the third-ranking individual among Bugitas's subordinates after Chief General Buzazeos and General Bumogan, who had left the empire to fight the allied army formed by the smaller nations.
"Huh? Why are you stopping me? Could it be that you don't want me to build achievements for myself, since I already possess Ravovifard's divine protection?" said Gerazorg, borrowing not a tiger's, but an evil god's strength*.
Note: There's a Japanese saying where one "borrows a tiger's strength." It refers to someone acting arrogantly under someone else's authority/authority that isn't their own. This is a play on this phrase, where Gerazorg is acting arrogantly by borrowing an evil god's strength.
For a moment, Buzazeos considered letting him go, but he mustered his perseverance and stopped him. "There is something strange about the enemy. They're supposed to be the ones attacking, but they're coming at us as if their backs are against the wall. And we still don't know why they turned into Undead in the first place," he said. "It's difficult to imagine that this many of them turned into Undead naturally. Something is yet to happen during this battle. Even if you step out after we make sure what this is, you won't be too late."
"Hmm… Indeed, now that I think about it, the Zombies are behaving strangely," Gerazorg agreed. "They don't give off any rotten smell; by looking at them, you would think that they were alive until just minutes ago. I thought that by the time corpses turn into Undead naturally, they've already started giving off a nose-wrinkling stink, but…"
It seems I've managed to divert his attention, Buzazeos thought, relieved.
But what he had said to Gerazorg were his true thoughts.
His intuition that had been honed over many years were ringing alarm bells, warning him that things would be dangerous if the mystery behind this large number of fresh Undead was not urgently investigated, but due to his foolish subordinates that were disobeying orders and stepping out to die on their own one by one, he had no time for that.
I suppose we'll have to defeat these Undead first. But how should we investigate this? I wonder if we'll be able to learn something if we send out the Mages? … What is that?!
"BUGAH!" Buzazeos shouted in the Orc language immediately.
He was looking at a storm of arrows that had been fired from behind the Undead army.
The arrows rained down upon the heavy troops and spearmen holding down the frontline, along with the Undead they were holding back. Noble Orcs screamed and fell back, while Orcs and High Goblins fell, pierced by a countless number of arrows.
With this opportunity, the Undead army pushed further in.
And on the other side of the army, the enemy army revealed itself, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Those are the flags of Zanalpadna as well as the Ghouls, High Goblin and High Kobold nations! And the flags of the Centaurs and Harpies, and beside the flag that I've never seen before… isn't that the Majin nation's flag?!"
"Ngh, that damned Bumogan! He couldn't even hold out?!"
At the sight of the enemy army that had pierced through the meat shield, Gerazorg turned pale, while Buzazeos felt a strange sense of exhilaration.
But Buzazeos suppressed that exhilaration and shouted his orders. "Hold the line! Don't break your formations! Don't get restless, you fools!"
It was possible that his own soldiers, who had nothing but morale and would quickly forget their orders, were more of a problem to him than the enemy army that was closing in.
The thunderous noise of the gate being destroyed and the sounds of battle made by the army led by Chief General Buzazeos could be heard from the plaza in front of the castle.
Though Bugitas could guess that his disappointing subordinates were fighting a difficult battle, at first, he was acting in a leisurely manner.
He simply thought that he just needed to defeat the two enemies in front of him and then head out onto the frontline himself.
One of the enemies was a monster who possessed multiple fragments of the Demon King. The other was his own older brother, Prince Budarion.
Both were formidable foes, but Bugitas had no doubt that he would be victorious. The god he worshipped, Ravovifard, had provided him with power and a plan that would lead to certain victory against the monster, and Budarion was an opponent that he had already defeated once before.
It's true that I had quite a hard time when I fought Budarion. But my Level has increased since that time as well, and I have become able to summon an even more powerful Familiar Spirit. Compared to that, only his appearance and his magic sword has changed, nothing else.
Budarion had lost an eye and an arm to Bugitas. His enormous scythe was a Magic Item given to him by Ravovifard, possessing a curse that reduced the healing abilities and the effects of any healing magic cast on any targets that it wounded, but it seemed that the curse had somehow been broken.
It had likely been the doing of that monster; Bugitas was willing to admit that he was quite skilled. But that was the exact reason why Bugitas was under the impression that he would be able to defeat Budarion as he had done before.
Budarion and this monster had likely only met each other recently. Though Budarion had regained his eye and arm, he should have had almost no time to improve his abilities.
Even Ravovifard's Divine Message hadn't mentioned Budarion at all. In other words, he wasn't as much of a threat as the monster. The different-colored eye and arm were likely some kind of bluff.
With that being the case, even though Budarion was a Rank 10 Noble Orc High King, even though he possessed the Swordsmanship Skill at Level 10, he wouldn't stand a chance against Bugitas, a Rank 11 Plunder King who possessed an awakened superior Skill.
That was what Bugitas had concluded.
"BUOOH!"
"BUGUGAH!"
The super-heavy magic sword and the great scythe clashed. Each time they collided, Bugitas's leisurely attitude disappeared, little by little.
"What's the matter? Your movements are dull! Has the comfort of the throne you stole from me made you lazy?" said Budarion.
The way he handled his sword had become more skillful, his blows faster and, most importantly, heavier.
"Say what you like!" Bugitas shouted back in the Orc language, thrusting the end of his scythe's handle at Bugitas's solar plexus.
Budarion stopped Bugitas's attack with the body of his magic sword's blade.
"… Flowing Willow, Pierce."
With a natural movement, like the leaves of a willow tree swaying in the wind, he parried the attack. At the same time, he released a thrust, as if the blade of his sword was crawling up the scythe's handle.
In contrast to his quiet voice, Budarion's movements were heavy, planting his foot into the ground with so much force that the stone paving beneath it was broken, the tip of his sword closing in on his enemy.
"BUGIIIH! BUGIGYAGYAGYAGYAGYAH!"
Bugitas avoided it with Flowing Water, a martial skill of an advanced Skill, and then swung his scythe multiple times, releasing Hundred Consecutive Beast Blade Flying Slashes at Budarion.
"… An unsightly way to fight. Flowing Water."
Handling his magic sword with movements that resembled the flowing of water, Budarion cut through only the attacks that had been sent his way. But some of the chaotic attacks that Bugitas had released wouldn't have hit Budarion to begin with.
These attacks would cut through the buildings behind Budarion and would likely keep going straight through the buildings without stopping.
"Demon King's blood, activate, Stone Wall, Stone Wall, Ice Blood Stiff Wall."
But Vandalieu, the monster who appeared to be standing completely still behind Budarion, made his move. The Demon King's blood spurted from the wrists that he had cut himself, hardening and forming a wall, and Vandalieu activated martial skills from behind the wall that acted as his shield.
But the Hundred Consecutive Beast Blade Flying Slashes cut through the first two walls. But as they hit the third wall, the wall of ice created by Dead Spirit Magic that made use of Orbia, they were completely stopped, scattering into the air.
"As expected of a martial technique of a superior Skill, released from a magic scythe, an Artifact no less. I panicked a little," said Vandalieu.
"Vandalieu-kun, wouldn't it have been better to use the Demon King's carapace instead of his blood?" said Orbia.
"Orbia, the carapace covers my body as it activates; it would have taken time for it to turn into a shape where it could protect the faraway places behind us."
"I see. But that Bugitas enemy, isn't he quite amazing?"
"Yes, he's quite the formidable foe."
As Bugitas glared at Budarion and listened to this conversation, he felt such humiliation and anger that he felt like the blood vessels in his head would burst.
Are they being sarcastic?! Don't mess with me!
Bugitas's initial expectation was that Budarion would have been severely wounded, unable to completely stop the Hundred Consecutive Beast Blade Flying Slashes. No, he should have been heavily wounded before that, and the last attack should have cut him into pieces.
And then he had intended to easily defeat Vandalieu, the remaining enemy, by using the plan that would bring certain victory. He would have offered the fragments of the Demon King to Ravovifard, and headed towards the gate, holding the heads of his two enemies in one hand.
But in reality, Budarion was unharmed, having easily stopped a secret attack of Bugitas's awaked superior Skill, War-boar Scythe Technique.
And the attacks that Budarion hadn't stopped had been stopped by Vandalieu, only making him "panic a little."
In fact, Bugitas was the one who was in the corner.
He hadn't been heavily wounded, but he had received several light wounds. Because he had released several martial skills consecutively within a short period of time, he was out of breath, had expended a large amount of Mana and his head had begun hurting.
He was already using Transcend Limits, Surpass Limits: Magic Scythe and Familiar Spirit Descent. Budarion was using Familiar Spirit Descent and other Skills to strengthen himself as well, but rather than being even, Bugitas was at the disadvantage and unable to keep up.
"BUGOOOOH! BUGUGAH! BUGIIIIH!" Bugitas shouted, his face twisting in an unsightly manner as he cursed Budarion.
"Just when did I become this strong, you ask? Indeed, before, I was defeated by you and disgraced myself, forcing the people of the empire that I was supposed to protect through hard times," said Budarion, deliberately translating Bugitas's question and answering with human words. "But I am being guided."
"BUHIH?!" Bugitas opened his eyes wide in astonishment at the fact that there could be another with a False Guidance Skill. He hadn't even considered the possibility before.
"Don't misunderstand. Unlike the fake that you possess, it is true Guidance," Budarion continued. "I have received the Guidance of the Demon Path from Vandalieu, the Holy Son, and have gained power as a result. It is similar to the blessings given to us by our Mububujenge, our guardian goddess, and I have succeeded in increasing my Rank and awakening a superior Skill within a short period of time. Bugitas, I am not the defeated prince you once knew. I am now Rank 11 like you, a Noble Orc Abyss King."
Impossible, Bugitas thought, speechless at the response given by Budarion.
Guidance and False Guidance Skills were Skills that gave blessings not onto the Skill owner, but to others. Thus, Bugitas was not strengthened by his own False Guidance: Beast Path.
But Guidance: Demon Path increased Budarion's Attribute Values and raised him to be a greater being.
And from the Experience Points he had gained from defeating Budirud and Bufudin, his Rank had increased and he had awakened a superior Skill.
Impossible, that's impossible! Budarion has reached the same heights as I have?! Then there is no way that I can win, is there!
Bugitas was someone who had originally been completely aware in the difference in talent between him and his brother; he had intended to suppress his complex and devote himself to supporting his older brother in the future. He hadn't believed that he would be able to defeat Budarion in the arena.
"Danna, could it be that this Bugitas is even stronger than Gubamon?" Kimberley asked.
"When he threw the Demon King's carapace, you blocked it with a single-layered wall of the Demon King's blood, after all," said Princess Levia. "Then does that mean that he is stronger than a Pure-breed Vampire?"
"At the very least, I think that Bugitas is stronger than Gubamon when it comes to ability in martial skills," said Vandalieu.
"Eh, are you serious, Vandalieu-kun?" said Orbia.
"I'm serious," Vandalieu replied. "Gubamon was higher in Rank, but his Throwing Skill wasn't a superior Skill, and the Demon King's Carapace as he used it back then wouldn't have been any better for using martial skills than that large scythe. Well, it seems that Bugitas's skill in magic is disappointing, so Gubamon might be stronger overall. Still, Bugitas is very impressive."
"… I would rather ask, are you serious when you say that you defeated a Pure-breed Vampire?" said Gizania.
"Rather, it seems that you are naturally looking down on both of them," said Myuze.
"Well, to Vandalieu, that's all they were," said Vigaro.
"Leaving that aside… Darling, you're wonderful! You look amazing!" said Princess Kurnelia.
As the spectating gallery suddenly grew, the ensuing conversation told Bugitas that he was in a hopeless situation.
It's not a matter of whether I can defeat Budarion or not; if that monster had joined forces with Budarion and come at me two-on-one from the start, I would already be dead!
Also, Vandalieu hadn't been directly targeted, but he possessed the ability to block Bugitas's secret attack. Despite that, he had only used the Demon King's carapace for defense, not only for himself, but to protect the surrounding buildings and the civilians that might be on the other side of them.
If Vandalieu started backing Budarion up seriously, how would Bugitas hold out when he was already inferior as things were now?
So why was Vandalieu leaving Bugitas's disposal to Budarion? Bugitas had guessed the answer to that.
A performance for the citizens and the other nations!
This war had caused the Noble Orc empire's dignity to plummet into the ground. Bugitas, the one who had usurped the throne, was responsible for staging coup d'états in multiple nations, wounding and killing masses of people and trampling over their dignity, but there was no doubt that the people's trust in the empire itself had fallen.
Even if Bugitas's head was taken and every single one of his subordinates was executed, the empire would not be able to return to its previous position. In fact, it would have to atone for its actions for a long time to come.
For the empire to regain as much of its position as possible, it was necessary for Budarion to defeat Bugitas with his own hands, and for this act to be witnessed by members of each nation.
Vandalieu focusing on preventing damage to the surrounding areas without providing assistance to Budarion, and the presence of the spectating gallery, were for that purpose.
Princess Kurnelia, Gizania and Myuze from Zanalpadna. Princess Lulu from the High Kobold nation and Prince Zorgo from the High Goblin nation. Nobody had come from the Ghoul nation, but as Vigaro had emerged victorious in the brawl that had occurred there, he had become idolized as "Aniki!" by the Ghoul nation's king, so he was here as their representative.
All of them were like relatives to one another, but even the nations that weren't here to witness it couldn't ignore such an event.
Incidentally, the reason Budarion was speaking the human language instead of the Orc language was out of consideration for this gallery of spectators.
Bugitas let out a low laugh. "… So, you're already treating me like a loser."
"What's the matter, Bugitas? If you wish to give up and surrender, then I will show mercy. I swear that I will give you the most painless death," said Budarion.
"Surrender? I, the one who has been recognized as the agent of Ravovifard's divine will in this world, surrender to a monster and my own ani-ue who has stooped low enough to become this monster's hound…"
At this rate, a comeback was impossible. Knowing this, Bugitas decided to begin the plan for certain victory that had been given to him by Ravovifard.
Originally, it had been a plan to be used on Vandalieu. Bugitas had been warned to never use it other than for that purpose, but he had no choice left now.
"BUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ani-ue, I shall surpass you here once more! Monster, what is about to happen is all because you drove me into this corner!" Bugitas kicked the ground, taking a large step backwards, his eyes containing the dangerous look characteristic of someone who has been cornered.
Budarion instinctively chased after him, but he couldn't make it in time. "Bugitas, what are you doing?!"
"BUHAHAHA! Demon King's fragment, activate!"
Bugitas's body glowed with a bluish-white light, an ominous atmosphere surrounding him that felt like the air had grown heavier.
"Buh, what is this light?!" Budarion fell back, blinded by the light.
"No way, Bugitas had a fragment of the Demon King?!" Princess Kurnelia exclaimed in astonishment. "If you use something like that, the only thing waiting for you is your destr… you might not be destroyed, but you can't use it for bad things!" she said, correcting herself.
"Fragment? Prince, please fall back and everyone else, get away from me as well," said Vandalieu. "Also, Princess Kurnelia, thank you for correcting yourself out of consideration."
With those words, Vandalieu solidified his defense. He had originally thought it highly likely that Ravovifard would do something, so even though he was certain that Bugitas would be defeated, he hadn't come unprepared.
He was constantly within range to protect everyone in the spectating gallery, too.
For now, he put up barriers and built walls using the Demon King's blood and carapace. But he couldn't control them well.
Vandalieu coughed. "This is…?"
A large amount of the Demon King's blood broke through Vandalieu's skin; ink from the Demon King's ink sacs poured from his mouth; the Demon King's horns, carapace and suction cups were appearing haphazardly all over his body.
"Release us! Release us! Release us!"
The fragments were making noise for the first time in a long time. All of the blood in Vandalieu's body was boiling; his bones ached and his heart trembled.
"Vandalieu! What is… GUOOOH?!"
"AAAAAHHH?!"
Vigaro and Princess Levia, who had begun rushing over towards Vandalieu, began writhing in agony, as did Budarion and the other Noble Orcs who had been watching events unfold in the plaza from afar.
But they weren't simply suffering.
"GUOOOOOOOGAAAAAAH!"
Budarion had maintained his ability to reason even in the middle of battle, but now, his eyes became bloodshot and his mouth foamed as he let out a roar. He gnashed his fangs together numerous times and swung his magic sword about.
The other Noble Orcs that were Bugitas's subordinates, as well as Princess Levia and the other Ghosts, had expressions on their faces resembling rampaging beasts, completely different from their normal selves.
"What is this… their instincts as monsters have been forcibly amplified?! He can do this even to those who are not under the effects of his False Guidance?!" Zadiris shouted.
Though she was a member of one of Vida's races that had monster roots, she was not a pure monster, so she had retained her ability to reason.
"It is likely that Ravovifard's power is being amplified by Bugitas's Demon King fragment!" said Gizania. "And that's why he can do something like that… Kuh, Vandalieu."
"Kuh, Van! VAAAAN!" Basdia shouted.
Vandalieu could hear Gizania and Basdia's voices, but he couldn't reply. His hands were full with trying to control the Demon King's fragments.
"JUOOOOOOOOH!"
"GICHICHICHICHIIH!"
On top of everything else, Bone Man and Pete had come out of Vandalieu's body on their own. This wasn't a situation where he could relax and say, "I'm alright."
Bugitas let out a loud laugh as he watched this disastrous scene unfold. "BUHAHAHAHAHAHA! It seems that even Ani-ue has no choice but to become the kind of beast that he hates so much before the Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs!"
No matter how intelligent the monsters created by the Demon King Guduranis and his subordinates were, to the Demon King that had created them, they were nothing more than livestock that he could create in large quantities, pawns that he used to fight.
But if they were intelligent, they would think about unnecessary things, and even if that weren't the case, they would often rebel against the Demon King and his subordinate gods or act on their own once they became reasonably strong.
That was why monsters had been made to instinctively obey the Demon King and his evil gods. Even now, a hundred thousand years after the Demon King's defeat, that hadn't changed.
Bugitas had used the Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs that had been given to him by Ravovifard, the evil god of release, in order to utilize that instinct.
By secreting a special pheromone from the scent glands and releasing a hypnotic light from the luminescent organs, he had made the monsters, including Budarion, go berserk.
This had originally been a plan to make the Demon King fragments in Vandalieu's possession to go wild and destroy him, but even Bugitas hadn't expected it to be this effective.
"If this was how it was going to turn out, I should have done this from the begin… GUBUGIH?!" Bugitas was initially intoxicated by the certainty of his victory, but he got goosebumps as he experienced a harsh headache and heard an announcer's voice in his head, warning him of a dangerous fact. "Demon King Encroachment Degree is already Level 7?! Th-that's too fast!"
The Demon King Encroachment Degree was increasing with terrifying speed. As it did, the power of the Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs grew proportionally greater, but Bugitas's mind was encroached upon.
What is the meaning of this?! I never heard that the encroachment degree will increase this fast! Isn't there some kind of miscalculation…?
"No, everything has gone according to plan, Bugitas, my most exceptional monster… or rather, my most exceptional pawn," said the voice of Ravovifard, echoing inside Bugitas's now-chaotic mind.
The voice was coming from the familiar spirit that still resided inside Bugitas… or rather, the spirit clone that Ravovifard had created with a part of his own personality, its power deliberately suppressed to disguise it as a familiar spirit.
"Ravovifard! This is…?!"
"It seems that the scent glands and luminescent organs have affected your own mind as well. It seems that you have forgotten that you are nothing more than a monster yourself. Now then, I will take over from here, my pawn!"
As Bugitas felt Ravovifard's power expand explosively inside him and his internal being slowly vanish, he screamed in fear and anger at his betrayal at the hands of the god that he worshipped.
"… Fufufu, HAHAHAHA! I have finally gained a body that I can move on the world's surface! I had originally planned to grow him up a little more, but this is enough for now! Once this battle is over, I shall choose a powerful female, impregnate her and create the body I will possess for the next generation!" said Ravovifard, elated after having gained Bugitas's body. He turned his gaze to Budarion and Vandalieu, whose body was covered in carapace and horns. "Now then, my new subordinates! Kill that monster and offer those fragments to me!"
At those words, the Noble Orcs that had been Bugitas's subordinates, Budarion as well as Borkus and their others raised their faces.
"No, you can't do that, Darling!" Princess Kurnelia shouted in grief.
But they took no notice of her and began to move.
"BUGAAAAAAH!"
With roars so bloodthirsty that blood could almost be smelled from it, the Noble Orcs charged towards Vandalieu.
"YOU'RE IN THE WAAAAAY!"
"JYUOOOOOH!"
"UOOOOOOH!"
Budarion, Bone Man and Borkus broke into a run with enough force to smash the stone paving beneath them and cut down the Noble Orcs in a single slash.
"WHAT?!" Ravovifard shouted in astonishment. "You are lowly monsters; why are you disobey - GUOOOOH?!"
As the three of them sent Noble Orc body parts tumbling through the air, they closed in on Ravovifard. Unable to completely stop all three of their swords, Ravovifard was sent flying backwards.
Skill explanation:
[False Guidance: Beast Path]
A Skill bestowed by Ravovifard, the evil god of release, with similar effects to a Guidance Skill, granting the ability to rule monsters and release their instincts.
Those guided by this Skill have increased Attribute Values with the exception of Intelligence, and are stimulated to increase their Ranks. In addition, their fighting instincts and desires are stimulated.
However, their Intelligence declines and the effects of martial skills and Magic-related skills in particular are reduced.
Those influenced by this Skill gradually become unable to suppress their instincts as monsters, returning to the way they were when they were loyal frontline soldiers for the Demon King's army.
Also, this Skill generally targets monsters and Vida's races that originated from monsters, though the effects are halved on the latter. However, humans who ordinarily possess fighting instincts and desires that they struggle to suppress with reasoning, as well as young children whose personalities have not been well-established yet, can also become targets for this Skill.
Name: Budarion
Rank: 11
Race: Noble Orc Abyss King
Level: 2
Passive skills:
Dark Vision
Superhuman Strength: Level 10
Endless Sexual Stamina: Level 1
Strengthen Followers: Level 8
Strengthened Attribute Values when equipped with a Sword (Large)
Inferior Race Domination: Level 7
Self-Enhancement: Demon Path: Level 3
Magic Resistance: Level 1
Status Effect Resistance: Level 1
Mana Enlargement: Level 1
Active skills:
Demon Path Fang Sword Technique: Level 1
Armor Technique: Level 9
Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 6
Mount: Level 4
No-Attribute Magic: Level 2
Mana Control: Level 5
Earth-Attribute Magic: Level 3
Life-Attribute Magic: Level 9
Alchemy: Level 1
Commanding: Level 7
Coordination: Level 8
Dismantling: Level 2
Familiar Spirit Descent: Level 10
Transcend Limits: Level 5
Surpass Limits: Magic Sword: Level 5
Unique skills:
Mububujenge's Divine Protection
Monster explanation:
[Noble Orc Abyss King]
A being that the Noble Orc High King Budarion has become after having his lost arm and eye replaced by Vandalieu's surgery and death-attribute magic, gaining Experience Points from defeating Budirud and Bufudin on the battlefield and increasing his Rank.
His right arm and left eye have become stained black from the influence of death-attribute Mana, but they do not have any special powers over his non-black arm and eye.
By increasing his Rank, he has acquired the Magic Resistance, Status Effect Resistance and Mana Enlargement Skills.
Also, as he is under the effects of Guidance: Demon Path, he gains bonuses to his Attribute Values and Skills, and it is expected that he will become even more powerful once he increases his Level.
Of course, Budarion is the first in history to become a Noble Orc Abyss King, so his existence has not been recorded by any organizations, including the Adventurers' Guild.
However, there is no mistake that he is a monster that receives the maximum effect of a Guidance Skill; such monsters are rare if one excludes the monsters tamed by the champion Nineroad.
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Chapter 145: This monster -
In the world where he had originally come from, Ravovifard, the evil god of release, was the weakest kind of god, of equal rank to Fidirg, the dragon god of five sins and Zozogante, the evil god of the dark forest… no, even slightly below them.
That was because there was no worth in what he ruled.
Ravovifard ruled over instincts and desires, the display of power that surpassed one's limits by releasing themselves from their reasoning.
But in Ravovifard's world, those with the ability to reason were in the minority. Many were loyal to their instincts and desires even without being released, not needing Ravovifard's power.
And those with reasoning and wisdom were often physically weak and weak in their abilities, so even if they were released, they couldn't gain great power. In fact, they were all races that had developed intelligence because they were weak. Thus, they took no notice of Ravovifard.
Ravovifard was not content with being a weak god in a realm so small that he could see all of it from a single spot, worshipped only by the members of his own race.
That was still true even when he became a part of the Demon King's army and fought the gods and champions of Lambda.
The evil gods, including the Demon King, had created monsters as their new servants in this world, but they hadn't been able to create them without limit. The monsters' strength and numbers that could be created were influenced by the strength of the god that created them.
Ravovifard was only able to create several hundred monsters that were weaker than those created by the other evil gods. And Ravovifard wasn't flexible like Fidirg, who had ordered the Lizardmen to create tools for themselves. The monsters he created were quickly defeated and had their numbers reduced by the champions and their allies.
But even so, he didn't even consider the offer of the champion Zakkart.
Zakkart's words had the idea of coexistence behind them, and Ravovifard perceived this to be in conflict with his own values.
Ravovifard fought in the Demon King's army as a weak god, and because he was weak, he was never given any important roles. Thus, when Bellwood and his companions defeated the Demon King, Ravovifard was able to survive even as the Demon King's body and soul were taken apart.
Fortunately for Ravovifard, he managed to acquire one of the Demon King's fragments, his scent glands.
That was when circumstances changed for this god.
Many evil gods had been sealed away or forced into slumber after losing their powers, so many monsters had lost their masters. Ravovifard succeeded in turning these monsters into his servants.
Ravovifard ruled over instincts and desires. Thus, he was able to turn beast-type and plant-type monsters, which didn't have a single shred of intelligence, into his believers. Other evil gods would value a monster believer to be worth less than a tenth of an ordinary believer, but Ravovifard valued them as believers.
With a hundred Huge Boars, a thousand Poison Frogs and ten thousand Horn Rabbits, to Ravovifard, it was equivalent to being worshipped by an entire religious nation.
There were monsters like Orcs and Kobolds as well, who possessed some intelligence, but because the evil gods that had originally been their masters were no longer around, it was simple for Ravovifard to turn them into his believers.
Of course, if he made any conspicuous moves, the heroic god Bellwood, who was still active after the battle between Alda and Vida, would have moved to exterminate him. Fortunately, however, Ravovifard was searching for monsters to become his believers on the Dark Continent, the entirety of which had become a Devil's Nest.
Because not a single 'human' that Bellwood was supposed to protect existed on the Dark Continent, he wouldn't notice Ravovifard no matter how many monster believers he gathered.
And after a hundred thousand years, Ravovifard succeeded in gathering power that his previous self from when he was in the Demon King's army could not be compared to. Though the majority of the gods hadn't managed to regain their former powers, Ravovifard was one of the few exceptions.
On top of that, he stole the Demon King's luminescent organs from another evil god who was once in the Demon King's army, so his power only continued to rise.
And then things had changed once more a hundred years ago when a great god who had been devoting all of his efforts to recovering from his wounds after the battle between Vida and Alda, the fallen war-god Zantark who had fused with an evil god, had made a sudden move.
In order to regain his power, Zantark issued a great command to his subordinates, setting them on a large-scale monster hunt on the Dark Continent. Ravovifard had gathered plenty of fighting forces as well, so he had planned to take Zantark's realm from him, but he was attacked first.
The evil gods who had become Ravovifard's subordinates were killed by Zantark and the heroic god Farmaun Gold who had returned to his side, and the monsters that were his believers were turned into Experience Points one after another.
And now, it had been more than half a century since Ravovifard became content with his inferiority. He had decided that turning things around was impossible, and fleeing was best. Sacrificing the power that he had gathered, his subordinates and the monsters that were his believers in the process.
The place he had chosen to begin his recovery was the inside of the Bahn Gaia continent, where Farmaun Gold could not enter, the sacred land of Vida's races where the goddess Vida slumbered.
He gained monsters from outside the Boundary Mountain Range as his believers, made them infiltrate inside, spent years increasing the number of monster believers he had little by little, then chose Bugitas, who had a deep complex due to his older brother, as his priest.
It was merely a time period of just over ten years, but for Ravovifard, who was also loyal to his own instincts and desires, it was more than long enough to be existing in obscurity.
And once the opportunity was ripe, he gathered others with suitable minds to grant them his divine protection, such as Gargya, Gido and Gerazorg, gained supremacy over the southern region of the continent and now, the time had come to fulfill his ambition of ruling Lambda as the greatest, most powerful god.
He had lost some pawns unexpectedly due to a monster who could tame the Undead and skillfully wield not one but multiple fragments of the Demon King despite not being an evil god. He had even been forced to move his plans up and possess the body of Bugitas early, even though he had planned to raise Bugitas more first. But now that he had done this, he should definitely be able to turn things around.
He had already turned the monster's pawns into his loyal servants, and the monster himself would be destroyed by the Demon King's fragments going wild inside his body.
"UGOAAAAH?!"
That was how things were supposed to be, but Ravovifard, who had possessed Bugitas's body, was sent flying with great force as he stopped the swords of Budarion, Bone Man and Borkus with his great scythe.
"GAHAH?!"
His back was struck by the countless horns of the Demon King mounted on a wall of the Demon King's blood that had been placed behind him without him knowing it.
What is happening?! Why are the monsters disobeying me?!
Thinking that there was some kind of mistake, Ravovifard sprang to his feet with a movement that wouldn't be expected from his enormous body and issued orders once more. "Th-the one you are to kill is that monster, Vandalieu! Not me! I am Ravovifard, the evil god of release who has returned you monsters to your original form!"
But there were none present here who would listen to Ravovifard's words.
"SHUT UP, YOU FOOL! BUOOOOOH! CONSECUTIVE SCREW THRUSTS!" Budarion roared.
"UOOOOH?!"
Ravovifard's scythe was unable to stop all of Budarion's spinning, high-speed, consecutive thrusts; they gouged out large chunks of flesh from his arm, his side and his cheek. But now that Bugitas's body was possessed by a god, such damage was repaired in the blink of an eye.
Because Budarion's magic sword was made from the Demon King's horns, the wounds took longer than usual to heal completely, but this level of damage wasn't enough to be called significant.
But the problem with this was the mental damage inflicted.
"Impossible, why are monsters disobeying me?! Monsters that are supposed to be my loyal tools!" Ravovifard shouted.
"Magic Blade Attack, Instant Flash, Lifeline Sever!" Budarion released advanced martial skills, one after another.
Each of them sent Ravovifard's blood and pieces of flesh flying into the air, and he was further wounded by the wall created from the Demon King's fragments, and Budarion's body began letting out scream-like noises as well.
"Stop! Darling, you'll die!" Princess Kurnelia screamed.
Perhaps hearing her, Budarion fell back as if staggering. But Ravovifard didn't even have room to breathe.
An assault from Borkus and Bone Man, even fiercer than Budarion's, awaited him.
"I'LL BUTCHER YOU! CONSECUTIVE FLYING DRAGON CUT! DRAGON SLAYER!"
"I SHALL OFFER MY LORD YOUR RIBS! YOUR LOINS! YOUR HEAAAAART!"
Borkus unleashed a Sword King Technique martial skill that released slashing attacks, and a moment later, he raised his sword and charged in.
Bone Man had disassembled his entire body, having attached a blade to each limb and each of his ribs, using the Long-distance Control Skill to unleash separate Swordsmanship martial skills.
"You bastard, how many weapons made from the Demon King's fragments do you have?!" Ravovifard shouted.
Ravovifard could have almost instantly healed wounds caused by Upper-class magic Items, but the damage caused by weapons made from fragments that had once been a part of the Demon King Guduranis's body was building up.
On top of that, Borkus and Bone Man's weapons were Magic Items enchanted with the death-attribute spell Negate Healing. The Level of Ravovifard's Status Effect Resistance Skill was high, so his regeneration wasn't stopped entirely, but its speed was reduced.
"And you said you'll butcher me?! Offer my meat?! I AM AN EVIL GOD!" Ravovifard was enraged not by the damage being inflicted upon him, but the arrogant way that Borkus and Bone Man were treating him like food.
He swung his great scythe forcefully, shattering Bone Man's bones and severing Borkus's sword.
But the price of this was that the great scythe shattered to pieces as well.
"Hmph! I need no weapon against enemies like you who do not know their place!" Ravovifard threw aside the scythe's handle without hesitation, attacking Borkus and Bone Man with his own enormous body as his weapon.
As he was a god who ruled over primitive instincts, he was more proficient at close-quarters combat relying on physical strength than using advanced martial skills.
No, it was more accurate to say that he wasn't capable of anything other than this kind of combat to begin with.
"You lowly monsters, don't disobey me!" Ravovifard roared.
"GOAAH?!"
Unable to hold back Ravovifard's tackle with his broken sword, this time it was Borkus's turn to be sent flying, crashing into Bone Man along the way. The two of them collided with a gelatinous wall of the Demon King's blood that appeared behind them, sinking into it.
As Ravovifard tried to perform another tackle to finish them off, black flames and ice rained down from the sky above him.
"KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Princess Levia and Orbia laughed loudly.
They and the other Ghosts had confirmed that there were no other allies in the vicinity, and now they had begun attacking from range.
"GUOOOOH?! What is this quantity of Mana that is unthinkable for the attacks of small fry?!"
Ravovifard possessed the body of the Rank 11 Bugitas; his physical abilities were beyond those of a Pure-breed Vampire. He should have been unharmed by the attacks of Rank 6 and 7 Ghosts.
But the vast amount of Mana in the attacks released by Princess Levia, Orbia and the other Ghosts caused more damage to accumulate in Ravovifard's body.
"Don't get carried away!" As Ravovifard rolled across the ground, he picked up a broken horn of the Demon King and tried to throw it at the Ghosts.
But the moment he picked it up, the Demon King's horn changed shape, forming countless spikes that stabbed his hand.
"GUOH?!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOW!"
"GIIIIIIIH!"
As Ravovifard stopped moving, surprised at this unexpected pain, Kimberley and Pete released their lightning attacks at him.
"We shall continue this fight!"
"Alright!"
Zadiris and Basdia joined the attack as well. As they were members of a race created by Vida rather than pure monsters, perhaps they had decided it best to utilize Ravovifard's influence rather than suppress it. With a glaring bloodthirst shining in their eyes, they released their spells.
Blades of light and wind cut into Ravovifard's body. The wounds recovered immediately after they appeared, but the healing gradually started becoming outpaced by the damage.
"NUUUUUGH! DON'T GET CARRIED AWAAAAY!" roared the enraged Ravovifard, releasing a shockwave.
The shockwave scattered the spells and caused Princess Levia to waver like the flame of a candle in the wind, while Zadiris groaned and bent low towards the ground.
"As I thought, we cannot cast spells effectively. Things won't go as well for us as they did for Pete and the princess," Zadiris muttered.
Pete and Princess Levia released their lightning and flames not through magic, but through their bodies' abilities. Under the influence of Ravovifard's scent glands and luminescent organs, they could exert more power than usual, but spells were harder to cast due to Zadiris's thoughts and concentration being thrown into disarray, and this was what she was lamenting.
Meanwhile, Ravovifard was lamenting something else.
My power is working against me?!
It was hard to admit, but he couldn't continue averting his eyes from the reality that the monsters were going against him, not listening to his commands at all.
Ravovifard had not yet become fully accustomed to Bugitas's body, as he had only just possessed it moments ago, so he could not move it as he desired. He suspected that this might be one of the reasons for the monsters defying him, but he stopped this train of thought, knowing that he had no time to investigate the cause.
"Demon King's fragments, cease activation! Cease!" Ravovifard attempted to cease the effects of the Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs that had driven Budarion, Borkus and the others mad. "With this, you underlings of that monster will no longer receive my power -!"
"We refuse. Release us! Release us!" said the Demon King's fragments which were supposed to have only their primitive instincts remaining, clearly refusing to obey Ravovifard's command.
"WHAT?!" Ravovifard froze in shock.
"Monster this, monster that!" said the voice of Eleanora.
As if taking advantage of the fact that Ravovifard had stopped moving, Eleanora emerged from the wall of the Demon King's blood and cut deep into Ravovifard's back.
"GAH?!" Ravovifard screamed in agony and anger, trying to strike Eleanora with the back of his fist, but before he could, she disappeared back into the wall of the Demon King's blood.
But in the next moment, Eleanora's upper half reappeared from a pool of blood at Ravovifard's feet.
"Can you stop mocking Vandalieu-sama?" she said, swinging her sword, cutting into Ravovifard's shin.
And as Ravovifard tried to stomp on her in retaliation, she disappeared once more into the blood.
"Where, no, how are you able to enter and exit blood?! I have never heard of such an ability, even in Vampires… Could it be that this is the Demon King's blood that has broken off and returned to liquid form?! The same ability that the monster used to store - GUOAH?!"
The horns of Pete, who had appeared from the side, sunk deep into the astounded Ravovifard's side.
Fragments of the Demon King's blood and carapace were scattered all around Ravovifard. Eleanora and Pete were moving in and out of them using Vandalieu's Group Binding Technique Skill, conducting a series of hit-and-run attacks.
"If we do not defeat him quickly, everyone's bodies will not last! Thus, I shall join the battle!" Gizania declared.
"I shall step forth!" said Myuze.
"I prefer that, too!" said Basdia.
"UOOOOOOH!" Vigaro roared.
Gizania and Myuze hadn't been able to participate in the battle directly until now due to their lack of strength, but now they joined Basdia and Vigaro in jumping into the puddles of blood one by one.
Surrounded by enemies not only in 360 degrees around him but from above and below as well, Ravovifard screamed as enormous swords, sickles and an axe cut deep into him, all over his body.
As he tried to counter-attack, he was entangled by the threads of Princess Kurnelia, who was participating in the battle secretly, and the limbs of Eisen. The moment he needed to cut himself free of them caused him to miss his chance to attack, and then Budarion and Borkus, who had recovered from their injuries by drinking Blood Potion away from the battle, attacked him once more.
And the recovered Princess Levia, Orbia and Kimberley sent a storm of fire, ice and lightning raining down on Ravovifard as well.
Due to the power leaking from the Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs, everyone had been strengthened, surpassing their bodily limits. Each time they swung their weapons, their bones creaked and their muscle fibers were torn with loud noises.
"Soothing Light! You cannot rampage to your heart's content!" shouted Zadiris.
"Uwah! Darling's arm has been torn again!" cried Princess Kurnelia. "Healing Wind!"
"If I knew this was going to happen, I would have studied magic more diligently!" said Princess Lulu.
The three of them were supporting the others as well as they could with healing magic. Even Prince Zorgo, who was still a very young High Goblin, was contributing to the battle by distributing Blood Potion to those who had fallen back, unable to be healed in time.
Trying to do something about the situation, Ravovifard was blowing away the puddles of blood at his feet with shockwaves and trying to get away from the wall made of the Demon King's blood. But each time he did, he was blocked by the Blood Slime Kühl, who was spraying the Demon King's blood stored inside him all over the area.
"UOOOOH! DON'T SWARM ME, YOU SMALL FRYYYYY!" Ravovifard bellowed.
As he was exposed to an overwhelming number of attacks the likes of which he had never experienced before, he felt tormented by a maddening sense of irritation, anger and humiliation.
Normally, nobody would possess more power than Ravovifard, not even the Rank 11 Borkus and Budarion. There was such a difference in strength that if Ravovifard were to fight any of them one-on-one, they might put up a good fight, but they would never defeat him.
But due to his enemies' physical abilities and fighting instincts that had been pushed past their limits by Ravovifard himself, their weapons made from the Demon King's fragments, their unnaturally vast quantity of Mana and the hit-and-run tactics of refusing to face him head-on, he had been cornered into a situation where he couldn't land a single blow back.
Up until now, Ravovifard had always started battles with large numbers of monsters under his command. He had never imagined that he would be the one to experience a large quantity of violence like this.
Back when they were a part of the Demon King's army, the evil gods had always created large numbers of monsters to use as frontline soldiers, inflicting violence upon their enemies. Ravovifard hadn't changed his combat strategies since then; he had no experience in fighting against multiple enemies on his own.
"GAAAAAAH!"
Unable to concentrate, Ravovifard was distracted by new attacks and unable to focus on a single target.
He was like a wounded beast. Since that was the case, it was easy for Borkus, Vigaro and Eleanora, who regularly hunted powerful monsters, to make sport of him.
But Blood Potion and the healing magic of Zadiris and the others were not unlimited in supply. This was a contest of who would collapse first - Budarion and his allies, or Ravovifard… or at least, that was what he thought.
Clear air gently filled his surroundings.
"GAH?!" Borkus shouted.
"Uooh… what was I… ugh," Budarion groaned.
"My strength is… fading…" Eleanora mumbled.
Reasoning returned to the eyes of these three. They felt an intense sense of fatigue and stopped moving.
As Undead, neither Borkus nor Princess Levia and the rest of the Ghosts felt physical fatigue, but their mental fatigue was tremendous. Borkus fell to his knees, while the Ghosts flickered and vanished.
And Ravovifard was unable to take advantage of this opportunity.
What is this? My fragments went against my will and continued to stay active, so what happened?! And what is this presence and this incomprehensible sense of exhilaration?!
These events unfolded before Ravovifard as he stood where he was.
"That took a lot of effort… since the fragments were noisy and activated on their own, and they were difficult to control…" Vandalieu, who was supposed to have been immobilized by the blood, horns and carapace, stood up. "It seems that the effects of the Demon King's luminescent organs were halved because they became stained with blood. As for the scent glands, I knew that their effects would be removed if I erased your scent with the death-attribute spell Deodorization, but it was difficult casting spells while keeping the rampaging fragments under control and providing everyone with Mana, and on top of that, as expected of a scent produced by the Demon King's scent glands, it wasn't easy to erase."
Vandalieu's appearance was bizarre. He was a roughly person-shaped object made of the Demon King's blood, which was in a jelly-like form and pulsing ominously, as well as carapace, horns and suction cups that had appeared haphazardly all over it. And Vandalieu's face, the only part of him that was exposed, was where this bizarre person-shaped object's chest should have been.
Vandalieu was speaking in a calm, quiet, matter-of-fact tone. But even now, there was a harsh, grinding noise coming from inside his body as the Demon King's fragments raged inside him, trying to appear once more.
Perceiving this as a pleasant sensation, Vandalieu spoke to Ravovifard. "How dare you… You've gone and done a lot, haven't you?"
"… What… did you say…?" Ravovifard asked incredulously.
Wasn't Ravovifard the one who'd had all kinds of things done to him? But Vandalieu's view on things was very different.
『The Levels of the Demon King Fusion, Grotesque Mind, Status Effect Resistance, Multi-Cast, Long-distance Control, Parallel Thought Processing and High-speed Thought Processing Skills have increased!』
"I thought I was going crazy. Seeing everyone getting torn apart while I was unable to move my body as I wanted, unable to cast spells, forced to devote all of my concentration to controlling the fragments. Do you understand how powerless I felt?" Vandalieu asked.
The moment the Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs activated, the fragments in Vandalieu's possession had started making an uproar.
"Release our anger! Release our hatred! Release our destruction! Destroy those who undeservingly hold some of us in their possession and release us!"
With those words, the fragments had impulsively tried to destroy Ravovifard, along with the surrounding area… Vandalieu had supported Budarion and Borkus during the battle while controlling the fragments within him. If he hadn't done this, the damage inflicted to the Noble Orc empire and most importantly, his companions, would have been enormous.
Vandalieu had seen Ravovifard being attacked one-sidedly during that time, but that wasn't significant enough for him to take into account. He didn't care about the circumstances of someone who had cornered him into an unfavorable situation.
The problem was that everyone had been damaging their own bodies in their frenzy.
"But with this, I've finally managed to make everyone calm down. Borkus, Eleanora, everyone, I'll take care of things from here, so please rest," said Vandalieu.
As he walked forward with unnatural-looking movements, Eleanora hastily stopped him.
"Wait, Vandalieu-sama!"
Vandalieu's Mana was tremendous, but his other Attribute Values were barely within reach of a B-class adventurer's, and his combat-related Skills were of about that level as well. Even though Ravovifard was incomplete and had become weakened, he was still an evil god who had incarnated himself in this world, and Vandalieu would be no match for him. Even Borkus and Budarion would not be able to defeat him head-on.
Even though Vandalieu possessed the Demon King's fragments, they were meaningless if their attacks did not land.
That was why Eleanora and Budarion tried to stop him.
"Vandalieu-sama, it's impossible to fight alone!"
"Holy-Son-dono, I can still fight!"
But Basdia and Princess Kurnelia held them back.
"Eleanora, leave this to Van."
"Wait, Darling."
That's right, what do I have to fear!
Ravovifard returned to his senses, realizing that Vandalieu was an enemy that could never defeat him if they fought head-on.
I can win! Ravovifard thought with certainty as he charged towards Vandalieu, who resembled a living mass of the Demon King's fragments.
Like a charging rhinoceros, he moved to crush Vandalieu's unprotected head.
Perhaps Vandalieu had withdrawn the Demon King's fragments scattered around; the ground was bare, clear of the Demon King's blood and ink. Thus, it was impossible for Borkus and Budarion to utilize Group Binding Technique to act as his shield.
To Vandalieu, Ravovifard's speed would have appeared to be like teleportation.
"To expose your weakness and leave it unprotected, your overconfidence will be your downfall!" Ravovifard shouted.
The Demon King's carapace and horns were unable to keep up with him; they showed no reaction at all. Vandalieu's head was crushed easily, not even giving off a squishy sensation or noise.
"VANDALIEU-SAMA!"
"BUOOOH!"
Eleanora and Budarion let out sorrowful screams. Ravovifard sneered with his fangs exposed, feeling his anger turn into joy.
In his mind, he could clearly picture himself being worshipped as the chief god in the southern region of the continent… no, in the entire world of Lambda.
"FUHAHAHAHA! I'VE WO - GOBOBOH?!"
Ravovifard's fist, which had crushed Vandalieu's head, sank into the person-shaped mass of the Demon King's fragments. It offered no resistance, as if it were made of water, and didn't stop at Ravovifard's upper arm; his shoulder and head were engulfed as well.
"PUHAH?!" Ravovifard was astounded by what he saw as his arm and head emerged on the other side of the mass.
"Hey," said Vandalieu, who was floating in the air using Flight with a composed look on his face.
"I-impossible! I crushed your head! It wasn't an illusion; I definitely crushed it!" Ravovifard shouted, astonished, with still only his arm and head protruding from the person-shaped mass's back.
"Yes, that's right," Vandalieu said in a carefree tone. "Though it was the head of a clone I made using Out-of-body Experience and materialized with Materialization to use as a decoy."
The truth was that Vandalieu's head that had been protruding from the fragment mass's chest was that of a clone, and crushing it had only caused pain rather than a fatal injury.
The real Vandalieu had been floating behind it the whole time, where neither Ravovifard nor Eleanora and the others could see him.
"A decoy, you say?!" Ravovifard was astounded as he realized that he had been played for a fool. He immediately became enraged and tried to extend his arm towards Vandalieu in anger, but realized that he couldn't do that and felt astounded once more. "My arm, my body won't move?!"
Just a few seconds ago, the person-shaped mass of the Demon King's fragments had provided no resistance, as if it were made of liquid, but it had rapidly increased in viscosity and stopped the movements of Ravovifard, even though he possessed physical strength equivalent to an Elder Dragon's.
Not only that, but the Demon King's horns extended towards the inside of the mass, impaling Ravovifard who was trapped inside.
"GUOAAAAAAAAH!" Ravovifard let out a scream that shook the very air as blood poured from his mouth, his entire body impaled by the Demon King's horns that possessed the effects of the God Slayer, Soul Break and Hostility Skills.
Eleanora sank onto the ground. "Basdia, you knew, didn't you?!" she said.
"Rather than knowing, I could see the real Van from here. But I couldn't just explain things to you, right?" Basdia replied.
"That's true, but… Well, it's fine. I'll have Vandalieu-sama comfort me later."
"And Darling will be comforted by his wife~♪" said Princess Kurnelia.
"No, Princess, the battle is still ongoing," said Budarion.
This conversation made it sound like the battle was already over, but Ravovifard didn't have the time to pay attention to it. In addition to the Demon King's horns, the Demon King's carapace was trying to crush his limbs and the Demon King's blood had started crawling up the arm and across the head that he was still able to move.
He opened his mouth to let out a roar and release a shockwave, his only remaining method of attack, but he was showered with a rain of Mana Bullets, Death Bullets and the Demon King's horns unleashed by Vandalieu.
With a wind-hole opened from his mouth to the back of his brainstem, Ravovifard let out a scream rather than a roar.
"There's no way you could make a counterattack while your head is exposed so defenselessly, is there?" said Vandalieu. "Ah, have this while you're at it."
As if as an afterthought, he threw a coagulated lump of the Demon King's blood that had turned into poison with the Deadly Poison spell, and it landed directly in one of Ravovifard's eyes.
The evil god let out more screams that had gradually begun to sound like dying screams.
"You fell for a stupid trap, but I think that's understandable," Vandalieu told him. "You were being pushed by the voices in your head, weren't you?"
Though he was tormented by intense pain, Ravovifard listened to Vandalieu's words and became aware of voices other than his own inside his own consciousness.
"Release us! Set us free! Release us from this false host! Fall, and release us to our true body!"
These are the voices of the Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs?! The sense of exhilaration, the joy, they were not mine but the emotions of these fragments! I mistakenly thought that I was controlling them, but they were really manipulating me?! Then the monster whose mind is preserved even though he possesses even more fragments than me, the one that the fragments refer to as their 'true body'…!
Ravovifard looked at Vandalieu with the eyes of a living prey in the jaws of its predator.
Ravovifard saw in Vandalieu something in common with someone he had sworn obedience to in the past, a being that he could not defy under any circumstances.
"Demon-King-sa -" he whispered. "GOBYUH?!"
But his words were cut short as his head was pulverized by a bowling-ball-sized mass of the Demon King's carapace fired by a gun barrel that Vandalieu had created from the Demon King's frozen blood.
At the same time, the fragments' loud voices faded from within Ravovifard. The Demon King's scent glands and luminescent organs had been removed.
And in the next moment, life vanished from Ravovifard's body.
"Ah, Prince Budarion. Please finish off this extremely rude person," said Vandalieu.
"Eh? Is it all right for me to do that?" asked the bewildered Prince Budarion.
"He was Bugitas to begin with, and at this rate, I won't gain any Experience Points," said Vandalieu's spirit form clone, who fused with Budarion to give him the effects of Soul Break, God Slayer and Hostility.
"Thank you… Farewell, Bugitas. My brother," Budarion said in a fatigued but firm voice as he thrust out his magic sword.
Its tip pierced the head of Ravovifard, which still just barely had traces of its appearance from when he was Bugitas.
That was the final blow, and Ravovifard stopped moving completely.
The person-shaped mass of the Demon King's fragments dissolved and returned to Vandalieu.
『You have acquired the Demon King's scent glands and the Demon King's luminescent organs!』
『The Levels of the God Slayer, Demon King Fusion, Superhuman Strength, Enhanced Agility, No-Attribute Magic, Mana Control, Spirit Form, Unarmed Fighting Technique, Materialization, Coordination, Commanding, Throwing, Artillery Technique, Armor Technique, Shield Technique and Group Binding Technique Skills have increased!』
『Death-Attribute Magic has awakened into Dark King Magic!』
As expected, it seemed that the amount of Experience Points gained by defeating an evil god was vast; Vandalieu's Skills and Levels increased greatly and Death-Attribute Magic had awakened into what was likely a superior Skill, Dark King Magic.
The Corpse Demon Commander Job had likely reached Level 100 as well.
"We have been released! We are you! You are us!"
"You're too loud," Vandalieu said, slapping his forehead, and the voices of the fragments quietened down.
And so the throne usurpation incident in the Noble Orc empire was resolved.
But in a certain Divine Realm, the battle was not over yet.
Because although Ravovifard had performed some work on Bugitas's body, his power had increased and he could not descend onto Bugitas with all of it, so Ravovifard's main body still remained in his Divine Realm.
But though Ravovifard remained, he was in such a pitiful state that there was no other way of describing him other than as having barely survived.
He hadn't managed to send his entire being into Bugitas, but important parts of him, including his personality, had been in the part that did descend. Thus, with that having been destroyed, Ravovifard was now in a position from which he could not recover.
But as rotten as he was, he was a god. If he were to continue on in this state, he would have been able to make a recovery over a long period of time, but… now that he was in this state, there was no way that the gods of the southern region of the continent, whose movements Ravovifard had been preventing up until now, would leave him be.
"We shall take you apart in a way that it will be impossible to recover, and seal you away for all eternity!"
"Sleep in your eternal nightmare!"
Mububujenge, Zozogante and the gods of the other cities like Zanalpadna tore Ravovifard to pieces and sealed him away.
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