The hill beneath my boots cracked as I stepped forward.
I took one breath. One heartbeat. The world fell quiet—just for a moment.
Then I jumped.
The wind howled past me, the marshland drawing closer by the second. The earth trembled under the stampede of a thousand orcs.
With a flick of my wrist, black flames surged.
Two walls of fire erupted from the ground with a deafening roar—raging, endless curtains of heat that cut through the sea of flesh and steel like a divine blade. Orcs screamed as they were tossed aside, scorched into bone and ash. What remained was a perfect path, cleaved through the chaos, straight toward the cliff.
Where he stood.
Geld.
The Orc Lord.
But before I could take a step forward—light sparked.
A shrill voice screeched as streaks of magical light came barreling down toward me.
I didn't even flinch.
A lazy wave of my hand.
Predator.
The air warped, a circular void snapping open above me—swallowing every last orb of energy like they were moths drawn to their own demise. No explosion. No nothing.
Just silence.
I looked up—and there he was.
Gelmud.
His robes were disheveled, his manic grin hidden behind his mask, eyes bloodshot with frustration.
"Y-You! You filthy mutt! Do you know how long I've planned this?! Years! I've spent years crafting the perfect chaos, building my army, choosing my Lord—and you! You appear out of nowhere and—!"
A thin snap cut through his rant.
Then the sound of something falling.
His head.
A metal shard, flicked from my fingertips, buried in his spine. The body swayed for a second before toppling down like a puppet with its strings cut.
I didn't blink.
Everyone around me froze—friend, foe, and beast alike.
Only one moved.
Geld.
He looked down at the corpse of his so-called master, stunned. I watched him silently, the air thick with heat and tension.
"...Well?" I said, tilting my head slightly. "Eat it."
Shizu glanced at me, startled. Shuna gasped. Even Benimaru looked confused.
I didn't move.
"Gain more power," I said calmly, my voice carrying across the field like thunder through still air. "Not for him. Not for this war. But for you. For your brethren. For the dream behind this entire mess"
I crossed my arms, gaze sharp and steady. "Consume it—and show me that will to carve your path."
Geld's body trembled.
His fists clenched.
And then—he fell to his knees.
With one final glance at his fallen comrades, he tore into Gelmud's corpse. Devoured it. Consumed everything.
The world pulsed.
Magic burst like a geyser from his core—his body shifting, groaning, expanding with raw evolution. His skin darkened. Muscles swelled. Veins of magic etched themselves across his body like scars of flame.
A howl ripped from his throat, primal and furious.
And when it ended, what remained… was no longer just the Orc Lord.
The moment the transformation completed, the marsh trembled under his weight.
A thunderous roar tore from his lungs as golden light pulsed across his veins like magma. His body expanded to twice its size, muscle bound and monstrous—hardened hide plated with natural armor, tusks sharpened like glaives.
"I am no mere Lord!" Geld bellowed, voice like a war drum echoing across the battlefield. "I am Demon Lord Geld! The will of my kin made manifest! Let the world bear witness to the resolve of the orcs!"
A shockwave exploded outward with his voice alone, scattering debris and rupturing the wet ground beneath him.
I stood firm, coat flapping violently as the pressure weighed down on me.
"…Let's see if your hunger can match mine," I muttered, a slow grin crawling across my lips as I raised my hand—and metal answered.
Dozens of dark iron shards tore themselves from the ground behind me, suspended in the air like a twisted halo. I snapped my fingers—and they flew.
A barrage of metallic fangs sliced through the air with shrill howls. They curved, dove, and struck like vipers, shearing across Geld's arms and torso, carving out great chunks of flesh—
Only for the wounds to bubble and close a second later.
Regeneration…? I clicked my tongue, leaping back as he barreled toward me.
"Your weapons are meaningless," Geld growled, swinging a massive arm down to crush me.
I vanished from his sight with a flicker step—appearing behind him as a fresh array of metal shards spun into existence around my wrist like a ring of executioners.
I drove them forward, aimed for the base of his spine.
"I don't need them to kill you," I replied coldly, "just to cut you down until you break."
The blades struck home, but again—Healing Factor surged. The wounds sealed like they were never there.
He spun, massive fist colliding with my forearm just as I tried to block.
BOOM!
The hit connected—and my body slammed into the ground like a comet.
Dirt, stone, and water exploded around me, the impact cracking the terrain and throwing a dozen nearby orcs off their feet.
"Akuma-sama!" I heard Shuna cry distantly.
I lay there for a second, blood dripping from my lips. Shit. That hurt.
But I laughed.
Low, sharp, and bitter.
"You're strong," I said, wiping the blood from my chin as I rose from the crater, black flames slowly licking across my wounds to cauterize the pain.
"But strength without control? Without purpose beyond survival? That's nothing but animal instinct."
I snapped again—Shards reformed, longer this time, thinner and faster. A storm of razors surrounded me.
"You think survival alone justifies everything?"
"It does!" Geld roared, slamming his fists together as more magic surged. "[Starved Ones]!"
Dozens of tendrils of magic burst from his back, each one lashing out, consuming corpses and orc bodies alike—adding their mass to his own. His muscles bulged again. His breath grew heavier, steam hissing from his maw.
"My people suffered! Starved! Were trampled on by this forest's laws! I will be the shield that defies that fate!"
He lunged forward, the earth cracking beneath every step.
But I didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't even breathe.
Thought Acceleration—engaged.
Time slowed to a crawl, the world stretching out into frozen fragments.
I stared at him—at the beast of muscle and bone, madness and desperation—and tilted my head slightly as his bloodshot eyes locked with mine mid-charge.
In the stillness between heartbeats, I asked, "Why do you fight?"
The question didn't come from my lips.
It pressed into his mind, a whisper laced using [Domination], threading through his thoughts like frost through glass.
He blinked.
Confused at first. Then… honest.
"Because if I fall…" his voice reached back, cracked with emotion, "…then the weight of our sins… falls to the ones who didn't choose it. To the children. The sick. The ones who just wanted to survive. If I lose here… then we all die as monsters."
Silence.
I closed my eyes for the briefest second.
...I see.
Time returned in an instant—and with it, reality.
The full weight of his charge slammed forward—
But my voice came cold.
Soft.
Final.
"The sins that you speak of… will be nothing but a mere speck of the ones I will carry."
The metal shards around me trembled violently, then ignited.
Each one became a dagger of infernal heat, bathed in dark fire that refused to be extinguished.
"So let the sins you committed…" I whispered, voice hollow as the void, "…be listed down under my name."
And I moved.
The shards shot forward like arrows.
One took his right arm. Another, a leg. A third burrowed into his chest.
The severed limbs were consumed in a vortex of shadows as [Predator] devoured them mid-air—energy, strength, magic… all stolen.
He howled, tried to crush me beneath a wild, monstrous fist—
I took the hit.
My ribs cracked. The air left my lungs.
But I stood.
I refused to fall.
[Domination] roared through my veins like burning tar, forcing my body to keep standing.
Blood spilled from my lips, but I smiled.
Shards spiraled faster—cutting, shredding.
Every slash was a denial. A verdict. A burden lifted from his people… and claimed by me.
Geld fell to one knee. Regeneration sputtered. His magic faltered.
And as his eyes began to dim, I stood above him, a silhouette against the rising dawn.
"Rest now… Orc Leader Geld," I murmured.
"I've heard your wish."
The flames around me dimmed to embers.
And as his last breath left his lungs, his body began to crumble into dust—scattered by the wind like ash offered to the morning sun.
"…Thank you…" he whispered, voice barely audible.
Then he was gone.