The Devourer, Part II
Calling out the name Lee Haneul was to confirm my suspicions.
I needed to confirm whether the ego inside that thing belonged to Perlin or Lee Haneul. Which of the two was its true essence? By observing its reaction, I would determine exactly who I was meant to cut down.
“Lee... Haneul?” the entity muttered softly, as if the name were unfamiliar.
“No... I am... Perlin... Claire...” It denied the existence of Lee Haneul in a slurred, clumsy voice.
“Someone... stole... my body... I'm scared...” The creature shed tears, appearing genuinely terrified. Then, it suddenly snapped its head up.
“No!” it shrieked, contradicting its own words.
“This is... my... body!” The scream carried a desperate, obsessive attachment to its own existence.
As I thought.
This reaction made everything clear. That entity was no longer the Perlin Claire I once knew.
It seemed the original owner's soul and the transmigrator's personality had fused. Her once-stable possession had likely scrambled after absorbing multiple Demon King's Fragments.
Even so, maintaining any semblance of an ego under such conditions was anomalous. Without knowing the exact details, I could only speculate.
“I suppose I owe you an apology.”
Perlin Claire was a pure victim. In truth, even Lee Haneul had merely been foolish and incompetent; I harbored no personal malice deep enough to make me want to execute her myself.
“Regardless, you are far too dangerous.”
“I'm... dan... gerous?”
Even during the Great War, there had only been a single demon that absorbed multiple fragments. And that entity, despite absorbing only three fragments, had degraded into a mindless beast.
“The dangerous one... is you... Berhart...!”
Yet this specimen retained some semblance of an ego despite absorbing at least five fragments. In fact, her identity seemed to be steadily coalescing around Lee Haneul's ego.
“Everything... is because of you!”
Monstrous strength began to surge into the creature's thick arms. Its massive muscles contracted in an instant.
I immediately channeled my Aura, preparing to counter. The entity swung its arm with terrifying speed.
Boom!
The massive arm collided with my sword. The single clash shook the entire subterranean level of the tower. The black stone floor fractured like a spiderweb.
But raw, monstrous strength wasn't the only threat.
The moment our blows connected, demonic energy began to seep into my Aura. It was corruption. The quasi-divine demonic energy I had sensed before entering had evolved even further, attempting to eat away at my Aura.
“Hup!”
I deflected the blow and immediately leaped back to create distance. The entity glared at me from afar, warily measuring my strength.
“Grand Marshal,” the Hero's voice called out from behind. “...I am fine now.”
Supporting himself with his sword, Robento slowly rose to his feet. Though his legs still trembled slightly, his gaze had regained its iron resolve.
“I will assist you.”
His divine power awakened once more, wrapping his body in a brilliant white radiance.
“Very well,” I replied curtly. “You strike from the flank. I will take the vanguard.”
Adjusting our formation, I glanced back at Hailyn.
“Hailyn. Fall back.”
Hailyn looked up. “What?”
“You carry a Demon King's Fragment inside you. Even if it is a small one, it would be disastrous if that thing absorbs it.”
For Hailyn, even the mere aftershocks of this battle posed a lethal threat. She seemed to realize the danger as well.
“...Where should I go?”
“Exit through the main gate of the tower and keep your distance. If we defeat it, I will send a signal. If we fail... do as you see fit.”
Hailyn hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Understood.”
She immediately retreated. Confirming her departure, I raised my sword once more.
Me at the front. The Hero on the flank.
The entity would have to defend against attacks from two directions simultaneously.
Crash!
A massive arm swung toward me. The creature used one of its smaller arms to block the Hero's approach.
Simultaneously, something erupted from its back. Sprouting into the shape of yet another arm, it lunged toward us, dripping with demonic energy.
The black energy lashed out like whips, targeting both of us at once. Three dark tendrils rained down simultaneously.
I deflected the massive arm in front of me, pivoted a step, and sliced through the demonic whip coming from the side.
Though the demonic energy dispersed where my blade cut, it reformed moments later and flowed back to her. It seemed to possess infinite regeneration.
The Hero swung his sword from the flank. Since projecting his divine power for offense or defense was largely ineffective here, he seemed to have concentrated his energy entirely on physical reinforcement.
Yet, his blade failed to leave even a single scratch on that ironhide flesh.
Is this the power of the fragments?
“Haa...”
The entity swung its arms at us once more. Its strikes had grown a level faster. It was steadily accelerating.
“So this is how it is,” the entity murmured.
Its voice was different from the slurred speech of before. Each syllable was now crisp and clear.
Its ego was rapidly stabilizing.
“...!”
As time wore on, we began to be pushed back.
My Aura reserves had plummeted to less than half of their original capacity. Because I had to constantly ward off the encroaching demonic corruption, my energy was draining rapidly.
Conversely, the entity showed no openings.
If anything, its demonic energy grew even denser. The corruption flowing from the entire Demon Realm continuously rejuvenated it.
No matter how many times I carved deep gashes into its colossal frame, the wounds healed in the blink of an eye. Its resources were practically infinite.
“Grand Marshal!” the Hero shouted. “I will create an opening.”
With that quiet declaration, he unleashed his divine power. A brilliant white radiance overflowed from his entire body. It looked as though he was pouring every last drop of his divine energy into this single moment.
I nodded in agreement. Instantly, the Hero lunged from the flank.
To block an attack of this caliber, the creature would undoubtedly have to expend a massive amount of energy. Before it could recover, I would deliver the finishing blow.
Shrouded in blinding light, the Hero drove his sword toward the center of the creature's chest.
“...?”
In that split second, the entity's body suddenly shrank. Its monstrous, bloated form reverted to that of an ordinary human.
“Robento...?”
The figure standing there was Perlin Claire. At that sight, the Hero's blade froze.
“You're Robento, right?”
It was unmistakably Perlin Claire's voice. Timid and soft—the voice she had originally possessed.
“But... why?”
A single eye peeked through the strands of her hair, looking incredibly innocent. “Why... are you doing this to me?” Her voice trembled.
The Hero's sword halted mere inches from her chest. He couldn't bring himself to pierce her.
“Perlin...?” the Hero whispered her name. That name had once been his entire world. However—
“So simple-minded, as expected.”
Perlin's fragile voice vanished in an instant. In its place, a mocking sneer echoed.
“Just like a cliché, right out of a textbook hero story.”
In that instant, her arm bloated to a grotesque size and whipped forward. Straight toward the Hero.
“...!”
The Hero perceived the incoming strike, but his sword had already stopped, and his divine power was entirely spent. He had no energy left to defend himself. Yet, I abandoned any attempt to save him.
Because this, too, was an opening. If I missed this moment, it was over.
From the very moment the Hero lunged at Perlin, I had been gathering all my strength. Drawing a deep breath into my lungs, I explosively ignited the Aura and Mana coursing through my entire body.
A dark blue light rippled across my skin. Countless calculations began to fire in my mind.
A bone-crushing agony pierced my brain, but I converted even that pain into raw power. Then, I dragged out the maddened secret techniques Arsen Berhart had once unleashed upon the battlefield.
⟨ Super Sensory ⟩ ⟨ Combat Prediction ⟩ ⟨ Calculation Acceleration ⟩
⟨ Neural Acceleration ⟩ ⟨ Mana Combustion ⟩ ⟨ Cognitive Expansion ⟩
⟨ Sensory Enhancement ⟩ ⟨ Neural Prediction ⟩ ⟨ Instant Acceleration ⟩
As the numerous enhancement spells stacked upon one another, the blood vessels throughout my body began to rupture. Blue mana and pitch-black Aura swirled around me, erupting into a dark, roaring flame.
“...I will burn everything to ashes.”
As Super Sensory opened, even the microscopic dust particles in the tower's basement seemed to freeze in midair. With Combat Prediction and Neural Prediction interlocking, the trajectory of the entity's next strike manifested as a vivid red line. Calculation Acceleration and Cognitive Expansion burned through my brain cells, pushing my cognitive speed to its absolute limit. Mana Combustion caused my internal mana to surge violently in reverse, overwhelmingly elevating my physical capabilities. Though the backlash of Instant Acceleration made every muscle in my body scream in agony, the adrenaline amplified by Sensory Enhancement and Neural Acceleration twisted that pain into pure, ecstatic focus.
And finally—
With the incantation, my figure vanished. No, I tore through space itself as I leaped forward.
“Die.”