Demon King's Onslaught (4)
This monster was one, yet many. More precisely, it was an aggregate of flesh masses forcibly stitched together by Magic Tattoos.
'Does it have the chops to call itself the Demon King...'
The owner of a book containing nearly all knowledge on Magic Tattoos. True to being a creation of the Demon King, the tattoos etched into the monster's body boasted exquisite craftsmanship. They kept the forcibly joined lives from collapsing, maintaining them in perfect unity. The tattooed lives intertwined, supplying immense mana. The abomination before him was the result of [Body Reinforcement via Tattoos].
A monster horrific in its toughness, regenerating ordinary wounds in an instant, freely manipulating its massive bulk. It possessed vitality on par with the dragons from myth. Probing through the layers of stacked scales, he could trace the remnants of the Magic Tattoos.
'It solved the vulnerability to damage by shoving all the tattoos inside, protected by an outer shell...' A clue he wouldn't have caught without his enhanced senses.
The problem was how to exploit it...
"Ngh...!"
There was no luxury for contemplation before the monster. Though it had lost its legs, unbound by any fixed form, the beast freely reshaped itself, crafting a body suited to the moment.
'Gotta create an opening.'
The monster's eyes had been driven deep inside from the earlier attack. So how did it keep pinpointing him every time? The answer lay in its hearing. Attacks flew unerringly toward the rustle of footsteps. It tracked heat too, occasionally fooled by the moderate-temperature illusions Bella conjured.
"Bella! I'll make that thing frustrated! Use Telekinesis to silence me!"
"Got it!"
With a gesture from Bella, Telekinesis formed a soft barrier, muffling the air's vibrations. To the beast, he must have vanished in an instant. Frustrated, it lashed tentacles wildly, striking at Bella's warm phantoms.
Within the soundproof Telekinesis veil, he crept right up to the monster, tense. The chaotic devastation outside contrasted sharply with the eerie silence inside the barrier.
Unable to hear him, the beast thrashed tentacles everywhere in frustration. Having reached its limit fighting blind, it extruded its damaged eyes once more. The orbs hidden deep within burst forth again.
And what entered its sight was the tip of his sword, aimed at the monster's soft underbelly.
"Kiek! Kweeeek!"
He swung his greatsword, slicing through the yielding abdomen like butter. Infused with Word Spirit to heighten its cutting power, the blade carved out the entire eye section, leaving a massive hole.
The eyeless tentacle horror flailed mindlessly, searching for its lost orbs. He closely observed the monster's exposed interior while it was distracted.
"Leon, destroying the eyes...!"
"I've got a plan."
The Magic Tattoos were artistically perfect. If he could grasp this structure... he could counter the beast.
The flesh chunk with the embedded eye, as it fell, mutated into a starfish-like form. The gash in the monster's core began healing, forcing him to pull back.
The fallen eye raced back to the main body in a flash. Reunited in an instant, the abomination swung massive tentacles at him. Trying to dodge as before, the tentacle veered unpredictably, slamming into him.
"Guhak!"
"Leon!"
Pounded by a meaty hammer weighing dozens of kilometers, agony exploded through his body.
'Damn it, severing the tentacle midway...'
Like a lizard autotomizing its tail, it contracted muscles to snap off and launch a body part mid-swing. Even then, it desperately avoided head strikes, craving his intact corpse.
Battered but still underestimated, he recovered enough with Word Spirit to grip his greatsword. The blade, riddled with cracks, seemed ready to shatter.
"Leon."
Bella gazed at him, voice trembling.
"Run now. I'll... buy time somehow..."
The temptation flickered, but he couldn't abandon her. His mind was a greedy beast, loath to relinquish anything it claimed as its own.
"I'm fine. Trust me one more time."
She hesitated, then layered support spells on him before retreating to safety.
He reshaped the greatsword into a metal lump with something attached to the end.
"Leon? What're you...?"
The ruined iron reborn as a new tool under his will—a soldering iron etched with geometric patterns.
He charged the monster, iron in hand.
"Graaaargh!"
He didn't dodge the incoming tentacle but thrust his head forward. Sensing no evasion, the beast flinched and pulled back.
'Still thinks it's got the edge...'
To claim an intact prize, the monster held back. And that would be its downfall.
Slipping through the gap, he pressed the iron to the severed leg stump—still soft flesh, not yet scaled over.
"Etch yourself!"
Word Spirit heated the iron red-hot. Sizzle—the savory scent of searing flesh as a Magic Tattoo burned in.
The monster's leg fell under the new tattoo's dominion, convulsing wildly. It shrieked in agony as mana drained like a burst dam.
His tattoo was utter garbage—perfectly structured for ruin. Without observing the interior, matching the beast's tattoos would've been impossible. Recalling the artistic guts, he'd crafted this mana-squandering dud.
"Kek? Krheung?"
Blood and pus oozed from the tattooed spot. A simple mana sink with no effect. To this impure life propped by vast mana, it was lethal. The wasted mana vented as heat, boiling the soft innards beneath thick hide and scales.
Unbearable, the beast sliced off the tattooed section. Unlike before, the severed flesh didn't return—instead writhing on the ground before rotting.
He closed in again, branding the soft underbelly once more.
"Etch yourself!"
Freshly severed, it attacked wildly, body twisting in rage. Enraged beyond caring for his corpse, it lashed ferociously.
"Etch yourself!"
Dodging by a hair—hair singed—he branded the new stump.
Until his mana bottomed out, he poured everything into the fight. After endless clashes, the monster had lost 70% of its mass. Barely standing on spindly limbs, its scales dulled. Smooth hide scarred with burns and blood. Most dagger-teeth shattered, survivors cracked.
But that was it. Despite his struggle, the last one standing was the monster.
"Damn it..."
No mana for the killing blow. As he mustered for a final stand, Bella approached.
"Leon..."
Supporting his staggering form, she gazed with teary eyes.
"Ha, looks like this is it. Short one shot."
From this world's start, a deep bond had formed. He didn't want her dying. Sacrificing her to escape might hasten revenge rationally... but he couldn't let go.
Then she said something incomprehensible.
"Leon, Word Spirit can reshape reality, right?"
"...Yes."
"Tell me I can do it."
"Huh?"
"Please, trust me just once..."
Her magic wouldn't work on that thing... Irrational, but he'd trust her.
Gathering his scant mana, he uttered one Word Spirit phrase.
"You can do it."
With so little mana, it barely bent plausibility. Yet hearing him, her face eased peacefully.
Flames flickered around her. Pierre-Fusion Magic Circuits layered—double, triple, quadruple. The unstable magic quivered. Mana whipped wildly, sparking explosions.
With resolved determination, she stared at the beast. Self-destructing together? He rasped to stop her.
"Stop, Mother... it's dangerous...!"
She smiled brightly.
"Leon said I could."
Declaring it, she tamed the raging flames. A massive red wave coalesced in her hand into a fist-sized blue sun. Her smile stabilized the impossible circuit, far beyond her limits.
"Don't torment my Leon."
Glared coldly, she hurled the miracle mana orb into the beast's maw. Unstable upon release, it sprayed destructive beams inside before erupting gloriously.
Resistance from damaged tattoos? Meaningless. Her hand-forged miracle turned the monster's spot into void.
"Hehe... we did it..."
Where the beast had been, only the orange gem—its eye—clattered to the ground.