A Date with the Demon King (4)
Rubias seemed genuinely thrilled, choosing close-quarters combat even though she had absolutely no reason to do so.
"Kraaaagh!"
"Hahahahat! Wonderful! What a magnificent reaction! Truly just like a beast!"
What baffled me was that despite choosing to brawl up close, Rubias wasn't falling behind in the slightest.
Her footwork was as nimble and flowing as if she had formally mastered martial arts, her center of gravity unshakeable yet pliant and whip-like, her exchanges of blows as seamless as breathing, occasionally interspersed with psychological feints. All that alone was enough to draw genuine admiration, but layered with the colossal demonic energy unique to a Demon King and her absolute authorities, her assault was overwhelmingly fierce and dizzying.
"Kyaaaah!"
Yet, if we were measuring sheer spectacle, Kubel’s rampaging authority was in no way inferior. Though it possessed neither rigid forms nor practiced techniques, it divined the optimal response through instinct and intuition that defied imagination, seizing fatal openings by sheer force of will through movements so bizarre and bewitching they seemed unreal. Strikes, parries, and evasions impossible for a normal frame were executed by contorting my morphed flesh, and even when her guard was seamless, it reshaped my body to forcibly rip open an opening.
As a result, I somehow managed to fight on equal footing with a Demon King.
Blood burst from Rubias's lacerated flesh, while chunks of meat sloughed off the mangled forepaws manifested by the authority.
"Heheheh...! Hahahahaha!"
"Grrrrrr!!"
Yet despite the agonizing pain it must have brought, and despite the torrent of each other's blood and shredded flesh raining down like a downpour all around us, neither side had any intention of backing down. We spun around each other like tops, trading endless, relentless blows. That horrific, grisly spectacle had long since moved past worldly titles like Master—it was an all-out contest of monsters.
"How delightful! It's so thrilling! Laughter just bubbles up on its own! I can't even hold it in!"
"Kuk, kuk, kuku...!"
Dragged along inside the authority, I stared in disgusted disbelief at Rubias laughing like a madwoman, but the authority itself seemed to share her twisted ecstasy, chuckling right along with her.
Ah, now that I think about it, the Beast God Kubel was primarily worshipped and revered by barbarian warriors. That explains why he's such a battle maniac.
"The authority is laughing! Kang Han-gil! How about you!?"
Right then, Rubias called out to me.
"......"
It seemed she could tell the difference between me and the authority.
"It's exhilarating, yes, but still a bit disappointing! How much more delightful would it have been if you were ruling and commanding it directly, Kang Han-gil, rather than being swept along by its whims!"
In her accelerated pocket of time, huge swathes of the authority's flesh were shaved away. Naturally, it regenerated in a flash, but I could feel it instinctively. This momentum wasn't something I could sustain for long.
"Haaah... haaah...!"
In truth, my heart was redlining as if it would burst any second, my breath caught ragged in my throat, and a foul, clammy cold sweat cascaded across my entire body like a waterfall. No matter how hard I squeezed myself, I only had a few minutes left at best. That was my limit.
"Kraaaargh!!"
As if sensing my limit, the authority abandoned evasion and defense to throw everything into pure offense.
"Khahahahat! Growing impatient, are we?! At this rate, do you really think you can kill me?!"
The sickening sounds of shattering bone and tearing flesh echoed chillingly through the air. In the process, it wasn't just the flesh and bone of the authority encasing my body that was ruined; Rubias's own body was torn to ribbons, spraying geysers of blood. Yet she didn't care in the slightest, unleashing her demonic energy like a cascading torrent.
"Grrrk, grrrrr...!"
With every cycle of destruction and regeneration, and as time wore on pushing my body and mind to the brink, I could feel the authority—once ballooning with terrifying mass—deflating at a frightening pace.
"Is that all?! You claimed you would kill me with only this much?! No! More! Entertain me more! Longer! Deeper!"
"Kyark! Grrrr...!"
Then, at a certain moment, the beastly wildness and authority suppressing my consciousness thinned out, opening a gap.
"Gasp—?!"
Though I hadn't even asked for it, my human reason surged up through that gap like an inevitable law of nature. In that bizarre sensation of snapping to my senses even though I was already awake, a groan slipped past my lips.
"Kahk?! Urgh...!?"
And then, an unimaginable agony transmitted through the authority wrapped around my frame. Could I actually feel pain through this thing, even when it wasn't my biological body...?!
"Hmm? The authority has taken a backseat? At last, I can speak with you properly!"
"You... crazy... bitch...!"
Gritting my teeth so hard they nearly cracked at her beaming grin, I reshaped the authority enveloping my body while deploying the Silk of Atonement. As the pure white cloth surged forward like a striking serpent, delight flushed her face.
"Hahahat! Yes! This is what I wanted to see! Battling an authority wasn't bad, but this—this is truly facing you!"
"Shut up...!"
Kicking off the earth with backward-hinged beast legs, I let pure instinct and intuition guide me as I slashed with elongated talons.
"...!!"
The authority moved with unnatural fluidity, just as if it were truly my own flesh and bone.
Ah, so that was it. I had to become one with the authority in the truest sense. That was why I could feel its pain.
Shivering at the sudden epiphany, I stopped resisting the agony and immersed myself completely. In response, the authority clung to me with intimate familiarity, obeying my thoughts without friction.
"Kraaaaargh!!"
Astonishingly, through my own will and senses alone, I was able to replicate the movements the authority had previously executed. Of course, it wasn't flawless... but right now, this was actually far better. Because now, I could wield the relics the authority hadn't been able to use.
"Yes! Come! My destined adversary!"
Effortlessly parrying the Silk of Atonement that had crept within inches of her with her authority over space, Rubias charged at me with a wild laugh.
"Kyaaaah!"
Evading her thrusting fist by a paper-thin margin, I swept my talons and sprouted jagged quills along the right side of my body, spinning violently.
"Hup!"
She decelerated the time around me while trying to pierce straight through the center with spatial manipulation. But I elongated both my arms like the necks of giraffes, anchoring one into the ground to haul myself forward while whipping the other around with terrifying force.
"That's it! Has your intuition and primal instinct grown sharper now that the authority has waned?! Splendid! React even faster!"
"Khh...!"
Desperately dodging and parrying the defense-ignoring spatial cleaves that zipped at me like gunfire, I gritted my teeth and kicked off the dirt.
"Grrr-aaagh!"
I swept my claws and tail along different trajectories simultaneously to box her in from all directions, but with supernatural agility, she evaded both strikes. Accelerating her personal time and folding space, she materialized behind me in an instant.
Sensing her position through raw intuition, instinct, and scent, I lashed out with a rear donkey kick aimed squarely at her abdomen.
"Huuup!"
My hoofed rear kick collided head-on with her demonic energy-laden fist, triggering a ferocious shockwave that blasted the atmosphere apart.
"Grrrrrk!"
"Haaah...!"
Neither of us yielded an inch, glaring at each other as we radiated searing fighting spirit and murderous intent. Neither of us knew how many times fountains of blood had erupted into the air, or how many clumps of flesh had been blown to pieces.
"Hahahahahaha! Look at me, Kang Han-gil! Look at me like that forever! Keep your eyes solely on me!"
"How many times... do I have to tell you... to shut the fuck up!!"
I roared at the top of my lungs, flailing my claws and tail, but anxiety was rapidly tightening its grip on my chest. The manifestation of the authority was finally reaching its absolute limit.
"Damn it...!"
I quickly stole a glance back at the party, but they hadn't managed to wipe out all the high demons yet. Without a single casualty, they had already slain five high demons with only three remaining, but there was no way they could bail me out in time.
"Hoo...!"
Am I going to die once here? I wasn't afraid. I had already died several times early on after transmigrating, and I had steeled my resolve long ago. It was just infuriating and obnoxious that I hadn't even been able to make this damn Demon King feel the threat of death. So, if I was going to die anyway, I wanted to land one proper, devastating blow.
"Hm?"
"Haaaaah...!"
When I abruptly lunged forward and locked her in a tight embrace, gathering every scrap of authority I could scrape together, a look of mild wonder crossed her face.
"From the looks of it, is this already the climax? While I'm delighted you're initiating affection first, Kang Han-gil... this feels a bit anti-climactic."
"Shut up and... die...!"
Spines manifested by the authority skewered her body without mercy. Whatever was going through her head, she accepted the attack without raising a single defense.
"Cough...! Ah... it hurts. It truly makes me feel alive."
"Haaah, haaah...!"
Having pushed past its limits, the authority began to evaporate, dissolving into nothingness. And with it went not just the authority, but the surging vitality that had coursed through every fiber of my being. I wouldn't be able to use either Kubel's Authority or the Shamanic Ritual Tattoos for quite some time.
"God... dammit..."
As Kubel's authority peeled away from my body, I was stripped bare like a soft oyster pulled from its shell, reduced to nothing more than an ordinary human.
"The battle ended a bit anti-climactically, but... well, I suppose this isn't bad either."
Using her spatial authority to pluck out every single thorn, she cleanly regenerated her flesh and stroked the back of my head. For the record, her clothes had long been torn to shreds, leaving her completely naked, and my face was currently buried right between her breasts.
"......"
Now that the bloodlust and fever of battle had subsided, that soft, supple warmth felt distinctly tangible. A faint, intoxicating scent of wildflowers seemed to drift from her skin as well...
"Hah..."
I felt pathetic even thinking it, but I was a man after all. Business was business, and pleasure was pleasure—there was simply no helping biology.
"There's no need to look so resigned, Kang Han-gil. You needn't worry; I have no intention of killing you."
Flashing a chilling, sweet smile, she gently stroked my hair.
"While the heat of battle still lingers, joining our bodies wouldn't be half bad... Fufu... what do you say, Kang Han-gil?"
"...Get lost."
When I growled at her sultry proposition, she burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahahat! Clinging to me like this and talking back only makes you look adorable, you know?"
"...Not yet."
"Hm?"
"I still have one shot left."
Smirking, I lifted my head, feeling her enormous breasts—large enough to envelop my entire face—sway and ripple against my skin.
"...Cough?!"
Instantly, dozens of colossal tree roots impaled Rubias's body. My final hidden trump card, saved until the very, very end—the World Tree Bracelet—proved far more lethal than I had anticipated.
"Ha, hahat...! As expected... you're always... completely unpredictable..."
Spitting up blood, she chuckled and drew me even tighter into her embrace. Practically on the verge of complete exhaustion, I couldn't pull myself free from her grip.
"Furthermore, this isn't... an ordinary attack. Faint though it may be, it carries an undeniable rank and divine authority... Is this... the World Tree?"
"Bingo."
"My regeneration... isn't working well... What's more, it's draining... my life force..."
"Haaah... haaaahn...!"
"Wait, what the hell...?"
Watching her tremble with an ecstatic expression while letting out a wanton, breathy moan, I recoiled in genuine disgust.
"Truly, how exhilarating...! Is this the communion built through death, the bond forged in mortality...?! I'm so aroused I could practically reach climax...!"
"......"
Left completely speechless and frozen, I felt her rubbing her naked body against mine as she unleashed her demonic energy and divine authority. The roots that had been writhing with ferocious vitality turned black and began to wither away. Pressed tightly against her skin, every shudder of her frame and hot puff of her breath transferred directly to me.
"Haaah, haaah...! Whew..."
Having finally destroyed every last root, she offered a labored smile.
"That was close... That time, I really was on the brink of death."
"...What a shame."
"Now then... it is time to claim the victor's spoils, my dear."
"Just kill me."
"I believe I told you: I have no intention of killing you. Come, let us speak. And... since I can no longer hold back..."
Her hand clamped firmly onto my buttock. A sharp shiver shot straight up my spine.
"W-wait, what...?"
Flustered, I met her gaze, only to find deep, unbridled greed boiling inside her crimson slit-pupils, predatory as a beast's.
"Let us make love."
"...You crazy psycho bitch."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Unable to endure it any longer, she gripped my chin and thrust her face toward mine—right at that exact second.
"Get away from Lord Han-gil!"
With a thunderous cry, Rebecca's incomplete Mind Sword tore across space, lunging straight for Rubias.
"Tsk, interfering at such a crucial moment."
Parrying the Mind Sword with her authority, Rubias clicked her tongue and turned her head. Thanks to that, I, who had been trapped in her cleavage, was finally able to look toward the party.
Though battered and covered in scratches, thankfully none of them seemed critically wounded. However, having pushed themselves beyond their limits in such a short span, they looked utterly exhausted.
"Hmm..."
Glancing over the women, Rubias curled her lips into a mischievous, sadistic smile.
And then, without the slightest warning, she planted her lips firmly onto mine in a brazen display of possession.
"...?!"
"!!"
"...!!"
...It might have just been my imagination, but the murderous aura radiating from my women seemed to swell to explosive proportions.