Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 167: Demon King 2

Episode 167: Demon King 2

(Note: Special for this chapter the MC’s dialogue is written in ‘…..’.)

A massive shockwave swept through the air, clearing the clouds above the imperial capital.  

In the blue sky, my [Solar Crucible] spread out.  

However, its scale was much smaller than usual.  

Its radius was only about 100 meters, far less than normal.  

It was being suppressed by the overwhelmingly strong [Territory] of the Demon King.  

“Ho, a [Territory], is it? It’s nothing like that of Sovereign or Calamity Beasts’ . However, this time you face an opponent you cannot defeat. Even the [Territory] of a Beast King could not break through mine.”  

‘I knew that already. From the moment I came to this city, no doubt about it!’ 

To me, [Territory] was just a slightly special buff.  

‘Skillful’, ‘Calm’, ‘Precision Crafting’, ‘Civilization’. Each of these factors quietly supported and amplified my combat power.  

So, I calmly transitioned to my next move.  

I quickly gathered |Mana| and activated [Sparkle Pluto].  

The dispersed magic bullets were guided by [Lock-On Aim] and closed in on the Demon King.  

“…Hm?”  

Although, as before, their trajectories were slightly diverted, they were quickly corrected by [Lock-On Aim].  

The Demon King was a beat slow in responding to this unusual behavior.  

It seemed it was a bit more difficult to deflect numerous magic bullets at once compared to lightning, as it took him longer to divert them this time.  

At this rate, they’d hit before he could deflect them.  

“Annoying. Explode.”  

The Demon King chose a rough countermeasure.  

Instead of diverting the magic bullets, he made them misfire.  

About half of the bullets exploded. But the rest were caught in a chain reaction, detonating in quick succession until they were all destroyed.  

“That was nothing. Huh?!”  

‘Hakuku, [Death Strangle]!’  

Right after the smoke from the misfire obstructed his vision, I used an artifact for high-speed movement and leaped out.  

I dashed through the explosion’s smoke, extending my body toward the Demon King.  

“Tch, [Order Alteration], [Order Motion]!”  

A wall of |Mana| momentarily blocked my advance.  

During that time, the Demon King retreated.  

He moved at such a high speed that I nearly lost sight of him.  

Judging by the massive |Mana| consumption right before he moved, it must have been magic.  

‘Using magic with output beyond the <Level>, and drawing inexhaustible |Mana| from a continent-sized [Political Sphere]. That certainly is troublesome.’

I began analyzing the Demon King’s combat style.  

In this world, nobles are said to draw |Mana| from their own [Political Sphere], unleashing powerful magic in abundance.  

The Demon King was the ultimate version of that.  

The very concept of those [Political Spheres] was originally created by the Demon King himself. They were modeled after his [Dominion], a spell that placed the world under his rule.  

All the [Political Spheres] that nobles proudly claim as their own were actually built by the Demon King. And naturally, he can siphon |Mana| from them as well.  

Unlike other [Territories] which can only be maintained while centered around the caster, a [Political Sphere] can continue to exist even after the caster leaves. And its scale is beyond anything, even compared to a [Beast King].  

This continent-spanning [Political Sphere] was what allowed the Demon King to have unlimited |Mana|.  

Well, my |Mana| is also bottomless. But since magic allows more freedom than the [Skills] of magical beasts, the potential for power increases significantly in all-out combat.  

“Do not underestimate me. Inexhaustible |Mana| is merely a small part of my power.”  

That claim was proven right within a split second.  

Suddenly, trajectories indicating incoming attacks shot up from beneath me, as if to pierce me.  

Not just ten or twenty—there were so many that counting them became tedious.  

“Pierce.”  

A glint of light reflected.  

When I looked down, there were countless weapons—swords, spears, axes, staves—all made of the same pure silver as the Demon King’s staff, hurtling toward me.  

Sensing the dense |Mana| within them, I intuitively knew I’d take serious damage if I were hit.  

I started to dodge, but the Demon King layered another spell on top.  

“[Order Shackle], I forbid you to evade… Will you defy my command?”  

‘I’ve got confidence in my |Resist|!’ 

It seemed to be a type of magic that restricts the target’s movements, but I nullified it with ease.  

I dodged the silver weapons as well.  

They adjusted their trajectories in real-time to match my movements. But thanks to the [Temporal Cicada] augment, they couldn’t catch up to me at all.  

‘Heh, Mithril, huh? You’ve got quite the collection.’ 

As I was about to clash with the weapons, the identity of the shimmering silver metal came to mind.  

Mithril, known for its strength surpassing even steel, its beautiful appearance, and its high compatibility with magic. It is regarded as a super high-grade magical metal.  

Back when I was in the mines, I dug up a little bit of it in the Grand Beast Region. Since it was useless to me, I had stashed it deep within my [Weapon Storage] and forgotten about it.  

Fisu once said something like, “The exploration team that found this became filthy rich.”  

Now, the Demon King was using countless weapons crafted from this ultra-high-grade mithril. They were floating around him like stars in the sky, all aimed at me.  

It seemed that he could control the mithril weapons freely.  

“The name of these weapons is Silver Slaves. It has been 80 years since I last brought them out for anything other than ceremonies. Be proud, for you are a warrior worthy of my full strength.”  

‘I’d be happier if you’d acknowledge me by stopping the fight instead, ya know?!’ 

I unleashed [Sparkle Pluto] at the same time the Demon King shot out his silver slaves.  

Up until now, I had been holding back just in case. But against weapons, I could go all out.  

Our attacks collided at the midpoint.  

A shockwave burst forth, sending the silver slaves flying off in different directions.  

However, not a single scratch marred their surfaces.  

‘(Hmm, no matter how much |Mana| they’ve absorbed, surviving a magical blast without a scratch is strange.)’  

“Oh, to cancel out my barrage. But the attacks are far from over. [Order Motion]!”  

The spinning silver slaves stopped in place, pointed their tips at me, and were launched again.  

I fired precise shots from my sub-unit’s sun lasers, shooting down the silver slaves while simultaneously grabbing hold of one of them.  

Immediately, I used [Intensified Warfare] to analyze its information.  

‘(Ah, I see. So that’s how it works.)’  

Numerous enchantments had been applied. But two of them stood out, both recent and heavily reinforced.  

Indestructibility and steel-cutting.  

One effect prevented them from being destroyed, while the other reduced the hardness of their target to deal damage.  

The indestructibility made them able to withstand magical blasts without a scratch, and the steel-cutting effect was strong enough to potentially harm even me.  

Even for mithril, known for its high affinity with magic, this was an absurdly powerful enhancement.  

There was no doubt that the Demon King himself had applied these enchantments.  

Just as he had turned |Mana| into a torrent of destruction, he had likely imbued new laws and rules into the mithril.  

The ability to rewrite laws and rules at will—the chaotic and omnipotent power that is the Order Attribute.  

‘(Well, there’s still a weak point to exploit.)’  

As versatile as his power was, it could only affect things indirectly.  

Its true nature was the modification of rules, and the strength of the rules he applied was inevitably limited.  

Moreover, I had just fought someone whose specialty was both absolute defense and ignoring defenses.  

‘(Time to use this right away—[Replicant Form]!)’  

To counter the approaching horde of silver slaves, I summoned the fabled fanged spear of the “Ancient King”, once hailed as the strongest among the “Ten Kings”.