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 168: Demon King 3

Episode 168: Demon King 3

“([Replicant Form], Ancient Spear)”

An extremely smooth curve distorted, forming a white magic spear. This was the ancient spear made from the fangs of the “Ancient King”.  

Four of these massive spears, each the size of a great tree, were wielded simultaneously.  

“([Compact Slash])”  

I swung each spear on a different trajectory at the same time.  

Following the lines shown by the [Projectile Prediction], I shot down the silver slaves rushing toward me at high speed.  

The sounds of bursting air and clashing metal echoed relentlessly.  

Despite the avalanche of the silver weapons, my attack speed, enhanced by [Brilliant Technique of the Storm] and [Multi-Sword Style], allowed me to respond adequately.  

Eventually, all the silver slaves shattered, becoming glimmering shards of silver that danced in the air.  

It was reminiscent of the diamond dust I had once seen in the Northern Great Magical Wilderness.  

“How ridiculous…”  

He opened his eyes so wide I was worried they might spill out, and squeezed out a voice. 

Was he referring to my skill in handling the silver slaves or the ancient spear’s ability to break through indestructibility? It was hard to tell.  

“([Super Jump]!)”  

I saw an opening and charged in at full speed.  

I had already realized that he wouldn’t engage in conversation. First, I needed to neutralize him.  

The Demon King moved at high speed as if to evade me. But knowing that, his speed wasn’t unattainable.  

“Stop him!”  

A multi-layered wall of |Mana| obstructed my advance. However, before my mass and [Explosive Charge], it was as flimsy as paper.  

With such minimal interference, I could easily catch up.  

“[Order Motion]!”  

“Hey, so you can do that too?”  

The Demon King’s next move to hinder me was to repurpose the silver slaves that had just shattered.  

He prioritized the larger fragments, inserting dozens of metal shards into my path.  

However, those were no longer worth worrying about.  

Once they had been destroyed, the effects of indestructibility and steel-cutting were nullified.  

Moreover, such advanced enchantments must require significant time to apply.  

“(Sorry, but I won’t let you interfere! Sun Laser!)”  

I unleashed a laser beam from my sub-unit toward those metal shards.  

The beams, resembling bundled sunlight, transformed the mithril remnants into dust one after another.  

“…Ha—”  

“Hmm?”  

The Demon King, who was steadily being cornered, suddenly let out a voice.  

I focused on him, curious about what was happening. And then I noticed the corners of his mouth curling up.  

“—Ha! Hah! Hahahahaha! This is absurd, Katsu! I’ll acknowledge you; you are a being that stands beside me! It has been a long time since my heart danced like this. Let’s kill each other to our hearts’ content! [Spirit], Activate!”  

“Isn’t it a bit early to lose your mind, old man?”  

The Demon King seemed to have forgotten his original goal of testing my strength.  

With the activation of the [Skill], he summoned a humanoid figure appeared in the air.  

“[Spirit], the skill obtained by humanity reaching the Fifth Class. It can create a spirit using one’s Attribute as a catalyst. Normally, it only possesses power lower than that of the caster. But my spirit is an exception! With all my mithril gear and several restrictions in place, its performance is dramatically enhanced! Now, what will you do, Katsu?”  

His previously lethargic demeanor seemed to be a lie as he energetically explained.  

Feeling slightly pressured by his enthusiasm, I stared at the spirit.  

The first thing that caught my eye was the full mithril armor. Without [Clairvoyance], it looked like a human wielding a great sword and a large shield.  

However, looking through the armor revealed a vaguely glowing white outline of a body and a featureless face of a mysterious humanoid creature.  

“Well, whatever it is, I’ll just smash it! Don’t complain, [Wave Slash]!”  

I activated a [Weapon Skill] that I hadn’t used much recently, launching slashing attacks.  

The slashes carried the ancient spear’s ability to ignore defense. So no matter how tough it was, it could cut through like tofu.  

“Rulureiru!”  

That expectation shattered instantly.  

The spirit used some ability to divert the trajectory of my slashes.  

“Nice job. Was that its own |Mana| being depleted, so can it use order magic?”  

“Limited, but yes. However, I won’t let you break through so easily!”  

“(We’ll see about that, Hakuku.)”  

I raised a question in my mind while accelerating rapidly.  

If the long-range attacks could be diverted, then I should just strike directly.  

The spirit was human-sized, so it was likely good at dodging. But if it came to that, I’d ignore it and just aim for the Demon King.  

That leaves only to how much order magic it could actually wield, but… unless its output far exceeds the Demon King, it’ll be like pouring water on a hot stone.  

“([Lightning Strike], [Charge Slash])”  

I launched four or five shots of lightning at an irregular trajectory. The lightning was bent, but those were merely distractions.  

Since the magic capacity was split in that direction, I faced no interference.  

With swift footwork, I activated a [Weapon Skill] to slice the spirit in half along with its shield.  

“Next is—”  

“Ru, rere…”

“Oh?!”  

In an instant, my movement was halted.  

The vector directed toward the Demon King dispersed and was fixed in the air.  

When I looked behind me, I saw the spirit that I had just sliced through reaching out with its arms. It released a significant amount of |Mana|.  

“Hahaha! You were careless, Katsu! Spirits have no physical form! No matter how exceptional that spear may be, physical attacks are meaningless!”  

“I can still move… The only thing that’s prohibited is ’vector’… I see, so you focused the effect on a specific target.”  

I analyzed what had happened while glancing at the spirit.  

The armor was half-destroyed, but the body underneath was unharmed.  

It was flickering like a heat haze; it really didn’t seem to have a physical form at all.  

“The caster of this magic is this one.”  

Considering safety, it would have been better for the Demon King, who was farther away, to use it. But the source of the magic was the spirit right next to me.  

This magic must be powerful, but it likely has a very short range. As evidence, the spirit hadn’t moved an inch since earlier.  

Given the amount of |Mana| being consumed, it seemed that the magic would probably be released if left alone… But its goal was likely just to buy time.  

There was a strong possibility it had a trump card like a [King’s Authority] skill. I should take it down quickly.  

“Physical attacks seem ineffective, but how about this? [Scorching Treasure]!”  

The spirit suddenly ignited. Because it was close, the firepower was considerable.  

However, there were no signs of damage.  

“That’s useless! Spirits have no physical body to receive heat! No matter how high the temperature, it will slip through the spirit’s body—”  

“[Lock-On Aim], [The Endless Cycle of Thunderous Rebirth]!”  

[Scorching Treasure] was a distraction, meant to obscure our movements with fire. The real attack was coming from me.  

The lightning strike, launched at point-blank range, pierced through the spirit without giving it any time to alter its trajectory.  

“The flames are ineffective, needless to say, the electric shock as well—”  

“I know!”  

Indeed, it was true that I couldn’t electrocute a spirit without a physical form.  

But for my [Unique Skill], the electric shock was only a superficial effect.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Unique Skill Details~

[The Endless Cycle of Thunderous Rebirth] 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Maximizes harvest yield.  

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Allows manipulation of lightning to either strengthen the earth, harvests life, or solidifies forms. (NEW)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Solidifying forms with lightning”. I had only used it as a shape-fixing ability in the battle against the “Ancient King”. But after that fight, I had gotten two or three steps closer to the essence of power.  

And this [Skill] became operational at a practical level:  

“([Manifest].)”  

“Rurue…?”  

The spirit let out a voice as if feeling something off.  

That soon turned into a death scream.  

The ancient spear burst forth again, slicing through the spirit. Its body shattered completely from the impact.  

If it has no shape, then I’ll just give it one.  

Even if it’s a presence that slips through like smoke and mist, once I confine it within a vessel, it is equivalent to possessing a physical form.  

The power to turn the incorporeal into the corporeal. The ability to materialize.  

That is the essence of “solidifying forms with lightning”, which emerged after achieving [True Transformation].