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 173: The Monopolizer and Invader of the Stars, Melting, Mixing, and Swallowing Them Whole 3

Episode 173: The Monopolizer and Invader of the Stars, Melting, Mixing, and Swallowing Them Whole 3

(Note: Special for this chapter, telepathic conversation will be in /…/.)

Lightning surged forth, and the spearhead flashed as if tracing afterimages. Numerous trees were sliced down. And soon after, the remaining stumps twisted into massive flowers, regressed into buds, condensed into flower clusters, and then exploded all at once.

The surrounding trees were caught up in the catastrophic destruction. But by that time, I was already far away and largely unaffected. Karkinos had begun using wide-area attacks, no longer caring about self-damage. But none of it was effective.

One reason was that Karkinos couldn’t keep up with the speed of my [Cloud Hiding]. Another was the fundamental lack of power.

“(God did say back then that I wouldn’t lose, even if I fought then.)”

I recalled my communication with the Star God. Back then, I was told that while I wouldn’t lose, I wouldn’t win either. So I was advised to gather more strength. 

It’s only been a week since then. 

I’ve done my best to prepare. And with the [True Transformation] of my [Unique Skill], I’ve finally been able to land damage. But still…

“(…I can’t see the end.)”

Right now, I’m wielding four spears. I’m swinging them freely, making full use of [Storm Strikes] and [Battle Dance], steadily cutting down Karkinos. But even so, there’s barely any progress.

In fact, Karkinos is now closer to the sea than when the battle started. I knew it, but using the spears alone won’t get us anywhere fast.

/Demon King! We’ll do it now—prepare for it!/

/Leave it to me./ 

From the earlier battles, I had confirmed that Karkinos didn’t have any extraordinary regenerative abilities. Like a typical plant-based monster Beast King, its ordinary wounds would heal quickly. But it didn’t seem to have a particular affinity for ‘recovery’ [Skills].

With the signal sent through [Telepathy], I reduced the number of spears down to two. There was no way I could handle four while pulling off what I was about to do.

“(Over here, Karkinos!)”

“…….”

Dodging the spears of roots that erupted from the ground, I leaped upward, flying diagonally into the sky. 

As I scattered lightning bolts to force Karkinos into its tangible form, I slashed through incoming branches and vines while ascending higher into the air.

The closer I got to the center of Karkinos, the more targets appeared. But at the same time, the branches and vines coming to intercept me increased in number as well. 

Still, I evaded them and continued climbing, occasionally dropping lightning to solidify more and more of Karkinos’ form.

But Karkinos wasn’t just sitting there, letting me do as I pleased. It used the power of Chaos to revert its solidified parts back to an amorphous state. However, my speed in solidifying them with manifestation was faster.

Karkinos’ control over its powers was clumsy. It could dump massive amounts of energy, like overturning a tank of water. But it couldn’t manage fine-tuned control, like concentrating that water pressure to create a water cutter. Likely a side effect of its excessive growth beyond its limits.

It took time for it to undo solidified parts.

“(Oh, there’s the edge of Karkinos!)”

Even after breaking through the clouds, I kept ascending. And when I glanced down at the ground, I could finally see the entirety of Karkinos.

To reach me, Karkinos had gathered and piled up its massive body beneath me. Its form resembled a sea of trees, but its essence was likely closer to mud. The feeling I had when I attacked without manifestation was similar to a Slime-like substance.

“(This height should be enough.)”

/My preparations are complete. You may proceed./ 

The Demon King’s voice came through as the deep, indigo sky loomed above.

Shortly after, the silver slaves caught up as well.

/Perfect timing. Let’s get started!/

/[Order Alteration]. You shall not be touched by the wind, but you shall be pulled to the earth./

I felt an increase in gravitational pull.

It wasn’t an exact transmission of the concept of gravity, but more like an added pull. I’ll leave the technical details aside for now.

“([Super Jump]!)”

I absorbed one of the silver slaves and began my descent, plummeting at lightning speed. Karkinos’ pursuing branches were shredded by my ancient spears. And with the help of artifacts and the [Divine Staff], I continued to accelerate. Eventually, I surpassed the speed of sound, but there was no air resistance thanks to the Demon King’s magic. Karkinos’ branches could no longer keep up with my speed. But at this point, I could just rely on sheer velocity, the force of [Explosive Charge], and the [Divine Staff] to power through.

The ground rushed toward me in the blink of an eye. Karkinos had assumed a defensive stance, piling up trees and raising its body into a massive mountain. It had transformed its form into countless hard, thorn-like structures, with branches and trunks packed in as cushioning between them. It was likely in an attempt to soften the blow from my impact. Given its enormous size, it looked like it could at least cut my attack’s power in half, even if it couldn’t completely stop me.

“([Manifest]!)”

But I didn’t care. I unleashed lightning strikes repeatedly. Through sheer relentless use, my manifestation power had grown significantly, allowing me to solidify a large area with each strike. The distance between us closed rapidly thanks to my unnatural speed.

/[Area Hole]!/

“([Territory] Release!)”

Once again, I was transported back into the sky.

“([Concealment], [Super Jump]!)”

I maintained the same high velocity as before, but now I kicked off the air to accelerate even more. I didn’t forget to use [Skills] to erase my presence.

/[Order Alteration]. You shall pass through light./

The Demon King made me invisible. Karkinos had lost sight of me after I teleported, unsure whether to release its defenses. Everything was going according to plan.

This was the same meteor strike technique I had used to deal a decisive blow to the first Chaos Beast I encountered. Its destructive power was undeniable, but the downside was that it had a significant time lag before impact. Even if the enormous target couldn’t dodge, there was still a good chance it would mount a defense.

(Note: Yes we get it. Your very own ‘talk-no-jutsu’: Let the force (gravity) be with me) 

That’s why I asked for Paula’s assistance. Before I struck, I had Paula create a hole for teleportation, allowing me to increase my speed even further and strike when Karkinos let down its guard. The marker for the teleportation this time was the silver slaves. By moving from the original starting point of my fall, I was able to target a slightly different area than where Karkinos had built its defense.

“([Replicant Form]!)”

With my momentum fully built up, I closed the distance in an instant. Just before I made contact with the midsection of the mountain-like body, I activated multiple [Skills] simultaneously.

“([Assassination], [Divine Staff], [Quake Swing]!)”

The powerful blow I unleashed came down like a hammer strike. My weapon was the Ancient Hammer I had crafted by combining the claw and tail of the “Ancient King.” I had specially prepared this hammer for this decisive battle, and its unique abilities were healing disruption and earth blade generation. By slamming the head into the ground, I could create countless stone blades to attack.

“(Hraaaah!)”

A deafening explosion ripped through the air. The ancient hammer groaned under the impact, the force too much even for the [Divine Staff] to fully deflect. But that was proof of its immense power. The shockwave from the strike was comparable to a massive meteorite impact, piercing through Karkinos and shaking the ground beneath it.

Karkinos’ mountainous body, which had been reinforced for defense, exploded into fragments. It scattered in all directions. Though the direct hit only affected a small portion of its form, even the shockwave alone had immense destructive force. Next, the stone blades that erupted from the ground sliced through what remained of Karkinos’ body.

As far as the eye could see, the stone blades filled the landscape, tearing into Karkinos. The size and power of these blades, generated by the ancient hammer, depended on the strength of the blow delivered to the ground. With the added boost from [Storm Strikes], even a Beast King could be easily cleaved apart.

“(Alright, the delay from teleportation to impact was short, and I’m sure I crushed the parts that were solidified! If I keep this up—)”

I gasped. Even though Karkinos had already possessed a monstrous amount of |Mana|, now it began to surge and writhe all at once.

I recognized the nature of the [Skill] that Karkinos was preparing, brewing this vast amount of |Mana|.

“(A [King’s Authority Skill]…!)”

Wounded and cornered, Karkinos had finally played its trump card.