"I-I'm gonna die! That was seriously dangerous, you know!!"
Carrion watched Gobta scramble around screaming from the corner of his eye and let out a deep sigh.
This guy's definitely doing it on purpose! That's what it felt like, watching Gobta barely scrape past Vega's attacks by the narrowest of margins.
That's right. If he'd been even a heartbeat later, Gobta would've been struck by the magicule bullet and annihilated. There was no doubt about that.
But that was a big "if."
『Carrion, half a step to the right, then a light jump!』
Without hesitation, Carrion followed Gobta's instructions to the letter.
He didn't ask questions or second-guess—just did as he was told. It was the same unwavering obedience he'd shown since the days of training with Milim.
The instant he moved as directed, a magicule bullet passed through the spot where he'd just been standing, and another struck the ground at his feet, gouging out a crater. But thanks to following Gobta's directions precisely, Carrion came through completely unscathed.
(He really is a genius, isn't he?)
There was no way he could see those coming.
Even ki bullets traveled at supersonic speeds. Sure, it took a bit of time to shape the magicules into a projectile, but once fired, they moved far faster than magicule bullets.
Dodging by sight alone was practically impossible. Carrion might have managed it for himself alone, but giving real-time directions to someone else? Absolutely out of the question.
Verbal communication made it flatly impossible. By the time you processed the instruction, the attack would've already hit you.
That was why Carrion and Gobta were communicating via Thought Communication...
But just how fast would your thinking need to be to read the enemy's attack motion, identify the type of projectile, and predict both the impact point and timing?
Carrion could sense that Gobta had reached a level far beyond his own—beyond what his super intuition could barely keep up with.
And then he recalled the exchange they'd had when Gobta first arrived.
"Hey Carrion, this isn't looking good. Can you activate 'Beast-Magic Humanization' for just an instant and cancel it right away?"
That's what Gobta had proposed.
Carrion understood that with half his body destroyed, the situation was dangerous. But he couldn't make sense of what Gobta was saying.
"Huh? What are you talking ab—?"
"It's simple! The moment you think 'activate Beast-Magic Humanization,' just—
cancel it!"
He didn't understand the logic, but he did as he was told.
He and Gobta had worked together long enough that he could trust Gobta's timing, so he synchronized and executed the command.
And then something incredible happened.
In that instant, an explosive power boost activated, and his self-regeneration triggered super-recovery through bodily reconstruction.
The transformation should have followed—but instead, it was canceled, and Beast-Magic Humanization never took effect.
In other words, only the recovery activated. He drew in the surrounding magicules, and as a bonus, even restored about half his magicule reserves...
(HUH?! What the heck was that?!)
Carrion was stunned.
He had no idea what had just happened, but one thing was certain: he'd achieved a super-recovery while preserving his Beast-Magic Humanization.
"Oh wow, you nailed it on the first try! That's incredible, Carrion!
I had a
Complete Recovery Potion
on hand just in case you failed, but that wouldn't have restored your
magicule reserves
or anything.
See how useful this is? I taught Gabiru too, and he was over the moon!"
That was Gobta, casually dropping wisdom like it was nothing.
Apparently, anyone with a transformation-type ability could achieve a complete recovery effect by perfectly timing the activation and cancellation of their transformation.
Why would you, of all people, know that when you don't even have a transformation ability?! Carrion wanted to demand an answer, but he barely kept his composure.
Either way, taking down Vega came first.
(What a ridiculous guy...)
Muttering that under his breath, Carrion continued dodging Vega's attacks in sync with Gobta's directions.
Vega was seething.
The sheer audacity of it—being made a fool of to an unprecedented degree by a lowly Human-Demon who'd rushed in as a volunteer.
A weakling who'd die from a single hit.
With a pathetic magicule count that barely scraped past A-rank—nothing more than a minor demon-class opponent.
And yet, this nobody was dodging every single one of his attacks.
(Damn you! Don't mess with me!!)
He hurled unrefined ki bullets directly into the ground in a rage.
They shattered on impact, sending earth and debris flying into the air.
(Hmph! That'll blind them. You little piece of trash!!)
Behind the curtain of rising dirt, he began molding a massive magicule bullet. Then, without hesitation, he fired his killing blow at the spot where he'd last sensed his target.
The enormous magicule bullet tore through the dust cloud as it rocketed forward.
But just before impact, Vega realized the target's presence had vanished.
(—!?)
His question was answered by the dagger buried in his flank.
"Ouch! You're way too hard! My hand went numb just stabbing you!"
The insufferably cheeky goblin had sensed the dirt curtain being deployed, immediately gathered magicules in place as a decoy—
No. He hadn't fired it off—it was just a misdirection. Meanwhile, the goblin had completely erased his own presence, slipped through the debris, and infiltrated Vega's blind spot.
"You think a lowly goblin can get the better of me?!"
Vega roared in fury.
But Gobta was utterly unfazed.
"Whoa, hold up—I hate to correct you, but I'm actually a Hobgoblin!"
He corrected cheerfully.
The sheer casualness of that reply nearly sent Vega's mind boiling over with rage.
But Vega's emotional state was exactly what Gobta had predicted, and with all of Vega's mental capacity consumed by fury, he'd completely forgotten about Carrion—who had erased his own presence and was already closing in from behind.
And then—
"Die!
Beast-Magic Particle Roar
!"
Vega, who'd been on the verge of pouncing on Gobta, was caught completely off guard and took the blast head-on.
It was a beautiful piece of work—Gobta had played Vega like a fiddle.
This was the killing blow of Carrion, the Lion King. It was no half-measure. Half of Vega's body was blown clean off by the magicule cannon.
But even in that state, it was no real problem for Vega.
His automatic regeneration kicked in immediately, and his body began rebuilding itself.
The real problem was the situation itself—being toyed with by a lowly species like the Human-Demon.
"I'LL KILL YOUUUU!! You worthless piece of vermin won't get away with this!!!"
He screamed.
He was done holding back. He'd crush them with everything he had.
His eyes burned with fury, and whatever pride he'd had from looking down on an inferior opponent and not taking things seriously—it was all gone now.
For the first time, Vega recognized Gobta as a genuine threat.
The moment Vega acknowledged Gobta as an enemy, his calm rationality returned almost instantly.
If this was someone worth recognizing, then he wasn't being mocked at all—this was someone truly dangerous. That mental shift came naturally.
"Heh heh heh. I see, I see. As if I'd ever be held back by something as insignificant as a goblin.
You're pretending to be a goblin, but you're clearly something far more. Am I right?"
Laughing, Vega laid out his assessment.
Carrion stared at him with a "what the hell is this guy talking about?" expression, but Vega pressed on.
"But... my eyes aren't blind to the truth. I can see right through to your true power!!
Now then! Show me your real self! Every last bit of it—I'll crush it all!!"
With that, he thrust a finger at Gobta.
Gobta responded with surprising enthusiasm.
"Hah, well, I guess there's no point hiding anymore if you've seen through me. Fair enough.
All right! I'll show you! My true form!!"
He played along with gusto.
And while putting on that performance, he sent:
『Now's our chance! Get behind him and pour everything into one shot, Carrion!』
The most shameless instruction imaginable.
But Carrion had no reason to refuse.
Leaving Gobta to his dramatic poses and catchphrases, Carrion circled around to Vega's rear.
"It's showtime!
Star Wolf King
Ranga! Activate
Star Wolf Summon
!!
『Right now!!』
Feast your eyes!
Star Wolf Armament
!!"
Gobta shouted, and in that instant, Ranga burst forth from the shadows.
(Well, well—finally, Gobta?)
(Man, it took forever to build up the hype!)
Vega had no idea this exchange had even taken place.
He watched in a mixture of shock and delight as the figure before him was enveloped in light and fused with an enormous mass of magicules.
And from behind that enraptured Vega, Carrion—fully prepared—drove his
Beast-Magic Particle Roar
straight into him.
But even repeated direct hits didn't faze Vega. The holes he opened were sealed instantly every time.
Carrion was firing at maximum output, but with a bore diameter of roughly one meter, it simply wasn't enough to incinerate all of Vega.
The
Diffusion Beast-Magic Particle Roar
was no different.
Ideally, he'd fire all nine particle beams simultaneously, but his
magicule reserves
hadn't fully recovered yet. Even so, he'd known the result wouldn't change.
Now he understood.
Vega hadn't been serious at all.
Following Gobta's directions, mixing decoy shots with regular ki bullets to keep Vega off guard—they'd already landed more than three direct hits.
But Carrion's
magicule reserves
were nearly depleted. The skill-cancellation recovery technique from earlier had a tight timing window, making its success rate too unreliable to count on.
And more importantly—
"You can't use it repeatedly, you know! It draws magicules from the surroundings, so once the magicule density drops, recovery stops working.
People like Lord Rimuru or Veldora, who have practically unlimited
magicule reserves
, don't need to worry about that, but..."
That was Gobta's explanation.
Carrion had to admit—it wasn't a technique you could afford to spam.
So if it was unreliable, what was the point of having him attack repeatedly?
At first, Carrion had been puzzled, but he was starting to understand.
Vega had been looking down on them the entire time, never once going all-out. During those openings, they'd attacked from various angles and positions, systematically mapping his weaknesses.
And Gobta had been playing the bait—showing just enough vulnerability to stroke Vega's ego, keeping him complacent.
(Impressive. That's Gobta for you.
If we'd gone all-out from the start, there was no way we'd have extracted this much intelligence...)
Carrion sincerely admired Gobta's strategy.
But after all those dangerous gambits, the only conclusion they'd drawn was that Vega had no discernible weaknesses.
Vega was drawing sustenance directly from the earth, rooted in the ground like a tree.
He built his body by absorbing organic matter—corpses, vegetation, anything alive. Inorganic matter apparently couldn't be incorporated. That was the one silver lining.
The battlefield continued to expand, and fresh corpses were being mass-produced across the land.
Vega's body could be replenished without limit.
Carrion ground his teeth watching the wounds from his latest attack regenerate before his eyes.
But then, in front of both Carrion and Vega, light coalesced around Gobta, forming a jet-black mist that wrapped around him like a cloak.
Carrion heard Gobta's voice: "Transform!"
And then—
What appeared was a form Carrion had witnessed several times during his training days.
It was Gobta and Ranga, the Black Storm Star Wolf, merged as one—possessing magicule reserves rivaling those of an Awakened Demon Lord.
In other words, intelligence gathering was complete. This was the real fight.
『Carrion, fall back and start charging up!
When I give the signal, I need your biggest shot!』
『But I'm nearly out of magicules. Sorry, but I don't think I can fire another...』
『What are you talking about?! You've got
Lion Dragon Body
, don't you?!
Use that and pour everything you've got into it!』
He steeled himself.
It was his trump card, but a trump card you never used was as good as nonexistent.
If you didn't use it at the decisive moment, when would you?
『Got it. I'll activate it, but I'll hit my action limit in ten minutes. That okay?』
『Huh?! It used to be three minutes! You've gotten stronger!
But I'm planning to settle this with one massive shot.
Don't worry about what comes after—just go all out!!』
Gobta said it all in his usual breezy, carefree tone, as if he didn't have a worry in the world.
Carrion couldn't help but laugh despite his concerns—there was something infectious about that carefree attitude.
『You got it. Leave it to me!!』
With that response, their planning was done.
And so began the battle between a Vega who'd finally gotten serious and a Gobta who'd finally gotten serious.
Serious Vega was terrifying.
"GWAAAHAHAHAHA!!
Consider it an honor that I, in my full power, am fighting you!"
"Heh heh, that's my line!!"
The two collided.
The impact alone sent shockwaves through the atmosphere far beyond anything before, creating explosive bursts of energy.
A clash of energy against energy.
It was an exchange of supernatural abilities that exceeded even Carrion's imagination.
The Ultimate Skill
'King of Evil Dragons'
granted the power to control organic matter.
Its body was composed of a swarm of microscopic
demonic bacteria
. That was why its regeneration was limitless.
It could acquire abilities through predation, and it could freely mimic biological structures.
In essence, it was a
pseudo-artificial adhesive entity
—something akin to what Yuuki had created.
It incorporated the traits of various organisms, independently modifying and improving them for maximum efficiency.
Only a humanoid portion of its body appeared above ground; the true body remained hidden.
As long as it stood upon the earth, everything was connected through the ground—meaning replenishment was limitless.
And beyond the simple command-given, severed minions like the Evil Dragon Beasts from before, it could also create multiple clones.
Every clone possessed the same abilities.
However, because the controller's power had limits, deploying too many at once prevented them from performing complex actions.
Vega was well aware of this, which was why he refrained from unnecessary duplication—using his abilities solely for regeneration while only deploying Evil Dragon Beasts with simple commands.
But this usage failed to utilize the true potential of the
'King of Evil Dragons'
at all.
The Ultimate Skill
'King of Evil Dragons'
...Super-High-Speed Thought Processing, Parallel Thought Processing, Organic Manipulation, Mass Duplication, Ability Absorption, Spatial Manipulation, Multidimensional Barrier.
That was the full scope of its capabilities.
It was a terrifying skill with extraordinary power.
If one could master it, the growth potential was limitless.
If one could master it...
Unfortunately, Vega simply hadn't accumulated enough experience since his birth.
He'd grown at a terrifying rate, and his abilities had climbed steadily, but he'd never reached the point of truly mastering them.
If he'd been able to use Parallel Thought Processing, the limitation of standing on earth wouldn't have mattered—he could have controlled multiple main bodies at once.
The threat that would pose was beyond imagination, but that was purely hypothetical.
The reality was that Vega couldn't do it.
And Gobta had seen through this perfectly.
By offering himself as bait and keeping Vega complacent, he'd succeeded in landing multiple hits.
In a full-power battle, whether you knew your opponent's abilities or not was a matter of life and death.
He'd been taught to read every last card his opponent held before playing his own trump card.
And this was proven true—in the battle record of Gobta's revered master, the Great Demon Lord Rimuru.
As a veteran subordinate, Gobta had witnessed every one of Rimuru's fights firsthand.
The importance of intelligence had been carved into his very soul.
And so—
Having obtained Carrion's cooperation, he judged that sufficient information had been gathered.
The characteristics of Vega that Rimuru had shared, combined with what he'd felt firsthand from this battle.
Piecing them together, the answer had emerged naturally.
Even if the visible surface portion was destroyed, memories and consciousness transferred to the true body. As long as it remained connected to the earth, its regeneration was near-infinite.
However, when the provisional main body above ground was destroyed, there was a slight time lag in the transfer of memories and consciousness.
In other words, the true body was underground. No—if the surface portion was destroyed at a location disconnected from the earth, memory and consciousness transfer might not be possible at all.
(Annoying opponent. But not invincible!)
Having deduced most of the enemy's abilities, Gobta was certain of victory.
"All right, here we go!!"
He rallied himself and Ranga, and Gobta shifted into full combat mode.
Vega marveled at Gobta's fighting prowess.
Just as he'd suspected—this goblin was no ordinary opponent. The thought thrilled him.
In terms of speed, he was overwhelmingly superior.
In terms of power, they were evenly matched—or rather, Vega had a slight edge.
But Vega still had plenty of room to spare, thanks to his extraordinary regenerative ability.
His own power was constantly growing. If he could steal his opponent's abilities, he'd leap to an entirely new level.
The stronger the enemy, the more he could strengthen himself.
He was utterly convinced that the Ultimate Skill
'King of Evil Dragons'
he'd obtained was the ultimate invincible power.
"GWAAAHAHAHAHA!! Not bad at all. You truly are a man worthy of my recognition!"
Vega's words of praise went unheeded by Gobta.
(Ranga, it's time—let's go with the big one!)
(Kuhaha. Very well. Consider it done!)
They were going in for the finisher.
While Vega was riding high, before he recognized Gobta as a genuine threat, they needed to end this.
And that was exactly right.
"Sorry, Vega, but I'm afraid this one's mine!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I'll admit you're strong—unusually so for a goblin. No, stronger than anything I'd ever expect from a goblin.
But even so, against the strongest me, you're still far from—"
"Is that so? Well, I guess those will be your last words then!
Oh, and before you die, one more correction—I'm a
Human-Demon
, not a goblin!"
"—What?!"
Gobta and Vega locked together in a crushing grapple.
Vega's
demonic bacteria
had already begun their aggressive erosion, attempting to consume Gobta—but every last one was blocked by Ranga's magical wind barrier.
The wind, imbued with lethal, corrosive, and disintegrating magical properties, annihilated the
demonic bacteria
on contact.
As Vega raged at his inability to absorb Gobta, Gobta delivered his final declaration.
In the next instant, Gobta and Vega were swept high into the sky by the force of wind.
Every corpse and plant on the ground was launched upward along with them.
This was the effect of Ranga's supernatural ability to manipulate the atmosphere at will. The ground was stripped bare as the corrosive wind drove underground, uprooting microbes and every piece of organic matter it could reach, expelling it all skyward.
"You—?! C-Could it be, you're stealing my abilities—!?"
"Whoa, seeing you panic like that tells me I hit the mark!"
"Death Wind" became "Storm of Ruin," now containing within it "Lightning of Destruction."
"GRAAAAAHHH!! Stop it, damn you!! Stop right now!!"
Vega screamed, but Gobta had no intention of stopping.
There was no reason to.
"I'll keep my jokes limited to your existence!"
He brushed it off lightly, gathering every last trace of organic matter into a massive sphere.
A gigantic Black Storm Sphere took shape—inside, wind blades sliced Vega to ribbons while lightning spawned dozens of smaller lightning spheres within.
And then, seamlessly, they moved into the final phase.
"Carrion, you ready?"
"Yeah, I've been waiting for this!
Lion Dragon Body
!!"
At Gobta's signal, Carrion activated his ability.
"So I just need to fire my biggest shot at that sphere?"
"That's right—give it everything you've got!!"
Carrion nodded.
With this perfect setup, a smile spread across his face.
(That's Gobta for you. I'm really glad he's on our side.)
He channeled the magicules he'd gathered into his White Tiger Azure Dragon Halberd.
The image in his mind was that of his master, Milim.
The one who had obliterated the sacred peak of his homeland, the Beast Kingdom "Eurazania," with that overwhelming destructive power—that—
"Stop it, you insects!! Sto—"
"Here it goes! Take this!
Beast-Dragon Magic Particle Roar
!!"
An immense flash of light pierced into the Black Storm Sphere controlled by Gobta.
It was a blast of destructive energy beyond all comprehension.
An ultimate technique Carrion had developed by emulating Milim's
Dragon Star Blazing Inferno
.
The direct hit from the
Beast-Dragon Magic Particle Roar
triggered a chain reaction among the smaller lightning spheres inside the Black Storm Sphere.
And from there, it grew into a single colossal explosion.
The superheated plasma incinerated every last trace of Vega's
demonic bacteria
.
When it was over, all that remained was a vast stretch of barren earth.
A grand victory through the combined technique of Gobta and Carrion.
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
At the very edge of visibility from where the Black Storm Sphere had detonated.
A figure slowly rose from the ground.
It was Vega—the one who should have just been annihilated.
"That was close... That one was genuinely dangerous.
But in the end, I'm still the one who wins.
I'm only going to get stronger. As long as the
'King of Evil Dragons'
exists, I am invincible!!"
A grin spread across Vega's face as he sneered.
He was glad he'd had the foresight to leave a clone body as insurance.
He'd placed a duplicate at the absolute limit of where memory and consciousness transfer was still possible.
He hadn't fully mastered his abilities yet, but he had no doubt that the day he did would be the day he became the supreme being.
Yes—he believed that even "Star King Dragon" Veldanava would one day kneel at his feet.
"You look like you're having fun—I've found you.
Just as Lord Rimuru predicted.
I knew a coward like you would resort to something like this."
Only when he heard that cold voice from behind did Vega's confidence in his own evolution and supremacy begin to waver.
But reality would not permit it.
A sense of weightlessness began to creep in.
By the time he realized he was floating—ground and all—it was already too late.
A supreme barrier had isolated him along with the ground beneath him. Vega was already a prisoner.
"Die, you piece of scum!
Terminal Collapse Annihilation Wave
!!"
An energy of destruction even greater than the previous explosion tore through the interior of the barrier.
"Gya—hiiiyeaarghnuhhhh—"
Vega's first-ever, truly desperate plea for mercy never reached Carrera.
As if even hearing the voice of such scum was beneath him, Carrera mercilessly annihilated everything.
And so, the Four Perilous Heavenly General Vega met his complete and final death.