If I were thinking about this normally, beating
Without doing anything about the yellow Demon Aura clinging to me, I drew my blade and struck.
He caught it easily with his meat cleaver and sent me flying in the other direction.
Of course.
And even Hakuro, whose swordsmanship far surpassed mine, couldn't so much as scratch him.
I tried again, using high-speed movement to stay evasive while launching slash after slash.
Probing from every angle, searching for a weakness.
I knew it was pointless, but I couldn't stop myself.
Even when my attacks were caught and deflected, I stubbornly tested them all, confirming what I already knew.
That I was weak.
When you think about it, the five mainstays of my forces — and if you want to count more, add
If you look at each of their abilities, they're all above me.
The only advantage I have is that I can wield everything.
If I fought each of them one-on-one at full power, I think I could win. But against multiple opponents at once, I'd lose.
And yet, this guy surpassed all five of them.
With no decisive blow in their arsenal, the five would eventually exhaust their Magicules and be defeated.
In a straight fight, I'm not someone who could beat him.
That's right.
In a straight fight…
Why did Benimaru and the others end up with stronger abilities than mine?
Hakuro was strong because he'd honed his own skills through training and discipline.
There was nothing mysterious about that. But what about the others?
No — let me think about this the other way. Were they really stronger than me?
The answer was…
After all.
Most of my abilities were obtained from monsters.
Because they weren't innate, I'd needed to start by understanding them properly.
Just because you can ride in a car doesn't mean you have a driver's license. And there's no way you'd beat a professional driver.
But here's the thing.
When I reincarnated into this world, there were some abilities I already had.
Abilities I was born with.
Abilities I was intimately familiar with, that I could manipulate at will.
Those abilities — I could use them to their full potential.
And with that, I issued a single command.
I grant you permission to control my body. Manipulate it as you will, Great Sage!
《Acknowledged. Transitioning to automatic combat mode.》 And that was the answer to the question posed earlier.
—————— The Orc Disaster was perplexed.
He had just finished preparing to devour the five powerful monsters he'd defeated, when a single monster blocked his path.
A trivial opponent. That was his impression.
The Magicules were certainly high — comparable to, or even exceeding, the five prey he'd just taken.
But this monster repeated pointless attacks, each one individually weak.
He was simply cycling through degraded versions of the attacks the five had used.
The diversity was noteworthy, but the creature was no threat. At least, that was his feeling.
As food, the quality was excellent, which was a plus…
Just then, the opponent — who'd been mindlessly launching attack after attack — suddenly stopped.
And removed his mask.
What appeared was a cute, childish face with silver hair, befitting the form of a young child.
What was he thinking? The moment that thought crossed his mind— Shlik!
His left arm, severed from the elbow, spiraled through the air. Black flames consumed what was left of the severed limb down to the last bit.
At the same time, the blade held by his child-like enemy dissolved into black fire and was consumed.
Enemy — yes, an enemy.
A creature he'd considered prey until moments ago. But not anymore. Its presence was overwhelmingly different from before.
The fact that the opponent's weapon had melted meant nothing in itself — it was merely proof of how powerful the enemy's abilities were.
The existence of a foe he'd never faced before, now that he'd truly evolved, sent tension coursing through the Orc Disaster's entire body.
And with it came a nagging sense of wrongness.
Something's off — my regeneration isn't starting!
Panicked, he examined the stump of his arm. The black flames still burned there, refusing to disappear. They were sealing his regeneration.
His Demon Aura was connected to his opponent. In other words, the flames would not vanish until the one who'd cast this technique was killed.
Fury lit the Orc Disaster's eyes.
He tore his arm off at the shoulder and let it regenerate from the root. Then he raised his meat cleaver and brought it down with all his strength.
Against a small child-like opponent, there was no way this blow could be survived!
But the child, who should have been unarmed, casually extended both seemingly empty hands — and between them, a blade materialized out of nowhere.
The very same blade he'd just melted with his own flames.
It came slashing in at a speed that surpassed anything before.
He hurriedly parried, and the meat cleaver clashed against the blade — both weapons dissolved into black fire and vanished.
This one — he had to devour it at full power!
The Orc Disaster's Demon Aura surged outward, unleashing a shockwave that hammered the surrounding area.
He cloaked his fist in Demon Aura and punched. The opponent had armored their fist as well and deflected the blow.
A magic missile came flying at him. He dodged it with a leap, then fired back his March of the Hungry Ghosts.
Seven magic projectiles split apart in midair, raining down on the target one after another. Each was enhanced by the Unique Skill "Starver" and carried a corrosion effect.
The attack wouldn't kill, but it would deal damage.
Sure enough, the opponent appeared injured — but stood without issue.
Their body was now clad in armor different from before. Withstanding the recent attack must have been thanks to that armor's abilities.
Perhaps, just as he himself had, this opponent was also in the midst of evolution.
I'm hungry. I want to devour that one!
The Orc Disaster was certain. The five before were nothing now. He would consume the one standing before him!
He lunged at his opponent and locked into a brutal grapple.
His strength was slightly greater. They were deadlocked, but he'd eventually crush them — or so he thought, until his leg was shattered.
A low sweep smashed his knee and sent him crumpling to the ground. Even so, he didn't let go.
Yellow Demon Aura leaked from his palm and began corroding his opponent.
It was the power of the Unique Skill "Starver" — direct corrosion of the enemy.
It would halt their life processes and convert them into his own nourishment.
Devour them! His mind was consumed by that single thought, and he poured every last drop of his ability into the corrosion!
Before long, the opponent's resistance faltered, and their body gradually began to melt away…
—————— Everything went according to plan.
With the full support of the Unique Skill "Great Sage," I fought with every ability at my disposal.
A combat method more optimized than anything I'd attempted before. Black Flame Manipulation became effortless.
Beyond that, Body Armor evolved into Full Body Armor — incorporating and reinforcing the armor's capabilities into my own.
Abilities I couldn't handle on my own became easy to use with the Great Sage's support.
Even so, the gap in raw power was hard to overcome. Eventually, the Orc Disaster started adapting to my movements, and it was possible he'd gained the upper hand.
Even if you can use your abilities to their fullest, that doesn't raise your skill level.
The Orc Disaster had only recently evolved and hadn't mastered his own abilities. That was the only reason I'd been able to fight on favorable terms until now.
That was precisely why I needed to steer things in this direction.
Overwhelm the opponent in an instant, then lure them into a fight based on their strongest ability.
Everything went according to plan.
The Orc Disaster intended to corrode me and devour me.
But here's the thing — I was planning to devour you too!
I'm a Slime. My innate skills are limited to Dissolve, Absorb, and Self-Regeneration.
My self-regeneration was inferior to the Orc Disaster's. However, as a Slime, my resistance to corrosion was very high.
From the very beginning, I intended to eat you. Just like this!
I made it look as though the corrosion attack was melting me apart, while manipulating my crumbling body to latch onto him.
Gradually, I crept from his palm up along his arm…
By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.
I had already enveloped him using the Slime race's natural combat method.
He tried desperately to peel me off, but with me covering his entire body already, it was useless.
Pointless, wasn't it? Too bad — your proud regeneration ability can't do a thing about this.
The situation had reached a stalemate.
He countered my Dissolve attack with his regeneration. At the same time, he launched corrosion attacks against me, but those were within the range my Self-Regeneration could handle.
We were each devouring each other. It was like the Ouroboros — an infinite, inescapable cycle.
Whoever consumed the other first would be the winner.
Simple enough, right?
The key to my victory was bringing about exactly this situation.
Rather than relying on abilities I couldn't fully control, I leaned on my instincts — on the ability I could use by pure instinct.
The Dissolve and Absorb abilities of my Slime body had incredible synergy with Predator.
As I dissolved and absorbed, Predator's ability activated simultaneously.
Because that's what Predator does.
Orc Disaster, your Unique Skill "Starver" is certainly powerful.
But here's the thing — yours is the Devourer.
Eating everything and anything is impressive, but my ability, specialized in defeating and consuming, is superior in this scenario.
If we're both continuously devouring each other, the one who gains the other's ability first will be me.
Through my ability — the Unique Skill "Predator"!
I can analyze abilities from a living opponent. But you, Gelmud, can only steal abilities after the target is dead.
The outcome was decided in this moment.
………
……
…
How much time had passed?
We were still devouring each other.
Confident in my victory, I focused entirely on consumption when— I cannot afford to lose.
I devoured my brethren.
I cannot afford to lose.
I must become a Demon Lord.
I devoured Lord Gelmud.
I cannot afford to lose.
My brethren are starving.
I cannot afford to lose.
I will eat my fill!
Thoughts flooded in from the other side.
Hmph. Are you stupid?
No matter what you think, I've already won.
But I cannot afford to lose…
I devoured my brethren.
I am… a sinner…
That's why I cannot afford to lose.
It's pointless.
Let me tell you something.
The world is survival of the fittest. You've lost.
So you will die.
But I cannot afford to lose…
If I die, my brethren will bear my sin.
I am deeply sin, and to stop the hunger, I must be prepared to do anything!
I will become a Demon Lord.
I will take upon myself all the hunger of this world, so that none of my brethren must starve!
Yes!
I am the Orc Disaster, the one who devours all!
Even so, you will die.
But don't worry.
I will devour your sins as well.
What… did you say?
Devour my sins…?
That's right.
Not just yours — I'll devour the sins of all your brethren too.
You'd devour… my brethren's sins as well…?
You're greedy.
That's right.
I am greedy.
Is your mind at ease now?
If so, then be consumed and sleep peacefully.
Ah…
I couldn't afford to lose.
But…
I'm tired. It's warm here…
Greed incarnate.
Your road ahead will never be peaceful, I'm sure.
And yet… the one who would bear my sins…
Thank you.
My hunger is at last satisfied!
The Orc Disaster. His name was Gelmud.
Just now, his consciousness faded within me.
《Confirmation complete. Orc Disaster — dissolved. Unique Skill "Starver" has been absorbed and integrated into Unique Skill "Predator"》 Victory was mine.
A starving creature could never defeat me, who would never hunger again.
And then, I opened my eyes.
Carrying upon me the sins of him and all his brethren of the Orc Tribe.
"I win. Rest in peace, Orc Disaster Gelmud!"
In that silent place, I declared my victory.
In that instant, cheers erupted from the Goblin and Lizardmen camp, while wails of grief rose from the Orc camp.
Thus, the invasion of the Orc Tribe came to an end at that moment.
From the thoughts that had flowed between us during the mutual consumption, it became clear that Gelmud's ambitions had been the root cause.
And that he had been making contact with several so-called "Demon Lords," seeking their backing.
The details were uncertain, drawn from the fragmented knowledge of the Orc Disaster, whose sense of self had been far from stable.
But it was information worth being wary of.
Moreover, the Orc Tribe couldn't simply be left alone.
The problem was far from solved.
The day after this battle, an important meeting would take place — one that would later be recorded in history as the founding of the Jura Tempest Federation.
I had a hard time tying everything together at the end there.