The 67th lizard, Gullombus, is an upright walking lizard that grows to about 150 cm.
At first glance, he looks like some kind of lowlife, as his only weapons are a one-handed shield and a mace that can cover his entire upper body. In fact, that is also what he says.
But he is also a demon lord. And he has more power than me…
[Valleytics, where are you?]
[Arriving soon.]
[Yes, come quickly. That's obvious. That bastard, that fleshy bastard… was made by Lichtes. It looks like he's stronger than me? He spared no expense in using the materials. It looks like he put in at least 7 souls of previous warriors.]
Judging from the fact that he has lavished such luxurious materials on it, he seems quite angry. Is he saying that if he can't have it, he will destroy it?
[Well, a vessel is a vessel… . It seems like my body will collapse in less than a week. Anyway, it's none of our business. The important thing is that I have to eliminate the warrior who is somewhere in this city.]
[How do you do that? You forgot that guy slaughtered Urk Heizen.]
[Have you forgotten my unique ability? With your ability, I can easily defeat any enemy, no matter how strong they are.]
The bastard's ability is to spew various poisons from his mouth. Of course, he cannot create poison that directly takes away life, but he can paralyze nerves or cause hallucinations.
'No matter how strong Sloan's body is, it would still be dangerous if he were to get hit directly by that guy's poison. He fights with pure strength.'
Riley's miracle level should be enough to remove the poison. Anyway, this guy deserves to be killed here.
[By the way, I have to start work soon… Huh?!]
"Tsk."
While maintaining his stealth, he tried to stab the blade into its cervical spine, but the scales were harder than he had expected, and the dagger only went in about 3cm.
I misjudged. I should have gone deeper. But thanks to that, I was able to figure out the weak point. First of all, if I maintain hiding for a long time, it will be a burden on my body, so I release my ability and reveal myself.
[Validics! What the hell are you doing?!]
"What the hell did you do? I tried to kill you."
[Don't you know that fratricide is strictly forbidden?]
I know very well. There are many things that must be protected even among the Demon Kings. But I don't like that.
Because when you say Demon King, aren't you saying that he is a collection of pure evil that is not bound by rules? When they were in the Demon World, they didn't hesitate at all to kill each other. They were busy hitting each other in the back of the head whenever they had the chance.
[You! Surely… you're not going to take the warrior's side, are you?]
"No way. I'm going to side with the warriors? This is it. I'm going to deal with the trash that's trying to interfere with my plot. And besides… ."
I could instinctively realize that he, too, was trying to hit the back of my head.
If not, there would be no reason to come to this city. Didn't Uruk Heizen die? It would be foolish to face such a monster head-on. We are arrogant, not stupid.
He will probably try to kill me after absorbing the power of Uruk Heizen. Even if I had accepted all of that power, I would be able to catch him easily if I used all my abilities.
[Heh heh… It's not like I'm stupid. Yes, you're right. I can't face that monster of a woman head-on. The last words of my own kind are still vivid in my ears.]
At that moment, the dagger embedded in the bastard's scales was suddenly pulled out. Also, there was only a small trace of blood left at the foot of the bastard, which should have been excited.
Perhaps that guy was there when Uruk Heizen died, and absorbed his power. Even if he was just a remnant, his power must have been immense, so he should be able to see sufficient growth.
[I was unlucky. I only absorbed the power of one. If I had come sooner, I might have become a top 36th rank Demon Lord by now… But if I kill you, it seems like it will be just right.]
The bastard swung his tongue like a lizard and raised his hammer in a flash as he lunged. It was a powerful charge that made his 150cm height seem pale.
Just before the collision, I deployed my stealth and jumped high using my enhanced physical abilities. Gullombus opened his mouth wide as if he thought I rolled to the side and unleashed his disgusting unique ability.
'It would be dangerous if I got hit even once.'
But that's the same for him. I now know where the dagger I stuck in earlier bounces off. Next time, I won't make a mistake. I'll kill you for sure.
[You little rat. You're hiding again! That's right! You always run away whenever there's an important fight.]
The grinning lizard moved its distinctive pointed eyes around, as if trying to figure out where I was.
[Run towards me right now!]
So I decided to grant his wish. After releasing his hiding spot, I quickly rushed towards him and tried to stab him in the face with my blade.
However, the bastard struck the blade with the shield he was holding. I couldn't see it, but he must have thought he had won. I could hear him chuckling.
[You were just unlucky in the end, weren't you? You fool.]
I laughed like that without knowing that this was what I was aiming for. I thought that instead of fighting back, he would instinctively extend his shield forward.
So that he could laugh at me. I didn't let him do that. After releasing the dagger, he kicked the shield away with his foot.
[Huh?!]
"This stupid lizard."
The shield made of special materials could not be broken even with my enhanced strength. Instead, I was able to push the bastard back. The staggering Gulumbus swung his hammer in a flustered manner.
Not knowing that it would make him lose his sense of balance even more, the bastard groaned and then quickly regained his composure.
[this-!]
He lowered his shield and sprayed paralyzing venom from his mouth. It was a poisonous liquid that even stiffened his respiratory muscles. Of course, I was no longer there, as there was no reason for me to be hit. He used his long jump again to jump high. At the sound of landing, the dagger was embedded between the scales of the creature.
[Fucking—! Stop hiding! I told you not to!]
This time, I didn't do it. It seems like it was really unfair. I was annoyed by the long tongue, so I made him close it. As soon as he could hide again, he immediately hid himself and ran away.
[Eeeeek!]
The bastard went berserk and swung his hammer wildly in the air. As expected, there was no reason for him to hit me. After dodging all of them, I kicked the dagger that was about to regenerate and stabbed it in.
The bastard let out a squelch—a sound of meat being crushed. His lungs had passed right through the blade.
The one who couldn't speak sent a blast of angry psychic energy at me.
[Stop! If I die, my people won't let me be!]
"You don't have to worry about that."
Because I'm not going to kill. My plan is to take advantage of the warrior. There's absolutely no need to get my hands dirty.
So I grabbed the back of the neck of the guy who was lying face down. He groaned and resisted, but how could he move when he could barely breathe?
It does have strong regenerative abilities, but there's nothing it can do to heal the blood that's seeping into a punctured lung.
The punctured lungs and blood vessels could be patched, but the blood that had filled them could not be drained. So I suppressed the bastard's helpless resistance and cut off his arms and legs with a dagger.
[Kkaaaah! Don't, don't!]
The ferocious spirit wave spreads in all directions. Unfortunately, I am the only one of my kind who can hear it. Our experience of death is shared, but the circumstances before it are not.
So, if you pick up something a bit lighter and throw it at Camilla who is pouring out magic.
"Huh? What is it? Is it a monster?"
There is no evidence left that I killed him.
[Kkaaah!!!]
"What kind of monster is that… Valley?! Did you catch it?!"
"Yes!"
"Yeah? Good job!"
Camilla didn't even look at the severed lizard, and burned it with fire. It was as hot as the fire from the lich she had seen before, but on a smaller scale.
A round ball of fire engulfed the creature's body in an instant. It felt like a wave of mind was scratching at its body. But it soon became quiet. Camilla's flames evaporated the creature in a matter of seconds, leaving behind no ash.
'at las!'
As soon as he burned, a new power was engraved in my soul… . Was it because I absorbed too much of my kin's power? Not only my body, but even my soul's power was weakened.
'One more unique ability has been added.'
Each Demon King has at least one powerful ability. In my case, it was stealth… .
Now comes with one more ability: Blink, which allows you to swap positions with your dagger.
I don't know exactly why I gained another ability, but my status as a Demon King has risen even higher.
"It was good."
It was really good. Now he is no longer the weakest Demon King, Ballistics. With this much power… . Maybe he could fight the hero? Of course, it would have to be a surprise attack, not a head-on fight.
'Do it right now?'
Maybe now is the time to deal with the warrior—
"Ah! Head!"
If I had to describe the sound, it would be 'cheoreoreoreoreoeok'. It was quite different from the noise that is usually heard when cutting with a sword.
Because Sloan had struck the fleshy mass with the side of his sword, not the edge, while spinning in the air.
"It seems like the flesh is slowly being crushed?! Alright! Let's keep cutting it off!"
What kind of ignorant woman is that?
Sloan had no elegant swordsmanship or ingenious tactics.
It's just power. The insane strength that comes from those arms makes the unthinkable possible.
What kind of person is that? Are they really humans? No, before that, that is… .
'You're taking the hero by surprise?'
Illusions are also a given. If I take that crazy bitch by surprise and fail, I'll be dead without a fight.
'Let's stay quiet for the time being.'
I guess I'll have to get a little stronger to deal with Sloan.
Maybe… . 6 times more than now?
"Hahahahaha! Camilla! Look at this! My head fell off!"
No, 8 times… . 10 times? No. Much more than that!
… No matter what, it still has to get a lot stronger. And that will be a terrible ordeal. Because that monster will get stronger too.