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"Nuoaaaaah!"
Glatony unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks, his roar echoing through the void.
Yet Lloyd parried them with effortless grace, delivering stinging counters in return. Again and again, the cycle repeated.
"Guh... Why?! Why is there such a staggering gap in our power?!"
The difference in their mana pools wasn't actually that vast. If anything, Glatony possessed a slight advantage.
Furthermore, because he was using the Holy King’s body as a medium, he took damage only indirectly. The damage to his true core should have been minimal. That was how it was supposed to be, yet the reality of the situation was overwhelming.
A kaleidoscope of spells rained down from Lloyd, shaving away the vast store of lives Glatony had accumulated through countless fusions.
"I won't die as long as the final core in my deepest depths remains intact, but... damn it, at this rate...!"
His own life, which had remained unthreatened for several millennia, was no longer safe.
Despite his nearly infinite lives and near-invincible strength, he found himself truly cornered for the first time.
"Come on, how about this one?"
A brilliance of mana that Glatony had never seen before shimmered from Lloyd’s palm.
There were spell formulas for exorcising demons, spell formulas for channeling the power of the Celestial Realm—countless varieties of magic existed in this world—but this was far too alien.
Could such an absurd phenomenon even be called magic? No, this was beyond the realm of sorcery. This was more like...
"Nnu... ooooooooah!"
The magic barrier he threw up in desperation was shattered instantly, dispersing into mist.
A wall of ultra-compressed mana should have been the ultimate defense due to its sheer simplicity, but Lloyd’s magic treated it like it wasn't even there.
It wasn't just raw power; Lloyd was forcing him to be creative.
Glatony had no choice but to dig deep into his repertoire, using the petty tricks he’d relied on long ago when he was weak and small.
Mutual annihilation through opposite-attribute strikes, neutralization via spell formula destruction, de-targeting through vanishing magic... yet for every tactic he employed, Lloyd would simply grin with delight and adapt instantly.
It was as if he were saying: Next. Show me something new.
"Guh... He counters everything I do... This is bad. I have to think of a way out..."
Glatony’s mind raced, ideas surfacing and sinking in rapid succession.
He had no hope of winning a fair fight. Appealing to emotion was equally futile; Lloyd was a monster who hadn't even flinched while attacking the body of the Holy King, a man he had seemingly been on good terms with.
But Glatony refused to give up.
Back when he was a weak, insignificant creature, he had clawed his way to the top by reading the expressions and behaviors of the strong, finding their weaknesses, trapping them, and surviving at all costs.
"There must be a hint in his words or actions... That's it!"
Glatony turned back toward Lloyd, ready to execute his desperate plan.
"...Heh heh. To be honest, I am astonished. I never imagined a human like you could exist in this world..."
"Oh? What's this? Have you finally stopped running away and decided to get serious?"
Lloyd drifted down from the air, and Glatony raised his voice.
"Fuhahaha! Magnificent, child of man! Even I, as God, am impressed by your power. It truly rivals my own!"
"...Huh?"
Lloyd tilted his head in confusion, but Glatony pressed on.
"However, if we continue this clash, the world itself will be in peril. Therefore, as a mature concession, I shall declare today my loss."
"...What are you talking about? You're not God; you're the Demon King who ate him, Glatony."
"Heh, that was merely a joke. I simply played along with your story. A bit of entertainment, if you will. In truth, I am exactly what I claimed—God."
Naturally, it was a blatant, pathetic lie.
It was a falsehood anyone could see through, but Lloyd listened in silence.
"...Heh, I knew it! I knew this inquisitive brat wouldn't be able to resist listening. And he'll definitely swallow the next part too...!"
Glatony continued his speech, whispering inwardly.
"Since God cannot simply grant human wishes, I subjected you to a trial. You have overcome it splendidly. As you desire, I shall release the fusion."
"...I don't really get it, but you're saying you can undo the fusion?"
I've won, Glatony smirked.
Now he just had to talk the boy into lowering his guard, then strike with everything he had.
If he could just kill this brat, he could return to his peaceful days, unthreatened by any rival.
"...Yes, I can. Now, step closer."
Lloyd walked forward as instructed.
Grimo and Jiriel flew out from behind him.
"Don't be fooled, Master Lloyd! This guy is talking total nonsense! The moment you show an opening, he's going to attack for sure!"
"He's right, Master Lloyd! He intends to snatch your body the second you drop your guard! You should finish him off right now!"
"Somehow... when you two say it, it sounds really persuasive..."
"Gulp!"
The two familiars fell silent.
They had tried to warn him, but it didn't seem Lloyd was truly listening.
Lloyd approached Glatony, still tilting his head in thought.
Heh heh. I panicked for a second, but he really is a complete idiot.
"So, what should I do?"
"Close your eyes and turn your back. Then, extinguish the mana surrounding your body."
"Like this?"
As told, Lloyd suppressed his mana and turned his defenseless back. Glatony raised his hand.
"...Yes, perfect! Heh, good, good. I'll release the fusion right away."
Glatony wore a muffled grin as he concentrated his mana into his fingertips.
With a blow that was stronger, sharper, and faster than the boy could possibly react to—he would kill him.
He thrust his palm, charged with a single point of concentrated mana, directly at Lloyd's exposed neck.
With a sickening crunch, Glatony’s hand shattered.
The fingers that were supposed to be packed with his total mana were crushed into a pulp, bent in impossible directions.
"Wha... t...?"
It should have been a perfect strike.
In a raw contest of mana pressure, he possessed the superior total volume; there was no way he should have lost.
And yet... As Glatony stood there dazed, Lloyd turned around with a face as calm as if nothing had happened.
"Hm? You're still fused. Hurry it up."
Lloyd hadn't even noticed.
He was completely oblivious to the fact that he had even been attacked.
It was only after directly touching Lloyd's skin that Glatony finally realized why his strike had failed.
Every part of Lloyd’s magic body—his blood, his flesh, and even his bones—had spell formulas inscribed into them. This created an ultra-high-density mana flow.
An attack couldn't possibly penetrate that.
If Glatony’s mana was like flowing water, Lloyd’s was like molten lava. No matter how defenseless he appeared, Glatony couldn't exert even the slightest influence on him.
The fact that they had seemed to be fighting evenly was a complete delusion. Lloyd had just been playing. He had used unnecessary barriers and magic because he knew that if he fought with raw physical force, it would end in an instant. He was holding back just to keep the "game" going.
Unbelievable. Could a human like this really exist? If so, was there any way to kill him? Any hope of escape? —None. There was none.
"This is impossibleeeee!"
Glatony fled with a scream. But a voice rang out from right behind him.
"Hey, what's wrong? Why'd you suddenly bolt? Need a bathroom break?"
"Damn it! Dieeeee!"
He unleashed a desperate magic strike, but Lloyd didn't even bother to take a defensive stance as it was neutralized.
There was no escape. Seeing Glatony’s face contorted in despair, Lloyd clapped his hands together.
"Ah, so you were lying after all?"
"...Obviously. As I said, he is none other than the Demon King Glatony. That was just a pathetic act."
At Beal’s deadpan remark, Lloyd puffed out his cheeks.
"Aww, then why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't have listened anyway."
"...Well, it is Master Lloyd, so we figured he'd be fine regardless."
"...We don't exactly... mumble mumble... about him."
Lloyd tilted his head at his familiars' muttering.
Then, he spoke with utter indifference.
"Well, whatever. It doesn't really matter."
Glatony’s entire body broke into a cold sweat at those freezing words.
Suddenly, memories of his weak, insignificant past flooded his mind.
In the Demon World, he had been the smallest and weakest of beasts: a corpse rat.
Born weaker than even his kin, his life had been under threat from the moment he drew breath.
His parents' food was stolen by his older siblings, and after he struck out on his own, he spent every waking moment trembling in fear of being eaten by predators.
Then, one day, he encountered the Demon King of that era.
"■■■■"
He couldn't remember the words, nor did he have the intelligence to understand them at the time.
But the absolute, soul-crushing terror of death he felt in that moment was burned into his heart.
"Is that what he is?! He possesses power equal to that person... Is there truly such a gulf between us?! ...Impossible! I won't believe it!"
A storm of mana erupted with his roar.
Countless magic spell circles materialized around Lloyd, and a barrage of magic strikes rained down.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! A vortex of explosions, flashes of light, and pillars of kaleidoscopic energy erupted. But even this attack, fueled by the entirety of his mana, failed to leave a single scratch on Lloyd.
"Is that all?"
Lloyd looked at Glatony with a cool, detached gaze. It was the look of a cruel, innocent child who had grown bored of a toy.
Those eyes were identical to the ones his most revered and feared master would occasionally show.
"Damn it! Damn it! Dammit all! Why am I remembering her now?! This brat can't possibly be like her!"
Tens of thousands of years ago, in the wastes of the Demon World, his former master had picked him up: the Progenitor Demon King.
She was strong, wise, beautiful, and more terrifying than anything in existence—the person Glatony admired most.
He had wanted to be like her. Every technique he had ever mastered was for that singular purpose.
Now, after tens of thousands of years of refinement, his encounter with this unprecedented foe was forcing his potential to bloom.
"W-What is this?! His body is starting to glow!"
"The flow of mana is incredible! It's on a completely different level than before!"
Roaring light enveloped Glatony’s body.
At the center of the howling gale, Glatony’s form began to warp and shift.
"What's this? Another emotional power-up? I've already seen—"
Lloyd’s words were cut off as massive magic spell circles appeared above him.
Immediately, a torrent of magic crashed down.
Fire, ice, and lightning merged into a chaotic mass, crushing Lloyd under its weight. It continued to hammer him.
The energy pierced the clouds of the Celestial Realm and gouged a massive crater into the earth.
The quality and quantity of this attack were leagues beyond the previous magic strikes.
The concentrated, high-density barrage was like a pillar of light supporting heaven and earth.
Even while unleashing such power, Glatony felt no exhaustion. Instead, he felt as if power were welling up from within him.
"—Ah, yes. My master looked just like this."
The mana storm subsided, and Glatony emerged from the light.
He looked down at his own body with a sense of nostalgia.
His appearance was radically different.
Long, pitch-black hair billowed in the wind, flanked by two sinister, curving horns.
His eyes were narrow and crimson, his lips painted with black rouge, and his skin was a dazzlingly inhuman white.
He resembled a bewitching beauty, save for his left hand, which was stained a horrific black.
This was the form of the master he had once served.
She had picked him up on a whim, named him Glatony, and kept him as a pet.
Under her protection, he had experienced a life free from the terror of predators for the first time, and he had gradually grown in power.
From a mere beast to a monster, then a Majin, and finally a demon.
He had served under successive Demon Kings for thousands of years, steadily gaining strength until he finally claimed the title of Demon King for himself.
Glatony believed he had risen this far solely to escape the absolute fear of death that had been engraved in his soul.
Now, reawakening that primal emotion, he had taken the form of the person he most revered and feared: the Progenitor Demon King, Beelzevuit.
"W-What is this insane mana capacity?! I can't believe it! He was terrifying enough before, but this...!"
"Yes, it shouldn't be possible, but he's overwhelmingly superior even to Beal! It's as if he's the collective strength of every Demon King! This is the one they called the strongest: the Progenitor Demon King!"
"...Naturally. No one surpasses Beelzevuit. She is the only one worthy of being called the Demon King. Everyone else—myself included—is just a pale imitation."
Glatony scoffed at the familiars' words, wearing an ecstatic expression even as he belittled himself.
"First, let me thank you for helping me remember my master's form. It has been over ten thousand years since we were separated by death, and my memories had begun to fade. ...That overwhelming power, that terror, that charisma—and above all, that raw violence... It’s amazing I ever forgot it. It's all so clear now. ...Heh, look. Just thinking about her... my hands won't stop shaking...!"
True to his word, his fingertips were rattling.
He clenched his fists tight to still them, blood dripping from where his nails bit into his palms.
"However, I never expected a monster like you to be born from weak humans. I left the management to the Holy King, but it seems I was too lenient. From now on, I shall manage every life in this world and pluck out any threat while it is still in the bud. Every living thing on this earth shall be managed like cattle on a ranch—planned production, with any deviations culled. Thus, an ideal world will be born, one where I am never threatened by fear again. It will be a peaceful world for humans too, free from conflict. It’s not a bad trade, is it? Heh... hahahahaha—"
"I'd rather you didn't."
Glatony stopped laughing as a voice drifted from within the pillar of energy.
The pillar began to groan and creak before splitting down the middle.
With a thunderous crack, the pillar shattered, and Lloyd stepped out.
"Plucking possibilities in the bud? Managing everything and culling those who don't fit the mold? ...Hey now, that sounds incredibly boring."
"Wha... t...?"
Lloyd held up an index finger for the speechless Glatony to see.
A magic orb at its tip began to suck in the fragments of the shattered pillar with terrifying speed.
"It's because of the eccentrics and the outliers that challenges are born and progress happens. Conflict and battle only accelerate that. By competing and honing each other, people—and the world—grow. Just like my brothers and sisters."
"Im...possible...!"
The pillar that had pierced the heavens was already almost gone.
What was happening? It shouldn't be possible. That was his strongest attack. No magic body should have been able to endure it. And yet...
The torrent of mana swirling at Lloyd's fingertip vanished, replaced by a void of pitch-black darkness.
"And I plan to use all of that growth for my magic. So, sorry. I'm going to have to reject your 'ideal world'."
As Lloyd spoke, his eyes held the same color as that eerie, bottomless darkness.