179 The Demon Lord of Gluttony
The Demon Lord pursues the Earth Dragon.
The earth dragons obstructed the pursuit.
The Demon King shattered the barrier generated by nine earth dragons, continuing to pursue.
The earth dragons rebuilt the shattered barrier, forming a precise rotation of nine units to hold back the demon lord.
At first glance, the exchange appears evenly matched. The outcome, however, is predetermined.
This contest offers no chance of victory for the earth dragons.
Thus, the complete delay.
Buying time.
And a roundabout suicide.
The earth dragon is strong.
The individual presumed to be the leader, communicating with the Demon King via telepathy, possessed an absurd level of strength.
Status values total approximately 18,000 across all types.
The result of擅自 using the Demon King's鉴定 skill without permission.
Among the monsters I have seen, it possesses unmatched strength.
The remaining eight are also strong.
Five out of the eight are top-tier entities, with average stats exceeding ten thousand.
The remaining three also include individuals whose stats exceed ten thousand. None are weak.
Even the weakest among them has an average stat value of around seven thousand.
Calling these weak? Impossible.
Even so, victory is unattainable.
Against this Demon King.
Out of the nine Earth Dragons, six possess the Divine Dragon Barrier skill.
The other three have only the degraded version: Dragon Barrier.
Thus, the six with the superior skill form the core of the Demon King's encirclement barrier.
Frankly, the low-power Dragon Barrier cannot even slow the Demon King.
The three without the Divine Dragon Barrier are tasked with constructing walls using earth magic.
Attempting to hinder the Demon King's advance, even slightly.
Yet the effectiveness is minimal.
The Demon King easily breaches the earth walls as they form, advancing without pause.
What kind of nonsense creature is this?
Appears humanoid, but utterly monstrous.
A female android?
I wouldn’t be surprised if her core were made of metal.
Thinking of the current state of the earth dragons being pursued by this thing—South—nothing.
Then, something’s been bothering me since earlier—what about this person’s MP or SP?
The numbers displayed in the status panel are absurdly high, but there’s an additional stock added beyond the base.
Even my main body possesses the skill of gluttony—likely the ultimate evolution of that unique skill, voracity.
Thanks to its effect, the Demon King’s HP, MP, and SP have an impossibly large positive stock.
What is this? Plus 99,999?
No matter how you try, you can’t reduce that number.
But what I’m actually concerned about isn’t that.
Her SP isn’t decreasing at all.
In fact, it’s increasing.
HP and MP can recover automatically through skills—nothing unusual there.
SP, however, should only recover through food.
The mechanism is this: every time the Demon King moves his mouth, her SP recovers.
When he moves his mouth as if gnawing, a portion of the earth dragons' barrier is stripped away.
Not destroyed—more like carved off.
And she chews.
Each swallow triggers SP recovery.
The effect is from the 'Gluttony' ability.
『Gluttony: n% of the power required to reach divinity. All things become consumable. Can store them as pure energy. Bypasses the W system. Grants interference rights over the MA domain.』
『Gluttony's Sovereign: Acquired Skill "Heavenly Wealth LV1", "Transcendence": Acquisition Condition: Obtain "Gluttony". Effect: Increases HP, MP, SP stats. Grants +bonus to proficiency of Status Enhancement skills. Acquires Sovereign-class Privileges. Description: Title bestowed upon those who master Gluttony』
In other words, the Demon King is utilizing the effect of Gluttony to consume the Earth Dragon's barrier.
Converting it into energy, then recycling it into SP.
All Sin-based skills are broken in performance, but in combat, this Gluttony is particularly exceptional.
It functions essentially like a pseudo-perpetual motion machine.
The first Earth Dragon, panicked and weakest, unleashes a breath attack.
A breath of destructive force capable of obliterating everything.
Had the target not been the Demon King, this attack would have been effective.
If the opponent had not been the Demon King.
The Demon King opens its mouth.
The Earth Dragon's breath is drawn into the Demon King's mouth.
Chewing.
Then swallowed, as if nothing had happened.
This is what it means to devour everything.
My gluttony differs in dimension from a mere skill.
Not only food, but stone, soil, metal—anything is consumed. Even the opponent's attacks are devoured.
All are converted into my own energy and restored.
This is the power of Gluttony.
Not merely a fusion of offense and defense, but a capability that negates the need for resupply.
As a pure combat skill, it is more terrifying than my Pride.
The game of cat and mouse between the Demon King and the Earth Dragon resumes.
Thanks to the Divine Dragon Barrier, time is gained.
Even the skill of Gluttony cannot shatter the Divine Dragon Barrier easily.
Yet the Earth Dragon grows increasingly fatigued, maintaining the barrier and repairing it each time it is breached.
The Demon Lord, meanwhile, regenerates with every bite consumed.
There is no chance of victory against such an unfair opponent.
The base stats are too disparate.
The Earth Dragon is strong.
Yet even it pales in comparison to the Demon Lord's terrifying stat level.
An average stat nearing 90,000—absurdly high.
The Demon Lord's thread passes through the gap in the barrier, wrapping around one of the Earth Dragons.
That Earth Dragon is the weakest individual.
The thread had targeted the strongest.
It stepped forward, shielding the stronger one.
The thread shows no mercy—strikes and kills the Earth Dragon.
Even though it is the weakest here, it remains one of the most powerful beings within this labyrinth.
The remaining Earth Dragons: eight.
They continue to challenge a battle with no chance of victory.
Sorry.
Likely impossible to seize control of the Demon King while you're all struggling.