747 – Tri-Headed Gluttony King Baal

The sight that Volk and I are greeted by as we arrive in Alban is a scene straight out of hell.
Like the last city we saw, the entire capital is covered in a soft black membrane, and giant spider monsters are roaming the streets.
There’s no sign of the glorious royal capital that I visited once before.

“OOOOOO…”
“OOOOOO…”

In the centre of the city, the boss of the spiders is watching over them.

Its body is that of a gigantic spider covered in black hair.
Three giant heads are attached to its abdomen.
The left head is that of a toad, the right a cat, and the central head is that of a long-eared man wearing a crown.
Each head houses a pair of unfocused red eyes.

The Tri-Headed Gluttony King… The Demon Lord Baal.
Standing at the pinnacle of the system, he is the strongest monster in history.

When I first fought him in front of God’s Voice, I didn’t stand a chance.
But now, I’ve evolved to an Upper Legendary.
I won’t lose this time.

The only remaining [Spirit Servants] are the Demon Lord Baal, and the Magic Beast King that Aro and treant are keeping in check.
God’s Voice said that Baal was the strongest, so once I’ve leveled up from beating him, the Magic Beast King shouldn’t pose much of a threat.

It’s not certain that I’ll be able to actually fight God’s Voice, and if it does come to a fight, it’ll probably be in a form entirely unlike a battle between monsters.
God’s Voice has control over the system and authority over this world.
In a sense, this will be the last time I put my life on the line to fight a fellow monster.

『Volk and magiatite-jii, I’m counting on you to take out the ones in the city.
I’ll go for Baal!』

“Got it.”

I swoop down, and Volk jumps off my back and lands on a rooftop below.

I fly towards Baal, who remains oddly motionless.

Baal still hasn’t spotted me at this distance.
I had thought he would have noticed me by now, but he’s showing no reaction.

I’ll take the initiative.
As an apocalypse, I have Upper Legendary tier stats, and I’m specialised for offensive power.
As long as I can take and maintain the initiative, I should be able to beat even a superior opponent.

I’m up against the strongest monster in history.
No matter what, it won’t be an easy fight.

So I can’t let this chance go to waste.
I’ll deal massive damage in a burst and then not let up or give him a chance to recover.

I send a [Dimension Claw] at one of Baal’s kin at the same time as I attack him directly.
Of the three heads, the cat head turns to look at me.
But it’s too late.
Against an attack that ignores space, it’s too late to react once I’ve already moved.

Deep claw marks carve through Baal’s body, knocking him into the air.
I can’t let this opportunity slip.
Diving down, I twist, slamming my tail into his side.

It’s a maximum speed blow with all my weight behind it.
Despite being off-balance, Baal’s foreleg moves to block my tail.
The impact causes tremors that shake the entire capital.
Baal’s body is sent flying backwards.

I can’t let up now.
I’ll keep pushing until he’s dead!

“OgueeEEEEh!”

As I pull my arm back to fire a [Dimension Claw], the toad’s mouth suddenly opens.
Its tongue lashes towards me.
The speed of it is incredible.
I try to cut it with my claw, but the tongue deftly dodges and wraps itself around my foreleg.

“Guh…!”

Baal’s central head, the crowned man, shakes while spitting something out.
It appears to be a hair-thin thread, but my instincts scream that it would end badly if it were to touch me.

But, with my right foreleg restrained by the tongue, my range of motion is limited.
I dive down, pressing flat against the ground as the thread passes overhead.
Behind me, I catch a glimpse of buildings being sliced apart by the thread.

It’s the [Severing Thread] skill! It’s the same as what Atlach uses.
It’s fast, precise, and powerful.
As soon as my focus drops I could easily lose limbs to it.

The moment of relief I feel at having dodged the thread is quickly overwritten as a burst of bloodlust sends a shiver down my spine.
I raise my left foreleg to block.
It’s another slashing attack… No, this is a claw! My scales are pulverised, and my foreleg bends as I feel my bones break.
It’s an absurd level of power.
If I were to take a such a hit head-on, I could be killed instantly.

It took me too long to realise how I was being attacked.
I thought I was out of range of his claws! Either way, it’ll be bad if this tongue keeps me restrained any longer!

“GAAAAAAh!”

The tongue quickly retracts as I try to bite it, releasing my leg.
I need to bear in mind that each of the three heads can use skills independently.
My advantage was quickly overturned by the sheer number of attacks.

Knowing that staying in place would be bad, I leap off the ground and begin flying around Baal at a distance.
As I move, I heal the broken bones of my foreleg with [Autoregeneration].#

I thought I had dealt a lot of damage through my [Dimension Claw] and [Dragon Tail], but he looks almost unharmed.
The claw wound is already healed, and it didn’t look like my tail did much at all.

Baal is incredibly tough.
I had thought his stats must have been slanted towards defence, but the force behind the previous attack corrected that notion.
The difference between our stats must be vast.

『Did it look to you like I was full of gaps?』

Wicked smiles appear on each of Baal’s faces.

『That is how much leeway I have.
It has been thousands of years since my last opportunity… I must set the stage for battle, after all.』

This guy… Has he retained more self-awareness than Jornes or Ares?

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[The Evil Absolute Sovereign]
Species: Baal
Condition: Spirit
Lv: 180/180 (Lock) (MAX)
HP: 16594/20805
MP: 14498/14609
Attack: 13240
Defence: 7292
Magic: 10500
Speed: 8161

Rank: L+ (Upper Legendary)

Divine Skills:
[Asura Realm (replica): Lv-] [Animal Realm (replica): Lv-] [Human Realm (replica): Lv-] [Hungry Ghost Realm (replica): Lv-] [Naraka Realm (replica): Lv-]

Characteristic Skills:
[Automatic HP Recovery: LvMAX] [Automatic MP Recovery: LvMAX] [Dark Attribute: Lv-] [Grisha Language: LvMAX] [Demon Eye of Death: LvMAX] [Demon Eye of Terror: LvMAX] [Wild Intuition: LvMAX] [Miraculous Feline Pelt: LvMAX] [Poison Sash: LvMAX] [Presence Perception: LvMAX] [Three-Headed: Lv-] [Split Spirit: Lv-]

Resistance Skills:
[Physical Resistance: LvMAX] [Magic Resistance: LvMAX] [Poison Nullification: Lv-] [Paralysis Resistance: LvMAX] [Confusion Resistance: LvMAX] [Petrification Resistance: LvMAX] [Instant Death Resistance: LvMAX] [Curse Nullification: Lv-] [Illusion Resistance: LvMAX]

Normal Skills:
[Telepathy: LvMAX] [Baleful Claw: LvMAX] [Baleful Fang: LvMAX] [Dark Sphere: LvMAX] [Aqua Sphere: LvMAX] [Fire Sphere: LvMAX] [Twilight Thread: LvMAX] [Puppet: LvMAX] [Severing Thread: LvMAX] [Beast Tackle: LvMAX] [Monster Hotbed: LvMAX] [Roar of Insanity: LvMAX] [Tongue of the Water God: LvMAX] [Lightning Strike: LvMAX] [Rain Prayer of the Water God: LvMAX] [Gravity: LvMAX] [Gravidon: LvMAX] [Eclipse: LvMAX] [Humanisation Technique: LvMAX] [Autoregeneration: LvMAX] [Dimension Claw: LvMAX] [Tail Whip of the War God: Lv-] [Feline Alibi: Lv-] [Choice of the Quantum Cat: Lv-]

Title Skills:
[Final Evolution: Lv-] [Former Demon Lord: Lv-] [Former Magic Beast King: Lv-] [Conqueror of Spacetime: Lv-] [War God: Lv-] [Feared One: Lv-] [Tri-Headed Gluttony King: Lv-] [Bound Spirit Beast: Lv-] [Strongest in the World: Lv-] [Emperor of Hell: Lv-] [Limitless Cat: Lv-] [Toad That Eats Kingdoms: Lv-]
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Level 180…! I was expecting an Upper Legendary, but I didn’t think he would be this strong.
It’s no wonder he’s the strongest in history.

Worst of all is that Baal’s high attack and fast skills make him the same balanced attacker type as myself.

Due to the level difference, I am behind in every stat.
I’m not stronger, I can’t win a magic duel, and I’d fall behind in a battle of speed.
In terms of stats, he’s almost a perfect counter for me.
There’s nothing for me to exploit.

Not only is Baal tough, but he also has a wide array of skills that can be activated with no preliminary motion, making each head a too much of a threat for me to press an advantage.

He even has [Dimension Claw].
That must have been what he used to attack me earlier.
His spider legs probably moved, but I didn’t see any preparatory motion.

Thanks to its range, difficulty to dodge, and high power, [Dimension Claw] is my favourite attack but I didn’t expect Baal to be able to use it too.
No matter how much distance I put between us, I won’t be safe.
It’s as though I’m constantly within point-blank range of his claws.
To think it would cause me this much trouble when I’m on the receiving end…

【[Baal]: L+ (Upper Legendary) rank monster】
【The king of monsters who once devoured the world, and the god of war.】
【It overwhelms its opponents with miracles that transcend time and space.】

Despite his ominous appearance and status, Baal’s species description is surprisingly plain.
But this description is enough to convey how terrifying he is.

『I reigned as king of monsters for a hundred years, yet I never found an equal fight… I was sealed away by the world’s administrator.
I have had opportunity to fight divine skill holders since then, but not one has ever drawn out my full strength.』

Baal speaks with unfocused eyes.

『You seem a little stronger than them, but you will be crushed nonetheless, child dragon.
Put your fleeting life to work by breaking the tedium of my immortal existence.』

…Even though we’re both Upper Legendaries, I’m still a fleeting child dragon to him.
The only one who could ever say such a thing is him.

An Upper Legendary, at level 180.
All of his stats are above mine, and he’s flush with dangerous skills.
His three heads make him even more difficult to fight.

But of course, I don’t plan on dying now.

『Sorry, but to me you’re just the opening act before I beat up God’s Voice.』

The three heads stop smiling.

『I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done to the people of this city, you ugly bug!』

『What prattle.
The divine skill holder of this era certainly can bark.』

The brows of the three heads wrinkle as they frown in anger.