Chapter 406 369 – Beelzebuth, Lord of Gluttony!

While Treyni and Shizue were still utterly stunned by the scene before them, Takumi's mind was already operating at lightning speed.

[Ding! Raphael, Lord of Wisdom, is analyzing… Integrating [Starved] and [Predator]… [Corrosion] and [Ultimate Lifeform] are evolving…]

[Ding! Acquired entry: Beelzebuth, Lord of Gluttony (Gold)]

[Beelzebuth, Lord of Gluttony (Gold): An integration of multiple skills. You are the king who stands at the very top of the food chain!]

"What kind of vague-ass description is that?"

After grumbling about it, Takumi carefully examined the full extent of this Ultimate Skill.

On top of integrating every ability from [Starved] and [Predator], it had gained [Corrosion], an ability that accelerated digestion to the point that even inorganic matter could be devoured and broken down.

At this point, even if Takumi literally ate dirt, he could convert it into energy his body could use.

Then there was its most powerful ability, [King of the Food Chain].

With Takumi at the center as the king of the food chain, his subordinates—whether they had fused with Angel Pieces, been named by him, or were beings he had personally created—would all receive a portion of his abilities.

At the same time, all of these beings, collectively regarded as his dependents, would feed a portion of their own power back to Takumi.

He could sense every single one of them.

"Thor, Mio, Maria… Chloe. I can feel every one of them!

"And I can use their power too. I can even concentrate all of it into myself!"

As he grew stronger, everyone connected to him would become stronger.

Then, as they grew stronger, that strength would flow back and make him stronger in return!

Since this wasn't a game, they couldn't create a truly infinite feedback loop.

Even so, a spiraling path of evolution akin to pulling oneself into the heavens by stepping on one's own foot had now opened before him!

Shizue and Chloe's strength abruptly surged as well.

Under the effects of [Beelzebuth, Lord of Gluttony (Gold)], they received a fraction of Takumi's power. Even though it was only a tiny fraction to him, it was enough to nearly double their strength.

Takumi's own reaction was even more intense.

BZZZZ—!

The almost tangible aura blazing around his body began expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Treyni had yet to recover from the shock of watching Takumi annihilate the entire orc army with a single attack when that terrifying pressure descended upon her once again.

Suffocating.

She couldn't breathe at all!

Even though she was currently a spiritual life-form, every particle composing her soul trembled!

Everything throughout the enormous Great Jura Forest instinctively recoiled in terror.

Standing high above the heavens, Takumi needed only to leak the slightest trace of his power to possess enough force to wipe the entire Great Jura Forest from existence.

However, with the immense computational ability of [Raphael, Lord of Wisdom (Gold)], he quickly brought even that tiny amount of leaking aura under control.

In the next moment, all of his power returned to his body, and his strength underwent an unprecedented increase.

The number of his dependents was enormous. Even though many of them were unimaginably far away, the amount of power converging on him was staggering.

Among them were Freya, Hestia, Thor, and many others whose strength was already exceptional.

The instant all of that power flowed into him, Takumi's strength broke through to the sub-Dragon God level.

The word sub might make it sound unimpressive, but using battleboarding terminology, he had already firmly reached the continental level.

Destroying entire mountain ranges with a single strike or obliterating islands and continents was no longer particularly difficult for him.

"And this still doesn't count as me truly concentrating all of their power into myself.

"Right now, I'm only absorbing the portion of their strength that naturally feeds back to me. If I completely concentrated everything, my normal state should be able to touch the [Dragon God level]."

Takumi let out a long breath and glanced at Shizue and Chloe beside him.

Chloe, who had previously only been at the highest tier, had instantly soared all the way to Demon Lord level.

Even the Shadow Demon Corps he had created earlier had all surged to Demon Lord level.

Even the weakest among them now possessed enough power to effortlessly destroy an entire city.

"And beings like that… I can mass-produce now."

Takumi murmured to himself, an immense surge of ambition swelling within his chest.

Unfortunately, the feeling came quickly and disappeared just as fast.

As long as he had no intention of destroying the world, having every one of his subordinates reach Demon Lord level wouldn't change the overall situation much.

He had already been overwhelmingly crushing his enemies before. Now he would simply crush them faster.

It wasn't as though he could actually let them fight at full strength, either. Takumi had no desire to see the world reduced to scorched earth—like the scene presently beneath him.

A full quarter of the Great Jura Forest had already vanished beneath his previous attack.

If someone were to rank who had caused the most damage to the forest, Takumi could comfortably take first place. The orc army from before couldn't even compare to a single hair on his body.

Naturally, Treyni, who was standing beside him, had absolutely no thoughts of opposing him.

If Takumi hadn't been supporting her and preventing her from falling, she probably would have dropped to her knees already.

When she noticed Takumi looking her way, Treyni's entire body jolted.

"L-L-Lord Takumi, um…"

She stammered helplessly, suddenly unable to think of anything to say.

Treyni normally had the cool, elegant beauty of an aloof woman, so seeing her act this adorably flustered created quite the charming contrast.

"Don't be nervous. I'm actually a very reasonable person."

Takumi waved a hand with a friendly smile, looking nothing like the brutal Demon Lord who had just wiped out an army of two hundred thousand.

Reasonable…?

Treyni's pupils practically quaked as she glanced sideways at the still-smoking Great Jura Forest.

A quarter of the entire forest had disappeared in an instant. Her home and the treants' settlement had nearly been turned to ashes along with it.

If this counted as being reasonable, then she would swear off her beloved potatoes for the rest of her life!

That was what Treyni thought, but outwardly she forced a smile that looked even uglier than crying.

"You're absolutely right, Lord Takumi. You're an incredibly reasonable person."

Treyni raised a thumb and offered the most insincere praise imaginable.

Takumi didn't care whether she meant it or not.

As long as he didn't activate mind reading, it sounded damn pleasant to his ears.

"Hahaha! Now that's what I'm talking about."

Chuckling in satisfaction, Takumi raised a finger and pressed downward.

A dazzling mote of light instantly dropped from the sky and landed upon the charred earth below.

"Origin Restoration!"

In the next instant, the wasteland that had been reduced to scorched earth abruptly returned to its original state.

A lush, verdant forest once again stretched across the land, though the usual rustling sounds of countless living creatures were now absent.

Gulp.

Watching this miracle unfold before their eyes, all three girls stared wide-eyed.

Destruction was easy.

Restoration and creation were difficult.

Shizue believed that, with her current strength and enough time, she might be able to reproduce the scale of destruction Takumi had just displayed.

Restoring everything to its original state, however?

That was completely beyond her.

At this point, Treyni was utterly and sincerely convinced.

"You are not only a supreme and exalted king, but also a benevolent ruler."

Treyni bowed deeply.

As a dryad, she naturally wished to see the forest restored to its former beauty.

Takumi could easily have done nothing at all after destroying it, yet he had chosen to restore it anyway.

That action alone was enough to earn her respect.