Chapter 130: Monster King Against Demon Lord

Tanaka slammed into the earth hard enough to crack it. His body rolled across the broken ground until his wings flared open and carried him to a stop. Rhazek already stood in the crater. The Demon Lord hadn’t even broken into a sprint. That fact disturbed Tanaka. He had poured everything he had into the battle’s opening exchanges, throwing wind, earth, lightning, water and close combat at the Demon Lord.

He had shifted his rhythm, changed up his angles and used terrain to even the odds between them. And Rhazek had calmly walked through it all. Tanaka pushed himself to his feet. It was painful. A few of his scales had been torn open along his side and his left wing was still partially damaged. Rhazek stood nearly unmarked. A few scratches marred his body and his left eye had a shallow cut beneath it, but otherwise he looked like he’d just finished a pleasant afternoon stroll.

The difference between them wasn’t something Tanaka had to think about. He could feel it in the battle, in the difference between them, with every clash of their power. A Monster King against a Demon Lord.

Rhazek pounced. Tanaka already had his wings beating, carrying him into the sky. He didn’t bother flying toward the Demon Lord, not when he knew better. Rhazek’s swipes cut the empty air where Tanaka’s body had been a second ago. Tanaka circled above the Demon Lord, raising a single hand. "Storm Lord." Dark clouds gathered overhead. The first bolts of lightning lashed down toward Rhazek.

The Demon Lord raised a single arm, deflecting the first strike. Lightning followed. Tanaka guided the thunder and lightning, sending bolt after bolt slicing down toward his opponent. Rhazek twisted out of the way, but Tanaka was already shifting the storm, forcing the Demon Lord to keep moving. The attacks weren’t overwhelming Rhazek, but the Demon Lord was growing annoyed at having to keep avoiding them. Tanaka saw the opening in the Demon Lord’s defense.

The storm shifted to the left. Rhazek moved to the right. Tanaka redirected the next bolt of lightning, sending the Demon Lord leaping upward. Tanaka was already moving. "Earth Impact." A column of stone erupted from the earth beneath Rhazek’s feet. The Demon Lord punched through the rock, but Tanaka was already forcing Rhazek to keep moving. Tanaka twisted, another pillar of stone bursting from the earth. The Demon Lord destroyed it with a single blow, but Tanaka sent a third one flying toward the Demon Lord.

Rhazek smashed it out of the way, but Tanaka had already moved his wings, sending a powerful current of wind slicing past the Demon Lord’s ribs. Rhazek dug his claws into the earth, but Tanaka wasn’t finished. "Wind Breath!" The pressurized blast of wind roared past Rhazek’s ears. The Demon Lord crossed his arms over his chest and absorbed the attack, forcing himself backward several meters. Tanaka saw his opening. He dived toward Rhazek. The Demon Lord’s eyes narrowed. Tanaka brought his claws down toward the Demon Lord’s throat.

Rhazek met his strike, pushing Tanaka back. Tanaka’s claws were forced backward, then Rhazek’s power pushed harder, his strength increasing. Tanaka’s arms began to shake, his power waning. Rhazek shoved Tanaka downward until the Monster King’s feet hit the earth. "You’re clever," Tanaka gritted his teeth. "But?" Rhazek smiled. "You’re still weaker." The Demon Lord twisted, throwing Tanaka aside. Rhazek followed up, the sheer difference in their power making it impossible for Tanaka to keep up.

Tanaka barely blocked the first punch Rhazek threw. The second one sent him tumbling backward. The third one caught him in the ribs, throwing his body into the air. Tanaka twisted his body around the force of the punch, landing on his feet. He didn’t attack immediately. Tanaka studied Rhazek.

The Demon Lord wasn’t faster than everything Tanaka could do. It wasn’t the raw power difference that was getting in his way. It was the simple fact that whenever they actually traded blows, Rhazek was stronger, and now Tanaka needed to stop giving the Demon Lord that advantage.

Tanaka gathered water beneath his feet. "Water Movement." Tanaka twisted to the side, forcing Rhazek to follow. Tanaka changed direction, and Rhazek was right there with him. Tanaka flew low to the battlefield, weaving between two groups of fighting monsters. Rhazek followed. Tanaka climbed higher, forcing Rhazek to jump after him. Tanaka opened his hand.

"Earth Impact."

The earth beneath Rhazek’s feet erupted. The Demon Lord twisted in midair, a thick slab of stone slamming into his gut. Rhazek pushed through the impact, but Tanaka used the opening to blast a concentrated beam of Wind Breath into the Demon Lord. Rhazek was sent tumbling, crashing to the earth. Tanaka hovered above the fallen Demon Lord for a moment. He had an opening.

Rhazek stood, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He looked up at Tanaka, then laughed. Tanaka’s expression tightened. Rhazek’s body blurred. Tanaka barely lifted his claws in time for the punch to send him flying out of the sky. Tanaka crashed into the earth. Before he could push himself up, Rhazek was on him. Tanaka felt a fist collide with his ribs. The earth beneath Tanaka’s back gave way. Rhazek lifted his fist again, but Tanaka liquefied.

The punch passed through him. Tanaka flowed around Rhazek’s arm, reforming behind the Demon Lord and blasting another jet of Wind Breath. Rhazek stumbled, his shoulder twisting. Tanaka followed up with a bolt of lightning, striking the Demon Lord in the small of his back. Rhazek staggered forward. Tanaka struck again. For a while, Tanaka’s attacks were effective.

He never gave Rhazek an opening to counter. He used the terrain to his advantage. He forced Rhazek into unfavorable positions. He struck weak points and blind spots. It was the first time Tanaka had fought the battle this way. Tanaka was in control.

Rhazek adapted. The next time Tanaka disappeared into the clouds, Rhazek didn’t pursue. The Demon Lord waited. Tanaka emerged on the other side of the battlefield, but Rhazek turned to meet him. His fist impacted Tanaka’s gut, spinning the Monster King around. Rhazek grabbed Tanaka’s wing and pulled him closer. Tanaka tried to pull away, but his strength wasn’t enough. Rhazek’s grip tightened until several of Tanaka’s scales began to crack. Tanaka was flung across the battlefield.

Tanaka crashed into the earth. He didn’t move for several seconds. When he finally forced himself up, Rhazek was no longer attacking. The Demon Lord stood several dozen meters away, his expression unreadable. The excitement wasn’t gone, but it had been replaced by something else entirely. Rhazek raised a hand. Tanaka tensed. This wasn’t a regular attack. The mana wasn’t right. Rhazek didn’t charge forward. He didn’t move closer. Instead, he closed his eyes. And began to chant.

"Darkness, heed my voice." The air around Tanaka changed. Tanaka’s eyes narrowed. Rhazek continued. "Answer the will of the one who commands the abyss. Gather beneath my hand and obey." The mana around Rhazek compressed. A black-red glow formed between the Demon Lord’s palms. Tanaka’s instincts screamed at him to strike. Tanaka launched himself forward, not giving Rhazek a chance to finish chanting. Tanaka’s claws sliced through the air toward the black glow surrounding Rhazek. They never reached their target.

The attack was swallowed up. Not blocked, not stopped. Tanaka’s claws began dissolving. Tanaka recoiled, already seeing the disappearing scales on his fingertips. He turned his gaze toward Rhazek, but the Demon Lord was still chanting. "Strip flesh from bone. Strip magic from matter. Strip form from existence." Tanaka fired a blast of Wind Breath, but the moment the winds reached the sphere of darkness, they vanished. Tanaka sent a bolt of lightning flying toward the glowing orb, but it, too, was consumed the moment it touched the field of energy. Tanaka clenched his jaw.

He fired another blast of Wind Breath, but the moment the winds reached the sphere of darkness, they vanished. Tanaka fired a bolt of lightning, but it, too, was consumed the moment it touched the field of energy. Tanaka bit his lip. Tanaka launched Earth Impact, a pillar of stone bursting from the earth toward Rhazek. The stone vanished inside the sphere of energy, not a trace of it remaining. Tanaka’s expression hardened.

Now he understood. The chant wasn’t removing Rhazek’s defenses. The spell itself was protecting the Demon Lord. The field of energy around Rhazek’s body was devouring anything that entered it. As long as Rhazek continued chanting, Tanaka wouldn’t be able to get close enough to interrupt the spell. Tanaka could attack from outside the field, but nothing he threw at Rhazek would reach him. Tanaka could charge inside the sphere, but the moment his body touched the energy, it would be consumed.

Tanaka clenched his jaw. Rhazek continued chanting. "Let nothing remain." The sphere of energy expanded. The ground beneath Rhazek’s feet began to disappear. Even the air seemed to warp around the field. Tanaka took a step back. His mind was working overtime. He had fought through this battle, adjusting and adapting until he found something Rhazek couldn’t overcome with brute strength. And now Tanaka was facing something new, something he realized he would never be able to outmaneuver.

Tanaka’s gaze fell on the Demon Lord. He could still run. He could still dodge. He could continue to avoid a direct fight. But if that chant completed, if that spell reached its conclusion, running wouldn’t be an option anymore. The destruction it would bring would consume him. Tanaka looked up at the Demon Lord. Rhazek raised his head. His crimson eyes opened. "Demonic Erasure." The words weren’t loud, but the power they carried wasn’t something Tanaka could ignore.

The sphere of energy expanded. Everything it touched began to vanish. Stone disappeared, grass withered, weapons crumbled to dust. Monsters, half their bodies destroyed in the fight, were reduced to nothing at all. Tanaka felt a sense of foreboding unlike anything he’d felt in this battle. His body reacted before his mind could command it, pushing him backward.

Tanaka stopped himself. Endless Abyss churned inside Tanaka’s Magic Core. Tanaka stared into the approaching sphere of darkness. He had fought the entire battle using adaptation, using the abilities available to a normal Monster King. Now those abilities weren’t enough. Tanaka’s eyes hardened. "Fine." Tanaka’s body was consumed by darkness. The air around him twisted. Endless Abyss opened. For the first time since the battle started, Tanaka stopped trying to fight Rhazek with the abilities of an ordinary Monster King. Tanaka was going to answer darkness with something far greater.