Chapter 20: Thanks for the Meal

"Fufufufufu, I see… so this is your secret plan. Not bad at all, I didn’t notice a thing."

"…Eh? Ah, no, um…"

Lust-kun wore a bewildered expression as he looked at the King of Sloth lying sprawled out.

There was no hint of deceit on his face. Eh? A coincidence? No way, that’s ridiculous… There’s no way the King of Sloth just happened to be passing by.

Yet both Lust-kun and Greed-kun were casting puzzled looks at the Demon King.

Lazy, still rolling on the ground, spoke with a fed-up expression.

"Why me…?"

"…Eh? At a time like this!?"

Almost simultaneously with Lazy’s words, a girl with crimson hair appeared, her face twisted in disgust. Her uniform, mostly black, was the same as the one worn by Mizuna and the others—marking her as one of the Kuro no To’s followers.

She grabbed Lazy’s arm, trying to pull him up off the ground. The scene was identical to the memory of Lazy being dragged out during the Great Demon King’s inauguration ceremony.

…So that’s it. Dragging the King of Sloth onto the battlefield, huh. Ira the Wrathful really is quite capable. Looks like I truly wasted something precious. Mizuna… maybe I should have cooked you properly and eaten you when I had the chance.

But despite her efforts, Lazy showed no sign of standing. He shook his head with deep reluctance, brimming with sloth. His eyes were completely lifeless.

To me, it looked like he was just waiting to be eaten—and at the same time, that was the very essence of a sloth demon. Hard as rock, yet barely moving at all.

Fufufu… fascinating. Truly fascinating. To think he would try to fight me in that state— The hunger inside me flared into fighting spirit as I stood before the Demon King of tremendous power.

Well then, at least a proper greeting.

"King of Sloth. A pleasure to make your acquaintance—or rather, it’s been a while. My name is Zebul Gracos… Demon King of Gluttony."

"I see."

Lazy replied to my introduction like it was utterly meaningless. Just two words.

But one mustn’t be deceived by appearances or sluggish actions. Lazy’s zone clearly surpassed mine. He was slothful, but by no means weak. Even as I stared at the massive magical power emanating from him, my appetite refused to rise—a sign that in a way, he was a bad match for Gluttony.

"Lord Lazy! Since you’re here, fight properly!"

"…But he’s strong…"

At Wrath-kun’s words, Lazy turned his face with the most unwilling look imaginable. Wrath-kun’s expression warped with despair and fury. The burning magical energy radiating from him carried a fragrance that tickled my nostrils—delicious, intoxicating.

Fufufufufufu, ahahahahahahahahaha—what, did you really think you could easily destroy me, of all people?

"You’re underestimating him too much, Lazy."

"Yeah… curry isn’t worth it…"

At that nonsensical, idiotic line, battle broke out without warning.

As a test, I extended countless Gaki arms toward Lazy from all directions—sending just one toward Wrath-kun.

Despite yelling at Lazy, Wrath-kun hadn’t let his guard down. He backstepped to avoid the flying tentacle, thrust out his palm, and unleashed flames.

The tentacle swallowed the fire, but not completely. Its tip charred. Wrath Ira’s wielder was clearly strong. And the flavor was indeed fine. I gagged.

"Ugh, guwoaaaaaaghhh!"

Dropping to my knees, I withdrew the tentacles and pressed both hands to the ground.

A horrendous nausea, like my stomach was being shaken violently up and down. My head was spinning into chaos, a sour stench filling my senses. My body convulsed uncontrollably. I heaved, but nothing came out of my mouth.

Tears welled up from the sheer pain—I hadn’t felt agony like this in ages.

W-What the hell is this!?

Through blurred vision, I peered ahead. Pathetic, to be like this in the middle of battle. But it seemed no one had understood what just happened. They only stared suspiciously at me vomiting out of nowhere. None even pressed an attack.

And there—unlike the nimble Wrath-kun, Lazy hadn’t moved at all, taking the tentacles head-on. With tears in his eyes, he murmured:

"…It hurts."

Looking closer, his clothes were torn in multiple places where the tentacles had struck. Bare skin peeked through, lightly scratched and bleeding here and there.

This was the epitome of "Sloth Acedia"—the famed durability of the King of Sloth.

Not even comparable to the sloth general-class I once destroyed. His VIT was monstrous. Even demon swords that pierced everything had failed, and my devouring tentacles couldn’t so much as bite.

Guheheh… fufufu… oh, this is getting interesting!

Wiping away tears, I activated my magic eyes. The three demons other than Lazy were bound in place. Not that Lazy ever moved willingly anyway.

The nausea began to fade. I was about to activate another skill when a hideous bitterness assaulted my nose. Acrid, revolting—a stench beyond anything earthly, eclipsing even the shock of my past battle with sloth demons.

So that’s it… I had been too focused on the nausea to notice until now, but this…

Checking my magic, I realized it had actually recovered slightly. Far too much for just absorbing Wrath-kun’s flames.

And then despair hit me. Was there no god in this world?

The trauma was overwritten here and now.

I glared at Lazy, wiped my mouth on my sleeve, and spat out a complaint.

"…You taste absolutely disgusting… like nothing of this world."

"…It hurts."

Lazy sluggishly rubbed at his torn clothing. The blood had already vanished. Honestly, even when it had been there, it was nowhere near actual damage.

Wrath-kun stared at Lazy in despair. But I was the one who felt true despair.

This is bad. That taste… It’s a blasphemy against food itself. Worse than any sloth demon I’ve eaten before. Not of this world. What law of nature could create that? Until now I thought everything in existence could be eaten, but I have to take it back. That flavor changed my entire outlook on life.

It wasn’t something one could endure. I never want to taste it again.

Which means… I can’t absorb Lazy’s power. If I forced myself, I’d probably collapse and die before I managed to destroy him.

Hahaha, what’s the point of a Gluttony Demon King who can’t eat!?

Utterly detestable.

Still teary-eyed, Lazy suddenly muttered:

"I surrender."

"Hah? Why!?"

"I don’t like pain."

"Wh-Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?"

How… how did this guy become a Demon King…? No, how has he survived this long!?

His words were somehow even more shocking than the taste. My mind blanked.

In that instant of disbelief, an invisible power shot out from Lazy. My passive resistance skill canceled it—mental pollution resistance. Lazy clicked his tongue, his expression dripping with the most insufferable laziness.

My hunger turned to killing intent, raging like wind across the wasteland.

Heh… heh… you dare toy with me. A sneak attack after lulling me into carelessness—that’s beneath even a demon.

Fine then. Forget Canon. I’ll kill you with everything I’ve got. There’s no place in this world for something inedible.

Most of Gluttony Gracos’ skills involve devouring the opponent. Without those, my remaining usable skills are severely limited.

Clenching my palm tight, I called for fangs. The primordial power that could crush everything.

Lazy, moving slower than a sloth and with a face even harder to read than one, fumbled through his pocket and let his arm drop lifelessly.

"...Forgot the pieces... you got any? Chess ones will do..."

"Huh? Chess? O-of course I don’t have that!"

Anger-kun scolded Lazy with an irritated look.
To me, it all just felt like mockery.

Ahh, that’s it.
Fine then—I'll devour it.

I’ll show them the extreme of Gluttony.
Don’t think Gluttony’s only good for eating.

The hunger was far worse than when I brought out the demon arm, burning through mana at an unbearable rate. My stomach felt like it had its own will, ready to devour me whole.

And for the first time in ten thousand years, I used that skill.

『Primordial Fang – Hajimari no Kiba』

The skill that manifests the fangs of a demon god, piercing through anything regardless of resistance. Not changing flesh, not shaping mana into arms, but one of the "phantasm armaments"—purely conjuring a weapon.

Born of the Original Sin of Gluttony, the dark blade wrapped around my arm as it took form.

A black katana, hilt to tip, about a meter and a half long. But reach didn’t matter. It was my fang, and at the same time, the embodiment of this world’s endless hunger.

I tossed aside the curved sword I had used against Greed-kun. Both hands gripped the blade. Tentacles retracted.

My glare bore down on that fool of Sloth, who neither moved nor showed any appetite.

"...Heh... heh heh... Then let’s begin our battle of Demon Lords."

"...Haa..."

Lazy let out a sigh.

That… bastard!

I surged forward in a single explosive step, demon-lord strength hurling me with blinding speed—

But my body froze. Instantly, my mental-purification skill triggered, dispelling the stun, yet it was already too late.

My body grew unbearably heavy, knees buckling under immense weight.

Pressure? No—different. This was physical heaviness. My hands couldn’t hold the blade.

Collapsed on the ground, I looked up at Lazy, who hadn’t moved a half-step since appearing, his eyes dim.

"Impossible... what did you do...?"

"...Haa..."

Another sigh from Lazy.

No, I knew this. I’d experienced Sloth skills before. An advanced skill of Sloth could hinder movement.

But this strong? Strong enough to bind me? Ridiculous!

"Grh... L-Lazy-sama...!"

"Fu...ya..."

"Guugh... Boss!?"

Cries came from every side. Twisting my stiff neck, I saw even Lazy’s own demons flattened against the ground.

This bastard—dragged down his own army without a thought.

No. That wasn’t it.

In a snap judgment, I sprouted countless tentacles, propping my body upright.

Lazy’s gaze held no killing intent, not even fighting spirit.

This wasn’t just suppression. He was increasing gravity.

Understanding dawned. I could feel it clearly. Lazy of Sloth—his power surpassed mine.

With trembling hand, I raised the blade at him.

How many kilos, how many tons was he piling on? Why weren’t his own demons crushed flat?

Am I... losing to a Demon Lord without even the will to fight?

"...Heh heh heh... It’s been ages... since I was made to kneel like this..."

"I see."

That was all Lazy said.

And then, suddenly, a shock struck me from the side.

What—what now?

No killing intent. No fighting spirit. Too slow to react.

My tentacles barely held me up, but even so my body was hurled away.

My vision swayed, dizziness surged, only to be instantly erased by my demon-lord resistances.

No trace of presence. Lazy hadn’t moved an inch.

Driving my blade into the ground, I unleashed over a hundred tentacles, stabbing them deep into the earth to anchor myself.

Felt the ground scrape. Tentacle tips burning from friction. Smoke rose from the earth.

A physical blow. Hardly any damage. But I couldn’t understand what had happened.

And on the battlefield, nothing is more terrifying than the unknown.

The distance now stretched hundreds of meters, and with it—the crushing heaviness vanished.

A chance!

Even demons aren’t omnipotent. Sloth excelled at endurance, yes, but that meant its offensive power was lacking.

To think he couldn’t deal much damage, even catching me completely off guard...

Hunger remained unsated, yet another feeling welled up.

Excitement. How long had it been since I’d faced someone who could fight me as an equal?

A hundred tentacles slammed into the ground behind me. I lowered my blade, mana flooding into my legs, reinforcing them.

Can’t stand under that gravity? Then I’ll cut him down in a single strike before he can unleash it.

Lazy was durable, yes. But if I cleaved him in two, even he wouldn’t be able to use that skill.

The moment I tried to take a step forward, an alarm blared in the back of my head.

The intuition of a warrior, sharpened to the point of being almost a hundred percent accurate—like a sixth sense. I leapt sideways just in time, and where I had been standing a second ago caved in with a thunderous crash.

I can’t see it. I can’t see it, but… something’s there.

Incredible speed, overwhelming weight.

I understood. This was what had knocked me flying earlier.

Sensing a lateral sweep through the flow of air, I leapt to evade. The logic of being immobile midair doesn’t apply to me, who can control countless tentacles. I whipped them forward to strike back at the sudden change in direction as that "something" came rushing in.

My tentacles pierced into the unseen force. I spat blood in midair.

My movement froze completely. Then, it came crashing down on me.

"Guwoeeh… gu… cho… zuru—"

The blow was nothing compared to before—it was like the heavens themselves had fallen, mercilessly crushing my body.

My skull creaked. My desperate hand stretched upward snapped backward with a sickening crack.

Unlike before, I couldn’t redirect the force. Being sandwiched between that crushing power and the rough ground was enough to make my very soul feel like it was about to be extinguished.

But pain didn’t matter now. What terrified me was the taste. As I clung to the ground, gagging and tearing up, it attacked again, mercilessly, over a wider area than before.

The Wave of Hunger?

The Fleeting寓夜?

Impossible… if he used that, he’d consume me. Force me to ingest it.

That taste, something no living thing should ever have to endure.

A taste like the mud of despair—darker than the underworld, pooled endlessly at the bottom of a pit even deeper than hell, foul beyond belief. The taste of a monster so vile it would not even recognize a demon as a demon—

Blows rained down again and again, slamming me into the ground. My consciousness flickered. My vision spun as my status ailment recovery skills auto-activated nonstop. Without them, the dizziness alone would have left me immobile long ago.

Damn it, all with that vacant face of his, yet completely merciless.

Each individual skill isn’t among the most powerful of the Demon Kings—normally considered one-hit-kill techniques—but the way he uses them makes them all the more insidious. The unpredictable strikes slamming into my body, I still couldn’t grasp their exact nature. Only one ultimate and worst truth was certain: the taste was Lazy’s.

And Lazy himself hadn’t moved an inch this whole time.

Mocking me.

I stabbed my tentacles into the ground at the moment I was slammed down and forcibly shifted my body sideways. They weren’t strong. The damage wasn’t severe. But taking this repeatedly was dangerous.

I snapped my broken arm back into place and used stored nutrients to instantly heal it. Before I could even savor the relief, I launched myself forward.

The impact passed through the spot I had just vacated.

One thought flashed through my mind.

What is this skill?

An auto-tracking attack skill? Wind? Non-attribute energy?

Every demon skill has meaning. Naturally, it is tied to that demon’s desire.

Just as Gluttony specializes in devouring others, Sloth must specialize in something too.

In what?

Making others slothful? No… no, that’s not wrong, but it’s not the essence.

Far off in the distance, Lazy lazily brought his hand down onto the ground.

That’s it!

A skill that projects attacks far away.

In other words, the skill of "Sloth Acedia" exists to repel foes without moving.

I dodged the wide-range strike that descended from above. The ground bore a gigantic handprint, five meters across from one edge to the other.

What a ridiculous skill. And yet, the fact that it was tripping me up proved its effectiveness.

I dashed forward, eyes fixed on Lazy’s hand. The instant his arm swept sideways, I leapt high.

I caught the invisible fist with my blade. Though the unseen hand was easily cleaved, Lazy’s actual hand showed no signs of damage. So breaking the invisible strike caused no feedback… no one-hit-kill power, but also no drawbacks. At most, it restricted his arm movement. A highly efficient skill.

I parried a horizontal strike with my sword. Just one of those unseen fingers contained magic power surpassing a general-class mage, unraveling and dissipating into the air. Such a waste not to be able to eat it.

…No, this isn’t the time to worry about eating or not eating.

I must defeat Great Demon Lord Kanon, no matter what. I must win and confirm the taste. For the sake of the vassals who have gone ahead.

To that end, the massive magic power Lazy possesses is an invaluable weapon.

I was certain. Even comparing raw magic power, he far surpassed me.

Damn it, how long has this guy been alive?

But if I devour him repeatedly, I’ll surely die. I’ll waste away from the sheer foulness of it. An unbearable disgrace for the Demon King of Gluttony.

And yet… if it’s just one more time—!

Yes. Resolve yourself. That’s the only sure path to victory.

Foul? So what.

The terrible bitterness and stench still clawing at the back of my nose shredded my spirit.

Tasty or not, it doesn’t matter.

I steeled myself and glared at my enemy.

For myself, and my power alone, Lazy, I will—

"—Devour you."

"…Please don’t."

The words “Please don’t” weren’t the end of it…

Taking advantage of the irritation sparked by that flippant tone, my body was blown sideways in a sweeping strike.

He really did attack like he couldn’t care less.

Just as I devour, just as Wrath burns with rage, just as Greed yearns endlessly—Lazy simply slacks off for no reason at all.

It was the least appetizing thing imaginable, but it was also a display of perfect consistency.

The King of Sloth… I see. That makes sense.

For all that I’m a Demon King myself, I was being toyed with by this variety of skills.

So that’s what one learns after seeking out Acedia’s depths and peering into its abyss?

…Fine then. I’ll show you something in return. The power I gained in pursuit of the supreme pinnacle of Gluttony, Gula.

I used my Evil Eye—only for it to clash with Lazy’s and be snuffed out with ease.

Flames of Wrath closed in from behind in a surprise attack, but I answered with the Wave of Hunger and absorbed them. I’m not weak enough to be felled by some sneak attack from a mere demon who isn’t even a Demon King.

The bitter taste lingering deep inside me was at last washed away by the rare pleasure of consuming usable magic power.

The damage doesn’t matter. Wrath, Lust, even Greed—none of them matter right now.

I focused my mind.

I raised my left hand and prayed—to the ravenous god of hunger.

Wind pressure closed in from both sides. My ribs cracked audibly. My brain recognized it as the feeling of being crushed between two giant hands.

But I did not release the blade gripped in my right hand. This was my trump card. My arm broke. I didn’t release it. Healing activated. Crushing pressure leveled across my body. Each time it healed, my arm broke again.

Lazy clenched his fist. The strain across my whole body grew enormous. Bones snapped like toothpicks. My body screamed at the pain I hadn’t felt in so long.

I couldn’t use defensive skills—if I did, I’d end up consuming Lazy.

As the heat and pain squeezed the life from my body, I drew in a deep breath and steeled my resolve.

I set my killing intent into my fangs. With all my strength, I unleashed the skill.

『Banquet of the Starving King — Eaters Plate』

With a deafening roar, the earth split open and the wasteland shattered. The sheer scale of magic power, enough to annihilate any mere human who touched it, shook the world and warped space itself.

Greed and Lust fled in panic. And at the center of it all, the Demon King sat unbothered—or rather, lay there flat on his back.

I had summoned forth the maw of the Starving King.

A colossal void hundreds of meters long. With no teeth, no tongue, it existed for one purpose only—to fulfill unending hunger, insatiable starvation. From above, one would have seen a massive semicircular gash carved into the earth.

And then, I was dumbfounded.

Lazy, who had been set as the target, simply slid into the hole that suddenly opened beneath him—without a hint of alarm, without resistance. He even yawned as he fell.

Sloth has poor compatibility with high-offense demons like Wrath, Gluttony, and Pride. Not because “they don’t move, so they’re easy targets,” but because by being still, they can focus their skills. Unless they grew very strong, they were fated to be hunted.

Still… this outcome was far beyond anything I expected.

Huh? What? That’s how this ends? After all the fighting until now?

I’d planned to slice him to pieces the moment he leapt aside to dodge…

I glanced at the black blade in my hand. A phantom armament with no set reach, it extended as far as my will desired. My ultimate hidden trump card, to be used in the decisive moment.

The colossal lips closed.

The force crushing my body dissipated, releasing me.

I scratched my cheek with my right hand.

"…That was kind of anticlimactic."

"…Was it now."

A voice I should not have heard came from behind me.

I spun around in panic, blade at the ready. Lazy lay sprawled out behind me, unharmed.

Even with his back to me, he made no move to strike.

Wait—

On reflex, I swung my blade. No need to extend its reach; he was right there. No one lying down like that could possibly dodge. Yet just before the blade could cleave him in two, Lazy’s figure blinked out of existence.

A chill raced down my spine.

So that’s how he escaped the maw of the Starving King!?

…Teleportation!? Is that even possible? No—considering he had appeared so abruptly in the first place, I should have assumed as much from the start.

It was entirely my mistake.

The difference in image between “evasion” and “sloth” was so great that I hadn’t even considered it.
Damn it, that’s way too cheap.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

Is there really that much of a gap between third and fifth rank!?
Did Lord Kanon seriously take all of this into account when sending Lazy against me!?

I swung my blade all the way through, carrying my momentum, and cut behind me.
The strike grazed Lazy’s arm where he had teleported. Blood spurted out like a fountain.
Catching the scent of it, I instinctively stepped back.

Tears welled up in Lazy’s eyes—probably from the pain. But by then, the bleeding had already stopped, and his arm had fully regenerated as though nothing had happened.
An absurd regenerative ability. An unmatched durability born of relentless refinement. And precisely because of that, his tolerance for pain was pathetically fragile.

The moment I tried to step forward again, my body seized up for an instant.

Gravity had bound me once more. I realized it then—this stiffness in my body came from the power of the Demon Eye.
Lazy was binding me with his Evil Eye, a magic that should only work against those far beneath him.

That alone spelled out the difference in our power.

"Ah, haha… ha, ha, ha… Lazy. Just how many years have you been alive?"

"…Probably about a hundred, give or take."

Like hell!
Lazy, I met you more than ten thousand years ago!!

No doubt… he’s simply forgotten.

Hahaha… this fight is starting to feel ridiculous.

Even that endless hunger gnawing at me—hunger I could never satisfy—felt like it might finally stop mattering.

Lazy said nothing, his eyes half-closed in that drowsy way of his.

I thought about why this demon king had gained such overwhelming power.
Unlike Lord Kanon, who became a great demon lord in under ten thousand years of existence, Lazy must have simply lived on for ages upon ages.
And in doing so, his power naturally accumulated until he ascended into a demon king.

No ambition. No purpose. A king of futility.
He cared nothing for the desires of others, and even this battle with me—he would likely forget it soon enough.
How enviable that was.

Before I realized it, Lazy’s hand had clenched so tightly that his fingers turned white.

My body was being crushed from every direction. Something inside me snapped, again and again, but I no longer felt any pain. I had no will left to resist. No means. No appetite.

The “Primordial Fang” I had gained after nearly a hundred thousand years crumbled into sand and slipped from my hand.

And before me was Sloth itself. His eyes opened slightly—eyes filled with nothing but weariness.

"…Heh… heheh… bye-bye, Sloth Acedia. That was… fun."

"…I see."

If possible, I’d have liked him to defeat Lord Kanon in my place.
But I doubted he would ever bother with something so troublesome.

Between the gaps of the hand that held me, a single finger lazily pressed inward.

As my skull was forced down and crushed by sheer brute strength, one last thought passed through me.

Thank you for the meal.