Gluttony Demon King with the Swampman ~A Man with No Magic Power Who Dreamed of Magic, Wielding Knowledge from His Past Life Through Steady Research and Hard Work to Become the Most Vicious Final Boss~

Chapter 61.2: Madman and the One Who Understands

Right as the oni was about to declare it, Haro’s fierce barrage shut him up.

“Chain Crown Chainsaw”

“Guh, what a creepy water magic! Can’t you at least let me talk…!”

“Then put your fists down first.”

“You put yours down first!”

It was basically an argument you’d hear from little kids.

But despite the childish back-and-forth, their actual fight just kept getting more brutal.

“Chain Crown Chainsaw”

“Guh!”

“Chain Crown Chainsaw, Chain Crown Chainsaw, Chain Crown Chainsaw”

“Th-they’re still multiplying!?”

Eight tentacles swung with killing power each, plus a barrage of even more disk blades on top.

Both the Haro who could pull off this many attacks at once and the “Demon King of Ashes” who could handle it all alone were way beyond normal.

The ink pressed the attack hard, and the oni’s flames dried it up.

But even the ink that melted into vapor and started to vanish—Haro used that too.

The tiny ink droplets scattered everywhere by the steam explosions turned into countless mini disks right after and chased the oni again.

“Reconstruction—Chain Crown Chainsaw”

“What the—no end to this…!”

If even one escaped, it came back as a tiny blade.

To borrow Haro’s own words, at that size they weren’t “disks” anymore—they were “bullets.” And dodging the flame wall the oni threw up in a panic, they curved—

The trajectory bent sideways and punched straight through the oni’s wrist.

“Wha— it curved!?”

A tiny hit. But still brutal.

The ink bullet burrowed inside and started thrashing around; the oni barely managed to burn it away by lighting black flames inside his own body.

—By the way, from the “Demon King of Ashes'” point of view, going all-out in a deathmatch with Haro right here definitely wasn’t the best move.

What the allied demon kings were trying to do now was build a cooperative relationship among themselves.

So inviting this “Demon King of Another Star” (or so he seemed) over to their side was the optimal play in this situation, and the “Demon King of Ashes” had actually been looking for that chance.

But the fatal problem with this whole thing was—

The “Demon King of Ashes” had absolutely no clue what a “peaceful conversation” even looked like.

Subdue the other guy with violence, then negotiate from the predator’s position by basically threatening them—that was the only kind of communication he knew.

In other words, the guy was just fundamentally unsuited to being a negotiator.

So, how do I kill him? the oni wondered, and he answered himself almost instantly.

“──Crush him with overwhelming power from the front! For an opponent like you, that’s gotta be the most effective!”

“Whoops, got figured out.”

Instantly the flames roared louder.

Flames wrapped around his body like armor. The black fire swirled, swallowed wind, cranked up the heat, and tried to burn away every bit of ink that touched him.

He was dumping his mana like crazy—basically over-revving the engine. Throwing away any chance of a drawn-out fight and going all-in on one massive burst.

Haro gave a wry smile. Getting tangled up in fancy techniques would be way more annoying than this, he figured. But at the same time—

“That decision was just a little too late.”

Right after that, a black disk tore straight through the “Demon King of Ashes'” chest.

“…!?”

By the time he noticed, a huge hole had been blasted through the left side of his chest. It mercilessly punched right through his heart. The oni’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, gray eyes wide.

Just before the firepower peaked. In that split second, “Chain Crown Chainsaw” had come from behind and pierced his chest clean through.

The high-pitched whirring that echoed all around had definitely covered up the attack coming from the rear.

But that wasn’t the biggest reason he couldn’t dodge.

The real main reason the oni couldn’t avoid it was—

“Wha… n-no chant…!?”

“Even a demon king falls for it, huh.”

──Bluff.

Every single time so far, the black-ink disks had come with a spell name chanted out loud. So he’d been made to assume that’s how it always worked.

Haro cracked his knuckles with a little “koki” sound.

Actually, the trigger for every bit of magic the boy used was naturally mixed into these everyday little movements. No chant needed at all.

“Cool incantations are nice and all, but nothing beats the romance of no-chant magic, right?”

Haro said it all smug, and the oni burst out laughing—literally blew air out with a “buha.”

“Ha, hahaha…! Wahahahahaha!”

His face looked swallowed by rage, but his throat rang out loud and proud.

No way he’s going down from just this—the oni puffed his chest out like he was saying exactly that.

And Haro, almost like he’d expected that reaction, answered in a super good mood.

“You’re not the kind of demon king who’d die from something like this, right? Show me more. Gimme your absolute coolest, most kingly magic.”

“…!”

The boy’s eyes were sparkling like crazy.

The “Demon King of Ashes” was blessed with insane instincts. That’s why he could smell it so clearly—the pure scent of the emotion the boy was aiming at him.

Yeah, this definitely isn’t normal.

This kid didn’t carry even a shred of grudge or anger toward demon kings from the start.

Chase down a king, draw out the king’s techniques, steal a glimpse of the king’s magic—

That’s the only reason this boy came here. That’s how the king interpreted it.

A low-class feeling like “admiration” could get this starved, this thirsty, and turn into a monster.

“——Wahahahaha! Chasing dreams in front of a demon king, you madman!”

The Demon King of Ashes. Among the seven pillars, this oni king stood out for his unmatched instincts and intelligence—and probably for the first time in this world, he was starting to understand the true nature of the boy called Haro Swampman.