YN POV
The Orc Lord was looking at Gelmud. He was paralyzed by Rimuru. Rimuru is far stronger than him in anywhere. The bolts he releases just bounce of Rimuru's [Multilayer Barrier]. Rimuru had already analyzed it. Gelmud face which was sneer at first turned into a gasp of despair.
Gelmud: "Dammit! Help me, orc lord--- I mean Geld!!"
So, he was one who named the orc lord. Well, I already figured it out, after all he was going around and naming everyone and his interaction with Gabiru just finalize my theory. He was the root cause of the chaos done by Orcs.
That, at long last, stirred the orc lord to action. Did he want to help Gelmud? Well, all right. He was free to do whatever. Rimuru has already promised Treyni that we'd take him out anyway. It looked, externally speaking, that he was little more than Gelmud's puppet, but I didn't care. It wasn't like picking off the guy behind the scenes was gonna neatly end all of this. I had no reason to hate this orc. But that didn't mean I could let him live. Watching him as he closed the distance between us, I gauged the situation. None of this felt threatening in the least. I couldn't estimate his magic stores since I hadn't made physical contact with him yet, but I figured it wouldn't be too far from Benimaru's. And that was still around half of Ifrit's. If I gave this a serious effort, it should be easy. My main concern was what would happen once all these orcish soldiers were leaderless.
YN: 'Rimuru back off.'
I send the <Thought Communication> to Rimuru and he immediately back off and came near me. I think Rimuru might be able to take him but still it is best to be caution. I already analyze Gelmud powers, he doesn't possess enough power that could be a threat to me. Sarena will easily handle him if it comes to it.
Gelmud: "Well, it's about time you stood up, you good-for-nothing idiot. Ha-ha-ha! I don't know who you think you are, but you're about to get a taste of real strength! Get him, Geld! Show him what it means to defy me and---"
With a wet, squishy-sounding thud, Gelmud's order was cut off mid-sentence. His head rolled along the saturated ground a few feet. The orc lord had done a marvelous, if somewhat forceful, job of chopping it right off his shoulders.
Crunch, splish, splorch.
The orc lord, upon walking up to Gelmud, had not hesitated a moment in using his meat cleaver–like weapon to decapitate the man. Once that was done, he started to slash away, carving the body into small, bite-size pieces that he immediately hurled into his mouth. It was a low-born, pathetic, and all-too-suitable ending for Gelmud. So, this pig-guy wanted him dead, too, huh? Or was this his orcish instincts at work? Either way, it wasn't exactly great news for us. The dull, yellow eyes now had the glint of youth and intelligence to them. He had regained his sentience, something he had once lost to the power he gained from all the different races he had tasted. I wasn't anticipating this... Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. The resulting aura was like nothing I had experienced since waking up.
Voice Of The World: " Confirmed. The orc lord's magical energy has expanded in quantity. He has begun the evolution process to a demon lord seed... Evolution complete. The individual Geld has completed the evolution to an Orc Disaster."
It been so long since I last heard of Voice of the world. But the timing couldn't have been wrong. It was a nostalgia to hear the voice after so long. The world has acknowledged Orc lord to be a Demon Lord Seed.
Anyways back to the matter at hand. It seems devouring Gelmud his master had evolved the Orc lord into the Orc Disaster. He finally became what Gelmud wanted him to be, but he was not alive to witness it. I think Gelmud wanted to make a Demon Lord and he has taken a quickest way possible.
His eyes were now youthful, full of sparkling energy and intelligence. His mere presence was intense, severe, on a scale like nothing Gelmud had ever achieved.
I have to deal with him right here and right now. If not, then he will become a disaster to the whole forest.
As I was about to move to fight off Geld. I noticed that Benimaru and the other ogres were positioned for battle. They could see how much of a threat the Demon Lord Geld was. Their easygoing smiles were gone, replaced with stern, serious frowns.
Benimaru: "YN-Sama! Let us handle this!"
Shion, meanwhile, didn't even bother to speak. With a flash, she whipped out her large sword and swung it home, putting all her strength behind it, enhanced further by the extra skills <Steel Strength> and <Strengthen Body>.
Geld attempted to block it with one meat cleaver-equipped hand. Even for him, it wasn't quite enough. He brought up his right hand now, too, doing his best to resist Shion's incessant attack.
Shion: "You think some dirty pig can be a demon lord?!"
Shion shouted as she landed another strike from up high.
Shion: "Don't you dare believe that!"
Kurobe's expertly crafted blade now had a visible aura around it, as it landed with a dull thud against the Demon Lord's body. Both took a step back before clashing once more. Longsword slammed against cleaver, raining sparks upon the battlefield. It looked like an even match, but before long, the differences between the two became clear. Every muscle on Geld bulged, his very armor pulsing as if it were part of his body.
It was the Demon Lord who won out in the end. His muscle outclassed Shion's, even with <Strengthen Body> and all of that. The evolution had greatly enhanced his physical body.
Shion was tossed back, and Geld pursued her. Realizing the danger, she attempted to deflect the blow while leaping backward to reduce the impact. The damage upon her was clear nonetheless. She winced in pain--- it'd be a while before she was ready to move again.
But Shion wasn't the only one here. As Geld landed the follow-up attack, a middle-aged samurai stood strong behind him. It was Hakuro, and with a speed even Rimuru will just barely capable of following, he drew his sword from the staff it was hidden in.
The blade glowed with a constant light, energized by the battle force housed inside the wielder. Its brightness indicated exactly how focused Hakuro was on this. No one could block or dodge him now. A streak of metal ran across the demon lord's body, cutting it cleanly in half and even slicing off the head on the way back up.
Geld's body reconnected itself, thanks to a yellowish aura that regrouped all the parts with tentacle-like tendrils. The completed body then leaned down, grabbed its head off the ground, and reattached it like nothing was amiss.
The horror movie–like scene silenced everyone for a moment. Even Hakuro was obviously surprised.
Now I knew the most fearsome thing about the Demon Lord Geld was his healing skills. For now, this monster wouldn't have any resistances, but once he gained them, he'd be impossible to kill. Then:
Souei "<Demonwire Bind>!"
Souei used his <Sticky Steel Thread> to apprehend Geld. He had been lurking within Hakuro's shadow, waiting for the perfect timing to restrain the Demon Lord's moves.
Souei: "Get him, Benimaru!"
Benimaru was already on the move, suddenly unleashing a <Hellflare> strike. Only a small dome opened around Geld--- whether he was deliberately keeping it small or was short on energy after deploying four of them, I didn't know.
Geld, restrained, had no means of escape from the barrier as it became engulfed in high-temperature flames, doing their level best to incinerate the demon lord. The power of the heat was unaffected by the size of the dome, giving us a guaranteed death.
Or so we thought. Several seconds later, the dome was gone--- and Geld was just casually standing there. Benimaru grimaced at the sight. <Hellflare> was a powerful move, yes, but it was designed for efficiency. It was focused on doing its deed within only a couple seconds; it was incapable of keeping the burners on for extended periods of time like Ifrit could.
Generating Ifrit-style temperatures with relatively little energy was an impressive feat, don't get me wrong. But a target with enough resistance could easily focus on defending itself to survive the blast. If Benimaru could make it last longer, the flames would eventually overcome any resistance or regenerative skills. That, or maybe he could focus further to make the fire even hotter, capable of burning anything in the world. But no.
It wasn't wholly ineffective, though. Geld had no heat resistance; his skin was burned horribly. The resistance his aura offered was all that kept it from being a lethal blow. He had probably gained something along the lines of <Self-Regeneration>, like what Rimuru had in his slime form. The burned skin was already sloughing off, with new skin being generated from underneath. And the moment Geld whispered something, he began to heal quicker than ever.
He must have inherited--- or seized--- Gelmud's own healing skills. Combined with his own inherent abilities, he could probably heal almost as fast as me with <Ultraspeed Regeneration>.
The battle continued as I watched and analyzed. Ranga aimed an extra strike at Geld before he could fully heal from Benimaru's damage. He focused his <Dark Lightning> on a single point and released it, much as I had before. Nothing fancy; just a killer amount of force. It hit Geld directly, freezing him. He was burned and blackened, and as we watched, he fell to the ground.
This time, everyone was sure we had won. But reality is harsh. I know that move was strong. It might even be able to harm me in my current state. The Orc Lord is strong. I'm sure that kijin will not have a chance to win against him if there are in one on one. And the last move by Ranga left him with no magicules, he will have to go back to shadow. He has done impressive work, but the problem didn't end...
Geld: "So this... is pain."
The blackened, charred demon lord was back on his feet. I knew this foe will not fall by this level of attack. It seems my time to fight came.
==================================
Rimuru POV
Rimuru: "No way,"
This monster was totally beyond all common sense. I wasn't sure this was reality any longer.
Before my eyes, the demon lord had just ripped off both his arms and eaten them. An orc general ran up to him.
General: "My lord, let my body join yours..."
They nodded at each other, and that was that. The orc general was killed, then casually cannibalized.
Man... And with every bite, that charred skin fell away, revealing yet another fresh layer underneath. Then he grew entirely new arms, driven by the muscle and fiber gained from what he consumed. He could use that to cast <Self-Regeneration> on himself as many times as he wanted, I imagined.
Talk about an incredible healer. I mean, seriously, if we don't kill this dude in one hit, we're never getting outta this. Or maybe we'd have to render him into nothing but atoms to finish him. The one thing we knew for sure, though, was that my five strongest underlings could pool their abilities together and that still wasn't enough.
Then the demon lord let out a guttural battle roar.
Orc Lord: "Not enough!"
He screamed, his yellow aura coursing across his body.
Orc Lord: "More! More, let me eat more! Consume them all! <Chaos Eater>!!"
Like sentient tendrils, the yellow aura extended its way toward the nearby piles of bodies. They instantly corroded their flesh, consuming them whole. If anything, it was this yellow aura that was the true driver behind Geld's power.
It was another application of his <Unique Skill Ravenous> skill. Part of that skill involved <Rot>--- something that could literally rot anything that it made contact with. If the target failed to resist it, it was corroded and killed if it was organic. Fearsome indeed. Instinctively sensing all this, YN ordered my troops to retreat.
YN: "Fall back!"
The moment he did, the kijins stepped back.
Rimuru: "Tell Gobta and the lizardmen not to come near here!"
Benimaru: "What about you, Rimuru-Sama and YN-Sama?"
Benimaru asked. I opened my mouth to reply. I was cut off.
Orc Lord: "You will become my next meal. Die! Death March Dance!!"
The same attack Gelmud tried out earlier. But now it was much more of a punisher. Not only was far more energy packed into it, but each tiny magic bolt had Rot added to it. Get hit by one, and even the kijins would be gravely hurt.
But we have YN here. He will deal with it.
He seems to be carving for fun. Yn wants to have a fight of death. He seems to be overjoyed even though he didn't say it, but he has it all in his face.
The death beam came at us but before it could touch any of us---
YN: "<Black Hole>
He instantly devoured all the beams and went face to face with Orc Lord. He was having a huge smile in his face and finally he took a fighting stand.
Noticing Yn in the field he shifted all of his focused in him. He also took a fighting stand ready to confront him.
==================================
AN: With this the Chapter is finished. I hope you all like it. Tell me your honest opinion until then good bye.