Chapter 158 - Lord of Pride – 4

Lord of Pride – 4

Mireina knew my abilities, and that if I devoured her, I could take her power. But did she know what I felt to hear her say such a thing? Until now, I had been ignoring her obvious feelings. Unlike the other subordinates who were loyal to me, she was convinced of the relationship because she had affection for me. In the end, I sent her back to the Rookie’s Battlefield after she evolved into a higher entity. I pledged nothing would kill her, but now because of me, she was about to die.

In the end, my determination was useless. Wasn’t she dying because I couldn’t handle Lucifer? I was just an asshole who couldn’t keep his word. More than that, to eat her myself…I had sworn to protect her, but to devour her so that I could kill the enemy and save myself? Blood rushed to my head. Fear, embarrassment, anger. They all exploded in an instant, turning my mind white as rough gray mana rose from my body. I vaguely realized that I finished digesting everything I had devoured.

[Level up!]

[New Magic increased by 298.]

[Soul Magic increased by 473.]

[The change to Flame of Destruction is complete. The new power can now be fully digested.]

[Domination became Lv10.]

All of my delusions disappeared at that moment. My thoughts and feelings cleared up as I knew what I should do. Despite all the attacks raining down upon us, we were protected by a shield of light. The light was protecting us from Lucifer’s own light.

[My attack…by that hybrid!]

“Don’t be mistaken.” I responded steadily to both Mireina and Lucifer.

“I don’t need to eat anything I already own.”

“…?” I raised my head. The appearance of Mireina was a bit humorous as she stared at me fish-eyed, but she was on the verge of dying. She had already crossed the limit of what she could handle on her own. There was nothing I could do for her, though. My regeneration only applied to me, and even if I could share it with her, I didn’t know if it would be enough. Her ability only affected the soul so that she couldn’t heal these wounds of the flesh either.

But.

But if I could go a little further, maybe things would change. Beat Lucifer, trample and devour him. Maybe then…

“Please… you’ll die!”

“I won’t die, and neither will you.” I shook my head. I wouldn’t let her lose her life now. Even with the covenant ring gone, she was still my subordinate. I had to hope that and the Echo would be enough to keep her alive for now.

“But Fate, the shield…?”

“No, all you have to do is stand.”

“What…?” The light around us grew stronger, even though she had reached her limit. Lucifer was pouring out more magic to protect his pride, but the light kept it all at bay. It should’ve been impossible for her to maintain it, even with her Soul Negation. Nevertheless, the shield of light continued. Of course, the one exercising power was not Mireina.

[…Surely.]

Lucifer muttered in a faint voice as soon as he realized it. I smiled.

“You made a mistake, Lucifer. I didn’t just eat the fallen angels.”

[…! You filthy pig!]

There is something called the seven deadly sins—Pride, anger, jealousy, greed, gluttony, lust, and sloth. There were many other intense emotions and actions, but the reason why these seven were at the front was simple.

The demon who embraced them was the strongest. Each of the seven powers had different abilities, but it was difficult for one to overpower the other. Lucifer had been extraordinary from birth, but he was only number two despite that. Is so, what made me number one? Was Predation the exception? The reason was that in the past, I also had two of the seven powers inside of me. With the power of gluttony, I had devoured greed. Using that power, I became the king of demons. And today, I had a new power in my hands. Someone had discarded it, but to me, it was a very coveted power.

[Others’ power strengthens the power of jealousy. Jealousy became Lv8.]

Lucifer quickly noticed that I had acquired the power he had discarded only minutes prior.

[How…! You can’t just acquire it because you want it!]

“Just as I can’t understand the power of Pride, you can’t understand Predation. But, by my standards, it would be rather strange to not eat the enormous power that appeared before me.” It had taken long to digest, but now it had become mine. Now the worst had been avoided, and I was able to stand like this now. I reached out, Mireina’s eyes widened as she saw the shield protecting us all gather in front of my hand.

“Uh…this…I…what?” Yes, I was jealous of Mireina’s power and used to like my own, just as Lucifer had done to me before. When you thought about it, it was quite natural. Even with the ring strengthening her, it wasn’t enough to double her power at once. Her abilities were great enough to protect Belphegor completely, but they weren’t the sort of thing that could be maintained. In other words, when she blocked his third attack, her abilities canceled, and I was able to take over that ability through the power of jealousy.

“Why…?”

“Do I still have to eat you?”

“But, I will…”

“Don’t die.” Increasing the number of shields to stop his attacks, I told her once more.

“Never let go. Don’t think I’ll let you die on your own.”

Someone once told me this about my Predation:

‘Your power is great, but it has a flaw. It is the ability of only one absolute. You will end up eating everything and be left alone in the world with your unending appetite. So, what about after that?’

That was correct. I learned moderation by devouring away greed. It wasn’t just about eating; I had to learn to value what I had. I wanted too much, but I was willing to protect it to the end. And now, the power of jealousy finally gave me balance. I didn’t have to devour the owner to gain the power I wanted. Although, I couldn’t take this sin lightly. It led to the current incident of Lucifer trying to build a world of his own.

[Filthy…filthy, Fate! You are an earthworm wriggling on the ground!]

While managing the shields, I was jealous of his abilities and threw out a copy of his spear of light. The difference between his original and my copy was massive, but it was enough to provoke him.

“How does it feel to know that no matter how jealous you are, you cannot regain the power of jealousy? Hey, you’re the best under the sky, so it wouldn’t matter if I copied you?”

[You…always like this…graaaaahhhhhh!]

The light-emitting from him reached its peak, a pure materialization of his pride that flooded through all directions to annihilate me. I spread the shield of light in response, enraging him further. The situation was different now. With his power, I could defeat him.

“Belphegor, go back with Mireina. Treat her with first aid if you can, please.”

“By your command.” I calmly instructed Belphegor while spreading blackmines in all directions. I held Annihilation in my hand. There was still a huge gap between us—something he had that I didn’t.

[…You will regret this!]

In order to beat him, I had to take it back.