Chapter 430: Instant Death Barrage

I pour magic power into my fist, causing it to burn with black flames. It’s the [Dragon Punch] skill.

Dealing impact damage to its body of slime will be difficult, and because it can freely transform its body, it'll be hard to catch and I have to worry about a counterattack. I'm reluctant to fight in close-quarters, but [Wind Slash] doesn’t have enough power, and it's hard to imagine it hitting.

“Did you not see my status? Just because you threw me a little off balance, you think it's okay to charge at me? Well, I guess I agree that if you didn’t try and use this tiny opening, you’d only lose slowly.”

The wings of the spider body transform, becoming two giant demonic arms. The arms reach forward, preparing to intercept me. The claws of the demonic arms grow longer, appearing almost like a set of swords.

As I fly, the two demonic arms reach out and swing their claws towards me. They’re fast. Also, since it's fundamentally a slime, the arms' reach can be freely extended. The range is too long.

“Taste my [Paralysing Claw]! If you think you can dodge, then try!”

The claws dig into my chest. My scales are pierced, and my flesh is gouged out deeply. The slime smiles for a second, but then its expression hardens, and it narrows its eyes.

Even though my chest has been pierced, I don’t stop. I swing of my fist wide. It's a heavy blow. As a result, it's an attack that gives the opponent ample time to respond.

Nevertheless, it will hit. The enemy struck first, convinced it would stop my attack.

“You gave up on evasion from the start!”

To be able to be hit twice and then win after hitting once is a tactic only available to ouroboros that boasts of overwhelming HP and toughness. Certainly, I am behind in attack power and speed. But, my HP is far higher. I won’t lose to anyone when it comes to taking hits.

“GuuOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh!”

I pour even more magic power into my foreleg. The black flames expand, covering my arm.

The target is the slime’s face. I know it’s ultimately just a fake body, and not much will change just by removing the head, but I’m still going to blow away everything from the neck up.

I swing my powerful [Dragon Punch] towards the slime’s face. The next instant, sharp pain runs through my fist. It feels like my bones broke.

It’s clearly not the sensation of hitting it. Something like a wall obstructed my attack.

“Dangerous, dangerous… Carelessness really is the greatest enemy.”

What I hit was the huge shell of a turtle. The area from slime’s face to the waist where the spider's body joins is covered by a huge turtle shell.

A thin spiral pattern runs through the shell, shining with emerald light. Just before I hit it, the slime transformed the surface of its body to a turtle shell. It’s unbelievably hard.

“It’s amazing, right? It’s the shell of the Cursed Millennium Turtle, Aspidokeron. The original was a bit bigger, but the hardness is the exact same. Hunting it was a lot of trouble. But that made it even more worth it.”

The demonic right hand clenches into a fist and strikes my abdomen. The shock of the impact reverberates all the way to my spine. The fist punches through my scales and gouges out flesh. I feel my organs being crushed. I’m blown backwards.

Colour fades from my vision. The pain from the blow overwhelms my consciousness. Right now, I need to use [Autoregeneration]…! The inside of my abdomen are a mess, and soon I'll lose all ability to move.

“Gaaah!”

『Partner, pull yourself together! The follow-up is coming! Hey!』

The demonic left arm extends and punches my head. I’m unable to dodge. My mind is consumed by the sound of an explosion, and for a moment, my thoughts come to a complete stop.

“This is what happens if you approach me carelessly. It looked like you took some safety measures, but with this difference in speed, it was always going to end like this.”

I see the slime raising its arm overhead. That thread is coming. But, my body won’t move. My thoughts are hazy. Even if I try and order it to move, it doesn't move as I want.

『Cheh! I’m borrowing it for a moment!』

My partner stretches out her neck and stares at my eyes, her pupils shining a deep crimson. It’s [Ruler’s Demon Eye], which allows the temporary control of a compatible target.

My body moving on its own, my wings spread out, causing me to shoot up and avoid the slime’s [Severing Thread].

“GaAah!”

My partner cries. The light of [High Rest] covers my body. The [Ruler’s Demon Eye] soon cuts off, and control returns to me. I quickly activate [Autoregeneration] to restore my missing parts.

S-sorry, partner… That was dangerous, I almost got us killed there.

『Once we get back, you better let me eat tons of tasty stuff!』

S-sure. Leave it to me. There should be all kinds of delicacies in the royal capital.

As Lilixira said, there’s no telling how long it’ll take until I’m able to walk around openly, but it should be fine if we’re humanised. I’ll sponge some money off Lilixira and use it to buy all sorts of tasty foods.

…Of course, to do that, I first need to deal with the enemy in front of me. If I take successive hits, I’ll be brought to 0 HP in an instant. It’s not like I was careless, but I really can’t let my guard down for even a moment. This slime is way too dangerous.

“…I wanted to end it quickly with the thread, but you’re too persistent. I never would have thought I’d be forced to use my ace, the shell of the Millennium Turtle.”

The slime’s body shakes. The surface of slime seems to bubble, and it grows larger still. It’s changing its form again.

The joints of the lower spider body elongate, and the front two legs swell up to become pincers. The human part also grows rapidly, turning into a giant male upper body almost two metres tall.

“I wanted to end it quickly with the threads that don’t use much magic or time, but I might have been a bit too impatient. Back then my stats were pitiful and I hadn’t collected much skills, but still, you are the dragon that once fought me to a tie. I’ll fight you with my most favourite combination of all.”

The lower body has changed from a giant spider to a giant scorpion. The upper body has switched to wielding the shell of that Millennium Turtle as a shield in one hand, and wielding a massive sword in the other. Two more arms sprout from its shoulders, additional swords clenched in their hands.

The chest squirms, and the face of an owl appears. The round eyes of the owl look around with irregular movements, and its beak gapes open and closed. The face twists around. Is that the [Enthused Wisdom Owl] that was in the titles? If so, then it must have been a quite notable monster.

“POOoooooooooOOOOhh!”

With an insane war cry, the owl’s face rotates around again. Red and blue lights flash over the slime’s body and disappear in quick succession. Are those physical ability-enhancing magics? Is it using a whole bunch of different types?

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Species: Chaos Ooze

Condition: Power (major), Quick (major), Enhanced Physical Resistance, Enhanced Magic Resistance

Lv: 100/125

HP: 1590/1682

MP: 1169/1780

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I-in just an instant, four effects at once!? I was already losing in a battle of stats, and yet now it’s fully strengthened.

Its remaining magic power is gradually going down. From how it’s acted so far, or rather, from what it has said, if it's utilising the strength of a [Chaos Ooze], then no matter how it struggles, the MP consumption will be intense. In particular, the impact of the initial triple [Dragoflare] is significant.

When I consider that a third of its MP is already gone, my chance of victory isn’t zero. But, among the slime’s skills is a disturbing one.

【Normal skill [Life Mana]】

【By burning one’s life force, magic power is replenished】

【Allows the exchange of HP for MP.】

In its status, that skill was there… Given that the slime that seems to care about its MP isn’t using it yet, it might just be an inefficient suicidal skill. But it’s still far too creepy.