299 The Tastiest Meal
"Tsk. Tsk. Not slothful enough for your Title to recognize you as a legitimate Commander Of Sloth, huh? How sad. Looks like being strong isn't always a good thing."
<nulli>Keep an eye on me-
It was obvious that Mark didn't like it.
Running away. Even when the chances of victory were zero.
A bad habit, perhaps stemming from his time inside the Dungeon.
Clear the Floor, move to the next one, and look ahead, at all times.
Keep going. No matter the enemy, it can be defeated.
The Dungeon's Floors were made in a way that ensured they could be Cleared. At least, if the previous Floor has been properly utilized.
But the outside is different.
There is no more chain.
No more relations of power between the different enemies encountered.
Unlike the Dungeon, the outside world isn't a ladder, but a chaotic mass, making dying all the more easier.
'Geh... I hate this.' Mark thought to himself as he dodged the blades aiming for his life. 'I really really want to Devour her too. But there's no way. That strength she showed... It was enough for my appetite to circle back to zero.'
Elisa scratched her head with her Dagger's hilt.
'If I go in now, she'll definitely get me. Her instincts are astonishing. She's much, much stronger than... Lin, was it? Even with those eyes, it would have been practically impossible for him to win against her. Pure camaraderie? Is that why she's here? Strange...' She inverted her grip over one of the Daggers. 'Monsters sure are strange sometimes.'
"How much... Did he tell you?" The trembling Commander asked with a voice shaking just as much as her body was.
"To be honest," Elisa took a stance, prepared for battle. "You told me more than he did."
"Did you kill him?"
Elisa stared silently for a bit.
Pity and empathy for the enemy.
'If we had met under different circumstances, I'm sure...'
Terrible feelings.
"Yes." Elisa answered after much contemplation.
"I see. Then..."
The Princess thought it must be that way with the Monster too.
He had killed and Devoured everyone she knew.
And yet,
And yet...
Here they were. The two of them on the same side. Together.
Were things different, then that Monster probably... Definitely, wouldn't have done such things.
The Monster and the Elves.
Elisa thought the sentence had a certain ring to it.
Were things different, had things gone differently, had they all met under different circumstances...
But of course, Elisa wasn't naive enough to believe that this was the case for all.
She was hopeful, but certainly not naive. At least, not in general.
Raven for example.
That one... No.
No matter the circumstances, there was no way.
But for this Commander, then perhaps...
"Did you defeat him?"
Ani's tone had changed, which surprised Elisa.
The difference between defeating and killing was obvious.
And the tone made it seem like this, was more important than that.
A trap? Underhanded tactics? A sneak attack while he was journeying through the Forest Of Yarnha's outskirts?
Killing.
But had he been defeated?
Had they been stronger?
Had they overpowered him?
"Yes."
At the response, Ani's gaze moved up and down repeatedly. From Elisa to the ground, and back.
'...'
Elisa thought silently.
Perhaps there was more than revenge.
More than the camaraderie between Commanders serving the same Demon Lord.
More than washing away the shame of having one of their Commanders killed.
A reason deeper than that.
Something personal.
Something which had to do with <nulli>defeating him.
The Commander let out a sigh.
"The two of you?"
"The three of us."
"I see..." Ani scratched her head and looked around aimlessly.
Elisa didn't let her guard down.
But,
'Uh... What now? Do we have to fight still? Well, we were going to run anyways but...'
The next second, the ground below the Commander broke and Elisa instinctively jumped back.
"What is-" The startled Elisa whispered before following Ani's gaze.
The Commander was staring intently. The intensity of her gaze was such that it made its object shiver.
"Why..." The Commander couldn't finish her sentence.
Such was her wrath, as the piece of cloth covering Mark's right eye was cut by a Soldier's blade.
"That Eye..." Ani whispered as she pointed.
Elisa immediately felt chills moving all over her body.
The cracks on the ground below the Commander spread further and further. They grew deeper and deeper, as if a gigantic ball of steel had crashed against it after being dropped dozens and dozens of meters above ground level.
The air was growing thicker.
Even though no Aura was visible, the effects were very much the same.
"Why do you have... Lin's..."
The Commander, unable to finish her sentence, moved her head from left to right.
Extreme confusion.
She seemed almost disoriented.
And just when Elisa thought things were about to take a turn for the worse, the Commander seemed to pass out.
She was still very much standing.
But her presence had seemed to suddenly disappear.
Mark's eyes suddenly widened.
A familiar feeling.
Something he had encountered.
It scared him, and made his heart beat faster.
It excited him, and made his heart beat faster.
But more than his heart, what was influenced most was,
[Your Title "Devourer" notices the familiar scent!]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" notices the familiar scent!]
[Your Title "Devourer" show its fangs!]
[Your Title "Devourer" roars!]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" screeches!]
The Soldiers, having felt the shift in the air, had stopped attacking.
This allowed Mark to fully process and find what was so familiar.
He didn't need to turn around.
He didn't need to look.
The answer was within him.
Within him.
Something he had encountered.
Something he had gone through.
Something he had tasted, in more ways than one.
His stomach growled powerfully as he found the answer.
The scent he remembered most.
In a way, the achievement he was most proud of.
The tastiest meal he had ever had.
A shiver went down his spine.
"Berserker?"
