Chapter 307 A Demon Lord's Pet, II
The six gigantic snakes protruding from the Pet's body moved through the air for a bit, before stopping.
A pinkish light started emanating from what could only be guessed to be their mouths.
Six of those beams were about to be shot their way.
'So it can do stuff like that easily, huh? No chance then. No chance...'
The scale of destruction produced by the beam it had shot was unlike anything Mark had ever experienced.
Not only that, but the beam showed its effect on the land for much longer than needed.
The comparison was so meaningless it made Mark chuckle.
'With my Burning Ray, I focus on a single point. I get to the enemy as fast as possible. And even when doing that, the Consumption of Mana is too high for me to use it comfortably. This thing... Wasted as much Mana as it could doing the total opposite. Its destructive ability is way, way higher too. The Mana Cost is higher, but it's still using it this way. What's more...'
The High Elven Pupil shone brightly under the piece of cloth hiding Mark's right eye.
'Its Mana hasn't decreased one bit. Or at least, it feels that way.'
A Demon Lord's Pet.
Demon Lord. General. Commander. Soldier.
Where does "Pet" fall on that scale?
Lower than Soldier? Could be.
Between Demon Lord and Soldier? Could be.
Presently, Mark would put himself between Soldier and Commander in terms of strength.
Both Commanders were much stronger than he was. And so was Zephyr.
Still, the Soldiers he had encountered weren't too impressive.
Just think of anything-
Anything with a scary Title-
Then think of its Pet-
The first example that Mark came up with, was the Underworld's King.
More than a King, the one he thought of was a God.
God of the Dead.
Hades, one of Olympus' Big Three. The Gods who stand above all others.
In terms of strength well, there isn't much which can be placed above a God.
God of the Dead, a scary Title.
Its Pet.
The Underling Mark had named after was, of course, Cer.
The Three-headed Dog guarding the Underworld. Cerberus.
Could it be referred to as Hades' Pet?
Mark wasn't sure, but it definitely seemed like a possibility.
Guardian Of The Underworld.
Its purpose, to keep the Dead from leaving the Underworld.
A heavy and difficult burden.
Keeping the Dead from leaving. The strength to do so would need to be extraordinary.
Hades' Pet.
A God's Pet.
That didn't mean that Mark needed Hercules' strength to fight and triumph against the Pet standing on the horizon.
A God's Pet is bound to be stronger than a Demon Lord's Pet of course.
What mattered was the difference between the God and its Pet.
The difference in strength.
Out of all those residing in the Underworld, the King chose its Pet as Gatekeeper.
Or perhaps, its Gatekeeper as Pet.
Mark didn't believe the comparison to be all that rational or logical, hence why it had made him chuckle.
Still, if Cerberus, the Pet, is tasked with being the Underworld's Gatekeeper, then, perhaps, it wouldn't be preposterous to think of it as one of Hades' Generals or, at least, holding a General's strength.
Mark thought the same about the Calamity in the distance.
He wanted to know what the difference between the Demon Lord and the Pet was.
How large the distance between them was.
The Demon Lord's strength could be estimated.
The difference between a Soldier and a Commander. That Multiplier. n//O/)V(.E((l(-b-.I-.n
Soldier's Power x? Multiplier = Commander's Power.
Use that same Multiplier to estimate a General's Power.
Commander's Power x Multiplier = General's Power.
Do it again, and estimate a Demon Lord's Power.
Estimating it this way made the gap between Mark and the Demon Lords seem too vast to even picture.
Which only increased his desire to put it to the test.
'Is the gap really that large?' Mark asked himself as he extended his arms forward.
"Mark?"
How strong are they?
How strong am I?
Mark wanted to test both.
And so he selfishly and foolishly condensed flames between his palms.
Driven by Greed and Gluttony, he wanted to know.
Seeing the Commander's nonsensical strength was amazing.
Eye-opening.
The one that had triumphed against it.
A Demon Lord's Pet.
How much stronger do things get in this world?
How much strength can one individual hold in this world?
Of course, the fact that one Titled Dracula's Descendant existed, opened up countless opportunities. The excitement from thinking about the possibility of other Beings existing might have carried over to the question.
The scale. How high does it go?
Mark wanted to know.
And so, he used two-thirds of the Mana Points he currently held.
The journey was still long, and plenty of Monsters were running behind them. That remaining third must be kept and conserved.
Still, as his "Burning Ray" Magic Skill activated, as the beam of condensed flames was shot, as the dark beams were shot by the Demon Lord's Pet, Mark wished he could have used everything.
He had to move quickly to make sure he didn't get hit by those dark beams.
What Mark had failed to realize, or rather didn't want to think about, was that there was no reason for the dark beams to be shot the same way they had earlier.
The gigantic snakes' heads moved erratically, and so did the dark beams they were shooting.
Explosions and pinkish smoke covered the area.
The Demon Lord's Pet's attack used up so much Mana that even the smoke was filled was Mana.
Mana that the High Elven Pupil couldn't ignore.
Mark couldn't see through the smoke.
He clicked his tongue as he dodged.
He clicked his tongue, as he was made unable to see for himself whether his attack had had any effect on the Calamity.
The three were covered by bruises due to the explosions, but none had been touched by the dark beams.
Covered by bruises, the three ran.
Mark ran, as he cursed internally.
