The Devouring Dragon-Chapter 27: Dragons and a Phenex

"I'll give you one chance," I hummed, activating [King's Aura] and [King's Command] as I stared at the hulking beasts in front of me, "Step aside, and I'll let you live."

While gaining the stats and abilities of the dragons would be nice, having two more powerful subordinates would be even nicer. I was rather lacking in powerful lackeys at the moment.

"A-Ah," The weaker dragon, Taka, took a step back as my presence shot up. He looked over his shoulder nervously, seemingly broken momentarily from the succubi's hold as fear overtook.

"Don't even think about it!" Momo huffed as Taka glanced at her nervously. She lashed out, kicking her foot into Taka's large tail, though the blow didn't even make him flinch.

But, it did seem to convince him.

"Y-Yes, Mistress!" Taka growled, turning back toward me, most of his fear mitigated as he readied himself to fight.

Hah, succubi are really scary, huh? I know [King's Aura] is only level 7, but she just completely reversed it with a few words!

Well, not completely reversed. Taka was still looking a bit nervous.

"Don't kill him, boys!" Momo shouted as the twin Blizzard Dragons towered over me, "Just beat him down a bit until he behaves, kay?"

"Yes," Kyon nodded in agreement, smiling beautifully towards me, "He'll make an amazing pet, won't he?"

"Yes, Mistress," The stronger dragon, Yono, growled. His voice was deep and monstrous.

"You won't step aside either?" I said as Yono didn't even hesitate, though he looked a bit shaky. I activated [Intimidation] and pointed my sword directly at him.

The effect was instantaneous as Yono seemed to hesitate - his previously hostile demeanor turning a bit submissive. His foot slowly shifted to the side, looking like he was going to follow my demand, but was stopped.

"If you move, that mean man will hurt me..." Kyon coo'd, placing a palm on Yono's huge leg, "You don't want that, right?"

"O-Of course not! I'll defend you!" Yono regained his confidence instantly, turning back to me with fiery eyes.

It seemed that my will-bending skills couldn't compete with a Succubus General's yet. Fair enough - their race was literally born for this.

It was clear to me that the dragons were being controlled by the Succubus Generals - which was a bit concerning, considering just generals were strong enough to control such powerful beasts.

Blizzard Dragons weren't crazy powerful or anything - as they couldn't compare to the likes of Dragon Kings or someone like Tiamat - but they were still considered high-level as far as dragons go. They were a level above your average draconic familiar.

How they were even in the familiar forest? I didn't know.

Hell, how was Regal - a member of the Phenex clan - here? I also didn't know.

And, I never would. All three will end up in my stomach before I bother to interrogate them.

My mouth salivated slightly - the strong creatures looked absolutely delicious.

I tensed by legs, my grip on my sword tightening as I turned my gaze to Momo. While eating a dragon sounded appealing, it could wait until later.

For now, I'll simply kill the succubi, set the dragons free, and then head toward the Succubus Queen. While I was enjoying the constant influx of stats that came from my armor's [Aura of Devour] ability, I didn't have time to waste in a drawn-out fight.

"Protect us, slave!" Kyon shouted immediately as I shot forward, my blade directed at Momo's neck.

"Yes, Mistress!" A heart-eyed Regal answered her call.

I was too fast for the huge dragons to stop me, but Regal met my blade as his fiery fist deflected it away again.

I frowned as Yono followed up, swiping a huge clawed hand down at me and forcing me to backpedal again.

The Phenex would be annoying.

Regal's hand was cut through cleanly this time as well - his entire arm falling off as the price of deflecting my attack.

Usually, such a trade would be in my favor - if my opponent had to sacrifice an arm every time I attacked, then I'd only need three attacks to win.

But, this was no ordinary opponent. Regal's arm flashed as a streak of fire shot outward, forming into the shape of an arm and then solidifying into an actual arm.

"Stay here and guard us while they deal with him, alright slave?" Momo ordered Regal, who nodded at her words.

I turned my attention back to the Blizzard Dragons. While Regal wasn't nearly strong enough to hold his own against me, as evidenced by the huge blow he took just to barely divert my slash, I didn't have an actual way of killing him.

So, I'll take down the dragons first and then deal with him after. This was actually better for me - taking on two dragons and then the Phenex was better than fighting all three at once, though it was likely a bit slower.

The dragons weren't just watching me passively - I was forced to dash to the side as a huge beam of ice suddenly shot from Taka's mouth, slamming into the snowy floor below and turning it to ice.

A flame formed in my palm as I casually flung a fireball at Taka, keeping his attention as I turned to the stronger Blizzard Dragon in Yono.

I lunged forward at him, aiming my massive greatsword at his chest. In response Yono's eyes flashed a blue color, and then suddenly a massive wall of ice shot upward from the ground between me and him.

I grunted as I slashed through the wall, leading me directly into a beam of ice that came flying from Yono's mouth.

I placed my palm on the bottom half of the shattered wall, shoving myself upward as I soared over the beam. As gravity pulled me back down, I raised my sword in an overhead slash directed at Yono's forehead.

He raised his clawed hand in response, swiping at my sword with a grunt of strength.

I grinned as he did, watching as my sword slammed into his claws, and...

"GRAH!" Yono screamed as I carved through his claws like butter.

The actual claws themselves burst into a shower of shards while my sword carved through his hand and left a bloody stump.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Yono]!

+370 HP!

+37 MAXHP!

+97 STR

+85 AGI

+77 END

+2 CHA

+2 INT

I grinned as I landed in the snow again, the ground crumpling under me as Yono roared in pain while staring in horror at his cut-off hand.

"B-Brother!" Taka swiped at me with a claw of his own, but I easily dodged to the side.

"GRAHHH! I'LL KILL YOU!" Yono roared, and his body glowed with an icy-blue aura. A burst of cold wind shot outward from him, slamming into me but not pushing me back as I stood my ground.

The snow around us was suddenly flung into the air, swirling around the area like a strong blizzard.

Taka swiped at me again, and I blinked in surprise as he suddenly moved much faster than before. Still not fast enough, as I leaped out of the way easily, but definitely faster than his previous strikes.

"DIE!" Yono raged again, opening his mouth and shooting another beam of ice at me. As he did, it burst forward much faster and stronger than before.

I swung my sword forward, carving through the beam as a shockwave shot out around us from the force of my swing against his attack.

It seemed that the blizzard was making them stronger - Yono had used a terrain-boosting move.

I shot forward, bursting through the blizzard as I slashed at Yono's chest - choosing to finish off the already injured dragon before turning to Taka.

Yono opened his mouth, sending another beam of ice at me as I barreled forward.

As I swung forward to slash through the beam, I saw Taka launch a beam of his own from the corner of my eyes.

It was a good move - even if I broke through Yono's, I would be hit by Taka's. I had to dodge and give up my attack.

Or, I would've, if not for my skills. I silently activated [Material Change] in the split second I had.

As a result, the thick snow under Taka's back foot suddenly changed to air. His balance was shaken, and he stumbled as his beam veered off to the side and missed me.

Meanwhile, my blade carved through Yono's, and I continued forward - jabbing the tip of my blade into the dragons massive chest before he had a chance to dodge.

"GRAHHHH!" Yono screamed again as a fountain of blood shot out from his chest, my blade becoming etched deep within.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Yono]!

+500 HP!

+50 MAXHP!

+152 STR

+107 AGI

+92 END

+5 CHA

+5 INT

"No!" Taka roared as he regained his balance, launching another ice beam at me to get me away from the injured Yono.

However, I ignored it as I gripped my sword tighter. I shoved my arms forward, slowing pushing it deeper and deeper into the Blizzard Dragon.

"GRAHHHHH!" Yono roared in even more pain, flinging down a desperate blue beam of his own at me. But I ignored it as well, letting both Taka's and Yono's collide with my armor.

-3,000HP! (32,970/35,970)

+1,500 HP! (34,470/35,970)

-2,000HP! (32,470/35,970)

+1,000 HP! (33,470/35,970)

I grinned as a combination of my armor and [Ice Resistance] made the two attacks do pitiful damage - and then my [Physical Regeneration] healed most of that pitiful damage.

I clenched my grip around my blade's hilt, using it to hold myself in place and keep myself from being launched away from the two beams as they tried to slam me to the side.

I raised my free palm, placing it onto Yono's chest and exploding a fireball point-blank into him..

"RAHHHHHH!"

The effect was instantaneous, as Yono was sent reeling in pain as the fireball suddenly consumed his body.

As Yono roared and stumbled around from the pain, I kept my grip on the blade embedded in his chest. I was flung around, shaking in the air as I hung from the massive dragon's chest, but I didn't let go.

Instead, I activated [Sharpen] and shoved my blade forward again, cutting even deeper into Yono's chest.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Yono]!

+750 HP!

+75 MAXHP!

+198 STR

+125 AGI

+102 END

+9 CHA

+10 INT

And, just like that, nearly all the damage their two attacks did was negated.

"STOP!" Taka roared, diving toward me. The ground shook as he leaped off of it, his sharp teeth aimed at me as he desperately tried to save his brother.

I merely raised my free palm again, firing a fireball at him and forcing him to dodge and give up his bite.

"S-Slave! Help him!" Kyon shouted worriedly from the ground as I hung from the blade in Yono's chest, but it was too late.

Regal launched a blast of fire at me, but I tanked the blow as I gave the sword one final shove - embedding the blade deep in Yono's chest and cutting into his heart.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Yono]!

+1,000 HP!

+100 MAXHP!

+255 STR

+197 AGI

+152 END

+25 CHA

+25 INT

"G-GRAhhh..." Yono let out one final roar, stumbling to the side, and then fell to the ground as I ripped the sword from his chest.

A fountain of blood shot outward, the blizzard around us dying down as the snow was stained a deep red.

"NO!" Taka roared again, diving at me with his teeth bared.

I smiled as the dragon charged at me recklessly, diving forward as I let his teeth bite into the air where I had been standing.

I slid through the snow, lashing upward with my sword and slashing into Taka's underbelly. The sword carved through it like butter, raining blood down onto the snow as I rolled back onto my feet.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Taka]!

+750 HP!

+75 MAXHP!

+187 STR

+102 AGI

+99 END

+5 CHA

+5 INT

"AHHHHH!" Taka roared, stumbling forward as his stomach was cut open. He growled but then stumbled again as he stared at Yono's dying body.

"I warned you," I grinned, enjoying as the two Succubus Generals and Taka stared in horror at Yono's body.

"H-He's so powerful..." Kyon muttered, staring in awe at the corpse of Yono.

"G-Give the other one everything we've got!" Momo thought quickly, holding up her palms toward Taka, "Hurry!"

"R-Right!" Kyon snapped out of her daze, also angling her palms toward Taka.

As the two Succubus General's stared at him, their faces squished in concentration, Taka's body suddenly glowed with a deep purple aura. It surrounded his body, and the dragons already muscular physique suddenly started bulging as his muscles grew bigger.

"They're buffing him?" I muttered, flicking my sword outward and flinging the dragon blood off of it, "Likely healing him too. That's annoying."

The battle would just be drawn out longer, and it'd take even longer to reach the Succubus Queen.

"Not healing!" Talia quipped helpfully, the fairy still floating a couple dozen feet behind me as she restrained the rabid succubi, "Only fairies can heal! They're making him stronger!"

I grinned.

Well, then I'll deal with this quickly.

I raised my hand, launching another fireball at Taka. It caught him by surprise as he apparently expected me to just watch at the succubi powered him up, but he moved much quicker than before and dodged it.

I burst forward, shooting through the snow as I stabbed my blade towards his chest. In response, his massive body moved with speed unfit for such a large beast, and he dodged to the side. He swiped at me with his claws, and I quickly diverted my swing to match his attack.

My sword met his claw, and an explosion of wind shot outward like a shockwave. For a moment, we remained even in a battle of strength as Taka's enhanced muscles bulged.

...

Then, my sword overpowered him - slashing through his claws and his hand.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Taka]!

+450 HP!

+45 MAXHP!

+95 STR

+88 AGI

+72 END

+3 CHA

+3 INT

"RAHHHHH!"

My blade cleaved his hand in half, then continued upward into his muscular limb - carving upward through the muscle for a couple of inches until the force of my attack died.

"Help him, slave!" Momo shouted hurriedly as I yanked my sword from Taka's leg and slashed it toward his chest.

Regal burst forward, moving even faster than the enhanced Taka as he met my slash with his fist - resulting in his arm being cut through again, but he merely regenerated it a moment later.

I grunted, kicking the ground and soaring backward as I created space between myself and the two. As I did, Regal launched a burst of fire toward me, but I quickly stepped to the side and dodged it.

I paused for a second as I took in the situation - Regal was still in prime condition, looking as if all the arm-cutting slashes hadn't even hurt him.

Taka was looking worse for wear - he was huffing as my stabs and aura slowly drained his stats while his stomach bled, and he was missing a hand.

Yono was, obviously, dead - or at least dying as his body laid still in a rapidly growing pool of blood.

Meanwhile, the two Succubus Generals also looked slightly tired after using their power to power up Taka.

And, more importantly, they hadn't moved when Regal went to help Taka - meaning they were dozens of feet away with no protector.

So, I quickly dashed to the side, barreling toward the duo as I ignored Regal and Taka.

Regal tried to stop me as a burst of fire streamed from his palms, raging forward like a firestorm. It was too large for me to avoid - the stream of fire was long and wide as it filled the path between me and the Succubus Generals.

So, I merely barreled through it without a care.

In this instance, Regal being a Phenex actually worked in my favor - his flames weren't normal. They were stronger overall, being 'hellfire' used by devils.

So, while my [Fire Resistance] skill was still at a pretty low level, I did have [Demonic Resistance].

-4,000HP! (33,215/37,215)

+2,000 HP! (35,215/37,215)

The flames consumed my armor and body, doing the most damage to me so far, but it still wasn't much.

I burst through the flames, slashing my sword as the blade aimed directly for Kyon's neck.

"S-Stop!" Momo shouted panickedly as the sword was about to cut her fellow generals head off.

My hand stiffened, the blade stopping mere centimeters from Kyon's neck.

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Right, I shouldn't kill her-

Yes I should, body! Damn succubi skills-

The moment of hesitation was enough for Regal to launch forward, fire streaming from his feet like rockets, and slam into me.

He tackled me out of the way, rolling on top of me as he saved Kyon.

It was annoying that her words were enough to make me stop my attack even with my mental resistance negating most of it, but the situation that came from it was actually in my favor.

I abruptly let go of my sword, letting it lay in the snow as I instead wrapped my arms around Regal. I locked him in a bear hug, keeping him in place as he laid on top of me in the snow.

He placed his palms on my chest plate as he pushed back, but my grip was too strong. A moment later, two massive bursts of fire came from his palms - consuming both of our bodies in a ball of fire.

-7,500HP! (28,005/37,515)

+3,750 HP! (31,755/37,515)

I hissed lightly as the point-blank attack actually burned a bit, but I ignored the pain. I leaned forward, grinning as I pressed my helmet into his shoulder - the monstrous teeth-shaped maw of the helmet digging into his skin.

While I didn't have a way to prevent his regeneration, I had a way to completely bypass it.

Regal was about to learn about a neat little trick that came from the [Morph] enchantment on my helmet synergizing with my [Devour] skill.

I clenched down my teeth in the helmet, making a biting motion, and the metal outside bent. The monstrous teeth bit down into Regal's side, tearing through his fleshed and ripping off a chunk.

Regal didn't even react - barely feeling the pain as a flame formed to repair the damage. Then, abruptly, his eyes widened. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

Instead of flames repairing his shoulder, instead small blue flakes of dust started to fill the air.

[Devour] has been used on [Regal Phenex] - Level 157

You have gained:

+10,000HP (37,925/37,925)

+1,000 MAX HP (38,925/38,925)

+700 STR

+700 END

+700 AGI

+2,500 HREG

+2,500 MREG

+10,000 XP

+ 100 [Devour] Skill XP!

+[Phenex Immortality] Skill!

+[Hellfire] Skill!

[Phenex Immortality] - Negate 90% of pain felt from attacks and instantly regenerate any damage taken!

[Hellfire] - Summon the demonic fires of hell!

I grinned, staring at the new skills as Regal let out one final gasp as he was turned to dust.

A monster didn't need to be dead for [Devour] to work.

Granted, it was a lot easier to eat a dead corpse than to try and bite my opponent mid-fight. Most of the time, if I could get my opponent into a position where eating them was possible, I could just as easily kill them.

But, this was a rare case where it was easier to keep Regal in place and eat him then actually kill him.

As Regal's body disappeared, I took in the new skills.

The immortality was obviously the best part - it was a step above even my [Physical Regeneration] skill. As long as I had the MP to keep activating it, I was essentially immortal - unable to lose any HP overall.

That type of regeneration paired with my armor's [Aura of Devour] was overpowered as hell - any opponent that wanted to beat me would have to be winning so heavily that they wore down my MP before I drained their stats enough to beat them - all while I was replenishing my MP by draining theirs.

Granted, my MP was rather lacking compared to my other stats at the moment. Before I take on Tiamat, I'll have to farm a shit ton to make sure I have a near-endless supply.

The other skill wasn't bad either - [Hellfire] was essentially [Fireball] on steroids.

It was stronger, would do more damage, and more versatile. Instead of just shooting a fireball, I'd be able to manipulate the hellfire in other ways.

"N-No way..." I was pulled out of my thoughts as Kyon stared at me, no small hint of fear in her eyes.

"H-He... he killed... a Phenex?" Momo stuttered next to her, looking equally as shaken. She promptly turned around, sprinting in the other direction.

"Stall him, dragon!" She simply shouted, and Kyon quickly followed after her.

Taka let out a roar and lunged across the snowy battlefield at me - though, with his cut-open belly and lack of a hand he was much slower than before.

Poor guy - his 'mistresses' that he loved so much left him to die in a fruitless attempt to stall for them. I'll put him out of his misery quickly.

I raised my hand, pointing my palm at Taka, and a burst of dark red fire shot outward. It barreled forward like a magma storm, consuming Taka's huge body and causing him to howl in pain.

Then, I reached down, grabbed my sword, and blitzed forward - appearing behind the Blizzard Dragon in an instant.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Taka]!

+1,750 HP!

+175 MAXHP!

+275 STR

+202 AGI

+172 END

+40 CHA

+42 INT

Before Taka even knew I had attacked, his neck slowly slid off his body - his decapitated head falling onto the snowy ground below.

Well, two dragons and Phenex down, two Succubus Generals to go.

As appetizing as Taka's body was looking, I needed to make sure Momo and Kyon didn't actually escape first. I'll come back for their stats after I deal with the succubi.

"I'll be back in a minute," I called casually to Talia as I tensed my legs. I didn't wait for her response, instead blasting into the forest after Momo and Kyon.

I caught up to them in an instant - appearing in front of the two women as I glanced at the ground under them.

I activated [Material Change], and the ground under them suddenly shifted - the snow turning into air and causing them to stumble forward. They both fell, landing on all fours as they slowly looked up at me in horror.

I grinned, blood dripping down my armor and sword as I towered over the two women.

"I wonder..." I raised my sword, resting the blade on my shoulder as I smirked.

I took a step toward them and merely got two fearful whimpers in response.

"Do you taste as good as you look?"

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