Rogue Villain-Chapter 330: Hungry Dog
Every member of Ackster’s party felt chills run down their spines at Mbelg’s announcement. The very air seemed to tremble in the presence of a demon baron at full power. The shadows shivered, and the mana and miasma snaked around the room in a volatile dance of what did and didn’t originate from Millmeria.
"Heh."
The only exception to the somber atmosphere overtaking the room was Ackster. He let out a short chuckle.
"And I thought my name was bad. ’Mbelg’? Ha!"
Ackster openly mocked the demon. He usually mocked his opponents and the people around him to gain an advantage by provoking them and manipulating their movements.
But now he was just being mean.
Mbelg glared at Ackster.
The demon had several things it wanted to say to Ackster at once, such as why he wasn’t affected by the sudden increase in power, what about the claim that Ackster didn’t have a name, and how it could never expect a mortal to understand the beauty of its name.
All of those things condensed into one thing.
"Die!"
Mbelg lunged at Ackster with his arms stretched out as if he was going to tear Ackster apart. Purple phantom claws enveloped Mbelg’s hands and filled the air with poison that Karandiel had to protect the others from with her golden shields. Mastrax should have been fine, but he still hid behind Karandiel with a scared expression.
"Insecure?"
Ackster chuckled and let Mbelg pierce his chest with his claws. In his mad lunge, Mbelg forgot Ackster’s strength. Or maybe the demon was just that confident in his power now that his name hung in the air.
But there was a reason why Ackster was unbothered by the demon’s name and instead found it funny. And it wasn’t because he had lost his sense of fear.
Ackster grabbed Mbelg’s throat while the demon’s claws burrowed into his chest, liquifying his insides with poison and sapping away at his strength with curses.
He had to admit that there was slightly more of a kick in the attack than before. But it wasn’t enough to even shake Ackster’s expression, and he pierced Mbelg’s chest with his sword.
’Go wild.’
Ackster encouraged his sword to eat and consume like a maniac.
Mbelg realized what was going on a moment too late. He tried to back off or transform his body into mist. But Ackster held Mbelg still like a mountain, and the Demon Sword’s ravenous consumption of the demon’s miasma destabilized Mbelg’s condition too much for the demon to transform.
"Let me go!"
Mbelg howled and went on the offensive again, scratching Ackster’s face and turning it into rags dripping from his face.
"No."
Ackster thrust his sword in deeper and smiled, his thrashed face turning it into a grotesque grimace.
"By the way...Why don’t demons reveal their names from the start?"
"...What?"
The sudden question, as if they were having a leisurely conversation, confused the demon.
"I mean, why didn’t you tell us your name from the beginning and kill us at once? Did you want to play around a little? Is there some other reason?"
"It’s because—"
"Did you just not want to tell anyone your name?"
"DIE!"
Ackster chuckled again as the demon tried to melt and corrode him with renewed vigor. He had lost most of his flesh by now, and even his skeleton was growing more brittle by the moment.
However, the more power Mbelg used, the more power his Demon Sword sapped away. And all Ackster needed to recover was to encourage the Ex-rank Stubborn Well-Being to put in some work. If that weren’t enough due to the curses that surpassed Mazar’s, Limit Breaker would do the trick.
Mbelg, on the other hand, would have no way to recover the miasma he lost to the sword unless he could break it.
Mbelg had done his best to avoid Ackster’s sword for that very reason. He had a lot of miasma left, and he was a demon baron, so it wasn’t like he would die or lose it all just from a single stab.
But Ackster’s sword was more powerful than Mbelg had thought.
Mbelg had also been sealed inside a yellow stone cube for a painfully long time. During all that time, he had tried to break out. He wasn’t in his prime condition even after announcing his name to the nearby individuals and the space, making it more suitable for him and his magic.
In short, Mbelg was in a sticky situation, and no matter how he tore at, poisoned, or cursed Ackster, the non-human fucker just wouldn’t let go. It was like no matter how badly injured he was, he maintained his top strength.
Unfortunately for Mbelg, Ackster’s top strength was enough to suppress the demon. And once Ackster got the advantage, he wasn’t going to let it go. With the demon unable to escape, especially now that Ackster had infused his hand with Ichor, Ackster could control its fate.
"No, but seriously, what’s the deal with demon names?"
"Die!"
"Is it something like a keyword for some kind of magic? Or a Covenant? Do you get stronger by only using your true strength in specific situations? Or maybe it comes with a price—?"
Mbelg flinched.
The demon had spent too long alone and sealed! It made such a rookie mistake to react to Ackster’s words. But Mbelg couldn’t help it. There was just something about the way Ackster said things that made every word cut deeper with a mocking tone. It was difficult not to react, especially when Mbelg was already in a poor mood.
"So it does come with a price. If you tell me what it is, I won’t kill you."
Mbelg’s eyes shot open. He had been wondering how to get out of this situation without losing too much of his strength. But here, that solution delivered itself on a silver platter! Aside from Ackster, none of the others posed a threat to him!
"Really?"
"Really. So, we got a deal?"
"Yes, we do!"
"Perfect!"
Ackster smiled.
Mbelg came to a belated realization he was once again in the wrong position in this relationship. He was the one supposed to be making deals, not Ackster. He was the one who should have his prey begging at his feet for a chance of survival, however meager it may be. Yet, Mbelg was now accepting Ackster’s deal like a hungry dog with a piece of meat.
The shadow of death Mbelg hadn’t felt in a long time made him foolish.
