This level of Magic wasn't able to satisfy my Soul Core at all.
It was so nice back in the day. The Demon World was simply overflowing with powerful demons who had spent long years satisfying their desires.
Perhaps I've just lived too long. Perhaps I've just eaten too many tasty things. And within our limited resources, in order to satisfy our matured tongues, we continued to struggle like children.
Fufufu, it was so nice back in the day… is it? I'm starting to sound like an old person.
About ten thousand years ago, most of the powerful Demons… in a large scale war with the invading army from heaven, most of them perished.
What remains of the demons now. The Demon Lords are all youngsters who haven't ten thousand years under their belts.
"Zebul-zama, I'm hungry."
A Demon with a Wolf's head spoke.
He's General Class, and another who governs Gluttony. For someone who has yet to reach Demon Lord status, I more than understand his pain.
"Fufufufufu, of course… I'm the same. Endure it. The meal eaten after enduring the utmost limits of starvation is the greatest of bliss. They say hunger is the best seasoning, right?"
"Food… I wants… food."
The sweet scent of blood and flesh and souls tickles my nostrils.
While I may be called something like the Carrion Devourer, I'm a scholar on the journey for supreme tastes, and I don't just devour anything out there. I don't know where that name came about.
I cross my feet onto the pure white throne of marble. Muffled cries are coming from the mouth of the food carrying the throne.
For Demons of Pride… breaking their pride before eating them creates the greatest taste.
But whatever the case, I don't feel very much power from him anyways. I guess the taste will be reasonable, at least.
Of course, my stomach is endless, so I won't do something as foolish as wasting food. I never miss my prayers before and after a meal.
Blood spills out like a fountain, and stains my face. At the same time, the throne begins to sway.
"H-hey! Don't just eat them as you please!"
"Gu?"
When I frantically look underneath it, I saw the form of my subordinate gnawing on the head of another with his massive jaw.
Aaaaaah, right when I was in the middle of food preparations…
Even if the materials are bad, they don't understand my sentiment of making them as tasty as possible.
But raising a crunching sound, the smile that bust out on that wolf face made me feel it didn't matter anymore. It's because I can understand how he feels.
Good grief, what helpless children.
I jump off of the Throne, take the right arm of the corpse that had lost its freshness, and put it in my mouth.
The ripe soul only gave off a sweet taste for an instant. With a few chews, it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Well, well, good grief. This doesn't do anything to my hunger.
When I was ripping off the left arm, the wolf head spoke.
"Gu… Zebul-zama… yo fazt…"
"Yeah, I'm… one who can eat a bit."
"Didn't you juzt eats a Demon Lord…"
"Yep, that was tasty."
As I thought, Demon Lords are different. The depth of flavor is different. The texture is different. I can clearly tell that my body is happy when I eat them.
Even if they're newcomers, the magic they possess is completely incomparable to the General Class below them.
The Wolf finishes up the head, but when it looked through its spoils for something more, the libs were already gone.
He directs accusatory eyes at me.
"Unfair…"
Well, well.
The things kids say these days.
The endless longings he held in regards to food made me speak with admiration.
"Not unfair, not unfair. You have to take your own food… by yourself. The one who fought Claud Astal was me, right? It's natural that I be the one to eat him. Did you perhaps do anything?"
"Zat demon juzt now… I killed him…"
"… Really? Was that how it was? Fufufu, well, the achievements of the vassals are those of the King's correct? If you hate it… you've got to rise up in the world."
If you do, you'll someday come to learn the taste of a Demon Lord. Well, perhaps you'll live happier if you never learn it.
I activate a Gluttony Skill.
I use my magic, and my stomach shakes even further with hunger.
『Million Dish』
The tentacles that grew from my back pierce the body of the former Pride Demon that had already lost its head and limbs.
The wolf head raises a cry.
"Wait…"
"Fufufu, well, I'll leave you a bit."
Gluttony skills are used only during meals.
Each tentacle moves individually, and the Pride Demon's body was eaten up in under a second.
The wolf head hurriedly tried to bite at it, but his teeth clicked together fruitlessly in the empty air.
Fufufu… to intrude on another's meal, what bad eating manners, kid.
"Aaaaaaaah, you zaid you would… leave a bit…"
"Fufufu… thank you for the meal… it tasted decent."
Even if he's General-class, I guess that's all he's got. As I thought, back in the day…
No, that was only the Fifteenth Rank Demon Lord. The Demons he's amassed are just that level.
"… Zebul-zama…"
"Fufu, see, I left it, did I not?"
The teary-eyed wolf… he's a General Class Demon belonging to my army, Gar Luxeed. I pointed to the pure-white throne, and offered it to him.
"… The throne."
"I don't… needs a plate."
Good grief, as a General Class, he lacks dignity… shouldn't higher class Demons have a bit more elegance?
Ahaha, well, wolves are carnivorous, was it? That is… I've done something bad.
But you shouldn't be so picky with food.
"I see… fufu, then I guess I'll eat it…"
"… Edible thingz are edible."
"When it comes down to it, sometimes you have to get down and eat the dirt and stones as well."
The mouth on the hand I pointed with… the fangs shaved at the marble.
It's not a bad taste. But even if it's made with high quality materials, in the end, it's just a plate. It's fine for fooling my hunger, but as I thought, it can't rival what's supposed to be on the plate.
The war's long since finished, and this is the victory banquet.
The army of Pride has fallen, and all the enemy soldiers became food.
They definitely weren't a match for me at all. Despite having their Demon Lord with them, in just two hours, their defeat was already decided.
Our army only contains Gluttony Demons, but Gluttony excels in attack power, and the most basic of Gluttony Skills, 『Wave of Starvation』 is one with a large area of effect.
As long as I'm here, all Demons below a certain level of ability simply get caught up in the skill, and end up as nothing but food.
Of course, I did make sure to hold back, but they were an indecisive bunch from the start.
Fufufu, there's no meaning in an indecisive Superbia Demon. In the end, he's just a loser who submitted himself to Kanon Iralaude.
Pride is… stronger the more arrogance one has. And that also increases the flavor.
There's also the fact that the difference in rank between us was too great, but the 『Overrule』 the Demon Lord used wasn't anything special either.
His screams of despair weren't bad as a seasoning, though.
Having finished eating the throne, I pat my stomach.
I'm quite slim. All the nutrition goes to feeding my Gluttony Skills.
"Zebul-zama… I'm hungry."
"Hmm? Already? … I guess it's because there was just quantity without quality…"
With this, I've barely broken even with what was used up by my skills.
I scan the surroundings, but everything I could gnaw on had disappeared into someone's stomach or another, and all I saw were eyes sparkling with hunger.
Well, well, regular eating should give a better feeling of fullness, but… well, there's no helping it if they can't endure it.
Since I just ate a Demon Lord, I can still hold on for a while, but answering to the expectations of his men is also a King's duty, is it not?
I hit the palms of my hands together, and addressed the faces of my men, who were seething in their basic desires.
"Now, let's go search for some more food…"
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
My subordinates cry out. The ground shakes under their hunger, and the cries of beasts ring through the air.
They have more than enough motivation. A majority of my gluttonous followers have the forms of beast. For them, who have not the power to bite through everything, it's a form they've taken on to at least be able to eat chew through some hard things.
And so, my army's members… aren't that good at using their heads. Well, to do nothing but eat, there really isn't the need.
Among them, the one who's actually known as quite a resourceful General, Gar, has drool dripping from his mouth as he unfurls a map.
The Great Demon King's Castle, the Palace of Rending Flames is surrounded by other Demon Lords' territories, and it doesn't look like we'll be able to reach it so easily.
So before eating Kanon-sama, having the other Demon Lords as appetizers as we continue towards the Palace is a wonderful plan if I do say so myself.
Fufufu, even I… taking on multiple Demon Lords at once will be difficult. Let's just go around eating them in order.
As long as the Great Demon King goes into my stomach, my abilities should rise further. I could even be the King in her place.
It's because the Demon Lords are all overflowing with ambition. No one will care about a King who was weak enough to get eaten.
On the route Gar pointed to, was a territory divided by a line.
A vast land along the path with the shortest distance to the Great Demon King. Its width was such that adding together the land of the Demon Lords I ate yesterday and today wasn't nearly enough. An expanse that would take more than a day to cross, even on a Flying Dragon. If we wanted to avoid this land, we'll have to take on quite a detour.
Upon seeing the name marked on it, I knit my brow.
"Oh my… what a navigation error. Why is it that with almost twenty Demon Lords out there, this guy's name has to pop up?"
"Hmm? Iz there a problem?"
"A big one. BIG ONE. For god's sake, what was Mizna and the others thinking when they thought up this route…"
"Zebul-zama… Mizna isn't here anymore. Setter and Grad as well."
"No, I know. They were tasty."
I understand, but, you know, I want to offer a word of complaint or two.
I remember the three Kanon-sama dispatched to keep watch over me.
My own men are of no help in planning, so my invasion plans were skillfully drawn up by those three. Of course, I wasn't honest enough to tell them it was all to eat Kanon-sama.
All they thought up was the route. Naturally, as they were under the direct control of Kanon-sama, they would only be in the way after that, so once they had drafted a plan, they became my dinner's appetizer.
In the end, a General Class, taken by surprise at that, is no match for me.
Well, I did savor the taste. The fact that they were much tastier than the generals of that Pride army must be a difference in basic quality.
But still, for it to have come to this…
For once in a long time, an emotion other than hunger floated up. I touched the name on the map.
Honestly… I really don't feel up for this one.
"Waz the problem?"
"… You, could it be you don't know of the Demon Lord of Acedia, Leigie of the Slaughterdolls?"
Former Rank Four. After some recent achievements, he's been promoted to Rank Three; a high ranking Demon Lord of Sloth.
It's not like a Demon Lord's strength can be determined solely by ranking, and it's not like I'm that afraid of his strength. He isn't some newcomer, like me, he's an old age Demon Lord who survived the Heavenly War ten thousand years ago. But that isn't very scary to me.
Of course, I've never fought him, but the fact that he's clung to life for this long also means that he's stored up just that much power. Thus, it's completely true that he won't be as easy as those Rank Fifteen and Rank Sixteen Lords, but the essence of the problem lies elsewhere entirely.
I let out a deep sigh.
And to my cute subordinates, who didn't understand anything, I delivered the shocking truth.
"Demons of Sloth are… bitter, aren't they?"
"Bitter…?"
"Yeah, I always honor whoever I beat by eating them whatever they may be, however… even for me, I don't want to eat a Demon of Sloth."
"Eeeeeeeeeh?"
Gar jumps up in a gesture of surprise.
You're overreacting… I think as I survey the surroundings, only to find my subordinates, who never think of anything besides eating, and never display a fragment of intelligence staring as if they had just seen something unbelievable.
Nononono.
I tried to give a simple explanation. This is the knowledge of Gluttony.
"No, it's not, well… the lower level Demons are fine, you see. But the more they carry their Sloth to the extremes, the ways through which they can carry it out increases… Within them, in order to prevent getting eaten, there's this skill that drops the flavor of their meat and soul, so…"
That's dangerous.
It's an individual skill, and quite a High Ranking one, but it's a terrifying expression of flavor.
That taste is, in itself bitter enough to give permanent mental trauma with just one bite. It's not on a level where some people who like bitter foods can partake in it. It's not a matter of like, or dislike. It's just plain bad.
Even for someone called the Devourer, in eating, I only want to eat the best of foods, and from one who's even eaten all sorts of poisons to try and fill my endless stomach… it's bad. It's terrible enough to kill. It was the first, and only thing in my life to ever give me a stomachache.
Then there's always the option of swallowing whole, you may think, but that's wrong. Their taste resounds in their very souls. Even if you send it directly to your stomach, it's without a doubt terrible.
To change taste as not to be eaten, it's like an attribute of a fruit.
"Lower level Sloth… has a nice affinity, and they don't move, so they're easy to hunt, and their flavor is unique, but not bad…but it has to be a Demon Lord of all things."
"Meaning?"
In a beat, I put power into my words, and declare.
"The worst tasting thing in this world. There's no question about it."
"Oooooooooooh."
I'm not sure what they're misunderstanding, but they've started clapping.
… You guys, you don't get it at all. I guess that's true. Gluttony's outlook on food is excessively open minded… so not being tasty is one thing, but I'll bet they've never tasted the true meaning of Terrible.
I cannot help but bless them for their good fortune. Among my thousands of years of life, it's a trauma that goes directly in my top three.
Well, you don't often get a chance to eat a Sloth Demon, and once they go above General Class, they appear on the battlefield less and less, so I'll bet we won't meet any.
… Hmm?
"… I see… You anticipated that he wouldn't come out. Mizna…"
"Hm?"
I see. If you put it like that, then I understand.
Truly, a Demon Lord of Sloth personally participating is impossible.
If you ask why, unlike Gluttony, their cravings do not require them to harm others, and the Demon Lord of Sloth should be the laziest existence within the entire Demon World.
There's no way he would join in something as troublesome as a war. Even if the Great Demon King ordered it, it's impossible.
I tried looking through my memory for Leigie's face, but I couldn't bring it up.
Having served under the reigns of three different Great Demon Kings, I should be the oldest veteran within Kanon-sama's army, but no matter how far I probe my memory, I cannot picture the image of Leigie of the Slaughterdolls.
I frowned, as I concentrated nutrients to my brain. And I was finally able to pull out a memory.
It's definitely faint, but I remember.
He was definitely there during the festival in which Great Demon King Kanon-sama took office. Being pulled around by his inspector.
He had black hair, and an unreliable slim figure. How the hell is that guy a… I remember the other Demon Lords saying such things.
"Whatz wrong? Zebel-zama…"
"… Wait a second. Huh? I think he was there for the previous King Ferris Craun as well…"
My memory traces even further back.
The festival when the previous Demon Lord was instated.
My memory is hazy, and everything looks covered up by mist, but he was definitely there.
A black haired, and sloppy-looking man, carried on the back of his subordinate. How the hell is that guy a… I remember the other Demon Lords saying that. Just barely.
I tilt my head.
"… Huh? Hang on, just how long has he been there… Ferris Craun was in office for quite a while, wasn't he…"
Ferris was inaugurated as the Great Demon King more than twenty thousand years ago.
Even I can't remember the Great Demon King before that, but when I first became a Demon Lord, was that man there? Wasn't he?
A Demon's lifespan is exceedingly long, but for him to live this long, he must have considerable power.
I think he wasn't there that long ago, but I don't have too much confidence in it.
Probably because whether he was there or not wouldn't change anything…
"Zebul-zama, what shoulds we do?"
"Hmm… Even if you ask me that. Since we've come all the way here, we have no choice but to go for it."
We've already burned our bridges on the way here, so it all depends on how fast we can take down Kanon-sama.
Taking a roundabout way is… unfavorable. We'll have to head forward with determination and resolve.
Luckily, Sloth is said to excel in durability. It has an exceedingly good affinity with Gluttony. As long as I can endure the taste.
No, for taste… it's been a really long time since I last ate a higher rank Sloth. My memory is vague, and it could be that only the impact remained in it, and if I try eating one now, it won't actually be so bad.
Yeah. That's right. The past aside, there no way the current me can eat something and be repulsed by it.
What's more, there's no way that Sloth will actually come out. If they offer any resistance, it'll be the Sloth's army at most. Leigie's army is definitely known to be powerful, but at most, they're full of Generals. No match for me.
On the contrary, I can't wait to taste them.
"Okay, then we'll go on a direct path towards the Palace of Rending Flames!"
"YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Kanon-sama… please wait for me.
I am, as the representative of all Gluttony Demons, going to get a taste of you.