The cave was collapsing.
Each blast from the Dark Elf tore chunks of rock off the ceiling, filling the air with molten debris.
The smell of ozone and decay choked the space as Frieren—still in her slime form—shifted, reforming after another near miss.
"Alright, partner," I said, voice low but certain. "Let's end this."
The Dark Elf screeched, hurling five consecutive beams of black corrosion energy.
Frieren didn't dodge this time.
She absorbed them.
The beams struck her gel body and vanished without a trace, their destructive energy swallowed completely. The air trembled as if the universe itself paused in disbelief.
> ["Notice. Predation of high-tier energy detected."]
["Evolution threshold reached. Unique Skill 'Predator' will now evolve into Unique Skill 'Gluttony.'"]
The cavern shook with a low hum.
Frieren's body began glowing deep blue, every ripple pulsing like a heartbeat.
The ground fractured beneath her as her magicules surged, flooding the entire cave.
On the opposite end, the Dark Elf froze mid-attack. Inside her, Clayman's consciousness trembled. He could feel the slime powering up in mid battle.
"What… what is that?!" he hissed through the elf's lips.
Then the Voice of the world spoke again.
> ["Evolution complete. Unique Skill: Gluttony acquired."]
Frieren's new power awakened like a void opening in her core. The next wave of energy from the Dark Elf was devoured instantly, absorbed before it even touched her.
The black light disappeared. So did the air around it.
Clayman felt the danger even while staying inside his castle — his corrosion beams, his magic threads, his very control being eaten alive.
"Impossible!" he roared. And mirroring him, the dark elf roared as well.
Frieren didn't reply. She simply advanced, her surface rippling with anticipation.
Every attack the elf launched—threads, beams, blasts—was swallowed whole, consumed like candy tossed into an endless abyss.
Clayman's panic grew. His mind raced. If this continued, his connection would be severed—and his soul with it. He made his choice. No matter what he could not let this slime get more powerful. Otherwise he might not even be able to defeat it even if he awakens as a true Demon Lord.
Abandoning all restraint, Clayman projected his full astral body into the vessel.
The Dark Elf's eyes turned blood-red. Her skin darkened, hair flashing white from overload. Her voice came out layered—elf and demon both.
"Enough! I'll crush you myself!"
She unleashed a torrent of black threads, each one tipped with corrosion, slicing through the air like razors. They intertwined mid-flight, forming a net of destruction that spanned the cave.
The entire chamber exploded outward. The walls split, and the ceiling gave way under the combined pressure of their power.
Rocks and magicules spiraled upward, a storm of destruction in a confined space.
Frieren's surface rippled, a visible shimmer of magicule pressure pushing outward.
> ["Alert: Multiple high-velocity attacks detected."]
["Recommendation: Deploy Hexagonal Barrier in calculated vector arcs."]
"Do it."
Hexagonal plates of light appeared around her in perfect formation, catching the incoming threads and dissolving them one by one. Sparks rained like molten rain.
Clayman snarled, forcing more energy through his host's body.
"You lowly slime ! I am—"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Frieren's eyes—or what passed for them—flared.
Magicules condensed at her center, compressing into a white-hot core.
"Zoltrak."
The beam of pure light fired instantly, faster than the Dark Elf could blink.
It pierced through her barrier, through her chest, through the mountain beyond. The shockwave erased the sound itself.
The possessed elf staggered, half her torso gone. But Clayman didn't stop.
He poured his energy into regeneration, summoning a thousand threads at once. The net closed in again, sweeping the cave like death incarnate.
Frieren didn't move.
The threads hit—and vanished, devoured the moment they touched her.
Clayman froze.
'No… no, no, no—this can't be happening.'
> ["Observation: Target's magicule signature weakening. Gluttony continues passive consumption of external energy."]
Every strike he made, every thread, every beam—devoured, analyzed, erased.
His voice cracked through the elf's lips. "What kind of monster are you?!"
Frieren didn't answer. She didn't know either.
She simply raised her arm, water and lightning swirling together.
Her next attack combined Cleave with Gluttony's consumption—an attack that didn't just cut but removed what it touched.
The cave floor split like paper.
Half the Dark Elf's barrier disintegrated instantly.
Clayman's mind reeled. He had one card left.
Through sheer desperation, he reached deep into his link—his greatest secret, one even Demon Lords feared to use.
Sixteen thousand souls glimmered behind his consciousness, each one harvested over centuries of blood and schemes.
"Fine!" he screamed. "If I can't kill you alone—then I'll bring help!"
He sacrificed three thousand souls at once. The cost tore at his mind, his vessel screaming in agony.
A circle of crimson light burned beneath his feet. Ancient symbols ignited, carving into the air.
A rift opened—a demon summoning, high-tier, forbidden even among Demon Lords.
Frieren paused, watching.
> ["Detection: High-level summoning circle forming. Energy source: human souls."]
["Recommendation: analyze and neutralize immediately."]
"Do it."
The air twisted. A clawed hand began to emerge from the portal—black and red flame taking shape. Then Frieren moved. She extended Gluttony.
The summoning circle flickered—then collapsed inward, devoured completely. The portal shattered, and the souls fueling it vanished into Frieren's body.
Clayman screamed.
"My souls—those were mine! You—how dare you—!"
Frieren's tone was flat. "You really should stop shouting."
She fired another Zoltrak. The beam cleaved through what remained of the Dark Elf's heart. The body was crumpled, smoking, lifeless. And yet her hateful eyes didn't stop glowing red.
Frieren stared down at the body, her expression unreadable.
> ["Notice. Would you like to absorb the target using Unique Skill Gluttony?"]
"Yes."
The remains of the Dark Elf disintegrated into particles of light, drawn into Frieren's form.
Energy flooded through her, heavy and burning.
'Nooooooooooo ! Damn you Rimuru !' For a moment, Frieren felt like he heard a man screaming. But before she could understand what was going on the voice disappeared.
> ["Absorption complete. Acquired: 13,000 human souls. Skills obtained: Elven mimicry, demon summoning."]
But Frieren couldn't care less. Her slimy body swayed, glowing faintly. The magicules within her spiraled wildly, heat and cold blending into one dizzy pulse.
She felt… strange.
Then the Voice of the World spoke again.
> ["Notice. Sufficient number of souls obtained. Evolution into Demon Lord has begun."]
Her thoughts blurred.
The world tilted sideways.
> ["Warning. Consciousness is fading. Magicule balance unstable."]
"Wise One…" she whispered weakly. "Use… the demon summoning. Construct a body for a demon. Offer the three thousand souls we took earlier…"
> ["Acknowledged. Commencing ritual."]
The ground cracked as a magic circle formed—clean, stable, refined from what she had devoured.
Flames coiled, forming into a humanoid silhouette of darkness and light.
Frieren's vision was fading fast.
The demon's shape solidified, wings folding. It knelt before her silently.
"Keep me… safe… until it's over," she murmured, voice slurring.
Then everything went black.
…
Next chapter: The reaction of the world
AN: You can read 20+ advanced chapters and advanced chapters of all my other fanfictions on my p@treon AnimefanfictionIND at just 7$.