Chapter 353: Lost Continent Reclamation; Pride eats Sloth, Charles' Androids
Creatures who used to take deaths lightly since it was a temporary thing for them were now facing the true threat of death, and they don't know how to deal with it.
Boom!!
The stalemate brought by Big Sloth's death didn't last though. It was interrupted by a sudden, unexpected move from King Pride, who still hasn't recovered any semblance of his sanity.
To Charles and everybody else's surprise, King Pride swerved from chasing the machines and flew straight towards Big Sloth's headless corpse. He practically teleported on top of his body with how quick he was.
And under their shocked gazes, King Pride ripped the corpse's heart out and swallowed it whole.
The scene was appalling, both for humans and his fellow Sin Demons. None of them were able to stop him from doing this either, and in hindsight, maybe they should've tried to nonetheless, because what happens next just made the King's situation even more unstable.
BOOOOM!!
A large explosion shook the field with King Pride at its center. It was then followed by heavy pressure flooding the entire sealed zone. When the smoke cleared, they saw King Pride still standing on top of Big Sloth's corpse with visible changes on his body.
He's still in that chimera form of his, but he grew bigger, at least twice his previous size. Additionally, the sheer power emanating from him was frightening. The sheer fluctuations of it turn the space around him murky and unstable. His aura was causing everything close to him to collapse due to its density.
ROOOOOAAAAARRR!!!
King Pride released a roar of satisfaction, grief, and anger. His voice doesn't even sound the same anymore. Everyone could hear Big Sloth's wailing in the undertones of Pride's voice.
This made them realize that King Pride devoured the Insignia of Sloth, which not only caused his already perverted level of strength to increase sharply but also very likely eroded his sanity even further.
Previously, there might've been a 10% chance that Lust or any form of stimuli could've returned King Pride's sanity. Now though, the chances of that happening might not even go past 1%.
King Pride has truly reached the state of mindless rage. It's kind of ironic considering that this isn't how his sin should work. Excessive rage was Wrath's thing because that undead bone dragon was the Sin of Wrath. The possibility of devouring other sins to increase one's strength should've fallen under Gluttony's repertoire because that would just make sense.
It doesn't, though. Gluttony can't do something like this because he'll straight up die from excessive energy and explode like fireworks.
So what's up with Pride? How can he do this?
This question might be something that only Pride himself might be able to answer. Unfortunately, the chances of him giving them an explanation in this current state of his were practically nonexistent.
"Damn, he just became even more dangerous." Charles hatefully spat as he started bringing out his bigger toys.
He figured that the previous toys he used to lure him wouldn't work anymore. They'd either be too slow or too fragile to last under King Pride's assault.
Charles had other options, of course; he is the tech god after all. But he didn't bring many of his high-end machines with him this time. It's not that he doesn't want to; he just couldn't. Even with his abundant resources, the high-end machines needed a lot of rare materials, and the amount he had could only make him a few of them.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Charles threw what looked like a Rubik's cube on the ground. It unfolded and revealed a humanoid machine with sleek features and extravagant design.
This machine was obviously an Android. It looked like an adult and taller version of Charles. It's body was slim and light, made out of extremely rare and durable metals known to man. Its eyes shone with intelligence. It's also wearing white combat robes made of slik nanotube metals, which not only provided style but also protection.
Whir!
"Greetings, Creator." The robot mechanically greeted.
"No time for formalities, Oberon. This is an emergency. I authorize you to go into combat mode now. Your task is to hold back that thing," Charles told his android.
The android named Oberon scanned the target that Charles pointed out with his sensors. It only lasted for a second before Oberon started morphing into another shape.
Sharp mana fluctuations could be felt from Oberon, which surprised his comrades. They all saw how the white robes he wore turned into plated armor, and his eyes sharpened with the intent to kill. Oberon's palms opened up, and light emerged from them. He mobilized the nanomachines installed on his body to form a sharp and durable spear, which he will definitely use for this battle.
Seeing Oberon prepared for combat, Charless nodded in satisfaction. However, he wasn't quite done.
He produced another cube, which contained another android. This one was a female android named Ophelia. He also asked her to enter combat mode, and instead of a spear, she produced a variety of mounted cannons and blasters attached to her body.
Charles also brought out three high-tech-looking drones that orbited around his body, which he could control using his visor.
Oberon, Ophelia, and these three high-tech drones. These are all the high-end machines he could create with the resources available to him. It took Charles almost five years of constant research and experimentation to create Oberon. After he was able to create him, Ophelia was born shortly after.
Each of these drones needed an entire month of constant work for him to create, and he was only able to make three due to his limited access to materials.
Judging from all of his preparations, it was clear that he still intends to continue tussling with King Pride to allow his comrades to finish off the rest of the Sin Demons.
Snap! BOOM! CRACK!
King Pride sensed Charles's movements, and it instinctively treated them as threats. Fortunately, King Pride reacted slow enough for Charles to finish his set-up because once King Pride moved, nobody was able to follow his movements because of how quick it was.
The mad Demon King was no longer standing upright; he was on fours, and his chimeric form was even more prominent than before after he devoured the sin of sloth.
He appeared right in front of Charles in a blink of an eye and slapped him with a paw. This seemingly casual move was actually strong enough to pulverize an entire island.
Fortunately, Charles was prepared. The drones in his body reacted as soon as they sensed movement. They formed a triagular shield that blocked King Pride's paw, rebounding the excessive force back to its sender, causing the beast to be sent flying from where it came.
Oberon and Ophelia mobilized at this point. The former turned into a streak of light and stabbed his spear towards the area where King Pride was about to land. The latter also blasted several shells in the general direction.
The clash between them caused the others to resume the fight even more fiercely than before.
The Sin Demons had no time to grieve about Big Sloth's death. The humans won't give them a chance either. They also don't have the luxury of time to think about what's wrong with Pride. They could only focus on making it out of this place alive.
Charles was definitely determined to keep King Pride chasing after him. Unfortunately, he underestimated just how much of a strength boost King Pride had after he devoured the sin of sloth.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In just a short burst of clash. Oberon and Ophelia have been destroyed a couple of times in a row. If it weren't for the fact that they could rearrange themselves and heal the damages they receive so long as they have an energy supply, they would've been gone by now.
Charles himself also couldn't escape King Pride's harassment. If anything, it seems that the mad beast has particular liking to him because he kept coming after him.
The drones he had protecting him could only take so much force at once. If their expected output was exceeded, there is a certain chance that the drones will malfunction, which will definitely be dangerous for Charles.
In terms of physique, he knows that he's the most fragile out here. This accursed teenage body of his could only be protected using other means and has always been his weakness.
Charles wore a solemn expression. He could sense the threat of death looming over him closer than it ever were previously. King Pride was way too strong that it was suffocating.
That said, he couldn't bear to interrupt the flow of battle. He could only try his best to last for as long as he could to give others the chance to finish their task.
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Before they achieve this, Charles must keep dancing at the edge of life and death.
It was then that he heard an exclamation near him.
"Oh, wow! Erica, look! That kitty looks adorable. Do you think I can pet it?"