“No, how could this even happen!”
Minister Kim Chaun was horrified.
And it was understandable.
With a single slash, the sword had cut through the building—and everyone except the one who had bowed his body was split in half.
A single sword strike.
Hundreds inside the research institute were killed by that one blow.
No, to be precise, they weren’t really dead.
They were merely pretending to be.
“Hmm. How did they realize it?”
“Ugh!” A voice rang out.
Surprisingly, it came from Archer Freeman, who had been sliced in half at the waist.
“Drip.”
The severed parts liquefied.
Like magnets, they merged back together and restored to their original form.
Slime.
Originally, the weakest among the monsters.
‘But slimes that have endured for a long time are different.’
Being a low-tier species also meant a high chance of extinction.
Most slimes would vanish before surpassing one year of existence.
But if a slime had lived for a very long time and wielded the power of absorption for years on end, that was a different story.
Slimes could partially manifest the strength and abilities of what they had absorbed.
For example, if a slime absorbed a werewolf, it could exhibit some of their agility.
If it absorbed an ogre, it could tap into some of their brute strength.
Of course, the problem was that the fraction it could manifest was a mere 0.001%.
Thus, strength came from accumulation—absorption upon absorption.
Living for a hundred years meant low-tier.
Five hundred years meant mid-tier.
A thousand years meant an upper-tier demon.
And the slime before me now was said to be at least a thousand years old.
A slime wielding power equivalent to an upper-tier demon.
Moreover, slimes above mid-tier were granted a very powerful ability: [Immune to slashes and stabs]
Meaning that weapons like swords, blades, and spears dealing slash or stab damage simply could not harm them.
Just like now.
Not only Archer Freeman, but all those who were cut in half merged back together again.
Everyone inside the Elixir Research Institute was an evolved slime species, mid-tier demons who had lived for centuries.
“Uh, uh…?”
Kim Chaun, who had been trying to stop me moments ago, took a step back with a bewildered look, then stuck close by my side.
He instinctively knew this wasn’t an ordinary research institute—it was a death trap.
He understood that stepping foot here meant entering hell itself.
“The barrier isn’t enough, and it seems they even know about our presence.”
“Well, fine. I wasn’t expecting answers anyway. But…”
“Tsutsu!”
His flaccid arms transformed, forming a pair of swords.
They were—
‘Knight Swords.’
Runes were engraved on them—it was not mere imitation.
“Ssss!”
A distinct magical aura, the unique energy of the Knight Sword, emanated from them.
This was the decisive difference between mid-tier and upper-tier.
A slime that survived a thousand years—an upper-tier demon—could absorb not only living beings but also inanimate objects and wield their powers.
And this one had succeeded in hunting Knights within the Demon King’s army, absorbing even Knight Swords.
‘Two Knight Swords.’
And those were the types I knew well.
[Valens of Protection]
[Ictus of Pain]
Two swords once wielded by the twin brothers, the No. 100 and No. 99 Knights of the Duchy of Bura.
As the names suggest, the pure white sword Valens specialized in defense, while the jet-black sword Ictus excelled in offense.
These twin brothers never acted alone.
Together, they executed perfect coordinated attacks in offense and defense, displaying power and feats unmatched by their Knight rank.
Two swords once belonging to the twin Knights of the Duchy.
Now gripped in the hands of a slime disguised in Archer Freeman’s skin.
“Let’s see if you can keep your mouth shut through the horrors that await.”
His confidence was not based on the Knight Swords alone.
Suddenly, enemies surrounded us.
Though none matched this upper-tier slime’s strength, hundreds of low- and mid-tier demons gathered.
Hundreds of demons capable of withstanding my sword.
‘All slimes.’
A sudden realization struck me.
“The Slime Corps under Commander Salmora of the Plague Legion.”
The words slipped out.
At that moment.
“…….”
Though he said nothing, the expression on the slime wearing the human skin said it all.
‘Caught!’
Pupils dilated, face contorted.
It was only a fleeting moment, but a clear reaction.
If he hadn’t known the name Salmora, he wouldn’t have reacted like that.
His response meant he was a high-ranking member of the Slime Corps, kept strictly secret even from their own allies.
“That’s enough.”
I had obtained vital information.
In fact, acquiring intel from demons was usually impossible.
That was because torture or mental brainwashing had no effect on them.
Having lived in a world ruled by the strong devouring the weak, they were used to pain.
Brainwashing?
They displayed absolute loyalty to their superiors; normal brainwashing could not penetrate their minds.
Trying to extract information from them was a waste of time.
But from that unexpected, surprise question and his reaction, I could reach one conclusion.
‘The Plague Legion Commander, Salmora. He is behind this.’
That alone was enough to justify the purpose of this New York visit.
And also important for future plans.
“You. How do you know Salmora?”
“Grrrrrr!”
As soon as I spoke the name, he emitted murderous intent at me.
To a being demonstrating absolute loyalty to a commander, especially a legion commander, knowing about Salmora made me the greatest enemy imaginable.
“You don’t need to be curious.”
After all.
“You will all be extinguished here.”
What use is curiosity when you’re about to be wiped out?
“Pathetic human!”
He moved.
“Papapapat!”
That was the signal for the surrounding Slime Corps to launch a coordinated attack.
It was the combined will to kill me, who knew Salmora’s name.
Amidst the terrifying onslaught from all directions—
“Uaaaah!” Minister Kim Chaun screamed in fear.
But in the next moment his scream stretched out like a broken tape.
A distortion of time through intense focus.
In that split second born from centuries of accumulated skill—
“Ssshk.”
The jet-black sword Excidium moved.
But—
“Pop!”
It was fast.
Too fast to be natural.
A distortion of time.
To move so quickly in a moment formed from a thousand years’ worth of effort?
It was possible because of Excidium.
In the past, I had considered the speed of light manifested through thunder as the fastest.
But no.
The speed of light?
That was like a frog boasting it was the fastest in a well.
There were countless who wielded sword spirits faster than me across the continent.
Through sparring, through life-or-death duels, I gained enlightenment.
And the sword I forged with that enlightenment was Excidium.
Ten thousand slashes.
It wasn’t really a sword spirit or a technique.
It was ultra-high-speed movement.
But fast.
Overwhelmingly fast.
A single will dedicated solely to cutting quickly.
“Sssssk!”
Within distorted time, I repeated slashes at blinding speed.
As a result—
“Pt, ppitpit!”
The black trails of my sword cuts filled the area, slicing through Archer Freeman and the incoming Slime Corps.
“Tutututuk!”
Their bodies, chopped into pieces, fell to the ground like shards.
But—
“Useless!”
As I had said earlier, mid-tier slimes were immune to slashes and stabs.
Even if their bodies were scattered in hundreds of pieces—
In an instant, their liquidized flesh merged back into one.
But I paid it no mind.
“Pop!”
I continued the repetitive motion.
‘Faster.’
[One hundred thousand slashes]
If ten thousand weren’t enough, one hundred thousand.
‘Faster still.’
If one hundred thousand weren’t enough, one million.
‘Transcend limits!’
If one million weren’t enough, ten million.
I cut their slime bodies down to the molecular level.
“Ugh!” At that moment, the scream from the Slime Corps commander wasn’t one of calm but of agony.
Immunity?
Nothing in this world was perfect.
If you cut, and cut, and cut again, it would eventually succeed.
That was the will embedded in Excidium.
The result of craftsmanship forged for destruction and slaughter through repeated motion.
“This can’t be…”
Normally, the bodies of these slimes should have solidified.
But they dissolved into sticky liquid and vanished.
“Ugh! Huh? Huh?”
Kim Chaun’s reactions shifted in real time.
But ignoring that, I absorbed the magical power radiating from the dispersed slimes.
Though even as a mid-tier upper demon and commander, there was a clear gulf between me and these lowly beings.
Naturally, I had the right to absorb their magical power.
Not only theirs but all the magic power of the vanished Slime Corps.
The energy absorbed through my skin wrapped around my heart.
Surprisingly, the level was—
‘17%.’
I instantly recovered 5% of my magical power.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Within the barrier still shielding the research institute, isolated from the outside world, I moved around.
“Gulp!”
I swallowed every single Demon Transformation Potion produced there.
Until recently, they had helped recover a significant amount.
But even after downing hundreds of these potions, the recovery was minimal.
Only 3%.
And after reaching 20%, no matter how many potions I drank, no noticeable recovery occurred.
‘Now the potions no longer restore magical power.’
As if a limit had been set, after 20%, potion-based recovery ceased.
However—
“Wooooong!”
My magical power’s layers hardened further.
That meant I had crossed into another realm.
The intensified magical power surged as if it would engulf everything around me.
Just as humans evolve, demons evolve too.
Of course, this evolution meant an increase in strength and power.
Normally, their appearance would change too, but as a human, my form remained mostly unchanged.
But unlike outward appearance, internally, the essence expanded.
A rush of euphoria came from the moment of clear expansion.
Yet the joy of reaching this new realm was only momentary.
‘What is this…?’
The expanded Martugi relayed information to me.
The magical power saturating the surroundings—
Since the entire Elixir Research Institute was under demon control, I expected many demons to be in New York.
But this far exceeded my expectations.
It couldn’t be otherwise.
‘All of New York?’
Not just a part.
The entire city was saturated with magical power.
People walking the streets.
Workers inside office buildings.
Neighbors exchanging greetings.
Children playing happily.
Though the amount of magical power varied, everyone in New York was imbued with it.
Like seeds lying in wait to sprout, hidden deep within themselves.
‘No.’
Maybe it wasn’t just New York.
It might be the entire United States.
Martugi warned me.
The magical power felt strongly.
It wasn’t just New York; it covered the entire United States.
Moreover—
“Step, step.”
Among them, those bearing powerful magical energy—true demons—were approaching the area around the research institute.