Chapter 338

Chapter 338

Otherworld Demon King Survival Guide.

Episode 338: Dimensional Monsters (6)

As I rested for a moment, closing my eyes, Imsoong came to report.

“Master! We burned all these trash bastards!”

“Oh! Is that so? Let’s go check right away!”

“Yes!”

When I stepped outside, the scene was, as expected, devastating. Kobolds were using shovels and push brooms to clean up the charred remains of flesh.

“Wow. There was this much? Good work, everyone! Gyuil! Clear the debris to one side and report back after. Then take a break!”

“Got it, sir! Roger that!”

“Good!”

After surveying the site, I went to find Reika.

“Reika, have you finished treating the injured?”

“Yes, everyone’s been treated.”

The dark nuns were also resting here and there. Since their sole role was healing, there wasn’t much else to assign them.

“But, you know…”

“Yes?”

“Those flesh monsters.”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps…”

Reika hesitated heavily before continuing.

“Could they have all been humans once?”

“What? What do you mean?”

Humans?

“I mean… Ah, seriously. How do I explain this?”

Reika scratched the back of her head, looking irritated.

“Earlier, your younger sister had us pull aside a few corpses, you know?”

“Oh, I see.”

I was already aware. The bodies of those things were dangerous. Apart from a few saved for research, the rest had to be burned to avoid future problems.

“So, we took a look among ourselves, and… how do I put this? Their internal structure, their teeth—”

“Are similar to humans?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn.”

This was an unpleasant revelation.

“Let’s go see for ourselves. Karuti! Come here!”

“Okay!”

—Flap, flap!

Evil Eye followed right behind me as I walked with Reika toward the research tent. Vanessa and other dark elves were guarding it.

“You’re here. Go in and take a look.”

“Yes.”

Inside the tent, the stench of blood was overwhelming.

—Thump, thump.

On the table lay chunks of flesh and organs that looked disturbingly human.

“Kyuse, I think these flesh monsters were originally residents of this castle.”

“What a horrifying thought.”

“They were probably absorbed by ‘something’ and reborn as monsters. Not resurrected, though—their human bodies were just used as materials to create other monsters.”

“Do they have that kind of technology?”

“There’s something similar.”

What insane bastards.

“Even Kwechak and Evil Eye were made in a similar way, you know?”

As I reeled in shock, Karuti calmly continued her explanation.

“To create monsters, you need materials like bones, flesh, and blood. These creatures likely required similar resources.”

“That’s horrifying. But I suppose it makes sense.”

If you were not raising monsters like livestock, you’d have to make them. And demons were exactly the kind of beings who would conduct such bio-modification and research without a second thought.

“Indeed.”

Demons were truly dangerous beings. If they started causing chaos in the Middle World, there’d be no stopping them. Before that happened, I needed to completely dominate the Middle World and thoroughly reject the Demon Realm.

“It’s utterly horrifying. Humans have been turned into such monsters by demons…”

“This is messed up.”

Vanessa and Reika sighed with troubled expressions. Even though they were partially demonized humans, their sensitivity was still akin to that of ordinary humans. It’s impossible for them to remain unaffected after seeing this.

“That’s why we must ensure that no demons invade the Middle World. We have to be stronger.”

“Indeed.”

“I’m relieved. You have a normal sense of morality for a demon. Though you can be a bit of a scoundrel when it comes to women, you’re entirely trustworthy otherwise.”

“Haha, such flattering words.”

To them, I was fundamentally different from those dreadful demons.

As we were talking…

“Shaaa! Master! I’m here!”

“Oh, Sharan!”

“I’m here too!”

Sharan and Lumica came running over, carrying a basket. I instinctively knew there was something good inside.

“Master! This! The kids and I gathered it!”

“Ohhh!”

Inside the basket were the essences of the monsters we’d seen earlier! Small gems were piled high.

“Thank you, Sharan! Lumica!”

“We just brought them over. Shall we tell the others to rest now that the work is done?”

“Yeah, please pass that along. Karuti, I’m going to try absorbing these now.”

“Okay! Come this way!”

When absorbing such items, Karuti’s assistance was indispensable—not directly, but for observation and guidance.

After settling in an appropriate spot, I placed a towel on the ground and set the basket of essences in front of me.

—Gooo.

A faint energy emanated from the essences. Were these what powered the monsters?

“Given your level, Brother Kyuse, you should be able to absorb these easily. There’s nothing special to prepare—just eat them.”

“Will that work?”

I was doubtful, but I wasn’t an ordinary human; I was a high-ranking demon. My organs and digestion worked differently from humans. If Karuti said it would work, it probably would.

“Ah! Let’s wash them thoroughly before eating!”

“Got it! Lumica!”

Lumica quickly passed along the message and returned.

“I’ll clean these properly.”

“Thanks.”

—Shhhhaaack!

Lumica immediately poured water into the basket, shaking it vigorously to wash the essences. Streams of what looked like blood drained out, and I thought, if I’d eaten them without cleaning, I’d probably have felt gross for a while.

Once the washing was done:

“Nom.”

I began munching on the essences in the basket as if they were snacks.

—Crunch, crunch.

The texture was reminiscent of the ice pops I used to eat as a child, the kind with fruit juice inside frozen ice. Hard enough to chew, but still edible. It wasn’t quite ice cream, more like plain ice.

Even with the enhanced jaw muscles and teeth of a demon, they were this tough. It made sense that they probably needed to be broken with a hammer originally.

—Gulp.

After chewing and swallowing a handful:

“Oh?!”

A sound escaped my mouth—like the moan of my stepmother surprised by something!

“Master?! Are you okay?!”

“Is something wrong?!”

I could feel something stirring inside me…!

—Goooo.

It was the sensation of my stomach digesting and absorbing the essences. Feeling this distinctly, I grabbed handfuls of the essences from the basket, stuffing them into my mouth and chewing aggressively.

—Crunch, crunch!

With each bite, a new energy surged from my stomach and began seeping into my body. Instinctively, I knew—this was a different kind of magic.

After finishing the entire basket:

“Khaaa!”

A sound of exhilaration burst from my throat!

—Flash!

I shot up from my seat, eager to test my newfound strength. Something felt different. Absorbing this new power had caused changes within me. I followed my instincts and unleashed my power.

“Tentacle Summon!”

The magic circle for summoning tentacles appeared.

And it…

—Gooo!

…extended much farther than usual. Previously, I could only summon tentacles relatively close to myself, but now the range had doubled!

—Shhhhaaaack!

Tentacles shot up, moving freely under my command!

“Karuti! The range has increased!”

“Spatial…!”

Spatial?

“Brother Kyuse, your spatial awareness has been enhanced!”

Spatial awareness?

“That’s why your range has grown! Dimensional beasts excel in abilities like this. It seems you’ve absorbed their power!”

“Ohhh!”

With an increased range, my abilities were now far more versatile. I could deploy them much more effectively. At this point, I felt confident that my skills were now practical for real-world applications.

“Great! Demon King Kyuse has grown even stronger!”

“Shaaa!”

And so, I tested my newly gained strength, enjoying the break.

—Boom!

“Kerrrk! Clear!”

The goblins kicked open the door to the building and shouted.

“Clear, kerrrk!”

“Kerrrk! Clear!”

After the rest period, we began searching the buildings around our temporary base. The process involved entering the structures, looking for anything unusual, and looting whatever goods were left behind.

“Kerrrk! Boss! There are some decent tools inside!”

“Take them all out and pile them up outside!”

Clearing out the buildings yielded all sorts of miscellaneous items. There wasn’t much money to be found—typical of regular houses—but thankfully, there were plenty of used clothes.

“Hehehe, this is pretty profitable.”

If we gather all the miscellaneous goods from one city and sell them off, we could make a decent profit.

“Looting scumbag.”

“Hey, this city was wiped out anyway, wasn’t it? If we take everything and put it to good use, that’s vengeance and justice in action.”

“Yeah, right.”

Reika gave me a disapproving look, but I remained confident.

At that moment:

“Keraaack! Sir Buril! Over here!”

A goblin who had gone upstairs shouted.

“Kerrrk! Deploy the shield-bearers! Imps, come this way!”

“Gruuurk!”

Buril responded swiftly.

—Clatter, clatter!

The goblin shield-bearers quickly formed a defensive line as they ascended, while the imps stood by, ready for action.

“One enemy! Cut it to pieces! Kerrrk!”

“Kerrrk!”

I didn’t even need to step in.

—Slash!

“Kyaaaaack!”

As the goblins thrust their blades, the flesh monster hiding inside the building was sliced to pieces. The resulting corpse fragments were dragged outside and burned, wrapping up the situation.

“Kerrrk! Situation resolved! Resume looting! Carry on!”

“Kerrrk!”

The goblins returned to looting.

“Good. Buril’s group has things under control. Let’s check out another area.”

We would continue inspecting the city buildings, advancing toward the center.

Serinu, who had returned from reconnaissance, mentioned that the baron’s castle in the city center seemed suspicious. Before striking at the main enemy base, we needed to eliminate any potential threats from behind.