"Go ahead, feast on this! If you can handle it."

[Hey! Hey!]

I pulled my left hand straight back and swung it towards Magan's mouth, as if I were a shot put thrower.

Velica's soul shot straight into Magan's huge mouth, and his face contorted horribly as his throat was hit.

"Kk, Urruk!"

Magan's lips twitched as he tried to forcefully swallow Velica, who had entered his mouth.

While doing so, he noticed the thin threads of mana that were in his lips.

"Kkurrrip!"

They were connected to my hand, and I pulled it with all my might.

Magan forcefully shut his mouth, pressing his lips together and showing a determination not to open it.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as if something had hit his uvula, he opened his mouth with a scream full of pain.

"Kkureuk!"

[Puhhaaa!]

Velica popped out of Magan's mouth. When I pulled her towards me, she threw her fist past me.

[You're doing crazy things!]

"It was a strategy."

[Did you know that Stella was almost eaten by him just now?]

"...I apologize for that."

However, unless it was the soul of a Demon Lord, it would have started melting the moment it entered Magan's mouth—just like how Deus was after being briefly chewed.

"But victory has come to us."

Once again, through Velica, I conjured my right arm, wrenched out the fork that was pressing down on my shoulders, and threw it to the ground.

Magan glanced back and forth between the fork and me as he clutched his own throat and vomited gastric juice, as if losing his grip on reality.

Facing him, I firmly declared.

"Mealtime is over."

* * *"Mealtime is over."

It was a ridiculous declaration.

He was Magan, a Demon Lord.

For centuries, humans had been nothing but his food, a mere dish on the table that he could eat at any time.

Now, this human tried to drag him, who had been seated at his own dining table for countless years, away?

"Everything is unnecessary now."

As Magan reached out his hand, the Pursuer of Delicacies once again coiled tightly around his palm.

“I will make you unable to die; you will live forever trapped between my teeth, screaming for the rest of your life.”

How dare this human try to challenge him? Because of the food that had entered his mouth attempting to escape against his will, all of this fueled his rage, an emotion Magan had never experienced before.

With a burning rage like a volcano, Magan swung the fork forward.

His giant hands and mouths began to extend outward, as if spilling onto the ground.

When compared to Deus' small body, they possessed substantial mass and overwhelming size, making the attack unavoidable.

But the moment Deus' deformed spiral right hand touched them, they twisted and vanished without being able to exert any force.

Only now did Magan realize he had been driven by emotions, and committed a pointless attack. But it was already too late.

Just as he had relentlessly pushed forward, Deus had also swiftly surged forward at the moment of opportunity.

Boom!

The spider legs attached to his back, which barely had any energy left, gathered all their strength into one powerful leap.

Deus rushed forward, tightly gripping his right arm and swung it ahead. However, Magan raised the Pursuer of Delicacies and blocked the attack.

Kwaang!

The collision of the two caused the entire banquet hall to shake, dust pouring from the ceiling.

For some reason, Magan started to lose strength and began to slide backwards.

He eventually realized that a pile of rocks at the entrance had now reached his heels.

Gnash.

Just being pushed back by a human in his own banquet was enough to make his anger almost explode.

Magan roared violently as he vented his emotions.

"Graaaaaaaaahhhh!"

With his huge mouth stretching forward, his throat extended like rubber as he attempted to swallow Deus whole, who was right in front of him.

However, Deus skillfully withdrew his right arm and placed it in front of Magan's mouth.

Initially, Magan would have immediately swallowed Deus's right arm.

Srrk.

Suddenly, the recent situations where he had swallowed this came to mind, causing hesitation.

It was something he shouldn’t eat recklessly.

The moment such a thought crossed his mind…

"So…"

Deus's chilly voice echoed ominously.

"You hesitated."

"Ah."

Phooeok!

Deus' right hand thrust forward, striking Magan's face to the side.

The shock was so great that Magan's body floated up and flew towards the wall, and in his place, a few broken teeth were pitifully rolling around.

"Krkhuuup!"

Magan hurriedly collected himself and tried to get up. However, Deus leaped again—his right fist was already approaching Magan's face.

This was his own banquet.

The humans attending were merely dishes prepared for him.

Such facts had made Magan, the Demon Lord of Gluttony, the strongest. However...

Ah.

He couldn't recklessly bare his teeth at the presence in front of him. For Magan, this man was already…

No longer a dish.

Phooeoooooak!

Magan's face was crushed. When Deus’ right arm touched the Demon Lord’s face, it began to rotate freakishly and tear the skin—blood made a pattering sound, soaking Deus’ hand and the floor.

"Velica!"

Pulling back his right arm, Deus called out her name, and the spider leg responsible for his speed disappeared as soon as his foot touched the ground.

However, his right arm grew even larger now.

With all his strength concentrated into one blow, it pierced through Magan's already destroyed face.

Kuuuuuuung!

As a section of the banquet hall's wall collapsed, Magan's body was sent flying.

"Grrraaaahhhh!"

Along with the roaring of the Demon Lord as he was blown away, the cool night air rushed into the banquet hall.

This signaled the success of the Demon Lord’s suppression.

"Hoo, woo."

Deus exhaled and inhaled, filling his lungs with dust, and forced strength into his legs to stand.

Having used his body roughly, pain began to rise from deep within him.

Given that he had always led an unhealthy lifestyle and was already weak, it was only natural that engaging in close combat would lead to such a result.

"Are you okay?!"

"Deus!"

Deia and Eleanor hurriedly rushed towards me.

Darius and Tyren were fighting against the Jerman Kingdom and the Duchy of Valestan, who had sided with the enemy and the Secretary.

Fortunately, Saintess Lucia, who had regained her senses, was supporting the two, gradually tipping the balance in their favor.

As Deus forced himself to walk outside, considerable commotion was erupting around the building.

Is it Findenai, Aria, and Erica causing havoc?

The three outside seemed to be causing quite a commotion upon seeing the collapsed banquet hall.

"You did well."

"Heh, it's really a relief."

Deia let out a sigh of relief while Eleanor wiped away tears.

Since the building was tall, Magan had crashed through the wall and was now leaning against the balcony railing behind it, barely clinging to life.

In reality, his situation was so dire that anyone could easily finish him off if they approached him now.

It was clearly a victory on their side. However...

"Kekkekkekkekkek."

A wicked laughter emanated from Magan's grotesquely twisted mouth.

[I think... something feels strange there]

Similarly, the Dark Spiritualist beside me furrowed her brow, gazing into the distant night sky.

She crossed her arms as if trying to steady her trembling body in response to the overwhelming pressure approaching us.

And, it wasn't just the Dark Spiritualist who felt it.

Deia, Eleanor, and I also sensed it.

Facing the large flock flying towards us with the moon at their backs, we were experiencing unprecedented intense pressure.

"Did you... really think I... established the Republic alone?"

Spitting out blood, Magan continued grinning as he struggled to speak.

"Three... are the number of the Demon Lords who formed an alliance to maintain the Republic."

Someone leading the approaching crowd from afar flapped their wings.

In that fleeting moment...

"Hmm."

A woman with red skin covering her entire body, spreading angelic wings behind her, stood before us, holding a spear.

She emitted the same sensation that Deus felt from Magan.

She was also someone who bore the title of a Demon Lord.

"What a sorry state you're in."

Her gaze shifted towards the fallen Magan. Her presence alone already exuded an overwhelming pressure.

However, it didn't end there.

"Jeez, if it weren't for our alliance, I would have already eaten him up."

Suddenly, a small-bodied boy with ten tails was sitting in front of Magan, mocking him.

Each tail was of a different kind, and the five horns on the boy's head also varied in shape.

"..."

And the last one…

A huge man stood before me, looking down with a stoic demeanor.

His legs were those of a ram, and he had three eyes; veins were protruding alongside the wool on his muscles, which were as thick as steel.

[Valkyria, the Demon Lord of War; Feyron, the Demon Lord of Worship; and Dune, the Demon Lord of Pride.]

Velica told me each of their names with a grim expression.

"..."

Having just brought down one Demon Lord, my strength had already been depleted to this extent.

Yet, before me, stood three more Demon Lords.

"Can you... fight again?"

Just to be sure, I asked Velica, who then responded with a forced laugh.

[It's not about whether you can. It's about what you must do. Those bastards will never spare you.]

I knew that.

The killing intent from those Demon Lords were already pouring towards me.

What if I have Aria’s support?

Even with Aria's skills, it seemed impossible.

Despite being in her second round, she would still find it challenging to secure victory in one-on-one combat against these creatures.

And now, three more of such foes had appeared.

It was truly a desperate situation. However...

"Deia, Eleanor."

I clenched my fists while straightening my posture once again.

"Go. Find the others.”

The path toward victory, which was still unreached, calmly began to take shape in my mind.