My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

After a good laugh, I licked my lips.

Even though I could unleash my power to the fullest, if my shadow magic slipped out of my control, it was obvious it would repeat the fate of the Demon Clan territory that had once been blasted away by the hero’s attack.

Zeal and Kyousuke were both here.

I couldn’t afford to lose my composure.

“Shadow magic—activate.”

Still, I hoped they’d pardon me for cutting loose a little.

The shadow magic, which had been unused for a while, writhed violently as if matching my mood.

Swallowing so large a demonic beast with shadow magic alone would require more shadow surface and would consume enormous magical power.

As long as it was alive it would move, resist, and fight back.

“Shadow step.”

I gripped the night blade god and slashed.

If it was hard to swallow while it was moving, then I’d stop it from moving.

All I wanted was the massive Demon Stone in its heart; the rest could be eaten by the shadow magic.

I aimed for the neck with the night blade god, but the strike was blocked by a large claw—yet the Ogre’s movement froze.

The shadow that would normally extend from its feet up along its silhouette was gone; instead, shadow magic stretched from my shadow, pierced through the Ogre from behind, and protruded out in front of it.

The shadow that had pierced through and extended to my side brushed my cheek.

“Hey, don’t play around.”

Despite this being a life-or-death struggle, the childlike antics of the shadow magic deflated the tension.

The shadow magic, looking a little dejected, slid out of the Ogre’s belly.

Dark red blood gurgled from its mouth.

I was surprised the blood was a human-like color.

The hole in its belly, through which I could see the scenery on the other side, writhed and the wound sealed itself.

Seeing that, I nodded with an “ah.”

“Right, it can use healing magic.”

The skill name was “healing magic,” but this was practically super-regeneration.

Of course — it was a “king” after all.

Since I couldn’t destroy the Demon Stone to finish it, if I didn’t sever its head and stop it instantly it would likely keep regenerating forever.

With that regenerative ability, it might even restore lost limbs.

While thinking that, I flicked away the claw I’d been holding off and sliced through a tentacle that had wrapped around my arm.

Since turning the night blade god into two short daggers, the only drawback was the short reach.

To attack, I had to get in close.

Well, shadow magic more than made up for that.

Honestly, there’s no magic easier to use than shadow magic if you have the magical power for it.

Most demonic beasts are too soft for shadow magic; eating one even reduces the magical cost a bit.

It’s an all-purpose tool for cutting, stabbing, and devouring, and I haven’t tried it yet, but it should work as a shield too.

Because it has intelligence, it sometimes plays like this, but fundamentally it’s loyal to me.

Few people can solve the issue of magical power consumption, but I’m simply curious what would happen if Amelia—whose magical power storage is as vast as the sea—used shadow magic.

Well, it’s unlikely, and if she misjudged the scale she could devour this world, so I decided not to test it.

I parried the incoming tentacles with the night blade god in both hands and looked for an opening.

It would be easy to cut all the tentacles and take its head, but something about the Ogre in front of me felt off.

Before I could figure out what that something was, I moved to cut the clearly exposed neck with the night blade god, and instead of cutting I jumped back.

“…I see. Targeting weapon destruction, huh.”

I landed on a thick branch and muttered.

The Ogre King’s many eyes widened, as if understanding my words.

Every “king” I’d fought in the Cantinen Labyrinth had been a tough opponent.

Perhaps because their intelligence increased, they’d command minions to form formations and attack, ambush at turns in the labyrinth, or assassinate us when we rested—basically, you couldn’t let your guard down.