'Then...'
I paused for a moment.
Completing the Silk Road was certainly important, but before that, there was something else I needed to do.
'They're still here.'
What lay beyond my sight were none other than Tatiana Belov and the members of the Belov Family organization.
Given the situation, they should've run off long ago, and yet, for some reason, they had remained to witness this battle.
If they hadn't been here, I could've used firearms in the fight against Ouroboros, making things much easier.
'Tsk.'
If I left them alone, they'd likely stay and watch even as I devoured Ouroboros's corpse, so I felt the need to drive them away first.
After all, it was still too soon for the world to know that a Turncoat pawn of Ark had devoured the region's master, Ouroboros.
"You... what are you?"
Tatiana Belov drew her R-1 Plasma Sword.
She looked like she might charge at me at any moment, but for some reason, she didn't.
I didn't bother to answer.
Instead, I responded by raising my bone spear.
"…I'll force that mouth open."
With a warning like a beast growling, Tatiana Belov and her Belov Family members charged at me.
'Hmph.'
There was no need to summon Horus from the sky.
Gripping the bone spears lightly in both hands, I charged straight at them.
"He's coming!"
"Fire!"
The Belov Family members each drew their personal firearms and aimed at me.
From Ark-15 Automatic Conversion Rifles to NO-13 Grenade Launchers and TITAN-17 Anti-Behemoth Rocket Launchers, all sorts of firepower rained down upon me.
Tatatatang!───
Piiuuung! Pew!
Bullets and rockets flew my way.
But I didn't even need to dodge. I wrapped myself in Janus's bone tentacles.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Boom!──
Sparks and explosions burst against the bone armor.
But such firepower couldn't pierce Janus's defense or land a meaningful hit on me.
In the past, I might've taken some damage, but Janus now absorbed even the shock perfectly.
Vweeeeeeeng!───
From the dense explosion cloud, something suddenly flew toward me.
It was the R-1 Plasma Sword.
"You bastard!"
Emerging from the smoke, Tatiana Belov assaulted me with movements befitting her position as a Navy Line special strike officer and Aether-compatibility user.
Of course, that was all there was to it.
Thunk-thunk─!
Janus's bone tentacles restrained the R-1 Plasma Sword in her hand and pierced through her body in an instant.
Of course, I made sure to only pierce her arms and legs to avoid fatal injury, so there was no need to worry about her dying.
'Now that Tatiana Belov has become the Belov Family's official successor, she's far too useful a person.'
Subduing Tatiana wasn't too difficult.
She had once been a powerhouse I could hardly look at, serving as a special strike officer in the Navy Line. But now, even at full power, she was someone I could subdue easily.
"Grrgh…!"
Tatiana, her entire body restrained by Janus, glared at me while bleeding.
Her trembling pupils were visible.
But ignoring her gaze, I used Janus to inject her with poison.
Gurgle, gurgle──
It wasn't a lethal toxin, just a paralytic poison meant to cause temporary paralysis.
"Urgh! Ngh!"
The effect was immediate.
Tatiana trembled all over, glaring at me, but soon her eyelids drooped shut and didn't open again.
I tossed the paralyzed Tatiana Belov in front of the Belov Family members.
Perhaps the brief clash had made the power gap all too clear, for not one of them dared to charge at me again.
I, too, simply stood still, watching them without making a move.
A strange moment of standoff passed.
Then, a familiar face—Sergei, the Belov Family's field captain—cautiously approached to check on Tatiana, stealing glances at me.
"…You're letting us go?"
I gave no reply.
I simply turned my back.
"Fall back."
Fortunately, Sergei seemed to understand my intentions. He lifted Tatiana and retreated from the scene.
Just as planned, I'd managed to drive them off without causing them harm.
'For better or worse, they're still part of Ark's power structure.'
Even if they were mafia that corroded Ark from within.
'Of course, Tatiana and the rest of the Belovs will find this suspicious… but that can't be helped.'
I waited until their forms disappeared into the rising dust.
There was no benefit in letting them witness me devour Ouroboros's corpse.
'Then...'
Once they vanished within the dusty haze, I finally turned toward Ouroboros's body.
Time was limited, but still—this was the corpse of a monster as powerful as Ouroboros. I wasn't going to just walk away.
'As expected.'
Standing before Ouroboros's fallen corpse, its overwhelming size greeted me.
I already knew, but being momentarily overwhelmed by such mass was unavoidable.
'First, I'll collect a few of the scales here…'
Ouroboros's scales were so durable and hard that even a plasma sword couldn't easily cut them.
Had it not been for the Spear of Ankelenth, even I would have found hunting Ouroboros virtually impossible.
"Let's do this."
I summoned the Spear of Ankelenth and used its blade as a lever between the scales.
As expected of Ouroboros—even in death, the scales didn't come off easily. But after using Overdrive and maximizing my muscle strength, I managed to pry off a few.
"Phew…"
───────────────
[Ouroboros's Scale] [★★★★★★★★★★(10 Stars)]
─ A shard of Ouroboros's scale.
─ Extremely tough.
─ Difficult to process, but if successful, becomes excellent crafting material.
"View Details"
───────────────
Not even a finished item—just raw material, yet rated 10 stars.
Fitting for a scale from the region's so-called master.
'It's got a lot of potential uses.'
Especially if I used Ouroboros's scale traits to forge armor and gear, I could create equipment with durability capable of withstanding even plasma swords.
'And if I awaken its latent traits, I could significantly boost the level of my equipment.'
This gave me yet another reason to seek out Maybell Pilgrim once this was all over.
'Then...'
I'd gathered what I needed.
Now, all that was left was to completely clean up Ouroboros's corpse.
"Janus."
[Screech!]
Janus let out a fierce cry and extended its bone tentacles.
"Horus."
[Keeheheht!]
Horus, now beside me, growled low.
"Devour it all."
Considering the size of Ouroboros's corpse, I ordered both Janus and Horus to devour it entirely.
Despite its massive size, I had no real reason to worry.
Janus and Horus had both grown to the level of Beyond-Grade beasts, and their appetite had become monstrous.
Thunk!
Thunk-thunk!
Janus and Horus's bone tentacles pierced into Ouroboros all at once.
They first stabbed into the gaping hole in Ouroboros's abdomen, then gradually expanded their reach.
Sluuurp, slurp──!
Janus and Horus began their ravenous feast.
As their bone tentacles pulsed, Ouroboros's body visibly shrank.
It looked almost like someone was slurping ice cream out of a rubber container.
[Screech!]
[Keeheheht!]
Delighted by the taste of such top-tier prey, Janus and Horus roared joyfully.
[You have absorbed the blood and flesh of the Beyond-Grade Colossal Beast 'Ouroboros'!]
[You have absorbed the Beyond-Grade Colossal Beast 'Ouroboros' and acquired its abilities.]
Normally, when Janus consumed the bodies of beasts or monsters, it would simply state that some abilities were acquired.
But this time was different.
Janus and Horus could now fully wield Ouroboros's powers.
The reason was simple.
They had devoured everything Ouroboros had to offer—literally.
[Screee! Screech!]
I could feel it.
Janus and Horus had grown even stronger than before.
And the changes didn't stop there.
[Screee──!]
Janus's body trembled violently.
Then, its bone tentacles began to change color.
The murky gray shifted to a pure white—similar to the color I'd once seen in the Turncoat King.
['Bone Armor (Lv.5) [Janus]' has increased in rank.]
[14 Stars → 15 Stars]
['Ankelenth's Fang absorption rate increased.]
[63% → 69.4%]
['Kupf's Bone Mask' evolves into 'Ouroboros's Bone Mask'.]
A fierce energy radiated from Janus.
Although all top-tier beasts were categorized as Beyond-Grade, there were still finer tiers among them.
Janus had now acquired the power of a region's master-class monster.
'Of course, even among regional masters, there are still tiers.'
Ark hadn't officially classified them, but users had developed their own informal rankings.
By that standard, monsters like the Immortal and the Turncoat King were Tier 3, while Rotting Flesh Opacum and Ouroboros were classified as Tier 5.
In other words, Janus had now obtained roughly Tier 5-level power.
'Let's take a look.'
I examined the Bone Armor that essentially served as Janus's core.
───────────────
[Bone Armor (Lv.5)] [Janus] [★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★(15 Stars)]
─ A modified version of the Ark's standard officer protective gear (Lv.5), fused with a domesticated bone parasite.
─ It has been named "Janus."
─ Current Ankelenth' Fang absorption rate: 69.4%
─ Has absorbed the Beyond-Grade Colossal Beast 'Ouroboros.'
─ Can use the abilities of 'Ouroboros.'
"View Details"
───────────────
'Hooh...'
What stood out most was that the Ankelenth's Fang's absorption rate had nearly reached 70%.
With a little more time, I'd be able to fully absorb the power held within the Ankelenth's Fang.
'When that happens… Janus will evolve once again.'
The owner of the Ankelenth's Fang.
I knew that being well.
The apex of all life forms, and one who would someday reign as Ark's great catastrophe.
Beyond-Grade Dragon Species—Ankelenth.
Among users, it was unanimously classified as Tier 1—an absolute entity.
Even if I had only its fang, if I could absorb that power, Janus's strength would transcend everything that had come before.