Location: The Sky above the Demon Capital
Altitude: 5,000 Meters
Target: Ramsus's Flagship - The Dreadnought
Raiden was flying. Not with wings, but by kicking the air so hard it solidified under his feet.
The wind screamed around him. Below, the Demon Capital looked like a toy set. Above, the massive battleship loomed, its cannons charging with blue-white energy.
System (Raphael): [Warning. Target energy output rising. Detected "God-Slayer" Class Magic Cannon. Probability of physical vaporization: 80%.]
Raiden stopped in mid-air, hovering using his gravity magic.
"Vaporization?" Raiden scoffed. "That just means it's hot food."
But as he stared at the cannon, he felt a strange sensation. His stomach - the metaphysical Gluttony - was full. He had eaten armies, spirits, robots, and concepts. The energy was swirling inside him, chaotic and unrefined.
His "cup" was overflowing.
System: [Alert. Vessel capacity critical. Evolution required to contain energy density. Proposal: Merge incompatible skills to expand storage.]
Raiden closed his eyes for a second. Time seemed to slow down.
"You're always nagging me," Raiden whispered. "Calculate this, calculate that. You've been with me since I woke up in this mess."
System: [I am the System. My function is to support the host.]
"You're more than a calculator," Raiden said. "You manage my hunger. You keep me from eating my own friends by accident. You're a partner."
Raiden placed a hand on his chest.
"I can't keep calling you 'System'. It's rude."
System: [...Naming is unnecessary for a skill.]
"I decide what's necessary," Raiden grinned. "You manage the darkness inside me. You are the shadow to my light. The night to my day."
Raiden's soul flared. The massive surplus of magical energy he had eaten from the Rebel Army began to flow inward, not into his muscles, but into the Voice.
"I name you... Nyx."
The world went silent.
Inside Raiden's soul, the mechanical clockwork of the System shattered.
In its place, a figure formed. A digital avatar of a woman with long hair made of starry night skies and eyes of crimson logic.
[System Evolution...]
[Name Received: Nyx.]
[Concept: Goddess of Night / Mystery.]
[Evolution: Ultimate Skill 'Raphael' (Lord of Wisdom) evolves into... Manas: Nyx (The Sentient Core).]
Nyx: "...Confirmed. Name accepted. Master Raiden... you are truly reckless."
Her voice wasn't robotic anymore. It was smooth, cool, and carried a hint of amusement.
Nyx: [Analyzing Host Status. Energy overflow imminent. Permission to reorganize Skill Tree?]
"Do it," Raiden ordered. "Make me bigger. I want to eat the sky."
Nyx: [Executing. Sacrificing Ultimate Skill 'Beelzebuth' (Lord of Gluttony). Sacrificing 'Raphael' remnants. Merging with 'King of Lust' (Asmodeus) sub-routines and 'Bael Destruction'.]
[Synthesis Complete.]
[New Skill Acquired: Void God Azathoth.]
A new sensation washed over Raiden.
The hunger didn't disappear, but the pain of it vanished. The chaotic swirling energy in his stomach calmed down.
It wasn't a stomach anymore.
It was an Imaginary Space. An infinite universe of Nothingness where he could store, create, or destroy anything.
Raiden opened his eyes.
They were no longer just purple or gold.
They were Black. A pure, deep black with starlight swirling within them.
"I feel... empty," Raiden smiled. "Perfectly empty."
On the battleship, Ramsus slammed his fist down.
"FIRE! ERASE HIM!"
The Main Cannon fired.
A beam of pure white energy, large enough to vaporize a mountain range, shot toward Raiden. It was a weapon borrowed from the Gods, designed to kill Demon Lords.
The beam hit Raiden.
Or it tried to.
Raiden raised his right hand.
[Void God Azathoth: Soul Consumption]
There was no mouth this time. No spectral dragon.
Just a small, black sphere floating in Raiden's palm.
The massive white beam hit the tiny black sphere.
And vanished.
It didn't explode. It didn't deflect. It simply ceased to exist.
The beam was sucked into the sphere like water down a drain.
Nyx: [Energy Analysis: Divine Light. Taste: Clean. Converting to Stamina.]
"Too light," Raiden muttered. "No texture."
Ramsus watched the screen. "The beam... it disappeared? What did he do?!"
Raiden floated up, level with the bridge of the ship.
He tapped on the reinforced glass window.
Knock. Knock.
Ramsus screamed. "Shields! Full power!"
Raiden placed his hand on the shield.
[Void God Azathoth: Turn Null (Destruction)]
The shield shattered like sugar glass.
The hull of the ship groaned.
"I'm taking this to go," Raiden announced.
He expanded his aura. The Imaginary Space opened behind him - a tear in reality that looked like a black hole.
"Devour."
The suction force was absolute.
The battleship, The Dreadnought, a vessel 500 meters long, began to warp. Metal twisted. Engines stalled.
The entire ship was pulled into the black hole behind Raiden.
"NOOOO!" Ramsus wailed as the bridge was sucked in. "I AM THE FUTURE KING - "
Schwoomp.
Silence.
The sky was clear.
The battleship was gone. Ramsus was gone. The threat was gone.
Raiden floated in the empty sky.
He patted his stomach.
"Tastes like aluminum and ego."
Nyx: [Storage Update: 1x Battleship, 5000x Crew, 1x Ramsus. Processing materials. Would you like to isolate Ramsus for interrogation?]
"Later," Raiden yawned. "Keep him in the stomach acid for a bit. Let him marinate."
Raiden descended slowly to the arena.
The fighting had stopped. Everyone - Loyalists, Rebels, Civilians - was staring at the sky where a battleship used to be.
Raiden landed in the center of the arena.
Leohart walked up to him. The Demon Lord's expression was unreadable.
Then, he started laughing.
"HAHAHAHA! You ate the ship! You ate the whole damn ship!"
Leohart slapped Raiden on the back hard enough to shatter a boulder.
"I concede! You win the tournament! Hell, take the throne if you want it!"
Raiden shook his head.
"I don't want the chair. It looks uncomfortable."
He pointed to the VIP box where the food table was.
"I just want the prize money. And dinner."
Mio, Basara, and the girls ran onto the field.
"Raiden!" Mio cried, hugging him (and ignoring the public display). "You scared us! Your eyes... they turned black!"
"I got an upgrade," Raiden patted Mio's head. "Meet Nyx."
"Nyx?" Mio blinked. "Who is Nyx?"
"She's the one who tells me not to eat you," Raiden smirked.
Nyx: [Correction. I advise against eating her because she is the Master of the Pact. However, 'eating' her in the metaphorical sense is still a viable option for stress relief.]
Raiden choked. Shut up, Nyx.
Location: Inside Raiden's Imaginary Space (The Void)
Ramsus floated in an endless sea of darkness. There was no up or down.
"Where... where am I? Is this Hell?"
A giant digital eye opened in the darkness.
Nyx's Avatar appeared - a woman made of starlight.
"Welcome to the stomach," Nyx said coldly. "You are currently being digested. Please wait your turn. The Master is busy."
Ramsus screamed as the darkness began to strip away his magic layer by layer.
Location: Demon Lord's Castle - Balcony
Time: The Next Morning
Raiden stood looking over the city. The civil war was over. Leohart remained the Demon Lord, but Raiden was now hailed as the "Void Dragon King".
Leohart joined him.
"So, you're leaving?"
"Yeah," Raiden nodded. "This world... I've eaten the strongest things here. The food is spicy, but the portions are too small."
"Where will you go?"
"Nyx found a new signal," Raiden said. "A world with higher energy density. And something called... 'Heroic Spirits'."
Nyx: [Destination Confirmed. Fate/Grand Order. Mana Density: High. Targets: Servants (Souls of Legends). Flavor Prediction: Gourmet.]
"Heroic Spirits," Raiden licked his lips. "I wonder if King Arthur tastes like royalty."
Mio walked out, holding her luggage. Maria, Yuki, Kurumi, and Zest were behind her.
"We're coming with you," Mio declared. "The pact is absolute."
"I know," Raiden smiled.
He opened a Void Portal with his new Azathoth power. It was stable, black, and silent.
"Let's go," Raiden stepped in. "Next stop: Chaldea."