-I appreciate Mr King treating me like a real threat and all, but when in a battle of life or death, one must use any tactics required to win. Probably. Honour among thieves does not apply to monsters!

Hence why I'm pursuing this running toad, followed closely by a slowly hopping but somewhat distressed Mr King.

You can't stop me! I shall have his head!!

"Fireball, bitch!"

A small yet overpowering fireball shoots from my ball of mana and flies at the fervently running toad, who only has time to take a peek behind them before their head is promptly engulfed in an explosion of fire. When the fire dulls out, mere seconds later, it reveals a charred, somewhat-fleshy skull.

I stop in my tracks, and so does Mr King. Together, we stare at the smoking corpse.

Peeking Toad defeated

You have gained EXP

You have gained (18) Levels

"...CROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA---,,"

Before I so much as had time to bathe in my new strength, I was assaulted by the sound very much like that of a siren, mere inches from my face. Yes, it was Mr King, screeching loud and clear for the whole world. For a second, I pondered simply shooting a fireball into its face, but he could close his mouth at any time, before I could even finish the spell, so..

Acting on the instinct of a seasoned insect, I throw my body into the mouth of my enemy. Can't hide his weak spot if I'm in the weak spot.

A second or two of screeching continued before the king of the lake realized his error, clamping his mouth shut. I could feel the head swivel to the left and right to catch a peek of your truly, before, finally...

He realized exactly where I was.

A low grumble erupted from the lower parts of his throat, like that of a grumpy old man, and the next second, I was slammed by that big, yellow, still-slightly-scarred tongue. It forced me into the roof of the mouth, probably in an attempt to swallow me again, but all it did was give me a place to sink my mandibles and feetsies into.

It also shaved off a good extra 33 which seemed a bit excessive, but it does mean I only have, what? 15 Health left??

Shit fuck okay, uh...

I do not have the time to skimp out on this. I have about 39 mana left, so... Let's put it all into a fireball. Fuck it.

Since I effectively just exchanged all my mana with fire, the ball of mana that made up my abdomen was replaced by an extremely hot ball of fire, resembling a small sun. The sun crackled nearby it, but I was spared its heat. I filed away the knowledge that my own magic can't hurt me, and chose a place to send the ball of intensified flame.

Just being close to the fireball made the flesh inside the mouth tense up as if it had been instantly cooked, charred and burnt, but I paid it no mind. Instead, I took a look at the open, gaping throat. The fireball lit up the whole mouth in a brilliant red and yellow, but the deepest parts of the throat remained darkened. There. That's the part.

"FIREBALL!"

I shouted so in my heart, and sent the fireball deep into the bowels of the beast.

The fireball flew quickly, but it felt slow, somehow. Every piece of flesh it touched became charcoal within seconds, and soon, it was entirely down the throat. I could only watch on in awe as the fireball found its goal and instantly erupted in flames, flames that easily returned to the mouth, regurgitated only because it destroyed the oesophagus on the way down.

Mr King didn't say a word. The only thing that happened once the flames came inside the mouth to lick the licker, was that the mouth slowly creaked open. I happily exited, feeling a bit odd, since I had absolutely zero mana and was thus down one ball of mana. I felt lesser.

Well outside, I took one look at Mr King and could instantly tell that he was not going to recover from this one. Despite the fireball only technically having ripped into and destroyed his internal organs, and, well, internal everything, his outside skin was dry and crispy, although not obviously destroyed. Prive for snacking. Somehow, the idea of eating him didn't feel right. Maybe I was no longer a predator?

...

...

Okay, uh, why am I not getting any status-thing about defeating him?...

Is. Is he not dead-?

His body, still charred and burning lit up the cavern, if only slightly, making up for my loss of bulb. I approached slowly, keeping an eye on his limbs, before landing on his back. He didn't... feel alive.

I didn't want to try using Hijack on Mr King. Whatever pain he felt now, I did not want to feel it. Is... Is there anything I can do?

I try using Heat, but the magic simply won't penetrate his skin. Do I have nothing to put him out of his misery?

Well, I, now that I think about it, I... do have one skill.

Mind Erase.

An eerie-sounding skill, supposed to be used together with Hijack to fully absorb an enemy.

I... I said I wouldn't use it, didn't I?

Yeah, but, then again, I meant as in, "in combination with Hijack", didn't I? Right, I did!

So...

Mr King?

Don't hold this against me.

First up, I just need to use Mana Absorbtion...

My body and bulb fill back up with mana, overflowing with strength and power.

...As expected from a C rank! I don't even think I can absorb all of-,

"K-, Krkk..."

Ack-, I-,,, oh fuck, um, better use Mind Erase qui-,

"Krk."

Is-, are you giving me your approval, Mr King? Is it... really alright?

"Krk."

...Very well then.

...Mind Erase.

I instinctively sunk my six limbs into the back of the-, Mr King, letting his flesh bury them. And then, he was simply gone. Erased.

King Cocytus defeated

You have gained EXP

You have gained (29) Levels

Skill (Mind Erase) has gained several Levels

You have been awarded the Title (David)