Boom!
The rankers on Oliver's team were already mentally and physically exhausted from running the battle formation extensively. So when Behemoth attacked them, nobody was able to respond to the extent of their abilities.
Three rankers died right away under Behemoth's feet. The fourth was fatally injured because debris fell on him. Only Oliver and one other guy managed to get away safely from the behemoth's attacks.
Oliver couldn't assure his safety for long, however, because a certain demon beast was waiting in line when the safety barrier cracked. He swooped down from the sky and picked up Oliver as if he was catching a fish from lake water.
"Where you going, bitch? I told you I'mma dine on your carcass."
Kiyeeeh!
Shrouded in red lightning, Argo appeared at the scene and grabbed Oliver by his shoulder with his claws. The beast had managed to mimic Eren's movement spell to some extent. He also used his natural gifts and wind-element attainment to enhance his speed.
As a result, Oliver couldn't defend himself when the demon beast attacked him. The guy was already suffering from physical and mental fatigue. So he couldn't launch a counter when Argo took hold of him.
"Aaaaargh!"
Argo exerted some pressure on Oliver's shoulder with his grip and the claws sank into his flesh. Argo dropped Oliver over Behemoth's crown before placing his claws on his chest.
"Nooooo… please… Eren… sir demon prince… save... aaaaargh!"
Kiyeeeeeeh!
Argo only released his beastly cry in response to Oliver's pleas. He shrank his size and picked Oliver's eyes with his beak, putting the guy through more misery. The demon beast started devouring the C-ranker bite by bite, relishing every piece of flesh he got.
Streams of blood started dripping off Behemoth's face as Argo enjoyed his C-rank delicacy over its head. The bodies of C-rank entities and beyond were special. Even a drop of blood from these entities was highly potent and had innate magical properties depending upon the entity's elemental affinity and other factors.
It was also not easy to kill a C-rank entity. The organs in their bodies defied common sense known to mortals.
Their hearts could beat for weeks on end even after they were taken out. Their lungs could continue to function long after the hosts' deaths. Even their bone marrow continued to produce an insane amount of blood to keep the hosts alive.
Thus, as Argo was killing Oliver, the latter's body continued fighting the eventual outcome it was subjected to. To recover from his injuries, his body produced more blood and life essence. In the meantime, the demon beast devoured everything Oliver had to offer.
Oliver kept recovering bit by bit from his serious injuries. And Argo kept eating the regrown organs. A pond of blood had been created because of such a gruesome scene. The smell of blood traveled far and wide, and the mana pulses of such violence would give normal ranker goosebumps.
Oliver kept screaming to his heart's content. The Behemoth had stopped walking after it had done its job. But Oliver's screams made it feel as if the earth-element summon itself was voicing the injustice done to him.
Kirin appeared in front of Eren and dropped the dead body of the ranker who had managed to run away with Oliver. The latter was enjoying the last few drags of his Sativa Stick in silence as he let Argo finish his "exclusive dining experience."
Ivor kept a very close eye on Eren. He watched that Eren was smoking the whole time when he was competing against Oliver and his entire team. Ivor understood that his fight with Eren was nothing more than a stretching exercise for Eren.
"Haah! And the bastard says he is not addicted. Could have fooled me."
Layla appeared beside Ivor and took a keen look at Eren. She then shifted her gaze back to Ivor before speaking up.
"But that tells you something, doesn't it? It means Eren did not have to go all out against Oliver's forces. The same forces that had made us run away from them multiple times. He didn't even need our help. Not really. He could have dealt with the entire team by himself if he wanted to."
Ivor scoffed when he heard Layla's comment. She thought that she was pitting Ivor against Eren by saying that. But all it did was confirm the conclusion he had drawn for himself.
'This guy… he will become even scarier than that old hag if he keeps growing at the same pace. I… I need to think about my future carefully by picking the side that is likely to win at the end of the Lazarus Project.'
Eren and Ivor looked at each other at the same time by coincidence when Ivor finished thinking to himself. Eren gestured to Ivory to follow him before appearing above Behemoth's crown which was now a blood-soaked lake bed.
"Aaaaaaargh… demon… kill me first before you devour me… I… I can't take it anymore."
Oliver pleaded with Argo to finish the job first. He then looked around to find that Eren, Ivor, Layla, and Kirin had appeared nearby, just outside the pool of blood his C-rank body had created.
Argo was in a trance. He felt like his ranking breakthrough was approaching as he kept on devouring Oliver. He just kept on attacking the Hound without showing him any mercy.
Oliver's entire body was a mess at this point. Nobody could tell where it began and where it ended. Although one eye was missing from the eye socket, only his face remained recognizable.
Oliver looked at Eren and other people with hatred before commenting.
"Eren Idril, Arthur… Aaaaargh… Sir Arthur will not spare you. You will be …. Aaaaaargh!"
The Hound then looked at Jason before commenting.
"You…. Ivor Osan… Jason Renar will come for you."
Ivor spat in contempt before speaking up.
"Yeah? He better do it. Otherwise, I'll have to start looking for him."
Eren didn't need to reply to Oliver's empty threats. He just looked at Argo and scrunched his nose in annoyance. The butcher used a mental connection to snap Argo out of his trance.
"You fat bird… look at the mess you have created. This is how you eat? At least finish the guy first. We are not savages, damn it."
As he stood at the place, Argo flapped his wings and looked around him. The demon soul fragment in him went dormant once again, making him seem lost at first.
"Uhh! What the…"
Argo remembered everything he had done and shook his head aggressively. He quickly used his eagle claw to crush Oliver's beating heart which was exposed in the open and killed the guy before speaking up.
"Damn…. My bad… boss. But I think… I… I'm having a breakthrough."
