My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 261

Meanwhile

Satou’s consciousness drifted in that strange space between waking and sleeping, his mind processing the massive influx of information from devouring Merc Assault. In this liminal state, memories that weren’t his own began surfacing—fragments of the legendary assassin’s experiences playing out like scenes from someone else’s life.

The first memory came into focus with crystal clarity.

He saw Merc Assault sitting across from Chronus in what appeared to be a private meeting chamber. The Time Demon Lord’s appearance was stable—middle-aged, silver-streaked hair, cold calculating eyes that assessed everything.

Between them on an ornate table lay documents. Satou couldn’t read the text directly, but the memory provided context—these were intelligence reports about demon lord activities, territorial movements, weaknesses in defenses.

"This is the information you requested," Merc Assault’s voice said from the memory, though Satou experienced it from the assassin’s perspective. "Demon Lord positions, their current projects, vulnerabilities in their security. Everything the humans would need to plan strategic strikes."

Chronus smiled as he reviewed the documents, his multi-temporal eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Excellent work as always, Merc Assault. The humans will pay handsomely for this intelligence. And the best part? They’ll never trace it back to me. Just another mysterious information broker selling secrets."

"The payment?" Merc Assault asked coolly.

"Already transferred to your accounts," Chronus confirmed. "Plus the usual bonus for discretion. You understand, of course, that this arrangement must remain absolutely secret. If the council discovered I was feeding information to our enemies..."

"Your secrets are safe with me," Merc Assault assured him. "As long as the payments continue, I have no interest in revealing our dealings. Besides, discretion is part of my professional reputation."

The memory shifted, showing a different meeting weeks or months later.

More documents changed hands. Maps marking demon lord patrol routes. Schedules for when defenses would be weakest. Detailed intelligence about a specific demon lord’s movements. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"This one is particularly valuable,it contains everything about Duke Margoth weakness and strength, and his castle blueprint " Chronus said, tapping one set of documents.

"You’re setting up an assassination," Merc Assault observed without judgment.

"I’m providing information to interested parties," Chronus corrected with false innocence. "What they do with that information is their own business. Though I admit, Margoth’s death would be... convenient for certain political goals."

Satou felt shock rippling through the memory. Chronus had orchestrated Demon Lord Duke Margoth death? The one who’d been killed by Vegeta—the human hero—in what everyone had assumed was simply a battle during the human-demon conflicts?

The memory fast-forwarded, showing the aftermath.

News had spread through the demon realm that Margoth had been killed by Vegeta in a surprise ambush. The hero had somehow known exactly where the demon lord would be, exactly when his defenses would be weakest, exactly which approach would bypass his security.

It hadn’t been luck or skill. It had been betrayal from within.

Chronus had sold out one of his fellow demon lords to the humans for political gain.

The memory shifted again to a more recent scene.

Merc Assault stood in his throne room, studying reports from his network of spies and informants. Documents spread across a table detailed Satou’s rapid rise—his survival of the dungeon, his defeat of Richard Clay, his establishment of the settlement.

But one document in particular had caught the assassin’s attention. Observations from multiple sources about how Satou seemed to grow stronger after major battles. How defeated enemies sometimes seemed to... disappear without trace. How Satou’s power level increased in ways that didn’t match normal demon development.

"Interesting," Merc Assault murmured in the memory, his analytical mind working through possibilities. "Very interesting indeed."

He pulled out a personal journal—a leather-bound book where he kept his most valuable secrets—and began writing.

Subject: Satou

Hypothesis: Possesses ability to absorb power/skills from defeated enemies. Evidence: Rapid power growth inconsistent with normal development. Disappearance of enemy corpses. Acquisition of abilities that match defeated opponents.

Potential: If hypothesis correct, subject represents unprecedented threat. Ability to grow stronger by consuming enemies would make him nearly impossible to stop long-term. Every enemy defeated makes him more dangerous.

Classification: Extreme Priority Target. Must be eliminated before reaching full potential.

Note: Keep this information strictly confidential. Knowledge of such an ability would make subject target for every major power in demon realm. Better to eliminate quietly than alert others to threat.

Merc Assault closed the journal and locked it in a hidden safe, his nightmare-magic sealing it with layers of protection.

Satou felt fear spike through him as he experienced the memory. Merc Assault had known about [Devour]. Had figured out his greatest secret. The ability he’d kept hidden from everyone except those who’d discovered it through direct observation.

But then the memory continued, showing Merc Assault meeting with Chronus again weeks later.

"The target you hired me for—Satou," Merc Assault said. "I’ve completed my initial analysis. He’s more dangerous than your report suggested."

"How so?" Chronus asked, leaning forward with interest.

Merc Assault paused, and Satou could feel the assassin’s internal debate. Should he reveal what he’d discovered? Share that Satou possessed an ability that could theoretically make him unstoppable?

"He’s adaptable," Merc Assault finally said, choosing his words carefully. "Learns quickly. Grows stronger from challenges. The kind of opponent who becomes more dangerous the more you fight him."

"But you can kill him?" Chronus pressed.

"Yes," Merc Assault confirmed with absolute confidence. "I’ll trap him in the nightmare realm, break his mind, enslave his soul. He won’t be a problem after I’m finished."

Chronus nodded, satisfied with that answer. The meeting ended, and Satou felt Merc Assault’s satisfaction at having kept the secret.

Why? Satou wondered through the memory. Why didn’t he tell Chronus about [Devour]? That information would have been worth a fortune, then Satou then said he wasn’t sure if what he thought was real , that he needed to see it personally before he could believe his hypothesis was correct.

The answer came as Merc Assault’s own thoughts and after he saw how stronger Satou had become in the nightmare realm by seeing satou use nightmare creatures abilities that he had defeated.

Knowledge is power. Power is leverage. If I tell Chronus about the absorption ability, he gains that knowledge for free. But if I keep it to myself, it remains MY advantage. MY secret. Something I can exploit or reveal at my discretion for maximum profit.