Tensei Shitara Slime Vol. 15

rior to him in strength. In the first place, their own abilities were inferior to the ultimate power. A True Dragon would be able to defeat an Ultimate Skill with even a simple attack, but that was because they hosted the strongest willpower of any spiritual life form. Esprit was also a demon peer and was of a higher level spirit life form. However, their will power was not as strong as an Ultimate Skill. As long as they didn’t do something about this reality, there would be no victory even if they surpassed the enemy in ability. “Hahahahaha! It seems that you have finally understood the difference in our abilities and have given up.” Garcia laughed. He was annoyed that his speak couldn’t hit, but he was still okay with that. This was because Garcia’s role was to stall the enemy here. If he waited until the enemy was exhausted, victory would be assured. Even if he didn’t wait that long, his friends guarding the other gates would finish off the enemy and rush to his aid. That’s why Garcia could enjoy the battle without any panic. Seeing Garcia like this, Esprit clicked her tongue. And then, in a serious voice, she questioned Agera. “You knew this was going to happen and you were still going to challenge Kondou, right? Don’t you have some kind of plan to win?” Hearing this, Agera smirked. “Of course I do. I need your help for my secret plan.” There was no option for Esprit to decline. “…Tell me.” In fact, this was all Agera’s plan to get Esprit to say those words. The aloof Esprit had a hedonistic side to her. Even if Agera asked her in a normal way, she would never have said yes. Esprit was a she-devil who took pleasure in seeing her friends cry out in distress. Agera, who knew this well, decided to push Esprit until she felt in trouble. Although, if that had touched Carrera-sama’s reverse scale, I might have been purged as well. Agera was happy that he had won the bet. Before Esprit changed her mind, he told her his secret plan. “Turning the power of your will into a blade and striking down the enemy. That’s the only way.” Perhaps, no matter what Agera did, Garcia would not understand. Even if he aimed at the gap in the armor, the blade would be blocked by the aura covering the entire body. The defensive power sublimated to mythical-grade was not limited to the appearance, and it completely protected the owner’s body. In terms of movement alone, Agera was lightly superior to Garcia. This was the reason why 200

it was still difficult to make an effective strike. If this was the case, then Agera had to reach the same level. Listening to the voice of the sword and becoming one with it. To achieve this goal— With all his strength, Agera listened to the voice of the sword that he was born with. In doing so, he came to a conclusion. “Hmm. We can’t pierce his armor with our will alone, can we?” “Trust me. Esprit, you may not be as talented as Carrera-sama, but you’re still as skilled as a master. You may not like swords, but you have good sense. Therefore, I believe you are worthy of my trust.” “Huh? What are you talking about—?” “Put your hand on my back. And I’ll take care of the rest.” Unable to understand what Agera was saying, Esprit was confused. But still, she decided to trust Agera. Agera stood still. Esprit did as she was told and touched his back. As if to ridicule the demons, Garcia shouted in a high-pitched voice. “So you’ve finally given up! All right, I’ll make you comfortable now. It’s about time your master, Demon Lord Rimuru, was killed by Velgrynd-sama. It’s the end of the line for such a lowly monster, but I’m sure you’ll be glad to have a guide on the road to Hades!” “Ah?” That comment was absolutely unforgivable. “Do you despise our god, Rimuru-sama, as a lowly monster?” “And to top it all off…you say that it’s about time to be killed?!” Hearing these words through Esprit, the executives’ auras changed. But before that, Agera, and even Esprit, had already run out of patience. “All right, guys. I give you credit for putting up with my insults, but if you’re going to keep your reason here, then just stop being demons! I forgive you. Kill him now!!” The two of them had been planning to do so all along, not even needing to hear Carrera’s orders. “Esprit, use my power!” “I don’t know what’s going on but leave it to me. I’m going to kill that son of a bitch!!” In a fit of rage, the two made their move. Agera had awakened to his powers by throwing his consciousness into the sword and speaking to it. «I will respond to your wish. Sharpen your mind and turn your body into a blade.» He thought he heard a beautiful voice, but its authenticity was unknown. But the power was certainly Agera’s. “I am the blade, the indestructible blade that destroys my enemies!” Agera shouted, and at the same time, a golden sword appeared in Esprit’s hand. 201

Ultimate Gift ‘Blade Transformation’—that was the power that Agera had acquired. The effect was simple and straightforward: Agera’s body was transformed into a sword, and his skill-level was added to that of the holder. However, if the wielder had a high level of skill, the effect would be immeasurable. Esprit drew her sword in a natural, fluid motion. The blade, drawn from its golden scabbard, was also of a brilliant platinum, and its afterimage scattered eight petals. The name of the sword drawing technique was the highest technique of the “Oboro Shinmeiryu,” Yaezakura—Hakkasen. “You’re dead, you trash!” “Huh? Wh-What…What?” Garcia couldn’t see it, couldn’t understand it. What had just happened? The defensive prey seemed to glow, and then disappeared. He understood that it had turned into a sword, but there was no time to wonder why. He had no time to wonder why because he would have been killed before that. Garcia was confident in his defenses because all attacks would be nullified before his ultimate power. It would take an ultimate power as powerful as Garcia’s to defeat him. He couldn’t sense such power from the demons he was dealing with. That’s why he had felt at ease and took his time to hunt them down. And yet, the situation had changed in an instant. Garcia’s armor was torn as thin as paper, and his body was shredded into tiny pieces. That’s right, he was sliced up eight times in an instant, and his life was cut short without even allowing him time to think. —No, there was still time to think. In Esprit’s hand was a small red ball, an embodied soul. “Hmm, so this guy’s is red, huh? Quite a typical color, huh?” “I think he just doesn’t know what he amounts to.” Esprit muttered, to which Agera, now in human form, replied. Then, glaring viciously at the red ball, he spat out. “No warrior can remain silent when his lord is insulted, you fool! But alas! It was my task to admonish you, but I didn’t expect the words of a such little man to have set me into a rage…” Esprit gave Agera a rare word of comfort. “Well, well. This time it was an insult to Rimuru-sama, so it couldn’t be helped. Carrerasama has said she forgives you, so maybe you’re worrying too much.” “Well, then let’s just leave it at that, shall we?” While responding, Agera vowed to be more diligent. Esprit looked at Agera with some envy. Just now, clearly—Agera had acquired a new Skill. 202

And then he remembered. He remembered his old self, the one who had trained to become a master of the sword. Not all of his memories had returned, but only the sword skills he mastered had reappeared in his body. Or perhaps he should say that they had been completely recreated. The “Oboro Shinmei-ryu,” the supreme sword technique for dispelling demons, had been recreated. When he was a human, Agera believed that his soul had resided in his sword. Was that why? When he turned himself into a sword, his memories came back to him. He realized for the first time the meaning of why he had taken the form of a samurai. Before he was reborn as a demon in this world, he was a samurai. Byakuya Araki was my name, wasn’t it? Hm, even if a dead man wandered out now, it would only confuse everyone…Hakurou. The image of Hakurou flashed through his mind. His disciples had grown up successfully and had inherited a new school called “Oboro-ryu.” Agera himself had changed the name to “Oboro-ryu,” as he felt that “Shinmei” was not appropriate for a monster29. That memory came to mind, but… Kukuku, getting “named” by Rimuru-sama, isn’t that even the heart’s fate understood? If that’s the case, there will be no curtain for me to appear. In this world, he had become a family with the Ogre tribe and had a daughter, and Hakurou was the child his daughter bore when she grew up. In this age, there were many people whom Hakurou had cultivated. The most prominent of these was Agera’s lord, Rimuru, and all of the achievements in raising Rimuru could be attributed to Hakurou. Agera was honestly happy to know that the skills he had trained and refined would be passed on—It would be churlish to interfere now. Agera thought about this and switched his mindset. He had lost interested in the garbage that had just been killed. Agera turned on his heel and headed for Carrera, his current master. The three demons came out of the gate and were greeted with cheers from the officers. “Well done, I’m proud of you too!” Carrera patted Agera on the back with a bang, which almost killed him. 29Basically, “Shinmei” refers to a god/divinity so “Oboro” meaning “haze” makes more sense for monsters. 203

“Ladies and gentlemen, the refreshments are ready.” Freshly brewed tea and sandwiches were laid out on the neatly arranged table. This was Zonda’s work, and it was also well received. Putting off the discussion for a later time, Esprit handed the red orb to Carrera. “This is the soul of that rude man. The core of his heart has been locked away, so his ego is still intact!” “Nice, Esprit! Now we can punish this fool for insulting Rimuru-sama.” “Yes, yes. By the way, Carrera, can you leave that to me?” Ultima interrupted, and Carrera tossed her the red orb. “If that’s okay with you, Benimaru-san, it’s fine with me.” She waited for Benimaru’s decision. “Do what you want.” There was no need to ask. Benimaru had no taste for torturing the dead, and since he had no control over the soul, he had no choice but to leave the matter to the demons. Normally, it would be a violation of principle to deal with an opponent who has already won or lost. But this time, Garcia’s comment was unacceptable. Benimaru couldn’t bring himself to stop them, and so, the red orb fell into Ultima’s hands. “Okay, let’s go! Grudge Curse Destruction!” It was a deadly poison refined by Ultima. It was not a physical substance, but rather a dangerous one that destroyed the spiritual body and even invaded the astral body as well. There was no way that the red orb, the embodiment of the soul, could withstand it, and Garcia screamed out in pain. ‹S-stop it, stop it—Gehhh!!› But Ultima only laughed happily. “Yes, yes. The effect is outstanding!” “By the way, what kind of effect does it have?” Testarossa asked. It wasn’t that she didn’t know, but that she wanted to let Garcia hear it. “Well, it keeps you suffering until the power of the soul wears away. This guy has a lot of energy, so I think he’ll enjoy it for a long time. It’ll probably take a thousand years, but then you’ll be reborn as a pure white and beautiful soul!” Ultima replied happily. Garcia sobbed inaudibly. He wondered where he had made the wrong choice, and deeply regretted it now. “Well, that’s very kind of you. I’m sure he’ll be grateful for the opportunity to atone for his sins.” Testarossa said with a smile. ‘That’s impossible’—Benimaru thought, but for once he didn’t offer any help, he just let it be. Zonda served them, and they took a short break. Esprit, wondering how they could afford to do so, opened her mouth in an attempt to keep things interesting. 204

“To be honest, when Agera said he couldn’t win, I didn’t know what to do.” Now that the mood was peaceful, Esprit felt like complaining lightly. She knew that Agera would have a plan, but he had taken advantage of her confusion, and that’s why she was still upset. “I didn’t say that I couldn’t win.” Agera replied back, but in reality, he hadn’t been entirely sure about his plan. He was glad that he had succeeded, but if the ‘Blade Transformation’ had failed, he would have been blindsided. “But you should have at least consulted me beforehand! It’s okay because we won, but I wouldn’t take responsibility for if we lost!” It had been a long time since she had been as desperate as she was this time, even though Esprit was usually hiding in a safe zone. This made her even more irritated with Agera. Ultima nodded in response, laughing. “Well, we couldn’t afford to lose, even by any chance. Or rather, I wouldn’t allow it. Rimuru-sama wouldn’t be mad if we lost, but we can’t die.” “You’re right. That’s what I thought, too, which is why I’ve been monitoring you through Esprit.” Carrera seemed to be a laissez-faire type of person, but if Agera and the others were about to lose, she would have been the first to move in. From that point of view, what would follow would have been a serious attack by the executives. Although that might be considered a shameful thing to do, they needed to be prepared for any eventuality. Esprit, perhaps feeling uneasy after the discussion, asked in a whisper. “Um, is Shion-sama going to be okay? The battle is over for us, but she hasn’t come out yet…” Esprit, who had thought that Shion would be fine, suddenly became worried. Benimaru replied with a nonchalant look on his face. “No problem. She might be the kind of person who would forget her objective, but she doesn’t seem to be struggling.” Souei nodded in agreement. “She’s overzealous. The same attacks over and over again won’t work, so she should consider different ways to attack.” Esprit wondered at that statement, as if he could see it in his eyes. “…Are you aware of what’s going on inside?” It was Testarossa who spoke up in response. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m staying because I have to be ready in case something happens to the officers.” At this point, Carrera and Ultima spewed out their tea. “—What?!” “Wait a minute, Testarossa. What is it then? Did you know what was going on in there 205

without Esprit’s information?” “Of course I did.” Testarossa’s smile deepened as she smiled at them. Hearing this, Carrera shouted as if she had just realized something. “Then are you also watching Rimuru-sama fight too?!” “Ah!” Ultima jumped up, as if the possibility had just occurred to her. “That’s not fair, Testarossa!” “Seriously, you shouldn’t do that! It’s just like Diablo. Why do you always think that all that matters is what’s good for you? Don’t you think you should invite us as well?” Carrera and Ultima were upset, but Testarossa kept a cool face. So did Benimaru and Souei. As the people in charge of gathering information, they thought that this was a battle they could not miss. Shion, by the way, was unaware of this. That’s why she had been the first to jump into the gate. If Shion had been watching Rimuru’s fight, she would not have moved until it was over. Benimaru knew this, which was why he had kept it a secret from Shion. In any case, it was necessary to pacify the disgruntled Carrera and the others. Benimaru had no choice but to explain. “As mentioned, the monitoring by Moss is very convenient—I’ve had him enter all eight gates to do individual surveillance.” ‘It worked without a hitch,’ Benimaru concluded. This meant that Moss was still gathering information even now. Benimaru had strictly ordered him not to move without doing something, so that the enemy inside would not detect him. “That’s right. I tried it myself, but I couldn’t touch the other gates. It seems that Agera is the one who killed the enemy.” “Of course, I couldn’t get in either.” Aside from Zonda, who had done nothing, Esprit had also lost the right to try again. It was unclear what Velgrynd was thinking, but it was confirmed that once you entered, you would not be able to enter any other gates unless you directly defeated the enemy. “That’s to be expected.” “Yeah. It was a good decision to let them enter from the beginning.” Benimaru, Souei and Testarossa all nodded to one another. “So, if any of us have a hard time, Testarossa will come to our aid?” “Yes, that’s right. Actually, I don’t think that’s going to happen, and I’ve got other things on my mind, but I’ll be there if you need me.” “No need—is what I’d like to say, but it’s Rimuru-sama’s orders. I’m going to try to win, so don’t be too hasty.” Carrera said, smiling wryly, and Benimaru and the others nodded, as if they felt the same way. At this point, Benimaru changed his expression and spoke to Carrera. 206

“Carrera, about your opponent, don’t let your guard down.” “Of course, but why say that?” “Kondou, I believe, was the only one who noticed Moss and took him out with a single bullet.” “Huh…That’s interesting.” Smiling wryly, Carrera seemed more interested than afraid of her opponent’s strength. “I’m not worried about you, but if something happens, you can call for help through Esprit.” Testarossa said, and Carrera responded by raising one hand. Her demeanor eloquently told her that it was not necessary. Typical Carrera, Testarossa smiled. Then, the officers resumed their assault on the gate. Shion was fighting in one of them, so there were only six left. Excluding the gate guarded by Velgrynd, five gates were now opened at once. Shion was alone, fighting hard. Outside the gates, the atmosphere was peaceful, but now Shion was facing the enemy with a fierce expression on her face. Her opponent was Minaza, the sixth-ranked knight of the Single Digits, one of the four head knights and also a female knight. Shion breathed heavily with her shoulders and gave Minaza an indignant glare. “I’ll give you praise for giving me so much trouble!” She shouted loudly, her voice full of spirit. Minaza, for her part, was not unharmed. Her uniform was torn and her bare skin was exposed. But there was nothing sexy about it. And rightfully so. Minaza had stopped her Mimicry long ago and was giving it her all in her true form. “Shut up! I’m the one who should be giving the praise. All for your futile efforts! I praise you for defeating my children, but I’ll have to repay that grudge.” At Minaza’s feet, there were a great many dead insectoids. All of them had been slaughtered by Shion. Yes, the insect-type higher form, an insectar, was the true identity of Minaza. “Hmph! A small fish like that doesn’t count as a thing to me. I’m used to the training grounds, where many more powerful individuals spring up.” “I beg your pardon?” “Fufufu, it’s a shame. I am an experienced woman, despite my appearance. This is not the 207

first time I’ve fought an insect-type beast!” Although exhausted, Shion still had plenty of energy left. The smug Shion looked down on Minaza and told her as such. Then, as if remembering, she continued. “Speaking of which… Now that I think about it, Razul was not an insectoid, but rather a bug-shaped majin (insectar). He said it was in its full form, so I’m sure it was.” Hearing this, Minaza’s face changed. “Razul? You’re the one who defeated the guardian god of the West?!” Shion nodded her head. “I didn’t take him on alone, but I was the one who defeated him. He was a strong opponent.” Hearing this, Minaza muttered to herself, “I see.” Then she turned her face down and started laughing with a ‘kukuku.’ “So, you got rid of him! He betrayed us. We are an Aggressor race from the otherworld, but His Majesty Rudra accepted us and we finally found a safe place to live. And yet, he continued to be an unmitigated and selfish fool, not showing any reverence.” Even if it was explained like that, it didn’t make sense to Shion. She just looked at Minaza with an expression that seemed to say, ‘What the hell is she talking about?’ However, there was one thing that bothered her, so she decided to take the opportunity to ask. “Let me ask you something, aside from Razul, did you send any of your people to other places?” Shion was curious about her friends Zegion and Apito. If they knew each other, it might not be a good idea to kill Minaza. Thinking so, she asked just in case. “There are many races in the otherworld. Through the Underworld Gate that sometimes opens, various Aggressors target this world. There are us insectars and cryptids of similar nature. And then there are the phantoms. Unlike demons, we are semi-spiritual, so we can materialize on this world if we take our time.” Shion didn’t care if she didn’t get an answer, but Minaza was kind enough to tell her. What Minaza meant by “Underworld Gate” was the “Gate of Hell,” a term familiar to Diablo and her friends, but Shion just thought it was hot. Minaza said that the Underworld was a place where the three major races fought for supremacy. There was also a parallel world, which was a hell where the demons reigned. The world was very poor, and there was nothing to feed on. That’s why it was said that they were vigilantly targeting this world. It was said that they had been sending their people to this world many times since long ago in order to expand their territory. Insectoids such as the Army Wasps were also a kind of Aggressor. “Well, some of them are unfaithful to us, and we sometimes get into a bit of trouble.” Razul, whom Shion and the others had defeated, was a representative of such a race. It was proof that them and Minaza were not monolithic, although Shion remembered something else. Apito and Zegion had been picked up by Rimuru after escaping from someone, right? There is no doubt that they are enemies! Although she had no particular reason to believe it, Shion decided as such. She trusted her 208

intuition, and she was proud of the fact that she had never been wrong in such a situation. This time, too, Shion’s intuition was correct. It was not a coincidence. Shion was deeply connected to Rimuru—by Ciel and his Skill—because she had once died and come back to life. Therefore, her computing power interfered, and she was able to correctly discern the truth from the fragmented information she had already obtained. “In short, you are the enemy, aren’t you?” “Hahaha, what are you saying now? Thanks to your stalling, I will be able to revive my beautiful children once again!” As soon as she shouted this, Minaza’s lower body swelled up. Though hidden by the skirt of her uniform, Minaza’s lower body was also covered with several mouths. And from each of those mouths, all at once, a wicked egg was being produced. “Hahaha! You may look strong, but you’re exhausted from fighting my children. You think you can win against this many—Waah?!” Minaza’s triumphant words came to a halt. It was only natural. A single flash of Shion’s “Hercules Ex” was enough to knock out a large number of the insect beasts. “That’s not possible! My children… With the help of His Majesty Rudra, they should have been reborn as warriors with overwhelming power…” Minaza’s power was a power similar to Apito’s ‘Queen Worship.’ It was called the Unique Skill ‘Gluttony Rebirth,’ and by eating the corpses of the children she had given birth to, she could regenerate them over and over again. In addition, the Ultimate Enchantment ‘Alternative’ loaned by Rudra had reinforced the system and greatly reduced the time required for rebirth. The numerous insect-type majins that were produced were as strong an opponent to Shion as Minaza was proud of. Each of them was as good as a greater majin, and some of them were as fierce as a Demon Lord Seed. However… Shion had defeated all of them, though it was a hard fight. That being the case, there would be no second time. Using ‘Optimal Action,’ the essence of the Unique Skill ‘Cook,’ the insect-type majins were defeated in an instant. Minaza was astonished. Even if she didn’t fight herself, she could exhaust her opponents just wearing them down with the children over and over again. She was so good at such tactics that she was confused in the face of a non-standard opponent like Shion. But she was still a queen. She did not repeat her mistake and stood up in a rage. “I won’t forgive you. My children, lend your strength to the Queen Mother!” “Interesting, I’ll accept your challenge!” Minaza, with the children’s power at her disposal, shifted into battle form. Shion happily intercepted her with her Hercules Ex. 209

And so, the long battle began. It was a back-and-forth battle of offense and defense. Minaza’s attacks wounded Shion, but she was instantly healed by the activation of Ultraspeed Regeneration. And Shion’s attacks were unable to damage Minaza’s exoskeleton. Equipped with legendary-grade armor and protected by Ultimate Enchantment, Minaza was now so strong that even mythical-grade weapons would have difficulty damaging it. Minaza’s speed was greater than Shion’s, but Shion’s strength was greater. Minaza had the advantage in defense, while Shion had the advantage in resilience. “Damn it, not this again. Those bugs are hard, and really nasty.” Shion wanted to break Minaza’s exoskeleton, no matter how small the wound. Then the rest could be cooked by ‘Cook.’ Minaza was desperate not to let that happen. She was not underestimating Shion, but to be honest, she felt threatened by her strength, which far exceeded her expectations. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that she can fight me in this form so evenly… The amount of magicules was enormous as it appeared, but if that was the only reason, there was no way she should have struggled. What made Shion troublesome was that while she appeared to be sloppy, she was actually quite skilled with a sword. She was not as good as Benimaru, but she had still been recognized by Hakurou, her master. In other words, she was a licensed swordsman. This, combined with Shion’s strength, made Minaza’s rampage a nightmare. Shion, however, was not satisfied. She wanted to defeat Minaza quickly and move on, but she was stronger than she had thought. As expected of a warrior at the top of the Empire. As Rimuru-sama had said, she was an opponent I couldn’t let my guard down against. She didn’t think about that until now. Shion usually didn’t think too much. Now that she had, she began to think about a possible clue to defeating her opponent. It was just a temporary thing, but it was better that she realized that she needed to use her head. However, it was not as if a good idea would come to you just by using your brain. Though uninspired, Shion had Ciel’s blessing. «You have the power. It took a while to choose the best race out of all the possibilities, but now it has been decided. The one that is most suitable for you—» Hearing that voice, Shion remembered. Rimuru had asked her some questions when he gave her the reward, but Shion had not thought deeply about it. She remembered saying that she would leave everything to him, but nothing had changed since then. Shion did not care about the evolution of the others. 210

Benimaru had evolved from an oni to a “flame spirit oni,” which meant that he became as powerful as a divine oni. Shion, on the other hand, was still an oni. But she didn’t mind, because she was strong enough as she was. But that was not enough to defeat Minaza. It was inevitable that Shion would seek power, and in response to her desire, the Soul Corridor was connected. «—A “Battle spirit oni” is a good choice. It is a high-ranking holy spirit and boasts unparalleled strength in material terms. Next is the verification of Skills—» I’ll leave that up to you—Shion decided, tossing the matter aside. Then she concentrated on Minaza. Shion’s demeanor was brusque, but for some reason, she seemed to hear a hint of happiness in the voice. It may have been Shion’s imagination, but there was a real change that occurred. “What the hell is wrong with you?! That gushing, intense youki… Have you been slacking off until now—?!” The spirit surpasses the body. Therefore, Shion’s racial awakening was accelerated as the voice of her heart demanded. The evolutionary possibilities were managed by Ciel, and the best ones were selected. Shion evolved into a rare but powerful divine spirit, a “battle spirit oni.” Her body had ‘Infinite Regeneration’ and she was immortal as long as her magicules existed. Attacks launched from her body were not limited to physical damage, but also destroyed the mind. Despite the fact that she was a spiritual life form with no weaknesses, she had an advantage against all attributes. Shion had evolved into an existence that could be called a natural enemy of spiritual life forms. Shion’s evolution had also changed her physical form. Her body was optimized to be more specialized for combat. She realized this halfway, by instinct. As if she had stretched out under a clear blue sky, she felt refreshed. Shion held her favorite sword, the new Hercules Ex, in her hand. “Did I keep you waiting? But now my time with you is over.” In a polite tone, Shion spoke to Minaza. “Don’t underestimate me! Just as you have hidden your power, I will reveal my true form!” True to her words, Minaza’s form had become even more deformed. She even cut down her own lifespan, and became even more aggressive as she tried to fight Shion. And so the battle began— “Those who seek to take our safe haven shall die in pain! Ultimate Enchantment ‘Alternative’ unleash your full power… Come forth, emergents! I will feed on my own flesh and use my instincts to destroy my enemies.” 211

“Chaotic Fate!!” —It was over in an instant. The evil and forbidden final attack that Minaza was about to make was crushed by Shion’s sword before it could be seen in full. In front of the shattered pieces of flesh, Shion declared. “You’ve been so annoying and talking too much.” “…Wha…What the hell is…” One of the pieces of flesh lying around was Minaza’s head, more than half of which was missing. Minaza realized that her inevitable death was imminent, but she couldn’t accept the reality and was gravely upset. Looking down coldly at Minaza, Shion asked. “Do you need some help finishing you off30?” For Minaza, Shion was the worst possible match. Before she had evolved into a “battle spirit oni,” she was just an even match with or without an Ultimate Skill. From this point on, there was no way Minaza could win when she was only evenly matched against Shion, who had no Ultimate Skill. As a result of Shion’s evolution, the power of her will had reached the ultimate realm. Shion’s favorite sword had also evolved to a mythical-grade that could be called “Hercules Deluxe.” If Minaza’s power had not been borrowed, it would have been a different story, but she was not strong enough to deal with Shion now. “Guh, hah… That’s ridiculous… You’re too strong. B-but, my children will …” Minaza said as if blind. But her hopes had already been dashed. Shion’s Chaotic Fate had sliced and diced all living things. “If only it were that way.” Shion’s words were a mercy. “…You’re so naive. So naive… You can’t win against the Insect Lord-sama that way…” That’s when Minaza’s energy ran out. Her life was gone and Shion’s victory was assured. “…Insect lord?” The words Minaza had left behind held a very important meaning. But Shion didn’t care about any of that. “Well, I suppose it’s none of my business!” she said with a refreshing detachment, and did not even try to remember it. Thus, Minaza, an invader from the otherworld, met a pitiful end along with her children. The queen, who had sought to establish an insectar paradise under the protection of Emperor Rudra, disappeared from the world just before achieving her ambition. 30Shion actually says “Do you need a Kaishakunin?” A Kaishakunin is a person appointed to behead an individual who has performed seppuku (ritual suicide). Normally, seppuku is a slow agony, so the Kaishakunin will quickly finish the person off. 212

Veyron was the second most powerful of the seven demon peers. He was a duke-class, undefeated for over 4,000 years. Despite this, he was unable to stand up to the warrior-like figure of Marco in front of him and was humiliated to be lying on the floor. Marco had correctly used the Ultimate Enchantment ‘Alternative’ by imitating Kondou’s form with the Unique Skill ‘Impersonator.’ By imitating Kondou with the Unique Skill ‘Impersonator,’ Marco was able to use the Ultimate Enchantment ‘Alternative’ correctly. He had Kondou’s Skills at his disposal, and he was efficient without the slightest bit of waste. Veyron was a powerful opponent, but Marco was still better than him. It was only because of Veyron’s high level of skill that he was able to do more than bend the knee. His combat skills, honed as a demon, were no match for Marco. It was a frightening reality, but Veyron had no fear. On the contrary, inwardly, he even enjoyed the current situation. It was only natural. Having said that he could win in front of Ultima, his master, and all the other leaders, he had to win. “Devil, was your name Veyron? I congratulate you on your fight, but it’s useless no matter how many times you try. I’ve seen what you can do. I am more than capable of handling you now.” “I suppose. Since I haven’t shown my true colors yet, your assessment is quite correct.” “What?” Marco was about to recommend surrender, but Veyron’s reaction made him look doubtful. In Marco’s opinion, there was an enormous difference in strength between him and Veyron. It was proof that Kondou’s strength was overwhelming, but to Marco, it was his own strength. That is why he was angry at Veyron’s words. Veyron was a demon peer, but his magicules were less than a quarter of Marco’s. It was difficult earlier because it wasn’t one-on-one, but now it was just Veyron. Marco had a huge advantage because he was unencumbered. And yet, Veyron merely stood up and laughed. “You cannot defeat me by imitating others. Because I am also good at imitation.” “Huh? I beg your pardon?” “A forgery is not as good as a true work. Do you understand that this is the truth? No.” “What are you trying to say?” Marco asked in frustration. Veyron laughed inwardly, wishing he could just slash him instead of asking questions. “I’ll tell you now. What I consider to be the best work of art is—” As soon as he shouted this, Veyron activated his newfound ability. ……… 213

…… … Veyron is Ultima’s butler. For a long time, he was in charge of all her affairs. He had to deal with whatever his lord asked of him. The specialized field of cooking was left to Zonda, but the other things were under Veyron’s jurisdiction. What Veyron had devised was a Unique Skill called ‘Impersonator,’ a useful power to be able to become anything. With this ‘Impersonator,’ it was possible to turn into anyone that Veyron saw. It was a skill similar to Marco’s Impersonator, but Impersonator’s accuracy was better. However, Marco was enhanced by Emperor Rudra’s power. Considering this, Veyron had no chance to win, but that was not necessary to be said. Because the person Veyron was trying to emulate was stronger than Kondou, whom Marco had imitated. Marco was able to reproduce less than 80 percent of Kondou’s strength. Veyron, who had a similar ability, knew that it was impossible to reproduce someone who was too powerful. That is why Veyron chose a supernatural being who had charmed even his master. By copying the Demon Lord Rimuru, he hoped to utilize some of his power. But then, Veyron heard a voice. «That cannot be allowed. But in return, I will grant you the power.» It was not the same as the “Voice of the World.” At first Veyron was puzzled, but as soon as he understood the implications, he was almost moved to tears. I, even as I am, am being watched over by that love!! As if praying to God, Veyron gave his thanks. Veyron realized that his Skill had evolved. Even if it was an imitation, it became art as long as it moved people. As if to prove this, there was a certain power in that ability. Ultimate Gift ‘Artist’—It was because of this that Veyron was convinced that he could beat Marco. ……… …… … What appeared before Marco was a young warrior with a keen eye. “…Who? No, it doesn’t matter who it is. I don’t know any swordsman better than Lieutenant Kondou. You are free to imitate whomever you like, but you still won’t stand a chance.” The young warrior that Veyron imitated looked very much like Agera, which was no surprise, for it was the appearance of Byakuya Araki in his younger days. This result was the 214

ultimate culmination of imitation that Veyron had achieved. Veyron thought to himself. A true forger would be able to copy a painting from the heyday of the artist they were trying to imitate. It was only Veyron, who had tried to master all fields of art at the behest of Ultima, who had come to this conclusion. ‘Artist’ could recreate the power of the copy in their prime, even if he had never actually met the person. It was a foul power indeed. And it was here that Veyron unleashed his power. His master, Ultima, had evolved by receiving power from Rimuru. By his grace, Veyron had also grown in power. The amount of magicules Veyron now had was comparable to that of a demon lord or even an awakened demon lord. “Wh-What?! It’s as if he’s a different person from before!!” Marco was astonished. Veyron ignored Marco and materialized a sword in his hand. It was the demon’s unique ‘Matter Creation’ ability. Although it was only a fake imitation of Agera’s Blade Transformation sword, it had the effect of the Ultimate Gift ‘Artist’ added to it. It was a fake, and there was no doubt that its performance was as close to the real thing as possible. Veyron took a glance at Marco and spoke. “That’s right. Certainly, this Kondou fellow is not to be underestimated. However—” “…Just what are you trying to say?” “Now that Carrera-sama has gone to battle, I fear his fate may soon be sealed.” “Hahaha, what nonsense!” Marco laughed at this nonsense. Marco couldn’t imagine Kondou being defeated. The two men glared at each other. As long as their arguments were incompatible, there was no choice but to settle the matter by force. They both moved at the same time. “Baika (Plum Blossom)—Gokatotsu!!” “’True Fake Transcendental Technique (Gallery Fake)’—Yaezakura—Hakkasen—” The imitation was now the real thing. Veyron’s eight sword flashes knocked away the five sword strands. The remaining three sword blasts cut off Marco’s arms. Finally, Veyron stopped with a snap of his blade against Marco’s neck. “A-Ahh, aah…” The intense pain from both arms caused Marco’s transformation to unravel. He tried to stop the blood from flowing, but Marco had no more than elbows to speak of. “Fufufu, I’m not going to kill you.” “Kuu, are you trying to take me hostage?” “No, how can that be?” At this point, Veyron also changed his mind and smiled. “I am Lady Ultima’s butler, so I will do whatever it takes to please her.” Marco felt a deep sense of dread as Veyron gave him an unanswerable answer. “What are you doing to me?” Marco couldn’t help but ask that question, but his reaction was already as if he had fallen into Veyron’s trap. Veyron replied promptly. “Her Ladyship is a very cruel person. The painful emotions of those who oppose her are her favorite. She doesn’t kill her enemies right away, rather she rots them little by little. I am in a position to admonish her for that. And yet…and yet!!” 215

‘I don’t want to hear this’—Marco thought. However, Veyron was ruthless. “I love it. I, too, find nothing more pleasurable than to see a strong man begging for mercy!” ‘That’s why Marco is the best toy of all,’ Veyron’s muffled voice told him. “No, please stop. I surrender. If you want, I swear I’ll never disobey you again. So—” Marco began to plead, but no one could blame him for that. He hadn’t known defeat before, so he was vulnerable when on the defensive. Besides, Marco’s skills were solid, but his spirit had not been trained. His ultimate power had only been lent to him, and he had not mastered it himself. Veyron, a demon among demons, was skilled in the art of tapping into the fear of such an opponent. “Hmm, too bad! No need to worry about it, I decline.” “Why?!” “Because the Empire’s policy is the same, isn’t it? I am a supporter of that idea.” “Eh…” “Once you start a war, you cannot surrender. It’s wonderful! The weak should just submit from the start. It’s too embarrassing to ask for negotiation after losing a war. It’s a way of thinking that I can’t help but sympathize with.” “Th-That’s…” “Isn’t it so? You’ve done this before, so you can’t be so selfish as to not want to do it when it’s your turn. So—” At this point, Veyron’s mouth twisted into an ear-splitting grin. His smile was even more disturbing because he was dressed like a gentleman butler, and it left a mark on the viewer’s mind. “Take responsibility, kid. And help please Lady Ultima.” Veyron revealed his true nature. A cruel, brutal, merciless demon, befitting of Ultima’s first dependent. That was Veyron. “H-Help me…Help me, Lieutenant Kondou!” Marco’s cries for help did not reach Kondou. “Well, that cry is quite pleasant, but it may disturb others. So, please be quiet for a while.” As soon as he said that, Veyron carelessly pulled out Marco’s tongue. “Guuhooo?! Woooo-woooooh!!” Marco’s voiceless voice echoed in the other world, separated from this world. As for Marco’s fate after this— Souei was in a good mood. He had been secretly watching Rimuru’s battle, and now Rimuru had secured a great victory. It was fortuitous that he was able to watch the battle. 216

Rimuru had taken on both Veldora and Velgrynd at the same time, and still seemed to have the upper hand. He even ate Veldora and evolved. On top of that, he overwhelmed Velgrynd, undaunted by the onslaught that Souei would have been unable to resist. How strong such a Rimuru had become could not be determined by appearance alone. Even when he tried to find out through the Soul Corridor, Souei could not sense it. Therefore, it was not just Souei’s desire to know about it. At least, Diablo had taken little action until the end and was undoubtedly staying by Rimuru’s side. Although he was an annoying bastard for running away, Souei could not complain openly because he understood Diablo’s point and purpose. Speaking of annoying, there was also Testarossa. Although she had quietly declared her intention to stay, Souei had mixed feelings when he considered the implications. Still, Souei did not oppose her, because he understood her intentions. Perhaps Velgrynd, realizing the disadvantage, had started to protect Rudra in the middle of the battle with Rimuru. There was no guarantee that she would not come out until she had defeated the other seven gates. There is no way that the cunning Testarossa did not foresee the possibility of this happening, and yet she didn’t point it out, which means that she thinks she can handle it by herself. I don’t think she can win against Velgrynd-sama, but she has a remarkable amount of confidence. Souei had seen right through Testarossa’s intentions. Testarossa was probably aiming for a rematch with Velgrynd. Souei hoped that he could be forgiven for being jealous of Testarossa, since she was trying to challenge an opponent that Souei could not beat. Souei thought to himself. Benimaru, too, must have read Testarossa’s thoughts and approved of them. This was because even Benimaru was no match for Velgrynd. Benimaru, who was good at using flames, would not be able to attack Velgrynd, who could be called the god of flames. There was a possibility that he could not even buy time, and Testarossa was thought to be more suitable. Incidentally, Souei would only be able to withstand Velgrynd for a few seconds. None of Souei’s specialties would work against Velgrynd, who could control space. He would not even be allowed to escape and would end up being burned to a crisp. Being aware of this was not very fun for Souei because had to accept what would happen. Although it was not fun, he had no choice but to endorse Testarossa. And so, Souei decided to devote himself to his work in a very complicated state of mind, feeling both happy about Rimuru’s victory and dissatisfied with his own lack of strength. Rimuru’s order to kill the enemy was absolute, and he had no hesitation in obeying it. For Souei, eliminating the enemy was a natural thing to do in the first place. Let’s finish this quickly and get back to Rimuru-sama’s side. With his loyalty to Rimuru growing even stronger, Souei went through the gate as his excited heart commanded. 217

He caught a glimpse of the enemy, and Souei did not hesitate to go straight for them. The gate resembled a circular colosseum, which was the same inside all the gates. In the center of the colosseum stood his target. “Hey, are you my opponent?” The smirking man was Gardner, the fourth rank in the Single Digit hierarchy. “Since you’ve come all this way, I’ll at least introduce myself. My name is Gardner. I’m in charge of his Majesty Rudra’s protection. It’ll be a short visit, but I hope you enjoy it.” With that, Gardner looked at Souei as if he was trying to figure out what to do with him. Gardner looked at Souei as if he were judging him. He was tingling with a secret hobby of abuse, wondering how he could torment him. In response, Souei was silent. No, rather, after a short pause, he let out a sigh. “Did my precious time get taken away just to deal with someone like you?” He spat this out in a vexed tone, but Gardner was not one to let that go unheard. “…What did you say?” “My name is Souei. If you wish to surrender, I’ll accept, but you don’t want to, do you?” “Of course not!” Gardner was incensed by Souei’s attitude and had fallen for Souei’s schemes even before the fight began, though he was unaware of it. “Souei, was it? According to what Kondou-san found out, you were working as an intelligence officer in the land of monsters, right? That means you’re not suited for direct combat!” Of course, Kondou’s investigation was not so lukewarm. Gardner knew that Souei’s strength was of a certain level and that he was daring to provoke him. He originally thought that he could win without such a challenge, but he thought it would be rewarding if he lost his cool. It was a shallow strategy, and it was meaningless when provoked by Souei. “You lowlife. Enough of your nonsense, let’s get started.” Souei had seen through Gardner’s strength in this short time. Without realizing it, Gardner recklessly slashed at Souei. Gardner’s weapon was a two-handed Blue Dragon Blade (Seiryuuto). The blade, thicker and larger than a knife, was difficult to handle but powerful. The flowing succession of attacks was magnificent, as if he were dancing. It was an attack that combined strength and sharpness with Gardner’s high skill. However, it would not work against Souei. Gardner’s Seiryuuto sliced through the air, and the momentum was too much for him to keep his stance. Souei didn’t miss, and the bullet that came from the shadow at Gardner’s feet was sucked into the chest of his prey. “Guha?!” Gardner coughed up blood and collapsed. Souei emerged from the shadows to finish him off. In his hand was a Walther P99, a small handgun. Souei had secretly obtained the prototype that Rimuru had Kaijin build for him. He had been practicing to be able to shoot it from the shadow space, and the result was Gardner, who had been shot through the heart. “Huh, how boring.” 218

No matter how strong the opponent is, if they were caught off guard, they could be killed with a single blow—Souei believed in this kind of claim, but he also understood that there were some opponents for whom such a method would not work. Gardner, however, was not one of them, and his plan had worked brilliantly. After all, this bullet contained all of Souei’s Skills. In addition to the ‘Ultraspeed’ and ‘Insta-kill’ of the Unique Skill ‘Shadow Striker,’ it also had the effects of poison, paralysis, and corrosion. The initial speed of the bullet reached tens of times the speed of sound thanks to Ultraspeed, and with Insta-kill added to its power, it could destroy even spiritual bodies. With the addition of various abnormalities, Gardner’s death was certain. Everyone, not just Souei, would have judged it as such. But then— “Idiot, you let your guard down!” Such a voice came from behind Souei as he began to walk towards the gate. Before he could do so, Souei’s head was cut off and the Seiryuuto sprouted from his chest. “Ah, this kind of thing is troublesome. It’s good for killing these clever bastards, but it’s not very interesting because the game is decided in an instant.” Needless to say, the voice belonged to Gardner, who was supposed to be dead. The body was still lying there, but Gardner was still standing. The reason for this was a special ability Gardner had acquired. Ultimate Enchantment ‘Alternative,’ ‘Parallel Existence’ was the power that Gardner had been lent by Rudra. Unlike Velgrynd, who had an enormous amount of magicules, Gardner was a Saint level of ordinary. Although he was comparable to an awakened demon lord, he was not capable of creating multiple ‘Split Bodies.’ He could only create one, but it was enough. No matter how cunning the opponent was, as long as it was the main body, they would not be able to see that it was a fake. Gardner’s plan was to lure others into a false sense of security by using one of them as a decoy and attacking with the main body. It was a strategy for victory, but Gardner was not satisfied with it. This is because Gardner enjoyed tormenting people who begged for their lives. With this method, he killed his enemies before they even had a chance to beg for their lives. “Hey, are you alive? I don’t think so.” Despite his complaint, Gardner had not forgotten his role. He had to make sure that anyone who entered the gate was killed, and he had to ensure that Souei was dead. Then Gardner heard a cold voice saying, “I knew it.” After being decapitated and stabbed through the heart, Souei’s body had dissipated into a black mist. “Oh no!” Gardner shouted, but it was already too late to notice now. If he hadn’t lost his cool with Souei’s plan, he might have realized that it was a Clone. But that was a matter of “if,” and there was no point in discussing it now. Gardner’s failure would only lead to consequences. “If you wanted to use yourself as bait, a ‘Clone’ would be enough. It seems that that power 219

was wasted on you.” Souei’s voice echoed coldly. His point was so accurate that it cut Gardner to the heart. In fact, Gardner had met Velgrynd before. When he had just become a Saint, he had learned that the Marshal was a beautiful woman, and had gotten carried away with the idea that he could challenge here. As a result, he was defeated by a playful ‘Split Body’ in front of the elegantly seated Velgrynd. At that time, it was Velgrynd’s power that he longed for and craved from the bottom of his heart. Gardner’s favorite sword, the Seiryuuto, was also a gift from Velgrynd. Souei was not blind to this. Gardner had been dancing on Souei’s palm from the beginning. “Damn it!” Gardner screamed. The absolute situation had shaken him to the core. If one doubted their own abilities, the more ultimate one’s power is, the more it would affect them. There was no way Souei wouldn’t make a move targeting that. “If you’re convinced, then you’re dead!” With that, Souei was about to activate the Unique Skill ‘Shadow Striker.’ In that moment, Gardner played his final hand. “Uoooh waaa-raaa!! Then what about this, how about this? All of them are my body, and even if I’ll die, I’ll take down you with me.” Multiple ‘Split Bodies’ attacked at once. All of them were the main body and defeating any one of them was pointless. It was the ultimate attack using ‘Parallel Existence,’ which burned away at Gardner’s life. It happened in less time than it took to blink. Therefore, it was difficult for Souei, who was aiming for a ‘Shadow Striker’ attack, to avoid it. The greatest weakness of the ‘Clone’ used by Souei was that it could activate his Unique Skill except for the main body. Even Souei, who could control multiple ‘Clones’ at the same time, had not been able to overcome this weakness. This was the difference between a ‘Clone’ and a ‘Split Body,’ so it was only natural. If the main body is nearby, it can be made to look as if it is activating, but there will be a time delay. It would only be a gap against a superior opponent, so it had to be the main body that would deal the final blow. “Kuh!!” Souei thought to himself that he had let his guard down. It was common knowledge that the moment of stabbing was the most dangerous, and that one should not let one’s guard down. For Souei, it was a blush-inducing blunder to fall into a crisis while knowing this. Forgive me, Rimuru-sama! I will definitely survive, and I will make up for this later. Souei tried to prepare for Gardner’s final attack. Since he was not allowed to die, he had to survive. But then: «I will not allow it. So, Souei, I will give you the power too.» Souei thought he heard a strange voice. 220

Th-This voice is—No, no!! Instantly, he understood. This voice must not be pursued or considered in any way. Although it was unbecoming of a person in charge of the information department, Souei immediately decided as such. «So be it. The name of the power I give you is—» As if it were an innate power, Souei understood that power. And at the same time, in a field of consciousness that had been stretched a million times, he realized that his ‘Clone’ had been transformed into a ‘Split Body.’ This meant that Souei had also acquired ‘Parallel Existence.’ “Hahahahaha! I’m dying, but this is the end of him too. He deserves it—” “Is that the end of your final will?” “How—how is that possible?! This is definitely your body—” “That’s right. And this is just my body too. If you understand, then die.” “Damn it!!” This time, Gardner had nothing left. “Thousand Hands Shadow Kill.” Souei’s shadow stretched out and became a thousand arms to capture Gardner. This was the effect of the Eye of the Moon, one of the powers of the Ultimate Gift ‘Moon King Tsukuyomi’ that Souei had just acquired. The ability to manipulate shadows at will was a perfect match for Souei. Through the shadows, he could investigate the state of the world. And he could ‘move’ wherever there is a shadow. By combining this with Parallel Existence, it was possible to create multiple arms and attack from the shadows. With his body bound, Gardner cried out in anguish. “You can be proud of your victory. In any case, Velgrynd-sama and Granit-sama will take you down—“ His words died out before he could finish them. Gardner’s life was cut short by Souei’s ‘Insta-kill.’ “Velgrynd-sama has been defeated by Rimuru-sama. And Granit is headed for Benimaru, who is stronger than me. Perhaps the same as me—ah, that’s no longer any of your business.” Souei left those words and let Gardner disappear into the darkness. 221

Chapter 5 The Truth of the Emperor Damrada was alone thinking to himself while guarding one of the eight gates. Why had this happened to him? ……… …… … The current situation was dire. Yuuki had fallen into Emperor Rudra’s hands, and like his companions, was deprived of his free will. Having been ordered by Rudra to take care of him, Damrada could not resist. And now, Rudra had given him another order. After handing over the care of Yuuki to someone else, he was to board the Emperor’s flagship. And so began the great battle in the air. The true identity of the Marshal as Velgrynd was told up to the sixth rank, but it could not be told to anyone. This was an absolute order, and for Damrada, who was often away from home, it was such an important secret that his memory was even manipulated. That’s right. I made a promise to that man. And that was— Seeing the Marshal turn into Velgrynd reminded Damrada of that. At the same time, many memories were clearly coming back to him. He remembered his most important promise to Rudra, but he also remembered the reason why he had to do it. Well then, what should I do…? There was no time to worry about it. The Demon Lord Rimuru he had seen a while ago seemed so benevolent that he didn’t feel like much of a threat. As long as he was trapped in the strange space created by Velgrynd, he should not be able to interfere with the mission to capture Veldora. Indeed, Veldora’s domination was complete. This gave Rudra an advantage over Guy—But to Damrada, none of that mattered. Not only that, but for Rudra as well… With a clarity of thought that seemed to clear his foggy mind, Damrada wondered what was 223

best for Rudra. However, before he could answer that question, Demon Lord Rimuru made his move. It was a fury of unprecedented proportions. Damrada was tempted to question himself as to why he had not thought of him as a threat. The mere fact that he had escaped Velgrynd’s realm showed just how dangerous he was. But there was more to it than that. From the moment he saw Rimuru appear, Damrada realized that he had been too naïve in his opinion. Rimuru had glanced at Damrada and the others with those glittering golden eyes. It was an unmistakably cold look, almost as if he did not even recognize Damrada and the others as enemies. Kondou had responded immediately, but his attack was ineffective. ‹—Is that all? In that case, there’s no need to be wary. I will deal with you later. You can be afraid all you want. Try not to get killed until I deal with you.—› Rimuru’s eyes seemed to be telling him. To Rimuru, Damrada and the others were already dead, weren’t they? Emperor Rudra was no exception, and Damrada felt that if things continued as they were, they would all be killed together. What were the conditions for Rimuru’s tactical victory in this situation? There were two conditions that needed to be met: 1. Reclaiming Veldora. 2. Eliminating the invaders. Veldora was an ally of Demon Lord Rimuru. To deprive Veldora of his free will would be unacceptable to Rimuru. The fact that he had come here meant that he was prepared to deal with Velgrynd. From Damrada’s point of view, there was no telling how the battle would turn out. It was an unattainable pinnacle of a match-up, and it was not something that Damrada could predict. As for the elimination of the invaders… Rimuru was said to be a pacifist, but one should not mistake that for non-resistance. There had been many acts of aggression towards them in the past, but they had all been repelled. They were not afraid of the means. With the help of Veldora, the monster nation had won many battles in a row. Rimuru would never forgive the Empire’s aggression. The time for negotiations was over, and it was conceivable that the best course of action for him would be to kill all the Imperial soldiers. In that case, bargaining would be meaningless, and they would have to fight to the end. There was no guarantee that they would be forgiven even if they surrendered under the condition that neither side had any wartime agreements. It was the Imperial side that had set a trap for Rimuru, who came to negotiate with them because he did not want to fight. They had lost all credibility and would not be trusted by Rimuru. The negotiation windows were closed. 224

I should have been more serious about stopping His Majesty. Damrada was also proud of the Empire’s strength. He had been overconfident in the Empire’s power, thinking that it could not be defeated and that they could set the victory conditions as they pleased. Show the enemy the majesty of the empire, defeat the enemy thoroughly, make them lose the will to rebel before swallowing them up. They could change the leadership, replace them with puppets, and do whatever they wanted as long as they won the war.—This was how the Empire had been able to expand its territory, but this time they had made a huge miscalculation. In addition to the fact that they were clashing with evenly matched forces, there was no guarantee that even Emperor Rudra would be safe. It was no wonder that Damrada was in a depressed mood. All that said, Damrada’s real concern was about the promise made between himself and Rudra. There was no doubt that Rimuru intended to kill Rudra. This made Damrada confused about how he should act. Damrada also wished to keep his promise to Rudra, but he wanted to accomplish it with his own hands However, it seemed difficult to win with Rimuru as an opponent… Damrada shuddered, analyzing the situation. The flagship had been enveloped in a terrible spell, and the survivors were now defending the eight gates. Could this really be called an even match? To Damrada, it seemed as if they had made a terrible mistake. ……… …… … And then came to now. “Did I keep you waiting?” Before Damrada’s eyes was a girl smiling happily. This girl was one of the strongest in the world, a pillar of the seven primordial demons. Her ‘name’ was Ultima, a subordinate under the control of Demon Lord Rimuru. “Not only to add the primordials to his ranks, but to give them power…” It was even more terrifying when one saw it up close. As soon as the fearsome ‘Death Streak’ was shown to be inordinately accurate and powerful, the demons’ evolution was assured. Rimuru had opened a tremendously huge Demon Summoning Gate (Summon Gate) without regard to the fact that he was being watched. There was a hint that the subordinates he had summoned were up to something. He didn’t have time to investigate it, but Ultima had given him the answer. Enjoying herself, Ultima let out a laugh. “Ahahahahaha, you noticed that? That’s right, Rimuru-sama gave me the power, and now 225

I’m in great shape!” In contrast to Ultima, who was very happy, Damrada’s was in a nightmare. Giving power to a ‘primordial’—After all, it was not something that a mere demon lord could do. Even Guy Crimson had not been able to evolve the primordials under his command. Thinking in that way, one could understand just how extraordinary Demon Lord Rimuru’s actions were. Even so, that did not mean that Damrada was willing to lose. In order to fulfill his promise to Rudra, he needed to challenge the demon named Ultima with all his might. “I don’t always aim for the most reasonable path. Even if I choose the path of hardship, it’s fine as long as the result achieves my goal.” Damrada stopped worrying. Even after witnessing Ultima’s overwhelming power, he took an undaunted stance. “So, you’re going to do it, huh?” “Of course. I’ll show you my power as His Majesty’s knight.” “I’m looking forward to it. So then, let’s begin!” And so, the battle between Damrada, the second rank of the Single Digits, and Ultima, the ‘Pain Lord,’ began. Ultima watched Damrada with a thin smile. She could feel a power that was incredibly strong for a human. Even for a Saint, he was exceptional. His stance was so flawless that it might have been impossible for her to win had she not evolved. That’s it. He seems to be comparable to Hinata-san. That person was like a natural enemy of monsters, but this guy seems to have refined his skill-level purely against interpersonal and individual opponents. That type of person is really troublesome, isn’t it? As far as Ultima was concerned, opponents who had honed their skill-level were troublesome. Hakurou was a good example of this, as he was able to deal with all sorts of situations with a variety of techniques. The ability to apply power was the secret of his strength. It was something that had nothing to do with superior beings. ……… …… … A demon is an overwhelmingly superior existence in comparison to a human. Just releasing their mana is enough to make it an attack. Ultima was one of the pinnacles of such demons. She was born knowing how to deal with mana and how to control mana perfectly. There was no need for effort. All she had to do was wish and it would come true. That was magic, and in the face of its overwhelming versatility, there was no opponent. 226

Until recently, Ultima had believed that the only beings that could defeat her were primordial beings of the same rank, or non-standard beings such as the True Dragons. However, that belief had been wrong. It was during the battle with Velgrynd that Ultima became aware of this. Ultima and her team had put up a good fight against the overwhelmingly superior Velgrynd. They even succeeded in defeating one of the ‘Split Bodies,’ albeit with only 10 percent of its power. In other words, she learned that if one misused their power, they could be defeated by a lower rank. In the battles that followed, there were many more lessons to be learned. A True Dragon, which was known as the strongest beings in the world, performed an elaborate and sophisticated manipulation of magic power. As a result, that power had overwhelmed Ultima, a race that excelled in magic, with magic. She hadn’t known how that was possible while they were fighting. But now Ultima could understand. The secret was the act of adding an Ultimate Skill to magic. By using an Ultimate Skill, the control of magic becomes more precise. No wonder we couldn’t beat her. Even the magic Velgrynd cast in check had been too powerful for Ultima to handle. As for Carrera, she had been humiliated more than anything else by the fact that she was being dealt with by a better version of the magic she was best at. That right, it was a humiliation. But it was also a blessing. She had gotten the opportunity to experience that battle. And she had survived without being decisively defeated. Until now, Ultima had never imagined that just by incorporating the effects of Skill into magic, it could be doubled in power. The experience of that battle had made her realize new possibilities. It’s true that our basic abilities are very high. That said, relying too much on our potential is also a problem. With more ingenuity, one can become even stronger! Ultima, the strongest of beings, had never aspired to gain power before. But this time, she wished to have it too. How much stronger could a powerful being who is already invincible become, if they strive and work hard to reach a higher level? The answer was someone like Velgrynd and Guy Crimson, she supposed. From that perspective, there was no doubt that Diablo, who only pursued his own interests, was outside the norm. Testarossa, on the other hand, was completely different from Ultima and Carrera, who had never made any efforts. Ultima was aware that she was the most inexperienced of the seven “primordials.” Even so, she was probably on par with Mizeri and Raine… But if she fought seriously, she felt that she would lose to Testarossa and Carrera. Testarossa was gracefully perfect. She was self-confident and had a bad habit of looking 227

down on others. Carrera was arrogant and unprincipled. She could do everything perfectly well if she wanted to, but she quickly lost interest and would leave things behind. And Ultima was… Ultima did not have as precise of a magic power manipulation as Testarossa, nor did she have as great a mana pool as Carrera. Of the three “devil lords” (excluding Diablo), Ultima was probably the weakest. She was half-hearted in everything she did, and although she was a mass of talent, she had no experience of working for anything with her whole heart. In this way, Ultima and Carrera were similar in many respects. That’s why they had been rivals for so long. Nevertheless, Carrera had recently found a hobby in swordsmanship. Ultima had honestly felt envious of that. But that would end today. Ultima was blessed with the opportunity to awaken and gain the power she wished for. That just means that I’m the one with the most room to grow! Ultima had come to think as such, and now it felt like a funny story. This was all thanks to Rimuru, who had become her master. Ultima did not know how Rimuru was able to do such things, but those thoughts were irrelevant. What mattered was whether she could become a superior being. And whether or not she could be of use to Rimuru. While watching over Agera’s battle, Ultima continued to wish. At the end of her contemplation, she thought she heard a mysterious voice. «In order to make this wish come true, let me help you just a little bit.» And the result was the Ultimate Skill ‘Poison King Samael.’ It detected the weaknesses of all life forms and created a poison that induced a suitable state change. This was the power of the Ultimate Skill ‘Poison King Samael.’ Now that she had this power, Ultima had no intention of losing. However— Ultima suddenly remembered. ‘Hone your skills and do not to rely too heavily on your strength’—that’s what Diablo had always said. She had been losing to Zegion, so she had assumed that Diablo was just telling her off. She had also thought that Diablo was just being a jerk because he had a bad personality. But that was Ultima’s misunderstanding. It was true that his words were laced with sarcasm, but he was also thinking of them. How you control your power could make a world of difference in how strong you are—That was what Diablo was teaching them. After understanding that, she remembered Diablo’s words. Simply relying on the power you have been given is not how to acquire it—it’s certainly true! Ultima was now deeply convinced. It was a line that had been said to her right after she had received her name, but she now thought it was true. 228

Come to think of it, Diablo wouldn’t use the power given to him by Rimuru-sama unless he was in trouble. I thought it was just in contempt for the enemy, but I guess he had a good reason. ‘I will do the same’—Ultima decided to take advantage of this opportunity and use it to grow. Damrada was a tricky opponent, so this was a good time to give it all she had. Seriously. That Diablo, trying to teach us how to fight… He underestimates us too much, doesn’t he? If Testa finds out that he thinks of us that way, she’s going to get really mad and it’ll be a big deal. Well, Testa might have just been taking advantage of the situation on purpose, but well, since this is a rare opportunity… I think I’ll take advantage of it. Even Damrada, a formidable opponent, was nothing more than a training ground for Ultima. For the first time, she would use her Ultimate Skill and achieve victory. By doing so, Ultima would definitely grow. Ultima swore to herself. She would win this battle, not by using the innate power that she always had, but by using the power that she had acquired from her desire to win. By doing so, she would prove it. Rather than just hoping, she could be of help to Rimuru—Ultima thought as such. ……… …… … The battle was extremely fierce. Ultima’s attacks were outmatched by Damrada’s techniques. In some cases, Damrada was able to offset Ultima head-on by concentrating all of his energy. It was Damrada’s ability to react quickly and flexibly that made him so powerful. Ultima was frankly impressed by this and found it amusing. She realized a lot of things in the fight against Damrada. I see, so this kind of flow keeps the body intact. In that case, this is an approach that might work with Zegion-san! Zegion was so powerful that she was defeated the moment she got close. That was not suitable for combat training, let alone actual combat. On the other hand, Damrada was a most suitable opponent. Ultima realized how fortunate she had been. With her overwhelming mana, she could easily defend against any attack. She could have crushed any foe with brute force alone. She had thought she understood this, but now it was fully recognized with more realism. The power of both sides increased, and the battle grew more intense. The two were evenly matched in strength, and the outcome was still uncertain. Or so it seemed at first glance… 229

“Hahaha, this is fun! I couldn’t last this long against Zegion-san.” Ultima seemed to be enjoying herself. Damrada, on the other hand, had a bitter expression on his face. “Treating this fight as a training session… You’re playing me as a fool.” Despite saying this, Damrada was aware of it in his heart. If this continued, Damrada was the one who would be defeated. Ultima was still growing, but Damrada was already at full strength. He had no time to enjoy the thrill of this battle, and was using all of his skills just to try to defeat Ultima. In the first place, a primordial demon was essentially the poster child of magic. Against an existence that could even rewrite the physical laws of the world, a half-hearted attack would not work. Therefore, Damrada was inflicting damage to Ultima by adding the Ultimate Enchantment ‘Alternative’ effect to all of his attacks. Having spent more than 2,000 years studying it, he could exercise its powers as if it were breathing. It had become so familiar to Damrada that he had forgotten that it had been lent to him by Rudra. In addition, a demon had its shackles. Although this one seemed to have been released now, there was a limit to the amount of magicules they could possess. Because of this, the ‘Saint’ Damrada had a higher total amount of energy compared to Ultima. That was why he was only just able to compete with Ultima on equal terms. The more I attack, the more I am exposing my hand, but even using my big move may not be effective. This is… Unwinnable, huh? Damrada coughed up blood. Ultima was stealing the skills that he had worked so hard to acquire. It would have been better if she had decided to make quick work of this, but she knew that such a move would leave her open to self-destruction. Even now, he was able to cancel out all of Ultima’s multiple attacks of the same power at the same time, but Ultima was not frustrated—she looked happy. “That’s awesome, just like a demonstration!” Now it was Damrada’s turn to feel frustrated. Damrada was now cornered. He was in no position to show off his skills, and as soon as he showed them, she would copy him. Just like a dry sand absorbing water, he could feel that Ultima was growing. Hahaha, I can only laugh. He couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Damrada could never have imagined how horrifying these “primordials” were. To an outsider, it might seem as if their abilities were on par with each other. However, that balance would soon be broken. As long as one side continued to grow, the scales would eventually tilt in her favor. That was the stark reality. And that time would come. “Aha! I’m starting to get it!” As soon as she shouted this, the aura around Ultima changed. Until now, she had been saving her power to steal Damrada’s technique. After releasing her power, six pairs of twelve total wings spread out on Ultima’s back. Like the wings of a bat, the featherless flight apparatuses were glossy, smooth, and glowed a light purple. “Here we go!” “Kuh?!” 230

After Ultima shouted, the twelve wings began to move simultaneously. They changed shape in a variety of ways as they aimed at Damrada. Some were as thin as blades, some were as sharp as needles, and some were clumped together like fists. The ever-changing wings made them very difficult to escape from, let alone deal with… Damrada tried to parry the fist-shaped one, but was blown away as soon as he made contact. The force of the blow was incomparably greater than anything Damrada had seen before, and it was so fierce that Damrada could not cancel it out. Moreover, to his horror, Ultima’s power was increasing rapidly. Now that there was no upper limit to the amount of magicule, it seemed as if her power would increase as much as she wanted it to, and there was no sign of her momentum decreasing. “Chi!!!” “Hahahaha! I love that kind of expression.” “Hmph! Don’t mess with me, little girl. The power is amazing, but I simply have to avoid being hit.” Damrada summoned up more energy than ever before and concentrated on avoiding the attack. Although he acted as if he was fine, he felt a growing sense of danger inside him. He couldn’t win at this rate. But Ultima remained untouched. If there was no opening, he would have to make one—Damrada dared to take a desperate action. One of the wings pierced Damrada’s leg. It looked like Damrada had failed to avoid it, but that was exactly what Damrada was planning. As a race that prided themselves on their great power, demons were prone to arrogance. Damrada’s goal was to act on the assumption that even Ultima would be caught off guard if she was sure of her victory. “Ahahahaha, I thought you were going to keep avoiding them? Or did you get tired?” With a wicked grin, Ultima relaxed her attack and began to torment Damrada. The wings began to move as if to pierce the extremities, not the vital parts. I know. You’re strong. That’s why you look down on us and fail at the critical moment. Damrada was convinced that his plan would succeed. He pretended to be injured and fell down, then attempted to strike Ultima with all his might. “Seihahouken31!” This was Damrada’s special move. It was a blow made up with the full power of a Saint’s fighting spirit, tempered with ‘Alternative.’ No matter how powerful a creature it was, it would disappear if hit by this move. Even the primordial Ultima had no choice but to disappear if her body was destroyed. Damrada thought he had won, but he did not feel the aftermath of his victory. For some reason, he felt a chill as he tried to finish off Ultima. What collapsed was a piece of a wing that had fallen away. It seemed to have changed shape to resemble Ultima, but Damrada was unable to see it. By the time he realized it, it was too late. 31I didn’t really read into the kanji for this, but it’s something like an ultimate fist attack. 231

“Death Poison Fist!” Ultima pierced Damrada’s chest. 232

In imitation of Damrada, she concentrated a huge amount of mana in her piercing hand, but she controlled it perfectly by activating her Ultimate Skill ‘Poison King Samael.’ Moreover, the five fingernails were dyed purple due to the ‘deadly poison’ that was from the ‘Poison King Samael.’ Damrada’s defense was crushed by the power of the poison, which far exceeded the lethal dose. With this, the outcome of victory or defeat had been decided. “Guh!!” Damrada coughed up blood and collapsed on the spot. “Ahahahaha, my bad! I was right on target!!” It was a wicked roar of laughter that rang out. Damrada tried to stand up again, but failed. All the strength had drained out of his body and he could not stand up or even clench his fists. Still, he gathered his strength to look up and glare at Ultima. “Fool, that’s not a fist attack. That was a piercing hand. You only saw it once, so you can’t imitate me… But that power is unmistakable…truly wonderful. Brilliant. It would be more appropriate to call it ‘Bloody Bite.”’ And with that, Damrada looked up to the sky in satisfaction. As he looked up, he smiled a little ruefully. This battle had been a complete defeat. Before they could challenge Guy to a decisive battle, they were crushed by Demon Lord Rimuru. Some of the elite may survive, but it would be impossible to rebuild. Emperor Rudra did not have the strength to wait for the next opportunity. Before then, the current Rudra would already have been— “Your Majesty…”—Damrada whispered, reflecting on his life. ……… …… … “Damrada, can I have your attention?” “What is it? If you want to complain about something, just talk to Velgrynd-sama. Or are you complaining about Velgrynd-sama? If so, direct it to her, and not me. I don’t want her to think that I’m complaining too.” “You’re such a cold person—no, that’s not what I meant. I’m serious.” “…Pardon? What is it?” He didn’t want to hear it. From the moment he had looked into Rudra’s eyes, he knew that it was serious. But once he listened to it, they wouldn’t be able to have the relationship they had now. Damrada didn’t like that. “Apparently, my mind wears out every time I reincarnate. Or rather, in Guy’s words, it’s probably the ‘soul,’ but that’s not important. What’s important is that I eventually might not be me anymore.” As a ‘Hero,’ Rudra’s reincarnation was not due to magic. It was a special ritual to inherit his overpowering power. There was a price for a mortal to gain power that surpassed even that of the True Dragons, the ultimate spirit life forms. It was Rudra’s own right to control it. Therefore, Damrada could 234

not offer a solution… “A wearing of the soul, huh? After that, Your Majesty will cease to be yourself…” “Ahh, that’s right.” “That’s a funny joke. But I’m not so naive as to take that seriously and shorten your workload.” “Che, you’re still such a serious guy, aren’t you?” “I believe that’s my strong point.” “Hah, that’s true. I just said something boring, so forget it.” “Yeah. I’ll do that.” How could he forget? Damrada had only run away. He wanted to keep the relationship as it was, and he wanted to serve Rudra forever. And then, time passed on. “Ahhh, I knew it. It seems that every time I’m reborn, I lose something important. The problem is, I don’t even know what it is.” “Your Majesty…” “Hey, Damrada.” “Yes.” “This is an order. If I’m no longer myself, you will kill me with your own hands.” “Rudra-sama!” “There’s no way I could ask Velgrynd to do this, right?” ‘I can’t do this either’—Damrada swallowed those words with all his might. If this was his best friend Rudra’s heartfelt wish, then there was no way he could say no. “Good grief, you’re weak. But if that should happen, I promise I’ll take care of Rudra-sama. So don’t worry, just rest assured and work hard in your affairs.” “Fufu, you’re still the same as usual. I’m in good hands.” That was the promise of a distant day. And then, more time passed— “I’m tired. There is a limit to how much I can control my ‘Justice King Michael.’ Absolute justice, when you get right down to it, is not much different from evil. There is no such thing as a justice that all people recognize in this world.” “Your Majesty…” “Damrada, the promise we made, do you remember?” “Of course I do.” When Rudra heard the reply, he smiled, saying “That’s good.” Changing his expression, he gave the order solemnly. “Damrada, I have an order. Just in case you fail, find me someone who can defeat Justice King Michael and defeat me! It pains me to ask this of you, but…while I am still myself, I must make sure everything is in order.” 235

The order was equivalent to an order to kill Rudra himself, but Damrada could only nod. “Your orders, I understand.” Upon hearing Damrada’s reply, Rudra muttered, “I’m sorry.” As if talking to himself, Rudra looked off into the distance and began to speak. “Looking back, the ‘Justice King Michael’ entrusted to me by my friend may have been too powerful for me. Whether I win or lose in this game with Guy, this will be my last use of it. I want to fully master this Skill, but…if it shows any signs of getting out of control, do not hesitate. You must stop me.” “I will.” “—Thank you.” As soon as he said this, Rudra closed his eyes. Then he remembered the vow he had made to Veldanava, the Star King Dragon a long time ago, and felt frustrated that he could not keep it. A small murmur escaped from his mouth—“If I fail to fulfill my promise, I will apologize to you in the afterlife.” Damrada pretended not to have heard this, and quietly left the room. ……… …… … Choking on the blood leaking from his mouth, Damrada was jolted back to reality. For less than a few tenths of a second, he seemed to have lost consciousness. —Your Majesty, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I… I was unable to fulfill your order… In his fading consciousness, Damrada tried to express his regret. But it was not to be, and he could only vomit blood once again. Regret. However, there was also a sense of relief. The order to seek out those who would murder his beloved lord—it had been painful for Damrada. He had been suffering for a long time. It was only natural. Because to Damrada, Emperor Rudra was still the same glorious champion had had always been. You… I couldn’t possibly kill you!! Why me? Why can’t it be someone else? I have no attachment to this world if you no longer exist here. I wish to go with you on your journey from death… That was what Damrada truly wished for in his heart. The game between Guy and Rudra didn’t matter to Damrada. What mattered to him was Rudra’s will, and the world that reflected it. Guy Crimson was an arrogant demon lord, but he was not an unreasonable tyrant. His rule was absolute, but he also had set proper rules for himself and stubbornly kept to them. Guy and Rudra’s ideals were different, but they were never incompatible. From Damrada’s point of view, they seemed to be perfectly capable of compromise. Guy would not make a move on his own. Rudra must have given his orders to Damrada because he was sure of that. 236

Why did they insist on fighting when it’s clear that there was mutual recognition? That was Damrada’s question. But there was no way he could disobey Rudra’s orders, and in the end, he followed them and began his activities around the world. Long after leaving the Emperor’s service, a candidate was found. A boy named Yuuki Kagurazaka, who possessed the super peculiar constitution of ‘Anti-Skill.’ Damrada had thought that he would be able to defeat the Justice King Michael if he could nullify even the Ultimate Skill, but the result had been a disastrous defeat. Yuuki had fallen into Rudra’s hands, and he could no longer be relied upon. Thus, Damrada lost his trump card, but now a question arose. “…Why, Your Majesty Rudra, did you take control of Yuuki?” “Huh, what?” Ultima asked back, an unintentional murmur escaping her lips. Without answering, Damrada continued to ponder. Rudra himself was the one who had ordered Damrada to find someone who could kill him. And yet he didn’t see why he should interfere with that. No, it wasn’t that. It’s just that Damrada didn’t want to admit it. The signs had been there all along. “—So, after all… His Majesty Rudra-sama is already…” Damrada muttered as if in a fever. “What the hell are you talking about?!” Ultima shouted in frustration, but her voice did not reach Damrada. Damrada was now lost in his own thoughts. It was like a flash of inspiration before death, but Damrada’s thoughts were now clear. Therefore, he would arrive at the truth. Rudra burned with passion for his ideals. He would unite the world and establish lasting peace. He dreamed of an end to strife and poverty and the development of mankind. Once all mankind was united and at peace, everyone would be able to live equally. Rudra believed in this and set out to establish a unified nation. He believed that human beings were capable of understanding each other. He believed from the bottom of his heart that they could eventually unite into a single will and create a better world. He became a hero for the sake of the people and took upon great hardships. Rudra was working hard for the hope that many people would live a happy life. Damrada liked such a Rudra. But— Rudra’s ideal remained a dream. It couldn’t be helped that Rudra himself had changed before the day of fulfillment arrived. The ideals we pursued turned out to be crushed long ago… Damrada acknowledged this and was filled with a deep sadness. “Are you crying?” “…Ahhh…” “Because you’re afraid of dying?” 237

“…No. Because I made a promise—” “A promise?” “…Ahhh…” The inevitability of death had gripped Damrada. He had no choice but to resign himself to the fact that there was nothing he could do about it, yet Damrada couldn’t stand the fact that he was unable to keep his promise to Rudra. If Rudra’s will had disappeared, then who was Rudra now? There was only one answer to that question. It had to be the Ultimate Skill ‘Justice King Michael’—the ultimate power given to Rudra by his friend ‘Star King Dragon’ Veldanava. Before Rudra’s mind had collapsed, Damrada needed to fulfill the imperial order. And yet…apparently, he was unable to do so, and Damrada’s life was coming to an end. Damrada wanted to curse his own incompetence, but he reminded himself that the situation was not yet at its worst. He had to stop the ‘Justice King Michael’ at all costs. If Damrada failed, he would have to find someone else to take over the task. It was an order from Rudra, and a promise that Damrada had to keep. Damrada had found Yuuki, but he knew of one other person. The dreaded demon lord, Rimuru. His greatest enemy was also his greatest hope. “May I ask you to kill His Majesty…Rudra-sama…?” “What? Why me?” “It doesn’t have to be you. But to the demon lord, Rimuru…this message…can’t you ask…?” “No, just let me take care of that. We were going to kill this Rudra guy anyway, not that we couldn’t accept your request.” Ultima’s character did as she pleased. She was fickle, so she didn’t take things lying down, but she liked Damrada. It had been a short fight, but for Ultima, who had an infinite lifespan, quality was better than quantity. Just the taste of the concentrated and intense fight made her feel like she could forgive everything. “Then, one more thing…want to ask…” “What?” “That person…a boy named Masayuki…please protect him…” Damrada was sure of it. Masayuki was— “Well, that’s fine. But it comes at a cost, you know?” The devil did not work for free. It was not an absolute rule, so there were plenty of ways around it. But this time, Ultima was being selfish. She wanted to annoy Damrada, so she asked the question. However, upon hearing Ultima’s question, Damrada felt relieved. With a sense of peace that liberated his mind, he replied calmly. “The reward is all that I have. My soul as well…all of my Skills. I leave it to you.” “Accepted, I guess.” 238

Looking at Ultima, who gave a reluctant reply, Damrada’s expression broke. And then… “—Your Majesty Rudra…now, I will go to your side…” Those were Damrada’s last words. Damrada breathed his last as if falling asleep. Damrada, the former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Nasca and close friend of the united Emperor Rudra Nam Ul Nasca. The ‘Fist Saint’ Damrada’s long life had finally come to an end. Ultima stood alone in the circular colosseum in the isolated space. “Ahh, how boring. The nucleus is gone. I was going to give it to Rimuru-sama, but…” Ultima murmured sadly, and gently wrapped Damrada’s body in her twelve wings. In accordance with her contract, she had taken all of Damrada for herself. And that was the end of it. It was the end of the battle between Damrada and Ultima. —The life of the “Fist Saint” had come to an end, and a new “Fist Demon” was born— Damrada, in his last moment, had given the deadliest power to one of the most vicious demons. If he had known, would he have felt ashamed of himself? Or perhaps he was happy to have a successor to his technique. Now that Damrada was gone, there was no way to know. Those who survived could only consider this question in their hearts. “Come, I will be your opponent,” Agera announced to Kondou in the center of the colosseum. Kondou’s eyebrows twitched, and he silently put his hand on his sword. He did not respond to Agera, but glanced at Carrera. “You can relax. I’m only here as a witness.” “Nonsense. I can’t trust you.” Kondou finally opened his mouth, but his words were quite scathing. They were enemies anyway, so he was telling them to come at him at the same time. Carrera, however, was unmoved. “Well, I suppose you’re right. I don’t think two against one is cowardly, and I’m not planning to go easy on you, however this time, it’s Agera’s wish. Don’t worry about me and just have fun.” She said as much as she could before sitting down along the stone wall as if she had nothing to do with this. Kondou shrugged his shoulders and replied. 239

“What a farce. But I’ll give you credit for your spirit.” Then he drew his sword and confronted Agera. “I thank you. Now then, let’s get—“ His words were cut short by a loud bang. Agera collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest. “You!” Carrera, who had closed the distance in the blink of an eye, stepped in between Kondou and Agera. Kondou swung his sword to cut off Agera’s head, but was stopped by Carrera’s sword. “Hmph. Can you make it at this speed?” Kondou said to Carrera, holding a smoking Nambu pistol in his right hand and wielding a single sword in his left. “You knew I couldn’t make it in time, didn’t you? If you were serious, Agera would have been wiped out by now, right?” Kondou had never said he would accept the match against Agera, so this was Agera’s own fault for not checking. Besides, the final blow was not serious at all. Carrera, who had caught the sword, understood this fact best. Someone as strong as Kondou would not have lost even if he fought Agera head on. If it was only a sword fight, it would have been close, but even so, Kondou’s victory would have been unassailable in the end. Even so, Kondou made a surprise attack because Carrera had been on the sidelines. Believing the words of an enemy was outrageous, so it would be foolish to listen to the words of a devil. Eliminating uncertainty was an ironclad rule of warfare. “Well now, just what are you talking about? I don’t have time for that nonsense.” Kondou turned to Carrera and sneered at the state of affairs. “Well, that’s all right. If you’re up for it, I’ll be your next opponent.” “With that sword?” Kondou pointed to Carrera’s sword, which had cracked under the blow. If she struck it again and again, it would surely break, and Carrera would not be oblivious to that. “No way. There are alternatives, only I’ve got something better than that. Agera, you understand.” “…Of course. It is a shame that I could not cross swords with a descendant of my own school, but considering that you follow my teachings, I cannot complain. What I do not like is that he made a fool of me and deprived me of my fighting power.” Saying this, Agera stood up. Already, the hole in his chest had been filled. The bullet that Kondou shot Agera with was called an “Eraser,” and it had the effect of dissipating as much energy as the mana it was loaded with. If it had been the “Necrosis,” Agera would have had difficulty standing up. As Carrera and Agera realized, it was obvious that Kondou had cut corners. However—that was why Agera could still fight. “Blade Transformation.” Agera was transformed into a single sword. Needless to say, Carrera was the one who took it in hand. Carrera’s mana filled Agera, and his lost energy was restored. As a result, the blade glowed, showing that Agera was full of energy. 240

“How foolish. I would have let you off the hook if I believed you were a fellow comrade…” “My dependents love to fight, so it’s none of your business.” “I see. Well, it’s not important now. That person committed the unforgivable sin of impersonating the founder of the art. I will do everything in my power to make him pay.” To Kondou, the Carrera who was holding Agera in her hands was just as guilty. He bared his clear hostility and showed his seriousness. Half an hour had passed since the battle began. Carrera was kneeling on the ground. Incredibly, Kondou was showing to be terribly strong. A master, indeed. Even to Carrera, he was a monster beyond imagination. Carrera knew that she was strong. But at the same time, she understood that there were stronger people out there. In fact, even if she couldn’t beat Diablo, one might have thought that she wouldn’t lose to anyone else. And yet, Zegion had beaten her easily. In this war as well, she had been completely outmatched against Velgrynd. So even though she was at Kondou’s mercy, she wasn’t surprised. On the contrary, she felt excited and uplifted. Carrera rolled on the ground to keep distance from Kondou. She then stood up and took up the seigan stance32 once again. “You’re good! Even Agera complimented my swordsmanship, but it seems I am still no match for you.” “Shut up. I am only trying to use all my power to defeat my opponent, saying that is upsetting.” Kondou, true to himself, found Carrera’s sense of combat very uncanny. Now was not the time to be fooling around, so he had been going all out from the start. He was using not only his sword skills but also his Ultimate Skill ‘Conviction King Sandalphon’ without any hesitation. And yet, he was unable to finish Carrera off. That alone was astonishing, and Kondou shuddered inwardly. It seemed that they were not easy opponents, and both had recognized one another. From that point on, the battle intensified. Carrera struck Kondou with a powerful sword blow, blocking his movements. Kondou parried the sword lightly and aimed at Carrera with the gun in his right hand. The power contained in the bullet was to disarm magic. The bullet was called “Dispel.” The reason Kondou fired it could be seen in Carrera’s next action. Without any chanting, a gravitational force field was formed instantly. Kondou noted that this was a feat of strength, but rather than reflecting on it, Carrera resorted to more power, invoking a spell that did not affect her, and hoping to block Kondou’s movement. Anticipating this, Kondou chose to use “Dispel.” This versatility was Kondou’s strength. The Ultimate Skill ‘Conviction King Sandalphon’ had four main effects, and Kondou used them 32“Seigan stance/Seigan-no-kamae” can be translated to something like “right posture” and is the basic sword stance used in most traditional schools of swordsmanship. It is also called “Chūdan-no-kamae” or “middle-level posture.” 241

differently depending on the time and situation. “Remove” broke the target’s Defense Barrier. “Dispel” counteracted magic effects. “Necrosis” destroyed the target’s mana circuit. “Eraser” was a high-density mana bullet. It also drained energy by detecting the nature of the target. All of these effects were combined in “Judgment,” the most powerful bullet of all. Carrera had always been one to chant spells in her magic attacks. It was a stepping stone to this time, but all of those spells were lifted the moment she cast them. Kondou’s reading had been accurate, and he had made the right choice. Moreover, he would fire various kinds of bullets at any opportunity. If Carrera didn’t recognize the nature of the bullets and deal with them properly, she would be hurt badly. If she had been careless, the game would have been over in an instant. Kondou had analyzed the battle very calmly. He did not show any emotion and was even mechanical about it. He saw through the enemy’s weaknesses and the flow of mana and took the most appropriate action. That was all. By sticking to the basics, Kondou had maintained his position as the strongest in the Imperial Army. This was in stark contrast to Carrera, who let her emotions get the better of her, yet the two were very similar. Carrera shook her head in dismay and asked Kondou in a friendly manner. “That’s tricky. How did you know I was going to use magic?” Kondou also responded to Carrera, gesturing for her to catch her breath. “Huh, that’s simple. It’s because that’s what I would do if I were you, I guess.” “I see. That really is a simple explanation.” Once again, Carrera was impressed by this Kondou man. At the same time, she realized that Kondou was the most powerful enemy she had ever faced. How can he just read the flow of mana used to activate the spell and cut off the flow? How can he just say that? ‘That’s what I would do’—was what he said. What a terrible excuse. Carrera felt bitter, but her expression was unable to hide her joy. It was nice to know that there was someone you could fight with all your might. Demon Lord Leon was a strong opponent that Guy recognized. It was supposed to be a satisfying fight, but Carrera’s challenge had not been met with any response. It had been disappointing, annoying, and frustrating, but…with Kondou as her opponent, she could enjoy the fight to the fullest. To Carrera, the process of fighting was more important than winning or losing. “That’s good, very good. It’s Kondou, right? You’re the best enemy I’ve ever had!” Carrera praised him sincerely, but Kondou only snorted and brushed it off. He did not speak in words, but gave his opinion with his sword. A sharp slash was launched at Carrera. Even though he was swinging with only his left hand, his sword line did not waver, and was even 242

more beautiful than the demonstration of a master. Carrera dealt with Kondou’s continuous slashes, relying on Agera’s skill and her own intuition. After a brief exchange of sword clashes, Carrera discovered that Kondou had a few quirks. A sword in his left hand, a gun in his right. This was Kondou’s fighting style, but at the moment of firing his gun, his eyes and fingertips were linked, and she could read the line of fire of the bullets. It was a small quirk that only someone like Carrera could have detected, but it was still a fatal flaw that was more than enough to decide the match. Here! With perfect timing, Carrera swung her sword. Kondou, who was about to fire his gun, could not react to the movement. As if without thinking, he forced himself to hold up his gun to deflect Carrera’s sword. His reaction speed was impressive, but that was not enough to stop Carrera. “Don’t underestimate me! I’ve taken away one of your trump cards!” Kondou twisted his body into an impossible position to resist, but it seemed that he could not resist Carrera’s strength. He was forced to let go of the gun. The Nambu pistol rolled to the ground. Carrera was elated that she had given Kondou the slip. But then— There was a creepy sensation. As soon as she felt it, Carrera instinctively jumped back from the spot. It was Kondou’s sword that slashed through the air. “Damn, I failed to finish it.” Carrera’s severed left arm fell to the ground with a thud. It was cut off by Kondou’s sword, as if without any regard to the orichalcum skeleton. “You bastard!!” Carrera is furious, but her mind was calm. She acknowledged the reality of the situation while trembling with humiliation. She would never be able to beat Kondou at this rate. As proof of this, Kondou was now holding a military sword with both hands. His form was one of perfected beauty, and even his demeanor was different from before. She had no choice but to accept that Kondou did not intend to rely on the gun from the beginning. His purpose had been to lure Carrera by daring to create an opening. If that was the case, Carrera had been underestimated by Kondou. He could have fought her with just her sword, but he didn’t show it and instead played tricks on her… It was probably just a trick to make it easier for him to kill me, but…how could such an expert do such a despicable thing as not showing his full strength? That’s unforgivable. Recognizing this, Carrera roared. “How dare you underestimate me, a human!!” In a fit of rage, Carrera tried to take a step forward to tear Kondou to pieces. But at that moment… ‹Please wait, Carrera-sama.› 243

Agera, who had been transformed into Carrera’s sword, spoke to Carrera. Carrera and Agera were now in a state of near unity. Naturally, they were connected by a ‘telepathy net,’ so they could talk to each other with their minds. And so, in the field of consciousness that had been stretched a millionfold by Carrera’s power, they began to talk. ‹What is it, Agera? I’m busy right now, so if you interrupt me, I’ll kill you too.› ‹Calm down, Carrera-sama. If you lose your cool like that, Kondou will have his way.› ‹I know what I’m doing. But he made me look like a fool. Me, the king? I’ll never forgive him.› Lately, it had become Agera’s role to stop Carrera, but even Agera had never seen Carrera as angry as she was today. If he didn’t stop her now, Carrera would inevitably lose. Agera earnestly tried to persuade Carrera. ‹Listen. The reason Kondou did not resort to the sword from the beginning was not because he underestimated Carrera-sama.› ‹Why not? No matter how you look at it, he’s underestimating me!› ‹No, he’s not. Rather, it’s for the exact opposite reason.› ‹Huh?› ‹Because he perceived Carrera-sama as a threat, Kondou is trying to keep his cards close to his chest. Not everyone is born as strong as Carrera-sama. It’s only natural for a warrior to be mindful of fighting a strong enemy!› ‹Then what is it? Are you saying that he approves of me?› ‹That’s right!!› Agera was making points here and there. Kondou’s style was complete in its own way, but in his essence, he was a swordsman who had inherited Agera’s style. There was no doubt that Kondou’s style was more serious, but that was why he did not expose it from the beginning and instead switched to it at the right moment. The gap he showed when firing the gun must have been created by his nerve-wracking training. He must have used it because he recognized Carrera as a strong opponent. Otherwise, he would not have dared to take such a risk by making such an elaborate move. ‹…I see, that’s true, if you say so…› Thanks to Agera’s persuasion, Carrera regained her composure and agreed. Agera breathed a sigh of relief. ‹I’m sorry for worrying you, Agera. Thanks to you, I’ve come to my senses.› ‹I’m glad to hear that.› ‹I promise not to worry you anymore.› With that declaration, Carrera turned to Kondou once again. Then, without hesitation, a fist struck her once in the face. At such a blow, one would wonder how Carrera’s head didn’t explode. However, Carrera did not care and even smiled at Kondou. “Hey, I didn’t scare you, did I? I’m sorry, I just slightly lost my cool because I mistakenly thought you underestimated me. Even so, it’s amazing what humans can do. They really do 244

have a lot of tricks up their sleeve to win. I was a little surprised because I had never thought of that.” Carrera laughed but knew not to underestimate the enemy. She was not careless, but without Agera, she would have been taken in by Kondou’s schemes. The Carrera of today was not the Carrera of the past where selfishness was acceptable. As a loyal subordinate of the Demon Lord Rimuru, she now acted in accordance to the orders of her lord. Aside from defeat, she could not afford to die. Carrera warned herself in her mind. That blow had been for that very purpose, and as a statement of her resolve. Carrera now acknowledged Kondou. The two of them were equals. It was a very serious thought, not typical of Carrera’s casual nature. “What a surprise. You know… I never really thought of humans as real opponents…but now I am taking them seriously.” Perhaps it was the pride of being the strongest race that always made her unconsciously fail to use her full strength when fighting others. Even so, she had mistakenly assumed that Kondou had not been giving it his all and had to be admonished by Agera. Carrera realized her mistake and finally got serious. Kondou looked at the ghastly grin on Carrera’s face and felt that it was beautiful. “Is the demon getting serious? As a vulnerable human, that is not something I should welcome.” For the first time, his expression changed, and he recognized Carrera as the enemy. “Then, I, too, must take you seriously.” Kondou declared, putting on his “armor” for the first time. It was no longer the uniform that relied on the power of will, but a pure white spiritual armor that was a variation of the mythical-grade armaments given to him by Rudra. It resembled the ceremonial robes of the old Imperial Navy. While it was not that big of a change in appearance, the atmosphere was that of a different person. For Kondou, the ceremonial robe of his naval days was also a garment for death. As a lieutenant, he had caused the deaths of his men, and he had vowed to live with the guilt. In order to remember that resolve, he wore these garbs in battle. Carrera looked at Kondou and released mana in a deep and loud voice. Then, she said her name. “I am a loyal servant of Demon Lord Rimuru-sama, and one of the Twelve Chaos Guardian Lords. “Menace Lord” Carrera. I will kill you upon my pride.” Kondou responded. “I am Tatsuya Kondou, a former lieutenant in the Imperial Navy. I am now the Commander of the Imperial Guardians, and I accept your challenge.” The two sides stared at each other, quietly building up their strength. Now, the real battle would begin. 245

Carrera picked up her fallen left arm and lightly touched the cut surface. And just like that, the pieces were back together as if nothing had happened. “That’s unreasonable.” “Now, don’t say that. Rimuru-sama gave me this precious body, so I can’t leave a single scar.” They were talking in a light tone, but both of them were looking for an opening. Kondou waited for Carrera’s arm to heal because he had his own agenda. Now that he had given up his pistol, Kondou would fight with only his sword. This was the true nature of the “Oboro Shinmei-ryu,” but it also meant that he had no other options left. Kondou was now serious. This meant that Kondou was betting everything he had. Now that he held the sword in both hands, he was confident that he could defeat any enemy. Kondou used his Unique Skill ‘Decipherer’ to read Carrera’s movements. He could read not only the movement of her muscles, but also the flow of mana that filled her body, and even the signs of magic being activated. This ability was linked to the Ultimate Skill ‘Conviction King Sandalphon,’ and its performance was far beyond the realm of the unique-level. For that reason, he didn’t miss the fact that Carrera’s power had begun to grow abnormally. A tremendous energy that seemed to symbolize Carrera’s tyranny. And yet, as if unified by a great will, there was no stagnation in its flow. The energy that would normally have produced an explosive torrent was perfectly under Carrera’s control. What a monster—Kondou thought. The arm that he had taken so much trouble to cut off— now there was not even a trace of it left. Even her clothes had been mended. What a joke. The focus of her raging energy was the sword that Agera has transformed into. The circulation of power was complete, thanks to the fact that he and Carrera were one and the same. From Kondou’s point of view, this was an abhorrent situation, and he found it even more troubling. Incredibly, at the center of Carrera’s mana, a fearsome crystal of power was forming. Kondou had an idea of what it was. He knew it because he had acquired it himself. It was something that could only be seen when the form of the heart materialized. This person… I’m sure of it. Is she trying to acquire an Ultimate Skill?! As soon as he confirmed this, Kondou moved. No matter how powerful the enemy was, they needed to be eliminated quickly. That was the reason why he put on the ceremonial robe, a sign of his seriousness. In other words, defeat was not allowed. No matter what means were used, he had to win. It was the side of the victor that was justice. While examining Carrera, Kondou finished his preparations. All that remained was his sword. With all his might, he slashed at Carrera. 246

“Good, good! You’re giving me such a thrill with those unhesitating eyes!” Kondou swung his sword, paying no heed to Carrera’s gleeful cries. Although it was caught by Carrera’s demon sword, Kondou’s sword was very powerful. If it had not been for Agera’s will, it might have been broken by the blow. Kondou added another series of blows. “You?!” Carrera groaned as she was struck by the sharp and heavy slash. The secret of the power lay in the intent behind the sword. Kondou’s Ultimate Skill, ‘Conviction King Sandalphon,’ was not just a power that could be put into a bullet. It was only when Kondou’s will was embedded in his sword, which could be called his soul, that it showed its true essence. That was Kondou’s inner workings and his true form. Kondou’s onslaught began, and Carrera was on the defensive. Kondou was determined to end the battle before Carrera awakened to her ultimate power. Using every technique at his disposal, he hunted Carrera down. Even though Carrera controlled her violence and showed great power, Kondou parried everything without changing his expression. Kondou’s fighting skills were superior to Carrera’s. The reason why the battle was barely viable was that Carrera had a huge amount of magicules and Agera’s skill-level was added onto it. If it wasn’t for that, Carrera would have been destroyed long ago. Even now, the slash that contained the power of “Eraser” was cutting through Carrera’s left side. Carrera’s mana circuits had been disrupted by the effects of “Necrosis” in several slashes to her limbs. As a result, even the assimilation of Carrera and Agera had begun to be affected. “You…” Carrera groaned, glaring at Kondou with bared teeth. It had been a miscalculation. She knew Kondou was strong, but she had thought she could handle him as long as she put her mind to it. However, Kondou was not that easy of an opponent. Even with the help of Agera, Kondou was still a superhuman who could surpass Carrera. A human… A human being!! Even if he was awakened to a Saint, I never thought that a mere human would be able to push me this far… Carrera contemplated her own ineptitude and put her right hand on her left side where mana was leaking out from the slash. She tried to promote recovery, but it was ineffective because her mana circuits had been messed up. Normally, a wound of that magnitude could be repaired without a conscious thought. And yet, it was like this even when she was aware of it. No matter how bold and rough Carrera was, she knew that her current condition was the worst. The strength of one’s will determined one’s strength. What’s more, Kondou was a man who had acquired the ultimate power on his own. Compared to Carrera, who had an infinite lifespan and spent her days at will, Kondou was simply incomparable. Only now, along with the pain that tormented her, did Carrera finally understand. A Skill was meaningless if it was merely given. It was only through the desire to acquire it that its essence could truly be utilized. 247

In terms of race, physical prowess, and vitality, Carrera had the upper hand. Thanks to Agera’s Skill, they were even on par. And yet, she was unable to win. On the contrary, they were on the verge of defeat. At this rate, I’ll lose? In other words—death? Me, the most powerful—a pillar of the primordial demons?! That was absolutely unacceptable. Carrera’s pride would not allow it. Above all, it would be going against the orders of Carrera’s beloved lord, Demon Lord Rimuru. If it turned out that way, it would be a big mistake that could not be redeemed even by killing herself a million times. Carrera felt fear. The inability to comply with Rimuru’s orders had terrified Carrera, who had never before known what fear was. “I absolutely will not accept that!” Carrera shouted, glaring at Kondou with bloodshot eyes. Forcing the wound to regenerate, she prepared herself. Carrera prayed even more deeply and intensely. A desire for victory against the man in front of her. Up until now, Carrera had fought only with her own pure demonic power. But that wasn’t enough. Those who had awakened to the ultimate level could never be reached. Just like Diablo, and just like Kondou before her. She now understood that she would never be able to defeat those who had awakened to the ultimate power. Even more so, she could never be a match for Guy Crimson, the one at the top. It was not enough just to think about increasing power. If that was the case, no matter how hard she tried, she would only end up as food for the strong. Carrera finally understood after she had been driven to this point. If one truly wanted to fight the strong, one needed to understand themselves more deeply. To do this, what she needed above all, was a strong will. This was the moment when Carrera, a spiritual organism, sought the power of will, which was her essence. «If so, let me help a little.» She felt as if she heard such a voice. In that next moment, the “something” that had been moving deep inside of Carrera took a clearer shape. Carrera turned her attention to it. Her determination, her desire, had taken shape. Until now, it was just a force raging inside her. She had always used her power to suppress it, to control it, to use it, but now she recognized that it was also herself. And she would release it. This ultimate power needed a name. —My “power,” I give you a name. In order to fulfill the order Rimuru-sama has given, become my strength and release further power. Your name is the Ultimate Skill, “Annihilation King Abaddon”!!— 248

Abaddon had the meaning of destroyer. It was also the king of the abyss. A fitting title for Carrera, the “Menace Lord.” Carrera had finally obtained it. The absolute “power” that could destroy everything. —Ultimate Skill ‘Annihilation King Abaddon’— It was the embodiment of Carrera’s desire. A fearsome power that, once unleashed, could bring certain destruction to her adversaries. Carrera’s first desire for power came when she met a powerful enemy. And now that it had come to fruition, the battle between Carrera and Kondou was about to come to an end. This is no joke—Kondou thought. Carrera, whom he had almost killed, had awakened to her ultimate power right before his eyes. From Kondou’s point of view, this situation was nothing short of ridiculous. Kondou thought he had struck Carrera with a fatal blow on numerous occasions. And yet, no matter how many times Carrera fell, she kept getting back up. He had sliced through the barrier with his “Remove” power, and disrupted Carrera’s mana circuits with a slash filled with “Necrosis.” After steadily accumulating damage in this way, it was the power of “Eraser” that was the final blow. It should have been over by now. However, even Kondou, who was in full strength, had been unable to defeat Carrera, and now she awakened her power. Kondou was keenly aware of his mistake. That’s right. If only I had a “Judgment” bullet left… This thought may have been due to Kondou’s slight weakening. “Judgment” was a trump card. The most powerful blow that could only be created once a day. However, he had recently used it to weaken Veldora. It was uncharacteristic of Kondou to beg for something in a life-and-death battle. An enemy so powerful had gained an unknown power. Understanding this, he had fallen to a dark mood. Kondou, however, still tried to muster up the energy. Now that he was clothed in his garments, he would have to fight with an unwavering resolve. Kondou couldn’t help but reveal his true feelings to Carrera for the first time. “You guys are unreasonable.” Humans were ridiculed for being vulnerable, but that was not surprising. The species hierarchy gap between them was so wide that it was too great to be filled. Even Kondou could not help but grumble about it. 249