Vaughn was struggling against Footman—or, perhaps, "struggling" was too polite a way to put it. He was Enlightened himself, and confident enough in his
powers, but Footman had a magicule count large enough to easily overwhelm him. Vaughn might've had a Legend-class suit of armor and war lance, which no doubt contributed to the bottom line for him, but his foe still seemed so distressingly out of reach.
The only reason why he was still in this fight was because Footman had lost all rational thought. That, and Phobio's contribution was a big part of it.
"Phobio, the Black Leopard Fang, is here to help!"
At first Vaughn was suspicious of the man who burst in shouting that. But then he remembered who he really was.
The Black Leopard Fang… Ah, yes, one of the demon lord Carillon's Three Lycanthropeers! That's right—Carillon has surrendered to the demon lord Milim, and Milim herself has formed an alliance with Lord Rimuru…
He was not an enemy, in other words, and so Vaughn welcomed the assistance.
"Glad to see you. I was just thinking it'd be tough to go on much longer on my own."
"I'll bet. Honestly, I wasn't too sure about my chances solo, either."
Phobio had reflected on his own attitude, regretting some of his past mistakes, and now he was calmly evaluating his abilities. Thus, he instinctively realized that even if he went all out and Animalized himself at full force, he still couldn't beat Footman. So he put aside his pride and opted to fight together with Vaughn.
Footman was powerful, but because he was no longer capable of logical thought, his attacks were striking a monotonous note. It was still enough to gravely wound Vaughn and Phobio, but they were managing to stay on their feet. They couldn't hope for victory like this, but the word "retreat" wasn't in their vocabulary. Their friends, after all, were fighting to the death right next to them.
Teare, the other clown, was engaged with Henrietta, knight assassin of Dwargon, with Gobwa and her troops pitching in. They were a small group of elites attempting to capture Teare all by herself—but something was rather
strange with her.
"I'm really sorry about this, okay? I don't like this very much, either, but it's an order. I'm trying my best not to kill anyone, so try and do something to stop me, all right?!"
Her fighting was as lethal as ever, but she sounded very earnest about that. In fact, despite receiving her orders to fight from Kagali, Teare still retained her own free will. She couldn't defy the order, but she understood that Kagali was manipulating her mind. She was an unwilling participant, in other words, and she wasn't volunteering to be here at all. That was why she was trying not to exercise her full force—joining the fight, following the orders to the letter, but still giving Henrietta and the rest the chance to stop her. In response, Henrietta was attempting a capture operation…but despite Teare trying to go easy, the difference in strength was still too great to overcome, and they had achieved little so far.
"And sorry to you, too, okay? I know I took advantage of you before, but I'm not trying to trick you this time!"
Having Teare address him enraged Phobio. He and Vaughn realized from an early point that Footman's reason had left him because Teare wanted to keep anyone from dying. They hadn't noticed when they first met, but Footman was emitting the same kind of atmosphere as Carillon, someone Phobio respected greatly, and thus he knew he'd never win in a proper fight.
So Phobio, for his part, was thankful to Teare for that. But:
"Shut up! Quit reminding me of my darker hours. You don't need to spell it out—I'm glad you put him in berserker mode for me!"
"Right? You guys are so weak, if Footman was serious about this, you'd be dead by now!"
Teare sounded so innocent as she lashed back at Phobio. She didn't mean any malice by it; she believed every word of it. That's what made Phobio so angry about it—but right now, complaining was about all he could do.
"Impudent little brat…"
"Oh, quiet down, you! Work harder for us, then! Be a little more lenient!"
All he and Vaughn could do right now was just sigh and say, in so many words, "We'll get back at you later!"
Things remained tough all around.
Gobwa, for her part, was trying to find a breakthrough and help out any allies who needed her assistance. That was what made her decide this was the best place to go—but things were never going to be easy.
Teare had no interest in fighting, but she couldn't disobey orders. Gobwa assumed that meant she'd be easy to capture, and she wasn't wrong to think that. The only reason it wasn't going well was because Teare and Footman were just too strong.
The latter could easily break through their metal nets; nothing half-hearted worked against him, and knocking him unconscious seemed beyond impossible. It took two strong men in Vaughn and Phobio to simply keep him in place. Meanwhile Henrietta considered herself a speedy fighter, but not even she could keep up with Teare—and Gobwa couldn't lay a finger on her. She tried casting her net on her, but it seemed unlikely that they'd ever capture her alive. Soka and her team might've fared better, but they were too busy fighting Marco.
With all that in mind, things were progressively worsening across the field. Gobwa was receiving updates from Moss on their situation; he reported that Veyron and Zonda had set off to bail Gabil out. Things were back to a stalemate, but given the hazards they dealt with, that was little to no comfort.
Worst of all was Kondo. Hakuro was defeated, and even King Gazel had met his match. Gobwa heard that Agera and Esprit were on their way to him, but she doubted they could slow Kondo down one bit.
"If worst comes to worst," Moss told her, "I'll go out." His role was to assess the war situation on behalf of Benimaru, with Gobwa formulating a strategy based on his findings. Even now, her hands full dealing with Teare, Gobwa was still giving a continual stream of instructions—and it was only possible thanks to Moss's support. If he was forced to join the fray as well, the entire front line would collapse in a hurry.
"Wait a moment, please. If worst comes to worst, I'll ask you for that…but do
you think you could even do anything?"
"…I will do my best."
Not even Moss could win, then? The thought depressed Gobwa. Moss was a very confident man, one who treated everyone except for a very few (Testarossa chief among them) with supreme arrogance. Now even he was giving vague assurances at best. It only proved how dangerous a foe Kondo was.
The lieutenant was difficult to stop. Gabil wasn't back on the front lines yet. Gobwa's team was a long way from capturing Teare and Footman. All of this made it impossible to disrupt Kagali's ritual. Gadora was there, but he was busy waging a war of words against Velgrynd. If she decided to enter the fray, the moment would spell defeat for them all.
It couldn't be much worse. Now we know how much we've been relying on Sir Rimuru and Sir Benimaru this whole time…
Gobwa had her regrets, but realizing that now wouldn't help matters. That was why she couldn't afford to give up.
It's not over yet. The fact that Lady Velgrynd hasn't acted yet proves that the demons are giving their best effort against her. The difference in strength must be massive, but they're still holding out for us. I'd never allow us to give up the fight before them!
She recalled those proud, lofty demonesses. They hated to lose, and even though they were relatively new to Tempest, they had already been appointed to the Twelve Lordly Guardians, among the highest in their government. Their strength was beyond Gobwa's imagination, but when Velgrynd was the opponent, the despair was palpable. The mere fact they were still fighting against her was amazing in itself.
We can't lose to them, Gobwa thought. Firing herself up further, she resumed her attempted capture of Teare.
A man stood before Kondo—Agera, dressed casually like a samurai. "Go ahead, Agera! I won't get in your way."
Esprit bowed out, focused on healing Gazel and Hakuro. Agera just shook his head at her. Esprit was always this way—always carrying on, trying to swoop in to grab the kudos when she could. It was clear she was running from battle because she saw no way to beat Kondo. The quintessential demon, one could say.
So Agera paid her no further mind and pointed his sword at Kondo. For three hundred years, no one had defeated him in battle. He knew Kondo defeated the great swordsmen Hakuro and Gazel, and the thought made his blood boil.
"You were Kondo? Your skill makes me sigh in admiration. I, too, live by the way of the sword…and I would be delighted to compete against you."
In a no-holds-barred match, Agera knew he couldn't beat Kondo. Hakuro only managed to land a few choice blows because Kondo kept their battle strictly to sword-fighting. Otherwise, even if Gazel and Hakuro took him on at once, they'd be quickly dispatched with Kondo not even taking a scratch.
That was why he was making this proposal, as desperate as it seemed, but Agera was convinced Kondo would agree to it. That's because he sensed something oddly nostalgic in his swordsmanship.
"Lord Agera… So you've mastered the sword after all?"
Hakuro interrupted before Kondo could answer.
"Mm? What do you mean 'after all'?"
"Ah… Well, you do seem to resemble someone I know, you see…"
Hakuro stammered a bit as Agera looked quizzically at him. In fact, Hakuro's grandfather and Agera were practically the spitting images of each other. It wasn't just a matter of their faces—they had the same physique, the same atmosphere, and the same inscrutable mannerisms.
"Do I? Well, unfortunately, I do not think we have met before. I have no memory of meeting you since I was born into this world three hundred years ago…and I cannot say if I've 'mastered the sword' at all. I have merely resolved to fight with this blade for all of my life."
Agera gave him a calm smile. To him, the sword was everything.
"I see… Please, don't mind me, then."
Hakuro waved him off, stifling the assorted thoughts floating through his head. He had a suspicion Agera was the reincarnation of his grandfather, but he had no solid proof. And if Agera was Byakuya Araki, it was nothing Kondo needed to care about. Hakuro had never beaten his grandfather, but he was still just a human being.
No matter what the answer to this riddle was, it wouldn't help turn the tables on this fight. The only way to win was to defeat Kondo through sheer ability.
"This other person, Lord Hakuro…"
"Yes, it was my grandfather."
Hakuro whispered the answer to Gabil's groaned question.
"By the way," Esprit chimed in, "did your grandfather die three hundred years ago, Hakuro?"
"Indeed he did."
"Then maybe it's possible, I think. He was born as a demon looking just like that, and he was even carrying a sword from the get-go. Lady Carrera has a knack for attracting souls gifted in the martial arts, too. If there was some sort of connection, I wouldn't be surprised at all."
"I see. Well, if that's the case, would he perhaps know some secret arts that not even you do, Sir Hakuro?"
"I'm not sure. I never fully mastered it myself, but among the techniques he showed me, he said that the Multilayered Blossom Flash was the best…"
Now they were striking up a conversation. Hakuro and his cohorts had already done their best, and it wasn't good enough. So they sat back, ready to watch how this turned out. And even though he knew this wasn't the time for it, Hakuro was curious about Agera's true identity—and Gazel, too, was curious about Hakuro's long-lost mentor.
Esprit, meanwhile, was healing both of them. Her "I'm working!!" dedication to her job was impressive; even Agera had to take his hat off to her. But Agera had other concerns.
Kondo wasn't disturbing their conversation at all, looking fully relaxed as he observed Agera. His job was to eliminate anyone who tried to interfere with Kagali's ritual; he had already picked out the most useful-looking enemies, and he had no intention of killing everybody on the scene. So he decided to attend to Agera, not letting himself panic. He only took serious measures against Gazel because leaving him unattended would have been too dangerous. If a Saint equivalent to him had been granted techniques from Hakuro, there was no absolute guarantee he could win. Kondo's job, as a result, was to prioritize winning—in other words, do his job. Against a clearly inferior opponent like Agera, he didn't mind playing around a little bit.
But this was quite an unusual decision for him to make. He was a rationalist, always devoted to doing the job, and he hated wasting effort on unimportant things. His only weakness in that respect was his pride in the school of swordsmanship he studied under.
Look at me… Still too naïve to let go of my personal feelings… But despite his misgivings, his curiosity still won out.
"All right, I'll play along"—he was just about to say it, but he wasn't foolish enough not to keep an eye on his surroundings. Thus, out the corner of his eye, he saw Velgrynd go on the move. Kagali's forbidden curse Dead Birthday was still in progress, but it looked like events were moving along now. Kondo would have to go on the move as well, whether he wanted to or not.
"Sorry. I want to take you on, but my work comes first."
He put away his military sword as he gave Agera the news. He couldn't have been looking down upon the demon more—but even though he knew that, Agera could do nothing to stop him. And as he watched Kondo stride away, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
"I suppose," he muttered in frustration, "I'll live to see another day after all."
Gadora was expending a mighty effort fighting alone against Velgrynd. Not that he was fighting at all, however. If he had been, he would've been smashed to pieces in a single blow, no matter how wondrous and state-of-the-art his
Demon Colossus was. He knew his place, and he wasn't about to try anything so foolish. Instead, he was letting his curiosity guide him as he questioned Velgrynd.
"Not even I knew until now that the Marshal was Lady Velgrynd the Flame Dragon, Sir Veldora's elder sister. No wonder you're such a beauty."
That was where his praise of her began. He kept up the flattery, attracting her attention and leading her into further conversation.
"I'm sure you didn't know. I've only started to show my face around you recently."
She decided to respond to it—and that was bad luck for her, because now she had to keep up her part of the conversation for as long as Gadora willed it. This was the best way he knew to buy time for his side, and plainly it was working brilliantly, because Gadora was still alive.
Velgrynd, however, had her own agenda.
"…I see. So you've been supporting His Majesty the Emperor the whole time up to now? Playing the role of so many Marshals across so many generations… I, Gadora, could not possibly be more impressed!"
"Yes, well, I'd occasionally go a few centuries without speaking in public, you know. I wouldn't exactly call it anything as difficult as that."
Velgrynd was politely holding up her part of the chat, but even she was showing signs of fatigue. This barrage of questions was starting to get on her nerves…and that was why she began to unintentionally complain a bit.
"But you know, you really are shameless, aren't you? I've been allowing you to pester me with questions because Ludora likes you a lot, but I wasn't expecting quite this many."
"Ah, how delighted I am to hear the compliment!"
"It wasn't a compliment."
Velgrynd looked all but disgusted. For her, crushing Gadora would be an easy task—but she already had four Separate Bodies active, and she hesitated to break out another one just for Gadora's sake. As long as he didn't mess around
with the ritual, she was more or less all right with all this banter.
Even as Velgrynd wondered if she was making a mistake, Gadora was still peppering her with a bunch of lively questions.
"By the way, I was wondering—why did Lord Damrada stop me from informing His Majesty of what I knew? If he had an accurate picture of Sir Rimuru's forces, the imperial army would have suffered far less damage."
"So? As you've probably realized by now, we don't really care about the imperial army. We just wanted a war we could use to awaken the stronger among us."
"Still, though, don't you think it would've been better if I could have discussed it with him?"
"You're not going to drop the topic, huh? I'm sure you see it as Damrada betraying you, but he had his own reasons, you know."
"Mmm, I see. These reasons… Would they have something to do with the child Masayuki?"
"I don't know. Why would I need to know what Damrada was up to? And who's Masayuki?"
"Huh?"
Velgrynd's reaction puzzled Gadora. He'd expected Masayuki to be the key to all of this. "Um, you're not aware of Masayuki the Hero?" he fearfully asked.
"I told you I wasn't," came the immediate reply. "What, is he strong or something?"
If this was a yes/no question, "no" was absolutely the answer. Gadora didn't dislike Masayuki—he kind of enjoyed his spunk, in fact—but he knew there was no way you could ever describe him as "strong."
Velgrynd snickered at his response. "Well, Kondo, you know… He's only interested in people who're likely to awaken. Besides, if he's going around styling himself as a Hero, perhaps Ludora assumed the demon lords would take care of him soon enough anyway."
This sounded valid to Gadora. Yuuki was using Masayuki to gauge the demon
lord Rimuru's reaction—upon Damrada's advice, no doubt. That meant the upper echelons of the Empire must have known all about Masayuki…and yet Velgrynd claimed to have no knowledge of him.
Yes, it was certainly plausible that they ignored him because of his obvious wimpiness. Kondo, at least, would immediately judge Masayuki as worthless to him. He was always eager to nip any uncertainty in the bud before it posed a problem, and if Masayuki was really a dead ringer for Emperor Ludora, it wouldn't be surprising that he'd try to get rid of him. That much is understandable—but what about Damrada's moves, then?
"Hmm… But Sir Damrada had assigned two Single Digits to protect young Masayuki, you know."
"So we could infiltrate the land of monsters, I presume?"
"No… Well, yes, but…"
Gadora faltered, feeling a bit frustrated. This sounded reasonable to him, but at the same time, something didn't seem quite right. Despite betraying the Empire, he was letting himself be troubled by things that shouldn't have bothered him. He wanted to yell at Velgrynd to treat his questions more seriously.
"You seem dissatisfied with that answer."
"Oh, no no no. Absolutely not!"
He tried desperately assuaging her, wondering how she could see into his state of mind when she couldn't even see his face. Then he realized exactly why something seemed off with what Velgrynd was saying.
"Sir Damrada truly is a traitor, isn't he?"
The words just fell out of his mouth.
"Oh, don't be silly. You're the traitor here."
She had a point. But Gadora was undaunted. Willing himself to be even more shameless than before, he spoke to Velgrynd some more.
"Well, let me ask you a question. This boy Masayuki looks exactly like His Majesty the Emperor. What do you think about that?"
It was that piece of information that made him uncomfortable. It was natural for the Empire to care a lot about whether someone was strong or weak—but you couldn't talk about Masayuki at all without mentioning that he looked like Emperor Ludora, their leader. Kondo might have known about this, although Bernie and Jiwu probably didn't. Damrada, Ludora's friend, definitely did. So why would he want them protecting Masayuki? That was what made Gadora wonder.
"…Pardon me?"
"That is to say, the way Emperor Ludora and Masayuki look exactly alike… Why wasn't that information relayed to—?!"
Gadora stopped mid-question, face turning pale. The expression on Velgrynd's face made him quake in his boots. Now he regretted speaking out of turn so much.
Ooh, I might be dead…
But Velgrynd just ignored him and began thinking things over. It was hard to believe Kondo didn't know this piece of information—but if so, why didn't he tell her or anyone else about it? And Damrada was even worse. She had no idea what he was thinking, and Gadora's question could no longer be ignored.
And for that matter, just how physically alike were the two…? Exactly like Ludora, hmm? I'll have to see for myself sometime…
Everything had been going to plan, she thought, except for that slight miscalculation where the entire imperial army got annihilated. But somehow, this seemingly inconsequential piece of information was getting under her skin.
"Well, Gadora, thank you for the useful tip. I'll be willing to let you off the hook in exchange, but what do you think? Are you still going to challenge me with that toy?"
Velgrynd had no intention of killing Gadora that day. Despite it all, he was one of the few friends of Ludora who he really trusted. And while he had undeniably betrayed the Empire, she didn't feel he had ever betrayed Ludora.
To Velgrynd, the Empire itself didn't mean very much, and thus Gadora's
betrayal was perfectly acceptable. This, Gadora understood, was where she differed from a lot of people, and even he had trouble wrapping his mind around it. So he decided that he had no choice but to accept Velgrynd's proposal. He was buying time with this banter because he knew he couldn't win anyway. If an actual battle ever broke out, that'd be the end of the operation right there. Gadora, in essence, wouldn't last even one second against her.
"Wah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, no need to joke with me. I know perfectly well that I am no match for you!"
He hid his qualms in laughter, deciding that a defiant tone was important here. The answer might have been disguised as a denial, but it was neither a yes nor a no. That was left to his conversation partner to decipher—and no one from Rimuru's camp could accuse him of desertion afterward, either. It was the perfect move, Gadora's wit at its sharpest.
Velgrynd could see through all of that slyness, but she still thought it was pretty entertaining of him. With a sigh, she muttered, "That's so like you, Gadora," and opted to let him go.
Besides—luckily for Gadora—the situation had changed. The alternate Velgrynd who was fighting Veldora had gone into all-out warfare, so her attention was needed elsewhere.
"Oh, no? Well, if you ever feel like it, let me know. I'll be happy to take it on. But before that, do your best to survive this war, all right?"
"…Huh?"
"I have some business to attend to, so I'm going to leave this area to another pawn of mine. I don't think the military ever liked you very much, but best of luck becoming a Saint while you're here, okay?"
"What do you mean…?"
Ignoring Gadora's attempt at a question, Velgrynd floated into the air. Having to interrupt her magic flow here would cause serious delays to the ritual, but that much was unavoidable.
Gadora, helplessly left behind, was stunned as he looked up at her. This change of tides bewildered him; he had no idea what to do next. In any
battlefield, you couldn't afford to relax for a single moment—and as if to prove the point, the meaning of Velgrynd's words became clear before Gadora had an answer.
"Dimensional… Connection!!"
The scene was so far removed from reality, it boggled Gadora's mind.
As soon as the levitating Velgrynd shouted it, the space around him contorted and warped—and from the hole in the air, a vast number of airships coursed out.
"Is that the fleet of airships carrying the Magical Beast Division?! No… You don't mean that you've connected space itself…? That… That's impossible. Do you have any idea how far away they were—? Wait, no, that's not even the issue!"
Gadora was thoroughly confused. It was that hard to believe just what was happening before his eyes. Ignoring all laws of time and space, the airship fleet that was meant to attack Englesia from the north was now summoned over here. Rimuru estimated that they were at least three days away, and Gadora knew they couldn't possibly have been summoned. Magical teleportation was fraught with danger; any failure could kill hundreds of soldiers, and preventing that required complex incantations and mountains of magic force.
With Sir Rimuru, it could be possible, couldn't it? But if you're summoning someone in a different location from yourself, the difficulty level jumps up by orders of magnitude! It's simply impossible to do such a thing…
It transcended the bounds of all common sense. Gadora was absolutely correct, but he had great difficulty accepting it as reality.
If Gadora was flummoxed by what he saw, the other side of the equation was even more confused.
The airship fleet advancing toward northern Englesia was enjoying an elegant journey in the air. The sky, unlike the dangerous sea route, was perfectly safe— very few monsters could reach their high altitude, although there were still some.
This was a fleet of some three hundred airships, and they were commanded by their leader, Major General Zamdo. His mission was to transport imperial troops—the thirty-thousand-strong Magical Beast Division, commanded by Gradim—toward the central continent. They wouldn't be fighting themselves, so they couldn't ask for an easier mission.
But in the flagship Zamdo was boarding, a measure more luxurious than the other ships, one section was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere. Zamdo had been informed that a very important official would be inspecting the ship, but nobody told him who this person was. The news came quite suddenly, to the point that Commander Caligulio might not have known, either.
Still, Zamdo was unconcerned. Heh-heh-heh… Better to be left in the dark. Excessive prying will do little but shorten your life…
So he went about his duties, managing to keep himself fully relaxed. But then he received an urgent message.
"Excuse me, sir!"
A communications officer tore onto the bridge, an ominous look on his face. The fact that he personally reported here instead of sending a soldier over indicated this was something important.
"What is it? A message from the homeland?"
They had already received word that Caligulio had been handed a painful defeat. Most of the ground forces were already lost, but that wasn't any of Zamdo's business. Once an operation was underway, nothing would stop it unless he was ordered to halt. The battle was just a few days away, and it wasn't like panicking would allow Zamdo to call anything off.
To tell the truth, however, Zamdo was internally hoping for a stop-down order to come at once. He hadn't told any soldiers about the ground losses, but if word got out, it could gravely affect morale and the success rate of their operation. Better to pull back and start over than take that risk, he thought— but since some would take that as a sign of weakness, Zamdo couldn't make the call on his own.
Gradim, commander of the forces they were transporting, wasn't the type of
person Zamdo was good at dealing with. That's why Zamdo was hoping against hope that this was a stop-down order. Instead, it was nothing like he ever imagined.
"The… The Marshal is coming!"
"Wh-what?!" Zamdo shouted back, in no small part because he didn't even know the Marshal was on board.
S-so that's the VIP I was told about…?! Ridiculous… Is this operation truly that important?!
It was important, yes, but it was just one of the Empire's three major military divisions on the move. There shouldn't be any need for the Marshal to be involved. But enough about that. He had to figure out how to greet this guest.
"All rise to welcome the Marshal!"
Zamdo, regaining his composure quickly, shouted out the order. A pulse of tension coursed across the bridge. Everyone stood upright to give a salute—and then the door opened to reveal Velgrynd, one of the world's most stunning beauties. Everyone on the bridge was immediately astounded. The Marshal, this figure none of them had ever laid eyes upon before, was standing right in front of them…but before this fact even registered in their minds, Velgrynd's beauty mesmerized them.
But she took that for granted.
"Don't just stand there, you silly people. Get back to work."
Her voice was gentle. She knew she had to be careful. Velgrynd was a rational woman, and she knew that resorting to any kind of violence here could destroy the flagship in an instant. Emperor Ludora—his "main," non–Separate Body— was aboard the airship as well, and she needed to take that into consideration. It was a stroke of luck for everyone around here.
"Be seated! All hands, back to work!"
Zamdo's orders set the officers back to their duties. The elegant pleasure cruise was over. From that point on, Zamdo was in for a series of surprises.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Excellency. My name is
Zamdo, and I am proud to serve you."
"Oh? Well, hopefully you'll survive this, then."
"It would be a great honor. I will do my best to live up to your words."
"Yes… I'd like to give you a pep talk, but I'm short on time. Let's get down to business."
Velgrynd sat down on the captain's seat, paying no attention to Zamdo's brownnosing. She promptly gave an order to Zamdo, who hurriedly got to his feet.
"Call Commander Gradim in here. I don't wanna have to keep explaining matters over and over."
"Right away!"
Zamdo glanced at an officer. He immediately set up a visual link to the ship Gradim was aboard. Within a few minutes, Gradim was on the display.
"Heavens. You are even more beautiful than I thought."
At first sight of Velgrynd, Gradim thought that she looked remarkably easy to handle in a fight. So he couldn't help but wonder:
Why? Why is a woman like this said to be stronger than I am?
Her body was supple and soft, no excess fat or muscle at all. Strength was not the kind of aura she emitted. Some people, he thought, were of the belief that magical power and fighting spirit were the most important things—but you still needed a strong body to leverage that to its full extent. A strong body like mine, he thought, proud of himself. That's why Velgrynd looked so weak to him—the textbook jock attitude.
Velgrynd, meanwhile, had little interest in thinking deeply about Gradim. His strength, at least, was the real thing, and she wanted to use him to the fullest as a helpful pawn.
"I don't need your flattery," she stated as she began laying out orders, her attitude fully demonstrating her lack of interest in him. "As of this moment, our current operation is canceled. Your new mission is to take control of the Armed Nation of Dwargon. That is all. Any questions?"
Finally, both Zamdo and Gradim thought at once. The fact that the order had been delayed so long indicated that, as expected, their nation was facing unprecedented turmoil back home. If they suffered a major defeat, they'd have to quickly review their strategy. This was a simultaneous three-front operation, so every decision they made would take on great significance. A single failure could bring the whole thing crashing down. However, after several days had passed, and with the Kingdom of Englesia lying just beyond, they now had orders to stop. It was only natural that the two men would be dismayed.
"Very well. In that case, let's return at maximum battle speed."
"Hmph! If it is your command, I, Gradim, will risk my life to undertake it. But do be aware that I will be asking questions later about this operation's failure, as well as the delay in your new orders."
Zamdo was clearly nervous. Gradim was just arrogant. Being on another vessel, he couldn't pick up on Velgrynd's sheer supremacy through the screen. His response put Zamdo on edge. Don't drag me into this! he thought.
But Velgrynd didn't care. "It seems that you are suffering from a misconception," she said, smiling.
"A misconception?"
"What do you mean by that? You think you're blameless here?"
Velgrynd nodded. "First of all, Zamdo, I will take you from here to your destination. Once we're there, I'll explain what to do, so be ready."
"Pardon?"
"Next, Gradim. There was no failure in this operation. In fact, this is exactly what we've been planning to do from the beginning."
"Don't be stupid! You think you can escape responsibility like that? This late in the game?"
"Stupid, you say?"
Velgrynd stared at Gradim with narrowed eyes, displeased. What a pain, she thought. She wondered for a moment what to do about it, but concluded that it'd be better to let sleeping dogs lie. Gradim was certainly strong, but from her
point of view, he was not an enemy. He could easily be crushed, but it'd be a waste to do so. And—most of all—there was no time to lose. It was a tremendous stroke of luck for Gradim.
"Well, whatever. If you survive, we can discuss this matter later." "What are you—?"
"Let me talk, please. Right now, I'm going to perform a Dimensional Connection, so prepare to move quickly once I'm done. After that, I will need to concentrate on Veldora. I'm glad to see that boy's grown to be better than I thought, but handling him is going to be a bit tricky. So I want all of you to focus on dominating the battlefield on my behalf. I've identified several promising people among the enemy, and I want them captured alive if at all possible. Am I clear?"
Ignoring Gradim, who was about to raise another protest, Velgrynd got straight down to business. Once she had her say, she turned her back on them, then placed her hand on the reinforced door leading to the outer deck of the airship.
"Y-Your Excellency! What are you doing? It's dangerous! Please come back at once!"
"What? I just explained it to you. If I don't go outside, I can't perform the Dimensional Connection."
Giving Zamdo a glance that indicated just how stupid she thought he was, she opened the door without hesitation. Then she flew into the sky.
Of all the selfish things! We're just collateral damage to her?!
Zamdo was horrified. Opening that bulkhead while flying at high altitude and speed was unbelievably dangerous. If not done properly, the difference in atmospheric pressure could suck out everyone on the ship. The ship's crew were enhanced soldiers who had all undergone extensive surgery to strengthen themselves, but Zamdo, as a scientist, was just an ordinary man. The low outdoor temperature would weaken him, and the lack of oxygen could even kill him. The same was also true for the magic conjurers under his command.
Thus he was in a hurry to close the door as soon as possible. But his fears
were unfounded. Velgrynd had cast Dominate Space to prevent any impact on the airship.
But before Zamdo could demonstrate any surprise, an even greater shock struck him—him and all of his staff.
With a snap of the fingers, Velgrynd floated into the sky. And the next moment…
"Dimensional…Connection!!"
A huge distortion in space appeared in front of her.
"No…"
"I—I can't believe it. Spatial oscillation detected. It seems that our local space time continuum is being affected by a gigantic, powerful fluctuation of magicules!"
"It can't be… Was that the work of the Marshal…?!"
It truly was ridiculous. After all, this was a phenomenon beyond all human imagination and knowledge. No one could understand what was happening, and no one would ever be able to pull that off themselves—so they all tried to ignore the reality before them.
But then Zamdo realized.
"That boy"…? The Marshal referred to Veldora as "that boy"?
There were only a few entities he knew of that could get away with calling him that.
No! Could this woman really be…?
The guardian dragon of the Empire, a presence too awe-inspiring to even mention by name. Zamdo had thought that the Empire was blessed with her protection, but now he realized that was not the case.
As if to confirm the thought, Velgrynd's smile deepened as she floated in the sky.
"Now, go. Go, and make yourselves useful to me."
Her voice was unyielding. Zamdo—and even Gradim, lured by the sound of
her sweet voice—turned the bows of their airships toward the rift in space.
Velgrynd's actions caused a sea change in the war situation—a change felt by the three demonesses, still keeping up their fierce fight.
Velgrynd, in her full fury, was a force to be reckoned with. She was flawless in battle. With her overwhelming strength, she shamelessly toyed with Testarossa and the others, not even allowing them to touch her. She never went off guard, and she never held back. Even a basic magic-enhanced strike was incredibly powerful. She was attacking with all of her strength, trying to annihilate the three of them like a berserker with no sense of reason.
Although she hadn't transformed into her dragon form, this was absolutely Velgrynd's full power. But the demonesses were still alive. If they had not been granted names by Rimuru, they would have long since lost their bodies, exiled back to the demon world. However, the skeletons of orichalc created by Rimuru had been made even stronger by the magical power of the Primal girls. Thanks to that, they could withstand the violence of Velgrynd, if barely.
"What a surprise. I thought I would be done with you sooner. You're stronger than I imagined you'd be, and you're clearly used to close-quarters combat."
Velgrynd was being honest with them. She didn't expect them to take up so much of her time, even when she went full tilt at them.
"Hee-hee! We'll never be defeated. Diablo would laugh at us if we ever tried something so disgraceful. That would be more humiliating than death."
"So true. He's so malicious."
"I'm sure Diablo would come back with something like, 'You're one to talk,' wouldn't he? And he wouldn't be wrong, either."
They were down on the ground, battered and bruised, but the demonesses' eyes were still full of life. Their expressions remained dauntless, sincere smiles on their faces. Their attitude was crystal-clear—as long as they never admitted defeat, they'd never lose.
"Oh dear… This is so troublesome."
Velgrynd couldn't help being puzzled at this. But the outcome was already set in stone. That pest Rimuru and his top officers were caught in their Phantom Fortress, and she had successfully dragged Veldora out from the labyrinth. All that remained was to seize control of him as planned. So she had been ignoring the three demonesses' banter—but the next thing Testarossa said made her wince.
"Well, it's taken a while, but I've figured out how Parallel Existence works."
Their goal was not to defeat Velgrynd, but to stop her in her tracks. Those were the conditions for a tactical victory here, but Velgrynd's Parallel Existence subterfuge made that an impossible task. Hence why Testarossa was looking for a way to break through it.
"Would you mind explaining it to me, then?"
"Oh, by all means."
Testarossa smiled graciously, even though she was being beaten to a pulp. She still had her full dignity, something that impressed Velgrynd despite it all. So she decided to hear her out.
As Testarossa explained, Parallel Existence wasn't all-powerful. It had its limits —namely, she could produce only so many Separate Bodies at once, and if any of them were defeated, Velgrynd wouldn't emerge from that undamaged.
"To be exact, there would be no physical damage. But for spiritual life-forms like us, draining our energy is de facto damage. In other words…"
"Our attack wasn't in vain, then!" Ultima concluded, taking the words out of Testarossa's mouth. She nodded back with a smile—but her eyes weren't smiling as she sized up Velgrynd.
The True Dragon sighed to herself.
This is why I didn't want to deal with Primals…
Testarossa was right. In such a short time, and while being hopelessly overrun in battle, she had correctly analyzed the situation. Even Velgrynd had to admit that she had an amazing sense for combat.
"Well done, Blanc—or Testarossa, I should say. You are right, and I commend
you for it."
Velgrynd wished she could recruit her. Killing Testarossa would be pointless anyway; she'd just be resurrected someday, and she was bound to take her murder personally once she was. That wouldn't be as bad as some demon lords Velgrynd could name, but having a Primal bugging her all the time would be a hassle of the highest order.
Carrera, unaware of Velgrynd's feelings, smiled wryly.
"Hee-hee-hee… You're far too composed, Lady Velgrynd. Lord Veldora would never pander to us like that."
Velgrynd was now visibly annoyed. "Pandering," as Carrera put it, meant looking down on your opponent and deliberately going easy on them. Veldora was well aware of just how dangerous Testarossa and her friends could be, so he made sure never to show them any weakness—it was vital if he wanted to keep his dignity.
Nonetheless, Velgrynd was far from amused by Carrera's statement. She was being misunderstood, and she knew it. She had no reason to like that statement —and yet, for some reason, she found herself feeling a little happy about it. As Veldora's older sister, she was happy to see such a formerly troublesome child gaining some maturity.
Perhaps that was why she no longer had any will to fight. It was about time anyway. After fighting Veldora, she realized that he was incomparably more powerful than before. If she didn't get serious, she was going to be in for a world of hurt.
So, between that and everything else, Velgrynd decided to stop fighting at this point. She could have killed the demonesses in an instant if she put her mind to it, but she let them off the hook.
"You're right," she said. "Just as you say, that boy's grown quite a bit. I'm quite happy for him…but you see, the problem is that I can't go easy on him. That's why I'll have to postpone this for now."
Before the demonesses could react to this one-sided declaration, Velgrynd's Separate Body vanished before them. It happened in an instant—all they could
do was watch.
The forest was in flames.
Canceling the Separate Bodies she had deployed in various locations, Velgrynd united them all into one. With a dazzling crimson light, she transformed into her dragon form, clad in a cardinal aura of reddened force. The shock wave alone made the trees burst into flames. Veldora, too, had reverted to dragon form, his force summoning a wildly raging tempest.
The flames flickered as they illuminated the two siblings. The battle between True Dragons was now in full swing.
Velgrynd, back to her true form after a long hiatus, looked at Veldora. He, too, was showing off his massive physique, all but bragging about his vast amount of magicule energy.
It had been ages since the two siblings had seen each other in these forms. Velgrynd had met Emperor Ludora a very long time ago. She was already lurking in imperial circles by the time Veldora began rampaging across the land. She never left Ludora's side, never venturing out into the public eye. Because of that (and the inconveniences that entailed), she had learned how to replicate herself via Separate Body, but even that was only after Veldora was sealed away.
By Velgrynd's estimation, the last time they met was over two thousand years ago, in southwestern lands. At that encounter, she showed only a hint of her powers, just toying with Veldora a bit, and he responded by immediately fleeing the scene. The impact, however, was enormous. The energy generated by this short clash between True Dragons created an entire volcanic region in the lands below them, and the ensuing volcanoes were said to still be active.
Hmmm… The sealing hasn't weakened him after all. In fact, I'd say he's stronger than ever before.
This, Velgrynd thought, was truly a lucky miscalculation. Her brother's growth was a joy to see unfold. The way he was acting so disobedient around her was an issue, but if she could tame him, all would be well. And even if she failed, she
had Ludora's power to fall back on.
With Ludora's force, even a True Dragon can be eating out of our hands. Just look at me, for instance… Wait, what am I thinking?
Velgrynd felt she was about to recall something very important, but her thoughts were a jumbled mess. She mentally turned the page. Capturing Veldora came first. She wanted to avoid relying on Ludora, but should it come to that, she wanted to neutralize as much of Veldora's resistance as she could, to lighten his load.
Ludora's at his limit, after all. I need to give him some rest, and soon.
That was Velgrynd's true intention, and that was why she really wanted to keep him uninvolved. There was no other reason—there didn't need to be any other reason. After all, she had a decent shot at victory. Veldora was boasting a huge pile of magicules, but he wasn't using them as well as he could have. That was why Velgrynd didn't consider Veldora to be that dangerous. He performed brilliantly at their initial clash, but as Velgrynd thought, she could defend herself because she had a better grip on her own powers. Great strength, after all, is useless if you can't control it.
Once he joins us, I'll have to teach him a thing or two.
Even now, Veldora would be a powerful card in the game they were playing. But Velgrynd intended to train Veldora further, to the point where he could compete with Velzard. For the time being, however, she wanted to take advantage of Veldora's inexperience to end this bout quickly.
And then…the pieces will move across the game board.
The game had stretched on for years, but now it was almost over. Victory for Velgrynd and Emperor Ludora seemed imminent.
First, they had to capture Veldora. Once they had his cooperation, that would be their chance to win it all. They wanted to finish this marathon in one fell swoop…and then Ludora would be free.
So Velgrynd took her time, slowly opening up an offense against Veldora. The fight was beyond intense from the very first move.
Velgrynd acted first, unleashing a scorching Burning Breath without even considering the possibility of a counterattack. The searing light extending from the dragon's mouth took the form of a thin, compressed, super-heated beam. Its fury came toward Veldora at nightmarish speed, dozens of times faster than the speed of sound.
Veldora evaded it. His Cancel Flame skill would make him impervious to flame damage in the first place, but he was still in a rush to dodge that heat ray.
"My. I didn't think you would avoid that. As stupid as I know you are, I thought that would end the battle right there, like it would've before. I see you've finally learned the true nature of your gifts."
"Kwah-ha-ha-ha! Your breath has Accelerated Destruction applied to it, doesn't it? If that struck me, my magical force would have gone berserk. I'd waste power trying to wrangle it again, so it's only natural that I'd avoid it."
Veldora smiled as he replied. And he was right. Velgrynd's attack had a special effect, Accelerated Destruction, that was all but the ultimate in force. It had the power to accelerate all events and phenomena, thus boosting their destructive effect. What's more, it could also accelerate the target's living functions. Even a spiritual life-form couldn't resist this power—they might avoid simply being destroyed by it, but they'd still suffer from the resulting out-of-control energy. Veldora, sensing this intuitively, chose to avoid it. He had Analyze and Assess to thank for that, part of his ultimate skill Faust, Lord of Investigation, and that was why he was so confident as he explained matters to his sister.
"Huh… You've seen through it then. You truly have grown up. I'm glad."
Veldora's response made Velgrynd feel more and more threatened. The dragon in front of her wasn't just a rampaging fool of a brother, but someone who deserved careful assessment. He had accurately figured out her skills, and that meant he had an ultimate skill of his own. A typical attack from a True Dragon packed the power of an ultimate in itself, but when combined with such a skill, the danger jumped astronomically higher.
But it truly gladdened Velgrynd. She rejoiced at the growth of her formerly inadequate younger brother. But at the same time, she was alarmed. Veldora had grown to the point that he threatened her, and that could make Ludora's
plan fall apart entirely. If this went unaddressed, they'd not only lose control of him—they might even be defeated themselves. This level of growth was not at all what she anticipated.
But as Velgrynd grew more alarmed, Veldora took the initiative.
"Pondering over something mid-battle, my sister? I'd call that letting your guard down!"
He unleashed the skill Thunderstorm Roar, a finisher move of his that multiplied the force of his storm magic. It landed a direct hit on Velgrynd, but she brushed it off without taking damage.
"I see. You really have achieved an ultimate skill, haven't you? You have my sincere congratulations, Veldora!"
"You're as formidable as ever, my sister. You caught that attack on purpose so you could analyze it."
"Well, what do you want? I needed to measure how threatening your powers are."
"Has my ultimate skill Faust passed your test, then?"
"It's analytical in nature, isn't it? It doesn't seem to add power to your attacks, but it does wonders for your accuracy. Faust played a major role in you gaining control over your magic, didn't it?"
"Kwah-ha-ha-ha! That's right. I already outclass you in magicule force; I don't need even more power than that. As long as I can hit you with it, that's all that matters."
Velgrynd smiled at the reply. "You're wiser than I thought. Yes, you certainly have something I don't. That's why I want to add you to our ranks. You'd be a decisive card in our hand."
"Ngh… Having my sister praise me makes my spine tingle a bit…"
Despite the lighthearted remark, Veldora had noticed the change in Velgrynd's mood.
"Hee-hee! Well, I'll have to reward you for that performance. Let's show you how I really fight!"
"Um, no thanks—"
"Allow me to tap the full power of my ultimate skill—Raguel, Lord of Relief. Prepare yourself!"
Veldora's fervent request did not reach Velgrynd's ears. It'd be unthinkable to taste defeat because you didn't make full use of your skills. Even after that fierce exchange, neither side had sustained much damage. That was why Velgrynd decided to break out everything she had against Veldora—while being sure, of course, she didn't kill him.
A vast assortment of magic circles appeared around her, the work of several partially summoned replications.
"Take this!"
Eleven rays of light—each one the work of the skill Nuclear Cannon—shot toward Veldora. After a moment's consideration, he decided to neutralize them all with Magic Barrier. There were too many rays to dodge—and thanks to dismissing them as mere magic attacks, he had lost precious time. He sensed the danger these cannon shots posed for him, and so he put up the barrier.
"Yeow!"
Veldora felt a searing pain. He had failed to neutralize the attack.
"Oh, you really are smarter now, aren't you? I'm a little impressed that you only took that much damage."
"Nnngh… I didn't realize you were putting your ultimate skill into your magic as well… If I took a full hit, I wouldn't be alive."
"I was intending to end it just now. You should be proud of yourself."
"Kwah-ha-ha-ha… I appreciate that, but I'll save being proud about this for after I defeat you!"
In return, Veldora launched the storm magic Ruinous Tempest. It, along with the ultimate skill added to its effects (a trick he borrowed from Velgrynd), successfully sent Velgrynd flying.
"Kwah-ha-ha-ha! What do you think, my sister? If you learned your lesson from that, we can call it quits now…"
"Don't give me that! I think you've just made me angry."
"What? N-no, um…"
Velgrynd snapped. Playtime was over for her. The moment she realized his attack damaged her, she threw all calmness out the window. Her pride as his sister was now at stake—and she intended to win it back with her next attack.
Ten heads appeared around her, and eleven fiery flumes of breath shot toward Veldora. At the same time, she teleported herself, taking position above Veldora. Her foe, avoiding the multi-pronged attack, found himself vulnerable as he looked up at her, sizing her up. He was impressed by how she moved— but, sensing that Velgrynd was now fighting him with all earnestness, he internally rejoiced a bit.
Kwah-ha-ha-ha! I was no match for you before, but behold how I fight now! I suppose I have Rimuru's training to thank for that, but what a glorious day!
He didn't mind taking a moment to wallow in the joy, but he also knew he was still in danger. He pondered how to escape. Velgrynd, on the other hand, was glad to catch Veldora within what she saw was deadly range. She was sure he'd find no escape from her now.
"Let's end this, Veldora. You never could escape my full glory!"
With this declaration, Velgrynd rained down scorching hot breath from above —the work of the skill Burning Breath. It poured down incessantly, becoming a pillar of flame connecting heaven and earth. From the outside, it would have looked like a cage of flame.
Veldora danced around in a frenzy, growing increasingly intense. He wasn't playing around, either—he was anticipating and avoiding all the attacks. The attacks were coming fast and furious, but Veldora didn't feel it was impossible to keep up with. Trusting his instincts, he propelled his enormous frame through the air—and thanks to that, despite being surrounded by this cage of flame, he survived without a single direct hit.
"Kwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! It'll never work if you can't hit me with it!"
Veldora shouted gleefully, borrowing a line from a manga he treated as holy scripture. Velgrynd, meanwhile, clicked her tongue in disgust. Failing to land a
single hit on him wasn't something she anticipated happening. There was no doubt that she underestimated him.
However:
This is where my attack truly begins!
Her absolute advantage remained intact. So she decided to reveal one of her hidden talents.
"I'm truly impressed that you've seen through my attacks so much. As a reward, I will give you a scorching response! Burning Embrace!!"
Taking position above Veldora proved significant. Below him was molten land, boiling with scorching lava from the fiery breath that Veldora evaded. Even the scattered droplets shooting up from below housed a terrifying amount of heat. What would further heat add to this scorching hell?
"Wh-whoa! What are you…?!"
Veldora realized her intention too late for it to matter. He had been caught in Velgrynd's trick from the beginning. Her excessive heat attack made the ground literally boil and evaporate. Lava vaporized under ultra-high temperatures enveloped the area around Veldora. This was Bloody Lava, small drops of force gifted with the full brunt of Velgrynd's authority, and it was pouring upward from down below.
With that, the cage of flame holding Veldora captive was complete.
The essence of Velgrynd's ultimate skill Raguel was "relief"—in other words, support. Its true purpose was to expand the effect of its target, and for someone like Velgrynd who valued the power of fast acceleration in her moves, it had vast synergistic effects.
But what would happen if Velgrynd applied such a power to the cage of flame right now? It would greatly increase the momentum of the target, amplifying the heat to the extreme. The Bloody Lava would go from two thousand degrees to several tens of thousands, vaporizing in the process.
Thus the scorching prison was created, but its true essence lay beyond that.
Velgrynd's support effect could be increased to any extent she wanted, without any upper limit. In other words, providing an appropriate level of support would have a beneficial effect, but overdoing it just caused unnecessary burden.
The negative effects of such excessive "support" boosts served to accelerate the exhaustion of the subject's physical strength. It was possible to increase the effect to the point that the heat generated by the target made them burn to ashes.
In other words, the ultimate skill Raguel gave her the power to manipulate all the energy of the world at will.
The red rain created a gentle film that embraced Veldora in its grasp. Anyone who finds themselves trapped in a Burning Embrace immediately signs their fate over to Velgrynd, and that applied equally as much to a True Dragon. Once captured in the cage, there was no escape.
So Velgrynd, convinced of her victory, was about to make her final declaration to Veldora—but then she stopped.
What's going on?!
She began to panic, an unusual thing for her. Sensing a presence behind her, she hurriedly turned around.
"Kwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! I said it earlier, didn't I? If it doesn't hit me, it doesn't matter!"
It was Veldora in human form, gloating over his victory. The high-pitched ring of his laugh battered Velgrynd's eardrums. Only then did she truly, sincerely recognize Veldora as a lethal threat.
Veldora might have been agitating her opponent as much as possible with his laughter, but that didn't mean he could just sit there.
Having his outfit burned made him angry, although now that he looked back on it calmly, he realized that there was a big difference in strength between him and his sister. He reasoned that he had little chance of winning a proper bout— and so, after a certain point, he focused entirely on defense.
This was the exact battle strategy Hinata preferred. She'd attack whenever
she saw an opening in her opponent, making sure not to take a lethal hit as she waited. Then she'd determine the most effective move to make, and when she was ready, she'd finish the fight.
When he fought Hinata previously, he noticed that she seemed to know all of his habits in battle. When they fought down at Floor 100, he could easily overpower her via brute strength—but after her journey through time, she beat him to a pulp in the form of the Hero Chronoa.
Well, no wonder. It was the first time she had ever fought me, but she knew all my moves and habits. I always thought that was strange!
Veldora saw it as cheating, yet he knew saying that would just make him look like a sore loser. The memory of Hinata's smug grin annoyed him greatly, but a loss was a loss.
The experience did teach him a lesson, though, as well as give him some insight into how to fight a superior opponent. Not only that, but as he trained against the demons, he learned how to add cunning to his strategy. Even if he couldn't win on his own merit, if his opponent got exhausted before he did, he could win anyway. That was how spiritual life-forms battled, and now Veldora had mastered it as well.
It granted him perspective that had not existed before. He observed Rimuru's lifestyle, and as he did he became interested in many things. He'd always had a natural curiosity, and now that he had broadened his horizons, Veldora was thinking in ways that he never had before. The resulting positive effects on him might've been what helped him grow as a person—and now the results were being demonstrated in battle against Velgrynd. He knew how not to lose now, and he was acting on it.
In the midst of that, Velgrynd unleashed her Burning Embrace. The ensuing cage of flame was meant to kill the moment it was complete—and once Velgrynd captured him, her victory was assured. Veldora was so desperate to avoid her Burning Breath that he couldn't see that it was a trap—but then Predict Danger, part of his ultimate skill Faust, did its job. He kept it constantly activated so nothing would ever catch him off guard, and just now it saved Veldora's life. It had given him a warning more ominous than anything he saw
before, so he knew something bad was going down. It dawned on him that continually running away from attack would spell his doom, which chilled him to the core…but even if he tried to address this threat, there was no way to if he didn't even grasp what it was.
Then came the Bloody Lava shooting up from below. Only then did Veldora realize Velgrynd's aim—but now things were getting harder to deal with. It was obviously nothing he could use Ruinous Tempest to blow away. The whole area was under the effect of Velgrynd's Dominate Space, so he couldn't use Spatial Transport to escape this.
Oh crap! he thought. But just then Investigate Truth—another aspect of Faust —came up with the optimal solution. As long as Velgrynd's will resided in the Bloody Lava, any contact with it was dangerous. It wouldn't be easy to evade this volcanic mist, but even if it was impossible in giant dragon form, a human body could perhaps manage it. It meant giving up nearly all defense, but it was at least conceivable that he could weave his way through this barrage that way.
But even so, it was still essentially a coin flip. If he timed it right, he'd be just fine…but fail once, and it'd be all over.
Veldora wasn't too sure about this, but just then, he realized that he was assured success after all. All it took was activating Control Probability, yet another Faust skill. Surprisingly, this skill made it possible to manipulate events in one's favor against opponents of the same rank or lower. It was a shock to Veldora, because in essence, this doubled the odds he'd succeed at this—and since this escape had a fifty-fifty chance of working, that just got doubled to 100 percent. It was in the bag.
He was still skeptical about it—it seemed just a little too convenient—but despite his trepidation, he returned to his human form and attempted to escape the cage. Then, in another moment, Veldora was out of danger.
Velgrynd stared at the grinning Veldora, feeling her composure drain. How had Veldora, whom she always saw as this younger, weaker, troublesome brother, grown so much over the years? She considered him a brute, a bull in a china shop, but she was wrong. He had mastered an ultimate ability to the
point of even rivaling her—and amazingly, he had just escaped from a situation that was absolutely irreversible.
She assumed she'd be teaching him a lesson or two today, but now she realized that her hubris had blinded her. She hated to admit it, but Veldora had achieved the same heights she had. Now she recognized him as an equal adversary, or maybe even better.
A calm analysis of the situation would reveal that Velgrynd was at a disadvantage. She had just broken out one of her greatest secret moves, and it had been defeated. All her smaller moves could be evaded, and it'd be difficult to inflict any sort of fatal wound. The only way forward was to wear Veldora down and rely on Ludora to invoke Regalia Dominion on him.
So she adopted a more cautious strategy.
"Oh? Could it be that you've recognized me as your equal now, my sister?"
Veldora, perhaps noticing Velgrynd's intentions, sassed her as he returned to his dragon form. Velgrynd found it kind of amusing, despite how aghast all this was making her.
Come to think of it, I've never really hung out with him…
It brought an unconscious smile to her face.
"Yes. You're right; I have. You're all grown up now, Veldora. So if you decide by your own free will that you want to defy me, I will no longer tolerate it."
Velgrynd seemed to declare it more to herself than Veldora. Sensing his sister's mood, he also felt a powerful sense of danger. But there was no backing down now.
"Kwah-ha-ha-ha! Then I, too, will do my utmost to fight you!"
Veldora never used his ultimate skill much before. Now he was getting used to it. He was having a tough battle against his sister, but with this power, he felt he had a fighting chance. So he decided it was his turn to act. He couldn't tap Parallel Existence the way Velgrynd could, but Veldora had a surefire killer move of his own ready.
The name of the skill, which he had told only Rimuru about, was Storm Blast.
He'd developed it with the support of Rimuru, who gave him lots of praise for mastering it.
It even impressed Rimuru. How could it not work on my sister?!
Veldora liked his chances. As far as he knew, there was no one as cunning and tricky in the world as Rimuru. He was always glad to be friends, and not foes, with him; his praise was a ringing endorsement. So he unleashed the Storm Blast without hesitation.
A Thunderstorm Roar emerged from Veldora's mouth. Its fury tore through the air, sending invisible rays of light in all directions. Velgrynd only paid attention to attacks that posed serious danger to her; she immediately assumed that these crisscrossing rays wouldn't affect her at all. But that was precisely the trap.
When multiple types of these seemingly meaningless waves intersect, they generate untold destructive power. Much like sonic weapons, they don't pose a threat on their own…but by the time the target takes notice, it is too late.
Velgrynd was no exception to this, totally missing the Storm Blast. It was only through the painful damage that cut through her entire body that she realized how badly she fell for Veldora's tricks.
"Nngh…?! I'm in pain? What did you just do, Veldora?!"
"Kwaaaah-ha-ha-ha! It's a special technique I've developed. I call it Storm Blast, and I'm quite proud of it!"
Veldora had the smuggest expression in the world. His plan succeeded with flying colors, and he couldn't have been more overjoyed. This wasn't a fatal blow, he knew, but he had never enjoyed such an advantage over his sister. Hence why Veldora felt he deserved to brag a little.
But:
"You really are an idiot, aren't you? You still have much room for improvement."
Now Veldora was in agony from intense pain like nothing he had experienced —and Velgrynd was the one gloating.
The moment Velgrynd recognized Veldora as an equal, she abandoned the entire battle. There was no meaning in the outcome of this, she thought, and so she focused just on completing her mission. That was why she had surreptitiously brought the emperor's flagship closer to Veldora in a way that he wouldn't notice.
Lieutenant Kondo was on board, and he was fully prepared. As telepathically instructed by Velgrynd, Kondo unleashed his most powerful technique against Veldora.
It was a blow that would destroy even gods—a Judgment Bullet, a type Kondo could fire only once per day. Birthed by his ultimate skill Sandalphon, Lord of Judgment, it was the pinnacle of ammunition, propelled to even loftier heights by Kondo's God-class Nambu semiautomatic handgun. Nothing could outclass it, not even his own Necrosis Bullets, and as far as Kondo knew, nobody could survive being shot by it. It could even decimate Velgrynd's replications, damaging her gravely in the process.
Everything had gone exactly as Velgrynd had calculated. The bullet was fired close to the speed of light, penetrating every type of defensive barrier as it reached its target. Veldora, caught off guard, couldn't address it in time.
So it pierced him—and thanks to that, his very existence was now threatened. At first, he was confused.
My sister turned to someone else for help?!
He had been elated, riding high and about to beat his sister—but instead, he fell for her trick. Most of all, however, Veldora was surprised his prideful sister had simply abandoned the competition with him. He knew she gave priority to her own conditions of victory, yet nonetheless, it felt very unlike her to do so.
That seemed important, but he had more pressing things to worry about in that moment.
Oh no! That man… He must be the one Rimuru told me to watch out for. But he immobilized me with a single blow?!
Alarms were ringing in Veldora's brain with full force. As a spiritual life-form, it was highly abnormal for him to feel pain and suffering. The all-powerful True
Dragon was on the verge of a life-threatening crisis, an unbelievable fact that even made Veldora fall into panic. If it had been a full-frontal attack, he might have weathered it, even if it was impossible to evade. But now that he had been completely taken by surprise, there was nothing even he could do.
Ow… I'm in trouble, aren't I? Best to admit defeat this time and get back at her next time. Kwah-ha-ha-ha! Let's just contact Rimuru and…
Despite all this, Veldora was relaxed. He knew that he and Rimuru were connected through a soul corridor, which would allow him to be revived at any time. As long as Rimuru remained alive, Veldora was immortal. There was no need for alarm.
But things quickly began to take a turn for the worse.
"Regalia Dominion."
Veldora was so focused on Kondo that he failed to notice the other man on the airship's deck, dressed in luxurious robes.
…Masayuki? No… Huh?! Wait a minute! What is this? This… This isn't good at all!!
By the time he realized it, it was too late. Veldora's spirit was about to be taken over by this man—Emperor Ludora.
Pounded by the Judgment Bullet, Veldora was in dire straits. But even now, there was something that he refused to abide by.
…I hope this is only me…but if this is allowed to pass, even my ally Rimuru could be harmed. I can't allow that to happen…no matter what!
Ludora's control over him was stronger than he had imagined. If he got stuck here, unable to do anything, it could even affect Rimuru through their soul corridor. That, Veldora thought, could never be allowed to happen.
So he cut the soul corridor by his own will.
"Good… Good. It's up to you now, Rimuru…"
With those words, Veldora's consciousness fell into darkness.