The information had not yet reached the Empire.
But that was probably a blessing for its citizens.
The news that the Imperial Army's soldiers — their beloved families — had been slaughtered without recourse in their invasion of the Monster Country had not arrived.
A force of nearly a million had marched to war. No one could conceive of defeat.
They all believed, without a shred of doubt, that the army would achieve the Empire's long-cherished dream of conquering the west and establishing a unified state under the Emperor.
The Great Forest of Jura had been a source of unease, but with the Evil Dragon Veldora weakened, there should have have been nothing left to fear.
Under the reign of His Great Majesty the Emperor, the strongest Imperial Army had finally launched its invasion.
That was the general sentiment among the populace. Not a single soul anticipated anything resembling a hard-fought battle, let alone defeat.
Not one person could have imagined that the entire army — every last soldier — would be annihilated within the Great Forest of Jura, never reaching the western nations.
Yukki received the report and let out a bitter smile.
He had been counting on the nearly one-million-strong force to deal with Demon Lord Rimuru, but... the result was total annihilation. Literally — every soldier killed to the last.
The ideal outcome would have been to eliminate Demon Lord Rimuru while also dealing a major blow to the Imperial Army.
The next best scenario would have been inflicting damage on Rimuru while the Imperial Army also took heavy losses.
Even a draw would have bought him time, so the plan would still have been on track.
Before the battered Imperial Army returned, he would finish his coup, absorb the returning Armored Division, and cement an unshakable regime.
He would buy time until Rimuru recovered from whatever damage he sustained, and then seize control of the Empire.
But when all was said and done, Rimuru had emerged virtually unscathed while the Imperial Army had been utterly trampled.
He hadn't lost his own forces, but all the schemes he'd been harboring — plans to use those forces as his own pawns — had gone completely up in smoke.
An unforeseen development, to say the least.
But what was truly astonishing was the degree to which Demon Lord Rimuru's power had grown.
"I can't believe... he annihilated that massive army without breaking a sweat."
"It's unbelievable, isn't it? That force should have been able to go toe-to-toe with even three Demon Lords combined..."
"No, you have to understand — compared to the Ten Great Demon Lords from your era, the current Eight Star Demon Lords operate on an entirely different scale. Leon had been hiding tremendous individual strength all along, and he possesses a force known as the Magical Knight Corps. Even Milim, who was famous for having no subordinates, now has
"...I suppose so."
Indeed, the situation was different from when she had been a Demon Lord herself.
Among the Demon Lords who had been depleted by their war against the Angels, Lumina and Dagruel had still boasted enormous forces.
But the newer Demon Lords — aside from them — had assembled decent contingents of subordinates, though they were all at the level of desperately fighting for their own survival.
That applied equally to Kagali — the "Curse Lord" Kazalim.
More importantly, even if you increased your numbers and assembled a large force, it was meaningless. That much was obvious from
Against anyone who had crossed a certain threshold of power, armies were completely worthless.
One thing he did find puzzling was that the Armored Division should have included fighters of considerable strength, yet even they had apparently been unable to put up a fight.
Demon Lord Rimuru himself hadn't moved. His monster subordinates had annihilated the Imperial Army alone.
According to Miranda — who had been giving the briefing with an exhausted expression until just moments ago — beings at the level of the fearsome Demon Lord class had even joined Rimuru's ranks.
The Supreme Being of the Demon Race, a king of the highest order bound by nothing and no one, pledging allegiance to a single Demon Lord — that was beyond even Kagali's imagination.
She had thought the only one who could make that happen was
"But you know, this is where things get interesting. Right now, the Empire's legions are engaged in a two-front operation, with Lumina's defeat also in their sights. The news of Caligurio's defeat hasn't reached them yet, and Gradius's Magical Beast Division is being transported north by 'skyships.' The capital's defenses are being handled by a mixed legion. In other words, with my will alone, I essentially have the Empire's heart in my grasp. If we don't have to worry about the Armored Division returning, we can launch military action freely."
"That means... you intend to slit the Emperor's throat in his sleep?"
"Yep. That's exactly right! A coup d'état."
At those words, a sinister smile crept across Kagali's face.
Bringing chaos to the world was her desire, and she believed any means to achieve it was justified.
Yukki's predictions had been off the mark, but that didn't mean they were at a disadvantage. If anything, this was the perfect opportunity to seize control of the Empire.
A plan must account for failure and still have contingencies in place. Yukki understood that perfectly. Even if he stumbled, he'd never stay down.
"Understood. Then we'd better get started."
With that, Kagali rose from her seat.
It was going to get busy — the thought only deepened her smile. Her face was stained with a hunger for more blood and carnage, soaked in evil.
Yukki watched Kagali leave, his mind racing deeper into thought.
Rimuru's unexpected growth was a factor, but he'd set that aside for now.
Just moments ago, confirmation had arrived — the Imperial Army's defeat was certain. And the absurd, seemingly impossible expansion of Rimuru's forces had been verified as well.
If that was the case... he began predicting the situation that would follow.
That one would make a move.
Now that things had reached this stage, there was no way even the strongest being in the world would sit idle.
The annihilation of the Imperial Army wasn't a problem — if anything, it was convenient.
It didn't matter who dealt the killing blow to Demon Lord Rimuru.
"So, what will you do, Rimuru?... It'll be interesting to see how far you can resist. It'd be ideal if they took each other out... At the very least, if Guy finished off Rimuru, that would resolve one problem. And if Guy ended up wounded in the process, that would be perfect."
Yes.
Now that Rimuru had amassed such power, Guy Crimson would undoubtedly move.
The pieces were already in place to make that happen.
The plan was still proceeding smoothly, and with minor adjustments it could be carried out without issue.
Yukki glanced at Chloe, who stood silently without reacting to his words, and gave a small laugh.
Two orders left to give.
Three enemies remaining to be dealt with.
If two of them took care of each other, his wish could come true without committing his strongest forces.
It wasn't the original plan, but everything was proceeding smoothly.
Yukki continued to happily deepen his thoughts on the road ahead.
However, reading every thread of events to its conclusion was an extraordinarily difficult task.
Correcting gears that had gone haywire was no simple matter. The situation slipped from Yukki's control, heading in an unexpected direction.
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After finishing her report to Yukki, Miranda promptly began making preparations to leave the imperial capital.
As someone with official military status, being caught deserting would mean execution.
The very disguise she had worked so hard to obtain — her military identity — had become the thing that put her in this predicament.
The irony was almost too much — a carefully acquired身份 had turned into shackles.
As one of the "Three Giants" — the heads of a shadow organization — she had no shortage of places to flee.
Like the Free Guild, the dark organizations with roots in every nation always had agents from the "Three Giants" embedded within them.
Naturally, an organization existed in the imperial capital as well. Her plan was to lie low there and seize an opportunity to escape westward.
She had been on the verge of fully winning over Caligurio, and with just a bit more manipulation using her "womanly" charm, she would have seized control of the Armored Division.
She had heard Demon Lord Ramiris feared
The Demon Lord had been vanquished, and the western nations were to be subdued.
Then she would manipulate Caligurio, seize the heart of the Empire, and claim her promised glory.
She would have returned in triumph to a radiant future.
Instead, she was scrounging together her assets like a thief in the night, slinking away in disgrace...
It was the ultimate humiliation.
It was all Yukki's fault for misjudging Demon Lord Rimuru's true power, and Caligurio's incompetence.
Damrada seemed to fear Yukki, but Miranda only went along with it because she could use him.
However, since the "Three Giants" was an organization created by Yukki, he still had value as a tool.
Since her "womanly" charms didn't work on him, she had no choice but to obey his orders.
For now, priority was escape. She had received permission to flee when she finished her report.
Before getting lost in unnecessary thoughts, she needed to settle somewhere safe.
With that decided, Miranda stuffed her collected assets into a bag, and under cover of darkness, slipped out of her residence into the imperial capital's night.
The capital's darkness ran deep.
Thanks to the benefits of scientific civilization, streetlamps had replaced lanterns throughout the city, but they still didn't illuminate every district.
Though the capital was developing rapidly, banishing all shadows still lay far in the future.
Miranda moved silently through the capital's darkness.
Inferior to
Even though she'd been reduced to skulking away in the night, she saw no reason to feel anxious about it.
But that turned out to be a mistake.
Miranda hadn't been careless, but a man appeared directly in her path.
If Miranda had abandoned her treasures and fled the capital quickly, she might have escaped this encounter entirely.
But her pride as one of the "Three Giants" had cost her — she stood her ground and faced the man.
The man was Kondo Tatsuya.
A member of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, a man of unknown identity who knew the capital's darkness inside and out.
"Where do you think you're going in the middle of the night?"
"Oh my? If it isn't Lieutenant Kondo!"
Despite the sudden appearance and the question, Miranda showed not the slightest hint of panic and responded with composed elegance.
But she was not off guard — she scanned her surroundings for any sign of other presences, confirming whether Kondo had come alone.
There were no shadows, no presence. He had come alone. Convinced of this, she felt a flicker of relief inside.
Coming alone against her was practically asking to be killed.
The problem was that if word of her desertion reached headquarters, a pursuit team would be sent after her.
Even if she escaped to the west, being hunted by intelligence agents and living under constant threat of assassination was not a life she wanted.
Here and now, she needed to eliminate the one person who knew she was alive.
Perhaps
She concluded that the report of the Imperial Army's total annihilation had reached them, and that was why the capital's defenses were being strengthened.
Of all people to run into, it had to be the most troublesome man in the Intelligence Bureau — that stung. But there was no sign of reinforcements arriving.
If she killed Kondo here and now, slipping out of the capital would be easy.
In an instant, Miranda reached her decision.
She wasn't sure how Kondo saw her, but for her part, she was simply eliminating a threat.
In other words, she had resolved to kill him.
"You're Miranda,参谋 to Division Commander Caligurio, correct?"
Kondo asked with a dead-serious expression.
"Why, what a fright, Lieutenant Kondo! In truth, I've been carrying out a secret mission from Lord Caligurio and returned to the capital—"
As she replied, she drew closer, draping herself against Kondo's chest.
She employed every ounce of her "womanly" charm to ensnare the man.
Her method combined perfume-type sorcery with illusion-type charm magic, disrupting the target's thoughts while bending their will to her design.
Caligurio had fallen for this technique after she'd let him have his way with her several times, becoming so infatuated that he was completely under her control.
A man who could become a Division Commander was no match for her arts. A mere lieutenant would never be able to resist.
Miranda was certain. She slipped her arms around Kondo's back, pressed her full breasts against him, and waited for his guard to drop.
She felt Kondo's presence soften just slightly.
*Heh heh... I thought this one might be tough, but he's surprisingly easy*, she thought smugly.
*Fine — I might as well let him have me and make him my puppet—*
That was Miranda's last thought.
Without so much as changing his expression, Kondo tucked a small handgun back into his sleeve. He had shot her through the temple.
He had already extracted all the information he needed.
Through his Unique Skill, "Decoder," which read the thoughts and memories of anyone he made contact with.
Yukki's schemes. Miranda's objectives. The fact that no Imperial Army soldiers had survived.
Not a single second had been needed to extract all of that information.
And despite having read every last detail, his expression had not changed.
With nothing more than a vaguely annoyed look, he muttered:
"—A coup d'état. How foolish."
Then he glanced once at the corpse and departed.
Shortly after, agents from the Intelligence Bureau disposed of Miranda's body without leaving a trace.
The capital's night was deep, and every event was buried as though it had never happened.
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Guy let out a fearless laugh and rose to his feet.
He had just received a remarkable report.
He had sent Dino to investigate Demon Lord Rimuru's movements, and it had proven useful in an unexpected way.
Dino — so lethargic by nature — had done something rare and come to him saying:
"I got kicked out of Dagruel's place. I was hoping to stay with Rimuru... Would you mind writing me a letter of introduction?"
Guy had been genuinely surprised.
Dino moving of his own volition was something that hadn't happened in over a thousand years.
During the war against the Angels, he had fought alongside the troublesome Dino on several occasions, but outside of that, he had no memory of Dino doing anything proactive.
"If something comes up, I'll report it — cool?" — that was so like Dino's familiar, casual manner.
As the strongest being, Guy had no real need for a spy, but having Dino linger around would be troublesome.
Guy might tolerate him, but
She might even kill Dino outright.
After all, the only being Velzard had ever acknowledged was Leon.
Rather than lose one of his pawns — however marginal — Guy had quickly written and sent the letter of introduction.
And now Dino had sent back a report.
Several Demon Duke-class beings had been among Rimuru's subordinates. Approximately one million Imperial soldiers had been slaughtered to the last.
Clearly abnormal.
Guy had recognized the world as a game board on which he and Rudra were competing for dominance. But a singularity had emerged to upset that balance.
Humans belonged to Rudra. Monsters belonged to Guy. As for the
A singularity other than Veldora, the balance-breaker, had appeared.
Fortunately, this one was on Guy's side — a Demon Lord.
First Guy himself and Milim, and now a Demon Lord who presumably possessed the Ultimate Skill "Beast King of
He needed to bring Rimuru into his camp and make him a pawn, no matter what.
He had been content to wait and watch him grow, but that might no longer be necessary.
He had planned to leave him alone if Rudra crushed him, but the situation was not so simple.
If he cooperated, fine. If not, crush him.
Guy thought he should meet with Rimuru at least once, and with that decided, he began to move.
"My, you seem to be in high spirits?"
Velzard's voice came from behind him. Guy nodded and replied:
"Will you come along?"
Velzard turned her cold, eerily glowing deep-sea blue eyes toward Guy.
"Yes, I think I will. I haven't seen my 'little brother' in quite some time."
A cold smile crossed her lips.
That settled it.
With the casual ease of neighbors stepping out for a stroll, the two departed the "White Ice Palace" and soared into the sub-zero world of howling snow and ice.
The two sovereigns of destruction had taken flight, heading straight for the Monster Country.