The armies of
And they mowed down everything that stood in their way, surging toward the Holy Capital with unstoppable momentum.
The Holy Capital was protected by a triple barrier system.
First was the Large-scale Anti-magic Barrier that cut across the border line.
This barrier served to impede the accumulation of Magicules and prevent the spawning of monsters. However, it was far from omnipotent—occasionally, monsters would spawn or infiltrate through gaps in the barrier. That was the reality of the situation.
To counter this, the Anti-demon Infiltration Prevention Barrier was installed to protect the living areas surrounding the Holy Capital.
As its name implied, its purpose was to prevent monster infiltration.
It possessed powerful Magicule-blocking capabilities, but it only affected monsters below a certain threshold. It was specifically designed so as not to affect the true masters—the Vampire race.
Its sole purpose was to protect the Holy Capital's citizens from wild monsters.
Holy Knights typically patrolled the area between the first and second barriers. And plugging gaps they found in the barriers was part of their duties.
This was the commonly known double barrier system that protected the Holy Papal State of Lubelius. But there existed a third barrier known only to the upper echelons of the Holy Capital.
That was the Exorcism Holy Purification Barrier.
For ages it had stood as the highest-level protective barrier, guarding the sacred Holy Capital throughout the long centuries.
It was the complete version of the Holy Purification Barrier—it attacked any monster not registered with an identification code.
Its range encompassed the entire area within the Holy Capital's walls. For a barrier of this caliber, it was the largest in scale, though it presumably couldn't cover the entirety of the living district.
Even so, it was the mightiest defense befitting the protection of a sacred city.
The Teleportation Gates were positioned outside the Exorcism Holy Purification Barrier but inside the Anti-demon Infiltration Prevention Barrier. The reason was that Luminous did not want subordinates of other Demon Lords freely roaming within the Holy Capital, even if alliances had been formed.
This was only natural—setting individual identification codes for every person was troublesome, and there was no guarantee that hostilities wouldn't resume.
For that reason, the Exorcism Holy Purification Barrier applied to all monsters other than Luminous's subordinates.
This included even
Therefore, upon exiting the Teleportation Gates, Shion's Royal Guard assembled outside the living district without ever setting foot inside the Holy Capital.
The battlefield would be positioned beyond the Anti-demon Infiltration Prevention Barrier.
That had been the decision reached at the previous night's meeting.
Since angel armies could neutralize barriers—or rather, anti-magic barriers were meaningless against angels, beings of holy attribute—it was Shion's forces who should lead the monster armies against Dagruel.
Ironically, Adalman's Undead Legion, which was evil incarnate, was unaffected by the barriers thanks to Holy-Demonic Reversal.
However, allowing the Undead to roam freely within the Holy Capital would be problematic, which was one of the reasons Adalman had been assigned to the interception battle as well.
Tempest would hold Dagruel in check, while Luminous's forces would suppress the angels.
That was the basic strategy.
The fact that Dagruel's armies had easily destroyed the Large-scale Anti-magic Barrier strung along the border was immediately detected and relayed to the entire army.
Shion had finished positioning her Royal Guard. Preparations were complete.
At the front stood the Undead Legion summoned by Adalman, arrayed in flawless formation.
The core force consisted of 2,000 Death Spirit Knights.
The remaining breakdown was as follows:
An overwhelming total.
These were the corpses collected from the Great Forest of Jura, assembled and brought to life by Adalman.
They normally wandered the various floors of the labyrinth, but this time they had been deployed in their entirety.
The 100,000 Carrion Soldiers were monsters hastily prepared for this occasion. The vast majority were the remains of Imperial soldiers.
When assigned within the labyrinth, the rotting flesh would be cleanly stripped away and they would be reduced to Skeleton Soldiers.
Some among them might have been adventurers who died without purchasing a bracelet, but such cases were rare.
Corpses without souls had been gathered and prepared for this great war, and there were certainly no shortage of numbers.
If they survived this battle, there was a possibility they could evolve into relatively powerful high-tier entities, so they had been granted permission to participate as support.
Thanks to that, the total force numbered just under 150,000.
Under Adalman's command, they received stat-boosting effects. Furthermore, thanks to Holy-Demonic Reversal, they were unaffected by the barrier's Magicule-blocking effects.
Unlike within the labyrinth, they could not be revived if destroyed. But the fact that they could not be purified by Death Purification: Turn Undead was a significant advantage.
The Undead, having become holy beings, had become terrifying entities for whom even holy magic was ineffective.
Since they couldn't be killed by normal attacks, the only way to stop them was to destroy them entirely.
And then there was Shion's Royal Guard.
The Dread Knights, 10,000 strong.
Like the Death Spirit Knights, they had achieved strength equivalent to the "A-" rank. After the previous battle against the Empire, they had grown even more powerful.
The true main force of this battle would be Shion's Royal Guard.
The only problem was that among the Royal Guard's officers were the sons of their enemy—the Demon Lord Dagruel.
Shion believed that as long as their master Rimuru hadn't betrayed them, there would be no betrayal from his sons.
But whether they could fight without turning traitor was another matter entirely.
"Hey, you three. Your enemy is your own family—can you still fight?"
Shion called the three brothers over and asked bluntly.
The three sons responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world: "Obviously, sis! Whether it's Dad or Uncle, we'll beat 'em to a pulp!"
"Yeah! We'll show 'em what we're really made of!"
"Fweh-heh-heh-heh! My tummy's growling, y'know!"
His tummy's growling...?
For a moment, Shion wondered what on earth he was talking about, but she gracefully ignored it.
Well, he was on the chubby side, so growling was to be expected. But that was certainly not a sign of fighting spirit, in Shion's opinion.
But she couldn't be bothered to nitpick every little thing.
If they said they'd be fine, then they probably would be. The real problem was the uncle, apparently.
"Does Dagruel have a brother?"
"Yep! Apparently there are two.
One serves as Dad's vice commander, but I've never seen the other one."
"Apparently, he's some kind of insanely sharp character, and he's been sealed away because he's too dangerous?"
"Well, just leave it to us, and we'll handle it easy!"
When the youngest, Debra, said that, Shion felt a twinge of unease.
But well, they had grown to be at least as strong as the former Demon Lords—they were precious subordinates after all. She decided to trust them, successfully suppressing her own doubts.
Then Adalman approached her with a sigh.
"But to think that the warrior-like Dagruel would betray us... It's quite hard to believe."
When setting up the teleportation magic circles, Dagruel had been cooperative. And with his noble character, he and Adalman had gotten along well.
That was precisely why Adalman found it even harder to believe.
"Well, he apparently knew someone who called themselves Velda, so maybe there were some ties there," Shion concluded.
Regardless of what had happened, now that they were enemies, there could be no mercy.
Above all, she could not forgive someone who had spouted nonsense about the person calling themselves Velda having destroyed her beloved master Rimuru.
If such a person chose to side with that enemy, it was no different from begging Shion for death.
If this were the Shion of not long ago, she would have charged in alone.
"Heh. When I think about it, I really have mellowed."
Shion was satisfied with her own emotional growth and allowed a smile to cross her face.
"Eh? Lady Shion isn't fat at all!"
Debra exclaimed in surprise, so Shion drove her fist into his stomach—a corkscrew punch.
"You idiot—I'll kill you!!"
she spat at the Third Son as he crumpled to the ground.
Debra was the kind of person who spread sideways no matter how much he ate, with none of the nutrients ever reaching his brain.
The biggest fool among the three brothers.
"A-a reward, y'know—"
He fainted with a blissful grin on his face for some reason.
And the two older brothers watched with envy. They were just as much of fools.
Shion felt an illusion of cold sweat trickling down her spine. What terrifying creatures, she thought.
She was gradually no longer needing to hold back. In terms of durability alone, he was unquestionably the strongest of the three.
There really were some truly terrifying people in this world—in every sense of the word.
Having come to this realization, Shion shifted her focus and glared at Dagruel's forces spread out before her.
She lightly scanned the armies with Magic Detection.
She could sense several large Magicule signatures. But only a handful truly warranted caution. With Shion's current power, there were no enemies she particularly needed to worry about.
But that was only assuming Magic Detection was accurate.
At the very least, Demon Lord Dagruel was said to be a martial type who had once gone toe-to-toe with Veldora. Among those Shion had detected, she couldn't sense power of that magnitude.
In other words, either he hadn't arrived yet, or he was capable of completely concealing his presence.
Come to think of it...
Shion suddenly recalled something. Veldora and Dagruel had once discussed training to suppress their Demon Aura, or something along those lines.
(No, that can't be. It shouldn't be something you can learn that easily... I want to believe that, anyway.)
But considering the growth speed and ridiculous tenacity of his sons, it actually seemed plausible.
Well, if it comes to that, then so be it—Shion resigned herself to that possibility.
Dagruel's armies revealed themselves in full.
The Chain-bound Giant Legion: 100,000 strong.
In terms of numbers, Shion's side had the advantage. But in terms of quality, they were significantly outclassed.
Giant Ogres, Cyclopes, Hecatoncheirs, and other behemoths—along with Titans.
Various races of giants advanced in massive swarms.
In Shion's honest assessment, no matter how many bones she had, it wouldn't mean a thing. That was how the situation appeared.
"My, my. How spectacular. This might be a bit tough for my poor little skeletons."
"A bit, huh?"
"...Well, perhaps more than a bit. But I'm sure we'll manage."
"Oh? Do you have some sort of plan?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a plan, but Alberto's command is quite impressive.
Also, take a closer look.
Even the Skeleton Soldiers are fully equipped."
At his words, Shion noticed.
Needless to say, the Death Spirit Knights were well armed, but even the Skeleton Soldiers were outfitted with leather armor.
These were the finest products from the Dwarven Workshop, bearing the mark of the Monster Nation.
The Skeleton Knights, remarkably, were equipped with Simple Full Plate Armor.
It had been crafted from
The Carrion Soldiers, as expected, were outfitted with cheap makeshift gear...
"Hey... Isn't that a bit much? Where did you get all that Magisteel?"
"Oh, it's quite simple, really. Melting down the cheap equipment adventurers were wearing, sourcing iron ore through Arnaud—various methods.
Oh, and the Imperial soldiers from before were quite a pleasant surprise! Many of them had excellent equipment on them!
But the real jackpot, of course, was the Iron Golems."
As Adalman explained in his cheerful manner, Shion was satisfied.
He hadn't just been idling around inside the labyrinth—he'd been steadily gathering materials as well.
Among the golem-type monsters that spawned occasionally, Iron Golems were particularly rich in iron content. Defeating such monsters and storing their remains in the labyrinth resulted in quality Magisteel over time.
They could use the Iron Golems for combat training while simultaneously collecting materials. Truly a two-for-one deal.
At this rate, the other Floor Guardians were probably also engaged in some form of revenue generation.
(Wait—could they be making more money than me!?)
As a former monster, Shion hadn't been particularly fixated on money. But recently, equipping her subordinates had proven quite challenging.
Originally, Shion had been indifferent to such matters. Only recently had she started paying attention. The thought that others might be earning more than her was almost humiliating, and Shion didn't exactly carry large sums around.
The Monster Nation's workshop prioritized the Second Legion led by Geld.
While equipment had recently reached everyone, the sheer numbers meant maintenance was demanding. Since they were made of Magisteel, most damage self-repaired, but they were still the heaviest consumers of resources.
Next came the adventurer trade goods.
This was, in a sense, national policy aimed at earning foreign currency, so Shion couldn't exactly cut in line.
As things stood, she'd been reserving her free time and slowly having equipment delivered to her.
Naturally, for free.
She'd been receiving the practice pieces that craftsmen had made as discard work.
Until now, she hadn't minded. But when even basic Skeleton Soldiers were being equipped with magical armaments, it was no longer amusing.
Before the Empire's invasion, Rimuru had provided her with a full set of armor—a beautiful suit of full plate armor in uniform deep purple.
However, that had only been distributed to the Shinkushuu and the officers. The recently recruited newcomers hadn't received them. For those, she'd been given existing equipment with only the color unified.
With no other choice, she'd been planning to petition Rimuru again for new equipment...
But seeing that the newly arrived Adalman had procured his own equipment without relying on Rimuru, Shion reconsidered her approach.
It seemed she'd been relying on Lord Rimuru far too much.
(I'll show them! When it comes to equipment, we can procure our own!)
Shion was suddenly filled with determination.
After all, the giants before them wore armor that was equally massive. It was an unlimited supply of materials.
"You heard what I said. I won't say much more. But you understand what needs to be done, right?"
"UWOOOOOH!! WE'LL SOURCE OUR OWN EQUIPMENT!!"
Shion's words ignited the fighting spirit of her Royal Guard.
She nodded with visible satisfaction.
Beside her, Adalman shrank back slightly, though she naturally didn't notice.
From Adalman's perspective, drawing on his former human knowledge, he'd been subtly greasing the palms of various craftsmen to arrange equipment.
Unlike Shion, who demanded it be done for free—he couldn't afford to make such outrageous demands. That was precisely why he'd been able to arrange things so efficiently...
(This is bad. I think it would be best to keep quiet around Lady Shion.)
Yesterday had been its own ordeal—someone had appeared claiming Rimuru was dead, and it had taken considerable effort to calm Shion down.
She'd been desperately reassured that Lord Rimuru couldn't possibly be destroyed so easily, and since his blessing hadn't vanished, at worst he'd merely been sealed away somewhere.
But— "Sealed!? Then we need to go rescue him right away!"
When Shion had started saying something so unreasonable, he'd replied: "As it happens, one of the enemy commanders is approaching right now!
If it's someone called Dagruel, he must know the details!"
That had successfully redirected Shion's anger toward the enemy.
Today, with the equipment issue, he'd nearly had the Skeleton Soldiers' armaments confiscated. He broke into a cold sweat at the memory.
Well, even Adalman had to admit it was somewhat odd that Skeleton Soldiers—far more expendable than Shion's Royal Guard—had better equipment. He couldn't exactly argue the point.
He'd managed to talk his way out of it and heaved a sigh of relief.
The mouth is the source of all trouble. He thought it would be dangerous to say anything else unnecessary that might attract Shion's attention.
So, to redirect her focus toward the enemy: "Then, Lady Shion. Would it be permissible for me to launch the first strike?"
He inquired.
He was worried that if he acted on his own, he'd face complaints afterward.
If Shion chose to strike first, he would only play a supporting role. Once the armies clashed, he wouldn't be able to use his great magic without catching allies in the blast.
So he wanted to strike now if possible—but it was up to Shion.
"Very well. Permission granted. Go wild to your heart's content!"
Shion gave her approval, in high spirits now that she'd found a way to procure equipment.
Her cold eyes already had the gaze of a Predator stalking its prey. The giant army was nothing more than food in Shion's eyes.
Adalman accepted this with a nod and said: "Thank you. Then!"
He bowed to Shion and departed.
Shion watched him go and smiled faintly.
Death to those who dared mock the great Demon Lord Rimuru!
And if by some chance Lord Rimuru was sealed away, she would rescue him herself.
That was what she thought.
On top of that, it seemed she could replace her Royal Guard's equipment as well, and the giants made for perfect opponents to vent on. She was satisfied.
But within her mind, cold calculations were underway.
They had the numerical advantage but were outmatched in quality. This battle absolutely could not be taken lightly.
In the worst-case scenario, even if she lost her entire army, she believed it was necessary to destroy Dagruel.
Heaven and Earth.
With both fronts being executed simultaneously, if one fell, the defenses would crumble.
Under no circumstances could this position be breached.
Even as she exchanged foolish banter with Adalman, Shion engraved that fact into her heart.
She glanced at Dagruel's three sons—Dagla, Ryura, and Debra—and continued her deliberations.
Just how powerful was Dagruel?
Dagruel was said to have two brothers as well, and their strength was an unknown quantity.
He was an enemy that could never be underestimated.
But even so, the victor would be me!
And still, Shion smiled fearlessly.
That smile gave courage and strength to her allies.
The battle would begin soon.
What's Eve even doing out there...
Sometimes she thought about wanting a system where you could get married for just one day, or married for just three hours, or something like that. Then again, sometimes she didn't.