Adalman stood atop the Death Dragon
Venti had risen high into the sky and assumed her true form—a malevolent dragon radiating a sinister Demon Aura.
Any human with weak resistance would keel over and die simply from being bathed in that aura. But for Adalman, it served to empower him instead.
He gave a single nod, deep in thought.
Since both sides were making irreconcilable demands, there was no point in delivering any pre-battle speeches.
With the
So he decided: he might as well launch a spectacular super-spell to signal the start of the war.
Adalman began chanting his incantation.
He could cast without chanting, but old habits made it ideal for focusing his mind, so he deliberately took his time with the long recitation.
However, for this particular spell, he felt it might be better to follow proper procedure rather than cast without chanting.
After all, he was selecting a spell he had never actually used before—one he'd only known about in theory during his lifetime, when he'd lacked the magical power to execute it.
As long as it was flashy, that was all that mattered. That was the kind of fellow he was.
Without any nervousness about casting a spell for the very first time, he surveyed the battlefield below and defined the spell's area of effect.
He didn't care whether it would actually work.
According to ancient texts, this was a super-spell that had required several Great Archmages working together to execute.
If it failed to activate, it would be embarrassing—but fortunately, there were no witnesses here. So if it came to that, he'd simply cast a different spell instead.
(Well now, this spell shall be the signal that opens the war. Do succeed, won't you?)
With that thought, Adalman activated the full spell-control effect of his Ultimate Gift: the "Grimoire of Demonic Arts."
Through the Analysis of Truth, Adalman's knowledge was corrected, and the True Words were engraved into his mind. Once a spell had been successfully cast, the second time only required selecting it for it to activate instantly.
(Ah, I see... That explains why no incantation is necessary.)
Filled with a pleasant sense of fulfillment, Adalman grasped the full extent of his abilities.
And then—
"Now then, savor this well—an ancient super-spell!"
"Meteor Barrage Storm!!"
—In that instant, from the super-sized spell circle that had suddenly materialized in the sky, a dazzlingly brilliant light rained down.
As beautiful as the miracle of a star-filled night... yet it was a fearsome light that heralded death and destruction.
A super-spell completed on a scale and with power far surpassing the great magic that ancient archmages had required several people to achieve—and it bore the name of the nation's symbol: Storm.
Its full effects had been realized in this world through the correction granted by the Ultimate Gift: the "Grimoire of Demonic Arts."
What the ancient mages had been able to summon were, at best, a handful of meteorites.
Even so, that grand magic had been a tactical-level spell of tremendous effectiveness as an anti-army enchantment... but the number of meteorites summoned by Adalman's spell exceeded one thousand.
A rain of meteorites, each fifty centimeters to one meter in diameter, poured from the heavens and scattered death across Dagruel's forces.
Even for the Giants, who boasted extraordinary regenerative powers, it meant nothing if they received damage beyond recovery. Limbs that tried to catch the incoming meteorites were blasted away, their heads shattered and crushed.
The Giant Clan, who had intended to trample everything with overwhelming force, were reduced to fleeing in panic—not even granted the mercy of escape.
The super-spell Adalman had unleashed exceeded even his own expectations.
With a single spell, a full thirty percent of Dagruel's soldiers had been rendered combat-ineffective.
"Look at that,
Even as he was surprised by results that exceeded his own projections, Adalman boastfully showed off to his companion Gadra as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The blessing of having a bony face was that no expression ever showed—it was impossible to tell when he was bluffing.
Being able to show off to his rival was the greatest joy of all.
For Gadra, who had been dragged along into this battle against his will, it was less than amusing, but the devastating power of that super-spell was undeniable.
As the newcomer, Master Gadra had been hoping to make a name for himself here.
After all, he'd been admitted into Demon Lord Rimuru's ranks after abandoning the Empire, and he hadn't been of any use whatsoever—that weighed on his conscience.
This battle was one for the supremacy of the world. If he couldn't be of some use here, it was entirely possible he would end his life without ever having contributed anything.
He'd provided consultation on various research projects, but that alone wasn't enough for Gadra to feel satisfied.
"Hmph. Step aside! I'll show you a true super-spell!
Though I'll need you to cooperate—I'm a bit short on magical power...
(And also, how did this fellow learn such a spell?! He was supposed to excel in Holy Magic and Necromancy... This kind of magic is supposed to be my specialty... I feel so lonely.)"
Harboring those unsettled feelings, Gadra began his incantation under Adalman's cooperation.
Receiving the aid of the Ultimate Gift "Grimoire of Demonic Arts," Master Gadra too came to understand the principles behind the spell.
(I see—this is truly remarkable! The only shame is that while I have magical power, my quantity of Magicules is insufficient...)
He lamented his inability to cast the spell on his own, but accepted the situation with resignation.
Through his repeated reincarnations, he boasted greater Magicules than any ordinary person—but compared to the upper echelons of the nation of monsters, he was negligible.
He felt the sting of having lost to Adalman, his former rival, but understood that showing off now would accomplish nothing.
So he selected and began chanting the most powerful spell within his knowledge.
A secret art of Dark Magic that even Adalman didn't know about.
What Adalman had used just now was likely one of the pinnacle arts of Summoning Magic. Since Adalman could use summoning techniques, it was hardly surprising that he had progressed from applications to the ultimate level.
If that was the case, then Gadra would present his own most proficient dark magic—the secret art of the supreme dark spell!
And then—
"You who suffer in eternal hunger—come forth! Abyssal Void Catastrophe!!"
The most powerful spell in Holy Magic was the ultimate anti-personnel, anti-object destruction spell known as "Spirit Particle Collapse." It was a famous tale.
It was equally famous that very few could use it, but its overwhelming power was beyond dispute.
It was said that no one could survive a direct hit. However, if it had a weakness, it was that it was single-target.
Its area of effect was extremely narrow. For such a high-power spell, that was inevitable, but it meant the spell was useless against armies.
It was precisely because he understood this limitation so well that Adalman had chosen the most powerful summoning-type spell—
—And what Gadra had selected was the counterpart to "Spirit Particle Collapse"—the most powerful wide-area annihilation spell in dark magic.
On the ground and in the sky, super-sized magic circles appeared.
And then, as if connecting heaven and earth, dark lightning discharged—countless balls of lightning were unleashed.
These were the dark fangs that devoured all matter.
A forbidden spell classified among the highest: a dark magic that generated nothingness itself in this world.
The nothingness released into this world would not dissipate until its Negative Existence Value had been reduced to zero.
It latched onto everything within the barrier of the magic circles linking sky and ground, erasing their very existence.
It was an ultimate spell that, if control were lost even once, could bring ruin to the world itself.
"Wahahahaha! How was that? Amazing, right?!"
"You idiot—! What were you thinking?! If I hadn't provided support, you would have absolutely lost control!"
"T-that's true, but I wanted to stand out too, you know!"
"'Too' isn't the word! Launching such a dangerous spell like that..."
Adalman was exasperated.
Indeed, if control had failed, it could have destroyed the world—so Gadra really couldn't make excuses.
He had been confident in his control, but if he'd lost consciousness due to insufficient Magicules, it would have been game over.
When he'd succeeded in his experiment with his previous Magicules, the best he could do was trap a handful of people in the barrier. It was only marginally better than a single-target spell.
That had been barely successful, and even if it had failed, the worst that would have happened was a village being destroyed.
That was because the energy invested was small. If a spell charged with as vast a quantity of Magicules as this one had gone berserk, it truly would have been a crisis for the world.
But that was only if it had failed.
"Oh, well. It succeeded, didn't it?"
Showing not a shred of self-reflection, Gadra truly lived up to his reputation as the Mad Genius—even in decline.
Remembering this, Adalman let out a sigh and gave up.
There was no point in arguing, and in any case, the spell had succeeded, so there was no problem.
Besides, with those two super-spells, they had succeeded in greatly reducing the enemy's forces.
Since the Giants were essentially masses of Magicules, they had survived despite their Negative Existence Values being counteracted.
But even so, compared to the initial numbers, their ranks had already been cut to less than half. Under normal circumstances, this was the point where an army would give up and retreat.
What would their choice be...?
With that thought, Adalman and Gadra watched the scene below with bated breath.
—The Giants, utterly indifferent to their fallen comrades, began their advance.
Those who had escaped instant death were restored by their extraordinary regenerative abilities as if nothing had happened at all—they didn't even show the slightest concern about their diminished numbers.
The sight was utterly eerie, enough to chill the hearts of anyone facing them.
But that was only if those facing them still had hearts susceptible to fear.
Watching the movements of Dagruel's forces, Adalman and Gadra were thoroughly unimpressed.
"My, my... Do those people feel no fear at all?"
"Not at all. Normally you'd think of countermeasures or pull back temporarily, wouldn't you?"
They exchanged glances and nodded in mutual agreement.
"Shall we head back then?"
"Indeed. We've spent quite a bit of magical power. Let's pull back for now.
Still, I'm glad my forces are an Army of the Undead that doesn't fear death.
A Giant unit that treats death as nothing... they're worse than mere suicide soldiers."
"Truly. But reducing their numbers here was a stroke of luck. Even at this count, they're a threat—if we'd clashed head-on without knowing what to expect, we would have lost."
"Numerical superiority wouldn't mean much anyway. Well then, let's return and report to
Adalman patted the head of the Death Dragon Venti and ordered her to return.
As he'd originally intended, he had successfully delivered a blow to the enemy through his grand-scale greeting spell. There was no need to linger.
He needed to return quickly and report the threat posed by Dagruel's forces.
What was truly fearsome was their unwavering resolve and their super-regeneration.
An Army of the Undead could reconstitute themselves, yes—but if they were shattered to pieces, even that wouldn't help.
The Giants, with their overwhelming destructive power, gave the impression they could overrun the Army of the Undead.
Well, if that was the case, so be it.
The strategy would be to focus on taking down individual Giants with as many numbers as possible—anything to reduce their numbers.
(First things first—return and confer.)
Adalman began contemplating the upcoming developments as he headed back to the base where Shion awaited.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The total force of the Chain-Link Titan Corps numbered approximately one hundred thousand.
Having lost nearly fifty thousand before the main armies even clashed must have been an unexpected blow for Dagruel as well.
But for him, it was hardly cause for concern.
Those who died in the current attack merely proved that they were not only unlucky but also lacked power.
The magic had been truly spectacular, without question.
But for a warrior, to be outdone by magic designed to target groups—that simply could not be allowed.
In truth, the core members of his true main force hadn't lost a single one, nor had they halted their advance.
The spells they'd witnessed moments ago had indeed been impressive.
They were most likely the work of that undead king named Adalman—the same one who had come to set up the teleportation circle. His skill was truly top-class.
And that mage who was apparently his friend seemed to be quite the clever one as well—the second spell could very well have been his doing.
Remarkable people, all of them. As enemies, they stirred his blood like nothing else.
The only regret was that magic could not defeat Dagruel.
A true Giant possessed the absolute ability known as "Magic Negation."
Absolute Magic Defense activated automatically, neutralizing all magic attacks.
As long as this ability existed, magic attacks could be ignored entirely.
That was precisely why anyone who died to such magic could be dismissed as incompetent.
A thought occurred to him.
His sons—Dagra, Ryura, and
Though they had ended up on the opposing side, what kind of battle would they show?
He had spoiled them while raising them, so while their raw power was immense, their actual skill was nothing impressive.
...Or perhaps Dino's true aim really was to cause Dagruel to retire and fall into corruption.
Perhaps he had foreseen this very situation.
—By making Dagruel fall and retire, could he break free from
Dagruel dismissed that thought as overthinking.
That genial friend of his was also under Veldanava's umbrella. No—they could never defy Veldanava's orders.
Rebelling against the Creator was absolutely impossible.
But his sons... they had been released from that Curse.
(So... I wished for my sons to live freely?)
Even so, if they stood before him as enemies, Dagruel would show no mercy.
(At least, I hope they've grown stronger. Strong enough to hold their own against me for a while, at least.)
Dagruel harbored no hesitation.
He would simply fulfill his mission.
Stubbornly, he was a warrior.
And now—the fury of the Giants raged across the battlefield.