Behind
Without any nervousness, Venom launched his attack on Arios without a care for the children.
His movements were as casual as a stroll, yet he charged forward like a projectile, defying gravity and inertia.
And in an instant, he reached maximum speed, not giving Arios any opening to assume a stance.
"Extinction Severing Strike!!"
The claws on both of Venom's hands turned pitch-black and extended long.
Then, while releasing waves of division, he closed in on Arios.
However—
"Too slow."
A sword had appeared in Arios's hand at some point.
The blade emitted a dazzling radiance and, at godlike speed, cut through Venom's claws.
As if it were the most natural result, Arios's expression didn't change.
He looked at Venom the way one would look at an insect.
That condescending attitude was what a supremely superior being would direct at an inferior one.
But his expression was twisted by an impossible turn of events.
"Ha ha! Bad luck — two of them stuck, huh?"
Venom grinned as he pointed it out.
Just as he'd noted, two of Venom's claws had pierced Arios's arm.
"You — that was your plan from the very beginning!?"
"Nope, not at all. I didn't think I could kill you with the first hit.
I'd have been happy if even one got through, though. Man,
I'm really on a roll today."
"You insolent fool — I'll show you no more mercy!"
"Idiot! Going all out from the start is the basics of combat!"
Despite Arios's fury, Venom remained cheerful as ever.
But despite his casual demeanor, there wasn't a single opening in his stance. His severed claws had already regenerated, and Venom's focus was entirely on Arios.
And rightfully so.
In that exchange, Venom had confirmed that Arios was overwhelmingly the stronger fighter.
(Hmph! I just couldn't perceive him within my monitoring range — that's all it was.
He's definitely stronger than me...
But he's not so fast that I can't track his movements at all.
Which means I was right — I couldn't detect him initially because of his ability.
He's certainly stronger, but it's not like it's impossible to win.
In that case, this works in my favor. I'll kill this guy and steal his power!)
As they fought, Venom's grin threatened to spill right off his face.
Beating only those beneath him would never grant him greater strength.
So he saw this as his chance — a chance to defeat someone superior and seize even greater power.
(I'm on a roll. Masayuki's here, and this guy is premium prey!)
If Arios had possessed truly transcendent power on par with the higher-ups among Rimuru's subordinates — someone of
But Venom had realized that wasn't the case.
As long as he could perceive Arios's movements, he just needed to prevent him from using his ability.
That was Venom's assessment: Arios was not an unreachably distant opponent.
Right now, thanks to Masayuki's ability, his luck was substantially amplified.
That effect extended to Venom as well, boosting his strength to levels unthinkable under normal circumstances.
Attacks that should have been impossible to dodge were somehow evaded, and strikes that had no chance of landing somehow found their mark.
The fact that two of his poison claws had pierced Arios was proof of that.
In this state of heightened luck, even a poison that shouldn't have worked might actually take effect.
If that was the case, there was no reason to hesitate.
Trusting in himself and in Masayuki, Venom charged headlong into battle against the overwhelmingly superior Arios.
Masayuki stood with his arms crossed, watching Venom's fight.
Honestly, it was less watching and more like he could only tell combat was happening from the occasional flashes of light.
It wasn't the kind of speed his eyes could follow — he was just putting on a show, pretending he could see.
(Really, there's nothing you can do about that kind of thing.)
He was already in the realm of enlightenment, so his fear had faded considerably.
So he left the fighting entirely to others and turned his thoughts to what came next.
For Masayuki, the most important thing was his own safety.
The children seemed eager to join the fight, staring intently at the battle between Venom and Arios.
Masayuki turned his gaze toward the children and considered.
(They're stronger than me, aren't they? If that's the case, I'd probably be safer staying with them...
Actually, why are they here?)
Only now did Masayuki think to question this.
When Masayuki arrived at the royal capital, the children had already saved Hinata from danger.
Masayuki had appeared at the perfect moment, but it certainly wasn't by design.
Venom's teleportation magic had brought him and his companions to this location at exactly that timing.
They hadn't been traveling together before that.
"Hey, Kenya! Why are you guys here?"
Only now did Masayuki think to ask Kenya.
His utterly natural demeanor made it seem as though battle was the furthest thing from his mind — or rather, he genuinely couldn't perceive the fight happening around him, though whether that counted as "not caring" was debatable — but he was oblivious to how he appeared to others.
What mattered to him were his own doubts and his self-preservation going forward.
He wanted to get out of this dangerous place as soon as possible, and for that, he needed some kind of reason.
"Oh, hey, big bro! So Alice, she—"
"Well, you see, with my Unique Skill 'Spatial Awareness,' I realized that something dangerous was happening to Hinata!"
"Alice started freaking out, so we thought we'd try to do something about it..."
"That's why we came here on our own to rescue Hinata."
"We've been trained by Master Hakuro and Master Agura, and we've gotten super strong!
We might even be able to beat you now, big bro!"
The children answered Masayuki's question one after another.
(What are they talking about... you guys have been stronger than me from the very beginning...)
Thinking that, Masayuki nodded in understanding.
"I see. I didn't expect you all to be here."
"We didn't expect you to come either, big bro."
"Yeah. But if you hadn't come, Hinata might have been killed... Thank you, big bro!"
"Huh!? Oh, well, yeah. I mean, with me here, there's nothing to worry about."
At the unexpected overestimation, Masayuki felt the sweat trickling down his spine increase in volume.
Setting that aside...
It seemed clear that the enemy's target was Hinata.
(Now what should I do? If Hinata is being targeted, standing near her puts me in danger too...)
He thought this, but the children had come specifically to protect Hinata.
Even if he wanted to flee via teleportation, Venom was in the middle of combat, making escape from this location difficult.
The enemy didn't seem to intend any harm to the town or its residents, but even a single stray attack could cause enormous damage.
Given all of this, Masayuki concluded that the safest place was right beside Hinata, where the children could protect them both.
"All right, then Hinata, stay by my side. If anything happens, I'll protect you."
He said this without hesitation, naturally positioning himself beside Hinata.
But that wasn't his only reason.
Above all, Masayuki had something he wanted to protect.
The warmth still lingering in his right hand — yes, the memory of the softness and warmth of Hinata's chest.
(There's no way I'm letting something this wonderful disappear!)
Masayuki's passionate resolve pushed the effect of his ability to its absolute maximum.
— Even though it was merely a Unique Skill, it reached a level where it could touch upon the very truths of this world.
As a result, in a space around Masayuki that could be called a "Fortune Zone," an immense blessing extended to all who sided with him.
"Hmm, that angel-lookalike really is beyond me... I can barely keep up with my eyes.
In comparison, your friend is incredible. The fact that she can even hold her own against that one...
She's truly remarkable..."
Hinata nodded at Masayuki's words.
Then she continued:
"Then let us do what we can as well.
We should be able to help at least with evacuating people from this area.
Nicolaus, we shall deploy a defensive barrier here!
We'll contain the aftermath of that battle and become a shield for the people!"
She called out with fierce determination.
Hinata, true to her convictions, set about doing what she could right now.
She never harbored grand delusions about saving everyone, but if there were those she could save right in front of her, she would extend her hand — that was simply the way Hinata lived.
She understood well that this, in turn, would earn the people's trust in them.
"As you command!"
"Understood, Lady Hinata."
"Leave it to us!"
Nicolaus, Leonard, and
The three obeyed Hinata's orders and scattered to three directions. Together with Hinata, they formed a square formation.
And thus, four Holy Knights constructed a defensive barrier.
Against monster enemies, the Holy Purification Barrier would have been effective, but this time Venom was present and the enemy appeared as angels.
If they hastily deployed a holy-attribute barrier, it would end up being counterproductive.
With that in mind, they opted for the Holy-Demonic Defense Barrier.
Its purpose was to use the four elements — earth, water, fire, and wind — to block shockwaves, concussive forces, and heat through the barrier.
In this way, Hinata was buying time for the civilians to evacuate.
Responding to Hinata's actions:
"Hinata! I'll help too!"
Saying this, she synchronized the spatial barrier effects of her Unique Skill "Spatial Awareness" with Hinata's barrier technique.
This greatly reinforced the Holy-Demonic Defense Barrier that Hinata and the others were deploying.
Seeing this, Gale stepped forward.
"Then maybe my Unique Skill 'Creator' can help too!"
Gale's Unique Skill "Creator" was originally an ability suited for agriculture, but depending on how it was utilized, it was a versatile ability with a wide range of applications.
Gale interfered with the earth, covering the civilian side of the plaza with hardened soil.
In the instant he synchronized with the earth spirits, a wall of steel-like strength was completed.
A barrier appeared before the people's eyes in an instant. Naturally, the crowd stirred with alarm.
Following behind him were Kenya and Rota.
"All right! We'll take that guy down!
Our eyes are getting used to it, and we've figured out his movements.
There won't be any need for big bro Masayuki to step in!"
"We've been pretty well trained too.
But it's reassuring knowing Masayuki-san is watching over us from behind!"
With those words, Kenya and Rota joined the battle.
"Yeah. If the time comes, I'll protect you guys!"
He nodded back at Kenya and Rota, and Masayuki thought:
(It's obviously impossible, but still!)
And so.
At this point, all he could do was hope that Venom and the children would defeat the enemy.
Kenya and Rota joining the fight was a miscalculation for Masayuki.
He had expected to remain by Hinata's side, focused purely on defense.
But Gale was still there as a defensive anchor, and Alice was present too.
Hinata's barriers had been reinforced, and Masayuki's original plan seemed to have secured at least temporary safety.
(Yeah. At this point, it's better to stay put and not make any rash moves.)
Masayuki made his decision and resolved to quickly eliminate the remaining obstacle.
That obstacle was the eyes of the people watching around him.
For his own reasons, Masayuki wanted the civilians to leave the area as soon as possible.
"Everyone, please calm down and move away from the plaza! If there's somewhere you can take shelter—"
Masayuki tried to impress Hinata while simultaneously getting the crowd to move away.
His plan had one purpose:
To make it easier to escape if the situation turned dire.
Fewer onlookers meant fewer obstacles if he needed to flee at any moment.
But the civilians interpreted his words differently.
"The Hero is worried about us..."
"Don't be stupid! We're in the way! If he fights seriously, he'll end up catching us in the crossfire!"
"So that's why he's having the little apprentices fight..."
"Exactly. If Masayuki himself were to fight, victory would be guaranteed.
But that would result in casualties among us!"
"We're liabilities!?"
And so on.
Understandably, their interpretation was far removed from what Masayuki had intended.
"If you're looking to flee, the royal castle would be best. There's a large-scale defensive barrier in place there.
Unless an angelic army attacks, it would take considerable time to breach that barrier.
For the Hero to fight without worry, you should relocate quickly—"
A man called out to the people trying to flee the plaza with that suggestion.
It was Prince Elric, who had confessed his crimes.
His face looked as if a great weight had been lifted, his eyes those of a man who had steeled himself to accept everything.
"Prince—"
The knights were shaken, but only for a moment.
"Everyone! You heard him! Act calmly — the castle has more than enough capacity to shelter all of you.
Move quickly but carefully so you don't injure yourselves, and leave this place at once!
The rest is in the Hero's hands!"
One of the knights shouted the instructions to the crowd in a loud voice.
That knight, who appeared to be the vice-captain of the order, then issued commands to the bewildered soldiers to guide the civilians and prepare for their reception at the castle.
Following his lead, the soldiers began to move.
Like water receding, the people started to vacate the plaza.
They left behind words that the sooner they evacuated, the sooner Masayuki could demonstrate his full power.
And so, only a handful of people remained.