In the plaza outside the church, the battle between
Venom's situation was grim.
There was a gap in raw strength that luck alone couldn't bridge—to be honest, holding his own this well was already something to be proud of.
(Tch! This is really rough.)
As Venom regenerated his severed left arm, he thought.
At this rate, defeat was only a matter of time.
Not even three minutes had passed since the battle began.
But Venom could sense that the civilians had begun evacuating, which meant Masayuki had handled things well on that front.
The stalling tactic seemed to be working.
(Now then. To beat this guy, I'm decisively lacking in power. If only there were some kind of catalyst—) Even knowing he was slowly being ground down, Venom had no choice but to keep up the fierce exchange of blows.
Venom was scheming for a way to break through this situation, but— "Sorry we're late, but we're here to help!"
"I'll do my best not to hold you back!"
With Kenna and Ryota joining the battle, the situation shifted.
"You kids—don't go dying on me, or I'll have
Venom shouted this while parrying Arios's attacks.
Honestly, borrowing the children's help stung Venom's pride.
But with defeat all but certain at this rate, there was no room for complaints.
Above all else— (These kids are strong! In that case, I'll make use of them.)
That was Venom's honest assessment.
"I know! Our master tells us that all the time."
"Yeah. If we go and die here on our own, Master would probably kill us for real..."
The two said such things.
And then— "So, time to get serious!"
"Kenna, you know what to do, right?"
"You bet! Spirit Armament, Revised—activate!"
Kenna and Ryota were enveloped in brilliant light.
Their bodies were then clad in the weapons and armor they had received from Rimuru.
These were armaments that Rimuru had created, modeled after Hinata's Holy Spirit Armament.
They surpassed the Special-class Spirit Armaments used by Holy Knights in performance, but they had not reached Legendary-class.
However, the armaments grew alongside their wearers—an Evolving-type Armament, one might call this the latest model.
More than anything, these were perfectly suited for children who had fused spirits into their very beings.
Though in truth, Rimuru had given them to the children simply because it felt wasteful to let the results of his hobby experiments go unused...
He certainly never imagined they would prove useful in a situation like this.
Perhaps Arios had sensed the danger as well, for a hint of unease crept into his otherwise expressionless face.
And so did Venom.
(Wait, these kids... they possess an existence value close to mine!?)
(I knew they were strong, but I didn't expect this...)
Venom was stunned.
In truth, Ryota's power was roughly half of Venom's. As for Kenna, his energy felt like it rivaled Venom's own.
And their technique was Agera-trained.
With this unexpected boost in fighting power, Venom saw a path to victory.
And the battle would grow even more fierce.
Watching the children enter the fray, Hinata murmured.
"Could that be—Spirit Armaments...? Those are classified weapons of the Western Holy Church, usable only by Holy Knights beloved by spirits... mass-producing them so casually—Rimuru the Demon Lord really is abnormal..."
It was a remark laced with equal parts exasperation and admiration.
The members of the Western Holy Church shared Hinata's sentiment.
Setting aside Nicolaus, who was a sorcerer, Leonard and
It was only natural—they were watching children of perhaps twelve or thirteen years old displaying combat power that surpassed even Holy Knights.
And more than that— "Moreover—Spirit Knight, is it? My master—
"Surpassing even Holy Knights—the strongest of humanity's knights—a Spirit Knight, is that it...?"
"As expected of Lord Masayuki—you've trained those children magnificently!"
"Eh!? A-ah. It's less that I trained them and more that it's their own ability, you could say..."
Masayuki hastily denied it when the conversation was suddenly turned to him.
(All I ever taught them were the poses for finishing moves I saw in manga! When did I supposedly train them!?)
Masayuki denied it wearily, thinking "Not this again," but— "Ha ha ha, no need to be modest! You don't have to spell it out—we already know!"
No matter what Masayuki said at that point, his companions saw it as nothing but false modesty.
And among those who had been listening, a wave of unease rippled outward—only to be overtaken even faster by a spark of hope.
Among Masayuki the Hero's companions.
Among the people who had been evacuating in orderly fashion.
Among the knights and soldiers who had been guiding them.
"Did you hear? They're supposedly stronger than Lady Hinata, the strongest of the Holy Knights!"
"Heroes? Those children are heroes too?"
"Lord Masayuki the Hero's disciples... so a hero's disciples are also heroes—"
"Do we even need to fear a single angel?"
"What, that doesn't sound like much!"
"Fool! You're missing the point. It's Lord Masayuki the Hero who's amazing!"
"Oh right, of course! As expected of Lord Masayuki!"
And just like that, the people's anxiety began to dissolve at an accelerating pace.
As a result, those who had been panic-stricken gradually calmed, and the evacuation proceeded smoothly without further incident.
Having learned by now that anything he said was futile— (Fine, whatever... if that puts everyone's minds at ease, then so be it!)
He accepted that standing around looking confident was his job, and settled in to watch the battle.
And that was precisely why only Masayuki noticed it.
(Huh? Weren't there five of them at the start—Kenna and the others?)
Indeed, one of the children was missing.
(Come to think of it, Kenna, Ryota, Gale, and Alice. Wait—who was the fifth? Hmm, I'm probably mistaken. I only know four of them.)
But despite having noticed, Masayuki concluded it was his own mistake.
Since Masayuki had only interacted with four children, this was, in a sense, only to be expected.
Masayuki quickly put the matter behind him and prayed for Venom's victory.
And as for the battle itself— Venom, who had been almost entirely on the defensive until now, saw the situation transformed by the children's involvement.
Venom defended and created an opening in Arios's guard, and Kenna exploited it with an attack.
It was, in its own way, a coordinated assault.
The secret lay in their Thought Communication.
Venom had allocated part of his computational resources to enable Thought Communication with the children.
This allowed for ultra-high-speed thinking and instant transmission of intent.
The three of them were holding a strategy conference even as they fought.
"Listen up, kids. You can fight a little, but you're still weak. So don't overestimate your own strength—just do what you can."
"Roger!"
"Understood!"
Pleased with Kenna and Ryota's responses, Venom began issuing tactical instructions.
"Ryota, you're on defense. It was lucky you had water and wind affinities. Use water to heal Kenna and me when we're injured, and back that up with wind for defensive support. Got it? If you get hurt, the whole plan falls apart. Be careful!"
"Yes!"
"I'm going in for a suicide charge expecting to take damage. I'm counting on your healing. But whatever you do, don't use holy-type recovery magic that deals damage to demonic types. Make a mistake and I'll kill you!"
"O-okay! I studied for this, so I won't mess up!"
"Good! But your top priority is keeping yourself safe. Don't forget that."
"Yes!"
The linchpin of this strategy was Ryota's healing.
With this, they could fight with reckless abandon without worrying about recovery.
Of course, Venom figured that even if Ryota failed, Masayuki's luck would probably sort things out.
After all, without taking bold risks, they couldn't hope to defeat the superior Arios.
Next, Venom turned his instructions to Kenna.
"Kenna, you focus on offense. Ryota's healing is there as a backup, but I'd prefer him to focus his healing on me as much as possible. So, only unleash your maximum-power attacks when you're confident you can land them. Understand? There's no need to push yourself. If you get too badly hurt, Ryota's healing won't be able to keep up. I'll be fighting like my life depends on it to pin that guy down, so you—take your time and accumulate damage."
"Got it! So basically, Venom, you're playing the wall, right?"
Venom nodded at Kenna's question.
"Wall" was a term they had often heard during training in the labyrinth—a frontliner who single-handedly absorbed the onslaught of close-combat-type monsters.
Deciding that Kenna understood the strategy, Venom continued his explanation.
"Exactly. Now listen—that guy was apparently human once, and he still relies on his eyes to fight. Can you understand why that's a weakness?"
"Yeah! Master Hakuro and Master Agera taught us about that. Actually, there were times our eyes got gouged out for relying on them too much during training. It's common sense!"
Venom nodded at those words.
With the use of Full Recovery Potions, even missing body parts could be restored.
It seemed Hakuro and Agera had casually blinded the children during training—children who wouldn't understand until they experienced it firsthand.
(Those two are absolute demons...)
Kenna and the others seemed to regard such training as perfectly normal.
No wonder they're so strong, Venom thought to himself.
"Good. As long as you understand. It seems he hasn't shed his old human habits—he unconsciously protects his eyes and vital organs. Exploit that and attack. But! Watch out for his sword. Defense is pointless, and don't even think about trying to block with your weapon."
"Roger! It feels even worse than Master
Hearing Kenna's response, Venom grinned.
In truth, the power of Arios's sword exceeded that of Zegion's Absolute Severance.
Still, Venom thought that if defense was futile either way, Zegion's ability—which wasn't dependent on a sword as a medium—was the more troublesome of the two.
Be that as it may, the ability to accurately gauge an enemy's strength was something Venom could genuinely praise.
He revised his assessment of Kenna upward, thinking that this was indeed the caliber of warrior Hakuro and Agera had trained.
Then, convinced the strategy would succeed, he steeled himself for execution.
"Alright! Don't do anything reckless, you two. Now—strategy, initiate!"
With that exchange complete, the battle with Arios truly began.
Venom launched an all-out, completely defenseless suicidal attack, Ryota supported him, and Kenna exploited the opening to strike.
This drew a flicker of agitation across Arios's face, but he responded calmly and avoided any fatal wound.
However, by unconsciously dodging attacks that a spiritual life form like himself shouldn't have needed to avoid, he failed to realize he was taking hits he never should have received.
Perfectly and completely, Arios had fallen into Venom's trap.
There was another reason Arios had failed to see through Venom's plan.
First, it was true that Arios was growing frustrated at being pushed into a struggle against an inferior opponent he should never have lost to.
But the real issue was that Arios's true power had been sealed.
By Velda's orders, attacking the city center was forbidden.
For Arios, who was already defying those orders by acting alone, any further violation was unthinkable.
As a result, the use of his Ultimate Skill, "King of Weapons," was restricted.
As Venom and the others had sensed, if he unleashed the sword's full power, it could emit a "wave of severance" that would cut through anything.
But the power was so great that it would affect the city as well.
Arios had been forced into a situation where he could only fight Venom and the others while shackled.
All of this was the result of Masayuki's "Fortune Domain."
Arios dismissed his opponents as beneath him, yet without even realizing it, he had painted himself into a corner.
(Impossible... those wretched vermin... Having only half-baked power and yet daring to stand in my way—) He seethed with irritation, but unable to deliver a decisive blow, all he could do was watch time slip away.
Growing anxious about this, Arios failed to notice that he was steadily losing his composure.
Had he been calm, he would have abandoned the idea of dealing with Hinata and retreated immediately.
But Arios did not make that choice.
It was as if something had been interfering with his thoughts, preventing him from making the right call.
And the result— "Now! Finish this bastard off—including me!"
Venom roared.
Arios's sword, lodged in Venom's abdomen, had been ensnared by Venom's magic power and could no longer be withdrawn.
If he dismissed the sword, the blade would disappear—but doing so would leave him wide open to Kenna's attack, so— "Kenna, leave Venom's recovery to me!"
"RAAAAAAAH! Limit Break—Justice Execution Hope Slash!!"
A flash of light.
Kenna's ultimate and most powerful strike struck true, catching Arios—whose judgment had been thrown off by a split second of hesitation—dead on.
It was a devastating slash that cleaved Arios clean in two, along with Venom, who had been holding him in place.
Kenna's heightened spiritual power could, for just an instant, exceed its limits—a gift bestowed by the Light Spirit fused within him—reaching a realm befitting a future hero, one capable of slaying even an Awakened Demon Lord.
In other words...
"Im... impossible—"
Those were Arios's last words as he was swallowed by a torrent of light and annihilated.
He actually did it!—that was Masayuki's reaction.
The technique Kenna had unleashed was fearsome, but the pose he struck to gather power bore a striking resemblance to the finishing moves Masayuki had taught him from manga.
(Eh!? So that thing really does produce incredible power...)
Masayuki was dumbfounded, but he had to accept reality.
"Yeah, impressive. Kenna, it seems you've perfectly mastered the technique I taught you!"
Masayuki praised Kenna with a refreshing smile—regardless of what he was really thinking inside.
"Big Brother Masayuki, did you see that? I did it!"
Masayuki nodded at beaming Kenna.
Cheers began to echo from the people whose evacuation had been delayed, announcing the battle's end.
(From now on, Kenna will probably stand out more as a hero than I do—maybe this is a good thing!)
He put a positive spin on it and smiled, though he failed to notice that his own smile was enchanting everyone around him.
Meanwhile— "Hey, forget all that—just hurry up and heal me already!"
Venom, who had been split in two but somehow survived the torrent of light, began making a fuss.
Ryota, Alice, Hinata, and even Nicolaus rushed over, and together they cast recovery magic, successfully restoring Venom.
"Of course I'm not dying! Self-sacrifice doesn't suit me at all!"
Venom said this while trying to hide his embarrassment.
But ever the opportunist, Venom was secretly keeping to himself that he had siphoned off Arios's energy and obtained the source of his Ultimate Skill, "King of Weapons."
Everything had gone exactly according to Venom's plan.
Under normal circumstances, the success rate would have been too low to attempt, but with Masayuki there, his judgment that it was worth trying had been correct.
Venom had won his gamble and gained even greater power.
Once Venom had been revived and things had calmed down— "Huh? Where's Ku-chan?"
Ryota looked around and asked.
As if prompted by the question, Kenna too began scanning the surroundings.
"Yeah, Ku-chan's gone. Probably wandered off again..."
"Ku-chan loves rare and unusual things!"
Gale and Alice sighed and answered with resigned expressions.
"Again, huh? Can't be helped... We snuck out, so we really need to get back before we get in trouble, though..."
Kenna's concern wasn't so much about their apparent companion Ku-chan, but rather about getting back before anyone noticed they'd left and got angry.
"Ku-chan?"
At Masayuki's puzzled voice, the children all answered in unison: "Our friend!"
Ah, so there really were five of them from the start, Masayuki thought—but since it was clearly a child he didn't know, he decided not to dwell on it any further.
The enemy was defeated, and there was no point worrying about it now.
The children set off to find their friend so they could head back.
And Masayuki and the others also set about cleaning up, fulfilling their original purpose of alleviating the capital's people's fears.
—————— The Kingdom of Ingracia, above the capital city.
"Damn it!" Arios let out a ragged breath as he cursed.
He had narrowly avoided the worst-case scenario thanks to the "Mirror Image" he had prepared as a precaution—and Arios knew it.
(It's not time to panic yet. Thinking calmly, the fact that I've gained a read on the enemy's combat strength is significant. Who knew those kids had that kind of power? But now that I know, there's nothing to fear—) But— "Mm-hmm. As expected, everyone thinks the same way. Just as Lord Rimuru said."
An innocent child's voice reached his ears, and Arios's train of thought was cut short.
What could possibly detect him—a being specialized in stealth!? Arios turned around in shock.
Standing there was a young girl with black hair.
No—she was not a girl.
She was a woman so bewitchingly beautiful that it was puzzling he had ever mistaken her for a child.
Long, beautiful hair—a blend of gold and silver—cascaded down her back.
Gazing into those eyes, Arios was so stunned he couldn't breathe.
"I am
Kumara said this with a mesmerizing smile playing on her lips.
"Don't underestimate me! I don't care who you are. We're far from the city center. Do you understand what that means? Which means, here—"
"Shut up. Silence!"
Before Arios could even react— His head was already in Kumara's hand.
Kumara wore an expression of mild disappointment.
Then, her face took on a sad expression...
"I never imagined you would be this weak. Venom's performance no doubt played a part, but this is quite the letdown."
She let out a languid sigh as she said this.
She had come out hoping to impress Rimuru with her performance, only to have almost no opportunity to shine—so her disappointment was understandable.
But what concerned her even more was...
"Now then, what excuse am I going to give them..."
What filled Kumara's mind was the matter of making excuses to the children.
She then reverted to her child form and flew back toward the capital, lost in thought.