Sakaguchi Hinata had been fortunate to meet Isawa Shizue.
It was only for a brief time, but
One month.
In that short period, Hinata mastered every technique Shizu possessed, then departed from her side.
It was because she feared being rejected. In the end, she was afraid of having things taken away from her.
More than anything— "We're being a burden to Shizu-san. The guild is poor, and there's no room to feed people who don't work. So why don't we work together?"
The casual words of a fellow countryman.
She knew he was simply inviting her along, but the words "being a burden" pierced deep into her heart.
That was when she resolved to leave Shizu's side.
When Hinata departed, that young boy chased after her and said this: "We'll meet again, I'm sure of it! Next time, you'll help me, okay?"
Hinata took his words at face value, accepting them simply.
She was a girl with little attachment to others, but being fellow countrymen made her feel she could let her guard down with him ever so slightly.
And so, without any sense of unease, she nodded.
And so, Hinata set out into the world.
It was a world soaked in despair, where people lost their lives all too easily.
She gained strength in order to survive.
Then, passing through a certain country, she was struck by devastation.
A disaster-class monster had attacked, and many people lay dead. Among the carnage, others fought to protect the children.
Not a single adult attempted to flee—they became shields for the children.
She had believed that only people who cared for nothing but their own survival existed.
But these fighters were Holy Knights.
They regularly patrolled the areas around this town, bearing the mantle of justice to protect the people.
"This is where I belong," Hinata intuited.
And without a single doubt in her mind…
Ten years had passed since then.
Hinata, who once did not believe in God, now sat at the pinnacle of the sacred protectors.
It was an ironic fate, but it was a noble calling—to protect the people of the Holy Papal State of Lubelius, people who could live for the sake of others.
Hinata believed, without a shred of doubt, that this was justice.
To live for others. Even if it meant sacrificing oneself.
If she did that, everyone could be happy. And at the same time, monsters had to be destroyed.
Monsters were always, regularly disrupting the peaceful lives of people.
The homeland was protected by powerful barriers, but the surrounding towns and villages were another matter.
Because Holy Knights conducted patrols, the damage was kept minimal, but monster attacks were a daily occurrence.
Unlike the situation around the Great Forest of Jura, the monsters in the west had little to feed on.
Only desert wastelands and barren earth stretched on and on.
That desolate land was said to be the aftermath of battles between Demon Lords who wielded fearsome magical power.
The miasma concentration was thick in many areas there, and monsters spawned frequently. That was precisely why people placed their hope in the Holy Knights—their protectors.
There had been more than a few instances of Holy Knights being deceived and killed by monsters.
Because it happened so often, the doctrine explicitly included a prohibition against making deals with monsters.
That was the wisdom accumulated by the Western Holy Church over hundreds of years of protecting people's lives.
Eventually, people came to believe that adhering to the doctrine was the path to happiness.
At first, Hinata didn't even believe in the doctrine, but she resonated with its rational way of thinking.
And before she knew it…
The doctrine had become Hinata's justice—an ironic tale indeed.
Days spent battling monsters.
She couldn't pinpoint when the boredom of repeating the same things over and over had begun.
After Hinata became Holy Knight Commander, countermeasures were advanced, and now the damage was remarkably low.
Predicting monster spawn points and damage levels. Coordination methods and patrol timing.
The optimization of these systems had proven effective.
That was why, Hinata believed, the Holy Knights placed such deep trust in her.
And that was precisely why she could not break the doctrine.
She had a responsibility—a mission to protect people from monsters.
She had earned the trust of her subordinates, and she had found a place to belong.
Even Nicolaus, who told her he loved her…
In the end, Hinata had been afraid.
She appeared not to cling to anything, but what she feared most of all was losing what she had gained with her own hands.
Under complete management, people could live happily.
Hinata believed this.
And the way things were in the Holy Papal State of Lubelius—a society of complete management—seemed to prove her thinking correct.
Or so it should have been.
So, as always.
Defeat monsters. Nothing more.
A simple way of thinking. But that was enough.
Adhering to the doctrine was Hinata's reason for existing—her justice.
A girl who had never been loved by her parents. Hinata's twisted heart.
The single conviction that held that heart together.
To protect that conviction, Hinata resolved to fight.
And now.
The situation was dire. Laughably so.
But it had cleared her head.
She stopped worrying, stopped thinking.
Whether her conviction was right or wrong—it no longer mattered.
The Demon Lord before her was someone whose depths even her Unique Skill "Mathematician" could not fathom.
Clearly superior. On a different level from when they had faced off before. Any regret about letting her escape last time had vanished.
A mind-numbingly dull everyday life.
That had now come to its end.
A battle with no chance of victory was the act of a fool. And yet, Hinata felt her spirit soaring.
("You think I'm wrong? Then prove it—prove it to me, Demon Lord!") Drawing the massive greatsword in her hands—the Dragon-Breaking Holy Sword—Hinata faced the Demon Lord.
A faint smile graced Hinata's lips.
With her heart racing, Hinata leveled her blade toward Rimuru.
--- Facing Hinata anew, I realized something.
This woman had no openings.
With Thought Acceleration slowing her sword movements enough for me to perceive them, I could barely deflect her attacks.
I had already exchanged several blows, but my attacks didn't even graze her, while hers were about to scratch me at any moment.
Well, "scratch" isn't quite right—I'm not actually getting hit. But still.
So there we were, each deflecting the other's attacks while looking for an opening. And yet I couldn't find a single one.
I'd awakened as a Demon Lord and had the Wisdom King backing me up, and this was still the result. Hinata was a monster.
Honestly, I'd expected to overpower her a little more.
She deflected my attacks as if she could read every trajectory of my blade perfectly, without hesitation. Then she countered with sharp ripostes aimed at my openings.
The old me wouldn't have stood a chance.
The last time we fought, Hinata hadn't even been trying.
As the fierce exchange of blows continued, I observed Hinata.
A faint smile played at her lips, and her eyes were fixed on me.
But Hinata didn't rely on sight. Those eyes were aimed at me, yet she perceived incoming attacks through something like an all-encompassing sense—feeling out presences spread across her entire surroundings.
Her center of gravity never wavered. She maintained a natural state, ready to respond to any movement.
There was no tension in her motions, no telegraphing, and yet a variety of attacks flowed from her seamlessly.
I didn't know how Hinata predicted my attacks, but my movements were completely read.
In contrast, I was reacting to Hinata's attack motions after the fact, relying on raw physical ability to desperately dodge.
Naturally, I was wasting far more energy.
It was only because I had the physical capabilities to theoretically overwhelm Hinata that I could barely keep up without taking a hit.
In terms of skill, there was no comparison—Hinata was far above me.
And yet, despite such an overwhelming gap in skill, Hinata never let her guard down.
She no longer bothered with small tricks, dealing with me using only sword strikes wreathed in battle aura.
That aura seemed to be wrapped in only holy attribute energy—if I misjudged a block, I would undoubtedly take damage.
According to the Wisdom King, her sword also possessed a special ability—it could even break through my barriers.
The most effective attack being not flashy techniques or magic, but solid swordsmanship—that was so like Hinata.
In truth, aside from me, the only person who could withstand Hinata's sword strikes was probably Hakuro.
But even Hakuro couldn't mix in magical attacks to secure a victory.
She wasn't using magic only because she had no effective spells against me.
Hinata was a genius of combat.
Even if I sent clones to attack, they'd be cut down in an instant.
The one weakness of an Ultimate Skill was that it could only be fully utilized by the original.
In other words, you could either produce mindless puppet clones, or project a copy of your consciousness with degraded abilities.
If the consciousness was projected from the original and the clone could return upon death, the skill could be used at full power—but simultaneous multiple projections were impossible.
You couldn't give every clone an Ultimate Skill.
This was also true for Unique Skills—clones could match the original to a degree, but a complete copy of abilities was not possible.
In a situation like this, fighting an equal opponent with the support of an Ultimate Skill, sending inferior clones to attack was pointless.
If the clones' attacks could create an opening in Hinata, that would be one thing—but if the opening was on my end, the consequences would be unthinkable.
It would be a plain strategy, but waiting for Hinata to tire out was the more reliable approach. After all, I didn't tire.
Attacks flew back and forth between us without landing, and time simply passed.
Before long, the battles around us seemed to have ended.
Some had collapsed, others sat on the ground, too drained to move.
But their eyes were all fixed on our fight.
They couldn't possibly follow the movements with their eyes—were they determined to witness the conclusion?
Either way, I had no margin to spare my attention on my surroundings.
I had to respond to Hinata with everything I had.
Around us, only the sound of our clashing blades echoed.
Hinata's greatsword—about as tall as she was—had a blade made of a blue crystal-like material.
It was a beautiful sword.
Hinata wielded it with a lightness that belied its weight and with handling that seemed impossible for its size, moving it freely and at will.
She must have been assisted by some skill, but her movements were nothing short of spectacular.
And Hinata's expression.
Before long… she was smiling, like an innocent young girl.
Not a cruel smirk. Not a cold sneer.
She simply swung her blade. Focusing entirely on that, she was completely absorbed in the fight.
A genius, huh?
Come to think of it, maybe I'd been lucky.
I'd had my hardships, but I'd been born as a monster, made friends, and been able to spend enjoyable times.
What about Hinata?
According to Shizu, she had mastered all of her techniques in a single month, then left.
I hadn't noticed before, but I found that odd.
Would Shizu have truly let Hinata go off on her own like that? That doubt wouldn't leave me.
She was clearly unstable.
Overwhelming power combined with the heart of a girl in the thick of adolescence.
Was I only noticing this because I was an adult?
The current Hinata was one thing, but in that unbalanced state, she could easily fall victim to domination-type arts.
Would someone really send a girl like that off alone?
That question nagged at me, so I assembled pieces of information and ran a situation analysis through the Wisdom King.
The result: the most suspicious possibility was that a thought restriction had been placed on Hinata.
This would have been possible in the early days after she arrived in this world.
I couldn't fully read Shizu's memories, but in the faint traces, it seemed Hinata had been an honest girl at first.
About a month in, she suddenly announced she was leaving…
Piecing that information together and considering the other person who had been at Hinata and Shizu's side— "Hey, why did you decide to leave Shizu-san's place?"
Between clashes of our blades, I asked during a gap in our breathing.
I was gradually getting the hang of the timing. Responding to Hinata's movements was becoming less and less of a strain.
There had been room for me to grow after all.
Hinata, meanwhile, didn't appear fatigued, but a thin sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead.
She was fighting at full power, so that was only natural.
Even so— "Why would you ask me that now? I suppose I could say I don't remember, but let's see…
I didn't want to be a burden to Shizu-san, perhaps?"
She answered me earnestly.
I hadn't expected a reply—I thought she'd ignore me entirely. I was genuinely surprised.
But hearing that answer, a small pain stirred deep within my chest.
What was it? A pain in my heart, perhaps? What a strange sensation.
Deciding I could afford to ignore it, I put more force into my blade. The clash intensified, sending shockwaves rippling through the surroundings.
"Shizu-san never thought you were a burden, you know!"
(That's right. She never thought of me as a burden…)
"Ha, as if that matters now… And really, I'd prefer it if you didn't talk about Shizu-san."
The sharpness of her sword increased.
Hinata still hadn't been going all out.
There were limits to holding back.
I desperately caught her blade and deflected it— "She was worried! About leaving you all alone!"
(Yes… she was worried. But you see… there was another child she worried about even more.)
Huh?
Was I not imagining things? That voice from earlier…
I could hear what sounded like Shizu's voice— "Don't spout things you don't understand! What would you know? You, of all people!!"
My words had apparently enraged the otherwise composed Hinata.
Something had touched a raw nerve. Before I could even consider what— "You let your guard down—this is my win! Spirit Storm Severance!!"
The speed of Hinata's blade surged dramatically, and it began to emit light.
That sword carried the sacred property of banishing all evil— 《Report. Defense impossible. Evasion impossible!!》 (Crap! That thing could actually annihilate me!?)
For the first time, I heard the Wisdom King sound panicked.
And within my perception, stretched a million times slower, I could do nothing but watch that luminous blade bear down on me.
This distance. This angle and timing.
Evasion was impossible, barriers were useless, and my only option was to gamble on sending a clone to safety as a last resort.
But that strike unleashed a light of banishment that could collapse everything. The moment it made contact, it would incinerate me.
Had she engaged me in conversation to lure me into letting my guard down?
She hadn't seemed like she was, but the result was that I'd dropped my guard.
《Report. I propose neutralization through the
I obeyed the Wisdom King's voice and activated the Gluttony King.
The instant Hinata's blade touched me— I unleashed the Gluttony King, devouring the technique and the sword along with it.
If this strategy failed, my very existence might be annihilated.
There was no room for hesitation.
Trusting the Wisdom King, I released the Gluttony King at the precise moment Hinata's blade made contact with my body.
…
…
…
In the end, I survived.
I thought I was going to die, but I survived.
Hinata stared at me with wide eyes.
But that lasted only an instant.
She immediately readied her sword and leveled it at me again.
As for me, I wanted to savor the joy of having survived, but dealing with Hinata came first.
You little—do you have any idea how close that was?!
In truth, when Hinata's technique and my skill collided and underwent mutual annihilation, a massive amount of my magicules were consumed.
Converted to damage, it was over fifty percent lost in one shot.
Well, I survived, so I guess it's fine…
This time, I wouldn't let my guard down.
Or rather, I'd let my guard down because I thought I heard Shizu's voice—that was what led to the lapse.
Making those excuses in my head, I continued exchanging blows with Hinata when— 《Report. "Future Attack Prediction" has been acquired. Activate? YES/NO》 I nearly let a sound of surprise escape.
The Wisdom King had apparently obtained a new ability.
This guy was seriously broken.
I'd figured there was no explanation other than attack prediction for how Hinata could read my movements and counter them, but to actually acquire the skill—I was impressed.
I tried it out immediately.
Several lines of light appeared in my field of vision. It was a sense, so I supposed you'd call it a mental display?
One of them glowed bright.
When I ran my blade forward to intercept that light, I successfully deflected Hinata's sword as if on cue.
It seemed the lines of light represented sword trajectories that the enemy could launch from their current stance, and when a line lit up, an attack was coming from that direction.
After testing it several times, I found a pattern where the lines turned pitch black.
This meant the attack was unpredictable—it was the sign of a serious strike coming.
In other words, feints and low-level attacks could all be calculated.
It was precisely because someone of Hinata's caliber—a master swordswoman—could also launch unpredictable attacks that this skill was so terrifying.
The truly frightening aspect of this skill was that it wasn't probability-based prediction—it was confirmed prediction.
The prediction didn't say an attack was "likely." Once it predicted successfully, the attack would absolutely come from that location.
If that was the case… then Hinata was no longer my enemy.
With fluid, economical movements, I followed the sword trajectory indicated by "Future Attack Prediction" and knocked Hinata's blade aside.
It's over! I won't kill you, but… feel what pain is like for once!
As I raised my sword to strike, an impossible vision appeared before my eyes.
Shizu, standing before me with her arms spread wide.
Without burn marks, in the form of an adult woman, wearing no mask.
A woman who looked like a more mature version of my current face, with a composed air about her.
Did Hinata see the vision too? Her eyes—previously glaring at me after I'd knocked her sword away—went wide.
As I stood there shaken— (Rimuru, and Hinata. That's enough.)
Impossible…
The vision was speaking?
Hinata must have heard it too—she gasped in shock and sat down on the spot.
And… my sword came to a halt just before Hinata's neck.
In that instant, I felt a sensation like time had stopped.
Was this… Thought Acceleration? And I was linked in a thought connection with Hinata?
"What did you do? What are you trying to do?!"
Hinata glared at me, her eyes bloodshot.
She didn't seem to even notice the blade I had aimed at her.
But I was the one who wanted answers.
"How should I know?! I want answers too!"
The phantom of Shizu was faint, as though it might vanish at any moment, but she was unmistakably there.
That phantom smiled gently and spoke to us.
(You've bought me a little time. Will you hear what I have to say?)
She said that.
And then, the phantom of Shizu began to speak.
Her words dispelled my doubts and confirmed that a certain suspicion had been correct.
In other words, the original reason the gears had started to go wrong.
Why had Shizu left Hinata alone?
And had a thought restriction been placed on Hinata?
These questions.
All of them had answers in those words.
(I'll keep it brief. I was worried about Kagurazaka Yuki.
I'd noticed Hinata trying to put on a brave front. But even I found it strange that I chose his side.
Now I understand. I was under a thought restriction. Because of his ability…)
"Don't be ridiculous! There's no way Yuki would do something like that!"
Hinata cut in, but Shizu gently shook her head and continued.
(You too, Hinata, are under a thought restriction. And it has not been lifted even now…)
She said it with a sorrowful expression.
Hinata lost her voice in shock.
Of course she would. She'd just been told she'd been manipulated without her knowledge.
But those words proved my line of reasoning correct.
I see… I thought to myself, satisfied.
That solved every inconsistency.
Someone had manipulated a girl who held onto the fantasy that if she tried hard enough, someone would eventually be kind to her.
And the culprit was…
"So Kagurazaka Yuki was the mastermind behind everything?"
At my question, Shizu turned to me with a surprised expression and nodded sadly.
So that was it.
Now everything fit.
Quietly, I began to kindle a flame of anger toward the mastermind.