The release of Veldora was a success.
Next came the elimination of threats.
Specifically, the "Scorching Heat Dragon"
There seemed to be a few others who could be called "threats," so I'd deal with them all at once.
In truth, none of those beyond the three really felt like "threats" to me.
Now that my body had become that of a
I even felt like I could put up a good fight against Milim or Guy now.
But I couldn't afford to be complacent here—letting my guard down could invite trouble.
I intended to settle this once and for all, without leaving even a single drop of blood behind.
That said, it seemed the Black Legion had already gone on a rampage, and there weren't many noteworthy opponents left.
I hoped there hadn't been any casualties...
Had the order not to kill been followed?
Well, that worry could wait.
Velgrynd was right in front of me, looking ready to lunge at any moment.
First, I'd use the Storm Dragon Release to free Veldora.
The reason my Magicule count hadn't always been at full capacity was, I suspected, because I had been keeping Veldora free. But I'd learned that the overflow from Veldora flowing back into me created a circulatory effect that had an activating benefit on my body.
Before my body became equivalent to a True Dragon species, most of my capacity had been devoted to maintaining Veldora—and I hadn't felt any inconvenience from that, nor had I even noticed it—but now, it seemed like allocating roughly thirty percent would suffice.
Well, I'd been able to use large-scale magic without issue, so there was no need to overthink it.
Just as I was about to execute the Storm Dragon Release— <Wait.> The Wisdom King had a request from Veldora regarding optimization of its abilities.
<Announcement.> <Synchronizing abilities between My Master and the named individual Veldora.> <Evolving from Ultimate Skill "Investigation King" into Ultimate Skill "Chaos King."> <Please hold off on executing Storm Dragon Release until the process is complete.> I was stopped simultaneously.
It seemed Veldora had made the request.
Since it was executing without my confirmation, it had to be right.
I thought the timing was terrible, but once the release was done, it probably couldn't be done anymore.
Well, it couldn't be helped—doing it after the fact would be a hassle. And as I was thinking that— <Announcement. Through analysis of the named individual Veldora's abilities, evolution of Ultimate Skill "Storm King" has become possible.> <In that event, Ultimate Skill "Covenant King" will be eliminated.> <Shall it be integrated into Ultimate Skill "Starwind King"? YES/NO> The Wisdom King relayed this almost as an afterthought.
Oh no...
That Wisdom King had absolutely no sense of restraint.
Suggesting ability modifications during combat—how much did it think it could get away with?
It was practically saying, "The Scorching Heat Dragon Velgrynd doesn't even register anymore."
For the moment, the answer was No.
Sure, I had the
More to the point—against such a powerful enemy, what was I supposed to do with only the Gluttony King?
Was it overestimating me by that much? I was genuinely worried.
After this battle was over, combined with my subordinates' Demon Lord awakenings, it felt like a major ability overhaul awaited me.
I had no idea what it was aiming for, but I'd think about that later.
So, what to do about Velgrynd.
My power had increased dramatically in both quality and quantity, so my abilities had been strengthened as well.
I'd been planning to test my current strength by going all-out against her, but if the Wisdom King was busy granting abilities to Veldora, close combat might not be wise.
I could still fight up close, but I'd take damage, and the Magicule consumption would be severe.
It would be pointless to take damage that might affect my performance.
So ideally, I wanted to hold her in place and finish her from a distance.
This was a tactical choice, not cowardice.
If I could win easily, I should take the easy path without hesitation.
That said, I had few long-range attack options.
The Covenant King's severing abilities were powerful, but their range was limited.
The ability to dimensionally sever space was terrifying, but naturally it could only affect a limited area.
So magic, then?
Among the nuclear-level spells, there were ranged offensive types.
One called "Thermal Convergence Beam"—essentially a laser cannon.
It was a relatively easy-to-control spell, favored by Archmage-class casters.
To put it bluntly, it was the easiest nuclear-class spell to control.
Moreover, it had excellent cost efficiency. With my current recovery speed, I could fire it repeatedly without worrying about Magicule consumption.
But it would undoubtedly be useless against Velgrynd.
The spell discharged Magicules bound to molecules, but fundamentally, it was a heat-based attack.
Heat attacks would be meaningless against Velgrynd, who ruled over "heat." Even layering Ultimate Skill effects on top, she would clearly resist it with ease.
It was the most powerful single-target discharge spell in my repertoire, but if it wouldn't work, using it would just be a waste.
So what to do...
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
A new ability had been added to Ultimate Skill "Storm King."
A power called "Ruinous Thunderstorm"—something like a magically modified version of "Ruinous Roar."
It effectively seemed to be my most powerful long-range attack.
With this, I could fight Velgrynd from a distance.
So I was about to use "Ruinous Thunderstorm" when— —I noticed yet another ability I couldn't overlook.
Storm Sword Transformation: crystallize and transform into the Sword Core...?
Earlier, I'd just gone "hmm" and moved on, but what kind of ability was this?
The Wisdom King was dangerous precisely because it spoke so casually about these things.
I had absolutely no idea what it would need to modify to evolve the Storm King into the Starwind King.
It seemed to involve integration with the Covenant King, but would it actually improve usability?
Well, whatever.
I was interested in this Storm Sword Transformation, but it was probably meant for close combat anyway.
I'd ignore it for now. Besides, I had no idea what would even be crystallized.
<Analysis. "Storm Sword Transformation" enables ranged attacks.> <It condenses all abilities of Ultimate Skill "Storm King" along with its soul, converting them into a directional energy beam that can be unleashed.> <Unlike the Storm Dragon Release, the soul of the named individual Veldora remains connected, so it can be used even now.> So the crystallization meant sealing everything used for the Storm Dragon Release directly into the sword?
If so, that meant it was essentially a sword containing Veldora's energy...
<Analysis. That understanding is correct.> Oh, I see.
It would probably be the strongest attack in my current arsenal, since it was essentially Veldora and me attacking simultaneously.
I'd already decided not to let my guard down, so there was no point hesitating.
Tentatively, I executed the Storm Sword Transformation.
<Announcement. Confirmation of consent from the named individual Veldora obtained. Crystallization initiated.> Immediately, a glowing purple crystal was set into the hilt of my sword.
Through my hand and the sword, I could feel the direct connection to Veldora.
It seemed the sword had become part of my body.
My Magicule count dropped by nearly thirty percent, as expected.
So maintaining Veldora in a released state rather than a summoned one required a constant thirty percent of my Magicules.
The sword transformation worked the same way.
In other words, this sword contained virtually all of Veldora's energy.
The moment I performed the Storm Sword Transformation, Velgrynd moved in perfect timing.
Convenient—I swung the sword toward Velgrynd in a casual test.
No, in all honesty, it was just an idle swing with no real intent behind it.
From that motion, Velgrynd took evasive action.
For her, it was probably just a reflexive movement, nothing more.
Or perhaps her danger premonition had kicked in.
But as it happened, that evasive action was what saved Velgrynd.
That single swing of the sword tore through the sky and split the sea.
Literally.
The Ruinous Sword Wind raced along the line of the swing, shredding Velgrynd's wings as she evaded.
Its momentum didn't diminish—it continued in a straight line and bisected several Imperial airships that remained in its path.
And that wasn't all.
The energy from the downward swing cut straight through the ocean.
The sea split apart.
That was the only way to describe the phenomenon unfolding below.
Some kind of electrical discharge occurred along the fissure in the sea surface, maintaining the cross-section of the split water.
The resulting energy shockwave generated massive amounts of Magicules, pushing the seawater back.
What in the world was that...
I think my disbelief was entirely justified.
After all, it was just an idle swing with no intent whatsoever.
But the results spoke for themselves—I could feel my Magicule count had dropped dramatically.
<Analysis. Control of "Storm Sword" failed. Slightly more Magicules were consumed than anticipated.> No, failed—that's not the issue here!
I didn't care about the Magicule consumption!
Well, I did, but that could wait.
What I cared about was the destructive power!
The ocean was in absolute shambles! The environmental damage was catastrophic!
And the attack range was enormous, with overwhelmingly devastating power.
So devastating it was practically unusable.
<Quahaha! Sorry, sorry. I got a little carried away.> So that was the culprit...
I was truly grateful this was happening over the ocean.
If it had been in a city center, it would have erased an entire town—or caused a national-scale disaster.
It seemed the power output fluctuated based on Veldora's and my will, and this time, it was Veldora's will alone that produced this level of destruction.
Which meant... if I'd also had intent to attack, the power would have increased even further?
Too terrifying.
This sword felt far too dangerous to be practical.
<No, seriously, this is too much!> <Look, even your sister is standing there dumbfounded, unable to process what just happened!> <What? It's fine. My sister wouldn't have died from a direct hit.> <That's not the point...! Forget it—I'm adjusting the Magicule output myself from now on!> <Understood. Agreed!> What a hassle.
If this kept up, eventually no one would be able to live here.
Since Veldora had agreed, I'd need to hold back.
"Y-You! What was that?! What is that?!"
Velgrynd had snapped back to her senses and screamed at me, her voice laced with rage and terror.
I wanted to know the answer to that myself.
But if I had to give one: "'Storm Sword,' I suppose?"
That was my answer.
With this single strike, the outcome was decided.
The blow that tore the sky and split the sea was more than enough to crush the morale of the Imperial soldiers.
Even the multiple layers of barriers they had erected were sliced through as though they were meaningless, and there was no escape on the open sea.
Even at supersonic speeds, if you couldn't outrun the attack, it was over.
Despair filled the hearts of the Imperial soldiers, and that emotion was exquisite fare for the demons.
And then— "Impossible! How?! How can my Royal Authority Activation—'Sovereign's Dominion'—be vanishing?! How can Veldora be defeated?!"
Impossible—impossible, surely!
"A mere Demon Lord, and a Slime at that!"
"A lowly monster that should have been stripped of the source of its power—its Master—and rendered completely powerless..."
"How can it devour a Master and steal its power?!
I was just about to—just one more step—I was about to defeat Guy!
How dare you interfere with my plans...! I won't forgive you, you lowly Demon Lord!!"
Emperor Rudra was consumed by fury.
He was too blinded by rage to see reality.
He had been too elated by the glimpse of victory in his long battle against Guy.
One should always maintain composure at the threshold of victory.
He had forgotten even that iron rule, and the price of not watching his footing had just come due.
Those who were meant to protect the Emperor were equally unable to devise any effective countermeasure against the situation.
Events had unfolded far too rapidly.
Without finding any decisive strategy, the situation moved into its final phase.
As a tangential footnote—the fact that the "Catastrophe" was caused by a battle between two True Dragon species was later proven by researchers.
But that alone was not the only cause.
The subsequent appearance of great sea monsters in this region, later attributed as the cause of the "Catastrophe," was actually the result of that single strike from the "Storm Sword."
The energy unleashed, packed with overflowing Magicules, held back the seawater and split the sea.
That phenomenon persisted for dozens of minutes, driving the dense Magicules saturating the atmosphere deep down to the ocean floor.
The massive intake of Magicules gradually permeating from the sea surface severely disrupted the ecosystem.
The "Catastrophe" was named the "Scorching Inferno Wind," but evaporation of seawater and torrential rain alone should not have produced such a dramatic impact on the ecosystem.
In truth, the clash between Veldora and Velgrynd alone would not have caused damage on that scale.
Needless to say, the location had played a significant role, and neither had been particularly considerate of their surroundings...
In any case, that single strike—which ended up having an enormous impact—became a source of puzzlement for later historians. It remained a hidden truth that would never see the light of day.