Our strikes collided head-on. I was sent flying, while a portion of her body was sliced open.
The battle had reached a stalemate.
But the outcome of this fight was already clear.
It might look like an intense battle was playing out, but I actually had quite a bit of leeway.
Sure, I was getting blown left and right, but that was just to deflect the impact—I wasn't taking any damage.
I had already more or less finished analyzing Velgrynd's abilities, and due to the mismatch in compatibility, she posed no real threat to me.
I had won.
I was certain of it.
That was when
*(Kufufufu. It seems a "rat" has snuck in.* *I've cornered it on the flagship, but what would you like me to do?)* From what he told me, eliminating it would be simple.
Each of the separate battles had been a struggle, but there were no casualties.
Currently, the "rat" was still fighting and, from among the Demon Lords, had been secretly observing the deadly battle between
It showed no signs of helping its supposed allies—a truly suspicious character.
Apparently, it had been eating the corpses of fallen allies, so it might possess some kind of Predator-type ability.
If so, was its target Testarossa?
Right now, under my orders, a barrier had been erected in this airspace to prevent spatial transfer.
I didn't want to be interfered with, and I had no intention of allowing anyone to escape.
If this "rat" was trying to flee, its only option was to leave this airspace.
It would need to break at least part of the barrier, fly the airship through the gap, then use transfer magic to get out.
In that case... the destination would be somewhere safe—namely, where its allies were.
Should I grab it by the tail here, or eliminate the "rat" first?
The one skulking around...
Suspicion pointed to Yuuki.
If I eliminated the "rat," the connection to the person behind it would be severed.
If I took out the Emperor, the Empire's homeland would be thrown into chaos. And with that chaos, they might seize the opportunity to expand their influence.
Either way, the "rat" was already caught in a trap.
I should wait for it to latch onto the Emperor and then reel it in.
Who was pulling the strings was still uncertain, but I would cut off the source of trouble once and for all right here.
*(Let the "rat" go. Its goal is to escape via spatial transfer, so track where it transfers to.* *After it makes contact with its allies there, eliminate it. Prioritize identifying who's behind it!)* *(Understood!)* Taking out the "rat" along with whoever was behind it—all in one net.
That was my thinking as I issued my orders to Diablo.
While carrying on my exchange with Diablo, my battle with Velgrynd continued.
With support from the King of Wisdom, I had enough composure to manage both—which was impressive even by my own standards.
Every one of Velgrynd's attacks was fully blocked by the absolute defense of the King of Vows.
Meanwhile, my Tempest Slash could cleave right through Velgrynd's massive body, bypassing her defenses entirely.
The situation had become overwhelmingly favorable to me—to a point where turning it around was practically impossible.
Velgrynd shifted from her dragon form into a human shape.
It was true that her enormous size left her defenses thin in places. Switching to human form to boost her defensive power was a logical choice.
But that would dramatically reduce her offensive power.
Even if her ability effects remained the same, her base usable magicule count would drop significantly.
Still... for me, it actually made things harder in a way, since I could deflect anything she threw at me, and a human-form Velgrynd was harder to engage.
Also, Veldora's sister happened to be a beautiful woman with blue hair, which made me hesitate to point a blade at her...
But what was the King of Wisdom trying to do, stripping me of the King of Vows at a time like this?
With only the King of
Velgrynd looked significantly fatigued from having even a few of my Tempest Slashes graze her.
At this rate, simply continuing my attacks would guarantee victory, but...
"You—! We are the mightiest of the Dragon-Kind...
You stole my brother, and now you dare interfere with my and Rudra's wishes!!"
Velgrynd unleashed the "Scorching Dragon Dominance Acceleration."
I would have expected reduced power in human form, but by concentrating her energy into a narrower scope, she was achieving an effect equivalent to her dragon form.
The scale was smaller, but since the target was just me, it probably didn't matter.
—Though, that attack had already been analyzed and was completely useless against me.
"You're the one who made the first move!
And wasn't it you who tried to pit me against Veldora in the first place?!"
"Silence!
My brother—being devoured by the likes of you—it was unthinkable!
I always knew he was useless, but to think he'd fall behind a Demon Lord...
And to then be absorbed by that same Demon Lord, only to turn against me..."
She was practically shouting incoherent rage.
Driven to fury, she unleashed her heat beams without any regard for aim.
Unfortunately for her, none of it worked on me.
But what should I do? If I kept attacking with my sword, I could probably destroy her—but she was Veldora's sister, after all...
*(Hey, Veldora. Can't you try to talk some sense into her? Get her to calm down?)* *(!? Don't be ridiculous! I nearly stopped breathing just now!* *There's no way I can casually talk to my sister when she's furious at me!* *And if she found out I'm alive and well, working with you—I'd be done for!)* Yeah.
I thoroughly understood that Veldora was completely unreliable.
Seriously, this guy—useless when it actually mattered.
This whole mess had started because he ran away to avoid meeting his other sister...
Wait. Why was I the one stuck dealing with this?
Gradually, I was getting irritated in a completely different way.
*(But I can't just destroy her, can I?)* *(...Ugh. That would be problematic, yes.* *Oh, I know! Make it seem like I was the one who forced you to do it!* *Absorb my sister too, just like you did with me!* *That way, she'll be in the same position I am.* *The King of Wisdom says it should be possible with your current abilities!)* ...What was this guy saying?
He was just a bratty kid who didn't want to get in trouble, so he was pinning the blame on his friend!
And if I did that, I'd be the villain!
So that was why he tried to leave only the King of Gluttony behind—there was a motive behind it after all.
The King of Wisdom and Veldora were in cahoots! I was now certain of it.
But, well, she had a point.
Standing before an older sister who was convinced her brother was dead and was raging because of it—I could understand why Veldora wouldn't want to just waltz in and show his face.
I understood that feeling, but it felt like I was being stuck with all the hassle.
Besides... later, if it came out that Veldora had been enthusiastically pouring power into the sword all along and she flew into a rage, she'd blame me for it, wouldn't she?
The moment he said things like "make it seem like I was forcing you," it was obvious he was going to push all the responsibility onto me.
Wait a minute... Same position...
I couldn't force Veldora to do anything. I only moved with his consent. Or rather, Veldora did pretty much whatever he wanted.
In principle, once a "release" had been performed, I couldn't force anything on Veldora.
If he took actions that harmed me, I could dissolve the link, but even then, Veldora wouldn't simply disappear if he refused.
Veldora would only vanish if something happened to him or if he voluntarily chose to return inside me.
In other words, there was no coercive force at all.
Put Velgrynd in the same position as Veldora.
Which meant devour Velgrynd and "release" her.
That way, I could prove that Veldora hadn't been forced, and there'd be no collateral fallout.
Sibling squabble? Not my problem. Not my department.
I decided to devour Velgrynd and put her in the same state as Veldora.
Though, if she went wild after being released, that would be a problem.
I couldn't force Velgrynd to do anything, but if she acted against my interests, could I recall her?
*(Answer. There is no problem. You have become one entity with a Dragon-Kind, giving you sufficient leeway.* *Additionally, it should be possible to impose restrictions on the "release."* *To that end, negotiations with the individual named "Scorching Dragon" Velgrynd would be required.)* Hmm?
So first, devour her.
Then, when converting her into a skill like I did with Veldora, attach conditions.
At worst, if Velgrynd didn't agree, I could simply isolate her in my Stomach without converting her into a skill.
She didn't need to become a skill—I could release her once everything was over.
Since becoming one with a Dragon-Kind, my skill's performance had improved, and isolating a single Velgrynd shouldn't be a problem.
The plan was decided.
Time to execute it.
"Either way, I'm eliminating the threat! I won't let you lay a hand on us again.
Velgrynd, reflect on your actions for a while!!"
"Don't underestimate me! Things won't go your way!"
The fierce exchange with Velgrynd continued.
She was fast—no question about it. Capturing her was proving difficult.
She had less combat power in human form, yet somehow she was even harder to pin down.
Even so, I made use of the King of Vows, materializing an Adiabatic Prison to cut off her escape routes.
And finally, I managed to capture Velgrynd.
"You've got to be kidding me! Let me out of here—let me OUT!!"
Velgrynd thrashed about.
A suspicious figure cornering a beautiful woman—and that figure was me.
If I'd still been in my slime form, it would've been a crime. And even now, in the body of a roughly sixteen-year-old girl, the atmosphere was decidedly... sinister.
There was nothing I could do about it.
This was all for eliminating threats.
I extended my hand toward Velgrynd and devoured her body in one go.
Isolating her aggressive energy—it proceeded without any issue.
But she was a Dragon-Kind, after all.
I had her completely captured, yet she refused to be contained.
Even wrapped in the Adiabatic Prison, she thrashed so violently that the scorching heat threatened to burn through my body.
When someone who was immune to heat could still feel the burn, you knew it was bad.
I wasn't taking damage, but if my resolve wavered here, I had a feeling I'd be burned all at once.
This was, properly speaking, a clash of wills.
"You think I'll go easy just because my brother did?!
And before long, Rudra will come to rescue me!
It's over for you, Demon Lord Rimuru!"
I didn't think so.
The situation was already a dead end, and the airship carrying Rudra had begun retreating from this airspace.
"However, your precious Emperor Rudra seems to have abandoned you and is making a run for it?"
"That's absurd! Rudra is invincible as long as I'm here. There's no way he'd run..."
Velgrynd tried to scoff at my words, then faltered.
She had noticed the airship accelerating to escape the airspace.
"W-What...? No... Why? Why are you abandoning me... Rudra?!"
Then, as if sensing something, she closed her eyes.
After a moment, the force resisting my absorption vanished.
Without any further resistance, Velgrynd settled into my Stomach.
—So that was it... You were already broken, weren't you, Rudra...
She left those words behind.
Velgrynd grew quiet.
She seemed to have given up on something, as though she had finally come to understand.
She showed no signs of resisting, but I couldn't very well just absorb her straight away.
First, I needed to negotiate.
She was in a state of deep sorrow, and I hesitated to even speak to her.
*(Fine. If you're going to destroy me, go ahead. I acknowledge my defeat, and I won't resist.* *But understand this.* *You killed my brother, and now you'll kill me too.* *My sister,
She seemed to believe that devouring Veldora had killed him, and she had steeled herself to suffer the same fate.
She wouldn't listen to a word I had to say, which made things quite difficult.
*(What is it you want?!* *With Rudra broken, there's no meaning left in my life.* *I told you to devour me if you want!)* She must have had an impatient personality—Velgrynd was getting angry again.
Honestly, it was scary. I could now understand why Veldora had been wary of her.
*(You seem to be under a misunderstanding, but Veldora is alive!* *Why would I kill a friend? Just listen to what I have to say!)* *(What did you say!?)* After what felt like an eternity of persuasion—though it was probably only a few seconds—Velgrynd finally grasped the situation.
Incidentally, during that entire time, Veldora didn't say a single word. He was desperate to pin all the blame on me.
I felt somewhat exhausted, but I pressed on with the negotiation.
I told her that if she was willing to cooperate, I would grant her the same freedom as Veldora.
If she had no intention of cooperating, I would release her once everything was over.
Velgrynd fell silent for a while, deep in thought.
Then, slowly: *(I have a condition. No, not so much a condition—a request. Will you hear it?)* I had a rough idea of what was coming from the flow of the conversation, but I decided to listen to what Velgrynd had to say.
As I expected, Velgrynd's request was about Emperor Rudra.
After apologizing for being the first to attack us, Velgrynd began her explanation.
Emperor Rudra had been consumed by the Ultimate Skill "King of Justice" that he possessed, and his end was near.
That was why he had been meticulously preparing for his bout with Guy, hoping to secure a victory.
Because of that, he had allowed my rise to power, and as a result, all his plans had ended in failure—whether that was bad luck or inevitable destiny...
In any case, based on the Emperor's abilities, as long as Velgrynd was present, he would be absolutely safe and had no need to flee.
It wasn't that Rudra hadn't realized this—the very fact that the situation had come to this already proved the abnormality of his mind.
He possessed an absolutely invincible barrier, plus the ability to apply attribute transformation to Velgrynd's powers through the King of Justice. There was no question he had lost the ability to make rational judgments.
More than anything, *(It was like he couldn't hear my voice anymore. Probably, Rudra is already... broken.)* Velgrynd told me this with evident sorrow. And then: *(Please... release Rudra's soul from the Wheel of Reincarnation.* *That person has lived for so long, bearing all of our wishes on his shoulders...)* She asked this of me.
But even if I could unify things, there was no clear vision for what came after.
Either way, if the King of Justice's rampage couldn't be stopped, winning against Guy would be meaningless.
As I was thinking this: *(No, at the point of winning the game, I had intended to return the King of Justice.* *Once Guy was defeated, it would no longer be needed.)* Velgrynd answered my unspoken question.
She said it could be returned—or rather, erased.
It seemed the King of Justice's power could be used to travel through the Sky Gate to the Celestial World.
There, an altar dedicated to the Star King Dragon
She had planned to visit the altar while reporting the victory, and return the skill in passing.
Apparently, the Ultimate Skill "King of Justice" had originally belonged to the Star King Dragon Veldanava.
*(No matter how much of a "Saint" Rudra was, there was a limit to how long he could control it.* *That was why he needed to repeatedly reincarnate, being reborn while maintaining his consciousness.* *The fact that he kept it under control for over two thousand years is proof enough of the strength of his will...* *But that ends now.* *Please... release Rudra.)* Velgrynd concluded her explanation.
Just then, Diablo sent another report at the perfect moment.
He said: *(Lord Rimuru, someone you would also know—
I understood.
The Emperor could no longer be kept alive.
I didn't know all the details, but Damrada—who I believed to be loyal to the Emperor (this old man had always been full of mysteries; I'd thought he was one of Yuuki's inner circle, but apparently not)—wished for the Emperor's death.
There must have been circumstances similar to Velgrynd's.
A great Emperor, was he? His past accomplishments mattered less than the current situation.
As I was about to sink into contemplation: *(Lord Rimuru, the battle between Carrera and Testarossa has also concluded.* *Due to my negligence, the "rat" interfered.* *I offer my sincerest apologies.)* *(Did it escape?)* *(No. I have tracked its movements.* *I've planted
As it turned out, Moss had neutralized the rat's attack, so its actual impact on Carrera and Testarossa's fight was minimal.
Still, for the two of them—battered and bruised as they were—it had interrupted the continuation of their battle.
I couldn't forgive that "rat."
And once again, Carrera had accepted Testarossa's request as a contract to handle Rudra's elimination...
Having accepted it, she would have to go through with it.
I steeled myself.
*(Velgrynd, I swear I will release Rudra. Cooperate with me!)* I declared.
Velgrynd, without a moment's hesitation, conveyed her agreement.
The contract was forged.
Velgrynd would be sublimated within me, reborn as a new skill.