His feet had been pinned down, and they had been inflicting torture-like pain on him continuously — but all of that came to an abrupt end.
He decided to chalk up the pleasant sensation he was starting to feel to mere imagination, and instead focused on thinking about why Beretta and Apito had left.
What the hell were those guys? Dino wondered, but it was only a momentary thought.
The reason became clear immediately.
He detected a massive energy response approaching at tremendous speed.
The Labyrinth's interior seemed to have different dimensional layers on each floor; after a few floors' separation, "Magic Perception" became difficult to use.
However, since the entity was making no effort to conceal itself, the response was still picked up by Dino's detection despite being separated by several floors.
"Hey,
Dino shouted his question.
The reply he received was: 『Um, well, for now, the match is on hold. If you want to continue, come back later!』
—an utterly incomprehensible response.
(So that's it.
Deciding he had escaped the crisis, Dino smirked to himself.
However, that was far too naive a way of thinking.
Zero, now fused with the Labyrinth, had completely lost all reason — just as Rimuru and the others had predicted.
After all, Zero had only been developed as a self through imprinting. Before the torrent of immense power, even resistance became futile, reducing the entity to nothing but instinct.
But that was exactly as Veldora had intended.
The entity absorbed the surrounding energy, proliferated, and grew to enormous size.
And then, it drove the region it had taken root in to collapse.
That was the true operational method of the completed 『Sovereign of Evil Dragons』.
Even a fighter of Zero's caliber was, in the end, merely a catalyst for activation.
The stronger the catalyst, the more powerful the 『Sovereign of Evil Dragon』 became in its rampage.
And this time, the setting was the Labyrinth's interior, where a vast energy supply was readily available.
The evil dragon that was born sublimated all the absorbed energy at once and evolved into a being that could be called the sixth dragon species.
And then, following its evil instincts, it began annihilating every living thing within the Labyrinth.
Its name was the "Deranged Evil Dragon" Zero.
Malice bared its fangs.
◇◇◇ The Labyrinth's interior trembled violently.
The source of the tremors was approaching the floor where Dino and the others were located.
"Um, I'm getting a really bad feeling about this…?"
"What a coincidence. So am I,
Pico and Galashia were talking nervously.
Directed at the two of them, Dino — who had been struggling to pull his feet free from the metalized ground — shouted: "Hey, you two, forget all that and help me get my feet out!
That bastard Beretta metalized the ground to pin me in place and then ran off…"
He had been fighting a losing battle trying to extract his feet from the metalized ground. It seemed he had been completely forgotten, which clearly hadn't amused him.
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. But what a nasty ability. You've Bio-Deified yourself — can't you turn yourself into energy?"
"I can't. It's like some god-awful ability — interference waves are flowing through…"
"那个 puppet demon-looking thing we fought was about as strong as that, or maybe even stronger. Being trapped in physical matter is quite the humiliation for an astral lifeform, isn't it, Dino?"
"Shut up. Just hurry up and help me, Pico."
"You brought this on yourself, Dino. This is what happens when you live in laziness forever. If you had bothered to get serious, you never would have ended up in such a pathetic situation, would you?"
"Now I wonder about that? I was actually fairly serious! At the very least, I was dead serious about resisting the pain!"
Pico and Galashia stared at Dino as though looking at an idiot.
Their gazes clearly conveyed the intent: if you had the energy to get serious about the pain, you could have used that energy to escape instead.
"Wh-what's with you two? I've got my own reasons for—"
Just as Dino was saying that, it arrived on their floor.
The one driven by extreme hunger to the point of distinguishing neither friend nor foe — the "Deranged Evil Dragon" Zero.
"Ugh… How should I put this? Zero looks like a completely different person…"
"Or rather, is that even Zero?"
"This is bad. It's completely lost its reason. Are we in danger too?"
The three were stunned, but Galashia was the first to sense the danger.
And she realized that the bad premonition she had been feeling since earlier was spot-on.
The instant their eyes met, the "Deranged Evil Dragon" Zero lunged at the three of them.
Pico and Galashia had been conserving their energy for an escape. Galashia stepped forward and blocked a tentacle strike from the "Deranged Evil Dragon" Zero.
The 『Round Shield』 equipped on her left hand transformed into a 『Giant Shield』 far too large for Galashia's slender frame, deflecting the sharp, spear-like tentacles one after another.
Its form bore a striking resemblance to the 『Giant Shield』 that Geld possessed, and its performance was roughly equivalent.
Originally, Galashia had been a defense-focused Heavy Warrior.
However, Zero — now the "Deranged Evil Dragon" Zero — had merged with the Labyrinth and could now generate tentacles from every direction — up, down, left, right, from every conceivable point.
A single shield couldn't block everything, and Galashia's situation looked dire.
Meanwhile, Pico — protected by Galashia — unleashed a volley of countless spears, as if to cancel out the tentacles.
But even that attack was of limited effectiveness against the seemingly infinite tide of tentacles.
In a battle of numbers, the "Deranged Evil Dragon" Zero, which possessed energy on par with the dragon species, was simply too much to handle.
Pico and Galashia's energy was being eroded rapidly, and that energy in turn strengthened the "Deranged Evil Dragon" Zero.
"This is bad! At this rate, we'll lose all our energy and get eaten!"
"What should we do? Even my defense won't hold long against this kind of attack. And there's a limit to how many shields I can summon!?"
The two of them were focused solely on self-defense for the moment, but the fundamental problem was that unless they defeated Zero, they were only postponing death.
And they had very little time to think.
The "Deranged Evil Dragon" Zero could absorb energy from within the Labyrinth, but Pico and Galashia could only expend theirs.
(What do I do? At this rate, we'll all be wiped out. But if that happens, then to Veldora…)
Dino agonized.
—Dino, think carefully.
(She's right. That's exactly it. Why was I agonizing over this?
Why did I go through the trouble of trying to release
Wasn't it to get Veldanava to let go of the idea that Veldanava had been destroyed?
At some point, did I start mistaking Veldora for Veldanava?
I do have the memories, but the personality and way of thinking are completely different…
Come to think of it, it's ridiculous. Could it be that even my thoughts were being manipulated?
Well, whatever. Right now, I need to deal with Zero first!)
Dino clenched his fist and slapped his own cheek with full force.
There was no pain. However, the significant damage numbed his brain.
But with that single strike, the worries that had been smoldering inside Dino were blown away.
"Hey, you two! I've decided to turn against that bastard Veldora. But what about you? Are you going to keep following me—"
"Aaaagh, enough already! Who cares about the details — just hurry up and save us, you good-for-nothing!"
"That's right, Dino. If you don't hurry, he'll break through my shield. I've been stacking defensive shields one after another, but they're being destroyed one by one. Even for me, there's a limit to how long I can buy us time—"
"And besides, Dino. We don't think this world is so bad, you know. Those Octopaste things I ate when we infiltrated this country were pretty tasty too."
"They reportedly have monster ingredients in them, but they're surprisingly good."
"So, like, we really didn't want this kind of war in the first place. We only went along with it because you said you'd follow Veldora."
"That's right, Dino. We are the ones following you."
"You two…"
Dino couldn't hide his genuine surprise at Pico and Galashia's reactions.
He had been bewildered by the fact that they held no loyalty toward Veldora, who was essentially a god.
But at the same time, he realized.
It seemed he had indeed been subjected to thought manipulation.
"Alright, got it. Sorry for keeping you waiting."
With that, Dino flashed a smile, his doubts cleared.
He said to Pico with that same smile, "So, Pico — could you do something about this metal pinning my feet?" and was promptly punched by Pico, but that's neither here nor there.
◇◇◇ Wearing a fearless grin, Dino stepped forward.
He had Pico destroy the ground beneath his feet and successfully freed himself.
"Now then. Time to get serious for the first time in a while."
As he murmured those words, the eyes that were always half-asleep opened wide.
"Divine Armament, manifest!"
Dino Bio-Deified his own body for the first time in ages, assuming his combat form.
His figure was a radiant one, adorned with six pairs — twelve wings — of gleaming white and black.
Clad in spiritual attire that resembled a black priest's cassock, he wielded two summoned swords.
The 『Golden Sword』 and the 『Dark Silver Sword』.
They were Mythic Grade divine artifacts — the strongest swords, forged from the 『Core of Stars』.
One white and one black — a holy sword and a demonic sword.
A gleaming golden Excalibur, and a Caliburn whose pitch-black blade was studded with stars like scattered constellations.
A dual swordsman who skillfully wielded these polar-opposite blades — that was Dino's fighting style.
Wielding the Mythic Grade 『Greatsword』 "Fang Breaker" had been merely a superficial style, and it was also the reason Ramiris had realized Dino wasn't being serious.
Dino had never trained the skill to wield a 『Greatsword』 with both hands, so during the previous invasion, he had relied entirely on his physical performance and the transcendent state granted by his Ultimate Ability, 『King of Sloth』.
If Dino had drawn his twin swords, his skill would have surpassed even that of
The strongest swordsman in this world — that was Dino.
Dino walked forward casually and took his place beside Galashia, who was blocking the tentacles with her shield.
"Leave the rest to me."
With those words, he instantly sliced through every tentacle in sight.
Galashia finally got a moment to breathe.
It had been over a thousand years since she had seen Dino in this form, but the sense of reassurance he gave her was the same as ever.
(Truly… He really is the laziest…)
Despite her exasperation, a smile naturally crept onto Galashia's face.
"Go, Dino! Send that monster flying!"
Pico cheered him on.
Dino gave a light shrug in response to Pico's encouragement.
And then— *Tap, tap.* The sound of footsteps could be heard.
Someone was walking over with unhurried steps.
And then, that person addressed Dino: "So that's your true power?
The 'Deathcarved Butterfly' seal I inscribed on you has been broken too, I see. As expected. My eyes never did deceive me.
So, have you decided to apologize to Lady Ramiris?"
The man who had arrived,
It seemed he had anticipated this the moment he realized he couldn't fully dominate Dino.
That Dino's true power was on par with — or perhaps exceeded — Zegion's own.
"Yeah. Sorry about that, Ramiris."
Dino offered his apology sincerely.
Ramiris's response was: 『Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! It seems my correctness has been proven once again! Very well, I forgive you! So, Dino — go take care of that evil "dragon species" right now!!』
Dino gave a wry smile at that, then composed his expression.
He had noticed that Ramiris's words had included the term "dragon species."
(Oh boy, Zero… He took in the Labyrinth and evolved into a "dragon species," did he?
No — that was exactly Veldora's goal in giving him the 『Sovereign of Evil Dragons』.
If that's the case, then he fully intended to use up his subordinate until there was nothing left.
And yet — that kind of person could never be the reincarnation of Veldanava, that's for sure.)
With his doubts彻底 cleared, Dino stood tall.
"So, are you going to cooperate, Zegion?"
"Of course."
Hearing Zegion's unhesitating reply, Dino smiled.
Without ceremony, he handed a sword to Zegion.
It was the Mythic Grade 『Greatsword』 "Fang Breaker" — the one Dino had been using as a decoy.
"I'll take it. Let's deal with that thing quickly and settle things with Veldora."
Zegion gave Dino a light nod, said "I'll accept it," and took the sword with one hand.
Then Zegion slung "Fang Breaker" across his back.
The moment he did, "Fang Breaker" blazed with a blinding radiance.
When that light subsided, a pair of luminous wings had sprouted from Zegion's back.
It was the reborn form of "Fang Breaker," fused with Zegion.
The moment of birth for Zegion's new power — "Shattered Wings."
"…Looks like it accepted you as its master just like that. I could never get 'Fang Breaker' to acknowledge me as its master, though…"
Dino grumbled.
Zegion, unperturbed, turned to Pico and handed her what he had been carrying in one arm.
"Kyuiii!!"
It was the little dragon, Gaia.
Before heading off to defeat Zero, Zegion had searched for and protected Gaia within the Labyrinth.
"This dragon is the beloved companion of Demon Lord Milim. Be sure to treat it with the utmost care."
"Wait, wha— Hold on!? Why me!?"
Pico panicked. She protested about why it had to be her, but one could say it was the appropriate role.
Since Galashia was focused entirely on defense, Pico was the only one with a free hand.
While this exchange was taking place, the tentacle attacks continued without cease.
Dino deflected every single one.
And so, the preparations for those who remained stranded within the Labyrinth were complete.
Dino and Zegion.
Now it was time for the two of them to go on the offensive.