The two stood against the "Mad Dragon" Zeru, deflecting its attacks.
First, they aimed to escape outside the Labyrinth — meaning, outside of Zeru's body.
"But this is never-ending..."
Dino grumbled as he annihilated Zeru's clones that came rushing at him with concentrated magic bullets.
Zeru, having completely assimilated with the separated Labyrinth, appeared capable of limitless proliferation thanks to the authority it had acquired.
Each clone possessed combat power equivalent to the original Zeru, and they regenerated no matter how many times they were destroyed.
Even if a clone was defeated, its corpse simply regenerated, rendering the effort meaningless.
After all, since the Labyrinth itself was Zeru's true body, any energy expended within the Labyrinth would be entirely absorbed.
"Ranged techniques are useless. Know that all you're doing is benefiting the enemy."
Zegion, who had sliced Zeru apart with his gleaming wings, warned Dino.
His new ability, "Collapse Wings," shattered enemies through the vibration of paired wing blades.
It generated directional high-frequency waves, cutting through everything they touched.
Furthermore, by fusing with Zegion's magicules, it could alter its properties in response to the enemy's wavelength.
With omnidirectional vision and attacks covering every angle, Zegion's blind spots had been eliminated entirely.
Even so, since linking up with Dino, Zegion had not used a single ranged ability.
He had been dealing with enemies through direct strikes and wing slashes alone.
The reason was the aforementioned authority of the Labyrinth.
Zegion was the Labyrinth's strongest guardian and knew its properties intimately.
Dino's magicule count was enormous — in total volume, it surpassed even Zegion's.
But that didn't mean he didn't消耗. Though expending tens of thousands of magic bullets wouldn't normally be a problem, the situation was entirely different when every last drop of that energy would be absorbed.
"So Zeru is basically applying the Labyrinth's authority to individuals?!"
Dino asked, and Zegion answered with a silent nod.
Seeing that, Dino grew despondent in short order.
Clones that could regenerate endlessly as long as the Labyrinth's energy lasted. Their performance, bolstered by the use of multiple existing bodies, was equally matched across the board.
They were all Zeru, operating under a unified will.
The only silver lining was that Zeru's ego had collapsed, so its techniques were absent.
But "
Just looking at the magicule count alone, it was staggering — clearly surpassing Dino with ease.
"Hey,
『Are you stupid?! There are no weaknesses in my Labyrinth! It's got infinite floors and can even cut off all contact with the outside. Escape is impossible, obviously!』
"You idiot! Don't get cocky!! ...Wait — you're talking to me right now, aren't you?"
『Oh, that — according to Ramiris's explanation, the interior of the "Mad Dragon" Zeru, which had become the Labyrinth itself, was a completely isolated space.
It was a subspace where even Thought Communication and Thought Transmission were originally impossible.
However, thanks to Rimuru's instructions anticipating this crisis, countermeasures were fully in place.
This time, communication was made possible by routing through Zegion.
Information could be exchanged through the Soul Corridor shared between Zegion and Rimuru.
And this connection through the Soul Corridor was the key to escaping from inside the "Mad Dragon" Zeru.
"So we weren't just wandering aimlessly..."
Dino, who had grown weary of traversing corridors that showed no sign of leading to an exit no matter how far he walked, felt relieved at Ramiris's explanation.
Dino's twin swords sliced through the multiple Zerus approaching from ahead, as well as tentacles sprouting from walls and floor.
The holy sword and the demon sword — both blades gleamed, wrapped in white and black sword energy.
To minimize energy expenditure, Dino had switched to a fighting style that cloaked his swords in battle aura.
He might have appeared to be repelling enemies effortlessly, but that was only possible because Dino's swordsmanship was exceptional.
Even without a will, Zeru attacked on pure instinct, and there was no question it was dangerous.
It was precisely because Dino possessed abnormal strength that he could walk through the battlefield as though it were an empty field, keeping enemies at bay.
The same went without saying for his partner, Zegion.
Dino and Zegion walked side by side at the front, clearing obstacles.
In the middle,
Dealing with everything through swordwork alone to minimize energy expenditure turned out to be more grueling labor than he had anticipated.
Not in the sense of physical fatigue — more a matter of being mentally tedious.
Dino had considered that if defeating enemies was pointless, it would be better to hold a defensive position and not move — but according to Ramiris, such action was not in vain, and they were in fact heading toward the outermost wall.
After all, on an opponent's turf where sections could be freely rearranged, staying in one spot was unwise.
『Well, that's the situation, so could you head to the designated point?』
"Got it. And once we get there, what do we do?"
『We blast through! Fire your strongest attack and punch through the wall with everything you've got to escape!』
"...Can we do that?"
"It's not about whether we can or can't — we're doing it. There's no other way out, you know?"
"—Ah, right."
Dino decided there was no point asking further.
If Ramiris said it had to be done, then it had to be done.
The only question was whether it was possible.
Since she spoke of the strongest attack, energy consumption presumably wasn't a concern.
As long as they broke through the wall, a bit of exhaustion wouldn't matter.
The remaining question was how much power would be needed.
Dino thought about his abilities.
First, the Ultimate Ability he never intended to acquire but had obtained regardless: King of Sloth.
This specialized in mental attacks.
By incorporating its perception-blocking effect, even an unfamiliar greatsword could become an ever-shifting phantom blade — that was how much it enhanced his combat capabilities.
Its synergy with Dino's current dual-sword style went without saying.
However, against someone in a berserk state like Zeru, its effects were minimal. Regrettably, King of Sloth was useless here.
He had considered fully releasing his ability, but if that failed, there would be no second chance. He judged it wiser to keep it in reserve as a trump card.
So what to do?
(I guess I have no choice but to use it after all...)
Dino let out a resigned sigh and resolved to employ the other final手段 he had wanted to keep hidden.
◇◇◇ In the control room, Ramiris and the others were also in a flurry of activity.
Since it was unclear whether Dino would consider Veldora an enemy, countermeasures had been prepared for either outcome.
If Dino had sided with Zeru or been consumed by it, the plan was to eject the isolated section into the Infinite Corridor.
But now that Dino had become an ally, they needed to safely extract him from Zeru's body.
If it were Zegion alone, the plan had been to use the position data from the Soul Corridor to forcibly perform a spatial transfer and escape.
He could have fired an attack that pierced even momentarily through to the outer wall and used that brief opening to transfer.
However, getting Dino and the others out together required breaking through the wall on a much larger scale.
This was because transferring in an unstable state was dangerous.
For Dino alone it would have been fine, but for Pico and Garasha — who were notably inferior to Dino and Zegion — it was questionable whether they could withstand a transfer that punched through the subspace outside the Labyrinth.
For that reason, preparations were needed to ensure everything was in perfect condition.
And there was one more problem.
Zeru had evolved into a True Dragon.
Rimuru had issued instructions that this possibility existed, but the guidance —『Hmm, it'll probably be fine, right?』— had been vague enough that they considered it a low-priority concern.
In the unlikely event that this scenario occurred, they had an arrangement to make immediate contact.
As such, Ramiris was guiding Zegion and the others while
The operators in the control room were carrying out their tasks according to the manual that had been established from the start.
"Kufufufufu. So a new True Dragon has truly been born!
As expected of Lord Rimuru — you saw through everything, didn't you?"
An excited laugh echoed through the control room.
It was
He had apparently come on Rimuru's orders.
Diablo gestured with his hand for the operators who hastily stood to remain seated and continue working.
The demonic-system operators still feared Diablo as always.
"Oh, Diablo. You're quick."
"Of course.
If Zeru's evolution ended with Labyrinth assimilation, leaving it alone would have been fine... but now that it has become a new True Dragon, we cannot simply ignore it."
"True. But even though I'd heard it was possible, this is still a surprise...
Rimuru truly had read this far ahead. As expected."
"Needless to say. It goes without question.
More importantly, Benimaru — your recovery is still lacking, isn't it? Allow me to share some of my energy."
"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. I was just thinking I didn't have enough to take that thing down."
Benimaru's recovery was at less than half capacity.
Diablo then transferred some of his own energy to him.
This was not a method available to just anyone — it was only possible because Diablo could manipulate the energy of Rimuru's Void Collapse.
While the two of them did this, Ramiris spoke up.
"Of the members here, only Diablo, Zegion, and Benimaru can function in that space.
Benimaru, you've properly learned to use Space-Time Manipulation, right?"
"Don't worry, Lady Ramiris. I've only just gotten the hang of it, but I should be fine."
"Good! That should round out the lineup, then?
If Dino hadn't switched to our side, we might have needed to call Sensei or Rimuru."
"Lord Veldora is probably occupied right now. It's likely he doesn't have the bandwidth."
"I see~. Then we'll just have to count on you all.
It would've been touch and go if Dino hadn't awakened!"
"Kufufufufu. That's all according to plan, isn't it?
Lord Rimuru was fully confident that Dino would become our ally."
"As expected of Rimuru. Well, I believed Dino would come around too, of course!"
Even as Ramiris and Diablo chatted amiably, neither of them paused in their work.
And finally, all preparations were complete.
"Alright, is everyone ready? Then the final operation — let's begin~!!"
With Ramiris's command, the final operation commenced.
◇◇◇ Dino and the others had arrived at the designated point.
All that remained was to act on the signal.
Ramiris began her briefing.
『Listen up. First, I need you to break out from there.
Use about medium-level force to punch through the wall.
Then, have Zegion and Dino protect the other two and Gaia with a barrier, and leap outside.
After that, the plan is for you to obliterate that wretched evil dragon and then return!』
Dino was dumbfounded.
He couldn't comprehend a single thing that had been said.
—Medium? What the hell did that even mean?
—Obliterate the evil dragon? He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
"Hey. Hey hey hey hey! Wait a second!
What's this about? Don't tell me I'm being counted as part of the evil dragon subjugation squad!?"
He had questions about "medium" too, but the bigger issue was the dragon subjugation.
Dino hastily filed his objection, not about to let himself be drafted without consent.
But there was no way such a thing would work on Ramiris.
『You.
You want me to forgive you, right? You're going to grovel for me here.
If you don't rack up some points now, who knows what'll happen...
I'm sure you can imagine, right?』
Under Ramiris's intimidation, Dino had no choice but to concede.
She was someone he had never been able to win a verbal sparring match against, and this time his position was especially weak.
Dino reluctantly steeled himself.
"Fine. But what does 'medium' even mean?"
『You don't even know that?
It means a level of force where you don't hold nothing back, but still manage to put a hole in the wall!』
"Wait a sec! How am I supposed to figure that out from something so vague?
And you just said 'with everything you've got' a moment ago!"
『Ugh — ugh, you're so annoying, honestly, so nitpicky...
Never mind the details, just put a hole in the wall and get out! After you escape, save enough power for the ultimate strike to take down the evil dragon!』
Dino was verbally steamrolled by Ramiris.
In essence, she wanted him to break the wall while holding back enough power to attack the evil dragon afterward. He could work with that.
(Good grief, what a scatterbrained one. Coming from me, I know, but still.)
They were somewhat kindred spirits, it seemed — they understood each other surprisingly well.
"Alright, let's bust out of here then!"
Dino adopted a relaxed stance.
He was done holding back his abilities.
All that remained was to coordinate timing with Zegion, Pico, and Garasha, and punch through the wall.
『Make sure you're properly shielding with a barrier, got it?
If you get swallowed by the subspace and swept away, there's no telling where you'll end up!』
Dino nodded at Ramiris's warning.
Connected through the Soul Corridor, Zegion was one thing — but Dino and the others had no firm bond to anchor them. They had no foothold in the subspace.
Even so, Dino might manage on his own, but Pico and Garasha would likely be swept away easily.
If they were caught in the phase fluctuations within the subspace, they could be flung to any number of unknown dimensional spaces.
Because even the flow of time was distorted in those alien realms, returning to the same point from wherever they landed would be virtually hopeless.
Even Pico and Garasha, who were Awakened Demon Lord-class, would struggle to maintain their existence within the subspace.
Making this possible required at minimum the possession of Space-Time Manipulation.
Diablo and Zegion aside, this was an Ultimate Ability that even Benimaru had only just learned to use.
"Listen. In the subspace, you three won't be able to move on your own.
So hold on to me tight, alright? If you get swept away, you're not coming back."
"Understood. We won't die, but we could end up anywhere."
"Dino, I'm trusting you on this."
"Leave it to me. At this point, there's no backing out anyway."
The three of them exchanged these words.
At that moment, Zegion retrieved something from his Spatial Warehouse and held it out to Dino.
"Take this."
Overwhelmed by Zegion's authoritative manner, Dino accepted the item almost reflexively.
It was a small, round orb.
"Huh, is this the magic crystal Rimuru used to play around with?"
Zegion let the question pass in silence.
He had no intention of answering.
Dino muttered, "Fine, whatever..." with slightly forlorn eyes, and tucked it away inside his coat.
Preparations were complete.
Escaping wasn't the end — there was still work to be done afterward.
Dino understood this well and took utmost care not to misjudge his power allocation.
And then — On Ramiris's signal, the four inside Zeru unleashed their full power.