Her entire body radiated a pure white luminescence, and her scales resembled jewels more captivating than white pearls—gems of unfathomable depth that drew in anyone who beheld them.
She was undeniably the "White Ice Dragon" Velzard, the strongest of dragons in all her glory.
Yet now, those eyes—eyes that normally brimmed with the warmth of a deep ocean—were stained crimson with a rage as turbulent as a storm-tossed sea.
Looking into those eyes, Velgrynd suddenly found herself wondering.
Why was her sister, Velzard, equating someone like Velda with their brother, the "Star King Dragon"
At the very least, it seemed unthinkable that Velzard—who possessed spiritual strength at least equal to Velgrynd's own—could fall victim to any form of mental manipulation.
And more than anything, Velzard's nature was specialized in every conceivable form of defense.
On top of that, Velzard held the Ultimate Skill "King of Patience."
The ultimate defensive ability, born from Velzard's iron will.
Combined with her innate nature, there was no doubt that Velzard was the foremost ability user when it came to defense.
And the proof of that was her unwavering iron will—a will so strong it had given birth to the "King of Patience."
A heart unshakable by anything, strong enough to produce the "King of Patience."
That meant possessing a calm, observant eye that could not be swayed by anything, along with an immovable spirit.
It was unthinkable that someone like Velzard could mistake the identity of her own brother.
True, there was no question that Velda possessed Veldanava's memories. But that alone, Velgrynd reasoned, was not proof that Velda and their brother were the same person.
Did Velzard think differently? But then— Throughout Velgrynd's long life, she had rarely ever seen Velzard display emotion.
And yet now— Consumed by rage, maddened by jealousy…
The sight was worlds apart from the Velzard she normally knew.
Velgrynd felt a deep sense of unease at that sight.
Furthermore, the words Velzard had directed at Rudora were suspicious as well. The phrase "nothing more than a human," spat out with such vitriol, seemed far too devoid of genuine feeling to be directed at an old acquaintance.
Yes—as though every last drop of her emotion had been siphoned away by negative feelings like jealousy and rage.
(As I suspected… Big Sister must be under someone's control.)
Velgrynd reached that conclusion.
If that was the case, she needed to shake Velzard awake, just as she had declared.
But Velgrynd knew better than anyone how difficult that would be.
True, Velgrynd could fight Velzard to a draw, even with Velzard as her opponent.
But only within the bounds of a sisterly squabble.
If she fought with the genuine intent to kill, Velgrynd would lose to Velzard one hundred percent of the time.
Velzard boasted the second-highest Magicule count after Veldanava and possessed the ultimate defense. That was who Velzard was.
Even with Velgrynd specialized in offense, she could not breach Velzard's defenses.
Likewise, Velzard's offensive power could not inflict a fatal blow on Velgrynd.
That was the reason they were perceived as evenly matched by those around them, but in truth, the situation was quite different.
Velgrynd's "Scorching Breath" launched simultaneous attacks from multiple angles, only to be scattered by the "Beautiful Rime" blowing forth from Velzard, blooming into grand bursts of fire in midair.
Meanwhile, Velzard's "Frost Breath" was equally rendered to nothing, evaporated by the "Gorgeous Crimson
Neither side sustained damage, but the shockwaves from their clashes wreaked havoc upon the frozen world around them.
And as the battle between these two, who appeared evenly matched at first glance, progressed—the disparity in their standing gradually became clear.
Something was wrong. It was Velgrynd who noticed.
Normally, in an all-out fight like this, the difference in maximum Magicule reserves should have led to Velgrynd's defeat.
Without both sides going all out, the difference was imperceptible, but the gap in their consumption was unmistakable.
No—there had been a gap.
If this were the Velgrynd of a little while ago, the difference in energy recovery would have steadily whittled her strength away.
But now, for some reason, she felt remarkably good.
Her prized Ultimate Skill, "King of Mercy," was also operating with greater efficiency than ever before.
It responded to Velgrynd's will without the slightest delay, fulfilling her desires with zero error.
"Heh heh, you've improved, Velgrynd."
"Not nearly enough, Big Sister."
Velgrynd lightly deflected Velzard's words, which carried a note of surprise.
She truly had power to spare.
There was only one possible cause she could think of.
Yes.
It had to be the doing of that suspicious slime—the one named Rimuru, her dear little brother's troublesome friend.
The one whose ultimate technique, "Scorching Dragon Sovereign's Accelerated Excitation," Velgrynd's own trump card, had failed against, and who had evolved into a "
An impossible existence, one who easily surpassed even Velgrynd.
Even if the being did carry dragon factor, Velgrynd had refused to accept such a suspicious creature as her brother.
And yet, that same slime had been the benefactor who granted Velgrynd's request and freed Rudora.
More importantly, it was that slime who had manifested Velgrynd, and the one she had sworn to cooperate with. Of that, there was no doubt.
If so, then there was nothing left to hesitate over.
The only thing binding Velgrynd now was her own troubled heart.
Who was Rudora's enemy? What was Velda, really?
None of that mattered.
All that mattered was that Velda was an eyesore. That was all.
The being had usurped the name of the brother she loved, deceived her only sister, and manipulated her.
Such an existence could never be forgiven.
If someone sought to bind beings like them—beings who were meant to be free—then that made them an enemy. That was the correct conclusion.
At the very least, Demon Lord Rimuru had never tried to bind Velgrynd.
So as long as there was reason to believe in that promise, Velgrynd would not break her agreement with Demon Lord Rimuru.
Velgrynd had believed that victory was impossible, given the absolute difference in their energy reserves.
But it seemed she had been wrong.
Having been consumed by Demon Lord Rimuru, Velgrynd had been reborn stronger than before.
"Now then, Big Sister, I'll be putting you out of your misery soon enough."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Velgrynd. I'm busy too, so let's finish this little farce quickly."
Their gazes crossed.
And with tremendous energy surging from both of them, the clash intensified further.
◇◇◇ Guy and Chloe continued their duel with swords alone.
Neither was fighting seriously.
But they waged their battle on a higher plane—one imperceptible to ordinary observers.
Guy, looking thoroughly amused, had turned his attention not to his own fight but to the clash between the sister dragons overhead.
That was precisely why he was the first to notice.
The arrival of an angel of light descending from the sky above.
"That's…"
Guy murmured softly.
But everything was already too late.
He had clearly seen the angel smirk.
"Hey! You lot, this place is—"
Before Guy's warning could reach anyone, a spherical spatial barrier materialized over the northern lands.
And what rang out was the voice of a beautiful woman.
"Dominion of the Chief Angel!!"
In that instant, Guy understood everything.
Within this domain, everyone except himself had surely been affected by that ability.
But—rare for Guy—his understanding had been mistaken.
◇◇◇ Lucia let out a triumphant laugh.
Everything had gone according to Velda's design.
No—it had surpassed the design. The situation was as perfect as it could be.
It was as though she were saying she had crafted this outcome by revising the plan countless times for this very moment.
Chloe's domination not going smoothly had, in hindsight, worked out for the best.
After all, the strongest hero's Physical Body would now belong to Lucia, Velda's right hand.
And she would claim two "True Dragons" in the process.
Using an angel-type Ultimate Skill as the medium, she would establish complete domination.
It was one of the hidden abilities of the Ultimate Skill "King of Righteousness."
She had orchestrated a supreme battle among the most powerful beings here in the northern lands.
Velgrynd would inevitably appear, worried about her sister Velzard. That was Velda's prediction.
Velgrynd, whose Thought Communication could not be reached, could still be dominated through direct ability activation, making resistance impossible.
It was Velda's stratagem, one based on intimate knowledge of how abilities worked.
She intended to pin down Guy while placing both Velzard and Velgrynd under complete domination.
And then there was the awakened hero, Chloe Obert.
No matter how strong a hero she was, she was ultimately only human.
At this stage, she had served her purpose and could be disposed of without issue—an insignificant existence.
—Or so it would have been, had she not possessed the Ultimate Skill "King of Hope."
Now, Chloe's survival or death was a trivial matter.
But viewed as a vessel for incarnation, there could be no body more wondrous than Chloe's.
Strong. Beautiful.
A mortal who had reached the realm of gods.
Truly, the perfect new body for Lucia to claim in this world.
A body specialized for combat, separate from the corpse Velda had granted Lucia.
What made this possible was the new ability bestowed upon her by Velda—"Multiple Existence."
Lucia's own abilities were ill-suited to dividing energy and operating separately, as Multiple Existence required. After all, Lucia's body existed as a definitive main vessel.
Above all, she lacked the ability to create multiple bodies to house her spirit.
This wasn't a deficiency on Lucia's part—rather, it was Rimuru who was abnormal for being able to create bodies freely at will.
Even Veldora and Velgrynd had their bodies created by Rimuru's ability.
Since Lucia could not freely duplicate her body, Multiple Existence had been a treasure gathering dust.
But if she prepared a new vessel, a simple projection of consciousness would suffice.
Lucia's body would serve solely as a command center, remaining by Velda's side in the heavens, safe from harm.
And only her energy and consciousness as a spiritual life-form would be transferred into Chloe's body as a host, through Multiple Existence.
That Chloe was present in this situation was proof of the God's masterful hand.
Even Yuuki's domination ability had failed to fully control her—she had made a fool of him, and he hadn't even noticed that Chloe had acquired the Ultimate Skill "King of Hope."
Lucia seethed with irritation. True to form, Chloe had hidden her ability until she was pushed to the absolute limit, never letting on.
After all, with the Unique Skills "Absolute Severance" and "Infinite Prison," she had been abnormally strong for a human to begin with.
But this time, facing Velzard's full-powered assault, Chloe had been forced to reveal the ability she'd been concealing.
The discovery that Chloe also possessed an angel-type ability had been a fortunate coincidence.
Originally, the plan had been to kill Guy for certain.
Disposing of Chloe was merely a bonus.
Against the ever-vigilant Guy, even Velzard and Chloe together would have the disadvantage.
Worse still, if Guy somehow won, there was a risk of him growing even stronger.
To prevent that, a guaranteed victory was necessary.
She had commanded Velzard to prolong the three-way battle.
The moment Velgrynd appeared, she would make her move—strengthening "Dominion of the Chief Angel" through an inescapable spatial barrier.
And that strategy had succeeded brilliantly. Domination was now complete.
Including Hero Chloe herself, no less.
Even for Guy, fighting both sister dragons simultaneously meant he could not win.
In the meantime, Lucia would seize Chloe's body and deliver the killing blow to Guy.
For Lucia, who had not yet incarnated, this was the perfect timing.
The plan had been revised and made all the more perfect.
◇◇◇ In what had been a grand hall, the "True Dragon" sisters now stood in human form.
As Velzard had returned to her humanoid shape, so too had Velgrynd reverted to a human figure.
Velzard's gaze was fixed on Guy and Chloe facing each other— No—beyond them, where a beautiful angel was descending from the heavens.
She was likely the owner of that beautiful voice that had rung out moments after the barrier had been deployed.
The wielder of that incantation—or rather, that True Words, the absolute command language of domination.
The angel touched down upon the earth and spoke.
"Stand down. I am Lucia, the 'Angel of the End,' right hand of Lord Velda."
She declared her identity solemnly, radiating Intimidation.
Velzard heard those words and offered a bow of respect toward Lucia.
Velgrynd found that deeply unpleasant.
But what made no sense was that, despite finding it unpleasant, even Velgrynd felt compelled to comply.
"So it really is you! Those words—they force absolute obedience on anyone with an angel-type ability, don't they?"
"Heh. As expected of
"Shut up! Don't you dare act high and mighty, you winged insect!"
Guy roared and lunged forward with his blade.
But his sword was easily deflected by a barrier that materialized before Lucia.
Lucia smirked at him with mocking amusement and stepped toward Chloe.
Having heard Guy's words, Velgrynd too now understood.
What was happening to her.
And what had happened to her sister.
(I won't allow this. I'll never forgive you, Velda!!)
Overwhelmed by furious rage and humiliation, Velgrynd was consumed by a passion so intense she felt she might faint.
At the same time, she thought.
If this continued, everything would unfold exactly as Velda had planned.
Velgrynd could not disobey the command, and Velzard was already under complete domination.
No matter how cunning and powerful Guy was, facing both Velzard and Velzard simultaneously left no path to victory.
Lucia was so confident in her triumph that she seemed to be telling Guy to do as he pleased, ignoring his attacks entirely.
She approached Chloe.
"Chloe Obert, accept me."
With those final words, the consciousness projection from Lucia's Multiple Existence was sucked into Chloe.
"Tch!"
Frantically, Guy attacked Chloe along with Lucia, but it was all too late.
A barrier generated by Lucia's ability appeared before Chloe.
It meant that Lucia had fully merged with Chloe and successfully incarnated.
Understanding this, Guy showed a flicker of panic for the first time.
Lucia was certain of her victory, and a smile crept onto her lips.
And her main body, having finished transferring her energy and fragments of consciousness to Chloe, teleported to the heavens.
With the certainty of victory.
The hero's abilities, combined with Lucia's divine spiritual power.
In this very moment, a flawless being was about to be born.
Despair spread across the scene—or so it seemed to Velgrynd.
But then, a voice rang out.
"KUAAA-HAHAHAHAHA! I have arrived!"
A boisterous laugh that shattered the atmosphere.
A voice brimming with hope—so much so that it blew even despair away.
What is the true identity of this mysterious laughter?!
—I'm terribly sorry, but the next update will be next Sunday. I'll do my best, so please look forward to it.