Guy's sword was renamed from Earth God to World.
The cheerful laughter echoed through the grand hall.
Hearing it,
She no longer felt anxious about her body being manipulated, unable to move as she wished.
More problematic than that was the thought of her foolish brother Veldora seeing her in such a pathetic state, controlled like a puppet—that was what Velgrynd was worried about.
That was bad. Extremely bad.
If it happened once, that was one thing, but exposing her incompetence twice would greatly damage her dignity as an elder sister.
(Foolish brother... He must have noticed I was being controlled and got cocky enough to show his face...)
Listening to that boisterous laughter, she felt anger welling up inside her.
Velgrynd calmed herself and once again examined her body in depth.
As before, her body refused to respond to her will. However, when she traced the cause, she discovered that some form of interference was being conducted deep within her Heart Core, through her Ultimate Skill.
This was the cause— A narrow corridor connecting Ultimate Skill [King of Mercy] to Ultimate Skill [King of Justice] had been constructed, with [King of Mercy] as the axis.
She realized that what Lucia had called "Dominion of the Chief Angel" was being conducted through this corridor.
And that meant the domination circuit had been built into the Ultimate Skill from the very beginning...
(So essentially, they exploited a mechanism our brother had constructed for emergency domination—) Velgrynd arrived at the true nature of this incident—a mechanism that could manipulate not only herself, but her elder sister
If the mechanism had been constructed by their brother
Though Veldora's arrival had dispelled her sense of despair, the situation remained far from favorable.
She wanted to click her tongue in irritation, but her body wouldn't obey.
(Now what should I do?)
At the very moment she thought this, a mysterious voice echoed from deep within her.
—*If you wish it, I shall grant you greater power*— The mysterious voice whispered.
It was no mere hallucination—it was a voice of clear, strong will.
It bore a resemblance to the Voice of the World, yet carried a gentleness that was softer, more refined.
The issue was the meaning of its words.
(Greater power? If I obtained that, could I break through this situation?)
—*That is possible. I affirm this*— (So it's possible. Then there's no need to hesitate!)
Velgrynd consented without a moment's doubt.
Yes. Velgrynd had the resolve to ally with even a demon if it meant breaking free from this situation—this humiliating spectacle before her foolish brother.
—*Velgrynd's will has been confirmed. Activating "Skill Modification"*— That voice declared.
In that instant, she felt an impossible wave of power.
It emanated from deep within her, gently enveloping her entire body.
—*Announcement. Individual: "Scorch Dragon" Velgrynd's Ultimate Skill [King of Mercy] has evolved into Ultimate Skill [King of Flame God]*— With a fantastical and solemn resonance, the Voice of the World made its grand proclamation.
But that voice was audible only to Velgrynd. Complete concealment had been achieved.
And now, Velgrynd had been liberated from every chain.
At this unbelievable event that had befallen her, Velgrynd's thoughts nearly ground to a halt.
Overwhelmed by the sheer volume and abnormality of information, she—who typically found thinking to be a chore—couldn't help but be bewildered.
But none of that mattered now.
What was most important of all...
There was only one person she could think of who had made this phenomenon possible.
That carefree Slime.
The Demon Lord named Rimuru.
The friend of her foolish brother.
(Could it be...!? Could that Slime have... tampered with the domination circuit embedded in the Ultimate Skill, and in the gap left behind, woven in my will and ability to trigger this evolution!? That goes far beyond mere optimization!! Such a nonsensical feat—only our brother could pull something like that off... but if such an existence truly did exist...)
Velgrynd shuddered at the impossible thought.
On the verge of spiraling into a loop of shock, she caught herself—now was no time for that—and pulled her consciousness back to reality.
Lucia glanced at Velgrynd with suspicion, but Velgrynd simply disregarded it.
To the current Velgrynd, Lucia was nothing more than an insignificant insect.
Her abilities had grown so powerful that she could afford to think that way.
◇◇◇ "Fuhuhu, FWAHAHAHAHA!"
Being sent toward a place where both her sisters were, she'd briefly wondered what would become of her, but it seemed the gods hadn't abandoned her after all!
Veldora thought this and felt relief from the bottom of his heart.
Both his sisters were being controlled.
They couldn't move of their own will and were at the beck and call of an angel named Lucia.
He would use this chance to rescue them in spectacular fashion. By doing so, both sisters would feel grateful toward Veldora.
And then, reflecting on how terribly they'd treated him before, they would apologize to Veldora.
That was the scenario Veldora had envisioned.
(I didn't want to come, but who would've thought I'd stumble into an opportunity like this... I owe Rimuru my thanks—) Expressing gratitude for his own fortune and his friend's stratagem, Veldora spoke once more.
"Guy, you seem to be struggling. But fear not! Now that I'm here, there's no need to worry any longer!"
"Veldora, honestly? You're a lifesaver. Even I can't break that domination while fighting at the same time. I've figured out the principle behind it, but dismantling it is a pain."
"Oh? Impressive. Then as long as you can stop them without killing, the domination can be undone, correct?"
"Right. If I can devote all my thinking power to it, I should be able to manage. But with those two sisters plus the strongest hero? The first priority is neutralizing all three of them. Honestly, if you hadn't shown up, even I might've been killed."
"KUAAHAHAHAHA! If that's the case, then you should be even more grateful to me!"
Veldora grew even more full of himself.
Guy made an exasperated face but said nothing.
As he'd just said, even with Veldora present, handling all three of them would be difficult.
Killing them was one thing, but neutralizing them increased the difficulty by orders of magnitude.
If anything, Guy was even curious about why Veldora was so cheerfully optimistic.
"Kukuku. Then Guy, you keep the hero busy. I'll quickly take care of my sisters!"
Veldora stopped laughing, put on a fearless expression, and stepped forward.
He walked toward Velgrynd without hesitation.
"Velgrynd. Kill that fool."
Watching Veldora approach, Lucia gave Velgrynd her command with cold eyes.
And then— *PAAAANNN!!* A thunderous sound echoed through the grand hall.
Veldora blinked in confusion. His cheek was, for some reason, swollen bright red.
Veldora blinked rapidly, trying to process what had just happened.
(Wait, did my sister just move on her own just now...? There was no killing intent, but I definitely felt a strong will to hurt me!?)
Panic surged through Veldora's chest.
(N-No way!? That's impossible!!)
Unable to accept reality, a bead of sweat rolled down Veldora's forehead.
"Hey, Veldora. Did you just say you were going to 'take care' of me? Or did I perhaps mishear you?"
Velgrynd approached Veldora, a gentle smile on her beautiful face.
But Veldora knew.
She was not a gentle being—she was the embodiment of this world's terror.
"H-Haueh...!?"
"That's not a sound you get to make, you foolish brother!!"
A fist bore down on him.
Veldora's cognitive processes ground to a halt like a short circuit, and he couldn't even initiate evasive action.
How sad it was—instilled in him since childhood, the primal memory of fear etched into his instincts paralyzed his response.
Impossibly heavy, agonizingly painful, yet dealing absolutely no real damage—the attacks rained down on Veldora.
It didn't take long for Veldora to be reduced to tears.
"This is... absurd! Why can you move, sister!? You were supposed to be controlled!"
"Silence! Did you really think I'd fall for the same trick over and over? Are you looking down on me? Answer me, Veldora."
"N-No... I never meant anything like that..."
Trembling, Veldora realized he had no choice but to wait for his sister's anger to subside.
The truly unfair thing was that the pain passed right through his Multiple Parallel Existence and reached even Veldora's true body.
The reason was...
"Hmm, this is quite convenient. So it's called 'Continuous Spacetime Attack.' Whether it's Multiple Parallel Existence or any other form, I can attack across spacetime."
Velgrynd nodded with satisfaction.
Veldora heard this and turned pale.
The implication of Velgrynd's words was that his usual tactic of sacrificing a clone to escape was no longer viable.
His absolute advantage—Multiple Parallel Existence—had just plummeted into utter uselessness.
Truly, Veldora's nemesis had been born.
(WHAAAAT HAVE YOU DONE, RIMURU!!)
Veldora screamed internally.
The only person who could have bestowed such unwanted "kindness" upon his sister Velgrynd was none other than his friend Rimuru.
After beating Veldora to her heart's content, Velgrynd turned to face Velzard.
And toward Veldora, who was muttering complaints like "This was supposed to be the highlight... This isn't what was promised..." she spoke.
"Be quiet. You're embarrassing yourself. If you're my brother, then stop making an even bigger fool of yourself. Veldora, I'm leaving the hero to you. She's an important person to your friend, isn't she? At the very least, don't make any stupid mistakes. I'll handle my sister."
"But—"
"Enough! Do you want me to say it twice?"
"Understood, sister!"
Veldora accepted Velgrynd's orders with the utmost salute.
It would be foolish to defy his sister.
Rubbing his bruised cheek, Veldora headed toward Lucia, who had latched onto Hero Chloe.
Watching him go, Velgrynd turned to face Guy and spoke.
"Guy, you should be able to break my sister's domination, correct?"
"Yeah, I can. But not while fighting at the same time."
"No problem. I'll have my foolish brother deal with the hero. Pour everything you have into freeing my sister."
Receiving this request from Velgrynd, Guy considered for just a moment.
It should be possible. Having witnessed the domination being performed right in front of him, he'd grasped the principle behind it.
The issue was how long it would take.
"Listen—the way I am now, it'll take too long. I'll use my computation-focused form to break it. Don't expect any backup from me while I do, got it? And just so you know, my combat ability will drop significantly, so if you lose, I lose too. That still fine with you?"
"Perfectly fine. Get started quickly."
Receiving Velgrynd's approval, Guy decided to trust the two of them.
Even if he was defeated and his existence annihilated, at worst he'd be able to revive in a few hundred years.
For the strongest being that was Guy, defeat wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't something to be feared either.
If he could stave off boredom, it would be worth it.
"Fine. It's irritating having my trusted partner controlled for this long, so I'll just break it quickly, shall I?"
With that, Guy began the transformation ritual he hadn't performed in quite some time.
Velgrynd and Velzard faced each other.
And Veldora walked toward Hero Chloe—toward Lucia.
Each had identified their opponent.
Even so, Lucia showed no alarm.
No—she didn't think there was any need to be alarmed.
She was well aware of Veldora's strength.
He'd even defeated
But for Lucia— "Velzard. Kill Velgrynd."
Lucia issued a concise command.
But internally, she was far from calm—one question nagged at her.
The domination circuit to Velgrynd had been severed. That much was certain.
She couldn't fathom the cause. The domination circuit prepared by Velda was something the dominated party could never sever on their own.
The only conceivable factor would be the disappearance of angel-type abilities due to skill evolution or regression.
Was it really plausible that such a convenient phenomenon would occur at a time like this? That doubt lingered.
But Lucia chose not to dwell on it.
She'd had a researcher's curiosity about the sample, but she decided she could think about it later.
The doubt remained, but it posed no problem in terms of fighting strength.
Velzard—the strongest among the
And Lucia herself had reached the pinnacle of existence.
Having issued her command to Velzard, Lucia drew the sword Chloe had been holding.
Her body moved naturally, and countless sword trajectories became visible to her.
The conviction that she'd fully claimed Chloe's abilities for herself filled Lucia with certainty of victory.
The current Lucia was a being who possessed an Identical Body that could attack, even while her true body was protected by Castle Guard.
In other words, since her true body could never be defeated no matter what, defeat was impossible.
No attack could work on Lucia.
Velgrynd's azure hair spread outward, billowing like flames.
At the same time, Velzard's pure white hair whipped upward like a blizzard.
They moved simultaneously, unleashing nuclear-scale shockwaves as they launched into full combat.
A crimson fist roared and collided with Velzard's Frost Barrier, shattering it.
The fragments became beautiful rime and rained down upon Velgrynd.
But.
Before Velgrynd—now the incarnation of the Flame God—ice-based attacks were meaningless.
The difference in their class of ability was absolute.
Having grown dramatically more powerful, Velgrynd pressed her attack against Velzard.
She'd left the liberation of her sister to Guy, so all she needed to do was buy time.
Testing her newly enhanced abilities, Velgrynd challenged Velzard.
Veldora took a stance facing Chloe.
And then he thought: Why am I bare-handed?
Chloe had a sword, and he had nothing—how was that fair? The thought crossed his mind, but if he actually said it out loud, he'd surely触 his sister's wrath.
To be blunt, Chloe's swordsmanship was superlative—Veldora knew she was unmatched.
He'd been on the receiving end before, and he knew he was at a disadvantage unarmed.
The reason he'd been able to neutralize Chloe's [Absolute Severance] back then was because neither of them had Ultimate Skills, giving him an edge as a spiritual life-form. But he couldn't neutralize the swordsmanship of the current Chloe.
After all, she'd just been fighting Guy to a standstill.
This was extremely unfavorable—Veldora thought.
Well, his only real concern was that getting slashed would probably hurt...
At that moment, a sword was thrust into the ground before Veldora.
The demon sword "World"—the single finest blade in this world.
"Hey, use this."
When Veldora turned around, there stood a devastatingly beautiful woman.
Crimson hair flowed with divine majesty, and her generous bust and rounded hips were emphasized by a waist so slender it looked like it might break.
Guy, now in female form.
"Guy...?"
"Huh? Who else would it be? Obviously me."
Answering Veldora's question with an annoyed tone.
For Guy, who had no particular attachment to gender, appearances were irrelevant.
What mattered was not appearance, but ability.
Unlike the male combat-focused form, the female form was computation-focused.
Guy had determined that dismantling the domination circuit Veldanava had installed required maximizing information processing capability.
That was why he'd taken on the female form for the first time in a while.
That was all there was to it.
"Then I'll make use of it."
"Don't lose, okay?"
"KUAAHAHAHAHA! A foolish question! I've been wanting to fight the hero at full power once more. This is a splendid opportunity, and I shall face her with everything I have!"
Veldora, his spirits restored, said all this as Guy replied with, "Well, good luck then."
Thinking it would be a waste of time to deal with him.
Guy shifted his focus and brought Velzard into his line of sight.
And— *(Just you wait. I'll free you right now.)* Deep, calm concentration honed his ability to its razor's edge.
Guy's [Mind Accelerate] pushed his already formidable computational ability into an excited state.
Without hesitation, Guy diverted all his energy into computation and launched [Offensive Heart Core Erosion] toward Velzard.