Without so much as a hint of emotion, they regarded
Of course they felt no emotion. Though their memories had been recreated, they were still different people. Without a soul, they were nothing more than surrogates repurposed as combat-grade artificial intelligences. It was, without question, an act of desecrating the dead.
Velda looked upon the demons' fury and didn't so much as change his expression. "Eliminate the intruders," he commanded.
And so the battle commenced.
Ultima crossed fists with Damrada.
Carrera found herself in close quarters with Kondo, guns leveled at each other.
Both fights were fierce, but the outcome became painfully clear in an instant.
Damrada deflected Ultima's Crimson Serpent Death
He offered a single comment: "My technique, is it? You've inherited it admirably… but when skill is equal, the difference in raw power determines the victor. That is simply the way of things."
Then, as Ultima's stance faltered, he drove a crushing punch straight through her chest.
He had condensed vast energy into chi and focused it into the strike. The released mass of energy produced devastating destructive force. Winding like a snake, it devoured Ultima's body from the inside.
Ultima was conscious but unable to move. As a spiritual life-form—what demons were—the disruption to her energy flow had caused her to lose all control over her body.
If she had possessed a Physical Body, she might have collapsed and burst from the inside out before she could even endure it…
Carrera, meanwhile, had likewise fallen to the ground.
Her bullets had been fired simultaneously at god-like speed, but the difference in power was simply too vast.
The rounds from Carrera's heavy pistol collided head-on with those from Kondo's automatic. The energy projectiles—which is all bullets truly were—differed so dramatically in energy density that one of them shattered and vanished. It was Carrera's bullets that disappeared.
"What!?"
By the time she registered her shock, a massive amount of energy had already been stripped from Carrera's body.
Ultima and Carrera, each comparable to or exceeding an Awakened Demon Lord, had been defeated as easily as crushing an infant's hand.
Milim, while still facing Velda, had been watching the fight from the corner of her eye.
(Energy equivalent to ten Awakened Demon Lords, huh… That might not be an exaggeration after all.)
She reached her conclusion quickly.
From this exchange, she understood that the demons stood no chance against Kondo and Damrada.
As for what to do next—Milim was at a loss.
And then there was the matter of Velda's third Memory Pearl that she found herself worrying about. The energy that had filled the Celestial World had been entirely consumed to create those two. If he summoned yet another being of that caliber, any hope of victory would slip even further away.
(This is bad. To think he truly possesses power that surpasses the True Dragons… I was a bit naive, wasn't I?)
Even so, she reconsidered—whether she had acted alone or carefully devised a strategy and attacked as a group, it probably wouldn't have made much difference if Velda had possessed this kind of power all along.
All Milim could do was pour everything she had into smashing Veld—for smashing Velda.
She refined her energy within, preparing to unleash her full-power Heaven-Demon Dragon Star Slash.
Milim had not given up.
She still believed that if she could land a clean hit, the chance of defeating Velda was not zero.
She had to admit, however, that finding such an opening would be extraordinarily difficult…
With both demons down,
But even so— Milim continued calmly analyzing the situation.
"Come now, Milim. It's about time you gave up and behaved yourself. No matter how you struggle, you can see that you don't stand a chance, can't you?"
"Hmph. Talk all you want. If you wanted a child, you should have made one with that impostor who claimed to be my mother. Though I suppose she met a rather foolish end."
"Don't get the wrong idea, Milim. What I want isn't just a child. The only one who can stand beside Velda is Lucia. I gave her a name and a Physical Body because I thought I could create a 'King of Knowledge' from her…"
"What?"
"Ah, the Wisdom Core I created from the 'King of Justice' still couldn't become Lucia's soul, I'm afraid. That must have been disappointing for you too, right? If I could recreate even the 'Knowledge of the King' that Lucia possessed, I could say I had recreated the soul that birthed that ability. And once I succeeded at that, all that would remain is to replant her memories into that soul. It's essentially the reverse of the process by which a soul generates an ability… But it's proved more difficult than I expected. It was the method with the highest probability of success, though—"
Velda answered Milim's questions. His thoughts were nothing short of deranged—he spoke openly of methods that could only be called taboo.
"You created those Memory Pearls to… resurrect my mother?"
"That's right. Spreading fear, anxiety, and confusion across the human world before destroying them was just wishful thinking—that someone might awaken in that kind of environment. Naturally, I'd search for a more certain method. Recreating a soul is extraordinarily difficult, but if you can produce the same ability, it stands to reason that the resulting form would be extremely close to the original. That's precisely why it was important to generate the Ultimate Skill 'King of Knowledge'—"
"You… how could you—"
Milim was speechless.
She wanted to deny it, but she couldn't help noticing that the method held even a sliver of possibility.
"Still, I didn't expect to fail even after granting her a preserved Physical Body. And to lose that precious body in the process—this was a failure. So as a final measure, I believe the most reliable option is for you and me to have a child together. Since you share Lucia's bloodline, the resulting body would be genetically close, wouldn't it? With just a bit of modification, I could restore it to Lucia's original form."
With a smile unclouded by even a trace of doubt, Velda conveyed his madness to Milim.
"You're insane—"
"Am I? But you see, Milim… I couldn't care less what you think of me."
And then, in an instant— Velda vanished, and Milim took an impact to her abdomen.
She had managed to shift into a defensive posture on instinct, but Velda's fist had pierced through her Multi-Layered Barrier as though it were nothing, scattering the battle energy she had painstakingly refined.
Milim was smashed into the ground.
She tried to rise, but her body refused to respond to her will.
(Guh… this guy… is definitely powerful—) She kept her consciousness focused, as if trying to settle her energy, while glaring at Velda.
"You're still defiant, Milim. Once I've destroyed the surface world, I'll give you my attention. Why don't you take a nap until then?"
As he spoke, Velda condensed energy into his fist and reached toward Milim.
And from that hand, light overflowed— ◇◇◇ Testarossa conducted a precise analysis of the situation and judged their probability of victory to be zero.
Her conclusion was more pessimistic than Milim's, but that was because Testarossa held no trump card of her own.
Two demons of equal standing had been taken down in an instant. No matter how hard she fought, the outcome was clear.
In that case, Testarossa had only one option available.
(Well, well. To think Velda was this kind of being. Still, I've carried out Lord Rimuru's supreme command to destroy the Celestial Gate, so I suppose the mission was a success. Lord Rimuru has surely moved on to the next phase by now, so perhaps I'll just buy some time through conversation—) Since fighting was out of the question, stalling through dialogue was the only手段 at her disposal.
For Testarossa, death was not something to fear. After several hundred—or perhaps several thousand—years, she could likely be再生 with some degree of self-awareness and memory intact. Though the thought that her companions from this era might no longer exist by then did leave her feeling a touch lonely…
(How amusing. Me, feeling lonely… Is this what sentimentality is? Oh well, it doesn't matter either way…)
Testarossa shifted her thoughts and began her verbal assault to buy time.
"No emotions, no soul. Impressive movements for a hollow puppet, I'll grant you that. But it's rather laughable—"
She spoke in a deliberately theatrical manner, watching for their reaction.
If they merely had their memories recreated, such words would hold no meaning. But Damrada and Kondo had also undergone memory tampering. Her aim was to probe that contradiction and see how they responded.
They were like emotionless robots, but if they were precision machines, perhaps that contradiction would cause confusion?
"Laughable…? What do you mean by that, my dear lady?"
Damrada replied with an air of composure.
It wasn't Testarossa who answered, but Kondo.
"Simple enough. This demon has inherited my ability—apparently even my soul. But I have no such memory. Someone who would surrender their soul must have some purpose in opposing Lord Velda. Drawing from that, it's only natural to conclude that my memories have been altered where it was convenient. Wouldn't you say the same, Damrada?"
"…That is to say, there is no possibility our souls were stolen?"
"None. I would never do something so inelegant."
Kondo declared this with absolute confidence.
Damrada nodded. He had raised the possibility himself, but he understood it was highly unlikely.
"…Indeed. She had inherited my technique and wielded it flawlessly…"
Damrada concurred with Kondo's explanation.
Testarossa regarded Kondo with a slightly surprised expression.
He had been created only moments ago, yet he had already produced a perfect analysis of the situation. She couldn't help but be impressed.
(This man is terrifyingly calm. No wonder Carrera acknowledged him—) But at the same time, looking into Kondo's unwavering eyes, she realized the truth: no matter how she cornered him with contradictions, she would never shake him or turn him to her side.
"But what does that change? Don't waste your energy, Damrada. All we need to do is carry out Lord Velda's orders."
True to what Testarossa had felt, the man recreated from Kondo's memories did not so much as avert his gaze. With eyes full of resolve, he leveled his gun at Testarossa.
(Hmph. I hoped to stall for at least a little longer, but it seems it was pointless after all. Lord Rimuru, we will not truly perish. Please… forgive us…)
Testarossa stood proud to the very end.
Her lips curved into a crescent, and a lustrous smile graced her face.
She had done everything she could, and by her judgment, time had run out. But she had not given up—drawing on her pride as the highest-ranking Demon Lord, she focused her consciousness to activate the Secret Art of Transmigration, the mystery of reincarnation.
But the Secret Art of Transmigration never activated.
Because it was no longer necessary.
Testarossa's final struggle had not been in vain.
A single shot was fired.
The lethal round that could have annihilated even a Demon Lord who surpassed the Awakened ones—a bullet shrouded in an overwhelming killing intent that permitted neither evasion nor defense—was about to tear through Testarossa's Multi-Layered Barrier when— "Kufufufu. Testarossa, I cannot allow you to die on your own. Lord Rimuru would be angry, you know?"
Right before Testarossa's eyes, the bullet was stopped—dead.
Appearing from nowhere,
"You're late, Diablo. I had no intention of dying, but I was one step away from annihilation."
"Kufufufu, my apologies. But after the Celestial Gate was destroyed, weren't you the one who went charging ahead without permission?"
Testarossa lightly shrugged off Diablo's reproach and deflected the subject.
"So, can I leave those two to you?"
"Unfortunately, handling them alone would be difficult. But there's no need to worry. After all, I'm not the only one heading this way."
"Don't tell me—Lord Rimuru too!?"
"No. Lord Rimuru will be coming after confirming the elimination of those insect-like pests. So I was hoping to finish everything before then…"
Diablo glanced at Damrada and Kondo and gave a wry smile.
He glanced toward Velda just as a beam of light was directed at Milim.
"Kufufufu. As expected, they're early. The others have arrived, it seems. But this too must all be part of the plan—"
"What?"
The moment after Diablo murmured those words, an explosion erupted centered on Milim's location.
Kondo pulled back while keeping his guard up against Diablo. Damrada instantly moved before Velda, using his own body as a shield to protect his master.
Velda clicked his tongue softly at an explosion that should not have happened. "Those meddlesome pests…"
"See? Because you two were so slow to destroy the gate, the others have arrived. Granted, I would have lost on my own, so I have no complaints this time."
The "meddlesome pests" Velda muttered about, and the "others" Diablo had mentioned—there was no need to spell it out.
Five figures appeared before and beside Milim—Guy and Chloe, along with three True Dragons.
◇◇◇ Velda glanced at Guy and the others with visible displeasure.
Then he spoke.
"My, my. The fact that you've all come together means you intend to defy me, doesn't it?
He posed the question to Velzard—whose will now resided under Velda's control—rather than to Veldora or
"Silence. You impostor who dare impersonate my brother's name. Now that I think on it, how did I ever believe you were my brother…"
Velzard severed Velda's words with a single cutting remark, making her hostility unmistakable. The control placed upon her by Guy had already lost its effect; there was not a single crack in her heart for any domination-type ability to exploit.
Seeing this, Velda shrugged with a sigh of resignation.
Muttering "Truly, what an irritating bunch" in an annoyed tone, he then twisted his mouth into a wicked grin as if struck by an idea.
"Right—I should introduce someone nostalgic for all of you as well. I am kind, after all."
With those words, he produced the final Memory Pearl from within his garment.
"Guy!"
"Don't you dare!"
In response to Milim's shout, Guy drew his sword with god-like speed and slashed.
Velda dodged effortlessly. "You're too slow," he sneered.
"Look—the angels below are being destroyed nicely. Energy has begun flooding back into the Celestial World. With this, I can create one supreme being infused with the full power of every remaining angel. You're all looking forward to it, aren't you? By all means, enjoy your reunion!"
And what emerged was a single human.
"Where… is this? More importantly, what happened to me?"
The one who turned pale upon seeing this figure were Velgrynd, Guy, and Velzard.
Because this person was Guy's closest friend, the object of Velzard's jealousy, and Velgrynd's partner.
His name was Rudra Nasca.
He was Rudra Nasca from the days when he had still been the strongest—a man bearing the memories of his prime.
Energy flowing from the surface into the Celestial World—leaked from the destroyed angels—was forming Rudra's Physical Body. The energy density was staggering, easily surpassing the earlier-created Damrada and Kondo.
This was the trump card Velda had prepared in anticipation of defeat on the surface. Now it had taken shape and manifested before them.
Three figures stood as though to shield Velda.
Rudra at the center, flanked by Damrada and Kondo on either side.
Facing them were Guy and Milim, the three True Dragons, along with Chloe and Diablo.
Testarossa had retrieved Ultima and Carrera and was tending to their treatment. She had coldly judged that her participation in a battle of this caliber would serve no purpose.
For her, all she could do now was pray for Diablo and the others' victory.
Yet Testarossa felt not a shred of anxiety or fear.
The only emotion visible in her eyes was curiosity.
(Still… to think that Diablo could stand alongside those who dwell at the very summit…)
Even Testarossa had to acknowledge them—the ones called the pinnacle of this world.
Watching her colleague stand among them without a shred of intimidation, Testarossa nodded with satisfaction.
Defeat did not frighten her.
She would transcend even death itself.
And one day—she would ascend to that summit too. That was her resolve.
And so— Each side sized up their prey, and the battle began.