A tremendous shock ran through the arm that caught Milim's godspeed sword.
The force exceeded even
Staring at the broken weapon remnants in her hands, a flicker of agitation appeared on Velgrynd's face for the first time.
And what came next was rage.
"My, my… you really do interfere at every turn, don't you?"
Muttering with bitter annoyance, Velgrynd sent a pulse of fury hurtling toward Milim. But Milim calmly deflected that rage without batting an eye. If anything, she launched a follow-up assault directly at Velgrynd, whose expression clearly conveyed how displeased she was.
What the opponent was thinking meant nothing to Milim. Driven by an overwhelming resolve to crush her enemy, Milim unleashed a barrage of continuous attacks.
With each strike, the speed intensified, and she began to catch up to Velgrynd's movements.
Though Velgrynd dodged Milim's slashes, she was steadily losing room to maneuver.
Even Velgrynd, for all her prowess, could no longer fend off Milim's attacks barehanded.
"Annoying!"
Velgrynd pressed both palms together and cried out, "Divine Sword Creation!"
A brilliance blazed forth between her hands, and a single sword was born.
Divine Sword "Abyss."
— While classified as lower-tier among divine and demonic swords, it was undeniably a Mythical-grade weapon.
Velgrynd possessed the ability to create Mythical-grade armaments through her own power.
And thus began the dance of swords.
Through the sword clashes of Velgrynd and Milim, Severance Space was formed — a rift that would cleave apart anything it touched.
Milim had finally set foot into the domain where Velgrynd stood.
In this kill zone where no one else could intervene, each poured their entire being into lethal strikes that could sever even the other's barrier in a single blow. Milim pressed Velgrynd into a corner.
And against that, Velgrynd— While receiving Milim's pure, unwavering determination head-on, she sensed the approaching collapse of her plans.
The advantage in combat power was lost. She was being cornered.
Even though killing Milim — her capture target — was out of the question, Milim's power was so violent that pulling punches was nearly impossible. It wasn't that she had no options, but her pride stood in the way of using them.
However, now was clearly no time for such concerns.
Once again, the pressure transmitted from their violently clashing swords had intensified another notch.
Milim's kick, exploiting the opening in Velgrynd's awareness, pierced clean through her abdomen.
(—Annoying.)
She cut off her thoughts with a disgusted snap.
Milim was absolutely necessary for Velgrynd's objective, so killing her was not an option.
Yet, if this continued, Milim might truly grow powerful enough to rival Velgrynd.
And then there was the matter of…
The dragon-kind sisters were watching over the battlefield, seemingly prepared for contingencies.
With attacks aimed at incapacitation, it was impossible to fully penetrate both Velzard's defenses and Milim's guard.
A quick glance at the broader battlefield revealed that Guy and Rudra were locked in evenly matched combat.
(—Now, then. With all combatants committed, the Great Ten-Demon War draws to a close.)
As the Creator's final will, Velgrynd had carried out the Great Ten-Demon War to its fullest.
The game was going poorly, but the result was not yet decided.
And precisely because of that, Velgrynd made her decision.
To unleash every ounce of her power and achieve her objective in a single stroke.
◆◆◆
Damrada fought with the same techniques he had possessed in life, all reconstructed purely from memory. His energy had increased dramatically, and he appeared to have been granted Ultimate bestowal as well.
Even a rough calculation revealed energy nearly double that of Diablo's own.
(Kufufufufu — magnificent. As an opponent, he leaves nothing to be desired.)
Diablo was grateful for his own fortune.
He trained daily so he could be of use to his master, Rimuru.
Developing new magic, honing combat techniques — any subordinate of Rimuru's likely pursued similar things.
But Diablo was different.
He simply accompanied Rimuru in prototyping new techniques born from Rimuru's inspiration.
Yet that was no ordinary task. The fearsome new abilities they tested could produce massive consequences even when held back.
Diablo was one of the few who could calmly participate in such experiments.
And through the course of that reckless collaboration, he had noticed that his magical theory had become far more refined than before — and that the nature of his own strength had fundamentally changed.
In other words— Strength was not determined solely by the quantity of magicules.
What truly mattered was how you used them.
Eliminating waste, extracting maximum effect from even the smallest amount of energy — that was the most important thing.
If one possessed an infinite magicule furnace like Milim's, the calculus would be entirely different. But building your framework around such an abnormal existence was a mistake.
That was precisely why Damrada was the perfect opponent for Diablo.
In Diablo's assessment, if he had fought both Damrada and Kondou simultaneously, his odds of victory would have fallen just short of fifty percent.
He could barely see a path to winning if he gambled everything — including his life.
But that level of performance would be insufficient to carry out Rimuru's orders. That would defeat the entire purpose.
However, as Diablo had predicted, such concerns proved unnecessary.
At the perfect moment, Veldora and the others had arrived.
(As expected of Lord Rimuru.)
Diablo smiled in satisfaction and observed Damrada.
Fighting both Damrada and Kondou would have been disadvantageous, but facing Damrada alone was an entirely different story.
Damrada had nearly twice his energy and combat skill that surpassed
But there was no problem at all.
Diablo was a demon, and hand-to-hand combat was child's play to him.
The essential fighting method of spiritual-life-form demons was magic.
Having obtained an Ultimate Skill, his magic had leapt to yet another level.
The disparity in energy didn't matter. He recycled at peak efficiency, managed his expenditure, and produced perfectly harmonized results.
This principle applied equally to physical combat.
As Damrada delivered attacks refined with every ounce of technique, Diablo deflected them while simultaneously activating partial reinforcement magic on his own body. He neutralized the power and skill behind each fist and kick by conjuring magic arrays that amplified his own strikes, compensating for the nearly twofold gap in raw density with magic.
It was a completed magical martial art — a fusion of magic and skill.
Even Ultima, still recovering, stared wide-eyed, drinking in the battle between Damrada and Diablo.
That was why he decided to show his true power.
"This has been quite enjoyable. You were an excellent practice partner, but I believe it's time we brought this to a close. Consider this repayment for what you did to Testarossa and the others — I'll show you my serious effort."
With that declaration, Diablo refined his magicules to their absolute maximum through ultra-high-speed magicule excitation.
Diablo's magicule count shattered its ceiling in a single bound. He was extracting a volume equal to his own maximum magicule count from Rimuru's Void Collapse. Beyond that, he was drawing in surrounding elementary particles and reinforcing his Physical Body in an instant — rebuilding it from surrounding matter to withstand the demands of advanced energy operation.
The transformation was completed in an instant.
With no time lag whatsoever, Diablo shifted into his combat form.
And that was Diablo's ultimate form.
With a cool smile still playing on his lips, Diablo sidestepped Damrada's kick.
Unlike before, Damrada's full-power kick was caught and deflected with a single hand.
The reason was simple and clear.
His magicule count had doubled, allowing him to match Damrada's strength.
But considering he had fought evenly with half that energy, the outcome was now more obvious than watching a fire.
"You were a remarkable master among humans. If your soul had still existed, perhaps the fight might have been a touch more entertaining. But that is merely a matter of possibility — the outcome does not change—"
Completely overwhelming Damrada, Diablo crushed every single attack.
Damrada, devoid of emotion, simply repeated his strikes with quiet persistence.
But Diablo had read every one of them, and had long since lost interest in the contest.
"Let's end this — Stellar Circle Annihilation!!"
Ring-shaped magic arrays covered every surface of Damrada's body.
Without words.
Without fear.
Without lamentation.
Damrada simply and quietly dissolved into particles of light and vanished.
And every last particle was channeled back to Diablo through the ring magic arrays.
The instant Damrada disappeared, Diablo released his combat form.
Even with ample margin for operation, the burden of sustained high-speed magicule excitation was considerable.
More importantly, Diablo was currently funneling the energy flowing out of Damrada into the Temptation World he had created, absorbing it. He intended to slowly ingest energy of a different quality, but when he also tried to simultaneously handle the Void Collapse energy borrowed from Rimuru, even for Diablo the load threatened to exceed his capacity.
Stellar Circle Annihilation — whose primary purpose was to convert a target into energy and absorb it — versus World Collapse, which was designed mainly for widespread destruction.
In terms of raw power, World Collapse was superior. But as an anti-individual attack, Stellar Circle Annihilation held the edge.
"Diablo, you—"
Testarossa called out to Diablo.
"Kufu, kufufufu. I will admit — draining all that energy was rather greedy of me… It seems I still have quite a ways to go before I catch up to Lord Rimuru…"
"What was that technique just now? It looked like magic—"
"Indeed. It is the fusion of an Ultimate Skill with magic — and its evolutionary successor. Lord Rimuru developed it on a whim, and I happened to learn it while assisting. It's still an incomplete technique, so stable operation is rather difficult, though."
"How unfair — just you, as always…"
"Kufufufu — perks of the position."
Testarossa pouted in frustration while Diablo beamed with pride.
After all, this new magical theory had been co-developed between himself and the Rimuru he so deeply revered.
Well, to be precise, it had been
"In any case, once this magical theory is perfected, I shall teach it to all of you as well."
In the end, the interrogation from Testarossa and the others didn't stop until Diablo made that promise.
◆◆◆ Veldora was fighting Kondou.
Velgrynd had said that Kondou was equivalent to ten awakened Demon Lords, but in reality, his energy didn't reach that level.
From Veldora's perspective, the man barely had half that much.
Moreover, the quality of his Ultimate Skill seemed diminished — Kondou was unable to execute the attacks he wanted.
Like Damrada, he had been granted Ultimate bestowal, but it was nothing more than a mass-produced, pseudo-Ultimate Skill. It was an inferior, crude imitation compared to the Ultimate Skill born from Kondou's own soul.
This was the reason Karrera — who should have been overwhelmingly outmatched in energy — had succeeded in nullifying Kondou's bullet.
"Tch. This doesn't work either, huh?"
Kondou clicked his tongue as he test-fired energy bullets.
Having calmly analyzed the battle, he already understood that victory was impossible.
If that was the case, then to fulfill Velgrynd's orders, he had no choice but to fight with everything he had — including his life.
Veldora, by contrast, was relaxed.
"Kuahahahaha! You seemed like a most remarkable person, but in the end, it was all a façade. With a knockoff Ultimate bestowal rather than an Ultimate Skill you created yourself, it's only natural you can't bring out your true strength!"
Veldora laughed as he spoke to Kondou.
Kondou's strength was genuine, but his current body was temporary. And without a soul to speak of, the situation was beyond saving.
That was precisely why Veldora had been carefully observing and gathering information.
A puppet given a temporary ego — a being without a soul. Yet it had inherited advanced combat techniques and wielded an inferior but still functional Ultimate Skill.
While the concept differed from the treasure spheres Rimuru had created, the mechanism was fascinating.
(Hoh-hoh-hoh! If I analyze this mechanism and teach it to Rimuru, she'll definitely be grateful! It would be entertaining to study it together as
Which was why, even when Diablo dispatched Damrada in short order, Veldora was still engaged in battle with Kondou without having landed a finishing blow.
(Hm!? That Diablo fellow — he finished already, it seems. I'd better wrap things up too, or they'll catch me slacking.)
Veldora was having such carefree thoughts, but his decision came a fraction too late.
"…I see. Then my only option really is just one, isn't it—"
Without hesitation, Kondou made his decision and executed it.
Veldora was immensely powerful. Kondou had known before the fight even began that he couldn't win.
The fact that his former self had managed to land a single strike on Veldora's true body was nothing short of a product of repeated miracles…
That was exactly why Kondou faithfully carried out the order.
"—Self-Destruct Annihilation."
In other words, self-destruction.
◆◆◆ Velgrynd confirmed that Kondou had entered self-destruct mode and murmured, "That will do."
Surveying the battlefield, she let out a small, contemptuous laugh.
"What's so funny!?"
Milim's sword pressed close, but Velgrynd deflected it effortlessly with Divine Sword "Abyss."
She had clashed blows evenly even with the inferior Twin Serpent Daggers — Velgrynd's skill had reached a truly extraordinary level. Now that the weapon disadvantage was gone, even with her increased power, Milim still couldn't match her.
And Chloe too had been unable to bring her full strength to bear.
There was a single reason for this.
She had sensed something wrong with Velgrynd's abilities.
Chloe always acted with extreme caution. Rather than fighting recklessly, she positioned herself to respond flexibly depending on the situation.
Her basic fighting style revolved around the Ultimate Skill "God of Time and Space," which allowed her to peer into the future as she fought.
But right now, Chloe could not recall any future memories. That meant she couldn't flee into the past if something went wrong.
(A barrier that interferes with abilities is deployed across the Celestial World itself? Or is it an intrinsic ability of Velgrynd's?)
She verified that her other abilities activated without issue and determined it was most likely an ability that interfered with space-time transit.
In other words, escape through teleportation was impossible from this space. Presumably, the only way in or out was through the gate.
The angels, being spiritual life forms, had likely registered this location as a base and could return directly. But intruders could not escape.
(The fact that this place is designed so we can't get away — is this some kind of trap?)
Just as Chloe was thinking this, Velgrynd opened her mouth as if answering her thoughts.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! You truly are the upper echelon of this world. To put up this much resistance against me — how admirable. Very well, I suppose it's time I showed some seriousness. However—"
Kondou's body had become particles of light, coalescing into a small, round sphere.
The light particles surged toward its center, and then suddenly — reversed.
An ultra-high-density energy cascade accompanied by auroral light gave birth to a miniature sun in the celestial realm.
"Wha—!!"
That sun was barely being held at the edge of detonation, suppressed by Veldora channeling his magicules at full power.
But Veldora's expression was grim, and the mounting pressure was clearly visible.
"However — I will only face those who survive this explosion."
Saying that, Velgrynd forcibly pulled Milim into an embrace.
"Wh-what are you doing?! Let go!"
As Milim screamed and thrashed, pitch-black chains shot from Velgrynd's left hand, wrapping around her and sealing her movements.
Dark Nebula Binding — chains forged from dark matter that absorbed all energy.
Neither the auroral explosion nor Milim's thrashing force was sufficient to destroy these chains. More powerful than the Holy-Demonic Sealing Chain that had once succeeded in imprisoning
Through these chains, Milim and Velgrynd would be completely protected from the explosion. But the others would be exposed to its full, direct force. An explosion of energy equivalent to ten awakened Demon Lords would — even if only for an instant — unleash devastating destruction that surpassed even the "dragon-kind."
Since this was destruction through raw force alone, countering it required an even greater reserve of energy.
"Idiots! If you had finished this quickly—!"
Velzard moved while seething with fury.
She intended to cooperate in erasing the blast before the force Veldora was suppressing was released.
The others moved simultaneously as well— "Don't get the wrong idea. The explosion I'm referring to is my own little contraption. Rudra — I find it curious that you were able to defy me, but never mind that now. I wanted to investigate the cause, but you have your own role to play."
Velgrynd gazed at Rudra with an evil smile.
"You bastard—!!" Guy shouted.
He moved to abandon Rudra and rush toward Velgrynd, but he was one step too late.
"Farewell, Rudra. Stellar Detonation — activate!!"
In that instant, everyone froze as if time had stopped.
The explosion from Kondou's self-destruction alone was already expected to inflict severe damage on even the "dragon-kind." If energy at the "dragon-kind" level were to break its limits and detonate…
It was expected to produce destruction beyond anything that could be imagined.
Moreover, teleportation-type abilities and magic were sealed within the Celestial World — there was nowhere to run.
Guy, Velgrynd, and Chloe all surrounded Rudra simultaneously. Velzard, who had been about to head toward Veldora, redirected toward Rudra upon seeing the demons rush to Veldora's aid.
Four of them desperately began canceling the energy head-on, but the process toward detonation was far faster— "Rudra…"
"Damn it — so this is how it ends, huh? Oh well. Guy — looks like our showdown is gonna have to wait, after all…"
Rudra smiled wistfully.
And softly murmured, "Make sure you survive—"
Immediately after, Rudra was enveloped in auroral light— "Veldora! I'm leaving that side to you — don't screw it up!"
"Kuaaahahahaha! Of course. If I fail here, the sisters will kill me!"
Amid the sound of Veldora's carefree laughter, a single girl appeared among the four surrounding Rudra.
"Wait — Master—!?"
The instant Chloe's eyes flew wide in shock, the energy that should have detonated had been compressed into a small sphere resting in the girl's palm.
The girl grinned broadly.
"Well — sorry to keep you waiting!"
And declared it with unapologetic cheek.