"Just as I thought." That was my honest impression.
Clashing blades in a furious exchange, I kept my cool and thought things through.
From the very start, the idea of launching a full-scale war one month from now had struck me as suspicious.
If they had fought us back on that day, in that place, who knows how the outcome would have turned out.
If they had thrown Chloe at me at that point, I might not have lost outright, but a tough battle would have been unavoidable.
With Velda's power, she should have been able to take on Veldora and
Furthermore, if
Someone like Mai who could wield the unique ability of "Teleportation" so adeptly was among them—so this wasn't exactly an off-base prediction.
According to
Though, if I had killed Chloe without hesitation, the probability would have flipped to over eighty percent, apparently.
That was exactly why I had thought they acted cautiously—they feared I would move decisively without wavering. But seeing the angelic aggregate and the explosion had changed my mind.
Rather, it had given me certainty.
If they were capable of that, then Velda, whose goal was the destruction of the world, should have had the advantage.
They could have pinned us all down there and let the angels' energy run wild to finish us off.
So why didn't they?
What was the reason?
—It was a stalling tactic.
Ciel and I were in agreement.
Velda had said something plausible before disappearing, but if all of that had been Yuuki's act?
Everything started to fit together.
"Ku… ku-ku… Ahahahahaha! I can't believe it. I never imagined that you—the most dangerous one of all—would be you, of all people.
You truly are something, Sir Rimuru.
If I could have, I would have destroyed the world with my own power. But sadly…
I don't think I can beat you. In fact, I'm not sure I could even handle that demon over there— You're absolutely ridiculous. That chill I felt when we first met really was legit.
I should have finished you off then and there for real.
Somewhere along the way, I must have gone mad, huh? Well, no point dwelling on it now.
Actually, if you're the one who can stop me, then maybe that's just the will of the world.
The rest is up to… to make the judgment, I suppose.
Goodbye, Sir Rimuru.
Surprisingly, I actually liked you.
In truth, I even wished we could have been friends…"
I had taken those words at face value.
After Velda used those final words before switching places, I convinced myself that Yuuki had been speaking from the heart.
But I was wrong.
He had already set his plan in motion at that point.
Or perhaps, ever since the very first time we met…
Thinking it was brilliant showmanship was probably just my way of saving face.
Ciel had harbored suspicions but hadn't been able to find any definitive flaw in the act.
She told me that because I had gullibly believed Yuuki's words, she had in turn suspected it might be some kind of scheme.
I laughed it off, saying she was overthinking it. But if there was meaning behind it, we tried to predict together what it might be.
The conclusion we arrived at was that his goal was probably to buy time—specifically, one month.
And that turned out to be correct. Yuuki had been steadily making Velda's power his own.
"So you deceived me right to the end, just to buy yourself some time…?"
"Ahaha, you figured it out? That's right, Rimuru. Though I have to say, Velda got played pretty cleanly too. You know what they say—you've gotta fool your allies before you can fool your enemies."
"Don't mess with me! I actually believed you—"
"Ha ha—that's exactly what I mean by 'naive.' Trusting your enemy's words? You really do have that wide-eyed, pitiful look about you, Rimuru."
Yuuki shrugged mockingly, as if taunting me.
Seeing that, Diablo and Milim gritted their teeth and fixed Yuuki with looks that could kill. But the overwhelming aura Yuuki now radiated was nothing compared to before—they were being suppressed to the point of not being able to move a single step.
A terrifying degree of growth—no, evolution.
We were evenly matched on weapons—or rather, I actually felt I was at a disadvantage.
Even when blocked by the Veldora Sword, the Star Emperor Dragon Horn Sword didn't budge an inch.
And Yuuki, who wielded it, was cleverly deflecting all the impact—unlike Velda, who had taken the shock head-on.
"How did you get that kind of power?"
"I don't really feel the need to explain, but I did make you wait a month, so I suppose that much is fair. It's simple, really—I just suppressed Velda into being my subordinate. I analyzed all of her power, then analyzed all of Velda's knowledge and fully comprehended it. Thanks to that, I was able to easily acquire the power of the Awakened Hero as well. Being able to steal part of Leon's power was a fortunate bonus. After that, I simply shifted our relationship from equals to one of absolute dominion. Oh, and credit where it's due—it was actually Rimuru who made things easy by crushing Velda's hopes and breaking her spirit. I'm grateful for that, really."
Yuuki answered with a smile.
I regretted asking the moment he finished—because there was no guarantee this guy would tell the truth.
I had asked out of curiosity, but exchanging words with him carelessly only increased the risk of being deceived again.
I had lectured Mai about this, but it would be laughable if I myself had been fooled. More conversation was dangerous—I should focus everything on the fight.
《I assess that Yuuki's words are likely truthful at this point, but I agree that further dialogue is dangerous.》 Ciel seemed to share my sense of urgency and voiced her agreement.
So this is what a top-class con artist was like—utterly vexing.
I had always prided myself on being impossible to trick, so being played like a toy left me seething. But if I let that anger consume me, it could lead to an even bigger mistake.
At this rate, I really couldn't laugh at Mai anymore.
During our exchange, Yuuki had said he obtained the power of the Awakened Hero. And while he hadn't explicitly said so, it wouldn't be surprising if he also wielded the power of an Awakened Demon Lord.
After all, Kazaream, who had once served under him, had been an Awakened Demon Lord.
The Hero and the Demon Lord—two fundamentally different powers unified through the medium of a peer intelligence like Velda, wielded freely and at will. That was what Yuuki had become.
It was astonishing, but the fact that Yuuki now wielded power on par with mine made that abundantly clear.
"But still—Rimuru, you actually had the King of Knowledge , didn't you? I had my suspicions, but it's confirmed now. I was starting to wonder if my plans were being read in advance, since everything kept going wrong. But who would have thought that Velda's most sought-after ability would be held by her greatest enemy—you. At this point, Velda really is just a clown. Kind of funny, isn't it?"
Just as I was about to cut off the conversation, Yuuki spoke up again, deliberately disrupting my intent.
His voice carried an almost gleeful tone—as if he genuinely found Velda to be a spectacle.
A truly exasperating opponent.
I deflected Yuuki's blade and counterattacked without uttering a word.
"Ahaha, don't be so guarded. Velda desperately wanted to believe she was the reincarnation of Veldora Nova. Even though that was never the case—the idiot. That ability was just that: an ability. Since it was Veldora Nova's original power, she simply inherited all of its memories. Think of it as a being restored from a Memory Crystal —just like Kondou or
Was this a tactic to confuse me through conversation—blabbing about things I hadn't even asked about?
And in truth, the tactic was working.
Because I couldn't properly maintain my focus. In the middle of a life-or-death battle, Yuuki's words kept disrupting my train of thought.
Truly, what an irritating opponent.
That said—if Yuuki's claims were true, his ability to rival my power made sense.
Velda being a Cognitive Core was almost certainly true. As Ciel herself demonstrated, an existence that serves as a full auxiliary for one's abilities was extraordinarily useful.
Even for complex magical formulas that were difficult to control, such an entity could execute them on one's behalf. In other words, it meant I could concentrate on close-quarters combat while secretly preparing additional attack methods without the opponent noticing.
But why would Yuuki voluntarily tell me about this?
Was that itself a scheme? I found myself probing for hidden intentions.
The very existence of a Cognitive Core could be a critical trump card worth keeping secret—so naturally, I wanted to uncover the motive behind revealing it.
No—perhaps even this act of worrying about it was exactly what Yuuki wanted. There was no end to the possibilities once you started down that path.
I reconfirmed, from the bottom of my heart, that Yuuki was a truly troublesome enemy.
"You can wield all of Veldora Nova's power, you say?! Don't get ahead of yourself, you miserable human!"
Giichi, who had been listening to our exchange, shouted at Yuuki with eyes burning crimson red in fury.
"That's right! I was the one who sealed Veldora Nova's Sacred Relics in the first place! As long as that seal holds, there's no way you could possibly wield all of its power!"
And then, almost impulsively,
Hearing that, Yuuki's lips curled into an evil grin.
—Wait, hold on? Why is Ramiris casually blurting out such critical information?! I mean, I know she's scatterbrained and impulsive, but this is clearly off…
"Too bad! Your seal apparently meant nothing. If you're upset about it, why not go ahead and release it to check?"
"You wanna mock me?! Fine then, I'll show you—"
When I saw Ramiris about to take Yuuki's bait, I understood.
"Diablo, stop Ramiris!"
"At once."
Obeying my command, Diablo moved instantly.
Gently, yet firmly.
He deployed a magical barrier around the flailing Ramiris, trapping her inside.
"What do you think you're doing, Rimuru?!"
"Calm down. Breaking the seal is exactly what Yuuki wants. You were on the verge of doing exactly as he said."
"W-What?!"
At Ramiris's indignant shout, I answered calmly.
After hearing my explanation, Ramiris was left speechless. Of course—she probably hadn't been aware of it herself.
If you only listened to the surface-level exchange, there was nothing that sounded obviously deceptive. Yet without realizing it, she had been on the verge of acting exactly as Yuuki desired. Thinking about it rationally, that was impossible—which meant some ability had to be at play.
I needed to investigate this further.
There was a chance it could affect even me, but for now, I chose to trust Ciel.
《Leave it to me. I will analyze Yuuki's ability.》 Reassured by Ciel's response, I spoke to Yuuki.
—Without ever breaking eye contact, continuing our fierce sword exchange.
"You haven't changed a bit—still the same old con man, Yuuki."
"Ahaha, what do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. Embedding thought-suggestive cues into your speech—strong enough to bewilder even someone of powerful willpower. That's well beyond mere suggestion or hypnosis. Impressive, truly."
"Why, thank you. But it's no fun if you see through it."
"Shut up!"
Yuuki deflected my words with the same nonchalant composure as always.
The fact that he wasn't rattled at all told me that being seen through had been within his expectations.
If that was the case, then thought-suggestion wasn't necessarily his trump card either… Maybe it was safer to treat everything Yuuki said as a lie.
No—what if that was exactly his aim?
By mixing a small amount of truth into a lie, you could make even that truth seem like a lie.
The inverse pattern—mixing a small amount of lie into the truth…
《That probability is high. Unfortunately, I analyzed all energy wavelength patterns including voice signatures, but I was unable to distinguish truth from falsehood.》 So that was it after all.
But the fact that even Ciel couldn't tell was painful. If she couldn't read it from expressions or emotional fluctuations either, then it was genuinely difficult.
There was nothing to be done about that…
In that case, I had to make the judgment myself. But what information did Yuuki want me to believe was a lie?
《Additionally, I've confirmed that hidden power exists within Yuuki's words. This is an Origin Magic —a "Word Spirit." It appears to be an evolved form of thought-suggestion.》 What?! A "Word Spirit"?!
When I pressed Ciel for details, she explained that Origin Magic was a category of magic ranked above even what demons wielded—it was said to be the source of all magic.
However, it didn't operate by manipulating physical phenomena. Instead, it possessed authority that acted directly upon the mind.
Because it had no effect on matter, its impact on the mental world was immense.
In other words, it could bypass defensive barriers entirely and strike directly—an absolutely terrifying magic. The fact that it could affect even those who had awakened to Ultimate Skills was astonishing.
And being able to use this magic meant one was an existential threat—a natural enemy to spiritual life forms.
The way Ramiris had nearly been manipulated just now was proof of that. It could reach into the depths of one's heart…
For now, our sword skills were evenly matched.
Neither Yuuki nor I was rushing, and neither of us had landed a single clean hit.
Yuuki was protected head to toe by Mythic Grade armor, though it likely wouldn't withstand the Veldora Sword.
Similarly, I had no confidence I could endure the Star Emperor Dragon Horn Sword either. After all, I could feel energy emanating from that blade that surpassed the Veldora Sword.
This was truly power worthy of being called the embodiment of Veldora Nova— "You don't mean—Is it true that you really can wield Veldora Nova's power?"
It struck me like divine revelation.
The reason Yuuki bought time was to obtain the power needed to defeat us for certain.
If that was the case, then acquiring Velda Nova's power made perfect sense.
"What the hell are you talking about? No way that's true!"
"That's right, Rimuru. He'd need to break the seal to do that—"
Giichi and Ramiris were in denial, but Velzard and Velgrynd fell silent.
And so did Milim.
She probably felt it—the same wave of power as Velda Nova.
It was overflowing from the sword in Yuuki's hands.
"Ah… ahahahahahaha!!"
Suddenly, Yuuki burst into uncontrollable laughter.
He continued laughing even as he blocked my sword.
And then— "Hah, hahahaha… You really are sharp, Rimuru. Even if that fairy had released the seal, there was truly nothing there. I just wanted to see the look of despair on your face, that's all. Because the seal really had been broken, you see."
When those words left Yuuki's mouth, everyone besides me went deathly silent.
They had intuited the truth behind his words.
This wasn't a lie meant to make me guard up—because there was little benefit in telling such a lie.
Which meant Yuuki had indeed broken Veldora Nova's seal within one month.
And the one-month grace period had been for exactly that purpose.
"That's right—that's the face I wanted to see. After all, I'm finally giving this my all. The game of using a tool to destroy the world failed, so the least I can do is enjoy myself a little at the end, right?"
Having said that, Yuuki let out a laugh that came from the very depths of his heart.