Now Testarossa’s rule over the West was complete.
“Do you think he read all of this?” she said to Moss. “Ah, we’re all dancing on Sir Rimuru’s palm, aren’t we? What a truly, truly wonderful ruler!”
“Yes, there’s no telling how deep his talents run.”
“I firmly agree. But today’s events might drive Guy Crimson to get more serious. And if he does…”
“We’ll have to firm up our powers. No matter the storm facing us, we must show the public that no one shall block the path of our master!”
“I’m glad you understand. May you remain just as diligent going forward. I expect great things from you. And tell Cien for me, won’t you?”
“Absolutely, my master!”
Testarossa gave him a satisfied smile and an elegant nod.
Over in the north, Cien—one of Testarossa’s demon servants—was holding his own until Elmesia’s Magus forces could arrive. Thanks to Guy not being all that serious about this invasion, the demons saw their position weaken in due time—and in the blink of an eye, they had retreated.
Thus marked the end of the disturbance in the West. But in a way, the true upheaval was only about to begin.
………
……
…
“Hey, I just received word from Mizeri, but why the heck does Blanc have a name now?”
“Oh, you mean Testarossa? Well, it proves that she, too, understands the glory and wonder of Sir Rimuru.”
Diablo was all too eager to explain things to the nonplussed Guy.
“And it sounds like they’re making mincemeat of my minions out there… Guess this little prank blew up in my face, didn’t it?”
“Naturally. It is all according to Sir Rimuru’s plan. And Guy… You, too, are being taken advantage of.”
Diablo, completely unbeknownst to Rimuru, was keeping up with his taunting. If Rimuru was here, he’d probably be holding Diablo’s arms back and screaming “Have you gone insane, you fool?!” in his face.
“So did that bum Rimuru name Testarossa?”
“Yes, he did.”
“And her getting a physical body and evolving to a Demon Peer…?”
“All the blessings of Sir Rimuru, yes.”
“…Oh.”
Diablo’s smile widened as Guy’s headache intensified. Raine, stationed behind him, turned white at the enormity of the news.
Ugh, are you serious? We’ve somehow maintained this delicate balance of battle skill for the past millennium and a half-ish, and now it’s all crashing down…
Guy had to resist the urge to laugh. A three-way deadlock between Primal Demons; the East in a standoff with the West; Luminus in a staring contest against Daggrull—somehow, everything had balanced itself just right. That was now gone in the course of a single day.
Suddenly, he was struck with a dark foreboding. He turned to Diablo.
“Hey, so if Testarossa’s now above the other two, what’re they up to right now?”
“Ultima and Carrera, you mean? Sir Rimuru put them to work as well, of course, and let me assure you, they couldn’t be happier…”
“Wait! Hold it right there!”
Guy stopped the smiling Diablo before he went into full gear.
“What? I am getting to the good part.”
Being interrupted just when he was about to banter away offended Diablo. Guy, as always, wanted nothing but the facts.
“It’s gonna be another long story, isn’t it?”
“It would have to be, wouldn’t it?”
That was up for debate, but Guy had no intention of doing so.
“Well, I’ll listen to the whole thing later, so…um, this Ultima and Carrera you mention…”
“Ah yes—Ultima is Violet, the Original Purple, and Carrera is Jaune, the Original Yellow. You really must call them by their names, because they have a rather short fuse if you don’t. In fact, they’ve all but forgotten their old monikers as of late.”
“They have…?”
Guy was at a loss for words. Come on… What the hell could that bastard Rimuru be thinking? Noir, I can understand—he’s always been a strange one. But if Violet and Jaune are jumping on his bandwagon, it’s not so funny anymore. And Blanc, too? The proudest out of all the Primals, and now she’s also serving someone else…?
He mulled this over as Diablo kept casually chatting.
“I invited them, mind you. Having more work to do is certainly a welcome thing, but if I cannot support Sir Rimuru directly, there’s no point to it. Don’t you think so?”
“…Huh?”
Now Guy eyed him with great suspicion, wondering if he heard him correctly. He may have wielded absolute power in this world, but now Diablo was verbally toying with him.
“This way, you see, I can give the trivial duties to—er, that is, I was looking for companions to work alongside me, and their schedules were free, so I invited them. Having these stupid power struggles for all time is simply ridiculous, so I told them to grow up a little and help out Sir Rimuru!”
Guy internally cursed the proud Diablo. This is all your doing?! If anyone needs to grow up here, it’s you!
“…So Rimuru brought them on after you invited them? And gave them names? And bodies?”
“Exactly. Thinking about how rudely they treated Sir Rimuru at first fills me with murderous rage, even today. However, they’re proving to be quite helpful. If Sir Rimuru is not bothered by it, then I am open to generously forgiving them.”
Diablo was strange enough, but Guy knew full well that Rimuru was beyond abnormal. Naming Primal Demons was something your average demon lord should never be capable of doing. It was lethally dangerous, opening you to the risk of either dying or simply being poofed out of existence. Besides, even if a Primal Demon’s power was recognized and praised, that demon would never bow down and serve anyone. If they were named, they’d repay the favor by consuming the namer’s soul—that’s all. This wasn’t just a matter of being crazy or overly confident in oneself.
I think I better talk things over directly with him, Guy concluded.
“Right. I’m gonna go pay a visit to Rimuru soon.”
“Oh? I will pass on that. It will only invite more trouble.”
God dammit…
Guy was already balling his hands into fists. But losing his temper would put him out of the game. Diablo was a unique case—if he ripped him apart right now, he’d just resurrect himself. Guy was fully aware of that, so he never took the bait.
“Nah, think about it. I want to hear more about your story, y’know, and we can’t really relax and chat over matters amid all this stuff, can we? And Deeno’s been telling me about how prosperous Rimuru’s lands have become. I’m getting kinda curious.”
He put a hand on Diablo’s shoulder, acting buddy-buddy as he spoke.
“Sigh… Well, all right. In that case, you are welcome to visit. I’m sure Sir Rimuru would be delighted.”
Diablo, for his part, never minded when people complimented Tempest. Feeling a bit better, he accepted Guy’s request.
If Rimuru were here, he’d probably be screaming even louder now. Good lord, he thought when Diablo briefed him on it later, he’s learning all the bad lessons from Shion and none of the good ones…
Thus, unbeknownst to Rimuru yet, Diablo and Guy’s conversation came to a close.
“In any case, if all of you are on hand, I’m outta here.”
“Yes, I’m sure Sir Rimuru will handle things here…no matter what happens.”
“Will he? Well, tell him I said hello.”
“I will. In that case, I look forward to seeing you again soon.”
With that, Guy was gone.
* * *
“It seems I somehow made it through that, I suppose. If Guy decided to interfere with things, I couldn’t say what would happen then. Even I have trouble dealing with him, after all. Keh-heh-heh… I need to get stronger…”
Only his echoing laughter could be heard.
Deep inside the cathedral, a fierce battle was taking place.
The chop unleashed by Louis had enough slashing force to cut through any obstacle, the accompanying shock wave continuing to pursue Laplace even after he retreated far away. Laplace still had no trouble dodging it, however, breezily smiling as he did.
“Well, huh. You’re Roy’s brother, then? You twins or something? I’d quit while I was ahead if I were you. Ya can’t beat me, y’know.”
Despite darting around, pretending to look for an escape, Laplace was still as talkative as ever. Louis, meanwhile, remained unaffected. Being evaded didn’t concern him, as he continued swinging both arms at Laplace.
They had made their way outside the burial chamber, a kind of natural progression as Laplace continued dodging Louis’s strikes.
“Yes, as you say, Roy was like my twin brother. We were equally as powerful, and we looked similar, too. If there’s any difference, it’s that he had a violent streak, and I was far less emotional. But I will inform you that I am superior to him in one way—my eyes are much keener.”
“Yeah? So what?”
“I can take my time observing my opponent’s skills, movements, and targets. It’s been clear to me for quite some time that you’re trying to strike me where I’m unguarded.”
“…Huh. Better’n your brother, then, eh? But good eyes ain’t gonna be enough to beat me.”
“We’ll see about that. Also, my name is Louis. I’m more than just someone’s brother. Roy and I were never on the best terms, in fact.”
“Hmm. Can’t say I care much.”
Laplace seemed carefree, in his element, as he traded blows with Louis—or really, dodged the one-sided rain of blows coming his way. His eyes showed in the most eloquent terms that he, not Louis, was doing the observing.
“You must be tired by now, no?” Louis shouted. “Time for you to go to sleep.”
He stepped up the intensity of his attack.
“I’m tellin’ ya, you’re wastin’ your time.”
“Am I? Let me go stronger, then.”
Although the tone of his voice hadn’t changed, Laplace suddenly began to feel uncertain. Whenever he had a foreboding like this, it usually wound up true. With a leap some would describe as exaggerated, he instantly jumped back from the fray. His intuition was correct—Louis’s attack fanned out, pulverizing the space he stood on a moment ago.
“…?! What the hell’s all that power…?”
It had clearly skyrocketed in that last swipe. If Laplace was still hopping around, making fun of Louis, he wouldn’t have been able to defend in time. The damage would’ve been terrific.
“Phew… Now I’m getting used to this. If you evaded that, you’re certainly not one to be trifled with.”
“You wanted to put me off guard so you could do me in with one shot?”
“Mmm… I won’t say that didn’t come to mind, but I think I can win without resorting to such underhanded measures.”
“Huh?”
Laplace had taken Roy down. Roy, at that time, had certainly underestimated him, but even discounting that, Laplace was a far better fighter. And Laplace took the fight seriously—Roy might’ve been a stand-in for the demon lord Luminus, but he was an even match for the demon lord Kazalim, a sort of father figure to Laplace and his cohorts. He’d never go into a fight against someone like Roy unprepared.
“What you saw just now was an application of Bloodray. It hides its magical presence in order to reduce my opponent’s wariness of me. Of course, it won’t work again now that I’ve shown it to you, will it?”
It was sort of like revealing his hand, but he explained the skill to Laplace anyway. Hearing that gave him an even deeper sense of foreboding.
This ain’t good. Is he buying time for himself? What’s this guy after?
Laplace’s intuition was already sounding the alarm. If this keeps up, he decided, one of these tricks was bound to snare him—so without hesitation, he tapped one of his innermost secrets.
“…That’s why you must die here!”
With that declaration from Louis, the area around Laplace exploded. The shock wave focused itself around the center, offering Laplace no avenue for escape. The waves of blood particles were already locked onto him. The fight was over—anyone would conclude as much.
The flames burned high in the air as a human figure inside them collapsed.
“It’s too bad. Roy and I used to be one and the same. We were separated by the power of Lady Luminus. And with Roy dead, I’ve regained my original powers.”
Once, there existed a Bloody Lord too violent, too vicious for anyone to handle. Luminus managed to defeat him, adding him to her forces—but he was still so vicious that he caused constant trouble for the rest of Luminus’s ranks. Thus, she split him into two separate men—naming one the Holy Emperor and her right-hand man, and the other her stand-in as demon lord.
In other words, Louis was complete once more, regaining the powers he previously enjoyed. From the start, no matter how much more powerful Laplace was, he was convinced he could win. And that was why…
“Whoa. That was really cuttin’ it close.”
Laplace dragged himself up, a sight that gave Louis pause—a moment’s hesitation that Laplace wasn’t about to ignore.
“Let’s go, Footman. If this keeps up, you’re gonna die!”
“Hoh-hoh-hoh! I hate to say it, but it looks like you’re right.”
Footman had already been battered from head to toe by Gunther. He was the most powerful of the Three Servants under Luminus, and while he lost out to the fully restored Louis, Footman still had no chance. Laplace had kept careful tabs on their battle even as he fought his own, and his conclusion was dead-on accurate.
Even if I gave this all I had, I couldn’t take down the whole lot of ’em, and they’ll probably kill Footman first. Best to run while the runnin’s good. I’d say our diversion worked well enough—no need to expose ourselves to danger over it!
So Laplace, shouting out loud to distract Louis, sprang into action. It worked. In another moment, Laplace and Footman were away from this deadly battleground.
All that remained in the burial chamber were Luminus and Maria Rozzo. Luminus, perhaps hesitating to attack Maria, had yet to really throw herself into battle. The fact that Maria could keep up with her high-speed fighting was proof enough that she was no fake. It was definitely Maria—the kind, affectionate Maria she knew.
Granville must’ve been preserving her corpse. So this is a death golem using her body…or maybe not? This unconscious shell is a servant generated by Raise Dead necromancy. So he’s stooped low enough to tap into forbidden magic…?
Anyone who’s lost a loved one has fostered hope of seeing them alive one more time. But it’s a lost cause. Even Luminus could see why Granville would resort to necromancy—but it was all theoretical, something to imagine and not act upon. To someone as far removed from death as Luminus was, she had no way of understanding the true nature of sadness.
Maria was a Saint for the Hero Gren, acting as his servant and confidant. He comforted her as well, trying to relieve the heavy burden of her position. They enjoyed an intimate relationship, one that their then-foe Luminus envied.
What would it take for Granville to make her a zombie servant? And if she’s this strong, that couldn’t have been the only forbidden magic he cast. Maria was using a litany of special skills to hold her own against Luminus, including what seemed to be several uniques. Luminus wasn’t sure how to handle this, and that made her worry.
She is astounding but still weak. I doubt that fool Gren thought she had a chance against me. So why, then…?
Suddenly, intense anxiety attacked her. Something told her she was overlooking something extremely important…
“Lady Luminus, the invaders gave us the slip. Louis is currently pursuing them, and I was about to join him…”
Just then, Gunther came back in to report. The moment his voice trailed off, Luminus saw what was wrong. Something was missing from the chamber. Something vitally important. Now even Luminus’s heterochromatic eyes could see it as they followed Gunther’s gaze.
The coffin of spirit-infused ice, the relic they took such great pains to store here, had disappeared.
Luminus fell to confusion, unable to speak or accept this reality. It was something that should never have happened. It threw her, exposing her to Maria’s full attack.
“Lady Luminus!”
She could hear Gunther’s concerned shouting, but she couldn’t listen. The pain racking her body was the stimulus she needed to keep a cool head. She appreciated it.
The rational part of her brain began to consider her options anew. Calming her desires to scream against it all, she faced up to her reality. No matter how much her emotions refused to accept this, her cold analytical skills gave her the facts. The coffin of ice had been stolen, and that was that.
In another few moments, Luminus harnessed the anger bubbling up within her to stab right through Maria’s chest.
“You would go this far, Granville? You… You have incurred my full wrath, Gren!!”
With a scream of fury, she unleashed her hidden magic force. In an instant, this unprecedented level of mad tyranny destroyed the burial chamber. A swirl of chaotic magical force pooled around her. She had created a dimension of death, one nobody would even dare approach.
“Guntherrrrrrr!!”
“Yes, my lady!”
“Find them. Find the invaders!”
“As you wish!”
There was no need to say more. Realizing Luminus’s intentions, Gunther quickly sprang into action. As truly angry as she was, not even Gunther could be completely safe here.
If we fail, Lubelius itself could fall…
He ran away at full speed, compelled to act.
Luminus, left alone, struggled to control her rage. If she made a move right now, her analytical side told her, it would only make things worse. It was natural for her to keep her thoughts separate from her emotions. But even with that, this came as a massive shock.
This cannot stand. We must keep it safe until the time comes, or else it may spell doom for the entire world. And if even I cannot handle the fallout…
The ark was given to her by a trusted friend. Mishandling it could unleash disaster, so she had kept it sealed and under strict guard. Carefully, she analyzed her situation. Only she could undo the seal on that ark. It was a tremendously powerful barrier, one whose holy force could even burn the body of Luminus, the one who installed it. But now it had been carried off.
…Who could have done it? Anyone capable of taking it away must be at least as powerful as me…
Someone classified as a demon lord or better.
All the chaos Granville sowed in the cathedral must have been just a diversion. Who would he leave this true mission to? If Granville was willing to offer himself as bait, he must’ve been sure this person could steal the ark—a bet that certainly paid off.
…No. It’s too soon to call this lost. Weakness is a sin. Right now…
Right now, what did Granville want with the coffin? First, she needed to find out. She knew she hadn’t told him anything about the ark—it was supposed to be the most closely guarded of secrets. Not even Gunther and Louis knew any details about the girl sealed inside. And here was Granville, using every card at his disposal—he must’ve been absolutely resolved in this mission.
It was almost eerie to Luminus. His drive to succeed today was malicious. He wanted to get this done, no matter what the fallout was.
“All right. First, let’s find out what your true motives are.”
With that whisper, she turned her eyes toward the cathedral.
I had gotten my intentions across to Leon. He crossed swords with me, and to the outside observer, it must have looked like a serious sword fight. And it was! If I stopped for even a moment, he’d cut me down.
Wait. Did he really understand what I wanted from him?
As far as I could tell, Leon must’ve understood that Granville was behind all this. Now all we’d have to do is this bit of sword sparring for a while, until the time was right, and then we’d be fine. That’s what I thought anyway, but Leon was really giving me no time to rest. He was crazy fast. Hinata’s pace with a sword was amazing enough, but Leon sure wasn’t any slouch. Like her, he was a traditionalist with the sword, showing off a beautiful stance. Since my education from Hakuro, I had begun to teach myself a thing or two—I fight with more than just a sword, so I can’t really help it. With Raphael watching over me, I’m pretty sure I’m not doing anything that’d hurt myself, at least.
But enough about that. We were talking about how sharp his attacks were. I thought he was really out to kill me, but his face had almost no expression on it. It was hard to tell whether he really meant to harm me. I began to grow a little worried about trusting him.
Understood. There is no problem. Using Predict Future Attack to synchronize our plans.
That was a relief, then. I would just keep leaving this to Raphael’s auto-battle mode.
But that wasn’t my only concern. For a while now, I’d been detecting rumblings underground. I thought the bedrock might be moving; such was the enormity of the shaking. It’s probably the work of Luminus, I thought, a figure who still wasn’t present. We’ve had problems up here; she had problems down there… This sure wasn’t your run-of-the-mill scandal, no. I was definitely an involved party at this point, and if it was anybody but me, it’d probably become a huge diplomatic fight—not that Luminus would care, but regardless.
Shion and Ranga were still struggling against the insectoid Razul. Hinata seemed to be keeping it even with Granville, but I had the impression that Granville hadn’t tapped his full skills yet. If that fight dragged on, I had a feeling Hinata would be at a disadvantage soon. So no, things weren’t really going swimmingly for us. I wasn’t even sure what I should try to wrap up first.
But as I analyzed the battle, I suddenly detected a huge burst of magical power from down below. That was Luminus, for sure. The cathedral’s flooring flew into the air, opening a circular hole six or so feet in diameter. The blast of heat that shot up from it broke straight through the ceiling, ascending to the heavens. Its power was ridiculous, but I’m sure it was kid stuff to Luminus.
“It seems you’re serious about antagonizing me, Granville.”
Luminus appeared from the hole, carrying a beautiful woman in her arms—and the moment she did, she clearly indicated that she wanted Granville dead. Now things are gonna move, I thought. Leon must’ve thought so, too, because his eyes were on Luminus.
“Heh-heh-heh… Well done, Lady Luminus. Not even my servant could halt you, could she? She was a masterpiece of mine, you know. I infused her with the power of only my best handpicked otherworlders.”
“You fool. Pool together all the fake imitations you want; an unconscious doll could never beat the real thing. You, of all people, should know that!”
Granville, faced with an enraged Luminus, remained serene. The speed of Hinata’s sword grew sharper against him, but Granville easily parried every strike, as composed as ever. She could steal her opponents’ skills, but apparently that didn’t work on him. Arts, unlike skills, couldn’t be used immediately after taking them. It’s the difference between reading about baseball and winning the World Series; only through continued training could you hone those arts. Granville’s strength was the result of years of that kinda training—and now he was humming along, as stable as the unmoving earth.
“Strong, isn’t he?” Leon whispered to me. “They don’t call him a former Hero for nothing.”
“No. He’s a bit better than I thought.”
“In that case,” Luminus said, ignoring us, “what were you doing with this?”
She laid the woman in her arms down. It looked like she was sleeping, but she wasn’t. She was most definitely dead, a corpse that had been used for servitude. With no soul inside, pumping her with energy was a pointless endeavor. I knew that well.
“…Why do you continue to denigrate Maria, even after her death?!”
I guess Luminus knew this woman. Maria, huh? Her face resembled Maribel’s a little. Did that mean she was…?
“Because I needed her. Everything was for the sake of this exact moment.”
Before the quizzical Luminus, Granville removed the glove on his left hand. The magical patterns on it were glowing, and now Maria’s corpse was glowing with it.
“What are you…?!”
It was Luminus who said it, but everybody there was thinking the same thing. Leon stopped engaging with me, watching over the proceedings. There was no point keeping the act going. I almost forgot why we started in the first place.
Then, before our eyes, something unbelievable happened. Maria’s body turned into a ball of light, flowing straight into Granville’s glowing hand. As it did, his body began pulsating with power—visually, not just in terms of magicule energy. This process was revitalizing his body’s cells. His white hair turned a shining blond, his withered skin regaining its youthful luster. There, in front of us all, was Granville Rozzo from his younger days, the Hero of years past, his eyes dead sharp.
“You… You took all the Love Energy I gave you and injected it into Maria!”
Granville nodded at Luminus. Love Energy, if I recall correctly, is a type of energy meant to retain one’s youth. So he mixed that with some other powers to rejuvenate himself, and the result is the Granville we’re looking at now?
“Lady Luminus… Or how about I just call you Luminus? I still need to settle things with you—I realized some time ago that I can’t die until I do. Now that Maribel is dead, my ambitions have been crushed—but still, above all else, this is what I desire!”
“You…!”
“Don’t toy with me!!”
Luminus and Hinata both responded simultaneously.
The young Granville turned toward Hinata. “Ah yes. Hinata, I still need to provide you with my guidance. You are the most talented of all the apprentices I dealt with. You always strove to improve, never afraid to make an effort and polish yourself. I will gladly praise your excellence any day. But…”
With that, Granville casually swung his blade. The effects were beyond belief.
“Meltslash…?! No! You can control spiritual particles with no casting delay?!”
Hinata dodged it, which amazed me. But Granville’s ability to handle Overblade skills with such nonchalance was jaw-dropping, completely beyond anyone’s imagination.
“Hinata, I always wondered why you never became a Hero. It takes more than talent and hard work. Unless you have the love of the elemental spirits, you will never qualify to be one. But you had that love, and yet…”
“Well, sorry. Whether they loved me or not, sometimes things are just beyond your reach, I suppose.”
“If you awakened your Hero side, it would have helped my ambitions immensely. So here’s a word of advice. You hold darkness within your heart, don’t you? Did you kill someone close to you in the past? Your parents, your brother, a friend?”
“Shut up!!”
Hinata had retreated to avoid his Meltslash, but now she shot back into position, lunging at Granville. Something about what he said must’ve touched a raw nerve. Anger filled her eyes.
The high-pitched ring of sword against sword filled the air. Granville remained steadfast…as Hinata was helplessly blown away.
“Ngh…!!”
There was just too much of a difference. Seeing Hinata treated like a child made me doubt my eyes.
“You never accepted the elemental of light. You have to overcome this. The darkness is just an illusion your heart creates for itself. You must forgive your past self and take pride in the present—the way you live. Then you will accept the light—”
“I told you, shut up!!”
Granville’s cold eyes sized up the enraged Hinata.
“It’s a pity, Hinata. If I had more time, I could have guided you. But if you can’t understand me, then it’s best for you to face the truth. How will you ever save the world if you can’t even protect what you hold dear?”
My instincts told me this was bad. With this conversation, everyone’s eyes were now focused on Hinata. What if Granville wanted that? And what he wanted…
Report. According to Predict Future Attack, his goal is—
His sword swung down in a slash. It was Disintegration, and there was no way to stop it. It was more of a stabbing move than a slash—call it Meltstrike if you want. It came down at close to light speed, and no doubt it’d gouge its way into its target. So I ran as fast as I could toward them.
According to my calculations, not even me at full speed would reach them in time. But if I could use Belzebuth to consume it—and the air around it… Even if I couldn’t capture these spiritual particles moving at light speed, I knew they were targeted toward Chloe, so I could get ahead of them.
“Chloe!!”
By the time I finished shouting, everything was over.
Hinata was the first to move. Without a moment’s hesitation, she stepped between Chloe and Granville’s line of fire. Sacrificing her own body, she took the Meltstrike blow to her chest. It stabbed right through her, and she collapsed to the ground coughing up blood—but all it did was lower the speed of that beam of light a little, as it extended toward Chloe.
The next person to move after Hinata, surprisingly enough, was Venom. Just like Hinata, he tried to sacrifice himself to protect Chloe—he must’ve been awfully faithful to Diablo’s orders, because he had kept himself focused on protecting the kids over everything else. That’s why he was in time for that moment.
“Gah! …Oh man, owww!”
There was a large hole in his stomach, but he seemed pretty chill about it. That’s a demon for you. As long as your soul’s safe, any damage to your body was apparently just window dressing. If Granville was aiming for him, it might be a different story, but for now, he could tend to himself.
Then, thanks to the minuscule amount of time Hinata and Venom brought for me, I made it over. Consuming the air in front of Chloe, I all but instantly teleported in time. Now I just needed to activate Uriel’s Absolute Defense to protect Chloe.
“Huh? Mr. Tempest? Miss Hinata…?”
No offense meant to Venom, of course, but Chloe was focused solely on Hinata. That was understandable. I was worried for her, too.
Luminus ran up to Hinata, gauging her wound.
“Miss Hinata! Miss Hinata, don’t die!!”
“Chloe! Hey!”
Before I could stop her, Chloe started running. The other kids were taking her cue, so I hurriedly used Paralyzing Breath to knock them out. Giving Venom some healing potion, I tasked him with protecting them.
“Ch… Chloe?! Is that really Chloe…?”
Leon was acting incredibly suspicious, but that’d have to wait. Chasing after Chloe, I ran up to Hinata, keeping a careful eye on Granville as I sized her up.
…Whoa, look out.
“Hey, Luminus…”
“Silence! The spirit particles are eating into her fast! Too fast!”
Her physical wounds were now healed, but Hinata was growing weaker by the moment. The Meltstrike particles were destroying her spiritual body, and in time, they’d start whittling down her astral body as well. And at that point, not even Hinata could—
Just then, Hinata barely opened her eyes.
“G-good! Good, Hinata. You gotta stay awake for me!”
“N-no, Lady Luminus, I… Hurk!”
Oh man. HInata was in serious trouble. But not even Luminus, much more versed in holy magic than I was, could rescue Hinata from the brink of death. That’s how fearsome Granville’s strike was.
“Ch-Chloe, I’m glad you’re safe…”
Even with blood flowing from her mouth, Hinata tried her hardest to sit up. Her will was like steel. I’m sure she couldn’t see any longer, but her lips were still taking the form of a smile. She turned toward Chloe and raised a shaky right hand, the one holding her Moonlight sword and bearing the Holy Spirit Armor bracelet.
“…Chloe, I want you to have this. I… I couldn’t be much of an…instructor to you, but I know…you can surpass me…”
Her voice was hoarse, but it was clearly coming through to the sobbing Chloe.
“Miss Hinata…”
Chloe’s hand gingerly touched Hinata’s—
—and the next moment, Hinata’s body began to glow, the light seemingly flowing into Chloe through her fingers. Was I seeing this right? Because not even Luminus was reacting at all. It was like time was stopping…
“N-no!” Chloe screamed. “This can’t be happening! It’s too early! Why?!”
“Uh, Chloe?”
The moment I tried calling for Chloe…she vanished, almost like she was never there at all.
…I snapped back to attention.
What was that?
“Chloe? Where’s Chloe? Rimuru… What did you do to Chloe?”
“I—I have no idea what just happened…”
Leon had me by the shoulders now, demanding an explanation, but I was clueless. Seriously, where did Chloe go? Did she really just disappear?
But at least Leon seemed to believe me. He looked around the area, panicked, and even I couldn’t hide my confusion. I had absolutely no clue what was going on.
…Unknown. This is an abnormal situation. Failed to grasp the full extent of what happened to the subject Chloe Aubert.
And surprisingly enough, Raphael—whom I could usually rely on for well-nigh everything—didn’t have any idea, either. But right now, I had no time to just stand there and ponder this.
The disappearance of young Chloe was not a concern to Luminus. Her own friend was more important to her right now. Her Resurrection spell had deployed itself, but it feebly dissipated into the air, much to her shock.
“Why?! Barely any time has passed since her death! Why…?”
…But Luminus could “see” it. Even with Hinata’s body back in perfect condition, her insides—her soul, the most important thing of all—was lost.
“Hinata, forgive me. I was here for you, and still you had to endure this…”
A single tear fell from her eye. It was greeted by a boorish voice interrupting her.
“I wish you wouldn’t wail like that. This, too, is exactly as I aimed for. My final plan is going quite smoothly, Luminus!”
Only Granville was smiling at this sequence of events. It greatly irritated Luminus. Now she wasn’t even allowed time to mourn Hinata’s death.
“You will pay for this. You will. I will tear you apart!”
The scream was as loud as it was furious. Her face was reddened with intense rage—the rage she felt by having Hinata, her favorite, taken before her eyes.
Her mind was filled with despair at how powerless she was, incapable of doing anything. It stirred her demon-lord heart in ways that couldn’t even compare with when Veldora laid waste to her kingdom long ago. The emotions stimulated her mind, like ripples on the surface of a cup filled to the brim with water—and the trembling force on her previously suppressed emotions caused a change inside her.
The World Language echoed, like a bell calling Luminus to the loftiest of heights, like none that even her almost limitless abilities had taken her.
Confirmed. Conditions met. The unique skill Lust has evolved into the ultimate skill Asmodeus, Ruler of Lust.
At that moment, the massive power within Luminus evolved into even more intense, vicious heights—into the realms of the ruler of the skies.
Asmodeus, the evolved skill she just gained, held sway over life and death itself. The powerlessness she felt at Hinata’s death was exactly what awakened Luminus to it. But she did not react. Now, her instincts told her, even this ability would be meaningless.
“It doesn’t matter any longer! It’s too late… I was useless right when it counted, and it doesn’t matter to me anymore…!!”
All but ignoring the World Language, Luminus continued to seethe with rage.