This was Spiral Penetrator, a type of fa jin martial arts move that strikes its opponent with focused, explosive force. This fighting spirit is given directional kinetic energy that penetrates both armor and muscle, destroying the target from the inside out. Its power is proportional to the amount of infused fighting spirit, and if Damrada was the one focusing it, he could count on it having the lethal force of a tank round.
“Gnhh!”
His opponent crouched down, coughing up blood, legs too weak to stand back up. How could he? That single blow had just destroyed all of Tornewot’s internal organs.
“It… It’s crazy… You were that strong…”
“Well, well, well. Judging a book by its cover? The classic move of a conceited pile of muscle, supported by a massive ego. Were you laboring under the assumption that you outgunned me just because I hired you as a guard?”
“Ngh…”
“I asked you to be strong. Humans are no fools. They don’t need to rely on arcane, esoteric abilities—they can become as strong as they want, if they train hard enough. Just like I did.”
Then Damrada shot his leg backward, executing a roundhouse without looking behind him. The attacker aiming for his blind spot, unable to react in time, promptly died of a broken neck.
Damrada made it look like stepping on an ant, but this was Arius, a man whose strength even Yuuki praised. He possessed the unique skill Murderer coupled with the twin skills of Silent Movement and Conceal Presence, the perfect combination for assassination missions. This made him a natural killer, one good enough to rank Number Forty-Four in the imperial hierarchy. But despite his specialty in antipersonnel ops, Damrada wasted no time at all dispatching him.
“As I think I’ve just shown, leaning on your abilities is not good enough. When push comes to shove, the thing you can rely on the most is your well-trained body and mind. If you ask me, all of you here are useless.”
He was choosing harsh words, and those in the room who’d never been ridiculed by even their martial-arts instructors were indignant as they heard them. It was like he was trying to teach the weak a lesson here, and it infuriated them. They all glowered at Damrada, eyes blazing with murderous intent.
In the midst of all this, Yuuki was still calmly, silently observing. Now he had his conclusion.
I knew it. Damrada didn’t betray us—someone was controlling him. Someone on the emperor’s side, maybe, considering Arius’s position in the Imperial Guardians. He didn’t kill Tornewot, but against Arius, he showed no mercy at all—that’s all the proof I needed. So Damrada still has his free will, but he can’t do anything that’d be inconvenient for whoever’s ruling over him. Is that it?
Whatever controlled Damrada must have been a very powerful force, indeed. Nonetheless, Damrada was still attempting to find a way to communicate his current situation to Yuuki. Based on that, Yuuki tried to work out the best solution.
“Okay, guys, eyes over here! Switch to a retreat operation right now! I’m leaving all authority to Kagali, so all of you drop everything and regroup with the Composite Division.”
“Boss? We don’t have to run away. Let’s take care of this traitor, and then we can rise to action right now—”
“No.”
Yuuki immediately rejected Alia’s suggestion. He still had his usual carefree smile on, but his eyes weren’t so jovial as he scanned the room.
“Damrada’s stalling for time. That’s why he’s going on and on like this. It’s what he’s been allowed to do, okay?”
“Allowed to do?” Kagali asked.
Yuuki nodded. “Right. Damrada didn’t double-cross us. Someone’s controlling his mind, and that someone’s trying to wipe us out right here.”
This revelation was met with mixed reactions, but it did help his comrades regain their sense of judgment. Holding back the desire to kill Damrada, they focused their gazes on Kagali, the second-in-command.
She had come to the same conclusion Yuuki did. She knew they were in a critical situation; the alarm bells in her mind told her so. Now, with Yuuki’s instructions given, she knew what she had to do. Things were urgent, and she knew it was no time to argue with him.
“We’ll abandon this place and head for the Composite Division’s encampment.”
“But what about Sir Yuuki?”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I doubt Damrada would let me leave anyway, so I’m gonna have to deal with him here. You guys get going.”
Yuuki turned his back to the crowd so he could face Damrada.
“We’re off,” Kagali ordered.
“““Roger!”””
Everyone realized what they had to do. Whether Damrada betrayed them or not didn’t matter now—once they saw Yuuki turn around, they knew he was ready for anything. The time for debate was over. Right now, as all the superpowers in the room knew, job one was just to survive.
Alia carried the fallen Tornewot. The sight of a dainty little girl picking up a musclebound giant was chuckle-inducing, but no one was laughing. A healer cast some magic on Tornewot as they joined the line of fleeing rebels—and then, in perfectly orderly fashion, they all blended into the darkness of the night.
A few minutes later, Yuuki and Damrada were the only ones left in the vast meeting hall.
“It’s too late to run away now, I think. You always did blow the landing that way, Sir Yuuki. I think you’re underestimating the IIB here.”
“Maybe I am. But if I struggle hard enough, maybe I can find a way out of this, y’know?”
“Don’t make me laugh. This isn’t a children’s game, you know.”
“Of course not. I’m always serious.”
“Including with your fairy-tale dreams of conquering the world?”
“Hell yeah! And you’re the same, aren’t you?”
Damrada gave that a chuckle. “Yes,” he bellowed from the bottom of his heart, “exactly!”
Yuuki Kagurazaka was, to Damrada, a good boss. He still had a childish mind that caused him to make immature decisions at times, but he also had his coolheaded side. He was incredibly calculating in personality, and no matter how things turned out, life was certainly never boring under him.
That’s why Damrada trusted him. He trusted that, right now, he must realize that Kondo was controlling him like a puppet.
………
……
…
At the same time, Damrada’s loyalty to Emperor Ludora was completely genuine. He recognized and approved of Yuuki, but his feelings for Ludora were something completely different. They weren’t comparable at all.
To Damrada, Emperor Ludora was everything—and right now, he was acting in accordance with his promise to Ludora. Fulfilling that promise was what he pinned his whole life on. He knew Ludora longer than Kondo had, and it was admittedly careless of him to think Kondo wouldn’t touch him. He was aware that he was under suspicion. That’s why he had been so careful. But it seemed that Kondo was even more dangerous than Damrada thought.
Immediately after he said his final goodbyes to Misha, Damrada’s will was put under Kondo’s control. How he did it, Damrada couldn’t say—but no matter what he tried, he was unable to break it. His consciousness remained fully intact, but every aspect of his actions was now dictated by Kondo.
………
……
…
I had no idea that bastard Kondo would take over my own body, too. Anyone will tell you how cautious he is, but I didn’t think he’d take matters this far. Sir Yuuki has truly outdone himself.
If he couldn’t deactivate this body control on his own, the only hope left was to rely on Yuuki. He’d need to make Yuuki aware of his situation, but that posed a major challenge. No matter how you looked at it, this was clearly Damrada betraying the entire movement. It was just asking too much, and Damrada himself was about to give up on the idea.
But Yuuki noticed it. He did an incredible job. It moved Damrada deeply, even as he could only say what Kondo allowed him to.
“Allow me, Sir Yuuki, to show you the abilities of the vice commander of the Imperial Guardians.”
The restrictions were permission-based; they put blocks on what Damrada could do. But despite that, Damrada tried to relay as much information as he could to Yuuki. Providing his rank was one such attempt. He had to let Yuuki know as much as he could give him, and after that, Yuuki could utilize it as he pleased. Convinced this was the right way, Damrada decided to pin his hopes on Yuuki.
If he kills me after that, it’ll all be over. The promise I made to Emperor Ludora will be taken on by Sir Yuuki, I assume. A pity I can’t see it with my own eyes, but…
He was sure that Yuuki would carry on his will. If Yuuki ever wanted to fulfill his lofty ambitions, he’d have to carry out Damrada’s objectives as well. He didn’t have high hopes, but they were hopes nonetheless.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I still have work for you to do, y’know. I’ll help you out of this.”
“Ha-ha-ha! If that’s the kind of infantile nonsense you’ve got for me, you don’t stand a chance.”
Controlled or not, nothing could erase the joyful feeling welling up from his heart. And so just as that heart desired, Damrada unleashed his emotions…
Over thirty warriors were running along the main thoroughfare of the imperial capital. Led by Kagali, they were attempting to flee the city at night, just as Yuuki ordered them, to regroup with the Composite Division. The division was camped near the Empire’s border with the Dwarven Kingdom, over three hundred miles southwest of the capital; merchant caravans would need over ten days to travel that distance.
Those with enough magic force could use one of the transport gates laid out around the city, a first-rate piece of magical technology that allowed travel between supported cities in an instant. But they couldn’t push a hundred people through at once, and given their importance, they were kept under heavy guard. Storming one this late at night would obviously lead to warfare.
Thus, without hesitation, Kagali decided to go it on her own. Rather than stir up trouble here, she decided that strengthening her forces’ position came first. Everyone in this group was far more powerful than your average human being; if they kept running without any breaks, they could reach their destination in a few hours.
“Are you all right, Lady Kagali?”
“Yes, everything’s fine. Thanks for your concern, Teare.”
Kagali nodded at Teare, a young masked woman who was running next to her.
As the former demon lord Kazalim, Kagali spent years in only her spiritual body after Leon defeated her. She was not a spiritual life-form yet, and it took everything she had to maintain her sense of presence. But she made it through, and thanks to Yuuki, she finally obtained a homunculus body for herself—one she had no problem training to become as matchlessly powerful as she was before. Thanks to that, she was now equivalent to a high-level magic-born in fighting strength, one who’d never lag behind the rest of this group.
“Oh? Well, good, then. Would’ve been nice if Laplace were here right now…”
“Yes, I’m sure he could’ve beaten Damrada, even.”
“Hoh-hoh-hoh! Well, our boss is no pushover, either. I’m sure he’ll be back with us shortly…after he wins!”
“You said it!”
“Yep! He absolutely will.”
Kagali flashed a smile, but inwardly, she knew her panic was growing. Those alarm bells were still going off, making her anxiety balloon in size.
…This is not good. Not good at all.
It was an instinctive hunch; Kagali couldn’t count the number of times it had saved her life. She knew she had to do something about it, even if she had no real evidence yet. So she turned toward Teare and Footman, her most trusted companions here.
“Contact Laplace for me.”
“What?”
“Tell him to come back here.”
It was no problem for Teare and Footman to contact Laplace via Telepathy. No matter how separated they were, the clowns were always connected to each other.
“Laplace is on a messenger run, but…”
“I don’t care. Hurry up!”
The alarm bells only Kagali could hear began to ring louder. There was no time to explain, she decided. Leaving Teare behind, she moved on to her next order.
“Everyone, disperse! Survival’s your top priority! Take any measures you see fit to—?!”
She was ordering them to find their own ways back to the Composite Division, but she never had the chance. As she now realized it was already too late.
“What a surprise. I thought I eliminated any sign of my presence. You did well to notice me.”
A man in a military uniform emerged from the darkness. It was Lieutenant Kondo—and with him, a group of operatives silently rappelling down the buildings lining the main street. There were about fifty in all, but each one exuded a presence that was nothing short of overwhelming.
“Imperial Guardians…”
“That’s right. Cease your futile resistance and surrender at once. If you do, I’ll give you the honor of dying for His Majesty the Emperor.”
“So you admit it then, Lieutenant? You’re the commander of the Imperial Guardians?”
Kondo’s expression remained blank. He neither confirmed nor denied it, but to Kagali, that was enough.
Kagali’s group crowded together, keeping careful watch of the knights surrounding them. Combat was no longer avoidable. Each one of them was armed to the teeth, covered head to toe in Legend-class armor. Perhaps both sides were evenly matched, but the difference in gear was as clear as day. It was a dizzying disadvantage to have, but none of Yuuki’s troops would give up at this point.
“Ha! Let’s do it, huh? This’ll just save us time later!”
“Right. Let’s see what the Guardians can really do!”
Tornewot had been at death’s door a few minutes ago, but now he was keyed up, and Alia was following his lead. As superpowered as they all were, they had no intention of admitting defeat without attempting anything.
In the meantime, Kagali was desperately analyzing the situation. The probability of them all surviving this was practically zero. At this stage, the only tactical victory they could gain was to transport as many comrades over to the Composite Division camp as possible. To achieve that, they’d need to buy some time—until Yuuki could defeat Damrada; until Laplace could return to pitch in. Time, precious time, was what Kagali realized they needed the most.
Well… I hope one of the two make it in time, but let’s see what happens.
She took a step toward Kondo.
“Oh? You want to be my opponent?”
“Yes. I want to see for myself what the head of the Guardians is capable of.”
Kagali understood that her own strength was far below Kondo’s. But her objective was to serve herself up as a decoy.
Even if I can’t win, if I can at least carve out some time…
With that thought in mind, she steeled herself, facing Kondo. The lieutenant, on the other hand, seemed all but oblivious to her, sighing at the sight of the combat beginning around him.
“I detest waste. I have no intention of putting up with your stalling attempts. And you need to understand that ‘wanting it more’ won’t help you win a war.”
“You think? Because I think if you pray enough, you might just see a miracle.”
“Hmph. Imagine, an ex–demon lord raving so incoherently.”
Kagali sneered back. Only a very few companions were supposed to know that she used to be a demon lord—but Kondo just blared it out for the world to hear. To put it another way, he must have decided it was too insignificant to keep a secret.
“You’re really looking down on me, aren’t you?”
“I’m not intending to. But let me tell you something else. I imagine you’re trying to regroup with the Composite Division, but don’t bother. His Majesty himself has just organized a force and set out to defeat them.”
“What?”
The emperor going off to battle was an extremely unusual state of affairs. But what caught Kagali’s attention more was the “force” being organized.
“What did you expect? Only the strong matter to us. If you swear loyalty to His Majesty, then fine. But a bunch of minnows with no chance to evolve? No, thank you.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Am I not getting through to you? The only reason you’re being kept alive right now is because you still have the potential to evolve. All of this is going according to His Majesty’s plan.”
“Don’t give me that! Are you saying you knew our entire scheme?!”
Kagali was furious. Kondo just gave her a resentful look.
“What a silly question. Or did you think you were pulling the wool over our eyes here in the capital?”
A dim, angry flame lit itself in Kagali’s heart—the flame of humiliation. With her unique skill Schemer, Kagali had formulated a wealth of plans, succeeding in most of them. She had made a number of mistakes recently, mostly in relation to Rimuru, but she was proud to be Yuuki’s close confidant and chief strategist. But Kondo just sniffed at all that.
“How dare a mere human like you talk that way…”
“A mere human? Do you mean Yuuki Kagurazaka?”
The wave of intense anger, like a rush of blood to her head, nearly blinded Kagali. But she could see that this was just Kondo executing his plan. If she let her anger get the better of her, it’d cost her a potentially winnable battle.
As proof of that, Footman was now attacking Kondo like a berserker, perhaps inspired by Kagali’s anger. He was the most powerful attacker among the clowns, and now he was unleashing massive missiles of magic, not sparing a moment to consider the damage to the city. Kondo avoided them without much of a fuss, but now sirens were going off; there would be panic in the streets before long.
At this rate, the rebels would have to deal with Guardians, security forces, and curious onlookers, all at the same time. Kagali saw no reason now to mind her manners. They’d have to treat anyone in their way as enemies and blow them away—but Kondo and his men were just as aware of that. Why was Kondo allowing this to happen, then? Kagali wasn’t sure.
Stay calm. Chill out. He’s just trying to piss me off…
She had seen through his scheme, and all she had to do was not play along. So she stifled her anger… But then, out of nowhere, she felt a great unease, as if she had overlooked something serious.
Wait… Damrada was under someone’s control. If that was Kondo’s doing…
Both Footman and Teare were now joining the battle. Around them, Yuuki’s comrades were in a pitched battle to the death against the Guardians. Not even that was enough to change Kondo’s expression. He was now holding a revolver in his hand, produced from parts unknown, and a sword was in his left. That was his approach against Footman and Teare, both outclassing a demon lord in force, and he still seemed fully relaxed.
They had expected him to be powerful, but this was beyond all expectations. He must outclass Damrada, Kagali sensed, realizing all over again how much of a threat this was.
He had his gun out, but he didn’t show any intention to shoot, engaging Footman and Teare with his sword alone. Even Kagali could tell that it was a masterful weapon—but what she didn’t know was that, despite appearing to be a standard-issue sword from the Imperial Japanese Navy, the blade itself was a work of art, boasting a beautiful, rippled streak along the edge that was mesmerizing to look at. It was a family heirloom, handed down through Kondo’s family for generations; no cheap imitation an amateur would bandy around.