The battle between Leon and Yuuki had begun.
Light erupted in midair as the two clashed, and the ground was torn up by the shockwaves.
The aftershocks even reached Chloe, who stood watching. Kagari, hiding behind Chloe, craned her neck and widened her eyes.
"Wh-what the hell is going on!?"
The high-speed combat was far too fast for Kagari's perceptual abilities — all she could make out were afterimages. She couldn't even tell who had the advantage.
"At a glance, it looks evenly matched. But…"
"But…?"
"Big brother Leon seems to be holding back, like he's steering the fight the way he wants."
I'm not all that great at analysis, she added, relaying what she saw.
"Hah? 'Seems like' isn't exactly reassuring. So who's gonna win?"
Chloe fell silent for a moment, then declared: "If things keep going like this, big brother Leon will win."
"Hmph. Whatever. I'll say this too — Lord Yuuki will never lose. Never."
Kagari's voice was firm, laced with conviction.
Chloe glanced at her sidelong but neither denied nor affirmed the claim.
Without a word, she released the hand she had been holding — the hand of the Black Knight Lord,
Claude's eyes fluttered open. Chloe traced a finger gently across his lips, then shook her head slightly. That alone was enough to push Claude's consciousness to the margins, and Chloe turned her focus toward the battle between Leon and Yuuki.
The Black Knight Lord, Claude, rose without a word and took a place at Chloe's side.
"Hey, can you actually see their fight?"
Kagari asked the standing Claude.
Rather than answering with words, Claude simply nodded.
"Tch. Just being able to track that kind of battle with your eyes makes you plenty monstrous in my book.
Fine, whatever. Lord Yuuki's gonna win anyway, so you might as well watch your new master claim victory."
With that, Kagari sat down on a nearby rock with an air of boredom.
She had positioned herself where Chloe's defensive barrier would shield her — a smart choice. The battle was well beyond her perceptual limits, and she knew it offered her nothing worth learning. Besides, she believed in Yuuki's victory and had no interest in a fight with a foregone conclusion.
Claude, unlike Kagari, was still bewildered by his circumstances. However, guided by Chloe's words, he refrained from carelessly revealing his situation. In truth, his consciousness had been reverted by Chloe to the state where he had sworn loyalty to Leon.
Chloe's ability was not restoration. Its true nature was the rewinding of time. It could even undo the state of being overwritten by Yuuki, erasing it as though it had never happened — by reverting the local flow of time for selected individuals while leaving the surrounding time intact.
This power went beyond mere damage reversal. It could erase any and all status abnormalities — exhaustion, even death itself. A truly ultimate ability.
Unfortunately, however, reviving the Red Knight was impossible. Yuuki had already used the power he'd stolen, and she could no longer interfere with it.
It was an absolute power, but not an omnipotent one.
Chloe knew that well. Moreover, she had only just awakened to this ability and couldn't yet wield it flawlessly. Asking her to revive the Red Knight as well would be unreasonable. No one blamed her, but she gazed sorrowfully at the Red Knight's remains.
There was nothing she could do, and she couldn't act on her own initiative any further.
With a sigh, Chloe turned her attention back to the fight.
Leon and Yuuki. Their battle had only just begun.
But in Chloe's focused eyes, the shifting tide of battle was clearly visible.
Yuuki was kicking himself for his miscalculation.
He had underestimated Leon.
He'd written off Leon's strength because Kagari had been too weak. That had been his mistake.
Fortunately, his awakening to an Ultimate Skill had allowed him to keep fighting this far — but had he not awakened, he would have already been defeated, without question.
(Just how strong is this guy?)
Even now, he deflected another fist of light and ran through his thoughts. Deflecting it didn't change the fact that he'd lost a significant amount of energy. At this rate, defeat was only a matter of time.
Yuuki's ability specialized in taking. Chief among its functions was draining the opponent's energy. Normally, this would be a versatile offensive-and-defensive technique — attack and recovery rolled into one.
If his opponent weren't Leon.
Leon's ability was light — purification. It specialized in purifying dark-attribute energy. It was, in every sense, a power befitting a Hero.
And here this guy was, playing Demon Lord. Yuuki had every right to be exasperated.
Complaining wouldn't help, though. Yuuki's awakened ability was demonic in nature — a dark attribute. Every time he attacked, he was purified. In other words, every attack dealt him damage.
The energy he drained was less than what was purified away. Moreover, he couldn't dodge all of his opponent's attacks, and in terms of damage per unit of time, he was being completely overwhelmed.
(This might be bad. If this keeps up, I'm going to lose.)
Even as these somewhat carefree thoughts crossed his mind, he considered his next move.
Worst case — deploy Chloe? No, he wanted to avoid that. If he used her now, it would make it harder to lead the world toward destruction.
The reason was simple. He wouldn't be able to defeat the two strongest beings in existence:
And then there was Rimuru.
That slime he'd met once — Yuuki's instincts screamed that something was wrong with it. The growth rate alone was abnormal, but what truly unsettled him was the way Rimuru had looked at him, as though seeing right through him. That gaze was deeply unpleasant, and Yuuki had judged that he simply could not afford to let Rimuru go.
(— Granted, I doubt Rimuru saw through my true nature… But still, I get the feeling that person is dangerous if not dealt with quickly.)
That was his assessment.
Using Chloe here, at this critical juncture, would be ideal.
Two strong opponents, and one dangerous individual.
Milim, given her personality, could probably be deceived fairly easily. That left Guy and Rimuru as the real problems.
In Yuuki's judgment, Chloe alone wasn't enough against Guy. That was precisely why he needed to take out Rimuru first. After that, he would pit Chloe against Guy and dispose of both simultaneously.
If he used Chloe now, defeating Rimuru would become difficult. That was the premonition he felt. And so, Yuuki chose not to order Chloe into action.
Well then, what to do?
The contract he'd written for Chloe only went so far as "do not obstruct Yuuki's orders" — that was the best he'd managed. Still, minor requests were no problem. Probably thanks to Chloe's good nature, she would comply with small favors.
But there was no way she'd protect them while also retreating from this place. That was asking too much.
(If only the ones who showed up had been Rimuru and
Yuuki heaved a sigh, then steeled himself and decided to play one of his trump cards.
He would regret misjudging Leon's strength after he'd escaped this place. He needed to decide now, or he would be defeated — no exaggeration.
"Ha ha, Leon. Sorry about that. I totally underestimated you.
So I'm going to let loose one of my best kept secrets!"
"Hmph. Do as you like. It's a waste of time, but go ahead."
"Don't come crying and calling me a coward after this, alright?"
And then Yuuki activated a sub-ability of his Ultimate Skill, "King of Greed" — the "Summoner" function — and began inscribing a massive magic circle on the ground.
Scattered across the ground were several corpses. Yuuki's subordinates, and the remains of the Red Knight.
Their bodies swelled and merged into a single mass of flesh.
From the magic circle Yuuki had drawn, something squirming and malevolent crawled forth and fused with that flesh into one…
And let out a berserk roar.
Once upon a time, the progenitor of the dragon race — "Star King Dragon Veldanava" — had given his daughter a Guardian Dragon.
A mighty dragon of immense power, lured into a trap by a certain kingdom and slain.
Upon its master's evolution, its body had transformed into a Chaos Dragon, wielding a malevolent force.
It was a tragedy without solace — a soul corrupted beyond good and evil, an incarnation of destruction.
Its master had grieved and sealed it away where none would know.
But as long years passed, the miasma seeping from its body began corroding the surrounding environment.
The Free Guild, commissioned to investigate the cause of this evil miasma, had naturally traced it back to its source.
"Awaken, Chaos Dragon! Your true master is me!"
Yuuki planned to use the awakened dragon to dispatch his pursuers — the Demon Lord.
The original plan had been to escape during the chaos while the dragon rampaged.
But things were different now. With the awakening of his Ultimate Skill, "King of Greed," the Chaos Dragon's master had become Yuuki.
Even though it had just awakened, the Chaos Dragon exuded an overwhelming Intimidation, rapidly absorbing the surrounding Magicules to grow ever stronger.
Over twenty meters long, a direct descendant of the dragon race — and now, its most powerful dragon moved at Yuuki's command.
Its roar and the miasma it belched corroded the rock faces and trees from the mountainside all the way to the summit, crumbling them away.
The effect of the Chaos Dragon's ability: Miasma Curse Breath.
Yuuki wore a grin. Kagari went pale. Claude's expression was unreadable, but he seemed to trust his master, Leon.
And Chloe clenched her fists — prepared to destroy the Chaos Dragon herself should Leon, by some slim chance, be defeated.
"Ha ha ha! How's that for a surprise? This is what happens when you stay so calm!
If you swear loyalty to me now, I'll gladly welcome you as an ally. What do you say?"
Leon scoffed at Yuuki's proposal.
He had read this development. And he had deliberately allowed the summoning to proceed.
Which meant…
"So it was the Chaos Dragon after all — What a fool, resurrecting an ancient specter like that. Do you have any idea you're courting the wrath of Dragon Princess Milim?
Once that soul connection breaks, Milim will know immediately.
It's over for you, Kagurazaka Yuuki."
"I see… So you let me do it because you already knew. But here's the thing — before Milim gets here, you're going to die."
"Hah. Want to test that?"
Leon's expression went flat, and Yuuki issued a command to the Chaos Dragon.
Kill the enemy before you.
The Chaos Dragon was undeniably powerful. Its strength ranked second only to the
But a mindless beast was also devoid of wisdom. It could carry out no tactical attacks — only mindless, rampaging violence.
Against the Demon Lords of old, who hadn't even awakened their abilities, that overwhelming force might have been enough to overwhelm through sheer power. But…
Leon was a genius, and his attribute was light — purification.
He was, in every sense, the Chaos Dragon's natural predator.
"Let me say this once more — you've been underestimating me.
The reason I gave you time to finish your summoning was so I could show you just how vast the gap between us truly is.
Now watch — and witness but a fraction of my power!"
With those words, Leon was enveloped in golden light.
From his back erupted golden wings, forged of pure light energy.
They bore a resemblance to the angelic race, but their essence was entirely different — thirty-six pairs, seventy-two wings in total, each one a stream of pure light itself.
In his hand materialized the Holy Flame Rapier.
A myth-class rapier — the strongest sword in Leon's possession. Along its slender, flexible blade, beautiful patterns of pale blue-white flame shimmered.
Leon held the sword in one hand and raised the Golden Round Shield in his left.
Like his armor, it was a legendary-class item, but it resonated with Leon's sacred aura, granting it tremendous defensive power. In practice, against dark-attribute attacks, the purification effect could reduce incoming damage by half or more.
Fully armed, Leon glanced at the expressionless Yuuki, then shifted his gaze to the Chaos Dragon as though he'd lost interest.
And then: "If I kill it, I might earn Milim's grudge. In that case, I'll put it back to sleep!
Holy Spirits, dance!
Holy Purification Triangle Barrier!!"
Four small, crystal-shaped holy spirits obeyed Leon's will and formed a massive triangular prism that enclosed the Chaos Dragon.
It was the ultimate holy-attribute barrier — one that surpassed even the Holy Purification Barrier.
The barrier Leon had constructed carried the effect of permanence, sealing its captives within. It was a sealing art of the highest order, rivaling "Infinite Prison." No — against a dark-attribute target, its effectiveness might even surpass that.
The existence of this barrier was the sole factor that gave Leon a chance of victory against Guy. Of course, Guy would detect its danger instantly and avoid being captured in the first place, so the success rate was at best one-in-ten-thousand even with schemes and tricks. But still…
Against a mindless beast, there was no defense.
The pitiful Chaos Dragon thrashed against the seal, but its resistance was futile. Worse still, the barrier's effect activated, draining Magicules from the Chaos Dragon and reinforcing the barrier's strength. With that, it could no longer move at all.
Unlike the cycle-of-life barrier Milim had once created, this would not sustain its prisoner. No matter how vast a quantity of Magicules the Chaos Dragon possessed, it would be depleted within a century and perish.
Leon considered the possibility that this might earn Milim's resentment. If that happened, he could simply release the seal and let her handle it. Having Milim vent her anger on him would be troublesome, but that was a problem for another time. He made a minor adjustment to the barrier and buried it underground without hesitation.
In the end, the Chaos Dragon was re-sealed by Leon in the span of a single moment.
It couldn't even be called a battle — it was an event that symbolized Leon's overwhelming, absolute strength.
"So then — is that all the trump cards you have? If so, it's my turn now."
Leon turned back to Yuuki and spoke coldly.
His position had been completely established. There was no way Yuuki could defeat Leon.
But — "Ah ha ha ha! I never expected it to be this one-sided. You really are something, Demon Lord!
I'll be honest — I underestimated you. But I've already drained the source of that dragon's power, so I don't need it anymore.
And I've recovered from the damage you dealt me.
Now then, I think it's about time I got serious."
Just as he said, dragon scales covered both of Yuuki's hands, and his body was enveloped in the same miasma that had cloaked the Chaos Dragon.
It soon hardened into a sinister black armor reminiscent of dragon scales.
Leon raised the barrier back aboveground and — "You—!"
— shouted toward Yuuki.
The Chaos Dragon had crumbled into bones, then weathered to dust.
Every last ounce of power had been drained from it — the core, the center of its being, gone. That was the result.
If that was the case, Milim's fury would be— The instant that thought crossed Leon's mind— "I don't think you have time to worry about that, do you?"
At a speed incomparable to before, Yuuki leaped behind Leon.
And from behind, a devastating kick struck Leon.
Having stolen the dragon's power, Yuuki had become a Dragon Warrior. He moved to press the attack and finish Leon off, but in that instant— "Don't get ahead of yourself, you worm!"
Golden light erupted in a blinding torrent, flooding everything in white.
Within the radiant flood that made it impossible to even open his eyes, Leon — clad in platinum-white armor and burning with fury — glared at Yuuki.
From his back, the thirty-six pairs — seventy-two wings — had reappeared. They had vanished when he deployed the barrier, but were now reconstructed by Leon's seemingly inexhaustible spirit power.
Holy Angel vs. Dragon Warrior.
The bout was decided in an instant.
Leon, consumed by rage, gave Yuuki no opening for counterattack and unleashed a relentless barrage.
The Holy Flame Rapier traced streaks of near-light-speed thrusts — fluid, elegant, and devastating. Yuuki's entire body was soaked in blood in the blink of an eye.
The sinister black armor, crystallized from the Chaos Dragon's power, could not withstand the purifying blade. It shattered to pieces.
The gap between them was still that of an adult and a child.
(Shit, no way… He's this strong…?)
Yuuki felt his consciousness thinning, threatening to vanish entirely.
If this continued, it was over. Defeat would be certain.
And more importantly…
— I suppose it's about time for my turn, isn't it?
(Not yet — I haven't lost yet!)
Yuuki clung to his fading awareness— "I told you it was pointless. You can't even keep up with my movements."
He lost sight of Leon's movements, and the Holy Flame Rapier sheared off his left arm.
Agony surged through him. Controlling his power had become almost impossible.
He crashed to the ground and crouched there, then glared up at Leon hovering in the air above him.
The outcome was already decided. He had truly misjudged the depth of Leon's overwhelming power.
Even stealing the power of an ancient dragon — the Chaos Dragon — was not nearly enough. The gap in their classes was as vast as heaven and earth.
Even with an Ultimate Skill awakened, the difference between them was insurmountable.
"This is the end."
The instant Leon declared his ultimatum, a multilayered three-dimensional magic circle formed around Yuuki.
Vibrant colors cycled through it as the circle emitted light and pulses, completing itself in the blink of an eye.
"Perish — 36-Form Holy Purification Photon Annihilation Light Collapse!"
From all seventy-two wings, blinding light erupted.
The light collided with the multilayered barrier, reflecting endlessly until the interior was flooded with radiance.
A maelstrom of Photon Light — the touch of which crumbled all matter. It was Leon's most powerful and widest-range annihilation ability.
Within the enclosed space of the barrier, the annihilation rate was one hundred percent. There was no escape.
Yuuki, his left arm severed, crouching on the ground — even he was pierced through and torn apart by the light.
When the barrier filled with light, photon collapse was triggered, and the ability reached its conclusion.
It generated thousands of times the energy of Hinata's "Photon Collapse," demolishing every target within the barrier.
And so, the barrier filled with light.
A flash.
With the magic circle's disappearance, the light receded.
A single figure stood upon the ground.
But that figure muttered with a sour expression: "Got away, huh?"
That was right.
The one standing on the ground was Leon alone.
Having confirmed Leon's overwhelming strength and realized his own defeat, Yuuki had made the decision to retreat the moment his left arm was severed.
In that instant, he had used every ounce of power at his disposal to buy a sliver of time through thought manipulation.
He had exploited the opening in Leon's focus on constructing the barrier — at precisely the right moment.
Still, Yuuki deserved some credit. He had refused to give up the fight until the very end, and that tenacity was worthy of recognition.
But the reality was unchanged: he had escaped. Leon thought of the two Demon Lords who had promised their cooperation, and of the Demon Lord girl who was almost certainly rushing toward him in a fury. He felt a wave of gloom.
"Well then, this is the more serious problem."
Freeing Chloe would have to wait a little longer, and Yuuki had gotten away.
This operation had been a total failure.
One could argue that Yuuki had won the operation the moment he succeeded in escaping — he had won the battle, but lost the fight.
Leon felt no lingering satisfaction whatsoever. He sighed and pondered what lay ahead.