Yuuki and I faced each other, each watching for the other's move.
In that tense atmosphere— "Oh, I have a question... How did you manage to track down this location?"
Yuuki asked.
Whether to call it brazen or simply nerve—I couldn't decide.
Should I make our hostility clear before answering?
"There's no way I'm telling you that!"
"Ah, as I thought?
I figured I'd ask just in case, but I guess even Rimuru-san isn't *that* much of a pushover."
Yuuki shrugged with a look of disappointment.
But deep down, he probably wasn't disappointed at all.
He was just exchanging words while probing for an opening.
In truth, just as
He'd affixed a large decoy clone body and an extremely small clone body simultaneously.
The large one could be detected—that was fine.
In fact, by being discovered, it would put the enemy at ease, making the extremely small clone's communication appear natural.
The detected clone would scatter Magicules upon vanishing, creating camouflage.
It really was a perfect ability for intelligence work.
Now, let me reassess the situation.
Victory conditions before Veldora's recovery: 1. Recover Veldora. 2. Eliminate the threat. 3. Wipe out the Imperial soldiers.
This was nearly complete.
We could call the objectives achieved. All that remained was essentially to dispose of the Emperor.
So, revising the current victory conditions: 1. Recover Chloe. 2. Dispose of the Emperor. 3. Dispose of Yuuki.
The most critical objective was recovering Chloe, and that took priority.
However, with three Commands still in play, simply taking her back wasn't straightforward.
In the worst case, I could consume Chloe and attempt to break the Curse through soul analysis, but— Even with the Wisdom King's soul analysis progressing, this was a task with a high risk of failure.
Ideally, I should eliminate the caster—Yuuki—and break the Curse safely.
At any rate, I wanted to settle this before Yuuki could use Chloe.
While Rimuru was contemplating his approach against Yuuki, Yuuki himself let out a sigh at the unexpected development.
He'd anticipated something like this from the moment he noticed he was being tracked, but it was still the worst possible outcome among his expectations, and he couldn't help but sigh.
*(Good grief, you really do get in the way no matter what, don't you...)* At any rate, he needed to deal with this situation.
Yuuki's options at this point were limited.
Well, Vega wasn't really a problem per se...
For Yuuki, ordering Chloe to act in this situation would be a bad move.
The ones he considered to be equal to or stronger than himself were
He had once been defeated by Demon Lord
But with Rimuru, whose growth rate was abnormal, the honest truth was that he was unpredictable.
If Yuuki ordered Chloe to dispose of Rimuru, Chloe would be freed the instant that happened.
So Rimuru and Chloe needed to clash. Ideally, Yuuki would intervene before either gained the upper hand and steal their ability.
But if he failed to steal the ability, he'd end up facing Milim, driven into a rage by Rimuru's death.
Chloe not being hostile was a saving grace, but the odds were still terrible.
If there had been just two Commands remaining, he could have had Rimuru disposed of right here and escaped.
Fortunately for Yuuki, Rimuru and the others didn't know he could only issue one more Command to Chloe.
Keeping Chloe hidden had been a good call, Yuuki thought.
Rimuru was constrained by the possibility of Yuuki using a Command on Chloe, preventing him from acting rashly.
Yuuki would use that to navigate through this situation.
And in the worst case, he might need to use his trump card, he considered.
*(I really didn't want to use it, but...)* Even thinking that, there didn't seem to be any other way to escape the current crisis.
Rimuru's demon subordinates.
Yuuki had correctly assessed the strength of those high-ranking demons.
Three had appeared here.
Each one was in a dangerous realm where even Demon Lords paled in comparison.
*(Impossible. They're way too monstrous.)* That was his honest impression.
He could probably win in a one-on-one fight, but facing all three simultaneously meant certain defeat.
Demons wouldn't obey those weaker than them, and the duration of control through summoning decreased the higher their rank.
He couldn't believe all three had been brought under control through summoning. That meant the only explanation was that Rimuru outranked those three.
There was no time to hesitate. Using his trump card seemed to be the only way to survive this.
*(If only I'd had the Emperor use the Army of Angels before Rimuru arrived...)* Just as he thought that, the situation shifted.
Something favorable for Yuuki had occurred.
She determined there were no issues.
In truth, the area was the uninhabited outskirts of the Imperial Capital.
Aside from the lined-up corpses and the nearly hundred thousand soldiers who appeared to be suffering but showed no signs of waking, there was no one around.
While monitoring those presences, Testarossa kept her guard up and maintained her awareness of Rimuru.
Ready to respond immediately should Yuuki make any move toward Rimuru.
The Emperor's liberation was a wish entrusted to them—a contract. She had to see it through.
Ultima was the one tasked with the kill.
Since Rimuru had designated it, Carrera had no complaints. That was why she'd prioritized dealing with Vega, who had tainted her fight with Kondo.
With that matter settled, she thought they should just quickly dispatch the Emperor and the mastermind.
She glanced at the mastermind, Yuuki, but he didn't seem like that much of a "threat." Yet he gave off a vague, premonition-like sense of "unease."
Not appearing threatening, yet instilling unease.
At this point, Carrera had already judged Yuuki to be dangerous.
She'd even arrived at the possibility that he might be powerful enough to deceive even them.
*(I'd like to think I'm overthinking it. No—making you think that might be exactly what he's aiming for.)* A boy named Kondou Yuki, whom she was seeing for the first time.
But his atmosphere, cunning and weathered far beyond what his appearance suggested, had triggered an alarm in Carrera's instincts unlike anything she'd ever experienced.
Perhaps it was the vigilance, wariness, and observational acuity inherited from Lieutenant Kondo.
At this moment, Carrera was unquestionably the one who held the strongest wariness toward Yuuki.
And Ultima— She was facing Emperor Rudra.
Hair turned pure white. Pale skin. An appearance that conveyed a sickly frailty, yet his eyes held the gleam of a strong will.
The young Emperor, who could still be called a boy.
He'd been muttering for some time now: "What are you people? What did you just say?
Kondo and
What in the world is
Damrada too?
And even Kondo!
...Impossible... That can't be. Then what was the purpose of all this..."
Rudra repeated those words like a madman's rambling.
The gleam in his eyes—which had conveyed a powerful will—flickered unsteadily, like a mirror reflecting the turmoil within.
It wasn't really Ultima's concern, but once he seemed calm enough, she spoke: "Apparently that Damrada fellow killed you.
I offered to handle it, and he seemed to die at peace.
The Kondo person was apparently similar.
He fought my colleague Carrera over there and fell.
Both of them went down under your command, so maybe you'll be together again?"
She spoke casually.
It was, in Ultima's own way, a final gesture of kindness.
But the effect of those words was dramatic.
"I see. They were proud warriors, and they fell.
Then I, too, must not fall in a disgraceful manner.
As one of the rulers of this world, I cannot simply give up at the end.
By my authority—submit to me, King of Justice!"
Wrapping himself in his former glory and wielding his noble will, Emperor Rudra let out a shout.
As one of the rulers who had lived through the ages and wagered the world in a great contest.
Unlike before, he wouldn't impose limitations. He would pour all of his will into the King of Justice.
Even if rampage caused civilization to be wiped out—this was to answer the feelings of the subordinates who had devoted themselves to him.
The final command, prepared for the event that he himself went berserk.
He knew that his loyal subordinates had carried it out.
If so, he should reign as Emperor to the very end—that was what he decided.
...But the Emperor didn't realize that this was influenced by Yuuki's thought manipulation.
His will had weakened, his psyche had fractured—and because of that, his resistance against the Ultimate Ability's influence had diminished without his knowing.
Additionally, he had been relying entirely on the Palace Walls' absolute defense.
Because he'd been protected no matter what, he'd never experienced the need to resist through the power of will alone.
As long as there were those loyal to Rudra, the Palace Walls provided absolute defense against all malice.
But that effect was entirely dependent on the presence of those who held loyalty.
It had only been given the slightest push...
The "bug" of thought manipulation that Yuuki had planted侵蚀ed into Rudra's psyche without meeting any resistance from the Emperor, successfully achieving its goal.
In other words—the activation of the Army of Angels.
*Danger!* Sensing the peril, Ultima sprang into action.
"I won't let you! Crimson Serpent Death Poison Hand!!"
But she was just a fraction too late.
"Obey my will! Army of Angels—activate!!"
Siphoning the last of Rudra's soul power, the Army of Angels was activated.
Even as that sacred power blocked her, Ultima's Crimson Serpent Death Poison Hand weakened but still pressed toward Emperor Rudra's heart.
But with Emperor Rudra as the key, the gates to the Celestial Realm had opened.
Ultima's Crimson Serpent Death Poison Hand was negated at the last moment, falling short of Rudra by a single step.
Above the Imperial Capital, a sacred aura overflowed.
And as the ultimate army against demonic forces, the legion of Angels began to manifest.
The situation had shifted.
The first to move was Yuuki.
The Emperor had acted exactly as he wished, in an unexpected way.
The "bug" he'd thrown in as a long shot had actually taken effect—a pleasant miscalculation.
In Yuuki's assessment, rather than the "bug" taking effect, it was more likely that the broken Emperor had been unable to resist the King of Justice and had used it.
Yuuki's will and the King of Justice's purpose had aligned—that was what had created this situation.
At any rate, Yuuki moved.
Yuuki's objective.
It was to steal the Ultimate Ability "King of Justice" from Emperor Rudra.
Normally, it was possessing a strong will that allowed one to create an Ultimate Ability. But Rudra's had been borrowed.
Knowing this, Yuuki was confident he could seize the ability from the Emperor.
However, conditions applied, naturally. It was impossible unless the soul's power had been weakened.
In other words, by having the Army of Angels activated, and seizing it from the Emperor at his most vulnerable, usurpation was possible.
"Ahaha! Sorry, Rimuru-san. I win!"
Yuuki activated his Ultimate Ability, "King of Greed," and closed in on the Emperor.
"Ability Theft Palm!!"
A life-or-death blow.
If he could steal the ability here and bring the angelic legion under his command, it would be the one strategy that could break through this situation— "Too slow," came Rimuru's murmur.
Huh? Before Yuuki could even register confusion, an impact struck his cheek.
"Kuhuhuhu. That action was within the expected range."
Having completely erased his presence and hidden himself, Diablo had struck Yuuki with a surprise blow, sending him flying.
A single strike—enough to nearly take his consciousness, one that nullified multiple layers of defensive barriers.
And yet, that attack showed clear signs of restraint.
After all, it was a bare-handed blow without the use of a weapon.
"Kuh! Don't tell me—there was another one already...!"
At this point, there was no longer any room for holding back.
Yuuki wiped his expression clean and began to laugh.
"Ku, kuku, ahahahahaha! I should have known.
I should have really... that the most dangerous one was you, of all people.
As expected of you, Rimuru-san.
If I could, I would have liked to destroy the world with my own power.
But unfortunately...
I don't think I can beat you. Worse still, even that demon over there— —You're absolutely absurd. That chill I felt when we first met was real after all.
If only I'd dealt with you seriously back then.
Did something break somewhere along the way? Well, it doesn't matter now.
No, actually, if you can stop me, then perhaps that too is the will of the world.
The rest will be decided by—, I suppose.
Goodbye, Rimuru-san.
You know, I actually rather liked you.
—In truth, I even wanted to be friends with you..."
And then he started spouting those incomprehensible words.
Had the blow made him lose his mind? Just as I thought that— "Get back, Diablo!"
A violent chill ran through me, and I shouted.
An instant later— Yuuki moved at a speed that was barely within my ability to react.
Diablo, too, barely managed to dodge Yuuki's Twin Snake Daggers—the shape-shifting weapons that extended and retracted at will. Well, not quite—he couldn't fully avoid it, and the smile vanished from his face.
A thin slash mark ran along Diablo's flank.
"To think you could wound me... You shouldn't be underestimated."
"I should commend you in return. For dodging my attack. But—"
But— That's right. Yuuki's goal wasn't the attack itself.
He'd forced Diablo away from blocking the Emperor's front, clearing his path.
Carrera fired her guns immediately, but the shape-shifting Twin Snake Daggers circled around Yuuki like whips, deflecting every bullet.
Bullets with ability effects attached, no less.
He neutralized Testarossa's magic attack while turning to intercept the incoming Ultima.
With martial arts surpassing Damrada's, he destabilized Ultima's stance and drove a palm strike into her.
The refined ki he'd been building up struck her, and Ultima's movements were sealed for a single instant.
But that single instant was enough.
Moving at godlike speed and effortlessly brushing aside the demons who reacted to him— Yuuki reached the Emperor.
"Come—King of Justice!"
Yuuki's hand made contact with Emperor Rudra.
In that instant, the surroundings were enveloped in blinding light.
Normally, stealing an Ultimate Ability from someone who possessed one was impossible.
An ability born from one's own will was engraved in the deepest depths of the soul—the Soul Core.
It was fundamentally different from normal abilities engraved in the Physical Body or Unique Skills etched on the surface of the soul—it was a true Ultimate Ability.
But Rudra's "King of Justice" was not engraved in the Soul Core. It had merely been embedded in his soul and controlled through strong will and power.
Therefore, with his soul power depleted to the utmost by the activation of the "Army of Angels," Yuuki's Ultimate Ability "King of Greed"—its Ability Theft Palm—could now accomplish the usurpation.
"!!"
A soundless scream escaped the Emperor.
The ability embedded in his soul was being gouged out and stolen.
The pain was beyond imagination, dealing further devastating damage to the Emperor's already fractured psyche.
And Yuuki— "Now I've summoned and taken command of the Angels' army without using my own soul power.
There were various unexpected developments, but it all went roughly according to plan."
He murmured, expressionless.
Then, as if he'd always intended to do this from the start, he issued his command to the Angels.
*Possess.* As if he'd known all along, Yuuki demonstrated mastery of the "King of Justice."
The Angels who had manifested above the Imperial Capital, filling the sky with their presence, responded to Yuuki's command by swiftly beginning to incarnate—constructing Physical Bodies for themselves.
But the prepared corpses and the hundred-thousand-strong combined army weren't enough for a million-strong force to incarnate.
What filled the gap was, that's right—the pure, innocent people. The citizens of the Imperial Capital.
Furious at the report from Moss, who had been stationed in the capital and sending information— "You! Yuuki! Stop the Angels! Don't drag innocent civilians into this!"
At my shout, Yuuki merely glanced my way with a blank expression.
As if he couldn't understand what was being said. Or rather—this was unlike the Yuuki who'd enjoyed teasing others with his expressive face.
The current him seemed to think of nothing but fulfilling his objective... In other words— Like the Wisdom King or the Voice of the World—a will without emotion— *Goodbye, Rimuru-san—* Yuuki's words from earlier came back to me.
*So that's it. Yuuki was the surface personality...* Just as I'd had the Wisdom King, there must have been some other will "residing" within Yuuki.
But unlike the Wisdom King, it was a cold will that made no attempt to understand human emotions.
Looking back, Yuuki's actions had been full of contradictions.
While sincerely wishing for the world's destruction, he'd hesitated somewhere along the way, and failed.
At the very end, his hesitation had caused all his plans to fail.
That was because of the "doubt" he himself hadn't been aware of. He'd played the carefree fool while truly tormenting himself with worry.
And his final words had been from the heart.
*(You idiot... If that was the case, you should have asked for help...)* In the end, he'd wavered and made his choice.
Abandon his plan and give up on destroying the world, or push through and pull the final trigger...
And Yuuki had pulled the trigger.
He'd released the— Will of Wickedness—within him.
Malice without hesitation would guide the world to destruction without a second thought. He absolutely could not be left unchecked.
Yuuki, now transformed into an entirely different person, had become a "threat" to the world.
Yuuki glanced at Rimuru expressionlessly, then immediately turned his gaze to the Angels incarnating on the ground.
And he ordered: "Devour the
Kagali's preserved corpse and Vega's shattered body obeyed Yuuki's command and began the process of resurrection.
Carrera's "Grudge-Fear Curse Binding Prison," which had been shackling Vega's soul, was dispelled by Yuuki's "Annihilation Thought Wave."
Normally, the soul would have been annihilated along with it, but Vega's soul was special, and Yuuki knew well that a substitute could be used.
After all, Yuuki and his associates had created Vega.
Vega was a special Combat Life Entity, born from an idea Yuuki had conceived based on the abilities of Rimuru, whom he'd encountered.
In terms of ability rank, "Usurpation" was superior to "Predation."
With Usurpation, one could acquire an ability of equal performance. But with Predation, one could only obtain a degraded version.
However, Predation had its own advantage.
It was the fusion of abilities—the capacity to optimize the acquired abilities.
If one could steal large quantities of abilities and optimize them, eventually reaching an Ultimate Ability was possible.
That was the hope behind Vega's creation.
Therefore, his soul could be substituted, and his body's regenerative ability was beyond extraordinary.
That was how he'd escaped Carrera's curse binding.
Kagali went without saying.
Having endured as a soul even in her previous incarnation as a Demon Lord—Kazaream—Kagali had waited all this time, believing in the plan's success.
As someone who knew Yuuki's true nature, Kagali had never once doubted that Yuuki would be defeated.
The moment Kagali was resurrected, Vega, too, was revived.
Having devoured a Seraph, he was reborn as a terrifying Sacred Demon—being on par with an Awakened Demon Lord.
Watching Kagali and the others resurrect, Yuuki turned back to me and spoke: "Hey, let's play a game.
If you can stop me, you win.
If you can't, you lose.
What the winner gets is this world.
The game begins one month from now.
No answer is required.
The countdown to the game's start has already begun.
This is—the Creator's final will."
He declared, unilaterally.
Yuuki then called the still-hidden Chloe to his side.
And issued a single command: "When you see an opening, engage Guy. Even if you can't finish him off, that's fine.
But don't let anyone interfere with the game!"
Chloe appeared with her head slightly bowed, seeming as if she wanted to say something to me, but she nodded at Yuuki's command and left.
I wanted to call out to Chloe too, but this wasn't the time for that.
I'd been tense, fearing Yuuki might sic Chloe on me.
Either way, the fact that I didn't end up fighting Chloe here was a stroke of luck.
If that had happened, with me tied up fighting Chloe, having Yuuki handle Kagali, Vega, and the Angel legion with just the Demon Lords alone would have been rough.
I could call the remaining demons, but the Angel legion was troublesome.
This was Yuuki's will, guided by the Will of Wickedness—designed to turn this into a game with me.
True to form, when releasing the Will of Wickedness, that must have been his final command.
Was it buying time against me, or buying time to save me?
I think he truly had wavered over whether to destroy the world, and in the end decided to settle it through a game.
So very Yuuki—so irresponsibly absurd.
Either way, it meant the time for battle wasn't now.
Even if I attacked now, attacks wouldn't reach Yuuki, who'd acquired the Palace Walls' absolute defense.
I could consider myself fortunate—I'd been the one at a disadvantage.
Yuuki, having finished everything he could do here, gathered Kagali and the Angels and teleported away.
Presumably, he'd used the King of Justice's ability to return to the Celestial Realm.
I'd wondered whether Angels could incarnate and still return to the Celestial Realm, but since it was possible, there was no issue.
In any case, this bought time until the game began one month later.
Yuuki must have wanted time to restructure his abilities with the Will of Wickedness and to have his subordinates incarnate as Angels.
But for me too, this gave me time to restructure my own abilities with the Wisdom King and wait for my subordinates' awakening.
I had to make effective use of this time.
I should contact Luminous, Leon, and Guy, and take action.
I thought I should activate the Banquet of Demon Lords, and let my thoughts drift to the future.
There was no doubt that the endgame of this affair had been handled poorly.
I didn't want to say I'd misjudged—perhaps it was a failure born of complacency.
Even after grasping my new power and considering the worst possible scenarios, my expectations had still been too optimistic.
I had "Soul Protection," but to be safe, I'd intended to have only those who possessed Ultimate Abilities deal with the mastermind.
That was because I'd believed the mastermind to be Yuuki and feared losing my subordinates.
But being wary of Yuuki hadn't been wrong.
I hadn't been careless.
The issue was that I'd thought the Emperor was broken and that the chances of the Army of Angels being used were low.
No—I'd thought that even if it were used, it wouldn't be a problem.
The immense power I'd gained had made me fail to perceive it as a threat.
Based on Velgrynd's account, I'd judged the Angel army to be non-threatening...
That was my greatest mistake.
In being overly cautious about Yuuki, I'd underestimated Emperor Rudra, which led to the situation deteriorating.
But even so... if everything had gone as predicted, it would have been manageable.
Unfortunately, there was one single fact that exceeded my expectations.
That Yuuki had been hiding his true strength.
The other personality—the hidden "other Yuuki"—possessed power beyond my imagination.
And so, the situation had reached its worst possible outcome.
I'd tried to do my best, and this was the result.
That was all there was to it.
Emperor Rudra passed away.
Amid an unprecedented "catastrophe" in which roughly one-third of the Imperial Capital's three million citizens were claimed by the Angels.
The one who watched over his final moments was Velgrynd.
She appeared through my ability and cremated Rudra with purifying flames.
It was a lonely end for a hero who had lived through the ages, but being able to have Velgrynd—someone who could be called a close ally—watch over him was perhaps a mercy.
It was not my place to speak of his life.
So I had nothing more to say.
Only one thing was certain: the "contract" had been fulfilled.
Afterward, I declared my control over the Imperial Capital and urged its citizens to remain calm.
I made it clear that rioters would be dealt with and that maintaining order was the priority.
At the same time, I contacted the Monster Nation and had
He'd be traveling at full speed, so he should arrive within five days.
I intended to leave the rest to Krishna.
I'd planned to defeat the Empire through the Monster Nation's counterattack, but the fact that I'd ended up taking control so smoothly through an unexpected turn of events was beyond my expectations.
But in this situation, it couldn't be helped.
The upper echelons of the Empire had been wiped out, with only the Noble Council remaining.
Leaving it alone would spark a civil war and worsen the security situation.
At the very least, I wanted to carry forward Rudra's wish to protect the happiness of his people.
Not as a Demon Lord, but as a "former" human.
The moment Krishna arrived, I returned to the Monster Nation.
I'd already sent word to all parties.
Everyone would have begun their preparations.
For the final battle.
—And then, one month later.
A world-scale war would erupt.