I confronted Yuuki, and we began to size each other up.
And in the middle of the tense atmosphere,
「Oh yeah, I was wondering…… How did you find this place?」
Yuuki asked.
Who even asks this kind of question to the enemy?
「I ain’t supposed to tell you that man!」
I didn’t really expect an answer, and I guess Rimuru-san isn’t that gullible huh.」
Yuuki shrugged as if disappointed.
He probably kept talking, to try and find out my weaknesses.
Actually, just like Diablo said, Moss’ recon was perfect.
It didn’t matter if the big one got found.
As one of them got found out and destroyed, the other would use that chance to get into camouflage.
Now then, let’s recap.
First, the strategic victory conditions from before recovering Veldora.
1. Recover Veldora.
3. Annihilate the Imperials.
Of those, most of the work was done.
In that case, the new victory conditions,
1. Recover Chloe.
3. Finish off Yuuki.
Would become like that.
But as long as there were the three Wishes (Orders), I couldn’t just take her back.
Even with Wisdom Lord Raphael doing the Soul Analysis, there was a big risk of failure.
In any case, I wanted to finish things before Yuuki made Chloe do anything.
Similar to Rimuru planning his bout with Yuuki, the latter also, looking at the unexpected situation, let out a sigh.
(Geez, can’t you just leave me alone……)
In this situation, Yuuki’s options were limited. It was pretty bad that Vega was eliminated in an instant.
But, ordering Chloe now would be a bad move.
There was also Demon Lord Leon ・ Cromwell to whom he had suffered defeat once, and to whom his powers were known. But he was now someone Yuuki had some chance to win against the next time.
But against this Rimuru with his unusually high growth speed, he honestly couldn’t predict anything.
If he made Chloe deal with Rimuru, in that instant she would be released.
But failing to get the powers, he would then have to face an angered Milim.
If he atleast had 2 wishes (orders) remaining, he could order the elimination of Rimuru now, and somehow escape……
Yuuki considered putting Chloe in hiding a good decision.
Using that opportunity, he would somehow survive this event.
(Yeah, I don’t really wanna have to do that though.)
But as he thought so, there didn’t seem to be any other means of him escaping his current trial.
The Demons working under Rimuru.
3 of those pillars had appeared.
(The hell. They’re too OP.)
He could likely have faced one of them and won, but all three at once would spell certain defeat.
It was unlikely that Rimuru had summoned all three and put them under leash. That left the possibility that Rimuru had become a much higher class than them.
(Man, I could’ve atleast made the Emperor use Armageddon (Angel Army) before Rimuru-san came……. )
And it changed for the better, for Yuuki of course.
Testarossa surveilled the surroundings, making sure there were no threats lurking about.
Around them were the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, with no signs of human presence.
Being wary of them without negligence, Testarossa assured Rimuru.
That they could promptly handle whatever Yuuki was planning on doing.
Being done with eliminating Vega, Carrera faced Ultima.
Ultima would be the one to do it.
That being done, it was only a matter of taking care of the Emperor and the mastermind.
Not “danger” but yet “uneasiness”.
He could perhaps even have the might to oust her and her fellow Demons.
It was her first encounter with the boy named Kagurazaka Yuuki.
Perhaps that vigilance and observant eye was something she inherited from the ever diligent First Lieutenant Kondo.
At present, the one who was on highest alert towards Yuuki was, unmistakably, Carrera.
As for Ultima,
Hair turned pure white. Pallid skin. He had a sickly frail presence, but the strength of his will still shined brightly in those eyes.
For a while now,
「What? just what nonsense do you speak?
The hell is Velgrynd even doing……
…….No……. Impossible. If they’re dead, why was I even…….」(TN: fuck I’m sad again.)
He had been muttering deliriously.
It was of no concern to Ultima, but seeing as he had calmed down,
「That Damrada guy asked me to kill you.
Same for that Kondo guy.
The both of them were your underlings, so aren’t happy you’ll be joining them?」
She asked him in a carefree way.
But those words had tremendous effects.
「I see. So they both fell with pride.
As a Ruler of this world, I shall persevere till the very end.
I shall make Justice King Michael bend to my will!」
Clad in the Aura of his former days, the Emperor declared with his will of Nobility.
Unlike before, he released the chains on his powers, and wielded the Justice King with all his might.
To meet the conditions of his final decree.
So in the end, he would meet his demise as the Emperor.
His heart weakened, his mind damaged, he never realized that he had become vulnerable to Ultimate Skills.
Being protected from all fronts, he didn’t have experience in safeguarding his mind.
But without those loyal subjects, it had no effect at all.
But Yuuki’s Thought Manipulation “Worm” had, facing no resistance, encroached the Emperor’s mind, and made Yuuki’s plans come to fruition.
In other words, Armageddon was unleashed.
Fuck!
Sensing danger, Ultima went into full gear.
「Oh no you don’t! “Bloody Bite” !!」(TN: Damrada’s chuuni caught on lol!)
But she was the slightest bit too late.
「Yield to my power! Armageddon Activate!!」
Using the last of his spirit, Rudra summoned the Angel Army.
However, using Rudra as the key, the Gates of Heaven spread open.
Ultima’s “Bloody Bite” was nullified a single moment before reaching him.
The skies of the Imperial Capital became saturated with Holy Aura.
And thus, the Ultimate Army against Demons, The Angel Army had begun to manifest.
The circumstances flipped.
The Emperor had exceeded his expectations in moving according to his plans.
Rather than the “Worm”, it was most likely because the broken Emperor couldn’t resist Justice King Michael’s temptation.
At any rate, it was Yuuki’s move.
Was that of stealing the Ultimate Skill 『Justice King Michael』 from Emperor Rudra.
Knowing this, Yuuki was determined to steal it.
Meaning, making him activate Armageddon which put him in his weakest state, it was the perfect time to plunder the Skill.
「Ahaha! Sorry Rimuru-san. I’ll be winning now!」
Yuuki activated his Ultimate Skill 『Greed King Mammon』 , and began approaching the Emperor.
「Steal Skill!!」
Turning the tables.
It was the only plan that he could use to overcome the current circumstances, but then…….
「Naive.」
He heard Rimuru mutter.
Ha-? Before even thinking of complaining, his cheek received a dizzying shock.
「Kufufufufu. Those actions are well within calculations.」
Yuuki was blown away by Diablo who had, completely erasing his presence, perfectly hidden himself.
Even then, the attack seemed to not be at full power.
After all, it was only a bare-handed strike using no weapon.
「 ―― Kpff!! The hell, there was another one……!」
At this point, his composure had all but disappeared.
Yuuki changed his expression, and laughed.
「Ku, kukuku, ahahaha ha haha ha! Gimme a break!
Fucking bravo Rimuru-san.
Yeah no…….
―― You’re power is just too insane. That chill I got when we first met was right on the money.
Did I lose my marbles somewhere? Well, doesn’t matter at all now.
I guess will decide the rest.
I kinda liked you a bit too.
―― Honestly, we could’ve been pals you know……」
And started saying incomprehensible garbage.
Did he break from getting hit too hard? I was thinking when,
「Move, Diablo!」
I shouted as my sense of danger went crazy.
And just barely, Diable faced Yuuki’s flexible serpentine attack Snake Sword, and dodged ―― failed to dodge it, removing the smile from his face.
Diablo’s abdomen suffered a light slashing damage.
「To have injured me……. It seems I had taken you lightly.」
「No please, I praise you for being able to dodge. But well―― 」
But well――
It was simply having Diablo, who blocked his way to the Emperor, move out of the way.
He repelled the bullets with overlapped effects of Ultimate Skills.
With a technique surpassing that of Damrada, he shifted Ultima’s center of balance and thrust his palm at her.
And that instant was all that was necessary.
Yuuki reached the Emperor.
「Come, Justice King Michael!」
Yuuki’s hand made contact with Emperor Rudra.
And then, all went white.
Ordinarily, actually stealing an Ultimate Skill from its owner was impossible.
The Ultimate Skill was truly personal, as opposed to Normal Skills beat into the body, or Unique Skills engraved into the outer crust of the soul.
And now, after activating “Armageddon”, his (spirit) Energy had been vastly depleted, and using the Steal Skill ability from Yuuki’s Ultimate Skill 『Greed King Mammon』 , it was possible to plunder the skill.
The Emperor made a soundless scream.
The unimaginable pain caused the already broken Emperor’s mind to crumble even further.
And with an expressionless face,
「With this, I just summoned the Angel Army without using any of my own Spirit Power.
There were a few mishaps, but in the end, all according to keikaku.」(TN: keikaku means plan)
Yuuki muttered.
Incarnate! He commanded.
The Angels which flooded the skies heeded Yuuki’s orders, and to attain their bodies, began their incarnations.
To compensate, yes ―― innocent, uninvolved civilians, the citizens of the Capital were put forth as tribute.
Receiving such a report from Moss who was stationed at the Capital, I was infuriated.
「Yuuki, you bastard! Stop the Angels now! Don’t get unrelated civilians involved dammit!」
Yuuki, with an emotionless face, only glanced towards my yells.
As if he had nothing at all but his objective in mind…… for comparison, it was similar to Wisdom Lord Raphael or the “Voice of the World”, an emotionless instance of personality.
―― Goodbye, Rimuru-san ――
I remembered Yuuki’s words from just now.
Like the Wisdom Lord, Yuuki must have also had some kind of personality “existing” in him.
Thinking back, Yuuki’s actions were full of inconsistencies.
What that meant was that, inside him, there must be an unconscious “hesitation”; That, as he was acting so carefreely, there were seeds of worry and doubt under the cover.
(You idiot…… You should have said something dammit……)
Between, ripping up his plans and giving up on ending the world, and forcefully pulling the final trigger……
And he had pulled that trigger.
This spirit would, without the slightest hesitation, force the end of the world. It must not be left alone.
Yuuki had now changed to something completely different; he had become a “menace” to the world.
After his quick emotionless glance at Rimuru, he immediately faced the Angels performing their possession.
And then, he ordered.
「Feast on the Seraphim, and resurrect. Kagari, Vega. 」
Kagari’s prepared corpse, and Vega’s body, whose head was smashed, beckoned by Yuuki’s words, began their rebirth.
Normally the soul itself would have been eliminated, but Vega’s soul was of a special genre which, Yuuki knew, could handle substitutes.
Vega was a Battle Creature, whom Yuuki had created taking inspiration from Rimuru’s powers when they first met.
『Plunder』 could attain powers of the same level as the one it took, whereas 『Predate』 only got a degraded version.
This was its integration ability. It could make optimum use of the powers in its possession.
This was the basis under which Vega was born.
For this reason, he wasn’t affected by Carrera’s cursed bullet.
Kagari, or rather, Kazaream, the ex-Demon Lord, who held out even as a soul, believed in the success of their plan and was diligently waiting.
Kagari and Vega successfully completed their resurrection.
As holy beings, who ate the Seraphim, who rivalled the strength of even Awakened Demon Lords.
Confirming both of their revivals, Yuuki now turned to me, and spoke.
「Hey, let’s play a Game.
If not, you lose.
We start in one month.
The countdown has already begun.
This is Yuuki Kagurazaka, my creator’s, final desire.」
He selfishly declared.
And issued her an order.
「Go keep Guy busy.
However, don’t let him interfere with the Game!」
Chloe came out with a sullen face, and looked like she wanted to tell me something, but only nodded to Yuuki’s order.
Thinking that Yuuki would send Chloe after me was one big cause for worry.
If that had happened, while I faced Chloe, the Devil Lords would have to deal with Yuuki, Vega, Kagari, and the whole Angel Army; not exactly a piece of cake.
I could call over the rest of the Demon Nobles, but the Angel Army would definitely still be troublesome.
This was, as Angra Mainyu had said, going according to Yuuki’s wish of playing a Game with me.
Was it to buy time against me, or for buying time to save me, I didn’t know.
A very crazy-like, Yuuki-like idea.
Even if I attacked now, it’d have not effect as Yuuki was now in possession of “Castle Guard”.
We were the ones at a disadvantage, so I’ll take this opportunity as a saving grace.
As if he had finished his work here, Yuuki took his two underlings, and the Angel Army, and teleported somewhere else.
I wondered if you could go there with Bodied Angels, but they did do it, so yeah.
Yuuki probably needed more time to get used to the Angra Mainyu’s powers, and give time for the Angels to get adjusted into their bodies.
This time was very precious.
Throwing another Walpurgis (Demon Lord Festival) should be a good idea, I started planning for hereafter.
The results this time were good, that was without a doubt.
Or maybe it was because I had yet again attained new powers, overcome the worst case scenario, and still ended at a good position.
It’s because I suspected Yuuki to be the one behind it all, and feared he might take away my subordinates.
We were completely prepared.
No ―― I had considered even that possibility not to be much of a problem.
And also, according to Velgrynd, there was no need to worry about the angels……
Prioritising Yuuki and ignoring the Emperor was the very reason the situation took a turn for the worse.
Unfortunately, there was one thing that was far beyond my imagination.
That was: Yuuki’s true power.
The hidden personality that could be called another Yuuki, had power far beyond my expectations.
That result was, as expected, the worst case scenario.
Just that.
The Emperor’s funeral was conducted.
Velgrynd oversaw the event.
It was a mournful event marking the end of a long lived Hero, but he was probably glad to be seen off by his sworn friend Velgrynd.
So, I won’t say anymore.
Just one thing, it was a fact that the “contract” had been fulfilled.
Thereafter, I declared my reign of the Capital, and expressed my condolences to the public.
Also, I contacted Krishna at Tempest, and told him to come to the Capital with an army.
I planned to leave the rest to Krishna.
But it couldn’t be helped at this point.
Leaving them alone would destroy public order, and cause civil wars.
Not as a Demon Lord, but as one “Ex-” human.
When Krishna arrived, it came time for me to return to Tempest.
They must be busy preparing.
For the final battle.
―― A month had passed.
A war that engulfed the whole world broke out