Labyrinth’s Encroachment Part 4
At that moment, Ramiris murmured quietly
「Ah, the isolation was completed.」
She said it casually, as if it was nothing important.
But the people around her began to hustle when they heard her.
Meanwhile, Benimaru sent out a 『Thought Transmission』.
『Did you guys hear that? From this point, the support effect inside the labyrinth has disappeared.
You guys better brace yourselves. You can’t revive once you die anymore!
Rimuru-sama has not permitted any of you to die, so you guys better act with that in mind!』
It was directed at his companions, who had gone to intercept Dino’s group.
Everything was going as planned.
Those who received the order showed no signs of unrest, taking the order in stride.
And then―
One person started to act after hearing the order.
Quietly and decisively.
The plan moved into the final phase.
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
Zero dispassionately continued the erosion of the labyrinth.
The assimilation rate had exceeded 90% now.
He felt no joy in it. All he had to do was to complete the duty given to him.
If the enemy gained immortality inside the labyrinth, all that needed to do was to steal the labyrinth.
That was Velda’s plan, and his Ultimate Skill『Evil Dragon Lord Azi Dahaka』was for.
The ability was originally created to counter the labyrinth, an ability that exerts an absolute dominance within a closed area.
Furthermore, it was not the incomplete version that had been given to Vega and Footman. By incorporating the battle data that had been gathered so far, Zero possessed the complete version.
In front of 『Evil Dragon Lord Azi Dahaka』, which ability had become closer to the original『Planet Devourer[1]』, not even Ramiris’ labyrinth could resist being overrun.
(Hmm, there’s less resistance than I thought, heh. That’s natural I guess. Nobody would ever imagine that attacking the labyrinth itself. Taking over the enemy’s base itself, and purging those fools who sit idly thinking that they have an absolute advantage. Then luring out Demon Lord Rimuru, and finishing off the all resistance in one go. As expected of Veldsama. What a perfect plan―)
In accordance to Velda’s plan, he steadily eroded the enemy’s base, the labyrinth.
As long as he robbed the labyrinth, Zero could take over all inside the labyrinth.
「So easy.」
The words came out on their own.
However, he wasn’t expecting a reply…
「Don’t be so conceited. Engrave it into your mind that this labyrinth won’t fall to the likes of you.」
A cold voice rang out in the empty room.
It was empty no longer.
Zero sensed something that shouldn’t be there.
It was a butterfly.
A beautiful butterfly of light, fluttering and flickering in the air.
And then, that butterfly’s shape blurred, growing into the shape of a person.
The butterfly had metamorphosed into figure of a warrior clad in an exoskeleton made of jet-black colored adamantite.
His hands, feet and forehead shone with the distinct brilliance of the ultimate metal, Hihiirokane.
「―Who are you? Everything above the 60th floor is under my control. I didn’t feel any sign of intrusion.」
「It’s simple. I’ve been here since the beginning, that’s all.」
「… I see. This was a blind spot. You might have survived if you had kept yourself hidden till the end. But it was only a matter of time. Become my food and die.」
Zero assumed the warrior was a small fry who came out of hiding after noticing he was trapped.
There was no indication the enemy had noticed Zero’s plans.
Zero created several Evil Dragon Beasts and ordered them to eliminate the nuisance.
His encroachment to the labyrinth progressed smoothly; the assimilation rate had exceeded 90%. He could create as many evil dragon beasts as he liked by robbing the inexhaustible supply of energy inside the labyrinth.
The created evil dragon beasts rushed towards the prey all together, but they were annihilated by a single flash of light.
「Oh? For you to defeat my evil dragon beasts with ease…
I guess you aren’t some small fry who hid out of fear.
I am called Zero. The one who leads the Heaven’s Army, I was sent to destroy this country.
I shall acknowledge you as an enemy worthy of crushing. You may name yourself!」
Zero didn’t look down on the enemy, since he hadn’t been attacked at all while he dominated the 60th floor.
Zero thought that if his opponent’s intention was to obstruct him, he would have done so earlier.
However, the person standing in front of Zero seemed to possess more combat power than Zero had expected.
After all, that person was―
「My name is Zegion.
The faithful servant of the Great Demon Lord, Rimuru-sama.
The one who bear the title “Mist Lord”」
The strongest guardian in Ramiris’ labyrinth.
As ordered, Zegion went to fight Zero.
Zegion wouldn’t allow anything to sully this place, the place that he and his companions protected, the labyrinth.
Inevitably, Zegion and Zero came head to head.
To begin with, the reason why Zegion didn’t attack was clear.
That was because he obeyed Rimuru’s order.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to silently watching the invasion until now.
「Zegion? I have never heard that name. Are you saying you’re one of Demon Lord Rimuru’s executives?
Diablo, Benimaru, Shion, Gobuta and Ranga. And also, Beretta. There’s other well-known people too, like Souei, Gabil and Gerudo.
If it were against them, I wonder if I might enjoy the fight a little bit…」
Convinced of his overwhelming advantage, Zero boasted.
But it wouldn’t take long for Zero to realize his misunderstanding.
「Such drivel. If the enemy stands in front of you, you just need to look at the person to judge their strength.
But there is one thing you are right about— you will not enjoy this fight.」
Zero wore displeasure on his face when he realized the meaning of Zegion’s answer.
Although he didn’t particularly feel anything, it was a facade to make the enemy think that he was an emotional person.
He slowly stood up and took a stance.
「Would you mind waiting a bit?
Your confidence is based on only your absolute immortality within the labyrinth.
But are you sure that it is absolute?
You only challenge others despite the difference in ability due to that guarantee.
Let me tell you. That way of thinking is wrong! That’s because―」
His sentence only got that far.
Zero was about to provoke Zegion by telling him that he had robbed the source of his immortality, but was cut short.
Zegion’s patience had reached its limit.
‘Death to those who defile the labyrinth!’
That was the imperial command given to him by Rimuru and his raison d'etre.
Although he had agreed to the plan after Benimaru explained how they would let a part of the labyrinth get taken over, that didn’t mean he would let it happen quietly.
To Zegion, defiling the labyrinth was an act similar to touching the reverse scale of a dragon[2].
Once Ramiris finished isolating a portion of the labyrinth, Zegion no longer needed to restrain himself.
Zegion unleashed his anger, interrupting Zero.
Zero stumbled at the heavy impact.
He had raised his shield to avoid damage just in time, but he couldn’t nullify the immense momentum.
From behind the shield, he saw that Zegion’s leg was raised in the air. In an instant, Zegion had closed in and kicked him.
While keeping his eyes on Zero, Zegion slowly lowered his leg―
「You’re a tough one. Be warned: the next one will be a bit stronger.」
As Zegion spoke, his figure disappeared.
His extreme speed had slipped through Zero’s『Space Grasp』and『Magic Power Perception』skills.
Using his experiences from within the labyrinth, Zegion’s techniques evolved every day.
The end result was his own unique melee technique that incorporated many of his abilities, especially『Space-Time Manipulation』.
It would be impossible for someone who had never faced him before to see through his movements.
Zero barely escaped the danger by activating his Ultimate Skill『Master Shield』.
Even if he couldn’t see the attacks, the attacks were meaningless in the face of the ultimate defense, Zero, the Absolute Shield.
Following Zero’s will, the Absolute Shield automatically defended him from all attacks.
While being protected by his absolute defense, Zero modified his appraisal of the person called Zegion.
(To think there was still someone as strong as him… I guess Demon Lord Rimuru can’t be underestimated…)
There was not a shred of doubt that his master Velda’s prediction was correct.
It was unimaginable for a Demon Lord who has such strong subordinates to be the one defeated first.
With that thought, Zero analyzed Zegion’s strength.
Based on Zegion’s extreme mobility, Zero figured that Zegion was a being close to a spiritual lifeform.
He didn’t move the way one with a physical body would move.
But that didn’t make Zegion invulnerable.
(His fighting ability is wonderful. But, that’s all to it!)
All he could do was blindly repeat the same attacks over and over, unable to overcome Zero’s defense.
Zero lost his interest in Zegion.
「It was fun while it lasted. As my gratitude for that enjoyment, I shall show you my true power!
Take this, Zero Fill Wave!!」[3]
With absolute confidence, Zero fired an annihilation wave.
Every wavelength, and by extension every energy frequency turned into Zero.
By striking with a reversed wave, it canceled each other.
It nullified anything and everything by subjecting it to its inverse wave.
Every living being was affected; even spiritual lifeforms like Angels or Demons were no exception.
Rather, it would be better to say that those with stronger energy would be affected more.
However, the user of the technique needed to have energy that was at least equal to the target’s energy.
Zero’s energy surpassed even that of an Awakened Demon Lord.
Dagruel aside, Zero surpassed even the Four Unholy Generals[4].
Zero transformed all of his energy and fired his strongest attack that was Zero Fill Wave.
Against such deadly attack, not even Zegion would―
「How pointless. This is an attack which converts your own energy into waves, am I right?
It’s a wonderful technique that adjusts itself instantaneously to be the inverted wave of the target, but in the end it is merely an automatic adjustment.
It has the same principle as your other ability, Automatic Defense.
An attack of this level won’t work on me.」
Zero was about to see the effect of his wave of annihilation which filled the room――
But there Zegion stood, unharmed. For the first time in the fight, Zero felt agitated.
「Impossible, you understood the underlying principle in an instant!?
Moreover, for you to be able to negate the Zero Fill Wave that turns every wavelength, even the pulse of life to zero―」
「How laughable. The thing that negates a wave is another wave. So I need not do more than let it envelop me.
Instead of opposing the wave, I just have to synchronize with it. That is the truth of the universe.
For someone like me, who can turn phantasms into reality, it’s a trifling matter to see your waves.
The likes of you are even lower than garbage compared to Rimuru-sama and Veldorsama.」
Zegion’s calm words jarred Zero.
The moment Zero activated his ability and converting his energy into annihilation wave, Zegion had activated『Illusion World』of his『Illusion Lord Mephisto』.
There, everything was bent to Zegion’s will, even the flow of time.
With this ability, it was not hard for Zegion to analyze and counter Zero’s annihilation wave.
「Urgh! However, even if you negate my attack, your attacks can’t hit me, so the result is still the same!」
Zero, deciding to prioritize the erosion the labyrinth, stopped attacking Zegion.
Once he stole the labyrinth’s power, he could utilize that power and seal Zegion using the labyrinth’s 『Infinite Corridor』.
That was the plan.
「The farce taking place below should be over soon. I suppose I should also finish this up soon.」
Ignoring Zero’s predictions, Zegion acted on his emotions.
In other words, he struck Zero with a fist that contained his wrath.
「I said, your attacks won’t wo―」
Zero’s sentence was cut off.
Zegion’s Imagination became reality, and the Absolute Shield, Zero, was broken.
「Wha!? No way, this can’t be!!」
What had happened was outside of Zero’s common sense.
The Absolute Shield had been completely destroyed by Zegion’s fierce onslaught.
He was struck from all directions, so fast, that only afterimages of the Hihiirokane’s shine could be seen.
Everytime he sensed danger, Zero deployed the『Master Shield』at full power.
「It’s useless.
Your ability might be an impenetrable shield in the physical world.
However, it’s weak inside the spiritual realm.
This outcome is only natural.」
Zegion’s right hand shone.
A Dimension Ray which cleanly cut through every shield that protected Zero’s body came from that hand.
(But, I managed to endure his attack.)
Panting heavily, he had thought he had gained a moment’s reprieve ― before Zegion disappeared like the mist and delivered a piercing roundhouse kick from behind Zero.
「Gobagh!!」
Zegion had shrouded his kick with waves.
The annihilation wave that Zero had fired to Zegion earlier was returned as is.
Zero immediately moved to mitigate the damage, letting only a part of his energy be annihilated. It was a commendable response.
However, Zero realized that he was now backed into a corner.
There was a yawning gap between their abilities.
It wasn’t a matter of how much energy they had, but a sheer difference in rank.
Zegion’s left fist glowed with a dark grey light.
The instant he predicted he would lose, Zero took the best possible action: escape.
(I don’t have enough power to fight that monster! Once I take over this labyrinth, I will eat the prey in the lower floors, and my power―）
Zero quickly assimilated his main body into the labyrinth and went to the lower floors.
Immediately afterwards, the connection with his clone he left behind was gone.
Zegion had sliced it to pieces.
Zero speed up the labyrinth’s encroachment, not understanding the feeling he was experiencing for the time in his life.
Fearing that the monster was chasing after him, he threw all his attention into his efforts.
As a result, he completed his assimilation with the labyrinth as he desired and seized the labyrinth’s power.
He felt a surge of energy inside the labyrinth, which had effectively become his own body.
Delightedly, Zero sought out even more prey to strengthen himself.
Zegion retracted his left fist and turned his sight to the lower floors.
He confirmed that Zero had escaped as planned, and murmured「Mission completed」.
As requested by Ramiris and Benimaru, Zegion cornered Zero before letting him escape.
(Everything is as Rimuru-sama desired――）
Rimuru’s profound strategy wasn’t something Zegion could fathom.
Believing that, it was unnecessary to question the reason behind his orders.
All he had to do now was be vigilant, just in case the plan failed.
Zegion walked quietly towards the big hole in the ground that had been created by his attack.