Labyrinth’s Encroachment Part 8 -Conclusion-

Dino had a hidden ability.

Ultimate Skill『Fallen Lord Luciel[1]』, one of the oldest ultimate abilities.

It had the abilities of both Guy’s『Prideful Lord Lucifer』and Milim’s『Wrathful Lord Satanael』.

However, its performance was inferior to Guy and Milim’s ability.

Therefore, Dino deeply understood that 『Fallen Lord Luciel』would be meaningless against Guy and Milim.

Dino was “Stellar Lord Dragon” Veldanava’s trusted retainer.

He was always by his side, crossing battlefields as Veldanava’s sword.

He had become the Strongest Swordsman at that time.

And then, the world had been pacified and conflict had vanished from the world.

Afterwards, Veldanava gave him the task of being the surface’s guardian, travelling around the world.

However――

As if his Master were waiting for Dino’s absence, Veldanava, died.

Veldanava"s beloved wife, Lucia, had also gone with him.

In his fury, Dino destroyed that foolish country.

At that time, what he acquired was Ultimate Skill『Fallen Lord Lucifel』.

His Ultimate Skill『Sky Lord Luciel[2]』which was originally given to him by Veldanava had transformed.

Fueled by his raging wrath and hatred. Dino did everything he could for destruction.

Without being sensed by Demon Lord Guy Crimson, Dino swiftly exacted his vengeance.

However, that never made Dino feel better.

He thought about destroying the world itself, but remembering Milim, the orphaned child of Veldanava and Lucia, calmed his raging heart.

Then several thousand years pa.s.sed.

While losing his reason to live, Dino continued his duty as the guardian of the surface world.

Although he himself lived lazily and only heard reports from his two subordinates.

The reason why he became a Demon Lord was to gain information.

Protecting the being called Milim from the shadow became Dino’s reason to live.

Although he never came into contact with her directly, and neither had he planned to acknowledge Milim as his master……

When Dino saw the sc.u.m Clayman hit Millim, something changed inside him.

Unique Skill『Sloth』that he had acquired unknowingly had evolved into Ultimate Skill『Slothful Lord Belphegor』.

Unique Skill『Sloth』, which Dino acquired while continuing his slothful lifestyle, had the ability to deprave the targets.

Because he ended up obtaining the skill, Dino thought about using it.

To kill time and partially to tease Dagruel, Dino played around and tried to deprave him with his Unique Skill『Sloth』.

Like Dino, Dagruel, who had dedicated his loyalty to the same deceased master, was pitiful. That was also the reason why Dino tried to untie Dagruel’s heart.

It was a completely unintended event for Dino that the ability he used for such purpose evolved into an ultimate ability.

However, even so. Dino’s fate was changed because the acquisition of this ability.

――Was it a coincidence, or perhaps, was it fate?――

Those with angel series’ ability couldn’t resist the Master Program (Ruler of the Angel), the hidden ability of Ultimate Skill『Justice Lord Michael』.

The only possible way to resist it was to offset an angel series’ ability with a demon series’ ability.

Although it had transformed.『Fallen Lord Luciel』was still a part of angel series’ ability, it couldn’t escape from Absolute Control of『Justice Lord Michael』.

However, at this moment. Here, inside the labyrinth created by Ramiris.

When Ultimate Skill『Fallen Lord Luciel』, which he had sealed for a long time, was activated, Dino realized.

(Ahh, I see. Angel series’ ability facilitated the Thought Guidance as a marker――）

Whereas the demon series were free abilities, angel series were hierarchical abilities. They were programmed to obey the order of the Supreme Being.

Dino, who had his resistance increased due to becoming a fallen angel from the start, and because he was isolated in this subs.p.a.ce, was now released from the Curse of Control. Once he escaped, he wouldn’t get caught for a second time.

Dino"s『Slothful Lord Belphegor』offset『Fallen Lord Luciel』and he regained full control of himself.

◇◇◇

Dino pa.s.sed through the hole on the labyrinth’s outer wall and jumped into the subs.p.a.ce.

When he did so, he suddenly sensed the traces of the thought interference wave from『Justice Lord Michael』against『Fallen Lord Luciel』and completed the countermeasures with『Slothful Lord Belphegor』.

Although Dino was may have been a b.u.m, he worked fast. It wasn’t that he couldn’t work, he just didn’t want to.

That was how the man named Dino was; he would do things swiftly as possible if he was forced to do so.

It was needless to say, the best thing for him was『Not working』.

Unfortunately for Dino, however, a future of hard work awaited him.

『Good job! Now, you have one job left!』

Ramiris’ thoughts reached him even though he was separated from Zegion.

In short, he had completely succeeded in escaping from the inside of Zero’s body.

It seemed that two other people had stood waiting, Zegion promptly headed to his designated position.

Dino felt from their presence that those two’s energy level’s easily surpa.s.sed those of awakened demon lord cla.s.s.

With Zegion included, the three people arranged themselves like an equilateral triangle.

(Diablo and Benimaru, is it.

――Did their energy increase again?)

Dino thought so, although he wasn’t eager to throw out a tsukkomi.

Dino quickly understood the aim of the plan and his role in it.

They were trying to annihilate Zero with the ones who had the strongest fighting power.

Dino had thought that it would be impossible to annihilate Zero seriously since destroying a “True Dragon” wasn’t easy at all…... but he realized that they were actually serious about it.

Dino also moved inside the subs.p.a.ce so that the lengths of the sides became equal and reached his designated position.

It was a ritual requiring no less than 4 people.

With two people, it formed a one-dimensional line of two dots connected.

With three people, it formed a two-dimensional triangle.

If it was with four people, it formed a three-dimensional tetrahedron.

In other words, they were forming a Spatial Magic Circle which far surpa.s.sed the level of the multi-layered magic circle……

And so, a tetrahedron was formed as to enclose the ”Berserk Evil Dragon” Zero.

With each person as a vertex, Zero was caught inside『Absolute Barrier[3]』.

「Kufufufufu, as expected of Demon Lord Dino-sama. It helps that you’re exceptionally observant.」

「Ahh, that’s creepy. Don’t need to use honorifics with me, Diablo.」

「Is that so? There isn’t shred of respect inside my heart, you don’t have to worry about it.」

「You’re f.u.c.king kidding right! That’s so uncalled for!? So you aren’t just being sarcastic……」

「That thing aside. Shouldn’t we end this quickly?」

「That’s right. Leave the nonsense for later.」

“Eh, why is it my fault?” Dino held back from saying those words.

It was pointless even if he said it; it could be worse as it might unnecessarily provoke Zegion’s anger.

The notion that Zegion would be someone hard to deal with had already taken root inside Dino’s mind.

「Well then, Dino-dono. The main act is yours. We will match our timing with yours.」

So Diablo said.

Benimaru and Zegion didn’t have objection either.

If it was just the three of them, it was possible for them to match their timing perfectly, but to request something like that from Dino would be harsh.

So, at the same time that Dino unleashed his technique, the three of them would follow it.

Dino had no complaints either.

Rather, he felt relieved that he wasn’t asked to do something unreasonable, such as matching his timing with theirs.

「Gotcha. Let’s go with full power!」

Dino yelled, sharpened his spirit and focused his mind in order to unleash his strongest attack.

His six pairs of white and black wings shone, as he gathered the surroundings’ magic essence and spirits into his twin swords ――

「Fallen Crusade[4]!!」

And so, he fired a white light slash and black shadow slash.

Both of the slashes intersected spectacularly at the center of the tetrahedron.

Colorless aurora filled the inside of『Absolute Barrier』.

However, the attacks on the “Berserk Evil Dragon” Zero weren’t over yet.

The moment both slashes intersected――

「End of World!!」

「Dimension Storm!!」

「Prominence Acceleration!!」

Several super special moves were unleashed.

With exquisite timing, it all reached the center of the tetrahedron as to cover Dino’s technique.

It caused a catastrophic, destructive power which was the greatest ever seen since the beginning of the universe.

The catastrophic destruction filled『Absolute Barrier』, which was created to not let such power escape.

――――Quartet Skill[5]：Breakdown Nostalgia[6]――――

The power of the four people combined as one and brought forth the ultimate destruction.

It could be said that it was fortunate that this place was a subs.p.a.ce.

For example, even if it was sealed by『Absolute Barrier』, just the leaked aftershock of the destructive power would be enough to wreck the surface ground.

Since it was a Quartet Skill by four of the most powerful beings in the world, the synergy produced an unimaginable result.

◇◇◇

You are reading this in Guro’s place.

Everyone who witnessed the spectacle was completely silenced.

Except for one person.

「Kufufu, kuha, kuhahahahaha! Amazing, what a truly amazing power!!

However, what is more amazing than all else is the existence called “True Dragon”.

Even after being bathed by such destructive power, it hasn’t been annihilated――」

While Diablo laughed loudly, he a.n.a.lyzed it calmly.

Exactly as he stated, only the intact “Dragon Core” remained in the center of the tetrahedron.

Although colorless, it was a mysterious...o...b..emitting a dim s.h.i.+ne.

Everyone was captivated as if their minds were stolen by the orb.

However, that would lead to carelessness.

The “Berserk Dragon” Zero, without thinking about his own destruction, tried to take, at the very least, one of them along with him as his last breath’s struggle.

He predicted that if one corner of the tetrahedron was destroyed, the power trapped inside『Absolute Barrier』would swallow everyone in this place.

Zero’s instinct couldn’t understand it, but if he succeeded, it would deal a ma.s.sive amount of damage to the main body of Ramiris’ labyrinth.

As his malevolent instinct demanded, Zero mustered the last bit of his power to stretch out his tentacle.

That tentacle went towards Dino’s group.

「Ah――」

The first one to react was Garasha, she pulled Pico and threw her towards Dino.

She protected Pico from the tentacle with her own body, but that was her limit.

When the tentacle grasped Garasha, it dragged her into『Absolute Barrier』.

From inside Pico’s arm who had lost her balance, Gaia jumped to Garasha while it cried「Kyui~~!!」.

Everything happened instantaneously.

「Garasha!」

Although Dino shouted, he couldn’t move.

Because he understood that if he moved now,『Absolute Barrier』 would collapse.

「I’ll――」

「Stop! You’ll disappear if you enter it――」

Dino stopped Pico, who was about to jump in.

Needless to say, the power inside wasn’t something she could endure.

Even if he did that, Dino knew that he would end up losing Pico as well.

(d.a.m.n it! If only I didn’t let my guard down……)

Dino lamented, but he couldn’t do anything.

He had no other choice but to give up.

「But, then, Garasha……and also Gaia will……」

Pico appealed to Dino while thinking about her companion.

But, Pico understood it too.

There was nothing she could do.

「I don’t, I don’t like things like this…… Dino――!!」

Just one.

If there was just one possibility――

「Listen, I will give you my strength. I’ll give you all of my power, so please maintain『Absolute Barrier』with it. Garasha won’t last long if she gets dragged into the center.

So, rest a.s.sured. I’ll go and save her quickly!」

「But, that――」

「Believe me. I’ll do it right away as there’s no time.」

Dino started to take preemptive action.

Although the tentacle itself had already disappeared, it would be impossible for Garasha to get back to Dino’s with her own strength.

In any case, the destructive power produced by the Quartet Skill would be blocked by『Absolute Barrier』 and would converge in the center.

It would create a powerful gravitational force towards the center, and consigned everything into oblivion beyond the “Event Horizon[7]”.

In order to escape from there you would need to exceed the speed of light, which was practically impossible.

The s.p.a.ce was too distorted and unstable, so activating『Transfer』was out of the question.

There was no more time to spare.

The burden on Garasha would increase exponentially the closer she got to the center.

Because Garasha was an awakened demon lord cla.s.s who specialized in defense, she could only manage to maintain her barrier somehow.

「Then, brace yourself. The energy transfers will begin――」

「There’s no need for that.」

At the moment when Dino tried to transfer his power to Pico, a voice could be heard from Dino’s pocket.

And then the small, round orb shone brightly.

It was the pseudo core Rimuru used to play with, which Dino got from Zegion before the plan started.

As the orb floated and drifted in the subs.p.a.ce, it shone intensely just for a moment.

And then, a feminine figure manifested from it.

That person suddenly appeared in front of Dino with his bluish-silver hair fluttering.

And then that person tapped Dino’s shoulder lightly, while jovially said「Well then, I’m going out for a bit.」, and flew into『Absolute Barrier』where a storm of power raging inside.

◇◇◇

Garasha saw her life flash before her eyes like a revolving lantern[8].

She had gotten caught by the tentacle while trying to save Pico.

At that point, she had given up on her life.

Because she couldn’t believe that a fallen angel like her, nonetheless an awakened demon lord cla.s.s, would be able to withstand the vortex of ultra-high density destructive energy that could even destroy a “True Dragon”.

As she approached the center, the burden on Garasha’s body increased.

Even so, she still could hold on herself, thanks to Gaia, the small dragon inside her embrace.

Gaia had a hard time a.s.sisting Garasha’s defense barrier, they barely succeeded in neutralizing the destructive power.

But, it was only a matter of time.

A Quartet Skill of four of the most powerful beings in this world.

It produced an unimaginable destructive power which this world had never experienced before.

Garasha’s senses couldn’t understand the extent of its greatness.

「You’re a fool, aren’t you? There was no need for you to follow me……

It"s a pity, but I can’t help you anymore――」

「Kyui?」

Garasha muttered so and gently patted Gaia who was in her embrace.

And then, she resigned herself to fate and calmly waited for her impending doom…...

But, that time never came.

The reason why was――

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

That was a close call.

If Ciel was just a little bit late in creating a new ability, we would have lost Gaia.

If that happened, I can"t even imagine how angry Milim would be...

I get the s.h.i.+vers just by thinking about it.

Not to mention, Dino tried to jump in to help them; there’s a better place for such recklessness.

Even if there were 2 people of awakened demon lord cla.s.s, I wasn"t sure they can reach the speed of light.

It was a black hole. Not even light could escape, so even if they reached 99% the speed of light, it would still be meaningless.

They might be able to escape if they haven’t reached the core yet, but it will be a very risky gamble. It isn’t something you can do it somehow just with willpower.

So, how could I do it?

Naturally, I wouldn"t do something like moving beyond the speed of light.

And yet, there was a simple reason why I could say that I ended up fine.

If you can stop time, you don’t have to think about speed.

That’s the freedom to move beyond the speed of light.

But, I didn"t need to do that this time.

Because I can neutralize it to a certain degree with『Nihility Barrier[9]』of my『Nihility Collapse』.

Things that come into contact with the barrier are a.s.similated and converted into nihility energy.

That’s the characteristic of『Nihility Barrier』.

Instead of escaping, endure it till the end. This may be the only way.

Well, even if it fails by any chance, I will be absolutely safe.

After all, it’s because the new ability Ciel had created, 『Multiple Existence』was incorporated into Ultimate Skill『Void G.o.d Azathoth』.

It was an ability Ciel made after she finished a.n.a.lyzing Ultimate Skill『Evil Dragon Azi Dahaka』, I could create clones which all connected with this ability.

Thanks to this ability, I didn’t need to be cautious of Velda anymore.

Thus I revealed myself, but I think that it was still impossible, even for Velda, to sense me in this subs.p.a.ce.

Still, I shouldn"t carelessly rule out the worst case scenario.

However, there’s no problem for now.

Even if he sensed me and isolated Ramiris’ labyrinth, my clone which can also called as my main body still exists in the Imaginary s.p.a.ce.

If Velda did isolate the labyrinth, there’s a possibility that the connection with the main body will be cut off, but it will be easy to ascertain that if both sides detect each other.

After all, both are me.

It’s a weird sensation, but Parallel Thought works without much difficulty, so there’s no problem even when doing different actions.

It wasn’t a half-baked version like the one Vega used. It could be said that since Ciel had completed this『Multiple Existence』ability, destroying me would be a nigh impossible task.

Each of my『Multiple Existence』were connected through the “Soul Corridor”.

That being said, I was still in the practice stage; it’s the stage where I can’t manifest unless I use the orb that I used to play with before.

Oh well, if I keep on practicing soon I’ll able to do it easily.

So, even in the unlikely event that I die, it would end with just the orb being broken.

Even in this situation, wondering how to soothe Milim’s temper is a bigger problem for me, but that was just another story.

「Yo-you are……!?」

Garasha, Dino’s companion, who I saved together with Gaia, asked me while looking at me with surprised eyes.

I thought I knew her face, but I guess this was our first meeting.

「Hm, ahh. Nice to meet you? I’m Demon Lord Rimuru.」

I greeted her within the barrier.

Garasha looks speechless and couldn’t speak properly.

Is she nervous? Oh well, I don’t mind.

Thus, I was able to retrieve both Gaia and Garasha safely, now all we needed to do was to wait till the storm calm down.

As I thought that, I saw the ”Dragon Core” in the center of the tetrahedron.

「If you had that, you might become a real “True Dragon” too.」

I nonchalantly said so to Gaia who was being hugged by Garasha. That was a blunder.

I didn’t particularly plan to say so, and yet――

「Kyui~~!!」

Gaia jumped out from my『Nihility Barrier』 with an enthusiastic cry,

「Wai-, you!」

I called out, but it was already too late.

By the time my voice came out, Gaia was already outside the barrier.

And then, Gaia got disintegrated instantly after being exposed to the ultra-high dense energy outside my barrier. The orb which represented Gaia broke apart and disappeared.

That means Gaia has been annihilated.

《As expected of Master. I thought the same thing too.》

“What do I need to do for Milim to forgive me”――While I was thinking about such thing, I heard Ciel’s calm voice.

“Huh? What are you saying, Ciel?” I questioned, but it can’t be helped

It’s like I had led Gaia to suicide, it would be something that Milim will never forgive me for even if it was unintentional.

I didn’t really mean it when I said that Gaia can become a real “True Dragon”……

Ehh, it can’t be!?

At the same time that I thought of the possibility, the “Dragon Core” conspicuously glowed and flickered at the center of the tetrahedron.

《You’re aware that a True Dragon won’t really disappear, right?

The same also applies to Zero who had become the insane, destructive “Berserk Evil Dragon”.

He will revive again somewhere in the world and will just try to accomplish his mission as the “Berserk Evil Dragon” that was given to him by Velda.

That’s the reason why Velda created the pseudo “Dragon Core” called『Evil Dragon Lord Azi Dahaka』.

However, this matter will be different if a new heart arises inside that “Dragon Core”.

If it’s Gaia who has fragments of Dragon Factor, it can be said that he possesses enough qualifications for it.》

As Ciel’s explanation ended, a miracle was happening outside the barrier as if to prove her right.

In short, Gaia became a “True Dragon”.

I was just joking, but for my joke becoming reality is just scary.

As there’s a saying: “Truth comes out of falsehood[10]”, the words I said have really come true.

Gaia got disintegrated instantly, but the heart that held the Will reached the “Dragon Core”.

Then, it seems Gaia has succeeded in taking it over.

In the end, Ciel removed the insanity from it.

All of the raging energy was suppressed and a beautiful blue dragon has manifested.

Excluding me, Gaia can be called as the fifth ‘True Dragon”. After all, I’m not really strictly a “True Dragon”.

Gaia’s body gave off an azure gleam more radiant than a jewel

Unlike Veldora and his siblings, Gaia was shaped more like an oriental dragon.

Is Gaia, Veldora’s younger brother or younger sister?

Whichever Gaia chooses to be, getting a new sibling is a good thing for that guy.

「Kyui~~!!」

Gaia gleefully, raised a happy cry.

It doesn’t seem he can speak yet.

Although he gained wisdom and knowledge fast enough, I guess that is because he was just now born.

「Haha, to think you would really succeed. Well done, Gaia!

Oh right, in this opportunity, I’ll think of a “Nickname” for you as well.」

Veldora was called “Storm Dragon” while Velgrind was “Scorch Dragon”.

If he becomes their younger brother/sister, Gaia should also have an official name.

Okay――

「Alright, I’ve decided it. You’re “Earth Sovereign Dragon[11]” from now on!

As you’re Veldora’s brother, how about calling you as “Earth Sovereign Dragon” Velgaia?」

As he’s glittering, I just named him without hesitation.

That was the moment of the birth of the Fifth Dragon, “Earth Sovereign Dragon” Velgaia.

As the surrounding power storm vanishes,『Absolute Barrier』has disappeared too.

A beautiful dragon was born while the threat was gone.

Diablo, Benimaru Zegion and even Dino and co.

I see everyone flying towards me.

However, since I was deprived of a lot of magic essence because of the naming, it became difficult to maintain my clone’s existence――

(Hey, even this count as naming too……)

《――Obviously…...》

The last thing I heard was Ciel"s amazed voice before I confirmed that the connection with the orb had been cut.

You are reading this in Guro’s place.

[1] 堕天之王(ルシフェル) Daten no Ou (Rus.h.i.+feru). I’m using Luciel in order to differentiate it with Guy’s. Btw Guy’s Lucifer is using ルシファー Rus.h.i.+faa. Some stories told that Luciel probably was Lucifer’s true name before his fall. Btw, this like how there’s Lucifer and Lucilius in GBF even though their katakana means the same in English.

[2] 天空之王(ルシフェル) Tenkuu no Ou (Rus.h.i.+feru).

[3] 絶界Zekkai, Absolute Boundary/Barrier

[4] 天魔双撃覇(フォールンクルセイド) Tenma Sougekiha (Fōrun Kuruseido) = Heaven Demon Supreme Twinstrike.

[5] 四重複合絶技(カルテットスキル) Yonjuu f.u.kugou Zetsugi (Quartet Skill) = Quadruple Combined Special Move.

[6] 絶撃追憶滅光崩(ブレイクダウンノスタルジア) Zeggeki Tsuioku Metsu Hikari Hou (Bureikudaun Nosutarujia) = Absolute Reminiscence Strike of the Disintegration Light. Uhh whatever with the Kanji xD.

[7] Event horizon is boundary marking the limits of a black hole. At the event horizon, the escape velocity is equal to the speed of light. Since general relativity states that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, nothing inside the event horizon can ever cross the boundary and escape beyond it, including light. Thus, nothing that enters a black hole can get out or can be observed from outside the event horizon.

[8] Revolving lantern (Soumatou) refer to the flashback phenomenon before death according to Asian superst.i.tions. The flashback is often compiled of key, happy memories that one had experienced within his or her life time.

[9] 虚無結界 Kyomu Kekkai.

[10] Variation is “Many a true word is spoken in jest”

[11] 地帝竜 Chitei Ryuu, Earth Monarch/Emperor Dragon.