Archangel’s Domination
I could recover relatively easy from the sleep mode this time.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that the connection to my clone was cut.
My main body was still hiding in『Imaginary Space』. Even if one of my parallel existences spent too much power, it turned out that there was no effect on the main body.
I guess I could say that we had carried out an unplanned experiment this time.
In truth, the main body wasn't affected only because Ciel had cut off the connection.
She really is a reliable partner.
So, it was normal that I woke up so quickly.
I just have to reconnect with the orb once more.
I was being carried to the control room when I woke up.
It seemed everyone had promptly escaped from the subspace.
I guess that’s expected since there’s no more business there.
Thanks to my energy being deprived by Gaia, my presence was faint.
I figured that it would be fine since I didn't need to worry about Velda noticing me like this.
My main body was recovering energy in『Imaginary Space』.
It felt really weird having two consciousnesses at the same time.
Well, I had to start getting used to it.
After all, it was very convenient.
For argument’s sake, even if Velda had tried to seal the labyrinth when he noticed my presence, I could now grasp Velda’s present position with my real body and『Multiple Parallel Existence』.
Being able to be in two places at once is more convenient than I imagined.
I didn't think I really had to worry about being discovered, but I preferred to avoid trouble as much as possible.
I didn't want to alert Velda of my presence yet, since I wanted to catch him off guard when I took action.
For better or worse, the clone I was possessing through the orb had an energy level close to that of a human, since the majority of its strength hadn’t recovered yet.
I decided to make use of this state and let the connection of the energy with my main body remain blocked.
The clone could also recover its energy naturally, but I also suppressed that.
With this, I can appear in front of everyone without worries.
Gaia was laying on top of my stomach.
He should have grown with an elongated large body about 20m long, but it seems he had reverted to his 50cm long minidora form now. Apparently, he still can’t humanize so he reverted to his previous form.
It was really interesting to see whether he would become a male or a female. However, I figured it would take a while for that to be shown.
It seemed I woke up right when I was about to be laid down on a chair.
I got up from the chair and caressed Gaia.
「Rimuru-sama, you have woken up?」
Noticing my movement, Diablo asks me reverently, I nod and answer him with「Yeah」.
And then, I received the explanation about what happened while I was unconscious.
◇◇◇
Several things had occurred after I went to sleep mode.
First off, something happened to Gaia..
When I named him Velgaia, his power stabilized into a “True Dragon” class and he awakened a fearsome ability.
――Inherent Skill『All Creation Embodiment[1]』――
This is a special skill that combines『Arms Creation[2]』and『Material Transformation[3]』 that the demons use.
However, its scale and quality are on a different level.
It is an outrageous ability comparable with Ramiris’『Labyrinth creation』.
After all, it can be said that it has an incredible power that makes Gaia capable of reproducing things from memory.
As an example, it seems that he can recreate 75 floors of the labyrinth that should have been eaten by Zero.
Such a thing is impossible even for Veldora-san who is his older brother, Gaia may be better than his older brother.
Well, although his maximum energy is no match against the other True Dragons, he’s still a child. I think a lot can be expected from him in the future.
By the way, Gaia’s buddies, our avatars were also amazing.
From the story I heard from Zegion, the avatars, which had switched to auto mode, were wandering around the labyrinth and they even attacked Zegion following their instinct.
They became a party of five with Gaia joining, it seemed they were able to defeat Gozurl and Mezurl and their character became very aggressive.
Nevertheless, what were they thinking that make them attacking Zegion?
It doesn’t make sense that they were that foolish that they didn’t notice how strong the opponent was.
...No. did they attack him because they knew he was a strong opponent?
I don’t think they are that aggressive, but even getting defeated can give you experiences.
That’s why you may be able to see it as an intentional challenge.
It isn’t strange of me to think that they are following our personalities as their hosts.
Milim, Veldora, and Ramiris can only be said as a very aggressive bunch.
Although, it seems unbelievable seeing how much of a pacifist I typically am.
「The first attack came from Rimuru-sama’s avatar, the Ghost. Immediately after the smokescreen from the flames there was a strike from the ceiling by the Slime. As I flinched, Gaia increased the gravity and the Skeleton and the Living Armor launched their Rush Attack.
Their coordination was splendid.」
Zegion praised them by saying these words.
I am shocked to hear how hyper my avatar’s personality was.
Or rather, I’m surprised that they became strong enough to earn Zegion’s praise.
Well, it seems it was a difficult fight because Zegion was careful to not destroy our avatars.
Ramiris and the others gleefully said 「Naturally!」. Oh well, it was only Ramiris who was so excited when we were using the avatars, so it might not be surprising if her memory had taken them over.
Because guessing from how Ramiris’ personality is, they probably lost their self-control.
She’s too pitiful for me to throw out a tsukkomi.
Anyway, I felt they were praiseworthy enough to make Zegion impressed.
With Gaia restoring the labyrinth, the labyrinth inside is switching back to its normal mode.
Everyone who was evacuated is preparing to return to their respective floor.
Although the battle zone was desolated, Ramiris could restore them.
So much from the so-called invasion, the damage was negligible.
It’s a total victory for the Labyrinth Defense Team.
But, this isn’t the end. There are still 600.000 personnels from the angel army waiting in the sky.
The discussion they had until I woke up was ”Who will go to intercept the angels in the sky?”.
Since everyone is so motivated, there seems to have been no conclusions for who will go.
It made me realize again that we are full of Battle Maniacs.
When I asked Benimaru, he seems to have taken countermeasures for the time being.
As he didn’t know how the interception inside the labyrinth would end up, he had prepared ambush troops.
It seems the plan was to wait for Kumara’s return and then have her and her subordinates who are hiding in the forest to attack together.
But, because things have progressed better than he expected, the remaining hot-blooded people made a fuss.
Their leader was Apito.
She looks unsatisfied because she stopped in the middle of tormenting Dino.
In the end, it was decided that Apito will be the one who will head out.
This was all what they had decided before I woke up.
The meeting continued and the decision was left up to me.
There were a lot of other people who wished to participate too.
Trainee, the dryad, and her sisters who are entrusted with the labyrinth management, and the hundreds of treants, whom I gave temporary bodies with cultured magic dolls, are eager to fight.
The labyrinth has become a sanctuary for them; they think of opposing those who invade it.
Especially, since they were taking a break from their works as the adventurer’s acceptance is suspended currently and they have to stay confined in the city inside the labyrinth.
In short, they have too much spare time.
As they are “A” rank Majin class full of motivation, there’s no need to pour cold water onto their burning spirit.
I listened to their complaints and accepted their participation in the counterattack strategy.
By the way, although Ramiris had accepted the matter easily, their most important concern was about repairing their body
There are some oppositions by reasoning that it will be inexcusable if the body that I made for them is damaged.
I just need to make them a new one if that happens.
On the contrary, fighting forces that are not afraid of death is valuable, so I gladly accepted their proposal.
Then, I see the four dragon kings standing to protect Ramiris.
“We also wanted to rampage, but we had to prioritize protecting Ramiris.” I could read such intention from their expressions.
While I’m smile wryly, I called out them.
「You guys want to go too, right?」
「But, we are……」
「I’ll appoint Zegion to guard Ramiris, there’s Benimaru here too.
Go rampage as you guys want. You guys don’t have many chances to fight seriously after all.
You’re fine with that right, Ramiris?」
「It’s fine! You guys should go!
But, as my subordinates, I won’t forgive you if you guys lose!」
Ramiris glanced and easily gave her permission to the dragon kings who are looking at her.
In a few words, the participation of the four dragon kings was decided.
In the end――
The Dragon Strike Corps[4] is led by the four dragon kings.
The Demonic Beast Corps[5] is led by Empress Kumara and her subordinates, her eight pets[6].
Queen Apito produced the three demon insect generals; each of them makes up the top four of the Demon Insect Corps[7].
These are the angels’ interception force.
Moreover, there are also the “A” rank dryads and treants who are acting separately.
As the Demon Insect Corps was just formed, their numbers were few.
However, the three demon insect generals, Spider, Mantis, and Butterfly, seem to be strong corps commanders who not only have the ability to regulate command but also possess considerable fighting prowess.
Moreover, these three generals, whom Apito brought forth, produced their own soldiers.
Although, for the time being, their ability seems to be creating only low-class soldier ―― it’s a ruthless unfeeling army, just like the insects they are.
Apito looks pretty emotionless herself, but it would be rude to say it.
Because they are soldiers created from her ability, it compensated their low numbers to some extent.
It was decided that all of the powerful forces from the 70th floor and below will participate in the battle this time.
Come to think of it, this time would be the first sortie for the top corps of the labyrinth army.
They have a slightly different ambiance from Adalman’s Immortal Legion.
Although they are losing in numbers, they aren’t inferior in quality, so I don’t have to worry about them.
The Dragon Strike Corps led by the four dragon kings who possess dreadnought warship-class range attack capability are also participating.
With our war potentials, there’s no need to be afraid of the angel army whose commander can’t move flexibly on her own.
I instructed Benimaru to cooperate with them so that the casualties are to be kept minimum as much as possible and decided to leave the rest to them.
◇◇◇
The interception matter had been settled.
Next is about Dino’s group who were relaxing.
Dino is lying on the couch and drinking tea elegantly.
You could never guess he was an enemy few moments ago; he’s relaxing so naturally it seems like he’s at home, you know?
And meanwhile this part of the control room is still in a battle state...
It’s as if he says “It already has nothing to do with me”, Dino was thinking that it’s someone else’s problem.
「Hey. What are you relaxing for?」
Seems like Benimaru finally snapped about Dino who is asking Shuna for his tea refill like it’s normal.
Benimaru endured this pretty well.
He put the matter off since he was busy, but as the personnel selection for the interception was over, he now had the time to tackle the problem (Dino).
「Eh? Well, the fighting is already over, so I’m written as a formidable enemy, read as a friend, right?[8]
Besides, didn’t I work hard? I also cooperated to defeat Zero.」
Dino declared ostentatiously.
He is winking slightly which is quite annoying.
It seems it really irritated Benimaru as he’s the one Dino speaks to. Oh well, that is expected. Even I got annoyed just by looking at him.
But, it seems even Benimaru gave up complaining as he considered that Dino’s status is more or less one of the demon lords.
Meanwhile, the two women besides Dino were devouring the cakes.
「Th-this! It’s so super tasty!? There are three pieces left so I can eat one more, right?」
「Pico, don’t eat in such rush. I shall declare that I will be the one who eat the last piece.」
「Huh? What are you saying? I have the right for it too!」
「……Hey. That piece is not left, it’s mine. You guys don’t have rights for it!」
Dino, who was speaking with Benimaru, went to secure his own share of the cake in panic.
Looking at that, Benimaru sighs.
In the end, a decent conversation couldn’t ensue until Dino and co finished eating their cake.
After a short break, we began inquiring and listening about this time’s circumstances from Dino and co.
According to him, he apparently had received Thought Guidance from Velda.
So, although it makes me angry of the way he keeps saying it wasn’t his fault, it seems he’s not lying.
I can only doubt my ear when I heard Dino saying “Unlike Yuuki’s, don’t you think it’s possible for him to use『Justice Lord Michael』’s Forced Control with the angel series’ skill as the medium?”.
「Huh? So you are saying that there’s a possibility to be controlled by『Justice Lord Michael』if you possess Ultimate Skill of angel series?」
「I can’t say it for sure, but that’s the only thing I could think of. There’s no way a smart person like me is being deceived, right?」
Dino (The idiot) is saying whatever he pleases.
I guess I can ignore him.
But, could that be possible?『Wisdom Lord Raphael』 and『Covenant Lord Uriel』that I possess are of the angel series after all.
If what Dino’s thinking is correct, wouldn’t I have been in a pinch when Yuuki stole『Justice Lord Michael』in the empire capital?
「That’s, just probably though, if you possess demon series’ skill, you can resist it, I guess?
Although I think you can’t do it unless you completely mastered the skill and aware of it.」
Hmm, I see.
I guess it does sound coherent if you think about it in that way.
《That’s right. Please bear in mind that since I had deployed Multiple Barrier of『Gluttonous Lord Beelzebuth』 and『Covenant Lord Uriel』, it became possible to defend against any kind of physical or mental attack before it even happens.》(Ciel-sensei)
I see, if that’s the case then I can agree why I never got controlled.
However, although I have prevented it without knowing, I guess it was outside of Yuuki’s calculation.
The reason why a bad guy like him quickly gave up and retreated was that his trump cards were all crushed……
「If that’s so, then there’s a risk of being controlled for those who possess angel series’ Ultimate Skill.
If I say about those with angel series’ skill…… anyone comes into mind?」
「Dunno. I have lived for a long time, but I never had any interest in what skill other people have……
I only know that Dagruel was simply strong.」
At least, if it’s Guy he might know, but I was foolish expecting Dino to know about it.
I guess Leon would be one of them.
Then, that guy named Kondou who was in the Empire. But, that person has already died.
I guess I don’t have to worry about it, as there are just a few people who possess angel series’ skill in the first place.
After all, I possess 2 of them.
Next…… among the people I know, I think Velgrind has one.
《That reminds me, when we revived Leon, I also had analyzed『Purity Lord Metatron』.
Although I had restrained myself from tampering with it without permission, as expected, it seems to be a mistake……
As there was a route of unknown usage in Velgrind’s『Charity Lord Raguel』, I have removed it when optimizing it.
Since I added a mechanism in the blank part, there might be something different according to her free will.
At the very least, i think she won’t fall under『Justice Lord Michael』’s control.》
That’s it.
Ciel reported like it was nothing important, but it might be that part that became the marker for the domination.
As usual, Ciel has splendidly gone and done things as she pleases without my knowledge.
She complains about how selfish I am, but Ciel might not lose in selfishness either.
I wonder who she took after……
《……》
Oops, it would be bad if I say any further.
There’s no doubt that she is the most reliable and capable partner.
If there’s someone else who own angel series’ ability, it would be Veldora-san’s other older sister, the “Ice Dragon” Velzard, I guess?
Don’t tell me Chloe has one too……?
《I assumed the possibility that “Ice Dragon” Velzard has an Ultimate Skill of the angel series.
Moreover, I can’t deny the possibility that Chloe Aubert has one concealed too.》
Hmm……
There’s no use to be worried about things that I don’t understand.
First, I’ll contact Leon and tell him to not go out of the barrier.
Perhaps, Guy had anticipated this development which is why he appointed Mizari to Leon’s side.
If that’s the case, it might have been fortunate that Guy was in that place together with Chloe, Velzard and also Velgrind.
If it’s Guy, he will manage it somehow.
He’s far more capable and reliable than this unreliable lazy bum in front of me.
No, no, it would be rude to compare him with Dino.
…… Although he was unwilling at first, Veldora-san is now heading to that place too.
I felt he was quite unreliable when it came to dealing with his sisters, but he would manage it somehow or another.
Let’s think so.
As for me, I just want to beat Velda immediately at this rate.
I have acquired『Multiple Parallel Existence[9]』through a lot of efforts, but I want to avoid dividing my power.
Or rather, since there’s just one energy furnace[10], the recovery rate will not get faster even if I divided myself.
The clones all have the same power level, so they would be useful if I use them correctly.
Things will work out somehow once I defeated Velda, so I decided to believe in Guy and Veldora-san who are in the northern land.
[1] 万物具現 Banbutsu Gugen, All things/All Creation Embodiment/Incarnation/Avatar/Personification.
[2] 武具創造 Bugu Souzou, Arms/Armor Creation.
[3] 物質変換 Busshitsu Henkan, Material/Substance Transformation/Conversion.
[4] 竜撃軍団 Ryuugeki Gundan, Dragon Attack/Strike/Assault Corps.
[5] 妖獣軍団 Yōjuu Gundan, Supernatural/Demonic Beast Corps.
[6] The eight beast named by Rimuru (Byakuen the White Ape, Coccus the Black Rat, Raiko the Thunder Tiger, Getto the Moon Rabbit, Youda the Winged Snake, Mink the Drowsy Sheep, Enchou the Flame Bird, and Igami the Mirror Dog). Btw, the kanji is八部衆 Hachii Bushuu which means the eight legions in Buddhism, in chapter 157, the furigana was ペット (petto).
[7] 魔蟲軍団 Mamushi Gundan, Demon Insect Corps.
[8] Does Dino just break the 4th wall? Kek.
[9] 多重並列存在 Tajuu Heiretsu Sonzai.
[10] エネルギー炉 Enerugii Ro. Energy Hearthe/Kiln. A single source which produces/recovers energy.