Kapitel 79: Chaos in the Holy City

Explosions rocked to Capital City of Ruberious, Rune. Chaos rained as dozens of people ran through the streets slaughtering any who got in their way. The attackers, humans engulfed in a strange black miasma with glowing red eyes. As they rampaged through the streets, the Holy Knights, the Paladins, tried to fight back against the monstrous strength of the attackers, though without much luck.

The humans were otherworlders, summoned by the Rosso's Family Secret Magics. Otherworlders already possessed bodies that were full of magicules, as such is required when attempting to acquire a Unique Skill during the transfer process. Unfortunately for these otherworlders, they never receive the blessing of a Unique Skill, simply inheriting the large magical reserves typical of otherworlders.

Even still, under normal circumstances, these otherworlders, who usually have no combat experience, wouldn't pose too much of a threat, however, the situation now was odd. Mariabell Rosso, holder of the Unique Skill [Greed] had used her powers to amplify the strength of these summoned otherworlders. She used her skill [Greed Flare] to excite their souls, burning them up in exchange for raw physical strength.

After all, these people weren't useful for anything other than what this attack really was. A distraction. The hoard of crazed otherworlders rampaged through Rune in a bloodied frenzy, slaughtering man, woman, and child alike while engaging in mad combat with any Crusader foolish enough to try to stop them.

While they did not have much in the way of technique, especially in their frenzied state, their sheer amount of magical energy coming from their otherworlder magical energy reserves with the additional physical power of [Greed Flare] made them too dangerous for the average guard or soldier. Only the Ten Great Saints and the local Crusader captains stood any chance, however, they were currently occupied.

"Damn it! Why are you doing this, Glenda?" Renard Jester, the vice-captain of the Crusaders asked in bewilderment.

One of his comrades had just double-crossed everyone. The Ten Great Saints were gathering to help coordinate the defense when Glenda suddenly turned on everyone and began to gun them down mercilessly. Gard, Fritz, and Litus were killed, Bacchus was incapacitated and Arnaud was also injured and too busy trying to cast resurrection magic on the fallen while there was still time. Thankfully, Saare, Grigori, and himself were able to dodge Glenda's initial attack and prepare to defend themselves.

"Don't think ill of me too much. I really don't have a choice." Glenda said, somewhat sympathetically.

"What do you mean?" Saare barked.

"Well I'm an otherworlder, so..." Glenda said before pointing her gun at Saare and firing another round.

Saara dodged where the 'path' of the bullet was supposed to be, but was still hit in the shoulder. Glenda had used her Unique Skill [Sniper]'s [Spatial Manipulation] to teleport the bullet as soon as it was fired into Saare's chest, though she made sure to not hit Saare's vitals.

Her orders were to stop them, not kill them, and she felt at least a little bad about betraying the closest things to 'friends' she had in this world. Of course, she didn't feel bad enough to risk her own soul due to disobeying the Rossos, which is why she attacked them.

Renard bit his lip so hard it bled. "I see. So you have no choice... however, don't think I'll go easy on you just because you have an excuse!" He declared, unsheathing his sword and dashing towards Glenda.

"I wouldn't shoot you if you'd stayed down you know... oh well. This is just my life I guess..." Glenda moaned as she fired again.

...

"Chloe! What are you doing!?!" Rimuru asked in a hurry as he, Shizue, and Luminous arrived at the Sacred Mountain Palace.

"Trust me, Rimuru-sensei. I need to be here." She said in an oddly mature tone compared to her usual self. Rimuru and Shizue were temporarily taken aback by the sudden change, however, they were knocked out of their stupor when they heard Luminous scream in a firey rage.

"Granbell!!!" She yelled in anger.

Shizue and Rimuru both turned and looked down the hallway, seeing the man of the hour standing over Hinata's corpse. Shizue and Rimuru were in utter shock and stupefaction. What they were witnessing in front of them couldn't actually be happening right?

Luminous shot a ray toward Hinata's body, trying to resurrect her, as she felt there was still time, only for her shot to be blocked by Granbell's sword. It burned a light blue flame as he twirled it in his hands as if to mock the Demon Lord's efforts.

"Don't think I'll allow you to increase the number of my enemies so easily." He said, taking a step forward and dashing toward Luminous, however, as she got into position to block the attack, Granbell suddenly turned his body toward the others.

"{|Melt Strike|}!" He called out as he thrust his sword Truth forward, sending out a beam of high-density {Disintegration} toward Chloe.

Chloe's eyes opened wide for a moment witnessing the attack being leveled straight at her, but there was no need to fear.

"As if I'd let you! Devour it! [Belzebuth]!" Rimuru called out, gobbling up the magic in one gulp.

Granbell was slightly stunned by this, though had to twist his body immediately to dodge a strike coming from Shizue who'd coated her burning sword with her Unique Skill [Deviant]'s [Seperate] skill. She had essentially recreated her mentor's own skill [Absolute Severence] with this technique while adding a fire element to it which would melt through any opponent like a hot knife through butter regardless of their defensive skills or the durability of their physical body.

It was an attack on the Ultimate Level despite only being used by a Unique Skill. Of course, Granbell had to dodge that attack.

"Rimuru-san! Please protect Chloe-chan." Shizue asked as her blade met Granbell's.

Rimuru nodded, activating [Uriel]'s [Absolute Defense] around both himself and Chloe while analyzing the situation. Luminous hadn't needed to be told what her role was. She'd already run past Granbell and Shizue to Hinata's corpse and begun using her Ressurection Magic in an attempt to heal her, however...

"It's not working!" She lamented in horror. "What's going on!?! Her body is in fine shape now but her soul shouldn't have disappeared!"

Rimuru was ready to jump to her aid, hoping that his trusty [Raphael] would be there to help him out like always, but before he could move, the entire palace shook violently.

Granbell disengaged from his clash with Shizue at that moment and jumped backward, gaining distance from everyone. "It seems the distraction has worked out well." He commented.

Rimuru shuttered. The amount of energy he was feeling that was racing toward him was equal to his own, and this was after double-evolving with two Demon Lord Seeds and gaining strength via the Food Chain after his subordinates became stronger by evolving into True Demon Lords. He was certain he'd be able to fight against even Veldora now, though if it wasn't a fight to the death he didn't know if he could win.

However, even with all his newfound strength, someone or something nearly his equal was approaching at a rapid pace. He turned to Chloe.

"Chloe, I'm going to send you back to-" And she was gone.

"What!?!" He yelped.

Rimuru was sure he had sensed her less than a second ago. All of his thinking had been at over a million times Thought Acceleration, so in real time, less than three seconds had passed since he placed her in a barrier to protect her during the fight, but now she was gone. He asked [Raphael], but it couldn't respond, as it didn't know the answer either and was desperately searching and analyzing in the hopes to figure out the mystery which now plagued its master's mind, though no answer, at least no logical answer, could be found.

The only thing it could speculate on was that it had something to do with time manipulation. It was unlikely that Alaster had kidnapped the girl, however, so that answer was unlikely and it wouldn't inform its master of such an uncertain answer.

In real-time, however, Chronoa came barreling into the passageway a moment later. She radiated a menacing aura and her transcendentally beautiful face was warped in crazed rage. She wore jet-black armor and wielded a Katana that looked eerily similar to Hinata's Moonlight Raiper, though no one had time to ponder on the connection, as she immediately attacked.

Shizue ducked just in time for a slash of black lightning from Chronoa to pass over her head, slicing the hallway vertically and causing the outer wall to begin collapsing. Shizue jumped back toward Rimuru, who blocked Chronoa's next strike which would have decapitated her.

"Sorry, but I can't have you bullying my wife!" Rimuru quipped as he desperately began to dodge and parry a number of deadly strikes which Chronoa rained down upon him.

In the background, Luminous was at a disadvantage, as she was desperately fighting against Granbell's assault. Under normal circumstances, she would be more of a match for him, but she had to defend Hinata's body, and as evident by her now severed arm, Granbell was intentionally targeting it to keep Lumnous disadvantaged.

Luminous grit her teeth. Everything was going to hell in a handbasket. Her nation was under attack by one of her most trusted advisors. Chronoa had awoken in a mad rage and was destroying her palace and fighting against Rimuru, who she swore to protect from Chloe. Hinata was dead and her soul seemingly vanished.

None of this was supposed to happen. Nothing went as Chronoa had predicted it would. Rimuru was still alive, which was good, but she had no way of knowing what would happen next. Chloe had disappeared, so hopefully, that meant she had returned to the past once again, but there was a good chance Granbell had destroyed Hinata's soul too.

Luminous grit her teeth hard thinking about it as rage swelled from deep inside her. "Granbell, I'm going to rip you apart!" She yelled as she threw off Granbell's overhead strike and used her claws from her off-hand to scratch at him. She embued them with her Aura and the Unique Skill [Lust] which would reap his soul if it touched him.

Granbell backed off, dodging the incoming reaping attack with grace. He smiled wryly. His fighting style never did befit a 'Hero' but if it worked, then he wouldn't complain. He steadied himself and took up a stance, challenging Luminous to advance.

Even in her rage, Luminous did not advance thoughtlessly. She recalled back to her first battle with this man. That stance he'd used created a small territory around himself where he could instantly move to cut down anything that entered it. When he first fought her, he was very cocky and showed it off to her by precisely cutting a fly's wings off mid-flight that was inside the territory without killing it. He called it his 'Domain'. It was a Mystic Art combining his [Unyeilding] Unique Skill together with his martial prowess, and with {|Melt Strike|} added to his blade, even a scratch could mean certain defeat.

Luminous was pissed. She normally kept her emotions in check. Sure, she had been angry before, just being reminded of Veldora's existence was already enough to ruin her day, but THIS? THIS was a different rage. One that came from her core. It resonated with her very soul and prompted a change from inside her.

<Confirmed. Conditions satisfied. Unique Skill [Lust] has evolved to Ultimate Skill [Lustful King Asmodeus]> The Voice of the World sung as if to announce the Divine Ancestor's coronation, allowing her to take her throne as one of the Pinnacles of the World.

Luminous' aura shifted as she took a step forward. She brandished her blade, Night Rose, and allowed her Aura to flow through it. It was the aura of death, and anything it touched would find its life extinguished. Granbell, sensing the threat, solidified his defense. His own Unique Skill would not be enough to defend against such an overwhelming difference in strength.

He took a breath. It was not over. He knew he had one last trick up his sleeve. He closed his eyes briefly and concentrated. The recent gift from his master. [Alternative]. The Ultimate Enchantment. A pseudo-Ultimate Skill that could be used to attack on the Ultimate Level for those without the Ultimate Skill themselves.

Kondou had told him it was possible to awaken it, using [Alternative] as a base, into a new Ultimate Skill. He had done so for his own [Sandalphon], so Granbell was sure he could do the same. Granbell idolized his master, Rudra. He wanted to be of use to him, even now. His orders were to survive, so that is exactly what he was going to do. He couldn't let his life be reaped here by the Demon Lord, he had yet to even complete the goal of sending Chronoa after Alaster.

Granbell opened his eyes. "I won't be defeated here, Luminous. Not by you!" He declared.

At that moment, the swirling feelings from inside his heart resonated. [Unyeilding] and [Alternative] began fusing into one, new skill which would grant him the power he needed. The power to endure anything and accomplish any goal.

<Confirmed. Sacrificing Unique Skill [Unyeilding] and Ultimate Enchantment [Alternative] to form a new Ultimate Skill...>

<Successful. Unique Skill [Unyeilding] and Ultimate Enchantment [Alternative] have combined into the Ultimate Skill [Jophiel: Lord of Splendour]> /1\

Granbell grinned. He instantly knew how to use this new Ultimate Skill, and used it to its fullest potential, casting [Universal barrier] on himself to protect himself from Luminous' attack while also preparing a trick of his own.

All of this happened within a fraction of a second. Luminous charged. "{|MEMORY END REQUIEM|}" She called.

"{|Unlimited Fortification|}!" Granbell yelled, matching the strike.

There was a blinding flash of light as the two powers clashed against one another. The entire mountain shook as the two powers fought. The Life-giving power of [Jophiel] clashes against the Life-taking power of [Asmodeus] and the very earth and heavens shake, however, the battle is already decided.

Two combatants clashed, bringing forth their everything. It seemed as though only one could be the winner, and yet that wasn't the case. Both Luminous and Granbell fell together.

Granbell's eyes felt heavy. He wanted nothing more than to close them and rest, but he knew that if he did so, he would not wake up, so he didn't. Through sheer willpower, Granbell opened his eyes. He lay on the floor in a pool of his own blood and in front of him, his opponent was the same way.

Luminous lay on her back, a large gash running through her chest, though as a Monster and a True demon Lord, this level of injury would normally mean nothing to her, however, [Jophiel] had done its work. It had disrupted Luminous' Life Energy, leaving her too weak to even move, though, from the reddish glow coming from the wound, she was already healing herself with [Asmodeus] and bringing her rampaging Life Energy back into heel.

Granbell laughed a bitter laugh. He'd received power from his master and regained his youth, but even still, he wasn't able to overcome his former mistress. Right now, she was helpless, but he couldn't even muster the strength to stand, let alone deal the finishing blow. Despite still having magical energy left over, his life force was severely depleted, making even sitting up difficult.

"Gran!!!" A call from down the way was heard.

Granbell's heart had sunk at that moment. He turned his head to witness his wife running towards him. He knew she was in the palace, however, he had asked his fellow Luminaries to take her to safety after they'd unleashed Chronoa.

Her being here meant they had likely fled the moment their lives were in danger. Granbell clicked his tongue. If possible, he wanted to keep his beloved wife away from his betrayal. maria and Luminous were good friends after all and she wouldn't support his betrayal. He was already prepared for the scolding of his life when the mission was over, but now...

"Gran! Luminous-sama! Don't worry I'll heal you both now!" She said as she gathered her wits and chanted her magic.

"{Grand Healing!}" She said, healing Granbell's wounds and restoring enough life force for him to move.

"Thanks, Maria," Gran said with a small smile as he stood up.

"Of course, you're my husband. We can talk later first I need to heal Luminous-sama." She said, turning to the vampire.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Gran said, holding Maria's hand and reaching for his sword.

"What do you mean? That girl is the attacker, right? Chronoa is fighting her for hurting everyone!" Maria said, sounding confused.

Gran looked over to Rimuru clashing with Chronoa in the distance. Shizue had, at some point, recovered Hinata's body and was in the process of re-attaching her lost arm with her Unique Skill's [Synthesis] Power, but as that wasn't what it was meant for, it was taking longer than she'd liked.

Granbell knew what his wife thought of the situation. She thought Rimuru was the attacker, as she had never seen him before but knew of Chronoa. She was trying to do her best to help everyone. She would probably try to go and resurrect Hinata afterward too.

He needed to clear up this misunderstanding. "No dear, Chronoa is on our side, but Luminous isn't." He explained.

"What do you mean?" Maria was confused.

"I need to kill Luminous and take Chronoa away from here after she kills that man." He said, knowing his wife would never approve.

Maria's head was spinning. "Wh-what do you mean? You can't really be thinking of killing Luminous-sama can you?" She asked.

Granbell didn't answer.

Maria pulled herself away from Granbell, a horrified look on her face. "No... no...." Maria said with tears in her eyes.

"Maria please..." Granbell begged. "She is a Demon Lord. She is evil and sees humans as nothing but a food source!" He pleaded.

"That's not Luminous-sama!" Maria rejected. "You know that too! What has happened to you? Why are you doing this? This isn't you!" She begged and pleaded.

Granbell didn't respond. "Maria. Move out of the way." He commanded. He noticed Lumonous' Life Energy was now under control and that in only a moment, she'd be back up.

"I will not," Maria said defiantly.

"Maria!" Granbell barked.

"No!" Maria responded.

Luminous' eyes opened.

Granbell's eyes closed. "I'm sorry," he said as he drove his sword through her chest, {|Melt Slash|} coating the blade.

Luminous' eyes went wide and she quickly picked herself up and caught her falling friend before she could strike the ground. Luminous was in shock.

Granbell was a stubborn man. He was sometimes arrogant and overstepped his bounds, but he loved his wife with all his soul. He'd NEVER strike her down just to get the killing blow on an enemy. Luminus looked up just in time for a sword, covered in {|Melt Strike|} approaching her face, ready to run through her head. No time to dodge, especially while holding Maria's body.

*Clang!!!*

A sword blocked Granbell's strike as he grits his teeth and turned his head. "I thought you were out crusading against Lilith, Aria." He growled.

Aria quickly spun her longsword and pushed forward into Granbell's personal space, too close for him to adequately strike or guard, so he jumped back to gain more room to breathe.

"I came back when I felt my sacred place being defiled." She replied with a total straight face.

Granbell sighed. "You mean when your room was damaged in the fighting?" He guessed, already used to Aria's antics.

"Obviously, that's what I just said," Aria responded, looking genuinely confused and partly annoyed at his reply.

Granbell gazed over at the body of his wife. Luminous had already treated her wound using [Asmodeus]. He was grateful. He knew it needed to be done, but he still didn't want his wife to die. Only an Ultimate Skill governing Life and Death like [Asmodeus] or [Sariel] would have saved someone whose body was run through by {|Melt Strike|}. Even his [Jophiel] wouldn't be strong enough to do it, as it was only a weaker copy. Her body should have disintegrated in a matter of moments along with her soul, but thanks to Luminous' intervention, she was saved, though the trauma was not likely to go away anytime soon.

"THERE!!!" Rimuru yelled as he placed Chronoa's mask back on her face. Luminous and Granbell both looked over to the conclusion of the two's clash, which resulted in Chronoa seemingly calming down.

Granbell sighed in defeat but instantly had to back-peddle as Aria took advantage of his distracted state to close the distance and instantly slice his arm. If he had been half a second slower, he would have lost it.

Aria was known as the Sword Saint for a reason. She was easily the world's greatest swordsman, even outshining her rival Albert. Granbell was exhausted and despite having more magical energy overall than Aria normally, his clash with Luminous had left them on equal terms.

Not only that, but it seemed like the clashes below had subsided a while ago.

Granbell had no way of knowing this, but Albert, Adalman, and Gadra had all been able to defeat the rampaging otherworlders with ease, even though the Ten Great Saints were tied up with Glenda's betrayal and couldn't help. It was a minor miracle already that Louis and Roy hadn't arrived yet, though that was likely due to them being left behind in Tempest when Luminous rushed back without telling them

Granbell knew he was defeated, especially when Rimuru and Luminous worked together to somehow bring Hinata back to life. He had no allies and no reason to continue fighting.

"I do thank you, Luminous, for saving Maria, but this is where we say goodbye for now." He declared.

"Do you honestly think you'll be able to escape me?" Luminous growled.

"Probably..." He said with a smirk on his face before looking at Maria. His heart ached but he knew it was time to leave.

"I'm... going to save you... From whoever is controlling you... I promise." Maria said through exhausted breaths but with such conviction that it stunned everyone who heard it, even Granbell.

Granbell shook his head before smiling wryly. "I look forward to it." before activating [Jophiel] and teleporting away.

Luminous was shocked at his escape. Normal Spatial Magic can be tracked using various techniques, so it is impossible to escape from even moderately powerful Majin by simply teleporting away, let alone a Demon Lord, but his teleportation was something else entirely.

Luminous didn't know about [Jophiel]'s [Spatial Domination] which didn't leave behind the same magical residue as normal spatial magic did. Even if she had known about it, she wouldn't have been able to track him anyway without a similar Spatial-type skill.

Thankfully... "Don't worry. I've got his location." Rimuru said, drawing everyone's attention to him.

Luminous smiled wryly. That slime was more useful than she thought, though also more dangerous. He was able to stall Chronoa. Granted she was rampaging and not fighting tactically, but even though she would struggle fruitlessly in front of such raw power, but he not only managed it, but also came up with a complex strategy to save both Chloe and Hinata mid-duel.

He was dangerous indeed. "I simply need to know where he went. We shall hunt him down another day." Luminous said, looking at her old friend, Chloe in the flesh and awake again. She smiled softly.

If the betrayal of one of her subordinates and the destruction of part of the Sacred Mountain were the only collateral for getting Chloe and Hinata back, then she would take that deal any day.

Rimuru nodded at her statement, understandingly. "I see. Well, I guess I'll-" Rimuru paused for a moment before collapsing onto his knees.

Pain shot through him not terminating from his body but from his very soul.

"""Rimuru!!!""" Shizue, Chloe, Hinata, and Luminosu all called out in worry before having to take a step backward from the immensely menacing aura that began to leak out from Rimuru.

"They took Veldora from me!?!" He growled "To take Veldora from me! Don't joke around, damn it!" He said as he instantly vanished from where he stood previously, leaving a room full of women who were extremely confused and slightly frightened by the look of absolute pure rage on the normally gentle face of their beloved slime.

.~.~.~.

/1\:

[Jophiel] is like a combination of [Sariel] and [Uriel] but weaker. It isn't as good a Life Domination as [Sariel] and isn't as good at Spatial Manipulation as [Uriel].

[Uriel] was the Skill that Granbell knew Rudra had last time he saw him and he admired it, which is why he gained some of its properties, though at a weaker level.

Evelyn also has [Sariel] so he couldn't have awakened that, plus he isn't betraying Luminous to put his hope in Chronoa as he did in canon, he is betraying her out of duty to Rudra, so his Ultimate Skill was changed to match.