Calculation that Goes Amiss
Kazaream has not noticed that he has thoroughly stepped onto a landmine.
Now that he has attained power and significant growth, the thought that the majin before Kazaream was a being greater than himself never crossed his mind, not even til the very end.
Footman was lightly slugged by Benimaru, and he was launched all the way to the end of the hall.
And, he lay there not moving one bit.
「Footman, stop playing games. We're gonna massacre all of them.
Get up quickly, and get on with killing Leon's weakling followers!」
Even though Kazaream gave him orders, Footman showed no sign of moving.
「Oi, Footman. What are you playing at? Hurry up and――」
Kazaream went and had a look at Footman in a fit of anger, only to lose all words shortly after.
Footman lay sprawled on the ground showing the white of his eyes along with a bleeding nose, as though the entire ruckus he has been causing was but a lie.
After crashing through a wall and bouncing a few times, his neck was twisted in an impossible angle.
Both his upper and lower front teeth were broken. It is no coincidence, that the teeth caved-in in the shape of a fist.
Some sections of space were fixed too, making said sections unable to regenerate.
Turning his attention to Benimaru, Kazaream clicked his tongue in another fit of anger.
In the hall which turned silent in an instant, one being fleetingly approached Footman.
It was Laplace.
He walked as he ignored Claude and Fran who assumed wary stances with their swords, Laplace stopped beside Footman.
And,
「Nee-san, this looks bad. Our boy Footman, is down and out from thae blow.
Well, he is barely alive though, that Nii-san there probs had nae intention of killing him.」
Laplace said with a 'Oh well' kind of tone, as he lightly shrugged his shoulders.
「What's that? You mean to say Footman was taken out in one hit!?」
Tear the Teardrop shouted out in surprise.
Hearing that her fellow brethren, who was easily tougher than herself, was downed in a single attack, was a way too unreal topic.
「Tear, this ain't gud. Fall back. It's nat a good idea to take those onii-sans lightly.
From my perspective, ye ain't gonna cut it. It would most likely take me 'n' our captain, to be able to deal with them somehow....
There's also that pretty demon jou-chan with Demon Lord Leon, th' odds are stacked against us now.
What's the plan, Nee-san?」
With an easy going tone, Laplace gave Kazaream his analysis of the current situation.
He was hinting at 'If we're gonna retreat, now would be the time'.
Kazaream snorts,
「Laplace, no need to cower that much.
Leon is already in tatters.
Guy's minion too, is at most a demon lord class weakling.
Sure demon nobles are pretty capable among the upper tier demons, but she ain't any better than Tear who is demon lord class herself.
We only need to be wary of those two.
You and me are more than enough to deal with them.」
He impertinently declares.
To his unshaken confidence, Laplace has nothing more to say, and simply shrugs.
Kazaream was totally ignoring the fact, that Footman who was demon lord class himself, was out of commission from a single attack.
Kazaream thought, the one he needed to be wary of was only Benimaru who stands before him, and he can let Laplace deal with the inferior Souei.
The truth was,
「It is a fact, that we haven't even showed what we are really capable of....」
Laplace affirms Kazaream's words.
As per Kazaream's orders to overwhelm Leon's forces, it's a fact that they have been slowly bashing down on them.
But Laplace was still considering retreating, even after taking all that into account.
Laplace's intuition sensitively picked up the changes in the situation, and was sounding a warning alarm.
As if to prove Laplace'a intuition was true, Mizari coolly stood back up.
All the damage she took earlier, regenerated in an instant.
All her external injuries disappeared, and her new outfit looked more dreadful than before.
Gaining an impressive presence, she stays as expressionless as before, but gives off an imposing feeling.
「――Nee-san, that jou-chan's existential values[1] have rocketed up.
They're called awakened demon lords aye? Though she is inferior to Nee-san, Tear ain't able to handle that....」
Just as Laplace analyzed it, Mizari's Energy levels swelled up to the level of an awakened demon lord.
More like, her magic power that has been restrained up til now have been released, that kind of feeling.
「That's right.
I, with the help of Demon Lord Rimuru, have evolved to the level of the awakened demon lords.
With the impression that real battle experience would help me master this power most effectively, I took the liberty of having Kazaream-sama as my practice opponent.
That being said, it looks like Leon-sama did notice, the fact that I have been holding back――」
Mizari took glances at Leon as she said that.
Leon nods with a bitter looking face,
「Of course I did. As if a measly demon noble could maintain a barrier powerful enough to withstand my attacks.
How would I not notice that you were restraining your output and planning to do something.
Who would have thought that your plan, was to depend on the reinforcements from Demon Lord Rimuru.
So, does Guy really trust Rimuru? Does he think he is the key to ending this battle?」
「――about that.
It's not like considerations from someone like me would affect Guy-sama's intentions, but personally, I have come to the conclusion that believing Demon Lord Rimuru is the correct course of action.
That, was what was decided at Walpurgis too.」
To Leon's question, Mizari stuttered for a moment, before she answered.
Though her answer was the truth, Leon felt he was pressured by those words, as he never did fully trust Rimuru even though they talked of cooperation.
At the same time, Mizari who is a demon, couldn't hide her own surprise at herself for speaking of trusting any demon lord other than Guy.
As one of the few absolute beings that were crowned in ages past, Mizari was one of the capable few who surpassed the ex-demon lords; as she understood her own true nature, she felt the surprise excessively.
Mizari never broke her courteous tone towards any other person, but turns into a cold-hearted slaughterer the moment she is given orders.
That was her identity, as the great demon who heads Guy's minions.
「So, the number of weaklings have increased, and one of you insects got a little power-up, did you really think you could stand up against me?
No doubt Leon over there is mostly half dead, even if Mizari there did get a boost in power, she's not even close to half of me. I don't see where the problem is.」
With a fearless smile, Kazaream cuts into Leon and Mizari's conversation.
To Kazaream, he is already looking down on his opponent as an awakened demon lord who is inferior to himself.
With a cold gaze towards Kazaream,
「Then, allow me to give an additional explanation.
A normal demon lord class being has [EP:200,000〜400,000], and that's the lowest to the highest.
Similarly, a demon noble is [EP:200,000〜400,000] too and that is distinguished by the baron to the duke classes.
Certainly, Leon-sama's followers have evolved and attained power, but they sit at the viscount class of [EP: below 250,000] at most.
Kazaream-sama's fellow brethren too, with the exception of Laplace, are at the higher end of the demon lord class at [EP: below 400,000].
Neither are even remotely close, to be called beings that have power surpassing demon lords.
The demon lords of the current Octagram, with the exception of one person, are all of the Million class at [EP:1,000,000〜].
From what I have just mentioned, the phrase "surpassing a demon lord" is quite the excessive term.
Now then, with all of that in mind, and though this might sound rude, the battle between Leon-sama's followers and the members of the Moderate Clown Troupe, is naught but child's play.
I have come to the conclusion, that it is at a level that can be ignored.
The order I have received from Guy-sama, is to obtain victory.
To that end, I have maintained this barrier and awaited the reinforcements from Demon Lord Rimuru-sama.
This was the best course of action I have taken in order to decisively defeat Kazaream-sama, a plan that ignores everything besides the Million class.
So, that meant that Kazaream-sama's victory condition would be to defeat me before reinforcements arrived, that and nothing else.
From my analysis as I bought time earlier, the main ability that Kazaream-sama uses is『Auto-reflection』.
You stack damage onto your opponent, by neutralizing your opponent's attack with the same attack with a roughly 20% increase in output.
If this was done by a being that had overwhelming amounts of Energy, it would be an incredibly efficient method.
It's also troublesome, that you wield both Holy and Demonic attributes.
As long as you have more Energy, you most likely will never be defeated.
But, for you to continue neutralizing attacks, it means you have no other choice but to consume Energy.
The 20% increase in consumption seems to apply equally, whether it is one of Leon-sama's attacks, or one of my held back attacks.
The reasoning behind waiting for reinforcements, would it be clearer to say that my aim was to gather enough power to overwhelm what Kazaream-sama can neutralize?
Leon-sama along with Benimaru-sama and Souei-sama would most likely be able to deal with Kazaream-sama, after some depletion from having to face me at full power.
Victory is ours this time, Kazaream-sama.」[2]
「Hey hey, ojou-chan. What do ye mean by 'with the exception of me'?」
「――not to be rude, but I was unable to discern how much Energy you have.
That means, you are either equal to or above me, that is my conclusion.」
「Ye give me too much credit.」
Thinning his eyes[3], Laplace gave off a sharp gaze unbefitting of his casual attitude.
Towards Mizari who did not underestimate him, he gave a "good grief[4]" impression.
Souei showed a bitter face as his true identity was revealed by someone else, but did not voice his complaint.
The group of people who were 'tossed aside' in this conversation, namely Leon's knights Claude and co. and Tear, were unable to voice their words of rejection in the face of Mizari's aura.
Because they understood what was said were undeniable facts.
But, even after hearing Mizari's explanation and feeling her aura, Kazaream's composure was not broken at all.
「Fufun. I knew all along, that you were hiding your true power!!
Don't be giving such arrogant speeches, being a weakling who cannot fight without resorting to such stopgap measures!!
Even if all you worms came at me together, you still wouldn't come close to the great me.
The fact that none of you can beat me doesn't cha~~~nge!!
Let me show you weaklings, what real despair and fear is!!!」
As he shouted, he released all the power he has held back that stopped him from outright killing Leon.
In addition to the pressure that distorted space within the barrier, an ominous aura now dominated the field.
The aura Mizari was releasing, was quashed in an instant.
By an overwhelming Energy, one which could be said to surpass awakened demon lords.
There were no lies in Kazaream's words, as the storm of his tyranny vastly exceeds Mizari's calculations.
「Wha-!! It can't be.... To think, he had that much――」
What just happened was effective enough to cause the composed Mizari to waver, and Mizari's expression changed.
Kazaream was overwhelming, so overwhelming that she couldn't keep her composure.
She herself had Energy in the Million class. Leon too.
Even so, she still felt so overwhelmed by Kazaream.
The estimate that there is almost 3 times the amount of Energy that she just told Leon earlier, felt like an understatement.
「This is more than what was anticipated. I had estimated it to be 3 times or more than me, but this――」
A blow from Kazaream made its way to Mizari's abdomen, to interrupt their conversation.
Kazaream's fist pierced through Mizari, breaking her arms which she crossed to protect herself, as though crushing fragile rotten twigs.
「Hahhaーーーー! Aren't you misunderstanding something, just because I have been holding back on killing you?
That's just naive, you weakliiiings! I, this Kazaream-sama, have gained the greatest power ever!!!」
Kazaream laughs boisterously.
「Nee-san, that's some absurd stuff ye'r pullin' out there. Fine by me, guess I'll need to prepare for th' worst too.」
He took a rainbow orb out, as he said that.
That, was a Spirit Jewel. It was an orb that housed Energy equal to the souls of 10000 humans.
Laplace breaks the orb, and replenishes his Energy.
This didn't cause him to awaken, he did it to prepare himself to fully support Kazaream.
「You lot have been sneakily thinking of many things, but all of it was for naught. After all, this is but the fate of beings that do not wield enough power! 」
Kazaream laughs haughtily.
Lamenting, Mizari says,
「At this rate, accomplishing my orders would be....
My apologies, looks like my outlook was too naive.
At the least, I will attempt to cause mutual destruction with an Extreme Anti-Demon Elimination attack, do take care of matters afterward――」
Putting her existence in the line, to shave off as much of Kazaream's power as possible.
Leaving future matters to Leon and Benimaru and co. , those were Mizari's intentions.
But――
「You're called Mizari right? Like what that drag[5] said, no need to overthink things too much.
You called for reinforcements, we answered the call and made it in time.
That's all that matters, right?」
Walking past beside of Mizari who was knocked down, Benimaru took the point.
And,
「Souei, you deal with the Clown over there. I'll be the one to kill that drag.」
He indifferently declares, paying no heed to the situation whatsoever.
「I guess I can accept that. I'll give in, but be sure to finish the job.
He did insult Rimuru-sama nonetheless.」
「Don't worry 'bout that. It's not like there's any worthwhile information to obtain, so there's no reason to let him live am I right?」
「True that.
You being you, you may have forgotten about this, but seems like that fellow is Clayman's master.
That means――」
「So he's the source who was behind that Gelmudo guy, right? I know that alright.」
Benimaru and Souei went on with their seemingly frivolous conversation in such a manner.
「J-just what are you people talking about――」
「Hey you two over there, are you meaning to say, you are gonna take on that monster Kazaream all by yourself!?」
Mizari and Leon spoke out at the same time.
Mizari hastily regenerates and returns to the frontlines in combat form, showing her stance to take on the challenge once more.
Leon does so too, with his pride as a demon lord on the line, in an effort to return the favor against Kazaream.
Despite that, Benimaru and Souei were talking with the intention to do this themselves.
「Aaahn? I just said it didn't I. I'm going to『Kill』.
Starting now I'll be wiping the floor with that shitty drag, you injured fellows just sit back and watch.」
「You heard him. I'll be dealing with the Clown over there.
Leon-dono and Mizari-dono, I'll be trusting you two to keep a look out for the half dead fatty, and to make sure that Teardrop girl doesn't bother us.」
「But....」
「Enough. You two won't understand unless I tell you that you are only going to hold us back?」
This last line from Benimaru sealed the deal.
Ignoring Souei's "You really should fix how you speak to others.", Benimaru draws his blade.
One of Kurobee's greatest works, with a fully crimson blade, it was Benimaru's personal katana "Guren".
Having been reforged countless times, the original steel used to forge the katana has become something else altogether.
This katana which Benimaru wields as though it is a part of himself, has become a "Wazamono[6]" which is comparable to Gods class weapons.
Benimaru's thoroughly refined aura thinly wraps around the katana's blade.
Which resulted in the crimson blade getting an exquisitely decorated gleam.
Kazaream laughs.
「Heh weakling. Can't do anything without a weapon?
Fine with me.
I'm willing to bet, that dull thing ain't going to do much of anything to me!」
「Fuーーーn[7].」
One instance.
Benimaru's body blurred with a red flash.
Leaving behind a flash of light in that moment, Benimaru appears behind Kazaream.
At the time every other person noticed he has moved, the blurred body disappears.
「Hup, you can have this back. Try not to drop it next time.」
Benimaru throws something at Kazaream as he said that.
It was an arm.
The arm of a women from the elbow onward.
「Gyaiiiii!!」
Kazaream lets out a scream.
He has finally noticed, that his arm was cut off.
「Y-you, you bastard!! Why, why is there pain!?」
Kazaream tosses the question at Benimaru.
It's kind of dumb to ask your enemy about such things, but it looks like he's not accepting what just happened.
For Kazaream who is a spiritual entity, feeling pain shouldn't be something relevant to him.
「Tch. Are you really that dumb?
I'll tell you since you look like you still don't understand, pain is a warning signal.
It works the same way even for spiritual entities.
Your body felt something dangerous, so it is sounding an alarm.
You should properly control that kinda stuff before getting into a battle.」
Benimaru gave a detailed explanation as though mocking Kazaream.
In fact, during the time when he trained with Diablo in the labyrinth, he got the same explanation after something similar happened.
Benimaru has of his own accord accepted that as Diablo's way of getting back at him, after his loss against Benimaru in the tournament.
But, that is something unrelated to what is happening now.
It's definitely not because he was upset that it happened to him too, and is venting his frustration.
「Haah? Warning signal? What bullshit is that.
As if the awesome me, would feel danger from you!」
Kazaream turns the arm into Energy and absorbs it, then regenerates his arm from the elbow out.
He has long forgotten about his declaration, the one where he said Benimaru won't be able to harm him in any way.
「Death. I shall definitely bring death unto you!」
As he shouted, Kazaream turns into an ultra dense mass of Energy, as he assaults Benimaru.
Benimaru receives the attack, and similarly he himself turns into a flaming mass of Energy[8].
Thus, a battle between beings who have surpassed mortal limits begins.