"No!"
"I can't stay here any longer."
The fear of death made Gelmud abandon his plan to meet the Orc Lord.
He wanted to leave. Leave this strange forest.
Compared to being punished by Clayman, what he feared more was this forest, which felt like a bottomless abyss.
Unfortunately, Gelmud didn't know that the Jura Great Forest was already under the complete control of the Dryad sisters. With his strength, escaping was impossible.
"Waaahhhhh!"
Deep within the sealed cave, Rimuru, who had been joyfully testing her new skills in the water, suddenly shot up into the air from an uncontrollable surge of magical energy, then splatted into the wall like a blob.
"What, what?"
Rimuru hit the ground, trembling in fear.
"So, so terrifying..."
Because of the cave's insulation, those inside were the last to feel the impact of Rin's magical energy.
"Great Sage, what is this aura? It's scary!"
[Alert: This aura is extremely dangerous. Exploration is not recommended.]
"Ah, no, no, definitely not!"
Rimuru made a decisive choice, commanding Great Sage not to touch this obviously deadly aura.
"Hide. I have to hide."
Without hesitation, Rimuru squeezed into a crack between two rocks and waited for the mysterious rumbling to pass.
What Rin was causing felt exactly like a natural disaster.
And when a disaster struck, you hid. Only fools went running toward it.
"Brother's aura!"
Even the Infinite Prison couldn't block Rin's aura entirely. The Storm Dragon looked up in shock. "And that massive magical energy... it actually surpassed mine so quickly!"
While Rin's total still couldn't compare to the vastness of the Star King Dragon's, compared to the sealed Storm Dragon, Rin's magical energy had already reached a terrifying level.
"Is that the little one~?"
The Frost Dragon Velzard immediately activated her Ultimate Skill, attempting to trace Rin's aura.
"No. He's hidden too well. I can't lock onto him at all."
Velzard frowned. Not just because she couldn't locate Rin, but because she was starting to worry about meeting him again.
Among the existing Dragon Kind, the Storm Dragon possessed the highest magical energy.
As a natural embodiment of magic, his magical energy was practically infinite and could never be depleted.
Next came Velzard and the Scorching Dragon.
The two sisters had similar energy levels, both hovering around 80 million.
And Rin?
In just this short moment, his magical energy had already broken through 100 million and was still climbing.
"120 million, 130 million..."
"160 million..."
Velzard's eye twitched slightly.
This little brother is seriously terrifying.
Even just comparing magical energy, he was nearly equal to the combined total of both her and her younger sister.
'But just magical energy doesn't mean everything.'
After all, the Storm Dragon had an endless supply, yet she'd still beaten him countless times.
If Rin hadn't awakened a sufficiently powerful Ultimate Skill.
Then he still wouldn't be her opponent.
'Yes, yes, that's how it is.'
Velzard kept reassuring herself. She was a Special S-Rank Calamity with two Ultimate Skills.
There's no way the youngest brother could be stronger than her.
"You stay here. Don't move. I'm going to take a look."
"Move?"
The Storm Dragon looked helpless.
Big Sister, I'm sealed.
"Say hi to my brother for me."
"Got it."
With a casual reply, Velzard exited the sealed cave and soared high above the Jura Great Forest.
She didn't search for Rin but floated silently in the air, like a guardian, vigilant for any external threats.
Yes. Velzard was guarding the forest, guarding Rin's evolution.
Just as Violet and Rin had expected, Velzard had no malice toward Rin, only goodwill.
At most, a beating or two was nothing more than Dragon Kind roughhousing.
But if anyone dared to interrupt Rin's awakening right now, Velzard wouldn't hesitate to kill them on the spot.
'My brother. Only I get to bully him.'
Velzard's affection was that simple and straightforward.
"Still..."
She turned curiously toward the southeast part of the forest.
"What's going on today? Besides my little brother, someone else is awakening?"
No, not just southeast.
Even directly beneath her feet.
Because she had focused too much on Rin, Velzard had overlooked another aura.
"Three people awakening on the same day."
Setting aside the fact that she had to protect Rin and couldn't leave,
Even if she were free, she wouldn't casually interfere with other monsters' evolution.
"Interesting."
Velzard was sure now. Leaving the frozen northern region had been the best decision she ever made.
The outside world was so much more exciting.
"Frey..."
At the same time, in the royal capital of the Harpy Queendom outside the forest.
Frey, like Rin, was lying on her bed, asleep.
An overwhelming magical energy radiated from around her.
She too was undergoing her final breakthrough, evolving toward the realm of a True Demon Lord.
As one of only two subordinates who did not enter the Void Ark.
Rin had rewarded Frey for stopping Milim previously, giving her enough souls and the opportunity to evolve alongside him.
Frey took this chance, using Milim's proximity as protection, and began her evolution.
"Your Majesty, will she be alright?"
"She will."
Luchia reassured everyone. She believed firmly that the Queen would break her limits and step into a new realm.
"Frey..."
"That damned woman!"
Over in the Puppet Kingdom, Clayman felt the magical fluctuations coming from the Harpy Queendom.
This overwhelming aura was all too familiar.
It was the Sky Queen.
But the current Frey was far more terrifying than he'd imagined.
Because of the barrier around the Jura Great Forest, Rin's evolution aura was almost completely suppressed.
Yet Frey's awakening had no concealment.
With Milim by her side, no one dared provoke her.
So her dazzling evolution became the perfect cover for the aura that Violet wanted hidden.
The members of the Ten Great Demon Lords, and the powerful nations of the world, were all attracted to the spectacle in the Harpy Queendom.
None of them noticed the place that truly required attention.
This had been Frey's suggestion to Rin when she learned of his impending evolution.
(To be continued.)