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Grrrk... grrk... grrrk...!!
Enduring the attacks of the [Dryad]s with its bare body, the Dragon's Bastard Child, [Charybdis], spread its wings wide as glaciers and rose high into the sky.
A splinter born from the [Storm Dragon], and a calamity of the great forest, that monster was also known as the "ruler of the skies." It moved slowly, radiating savage waves of magic power.
And inside it, Phobio, now transformed into its vessel of flesh, surrendered himself to primal instinct and vented his fury, repeating only the names of Milim and Adelio.
"I... will... definitely... kill you...! [Demon Lord]... Milim... Adelio...!!"
On the night three days earlier, Phobio had been swallowing down his rage, unable to extinguish the inferiority complex burning endlessly inside him. Then he accepted the offer of the two clowns who came to him, and became [Charybdis].
Now he was aiming for the two monsters who had forced him to become a monster himself.
**
"Yohohoho! We can feel exactly the emotion we love most inside you!"
"Mm-hm, mm-hm! That disgusting, clingy jealousy, and that useless inferiority complex burning away!"
At first, Phobio had hated the clowns' outrageously rude attitude, but then—
"This works out perfectly! We just so happen to have gotten our hands on a product we think you'd absolutely love, Phobio!"
"That's right, that's right! And not just anything either. It's a monster created by that Veldora, the former master of this great forest!"
—the moment he heard from them that he could obtain the power of [Charybdis], Phobio cast aside his pitiful pride and accepted their proposal.
After all, if it was a monster born from a [Catastrophe]-class magical beast, one that even [Disaster]-class [Demon Lord]s treated with caution, then surely he could take revenge on Milim and Adelio.
Grrrk... grrk... grrrrk...!!
"This... time... no matter... what happens... I'll kill you...!!"
Still dreaming that impossible dream, still feeding his anger until it grew larger and larger, he moved toward [Tempest], where Milim and Adelio would be.
Fwoooong...!!
Whoong...!!
Fwoooong...!!
Together with the elite sky fish that protected him, the [Megalodon]s.
**
Then time passed once more, and the next day arrived.
"[Charybdis] has revived."
After returning to [Tempest] with Treyni, Adelio immediately gathered Rimuru, the monsters, and even Eren's group, then announced the revival of [Charybdis], with Phobio as its vessel.
"[Charybdis], a [Calamity]-class monster, is currently flying this way together with its summoned servants, the [Megalodon]s. Fortunately, Lord Adelio predicted [Charybdis]'s route and deployed barriers along the way, so there has been no damage so far... but once direct combat begins, some damage will likely be unavoidable."
With [Odin]'s support, Adelio had set up countless barriers on the way back from the forest of the [Dryad]s to [Tempest]. Once Treyni finished her explanation, he continued.
"For reference, [Charybdis] is a monster born from Veldora's magicules. It's classified as [Calamity]-class because it lacks intelligence, but in actual combat power, you'd be better off thinking of it as several levels above the [Orc Disaster]."
"......"
"W-what? It's that strong...?"
Those who already knew about [Charybdis]—including Ria and Shizue, who surpassed most ordinary [Disaster]-class beings, as well as Kaijin and Vester—didn't seem especially surprised. But the younger monsters, including Rimuru, wore openly shocked expressions.
Milim alone was the exception, smiling as if this sounded fun.
"...The [Orc Lord] incident was only just resolved, and now we're already facing another large-scale battle."
"How troublesome."
"I'm more worried about whether we can win without Lord Adelio or Lord Rimuru helping us."
...The [Kijin] also seemed less shocked than concerned about whether they could overcome it with their own strength.
Even if they were defeated by [Charybdis], there was no chance [Tempest] would be destroyed as long as Rimuru, Adelio, and Milim were here.
"...Aside from Sir Rimuru, everyone here feels strangely relaxed..."
Fuze, the only one here who was practically a normal person, looked at the monsters—who might be startled to varying degrees, but never once assumed they could lose—and muttered that he couldn't tell whether they were just carefree or whether he was the strange one.
Adelio gave a small nod and said there was nothing particularly strange about it.
"They're acting like this because they all know it already. The possibility that we'd lose to [Charybdis] is basically nonexistent."
Unlike someone chasing an impossible dream, this demon was looking squarely at reality as it stood. What he possessed was not arrogance, but composure.
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