Chronoa's [Thought Body].
The will of a [Hero] who possessed a stronger resolve than anyone alive, save only the [First Hero].
Even Adelio, with a demon's endlessly evolving will, had yet to catch up to the depth contained within her [Thought Body]. And that [Thought Body], despite lacking a physical body to sustain it, radiated overwhelming pressure.
......
'...So she has no intention of fighting...?'
Even if Adelio had already stepped into the realm of [Catastrophe], he was not foolish enough to relax in front of Chronoa's [Thought Body], consumed by rage. So he calmly kept his eyes fixed on her.
He dearly hoped nothing would happen, but the odds of that were vanishingly small.
"W-what is that thing?! How can she possibly use time magic?!"
The moment Adelio took a battle stance, Ramiris shot down from above his head and cried out as soon as she sensed the magic power coming from Chronoa's [Thought Body].
Time magic.
Because she had sensed magic imbued with the attribute of time, a higher attribute said to stand above even the five basic elements and the two opposing attributes.
"Rio! That thing is dangerous! I don't know what it is, but it's really, reeeally dangerous!!"
"Yeah, I know. So calm down and—"
At that exact instant, when Adelio's focus slipped ever so slightly because of Ramiris noisily clinging to one of his shoulders—
......Ah.
Chronoa seized that opening with razor-honed skill and, in an instant, pulled Adelio into an embrace.
"......!"
'...[Time Stop]?!'
Even if his attention had wavered, it made no sense. He had not sensed even the slightest movement in Chronoa's embrace.
One second... no, in a world of zero seconds where time itself had stopped, Chronoa's hug was the ultimate technique—something Adelio could not react to at all.
"......"
'Don't tell me she can use the stopped world with just a [Thought Body]...'
The stopped world.
Or what was also called the world of stillness. There were only three ways to use this technique: possess a [Skill] that included it from the start, analyze and acquire it through a [Skill], or transcend oneself into an ultimate life-form.
Even Adelio, in perfect condition, could do little more than properly perceive the stopped world. Actually using it was still beyond him.
......Ah.
But Chronoa's [Thought Body], which possessed a cheatingly powerful [Ultimate Skill] capable of rewinding time, and a handful of the strongest beings in the world, could move freely even in this frozen domain.
Just like right now.
......Ahh.
As though admiring a work of art, Chronoa's [Thought Body] gazed at Adelio's face with pitch-black eyes. Then she slowly raised her slender, dress-clad arms to cup both his cheeks.
And then—
......Mm...
'...!!'
—she softly closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his.
For only a fleeting instant, as brief as wind settling on a leaf.
......
Then, as that brief moment passed, Chronoa's [Thought Body] let go of Adelio's cheeks. Wearing a wistful smile, she moved past him and headed toward Chloe.
"W-wait...!"
At the same time, the frozen time was released. Adelio reached out to seize Chronoa's [Thought Body], but—
Fwoooosh...
She had already been completely absorbed into Chloe's body.
"...They've fully synchronized."
Ria looked at Chloe, who stood there stunned and bewildered, then calmed herself and continued in a cool voice.
"Their souls haven't become perfectly one, so it stopped at synchronization. But in her current state, there's no separating them at all."
True to one of the [Primordial Demons], Ria was less shocked by the sudden appearance of a [Thought Body] and more focused on calmly assessing Chloe's condition. Then she turned toward Adelio.
"Teacher..."
Shizu, who had sensed a familiar presence from Chronoa's [Thought Body],
"Adelio, what exactly was that just now...?"
Rimuru, who had felt Veldora react from within subspace,
"She vanished right in front of us, so why did she get absorbed into that girl??"
And Ramiris, who had realized Chronoa's [Thought Body] had come from the future,
all looked at Adelio.
And when even the blank-faced Fadaa and his young disciples started turning their eyes toward him, he—
"......It's a pretty complicated story to explain."
—let out a short sigh and fell into thought over how much of it he should actually tell them.
*
"Phew~ This should be enough, right~?"
Meanwhile, on a forest road near the border of [Ingrassia].
A girl with an enigmatic presence, who had appeared on one of the major routes running past the [Kingdom of Blumund] and into the Jura Great Forest, murmured playfully.
"Making me wait around in a boring place like this forever~ Adelio really is too much~"
Silken purple hair, golden eyes shining like jewels, and a potent toxicity so intense that nearby life-forms recoiled from her very presence.
The [Poison Princess], commonly known throughout the world as [Viole], gathered in her magic power with a bright smile.
"What in the world is he trying to fight, if [Blanc] wasn't enough and he had to call me too? I'm getting more and more curious~"
Just what could the ash-gray [Hero], who had completely cast off the helpless demon he had been three hundred years ago, be so wary of that he would ask her for this kind of help?
Even as she continued carrying out the tasks he had requested, the girl could not shake her interest in him.
"Hehe~"
But no matter how curious she was, she did not feel even the slightest bit of worry.
Even if [Primordial Demons] manifested in the present world could not perfectly display the full power they possessed in hell, there could not possibly exist any monster in this world capable of taking on two [Primordial Demons] and the strongest [Hero] in humanity all at once.
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