Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (LN) - Volume 21 - Chapter 1.12

Thus, Dagruel was defeated. Veldora was wounded. Both players could not make a move too rashly, since a bad move would result in a loss. The two players started to glare at each other, trying to think of their next move.

Veldora thought.

"This is not good. Since I couldn't avoid the attack completely, I am sure to get hit next time. But there would be no next time," he thought. Veldora was wounded, but so was Dagruel. Although they were superficially unscathed, they must have lost a lot of energy. The question was, then, which one was more worn out or depleted? What would happen if the actual conditions were compared?

Veldora checked the current state of himself. Although magicules were leaking from the surface of his body, they were intentionally left untreated. Veldora had been trained in the labyrinth, and he had become a surprisingly cunning person. The Quasar Break had caused more damage than expected, but it was not fatal. Though the damage was not fatal, it was made to look severe so that Dagruel would not notice it.

"I have taken into account the loss of Energy from Shion and Luminas at the beginning. The remaining energy is about less than 50% of the current level."

"We have indeed lost a lot of energy. But as calculated!"

Dagruel and Veldora were almost equal. Dagruel had an estimated existence value of over 110 million, while Veldora had an estimated existence value of less than 90 million. Although it seemed that Dagruel was the stronger player, thanks to his Ultimate Skill 'Chaos King Nyarlathotep,' Veldora seemed to have the winning hand. Still, Veldora lacked decisiveness. No matter what moves they tried, it was difficult to penetrate Dagruel's unbeatable durability.

Could Dagruel deplete his remaining energy so that he could directly hit the opponent with his own techniques? It would not be an exaggeration to say that the outcome of the game depended on this. Thus, Veldora thought that it was necessary to exhaust Dagruel at any cost. So far, Veldora's calculation was correct. The reason why they attacked without following the theory was to induce Dagruel's pride. By alerting Dagruel's authority, he made Dagruel think that Veldora wanted to play an endurance war using his brains. If that happened, Dagruel was sure to make a big move that would push Veldora out of the game.

And so it was- Dagruel made a big move and wore himself out. According to Veldora's estimation, the amount of energy had been reduced to the same or less than his current level.

That is correct.

Dagruel's exhaustion rate was a little less than 70%, and his Energy level was slightly lower than Veldora's. It was a reversal. Veldora had won the bet. The disadvantage in Energy was reversed, and the situation was now in Veldora's favor.

(...But it was really a close call. It's a good thing the bet succeeded.)

Veldora shuddered as he recalled the threat of Quasar Break. The chance of surviving it had been very small. "I'll never take such a risk again," Veldora vowed. Of course, if he lost the bet, he could always ask Rimuru to regenerate him. Veldora knew that Rimuru had not been destroyed, even though it seemed he had vanished from this dimension. If Rimuru had really perished, Veldora would not be safe either.

(I will be regenerated anyway, so there is no need to be afraid, no matter how risky the gamble is! Kwaaah-hahaha!)

This was why Veldora told Dagruel he could not win against him. Veldora was calm because he knew he would win, and he was not afraid of any dangerous gamble. Veldora, who was surprisingly cunning, smiled broadly with a grin he could never reveal.

Dagruel, who did not know this, was at a loss to understand Veldora's behavior. The Veldora that Dagruel knew was mischievous and playful, yet bored. He did not have the personality to face any difficulties and would give up and throw things away as soon as he was seriously threatened. After all, Veldora had no obligation to Luminas. There was no reason for him to have a serious fight with Dagruel. Dagruel thought Veldora would admit defeat when he captured him in the isolation space. No, if he tried to escape from there, Dagruel had no intention of pursuing him. At least, Dagruel had no grudge against Veldora. They used to fight a lot, but it was just like playing with each other. He had no intention of killing Veldora and would have been glad if he had run away.

But Veldora stood up to him. He unleashed his special technique to destroy Veldora, but for some reason, Veldora took it in stride. Dagruel could not understand what had happened. So he asked the question.

"...Why? Why did you have to risk so much?"

"Hmm?"

"You would have risked your own extinction by facing my Quasar Break head-on. The old you would have chosen to flee without hesitation!"

When asked, Veldora nodded.

"Hmm."

Then, he made one denial first.

"It is not escape, but a turnaround. The word 'escape' is not in my dictionary!"

No one was willing to jump in on Veldora's big lie, although it was just a boast. If Velgrynd and others had been here, they would have had very nice smiles on their faces and a three-hour sermon course waiting for him.

Anyway, Veldora answered why.

"Well, one of the reasons is that I wanted to test myself."

"Hmm..."

Indeed, Veldora is getting stronger. Dagruel had to admit that.

"Besides, Luminas and Shion will be wiped out if I run away. I can't allow that."

"Why? Why should you risk your life for the sake of Luminas and humans?"

This was a question of Veldora's resolve. Depending on the answer, Dagruel would have to make up his mind. Veldora's answer, however, made Dagruel more and more astonished.

"Rimuru will be angry. You know, Dagruel? Rimuru is really scary when he's angry!"

He said so, and even started to laugh loudly. Now Dagruel understood. Veldora would not retreat.

"I see. That means that you, too, have become responsible for your own actions."

Veldora had grown up. If so, Dagruel recognized it and decided to seriously defeat Veldora.

"Very well. I accept you and will fight with you even if it takes a long time!"

Since Veldora does not run away, they had no choice but to defeat him. In this case, the one who makes his opponent use up his Energy first will win. There are cases where the victory is decided at once by a big move, but Dagruel had just used his most powerful technique. The correct tactic, then, is to carefully reduce the opponent's strength. Dagruel increased his fighting spirit. As he did so, his huge body, which had been over 20 meters long, was rapidly becoming smaller and smaller.

"What?"

Dagruel returned to his normal size of just under twenty-five meters. However, lightning flashed from his body, transforming it into something that gave the impression of hyper-compressed energy density.

"Really? It's something else."

"Ha-ha-ha, that's right. This is a higher level of transformation than 'Titanification' and is called 'super god-ification.' It was difficult for me to control my powers in this state, but you taught me."

"What?"

Veldora was puzzled, unable to remember what he was talking about.

Dagruel answered honestly, as if he had no intention of hiding it.

"I want to know how to train to control your youki. I think it's called 'controlling your anger will give you more power'?"

At this, Veldora remembered. He remembered that he showed him the scriptures (comics) and boasted about his knowledge of them. He also shared his great strength with Dagruel, and he thought it was in one of their conversations.

He couldn't remember exactly what happened, but as a practical matter, Dagruel's power was stable. Dagruel's ability to go from a mere chitchat to a real battle level was something to be admired. Even though he had returned to his original size, he was still an ashura. The discharge from his entire body was even more threatening than when he was a giant.

Veldora intended to end the battle as it was. However, sensing Dagruel's determination, he decided to accept his invitation.

"Goodness gracious, that's Dagruel. If you have learned to control your power by my advice, you must be my partner."

With these words, Veldora also 'transformed' into a human form and compressed Energy to counter Dagruel. He was carefully matched in height and fixed at the size of 25 meters. Size is power, but the common sense of a spirit life form is different. Energy Density is power. A fist with a force compressed to the limit can shatter any matter in the world. Even if it is a body compressed with the same Energy. Then, the two stared at each other and moved. A paranormal battle had begun.