Shitara Slime Datta Ken (WN)
Holy Knight [1]

Kufufufu.

The devil makes an evil laugh.

With a fluttering scarlet hair, it gently descended in front of the Holy Knights.

Spreading its bat-like wings wide, it was something that could truly be called the embodiment of evil.

「It's nice to meet you all. Now, let's start testing without delay.

Whether you deserve to be my opponent or not. 」.

The Holy Knights, after witnessing its appearance, immediately dispersed and took a defensive position.

They did not have time to set up a barrier. They need to make split-second decisions.

Their prudence was due to the arrival of the Arch Demon. Unfortunately no other team has the ability to put up barriers.

However, this situation could be considered lucky if viewed from a different point of view.

The opponents who came before them were only one in number. And in this squad was Arnaud Baurman, the strongest Holy Knight who led the invincible group.

Arnaud grew a fearless smile and encouraged his friends …

「Do not be afraid! The enemy has only one. Even though it's the Arch Demon, it's not a threat to us! 」

Is correct.

They already had the experience of fighting against Arch Demons from the past.

When fighting the heretics, there were some who could summon Arch Demons using High Demon Summoning. Until now they had never lost a single bit against these people.

For Arnaud, he was confident he could come out victorious, even in one-on-one combat.

「Everything, spread! Two sub-leaders will support Me; the other members will install a simple Holy Barrier. Start!!”

The Holy Knights immediately reacted to Arnaud's instructions.

They were a movement of first-class trained warriors. After going through the scene of the massacre many times, they were confident in their abilities as a fortress fighting to protect mankind.

Without a doubt they broke up. They moved to the pentagram formation and set up a Sacred Barrier that restricted the commander and two sub-leaders with their opponents, the red-haired demons, inside the barrier.

Yet terrifying like this, as long as there was no movement from the demons.

Cultivating an evil smile, the demon looked happily at the movements of the Holy Knights.

「Oi, What's up? You're not gonna bother us? 」

Arnaud asked, trying to provoke.

「Why would I do such a thing? You all work hard. I'm not gonna bother you. 」

The obvious response underestimates them.

Arnaud stood calmly facing his opponent, but in his heart he was completely boiling with rage.

As an expert-grade knight, he trained himself to control his emotions in this situation, so as not to lose his sight when angry. But his opponent's response was embarrassing.

How could the Arch Demon be so presumptuous! Arnaud thought of this, and being very meticulous, he made sure to keep it only as a thought.

This was undoubtedly a threat to his army.

He trained as a Holy Knight, so he had a clear understanding of his true strength.

In their current condition, five people were enough to defeat the Arch Demon. Provided his opponent was an ordinary Arch Demon.

Arnaud calmly observed the demon in front of him to gauge his opponent.

The opponent in front of him right now was not just an ordinary Arch Demon.

With calmness, it stood there elegantly. The fabric he wore was complicated, as if it signified it was not just a lowly demon.

The purpose of these clothes is to show that the level is high.

In this case, the possibility that this demon has “named” is very likely.

the demon by name itself was a great threat. However, his opponent was a high ranked named demon.

He can't be careless.

Even if he was angry at the opponent before him, he could not lose his composure and cloud his own judgment.

Arnaud drew his sword.

「Oh? Is your preparation done? 」

「Yes, sorry to keep you waiting. Can we get started? But before that there is something I want to ask you .. milikmunama.”

To the devil's question, Arnaud answered.

And he took the opportunity to ask the Devil's name.

Although he might not get an answer, if he did, he could tell if his opponent was “mentioned” or not.

Devil opponent,

「Oh! How rude of me. My name is Diablo.

Although this name was given to Me by His Majesty [1] Rimuru, I forgot to introduce myself… ..

I'm still very inexperienced. 」

Fortunately, it introduced itself.

Arnaud felt cold sweat dripping down his back.

Dangerous. His instinctive alarm rang to the maximum.

Introduce himself without hesitation. That meant his opponent was an existence already endowed with a name.

If the master dies, the status of “Bernama” will also disappear. Also, if it introduces itself to its real name, then that name can be used to manipulate it. Therefore, not introducing yourself was common sense among the demon family.

So it was named by Demon Lord Rimuru. The devil is telling the truth.

Is it worth it for a Demon King to give a name to people like the Demon Arch? But right now there was no point in harboring such doubts.

Despite this, though,

Arnaud prided himself on being the one called the Strongest Holy Knight.

He was Hinata's right-hand man, the Holy Knight Leader. And he is confident of his position as No. 2.

Buoyed by that confidence, Arnaud smiled fearlessly.

「My name is Arnaud Baurman, the strongest Holy Knight.

Carve it into your soul, the name of the person who will destroy you. Enjoy your trip to hell! 」

At the same time he declared that, he did a Spiritual Strength Release and activated his Spirit Armament.

Instantly, the five colors of light glittered dazzlingly and enveloped Arnaud's body. He was a Holy Knight who possessed the five attributes of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Space.

For a normal person, having two attributes was rare, but he was loved by the five attributes.

His title as the Strongest Holy Knight was not just for show.

During this time, the other Holy Knights also performed a Spiritual Strength Release. Each one was clad in armor with their own attributes.

Amidst the colorful lights that glowed was a shining pentagram.

A simple Holy Field type was thrown.

It was not fully powered due to the short time it took to perform the ceremony .. but with the five Holy Knights, it was quite effective.

Inside the barrier, other than the two skilled Holy Knights, was the strongest, Arnaud.

Against the Arch Demon, there should be nothing to fear.

Fortunately, Arnaud held a new type of weapon in his hand, the Demon Slayer: the supreme sword made by the Seven Celestial Sages solely to fight demons.

Against the flesh, the sword was endowed with the ability to tear magic power in the magic power configuration of monsters, so it could not be reconfigured anymore.

In other words, it could suck the opponent's magic power.

This weapon was developed with the aim of providing damage to “Type Naga”.

It was the only sword that had been developed to have the same power as Hinata's sword. The decision to equip Arnaud with that was correct.

With this sword, all kinds of demons would definitely be destroyed.

At the time, Arnaud was very confident in his weapon, but…

「Alright, let's start the test.」

the demon casually said it.

And the meaning of those words was quickly understood.

「U, Uwaaaaaaaaaa !! Don't come, stop, don't come !! 」

「Hiiiiiiii! He-please !! 」

Etc. The members stumbled over where they stood while shouting in a unanimous voice.

As Holy Knights, these members should have gotten used to this sort of thing.

What the hell is going on?

Arnad couldn't understand. This - this incredible fear is…

The compulsion that the devil unleashed before him.

It only released the suppressed Demon Aura. That'sthat's all.

“Gosh? Only three people can pass the exam?

Well, I'm offering you my compliments. To be able to hold 『Demon Lord’s Haki』 I …

I'll allow you to become my personal opponent! 」

the devil excitedly declared.

The Pentagram Barrier disappeared in an instant. The other Holy Knights, whose minds had been broken, did not have enough energy to hold the Holy Field.

Arnaud sweated a bullet. Trying to remove it, he couldn't even keep up. He tried hard to understand the current situation.

Justjust wonderful. He won't accept it.

The demon before him, just now? Definitely it says 『Demon Lord’s Haki』 …

He had never heard of such an ability. With the release of the aura itself, it reduced the Holy Knight to this helpless state. Even for the Demon King, it should be impossible.

No. gabe. It was possible for one legendary Demon King class …

He previously did not think it was possible for “named” to be that class.

「You ......, hell ...... are you?」

Trying to squeeze out his words, Arnaud asked in a hoarse voice.

Gathering all his will, he restrained his fear from being seen.

He calmly banished his negative thoughts. Somehow, he managed to maintain his composure.

With Arnaud like that…

「Kufufufufu, I'm Diablo. The loyal servant of Rimuru-sama.

If I perform brilliantly this time, the one who gets the first rank seat is Me. 」

Answers like that come.

Besides, it made him dumbfounded.

「While I do, let me give you an answer to your next question.

I'm not the Arch demon like you said before.

But a Demon Duke. Although the difference is small, please do not make that mistake again. 」

It adds that, more words of despair …

「It's over, it's over ....」.

Help lady Sofia bend over, and start crying like a child.

His mind was also jolted.

Demon Duke .. that was a legendary existence.

It was ranked higher than the self-proclaimed Demon King.

Their previous appearance in this world was not documented, so it could not be confirmed. But this legendary demon must now exist.

Just as Common Spirit could not compare to the Great Spirit Class. And the Great Spirit Class could not win the fight against the King Spirit Class, even if some of them were united.

「Oh? What the hell are you doing? You've passed my exam but you don't seem happy in the least! 」

the demon called out to the female aide whose mind had been broken. This situation never crossed Arnaud's mind.

With tears she tried to escape, desperately.

To the demon who called out to him, he did not want to make eye contact and shook his head in denial.

As a Holy Knight, he was a brave and reliable aide who had survived a very dangerous situation before. But for the first time, he showed signs of fear.

He had incredible knowledge in Demonology, as a countermeasure against heretics. Because it is best to know your enemy. Not only that, he also studied Summoned Demons and Demon Summoning.

Therefore, he was very familiar with Demonology.

The fact that this woman was so frightened was sufficient proof that the existence before them was actually Demon Duke.

Therefore, action must be taken against it.

「Can you still fight, Bacchus?」

He asked his other aide.

His reliable counterpart and trusted right hand.

Bacchus nodded with a pale face. To overcome this crisis with just the two of them, they had to make a breakthrough.

After connecting with Hinata, this demon will meet at last.

「Oi! Do you have to torture my aides and subordinates? Leave them alone!

Your opponent is me! 」

Arnaud shouted and carried out his attack with all his might.

From Arnaud's left palm, a beam of light was released.

It was the Holy Cannon.

Among the types of magic that the Holy Knights are fluent in, is 〈Divine Magic〉. It was a simple type of magic and its effect depended on the ability of the user.

The attack had holy attributes and was able to deal damage to all kinds of monsters.

Yet.

the demon caught the ball of light and smashed it in his palm as if it was nothing.

「Kufufufufufu. It's pretty painful. My palms are on fire. Then, next is that guy's turn? 」

the demon said calmly, like nothing happened.

However, Arnaud's true purpose was not to damage him with the Sacred Cannon.

While the opponent took an attack from the Holy Cannon, Bacchus took a detour to get it from behind and struck it from behind with his Great Axe.

The Great Axe was called the Demon Killer, a magic weapon used to slash Devils.

Even a Demon Duke could not avoid the damage from the attack.

Moreover, the attack did not stop there.

At the same time Arnaud fired the Sacred Cannon, he also prepared his own Demon Killer.

〈Roh〉 Beheading is the ultimate technique using the basic technique 〈Fighting Sprit〉. By coating the weapon in Fighting Spirit, it could cut anything.

Combat Souls and Magical powers can be applied to a variety of techniques, but…

Arnaud was the strongest Holy Knight. He clad his sword with his Combat Soul, and the sword gleamed in five colors.

Thus, turning the five attributes of Spirit Power into a Combat Soul, he fused them together and with it, put on his sword.

Arnaud the Genius.

It was because of this special technique that Arnaud was referred to as the Strongest Holy Knight.

「Silence, monster! Eat this and die! Ether Breaker (Promise: The Virtuous Spirit Five-Color Sword) !! 」

The glint of Arnaud's sword flowed on the ground in a single line.

By using 『Weight Manipulation Earth Spirit, the user can decide on the desired sword impact.

With a speed that surpassed the speed of sound, the tip of the sword reached Diablo.

The attack was clad in Sacred Attributes, absolute killing power against monsters, along with attributes to destroy evil.

The deadly sword that was supposed to slash down the Demon Arch with a single strike.

It was impossible for even a Demon Duke to be unharmed.

Not to mention that he carried out an attack at the same time being attacked from behind. The perfect surprise attack.

Arnaud was convinced it must have been the death of his opponent.

However, by the time the Great Axe of Bacchus was about to clash with Diablo's head, Diablo lightly tapped his toes on the ground.

With just that, the ground was shaken and Bacchus, who was approaching from behind, was thrown into the air.

Even so, Arnaud's sword, exceeding the speed of sound with its imagined trajectory would still cut through Diablo's nape. It can't be stopped.

He can do it! Arnaud was convinced of the victory he played in his mind and exerted all his strength into his sword-wielding hand.

At the same time, he lightened the weight of his sword and then flipped it over, aiming it at his target with double the force.

Grasping the sword, he multiplied its weight several times by stopping the generation inertia of the gravitational force.

The nature of this technique also doubled the momentum of the sword before it collided with the enemy.

For someone who saw this technique for the first time, it was impossible to avoid it. Arnaud was confident of his victory. You could say it was about facts.

But, unfortunately, since the beginning Diablo had no intention of avoiding it.

Arnaud's sword cut through the barrier Diablo had erected, and cut off Diablo's body.

He felt the resistance. But…

Arnaud immediately ran to Bacchus' side.

He confirmed Bacchus' condition. It turned out that Bacchus was fine and was able to stand up.

Relieved, he shifted his focus back to Diablo.

「Kufufufufufu. I'm seeing. What an amazing technique.

Especially the sudden acceleration when it made a clash. Even I have trouble seeing it.

And above all else.an attack that combines various attributes. Few were able to withstand the attack.

Amazing, absolutely incredible! 」

He began to praise Arnaud's sword arts.

But Arnaud was not happy to hear it.

That's vivid. Because obviously the devil didn't suffer any damage after taking his sword strike.

「Oi ...... You didn't suffer any damage at all?」

Although he did not want to ask, those words involuntarily came out of his mouth.

「Oh? Does it look like that to you? That's just an estimate that's too high.

I plan to compensate only the Sacred attribute with my magic barrier, but unfortunately I feel your attack.

It seems like my magic power has been usurped, just a little.

Thank you for your sword; it seems to have the ability to steal the opponent's magic power.

Ignored him. But even so, it was also incredible! 」

Is that not enough?

It seemed to have received no damage at all from the technique.

This is no joke. That ultimate move must have worked.

An attack that had various attributes and could easily break through multiple layers of defensive barriers.

And despite that…

The attack should have been a decisive blow. Arnaud's chances of victory are nonexistent.

And acting as the final blow to Arnaud were the merciless words of this demon:

“One stop. With this level of damage, I need to receive about 4,000 hits before I am annihilated.

But .. suggestion, I can recover about 40% of that damage in 1 hour.

How's it? There's still hope for you.

Well, should we continue again? 」

So he said, stretching out his hand.

Next to him, Bacchus gave in with a sigh.

「Hey, Arnaud, That's impossible. We can't survive like this.

Although this may be better than doing nothing at all…

I'm gonna buy some time, so call Captain Hinata.

It is a Captain class with inhuman strength, it is not an opponent we can fight. 」

He whispered to Arnaud.

「No, I'll buy time. You...”.

“You fool. Your feet are faster than mine!

Above all, there is hope if you and the Captain are together.

It's not good if it's me! 」

Bacchus shouted and pushed Arnaud away.

Arnaud, hearing those words, bit his lip and started running.

But, the truth is cruel.

「Kufufufufufu. Holy hooch! Where do you think you're going?

My mission is to keep you all here. I'm not gonna let any of you pass me. 」

Forced to stay? For a moment he did not understand what he meant by that, but in front of Arnaud, his friends who were previously on the ground, were now blocking his way.

「You guys, step aside!」

Arnaud shouted, but the demon pointed him to the bitter reality before him.

“Gosh! Your partner still seems to intend to play.

I just asked them if they would be so grateful for betraying their allies? 」

So said. Arnaud looked right at his friends.

They each wore blank expressions, as if they were possessed.

「So-Sofia! Stopit! Be aware! 」

Arnaud turned to face Bacchus who was spewing blood while shouting to the other aide Sofia, who was sobbing in front of him.

He had the same possessed look on his face as the others, standing across from Bacchus brandishing his sword.

“You bastard..! What have you done to my friend !! 」

Arnaud glared at Diablo and shouted.

The devil replied with a sneer.

「Kufufufufufu. What do you mean … ..

But anyway, I was just teasing them.

Because they were afraid of me, they seemed to accept it easily.『Gotjap』, the. 」

Arnaud suddenly woke up.

There was a characteristic of a Demon-kin monster called a Temptation skill.

To attract the target. An ability that can manipulate one's mind at will. But, he had never heard of a Devil who had the ability to lure a Holy Knight.

In order to save someone under the influence of this rhythm, you must defeat the demon that manipulated them.

In short, the only thing that could be done now was to dodge the attacks of his comrades and defeat Diablo. Otherwise, the only option left was to kill his comrades.

He could not be lenient to the Holy Knights. Even subconsciously, these people are pragmatic. A person who is fascinated moves his body unconsciously.

This was too much. Their consciousness was cursed through temptation.

This opponent was .. This Demon was ... definitely a Class of Disaster. A threat that stood on the same basis as the Demon King.

Bacchus, who was holding Sofia, was strangled from behind by two Holy Knights.

And he just lost consciousness. He remained unconscious, but now that means Arnaud remains alone.

To go through this situation alone is not impossible.

Up next…

The golden oval disciple of the red haired Devil gleamed with a hint of bewitching red color as he raised Sofia with one hand.

Suddenly, Sofia's beautiful blonde hair turned deep red, as if covered in blood.

He showed a happy expression on his face.

Her hair turned blonde.

He looked at her suspiciously. Sofia lost consciousness and fainted.

No way! His worries suddenly turned to panic.

「Kufufufufu. Oops, that's dangerous. I accidentally turned him into Fallen.

If I do such a thing, there is no way Rimuru-sama would give me a first rank seat. 」

Leaving Arnaud with these uncertain words, Diablo turned his head towards him.

What he had just seen was the demon that made Holy Knight Sofia his friend.

He did not want to imagine what would happen if it worked. The demon was for some reason concerned about his actions and stopped halfway. So, Sofia was saved.

But it's too early to feel relieved.

Anyways…

「Alright, Let's continue. Launch any attack you like.

Until I'm tired, I'll be your opponent! 」

Left alone without any reinforcements and surrounded by five Holy Knights. It's impossible to avoid this.

Still, Arnaud refused to give up.

His last hope is in Hinata defeating the enemy boss and going to his aide.

Arnaud prepared himself.

Curtain “Hopeless fight Arnaud” has opened.