Time seemed to stand still.
With a whoosh, Granstar soared above the flame giant's head, an astonishing magical aura radiating from him.
Grasping the Ice Demon sword tightly in his hand, he swung it down with full force at the giant's skull.
Silence.
With that strike, heaven and earth seemed to mourn.
…Oh. That was just the sound of the wind howling. Never mind. Back to the protagonist's strike.
Space split open, revealing a glowing blue fissure as Granstar's voice echoed:
"[Ice Rift Cut]!"
This was a skill inherent to the Ice Demon—combining one of its two characteristics, it unleashed power of unknown magnitude! Granstar hadn't had a chance to use it before, but now was the perfect opportunity.
The blue arc of energy plunged straight into the flame giant's body. The beast, which had been thrashing violently, suddenly froze—its magical aura gradually fading.
No... not fading.
It was being devoured—by the Ice Demon sword in his hand!
Granstar narrowed his eyes. He couldn't be mistaken. The Ice Demon was absorbing the Ifrit's magic—this had to be its second hidden trait!
Granstar sheathed the Ice Demon. He could feel it—its icy blue blade was even stranger than before.
His gaze drifted to flame giant's corpse. It was pinned to the ground by towering ice spears. Its entire head was encased in a massive, intersecting ice-crystal rhombus.
From the outside, only a glimmering blue scar remained, but Granstar knew the truth: the giant's head had been split clean in two. The wound had frozen instantly, sealed by frost.
Not bad.
Granstar nodded, satisfied.
"Announcement: Host has successfully slain a Level A Flame giant. Predator skill successfully activated. Extract now?"
"Confirm extraction."
"Extraction complete. Host has obtained: Level A material – Flame Demon Core."
Just then—
Before Granstar had time to inspect his gains, a tremendous explosion shook the battlefield. From Rimuru's side, a massive pillar of fire surged into the sky, and a terrifying magical aura erupted with it.
Granstar narrowed his beautiful eyes. From his vantage point, he could just make out a blurry silhouette within the inferno.
Rimuru's voice crackled through their telepathic link:
[Granstar! Are you done over there? Miss Shizu just turned into some kind of weird Demon Man—get over here!]
"A Demon Man...? Could it be... that higher demon—Ifrit?!"
Granstar muttered to himself, stunned for a moment.
Then his eyes sharpened.
"It has to be him!"
He spread his transparent wings and shot toward the flaming pillar at breakneck speed.
Meanwhile, on a distant ridge—
Lilina and her companions stared tensely in the direction of the erupting flame.
"That... could it be the legendary Flame Spirit—Ifrit? If so... then Miss Shizu must be…"
"The wielder of Explosive Flame!"
"But wait—didn't that legendary adventurer retire over twenty years ago?"
Lilina looked anxiously toward where Rimuru stood. But seeing that Granstar had already finished his battle and was flying to assist, a heavy weight lifted from her chest.
"If Lord Granstar is on the move, then there's nothing to worry about."
Her words struck the trio behind her like a slap. Their faces flushed with shame.
Lilina had already explained—clearly—that the "little elf" they met earlier was actually one of the two lords she had mentioned.
And from her relieved expression, it was clear that this particular lord was not only powerful, but entirely trustworthy.
They remembered, with deep embarrassment, how they had boasted in front of that very "little elf," claiming they would protect him.
Especially the magician, Elyun. She had even fussed over him the whole way, thinking she was being helpful.
Now, recalling it all, Elyun just wanted to disappear.
If only there were a crack in the ground to crawl into—or at least some dirt she could dig with her toes to bury her shame.
Just then, Granstar arrived at the battlefield like a ghost, his figure flickering into view.
From afar, he could see that the massive pillar of flame was still erupting violently, its raging heat casting a brilliant glow across the sky.
Rimuru should still be inside that flame pillar, Granstar thought, unfazed. He wasn't worried about that child of fortune in the slightest.
Don't underestimate Rimuru, he reminded himself. After all, Granstar often sent the demons he hunted to Rimuru for him to devour—just like the Demonic Mutant Armored Dinosaur they'd snatched from the Dwarf Kingdom.
Rimuru was basically a walking cheat code. As long as he relied on Predator, he could keep growing stronger without even lifting a finger. Granstar, on the other hand, had to fight and hunt demons personally to gain power.
Ever since the two of them had emerged from the Storm Cave, Rimuru had rarely needed to act. He probably didn't even realize how powerful he had become.
"Tsk tsk tsk..."
Granstar narrowed his eyes, staring at the humanoid demon hovering in the air. He examined the figure carefully, clicking his tongue in amazement.
The magical aura radiating from this demon had already reached the level of an average Demon Lord. It had only just crossed that threshold, but it was enough to make Granstar's eyes light up with greed.
"Level S material..." he murmured, licking his lips.
Meanwhile, within the burning pillar, Ifrit—who was basking in the explosive flames—sensed something. His scarlet eyes snapped open.
He heard someone muttering nearby, and the content of those words made his fury ignite like oil on fire.
"As expected of Platinum Demon Lord Leon Cromwell," came the voice. "Even his fire-attribute summon has the strength of a full-fledged Demon Lord..."
Ifrit quickly located the speaker—icy blue eyes were locked onto him, brimming with cold hostility.
"So it's you," Ifrit growled. "I sensed your irritating presence even when I was inside the host's body."
"And let me make something clear: I'm no low-level summon. I am the Flame Spirit—Ifrit!"
His voice was emotionless, but there was an unmistakable edge of pride and warning in his words.
"Huh? Not a Demon Man? And you call yourself a Spirit?" Granstar blinked, confused. Was this high-ranking demon really hung up on such a thing?
"Silence! You damned Ice elf!" Ifrit roared.
The flames on his body surged violently. Granstar's words had clearly hit a nerve.
"Hmph! You'll be reduced to ash—just like that pathetic slime!"
Ifrit's voice had turned deathly cold.
"Heh. Where did you get that kind of confidence?" Granstar replied, casually cracking his neck as he clasped his hands together.
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