Woo~
And when the light dissipated, an ice-blue dragon shadow, seemingly constructed from stars, appeared in Rin's line of sight.
Huge, so huge it defied description.
After breaking free from the rule suppression of the Cardinal World, the true terror of the True Dragon finally unfolded before Rin.
Whether planets or galaxies, they were utterly insignificant in front of Velzard, who had taken on her Frost Dragon form.
She was like a Dragon God swimming through the galactic river. Wherever she passed, light streams froze, stars collapsed, and even her mere movement brought tremendous pressure to the Void Universe.
So, so big!
"Is this truly a form a living being can possess?"
From Rimuru and Shizue's perspective, Velzard's size was nearly comparable to a galaxy.
Rather than calling her a Western Dragon,
it would be more accurate to call her the embodiment of an astronomical phenomenon, or a cosmic law of increasing entropy.
"To make me reveal this form."
"You are the first in countless eons."
Velzard raised her True Dragon claw and looked at Rin, whose figure was as small as a mayfly. A majestic and sacred voice echoed from the depths of the starry sky.
"Come. Let me witness your true form."
"Let me see what power you truly possess that makes you dare to toy with me like this!" Velzard sneered.
She didn't attack immediately upon releasing her True Dragon form.
As she had said before, Rin had given her fairness. She would return respect in kind.
If one could not make their opponent truly submit, then what meaning did a True Dragon battle even have?
"Don't worry, you'll see it."
As Rin spoke, ten brilliant rings appeared behind him. This was his Exclusive Skill, God's Ring.
"What is that?"
Velzard was slightly stunned.
She found that she couldn't grasp the nature of God's Ring at all.
Even when she attempted to plunder it using Lord of Envy, the feedback she received was "unable to investigate" and "true form unknown."
"This?"
Rin said, "I call it the God's Ring. Its purpose is to bear a portion of my power."
"I'm not interested in this ability of yours!"
The Frost Dragon was clearly displeased by Rin's slow and steady explanations. "Quickly discard that human body. Transform into your True Dragon form and fight me!"
"Don't be so hasty."
"If I don't explain things clearly, you won't even understand how you lost. And then you definitely won't be convinced."
Rin's tendency to explain wasn't because he wanted to act like some cocky villain who thought he was untouchable.
He did it purely to let Velzard see with her own eyes, in undeniable clarity, just how vast the gap between them was.
"What do you want to say?"
"What I want to say is..."
Rin: "With Violet's help, I can use a higher Ultimate Power to suppress you."
"Then..."
"If—and I mean if—I were to activate the power of Void God in this state, how would you handle it, Big Sister Frost Dragon?"
At that moment, the Frost Dragon recalled something terrifying.
She had never actually seen the true power of the Void God.
Unfortunately, before she could ask further, Rin's figure disappeared from her claw.
Only stardust remained, scattering quietly in the void.
"This is?!"
Almost instinctively, the Frost Dragon spread her magicule perception wide.
And as expected.
She couldn't sense him!
She couldn't even begin to pinpoint Rin's location within this world.
The Void Universe wasn't just Rin's creation. It was his domain, the field that granted him omnipotent power.
In this world, Rin no longer had a fixed physical form.
This was why he had dared to stand in the palm of the Frost Dragon in human form, calmly explaining his abilities without even changing expression.
"Where is he?"
"Where exactly is that guy?"
Velzard focused her attention, searching for traces of Rin's manifested form.
But there was no movement at all.
The universe remained deathly silent. The world was still trapped in her time-stop field.
No Rin.
Nowhere. No trace of him could be found.
"He's gone?"
"I can sense his aura everywhere, but I can't pinpoint his location."
Shizue and Rimuru were also trying to locate Rin's presence at this time.
The evolved Rimuru's strength was comparable to a quasi–Demon Lord, a solid S-rank powerhouse.
Within the Void Universe, she also had the power to destroy galaxies.
So she was confident she could track Rin down with effort.
"You haven't found him either, Great Sage?"
[Alert: Unable to pinpoint exact coordinates.]
"How strange..."
Rimuru was completely confused by Rin's sudden disappearance.
No way. The fight had just started going strong, so how did he suddenly vanish?
He had clearly said he'd make the Frost Dragon lose convincingly.
Rimuru had originally been looking forward to Rin releasing his True Dragon form, transforming into a Dragon God the size of the universe, and instantly crushing the Frost Dragon.
"A Dragon God... the size of the universe..."
Suddenly, a thought sparked in Rimuru's mind.
Then, under Shizue's shocked gaze, Rimuru suddenly looked up.
She gathered all her magicules and cast her perception into the vast starry sky.
"Wah ah ah ah!!!"
The next moment, Rimuru nearly jumped out of her skin from what she saw.
An eye!
A terrifying, massive True Dragon eye, gazing down upon the world from beyond the universe itself!
"Rimuru-san?"
"Rimuru-san, what's wrong?!"
Shizue had no idea what had happened as she held the trembling Demon Lord in her arms.
"Heh..."
On the other side, prompted by Rimuru's reaction, Velzard also looked up—and froze.
She saw it...
That colossal Frost Dragon form, hidden in the void.
Velzard couldn't even describe Rin's full appearance. At most, she could catch glimpses of his incomprehensible, otherworldly silhouette.
As for the Void Universe created by Rin...
It now resembled a jewel, no larger than a clenched fist, resting in Rin's palm.
As if he could crush it at any time, obliterating everything inside.
"Is this... the gap between me and you?"
Velzard returned to her human girl form, looking utterly disheartened.
'I can't win...'
'There's no hope of victory at all.'
The sheer disparity left Velzard hollow inside.
They were both True Dragons.
She was even the nominal elder sister, supposedly the strongest among them.
Yet now, a younger sibling who had only just awakened already possessed power that left her completely outmatched.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)