"Why the rush?"
Guy calmly savored his red wine. "Such a person will eventually walk with us."
Rin would become a Demon Lord, and a True Demon Lord at that.
Guy was absolutely certain of this.
Thus, there would definitely be a place for Rin at the Demon Lord's Banquet.
Guy was not in a hurry, because he would eventually see Rin at that gathering.
"Don't make me wait too long," Guy sighed. "The new wind of the world."
There was one thing he didn't tell Velzard.
Within the aura of the Golden Tree, Guy had sensed many unprecedented new rule powers.
These were not native to the Cardinal World.
From the Star King Dragon's creation until the moment of his death, the world's rules had already been set.
Those who came later might possess immense destructive power and forge civilizations.
But it was impossible for them to create new rules out of nothing like the Star King Dragon had.
However, Rin was different.
He could bring a new order to this world, making it more wondrous and complete.
In a sense, Rin, who could travel freely between different worlds, was even stronger than the Star King Dragon.
Because his future held infinite possibilities.
"What exactly is this..."
Outside the Great Jura Forest, Izawa Shizue, like everyone around her, looked up at the Golden Tree that shone like a second sun.
Without hesitation, she rushed toward the Great Jura Forest.
She wasn't going there to investigate anything.
Bathed in that light, her deteriorating body had miraculously regained a trace of vitality.
Hope!
Undoubtedly, this allowed Shizue to see the possibility of a cure.
However, she wasn't doing it for herself.
It was for her students, the children nearing their end due to incomplete summons.
"If I can find the source of this power, perhaps..."
No matter what, Shizue had to investigate.
"Isn't this commotion a bit too big?"
Returning to the Tengu Mountain battlefield, Rin looked at the canopy of the Golden Tree, which almost enveloped the entire Cardinal World.
This scene reminded him of a game from his previous life, Elden Ring.
Of course, there was no comparison between the two.
The light emitted by the Star Holy Sword far surpassed the Golden Tree of the Lands Between, and its branches extended into the cosmos itself.
"Hoo..."
Artoria held the Holy Sword as one restraint after another sealed its power once again.
The girl didn't know what "art is an explosion" meant.
But this feeling of firing a light cannon toward the sky truly made her unable to stop.
"Unfortunately, such power cannot be easily used."
The Star Holy Sword was practically Rin's nuclear weapon.
Its unsheathed state was its greatest deterrent.
If it were truly drawn, the opponent wouldn't just stand there and let him strike; they would definitely fight to the death.
You ask about Frey?
She was fine.
Artoria hadn't struck Frey with that sword, instead directing most of her power toward the cosmos.
Otherwise, Artoria might have directly split open the continent of the Cardinal World.
"How is she?"
"She passed out."
Snow Empress controlled an ice coffin, sealing within it a woman—none other than Frey.
Even though she was only grazed by a trace of the Star Holy Sword's power, Frey was still severely injured and had fallen into a coma.
However, Violet controlled the impact of the rule power on Frey.
She would awaken in at most half a day, with her body recovering seventy to eighty percent.
"So, we still need to set up more seals."
"To prevent her from suddenly erupting and harming others after she wakes up."
Snow Empress was very skilled in this aspect.
Her time power could be compressed like space, forming shackles difficult to break.
"I'll just create a spacetime restraint suit and put it on her."
Coincidentally, due to their battle, Frey's clothes had been completely destroyed.
"It's over."
The matter with the Tengu Clan had come to an end.
"Ice Empress, open the portal. We're going back."
"Oh, oh!"
Ice Empress was still lost in the lingering thrill of the Star Holy Sword's power, and only reacted when Rin called to her.
A portal leading to town appeared before them.
Before leaving, Rin gave some instructions to Kaede and Momiji.
First, he told them to quickly sort out the internal affairs of the Tengu Clan, then move the entire Tengu Hidden Village.
In a world with spatial magic, geographical location was no longer important.
As long as they wished, there were countless ways to relocate their base.
Kaede naturally agreed.
The Tengu Clan had no objections either.
After witnessing the fierce battle between Frey, Snow Empress, and Artoria, none of them dared show resistance.
As for the remaining army of the Harpy Queendom, Rin did nothing to them.
He had captured Frey.
That alone was enough to make the Harpy Queendom hesitate.
A country with a Demon Lord and one without were completely different entities.
...
Leaving aside the reactions of the surrounding nations, internal unrest was already a serious problem.
Luchia watched helplessly as Frey's ice-sealed body was taken away by Rin.
She wanted to go after her, but Shion had found an opening and slashed her from the front, severely injuring her.
Fortunately, Frey was still alive, not dead at Rin's hands.
As long as Frey could be redeemed, no matter the cost, it would be worth it.
"Rin-sama!"
As soon as they returned, Shion immediately hugged Rin, burying his head in her chest. "We successfully repelled the Winged People as you commanded!"
"Hmm, you all did well."
Rin had long grown used to Shion's bold behavior.
He pushed the tall Oni aside, then looked at Shuna and Benimaru, praising them a few times.
"Snow Empress, bring Frey over."
Rin told everyone else to leave first, leaving only Ice Empress, Ogerpon, Artoria, and Snow Empress.
With these four by his side, a weakened and sealed Frey couldn't possibly cause trouble.
Snow Empress waved her hand, and an ice coffin appeared before them.
She removed the sealing power, leaving only a portion in the form of a restraint suit worn by Frey.
"Are you going to transform her into a Dependent now?"
Artoria didn't think it was wrong to do so.
She was only concerned about Frey's safety.
(To be continued.)