"Hm?"
Veldora looked at Luminous, blinking, clearly confused for a moment. "Uh, who are you?"
"Veldora!!!"
That single reaction completely enraged Luminous. "Go to hell!"
The girl's black wings spread open behind her as she transformed into a crimson-black pillar of light, charging straight at Veldora.
"Lady Luminous!"
Seeing this, Hinata instinctively moved to follow, but Artoria stopped her. "Do not act rashly. This is not a battle you can take part in."
"But—"
Boom!!
Before Hinata could say anything else, a figure flew back even faster than it had rushed forward.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
From the ruins, Luminous staggered to her feet inside a crater, her appearance disheveled.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared fixedly at the burly man standing in the center of the hall with his arms crossed.
"Hahaha!"
Veldora laughed loudly. "I don't know who you are, but the courage to attack me is admirable!"
"Damn it!"
Such humiliation made Luminous's anger completely uncontrollable.
Yet what made her even more unwilling to accept reality was Veldora's strength.
At that moment, although she had not used her full power, the result of that sudden attack made her doubt everything.
She had not even touched Veldora before being blasted back by the terrifying magicules surrounding him.
Why was this Evil Dragon so strong?
Luminous had believed that after awakening as a True Demon Lord, she would finally have the power to take revenge on Veldora.
But now, reality struck her mercilessly.
She could not win. Not at all.
Especially now.
As Veldora released the magicules he had been suppressing, the power of his God Domain, exceeding one hundred million, almost gave Luminous the illusion that she was facing the entire world itself.
"Veldora."
"Huh?"
Hearing his sister's voice, Veldora's aura immediately collapsed, losing all traces of arrogance.
He turned to look at Velzard, cold sweat instantly breaking out. "Uh, well, Big Sister, you saw it. I didn't even make a move!"
"This is a scam!"
"She's trying to scam me!!"
Most importantly, Veldora knew exactly where he was.
This was the main hall of the Demon Lord's Castle.
He had been extremely restrained, doing his best not to damage even a single brick or tile.
Otherwise, with that one exchange, Luminous would have been killed by her own attack.
Yes, by her own attack.
After receiving the blessing of Magicules Solidification, the magicules of a God Domain formed an indestructible body.
The power of a mere Demon Lord Domain striking a Dragon God would not only fail to cause damage, it would rebound with double the force.
That was precisely what Luminous had just experienced.
Her attack failed to penetrate Veldora's defense and instead reflected straight back at her.
"That's enough."
Seeing the situation escalating, Ultima stepped forward to stop the farce. "And I ask the Storm Dragon God and the Frost Dragon God to calm themselves and listen to her explanation."
"I don't mind."
Velzard did not care about such matters, and Veldora likewise had no temper left.
To him, Luminous's attack was like a butterfly suddenly fluttering over and bumping into him.
If he got angry over something like that, he would just look petty as the Chuunibyou Dragon.
As for Rin—
He watched the entire scene calmly.
Rin already knew about the feud between Luminous and Veldora from the novel.
Strictly speaking, it was indeed Veldora's fault.
So Rin did not blame Luminous for losing control inside the Demon Lord's Castle.
If it were him, facing an enemy who had once slaughtered his people and destroyed his nation, he would not be able to stay calm either.
"Treyni, please heal her."
Logically speaking, with the Vampire Clan's recovery ability, these minor injuries should have healed long ago.
However, the magicules of Veldora's God Domain were far beyond what Unique Skills or Extra Skills could resist.
Without an Ultimate Skill, Luminous would not recover in less than ten days to half a month.
"Alright."
Treyni stepped forward quickly, transferring life force to Luminous while suppressing the residual divine power left behind by Veldora.
"A Dryad?"
Luminous recognized Treyni's identity. Treyni smiled. "Yes, but now, I have evolved into a fairy."
"A fairy? What is that?"
Luminous stood up, already fully calmed down.
"I apologize for my rudeness earlier."
She apologized to Rin, though her gaze toward Veldora remained icy. "Because of my grudge with the Evil Dragon, I lost control for a moment."
"Hey, hey, so who exactly are you?"
Veldora scratched his head. He did not mind being called an Evil Dragon, but at least she should explain things clearly.
"She is the queen of the Vampire Clan."
"Luminous Valentine."
Velzard reminded him. "Surely you have not forgotten what you did in the past?"
"Vampire?"
"Ah!!"
Veldora reacted instantly. "So it was you!"
Thousands of years ago, when Veldora was rampaging across the land, he had once passed through the Vampire Kingdom.
There was no real grudge between them.
It was purely Veldora being mischievous. He found something blocking his path annoying, so he casually blew away the Night Rose Palace, nearly wiping out the Vampire Clan.
Luminous was a survivor from that era, who later struggled onward and awakened as a Demon Lord.
Moreover, a large part of the reason Veldora was sealed three hundred years ago was because of Luminous.
Although the plot had changed, certain details remained the same.
Chloe would still become the strongest Hero in the future, then travel back in time and, three hundred years ago, help Luminous seal the rampaging Evil Dragon Veldora.
That timeline had already been fixed by future Chloe, and Rin had no intention of changing it.
With both old and new grudges combined, Luminous, who had been targeted by Veldora twice, could no longer restrain herself upon seeing him again.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
After hearing the whole story, Rimuru said helplessly, "This really was your fault, Veldora."
"The Evil Dragon rampaging across the land?"
Artoria added, "With such a deep-seated grudge, it is understandable that she would lose control."
(To be continued.)