Dark clouds coiled above the Cardinal World like a noose tightening around its neck.
Far above, hidden in the rift between dimensions, Feldway sat watching, his wings folded behind him like blades of judgment. Around him stood the Angels of Origin—Obera, Zalario, Pico, Garasha, and Cornu—each watching the events below unfold like pieces on a cosmic chessboard.
Feldway's eyes narrowed, his gaze locked on the five crimson dots blinking on the enormous projection of the Cardinal World beneath him.
"These five… Yuuki, Kigali, Laplace, Footman, and Tear. Each in place. Each at the node," he said, voice cold and absolute. "When all five activate their portion of the Dominion Spell, the world will kneel."
Obera glanced to the side, cautious. "What of Rimuru and the others?"
Feldway smirked. "Even with their speed, they cannot be everywhere at once. Let's see if they can outrun destiny."
"Souei," Rimuru said, turning sharply, "do we have the coordinates of all five targets?"
"Yes," Souei nodded. "They've each positioned themselves at leyline junctions. Perfect for amplifying the spell's range."
"Then we can't waste any more time," said Guy Crimson, cracking his knuckles. "This isn't just a battle. It's a race."
Rimuru turned to Velzard, Milim, and Veldora. "You three stay with Yujiro. If Feldway moves to get your dragon factors, we'll need him close."
Benimaru nodded. "That's smart."
"I'll take on Yuuki," Rimuru said, eyes gleaming. "He's the core."
"I'll take Kigali," Guy offered, summoning a massive aura of red flame around him.
"Laplace is mine," said Diablo, his voice sharp with anticipation.
"We'll take on Footman and Tear," said Rain, side-glancing at Misery, who gave a small nod.
Rimuru raised his hand. "Then let's move."
At once, the heroes exploded into action, racing across the world.
But Rimuru didn't run—he vanished in a blur of particles, teleporting directly to Yuuki's location with pinpoint accuracy.
Yuuki stood atop of a pillar surrounded by red glyphs pulsing with life. His eyes glowed with corrupted magic, and strange golden rings danced behind him in the air.
He raised his arm. "With this, we begin. Dominion—!"
A sudden crash of wind and light knocked him off the platform.
BOOM!
Yuuki landed on his feet, skidding backwards as Rimuru appeared, floating, radiating pressure like a tidal wave.
"Yuuki!" Rimuru barked, his expression hard. "This ends now!"
Yuuki gritted his teeth. "Tch. I was wondering when you'd show up."
"Why are you doing this?" Rimuru asked. "Do you even know who's really pulling the strings?"
Yuuki smirked. "Feldway? Oh, I dont know who that is and I just don't care."
"You're already under his control!" Rimuru yelled, charging forward.
The two clashed, fists meeting with a shockwave that cracked the skies.
Guy Crimson arrived in the Ravines, only to see Kigali already standing in a spell circle.
Too late.
"Activate," Kigali whispered, and the sigil pulsed.
Guy shouted, unleashing a wave of crimson fire, but the spell was already done.
In the Storm Pillars, Diablo appeared as Laplace laughed and whispered, "Too slow, demon."
"Dominion—Mark Three, Initiate."
Rain and Misery fought like shadows through a silver forest to reach Footman and Tear, but the duo had already activated the spell, laughing madly as the runes around them took form.
"Too late," Tear giggled. "We already turned the key."
Feldway watched from above.
"Four pillars of the Dominion spell have already been activated," he said, lips curling upward. "Only one left. Yuuki."
He narrowed his eyes.
"…And Rimuru is keeping him busy."
He rose from his throne and turned to Zalario, his most ruthless enforcer.
"Zalario. Make sure that last key turns."
Zalario bowed. "Yes, my lord."
He disappeared in a burst of divine flame.
As Rimuru clashed with Yuuki, twisting the air with each blow, Yuuki finally managed to pull out a black dagger inscribed with angelic script and stabbed it into the glyph platform.
BZZZZZTTTTT—!
The spell engine flared to life.
"No!" Rimuru shouted, slamming into Yuuki and sending him flying. "I won't let you finish it!"
Just as Rimuru dashed forward to destroy the sigils, a flash of light cracked the sky.
Zalario descended like a divine executioner, wings spread wide, halo aflame, scythe in hand.
"Forgive me, Demon Lord Rimuru," he said. "But you must fall here."
Rimuru spun around, breathing hard.
"…Feldway sent you himself."
Zalario landed beside Yuuki's platform, his presence corrupting the very land beneath him. "This world belongs to our creator now. The spell must be completed."
Yuuki coughed from where he lay, then smirked. "Thanks for the backup."
Rimuru glanced around. The four parts were already glowing across the sky. Only this platform remained unlinked.
One final shot.
"Then I'll take you both on," Rimuru growled, summoning his aura. "And I'll tear this spell down myself."
Feldway stood watching the red network of spell light crisscrossing the Cardinal World.
"One key left. One hero left."
His wings shimmered with anticipation.
"Let's see which one breaks first."
The ground cracked beneath Rimuru's feet. The sky pulsed red, thunder booming across the heavens as magic lines snaked across the world like a demonic circuit board—four keys already activated. Only one remained.
Standing atop the last glyph, Yuuki Kagurazaka, face bruised, breath ragged, still smirked as he watched his backup arrive.
Across from him, floating like divine judgment, stood Zalario, angel of destruction and Feldway's chosen enforcer. His six radiant wings unfurled behind him, and a God-grade sword, radiant and humming with ancient power, rested on his shoulder. Clad in divine armor, his golden halo spun like a saw of judgment.
"Forgive me, Demon Lord Rimuru," Zalario said, voice even, celestial. "But this is where your resistance ends."
Rimuru didn't answer with words.
He charged.
Rimuru's body became a blur, foot slamming into the ground with such force that the entire glyph platform cracked. Yuuki barely had time to block, his arms crossed as Rimuru's punch slammed into him with enough force to launch him across the plains.
Yuuki skid to a stop, smoke rising from his arms.
"Tch… That strength…" he muttered. "You're not using magic?"
Rimuru was already on him, fists a blur of motion.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Yuuki ducked, twisted, parried—barely.
Rimuru's movements were sharp, clean, and brutal—pure martial arts honed under Yujiro's torture-like training in the Labyrinth.
"You can't use skills on me, Rimuru!" Yuuki grinned mid-punch. "I have Anti Skill, remember?"
"I'm not using skills," Rimuru replied, eyes glowing. "This is just my body."
With a sharp pivot, Rimuru's elbow cracked into Yuuki's ribs, followed by a rising knee to the gut. Yuuki coughed blood.
"W-What kind of strength…?"
Zalario appeared behind Rimuru in a flash of golden lightning, swinging his god-grade sword with the force of a celestial storm.
Rimuru jumped, flipping midair, narrowly dodging the attack—but the shockwave blasted a crater in the ground the size of a mansion.
Zalario followed, whispering:
"Dark Eight Palms."
Eight black-and-gold spectral hands shot from his back, slamming toward Rimuru like guillotines. Rimuru summoned a defensive barrier, but the first three shattered it instantly.
BANG! BANG!
He spiraled through the air, blood trailing behind him, before stabilizing with wings of magicules.
Distortion Field pulsed around Zalario, warping space and bending light.
Rimuru raised a hand—Megiddo Barrage rained from above in countless pinpoint beams of magic.
But Zalario raised one finger. "Insanity Hash."
A ripple of madness flooded the battlefield. Rimuru's vision twisted—his beams turned and struck the ground instead. The spell distorted perception.
"You… you really are on another level," Rimuru muttered, his hand trembling slightly. "But I'm not done."
Yuuki recovered, standing beside Zalario now.
"Who are you?" he asked the angel.
"I am Zalario, executor of Dominion, hand of Feldway," he replied flatly.
Yuuki blinked. "I don't know who Feldway is, but thanks for the save."
Rimuru narrowed his eyes.
"…You're being used, Yuuki."
Yuuki snorted. "Doesn't matter. I'll get what I want in the end."
They charged together.
Rimuru dodged Yuuki's punches, parried a sword strike from Zalario, then ducked as a holy blast screamed past his head.
Yuuki flipped mid-air and activated Creator, forming two spiked gauntlets around his arms and launching forward.
Rimuru met him with a solid roundhouse.
CRACK!
The ground erupted.
Zalario appeared behind Rimuru, slicing down—Rimuru blocked with a wall of hardened magicules—but Zalario's Jupiter, a compressed sphere of divine nuclear energy, blasted straight through.
BOOOOM!!
Rimuru screamed, flying back into a rock formation.
Rimuru emerged, battered, but still standing. Blood dripped from his mouth.
He exhaled slowly. "…If this were before, I'd be done."
Zalario paused.
"But Yujiro's training taught me one thing: even without magic, we can still fight. We can still WIN."
He dashed forward again—punch to Yuuki's jaw, kick to Zalario's leg, an uppercut of pure force that knocked both back a step.
Yuuki grunted. "He's still—!"
"NOW!" Zalario roared. "ACTIVATE THE SPELL!"
Yuuki, mid-fall, raised his bloody hand and slammed it into the glyph platform.
The final rune lit up.
CRACKLE—FLASH!
The sky split open.
A beam of red and white energy shot upward from Yuuki's platform and connected with the other four across the world.
The Dominion Spell was complete.
"No…" Rimuru gasped, eyes wide.
Zalario lowered his blade and looked to the sky, where the magic circuits formed a net of light over the Cardinal World.
"It's over."
Rimuru dropped to one knee, magicules flickering around him, as the entire world trembled.
Feldway stood smiling, eyes glowing red.
"Five keys. Dominion complete. The Cardinal World… is mine."