The tall old man that has appeared, the last of the Three Knights, Rogueheil, looks at me and smiles satisfiedly.

B+, please be B+. If something stronger than that appears now, we’d be in a pretty difficult predicament. Not only do we have to fight the Demon Lord soon, but neither the Saint nor her Holy Dragon have shown up, so our combat strength is severely lacking.

But God’s Voice callously cuts down my plea. It seems it’s correct to always assume the worst in this world.

【[Shoggoth Ooze]: A- rank monster】

【It possesses high intellect, has outstanding combat abilities, and its scale is vast. An exceedingly dangerous slime.】

【Some name themselves gods, and gather worshippers to form evil religions.】

【It usually assumes a human form when in front of people, but upon taking its original form, the terror it induces is so great that it erodes the sanity of observers.】

One of the Three Knights is A- rank… 

I had thought this might be the case. I had considered the possibility, but I didn’t want it to be true. I had hoped the Demon Lord would be A- rank.

This is the worst. Judging from his behaviour, right from the start, Thermal’s aim was to meet up with the last of the Three Knights, Rogueheil the [Shoggoth Ooze].

He was just barely able to achieve that. Most likely, Thermal had honestly given up and fled to the other side of the rubble when he encountered Rogueheil. The fact that he has revealed himself means that, of course, his aim is to kill us here.

Having A- rank followers is too much, surely… My rule of thumb is that a B rank monster is a good match for an entire army of humans.

No, unlike me, the slime doesn’t have a skill to double its experience. If the rank is this high, then that should also mean that the level is still low. Besides, depending on the skill composition and the stat distribution, even high ranking monsters can be no big deal.

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[Rogueheil Aurornia]

Species: Shoggoth Ooze

Lv: 81/105

HP: 1185/1185

MP: 699/734

Attack: 395

Defence: 414

Magic: 739

Speed: 698

Characteristic Skills:

[Slime Body: Lv-] [Grisha Language: Lv5] [Automatic HP Recovery: Lv7] [Automatic MP Recovery: Lv6] [Tentacle: Lv7] [Soft Steps: Lv7] [Presence Perception: Lv7] [Poison Sash: Lv8] [Digestive Juice: Lv7] [Terrifying Demon Eye: Lv7] [Petrifying Demon Eye: Lv7] [Demon Eye of Insanity: Lv7]

Resistance Skills:

[Physical Resistance: Lv5] [Magic Resistance: Lv5] [Poison Resistance: Lv4] [Paralysis Resistance: Lv6] [Curse Resistance: Lv7] [Confusion Resistance: Lv4] [Sleep Resistance: Lv6] [Petrification Resistance: Lv4]

Normal Skills:

[Colour Change: Lv7] [Telepathy: Lv7] [Life Drain: Lv7] [High Cure: Lv5] [Death: Lv5] [Grapple: Lv6] [Ooze Bomb: Lv7] [Plague Breath: Lv6] [Tentacle Whip: Lv5] [Clay Sword: Lv6] [Curse: Lv8] [Autoregeneration: Lv7] [Skill Crash: Lv5] [Wide Summon: Lv7] [Holy Pillar: Lv5] [Death God Rain: Lv4] [Ooze Machine Gun: Lv7] [Doppelganger: Lv8]

Title Skills:

[Offshoot of the Lord: Lv-] [Final Evolution: Lv-] [Subordinate of the Demon Lord: Lv-] [Three Knights: Lv-] [Bishop: Lv-] [Infinite Sword: Lv-] [Ruler of Repulsive Oni: Lv-]

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Wh-what is this totally broken status!? He’s also super high level!? A lot of his skills are ones I’ve never seen before. What’s more is that all the skills he acquired later are ones with disturbing names.

It’s the worst case within the worst case. What even is that status? Can’t he just be the Demon Lord already?

Following Rogueheil, a poisonous goo oozes its way through gaps in the rubble, merges together, and forms into Thermal.

“Honestly, Rogueheil-dono, you’re slow. I was almost forced to abandon the castle.”

“There was no helping it. I have the important role of protecting Demon Lord-sama from unexpected circumstances. The reason I am forced to come out is because you two are worthless. Demon Lord-sama’s orders are that all cards that can be cut should be discarded. Apparently, we are to turn the tables on the Saint here, no matter what… Although, from my perspective, that is not all Demon Lord-sama desires.”

Rogueheil looks up at me… Even though Thermal was aiming for Miria, it seems the Demon Lord wants me dead, too.

“Isn’t that disrespectful, Rogueheil-dono? You speak as though searching Demon Lord-sama’s true desires.”

To Thermal’s accusation, Rogueheil stays silent.

Thermal was on the verge of retreating entirely, and if he had, that would have suited me well. But it seems Demon Lord-san is committed to finishing the war with the Saint and severing their entangled fate with me here…

“…That is 『Irushia』 and 『Miria』. No doubt.”

“Hoh, the dragon aside, I don’t know why Demon Lord-sama wants us to capture that little girl. But it does not matter. I’m counting on you to recapture that Miria girl, and to clear the way for me.”

“Good grief, I am left with hunting small fry?”

The two stand side-by-side and look at me. The [Shoggoth Ooze]: Rogueheil, the Infinite Sword. The [Poison Ruler]: Thermal, the Sword of Absolute Death.

With those skills and stats… If Rogueheil and I clash in earnest, Aro and the nightmare, as well as Miria, won’t be safe. Thermal is also aiming at them. So, while I fight Rogueheil, I have no choice but to ask Aro to escape while protecting Miria.