The atmosphere in Tempest had curdled. The vibrant, bustling energy of the town was replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence, broken only by the quiet sobs of the survivors.
Silver Tempest stood at the edge of the plaza, his gaze fixed on the pale faces of the fallen. His metallic-silver hair seemed to absorb the light, turning a dull, funeral gray. Beside him, Rimuru was a statue of grief, his golden eyes flickering with a dark, unstable power.
'Solomon,' Silver's voice was a jagged blade in his mind. 'The barrier. Give me the breakdown.'
[Report: The "Anti-Monster Sanctum" and "Prison Field" have intersected to create a double-layered field. It is designed to weaken monster life-force and prevent escape. The frequency is tuned to "Holy-Attribute" interference.]
'Then we dismantle it from the inside out,' Silver thought. 'If they want a sanctuary, I'll give them a tomb.'
The Strategy of Wrath
The brothers gathered the Kijin and the leaders. The air in the room was so thick with killing intent that even the veteran warriors felt a chill.
"We have a plan," Rimuru said, his voice cold and devoid of its usual warmth. "The humans think they've won. They think we're trapped. We're going to prove them wrong."
Silver stepped forward, his eyes landing on Benimaru. "Benimaru, take the Kijin and the riders. Your job is to destroy the barrier generators at the four cardinal points. Do not let a single human escape those positions. If they beg for mercy, remember the faces under the sheets in the plaza."
"Understood, Lord Silver," Benimaru replied, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword so hard his knuckles turned white.
"Solomon," Silver commanded. "I'm going to use [Creation] to manifest a secondary barrier. If we become Demon Lords, we need the souls of the dead. If their souls dissipate before we complete the count, everything is for nothing."
[Warning: Maintaining a large-scale soul-capture barrier while engaging 60,000 enemies will put an extreme load on the [Magicule Generator]. Recommended action: Authorize Solomon to handle the structural maintenance.]
'Do it. I don't care about the load. I'll burn my own core if I have to.'
Dismantling the Sanctum
The attack began at sunset. As the Kijin launched their assault on the ritual sites, Silver took to the sky. He didn't use wings; he rose on a pillar of pure, silver magicules that defied the "Anti-Monster" suppression.
"Target confirmed," Silver whispered, looking down at the western barrier tower. "Creation: [Orbital Descent]."
He manifested a series of massive, high-density metallic rods in the upper atmosphere. Gravity and his own magical acceleration did the rest. The rods slammed into the holy towers with the force of tactical missiles, shattering the divine stones and causing the barrier to flicker.
As the holy pressure lifted, the monsters of Tempest regained their full strength. A roar of vengeance echoed through the forest—a sound that reached the ears of the 60,000 soldiers stationed at the border.
The Great Sacrifice
Silver and Rimuru arrived above the Falmuth camp simultaneously. Below them, 60,000 men were scrambling, armored and confident, led by King Edmaris and the arrogant shadows of the Church. They saw two small figures in the sky and laughed, thinking it was just a pair of stray monsters.
'They're laughing,' Rimuru's voice echoed through the [Family Link].
'Let them,' Silver replied. 'It's the last sound they'll ever make.'
Silver extended his arms. "[Creation: Soul-Anchor Cage]."
A massive, shimmering dome of silver light descended, encasing the entire 60,000-man army. It wasn't meant to kill them; it was meant to ensure that when they died, their spirits were trapped within the brothers' reach.
"Solomon, begin the count," Silver commanded.
[Acknowledged. Beginning sacrifice acquisition for the Harvest Festival. Target count: 10,000 souls per individual.]
Rimuru and Silver hovered side-by-side. The sun had dipped below the horizon, and the stars were beginning to peek through the smoke. The King of Falmuth stepped out of his tent, shouting orders for his mages to fire.
"It's over for you," Rimuru whispered.
The brothers raised their hands, their combined auras manifesting a terrifying, iridescent light. This wasn't a sword strike or a fireball. It was the ultimate expression of their wrath.
"God's Wrath," Rimuru muttered.
"[Megiddo]," Silver finished.
Thousands of tiny, floating droplets of water manifested in the air—perfectly shaped lenses created by Silver's precision and Rimuru's control. They captured the light of the sun and focused it into needles of pure, concentrated heat.
The slaughter was silent.
The needles of light rained down, punching through steel armor, stone, and bone as if they were paper. There was no screaming, no clashing of swords. Just the sound of thousands of bodies hitting the dirt simultaneously.
Silver watched as his soul count began to tick upward with a cold, mechanical speed. 1,000... 5,000... 8,000...
He felt the weight of the lives he was taking. He wasn't a manga fan anymore. He wasn't a "guy" in a weird world. He was a calamity.
The brothers began to descend, their consciousness fading as the "Voice of the World" took hold of their forms.
"Rimuru," Silver whispered as his vision turned to white. "We're coming back for them."
"Yeah," Rimuru replied. "Whatever it takes."
[End of Chapter 10]