The World's Ego

Ego and Deliverance

Third Person POV

No one anticipated the arrival of the man known as the strongest Flame-chaser of the past. Appearing out of nowhere and hitting Rimuru out of the air with the Judgment of Shamash in his hands, he now looks down at the ground as the smoke began to dissipate.

"... Understood. I will do what I can."

As if speaking to someone beside him, Kevin began to lower himself into the dissipating smoke only being left with confusion when he saw the empty ground. His eyes narrowed and he swings his weapon above him as a clash of metal resounded loudly.

"Woah... You really blocked that one!" Rimuru exclaimed with a smile, her katana in hand, its blade ignited in <Black Flames>

Kevin huffed as Rimuru flapped her wings and took to the air again, "... You played a trick."

"Of course I did! Are you annoyed, by any chance?" Rimuru giggled as her eyes followed Kevin when he flew up to her level, "... Well, that's on you for trying to play a trick on me first, Kevin!"

"You..." Kevin looked over Rimuru once, "... You are real... The real one..."

Rimuru tilted her head in confusion, "Hm? What are you talking about?"

Kevin shakes his head slightly and looks at Rimuru with ice-cold eyes before flying forward with Shamash in hand. Rimuru flew upwards to dodge his attack and swung her katana downward, only for it to be stopped by Kevin's left hand as the <Black Flames> began freezing in ice. She quickly pulls it out of his grip and the <Black Flames> melted the ice around it.

"You're as strong as ever, Kevin!"

"And your eccentric character never changed." Kevin scoffs, pointing his flaming blade at Rimuru, "I can't say the same for your appearance though."

"How do I look now? Cuter?"

There was an incredulous look on Kevin's face before he shook it off, "... Never mind. I have received orders, so don't expect me to go easy on you."

"Orders, huh?" Rimuru puts a finger on her chin in wonder, "You aren't usually like this, Kevin. Taking orders from someone else and stuff, unless it involves MEI. Even on the rarer occasions that you listen to an order, it's usually on high stakes."

Her eyes narrowed as Kevin seemingly flinched slightly, "And..."

<Report. A similar Ultimate Skill that had been borrowed to the individuals Bonnie and Jiu is identified on the individual Kevin.>

"It's another borrowed Ultimate Skill and it's the same one that Bonnie and Jiu had, which means that Kevin is the one that defeated Bonnie and became an Imperial Guardian too. Bonnie said that him and Hua stepped down from their positions... Could this mean..."

"Kevin. Where are they?" Rimuru questioned the man, who gave her a confused stare, "Hua and Su. I know that they are in the Empire too."

Kevin kept his silence and swung his weapon at her after flying forward. A high-speed clash started, and to anyone watching, it felt like they were seeing flashes going by if they didn't have perception skills like <Thought Acceleration>. When it stopped momentarily, Rimuru let out a small sigh under her breath.

"I can still go on if I put in some effort, but if I do that... Kevin will also come at me with all he's got. While that isn't a bad thing, I have to know what is happening to him. This is definitely not something Kevin would do. He isn't someone who would resort to such an underhanded method like a sneak attack after making me stop such a huge strike. Plus, he doesn't seem to be controlled..." Rimuru blinked while trying to figure out what Kevin was thinking, but couldn't come to a good conclusion yet, "He is the type of person to act for his friends too, even if he is hard to put a mind control on."