The sound of clashing swords echoed in the forest. Branches were cut, dirt flew into the air, dust clouds formed, and the occasional drops of blood were spilled. Multiple figures blurred as they fought ferociously, if the damage to the forest was any indicator.
However, it was clear that one side obviously held the advantage. A red-haired ogre clashed with a clothed hobgoblin, quickly deflecting the hobgoblin's sword before forcing him back. A tempest wolf with a golden horn and white and dark blue-ish fur came from behind, jaws wide open poised to bite, only to be quickly knocked aside by a blue haired ogre.
Nearby, a certain short and perverted hobgoblin was screaming in agony, as he laid on the ground, a shallow wound on his chest. In front of him stood an old ogre with a white coat, who proceeded to sheath his sword.
Rimuru, seeing the entire scene with {Universal Perception}, quickly put on his copy of Shizue's mask after taking it out from his {Imaginary Space}. He rushed to the battlefield, and landed in front of Gobta, causing a small crater to form beneath his feat. His platinum-blue hair breezing in the wind, he gazed at the ogres in front of him.
The fighting had paused the moment he arrived. In front of him, grouped up together, were the ogres that would eventually become his comrades in arms.
"Rigur, Ranga, to me."
The clothed hobgoblin, Rigur, and the direwolf, Ranga, immediately fell back to their master. Rimuru immediately tossed them healing potions, healing them instantly.
"Hey, Lord Rimuru, don't I get one too?" asked Gobta, still lying on the ground.
Rimuru proceeded to ignore him.
"Sheesh... he makes such a big deal out of a shallow wound... and this will benefit his growth so..."
"Lord Rimuru, please!"
"..."
Unbeknownst to Gobta, those words hit Rimuru hard. His trauma and pain related to the loss of his family made him want to protect them, but at the same time he wished for them to grow stronger. As such, he was now debating on whether to give in to Gobta's wishes or to just let him moan in pain for a bit, thus increasing his pain resistance.
"GODDAMMIT Gobta!"
Rimuru finally gave in and tossed him a healing potion.
"Thank you so much, tsuu~" said Gobta, with tears in his eyes.
Now fully ignoring the fool, Rimuru eyed the ogres, at least where they were previously.
["Notice. The ogres are now moving to engage master"]
"Ok, this is not how I expected things to go. But at least I don't have to act as naive as before..."
Rimuru proceeded to duck as a mace swung in his direction, courtesy of the purple haired and skinned ogre. He then retreated back as the red haired ogre jumped over his companion, attempting to bisect Rimuru in half.
A wall of blue flames suddenly appeared behind Rimuru, seemingly cutting off his retreat. The red haired ogre pressed forward, swinging his sword towards Rimuru's neck, only to be met with stiff resistance. Rimuru had drawn a tachi from his {Imaginary Space}, and had blocked the strike.
A feint to the left caused the ogre to back away, before a thrust towards the ogre's neck forced the blue haired one to intervene. As two thin swords met Rimuru's tachi, both the mace wielding woman and the red haired ogre pushed, flanking Rimuru on both sides.
Both swung as one, only to miss and nearly hit each other. Ahead of them only lay the now uninjured hobgoblins and a lone direwolf.
Turning around, they were met with the sight of their unconscious blue-haired companion gently sliding down the base of a tree. Their eyes looked slightly upwards, noticing the small crater in said tree. Slowly, they realized what had happened. Instead of retreating, their opponent had pushed forwards, overpowering the blue haired ogre and shoving him into the tree.
Rimuru was forced to yet again avoid a strike, this time from the white haired master. Instead of ducking or dashing in a direction, he simply leaned back under the strike, transitioning into a backwards roll.
The roll ended when he launched both of his feet out, kicking the large hammer wielding one in the stomach, sending him into some rocks nearby, knocking him out as well.
"Alright, time to end this." thought Rimuru.
Using {Sticky Steel Thread}, he immediately tied the purple haired ogre to a tree. He then blocked a blue fireball coming from the pink haired one using {Body Armor}. Using {Universal Perception}, he noticed once again the white haired master attempting to sneak up on him, only to send a cloud of {Paralysis Breath} in that direction. However, it was avoided, and the three remaining ogres grouped together.
"As expected of Hakurou. I actually put some effort into that attack." thought Rimuru. "But... why are they so aggressive this time? I mean they did not even give me a chance to talk."
Eyeing the now frustrated ogres, he asked them a single question.
"If I may ask, why did you guys attack me and my subordinates?"
Rimuru already knew the answer, but he wanted to understand what made them act so differently.
"Wouldn't you already know that, you evil majin!" yelled the red haired one, moving forward as if enraged. He was stopped by the white haired one, with a hand placed on his shoulder.
"Enough. You cannot be reckless. The majin before us has used {Sticky Steel Thread} belonging to the Black Spider, {Body Armour} belonging to the Armorsaurus, and {Paralysis Breath} belonging to the Giant Centipede. We don't know how many more skills he has hidden in his arsenal."
"He also effortlessly saw through me each time I hid my presence. It is not a feat that many in this forest can do."
Rimuru interrupted the conversation again.
"I actually don't know what you guys are talking about. Can you please exp-"
He was answered with an orange and red fireball to the face.
"Shut up you evil majin! OGRE FLAME!"
"Why is Benimaru so angry?! Did something happen?"
Standing still in the epicenter of the flame tornado, Rimuru pondered on the current situation. He could take the same course of action as last time, but he did not know if there were any unknown circumstances that could cause things to go awry.
"Ciel, what do you think?"
["Master. It is fine to proceed as planned."]
"Very well."
Calmly walking out of the tornado of fire, he took off the mask, and allowed a miniscule portion of his true aura to reveal itself. That alone caused the remaining three ogres, as well as the subordinates behind him, to shake in fear and awe. His aura even dissipated both the red flames of the red haired ogre, as well as the blue flames of the pink haired one.
Ciel, meanwhile, had already started to run interference, preventing any others from sensing even the slight amount of aura.
Quickly forming a small tornado of black flames in his hand, Rimuru then raised it above his head, before willing the flame to swell in size. The flame followed his orders, growing exponentially, its heat causing the moisture in the air to vaporize. The flame even blocked the sunlight from reaching the fight, darkening the sky above.
"So, will you surrender yet?" Rimuru asked with a calm tone.
He expected the ogres to refuse, so he then quickly launched several strikes of {Black Lightning} around the general area, destroying rocks and uprooting trees, before waiting for their answer.
"Young Master..." started the white haired ogre.
"Enough..." answered the red haired one.
"It's always the same, isn't it? The strong will always destroy or bully the weak...that is why I need to get stronger...to avenge them!"
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A burning village. A dark night sky, lit with the flames of destruction and despair.
He, the son of the ogre chieftain, was running like a coward in the cover of darkness. In his arms was his younger sister, a beautiful pink haired girl. Beside him were his companions and friends.
A rival with blue hair.
His master with old white hair.
A fellow pupil with purple hair.
The village's blacksmith with a large hammer strapped to his back.
They were the survivors that his father had told to flee, before the remaining ogres were forced to fall back towards the center of town. All other escape routes had been blocked.
Originally, there were others that were meant to come with them, but they had stayed behind to slow down their pursuers. He could still remember their faces, despairing yet resolute, asking him to remember their sacrifice.
The words of his father rang deep in his subconsciousness, as he remembered the last time he had seen his father.
"My son. Our time has come, but yours has not. Leave this place with our most promising young warriors."
"But father!"
"Enough!"
He remembered the grip of his father's hands on his shoulders, both trembling. In fear, in anger, he did not know.
"Live, my son. Live for our sakes. For all of us who have died for you. Your mother, your uncle, your aunt, your cousins... And eventually...me as well. Remember us on your journey, grow up, and grow strong..."
His father had released him and turned away, as the racket of all the fighting had started to grow closer. And louder.
"One day, my son...when you are strong enough... avenge us."
A guttural roar sounded in the distance, and he knew, subconsciously, that the noise he heard was both the final message and final words of his clansmen.
He gritted his teeth, biting hard on his lips so as to not let out a sound, tears running down his face. Blood started to seep out of his mouth, but he did not care. He would find a way to get back at all those that had wronged them. All those that had caused this calamity.
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"Their sacrifice for me to live, and to avenge them, just for me to run? To surrender in the face of more danger? That is unacceptable! If I cannot confront those stronger than me for the sake of my beliefs or my people, then I don't deserve this title nor this position of responsibility. If I can't defeat those that have hurt those that I loved, then what use am I?! TO HELL WITH IT! I WILL AVENGE MY FAMILY!"
"I refuse, majin. I will not surrender, ever. If you want victory, you will have it once you are standing over my cold dead BODY!" yelled the red haired ogre, before glaring at Rimuru.
His aura increased exponentially, and despite it not even putting a dent in the aura Rimuru was currently emitting, he was not deterred. Preparing a sword stance, he put force into his legs, preparing to charge.
Unbeknownst to him, Rimuru had received all the information from his memories thanks to Ciel, finally understanding what had gone differently. It seems that his father's death was much more impactful than last time, which led to this drastic change in hotheadedness, stubbornness and hostility.
And, just as Rimuru predicted, it was the ogre princess, who would later be known as Shuna, that stepped forward and pleaded with her brother to stop. The events that followed would be the same as before, with the group heading to Rimuru's village shortly after.