"...Rimuru-sama, what are we doing in the sewers?"
"Why did you come? And stop with the honorifics, it's creeping me out."
"Well... I had nothing to do so I thought it best to see what you were doing. Especially after you just put a hole in the middle of the street without warning whatsoever."
"You ignored my second sentence."
We had this kind of conversation, me and Tio, as we walked through the dirty and dark sewers under the streets of Fuhren. In the end, curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to check out the kid.
After a little bit more walking, we arrived at a current of waste, and in it is... well, a kid, as I thought. She was conspicuously struggling for dear life, half-conscious and half alive.
"Is that...!?" Tio gasped in surprise as she hurriedly used wind magic to get the kid out, while I stood by.
"She's a merfolk, after all."
"Is she the reason you went all the way down here?"
"Not her in general but the reason of why she's here."
"I see..."
I healed her wounds, but she was still unconscious, so Tio took her in for the time being while we strolled through the streets once again. We decided to buy her some clothes on the way. Tio did, but I paid for it anyway. But why me? Anyway, I can handle it, so I just let it slip by.
As I was chomping probably the 69th food I had, the merfolk regained consciousness. Tio hurriedly ran over to a place with no crowds, and I followed her.
She picked a little shack near the river outside the town and began to wash her there.
I was waiting in a chair outside when they finally finished.
"So... let's start with your name. Rimuru's mine, by the way. I'm sure you already know the woman in front of you." I said while sitting on the chair.
"...I'm Myu." She replied, her voice still shaking. "I'm supposed to be in a place called Erisen."
"Erisen?"
"It's the merfolk town built on the waves, over on the far side of the desert Even a merchant caravan would spend weeks getting from there to here. How'd you end up down those sewers?" Tio interjected as she gently dried Myu's hair with a towel.
In short, she was supposedly swimming with her mother along the coast, but the next instant, she was nowhere to be found.
She began to look for her when some humans who found her kidnapped her and brought her to a place she'd never been or seen.
After that...
"Rimuru-sam—Rimuru-san, do you think...?"
"Yeah, it's slave trading stuff."
"There were a bunch of other kids my age there, but..." Myu continued. "They all went away... the man said he sold them."
"Slave auctions... if they're selling children, then it must've been a black-market auction at that."
"I was just about to be taken away, too... but I heard a nearby water nearby, so... and then I woke up here..."
"Poor thing... you must've been through a lot." Tio embraced Myu as the kid sobbed uncontrollably.
"I see... then, since she's a merfolk, we can drop her by the peace-keeping bureau." After I said that, the kid, Myu, visibly flinched.
Wasn't as interesting as I imagined. I thought there'd be some big wheels behind the circumstances, but she seemed average. I had views of her being the daughter of some big shot like a pirate king who ruled the seven seas for decades, but I didn't know why I had that kind of expectation in the first place. Expectations lead to disappointments, indeed.
"But...! Wait, I think I can see your intentions." Tio wanted to protest at first but after a moment, she calmed down as she pondered on her thoughts, visible sadness on her face.
Merfolks, though beastmen, are officially protected by the government. They can use their racial characteristics to support the nation's fishing trade. Tio must've known that she'd be safer with the peace-keeping bureau than coming along with us.
"Myu, we're going to take you to some people that will protect you. It might take some time, but they'll be sure to get you back." Tio caringly said to Myu.
"...w-what about big sisters?"
"...Excuse me? I'm a guy."
I thought I'd become a lot more masculine than my first days in human form, but it seems I'm still seen as a trap. A fact that makes me can't help but sigh.
.........
......
...
"No! No! No! I don't wanna go! You can't!"
"I can."
"No! I wanna stay with you!"
"I don't."
"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"
She did all sorts of things as she was atop my shoulders.
Scratches, pulling, punches, slaps. She wouldn't stop on our way all the way to the bureau, and it was annoying... very much so.
Thanks to my status as a spiritual being, I'm unaffected, but that didn't make it any less exasperating. I was getting dangerously close to slamming her to the ground, but I decided to recall my dignity as an adult I had long forgotten and regard it as nothing more than a child tantrum.
A few more minutes of bullshit and we finally arrived. All this time, Tio's been laughing at my situation. I wanted to push the trouble to her but Myu herself refused so.
"That the kid?"
"Yes. The package is secured."
"Noted."
Me and Sir Police here sounded like some human traffickers talking about our business in dark alleys, but it was daytime. It's certainly a me thing, but the guy seemed amused. He seemed to enjoy this out of nowhere roleplay.
Nevertheless, we handed Myu to him. She drooped down and unexpectedly, she didn't fight back this time and only looked on sadly.
As I turned around, I was asked a strange question.
"...Do you hate me?"
"No. I neither hate nor like you. Our chance meeting was but a simple coincidence—put together by your circumstances and my unrestrained curiosity. So, you can forget about me. I think that'd be best. For you, at least."
I said so as I turned around. Tio also did so after casting one last sad look at the sobbing Myu.
"Stop being anchored down by it," I told Tio as I chopped another meat piece from my meat stick (don't think shit).
"That is something I cannot help, you know?"
We were a fair bit of distance away from the bureau now, probably one or two hundred meters...
...as a loud explosion occurred
BOOM
I quietly halted and turned only my head around. I see Tio look surprised for 0.5 seconds which turned into a look of realization as she dashed back into the bureau.
Sigh
I approached a small bin in the street, surrounded by hordes of humans fleeing in a state of confusion and fear, and threw away the little trash I had before walking away in the direction Tio had fled, my hands in my pockets.
.........
......
...
I thought I'd arrive in time, but as it turns out, it's over. I just walked, after all. Tio seemed to have fortunately come across Hajime and Yue along the way, and she sought their help as she explained everything as they went there.
I arrived at an empty clusterfuck of broken-down buildings and debris. In the middle is a little note which carried the words "Bring the blue hair if you want the kid back."
Does this bitch mean me? Me, of all people? Bad move, good sir.
I atomized the paper and assessed a few things. The frequencies of the air breathed by Yue and Hajime, as well as the tiny amounts of their suppressed aura are lingering in the space.
Thankfully, they didn't even consider actually exchanging me for Myu. I feel proud as their teacher, I thought as I created a handkerchief and wiped an imaginary bead of tear behind my lifted sunglasses.
Well, now that they are on this, I don't have to do anything. It's my students, after all.
So why not enjoy more food?
I clasped my hands as I thought of the delicacies. I have to cross all over the other side of the town, however, as everyone here's already fled in fear.
.........
......
...
"Oh, you're here." Hajime greeted, followed by loud explosions and debris flying into the sky in the city around us. It seemed he exploded all structures connected to the criminal organization that did Myu bad.
Yue and Tio were flocking over Myu, Hajime standing beside them and me walking towards them. A few hours have passed since before.
I smiled, "So? What about the kid? Do you plan to take her in?" As I asked that, Yue turned around and after greeting me, cast Hajime a sad and pleading look. She'd instantly fallen in love with Myu now. Myu noticed me and had a complicated expression. She seemed scared of me.
"Well, yeah."
Hajime urged me that we need to go to Horaud now and that Ilwa would take care of everything. Dumping responsibilities to people, he's taken after me.
※
The group is now going around Horaud, the place where the entrance to the Great Orcus Labyrinth lies.
It triggered a series of nostalgia in Hajime, understandably, and Rimuru was having fun looking around the town.
Due to a series of various circumstances, whether good or bad, Myu now calls Hajime "papa," much to daddy Hajime's dismay.
I'm still only 17! Do I look that old!? He complained to his indifferent sensei who only blankly said "yes".
Well, anyone will have second thoughts about being called a daddy at such a young age.
No one can guess the reason why Myu decided that kind of nickname for Hajime, however.
Surprisingly, Hajime eventually gave in. He even became such a doting daddy figure, and it came as a surprise to everyone, even to Rimuru, for Hajime to act that way.
He even ripped the marbles of those who tried to kidnap Myu and it was such a disgusting sight.
Now...
"Have you considered returning to them and starting over? Pretty sure not all of them tried to hurt you," Rimuru—wearing tight gray jeans and a white long-sleeve—commented beside Hajime.
It made Hajime ponder for a second, but he returned back to normal immediately.
"You're right. There was someone like that. But no matter how many chances I might have to do over, I'd always choose the same path."
"Oh? And why would that be?" Tio asked.
"It's simple. I'd always want to be with Yue."
"..."
"Tsk."
Tio said none as Rimuru grumpily walked away after clicking his tongue in annoyance.
Yue and Hajime stared at each other for minutes, doing nothing... just standing there... their cheeks red...
※
"Where's this Gold-Ranked adventurer!?!?"
A guy, who looked like he came straight out of a hentai episode for fuck's sake just barged into the room.
He had such an inconspicuous presence that made him barely noticeable and perceptible by the normal five physical senses. His most notable trait is his hentai-protagonist face. I mean, just look at him.
Anyways, now's not the time for that degeneracy.
He barged into this room—the office of the guild master of Horaud's guild, desperate and in a hurry, his face despite it all signaling a hasty need for help.
"Endou?" Hajime muttered. Judging by the H protag's name, Hajime's tone and expression, and the H protag's appearance in general, I can conclude that this is Hajime's classmate—former classmate.
The H Protag—Endou—wheeled in surprise, casting another panic look in the surroundings. Seemingly lost, he loudly shouted.
"Nagumo!? Is that really you!? It is, right!? Where are you!? Nagumo! You're alive, aren't you!? Get out here, Hajime Nagumo!"
"Dafuq?" I couldn't help but stop the sip on my coffee and mutter that line in astonishment. He was loud. Too fucking loud.
"I'm here so quiet down."
His eyes met Hajime's for an instant, but then he looked away again and started looking around the room once more.
"Dammit! I can hear you, but I can't see you! Are you a ghost!? Did you really die after all!? Is that why I can't see you!?"
This guy...
"I'm right in front of you, moron. Just calm down, man. Weren't you supposed to be the world's most unnoticeable person?"
"There it is again! That's your voice! And just who are you calling the king of invisibility!? I'll have you know that the automatic doors at stores open for me one-third of the time!"
"Wait, so even they don't notice you two-thirds of the time...? You're really something."
After that exchange, Endou finally realized the white-haired boy with the eyepatch was indeed Hajime. He scrutinized Hajime's face. Hajime turned away awkwardly. He probably wasn't used to guys staring so intently at him.
That's so ga—
"A-Are you... Are you really Nagumo?"
"No shit."
He changed a lot so he probably looked very different from the guy Endou remembered. He looked Hajime up and down again. Eventually, he was forced to accept it really was Hajime.
"You're... really alive."
"No shit."
"Everything about you has, changed though... like your appearance, and the way you talk..."
"I had to crawl my way out of hell. There's no way I'd stay the same after that."
"R-Really? Well, I guess that makes sense... Still, I can't believe you're really alive... Thank god... Wait, so... you're really an adventurer too? Gold-ranked at that..."
"Pretty much." Endou's expression did a complete 180. From one of relief to one of panic.
Looking at him now, he seemed pretty ragged. What on earth happened to this guy. I sensed a considerable fluctuation of mana underground away from here a few dozen minutes ago, could it be related?
"So not only were you able to make it back from the depths of the labyrinth alive, you've become strong enough to reach the highest rank in the adventurer's guild? No way..."
"More or less, yeah."
Upon hearing that, Endou broke down and clung desperately to Hajime's shoulders. His face was a mixture of desperation and regret.
"Then I'm begging you, come back to the labyrinth with me! If we don't hurry, everyone'll die! We need all the help we can get! Kentarou and Jugo could die any minute now! I'm begging you Nagumo, you've gotta help us!"
He hasn't noticed me. Yue and the others also. Damn.
They began arguing, mostly Hajime not budging and Endou being desperate.
Sips... Taps...
I placed my cup of coffee down, sat coolly like the king of the world, and interjected.
"43 minutes ago, I sensed a fluctuation of mana down the surface level. Do you know something about it?"
It was only then that Endou finally noticed me. His prolonged gaze fvcking creeped me out, especially since I cannot remove the image of him in hentai out my damn head.
Raphael, I've been cursed!!
<<.........>>
"O-oh... Oh! That was Kouki's Limit Break! How did you know...?"
He seemed at a disbelief that I knew about it, and doubt appeared on his mind that I might be related to the attack or whatever happened to them down there.
"This is my sensei, so you better keep your shit when you're around him or I'll blow off your limbs."
"Ello!" I waved with a smile. For some reason, the guy had a nosebleed, but that's irrelevant for now.
.........
......
...
To give a summary of Endou-kun's story, the cause was the demons. The hero party as they call it, got done badly and meanly.
Reminds me of the time I slaughtered Masayuki's party.
They were apparently close to the hundredth floor, when they were intersected by a single demon who gave them an offer to join the demon side in the war.
Naturally, they sternly refused but since it's come to that, the demon revealed the monsters she had under her.
By Endou's expression before alone, further context is not needed to get the general idea of what really happened down there.
"So? What now? Do you plan to save them? I'm fine either way." I said. Our group wasn't affected by the gloomy atmosphere that the humans in front of us were exuding.
The guild branch chief, Loa, sighed.
"You want me to go rescue the hero party?"
Endou suddenly snapped back to reality when he heard the word "rescue." He leaned forward and started begging Hajime once more.
"Th-That's right! Nagumo, we need to go save them! If you're really that strong, then you can do it, right!?"
"......"
Endou's eyes glowed with hope, but Hajime's reaction surprised him. Hajime pondered his options as he stared off into the distance. Endou expected Hajime to jump at the chance to save his comrades, so he was surprised when Hajime didn't respond right away.
"What's wrong!? They could be dying while we waste time here! What's there to think about!? They're your comrades!"
"My comrades?" Hajime returned his attention to Endou, his eyes as cold as ice. Endou trembled in the face of his piercing stare. Fear clashed with his tenacious desire to save his friends. Stubbornness eventually won out, and he stood firm against Hajime.
"Y-Yeah. They're your comrades, so we've gotta go save—"
"Don't just make them my comrades for the sake of convenience. I'll say it now: I've always thought of you guys as classmates. That's it. Strangers aren't all that different, really."
"Oh boy, I'll be waiting outside." It was time for some drama shit, and I ain't that much of a fan of it. I stood up and went outside.
"Oh, can I take the cookies?" I asked the chief and snatched the plate away from Myu.
.........
......
...
The door opened beside the wall I was leaning on.
Out came Hajime and the others, including Endou who had a relieved expression.
I guess that's that.
"We goin'?"
"...Yeah."
It seems he was convinced. Probably has something to do with that Kaori girl or whatever her name was.
※
Rimuru, Hajime, Yue, along with Endou, are currently traversing the floors of the Great Orcus Labyrinth with ease. They slaughtered all the monsters in their way and are already on the 80th floor.
"You guys... are too fast! Wait for me!"
"Hurry up. You're supposed to lead the way."
"Did you listen to a word I said?!"
It was a conversation of Hajime and Endou, and while they were at it, Rimuru halted and looked down the floor.
"What's wrong?" Hajime asked curiously. To that, Rimuru turned his head around and said—
"We're taking the shortcut."
—with a smile.
"Huh?" Before the three could process things, Rimuru's right hand is already raised.
"Disintegration."
A pillar of white radiance with a diameter of two meters shot from a magic circle just above them at the speed of light, instantly erasing everything it hit.
It was directed below the floor where Rimuru was previously looking at, and it left behind a hazing hole.
"Follow me." Rimuru said as he jumped down the hole, feet first.
"Hahh..." Hajime simply sighed as he, along with Yue, followed after him.
"Huh?" Endou, meanwhile, was still at a complete disbelief. For ten seconds, he just simply stared down the hole.
"Ah! I gotta hurry!"
He remembered his purpose and, after hesitating for a few seconds, jumped down too.
.........
......
...
Meanwhile, at the hero party's side, it was a chaotic mess that it was a wonder the students are still alive.
It had something to do with the demon trying to recruit them to their side, and it was the reason they were still breathing.
However, now that they showed no signs of obeying, the demon—Cattleya—had no more use of them.
The time of despair has only begun.
"Here you are. Finally. Should the hero really be tiptoeing around the dark like this?" A woman, Cattleya, said so as she approached the hero in his knees.
"Silence, demon! No matter what it takes, I will defeat you!" Replied Kouki, still in his knees coughing blood.
"Kouki-kun! You're still wounded."
Kouki ignored Kaori's concerned remark and summoned his Holy Sword, firmly refusing the thought of failure and defeat.
He forced his body to stand up, and in response, his sword glowed sickeningly bright.
"You still have the energy to fire off one of your spells, huh? Living up to that hero job, aren't we?" The demon snickered. "Go ahead, fire away. Before you do, though, I have something to show you." She continued.
At her words, a large monster with a humanoid body but with the face of a horse, emerged from the cloud of dusk behind her. On its hand was a humanoid figure, this time, human sized. That figure turned out to be—
"Meld-san!! Curse you, unhand him!"
—the captain of the Heiligh Kingdom's knights, Meld Loggins, as well as the mentor of the summoned students.
Kouki ignored all reasoning and just blindly dashed towards him in a fit of rage. His behavior was stereotypical but idiotic. That kind of stuff only results to some miraculous events in fictional works due to plot armor, after all. The real world doesn't have that feature.
That is why, leaving himself vulnerable on all sides but his front due to the rush caused by emotional disturbances, another powerful monster managed to sneak up behind him and forcefully slam him to the ground.
"""Kouki—!!!""" The students painfully yelled.
"Gaha!" A spray of blood spewed from Kouki's mouth as he flew back into the wall. The strain from using Limit Break, plus the damage from that last attack was more than his body could handle. He fell to the ground, unconscious. The only reason he wasn't dead was because the monster had held back on its final attack.
"What a letdown. I didn't think you'd take the bait that easily. I never thought it would be this easy. Looks like... you really were nothing more than overconfident brats after all. And here I was worrying I may have underestimated you."
On the students side, Kaori and Shizuku are still weighing their options.
"Shizuku-chan... Kouki-kun, he's..." Kaori whispered to her best friend.
"Damn it!" Shizuku spat in response. Then, taking a deep breath as if to calm her nerves, she continued. "What's your angle? There must be some kind of goal, or you wouldn't be keeping us alive."
"So, you must be the brains of the party, then?" Cattleya responded in admiration and surprise. "It's simply, really. How about you come over to our side?"
A few of the students paused. Shizuku asked her second question as she watched them from the corner of her eye.
"What are you going to do with Kouki?"
"You're a sharp one, fufu. I'm sorry, but I can't keep your hero friend alive. I doubt he'll reconsider switching sides, and you're unlikely to persuade him either, right? After all, he's one of those guys who thinks he's better than everyone else. He's going to have to die here."
"I take it the same holds true for us if we refuse, correct?"
"Naturally. There's no way we can just let a future threat go, right?"
"Aren't you worried we'll go along for now and then just betray you later?"
"Of course. So, if you do agree, we'll be putting you on a leash. Don't worry. We'll just make it so you can't turn against us, but otherwise you're all free to do as you wish."
"So semi-free slaves, basically. We can do whatever we want as long as it's not attacking you guys."
"Bingo. Thank god at least one of you has a brain. Now, I recommend you use that brain of yours to make the logical choice, unlike your poor hero friend."
With a mixture of unease and fear in their eyes, the other students listened to Shizuku and the demon's conversation. If they refused, the same monster that had easily defeated Kouki would attack them. They'd almost certainly perish. If they agreed, they'd be muzzled like dogs and would never be able to fight the demons again.
"I-I think we should take her up on her offer!" The first person to speak was Eri Nakamura, a short girl. She gave her opinion, trembling.
"Eri!! You backstabbing bitch, you're just gonna abandon Kouki, huh!?"
Kouki's best friend, Ryutarou, turned bright red in rage and charged at Eri.
"Hiiiiiiiiiii!?"
"Ryutarou, calm down! Eri, why do you think we should say yes?"
"I-I just... I just don't want everyone to die... I don't want Kouki-kun... to die either, but... Hic..." Tears began spilling from her eyes.
The students quickly got into an internal conflict. The majority are seriously considering taking the demon up to her offer, while the minority absolutely refused. The only reason they're still debating was because they'd felt guilty about abandoning Kouki just to save their own skins. They couldn't bring themselves to sacrifice him like that.
It was then that Meld—who was supposed to be unconscious—muttered in a low voice, yet loud enough for all to hear.
"Ngh... You kids... think only about how you're going to survive! Do whatever it takes to stay alive! I'm sorry... for dragging you all into our war... The more time I spent with you all... the more I came to regret relying on you to solve our problems... so please, live to make it home... Don't worry about us... From the start... this was our fight to fight!" This was what he personally wished for, not what his job required of him.
"""Meld—!!!"""
As the students all stared at him in shock, he squeezed out the last ounce of his strength and shook the Super Bulltaurs holding him off. His body began to glow with light and he threw himself at the demon.
"Demon... I'm taking you with me!"
"Wait, that's... Heh, planning on blowing yourself up? How very gallant of you. I must say, I'm actually rather impressed."
"Die!" The light grew to a blinding intensity. Meld looked just like Kouki did when he was using Limit Break, but upon closer inspection it became evident that the light was coming not from Meld's body, but from the pendant hanging about his neck.
It was a pendant given to most of the high ranking officials of the Heiligh Kingdom, and it was designed to blow up upon the holder's command in case there was a potential risk of national secret being extracted.
The students called out to Meld when they realized what he was trying to do. The demon, however, who was the target of the attack, seemed wholly unconcerned.
"Devour it whole, Absod." And just like that, the light coming from Meld's Loyalty's Promise vanished.
"Wha—!? How on earth!?" Strictly speaking, it hadn't vanished. It was being sucked away. He turned to the direction the light was going and saw a six-legged turtle with its maw open wide. That was what was sucking away Meld's final attack.
Absod appeared to be the name of the monster. Its unique ability was "Mana Absorption," which allowed it to absorb the mana of other people's spells and store it in its shell. It couldn't, however, absorb multiple spells at once or transform the mana into anything else. It could only take in a spell and fire it back out. Even so, it was capable of sucking up high-level magic. It was a natural foe of mages.
"What a shame." Cattleya muttered, seemingly enjoying her position. Until—
"You're still not done?" A deep, monotonic voice manifested behind her.
Everyone, including Cattleya and the monsters, as well as the students, froze.
A single man with gray hair appeared, dressed in black. His eyes were dark purple, and he seemed rather young, maybe in his mid-twenties. His most notable trait was the horn on his forehead, suggesting he was a demon. He was a beauty, but the fear his words exerted upon everyone instantly ceased all movements from the floor.
His name was—
"N-Nelson-sama, I was just about to wrap things up here."
Cattleya immediately turned around and instantly kneeled, not daring one bit to look up, her entire body showered in sweat.
This was Nelson, the God of War and was said to be a friend of the God the demons worshipped. His position in the demon empire Garland was second to none, and he was treated as God's equal.
The overwhelming authority his mere presence showcases is a testament to his bottomless power.
He was about to declare judgement, but a terrifying pillar of light assaulted the room. It instantly disintegrated the monsters that was just about to attack the students. Those fearsome horse-head monsters were wiped out in the blink of an eye.
BAM
"!?" Nelson was surprised. It was fast—too fast. He couldn't even sense it.
He stared in bewilderment, along with everyone else to the hole in the ceiling.
Out of it came a bewitching deity of beauty, possessing silver blue hair and deep golden crystal eyes. The wisdom those golden amethyst possessed seemed bottomless, and their face was truly the embodiment of perfection.
They gracefully landed on a pile of debris, their hands on the pockets of their pants. Strangely, not a single sound was emitted.
Everyone stared at the figure in a trance.
Not long after, Hajime and Yue followed. The first people he laid eyes upon was the shocked Shizuku and Kaori.
The moment Kaori laid eyes upon this cringe white-haired chuuni, was the moment she knew.
"I see you two are as inseparable as always."
He lightly jabbed.
His hair color was different. He looked like a different person. The way he talked was different. Even the look in his eyes was different.
But Kaori knew. She could tell instantly. It was him. The person she'd been searching all this time for. It was Hajime.
"Hajime-kun!!"
Everyone was shocked after what Kaori shouted. To them, she seemed delirious.
"Huh? Hajime-kun? Wait, you mean that's Nagumo-kun? What!? No way!? How!?" Confused, Shizuku glanced back and forth between Hajime and Kaori.
"Wait? Seriously!? Is it really you? Is it really you, Nagumo-kun? How? How on earth are you here!?"
"Slow down, Yaegashi. You're supposed to be the calm and composed one, aren't you?"
Even Shizuku couldn't remain calm after such an unbelievable chain of events. Seconds ago she'd been prepared for death, and now she was faced with a classmate who was supposed to be dead.
Now that the three are here, one last person came.
"N-Nagumooo! You bastard, that nearly gave me a heart attack! What the hell was that!? What did your sensei do!? He just plowed right through the ground with it! What the hell were you guys thinking!?" He looked around as he complained, spotting his best friends, along with the rest of his comrades, surrounded by a horde of monsters. His friends were both overjoyed at seeing him again, and angry that he'd returned.
"Kousuke!"
"Jugo! Kentarou! I've brought reinforcements!"
At the word "reinforcements," both the still slightly conscious Kouki and the demon turned to look at Rimuru, Hajime, and Yue. However, Hajime ignored the stares and started assessing the surroundings. It was then that...
Nelson's sword approached Yue at immense speeds from the shadows, but before it could strike the unsuspecting Yue, a black straight sword stopped it at its tracks as an audibly loud clang reverberated throughout the space.
Naturally, it was Rimuru. On his right hand was a black katana, with his left hand still in his pocket.
It was not the same as the draconic blade that was forged by Kurobe, this one was just a materialized cluster of magicules.
"Well, here's a strong one," Nelson commented as he backed away.
Rimuru lightened his posture and cast a relatively icy look towards the dumbstruck Yue.
"How many times have I told you never to let your guard down when there's a fight? You never learn, Yue. You need more training."
His comments were right on the mark, Yue had become a bit too arrogant of their consecutive victories and how easy it seemed with Rimuru around. That was why she was never taking this seriously in the first place. Rimuru was the same, but he got Raphael. He's an exception, of course.
He began to walk down the pile of rubbles they were standing on.
Hajime was quick to adapt and both him and Yue understood that their sensei was the one to take care of this Nelson guy, who seemed strong. Very strong for the current them.
Hajime was not at all happy about it, but he wasn't dumb as to wine about it now of all times.
Nevertheless, instead of standing there doing nothing idly, they moved to their original purpose which is to rescue the hero party.
Nelson and Rimuru faced each other, not at all exchanging any verbal words. Their swords held every intent they had.
Murderous.
They dashed.
In an instant, their initial rush exceeded tens of times the speed of sound.
The shockwave was so strong that it burned the air and shattered the ground.
The entire floor shook, consigning the already despairing students into further panic.
Hajime forcefully shut them up with Intimidation, but there was no telling when they will go rogue out of fear.
Nevertheless, their fight was in a dimension of its own. Rimuru fortunately created a spatially isolated barrier to contain the destructive output of his battle with Nelson. If not, the labyrinth would've broken down to dust.
"Yue, sorry, but can you guard those idiots over there for me?"
"Okay... leave it to me."
Yue casually walked over to the other students, completely ignoring the monsters surrounding them.
"H-Hajime-kun..." Kaori once again called out to Hajime, her voice trembling. She was feeling so many different emotions that she couldn't process them all. Naturally, there was the joy of knowing he was still alive, and the happiness she felt at seeing him again. However, there was also a mounting feeling of dread along with a sudden fear creeping its way into her mind. After all, Hajime was here in this dangerous place. She had no idea how he'd found his way down here, but all she wanted was for him to flee to safety.
Hajime noticed her unease and tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Just sit back and watch."
He activated Riftwalk, honing his senses to the limit. Then, pulled three Cross Bits out of his Treasure Trove and set them to guard Kaori and Shizuku. Hajime then turned to the demon and arrogantly stared her down.
The demon's eyes were still wide, doubting the truth of the immensely complicated shape of a barrier floating above them. Space was distorted in it. On the surface, it appeared little, yet on the inside, space was paradoxically stretched into thousands of kilometers.
"It can't be..."
"You, the red-haired girl over there. If you flee now, I won't chase you. I recommend you run, if you want to live."
Cattleya finally snapped back to her senses as she was called out. She felt an indescribable sense of crisis at the presence of the blue-haired, but she didn't at this human, so she still stood tall.
It was ludicrous to think that this puny human could harm her, especially with so many monsters surrounding him. While a lot was ruthlessly erased from existence by that light from before, she still had a lot of cards. She was so surprised by his words that she didn't comprehend them at first.
"You're not very quick on the uptake, are you? I said if you run now, I'll let you live. Is that so hard to understand?"
So, I didn't mishear him. Her expression turned cold. All she said in response was a simple, short statement.
"Kill him." She pointed at Hajime, ordering her monsters to attack.
The monsters were about to jump, overflowing with murderous intents, but the barrier containing Nelson and Rimuru's fight shattered, and a loud explosion occurred.
The horse-headed monsters quickly protected Cattleya, but it was so powerful that the ones at the front got pulverized to dusts. Hajime was warned beforehand by Rimuru, so he managed to protect himself, Yue, and the students just on time.
Nelson was blown back all the way to the other side of the room.
"Man, you're the strongest I've encountered in this world, yet you disappoint me so much. You're really weak, you know that? Where's your guts?"
Rimuru casually remarked as he walked towards Nelson.
"Huff... huff... graa... you! Heretic! I am the God of War, Nelson!"
"So? Still weak."
"Nonsense! I'll fucking kill you!"
At that, he charged at Rimuru with his special move. His figure duplicated into twenty, approaching Rimuru at tens of times the speed of sound.
Despite having such an overwhelming force rushing straight at him with immense speed, Rimuru showcased a smile.
Then, not moving from his spot, he muttered—
"Cataclysmic Time."
.........
......
...
An Imaginary World materialized, bringing forth Nelson's consciousness and soul faster than all logical boundaries of speed as a concept.
Nelson finds himself in a world of darkness blacker than black, bigger than infinity, and deeper than the emptiness of the primordial beginning.
He couldn't move. A helpless observer to his own demise.
In this beyond yet fictitious reality that seemed to be the very center of the unfathomable nothingness beyond the bounds of any conceivable notion, his body and soul—despite being a deity, augmented as it was with all sorts of Ancient Magics—ceased to both exist and non-exist.
The void is both the beginning and the end of things—darkness an archetype. Creation has just sprouted to a world of light, amidst formless chaos.
Light shoved darkness, darkness swallowed light. There is neither life nor death. Time and space are mere conceptual constructs
All definitions vanish. Philosophy is devoured by the crippling chaos, and reason prostrates before true nihility.
"This is Cataclysmic Time, a void beyond the universe, representing the end of space and time. I'm not obligated to tell you anything else. You will rue your folly in the depths of the abyss—Collapsing Origin, Breakdown Nostalgia."
'—Omega,' is the concept behind this power. It is the apocalypse, the end of all things. The ultimate force that brings all of existence to an end. The past, present, and future. Everything that was to what is and will be—beyond everything that is. It only spells out one certain outcome for its target: "End."
Nothingness and Infinity—truly terrifying concepts that are strangely immersive. The conceptual impossibility and brilliance, the vast unfathomable endlessness that is strangely resplendent.
It was the pinnacle of power, balancing the terror and resonance of oblivion—perfect, flawless, incomprehensible, and the most powerful.
The world became colorless as everything shattered in ways impossible for any conception of dimensional space, beyond the intellectual capacity of any dimensional lifeform.
※
I said that last bit to the demon. He wouldn't and couldn't hear me, but I did it for ✨formality purposes✨
The imaginary paradise shattered, devouring Nelson and his despair, then bringing me back to the real world where zero-time has passed after Cataclysmic Time's activation.
Cataclysmic Time was a modified version of Diablo's Paradise Time, and it was such a nasty combination of other abilities that it seems impossible for anyone to ever survive being ensnared within. Its activation ignores all time and space, a trait taken from Belzebuth. All conceptions of distance and dimensions are annulled, and once a target is specified, it is impossible to escape.
In my outstretched arm was Nelson's dismembered head, which turned to black scraps of paper-like substance that burned to nothingness as it flew off my hand, carried by the wind.
To outsiders, it would've looked like Nelson suddenly disappeared, and these black remains came into my hand out of nowhere.
Word Count: 6486
Hello, guys, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates for the past couple of weeks. Grade 10 is no joke, and my schedule is always full and school works are always stacked. Anyways, sorry if this chapter has a lot of errors or seems like it was rushed, because it really is. I made this in a hurry because I might not upload in the next month, maybe less or more. Exams are coming up in the next few weeks, and I really need to get my shit together if I want any hope of passing. Anyways, that is all, thanks for those who support this book!