Writing format:
[[Ciel/Raphael/Great Sage]]
{Skills or Abilities}
{{VOTW}}
#Whisper/Mumble#
"Dialogue"
"Telepathic Dialogue"
Internal Monlogue/Emphasis
Loud
________________________________________________________________________________
Shizue POV:
Where am I?
I find myself walking in a white space. It was truly endless, and truly featureless.
I walked on, for a long time, not coming across anything, until I saw two silhouettes in the distance. One resembled the hero, my teacher, and the other, my first friend, Pirino.
They're...
I break into a sprint, running to them as fast as possible, before they can leave me on my own again.
I crash into them, bringing them into an embrace as tears well up in my eyes.
But the moment is short lasted, when they begin to crumble into dust, right before my eyes,
"No! Please... don't leave me again..." I beg the slowly disintegrating bodies of my friend and my mentor, but my pleas do nothing at all.
Before she loses her form the hero raises her hand, and points it into the distance. Her arm soon disappears as well, blown away into the wind.
Brushing away my tears, I look into the direction where the hero pointed to, and...
"Mother!"
A picturesque garden with a wooden house, small grasses sprouting out from beneath the gravel, the tranquil sounds of leaves rustling...
That were the last time I was truly happy, wasn't it? Before I got dragged into the world...
"Mother! I'm here!" My tears stream down my face, blowing off into the white abyss as I dive into my mother's arms. "Mom..."
Within her embrace, I finally let out every emotion I had bottled up over the years. My mom kept comforting me, stroking my head lovingly, until I stopped crying.
"I... I'm sorry... mom, I want to stay here... but..." I try to force my words out, but they get stuck in my throat. "I... I don't want to leave here, but..." No! I promised Rimuru-san that I would return! Why can't I bring myself to do it!?
"Shh, it's alright honey. I understand." She whispers softly as she caresses my hair. "The people who are waiting for you, go make some happy memories with them, ok?"
I gaze into my mothers eyes, which look at me so lovingly. Through my sobs, I make a determined nod. We enjoy the last moments of our embrace, before I step back, and allow myself to fade into the nothingness, returning to Rimuru in the real world.
________________________________________________________________________________
3rd POV:
One day ago...
A low murmur lingers as hundreds of monsters, all of different sizes and colors, shuffle into a hastily prepared tent. No seating arrangement was planned, so the leaders of every tribe in attendance simply too any seat they saw, with their attendants standing behind them.
Amongst the crowd, one group stood particularly tall. With his head raised high, and his snout even higher, Gabiru, the Lizardmen representative strutted to his seat next to Veldora. Following behind them, Benimaru, the representative of the Ogre clan, entered the room, surrounded by a commanding aura of strength. He strode to the seat opposite of Gabiru's.
Both the Ogres and the Lizardmen had made significant contributions to the war effort against the Orc Lord, and as such, were granted their seats at the very end of the room.
Following them, a meeker group. A small group of Rabbitmen; a female 'warrior', the chief, and the Elder, accompanied by a few guards. They didn't stand out, and blended into the rest of the crowd. Not that they would want to stand out, anyways. Especially with the next arrival, the Dryads.
From behind Veldora's 'throne', a cacophony of vines erupted from the ground, dancing in the air until they coalesced into the shape of three large cocoons. On cue, each one revealed one of the Dryad sisters, standing completely still behind their lord.
After a few minutes, the last group arrived. The atmosphere in the room grew notably tense as the Orcs stepped into the meeting hall. Many in the hall were warriors who fought in the war, and they clenched their fist in rage, remembering the conflict. Worse so, some representatives were those from settlements that were trampled by the advancing Orc army, and they had to be restrained by their subordinates to prevent them from lashing out in rage.
The leader of the Orc's party walked with his head hung low as he made is way to his seat, directly beside the Master himself.
Finally, after everyone had settled down, all eyes rested upon the lord of this land, Veldora Tempest, awaiting what he had to say. Will he declare that every tribal chief be given a name? Will he strike down the Orcs with capital punishment? Or will he devolve into one of the food/manga driven rants that he so often does when faced with a serious situation?
Veldora's answer was:
"Kua-ha-ha-ha! Listen here, fools! Everyone shall now refer to me as 'Divine Emperor Rimuru Tempest'!"
________________________________________________________________________________
Veldora POV:
"It's a great title, is it not!? Truly one befitting of a being as great as I!"
In my opinion, this speech should have satisfied everyone here! But reality disagrees with me, and the expectant gazes that these poor denizens of my forest were giving me now possess a small trace of disappointment, and maybe exasperation. Oh no, looks like I have to rectify things.
"*ehem* O-of course, that isn't all. As for the Orc's situation, I plan on fully pardoning every orc from punishment-"
Oops. It seems I might have caused quite the uproar.
"The orcs stampeded my village! They trampled our houses, our fields, and left us out in the wild! And you're just going to let them get away with it!?" The old chief of a small monster village yells in rage.
"Yeah! We fought tooth and nail against those pigs so that we could subjugate them, and now you're just gonna let them go free!?" A large, gruff sounding bovoid agreed.
Many more voices of complaint were heard, but were quickly silenced by the dryads.
"We understand your anger towards the orcs, but I ask that you please remain silent now. Allow our lord to speak first, do not forget who's soil you so arrogantly stand upon." The command from a dryad quickly shuts up all voices of dissent among the crowd.
"T-thank you, Treyni. Well- as I was saying, I will pardon all of the orcs for their crimes. This was the promise I made to Demon Lord Geld. More pragmatically speaking however, having the orcs as a labor force will be incredibly helpful to all of us in the future."
"W-wait!" The orc representative stood up in a hurry, shocked. He quickly regained his composure before addressing me. "A-are you sure we can be a part of this 'Empire' you speak of? Even after what we did..."
"Indeed. For all of you who are not aware, I plan to create a nation- no, an empire that spans the entirety of the Jura Forest. An empire of monsters, so to speak. Every race, from every tribe, no matter your history, or your beliefs, you will all be allowed to join my empire! The orcs were forced to commit their crimes under the influence of {Starved}, should we, for that reason, exile them from our empire?" I pause, gauging the reactions from the crowd. "I implore you all to forgive the these people for what they have done, so that we can work together to create the most glorious empire in the history of the world, the Empire of Monsters!"
Forgiveness, I think it's probably one of Rimuru's greatest traits. Well then, I'll be an even greater forgiver than you, Rimuru! Kua-ha-ha-ha!
After a short silence, discussion once again began in the hall. Some became entranced in my vision, while others vehemently disagreed. Eventually, they all agreed to pardon the orcs for their crimes, although some did so incredibly unenthusiastically.
"W-" The lumbering orc's lips trembled as his eyes filled with emotion. "We thank you, Lord Rimuru, for pardoning us! We pledge everything to you, our bodies, our souls, and our eternal loyalty. Thank you!"
The orc representative, and his attendants, all drop to their knees, with tears flowing from their eyes.
"Well, I promised your father that I would consume all of your sins, and I'm not one to go back on my own promises! Kua-ha-ha-ha!"
After sharing some manly emotions, the orcs return to their original places, although eased of much of their tension.
With that commotion done, I continue speaking. "Apart from that, I will graciously grant the privilege of naming to every one of my citizens, including everyone in this room, and their settlements!"
Oops. Looks like I caused another uproar.
"Y-you can't be serious! I don't doubt your power, my lord, but every one!? You're trying to name almost half a million monsters! That's impossible, even for Demon Lords!" This time, the doubt came from the direction of Benimaru, on my left.
"Kua-ha-ha-ha! I appreciate your concern, truly! But worry not, I(The one in my stomach) has enough magicules to name every monster who pledges loyalty to me!"
"No! I absolutely do not! Please, I beg you, don't do it!" I'm really sorry, other me! This is important! I promise I'll make it up to you with some snacks!
Understanding that arguing will do nothing, the Kijin concedes, only letting out an exasperated sigh, half of disapproval, the other half of pity. Oh, but do I hear a hint of admiration? Kua-ha-ha-ha!
"Anywho, now that that's decided, I'll finalize the meeting. Before that, I want to announce something. Tomorrow, there will be another banquet to celebrate the return of a special guest!"
Benimaru once again has more disapproval to disapprove me of.
"Lord Rimuru! You can't simply hold so many banquets! I'm sure your people are already sick of i-"
"Amazing, Lord Rimuru! We'll start the preparations right away!" Rigurd confirmed with enough enthusiasm to drown out Benimaru's doubt completely. With his spirit crushed, the defeated male leaves.
With me signaling the end of the meeting, the crowd of monsters slowly shuffles out of the hall. I quickly change into my slime form and zip out alongside them, making my way to my personal quarters.
Alright, it's time to fulfill my promise.
________________________________________________________________________________
Shizue POV:
I open my eyelids. They are heavy with fatigue, but I force them half-open. I need to see someone.
I try to get up, but my body aches. I push through it, however. I'm determined to get up.
As my upper body becomes upright, the sense of disorientation hits me, hard, only barely warded away by my feet planting touching the ground, securing my sense of gravity.
I try to get up, but I feel a force pushing me back down. No, I have to continue!
"-ey- -izue- -at-" Is someone trying to speak to me? No- whatever! I need to go! I need to find Rimuru-san!
I struggle against the pushing force, but I'm no match.
No! J-just let me through!
"-izue!"
Wha-?
"Shizue!"
I look up to see a handsome-looking man on top of me, holding me down.
"W-what's going on!?" I try to move, but his grip is strong.
"Shizue! It's me, Rimuru! Look, I have a human form now!" Rimuru? Did he copy my body? Now that I think about it, his face looks a lot like mine, like, and male version of my face.
"What happened just now... ?" I vaguely remember trying to get up, and the intense desire to go somewhere.
"A- Uhm- *ehem*, when you woke up, you immediately tried to get up and run outside, but I stopped you and pinned you to the bed to stop you from moving!" Rimuru said with an innocent grin, as if expecting me to praise him. I look around, and see that I am indeed being pinned to the bed... in a somewhat compromising pos- Wait! Why am I naked!?
"Gya! H-hentai!" I try to break free, but I can't. Rimuru senses that I want to leave, though, and he gets off me, acting quite puzzled.
"C-can I have some clothes... please..." I ask meekly while trying my best to cover up. Thankfully, Rimuru-san doesn't seem all that interested in my naked body, or I might have to hit him! Seriously, its just unacceptable!
I quickly put on the clothes that Rimuru gave me. I eventually calmed down, and I asked some questions, some about what happened while I was gone, others were about him. He was quite ambiguous about his own information, though, which makes me wonder what sort of past he had.
I eventually asked the question that had been bothering me the most. "Rimuru-san, how did you save me?"
After all, most of my should had been consumed by Ifrit, I would have died soon no matter how many healing potions I received. Separating me from ifrit would almost instantly lead to my death, as well, since it was his power keeping me alive all those years.
"Ah, well, you see... Charys, you can come out now."
A familiar feeling emerges inside of my chest, the same feeling I had when I lost control of Ifrit, when he subjugated my body. This time, however, I don't feel any friction.
A trail of embers erupt from my chest, forming the familiar figure of Ifrit.
What!? What's going on? Why is Ifrit out all of a sudden! ...and why is Rimuru-san so calm about this!?
"Charys, stop being so cold!" Rimuru commands, seemingly towards Ifrit. I even see him smirk, probably at that terrible joke he made.
"... Understood. Lady Shizue. I know that you and I have had many conflicts that we could not resolve. Thanks to lord V- Rimuru, I was able to reflect on how I acted." Ifrit- no, Charys, said to me. His tone was, notably, incredibly sincere. "I... I hope that you will be able to forgive me, and if that isn't possible, at least bear with me."
"..." I bite my lip. This... my trouble, it was all caused by him! I don't want to forgive him but... Thinking back, I never really tried to understand Ifrit. We never got along, because he wanted to serve Leon, while I had my conflicts with him. But now... maybe it's time to put our conflict at rest. "Alright... I'll be looking forward to working with you, Charys-san."
With a nod from Rimuru, Charys returned to my body in the same trail of embers from which he first exited with.
"Umm... by the way, Rimuru-san... you mentioned that you would tell me who you really were when I awoke..." The moment I mentioned that, Rimuru's expression flicked from confusion, to understanding, to dread.
After a pause, he spoke. "Ah, well... I guess I couldn't avoid it. Rimuru isn't my real name, by the way." He paused again. "Before I tell you my real name, can I trust that you won't use my real name in public, ever?"
I nod, since I'm really curious about his backstory.
"Well then... I guess telling you my real name would be a start."
"My name is Veldora. Veldora Tempest."
________________________________________________________________________________
(A/N) Hey! Another chapter finished! I'm not very good at writing emotions yet, I'll need to work on that, so please excuse my sloppy, horrible writing!
Also, thanks for reading Velsura!
2603 Words