Rimuru's POV
As soon as Velgrynd declared that she would fight me, she made some distance and shot fire breath at me. I quickly dodged and moved closer to her.
She then bombards me with fire magic. Most of them are harmless to me due to my natural barrier, but a few of these shots were supported by an Ultimate Skill, so I had to dodge or take precautions against all of them. The battle continued in this stalemate for some time, but i still couldn't fathom about how strong or weak Velgrynd actually was.
I thought Velgrynd would be stronger. She is strong, no doubt, but i had expected her to be stronger. She is nowhere near the level of Veldora. Even Velzard, i could fell the strength in her, yet for Velgrynd, i could not feel her to be on the same level. Her skills in fighting are extraordinary, yet the magicules are nowhere near to match it. She should at least have a few more times the magicules she has to even come closer to Velzard or Veldora.
"Is that all you have?" I ask.
"You are not bad, I have to say."
"Why, thank you. But aren't you quite weak? Compared to your sister. Rather, i won't be surprised if even Veldora defeated you."
"Haha. That little brother of mine wouldn't even be able to put a single scratch on me, even now."
"Is that so?"
"That is so."
While we were talking, she still threw her attacks at me, but at this point, even i could understand that she knew that i could defend against it. What is she planning? Hoping that i overlook an attack of hers? Lower my guard? What does she want? At this point, this is just a waste of time. What is she planning?
Wait....... Waste of time? There is no way?
3rd Person POV
Just as Rimuru came to a conclusion, as if to prove that hypothesis correct, he received a thought communication from Ramiris.
'Rimuru. Trouble. Mentor is in trouble.' Ramiris shouted.
'What is it?'
'It is about Mentor's sister. Mentor is busy fighting Velgrynd.'
'Velgrynd?'
'Quickly do something.'
'Alright.'
Just as this conversation finished, Rimuru turned towards Velgrynd, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Wh-*blergh* what? Hap *cough* happened?"
Rimuru looked down to see an arm piercing through his chest, with a small metallic ball in its grasp.
"Hoh? So this is your dragon core? It's a bit different. But, whatever. It is not developed enough. But i can feel the strength in it. I am sure you could have evolved given a few more years. What a pity." Velgrynd said as crushed the core.
Rimuru's eyes lost their color and his body felt limp, standing only because of the support of the hand that has pierced it. Velgrynd quickly retracted his hand causing Rimuru's body to fall to the ground.
"Well, you could have had a better future." Velgrynd said, looking at the body lying on the now burnt ground, with a large wound in the chest, before teleporting away.
Some time earlier......
Tempest......
Inside the labyrinth....
"Mentor? Are you still afraid? Your sister is gone." Ramiris asked Veldora.
"I am not afraid. Kwahaha. I am the Great Storm Dragon. There is no way I would be afraid of my sister. I was just, uh, feeling under the weather. Yes. I was not feeling good. That's all. Yep. That's all."
"But aren't you a spiritual being? How could you fall ill?"
"Now, now. Don't sweat the small details."
"Alright. But why are you-" Just as Ramiris was about to ask, a large tremor was felt throughout the labyrinth.
"Mentor? This is?"
"It seems my intuition was correct."
"Intuition? What do you mean?"
"Yes. It seems my elder sister, Velgrynd, is here."
"But. What should we do?"
"Talk to Rimuru. He will know something to do. I will go and fight with her, and stall for time."
"But...."
"No buts. Even inside this labyrinth, they will not be safe. Take the city inside. Now."
"Fine."
'He is not even talking in his usual haughty tone. It must be really serious.' Ramiris thought.
'Rimuru. Trouble. Mentor is in trouble.' Ramiris shouted.
'What is it?'
'It is about Mentor's sister. Mentor is busy fighting Velgrynd.'
'Velgrynd?'
'Quickly do something.'
'Alright.'
"Looks like Rimuru would be able to do something. I hope he comes quick. Or else itight be too late. If things too get dicey, i will intervene. Alright, Beretta?"
"Understood, Ramiris-sama." Beretta said. Even he understood how grave the situation was, so he was glad that his master was thinking rationally.
Meanwhile....
Velgrynd, who had just attacked Tempest, was in her dragon form. The flame breath of hers had not caused any damage to the country due to the magic barrier surrounding it. Yet, the attack was powerful enough to destroy the barrier. If she attacked again, nothing could prevent the country from being wiped off the map of the Earth. But, before she could even react, the city slowly disappeared into the labyrinth.
Velgrynd had anticipated it, so didn't rush at all. She already knew that her powers would be enough to destroy Tempest. The only reason she was holding back, was because, Rudra wanted to take Rimuru under his wing. So she didn't want to destroy a potential ally.
Just then, Veldora flew straight towards her and attacked her with his storm blast. Seeing his brother here was no surprise. She had expected it. So, when Veldora attacked her, she leisurely moved out of its way. Yet, even though she was sure she had dodged it, the storm blast had managed to give a light cut to her tail.
"Kwahaha. Sister. You have gotten weaker." Veldora exclaimed in a loud tone.
"Hoh? It seems like my little brother has actually grown a bit." Velgrynd commented.
Velgrynd had decided to enjoy fighting her little brother when she learnt about what had happened at Dwargon.
"Veldora, i will give you a choice."
"Huh?" Veldora asked surprised. He was sure that her elder sister would bombard him without mercy. Yet, she was still willing to talk.
"That Demon Lord is dead. So, why don't you join me and Rudra. Once we defeat Guy, you can do whatever you want. You can even rampage all you want in the Western Nations."
"Huh? He is dead? Who are you talking about? Rimuru? I can still feel my soul corridor with him. What is he doing?" Veldora murmured. After thinking for a while, he decided to give up. There was no way he would understand what Rimuru is thinking.
"Kwahahaha. Sister. You are looking down on him, if you think he is dead. He wouldn't die that easily."
"So, you are not surrendering, are you?"
"Of course not. It has been a long time since I fought you. So let me show you, that now, I am stronger than you "
"Hoh? Those are some bold words."
Just as Velgrynd said that, she started to attack with fireballs. Veldora's Ultimate Skill had already warned him about the possibility of an Ultimate Skill supporting them, so he decided to dodge.
"Looks like you have gotten a bit better."
Velgrynd said as she charged up her breath. But it was not an ordinary breath. Veldora had once been killed because he underestimated its power. Instead of a breath, it is in reality a flame that can freely form any shape. Last time, Velgrynd had converted it into a sphere and shot straight at Veldora's true dragon core, causing it to break and killing him.
So, this time, Veldora was on guard. He cautiously kept an eye on his sister. But then, disaster struck.
*Boom*
A loud voice could be heard. It was the sound of a gunshot, yet it sounded more like an explosion than a gunshot. The bullet made its way to Veldora at many times the speed of the sound. Before Veldora could even react, the bullet pierced through his scales and he felt that his control over the body was losing. When he looked towards the place where the bullet was fired, he could see another army, much smaller than the one which had attacked earlier, but one thing that caught his eye was the flagship, on which, Rudra was sitting.
Meanwhile.......
Ramiris, who just saw Veldora being shot at, quickly took her real form. Just as she was about to head out, someone grabbed her by the arm.
"Ramiris, stay here. I will take care of the rest."
Ramiris turned around to see Rimuru. Yet, he was not the same as before. His eyes had none of his usual kindness or cheerfulness. They were dark. Void. And the aura surrounding him could be called anything but controllable.
After saying that, Rimuru left for the battlefield while Ramiris could only watch. She looked on as large white walls rose up from the ground and the battle began.
-----------------
I hope you guys liked it.