EPILOGUE
SISTER AND BROTHER
I’d chowed down on Velgrynd, and things were a lot calmer. Now that I had the time to look around, I surveyed the battlefield.
The forest was pretty badly damaged, but our capital city of Rimuru appeared to be safe, at least. Everywhere around it was now an empty lot, and there was some damage here and there, but Geld and his forces did a good job protecting it for me. That was a relief.
“So what are you doing here?”
“Ah, er, Sir Rimuru. Y-you see, I was making sure that nobody would get in your way…”
I felt like someone was watching me during that whole battle against Velgrynd. It was annoying, to be honest, but I didn’t really have the time to attend to it. So here we are. I definitely felt like I deserved to complain.
“…All right. Fine. But everyone else is working their asses off right now, so you go join them.”
“…?! Y-yes, my lord…”
He gave me a sad puppy-dog look before leaving. I really do have no idea what’s going on in his head sometimes.
I imagine he was watching your battle, Master, under the auspices of preventing anyone else from interfering. Frankly speaking, it was unnecessary.
Ciel sounded just as fed up with Diablo. Talk about bitter. But regardless, now I could chill out a bit and go back to dealing with Velgrynd. It’d be up to Veldora to explain matters to her, and hopefully see things our way.
When I checked in with him, I found that Veldora was basically blaming me for everything. Ugh, I thought, why do I have all these problem children working for me? I assumed he was trying to deflect Velgrynd’s rage by making me out to be the bad guy.
“My sister, I wanted to tell you that I was safe, but Rimuru didn’t let me. But now that we’re in the same position, you’ll understand what I am saying, right?”
…That kind of thing. It was like a spoiled child blaming his friends because he didn’t want to get yelled at.
It was clearly a mistake to leave the persuasion effort to Veldora. But considering the fit of rage Velgrynd had after thinking Veldora was dead, I can understand why he wouldn’t want to show his face around her. I get that, but did you have to blame it on me? All you’re doing is pushing all the trouble on me instead. I asked him to persuade her, but now she’s going to be even more critical of me. It’s pointless!
So, yeah, I couldn’t leave Veldora in charge any longer. I needed to explain to Velgrynd that she was in the same position as Veldora right now.
Before that, I have something to report.
What’s that?
As I was analyzing Velgrynd, I found out that she was under the domination of someone, possibly Ludora. I can lift the influence on her, but what would you like to do?
Oh, come on. Way to drop another bombshell on me.
This report was given out super casually, but really, I didn’t even know how to reply. I knew that Ciel would run Analyze and Assess on Velgrynd, so I wasn’t too surprised, but Velgrynd was being mind-controlled? I couldn’t take that sitting down.
But you think Ludora was the culprit?
It is all but certain. I had observed the battle between Carrera and Tatsuya Kondo through the soul corridor, and Kondo was similarly under Ludora’s control. I assume the case is the same with her.
After getting some more details, I found that Granit, who was paired with Benimaru, basically admitted to all of that. Pretty stupid guy the Empire had on their side, huh? Better use him as a lesson on what not to do—but we can deal with that after I return.
The question at hand was about what to do with Velgrynd. Veldora was proving to be an unreliable ally, so I thought about explaining matters myself, but if she was under Ludora’s mental influence, she was more than likely not gonna listen to me.
So now what…?
Since we’ve gone through the trouble of taking her in, why don’t we appoint Velgrynd the same position as Veldora?
Huh? You mean, like, connecting a soul corridor to her like I did with Veldora? And then I’ll make her into an ultimate skill? Is that even possible?
Not a problem. You are now equivalent to at least a True Dragon, Sir Rimuru, and you have more than enough magicules for the job. I think it is possible enough for you to take in Velgrynd.
But wouldn’t doing that take away Velgrynd’s free will? …Guess not, huh? Not like I can force Veldora to do anything—I have to ask, and he goes ahead with it if he approves. Or, really, he just does whatever he wants. Even now, he’s clearly not afraid to sell me out to save his own skin. Then I have to punish him by taking his snacks away, but really, he gives me such a hard time.
Even if he did something really bad to me, it was no longer possible to take his freedom away. I can stop the energy supply, but I can’t just make Veldora disappear with a snap of my fingers. Plus, with all the magicules a True Dragon has, you can’t just do away with that in any normal manner. As long as Veldora’s not on board with it and goes back to confinement voluntarily, he’s free to do what he wants.
So, basically, there’s no compelling him to do anything. When he’s freed, I can’t bend his will, really. Remembering that, I realized that Velgrynd would probably be the same way. If I gave her the same status as Veldora and “freed” her like that, I bet it’d be the quickest way to prove my innocence. I wouldn’t be further misunderstood and exposed to these falsehoods about me. And if these two siblings have a fight? Well, that’s not my problem. That’s not really in my job description.
All right, then. Let’s put her in the same state as Veldora.
If you’re still anxious, would you like me to place some restrictions on Velgrynd?
Hmm? Restrictions? Is that even doable…?
Yeah, considering what lies ahead, maybe we need to set things up so she can’t disobey me or whatever. But that’s kind of against my principles. If I fail to get Velgrynd over to my side, after, it’s better for everyone involved if I keep her isolated in Complex Space. Forcing her into anything would just make me the same as Ludora.
If she doesn’t cooperate with me, then fine. As long as she promises not to interfere with us, I have no problem with her going out and living wherever she wants.
Very well. That’s your style, after all.
So my policy was all worked out. Let’s put it into action.
First, some hellos.
“Hello, Velgrynd. How are you—?”
“Are you Rimuru? Quit messing with me! Let me out of here right now!!”
I had turned my attention to her within my Complex Space, but she was just rampaging all over the joint. I suppose, to an outside observer, this was some suspicious-looking slime approaching a beautiful woman. I looked like a criminal, really. Though I suppose, by default, I could look like a pretty girl of sixteen-ish, having her way with an older, bewitching beauty. It was all kind of iffy either way, but I had no choice.
Within my image, I held my hand out toward Velgrynd. Feeding on Ludora’s power over her, I “unlocked” it and connected a soul corridor up as I did. There are doors on both sides of this, so I made it impossible for her to communicate with me unless she opened her heart up to me. I can talk to her, at least, so I’m hoping this effort isn’t in vain.
These tasks all wrapped up without any problems. It immediately made the rampaging Velgrynd act a little more her age, the change sudden enough that I was more surprised than her.
“R-Rimuru? Did you, by chance, do something untoward to my sister…?”
“Sh-shut up, you idiot! Of course not! If you had persuaded her like I asked you to, I wouldn’t have to go through any of this!”
We were about to have an argument right then and there.
“Silence!”
“Oh… Okay.”
“My apologies!”
Veldora and I nodded at the same time to this outburst. To be honest, I was scared. No wonder Veldora looked so uncomfortable around her.
“So what is the meaning of this, Rimuru?”
“The meaning? That’s a little hard to answer…”
I really had no idea what to say.
“I can hear the voice of my Separate Body on the other side, but my own voice isn’t reaching it. What did you do to me?”
Having such a beautiful woman stare me in the eye like this made my heart skip a beat. Her breath on my face made me light-headed. It smelled so good—sweet and fragrant, perhaps because she normally didn’t need to breathe at all.
Now is not the time for this. Velgrynd is likely asking the question because she has been freed from Ludora’s control.
Are you a little angry at me?
That is just your imagination.
Y-you think?
Well, either way, better to drop this topic.
Ciel gave me a full explanation, and according to it, the story’s pretty simple. The Velgrynd in front of me is freed from her mind control, but her Separate Body elsewhere is still under Ludora’s thrall. Ciel had thus used Unlimited Imprisonment to block the flow of information from our side, although she can still receive signals from the other side. This had put the Velgrynd on the other side in full-on crisis mode; she was under Ludora’s control with no idea what I was thinking. A total one-way street. I understood that Ciel had done something pretty amazing, but now it hardly even felt like a surprise.
“So if we analyze the difference between your two consciousnesses, I think I can prove to you that you were under mind control.”
“Mmm, yes, well done, Rimuru. My sister, you should trust in him and—”
“Silence!”
“Right!”
Veldora got reamed for that interruption, and don’t tell him, but I was a little glad to see it.
Now Velgrynd seemed a bit lost in thought. I guess she was trying to figure out the difference between her and the Separate Body, as I explained. Through the eyes of my companions, I also updated myself on what was up in the flagship. The battle was in its final stages, and something had just happened that should fully show Velgrynd what’s going on.
My friends had Velgrynd surrounded. Kind of a coward move, you could argue, but only if you didn’t know what the deal was. The fact is, even in her weakened state, we could all dogpile on her at once and still have trouble winning.
However, with the alternate dimension she created now crumbling apart, the whole thing was about ready to collapse. Or it would have, but then Diablo came along and just destroyed it with a few whacks.
“Noir…”
“No, his name’s Diablo. Pretty competent guy, when I’m not around for him to ogle.”
“Kwah-ha-ha-ha! He gives me treats, you know. I rather like him!”
So Veldora sold out to him, huh? Better not treat it too seriously the next time he praises Diablo.
As we continued to watch, the Velgrynd on the other side took a step back, as if to protect Ludora. Despite how things were going, he was still seated in his chair, all composed. That’s a lot of guts. Or is it confidence?
But as I watched, someone went on the move. It was Carrera, wielding a golden handgun, and she promptly shot Ludora with it. But the bullet was—
“Oh, is that the bullet that weakened me?”
“It’s a Judgment Bullet. The most powerful one Kondo has. He can only shoot it once a day. So why does Jaune have it…?”
I knew what was going on because Ciel told me.
“Not Jaune. Her name’s Carrera. I guess she beat Kondo, and then he asked her to take care of Ludora for him.”
“Not Kondo, too,” Velgrynd muttered. But events were now unfolding fast.
“Ludora!”
The other Velgrynd shouted loudly, arms outstretched to protect Ludora. Her God-level velocity was in time to catch the bullet—I gotta hand it to her; she’s a monster. But the Judgment Bullet was no pushover, either. It penetrated Velgrynd in the right shoulder, blew her entire right arm off, and then hit Ludora anyway, going as fast as ever.
But, shockingly, Ludora was unhurt. He remained totally composed, as if he knew all along Carrera’s attack would be in vain.
“What the heck? How could he just cancel out that attack?”
“I don’t know. I saw a glimpse of a barrier, but it’s hard to believe that any barrier could completely stop it.”
Veldora and I were both surprised. Velgrynd was just as incredulous, whispering “Why…?” as she sat down on the spot, hands on the ground.
“Wh-what’s the matter, my sister?!”
“Your friend was right,” she muttered at the panicked Veldora. “I really was under Ludora’s control…”
Then she began telling us about Ludora. According to her, he had an ironclad protection system keeping him safe, something that could never be destroyed no matter who you threw at it. But there was a condition: The barrier’s energy source was the loyalty of the emperor’s subjects and associates, so he needed people to remain loyal to him. That, and there was a flaw to it—although the barrier was perfect and always on, Ludora couldn’t take any action while it was activated.
This was Castle Guard, one of the greatest features of the ultimate skill Michael, Lord of Justice. It had just stopped Carrera’s Judgment Bullet, so clearly, he was all but invincible. He can’t attack while it’s on, but he could just have his associates handle the battle instead.
“If he had that kind of power, my sister, you didn’t need to step up to protect him, did you?”
Yeah, I was just thinking that.
“No,” replied Velgrynd. “Normally I should have pretended to protect him and use that as a feint for an attack. But if that’s how I acted instead…”
If the other Velgrynd was laying down her life needlessly to protect Ludora, there was no doubting it. Our Velgrynd now understood that she had been mind-controlled.
Ludora, meanwhile, remained safe in his Castle Guard, immobile as it stayed activated. Or he should have been.
“…Huh?!”
Velgrynd shouted out first, but we were all in a state of shock. Removing Castle Guard for just a moment, Ludora had just stabbed the chest of Velgrynd, who had run up to him despite her missing arm. It almost looked like she did that on purpose…
“Oh… Yes. That man, my beloved Ludora, is no more…”
Tears fell from her eyes. As if to prove it, Ludora laughed loudly.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Velgrynd, you should be honored to be of service to me. I will put your power to good use!”
As he spoke, the other Velgrynd crouched down in pain.
“That was Yuuki’s Lifestealer skill. Ludora—or Michael, I suppose I should say—has the power to control the abilities of whatever he controls.”
Whoa. What a cheater. Veldora and I exchanged looks.
“Okay, how about I have you fight Ludora?”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous! There’s no need to argue with you about whether I’m the strongest yet again, but I don’t want to deal with someone who looks like such a pain in the rear!”
“I’ll make you a parfait for dessert.”
“That is tempting, but…hmm…”
Velgrynd looked at us dumbfounded as we tried to palm the job off on each other. It made her stop crying, at least, which I was glad to see.
Anyway, Ludora now had Velgrynd’s power…
“What did you mean when you called him Michael?”
I had an idea, but I wanted to hear it from her mouth.
“Ludora, you see… He reached his limits long ago. He reincarnated himself so many times that it wore his soul out. What you see there is Ludora…but it’s also not. He’s long been replaced by Michael, Lord of Justice.”
She looked sad about it.
“Oh? But how can a skill born from the desire of its owner not even cause harm to that owner?”
“No, it’s not like that. Michael was a power given to him by Veldanava. It was Uriel, Lord of Vows, that Ludora acquired out of his own volition. And now that my elder brother Veldanava is still not resurrected, that ultimate skill has gone missing.”
…Oh. I guess I have that one, don’t I? But now doesn’t seem like an apt time to mention that.
Velgrynd went on to explain that, basically, Ludora’s repeated reincarnations may have weakened the power of his soul enough that it made Michael impossible to control. She made it sound like the skill had betrayed him, but really, it felt like something different to me.
…Indeed. If I were in the same position as Michael, Lord of Justice, I would aim to revive you, my true master, even if it meant taking over a temporary host.
That’s what I thought. As a manas, I knew that Ciel would never give up on something, no matter how impossible the challenge might be. I couldn’t help but understand Michael’s thinking as a result. But that doesn’t mean I accepted it.
“Well, we can’t let this be. Michael’s probably evolved into a manas with free will. And if he has, then what he’s trying to do is the exact opposite of what Ludora aimed for.”
“A manas? What is that? …Wait! Rimuru, you think Michael is trying to do something?”
“Well, he’s trying to resurrect Veldanava, isn’t he? And I think he’d be willing to make all kinds of sacrifices to achieve that.”
That, I explained, was why we couldn’t let this slide.
I could see Velgrynd’s face go pale. And then, at that exact moment, someone new showed up and did something to the Velgrynd facing Ludora right now.
That is the mystic lord Feldway. Diablo let him go because he reasoned that he couldn’t defeat him, but it seems he has returned without his friends.
If Diablo can’t beat him, he must be pretty damn powerful. Or maybe he just didn’t want to put in any more hard work today? Ah, well.
Feldway was good, using Dominate Space to attack in ways even an awakened demon lord would have trouble resisting, and he was aiming it all at the other Velgrynd. Wounded and weakened, she didn’t look like she had any way to resist it.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! My Dimensional Transfer has erased Velgrynd from this world! Now there are only two True Dragons left. A good sign for the future, eh, Ludora—or should I say, Sir Michael?”
Now Feldway was calling him Michael, too. Velgrynd’s guess was just proven true.
Despite the suddenness of all this, Benimaru and Diablo tried to react as quickly as they could. I hurriedly sent a Thought Communication over to stop them. There were still too many question marks about the mystic lord’s abilities, but I also wanted to see how Ludora/Michael would react. Besides…I could see it. Some kind of weird substance that escaped from Ludora’s body. It was clinging to the limp body of Velgrynd, as if trying to protect it. The substance was all gone from Ludora’s body, and the result of that was…
“Hmm, not bad. Velgrynd’s power is now my own, and Ludora is gone. Now all that remains is to capture the power of Veldora and Velzard, and his resurrection will be complete.”
Ludora/Michael accepted this as a matter of course. Now we were sure of it—my enemy was Michael, not Ludora, and his goal was to fully revive Veldanava the Star-King Dragon.
“Wonderful news indeed, Sir Michael!”
“Yes. And Velzard will not be hard to deal with, but Veldora could prove more troublesome.”
They kept talking for a bit, wholly unconcerned about Benimaru and the others. But that’s to be expected. Shion, Testarossa, and the other allies I didn’t stop all tried to attack, but Castle Guard blocked everything. Feldway, of course, was also protected and unharmed. Real bad news.
But enough about that.
“Ludora… That’s Ludora, right? There’s a piece of him…a piece of his soul, right there…!”
I thought only I could see it, but I guess Velgrynd could sense it, too. I wasn’t sure if she could or not, but I suppose she was trying to track down whatever was left of Ludora.
“Here, calm down a—”
“Silence! I have to go now, or else it’ll disappear!”
She begged me like a child, crying out in anger. I used Mind Accelerate to stretch out time for us. It was now exclusively me and Velgrynd.
“Listen, calm down. If you go out right now, you’ll just have your mind taken over by Ludora again.”
“But…!”
She probably knew where he had been sent off to. But she was headed right for a dead end. There was no guarantee that she could return to this world, and saving Ludora was beyond a dream at this point. Pretty much impossible.
There is no way out for you like this.
“Sh-shut up! Then what do you want me to do…? I can’t just give up on Ludora like this…!”
Those were Velgrynd’s true feelings. And now she was exploding with so much rage that she didn’t realize it was Ciel talking, not me.
There is a possibility.
“…?!”
If you accept my Ability Adjust…
Ah, sweet temptation. I didn’t need to ask her twice.
“I’ll take it. If it’ll make my wish come true…”
I figured there was no way she’d ever say anything else.
………
……
…
The moment Velgrynd agreed to it, a voice rang out.
Velgrynd’s will is confirmed. The first thing we are going to do is cut out the interference on Raguel, Lord of Relief.
Velgrynd began to feel more at ease as she heard the voice. She scrutinized her own body, following the voice’s instructions, and sure enough, there it was. Raguel, emblazoned deep inside her heart core, was being subjected to some kind of interference. It was blocked now, but there’s no doubting that it was dangerous to leave that in there.
This was the cause of it…?
Now Velgrynd realized it. And she also remembered that the ultimate skill Michael, King of Justice, had a power that was a sort of counterpart to Regalia Dominion. It was something I had heard about a long time ago, too.
The powers created by Veldanava, in the pure form, are referred to as “angelic.” All of them cannot resist the absolute control of Michael, a thrall known as Ultimate Dominion. Velgrynd’s Raguel is no exception to this. A very narrow corridor had been built connecting it to Michael, and it was impossible for her to escape its influence.
…That’s right. How could I have forgotten? Anyone with an angelic ultimate skill could never disobey my older brother. He hated that most of all, and that was why he exchanged it for Ludora’s Uriel.
Now she understood why she was being controlled. Her brother Veldanava had constructed this whole system, and it was next to impossible to resist it.
No, there really isn’t any way out, is there?
Rimuru was right. And Velgrynd wanted to cry her eyes out over it. But just as she was about to give up, she heard a strange voice.
Preparations for Raguel, Lord of Relief, are now complete. I will merge this with the no longer needed Uriel, Lord of Vows.
Huh?!
Velgrynd almost shouted out loud. It was only natural that Uriel, which she sought out for Ludora’s sake, would be found here. And now Velgrynd realized that the voice she had been hearing was no longer Rimuru’s. She wasn’t just hearing things; it was a clear, powerful, strong-willed voice. It was very similar to the World Language, but softer and more refined; it even had a little tenderness to it.
She had a lot of questions for it, but what mattered now was the meaning behind its words.
“W-wait a minute! Are you going to give me Uriel? Or what did you mean by ‘merge’?!”
If it has no choice but to follow Michael’s will right now, then all we have to do is modify it. I discovered a control corridor in Uriel as well, so while I discard it, I thought I would use it as food to create a new ability with, exclusively for you.
It was absurd, an answer full of silly nonsense. But Velgrynd only cared about one question.
“If I do that, can I go look for Ludora?”
I affirm that it is possible.
If it was, there was no need to hesitate. Velgrynd gave her consent with all the hope in her heart. Or…
Velgrynd, I have already confirmed your intention, so there is no need to give your consent a second time. I will now activate Ability Adjust.
That voice—Ciel—had no intention of stopping.
The moment it launched Ability Adjust, an unbelievable surge of power swept through Velgrynd’s body, gently enveloping her.
Velgrynd the Flame Dragon’s Raguel and Uriel will be merged to create the ultimate skill Cthugha, Lord of the Fire God… Succeeded.
Ciel declared it to the world in its solemn, otherworldly voice. And at that moment, Velgrynd was freed from all her yokes.
………
……
…
When I nodded my agreement with Ciel’s words, my Uriel was transferred over to it. I’m not sure if it’s my fault for giving the permission, but I think it’s only natural that I was so stunned. Like, having Uriel be the bond that links us as friends…
Not a problem. The Uriel that was merged is only a remnant. Its essence has been taken over by the new skill Shub-Niggurath, Lord of Abundance.
…What?!
I had a million questions to ask about this. Something told me that Ciel was doing all kinds of amazing things without my knowledge. I was almost afraid to ask, but either way, Velgrynd deserved my attention. Everything had worked, and I was glad about it.
“Congratulations, Velgrynd. Now it’s safe to release you outside.”
I smiled as I spoke to her. She just stared back at me, face all contorted. I think I understood why, so I looked away from her.
“There are so many questions I really want to ask you, but I’ll skip them for now. So are you going to let me go?”
It no longer seemed like an issue, so I nodded. Ciel informed me that since Velgrynd now had Uriel, she would be able to pick up on and react to Ludora’s soul, allowing her to potentially find and retrieve the fragment she saw. Hearing that, I began to wonder if the “remnant” Ciel mentioned was the “core” of Uriel, which took the shape of Ludora’s own heart. It’d mean that Velgrynd would always be with Ludora. If his soul was now scattered all over the world, I’m not sure she’d ever truly find it, but something told me that she might just pull it off.
“Okay, now… Release!”
So the three of us returned from the spiritual world to the real one. Time was still stretched out for us as we said our goodbyes.
“Thank you, Rimuru. I’m sorry for all the trouble.”
Yeah, I hope so. I got a lot of complaints about you too, y’know! But I kept my mouth shut, since I didn’t want her to get angry.
“I’m sure you can connect with your Parallel Existence now, so I don’t think you need to worry about getting lost. After that, I know things are gonna be tough for you…but good luck!”
I tried to be as safe as possible with my support. But:
“My sister, please don’t forget—if things don’t work out, I’ll always be here! So don’t wail in despair. Just do the best you can!”
Veldora had a big smile on his face. I can’t believe how terrible he is at reading people’s moods.
Velgrynd seemed at a loss for how to respond.
“You really are stupid, aren’t you? Ah, my stupid, stupid, cute little brother. I’m glad you’re all right.”
She smiled shyly. Then she stared back at me again; don’t ask me why. When someone that beautiful looks at me up close, I get so nervous that I can’t even move. She just shook her head in exasperation as my heart raced.
“Well, see you later.”
And with that, Velgrynd elegantly teleported away.
Okay. Next up was giving some support to Benimaru and the gang.
“You’re going, too?”
“But of course.”
Less than a minute had passed. The attack on Michael was still in progress, with nothing working against Castle Guard—but they were still doing the right thing. The moment they stopped attacking, the enemy would fire back. That’s why Benimaru and Diablo were dutifully watching from the sidelines without stopping Shion and the rest.
We had only two enemies left and I sure wanted to defeat them here, but unfortunately, that was impossible. As long as Castle Guard was in place, nothing would work against Michael. But then, the same was true for us—
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! How weak of you. None of your attacks will work on Sir Michael!”
Feldway, laughing loudly, was about to take advantage of the time between attacks to activate his skill. A “mystic lord” is more than just a fancy name, apparently—he was trying to throw all of my friends into an alternate dimension.
“Good-bye, everyone. I’m sure we won’t meet again, but—what?!”
But I was waiting for my moment to strike, too. I chose that moment to appear over there, blocking Feldway’s move.
“Demon lord Rimuru…”
“Hello, mystic lord Feldway. Good to meet you.”
The smile disappeared from his face at my sarcastic response.
“Some country hick with no understanding of etiquette?”
“Huh? I don’t need to be told that by an Aggressor who’s dying to live in the big city.”
My continued provocation made his face freeze up. I guess he’s the type who likes to keep letting his anger build without ever snapping—the worst type of guy to deal with.
At that moment, Michael—silently listening on so far—interrupted us, looking as composed as usual.
“Heh-heh-heh… Weren’t you hiding and observing me? I thought you were sacrificing your friends in order to find a way to attack us.”
He was more than half right, except for the “sacrifice” part. Not that I cared.
“Think whatever you want about me. You wanna settle this here?”
“Heh. Bold of you. But do you really think you can beat me?”
“I dunno. But I’ll give you a warning. I know that your ability gives you absolute control over angelic skills, and that there’s no breaking Castle Guard as long as someone believes in you. Along those lines, couldn’t we take away that advantage if I burned your Empire to the ground and killed every living thing inside it?”
That was a total bluff. Not even I had any intention of going that far. But if I put that on the scales with having my friends be sacrificed, I’d do it without hesitation. That much cruelty I had resigned myself to long ago.
“…I suppose I’ve underestimated you as well. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been hostile to you after all.”
“Maybe not, no. Your lofty ideals and noble missions weren’t any of my business. I sympathize with some of your goals, too. So, you know, as long as you didn’t bother me, you could’ve done whatever you wanted.”
But it’s too late now. Now that Michael was running amok, he was definitely a potential disaster for us. We were good for now, but Ciel was already predicting an unavoidable conflict of interest in the future. It was my job to believe it and act accordingly.
“…”
Michael fell silent, thinking over something. So I decided to spell out my intentions.
“If you try to touch me or any of my people, I’ll crush you so thoroughly that you’ll never be able to try anything so stupid again.”
That, and I wanted to strike some fear into him. No, I had no way to break his Castle Guard right now. But I had my trusty partner Ciel helping out, and I was sure it’d figure out a way. Besides, if he touched any of my precious friends, I’d show him no mercy. No matter what it took, I swore I would defeat Michael.
“All right. I see. Then let’s retreat for now.”
“…?! Are you sure, Sir Michael?”
Feldway looked surprised, but Michael placidly nodded his head, indicating his intention to retreat.
“It is too early for us as well, after all. If we fight here, it will end badly for both of us.”
I agreed with that. If I followed through on my earlier threat, maybe we’d have a chance of winning. But that’s against my principles. I know I was just kicking the can into the future, but I really wanted some more time to work with.
“Okay… Well, shall we all leave, then?”
“Very well. Still… Today is the day of my full revival, a day to be celebrated, and instead we’re given this unexpected ordeal. I thought Guy Crimson would be our biggest barrier, but instead it’s slime we dismissed as insignificant…?”
With those words, Michael and Feldway left. And I assumed they weren’t going back to the Empire, either. My observation magic Argos, the Eye of God, wasn’t picking anything up over there, and Moss reported nothing unusual.
“Damn, this is annoying, though. I don’t even know where they went.”
Benimaru smiled at my offhand remark. “But as you ordered, Sir Rimuru, all of us are safe. Why don’t we celebrate that for now and return home?”
Good idea.
“Right! Home it is, then! I’m tired out today, and I’m feeling kinda hungry, too. Why don’t we ask Shuna to prepare something nice for us all?”
“A feast, then?”
Also a good idea. I nodded back at Veldora.
“Okay! Let’s go back and have a blast!”
My words brought smiles to everyone’s faces. We had some work left to do, but at least we were all here, and well enough to celebrate our survival.
Velgrynd continued her journey. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, she walks on, never stopping.
………
……
…
The place she flew to after leaving Rimuru was another world, in another time. Feldway had sent her Parallel Existence to the rift between this world and that one, and she safely reintegrated herself with it right there.
This was a planet without any land, much less an atmosphere, and Velgrynd was stranded on it without any sense of time at all. She would have died instantly if she wasn’t a True Dragon, but she had both Dominate Space and an infinite lifespan.
She had time to think before she found refuge. Her thinking had almost stopped entirely after all the unbelievable events that occurred to her; there was just too much information to process. But being adrift in another dimension helped her regain her composure, too.
So Velgrynd thought. The sheer volume of mind-blowing data had made her abandon thinking at one point, but now she thought as long as time allowed her to. Then she arrived at the most important fact of all. How did she gain her freedom against the system her brother created? That was the question, and there was only one person she could think of who could’ve made that happen. Yes—that easy-going slime. The demon lord Rimuru, her foolish brother’s ally…
No! No, it can’t be! That slime is…
…someone who freely tinkered with ultimate skills, gave Velgrynd her freedom, and massively improved her own powers, evolving them to greater heights. No regular human could possibly have done any of that.
Only my brother Veldanava could do anything so outlandish. If it were possible for anyone else at all…
Velgrynd shuddered at the impossible thought. When she turned her attention to it, her ultimate skill Cthugha, Lord of the Fire God reacted: power on an incomparable level from Raguel. But most of all, the fragments she had been taking in reacted, as if linked to Ludora’s heartbeat.
Hee-hee! Well, I don’t care what that slime really is. He’s just Rimuru. Veldora’s ally and the one I owe my life to.
That was the conclusion she arrived at—and with that, Velgrynd broke out of her thought loop and turned her attention back to reality.
………
……
…
So Velgrynd continued collecting pieces of his soul as she traveled through worlds and eras.
I love you. I love you… Ludora!!
That all-consuming desire to see Ludora drove her to overcome a cavalcade of obstacles. And then, finally, in a big city lined with skyscrapers, she found the boy.
Joy…and determination. The boy was everything she lacked. And if Velgrynd gave him the rest of the pieces she had…
But was this really okay to do? She agonized over the question. If she did it, it’d drastically change the boy’s destiny. Her lifespan was infinite; she could continue to watch over him until he lived out his own life.
Yes… No reason to panic. I can’t wait to see you, but it won’t help me to hurry things along.
But then, a shining piece of his soul flew over to the boy. This fragment, noticed by nobody, fused itself within him, as if sucked inside—and with that shock, the boy disappeared from the world. All that remained in Velgrynd’s hand was the very first fragment she found.
“Were you one of them, too? Did you want to see me?”
Velgrynd spoke to the fragment, wishing it were true. Then she activated Cthugha to pursue the boy.
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