Warzone I
The Kijin Army marched forward, riding all the Tempest Wolves in their giant forms, so there's room for EVERYBODY.
Rimuru had to create clones just so she can tie them up to the wolves so they won't fall when the wolves go full speed ahead.
What a speed though. At least it got them to Lake Siss in a matter of hours...
'...what's wrong with you people?' Chief Lizardman wondered, baffled as the Kijin arrived looking wind-blown their hair stayed comically windblown.
'It's...a long story.' Koushiro twitched. 'But at least we have a few days' time before they strike. Have your civilians evacuated?'
'Mm. It's just me and our warriors here.' said the Chieftain. 'For the day of the reckoning. And I consulted with Miss Treyni as Souei-dono advised regarding my son...we need a good-oriented majin to cure my boy...' he said in a pained voice. 'And where, will I find such a benevolent majin who will name my son to overwrite Gelmud's influence on him? As soon as he came home, we had to subdue him with a sleep powder mixed in his dinner and kept him drugged.'
The Kijin and Oni exchanged looks.
'We have one right here.' said Koushiro. 'Despite how she looks, she's more powerful than anyone in this room, capable of naming eighteen Oni a day into Kijin.'
'Eh? Where is she?' the Chieftain gasped eagerly.
'It's me.' a childish young girl's voice spoke. From Souei's arms was a slime that jumped off his hold and became a young girl, flaring her immense aura too powerful to compare. Even her companions winced at the atmosphere because she was THAT powerful. She limited Magic Pressure in the room they were in though.
'WHA?!'
'H-how can a Slime have such power?!'
'...she is your benefactor?' Chieftain wheezed as the pressure stopped, that the heaviness was gone. It was hard to believe, that such power, came from a SLIME! A being usually eaten as a summer snack!
'Yes. Rimuru is a Unique Slime. She herself is named by a powerful benevolent monster so she is the way she is.' said Koushiro. 'She can overwrite Gelmud's will on your son.'
'Go get Gabiru immediately!' he commanded excitedly as some soldiers quickly left to get the Lizardman in question.
They were back with the snoring young Lizardman and gently laid him on the floor. Rimuru touched his chest with her tiny hand to assess his strength before she looked perplexed.
With Great Sage's analysis, he just got a minor power boost by 10% along with Thought Manipulation. To evolve him into a Dragonewt needs a bit more 'Oomph'.
'...this, is a Named Monster?' Rimuru asked with a blank look on her face. 'Good grief.' she snapped her fingers to force the guy awake with her magic.
'Hngg-wha? Where? Eh?'
'Ahhh, good you're awake.' Gabiru turned to look at the beautiful girl when he turned his head. 'I name you Gabiru!' considerable magic left her and she had Gabiru evolve into a handsome dragonewt...well, how handsome dragonoids can get by their standards anyway, and she left that job to nature itself. He also sprouted wings and horns he can retract anytime, and gained some skills suited to his race and inherited some from her.
His mind also got clearer and his personality changed to how Rimuru imagined his family knows him.
'W-what's going on?!' Gabiru squawked as he put his hands on both sides of his head. 'These past few days...what the hell?!'
'Brother...?' the lizardwoman croaked out, concerned with her brother's words.
'These past few days wasn't me at all!' Gabiru cried imploringly but also hysterically. 'There's no way I'd do or say or think those things?!' he was absolutely...shaken. 'What was wrong with me? I'm...back?'
OOOOK, everyone thought. That was really concerning now...Gabiru was indeed corrupted through his personality!
'Are you back to normal now my son?' Chieftain asked Gabiru hopefully.
'I am, father.' Gabiru kowtowed to his father. 'I've been so rude these past few days since Gelmud-sama named me, I'm so sorry! But I never realized what I was doing or saying since it felt so natural!'
'What matters is you're back to normal, and evolved at that through proper naming.' said the Chieftain in joyous relief. 'Overwriting Gelmud by Naming you again was the only way to save you!'
'Ah..' Gabiru pushed himself back up to see the girl who named him...who changed back into a slime. His eyes popped out in shock. 'Eh?!'
'Nyaaa~' Rimuru made that cute sound on purpose, before bouncing back to Souei.
Gabiru was in shock and smacked himself. 'OK, that hurt...'
'That's normal reaction.' Benimaru sweatdropped. Gabiru clearly can't believe the one who named him and made him evolve, was a Slime.
'Is it such a shocker~?' Rimuru giggled, amused.
'...to be fair you shocked us too.' Koushiro deadpanned. Singing Slime on her first day? Her intelligence that benefited their village and her collections?
'I'm grateful to have my son back at any rate.' said Chieftain, kowtowing to them. The bodyguards and tribal elders following his example. 'From a role model prince to suddenly become an arrogant, narcissistic young man so suddenly after being Named...I wondered where I went wrong with my parenting.' he lamented before looking angry and clenched his fists. 'It was Gelmud's fault all along...'
'Don't mention it Chieftain.' said Rimuru. 'The power behind a Naming is more complex than you'd imagine if one doesn't know all the rules.' she said. 'It's more than a name and bestowing power in the end. A majin can only hope a good person names them, not a bad person. Gabiru was also infected with Thought Manipulation when I checked him, he was under Mental Magic all this time,' her words horrified the Lizardmen and the Dragonewt at the revelation. '-so whatever he did and said, please just sweep it under the rug as its not your son back there as you know your son well, it's something he'd never do if he was truly himself. Though you have a lot of explaining to do to your people after.'
'Yeah, I have to apologize in person.' Gabiru croaked out with a gloomy sigh. 'I never knew I changed after Gelmud-sama named me...things I said and did just felt so normal somehow...'
'I guess before our battle with the Orcs, reconciliation is in order.' Koushiro advised. 'We have time left before they get here.'
xxx
Outside the caverns...
The oni pitched camp and set to cook their provisions...where Rimuru began singing again as soon she started music again. Settling herself on Ranga while he ate his meat raw.
'Oh! It's been a while since she last sang a song.' said Souei while helping to chop up monster meat. 'She's playing with the kids a lot so its been a while.'
She was remembering her past through her songs as any song, can be a trigger for the real 'her' to return so when she sings, they watch out.
Living in my own world
OK, she's imitating a man's voice? Whose?
didn't understand
that anything can happen
when you take a chance
I never believed in
Now this one's Rimuru herself.
what I couldn't see
I never opened my heart
to all the possibilities
I know
that something has changed
never felt this way
and right here tonight
This could be the start of something new
it feels so right to be here with you
and now I'm looking in your eyes
I feel in my heart
the start of something new
Now who'd have ever thought that
We'd both be here tonight
And the world looks so much brighter
With you by my side
I know that something has changed
Never felt this way
I know it for real
This could be the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you, oh!
And now looking in your eyes
I feel in my heart
The start of something new
I never knew that it could happen till it happened to me! Oh yeah
I didn't know it before
But now it's easy to see, oh!
It's the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you
And now looking in your eyes I feel in my heart
That it's the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you
And now looking in your eyes I feel in my heart
The start of something new
The start of something new
'At least its an improvement from the last song we heard.' said Benimaru wryly. 'It's a song for broken hearts.'
'Yeah, that one's about being 'struck' by love for first time.' agreed one oni. Their local slime singing eased the tension in the camp.
The next song started with a whistle?
The loving starry sky
should make you feel touched
I'm here by your side
decorating heaven for you
I won't let you feel sad
I'll chase away your loneliness
the weight of your unfulfilled dreams
let me bear them all
Leading you, by the hand
doesn't matter how strong the wind blows
for you have me now
you'll never lose your way again
Watching the meteor rain fall onto earth with you
letting your tears fall onto my shoulder
I want you to believe that my love will only brave for you
And I'll show you where happiness lies
If you have sadness, leave your heart for me to protect
the tired fireworks, I'll chase them away for you
Flowery words are only empty flattery
If I am silent, it's because I love you so much
Leading you, by the hand
doesn't matter how strong the wind blows
for you have me now
you'll never lose your way again
Watching the meteor rain fall onto earth with you
letting your tears fall onto my shoulder
I want you to believe that my love will only brave for you
And I'll show you where happiness lies
The rain has stopped
the clouds have parted
leaving behind a lovely warmth
I want to share the tears in your eyes
Watching the meteor rain fall onto earth with you
letting your tears fall onto my shoulder
I want you to believe that my love will only brave for you
And I'll show you where happiness lies
Watching the meteor rain fall onto earth with you
letting your tears fall onto my shoulder
I want you to believe that my love will only brave for you
And I'll show you where happiness lies
'Those oni like their musical poetry huh?'
'Yeah, that slime's real good!'
'I could watch this all night, yeah?'
'Yeah, some fun before those pigs get here. Ugghh...'
The Lizardmen sentry were listening to the songs, enjoying themselves.
Rimuru sang one last song when the food finally cooked. But this song? It's different.
Suddenly, they're all in an auditorium. They're all in an illusion!
Human adults sitting in rows of chairs, dressed formally. But their features are different from humans they used to deal with!
Musicians sitting in front of a stage with instruments.
Young humans be it boys and girls in similar clothing go up the stage as music began playing. (Tabidachi no Hi Ni)
'W-what's this?'
'Could this be...?' they all looked at Rimuru whose eyes were unusually wide. Her eyes were double the size!
She began singing in a different language!
As the song went on?
WHY the heck are the people in the illusion crying?! The oni, kijin and lizardmen were baffled.
As the song went on, they witnessed graduation rites and the kids leaving with their families.
The last memory was in a first-person view. Whoever this was, was looking at two men of different ages and one woman.
'Sotsugyousei Soudai omedeto, Satoko!' a older man spoke to them, or rather...who the oni realized Rimuru used to be. When Benimaru looked, Rimuru was...crying. He rapidly tapped his father and best friend who looked at him before pointing at Rimuru who was in a trance, but crying.
This, was one of her memories.
'Anata isshokenmei hataraita ne!' the woman next to him said happily.
'Kyuuka ga hoshii na mama, papa, oniichan!' at least, those two words were UNIVERSAL. 'Boku wa tottemo tsukarete iru kara...'
The memory was over and they were back at camp.
'R-Rimuru? Oi?' Souei carefully patted Rimuru who was stiff, but still crying. Her tears were flowing.
'E-eh? Ah? W-whassat? Who're they?' Rimaru gasped out. 'W-why am I crying?' she stammered out in a shaky voice.
'We saw one of your memories.' said another Kijin. 'Humans in a room full of chairs. Human children singing on a stage...and people began crying!'
'Yeah, what's going on? You sang in another language even.' another inquired. Rimuru was a Reincarnator Otherworlder as they all know. Remembering mostly songs and other things.
'Uhm...lessee...that was...' Rimuru paused for a bit in a bid to recall as she pulled out all her acting skills. Little by little, she would show them her memories and show she was a good person instead of a bad person she never was, but dreaded she could be by them. 'Graduation Song? We're...leaving school?' the oni and kijin exchanged looks.
'Ah, that means its a ceremony after you finished your education.' Hakurou mused sagely, stroking his beard. 'You're now an adult of society.' they also saw who could have been her family in her past life and they seem to be nice people.
'Ah...'
xxx
After dinner, Rimuru played with the wolves.
'What do you make out of that scene earlier?' Koushiro asked his people.
'It's a coming of age ceremony after graduating from school...judging by human age, that part was when Rimuru was either human age 16 or 18, depending on her country's laws.'
'For some reason that song made everybody cry though?' Shion pouted.
'Satoko...her name used to be Satoko.' Benimaru mused, somewhat getting that from what Rimuru's father said. 'But her name is Rimuru Tempest now...'
'For now, use her monster name.' Koushiro told his son. 'Its now her name etched in her soul as per the norm for us monsters upon being Named. Even if she learns that was once her name, her soul will make her reject even the name given to her by her parents.' he said. 'They seem to be good people proud of her for graduating.'
'Graduating...huh? None of us ever been to school.' Souei snorted. 'We learned everything at home. We even came of age at home.'
'Mm. Knowledge from our ancestors, we inherited through word of mouth, and skill from body. And at home we progress at our own pace.' said Hakurou. 'School is unnecessary for us unlike humans who make a big deal out of it.'
'Why do humans have school?' Benimaru wondered.
'According to my human grandfather, its a status symbol to afford education.' said Hakurou. 'Only the royals, nobles and wealthy can afford it. And then its competition from there, with children under pressure not to shame their clans.' he said. 'School in turn, is a non-violent battlefield, a war between clans to prove their superiority to others through their children in order to look good to their Lord. Its another way to earn merits and fame.'
'Well, that's not the case for our little lady over there.' said another Kijin as they looked at where Rimuru was playing with the wolves. 'Those parents were crying in their seats when that song was sung.'
'Well, their kids are no longer children, they're adults now.' said another. 'Gone are the old days.'
'So...despite Rimuru-sama looking like that, we treat her as an adult now?' Rimuru now, looks like a little girl.
'...er...let's decide that before she comes back.' Koushiro coughed awkwardly.
Soon, Rimuru and the wolves are back with more food.
'Heeey! I got these for night watch!' Rimuru chimed, bringing home large monsters with the wolves.
'Oho! That'd be a good help!' Koushiro appreciated the extra food. 'Go get some rest, tomorrow, you're on morning shift with everyone else.'
'K~!'
xxx
Next morning, the adults rested in the caverns after breakfast, so its the younger people on watch. Rimuru was flying around in her slime form which makes it hard for her to be seen from the sky.
The only time Rimuru sings is when EVERYONE's awake during dinner.
And on the promised day...
Potions Supplies filled and a heavy dinner in advance, they prepared for the coming war.
"Come to think of it, I don't have a sword like everyone else." Rimuru pouted as she mentally-prepared herself for war. "Oh yeah, I have Shizu's sword, I can use that." she thought as she modified her clothes using magic. She made a sleeveless imitation uwagi out of her white dress, bike shorts out of the stockings, and waraji sandals out of the reeds in the marshes.
'Oh, you changed clothes?' Souei asked her, noting her outfit change.
'Yeah. Shizu's clothes are too famous because she's famous, a rare A-Class Adventurer. Humans already see Adventurers of that rank as Champions so they're always called no matter where the conflicts are. I can't dress like her. In the past few days I now know what she knows in her 70-something years in this world.' Rimuru told him as she took out Shizu's sword set out of her stomach and equipped it. 'For sure, this conflict is gonna be big news. If I was seen wearing an outfit like hers, people will look for me for sure and not in a good way.' she said with a shudder. 'At least Cabal's party will keep quiet for me.'
'I see, so its to hide our association with her.'
'Yeah.'
Soon, two armies gathered.
'They'll be here in an hour! Prepare yourselves!' Koushiro boomed to the two armies. 'It's them, or us! Spare no expense!'
'OOOOOUUUUU!'
'This is it Rimuru.' Benimaru told her. 'Depending on the situation...'
'Yeah. Leave Orc Lord to me if he's beyond anyone's level.' Rimuru advised. 'I'll handle him.'
'Yeah. Be careful.' and they all moved out to the open marshes, awaiting the arrival of the Orcs.
Soon, it was war. Rimuru flew up above everyone else.
"Great Sage, calculate the amount of soldiers left before they got here."
/Calculating...192520 Orcs left. Estimated strength is currently B-Rank class, but intelligence is lessened./ Great Sage informed her. /Through Unique Skill: Starved Ones, they gain the powers of the fallen by eating them, and the power or whatever skill gained is shared to all Orcs./
"Eh?! Guess they must've gotten into some fights before getting here..." Rimuru frowned as she transmitted knowledge through her Named.
'192520, is it?' Benimaru frowned, hearing her words. 'And as strong as B-Rank Monsters? I still don't get human ranking order...'
'That means they're around us Oni, but the good thing is, they're not smart enough to wield their gains. We can manage that by sunrise.' Koushiro told his son. 'At least we now know how many!' he swore as they gained many skills upon evolution, as well as classy magisteel swords. They'll win this!
xxx
'192520 according to Rimuru-sama!' Gabiru bellowed to his men. 'We can do this!'
'That's over 7480 less from initial reports...when our scouts counted five days ago, there's about 200000...'
'Probably got into some fights. Whatever!'
xxx
Easier said than done!
Each fallen orc, are immediately eaten.
So its a battle of a different kind of attrition that the Kijin began using their fire magic to burn while killing so the fallen can't be eaten. From up above, Rimuru was doing her fair share of shooting, planting magic circles on the sly to recreate an attack in video games...
Dragon Crest out of FF9.
Ten of them in the battlefield causing quite the mayhem. People could see blue-colored dragon heads resembling Veldora made of magic rise up and chomp whoever's in it and it can be seen for miles, causing terror within the forest. Rimuru now has a body count herself. To recover the magicules she spent, she atomized her victims into magicules which she absorbed for herself.
The total of which, surpassing her current power.
Great Sage knows Rimuru will never suffer Magicule Poisoning now, having accustomed to so much power plus regenerating constantly before it can even kick in anyway from this point onward.
It now focuses on strengthening her Demon Lord Seed foundation for the future.
Considering the havoc and mayhem going on, in the forest, Gelmud and a clown named Laplace watched the battle.
'...this don't look good, Gelmud-sama.' Laplace remarked with a deadpan as Gelmud shook. 'Who on earth caused so many Veldora-heads to come out?!'
Gelmud looked to see Rimuru who was the caster.
'A child?' Gelmud swore as they watched Rimuru shoot magic from her fingers that were instant magic circles upon striking the soil, creating said Veldora-heads. 'A child is causing damage to our plans?!'
'Fufufu...that child is indeed reliable when giving miscreants like you a bad day.' Treyni spoke coldly as she appeared in a swirl of glowing leaves. 'I believe you've had enough fun desecrating the forest.'
'This ain't good Gelmud-sama! That's a Dryad! The caretakers of the forest!' Laplace exclaimed in alarm.
He's strong, but he has no ability to battle a spirit who, on the other hand, can easily kill him, fully-aware she's out of his league. This is a lost cause to begin with! Had the opponent been flesh and blood, THEN he'd have the confidence!
'Repent for your sins in the afterlife! Spirit Summoning: Sylphide!' Treyni summoned her spirit. NOW Gelmud and Laplace were terrified. Nevermind Treyni, what she called out is far worse!
'J-Jumping the gun so soon?!'
Treyni's not listening, showing her cold-hearted approach.
'Aerial Blade!'
'You're crazy, lady!'