Chapter 11: Declaration of War
Rimuru, the kids, their new teacher and the Freedom Academy headmaster, were gathered outside the city walls. After shaking hands with the two adults, he turned to the kids; Alice and Ryota already had tears running down, while Kenta and Chloe looked like they were trying really hard to hold their's back; Gail managed to not look like either, but he still had a sad look. Before they could say anything, he gathered them all up in a group hug, not bothering to say anything.
After a few moments, they broke the hug, though Alice, Ryota and Chloe were still holding onto his coat
-'Y...you'll come and visit, right?' Chloe said through tears. He gently patted her head
-'Yeah, I promise.' he said, however, she didn't look ready to let go. On a whim, he fished through his pocket and took out the mask Shizu left him. Before he left, he decided to leave each of the kids with a gift: a magisteel sword for Kenya, cloths with enhanced defense for Ryota (his berserk power left him with low defense), a pair of gloves that would enhance bullet magic for Gale and a new (fireproof and electricity proof) stuffed toy for Alice. However, he was kinda panicked about what to get for Chloe and was still raking his brain at the moment, but then he got the idea...
-'I want you to have this, Chloe.' he said as he handed her the mask. He wasn't sure why, but he just had the feeling that she should have it, like it was just the natural thing.
-'Aww, not fair!' Alice quickly complained, looking at Chloe taking the mask with envy
-'Now, now, you guys got gifts too.' he said 'and I even got all of you your new uniforms, right?' Alice calmed down and nodded.
-'Okay then...' he said as he began taking a few steppes back 'Oh, and yes, I will visit sometimes. I'll definitely come to your graduation, okay?' he told them 'So be nice to Miss Tiss, okay. If you do, I'll definitely invite you to my place sometimes, yeah?' hearing that, they all looked over at him hopefully.
He offered them one last smile before turning to walk down the road.
A few minutes of walking, he was far away from the city to teleport back home in safety. He stopped by a large tree on the road and offered one last look back to the city, then activated the spell. However, nothing happened. He tried again...
Warning: wide area magical barrier interfering with spatial transfer spell; connecting to points outside the barrier is no longer possible Great Sage suddenly warned 'What? Barrier?' Rimuru suddenly thought in panic. Looking around, he could now feel the magicules in the air getting scarcer, as if water was draining from a sink 'Is this the barrier's doing?'. Suddenly, he could feel a presence nearby
-'Sir Rimuru...' it was Soei, looking a bit worse for wear
-'Soei! What happened to you?' he asked as he rushed to his side
-'This is merely a double; my real body is safe, so please do not be concerned with me.' the ogre calmly said 'Please, you must be careful. Tempest...has been attacked...and there is a powerful enemy nearb...' before he could finish, however, the double vanished. Rimuru looked on at the place the double stood, shocked; his mind was running as fast as it could, trying to make sense of the warning 'Tempest was attacked? Why? Who would...'
'Some people might notice you...' the words of a certain dragonoid suddenly came to mind. 'Ah, dammit...' he though 'Now isn't the time. I need to focus and...' as he was thinking that, however, he could feel another presence approaching. It wasn't yet in visual range, and the magic barrier prevented him from getting a good read of the direction, so he stood his ground and waited. Then
-'Greetings.' a feminine voice rang from behind. He turned around 'Though we will part ways quickly...'
Standing there was a woman with short, black hair wearing a Paladin armor and uniform, with cold eyes staring at him. 'Wait, I recognize her...that other student from Shiuz's vision...' thinking quickly, he said
-'Ah, I'm sorry but you must be mistaken me for someone else. I'm Rimuru, an adventurer and...' however, he was stopped by her drawing a sword
-'I know exactly who you are, Chancellor of Monsters, Rimuru Tempest.' she said coldly 'And I am here to eliminate you. You're nation is a nuisance, so we decided to eliminate it. And so...' she said as she took a battle stance 'you must die too before you can return there.' '
-'Well, nice to meet you too, Hinata Sakaguchi, Captain of the Holy Church Crusaders.' he decided to say
-'You are rather well informed for a monster...' she retorted
-'Well, what makes you say I'm a monster?' 'I need to buy time. Ranga?' he tried to contact the Tempest Wolf, but came out empty
Warning: because of the magic barrier, individual Ranga cannot use shadow movement; furthermore, thought communication is blocked Great Sage informed 'Shit...'
-'I know because we have an informant.' Hinata replied
'Informant? I've been in my human form, masked; only a few people knew of my true self. So who...'
-'Well, enough talk. Shall we get started?' Hinata coldly said
-'Wait!' Rimuru shouted 'I know Shizu and...'
-'I know.' she replied 'I know you killed her. I am also here for that personal reason. I am going to avenge her.' she stated as she prepared to lash forward
-'Wait, listen to me!' but it was too late. The Crusader launched at him with great speed, thrusting the sword straight at his neck. He barley managed to dodge the blow
'Crap, why do I feel so heavy?' he though as he rolled out of another swing, preparing to draw his own sword
-'Well dodged...' she said as she followed him movements 'Inside this anti-magic barrier, you monsters are greatly weakened, but you are still quite capable it seems.' and lunged for another swing. This time, however, it grazed his forelimb as he moved to block
-'So this barrier is your doing after all?' he asked as they exchanged a few more blows
-'Indeed.' Hinata responded with another flurry of strikes 'The Western Holy Church' most valued anti-magic barrier; inside it, all magicules are purified, and monsters are greatly weakened.' another blow got through his defenses, gauging a wound on his shoulder. He jumped as hard as he could to gain some distance 'Weaker monsters simply wither and die, but you're quite powerful.' she said as she watched him trying to catch his breath 'your friend suffered grave injuries trying to stop my subordinates from erecting the field. Good thing for him it was just a double.' she stated
-'It angers me to see a friend wounded.' he told her with a wicked glare of his own 'What would Shizu say to all of this?'
-'The woman you killed and stole your appearance from?' she replied, voice dripping with anger. Before he knew it, she was again upon him with a wicked series of strikes, one of which wounded him across the chest. As he tried to escape, he suddenly felt a faint pain through his being 'What is this?' he wondered
Warning: direct damage to spiritual body detected. Great Sage suddenly said. He wondered a bit what that meant. A realization hit him as he looked at her sword
-'Ah, it seems you noticed.' Hinata said, sounding more calm but with eyes still full of anger 'My sword is a specialized weapon that can damage spiritual beings. Combined with my ultimate technique, your demise is certain in seven strikes...' and lunged at him again. This time, he spared no punches to avoid another blow, pushing all of his energy into moving and paring several of her swings, but even so another three got through. The sensation of pain shot through his body even more intensely.
-Hm, one more blow and you're done.' she said as she watched him stumble in pain. 'But credit where credit is due: you are powerful. I can see how Shizu lost to you...'
-'I'm...telling you, that's not it.' he said through gritted teeth 'but I guess you really don't care, huh?' 'I am not dying here, dammit!' he though as he summoned a large fire ball. While she easily avoided it, it was a ruse to buy time for something else. He summoned Ifrit, Shizu's former fire spirit, who was now under his command. He immediately split into several doubles and went in to attack, sending several walls of flame at her
-'Ifrit, huh?' Hinata replied, sounding unimpressed as she easily deflected the flame. Rimuru grumbled as he planed out his next movement; suddenly, Ifrit began to moan as if in pain 'Huh? What is...'
Great Sage helpfully informed him Warning: Ifrit was under the effect of 'Forced Takeover'
He looked at Hinata in realization 'Were you trying to steal Ifrit from me?'
-'Heh, correct.' she replied with a cold smile 'With the unique skill 'Usurper'.
'Usurper? I wonder what that dose?' he thought 'Doesn't matter now. I need to do something drastic. One more hit and it's over. Then that should do it...'
-'Alright then...no more games. I'm going to go all out!' he told her and began gathering a large amount of power for a last effort
-'Hm? One more hit and you're done, so why struggle?' she asked. He smiled at her
-'Because...I have people I want to see again. Someone... I want to see smiling again.' he told her as he finalized his last attack 'And you won't get in the way of that!' he shouted and dashed at her with extreme speed.
-'We'll send them after you, so don't worry!' she replied as she prepared a final strike 'Die, monster! Dead End Rainbow!'
-'Wake up, Gluttony!' he shouted. The air around him exploded with energy; even as Hinata's sword pierced him, the force was enough to crater the ground. A black mist expelled from him and took over her sword, forcing her to let it go and jump back. She watched as the black mist morphed into a mismatched monster with parts from the various creatures he had devoured. It snarled in a raw, primal roar.
-'Incredible...You took the seventh hit, yet you're not dead. No...' she said as she watched on as the monster lurched about 'you are dead. Your soul is gone.' the monster roared in her direction, prepared to destroy all in it's path 'How pitiful. Guess I should destroy you fully before you do any damage...' she calmly stated and spread her hands wide and shouted 'Spirit Summons!'
Five spirits materialized around her, then launched themselves to array around the monster
-'I offer this prayer unto God...' she began chanting 'Heed my request: I seek the power of the Spirits.' a large magical array formed beneath the monster, with the five spirits at it's edge 'Hear my desire and grant it to me! Creation, expend thyself!' the array extended itself into several more above the monster, ethereal chains forming between them. Then finally, she shouted 'Disintegration!'
A massive pillar of light formed in between the arrays, engulfing everything within. The monster roared in pain as it's entire being was ended in a flash, then nothing.
Hinata Sakaguchi looked on at the charred ground where her opponent once stood. Not wishing to remain, she began walking away 'I know you may not have wanted to be avenged...' she said to the soul of her former Sensei 'but, even so...goodbye.' and left. After a few more minutes, she was out of sight, and the barrier was gone.
'AAAAAAAAA!' Rimuru mentally shouted to himself as he felt the barrier lifted. From his hiding spot in the tall grass, some distance away from the tree Soei had appeared, his slime form wobbled as the stress was finally gone. 'Oh deer god or whatever, it's finally over...' he though, feeling like crying 'Talk about scary. Good thing I had this brilliant idea, but still, that was dangerous. If she suspected anything...'
Rimuru thanked his lucky stars that he had always been a somewhat paranoid individual. When Soei's double vanished and he could feel his strength leaving his body as Hinata approached, he began to panic. He could tell she was stronger than him, even without the barrier, and so fighting her would be beyond stupid. And so, an idea came to mind: he formed a double of himself, dumped most of his remaining energy into it, then left it there in his human form as she slithered away in his slime form to a safe place. Unlike Soei's doubles, this was a physical clone, and as such would not vanish from the anti-magic barrier nor could it be distinguished as a copy; he remotely controlled it with the soul corridor that he could naturally form with his clones, which thankfully was not cut by the barrier. And so, he somehow managed to live on. With the barrier gone, he quickly sent a message to Ranga.
The Tempest Wolf jumped out of his shadow almost immediately 'Master!' he shouted 'Are you alright?!'
-'I'm fine.' Rimuru said as he took back his human form 'I somehow managed to make due. How about you?'
-'Truth is Master, I sense something was wrong.' the Wolf said 'I tried sending a message to Sir Benimaru but I could not make contact. Even now...'
-'What?' Rimuru asked concerned 'But the barrier is gone...oh no...' he realized 'She said they want to take out Tempest...which means...' he quickly tried to open a transfer point back to Tempest, but nothing, like before
Response: suspecting that teleportation destination is cut off by a magical barrier. Great Sage responded
'Like the one here?' he though 'Means the attack already started! Great Sage, search for the closest functioning port!' he ordered; after a few agonizingly long seconds, the Sage responded
Notice: the port at the Sealed Cave is still functioning. it replied
-'Ranga, jump into my shadow! We need to hurry!' without a single complaint, the wolf merged into his shadow. A second later, he activated the spell and teleported away.
The pedestal outside Veldora's Cave shimmered to life; a small figure suddenly materialized on it, looking somewhat panicked.
'Good, it worked just fine.' Rimuru said with some relief 'I need to quickly get a picture of what is happening.' He looked over in the direction of the city, and was stunned. Thanks to his magic sense, he could basically see it: a magical dome, shimmering in ethereal colors, large enough to enclose the entire city. 'What is this?' he though, then felt a familial presence behind him
-Lord Rimuru!' Gabiru was running towards him as he exited the cave; Vesta came behind him a moment later
-'Gabiru, Vesta...' he said as calmly as he could 'You're safe. What in the world in going on here?'
-'Sir, we're not sure.' Gabiru quickly said 'There was a commotion in the city some short time ago, but then we heard nothing.'
-'Commotion? Was it an attack?' he asked
-'No, Sir.' Gabiru shaked his head 'From what I heard through though communication, some humans adventurers were making trouble. I don't know anything else on that matter, but...er...' he suddenly got a very hesitant look on his face. He wanted to ask but
-'Sir Rimuru!' he heard Soei's voice coming from the nearby forest. Turning around, he saw the ogre, along with Soka and a few others, landing in front of him 'You are safe. Thank goodness.' he said as he took a knee
-'Enough of that, what do you know?'
-'A number of human soldiers entered the city a few moments ago, shortly after the barrier got erected. They left after about ten minutes; I don't know what happened inside.'
-'Nothing else?' the ogre shook his head 'Then we need to get going...Gabiru, what were you going to say earlier?' he asked as he turned to the dragonnewt, who quickly avoided eye contact
-'It's just...not long before those adventurers showed up, we got an urgent message from Eurazania. It...well, I don't know how to say this...' he looked like he was tasked to tell someone their most important person died. Thankfully, Vesta stepped in, placing a hand on his college shoulder. The dwarf turned to Rimuru and said
-'Miss Albis asked us to help evacuate their civilians. It seems...Demon Lord Milim has declared war on Eurazania.'
His mind stopped working. A deafening silence set in as Vesta's words sunk in, and everyone around looked with great concern at their master, who simply stood there with a blank expression. 'What...did you say?' he said when his mind recovered enough to speak. He didn't say the words with any particular emotion, but it was enough to put everyone on edge. 'Milim...why?' he asked no one in particular.
-'I'm sorry, Sir, but no one knows...' Vesta replied as gently as he could. 'Miss Albis said Lady Milim showed up and...' however, before he could say anything else, Gabiru quickly grabbed his shoulder, signaling him to stop. He looked at Rimuru and quickly shut up.
Rimuru had to stumble a step back as he tried to process everything that he was told. He was already feeling very stressed, but hearing that, his mind turned hazy...he wanted to rush off right that instant to find Milim and see what she was doing. However...'No...I need to figure things out here first...' he though as he managed to clear through the haze and get a grip on his heart. He noticed everyone around him looking in concern.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to Vesta 'We can deal with that after we get things here under control...' he said as he resolved his will 'The city...takes priority. Soei, you guys come with me for now. Gabiru...' he turned to the dragonnewt 'I want you and your men to secure the Cave; we may need to fall back to it. Vesta, see if you can contact Gazel. We may need to ask him for assistance. Get going.' 'Yes, Sir!' everyone responded, then quickly turned to see to their duties.
With Soei and his underlings in tow, Rimuru arrived to the edge of the barrier around the city; moving carefully closer to it, he placed a hand on it 'Great Sage, see what you can tell me.' he ordered
Notice: Low magicule density detected inside the barrier; estimated to be the result of an anti-magic field and a secondary barrier. the Sage quickly informed
'Anti-magic field? Like the one during my fight with Hinata?' Rimuru asked
Negative: The proprieties are the same, but this one is a weaker version with a lesser purifying effect. the Sage said, then added Notice: a multi-layered defense barrier should protect against its effects.
'Alright, make it happen.' Rimuru ordered; once he felt the new barrier around him, he turned to Soei 'Okay, looks like I can get inside. I'll deal with whoever placed the secondary field inside. You, Soka and the rest scout the forest and find those who placed the one on the outside. Take them out without killing them if you think you can win; if not, notify me of their location. We can deal with them in force late.' Soei and his people nodded and quickly disappeared from view. He turned to the edge of the barrier, and took a step through.
He could feel the effect of the anti-magic field trying to overcome his new barrier, but thankfully it held, just like the Sage had informed him. Once through, he quickly made a dash through the street to find some answers. As he was moving, he could see that the humans who left did not do so without doing some damage; all kinds of rubble was littered through the street, windows broken and a number of what he hoped were not blood stains; however, there were no bodies, thankfully...
'Were they Hinata's subordinates?' he wondered as he moved 'It's really frustrating that she delayed me as much as she did, but since I lived anyway maybe I can still stop whatever she's planing...' ahead of him, he could see a large crowd of hobgoblins, including a very large and familiar one trying to calm them down. Rigurd immediately sense his master approaching and made a run to great him.
-'Lord Rimuru!' he billowed as he grabbed his shoulders, knelled and started sobbing 'I'm...so glad to see you are well...' he said through tears
-'It's fine, calm down...' he said; he then noticed Kaijin approaching. As the dwarf came closer, Rigurd managed to calm down and began to talk coherently
-'I'm sorry...Lord Rimuru, I have a report. If you would follow me...' however, Rimuru could feel something was wrong;
-'Rigurd, what's wrong?' he asked, but the hobgoblin looked extremely hesitant to say; before he could ask again, a loud boom echoed through the city. He turned in the direction of the explosion and saw a large black cloud erupting skywards from behind some buildings nearby; before Rigurd could protest, he made a run for it. As he turned a corner into the alley the explosion came from, he saw a small crowd gathered, including Geld and Benimaru.
In front of Benimaru was the lycanthrope Grucius, looking like he had barley survived a point blank fire attack from Benimaru; he was wobbling, but alive and defiant. Behind him, he could barley make out the form of Yohm, looking extremely injured as was laid down on the pavement, held by a woman...he searched his memories and remembered she was that new party member that had come with Yohm's group before he left, the majin pretending to be human. As he approached, he could heal Grucius and Benimaru argue
-'I won't let you have her!' Grucius said through gritted teeth, looking ready to die 'You guys are not thinking straight!'
-'She's our main suspect. Move.' Benimaru said calmly but with a clear hint of anger; before he could do anything, Benimaru struck Grucius faster than human eyes could see. The beastman crumbled onto the ground. 'My apologize to you both, but she must answer my questions...' and moved to apprehend the woman
-'Benimaru, stop!' Rimuru wasn't sure what was going on, but he felt that he had to intervene immediately before the ogre did something he would regret. Everyone in the alley quickly turned to look at him
-'Lord Rimuru...' Benimaru said in shock, then approached him
-'Benimaru, what is going on here?' he asked. The ogre turned to look at the woman and Yohm, then with a heavy sigh turned back and began explaining.
-'Sir, this woman, Mjulan...' he said, indicating the majin woman 'we believe responsible for the barrier placed around the city. For some reason, both Yohm and Grucius interfered and defended her when we tried to capture her..' he said. As Rimuru looked at the woman, who was looking at him with a sorrowful gaze, the ogre continued 'There was an attack...a group of about a hundred human knights. It would hardly be a problem, normally, but with the barrier...' he suddenly stopped, looking hesitant and averting his eyes when Rimuru turned at him. Rimuru had enough
-'Why is everyone so hesitant to tell me the bad news?' he said through a sigh 'Just give it to me. Now.' he added a bit more forcefully.
-'Do you really wish to know?' the woman suddenly spoke up; he turned at her and noticed her sorrowful look had turned into one of guilt. He nodded. The woman, Mjulan, gently placed Yohm's head on the ground and got up slowly.
-'Wait...' Yohm said weakly 'Please...' From where he was sitting, Grucius too looked to be in a panic to stop her
-'It's okay.' she said with a small, sad smile 'I will not run away.' and moved away, motioning Rimuru to follow. He too motioned the ogre to bring Yohm and Grucius with them, then began walking behind Mjulan.
After a minute of walking, he realized she had led them into the town square. She stopped and stepped aside, allowing him to get a good look at what she had led them to.
About a hundred of them; bodies. Bloodied, tattered, un-moving bodies. Dead, every last one; including children.
He looked onto the scene, trying to comprehend what he was seeing. 'Are they...' his mind tried to work, but it felt heavy and painful just thinking '...dead?' It hut to even think up the word.
-'The attackers disguised themselves among the merchants...' he heard one of the hobgoblins lords say behind him 'we treated them with respect and fairness, as you instructed us to do to humans and everyone else...but to think...'
-'Be silent.' Rigurd suddenly said; the hobgoblin quickly realized what he said and covered his mouth in shock 'I...I'm so sorry, my Lord...' he tried to say, but Rimuru would not hear it
-'No, it's fine.' he said softly 'It's fine.' he though back to the time he had become the protector of the goblins. 'I want you all to follow three simple rules: no infighting; no looking down on others; and finally, do not attack humans. Understood?' he had told them. 'It's because you obeyed..my rules...' he said aloud, ignoring the protests of the crowd. 'It's my fault.' he said, not wanting to hear anything else.
'I did this...' he thought as he looked over the field of carefully placed bodies of the people who entrusted him with their lives. 'I...did this...'