Hello everyone! This is a new chapter! Chapter 14! I hope everyone will enjoy this story! Without further ado, let's start!
Normal POV
As soon as the communication was received, 'Aichi' and 'Kai' ran out of the room as the others followed behind them.
" What's happening?!" Leon exclaimed
" I don't know... I'm not sure... But...!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
As they got closer to Rimuru's room, there was a dense aura leaking out of it.
" ... Souei! Are you around?!" 'Kai' shouted
Souei appeared from the shadows as he himself had a desperate expression.
" Take Tasuku and get evacuate everyone in here! Get the labyrinth ready!" 'Kai' said
" But..."
" Hurry! We don't want to get anyone else involved!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" Please take care of Rimuru-sama. I'll convene at the labyrinth later." Souei said
'Kai' nodded as he handed Tasuku to Souei and he disappeared.
" You guys... Hurry, make that song and return as soon as possible." 'Aichi' said
" Y-You mean..." Miwa exclaimed
" No one can believe it either, but we have no choice. Please!" 'Aichi' said
" O-Okay!"
Aichi's Kirara opened a portal as they hurried back to Akibastar. 'Aichi' and 'Kai' approached the door as they hesitated for a second.
" Hey, you guys!"
They turned to the voice and noticed Hinata running over.
" Hinata-san?!"
" What is this?!" Hinata exclaimed
" This..."
" What have you not been telling me?!" Hinata exclaimed
" ... We might need your help." 'Kai' said
" Huh?"
'Aichi' then opened the door as a torrent of the aura inside continue to spill out.
" ... Rimuru!"
" Hm? What's this? More guests?" Rimuru ask as he stood up from the bed
" You're not yourself anymore, Rimuru-sama." 'Aichi' said
" What are you talking about, Aichi? I'm still me." Rimuru said
" Shuna! Go! You have to leave!" Benimaru exclaimed
" But..."
" Go!"
" No, I'm staying here!" Shuna firmly rebutted
" ... Very well. We'll need as much help as we can get." 'Aichi' said
He took out the same black sword from before as they were teleported to a cavern.
" What is this?" Rimuru ask
" The 99th floor of the labyrinth. Surely you would've recognized it if you weren't like this." 'Aichi' said
" What? You're rebelling against me now, Aichi? Your master?" Rimuru ask
" Not as you are now!"
Rimuru smirked as red marks crawled down from under his eyes, the glow from it had a deep contrast on his pale skin.
" Damn that Void...! He persisted for this long...!" 'Kai' exclaimed
" Rimuru-sama! Come to your senses!" Benimaru exclaimed
" My senses? I think I am very much normal." Rimuru said
" No, anyone can tell that you're too far gone by this point. If there's no way to get our words across then we'll have to fight it out." Hinata said
" Good point."
" ... Aichi, Kai. What's controlling him?" Hinata ask
" An Otherworlder but it's not human either. Our skills were sealed off similarly to Rimuru-sama, thus he couldn't resist the control. We're hoping those Otherworlders from before have a solution and they do. We just need... to delay as long as we can." 'Aichi' explained
" I see."
Hinata drew her sword as she dashed towards Rimuru and tried to slash him. Rimuru made a simple sidestep and slammed his elbow onto her back before kicking her on her stomach, sending her flying back to the others.
" Hinata-san!"
Shion quickly caught Hinata as she got her to Shuna and leaped into the air with her odachi in hand.
" I'm sorry, Rimuru-sama!" Shion exclaimed before swinging her odachi down
Suddenly, a barrier blocked her attack as they gasped.
" Absolute Defense?!" 'Kai' exclaimed
" Weren't his skills sealed off?!" Benimaru exclaimed
" Void... He's unsealed Rimuru-sama's skills to fight us!" 'Aichi' growled
" Then..."
" Divine Arcane Threads!"
Souei used his threads to restrain Rimuru as Benimaru clicked his tongue, knowing what he had to do.
" ... Hell Flare!"
The black mass of flames covered Rimuru as it burned inside. However, once it dissipated, Rimuru was still unscathed.
" Thermal Fluctuation Resistance too!" Benimaru said
" Let me go, Souei." Rimuru ordered
" I will not! Not until you return, Rimuru-sama!" Souei exclaimed
'Aichi' gasped as he recognized the familiar black mass of magicules gathering in Rimuru's hand.
" Souei-san!"
" Beelzebub."
The mass ate up the threads and went after Souei as 'Aichi' had ridden on a cloud 'Kai' summoned to quickly get him away.
" Even Beelzebub...!" Shuna exclaimed
" Souei-san's your subordinate! Your friend and family! All of us are!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" But if everyone is rebelling, then what was I supposed to do, if not fight back?" Rimuru ask
" ... Diablo-san!"
Diablo hesitated before getting a claw to form on his hand as he appeared in front of Rimuru to fight him physically.
" Hey, Diablo. I see you've taken it upon yourself to start doing the same things as the others." Rimuru said
" My apologies, Rimuru-sama. However, I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for that ominous power controlling you." Diablo said
" Those are funny words." Rimuru smiled
" Rimuru-sama..."
" But as expected... You're annoying." Rimuru said
At those words, Diablo immediately stepped back as he faced dejected emotions from the words.
" Diablo!"
" He said... I was annoying..." Diablo muttered
" Get a hold of yourself! That's not him that's speaking!" 'Kai' exclaimed
" He's right! The effects of Reverse has twisted his personality! Don't believe everything he says!" 'Aichi' shouted
" Shuna! Take care of the injured ones if we do get hurt in this melee!" Benimaru said
" R-Right!"
Veldora laughed as he charged toward Rimuru as a frenzy of attacks clashed against each other.
" Hey, Rimuru! Come, let us test our strengths against each other!" Veldora laughed
" You're already attacking, aren't you? And I thought you were my sworn friend." Rimuru said
" ... It's exactly because I am! I'm going to hit you until you go back to being to yourself!" Veldora said
" Let me join in too!" Milim said
As soon as Milim joined in, there were even more clashes as Rimuru hummed in annoyance.
" Well, it is still tough with the both of you... Then..." Rimuru said
With Thought Communication, Veldora had been told a few things as he immediately flinched and dived back to the ground, squirming.
" Veldora-sama?!"
" Gah! Don't spoil that!" Veldora yelled
" ... Manga spoilers...?" 'Kai' muttered
" Milim. Sorry, but if we keep going on like this, then we can't be besties, can we?" Rimuru said
" Besties..."
" That's right. We need to still be besties, right?" Rimuru ask
Milim slowly landed as they sweat dropped.
" Top manipulation right there..." 'Kai' muttered
" It has Void written all over..." 'Aichi' muttered
" I guess we have no choice." 'Kai' said
He had his own black sword drawn out as a clock hologram appeared on its sheath. Seeing this, Rimuru turned towards 'Aichi' and held out his hand.
" Beelzebub."
'Aichi' gasped as the black mass approached and engulfed him.
" Aichi!"
'Kai' quickly flew the cloud away but the mass hung onto 'Aichi' even after the cloud went beside 'Kai'.
" Rimuru-sama! Stop!" Benimaru exclaimed
" It's not a big deal. Just a little present for Kai." Rimuru said
The black mass returned to Rimuru's hand as 'Kai' froze at the sight, sputtering with his reddened face.
" I'm... not eaten...?" 'Aichi' muttered
" No... But something else was eaten." Shuna gaped, blushing
" Huh?"
'Aichi' looked down and now realized that his clothes had been eaten up as he yelped in surprise, trying to cover whatever he could with his arms. The cloud around him covered his body up while 'Kai' covered his nose over his hand.
" Ain't that a neat present, Kai?" Rimuru grinned
" He sure knows all of our weaknesses..." 'Kai' groaned
" Yeah..."
" Oh, but it isn't over yet though." Rimuru smiled ominously
At the same time, when Aichi and the others had returned to Akibastar, they had quickly secured a recording room.
" What's going on here, Aichi?" Tsubasa ask
" A little emergency... We must hurry or it might be too late." Aichi said
" Well, alright... Make sure to clean up afterwards." Tsubasa said
" Okay!"
With enough discussions about the song, they finally came up with a piece. While Kai and Ren were busy with the instrumentals, Aichi and some of the girls wrote down lyrics. Then, three hours later, they finally had a song made.
" Do you think I applied the skill properly?" Aichi wondered
" I couldn't feel anything different." Ren said
" But look, the wavelength is definitely more than before. With this, countering Void wouldn't be a problem too." Leon said
" Anyway, you're doing this live too. Maybe your skill application will work better." Miwa said
" Y-Yeah..."
" No time to waste then! Who knows what's happening right now! Let's hurry!" Ren exclaimed
" Right!"
Aichi had his Kirara open a portal where they believe the people they were looking for were in. As they exited the portal, they were greeted by a sight of a cavern.
" Whoa! It's huge!" Naoki exclaimed
" But what is this place...?" Sharlene muttered
" The labyrinth Rimuru-sama created with some other people." A voice responded
They looked down to see 'Aichi' still in a cloud.
" And what happened to you?!" Jillian exclaimed
" ... My clothes have been eaten..." 'Aichi' muttered, embarrassed by his situation
" Eaten...?"
" It's one of Rimuru-sama's Ultimate Skill. Void unsealed his skills and it's been chaotic." 'Aichi' explained
" Couldn't you just get clothes out of thin air?" Ren ask
" I have no such ability! If I had one, I would be out of this thing by now..." 'Aichi' muttered
" Oh, you're here?" Another voice ask
They looked in front of them to see Rimuru sitting on a throne with one of his arms propped up on his elbow and his hand supporting a cheek.
" I was getting tired of waiting." Rimuru said
" Reversed, huh?" Leon said
" Yes..."
Aichi looked around and finally took in the situation, taking on a confused look.
" Wait... You guys don't look... beaten up?" Aichi wondered
" Except for Hinata-san. Shion-san and Diablo-san are still being consoled after some words had been thrown out by Rimuru-sama. I told them multiple times that he had been twisted by Reverse, but they haven't been able to recover. Milim-sama has been trying to consider whether she can salvage being his bestie when she had decided to attack him. Veldora-sama is..." 'Aichi' explained as he looked at Veldora
Veldora had been muttering to himself, while still on the ground, about spoilers.
" ... He'll take awhile too."
" He just deflected what had happened..." Miwa said
" Shuna-san is busy being the mediator between all of them after they heard words from Rimuru-sama. Benimaru-san and Souei-san were one of those kinds." 'Aichi' said
" Hold on... Those guys were defeated so easily...?" Asaka ask
" Well, yeah. They get easily affected by Rimuru-sama's words. That's how loyal they are. Also, that wolf over there getting his pets is Ranga. He's weak to his pets so there's no helping him there." 'Aichi' continued
Rimuru's other hand had been busy playing with Ranga as he stroked and petted him.
" Then... Him?" Ren pointed to 'Kai' lying on the ground in a small pool of blood
" ... Leave him be and he'll recover." 'Aichi' said
" Cold!"
" Anyway, could I borrow that jacket?" 'Aichi' ask, pointing his finger at Aichi's jacket
Aichi immediately removed his jacket and handed it over. 'Aichi' quickly wore it and finally stood up with the jacket being long enough to cover everything up to his knees.
" This time for sure...!" 'Aichi' said before turning to the others, " By the way, is the song ready?"
" Yeah."
" Great. I'll distract Rimuru-sama. In the meantime, hurry and set up everything you need." 'Aichi' said
" Okay!"
" Hey, get a grip of yourselves! We have our way to bring Rimuru-sama back to his old self! Are you all just going to stay here and mope around without saving Tempest's Lord, our Lord?!" 'Aichi' shouted
The others heard these words and slowly got up one by one.
" Oh, is that what we're doing? Then I guess it's time to stop fooling around." Rimuru said, getting up from his throne
" Master!"
" Do you want to return to my shadow? Or are you going to fight too, Ranga?" Rimuru ask
" ... No! I'll return to your shadow once I have confirmed that you're back!" Ranga said
" Hm... Alright then."
Ranga quickly dodged a flame bullet fired by Rimuru as he jumped towards 'Aichi'.
" Did he get you, Ranga?!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" No! Let me assist you!" Ranga said
" Of course!"
" Hm... I really don't want to fight. Neither am I gonna listen to any ridiculous song." Rimuru said
" You're going to! It'll at least return you to normal!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" Well, that's if those guys can begin anything." Rimuru smirked
Immense pressure was released from his body as their bodies froze in place.
" W... What is this?!" Misaki gasped
" Demon Lord Haki...!" 'Aichi' gasped
" You mean this is... what the power of a Demon Lord is like...?!" Ren gasped
" Can't move..." Suiko exclaimed
" ... Shuna-san! Protect them with a barrier!" 'Aichi' shouted
Shuna barely got her body moving again as she erected a barrier to protect Aichi and the others from the immense pressure.
" That immense pressure disappeared!" Naoki exclaimed
" That was incredibly dangerous... Any more exposure to that would have been deadly... Please hurry!" Shuna said
" R... Right!"
" Beelzebub!"
" I won't allow that!" 'Aichi' exclaimed as he slashed the aura with a black sword
" I wonder how long you can keep that up." Rimuru smirked
" As long as it takes!" 'Aichi' panted as he winced a little, " Honestly, cutting down Beelzebub's power drained quite a bit of my own power. I can only make do without my skills. This time I'll use magicules to cut it!"
Rimuru was ready to shoot out Beelzebub again when Shion dashed forward with her odachi. The defense barrier stopped her.
" You can't use Chef to break this down." Rimuru said
" I know! But you're not using Beelzebub again!" Shion said
" Hell Flare!"
The burst of black flames hit the barrier as Rimuru expectedly came out unscathed.
" Not working..." Benimaru grunted
" Gwahahaha! Leave this to me!" Veldora laughed
Rimuru had to dodge the energy balls thrown by him when Milim decided to join in a little.
" A little Demon Lord Haki won't hurt me!" Milim said
" Tch."
" With them, it's possible to delay him..." 'Aichi' said
" To have to lay a hand on my Lord like this, I am going to send that Void to the pits of hell." Diablo said, his clawed hand appearing
He also tried to join in the fight but hesitated between his blows against Rimuru as they continued exchanging blows. Soon, the music that they finally could hear filled the room.
" Damn!"
- FIRE BIRD* song start-
Sora ga donna takakutemo
Hane ga chigirechittemo
Tobitatsu koto osorezu ni
Kogase fushi naru kizuna
Fly to the sky… Fire bird!
"tsuienu yume e moeagare"
Rimuru flew over to them but was still swiftly blocked by Veldora.
" Hold on there, Rimuru! Let's enjoy this fight together!" Veldora said
" Tch!"
(Burning up, Burning up)
(Lala, lalala, Lala, lalala,)
Kurayami de no zetsubou wo
Douka kowagaranaide
Anata no mune itsudatte
Tomosu yume ga aru kara
Ketsudan e no sadame ni
Doukoku shita genjitsu
Dakedo sore wa
Ai yue no
Seou tsubasa da to…!
(Lala, lalala, Lala, lalala,)
" Beelzebub!"
'Kai' jumped and was the one that slashed the skill this time.
" The power of time...!" Rimuru exclaimed
" Aichi's not the only one that can stop Beelzebub!" 'Kai' said, rubbing some blood off his nose
Suddenly, the magicule-filled area around them started gathering around the stage where the music was coming from.
" This is..."
Tobe yo houyoku no baioretto
Hi no tori no you ni
We are… nando mo utai
Tsuyokunatta
Yume wa makenai
As the song continued, a fire phoenix manifested from the magicules gathered around the area and burst into action, flying directly towards Rimuru.
Anata wo tsurete ikitain da
Zessei no ten e
Zero kyori de dakishimeai
Shinwa ni shirusou
Kono oto no kaze de
Soshite shin sekai e
(Burning up, Burning up)
(Lala, lalala, Lala, lalala,)
The fire phoenix engulfed Rimuru inside it as he closed his eyes and the markings of Reverse faded from his face.
- FIRE BIRD song end-
As the fire disappeared, Rimuru started falling down as 'Kai' caught him with a cloud and descended him. 'Aichi' ran over to check on him.
" Rimuru-sama!"
The others gathered around him as he let out a grunt and finally opened his eyes.
" Huh...? What was I doing...?" Rimuru muttered
" Rimuru-sama!"
" You're back!" Shion exclaimed
" Back? Did I..." Rimuru exclaimed
" You did. We're currently in the labyrinth, so no damage was done to the nation itself." 'Aichi' assured
" ... Damn... How could I lose myself for that long...?" Rimuru muttered
" It's not your fault. It's Void's. To think it persisted for this long." 'Kai' said
" It's probably my fault too... Resisting that aura was getting more and more painful... Before I knew it, I blacked out." Rimuru said
" That's not a surprise. Resisting Reverse wears down your soul over time. You were extremely fortunate to have been able to resist for so long." Leon said
" No wonder... You guys must've had it tough." Rimuru said
" Not at all. In fact, it felt like such a grand moment to be able to fight you." Diablo said
" I... see..."
" It wasn't even exactly a fight until the end." 'Aichi' said, sweat dropping
" It was like you were saying whatever you wanted to say, Rimuru-sama. We didn't think you'd be holding so many thoughts about us for so long." Benimaru nodded
" Huh? Huh?! What did I say?!" Rimuru exclaimed
" Uh... I think that should be told for another day..." 'Kai' said, others nodding in agreement
" Also, can you return me my clothes?" 'Aichi' ask
" Clothes?"
" When you were controlled, you used Beelzebub and took away my clothes. I would like them back." 'Aichi' said
" What did I even steal the clothes for...?" Rimuru wondered
" Don't wonder about that now, just return it first!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
Rimuru concentrated but then clicked his tongue.
" Damn... Sorry, but my skills are sealed again. I guess now that the Reverse aura is removed, Void sealed them off again." Rimuru sighed
" Ugh... Should've known..." 'Aichi' groaned
" Until his skills return, he's still not safe. That Void thing can't travel here, can he?" Hinata ask
" No. He used my powers to travel here, so he most likely can't do anything to here anymore." Aichi replied
" I see."
However, a familiar blood red circle appeared below Rimuru.
" Rimuru-sama!"
" This is... Don't come close!" Rimuru ordered
" I'll stop that!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" No! I'll see you guys there! I wanna settle the score with that guy!" Rimuru grinned
" Without your skills?!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" No way! You can't do that!" Veldora exclaimed
" Don't worry!" Rimuru assured
As soon as he said that, the circle glowed and disappeared along with Rimuru.
" We have to hurry!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" With that attire?" Benimaru ask
" It's still empty below." Souei added
" Ugh...! S-Shuna-san..." 'Aichi' whined
" I'll have something prepared for you immediately." Shuna giggled
" Thank you...!" He cried out
Shuna quickly went out of the labyrinth with a teleportation circle as the executives sighed.
" Can we count on you guys again, Aichi, Kai?" Benimaru ask
" Yeah, definitely. This is an issue for us that can travel between worlds. We'll get him back safely." 'Aichi' assured
" Then we'll be depending on you guys to get him back safely." Benimaru said
" At the very least, the first Secretary should follow!" Shion declared
" No, no. Shion-san, as the first Secretary, you should prepare for our Lord's return. I, as the second Secretary, shall be the one to go along." Diablo said, shaking his head
" You guys won't be doing anything of that sort." 'Kai' said
" Huh?!"
" You guys will just destroy everything, so stay put. If Rimuru-sama knows you guys destroyed anything in the other world, he'll be angry. Do you guys still want your work or not?" 'Aichi' ask
At that, the two became dejected as Benimaru held out a small thumbs up for them.
" Seriously..." 'Kai' sighed
" Then we'll be heading back first. We still have to maintain the peace in Tempest in Rimuru-sama's absence." Benimaru said
" Please do. Thank you." 'Aichi' said
Benimaru went off with Souei while 'Kai' made sure Shion and Diablo went back to wait. Veldora was also sent off back to the 100th floor. That was when 'Aichi' noticed Milim acting fidgety.
" Milim-sama?"
'Kai' returned from the teleport circle and checked on Aichi and the others.
" We're leaving soon, so get ready. Thanks." 'Kai' said
" We couldn't exactly save him totally though." Aichi said
" Can't be helped. We'll just deal with it as it goes." He shrugged
'Aichi' dashed towards them as he gripped onto 'Kai'.
" What's wrong?"
" Let's go!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" Huh?"
" Just hurry!"
" Don't you need a change of clothes?" 'Kai' ask
" I won't have one left if we stay here!" 'Aichi' exclaimed
" Okay, wait. Can we just calm down? What got you so anxious?" 'Kai' wondered
" I-I-It's..."
" Guy's almost here!" Milim called out
" Guy... Crimson?! Oh, hell no! We're going!" 'Kai' exclaimed
" Huh? Guy? Who?" Miwa ask
" Don't ask so many questions!" 'Kai' exclaimed
Aichi quickly opened a portal as they were scurried into it.
And that's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!