A/N: Yes, I did skip last week's upload because of some stuff going on in real life, and I'm sorry for that. This chapter isn't very big for the same reasons I had to skip then, but I hope you all still enjoy reading it nonetheless.
O Frabjous Day
Ameri POV
I glare at Rimuru, annoyed that she seems happy about this development. The danger of the situation has skyrocketed, yet, she seems pleased if anything.
Rimuru fake-coughs and wipes the slight smile off of her mouth, trying to hide her true emotions about the composite beast looming in front of us.
"By the way, why are you even using that thing? The only reason I have it is for that... uh... ghost cosplay." the Rimuru in black asks the one wearing red.
"You of all people should understand!"
"Well, I don't."
"Because it's sooooo cool! It's all like whoosh, and swoosh as you swing it around! Who wouldn't want to fight with a giant, crazy scythe!" 'Agent Red' says as she starts carelessly whipping her overly-large-sized weapon around, not paying attention to her surroundings at all.
She isn't even paying attention to the enormous threat…how is Rimuru so calm and casual in a situation like this?!
It's exasperating to witness Rimuru argue with herself about her weapon of choice when there are much more important things to worry about right now. I have no idea what we are going to do about this merged kaiju since it is very clearly much stronger than the Carmine Dragon I already struggled to take on.
There is one option I can take, but it's a risky one; My bloodline ability: Romanticist. It is a double-edged sword, a magic that can either strengthen or weaken you based on your view of yourself and your situation. Your belief has to be firm, you have to be convinced you will win, and the magic makes that a reality; a self-fulfilling prophecy, you could say. But if your resolve slips, even a little, the backlash of it is devastating, making those doubts the outcome instead.
Not only that, but afterward, you are left exhausted and in immense pain, so after expending my energy with it, I will be useless until I'm given time to rest.
If I am going to use it, I need something that can assure my victory, because currently, I'm not confident that I can take that thing on by myself.
That weapon truly has overwhelming strength behind it, cutting off the head of the Carmine Dragon with such ease…if I were to wield something like that, I may have what I need to fight that monstrosity.
Rimuru is still preoccupied with bickering with herself about the weapon, flailing it around as she does. I take this opportunity to pluck it right out of her small hands. It's actually very heavy, which I expected, but it's still astonishing that even in this weaker form she was swinging it around as if it weighed next to nothing a moment ago.
"Hey! That's mine!" she whines, reaching for the blade.
"I need to borrow this," I reply gruffly before running off with it in the direction of my foe, much to Rimuru's disappointment.
I am the only one taking this seriously…I need to do what I can until help arrives…
While running, I let my aura surge, activating my magic, causing my hair to glow brightly. In tandem, I see the weapon in my hands get surrounded by a glow of its own.
What power…I had no idea this weapon was magic in nature!
I'm filled with strength like none I've felt before, the scythe somehow enhancing my physical ability alongside my magic, and with it, my confidence builds as well.
I can do this…I can do this!
Now, I don't even think I will need assistance at all, with the overwhelming power I can feel coursing through my body.
The scythe, once heavy, now feels light and nimble in my hands, ready to fight as if it's an extension of my body, not a separate object.
I spring into the air, holding the scythe over my head, ready to stab the blade of it into the monster's back and slice straight down. It's covered in armor-like scales, but I'm fully confident that this weapon can slice right through those, I can just feel it!
Wish becomes reality as the scythe in my hands cleaves the flesh of the kaiju, deeply cutting into it. Letting gravity assist me, I rake down the side of it, gashing into its skin as I go down before kicking off of it and simultaneously dislodging my weapon, landing nearby.
I've put some distance between myself and my foe, and while taking a deep breath, I take a better look at my handiwork; the results are awe-inspiring.
That much damage from a single strike?!
I know what it did to that dragon, but this is a different beast entirely, one that's surely more sturdy than my last opponent.
The outcome puts a smile on my face, but my grin only grows as I hear a certain voice ring out in the air from a distance.
"You can do this, Ameri!" Iruma cheers.
That's right, Iruma is watching me… I want to show him what I'm capable of!
The beast attempts to strike me with its tail, but a quick sidestep and swing lops off the offending appendage.
Because I love him!
But, right before my eyes, the damage I've done begins to disappear, the wounds stitching themselves back together and the tail regrowing at an alarming speed.
"That's insane!" I exclaim, shocked that the beast can heal that fast.
But no, I can't waver! I know I can do this! I have to!
I ready the scythe again, watching for another opening when I hear a strange voice, seemingly inside my head.
{{Yes…feed me blood…more blood!}}
"What the…" I mutter, confused and disturbed.
I look down at the weapon in my hands, wondering if that's where the voice came from. I've heard stories about possessed and cursed weapons, but I've always dismissed them as just that; stories.
Then, out of nowhere, the beast takes another swing at me, forcing me to jump out of the way.
"Well, no matter…talking or not, I have the fight to win, and this scythe is a huge asset in battle!"
Ignoring the evil cackling now coming from this creepy scythe, I throw myself back into battle.
Rimuru POV
With a snap of my fingers, I make my copy disappear. That's his 'punishment' for being annoying, I guess.
While arguing with my other self, I had sent a few more clones to secure the area, making sure the composite beast doesn't hurt anyone. Ameri's been fighting bravely the entire time after taking that scythe and running into battle. She's definitely giving it her all, evidenced by her hair glowing and her mana surging. It also helps that she has such a strong weapon to fight with too, making quick work of the beast that would normally be too much for her to handle. It's at least Unique-grade, making it a veritable weapon of mass destruction if used correctly.
"Well, I guess it's about time I do something productive myself," I comment out loud while unsheathing my sword again.
*CRASH*
"Never mind."
Just as I was about to finally show my stuff, Ameri split the head of the kaiju in two, killing it instantly and causing it to tumble to the ground. Or wait…no, it's not completely dead yet, but it's definitely in terrible shape and isn't moving anymore. Death is imminent for it, I can tell.
Ameri lands next to it, breathing heavily. The glow of her hair fades and she slumps, falling to her knees, exhausted from fighting. The scythe clatters to the ground and I casually pick it up, giving it a little twirl before making it disappear.
"Pretty impressive," I comment, giving the girl a friendly pat on the shoulder.
She flinches away from it as if my touch is painful, so I back off a little. Maybe this has something to do with her overexerting herself? Some kind of backlash from using that special ability of hers, I'm guessing.
"You…could've helped…" she grumbles in between heaving breaths, staring at me sharply, clearly annoyed that I left this battle all to her and her alone.
"I wanted to fight it as well! But you beat it before I could join in," I complain with my arms crossed. "Man, this attack was a total letdown, those things were nowhere near as tough as they looked."
"You were hoping for a bigger attack?!"
"Yeah! I was once in a fight against a giant floating fish that was tougher than those things, it soaked up hits for ten hours and still wouldn't go down! That's more like what I was hoping for with a giant monster attack." I explain.
"Dammit Rimuru, this is exactly why you're on a watchlist…" Ameri grumbles.
I laugh her comment off, lacking any decent response. I suppose that as a Demon Lord, my carefree attitude towards danger will always make me seem a touch crazy to those who don't know my identity, but it's something I've learned to simply roll with during my time in this world.
"Ameri, that was so cool! I didn't know you could fight like that, you were amazing!" Iruma shouts as he runs toward us, with his friends following closely behind. Opera also seems to have joined them at some point during the battle, probably helping keep them safe.
"Iruma…" Ameri mutters, her voice just a whisper due to tiredness. She quickly attempts to stand up, but her legs give out and she falls back onto her knees, wincing from the pain.
"Oh no, are you hurt?!" Iruma asks, going from excited to concerned in an instant.
He starts looking her over for wounds and injuries, but there are none to find. Any 'damage' is internal and is the consequence of that magic she used to enhance her physical abilities during the fight, so there's no way Iruma will find anything.
"I…will be fine…" she assures him, not wanting Iruma to worry about her current state. "But Rimuru…there is something seriously wrong with that scythe, be careful with it."
"Oh? What could you possibly mean?" I innocently ask.
"It…spoke to me, while I was fighting, and it said some very concerning things."
Ameri seems freaked out by it, but there's not anything to be worried about. It was just a little prank on my part, getting back at her for stealing the thing. I whispered ominous things into her mind using telepathy while she was fighting, making her think that the weapon was haunted or something. I'll let her come to her own conclusions on that.
Iruma gives me a strange look, confused and also worried about the idea.
"I'm sure I can handle it." I flatly respond, just confusing Ameri further.
Ameri doesn't seem fully satisfied with my answer, but that doesn't matter.
Everyone is murmuring about the fight and how crazy Ameri was by defeating it, but I keep mostly silent, my attention more focused on the 'defeated' beast. Something funky is going on with it, but I can't quite put my finger on exactly what. I could have Ciel give me some kind of assessment of it, but she's kinda been giving me the cold shoulder, so I'm hesitant to ask right now.
But, what I can tell on my own is enough to concern me a little; it seems as if the kaiju is rendering its own body into mana, converting its flesh into raw energy, somehow, with the residual strength it has left while in a nearly-dead state.
This isn't something visible from the outside, but a process happening deep in the core of the monster, only able to be seen by those that can read the flow of magic. Opera also seems to be sensing something since his cat ears are standing straight up and he looks even more alert than normal.
"Everyone take cover." he sternly says, interrupting the chatter of everyone around us.
I put up a barrier around us, knowing that things are probably about to get pretty hairy.
"You can sense it too, can't you, Rimuru?" he calmly asks me and I respond with a nod.
"Yup, it's preparing to blow the park to smithereens with its last shred of power," I say with complete certainty, the situation becoming clearer by the moment.
In a similar way to the Carmine Dragon, the kaiju is preparing a beam attack, one being filled with every ounce of power within its dying body. At the same time, its body is bulging and distorting grotesquely, showing that it's breaking down right before our eyes, but in an extremely dangerous and unstable way.
Honestly, this is a threat; one I can deal with, but still a real threat to everyone here. But, putting barriers over every single person in this place isn't a very realistic way to deal with the fallout of this. I guess I could just put one big barrier around the giant monster, but again, I don't think that's the best option. I could pull either off, but I think I'm gonna opt to just eat all the energy that thing is about to unleash. Letting that stuff disperse after containing it could have some weird consequences for the area around the park, so it's best to play it safe and just neutralize the stuff.
"Wait! Look where it's aiming!" Iruma shouts, pointing in the same direction that the beast is looking.
It's the shelter, where all the park-goers have hunkered down after evacuating. Literally, the worst place for it to send all of its destructive energy. It will easily take out half of the entire park if we don't do anything.
"That's the direction of the emergency shelter!" Ameri shouts, hopping to her feet despite it clearly being difficult and painful for her in her current state.
"We need to redirect its attack!" Azz joins in, springing into action.
"I shall pummel its face into a pulp!" Sabnock says with vigor, jamming one of the charms on his necklace into his mouth, preparing to create a weapon to fight with.
"No, don't! It has become akin to a bomb of mana, attacking it will do nothing but make it explode!" Opera urgently stops them, sounding panicked.
After a moment of consternation, the kids drop the attacks they were preparing, whether that be magic or weapons or whatever else.
Just then, a familiar voice rings out in the air.
"Stop, you beast, that's enough! No more, you stupid vermin!" he screams at the top of his lungs, absolutely furious.
It's Ronove, coming out of nowhere, using his 'Charisma' at full blast.
"How dare you…how dare you do all this damage to my Legend-daddy's wonderful Walter Park! You have desecrated my home…and now, you want to hurt all the innocent masses! You…you filthy, rotten villain! Anyone who would stop all our fun with such cruelty shall henceforth have to take it up with me, the one and only Ronove Romiere! Now! Look at me…look at me!... LOOK AT MEEEEE!"
The boy's knees are shaking from fear, but he's still heroically standing there, drawing the beast's attention away from the shelter. I really didn't think he had it in him, but just this once, Ronove has actually made himself useful in his own stupid way.
But, he clearly didn't think this through, unless he was planning on it being a suicide mission from the start. I guess self-sacrifice is an option, but not on my watch. I'm not much of a fan of the dude, but I'm not gonna stand here and let him die for no reason, especially after my promise to Iruma earlier.
I'm about to make a hole in my barrier to step out and take care of business, but something stops me.
"Rimuru, let me out of this barrier!" Iruma pleads.
"Huh? Why should I do that? Just stay put, I'll take care of this."
"No! I have a plan! Let me out, please!"
Seriously? What the hell does he plan on doing by himself?
[[Master, the boy does have a viable plan so there is no reason for you to stop him.]]
Oh, so you're talking again, then?
[[...]]
I'm just teasing! But, if you say Iruma has a good plan, I'll let him out. Keep a close eye on him so he's safe.
[[Of course, Master.]]
There's a hint of excitement in Ciel's voice that makes me think she's about to pull some crazy stunt or perform some sort of experiment. After falling silent for a while, it's nice to hear her happy about something again.
"Go." is all I say to him as I open up a hole in the barrier. Iruma immediately rushes out of it and I close it back up.
Opera gives me a subtle look of surprise, Azz looks amazed, Ameri seems concerned, and Sabnock is smiling arrogantly. All are watching Iruma, of course, and I'm with them.
What's he gonna do, I wonder?
Iruma POV
I have an idea. A crazy one, but still an idea.
I've seen Rimuru do it a few times, absorbing attacks with one of her skills, and in a way, it's pretty similar to what Ali can do, right? He can absorb mana, I know that for a fact, so maybe I can have Ali absorb this beast's attack!
So, after pleading with Rimuru to let me outside of her barrier, I run out and put myself between Ronove and the incoming attack building and building, about to blast him away.
I quickly change the setting of my ring to the largest 'safe' one, preparing to unleash this at its strongest.
"Ali, come out! We need to gobble up all that mana!" I shout, calling my friend to come out and help me.
"Alrighty!... Wait! Whoa-whoa-whoa…are you serious, Iruma-boy?! There's no way I can handle that much! I mean, I know I agreed, but aren't you asking too much of me?!" he screams after initially agreeing without question.
"But… isn't sucking up magic what you're best at?" I ask. As far as I know, the Gluttonous Feeder Ring's main purpose was to absorb mana.
"Chugging that amount in one go is no picnic you jerk!" he shoots back, not okay with my assumption.
"I know, but c'mon! You're plenty awesome enough to do this! I just know it!" I encourage him.
Ali closes his single eye, pondering my words for a moment, before sighing and looking back up at me.
"Well, I suppose you are right, I am awesome enough to absorb that amount, but it won't be easy on me! You better be grateful, kiddo!"
"Yes, I'm very grateful, so let's do this!"
"Now, I will need some help from you too, to eat up that amount of magic, we will both have to focus intensely on the task at hand. Imagine it, me gobbling up all of that mana…the picture must be clear since magic is formed in your mind! Change my form to be suitable and cast that same spell you used to give me the shape I have right now!"
Yes…picture Ali eating all that mana…growing, swallowing, and not leaving a shred of it behind!
I form a clear picture within my mind and shout out the spell at the top of my lungs, both of my arms thrust out in front of me to properly cast the spell.
"Cherusil!" I scream, facing the growing brightness of the beast's attack directly.
Ali grows and swells before my eyes, but something seems to be going wrong. This is not what I pictured at all! Instead of the um…somewhat cutesy thing I pictured, instead he's formed into a black-ish ominous cloud-like form, not unlike his natural state, but much, much creepier.
A cold chill runs down my spine as I watch the strange form Ali has taken fill the space in front of me, reach forward, and completely consume the beast standing in front of me, before shrinking and retreating back into my ring, coughing and sputtering as he does.
Dizziness clouds my mind almost immediately, a familiar sensation I've felt from overusing magic, and I lose my balance, falling right on top of Ronove behind me.
What just happened?
The stormy skies have cleared and the threat is gone, but how did my spell go wrong? I mean, it did what I wanted it to, in a way, but at the same time, it was way scarier than I thought it would be!
"S-sorry…" I apologize to Ronove since I fell onto him.
"It is fine…Ronove is unharmed…" he mutters, standing up and brushing the dust off of his clothes. "I do not know what you just did…but I must thank you for saving me. I did not think my actions through and almost perished, which would have been a fabulous way to go out, but…" Ronove trails off, at a loss for words.
"You're welcome, Ronove," I reply, trying to hide how freaked out I am by what just happened.
We both start walking toward our group, now freed from the barrier Rimuru put up, but a voice stops me.
"Kiddo…psst, hey!"
"Ali?"
He's back outside my ring, looking perfectly normal again, but also scared at the same time. Ali floats up and places a hand on my shoulder, staring me directly in the eyes with an intense expression.
"Listen, I need to say this before…she notices," Ali says with a shudder.
"Huh?"
"I received a little help from Ciel, the partner of that being currently posing as your sister."
"So that's why the spell went all weird like that?"
"Yes, yes, but that's not my point, Iruma-boy. Whatever you do, never cross either of them!" Ali yells insistently, right in my face.
"What d'you mean? Why are you saying this all of a sudden?" I ask.
Ali looks annoyed by my confusion.
Freaking out, Ali yells, "Absorbing that much energy would have been a very difficult task for me, but Ciel suggested that I direct the energy to Rimuru via one of her skills, which she briefly unlocked for me. I was able to see what the skill was, and it's nothing like the skills Rimuru has taught you how to use… It was horrifying, beyond imagination."
I stay quiet with my head tilted a little, and Ali takes it as an invitation to continue talking.
"The skill was called Void God Azathoth. Bear in mind that her skills are named by the world instead of the user, so that menacing name is a warning from the world itself about what Rimuru can do! The ability of a GOD - and she can wield it like how you might open and close a door! The skill seems to be part of her arsenal of combat abilities, and… By Delkira's luxurious locks, what the hell did your grandpa invite into this world?!" Ali shouts.
"I still don't understand what you're getting at, Ali…" I say, still not really understanding what Ali is talking about.
"She's a walking apocalypse, death, and destruction incarnate; she could easily scour the Netherworld clean of life if not outright shatter this planet! Nothing can stop her if she were to get serious!" Ali exclaims, clinging to one of my shoulders and trying his best to shake me. "... and that was supposedly the dumbed-down version since Ciel was going on about how she reduced its powers to just a fraction of a fraction of itself so we could channel it through the ring…" he mutters in a quieter voice.
I'm stunned by what I hear at first, but I smile in relief when I realize that it's all that Ali was worried about.
"Why the hell are you smiling?" Ali asks in disbelief.
"When you said you wanted to warn me about Rimuru, I thought it might be something bad, but it turns out you were just worried about how strong she is. Until this year I didn't even know about powerful things like demons, so I'm always amazed by how strong people are here. I mean, I could hardly believe my eyes when I was watching Ameri fight!"
"So you're just taking it in stride, that you've been told that your sister could probably blow up this planet if she wanted?" Ali worriedly responds.
"I guess… I dunno, I suppose I just don't have the experience to know if I'm supposed to be scared of that. It's more than I can comprehend at this point, really. But if Rimuru always tries to do the right thing, do things like that even matter?"
"I can see your point, but it's not much reassurance when we're just a temper tantrum away from complete and utter armageddon," Ali states with a shuddering shrug.
I really don't think a 'temper tantrum' would be enough for Rimuru to do stuff like that; I've seen her angry, after all. Maybe not as angry as she could possibly be, but still, I don't think Rimuru would do something like destroying the Netherworld.
The next thing I know, Ameri, Azz, and Sabnock surrounded me, shouting various things, all seeming like they were worried about me.
"Hey now, he's fine so chill out, everyone!" Rimuru says, stopping their panic.
She walks up to me with a smile on her face.
"You just really like jumping out in front of dangerous attacks today, don't you, Iruma?"
"N-no! I just had to do something…that's all…" I protest.
"Hehe, I'm just teasing you a little. Seriously, though, it's not a habit you should form."
Rimuru then checks her phone. "Hmm, still haven't got any reception. How about we head to the dome? Seems like the obvious rendezvous point, there's probably some of our class there already."
We all agree and head in that direction, meeting up with Diablo and his group outside the entrance of the dome.
But also we find…
"Legend-daddy!" Ronove exclaims, running up to a similar-looking demon with shorter hair and a mustache.
This must be Roosevelt, Ronove's dad and the owner of this park.
"Ronove!" Roosevelt replies delightedly, giving his son a fistbump before looking at the rest of us. "So, is it all over now?"
"… Yeah, I think so!" I reply.
Roosevelt pulls a megaphone out of seemingly nowhere, and poking his head into the dome's entrance yells "It's safe to go outside now! Come meet the heroes who saved the park!"
Huh?
In mere moments, we're swept up in a flood of people, all grateful that the terrible danger is over.
Finding myself unexpectedly crowd surfing, I can't help but amusedly think…
I'm really not doing a good job staying low-key in this world, am I?
