Frey's palace ended up being at the peak of the highest mountain in view, with apparently no reasonable way to reach it short of flight. That seemed sorta impractical to me, but I guess for a country filled with winged majin and monsters, it made some sense.
Yes, every resident here had wings in one form or another; I checked when I went analyzing everyone in range out of pure curiosity.
The majority of them were harpies, just like Frey, although the woman herself seemed to be in a class of her own when compared to them magicule-wise. I also noticed that every harpy was female. Every single one.
How that worked reproduction-wise, I had no clue. I know that slimes do well enough as a single-sex (or more accurately sexless) species, but that's a different story. They reproduce by themselves, no partner needed.
Do harpies just interbreed with other species? I'd think eventually, they'd lose their harpy-ness over time in that case with that sort of genetic mixing being the only way of going about it.
[[The species, Harpies, are capable of interbreeding with the majority of majin species. This allows them to counteract their lack of genetic diversity and gain a wide variety of skills from various majin, while an intrinsic skill allows them to retain their core traits and species.]]
Weird.
But I was getting too carried away with my thoughts by focusing on this subject.
Why?
To avoid getting involved in the current conversation happening right in front of me.
"... So I'm trainin' him up! Aren't I great!" Milim gleefully and loudly explained. The girl had been talking me up to Frey for the last few minutes and I was really starting to feel embarrassed.
Frey brushed aside Milim's self-compliment with a simple nod and immediately turned her attention toward me.
"High praises from one of the oldest of us. You must be really something," Frey smiled at me as she took a sip of her tea.
"I'm really not that special. Milim just likes having someone around that can put himself back together after a sparring session with her!" I joked lightly, trying to deflect a little bit of the attention she was directing at me.
"Modest, too," Frey commented and shook her head, "for a monster that has claimed the Storm Dragon's territory without the officiation of said claim by the Ten Great Demon Lords."
Now it's worse!
And she said that so lightly! But there was nothing 'light' about the look in her eyes paired with her words. It was sharp, challenging, piercing; it made my skin crawl.
Was that something I was supposed to get!? I didn't know I needed their permission before 'taking charge' back home! This is all Treyni's fault, not mine. I never wanted that 'Guardian' title in the first place!
Feeling backed into a corner, I took an internal deep breath and responded.
"I haven't 'claimed' it, I just help… manage it. That's all," I explained calmly. "I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes here."
"Of course not," Frey smiled again, still watching me piercingly closely. "Mind sharing what plans you have for this… 'management'? Someone as reasonable as you surely has the future in mind when it comes to that nest of chaos."
"Just trying to keep things peaceful. Not much else yet, really."
"Yeah, Rimuru's got a more personal goal he's focused on right now. The forest guardian thingy is just his hobby."
Milim…
"A personal goal? Do tell."
"I'd rather not."
"Oh, there's no need to be shy."
"I'm not being shy, I just don't want to talk about it."
"Wahaha, Frey, don't look at 'im like that! He's not planning something sinister! A guy just beat Rimuru silly in the past and he wants to return the favor once he gets stronger!"
I shot Milim a glare, but it didn't seem to do much.
"Whaaaaat?!" Milim loudly whined at me, "That's what happened, right?"
"Sure… but it's called 'personal' for a reason, Milim. That means it's not supposed to be talked about, especially here."
Milim just grumbled an incomprehensible answer through a large mouthful of some of those cookies Frey had promised.
Actually, no, not just 'some', but all of the remaining ones that were on the table.
They were, admittedly, very good; I'd already eaten a few myself by now, but that didn't excuse Milim stuffing her face. It was bad manners.
And she was hogging them all to herself! That was a big problem too.
But without anyone even needing to ask, one of Frey's diligent servants brought us another platter of cookies. I made sure to snag a few before the dessert-loving pinkhead sitting next to me could monopolize them again.
"Hungry, aren't you?" Frey inquired while staring at me intensely.
I paused midway to taking a bite, staring back at the woman cautiously. The question on the surface felt a bit rude, but I had a sneaking suspicion she meant something else by it.
"Slimes don't experience hunger," I answered simply.
[[Correction: slimes in magicule-depleted regions do experience a drive akin to hunger that motivates them to consume magicule-rich substances to survive. But, the physical sensation of hunger is not present in any slime-related species on record.]]
You just love to prove me wrong, don't you?
[[Accurate information and understanding is vital to Rimuru Tempest's continued survival.]]
Putting aside Great Sage's well-meaning but irritating interruption, I focused on Frey again, who was staring at me slyly.
"Though, from what I've been told," she smoothly ran her finger along the edge of her teacup, "you quite eagerly devoured the larger part of an orc army and its lord."
"Yup!" Milim gleefully chimed in, "Rimuru did that!"
Thanks for verifying something that clearly makes this woman more suspicious of me, Milim…
"I did that for personal reasons, not because I was hungry, Demon Lord Frey."
"Not to take over the Jura Forest?"
"Definitely not! I didn't even want–... being put in charge was just something I felt I had to do after. Y'know, with the whole place being wrecked from the orc invasion and all. Someone had to step up."
"Of course. It is your home, yes?"
"Yeah, I was born in Jura."
"How does that work, exactly? For slimes, I mean. Is there a whole colony of intelligent slimes like yourself out there?"
"No…"
"C'mon, Frey, don't be silly! You know Rimuru is one of Veldora's magicule spawn! Everyone does!"
"Whaaaat!?" I nearly choked on my cookie, calm composure lost in an instant. "That's public already!?"
"You didn't know, Rimuru?" Milim innocently tilted her head at me as if she didn't understand.
"Well… not exactly."
"I've only heard rumors, Milim, but nothing certain. Thank you for confirming them for me, though." Frey paused to take a sip of tea, "But what is certain is that you were named by the Storm Dragon as well. That's much more significant in my book."
Frey eyed me even more piercingly than before.
"Do you serve him?"
That big idiot? No way! But it wouldn't be good to trample on the dude's reputation, so I needed to be a bit more diplomatic about my answer.
But before I could, Milim said "Rimuru serves nobody." In a surprisingly serious tone for her.
"Hm."
Suddenly, Milim stood up, eyes wide open and alert.
"I smell something fishy…"
I didn't smell anything, but I knew Milim had some very sharp senses. Sharper than mine, for sure, so her noticing something I couldn't wasn't anything new.
Then, without another word, Milim flew right through the nearby window, shattering it. Frey seemed unamused, but not upset, as if she might've been expecting it to happen, somehow. The woman sighed.
"And there she goes… such a wildcard, The Destroyer is." Then Frey eyed me, "I'm surprised she left you behind, though, with how attached she seems. No matter."
She stood up and approached until she was looming over me in my seat.
"You're a clever one. Not what I expected when I found you playing with Milim. You think you have her wrapped around your finger, no?" Frey traced her fingernail across my cheek.
"N-not at all! She's a Demon Lord! I c-couldn't–"
"Despite her age, Milim is still very much a child in some ways, is she not?"
"I never said that."
"But it is the truth. I keep on her good side with sweets and nice words, and she eats both up without question. I suspect you have been doing the same, entertaining her in exchange for her unusual strength, scaring off the others by keeping what is said to be one of the strongest Demon Lords on your side. If one of them was to harm you… well, I believe she would do everything she could to harm them right back. And Milim doesn't have a reputation for being gentle, especially when angered."
I nodded, knowing full well how dangerous Milim could be.
"With Jura at your fingertips and Milim at your back, you carry a lot of power on your shoulders, little slime~. Why not put some of it to use? For your own benefit, as well as mine."
"And what do you mean by that?" I asked, trying to harden and level out my tone to mask my discomfort.
"Well, Milim is quite flighty; she won't stick around for longer than she is kept entertained, which could eventually leave you vulnerable to this world's many dangers. But me…" she placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned in closer so we were eye-to-eye, "if we formed an alliance, that would be set in stone. I'm a woman of my word."
"An alliance…"
"Yes," Frey smiled more widely. "Just a promise not to attack one another with perhaps some occasional favors going both ways. I wouldn't ask for anything unreasonable or harmful." Now she had a hold of both of my shoulders and was still leaning in very close. The pressure was making it hard for me to think about anything else.
"Fair enough… b-but…" I stumbled a little trying to regain control of the situation, but managed to firm my resolve. "I think it's fair for me to ask you a few questions about you first. Before agreeing to an alliance."
"Oh, you want to know more about me, hm? Well why don't you meet two of my closest subordinates too. They could help give you an idea about what type of woman I am."
Just then, the door opened and in walked two younger harpies. If I were to put human years on them based on appearances, I'd say they were in their early twenties. Both looked near-identical to one another and also had a striking resemblance to Frey.
Are those her daughters?
[[Unable to be determined without a DNA sample. Although, based on magicule composition and facial analysis, it can be highly suspected that they are close genetic relatives to the individual, Frey.]]
"These are the Twin Wings, a very talented pair of girls that I am very proud of." Frey gestured toward the identical pair.
"Luchia, Claire. This is Rimuru. Appointed Guardian of the Great Jura forest." Frey placed one of her hands on the top of my head. "He is my guest until Milim returns for him."
Both girls bowed in unison, graceful and utterly straight-faced.
" "Welcome, Sir Rimuru." "
"U-uh… just Rimuru is fine, no 'sir' needed!"
The two seemed mildly puzzled, but they would have to deal with it. I was already in an uncomfortable position and I didn't need unnecessary formality adding to it.
"Lady Frey?" one of the girls asked Frey with a tilt of her head, still watching me with curiosity.
"Yes, Claire."
"Jura's new 'Guardian' is a slime, no? You told us that."
"Rimuru is a slime, just a very talented one. He can even fly, I saw his wings myself. Remarkable, yes?"
"Unique…" Luchia muttered.
"And strong…" Claire whispered.
Then the twins gave each other a meaningful look and nodded, interest practically twinking in their eyes.
"Hold on, girls. I am still talking with this young man about an important alliance. I just wanted him to meet you both as an example of the caliber of people I have working for me."
"Yes, I wanted to ask you some things first. I guess…" I hesitated for a moment to consider what to say. "I want to know your intentions. As a Demon Lord. Fulbrosia is a beautiful country, so what else do you still want?"
"A bold question… but one I can give you an answer to." Frey smiled even wider. "I want to sit at the top of everything."
World domination!?
Dangerous. Crazy, even. Very Demon Lord-like, though, admittedly.
"In the literal sense," the woman giggled at the shocked expression I'm sure I was wearing. "I want to rule at the highest peak of this world, to claim it for the harpy race and watch everyone from above."
That was better than my assumption, but it was still a bit wild as goals go.
"That's a pretty lofty goal…"
"Yes, but one that won't tread on your interests, I suspect."
I nodded, "I don't really have any territorial interests… outside of keeping Jura safe."
"Of course you don't," Frey giggled again. I couldn't tell if she actually believed me or not.
"I'll agree to the non-aggression part… but the 'favors' will have to be on a case-by-case basis."
That was essential. The last thing I wanted was to lock myself into some sort of open promise that could be exploited later, let alone by a woman that was as clever as Frey seemed. I'd regret it for sure if I made a deal with the devil like that.
"Then our agreement is complete," Frey smiled, just a hint of victory in her eyes.
"Sir Rimuru," the harpy Frey called Luchia suddenly latched onto my arm, running her delicate fingers down my skin and stroking my hand. "Can you lend one of these 'favors' to me?"
"Uh… maybe?"
What is this about?
"No," Claire suddenly appeared clinging to my other side, leaning her cheek on the top of my head. "We may look the same, but I'm far more… skillful than she is. Why don't you let me demonstrate?"
"Wait, you girls aren't–"
"I'm more fun," Luchia pouted, "you don't need her." She hugged my arm tighter.
I wasn't about to let them fight over me.
"Okay, okay, stop!" I turned to slime form to escape and bounced away, landing on my feet. "What is this about? What do you two want from me!?"
"If you aren't interested, perhaps you'd like Nemu more," Frey smiled slyly. "I've never seen her show such interest in a man before today."
"Interest in a man? What does that even mea–" I paled both internally and externally as I realized. "Wait, wait, wait–!"
"As you may have noticed, all harpies are women. We often get quite broody though, and will seek out partners of other majin races to have children. This can also come with… Political benefits. I saw how you were looking at me earlier. However, I believe my daughters would suit you better."
"Yes," Luchia said, "he would make a suitable partner for me."
"Me too," Claire added, with a dangerous side-eye at her sister.
"Girls, you two can share," Frey chuckled lightly.
"N-no!" I waved my hands frantically, "I–they're very pretty, b-but I can't!" I really hoped I wasn't blushing right now, was I blushing? I couldn't bring myself to check.
"I know you are quite small, but I'm sure you could–"
"No! I just can't!"
We all stood there for a minute, staring awkwardly while I tried to think of a solution to a problem I never thought I'd face in my life. Tamura would be so jealous.
"Do you doubt your potency, Sir Rimuru?" Claire was the one who eventually broke the silence.
That question was worse than getting stabbed in the gut, and I would know.
"I uh… I don't… No… Well… Yes… But it's because I literally can't… I uh… don't have… what's needed." I buried my face in my hands.
I never thought I would need to admit out loud to that horrible loss I endured upon dying, but here I was, doing it for three near-strangers. It hurt all over again, and had added embarrassment to just make it worse.
Frey spoke softly. "Your transformation abilities are remarkable, are you sure you can't?"
"No! It doesn't work that way. Slimes don't work that way."
Frey spoke in almost a whisper, to herself, but I still picked up on it. "And here I was hoping to get grandchildren from this deal."
Milim, I silently prayed, if you really are some sort of goddess, please come back and end this conversation before it kills me!
And, as if my prayer was answered, a familiar massive aura suddenly appeared in the sky, quickly approaching.
"Wahahaha!" In seconds, she burst through the glass, smashing a hole in the window right next to the one she left through. "Rimuru, have I got the training exercise for you! Come on! Thanks for the cookies Frey, but we're leaving, now!"
I didn't know whether to be relieved or anxious. Another training session with Milim wouldn't be easy, but it definitely would be easier than answering more of Frey's questions.
"Mind explaining?" Milim already had her hand on my wrist when Frey spoke, just fast enough to get Milim to pause.
"Charybdis is awake!" She cheered excitedly, and then she rocketed away with me flapping like an old rag behind her.
"WHAT?! Don't leave so soon–!" I vaguely heard Frey behind us, but the sound of her voice disappeared before she finished.
"Wait, Milim!" I yelled, "Charybdis? The thing that literally exists to just destroy things!? THAT Charybdis!?"
"Oh, Rimuru!" Milim laughed, "it's just a big fish. Would make a nice snack for you, think of it like giant sushi! You told me about sushi and how much you love it, remember? This is the same thing, but waaaaay bigger!"
Should I hope? I wondered. Sushi does sound great, but I don't have the rice to make it, and–
"It's got as many magicules as some of the Demon Lords," Milim added, "but it's just a big dummy!"
I was wrong! Milim is crazy! I knew she was, but I was a fool to think for even a second she'd have a realistic grasp of my odds here!
All thoughts of food fell right out of my head. This wouldn't be a walk in the park, this would be a serious fight. Even Frey, a Demon Lord, seemed shocked and scared when Milim announced that Charybdis was awake now.
{{Lord Rimuru!}} Treyni's voice suddenly appeared in my head; I guessed Milim had gotten us in range because she sounded frantic. {{Finally, I reached you! You need to get here now, we have a big emergency!}}
That's an understatement if I've ever heard one, I thought dryly. {{Let me guess, Charybdis has woken up?}}
{{How did you know!?}}
{{Milim. I'm on my way.}}
And I was exhausted already.
We landed on a bluff that was partially flattened by Milim's impact. Gathering myself up back in slime form and shaking the feeling back into my gelatinous body, I looked at the horizon with [Magic Sense].
I tried to focus on whatever it was, but for some reason my senses were all fuzzy. It was difficult to get a good read or look at the monster. It more just felt like an area of dense magicules rather than something solid, but I couldn't get the thing's precise location or a decent visual.
Considering my near-omnipresent sight during this last year… Well, it was frustrating.
"Milim, what is that thing!? I can't even see it properly!" I knew it was Charybdis, but the strange blurriness was putting me on edge.
"Wahaha! It just has some magic jammin'! Anyway, it's your next meal, Rimuru, so try not to play with your food too long, or it might eat you instead!" Milim flew up into the sky on impulse and jetted off into the direction of the mass of magicules, clearly coaxing me to follow.
Without any reason not to, I did, springing into human form with the addition of wings and shooting into the air after her.
I looked in the same direction Milim was, squinting even though it didn't really help. There was definitely something over there; something dangerously strong. I could see it now, since I was using [Magic Sense] and my human eyes in tandem, but all I could spot was a giant mass of dark blue, seemingly floating in the air in the distance.
As I got closer flying along, I managed to make out fins and a single massive eye. It honestly looked like a cross between a shark and a manta ray with dragon-like scales and a massive maw. I was a little grossed out by one element, that being its massive singular eye… that seemed to be staring right at me.
It was also surrounded by several smaller, though not small by any means, flying sharks. They were schooling around it in the air and flying off to wreak havoc on the forest below.
"I know you said it was a fish but I didn't think you were being literal."
"'Course it's a fish! Veldora made it, right? Fish, water, storms. All connected."
"Veldora… made it?"
Why would he–? Wait, no this is Veldora we're talking about. I bet he thought it'd be cool to 'make' a massive, hyper-destructive fish-Kaiju.
"Yeah. It's his magicule-spawn."
But I'm not a fish! And this is the monster that's sorta my sibling, but not. Is that why it seems to be coming right for me? Maybe it can sense Veldora in my stomach.
"Bestie? Is something wrong? You're not scared of that silly fish, are ya?"
From what I was told, this thing should be all brawn and no brains, so if I was about to fight it, I would have that going for me.
Would Veldora be upset if I took this fish out? I mean, it did come from him, the same as me, and he seemed to appreciate me quite a bit.
Either way, I was getting the feeling that I wouldn't have a choice in the matter. Milim seemed excited, looking at me with anticipation, and Charybdis, if I was reading the situation correctly, seemed eager to fight me as well. That was the feeling I was getting from it, at least, with that evil-looking eye staring intensely at me, even from here.
"You should be honored, I'm letting ya have all the fun! I'd love to pummel that fish myself, but you need it more than me!"
"I wouldn't mind some help…" I could tell Charybdis was going to be a hard fight no matter what. Having a Demon Lord's help in this could literally be a life-saver for me.
"Oh, don't be silly! You can handle it! Just fight smart, not tough, or whatever it is!" Milim laughed loudly, with a clear sharp undertone. I got the feeling she was jealous. "Just don't die!"
"I don't plan on it."
"Making sure, that's all… Now go on." Milim urged me forward and I felt like I was being thrown to a wolf if I was honest with myself.
The thing was massive, and so was its magicule pool from what I could tell. Larger than mine, at least. That, and the aforementioned 'magicule jamming'... I had no idea what effect that would have on my ability to fight it.
I couldn't even be sure just how much stronger than me it was. After all, it was hazy and its exact magicule count wasn't clear. Not at all.
I frustratedly flew up into the sky, hoping that any missed attacks would just fly off past the horizon rather than hitting the forest. Maybe I needed to fight the big fish-thing, as if I have a choice now anyway, but that didn't mean all the creatures in my forest needed to as well.
But first, I should take out the other flying sharks.
There were only five of them, and they turned out to be absurdly easy to overpower. I ate them all in short order, and Great Sage wrapped up its work almost immediately.
[[Skills [Lesser Gravity Manipulation] and [Lesser Magic Jamming] acquired through the unique skill [Gluttony]. Abilities include–]]
Tell me later Sage, I need to focus, I thought quickly.
Staring at the gigantic monster that was Charybdis, I tried to strategize a bit. What would be the best way to take on something this big? I mean, it was no joke how huge this floating fish was, and I was just one little Rimuru taking her on all by myself.
[[...Notice: Ultraspeed Regeneration is now fully functional.]]
Nice timing, Sage.
Well that helped with the difference in scale, just a little.
Why not target the most obvious spot? That freakish bulging eyeball right in the center of Charybdis' stupid fishy face.
But when I dove right toward it, intending to plunge my katana into its center, it turned in my direction and attempted to laser me to death. I barely managed to avoid getting hit by the energy beam and it left me thinking that I might need to be a bit more careful doing this.
A few hits to one of Charybdis' less vulnerable-looking spots proved that those scales were a significant defense against pretty much anything. And they grew back almost immediately after I fried some away with an intense use of Black Flame.
[[Notice: it can be concluded that Charybdis possesses a skill equivalent to Ultraspeed Regeneration based on the rate of recovery.]]
Great. Just great…
But if I keep at it, it should exhaust itself eventually, right? Right!?
"How's he keep doin' that?" I wondered, as I watched Rimuru fight.
He'd been at it for almost all day now, but every time he started getting tired, his magicules spiked back up again. It'd happened twice now today, and those weren't the first times I'd seen it happen before.
Rimuru has always been weird like that. Weird in a good way. Weird in a way that I wanted to understand.
It was enough to keep me interested in this fight. I was watching very closely as he tried different strategies and attacks. Rimuru was always mixing things up when he fought since his skills seemed good at doing that sort of thing.
I really wanna fight that crazy fish myself… but I couldn't. Rimuru needed it; my Bestie needed it.
I'm a nice enough lady to let him have all the fun just this once. Just this once. And when he's done with his fun, Rimuru will make me the best 'ahmlite' ever and it'll be super tasty! Yeah!
As I was watching Rimuru the familiar aura at the edge of my senses slowly got closer, until Frey came swooping down to me as it was getting bright out again.
"Milim!" Frey gasped, really out of breath. It made sense since she was so weak and I bet she was hurrying, but every now and then I forgot just how weak she was.
Rimuru was technically a little weaker, but he had so much potential! And he was still a growing slime, just a baby and younger than Frey by centuries. He would be stronger than her, and soon. Until Frey awakens, she'll stay pretty much the same.
He really is such an interesting monster! I was glad I met Rimuru, I need to make sure nobody takes my Bestie from me ever.
"Milim, you can't say something like that and just run off!" Wow! Frey was actually raising her voice at me, and she never does that. She must be really freaked out.
Honestly, it makes her less scary when she does this.
"Wahahahaha!" I laughed, "I knew you were coming anyway! Besides, you haven't missed anything very exciting!"
"This isn't a game Milim! That thing could destroy my country!"
"Don't worry!" I waved her off, "I've got Rimuru taking care of it." I pointed to the battle Rimuru was waging against Charybdis.
He was holding his own pretty well, with the help of that magicule replenishing ability he had. He'd even managed to injure Charybdis, though it recovered right away, so now he was trying some other stuff.
"Rimuru?" Frey followed my gaze in astonishment. "Can he handle something like that? I should help, he…"
Frey trailed off as, in front of our eyes, Charybdis fired a massive storm of scales. Rimuru's [Gluttony] filled the sky with a black cyclone, sucking up all the sharp missiles and clearing the swarm of millions of them in an instant.
Frey seemed to be having trouble keeping her usual composure, she gaped slightly and quietly muttered "remarkable…"
"Close your mouth, Frey, unless you wanna eat some bugs," I snickered. "This forest has lots of those!"
She quickly shut her mouth and adjusted her posture to the more usual way she carried herself, though I spotted that embarrassed blush on her cheeks. You can't hide that from me, woman!
"Milim," Frey said, and I jumped as a shiver ran down my spine. She was back to her composed, stern self. "Why aren't you fighting?"
"Wahahaha!" I put my hands on my hips and laughed. "I really want to, but that one's Rimuru's prey. He'll benefit more from it."
"How unusual…" Frey murmured, casting me a suspicious glance with narrowed eyes, but I ignored it. Frey couldn't cause me any trouble anyway.
"Oi, you two!" Carrion suddenly pushed his way out of the bushes, he'd been sneaking his way toward us for the past day, but he's never been good at being sneaky!
Frey jolted a little, I guessed she hadn't noticed him. "Carrion! Y-you–!" Frey she got all mad and glower-y. But she quickly made herself look calm and asked, "what are you doing here?"
"Well, I sent a subordinate to check things out here, but it looks like he's fooling around instead of coming back like he was supposed to, so I came to look for him." Carrion paused and looked over at Rimuru's fight, "But then that started happening and, well… I got curious. Then I spotted you two, and–"
"I understand." Frey cut him off. "Stop blabbering like a fool."
"I wasn't blabbering… I don't blabber!" Carrion shook his head, "so's that the guy? The Guardian here?"
"Yup! That's Rimuru, he's my Bestie!"
"Bestie, huh? Well, he seems pretty powerful, fighting that big ol' thing by himself. I'd like to throw a few blows back and forth with 'im sometime, I think."
"Well… okay… but only if he wants to! And if you don't take him! He's my bestie, not yours!"
"I see… Well, that's fair game, I guess." Carrion shrugged.
I could tell he was thinking of scooping Rimuru up when I "got tired" of him, but he's just stupid. Rimuru is my bestie, I'll never betray him!
"Obviously, if he's your buddy, then that's why you're here Milim," Carrion continued, "but what about you, Frey? What brings you to these woods? I thought you preferred clean, civilized places, not the middle of a forest getting ravaged by a big fight with a giant fish."
"I am just ensuring that this fight stays in this forest. I don't fancy having Charybdis show up on my doorstep and blasting away all my hard work and dedication in one blow." Frey was trying to posture, arms crossed and chin raised while she looked down at Carrion, but that couldn't fool me.
"You're not confident you can't fight that thing off?"
"Milim won't allow it. She insists this is Rimuru's 'prey'."
"Oh, that's rare. And here I thought you'd never give a good fight to someone else. I stand corrected," he said to me.
Just then, Charybdis fired a huge lazer, and Rimuru sucked it up with his [Gluttony] attack. Carrion watched with a big grin on his face. "Ha! Oh wow, that was cool!" He laughed, "I really need to have a go at him now!"
"Not right now. He's busy!"
"Don't worry, Milim. I won't touch 'im until he's done with his fun."
"Yeah, you can't ruin the show for us! Unless you wanna get punched in your dumb face!" I agreed, glad he got the idea.
"My face isn't dumb, right Frey? I know you like my face!"
"What is wrong with you two!?"
"Calm down, honey! If that battle gets out of hand, I'm sure the three of us along with that Rimuru guy can handle that beast together."
Frey stalked up to Carrion and got right in his face.
"Don't you dare call me 'honey', Carrion." her fingernails grew into talons and she held them up to Carrion's face threateningly. "Just because we are under a pact of non-aggression doesn't mean I can't claw your eyes out."
"Uh… I think it does…?"
"Yeah, Frey, no clawing right now. I'm trying to watch Rimuru's fight, and so is Carrion. He can't watch the fight with me if he doesn't have eyes!"
"Hmph. You're lucky it would be a waste, Carrion," Frey said while turning away.
"Eh? What do you mean by 'waste'? What's a waste?" He asked.
"You're such a fool," Frey sighed with her palm on her head.
These two really need to just kiss already! It's so annoying! "Shush!" I said, "I'm trying to watch the fight!"
Rimuru seemed to be having some new ideas, I wasn't sure what but he was obviously gearing up for a big move with how his magicules were acting.
"Is he starting to struggle? His aura is wobbling," Carrion asked. He and Frey could see Rimuru's magicule fluctuation, but they didn't know what it meant.
"No, he's up to something…" Frey narrowed her eyes.
"Hehee," I giggled. "Just watch this, Carrion."
He and Frey fell silent, paying too much attention to the fight now to talk, but their weak analysis skills probably wouldn't pick up very much. I was excited though!
Wait, who's that with Milim? I saw Frey, and another guy… I have a whole audience now! Just come help me already!
Suddenly a giant lazer blasted by an inch in front of my face. Crap, I need to focus! Worry about that later!
This fight had been going nowhere. I tried all sorts of things, but the jerk would just heal from whatever I hit it with. Ultraspeed Regeneration is a really scummy skill to have! I was sick of dealing with it!
[[Notice: you possess the skill [Ultraspeed Regeneration].]]
I know that! You don't need to remind me!
It was only scummy since Charybdis had it. It wasn't fair!
[[Notice–]]
Don't even!
{{Lord Rimuru,}} Treyni's voice suddenly popped into my head, {{your fight is causing too much damage to–}}
{{I'M TRYING MY BEST, OKAY!? STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!}}
I forcefully cut Treyni's connection, but I knew she was right. I couldn't eat everything Charybdis was throwing, and its magicules alone were causing physical damage in the immediate area, not to mention the insane lazers and stuff.
Suffice to say, the surrounding area was leveled already.
[[Suggestion: lure Charybdis to terrain more difficult to destroy.]]
Oh. That could work (I hoped). Good idea, thanks Great Sage!
{{Treyni,}} I called, {{I'm going to lead Charybdis towards the mountains.}}
{{We will handle the evacuation.}}
Great. Now all I have to do is not die on the way there.
If I had time to sigh I would've, refocusing on the stupid behemoth fish that had already fully recovered from my [Black Flame]. Screw you Veldora! HE was the one who cobbled this monstrosity together, and now I had to deal with it! This is all your fault!
[[It is unlikely Charybdis was an intentional creation, which is the same case as you. Magicule spawns are rarely planned beings. Therefore, blaming–]]
Shut up, Sage. I need to focus.
This was going to take a while.
The sound of the wyverns bellowing at the top of the mountain drew me out of sleep, the sun staring at me through the window of my modest home in the City of the Forgotten Dragon.
"I slept in!" I sat up with a start, "Father Middray is going to pummel me into pieces!" I had to prepare the welcome for Lady Milim as well!
I threw off the spider blanket and hopped to the floor, rushing out the door to see what I had missed this morning. Along the way I said hello to the followers I passed, though for some reason I didn't recognize any of them.
Did I hit my head while asleep? I will ask Father Middray to look… Brushing aside the spiderwebs blocking the entrance to the mountain, I strode out into the streets.
"Have you seen Father Middray?" I asked a woman who was weaving a child's tunic while sitting on a tarantula. Wordlessly, she pointed to the temple.
I rushed through the street and opened the temple doors, "Father Middray I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me–!"
"Oh! Not to worry," a massive, fat, black, hairy spider answered with familiar earrings hanging off its head. "You're just in time!"
I stared.
"You're… not mad?"
"Why would I be?" Father Middray laughed.
Something was wrong here.
I looked left at a writhing mass of spiders that covered the benches used to watch the matches.
Spiders?
My eyes snapped open.
And my head was pounding.
Staring down at me from a rocky ceiling, its beady eyes glittering, was a spider easily twice the size of a dragonnewt.
"EEEEEEEEEEEE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and started to writhe, but I only swung back and forth as the cocoon of webbing held my arms firmly to my side.
"LADY MILIM!" I shouted like a wimp, "RIMURU!"
No, I had to be calm about this. Asking the Goddess herself to come to my rescue would be the greatest shame imaginable–what would Father Middray do?
"Huuuuuuuuuuuuagh!" I gathered my aura around me and invoked Battlewill to control, "AAAAAAAAAAAH!"
With a huge aura blast, I destroyed the webbing and dropped to the ground, along with the spider which was knocked off the ceiling.
Letting out a grunt as I hit the ground, I shot up and sprinted toward the opening of the cave this beast had set itself up in. Like heck would I actually fight the thing, that was too gross!
"Lady Milim!" I yelled as I sprinted into the woods, "Rimuru?"
Not only was there no answer, I couldn't sense either of their auras anywhere. It wasn't like Lady Milim to be very discreet, so I couldn't imagine they were still around.
With a sigh, I spread my wings and took to the air, but still I couldn't see or sense a trace of them. Where am I anyway?
It was a mountainous area, covered in pines and firs, but that was the best clue I had.
Swooping over the landscape, I noticed a cleared patch of trees and went to investigate. It was a crater, and recent too–likely created by Lady Milim.
What were we doing out here? The last I could remember was Rimuru convincing Lady Milim to let him make her an… omilate, I think it was called…
Ah.
Well, judging by the shape of the crater I could tell which direction we had come from. Hopefully Lady Milim would forgive me, if they weren't home already. Regardless, if I couldn't find them I'd have to wait for them there, and so I set off.
I, AgentT123 , and WatcherMagic all hope you enjoyed this chapter! Seeya next month!