AN: Yes, this chapter came out one day late and I'm sorry for that, but I needed a little more time to write this chapter properly. Also, thank you to Rx, my mod/proofreader from my discord server. He helped me more than usual, particularly on the fighting portion of this chapter.
Also, this story hit 500 follows on here today! I was so excited when I saw that!
Hard Lessons
Iruma POV
The pressure ceases after a moment and everyone in the room seems to relax a little, including myself. Beluran appears to be a little startled, but unlike his two attendants, he's not scared. They rush to his side as soon as the tension in the room lessens, but despite their concerned expressions, they don't say anything to their master.
"Aaahhhh…that felt good!" Rimuru exclaims.
"I'll admit; you're fairly strong but that doesn't mean I will take back what I said. I mean, why do you have another sitting in your seat if you're not a coward?" Beluran asks challengingly.
"It was a little test to make things interesting, but you failed it. Now…let's get down to business. I take that little attempt on my friend's life as you challenging me formally, correct?" Rimuru asks with a grin.
"Yes, let's see if you know how to use that power you just showed us all a moment ago." Beluran retorts, squaring up to face Rimuru.
"Hold on." Guy stops the two as they appear to be squaring up for a fight.
"What is it, Guy?" Rimuru asks annoyedly.
"The rules state that we must take a vote first, correct? It's your own words Rimuru, I'm surprised you have forgotten already." Guy says amusedly, definitely getting a kick out of irritating Rimuru.
"You're just bringing that up to annoy me, aren't you? Ugh…fine, we can all take a vote first, that's only fair." Rimuru says reluctantly.
"Everyone; raise your hand if you are in favor of allowing Beluran to join us," Guy announces to all the Demon Lords.
An awkward moment of silence passes and nobody moves an inch.
*shrugs* "Well, there you have it," Rimuru says matter-of-factly.
"It seems I have no choice then. I'll have to challenge you for your seat if I wish to take the title of Demon Lord."
"You always have a choice; I'm not forcing your hand here, but if that's what you want…" Rimuru says as she places her hand on the table and it suddenly disappears.
Rimuru then raises their arms in the air, spreading them apart slowly and the room begins to expand. The shaking caused by the magically growing room causes me to stumble a little, but I don't fall. Once the room stops expanding, all the chairs with the Demon Lords sitting in them are near the edge of it and the only people left in the middle are Rimuru and Beluran, along with his two attendants.
Then, with another raising of her arms, Rimuru claps her hands together and a flash of light fills the room, momentarily blinding me. When my eyes work again, I see that a large, circular green barrier has formed and now separates the center of the room from me and the other spectators.
"Now, before the show begins, let's make this fight a little more viewable," Guy says as he stands up and snaps his fingers.
Large, screen-like devices appear from all angles, showing what's happening inside the barrier. They kinda look like TVs, but I can tell that they're something different.
"What the hell? Since when did you get your hands on those Guy?!" Rimuru shouts and their voice carries through the room clearly as if through speakers. It must have something to do with those devices that Guy summoned.
"What? You don't like that I invested in some of your country's technology?" Guy retorts with a smile.
"Well, no, but why are you using it for this of all things?!" Rimuru yells in an exasperated tone.
"You think I would miss out on a spectacle like this? I'm sure everyone else would like to get a good view of your fight as well." Guy responds.
Rimuru just rolls her eyes and returns her attention to Beluran.
Rimuru POV
Things have come to a head, unfortunately. Dammit, if he didn't try to kill Iruma, I might've been able to forgive Beluran enough to let him walk away with just a beating, but he took things too far! He's unbelievably stupid and likely not much of a threat to Tempest, but him committing an assassination attempt on my friend? I can't let something that serious go.
Plus, someone with a big enough head that they won't back down even after I showed them how powerful I am is going to be a problem in the future. I get the impression that Beluran is the type of person that won't learn his lesson even if you pound it into him, so I don't have much choice but to wipe him out. It's a shame, but it is what it is.
Ciel, of course, has been wanting to slaughter him from the moment he insulted me, but both of us can show some patience at least. We're both almost out of that though at this point.
"Are you ready to get this show on the road?" I ask Beluran, honestly just wanting to be done with this whole situation since I'm sick of this man's nonsense already.
"Almost," Beluran replies. "You two come here; it's time for you to perform your duty," Beluran says to his two subordinates. They step closer to him hesitantly, clearly dreading what he's about to do to them, and he places one hand on each of their heads. He clutches their skulls, digging his fingers into their skin and both of them grimace but still appear to be bracing themselves for something even worse. After a moment of being held roughly by Beluran, piercing, agonized screams escape their lips. Their skin pales and eyes go bloodshot while torturous screeches fill the room before giving way to an eerie silence as they fall to the floor, lifeless. Their eyes, once full of life are now gray and lightless and their skin is slightly shriveled from the process that took their lives. Beluran has drained them of all their magicules forcefully, an extremely painful way to die for any monster.
I grimace at the sight and the burning anger I was already experiencing builds.
Beluran's aura nearly doubles in size and his grin grows along with his confidence. This seems to be his trump card, but it makes no difference to me, at least when it comes to fighting him. If anything, he just made his situation worse because I'm more pissed than ever after seeing him commit the ultimate betrayal right before my eyes.
"Wow, you're even more of a scumbag than I first thought." I retort, not able to keep my mouth shut about the atrocity I just witnessed.
"What? They performed their duty, sacrificing themselves for the sake of their master. Isn't that what subordinates are for?" Beluran asks, still sickeningly grinning at me.
"No. That is not what subordinates are for. Your job is to be a pillar of strength for them, someone they can rely on when things turn grim. How dare you claim their lives for something as pointless as an increase in magicules?!" I shout. I am completely beside myself right now, flabbergasted by Beluran's supposed logic. Absolutely disgusting; that's what a viewpoint like that is.
"Are you saying you've never lost a single person in a fight to defend that pitiful country you rule over? Because I've heard rumors of something that happened some decades ago…some humans coming in and attacking that place. Many of the people living there were slaughtered since their leader wasn't there to defend them, is what I was told. If the purpose of a leader is to protect their people, where were you back then, hm?" Beluran says with a toothy grin.
As soon as I comprehend what was said, any shred of calmness left in my mind flies out the window. Seething hatred fills every ounce of my being and I struggle to hold onto any semblance of reason. This…this is just too much. He has crossed the line by leaps and bounds and I have had enough of holding myself back at this point.
Third Person POV
The two square off, facing each other. Beluran pulls out a glaive and readies himself to attack, but Rimuru stands in place, his arms at his side not showing any indication that he's preparing to fight Beluran. Rimuru is looking down at the floor, a shadow cast across his face, while Beluran glares excitedly at him.
"What? Nothing more to say?" Beluran sneers.
"…"
"Well, if you are out of words, we might as well get started. I appreciate you allowing me the first strike. ~Very thoughtful~!" Beluran continues to taunt.
"Do what you want…it won't make any difference in the end," Rimuru mutters coldly, still not looking up from the floor.
"What was that? So you still have something to say, ~slime~? No matter, I've had enough of waiting!" Beluran declares as he points his weapon at Rimuru challengingly.
"Same here. I've tried to be polite; I've tried to give you the benefit of the doubt; I've tried to control my anger, but…I have my limits, you see? So…why don't I teach you a little lesson; your final one." Rimuru finally looks up and says ominously. His eyes are glowing intensely as he glares at Beluran.
"I don't need to learn anything from the likes of you, but I will gladly fight you to the death!" Beluran yells, his voice full of foolish arrogance.
Beluran still hasn't figured out that he made the gravest of mistakes; angering the strongest being in existence to the point of violence. Even if he did make this realization now, it is far too late for him, the situation is past the point of no return.
**At the same time outside the barrier**
The other Demon Lords watch intently for what Rimuru will do to Beluran. All of them are excited to see what Rimuru will do since he so rarely fights people himself. But there is a lingering uneasiness in the room as well. Something is…off about Rimuru right now, and everyone can feel it. All of the Demon Lords have seen Rimuru angry before, having witnessed what happened between him and Clayman firsthand, but this is different.
Rimuru went in knowing that he was going to kill Clayman, but Beluran? Rimuru went in hopeful that things would turn out fine without a fight, even if he knew that was unlikely.
Most of the others knew it would turn out with someone offing this potential Demon Lord and were just wondering who would do the deed. A quick challenge and a quick killing are what they thought would happen, but they never expected the fool named Beluran to target Rimuru specifically, at least most of them never did.
Rimuru is known to be the strongest of the current Demon Lords; this is public knowledge given out by the Heptagram so there was no reason that Beluran shouldn't be aware of this. Did he really underestimate them all that much? Was he so arrogant that he specifically challenged the hardest target among the Demon Lords? Who knows; why should they bother learning how an idiot thinks? It's not worth it.
"Are you saying you've never lost a single person in a fight to defend that pitiful country you rule over? Because I've heard rumors of something that happened some decades ago…some humans coming in and attacking that place. Many of the people living there were slaughtered since their leader wasn't there to defend them, is what I was told. If the purpose of a leader is to protect their people, where were you back then, hm?" Beluran's voice rings through the room before it falls silent. Everyone suspects what's coming next and they brace themselves for it, but the burst of energy doesn't happen immediately.
"Oh boy, Beluran just brought up 'that'." Dino comments, breaking the silence but not the tension.
"Wh-what exactly is Beluran talking about?" Iruma asks, not completely understanding what's being said.
"One of the few things you don't talk about around Rimuru. It's one of the quickest ways to piss him off, and not in a funny way." Guy responds seriously.
"You don't know the story?" Ramiris asks, flying over to Iruma from behind Guy's head.
"No…at least some of it…I think Rimuru mentioned it once or twice but didn't give me much detail." Iruma explains.
"Want me to tell you? I wasn't there but I learned about it from Veldora since he saw the whole thing from inside Rimuru!" Ramiris says.
"I hate to interject, Lady Ramiris, but Lord Rimuru would be very displeased if he found out you told someone that story without his permission," Beretta says, coming up to Ramiris and plucking her out of the air.
"I thought you agreed to only serve Ramiris? Why are you defending Rimuru's secrets, 'black descendant'?" Guy retorts, looking annoyed that Beretta walked up to all the Demon Lords despite only being a subordinate.
"I am simply helping my mistress avoid the consequences of the choice she was about to make, nothing more." Beretta quips back in a neutral tone.
"Hmph…you really take after Noir, don't you?… Oh, I'm sorry…I mean 'Diablo'…wait for a second, what the hell is going on in there?!" Guy starts calmly before turning his attention back to what's going on in the center of the room and shouting. He's not scared, simply surprised to see the sheer amount of power that Rimuru is showing.
What they all expected hit them all; a massive wave of force from Rimuru spurred by his anger. Still, it's hard for any of them to even perceive exactly what's going on inside since the area is so flooded with energy, making their magic sense borderline useless. It's even interfering with the devices Guy set up to watch the fight despite them being built to handle large concentrations of magicules.
All of them look on to the 'fight' between the two with a mix of reactions mostly filled with surprise, fear, and excitement. The entire area within the barrier is practically overflowing with magical energy, the vast majority of it pouring out of Rimuru. He has flared out his aura in force, even more so than earlier, and everyone can feel it. The waves of pressure brimming with Rimuru's anger; they feel close to suffocating for many of the people here despite the green barrier containing it. Once again, multiple of the Demon Lords shield themselves from it as they continue to watch.
"Are you regretting shoving that fool onto Rimuru, Guy? I know there must be a reason why he targeted Rimuru in particular and I have a sneaking suspicion you're behind it." Luminous says, eyeing Guy suspiciously.
"Even if I did, don't see why I would regret it. This whole Walpurgis has been very interesting!" Guy responds casually, shrugging off Luminous' accusation.
"I'm sure you have realized that this has gone past the point of being entertaining...this whole pocket dimension is shuddering from what Rimuru is doing in there! Don't you think one of us should step in?" Luminous asks, looking concerned about what is going down between Beluran and Rimuru.
"Do you have a death wish Luminous?" Leon asks.
"Of course not, but that does not mean that we shouldn't do something!" Luminous retorts.
"It will be fine! Once he finally finishes taking his anger out on Beluran, Rimuru will calm down and clean up his mess; he always does." Guy assures everyone while hiding the fact that even he is a little concerned. He can't show it, though, or it will surely make things worse.
Everyone goes back to watching the fight happening in the center of the room.
Beluran charges forward at Rimuru, attempting to decapitate him with his glaive, but because of Rimuru's personal barrier, the blade simply bounces off of him.
"Poison, huh? So that's what that nasty black stuff was." Rimuru says dully, still standing in place as they wipe the substance off his neck with two fingers. The blade he was struck with was covered in the stuff just like the knife Beluran threw at Iruma earlier.
"Yes, you are correct slime. It is sourced from my unique skill 'Parasitic Poison' and when it enters the body it causes immense, unending pain, which in turn strengthens me. It's a shame it seems to not work on the likes of you!" Beluran shouts. There is a slight shaking to his voice as a sliver of fear leaks out of him while he attempts to confidently flaunt his ability. This doesn't shatter his arrogance, though, and he quickly composes himself again.
"Well…you're right, it won't work on me for multiple reasons, not that I'm gonna tell you them. Now it's my turn." Rimuru says calmly, ending with an unsettling smile. Beluran takes an unconscious step back at the expression, still maintaining his arrogant grin.
A sword appears in Rimuru's hand.
*shing*
He unsheathes it slowly, but dramatically. He leaves it in its black state, not bothering to imbue it with his aura to reveal its true colors. Rimuru wants to make Beluran suffer, not kill him instantly, so full power is not only unnecessary but against his purpose.
Rimuru walks forward toward Beluran slowly, still unleashing his aura to a degree just enough to cause Beluran physical pain but not kill him. Beluran, like most Demon Lord seeds, possesses ultra-speed regeneration so any damage being inflicted by Rimuru's aura is being repaired. This is, of course, an intentional move by Rimuru (or specifically Ciel).
Then, in a motion that few can perceive, Rimuru unleashes a flurry of slashes from every direction, etching thousands of superficial wounds all over Beluran's body within a fraction of a second. Lacerations to maximize pain and minimize damage since this is a punishment for Beluran, not a simple execution as it would've been if Beluran had simply challenged Rimuru. This is the price he pays for attempting to kill Iruma and the many insults he spewed about Tempest and its citizens.
Black-ish blood splatters everywhere from the attack, coating the floor and Rimuru himself. Beluran cries out in pain and looks himself over, his wide smile replaced with a look of surprise and fear.
"Oh, look at the mess you made Beluran!" Rimuru says sarcastically, giving Beluran an almost crazed smile.
"Wh-what did you just do?! How did you cut me without even moving?!" Beluran sputters, wincing as his wounds close themselves.
"I don't need to explain that to you," Rimuru says before springing toward Beluran again, this time stabbing him in the shoulder before slicing upward. Another splattering of blood happens and Rimuru flicks his blade toward the floor to remove Beluran's fluids.
Beluran pauses to give himself time to heal before readying his weapon once again. Rimuru doesn't even give him the chance to strike back though, this time kicking Beluran square in the gut, sending him flying and slamming into the barrier.
Beluran coughs up blood, now sitting slumped on the floor leaning against the barrier that he was just launched at.
Rimuru approaches him, sheathing his sword before crouching down, picking Beluran up by his neck and pinning him up against the barrier.
"This is all your fault, you know? If you didn't try to kill my friend, I wouldn't have lost my temper."
Rimuru's grip tightens on Belurans neck and he lets out a pained groan.
"I'm generally a peaceful person, but you crossed the line. But still, if you're willing to humble yourself a little and own up to your mistakes, I'll make this quick for you. Now…apologize." Rimuru orders Beluran, not loosening their grip on Beluran's neck while staring him in the eyes intensely.
"For…*cough*…what?" Beluran asks in a strained voice and with a somewhat-forced grin.
Rimuru frowns and lets him go but before Beluran hits the floor, Rimuru punches him in the face, once again slamming him against the barrier he's pinned up against. As Beluran slumps again from Rimuru's attack, Rimuru strikes him again. Cracking sounds are heard when Rimuru's knee connects with Beluran's abdomen and he's launched upward before falling to the floor again.
"For insulting my country…"
Rimuru reels back and kicks him in the stomach again.
"…for disrespecting my people…"
Rimuru winds up and smacks the side of Beluran's hand with their sheathed sword causing his head to snap to the side violently.
"… and for attempting to kill my friend!"
Rimuru raises his leg in the air and brings his heel down right between Beluran's legs, crushing his manhood. Beluran screams in a way that makes every man in the room wince. Beluran lays prone on the floor for a moment, trying to get over the massive amount of pain he's experiencing, before again standing up, still not broken by Rimuru's intimidation or torture.
"Do you understand now? We can keep going if you want, but if you've had enough already…apologize," Rimuru commands more sternly, their tone growing darker.
Beluran stumbles to his feet and faces Rimuru with eyes burning with anger.
*cough cough* "….I…*cough*…I refuse…" Beluran manages to force out a response through the pain.
"If that's your answer, so be it," Rimuru says chillingly.
Beluran forces himself to his feet and pulls out the same knife he used earlier. He sends it flying through the air in the direction of Rimuru's face. But, this doesn't work, and Rimuru casually catches the knife between two fingers.
*sigh* "Seriously? You're trying that again?! Did you really think I wouldn't be able to deal with you tossing a knife at me?" Rimuru asks, sounding annoyed by how dumb Beluran is to try the same trick.
With Beluran's knife in hand, Rimuru tilts his head to the side slightly as he inspects it more closely.
"Hmmm…" Rimuru hums ponderingly. "…completely useless," he mutters dismissively before tossing the knife in Beluran's direction in a way that looks careless. It misses hitting him by a very small margin, though, so it was clear that where it ended up was no accident.
Beluran looks a little startled by this but quickly grabs the knife before picking up his glaive and wielding it as well.
"I am the Great Beluran…Ruler of the Sea…I will not lose…to you!" he glares at Rimuru.
"You really don't understand, do you? You can't win this, Beluran."
This doesn't stop Beluran though. He charges and takes another swing at Rimuru with his glaive, but Rimuru dodges effortlessly with minimal movement.
"This is why I can't let you live, you'll never learn," Rimuru responds to his futile attempts to injure him.
Beluran flails to try to hit Rimuru again, but he sidesteps to avoid another slash from Beluran and continues.
"And that's too bad…it really is. I like giving people second chances when they deserve it, but you went too far, Beluran. You crossed the line and I can't let you live now."
Rimuru ducks under a swing of Beluran's blade.
"Shut up and stand still you slimy bastard!" Beluran shouts as he quickly increases his attack speeds in a last-ditch effort to hit Rimuru once, but Rimuru continues to avoid his attacks without batting an eye.
Rimuru, still dodging Beluran, sighs and unsheathes his sword and deftly disarms him with a swift, twisting motion of his own weapon. Beluran, caught off-guard by losing his weapon mid-attack, leaves himself wide open and Rimuru takes advantage. In one large, swift slashing motion, Rimuru inflicts a large gash, deeper than any of the wounds so far, that spans the entire length of his torso. With a large amount of blood gushing from it, Beluran drops his weapons and clutches the wound, grimacing from pain while it takes time to heal.
Rimuru approaches him slowly, grabs him by his blood-soaked clothing, and tosses Beluran across the room, leaving him laid out in the center of the barrier-surrounded space.
"I think It's about time I finish you off; I've taken my anger out on you plenty," Rimuru says with a small smile as he looms over his opponent.
Holding Beluran to the floor by stepping on his chest, Rimuru summons a swirl of black that wraps around his body; Void God Azathoth. Tentacles of black aura fill the entire space within the barrier and all the Demon Lords watch on in awe. Rimuru raises one arm and points it at Beluran as he readies his skill, collecting some of that blackness in his palm, but before he can finish the job, he's interrupted by someone.
"Rimuru!" Iruma calls out to Rimuru, pounding on the barrier with his fist desperately. His eyes are full of fear and he's shouting as loudly as he can since Rimuru stopped responding to thought communications from him mid-fight.
Rimuru's smile drops off his face and his arm lowers.
"Iruma, I have a job to do; don't interrupt," Rimuru responds sternly, not even looking in Iruma's direction while talking to him.
"B-but…why d-do you have to k-kill him?!" Iruma continues asking.
"He tried to kill you. That's not something I can forgive." Rimuru responds and his skill begins to whip around the area more violently with his elevation in anger.
"But I'm not hurt so you don't need to go that far!" Iruma pleads.
"Iruma…don't make this harder than it already is. He not only tried to kill you, but he directly challenged me. This is a consequence of his actions, not mine." Rimuru replies coldly.
"B-but…"
"Look, even now he hasn't learned his lesson. Just look at his face…" Rimuru replies with disgust.
Beluran is still looking very arrogant despite being pinned to the floor by Rimuru's foot.
"No…! You are *cough* just a slime! The weakest type of monsters! *cough cough* I shall not *cough* be beaten by the likes of you!" Beluran declares defiantly despite literally being on the verge of execution. He squirms to try to escape, but Rimuru steps down harder on him and he's unable to move even an inch.
"See what I mean now? He's completely hopeless!" Rimuru shouts as he gestures toward the idiot.
"That…th-that doesn't mean he n-needs to d-die!" Iruma protests.
Rimuru sighs and his troubled expression fades to a look of determination.
"I'm sorry Iruma," Rimuru says flatly as he raises his arm again. "But I have to do this."
"Void God Azathoth," Rimuru calls out his ultimate skill's name and the blackness collects around him. Wrapping around Rimuru's outstretched arm, it collects and then envelopes Beluran's body and he vanishes in an instant. Rimuru's skill's effects retreat back inside him, dispersing into nothingness and leaving the battlefield devoid of anything and anyone but Rimuru standing in the center.