Culling Kaiju
Lead POV
"Kufufufufu, it looks like some entertainment has arrived." Diablo, the terrifying butler cackles sinisterly to himself.
"Entertainment?!" I exclaim.
That is not entertainment, that's a dangerous, huge kaiju dead-set on killing us!
A big blue bull monster with a bottom like a snake and six red, angry eyes. It's huge and smashing buildings, but Diablo seems to see it as a plaything.
"Yeah, I'll let you have that 'fun' then while we go somewhere safe." I sputter.
Not to my surprise, the butler gleefully states, "Oh, no, not for me, but you~! Such a beast would be no challenge for me, but for you children, it surely would be!"
"Wait a sec, you expect us to fight that thing?!" I yell.
"I was ordered to make sure you enjoyed yourselves today and I plan on following that order. Going against the orders of my beloved Master, I would never think of doing such a thing!"
The kaiju roars and the buildings around us shake, but Diablo just stands there, continuously muttering about Rimuru again.
He's not gonna be any help at all!
I'm scared; completely terrified out of my mind! This beast is like nothing I've seen before, a true monstrosity capable of splattering us against the ground with one blow.
I'm sure it would've killed us already if it wasn't for that warning we got from that announcement, but as we were getting the hell away from where we were, it ended up being too late. With a blinding blue light, this monstrosity burst out of the ground, sending rubble flying everywhere. Somehow, Picero reacted fast enough to shield us with his ground-manipulating magic. For such a lazy guy, he sure reacted fast to that; I sorta underestimated him until now, if I'm honest.
Diablo, much like he is right now, seemed unconcerned. He didn't even flinch when a large chunk of concrete landed right next to him!
But that's whatever; right now, we need to figure out what to do about this thing, whether Diablo is helping us or not.
"Okay, guys, what're we gonna do? We need to make a plan or we won't stand any chance."
I stop myself from saying we don't stand a chance either way, even though that's my true feelings right now. It'll only make things worse if I did.
"I think we should just run to live another day!" Camui frantically suggests, visibly quivering with fear.
"Do ya really think that Diablo guy will even let us? He seems determined to make us fight that kaiju!" I retort, knowing that's not an option at this point. A glance over at Diablo confirms it, he's even set up a chair and drinks!
"Yeah, it seems like we have little choice so deciding on a battle strategy would be the best move," Goemon adds, staying relatively calm.
"Well, I don't think he'll let us die, at least. He was ordered to keep us safe, even though I'm not sure what that means in his twisted mind."
"Good point."
I've kinda taken charge here, which feels weird as hell, but someone needs to, right?
Think about this like a game…
Cooking up a plan is a lot easier for me if I'm putting myself in the same mindset I use when playing a tricky game. Strategy, planning, and proper execution are key. You need to know your opponent and also what pieces you have to play.
First, let's start with the 'pieces'; that includes me and my classmates here.
The only one of us with blatantly offensive bloodline magic is Goemon, limiting what we can do. They don't show us first-years much in the way of magic used for combat, which really sucks right now. They don't expect us to be thrown into situations like this, but here we are anyway!
I think he'll be essential to this with his wind-sword.
"Goemon, how well do you think you can cut that thing?" I ask, pointing at the monster raging within view.
"It looks quite tough and I've never fought something that big…even if I put my all into it, it would take a lot of strikes, I can tell you that much just from looking. Those scales on its bottom half look very hard too."
So he'd need time to do any damage then…
Now, the other cards in my hand…well, there's my sense-stealing magic, Agares, and his mostly-defensive earth manipulation, and lastly Camui…what's his thing again? It sure isn't charming ladies.
"Hey, Camui, what's your bloodline magic again?"
"Oh, it's called 'friendship' and allows me to talk to any animal!"
"Summoned beasts included?" I hurriedly ask.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean they will listen to me, they will just understand my words, that's all…wait, are you expecting me to talk that kaiju out of its destructive rampage?!" inquires Camui, in slight disbelief.
"No, that's not what I was thinking!"
"Oh…good, because I'm sure that wouldn't work. I can only ask animals to do what I want them to so if they are a slavering, destructive beast like that I have no sway over them!"
"Thought so."
He could maybe be a decent distraction then, but probably not good enough to stop that thing from retaliating if Goemon starts hacking and slashing at it.
"Agares. What are the limitations on your 'My Area'? Like, how hard and how sharp can you make things?"
"It kinda depends on what I'm working with to start, but if I pour a lot of mana into it, I can make some very tough stuff even from loose dirt. I won't be able to do it very much, though, or I'll just exhaust myself." Agares explains, punctuating his statement with a yawn.
*BOOM*
A loud crashing sound startles all of us as the bull-kaiju smashes another building nearby.
Dammit, we need to wrap this up! Think, Lead, Think…what can we do with what we got?
We don't have much time. The pressure is building and my mind and heart are racing…but it feels good. Really good, actually!
As my plan starts to come together and the pieces fall into place, I'm filled with excitement to make it all happen. I want to win against this beast, even if the odds are stacked against us!
This is how I always am, getting a thrill out of games with high stakes and low odds of winning, but I really shouldn't be taking this life-threatening situation in the same way; the logical part of me knows this. Still, I can't shake this feeling even if I try to talk my way outta it.
Third Person POV
The scared group of students huddles together, laying out their plan for how to fight the Mountain Bull while Diablo stands off to the side, watching the boys. He knows that from a purely power-level standpoint, they don't stand a chance against the raging beast, but if they are clever enough they might just pull off the nearly impossible feat.
Yes, compared to what he's experienced, this fight will be nothing special, but Diablo still does enjoy watching nonetheless.
He will step in if it becomes necessary, of course, since he needs to make sure none of them perish today. Their lives are important enough to his Master that Diablo has been tasked with protecting them, after all.
Just then, the boys all tense up, grabbing Diablo's attention.
"So it begins." he muses quietly to himself, a sinister smile peeling across his lips.
The boys are scared, but still ready to fight the enormous beast, one of them in particular actually wearing a challenging smile as if he's looking forward to the difficult fight. This is Lead, of course, the gambling-addicted demon that always loves a challenge, and he seems to have taken this battle as such.
First, Camui draws in a flock of birds with his magic, cawing. He's able to command them effectively since creatures with a higher affinity with him are much easier to get on his side. His being a bird-like bestial demon makes birds in particular the best animal for him to use his magic on.
He sends them circling around the kaiju's head to distract it from what his friends are about to do. This does exactly what was intended and grabs the gaze of the bull-beast's six red eyes.
It snarls at the flock of birds and swats an arm at it, annoyed by their presence. Camui, who is riding one of the birds, the largest one, narrowly dodges the swipe, rapidly pulling upward and higher into the sky.
With the kaiju thoroughly distracted, the next step of the plan goes into effect.
Goemon runs forward with his wind-katana, determined to play his part in the fight. The idea is for him to slash the beast's front, causing wounds bad enough that it falls forward to the ground. If he can slice all the way through the base of its tail, even better, since it will surely topple over if he manages to pull that off.
At the same time, Lead implements his part of the plan, one that's not very pleasant.
Since Goemon needs time to slash at the beast enough to actually get the results they want, he can't have it be aware of what's happening. It seems to have very good hearing, so he uses his magic to steal that sense first, darkening his own ears in the process. He doesn't want the bull to notice his classmate slashing at it, or it may turn and attack Goemon instead.
But, taking its hearing is the easy part.
He needs to take another sense to ensure that the Mountain Bull remains unaware of their plan, only paying attention to Camui and the birds he's commanding to fly around its head.
Think for a moment…what is a creature's best way to realize it's being damaged?
Pain.
Yes, pain is the sense he has to take from the beast, even though Lead knows that as soon as Goemon makes progress toward slicing into it, he'll feel every bit of what the kaiju should be experiencing. Pain is how most lifeforms can tell if they're being injured, but if it's taken away, it's near impossible to tell that it's being injured.
Yeah, not exactly ideal, but necessary since Goemon's individual attacks aren't telling enough to do much with each strike.
But, at the moment, the only discomfort he's feeling is minor, from the shrill clashing of Goemon's wind-katana on the extremely hard scales covering the Mountain Bull's skin, particularly on its lower half.
He is feeling the beast's pain, but there's not much to it. That means that Goemon's slashes aren't doing much of anything, at least not yet. He can only hope that he will break through those scales before he runs out of mana.
Lastly, Picero is also helping, setting up for his part in the plan. Focusing on a specific spot on the ground, he begins to draw the earth upward, hardening and sharpening it to a point, further strengthening it as much as he can manage. This is the most important step of the plan; the final blow.
He can't send something like this shooting at the monster. No, the plan is more difficult than that. The goal is to have the Mountain Bull land face-first right onto this spike, impaling and killing it with one blow.
If it had legs, simply tripping it with even more manipulated ground would be an option, but with its naga-like body, sending it off-balance that way is almost impossible.
"Camui, I'm done with the spike!" he shouts to his classmate up in the air, signaling that he's ready.
"I haven't been able to get through the scales yet, don't bring it toward the spike!" Goemon screams in between slashes at the bull. There's clear desperation in his voice, combined with exhaustion. But, the boy keeps attacking, trying his best to break through the armor on the kaiju's body.
The beast lets out a roar, causing Lead to cover his ears and wince painfully, finding the enhanced hearing he's taken from it to be overwhelming.
"Gah! It's so loud!" he complains from his spot behind a crumbling wall, watching the battle unfold.
The noise combined with the pain he's already feeling from stealing that sense from the monster has reduced Lead to curling up on the ground, covering his ears, and trying his best to just bear it.
On top of all that, he's starting to panic a little since things aren't going how he wanted. Lead knew that it would be hard to break through the Mountain Bull's defenses, but it looks like no progress has been made whatsoever despite Goemon trying his very hardest. The strikes are simply glancing off of the bull's skin, bruising the flesh underneath but not breaking through the surface of it.
Suddenly, the large flock of birds keeping the beast's attention scatter, and Camui is sent tumbling off the one he was riding. He's run out of mana and all the animals under his thrall are gone. The distraction has left the scene, and the four boys all know this is really bad.
Exhausted, he falls toward the ground helplessly, and at the same time, the kaiju moves, swinging its tail through the air, hitting Camui without even noticing. The boy is flung into a crumbling wall, hitting it with a thud. He's still conscious, but both hurt and exhausted, his mana almost completely depleted.
"I'm okay…compared to Rimuru…those punches are nothing!" Camui roughly screeches, using his last bit of strength to reassure his friends that he wasn't killed by that blow. Still, he's unable to move now but was flung far enough to be out of immediate danger.
But, this development causes other problems.
"Dammit!" Lead shouts, knowing that any second now, the Mountain Bull will notice Goemon. "Goemon, get outta there! Camui's down!"
He springs back, trying to retreat, but the bull swings at him with a giant, blue, clawed fist faster than he can dodge, sending him flying into a nearby pile of rubble.
"Goemon!" Lead shouts in dismay.
But, when the dust clears, Lead sees that Goemon is still on his feet. Amazingly, he was able to somewhat block the attack, although he still lost his footing from it. He did land back on his feet after being sent flying, though, and doesn't look badly injured.
The Mountain Bull is still pursuing, though.
"Picero, shield him!" Lead shouts pleadingly, but to no avail.
Shooting a glance over at the orange-haired boy, Lead sees that he's dozing off. Picero takes naps all the time, but this time he has good reason to since he exhausted himself in the same way Camui did, putting his all into this battle before passing out unwillingly. This is clear since the cloud he normally summons to rest on is nowhere to be seen and he's instead resting on the hard stony ground, with his signature sleeping mask next to him instead of on his face.
Meanwhile, while everything is going to shit for the four boys, Diablo is still just watching, pretty bored. He expected them to put up a better fight than this, even if they had no chance of winning.
"They don't even appear to be enjoying the struggle…what a shame…" he mutters to himself, clearly disappointed in their performance.
Just then, he hears a familiar voice and senses a presence he knows better than any other. It's Rimuru or at least a version of him. A proxy body of sorts, smaller in size and power, but just as glorious as ever, in Diablo's eyes.
Diablo smiles, always delighted to see his Master in any shape or form.
This Rimuru, wearing a pure white dress, is nearby and evacuating some of the demons visiting the park. But, as soon as Diablo notices Rimuru, Rimuru notices him too.
After sending the group he was leading in the direction of the shelter, this smaller Rimuru runs right up to Diablo, unhappy with what he's seeing.
(Mini) Rimuru (The one wearing white) POV
I was doing my job, helping people get to safety when I stumbled across Diablo being lazy and not doing his job. For some asinine reason, it seems like he's having the group I asked him to keep safe, fight one of the three kaiju summoned to Walter Park! Why the hell is he letting kids fight that thing on their own?!
What? The big-sis main Rimuru did the exact same thing, you say?
Nah, there's a big difference since those three actually know how to fight, unlike the four in Diablo's group!
Not only that, but they aren't doing well at all, and Diablo's just standing there like it's not his business! Like, seriously, what are you even doing, man?! I told you to protect them from danger!
So, I leave the group I was escorting, confident they can make it the rest of the way on their own, and approach Diablo immediately afterward.
"Diablo, why aren't you helping them fight that thing?!"
"Oh, Lord Rimuru! I was ensuring that they would have fun on this trip, so I allowed them to take on this large beast as a form of entertainment."
"I know fighting beasties like that is fun, but those boys aren't that strong! What if one of them dies?"
The issue here isn't that I might lose a classmate; even with myself and all the other Rimuru-fragments working hard to keep everyone in the park safe, Ciel is double-checking our work and pointing out anyone we miss, she'd surely save anyone who actually died.
But it's far from ideal to resurrect someone and then have to cover it up!
"Would you like me to help them out a bit, Lord Rimuru?"
I nod quickly, not wanting anything too troublesome to happen.
A smile peels across Diablo's face, clearly happy that I've given him an order to carry out. His claws appear on one hand, and in a blindingly fast movement, he lunges forward toward the hulking kaiju.
He's now floating midair, floating behind the beast's back with his black demonic wings spread.
"A good defense can seem impregnable, but if you find even one gap, seize upon it with everything you have."
And with that comment toward my exhausted, beat-up classmates, Diablo slashes the beast, although not completely. He's just broken the skin of the bull-kaiju, giving the boys a weak point to attack.
"There's your gap. Do not disappoint me by letting this opportunity go to waste," he says, pointing to the clean slash-wound.
For some reason, I heard Lead scream when Diablo struck the monster, but looking at him, I can tell he's not been hurt by anything.
What's his deal?
He stopped almost immediately, though, so I decided it wasn't much of a problem. Maybe Diablo just freaked him out with how easily he slashed it.
Goemon, the demon that Diablo was mainly addressing with that statement appears to have newfound determination in his eyes and is preparing that fancy wind-sword of his to attack the Mountain Bull again.
I decide to watch the rest of this fight with Diablo, curious if that little bit of help will be enough. This thing is really strong in comparison to these boys and up until now, the damage they've managed to do has been minimal.
Goemon rushes forward unleashing a flurry of strikes at an impressive speed. It looks like precision is his strong suit because every slash is hitting right where Diablo made an opening in the bull's defenses for him.
After him going at it for a few minutes, accompanied by the sound of Lead screaming his head off, the Mountain Bull falls forward with a crash, its head falling right on this perfectly shaped spike Picero made at some point, impaling it through the mouth.
The enormous kaiju, loudly roaring and stomping around just moments ago, has now fallen silent as a lake's worth of blood flows freely from its wound.
"Is it… actually dead?" Goemon asks.
After such an intense fight, I bet it seems hard for any of them to believe that they killed something so powerful. They probably aren't even sure if it's dead or not, but it is; I know that for sure.
But Diablo approaches the group of boys, slowly clapping for them.
"Well done, even you lot managed to bring down that beast. You have my congratulations."
Goemon looks a little embarrassed from the praise. "It was all Lead's idea, he deserves it the most. But right now he's…"
Lead is atop Picero's cloud-like thing, still unconscious and looking terribly uncomfortable.
Oh boy…he passed out for some reason…
"Why was he screaming?" I ask, curious about what was happening and why this boy passed out.
"Part of our plan was for Lead here to steal the Mountain Bull's sense of pain," Goemon explains.
And the pain was bad enough to knock him out cold. Poor guy…
But there's something else we need to talk about…something different about one of these boys…
"Wow, I can actually see your eyes, Picero," I comment.
"Uh…so? What's the big deal?" he mutters covering his face with his hands.
"Well, they're all sparkly and pretty!" I reply, thinking his eyes are very cool.
Then, he immediately covers them with his sleep mask.
"Please don't talk about me like that…" Picero mumbles, sounding embarrassed.
"Is that why you wear that thing?" I ask, pointing at the mask.
"No…"
"I bet it is! Don't lie~!"
"I said no! I need this mask to help me sleep, that's all."
"No, you wanna cover up your pretty eyes so we can't see them! Take it off! I wanna see your super-secret identity again, Picero!" I exclaim, wanting to see more as I reach for it.
"Stop it…don't try to pull my mask off! Hey! Why're you so small, anyway? You're acting weird too!" he shoots back, tugging it back on.
"Don't you remember, Picero? Rimuru explained she can make little kid clones of herself, and this is clearly one of them." Goemon calmly explains to him.
Nodding, I shout, "Uh-huh, that's what I am! Now take off your mask! I wanna see your eyes again! Show me, show me!"
(An audible groan can be heard, with no assistance from the butler this time around.)
**Meanwhile**
Sullivan POV
Left behind, I sit at home preparing for the next term at Babyls.
Unable to resist, I take a small break from my work and pull out my hell-phone. I've gotten the hang of using this thing by now, at least better than when I first got it.
Looking at a picture of Iruma and Rimuru enjoying themselves at Walter Park fills me with a strange mix of joy and sadness. I was sent this earlier, among many other photos.
"Look how much fun they're both having! I really wish I could've gone with my grandchildren on this trip!" I whine to myself, happy that they are happy but upset I can't be there with them, sharing in that happiness.
Instead, I'm all alone here at the manor.
Well, I suppose I'm not entirely alone. Rimuru's partner, Ciel, is here as well but she doesn't seem to have much interest in talking with me. Ciel is a cold woman who glares at me icily every time I try to strike up any casual conversation, and the few times I have managed to talk with her, she keeps her words short and efficient, ending it as quickly as she can.
I'm not even certain if she does it on purpose or not, but Ciel is not very sociable or approachable.
Sighing and starting to work on my documents again, I feel an unexpected sensation. Something has bumped into my ankle, it seems.
Curious, I glance down at the floor and see a small blue blob. It's the slime Rimuru brought with her from her homeland. She left it here for whatever reason, promising that it won't cause me any trouble. As Rimuru put it 'It looks too comfy! I'd feel guilty if I picked it up right now.' when I inquired whether she was going to remove the small slime from its corner on the couch.
What could it possibly want?
It gives my leg another insistent nudge as if asking for something but I have no clue what.
"I am too busy to play right now," I respond, guessing at its intentions, believing it has no idea what my words mean.
Despite being of a similar species, this slime doesn't possess the same level of intelligence as Rimuru; not even close. So, the idea of it grasping language in any sense is unlikely.
Again, the slime bumps into me, this time even more aggressively than the last. This time, I nudge it back, gently pushing it away with my foot.
I feel a little bad doing this but I really don't have any time to dedicate to it at the moment. It is cute, but my grandson is even cuter and I still couldn't spare any time for him!
Undeterred, the little slime rolls right back up to my foot.
Then, without warning, it slinks up my pant leg, lightly suctioning its way up.
"Hey! I can't allow you to eat me, little one!" I scold the slime, shaking my leg to no avail. It's stuck tight to my ankle, clearly determined to not let go.
It's not like I couldn't fend off the creature, but if I harm it Rimuru will surely be upset!
But curiously, it doesn't seem to be trying to do any damage. The only thing I feel is the cold, wet sensation of it clinging to my skin and a barely perceptible draining of my mana in the area.
Was it perhaps just hungry?
Slimes are magic-based creatures in an even greater sense than Netherworld demons. It is only natural that such creatures would need to consume magic to maintain their bodies. Rimuru has held this little monster a lot of the time it's spent here in the Netherworld, so her current absence has left it hungry for magic.
Focusing on the flow of my magical force, I send a small surge of mana to the little slime, and after a few seconds of consumption, it lets go of my leg and tumbles to the floor, bouncing for a few moments before coming to a stop.
It sits there, visibly digesting the magic, the purplish fogginess inside the slime's body clearing right before my eyes. But, some of the cloud of magic forms a bubble that makes its way to the surface of the slime's skin, releasing with a small popping noise, as if it just burped after a large meal. I suppose it can only absorb so much at once; it is quite a small monster, after all.
"Maybe I overdid it a little when feeding you…I'm sorry."
The slime responds with a small jiggle, but then it starts to slowly flatten.
Oh no, is it okay?!
It appears to be deflating or melting possibly…this can't be good…
I crouch down to get a better look at it, but then without warning, it springs up in the air and lands on my head.
It was just preparing to jump…now I feel silly.
"You little goofball, you scared me for a moment!" I chuckle, removing the cold, gelatinous blob from the top of my bald head.
"Fine, if you want my attention that much, you can sit on my desk while I work."
I remove the slime from my head and set it on my desk, confident it won't try to eat anything right after being fed.
Taking my seat again, I turn my eyes back to the work in front of me.
The slime is now scooting along my desk, bumping into various objects, It grabs my attention a few times doing this, distracting me some, but it isn't much of a problem, really.
Then, I see the little slime stumble across a spare pen and it grabs ahold of it.
At first, I'm afraid I was mistaken and that it's about to attempt to eat it, but it quickly spits it out. Then it does the same thing again, grabbing the pen with its 'mouth' before spitting it out, over and over, each time sending the pen further with its 'spitting'.
What is the slime doing? It's playing with the pen, there's no other explanation.
This is much more distracting than it bumbling around on my desk since each flinging of the pen is accompanied by a clattering noise, disturbing the peaceful silence I need to work.
"Okay, that is enough," I say as I pluck the pen from the tiny slime's grasp. It held on tight for a moment, but dislodging the pen didn't take that much effort.
With its 'toy' taken away, the slime sits there for a moment, wiggling in a way that makes me believe it is thinking about what to do next. Then, it suddenly rolls to the edge of my desk before hopping off of it and hitting the floor with a *plop*. I watch as it bounces out the door of my office, leaving to do who knows what.
I shake my head, hoping it won't get into trouble while I'm busy.
Iruma POV
It's not very long after Rimuru helped save those children stuck under that collapsed building and we've mainly been helping send people in the direction of the shelter.
But suddenly, while ushering guests down the path, there's a sudden flash of light, followed by a rain of mist falling on us.
"What are those two doing?" Rimuru asks, sounding annoyed and looking in the direction of the flash.
It's our friends battling the Carmine Dragon in the distance.
"Uh…fighting the dragon, just like you asked them to…?" I answer, unsure what she means by that.
It's hard for me to make out exactly what's going on in their aerial battle happening from a decent distance away, but not far away enough that we didn't get showered in water a moment ago, seemingly from an attack.
I can see that there are five figures in the air, assumedly my three friends, and the other two don't look humanoid. One looks snake-like, and I know Azz's familiar is called a Gorgon Snake, so maybe he and Sabnock summoned their familiars to help them fight.
"Well, I can't say you're entirely wrong," Rimuru says with a shake of her head. "The two boys are working against each other to the point of being useless while Ameri is trying to make up for that, attacking the Carmine Dragon by herself while avoiding the crossfire from them."
She sighs defeatedly before continuing.
"That mist was from Azz's and Sabnock's attacks clashing, fire and water. Because they didn't time their attacks properly, the two opposing forces completely nullified any effectiveness either would've had."
"Wait, will Ameri be alright? Maybe I should try to break up their argument! I'm pretty good at getting them to stop once they start up like that!"
"No, don't go running off, they'll be fine. I think they need to work out their problems on their own and Ameri, despite struggling to land a telling blow, is doing alright. She could probably take that dragon out on her own, actually." Rimuru says, still staring at the fight, not looking concerned.
"Really?!" I loudly ask, shocked.
"Really. You picked a strong girlfriend, Iruma. She isn't even fighting at her full capacity, from what I can tell." Rimuru states.
"D-don't call her that!" I sputter out, flustered by Rimuru calling Ameri that again!
"Heh."
"B-but…I know Ameri is strong, so if you say she will be fine, then I'll believe you, Rimuru."
Sighing again, RImuru claims, "Yeah, once those two exhaust themselves bickering, she'll be free to attack without them getting in the way. Or they'll resolve their problems and show some real teamwork and those three will take down the dragon together; either way, it works out."
"I hope they do…they argue too much, don't they?"
"Yup…oh look, it's gonna shoot a beam in our direction," Rimuru comments nonchalantly.
"What?"
Then I see it; a green glow is growing in the mouth of the dragon. Between it and us are Azz and Sabnock, so it's aiming at them, but it's still pointed at us too, even if they're in the way.
I shoot Rimuru a nervous glance, but she just smirks, watching the battle with an amused expression.
"Rimuru, we need to move!" I say, grabbing her arm and pulling, but she doesn't budge.
"We'll be fine."
Rimuru seems very sure about this…maybe I'm worrying about nothing?
Rimuru just holds up her other hand in front of her, not looking concerned at all about this. The swelling green energy continues expanding, becoming too bright for me to even look at it.
A blinding flash roars in our direction and I close my eyes painfully, trusting Rimuru with my life. After a second of nothing happening, I open my eyes and see something amazing. All that energy is just being sucked into the palm of Rimuru's left hand with a small blackish swirl. I remember this ability, she used it to absorb all the remnants from the fireworks at the Battler Party, I think.
"See? Nothing to worry about. Projectiles don't work on me." Rimuru says with a grin.
I blink, stunned and still scared from that near-death experience, reminded again that Rimuru is taking this 'protector' role completely seriously. She wouldn't just stand around doing nothing, letting me get incinerated, telling me I'd be fine when I wouldn't be.
"Hehe…I hope nobody else saw that…I guess I'll explain it away as blocking it with a barrier or something if asked." Rimuru chuckles, scratching the back of her head awkwardly.
Looking around us, there really isn't anyone else within view, so I doubt that's something we have to worry about. Everyone else fled when that green light was growing, sprinting at full speed toward the shelter.
Wait…are my other friends alright?!
I look over to where the dragon is and see them both perfectly fine, likely having dodged that beam that could've taken me out if it wasn't for Rimuru's help.
"That was a close one, though. They both need to be more careful or I might have to do something."
"I really can't see anything from here…"
"Oh, you can't? Well, we can get a bit closer if you wanna, since I can just absorb any stray attacks just like I did a moment ago."
"Yeah, I wanna watch to make sure they're alright."
We both run closer to the battlefield, no more of those green energy beams coming from the dragon as we do. I'm able to see more and more as we draw closer. Ameri seems to be fighting the dragon hand-to-hand, striking it in the head with powerful kicks and punches that I can hear from a distance, so I know she's hitting it hard. But, the dragon doesn't seem terribly damaged by these blows.
Azz is also swinging at it with a flame sword, one of his favorite ways of attacking, and Sabnock has created and is fighting with a large axe that's almost as tall as he is. They had their familiars fighting earlier, but it seems like those have been dismissed in the time it took us to get closer.
"Wow, that's probably the biggest weapon I've seen Sabnock create. Good for him, managing that. Azz's attacks also look more intense too, those flames being a lot hotter than when I first saw him use that attack."
"You helped them with battle training, didn't you?"
"A little.." she mutters.
"Ouch…Ameri just kicked the Carmine Dragon right in the snout!"
"Sheesh, even a big beast like that will feel pain from a kick like that, it was just sent reeling!" Rimuru laughs, clearly having fun watching the fight.
But then, we see an example of their lack of teamwork as Ameri goes in for another heel-driving kick downward, but she doesn't land it since Sabnock sent a cloud of small spears flying at the dragon right in her path of attack, making it so she had to dodge those instead.
"Watch where you are throwing those weapons!" she shouts
Sabnock doesn't seem to be listening, though, but is instead arguing with Azz who seems to be scolding him about what just happened.
Just then, I see the same green glow as before forming in the mouth of the Carmine Dragon; it's charging up another one of those beams.
Ameri seems to notice right away and gets out of the path of attack, but the dragon is not focusing on her, but on the two demons directly in front of it, arguing loudly.
Sabnock is facing it, so his attention is immediately grabbed, but Azz has his back to the beast and doesn't seem to notice. I watch Sabnock back off and point at the dragon. At the same time, Ameri has grabbed onto the dragon's head and seems to be trying to pull it in a different direction with all her might.
"Azz! Get out of the way! Please!" I scream at the top of my lungs, able to predict what will happen next if he doesn't.
Ameri is now grappling, attempting to stop it from being able to aim at the two boys, but doesn't seem to have the strength to divert it in any significant way, and whatever Sabnock is shouting at Azz isn't registering with him.
My pink-haired friend locks eyes with me and smiles. He must've heard my yelling but doesn't seem to know what I actually said since he's not moving at all, just staring at me instead.
"Azz! MOVE!" I shout again, desperately trying to get him to escape the line of fire.
The glow is blazing green light reaching critical brightness, meaning that at any moment, shoot out at high speed and directly hit Azz.
I shield my eyes, no longer able to watch as the overwhelming light envelops my friend.
When the light fades, I look up again and Azz isn't there. He was in the sky, clear to see, but now he's gone! He's really gone!"
I drop to my knees, devastated and in shock at the realization.
"Hey, stand up. He's fine, I can tell." Rimuru calmly says, laying her hand comfortingly on my shoulder.
"What?"
"Just look." Rimuru points to the ground below where Azz was flying and I see him and Sabnock. Azz is on the ground, knocked down by the blast and Sabnock is standing in front of him with his back to the kaiju.
Third Person POV
"Why did you…?" Asmodeus asks in disbelief.
The boy that has done nothing more than compete with him this entire fight is standing in front of him, having just acted as a shield against the attack of the Carmine Dragon.
"That damned dragon melted my shield…what a pain." Sabnock chuckles.
He's badly burned after taking the attack head-on. Sabnock honestly thought his shield would withstand that, but it ended up reduced to nothing but a pile of melted metal, causing the end of the attack to hit him directly. He's a sturdy demon, though, and was able to get away with some burns to his skin and wings but nothing further.
Asmodeus makes his way to his feet, a stern expression now on his face.
"Why did you save me?" he asks in a serious, almost-offended tone. "You could've used me as a decoy and attacked it more effectively! You got yourself injured…why?!"
It makes no sense to him, and it hurts Asmodeus' pride to be protected by someone he sees as a sort-of rival.
"Isn't it obvious? Saving you in such a high-crisis situation…made me look super cool and incredibly awesome, which is the point!"
"Are you for real?!" Azz snarls, finding Sabnock's reasoning completely idiotic.
"Now don't thank me…it's only natural that a future Demon King would be awesome!"
While the two boys are bickering over the situation, Ameri is still fighting the dragon without their assistance.
"I was unable to send that attack away from them and now both are injured…you should be ashamed of yourself, Ameri!" she scolds herself, continuing to kick the dragon with all her might.
She has been making progress toward killing it, but it has been slow and she has been interfered with multiple times by her two fellow fighters. Ameri never expected those two to be so uncooperative, not even listening to her leadership when she attempted to take control of their little team.
They are much too willful and stubborn…is the only reason she could think of for why she was being ignored. Both want to come out on top as the winner in their competition of who can do the most damage to the Carmine Dragon, working against each other's efforts to give themselves an edge.
But something stunning just happened; Sabnock actually stepped in and saved Asmodeus, something Ameri would've never expected based on their behavior throughout the fight. It's a damn good thing he did, too, since it is unlikely that the boy would've been able to withstand a direct blow from that massive beam of mana.
She attempted to redirect the blast, but the dragon was too strong for her to manage it in the short amount of time she had to do so. Ameri can only hope it doesn't try that again while the two others, now badly hurt, flee the scene.
I hope they have enough sense to retreat at this point.
Meanwhile, Iruma and Rimuru are still watching the scene; one is shocked into nearly crying while the other is growing progressively more frustrated as he witnesses this shit-show of a fight.
Rimuru kept reassuring Iruma that the fight would go just fine, and using simple logic, yeah it definitely would. But just like Ameri, he never expected the level of idiocy the two boys both showed on the battlefield, turning it into more of a childish competition than anything. Rimuru wholeheartedly thought they would manage to work together in the heat of the moment.
He isn't exactly used to watching people be so stupid in situations like this after years of having competent, dependable subordinates. But, he's dealing with children this time, so Rimuru should've known better, or that's at least what he's telling himself.
Anyway, what they do doesn't matter as much as it could since he's here, and so is Ameri. She can surely take the dragon down with or without those two, but not the way she's going about it currently.
C'mon Ameri, your little boyfriend Iruma is watching, go ahead and show your stuff!
"They…really scared me…" Iruma mutters, wiping tears from his eyes.
Rimuru just gives him a comforting pat on the back, still watching what's happening on the battlefield intently.
I really wanna fight that thing…it's been a long time since I've fought anything that large, even if it's not that strong…
His instincts are telling him to step in and crush that dragon, but he knows that's not the best idea. Rimuru needs to hold back and keep his skills hidden so as to not grab too much attention, but the thought of fighting the Carmine Dragon sure is enticing. He knows fighting it full force would not be a possibility, but…
Could I maybe at least help…just a little?
He shakes his head, dismissing the idea. Rimuru knows that would just be him playing around and having fun. Only if things turn dire, that's the only time it would be acceptable for him to intervene, no matter how much he feels like fighting.
Damn…I really am starting to turn into a battle maniac…no, I'm not that far gone. I refuse to think that I'm at that point not even a century into my life!
While Rimuru is experiencing internal turmoil, Iruma, who is standing right next to him, is blissfully unaware of it. His eyes are solely focused on his still-fighting friends in front of him and not the Demon Lord standing close by.
The two injured demons run a short distance away to take cover behind a building, hoping that it can withstand at least one attack from the dragon.
They both sit down, leaning against the wall, trying to catch their breaths.
"Can you still move that tiny body of yours?" Sabnock asks after a moment, insulting Asmodeus in the process.
"I can move," Asmodeus responds, wearing a confident smile. "I still have more than enough mana to fight!"
"Alright, in that case…"
Just as Asmodeus goes to face the dragon, barely kept busy by Ameri, again, Sabnock grabs his shoulder.
"...we're retreating now." he finishes.
"Wha-?!"
His mouth agape and completely appalled, Asmodeus immediately snaps back at Sabnock.
"What are you saying?! After all that…and all the drivel about being 'awesome'?! If you're going to bail out, I'll head back there by myself!"
"Oh really? Is that your true ambition?" Sabnock asks darkly.
"My…ambition?"
"If winning this battle is your ambition, I won't stand in your way, but you will most likely…perish. Even with the Student Council President on the battlefield, in your current state, you stand little chance, as do I." Sabnock shrugs, briefly glancing at the dragon, still battling Ameri a short distance away.
Asmodeus scowls at the other boy, at a loss for words.
"I've learned lessons from my past; I've learned how to prepare for death and learned from my past experiences. I am serious about becoming the Demon King, so I've reconsidered my actions and thought them all through. I'm proud of how much I've grown over time, but despite your obvious skills, you're always so concerned about Iruma that you neglect yourself and as a result, have grown very little."
Sabnock suddenly grabs Asmodeus by his shirt, lifting his feet off the ground and bringing their faces closer,
"So, is your ambition to win here?! Just tell me the truth, it's not, is it?! Is your desire to be Iruma's steadfast halberd that will never fracture against any enemy?! His right-hand man at his side until the end?! Well, is it?!"
"How can I be his right-hand man when he already has stronger demons than myself by his side?! He's won over President Ameri, who's still out there fighting, and we both know that his sister is damned near invincible! If I can't make myself useful here, then how could I possibly call myself his halberd?!" Asmodeus painfully shouts back.
"It's true that compared to those two, you're nothing more than a weakling. So tell me, Asmodeus, what are you going to do about it?! Are you going to make this battle your last stand, and die as a weakling? Or are you going to live another day and grow to become what you most desire?! What you pick is your destiny, you fool, so pick wisely!"
Asmodeus just stares at him for a moment with gritted teeth, agonizing over Sabnock's passionate words.
Turning his attention to the ongoing battle, he knows that a grisly end awaits him if he goes back. He'd simply be throwing himself upon a force of destruction, out of nothing more than his pride. It's painful for him to admit that he can't do anything here.
Growing up, he was always considered the strongest and most talented.
He has learned better since coming to Babyls, first by being humiliated by the twins he so looks up to now and earning the position as their friend and in the process. Not only that, but he serves one of them as a loyal subordinate, standing at Iruma's side no matter what.
Both are astounding in their own right.
Iruma is a very unique demon, kind and considerate, unlike most. He shows strength in a way that Asmodeus never even imagined, easily swaying others and bringing them to his side without using coercion or force.
Rimuru is also equally unique but in a completely different manner. She possesses immense raw power and great talent for magic, making his abilities look pathetic in comparison. She is a mystery; often secretive and vague about many things, but still friendly and open most of the time. If he didn't look up to Rimuru as much as he does, Asmodeus might resent the girl since she is playing a role for her brother similar to the one that he personally strives for. Rimuru is Iruma's 'steadfast halberd', to use Sabnock's term; a highly protective sibling that doesn't allow any harm to come to Iruma.
Asmodeus can't compare to her at all, he knows that, and it's painful for him. But when it comes to those more competent than him in his Master's life, there is another.
Ameri Azazel. Yes, the same person that is singlehandedly taking on the dragon that hurt him so badly, and doing a good job of it too. She has an infatuation with Iruma, and he seems to feel the same for her. She is a formidable demoness as well, one that shows a lot of passion when it comes to his Master. Watching her fight today just solidified how far behind he is, and how much he must grow to stand at his Master's side for the rest of their lives.
I need to escape…so I can get stronger… I must not throw my life away over this!
Newly resolved, but with wounded pride in himself, Asmodeus steps up to cast one more spell to help them escape with their lives.
"Flame Wall." he declares with a forward thrust of his hand, conjuring up a thick barrier of flames stretching 10 feet into the air.
Afterward, he collapses onto one knee, now totally exhausted.
"I used the remainder of my mana…this is our best chance to escape."
He pauses for a moment, breathing a heavy sigh.
"I admit it…you were right! I was behaving like such a fool!" he cries angrily, finding it hard to admit.
Sabnock grins, satisfied. Just getting Asmodeus to admit defeat like that is a win in his book.
"Good! Now, let's get outta here!"
The fire is to obscure them both from view, stopping the dragon from targeting them. With their last-ditch effort shown, both start booking it on foot, Sabnock's wings being burnt badly enough that he can't fly and Asmodeus not having enough energy left to do the same.
"Sabnock…"
"What? What is it? Do you have something to say?"
"Ugh…why you-...look…thanks…for saving me back there." Asmodeus painfully mutters, very reluctant to say this.
"You feel forced to say that, right?" Sabnock teases.
"Shut up! I'd never say that to you otherwise and you know it! I already feel pathetic enough right now as it is!"
"Whaddaya mean? Both of us are currently…magnificently awesome!"
Running for their lives, both see the warm color of the raging fire get overtaken by another color of light.
"It's prepping for another beam!" Sabnock shouts.
"If it shoots our way, we won't be able to dodge it!"
"Oh no…" Iruma mutters, his eyes going wide again as he recognizes that the dragon is rearing up for another beam attack.
It is again not targeting Ameri, who has been diligently fighting it nonstop this entire time but instead the two that have already sustained injuries and are fleeing the scene.
"Rimuru, this is bad!" Iruma quickly sputters out in a pleading tone.
"Yes, I don't think they can take another hit like that." Rimuru calmly utters.
He looks at the one that's still battling and sees that she's taking countermeasures to stop it from attacking them both.
Ameri has grabbed ahold of one of the two large horns on the dragon's head and is again trying to redirect it, but this time upward instead of to the side. Rimuru can tell it's having more of an effect, but she's still clearly struggling with the immense strength of the Carmine Dragon.
"I don't like the look of things, stay here." Rimuru says to Iruma, deciding that things have grown 'dire' enough now to justify doing something about this situation.
Rimuru sprouts two large wings and pulls out his sword, then takes to the air.
Despite the solemn, serious tone Rimuru had used, Iruma noticed the smile peel across his lips, even if for just a second, before shooting off into the air.
First, he puts himself in the direct path of the impending beam, grinning evilly at the idea of chopping this dragon to pieces. Not because he has a vendetta against the beast, but because he simply wants to fight it.
Rimuru holds out one hand, planning to shield the two boys from the beam before taking the offensive, hovering in the air with his wings spread wide.
"Wait, is that Rimuru?!" Azz asks in amazement, realizing that they will end up making it with her around,
"Yes, it appears one of my rivals has come to save the day!" Sabnock says, also relieved.
The mass of mana in the dragon's mouth continues to build and build, growing brighter by the second as it prepares its attack.
Rimuru readies himself, holding out the hand that's not currently holding his sword, knowing that the beam will shoot out at any moment.
But, just as the attack is about to be unleashed, there's a blur of movement near the dragon; a flash of a red dress accompanied by the sound of slicing flesh. The green light of the Carmine Dragon's beam immediately fades to nothing as the energy disperses harmlessly and its head slips off of its neck, cleanly cut through like butter. It falls to the ground with a crash, followed by its body, creating an even louder boom.
While this all was happening, Ameri was gripping one of the horns of the beast in an effort to divert its beam upward, but when she felt the head start to fall, she let go immediately, not wanting to go down with it.
Whatever it was that cut the neck of the dragon so cleanly had nearly sliced her too, coming uncomfortably close to her legs. She felt the air itself near her get sliced in two alongside the kaiju, but whatever it was proved too fast to follow with her eyes in the moment.
Stunned by this rapid change in circumstances, Ameri swiftly looks around for anything that could explain what just unfolded right before her eyes, and she spots the culprit nearby; it's one of Rimuru's clones, wielding an impractically large scythe, black and purple in color, multiple times the size of the person holding it.
Ameri POV
How did she…?
I'm left with so many questions and so few answers to them.
"Hehehe…that was easier than I thought! Man, this thing is sharp!" the newly-arrived Rimuru with the enormous weapon gleefully announces, haphazardly swinging the weapon around.
Then, a second Rimuru flies up from nearby; the one wearing black, so the 'main' Rimuru, you could say. She looks equally shocked, not expecting this clone of herself to pull such a stunt, I'm guessing.
"My battle…my epic kaiju fight…" the Rimuru wearing black, dejectedly mutters. "I was just about to step in and take care of it myself!" she suddenly shouts, clearly irritated with the other Rimuru.
"Ya snooze, ya lose!" the more childish version of Rimuru shoots back in a snarky tone.
The two immediately start bickering.
It does appear that 'Agent Black' was preparing to take on the dragon, based on that ebony black straight sword she's holding in one hand. It's a fine weapon, I can tell that much, but I have no clue where Rimuru would get her hands on that thing, let alone that insane scythe her other self is holding.
I suppose the family she is employed by is quite wealthy and could provide her with such things, but where was she keeping it? Can Rimuru use some sort of spatial storage magic? I shouldn't be surprised.
"If you planned on slaying the Carmine Dragon yourself, why did you send us three on a mission to fight it?"
" "Huh?" "
"Were we just bait to weaken the dragon, so you could swoop in and claim all the glory by dealing the final blow?"
"Uhhhh…no?"
The Rimuru in black shoots the other a glare, as if they ruined her plan, and not just because they got to the dragon before she did.
"You stole her kill and now she thinks that's what we planned all along!"
"I did not! You were gonna kill it too, weren't you?"
"Yeah, but not like that! I was just gonna help out a little!"
"But I looked super cool doing it, even in this dumb dress you put me in!"
Ameri rolls her eyes at Rimuru arguing with herself again. It's not just annoying, but dangerous too since the one holding the giant scythe is waving it around haphazardly as she gesticulates while talking.
But, something grabs my attention. The body of the Carmine Dragon has begun to glow red. Then, off in the distance, two lights shoot into the air, matching the colors shown when the three beasts were initially summoned. Both blazing comets of mana fly right at the body of the carmine dragon, merging with the red surrounding it. The beast's body begins to warp and restructure itself right before our eyes, forming into another monster entirely.
The three kaiju have merged into one, with aspects of all three that compose it, much stronger than all three initial threats combined.
"It looks like the battle's not over yet." the Rimuru wearing black comments, her eyes glinting with excitement as she stares at the monster looming over us.