Iruma POV
I'm getting close to the spot I told Lead to meet me at, carefully carrying my bag that has the Seed of Beginning safely inside it. I can't lose it, winning this competition depends on it. I can only hope that Lead was able to get his hands on the Pot of Ending… I'll find that out soon once we're together again.
Just when I think I'm almost there, I start hearing voices through the trees. Straining my eyes and ears, I focus on them.
"S-small!? I-I'm not small! Elizabetta, please! Wh-why are you saying these things!?"
It sounds like Lead, and I think he might be crying.
"Because I don't like you that much. I was lying earlier." A male voice replies in a smooth tone. It definitely didn't come from Elizabetta, though.
I move quietly to get closer, making sure not to step on any twigs. Something fishy is going on, I think. I just need to find out what.
I spot a tall demon with long hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing glasses and a cruel smile while he looms over Lead, who's sputtering from the ground, tears in his eyes.
"I hate men like you, that ogle my chest and butt. You're a huge pervert."
"N-no! I don't do that! Elizabetta, p-please don't think I'm a p-pervert! I'm not like Camui… I'm not!"
That's when I put two and two together; Lead is being affected by an illusion, just like I was earlier. This seems a bit different from how it went for me, but it's close enough. Is that demon the one who's responsible?
"You could still be of use to me, though. Tell me where the Pot of Ending is, where did you hide it?" The taller demon seems to be trying to convince Lead to give over the pot.
Considering how much we've done to get this far, I definitely can't let that happen.
However, I'm stuck on what exactly to do. Rimuru had somehow simply broken the illusion, but all I really saw was Rimuru just cutting through it with magicules, and nothing more. Which makes me think it is actually quite fragile, if you can hit it.
I won't need to use my bow then, I don't want to shoot another student anyway. If I did that, I'd be disqualified, and someone would get hurt. I don't want to think about what might happen if I hit a person with one of my arrows.
So I reach out with Magic Field and grab onto the illusion and break it apart. It melts away surprisingly easily. I just hope in the moment the visual that Lead sees isn't too traumatizing.
"Wha-... who the hell are you!? Where's Elizabetta!?" Lead screams and stands up to face the other demon.
The demon looks down at himself in shock and stumbles back a bit. Then he snarls at Lead and asks, "What did you do?!"
Seeing the situation turning sour, I decided to run out in front of Lead. I know they won't break the rules by hurting me, but this tall demon is the one who made those illusions, so I'm worried he'll do it again.
"Y-You! You're back!?" The demon looks even more unsettled now. "Is something wrong…? Am I sick?" He quickly pats himself down. "You!" He reaches out and grabs my face.
All at once the illusion comes back, Rimuru staring me down with that same unsettlingly sweet yet cold smile, but now that I'm aware of what it actually is, just an illusion… I immediately flare out Magic Field and it shatters.
Shatters like nothing. I'm surprised, but happy.
I just wish I knew it was this easy to break them earlier…
"W-what! What are you…?!" He seems a little scared now, "It… It's you… What are you even doing...?!"
"Defending my friend," I say as I push his hand away from my face.
"Damn Misfits…" he stumbles back before completely retreating, leaving me and Lead alone in the small clearing.
"I was almost tricked… dammit!" Lead shouts, angry. "You still have the Seed of Beginning, right? Nobody took it from you?"
"Nope, I still have it safe in my bag. Why don't you hand me the Pot of Ending too? I'll hang onto it for now."
"Sure," Lead pulls it out of his jacket and holds it out before immediately pulling it close again. "Wait, how do I know you're the real Iruma? What if you're a fake too!?"
"If you're worried about that, then I'll let you hang onto the pot. I just thought my bag was safer since I'm the only one who can pull stuff out of it."
Lead gives me another doubtful glance but seems to relax a bit as he lets out a sigh. He doesn't give me the Pot of Ending, though, but I'm fine with that.
"What was up with that guy earlier anyway? That was some serious illusion magic if I've ever seen it."
"Yeah, he got me earlier too, I think. But I managed to snap out of it." With a little help.
"Well, we should get somewhere safer. I think Keroli should be willing to let us stick around her little base, right?"
"Yeah, that's a lot safer than here out in the open."
"Do ya have any clue how to make the Seed of Beginning grow?"
"I assume we plant it in the Pot of Ending? That's what makes the most sense."
"Let's hold off on that for now. We still have a good chunk of the competition left. Can't go carryin' around the Legendary Leaf through the rest of it."
Lead goes quiet for a moment, before thinking about something and getting sorta wordy. "How did you break the illusion, though? That's what I don't get. Normally, just touching that kinda thing makes it go away, but that didn't work for that one… I couldn't really see what you did either."
"I just… disrupted it with mana, I guess. It was something that worked to break one of the illusions that was tormenting me before, so I knew it'd work."
"Tormenting? What'd it make you see?"
"I… don't really wanna talk about it. It was really really bad, though. Worse than Elizabetta rejecting you."
"Hey! Don't downplay it! That was a horrible experience!"
I go blank-faced for a moment, before smiling softly, "At least you're still alright."
…
"Iruma."
"Huh?"
"Who's that with you?" Lead asks suspiciously.
"Oh, this is Nafra. He helped me out earlier, you can trust him."
Nafra nods vigorously at that, but Lead seems unconvinced, "I'm not splittin' our points three ways, Iruma."
"But… it wouldn't be fair, otherwise."
I want to win, but at the same time, I think Nafra deserves some of our points too. He tried his best to help me when I was down in that pit and also kept lots of the magical beasts away from us both with his smell. I'd feel wrong telling him he can't have even a portion of our points.
Nafra shakes his head and then pulls out a small chalkboard from his cloak and starts frantically scribbling something onto it. When he finishes, he holds it out for us to see and it reads, "I don't need points."
"Really?" Lead sounds even more skeptical now, "Ya have no interest in winnin' this?"
Nafra shakes his head again and adds something to the chalkboard, "I just want to help Iruma. He saved me."
"Another fanboy, huh? Iruma, you're too popular." Lead groaned and trodded forward. "Just stay clear of Rimuru, Nafra. She's a feisty devil."
Nafra nods even faster than before, looking like he's a bit scared by what Lead said.
"Rimuru isn't that bad, Lead. She won't hurt my friends."
"Yeah, I know." He shrugs dismissively. "Most of the time anyway. Pretty sure she nearly broke Sabnock a few dozen times by now."
Nafra gets even more worried, visibly shivering a lot.
"That was training, Lead. They were sparring with each other, and Sabnock was fine after. Well… he said he was fine."
"What about that time at the amusement park? Didn't he come back with like, a bunch of broken bones?"
"I think those were from rides and stuff, not Rimuru beating him up."
"Rides aren't exactly designed to break bones, even in shitty amusement parks that you pay five bucks to enter."
"Well, I wouldn't know anything about that. I've not been to many." Though I guess that now I have a few skills, I can probably visit most of them in the Netherworld.
Nafra is cowering away from us now, staying pretty far behind.
"Sorry if he's scaring you. Please don't worry too much, not like we're likely to see Rimuru again anyway." I stop for a minute to turn to Nafra and offer to carry him.
That seems to do it, as Nafra takes the offer to piggyback atop my backpack.
…
Orobas' POV
"Don't worry, Master Orobas! We still have plenty of ingredients for you to turn in!"
No matter how much Ocho tries to console me, I just can't get over what happened with those stupid misfits! I had the Pot of Ending right there within reach, perfect for grabbing out of that pathetic demon's hands, but then the last person I expected showed up and did… something! I still can't figure out what, exactly, but whatever that Iruma did made my infallible 'Trauma' bloodline magic melt away like nothing!
"Do you think we can at least get you over the rest of the class? So long as you beat all his other 'friends', I'm sure that spoiled demon will rue messing with us."
"Depends on how much you collected while I was busy."
"Oh! Plenty, Master Orobas, plenty! You can have all of it to yourself too!"
"Wait, I thought you were still taking a portion so you could get a passable score?"
"No, Master Orobas, no! Ocho doesn't need any points if it means that Master will win!"
"Then, take me there. We can hunt for points for you on the way, I'd rather not let you fail." Getting a measly thousand didn't sound that hard, even if it'd only barely get him past the threshold, it was the least I could do.
It doesn't take long for us to make it to the spot that Ocho stashed all the ingredients. At first I couldn't see the place, before he moved the bushes. They'd been torn up from the ground and simply stuck into a thin layer of dirt.
Under them a wooden board that is lifted to reveal a pit full of… well, I assumed they were sacks full of food. Now there was a blue-haired child sleeping in the hole among a bunch of seemingly empty bags.
I recognized the child immediately; this was Rimuru Tempest, one of the Misfit Class' most famous members. She's a demon who can create clones of herself that are often smaller than herself. This must be one of those clones, but she seems to have gotten careless and fell asleep somewhere she shouldn't have.
Immediately, Rimuru's eyes shoot open and she stares up at me, a mischievous but unsettling grin peeling across her small face.
Rimuru springs out of the hole and shoots past me in a blur, too fast for me to follow, and I stumble back and whip around in surprise, just to find her running off away from us.
"Thank you for the meal~!" I hear her giggling trail off as she puts distance between us. She escaped so quickly that I didn't even have the chance to try my bloodline magic on her.
"There's nothing left, Master Orobas…" Ocho is already sifting through the bags in the hiding spot, his usual smile faltering a little.
My fist clenches in anger as I stare in the direction that Rimuru ran off to, "Damn those Misfits!"
That's another plan that's failed because of them. At this rate I won't even hit the threshold needed to pass the Harvest Festival! My disdain for that wretched class just keeps growing by the minute…
…
"There." I point at the castle built by who I know are two of the Misfit Class' members, Agares Picero and Goemon Garp. They haven't exactly been sneaky about their tactics, pretty much advertising their haven as a safe place for the less-ambitious students that just want to get through this competition alive and nothing else.
Ocho watches and nods, seeming a little unsure, but not enough to protest. He almost always goes along with what I want, so I'm not at all worried he's going to argue against me. "Do you plan on sneaking in, Master? It seems well guarded."
"Yes, but look… over there. See all that stirring in the air's mana? I think another group is about to assault the fortress. If we wait for that distraction, we may just be able to rob the place blind. Depending on what they have stored inside, it might just win me this competition!"
Not only that, but the idea of ruining the chances of not just one, but two of the Misfits in the Harvest Festival fills me with excitement. Two less demons to come out on top and force me below them!
The two of us manage to approach the wall without being seen, luckily it seems this side of the wall is mostly unguarded. Not exactly unprotected, but the observers are sparse, and with the siege on the other side, their attention isn't exactly focused.
As we scale it, we only get seen right as we get to the top. I immediately reach out and grab our fellow student's head. I'm not going to accept this one ruining our chances, and quickly after trapping them with an illusion, I take their form.
Unfortunately I don't have an illusory target for Ocho as well. It would've been convenient. Luckily, he's never been the most striking person.
Not being striking was a great quality that I never did possess, though my own ideals of fashion did contribute to that. Especially considering I wanted to be seen by everyone, but unfortunately instead… I'd always come in second.
Every single time I'd done something noteworthy, every time I'd made myself known… I'd only come in second to those damn Misfits. Every single time!
The opening ceremony, my speech was canceled because only Iruma got to speak. The battler festival, my battler lost our chance to rank up because of those misfits. Then Walter Park, all over the news.
Now though, I'd make sure at least two of theirs would come in last, not second. Complet-... Actually maybe it would be better to make them come in second. Last is always remembered, being so far in last could be noteworthy, even if it was due to my actions… I had to consider them carefully.
Perhaps it was best to leave just enough points that they'd be forgotten in the near-last positions of the class.
Yes, yes… I'd leave them with that many points precisely. I'd need to do some estimation, but it shouldn't be that hard.
Walking in through a back entrance turns out to be no problem when paired with my illusion. None of the demons Ocho and I pass even glance in our direction, all preoccupied with the invasion by another competitor that's happening at the same time. Everything is going to plan so far, I just need to find where they're keeping their ingredients.
"Hey!" I call out to a girl who's running past me in a hallway, "Can you tell me which way the ingredients are? I just want a small snack."
She stops, turns, then tilts her head quizzically at me, "You want to eat in the middle of this?" The girl asks incredulously.
"I'm a stress-eater."
She sighs at me then points at one of the nearby doors. "Go through there and take the first right… don't forget again too! Everyone's way too occupied with this attack right now to give you the directions again!"
"Good one, Master Orobas! You are-"
"Shush, Ocho, or you'll blow my cover."
Ocho mutely nods at this then mutters an apology that I didn't bother listening to.
Following the girl's instructions, I get to the storage room or whatever the demons here are calling it and find the large pile in the center of it, unguarded and open to grabbing… or I thought so, at first.
Who else would it be but that Misfit Rimuru again, sitting on the floor at the foot of the mass of ingredients?
I can't say if this is the same clone that ate all of my points or not, but that doesn't matter one bit. She's still the same demon in the end, and also one of the Misfit Class. I'll show her the meaning of fear itself and take all these ingredients!
I bet this will also get her shamed by her classmates since I assume they put her in charge of guarding the stash. Fitting, after what she did to me earlier.
I warp my illusion into someone else; that Iruma boy from earlier, Rimuru's brother. I know enough about them both to say the perfect thing. I don't even need to read Rimuru's mind to figure it out! Best not to exhaust myself with that effort if I don't need to.
"Oh, Rimuru, you're here."
The small clone of the girl just stares at me curiously, still sitting on the floor, not saying a word or even reacting in any way.
"What is it you're sitting here for?"
"Guarding."
"Yeah, you're always doing stuff like that… guarding, protecting, helping… why do you do it?"
Rimuru just sits there, silent again, watching me intently.
"Especially with me. You're always trying to get in my business and I'm sick of it, y'know? Why don't you just leave me alone?"
The girl remains unfazed, though, based on her expression not changing one bit. I need to push harder.
"I really hate you, I always have too. Always staring over my shoulder, casting a shadow that I can't ever get out of no matter how much I try… it's infuriating! I wish you'd just disappear!"
Suddenly, she stands up and starts walking toward me, her golden eyes almost seeming intimidating. I take a step back before I realize, but then stand my ground and stare back firmly. Rimuru continues approaching me slowly and I try my best to ignore the sinking feeling that's forming in my stomach as she gets closer and closer.
Then she reaches out and pokes me in the leg.
My illusion shatters in an instant, just like it had when I encountered Iruma, but there's something more to it this time.
My anger has faded to something much smaller and I feel like my thoughts are clearer than they have been in a long time.
What did she do!? Use some kind of calming magic on me!?
"Feel better now? You were talking all stupid a minute ago, so I think that'll help. Mental influence is some nasty stuff."
"Mental… influence?"
The small girl nods, "Yeah, that one out in the hallway has been messing with your head. You should get rid of him, he's trouble."
Ocho? No, he can't do something like that… he wouldn't! I bet this girl is trying to deceive me to get me to turn against my most loyal subordinate! A trick I won't fall for!
I wouldn't be surprised if she's trying to get me disqualified by attacking him, but I won't listen to the words of an opponent. I'm not that foolish.
"I won't fall for your manipulation!"
"Hmm… maybe the stupid wasn't part of the influence…"
"Just step aside and let me raid that pile, or I will make you regret it!"
Rimuru puts her body between me and the pile, holding her arms out.
"Nah, I said I'd guard it. I'll get a cut of all these tasty things if I do, so I refuse!"
All the cameras around here are trained on the ongoing battle outside so there is nobody to observe any rule-breaking. Plus, I doubt physically restraining this weakened little clone would get me disqualified anyway, considering the amount of force I would need to use. I bet even Ocho could hold Rimuru in place right now.
Yes… it should be fine to have Ocho help now that the rouse is over.
I feel a small sense of uneasiness, remembering what Rimuru said that he'd done to me, but quickly shove it to the back of my mind. I can't let myself be affected by baseless doubts.
"Ocho! Come in here and help me." I shout to the open door and see Ocho peek his head inside cautiously.
"Y-yes, Master Orobas?" his voice shakes as he asks this.
"Restrain the girl."
"I don't think you want to do that~!" Rimuru warns in a singsong tone, smiling defiantly now.
"If you're on my side, then you will grab her for me, Ocho! She can't hurt you or she'll get disqualified, you know that!"
"I-I… of course." Ocho finally breaks through his hesitation and grabs Rimuru under the arms, with no real resistance being given by her. I'm surprised, but I suppose she doesn't want to lose her place in the Harvest Festival.
Rimuru just stares at him, motionless, with a visible pout on her face, but doesn't say anything to Ocho or me.
I turn away from the two and start collecting some of the more point-valuable ingredients in the pile, shoving them into my bag quickly and efficiently. There's no way I can take all that's here, but I can at least maximize the value of what I can carry.
"Wait a minute!" I hear a high-pitched shout break the quiet in the room. I whip around and look at the two other demons, a little startled.
Rimuru's eyes go from wide with surprise, to narrowed with suspicion in a mere instant, "Who… are you?" Her tone sounds dangerous, enough that I hold my breath and watch Rimuru closely.
Then, in a blur, I hear an impact, and the next thing I know Ocho is across the room, having slammed into the wall, while Rimuru is standing in the place I last saw him, staring at him as if he was a piece of trash.
"Fool! That constitutes an attack on a student!" I shout at the top of my lungs as I rush over to Ocho. I don't care if this idiot gets disqualified, but still.
Rimuru tilts her head as she looks at me with a puzzled expression, "Uh… no?"
"What do you mean 'no'!?" I scream as I look over Ocho closer. He still seems to be breathing, but he's unconscious.
"That guy," She points at Ocho, "Isn't a student."
"What do you-?"
"I must've pored over the student roster a dozen times when I tried to find out who messed with Ameri, and Ocho never even came up once!"
"Of course, Ocho only recently transferred into the school. I will alert the teachers to what you have done, and see that you're brought to justice."
"Yup. The stupid definitely had nothing to do with that… yours is all-natural, I'm sure now."
I don't even give a response to that and just bolt out of the room, intent on finding one of the observers' cameras and bringing it to Ocho. They will send someone to help him and disqualify Rimuru if I do that, and to save my partner in this competition I need to do this.
Rushing through the fortress with no thoughts for who here sees me, I search intently for one of the observer cameras until I spot one overlooking the battlefield where the beasts are trying to break through the gateway. Once I'm within its view I start waving it down trying to call it to me.
Luckily, it notices me and flies over.
"One of Rimuru Tempest's clones has attacked another student! I need a teacher to help, my companion Ocho is badly injured! In there!"
"That blasted Chairdemon's granddaughter! I will-!" The voice coming through the camera cuts off abruptly, but the man on the other side sounded furious. It's only a matter of time now before help arrives. I'm sure there will be consequences for that little devil!
I run back to the room as fast as I can, intent on making sure Rimuru does not get away. Thankfully, she is still in the room when I get there, just sitting cross-legged on the floor eating… something.
"Where's Ocho?" I ask, more to myself than to Rimuru. Looking around, he was nowhere to be seen, the only other person here being Rimuru, still idly munching on a red chunk, which was all over her too. Her face, hands, and even clothes were all stained crimson by it.
Even the floor around her is covered in it, including the last spot I had seen Ocho lying in.
Then a horrifying thought crosses my mind.
Is she… eating Ocho!?
He was completely knocked out and at her mercy when I left him, and now Rimuru is eating something that looks alarmingly close to a raw piece of meat, still bloody.
Rimuru just stares at me and takes another bite out of her 'food', unbothered by my gawking.
"Where is the injured student?!" the voice of a teacher comes calling from behind me.
Professor Kalego and Professor Buer's arrival disrupts my stupor, Kalego immediately grimaces at Rimuru as he voices his annoyance. "Rimuru Tempest, must you make such an unsightly display of yourself? Where is the student you attacked?"
Her response was infuriating, the girl just looked at Kalego confused followed with a big smile, and told him "Who? I didn't attack a student." She then took another messy bite out of her 'food'.
Kalego's eye twitches in anger after hearing that and he lets out a heavy sigh.
"Don't you try to lie to me, Tempest! Who is it you attacked!?"
"Some dude… a real spindly and weird one. He's not a student, though, just some creep. Not sure how he got in here, but he was with that guy up until he ran off." Rimuru points right at me with a hand covered in red. "Oh, and I just kicked him. He's fine. Woke right up and ran away."
"What is that you're eating then!?" I screamed the question, unable to hold it in any longer.
"One of those big, red, squishy things over there. I think they're called… bloody devil fruits? I dunno, they taste real good and that's what matters."
"That is worth 1,000 points… and you are just eating it." Professor Kalego groans, holding his forehead in his hand. "And why did you not try to apprehend this person who you claim wasn't a student?"
"Hm? Oh, I was busy eating. And that's not my job either, is it, Professor?" Rimuru holds up her arm. "He's that way. I can still see him, can't you, Kalego?" She puts on a devilish grin.
The professor starts sputtering in surprise, meanwhile, I'm getting more worked up by the moment since this conversation is getting ahead of me.
"Ocho is a student! He is! We were working together during the Harvest Festival!"
"What is that you say? From what I have observed, you have been alone most of this competition."
"Alone!?"
"He wasn't alone, he was with a sneaky creep… maybe that guy was sneakier than I thought… Kalego, you should probably go find him. He's bad news, I can tell."
"I will get Shichiro on the case… and clean yourself up, Tempest! You are an unsightly mess!"
Rimuru just grins a red toothy smile from ear to ear, which just seems to irritate her teacher even more, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
"And you!" He points at me, "If you encounter your… companion again, call for help immediately. This 'Ocho' seems to be a highly dangerous individual from what I have gathered."
"I… will." Is Ocho really that dangerous? Was Rimuru telling the truth when she said he was influencing my mind?
The questions swirl around in my head, but I still can't decide whether Ocho is really a bad demon or not. Whether he was on my side or not.
Professor Kalego thinks to himself for a long few seconds, "On second thought…" Professor Kalego walks up to Rimuru, casts a spell that summons a large amount of water, drops it on the girl, and then picks her up. "You will be helping us… to make up for your negligent behavior."
"Noooo… put me down, Kalego! I have to ea-... guard this stuff!"
"You have other clones to do such things. They have been a plague on the arena this entire competition!"
"I am not a plague!" Rimuru protests with a pout and crossed arms despite still being held by the professor. "Fine, I'll help you with your dumb manhunt… I don't like that creep anyway, he does things that go against my morals!"
"Buer, I suppose you are not needed here. Nobody is injured."
"Yes, I already figured. Do you need my assistance for this 'hunt', Kalego?"
"No, just inform Professor Balam of the situation for me. I have no time to waste."
"I understand. You can leave that to me."
All three leave the room without saying another word to me, then I find myself alone. There's still combat happening within earshot, but that doesn't matter.
So I continue my job of collecting the most valuable things in the pile of ingredients. Just because I don't have Ocho with me doesn't mean I can't win this. I can do this by myself.
Kalego's POV
I stand at attention waiting for the brat, Sullivan's granddaughter, to find that damned intruder again. She insists that it will only be a moment as she is 'watching' a battle elsewhere.
"Alright, I got 'im. He's over there." She points toward a direction in the first. "He's hiding in a bush and creeping around. I think he knows he got caught! Hahaha."
It isn't the most useful direction, but I begin to run. Quickly ascending to the branches of the trees, I make my way to the canopy and then get out above it.
I am soaring over the trees, and quick to fly over cluster after cluster. I am not able to see a thing, so unfortunately I am depending on this annoying child.
Rimuru isn't long to complain either. "Can you hold me some other way? Being under your arm isn't comfortable." I am certain Rimuru can handle this, having fought all the most powerful students in the school already, but perhaps the clone is weaker than I expected.
"How do you even expect me to hold you?"
"I dunno, hold me on your shoulders or something." This girl gets more annoying every time I talk to her. "I can't point at him very easily like this."
"Then you can fly yourself then. I refuse to carry you any other way."
"Pfft… fine. Lemme go."
"I trust you are able to keep up, even when like this."
"I'm more worried about you keeping up with me!"
"Stop spouting foolishness and bring out your wings."
Rimuru does exactly that and I release my grip. As I expected, she was able to match my speed fine, even in this smaller body. The girl is a fast flier, I already knew that beforehand.
"Hm… wow, this guy is fast… you might not get to him before he escapes!"
"Tch… can you not do something about it? I know for certain that you are all over the arena; literally. Slow the fool down with one of your other bodies!"
Rimuru pauses for a moment as if thinking deeply, before suddenly breaking into a malicious-sounding giggle. "Never mind, Kalego, he's toast! I've got 'im now! All wrapped up and ready to hand over to you!"
Ocho POV
I need to find somewhere to hide! Lay low until I can escape and report to Lord Baal… I can't outrun the authorities, I just need to hide!
I know they're onto me now, there's no way that little demon didn't tell them about me as soon as one of the Babyls teachers showed up! I'm very good at hiding, but I just need to find somewhere I can conceal myself completely and everything will be fine!
My head is still pounding from being kicked, but that is nothing compared to how I'll be punished if I don't get out of here and report back! Just thinking about what Lord Baal will do to me… no, I can't think about that right now! I can't!
I'm just glad that little devil didn't decide something worse… I'd seen what she'd done to some of the others in the basics movement, none of them could walk straight for a week at least.
I was a leg above those wretches, but without an evil cycle, I am nowhere near my full power. So right now, I'm not able to put up a fight against a high-ranked demon like any of Babyls' staff.
Looking around, I recognize the area I'm in… I'm close to where I'd hid all those ingredients before, the hole that had been pilfered and left empty by the same demon that sent me running, or at least another clone of her.
With it barren of anything useful, along with the area around it being in a similar state, there's no reason anyone would think to look in there at all! On top of that, I bet nobody would expect me to hide in an already uncovered hiding place. It's the perfect spot for me to hide!
I push aside the disguise on top, slip inside, and replace the covering, completely obscuring me from outside view. It's very dark in here, but I don't mind. There are much scarier things I've faced than not being able to even see my feet.
I breathe a sigh of relief, and relax a little for the first time in a while. I'll just stay here until I hear the announcement of the end of the Harvest Festival. Everyone will leave, and I'll be clear to escape!
It won't be much longer before that happens, I think, but I will be down here for a few hours at least. I'm hungry, but that can wait.
Just then, I feel a chill and open my eyes, sensing some danger.
At first, I see nothing but the same darkness, but then a glimmer of something catches my eyes… a set of golden irises, gleaming and glowing slightly, staring at me as if I was their prey.
I try to back away, but I can't since I'm already leaned against the side of the hole with nowhere to escape but out of it. Then, something tight wraps around me and I realize I can't move at all.
"You woke me up!" I hear a high-pitched voice complain, "I was trying to take a nap, and you woke me up!"
I try to respond in some way, but I can't since that same tightness keeping my arms to my sides and my legs held together is also covering my mouth.
"Hm… It seems one of the others is asking for he-" The Rimuru pauses for a moment.
The girl smiles maniacally. "Oh. It's you… You're not a student are you?~ Well, maybe I can turn you in for a few points then… Then again, maybe they wouldn't mind if I took a nibble off you, you only need to be able to answer their questions, right?"
A shiver runs down my spine.
"Hahaha, just kidding~! I can't believe you actually thought I'd do that!"
Her giggling sounds cute and sinister at the same time.
Suddenly, I'm flung upward and out of the hole, slamming into the cover of it and blowing it away before roughly landing in the grass nearby, rolling a little before coming to a full stop.
The small demon hops out after me and lands right next to my prone body, staring at me curiously.
"Who are you, though? Why're you here? Why's my other body want you?" she pokes me in the cheek with a finger as she looks me in the eyes intently. "Did you do something bad? You look like someone who'd do something bad."
"You're hurt too… by me, or another me. Why'd they let you go?"
The way she's looking at me, it's as if she's trying to get an answer from just my eyes alone, but the little frown on her face makes me think she wasn't able to get one.
Rimuru then sits on my chest, probably to stop me from moving.
"Well… I'm not letting you go. You're too sneaky for that."
I have to find a way out of this, force is out of the question… bribery maybe? Can I tempt this small demon into letting me go? But what offer would tempt them?
Then I remember; this demon is Lord Baal's student! Yes, I can use that to talk Rimuru out of this!
"Mmmh… mmh!"
"Oh? You wanna talk? You better answer my questions!"
With a small motion from Rimuru, the stuff wrapped across my mouth dissolves away to nothing.
"I work for your mentor, Lord Baal. Let me go, I am on a mission he gave me!"
"A mentor isn't a master. I don't care if he ordered you to do some sneaky stuff in here, I'm gonna do what I want."
"But he will be displeased! You will surely be punished!"
I can see the gears turning over in Rimuru's head.
She looks as though she's weighing up the severity of her punishment against her desire to capture me, but then she grins menacingly.
"A punishment? So what'll he do? Make me fight my way out of his castle with every hallway booby-trapped? Sic half-a-dozen kaiju on me? Challenge me to a duel himself? I'm eager to find out!"
Does she want to die?!
"When you eventually scurry back to your master…" Rimuru claps her tiny hands on her cheeks in pure amusement. "... Invite me to his place before you tell 'im what I did. I wanna see how mad he gets!"
She's nearly as masochistic as Kiriwo… but she actually has some strength to back it up, rather than just curling up and dying like a bug. No wonder Lord Baal has taken interest in her…
"Lord Baal only has so much patience, he might just kill you outright!"
"Oh come on, that threat hardly scares me. Didn't you hear that I've died before?"
No?!
"Then that brother of yours! I bet he'd use him to-"
"Oh. Maybe I really should eat you." Rimuru's cold stare is more serious than ever, boring straight into me.
Then, suddenly, another of the little demon's copies shows up with the guard dog of Babyls in tow, Naberius Kalego.
I can't decide whether I should feel relieved or more scared…
The stern demon bitterly asks Rimuru. "Is this the one?"
"Uh-huh."
The newly-arrived clone walks up to me and the other and the one that was pinning me down stands up. They look each other in the eyes, then both smile and nod in perfect sync. Then, one crouches down next to me and whispers, "Run while you can~!"
Then, in an instant, the stuff binding me is gone and I jump to my feet.
They're working for Baal, they just wanted to torture me. They're giving me a chance and I'll take it.
I turn on my heels and run as fast as I can, hoping I'll be able to get to the edge of the forest and escape.
Right as I pull out my wings, hoping to fly there I feel a piercing pain in my left wing as I am suddenly pinned to a tree, and weakly flop onto the ground.
I glance over and see an arrow sticking out of my wing, and all at once I realize I was set up for this. Those little devils snickering will undoubtedly haunt me for years to come.
I look back at them just in time to see them high-five, large smiles painted across their faces and a mischievous glint in their eyes.
"You imbecilic brat! Why did you release him!?"
"I wanted to see Robin shoot him!"
"He was already aiming and stuff. From waaaaay over there," The other clone points in the direction that the arrow had come from.
"You should grab him quick, though," The first points at me, "He might tear his wing to get off that arrow to escape again if you don't."
"Then he'd bleed out and die and you won't get any answers."
Kalego is clearly displeased with both clones, but turns his attention away from them and back to me.
His frown turns into a cold smile as he walks up to me, yanks the arrow out violently, then restrains me, all in one swift, smooth motion.
"Now… You are coming with me to answer some questions. Resist, and you will regret it for the rest of your insignificant life."
Eiko POV
All I can hear is the irregular rhythm of my unsteady legs and the spear haft propping me up as I trudge through the undergrowth, intentionally wandering into an area with fewer ingredients.
For me, the Harvest Festival has long-since stopped being about collecting enough points for a passable grade.
Instead… it's been a constant battle for survival!
I thought I was good at being stealthy, but every scary monster seems to sniff me out and head right for poor little Eiko, not allowing even a moment's rest!
There's no way I can drop out of the Harvest Festival though, as badly as I want to. Fate gave me a chance to be a hero like the demons I admire, so I'd be insulting like, the whole universe if I dropped out now!
But I do need some rest, I'm gonna collapse if this goes on…
Finding a nice tall tree, I touch my hand to it.
"Cherusil."
The bark forms a ladder at my touch, and I stow away my trusty spear, starting to slowly climb upwards. I don't have much strength for it, but my wings are so battered-up and painful that I don't have a choice!
I climb until I find a lucky hollow that I crawl inside of, not caring at all about how uncomfy it is since I'm so sleep-deprived. The very moment I start to feel safe, my eyes drift such.
Goodnight…
…
"Zzz…"
*Thump… thump…*
Eh? Did I hear something?
*Thump thump thump THUMP THUMP THUMP*
You're kidding?!
I throw myself out of the hollow right as the tree explodes from some enormous boss-monster running straight through it.
"Yeeek!"
It's a long drop to the ground, but fortunately my wings are working well enough that I can pop them out to slow my fall. I roughly land into a roll, and half-expect to feel the pang of another injury afterwards but thankfully I lucked out of that.
By the time I was done my wings were left aching, but I just had to deal with it.
Why I can't escape these fights?! I was perfectly hidden, yet that monster went straight for me!
It's perfectly clear now: Fate just wants me to battle, whether I want to or not!
…
It all began when I made a childish wish during a meteor shower, and one of the falling stars must have heard my wish as it landed right near me. What I found in the crater was a pole and some light-blue fabric with an emblem on it, which I thought was very random but I knew they must be magical if they came down because of my wish!
I wasn't sure what to do with them at first, until a cartoon inspired me to use Cherusil to make the pole a spear and the fabric a cloak, and the spell never wore off almost as though it was what I was meant to do. So I used the spell a bit more to make them look a bit nicer, changing the spear to a gleaming white and the cloak to a midnight blue since they fell from the night sky, keeping the emblem on the cloak but in a pretty gold instead of black.
Of course, just because I now had this magical cloak and spear didn't mean I was suddenly the fighting type! Still, I wanted to know where things would go with the fate seeming to entertain my childish wish to be a hero like Iruma, so I signed up for a fighting class figuring I'd go there a few times before school resumed.
On my first day there, I was invited to do some sparring, and the spear was so incredibly light and fast in my hands that it made me think the teacher thought I was a total pro! So after a few lessons she encouraged me to join a tournament, and I felt way too timid to say no… so because of my timidity I ended up on TV performing as "The Mythical Carnagedestructor"! Like, what the heck?!
Somehow I won, but even afterwards I kept getting into unfortunate random fights, and that's continued even through the Harvest Festival…
…
"There's no way you saw me! Did you really just randomly decide to knock your head against the tree I happened to be sleeping in?!" I complain, weakly holding my spear as the boss-monster circles around to face me.
It's a black-furred, curly-horned beast called a char-goat; known for its meat having a delightful smokey flavour even before it's cooked, making it sooo tasty to have rare… I've tried it once myself, when my parents took me to a fancy restaurant to celebrate my admission into Babyls.
I wonder if Iruma's had any? Maybe I could smuggle a piece of it out and present it to him… No no no, Eiko! Focus on the enemy in front of you! Besides, you're not brave enough to talk to Iruma…
This Harvest Festival has me so exhausted that even facing down a huge monster for a battle isn't enough to get my adrenaline pumping. Thus I'm dangerously calm as though this were all a dream, even knowing I could really die here if I'm careless.
"Let's get this over-and-done-with… You're just twelve thousand points worth of meat."
I stand with my spear at the ready as the char-goat charges towards me.
Almost too late, I leap straight up with my beat-up wings giving me enough height to clear the horns, and I lodge my spear in the beast's hindquarters before landing behind it.
A moment later, the spear flares with energy, causing part of the creature's flesh to explode away in a wet burst.
*SPLAT*
That's so gross!
I hold out my hand and the spear magically reappears in it, thankfully free of the blood it should by all rights be drenched in.
Now the char-goat is roaring, and I can see a reddish glow coming from its throat…
Is it about to breathe fire?!
I throw my cloak around myself just in time as I'm swallowed in flames a moment later. I only feel a little toasty, since this magical cloak protects me from seemingly everything but blunt force.
"Eeep!"
Speaking of blunt force, the moment the flames clear I see the char-goat is about to stomp on me! I brace the spear against the ground with it pointing straight upwards, catching the hoof that comes down and stabbing deep into it.
Even under the weight of a massive beast that could flatten me with one step, the spear refuses to break or even bend under the strain, which is lucky for me since I'd be smooshed otherwise.
I push back with all the strength I have left, forcing the spear deeper into the hoof above me; then the spear starts to glow and the whole leg ruptures, showering me in icky gore!
Ew ew ew!
The char-goat is in a panic now and reeling backwards, such a behemoth shocked to have suddenly lost a leg. I can't feel any sympathy for it though, I'm super-tired and it woke me up by trying to kill me!
"I'm gonna finish you off in one move!" I yell, trying to sound cool like I'm sure my heroes would in this situation.
Winding my arm back, I put all the mana I can into the spear, and hurl it!
As the brightly-glowing spear streaks towards the beast, it multiplies into ten ghostly copies, and then a hundred, becoming a rain of light; just like the falling stars that it came from!
Beautiful…
The combined impact is so violent that the shockwave knocks me flat, and I don't even need to look up to know that I've killed the boss-monster.
The energy all seemed to leave my body at once with that last strike though, and although I try to put my arms under myself to stand back up, I can't get my butt an inch off the ground.
Come on, a hero wouldn't fall here… I'll never be able to face Iruma or stand besides him if I pass out now!
It's a losing battle though. With an unceremonious *flump* I flop onto the damp leaf litter.
Iruma POV
"What am I supposed to do now?" I ask, mostly to myself as I stare at the Pot of Ending.
Now that I'm somewhere safe, I'd planted the Seed of Beginning in the Pot of Ending, expecting something to happen, but so far it's just a mound of loose dirt in the pot and nothing else.
"Dunno. I thought that was all there was to it," Lead answers, equally puzzled. "Maybe we have to do something else…? Maybe if we sing that song to it, y'know, the one we got the instructions for finding it from… well, you try it, Iruma!"
"We should both sing it then, if you think that will work."
"I don't sing!"
Just then, Nafra walks up to us, holding something; his watering can, the same one I saw earlier.
"Oh, yeah! Water! Plants need water to grow!"
Nafra nods and approaches the pot, then pours some water on top of the dirt inside it.
We three watch it in anticipation, expecting a grand, beautiful plant to burst out any second… but after minutes of waiting, Lead gives up.
"Damn, now what!?"
"I really thought the water would do it…"
I could try some of my blood…
But something else comes to mind before I try that. A spell that makes a seed grow, something I learned very early in the school year; Quan-Quan!
"Got an idea?" Lead asks, noticing my change in expression.
"I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner! Remember diabotany class, Lead! Quan-Quan! I can use Quan-Quan!"
Lead slaps himself in the forehead, "Sheesh, why didn't I think of that!?"
"Let's do it together! All three of us!"
"Ya think that's enough? It's the Legendary Leaf, ya'know."
"I think so."
After gaining skills and stuff, the amount of mana I have access to is way bigger than before. It has to be enough to do something like this, right?
Hopefully, all my training will pay off and we'll be able to make this plant grow!
"On the count of three… one… two… three! Quan-Quan!"
The spell is cast in unison, with all three sets of our hands held over the Pot of Ending.
Like a bolt of lightning, or maybe an icy bucket of water being poured over me, I feel an ominous chill fill and cover me. I stiffen and freeze, not scared but definitely unsettled.
As I sit there unmoving, something that feels like the tips of someone's fingers brushes against my right cheek and I hear a whisper in my ear. I can't make out what it said, though.
Then, before I can really process any of this, the feeling leaves and it's like it was never there.
What… what was that? It felt like someone was right behind me… and they touched me…
I shudder and shake my head a little to get over it.
"Iruma… Is this your fault? What did you do to the leaf?!"
"Um…" I look down at the pot for the first time since we cast the spell, "Oh… uh… hehe…" I laugh awkwardly, scratching the back of my head.
"Whatever that is, it doesn't look very 'legendary' to me… if it really is the leaf, then I hope it still counts for the same amount of points… even like that."
It's purple, round, and soft-looking, with two cute little horns poking up from the top and a bowtie tied around its stem.
"Well, we won't know until we go turn it in! Let's go, Lead! Time to get those 100,000 points! I think we're almost out of time!"
I scoop up the pot, plant and all, and start running toward the closest turn-in station. I make sure to use Magic Field to help keep myself aware of my surroundings since the last thing we need is someone sneaking up on us and attempting to take the Legendary Leaf from us.
"Fifteen minutes remaining! All competitors must turn in their ingredients within the next five minutes or they will not be counted toward your point total!" The announcement plays over the entire arena, warning everyone.
"Oh shit! Run for it!" Lead yells, and I don't need to be told twice. We immediately start to sprint, not thinking at all about the exhaustion in our bodies with 100,000 points on the line.
We run and run, and a couple of minutes later we find ourselves in a gruesome scene that we don't notice until we're right in the middle of it.
Enormous chunks of shredded flesh are scattered across a devastated section of forest, where the floor is covered in ash and some fires are still burning.
Yikes! Only Azz or Rimuru could have done that, right? That's scary!
Yet we only hesitate for a moment before continuing, as it saves us a little bit of time to pass through the area since there's fewer bushes in the way.
Then we see something that makes us freeze on the spot.
Covered in blood and with wings torn to shreds, the body of a girl lies in the middle of all the carnage.
I can't quite tell at this distance, but it looks like… I think she might be…
"I think she's dead!" Lead yells in shock.
"Y-yeah…"
Fearing the worst, I nervously approach her.
She's not any demon I recognize, but I can't just go on without knowing if she's okay or not.
As I get close, I notice she's still breathing, and she doesn't have any truly serious injuries, meaning all this blood is from whatever she fought.
"She's okay. Thank goodness…"
Lead visibly relaxes. "Alright then, let's go!"
"Wait a moment, hold this."
I thrust the Legendary Leaf into Lead's hands, carefully picking up the limp girl.
"You… you can't be seriously about to take her when we're in such a hurry!?"
"But what if she gets hurt? I can't just leave her!"
"She's already hurt!"
"That's exactly why we need to take her with us!"
Lead looks annoyed with me for a moment. But then he grins, and starts to chuckle. "Alright, you can take her, you charming idiot. But if you fall behind I'm gonna turn this in and take all the points for myself!"
"Don't slow me down!" I fire back at him, activating Body Boost and running even with the weight of a person in my arms.
"Hey!"
A couple of minutes later, as I'm bounding through the undergrowth with Lead flagging behind, the demon in my arms starts to stir awake. I nearly smack my head against a branch from the distraction, so I slow my pace to a jog.
"Thank goodness you're alright! Are you badly hurt anywhere?"
The girl looks dazed at first. Then, she flushes a bright red! She seems unable to answer my question, and just starts hyperventilating.
"Could you give me your name at least?" I frantically ask.
"Ei-Eiko!" she stammers out, her condition looking more alarming by the moment.
"This is bad! I think she has a fever!" I yell back to Lead.
"Come on! We don't have time to play doctor!" he yells back, managing to catch up to me.
Then another announcement plays. "You have one minute to turn your ingredients in! Hurry up, especially you two with the Legendary Leaf!"
Oh crap! We really don't have time to play doctor!"
"Uh… hold this!" I grab the Legendary Leaf from Lead and give it to Eiko.
She stares at it in bewilderment. "Huh! Is that-?!"
"Up we go!"
I cast Fractal on myself and Eiko, then put all the power I can into a single leap with Body Boost.
"Aaaaaaaah!" the girl screams in surprise, but this doesn't slow me down.
I jump right through the canopy, soaring so high above the trees that it's like I'm flying without wings.
A sudden sense of danger makes the scene play out in slow motion, and a couple of demons leap at me to try steal the Legendary Leaf in midair, but I deftly twist my body to avoid them and they collide with each other before going down.
I fall back to the ground, skidding to a stop right in front of professors Balam and Stolas.
"I'd-like-to-turn-this-in-and-split-the-points-with-Lead!"
Stolas takes a few moments to look over what I'm holding.
"I don't think Eiko is worth any points, no…"
"I'm… worthless?" she mutters, sounding a little sad.
"But is that the Legendary Leaf I see?!"
"Yes! Yes it is! Take it before time runs out!"
Then her eyes go even wider. I can also hear the buzz of voices behind us growing in volume after hearing that.
"Time is up! The Harvest Festival has been concluded!" The announcer's voice again rings through the air.