★98
Later in the afternoon, after keeping a close eye on him, I waited for the moment the slime finally had some free time after his conversation with Shizu, before interrupting.
"Rimuru. Rimuru Tempest."
I used instantaneous teleportation materialising in front of him. He recoiled, obviously startled.
"Y—Yami?"
"Can I have a brief moment?"
"Y—yeah. W—why not?"
I sat at the base of a tree, the village stretching out below us.
The scenery was breathtaking—azure skies, dense green forests, and a tranquillity that seemed untouched by the world.
"You're weird."
I said out of the blue, slightly disturbing the gentle cold breeze.
"Heh?"
He recoiled, not expecting such approach. Yet it knew I know something or two about it .
"Y—I knew it's weird, a talking slime, a monster coordinating others, building a village, seems somewhat—"
"Human."
I finished off the sentence with my words.
"I was going to say unreal, but that'll work."
"A slime acting like a human is unreal. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about what happened in that cave."
"The cave."
He said softly.
"It's weird for the likes of me to stare at something for a while, unless it's something really interesting."
As a star persona, only the things I don't understand makes me think about them.
"Tell me, Rimuru Tempest, what happened in the cave? What happened to the Storm Dragon, Veldora?"
I asked.
I knew what happened but this is a test of truth and trust.
Cornered, it spoke how it met Veldora and what happened. Funny how it omitted how it got into the cave. It also mentioned that scared the shit out I'd it during out brief eye contact.
"And that's it."
I chuckled slightly. Although he left one ot two things out, it told the truth.
"It's weird, but I believe you."
"I know you think—"
"Hey, it's fine. I know what happened. Well.."
I paused, noticing the abnormally dark clouds forming above us. This wasn't rain, it's magically charged.
Suddenly, a pillar of fire erupted standing amid the cloud and within seconds, the area around us was completely covered those dark clouds.
"One of your friends playing with fire?"
I asked.
"No. We're probably under attack."
Rimuru turned quickly hopping away. At this pace, he'll lose everything before he gets there.
In a heartbeat, I teleported us to the scene. Surprisingly, the one causing the chaos was Shizu.
It was hot yet not too deadly at the moment. Our surroundings are slightly affected but for how long.
Just then, something stirred in me. Not me as Yami or Asteri, but Antares. That feeling of been betrayed by someone you've met recently.
'History repeats itself.'
Without saying their name, we all know who said that.
"What happened?"
I inquired.
"She just started acting weird and..."
Eren was silenced as Shizu's body began glowing. The flames around her growing hotter by the second.
At this rate, she'll burn everything. Fortunately, I'm here and I'm not going to let that happen. I skipped the space, appearing in front of her.
"Yami, wait!"
"Hey, snap out of—"
From her body, flame erupted spreading outwards, threatening to burn all to cinders.
"Yami!"
Her cries were lost in the fire as it consumed everything, yet not everything. At certain distance, the fire burn out, extinguished on it's own.
"Hey! Is everyone okay?"
Rimuru asked, the pillar of flames still burning. A sign the threat still lingered.
"What the hell is this? We charge extra hazard pay, you know?"
"You should be telling Fuze that!"
"Shizu! Yami!"
"Shit, Yami san got caught up in the flames at close distance."
"Shizu, Shizu Izawa?"
"...the Conqueror of Flames?"
"Y...you mean the hero of the Guild from about fifty years ago? Shizu is her?"
"The Conquerer..."
"Wasn't she retired already?"
"Rigurd, Rigur. Evacuate the others."
"But"
"Great Rimuru.."
"That's an order."
"Yes, sir. As you wish."
Shizu's mask, flame resistant, fell to the floor. She appears to crying but her tears were evaporating due to the heat. This means, she's been possessed. The flames roared once again, erupting outward, summoning a new figure to the scene.
That signature is slightly identical to the ones Asteri felt in the Labyrinth. This is a spirit.
"The fire spirit, Ifrit..."
"A spirit, Ifrit."
"There's no mistake than..."
"...the legendary hero, the Conqueror of Flames."
"Ththere's no way we can win if we have to fight that!"
"Not a chance. We're going to die here."
Ifrit roared, releasing a gush of wind clearing everything in its path. This time around, nothing will survive.
Kaval summoned a barrier but was instantly destroyed.
"Not on my watch."
My voice echoed the space. A protective barrier shimmering around my party and Rimuru.
"Yami!"
"He's alive! Thank God."
Three pillars of fire flashed out and some flying monsters were summoned. His minions probably.
As these creatures flew, anything behind them was set ablaze. Huts, farms, Rimuru hardship, you name them.
"Damn it. We just built all that!"
The slime cursed.
"Oh, forgive me."
By manipulating the existing flames, I twist it's existence, turning them to spares, striking down the monsters.
Ifrit created new monsters but they instantly perished before me. Knowing the minions will do no good, Ifrit summoned his clones, surrounding me, the earth beneath their feet turning to lava.
"Quantity doesn't always outmatch quality."
I snapped my finger, gathering all the flames around us.
"Now for a better taste."
I added my own flames and the reddish fire now turned darkish red.
I waved my hand releasing an explosion targeting the clones alone. They met their demise instantly, my flames burning away their flames.
Immediately after that, a magic circle was summoned beneath me. It wasted no time as it erupted. Unlike the previous flames, this one shot higher and carried a lot of heat. But it'll never have an effect on someone like me.
"Yami!"
They cried.
'Jeez, they think stuff like this will kill me? I don't blame them though.'
"Elements from this world can't work on me. You have to be an anomaly to atleast scathe me."
I spoke from the flames. Dark chains flew out from the flames, chaining down Ifrit. I slowly walked out of the raging flames and my aura flickered for a second intimidating those present and its presence extinguishing his flames instantly.
Ifrit was fidgeting trying to free himself and the chains reacted by burning his brown skin turning it black.
"You gain one's appearance and abilities by devouring them right?"
My question was directed to Rimuru but he thought I was talking with the spirit.
"Rimuru, devour him."
I commanded.
"What?"
"You heard me, do it."
"Ah—un—"
"I made a mistake once and it cost me something. I won't let the same thing happen to you or your comrades. Take Ifrit's power and use it protect those close to you."
'He's right. If another threat pops up, how will I handle it? Heck, can I even do it? He's strong. If someone like him had a regret and is giving me an opportunity to protect my village then I have no reason to turn him down.'
"Sure, but what will happen to Shizu?"
"You're only taking Ifrit, she'll be alright."
He hopped forward and his slimy essence expanded, devouring the spirit whole.
Shizu began falling unconsciously and I appeared in space, catching her body after reducing her momentum.
"She's unconscious for now. She needs to rest."
"Leave that to me."
And so the short fight ended. The damage done to his village was minimal and no lives were lost. The latter is all that matters. I took Shizu to a room provided by Rimuru and I left them to get some air.
"I nearly killed someone I cared about again. With my own hands."
After pausing for a moment, she spoke again.
"Hey, slime san... Would you mind listening?"
"You shouldn't talk too much..."
Despite the distance, I was able to get the details of what they were talking about. From the sound perceived, not the two of them were in the room.
(Damn this is tooo long and it is not that vital to the story. WATCH TENSURA SEASON 1 EPISODE 8.)
Time skipped after Shizu's death and Eren's party was leaving.
Kaval got a scale mail body armour, Eren got a robe and Gido got an armor too all as a parting gift offered by Rimuru. He was so persistent even though I didn't need any, so I asked for the lowest and it was provided immediately. A ring.
"There's parting gifts. Our artisans' best work!"
"Artisan?"
"Yo."
He summoned them. The dwarves.
"Our best work? There actually just prototypes"
"How do they feel?"
"It's all about craftsmanship."
"I'll introduce you. From the right, Kaijin, Gram, Myrd, and Dord."
"K...kaijin? Are you serious?!"
"The blacksmith who's world-famous for his skills?!"
"And Gram, Myrd, and Dord."
"The three Dwarf brothers?"
"I'll make it my family heirloom! Thank you so much!"
"I'm so happy!"
Eren hugged them.
"It's like a dream come true."
Gido picked one of them like a baby. The trio bid farewell,
"Yami, I'm grateful for your help."
"Don't mention it. It feels good to help. I need you to do one more thing."
"As long as it's within my strength."
"You have the potential, Rimuru. Protect this land. You have the mentally and not essential lacking in strength."
I turned around and took a deep breath.
"May your journey in this world be filled with wonder and your words filled with magic."
"Heh? I didn't tell him I was reincarnated. How did he know?"
"Our paths will definitely cross once again. If it doesn't, I'll look for you. Farewell for now."
My party was out of sight as expected so I simply disappeared leaving the scene before Rimuru could talk back.
"Uh...I...I'll...until we meet again. Yami, keh...who the hell is this guy?"
Back to the Star Palace.
"The awaited Rimuru has appeared. Yami just parted ways with him."
"Oh—that's good news. So when will we meet him? You know, the future stuff."
Hinata asked.
"We will, but it'll take some time. We have to wait for now."
Asteri replied with a smile.