★112
ASTERI'S POV
Just as I located the wormhole leading to my destination, a message cut in.
'Master, Eto is out of control.'
His voice was tight—strained. Almost nervous.
'How bad?'
'Extremely bad. He's using the Dagger, and his body is reacting to something.'
I had never heard Shinn sound like that. This wasn't an exaggeration.
"This is bad. Don't let Rimuru or Sai near him. I'm on my way."
"Please, hurry up."
He actually pleaded. Like a human. Seems I'm not the only one changing.
'I can't risk flying back. By the time I arrive, he might have killed them all. What should I do?'
'This is the best moment to use Beyonder.'
'Ultimate Skill: Beyonder. At first, it allowed travel anywhere within a world, regardless of distance. I had never used it. Now, after merging it with Astro Forge and Temporal Twist, it had evolved—travel without restriction of distance, space, or time. I hadn't even asked the Voice of the World about the side effects.'
[Side effect: You may travel anywhere, but cannot interfere unless a condition aligns.]
"You're joking… but I'll—"
Before I could finish, I was dragged back into the Dragon Gate's dimension. No consent, no resistance. That kind of force wasn't magic, it was Order.
'How?'
I barely had time to question it before the scene ahead snapped into focus.
Eto lunged.
Ultima was frozen in place, seated on the ground, eyes wide, body refusing to respond. The Dagger of Beginning blazed in Eto's grip, its light unstable, violent.
"I'll start with you, BITCH!"
He roared, the dagger moving with a single absolute intent—kill Ultima. Nothing else existed to it.
I tried to move but couldn't. There was no space to cross and time to move.
"Ultima, no!"
"Violet!"
Carrera and Testarossa watched helplessly, already believing they had lost her.
"G—Great Rimuru?"
Ultima whispered, her voice trembling.
The dagger detonated in a cascade of colours, the explosion tearing through the dimension itself.
Silence claimed what remained and as the light faded, Ultima slowly opened her eyes.
The rainbow blade was there, caught in my palm, its glow spilled over her, warm and steady.
"So that's how it works."
I murmured.
'If someone thinks of me at the moment reality is about to fracture, they become the anchor, giving permission to intervene.'
A good skill.
"Heh?"
"It's over. Calm down, Eto."
His breathing slowed. The madness drained from his eyes, piece by piece, as his mind finally caught up with what he had nearly done.
"I—what have I done?"
He asked, his eyes widened looking at my bleeding hand.
"What happened?"
Look like couldn't remember what happened. Well, I'm not here to tell him what happened.
"We want this and now you've proved your worth. Dismiss, get back to the island."
"But, t—the ueen?"
"Atlas and Majo are currently in Raja. Do as I say. Shinn, follow him."
"Roger."
Shinn appeared beside him in an instant, wearing his usual calm smile, before the two vanished together.
"Are you guys okay?"
Rimuru's voice came from behind.
The demons turned sharply, clearly not expecting him to be there.
"G—great Rimuru?"
"H—how?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Sensei brought me here to witness your match. Although you've lost, you guys did a great job."
He reassured but the word 'lost' echoed in their head.
To demons, defeat meant forced servitude to the victor. And so they lined up before me in silence. The Law of the Grand Lord, in action. I couldn't help but crack a smile. Right here, right now, I could claim these so-called baddies for myself—but fortunately, I wasn't interested in that.
"Eto won. He's my clone, so I'll decide what happens to you."
I paused. Every pair of eyes turned towards me.
"Serve Rimuru with your lives. Risk everything for him. That's what I want from you."
"What?"
"I mean—we're already doing that, but—"
"I could have stripped Rimuru of his strongest soldiers."
I continued calmly.
"But that would mean I'm chasing power, and I'm not. As my student, I won't do that to him. Not to him, at least."
They were left speechless.
"Besides, I'm here on a journey. I have a forsaken world to return to."
"You mean the Star Realm?"
Rimuru asked.
"Yes. Now go."
I waved them off, opening a portal straight to Tempest. As they departed, I released the space itself, allowing its rightful owner to reclaim what's left of her dimension. She burst in immediately.
"Sai, you owe me an explanation for—"
She stopped mid-sentence the moment she sensed my presence. Without another word, I opened a portal, and Sai left through it at once.
"Ex-Demon Lord. The Misfit Scourge. Asteri."
"Oh my, I'm famous."
I replied lightly.
"See you later, True Dragon."
I didn't let her see my face. I simply waved—and left.
To be continued...
I left the Island, but it seems Rimuru didn't go home yet. After listening, Velgrynd pleads about her beloved Rudra being replaced by an internal force. Anyway, she wants someone to dispose of Rudra before the new individual takes full control.
As this was happening, it seemed her split body was engaging with an unidentified individual. I quickly dispatched Sai to back her up, and the moment he arrived, the attacker used an attack, and I lost control over him completely.
It wasn't as if he was transported to another dimension. No, it's like he never existed. He simply walked out of time.
Velgrynd was caught up, and the two were transported elsewhere. I grit my teeth and dispatched to the location to find out there was a time distortion installed to prevent quick entry, and I wasted valuable minutes before bypassing the distortion. The moment I arrived at the scene, Rimuru was there, causing trouble.
The Emperor Rudra was standing, and next to him was the attacker. He's dressed in a red imperial coat. He looked exactly like Rudra.
"You're late, star."
The attacker spoke up. I stood next to Rimuru, ready to fight or back him up if need be. The two enemies didn't make an attempt to move an inch and neither did we.
"Summary."
"Rudra was killed and overthrown by Michael. An Ultimate Skill that gained consciousness. The other guy—I had Diablo confirm his identity. His name is Feldway."
Blood reached my ears, and I was frozen in place trying hard to recover, but it was no good.
"Hmm, the Star Antares. Why are you in the Cardinal World?"
Rudra, no, Michael asked, his crimson eyes staring deep into my eyes without any fear. He has Rudra's memories, so why ask this dumb question?
"What are you scheming?"
I asked.
"The World is incomplete. We're simply here to restore that lost balance. That lost God."
He replied. My mind rang, and my feet went cold.
"The war?"
"The war between the Eastern Empire and Tempest has ended, and you guys won. Congratulations."
"I don't need it."
"Antares, you have the right to join us as a Supreme Being."
Feldway added.
"I appreciate it, and I'm willing to cooperate as long as it won't cost anything."
"Your evolution to a Demon Lord did cost millions of lives. Everything has a price to pay."
"What do you say?"
'I'll go along with their plans if it means he'll be back. I can't turn him down. He has the same Divinity as my creator. What should I do? Nah, I can't be selfish. He has powers to come back to life, so i think they're just obsessed.
Hey, Enta, what will you...'
'I'll reduce the Archè Matrix to a fathomless Void to get you back.'
He said without hesitation. It's new, Entares cares.
'I'm incomplete without you, you know?'
(Archè Matrix = CREATION.)
'You're evil as usual.'
'That's why I'm Entares, not Antares. Just like you'll destroy the world to get Hinata back, I'd do the same to get you back.'
'So I should lend them a hand?'
If he was in Feldway's shoe's, what will he do.
"No. It's like you've said, the Grand Lord has the power to come back to life anything. The fact that he didn't means he's simply playing dead.
The Holy Spirits and the Star God must've thought the same. That's why the World's still at peace. Besides, they won't dare to do anything that'll ignite the Star King's wrath.'
'Good point, but Feldway is his right-hand man. He must've understood that point, so why is he making a move?'
'Obsession. My advice is not to get involved in the revolution of the Seraphs. If you join, Sabaki might be permitted to hunt us here. Focus on your task.'
I truly want to get the Grand Lord back. 99.9% of my very fabric is willing to get him back, but that 0.1% is right. I may lose everything in pursuit of this path. Everything I've built, the bonds, the comrades, and so on.
"I'm sorry, but I'll pass."
"As expected."
He said camly, a smile on his face.
"Just know I have special means to destroy you."
He added, and a portal appeared behind them.
"Until we meet again, Rimuru, Antares."
Michael addressed, his grin never leaving his face. They didn't approach the portal. Instead, the portal moved in and took them away.
"I'm lost. Why did they want you to join them?"
Rimuru asked.
"The creator, Lord Veldanava. They seemed to be working on some ways to resurrect him. As a Star, it'll be natural for me to join them. But I've weighed my scale and I rejected it."
I turned, taking my leave.
"Congratulations on winning your war, Rimuru."
I added before taking my leave. With that, the Eastern Empire War was over, yet the dangers of what's coming is going to be massive.
To be continued...