(Rimuru POV)
"Where's Miss Risa?" Kenya asked, "She should at least be here to say goodbye!"
"I wouldn't count on it, Ken. She's pretty flaky." Gail reminded him. The other kids muttered their agreements.
"You already have her number, huh?" I laughed.
"You're… you're really leaving, Mr. Rimuru?" Chloe was about to cry. I really didn't want Chloe to cry. If Chloe cried, then I'd feel too guilty to leave, and I'd end up living in Englesia for the rest of my life.
In the end, I managed to cheer the kids up with gifts. Bribery? Absolutely, but it worked. I gave Chloe the mask that I'd once picked up from Shizu, which I'd been using to conceal my monster aura in town. The other kids all got Shuna-crafted robes and a promise that I'd come visit every once in a while.
Honestly, I hadn't expected this trip to turn out as well as it had. Not only had I built bonds that I knew would last a lifetime, but those kids were safe, and I was certain that at least one of them would go on to do great things as a Hero one day.
Then, there was Risa. Currently, she was still with Ramiris and Beretta, testing out all of the random abilities that they'd put in Beretta's golem body. She'd become an A-rank adventurer, with the alias 'White Flame Rin,' subordinated a Wind Arch Dragon, evolved into a pseudo Elemental Lord, and made friends with another demon lord. Upon her latest evolution, she'd even gained a Demon Lord Seed.
All in all, it'd been a great trip for the both of us.
But all good things must come to an end. And the end of this trip… Would be eventful, to say the least.
…
Leaving Yuuki and the kids, I took my time walking to an open area outside Englesia, where I could Spatial Motion my way back to Tempest.
But when I tried using the skill…
'Report. You have been enclosed in a large barrier. It seems to force spatial isolation.' Wise One told me.
Immediately, my danger senses went off full blast, in a way that hadn't even happened back with Milim, Charybdis, or the Orc Disaster.
And sure enough, Soei appeared in front of me, severely injured. I wasn't entirely sure whether he'd expended all of his power getting here, or if this particular replicant just happened to be just strong enough to get to me and explain everything.
"Enemies. Be careful, master. They're incredibly powerful." And with that, the replication vanished. He seemed to have been capable of battle, but Soei had likely decided that he'd hold me back, in whatever fight I was about to get into.
The barrier around me kept Ranga from appearing from my shadow. Honestly, it was a miracle that Soei had been able to get a Replication in before it went up.
And just as I began panicking, the problem actually got worse.
'Report. Another barrier has appeared. This one seems to deny the existence of monsters. Most magic-using skills are under severe restriction. Running Subspace tests now to determine extent of restriction.' A barrier created specifically to denythe existence of monsters?! Oh, come on!
And judging from the data flowing through via Wise One's tests, the barrier was doing its job incredibly well. The sheer force of purification here was enough that any monster lower than maybe Gobta would hemorrhage magicules constantly just by existing. Any force I used would be purified near instantly upon contact with the outside air. I couldn't even shapeshift more than a handful of times, nor could I use any skills that required control. That meant that Dark Flame, Dark Thunder, Poison Mist, Sticky Steel Thread Control, Quantum Control, and even Thought Communication and Magic Sense were useless. In fact, the suppression even extended to my Soul Corridor with Risa, cutting Elemental Magic off as well, even though it ran off an entirely different 'engine.'
'Incorrect. Elemental Magic is still theoretically available.'
Oh, right. Ifrit. He got contaminated with monster essence, though, right? Use Degenerate to purify him, just in case.
'Purification Complete. Would you like to assimilate him, as well?'
No. I'd still rather not. Not if I don't have to. If I'm gonna die, though, then I won't hesitate.
When Risa had assimilated Izzy, she'd gained access not only to fire elemental magic, but also storm elemental magic, and some dark elemental magic, too. From Wise One's calculations, I'd likely gain storm, water, fire, and space elements, at the very least. Maybe more.
Honestly, the fact that I could use Ifrit's power for my own was the only thing keeping me calm right now.
Though the structure of my mind had changed when I became a monster, I was still capable of fear. This was the first time that I'd come up against a foe that I couldn't instantly analyze, and that terrified me. Normally, the first thing I did upon encountering an enemy was analyze it. If I didn't stand a chance against it, then I'd just run. But this barrier would take Wise One over a day to fully analyze, and I had a sinking feeling that I didn't have that kind of time right now.