“Hah! Hah!” Heavy, ragged breathing echoed through the woods as a figure sprinted frantically between the trees.
“Escape! I… I have to escape! Help! Somebody, help me!”
The figure suddenly tripped, crashing to the ground with a sickening thud as his nose smashed against the earth. Blood trickled from his nostrils as he scrambled to his feet, staggering out of the dense shadows of the forest. His eyes lit up at the sight of a group of people ahead.
A bloodied, desperate smile broke across his face as he stumbled toward them.
Kanade was taken aback, the last thing he expected was to see a battered and bloodied Shogo running toward them, his face marked with relief.
“Shogo?” Kanade called, surprised.
“Oh, thank god!” Shogo gasped, wiping at the blood pooling into his eyes. “Kanade, oh god, Kyoya… Kyoya is…”
“Whoa, calm down, Shogo. What happened?” Kanade asked, stepping forward. Beside him, Benimaru and Shion exchanged puzzled looks.
Overhead, Rimuru descended swiftly from the skies, having flown ahead of Gabiru and the Dragonewts. Noticing the commotion, he landed beside them.
“What’s going on here?” Rimuru asked, frowning.
Kanade turned to him. “This is Shogo, he’s another Otherworlder. He was summoned before me. I was with him earlier, I removed the curse from both him and Kyoya.” He paused, eyes narrowing. “But… I can’t sense Kyoya anymore. Shogo, what happened?”
Shogo dropped to the ground, completely exhausted.
“We should heal him first,” Rimuru said, tossing a vial of healing potion over him. The liquid glowed as it splashed across Shogo’s wounds, slowly knitting them closed.
Kanade watched silently. “These wounds… they look like Soei’s. If anything, they resemble bullet wounds, like the kind you see in movies.”
Rimuru tilted his head, squinting. “Huh. You’re right, they totally look like bullet wounds.”
He stiffened. “Wait a second!” Rimuru turned sharply to Kanade. “Are you saying someone has a gun? Here? In this world!?”
Kanade nodded grimly. “It seems so. And it’s far more lethal than I’d expect a weapon like that to be in a world .”
“No, no, no, no,” Rimuru muttered, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure a gun’s lethal in any world.”
Kanade lowered his head, frowning in thought. “Well, yeah, but with magic, skills, and resistances, I thought guns wouldn’t be as effective here. Unless… unless you combined it with magic.”
“A magic gun?” Rimuru laughed nervously. “Yeah… that’s totally not freaking me out or anything.”
Shogo, now breathing steadier, looked up at the one who healed him. “Thank you… thank you so much.”
Rimuru took a small step back. “Yeah, sure… but what happened to you, man? You were a bloody mess.”
Kanade crossed his arms. “I mean, that’s what happens when you get shot a dozen times.”
“I was getting to that!” Rimuru snapped as Kanade chuckled.
Shogo finally spoke, his voice trembling. “It was… the Saints.” Both Kanade and Rimuru stiffened at that.
“We didn’t stand a chance. Against her,” Shogo shuddered as he said it.
“She had a gun… it looked so ordinary, just like in the movies. Kyoya and I were sure we could dodge anything she threw at us. I mean, with the power we gained in this world, a firearm shouldn’t even be a threat, right?”
He choked back a sob. “I… I didn’t even see it happen. One moment Kyoya was standing next to me, the next, his head was blown apart. I didn’t even see her fire the damn thing!”
Shion stepped forward, frowning. “Is that how a warrior behaves? On your feet!”
Shogo stared down at his trembling hands. “Why… why did this have to happen to me? I was so scared. I thought… I was going to die. I don’t want to die…”
Shion grabbed him roughly by the collar, hoisting him off the ground. “Get a grip! If you claim to be a martial artist, then show some fighting spirit!”
Tears streamed down Shogo’s face. “I… I was cocky. So stupid…”
Shion turned to face Rimuru. “Lord Rimuru, is it alright if I take charge of this human? After the battle, of course.”
Rimuru shrugged casually. “I don’t really see why not. He’s in rough shape. If you think you can help him, go for it. After all… he did fight against the Saints on our behalf. Well, sort of.”
“Thank you, Lord Rimuru.” Shion smiled.
“In that case, I’ll just send him to the infirmary for now. Keep Soei company while you’re at it.” Kanade added, raising a hand as a magic circle flared beneath Shogo. In a flash of light, Shogo vanished, teleported back to Tempest.
“I just spoke to Shuna too,” Rimuru said, glancing at Kanade. “She’ll keep an eye on him while we’re gone.”
Kanade nodded. Then Rimuru’s gaze shifted forward, narrowing as he saw the faint, shifting outline of an army gathering in the distance.
“Now then,” Rimuru said, his tone firm. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
Far away, the battle between Kaede and Millim had begun.
Kaede skipped across the surface of the ocean, skimming the waves after deflecting a vicious kick from Millim.
Flipping midair, Kaede hovered just above the water’s surface, droplets falling from her as she grinned, her gaze lifting toward the sky.
There, standing in the glow of the sun, Millim Nava looked like a demon incarnate, her sharp, toothy grin illuminated by the malevolent gleam in her glowing pink eyes.
Without hesitation, Millim launched herself forward, closing the distance in an instant as she hurled a punch crackling with pink-tinged energy.
A silver shield materialized on Kaede’s right arm just in time to intercept the blow.
The shield exploded into shards of light under the force of Millim’s punch, sending Kaede skidding backwards across the water. She regained her balance, keeping her distance as she assessed her opponent.
Millim laughed, wild and gleeful, before giving chase, launching blast after blast of searing red destruction toward Kaede.
Kaede weaved between the incoming attacks with practiced precision, hovering low over the water, leaning backwards just in time to dodge a vicious swipe from Millim’s clawed hand.
Spotting an opening, Kaede drove a knee hard into Millim’s midsection, sending the Demon Lord hurtling skyward. As she tumbled and twisted in the air, Millim retaliated, unleashing a hail of red orbs crackling with pink magicules.
Kaede raised both palms, releasing clouds of purple, pixelated smoke that swallowed the orbs mid-detonation, muffling the explosions before they could reach her.
But just as the smoke cleared, Kaede’s eyes widened.
Millim burst through the dissipating pixels, her fist surrounded by a glowing, claw-shaped construct of searing pink light, aimed directly at Kaede’s heart.
Kaede was swallowed by the ocean as she was sent hurtling towards the seabed at supersonic speeds. The sheer velocity superheated the water around her, forming a displacement bubble that grew larger the deeper she fell.
A sudden shock tore through the bubble as something pierced it, shattering it and creating a violent explosion of force that erupted to the surface, sending a small typhoon spiraling above the waves.
Kaede, unaware of the chaos above, braced herself as Millim came in for another strike. Their fists collided beneath the ocean, the impact rippling through the depths.
A massive Kraken, lurking nearby, didn’t even have time to register the danger before Kaede’s body smashed through its skull, sending fragments of bone and flesh spiraling into the water.
Kaede retaliated instantly, three Dragon Heads burst forth from her body, writhing through the water and spreading clouds of dark, poisonous mist as they lunged toward Millim.
Millim laughed, eyes glowing a brilliant gold as she gathered a ball of searing green fire between her palms. The ocean around her boiled and churned from the sheer heat.
With a shout, she launched the ball toward the charging dragons.
The sea split, boiling green water met the toxic, purple-tinged water from Kaede’s dragons. The resulting collision sent shockwaves tearing through the ocean, waves crashing skyward as the titanic clash continued.
“Well, well, well. The monsters came to greet us. How polite of you.” Glenda smiled as she dismounted her horse, her boots crunching against the grass.
Fritz and Garde stepped forward to flank her, both standing tall, disciplined. Behind them, a vast formation of five thousand Temple Knights stretched into the distance, shields gleaming, banners fluttering.
Across the field, Rimuru narrowed his eyes. “My name is Rimuru Tempest. I am the ruler of the nation of Tempest, and Chancellor of the Western Jura Forest Alliance.”
“Hard to believe a mere monster holds such lofty titles,” Glenda said, shifting her weight to one side, hand resting casually on the hilt of her weapon.
“You are a monster, right?” Fritz asked, squinting. “Because you look… completely human.”
Rimuru gave a small shrug. “Yeah. Technically, I’m a slime monster.”
“Huh.” Glenda gave a single, curt nod. “Okay.”
Garde stepped forward, voice cold.
“If you're here to surrender, know that the faith of Luminous does not support the existence of monsters. Your lives are already forfeit.”
Shion bristled, stepping up with her hand halfway to her sword. “I'd like to see you try.”
Kanade tilted his head slightly, studying Glenda. “I thought you'd be stronger.”
Glenda’s smirk widened. “Oh? And you are? At least you’re human. Another otherworlder, I’m guessing, like those two we dealt with earlier. I believe we left one’s corpse about a mile that way.” She drew her gun, casually spinning it. “What? Cat got your tongue?”
Kanade’s eyes glowed faintly blue. “Ah. I see it now. So that’s what you did.” His gaze sharpened. “I have to admit… not many people could pull that off.”
A flicker of unease passed through Glenda as her instincts screamed a warning. ‘Whatever he’s seeing with those eyes… I don’t like it. I need to take him out, now.’
Her fingers inched toward the trigger.
“And I’ve picked our matchups,” Kanade said, raising his hand.
Glenda’s eyes widened as the world around her shifted. She stood alone in a dense forest, trees surrounding her on all sides. A tree ahead of her now had a clean hole punched straight through it, smoke curling from the bark.
“Tch. This is why I was against leading this crusade. I work better hidden… from the shadows.” Glenda muttered, clicking her tongue.
She felt a presence appear behind her.
“Rimuru Tempest,” she spoke without turning. The slime had arrived.
“So that’s your plan. Clever, actually. Separate the Saints with teleportation, overwhelm the Temple Knights, then finish the Saints with superior numbers.” She took a step closer, eyes narrowing. “Am I right?”
Rimuru blinked. “Wow. Yeah, actually, that’s impressive. I had another reason too. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Talk to me?” Glenda arched a brow.
“Yeah. You’re using a gun, which means you’re from Earth, right? I’m Japanese. But I died and reincarnated here as a slime monster. We’re not enemies of humanity, you know.”
Glenda hesitated. Her face shifted into a look of disappointment. “That’s too bad.”
Rimuru reacted instantly, leaping back as a tree beside him exploded in a shower of splinters.
‘What the hell? She fired from the front, but the bullet hit from my left…’
He backflipped twice, then drew his sword.
“If you won’t listen to reason, just like Hinata, then I have no choice!”
Glenda’s brow lifted. “You fought Hinata? And lived? Hah!” She barked a laugh. “I’m going to hold this over her head forever.” The rightful source is novel·fire·net
Rimuru launched himself forward. Glenda fired again, but this time Rimuru was ready. As he landed before her, his mind raced.
‘Where’s the bullet coming from? Front? Back? Side? No matter… I’ll devour it with [Gluttony].’
The next instant, pain lanced through Rimuru’s leg as his left limb burst apart.
Staggering without support, he instinctively leaned into the fall, but before gravity could take him, Glenda was already moving, a military knife gleaming in her hand, slashing toward his neck.
‘She’s an entirely different type of dangerous!’ Rimuru thought in alarm. He barely dodged by shifting back into his slime form, bouncing along the ground before reabsorbing his leg and reforming a human body at a safer distance.
The battle with the Saints had begun.