"How long until Rimuru meets Veldora?"
"At least a month."
"That long?"
Damien was surprised.
Considering the sealed cave's size and the slow hopping pace of a slime, though, it wasn't unreasonable.
"Hm."
Damien said, "When I return, it's time to visit the sealed cave."
Indeed, he had plans for Veldora as well.
Previously, he avoided contact because his magicule reserves were insufficient to make Veldora a subordinate, even if the dragon agreed willingly.
But now?
Once Damien completed his Harvest Festival, with the status of a True Demon Lord and an Ultimate Skill, forcing submission might still be impossible.
Would the chuunibyou dragon really resist, though?
As Veldanava's heir, Damien was practically a blood relative to Veldora.
Plus, he could unseal the dragon and introduce him to the town's delights... food, games, manga, and entertainment.
In essence, Veldora was a humanoid husky.
Damien could easily treat him like a pet dog.
"This way, I'll have Rimuru and Veldora as my top enforcers."
'It's decided then... Moe King and Chuuni Dragon!'
With this in mind, Damien felt even more confident about his new world conquest.
"I'll keep monitoring them."
"Thanks, Violet."
After settling plans for Veldora and Rimuru, Damien turned his attention to the new world he'd arrived in.
The sky was overcast, the surroundings a desolate ruin.
Weeds overgrew the remnants of modern society, with broken walls and scorch marks painting a bleak, lonely scene.
"Even though I was prepared from watching the anime..."
"Arriving in this real world still feels so oppressive."
The world Damien chose came from a light novel he'd read in his past life: Black Bullet.
"Such a gloomy sky."
"Is this the new world?"
Through Damien's eyes, the Snow Empress, Artoria, Ice Empress, and Ogerpon saw the same desolate landscape.
"Are there really humans here?"
Artoria's question received a firm answer from Damien. "Yes, and quite a few."
"This world still has about 7.5 billion humans."
"7.5 billion?!"
The number shocked Artoria.
She'd assumed an apocalyptic world would have humanity on the brink of extinction.
To think there were still so many!
"It's not that many, actually."
"Compared to the original 80 billion, it's less than a tenth."
Walking through the ruins, Damien looked up at the massive monoliths standing like mountains in the distance.
"What are those?"
"So huge!"
"They look like stone tablets..."
The women followed Damien's gaze, spotting the giant monoliths and asking curiously.
"Those are called Monoliths. When built in a ring, they generate a special magnetic field that keeps Gastrea out."
In this world, humanity fought a great war against the Gastrea in 2021.
They lost, and 90% of the population was devoured by the Gastrea.
The survivors retreated behind the Monoliths, using the magnetic fields to carve out safe zones in a world overrun by monsters.
"Like a sanctuary?"
"Exactly."
Damien explained, "The story of Black Bullet begins in this parallel Earth's 2021."
"For unknown reasons... maybe genetic mutations or some shadowy organization's experiments... monsters called Gastrea appeared."
"According to this world, Gastrea are born from a virus called Gastrea Virus, or G-Virus for short."
"The G-Virus not only consumes humans but injects its fluids to infect them."
"Its powerful DNA-altering ability makes the virus incredibly resilient and adaptable."
"The G-Virus kills humans and uses their flesh as a breeding ground, spawning terrifying monsters."
"These monsters aren't just insects or reptiles but grotesque hybrids of various creatures."
Gastrea's appearance alone was enough to shatter one's sanity.
"How strong are these monsters?"
The Snow Empress cared more about their strength than their origins.
"Well." Damien said, "Gastrea's strength lies in their power, speed, defense, and, most notably, their terrifying regeneration."
"Based on regeneration levels, they're divided into five stages."
"Like vampires fearing silver, Gastrea are allergic to a metal called Varanium."
"Stage I can be killed with specialized Varanium weapons that suppress the virus."
"Stage II resists standard Varanium weapons, requiring decapitation or incineration to defeat."
"Stage III can regenerate limbs or reconnect to their body, with cells that resonate to survive decapitation."
"Stage IV can regenerate even after losing most internal organs, requiring total annihilation to kill."
"Stage V can survive extreme cold, vacuums, or thousand-degree magma, regenerating at a molecular level once adapted."
"Hm..."
Artoria, listening to Damien's explanation, struggled to grasp it.
As a practical fighter, she needed to face them to judge.
But based on Damien's words, these Gastrea didn't seem that strong.
"Molecular level? That's no big deal."
The Ice Empress spoke first. "My Ice Burst can destroy at the microscopic particle level."
"Indeed."
Damien nodded. "Molecular-level annihilation, which is difficult here, isn't a challenge for us."
Far from it... any A-Rank or higher majin typically possessed microscopic particle destruction capabilities.
***
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