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Story 6: Chapter 3: The Penniless Saint
🕑 Added 2024-04-27 17:17:59 +0000 UTCStory 6: To Be a Hero.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 3: The Penniless Saint
___________________________________________________________________
– Salvatore –
I woke up in a room unfamiliar from what I was used to. My mind ran at its fastest to remember the situation I was in before losing consciousness.
The last thing I could remember was getting angry at Charybdis, Clayman and the entire fucking situation.
And then it was as if my vision turned red.
The rest was a bit hazy.
How did I get here though?
Did the ogre carry me?
I looked around and then saw that things looked much clearer to me than before. It was like the entire world was in high definition now.
I felt the changes in my body and stood up on my bed to inspect myself.
I noticed that I was wearing unfamiliar clothes.
Apart from that, I seemed to have grown a few inches taller. I clenched my fists and I could feel my strength surging through my body.
It was way beyond anything I had experienced before. So much so that it made my previous level look like a joke compared to what I was now.
The second thing I noticed about myself was my magicules.
I already had a very decent amount of Magicules before but now… I felt as if my magicules were inexhaustible.
The only conclusion I could come to was that I evolved when the fight was over.
Is this the power of a Saint?
My awakening was sensed by others as the room was opened and to my surprise, what flew in seemed like a pixie or a fairy of sorts.
“Oh, you’re awake.” She flew around me and looked me up and down. “Umm good good. You are fine now.”
It was a little awkward being stared like this by a palm sized pixie. “Who are you?” I asked, already having an idea of her identity.
“Me? Hahahaha open your eyes and be grateful to be in the presence of the strongest Demon Lord. I am the Demon Lord, Ramiris.”
Thought so.
“Eh? Strongest? But wasn’t the strongest Demon Lord, Guy Crimson?” I pretended to simply play along with her funny shenanigans.
“Guy! What about Guy? I can blast him off with a punch. Boom Kaboom and all done.”
“Oh. That’s awesome. Here, have a candy.” I brought out a small candy from my pocket but realised that for her, this might as well be her entire meal.
She quickly grabbed the candy from my fingers.
“Good. You know how to respect your seniors.”
I smiled and just shook my head at her antics. She was funny.
Just then I remembered my purpose for coming to this place. “Lady Ramiris. Is my student, I mean the girl who was with me, Chloe, is she?”
“Yes yes. She is all well now. Also that Kijin that was following you. She made a contract with an unknown spirit and is resting now.”
I felt a heavy burden being lifted from my shoulders as I bowed down to her. “Thank you, for saving our lives.”
“Huh? I didn’t do anything. Your spirits chose you two by themselves. I just gave you both my blessing, as I was required to. It’s what I do for every person who gets blessed by a Light or Darkness Spirit of an Elemental Lord Rank or above. It is my job to grant Hero Egg to those who qualify. It was Milim who saved you. She carried you three or rather four here for help. She is currently sleeping outside.”
The words left me stilled for a moment.
Chloe got a contract with an unknown spirit as I was suspecting.
It was the other part which surprised me.
I got a spirit contract too?
And a Hero Egg which meant that I got either a Light or Darkness Spirit.
And Milim?
Just what in the fuck happened when I lost consciousness.
“The Kijin you brought is sitting outside if you ask. As for my fees. Make me more of these.” She raised the candy in her arms before taking another lick of it. “Sweet.”
I nodded and did just that. A little outside the room was where I found the ogre who was now a… Kijin, sitting on the ground with his blade on his lap, meditating.
When did he evolve?
I pushed the thoughts from my head aside and went before him. He sensed my presence and opened his eyes.
“Benefactor, you are awake?” He stood up quickly.
“Ah, yes… I just woke up a few minutes ago. You can sit. I… just wanted to ask what is going on here?” I finally completed the question in utter confusion.
In the next hour or so, the guy explained to me what had happened since I asked him to protect Chloe and went on to fight Charybdis.
Charybdis was being healed by Clayman’s minions.
Milim came in and knocked her out and I went out of control and killed Charybdis and then tried to attack Milim. I felt a severe chill at this.
I tried to attack Milim!
How am I still alive?
Ah, apparently I was backhanded into the ground by her and Chloe saved my life by making a trade with Milim.
I found myself open-mouthed at the thought that a joke of a lesson on what to do with which Demon Lord had actually saved my life.
“What about Chloe?” I asked.
“Miss Chloe was looking after you when you were asleep. She is resting now.”
“I see.” Now, I was feeling bad. I not only got her in trouble but now even my life was saved by her.
I shook my head to get my thoughts in line.
“Thank you for your help… ah.”
“Shanks.”
“Huh?”
“Shanks. Miss Chloe named me Shanks. She used the naming to reduce the Magicules in her body. She said that you would like it.”
… that works?
Fuck, why didn’t I think of that before?
I could have taken a much safer route if I had known.
Not to mention the students could have been safer for a long time.
“Benefactor… you don’t like the name?”
I was broken from my thoughts by the guy’s voice. “Wha? No. I like it. Shanks is the name of one of the bravest… ughh, warriors of the sea. He could stop entire armies with just his presence. Yes. Shanks is a good name. With what you have done for us, I would name you Shanks too.”
And with just those words, a light enveloped him.
Wait, what the fuck happened?
I felt a slight drain in my reserves which became full almost the same time.
instantaneously.
I felt his power rise and just a few minutes later, there stood in front of me, a handsome redheaded guy who made Charybdis look like a kid.
I am pretty sure he could beat Charybdis if he fought it now.
Did I accidentally name him again?
He kneeled on the ground. “Thank you for your benevolence, Great Benefactor.”
“A-ah, sure. Take some rest. I will go and see Chloe first.”
“I will guard the room.”
I entered the room first while keeping the need to get used to my powers at the back of my head.
I needed to see if Chloe was fine or not.
Inside the room was a strange sight. It was cute to be honest and I wish I had a camera. Two cute girls were snuggling with each other and sleeping. One of them was a familiar brunette while the other was a pink haired girl with twin tails who was drooling while sleeping.
The demonic power inside her though… It was huge!
It was probably the biggest power reserve I had ever seen in any being in this world.
I didn’t need any introductions to know who she was.
Milim Nava.
One of the oldest Demon Lords in the world.
Seeing them both sleeping like this, I didn’t have the heart to disturb them and went out to test my powers.
I could feel the difference between my previous self and my current self right now. My Skills had completely changed.
I needed to get used to them first before anything else.
It was times like these where I really envied Rimuru for having a hax like Raphael.
___________________________________________________________________
I asked for an area where I could practise my Skills without worry and Ramiris easily provided me with a room for the small price of a candy.
The room was made with her Intrinsic Skill, The Small World which could create pocket dimensions anywhere.
In this room, I didn’t need to hold back and I used all my abilities.
The Fool has changed into Leviathan, Lord of Envy. An Ultimate Skill.
This Skill consists of several sub Skills but the main ones were The Fool and the main power which could degrade the Skills of opponents and absorb their energies to replenish mine.
The second Skill was Astarte, Lord of Creation which was a combination of Evolver and Creator on fucking steroids.
There was also the Skill which Leviathan copied from Milim after I supposedly lost to her, Satanael, Lord of Wrath. This made my magicules endless as long as I was angry.
It was a Skill which enabled Milim to fight at levels surpassing True Dragons even when she only had ten percent of their power in the normal state.
My body couldn’t bear the power of this Skill so it was kept in a partly sealed state.
It was the last Skill which made me realize that I had fucked things up beyond realization.
Uriel, Lord of Vows.
Wasn’t this like Rimuru’s Skill?
The butterflies it would cause were almost endless.
I sat down for a while to think about the situation for a while and what I was going to do going forward?
I later realised that there was no point mopping about this. The world changed the moment I entered.
My main goal was to find a way back home. If I can get Rimuru’s help with it, good and all. If not… I will just do what I have been doing all this time.
Work.
Train.
Get stronger.
And make a fucking way.
There was also an intrinsic Skill called the Magicule Breeder Reactor which I vaguely remember as being an endgame level Skill. It was like an infinite energy generator which continuously produced magicules for me. This was probably the reason why I didn’t feel any drain even after naming… Shanks.
The last but not the least was my Spirit.
Now, wasn’t that a surprise.
She was a Darkness Spirit instead of a Light one. I would have thought that me wielding my holy sword would have pushed me towards the light alignment but I guess Vritra being stuck to me would also tilt the balance to the other side.
She looked, huh… how to describe her. If I had to name a character, then it would be Restia Ashdoll. Yup She looked like Restia Ashdoll who was also a Darkness Spirit.
Quite cliche but who cares.
Our contract gave me a Darkness affinity and I could apparently fuse with her to temporarily increase my power beyond my current state, quite similar to my Balance Breaker.
For that matter, I tried to use the Vritra Ultimate Skill but it was somehow not available, so I let it be.
I absolutely had no idea what kind of being Vritra was because I could never quite communicate with it except for some instinctive feelings sometimes.
There were still things that I didn’t know about, like the Hero Egg but one step at a time.
I would need some time to fully get used to my powers and learn to use them efficiently in battle.
All this said, I was finally something in this world. Although nothing compared to the top levels but not something anyone can ignore either.
A few hours later, I came out of the place only to be greeted by an over-excited Demon Lord to my face.
“Hey, you can make candied fruits, right? Make them for me. Quick, quick!” She flew around me quickly.
Behind her was Chloe who was walking towards me and hugged me quickly.
I pat her head slowly. “Are you alright now?”
“Umm.”
“Good. Thank you for saving my life,Chloe. You are my Hero.” I smiled at the girl who hugged me tighter.
“Hey, hey, hey, what about me? I saved your life too, you know? What about me?” The pink haired Demon Lord flew around me throwing a tantrum.
“Yes, how could I forget. Thank you for your help too, Lady Milim.”
“Eh, Lady? I am just Milim. Call me just that. You will be my Rival from now on. I can’t have you calling me Lady and what not.”
…
“What?”
“You will become a Hero and my rival like Guy and Rudra.” She haughtily placed a hand on her waist and said proudly. It looked funny when she was trying to puff her chest out but the knowledge of who she is made the scene turn from comedy to horror very quickly.
Just to make sure, I asked again to confirm. “Excuse me?”
“Ah jeez. You are also a Dragonoid like me. In fact, you are the only other Dragonoid I know of. I am a Demon Lord and you are a Hero, so you will be my Rival and when I win you will make Candied Fruits for me… ah umm, and I mean I will win.”
…
…
There were so many things in that statement that I wanted to question but I started from the most important one first. “I am a what now?”
“A Dragonoid. A Half-Human, Half Dragon. I am also one and we are the only two Dragonoids in existence.”
I found myself with an open mouth before shaking myself to ask the second question. “Wait, I thought I became a Saint. What about that?”
“Oh… Dragonoids can become Saints too, you know. You are both.”
“Ah… ok-ay. Thank you for your help, Milim.” I opened my pocket space and brought some of the candied fruits and other sweets I stocked up and saw Milim’s eyes shining. “Share some of them with Lady Ramiris too.” I gave her a large part while giving the rest to Chloe.
We sat in the room while they ate. Ramiris joined the party too and picked up the sweets. I even gave some to the poor guy Shanks who was dragged in all this mess without his consent.
“So Clayman’s people attacked and they somehow knew I was going to pass that way. I thought it was his territory and I met them only by coincidence but now it seems that it was not so.”
“It’s not his territory, you know. This entire country is my territory. Clayman can only pass through the area but can never claim it as his own or I would show him my super punch and…” Ramiris started her shadow boxing in the air.
That only made things worse.
It could only mean that I was targeted by either Yuuki, which was unlikely or his assistant, that elf.
The Harlequin Alliance and Clayman.
Those bastards almost caused the loss of Chloe’s life.
I clenched my fists in anger but took a deep breath and controlled myself first.
This was not the time to get angry.
First, I need to get my other students out of that place and let them make contracts with Spirits to solve their problems as well. Anything else would come later.
I just asked something first, in case I was getting way over my head. “If I were to fight and kill Clayman now, would any of the other Demon Lords interfere?”
The two Demon Lords in attendance looked at me and then at each other and then back at me again. “No. Why would we? If he lost, it meant he was weak. Heroes and Demon Lords are always fated to encounter each other. They will always meet at some point in time. What they do after that is none of their business. Leon-chan fought Curse Lord Kazeram and killed him and even awakened as a True Hero and despite this, he became a Demon Lord in the council. We don’t interfere in such matters. The council was formed to solve matters between two Demon Lords before matters escalated too much.” Ramiris explained everything to me.
“So, if I were to kill Clayman, there would be no problem?”
“Umm. There would be some problems. Clayman has considerable forces and they would go around causing problems everywhere if they were not controlled.”
“Wait wait wait. I wanted to pull a prank on Clayman.” Milim interrupted us. “You see. I was going to go to Clayman to pull a prank on him after I left here. He has been acting very meanly to one of my new friends and I wanted to punch him in the face first but decided to trick him and then let… ah, that’s a surprise.”
….
Then why did you tell us the first part?
“So, do you mind if I kill him after your surprise?” I asked.
If those bastards attacked me once, they could attack me again. It’s better to eliminate such risks.
“Hmm, okay. But… I will need more Candied Fruits…” She said, eying me with a sly look in her eyes. I had the urge to facepalm but stopped myself and nodded.
Thus we began to make plans for Clayman’s demise.
He was going to die either way, it would be better to not leave things to chance.
“Where is that prisoner?”
“Oh, that puppet? She’s locked up. Clayman can see and hear through her so I knocked her out.” Milim replied casually.
I was led to the place where the said servant was locked. She had light blue hair and looked like a young woman. She was knocked out as Milim had stated.
Shanks had informed me that she was called Mjurran and was one of the Five Fingers, Clayman’s commanders along with the guy I cut off that day.
Not all of Clayman’s subordinates were as loyal to him as the Harlequins. In fact, most of them were people he had either tricked or enslaved with his Skill.
If she had a crest on her, she was probably one of those too.
This brought back the memories from Farmuth Kingdom, of how I was forced to kill against my will and made me sympathise towards the Majin… just a little bit maybe.
If she was indeed in such a situation, I would let her go. If not…
First things first. I need Clayman to be in the dark about this so first let’s look at the part which allows him to spy on us through his servants.
I used Astarte’s Analyze on her and the information regarding her appeared in my head. All the details of her being were analysed in a moment.
It made me realise again what kind of utter cheats Ultimate Skills were.
I carefully picked out the parts of the spells which allowed Clayman to control and spy over her and the failsafe in case she ever got out of his control and then used my other Ultimate Skill: Uriel to negate the parts of those spells.
The negation powers of Negation Zone had been buffed to high heavens and could negate any kind of Magic and Skill except a higher Ranked Ultimate Skill, maybe.
It took some time but the Marionette Heart Spell was completely undone now and was only remaining to provide her with life.
For Clayman, she must be dead now if he checked.
“She’s safe. I am waking her up.”
They nodded and I did.
The woman opened her eyes and looked around in confusion before her eyes widened. She probably realised the situation she was in and was scared.
“I have removed the spell Clayman had over you. He cannot control you anymore, nor can he kill you. You don’t have to worry about him. Just answer the questions we ask and you can leave if we are satisfied. Do you understand?”
She looked quite scared and Shanks spoke up first.
“Miss Mjurran, my benefactor is not lying. He freed me and helped me too. If you tell us what he wants to know, he will let you go.”
She shakily looked at us and nodded so I asked everything about Clayman that I could. His armies, his bases, his skills, the Skills of his subordinates.
“His main forces are the Five Fingers, at least for the world. What people don’t know is that he also has five summoned otherworlder’s whom he controls in secret. Each of them has the strength of an Enlightened. They are his Hidden Hand and are even stronger than us but…”
“But?”
“They are under the Lock Spell and Heart Curse, being forced to work for him. They might leave him the first chance they get and even turn on him.”
The Hidden Hand?
Summoned Otherworlders?
I had no memory of this.
But then I recalled that the future had already changed a lot due to my presence and that was assuming that this was the exact world I remembered from the stories. These kinds of waves were to be expected.
“Who else?”
“The rest of his forces are planning for an attack on Demon Lord Carrion’s country after he somehow eliminates Demon Lord Carrion. I don’t know how he plans to do so. He then plans to put the blame of this on another monster who is the leader of the newly established Monster Nation of Jura Forest.”
“That bastard Clayman! I am going to punch his face.” Milim got up in anger, scaring the already frightened Majin out of her skin.
Thankfully, Chloe had learned the art of taming a Dragonoid as she offered her a lollipop and she was pacified.
I looked at the duo in utter awe.
They were becoming the best of friends all of a sudden.
“Don’t worry, Milim. We are going to kick his teeth in. We just need to prepare your master plan first.”
She nodded and sat down, far too busy with her lollipop to bother.
I noticed that she didn’t lie about anything and asked her about how she got in the service of Clayman.
Turns out that she was a Human Witch who lived by herself in the Jura Forest. She was nearing her death so she approached Clayman who was recruiting back then.
He implanted her with the heart of a Majin which helped him both control her and transform her into a Majin. If she ever removed the heart, she would turn back into her previous human form and die.
As a reclusive witch who didn’t have much human interaction, she was unable to see through Clayman’s trick back then and had suffered under him for several hundred years already.
Milim’s Eye and Milims Ear can verify any lie in her statement and she didn’t lie even once.
“Thank you.”
“So, are you going to fight them?” Ramiris asked me this time.
I nodded.
“There are still three of the Five Fingers left, not to mention the Hidden Hand. If each has the strength of an Enlightened, it would be a decent army. Are you sure you want to face them alone?”
I knew that I could wreck them all by myself but this is a world where even True Dragons can be sealed. I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks until I was completely used to my powers.
Ramiris seemed to have understood my thought and offered a suggestion. “You could always recruit people, you know. I am pretty sure that many would follow you without a doubt.”
Shanks chimed in. “I would swear my sword at your command, benefactor.”
“I will fight for Sensei too.” Chloe looked towards me with conviction and I caressed her head.
“Thank you, Chloe, but let’s find some other help. It will still take some time for Milim to arrange everything. We could, maybe, make some new friends. Shanks, do you know of anyone we could recruit?” I asked him.
“I…” The woman in front of us spoke and we looked at her. She continued nervously. “Can I join you?”
“You want to join me?”
“She nodded.”
“Why?”
“I… I want to fight Clayman, at least once.”
“Umm sure.”
She kneeled in front of me, bowing.
“Wait wait. I… don’t want you to do all that swearing and all. I… when I was summoned to this world, I was also enslaved against my will. I… was forced to do things that I detested and absolutely abhorred. So I… I know how it feels to be in such a place. I won’t bind you or anything but if you are working for me, all I ask is for your loyalty and in return, I will never abandon you.” I offered her my hand and she accepted it.
“Welcome to the team… Mjurran.”
I thought of something and then continued. “I name you, Mjurran.”
And sure enough, a bright light enveloped her and I could sense her power rising.
My energy reserves on the other hand didn’t seem to change much.
She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
She then collected herself and bowed to me. “Thank you.”
Finally we discussed a few things and I decided to go and bring my students back and get them contracted to Spirits first. Better to get the time bomb off of them.
Chloe will go with me while Shanks and Mjurran will search for potential recruits and come back to meet us. Milim will go out to prepare for her prank.
With that in mind, all of us left for our destinations.
Clayman had no idea who he messed with.
____________________________________________________________________
I was out for twelve days.
While flying towards the Freedom Academy, I never realised it.
But apparently, my transformation from Human to Dragonoid took a lot longer than I had expected.
I couldn't say anything because there were no precedents for Dragonoid Saints either.
It led to several awkward questions about how I became one or how I had a Dragon Soul inside me.
I answered honestly because there was no use in lying.
Milim would detect it either way.
I only found out about the time when I asked for the date.
Add to it the seven days I had taken to reach the place and I was quite late.
Suddenly, I couldn't wait for anything. There was a chance that one of my other students would encounter the same situation as Chloe and without me, there would be next to no hope for them.
I used my new Dragonoid Transformation which gave me a pair of awesome wings in what Milim called 'Assault Mode'.
It consisted of me getting a Dragon Tail, a pair of horns, armoured claws, boots and chest plates and a pair of Dragon Wings, all grey in colour.
It was quite similar to Milim’s Assault Mode in terms of looks but with two horns instead of one.
I casted several barriers around Chloe and me before I raced through the air towards the Freedom Academy.
The distance which had previously taken me around seven days to cover, was now covered in eight hours. The sheer difference between just my physical stats is crazy.
I think I could accelerate more with the help of my magicules.
When Vritra wakes up, I will try to use my Balance Breaker and see where my strength stands now.
I made us land some distance away from the city to avoid questions and we walked from there.
I sensed several people in the guild but surprisingly Yuuki was absent from the guild when I reached the place. The teachers of the academy were extremely surprised to see me. I saw Carter among the people there and went forward.
“Salvatore. You are back and Chloe… you are fine. But how I mean, I am glad you are fine. Congratulations. It’s just that it has never been done before so I was a bit surprised.” He corrected himself quickly.
“Sensei saved me.” Chloe answered.
He looked at me. “People would kill for the information on how you did it. You have no idea how many Human Nations try summoning and don’t continue because they only summon kids. They would pay any kind of…”
“And I will make them pay that price if they start kidnapping children from their home worlds. I am not telling anyone anything. Where are the other children?” I interrupted his words and he abruptly shut his mouth, realising just what he was saying.
The summoning cycle can change between 33 years to 80 years depending on the degree of success. The more the difference, the lower the chances of summoning children. He was not lying when he said that they would do anything to obtain the information on how to summon children too because while they might not get Unique Skills too quickly, or ever, they possessed a great amount of Magicules to make for good soldiers. And children can be indoctrinated to their train of thought too.
“I apologise. I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I know you didn’t, Carter. Just don’t let your interest in magic cross the lines. Now, where are my other students?”
“Ah they… were recently taken away by a new teacher called Rimuru Tempest. They had a rocky start and the children were just waiting for you to return but after a week or two, they became fond of the new teacher and went on a journey. They only told me that they trust the new teacher and passed on the information you gave them.”
So he came.
I guess not everything changed.
“Hmm okay. In that case I will leave for a while too. I will take Chloe with me and return in a while again. Tell them that I was back, okay.”
“Alright. But really, are you going to leave so soon again? You just got here.”
“I need to do some work, Carter. I will be back.”
“Take care of yourself, Sal.”
“I will.”
___________________________________________________________________
Since they left for the Dwelling of the Spirits, it was better to leave Chloe there with Ramiris first, to wait for others. I didn’t know which path they would take or when they would reach there so no point in waiting.
In the meanwhile, I left with Mjurran and Shanks to go and search for some recruits.
- One week Later -
“Is this the kingdom of Ballachia?” I asked a person on the road who answered in the affirmative.
I thought about some potential places to recruit people from and one of the best places I could think of was from Slave Traders.
Obviously, I wouldn’t buy them. I am too poor.Rather destroy the Slave Traders and free the people and see if I could recruit any of the freed people.
From Mjurran’s information, finding the location of one such place was not hard.
I chose this one because they used monsters from Jura Forest as slaves.
“The Orthrus Slave Trading organization is that way.” Mjurran led us while we were under disguise.
These people dealt with slaves, drugs, weapons and everytype of illegal thing there was.
I found a small alleyway and summoned lesser Darkness Elementals to spy and find out the location of the Slaves so that they don’t get harmed in fights.
Upon getting the information, I led the two and surrounded the place but before we could attack, there was an explosion in the distance.
A fight?
Doesn’t matter though.
“Attack.” I ordered.
All three of us attacked the place from three directions, breaking the walls of the building where the slaves were being held. There were around seventy slaves there from one look. They were of different races from Treants to elementals, Tengu, Gozu, Mezu, Elves, Lizardmen and even a fucking Dryad who was captured in a crystal like prison along with the Elementals. I thought the Dryads couldn’t be moved around from the Jura Forest.
How the fuck did they do that?
It doesn’t matter.
“Greater Elemental Summoning: Cerberus.”
A three headed dog appeared from the summoning circle and roared into the air.
Due to my connection to an Elemental Lord of the Darkness Element, I could summon spirits of the same element but lower rank.
Cerberus was one of the more dangerous ones and could go up to Special A Rank, same as Ifrit.
‘Uriel.’
My Uriel’s Negation Zone spread all over the place, negating the Lock Spells on all the monsters while Shanks explained to them about the current situation.
I found out that Shanks was also a resident of the ogre village but the only reason I didn’t tell him about the survivors was because I wasn’t sure that they even survived this time. With all the changes in the world, I couldn’t be sure if the ogres lived after the attack and giving him false hope would be very cruel.
I mean I could have asked Milim but that could have been suspicious. Despite her playful and generally gullible attitude, she can be terrifyingly sharp at times and I’d rather not manipulate her….ever.
I am going to visit Rimuru either way and it wouldn’t be too late then.
It wasn’t much of a fight.
Shanks almost went insane when he found two Ogres among the captives. After that, it was just a massacre. The monsters who were freed also did the same.
The Elementals, Elves, the Treants and the Dryad gathered around Cerberus, recognizing it as their leader.
I removed my Negation Zone to let them fight to their fullest.
The only ones who were even noteworthy were the two leaders Gohsel and Cockle who were around A Rank. The main reason they could even capture the monsters was because they could use the Anti Magic Area and the Extra Skill of Cockle, Paralyzer.
I went ahead to the other side to check the cause of the explosion and found a group of adventurers fighting with the slavers.
The odd thing was the leader of the group. There was just something off about the guy.
It was like… his actions, no matter how dumb wasn’t registered by the people for what it was and they only praised them.
Now if it was just his subordinates, I would have written them off as boot-lickers but it wasn’t like that.
He was praised by even his enemies.
Was it some sort of Brain Washing Skill? The boy looked very uncomfortable with the attitude himself so I don’t think he was doing so himself.
The second thing off was the two people following him.
Those two were strong.
Like extremely strong.
Beyond Enlightened… at the level of Saints and yet they were acting like complete noobs.
“Watch out.” The leader of the group called out to me. A moment later I realised that he was asking me to be careful because someone was using magic to attack me.
I didn’t even bother to dodge the spell. My Magic Sense had already registered it and the multiple barriers from Uriel around my body would easily stop it. Not to mention, I still had the Anti-Skill body.
Just as I had guessed, the spell hit me and did nothing, making all the people stop.
The group who had raided the place, the group who was being raided, even the civilians, all stopped to look at me in astonishment.
Huh, that spell was strong. The area around me, even the building was completely blown to smithereens but I was in the middle of the explosion completely unharmed.
‘Black Blaze Flare.’
The attacker who attacked me got caught Black Flames and was erased in a matter of moments.
‘Uriel.’
Shadow Prison trapped every attacker here in the shadow dimension.
I turned to look towards the group of adventurers who were now looking at me warily while hiding their leader behind them. This time, they looked like their real selves.
The leader however was oblivious and walked in front of them. “Who are you, Sir?”
He looked like a Japanese kid. Probably an otherworlder.
“My name is Salvatore. You don’t look like someone from this world. What is your name?”
“Ah, my name is Masayuki. Wait. I think I have heard the name Salvatore somewhere before. Ah, you are Slavatore, the student of Shizue Izawa. I know now. Kagurazaka-san told me about you. Are you here for the quest too? I didn’t know you had taken the quest. Or were you perhaps sent by Kagurazaka-san to back us up? Oh, my name is Masayuki Honjou. Nice to meet you. I am a stray Otherworlder.”
Masayuki Honjou… I seem to recall this name.
He was an up and coming Hero or something.
“I came here by myself when I heard of the slave trade here. The quest is still yours. I will just take the ones enslaved to their homes.”
“Oh okay. But it wouldn’t be fair to you. After all, you did most of the work. In that case, we will submit the quest with your name along with ours. Thank you very much for your help.”
I nodded and glanced towards the two party members who stepped back, although their muscles were still strained as they looked at me.
Are they Yuuki’s people?
The boy doesn’t look like it. The other two on the other hand… It seems like my decision to recruit more people might just have been right. I was pretty sure I could mop the floor with the two of them but it’s not wise to take unnecessary risks.
By the end of the day, all of the work was done.
They took the two leaders with themselves, although not alive.
Shanks would have probably attacked them if they had tried to take them alive.
I had over one hundred and twenty freed slaves with me now.
The ogres were acquaintances of Shanks and followed him while a Dark Elf and a Tengu decided to follow my team.
The Tengu of this world was descended from an Angel so they had white wings instead of the black ones I knew from the myths of our world.
The Dark Elf had her tribe killed in the Orc Lord attacks so she decided to follow me.
As for their names. I gave a name to the Tengu girl which matched her looks quite well. I named her… Jibril.
She had almost pink hair and a pair of white angelic wings.
As for the Dark Elf, well, there was only one name which came to my mind from my hidden folders. I named her… Olga Discordia.
Now, here was the catch.
Apparently, naming a person with a last name counts as naming them twice.
So, the Dark Elf who was at C+ Rank at best ended up the same as Shanks, currently my strongest minion… cough cough soldier/subordinate.
The two subordinates of Shanks were named, Shuten and Ibaraki. Apparently naming has a slight effect on the named one’s appearance if the Namer has an image in mind. The effects are only slight as the Tengu looks slightly more like Jibril, as her hair colour is now pink or rather a shade closer to pink. Olga looks fuller like Olga and the two Oni look like grown up bustier versions of Ibaraki and Shuten from Fate. I didn’t notice it first with Shanks because he was already named by Chloe once while these people were named the first time.
It was a great harvest.
Although, I was not done yet.
There was still one thing I needed to do.
Two days later, while leading the crowd towards Jura Forest, I took some time off to go a distance away.
It was a kingdom called Silberia where there was an incident called the 'The Lake Shore dyed Incident'. It was apparently done by a demon.
Now, I don't exactly remember everything but I know that the said demon was not as dead as the world thought but was rather in the Demon World and had later joined Rimuru.
I was going to try to summon the demon.
I was alone for this.
"Demon Summoning."
The sacrifice I offered were the lives of the two hundred slave traders who were currently locked inside my Shadow Prison Realm of Uriel.
A figure formed in front of me. White hair, red eyes and a noble look. She was strong.
Stronger than any of my subordinates, far stronger than the Greater daemon I defeated years ago for my Enlightenment.
Arch-Daemon and red eyes so… a Primordial.
"Are you the one who summoned me, and with such a delicious treat too. What do you want from me?"
"I need subordinates. I want you to serve me loyally." I spoke up.
Hesitating was a mistake in front of Daemons.
You need to be the dominant and confident one in front of them.
"Oh my. That's quite a wish. Unfortunately the price is not enough. Also… I don't serve weaklings." She smiled lightly.
"That so?" I raised my eyebrow. I wasn't expecting things to go so easily. Finally, I let go of my Presence Suppression and my power raged in the surroundings.
Dragon's Haki.
A new Skill available to Dragons and Dragonoids. The entire area started trembling under my power and the Daemoness looked at me, bewildered at the sudden change.
"How about now?" I asked. "And as for the price, how about I give you a name?"
Her eyes widened at the last bit of information. She kneeled. "Then I am yours to command."
I nodded.
The question now was, what to name her.
Noble look. White hair. Red eyes. Ah, I know.
"Your name will be Irisviel."
Umu. Prefect name.
This time however I felt a large part, almost one third of my power drain from me. This was surprising because I had enormous Magicule Reserves surpassing normal Awakened Demon Lords.
Her level increased, surpassing all my subordinates by miles.
This should be enough to fight against even the two people who were guarding Masayuki a while ago.
Saints.
Still, it was far from my new power level.
Her transformation competed and she looked at me in awe and reverence
“What are your orders, my Lord?” She asked.
“I am trying to make a faction of my own but I don’t have enough and able subordinates. I need more people. They will be rewarded with a name if they decide to join me. I want you to find them.”
“Is there any limit to how many you want, my Lord?” She asked.
“No. I will name everyone. You don’t have to worry about it.” I replied.
“In that case, I will get to work.”
Some more instructions were given to her and I left the place.
She will take care of the recruitment for me.
- Damrada -
“Are you sure?” he asked Berine to make sure of the situation.
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, that’s interesting?”
The news was indeed surprising as the rise of a Saint was rare. Even more so on this side of the continent than on the other side.
A new Saint.
Another student of the Conqueror of Flames.
First, Hinata Sakaguchi, the hero.
Then Yuuki Kagurazaka, the cunning young man whom he was growing to be acquainted with and now…
Salvatore, the Saint.
And this one was a genius too. Even more so than the previous ones.
He was apparently contracted to a Darkness Spirit too so maybe he was also a Hero Candidate, possessing a Hero Egg.
Really, just what kind of luck did she have to be a key figure in the lives of so many up and coming figures? Even the new upcoming Monster Rimuru Tempest seemed to be connected to her.
He had heard of Salvatore being an Enlightened but a Saint was a completely different thing, especially if he was going towards the Jura Forest to free slaves.
With the plans they had in store for Jura Forest, it could be… problematic.
Then again, if he was used properly, maybe things wouldn’t be all that bad.
He had been the Prime Minister of the Eastern Empire for a long time. Moves like these were everyday work for him.
If the work is done then it would be fine, if not… well, having a friendship or recruiting another Saint for the double numbers could be good too.
Especially one who could make both Bernie and Jiu feel as if staring into the eyes of death itself.
After all, there was only so much a single man could do.
He was not Guy Crimson, Emperor Rudra, nor was he a True Dragon or Princess Milim.
Salvatore after all was just a mere Saint. Hardly a threat compared to those monsters
With this in mind, he passed on a message to the group heading towards Jura Forest, the same message he had sent Hinata Sakaguchi.
The message of Rimuru Tempest killing Shizue Izawa.
Maybe, little Hinata can get some assistance from a junior to take down the big bad Slime.
- Salvatore -
I narrowed my eyes as the guy who informed me of a secret left.
Rimuru Tempest killed Shizue Izawa.
Information from a well wisher.
My journey had taken me around two weeks and now I was reaching the borders of the Jura Forest.
And suddenly, I get this information. What a coincidence?
Two days ago, I had returned back to the Dwelling of the Spirits and found my students at Ramiris’ place.
Rimuru had left them at Ramiris’ place upon getting the message I left there. We missed each other again by a short margin of time.
My students were all excited upon making contracts with spirits.
I also noticed that despite my warning, Ramiris used her automaton and it was destroyed and replaced by a new servant called Beretta.
It attacked me when I entered the place and was almost erased accidentally by me but thankfully Ramiris came quickly and stopped everything.
I convinced/bribed Ramiris with candies to keep them there for some time until I returned from Tempest.
The children agreed with some convincing/bribing too.
On a side note, Chloe was using Shizue’s mask now.
So now, I was leading the former slaves back to Jura.
“My Lord, this is our homeland.” Olga said as we entered the forest.
Shanks and his two lackeys also had nostalgic looks on their faces.
“I have heard of a city of monsters in the Jura Forest ruled by someone who defeated the Orc Lord. We will go there first and then you all can go wherever you want.” I announced.
No one had a problem so we continued, until…
My Universe Sense picked up something. An area without Magic in front of us.
Anti Magic area?
Suddenly I remembered that there was something about Hinata attacking Rimuru on the way back. I thought that with my intervention and Rimuru getting back from a different route, things would change but now it seems that some other forces were at play. Someone was pitting us against each other.
Was it Yuuki Kagurazaka?
“Shanks. There is a battle going on in this area. I will take a look. You all take a different route scouted by Jibril and protect the people. Lead them to Tempest City.” I commanded as I raced forward.
“Yes, my Lord.”
___________________________________________________________________
A distance away from me I saw a dome erected which was casting an Anti-Magic Area over the vicinity. Inside it, two figures clashed….or rather, one ran from the other while defending.
One was a black haired japanese girl, dressed in white templar uniform and wielding a sword which was giving off a dangerous vibe.
The other one was a light blue haired girl? who looked a lot like Shizue and was currently wielding a katana which was knocked over.
I unsheathed one of my spare swords and threw it directly in between the two, my Uriel at the same time flared up, destroying the Anti-Magic area and at the same time, dragging the ones who were casting the Spell down in my Shadow Prison.
Both the fighters stopped and looked at me.
“Who are you? Why are you interfering in our fight?” The girl in white asked, while looking wary.
The other one didn’t say anything but she looked at me.
“I believe I am involved in this fight too.”
My reply surprised both the people as they looked at me, one with narrowed eyes, the other with curiosity. I continued. “You both are Hinata Sakaguchi and Rimuru Tempest, correct?”
The bitchier one narrowed her eyes but didn’t answer while the other one nodded.
“My name is Salvatore. I am the last student of Shizue Izawa.”
Now, this surprised both of the fighters.
“Ah, Shizue-san told me about you. Sal, one of her best students. You were teaching the students of the Freedom Academy, right. I missed you both times. Thanks for the note though. Without it, I would have been stuck for who knows how long trying to find the Dwelling of Spirits.”
“Thank you for taking my students in my place. I… failed them as a teacher.”
“No no. You did more than I can even imagine. Chloe told me how you carried her on your back and ran through an entire country and even fought Clayman’s army and Charybdis to get her to safety. I doubt any teacher would ever do so for a student. You did your best, Salvatore.”
“Thank you. It really heals my mind and heart to hear those words. But shall we come to the topic at hand. Why are you two fighting?”
“Do you even need to ask that? This monster here killed Shizue-sensei. Why are you talking to him in such a friendly manner?” The black haired girl shouted.
“I most certainly didn’t.”
“Stop lying, monster.
The two started shouting at each other once more.
“Be quiet!”
I raised my voice, stopping the two of them by my sudden outburst.
“Almost an hour or so ago, I received a message from a so-called well wisher that Rimuru Tempest killed Shizue Izawa and devoured her body. It was quite suspicious that immediately afterwards I would find the two of you fighting so conveniently in front of me. Rimuru has given me no reason to doubt till now. So, let me try to clear this with words first. I have a Skill which can recognize lies. So, let me ask a few questions. If you are innocent. I will not let anyone harm you.” I said this while eying Hinata and then continued.”But if you are guilty. I’d make you wish your soul were erased by that sword. Are we clear with this?”
They didn’t say a word and I continued.
Activating Milim’s Eye, I questioned.
“First of all, did you kill Shizue Izawa?”
“No.”
“Lies.” Hinata shouted. “You wear her face and dare lie to me”
“Actually,” I looked at Hinata with slight pity. “Sensei was at the end of her life already. I travelled with her for almost a year or so and I noticed that she was losing control of her powers. She didn’t like Ifirt as you might already know and she was nearing her end. She knew that it would be the last time we would ever meet and hence I said that I was her last student. Even when I begged her, she denied fusing with Ifrit to become a Majin to extend her life. At the end of it all, I respected her wishes and left.”
Hinata was digesting the news while I questioned Rimuru once more.
“Why do you have Shizue-sensei’s face? Please explain in detail.”
Rimuru nodded and replied. “It was her last wish. She didn’t want her body to remain in this world that she had grown to hate after her death so she asked me to devour her body. I absorbed her body in mine and due to my Extra Skill: Mimic, I can now change to look a bit similar to her.”
“No lies.”
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if the so called canon in my mind was even a thing. For all I knew, some other reincarnator had hijacked Rimuru’s body and had really killed Shizue. This was as much for my sake as it was for Hinata’s.
I turned towards Hinata. “He was not lying.” Then turning towards Rimuru, I continued. “Thank you for answering my questions. I was going to visit Tempest too but I sensed this so I stopped. There might be more attackers, so you should check on your city.” I spoke finally.
Rimuru nodded quickly before trying to run only for Hinata to fire a holy arrow spell in his direction.
I narrowed my eyes. “What is the meaning of this Sakaguchi?”
She picked up her sword. “You think you can just walk up here and spout anything and I would believe you? You could be his accomplice for all I know. I have no reason to trust you.” She pointed her sword at me.
“Sal.” Rimuru called out from behind me.
“Don’t worry about me.” I unsheathed my sword too, facing Hinata squarely. “I will be fine. You have your people to save, be quick.”
He nodded and then a huge wolf which I had been sensing in his shadow sprang up suddenly. “Thank you. Oh and by the way….I am a girl.”
….
….
….
….
What!
I didn’t have much time to think as Hinata was about to charge. I clashed with her and pushed her back quickly.
“What you say is reasonable. After all, we haven’t met before. For all you know, I could be his accomplice and be trickling you. You have no reason to believe me.So….” I raised my sword in front of me and pushed my Magicules in it. Holy Flames lit up the bones. “So, let me ask you this” My Magicules were released without any restraint and she defended herself from the resulting whirlwind which uprooted the nearby trees. “What reason does a Dragon have….to lie to an ant?”
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Beta Reader: LuluViBritania(FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Authors Note:
Finally done.
We are seeing the effects of the butterflies.
I needed to add some original characters(Shanks and Irisviel are canon but are called Hiro and Testarossa there) or it would have been plain stealing from Rimuru all the time.
We needed some new blood and as Rimuru says….ELVESSSSS. And who doesn’t like Olga[B:N. No she will not suffer her namesakes’ canon fate] or Jibril for that matter.
Sal won’t steal Rimuru’s subordinates….much.
I added some new aspects to the story. The Hidden Hand and the new summoned people.
We will find out more about it in the next chapter.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.
Comments
Aeden Emrys
Great developments and revelations in this chapter! Our MC has gotten himself some good subordinates, and possible waifus among them? Irisviel/Testarossa and Jibril I hope will be in our MC's harem, alongside future/grown up Chloe! ... And Rimuru is a girl!? ... What a surprise! Going to read on now!
