So yeah, I was giving it my all too, y'know.
I hope that makes it clear I wasn't slacking off or anything.
Veldora was surprised to see me appear.
Can't really blame him there.
After all, I'd just unlocked "Teleportation" and used it to show up out of the blue.
The moment I acquired it,
It seems Mai could only teleport to places she'd been before, but that was a limitation of being human. Her spatial perception was heavily skewed toward visual information, so there was no helping it.
Me, though — I could process massive amounts of spatial data, including from my surveillance magic. In other words, I could teleport anywhere I could perceive.
Even now, I could monitor the situation through
I eyed Veldora, who was on guard against my sudden arrival, and flashed a confident grin.
I was goading him.
That would only make Veldora more wary of me, and in that opening, I'd advance my preparations to take him down.
Before Veldora could make a move, I absorbed every last bit of the suppressed energy.
My energy recovery couldn't keep up, but that was actually a blessing — I pulled it all into my "Imaginary Space." Ciel was hard at work converting it into energy I could use.
Thanks to that, my severely depleted reserves recovered considerably. I should have more than enough to handle Veldora.
You never know what'll end up working in your favor.
Incidentally, I finally figured out why my energy wasn't recovering while I was in this place.
The culprit was almost certainly Veldora.
He'd probably been creating "Split Bodies" and running rampant with them.
He'd started drawing energy through our "Soul Corridor," so it was definitely him.
That was what I assumed, but...
When I checked with Ciel in disbelief, I got an astonishing reply.
<That's right. I've also been channeling a small amount to Diablo and
She answered with a completely casual "and?" tone, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
She said it so naturally that I was at a loss for words.
Wait, hold on — you've been using my energy without asking!
But even if I wanted to complain, the truth was that having low energy reserves had ended up saving me. So...
I had plenty to gripe about, but I gave up on complaining.
Or rather — could it be...
That Ciel had anticipated even this situation?
No, no, no. That couldn't be right. I'd be reading way too much into it.
Surely not...?
There was no way she could see that far ahead, and she couldn't have predicted exactly what strategy Veldoda would employ either.
<When the angels were defeated in various locations, I confirmed a phenomenon in which their energy returned to the Celestial Realm.>
Mm. I knew that.
<Predicting how the accumulated angel energy in the Celestial Realm would be utilized, it was obvious that sending it all into a berserk state would be the most efficient approach. To counter that, I deliberately maintained a state of depleted Magicules.>
Sure, that sounds simple enough — but what if she'd misjudged that? It could've been a huge problem.
And what if Veldora had absorbed all the energy and gone into a super-powered state?
I couldn't possibly face a supercharged Veldora on empty, and what if my energy hadn't recovered at all?
<A super-powered state is impossible. If it were that easy to amplify power, there'd be no point in all this effort. In any case, even if he had super-charged, it wouldn't have been an issue. With your current energy reserves, it's inconceivable that my lord would lose, and if necessary, I could forcibly extract Veldora and Veldgraude to instantaneously recover approximately sixty percent of your energy. So there was no problem whatsoever.>
Oh. Is that so.
She flatly declared a super-powered state was impossible, but what about me?
Was I some kind of exception?
...I had a nagging feeling that Ciel was overestimating me.
When Ciel said she'd do something, she did it. That was just the type she was.
So she'd been freely distributing energy without a second thought.
Veldora and Veldgraude were recovering their own energy too, so in the worst-case scenario, I could always ask them for help.
Whether they'd agree was another matter, but just knowing that option existed was a relief.
I felt like I'd caught a glimpse of how terrifying Ciel really was, but my doubts were resolved.
All that remained was to defeat Veldora.
But before that...
I looked at the orb left in my left hand.
When I'd finished absorbing all the energy, this must have been what remained — the core.
It resembled the Treasure Orb I'd created, but the concept was entirely different.
What on earth was—
"Oh! I thought I was done for, but I never expected to survive like this! Well, I can't exactly say I'm alive either. Ha ha ha ha ha!"
It talked!?
I stared at the orb in shock.
It had no vocal cords or anything, yet it was vibrating Magicules to produce sound. Quite the skillful trick for an orb.
"Rudora! You — you don't seem okay, but are you alright?!"
Veldgraude stumbled over her words but pressed the orb for an answer.
Hmm... this orb was Rudora?
He seemed to have a completely different personality from the Rudora I knew...
"Ha! Well, I'm stubborn as they come — that's always been my strong suit!"
Right, right.
Easy for a "not exactly alive" orb to say.
Just as I was about to deliver that retort without a care in the world—
Veldora closed the distance in an instant and slashed at me.
But I hadn't let my guard down despite the chat. I kicked the sword embedded in the ground into my right hand and caught Veldora's blade head-on.
"How naive! Do you really think I'd let my guard down at the final act?! I haven't underestimated you that much!"
I didn't want to praise him, but it was the truth.
Veldora was, without question, the strongest I'd ever seen.
A quick glance told me his power had increased dramatically. It was like Gii's versatility, Milim's raw strength, and "
I'd considered striking while he was preoccupied with me, but holding back was the right call. I couldn't afford to be careless with this guy. Besides... there was one more thing that concerned me.
With that worry lingering, there was no way I'd be letting my guard down.
Veldora and I exchanged several blows before we pulled apart.
What just happened barely counted as a warm-up — more like a greeting.
Fighting with a sword that wasn't my own blade was awkward to begin with. Though, for what it was worth, this sword was a fine piece — naturally, it was Mythical-grade.
In terms of raw performance, this sword actually surpassed my own blade.
Even so, a familiar weapon was always easier to wield, so I wasn't about to be unfaithful.
"Ha ha ha, not bad. You handle my sword pretty well. But you've still got a ways to go. Sorry to say, but you don't seem to be my true vessel."
The orb in my left hand delivered that arrogant verdict.
Seriously, who are you?
Because I was holding you, I had to fight Veldora with just my right hand. Proper swordplay required both hands, so fighting one-handed was far from ideal.
"So who are you exactly? The Rudora I knew was an emperor, so he was arrogant, but you're even worse."
"Is that so? I did end up becoming emperor after all. Well, the fact that I settled for being an emperor just means I'd gone soft."
"I don't care about that, and I'm not interested. So what exactly are you?"
I brushed aside the orb's self-indulgent remarks and asked the important question.
With Veldora in front of me, I couldn't afford to play around.
"That's right! You look just like Rudora, but you don't seem like a simple memory reproduction!"
A memory reproduction?
Veldgraude's words caught my attention.
<It appears this orb has the ability to reproduce the memories of the deceased. However, even if it recreates a personality nearly identical to the original person, the soul is something different entirely. It should be nothing more than an imitation — but...>
Well, you couldn't exactly say someone had been revived just because their memories were reproduced.
What mattered was the soul — the Core.
"Indeed, it's fascinating. The Memory Treasure Orbs I created could only reproduce memories. They had no function for calling back a soul. If that were possible, I wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths."
Even Veldora seemed interested in this phenomenon.
He was intimately familiar with his own creations, and it was apparently impossible for Rudora to have gained free will.
"Ahh ha ha ha! That just means I was that extraordinary!"
I tried to ignore the boastful voice coming from my left hand.
Rudora had certainly died.
That was beyond dispute, but...
<This is only a theory, but reincarnation may be one factor.>
Reincarnation? What do you mean?
<Emperor Rudora's soul had worn thin from repeated reincarnations. It's possible that the fragmented pieces of that worn soul came together to form a new soul — one with a highly autonomous Core, neither an existing soul nor a wholly artificial one.>
The soul fragments, worn thin from each reincarnation, coalesced into one?
A poor analogy, but it was like rolling eraser shavings into a ball and kneading them into a new eraser.
Equating souls and erasers was a stretch, but...
It sounded far-fetched, but I couldn't entirely rule it out.
After all, the fact that I'd been reincarnated as a slime was something that should have been impossible under normal circumstances.
So if someone in this world had carried a fragment of Rudora's soul, and the memories housed in this Memory Treasure Orb had managed to reproduce Rudora's will because of it—
If that was the case, then—
I suddenly had a flash of inspiration. And acting on a mischievous impulse, I put my idea into motion.
"Rimuru, what are you doing!?"
"Ha ha, this is gonna be good!"
Veldgraude cried out in confusion.
Rudora sounded amused.
It wasn't anything dramatic.
I simply tossed the sword to Veldgraude.
I'd fused the Memory Treasure Orb from my left hand into the divine sword I'd been holding in my right.
The Memory Treasure Orb was embedded at the base of the Mythical-grade sword's hilt, gleaming like a jewel. Since it had merged with the sword, its durability would now match the blade's.
If a true reincarnation existed — someone who shared Rudora's soul — then possessing this sword should unlock Rudora's abilities as well.
That was exactly how I'd designed it.
I'd also asked Ciel to convert Rudora into a pseudo-Spiritual Core so he could communicate with the sword's wielder.
Naturally, I'd already analyzed the Memory Treasure Orb's data.
"I turned it into a Divine Sword of Intellectual Jewels. Since it fuses the sword's will with Rudora's, only someone whose soul wavelength matches his can wield it from now on. In other words, whoever holds the right to carry that sword can prove they're Rudora's reincarnation. Pretty interesting, right?"
I half-expected a "Don't just do whatever you want!" reaction, but Veldgraude simply took the sword, held it to her chest, and stared at me in silence.
Rudora was grinning with delight.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! So there might actually be a reincarnation of me out there? Now that makes sense — it explains how I retained my free will! Truly fascinating."
He laughed joyfully at his own words.
Listening to Rudora, Veldgraude nodded as if convinced.
Veldora stared at me with a bitter expression, yet one that showed grudging acceptance.
He'd probably figured out on his own why his strategy had failed and acknowledged the validity of my reasoning — or rather, Ciel's.
While Veldora's gaze was fixed on the Divine Sword of Intellectual Jewels, I drew my own blade and took my stance.
Now I could fight for real.
"But you know, if my extraordinary consciousness truly survived intact, then whoever this reincarnation might be has gotta be one timid son of a gun. I'm looking forward to meeting 'em."
"Heh, maybe so. The only thing that remained at the end was charisma — even Rudora's legendary luck was gone. But then again, maybe that luck is the one thing they did inherit. If they exist, I'd love to meet them. Your timid, lucky reincarnation—"
Veldgraude's idle words.
Timid and lucky — ? That description rang a bell, but no way...
He didn't have charisma, but he more than made up for it with sheer, ridiculous luck...
And his ability was "Hero's Dominion" —
A coincidence. It had to be a coincidence.
I let the conversation between Rudora and Veldgraude wash over me and abandoned any further speculation.
If fate brought them together, they'd meet. And if it was truly reincarnation, they'd find each other without me needing to interfere.
Besides, if my theory was correct, Veldgraude would never let that person escape anyway.
Well, it wasn't my problem.
I felt a twinge of guilt for sticking my nose where it didn't belong, but the rest was up to them.
With a clean conscience, I decided to stay out of Rudora's affairs entirely.
Stalling for time like that seemed to have paid off.
Veldora was being too cautious, only launching probing attacks rather than going all out.
I deflected them easily enough, waiting for everything to be in place.
And then finally—
"I did it, Rimuru! Gaia and I have completely sealed the Celestial Realm inside an alternate dimension!"
I heard
"All right, well done! That means there's no escape route!"
This time, for real, I flashed a victorious smile toward Veldora.
There was no point cornering him this far if he could still slip away.
That was exactly why I'd brought Ramiris and Gaia — the "Terrestrial Dragon" Veldgaia — to the Celestial Realm and asked them to seal it off completely.
Ramiris couldn't do it herself since she had her own labyrinth, but Gaia had already proven capable of creating a pseudo-labyrinth.
Under Ramiris's guidance, I'd had Gaia blanket this entire Celestial Realm with her labyrinth.
"So that was your plan!?"
For the first time, emotion colored Veldora's expression.
It was alarm — exactly as I'd intended.
And then Ramiris and Gaia successfully rescued Milim, who'd been held captive.
"Kyii—!"
"Gaia! When did you get so buff!?"
Milim was safe and sound, clearly surprised by Gaia's growth.
"Mission complete over here, Rimuru! Now go beat the crap out of him!"
Ramiris gave me an imperious GO signal.
To which Milim added:
"I wish I could do it myself, but unfortunately I couldn't win. Rimuru, get revenge for me!"
"Leave it to me. For daring to lay a hand on my precious companions, I'll carve that debt into your very body!"
I raised a hand to Milim in response and declared to Veldora.
All concerns were resolved. Time to end this quickly.
Or so I thought, but—
A tremendous explosion tore through the air, and a corner of the Celestial Realm was blown away.
I turned my attention toward the blast, startled—
And sure enough, there stood Veldora, pitch-black from head to toe.