Within time stretched a millionfold, we faced each other.
It was a psychic space orchestrated by Great Sage—who had even dragged Hinata into it.
I never could have predicted that it would manage to forcibly establish a thought-link with Hinata's consciousness.
But why would it go to such lengths?
The answer was
*You see, I asked it to. To use Rimuru's ability, Great Sage.* Shizu said that softly, offering a gentle smile.
The Iizawa Shizue that Hinata and I were looking at wasn't the real person. It was the residual trace of her soul—a fragment of her feelings.
When I had absorbed her within me, her soul had come along too. Great Sage, having evolved, must have succeeded in analyzing that soul.
Honestly…
It had been like this ever since it was the Great Sage. Always skulking around behind my back, doing whatever it pleased without telling me.
I found myself thinking that maybe Great Sage was the true mastermind here—though that wasn't entirely wrong.
Within the constructed psychic space, Hinata was being held in Shizu's embrace.
*You did well,* Shizu told her, praising the girl.
It was a strange sight—that cold, ruthless Hinata wearing a childlike expression of relief, submitting completely.
Then Shizu's fingers plucked away the parasitic insects clinging to Hinata's head and incinerated them in flame.
That must have been the "curse crystal" that had been controlling Hinata's thoughts.
"Hey, Great Sage. I met with Yuuki too, so I haven't been under any sort of mind control, right?"
I didn't think so, but I wanted to be sure. That guy could be surprisingly absent-minded for all its capability. You couldn't let your guard down.
《Report. No thought control has been performed on the Master. However, traces of thought guidance have been detected. With the ability's evolution, the effects of the thought guidance have since dissipated.》 Great Sage delivered this information as if it were nothing at all.
This bastard—if it knew those traces existed, couldn't it have deduced with pretty high probability that Yuuki was the mastermind? I'd have been suspicious enough to do it myself! This guy was really…
Well, fine. It probably needed to be absolutely certain before acting, which was why it had attempted to reconstruct Shizu's soul.
This perfectionist of mine only reported information it was one hundred percent certain was correct.
From my perspective, that looked like a flaw, but having to deal with it dumping every trivial detail on me would be annoying too.
It must have been reading my feelings on the matter. I couldn't very well complain.
And so, some time passed.
Having calmed down, Hinata raised her head.
Her expression was calm now, the tension that had gripped her earlier finally easing.
Maybe she had been a kind person at heart, but living in such a harsh world had drilled her into being cold and ruthless.
Come to think of it, that must have been what weighed on Shizu's mind.
That was probably why, when Great Sage offered to reconstruct her soul, she had asked for this time in exchange for providing information.
*Hinata—I'm sorry for throwing you away. Live strongly. Having convictions is important, but don't lose sight of what truly matters.* "…Master. But even now, I still have doubts. I don't think the Holy Kingdom of Lubelius is wrong."
*Hinata… deciding which side is right and which is wrong—that isn't good. Be flexible, okay?* Shizu gently counseled her.
I wanted her to say more. This woman might be smart, but she was far too stubborn. She hadn't listened to a word I said, for one thing—sometimes you had to be more adaptable.
Hinata hadn't listened to me, but after hearing from Shizu…
"Understood. I'll start over. I'll see with my own eyes and judge with my own heart."
Hinata nodded sincerely.
Hey… Was she being so obedient because it was Shizu speaking? Or because the mind control had been removed?
It must have been the mind control. Yeah, that had to be it.
Otherwise, all the effort I'd put into trying to convince Hinata would have been for nothing.
So in the end, it was all Yuuki's fault.
There was even a possibility that guy had been manipulated himself…
Whether Great Sage would actually answer that question, though…
"Hey—so we've established that Sakaguchi Yuuki is the mastermind. But let me confirm: is there any chance Yuuki was being controlled? More precisely, by the 'Curse Lord' Kazalim!"
I pressed hard on the real question. If I didn't ask directly, I'd never get to the heart of it.
"The 'Curse Lord' Kazalim, controlling Yuuki? The Demon Lord who was once defeated by Demon Lord Leon—is he still alive?"
"Hmm? Yeah. Earlier, someone mentioned that his subordinate, that
"He's alive. And positioned somewhere where information is easy to gather, you say. At any rate, placing mind control on me would have been beyond Yuuki's ability when he arrived here around the same time. There was no clear motive or objective. But if Kazalim is the mastermind…"
"Hmm? You know something?"
To my question, Hinata gave no answer.
As expected, she still wasn't about to open up to me.
Fine. The one I was asking wasn't Hinata.
"Answer me, Great Sage."
My question was met with a somewhat exasperated reply.
As a Mental Body, Kazalim could only use his abilities sporadically. So the possibilities were: he had been possessing different bodies in succession.
Or—when Yuuki happened to stumble into this world, he had fused with Kazalim, whose soul had somehow been preserved in Mental Body form as he wandered.
The first scenario was more likely, but the timeline with Clayman was problematic. Clayman had said he'd suddenly been contacted over ten years ago, leaving Kazalim's movements before that a mystery.
And if it was the second scenario…
The probability was far too low to consider—yet given that there were people who died and were reborn as slimes, you couldn't rule it out entirely…
Wait, that was literally me! I almost laughed at the thought.
Either way, Great Sage said it was nearly certain that Sakaguchi Yuuki's personality had been erased. However, it couldn't completely dismiss the possibility that Yuuki's personality had consumed Kazalim instead.
Great Sage had considered all these possibilities and, until it could be certain, simply hadn't wanted to commit to an answer.
Perfectionism was a double-edged sword.
"In any case, the current Yuuki is definitely dangerous. I'll keep that in mind," I concluded.
*But you know, that boy really did seem like an ordinary, kind child. There was nothing out of place about him at all. That's what concerns me, Hinata. Don't ever get close to Yuuki. I have a really bad feeling… Farewell, Hinata. Be happy.* With those final words, Shizu vanished from before us.
She'd been able to convey her feelings of concern for Hinata, so there was nothing left weighing on her mind.
Even after Shizu had disappeared, Hinata continued to stand in silent prayer toward that spot, as if trying to sear the image into her memory.
And then— 《Report. Objective achieved. Releasing the thought link.》 Immediately, I felt myself engulfed in brilliant light.
*Rimuru—thank you for Hinata's sake. You truly are kind, aren't you? …This place is so comfortable here.* I thought I heard Shizu's voice.
Was it my imagination, or an illusion? But one of Shizu's concerns had surely been put to rest.
She had offered me a gentle smile and bowed her head in gratitude.
————— At Great Sage's signal, I opened my eyes.
Time, stretched a millionfold, snapped back to its normal flow. The thought link dissolved.
The smell of a battlefield flooded my senses, and we stood exactly as before, glaring at each other.
In real time, an hour and a half had elapsed since the battle began.
It felt like we'd been fighting for an absurdly long time, but the actual duel with Hinata had lasted roughly thirty minutes.
Subjectively, it felt like days had passed—but in reality, that wasn't the case at all.
"Shall we resume, then?"
Hinata said it casually, settling back into her sword stance as if nothing had happened.
Wait, hold on.
"Hey, hey—I was clearly winning just now, wasn't I?! You can't just pretend that never happened!"
"I wasn't aware. If you can deliver a finishing blow, it's only common sense to do it when you can."
"Kuh… You bastard…"
"And besides. You let your subordinates be put through all that, and you expect me to just withdraw silently?"
What was she talking about?
I looked around—and understood.
"Please, I can't take anymore! Do whatever you want, you monsters!"
"Kufufufu. It was more enjoyable than I expected. Let's take a brief rest."
"Rest?! I'm done fighting! Damn you!"
"Kufufufu. Now, now, don't say that!"
"Get away. You're in the way."
"Aww, Lord
A red-haired beauty was clinging to Souei. A Holy Knight, to boot.
What were they doing in the middle of a battle? I felt a spark of irritation rising.
"I apologize, Lord Rimuru. I was conducting interrogations, but I seem to have miscalculated the extent. Somehow it turned into this…"
Souei apologized to me, looking troubled as he tried to push the red-haired Holy Knight away.
I had no idea how interrogations had turned into *that*, and frankly, I couldn't quite fathom it.
Everything was a mess.
"You—stay away from Lord Souei!"
The voice was bold, but it was Soka shouting.
However, she was utterly exhausted and could only manage words. She could barely even stand.
Looking around, I saw
Beside them, Hakuro let out a sigh.
"You lot need to go back to training."
He muttered that under his breath, and with those words as the final straw, Gobta and the others toppled over flat.
Next to Gobta and the rest were equally battered Holy Knights sprawled across the ground. They must have fought fiercely.
From Hakuro's perspective, it probably wasn't a satisfactory battle, but surely they'd done their best against Holy Knights?
"We were deceived! Being told my opponent was the toughest—that's just awful!"
"A draw against Hobgoblins…? I've really let myself go…"
"This can't be… We fought quite hard! So why?!"
They each grumbled in their own way. All I could say was, sorry for your loss.
Anyway, that much was fine. Souei's opponent being treated that way was questionable, but let's leave it alone.
The sight that made me avert my eyes after a single glance was the Holy Knights who'd faced
From what I could see, eight Holy Knights lay in front of Ranga, shredded down to their underwear.
Ranga had apparently carried them over with his mouth. His tail wagged energetically.
"My Lord! These individuals were perfect for gauging the extent of my evolution!"
Ranga told me that, looking pleased.
I'd told him not to do anything reckless… But he hadn't killed them, at least.
"O-oh. Glad to hear…"
"Shall I play with them some more?"
"No, let them rest. They're exhausted too…"
"Understood."
His tail drooped, as if he was still itching to play more.
But I thought I heard the people at Ranga's feet release a collective sigh of relief.
That told me everything I needed to know. If Ranga fought them any longer, they would actually die.
They looked at me with naked expressions of relief and directed grateful gazes my way.
I worried briefly about whether Holy Knights should be in this state, but against Ranga, there wasn't much anyone could do.
More pressing was what Shion had done to her opponents.
Why was it that every single one of them was missing limbs and lying on the ground?
Shion's smug expression confirmed my worst fears.
"…Hey. Shion, what did you do to those people?"
"Thank you so much for the praise, my Lord!"
"These individuals had the audacity to resist Lord Rimuru, so I disciplined them rather firmly."
I wasn't praising you, you idiot!
Shion answered proudly, but… that was clearly overkill. For one thing, they weren't my subordinates, so resisting me was hardly a crime.
"I said go all out, but this is obviously too much! I told you not to kill them!"
"They're all perfectly fine! As you can see, they're alive and well!"
No, no, no. Being alive doesn't make this okay! They were missing their limbs and wearing vacant expressions!
Besides, how were they supposed to fight monsters to protect people without arms and legs?
She didn't understand a single thing I was trying to say…
"Shion, it seems you're the only one who didn't follow my instructions. If you're going to try to make excuses…"
The moment I started saying that— "Oh, I almost forgot! All of you—rejoice and thank Lord Rimuru!"
She said that in a panic and, in one sweeping motion, slashed across all the Holy Knights sprawled at her feet.
Then she sprinkled a Recovery
Before my very eyes, limbs began to regrowing on the Holy Knights.
I didn't know what kind of ability that was, but what a terrifying power Shion had acquired.
Some kind of result-manipulation ability? What a troublesome and absurdly dangerous skill to awaken.
I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her opponents.
The Holy Knights, with their limbs restored, were celebrating with each other. The fact that they hadn't become invalids after all that showed just how much training they must have undergone.
Well, Shion seemed prone to going off the rails. I'd need to keep a closer eye on her going forward.
After confirming that the Holy Knights were all right, I turned my attention back to the matter at hand.
But still, from Hinata's perspective, every one of her subordinates had been put through hell.
I knew it was self-inflicted, but that was only our side of the story.
Fine. Let's settle this properly.
"All right. Fine, I'll fight you. But this is it—after this, we're even! And if you lose, you swear never to lay a hand on this country again!"
"…Deal. I promise—this will be the final round!"
I'll believe you, Hinata.
Hinata's eyes were different now—no trace of the doubt that had clouded them before.
She held no grudge over what had happened to her Holy Knights, and she seemed willing to finally hear me out.
Good. It was about time she loosened up.
Now, then—for the final showdown.
We raised our swords and took our distance.
Our companions watched with bated breath.
The Holy Knights, too, were all watching us intently.
Enough talk about justice and all that.
In the end, resorting to violence was distasteful, but at least it was easy to understand.
With their convictions on the line, the two of us resumed our battle.
… …
…
But still.
There was no way I could lose.
After all, I had Future Attack Prediction.
Even if Holy-attributed energy could penetrate the Absolute Defense of Covenant King, I now had eyes that could read the trajectory of any sword.
That was what I believed, and I wanted to think it wasn't mere overconfidence.
Every single prediction line in my field of vision lit up.
Huh???
I was startled. What did this mean again?
As I was wondering, Great Sage spoke: 《Report. Growth detected in individual: Sakaguchi Hinata. She has apparently become the "Hero's Egg." As a result, she has become an existence outside the bounds of natural law, granting her resistance to result-manipulation abilities.》 So you're telling me to dodge on my own?!
Why?! I should have just let her win in the previous state!
Growing in the middle of a fight was great from her perspective, but it was terrible for the guy on the receiving end!
Damn it, this was serious. We were truly starting over.
Even though I'd lost Beelzebuth in the previous exchange…
While thinking that, I desperately parried Hinata's sword.
Becoming a Hero's Egg hadn't made her drastically stronger overnight.
That was the saving grace. I could still manage.
But merely defending wouldn't win me the fight. I had to do something— As I was beginning to panic, Great Sage addressed me: 《Report. Not a problem. Beelzebuth has revived.》 Huh? It had been annihilated in a mutual collision…
《Report. It was annihilated, but since revival is possible, there was no issue.》 Why were you speaking in past tense?! Tell me that upfront next time! I was panicking!
And just as I was struggling to decide whether to be happy or annoyed, Great Sage dropped yet another bombshell: 《Report. Shall I activate the Absolute Defense of Covenant King? YES/NO.》 Hey. Wasn't that already active until just now?
In response to my question, Great Sage delivered an explanation that nearly pushed my exasperation past its limit.
《Explanation. Even the Absolute Defense of Covenant King could be penetrated by Holy-attributed energy in certain cases. Therefore, while it was active, it served no purpose.》 That was what it said.
This perfectionism was going too far.
Before fighting Hinata, it had told me that Holy-attributed spiritons were impossible to predict.
The only things said to be capable of penetrating the Absolute Defense were two substances (??): "spiritons" and "voidons." Even the Absolute Defense barrier that blocked magicules could be passed through as if it weren't there.
It explained that small-scale spatial transfers were being performed via randomized phase shifts, making their landing points impossible to predict.
So why had it now, seemingly out of nowhere, announced it could activate the defense? In other words, it could block it completely now?
《Explanation. When Beelzebuth nullified the Spiriton-Destroying Slash moments ago, I simultaneously collected data. Through this process, I have acquired the Sacred Sword Technique: Spiriton-Destroying Slash. In the course of that analysis, though it was an unexpected event, I was able to recognize the underlying laws governing spiriton movement to a certain degree.》 Huh…
Wait. Hold on one second.
So what you're saying is—even if I'd been hit directly by Hinata's sword in the previous exchange, I might not have been damaged at all?
《…》 Hey! Are you ignoring me, you bastard?!
Or was silence itself the answer?
Wait, but… hadn't Hinata's Spiriton-Destroying Slash hit me directly just now without killing me?
《Explanation. Naturally. You would have sustained enormous damage, but instantaneous recovery was possible.》 Then why were you panicking?! Was it because…
You *wanted* to get hit by the Spiriton-Destroying Slash so you could analyze it?!
《…》 There it was again—refusing to answer!
This bastard was getting more sophisticated with every exchange. More human-like, you could say—or perhaps more devious.
If someone told me it already possessed its own will, I was starting to believe it.
…But truly. Hadn't I wished for it?
That I wanted to endure that attack. That I wanted to be able to use it myself.
Had it sensed that fleeting wish and immediately put it into action? What a ridiculous ability it was.
An ability far too powerful for someone like me to possess.
《Negative. I exist solely for the Master's sake.》 It denied it immediately.
Hmph. Thanks.
I'll keep relying on you, partner. But no more secrets, if you can help it.
Within the accelerated thought space, my exchange with Great Sage took only an instant.
And then, with the Absolute Defense of Covenant King activated, my left hand caught Hinata's sword.
Hinata's eyes went wide with shock.
Of course. It must have been the fastest and most powerful strike she'd ever delivered in her entire life.
To her, I said: "This is my complete victory, Hinata!"
And with that declaration, I unleashed the Spiriton-Destroying Slash.
A blinding flash of light.
A strike so fast the eye couldn't follow—it shattered Hinata's sword and came to a halt precisely against her neck.
The battle was decided.
Hinata froze in shock, then murmured: "It's my complete defeat, Rimuru. Do as you wish…"
She closed her eyes.
The fight was over. My victory.
Now then.
Since Hinata had finally become receptive, I figured I'd take the chance to have her listen to what I had to say.
And just like that, the Holy Knights' invasion had been completely thwarted.
Well—some of it had been a bit excessive, but I decided to pretend I hadn't noticed.
The cleanup was going to be a hassle, but at least the immediate problem was taken care of.