Disclaimer: I do not own That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, High School DxD, or any other referenced properties. All characters depicted are consenting adults aged 18 or older.
Chapter 13
Sirius POV
This place is rotten. I thought to myself as I saw another girl being sold to a greedy noble.
I shook my head at the thought of these people. A bunch of disgraceful humans.
"Hey, is it true what I heard? About the extreme beauties that will be displayed for purchase at the end?"
"Oh, are you talking about the ones promised by the king? Yes, they are true. From my information, the king decided to conquer a nation of monsters, you know, those foul creatures. But from the spies' reports, they evolved to look like humans, though they still retain some of their species' characteristics. And the best part is their leader. She is suspected to be a slime that can change her appearance however she wants."
"Is it true?"
"Yes, and she has the Conqueror of Flames under her. Many say she has been hypnotized and is now under that slime's control!"
"That sounds dangerous!"
"You don't need to worry. Someone was sent to deal with that monster, and she is supposed to seal her. After that, the king plans to use an enslaving spell on her and sell her to the highest bidder."
I felt my blood run cold at that sentence. To think that stupid king had just signed his death warrant. I hoped I could stop Samael from killing the whole kingdom in his rage.
I decided to start placing barriers around the whole estate and hoped it would be enough to prevent more damage than necessary.
Everything was going extremely well. The barrier was finished and would use all spells thrown at it as fuel.
I looked at the stage with trepidation. Now would be the moment I would know whether my preparations were enough.
It didn't take long for me to start my prayer. After all, the curtain was about to be lifted, and I didn't even know where Samael was staying.
Boom!
I looked toward the source of the energy, and there he stood. Samael was radiating all his aura, killing all the unfortunate people nearby in the process. Surprisingly, the slaves seemed unharmed. Sage's work, for sure.
I thought for a moment about whether I should interfere, and surprisingly, the answer was given to me by the look on Samael's face when he started turning toward the crowd.
Nope. It wasn't my problem to save morons from being morons.
I thought as I looked at the crowd with pity.
And of course, there was that one idiot who didn't understand the situation he was in.
"Hey, you!" Samael turned his head toward him with a frightening calmness on his face. I felt my body stiffened just from that look, and it wasn't even directed at me.
"Yes?" he said in a calm tone.
"Do you know who we are?" Samael merely tilted his head. That made the man more confident. "We are nobles of the Kingdom of Falmouth, so you should know that if you do anything to us, it will mean war!"
"True! And I am a cardinal from the Holy Empire of Lubelius, and if anything happens to me, the Church will hunt you down!"
Samael raised an eyebrow. "And how will they know it was me?"
I watched their faces crumble after that sentence.
"We-we can give you money!" someone shouted, but Samael didn't look impressed. "And women! Yes, we can give you women! I will give you, my daughters. They are twins. I'm sure they can serve you well!"
He looked at Samael with hope, but when he saw the indifferent look on Samael's face, panic set in again.
"I can give you my youngest daughter as well. She will turn ten in—"
That was all he managed to say before a spear pierced him from his ass through his neck.
"I will be honest with you," Samael said. "I was thinking of simply killing you and being done with it. But you chose to sell a child for your life, and that is something I will never accept. So, you will live. I will make sure your soul will never appear again in any world."
I shivered, even though I knew I wasn't one of the people who were going to suffer.
When his eyes turned toward the rest, he smiled. The problem was that it looked peaceful, without any trace of disdain or anger.
"Don't worry. I will read your minds before starting the punishment, just to make sure none of you will suffer without reason."
Everyone shivered. A few tried to attack him, but they ended up in the same situation as the first man.
"Don't resist. That will only worsen the punishment."
Okay. I think I should interfere now.
I started walking toward him calmly.
"Hey, Samael. How do you feel?" I asked.
"I'm fine. But Sirius, what are you doing here?" He calmed down Looking at me and for a moment I thought that now things will go better. Okay, the situation was still salvageable.
"Just wanted to know what you were up to," I answered nonchalantly. "And I see you already took out some trash, so I'm fine with that. But make sure you talk to Rimuru before you kill them off, you know, just to make sure nothing bad happens."
He paused for a moment and started thinking.
"Sigh. You're right. I should kill them after talking with Rimuru about this."
He shook his head, and with a simple gesture, black mist enveloped everyone present, and they disappeared.
I raised an eyebrow at that.
"I used Gluttony as an intermediary and sent them to a part of my dimension. You know, the place where Veldora can vent some steam. I also made sure he knows about their actions before they arrived."
I looked at him, and before I could ask—
"Rimuru doesn't need to know about this yet. She would lose her vacation over the stupidity of those bastards, and I don't want that."
I nodded and started explaining what I had learned from the prisoners.
"…And that's all I know."
"Hmm. Do you know who they sent?"
I pondered the question for a moment, then remembered. "They said it's the captain of the Holy Knights. I don't know the name, but I assume he's strong."
"She."
I blinked. "Pardon?"
"The captain of the Holy Knights is a woman. And we're lucky, because she is one of Shizu's students, so they can talk this out easily."
I stood there blinking, trying to understand how my girlfriend had so many connections. Seriously. First the Grandmaster of the Guild, then Rimuru, the leader of the monster nation, then Milim Nava the Destroyer, and now the captain of the Holy Knights?
What is she, some kind of protagonist? At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if a Hero appeared and turned out to be her student too.
And the insane part is that she became my girlfriend. How the hell am I supposed to compete with that? The only friends I have are Samael, Veldora, and Ifrit… wait. That actually balances things out.
Samael POV
I looked at Sirius, who had started acting strangely after I told him about Hinata. What happened to him?
I shook my head and turned away ignoring his antics. Now was not the time to bicker with him.
As I started to calm down from the whole ordeal, I sensed a presence that felt familiar. An annoying presence I had just met today.
"Can you come here? I will not attack you."
"Hahah, you really are funny. Saying that means you think you have a chance against me. You should know that I'm quite strong."
A smiling Gojo appeared.
I felt that this day was going to become more problematic than it already was.
"What do you want?" I asked, already exhausted by him.
"Oh, Samael-san, you look like you don't like seeing me." He said, placing a hand on his chest.
"Because I don't," I answered before he could continue.
He stared at me with his mouth open.
"But we just met. What have I done to deserve this?" he asked, bewildered.
"Your face looks annoying, and I trust my instincts when something seems like it will be troublesome to befriend."
He stumbled at that and looked offended.
"Sigh, and I even came with a gift for you, knowing how you feel about me. Sigh, what a tragedy." He put on a pitiful expression, but I ignored it.
"A gift? From you? I suppose it will be something annoying, and I'll have to deal with it because you won't leave me alone otherwise."
"How heartless can you be, Samael-san? If you continue like this, girls will not like you." He said, pointing a finger at me.
"Ha. Here you are wrong, Gojo."
We both looked toward the one who spoke. Sirius.
"Who are you?" Gojo blinked, only now realizing Sirius was present.
"Me? I am his best friend." Sirius said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "And I will be his best man at his wedding with three beautiful girls."
Gojo had a smirk on his face until Sirius finished. Then his mouth opened as he tried to say something, before closing it again.
…
"Are you telling the truth?" he asked, looking seriously at Sirius.
"Yes." Sirius nodded solemnly, and I started to consider whether I should give him a good beating for talking nonsense with someone he had just met.
"Samael-san, how could you?" Gojo interrupted my thoughts, and I looked at him curiously. "You are going to marry, and you didn't make me your best man? How could you? You didn't even invite me."
"…We met this morning. Why should I tell you anything about my love life? Why should I tell you anything about my life at all?" I said, questioning his logic.
"Ugh, Samael-san, you hurt me."
"Sigh. Okay, Gojo, tell me what you want before I decide to make the world a better place and kill you." I said, completely done with the day and struggling to keep my sanity intact.
"Tch. Okay, I have good news and bad news for you. What do you want to hear first?"
I knew it. He was troublesome.
"Let's hear the bad news first," I said, resigned to the fact that this day was a test of patience.
"The country of that girl is being attacked."
…
…
"Explain. Now," I almost roared.
"Hiss, calm down. It is not being attacked at the moment, but it will be attacked in a day or two." Gojo tried to pacify me, but I still looked angry.
"Tell me the good news," I said, trying to sound calm, though I knew I failed spectacularly.
"Geez, someone is impatient. Okay, the good news is that I found a teleportation circle to their camp. Apparently, the king wanted to know which people he needed to keep alive."
I blinked, then a smile appeared on my face. One that made Gojo shiver unconsciously.
"Good. Can you take me there?"
"Sure. But you'll need to make me your best man."
"Both of you will be my best men," I said with a sigh.
They started to whine, but I ignored their complaints.
"Where is it?" I asked.
He answered while complaining about stupid friends and showed me the direction.
"Want some help?" Gojo asked once we reached the circle.
"Sure—"
[Attention. Tempest was attacked by Falmouth, and many have died.]
I froze.
[What?]
[It seems the king decided to send a small but powerful team ahead of the main army. They placed two barriers around the city beforehand. One weakens monsters, and the other prevents people from leaving.]
[What about the doors?]
[The children managed to get inside, but it seems the adults stayed outside to protect the city.]
[…Those morons.]
…
[Sage, is there a way to revive them?] I knew I was trying blindly, but I needed to try at least.
[Processing. There is a chance to revive them if you and Rimuru ascend to the rank of True Demon Lord.]
[…How much?]
[84.2%.]
[That much?] I was surprised by the number.
[Yes.]
"Samael-san, what happened?" Gojo asked, looking at me with curiosity.
I shook my head and looked at him. "Sorry, Gojo-san. It looks like I'll need to do this alone."
"Why?" he asked, perplexed.
"I need to become a Demon Lord," I answered without hesitation.
"What?" He looked shocked.
"Sigh. Gojo-san, how long have you been in this world?"
"About two months. Why? And how did you know I'm not from this world?"
I nodded.
"I won't explain everything. You can get the full story from Sirius, but here's a small part." I started explaining the gist of it, and he looked surprised but didn't protest.
"…So that's the reason I need to do this."
He accepted my reasoning.
"Good luck, Samael-san. I hope we meet again under better circumstances."
"Yes." I smiled slightly. "And thanks for the help."
He smiled and waved at me.
[Sage, can you not tell Rimuru about this? I don't want her to worry before I finish.]
[Impossible. Rimuru has already entered the city. It will not take long before she finds out.]
I sighed and decided to speed things up. I wanted to make sure she would not suffer for long, at least. And with that thought, the circle activated.
Sirius POV
I looked at the form of Samael disappearing in the light of the magic circle. I turned toward Gojo, and before he could say anything, I used a spell to immobilize him. He looked surprised, but I didn't care. Samael was not in the right state of mind to think logically, and I was using all my Occlumency power to stay calm this whole time.
"First, I will be the one who asks questions. Don't worry, you will not suffer if you are telling the truth."
Is this exaggerated? Yes.
Necessary? Also, yes.
Who in their right mind, when finding out that a stranger wants to kill an army and devour their souls to ascend to a Demon Lord, would just smile and accept it?
And how did he even get the information about the circle and who Rimuru is? How did he know that she is one of his wives?
And the annoying part is that shield he keeps up all the time. It is some form of space magic, but in front of me it is useless, so I will get some information before I decide what to do with him. After all, if he is killed by a monster on our way home, it will not be a surprise, right?
Gojo POV
I stared at Sirius with surprise.
Truly, this world is incredibly intriguing. And to think all this happened because I got sealed by my former friend.
Now I'm in front of an actual threat, and I couldn't be happier. A world where I am not the strongest, a world where I could grow and maybe find people like me. People who can make me excited about life, and maybe, just maybe, have a way to let me go back and save my students.
I smiled at him and decided to answer the questions he would give me.
Before starting the questioning, he took my blindfold off and looked me in the eyes.
"First, who are you?"
"Gojo Satoru, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer," I answered, smiling. Of course, if I understand correctly, in this world I'm not that much.
"Where are you from?"
"Another world. I came here after being sealed. I don't know how, though." Truly, how my friend did that is a mystery.
"Next question. How long have you been in this world?"
"Hmm, about two months. I don't know the exact day, though." It should be about that, maybe a day or two more.
"How did you know that the girl in the photo was Samael's wife?"
"Simple. I beat the person who tried to use the magic circle to escape and found all the information on him." That idiot started to run when he discovered the barrier and panicked so hard that it was practically an invitation to investigate.
"How did you know she was his wife? It could have been just a friend."
"I didn't. I just speculated. He was so furious when he saw her that I took a shot in the dark." That is true. Seeing someone so powerful going on a rampage was entertaining, though.
"Do you have any connection with any country in this world?"
"With the exception of Samael, none." Maybe excluding Falmouth, from which I killed a noble or two.
"How did you enter the barrier I placed around the place?"
"That one was much easier than you imagined. I slipped in after Samael released his power to one point." Seriously, who the hell shatters something like that with pressure alone?
"What are your skills?"
"Spatial manifestation." Of course, I will not tell you exactly what I can do. What would be the point if I needed to protect myself from you later? Limitless and the Six Eyes are my only protection in this overpowered world.
"How do you create the barrier around your body?"
"Spatial manipulation." True, just not all of it. I constantly halve the distance between me and an object, so the person trying to attack me can't reach me.
"How do you see with this thing on?"
"I use it as training." Yes, and to avoid receiving too much information from the Six Eyes.
"What do you intend to do from now on?"
"Hmm, I think I will visit Samael's kingdom for a while, then I'll see. After all, this world is new to me, and I need to understand it." And the fact that I can know if Samael is planning to kill innocents in this country. Maybe I could stop him.
"Why did you help Samael? You could have just ignored it and gone on your way."
"Because he is interesting, and I just wanted to help." After all, where else will you find someone so mysterious?
He looked at me for a while longer, and I started to wonder what he wanted to do. I even tried to use my power, but with zero results. Even my eyes can't see around me anymore.
"I will give you some advice. Don't become his enemy. He is not the scariest one in his group."
I blinked at that. So, is the guy who puts people on spikes not the most terrifying one? Good to know, and hopefully I will never find out who the scariest person is.
Before I could say anything more, he let me free.
"?" I looked confused as hell, and he noticed that.
"Don't worry. I know you are telling the truth, so you're good to come with me."
So, he probably has some kind of truth type skill. Good to know.
I nodded and smiled. "Now take me to your leader."
Sirius POV
I stopped and looked at this man with a smirk. To think he was truly the strongest in his world. An ability to see everything in an area around you and use energy perfectly, wasn't that similar to Mana Sense, or at least close to it? And combined with spatial manipulation? Yes, I could see him being annoying in a world without a counter. Even in my world, someone of his caliber would be almost invincible.
But here? Maybe strong, but not in the upper tiers.
Note to self: talk to Sage about anti mental interference and control enchantments. After all, with just a simple look, someone could read the minds of our people and uncover crucial information.
I looked at Gojo and used a simple spell. He would not find out until later. After all, mirrors are not that common in Tempest.
Yes, I found a victim for my pranks who can't kill me with ease.
Samael POV
I exited the magic circle and inspected my surroundings. Four guards in the room, six just outside, and the surrounding area empty for three hundred meters.
At least they took precautions against someone using their spells.
The moment the soldiers saw me, they tried to alert the rest, but before that, they lost their heads.
I looked at the bodies with no remorse.
Now the question was how I should do this.
Should I just kill everyone, except for the king and high officials, instantly?
Or should I torture them for the crimes of their leader?
After a moment, I decided. I would not punish them for their king's crimes, but the fact that they were here was more than enough to give them capital punishment.
The leaders would have it worse, but the soldiers would die without much pain.
After making this decision, I created wings on my back and flew up to observe the whole army.
I studied the soldiers. Most of them were smiling, some were joking, some spoke about their loved ones.
DISGUSTING!!!
THOSE PEOPLE KILLED MY PEOPLE, RIMURU'S PEOPLE, AND NOW THEY ARE STANDING HERE AND SMILING??
[Sage, can you create an anti-magic barrier but let my soldiers move freely inside it?]
[Processing… it will take ten seconds to finish.]
I decided to wait. I needed to calm down a little. If I killed the king too soon, it would be a disaster.
I shook my head at the thought. [Sage, make sure the king will not die in the attack.]
[Understood.]
Was she angry as well? I felt a shiver at the thought.
On this day, many would die. I would take the lives of so many people, and I felt nothing for them…
Is this, okay? Is this because I'm a monster?
I don't know the answer, but I know one thing for sure. I will not let Rimuru do this.
This is a promise to myself. A promise that even if I fall into absolute darkness, she will not.
Is this greed? Pride? Or maybe I'm just selfish?
Yes, that's it. I don't want the person I love to feel what it is like to take a human life. I don't care about the enemies or the fear I will give them.
All I care about is this: they hurt someone dear to me. No matter why, no matter what their motivations are. A single truth remains. THEY HURT WHAT IS MINE.
[The barrier is finished. Do you want to proceed?]
…
And the nightmare began.
3rd Person POV
In the camp of the army of Falmouth, the soldiers stood around a fire, eating with smiles on their faces.
"Did you see how they look?" one of them asked.
"Yeah, I saw. Do you think they'll let us use them before being sold?"
"The leader probably not. She'll be exclusive to the king and then probably be sold to the highest bidder. After all, I heard she's an absolute beauty."
"Uhh, that's sad. But at least the rest don't look bad at all."
"Agreed."
As they spoke about the next fight and the rewards they would obtain, one of them started to look around.
"What happened?" asked the oldest of the five men.
"I think I heard something from there," he said, pointing toward a bush.
All of them looked at one another and took out their weapons.
As they started to approach the bush, a little mouse exited from it.
They looked at one another and started to laugh.
"So, this is the terrifying monster," one of them said toward the first man who heard it.
"Yes, yes, laugh all you want," he said, starting to approach the mouse with his sword drawn, preparing for the kill.
"Sorry, little one, but you made me look pathetic in front of them, so you need to di—"
Before he could finish the sentence, the little mouse opened its mouth and ate him entirely.
…
…
"Aaaa! What is this creature?!"
The soldiers started to scream and prepare for a fight.
But as they looked at the 'monster,' hundreds of eyes appeared in the forest.
And before they could react, they were eaten by small creatures.
In the center of the camp, laughter was still present. After all, these were the elite, the ones responsible for the king's safety, and their last encounter with monsters had been so easy that they knew this war would be theirs.
"What is that?" one soldier asked, looking at the sky.
As the rest started to look, they saw four lines spreading in every direction and began to speculate about what it could be, some of them starting to prepare for a fight.
"Is this…" one of the soldiers said, wiping a drop from his face. "Raining?"
The soldiers looked around, some more bewildered than others, as they heard a roar coming from outside the formation.
Not long after, figures began to slowly approach from the forest. Soldiers?
They looked at one another in confusion and started to prepare for a fight, but then—
Splash.
One of them lost his head.
…
…
Nobody reacted to the spectacle, because not long after, all followed him.
Samael POV
I looked from high up at the soldiers losing their lives. None will survive, none will suffer, because they will die instantly.
I looked at the ones fighting my creations as they tried to kill them with everything they could.
That would have worked if they could still use mana, but now the mages are looking at the fight with terrified faces. Good, this is your punishment.
The ones who took pleasure in this war suffer from my creations' wrath; those who did their duty will die without suffering. That is the mercy I decided.
I looked at my wrist with a calm expression. Two lines of blood were present, and the blood was leaking at a speed that didn't look normal.
All of this is from my regeneration being stopped to heal my wrist, while compensating for the blood loss.
On the barrier below, four lines of blood had formed that crossed the whole barrier, and I created a small rain to start over the camp.
Sage made sure everyone who needed to suffer did, and the ones that didn't died without it.
She is truly too good to me.
She even let me do this without telling Rimuru anything and made sure she would not find out until it is finished.
[(Notice: You have obtained the Unique Skill Merciless)]
Hmm? What is this?
[It is a Unique Skill that gives you the ability to kill those who surrender.]
[Thank you, Sage. You are the best as always.]
I looked at the soldiers. Most of them realized that this fight is an exercise in futility when they saw me.
They threw their weapons away, hoping to be spared… maybe in another life.
[Sage, activate Merciless, but do not kill the king and the high rank officials.]
[Understood. Activating Merciless.]
And then there was silence. Every enemy that should have died was now on the ground. Every human who should have lived was still alive.
[Sage, do we have enough souls for evolution?] I asked, but before I could receive an answer.
[(Notice: Rimuru Tempest and Samael Tempest have met the conditions for evolution. The Harvest Festival is about to begin.)]
…that answered it.
I started to feel sleepy, and my power seemed to be exhausted in a moment.
[Sage, is there anything else to do?]
[You need to capture the king and his allies, and…]
[Hmm, Sage, what did you say?] I started to fall asleep and didn't hear her correctly.
[…It is recommended to leave everything else to me and go to sleep. I will finish everything else. Do you give me permission?]
[Hehe, Sage, you don't need to ask. I trust you… as always.]
[Understood. Sleep well, Samael.]
[Thank you, Sag…]
3rd Person POV
Samael's body went limp for a second, then his eyes changed to a red color and his face lost all emotion.
Then he looked at the bodies and started to create a magic circle.
"Hear my call and appear, demons. As a sacrifice, I will use all the bodies here, so hear my call."
Not long after, the circle glowed purple and three demons appeared inside.
"Kukuku, what a wonderful offering!" the demon in the center exclaimed. "What can I do for you?" he said with a bow.
"Your job will be to find every survivor in this camp and take them alive to the city of monsters in that direction. Don't kill anyone." And with that, it disappeared into the shadows.
The demons looked around for a moment, then started to work.
Scene changed
In a camp outside of Tempest, two boys and one girl were having a discussion.
"This is so boring!" complained the girl with an annoyed expression.
"It can't be helped. We need to wait here for the refugees to try and leave the city," said the boy with Brown hair.
"But can't we just go there and finish them already? They are so weak after all?!" whined the girl again.
"It can't be helped. The king wants to take most of them as slaves for the kingdom. All we can do is obey orders after all," said the boy with black hair.
"But, but…"
"Enough. Think like this, isn't that better than you, right? I don't think you want to be forced by the king to warm his bed, so in your place I would be happy to let that monster leader does it."
"…I suppose that is good as well," the girl answered in a small voice.
"Hahaha, don't make that face! It's not like you will be forced for no reason. The king will never lack beautiful women, so if you are useful and don't create trouble, he will not ask you to become his toy. Maybe if you were more beautiful, you would have been in danger, but—"
He didn't finish the sentence because the girl threw a table at him.
"You can't say that to a girl, you asshole!" she roared. "Come here, I will give you a lesson you will never forget!"
As the two were fighting one another, the brown-haired youth looked at his sword and smiled, ignoring his two companions.
ROAR!
At the sound, they stopped and ran outside to see what was happening.
The scene was disturbing, to say the least. Creatures made of a red liquid that looked like soldiers wielding spears, swords, and shields. Around them stood animals made from the same liquid: bears, wolves, tigers, gorillas, and many more.
"What is this?" shouted the girl at the soldiers who were fighting.
"They appeared from the forest. We tried to kill them, but everything we tried was ineffective against them," one of the soldiers answered, while he used his sword to cut one of the creatures.
Not a second later, the body of the creature repaired itself, and the soldier cursed out loud.
"Come and help us, you worthless fools!" the captain of the troops shouted.
"Tch, how troublesome," said the black-haired boy, and jumped into the monsters. The other two followed shortly after.
"Shogo, leave some to us as well!" shouted the brown-haired boy with a manic smile on his face.
"If you want some, come and get them!" shouted the now-named Shogo.
"Tch, men," said the girl as she started to attack the monsters that had attacked them.
Shogo was using his fists to destroy their bodies, but they regenerated instantly.
"What the..?" He frowned. "Hey Kyoya, do you have any luck with them?" He didn't look panicked in the slightest.
"No, all my sword cuts regenerate too fast for it to matter," the one named Kyoya answered with a sigh. "What about you, Kirara?"
"Tch, nothing. They regenerate constantly no matter what I try," she answered, looking at the monsters with annoyance.
Shogo scratched his head and looked at the captain. "Do you have any method to stop their regeneration?"
The captain looked at them with a dark expression. "If we had something like that, we would have used it already. Now go there and kill them as many times as you need. After some time, the summoner will exhaust his mana and this will end. That is the reason I sent you three there!"
The three looked at one another, nodded in unison, and continued the fight, not knowing that the one responsible for all of this was watching them and deciding their fate.
The red eyes were thinking about whether they deserved to live or deserved a punishment worse than death.
"How long do you think this will take?" asked Kirara.
"I have no idea, but I hope it will stop as soon as possible. I'm exhausted already," answered Shogo while punching another monster.
"Stop talking and move faster!" shouted the captain.
Drop, drop…
"What is this?" said the captain as he noticed the rain starting. "Why is it raining? The sky has no clouds."
He thought for a moment, then looked at his soldiers and started to say something, but disappeared instantly inside a sphere of blood.
The soldiers looked horrified at the scene. Some tried to rescue him, some tried to run, but not long after, everyone found themselves in the same situation.
Tap, tap, tap.
A figure approached with unhurried steps toward the now silent camp.
"Don't worry. You will live and be judged by the people you hurt. Those who didn't hurt anyone will escape alive after verification."
The figure moved toward the crystal in the center of the camp and destroyed it. The same thing happened in three other camps around Tempest, and before long, the captured people disappeared inside a black mist.
Inside Tempest, the citizens were standing in the middle of the city, looking at the platform where two thrones stood.
On the first one, a slime was standing there asleep, and from the looks of the citizens, she had been there for quite a while.
"When do you think Rimuru-sama will wake up?" asked Gobta.
Benimaru just shook his head with a sad expression.
Shuna looked at Rimuru with a smile, trying to make everyone feel like everything would be okay, but if someone looked closer, they would see that her hands were trembling slightly.
The rest of the citizens didn't look much better either. They trusted Rimuru, but the situation had started suddenly, and they hoped nothing bad was happening. After all, the army of Falmouth had stopped the attack not long ago, and who knew when they would attack again.
At that moment, when everyone was on edge, a figure approached from the entrance with slow steps.
The moment they felt his presence, everyone reacted differently. The kijin and orcs prepared for a fight, while the hobgoblins looked happy at his arrival.
Before a fight could happen, Rigurd stepped in front of the group, drawing everyone's attention.
"Good to see you coming home, Samael-sama! We hope that your journey was great!"
When he finished speaking, everyone understood who the person was. The goblins knelt, and the rest followed, all except Shizu, Benimaru, and Shuna.
Benimaru was prepared to protect Rimuru from any threat at that moment, and Shuna bowed slightly.
Shizu, on the other hand, looked relieved at his appearance and glanced around, hoping to see Sirius.
"Don't worry. He will take a little longer to arrive. Do not worry," Samael said in a monotone voice, and Shizu immediately recognized it as Sage.
He continued walking without interruption until he reached Rimuru. He took his place on the throne beside her and soon fell under a spell as well, after Sage released control of the body.
Sirius POV
I was walking ahead of Gojo, thinking about the events of this day. I did not know exactly what had happened, but I understood one thing clearly. Things were bad.
For the first few minutes, I considered simply apparating into Tempest to make sure everyone was okay.
The only reason I did not do it was because Shizu was not in the city when it happened. If she had been there, I was one hundred percent sure that Samael would not be alone right now while killing an army.
"Sirius-kun, can you not be so tense? You will scare people with that face."
I looked toward Gojo and felt an urge to prank him more. His smile was annoying, and I did not know why, but he reminded me of how I used to be not long ago. A stupid person who could not think before acting. Someone who chose to move on pure rage instead of stopping to think things through.
"Did you lose someone?" I asked.
He paused and looked at me with a gaze I knew too well, before changing it instantly.
"What made you think that? How could I lose anyone? After all, I am the strongest!" His smile was bright, but in that moment, I understood something.
"No matter if you are strong or weak, no matter what you think you could have done, when you lose someone, you lose them forever. No second chance. No redemption. Nothing." I looked at him with a sad smile. "That is what I believed before coming here."
My smile slowly became brighter.
"Now I think I simply did not have enough strength after all. From the moment I entered this world, it felt like my entire life had been a joke. All my previous struggles existed only because I was weak."
He looked at me like I had two heads. Hopefully, I did not.
"You really are strange." His answer did not surprise me in the least. "But I understand you. Those without strength are just pawns for those without…" He stopped himself and then smiled at me.
"Hey, Sirius. Do you think you could one day return to your world?"
I smiled at the question. "I do not think. I know that one day I will return. That is a promise Samael made to me, and I am certain he will keep it."
"Why do you think that is even possible?" His bewilderment was written all over his face.
"Because he told me himself. At most two years, and he will be able to open a gate to my world."
"Wait, is that true? Can he help me as well?" He looked at me with an intensity I did not expect.
"Not sure. For me, he has an anchor, because he saw the portal that brought me here. For you, I do not know if he can. But you can always ask."
"I suppose that is the best I could hope for…"
As we walked for a while longer, he spoke again.
"Are you not afraid of what he will become after this event?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm referring to the fact that he decided to go and kill an army. That doesn't seem like something you just do and then go back to normal."
"It isn't." I shook my head at the thought. "But I don't think he was normal to begin with. First, he is a vampire. Second, he doesn't hesitate when killing people. Hell, I didn't kill anyone before meeting him."
"And how do you accept what he is doing?" he asked, purely out of curiosity. I could tell.
"Because I saw what people can do. You saw the auction. You saw how they treat intelligent beings, and I'm not referring only to humans here." He nodded, and I continued. "I realized something. If that is how they treat others, then they lose the right to be treated differently."
"And what does that make Samael?"
I stared at him for a second, then smiled. "My friend."
"…HAHAHAHA!" He looked at me, then started laughing so hard I thought his stomach might hurt. "So no matter what he does, as long as he is your friend, it doesn't matter? That is the best thing you could have said! You have my respect, Sirius! Yes, why should it matter what others think? As long as he is your friend, as long as you believe he is not wrong, then nothing else matters!"
I smiled.
"But what will you do if he gets on the wrong path and starts killing innocents?" He stopped laughing and looked at me seriously.
"Find his wife and ask her to beat him until he gets back on the right one."
At my answer, he just looked at me with his mouth open. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. That is my name."
"…I fucking hate you for that joke. But how strong are his wives if you think they can beat him?"
"His first wife is as strong as him. The second is an even more precise version of him. And the third is Demon Lord Milim Nava, the Destroyer."
He looked at me, waiting for the punchline, but sadly for him, this was the terrifying truth.
"Are you serious right now?!"
"Yes."
"Man, I heard about her, and I've only been here for two months. How the fuck did he pull someone like her?"
"Hehehe. Listen closely, because I will tell you the story of a vampire and the Destroyer…"
Shuna POV
We looked at the podium, waiting for Rimuru-sama and Samael-sama to wake up. We hoped that everything was going to be okay.
"Don't worry, Princess. They will be all right."
I looked toward the voice and saw Hakurou smiling at me.
"But what if something happened to them? It is possible that their personalities will change after the evolution, and this is not a normal one at that. How did they even evolve simultaneously?" I started asking questions nonstop, then realized what I was doing and placed a hand over my mouth.
"I'm sorry for my reaction!" I said, bowing my head.
"Hoho, do not worry, Princess. You were just scared for the leaders we chose." He started to pat my head. I thought he stopped. He did that when I was little. I'm not little anymore!
He ignored my annoyed expression and continued. "I cannot tell you the reason for their simultaneous evolution, but I can tell you something. They are strong enough to succeed, no matter the odds. After all, they are our leaders, so have trust in them."
I looked at him with surprise.
"Princess, mind your posture. The people do not need to see you that way."
I stiffened at his words and looked at the crowd. All were kneeling with the exception of a few. But the only one looking at me was my brother, who was trying to hide his laughter.
He will pay for that.
Before I could think more about how to do that, I felt it.
Rimuru and Samael were waking up.