AUTHOR NOTE; So I've well and truly fallen ill... again. Can barely stay awake to write anything worthwhile, so there was a lot of Ai editing involved, then I had to edit the Ai editing to make it readable.
Hopefully I can get your thoughts on the chapter.
____________________________
Rimuru shifted his gaze from Kaede and Millim and returned to Clayman. 'Looks like Kaede's got Millim handled for now. That just leaves Clayman and his minions.'
Clayman had a smirk while the masked girl stepped in front of him, two oceanic blue blades sliding out of her cloak like snakes.
Behind him, the five tailed fox and grown in size and was now growling in Rimuru's direction.
'Three on one huh.' He noted. 'Clayman seems just as strong as Carrion. That fox has more magicules than Ranga, at least before my evolution. I'm sure it won't be the same for much longer.'
He placed his hand on his sword, watching them intently. With his evolution, his strength and speed had increased significantly, by more than five hundred percent. His magicule count even dwarfed his pre evolution self by so much it was like comparing an ocean to a cup of water.
'That one though,' He narrowed his eyes at the masked girl. 'Anything yet [Raphael]?'
≤Analyzing and Assessing... No Results≥
'Seriously? I thought that you'd evolved. Is the ultimate in your classification just for show?'
≤...≥
'It doesn't matter I guess. We'll get rid of her quickly and then take on Clayman.'
He blitzed forward towards Clayman and just like he suspected, the masked girl appeared directly in front of him her dagger thrusting forward.
He parried the dagger to the side but had to stop and dodge the second dagger that was aimed for his neck.
As he dodged he slammed his foot into her chest while his hand was on the ground, only for his kick to miss and his hands swept from underneath him.
Of course, even then he somehow landed on his feet. 'She's good. Heck, she's even faster than Hinata. Activate [Thought Acceleration].'
He felt as the world slowed to a crawl as his perception was sped up by over a million times.
The crackling of magicules slowed into a low, drawn-out hum. Even the distant shifting of the Demon Lords at the edges of the arena became sluggish. Manageable.
Rimuru exhaled. 'There it is.' His eyes sharpened.
The masked girl was already moving. Or rather, she had already moved.
Her body was mid-transition, caught between positions, her form blurring from where she had been to where she was about to be. One dagger angled toward his throat, the other already redirecting to intercept his next motion.
He couldn't deny that she was terrifyingly efficient in how she moved, even watching her in slowly motion.
Rimuru shifted, his body twisting at an unnatural angle, slipping past the first dagger by a margin so small it shaved a strand of his hair clean off. The second blade came immediately after, perfectly timed to punish that evasion, but Rimuru's sword was already there.
Clang!
The impact rang out, slow and heavy in his perception, sparks drifting lazily through the air.
'She's reading me.'
That much was obvious now.
Every time he committed to a movement, she was already responding before he completed it.
Prediction?
No.
It was deeper than that.
'She's not reacting to me…' His foot slid forward, pivoting as he brought his blade down in a diagonal arc aimed to cleave through her shoulder, and she moved again. 'Is it a skill? A Unique Skill maybe?'
Her body slipped inside the arc of his strike, one dagger grazing along his blade to redirect it while the other came up from below, aimed directly at his ribs.
Rimuru's eyes widened slightly.
He twisted his torso mid-motion, forcing his body out of alignment with his own attack just enough that the dagger missed his ribs by a fraction.
Too close.
Way too close.
He kicked off the ground, creating distance.
The two separated.
From the outside, It looked like nothing had changed.
To everyone watching, the two had only exchanged a brief flurry of movements. A clash of steel, a shift in position, then separation.
Rimuru rolled his shoulder slightly.
'She's dangerous.'
Even with [Thought Acceleration], even with his perception pushed to the absolute limit... She wasn't falling behind, neither was she overwhelmed. She was still matching him.
'But now I can see it.'
Every micro-movement she made to stay one step ahead.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The arena erupted into a storm of steel.
Their blades collided again and again, each strike faster than the last, each exchange tighter, more precise, more lethal.
Rimuru's sword burned with black lightning, each swing carrying enough force to shatter the ground beneath them, but she never met it head-on.
Always slipping just outside the path of destruction.
Of course she was.
Even she couldn't take those hits directly.
Rimuru's eyes narrowed.
Her dagger met his blade... And Rimuru let go. The sword slipped from his grasp mid-impact.
The sudden loss of resistance threw off her redirection by a fraction, just enough for Rimuru to step in Inside her guard.
And then he grabbed her wrist.
Rimuru's other hand came up instantly, black lightning gathering violently around his palm as magicules condensed at a terrifying rate.
In that instant, his arm blurred at sonic speeds to slam into her stomach, all of the energy discharging into her body.
Her entire presence blinked out of existence for a fraction of a second, and reappeared several meters away.
The blast still fired.
BOOM.
The space where she had been collapsed inward before detonating outward in a violent explosion of black lightning and devouring flame.
The ground cratered instantly, stone and magicules alike erased from existence as the shockwave tore across the arena.
The barrier shattered. Hard.
Silence followed.
Rimuru stood there, arm still extended, residual energy crackling violently around him.
His eyes narrowed. '…She dodged that?'
One sleeve of her outfit had been completely destroyed, her pale arm exposed, faint burns marking her skin.
However, she was still very much alive.
Behind her Clayman exhaled slowly, his earlier composure cracked just enough that the edge of disbelief still lingered in his voice.
'Such power…That was too close. Damnit you imbeciles, do your damn jobs and finish them already.'
His eyes flicked briefly to the scorched crater, then back to Rimuru.
At the edge of the arena, Millim had stopped moving entirely.
Her gaze was fixed on Rimuru now, and that small grin on her face had grown.
Just a little.
"Keep your eyes on me Millim." She heard Kaede call out before being kicked in the arm and into the wall of the room now that the barrier was gone.
Rimuru rolled his neck slightly.
The tension in the air thickened.
'Damn it. At this rate, if I want to get past her I'd have to show more than I want to. Any ideas [Raphael]?'
≤Analyzing complete. Skill is ready to be used.≥
Rimuru grinned. 'About time. I take back everything I said about you being useless.'
≤...≥
Rimuru smirked as he took one step, before vanishing in another burst of speed.
Immediately, the masked girl vanished after him, just as he expected.
'Looks like, she's programmed to always protect Clayman. The entire time she's been defensive, and that makes her at least predictable.'
The girl's trajectory led her to put herself between Rimuru and her master, and directly into Rimuru's spectral hand.
[Ruler's Hand]
This was a form of telekinesis that Rimuru had gotten after analysing [Psychokinesis], a skill that Kaede had used to defeat Charybdis.
'It won't hold her long.' Rimuru grinned as he slammed her into the wall of the room. 'But it's not supposed to.'
In a blink he was already next to Clayman.
The masked girl had already slipped out of the hold and was rushing after him, but it was too late.
Rimuru snapped his fingers.
Instantly a green barrier formed around Rimuru and Clayman, and then expanded until it was the same size as the one that Guy had created in the first place, only this time the only occupants were Rimuru and Clayman.
Clayman didn't move. He simply stood there. Inside the newly formed barrier, cut off from everything else.
From Millim.
From his fox.
From her.
From control.
"…What," Clayman said slowly, his voice just a fraction too tight, "is the meaning of this?"
Rimuru didn't answer immediately.
He stood a few steps away, posture relaxed, one hand still faintly glowing from the residual energy of [Ruler's Hand]. The cracked white mask tilted slightly as if studying him.
Outside the barrier, the masked girl hit it.
Hard.
A sharp, violent impact that sent a ripple across the green surface.
She didn't stop.
Again.
And again.
Each strike faster than the last, her blades flashing in arcs of blue light as she tried to force her way through.
The barrier didn't budge.
Millim's grin vanished, her head tilting slightly.
"…Oh?"
Kaede exhaled lightly from where she stood, flexing her arm where Millim's earlier kick had landed.
"…Oh now you talk."
"Shhh!"
Inside, Clayman laughed.
"Ah… I see." He raised a hand to his face, covering his mouth slightly as his shoulders shook faintly. "A desperate attempt to isolate me, is it? You really are quite amusing, Rimuru Tempest."
His eyes sharpened.
"You think removing my subordinates changes anything?"
Rimuru took a step forward.
Clayman's smile didn't falter.
Not yet.
"I suppose I should commend you," he continued, forcing his tone back into something smooth, something controlled. "It takes a certain level of arrogance to believe you can face a Demon Lord alone."
Another step.
Clayman's fingers twitched at his side.
"You've shown some… impressive tricks." He continued, voice tightening by a degree. "But raw power without refinement is nothing more than wasted potential."
"Did you think I would be intimidated by a child playing at power?"
"Then why aren't you attacking?" Rimuru asked.
Clayman's smile froze. "…What?"
"You're a Demon Lord, right?" Rimuru continued. "You said it yourself."
A pause.
"…So why aren't you doing anything?"
Clayman's magicules flared violently.
The pressure surged outward, pushing against the barrier, distorting the air around him as his aura finally rose to meet the situation.
"I don't need to rush." He snapped. "You're the one who trapped yourself in here with me."
His voice grew sharper.
More forceful.
"I am Clayman. One of the Demon Lords who govern this world. Do you understand the difference between us?"
"Let me educate you." He raised his hand slightly, threads of magicules weaving between his fingers like invisible strings. "Power isn't about how much you have. It's about how you use it."
His gaze hardened.
"And you- Gah!"
Rimuru's fist slammed into Clayman's gut sending him sprawling back to the ground in pain. "Urk! You bastard!"
Threads exploded outward from his fingers, dozens, no, hundreds of invisible strings snapping into existence as he tried to bind, control, restrain...
The moment they touched Rimuru's aura, they disintegrated like they had never existed.
Clayman's breath hitched.
"…You were saying?" Rimuru asked quietly.
Clayman's body trembled.
"…Tch." He clicked his tongue, forcing his expression back into place. "A cheap trick. Is that all? You think speed and brute force will..."
Rimuru kicked him in the gut, sending back a few feet.
Clayman's composure cracked.
Just a little more.
"…You're making a mistake." He said, trying to breathe and keep his voice steady. "Do you have any idea what happens if you kill me here?"
Rimuru tilted his head, confused. "…You die... Isn't that obvious?"
Clayman's eye twitched. He turned to the side. "You imbeciles! Save me! Get rid of him! Kill him already!"
Clayman felt it then. That difference. That gap.
'…No.'
Fear crept in.
'This isn't right.'
His eyes darted briefly toward the barrier.
Toward the outside.
Toward Millim.
Toward...
Help.
But no one moved.
No one interfered.
Guy watched, smiling.
Leon observed silently.
Daggrul remained still.
Deeno leaned forward, interested.
Kaede didn't move.
Millim… Just watched.
"…You…" Clayman's voice cracked for a fraction of a second before he forced it back under control. "…You think this is over?"
His lips curled into something that resembled a smile.
"I haven't even begun to fight seriously."
Rimuru stared at him.
Clayman's smile twitched. "…Fine." He said. "I'll show you all! Give it to me! Everything!!!"
The masked girl nodded.
Suddenly his magicules exploded outward.
The air inside the barrier warped violently as his aura surged, the ground beneath them cracking under the sudden pressure.
'[Raphael]?' Rimuru observed.
≤It appears that a large amount of souls has been transferred to Clayman from the figure in the mask.≥
'He's evolving. Just like you said he would.'
This was part of the plan that Rimuru and [Raphael] had cooked up. Rimuru needed to not only defeat Clayman, but he also had to show any witnesses that he was not to be messed with.
The best way to do that was to crush a fully evolved Demon Lord with no effort whatsoever.
Clayman's body arched as the influx of souls surged through him, his fingers digging into the cracked floor as if trying to anchor himself against the tide of power flooding his existence.
"AAAAAA..!"
His scream tore through the barrier, raw and unrestrained.
Magicules spiraled wildly around him, no longer the thin, controlled threads he had been manipulating before, but something far denser.
'It's messy.' Rimuru noted calmly. 'Way too messy.'
≤Affirmative. The integration efficiency is significantly below optimal thresholds.≥
'Yeah… no kidding.'
Rimuru's gaze remained steady as Clayman's scream cut off abruptly.
Silence fell.
Slowly… Clayman stood.
His body trembled, then steadied. Then straightened.
The magicules around him settled, enough to form a coherent presence.
A new one. Vastly different from before.
His hair had shifted slightly, his aura darker, heavier, his presence now pressing outward with far more weight than before.
"…Hah…" Clayman let out a breath. Then another.
And then he laughed. Softly at first, then louder.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
His head tilted back as the laughter echoed against the barrier walls, his arms spreading wide as if embracing the power now coursing through him.
"Yes… yes… THIS is it…"
His voice had changed.
Distorted slightly by the sheer density of magicules flowing through him.
"This is the power of a TRUE Demon Lord."
He lowered his head slowly, eyes locking onto Rimuru.
Gone was the earlier tightness.
Gone was the immediate panic.
"You see now?" Clayman said, stepping forward. The ground cracked beneath his foot, though far less cleanly than Rimuru's earlier steps. "This… is the difference between us."
Rimuru said nothing.
Clayman continued walking.
"One who merely gathers power…" Another step. "…and one who ascends beyond it."
His aura flared. Expanding and trying to fill the space.
Trying to dominate it.
Trying to overwrite everything else.
"You may have had the advantage before," Clayman admitted, his lips curling into a grin that was just a little too wide. "But that was before you forced me into this."
He raised his hand.
"I should thank you, really." He said. "Without you, I might have continued playing at subtlety."
The energy in his palm surged, warping the air around it.
"But now… I can simply crush you."
He thrust his hand forward.
The attack detonated.
A beam of condensed magicules, raw and violent, tore across the barrier space, distorting everything in its path as it surged toward Rimuru with overwhelming force.
For a moment, It looked impressive.
From the outside, even the Demon Lords leaned forward slightly.
Deeno whistled. "Okay… that's actually not bad."
Daggrul grunted. "Foolish."
Leon's eyes narrowed slightly. "…Barbaric."
Guy said nothing.
Inside the barrier...
Rimuru didn't move as the attack slammed into him, and vanished in wisps of dark purple thick smoke.
"…What?" Clayman's voice faltered.
This was another skill Rimuru had gotten from analyzing Kaede, something he noted with concern he was doing a lot of.
Using the [Multilayer Barrier] that he'd gotten access to when he evolved, he was now able to wear [Beelzebub] like armour.
Honestly, Clayman never stood a chance, no matter how much stronger he got.
Clayman's aura exploded outward again, more violently this time, the instability worsening as his emotions spiked.
"I am a Demon Lord!" He shouted. "I've ascended! I've surpassed you!"
Rimuru finally took off his mask, his golden eyes revealing a heated rage that could burn hell itself. "All you've done is fuel my hatred and disgust towards you."
"To think that someone as weak and pathetic as you, was able to take from me. I have only myself to blame for that." Slowly, wisps of magicules started leaking from Rimuru's body, wafting upwards.
"Clayman, you went too far. You committed a grave sin against me and I'm here to make you pay in full." His mask vanished from his hand. "Go on, Clayman. Finish your evolution."
"What?" Clayman croaked.
"I know that you're pretending to be at your peak. Evolution takes time obviously. I'm surprised that you haven't fallen asleep yet. After all, the [Harvest Festival] is quite demanding."
"Harvest..." Clayman looked confused. "Festival?"
Rimuru blinked. "You don't know about that? But you just received enough souls. As long as you have a Demon Lord Seed, you have to undergo a [Harvest Festival]"
He paused, a small smile forming on his face. "Unless..."
Clayman's eyes slowly widened in shock as realisation dawned on him. Both Clayman and Rimuru slowly turned the edge of the barrier, where the masked girl was standing.
She was no longer trying to break through the barrier, simply watching from the sidelines.
She slowly grabbed her mask and removed it, revealing a blue haired young lady with a smirk on her face.
"Get fucked, Clayman."
.
.
.
.
.
.
"SALLY!!!!!!!"