Chapter 20 - 5

CHAPTER 5

THE HERO AWAKENS

Ughh… I'm exhausted.

Hinata was faced with an irresistible temptation as she found herself about to be sucked into a bottomless abyss. Memories of times near and far crossed her mind—her life was flashing before her eyes.

Yes… Now I remember. Even my own dad played with me sometimes, huh?

She had been so focused on the "now" that she forgot all about it, but long ago, she belonged to a normal family. Normal, that is, until her father's company went bankrupt, and everything fell apart. If her father could've kept it together, maybe her mother wouldn't have gone insane, either. Hinata had too many of her own problems to think about just how much his father suffered. So he kept on hating him, resenting him, trying to pretend her current unhappy reality didn't exist. She refused to forgive his crimes, judging him in her mind in order to justify her own actions.

Everyone has weakness in their heart. Her father did as well. And perhaps, if they all supported one another as a family, things might have turned out differently…

It's comical for me of all people to talk about justice. Maybe that's why I kept looking for traces of my father in him…

Hinata always felt saved by his sense of ideal justice, and by his bottomless softheartedness, although he'd probably deny it. Whenever her heart felt stretched, ready to burst, he always provided her the gospel of extra breathing room. That was him…but it was all in Hinata's own mind. If she told him, it'd probably just annoy him. But sometimes she was tempted to anyway, on the off chance that maybe, just maybe, he'd accept her.

This is exactly what Granville said. I've never been able to forgive myself.

Now Hinata realized that it had all come too fast. She always lived under the idea that she'd never be forgiven. Her mother would never be sad for her; even if she somehow got back to her own world, nobody would celebrate. Only her faith in the idea of rescuing as many people as she could gave her motivation.

But now I'm just exhausted. I just want to gently float into this gloomy darkness…

Softly, Hinata's consciousness drifted deeper into the swallowing dark. Her five senses were already gone, all resentment untangling itself from her heart, and there were already no regrets left—

"Don't fall asleep!!"

Hinata's consciousness awoke to the piercing scream.

Was that Chloe…?

The thought called Hinata back to reality. But this wasn't reality—it was a very strange place to be. She could see outside through a window floating in space, but she wasn't seeing with her eyes—rather, it was a sight she felt in her heart.

"That's 'cause you're inside me, Miss Hinata."

Before she could ask Chloe's voice what she meant, Hinata recalled the situation she was in.

Oh… Right. Granville stabbed me…but I'm not dead?

Remembering it all greatly confused her. Running her Measurer skill at full blast, she still couldn't come up with a convincing answer. The fact that she could tap into her skills at all was incredibly odd.

"I'll explain everything, so do your best to stay conscious for now. I also want you to sync up with me."

"Sync up?"

"Yes. Can you see the light?"

Guided by Chloe's voice, Hinata focused her consciousness. In another moment, she came across a small point of light.

"Right! That's it!"

She—or her consciousness, although it felt like she was moving her body —headed for the light. And then, the moment she touched it, her consciousness was greeted with a dazzling rainbow of colors.

After a few moments:

"Are you awake?"

"Where am I…?"

"Good, you're stable. So um, Miss Hinata—"

"Just Hinata is fine."

"…Oh, okay! So anyway, Hinata, you were inside me—or my 'soul.' This is probably the first time for you, so it must be confusing, but that's definitely what happened. If I didn't get you out of there, you would've been

swallowed up in an Unlimited Imprisonment!"

Then Hinata realized where she was. No wonder she didn't have a body

—her soul was inside Chloe, as she now understood. The Unlimited Imprisonment she mentioned was, no doubt, at the bottom of that gloomy darkness.

"Oh… Well, thanks for reaching out to me." She felt obliged to thank her.

After that, Chloe explained assorted things to Hinata. According to her, when Hinata was stabbed, her soul moved into Chloe. Normally, when you die, your soul separates from your body, dissipating into the air and ceasing to exist. This time, however, Chloe's soul intervened with it, creating a highly unusual situation. It wasn't enough to fully convince Hinata, but even before that, she had other concerns.

"So is Rimuru all right?" she frantically asked. "What happened to Lady Luminus? And to Granville?"

"Well," Chloe coolly said, "I want you to stay calm when you hear this,

but right now…we've gone back to a long, long time ago."

"Huh?"

"You see that mountain over there?"

"Yes… Wait! Isn't that the sacred peak of the Riola Mountains? So—so where are we? Based on my positional data… Are we in the Lubelius sanctuary?"

Hinata couldn't be blamed for her panic. There, hazy in the distance, was likely the lofty Riola Mountains. They were visible because there was nothing between them and Hinata—just flat grassland. There should have been a city there, but there wasn't. For a moment, she feared the worst—the city blown away by a war between superpowers—but then there'd be a barren waste here, not a healthy prairie.

Which meant…

"I know this is hard to believe, but I swear I'm not lying at all."

Chloe had to be right. This would eventually become a sanctuary, but now they were in a time far before the founding of Lubelius. Hinata had heard that

Luminus moved to this land over two thousand years ago…

"Are you kidding me…?"

She understood it was the truth, but she still had to say it. It was just so crazy—but then a question arose in her mind.

"Chloe, why are you sure this is the past?"

That felt important to ask. Assuming she was willing to accept that this was time travel at work, why did she know they were in the past? Maybe this was far in the future, long after their nation fell. There wasn't a single other person in sight nor any buildings or ruins, so perhaps the past was more likely—but maybe the ruins were buried deep underground by now. It was impossible to say for sure.

But Chloe was confident as she smiled at Hinata.

"It's simple! This isn't the first time I've been here. My power keeps going out of control, you see, so I get sent back a lot—back here, too. So I remember it."

Hinata had no idea what to say. Slowly, she mulled over Chloe's words, gradually accepting them.

"Mind explaining what's going on in more detail?" she asked in a somewhat threatening tone.

Chloe's story was truly surprising.

It turned out her skill involves time travel of a sort—"of a sort" because Chloe herself didn't understand it too well, either. Apparently, she couldn't trigger it at will; the best she could do was recall events that happened in her past. But you couldn't underestimate it, because past here meant the past that Chloe herself experienced—and since she was a regular time traveler, this past included events from the future.

Unfortunately, these memories weren't perfect recollections. There's always an element of vagueness in people's memories. For many, it's hard to remember exactly what happened when—and if you're talking about memories from over two thousand years ago, of course it'll be a tad garbled.

"So how did you discover this ability?" Hinata asked.

Chloe hesitated a bit before replying. "Um, when Mr. Tempest rescued me. He took Alice and me and everyone else to the Dwelling of the Spirits to stabilize us. Then I had a spirit planted inside me, but…"

Apparently, Chloe didn't receive a spirit but an embodiment of her own powers from the future. Even more unbelievably, this embodiment was sentient.

"…I think I must've died at some point in the future, so I guess I just repeat this process of planting that version of me in myself."

"So the Dwelling is where you learn of this process? Like, every time in the cycle?"

"Not exactly. I don't remember anything about it at the beginning, but then once I start going back in time, I do."

"You mean you've been doing this same thing over and over?"

"I think so. I can only really recall things from the last time around, but sometimes memories from elsewhere get mixed in…"

"Oh," Hinata said, a bit relieved. If she was repeating the exact same life every time, that'd be a sort of living hell. No one is strong enough to continue waging a battle if you knew the end result.

So Hinata silently listened as Chloe continued. Apparently, her time travel always took place in the same era, in the same axis of time—those were likely the limitations of her skill. Exactly where she was taken depended on the timing of her out-of-control episodes.

In the previous cycle, Hinata apparently died in the Forest of Jura.

"Mr. Tempest had died, and Veldora got revived—"

"Huh? Rimuru died? Who did it and how? He's practically unkillable."

"Um, well, with this cycle, my memories between when I received myself in the Dwelling and when I get taken to the past are working out pretty differently. In fact, this is actually the first time Rimuru was still alive when it happened to me."

Hinata found the sudden shift from Mr. Tempest to Rimuru pretty funny, but she didn't point it out. Instead, she lent an ear to Chloe as she recapped her memories up to her last visit to the Dwelling.

...…

...

…

During the last cycle, after rescuing the children, Rimuru used Spatial Motion to return to Tempest. He didn't run into Hinata, missing her by only a few seconds at most. By this point, he had beaten up a lot of the otherworlders who came to Tempest, showing the nations bordering the Forest of Jura that he was no one to mess with.

When the danger Rimuru posed became common knowledge, the other nations of the world all but froze in place. The Kingdom of Farmus was still around, waiting for their opportunity to strike. Some sort of incident took place among the Ten Great Demon Lords as well, but all Chloe knew were rumors that something might've happened.

As Rimuru cemented his friendship with Grand Master Yuuki of the Guild, he began to exercise his influence on other nations—but apparently it was rough going, thanks in no small part to Farmus's interference. But Rimuru didn't give up, trying out all sorts of strategies. The children's school was one of them, a place in Tempest where Chloe and the others could get an education alongside monster kids.

Suddenly, though, everything changed. At the behest of the Council of the West, Hinata led a suppression force to attack Tempest.

"I did that?"

"Yeah. It was pretty scary, Hinata."

"Oh. Sorry, I guess."

"No, it's okay. You guys kinda made up after that, so…"

According to Chloe, Hinata and Rimuru staged a duel that ended in a draw—and when the children (Chloe in particular) intervened to plead Rimuru's case, Hinata put her blade away.

"So you said 'I'll keep an eye on you' and made nice with Rimuru."

Sensing something strange with Tempest, Hinata apparently kept up her own investigations of the country. As she did, she exposed the assorted nefarious things Farmus was up to, and that made her begin to trust in Rimuru.

Five years passed. Rimuru remained leader of the Forest of Jura, never becoming a demon lord, and his days were as busy as ever. Thanks to making peace with Hinata, he was on good terms with Lubelius—Luminus took a liking to him for some reason, which helped preserve the peace. Chloe also grew, becoming stronger and befriending the demon lord Milim as she paid regular visits to Tempest.

But that peace came to a sudden end on the fateful day when the Empire invaded.

"You know, I already liked Rimuru a lot by then. I didn't want him to go off to battle, so I begged and pleaded with him. The Empire's so big and strong; they had all these scary weapons, and I didn't think we could win. But Rimuru just smiled at me and said 'Don't worry! I'll take care of everything!' I'm sure he was just as scared as me, but he tried to play it off…and he gave me this mask."

"You mean Shizu's…?"

"That's right. I gave it to her."

This was an event that happened in the future, but paradoxically in the past as well. It was a precedent that had a knack for occurring repeatedly, as Chloe put it.

So Rimuru set off for battle. He never came back, and soon the nation of Tempest fell. That was thanks to the suddenly revived Veldora, who flew into a murderous rage. The Empire was destroyed as well, and then Luminus, Hinata, and Chloe and the rest teamed up to take on Veldora—if they didn't, all of humankind was in danger.

In the end, though, before they could settle that score…someone killed Hinata. A glinting flash pierced through Hinata's chest, and then Chloe "woke up" and got sent into the past. She never did find out what happened next.

...…

...

…

Chloe's time loops tended to all work out in somewhat similar fashion, although there would often be disparities here and there. Apparently, the death of Hinata was always the key event, and the same was true this time as well.

This time as well…? I die every single go-round, don't I?

This made Hinata feel a tad awkward. She didn't know whether to feel sad or pathetic about it. But Chloe pressed on.

"But you know, this time is special. Every time I got sent to the past before, Rimuru would always leave the picture before I did. And he never got to see me off. Not even once!"

Up to now, every time loop involved Rimuru leaving everyone's life for one reason or another. This time, however, he was still intact when the jump happened. Hinata knew that, and therefore, she expected this to conclude in some new, different way. There were a lot of differences from before, and— as Hinata decided—maybe they'd be able to put an end to Chloe's looping for good.

"…You know him. You can't help but hold out hope, no matter how illogical, that he'll figure something out."

"Right? So if we can get back to that time period, Rimuru will still be there. This time, I'm sure we can all survive—and we need to figure out who keeps killing him and you!"

They could hold out hope for the future. Hinata thought so, too.

"It sounds like a lot changed with this loop. I wonder what caused that…?"

"Hee-hee! Well, to tell the truth, I actually remembered a couple things from my future self at the Dwelling of the Spirits. That's why, over at Englesia, I pleaded with him and kept him there for a little bit. And then I got this."

Chloe took out the mask, seemingly from nowhere.

"So you got it again, this time around? Then maybe there's a way for you to reach that future."

Hinata's attention was also on the mask. Since her death apparently happened under different circumstances, there may not have been any time for Chloe to receive the mask. If so, there may not be any mask for Shizue to receive this go-round—but if Chloe already had it, that wasn't a concern.

Very shrewd of her, she thought as they worked out their next move. Trusting in Chloe's words, she decided to place her hopes on the future.

"Also," whispered Chloe, "lemme just say this one thing. I really love you, Hinata, but I won't let you take Rimuru from me!"

"Huh?"

"Some battles a woman will never give up on, you know. Alice said so!"

Hinata smiled at her. She really is still a kid, huh? I mean, Rimuru and me? There's no way that could ever possibly happen…

She chuckled, even as the thought of it "possibly" happening haunted her. "Did that upset you?"

"N-no! Not at all! But we need to get moving!"

Confronted by Chloe, Hinata decided to change the subject.

…Thinking about it, this girl's retained over two thousand years of memories and experienced them again and again, right? I was tricked by her looks, but maybe I was wrong to treat her as an innocent child…

Hinata had finally reached the truth…and so began their strange journey.

The first thing they did was travel to find Luminus, one of the few acquaintances of theirs who'd be alive in this era. Chloe immediately started walking.

"You know where she is?"

"Yeah. This really huge war—like, crazy huge—had just started, so I went to watch it."

"Veldora, right?"

"Right. Rimuru introduced him as his friend in this cycle, but he was definitely an enemy the last time. It looked like he was fighting someone, so I wanted to lend a hand."

"Oh. That was Luminus he was fighting, huh?"

"Yeah. So this time, I want to come a little early and help everyone escape before Veldora starts going nuts. I want to win Luminus's trust and get her to work with us."

Chloe sounded remarkably determined. She also had a great sense of direction, unlike Rimuru, so she headed for her destination without any help from Hinata. Before long, they arrived at the demon lord Luminus's castle.

"So this is Nightrose Castle… No wonder Lady Luminus was so proud of it."

It was beautiful, an entirely artificial structure that also boasted the splendor of a natural fortress. Thornlike protrusions were visible across its edifice, serving as standby posts for the castle lookouts. They quickly spotted Chloe, a small herd of vampires bustling over to greet her.

"I'm here to see Luminus," she said to the soldiers surrounding her.

"Please take me to her." Hinata was shocked.

"Wh-whoa! You think you can just walk up and demand to see a demon lord?"

Chloe paid the frenzied advice no mind.

"It's okay. Luminus is my friend!"

"But that's not until after you save her from Veldora, right? She doesn't even know you at this point!"

Only then did Chloe realize she was mixing up her memories a little.

"Oh… You're right. I've repeated this so many times, I guess I thought that part was done. And come to think of it, I always do start with you getting angry at me every time, Hinata…"

I knew it, Hinata thought as she feared for their future. Yes, Chloe was certainly used to this. Perhaps, since Hinata was experiencing this for the first time, she'd handle this with a little bit more carefulness. So she suggested that she could serve as leader.

"Listen, Chloe. I'm going to give you advice, but don't reply to it right away, okay? Don't talk until I'm done telling you what to do."

"Um, all right. That's probably a good idea. If I say something weird, I might wind up changing history."

Hinata was relieved to see Chloe readily accept the offer. At the same time, the portent behind what she said made her blood run cold.

Wait a second! She's right, isn't she? If we do something wrong, it'd mess with history itself, right? We're connected to a pretty hopeful future here, but one mistake, and we could screw up the whole thing!

Now she was extremely grateful for intervening before Chloe did anything rash. They had already messed this up big-time, but at least they wouldn't be stacking up more disasters on top of that. They were still okay, she thought.

Soon, they were brought to Luminus. It wasn't easy, of course, but Chloe quickly talked the guards down, never taking no for an answer.

"Um, do you remember what I just told you?" Hinata asked, quivering as she kept her anger at bay.

"It's fine," Chloe breezily replied. "I've been through this once before, where I pushed my way in to warn them about Veldora's attack!"

No shyness here, for certain. If this had worked before, Hinata wasn't going to ask any more questions.

We're still good. We should be all right. But I think we'll need to make sure we're on the same page…

Hinata internally sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead.

"So you say that evil dragon will come here soon?"

"Yes. I know you're really strong, Luminus, but you can't beat Veldora. He's going to destroy this whole castle, so I want you to evacuate as quickly as you can."

Hinata was nervous. Was this really all right? After gauging Luminus's personality, her Measurer skill indicated that a straight approach was the correct one—but not on everything, of course, or on the really important parts.

"Hmm. I don't know you well enough to believe you. Do you have any sort of evidence?"

Luminus sounded a bit friendlier now…but they couldn't rest easy yet. This was a performance, one meant to cast off any fools wasting Luminus's time. Hinata knew that quite well, so she quickly gave more advice to Chloe, asking her to confirm what era this was and pooling their knowledge together to calculate exactly when Veldora would attack.

"Well, it looks like Veldora will be coming here no sooner than two weeks from now. Once fall arrives, for sure. So be on the lookout, all right?"

Luminus was no idiot. She could analyze Chloe's pulse and other factors, trying to determine whether she was lying. This could just be a concocted story, but someone like Chloe who could talk her way through the castle guard seemed unlikely to try anything that foolish.

In the end, Luminus saved her decision for later and offered Chloe lodging in the castle.

Then, in another little while, Veldora came. Luminus fought bravely, Chloe attempting to join in before Hinata stopped her.

"Listen. Last time, you said you didn't fight Veldora in this era, right?" "Right, but…"

"Forget all your other memories. Right now, what we need to do is follow our footsteps from last time. In order to win Luminus's trust, we need to talk to her about the future—but don't talk about the future results from this time around. If we just retrace the route we took last time, we're bound to reach the future from the current cycle."

It was important enough of a point that Hinata said it twice. Chloe, taken in by her force of will, nodded her approval. She understood it well. If they told Luminus about their memories from the current loop—how Granville betrayed them, for example—Luminus would no doubt kill Granville right that minute, and Chloe and Hinata would lose their link to the future they came from. Both of them knew they had to avoid this at all costs.

Thus, while Veldora destroyed the castle, Chloe's timely warning kept human casualties quite low. This was the same as the history Hinata was taught.

Given Chloe's apparent clairvoyance, Luminus enthusiastically trusted her. The two of them became friends, and right now, they were seated facing each other behind closed doors.

"So you're telling me, Chloe, that you've traveled through multiple loops in time?"

"That's right. My memory extends approximately two thousand years into the future. Would you like to hear more?"

"Of course. Go ahead."

With Luminus's permission, Chloe gave her story, internally discussing it with Hinata as she did. For the next two millennia, she will be a Hero—and at the end of those two thousand years, a slime by the name of Rimuru will make his appearance. This Rimuru will perish in battle, and then Veldora will be unleashed. Before that point, Luminus will befriend a woman named Hinata—but she, too, will be murdered. Neither Chloe nor Hinata knew who was behind these deaths; Chloe couldn't give all the details, but she described their deaths as much as she could.

"I see, I see. And you want to change that future for you both?"

"Not change, exactly. I want to retrace my previous steps through time, as much as I can. If I do anything too big that changes a lot of things, I think I'd wind up in a completely different future."

"Yes, I can imagine. Certainly, I have no qualms with the future you describe—I doubt I'd take the death of this Hinata too well, but otherwise, it sounds fine to me. After all, how much can I ask for from a friend I haven't met?"

Luminus smiled.

Luminus… Thank you. I'm truly happy you said that.

Given her unfriendly appearance, it may have been a little hard to believe, but Luminus was actually a very gentle woman. Hinata knew that well.

"Then I promise I will cooperate with you. Roy can be a handful, but you will have nothing to worry about from the others. I will inform them all that you are my friend, Chloe. Now, what are you going to do next?" Luminus's sharpened eyes descended on Chloe.

"Well, the same thing I always do. I'm a Hero, and I have to help people in need!"

That right-minded answer made Luminus flash a beaming smile.

"Will you, now? Well, how nice. I'm curious to see how your fate will affect others. But what will you call yourself?"

Chloe—and Hinata—froze for a few moments.

"You probably shouldn't go by the name Chloe."

"Yeah. My friend Leon's bound to suspect something."

Even discounting that, Chloe wasn't known as a Hero yet. She gave her real name to Luminus, but it'd likely be safer to keep it hidden from the general public.

"What should I do?" Chloe asked Hinata.

"What do you usually do here?"

"Um, I don't have any real script. Usually, I guess I just kinda leave at this point without giving a name."

Hinata was just about to say "Well, just do that, then" before she stopped herself. For some odd reason, she remembered something Rimuru once told her—specifically, his anecdotes about running into trouble after naming certain monsters. So she just suggested the first name that came to mind.

"Well, in that case, given your Time Travel skill, why don't we combine

Chloe with Chronos, the overseer of time, and have you go by Chronoa?"

"And not, um, Chronoe or something?"

"That's too close to your own name. You might blow your cover, depending on how people pronounce it."

"Oh! Good point. Okay, Chronoa it is!"

Hinata had held an emergency conference in her mind, accelerated by her Measurer skill, and together they had come up with a suitable alias.

"…I will go by Chronoa. It looks like it'd be better if I didn't throw my real name around in public. So from this day on, I'll call myself the Hero

Chronoa!"

This would mark the first time the name Chronoa was recorded in history.

Abandoning the ruins of their castle, Luminus and her followers sought out a new land. Chloe, naturally, accompanied them.

"So why did my Usurper skill disappear anyway?"

"I don't know. Every time, though, your powers wind up integrating with mine, so…"

Chloe fell silent, seemingly finding it awkward to say. It gave Hinata a vague but decent idea of how her end would come.

"Well, all right. I guess it turns out the same regardless; it's just a matter of timing. But if naming you took away one of my own powers, I guess Chronoa has some kind of monster aspect to her, doesn't she?"

"Hey! That's kinda mean, don't you think?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant nothing by it."

"You can be real nasty sometimes, y'know? No matter how pretty you are, you're never gonna attract anyone with that attitude." "Ah, knock it off. I'm dead anyway, so it doesn't matter." They kept bickering as their journey continued.

Once she left Luminus's side, Chloe began making a name for herself as a Hero, just as she promised. Time passed…and then they reached a point three hundred years before the last leap backward, just before the moment Veldora was sealed away.

As per usual in her long voyage through time, Chloe had picked up skills like Absolute Severance and Unlimited Imprisonment. Hinata, meanwhile, supported her inside her body, using her Measurer skill to help out. So it was with a less-than-enthusiastic tone of voice that Chloe met with Luminus again and said:

"Okay, I'm gonna go seal Veldora away."

"Ah yes, you did mention that long ago, didn't you? But are you sure you can do that?"

Luminus looked worried. Unlike before, she and Chloe were now fast friends.

"I'll be fine. I have Hinata with me."

She had told Luminus, and Luminus alone, about Hinata. The demon lord readily accepted her.

"Very well, then. But don't push yourself."

"She'll be fine. I'll be the one taking on Veldora."

"What?"

This was news to a surprised Chloe, even though the unconcerned Hinata made it sound like settled business.

"I've already fought Veldora once. And when I did…" Hinata recalled how it went:

"Kwaaah-ha-ha-ha! How weak! You call yourself the defender of humanity? Do not make me laugh!! Ahhh-ha-ha-ha, can you no longer stand? It serves you right, for I will never taste defeat! Now to put an end to this—for I am a busy dragon!"

It was a pretty humiliating memory.

"…A lot of stuff happened between us, so I really want to kick his ass,

or I'll never be happy."

She meant it. Chloe could tell by the tone of her voice, as could Luminus.

"I understand all too well what you mean. I was hoping to bring that lizard to tears myself."

"Back in our fight, I managed to get him to reveal the scope of his powers. I'd like a chance to take advantage of that."

Both Hinata and Luminus were enthusiastic about delivering Veldora his just deserts. Chloe, who recalled enjoying Veldora's company, couldn't hate him that much—but given how much destruction he was responsible for in the past, she couldn't defend him that ardently.

"Well, I don't know everything about you, but don't hurt him too bad, okay? Because Veldora really is a good person."

So Chloe decided to let Hinata do what she wanted.

And at the site of the final battle, Hinata proved to be powerful, indeed.

With Chloe's support, they managed to completely shut Veldora out.

"Gwaaahhh!!"

Hearing that pained scream, the beauty underneath the mask blushed, basking in her satisfaction. Then she turned control of Chloe's body back to her.

Now Chloe's time was ending. The moment had arrived.

"I didn't tell you this until now, but I think I'm gonna disappear soon." "What are you talking about, Chloe?" Luminus asked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well…"

Chloe began to reveal what she'd kept hidden this whole time. It was, in effect, what Hinata had secretly been surmising. Before much longer, Leon— the Leon that Hinata knew of—would appear. It seemed, apparently, that Leon and Chloe came to this world at the same time, and therefore you'd have the rather odd situation of two Chloes existing simultaneously.

If advanced theories about multiverses were true, and there are parallel universes for every plane of existence, then maybe two Chloes at once would be all right—but what if there weren't? Chloe's Time Travel skill was an aberration. Maybe there's no such thing as being too weird and outrageous to be allowed to exist, but the idea of multiple worlds being born was a little too far-out there for Hinata.

Instead, the idea of the world being remade was more tangible. Otherwise, you'd have multiple versions of yourself across multiple worlds, and everything Hinata and her friends were doing was inherently pointless. The idea that she'd find salvation in some worlds and doom in others wasn't something Hinata was willing to accept. That's why she wanted to end Chloe's looping and save the world for good this time—even if meant sacrificing herself along the way.

There was a problem, though, one that Chloe was expressing right this minute.

But I guess my reasoning was sound after all…

It seemed, once everything was said and done, that the "one single world" theory was correct—and the world thus would never allow contradictions.

…Well, not quite. It's not that contradictions are verboten—it's that anything that causes the world to unravel is. But if you have enough power to force the issue, you can shove in any paradox you like. I mean, there's no other possible way to explain that mask.

Hinata was relieved that her guess was correct, but at the same time, the future began to look much gloomier to her. From here on out, she realized, it'd all come down to luck and the efforts of other people.

"…And the thing is, I have zero memories from beyond the moment that happens. If I had to guess, Hinata, you probably take over later and help out Ms. Izawa for me, but…"

"And I suppose, from that moment you describe, I can't do anything until the other 'me' who doesn't know anything shows up, right? So what do you think happens after that?"

In the future, Luminus was carefully storing something she cherished. Looking back, was it Chloe herself in there, sealed away?

"All I can vaguely remember is that I was struggling against something. I'm thinking that whoever's in there is probably a different personality than me."

Then Hinata remembered that she had come up with the Chronoa name— and when she did, someone took a skill away from her. Maybe, she finally realized, that really was some monsterlike individual.

"Well, Chloe, are you going to lose consciousness soon, then? That's probably the result of the same person existing in multiples along the same

time line. I think your theory is correct, Hinata."

"Yes. And the new Chloe, the one about to be born, is the one that'll eventually get thrown all the way back to the past." "I imagine you're right," said Luminus.

"Yeah. So, Hinata, I know this is asking a lot—"

"It's all right. Once I save Shizue, I'll rely on Lady Luminus after that."

"Leave everything to me. I can use my spiritual force to create a compartment—an ark, if you will—to isolate you from the present age, Chloe. Both of your souls will likely be thrown into the future, and I promise you… I will find them and undo that seal when everything is complete again."

Chloe, Hinata, and Luminus's hearts were one in that moment. And with that, they left Luminus to handle all their futures.

With Chloe's consciousness now gone, Hinata was by herself.

Now that her theory was proven correct, Hinata was racked by intense anxiety and pressure. The anxiety was over being left alone. The pressure came from this intense something within her, attempting to take over her body from the inside.

Once Chloe—the main Chloe—disappears, I'm sure Chronoa is going to wreak havoc. But I didn't expect this much havoc…

Despite her astonishment, Hinata's iron will beat all that anxiety and pressure down. She rescued Shizue from Leon's castle, safely turning the mask over to her—and once this mask of unknown origin was out of her hands, that marked a great mountain Hinata had overcome.

It almost felt nostalgic to her, traveling with Shizue, although Hinata never revealed it. But that era, too, ended. The day of their separation was here. She wanted to spend more time with Shizue, but it was an impossible dream. With Chloe's main personality gone, Hinata could no longer control Chronoa herself. At this rate, the whole plan was in danger of falling apart, ruining all their hard work. Thus, Hinata followed history, left Shizue, and relied on Luminus.

They never did find out who Chronoa was, in the end. Hinata was now in the ark, and once she was settled in, another Hinata—one who knew nothing about any of this—would soon appear in the world. Once she did, what would happen to the Hinata sleeping inside her coffin? If she was lucky, nothing. If not, it'd be Chronoa waking up next, not her. But even if it came to that…

Even it comes to that, I'm sure you'll figure something out. I believe in you, Rimuru!

Recalling that slime from deep within nostalgic memory, she smiled a little before closing her eyes.

Veldora approached Chronoa. The whining commenced immediately afterward.

"Gaarrrgghhh! She—she cut me! R-Rimuru, she cut me!"

Yeah, I'm sure she did. If you try stopping a sword with bare hands, that's gonna happen.

That ain't no normal sword, you know. It's God class. Way fancy. And even if you didn't have anything else available—your bare hands? Seriously? This dude really is weaker in human form.

Given all his confidence, this was a real downer for me. Honestly, I kind of hoped Veldora could take care of Chronoa in my stead, but I suppose things were never gonna go that easily.

"How unsafe can you get?! Couldn't you see the danger?!"

Seeing Veldora in such embarrassing shape made me want to burst into tears. It was just too much to take.

"B-but, Rimuru, it is quite a bit sharper than the last time we fought…"

"Heroes get to fight with the Absolute Severance skill, okay? Didn't you say she slashed you with that?"

Of course, I was no longer sure how credible the Absolute part of that was. All I know was, I sure didn't want to test her Absolute Severance against my Absolute Defense.

"Y-yes, but I am impervious to that anyway…"

Veldora kept muttering as he started desperately dodging Chronoa's attacks. She got a stab in now and then, but he seemed on top of things still, which was good.

In fact, I could get Veldora's point. What he was saying, basically, is whenever he got cut in their last battle, it didn't cause this much damage. But if you thought about it for a moment, it made perfect sense. It was just a matter of size. A sword could only slash across a given range, and even if you used a skill to expand it, I couldn't picture ever being able to cleave Veldora's gigantic body in two. But now he was in human form and trying to defend against a bladed weapon with his arms, for God's sake, so of course he was gonna get a scratch or two. I guess he was healing them as soon as he sustained them, but I'm sure that was consuming a lot more magicules than his dragon form.

Maybe he got better fuel performance as a human, but against Chronoa, he no longer had an edge to speak of. His much-ballyhooed Veldora-Style Death Stance wasn't exactly saving him against a foe with a sword, either. But I wasn't panicking. This would be a good lesson for Veldora, so I decided to have him continue distracting Chronoa for me.

I turned toward Leon. Under the protection of Charys, he was currently performing a summoning. Not that much time had passed, I imagined, but it felt like forever as he summoned a single rapier.

"Sorry to keep you. I can't do anything without a weapon. I want to have my Flame Pillar, my preferred weapon from my Hero days."

Another God-class blade? That's an ex-Hero and current demon lord for you. He also had a shield, a so-called Gold Circle, equipped on his left hand, and that was Legend class as well. Impressive, definitely, but I didn't think it would stop Chronoa's blade. "Better than nothing," I'm sure he was thinking. Regardless, Leon had his equipment.

Now we could step up and counterattack—but the moment I had that thought, Luminus was blown straight in my direction. For a moment, I feared she lost her fight, but she appeared unhurt—I guess that was just a performance, then. She looked at me for a moment, then slammed a Thought Communication into my mind.

(I have to tell you something—Chronoa is Chloe's alternate self! Hinata's soul might be sleeping in there, too, so whatever you do, do not kill her!)

…What?!

The fact that she was sending a Thought Communication at all was weird, but what she said truly surprised me. Like, don't drop that bomb in the middle of this huge battle!

I watched anxiously as Leon headed off to confront Chronoa. Luminus, meanwhile, trekked back toward Granville, all but leaving things in my hands.

How was I going to deal with this? Chronoa was Chloe—and now that I looked, I could kinda see it on her face. I didn't know what that "Hinata's soul" stuff was about, though… But if it was true, what did that mean?

Report. Chronoa and Chloe can be considered the same person.

Meaning…?

In other words, the subject Chloe Aubert traveled through time and emerged in the past. It can be inferred that this Chronoa is the matured version of herself.

Um… Hang on. Was that even possible?

I was sure Luminus could clear this up, but she was fighting for her life against Granville, and I doubted she could give a full answer. That Thought Communication was about the best she could provide right now. But traveling through time, like some sci-fi story? Or more like a one-way journey, if she didn't have control over it?

Ugh… Why am I believing in all this?

But Chloe really did disappear before my eyes. That was a fact.

Understood. If that disappearance marks her jumping through time, it would explain why the phenomenon was unexplainable earlier. One cannot observe temporal intervention without the ability to intervene oneself.

Sure. Maybe you understood the concept of time, but that didn't mean you could observe time itself. Or really, maybe you don't have to understand it at all. If you just treated it as "there," the whole thing started seeming a little more coherent.

Maybe, when I tried to rescue young Chloe, I summoned something from the future? If something happened to Chloe in the future, and the spiritual body known as Chronoa wrecking things right now had taken a trip to the past…

Affirmative. It is agreed that the chances of that are high.

Ah. That explained why Ramiris had been in such a tizzy back then. I could sense an evil aura coming from Chronoa here, and if she felt it, too, no wonder she tried to stop it.

But there was no point worrying over it. So if Chloe had jumped through time, what was her current status? what was going on right now?

Report. It is impossible for multiples of the same soul to exist at the same point in space and time. It is believed that the resulting rejection sent one of the souls into the past. However, the ark—the spiritually powered barrier created by the subject Luminus Valentine —was created for the purpose of locking a soul inside. As a result…

So chances are good that both Chloe's and Hinata's souls are sleeping inside Chronoa? If the power of the ark could outclass Chloe's time-travel force… Well, I had no choice but to believe in that right now.

What next, then…?

"Leon, don't think about attacking Chronoa. Just focus on defending yourself."

"Do you have an idea?"

"Yeah. I know it's asking a lot to just trust in me, but—"

"—No, I will. You trusted me before."

How surprising. I didn't expect it to be that easy. He wasn't acting all highborn with me any longer. I was starting to like this friendlier, more casual Leon. It came at the perfect time, and I appreciated it.

I turned to Veldora to give an order.

"Veldora!"

"On it."

I didn't say anything yet, man. But whatever. No time to lecture him.

"On my signal, I want you to pin Chronoa down. This is going to be really dangerous, as I'm sure you can tell—"

"I told you, Rimuru, I am on it. I believe in you, so go ahead and carry out your plan."

…Well, that made me kinda happy.

In a way, not wanting to hurt Chronoa, or Chloe, was really just me being selfish. I was acting entirely on supposition, guesswork that could've been wrong for all I knew. Besides, having such a sunny view of things in front of this overwhelming opponent was practically suicidal. Still, if there was any kind of chance, I wanted to bet on it.

"Sorry. Follow my lead."

"Kwaaaah-ha-ha-ha! Not to worry! It's hardly the first time."

"I have some concerns of my own, and I wish to confirm them. That is why I am working with you. Nothing more."

Hmm. So maybe Leon noticed, too—not just Veldora—that Chronoa was Chloe. It'd be nice if I could sit down and explain everything, but now was not the time for that. Leon was currently sword fighting with Chronoa, a composed look on his face, but his forehead was covered in sweat. It must've taken a Herculean effort just to speak to me.

So! Next order of business: how to dive into Chronoa's soul…

(Sir Rimuru, not stating your mission objectives out loud was a brilliant decision. I believe it is likely that the demon lord Guy is still monitoring the cathedral.)

That was a Thought Communication from Diablo. Luminus did the same earlier; I guess they were pretty concerned about what was happening around us. Me, though, I resorted to this only because it was a selfish request, and I didn't want Chronoa to eavesdrop on us. If it worked out, though, then great. (Okay. So what do you need from me?)

Diablo must've sent me a message for a reason. As talented as he was, I'm sure he had a grasp of the situation. Maybe he'd have some useful feedback.

(Sir Rimuru, I believe it's possible for you to intervene with people's souls and send messages directly to them. However, I can think of an even surer way.)

(What's that?)

(When your material bodies make contact with each other, you can use your spiritual body to go inside. Then, when your astral bodies make contact,

it is likely possible to directly interact with your partner's soul.)

Whether that was possible or not, it sounded incredibly dangerous, didn't it? Like, to the point where I might never come back. I was planning to stick with Thought Communication, but was that a bad idea?

Understood. The subject Diablo's suggestion has a higher chance of success. However, the amount of danger is incomparably higher.

And that was why Raphael didn't bring it up before now, I guess.

(Diablo, thank you. But let me just say one thing.)

(What is that, my lord?)

(You are giving me far too much credit.)

(Keh-heh-heh-heh… No need to be modest, my lord!) I'm not, dude.

If I wanted to help Chloe and Hinata, I needed the option that gave me the best chances. "Safety first" was my motto, but only depending on the situation. I really needed to teach Diablo more about how I'm not all that great, in the end. I guess he met Guy, judging by that offhand comment he made, and I hoped he didn't say anything weird to him. If he started bragging about me like he usually did, that was bound to draw Guy's attention. Better warn Diablo against that, too.

(If it is possible, I think it would be good to do, ah, something to stabilize the opponent's mind. Good fighting to you, Sir Rimuru!)

Diablo's trust weighed upon me. Right now, though, I'd have to thank him for giving me a decent strategy.

"But how will I calm her down…?"

If I could do that, we wouldn't have to deal with all this. Was there some helpful item that'd do the trick…?

"How about that mask, then, Sir Rimuru?"

The suggestion came from Charys, currently devoted to supporting Leon. I guess he saw what I was about to try, too. Really smart guy. Too much so, even.

"The mask?"

"Yes. It was powerful enough to keep me at bay, so perhaps it would calm her as well?"

"I see…"

He was smart, but apparently he didn't notice how I was trying to keep us from being heard. But that was my fault for replying to him.

The mask, though, huh? I gave that to Chloe, if I recall. So where was it now? Um, hang on a second… That was an old memento from Shizu, and I repaired it at one point. If I gave that repaired mask to Chloe, then maybe it had somehow made its way back to Shizu? Uh… So wait. Where did that mask come from, then?!

…No. I can't think about that right now. The big question is: Can I replicate that mask?

Understood. Create a copy of the Mask of Magic Resistance?

Yes

No

That was a yes. And I had to hand it to Raphael—it made that copy without any problem, looking and functioning exactly like the real thing. Maybe this would help Chronoa chill out.

I took out the mask, showing it to Charys with a grin as I thanked him.

Then I focused my mind on Chronoa. I had the basic outline of my plan set. Now I just had to psyche myself up enough to execute it.

Leon and Chronoa were still dueling, Chronoa pushing him around and Leon sticking to defense—and getting himself more and more wounded. Even someone with his strength had a hard time against that woman. He was bound to lose sooner or later, but that was only true if I did nothing.

"Now, Veldora!"

The moment I shouted it, I made a beeline for Chronoa, mask in hand. And then, just as I pushed it on her face, my consciousness was consumed by darkness.

An explosive blast from Razul, taken point-blank, just blew Shion and Ranga through the wall and outside.

Razul calmly walked in their direction. Their opponents, waging a pitched battle up to this point, were bruised from head to toe. But Shion was still calm, her emotions unwavering as she faced up to Razul like nothing was amiss. She looked dignified, not at all on the verge of collapse— perhaps an expression of her own personality.

Behind her, Ranga was groggily coming to his feet, steeling himself anew. He didn't have Shion's Ultraspeed Regeneration, so the damage he took slowly accumulated over time. To his credit, though, he boasted a host of resistances, enough defense to cancel out your garden-variety physical or spiritual attack. With Ultra-Instinct, part of the King of Magewolves package Rimuru gifted him, he also had evasion skills that bordered on predicting the future.

Getting beaten up in such a one-sided fashion would normally be unthinkable, especially when teaming up with Shion against a single foe. But one look at this scene, and it was obvious just how dangerous Razul was.

Shion took a step forward, covering for Ranga.

"Ranga, you can sit this one out."

"Don't be ridiculous, Shion. He is strong. If we work together, and this is the result, going it alone is hazardous."

"It's all right, Ranga. I think I'm grasping him a little now. I want you to stay there and build up your strength until I give the signal."

With that, she readied her sword in front of her, not waiting for a response. It was a beautiful stance, her core oriented straight toward her foe.

"Impressive. None of the demons could trade blows like this with me."

Razul seemed astonished. But compliments from someone without a scratch on him did nothing but humiliate Shion.

"Silence. I'm gonna rip that cockiness out of you with my bare hands!"

With that shout, Shion went on the move, holding her sword up high and swinging it down like the demigod-like ogre she was. It seemed like a slapdash move at first glance, but it was performed with a flawless, flowing stroke. But Razul didn't flinch. A sharp sound reverberated as the exoskeleton that protected him deflected the blow. As an insectoid, Razul was covered from head to toe with armor harder than steel, giving him matchless strength without extra weapons or armor. Even all the magic Ranga lobbed at him harmlessly bounced off the surface—the exoskeleton generated some kind of special force field that nothing worked against.

Parrying Shion's attack with his left arm, Razul used his momentum to throw a punch powerful enough to crush rock. A regular human being would be torn limb from limb. Shion, before now, wouldn't have thought twice about taking the blow—in her mind, either she'd withstand it or die, one of the two.

Now, though, Shion was more mature. Perhaps instructing others had in turn taught her how to keep an eye on the big picture. If she died here, it'd put her whole side at a disadvantage. Even if she couldn't win this, if she could stretch this out long enough, someone was certain to help her. She could believe that now, so instead of blindly seeking victory, Shion's focus had shifted more toward survival.

She also had good reason to give Ranga some rest. If she forced him right now, he might be too tired to move later—so she resolved to bear the full brunt of this, while she was still able.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason.

Hee-hee… Now to earn my victory and win Sir Rimuru's praise!

On the inside, she was defiant enough to entertain the thought. Survival came first, but she wasn't giving up on victory, either.

This growth on Shion's part had given her more mental leeway to work with. This leeway, in turn, was accelerating the blooming of her stilluntapped talents. Now, her whole way of fighting had changed. She was faithful to Hakuro's teachings, relying more on skill than brute force—and in battle with Razul, she was polishing that even further. That explained the beautiful, traditional moves she exhibited now, like a master sword fighter— real technical skill, in addition to her irrational violence.

The results…

A shock wave of force shot out from Shion's sword as she hammered it down, leaping at Razul. It was little more than a smoke screen to him, of course, but with that moment's distraction, Shion closed the distance between them. With a flowing movement, she unleashed her attack. Razul parried it again, but he could feel his arms starting to go numb. Shion's skill had just ratcheted up, somehow—even in the middle of battle, she was constantly growing.

Not yet! I'm not done yet…!!

That strike just now had the effects of her unique skill Master Chef attached to it. She had come upon the idea of using Guarantee Results to crack his thick exoskeleton. She got deflected, again and again, but she didn't give up, smashing her great sword down on the same spot, thinking about nothing but destroying that shell.

In effect, she was looking to bend the laws of nature themselves to crush the uncrushable. Razul was an overwhelming foe, but Shion persevered, sticking it out, never despairing if her abilities didn't work, constantly believing her wish would come true as she kept attacking. Razul, meanwhile, quietly parried her attacks.

The battle continued along. Razul didn't panic, showing machinelike accuracy as he dealt with Shion. Shion, meanwhile, was exercising her full force, even deploying her Ogre Berserker skill to strike with power beyond her limits. But even with that, this seemed like little more than a preliminary trial to Razul. The strength difference was just too much—Shion had to exhaust everything she had just to keep her head above water.

Razul's movements were like a gently flowing river—but suddenly, a mighty rain made that river overtop its banks. Thanks to constantly tapping her skills, Shion's spiritual force was at its limit. Should she lose her balance, the fallout would likely spell her defeat. And that wasn't all. With Ranga out of the battle, Razul had a bead on every move Shion made. After carefully probing her, he concluded that there was nothing left her for to bring out.

The next moment, Razul's aura ballooned. With ferocious force, he began an all-out attack on Shion, using at least twice as much force as before as he rained a flurry of blows upon her. A moment ago, Razul was a statue facing the torrent of Shion; now the opposite was true.

"Your strength is real. You may be proud of it. But you cannot beat me. At best, you could scratch my outer shell, perhaps? Give up and surrender at once!"

That was Razul's final offer. But Shion was unaffected.

"Hee-hee! Laughable. Did you think I was just raging here without any plan? My wish is to ascend to the loftiest peaks. If I cannot venture beyond them, not only will that impertinent Diablo chide me, but I won't be able to serve Sir Rimuru."

"What?"

"Slow on the uptake, insect? I mean that I will overpower you."

Shion's aura suddenly exploded out as she once again slashed at Razul with everything she had. Sword crossed against arm—and this time, too, Shion's attack was deflected. However, Shion merely smiled.

"Hee-hee! Just as I hoped for."

Standing back up, she faced Razul down once more. "Ridiculous. Your attacks could never strike home." But Shion only snorted at him.

...…

...

…

Shion recalled her own shallowness.

Power is a symbol of justice. As a monster, that was simple common sense, and the weak deserved nothing but to be exploited.

Born as an ogress, Shion was in the upper classes of the Forest of Jura. But at least one person worried for her—and that was her and Benimaru's teacher, Hakuro. Shion had thoroughly tempered her body, which gave her a measure of maturity, but she still didn't really understand the concept.

She didn't ridicule Rimuru's decree that monsters weren't allowed to look down on other species, but part of her mind simply thought it didn't apply to her. The weak are doomed to die—that was the natural order of things.

When she herself died, that was when Shion realized she had it wrong. One didn't fear being killed because they were afraid of death—they were afraid they'd be gone without being able to help anyone else. And when Rimuru rescued her, the sense of relief she felt—this realization that she wasn't forsaken, as if she had two parents protecting her—filled her heart to the brim.

After their battle against the Crusaders as well, Rimuru lectured her, and she changed again. Back then, she couldn't make herself all that angry against the humans she thought were her hated enemies. She questioned that, but Rimuru's words cleared away her doubts. Not all of humanity was evil— there were bad guys but also good guys. It was her job to judge them properly.

A person's value lies in the way they live. Strength, or weakness, didn't mean anything. Someone who seemed useless now could someday awaken to their talents in one field or another. It was up to each person, and not someone else, to decide their own value. Rimuru was trying to say that, and Shion understood—and when she did, she realized just how foolish it was to envy others.

Comparing herself to Diablo, Shion knew she was inferior. In her mind, she feared that Rimuru might abandon her entirely. But she was wrong. Realizing that Rimuru would never forget her made all those worries go away—and in recent days, the ugly emotions that used to dominate her heart had disappeared.

There was no need to envy others—all you have to do is surpass them. Shion turned those senses toward herself. Instead of seeing people as her rivals, she began to find meaning in surmounting her own limits. That way, she believed, she could always grow and mature—and even if it was slow going, with her long life span, she could reach dimensions that those with more fleeting lives could never see.

Once Shion started thinking that way, all her anxieties vanished—and that change of heart encouraged her growth. And that indomitable spirit was now blossoming under extreme circumstances…

Confirmed. The subject Shion's intrinsic skill Ogre Berserker has evolved to the unique skill Divine Berserker.

This was a happy accident, not something Shion aimed for—a miracle that occurred precisely because she kept struggling, never giving up on victory.

...…

...

…

"Let me tell you something—the goddess of victory always smiles upon those who never give up! Here we go—Divine Release!!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Shion tapped into the freshly transformed unique skill Divine Berserker. Ogre Berserker had already used and abused her body; now every muscle screamed at the excessive burden. She used Ultraspeed Regeneration to shut them up.

The unique skill Divine Berserker was, in essence, an upgraded version of Ogre Berserker. It wasn't a true berserker-type move, abandoning all reason and going into a murderous rage; instead, it simply boosted the user's stamina and spiritual force. Like Benimaru's Magic Burn, it was a bodily enhancement that granted her the essential force of a spiritual life-form. But it was no panacea. It had one major disadvantage. In Shion's current state, her physical strength would be loaded on top of her spiritual body—but it consumed magicules at such a fast rate that she'd be running on empty in short order.

Thus, the moment she triggered Divine Berserker, she was already nearing her physical limits. Shion was in this to win it—she had to settle everything with the next strike.

"What…is that power…? It's coming for me?!"

Under the influence of Divine Berserker, an eye-watering mystical force flowed out of every pore of Shion's body. At the same time, it honed every one of her senses, letting her feel just how much power was surging within.

"Now, Ranga!"

"Yes!"

Shion lifted Goriki-maru Version 2 high with both hands. A blast of Dark Lightning charged up by Ranga descended upon it. He had waited for the right moment to unleash it, and it was the most powerful force he was capable of right now. Ranga believed in Shion—even if that lightning damaged her, if that was her will, he wouldn't hesitate to act.

"You impudent…! My shell—"

Shion had no time for Razul's words.

"Chaotic Fate!!"

Her will now had the power to alter the results of every type of natural phenomenon. She threw all of it into her lightning-infused sword, thrusting it downward from on high…

Razul's exoskeleton had blocked every attack from Shion. On his left arm, there was but a single scratch. However, that was all Shion needed. If something had worked before, even a little, she could utilize Optimal Action on it. Combining that with Guarantee Results to guide her hand was the true worth of her Master Chef unique skill.

…With a flash, the broken blade flew into the air. Shion's sword had finally been smashed into two pieces. But it was Razul who fell. His left arm was severed, a large gash cleaved open from the tip of his shoulder down the center of his body. The ruinous lightning that slammed its way through promptly fried all his major organs. Now the battle was over.

Razul crumpled into a heap. He understood he would die soon. His eyes swiveled up to Granville, still fighting against Luminus.

Forgive me, Gren… I'm taking my leave before you. We will meet again, at that promised land…

The light faded from those eyes as his life functions failed him. Shion and Ranga had secured their victory.

Seeing Rimuru apply the mask to Chronoa, Luminus all but hoped it would win the day for them. This was a risky wager. Once again, Luminus had bet everything on Rimuru, who had earned Chloe's and Hinata's trust.

Luminus had pretended not to know anything about him, but given everything Chloe and Hinata said about him in the past, she was worried. She only joined the last Walpurgis because she heard Rimuru would be there. Him becoming a demon lord wasn't at all the story she heard. Even when discussing matters with Hinata, she continued to feign ignorance of the truth. But as Chloe's story gradually inched closer to reality, she stopped having any doubt about it. That was why Luminus was never hostile to Rimuru from the start.

Still, recent events hadn't turned out at all like how the Chloe and Hinata of the past put them. Things were starting to get inconsistent, and that scared Luminus to the core. The greater things started to diverge, the more it seemed like Chronoa, kept safe in the ark, wouldn't be revived in the correct manner. Now that fear had come true—and unexpected events were occurring in a flurry.

Here, right before this musical concert she so looked forward to, her dutiful assistant Granville was turning traitor. To be exact, she knew he betrayed her well before now, but not even she expected him to march in here and so blatantly rebel against her.

Now Hinata was dead, Chronoa was revived, and Luminus's best bet for dealing with these irregularities was Rimuru, whose continued survival was itself an irregularity. That was her decision, and just as she hoped, Rimuru was attempting an appeal to Chronoa's soul.

That's the same mask Chloe wore. There's still hope!

Luminus internally cheered. But then Granville spoke up.

"You look pleased, Lady Luminus. Do you really believe that your beloved Chloe will come back?"

"What?"

"Chronoa is a living destructive force, is she not? And without the ark to contain her, the only way to stop Chronoa is to call back Chloe's soul. But do you really think that soul is slumbering within her?"

"Why do you know that?"

Luminus looked surprised for a moment. But come to think of it, Granville could have easily listened in on Chloe's and her conversations over the years.

"…Oh. So that's what you did…"

"Yes, I'm sure it's just as you imagined. There is no quicker and easier way to destroy this world. All I have to do is leave the matter to someone far stronger than I!"

Granville laughed, the madness readily visible in his dark, murky eyes.

"Silence! Don't expect this to turn out how you want!"

"No? I suppose not. At every opportunity, this world has trampled over my wishes. And just now, my friend has passed away."

It was only then that Luminus realized one of the battles was over. Rimuru's officers had emerged triumphant. Razul was dead. "Heh-heh-heh… Indeed, this world has been harsh to me." "I don't care!" Luminus shot back, pushing him aside.

"…And that," he quietly responded, "is why I hope this whole world is destroyed."

"Enough with your nonsense. If you want to be hopeless, go do it by yourself!"

With that shout, she readied her beloved sword, named Nightrose after her original homeland. Granville responded in kind, turning toward Luminus and unsheathing Truth, his own blade from his Hero days. Both weapons were God class and boasting equal capabilities. And then:

"Hopeless? No, I am not hopeless. In fact, right now my heart is filled to the brim with hope!"

As he made the declaration, the energy being released from Razul's body flowed its way into Granville's. It was both his strength and his very soul. Now he had the powers of Maria, Razul, and himself pulsating within his body, creating a new hope for himself.

Confirmed. Conditions met. The unique skill Nefarious has evolved into the ultimate skill Sariel, Lord of Hope.

Granville, too, was reaching dizzying new heights in this battle—the ultimate peaks, mountaintops that only the chosen can reach.

The ultimate skill Sariel, Lord of Hope, much like Luminus's Asmodeus, worked in terms of life or death. Now they were fully an even match.

Standing there silently, Granville turned his dark, opaque eyes toward her.

"I am ready, Lady Luminus. It is time to break the cycle of fate and finish things."

"…So it is. I will accept your resolve. And worry not—I promise that I will kill you!"

They faced each other. It was a battle between two people awoken to ultimate skills—but it ended in an instant. There was a single flash of crimson red, as Luminus's Nightrose danced in the air. With a gloomy blue streak of flames, Granville's Truth blade took the blow.

"Requiem for the Dead!!"

"Fortitude!!"

It was a head-on clash between Asmodeus and Sariel. Under matching conditions, whichever side had the stouter will would emerge victorious. Granville, the nefarious Hero, thus had no reason to lose—and yet, it was Luminus now standing.

After putting the mask on Chronoa, I focused my consciousness and began diving into her spiritual realm. Not that I myself was doing this, of course; Raphael was handling all the controls for me.

I was expecting complete darkness, but it was actually pretty bright. There weren't any light sources around; I was sure this was just an imaginary landscape. So I jiggled along, trying to mentally move myself forward, when I realized someone was walking alongside me.

"Hey there, slime. It's been far too long. Or no, wait, it's Satoru, isn't it?" It was Shizu. She was a nostalgic sight, but I felt a little embarrassed. "Oh, stop," I said, trying to joke about it. "My name's fully Rimuru these days. I'm not abandoning my past, but it's just awkward whenever I'm called that."

It's not that I wanted her to call me Rimuru. Absolutely not. No way. Still, though, having this imaginary landscape was kind of convenient. If you felt lonely, you could even have dead people drop in for a visit.

Shizu didn't have a mask on. Her face was visible, all of her burns gone, and it made me realize all over again how pretty she was.

My own look was modeled after hers, of course, which often made people think I was this fetching young lady—and looking at her now, I guess I couldn't blame them. As a former dude, I was still sorting my feelings out about it, but…

Having her here reassured me. I began to advance faster. She followed me, smiling.

Facing us up ahead was another pretty young girl. This was Chronoa, her eyes filled with hatred; she looked incredibly scary, like she was about to destroy the world. First, I thought, we're gonna have to talk this out. Hoping she was willing to listen, I opened my mouth—but before I could:

"…Are you Rimuru? It's…really you?"

…Well. That was unexpected. I was anticipating more of a, you know, hostile kind of thing.

"Uh, yep. The very one."

I nodded, and then Chronoa embraced me—a young, ravishing woman hugging a slime. Yes, I was digging this, thanks for asking.

Shizu giggled a bit as she watched. "You really worked hard," she said as she patted Chronoa on the head. "I wanted to see you too, Hero."

Hmm… Was it really all right for this encounter to be so, like, heartwarming? I could still feel intense warfare going on outside, but right now, this was making me feel all warm and fuzzy.

"So um, you're Chronoa?"

Looking at her, I was starting to think Chronoa was just Chloe grown up. They really did look alike.

"Yes. My name is Chronoa—an embodiment of corruption, shut inside

Chloe. At the same time, I'm kind of her alternate self. If Hinata didn't name me, though, I don't think I would've had sentience like this."

Oh. I see. I had no idea what was going on, but I could tell there was a complicated backstory involved.

"All right. So what you're trying to do…"

If she was intent on destroying the world, I'd have to stop her with everything I had. If this was Chloe's alter ego, I needed to get Chloe in this scene and perform a bit of a switcheroo. That's why I cut straight to the point.

But:

"It's fine. I've had enough of that. You're safe, after all."

Chronoa was perfectly calm and casual, even though it kind of gave me the creeps. I had been through all kinds of tough scrapes by now, and I survived them all. If you wanted to put me in even more danger, I'd have to say no thank you to that.

"Well, sure. I've always been safe, so…"

"You say that, but you sacrificed yourself to save me!"

Now Chronoa raised her voice. Sacrificed? I wasn't sure what set her off, but maybe I ought to just apologize.

"Ha-ha-ha! Sorry, sorry. I'll be more careful next time."

"Really? You promise?"

So I promised Chronoa I wouldn't do anything reckless. I was totally lost here. It's not like I was trying to be reckless.

…But hang on. If Chronoa had memories from the future, was she talking about something coming up for me?

…That possibility is likely.

Aw, man, really?! That sucks to hear… Or actually, maybe the other way around. I have to be glad I heard that. I swore not to pull any reckless moves, no matter what.

I waited a few moments for Chronoa to calm down before dropping the big question.

"So speaking of Chloe, do you know where she is right now?"

That—and was Hinata here, too? I was in a rush, but I wanted to proceed with caution. If I got on Chronoa's bad side, I might cut off any chance at getting more info. But my worries were in vain.

"She went astray, into the Unlimited Imprisonment deep inside my heart.

I'm supposed to be the one locked in there, but two of the same being can't exist at the same time, so we got swapped out."

Judging by how forward she was, it looked like Chronoa cared a great deal about her. She seemed to see herself as a support for Chloe, the "main" personality, and I felt safe in believing that. So I moved on to the next question.

"And what about Hinata?"

"Hinata. Well…"

It was a shocking answer. She told me Hinata was already dead.

"What do you mean? Luminus told me Hinata jumped back in time with you…"

So she should have been just fine…

"You have it all wrong, Rimuru. Hinata died right here. Granville's attack can crush people's souls as well. That's why Chloe absorbed Hinata's soul and jumped back into the past…but Hinata couldn't withstand the time leap."

Huh? No, but… I mean, Luminus and Hinata had conversations. Loads of them. And besides…

"…Wasn't it Hinata who named you, Chronoa?"

"Yeah."

"So in that case…!"

"Hinata's consciousness alone was stored in her unique skill—the remains of her soul. That's why I could never take in her Measurer. If I did, her sense of self would completely vanish…"

The sadness behind her words showed me she was telling the truth. But hang on. Hinata's consciousness stayed here because her skill was rooted in her soul. If you planted this skill back in Hinata's body, wouldn't that revive her?

"I understand what you mean, Rimuru. I—or Chloe—thought the same thing. But it just won't work. Like I told you, the remains of Hinata's soul are locked in the Unlimited Imprisonment, too. Everything in there is chaotically mixed together. I was born from that, so I hate to say this, but Hinata's

Measurer is probably already integrated with everything else…"

If you had a will and energy along the lines of Veldora, that'd be one thing. But while Hinata was a Saint, she was still human—and as Chronoa saw it, the Unlimited Imprisonment was too much to withstand. We had Hinata's physical body right here. If the soul was safe, we could revive her.

And yet…

"No, it's all right. Hinata's a really strong woman, so I'm sure she hasn't vanished yet. So let's call for her together, okay?"

My spirits fell as Chronoa grieved for her. It was Shizu who tried to assuage us with a calm smile.

My anxieties were now gone. We could grieve after we saw the results.

"Yeah… You're right. Chronoa, I want to rescue Chloe and Hinata from the Unlimited Imprisonment, but is there a way we can do that?"

"Well, I'm calmer now, so I think I can pick up on the other Chloe's presence. But it's gonna be hard to unlock the Unlimited Imprisonment. If we do that, I'm pretty sure that will destroy our body…"

When I asked what she meant, she explained that the Unlimited Imprisonment held all of their vast amounts of energy. I had forgotten that it was Chronoa here controlling the younger Chloe's powers. If we released a quantity of energy on the level of Veldora's, we'd probably vaporize Chloe's body—and right now, we had no way of verifying whether Hinata's heart was still there or not. We'll just have to trust in Shizu's confidence for now.

So if I wanted to nimbly control the Unlimited Imprisonment's energy while extracting Chloe and Hinata from there…could I use Raphael to intervene with it, maybe? Like, just probe around inside without breaking the whole thing open?

Negative. As it stands currently, this is not possible. We do not have access to the data particles, the smallest unit we can interact with.

Raphael could unlock the Unlimited Imprisonment as well, but since we couldn't access the information inside, that was all it could do. Veldora, who came back to life all by himself, was apparently a unique exception.

"All right! In that case, let me reassign that access. You have my permission to do whatever you want, Rimuru!"

…Huh?!

Just as I was pondering what to do, Chronoa gave me quite the unexpected offer.

These data particles were even smaller than spiritual particles, she explained, their mass about as close to zero as you could get, and they were found in everything that existed in the world. It was possible to observe data particles, although it was limited to spaces like inside my Stomach and Chronoa's Unlimited Imprisonment. They were the units Raphael apparently worked with when organizing my skill sets.

Now that I had the permission of the Unlimited Imprisonment's owner, Raphael had the right to interact with it.

Report. Consent received. Commencing intervention.

Hmm. Was it me, or did Raphael sound a little joyful? This must feel kinda similar to messing around with my own skills.

Things happened extremely rapidly after that. Before I could even try to stop him, Raphael was fully in his element.

Complete. The unique skills Unlimited Imprisonment and Absolute Severance will have Measurer added to them. The resulting sacrifice of energy will trigger an evolution to an ultimate skill.

Raphael kept on going, not even giving me the customary Yes/No prompt.

Although maybe asking me for approval was barking up the wrong tree.

These aren't my skills, after all… …Wait. Isn't this kind of weird?

Despite my worries, Chloe's—Chronoa's—power was soon reborn into the ultimate skill Yog-Sothoth, Lord of Time. Even better, Chronoa—a conscious body, normally an alternate version of Chloe—was optimized into an informational body known as a manas, allowing her to switch out with Chloe at any time.

Was it really okay to let Raphael go hog wild like this? I honestly wanted someone to say no to me, but no complaints were forthcoming.

"You're always so reckless, Rimuru…but I still love you so much!" Chronoa hugged me, dropping a kiss on my right cheek. And what's more: "Hey, Chronoa! You can't just jump in front of me!!" I detected something soft on the other side.

Chloe, just like Chronoa, hugged me close and kissed me. Even more amazing, Chloe was looking like a grown-up, too, virtually twins with Chronoa and just as stunning. I was really starting to love these imaginary landscapes. It's a damn shame this wasn't real life, but being surrounded by hotties was never a bad thing. I kind of wished I was a human, not a slime, in this vision. Maybe even the old me, back when I was a nice human-type guy. What's the harm?

As I let myself bask in all these peach-colored fantasies, Shizu looked down warmly at me. And so did someone else.

"Well, aren't you sitting pretty, Rimuru? You don't even know whether I can come back, but I can see that's not bothering you too much!"

It was Hinata. No, now wasn't the time to get carried away. I cleared my throat, my blushing cheeks giving away my embarrassment.

But hey, Hinata's still lookin' pretty as always. Should I start by complimenting her? Although I guess I did just see her a moment ago, didn't I? But still, no woman minds a little praise.

"Ah, I see you're—"

"Spare me your pickup lines."

"Um, okay."

She saw right through me. But I still really had to say this.

"But… I mean, I dunno if we want to call you safe yet or not…but I'm really glad to see you again, Hinata."

That much, at least, I really meant.

"Thanks," she replied—and her cheeks were just a tiny bit red.

She's totally being shy, isn't she? Is she starting to fall for me?!

Negative. That is incorrect.

Yeah, no way that could happen. Besides, she was already ignoring me and celebrating her reunion with Shizu. She had dropped the attitude now, her eyes tearing up a bit.

"I'm sorry, Shizu. I didn't want to cause trouble for you…"

"I know, Hinata. And I'm sorry I never noticed at the time. Also, thanks.

You were the Hero who rescued me from Leon's castle, weren't you?"

"…That's right."

Seeing them embrace, I was about to cry myself.

"You really are a strong girl, Hinata," Shizu earnestly stated. "I think it was Measurer, the unique skill you created, that allowed you to keep it together in there."

She might be right, yeah. Hinata certainly hadn't changed at all.

"I lost one of my other powers, though."

"Hee-hee! Well, that just means you don't need it any longer. You simply need to keep growing, all right? And face up to yourself."

"…But can I really be resurrected?"

"You're fine. You believe in it, too, don't you?"

"Well, kind of…"

Shizu and Hinata turned their eyes to me.

"How long are you gonna keep doing that?"

It took Hinata saying that to make me realize Chloe and Chronoa were still hugging me tight.

"I wanna hug Rimuru more!"

"That's right, Hinata. It's been two thousand years, so just a little longer…"

The way she phrased it could lead to all sorts of misunderstandings, I thought. I mean, I wasn't doing anything. These twin Chloes were just being buried in my slime body.

"You'll have all the time in the world later, all right? Because I really need to get going, and we need to revive Hinata soon."

With a smile, Shizu shooed the Chloes away from me.

"Where are you going?"

"You should know, shouldn't you, Rimuru? I'm just an illusion you're displaying here."

Well, no, this was an imaginary landscape, so…

"No dream goes on forever—you have to wake up sooner or later. I'm glad I got to see all of you. It looks like Kenya and everyone are in good shape, and when you punched Leon, Rimuru, that perked me up a little. I guess we had some misunderstandings, but now that I know that, I think I'm starting to like this world a little. So I don't have any regrets now. I feel happy."

Chloe and Hinata tried to stop Shizu, but she just smiled at them contentedly. They watched her, taking in what she was trying to say, and then they nodded back.

"Take care of Hinata for me, Rimuru."

"You can do it, right, Rimuru?"

"You better."

These three were really laying on the pressure. I couldn't stop sweating. Thinking about if I messed this up—no, that's not right. No getting weak in the knees. It's not my style to give up before even trying. I'm more concerned about Hinata than myself, so I couldn't lose my confident attitude.

"You got it," I declared. "I'm gonna help you right now, Hinata."

Words can become strength. Firming up my resolve to make this work, I left this landscape…

…and when I returned to reality, I was still in human form. Apparently, I hadn't moved at all, striking that exact same pose while I was gone. I stretched and refocused myself. The last thing I saw in that space was Shizu smiling as she faded away. If I wanted to live up to that smile, I needed to make one more effort.

"Aha! You are safe, Rimuru!"

"How'd it go? Chronoa stopped fighting and fell to the ground—"

"I'll explain later. Can you guys stay on alert and make sure no intruders come in?"

"Indeed I shall!"

"Very well. But you will explain this afterward?"

Veldora, and even Leon, readily agreed. That was a relief. I doubted he would, but if Yuuki came back, they could take care of him.

So let's look at Hinata's body. Luminus's magic had healed all the wounds on it; it was now down on the ground next to Chronoa.

…Oops. There was a hole in her clothing around her chest, so I needed to cover that up with a spare coat I had on hand. It's these little acts of kindness that make a considerate man like me so appealing. Of course, what I really wanted was to have her not glaring at me—but I'd just tuck that thought deep inside my mind.

Now for the main event—the resurrection magic—and that would be a tall order if it was just me alone. I helped Hinata's consciousness surface back up, but her Measurer—her real self, in essence—was still left inside Chloe's Yog-Sothoth. It had been absorbed to keep from disappearing, and it would be tough to separate them.

I would prepare some energy to replace that, make the swap, and cast the resurrection spell at the same time—and I'd need some help for that. I called out to her.

"Lend me a hand in resurrecting Hinata, Luminus!"

"Gn… Gah… Well done, Lady…Luminus."

Granville was on the ground spitting blood. After that strike from Luminus, the vitality was draining away from him—but his expression was now serene.

"You…"

Luminus could hear what he wanted to tell her. If you cannot even overcome this adversity, it will be impossible to protect the human race. If so, we may as well have our Hero protectors destroy the world.

She correctly understood that he was pinning his last hopes on her. She was prepared to accept that, and as proof of that—and to show her response to his feelings—she had faced up to Granville and struck him down. Now she could understand his emotions all too well. Granville didn't want to see Chronoa go berserk—he wanted her awakened correctly, so she could give hope to humanity. His awkwardness about it was still there, after a thousand years, and it made Luminus feel a little lonely.

"My… My hopes…are nothing compared with…the heavy weight of time she bears. With her joining you…and the demon lord Rimuru…"

In this world without mercy, justice without power backing it up was meaningless. Even someone with Granville's strength was left to wail at his own feebleness.

Just then, Luminus heard Rimuru's voice. He wanted to resurrect Hinata —and that meant he successfully awakened Chronoa…or Chloe.

I knew I could rely on him. He actually did it.

She offered him praise, if only in her mind.

"You have fulfilled your role well enough. Allow me to handle the rest.

Just sit back and relax."

With that, she turned toward Rimuru.

Her strike was a fatal one, but even before it came, Granville had exhausted all of his life force. He was well past his natural life span, and not even Luminus could lengthen it any further. That wouldn't be the case if he were turned into a monster, but Luminus knew well that he didn't wish for that.

"B-before you go…one more thing, Lady Luminus…"

"What?"

"I… I want to give my hopes…to her…"

Luminus hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure whether to allow it. There was always the danger of Granville trying something. But she decided to hear him out. That was her softer side—and her more generous one.

"All right."

"Ah, bliss…"

Taking the hand Luminus offered, Granville shed tears of gratitude. Even as he did, his body began to glow and turn into tiny balls of light before dissipating.

"…Sleep well."

As if guided by Luminus's voice, the former Hero who fought for years upon years was released from fate and scattered across the world.

"Right. Here I am."

The pompous words could only have come from Luminus. She had just waged an epic battle, and there wasn't a single tear in her clothing. She must have won big, which made sense to me, but I really wished she could've come sooner.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"No, nothing."

I couldn't will myself to yell at her about it. It must be my classically Japanese "don't rock the boat" attitude coming to the surface. But enough about that. Let's go save Hinata.

"I'm going to intervene in Chloe's Unlimited Imprisonment, so I want you to retrieve Hinata's soul while I do. If there's not enough energy…"

"Don't worry about that. I'll handle it."

I appreciated that. Luminus really is a talented lady.

So we got right to work. I held my hand aloft over Chronoa's inert body, pointing out the location of Hinata's soul to Luminus. With a skillful touch, she immediately began performing some kind of action on her—magic or a skill—probably the latter.

"Re…birth!!"

She set off her power. And since I was next to her, I realized—her skills were far, far above mine, at a level as high as the sky. I could never imitate that.

…Analyze and Assess failed. The skill is equivalent to an ultimate skill.

Yeah, I thought so. I mean, with Luminus, that's par for the course. It's why I felt safe letting her handle this.

Chronoa's and Hinata's lifeless bodies were before us. The pieces of Hinata that had assimilated with Chloe's soul were gathered together in the form of Measurer, her unique skill. Luminus used her powers to reach the soul I Disassembled from that mass for her. Carefully picking it up, she injected a concentrated measure of energy to replace it.

…

This was far more energy than what we were taking out, but it was probably necessary. As I watched, she then put her hand above Hinata's body as she returned her soul to it.

Immediately, the shine returned to her hair, her cheeks reddening as her heart began to beat anew. Then Hinata opened her eyes, her throat a little raspy but otherwise in good health.

We did it. Hinata was revived. And with the foreign matter removed from her body, Chronoa was also back in normal shape. She was beautiful before, but now Chloe's soul seemed to have a divine aura—I hardly believed it was human.

She opened her eyes. So will we have Chloe here or Chronoa?

"Rimuru!"

That sounded like Chloe. She used to call me Mr. Tempest, but I guess I was more than just her teacher now. Otherwise, it was the Chloe I always knew. I smiled softly at this. She was no child any longer, looking very womanly—but wait a minute.

She didn't feel exactly right to me, and then I realized…whoa, she was back to being a kid, actually. She had on a black outfit that matched her size perfectly, probably the Holy Spirit Armor at work. That's a relief, at least. Between you and me, I was a little disappointed, but let's just file that way back in my mind. Besides, to the outside observer, this was me embracing a little girl. Under different circumstances, that could easily have been a felony, and Hinata's glare was painfully boring down on me. Even Leon looked pretty peeved.

"What are you doing, Rimuru?"

"I'd like to know, too. In detail."

C'mon, Leon, calm down. And Hinata, if you keep grimacing at me like that, you're gonna get crow's feet, you know. Of course, it'd be suicidal to tell her that, but still.

I mean, how come, after reviving Hinata and stabilizing Chronoa, was I still not safe from mortal danger? I just have to say, this is absurdly unfair.

"Guys, guys, chill out. I'm tired, and we can't hang out here all day. Why don't we regroup elsewhere in a little while and sort things out?" Everyone agreed to that.

So the battle was over. The only things filling the air right now were beautiful melodies.

Shockingly enough, Baton and everyone in the orchestra had continued practicing through the entire protracted war. Talk about insane willpower. I praised them profusely, of course, before ordering them to take five. That—and I noticed something else.

"…Huh? Is it me, or is Chloe striking more of a presence now?"

"Just your imagination."

"No, Rimuru is right. No doubt about it—"

"Silence! I didn't ask for a lizard's opinion!"

Veldora and I both jumped in our seats. Can you blame us? Luminus, who seemed pretty serene up to now, just lashed out without warning.

I figured we could leave the conversation at that, but one man didn't get the message. Not Veldora—he was often oblivious to this kind of thing, but even he was starting to wise up lately. We exchanged nods after he picked up on Luminus's rage.

"No, Rimuru and Sir Veldora are certainly right. At first glance, she appears to be merely a ravishing young woman, but her core essence, if you will… It's an improvement over Chloe, isn't it?"

This was the demon lord Leon himself speaking. He always acted so coolheaded, but I guess he had a to-the-point personality. And really, he paid way too much attention to Chloe. He was stuck to her like glue, in fact, not even trying to pry himself away. Between that and calling her ravishing, he wasn't even trying to hide how much he was spoiling her.

"Leon, you're being just as overly clingy as you used to be! Don't I always tell you that you'll never find a girlfriend that way?"

Chloe, for her part, was merciless with him. I have to say, Leon did a hell of a lot for her sake…but I'll refrain from commenting further. It's a little painful to think about. Though really, despite his cool demeanor and good looks, Leon's kind of an unfortunate case, isn't he? Ramiris called him a crybaby, and now I was thinking about being a little nicer to him.

After admonishing Leon, Chloe looked around the chamber.

"Well, looks like everything worked out okay, so I wanted to let you all know—I feel like I've truly awakened as a Hero now. Looks like the egg inside me, along with the one Hinata had been keeping warm, sort of

combined into one. Don't tell anybody, okay?"

She smiled a little. I was surprised—and then I remembered something important.

"Chloe! That's far too delicate a topic to—"

We had to watch our mouths—Guy may be keeping an eye on us, after all.

So I hurriedly tried to deflect the conversation…but I didn't need to worry. "Oh, it's all right! I don't think anyone's looking at us."

Chloe declared us to be safe. And at this point, Chloe wasn't the little girl she seemed to be. All children grow up over time, leaving their parents' protection and setting off on their own. I was happy to see her mature, although it made me feel a tad lonesome.

Then I suddenly realized just what we were witnessing.

This was the birth of Chloe Aubert, the True Hero, wasn't it?

Hinata and Chloe hadn't completely separated. The hero's egg that Hinata had begun nurturing at some point was still left inside Chloe. Now she was one woman with two eggs, an impossible miracle that led to a Hero like none other awakening.

…Or maybe not. This wasn't a miracle, some surprise that occurred out of nowhere. With Chloe's unbending will, it was only natural that she made this happen. Despite the infinite, repeating cycles of death and birth, Chloe had overcome them all and still maintained her straight-minded, innocent pureness. That sheer will, powerful enough to push aside all hopelessness, was what engineered this miracle.

Only then did I see, from the bottom of my heart, just how great she was. I had to speak up.

"You really worked hard for this. I could learn a thing or two from you.

From now on, I swear that I'll never give up, no matter what." I meant it.

"You got it!"

Seeing Chloe smile and nod at me, I made a second promise to myself.

From now on, I'd never let anything cloud that smile of hers.

Certainly, I couldn't be rosy about everything ahead. I knew that some force out there wanted me dead, and I naturally had to consider my response. Right?

Affirmative. You must take every possible precaution.

These events made me realize that if I'm defeated, it's no longer exclusively my problem. Once again, I resolved in my mind to never show any mercy to my opponents. It's important to understand the principles of other people, but if you wound up making sacrifices after overvaluing them, that's putting the cart before the horse.

I will take any measure for the sake of victory.

I made a secret promise to myself as I returned Chloe's smile.