(Third Person POV, with Nova's inner thoughts and Ciel's voice woven in)
The cave had fallen into silence, but it wasn't the peaceful kind.
It was the heavy silence that pressed against the skin, the kind that lingered after storms and before calamities. The faint glow of magic crystals along the walls flickered, casting long shadows that stretched like watching eyes.
And in the middle of it all walked two figures—one small, one terrifying.
A slime, blue and translucent, bounced forward with a curious hop in her movements, her round body wobbling with almost childlike cheer. She hummed quietly, as if exploring a brand-new toy.
Behind her padded a fox.
White fur glistened faintly under the crystal light, each of his nine tails swaying like silent blades behind him. His mismatched eyes—one scarlet, one teal-blue—reflected nothing but apathy. Every step he took carried weight, yet his face remained blank, as if none of this mattered to him in the slightest.
To most monsters, his presence would be suffocating. To Rimuru, it was simply unnerving.
(Nova's POV)
Ciel.
<
How long until the Goblin Village incident triggers?
<
Too long.
My tails flicked idly, and magic rippled from my body like waves across a pond. The effect was immediate—monsters lurking in the shadows shrieked and scurried away, too terrified to breathe in my presence.
Six hours of babysitting a bouncing slime.
Just great.
(Rimuru's POV – briefly)
This fox was weird.
Seriously weird.
Since they'd left Veldora's barrier, he hadn't said a single thing beyond curt acknowledgments. Just followed her like a bodyguard—but his aura? Holy crap.
It felt like walking beside a nuke with a personality as flat as cardboard.
Rimuru risked a nervous laugh.
"Uh… hey, Nova, right?"
The fox didn't even glance at her. "Yes."
"…Soo… what's your deal? Why're you helping me?"
Finally, his mismatched gaze slid toward her. His voice was quiet, stripped of all inflection.
"Because I can."
Rimuru twitched. "That… doesn't explain anything!"
Nova tilted his head, tails drifting lazily through the air like ribbons of moonlight.
"You're entertaining."
"…I'm WHAT?!"
No response. He simply resumed walking, his expression as blank as ever.
Rimuru puffed.
'What the hell is wrong with this guy…?'
(Back to Nova's POV)
Ciel, track Rimuru's growth. She needs strength, but not too much. We stick close to canon.
<
Yes. And keep an eye on Ifrit. I might repurpose him later.
<
My gaze flicked toward the slime again. Her aura was weak, flickering, but it grew each step she took. Slow. Innocent.
Still clueless.
Good.
I stopped mid-step. My ears twitched. The cave air vibrated faintly.
Ciel.
<
Of course. Canon event incoming.
Should I interfere?
<
I almost smiled.
Fine. But let's spice things up.
The cave opened at last, spilling them out into open plains. Night had already draped the land, and the moon poured pale silver light across the grasslands. The glow caught on my fur, making it shimmer like liquid starlight.
The slime bounced to a halt. "Uh… Nova? Why does it feel like we're being watched?"
I didn't answer. I simply stood there, tails curling slowly around me like a throne of serpents.
Then came the growl. Low, guttural. Followed by another. And another.
Dozens of glowing eyes burned to life along the treeline, and the pack emerged. Fang wolves, their black fur bristling, fangs dripping with saliva. Their leader—a beast larger than the rest—stepped forward and howled, the sound splitting the night.
The slime froze.
"Uh… Nova? What do we do?!"
I looked down at her. Calm. Emotionless.
"You fight."
"WHAT?!"
"You want strength? Earn it."
"But there's like… fifty of them!"
"Sixty-four."
"HOW IS THAT BETTER?!"
I ignored her. My gaze returned to the wolves. For a single heartbeat, I let power leak. The world seemed to still, suffocated under my will.
Every wolf froze. Instinct screamed at them to flee. Even the alpha faltered, hackles raised in raw terror.
Then I blinked. The pressure vanished.
"Your move," I said.
Rimuru swallowed hard. But then her mind clicked. Predator skill. Right. That could work.
She charged forward, and the battle unfolded—wolves lunging, Rimuru countering, devouring, surviving by inches.
Canon, more or less.
Except for one detail.
Every time a wolf tried to flank her, they died. Instantly. One heartbeat they were mid-leap, the next their head was rolling across the grass. A flash of silver light in the dark, too fast for Rimuru to notice.
I never moved from my spot. My tails swayed lazily, painting arcs of death across the battlefield while Rimuru struggled, oblivious.
By the end, corpses littered the plains. Blood misted the moonlight like red dust. And only one wolf remained—trembling, the pack's leader, crouched low before us.
Rimuru panted heavily. "I… I did it…"
I looked at her, eyes cold.
"No. You survived. Barely."
She flinched. "Uh… thanks?"
I didn't answer. My focus was on the alpha. It cowered, tail tucked, body quivering under my gaze.
I crouched, mismatched eyes glowing faintly.
"Submit."
The beast whimpered—and obeyed. Instantly.
Straightening, I turned to Rimuru.
"Name it."
"…Huh?"
"Name it," I repeated.
"Uh… okay… Ranga?"
Magicules surged. Light engulfed the wolf's body, twisting and growing. Evolution had begun.
Rimuru gasped. "Holy crap…"
I turned away.
Canon intact. For now.
Rimuru slumped on the grass, her slime-body wobbling as if she'd run a marathon.
"Man… that was scarier than I thought…"
I didn't reply. My eyes were already fixed on the evolving wolf, his body glowing as magic reshaped him.
Rimuru tilted toward me. "Hey, Nova… you didn't even lift a paw, did you?"
I glanced at her. "You didn't notice?"
She blinked. "Notice what?"
"Exactly."
"…Huh?"
I didn't elaborate. My gaze lingered on the wolf. Submission radiated off him, not just to Rimuru—but to me.
Perfect.
The wolf leader's body pulsed violently as magicules whirled around it, wrapping its fur in glowing streams of energy. The light flared, then dimmed, leaving behind a form larger, stronger, and more majestic than before.
The beast lifted its head, eyes gleaming with intelligence. Its gaze flicked briefly toward Rimuru… but then slid inevitably back to Nova. Even evolved, even strengthened, its instincts screamed where its true master was.
Rimuru hopped forward, awestruck.
"Whoa… so naming really works like this? That's… insane…"
Nova said nothing. His mismatched eyes glowed faintly, unreadable, but in his mind—
Ciel.
<
Good. Exactly as planned.
"Guess I should… name the rest of them too, huh?" Rimuru muttered, her voice both nervous and excited.
Nova flicked his tails lazily.
"Do what you want."
Rimuru hesitated for only a second before bouncing into the task with eager determination.
One by one, she gave names—Haruna, Kiba, Rokuro, dozens more. Each time, magicules burst around the wolf in question, reshaping their bodies. The air thickened with glowing mist, heavy enough to weigh on the grass itself.
Rimuru's voice grew weaker each time. By the time she reached the thirtieth wolf, she was wobbling like jelly left out in the sun. By the fiftieth, her words slurred like a drunk's. By the last one, she collapsed face-first into the dirt with a squeaky plop.
"Uuugh… I'm… so… sleepy…"
Her form stilled, and soft snores bubbled from her body.
Nova remained motionless for a moment, listening to the steady rhythm of her slumber. Then he stood and crossed to Ranga, whose massive body still shimmered faintly from evolution.
The wolf stirred nervously under Nova's approach. Instinct screamed again. This wasn't a master approaching—it was an overlord, an apex predator that could unmake him with a blink.
Nova crouched, one hand resting lightly on Ranga's head. His fingers sank into the thick mane of fur, and the wolf whimpered quietly.
"You will protect her," Nova murmured, his voice barely louder than the wind. "Guard her, fight for her, bleed for her. Do everything she asks."
Ranga's head lowered further, tail curled tightly between his legs.
"But when I call…"
His mismatched eyes flared, glowing crimson and teal like two opposing suns. The air around them rippled unnaturally, bending as if reality itself was listening.
"…you come."
Something deep and invisible branded itself into Ranga's very soul. Not a curse. Not a blessing. A tether older than language, binding loyalty not by force, but by inevitability.
The wolf trembled, then pressed his head fully against the ground. Submission. Absolute.
Nova's tails flicked. "Good dog."
The Quiet After
The battlefield was eerily calm now. Corpses of lesser wolves dissolved into motes of fading magic, drifting away into the night sky like dying embers. The surviving wolves, renamed and evolved, had already collapsed from exhaustion.
Rimuru lay in the middle of them, still snoring softly.
Nova stepped a few paces away, settling under a tree at the edge of the plains. He stretched out lazily, silver fur glowing faintly under moonlight. His nine tails curled around him like a throne made of living fire.
He did not sleep. He didn't need to.
His gaze lingered on the stars. Each one pulsed faintly, countless lights against endless black. A map of possible futures.
Ciel.
<
Begin running simulations for the Orc Disaster. I want probability trees, every outcome, every failure point.
<
Good. And while you're at it… start prepping contingencies for Shizu's summoning.
<
Yes. He's going to notice me sooner or later.
<
Nova's lips quirked faintly. Not quite a smile, not quite nothing.
Five years, huh? That's plenty of time to build the board.
Watching the Slime
He glanced back at Rimuru, who snored blissfully, her body rising and falling like a child's.
"Keep dreaming, little slime," he whispered, voice carrying softly in the night air. "Enjoy this peace while it lasts."
Because peace never lasted. Not in worlds like these.
The stars glittered above, silent witnesses. The wolves slumbered in exhausted heaps. And Nova Tempest—nine-tailed fox, god in disguise—watched it all with eyes that promised storms yet to come.
His tails swayed once, cutting faint arcs of silver through the dark.
The game had only just begun.
To be continued…