Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue: Rage 

It was a scene that could only be described as a massive kaiju battle. No, really. That’s the only way to put it.

There were two dragons fighting each other, and although their forms were different, they were both equally huge. Velgrynd the Flame Dragon was, in her original form, a very refined, beautiful figure. She was more flexible than Veldora, with a body that looked pretty well adapted for flight. What kind of battle approach would she take with that?

It was the middle of the night, but the sky was bright. The Forest of Jura was ablaze, turning the sky a bright red. The city of Rimuru was safe inside the labyrinth and undamaged, but if we left it outside, it would’ve burned to the ground, leaving nothing behind. That much was proven by the large gate that connected the labyrinth to the outside world. It was now thoroughly destroyed, and I was sure the upper floors of the labyrinth had sustained catastrophic damage, too.

The battle was now at a stalemate. That was why Velgrynd turned off her Parallel Existences. It was hard to imagine, given all the devastation to the forest, but they were both doing an admirable job controlling their power. We’re talking huge amounts of energy clashing against each other, but the battle was actually being fought on a really sophisticated level.

They were also evenly matched in speed. Really, Veldora had grown an incredible amount. He had expert control over his power, letting him fly at very high speeds, and he wasn’t losing a single step against Velgrynd. He must have been training in secret, and the results of that were showing.

From what I could tell, Veldora had an ever-so-slight advantage. If you simply looked at their power—their magicule count—Veldora’s was higher. It had gone up since back when he was sealed, and he had padded that with new skills and tricks of his own, leading to these results.

Still, I couldn’t shake off my uneasiness. Velgrynd, after all, had a clear advantage in control over her magic—and now that she was focused entirely on Veldora, the battle was really just getting started.

And I have to say… Ludora’s breeziness worried me. Velgrynd, his stoutest of shields, was no longer in the room, so how could he stay so calm like this? For me, the fact that I could call upon Veldora at any time was a sort of security blanket for me. No matter what kind of crisis I was in, I knew I could get through it with some of his assistance. I’m sure Ludora’s a good fighter himself. Guy saw him as an equal, and the way he so easily took over Yuuki indicated how much of a threat he was.

But I’ve got an ultimate ability, too. And like I did with Benimaru, I have a little trick where I can grant people skills through my own discretion. If I’m being honest, I didn’t see the top-ranking Imperial Guardians around us as much of a threat. Only the five Single Digits and Yuuki were a concern—in particular, that Damrada guy over there. I don’t think he’s undefeatable, though.

Even without counting Laplace, I figure we had the upper hand in a fight over here. That’s how I felt about it, but it’s also why I was so worried. Why isn’t Ludora anxious at all? That was the question. Does he think he has an insurmountable power advantage, even without Velgrynd? Even so, it doesn’t benefit him to take unnecessary risks. What makes him so confident? I had no idea, but I was also curious about Veldora’s battle.

Velgrynd launched a flaming heat attack, which Veldora blocked with a barrier. Then he unleashed a howling wind attack in return, but that was dodged.

It was a tremendous battle, and I shuddered at how mythical it felt. This is the first time I’ve seen Veldora fight for real, and it’s beyond anything I imagined. I never thought he’d be an equal match for Velgrynd, even after she dominated Testarossa and her friends. If you think about it, though, maybe it’s only natural. Veldora had mastered Faust, Lord of Investigation, his personal ultimate skill, and that’s why he was keeping it even with Velgrynd. His opponent had the edge in skill, but Faust made that seem moot.

As Raphael explained to me, his power involves manipulating probabilities. He also had Investigate Truth, a top-level analysis skill. With that, he can immediately gauge all his enemy’s abilities and respond appropriately. It’s so specialized for combat that I don’t even get why it exists.

Honestly, I was wondering if there was anyone who could beat Veldora after mastering Faust. That’s why I never doubted his victory.

Even now, he was unleashing an invisible attack on Velgrynd. I couldn’t see it on the screen, so it looked like Velgrynd was suddenly hit by something out of nowhere. But I knew. This was one of the special moves he created, something he called Storm Blast. He’d been constantly bragging about it to me, but actually seeing it in action made me a believer. At first, it just looks like a bunch of meaningless energy waves that happen to intersect at a given point—but by the time the effect comes into play, it’s already too late. You’ve already been hit by that point, so it’s impossible to avoid or defend against.

It’s just totally wacko, this thing he developed. The fact that each individual wave does nothing by itself makes it easily overlooked, so if you don’t know what’s coming, it’s a deadly attack.

Storm Blast made a square hit on Velgrynd, too. I was glad to see Veldora perform as I hoped; it was a relief. But just when I was convinced that he had it in the bag, things started to happen quickly—and in the exact wrong direction.

Suddenly, an airship appeared in the battlefield. At its bow stood a man in a different uniform from the rest. It was Lieutenant Kondo.

I hurriedly turned my attention to the first screen. Kondo and his team, who should’ve been standing there, were gone. The ritual had ended the moment Velgrynd canceled out of Parallel Existence. I was apparently so engrossed in all this that I failed to notice.

Report. Forbidden Curse: Dead Birthday completed approximately one minute ago.

A single minute was all it took for Kondo to reach Veldora and Velgrynd’s battle site.

The premonitions wouldn’t stop in my mind. I had no idea what he was planning to do, which led to a surge of frustration in my heart that shouldn’t have been there.

Then another person appeared on the bow of the airship—a man who looked exactly like the man sitting in front of me right now.

Masayuki…?

Wait, no!

“A Parallel Existence…?!”

By the time I realized, it was already too late. Everything after that happened in a split second.

Kondo shot at Veldora with the gun in his right hand. There was no way a handgun round would do much against a True Dragon… But the moment the thought crossed my mind, a bullet coursed into him at truly impossible speed. Well beyond the speed of sound; even approaching sub–light speed.

There was no exit wound, the bullet staying lodged in his body—and then its evil power was fully released. It made Veldora writhe in pain; he’d normally recover at once from something like this, but that extra moment proved fatal.

The Ludora on-screen reached a hand out to him.

“I’ll let you in on a secret. That’s known as Regalia Dominion. It’s an absolute dominating force that rules over anything that has free will. Not even a True Dragon can escape its control.”

The Ludora in front of me stood up. He was walking out of the room, as if his business was done with.

“Whoa, wait…”

“Heh… Ah yes, I did make a promise, didn’t I? I’m afraid I’ve lost interest in you now, but if you serve me, I’ll show you a whole new world.”

Now Ludora couldn’t care less about me. And I guess the Ludora here was an imposter all along, crafted by Velgrynd’s Parallel Existence. It shared the same consciousness as the one on the airship, but even if I defeated him in this chamber, it wouldn’t have counted for anything.

From start to finish, I was being rolled around the palm of Ludora’s hand. It spelled total defeat for me.

“Don’t you underestimate Veldora.”

I know I was just being a sore loser now, but I muttered it anyway. But Ludora wasn’t pulling punches any longer.

“He certainly is a True Dragon, is he not? It took a lot more trouble than I thought to get a handle on him, but now he’s finally under my full control.”

And he was right. I felt a pain in my chest right afterward, one so intense that not even Cancel Pain could alleviate it. It was like someone was trying to pull a soul out of me…

Report. The soul corridor between my master and the subject Veldora Tempest has been compromised. As a result, the skills Summon Storm Dragon and Restore Storm Dragon, derived from the ultimate skill Veldora, Lord of the Storm, are no longer available.

The reason for the pain shocked me.

What? You’re saying they took Veldora from me? Veldora…from me…?

“God dammit, you asshole!!”

I tried taking a swing at Ludora, at the highest speed I could’ve hoped to achieve. He didn’t attempt to dodge it. He didn’t need to. My fist flew through the air in vain. He was erasing the Ludora over here, as he no longer needed it.

“And that’s your answer? Very well. I would very much have liked to have you on my team, but it’s a pity. I suppose my authority isn’t quite as all-encompassing as I thought. It’ll be difficult to apply any more control right now.”

“What are you—?”

“But this has been quite productive, I think, so I’ll give you a little more time to mull it over. I trust you’ll have the time to do so, because you’ve been trapped inside this Dream Fortress since the moment I called you over to it. Let’s hope that you’ll decide to exit here…voluntarily.”

And then Ludora disappeared. On his signal, the rest of the guards there teleported their own way out.

I couldn’t bring myself to give chase, such was the intense feelings of loss and rage within me.

“You asshole…”

This was all a result of my carelessness. I had planned to take him by surprise, but I fell right into his trap. I thought I had a wary eye on Laplace, but they had anticipated that all along and devised an insidious ruse to take advantage of it.

I didn’t need Ludora to go over it in fine detail; I knew the moment I was called over here. We were currently inside an isolated distortion in space, and getting out would be a formidable job. But I can do anything—and that confidence is probably what led me to be careless without realizing it. I thought I was being cautious, but my opponent was simply one step ahead of me. This is war, and wars aren’t something you win every time. I know that. You don’t have to tell me.

“Dammit!” I shouted as I punched myself on the cheek. There was no pain, but it only accentuated the tearing ache I felt in my heart.

“Please, Sir Rimuru, stop!”

Shion’s words didn’t reach me. I did it again—and again. Then, on the fourth shot, Shion stopped me from behind. Not just her—Benimaru, Soei, and even Diablo rushed over to hold me down.

“…I’m sorry. I just lost sight of myself. I know I lose my temper too easily. So thanks, guys. I have my composure back.”

That was a lie. Over and over, the anger poured into my brain.

Still, I stood up, trying to quiet my raging thoughts. I was punching myself with everything I had, but my face was undamaged. Before Shion, Benimaru, or anyone else could react, Raphael was defending me against myself. It made me realize all over again just how much everyone was protecting me. That’s why, more than ever, I just didn’t feel like I could forgive myself.

My anger kept brimming over the walls around my heart, as if to make up for the sense of loss. I wondered where I should even try to channel all this anger…

No. Now I knew. This was war. You don’t want to let up right now. So why don’t I take them on with all the power I have?

Was this just me venting my anger? Maybe. But so what? The Empire’s pissed me off. If you want me, you can have me. I’ll give you my destruction and call it a blessing. Those fools have offended me, and in my anger, I’m ready to unleash the power I’ve constantly been suppressing…