Rimuru fell silent for a moment, then casually raised a hand. Wuyin immediately turned into a blade of ice— with a thud, it pierced the other man's head and put an end to his thoughts.
The instant blood sprayed out, the cold froze it in place, crystallizing it into scarlet ice. The whole corpse took on a strange kind of beauty.
Sorry. I wasn't capable enough, so I could only end your suffering as quickly as possible. He could have poured every last bit of his magic into keeping the man alive for a few hours, long enough for a more qualified healing mage or someone from the Church to treat him.
But that would have been pointless.
Most mages didn't care about an ordinary person's life. It was like a beggar getting cancer: no one would go to great lengths or pay the price to save him. For Rimuru, keeping the man alive for a few hours by force would also have been extremely difficult, and would have left him completely vulnerable—
"You really are... decisive."
Altrouge was growing more and more interested in the mage before her. He had been so decisive when trying to save the man, clearly worried from the bottom of his heart. But once he'd realized the man couldn't be saved, he'd killed him just as decisively. She was genuinely curious about what kind of person he was.
Rimuru didn't say a word. He quietly used a cleaning spell to wipe away the blood around them, then wordlessly swallowed the young man's corpse with black mist. He had no intention of devouring it; an ordinary person's body wasn't even worth recycling to him. He just felt that since the man had died because of him, he should at least take care of the body—
"You're really strange... For a mage, getting rid of him to prevent the Mystery from being exposed is the obvious thing to do, isn't it?"
"...That's true." Rimuru raised his eyes, about to argue, but when he looked at Altrouge's innocent face, he suddenly felt it was pointless. They had different worldviews. There was no use in saying anything.
"If I can use Suggestion, I generally don't like killing people."
In the end, Rimuru could only sigh and say that he didn't like it.
Because she wasn't wrong. For traditional mages, Suggestion could be remembered, lose its effect, or influence someone's dreams through their subconscious. So unless dozens or hundreds of people had witnessed something and they had to use mass Suggestion hypnosis over and over again to prevent social panic and unrest, reinforcing it continuously for months or years, most private mages preferred to simply kill a lone witness and be done with it.
It also saved them the trouble of involving the Magic Association or the Holy Church and risking a demerit. Convenient, wasn't it?
Even more ridiculous, the Magic Association and the Holy Church were like the police in the mundane world. With limited manpower, they followed a policy of looking the other way unless someone reported a crime. They turned a blind eye to it all—
Rimuru had felt that all too keenly after leaving the Clock Tower.
Thinking of this, Rimuru sighed. He couldn't be bothered to put on a pleasant face for Altrouge anymore. He stood and headed for the door. When he saw Altrouge suddenly appear in front of the bathroom entrance, blocking his way, he said coldly, "Move."
"What are you going to do?"
"Didn't you say it yourself? Take care of the people involved." Rimuru took a deep breath and said coldly, "His wife and little daughter are waiting for him outside. I'm going to clear their memories. What else?"
"So they don't get killed by you next?"
"..." Altrouge blinked. "You seem angry."
"Of course I am." Rimuru was completely exasperated. "So, great Vampire Princess, Her Highness the Princess of the Black, please move aside. The Executors of the Burial Agency are approaching. You should get out of here, while I take care of this before they arrive. Can you do that?"
"You sound like you're trying to placate a child..." The Princess of the Black raised an eyebrow at Rimuru's words, then slowly descended to the ground and picked Fou up in one arm. She suddenly chuckled. "But what if... I refuse?"
As she spoke, she lifted her eyelids. Her long lashes fluttered, and her blood-red eyes met Rimuru's—
Earlier, you provoked me.
Now it's my turn... to provoke you.
Chapter 19: The Princess of the Black Has Taken an Interest in Him, So... Die Once First?
Rimuru quietly looked down at the pair of red eyes on her delicate little face. She was serious; even the smile that usually lingered at the corners of her mouth had disappeared—
"Phew... Then I guess there's no other choice."
Rimuru raised a hand and gave it a slight flick. In an instant, Wuyin turned into a stream of icy water, curling around his arm. As it gathered in his palm, he clenched his fist with a bang. The blow swept past Altrouge's ear, brushing her hair as it struck the door behind her!
In an instant, magic power exploded along with the rushing water. The entire bathroom began to shake and crumble. The Executors who had been searching for Rimuru nearby were drawn by the deafening sound of the collapse. After a brief pause, they hurried toward it.
"What's this supposed to be? A fight to the death?"
Altrouge slowly averted her gaze as chunks of wall and ceiling fell. The Black Knight and White Knight finally stopped hiding themselves. The moment they appeared behind Altrouge, their killing intent locked onto Rimuru.
"If I'm going to go after you, I need to leave myself a way out." Rimuru rolled his wrist. He knew he wasn't a match for the three of them and Fou, but that didn't mean he was an easy target.
Getting the other Executors here as soon as possible was also a way to make sure he could escape if he realized he couldn't win.
As for the mother and daughter... Rimuru could only hope they hadn't foolishly stayed inside the shopping mall, and had gone outside to safety. Once the fight began, it could spread across the entire mall, perhaps even reduce it to a wasteland. Then the authorities would step in, and the Holy Church and Magic Association would handle things and take care of the aftermath.
That was what excuses like chemical fuel explosions and natural gas pipeline blasts were for, wasn't it?
And honestly, Rimuru was a little excited right now!
In the past week, there had been no shortage of strong Executors, but though plenty had given him a hard time, he hadn't met a single one he could acknowledge as a true powerhouse.
"Though I learned in my previous life that making money required getting along with people," Rimuru lowered his eyes. Wuyin melted back into his body, and the next moment he clenched both fists. Two Black Keys formed in his hands.
"I have to admit, challenging a strong opponent is a romance that lives in a man's bones!"
Rimuru gave a light laugh and leaned forward slightly. The Black Key in his left hand darted out like a venomous snake, turning into a streak of silver—
Clang!
Altrouge floated backward by a mere centimeter, then slid sideways in an instant, switching places with the Black Knight, Sturt. A huge silver Magic Blade appeared in the path of the Black Key. Black magical flames roared to life, engulfing the blade and beginning to melt the Black Key into slag.
"Heh."
Rimuru raised his chin slightly. His body arched as his Magic Circuits surged, and brilliant blue magic power turned into layers of sacred markings that began to trace armor from his wrist. They were instantly engraved onto the Black Key, and points of light appeared at its tip!
Bang!
An aura of anti-magic burst forth. The Magic Blade was forcibly knocked aside by the tremendous impact, and Sturt, unable to hold his ground, took half a step back. A look of shock crossed his resolute face.
"Reinforcing his body, anti-magic engravings..." Altrouge watched from the side, full of admiration. "That's an Executor's way of fighting."
"Could it be that the mage who was searching for Dead Apostles used to be a first-rate Executor?"
Rimuru stayed silent. He melted the damaged Black Key back into pure magic power, then clenched both hands. Two more Black Keys appeared in his grasp. The Executor's fighting style and abilities naturally came from the unfortunate men he had killed and devoured.
This was just his first time using them in an actual fight.
Unlike mages, who pursued knowledge and the study of all kinds of Magecraft, Executors spent nearly their entire lives honing their combat techniques and fighting skills.
Even the Magecraft they learned was practical, designed entirely for battle and killing!
If mages excelled at positional combat—in other words, were almost invincible in their workshops—
Then encounters and one-on-one fights were the Executors' true specialty!
Aside from its practical advantages, Rimuru had chosen to fight as much as possible like an Executor to familiarize himself with these abilities, while concealing that he was a mage and hiding the Magecraft he excelled at.
After all, he might have to withdraw halfway through this fight. Whether he could win or not, he wasn't stupid. Altrouge had clearly taken a stand against him. Her earlier antagonism had plainly been the way a cat toyed with a mouse before pouncing.
That made him realize there was probably no way to settle this peacefully today. Altrouge might not intend to let him go, so he had decided to muddy the waters and make his escape!
That way, he wouldn't know whether any Executors survived the fight, or whether Altrouge would spread information about him out of spite.
His identity might be exposed! He didn't care, but the less trouble, the better.
Seeing Rimuru stay silent, Altrouge wrinkled her nose in displeasure, clearly a little unhappy.
She narrowed her eyes and said softly, "Since you want to try, then go ahead."
"I'll allow you to use your full strength, Sturt. As for the consequences... it doesn't matter if you're exposed."
"As you command, my lady." Sturt paused, his resolute face showing a flicker of emotion. He raised his eyebrows at Rimuru. "I hope you can hold out."
In an instant, black magical flames completely engulfed the silver Magic Blade. As Magecraft engravings, seemingly like Projections, began to activate, his features gradually twisted. His black eyes grew long and narrow, while an eerie black aura covered half his face, forming a pitch-black helmet. Only a pair of black eyes, each with four gleaming red dots, remained visible!
His black leather coat had turned into steel armor without him noticing. Black bracers and greaves were wreathed in magical flames. With the Magic Blade in his hand, he stood even taller than Rimuru's German guise, nearly two meters high!
Come on, seriously...
Rimuru took half a step back, driven away by the scorching magical flames around him. He was completely dumbfounded.
I didn't mind if you were a boss who entered a second, enraged form, but... I haven't even started fighting you. We've only exchanged one blow, and you've already transformed? That's a bit much, isn't it?
Rimuru shot an unobtrusive glance at Altrouge, who was watching the show. She was smiling happily, her blood-red eyes gleaming with smug delight. She looked just like a child watching a monkey perform!
Sturt's true nature was that of a True Demon. This was clearly his demonic form—or, in other words, the form he took when he fully released the power that had been suppressed. As Rimuru understood it, the difference was like that between a Heroic Spirit whose class restricted them before using a Command Spell and one who had unleashed their full strength with one.
In other words... this nasty, scheming little vampire girl didn't just want to see how Rimuru would fight her subordinate. She just wanted him to get killed in one hit!!!
The pitch-black flames began to burn every tangible thing. Without the slightest hesitation, Rimuru surged with magic power, his Circuits vibrating. All fifty-seven Circuits, now fully activated, ran at once. As his mind raced through calculations, layers of steam spread around him. The thick white fog was filled with holiness that shattered evil. It mingled with the flames, strangely suppressing the magical fire until the flames gradually went out.
The alchemical system of the Holy Church had a well-known recipe: making holy water.
Rimuru had perfectly integrated it with his own abilities. Hmm...
He would call this Magecraft Holy Mist!!
Just as Rimuru thought this, Sturt was already charging forward with heavy steps. With a thunderous roar, he raised the blade in his hand and slashed at Rimuru without mercy!
Rimuru hurriedly crossed his Black Keys, and Reinforcement Magecraft instantly spread across his body. Even so, after a brief clash, the force of the enemy's attack crushed the Black Keys and drove them against his chest. His body could no longer withstand the tremendous force!
Whoosh! Boom! Rimuru flew backward, smashing through countless shelves before slamming into a wall with enough force to leave a web of cracks across it!
The clatter of shelves collapsing and the screams of the crowd buzzed in Rimuru's ears. A few more chunks of brick fell onto him with a clack.
"Urgh... Damn it! What kind of... monstrous strength is that?"
Rimuru staggered to his feet, baring his teeth as he sucked in a breath from the pain.
For someone like Rimuru, who was immune to physical attacks, this level of impact wasn't worth worrying about. Even if the joints of his simulated body were dislocated, his Slime constitution and super-speed regeneration could quickly put them back in place. But that was exactly why he was so shocked.
His strength was already comparable to that of a Heroic Spirit.
Maybe even one with an A-rank or higher strength parameter.
How the hell was he supposed to fight that?!
Rimuru sucked in a sharp breath, furious with himself for underestimating the power of the Dead Apostle Ancestors. At the same time, he couldn't help wondering how the hell the Magic Association and the Holy Church had eliminated the other Dead Apostle Ancestors.
If you asked someone to name a famous, powerful mage, they might say Merlin.
But aside from being a Druid and having earned the favor of fairies, Merlin was also a mixed-blood, born of a succubus and a human.
In other words, like Rimuru, he had the aptitude and talent of a Witch from the very beginning.
Looking at the Clock Tower as a whole, aside from the old monsters who had lived for centuries, the remaining exceptional mages—including those who had already reached the pinnacle, like Kayneth and the future Waver El-Melloi—were...
Rimuru hadn't thought much of it before, but now that he had felt the Black Knight's overwhelming strength firsthand, he suddenly found himself deeply worried and doubtful about the future of the Clock Tower and humanity.
What kind of useless trash were these people?!!
No wonder the Director had placed his hopes in Rimuru. Look at Kayneth's performance in the original story, then look at what the Dead Apostle Ancestors were like—
Primate Murder, the White Princess who inherited the power of Crimson Moon, the magical-girl Princess of the Black (crossed out), the Black Knight who was a demon, and the White Knight, who was a Vampire mixed with the ghostly Earl!
If he remembered right, there was also the freaking Mercury UO among the Dead Apostle Ancestors!!
Oh, and the Magician who had originally been human: Zelretch!
"..."
No wonder humanity would eventually go extinct... It might as well just go extinct already...
So that was it?
That was what the Church dared to base its human supremacy on?!
Most of the Dead Apostle Ancestors and Phantasmal Species who had migrated to the Reverse Side of the World didn't bear humanity any ill will. But that was only because humanity hadn't done enough to invite disaster!
Alaya and Gaia hadn't fallen out yet!
Rimuru didn't know much about the Dead Apostles, but as a Phantasmal Species, he knew full well that Gaia's decisions were their decisions. And then... Steel of the End... Whoa!
How about... he wiped out the Holy Church first, before they did something stupid and angered Gaia?!
Just as Rimuru's thoughts began to race farther and farther off track, the Great Sage finally couldn't help reminding him, "You should be focusing on the fight right now..."
"Oh, right... I'm in a fight."
Rimuru muttered under his breath. He had just looked up when he saw the Magic Blade strike again, whooshing through the air!
Bang!
It pierced straight through Rimuru's side, pinning him to the wall with a single thrust.
"..."
"He's completely outmatched. But the Executors are here too, so we can withdraw now."
Yeah...
Rimuru tried hard to pull out the Magic Blade, then helplessly pursed his lips. "But I'm so annoyed at the thought of just withdrawing like this."
"Should I activate support mode?"
Rimuru might have been somewhat lacking in combat experience, but he still had his greatest trump card: the Great Sage's computer-like precision in controlling magic power, battle predictions that were practically like seeing the future, and combat expertise like an encyclopedia.
Before you continue