Traveler Starting from Type-Moon, Demon Lord Rimuru! Chapter 19

Rimuru fell silent for a moment, then raised his hand. Wuyin instantly transformed into a sharp blade of ice—with a dull thud, it pierced through the man's head, putting an end to his thoughts.

The moment the blood gushed out, it was frozen by the cold, congealing into scarlet ice crystals that gave the entire corpse a strange, haunting beauty.

"I'm sorry. My abilities are limited, so I could only end your suffering as quickly as possible." He could have indeed exhausted his magic to keep the man alive, at least for a few hours, to allow for more professional healing mages or members of the Holy Church to intervene.

But that would have been useless.

Not to mention that other mages cared nothing for the life of an ordinary person—much like how no one would spend great effort or cost to save a beggar with cancer—forcing the man to stay alive for a few hours would have been an immense strain on Rimuru, leaving him completely vulnerable.

"That was truly... clean and efficient."

Altrouge was becoming increasingly interested in this mage. He had been so decisive when trying to save the man, clearly driven by genuine concern, yet when he judged that the man was beyond saving, he was just as decisive in killing him. This made her truly curious about what kind of existence he was.

Rimuru said nothing. He quietly cast a cleaning spell to clear away the surrounding blood, then, still silent, used black mist to consume the young man's corpse. He had no intention of devouring the body; after all, the corpse of an ordinary person was not even worth recycling to him. He simply felt that since this person had died because of his own involvement, he should at least take care of the remains.

"You really are strange... isn't it standard for a mage to dispose of a witness to prevent the exposure of mystery?"

"...That may be so." Rimuru raised his eyes, intending to retort, but upon seeing Altrouge and her innocent expression, he suddenly felt a sense of weariness. When worldviews are so different, there is no point in saying anything.

"If I can use suggestion, I generally prefer not to kill."

In the end, Rimuru only sighed, using the word "prefer."

Because the other party wasn't wrong. For traditional mages, suggestion always carried the risk of being remembered, failing, or being influenced by subconscious dreams. Therefore, unless it was a mass sighting of dozens or hundreds of people—where one had to use mass suggestion and hypnosis, repeating the process over and over for months to prevent social panic and instability—most private mages preferred to simply kill a lone witness to keep things clean.

It saved them the trouble of dealing with the Mage Association and the Holy Church, preventing disciplinary marks against themselves. How convenient, wasn't it?

And what was even more ridiculous was that the Mage Association and the Holy Church, much like the secular police, operated on a policy of "if you don't report it, I don't see it" due to limited manpower, turning a blind eye to such matters.

Rimuru had felt this deeply after leaving the Clock Tower.

Thinking of this, Rimuru sighed and couldn't be bothered to give Altrouge a pleasant look. He stood up and walked toward the door. Seeing Altrouge suddenly appear in front of the restroom door, blocking his path, he said coldly, "Move."

"What are you going to do?"

"Didn't you hear me? I'm going to deal with the relevant people." Rimuru took a deep breath and said coldly, "His wife and young daughter are waiting for him outside. I need to clear their memories. What else would I do?"

"Wait for you to go and kill them too?"

"..." Altrouge blinked. "You seem very angry."

"No kidding." Rimuru was completely exasperated. He said softly, "So, great Vampire Princess, Princess of the Black, please move aside. The Executors of the Burial Agency are approaching. You should hurry and evacuate, while I go finish this before they arrive. Can you do that?"

"You sound like you're coaxing a child..." Hearing Rimuru's words, the Princess of the Black raised an eyebrow. She slowly descended to the ground, picked up Fou with one hand, and suddenly chuckled. "And what if... I refuse?"

As she spoke, she raised her eyelids, her long lashes fluttering slightly, and her blood-red eyes locked deeply onto Rimuru's.

Before, you provoked me.

And now, it's my turn... to provoke you.

Chapter 027: If the Black Princess has taken a fancy to you, then... shall we die once first?

Rimuru looked down quietly at the pair of red eyes on her delicate face. Her expression was very serious; she had even hidden the smile that had been hanging on her lips.

"Sigh... then there's no helping it."

Rimuru raised his hand slightly and paused. Instantly, Wuyin transformed into cold, clear water that spiraled around his arm. As it rapidly condensed in his palm, he threw a punch with a loud boom, grazing Altrouge's ear and brushing past her hair to strike the door behind her!

In an instant, magic power erupted along with the water. The entire restroom began to tremble and crumble, and the Executors who had been searching for Rimuru were all drawn by the deafening sound of the collapse. After a brief pause, they rushed toward the location.

"What is this? A mutual destruction?"

Altrouge slowly shifted her gaze as chunks of the wall and ceiling fell. The Black Knight and White Knight finally stopped hiding their forms. The moment they appeared behind Altrouge, their killing intent locked onto Rimuru.

"If I intend to strike at you, I have to leave myself a way out." Rimuru rotated his wrists. He didn't consider himself a match for these three and the beast, but that didn't mean he was easy to bully.

Letting the other Executors arrive quickly was just so he could escape if he found he couldn't win.

As for that mother and daughter... Rimuru could only pray that they weren't foolish enough to stay in the mall and had instead gone out to seek refuge. After all, once the battle unfolded and the scope spread to the entire mall, potentially turning it into a wasteland, the authorities would step in, and the Holy Church and the Mage Association would handle the cleanup and settle everything.

That's what excuses like "chemical fuel explosion" or "natural gas pipeline explosion" were for, weren't they?

And honestly, Rimuru was actually a little excited!

Over the past week, while there was no shortage of strong individuals among the Executors, there hadn't been a single one who could make Rimuru struggle, let alone one he would acknowledge as truly powerful.

"Although in my past life, I was taught that business is about harmony," Rimuru lowered his eyelids, and the Wuyin in his hand merged back into his body. The next moment, he clenched his fists, and two Black Keys condensed in his hands.

"But I have to admit, challenging the strong is a romance that exists in the bones of every man!"

Rimuru chuckled, leaned forward slightly, and the Black Key in his left hand instantly turned into a streak of silver light like a venomous snake—

Clang!

Altrouge floated back a centimeter without expression, shifting her position instantly. She swapped places with the Black Knight Sturt in a flash. As a massive silver magic sword blocked the path of the Black Key, black magic flames roared to life, soaking the magic sword and beginning to corrode the Black Key, melting it into slag.

"Heh."

Rimuru tilted his head slightly, his body tensed. Under the stimulation of his magic circuits, azure magic power suddenly transformed into layers of sacred patterns that began to etch themselves onto his wrists, instantly imprinting onto the Black Key. At the same time, the tip of the Black Key began to glow!

Bang!

An aura of anti-magic power erupted. The magic blade was forcibly knocked away by the massive impact. Sturt couldn't help but take half a step back, a look of astonishment appearing on his stoic face.

"Strengthening oneself, anti-magic imprints..." Altrouge watched from the side, clicking her tongue in wonder. "This is the fighting style of an Executor."

"Could it be that this mage who hunts Dead Apostles was once a top-tier Executor himself?"

Rimuru remained silent, simply melting the broken Black Keys back into raw magical energy. With a clench of his hands, two new Black Keys manifested in his grip. The combat style and abilities of an Executor naturally came from those unfortunate souls he had killed and consumed.

This was his first time putting them to actual use in combat.

Unlike mages who pursue knowledge and various magical research, Executors spend almost their entire lives dedicating their energy to combat techniques and killing skills.

Even the related magecraft they learn is entirely practical, designed solely for battle and slaughter!

If mages excel at positional warfare—meaning they are virtually invincible within their own magecraft workshops—then skirmishes and individual duels are the very domains where Executors are most professional.

Beyond the tactical advantage, Rimuru chose to fight like an Executor as much as possible to familiarize himself with these abilities while simultaneously concealing his identity as a mage and his proficiency in magecraft!

After all, Rimuru might have to retreat halfway through this fight, regardless of whether he could win or not! He wasn't an idiot; Altrouge was clearly picking a fight with him, and her previous targeting was obviously just a cat playing with its prey before the kill.

This made him realize that things likely wouldn't end well today. Or rather, since Altrouge had no intention of letting him go, he decided to muddy the waters to facilitate his own escape!

This meant he couldn't be certain of the battle's outcome—whether any Executors would survive, or if Altrouge would specifically spread information about him out of spite!

Leading to his identity being exposed! Although he didn't care, the fewer troubles, the better.

Seeing Rimuru remain silent, Altrouge wrinkled her nose in annoyance, clearly unhappy.

She narrowed her eyes and said softly, "Since you want to try, then go ahead."

"I permit you to use your full strength, Sturt. As for the consequences... it doesn't matter if you're exposed."

"As you command, my Princess." Upon hearing this, Sturt paused slightly, his stoic face showing a flicker of emotion. He raised an eyebrow at Rimuru and said, "I hope you can hold out."

In an instant, the silver magic blade was completely swallowed by pitch-black demonic flames. As the projection-like imprints formed by magecraft began to activate, his facial features twisted. His dark eyes grew narrow and elongated, and eerie black markings covered half his face, forming a dark helmet that revealed only a pair of four-dotted, black-eyed pupils!

His leather trench coat transformed into steel armor, and his black gauntlets and greaves were now wreathed in demonic flames. Paired with the magic blade in his hand, he appeared even taller than the German man Rimuru had mimicked, standing at nearly two meters in height!

Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding me...

Rimuru was forced back half a step by the scorching demonic flames radiating from his opponent, feeling completely overwhelmed.

I don't mind the boss entering a second phase and going berserk, but... I haven't even started fighting yet, and you're transforming after just one exchange? That's a bit much, isn't it?

Rimuru glanced unobtrusively at Altrouge, who was watching the show from the sidelines. She wore a joyful smile, her blood-red eyes glancing at Rimuru with triumph—she looked exactly like a child watching a monkey show!

Sturt's essence was that of a True Demon. Clearly, this was his demonic form—or, as it could be understood, his state after completely releasing his power suppression. In Rimuru's understanding, the gap between this and his previous state was like the difference between a Servant suppressed by their Class and a Servant who had completely unleashed their full power using Command Spells.

In other words... this damn black-bellied vampire girl wasn't just looking to see how her subordinate would fight Rimuru; she simply wanted her subordinate to kill him instantly!!!

Pitch-black flames began to incinerate everything tangible. Rimuru didn't hesitate; he stimulated his magical energy and vibrated his circuits. All fifty-seven fully activated circuits operated in unison. Under high-speed calculation, layers of steam began to spread. Within the white, dense fog, the holiness that shatters evil intertwined with the flames, strangely suppressing the demonic fire and gradually extinguishing it.

In the Holy Church's alchemical system, there is a very famous formula called Holy Water production.

Rimuru had perfectly integrated it with his own abilities. Yeah...

Let's call this magecraft Holy Mist!!

Just as this thought crossed Rimuru's mind, Sturt had already taken rapid, heavy steps, raised his blade with a thunderous boom, and slashed at Rimuru without mercy!

Rimuru hurriedly crossed his Black Keys, spreading reinforcement magecraft throughout his body—but even so, accompanied by a brief clash, he was sent flying with a bang. The Black Keys in his hands were instantly crushed against his chest by the opponent's violent impact, and his body could no longer withstand the immense force!

Whoosh! Boom! Rimuru went flying, smashing through countless shelves before slamming into the wall, causing a web of cracks to spread!

The clattering of shelves hitting the ground and the screams of the crowd buzzed in Rimuru's ears. With a thud, several broken bricks fell onto him.

"Ugh... damn it! What is this... monstrous strength."

Rimuru stood up shakily, baring his teeth and sucking in a breath—it hurt.

For Rimuru, who was immune to physical strikes, this level of impact wasn't worth worrying about. Even with his super-speed regeneration as a Slime, the dislocated joints in his mimicked body could snap back into place instantly. But precisely because of that, he was shocked.

He was half-Phantasmal Species!

His constitution was already among the higher tier for mages, yet he still couldn't resist a casual heavy strike from his opponent. This made his heart sink.

This kind of power was at least comparable to that of a Servant.

And likely a Servant with a Strength stat of A or higher.

How the hell is this supposed to be fought?!

Rimuru took a labored breath, annoyed at himself for underestimating the strength of the Dead Apostle Ancestors. At the same time, he found it strange: how the hell did the Mage's Association and the Holy Church manage to eliminate the other Dead Apostle Ancestors?

If you were to name an iconic, powerful mage, you might say Merlin.

But besides being a Druid and receiving the favor of the fae, Merlin was also a half-incubus, half-human.

In other words, like Rimuru, he possessed the aptitude and talent of a Witch from the very beginning.

Looking across the Clock Tower, aside from the old monsters who had lived for hundreds of years, the remaining excellent mages—even those who had reached the pinnacle, like Kayneth or the future Waver El-Melloi—didn't seem to compare.

Rimuru hadn't thought much of it before, but now, having personally felt the overwhelming power of the Black Knight, he suddenly fell into deep concern and doubt regarding the Clock Tower and the future of humanity.

What kind of trash is all this?!!

No wonder the Director had to pin her hopes on him. Look at Kayneth's performance in the original story, and then look at what kind of things the Dead Apostle Ancestors are—

Primate Murder, the White Princess who inherited the power of the Crimson Moon, the Magical Girl Black Princess (crossed out), the Black Knight is a Demon, and the White Knight is a Vampire + Ghost Count!

If he remembered correctly, there was also a goddamn Mercury UO among the Dead Apostle Ancestors!!

Oh, and let's add the Magician who was originally human, Zelretch!

"..."

No wonder humanity eventually goes extinct... might as well just let them go extinct...

So, this is it?

With just this, the Holy Church dares to uphold a policy of human supremacy?!

Considering that most of the Dead Apostle Ancestors and the Phantasmal Species that migrated to the Reverse Side of the World hold no malice toward the human world, it is purely because humans haven't been courting death enough!

Alaya and Gaia haven't had a falling out yet!

Rimuru doesn't know about the Dead Apostles, but as a Phantasmal Species, he is very clear that for phantasms, Gaia's decision is their decision. When that time comes... Notes... wow!

Should I... just wipe out the Holy Church first? To save them from courting death and annoying Gaia?!

Seeing Rimuru's thoughts spinning faster and faster, drifting further and further off track, Great Sage finally couldn't help but remind him: "You should be focusing on the battle right now..."

"Oh, right... I'm still in a battle."

Rimuru muttered, and just as he looked up, he saw the Sharp Blade Plum Blossom strike a second time, whistling through the air as it attacked again!

Bang!

It pierced straight through Rimuru's abdomen, pinning him against the wall with the blade.

"..."

"You've been crushed. However, the Executors have arrived, so we can retreat immediately."

Yeah...

Rimuru pulled hard on the magic sword, pouted helplessly, and said, "But I feel so unsatisfied just retreating like this."

"Shall I activate auxiliary mode?"

For Rimuru, his combat experience might be slightly inferior, but he still has his greatest trump card: Great Sage, with its computer-like precise magic control, combat predictions comparable to seeing the future, and combat expertise comparable to an encyclopedia.