Attendance… plz…)
….
"And if… I refuse?"
"Then just tell me your purpose for seeking Dead Apostles," she said, as if it were the most natural request in the world. She paused, then added, "And explain how you know who I am."
"I'm not unreasonable, you know. If your answer satisfies me…" The Black Princess tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Is there a hidden Dead Apostle nearby?"
"There is, Princess. Sio V. Dantes. If memory serves, that is his name."
A soft, androgynous voice drifted from the empty air behind Altrouge. The Black Knight.
"Dantes… One of the White Wing Lord's subordinates?" Altrouge's eyes lit up. The smile on her small face grew wider, more genuine. "Excellent. Let's use him."
She turned back to Rimuru.
"If you satisfy me, I'll catch him and give him to you as a gift. How about it?"
"…"
Rimuru's expression twisted.
Catch him and give him as a gift… Only a princess could say something like that with a straight face.
Just then, a 3D map of the shopping mall flickered into existence in Rimuru's mind's eye. A dozen red dots were slowly converging on his location from all directions.
[Notice: Multiple hostiles detected.]
What's going on? Rimuru asked internally.
[Answer: Executors. You have remained in the mall for too long.]
Oh. The Church?
Rimuru didn't panic. Instead, joy surged through him. The Holy Church was truly… a timely rain! He had been worrying about how to escape this little chat.
A magus hunting vampires versus a hybrid of True Ancestor and Dead Apostle, the Black Princess herself? Who would the Church prioritize?
It's not even a question!
If they found Altrouge here, no Executor in their right mind would give a damn about a small-fry magus like him!
Hell, this might even be an opportunity. If the Church and the Black Princess started tearing each other apart, he might be able to swoop in and reap the rewards.
To be honest… Rimuru hadn't planned on dissecting the Black Princess, but… if the opportunity presented itself? Who the hell would settle for some trash-tier Dead Apostle when a True Ancestor was on the menu?!
Calmness washed over him. With an exit strategy in place, the tension vanished. His thoughts cleared, and a smirk of genuine arrogance returned to his face.
"Heh. To tell you the truth… what I desire isn't a mere Dead Apostle…"
"Mn?"
"What I'm truly interested in… are True Ancestors."
Rimuru let his gaze drift over Altrouge's face, watching for a reaction.
Sure enough, her smile froze. A chill descended, wiping away the playfulness.
It was a provocation, but it was also the truth.
In this world, the distinction was vital. True Ancestors were the originals, spirits of nature created by the Crimson Moon to rule over humanity. Dead Apostles were merely the servants, victims, or accidents created by the True Ancestors drinking blood.
Dead Apostles could become stronger than their creators. They could even kill True Ancestors. But they could never become True Ancestors.
The Twenty-Seven Ancestors were simply the strongest amongst the vampires, a mix of fallen True Ancestors and powerful Dead Apostles who had escaped their masters' control.
True Ancestors were practically extinct. After Arcueid, tricked by Roa, slaughtered the inhabitants of the Millennium Castle, there were fewer than five active True Ancestors left in the world.
So when Rimuru said he was interested in True Ancestors and stared directly at Altrouge, the implication was clear.
He dares to target me?
"Interesting…"
The atmosphere in the restroom grew heavy, a silent storm brewing. Rimuru watched Altrouge's darkening expression, already calculating his escape route for when the fighting started.
Beside her, the lazy white beast, Primate Murder, suddenly perked up. Its ears twitched toward the door.
Altrouge narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Did those insects from the Church give you this courage?"
Rimuru's face stiffened for a microsecond before he smoothed it over. "I prefer to rely on my own strength."
"Someone is coming, Fou…"
Primate Murder's tail swished, interrupting the stare-down. Altrouge blinked, her killing intent pausing as she looked toward the restroom door.
Someone is coming?
Rimuru glanced at his mental map. The Executors were still a distance away. And since there was no mana signature…
[Analysis: It is a normal human.]
Creak.
The door to the men's restroom swung open casually. A young man, seemingly in his early twenties, walked in while whistling a tune and unbuckling his belt.
Suddenly, his hands froze.
He stared, wide-eyed, at the tall, masked man and the petite, exquisite girl at the end of the room.
From his angle, the girl floating in mid-air looked like she was being held up by Rimuru. His brain jammed like a broken cassette tape for a second. He turned around instinctively to leave, but then his moral compass, or perhaps just confusion, kicked in.
He spun back around.
"Hey, buddy… put the girl down… touching kids is…"
"Dispose of him, Cath."
Faced with this sudden intruder, Altrouge didn't even bother to turn her head. Her voice was ice-cold, devoid of interest.
In an instant, Rimuru felt the mana shift. Primate Murder, the fluffy little mascot on her shoulder, lazily lifted its head. It glanced at the young man with bored eyes.
An invisible wave of Mystery swept over him.
Thump.
Before the young man could finish his sentence, he collapsed to his knees. He clutched his stomach, violently vomiting blood onto the tiled floor.
"Damn it…"
Rimuru cursed under his breath. Azure magic circuits flared to life over his heart. The vast mana reserves of a Phantasmal Species surged into the young man's body, forcibly stabilizing his vitals and slowing the hemorrhage.
The young man gasped for air, panic written all over his face.
"Mn?" The Black Princess blinked, surprised. "You're saving him?"
Rimuru ignored her.
Great Sage! Scan him!
[Analysis Complete. Human genetic sequence is collapsing. Repair difficulty: Extremely High.]
"Genetic collapse?" Rimuru faltered. The flow of mana from his hands slowed. Even Magecraft couldn't constantly uphold a crumbling DNA structure.
"It's useless."
Seeing Rimuru rush over to play doctor, Altrouge turned around, curiosity piqued.
"Cath is the Primate Murder. It erases the concept and soul of primates from the root. A primate attacked by it cannot survive. Even your vast mana can only delay the inevitable."
She had to admit, Rimuru's mana capacity was a pleasant surprise. But raw power couldn't change a conceptual outcome. To counter the Fourth Beast's attack, one would have to fundamentally warp the target of the attack or twist one's own concept of existence.
"Save… save me…"
The young man clawed at his throat with one hand, reaching out to Rimuru with the other.
Survival instinct overrode his fear of the supernatural. He knew Rimuru was the only one who could help him. He just wanted to live.
….
+10 chapters on my p@tr3on: Kazuma_trash
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