"I was planning to use you lot as bargaining chips against the Princess, but…"
The wind picked up. Instead of scattering the mist, it thickened it into a suffocating, sickly green fog. Then came the sound.
The deep, rumbling crash of ocean waves breaking against a shore that shouldn't exist.
The Executors snapped their heads up in horror. The cobblestone courtyard was gone. The town was gone.
They were standing on a tiny, rapidly shrinking island of dirt in the middle of a churning, abyssal sea.
Massive, rotting galleons drifted through the fog, their decks illuminated by eerie emerald flames.
"Unfortunately for you, my identity cannot be exposed."
With a heavy sigh, Rimuru flicked his wrist.
A localized tsunami roared to life. A massive, churning whirlpool formed beneath the Executors' feet, tearing the last remnants of solid ground apart.
Vissela gritted his teeth, his black uniform instantly soaked by the freezing spray. He slammed his hands together, deploying a desperate, glowing holy barrier that barely deflected the crushing weight of the tidal wave.
High above the chaos, sitting comfortably on an invisible throne of air, Altrouge watched. She had casually extended a barrier to shield the nun on the porch from the splash zone.
Seeing the endless, raging ocean, a terrifyingly delighted realization dawned on the Black Princess.
So this is how Fina-blood lost.
Rimuru was rumored to be a Color-rank magus with absolute mastery over hydro-mancy. By devouring Svelten and inheriting the Parade Reality Marble, Rimuru had effectively turned the ocean domain into his own, infinitely regenerating Workshop!
Her smile widened until it hurt. He was the most terrifyingly adaptable magus she had ever seen. The potential was staggering.
He might actually be capable of reaching the Grand rank.
"Damn it all!" Vissela cursed, forced back by the relentless, pounding waves. He rallied his surviving men, drawing a massive, golden sigil in the air.
The squad synchronized their breathing. A joint, multi-layered Baptism Rite began to echo over the roar of the sea.
A chorus chant?
Rimuru watched them, shaking his head in genuine pity. Executors were terrifying in close-quarters combat. Their physical reinforcement and anti-heresy traps made them a nightmare in a standard magus duel.
But this wasn't a duel. This was a Reality Marble.
The Burial Agency's hyper-specialized, anti-personnel combat style was utterly useless against the crushing weight of an entire World.
Even the legendary Kirei Kotomine would have needed Command Spells to punch through an environmental overwrite of this magnitude.
What made this no-name Inquisitor think he stood a chance?
Two weeks ago, they only drove him to the brink because his heart was actively rotting out of his chest. Now? With his injuries mostly healed?
You're out of your league, boys.
Die. Sink to the bottom of the sea and become my nourishment.
With cold, detached efficiency, Rimuru raised his arm. He didn't overclock his circuits this time. He meticulously, methodically tapped into half of his massive mana reserves.
Dozens of glowing, azure magic circles flared to life across the dark surface of the ocean, spinning with lethal intent.
He had to keep half his tank in reserve. He still had to negotiate with Altrouge, after all. She had manipulated him, cornered him, and forced his hand.
If she thought he was just going to roll over and accept her collar without extracting a massive pound of flesh in return, she was sorely mistaken.
The glowing arrays spun faster. Vissela watched in horror as the final chunk of dirt beneath his boots dissolved into mud and was swept away.
The Grand Inquisitor desperately channeled mana to his feet, utilizing a basic water-walking spell to stay above the churning abyss.
His subordinates weren't so lucky.
Several Executors, lacking the specific esoteric knowledge to walk on water, plunged waist-deep into the dark ocean.
The moment they touched the water, the trap snapped shut. The sea itself turned into a liquid meat grinder. Hyper-pressurized water blades crisscrossed beneath the surface, instantly shredding the unlucky Inquisitors into a fine, crimson mist that blossomed violently across the emerald waves.
"To quote the late Fina-blood Svelten," Rimuru murmured.
He extended his arm fully. The tattered sleeves of his borrowed trench coat finally disintegrated under the sheer density of his aura, revealing pale skin etched with densely packed, blindingly bright Magic Circuits.
"When land-dwelling creatures lose their footing…" Rimuru's golden eyes glowed with absolute authority over the storm. "…All they can do is struggle before they drown."
"You may be able to stall the raw power of a World for a few seconds."
Rimuru slowly closed his fist.
"But what does that matter?"
BOOM!
The azure arrays fully activated. The entirety of the Reality Marble's ocean detonated.
Hundred-meter-tall tidal waves surged from all four points of the compass, crashing down toward the center like the jaws of an apocalyptic leviathan.
The Executors were swallowed whole.
The roaring sea annihilated everything in its path, crushing bone and holy barrier alike beneath millions of tons of pressure.
Total party wipe.
A long moment later, Rimuru slowly lowered his arm. The storm clouds parted, and the sea grew eerily calm.
The remnants of the tsunami fell as a gentle, freezing drizzle. The rain soaked Altrouge's gothic dress and plastered her dark hair to her face, but she didn't seem to care in the slightest. Her crimson eyes curved into delighted crescents.
"What a terrifying Magecraft," she laughed, genuinely impressed. "Does it have a name?"
"Unfortunately, no." Rimuru raised an eyebrow, glancing back over his shoulder. "But I'm thinking of calling it 'Leviathan's Greeting.' What do you think?"
"A very fitting greeting indeed." Altrouge opened her eyes, nodding with a soft chuckle. She couldn't help but look down at the spot where the Executors had been standing.
As Rimuru dispelled the Reality Marble and the courtyard returned to reality, there wasn't a single trace of Vissela or his men left behind. Not even a scrap of cloth or a drop of blood.
A Leviathan indeed, she thought. It swallowed them without leaving a single crumb.
"Well then. It seems it's just us now." Altrouge turned her smiling gaze back to Rimuru. "You killed them all. That removes quite a bit of leverage from my side of the scale."
"The scale lost weight on both sides. I also just murdered my only potential allies," Rimuru retorted dryly. He cast a quick glance at the nun, who was still kneeling on the porch with her eyes squeezed shut, her hands clasped tightly in prayer. He turned back to the Black Princess, his tone sharp. "If anything, you've successfully forced me to step one foot into your camp."
"But honestly, Rimuru," Altrouge shook her head, walking forward with a casual, almost bouncy step. "Even if you hadn't met me, your research into Dead Apostles would have inevitably led you to acquire our traits. You would have crossed paths with us eventually."
She extended her hands, palms up, speaking with the earnest, persuasive tone of a teenage girl trying to convince a friend.
"Besides, haven't you considered the implications of your own power? A trait that allows you to devour and replicate the abilities of others? It's only a matter of time before those decrepit old Lords at the Clock Tower set their sights on you. Isn't it better to leave yourself an out? What's the harm in having an extra option?"
"Cut the crap, Altrouge."
….
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