The voice of the world echoed in everyone's minds.
Shizu, her black hair fluttering, was instantly enveloped in flames.
Appearing along with her was the Flame Spirit, Ifrit!
"Roar—!!"
Ifrit let out a furious howl toward the sky. A massive pressure shrouded the entire city, casting a shadow over everyone's hearts.
With A+ rank strength, Ifrit's level was on par with the current Rimuru.
At that moment, three pillars of fire rose up around Ifrit.
Flame Summon—Flame Dragon!
The three fire pillars transformed into three fire dragons, circling in the sky and intimidating all directions.
Surrounded by the fire dragons, the Conqueror of Flames, Ifrit, descended.
"Hey! Those are houses we worked so hard to build!"
Looking at the town being set ablaze by the fire dragons, Rimuru shouted with some heartache.
"Roar!!"
Ifrit let out a low hiss, and flames sprayed out, completely covering the town.
The firelight reflected off the fire dragons in the sky, making them appear even more majestic and domineering.
"Damn it!"
"Ranga!"
"I am here, my master!"
The next moment, Ranga's massive body lunged out from Rimuru's shadow.
"Let's go!"
Rimuru jumped onto Ranga's back, and the two began circling Ifrit.
Water Blade!
A sharp, transparent blade of water was spat out from Rimuru's mouth.
Just as the Water Blade approached Ifrit, it was completely evaporated by the scorching temperature around him.
"Ordinary attacks are useless?" Rimuru muttered to himself.
"Icicle Lance!"
Eren's trio also snapped out of it at this time, and she directly threw a water-ice magic spell at one of the fire dragons.
"Sizzle~"
A stream of frigid air instantly sliced a gap into the fire dragon's body.
"Oh? Why did Eren's attack work?"
"My master, physical attacks are ineffective against spirits. Only elemental weaknesses or magic will work."
Ranga answered Rimuru's doubt.
[Report. Releasing a large amount of water to contact the fire dragons will create steam and cause an explosion. Execute? YES/NO]
"Huh? What the heck is that?"
[Answer. Pressure x Volume = Water Volume x Gas Constant...]
"Uh... can you say something I can understand?"
[Report. It can trigger a massive explosion, enough to blow everything in front of you into oblivion, but the town will be leveled.]
"That's just suicide. Forget it, I'll figure something out myself."
[...]
Rimuru had devoured many monsters in the cave before. Although he had many attack methods, most were race-specific skills and didn't have much to do with magic.
Things like Poison Mist Breath, Spider Silk, Drain, and Armor Defense couldn't be considered magic at all.
But it wasn't like he had none at all.
Rimuru's ultimate move, "Black Thunder," was a lightning-type magic, and it was incredibly powerful.
But Miss Shizu was still inside Ifrit's body. If he killed them both, it would be a tragedy.
In the sky, the fire dragons were still rampaging.
"Black Thunder!"
"Boom—!"
Three bolts of black lightning instantly sent the fire dragons to their deaths.
Having dealt with the lackeys, Rimuru jumped toward Ifrit in the sky.
He was planning to play dirty.
[Use Unique Skill 'Predator'?]
"Yes!"
No matter how impressive you are, I'll finish you off with one devour!
Ifrit was caught off guard and didn't dodge.
He was instantly enveloped by the Slime, then devoured, finally vanishing into thin air.
Along the way, Rimuru also spat Shizu out.
After the two were separated, without Ifrit's support, Shizu's appearance instantly aged.
Her long black hair turned grey in an instant, and her face became covered in wrinkles.
"Shizu-san, are you okay!" Rimuru asked worriedly.
Shizu didn't answer, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.
Seven days later... "Where is this?" Shizu slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying in a bed.
She looked around and found herself in an unfamiliar room.
During these days, she had a very, very long dream.
She dreamed of her mother's hands gradually growing cold; although there was a gentle smile on her face, the way she looked at her was so hollow.
And her two excellent students.
An innocent and sunny boy, and a girl filled with despair.
And the Hero who brought her hope... The dream was long and distant.
But upon waking, she found that the dream had already vanished like smoke.
"Oh, Shizu-san, you're finally awake."
Rimuru pushed the door open and walked in, filled with both surprise and joy upon seeing Shizu awake.
"How many days have I been asleep?" Shizu asked weakly.
"Seven days," Rimuru replied, after which the room fell into a dead silence.
They both knew very well that Shizu's life was nearing its end.
A long time passed.
"Mr. Rimuru, I've caused you trouble."
"Don't say that, Shizu-san. We're friends, aren't we?" Rimuru shook his head.
"Friends...?"
"Hey, as a friend, can I ask a favor of you?"
"Go ahead."
"Eat... me..."
"Eh?!"
Rimuru was stunned, not knowing how to respond.
"Why?"
"My curse has already been eaten by you, right? I'm truly very happy..."
"Could you... go to the person who placed the curse on me... and complain a bit?"
"And... my final wish... let me... sleep inside your body."
Shizu-san spoke quietly.
This is too cruel... Rimuru felt incredibly sad in his heart.
"I... I hate this world, but I don't exactly hate it either."
"Just like that man..."
"Probably because it was through that man that I was able to see this world... so, I don't want to remain in this world."
"Please... could you... eat me..."
This was an easy task for Rimuru, but... "Shizu-san, maybe my big brother can save you."
"Mr. Draco...?"
Rimuru immediately took out a Communication Crystal, as if he had found a savior.
"He said he can settle any matter, no matter how big. I'll call him over right now."
Following Rimuru's call, a familiar voice sounded from the other end of the communicator.
"Rimuru, this is the first time you've looked for me."
Draco's cheerful voice came through, but Rimuru was somewhat flustered.
"Now is not the time for this. Big brother, Shizu-san... she..."
The next moment, the familiar voice appeared behind Rimuru.
Draco appeared directly in the room via Spatial Transfer.
"I see."
Draco smiled and reached out, pressing his hand onto the top of Shizu-san's head.
As a green fluorescent light glowed, Shizu-san's spirit recovered slightly.
"It's been a long time, Miss Shizu."
-------------------------------
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