Chapter 248: Rimuru vs Yuuki Part 3-

Rimuru vs Yuuki - Part 3-

I had to now consider that it was impossible to ever understand this idiot.

He wanted to destroy the world because he had an unhappy childhood or something, it was incomprehensible.

Yuuki was not the only one who had met misfortune as a child.

Not everyone was happy, many people had to overcome their misfortune and grow into great people.

My life was probably on the more happier side, so I'm not sure I could answer if asked whether I truly understood the feelings of unfortunate people.

However, I can determine that it is clearly wrong to involve other people just because you are unhappy.

People are not equal.

With the systems set in place in the world, we can try within limits to treat each other fairly, but we also cannot deny the difference in abilities that people are born with.

Thinking about it like that, it becomes apparent that a world where everyone can live with equality, peace, and happiness could only exist within a fantasy.

And so, if you said that this world was incomplete, well, that would be true.

Even Velda, who had tried to create a completely monitored society; he had been no more than a fool who could not understand what Veldanava's ideal was.

But even more than that, Yuuki's idea that it would be better to destroy everything and bring an end to it all was incredibly naive and juvenile.

He would take no responsibility for himself. He was reckless and would acknowledge no opinions other than his own.

In the end, Yuuki was a fool who I would never be able to understand.

The world was cruel, but it offered you everything.

That was the world that Veldanava had created.

Alone in that space of nothingness, he had endured his solitude.

And so he had then given birth to this world in order to distract himself from his boredom.

And in this world, was born life. Beings who could act freely and make their will known, just as Veldanava had intended.

After many years, humans were born as the receptacle of the soul, with free will and high intelligence.

Veldanava was overjoyed.

He had been bored in the world of nothingness. Watching the activities of the lifeforms was pleasurable enough, but the activities of these creatures called humans were emotionally moving to him.

However, there was a problem.

These humans who had attained knowledge, they began to stimulate each other and eventually act in ways that he hadn't anticipated.

If he left them alone, they would immediately begin to war and begin to walk down the path of destruction.

He had created several different worlds, and yet all of them showed the same tendencies in the end.

The reason for this was emotion.

It was something that he had given as a means to stimulate people and to help them grow even more, but emotions that became too extreme had a tendency of wanting to eradicate the opinions of others.

Different kinds of justice were born through different ways of thinking.

That is what Veldanava thought.

He decided that this phenomenon was a necessary evil, and so he accepted the way the world was as a testing ground for the soul.

The warring would likely stop if humans were monitored completely.

However, their emotions would no longer be stimulated, and the world would turn into a dystopia that might be equal, but lacked free will.

And that was not the kind of world that Veldanava wanted.

He experimented several times after that, trying to push humans into growing in the way that he wanted.

Several parallel worlds existed with small details changed in each, allowing them to evolve in different ways.

Within this system, the humans with especially matured souls were selected to govern the souls with shorter life-spans. And so angels and demons were born.

The system had been constructed so that the souls of all the dimensions would circulate.

The watchers were limited to how much they could intervene, and commanded to prevent the basis of the world from falling apart.

These were Guy, Ramiris, Dino and others like them.

Because there was very little mana in the world that I was originally in, I never witnessed anything spiritual, but perhaps there were also guardians there.

Well, none of that means anything now.

In any case, the construction of the system is complete.

The slaying of the giants who appeared irregularly is finished, and the world is now stable.

Just when everything was starting to move well, the wheel of destiny began to turn.

Veldanava meets Lucia and falls in love.

And the two loved each other, and Milim was born.

When this happened, Veldanava had lost all of his power, and I can speculate that this had to do with the binding force of the world.

This reaction we call a force-the constructed system, it had decided that Lucia's existence was one of evil.

According to the system, God's love must be shared equally.

And so Veldanava's love for a specific individual must have caused an error.

Ultimately, the price that had to be paid to fix the tear in the system was the lives of Veldanava and Lucia.

Velda's idea to convict the system that had destroyed its own creator was not impossible to understand. However, it was still a self-serving desire and went against the will of Veldanava.

In the end, Veldanava had loved this world, and he wanted Milim, who was his daughter, to live.

The fact that he had sacrificed himself for the system was proof of this.

-Even if he had lost all of his abilities, it was still impossible for someone who was a god to be killed by a human.

But Velda had not understood this.

And that is why he cooperated with Yuuki and tried to destroy the world... It really was a foolish thing.

◇◇◇

I opened my eyes slightly.

The final fight with Yuuki had started, and-

[Are you awake now?]

Ah, Ciel was talking to me. But where were we?

And what happened to Veldora?

[This is a world at the end. Or you might also call it the 'End of Space-time. Veldora has been isolated in an 'Imaginary Space.' So he is completely safe and there is no need to worry.]

I see, so Veldora was safe.

That's good... uh, huh? This is just a vast world with nothing, but, did she say 'End of Space-time'? Indeed, time does not flow and is suspended here. And I cannot detect the spreading of space either...

[Yes. The flow of time has stopped in this world. And the spread of space has also ended, and has become nothingness according to the laws of entropy.]

Has it? You talk about it as if you've observed it happening?

[Indeed. We have been thrown into the far end of Space-time through Yuuki's attack. The star has exceeded its lifespan, but the world has not been destroyed yet. Judging by this, Yuuki must have not been able to destroy the world itself. I speculate that after destroying all the stars as a space-time continuum, his lifespan had ended. However, I cannot determine if his wish had been fulfilled through this. After that, I floated off into space, and witnessed the ending of the universe.]

-I couldn't quite understand what exactly Ciel was saying...

Did she witness the end of the universe? What was that supposed to mean...?

I mean, there was no way you could stay alive in such a situation.

There were much more believable lies to tell-but then I remembered, Ciel did not tell lies.

Sometimes, I was fooled by her, but it wasn't so much that she lied, but that I had misunderstood her-or she made me-that's all.

In that case, then we were really in a world at the end!?

[Yes, that is right. Well then, what will you do now?]

What will I do?

[As so much time has passed, there is an enormous amount of energy from 'Turn Null' that has been stored. Veldanava seems to have lost 'Turn Null' when creating the world, but you still have 'Imaginary Space', so there should not be a problem. As 'Imaginary Space' is infinite, it has not become full, but it has been loaded with enough energy to rebuild worlds tens of thousands of times over. If I may add, this means that you can replicate every person you were ever involved with including their memories, you can create a world that is as close as you can possibly get to the world you left. What will you do?]

Wha...?

I was shocked by the question.

Yes. If this really was the 'End of Space-time,' then that meant that Benimaru, Shuna, Tempest, and their friends, Diablo and the demons, Guy and Ramiris and Milim, all of those that I've loved were nowhere within this world. I finally understood that.

In other words, I had lost against Yuuki.

"Damn it!! Shit, this means that I completely lost to Yuuki!!"

[No, that is wrong. Yuuki was unable to destroy you.]

But, I was unable to protect those I loved.

Then there was no point. There was no point if I was the only one who survived.

And even if their memory and DNA could be recreated to be exactly the same, would that still really be them?

Would I be able to interact with them in the same way when I had created them with my own hands!?

It was nonsense, damn it!!

"Such a thing would just be fake! We can make excuses, but I still lost to Yuuki..."

Logically, Ciel was thinking that I should create a new world without the heretic that was Yuuki.

Indeed, that was probably the right answer.

You could say that there was nothing wrong with it.

However, that was not enough to satiate me.

How could I resurrect my dead friends in such a way just to heal my own loneliness? I would rather die than do such a thing.

I knew that I was being obstinate.

But that was also why I could not allow myself to just create a world that was convenient for me.

In such a world, the existence that was me was likely to rot away and die.

It was better to choose a proud loneliness than to hold on to the past just to comfort yourself.

[I expected that you would answer in this way.]

I had shouted out with rage, but Ciel answered as if she were pleased.

And then she continued.

[Also, you have not been defeated by Yuuki. You just need to go and beat him right now.]

Ciel offered as if it were nothing.

Go and beat him now? Return to the past that was long gone?

Was such a thing possible...

Chloe had Time Leap which could read memories from the future, but that was really just an ability that allowed you to return to your past self.

And it could not be activated where time had been stopped.

Yuuki had carefully planned to block such escape routes when he stopped time.

[No, there should be no problem. Mai's newly acquired 'Teleport' was nothing more than a prototype for a different ability. This ability was not an 'ability that allowed you to return to a place you had been' but was an 'ability that allowed you to travel through space-time and arrive at the desired point.' As you can control time and space, going back into time should be an easy thing for you.]

I was stunned.

No wonder Ciel had acted so normally in spite of my rage.

From the beginning, she had already known what I had wanted.

"Well then, let's get going and quickly dispose of that idiot. You know it don't you? That I hate to lose!"

[As you wish, my lord.]

Ciel answered my order.

In the same easy way as always. This was business as usual.

But I had only just awakened, Ciel had lived through countless millennia as she waited for me to wake up.

There was an undisguisable joy in the voice that answered my command.

In order to answer to her expectations, I had to choose the world that felt right for me.

Defeat was not an option.

Well then, it's about time I got this over with.

At the same time that I thought this, I time warped back into the past.

◇◇◇

I immediately sense that I was in a different place.

At the same time, I could also sense that a bundle of energy that was big enough to destroy the world was headed straight towards me.

But instead of panicking, I swallow the whole blast.

It's surprisingly tasty.

It seems that it allowed me to recover what energy that had depleted with the time warp.

"Who are you!?"

The shocked cry had come from Yuuki, who stood behind me.

Well, I had planned to return to the same point that I had disappeared in, but it seems that some time had elapsed.

Oh well, it was still near perfect timing that couldn't even be called a slight deviation in the grand scheme of things. And it was my first time too.

After all, from what I could observe, not a single person here had any injuries.

"...Is that you, Rimuru?"

A beautiful woman with rainbow colored hair asked me hesitantly.

Who wants to know!? I couldn't help but say.

However, judging by her slightly light-headed air, I realized that this person was probably Ramiris.

"Are you Ramiris? So you've grown?"

"Oh—!! Stupid-stupid-idiot-idiot—!! We were so worried about you!!"

"Tha-that's right! Hiding just so you can scare us like this, what a rotten personality. Your presence had completely vanished from this world, and we all believed that you had been blown away into the future!!"

"You just casually nullified our greatest weapons... Also, what's with this look? You seem to have grown since a moment ago?"

While it seemed that not much time had elapsed, they had still been incredibly worried about my disappearance.

Also, apparently the energy that I had just eaten was something that Guy and others had used all their power to unleash onto Yuuki. On one hand, I felt a little bad for them, but it was also true that something so weak would have probably just made Yuuki stronger instead. It was not a big deal.

But more importantly, what about my appearance?

I thought as I looked down at myself. Then I realized that I had grown into an adult.

I had no breasts or manhood either, so if I was asked if this growth had any meaning, well, I would have to say no.

I knew that Ciel had been creating energy all of this time, so it was likely an effect of that.

"Well, who cares about such trivial matters. We have not finished fighting yet. I need to put this guy out of his misery. So with that said, give me a minute."

I tell them before turning to face Yuuki.

Guy didn't say anything. His sword was sheathed and his arms folded.

"Guy?"

"I don't think Rimuru could lose no matter how you look at it. This is a real checkmate."

Guy answered Ramiris and shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, those kinds of lines are flags...but then again, there doesn't seem to be much room for a flag..."

Ramiris murmured.

After that in a quieter voice, she muttered about going through the trouble of returning to her original form...but now there was no meaning to it. She looked sad. It might be a good thing to do something to cheer her up later.

Perhaps Diablo had believed that I would return because he had a smug look on his face as if he thought it was the most normal thing. Though his expression when he looked at me was a little entranced. Would I be able to return to my original self? I was a little worried.

Chloe looked like she was about to cry, but just like Guy, she had sheathed her sword and decided to watch over the fight. She must believe in me. Don't worry, I won't let you down.

Feeling everyone's support at my back, I thrust out my katana in Yuuki's direction.

"Now, let's finish this. I played along with your childish games for long enough. Don't you think that it's time for a break?"

"Impossible!? Rimuru, you were supposed to have been completely shot off into the 'end of space-time'!!"

Yuuki's eyes were bloodshot as he shouted as if he did not want to admit that this was real.

I understood how he felt.

But he really picked the wrong person to mess with.

Had he been against anyone else, he might have had a chance of winning.

"Oh, I was shot off alright. I fell right into your plans because my buddy was busy analyzing the primitive magic. It was quite impressive of you. But unfortunately, it was not going to be effective with me."

I tell Yuuki as if it had been nothing at all.

[I am quite hurt that you are blaming me for falling into the trap. However, it is true that I had an interest in primitive magic. It makes me angry, but I won't deny it.]

Ciel said without much amusement but plenty of resentment. I decided to ignore her.

Generally speaking, I wasn't wrong.

"Impossible, no... Time leap...? And with a complete shape, to the desired place... From...the 'end of space-time' you say...? It can't be... No, there is no way that someone who can do such a thing exists... That would make you something like a transcendent God-"

Yuuki continued to mumble in this vein.

You could see that he was desperate to deny the reality of the situation.

And then-

Suddenly, he put all his force behind the sword and slashed in my direction.

There was no need for me to dodge, instead, I thrust out my left hand and grabbed the blade.

The blade which had swung down at a god-like speed was now stuck between my thumb and forefinger. It was completely still.

I glance at Yuuki who was stunned, then I unleash a light kick.

Being on the receiving end of it, Yuuki dropped his sword-Veldanava, and went flying backward.

While he would still be alive, he was likely to have lost half of his ability to fight.

This was because I had extracted a negative energy from 'Turn Null' that hindered your life support, and combined it into the kick.

Yuuki coughed violently before looking up at me with a dumbfounded expression.

"You, what the hell are you—!?"

There was shock and confusion in his face as he shouted towards me.

I laugh as I hear this.

Yuuki was like a humorous caricature.

He was so incredibly ignorant, and all I could do was laugh.

Satoru Mikami.

Rimuru Tempest.

-Or did he perhaps think that I was Veldanava?

Me? Who am I, you ask?

Such a thing is obvious.

My name is————-

A flash.

A blinding degree of light suddenly gushed through the area.

And then an ominous unearthly air that was the color of shadows began to pour from my body as if to swallow up the light.

The current of light gently enveloped Ramiris, Milim and my other friends. Healing all of their wounds, and protecting them from the shadowy air of evil.

As for any who were not protected by the light-as for Yuuki...

"Stop, don't come any closer! The world. I wanted to-"

He seemed to be struggling with all of his might, but his body was deteriorating without him being able to do anything about it.

"Give up. You went too far. If you do something wrong, then you have to repent, no? Repenting of your ways is the least you can do. In the 'Imaginary Space' inside of me, you can think about your selfishness and immaturity. That is the extent of what I am allowing you to have."

I coldly declare.

Yuuki continued to struggle until the end, but it was all in vain.

He had transferred all of his abilities into the Veldanava Sword, and so there was almost nothing he could do at this point.

-No, don't lock me up. Like this, not like this...

-Yuuki, is this because I was unable to lead you until the end after all? Really, boy. I wonder if you will ever stop being such a hassle.

-Master...? So, so it was... You are here too, master...

-Yes. I will repent with you here. You will not be alone.

-I understand. But, where will-

With those last words, Yuuki's conscious vanished completely.

I had cast him into the 'Imaginary Space.'

Escape would be impossible until I died-well, even after I died-he would never be free again.

In the first place, I wasn't even sure if I had a lifespan any more...

Regardless, the person who was talking with Yuuki at the end-

If it was true, then this may not even be a punishment for Yuuki, but in fact, a kind of deliverance.

I began to think as I allowed myself to indulge in such sentimentalities.

And that's how the final battle ended with my victory.

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