Chapter 441: - A Certain Slime's End (side: slime)

Chapter 441

441 - A Certain Slime's End (side: slime)

Thermal carries me on his back as he runs through the escape passage. This passage leads to a vast underground water network. As slimes, we can use it to easily escape into rivers or seas.

No dragon or Saint will be able to give chase. Even I don't know where we will emerge. This was planned as a last resort to completely cover my tracks and allow me to start anew.

"...But there's no point. It's already over."

I mutter, and Thermal's expression becomes grim.

"I can't see anything anymore. Levels, species, names, stats... It's all gone... Now that I've lost my divine skill, there's no way I can get any stronger. I can feel my level being pressed down from above. And now that I've lost the role of the Demon Lord, it's impossible for me to create any more A rank followers..."

"It's not over yet, Demon Lord-sama. I..."

"What could you know!? You're out of place, B rank! If only you were as strong as Rogueheil, this could have ended differently! You were played by a lower rank undead that was only brought along to be a hindrance! Rogueheil would have killed the undead in an instant!"

I rant, spilling out my overflowing emotions. Thermal's expression doesn't change. I consider yelling at him again, but change my mind. That Rogueheil is already gone. It's all over. I wasn't able to become anything. I couldn't become the Demon Lord, and there was no way I could become the Hero.

"...Thermal, it's already over. Laplace has prophesied my death. The divine skill inheritance only begins when the holder's death is certain, so it's only a matter of time."

"I know I've said this before but, umm, surely, Laplace could make a mistake..."

"That's impossible. In the first place, Laplace isn't a living being, but rather the concept that binds together all the phenomena and rules of this world."

According to God-sama, Laplace is an embodiment of entwined paradoxes, and as a result, although not omnipotent or omniscient, is close to that. The only way to outwit Laplace is to use the phenomena that Laplace is unable to handle and contradict the rules of the world, that phenomena that God-sama calls bugs.

That is the only way to overturn the rules of the world and save the captured God-sama. God-sama told me that I was the closest to being that bug. But that was probably a lie.

It was shortly after I was born deep in a certain forest. The memory is already hazy, but I still remember the important details. I was cast out of the pack because my colour was wrong and, driven by hunger, I bit into an egg. Coincidentally, I was able to steal the divine skill that was still in the process of attaching to the egg.

Normally, divine skills can only be transferred through the standard inheritance. My ability to gain the divine skill was truly a coincidental bug.

God-sama hypothesised that there is an ambiguous period between when the sacred skill takes root, and the emergence of the host's awareness, but I wasn't able to understand it. Regardless, as a result, a bug also arose in the consciousness of that egg. Through [Skill Take], I was able to glimpse at the fragmentary memories that arose as a result of that bug, and saw strange sights that were not of this world. God-sama seemed to know that world and seemed to be highly interested in it, but in the end, never spoke to me about it.

Now that I think about it, from the start, God-sama's interest was more focused on Irushia, who arose as a result of the bug, rather than me, the cause of it. No, in truth, I think I realised that much earlier. But I pretended not to notice.

"...If you believe in Laplace that much, then why did you try to do the impossible and defeat Irushia? You thought the prophecy could be overturned, and so you resisted. Wasn't that the case? Then why not fight to the end...?"

"That's wrong, Thermal. I didn't doubt Laplace. I knew my death was set in stone then. Everything is occurring as predicted."

"That's..."

"But, even though my death was certain, Irushia's survival wasn't. From how things looked, he could easily get caught up in the collapsing of the underground. The collapse of the chamber was getting worse, and he's already weakened. Isn't that the case? Laplace didn't predict anything other than my death."

"Right..."

"It's frustrating. Even though I tried so hard, even though I did everything I could, I am going to die, and that Irushia, who lived aimlessly and carefree is going to take everything. If Irushia's going to take it all, then I don't need it! My levels, my status, my divine skill, Laplace, this world, God-sama; if everything I have is going to fall into Irushia's hand, then it should all rot away and disappear instead! I curse you... Irushia, I curse everything about you for all eternity!"

I shout out the words that had collected in my chest. Bewilderment appears in Thermal's expression, and he opens his mouth slightly, but ultimately says nothing in reply. I watch his expression with a sense of detachment.

『Your final will is heard.』

From high above, I hear a condescending [Telepathy]. In the passage just in front of the waterway, a huge white dragon is standing proudly. Aah, as expected, it's the Saint's collared dragon.

"H-how... When did such a big dragon get inside the passage?"

Thermal's sword drops from his hand. A metallic clang echoes out as it hits the stone floor.

『After all that time, did you really think that Saint-sama wasn't moving? While she waited above in case you tried to flee upstairs, I came down here to destroy your escape route. Even if I was buried alive, I can easily be replaced. Honestly, it's an awful reason to send me, who is famed as the [Holy Dragon of the Salvation Country], to near-certain death.』

If Irushia had retreated quickly, the Saint would have come down and caught me in a pincer attack. When it comes to Irushia, I really do get too worked up. I was checkmated the moment I decided to fight Irushia. The best plan would have been to quickly retreat, and then watch for an opportunity when Irushia was definitely alone. I got caught, hook, line, and sinker.

"See, it's over... Huh?"

My body feels strange. It feels like there's something dark swirling inside me, an irrepressible urge. I recognise this sensation. It's evolution.

After the inheritance finished, it felt as though my strength left my body. Having lost my divine skill, it felt like my body was no longer able to withstand the [Chaos Ooze] species, and so I became weaker. My level cap must have lowered, and as a result, I met the evolution conditions.

But that should be impossible. Now that I have lost the divine skill, it should be impossible for me to evolve to『L (legendary)』 rank. There's no way something so convenient could happen. After all, Laplace predicted that the Holy Dragon would appear here... And yet, this...

Could this also be a bug? The divine skills themselves exist between this world and Laplace, and are the only things that Laplace can't control directly. In fact, God-sama once said that, as L (legendary) rank beings cannot arise through normal means but only through divine skills, their very existence is a kind of bug. The sacred skills themselves are the triggers for the bugs. In the first place, the reason Irushia and I are unique to God-sama's eyes is because I was able to extract the divine skill in a way that defied Laplace.

No, there's no point thinking about it. It doesn't matter. As long as I can evolve, I might be able to overturn Laplace's prediction. Most importantly, I can kill Irushia.

"A miracle, a miracle has occurred...!

That is all I can say. My wishes, my zeal, has surpassed Laplace. How else could this be described?

[Stop.][I never thought this would happen here.]

[Your role is already over.]

[There's no way someone without-][A divine skill, or-][Laplace Interference Authority could break through that wall.]

God-sama's voice enters my mind. It feels pleasant. I never thought I would hear it again. My erased [God's Voice] still hasn't returned. But, God-sama was still watching over me.

"Don't worry, God-sama, I'll kill them all...!"

My body rebuilds itself. I feel heat, pain, and emptiness. My thoughts become scrambled, and my ability to think leaves me.

[[Chaos Ooze] has evolved to [Ruin].]

[Noisy�yu wise ⁅ mix ki tangle L ◇? Then, that authority has not been granted.]

[Characteristic skill [Ruin] has been acquired.]

[Normal skill [Ruin] has been acquired.]

[Characteristic s%ll [#&] F has been trained.]

Has my field of view has become high...? No, was I like this from the beginning? I don't understand. My memories are jumbled. I feel sick. I feel like I can see an unknown world. But then a moment later, it fades from view. I don't understand. I might have collected too many skills and memories.

[I thought it was-][Strange.]

[You were still alive far too long after-][The verdict and inheritance.]

[I see.][This was inevitable.]

God-sama's message continues.

[Characteristic skill [Seven Attributes] has been lost.]

[Characteristic skill [Slime Body] has been lost.]

[Characteristic skill [Soft Steps] has been lost.]

I feel something leaving my mind. I can't remember what it was.

[Characteristic skill [Poison Sash] has been lost.]

[Characteristic skill [Tortoise Carapace] has been lost.]

[Characteristic skill [Presence Perception] has been lost.]

Was it something important?

[Characteristic skill [Grisha Language] has been lost.]

I can't remember anything. Anything that appears in my mind immediately drifts away.

"...! ......h!"

Something is making a lot of noise in front of me. It's experience points. I stretched out my forefoot, and it burst open. The experience points entered me. I need experience. I need more.

"Irushia, Irushia..."

Right, in order to kill Irushia, I need more experience. In front of me, I see a white dragon. Aah, aah, that looks like it's a lot of experience.

I chant the only word that remains in my pure white memory.

"[Ruin]."

My surroundings become covered in the same pure white light as the inside of my head.