Schism War Part 1

"So is everybody ready?" I asked to the crowd that had surrounded me. The Ten Great Saints, now having become true Saints, as well as Rimuru's subordinates who had evolved into True Demon Lords, now stood around me. To my left, Rimuru, and to my right, Luminous.

Hinata stepped forward. "We are as ready as we will ever be." She said confidently, to which the Saints all nodded.

Benimaru then took a step forward. "This will be our first test since awakening. I am eager to test our skills." He said, looking down at his hand and then clenching it in that anime-sort-of-way that looks a bit odd in real life, but showed his determination.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Right... just so you all know, the Luminaries have been using my clone as a sort of battery to top up their physical strength, and they've also invited several... troublesome individuals as reinforcements." I gave everyone an update.

"Anyone we should worry about?" Hinata asked.

I shook my head. "Nah, I'll deal with Chronoa, and Milim will deal with the other one. It's personal for her, after all." I said.

Luminous smirked and turned to me. "You sure you just don't want revenge for getting sealed? A rematch with the Ultimate Hero won't be easy." She playfully teased.

I sighed. "A fight against a rampaging monster who fights without tactics is hardly a fight at all. Though maybe I should seal her away to get it over with." I muttered the last part to myself.

Luminous looked shocked for a moment before she doubled over and laughed loudly. "Pfft~ HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! She literally said the same thing about you before she went of to seal you! HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Luminous continued to laugh at my expense while Rimuru gave me a pat on the back to try to cheer me up, which just made me more annoyed for some reason.

I shook my head. "Enough! It's time to go!" I said, waving my hand to the side and erasing the time-accelerated subspace barrier.

Rimuru smiled. "Then it's my turn!" He opened up his arms wide and activated some sort of Ultimate Skill. "{|Transfer|}!" He called out as a legion-class magic circle surrounded us briefly before we all disappeared from the field in Tempest and reappeared in the courtyard of a castle in Siltrosso.

It was a bit anti-climactic really, though the one moment I had to complain in my mind was the only free moment I had, as the next second, a streak of energy, similar to Black Lightning, shot towards our assembled crowd.

"Whoah there, can't have you wiping us out the moment we arrive!" I said, moving to intercept it and smacking away the attack with my bare hand. The strike's aura shot off ot the side of the castle, hitting a wall and exploding with the force great enough to one-shot a Demon Lord. Not an awakened Demon Lord, but Carrion, Clayman, and Frey would've been toast if they'd received that.

Luminous looked toward me for a moment. "I'm going to divorce you if you harm her, you know." She said coldly.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I get it!" I said, clashing my fist against the rampaging Chronoa's rapier that next instant.

At that, everyone scattered into the castle while Milim took to the air, searching for the piece of information I'd learned about while my Other Body was pretending to be under Mariabell's control. An explosion and a wave of chaotic dragon aura that washed over the entire estate, the moment later highlighting her target.

"Gaia..." Milim muttered grimmly before shooting off towards her oldest friend.

Clashes and calnds and explosions and magic spells began to fly from inside while Chronoa and I exchanged blows. She really was beautiful. It was hard to even look at her with fighting intent since all you'd want to do is stare, but I shoved that thought out of the way as I continued my clash.

"Ow!" I cried as she cut through my wrist before spinning mid-air like a drill and lobbing off my hand.

I wasn't really in danger of losing, but I didn't have a weapon and was trying not ot hurt Chronoa, os I was mostly just playing a game of 'dodge' with her until Luminous got done with her battle. After all, my only sealing technique was [Unlimited Imprisonment] and variations of it, which wasd her own skills, so they'd instantly be taken down. Evidence of this was my hand, since she only cut it off since I'd used to to seal her and less than a second later, she'd unsealed herself and cut it off.

I ducked under a swing meant to take my head off. "You really aren't going to make this easy on me, are you?" I asked grabbing Chronoa's arm and doing a shoulder-throw that slammed her into the ground.

She rolled over the next moment and made a jab at my leg, to which I dodged by kicking the side of her sword and forcing it to miss. Chronoa stood up, having stopped her assault. "Wraaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" She screamed an inhuman scream of pure anger, anguish, and frustration.

"I get it. Mondays, am I right?" I said, trying to sympathize.

I instinctively dodged backwards as a slice appeared on my chest in a flash of her sword. As I skid to a stop, I whistled. "Tough crowd."

'This is going to be annoying. Lume... hurry up please.' I called out in my mind.

(Luminous POV)

That Slime friend of Veldora's, his daughter Scylla, Hinata, and Hinata's teacher, Shizue Izawa, followed me closely as I ran through the palace. Thanks to Veldora's memories, I knew exactly where to go and exactly what we'd find there.

"Is that it?" Shizue asked as we turned the last corner and began running towards a doorway at the end of the hall.

I nodded. "Yeah, apparently the kids are in there!" I said, pointing to the door.

The clone of Veldora that he left with Granbell's faction was currently standing with Granbell, Yuuki, and Mariabell surrounding a number of sleeping children that Shizue identified as Class S, her former students from Ingrassia. According to the plan that Veldora overheard, Yuuki was trying to draw Leon here with them. Apparently, Leon has been collecting children who were summoned as heroes behind the scenes for some purpose. Mariablle and Yuuki speculated that he was either using them as magic batteries when their bodies broke down from too much magic in their undeveloped bodies, or he had some way of saving them, and was raising them from birth to be loyal servants.

There was a third, less scrupulous option as well, but I doubt Leon is the kind of man who would lust after a child after all.

Either way, Shizue and Rimuru weren't going to allow that to happen regardless, so they were coming with me.

As we approached, I consentrated a bit of my Aura into my fist and shot it forward towards the door, smashing it open as we made out way inside.

*Boom!*

I stopped running and began to walk, taking on a more elegant posture as befitting a True Demon Lord such as myself. "Granbell. Did you really think you'd gotten away from me so easily?" I asked him.

Granbell, sitting on what looked to be some kind of throne in the centre of the room with his granddaughter on his lap, didn't immediately answer. He only glared at me for a long moment while Mariabell hopped off. "Indeed. I suspected you'd survived. If you really had been killed so easily, I'd have killed you years ago." He said, reaching around the edge of the throne and gripping onto Truth, his sword.

I smiled at him. Viciousness and contempt flashed on my face for a moment. "You never stood a chance against me then, even more so now. I suppose if you were to get on your knees and beg and grovel, I wouldn't mind overlooking your rebellion and giving you some of my love* as you left for the afterlife." I stated. (*Luminous is referring to her 'Love Energy', which is just vital energy. In this context, it would make his passing very peaceful.)

Granbell smiled. "I may not be able to best you now on my own normally, but your spy was more useful than you think." He stated as he moved to the center of the room. I also approached, having taken out my own sword, Night Rose. It's blade glowing Crimson as death energy from [Asmodeus] flowed through it. Granbell's own weapon, Truth, was alight with shimmering Blue Flames.

"How so?" I asked.

Granbell smirked, showing me his weapon. My eyes widened as I analyzed what I was seeing. "I see. You syphoned off the Veldora Clone's magicules to use a fuel to evolve your skill." I stated.

Granbell smirked. "Indeed. Now we are more even than even you thought. My [Sariel] against your [Asmodeus]. Both Skills that govern Life and Death. It was always meant to come down to this, you know. You and me. No matter who else survives this battle, so long as one of us does not fall, then this war will continue forever," he stated, becoming more long-winded.

"It's not like you to monologue," I stated.

Granbell smirked. "Forgive me, Mistress, however, I find myself filled with Hope for the future, now more than ever. Forgive me if I wax poetic in this critical moment of human history."

I took up a sword stance. "The dead find forgiveness in my embrace already. You simply have yet to enter it," I stated.

Granbell also took up a stance. "I shall not fall here, my lady."

Pause...

*Clash*

*Thump!*

A body hit the floor.

"Farewell, Granbell. You were a good subordinate." I stated as I walked away from his fallen body.

The result of our clash was expected. Even though Granbell had stolen magicules from Veldora's Clone to evolve his power to the Ultimate Skill level, the difference in our energy values and physical bodies was far too great. My own energy was almost 6 times his own at 36 Million EP while his was barely above 5 Million, and my body was technically created via Veldora's [Multiple Existence], so it was technically the body of a True Dragon, whereas his was the body of a Human Saint. Not to mention, Veldora's Clone was standing in the room while we clashed with instant-death soul-attacking Skills.

He obviously used his ability to manipulate probability to ensure I'd be ok. He wouldn't leave the life of his lover in the hands of 'chance'.

Granbell's body was now lying on its back, sprawled out on the floor. A massive gash radiating red energy leaked from the wound as his life and energy were beginning to rapidly drain away. The wound I inflicted upon him was one directly to his soul. Even if the wound to his physical body was survivable with magic healing, no amount of magic he could muster would restore a broken soul.

Granbell would be dead in less than a minute.

I turned towards the Veldora Clone, preparing to return to it and become a Manas again.

"Wait..." I was about to de-summon my physical body and return to my Manas form to aid Veldora when Granbell stopped me.

I looked over my shoulder at him but said nothing. "This power... it is the power of a Hero... it should belong to one..."

I turned towards him. "Very well. I shall take [Sariel] and provide it to Chronoa. Sleep well... old friend."

Granbell's head gave a slight nod as his eyes lost their light.

I clicked my tounge "Damn. Why did he have to go out giving me such a pain in the ass job." I stated as I began the slow process of extracting the Skill.

(Rimuru POV)

"Yuuki, how could you!?!" Shizue asked, sounding genuinely hurt as she clashed with Yuuki's short knife.

Yuuki jumped away, somersaulting to dodge Hinata's rapid thrusts before kicking her across the face with his foot.

Hinata spat a bit of blood. "How much longer until you heal, Rimuru?" She asked.

"Just a few more seconds," I said, my human head separated from my body as the rest had turned into a slimy mess in front of me.

I had been decapitated by Yuuki's first attack and thanks to his [Anti-Skill] I couldn't even heal from the damage. It was quite embarrassing and I knew that if Veldora had seen it, he'd never let me live it down. After all, it was my own fault for trying to talk to Yuuki and getting close to him to negotiate.

"And will you stop trying to control me! It's never going to work!" I shouted at Mariabell who had used her Unique Skill [Greed] on me a third time in the last minute. Apparently they thought that if they could control me, they could turn my forces against Luminoous' forces, but thanks to [Raphael]'s interference, my mind was unable to be affected.

<>

'Oh, Nice one, Sensei!' I called out in my mind as my body instantly began to slosh back together, and I stood up again.

"Tsk!" Mariabell clicked her tongue as she dodged yet another slam from Scylla's tentacles. "Yuuki! Rimuru is back up! Take him down again!"

Yuuki nodded and dashed forward, sliding under Hinata's piercing strike, having used [Anti-Skill] to disable her [Mathematician] and preventing her from predicting his movements. Yuuki now charged at me while I took a stance.

'I'd love to just swallow him up with [Beelzebuth] but since I sacrificed it to analyze his [Anti-Skill]...'

<>

'Seriously?' I thought with a deadpan as I took advantage of Yuuki plunging his knife into my guts (which had liquified back into slime on contact) to get a hold of him.

Yuuki's eyes went wide as the black mist of [Beelzebuth] began to envelop him. I smirked the moment our eyes met. I knew he was wondering how I'd countered his technique already when the last time literally forced me into a pile of slime on the floor, but I wasn't going to reveal my secrets that easily.

Yuuki's other hand, which held a short sword, attempted to cut off his arm to escape, but he had to alter course mid-swing to prevent Hinata from cutting off his head that next moment, and so he was now inside my [Stomach], unable to break free.

"Wheew!" I let out a long exhale before turning to the children that Shizu was protecting. Thanks to her, despite the huge amount of magic power in the atmosphere and constant attacks around them, they remained safe. It was going to be my job to get them out of here now that the coast was clear.

"Let me go!" Mariabell shouted as I turned to see her tangled up in the tentacles of Scylla.

"Hmm. Erotic." Scylla stated as her tentacles wrapped around Mariabell's body, and some even went into her clothes. I felt my face go bright red for a moment before a chill ran down my spine as Shizu and Hinata began to glare at me.

"Ahahahaha!" I laughed nervously. "I guess it's time I get the kids out of here, huh? Wouldn't want the chaos of this place to get in the way!" I declared to myself, but out loud for the girls to hear. I quickly made my way over to Shizu and began to use [Uriel] to send us away.

The moment before I disappeared, though, I turned to look at Veldora's Clone, which was standing around, not doing anything but watching the scene with a smug smile on his face.

'You haven't even said anything, but I want you to shut up!' I thought.

And we were back at Tempest.

(Hinata POV)

As Rimuru, Shizue Sensei, and the children teleported away, I walked over to the Veldora Clone. "Lord Veldora... what are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm using up the magic power in this clone to ensure our side has the best possible chance of winning." He stated.

"Using your Ultimate Skill?" I asked to which he nodded.

"those assholes drained the majority of the energy out of this clone to power themselves up. Even though you, Ten Great Saints, have evolved, the Luminaries are also much more powerful, plus they've got a troublesome opponent in their midst," he explained.

"Who?" I asked.

"He's some kind of Insectar, a humanoid-Insect Monster if you didn't know. I sent Diablo after him since he owes me a favor, and that guy would wipe the floor with our forces otherwise, but can you go help him?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is he that dangerous? From the time we spent training with Diablo, I know just how powerful and dangerous that Daemon can be. I'm supposed to think someone like him would need the help." I asked.

"Well, Diablo is distracted... with good reason." He commented.

"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Umm... Guy Crimson and my Sister Velzard are kinda on their way here fast," he admitted.

My blood ran cold as ice in that moment and while I don't normally curse, I did mutter one word in that moment "...Shit..."

.~.~.~.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys. I've had a lot on my plate recently, and being that I'm in the middle of the story, my motivation is very low right now, as I want to skip past the stuff where the MC can just wipe everyone and get to the stuff where the MC is in fights against more equal opponents. Thankfully, a bunch of True Demon Lords and Human Saints popping up at the same time as the Chaos Dragon and Milim begin clashing while Veldora and the True Hero are fighting is exactly the kind of thing that would bring in the solution to that problem. Guy Crimson and Velzard.

I'm actually a bit excited to write the next few chapters because of this, though battles between the lower ranks will continue.

A/N2: I've been getting really into Mushoku Tensei and One Piece in the spare time I do have, and if I could keep the motivation for writing, I'd probably rewrite my One Piece fanfic where the MC and his wife are isekaied as Bartolomeo and Desire since I wanted to create an 'Unstoppable Force' (Desire with the More-More Fruit) falls in love with the 'Immovable Object' (Bartolomeo's Barrier-Barrier Fruit)

For Mushoku Tensei, I wish there were fanfics where the MC isn't a cartoonishly evil scumbag, a cuck (the one with Lilia as the romantic partner), or lasts long enough to not get dropped in the early childhood part of the story. The Beastman one was cool at first, but I didn't like the MC, and I feel like it's way too slow-paced.