the real monster .ᐟ

「 ✦ Rimuru Tempest ✦ 」

The morning air in Ur carried a distinct chill that had nothing to do with the weather. As I walked through the cobblestone streets, I could feel eyes following my every movement—not the appreciative glances I'd grown accustomed to, but something far more cautious.

A merchant who'd been chatting animatedly with his customer fell silent as I passed. A group of children who might have waved at my fancy clothes yesterday now pressed closer to their mother's skirts.

I suppose I couldn't blame them. From their perspective, I was the mysterious stranger who'd been involved in the fight that demolished parts of their town. The fact that I'd paid for the damages probably meant less to them than the fact that the damages had happened in the first place.

Still, it stung a little. Did none of them realize that the destruction could have been so much worse? That I'd spent the entire fight holding back, protecting them, making sure their precious little town didn't get completely leveled?

But that's just the way things are, isn't it? People rarely appreciate the disasters that don't happen. They only see the ones that do.

I brushed off the bitter thoughts and quickened my pace. There were more pressing matters to deal with right now. What I'd discovered in the northern mountain ranges last night required immediate attention, and frankly, I didn't have time to worry about hurt feelings—mine or anyone else's.

I quickened my pace toward the government hall, and didn't bother knocking.

The heavy oak doors burst open under my push, and I strode into what was clearly some kind of emergency meeting. The room was packed—government officials huddled around a large table covered in maps, church representatives in their formal robes looking distinctly uncomfortable, and...

Of course. Of fucking course they were here.

Hajime, Yue, and Shea occupied one corner of the room, along with what looked like part of Aiko Hatayama's escort group. I recognized Yuka Sonobe and a few other students from brief encounters around town. And there, in the center of it all, was Aiko herself—the Japanese teacher turned agricultural goddess, looking smaller and more fragile than her reputation suggested.

There was also a blonde kid I didn't recognize, scrawny and somehow managing to look even tinier than me, which was saying something.

The moment I stepped into the room, I could see the change in Hajime's expression, followed immediately by that familiar hostile wariness. His hand was already moving toward his weapon when I decided to cut this nonsense short. I had had enough of having my face blasted.

I really didn't have time for this shit.

In the space between one heartbeat and the next, I manifested a blade of condensed black plasma in my right hand. The weapon was around thirty inches long and contained enough destructive potential to level a city block with a swing. Before anyone in the room could even notice, I'd crossed the distance to Hajime and sliced cleanly through his prosthetic arm at the shoulder.

The severed limb hit the floor with a metallic clang that seemed unnaturally loud in the sudden silence.

My left hand closed around Hajime's throat before he could try anything else as I unleashed my aura throughout the room.

The effect was immediate and overwhelming.

"First, let's have a little talk," I said, letting my aura unfurl like a dark tide across the room. "Shall we?"

Everyone in the room—officials, heroes, church representatives—crumpled under the crushing weight of my presence. Some fell from their chairs. Others managed to remain upright but were clearly struggling just to breathe.

Shea and Yue, to their credit, managed to resist slightly better than the others. Shea's rabbit ears were flattened against her head, but she was still conscious and trying to move. Yue's eyes blazed with a burning will even as she struggled against the overwhelming pressure.

That wouldn't do.

I added a layer of gravitational manipulation, using Law Manipulation to increase the effective gravity around both of them by a factor of ten. Shea collapsed to her knees with a grunt of pain, while Yue found herself pressed flat against her chair, unable to lift so much as a finger.

The room was now completely under my control. Everyone present was either cowering in terror or physically unable to move. Perfect.

Hajime managed a weak smile despite the hand around his throat. "There it is," he rasped, but his voice was strangely satisfied. "The real monster underneath all that pretty packaging. I was right, wasn't I? All that kindness before, all those attempts at being reasonable—it was just an illusion. You never changed. You've always been a destroyer with a destroyer's mindset."

Does this child think he knows me? I felt my lips curve into what I knew was a predatory smile. If he wanted to see the monster, then I'd show him the monster—the monster that showed too many teeth and held too little warmth.

Like I give a shit about people misunderstanding me.

This wasn't even my world.

"Oh, we're both monsters here, Hajime," I said pleasantly, my voice carrying easily through the silent room. "The difference is that I have the strength to back it up when someone pushes me too far."

I could see him trying to reach for something—probably a backup weapon—but his movements were sluggish, restricted by both my grip and the oppressive aura filling the room. I increased the pressure around his throat slightly, not enough to crush his windpipe but enough to make breathing difficult.

"Now," I continued, my voice carrying clearly through the silence, "everyone is going to listen to me very carefully. Because what I have to say affects all of your lives, and I'm not in the mood to repeat myself."

A church official tried to say something—probably some kind of protest or demand for an explanation. I cut him off with a look that could have frozen molten steel.

"Let me be very clear about something," I continued, my voice taking on that particular tone I used when my patience was wearing thin. "I don't have time for prepubescent rebellious stages or anyone's insistence on some alpha male posturing. You can hate me all you want, but you can never kill me. So I'll ask once: are you willing to listen? Because if you're not, give up on your dreams and die."

Hajime and I stared at each other for a long moment. I could see the brainstorming going on behind his eyes, the part of him that was always analyzing, always looking for weaknesses and opportunities. Behind him, I sensed Yue gathering what little strength she had left, and I caught the telltale fluctuation of gravity magic around her.

So they'd conquered the Reisen Labyrinth, after all. I should've known. That explained some of their increased power.

"New tricks won't help you, by the way," I said, not bothering to look in Yue's direction. "But I admire the attempt. Points for effort."

The fight went out of Hajime's eyes, replaced by something that might have been grudging acceptance. I released my hold on his throat and let him drop back into his chair. The severed prosthetic arm lay between us, dark metal gleaming in the morning light streaming through the windows.

I pulled back my aura slightly—enough to let everyone breathe normally but not enough to let them forget who was in control here. Then I walked over to a side table where someone had thoughtfully arranged refreshments, poured myself a glass of wine, and took a sip before turning back to address the room.

Expensive vintage—at least the town officials had good taste.

"Alright," I said pleasantly, "the reason I'm here is quite simple. Last night, while nightwalking around the mountain ranges, I found something that I thought you should all know about. There's a rather large horde of monsters preparing to attack this town."

The room erupted in shocked voices and confused questions. I caught bits of "how many" and "when" and "are you certain" before the noise became too chaotic to follow individual conversations.

What I didn't expect was for Hajime to cut through the chaos with a bitter laugh.

"We know," he said, his voice still hoarse from my grip on his throat. "That's actually why we're here."

I felt heat rise in my cheeks. Of course they already knew. Of course I'd just burst in here making dramatic pronouncements about information they already possessed. The embarrassment was almost worse than the physical pain of being broke.

"P-pipe down," I snapped, flooding the room with my aura again until everyone fell silent. "I am talking."

The embarrassment burned, but I pushed through it. "The interesting part isn't that they're coming—apparently you've all figured that out already. It's why they're coming."

I took another sip of wine, enjoying the way everyone hung on my words despite their obvious fear.

"You see, the horde numbers approximately one hundred thousand strong. That's funny because..." I paused dramatically, then snapped my fingers and pointed directly at Aiko. "A force that size isn't needed to overwhelm Ur. No, this is about something much more valuable."

Aiko's face went pale. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"The Goddess of Fertility," I said with a smile that was all teeth. "That's what they call you, isn't it, Aiko Hatayama? Your magic can revolutionize agriculture, bring about a new golden age of crop production. And in a war between humans and demons, food is sometimes more valuable than soldiers."

The silence that followed was deafening.

"But here's the even funnier part," I continued, beginning to pace around the table like a predator circling prey. "The mastermind behind this attack isn't some demon general or monster king. No, it's someone much closer to home. Someone who knows exactly how valuable Aiko Hatayama is, and exactly where she is."

I stopped pacing and looked directly at Aiko again.

"Your missing student."

The color drained from Aiko's face completely. She looked like she might faint.

"Where did you get this information?" she asked with a trembling voice. "How could you possibly know—"

"Last night," I said simply. "I've done my homework."

I drained the rest of my wine and set the glass down with a soft clink.

"So," I added, straightening my hoodie and preparing to leave, " I'm telling you all this because I thought you should start packing. Get out of here while you still can." I looked directly at Hajime, Yue, and Shea. "And I'd strongly recommend that you three not get in my way. My patience, while vast, has its limits. I've made that clear."

I was halfway to the door when one of the church officials found his voice.

"Wait!" he called out. "How many monsters did you say there were?"

I paused with my hand on the doorframe and looked back over my shoulder.

"One hundred thousand," I said casually, not bothering to turn around. "Give or take a few thousand."

The room went dead silent again. I could practically hear their minds trying to process that number, trying to imagine what a force of that magnitude would look like descending on their small lakeside town.

I was almost out the door when Aiko managed to ask one more question.

"What will you do to Shimizu?"

Her voice was small, broken. I could tell she wanted to ask me of something, but the words died down on her throat. I paused in the doorway this time, my hand still resting on the door. For a moment, I genuinely wasn't sure how to answer.

What would I do to that troubled kid? I'd taken a job to capture him alive, but after seeing what he'd become... after seeing the army he'd assembled and the plan he was part of...

"That's up to him," I said finally.

I opened the door, then paused again.

"I'll take care of the monsters. But I want my runecard back. The one I gave to cover the damages. Have it ready for me when this is over."

"Rimuru."

Yue's voice stopped me just as I was about to step outside. I was getting tired of all these questions, but something in her tone made me turn back.

"Which is the real you?"

"…"

The question caught me off guard. I stared at her for a moment, trying to understand what she was asking. Then it hit me—of course she'd be confused.

It was a fair question, actually. When I'd first arrived in this world, I'd been consumed by rage—at the unfairness of my situation, at my own powerlessness to change things that mattered. That anger had driven me to extremes, made me willing to do terrible things in the name of what I thought was my right.

I was angry at the way the universe seemed determined to test every limit I had.

But over time, through dreams of my past and meaningful interactions with the people of this world, that rage had died down to mere embers. I'd begun to remember who I used to be, or at least who I wanted to be—to care about things beyond myself.

So which was real?

Both.

Both versions were real. Both were me. The monster and the man, somehow existing in balance. I've come to accept that lately.

"I'm me," I said finally. "Nothing more."

As I reached for the door handle, Hajime's voice followed me one last time.

"Hey. Do you bleed?"

I looked at him for a moment—this stubborn, broken, dangerous boy who'd somehow become my strangest enemy and closest thing to an equal in this world. Then I turned away without answering and walked out of the government hall.

··—–—⚜—–—···

I should've known things were never going to go my way.

The thought crossed my mind as the entire government hall exploded around us in a cascade of disintegration blasts that turned stone and mortar into less than dust. The destruction didn't stop there—it spread like a cancer through the Lake Town of Ur, reducing homes and buildings to rubble in seconds.

Only the outer districts remained intact, but that hardly mattered when the heart of the town had been carved out so brutally.

I was no stranger to feeling like I had things under control, only to be proven wrong immediately after.

I was the strongest being I'd ever encountered in this world—in Tortus—and that meant something, considering I'd come face to face with a god and was confident I'd win even if things proved troublesome.

Yet here I was, watching an entire town get erased while I once again felt powerless to change the things that truly mattered.

The rubble that had buried me shifted and crumbled away as I rose to my feet, completely unharmed. My face felt cold, devoid of the warmth I'd been trying so hard to maintain lately. My eyes blazed gold, but I could feel my pupils shifting to that familiar crimson—the color they took on when the monster in me was closer to the surface.

Just what is the universe trying to say by doing this to me?

I looked around at the carnage. Bodies were scattered among the debris—men, women, children, elderly. None had been spared from the indiscriminate assault. These had been happy, proud citizens of a humble lakeside town just moments ago.

My gaze turned skyward, where ten figures hovered in perfect formation. Angels. I'd never met one personally, but I was familiar with them from the Relicbook and Miledi Reisen's warnings—the Apostles, tools used by the gods to refine their game board and ensure all the pieces behaved accordingly. They were supposed to be beautiful women with long white hair, clear blue eyes, silver-feathered wings, and each wielding two enormous claymores.

But something was different. Only five fit that description. Four possessed platinum wings, hair, and eyes instead of silver—and the aura radiating from them suggested they were far stronger than their silver counterparts. But at the very center floated one that made my breath catch. Obsidian wings, hair like polished volcanic glass, and eyes that seemed to absorb light itself. The power emanating from that one dwarfed even the platinum apostles.

A sigh escaped my lips as I surveyed the survivors. Hajime and his companions were still trying to process what had happened. The only people left alive besides myself were Aiko, her student escort group, Hajime, Yue, Shea, and the blonde scrawny kid somehow. Everyone else had been vaporized in the opening salvo.

I picked up Hajime's severed prosthetic arm from the rubble and tossed it to him. "You better start getting ready, kid," I said, my voice carrying none of its usual warmth. "If you want to live, that is."

Hajime caught the arm reflexively, his eyes following mine to the sky where our attackers waited. The unspoken understanding passed between us—whatever our history and differences were, survival took precedence. We had to work together on this one whether any of us liked it or not.

"I'll take the platinum ones and that obsidian one," I announced, already gathering power. "You handle the silver ones."

Before anyone could protest or ask questions, I vanished.

The sonic boom I left behind shattered what few windows remained intact. I materialized directly beside the left flank, moving at my absolute maximum speed—fast enough that even time seemed to crawl. Two platinum apostles simply ceased to exist, their forms disintegrated by concentrated plasma blades I'd manifested mid-flight.

The remaining two platinum apostles and the obsidian one reacted with superhuman speed, but I was already among them. My third strike took out another platinum apostle before the obsidian one's massive claymore intercepted my fourth attack with a sound like the sky tearing.

Three down. Seven to go.

The final platinum apostle and the obsidian one moved together, but I was done playing around. The former swung her massive claymores down where I'd been a moment ago. I twisted away from the direction.

The real fight began.

Below, the sounds of Hajime's battle echoed through the morning air—his railgun's characteristic crack-boom followed by the clash of metal. I caught glimpses of Yue's magic while Shea's restored warhammer created its own percussion. But something was odd. Only two of the five silver apostles had engaged them. The other three remained in perfect formation, hovering motionlessly above the battlefield.

Waiting for what? Orders? A signal? It didn't matter—their inaction worked in our favor.

I launched myself at the remaining platinum apostle, ending her existence with a black plasma-wreathed strike that turned morning into midnight for a split second.

Now it was just me and the obsidian apostle.

She was different. Where the others had moved with robot-like precision, she flowed like liquid shadow. Her obsidian claymores seemed to drink in the morning light, and powerful quakes and vibrations followed every strike of her blades.

I kept one part of my awareness focused on the battles below while engaging my primary opponent.

Hajime's fight was intense but manageable—his weapons had found their mark, and the apostle he faced was being pushed back. Yue and Shea worked in perfect harmony, their combined assault overwhelming their opponent's defenses. Both silver apostles were doomed to lose if this kept up.

The obsidian apostle, however, was a different matter entirely. She came at me with movements that somewhat reminded me of Hakuro. Each strike arrived exactly where I would be, forcing me to constantly change positions to avoid being cut.

I manifested multiple plasma blades around myself, all moving independently while I focused on reading her patterns. The fight stretched on, our battle creating shock waves that made the morning air burn.

In the distance, I heard the sounds of victory as Hajime's pile bunker found its final mark, followed moments later by the combined magic-enhanced impact of Shea's warhammer against her opponent.

But the obsidian apostle and I were still at it. She flowed around my attacks, her counter-strikes coming from the strangest angles.

So this is what a true servant of god looked like.

The battlefield grew quiet below as Hajime and the others finished their opponents, but above, my real battle was just reaching its crescendo. The obsidian apostle was giving her all, and the morning sky began to crack under the pressure of our conflict.

I could sense Hajime, Yue, and Shea regrouping below, exhausted but victorious. The three remaining silver apostles still hovered motionlessly, as if waiting for some signal that would never come. And approaching through the rubble, a new person made itself known—someone I recognized.

For fuck's sake, I thought to myself. Can't I catch a break?

But I couldn't afford to divide my attention.

It's about time I end this.

Black lightning began to arc around my body, combined with brutal and devastating effects from my other skills using Deviant. The obsidian apostle's eyes widened as she recognized what I was calling forth. For the first time, something like fear crossed her beautiful face.

The black lightning erupted skyward, turning the bright morning into absolute night for miles around. The thunderclap that followed sounded like a brutal eruption of an ancient volcano. When the light returned, the obsidian apostle was simply gone.

I dropped toward the ground with a boom that shook the ruins that remained, my feet touching down just as the mysterious person emerged from the shadows of the ruins. She walked confidently despite the devastation around her, seemingly unconcerned by what she'd just witnessed.

Behind me, I heard Hajime's labored breathing, Yue's lips clenching, and the sound of Shea trying not to collapse. They were alive, but barely in fighting condition.

The woman stopped about twenty feet away, her features somehow obscured by the morning shadows. When she spoke, the three remaining silver apostles finally broke their formation and retreat into the distance.

"Hey," she greeted me. "Long time no see, darling."

I kept my expression impassive, though my golden eyes never left her.

"What do you think you're doing, Hel?"