DID YOU KNOW? YOU CAN NOW READ THREE TO SIX CHAPTERS AHEAD. CHECK MY PROFILE FOR THE LINK.
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A brief scan of the forest below revealed to Rimuru's relief that Kaede was still alive. He had expected at least that much.
Still, this meant that he and Luminous had to be exceptionally careful to avoid making contact with that shield—the terrifying barrier capable of devouring even [Beelzebub].
Luminous flew in a counter-orbit to him, unleashing piercing beams of crimson light alongside bursts of radiant golden rays. Rimuru matched her assault, unleashing waves of long-range attacks he could comfortably project, Black Lightning, Black Flame, Megiddo, and a barrage of other abilities.
To anyone watching from the ground, it appeared as though two streaks of light were circling a massive explosion so rapidly that they had merged into a single, blinding ring, continuously feeding energy into the raging detonation at its center.
Eventually, the entire sky transformed into a single, colossal sphere of destructive energy wrapped in a halo of light.
"This isn't working," Luminous transmitted telepathically to Rimuru. "I can't seem to inflict any actual damage. She's completely ignoring us."
Rimuru nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I noticed. We might have to get in close after all. Just make sure she doesn't touch you."
Luminous frowned at the prospect. "What is that woman doing down there, anyway?"
The woman in question, Kaede, lay on the forest floor, struggling to catch her breath.
This wasn't the first time she had felt this overwhelming sensation. It took her back to when she had first left Falmuth, experiencing Disintegration for the very first time and nearly dying in the process.
Even after believing she had grown strong enough, her defenses could still be rendered completely null and void in an instant.
"Alright then." Kaede pushed herself to her feet. Her dress and armor reformed into their pristine states, looking as pristine as if they had never suffered damage at all.
Twin beams of light, one deep crimson, the other brilliant white, erupted from the depths of the Jura Forest and shot straight into the heart of the ringed sphere above.
Rimuru strained his sight to perceive the figures moving within the light. "Wait, now there are even more Kaedes? And in different colors?"
"Focus, Slime!" Luminous snapped. "And prepare yourself!"
"For what?" Rimuru asked.
[Reality Breaking Blow]
The massive explosion was instantly pierced. The fake Kaede remained impassive as the force slammed into her, completely bypassing her shield and sending her crashing toward the earth below.
Behind her, the fabric of reality cracked open, dragging her through a jagged rift into a pitch-black dimension under a sky of deep purple. She smashed through a massive stone pillar, absorbing the impact as the structure crumbled beneath her, using it as a temporary landing platform.
The fake Kaede looked up.
Standing alongside Rimuru and Luminous were two distinct manifestations of Kaede. On the left stood a version that was undeniably demonic: pitch-black bat wings spread from her back, with matching dark horns protruding from her head. Her eyes were slitted, her fangs peeked through her lips, and her blazing red hair and armor stood in stark contrast to her dark attire.
The twin on the right was clothed entirely in pure white, bearing four impressive pairs of massive, feathered angelic wings. Her eyes shone a brilliant gold, each iris encircled by striking blue rings.
[xxx]
Ari glided through the pitch-black void of the shadow realm, effortlessly slicing through the multi-layered defensive barrier surrounding Tempest before materializing directly in front of the Storm Dragon, Veldora.
'Did he warp my trajectory?' Ari thought, adjusting her stance. She had explicitly been aiming for Sir Benimaru, the Commander-in-Chief of Tempest. She had hoped the general would possess actionable intelligence on the chaos that had just unfolded, especially since all her telepathic links to both Hanae and Hachi had abruptly gone silent.
"Dragon. Tell me what happened," she demanded the second her feet touched the ground.
Veldora did not appear even remotely startled by her sudden intrusion. He merely raised a single eyebrow before a spark of recognition illuminated his face. "Ah, little Ari! Look at you, you aren't so little anymore!"
"This insufferable dragon..." Ari gritted her teeth, forcing her aura to stabilize. 'Focus on the task at hand.'
"I don't have time for your games, Veldora. What... what happened to Mother? And the others?" A trace of raw panic finally leaked through her cold demeanor.
She glanced at her immediate surroundings, quickly identifying the location as a pristine garden pavilion. Scattered nearby were several figures clad in sacred white robes—the Great Saints of the Holy Empire, looking utterly defeated.
"Lady Ari."
Ari spun around to see Hachi stepping forward, fully transformed into her menacing Insectar battle form. It was a terrifying sight, but not a surprising one given the gravity of the situation, even if Ari had yet to grasp the full picture.
"Hachi, report. Now," Ari commanded, cutting straight to the point.
Hachi immediately delivered a precise, detailed rundown of the events that had transpired since their arrival in Tempest: the true underlying purpose of the summit, Kaede's sudden declaration, and Luminous's counter-proposal. She recounted the outcome of the duel, which Hachi had won, and the catastrophic turn of events that immediately followed.
Hanae was dead.
Whatever nightmarish entity had descended from the sky, wearing her mother's face like a mask, had slaughtered her.
"There is no need to fall into despair just yet!" Veldora chimed in, crossing his arms with a confident grin. "Young Hanae's essence remains intact. I clearly observed Kaede—er, the nice Kaede, snatch her soul the moment the fatal blow landed. The very same goes for Rimuru and Shion. Though, I suppose the same fortunate outcome cannot be said for the Saints over there..."
Nearby, the listening Saints sank even deeper into a state of visible ruin and hopelessness upon hearing his casual confirmation of their allies' fates.
"Where is Sir Benimaru?" Ari asked, turning her attention back to the dragon. "He was my original destination."
Veldora stroked his chin and hummed thoughtfully. "Ah, as for him... He and the others are gathering and preparing for the battle to come, should there be one in the first place."
Ari couldn't help but look up at the sky at his words. The atmosphere above remained fractured, with jagged blotches of void-black and deep violet staining the once-clear blue sky like spreading ink.
The battle had been dragged into an entirely separate dimension, it seemed.
Was her mother truly being pushed that far?
And who was that entity wearing her mother's face? So many questions were swirling in her mind, with no one available to give her direct answers.
Suddenly, a telepathic ping echoed in her mind, a message from Kanade.
"Well? What did you manage to find out?"
"It's just as you feared," Ari transmitted back instantly. "Luckily, Veldora was able to assuage the incoming casualties and protect Tempest. He's actually quite reliable, it seems."
Almost as if Veldora could somehow overhear her internal praise, he puffed out his chest, flashed a boisterous grin, and folded his arms dramatically as his gold-trimmed cape billowed behind him in the wind.
Then, in a split second, his expression shattered, shifting violently from supreme pride to sheer, unadulterated horror. "Ah! She's coming, everyone, hide!"
Immediately, Ari assumed he was warning them about the imposter wearing her mother's face. If that was the case, she had absolutely no intention of hiding.
No, she was going to show this creature why no one could dare impersonate her mother and live to tell the tale.
Deep, raven-black shadows erupted around her boots, surging with compressed magicules as twin daggers materialized directly into her tight grip.
"Ah... wait, no," Veldora whimpered, his shoulders slumping completely. "My sister's already here."
"Sister?" Ari blinked, her sharp gaze sweeping to the side.
True enough, a striking, white-haired woman was suddenly standing right beside Veldora.
"What did you do this time, Veldora?" the woman stated flatly, her voice dripping with cold, immediate accusation.
"I swear, it wasn't me this time!" Veldora protested frantically, waving his hands in the air.
Ari stood frozen for a beat, her mind racing as she tried to comprehend how this woman had managed to appear directly next to them without releasing even the faintest ripple of spatial magic or presence.
"Another... True Dragon?" Ari murmured under her breath, her eyes widening slightly.
Before anyone could process the newcomer's presence further, a massive, overwhelming influx of raw magicules erupted across the firmament, drawing everyone's attention back to the heavens.
A vibrant, crimson-pink comet streaked across the atmosphere and slammed violently into the barrier of the realm, tearing straight through the fabric of space. Through the fresh, jagged rift left in its wake, Ari caught a brief glimpse of the swirling violet skies waiting on the other side.
That much raw, unfiltered energy, blazing through the sky without a single care for collateral damage, it could only belong to Milim Nava, the Destroyer.
"And that's everything that happened! Really, I swear!" Behind Ari, Veldora had just finished rambling through his frantic explanation of the chaotic sequence of events, looking thoroughly nervous under his sister's stern gaze the entire time.
"I see," the white-haired True Dragon replied, her cold voice completely devoid of emotion.
"That means... Rimuru isn't here."
Ari snapped her head toward the origin of yet another voice she hadn't sensed until the exact moment it spoke.
Standing nearby was a tall young woman with long, dark hair, clad in an ornate set of white armor over a flowing dress and a short cape.
Her face was etched with deep concern as she stared up at the lingering rift in the sky. "We can't possibly clear this hurdle without him..."
"GAH! Where on earth did you come from?!" Veldora shrieked in an embarrassingly high-pitched voice, jumping back a full meter with his eyes wide in disbelief.
"Never mind that!" Veldora quickly cleared his throat, attempting to regain a shred of his usual dignity while dusting off his cape. "Instead of lingering around in panic, you should head directly to where Benimaru and Hinata are!"
Velzard turned her icy blue gaze onto him, completely unamused by his sudden posture of leadership. "You are coming with me into that fractured dimension right now. We need to stabilize the situation before it gets out of hand."
Veldora's heroic posture collapsed instantly. His eyes bulged, and he took three rapid steps backward, waving his hands frantically in front of his face.
"W-What?! Absolute nonsense! I cannot possibly enter that wretched void!" he stammered, a mixture of genuine panic and defensive indignation lacing his booming voice. "Rimuru is currently indisposed! That leaves ME as the sole ultimate line of defense for the entire Jura Tempest Federation! If another enemy attacks while I am away chasing after crazy women, who will protect the citizens?!"
Ari watched the ancient dragon sweat profusely under his sister's terrifyingly calm stare, silently wondering if he was genuinely concerned for the country, or if he was simply terrified of his sister.