"So, how did we come to this again?" Sasha asked, eyeing the team of girls and Lay in front of her. They were all geared up and clearly ready for battle.
"How indeed," Rimuru said with a calm smile still plastered on her face.
After Lay greeted everyone, Emilia asked him to create his own team within the next few days, as they were required to have another group test. But, surprising everyone, he refused and asked if he could join Anos's team since, to him, Anos seemed like the perfect guy to get along with.
And as you guessed, Anos rejected him without hesitation. His reason was, "If you want to be my subordinate, you have to show me your worth."
So, Lay proposed they have a team battle with each other. If they somehow managed to impress him, he would let them into his team. Lay agreed since it seemed fun. As for his team, they were a group of girls who ran the Unitarians. They were all half-blooded people who formed a faction to oppose the nobles that tried to harm them just because they had a little of their founders' blood.
They were convinced that Anos Voldigoad was their founder, as he had demonstrated unparalleled strength and wisdom. When Anos first went to their headquarters, they were so happy that most of them became unconscious. It was apparent to Rimuru and Sasha that these girls were running this campaign in the academy under the guise of Anos's fan club, which they totally were.
But the problem was that even when they asked to join his team, Anos could tell that they lacked the necessary self-confidence to be in his team. So, Lay challenging him was like a godsend opportunity. He could have the Unitarian girls join Lay's team for now, and when they battled, they could gain some confidence to join his. And even if they couldn't join now, no one said they couldn't join later.
This is why they were now in the magical forest where they fought earlier. Since this forest can regrow in a matter of hours, they could go all out.
"Do your best if you want to impress me," Anos said, then teleported his team to their base to start the test.
---
"So, what's the plan?" Sasha asked as they arrived at their destination.
"Hmm, I'll handle Lay while you handle the others," Anos said.
"Ehh, are you sure, Anos? Forget about me, having Rimuru is already too much," Sasha said, remembering how Rimuru effortlessly killed a demon elder.
"Huh, what are you talking about? Rimuru wouldn't interfere with this match, right?" Anos turned to Rimuru to ask, just in case.
Chuckling, Rimuru replied, "It's unfortunate, but I can't really fight in a small battle like this. The girls would lose their courage if I were their opponent, so I'll just take on a support role for now."
"Right, that would be helpful," Anos nodded and then turned to Misha, "Misha, if you would."
Misha nodded and chanted. Soon, a castle-like structure began to be created at a rapid pace, and within minutes, a gigantic ice castle was finished.
"Wow, your creation magic seems to have gotten stronger. Is it because of the ring?" Sasha asked, eyeing the ring that Anos gave Misha on her birthday.
Misha nodded and said, "Hmm, I can feel the cost for creation magic is halved with it."
Rimuru looked at her source with her enhanced eyes and saw that Misha's source, which was quite damaged when her soul was under pressure because of the fusion spell, was now healing. What's more, she could see that Misha's source was slowly beginning to show its true form. The same could be said for Sasha. But unlike Misha, who got her creation magic amplified, Sasha's destruction magic was becoming more refined.
This is because their sources were slowly returning to their original appearance. There was no need to hide from the world, as no god could harm them. This is the uniqueness of the sources that these sisters have. One was the goddess of Creation, while the other was the goddess of Destruction. Each of their concepts was too powerful to be controlled by an outsider, so they chose to camouflage their original selves to avoid being found.
"Well then, off I go," Anos said and left using teleportation.
"Will this plan even work? I mean, would Lay even go against Anos directly to begin with? If you ask me, the best option would be to either take me or Misha out first," Sasha asked worriedly. Don't misunderstand her; she isn't afraid of Lay, as she is sure she can buy time if she is overwhelmed.
"Nah, don't worry about that. Those two will just duke it out together. Well, Sasha, would you like the first attack?" Rimuru asked.
"Hmm, okay then. I'll head over there to scout the enemy base and try to attack them if possible." Saying so, Sasha used magic to float and flew towards the enemy camp.
"So, do we do this just like last time?" Rimuru asked Misha.
Misha nodded and went inside the castle with Rimuru following behind her.
---
"So, you choose to take me on one-on-one, huh?" Anos said as he walked towards Lay, who was sitting on top of a rock.
"Well, I'm more of a front-line fighter than a commander. Besides, didn't Mr. Anos say you want me to prove my worth to you?" Lay replied as he got off his seat.
"Hmm," Anos looked at the sword that was on Lay's waist. "Oh, you're not using your magic sword?" he asked in a bit of surprise.
"Well, I had to lend it to my team since they need it more than I do today. Besides, I'm more of a traditional swordsman than a magic swordsman," Lay said as he unsheathed his blade.
"Oh, are you sure now? I am not that weak, you know, or are you too confident in your skills?" Anos said, intrigued.
"Hahaa, no, no, no, I'm not underestimating you at all. In fact, my instincts are screaming at me that you are dangerous. But you see, in this test, you don't actually need to just defeat me," as his words were heard, the ground began to shake.
Anos looked in the direction of the shaking and was surprised.
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