Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 66: Chronoa Unleashed!
A bit of a late new years early update.
Read up to 15 chapters ahead at p@treon.com/theogbasilisk
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- Felix -
As Luminous left and began making her way towards the seal in the burial chamber in Night Garden, I turned to Saeko.
"I am ready to assist Felix-sama!" Declared Saeko.
I shook my head. "Not this time, Saeko. I'll be honest, this fight is above your weight class, I don't want to be looking behind my back to make sure you aren't hurt, so it would be best if you stayed behind."
It was harsh, but it was the truth. If Chronoa could seal Veldora, then Saeko stood no chance. She likely wouldn't even be able to help much if a fight did happen. I'd rather not place her in danger when I wasn't certain about if I could guarantee her safety.
Saeko's lips quivered, making me wince slightly before she gained a determined look on her face.
"Very well, Felix-sama! B-But if in the future if I am strong enough, could I fight by your side and for you?" Asked Saeko.
That's my Saeko.
"Of course, in fact I'd be honored if you fought by my side or fought for me."
Saeko firmly nodded. "Yes! Then, I shall begin training my abilities! Luminous had already offered to train me if I wished for it!"
I raised a brow hearing that. "Is that so? I'll have to thank her for that, then. But I suggest taking her up on her offer. She is strong and has much to offer."
Saeko nodded. "I will!"
I smiled upon hearing that. "Good, if you need anything, let me know. We may have different fighting styles, but I'm sure I can help you."
A giddy expression appeared on Saeko's face. "Ah! Training with Felix-sama! Hehehe."
"I'll teleport you back to Azeroth now."
Saeko came back to reality and nodded. "I will begin my training immediately!"
I nodded. "Good luck." I snapped my fingers, teleporting Saeko back to my palace.
It's good that she didn't take my words too harshly. She instead used them to motivate her further.
As long as Saeko applies herself, I'm sure she will become incredibly powerful. She has a lot of untapped potential, which is something Odin agreed on.
Though it still amuses me to no end that Saeko insists on adding sama to the end of my name, that isn't even a thing in this world!
It started back when I first met her when she wasn't even a Kijin. She, Benimaru, Hiiro, Shuna, and some other Ogres wanted to hear a bit more about my world. The honorifics had come up, and Saeko had taken to adapting them when she referred to me.
Everyone is always confused when she refers to me with sama until I explain it to them, but she wouldn't be Saeko if she wasn't head strong and followed her desires. With the way she is, I have no doubt that she will eventually acquire an Ultimate Skill of her own.
- Saeko -
She looked around in wonder as she appeared back in Felix-sama's territory.
No matter how many times she saw and felt it, it always left her in awe of how he was capable of traveling such vast distances in an instant.
Felix-sama truly was the best!
Now, if only she could have been more helpful to him.
Felix-sama had said she was not powerful enough to be useful to him in combat. She was his secretary! If she couldn't take care of the riff-raff that challenged him, then she shouldn't be her secretary! And she refused to give that coveted possession up to anyone! Not even to Sukuna!
She was currently in her room in Felix-sama's palace. She wanted to work on improving herself immediately, so she made her way to the training Dimension Felix-sama had made specifically for his direct subordinates.
She briefly nodded to the various maids who were maintaining the palace. She respected them for the job they did, even if Raiden could do what they did in an instant.
She looked out of the window in one of the halls. There was an artificial waterfall Felix-sama wanted created, he wanted a better view for when he was in his office, and so his subordinates quickly got to work.
It was quite beautiful, in Saeko's opinion.
It was quite simple and efficient as well. All that the construction workers needed to do was place some runes that utilize the Magicules in the air, and then a Magic Circle that converts the Magicules into water and sends it out in the form of a large stream, making an artificial waterfall.
The water was even completely drinkable.
She turned away and continued walking through the halls.
She would have to check on Dagura, Ryura, and Debura after getting some training in. On her orders, they had been training themselves and a small portion of troops in her place. Each of them were seemingly volunteers who wished to serve her directly.
The three sons of Dagruel had received regular training from her and then passed on her training to the volunteers who wished to serve her. Dagura, Ryura, and Debura were each above the Demon Lord Seed level at this point.
The volunteers who wished to serve her named themselves the Purple Guards, and approximately 1,500 Majin were part of the Purple Guards.
From what she had heard most of the members had caught a glimpse of her during her occasional training sessions that she did in the military training facility or during her patrols, while others were from her time back in the Ogre Village.
The ones from the Ogre Village were the ones that had wanted to serve Felix-sama. He did make quite the name for himself when he was staying with them back then, and they simply decided to serve her due to their familiarity with her.
She could only praise their wisdom for choosing to serve Felix-sama.
But in the end, she did not particularly care for their reasons for serving her, as long as they were willing to serve Felix-sama and, by extension, her to the best of their abilities, then she was satisfied. The only order she had given so far was to get strong in order to be of use to Felix-sama, and from what she had heard, they were fulfilling her order.
None were below the B Rank, and some had even managed to climb all the way up to A Rank.
She resolved herself to check on them later, and perhaps increase their training if necessary. If they were going to be representing her, then they must be the best they can possibly be.
Perhaps she would ask Felix-sama if he would be willing to give them names as rewards for their training. Raiden had done something similar for her Battle Maids, and according to her, their growth had skyrocketed due to that.
But she would think about them further later. Now, she was on a mission, and she would not be stopped!
One thing she did notice was that she could not sense any of Felix-sama's other direct subordinates in the palace. Usually, at least Arcueid would be present.
"Moss." She called out. Thanks to Moss's Body Double Skill, he could be found pretty much everywhere in the palace. Simply calling out for him was usually enough for him to appear before her.
The strongest Daemon, barring the Primordials and Felix-sama, appeared before her.
"Lady Saeko." He greeted her with a shallow bow.
She nodded. "Moss, where is everybody else?"
"Each of them is training." Moss said as if the words training were foreign to his mouth.
How odd.
"Oh! So they wish to also be more useful to Felix-sama! Umu! I see, thank you, Moss."
Moss bowed once more before vanishing.
She continued on her way to the training Dimension. If the others were also training, then maybe she could have a training partner!
Once she was in the training Dimension, she paused. She could sense the raging Magicules all around. The Magicules in the air of this Dimension had seemingly been stimulated very recently.
She could sense various Auras all around the Dimension, some clashing against another.
The very land present in this Dimension was shaking, but the Dimension was still holding firm.
She made her way towards Megumin, who was sparring with the weakest being present in this Dimension.
She crouched slightly before leaping upwards, breaking the sound barrier in the process. Then, she used some of the Energy she had available to her to take flight.
It didn't take her long to reach Megumin, who was sparring with Carrion.
In Saeko's eyes, Carrion was not very impressive. He was one of Felix-sama's weakest direct subordinates and used to be one of Felix-sama's political equals, something in her eyes Carrion did not deserve. He was far older than Felix-sama and did not even achieve a fraction of what Felix-sama had. Though Felix-sama insisted on being modest saying that someone else was doing all the hard work for him, which Saeko did not believe.
But the past was the past. She could be a very forgiving girl. Umu!
Megumin looked up towards her as she slapped Carrion into another mountain. "Oh, Saeko!" Megumin called out, her voice full of energy.
She descended to the ground. "Megumin, I wish to join you in training."
A large grin formed on Megumin's face. "Haha, sure! You can also help me train Carrion up to par! We can even bring in Ingvild!"
Before Saeko could respond, a massive Aura erupted from the direction of the mountain Carrion had been flung into. Rocks crumbled as his voice echoed through the battlefield. "Stop underestimating me!" Carrion yelled as he burst through the mountain.
He was now using the Unique Skill Felix-sama described to her, increasing his power quite a bit.
Saeko decided to attempt to measure Carrion's total Energy and estimate the amount of Existence Points he had. She could do such a thing because Felix-sama had released his Aura on varying levels and told them approximately how much Energy he was releasing, she could theoretically measure another person's EP by comparing it to the various levels that Felix-sama had released.
When Felix-sama had explained the concept of EP to them, she had been confused. Why did they need to place a number on someone's rank when they could just sense their Energy?
Felix-sama had said not everyone was capable of sensing Energy to that degree. EP was meant to allow even the common soldiers to understand the general threat level of an enemy, and it tended to be far more accurate than the Free Guild's ranking system.
Going by the Existence Points, Carrion was likely around the 700,000 range now that he was fully transformed with his Unique Skill. He was in the S Class range.
Fairly powerful but still below her, Saeko thought proudly.
Felix-sama had also released higher levels of Energy, what he called 5,000,000 EP, and then 10,000,000 EP. When facing those at those levels, Felix-sama simply said to run away if possible.
The amount of power he had showcased that day had left them all in awe. Even the Three Demonesses had been awestruck. They all knew he was powerful, but Felix-sama usually kept a tight leash on his power. To see him let loose was truly awe-inspiring.
Saeko shook her head and focused back on the fight that was taking place in front of her.
"Why don't you make me take you seriously then?!" Megumin laughed out.
Carrion simply charged at Megumin, leaving behind a sonic explosion in the process.
Saeko floated upward, giving them space to continue their brief scuffle.
Carrion's fist collided with Megumin's palm with a loud bang, but Megumin caught his punch effortlessly. With a grin, she crushed his hand before slamming her knee into his chest, causing Carrion to cough up blood.
Megumin was seemingly not done with her abuse as she pulled her leg back and kicked upwards, kicking Carrion in the groin. Megumin had even imbued some of her Energy into her kick, enough to bypass Carrion's Pain Resistance Skill almost completely.
Crack
Carrion gasped in agony before collapsing, his face contorted with pain.
Saeko couldn't suppress her wince at just how… brutal Megumin was being. She recalled one time in the distant past, before she had even met Felix-sama, back when she was just a child, Shuna had gotten angry at Benimaru and had kicked him in the groin.
Benimaru's scream of pain would always reside in her memories, same for Hiiro and Souei's scarred looks.
"Come on! Walk it off! You don't have regeneration for nothing!" Megumin laughed out.
Megumin truly was a Daemon.
- Felix -
I snapped my fingers, teleporting to Tempest to pick Rimuru up.
Dealing with Chronoa may be super easy if Hinata or Chloe are the ones in control, or it may turn out to be a pain in the ass if the other Ego inside of them is in control.
I assume this other Ego will have access to all the powers both Hinata and Chloe had access to, which was enough power to seal Veldora, even if he was just a berserker back then.
Chronoa has a ton of combat experiences, thousands of years of it, in fact, likely more if you count her past loops.
But I was still pretty excited to face her, it wasn't often that I got to face someone as strong as I thought Chronoa to be. Hopefully I wasn't just hyping her up in my mind.
I appeared in Tempest. The moment I sensed Rimuru's exact location, my wings extended behind me, and I took to the skies. With a flap of them, I instantly appeared in front of the building he was in.
I looked down at the building. "A sushi shop, huh?"
I descended and walked through the doors. A pleasant jingle emanated from the bell atop the door.
I saw Rimuru sitting on one of the stools, with Benimaru next to him.
Rimuru turned around to look at me as he popped some sushi into his mouth. "Oh hey, Felix!"
Benimaru nodded at me. I returned his greeting with a nod of my own.
"Don't talk with your mouth open." I reprimanded.
Rimuru rolled his eyes. "Now you're acting just like Shuna."
"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's go, it's done."
Rimuru immediately caught on to what I was saying. He turned to Benimaru, but before he could speak, Benimaru cut him off.
"It is fine, Lord Rimuru. I will simply enjoy these delectable plates of sushi myself." Benimaru said with a smug smirk.
Rimuru's lips twitched, but he nodded.
"Did you come up with a way to deal with Chronoa?"
Rimuru nodded slightly. "I think I have something that'll work."
I nodded. "I'll leave that to you then."
I placed my hand on his shoulder and teleported us directly to Luminous's Burial Chamber in her palace in Night Garden.
We both looked to Luminous, who was waiting in front of the Holy Ark.
"Felix, Rimuru." Greeted Luminous.
I just gave her a nod since we had just been together minutes ago.
"Hey, Luminous." Greeted Rimuru. He then turned to me. "Now, let's get this show on the road!"
I nodded and snapped my fingers, creating a portal to an uninhabited Dimension.
"This Dimension has no life in it, so we should feel free to ignore all the damage that may be caused. It's a Dimension I searched out specifically for our purposes. It is a fairly neutral Dimension as it does not favor any Element heavily."
Some Dimensions lean towards certain elements. For example, I was able to travel to a Dimension that was basically just an ocean, an ocean that encompassed a planet larger than Jupiter, and no, it was not the One Piece world, sadly.
Rimuru and Luminous both nodded. I waved my hand, causing the portal to move and encompass the Holy Ark, sending it to another Dimension.
I walked towards the portal and gestured to Luminous. "Ladies first."
She rolled her eyes but walked through, followed by Rimuru. Once they were through, I walked through, taking a deep breath as I took in the air of this new world.
Luminous and Rimuru were both looking around in quiet wonder. I spotted the Holy Ark a couple of feet away from Luminous.
"So this is another world huh?" Voiced out Rimuru.
"You're literally an Otherworlder Rimuru." I pointed out.
"That's different from this!" He responded.
Luminous nodded. "Indeed, even though I have not had the pleasure of venturing to another world, the possibilities of such an ability are endless. To have an infinite number of worlds at your beck and call is truly wondrous."
I laughed when I heard that. "I think my ego has been stroked enough, Luminous."
Luminous snorted, hearing me. "Indeed, your arrogance is not something you keep hidden."
I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm strong, and so I'm arrogant."
Luminous nodded. "It is your right as one of the strong to be as arrogant as you wish. Simply be mindful not to allow that arrogance to become foolishness."
I nodded at Luminous's very reasonable advice. "Yeah, I'm aware of the folly of being too arrogant. But thanks for looking out for me, Luminous, I mean it." I said while looking at Luminous with a smile.
She coughed and turned away from me, a light dusting of red on her cheeks.
She really is weak on the defense, huh? She can act all seductive and is a very attractive woman, but when someone does it back, she goes weak in the knees.
How amusing.
Though Luminous's advice is valid, being too arrogant has resulted in the doom of many beings. It's why I'm constantly trying to make sure I don't get too full of myself. One day I may seriously face someone I need to take completely seriously, but I fail to do so due to my own arrogance.
I am not going to be pulling a Gilgamesh anytime soon if ever!
"Alright, now let's get this started." I voiced out. Both Rimuru and Luminous straightened up and began taking this seriously.
I snapped my fingers placing a few barriers around the surrounding area meant to contain our fight. This world wasn't anywhere near as durable as the Cardinal World, if Saeko released her entire Aura she would crack the planet let alone any of us.
Luminous reached into her Spatial Storage and pulled out a God Grade weapon, while Rimuru also did the same. Both of them quickly made some distance between themselves and the Holy Ark.
I did not feel the need to use Yamato just yet. I had Rimuru and Luminous as back up so I could take it a little easy to start with. It wasn't like I was at my strongest when using a weapon, I was just as good at martial arts, I just had cooler abilities I could use when using Yamato. And the rule of cool is supreme!
I gently placed my hand on the Holy Ark but did not activate Anti-Skill. I turned around. "You two ready?!"
Both of them nodded, I turned back to look at the Holy Ark..
If I could contain her to a certain area that would be best.
I activated Anti-Skill and completely nullified the seal Luminous made altogether.
I jumped back the moment the seal was undone.
An eruption of Aura emerged from the being within the seal, it felt even more powerful than Rimuru and Luminous.
Well, I have a feeling that this is going to end up in a fight….
- Rimuru Tempest -
Rimuru shivered as he felt the evil Aura that Chronoa was emanating wash over him. It was easily one of the most powerful beings he had felt in his life.
'Warning. Target possesses a material body. Abnormal power detected—limit is similar to the power of individual Veldora.'
Rimuru let out a weary sigh. Of course her upper limit is potentially on par with Veldora's.
At least he could actually calculate the amount of power Chronoa possessed, unlike the first time he saw her at the Dwelling of the Spirits.
Small victories and all that.
The fact that this being likely had Chloe and Hinata's combat experience was going to be a big challenge, but they had Luminous and Felix along with himself. Hopefully, between the three of them, they could manage to pacify Chronoa.
He had considered bringing Veldora as well, but Rimuru didn't feel comfortable taking Tempest's sole last defense against powerful beings; he didn't think that Veldora was necessary for this since they had Felix, who seemed to be on the same level.
Freaking cheater.
His gaze shifted as Chronoa stirred, her eyes slowly opening for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
- Felix -
I watched as Chronoa slowly opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings with an eerie calm.
She had the same black hair that Chloe had, though Chronoa's seemed to have an ethereal quality to it, likely due to evolution.
From what I'm sensing, Chronoa does not possess an Ultimate Skill, but something within her is preventing me from getting a deep analysis of her Skills.
She was completely naked save for the bracelet on her arm. The same bracelet Hinata had and passed on to Chloe, a bracelet that contained both Hinata's armor and weapon.
I attempted to shift Space to steal the bracelet, but that failed since it was bound to Chloe and, by extension, Chronoa.
Chronoa seemingly noticed my attempt and immediately looked in my direction, a look of anger finally appearing on her face.
The bracelet on her wrist began to glow as black particles began to cover her entire body. Moments later, jet-black armor formed on her, followed by a rapier in her hand.
They seemed to be the same ones that Hinata used and passed on to Chloe, except they were of higher quality, both now God Grade Equipment. They likely evolved through the ages.
It seems I'll have to make Hinata a new weapon and armor once she's out of Chloe's body since I doubt she will take the weapons she passed on back.
This time, unlike the slightly inferior God Grade rapier I had given her that was made through Material Creation, I can give her a top-notch God Grade rapier and armor thanks to Brahma.
I'm sure she'll be happy.
'Notice. Odin has developed a combat mode through analysis of Milim Nava. Would the Master like to don it?'
'Oh? A combat mode, huh? Good thinking on creating that Odin, but no, not right now. I don't know how that will affect my combat power. It's best if I get a handle on my current power and then think about adding more on top of it.'
'Affirmative.'
Even if Odin could perfectly control my power, that does not equate to me being able to do the same.
It's my power. I'll be damned if I can't even properly control it. It'll take me some time to get my power back under control on my own efforts. The increase in Energy was just that drastic. If Odin lets go of her control for even a moment, I'd release torrents of power that would kill everyone in the vicinity.
But I'll definitely have to test this combat mode against Milim, though. Heh, I can already see her reaction.
Seeing that I was distracted, Chronoa raised her palm in my direction. With a sharp crackle, black lightning blazed towards me.
I didn't bother dodging it, trusting Infinity to take care of it.
I smirked as the black lightning practically stopped in front of me. Her attack made use of Spiritrons, if it wasn't for the modifications Odin made on Infinity earlier, I'd have to dodge this. But now? I didn't even have to flinch.
Odin for the win!
Chronoa didn't give me another glance. She shifted her focus to Luminous. With a flick of her wrist, she slashed her rapier, sending a vicious Aura Slash and a shockwave that made the air hum. Luminous barely managed to evade it, leaping to the side in a flash of motion.
Her cold gaze returned to me. This time, her movements were sharper, more calculated. She raised her sword again, and even before she struck, I could feel the shift in the atmosphere. This wasn't like the earlier attack. As she slashed, the very fabric of space was torn asunder, a gaping wound in space racing towards me.
'Notice. The individual Chronoa possesses the Unique Skill: Absolute End.'
Ah, I see. That's basically just the Spatial Severing Unique Skill I used to have. I bent Space to my will, completely nullifying Chronoa's attack.
"Alright, let's focus on suppressing Chronoa!" I called out.
It had only been a moment since Chronoa first opened her eyes, yet Rimuru didn't use that moment he had unwisely. Earlier, he had raised his palm into the sky and activated Beelzebuth, sucking in the Magicules all around us and forcing them into a massive ball.
I purposefully chose a Dimension that had no filter over it so that Luminous and Rimuru could make use of the Magicules in the air.
Rimuru lowered his palm, sending the ball of raw, unfiltered Magicules resembling a meteor toward Chronoa, who didn't seem nervous in the slightest.
Yet, I watched as she sliced downwards without even a blink, cleaving the sphere of Magicules cleanly in half and causing the Magicules to disperse harmlessly into the air.
"H-Hey! That's cheating!" Rimuru called out.
Yet, Luminous wasn't about to let the opening Rimuru had made slide. In a flash, she appeared above Chronoa, her sword slashing downward with a fierce cry. But Chronoa was ready. She parried the blow effortlessly, the force of the deflection sending Luminous stumbling back.
Luminous landed on the ground, sliding for a few feet as her grip on her blade tightened and her teeth clenched in frustration. "I forgot how much of a pain she is to deal with!"
"Blame Rimuru, he's the one that taught her."
"Hey! That's not my fault!" Protested Rimuru. "You taught Hinata! So this is also your fault!"
Both Luminous and Rimuru darted in, attacking from opposite sides in perfect sync. Their blades gleamed as they aimed for precise, non-lethal strikes to disable Chronoa. However, Rimuru's strike was blocked instantly, Chronoa's rapier intercepting his sword with ease. At the same moment, Luminous's sword landed a blow, but it didn't pierce Chronoa's armor.
I noticed that Luminous's strike did do a small amount of damage to her armor, but it failed to pierce through. Chronoa was actively reinforcing her armor with her Fighting Spirit elevating it even further.
Luminous had the skill to match Chronoa but not the raw power, not yet, at least.
The clashing of metal echoed in the air as Luminous and Chronoa exchanged a flurry of blows, yet every thurst or slice would be met with either a block or a parry, forcing Luminous back with every move. Yet even then, they were fairly matched, as Chronoa was not dealing any real damage to her.
I could sense her Ultimate Skill, Asmodeus, wrapped around Luminous's blade, the Lust Energy crackling with intensity, enhancing her strikes. The gap between her and Chronoa wasn't insurmountable, but Chronoa's sheer physical strength and skill made her a formidable opponent, even for someone as talented as Luminous.
I decided not to intervene. Perhaps this could be an opportunity for Luminous to grow further. I'll simply act as the insurance in case things get bad.
In fact, why don't I make use of this time? "Can you two deal with Chronoa for a few minutes? I'm going to try and analyze her."
Rimuru didn't look back, but I saw the slight nod of his head, his focus still entirely on Chronoa. Luminous, too, seemed ready, her resolve clear as she prepared for the next clash.
If I could get a read on how she fought, when I jump in I should be able to defeat her fairly easily.
For the next few minutes, Luminous and Rimuru continued their assault, testing Chronoa's limits while I stayed back, firing the occasional pot shot. My primary focus, though, was studying her movements and her patterns, analyzing the nuances of her fighting style.
She was an incredibly advanced swordswoman, perhaps she would be a match for me in pure swordsmanship, and I've stol– copi– "borrowed" a lot of different swordsmanship styles and incorporated it into my own.
Guy's, Hakurou's, Rimuru's, Agera's, Milim's and now Chronoa's.
"Alright, that's enough playing around. I think I got it. I'll deal with Chronoa while you and Luminous coordinate."
"Got it!"
I had wanted to see what Chronoa was made of, and also use this as a chance to test out the new power I have available to me.
I appeared in front of Chronoa. "I'm your new playmate now." I tauntedwith a grin.
Chronoa seemingly didn't like that as she appeared in front of me, her blade aimed directly at my head.
Yet, I casually caught her blade between two of my fingers. I didn't even need to use any Aura. This was just raw physical power.
"Going straight for the head, huh?" I teased, watching her eyes narrow as she tried to pull her blade free.
Frustrated, she kicked out at me, aiming a strike for my crotch, while simultaneously trying to distort the space around us, hoping to bypass Infinity. Clever, but not enough. Her spatial manipulation was good, but it wasn't anywhere near the level needed to overwhelm me. Not yet.
Despite Chronoa's efforts, Infinity still stopped her kick, just as it had all of her previous attacks.
"You're going there, huh? Not cool."
Mimicking her move, I delivered a solid kick to her stomach, sending her rocketing backward through the air at blinding speeds, fast enough that any normal person would have been vaporized by the sheer force.
As Chronoa was flying through the air, I appeared behind her and kicked her once again, then again, then again.
I was basically just ragdolling her Dragon Ball style.
Honestly? This was kinda fun.
This probably would have gone differently if one of her main abilities wasn't her Spatial Manipulation, something I could easily overwhelm with my superior mastery over the concept.
She may even have some Temporal abilities. In fact, it's likely that she does. But it is probably extremely conditional, similar to her time-traveling ability. Time isn't considered the most powerful Element for nothing.
A few moments later Chronoa let out a scream of rage, her Aura erupting forth from her with even more intensity.
She managed to barely dodge my next kick and quickly dashed at me, her sword now blazing in Fighting Spirit.
"Felix, we're ready!" Rimuru called out.
I nodded and immediately stopped sandbagging. It seems I'll have to rely on Milim to truly test out my new power.
I appeared behind her and grabbed her from under her armpits, leaving her immobilized.
Rimuru and Luminous both immediately appeared in front of Chronoa, the Anti-Magic Mask in hand, he placed it on her face.
What are they doing?
'The individual Rimuru Tempest has used the Anti-Magic Mask to temporarily suppress Chronoa, now with the help of Luminous Valentine's Asmodeus, Lord of Lust, he is attempting to enter the Spiritual Plane of Chloe Auburt and stabilize her from the inside.'
Huh, well, that's a pretty good plan. Asmodeus would be pretty good for that. It deals with the Soul, after all.
'Affirmative. Would the Master like to enter the Spiritual Plane of Chloe Auburt? From there, it is theoretically possible to enter the Spiritual Plane of Hinata Sakaguchi.'
'Do it.'
And then everything faded to darkness.
- Luminous Valentine -
As Rimuru placed the mask onto Chronoa, Luminous hoped that the Slime's plan would succeed. What she hadn't been expecting was for Felix to follow along.
She quickly appeared behind Felix and caught him, carrying him in a princess carry.
Heh, when he woke up, he would definitely be embarrassed!
Luminous looked towards Chronoa and Rimuru, who were both now laying on the floor.
She had done her part, now, she could only pray that Felix and Rimuru were successful.
The brief battle she had with Chronoa pointed out some of the flaws in her swordsmanship; she had only recently begun incorporating her Ultimate Skill into her swordsmanship, and there were still some flaws that had yet to be corrected.
Gaining Asmodeus, Lord of Lust, had been a qualitative change to her total combat power. Once she was able to properly master the Skill, she would become far more powerful.
She was eager to reach that level. Perhaps it would finally put Felix's ego in its place, even if she doubted that mastering Asmodeus alone was enough to reach his level.
The amount of Energy he had radiated after gaining the Dragon Factors was enormous. From what she sensed, he had almost as much Energy as Veldora, a True Dragon!
- Felix -
I could feel myself entering the Spiritual world of Chloe.
'The Unique Skill: Time Traveler has been analyzed.'
It seems that now we are basically in Chloe/Chronoa's Soul, Odin can copy her Skills without interference. I'm guessing that the one preventing Odin's analysis was Chronoa.
'The likelihood of such a scenario is high.'
"Long time no see… Rimuru." I heard a voice call out. I turned and saw Rimuru in his Slime form talking with a black-haired woman.
But that wasn't the only person here. I could also see Chronoa, who was looking at Rimuru in confusion.
"...Rimuru? Are you the real one?" She voiced out, desperation lacing her tone.
"U-Uhh, yeah, I'm Rimuru." Rimuru responded in confusion.
Hearing Rimuru's confirmation, Chronoa leaped at Rimuru and engulfed him in a hug, causing me to raise my brow.
I think Rimuru has this handled. No need to interrupt Rimuru's little reunion.
I could tell those three noticed me, but were just ignoring my existence entirely, rude.
'Odin.'
'Notice. It has been detected that the remnant pieces of Hinata Sakaguchi's Soul is trapped in an Infinity Prison, along with the Soul of Chloe Auburt.'
'Can you get them out?'
'Only the consciousness of Hinata Sakaguchi is left in the remnant Soul. The remnant pieces are stored in the Unique Skill: Mathematician.'
'So Hinata's Mathematician is trapped in the Infinity Prison along with her Soul?'
'Affirmative.'
Then I just need to take the Unique Skill and place it in her original body. I can fill in the missing pieces of her Soul with Brahma, that should be enough to resurrect her.
'It is likely that the Unique Skill: Mathematician may have been completely consumed by the Infinity Prison.'
That's right, one of the properties of Infinity Prison was basically mixing everything trapped inside together. Veldora held on due to his sizable Ego and his existence as a True Dragon.
Odin's worry is that since in the end, Hinata is just a Human, she may have been consumed by Infinity Prison.
'Don't worry Odin, I have a feeling Hinata is still around.'
It would be a lame way to die if she had a journey through Time, sealed a True Dragon, became a Hero, and then just died in her sleep.
Nah, Hinata is definitely still around in there, I'm confident.
"Felix!" I turned to the voice and was met with Rimuru, who was approaching me with Chronoa, who seemed to be more like a Spirit than the Evil Spirit she seemed to be like before.
Then there was the woman who I suspect to be that Shizu person Rimuru told me about, at least the physical features match, not to mention her resemblance to Rimuru, or rather Rimuru's resemblance to her since Rimuru ate her body to gain his own physical appearance and physical body.
I nodded. "Rimuru."
"Do you already know what happened?" He asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, but I think I can take care of it."
Chronoa shook her head. "Chloe and I had already come up with many plans. All were likely to be unsuccessful Felix-nii."
I raised my brow at the way she addressed me. Even Rimuru was looking at her in confusion.
Well, I can ask about that later. Right now, we have bigger issues. "Yeah, the issue is that you think that the remnants of Hinata's Soul have been dissolved in the Infinity Prison, right?"
Chronoa nodded.
"Well, I'm confident that Hinata is still around. She's built different."
"I-I don't think that's how it works, Felix." Said Rimuru.
"No no, he is right Rimuru." Said Shizu. "Hinata is a stubborn girl, so we just need to reach out to her."
"You must be Shizu. Rimuru has told me all about you."
Shizu looked at me with a smile. "Ah yes, you are Felix, right? I did not have the honor of meeting you in person, but I was able to learn a bit about you through the memories of those two girls."
I nodded. "Yup, I'm Felix!"
She smiled. "Well, thanks for looking out for Rimuru, Hinata, and Chloe. A true friend is something difficult to find in this world."
"Haha, no problem. Stuff can be pretty interesting around him, so at least life isn't boring. Though I haven't looked out all that much for Chloe, to be honest, I haven't known her for long."
"Fufufu. That's true." Shizu said with a mysterious smile. I'll just assume it has to do with Time bullshit.
"Can you two stop talking like I'm not here!" Rimuru protested.
Even Chronoa was looking on in amusement.
I shook my head. "Anyways, we're getting off topic. I think I have a plan to get the Souls of both Chloe and Hinata out of the Infinity Prison."
Rimuru and Chronoa nodded seriously. "I think I can stabilize the Energy inside the Infinity Prison, and then with that, I can pull the Souls of Hinata and Chloe out."
Rimuru nodded. "Do you need any help?"
'Odin?'
'Negative.'
I shook my head. "Nah, I don't."
'Acquiring authority over the Souls of Chloe Auburt and Chronoa. Beginning interference with Infinity Prison using Information Particles.'
Rimuru nodded, and while Odin got to work, I overheard a conversation between Chronoa and Rimuru.
"Uhh, do you mind transferring some authority over this place to me?" Rimuru asked nervously.
Chronoa tilted her head. "Authority over the Souls of Chloe and I?"
"Yeah… I know it sounds ba–"
"Sure!" Chronoa answered with no hesitation.
Rimuru sighed in relief. However, I do wonder what he's planning.
'Notice. Odin has detected the manipulation of Information Particles; it is estimated that Raphael, Lord of Wisdom, is attempting to combine Skills.'
Ah, I see. It seems Raphael wanted to mess around a bit.
'You and Raphael are similar on that front. It seems that the both of you like having fun with Skills.'
'Affirmative. However, Odin is superior in this aspect.'
'Yeah, I know. Of course, my Odin is better than Raphael!'
I felt Odin give off a smug feeling at my response.
'Notice. The Infinity Prison has been dissolved, and the Souls of Hinata Sakaguchi and Chloe Auburt have been released.'
'Good work, Odin.'
'Affirmative.'
All of a sudden, I felt someone engulf me from behind.
"Wow, you've gotten daring over the years… Hinata."
Has she entered her dere phase just like Luminous?
I could feel her head buried in the crook of my neck as she took a deep breath, and her firm breasts pressed flush against my back. I felt a few drops of what felt like some sort of liquid drip onto my neck.
"Felix."
Was she crying?
I turned around, causing Hinata to reluctantly let go of me.
Hinata still looked the same as always.
I wiped the tears from her eyes. "Tears don't look good on you, Hinata, but you do look good… for a hag."
Hinata's lips twitched. "I am not a hag!"
"You're technically over a thousand years old. Sounds like a hag to me." I taunted.
Hinata crossed her arms under her bust. "Oh yeah? Since I'm so much older than you, why don't you call me senpai then?" I noticed Hinata stopped crying and was simply pouting now. That's good.
I still raised a brow. She wasn't going to win this game.
"Yes, senpai!" I said with a salute.
Hinata sighed. "There's just no winning with you."
"You gotta up your game if you want to get to me, Hinata."
Slowly, a fond smile that was tinted with something else appeared on Hinata's face. She approached me and slowly hugged me.
"It's good to see you again, Felix." She muttered into my chest.
"Yeah, it's good to see you too, I didn't doubt that I'd see you again after sensing that Time shit, but we still need to talk about you getting beaten by a Clown. No student of mine will lose to a Clown!"
Hinata doesn't need to know that the Clown was a former Hero. She still lost to a Clown! Unforgivable!
She looked up at me with her eyes narrowed. "It wasn't fair! He had some stupid Skill that messed with my perception! How was I supposed to know about that?!"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Sounds like a Skill issue to me, to be honest."
"Ugh." She groaned and then just buried her face back into my chest.
"Cough. If you two lovebirds are done, then why don't we get going?" Rimuru teasingly asked.
I felt Hinata freeze in my chest as she slowly pulled back, an embarrassed blush on her face.
I turned to look at Rimuru who now had Chronoa and Chloe by his side. Chloe was smiling smugly at Hinata who simply coughed lightly and turned away.
Chloe gave me an excited wave. "Hi Felix-nii!"
I slowly waved back.
What's with this Felix-nii thing? I don't think that she had ever called me that before. It was also pretty hard to look at Chloe the same as I did before all of this. She was older than even I am, even if she was still in her child form for some reason.
Not to mention the terrifying ability she possessed, to reset the timeline, even I was somewhat wary of such a thing existing, even if the likelihood of that ability being used were close to zero now that she was back in the present. From what Odin analyzed, her ability did have conditions at the very least.
The conditions changed depending on who held the Skill, Odin was able to analyze what Chloe's condition was. Chloe needed to see Hinata die in front of her for her Skill to activate.
Well, at least this whole mess has been almost solved. Now we just need to deal with Granbell, and Kagali, and then we're hopefully home-free.
I feel like I just jinxed everything.
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I am highly motivated by your guys' reviews and likes, so do that! I'll probably keep writing or something.
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Author's Note:
Sup guys, We get to see Saeko finally begin her own training arc as well as her assembling some forces of her own under her. Also poor Carrion, I cringed when writing that nut crushing scene, fucking brutal.
And then finally, the event that has been built up for so long has happened, Chronoa has finally been unsealed! The fight between Chronoa and Felix was pretty anticlimactic, but to be fair Felix is busted as hell now, especially after gaining the Dragon Factors, as well as his high level combat ability.
Chronoa's speciality is Time and Space shit, and Felix outclasses her in Space shit, while Chronoa has not reached her peak in Temporal Manipulation, she doesn't even have an Ultimate Skill at this point yet, even if she has a tremendous amount of Energy, it doesn't matter if Felix can just no sell all her attacks. Not to mention Chronoa is basically a fraud, she was held at bay by Jiwu, one of the Single Digits who didn't even have a tenth of Chronoa's raw power.
Basically Felix told Chronoa to "get gud".
Felix and Hinata finally reunite, so that's something.
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace out!
Thanks to Best Boy @Bonvoyage, @Salante, and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.