It may have been a bit misleading, but Zaydas had another reason for giving Rimuru the body of the False Supergirl, aside from the chance to earn AP, of course. That reason was the possibility of replicating the False Supergirl's abilities.
While they were enemies, replication was difficult, with a low chance of success. However, once she became part of Rimuru, he tried again and saw that all of them had at least a 40% chance of being replicated.
'For now, I don't need them...'
Although the chances had increased, he wasn't going to risk losing AP with such a high failure rate. At the very least, he needed a 70% chance of success.
Since Zaydas had obtained a new set of abilities, he wasn't in a hurry.
Zaydas started walking around the house.
'It's pretty empty here...' Zaydas thought. 'I came unprepared this time. Next time, I'll bring some things to liven up the place a bit.'
If there was one thing he learned at INN, it was the importance of getting good mattresses and pillows. Next time, he would bring some. He'd even leave at least one in his storage dimension.
***
***
After returning, he saw that not much time had passed, only an hour and 13 minutes.
Alone at home, he first took a bath and then lay on the bed with his arms and legs spread out, lost in thought.
Nothing forces a man to face his own demons more than solitude and silence... That often makes the mind wander and think about things one would normally prefer to ignore to avoid getting fixated on something and overthinking.
Zaydas also had things he didn't want to dwell on. One of them was...
His power had reached the level of an Ultimate-Class Devil. With this power, he could be seen as one of the strongest in the DxD world he came from. But was that really the case?
Veldora. When he tried to assess him, he felt as if he were staring into a bottomless well of pure power, and that if he looked too much, he would be swallowed by it. Even after becoming an Ultimate-Class Devil, that feeling hadn't diminished.
This suggests that Veldora's power is classified at least at the level of a Super Devil. But therein lies the problem that troubles him so much.
In DxD, few have reached that level. However, in this dimension, there was a considerable number. And that's not even counting Rimuru, who would reach that level in the near future.
But then, what was worrying him so much?
If this dimension has so many powerful beings... What kind of monsters could exist in his own dimension that he has yet to discover?
Until now, he had been ignoring this fact, repeating to himself: 'If you don't seek death, you won't die.'
Yes, it's a phrase that makes a lot of sense. However, it doesn't do justice to the rules. Without knowing the true powerhouses and their goals, there was no way he could feel at ease.
What if there was someone extremely powerful with the same kind of mentality as Thanos?
There was something else. Did his parents really just want him to have a normal life until he was 18, or was there another reason they couldn't or weren't willing to tell him?
'Am I overthinking again? Should I just keep pretending I don't know anything and go on with my life?'
Maybe that was the best choice.
Many say that being afraid of what might happen makes you stop living. And clearly, he didn't want to stop living just because he was afraid something bad might happen.
'Power... If I become strong enough, will all this fear and insecurity disappear?'
He didn't know the answer to that either. No matter how much he had hidden it before, even when he became an Ultimate-Class Devil, he didn't feel any sense of security.
Though it must be said that he may have become a little arrogant...
Arrogant because he simply brought someone from another dimension and handed them over to Rimuru without fully understanding the future implications this could have for him.
However, he didn't want a life of regrets, and even if he felt he had been a bit hasty this time, he didn't regret what he had done—but he wouldn't do the same thing a second time.
'This time, I even revealed a little to Rimuru about being able to travel between worlds...'
The only thing that comforts him is Rimuru's good nature—not because of what he saw in the anime, but because he witnessed it firsthand. Maybe that's precisely why he let his guard down and did something he normally wouldn't have done.
"!!!"
Jumping up, he murmured in his mind while slapping his own face: 'Right! Thinking about these things won't help me at all.'
Determined, he said: 'Great Sage, mark the DAAC dimension.'
[Done!]
***
***
As soon as Zaydas left, a portal opened in his room.
From inside the portal, two individuals stepped out: a man and a woman.
"You noticed?" the man asked.
"He didn't go to another universe." Before the man could feel relieved, the woman added, "He went to another box. In other words, another dimension!"
"How?"
"If you ask me, who should I ask?"
Immediately after, the two fell silent.
A few seconds later, the woman looked worried as she said, "I hope this isn't related to 'her'."
When the man heard that, he let out a light sigh.
'She,' whom the woman referred to, was someone so powerful that even one of her simple duplicates had the strength of an Ultimate-Class Devil.
"Were you able to track where he went?" the man asked.
"Believe it or not, that wasn't possible." She seemed frustrated. "What he used is even more advanced than my 'Interdimensional Travel' ability."
Upon hearing that, the man fell silent once again.
***
***
Flying over Tokyo in DAAC, Zaydas tried to imagine how strong he really was at that moment.
For example, if he threw a punch with all his strength, without relying on the Power of Destruction, what level of destruction would it cause?
When he imagined himself doing that... he "saw" Tokyo collapsing.
The impact would create a fissure in the earth, while the resulting crack would begin to swallow nearby buildings and houses.
The mere earthquake caused by the total impact of his punch would make several houses collapse.
When he reached this understanding by visualizing it, he was a little shocked.
'Has my strength really reached this level?'
As unbelievable as it was, he had reached that level of power. Even so, he wouldn't be as powerful as Serafall Leviathan, for example, who is in the same rank and has the power to destroy entire islands...
Even though he could reach that level of destruction, it would take time, and that time would be enough for someone to show up and stop him from doing it.
While flying, a scene caught his attention.
'Is this really happening?' Zaydas frowned. But soon, his eyes gleamed slightly. 'I'm a little stressed, this will do...'
***
***
Marin was returning from a photo shoot near the sea and decided to stop by Akihabara.
It was a holiday, so she wore a checkered button-up shirt in burnt yellow and blue, short denim shorts, and burnt yellow shoes. With a black cap tilted on her head, she carried a burnt yellow bag on her arm.
Distracted by her smartphone, she didn't notice when three hooligans, wearing malicious grins, surrounded her.
"Hey, babe. How about having some tea with us?" One of them said, blushing with lust as he glanced at her chest.
"Damn, you're a total knockout. And judging by how you dress, you must've done a lot of that, right?" Another teased, whistling and using words with double meanings while sniffing the back of her neck.
Marin grabbed her bag and forcefully tried to smack the pervert who had sniffed her, but she missed as the hooligan dodged, taking a few steps back while keeping his hands in his pockets.
"Maji, this is such a pain." She said. "Who the hell even approaches someone like this nowadays? You bastards aren't afraid? Look around, the place is full of cameras! If you try anything with me, don't think you'll get away with it!"
"Tough girl, I like that~" The third one, who had his hair dyed blonde, stuck out his tongue, revealing a piercing with a skull-shaped metal bead, licked his lips, and then said: "But babe, you're mistaken about something. We're just asking you out, we're not forcing you, right?"
He extended his arm, intending to wrap it around her neck, while the other two flashed lecherous smiles.
This wasn't the first time they had done something like this. Even when the girls they approached said similar things, they would take pictures and threaten to expose them online, never facing any consequences afterward.
Yes, there were cameras, but that exact fact had always saved them.
However, before he could place his arm around Marin, he froze as he saw his fellow hooligan punch him in the face.
"You big idiot!" yelled the hooligan with bleached black hair, small eyes, and a thin mustache. "Let's stop lying, I can't hide this anymore!"
"You…!" Getting up in anger, the hooligan who got punched grabbed the other by the collar and suddenly pulled him in for a kiss?!
"Shit! I'm gonna puke!!" The third one, witnessing the scene, couldn't handle such an unnatural BL moment and stuck his finger down his throat.
Marin was petrified.
'Maji? What is all this? Where are the cameras? Is this some kind of new prank? This is hilarious~'
The worst happened when the third one, who had been trying to vomit, suddenly grabbed the blonde with the tongue piercing by the head and declared, "No! He's mine!"
Immediately, their lips met, while the other, who had been interrupted, got angry but instead of fighting, pulled the other's head in and kissed him…
Earlier, the pedestrians had ignored them when they surrounded Marin and tried to make a move on her, but now, witnessing such a scene, many stopped, and some even started filming.
Zaydas, hovering in the air in his 'Devil' mode, laughed so much that he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes.
"I just saw something amazing~"
A playful voice echoed in his ear from not too far away.
*****
Read up to chapter 57 on Patreon. At least two chapters will be updated daily, with one free chapter every day.
P-atreon.com/Zaydas
Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.
Don't miss the chance to activate a 15% discount on Patreon, valid until Feb 16, 2025 at 9:09 PM! - Code: 53D82