Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken 279

Rimuru’s Elegant Escape Play – 23

Then it suddenly came to me. Had it really been necessary to return my hair and eye color back to normal?

I had gotten a little carried away, but it was nothing short of an act that would accelerate the exposing of my identity.

<<Do not worry. You looked very cool.>>

Uh, is that a good reason?

…Well, alright then.

It wasn’t the most convincing argument, but it can’t be bad if Ciel says it’s fine.

Now, before I quickly defeat Bernaclad, I should think about the students, just in case.

“Laplace! Protect the students here!”

“Sure thing!”

Faithfully, Laplace obeyed my order and constructed a defense barrier over the barrier that was already there.

In fact, it would be rather difficult for me in my current state to hold off the shockwaves of Laplace and Bernaclad, should they battle.

And of course, neither could the students.

And so I could not leave the fighting to Laplace.

Tear was not likely able to beat Bernaclad, so the best option was to fight him myself.

In any case, now the students’ safety was assured.

No matter how strong a demon Bernaclad was, Laplace was an awakened demon lord. If he created a defense barrier, no attack would break through it.

The only thing left to do was for me to defeat Bernaclad.

“Hahaha. You think one little insect is going to be enough to entertain me?”

Bernaclad said confidently as he looked at me.

“…Well, he’s dead.”

“But, if the others find out later that he talked to Rimuru like that, and that we didn’t do anything… Won’t they be furious?”

“…Tear. Don’t say such ominous things. If Souei and Diablo found out about this… I don’t want to even imagine what they might do to us. They won’t stop, regardless of Lord Rimuru’s forgiveness.”

“Right? Right?”

“Well, thankfully, we’re the only ones here now. So let’s keep it a secret.”

“Okay! I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good. Otherwise, we’ll end up in the worst kind of danger.”

I could hear their hushed voices whispering to each other, but it was me who said that I would fight, so they were not responsible.

Besides, in a way, it couldn’t be helped that people would underestimate me now.

After all, I was no different than any other human.

So Bernaclad’s estimation of me wasn’t particularly wrong.

“Sorry, but I don’t think it will be that fun for you. It’s nothing personal, but I don’t like to hold back. If you want to be angry about it, don’t hate me, hate yourself for having the wrong amount of strength.”

I said to Bernaclad, without much interest.

Really, there wasn’t any deeper meaning to my words.

If he had been just a little weaker, just enough so that the Rock Elephant and the others could have stopped him…I would not have had to annihilate him.

Or if I had one other awakened demon lord with me now, I would be able to disarm Bernaclad while still protecting the students.

But then again, Diablo, Souei or Shion and Benimaru would have turned him into dust without a second thought. So perhaps there really was no other fate for him other than death.

Now that I think of it, it’s not I, the Great Demon Lord, but my subordinates who are dangerous and extreme.

It was quite impressive that I was able to hold everything together.

I was doing quite well, really.

<<…>>

Oh.

Ciel seemed like she wanted to say something, but I’d rather not hear it.

I have to stop thinking about stupid things and deal with Bernaclad.

Bernaclad did not exactly like what I had just said.

I had condescendingly informed him of his impending defeat, so it was no wonder he wasn’t too amused.

“Haaaahaha. What a delightful person you are. However, you should know that such foolishness and misunderstanding of your own worth will do nothing but invite misfortune.”

He smiled and showed no sign of moving.

Then he shrugged, sending great bursts of magic from his hands.

The nuclear strike magic, ‘Nuclear Flame’ burned everything around me. And burned the students behind me as well–or so it would have looked to Bernaclad.

“Oh? Dying in one hit is hardly entertaining, you know? Not only that, but I was looking forward to slowly savoring the taste of those students. But a few of them seem to have been caught in the attack.”

There was a hint of regret in his voice as he watched the blazing furnace he had created.

He believed in the energy and force of the magic he unleashed without any doubt.

Too bad!

“Is that right? You said it was one hit. But I was merely offering you the first move. Didn’t I tell you? It’s nothing personal. And so I thought that I might as well show off a little.”

I had used ‘Teleportation’ to move to the top of a boulder that was behind Bernaclad, and sat down. That is when I spoke, all the while feeling a little sorry for him.

And of course, the students were all fine.

Laplace had predicted this, and created a ‘Multi-purpose Barrier’ that isolated the students from the battlefield.

It was when Bernaclad finally realized this truth, that he was overcome with shock.

“You did what? Just now, what happened!?”

Even as he asked the question, he slashed at me at a speed that even my eyes could not follow.

Apparently, Magnus’s sword was quite sharp, and it cut the boulder I was sitting on in two.

But, it did not hit me.

While my eyes couldn’t follow it, ‘Magic Perception’ and ‘Godspeed Thought’ allowed me to see Bernclad’s movements and predict them.