Katsumi and Benimaru stood back to back at the center of a massive hoard of orcs. They had been separated from Shion and Hakurou, but perhaps they preferred it this way. After all, this was their revenge on the orc army. It wouldn't do if they didn't each wipe out at least a few hundred.

"You ready, Katsumi," Benimaru asked as he sheathed his katana.

"Do you even have to ask?" she retorted with a smirk while swinging her claymore into the scabbard on her back. He said nothing and instead chuckled at her confidence. With flawless synchronization, the two of them linked their hands and allowed the army of orcs to descend upon them. For just a second, the bright red and blue hair of the two kijin disappeared from the rampaging hoard of orcs. Then, from the center, a large tsunami of water surged forward, washing back the thousands of orcs that surrounded the two. Immediately, the harsh, raging waves tore the orcs limb from limb and turned the water into a sea of blood. Any orcs that got too close to the wave was washed away and died on the spot. As more orcs died and the water was stained with more and more blood, the waves increased in strength and size, sweeping up even more orcs who quickly tried to back away.

The water swirled viciously for a few minutes before the red waves began to flicker with tendrils of fire. Within a few seconds, the water was completely replaced with a strong purple flare which turned the orcs' limbs immediately to ashes. This way, the dead pigs wouldn't offer any sort of nourishment to the army.

Once the two of them were satisfied with their work, the flames died down to reveal Benimaru and Katsumi at the center of the attack, their hands still linked tightly as they allowed the energy between them to flow. After expending so much power in their attack to take down thousands of orcs in just a few minutes at maximum, Katsumi needed to make sure Benimaru didn't roast himself and Benimaru needed to make sure Katsumi didn't freeze. Well, that and Benimaru just wanted to hold her hand.

For a good few seconds after Benimaru's flames had died down, the two kijin stood in the center of the ashes that remained of the army. Around them, a wide circular field was formed as the orc army nearby hesitated to get any closer at the moment after seeing how easily they completely destroyed the ones closest to them.

"How many do you think we got?" Benimaru asked Katsumi as he scanned the surrounding area. Surely they must've taken out a large portion of the army. The two of them could barely see the orcs that survived their attack as they had formed a huge circle around them. From above, Rimuru saw essentially a bald patch in the army of orcs following the two of them. They sure were strong opponents to face.

"Not enough, in my opinion," Katsumi replied, her heterochromia eye shining in the early morning darkness. Benimaru smirked at her reply, agreeing that until they stopped this entire army and the Orc Lord was dead, there was no way they would be satisfied.

"Then, shall we continue, my dear tiger shark?" Benimaru lifted her hand that he had been holding and brought it to his lips to place a gentle kiss on her fingers. Much to his delight, he saw a slight blush on her cheeks before her free hand came around and flicked him in the forehead right between his large, black horns.

"Do you even need me to answer, my dear falcon?" She slipped her hand out of his grasp and reached to unsheathe her claymore. Benimaru stared at her for a second, taking in the fact that she was avoiding his gaze and her cheeks were tinged red, before he reached for his katana and drew the sword.

"I suppose I don't," he said with a light laugh. At this, Katsumi felt her cheeks burn even more. Why was his laughter - no, why was his voice making her feel all sorts of things? To cover it up, she forced herself to focus on the army in front of her.

"Whoever kills less is the rotten egg," Katsumi called before she dashed off toward the nearest orc. Benimaru snapped out of his daze and quickly followed, glaring jokingly at her as he passed the blue-haired kijin and stabbed an orc. She saw the glare, but only smiled as she danced around an axe, jumping over it at the last moment so that the axe cut through another nearby orc. Apparently, the orcs cared not for friendly fire. Once that was taken care of, she jumped toward the orc and stabbed it right in the neck. Benimaru paused in his attacks to watch her graceful movements as the kimono she was wearing truly made her appear as if she was dancing on a stage instead of fighting on a battlefield.

After another half hour and a thousand orcs down, the two of them finally decided it was time to regroup with the rest of the kijin. It wasn't hard to find the three other Kijin on the battlefield; they just had to follow the path of carnage and dead orcs. The first kijin that Benimaru and Katsumi gathered was Souei, who was found testing the strength and range of his threads as he became puppeteer and had turned half the army nearby him against themselves while the blue-haired kijin remained safely at a distance to control them. When Benimaru and Katsumi arrived, he reluctantly stopped his experiments and quickly killed them with the steel threads he had laid out previously. At the end of the attack, there was nothing left as the orcs had been sliced to pieces so tiny that they were just particles of dust.

The next Kijin was their instructor, Hakurou. It was like he was playing with his food as he tried to coach them and tell them what they were doing wrong with their attacks before ruthlessly slaughtering them. Hakurou's relaxed fighting style only seemed to anger the orcs, who got sloppier and sloppier with each minute that passed.

"It's nice to see you three," Hakurou said as the three younger kijin stood by and waited for him to finish. They barely spared a glance at the nearby orcs as they calmly stood at the edge of Hakurou's makeshift ring of dead pigs. "I was getting bored."

"You looked so bored, old man," Benimaru retorted with a deadpan expression as he gestured to the various corpses around him. Hakurou, hearing the sarcasm, forfeited his weapon as he launched it toward Benimaru's head. Without flinching, Benimaru tilted his head to the side, allowing the blade to miss him and stab into the abdomen of an orc behind the three younger kijin.

"How terrifying," he mocked playfully. Hakurou glared at him, but went to retrieve his weapon without another word. When he rejoined the three others, Benimaru quickly burned the corpses, not leaving out a few pigs who were apparently still alive, before they went to go find Shion.

Shion, the last kijin to be gathered, was going berserk with her large broadsword and spinning in circles, slicing clean through any orcs that got too close. When she stopped, she stood on a large hill of pig corpses in the center of a massive crater.

"Oh," she voiced as she stared up at the orcs who lined the sides of the crater. However, they didn't seem to be moving at all, which confused the purple-haired kijin. That was until the other Kijin made their appearance at the edges where the orcs had cleared a path for them. Katsumi's sunset eye seemed to glow and around her flowed a red viscous substance. The tendrils seemed to stretch outward and weaved in and out of the orc army, piercing a few orcs and wrapping around others like vines.

"My, Shion, could you not get yourself into these situations?" Katsumi asked with a sigh as the kijin slid down the sides of the crater to meet up with Shion. None of them cared in the slightest that they were putting themselves in a disadvantaged position.

"These pigs are too easy," Shion pouted. Katsumi could only shake her head. Who was the older one here? "How come they aren't coming down?"

"Ah, I'm controlling them with their own blood right now," Katsumi said nonchalantly as she gestured to the various blood red vines hanging around her. Shion's jaw dropped at the strength and power behind [Haemokinetics]. Katsumi seemed to have control over the power, but Shion couldn't help but notice the worried glances Benimaru would send the younger kijin.

"Let's find Ranga and the Goblin Riders," Katsumi said, glancing around at the army of orcs that stiffly stood at the top. She could feel them struggling to move, but as long as she controlled them via their blood, they stood no chance against her. Without a complaint, the kijin swiftly and easily climbed the crater walls and exited the hoard of orcs, not without taking a few down along the way of course. It didn't take long before they managed to find Ranga and Gobta leading the goblin riders in battle. Ranga quickly crushed his enemies under his paw, sometimes quite literally, and the kijin watched on from the sidelines as the rest of the Goblin Riders cleared out the remaining few orcs in a 5 meter radius of them.

"Ah, you're all here," Rimuru said as he descended slightly. The kijin, goblins and wolves quickly bowed slightly to Rimuru before raising their head and awaiting Rimuru's command. "I spotted the orc lord making his way here with a large army. I'd say we haven't even taken down a quarter of the orcs, unfortunately. Our goal is the Orc Lord though, so prepare yourselves."

The army heeded Rimuru's command and quickly finished off any orcs that could hinder their attack on the incoming Orc Lord as Rimuru flew back into the air to keep an eye on the situation from above. Benimaru burned the corpses while Ranga guided the lizardmen and their goblin army to a safer area of the marshland to await the Orc Lord.

The Orc Lord was within sight of them all shortly after they had finished preparing themselves and no one was really surprised when the Orc Lord towered over them all. The Kijins' expressions hardened at the sight of the enormous pig that headed the army behind their village's demise. Frustration raged through them all, but they kept a calm mask on and awaited Rimuru's orders.

Before the Orc Lord had made a move or had commanded his army, a streak of red burst from the sky, forcing Rimuru to veer to the side to avoid getting hit. The streak slammed into the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust. The Kijin stared forward, narrowing their eyes as a figure stood up from the dust in the center of the crater that was formed. Benimaru tensed slightly, taking a step forward as Katsumi dug her fingers into her palm just enough to draw blood and for a whip in case she needed to stop the army from surging forward. Shion tensed as if ready to jump into action and Hakurou unsheathed his blade ever so slightly. Souei reached for the handle of one of his swords on his back just as Ranga growled from behind them.

"Are you a majin?" Rimuru asked as he was flying above.

"What's the big idea?! How dare you ruin the great Lord Gelmud's plans?!" the majin yelled, ignoring Rimuru. The Kijin only stared at the majin, a bit shocked that he had come through just to scold them. No one moved.

"Gelmud?" Rimuru echoed from above. "The one who named Rigurd's eldest son, right?"

"A new Demon Lord who would have done my bidding was about to be born!" he whined with wide gestures while shaking with rage.

"Demon Lord?" Benimaru echoed in shock.

"Yes!" Gelmud proclaimed while gripping his hand in a fist. "That's why I gave out so many names, sowed so many seeds! All to create the ultimate pawn!"

"All to create the ultimate pawn..." Katsumi trailed off, her expression frighteningly calm. Her sunset eye flickered with rage and Benimaru reached an arm out in front of her, not in comfort, but to hold her back from launching a preemptive attack, though Benimaru wasn't quite sure he himself could hold

"So that is why..." Hakurou trailed off as Souei gritted his teeth in anger

"... you showed up..." Souei glared harshly at Gelmud, his eyes portraying his immense hate for the majin.

"... in our village?" Shion finished, her facial expression marred with anger. Her purple eyes were wide as she glared at the majin and her grip on her sword tightened. She tensed up, as if wanting to launch an attack.

"Oh! It's Lord Gelmud!" Gabiru said happily. "What brings you here? Could it be you've come to help us?" Katsumi couldn't help but think how idiotic Gabiru was for bringing attention to himself in this situation. It could be assumed that Gabiru had gotten his name from Gelmud, and Gelmud had just admitted to naming them all for the purpose of feeding them to the Orc Lord.

"You useless fool!" Gelmud yelled at Gabiru. Gabiru flinched back, not expecting the harsh words. "Just become a meal for the Orc Lord already! A useless fool like you will never be more than a nuisance! So be eaten by the Orc Lord and become his strength! You'll be useful to me in death. Consider it an honor."

"Gelo.. G-Geld..." Gabiru stuttered out in complete shock. Katsumi, no matter how much she pitied Gabiru at the moment for being betrayed, didn't take her eyes off the majin. It was the one that had stopped in their path on the night of their attack. If they had accepted names from him, they would've been pawns in his game, fodder for the pig lord. Katsumi's expression darkened even further.

Gelmud turned to face the Orc Lord who was right behind him. The Orc Lord towered over Gelmud by at least seven times, if not eight.

"Get him, Orc Lord!" Gelmud commanded. The Orc Lord made no movement and only stared down at him in silence.

"What's the matter?" Gelmud demanded after the Orc Lord refused to move.

"What do you mean by evolving into a Demon Lord?" The Orc Lord asked.

"Tsk..." Gelmud clicked his tongue. "You really are an imbecile. You will become the Demon Lord 'Orc Disaster' and rule over the entire Forest of Jura! That is what both he and I desire!"

"Why are you just standing there, you dumb pig?!" Gelmud raged as the Orc Lord didn't make a single move. He was still processing what Gelmud was saying. "There's no time. I'm not supposed to interfere, but I have no choice."

A pink ball of energy began forming in his hands. The three soldiers surrounding Gabiru began yelling at him to flee. Gabiru was Gelmud's target after all. Gabiru remained frozen in shock as Gelmud launched the ball towards them. The three soldiers used their own bodies as shields for Gabiru. The ball of energy engulfed the four of them as the kijin were forced to turn their eyes from the attack in fear of being blinded by the light.

Once the light died down, it left Gabiru with two smoking and injured lizardmen in his arms, the third laying on his back in front of the others. Their clothes were charred and the three soldiers were barely conscious. Gabiru cried out loudly as his loyal comrades fell.

"Gelmud-sama!" Gabiru yelled out, inconsolable tears trailing down his face.

"Become nourishment for the Orc Lord, and be useful to me!" Gelmud demanded as he charged up another ball of energy, this one larger than the last.

"I will show you the strength of a superior majin! Die!" Gelmud laughed as he lifted the pink ball above his head. The massive sphere split into hundreds of smaller orbs of the same energy. This was Gelmud's skill, [Deathmarch Dance]. He pointed his hand towards Gabiru, and the orbs raced forwards. Gabiru closed his eyes, expecting death.

"Rimuru-sama!" Shion yelled out in shock as she and the rest of the Kijin watched Rimuru land in between Gabiru and Gelmud. Using [Predator], Rimuru consumed the hundreds of orbs heading towards Gabiru. Sparks flew as the energy was consumed into the slime, but Rimuru didn't flinch. As the last of the orbs were swallowed, Rimuru withdrew his hand, and faced a shocked Gelmud.

"Hey, is that the best you can do? How's a move like that going to kill anyone?" Rimuru asked, almost disappointed. Who knew that the majin that seemed to be behind the entire situation was so weak?

"Y-You..." Gelmud stuttered out.

"You... You are..." Gelmud stared up at Rimuru, shock and respect in his eyes.

"Here," was all Rimuru said as he threw there orbs of healing potions at Gabiru. Gelmud was being blatantly ignored. "They're healing potions. Use them on your men."

Gabiru quickly agreed and pressed each of the orbs on the fallen lizardmen, pleading for them to hang on and recover. Rimuru smiled and then turned to face Gelmud, who had yet to move.

"Now..." Rimuru held his hand forward and threads shot out wrapping around Gelmud by the waist. From the ground, more steel threads came out, chaining Gelmud to that position.

"What is this?!" Gelmud exclaimed as he was completely held down by threads. He struggled, but was unable to break free. Rimuru took slow, deliberate steps towards Gelmud until he was within arms reach.

"H-How dare you do this to a superior maj-" Gelmud was interrupted as Rimuru's fist met his abdomen. He grunted out in pain, his body hunching over as much as it could while being restrained.

"Why, you! I'll-" Gelmud began screaming again after he took a second to recover, only to be interrupted again as Rimuru threw a punch to Gelmud's face, tearing him from his binds and sending him backwards. Rimuru took a couple more steps towards the majin.

"You keep saying you're some bigshot 'superior majin,' but you're nothing special," Rimuru said, staring down at him boredly. He thought Gelmud would've been some competition since he kept boasting about his skills, but he had assumed wrong.

"Okay, I get it!" Gelmud said holding his hands up in front of his face. "You can be on my side! I'll-" Rimuru didn't wait for him to finish his sentence as he kicked Gelmud in the chest, hard. The majin flew back and landed at the feet of the Orcs. He laid there for a second before flailing his arms around while still laying on the ground.

The Kijin who had been watching the whole time couldn't help but stare at the majin in disappointment. What kind of a person acts like this, flailing like a baby in anger? He had acted the same way the night that he appeared in their village, screaming about his superiority and demanding their attention. A majin like this surely wasn't trustworthy.

"Damn you!" Gelmud cursed at Rimuru as he sat up. "You're finished! He's going to make you regret this!"

"Why don't you tell me just who 'he' is?" Rimuru asked Gelmud, unfazed by the threat. "Tell me who's pulling the strings."

"Stop! Stay away!" Gelmud panicked as Rimuru stepped closer. He quickly got onto his feet and scurried in front of the Orc Lord.

"Hey, Orc Lord! Help me!" he pleaded to the Orc. The orc stared down blankly at the Majin.

"I'm hungry," was all he muttered.

"Damn it! I said help me, Orc Lord!" Gelmud demanded. "No, I mean.. Geld!" At this the Orc Lord's eyes widened. The Kijin tensed and drew their weapons defensively. They had to be prepared in case Gelmud had triggered the Orc Lord to attack.

If you'd hurry up and evolve into a Demon Lord..." Gelmud muttered under his breath. Geld's eye's narrowed, and he look a large, lumbering step forward. The ground shook. The Kijin all lifted their weapons more and widened their stance, ready to attack.

"Finally moving now, you scumbag?" Gelmud insulted as he burst out laughing. He turned around to face Rimuru. "Prepare to experience this beast's strength! Do it, Geld! Make them rue the day they defied m-"

Gelmud was cut off as Geld used his enormous sword to swiftly decapitate the majin. The Kijin all gasped and Ranga watched with wide eyes. They stood up straight in their shock, their weapons dropping slightly to their side. The slice was clean as Gelmud's head and body fell to the floor as two detached pieces.

Geld leaned down towards Gelmud's body before beginning to feast on the majin's flesh. He tore through muscle and crushed the bones, eating and eating until there was nothing left except a few bloody rags. The lizardmen and goblins turned away from the gruesome sight, but the kijin didn't seem to mind it one bit. They had witnessed worse during the attack on their village. Gelmud deserved this fate in their opinion, but their fallen brethren didn't and that was what made the image of the orcs devouring their fellow ogres so much worse. Not only that, but they had also come to terms that children were devoured in this same way. To Katsumi, there was no worse image than innocent children being caught and torn apart alive.

As Geld finished his feast, a dark aura covering him as his magicules increased exponentially. It wasn't long before Geld was surrounded by a black vortex of mist, swirling around him and completely obscuring him from sight. Within a few seconds, the wind died down, and Geld emerged as the new Demon Lord, the Orc Disaster.

"Orc Disaster, Demon Lord Geld..." Rimuru named out. "I can't just sit and do nothing about this."

Geld let out a tremendous roar towards his enemies.

"I am the Orc Disaster!" He declared. "I am the one who will devour all in this world! My name is Geld... Geld the Demon Lord!" He stared Rimuru down.

"Shion," Benimaru quickly ordered. The Kijin were going to get their revenge on the Orcs by taking down the Orc Disaster.

"Right! On it!" Shion rushed forward, her blade glinting dangerously.

"Oi," Rimuru said as he turned to Benimaru.

"Let us handle this," Benimaru promised Rimuru. Rimuru said nothing but focused back onto the fight.

"You call yourself a Demon Lord?!" Shion yelled as she charged forward, kicking up water as she sped towards the orc. "Curb your ego, you foul pig!" Shion leaped up, using her anger for her destroyed village to fuel her strength as she swung her broadsword forward. Geld raised his own blade and parried her attack. Sparks flew between the two as the ground shook from the sheer force of the swing. Shion pressed downwards with more force, but to no avail as she was thrown back. She flipped herself upright, sliding back on her two feet in the water.

Without skipping a beat, she charged forward again, faster than the first time. Geld raised his blade, stopping as Hakurou appeared right above him. Hakurou's sword easily tore through Geld's neck. Shion stood below, watching as Geld's head was severed from the body. Blood splurted from the open wound, but the body didn't fall. Instead, the Kijin watched in horror as Geld held his own head in his arms. Green tendrils reached outwards and picked up the decapitated head from Geld's arms, reattaching it seamlessly onto the neck.

Benimaru nodded at Souei who launched his own attack next, trapping Geld in thread using his skil [Arcane Thread Fetters]. Quickly, Souei tightened all the threads and pulled them so that there were no gaps whatsoever in the cocoon that Geld was now trapped in.

"Do it, Benimaru!" Souei yelled out.

"Have some of this!" Benimaru yelled as he launched a ball of [Hell Flare] towards the encased Demon Lord. Katsumi followed his attack, surrounding the flare and silk cocoon in a dome of water to protect their own army and centralize the heat, hoping that Benimaru's flames would roast the pig alive.

From behind, Ranga howled loudly and lightning began striking through the sky. As Benimaru's flames faded away, Geld remained standing. Immediately, Ranga sent [Black Lightning] Geld's way, effectively electrocuting the pig. Ranga's form then shrank as they all watched the crater where the lightning had struck with anticipation.

"Out of magicules?" Rimuru asked Ranga as he noticed the size difference.

"I'm so sorry!" Ranga bowed his head towards Rimuru.

"Just hang out in my shadow," Rimuru ordered with a reassuring smile. Ranga needed to recover. He quickly obeyed and disappeared behind Rimuru.

The army stared, waiting anxiously for the result as Geld laid still. Eventually, much to their disappointment and shock, Geld continued to struggle to get up despite being pelted with focused attacks. Now, the worst situation had come to light and the Kijin could do nothing more to aid Rimuru in defeating the Orc Lord. If Rimuru couldn't do it, then the entire forest and on would be doomed to fall to the pigs.

Geld stood, his flesh smoking slightly as bits of his exposed skin were charred.

"So this is pain?" he muttered as he looked down at his hands.

"You're kidding me..." Rimuru trailed off in shock as Geld successfully stood after an all out attack from the Kijin and Ranga.

"My king, I offer my body to you," one of the orcs said as he stepped forward. From beside her, Katsumi heard Benimaru click his tongue on the roof of his mouth.

"We should've taken them out first," Benimaru scolded himself. Katsumi didn't say anything but turned her attention back to Geld since she too was regretting not wiping out the army of pigs first. After all, they were nourishment for each other. With a swipe of his hand, Geld picked up the frozen orc and with a single bite swallowed the orc's head.

The sound of crunching bones and tearing flesh sounded through the clearing as Geld tore into his fellow orc. Blood splattered to the ground as veins were torn and limbs were ripped off. With each bite, Geld healed himself.

"Not enough! I need more!" Geld demanded after he had finished the orc. Nothing was left except a few scattered bones and the metal armor. "Give me more food!"

Geld reached out his hand, and shot out the same pink orb that Gelmud had before. It floated above all the Kijin, before spliting into hundreds of smaller orbs and then proceeding to launch themselves down. The Kijin had no time to move away from the attack and Katsumi prepared herself beside Benimaru in hopes they could use the water and flames to somehow incinerate or wash away the attack. Thankfully, before the two had to do anything, Rimuru jumped in front of them, reaching his hand up and devouring all the orbs of energy from the air before they could even come close to hitting the Kijin.

"Rimuru-sama..." Benimaru trailed off.

"Don't worry. I've got this," he reassured the Kijin as he walked forward towards Geld. From behind Geld, the tendrils of snake like energy came out. [Chaos Eater].

"I'm counting on you! Defeat my enemy at once!" Rimuru ordered the [Great Sage]. Rimuru's pupils turned from their normal green color to a calculating red with an octagonal ring of white in the middle.

"Devour all! [Chaos Eater]!" Geld roared. The snake-like beings rushed forward, aiming for Rimuru as he and the [Great Sage] easily dodged them. From behind, the Kijin were quick to use their blades to fend off any rogue tendrils that aimed for them or the nearby goblins.

Within seconds, Rimuru found himself right in front of Geld, black flames racing down the blade of his sword. With a quick strike, Geld's left arm had been cut off from the elbow. The flames immediately cauterized the cut, making instant regeneration impossible for the Orc Disaster. Rimuru landed a distance away as Geld's hand dropped to the floor, but rushed forward again without missing a beat.

As Rimuru brought down his flame-covered sword, Geld brought up his own blade and blocked Rimuru's strike. Rimuru didn't even flinch as the flames on his blade heated up the metal of Geld's. Geld quickly leaped backwards, shocked as Rimuru's sword had cut through his own, the metal melting easily from the heat.

Geld stumbled back, dropping the hilt of his broken blade onto the ground. He had to admit that Rimuru was a formidable opponent. Geld glanced at his arm, the black flame still burning at the end and preventing him from regenerating his arm. Without so much as a blink, Geld ripped the remaining part of his arm off at the shoulder. He devoured his own arm, allowing himself to heal. Everyone watched in horror as tendons and muscles stretched outwards, forming a new arm before the orc's skin covered up the red.

"This time, I will eat you!" Geld formed more balls of energy and launched them at Rimuru. As they flew through the air, they separated into hundreds of orbs, all of which Rimuru devoured easily. Despite having done so to all of the previous attacks using the energy, it seemed like Geld didn't really learn the first time. The Kijin watched as Rimuru, without so much as a glance away from Geld, absorbed the pink energy from both the front and back. They knew they had nothing to worry about. After all, Benimaru wouldn't have accepted to have just anyone be their master.

Geld, using the distraction from the orbs, launched himself forward and landed behind Rimuru. Grabbing the slime he laughed. All the Kijin tensed as they watched, but no one moved forward. Rimuru had a better chance defeating the orc lord without any of them being in the way. Plus, they all believed that Rimuru could handle this. After all, this was their master.

"I'm going to devour you right now!" Geld laughed as he held Rimuru up in front of his face. Rimuru said nothing in reply as the whites of his eyes turned red and glowed eerily. From beneath Geld, an sigil formed. None of the kijin recognized the sigil, but the purpose quickly came to light when a column of flames burst from the ground below Geld. The pig screamed as his flesh burned. Rimuru remained calm in Geld's grasp. Everyone watched on in anticipation, waiting for Geld to be finished. To everyone's shock, the flames died down and Geld's screams of pain turned into laughter. His regenerative ability had neutralized the fire's damage, and he emerged with a resistance to fire.

"It appears fire has no effect on me," Geld laughed as he stared at Rimuru.

"Is that right?" Rimuru casually brushed off. "You might have been happier burning to death. I've acknowledged you as an enemy. Now I'll take you on for real."

Geld laughed, loudly, throwing his head back as he thought that Rimuru was joking.

"Does that mean you weren't serious before now?" Geld asked after he calmed his laughter. "There is nothing more you can do! Just accept that I'm going to eat you!"

Rimuru said nothing as green threads of mist trailed up from Geld's hand that was wrapped around Rimuru. Geld felt no pain, so his grip didn't falter, but Rimuru was in the process of melting his hand from the inside. From the bottom, Rimuru began dispelling his [Mimic] and the blue slime reached outwards from the bottom of Geld's fist, trailing up his arm.

"Before you can eat me, I'm going to eat you," Rimuru explained simply. I'm a slime." Rimuru completely reverted to his slime form, using his magicules to increase his mass as he wrapped around Geld. Geld's entire torso was highlighted blue as Rimuru expanded outwards.

"Wh-Why, you..." Geld cursed in anger as Rimuru continually covered more and more of his exposed flesh.

"You're not the only one who can eat things!" Rimuru taunted next to Geld's face. Dropping to wrap around his shoulder, Rimuru next appeared in front of Geld's eyes.

"Will you eat me first..." Rimuru avoided a swipe of Geld's hands and appeared back over his shoulder. "Or will I eat you first? The one who completely consumes the other wins!"

Rimuru continued expending magicules to engulf Geld. The Orc roared out in anger, desperately pulling at the sections of slime on his body, only to have them slip between his fingers and reform on his body. Rimuru continued wrapping around his body, extending from his legs to his head. As Geld continued to pull at the slime, more of his body was covered with each section he managed to fight off. Despite fighting a losing battle, Geld continued screaming out, grasping at what he could and tearing off as much as he could reach. It was to no avail.

The Kijin watched on, fully expecting Rimuru to win. Their expressions held no semblance of surprise as Rimuru overpowered Geld's [Starved] with his [Predator]. They watched calmly as Geld screamed.

The orc army, in their shock, had mixed reactions. Half of them remained still and the other half surged forward. The ones that got too close for the kijin's liking were quickly taken out from a distance, either via Katsumi's iced blades, Benimaru's flames or Souei's threads.

If you are 'Starved,' then I am a 'Devourer!'

Rimuru's voice rung through the silent air. No one refuted his declaration as the slime completely overpowered the Orc Disaster and engulfed his entire body.

The Kijin watched with varying levels of interest as the Demon Lord Geld fell to his knees, the transparent blue slime covering every inch of the orc. The goblins turned away as Geld's skin began to dissolve, revealing the red muscle underneath. The Kijin didn't bother since this wasn't the worst they've seen. Continuing from the skin, the muscle began to be eaten away by Rimuru, leaving the bones. Despite that, Geld was still completely conscious, his eyes moving slightly as he struggled against Rimuru. No one moved a muscle, knowing that Rimuru wouldn't lose this fight. They watched as Geld eventually gave up and Rimuru finished devouring the Demon Lord Geld, bones and all.

At the end, as the sun rose behind, all that was left was a pillar of slime in a stagnant battlefield. Orcs, gobins, lizardmen and kijin watched in silence as the slime twirled upwards, exploding into black mist as Rimuru was revealed in his human form.

"Rest in peace, Geld," Rimuru said up to the rising sun. In Geld's last moments, Rimuru had come to understand the Orc Lord. The Demon Lord Geld acted out of the best interest of his own people and was misguided by Gelmud. The Rimuru who swallowed his sins would take in all his wrongs and guilt, leaving him only peace.

With the Orc Lord defeated, the effects of [Starved] also vanished. At that moment, the advance of the orcs was halted. The orc army collapsed on their knees, crying out for their fallen brethren and for their king. They gripped their heads as they came back to their senses and cried out for the brethren they consumed.

Rimuru landed back on the ground, turning to face the lizardmen, goblins and Kijin who cheered loudly for his victory. The Kijin who had all fully expected this outcome only smiled as everyone around them exploded in excitement. Their revenge was completed. They had avenged their fallen village.

"I guess it's over," Rimuru said as he and the Kijin stood atop a hill by the forest line overlooking the marsh. Benimaru stood at the front of the group facing Rimuru with the rest of the kijin not far behind him. They had all agreed with Benimaru that there were no objections to staying under Rimuru's rule. In fact, they might've preferred it over leaving.

"I promised that you'd be free once the Orc Lord was defeated," Rimuru reminded them. "Thanks for all your help."

The kijin stared back at him in silence for a few seconds, the sun rising higher and higher in the sky, illuminating the now peaceful marsh.

"Rimuru-sama, I have a favor to ask," Benimaru said with all seriousness.

"What is it?"

"Please accept our allegiance. We will continue to serve you." Benimaru inclined his head toward Rimuru slightly, followed by the other kijin who did the same.

"You're sure?" Rimuru asked, a bit shocked. He hadn't really expected it since they hadn't seemed like they wanted to stay at the beginning.

"I have no objections," Hakurou agreed

"We are truly fortunate to have met you," Souei added

"I'm your secretary and bodyguard, Rimuru-sama!" she declared happily. "I'll never leave your side!"

"You've helped us achieve your goal, and so we now will help you achieve yours. We'll never betray you, if you accept us as your subordinates," Katsumi summarized.

"Not until the ends of our lives," Benimaru vowed. With that, they had all stated their intentions to stay.

"O-Okay," Rimuru agreed, slightly shocked at their decision, though he was happy. The kijin had proven that they were strong, extremely strong, and would be a great addition to their village. Not only were the almost scarily powerful, but they had assumed positions in the growing town that would be hard to fill if they left. Thankfully, it appeared that filling their roles was one less task for Rimuru.

~~~

The kijin were camped out in various trees for the night, awaiting the discussion that was to take place the next morning regarding the aftermath of the war. The kijin were stationed quite far from each other to keep a close eye on the situation. There was to be no more fighting between any of the three armies, but Rimuru wasn't confident in Gabiru's lizardmen since they seemed agitated about their fallen comrades. Despite the kijin having met a fate worse than a few soldiers falling, they were more calm and obeyed Rimuru, so he wasn't worried about them.

Katsumi sat atop a branch, watching over a nearby section of lizardmen who were eyeing the nearby orcs warily. The orcs had huddled together and kept to themselves, as if knowing that they had caused a horrible war. In a way, Katsumi felt that it wasn't their fault as they were listening to the Orc Lord Geld, but someone still had to take responsibility for all the innocent lives lost. She sighed and closed her eyes, hoping to get a bit of rest before the meeting. Who knew what kind of headache would arise tomorrow?

It had been a while since she had slept alone an entire night, and, if Katsumi had to be honest, she wasn't really looking forward to it. Benimaru had curbed her nightmares simply by being next to her, but she wasn't even sure that he could help even if she sought him out at the moment due to her never ending guilt for the death of her parents. Now that the Orc Lord was defeated and the army was back to their senses, there was no one but herself to blame for her parents' death.

~~~

She was back in front of the orc general, her parents' dead bodies lying on the ground. Their blank eyes stared right at her, accusing her of killing them. Katsumi shut her eyes and turned away from the sight.

"Look at them, kijin," the orc general taunted.

"I have a name, you pig," she spat venomously as she purposely avoided looking at her parents as she turned her glare to the general. He laughed.

"A name you don't deserve. What monster kills their own parents?"

"Says the one that tore into children and your own brethren. Who is the worse one?" The orc general said nothing in response for a second, before bursting into loud laughter.

"You admit that you killed them. I suppose that's only right since you used [Haemokinetics] against the lord, didn't you? You accepted that you killed them when you used this ability. What a monster your parents raised." Katsumi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He was just trying to provoke her. That's all it was. However, it wasn't working as she felt the words settle within her heart and weigh it down.

"Your army has fallen. No matter what, I've gotten my revenge. If you hadn't crossed in our village, my parents would still be alive." Her glare pierced through the orc general, but he remained unfazed.

"Turn around," he commanded. She refused and defiantly stared into his eyes as a challenge. The orc general growled in annoyance.

"Turn around!" He yelled. "Turn around and tell me if you can say the same thing again!"

Katsumi, unaware of what he was talking about, slowly turned around to see, but it was to her horror that as soon as she saw her blue-haired cousin standing in front of her, her sunset eye throbbed and Souei doubled over in pain. It took only a few short seconds before he collapsed on the ground, dead.

"Soon, [Haemokinetics] will search for your next of kin. It will never be satisfied since you wield a great power. You will be the death of all your family."

~~~

Katsumi woke up abruptly and gasping for air. She had never heard of [Haemokinetics] targeting next of kin after the death of the parents, but there was no way to be sure. The orc general in her nightmares could be fibbing, or it could be the personification of [Haemokineitcs] warning her of what's to come. She curled up on the branch, pulling her legs to her chest as she sobbed to herself. She was scared.

Rigur, who was going around with his wolf on the orders of Rimuru, heard her sobs. He looked up slightly and saw her shivering form on the branch. He had never seen her like this.

"Katsumi," he called, causing her to flinch and quickly wipe away any tears. It was to no avail as her eyes were red and swollen. "Are you okay?"

Scared that her voice would be shaky, she simply nodded, but when Rigur didn't leave, her sobs started again. With a gentle voice, Rigur managed to coax the kijin from the trees, and tried to console her as best he could.

"Please get Benimaru for me," Katsumi pleaded through her sobs. Rigur furrowed his brows and patted her back gently. He felt his heart break a little as she sought out Benimaru in her moment of distress and appeared to not even consider opening up to the goblin. Even if she didn't admit her feelings, even Rigur could tell that she felt something more than friendly for Benimaru. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. He sighed, but nodded anyways. It wouldn't be a good time to try to argue. It hurt him that she sought out another male, but it felt more painful to see her sobbing and clearly hurting mentally.

"You want me to get Benimaru?" he repeated softly. Somewhere inside him, he wanted Katsumi to say no and ask him to stay with her. To his dismay, she nodded. "I'll go get him, just calm yourself down for now, Katsumi."

With a worried glance back at her, Rigur rushed off on his wolf toward Benimaru's assigned area. When he made it, he quickly told Benimaru what happened and the red-haired kijin rushed off without so much as a glance back. Rigur sighed and slid down against the tree that Benimaru had been sitting under as he kept watch. For now, Rigur would cover for the kijin.

With one more scan around the area, Rigur settled in his own thoughts. Perhaps it was time to ask Katsumi how she actually felt... whether it meant that he had to give up or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey everyone!

Thank you for waiting! I tried to add some fluff into this chapter, as I always try to do, so I hope you enjoy it!

For those of you that have read Black Shadow, I was brainstorming ideas for their little family adventures. I'm in the process of drafting a few ideas, but if y'all have anything specific y'all want to see play out for their family, let me know! I'm interested to hear what y'all imagine for them. <3

As always, let me know your thoughts on the chapter. Stay safe and healthy!
ThePurpleDragon