Katsumi grinned as she got a third serving of the knight spider meat, her first two having been devoured almost instantly. Someone had been smart enough to bring back two entire knight spiders considering that they now had at least fifteen more human mouths to feed, if not more.

"I'm not sure how you stay so thin when you eat about the same amount as me," Benimaru said to her as she returned to the table they were sitting at. He had just finished his fourth serving of the night.

"I'm growing," Katsumi simply refuted, wasting no time in digging into her food.

"Growing? You didn't grow at all in the last three years. In fact, you shrank, little Tetra," Benimaru quipped back, a slight bubble of laughter escaping.

She glared at him, gulping down her food before spinning to face him. Clamoring onto her knees on the bench, she reached over, pressing both her hands on his head and using her weight to push his upper body down.

"Who's short now, huh, you damn rhea?" Katsumi smirked as she let go of him to catch a glimpse of his glare. "I'm not as tall because I evolved into a Kijin. If you're counting that I could say that you shrunk too." Katsumi huffed.

"Alright, alright. I get it. You're sensitive about your shortness," Benimaru shrugged. He flinched and laughed as Katsumi screeched his name and hit him on the arm. It didn't hurt at all, though, so he decided to taunt her a bit more. "Did you even hit me just now?"

"I swear, Benimaru. Do you want it to hurt? I'll make the slap hurt," Katsumi threatened back jokingly. The amusement in her eyes told Benimaru that she wasn't serious about it at all.

"Alright, children," Shuna interrupted as she set down her filled plate. It was at the very least her second plate, and she surely wasn't done for the night. "I think we should just all eat our fill and -"

"You're just defending her because you're short too," Benimaru interrupted, sticking out his tongue. Shuna's expression darkened, though her smile remained.

"Brother, did you want to repeat that?" she asked threateningly. Benimaru flinched at her expression and quickly shook his head. Seeing that, Katsumi pouted, turning away with a small 'hmph' and a complaint about how he wasn't scared of her threats. Benimaru noticed it, laughing slightly as he pulled her back toward him and gave her a peck on the cheek in apology.

~~~

"Rimuru-sama?" Katsumi called as she poked her head through the doorway. Benimaru was off in the hot springs with Souei after their feast, so there was no way the two of them would hear her conversation with Rimuru.

Rimuru turned around in his human form.

"Katsumi? Did you need something?" Katsumi shyly entered the room, her hands tightly gripped together in front of her as she took small steps toward Rimuru. When she got in front of him, she dropped to her knees and bowed.

"Katsumi?!" Rimuru screeched in surprise. She kept her position.

"I have a request for you, Rimuru-sama," she started. Rimuru forced himself to calm down and hear her out. Katsumi raised her head slightly to look at Rimuru, her heterochromatic eyes focusing on his. "Can you remove this curse from my bloodline? I don't want my children to go through the same things that I did..."

Rimuru pondered over it. He did want to help her, but could he really? This was a curse on her bloodline and he had no experience whatsoever with curses, much less removing one. Despite that, her eyes showed that she was absolutely pleading with him, and he couldn't ignore it. Rimuru sighed.

"First of all, get up, Katsumi. You don't need to bow that low." Katsumi followed his orders and rose, changing her position so that she was sitting with her legs tucked under her. "Second, aren't you only 16? Why're you concerned with children at such an early age?"

Katsumi blushed, hiding her face with her blue hair.

"O-ogres are a warring race," she stuttered out. "In order to keep our numbers strong, we consider having children early in our lives. That way, if we were to fight and perish, our bloodline would continue."

"You're kijin now, and you're under my protection. I really doubt you'd have to worry about dying." Katsumi blushed even harder at Rimuru's words. Noticing this, he quickly added more to his statement to hopefully correct himself. To be honest, the only reason he said that was because he, as a former human, thought that 16 years old was way too young to be concerned about children. "Ah, but I suppose that is the way the world is. No matter. You said the curse is in your bloodline, right?"

Katsumi nodded. Her blush had faded slightly. Rimuru thought about it for a second.

"Give me a week. I'll see what I can come up with, but there are no promises for anything. I've never worked with a curse before." Katsumi nodded in understanding, but the hope in her faded just a little bit. If Rimuru wasn't able to find a solution, then the curse would never leave her bloodline.

A bit downcast, Katsumi retreated from his house, walking down the stone street back toward Benimaru's house. Her own had been mostly abandoned ever since she started staying with Benimaru. Even if she didn't get nightmares anymore, it just felt wrong to sleep without him, so most of her belongings ended up moving to his house and her's became vacant.

As she wandered down the path, she saw a familiar figure standing at the forest line. It was a hobgoblin wearing a red bandana. She took a deep breath and made a beeline toward him.

"Rigur," Katsumi called lightly. He flinched and turned around to face her. She felt her heart drop as she saw how red his eyes were from crying.

"K-Katsumi," Rigur stuttered out. He quickly wiped his tears away, but she had already seen it. She lowered her head and stared at the ground.

"I'm sorry Rigur. You're a really good friend so I don't want to hurt you..." Katsumi trailed off, not knowing what more to say. She didn't want to, but she did. Rigur shook his head.

"Don't worry about it Katsumi. It just wasn't meant to be, that's all. I should've known from the beginning anyway that there wasn't a chance for me. After all, I was up against Benimaru."

"No, no!" Katsumi quickly waved her hands. "Don't compare yourself like that Rigur. It's just, I think that I've liked Benimaru for longer than I realized myself. It's not that you didn't have a chance because it was Benimaru. If I didn't already have feelings for him, perhaps I would've liked you back. Don't look down on yourself like that, Rigur."

Rigur stared at her, taking in her words. Then, he smiled. Albeit it was a sad one, it was a smile nonetheless.

"Thanks, Katsumi," Rigur said. He may not have won over the person he liked, but hearing her say that he would've had a chance had the circumstances not been as they were, it made him a bit happy.

The two of the stood in a comfortable silence for a bit, neither one saying anything as they peacefully mended their friendship.

"You should get going, Katsumi. Benimaru's going to worry about you being no where to be found at this time," Rigur said with a slightly chuckle. Katsumi smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You should head back too. Be careful not to catch a cold, Rigur." She waved her hand at him as she slowly turned around to leave. Rigur hesitated for a second before calling out to her one last time.

"Katsumi," he said, his voice just a tad louder to reach her. She turned her head around as she hummed in acknowledgement. "I hope that you and Benimaru are happy together."

Katsumi's eyes widened for a bit. Rigur's smile and his excited waving told her that he meant every word he said, and so she smiled a bright smile.

"Thank you, Rigur," she replied. With one last wave to him, she headed back to Benimaru's, a smile on her face at the thought of not losing Rigur as her friend.

~~~

"Do I have to?" Katsumi whined as Benimaru tried to pull her out of bed. She was holding tightly onto the opposite edge, as Benimaru was pulling at her ankles.

"Yes, I'm not going to sit through another of Shion's lunches by myself!" Benimaru complained as he finally managed to detach her from the bed. She slid over the covers, flailing helplessly as Benimaru pulled her up. Slumping over in his arms, she mumbled curses about how she hoped that Benimaru would choke on Shion's concoction.

"C'mon, Katsumi," Benimaru smirked as he held her in his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her upright while she withered away.

"I think I'm going to die," Katsumi said dramtically, holding a hand up to her forehead. "I think I need to lay down and -"

"Nope." Benimaru interrupted. "Not happening. If you're feeling unwell, I think lunch would be a great way to get some energy, right?" Katsumi glared at him, to which he returned an innocent smile.

"I swear Benimaru, you're asking to die today." Katsumi's glare didn't let up as she pointed a finger threateningly at him.

"You're about as terrifying as a bass, love,"Benimaru deadpanned, staring down at her without a hint of fear in his eyes. She blushed at the word 'love' and huffed as she turned away.

"If you love me, why're you making me eat Shion's cooking," Katsumi said, trying a different tactic. She put the cherry on top with sparkling puppy eyes aimed at her lover. The last thing she wanted today was to sit at a table to poisonous food. It was a wonder Benimaru was even alive after all this time.

Benimaru stayed silent for a second, as if thinking of what to say. After a few more seconds, he let out a sigh.

"Fine," he said as he gave in. Katsumi brightened. "But you have to kiss me."

"Easy," she said with a smile. She leaned in, as if going to kiss him on the lips, before she dodged and touched her lips to his cheek. She withdrew, a small blush on her face as she smiled innocently while he glared at her.

"That's not what I meant,,," Benimaru complained slightly as he leaned toward her,

"You asked for a kiss but you didn't say where," Katsumi defended with a shrug and a giggle. It was clear, however, that she had done that on purpose.

"I will make you eat Shion's cooking," Benimaru threatened jokingly. Katsumi gasped, slapping Benimaru on the chest.

"Hey! I did what you asked so keep your promises!" Benimaru said nothing, only tapping his lips lightly in expectation. She huffed, but gave in and pressed her lips to his. Katsumi was going to pull away, but Benimaru's grip tightened around her so she couldn't move. After a couple seconds, she started hitting his chest, so he let go of her. As they separated, she took in a deep breath of air.

"You have to breathe through your nose, love," Benimaru said with a laugh.

~~~

Katsumi stomped into Shuna's workshop, her face scrunched in frustration and anger. With a huff, she plopped down on the chair. Shuna looked up from her seat in front of the weaver.

"What's wrong, Katsumi?" Shuna asked in concern. Ever since Benimaru and Katsumi got together and after Rigur and her figured things out, it had been rare to see a genuine frown on her face. Shuna, being just a few months older than the blue-haired kijin, made her way to stand in front of her. The younger kijin stared at the pink-haired princess as tears welled up in her eyes. Leaning forward she latched her arms around Shuna's waist and cried into her stomach

"Your brother is an absolute jerk," Katsumi wailed. Shuna tilted her head in confusion, patting her back gently to try to get Katsumi to calm down, so Katsumi continued. "Benimaru told me that the flower clip I have is old and childish and that he would get me a new one." Katsumi released Shuna, wiping away a few tears as she sniffled. She unclipped the blue flower from her sash and held it gently in her hand. After all this time, despite the small scratches and various wear and tear, it was in very good condition. The memory that came with this flower was more precious to her than anything else, and Benimaru had the nerve to even suggest replacing it. Another flood of anger and sadness washed through her

Shuna's eyes widened in shock, then anger filled her. The pink-haired kijin turned away from the table, stomping to the door.

"Where are you going, Shuna?" Katsumi called as Shuna swung her door open. She turned back just barely.

"I'm going to go knock some sense into that brother of mine,"

With that, Shuna rushed out the door. Katsumi didn't follow, the annoyance, sadness and anger flowing through her made her want to launch Benimaru out the window and to the next town. Instead, she remained, holding the flower in her hand carefully as she admired it. The blue hadn't faded all these years and it just made her remember the day that Benimaru had given it to her. Even now, that was one of her best days.

"I got this for you, Fish." The young master pulled out a flower hair clip ornament. It was a beautiful light blue, five petal flower that matched her hair perfectly. The petals faded from a darker blue to an almost white color.

"Why are you giving me a gift?" she asked, tilting her head to the side cutely.

"Until this flower dies, remember that I will always need you by my side," the young master replied as he clipped the flower onto the right side of her hair.

"It's not a real flower. It doesn't die," the blue-haired girl said confused as she reached a hand up to gently touch the ornament.

"Exactly," the young master smiled cheekily.

"It was adorable," Katsumi whispered to herself with a smile. It faded as she remembered Benimaru's words from earlier.

"Should I get you a new flower?" Benimaru asked from the bed as he watched her clip the familiar blue flower into her hair. She had been wearing that same one for years now. Katsumi froze, her hand in her hair as she stared at Benimaru through the mirror. Clearly, from his expression, he had no idea how much this flower meant to her. Slowly, she lowered her hand, the flower still gripped carefully. He didn't mean what he just said, right? He's just half asleep since he just woke up from a nap, right?

"A new flower?" she echoed. Benimaru didn't hear the danger in her voice as he shrugged.

"You've had that one for years now. I'll buy you a prettier flower. That one looks like a child picked it out." Benimaru smirked lazily, expecting her to accept his offer. As she turned around, his smirk turned into a frown as he noticed that she was anything but happy. Her eyebrows were furrowed in anger while her heterochromatic eyes glossed over with tears.

"W-What..." Benimaru trailed off. He sat up, sliding off the bed to take a couple steps toward her, only to be stopped by her glare.

"A prettier flower?" Her eyes flared with anger and annoyance as Katsumi clipped the flower onto the sash of her kimono instead. "I don't think you understand what exactly you just said, Benimaru."

He flinched at her tone. It was rare to see Katsumi angry, but when she was, it was downright terrifying. The gentle girl wasn't easy to anger, but clearly he had said something wrong.

"I was just thinking that the flower is too childish -"

"A child did pick this out, Benimaru," she interrupted. "A child gave this to me."

"Who, someone from our village? You've had it for years now, haven't you." Benimaru frowned. "It wasn't one of those guys that kept trying to ask you out was it?"

"Yea, it was," she spat angrily, her fury rising with each word that came out of his mouth.

"What?! Who was it?! I should've -"

"It was you, damn it!" She yelled, her voice breaking slightly. She angrily wiped away the tears that slipped down her cheeks. Clearly, he forgot about the significance of the flower, and it hurt her to find out. Benimaru's eyes widened.

"When did I..."

"You told me that you would need me until this flower died, right?" Katsumi glared at him as she crossed the room and grabbed her claymore. Benimaru could only watch her movements as recognition flashed through his eyes. He had royally messed up. How could he have forgotten? Even half asleep he should've remembered... "This flower was the only thing that let me keep my sanity and it was the only reason I made it out of that orc army alive, so don't you dare even say a word about if it is childish or old."

"Katsumi... I..." Benimaru had no idea what to say to fix it. She glared at him, strapping the claymore across her back as she pulled her hair over her shoulder.

"Don't think about talking to me." She gave him one last glare. "I'm heading out."

"BENIMARU!" Shuna screamed as she burst through the door to his house. He was sitting at the table with his head down while Souei sat across from him. Despite Souei's usually stoic expression, he now wore one of annoyance as he crossed his arms and leaned back.

"Did Katsumi tell you?" Benimaru asked dejectedly, not even raising his head.

"Of course she told me! What were you thinking you damned idiot?!" Shuna scolded as she marched right up to the red-haired kijin.

"I wasn't thinking. I know I screwed up," Benimaru sighed.

"I already lectured him, Shuna," Souei added from across the table.

"Well then you're about to get another lecture. What are you doing making Little Blue cry?!" Shuna whacked her brother on the back. He normally would've voiced a complaint, but he knew he deserved it at the moment.

"I was half asleep..." Benimaru defended weakly, his voice sounding too quiet, even to himself.

"Do you even dare to use that as an excuse?!" Shuna screeched. He shook his head. "That's what I thought. That flower means more to Katsumi than her life probably. Even half asleep, you can't say things like that."

"I know that," Benimaru replied miserably. He had no idea why he had forgotten about the flower for even a second. He regretted every word he said about replacing the flower. What was wrong with him earlier?

"I hope you know that she's livid right now," Shuna said, finally letting up on her brother. "I'm pretty sure I heard her mumbling about wanting to throw you into the next town over as I left. Getting on that girl's bad side is like asking to be murdered..."

"What can I even do to make it up to her?" Benimaru asked, lifting his head slightly to look at Shuna and Souei. Even though Souei was also mad at the fact that Benimaru made his cousin cry, he also knew that he had to help Benimaru to make his cousin happy again.

"Don't buy her a new clip," Souei said, stating the obvious. Benimaru glared at him for saying something that even he knew already.

"Give her some space maybe," Shuna suggested. "If you try to talk to her right now, I wouldn't be surprised if she flung you out the window."

"What do I even say when she is willing to talk though?" Benimaru asked. He had no idea how to pull himself out of the hole he dug.

"Just apologize. Let her yell at you some more maybe," Shuna shrugged. She honestly didn't know how to help him either.

~~~

Katsumi found herself swinging her calymore in the open field just outside of town, her anger fueling her energy as she practiced her swordsmanship. She wanted to imagine that the dummy she had dragged out was Benimaru, but she couldn't tell if that made her hesitate in swinging her sword or if it encouraged her to lop its head off.

She sighed in annoyance after about two hours of training. She had barely broken a sweat and her anger was still raging inside her. Throwing her claymore to the grass, she laid on her back, letting the wind blow across her.

"Katsumi, do you want to spar?" Katsumi's heterochromatic eyes snapped open to meet her cousin's bright blue orbs. She huffed and stuck her hand out, waiting for her cousin to pull her up off the grass. He did just that, using his foot to throw her the claymore as he drew his own blades.

"Are you sure you don't want to warm up first?" Katsumi asked with a smirk as she watched Souei pull out his double blades. "You're more of a stealth fighter than front lines, aren't you? Plus, we don't want my blade to be pointed at your neck in no time, now would we."

"I thought we agreed not to bring that up again," Souei said with a playful glare to his cousin. His first loss to her truly was an embarrassment to him. She said nothing in reply, only giving him a smirk before launching herself forward.

The two of them sparred for at least an hour and a half, throwing taunts back and forth while their blades clashed. It was the best stress reliever for Katsumi, but at the slightest thought of her red-haired lover, her annoyance flared up again and she lost the focus she needed for training. Souei quickly overpowered her, disarming her sword and pointing the blade at her neck. She sighed as she held her hands up in surrender.

With another dejected sigh, Katsumi sat down on the grass again with her knees pulled to her chest. She patted the ground next to her, a silent invitation for Souei to sit.

"I gave him one hell of a lecture earlier," Souei told her as she leaned his head on his shoulder. He reached up, gently patting his cousin's long blue hair.

"Why did he say that, Souei?" Katsumi asked sadly as her anger was replaced with hurt and disappointment. Souei stayed silent. Even Benimaru didn't know what came over him when he said all that, but those weren't the words Katsumi needed. Yet, there was nothing that could even possibly be a good explanation as to why Benimaru had hurt her so much with his words, so Souei stayed quiet.

It hurt to watch his cousin silently cry beside him, but he didn't know what to say or do. He couldn't go pummel Benimaru into the ground because, whether she was angry or not, Katsumi and Benimaru were still lovers and so she would hate Souei if he were to hurt him badly. At the same time, he couldn't tel her to just forgive Benimaru because that would be like rubbing salt into her wound. Souei could only sit in silence and hope that his presence was some form of comfort for her at the moment.

~~~

Katsumi's rage lasted for at least three days. For the three days, she had actually slept in her own house instead of Benimaru's, which made his bed feel too large and cold. He was used to having her next to him while he slept and he was used to seeing her face right when he woke up. When she saw him, she would let out a small huff and turn away. If they were forced to be in the same room, she barely addressed him.

Benimaru sighed as he flopped face down onto his bed. Katsumi was hurt more by his words than he had originally thought. Should he get her flowers as an apology? A new blade sheathe? A ring? While he pondered over this, a presence in the village caused Benimaru to jump off the bed. Even if he was having troubles in his love life, he had a job to do as the general of the city of Rimuru. He would have to put his plans to plead for forgiveness on hold for now.

Right as Benimaru appeared in the center of the village by Rimuru and the human adventurers, Katsumi, Hakurou and Souei also arrived. They had all felt the presence of a newcomer. Benimaru spared a glance at Katsumi who didn't even bother looking back at him. She knew it was getting ridiculous in regards to how much she was holding onto her anger, but she just couldn't let it go no matter how many times she told herself to just forgive and forget.

In front of them a Dryad appeared, though the aura around her was different. She looked almost identical to Treyni, except for the hairstyle. The normally green hue around Dryads was tainted red.

"I-It's a Dryad!" Gido stated in shock as he stood up off the ground.

"I've never seen one before..." Kaval said from behind the cart of Knight Spider pieces.

"I am the Dryad Trya," she finally introduced, though her tone was desperate with a hint of sadness, "the younger sister of Treyni."

"What's with that form and the murderous aura?" Rimuru asked for everyone from Eren's arms.

"There is an emergency," Trya replied. "Calamity is approaching. A calamity-class monster, Charybdis, has been revived."

"Charybdis?" Rimuru echoed in confusion while the kijin only shared a knowing look between one another. Charybdis was a monster that could rival even the Demon Lords. It's awakening truly was a calamity.

"Its violence equals that of a Demon Lord," Trya explained for Rimuru. "My sisters, including Treyni, have set out to slow its progress, but they are no match for it. And it appears Charybdis is heading for this land." Silence fell as the group let it sink in.

"Against Charybdis, the Ruler of the Skies, waging war on land is futile," Tyra continued. "I have come to advise you to bolster your defenses and prepare an airborne combat force as soon as possible."

"Trya-san, come with us to explain in the meeting room," Rimuru said, fully understanding the danger this village was in. She nodded and Rimuru quickly called everyone who would be involved to the meeting room.

It didn't take long for everyone to make their way into the seats. Rimuru was at the head with all the kijin, minus Kurobe and Shuna, standing behind him. Directly across from Rimuru sat Trya and Vesta. On the left side of the table sat Gabiru, Soka, Rigurd, Rigur and Shuna. On the right sat Gobta, Kurobe, Kaijin, Fuze and Milim with Eren, Gido and Kaval standing behind Fuze. Once everyone had their spots, Trya explained to everyone about Charybdis.

"Charybdis was born long, long ago, and has died and revived many times," she started. "It is a violent Ruler of the Skies. No less is expected of the child of Veldora, the ruler and guardian of the forest."

"Veldora's child?" Rimuru asked aloud.

"Charybdis was generated from a cloud of Veldora's magicules," Trya explained.

"If Charybdis has revived, it is a threat greater than a Demon Lord." Fuze stood up in his chair. "Unlike a Demon Lord, this is not an opponent we can speak with."

"You might as well call it a monster with no intelligence," Vesta said in agreement. "It's said that it calls shark-like summon monsters called Megalodons from the spirit world to join it in its rampage."

"What the heck? That sounds worse than the Orc Lord..." Rimuru trailed off.

"The situation could not be worse," Trya added. "Its summoned Megalodons have occupied some lesser dragon corpses that were nearby for some unknown reason. They number thirteen."

"Rimuru-sama, what shall we do?" Shuna asked as she stood up from her own seat beside Rigur.

"What do we do?" Rimuru echoed back. "I mean..."

"Haven't you forgotten something important?" Milim interrupted with a confident laugh. "That stupid Charybdis... is no match for me! I'll whoop its butt in no time!"

"We cannot do that," Shion immediately denied from beside Rimuru. "This is our town's problem."

"She's right," Shuna agreed with a nod of her head. "It's wrong to rely on you for everything just because you're a friend. When Rimuru-sama is in desperate need of help, we would certainly appreciate your assistance then."

Milim hung her head in defeat as a depressed aura hung around her head.

"They're right, Milim," Rimuru said trying to ease the childish Demon Lord. "Just have faith in me."

"And I thought... I'd finally get my chance to shine..." Milim trailed off with tears in her eyes as her head remained angled downwards in her sadness at not being part of the fight.

"Begin preparations to defeat Charybdis!" Rimuru announced, choosing to ignore Milim's cries. "We will be fighting Charybdis in the forest between Dwargon and this town."

"Yes sir!" The participants of the meeting saluted.

"Defeat it?" Fuze echoed as most of the group began filing out. "Are you sure you understand? You're up against a beast that even the Dryads couldn't stop." Everyone except Rimuru, Fuze, Eren, Gido and Kaval had left.

"We can count on backup from King Gazel since we signed that treaty," Rimuru explained to Fuze. "We'll just do all we can."

"You aren't going to run away?" Fuze asked.

"What good would that do?" Rimuru refuted. "I'm the strongest one in this nation. If it looks like I stand no chance, I'll run away and think up a new plan, but otherwise, I should see how strong it is with my own eyes, right?"

"I see," Fuze said, turning away with a smirk. "You are the leader of the monsters, after all."

"We're not like Humans who are done for if they lose their king," Rimuru agreed.

"But you know... you think much like we Humans do. It's hard to see you as a monster."

"It might be hard to believe, but I actually used to be human," Rimuru revealed to Fuze and the other humans. "You know about Shizu-san right? I think I'm an Otherworlder, just like she was. I died in my world..."

Rimuru trailed off slightly as he activated his [Mimic] and transformed into a human.

"... and was reborn here as a slime." The humans stared at him in shock.

"Shizu..." Eren trailed off. Rimuru gave her a sad smile as he stared at the mask he held in his hand.

"Shizu-san entrusted everything to me as someone from the same homeland. I gained this form in exchange for inheriting her will. I can't go making dumb mistakes in Shizu-san's form, right?" Rimuru looked up with a sad smile.

"I see," Eren said, relieved. "So Rimuru really is someone we can trust!" Fuze nodded in agreement.

"Beside, I made a promise to her," Rimuru continued. "I promised that I'd clear away the feelings that bind her heart."

Rimuru's smile turned into a slight look of determination.

"My prey is the Demon Lord Leon."

"The Demon Lord Leon?!" Fuze yelled out in shock.

"H-he is?" Eren stuttered out shocked.

"You can't call a major figure like him your 'prey'!" Gido scolded.

"I mean, compared to the Demon Lord Leon, I guess Charybdis would be easier to handle... maybe?" Kaval added on.

"Yeah," Rimuru agreed with all their comments. "The Demon Lord Leon comes later. Charybdis comes first."

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

Hey y'all!

I hope everyone has been healthy and staying safe lately! For all the college students out there, I'm wishing all of y'all the best of luck in midterms and soon to be finals!

Again, thank you for waiting so long for these chapters. College is really kicking my butt. I got to the point last week where I seriously had to consider why I was going to college at all, but I pushed through it. I hope everyone else is having an easier time in school.

As always, let me know your thoughts on the chapter! I haven't been replying as much, but I still read all the comments and I do love to hear what y'all have to say.

Stay safe and healthy,
ThePurpleDragon