Ch 54: The True Purpose of the Gods.

Rimuru and Velda had been fighting for quite a while. Rimuru had summoned his subordinates, so it was no problem to prolong the fight.

In fact Velda was much easier to deal with. He was no longer powerful. This is even normal, since he had separated from Yuuki's body that Rimuru absorbed. Rimuru didn't even need to release the seal of his powers to fight with

Rimuru used his normal katana and Velda used the mysterious black sword.

Rimuru's reason for not releasing the seal and killing Velda quickly is because he wants to find out more about the gods and also Velda's motives. He fears that if he releases the seal Velda will use a soul destroying crystal and kill herself so as not to give out information. Or even run away.

It was a mistake not to kill Velda. It was a mistake not to end the battle right away, and Rimuru would find that out.

"You're holding back, aren't you?" Velda asks.

"Of course."

The two talked a lot during the battle, but most of the time it was Velda trying to annoy Rimuru. Velda knew of Rimuru's real strength, so why did he come to face her in this state? This question was on Rimuru's mind. Ciel couldn't tell either, but she was calculating the possibilities.

"Why are you holding back? Are you underestimating me?"

"No. I need some information from you."

"Oh, you can ask me, if I want I'll answer you."

This exchange of words took place while they were fighting.

Since Velda could run away Rimuru figured there was no harm in asking a few things before that.

"What is your goal?"

"I don't want to answer."

"What is the goal of the gods?"

"I can't answer."

Rimuru clicked his tongue in disgust.

"Okay, I will answer a question of yours. It doesn't matter what it is. Let's have a little talk."

Velda threw his sword away. He seemed really sincere about talking. Apparently he would answer only one question from Rimuru. However it could be any question. Rimuru also threw his katana away.

He then asked what he most wanted to know.

"Where is Hinata?"

Her friend and Chloe's best friend who had been kidnapped by the gods to reveal information about him. Rimuru couldn't help but feel guilty about that. He had to find her. Even though it might be a waste of an opportunity where he could find out more about the gods, Rimuru didn't care. He needed to rescue Hinata.

Little did Rimuru know that this question would change the battle.

".... Ha-ha." Velda laughed. He had just realized how to complete his plan.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's just... this question, I really want to answer. Hinata Sakaguchi, right? She's dead."

"....."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha. And to think you're still so naive, slime. There's no reason to leave her alive. We got the information we wanted and killed her. Simple as that."

"......"

"I stole her memories myself. Then I killed her."

"........"

"And to think that you would believe that she is still alive, you are really naive. I also don't understand why you attach so much importance to that woman. She----"

"Shut up."

Rimuru couldn't stand to hear him talk any longer and cut in. Hinata was a very close person to Rimuru. Even though they had been enemies in the past, nowadays they were very close friends, so Rimuru wasn't going to let Velda talk bad about her.

Rimuru was already very angry with Velda saying that Hinata was dead. Even though Rimuru had no way to confirm if Hinata's death was true, Rimuru didn't want to hear it anymore. It was too much for him. Rimuru was going to confirm himself whether Hinata was alive or dead. But before that he would shut Velda's mouth.

Velda could feel the anger in Rimuru's voice, and exactly why he smiled.

"What are you going to do, huh? Are you going to kill me? You can try."

Rimuru did not answer. Instead he picked up his sword, which he had thrown away, and charged at Velda with all speed. For some reason Velda didn't seem concerned about deflecting or blocking. He just opened his arms as if to say "come". Seeing this Rimuru increased his speed.

[Master, it's a trap!]

However Rimuru did not listen to Ciel and attacked Velda. He successfully drove his katana into Velda's chest.

Ciel realized, Velda was acting strange in this battle. He was all the time trying to provoke Rimuru and trying to make him angry. Another strange gesture was to drop his sword in the middle of the fight and ask Rimuru to drop his sword as well. They could just as well talk with their weapons in hand. Another thing was that there was no advantage in telling about Hiinata's death, even if it was true.

However Ciel realized too late and Rimuru attacked anyway.

"Ha ha. Hahahahahaha! It's done! It's done, Velda-sama!"

"What are you..."

Velda's hair began to turn blond, his clothes began to change, he began to turn into another person. Rimuru had received from Akame the description of some of the gods, and one of them was this one: Eht.

Rimuru was surprised. It wasn't easy to affect him with illusions, so how did Eht/Velda do it?

Rimuru noticed something else change. His katana began to change shape. The katana transformed into the same mysterious sword that Eht/Velda was using. This sword was releasing an energy that even Ciel couldn't analyze.

"Looks like the plan worked. I will free them and revive them!"

Eht seemed to think he would revive for some reason, but Rimuru knew better. Ciel told him that Eht's soul was breaking apart because of the sword, so it would be impossible to revive him. It was then that Rimuru heard a voice

"It seems that everything worked out fine, Eht. But I'm sorry, you will not revive."

Standing behind Eht was Velda. The real Velda.

"What, but I was told..."

"I know. We lied. You wouldn't help if you knew, would you?"

"Vo- You-" Eht realized. He was going to die. He had nothing to do now.

"Soon the plan will be complete." Velda said seriously. This was Velda, now Rimuru was sure.

Actually Rimuru should have suspected that before Velda was Eht as his personality was different, but now he knew, this was Velda.

What is this plan? Rimuru couldn't help but wonder.

Eht had been deceived. He had devoted himself totally to the gods and yet they had betrayed him, lied to him. And now Eht was going to die because of this. Not only that, but his death would complete the plan of the gods who betrayed him.

Now Eht decided, he would take revenge on the gods. Even if he was about to die, he was going to spoil their plans.

"You should not have betrayed me, Velda." Eht declared and formed a mental connection with Rimuru. Ciel realized that this mental connection was only for conversation and not a mental attack, so he did not stop it.

Eht had only a second to live, so Rimuru used thought acceleration.

"What do you want?"

"Tsk, I want revenge and for that I will inform you."

That was it. In his last second of life Eht was going to share as much information as he could with Velda's greatest enemy: Rimuru.

Eht told as much as he could. He didn't have much time. So the first thing he did was share a memory that explained the purpose of the gods.

.....

.....

...

"Hello, Eht. No need to bow down, come."

Velda had called Eht to have an important conversation.

Frankly, Eht was sure he would be killed. The assassin he had hired: Akame, had betrayed them and was now on Rimuru's side. Yet he was surprised that he was still alive.

Velda and Eht sat down at a table.

"The reason I called you here is to tell you about our ultimate goal."

Eht's eyes widened as he heard Velda's words. The end goal was known to few other than Velda, and Eht had done nothing to put him on the same level as the people who knew. In fact he had failed repeatedly.

"I know you must find this strange, but the truth is that you are necessary for this plan. This is also the reason we haven't punished you even after your failures."

"What, Me- I'm sorry, Velda-sama, but how am I necessary for the plan?"

"You have what we call 'The Door'."

Velda explained to Eht, the "Door" was something that held people. There was only one in each universe and if the individual died, the Door would attach itself to another random individual. It was totally impossible to detect it, no matter how good your analysis skills were. The only way to make the Door detectable was if the individual acquired a Supreme or Higher ability.

"You have the 'Lying God Loki' skill, so we can find you."

This skill was focused on illusions and was also is skill that Eht would use against Rimuru in the future.

"Velda-sama, what is the Door?"

"Yes, the Door is one of the elements we need for our ultimate goal: multiversal domination."

"Kuh?" Eht was shocked. That was an extremely large goal. He never thought it was possible. "And-and how will we do that?" He asked. The gods were powerful, but not to the point of being able to dominate all the universes.

"First we get more power and free our leader. For that we need you."

"Our leader?"

"Yes, our true leader."

Velda explained. This "leader" was a very powerful being who also had many powerful subordinates, but he was trapped in an isolated universe that was impossible to access. This universe was created as a prison for them, a prison created by the Star Dragon Veldanava himself.

"The leader is very powerful, you know? He had as much power as Veldanava, the two were even born at the same time. From what the leader told me Veldanava was afraid that the leader would harm the universes that were created, so he sealed the leader and his creations in a universe that was impossible to access."

"Ah, Velda-sama..."

"You are free to ask questions."

"Fufu, okay. So, who is this leader? And if he is in an isolated universe, how do you know these things?"

"The leader as well as his subordinates can't leave that universe, but they can get in touch with people. This is also how various legends were created about them in various universes. And by the way, their names were given to various abilities they have today. The leader contacted me some time ago, his name is Azatoth."

Eht was surprised by this. He had heard the legend of Azatoth before.

"And what does the 'Gate' have to do with these things?"

Velda explained him. The only method of opening the prison universe was to get three items: the Door, the Lock, and the Key.

"The Lock is a Genesis-class sword that we found some time ago. That sword is made from the blood of Azatoth. That part won't be a problem. The problem is the Key. The Key is defined as the most powerful individual in the universes."

"Wait, is that the..."

"Yes, it is our enemy, Rimuru. Azatoth himself confirmed to me that it is him. The problem is how do we get the prison open. There is only one night every billion years when the prison is accessible. On this night we need Rimuru to gouge you with the Lock. However, this blow must be done in anger. Then, yes, the prison will open."

Now Eht understood why they kept going after people close to Rimuru. If any of them died, it would be much easier to make him angry.

Velda also told Eht that he would not die during the 'Opening' of the prison. But this was a lie. Eht wanted to share more memories with Rimuru, but his time was up, he died. Rimuru turned off the thought acceleration and saw Eht's body in front of him, as well as Velda standing behind him. Now Rimuru understood the gods' plan, their ultimate goal. And He was not going to let that happen.

"It is happening." Velda spoke, but it was not to Rimuru. He was in contact with Azatoth.

A small round portal appeared in front of him. A portal as black as the void. On the other side Rimuru could see a legion of people and at the bottom of them, an eye. A gigantic eye that would scare anyone to death, but Rimuru was not intimidated. He gave Ciel an order.

"Ciel-san, release the seal."

[Yes!]

Rimuru released his sealed powers. This was a very serious moment, so he did not hesitate to do so. Rimuru's hair and eyes began to glow. The aura around him was so thick that it would kill a normal person in two seconds.

[Master, I know the best way to stop them].

Ciel explained her plan and Rimuru agreed on the spot. Her plans always worked.

Rimuru had to be as quick as possible, more than ten people were already passing through the portal and just by looking, he realized that they were not weak. All more powerful than demon lords, in fact one of them could rival a True Dragon. These were the ones who were imprisoned along with Azatoth, the gods.

Velda began to list the names of those who had come through the portal and Rimuru felt he heard some familiar ones such as; Achlis, Shub Nyggurath and Odin.

Rimuru quickly went to the portal and tried to destroy it with a sword. Just as Ciel predicted, it didn't work. An invisible barrier stopped him in his tracks.

Velda noticed his actions, but didn't think it was something to worry about. He knew that the portal was indestructible, but just to be on the safe side he still put a guard on it. The others who were also passing through the portal didn't care because they knew of the portal's resistance.

Ciel had detected an unusual barrier around the portal, this barrier was made of a large number of creatures called "Ryv". These creatures were invisible, super small, and super strong. In addition they reproduced quickly, so even if Rimuru broke a part of the barrier they formed, it would be recovered immediately. This barrier was probably made this way because Velda had used the "Space Time Block" so he couldn't make a space barrier, but this was a great barrier.

Rimuru put his hand on the barrier and used "Organic matter control" from "Evil Dragon Lord Aos Dahaka". He disintegrated all the Ryv and shattered the barrier. Rimuru tried to get closer to the portal, but Azatoth's legion didn't seem the least bit happy about it. Both those who had already passed through the portal and those who were still in the prison universe tried to kill him, but he easily drove them away. The only thing that was needed was to release "Stardust Energy" from the "Magic Generator".

Everyone turned away from the energy as they were afraid, but Rimuru knew that given his strength they would soon think of something. So he went straight to the portal and executed the last part of his plan. He used "Consumerism" from "Void God Azatoth" this caused the portal to be transported to his "Infinite Prison". This was Ciel's plan.

Ciel realized that it was impossible to destroy or close the portal, so she decided to adopt this plan. She transported the portal to the Prison inside "Infinite Space" and if anyone went through the portal they would be trapped there. The only other person there is Yuuki, but Yuuki at least has Feldway's soul to talk to. If the gods went through the portal now, they would immediately get stuck.

"Looks like your plan didn't work out, Velda." Rimuru sneered. He could see Velda's serious look staring at him.

"You..."

"Don't worry Velda-sama, twenty of us made it through, now there are other methods." A man with an eye patch spoke up.

"Tsk, if you say so, Odin. Then let's leave. There's no reason for us to stay here anymore." Velda reluctantly chose not to attack Rimuru. But he knew this was the best choice. Rimuru was too powerful.

"Heimdall, be my guest." The old man in the eye patch ordered the man next to him. This man was wearing a large gray armor that covered his entire body. The man named Heimdall took a large axe from his back and dug it into the ground.

"Bifrost."

A pillar of light descended from the heavens and covered all the people there except Rimuru. Rimuru did not attack as Ciel could not analyze the light, so it could be dangerous.

A few seconds passed and everyone who was covered by the light disappeared.

Ciel-san, what happened?

[The analysis was not complete, but I believe it is some kind of teleportation].

I thought space was blocked, how did they teleport?

[It was a teleportation method that doesn't affect space].

I see.

Rimuru undid the protective cube in which he and Velda were fighting. He had a lot to think about this battle, but first he had to check that everyone was okay. He floated down to the ground and released Ciel.

"Master, are you all right?"

Ciel stepped out into Shizu's form with a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah, I just think I was a little shaken when they said Hinata is dead." Rimuru said and stroked Ciel's cheeks.

"Master, you have no way of knowing if it's true. Remember that Eht's ability was 'Lying King Loki'."

"Yes, I know. Thank you for your concern." Rimuru said contentedly "Let's go find the others."

"I don't think there is any need."

"Hm?" As Ciel spoke Rimuru detected several powerful people approaching. He looked in their direction and saw Chloe, Hajime, Akame, Testarossa, Ultima and Carrera.

"Rimuru-san, are you okay?"

"Chloe, of course I am."

Seeing that he was fine, Chloe hugged him tightly. Rimuru didn't know why he was so worried, but he loved the hug.

Chloe is so cute. He thought and stroked her hair. Chloe smiled happily and continued in his arms.

The reason Chloe was worried was because they had found out that the main target was Rimuru. That's why she didn't want to let him go now.

"Are the others okay? Where is Sakura?" He asked worriedly.

"Rimuru-sama, there is no need to worry. The army of those of the demon race has been destroyed."

"Yes! We also slaughtered the heavenly army for you!"

"Exactly! We didn't even leave any bodies behind, no one will even remember your existence!"

Testarossa, Ultima and Carrera spoke respectively. Seeing them say that with a smile on their faces scared Rimuru a little, but he was used to it by now. However, the look on Hajime's face was killing him, you could see it on his face: "Are these your subordinates?"

Hajime used violence without hesitation, but he was not a battle maniac like the three demon girls, so they scared him a little.

"Okay, let's go find the others, on the way I'll explain what happened."

Chloe didn't want to let go of the hug, so Rimuru took her in his lap like a princess. Ciel looked a little jealous next to him.

●●●

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Diablo, a servant of the great Demon Lord Rimuru." Diablo said and bowed with elegant movements. Yet no one paid any attention to his words. Everyone was too afraid for that.

Eri's betrayal had seriously shaken everyone, when Meld was controlled and Hyama also betrayed them everyone was even more shaken, but yet they were still sane. All the students had been well trained, so it was hard to cause panic in them. But to see Diablo with his absolute power, crushing his enemies cruelly and still keeping a smile on his face was too much for them. They all freaked out.

All the students were staring at Diablo with wide eyes and not moving a muscle. They were all wondering what Diablo would want in return for saving them, their souls? For them if it was just the souls it was finez, but everyone believed that would be too benevolent for this evil being in front of them.

"Oh, is there a problem?" Diablo was confused by the students' reaction "Isn't this the moment when they thank me?" He asked addressing Liliana.

"Wiih!" When Diablo spoke to her Liliana fell on her butt on the floor and let out a scream that was very reminiscent of a frightened dog. Diablo threw her another confused look.

Finally someone regained their senses and came to talk to Diablo. It was Kaori.

"O- hello, co- could you tell us y-your name? And- and why did you sav-save us?" Kaori's delicate legs trembled as she spoke. Yet no one blamed her. She was actually the bravest for being able to talk to Diablo.

"Kufufufufufu, of course. Just as I said before, my name is Diablo. And you must be Miss Kaori, right? One of Rimuru-sama's traveling companions."

Everyone was surprised that Diablo knew Kaori, including herself.

"Uh... May I ask how you know me?" Kaori was being super polite, she couldn't piss off the man in front of her. If she did that, it would be certain death. Those were her genuine thoughts. If she had listened to his earlier words she would have been calmer as she would have known that Diablo was sent by Rimuru.

It was then that everyone heard a female voice coming from above. Next to them were two men dressed in black suits. It was Chiron and Spider. They had been sent to protect them during the confrontation with the demon race, but in the end it was not necessary. After the battle they talked to them that they had been sent by Rimuru and they were reassured.

"Kaori-san, are you okay? What happened here?"

They looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yue, Sakura and Shia. Beside them were two men dressed in black suits. They were Chiron and Spider. They had been sent to protect them during the confrontation against the demon race, but in the end it was not necessary. After the battle they told them that they had been sent by Rimuru and they were reassured. Then everyone came to see if their colleagues were all right and also to find out why they hadn't taken part in the battle.

The one who asked the question was Shia, but Yue and Sakura were also worried after seeing so many dead people here and all the blood on the ground.

They landed and Kaori breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them. Actually the male students also seemed calmer after seeing three beauties arrive here.

"Shia-san? Ah, Y- Yes, I'm fine, it's just that..."

"Kh?" Yue let out a groan of surprise. Only now had she noticed Diablo standing there. Her "Detect presence" did nothing. She stopped walking to Kaori and stared at Diablo, Shia and Sakura did the same after noticing him.

However Chiron and Spider kept walking. The two bowed and said, "Diablo-sama, these are the girls you asked us to protect."

"I see. Vampire, Demi-human and... Insectar? Kufufufufu, I never thought I would find a relative of Sir Zegion here."

The three girls grew calmer as they saw Chiron and Spider bowing. This meant that Diablo was also on their side. They trusted Spider and Chiron as Yue assured them that if the two wanted to harm them, they would not need an elaborate plan. Yue knew this as she measured the strength of the two with an eye device she got from Hajime. Hajime gave it to her to find out if there was anyone powerful in the demon race army and if there was, it was for Yue to warn him.

When Chiron and Spider came Yue measured their strength and was scared because these guys were as strong or even stronger than Hajime.

How strong will that guy be, Yue wondered and tried to measure with the eye device.

"Huh?" she let out a confused groan as the device didn't detect anything.

"Kufufufu, you want to measure my strength?"

How!? Yue couldn't help but wonder internally. She thought Diablo would be angry, but it was nothing of the sort.

"With pleasure."

CRICK

"Uh..." The device broke. Yet for a moment Yue got a glimpse of Diablo's strength. It was a terror. It was probably the scariest thing she had ever seen in her life. Maybe it couldn't top seeing Rimuru massacre an army, but it came close.

"Good thing this guy is on our side." Yue said and wiped the sweat dripping on her forehead. Shia and Sakura seeing her reaction were also a little scared. They moved closer to talk to Diablo and Kaori.

"So... What happened around here?"

"Ahhhh... So... it's just that it's kind of hard to explain." Kaori didn't know how to explain and she was still scared of Diablo.

At this moment Shizuku who was suffering the after-effects of Limit Break approached.

"Kaori... Uh... could you help me?" Shizuku said and let out a groan of pain. Kaori immediately went to help her. As Shizuku was healed, she asked, "Do you guys know him?"

"Not exactly, but we have an idea who he is." Shia replied, they had already heard Rimuru talk about some of his subordinates.

"Guys, are you okay?"

Once again a voice was heard coming from above. There was Rimuru along with Hajime, Chloe, Ciel, Akame, Testarossa, Ultima and Carrera.

"Heheheheh, don't worry, Rimuru-sama. I've taken care of everything."

"" "Eh?" ""

Shizuku and the other students had just regained their senses, so they were confused to hear Diablo treat Rimuru so respectfully.

"Ah, that's going to be hard to explain." Rimuru said and sighed.