When in doubt, start a war

In the heart of a ruined city, where the remnants of civilization crumbled under the weight of despair, a lone figure stood against the darkness.

Silver white hair, pure glowing golden eyes, and with his black coat that seemed undamaged even when a battle of extreme ferocity was taking place...

Adam, like a hero, stood alone against the immortal enemy of humanity. 

Countless threads enchanted with destruction were revolving around him

His current opponent, Salem, continued to bombard him with dark torrents of magic. 

Her attacks were of all shapes and sizes, each time, her attacks had minor alterations in order to keep him on the defensive as her Grimm attacked from close range

The air hummed with magic and menace. 

Overwhelming amounts of the magic of old was used in a world that had approached its end in terms of mysticism

However... 

Crackle

The air crackled once again with power as his destruction-coated threads were flicked at incoming dark attacks

Again, the dark attacks dissipated. Quickly returning to pure magical power that was absorbed by the silver-haired boy, further strengthening himself

"I think we've come to a bit of an impasse, haven't we?"

Adam's crisp voice echoed throughout the ruined battlefield that was made out of a city

Every time this witch attacks him with magic, Alpha Stigma and [Great Sage] work in synergy in order to analyze and quickly find a weakness in that specific attack

When a weakness is found, he quickly commands his destruction-coated threads to exploit the weakness of the magical attack. 

In that way, the spells dissipate into their base form- magical power that gets absorbed by him

... This is exactly why Adam is mostly invincible against mages. 

And even if he gets injured, he will quickly regenerate with the help of the fountain of youth he had consumed

"...."

Salem didn't reply. However, she pursed her lips and narrowed her scarlet eyes at him

Indeed, as he said. 

So far, they have been evenly matched. 

The witch tries again and again to use different spells to see what would work against him, while also trying to use her Grimm to overwhelm him

However, such petty tricks won't work on this person. 

Adam recovers his energy every time he devours the magical energy of her broken-down spells. 

And almost all Grimm that came close to him became mere snacks for his [Stomach]

As for the Grimm that used ranged attacks and didn't need to approach him? 

They were sniped by beams of destruction, their fates not being any better than their brethren

"Indeed..."

The white-haired woman muttered, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she stopped attacking him

Her Grimm also stopped, suddenly freezing in place. They went back towards their Queen, the creatures' form becoming hazy as they dissipated back towards her shadow

'Is this woman imitating Sung-ji woo?'

A funny thought came to Adam after seeing this move. It oddly reminded him of The Shadow Monarch

... Though putting things or creatures in one's own shadow isn't common, it's not unheard of in all of the Omniverse. 

And from the fictional worlds he knows, he can think of several in which he has seen people utilize such an ability

"Now that we have come to an impasse....."

With a flick of his finger, two icy chairs appeared between them. After a split moment of thought, the silver-haired boy also conjured a table made of blue ice

Adam walked toward his creation with a brisk pace. He took hold of his respective chair, and sat down

"Shall we discuss about the Relics?"

He stared at her with intensity, his eyes flickering in between a blue and golden glow

... 

.. 

. 

~Rimuru~

Rimuru was... not a smart person

Maybe sometimes she seems a bit naive, or too optimistic... However, she was a middle-aged woman in her previous life, so how could she have such an attitude? 

Reincarnating in a new world full of wonders did a lot to bring back a 'younger' mentality and attitude in her. 

After all, it was every otaku's dream to go to another world with overpowered cheats

So when it actually happened to her... Her personality took a drastic turn

.... Or maybe it was her slime body that affected her mentality? 

Rimuru isn't an expert on how these complicated matters work, but losing one's humanity and becoming a monster race should have changed how she perceives the world

And it did change her- she has already noticed

Well, perhaps staying in a dark cave all by her lonesome made her mind a bit messed up? 

'Welllll, I don't care about this boring stuff anyways' She thought in her mind

She has taken steps to fulfill her dream of a city that houses both humans and monsters in coexistence, and she already has considerable power, so who cares if her personality has changed?! 

'Anyways.... How is the progress, [Great Sage]-san?' 

She asked the skill that has turned into one if her closest partners

[Progress on project "Mapping Atlas and its surroundings" has been completed]

'Completed… But that's still a bit slow...'

She inwardly complained as she carefully utilized her senses to 'see' the floating piece of land called Atlas

After her slight mistake, the Relic of Creation became significantly harder to steal.... 

And Rimuru was a bit embarrassed at her slight 'mishap', but she still volunteered to be the one to scout out Atlas and investigate what happened

And that is why she was currently high up in the atmosphere of Remnant, keeping a distance from this floating city and using her [Magic Sense] to map out the city and its surroundings so a similar mistake doesn't happen

She was using her best magic to hide herself from whatever sensors or satellites Atlas had possibly utilized. 

And she was far enough that they wouldn't notice her, but close enough that she was still in a range where her [Magic Sense] was effective

Adam neither encouraged her, nor forbade her from going on this mission. 

He didn't place too much importance on what Atlas did- as in his eyes, the Relic of Creation was already 'destined' to be stolen by them

That is a bit arrogant of him... But Rimuru knows that his confidence is well-deserved

After all, except potentially Salem and the brother gods who have disappeared, nothing in this world could scratch them

Rimuru herself isn't a cautious... slime, but perhaps out of worry for her companions, she still insisted on doing this

She was suited for this mission as she was a... slime. 

Physical damage was mostly ineffective on her, and she didn't need food, water, or even air in order to live, so it was best that she was the one who would take the 'risk' to do something like this

... Or perhaps she should barge right in there and steal the Relic, ignoring every possible danger? 

She shook her head, dismissing such a dark and reckless idea

[Rimuru...]

Hearing Adam's voice in her head through telepathy, she blinked

'Eh? What's wrong? Why do you sound so-?'

[It's nothing. However... Tell me the speed of your progress, if you can]

She blinked once again, utterly confused at her friend's sudden request

'Why?'

The slime girl asked. Even though she would comply without caring about the reason, she was still curious about what got Adam to become hasty

[.....]

After a bit of silence-

[Get ready....]

Adam replied, his voice tightening in an uncharacteristic seriousness that seemed to condense outwardly and spread even to herself

[We are going to war]

…

..

.

Rias was lazy

She never trained seriously. And she escaped from the underworld, into the human world

No, maybe 'escape' is too strong of a word.... 

She wanted to experience the culture. 

From a young age, she was enamored with Japanese culture. 

And so, having the chance to go to the human world and obtain her own territory in Kuoh was something she would never pass up

After all.... She could rule over a place that was part of the land from which anime and manga originated from! 

She would be an idiot not to take this chance! 

Of course, she also wanted to have the classic high school experience. That is why she enrolled in Kuoh Academy and even made her own club! 

Admin-kun did call her a Japanophile..... 

But so what?! 

Adam obviously loves anime too, so he has no right to judge her! 

"...."

Gently stroking the cover picture of the Dragon Ball manga, Rias' thoughts turned towards the Admin

At first, she thought that he was a no-nonsense type of guy, someone who takes everything seriously, is extremely cautious, and is never relaxed

But.... 

Recent interactions with him have proved that this was just the surface. 

Beyond that serious facade, lies a person who- although prioritizes power- can still have fun and mess around occasionally

... Perhaps he was a bit chunibyo, too. But the redhead supposes that this is a drawback to suddenly gaining so much power

"Hmph"

She pouted. She did not believe his words in the slightest! 

Really, claiming to be 'The weakest member of the group chat', and then going to do such crazy stuff? 

Unbelievable! 

Adam claimed that he gained this power recently.... 

But who would believe that?! Certainly not her

"Ugh...."

Rias voiced out in frustration, putting away the manga she held

She did read most of it, and she does admit that it was far better than the Drag-so-ball of her world... 

But she felt a bit... Empty? No that's not the correct word

Did she... miss that guy?! 

That was absolutely impossible! Sure, she does admit that he was very attractive, smart, surprisingly caring, and unexpectedly gentle-

Feeling her cheeks heating up, she shook her head rapidly. She threw those ridiculous thoughts out of her mind

Huh. While that Adam did beat her ass... He did it for her own good. 

He beat the laziness out of her, and he motivated her to train! 

Well, the method was a bit... unconventional. 

And Rias admits that it hurt her heart when she heard those insults.... But she acknowledges that such a tough approach worked surprisingly well

And now, she doesn't even have the slightest urge to be lazy! 

Oh, she read most of the manga and light novel Admin-san gave to her. 

And she has to say, seeing all those things depicted in the pages made her all fired up! 

She got the sudden urge to get up, train again, and imitiate all those anime and manga techniques!!! 

This is the power of anime(youth)!

"..."

The reason she has not finished everything, though, was because.... Adam left

It wasn't a natural occurrence as it has happened before. 

But the previous times, he had clearly instructed her what she had to practice and train in, and then left as they were repetitive and there was no point in his presence

But now.... He just gave Rias all types of manga and light novels, and then he just left. 

She, of course, didn't miss him! But the redhead was frustrated at his prolonged disappearance

However, a larger part of her was wondering what Adam was up to

'Probably flirting with women....' A part of Rias' mind whispered to her 

Slap

She slapped her forehead with considerable strength, once again trying to drive away her ridiculous thoughts

This is another world, and their mission is to kill Salem so they can get points and get back to their own world

Adam, as the Admin, has the responsibility to take care of their well-being, and plan out subsequent events in a way that makes it so the mission is completed as fast as possible

So, there is no way that guy has gone off to talk to the women of this world

Besides... Is he the type of guy to go up to their enemy and flirt with her?

From her impression of him, the answer was... Of course not! 

[Hey kid!]

Rias stopped her thoughts, movements stiffening at the sudden voice in her head

'What the hell is up with that greeting!?' Her brows twitched

[Whoops, sorry]

'Hmph, you should be-!'

[-Should I say... Hey girly!]

She froze, her retort mercilessly interrupted by his ridiculous reply. 

'.....'

[...]

'Aren't you the same age as me? Why in hell are you using 'kid' and 'girly' to greet me?' 

She was curious as to why Adam suddenly contacted her with telepathy. 

Although they can use this telepathic link to communicate, it is seen as something that must be used when something important comes up. 

It is also quite straining for the Admin to maintain it for a long period of time

Her curiosity was at its peak, wondering what was so important. But.... 

-She was even more curious as to why this guy suddenly called her a 'kid'! 

[.... ]

'... Are you a creepy uncle or something? Or maybe some old guy wanting to force himself on a high school girl?'

Seeing his lack of response, the redhead took the initiative and spoke up sarcastically

[Ahem!]

[....A white-haired creepy uncle had approached me and used this greeting on me, so I was curious about how it sounded on others]

Her eyebrows shot up

'Why did that creepy uncle approach you....?'

After a slight pause, she gasped, eyes widening

'Wait-! Could it be!? Was he into you-!?'

[Perish that thought]

She closed her mouth, his strict voice echoing inside her head

[He was just... worried about me deceiving his 'daughter']

'Were you?'

[...]

After a pregnant pause-

[Wellll.... You know me.... I was just making sure her split personality didn't go crazy and massacre all of humanity]

She facepalmed, her eyebrows twitching

'.....'

Rias took a deep breath. After a moment of silence, she calmed herself in order to reply

'Why did you contact me, anyway?'

She didn't know how the conversation got to this point, but the red-haired girl decided that enough was enough. 

The Admin surely had something important to announce, so it was better for her to not care about his weird experiences! 

[Oh, right!]

The sliver-haired boy exclaimed inside of her head, acting as if he had temporarily forgotten his purpose in contacting her

[Come to Atlas, and get ready for war]

"Oh, okay-"

She reflexively replied, but then her mind fully processed his words, and noticed something wrong

"What!!?"

She stood up suddenly, her eyes widening, her expression gobsmacked

'What did you just say!?'

[Hm? Oh, I said get ready for war]

She gritted her teeth, her palms clenching into fists

The ease at which this guy just said something so ridiculous-! 

It was as if he was talking about what food he would eat for dinner! 

"Fuuu~"

She exhaled a long breath, her devil wings unfolding behind her back

Flinging herself into the air, Rias resigned herself and followed Adam's order, proceeding in the direction he pointed at

... But a war? Perhaps she wouldn't be in danger because of her fellow members.... But she still felt palpitations as she went towards Atlas

... 

.. 

.