The Counter Attack 1

Siting at his desk, Rimuru looked with some disinterest as Mjulan was brought in and seated across from him; of course, Yohm and Grucius came along and were protectively sitting near her. Like before, the majin woman did not look scared or distressed, just resigned. He decided that he would get straight to the point

-'Mjulan, was it? I would like you to tell me your side of events.' he told her calmly. The woman simply nodded

-'As you wish.' she said, then began her explanation 'As you say, my name is Mjulan; I am a follower of Demon Lord Clayman, one of his five Fingers, the Index Finger.'

'Clayman...' he though the name with anger; he remembered how Milim had explained to him that he, along with herself and Carrion, were supporting Gelmud on the Orc Lord project; she had also told him he may have been behind Charybdis, but he ignored it at the time due to lack of evidence. From the other things Milim said, he did not have a good impression of the Demon Lord.

-'My mission was to spy on Tempest...I infiltrated Yohm's group to gain access to the city...' she said as Yohm looked at her, shocked 'later, Clayman had me raise the anti-magic field for him.'

-'I see...' Rimuru said thoughtfully 'are you still giving him reports?' he asked; she shook her head

-'No. In this anti-magic field, I too am incapable of magic.'

-'How were you planing to leave, though?' he asked.

-'I did not.' she answered almost immediately

-'So Clayman abandoned you?' he asked, his opinion of the Demon Lord getting lower by the second

-'Clayman is known as the 'Marionette Master'; he manipulates even his followers like puppets. To him, we are nothing but tools to be discarded when no longer useful.'

-'Why would you follow someone like that?'

-'Ah...' she said, sounding almost amused 'If only...I was originally a human witch; long ago, I was persecuted and hid in a secluded forests, where I lived for several hundred years. Alone, with no friends or family, I spent all my time researching magic. Then...when my life was seemingly at an end, he appeared. He said he would give me eternal youth if I served him...heh...I suppose a naive woman living alone in the woods was a laughably easy target for him.'

-'And he kept his word?' Rimuru asked curious

-'Yes, I suppose he did...but in exchange, I lost my freedom. You see, he used a special ritual, Marionette Heart; it replaced my original heart with a fake, which transforms a human into a majin, but also gives him complete control over your life...or death..'

-'So he literary has complete control over your right to live...how despicable.' he said as he got up and rounded the office 'So because you refused to accept your own death, you have now condemned my people to die, is that it?' he asked in anger

-'Hey boss, wait a...' Yohm tried to protest, but Benimaru quickly shot him down with a murderous look

-'Alright then, tell me this: what is Clayman's real reason for doing all this?' he asked the woman, who looked to contemplate her words before speaking

-'Clayman doesn't tell his puppets anything..' she said 'I presume, based on the tidbits he said, that he intended to foment a war between you and Falmuth; for what reason, I can't tell.'

-'So you don't actually know anything...guess you have no further use then.' he said in a dark tone

-'Hey boss, what are you doing?' Yohm said in a slight panic; ignoring him, Rimuru looked straight at Mjulan

-'Mjulan...I will need you to die.' he told his verdict; even then, she did not flinch, just accepted her fate

-'Wait, boss! I...' Yohm tried to protest, but Grucius shut him up with a shove

-'Quit wasting your time, Yohm...' the beastman said as he marched forward 'his eyes say he's serious!' and began to transform. In a split second, he had turned into a large, white haired wolf-man, ready to pounce. 'Stop gawking and get Mjulan out of here!' he shouted and slashed at Benimaru, who had placed himself between him and Rimuru. The ogre easily blocked the lycan and twisted his arm until he was pinned on the floor. Rimuru walked past them, casually

Detrmined, Yohm grabbed Mjulan's arm and prepared to drag her to safety 'Quick!' he told her 'Let's get out of...' but was interrupted when she grabbed his face and pulled him down for a kiss. To stunned to say anything, he stood there as she broke the contact

-'I love you, Yohm...' she told him with a smile 'In all the time I have lived, your the only one...that I ever fell in love with.' she let go of his face and took a step back 'Goodbye and...try not to get led astray by other wicked women.'

Before he could say anything, Yohm was immobilized by a cocoon of Rimuru's thread magic; he fell to the floor, unable to do anything but scream.

-'I see that you're ready...' Rimuru said to Mjulan as he approached her, ignoring Yohm's desperate screams. With a hard thrust in her chest, it was over. Silence fell over the room...

-'Huh?' Mjulan said as she tried to process the situation; she looked down at where Rimuru had hit her, but saw no blood or anything.

-'Looks like the operation was a success!' Rimuru said cheerfully, looking at his handiwork

-'What..but...how am I not dead?' Mjulan asked

-'Oh, you were dead...for about three seconds.' Rimuru answered with a loopside grin

Rimuru released Yohm, who was looking both confused and concerned 'Huuuh?! Boss, what the hell is going on?!' he screamed at Rimuru, who shushed him. Not losing his grin, he opened his palm to show them what he had done. It was a broken crystal

-'This...' Rimuru told his confused audience 'is Clayman's fake heart he put in Mjulan. It's actually a listening device.' at their confused glances, he continued 'earlier, when I installed a third barrier, I detected an encoded signal; the signal was coming from this thing. Mjulan...' he looked at the woman, who had a look of realization 'he was spying on you. Those regular reports were probably just a ruse to keep you from realizing it.'

-'Spying on me...' she said, baffled '..but, what is this beating in my chest?'

-'I made you a new artificial heart based on Clayman's; of course, its curse free.' he explained 'You're free. Clayman has no more power over you.' he told her. Hearing that, the majin began to cry, the relief too much to handle. Yohm took to comforting her. Grucius, meanwhile, was fuming, but there was nothing he could do; the woman had already said she had a thing for Yohm. After letting them take their breath, he continued to explain to them his theory, namely that Yohm was being used as a hostage to force her to do her bidding.

-'Lord Rimuru...no amount of words can express my gratitude...' Mjulan said 'If there's anything I can do...'

-'Oh, there is. Don't worry. I didn't just save you for free!' he told her with a small smile; she nodded, so he decided to elaborate 'I did it mostly because it would keep Yohm in line; I have great plans for him...' he looked over at the man in question, who was now picking a fight with Grucius over something the beastman said (he wasn't paying attention). He looked back to Mjulan with a sad expression 'But also...I know how you two feel...' he told her. She looked a bit confused at his words, but decided not no pry. 'Now then...' he said louder to get everyone's attention 'With the spying taken care of, let's start the real meeting.'