[Tensura] I became emperor of the eastern empire?!?!

"Conversation"

(Thoughts)

[Voice of the world]

I apologize in advance for any errors.

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Hello everyone. My name is Hiroto, and I'm a Japanese guy currently studying in the USA. You may now be wondering why I'm here and not in Japan. Well, the answer is quite simple: my mother is a doctor from Japan, and ever since I was a child, she demanded that I study as much as I possibly could. If I were to describe her, I'd say she was very strict and demanding. My father, on the other hand, is an entrepreneur and of French descent. During my childhood, I didn't see him very often because he was always busy with his work.

When I was in high school, my parents divorced, and I found myself forced to live with my mother while my father had to pay alimony. Thanks to his high earnings and my mother's substantial salary, I lived comfortably. The mere fact of their divorce didn't affect me too drastically.

When I finished high school, my mother demanded that I start university. Strangely enough, she allowed me to choose where and what field I wanted to study—perhaps because I had performed excellently so far and money was never an issue.

So, I chose to study history in the USA under the pretext of better conditions for studying abroad and broadening my horizons. In reality, however, it was simply a way for me to escape from my demanding mother.

Fortunately for me, my mother never suspected my true intentions and even praised my enthusiasm for learning. And that's how I found myself on board a plane flying to the States.

Before I began my journey, I decided to install the files for "19 Volume: Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken" on my phone. You might ask, why that? Well, the reason is clear: throughout my entire childhood, I never had any friends.

The reason? Because of my mother's demands, I was forced to study constantly and had no time for something like friendship. Fortunately, on my sixteenth birthday, my mother gave me a mobile phone with internet access so that it could serve as a learning aid for topics not covered in school.

However, I quickly discovered the benefits of the internet in the form of manga, anime, light novels, and fan fiction. When I first discovered this, I won't hide that I became somewhat addicted, which resulted in a drop in my grades—alarming my mother. Fortunately, I managed to deceive her by saying that I was going through a bad phase in my studies and that things would soon improve.

At first, she was suspicious of me, but she quickly let it go once my grades improved. That was because I realized I had screwed up—and I was able to admit it, at least to myself, because who else could I admit it to?

From that time on, whenever I had a free moment away from studying, I immersed myself in various works of Japanese creativity. However, it wasn't long before I found something else on the internet that interested me. Namely, it was history—although I had it in school, it had never truly captivated me.

But when I began exploring it on my own, I discovered just how wonderful it is. I quickly got engrossed in reading about ancient empires, great rulers, and brilliant commanders. One thing was common in all of it—no matter how powerful an empire grew or how excellent its rulers and commanders were, everything eventually perished.

It made me think that nothing lasts forever. No matter how brilliant you are or how strong your alliances, everything can be destroyed after your death—if an incompetent person takes power or if their ideals are far from being considered just.

This can be summed up by the quote, "Difficult times create strong people, strong people create good times, good times create weak people, and weak people create difficult times."

Here arises the question: can strong people and good times exist at the same time?

The answer troubled me for a long time. But no matter how long I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that as long as people have a will, there will always be someone who disagrees with the current government or politics. The vast majority of people might keep quiet about such matters, but there will always be someone who decides to change things and pass on their will to others.

Granted, the authorities might try to silence such people by force—but would that really be good times? No. Even assuming that those in power managed to please everyone within the country, we must not forget that there are other nations. People might be envious that others have it better than they do.

Some would simply join a well-functioning system, but there are also those for whom that is not enough, and they would crave to seize power for their own benefit. And that, in turn, would cause further chaos.

So, can we prevent this? There is no answer. I have always pondered it, and at one point I concluded that we should implement a system in which the state maintains the prosperity of the people while the citizens uphold the nation. At the same time, it must be emphatically stressed in politics that the state grants you rights, but in return, you have obligations toward it.

The key is to apply this evenly. And those in power should steer the country toward the prosperity of society as a whole—not just their own. But how can we ensure that this does not happen?

That was another question I encountered. However, I quickly found a solution—namely, that if those in power had someone above them with greater authority: someone just, resolute, impartial, and wise enough to remove corrupt people from power.

But does such a person exist? And besides, what would happen after that person's death? Unfortunately, I did not find a real answer to that.

The only sensible conclusion I reached was that if that supreme leader were immortal—though that is impossible. I was saddened when I came to that conclusion, but I accepted that it is not realistic in real life, though it might be possible in pop culture.

Out of pure curiosity, I began searching for things related to this topic. I came across many interesting productions, which made me realize that I was not the only one who had thought about it.

After some time, I came across the anime "Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken." At first, it didn't really captivate me, but I found it very enjoyable to watch.

I must admit that after watching half of the first season, I really got hooked. And when I finished watching the anime, I felt unsatisfied—so I began reading the manga. But even that eventually ended, and I wanted more, so I started reading the web novel.

While reading it, I encountered a subplot about an Eastern empire, which immediately reminded me of Tsarist Russia and the Tsar. I'm not sure, but I have the impression that the author modeled it on that in terms of ideology. After all, in both cases, the will of the emperor was regarded as the will of the people, and both held absolute power.

Most likely, I wouldn't have mentioned it if I hadn't come across a part of the plot describing Rudra from the past. I won't deny that his story intrigued me, and I believe it could be made into a separate anime. However, it wouldn't end with a typical happy ending but with a tragic downfall that anyone might experience—no matter who they are, what role they play, or whether they are famous or not.

We can all fall when we are at a moment of weakness and the wind of unexpected and unfortunate events begins to blow upon us.

However, I cannot deny that Michael was primarily responsible for Rudra's downfall, as he deepened his emotional pain after the loss of his sister and master.

Yet the fact that Rudra was able to oppose him for thousands of years shows how strong his will was. I have the impression that if Rudra hadn't fought with Michael but had come to an understanding with him, perhaps the world would have known the peace he had always dreamed of.

Another problem is Michael himself—specifically, his obsession with returning to Veldanava. The fact that he is willing to destroy the world just to make his master return in order to punish him is somewhat terrifying.

But can we really blame him for such an approach and way of thinking? Let's try to put ourselves in his shoes:

1. You were created with one purpose in life.

2. Fulfilling it gives you the reason for your existence.

3. You become separated from your purpose, but you believe it is temporary and you reluctantly accept this separation.

4. You lose sight of your purpose, yet you believe it will return soon.

5. It doesn't return for a long time, so, not knowing what to do, you try to bring it back somehow.

6. You encounter a fanatic even greater than yourself who shares the same goal, but is already deeply depressed and begins to believe that a world without purpose is meaningless.

7. You try to help him, but eventually you too lose the hope associated with the return of your purpose and sink into negative feelings.

8. You become friends and start treating that as your reason to live.

9. You devise a plan for its return, but after its failure, you die, and your only friend decides to destroy the world in a final act of desperation in order to fulfill your will for its return.

(Purpose/Reason for life = Veldanava)

And yet, doesn't it remind you a bit of a child who was left with a friend to be cared for during the absence of his parents? The child was supposedly told that the parents would return at an unspecified time, and in the meantime, an unknown person would take care of him.

At first, it didn't cause any problems, because he believed his parents would eventually return, but since they never did—and his temporary guardian was unable to establish a proper relationship with him due to a lack of engagement from both sides—it all started to create minor and major issues. Eventually, one gets lost in an unsuitable environment in search of family, which causes one to become someone else.

After his return from that environment, the guardian's problems became, to put it mildly, enormous. So they tried to forcibly resolve the conflict, knowing that words wouldn't help.

Ultimately, however, the child loses, becoming someone who cannot oppose the guardian, yet who blocks him in every possible way, preventing him from acting with full strength.

If you look at it this way, Michael is not the villain here but rather the one who took the right path. He is like a child in search of the truth about his parents' absence and desires their return at all costs—even if it means punishing them.

That's roughly how it looks from the perspective of someone reading about it, but who knows how it would appear in real life? Well, it's all insignificant anyway.

Now it's time for me to begin my journey to the USA.

I am currently at the airport, talking with my mother.

"Remember to study hard and get good grades," my mother said with an expression as if it were the most important thing in the world.

"Yes, yes, I will remember. Don't worry about me," I replied in a quick yet indifferent tone.

(Sometimes I wonder if, in her eyes, the only purpose I have in life is to study.) That thought crossed my mind a moment after I responded.

"Well, my son, I hope you achieve the proper results and do not disappoint me," she said, then turned and walked toward the house. As she left, she said a few words: "Safe travels."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, and I proceeded to the check-in counter.

Once on the plane, I took my seat, then pulled out my phone and began reading. After about 30 minutes, the plane finally took off.

After roughly 10 minutes, I realized that I still had a long way to go, so I decided to take a nap. I had a very pleasant nap, and when I had slept so well, suddenly screams woke me up.

I won't hide that I panicked at that moment—who wouldn't panic in such a situation?

Fortunately, I quickly regained my composure and began to analyze the situation. I found no cause within my line of sight; I quickly grabbed the woman sitting next to me by the wrist and asked, "What's happening?!" in a calm yet tense voice.

"The world is ending!! God has decided to destroy the world!!" she shouted at me so loudly that it felt as if she was addressing someone 50 meters away, not sitting right next to her.

Once the shock of the chaos subsided, I looked out the airplane window and saw it.

In the sky there was a massive crack from which beings resembling angels from the Christian faith poured forth. But that wasn't all—among those angels, I saw beasts that I can't even name. They looked like a combination of dozens of animals, including some I had never even seen, and the only thing connecting them was their strange body structure.

To be honest, I wondered if this was some kind of strange waking nightmare, but I quickly dismissed that idea because it was too realistic.

I didn't understand what was happening, but I knew that chaos would lead to nothing. So I decided that I had to take control of the situation—but how could I do it?

Well, it was time to improvise.

"SHUT UP, EVERYONE!!!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs to capture everyone's attention. Apparently, it worked, because right after that everyone fell silent, and all eyes were on me.

When I realized that so many people were staring at me, I became very stressed, but I knew I couldn't just do nothing.

Gathering my courage, I began to speak as calmly and clearly as I could:

"People, don't you think this situation is too absurd? What we are witnessing must be some kind of unfunny joke by the crew."

I said that, unable to back up my words, but I knew that any explanation was better than none.

After hearing my words, people seemed to calm down a bit. But as quickly as they calmed, a mass panic arose again about what was about to happen.

As the tension slowly built up once more, a man with a rather calm yet unsettlingly low voice spoke:

"Whatever you're saying makes sense; after all, since the beginning of this incident, the crew hasn't issued any statement. So it would make sense if this were some kind of strange experiment."

When he said that, people began looking around at each other, waiting for a statement from the crew, but none came. After a while, another man said in a monotone voice:

"Alright, enough waiting. Since the airplane crew still isn't saying anything, we'll go to them. And since not many people are needed for that, I propose that he represent us."

As he said the last part of his sentence, he pointed at me, and the other passengers, as if understanding what he meant, nodded in approval or verbally agreed.

"Ehh," I could only sigh, and then I proceeded to the cockpit.

When I reached the door, I decided to knock, but I received no response, so I slowly opened it to see what was happening.

When I cracked the door open, I detected a strange smell—unfortunately, I recognized it: "That is the smell of blood," I muttered quietly under my breath, filled with unease.

Growing more panicked, I opened the door to the space between the cockpit and the passenger area. When I looked inside, I saw something that truly terrified me.

Corpses. They were the torn bodies of flight attendants. It was a macabre sight—blood everywhere, limbs torn from bodies, marks from claws and teeth. When this image reached my brain, I had the urge to vomit, but I restrained myself, and the next thing that came to my mind was:

"What happened here?" I whispered involuntarily.

Then I saw that thing—a beast that looked as if it were not of this world.

The creature had a head reminiscent of a crocodile's with a mane like a lion's, a body similar to that of some worm with many legs resembling spikes, and, as if that weren't enough, it had a pair of bat-like wings, all covered in strange black, scale-like skin.

I stopped believing what my eyes were showing me, but I had no time to think as the beast's eyes turned toward me. When the monster's gaze fell upon me, my body froze.

I felt I had no chance of survival—neither in a fight nor in fleeing; my chances were simply zero, and my body clearly understood that better than I did.

Literally a second after the beast looked at me, it lunged in my direction, and I, feeling that I was about to die, found that my body refused to obey me—I could only watch as that thing rushed to kill me.

Perhaps in a surge of extreme adrenaline, I felt as if the world slowed down for a moment. Seizing that brief moment, I mustered all the willpower I had, and miraculously managed to dodge the monster.

However, I wasn't so lucky, for the monster simply turned around, then stopped, and from its maw spat out a green liquid that splattered on me.

After a moment, the liquid began to burn a hole in my clothes, and then it touched my skin. At that moment, I felt the worst pain of my life. It was as if someone had poured burning oil on me that meticulously scorched my skin—not an acid meant for killing, but rather to inflict the longest-lasting pain on living beings.

Seeing my condition, the monster ignored me and then moved toward the passenger compartment. I knew that it was my end—and also the end for others if something like this reached them.

Unfortunately, before I could do anything, the creature rushed toward the other passengers. The next things I heard were panicked screams, the sound of breaking bones, and impacts against walls. This lasted for about two minutes, after which a deathly silence fell.

After that, I began to regain control of my body and then stood up, even though I still felt immense pain. Unfortunately, the acid had already burned part of my muscles, resulting in heavy bleeding with every movement.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I was doing it at all or why I was still alive despite such pain, but I nevertheless followed the monster.

When I arrived, I saw another massacre. The monster was sitting and devouring the bodies of dead passengers, completely ignoring me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something shiny under one of the bodies, and for some reason, I decided to check it quietly. To my surprise, it turned out to be a military knife; I didn't know why it was there, but I quickly made a decision: if I am to die, I demand at least one wound.

Taking advantage of the fact that the creature was busy consuming the corpses, I quietly approached it from behind and tried to thrust the knife into its back with all my might, but unfortunately, instead of embedding itself, the knife simply did nothing.

Unfortunately, the beast sensed this, turned its head toward me, then grabbed me with a belt and hurled me aside. Unfortunately for me, I crashed into a wall, and then I felt the acid begin to destroy my lungs.

I couldn't breathe normally due to the low air density, and the fact that I was still falling didn't make it any easier.

At that moment, I knew that it was my absolute end and that I had no chance of rescue. The only thing left was to wonder: what would kill me first?

Would it be the acid of that beast, or perhaps the extremely low temperature, or even the lack of oxygen? Well, one thing is certain: the moment I hit the ocean, I will simply die. The kinetic force alone would be enough to smash me against the ocean like an egg against a wall.

At that moment, I felt utterly powerless; I sort of understood that what had happened was insurmountable for an ordinary human.

But was it really a real event, or did I experience some kind of hallucination?

As I was falling, I had the impression that something was watching me. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to look down because if I turned, my eyeballs might literally explode, and above me I saw nothing.

But I don't know what compelled me to do it. I tried to turn onto my stomach, extending my arms so that gravity would turn me over. During that process, I heard as if my body started creaking.

Or maybe it was just my imagination? In any case, despite the fear, I turned onto my stomach and instinctively closed my eyes.

I felt that opening them would be disastrous, but it didn't matter—I was about to die anyway.

I tried to force them open with all my strength, but they remained shut. Knowing this, I tried using my hands, but I couldn't; I couldn't feel them at all, and worse, from that moment on, I began experiencing extremely strong dizziness.

A moment later, something happened that I would never have expected in my life—if there could have been anything more shocking at that moment.

"Please, you are my last hope."

Suddenly, I began hearing a strange voice in my head—even though I was sure I couldn't hear anymore because my ears were frozen.

That voice was so strange and yet familiar, and I felt as if it were being transmitted directly into my brain, bypassing my ears.

"This is the last thing I can do to prevent it."

The moment those words reached me, I felt as though I was losing all sensation in my body, and the pain from all my injuries vanished in an instant.

What happened next surprised me even more. Namely, suddenly I felt an extremely intense light falling on my eyelids.

Then, instinctively, I tried to shield my eyes, but I felt that my hands did not block the light at all.

Summoning my willpower, I opened my eyes and saw a strange scene. I saw myself—or rather, what was left of me—my body falling without its arms, with blood streaming from my ears and eyes. As I tried to get closer, I realized that I no longer felt the wind or any changes in temperature.

Yet my feelings were strangely calm—whether it was due to those words or because I was no longer able to panic.

I watched my body fall for a good two minutes, which gave me plenty of time to ponder what was happening.

What I concluded was that somehow my soul had left my body—but not entirely.

As I was thinking that, my body finally hit the water and, as expected, created significant waves as it smashed into the ocean.

At that moment, I wondered what now, but unexpectedly, something began to gather around me from the splash.

"Please, don't fail me."

Those words began to reverberate in my head like an echo in a cave. And when that echo faded, the water around me started to move toward me.

The moment it completely engulfed me, the greatest darkness I had ever known began to form around me.

While I was in that void, the words of that voice began to appear in my head once more, and I contemplated their meaning and significance.

Time passed relentlessly; the minutes in that void turned into hours, and the hours into days.

I don't know exactly how much time I spent, but it was certainly a long time. Why do I think so? It's simple—I had enough time to consider what was happening, how my family would react, what intentions that voice had, and what awaited the world.

And I reached the following conclusions:

First. These strange beasts could not have originated from Earth, so they probably come from another planet—but that too is unlikely, because they did not come from space but from a strange hole in the sky.

Looking at it this way, it could be the effect of some unknown technology, but it is more likely that the multiverse theory is confirmed. That would also explain what that abnormal voice was.

I concluded that this voice belonged to someone who tried to stop these beasts but failed. Yet, for some reason, it saw in me something that could possibly stop them. However, I cannot determine what that is.

Then I thought about family. I don't know why I'm thinking about it so late, but the answer is simple—I was never very attached or close. I never really had any good memories associated with it. My father went out for the proverbial milk and never returned. As for my mother, she was more like someone you'd think could dictate my life. It shows how much she forced me to study and scolded me whenever something went wrong.

I also never had any siblings, so I had no one with whom to share that burden. My grandparents, to put it mildly, never paid much attention to me, so I couldn't rely on them either.

So even if I die, I don't think it would matter to anyone in my family.

And as for what awaits my world—it depends. Whether our weapons will be effective against them or not. The military will probably have a hard time ahead, one way or another.

It is highly likely that not only above the ocean but in many other places these beasts have appeared. Judging by their numbers, I can infer that sooner or later the politicians would initiate a compulsory draft and impose martial law or something of the sort.

In the worst-case scenario, nuclear weapons would be used on a large scale, which could cause a nuclear winter.

Either way, it's not my problem now, because I'm not even alive anyway.

Thinking about all this took up some time, but it dragged on like hell. Eventually, I just started counting, but I stopped when I reached 10¹⁵.

During that counting, suddenly a bright world appeared, which filled me with ecstasy at the fact that there was finally something beyond that darkness.

As I approached the light, it grew increasingly brighter. And when I was very close, I saw that the light emanated from a white sphere, and inside that sphere was an infant.

Almost instinctively, I reached out toward the baby, and when I touched the sphere, I felt a pleasant warmth spreading through my body. It was a strange sensation that I could describe as a return to something I once belonged to.

After a while, the infant and I began merging into one entity—no, it was more as if I was being absorbed unilaterally by the baby. I didn't even try to resist; I simply accepted what was happening, and a few moments later, I was completely absorbed.

Then came another darkness, but different from the previous one. While that darkness was like the void of emptiness, this one was like a room with no access to light.

Within a matter of seconds, I felt as if something was pushing me, and then I saw a light toward which I was being propelled.

"Aaahhhhh!!"

As I approached the light, I heard something that sounded like the groan of someone dying, but I couldn't do anything. So, following the light, something happened that I did not expect.

When I reached the illuminated area, I felt something strange. They were hands—but not ordinary ones; they were about half the size of my body. And for some reason, once again, I couldn't see.

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I heard some words that I couldn't understand, but I felt they were spoken with good intentions. Then I tried to open my eyes, but when I did, I saw several women above me, dressed in uniforms reminiscent of attendants.

One of them was holding me, and another was fiddling with something at my stomach. Then I noticed that my umbilical cord was protruding, and when I looked closer, I realized that one of the women was tying it for me.

It was a truly strange sensation—neither pleasant nor painful, it just was. After a few seconds, the woman finished tying it, and when she was done, there was no trace of the umbilical cord—only a recessed belly button.

Moments later, I was wrapped in some fabric, and then a woman—who was most likely my mother—was handed to me.

…Wait, WHY THE HELL AM I SUCH A BABY?

When that hit me, I instinctively began to cry out loud, which apparently calmed the people with uncertain expressions.

A few seconds after I found myself in what was probably my mother's embrace, I heard a strange voice in my head.

[Acquired the ability to understand languages]

It was devoid of emotion, without any distinctive characteristics. However, if I had to guess, it would belong more to a woman than to a man.

I didn't have the strength to react to that voice because suddenly a man with blond, yellowish hair, green eyes, and sharp facial features ran into the room. He quickly ran over to, presumably, my mother and checked if she was all right. Yes, yes—I think my mother is a truly beautiful woman. Her delicate, round features harmonize well with her light pink hair and red eyes.

"Is it a boy or a girl, darling?"

Suddenly, the man asked—his voice rather shaky, indicating his stress.

"It's a boy, darling. Would you like to hold him? After all, he is also your son," the woman said, confirming that these two were my parents. However, what surprised me further at that moment was that I understood what they were saying.

"Come to daddy, little one," the man said, then gently picked me up.

"What shall we name him?" my mother asked.

"Hmmm…"

My father made a sound of contemplation, then led me by the hand from left to right for a moment, then stopped and said something that shocked me:

"From today, he will be called Rudra Nasca—how about that, darling?"

When that name reached me, only one thought came to my mind:

(Have I been reincarnated as Rudra Nasca from Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken?)

"Yeah, that's a good name," my mother said with a sweet smile.

When I heard that, I felt sleepy, and within a few seconds, I fell asleep, my mind full of thoughts.

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What do you think about it, is it a step in a better direction in your opinion?

Or maybe you have some comments, if so, write, I am open to tips, criticism, your interpretation, whatever you call it.