Ch 45: The apostle of demons

Currently the group was on the final floor of the Guryen Dungeon.

They were in a lava lake and over ten thousand bats that spewed lava from their wings attacked them at the same time.

Hajime pulled out his 'Agni orkan' rocket launcher, Rimuru, Chloe and Sakura pulled out their swords and Yue prepared to fight. Meanwhile, Shia and Tio were guiding the boats.

When the bats approached.

*TCHIN*

*WHOOOOSH*

Rimuru didn't even leave his seat, he just applied mana to his sword and it glowed in prism. He then swung it and the force the sword made just from swinging was so much that it created a thin but powerful wave of wind. This blade went towards the crowd of bats and killed a large amount of them. Chloe made her sword glow and threw several blades of light in their direction and killed several as well.

"Rising tornado."

*BACHON *BACHON *BACHON *BACHON

"Wind blades."

However Hajime, Sakura and Yue did not attack the bats. Not directly at least. Sakura realized that her nature element was not very useful against fire-type creatures and during the Dungeon she always used spirit magic, but that would not be very useful in large quantities. So she didn't attack directly, she just used wind blades. Hajime also thought of a better way to kill the bats and didn't shoot them. Yue saw where he was aiming and did the same.

All three were aiming at the lava river.

It turned out that these bats were so weak that several parts of their bodies were not immune to lava, even though they lived in the volcano. The group realized this in one of the fights on the upper floors and decided to apply it here. All three attacked the lava at the same time and this caused a large amount of lava to rise.

*SPLASH*

""Wieeeeeee!!!!""

The lava splashed upwards and reached the bats. When this happened they gave horrific screams. This explosion killed almost all the bats and those that were still alive fled in fear.

However, the problem was not over as the great wave of lava shook the entire lake. The boats were rocking heavily and Tio and Shia were trying to guide them correctly. A wave of lava crashed near Hajime's boat and splashed water onto them. The same thing happened to Rimuru's boat.

"Goushin-sama!"

Yue pushed away much of the lava that went toward her boat, but some of it went toward Hajime. Hajime couldn't see it until he heard Tio's warning, but it was too late and he couldn't react. Tio then spread his dragon wings and jumped ahead.

"Ugh."

She gave a groan of pain, but the lava damaged less than it would damage a human, this because of her fire resistance. However a part of her wings were melted.

"Tio!"

'Hajime-kun, over here!"

Hajime seemed worried about Tio as his injury was quite serious and Rimuru called him. As Hajime checked Tio's condition, Rimuru threw him a healing potion and he used it on Tio.

"Is that better? I knew you liked to feel pain, but I didn't think it was that much..."

"Goushin-sama, don't talk nonsense. I only jumped in front so Goushin-sama wouldn't get hurt. Even after I helped you, being treated like this...Haaaa, haaaa "

Hajime made a snide remark and as usual this ended with Tio  panting. The others also seemed happy that she was okay. At this moment the large door at the end of the magma lake opened and revealed another river of lava.

"Let's keep going then."

They continued on their way and a few minutes later

"Maybe this is the 'Abode of the Traitors' that you guys described?"

"Yes, probably..."

"'It must be."

"I think so, Chloe..."

Rimuru, Shia and Yue agreed with Chloe's words. The place that Sakura pointed to was an island surrounded by lava. On this island had a black structure that could be called a house. That was probably the place where the Guryen Liberator lived.

"Stay tuned, if that's the end there must be some last test."

""Yes.""

Everyone agreed with Hajime's words and stood with cautious expressions. When they got close to the island.

"Rooaaaaaaaaaar!"

A roar was heard and a large serpent appeared in front of them. This serpent was quite different from the monsters they had encountered so far, this was because its body was all made of magma. The monsters they had encountered until now had some characteristic related to magma, but never had their body been made entirely of magma.

*DOPAN *DOPAN

Hajime didn't even say anything and shot the snake. The shots did some damage, but...

"Is it... regenerating?"

"That sounds problematic."

Shia and Hajime spoke. What Shia said was indeed right. The snake regenerated quickly from the attack.

"It has a core. However it stays in constant motion. The best thing to do is to destroy her completely."

Rimuru could see a small core moving inside the snake's body. This core was probably regenerating the snake and Rimuru thought the others would have a hard time reaching it. So he thought it best to destroy the entire body.

"Leave it to me!"

Chlo stood up excitedly. She raised her hand toward the snake and a magic circle appeared in her hand. The magic circle let out a white light and grew larger until Chloe said....

"Disintegrate!"

A large beam of white light came out of the circle and went towards the lava serpent.

"Roaaa-!"

The serpent seemed to want to give a brave roar, but its body turned to dust before it could do anything. It couldn't even give its cry of determination, so that made it worthy of pity.

The others already knew about Chloe's power, but they still had impressed expressions. Rimuru stroked Chloe's head and said "well done", even though he was her fiancé, Rimuru was still her teacher and enjoyed seeing how strong Chloe had become.

"No... it was nothing..."

Chloe was embarrassed to be complimented by Rimuru and sat down in the boat with red cheeks. Hajime then spoke...

"I don't think it's over yet."

""Hm?""

"Look there."

Everyone was confused by Hajime's words, this was because the snake was already dead and had no way to resurface. Hajime then pointed to the river and everyone looked at it with confused looks.

"That's..."

Shia muttered startled. That was because the spot where Hajime pointed had several snakes identical to the one Chloe had killed. There were a few dozen of them and they kept coming up. After a while they stopped appearing and their number was a hundred.

"Indeed, fighting a hundred serpents in this hellish heat and still surrounded by magma suits the concept of this dungeon."

"[sigh] At least I think that's the final challenge."

"Are we going to have to destroy them all? What a pain in the ass..."

Sakura, Hajime and Rimuru spoke. Fighting several monsters that don't die easily in difficult conditions really suited the 'concept' of the Dungeon. Hajime sighed and picked up his weapons. The others also prepared to fight.

"Roaaaaaaaaaaaar!"

"Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!"

"Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!"

The magma serpents charged toward the group. Everyone in the group gave fearless smiles thinking they were almost at the end of the Dungeon and attacked.

"Goushin-sama, I will help this time! If I kill several, I want several rewards (punishments) today!"

Tio said and attacked the snakes with purple/black colored flames. That was Ryujin's breath. The fire killed 4 snakes that were nearby. Hajime didn't even pay any attention to his comment, but Shia was outraged.

"What! It's unfair if it's just Tio-san! If I kill more than her.... Hajime-san will have a night with me!"

Shia said and crushed with Doryucken a snake that was attacking the boat. And so even without Hajime agreeing, a competition was set.

Hajime was upset, but others just found the competition funny. Other snakes attacked Rimuru's boat and Chloe killed them with 'Disintegrate'.

*WHOSH*

Sakura opened her Butterfly Wings and flew high. She pulled out her pink sword and said.

"Soul Blade."

Sakura's sword glowed pink and she slashed one of the serpents.

"Weruaaaaaw!"

The snake gave a horrified scream and fell down dead. The reason the snake did not regenerate was because Sakura used spiritual element in her sword. This caused the big cut to hit the soul of the snake.

*TZIU *TZIU *TZIU

Rimuru flew with his giant bat wings and threw black rays at the snakes. These rays would strike the cores and kill them at the same moment. He could see the cores so it was easy to do this, so he killed dozens of snakes.

*BACHON *BACHON *BACHON

Hajime used his 'Orkan' rocket launcher and easily destroyed the snakes. In his other hand he held Donner. He was using Donner when he was viewing the cores.

After a while with the group attacking. No one was injured and there was only one snake left.

*TZIU*

Rimuru killed it with a black ray. Everyone checked around looking for other enemies, but saw nothing. Those outside the boat returned and Shia and Tio began to count their casualties.

"Uuuuuuh."

Shia looked disheartened by something and Tio had a perverted look on his face. She approached Hajime and said.

"Goushin-sama, I won the challenge. Tonight will Goushin-sama reward(punish) me?"

"Shut up pervert."

*DOPAN*

"Thank you very muchooo!"

Hajime gave Tio a rubber shot and she gave a shout of pleasure as she thanked him. The others were already used to these events and simply ignored them.

They took their boats to the island that was probably the abode of the Guryen Liberator. Everyone got off the boats and Hajime guarded them. Rimuru then said

"It was easier this time."

"I agree."

"Mhm. It was faster too."

Everyone was talking about how it was easier than when they had mastered the Orcus Dungeon and Raisen. Hajime said "let's go" and walked towards the structure in the middle of the island. Everyone had already put away their weapons, since now it was just about receiving the magic of the age of the gods.

*BUFFFFFF*

"Kh!?"

An explosion was heard above them and almost immediately a glowing white pillar descended toward Hajime. It was right at the moment when Hajime let his guard down, this pillar seemed to be made of white fire and everyone felt great power coming from it. The pillar came towards Hajime with extreme speed and Hajime didn't have time to dodge it.

The only thing he could do was to put his metal arm in front of his vital points. He thought this would increase his chances.

*KABOOOOM*

"Ha...Hajime!"

"Hajime-san!"

"Goushin-sama!"

White fire covered Hajime and everything around him, the area the fire covered was so large that Hajime could no longer be seen. Yue, Shia and Tio gave desperate screams and tried to run towards Hajime. Sakura seemed dumbfounded by the events and also tried to run to help. Chloe strangely was calm and did not move.

As they got closer, the white fire disappeared and...

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

They were surprised, that's because when fire disappeared instead of Hajime's injured body that the girls expected to see, they saw Hajime lying on the ground looking at Rimuru who was standing there with his hand raised.

The earth around them was intact, unlike the earth that had been hit by fire. This was because before the fire arrived Rimuru had placed himself between Hajime and the attack. He then used his 'Absolute Barrier' of 'Void god Azatoth' to defend against the fire.

Only Chloe knew that this would happen, because she also went to save Hajime, but saw Rimuru going before him. The girls realized that if it wasn't for Rimuru, Hajime might have died.

Sakura and Chloe looked relieved, Yue, Shia and Tio had tears of relief in their eyes. Hajime also looked relieved as he thought he would have little chance of surviving if he received that attack. He might be able to survive if he used the ambrosia, but he had no guarantees.

He didn't even have time to thank Rimuru because...

*BUFFFFFF

*BUFFFFFFFFF

*BUFFFFFFFF

They heard several explosions coming from above. Everyone was already on guard and they weren't even surprised.

"Gather round here!"

Rimuru shouted and everyone moved closer to him. Rimuru activated his barrier and Tio also conjured up a barrier for protection just in case.

*KABOM

Gray colored flames came from various directions and hit the barrier.

"Hajime, Hajime are you okay!?"

Yue approached in desperation. Hajime noticed her and recovered from his surprise.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to my brother. In fact, thank you for that."

"It was nothing."

Hajime thanked Rimuru who was still holding the barrier. Tio and Shia also expressed their happiness for Hajime's well-being and he thanked them. Hajime then pulled Donner and Schlag aside.

"Now is not the time for conversation. Let's see what attacked us."

"Huh... yes!"

"Let's go."

Hearing Hajime speak, the girls realized that they were still in combat and also prepared themselves. Shia pulled out her sledgehammer and Tio and Yue looked ready to use their spells at any moment. Sakura pulled out her two katanas and Chloe stood ready to draw her sword.

After a few seconds the gray fire stopped hitting the barrier, but Rimuru didn't undo the protection. That was because first he wanted to see who or what had attacked them.  When the fire stopped falling a voice was heard.

"Certainly a force that cannot be ignored. You are all dangerous... Especially the blue haired one. Now I understand why Milo was defeated."

Everyone looked up and widened their eyes in surprise. The reason was because there were several gray dragons and a large white dragon flying near the ceiling, mounted on the large white dragon was a man with white hair and golden eyes, he had gray armor and was looking at the group arrogantly. From his slightly dark skin tone and his pointed ears you could recognize him as a member of the demon race.

"To defend the breath of my white dragon and still to the bombardment of 50 gray dragons.... They sure are dangerous... The report didn't say they were like this...You guys, what are you? How many magics from the Age of the Gods did you guys get?"

The man seemed impressed that the group was alive, but he didn't seem afraid either. It was as if he felt he had no way to lose.

"How about you introduce yourself first? Or does the demon race have no education?"

"Well, it would have been best if he introduced himself before he attacked."

Hajime did not aim his weapons but rather asked the man's identity. Rimuru did not seem afraid of the man and just made a sarcastic comment.

"There is no need to introduce myself to those who will soon die..."

"I agree. I wouldn't introduce myself either, but you seem to already know our identities."

Hajime was curious how the man knew about them. In addition he was wondering why he was the first to receive an attack. If the man had knowledge of their strengths, the best way to use his surprise attack would be on the strongest, namely Rimuru. This means that the man probably received some wrong information.

Rimuru undid the barrier because then they could talk better, but if the man attacked, Rimuru would quickly lift it again. The man didn't seem to like Hajime's words that indicated he would be killed and said

"I have changed my mind, my name is Freed Bahugar. Tech my name in your flesh for I will be one of the Apostles of God who will kill you."

"Apostles of God hein.... That's a very exaggerated term. Maybe that has some relation to the demon king?"

"I think so. He must be able to use some special magic and that's why he was accepted as an 'Apostle.' Perhaps the Magic of the Age of God? Probably a magic that creates and controls magical Beasts...."

From Freed's words, Rimuru and Hajime surmised that he was someone who was sent by the Demon King who was one of the gods. In addition the man seemed to know about, and possess a God-age magic.

"That's right. The wonderful Aruv-sama has called me his apostle and so I will serve him with my body and soul. As long as I follow his wishes, everything will work out and the humans will be exterminated."

Seeing Freed's obsessed face as he spoke of his god, Hajime and Rimuru understood something. The reason Freed did not feel afraid of them was because he thought he had God on his side and would not be defeated in this way.

Hajime and Rimuru had a quick telepathic conversation and agreed that they had enough information and could kill this man. In addition Rimuru could steal his memories after death.

"Ok... then die."

"Yeah, if he doesn't look like the type who is going to surrender anyway, then let's kill him."

"Haha. You guys dare to mock me? Then I will show you the power I have acquired.... The power of the gods!"

Freed thought that Hajime and Rimuru were joking that they were going to kill him and became angry. He then began to recite a long incantation.

"Come on!"

Rimuru thought it was dangerous as he didn't know what magic Freed would use and from his words it seemed to be a God Age magic. Everyone then charged at Freed.

Sakura opened her Wings and attacked two of the gray dragons protecting Freed with their katanas.

"Spirit blade."

Her sword flashed and with admirable fencing she cut the two dragons in half. Que and Tio used magic from a distance on Freed, but it was no use as behind Freed had some giant turtles that sucked up magic.

DOPAN DOPAN DOPAN

Hajime used aerodynamics and approached Freed by jumping. Meanwhile he was throwing gray dragons at us and hitting them right in the head, causing them to die.

Rimuru hadn't moved yet as he was waiting to see if there were any other surprise attacks. Meanwhile Chloe was killing some dragons, but she was more focused on not letting anyone in the group get hurt, so she wasn't killing many.

"Feel the power of God, Lock Borders!"

Freed had finished the chant before it was reached and used her magic. Yet nothing happened. Everyone was confused and Shia seemed to have realized something.

"Kh! Rimuru-san, behind you!"

When she said this in a desperate tone Rimuru saw the space next to her distort and several gray dragons came out of it.

"Black flames."

He easily burned the dragons with his flames.

"What... is that..."

Freed's eyes widened, he looked dumbfounded. He couldn't understand how his dragons were killed so easily. The others took advantage that Freed was stunned and moved closer.

"Kh! Shoot!"

BUFFFFFF

Freed realized he was going to be attacked and made both the white dragon and the gray dragons use their blows. However...

BUFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

The white and gray flames were nullified because of a black flash that came from a black fire This fire came from the breath of a black dragon that was heading toward Freed. It was Tio.

Freed looked shocked. In fact the others also looked shocked to see Tio transform.

Tio transformed because her mind was a whirlwind of emotions and all she could think about was eliminating the threat. Not for her, but for Hajime and the others.

Tio went along with the group because she liked Hajime and also to investigate about those who came from the other world. She didn't plan to reveal her race to the others, but when she saw Hajime get hit by the white dragon's breath, she went into despair.

In those few seconds that she thought Hajime was dead, Tio realized how she felt about Hajime. She no longer had interest in him because he was from another world or for him to be her master, but rather she had interest in him as a "man".

So if she held her own in a battle against someone who tried to kill Hajime, Tio would not be able to look at herself in the mirror. So she used her Ryujin transformation.

The white dragon and Freed were startled by the pressure coming off Tio.

"To have a member of the Ryujin here... I'll back off for today, but keep your eyes open. The divine punishment will come. It's a shame I can't kill you myself, but the magma will take care of that."

Freed looked like he wanted to run away, but the group was too close and would not let him get away. He realized this and then began to recite an incantation. The group was already a few feet away and Hajime took a few shots to not let him finish the spell.

"Kh! Looks like I'll have to sacrifice some."

Freed said and lifted a red orb. That orb contained a strange energy and literally sucked some of the gray dragons inside. The group didn't understand anything, but they knew that Freed was trying something.

"Locking down borders!"

"Uh?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

Everyone was confused by how fast Freed did the spell. The truth was that Freed used the life force of some dragons to increase the power of the spell and nullify the chant.

"Goodbye."

Freed's dragons began to fade away and he went along. However before Freed went through the portal...

"Nuoh!? Uaah!"

As Freed went through the portal he saw a black katana trying to cut off his head. He narrowly managed to defend it, but had to sacrifice his arm to do so.

Freed and the dragons disappeared and all that was left was Freed's severed arm that fell into the lava and burned.

"He managed to escape. That could lead to trouble later..."

"At least he lost an arm."

Rimuru said half regretting that he couldn't cut off Freed's head. The others were also angry at letting Freed get away, but they had something more pressing to do that because....

KABOOM

SLAPH SPLASH

A tremor came from the ground and pillars of magma began shooting out of the ground. Everyone looked up in surprise and tried to keep their balance.

"What?"

"It seems that he wants to kill us uncontrolled the lava level of the Dungeon. However don't worry, I know how to get out of here."

Rimuru reassured them that he had a method of getting out before the lava filled everything.

"What method?"

Hajime asked and Rimuru looked up at the ceiling as if confirming something.

"First let's get the magic from the Age of God."

"Well, I want to obtain it too, but... is that okay?"

Hajime was confused by Rimuru's words, but he said it would be fine. Then everyone quickly went to the structure made of black bricks that stood on the island.

Inside there were some furniture and objects, but the group was only interested in the magic circle in the middle of the room. They climbed into the magic circle and had their memories calculated. After that a hologram of the Liberator told the same story as Oscar Orcus and then they received the magic.

"Hmm, Space Magic... Ah, here is the proof of conquest. Let's go!"

The others didn't understand, but followed Rimuru. Rimuru came out of the tower they were in and looked up at the ceiling. He then raised his hand that was holding a red ring, this ring was the proof of conquest of the Guryen Dungeon. When he raised his hand....

"A... door?"

Exactly what Hajime said. There on the ceiling a large door that had been camouflaged until now opened. That would be the exit from the Guryen Dungeon.