Collapsing Star

I don't want to wake up from this dream.

This warmth, please don't go away.

The morning is still young, so please,

Give me 5... no, 10 more minutes.

-=-=-=-

Ah, that's right.

I remember being so worried about my new role.

Leader of an entire nation? A Federation, with alliances and tons of subjects? How could I possibly manage that? I'm just… me.

Then, it was like perfect timing.

She arrived in this world.

Me, as a what, a king? A leader? Ha, can you believe that?

But, like a gift, she was there.

A brand-new friend. Another Otherworlder, with way more experience in management and discipline. Someone who could do, think, speak, act in ways I couldn't.

She lightened my workload so much, was strict so I didn't have to be… she let me be, me. Whether she meant to or not. With her around, I didn't have to worry about anything.

I can never thank her enough for that.

…

I can never thank her for anything.

If I hadn't taken things so lightly…

If I had taken my role as Tempest's leader more seriously…

The worst part is that, deep down, I don't think I did the wrong thing. I just… didn't do the right thing either. I had to save them. But I was supposed to be here, not there. I fulfilled one duty, but which one was I more obligated toward?

Whose promise means more?

Maybe if I hadn't been so relaxed, so confident, so arrogant...

…or, if she'd never shown up… would I be worse off... or better?

No, what's wrong with me? I should be grateful. I should be begging for forgiveness.

I'm really not human anymore, huh?

…

This is all my fault.

-=-=-=-

Late Afternoon

Sealed Cave

Jura Tempest Federation

"Still no response?" Gabiru's wings flex nervously behind him.

Vesta shakes his head negatively, looking away from the glowing communication orb floating over his palm.

"The communication line is open on our end, but it's not connecting." The orb's glow dims, dropping down into Vesta's palm. "Something is still cutting us off."

"Or, something is cutting off the city." Another voice cuts in.

"Sir Souei!" Gabiru starts.

"Gabiru, Vesta." Souei melts from the shadows. He acknowledges them each in turn, then holds up a hand. "I'll cut to the chase. I've just confirmed a report from Souka saying that two barriers have been erected over Tempest. I've also confirmed that Lord Rimuru and Mary were attacked during their return-"

"WHAT!?!" Is the echoed call from those gathered, being Vesta, Gabiru, and Gabiru's retainers.

Souei continues, as if they hadn't been interrupted him.

"It's too early for 100% certainty, but all signs point to a targeted assault on Tempest and its base of power."

"Wait, back up a moment Sir Souei!" Gabiru blurts out, stepping directly in front of the Kijin. "Lord Rimuru was attacked?! We need to-"

"Do nothing." Souei cuts him off.

It's only then that Vesta and Gabiru notice the bags under his eyes. His hands are even shaking as he clenches them into fists.

"We'll do nothing, because we can do nothing. Lord Rimuru isn't alone, and between him and Mary there's no point in us trying anything on his behalf. Right now, we can only trust in him and her that they will return as soon as possible."

"I- but-"

Gabiru sputters, but internally he knows Souei is right. In this world, there are the weak and the strong. Further, there are the strong, and the truly strong… and the gap between the latter two is like the distance between the Heavens and the World. Of the people he knows… the Demon Lord Milim, Lord Rimuru Tempest, Lady Tanya… and those closest to them, such as Sir Benimaru, Mary Sue, Sir Hakurou…

But even still, even knowing this, he cannot abandon his ideals. "But that's… not right. We need to…"

He looks at Vesta, who avoids his gaze. He's grimacing, and belatedly, Gabiru realizes he is as well.

"It isn't." Souei acknowledges, with a rare frustrated sigh. "But there's nothing we can do for them right now. Even if we were in the right place at the right time… no, I'm sorry. Right now, what's important is resolving the situation at Tempest."

"You're right." Gabiru shakes his head. Then, he pauses, as a faint trickle of energy crawls across his scales. "Wait, this is-"

Two human-shaped figures burst from the shadows along the edge of the cavern.

"Sorry we're late!" Rimuru lands on his feet, one arm shooting out for Mary to grab onto as she stumbles. "The warp circle wasn't- oh! Souei, Vesta, Gabiru- alright, this is a good group for this. What's-"

"We got ambushed by some fucking religious nutjob!" Mary cuts him off. Considering the jagged blood stains and rips through her button-up shirt and jacket, no one doubts for a second that they'd gone through Hell to get here.

However, it is mildly unfortunate Tanya is not here to appreciate the true humor of Mary saying that specific sentence. Oh well. At a later time, perhaps.

"Hinata Sakaguchi." Rimuru adds, not at all surprised by the immediate gasp and horror-struck expression from Gabiru and Vesta respectively. "But we're here now. What's going on?"

Hiding his relief, and quickly donning his "work face", Souei steps forward. "Lord Rimuru, Mary. It is good to see you survived, but let's spare the pleasantries. Follow me. I'll update you as we run."

"Good to see you too, Souei. Let's move!"

-=-

"Humans, huh… wait. What the hell…? This is…"

Rimuru's voice echoes over their connection. Mary and Souei exchange a glance, even as they dart around trees and ground foliage.

"…I should be able to get through. Souei, find out who's responsible. Don't engage if you're unsure of anything. Mary, help investigate the situation when you get here."

Without waiting for confirmation, Rimuru's Thought Communication abruptly cuts out.

It is a familiar sinking feeling that speeds Mary up, until even Souei has trouble keeping up with her. With Rimuru flying on ahead, and Gabiru, Gabiru's men, and Vesta staying behind in the cavern, the duo sprints towards the ominous glow on the horizon.

They break free from the greater forest, entering the open area signifying Tempest's outer edges. Looming above them is a massive, semi-opaque pyramid of magical energy. Underneath the pyramid is a red-tinted dome, likely another magical barrier of some kind.

Somehow worse is the fact that Mary recognizes it. Or at least, the magical signature strikes a similar chord within her. Her eyes flash neon.

"Oh… shit." Mary breathes out, skidding to a halt just steps away from the barriers. "This is…"

Through the multicolored layers is the true worst part of it all. The air above Tempest is befouled by smoke, the afternoon sky cloudy, dark, and swirling with malice and power.

A storm is on the horizon.

"What the hell?" She understands Rimuru's confusion now. "This isn't real, right?"

Souei comes up beside her. Without a word, he presses his palm flat against the pyramid-shaped barrier… for about a second, before it sparks, and he yanks his hand back.

"Unfortunately, neither of us are dreaming." Souei shakes out his hand, smoke curling along the flesh. "Solid, and painful to the touch. Can you get in?"

"I- yeah, I should be able to…" Mary presses her fingertips against the pyramid-shaped barrier. For a split second, it pauses, then pushes through. "…not solid, and it doesn't hurt. I feel like I'm pushing my hand through a sheet of warm mud."

"Good. Go in after Lord Rimuru; I'll reconvene with Vesta and Gabiru before investigating the source of the barriers out here."

"Understood." Mary defers to his judgement, recognizing the lack of time on their side. "I'll reunite with Tanya as well, learn as much as I can."

Souei nods. "Stay safe."

In a blink, he melts into his own shadow and disappears.

"You too." Mary whispers to the open air, before turning toward the barriers. She takes a deep breath, holds it… then exhales. Without further pause, she steps forward, one boot in front of the other.

Walking into the remnants of a dream.

The first thing she notices upon passing the barriers is the noise. Or rather, the lack of it.

The streets are empty. Worse than that, they're marred. Smoke clings to the air; Mary wrinkles her nose at it, covering the lower half of her face with her hand.

It's a painfully familiar scene. It's something she never wanted to see again. This isn't some simple attack. A targeted assault at Tempest's base of power? No, that's underselling it, but to Souei's credit, he couldn't know the full extent.

This is a declaration of war.

Unbidden, those ever-familiar embers crackle and pop just underneath her ribcage. This is her home. This is the place where she finally-

How dare they, who would even dare, I won't accept-!!!

With a grimace, she suppresses it. Now isn't the time. She's better than that. She has to be.

…

…and no, this isn't just a declaration from their enemies. The war has already started.

That's right. Keep a cool head. Analyze the situation.

What happened? Who would do this? And better yet, why? What had Tempest done to deserve this?

Nothing, of course. Nothing reasonable. Nothing justifiable, not to anyone with any sense.

Well, that doesn't matter. There's no time for that now. When the dust settles, they can try to connect the dots. But for now, damage assessment and damage control are the prime concerns. Analyze that instead.

For a moment, Mary turns back. She raises a hand, hovering over the nearest barrier… before letting it drop. She could destroy one of them, and possibly disable the other. Maybe she would have done so without thinking, once upon a time.

But, thinking about it, neither of them is lethal. Not outright. And if Rimuru elected to leave them alone for the time being, she would too. There's no time.

Mary faces Tempest proper and begins to run. Down the street, and towards a nearby building, she leaps, leaving a gust of air in her wake as she easily clears its height and lands on its roof. Like that, she travels through the devastated city, taking in the sights with a growing pit in her stomach.

The burn under her ribs gets harder to smother with every step and jump. Her shoulders are too tense.

The damage just gets worse the further in she gets. Soon, she is crossing entire streets at once, over blocks of burnt, blackened buildings. Twice, Mary stops and leaps straight up into the air.

Much of Tempest is damaged. Much of it is beyond repair, needing outright replacement. More places still are on the edge of collapse, or are still burning even now.

From brief glimpses, she can see people gathering. Examining the scene, parsing through the shattered remnants of their previous lifestyle. The sight of them soothes her, but barely.

Some sections, also, are unharmed. Certain large buildings, such as the school, are unblemished. The Assembly Hall is similarly secure, from what she can see in the distance.

That makes sense. That would be where Tempest's Executives gathered, assuming they weren't out in the city itself.

Another upside, so far, is an utter lack of corpses.

It's honestly surprising. Given the barriers above are strikingly like those used against her and Rimuru, any monsters should be-

A flash of light blue in the corner of her vision. Mary pauses on a rooftop, squinting in that direction.

It's Rimuru, and in that same direction, just as she focuses that way with Ability Sight, there's an aura of flame.

Her first instinct is to follow.

Her second instinct prevails.

Those flames are Benimaru's, and Rimuru is already on the scene. The two of them will be fine, which means she should go somewhere else. Divide and conquer.

There's a crowd near them, a few blocks away. In the city's central plaza. No doubt that will be Rimuru's next stop. She can meet up with him there later.

So, where…?

Right. There it is.

Mary leaps to another rooftop, then drops down to the street. In a straight line down this street is the Assembly Hall, and without pause, she is sprinting that way.

Something isn't exactly adding up. The city feels like death has descended on top of it, but there is little sign of any actual death. It sickens her. The nausea from seeing a safe haven's violation.

What happened, exactly? It bears to reason that the people with answers, those not named Benimaru at least, will be at the Assembly Hall. Rigurd, or Rigur, or even Shion.

Or, preferably, Tanya and Shuna.

Someone else might have guessed the problem already, but Mary's more of a "hands-on" sort of person anyway. So, she'll settle for physically finding-

Wait. Tanya!

That's right! It was odd seeing no corpses, and seeing undamaged buildings surrounded by burnt husks. But this makes more sense! Tanya must have done something.

The heat in her chest lessens, barely even a simmer. For the first time since Hinata's appearance, Mary feels light. It allows her to relax a bit, though the sight of the devastation around her still gnaws at her ribs.

Well, of course Tanya did something. It's such an obvious realization that she almost laughs. The stress must be getting to her. She's not thinking straight.

Tanya's been running the whole place in Rimuru's absence. More specifically, Mary thinks, Tanya must have planned against such an attack. The cautious type, that one.

Even more than that, she's human, which means-

Oh boy. I bet whoever decided to attack the city under her watch met a pretty nasty surprise, huh?

The pit in her stomach lessens. Actually, she begins to feel… a little hopeful. Tempest is in a sorry state, for sure, but isn't this fine? Buildings can be replaced. And, with the distinct lack of dead bodies, maybe they avoided the worst of it?

Hell, a targeted assassination attempt on Rimuru's life was thwarted with only a little bloodshed. Honestly, the worst of it was getting her guts rearranged by that Hinata Sakaguchi nutjob.

For some reason, she can hear Gobta snickering at that last sentence.

The wind rushes through her hair, the street cracking under her boots as she speeds up one more time.

Upon reaching the courtyard in front of the Assembly Hall, Mary winces.

For two reasons. One, there are people outside, and they don't look great. Hobgoblins, Goblinas, and a couple beastmen merchants. They more so linger, likely still in shock. She's seen that look before, even if the memories of those times are still blurry.

It's the aftermath of devastation; it feels like you're walking through a dream, so great is the shock. But they are alive. They will recover.

The second reason is because part of the stone under her boots is cracked from her abrupt stop. No doubt someone will be annoyed about that, though Mary has no intention of being held responsible for it.

Pretending it never happened, Mary strides to the Assembly Hall doors, feeling and ignoring the eyes following her.

They're wary.

She notes, somehow only just realizing the doors are already thrown open. Sheepishly lowering her fist, which she'd been about to knock with, Mary enters the building.

Now, if I were coordinating a counterattack, I'd be in the-

From the entrance hall, then to the back of the expansive building, Mary rushes to the conference room.

She bursts through the door and finds no one.

"What?"

Mary exits the way she came, footsteps pounding on the wooden floors. She backtracks, checking Rimuru's office on the right side of the Hall. Nothing. Then she heads to the staircase and goes up.

The office Tanya and Souei used to share on the second floor is empty too. The highest floor of the building is similarly bereft. She checks.

It doesn't make much sense. This is the central hub of Tempest's authority. There should be people holed here. There should be some sign of Tempest's leadership, at the very least.

But Tanya, Benimaru, Rigurd, Hakurou, Kaijin, Geld, Haruna… none of them are here. There are signs of previous occupation, of course. The conference room had a communication orb on the table, and a few of the chairs were skewed.

But, at least on the higher floors, no one is here. It's like they'd all rushed out to deal with something or other in a hurry.

That's… entirely possible. Did she seriously choose to investigate the one place that's empty? That would be terrible luck.

Mary descends to the ground floor, debating then deciding not to just jump out the window to make it quicker. There's no need to rush, exactly, other than her own impatience. And she's trying to work on that, so… the patient path.

This time.

One of the stairs creaks under her boot. It gives her pause.

She'd noticed it earlier, but even here, it's-

-extremely quiet.

Mary focuses after that thought, taking particular care to listen. It's too quiet. Even with her superhuman senses, there's not a whole lot to register.

Except for… there. Footsteps?

Yes, now that's she trying to hear it… Mary follows the sound, ghosting through the hallway. It's true, she hadn't found anybody of note on the upper floors, nor the ground floor. But there's one section you hadn't checked out.

Back near the entrance, Mary retraces her steps. Ignoring Rimuru's office, which sits on the right side of the Assembly Hall's ground floor, and the conference room, which sits at the back of the Assembly Hall's ground floor, she goes left.

She enters a door on that side, into a hallway. And the noise, which would be barely noticeable to most ears, increases. Hurried footsteps, muffled whispers and curses, groans of discomfort.

They set up an infirmary? No shit. I must be a fucking idiot.

Though, in her defense, the existence of Full Potions makes an infirmary far less relevant.

Still, with none of the Executives around…

I want to see everyone.

She seriously doubts Tanya or Benimaru would be in a makeshift infirmary. Mary turns around to leave.

"Mary?"

Mary pauses, then turns back around.

"Oh, Haruna." She says, as the familiar Goblina rushes up to her. "Where's-?"

"Mary!" Haruna grabs her hands. "Oh, thank the Storm Dragon! If you're here, then Lord Rimuru must be here as well. Where is he?"

Oh, that's not good. And here she was, thinking the worst might be behind them.

"What happened?" Mary demands, that pit in her stomach from earlier returning with a vengeance. Of course, it could never be that easy.

Still, if it isn't too bad, then maybe…

Haruna blinks, the aura around Mary much more viscous than before. Then, a horrific look of realization crosses her face, one that has Mary raising an eyebrow.

"I- you don't-" She shakes her head. "Of course, you couldn't know yet. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Why are you apologizing?"

"Mary- oh, Mary, I'm so sorry." Her grip on Mary's hands tightens. "It's- no, I can't."

"Haruna." Mary pulls her hands free, and grabs Haruna's shoulders. "What. Happened."

"I-" Whatever Haruna is about to say, she doesn't. Mary can see the moment she changes her mind. "Hakurou and Gobta need help. We've managed to keep them alive, but their wound, there's something keeping them from healing, and Lord Rimuru- we need his help."

Those aren't the words Haruna had in mind. She'd been about to answer with something else, and now she's pretending otherwise.

Mary wars with herself, wanting to ask, needing to know, burning… but that's not what she should be doing.

"…be strong enough for others."

Instead, Mary says, "Take me to them."

-=-=-=-