Chapter 43: Back To the Past! Part 1

Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?

Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.

Chapter 43: Back To the Past! Part 1

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- Felix -

"Now, why don't we talk about how we can save Hinata and Chloe."

" "What?" " Both Luminous and Rimuru said at the same time.

Those subordinates of Luminous finally stopped with their pointless attacks on me. If it was in any other situation, I would have purged them for the slight.

They're lucky none of my subordinates were around.

Still, to think Luminous would evolve her Unique Skill: Lust, into an Ultimate Skill.

I got a once in a lifetime chance to observe the change happening in Luminous' Soul.

The Ultimate Skill: Asmodeus, Lord of Lust, basically just gave Luminous control over Life and Death, though it leaned more towards the Life aspect.

It allowed the user to manipulate the Infons of the Soul to an extremely high degree.

An incredibly powerful Ultimate Skill.

That's another Sin Series Skill reaching its full potential. It's a shame that Greed will never reach that level, at least not with Mariabell as its host.

I even got to analyze Asmodeus, Lord of Lust, when Luminous tried to use it to resurrect Hinata.

"By now, you should know what just happened, right Luminous?" 

Rimuru was looking at the both of us in confusion. While Luminous was glaring at me.

If my guess was right, then Luminous should at least be aware of what just happened.

Earlier, when I told Luminous that Hinata was not truly gone, she said that she knew. Now, how could she possibly know something like that when she was not even present to see what had happened?

Sure she may have some absurd analysis Skill, but I know she doesn't. Maybe she recognized that Time shenanigans took place here, she is extremely old after all, but even then she would not say what she had with such confidence if she just had a suspicion.

No, she knew with complete certainty that Hinata was technically still alive, or at least she was not dead at the present moment.

The only way for her to think that is if she knew what truly happened, that Hinata and Chloe were transported through Time.

And for Luminous to know, then that means that Chloe and Hinata must have been transported to the past and formed some kind of relationship with Luminous. 

Still, going by how desperate Luminous was to bring Hinata back, even knowing what truly occurred, tells me that something had happened leaving Hinata's fate uncertain.

Luminous glare finally gave way to annoyance. "Fine. I will explain everything to the both of you."

Atta girl.

- Hinata Sakaguchi -

Hinata felt extremely groggy, as if she was waking up from a nap that had lasted many years.

Her memories flashed, from her happy childhood years to her struggle-filled teenage years. 

Back when she was just a normal kid who craved their parents' praise, to when she murdered her own father.

Her father's company had gone bankrupt, so he went gambling and put their family into debt. Even to this day, she hated that man for breaking up her perfect family.

She had always wondered if that sin that she carried was the reason she had never Awakened into a True Hero. Perhaps she couldn't forgive herself, even if she felt what she had done was justified.

Murdering one's own kin was not a light crime.

Perhaps that burden would always be carried within her. She knew that even if she returned to her original world, she would not be welcomed; her mother would not greet her with a hug.

Perhaps that is why she wanted to pursue justice in this new world.

In fact, she had felt that weight in her heart for a long, long time. It wasn't until she met Felix, and by extension, Rimuru, that that weight lightened.

Perhaps Felix's company had lightened that weight. At first, she saw him as a simple means to an end. She would have to be a fool not to accept the no-strings-attached offer that Felix had given her.

Training from a Demon Lord was something many Majin would do anything for. Even some Humans would desperately seek such a thing.

She had planned to quickly learn everything the Demon Lord was willing to teach and then move on.

She had not expected it to be so incredibly difficult, however.

She had learned many things under Felix's tutelage, but she was still far behind him, even she could see that.

So she trained, and trained, and trained.

Over that period of time, she slowly found herself becoming fond of Felix and Rimuru due to their continued interactions.

It may be due to her knowing of their previous lives as Humans that she saw them as different from the rest, even she herself did not know. But she grew closer to them all the same.

Perhaps, in another life, her and Felix could have become something more. She could have seen their relationship going in that direction if the stars had aligned.

Though that was probably due to his playboy nature.

His personality may have been annoying, and he was extremely arrogant, self centered, and an irredeemable playboy. But she knew he cared for her in his own way. He cared for those around him, she could see it in his actions.

When he would pause their training sessions to pick up flowers for one of his lovers, or when he would help Rimuru out with simple tasks, seeking to help take some of the load off his friend's back.

He was full of flaws, as all Humans were, but he had his good side.

Perhaps if she had encountered him during his tenure as an Adventurer that he had mentioned, then things could have been different.

Her most recent memories flashed in her head.

It was too late to change anything at this point. She felt like just falling asleep as she continued to fall into this mysterious void.

"Don't leave me now Hinata-nee!"

All of a sudden complete awareness came back to Hinata.

'Chloe?!'

She quickly came back to reality. She could not see anything, she was practically completely blind.

"Use your heart to see Hinata!"

Her heart?

She focused on sensing the outside world, it took her a few moments before she could truly see what was happening, not through her eyes but through her heart. She was in an incredibly dark area, with a light in front of her.

'Where am I?'

"You are inside of me!'

'Inside of you?'

Did she not die? She was stabbed by a dagger coated with Spiritrons, it was practically a miniature Disintegration.

She should have been completely erased.

Even when using her Unique Skill: Mathematician she could not come up with an explanation. In fact she was surprised she could even use her Skill in this kind of situation.

Felix had said that Skills were truly one of the most fascinating things in the universe, and now she could sort of see why he thought like that.

Truly how mysterious.

'I'll explain everything to you once you are stabilized. Do you see that white light? Walk into it.'

Hinata heeded Chloe's words and did as she said. She felt like she was moving her physical body even though she knew she did not possess one.

The moment she came into contact with the light, she felt everything change. She felt far more… stable.

"There we go, that's better. Do you feel better now?"

'Ugh, yes. Now could you explain everything to me?'

"Yes. Now listen here Hinata-nee. Right now you are basically inside of my soul, you were very close to being devoured by my Infinity Prison, but you are safe for now. You don't have a body anymore obviously and will be far more limited with your actions. I know this is something new for you but please don't do anything drastic."

Infinity Prison? That must have been the bottom of the darkness she was falling through.

'What do you think of me? Of course, I won't do anything drastic that might endanger you.'

"Aha, that's good. I was just making sure."

'Thank you for waking me up.'

"Hehe, no problem Hinata-nee!"

'But how did my Soul end up in yours?'

"Funny thing that. When you tried to pass on your Skill, your Soul sort of attached to it, so your Soul came along for the journey and ended up residing in my Soul, your Soul itself was injured but since the Spiritrons that were inside of you were left behind I was able to slowly heal you over a long period of time."

'If you inherited my Skill, then how am I able to use it?'

"Because I resisted it, if I fully inherited the Skill who knows what would have happened to your Soul. Now you still have your Skills and your Soul is safe inside of me."

'I see. You really saved me huh Chloe?'

"Of course! You believed that I could be a Hero, so of course I would save you!"

'I see… I see. If we are both still alive, then what is happening in the real world? Was the Clown dealt with? What about the attack on Tempest?'

"Uhm, I don't know. I imagine with Felix-nii and Rimuru everything went fine."

Hinata thought it was quite odd that Chloe removed the honorifics from Rimuru's name, she always used to call him Rimuru-sensei. She also never used to call Felix, Felix-nii.

But she ignored that and focused on what Chloe had said.

'You don't know.'

"Listen carefully, I don't know how to say this but… we are in the past. We are in the far far past, long before both Rimuru and Felix-nii show up."

'The past?! Time travel!?'

"Yes." Chloe then directed her spiritual vision in a certain direction. "Can you see that mountain?"

'Is that!?'

"Yup, it's Mount Liora."

'We truly are in the distant past then.' This entire area was considered a Holy Land back in the present time. There used to be a city here.

Luminous would move her center of power to this location in the future after Veldora destroys her original Kingdom.

"When I was originally sent back in time, I was just outside the Jura Forest. Whenever I travel back in Time, I end up staying in the same physical location."

'Then why are we here?'

"Uhm, because this isn't my first time in the past. I am just following the same path I took to reach the same ideal future that we had left from."

'What?!'

"When Rimuru took us to the Dwelling of the Spirits to contract with Elementals to save our lives, I awakened my innate power of Time Traveler. The Elemental that Blessed me was no normal Spirit, it was my power from the future. I can't consciously activate Time Traveler either as some sort of condition needs to be fulfilled for it to be used. I think I keep failing in the future, so my power keeps coming back to me in the past."

'So you've had your memories this whole time?'

"Normally no. I usually only regain my memories when I am sent back in time. This time however was different, I do not know what caused this miracle, but this time I regained parts of my memories at the Dwelling of the Spirits. Using this knowledge, I was able to lead things to a better situation than normal."

'...So you have been doing the same things over and over again?'

"Until this loop, I was yes."

Hinata did not know how to respond to that. Such a fate was incredibly cruel.

'I… I'm sorry you had to suffer through that Chloe.'

"It's okay! If I can save Rimuru and everyone else in one of these loops then it will all have been worth it!"

Hinata did not miss the affection in Chloe's voice when she spoke about Rimuru. She could tell, Chloe Aubert was in love with Rimuru Tempest.

'What did you mean by saying a better situation earlier?'

"Umu! Normally, Rimuru does not become a Demon Lord. Usually, you do not confront him during the Falmuth Invasion as he would be long gone by then, and so he reaches Tempest on time and quickly defends Tempest and kicks all the invaders out. Thanks to this he has no reason to become a True Demon Lord." She began, focusing for a few moments to make sure she remembered everything correctly.

"Felix also does not become a True Demon Lord at this point, though he does join the council as he confronts Clayman and his army. But from what Felix-nii told me, he did not kill the entire army like he did in the most recent timeline, he challenged Clayman to a fight, and Clayman's arrogance worked against him. He lost the fight and so Felix inherited his position."

'I see, so events were different huh? But I don't see what the issue is?'

Since Chloe had been continuing to try and change things, and the only future that she was happy with was the one where Rimuru and Felix became True Demon Lords, then something must have gone differently later on.

"Rimuru would save Tempest and slowly build relations with the rest of the world. Even you Hinata-nee would become one of his allies later on. You and Felix-nii had a weird relationship too, you seemed awfully close."

'Weird relationship?'

"Hehe, yes! Rimuru kept calling Felix-nii a lucky bastard for scoring a beauty like you or something, so maybe you two were together in that timeline? I don't know, I never bothered to ask."

'T-together?!' Hinata was sure that if she had a body, her cheeks would be glowing.

"Yup. Anyways everything was going fine for 5 years, we all trained together and grew stronger. Felix-nii would stop by and teach us things from time to time. We even went for a field trip to his territory! But the good times did not last, the Eastern Empire attacked. Rimuru ended up dying and Veldora was unleashed. Felix-nii also went on a rampage and ascended into a True Demon Lord. He ended up Summoning a Daemon, a Primordial at that. The Primordial of Yellow, Jaune."

'Megumin?!'

"That is what she was called in this iteration, but back then… back then I remember Felix-nii's words. He said he wanted the Eastern Empire to suffer, to feel despair. And so he told Jaune that she would be his bringer of Despair, his Aponoia. With Jaune named, he unleashed her on the enemy forces."

Hinata was sure the Eastern Empire was not in for a good time. She had met Megumin, and one thing she knew was that she loved to cause destruction and chaos.

"Veldora, Felix-nii, and Jaune killed over one million Humans in total. The Eastern Empire's Army was decimated."

'One million!?' 

"I remember that day clearly even now. I begged Rimuru not to go, but he wouldn't listen. He passed on the mask to me and left and never returned."

Hinata took a moment to digest all that. To think one event going differently could lead to such a drastically different future.

"However Veldora was in a berserk state, he could not differentiate between friend or foe, and so he was attacking Tempest as well as the Eastern Empire's forces. The newly ascended Felix-nii was fighting him off, Luminous, you, and I as well as Rimuru and Felix-nii's subordinates were also there, helping to mitigate the damage."

'Felix was that strong even after just awakening?!'

To be able to take on a True Dragon right after Awakening was incredible.

"Yes, he did not even go into a slumber after his Awakening, he seemed to have immediately brought his power under his complete control and seemed to have perfect mastery of his Skills almost immediately, so he was able to lead Veldora away before a significant amount of damage was done to Tempest and its people."

'I see.'

"However, in the midst of the fight, you died. I only saw a flash of light, and then my ability activated, sending me back in time."

'After seeing me die?'

"Yes. It seems that the condition to activate my Time Leap is to see you die."

Hinata did not know how to feel about that, to think that she had died in every single one of Chloe's loops.

That was just… unnerving.

"I don't know what had happened after your death, but I imagine Felix-nii went on a rampage. Most of the loops go in a similar fashion. But this time was different, in every single one of my loops, Rimuru had been dead before Time Leap activated, this time he was alive and Awakened along with Felix-nii! If Felix-nii Awakened the same power as he always does then I am confident nothing will happen to everyone else!"

'Why are you so confident that Felix can protect Rimuru and Tempest?'

"Hehe, I've known everyone for a very long time. If you add up all my years, in some of my memories, I got to see a close-up view of Felix going all out after Awakening and battling Veldora. Someone as strong as that… should be capable of almost anything."

'I see.'

Felix was a monster even to Chloe's eyes, huh?

"Not to mention his subordinates this time around. Three of the Primordial Daemons, his other subordinates are extremely powerful as well. Not to mention Rimuru's subordinates! Normally, they wouldn't be half as strong as they are in this timeline!"

Hinata guessed that was from the Blessings they received from both Felix's and Rimuru's Harvest Festival.

Felix has explained a bit about True Demon Lords and the process of them Awakening. She was a bit put off at how… almost easy it seemed.

Killing 10,000 normal Humans was a breeze to a lot of Majin. Thankfully, such a condition was mostly unknown. Not to mention the other condition of possessing a Demon Lord Seed.

Felix truly was well-learned.

Still, for some reason, Felix seemed confident that even if it was well known everything would be fine. He had said that the Demon Lord Guy Crimson would take care of it.

Hinata did not know why that… Daemon would do such a thing, but she understood that Felix knew something that she did not.

'There is one thing that's bugging me is, how did Felix and Rimuru become True Demon Lords in the timeline if Rimuru usually makes it back in time to defend Tempest?'

"Hehe, that was because of me. Because I had regained some of my memories ahead of time, I felt sudden urges when I had to change something, at the time I didn't know what these urges were trying to do but I trusted my instincts. I made sure to… stall Rimuru enough so that you would encounter him. He even gave me the mask back then."

Hinata did not know what to think about that. Chloe had knowingly or perhaps unknowingly caused many deaths in Tempest, sure she may have known that Rimuru would do something to bring them back, but still… a woman in love was a dangerous thing.

She was sure that the constant Time Leaps had a part to play, any Human would become more and more desperate in her situation. In fact she might have done similar to Chloe, after all she could just retry if things didn't work out, so Hinata did not blame her for her actions.

In fact, Hinata could not even treat Chloe as the same innocent child as before, she had to have been far far older than she looked at this point, at least mentally. 

"Because of that, you were able to stall him long enough for the damage to have already been done. So he went ahead and Ascended into a True Demon Lord along with Felix-nii to bring everyone who had died back."

'And so both Felix and Rimuru grew in power a tremendous amount sooner than they have before?'

"Yes. The future that we just came from seems to be the best one so far. If we can return back to that future… then maybe we can finally win this time, maybe we can find out who killed you and Rimuru. Everyone will still be alive and safe, we would have an actual chance." 

'Indeed, when compared to all these other timelines you have mentioned, the most recent one seems to be the ideal one.'

"Yes, we must reach that future!"

'Very well then, you can count on my help then.'

- Felix -

I made my way to the Clown that was still stuck in my Fixation. Once I was standing in front of him I grabbed him by the throat once again and I dispelled my Fixation.

He immediately started pointlessly struggling.

"I don't understand why you continue to struggle. Your Magic Circuits are crippled, and I have you at my mercy."

My words only made the Clown angrier and struggle harder.

"Now, I'll deal with you later. Sit tight." And with that, I stored him in my Infinity Space, particularly in the prison area of my Infinity Space.

With it being basically infinitely large as well as my complete control of the Chaos World, I could create practically any sort of environment in there.

The prison of my Infinity Space in particular was surrounded in darkness, pure emptiness where no one but me and those I allowed could move.

They still had their own thoughts, but they could not do anything except stare into the void and contemplate.

The Clown and Mariabell can keep each other company there.

"Then Clown will be safe for now. We can interrogate him later." I told the group.

Perhaps Greed would be useful for that endeavor.

"That Clown… is the one that killed Roy. His crimes are many." 

I snorted at that. "Well, get in line. It seems we all have a bone to pick with this guy."

"So it seems." Said Luminous, seemingly giving in, though I could tell she was angry at her position. While we both had things the other wanted, she knew she was in a weaker position.

I had the Clown, and Rimuru and I could easily take Luminous together. Though Rimuru would likely be very against that, not to mention I didn't even want to do such a thing. Though she did seem to need us for something. 

So, we definitely held the position of power at the moment.

But Roy Valentine, huh? I remember hearing that Roy had fought the Demon Lord Kazalim evenly so he was probably pretty powerful.

That also gives me a rough estimate of Kazalim's own power. Going by the amount of energy I sensed Roy to have back at the Walpurgis he was probably about half as strong as Louis.

So this Kazalim was fairly weak all things considered, definitely not a True Demon Lord, likely just a Seed.

Doesn't matter anyway, as Guy had said that Leon killed Kazalim.

I turned around to look at Luminous. "Roy was about half as powerful as Louis, right?"

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, Louis and Roy were originally a single being that I split into two, Roy's power returned to Louis once he had passed away."

Huh, so Louis wasn't this strong originally, interesting. I do wonder how one would split a single being into two though.

"I see. Thanks for answering."

Though the Clown is incredibly powerful as well, he's around the level of an Awakened being, with an amount of Existence Points a fair bit higher than even that subordinate of Luminous's, Louis.

His Soul was a bit odd, too.

Luminous turned to her two subordinates. "Seeing as you two are not needed, return back to Ruberious."

They both bowed to her and then vanished.

I walked towards Hinata's body and knelt down. I placed my hand on her stomach and stored her in my Infinity Space. I have a feeling this body may come in handy later on.

"What did you do?!" Demanded Luminous.

I raised both of my hands up. "Peace Luminous. I am simply storing her body and keeping it safe. I have a feeling that this body will have a use at some point."

Luminous' glare was still present, but she took a deep breath and calmed down. "Very well. Then, should I not be the one safekeeping her body? She was my subordinate."

I waved my finger at her. "Ah ah ah. But I was her teacher. Not to mention I have a far better chance at keeping her body safe."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that in case whoever is behind this sends someone to retrieve the body. They will have a harder time getting it from me than they will you. I stored her body in another Dimension, after all. Not to mention leaving it with you is the predictable option."

"We will talk about this again after I have explained everything." Said Luminous.

"Alright, alright."

"Well then? Will we be standing around all day?" Questioned Luminous.

I held my hand out, the God Grade rapier I made for Hinata floated into my hand, at which point I stored it in my Infinity Space.

"I'll teleport us back to Tempest." Said Rimuru.

And with that our group vanished and appeared in Tempest. I looked around to see where exactly in Tempest we were.

It looks like we were transported to one of the safehouses.

"Sensei!"

Rimuru and I turned towards the voice.

"Ah, Kenya. I'm glad to see you all are fine." Said Rimuru.

"Where is Chloe?" Asked Alice.

Rimuru gave them a fragile smile. "Ah, well, she's going to be gone for a little while. W-we need to figure out what happened to her."

I could see tears beginning to form in some of the kids' eyes.

I sighed. "She isn't dead. She was just transported somewhere for her own grand adventure. Heroes will never have an easy time, but trust in your friend to make it back okay."

Ugh, who knew I'd have to be the one giving them a pep talk.

Rimuru sent me a grateful smile.

"Chloe? A Hero?!" Shouted Ryouta.

"Keep your voice down." Said Rimuru.

Ryota nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Oops."

"Now we need to go talk about something important, make sure to be obedient." Rimuru then turned to the female Hobgoblin who was in charge of their class. "Could you make sure they don't get into any trouble?"

"Yes Lord Rimuru!" She responded.

Rimuru then turned to Benimaru who seemed to be the one protecting this safehouse. The attackers seemed to all be dealt with so he probably had some free time.

"Benimaru."

Benimaru kneeled in front of Rimuru. "Lord Rimuru!"

"You did a good job today. Thank you for keeping the kids safe."

"It was my duty, My Lord!"

"Still, thank you. Everyone will be rewarded once everything is sorted out. Now Luminous, Felix and I are going to be having a meeting. Can you make sure everything stays in order?"

"Yes, My Lord!" Responded Benimaru.

Hmm, I should probably check in with my subordinates.

"I just arrived back in Tempest. Is everything going okay?" I asked.

"Ah, My Lord! It pleases me to hear you in good health!" Said Arcueid.

"Hehe, of course, our Master would easily be able to deal with any threat! Ah! I did good today, Master! Can I be rewarded!" Of course, that is what Lalatina focuses on.

"Ooh, I felt a super strong Aura earlier! Could you tell me about it, Lord Felix?!" Asked Megumin.

"I'll tell you later Megumin. And yes Lalatina, everyone did well today, so I will reward everyone." Now, how should I even reward them? I already gave them weapons. I'll have to think about that later.

"I have fulfilled my duties, Master." Said my adorable Dragon Maid.

"Hmph! As expected of Felix-sama! No way any of those weaklings could pose a problem for him!" Said Saeko. 

Ah, I truly have a team of glazers. I seriously need to make sure I don't get into my own head with subordinates like these.

"I have completed my duties as well, Lord Felix. Though I wish I was powerful enough to have been of assistance to you when you had gone to deal with the Chaos Dragon. You should not need to lower yourself to deal with such a bug. I will be increasing my training." Said Sukuna.

"Uhm. Glenda and I were able to protect some people!"

"Good job, Ingvild," I responded. Ingvild really was a cinnamon roll.

"What about Agera and Zonda?" I asked.

"Zonda was going around healing others while Agera was dealing with stronger foes that some of Lord Rimuru's subordinates could not defeat." Responded Arcueid.

"I see. I'll have to praise them as well, then. Anyways I'll be in a meeting, I'm not sure how long it will last so just head back to my residence."

"Very well, My Lord."

With that, I cut off the thought communication.

Rimuru seemed to have just finished his conversation with Benimaru.

Rimuru turned to look at Luminous and then at me. "Alright, are you two ready?"

We both nodded and followed Rimuru as he led us to the Chancellor's Building, where Rimuru conducted his duties as a Ruler.

"Did anyone die?" I asked.

Rimuru shook his head. "No, thankfully, no one died. Only some had minor injuries, but they were quickly healed. Ah, thanks for lending Zonda to Tempest. He was healing my subordinates' injuries as some of them got a bit wounded from their fights."

I waved him off. "It's fine."

I looked around as we were walking towards the Chancellor's Office. Many buildings were destroyed, and the ground was cracked and destroyed in certain areas.

It would take some time to rebuild. But I also noticed Majin helping Human, and Human helping Majin. Some were conversing over a drink, while others were joking around with each other.

Nothing grows people closer than fighting for your lives, huh? 

"One more thing. Do you know where Yuuki is?" 

Rimuru looked at me curiously before a look of realization appeared. "You think he is behind this?"

I nodded. "I know he is."

"Explain everything later, then." I nodded. "But Yuuki is in one of the safehouses. I just checked."

Good, that means that he hasn't caught on yet or I assume he would be trying to subtly leave Tempest.

"Excuse me. Do you mean Yuuki Kagurazaka? The head of the Free Guild?" Asked Luminous.

I nodded. "The very same."

"This plot is getting more and more interesting." Said Luminous.

"That's one way to say it."

It didn't take us long to arrive at the Chancellor's Office.

"This is a fairly… quaint building." Commented Luminous.

"Haha, I know it isn't some grand palace, but I'm fine with this." Said Rimuru.

Luminous looked at Rimuru weirdly. "Very well. It is your reputation, after all."

Rimuru ignored her comment and led us towards the Meeting Room. Once we were inside, we all took our seats.

Rimuru snapped his fingers and placed a barrier around the room to keep this conversation secret.

Luminous looked at the both of us. "Now, have you ever heard of the name… Chronoa?"

- Hinata Sakaguchi -

They had decided that their first stop would be visiting Luminous. It seems Luminous always had a part to play in Chloe's previous loops.

They did not have many potential allies in this era, none of her subordinates were around at this point, and none of the Demon Lords would lend a hand except for perhaps Milim Nava and Ramiris. But she did not know how to convince them of anything, she did not have any sort of close relationship with those two, rather Felix was the one who was close to them.

She did not think she was capable of persuading them, besides Chloe almost never encountered those two this early on.

If they were trying to make sure they arrived in the same future they left they would have to make sure they did not do anything out of the ordinary, they had to take actions similar to what Chloe always did.

It was a bit suffocating, knowing they had some of their freedom taken, to be restricted to a few choices. But they would have to deal with it.

They were currently heading to Luminous' old castle, Night Rose, which was destroyed by Veldora in the future.

"I will tell Luminous about Veldora's attack so she can evacuate her civilians. That should be enough to earn her trust."

'Very well. That is a good move. Though be prepared for rejection. Luminous may not believe you right away.'

"I know she'll come around."

Sometimes, having future knowledge can give you all the confidence you need.

Chloe already knew the way to get to Luminous' old castle.

'It truly is quite majestic. No wonder Luminous was always so angry at Veldora for destroying this.'

"Hehe, yup! Veldora may become Rimuru's friend in the future, but he is just a berserker now."

'Indeed.'

Hinata herself was rather put off by Veldora, even up to her death she could not get him to take her seriously throughout their many spars.

It didn't take long for a group of Vampires to appear in front of Chloe, guards by the look of it.

"Who are you?!" Asked the Guard in the lead.

"Hello there. I am here to see Luminous." Chloe boldly declared.

'Ugh, I don't think that was the right move Chloe. Boldly proclaiming their Ruler's name without any honorifics isn't likely to blow over well.'

"Don't worry, I know Luminous!"

'But you don't? You haven't even met Luminous yet.'

"Ah, crap! That's right, I always mix some of these things up with all these memories in my head. In fact, I think I remember you scolding me about the same thing before, hehe."

It was nice to know even her other versions were keeping Chloe in check. It was not a task for the light-hearted it seemed.

Though from what Chloe said, she did not always accompany Chloe back to the past. Sometimes it was up to Chloe alone to resolve everything.

Hinata was sure that the loneliness was killing her.

'Alright, how about I help you? Whenever someone asks you something, don't immediately respond, hear me out first.'

"Okay!"

That's good. If Chloe says something she is not supposed to, history could change. Even a slight deviation could mess everything up.

"That's from next time, though!"

After saying that Chloe dashed past Luminous' guards and quickly made her way to Luminous' chamber.

'Damn it! Did you not hear what I just said!'

"Don't worry, I've done this before already."

'Ugh, what a pain.'

"Hey!"

Chloe burst through the door. Luminous was sitting in the center of the room on her throne.

"Now, who do we have here?" Said Luminous with a haughty smile.

Chloe gave her a wave. "Hello! I am Chloe Aubert! I am here to warn you that Veldora will be attacking this place soon!"

Luminous looked at Chloe with interest. "The Storm Dragon will attack, you say? I'm sure you understand I can't just take you at your word."

This… this was going better than Hinata thought it would.

"Lady Luminous!" Yelled one of the guards who had just arrived.

Luminous waved her hand at them. "Leave. You have already shown your incompetence enough for today."

The guards cowered under Luminous' glare and quickly left.

Luminous then looked to Chloe. "Now, why don't we continue."

Chloe nodded. "The True Dragon Veldora will be attacking this place soon. I have no doubt about that fact. And while you are strong, you and I both know you are not capable of taking on a True Dragon."

Such a comment probably stung Luminous' pride, but from experience, Hinata knew that Luminous was capable of swallowing her pride.

She did care for her people, after all.

"Indeed, it pains me to admit, but the True Dragons are not a foe that can be beaten by conventional means. Only true monsters like Guy Crimson and the first True Hero would have a chance. But can I trust you?"

"Okay, now what do you think I should say?"

'Now you ask me? Well, give me a moment.'

Hinata then used her Unique Skill: Mathematician to analyze Luminous as best as she could. She drew on Chloe's own power to help give her the power she needed to do such a thing.

She knew what year it was thanks to Chloe's information, so she was able to roughly calculate when Veldora would attack.

'You can tell her when Veldora will arrive, once that happens we will have won some trust with Luminous.'

Chloe internally agreed with her and then looked at Luminous confidently. "At the earliest, he will arrive within a week, at the longest, in a couple of months."

Luminous sighed. "Very well. I will allow you to stay within my palace, should your words prove false though…."

Chloe waved Luminous off. "They are not false."

And so began their stay in Night Rose.

—

They watched as Luminous faced Veldora head on. Thankfully all of Luminous' citizens had been evacuated as Luminous had decided to trust them.

Luminous was putting up a good fight, but in the end the result was already determined the moment the fight started.

Even though this Veldora lacked all the skill he would acquire later on, he was still a True Dragon, an unbeatable enemy for all but a few.

Luminous was not part of that few, not yet.

"It's sad that we can't help her."

'Indeed, but it is how things must go. Luminous must fail here if we are to return back to our future. We must repeat the same things you did the last time, no matter what your other memories say. Perhaps it would be a good idea to share some of the future with Luminous to win her trust. Of course, nothing that could cause something to change.'

There were many things Luminous should not know about, if she knew of Gran's betrayal she would kill him long before he had played his part. She may look for her or Chloe ahead of time to take them under her wing. 

In this scenario, while there weren't too many casualties, Night Rose was still destroyed, aligning with Hinata's own memories.

This was just one step in the right direction.

--

"You are from the future, you said Chloe?"

Since Chloe was right about Veldora's attack, she had won Luminous' trust, which thankfully made a lot of things easier.

Chloe nodded in response to Luminous. "Yup! Hinata-nee and I both!"

By now Luminous knew of both individuals inhabiting a single body, Hinata had multiple opportunities to talk to Luminous as Chloe was able to pass on control of her body.

"I see, and you said this is not your first time in the past?" Asked Luminous.

"Nope, but hopefully, it will be my last!" 

"I see. What do you plan to do now that you are in the past? Do you plan to change things for your benefit?"

Chloe shook her head. "No, Hinata and I both want to make sure that we return to the same future we left from. It is the best one by far."

"The best future hmm. Would you mind telling me about it?"

Chloe nodded eagerly. "Uhm, I was a Stray Otherworlder at first, I appeared with my childhood friend. But the moment I appeared in this world I was Summoned to the future. I ended up going to a school and met my teacher, Rimuru. After that events varied depending on the timeline, but in almost all of them Rimuru dies."

Hinata noticed that Chloe was keeping the events that occurred in the future incredibly vague, which was good. The less Luminous knew, the better. 

Luminous nodded. "I see, and what about Hinata?"

Hearing Luminous Chloe passed on control of the body over to her. "Hmm, well I was originally a Stray Otherworlder as well, I ended up meeting a nice teacher who took me in and taught me. I ended up leaving that teacher after I learned everything from her."

Hinata knew she did not treat Shizu-sensei as well as she should have, but fear often causes Humans to do things they regret in the future. Shizu-sensei was the closest thing she had to a mother figure in this world.

In her case, the fear of attachment. If she had met Felix back then, she likely would have done something similar, though, with his personality, he likely would have tracked her down and beat her up.

"After that, I journeyed around the world for some time before finding a place where I felt I could make a difference. That place was with you, Luminous." 

Luminous blushed slightly, hearing her. How odd.

"A-ah, I see." 

"After that, I grew in strength and eventually became the leader of your personal Knight Order of sorts. I would end up having a misunderstanding with Rimuru and it would lead to a fight. Thankfully everything ended up fine. Through Rimuru I ended up meeting my second teacher, the Demon Lord Felix."

Hearing that, Luminous looked far more interested.

"A Demon Lord would teach you?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, I suspect he originally began out of his own petty desire to punish me for almost killing his friend. But we did grow closer over time." Hinata said with a fond smile on her face.

For some reason, Luminous' eyes narrowed at that.

"How strong is this Demon Lord Felix?" Asked Luminous.

Hinata tilted her head slightly. "I could not say. I had no way to measure his strength, he did tell me that he had beaten me with contemptuous ease while using 1% of his power."

"1%!?" Yelled a shocked Luminous. 

Hinata nodded. "Yes, 1%."

"And you were a Saint then?"

Hinata nodded once again. "Yes, an Incomplete one but I was capable of elevating myself to the same level as a Complete Saint with the help of the armor you had gifted me. The one this body is wearing now."

Luminous nodded. "He must be incredibly powerful then."

"He was, even you had recognized him. He also seemed to have the approval of Guy Crimson."

Luminous' eyes widened. "Even Guy?!"

"Indeed. I also witnessed him sparring with Veldora, one in which Veldora had to take him seriously and even then wasn't able to push Felix back at all. I do not know how the fight would have ended as Rimuru stopped them in the midst of it."

For some reason Hinata felt satisfied at seeing the shock on Luminous' face. It was only right that she recognized how amazing her teacher was, for all Felix's faults, he was strong, no one could deny that.

It was fairly odd that she was proud of such a thing however. She had not felt anything similar for others.

"I look forward to meeting this Slime and Daemon in the future then." Hinata was sure Luminous would regret saying that. Luminous had ranted to her about how annoying Felix was on multiple occasions.

Hinata went on to give some more about her background.

"Well then what do you plan to do now?"

Hinata passed control of the body back to Chloe.

"Hmm, well I always end up being a Hero for sometime so I will do the same this time as well to make sure that the future stays right."

"A Hero hmm? Very well then. I will inform everyone here that you are my friend. Should you need something you may ask anyone." Said Luminous.

"Great! Thanks Luminous!"

As they were leaving towards the personal quarters Luminous had assigned them Hinata asked, 'What will you be known as? You can't be known as Chloe Auburt or that would be far too suspicious in the future.'

"Uhm, that's right. Leon-onii chan will definitely find out. I usually just pick a name, why don't you choose one this time?"

'A name huh? Since you have the Unique Skill: Time Traveler we can use the name of the Primordial of Time from Greek Mythos, Chronos. We can change it a bit to differentiate a bit. What about… Chronoa?'

"Okay then! I will be called Chronoa from now on!"

___________________________________________________________________

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Author's Note: 

Hello everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. Luminous got her new Ultimate Skill recently and is not fucking around. I went with a bit of a different method of explaining Hinata and Chloe's situation, rather than just having Luminous explain everything I did a POV switch to the past, hopefully that wasn't confusing. It's a bit different for me so hopefully I pulled it off well.

If some of you are wondering why Felix summoned Jaune instead of Blanc it was due to his wishes when he summoned her. He wished for the death and destruction of his enemies. Of course Jaune would be more receptive to that kind of wish.

I will continue with the explanation in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!

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