\u201cThanks,\u201d she replied\u2014and her cheeks were just a tiny bit red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s totally being shy, isn\u2019t she? Is she starting to fall for me?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Negative. That is incorrect.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, no way that<\/em> could happen. Besides, she was already ignoring me and celebrating her reunion with Shizu. She had dropped the attitude now, her eyes tearing up a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Shizu. I didn\u2019t want to cause trouble for you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know, Hinata. And I\u2019m sorry I never noticed at the time. Also, thanks. You were the Hero who rescued me from Leon\u2019s castle, weren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026That\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeing them embrace, I was about to cry myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou really are a strong girl, Hinata,\u201d Shizu earnestly stated. \u201cI think it was Measurer, the unique skill you created, that allowed you to keep it together in there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She might be right, yeah. Hinata certainly hadn\u2019t changed at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI lost one of my other powers, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHee-hee! Well, that just means you don\u2019t need it any longer. You simply need to keep growing, all right? And face up to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026But can I really be resurrected?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re fine. You believe in it, too, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, kind of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shizu and Hinata turned their eyes to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow long are you gonna keep doing that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It took Hinata saying that to make me realize Chloe and Chronoa were still hugging me tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wanna hug Rimuru more!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, Hinata. It\u2019s been two thousand years, so just a little longer\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The way she phrased it could lead to all sorts of misunderstandings, I thought. I mean, I<\/em> wasn\u2019t doing anything. These twin Chloes were just being buried in my slime body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ll have all the time in the world later, all right? Because I really need to get going, and we need to revive Hinata soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>With a smile, Shizu shooed the Chloes away from me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou should know, shouldn\u2019t you, Rimuru? I\u2019m just an illusion you\u2019re displaying here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, no, this was an imaginary landscape, so\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo dream goes on forever\u2014you have to wake up sooner or later. I\u2019m glad I got to see all of you. It looks like Kenya and everyone are in good shape, and when you punched Leon, Rimuru, that perked me up a little. I guess we had some misunderstandings, but now that I know that, I think I\u2019m starting to like this world a little. So I don\u2019t have any regrets now. I feel happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe and Hinata tried to stop Shizu, but she just smiled at them contentedly. They watched her, taking in what she was trying to say, and then they nodded back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTake care of Hinata for me, Rimuru.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can do it, right, Rimuru?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n These three were really laying on the pressure. I couldn\u2019t stop sweating. Thinking about if I messed this up\u2014no, that\u2019s not right. No getting weak in the knees. It\u2019s not my style to give up before even trying. I\u2019m more concerned about Hinata than myself, so I couldn\u2019t lose my confident attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou got it,\u201d I declared. \u201cI\u2019m gonna help you right now, Hinata.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Words can become strength. Firming up my resolve to make this work, I left this landscape\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026and when I returned to reality, I was still in human form. Apparently, I hadn\u2019t moved at all, striking that exact same pose while I was gone. I stretched and refocused myself. The last thing I saw in that space was Shizu smiling as she faded away. If I wanted to live up to that smile, I needed to make one more effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAha! You are safe, Rimuru!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow\u2019d it go? Chronoa stopped fighting and fell to the ground\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll explain later. Can you guys stay on alert and make sure no intruders come in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed I shall!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u201cVery well. But you will<\/em> explain this afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Veldora, and even Leon, readily agreed. That was a relief. I doubted he would, but if Yuuki came back, they could take care of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let\u2019s look at Hinata\u2019s body. Luminus\u2019s magic had healed all the wounds on it; it was now down on the ground next to Chronoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026Oops. There was a hole in her clothing around her chest, so I needed to cover that up with a spare coat I had on hand. It\u2019s these little acts of kindness that make a considerate man like me so appealing. Of course, what I really<\/em> wanted was to have her not glaring at me\u2014but I\u2019d just tuck that thought deep inside my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now for the main event\u2014the resurrection magic\u2014and that would be a tall order if it was just me alone. I helped Hinata\u2019s consciousness surface back up, but her Measurer\u2014her real<\/em> self, in essence\u2014was still left inside Chloe\u2019s Yog-Sothoth. It had been absorbed to keep from disappearing, and it would be tough to separate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would prepare some energy to replace that, make the swap, and cast the resurrection spell at the same time\u2014and I\u2019d need some help for that. I called out to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLend me a hand in resurrecting Hinata, Luminus!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n \u201cGn\u2026 Gah\u2026 Well done, Lady\u2026Luminus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Granville was on the ground spitting blood. After that strike from Luminus, the vitality was draining away from him\u2014but his expression was now serene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luminus could hear what he wanted to tell her. If you cannot even overcome this adversity, it will be impossible to protect the human race. If so, we may as well have our Hero protectors destroy the world.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She correctly understood that he was pinning his last hopes on her. She was prepared to accept that, and as proof of that\u2014and to show her response to his feelings\u2014she had faced up to Granville and struck him down. Now she could understand his emotions all too well. Granville didn\u2019t want to see Chronoa go berserk\u2014he wanted her awakened correctly, so she could give hope to humanity. <\/a>His awkwardness about it was still there, after a thousand years, and it made Luminus feel a little lonely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy\u2026 My hopes\u2026are nothing compared with\u2026the heavy weight of time she bears. With her joining you\u2026and the demon lord Rimuru\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this world without mercy, justice without power backing it up was meaningless. Even someone with Granville\u2019s strength was left to wail at his own feebleness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just then, Luminus heard Rimuru\u2019s voice. He wanted to resurrect Hinata\u2014and that meant he successfully awakened Chronoa\u2026or Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew I could rely on him. He actually did it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She offered him praise, if only in her mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have fulfilled your role well enough. Allow me to handle the rest. Just sit back and relax.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that, she turned toward Rimuru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her strike was a fatal one, but even before it came, Granville had exhausted all of his life force. He was well past his natural life span, and not even Luminus could lengthen it any further. That wouldn\u2019t be the case if he were turned into a monster, but Luminus knew well that he didn\u2019t wish for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cB-before you go\u2026one more thing, Lady Luminus\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2026 I want to give my hopes\u2026to her\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luminus hesitated for a moment. She wasn\u2019t sure whether to allow it. There was always the danger of Granville trying something. But she decided to hear him out. That was her softer side\u2014and her more generous one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAh, bliss\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking the hand Luminus offered, Granville shed tears of gratitude. Even as he did, his body began to glow and turn into tiny balls of light before dissipating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Sleep well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if guided by Luminus\u2019s voice, the former Hero who fought for years upon years was released from fate and scattered across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n \u201cRight. Here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pompous words could only have come from Luminus. She had just waged an epic battle, and there wasn\u2019t a single tear in her clothing. She must have won big, which made sense to me, but I really wished she could\u2019ve come sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat? Is there a problem?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn\u2019t will myself to yell at her about it. It must be my classically Japanese \u201cdon\u2019t rock the boat\u201d attitude coming to the surface. But enough about that. Let\u2019s go save Hinata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m going to intervene in Chloe\u2019s Unlimited Imprisonment, so I want you to retrieve Hinata\u2019s soul while I do. If there\u2019s not enough energy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry about that. I\u2019ll handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I appreciated that. Luminus really is<\/em> a talented lady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we got right to work. I held my hand aloft over Chronoa\u2019s inert body, pointing out the location of Hinata\u2019s soul to Luminus. With a skillful touch, she immediately began performing some kind of action on her\u2014magic or a skill\u2014probably the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRe\u2026birth<\/em>!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She set off her power. And since I was next to her, I realized\u2014her skills were far, far above mine, at a level as high as the sky. I could never imitate that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026Analyze and Assess failed. The skill is equivalent to an ultimate skill.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, I thought so. I mean, with Luminus, that\u2019s par for the course. It\u2019s why I felt safe letting her handle this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chronoa\u2019s and Hinata\u2019s lifeless bodies were before us. The pieces of Hinata that had assimilated with Chloe\u2019s soul were gathered together in the form of Measurer, her unique skill. Luminus used her powers to reach the soul I Disassembled from that mass for her. Carefully picking it up, she injected a concentrated measure of energy to replace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This was far more energy than what we were taking out, but it was probably necessary. As I watched, she then put her hand above Hinata\u2019s body as she returned her soul to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Immediately, the shine returned to her hair, her cheeks reddening as her heart began to beat anew. Then Hinata opened her eyes, her throat a little raspy but otherwise in good health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We did it. Hinata was revived. And with the foreign matter removed from her body, Chronoa was also back in normal shape. She was beautiful before, but now Chloe\u2019s soul seemed to have a divine aura\u2014I hardly believed it was human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She opened her eyes. So will we have Chloe here or Chronoa?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRimuru!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounded like Chloe. She used to call me Mr. Tempest, but I guess I was more than just her teacher now. Otherwise, it was the Chloe I always knew. I smiled softly at this. She was no child any longer, looking very womanly\u2014but wait a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn\u2019t feel exactly right to me, and then I realized\u2026whoa, she was back to being a kid, actually. She had on a black outfit that matched her size perfectly, probably the Holy Spirit Armor at work. That\u2019s<\/em> a relief, at least. Between you and me, I was a little disappointed, but let\u2019s just file that way<\/em> back in my mind. Besides, to the outside observer, this was me embracing a little girl. Under different circumstances, that could easily have been a felony, and Hinata\u2019s glare was painfully boring down on me. Even Leon looked pretty peeved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat are you doing, Rimuru?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d like to know, too. In detail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n C\u2019mon, Leon, calm down. And Hinata, if you keep grimacing at me like that, you\u2019re gonna get crow\u2019s feet, you know. Of course, it\u2019d be suicidal to tell her that, but still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I mean, how come, after reviving Hinata and stabilizing Chronoa, was I still not safe from mortal danger? I just have to say, this is absurdly unfair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u201cGuys, guys, chill out. I\u2019m tired, and we can\u2019t hang out here all day. Why don\u2019t we regroup elsewhere in a little while and sort things out?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone agreed to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n So the battle was over. The only things filling the air right now were beautiful melodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shockingly enough, Baton and everyone in the orchestra had continued practicing through the entire protracted war. Talk about insane willpower. I praised them profusely, of course, before ordering them to take five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2014and I noticed something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Huh? Is it me, or is Chloe striking more of a presence now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust your imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, Rimuru is right. No doubt about it\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSilence! I didn\u2019t ask for a lizard\u2019s opinion!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Veldora and I both jumped in our seats. Can you blame us? Luminus, who seemed pretty serene up to now, just lashed out without warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I figured we could leave the conversation at that, but one man didn\u2019t get the message. Not Veldora\u2014he was often oblivious to this kind of thing, but even he was starting to wise up lately. We exchanged nods after he picked up on Luminus\u2019s rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, Rimuru and Sir Veldora are certainly right. At first glance, she appears to be merely a ravishing young woman, but her core essence, if you will\u2026 It\u2019s an improvement over Chloe, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was the demon lord Leon himself speaking. He always acted so coolheaded, but I guess he had a to-the-point personality. And really, he paid way<\/em> too much attention to Chloe. He was stuck to her like glue, in fact, not even trying to pry himself away. Between that and calling her ravishing, he wasn\u2019t even trying to hide how much he was spoiling her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLeon, you\u2019re being just as overly clingy as you used to be! Don\u2019t I always tell you that you\u2019ll never find a girlfriend that way?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Chloe, for her part, was merciless with him. I have to say, Leon did a hell of a lot for her sake\u2026but I\u2019ll refrain from commenting further. It\u2019s a little painful to think about. Though really, despite his cool demeanor and good looks, Leon\u2019s kind of an unfortunate case, isn\u2019t he? Ramiris called him a crybaby, and now I was thinking about being a little nicer to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After admonishing Leon, Chloe looked around the chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, looks like everything worked out okay, so I wanted to let you all know\u2014I feel like I\u2019ve truly awakened as a Hero now. Looks like the egg inside me, along with the one Hinata had been keeping warm, sort of combined into one. Don\u2019t tell anybody, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She smiled a little. I was surprised\u2014and then I remembered something important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChloe! That\u2019s far too delicate a topic to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We had to watch our mouths\u2014Guy may be keeping an eye on us, after all. So I hurriedly tried to deflect the conversation\u2026but I didn\u2019t need to worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, it\u2019s all right! I don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s looking at us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe declared us to be safe. And at this point, Chloe wasn\u2019t the little girl she seemed to be. All children grow up over time, leaving their parents\u2019 protection and setting off on their own. I was happy to see her mature, although it made me feel a tad lonesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I suddenly realized just what we were witnessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was the birth of Chloe Aubert, the True Hero, wasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hinata and Chloe hadn\u2019t completely separated. The hero\u2019s egg that Hinata had begun nurturing at some point was still left inside Chloe. Now she was one woman with two eggs, an impossible miracle that led to a Hero like none other awakening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026Or maybe not. This wasn\u2019t a miracle, some surprise that occurred out of nowhere. With Chloe\u2019s unbending will, it was only natural that she made this happen. Despite the infinite, repeating cycles of death and birth, Chloe had overcome them all and still maintained her straight-minded, innocent pureness. That sheer <\/a>will, powerful enough to push aside all hopelessness, was what engineered this miracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only then did I see, from the bottom of my heart, just how great she was. I had to speak up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou really worked hard for this. I could learn a thing or two from you. From now on, I swear that I\u2019ll never give up, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I meant it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou got it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeing Chloe smile and nod at me, I made a second promise to myself. From now on, I\u2019d never let anything cloud that smile of hers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certainly, I couldn\u2019t be rosy about everything ahead. I knew that some force out there wanted me dead, and I naturally had to consider my response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Affirmative. You must take every possible precaution.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n These events made me realize that if I\u2019m defeated, it\u2019s no longer exclusively my problem. Once again, I resolved in my mind to never show any mercy to my opponents. It\u2019s important to understand the principles of other people, but if you wound up making sacrifices after overvaluing them, that\u2019s putting the cart before the horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will take any measure for the sake of victory.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I made a secret promise to myself as I returned Chloe\u2019s smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That night, we did a quick comparison of notes, planning to discuss the finer details on another day once things calmed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Leon, I learned of his relationship with Chloe. They were once childhood friends, apparently, and practically raised like brother and sister, but he wouldn\u2019t go into further detail. Chloe probably forgot all about it, so it was kind of a mystery, although probably not a major one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As cool as Leon was, there was no end to his doting on Chloe. His dedication was on an even more dangerous level, I think, than Treyni\u2019s devotion to Ramiris. He\u2019d continually say stuff like \u201cI swear my allegiance to you\u201d with a straight face. I\u2019m sure Chloe would laugh it off and say \u201cI\u2019ll pass,\u201d though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of Chloe, it turned out that she could take the form of an adult woman, too. Chronoa\u2019s consciousness was alive and well, and they now enjoyed a rapport like what Raphael and I had. They could therefore easily switch between who controlled her body, and whenever they were in a serious fight, Chloe could merge her consciousness with Chronoa to return to her true form. Of course, staying an adult all the time would probably confuse the other kids, so she told us that she\u2019d stick with being a child for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luminus, meanwhile, told me about Granville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI suppose it was the loss of his wife that truly drove him mad. <\/a>And when Maribel, his final hope, died, he went crazy all over again\u2026but then, I believe, he regained his sanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Serious, sincere, but also awkward and clumsy\u2014that\u2019s how you could suitably describe Granville Rozzo. When his wife, Maria, died, he had a breakdown over being unable to protect his beloved. He pinned all his hopes on Maribel\u2014but then she took me on and lost. I\u2019m thinking that Yuuki may have killed her, although I don\u2019t have any real proof\u2014but to Granville, the reason didn\u2019t matter. What did was that Maribel was dead, and the loss actually made him regain his sanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk about ironic. And when he regained his marbles, he came up with his plan to awaken a True Hero, a strategy that threatened to destroy the world if it failed. But Granville made that decision, and he really resolved to it. That much, there was no doubt about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Hero, of course, wasn\u2019t some infallible golden child. Anyone could become prejudiced\u2014or insane for that matter. Granville had a lot of love for the human race, and I\u2019m sure that\u2019s why the backlash from the loss of his sanity was so great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s not like this couldn\u2019t apply to me. What if I<\/em> lost someone I loved? I recalled the heartrending sense of loss I felt when my fellow countrymen were mowed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026It\u2019s not just some dumb thought, no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think, just a little, I understood Granville\u2019s feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next day, we held that international concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It took place outdoors, behind the now-thoroughly destroyed cathedral, in front of an audience arranged in neat rows. Beautiful, melancholy music echoed high into the sky\u2014a kind of funeral march, sent out to those we entrusted with our hopes for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\nEPILOGUE<\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
TO THE PROMISED LAND<\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n