Rimuru wasn’t the only one who had withe devastating attack that burhrough aire se of the orc army.

  Benimaru’s gaze locked onto the t wall of purple fmes in the distance, his eyes narrowing. “Those fmes…” he murmured, a flicker of challenge crossing his face. “I wonder…”

  Raising his hand, he jured a pulsating sphere of dark fmes, the energy twisting hungrily around his palm. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it toward ane group of orcs.

  The orcs barely had time to react before the sphere exparapping them within a translut barrier. Then, in an instant, the sphere ignited with bck fmes, ing everything iheir agonized screams were cut short as they were reduced to nothing but ash.

  Benimaru smirked, then it happened.

  It was a, blink and you'll miss it, moment.

  A thin, glowing molten lireaked across the battlefield at an unimaginable speed. It passed straight through his fming sphere, before tinuing onward, searing a deep trento the earth and vanishing into the distant forest.

  The sphere of bck fmes split ly in two, as another massive wall of purple fmes maed itlefield once again. A shockwave followed, buffeting the battlefield and f Benimaru to take an instinctive step back.

  His breath hitched. "What...?" His voice barely rose above a whisper. 'It burhrough my fmes.'

  Before he could fully process what had just happened, he heard footsteps behind him.

  “Young... Master?”

  The unfamiliar voice made him turn sharply.

  Standing before him was a t figure, an ogre? No… a Kijin… No… something beyond that. An Oni.

  Benimaru’s brows furrowed in disbelief. "How?" His mind raced. How does someone like this exist? What's going on here?

  The Oni seemed equally shaken, his expression a mixture of overwhelming relief and disbelief. His vender eyes glistened with uears.

  “You're… you're alive,” he choked out. “Young master… you survived.”

  Benimaru’s breath caught.

  His eyes locked onto the man’s face, a face he knew.

  Slowly, realization dawned. His stunned sileretched for several moments before he finally whispered:

  “…It’s you… The exile.”

  "Uncle?" Shion’s voice carried through the battlefield as she approached, her massive bde resting in her hand.

  The Oni tur the sound, his crimson eyes widening in surprise. "Little one," he whispered.

  Without hesitation, Shion rushed forward and embraced him. He let out a warm ugh, returning the hug. "You're not so little anymore."

  Benimaru, still gripping his katana, took a cautious step forward. "Shio away from him," he ordered, his voice firm.

  The Oni smiled as he and Shion separated. "Shion? You possess a name now."

  Grinning, Shioed her sword on her shoulder. "Yeah. Lord Rimuru granted me a name."

  The Oni chuckled. "I see. That's amazing." His gaze shifted upward, toward the figure h in the sky with bat-like wings. "I assume that fellow up there is the Lord Rimuru you speak of?"

  Shion nodded proudly. "Indeed. He's amazing. He gave us all names."

  "All?"

  The Oni’s words trailed off as he suddenly shifted his stance. His katana fshed in a reverse grip, the bde drawn behind him, without so much as a wasted movement.

  G!

  A sudden csh of steel rang out as Hakurou appeared beside Benimaru, slowly sheathing his bde with a soft, cck.

  Hakurou smirked. "It’s good to see you’ve at least kept up with your training, young one."

  The O out a hearty ugh. "It’s good to see you again, old man. And please, I was grahe name Shifu."

  Hakurou chuckled. "Likewise, Shifu. It is good to see you again. And as an Oni, no less. Remarkable."

  His sharp gaze shifted to Benimaru. "Well, young master?"

  Benimaru tightened his grip on his katana, his mind a storm of emotions. His gaze flickered between Shifu and the battlefield, but before he could speak, Shion stepped beside him.

  "e on, Benimaru," she urged, her voice sharper than before.

  His jaw ched. "You remember what he did, don’t you?" His tone was sharp, barely restrained. "You, of all people, should uand."

  Shion didn’t back down. Her violet eyes, filled with pai his. "I know, okay? But I don’t care. Not anymore." She exhaled, shaking her head. "We’re all that’s left, Benimaru. There’s nothi."

  Silence huweehe distant sounds of battle, the csh of steel, the cries of ord hobgoblins, felt muted in the moment.

  Finally, Benimaru let out a slow sigh. "Fine." He turned his gaze back to Shifu, his expression unreadable. "But ohis is over, we’ll settle this."

  Shifu merely smiled. "Uandable, young mas-Benimaru."

  He turoward Hakurou, who met his gaze with a casual shrug. "Lord Rimuru graced me with the name Hakurou."

  Benimaru paused as a message from Rimuru reached him through their link. His expression shifted, and he looked to the others.

  "Lord Rimuru has located the Orc Lord."

  Shio out a triumphant ugh. "Of course he has. He’s amazing." Without hesitation, she moved forward, eager to join the final battle.

  Hakurou chuckled, his sharp eyes gleaming. "Then it’s time to end this." He took off after Shion and Benimaru, his movements swift and sure.

  Shifu nodded and was about to follow when he suddenly froze. A presence brushed against his senses. His gaze flickered toward the forest, his expression unreadable.

  "My Lady," he murmured.

  ---

  High above the battlefield, Rimuru adjusted his mask, seg it over his face just as something caught his attention, a small red dot in the distaeadily growing rger as it desded.

  On the ground, Benimaru and the others, now standing opposite the massive Orc Lord, also took notice of the rapidly approag object.

  Rimuru instinctively moved aside as the red blur streaked past him, crashing into the earth before the Orc Lord with explosive force. A cloud of dust erupted from the impact, billowiween both sides.

  Benimaru and Shion teheir ons at the ready. Beside them, Soei gripped one of his twin swords, his sharp gaze locked onto the disturbance.

  As the dust settled, a lone figure emerged from the haze. The individual wore a wide-brimmed hat and a bird-like mask, its lenses glowing an eerie blue. A long, elegant walking stick rested in his hand.

  "A Majin," Rimuru noted aloud.

  The masked figure wasted no time, pointing his walking stick at the Kijins and their allies. "What’s the big idea?" he shouted angrily. "You have some erfering with the great Lelmud’s pns!"

  Rimuru’s mind immediately recalled the name.

  'Gelmud?'

  <>Answer: Gelmud is…<>

  'The guy who named Rigur’s eldest sht?' Rimuru deadpanned.

  <>Uh… yes.<>

  Gelmud wasn’t finished. "A new Demon Lord, one who would have obeyed my every and, was about to be born! And now you’ve ruined everything!"

  'Demon Lord?' Rimuru thought, his i piqued.

  Benimaru narrowed his eyes. "Say what?"

  Gelmud scoffed, uerred. "You heard me! Why do you think I gave out so many names, pnted so many seeds? It art of my grand pn to create the ultimate pawn!"

  Uanding flickered across Hakurou’s face. "Ah. Now it makes sense."

  Soei, however, barely tained his fury, his voice a low growl. "So that’s why you attacked us?"

  Shion’s grip on her sword tightened, her violet eyes bzing with rage. "And killed our people?"

  Before the tension could rise further, Gabiru suddenly blurted out in relief, "Oh, thank goodness! That’s Lelmud himself!"

  One of his three subordiuro him, visibly fused. "Wait… That’s the guy who gave you your name?"

  Gabiru took a hesitant step forward, fusion evident on his face. "But why are you here, Lelmud? Could it be that you've e to save the Lizardmen?"

  Gelmud scoffed before suddenly shouting, "Shut up, you stupid lizard!" His voice rang across the battlefield, startling Gabiru. "Why don’t you just let the Orc Lord eat you already?!"

  Gabiru’s jaw dropped. "Huh?"

  One of his subordinates, a pale green-scaled Lizardman, turo his dark green-scaled panion. "Uh… What’s he talking about?"

  Gelmud sneered. "Get it through your thick skull. You’re so utterly worthless that you’ll never be anything more than a nuisance! But if the Orc Lord eats you, you’ll at least bee part of his strength. Take heart in the fact that if you die, you’ll finally serve some sort of purpose."

  Gabiru froze, his mind reeling. "Ah! Ah! Ah! Lelmud..!"

  But Gelmud had already turned away, dramatically spreading his arms. "Dinner is served, Orc Lord!" he decred. "Feast upon your enemies!"

  Silence.

  The Orc Lord did not move. His massive frame remaiill as he simply gazed at Gelmud, his expression unreadable.

  The Majin’s smug fidence wavered. He took a cautious step back. "What’s wrong?"

  The Orc Lord slowly tilted his head. "A new Demon Lord will be born? I don’t uand."

  Gelmud let out an exasperated sigh, muttering under his breath. "You really are an imbecile."

  Raising his walking stice more, he poi directly at the Orc Lord. "It’s you, idiot! You will bee the Demon Lord, the Orc Disaster, and rule over all of Jura! That has always been the pn! It’s what 'he' and I both desire!"

  Rimuru’s eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of another pyer in this scheme.

  "Rule over all of Jura, you say."

  The air grew heavy, the temperature dropping as a figure stepped forward, Shifu.

  Gelmud instinctively took a step back, fling as a wave of killing i crashed over him. "What do you want, Kijin?" he snapped.

  Shifu’s crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dim battlefield light. "A friend of mine spoke highly of a Lelmud. Gaara, a Lizardman you named. I assume it was for this pathetic dispy you are putting on before us." He tinued walking, his footsteps slow and deliberate.

  Gelmud’s patienapped. "I don’t have time for your nonsense, Kijin! Just die!"

  He thrust his hands fathering magicules into a bubbling, pink sphere.

  "{Death March Dance}!"

  The sphere suddenly fragmented into dozens of smaller orbs, each crag with raw power. In an instant, they shot toward Shifu, streaking through the air like meteors.

  Shifu didn’t move. The attacks struck him head-on, triggering a of explosions that shrouded him in a cloud of smoke and dust.

  Gasps echoed across the battlefield as the smoke cleared, revealing Shifu standing unscathed, mere inches from Gelmud.

  Hakurou chuckled, the only one who had truly seen what had happened.

  Shifu had opped walking forward. Yet, inexplicably, Gelmud had begun attag the spot where Shifu had been, pletely ign the fact that he was now standing right in front of him.

  This was the one of the many terrors of {Haze Style}, ing an oppo’s perception, f them to ignore what 'is' in favor of what 'was'.

  Gelmud’s breath hitched as his mind caught up with reality. "W-What...?" he stammered, eyes wide in disbelief.

  Shifu simply reached out, pg a firm hand on Gelmud’s trembling shoulder.

  "You'll rule over all of Jura, right?" Shifu’s voice was cold, his grip tightening on Gelmud’s shoulder like a vice. "Go on. Say that again."

  Gelmud trembled violently, his mouth opening and closing as he stuttered ily. "a-Wa..."

  Shifu leaned in, his faere inches from Gelmud’s mask. His voice dropped to a near whisper.

  "I said..."

  Smash!

  Gelmud’s mask shattered as Shifu yanked him down, driving his kraight into the Majin’s face.

  "Try to say that shit again!"

  "Gah!" Gelmud cried out as blood and spittle flew from his mouth. He staggered backward, his legs giving out beh him as he colpsed onto the ground. His nose was broken, several of his teeth shattered. His hat and what remained of his bird mask y scattered beside him.

  Gelmud filed on the flroaning in pain.

  High above, Rimuru watched with mild curiosity. He raised an eyebrow. "Huh. So that's what he looks like."

  <>Answer. He appears to be a member of the raown as Deadman.<>

  Rimuru hummed. "Huh. ."

  On the ground, Gelmud filed, his screams filled with rage and desperation. "Damn you! You're finished, you hear me? Finished! I'm gonna make yret this!"

  Rimuru slowly desded, h a few feet above the battlefield. His golden eyes locked onto Gelmud. "You mentioned 'he' earlier. Who were you talking about? Who's the real mastermind?"

  Shifu narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a silent threat. "I suggest you answer."

  Gelmud flinched, his bravado faltering. "Eh? Wha! No! Leave me alone!" He scrambled to his feet, staggering toward the Orc Lord. "H-Hey, Orc Lord, do something! Anything!"

  The massive being simply stared at him for a moment, expression unreadable.

  "...I am so very hungry."

  Gelmud's frustration boiled over. "Who cares! Just help me, Orc Lord! I mean... Geld!"

  At that he Orc Lord’s bnk, pupil-less eyes widened. A memory flickered to the surface of his mind.

  ? A barre. A lone Orc, battered and weak, id prone before a shadowed figure.

  "I shall name you... Geld," the masked Majin decred, his grin hidden behind his bird-like mask.

  The Orc, his body glowing faintly, rasped, "Geld, huh..."

  "One day," Gelmud tinued, "you will take possession of the Great Forest of Jura and bee the Orc Disaster."

  The memory faded, but its weight lingered.

  The Orc Lord narrowed his eyes as Gelmud tio yell. "Just hurry up and evolve into a Demon Lord already, you idiot!"

  Then, a thunderous step.

  Rimuru’s instincts hummed with a quiet warning. Benimaru, Shion, and Soei gripped their ons, brag themselves.

  Gelmud, oblivious, sneered. "Oh, look! The mountain of rd finally decided to move! Hahaha!" He turned bauru and the others, his fideurning. "Oh, you’re in for it now! You’ll regret messing with me!"

  Behind him, the Orc Lord raised his massive butcher bde.

  Shifu’s eyes widened in realization.

  Gelmud, assured of his victory, threw his arms out dramatically. "Get them, Geld! Make them rue the day they interfered with my p..."

  SLICE.

  The battlefield fell silent as Gelmud’s head flew through the air, his final words dying on his lips.

  SaberGlory

  SaberGlory