Time slowly slipped by. Only eight people remained: Rimuru, Shion, Kiana, Mei, Hermione, Snape, Veldora, and Milim.
The safe zone kept shrinking, and fate brought them together at last.
"Hahaha! My friend, I didn't expect we'd run into each other first. I thought we'd face off in the finals," Veldora grinned at Rimuru, clearly excited. This was sure to be a fiery match!
"My dear friend! Don't come crying when you lose!" Milim laughed, clenching her fists and flashing a confident smile at Rimuru and Veldora, as if the outcome was already set in stone.
"Looks like I'm being underestimated here! Lord Rimuru, let me take on Lady Milim. I may not be able to win, but I can definitely stall her," Shion took a deep breath, then charged forward with her greatsword raised.
"Shion, huh? In that case, let's start with you!" Milim laughed cheerfully, leaping into battle. Though neither side took any serious damage at first, Rimuru quickly saw that Shion was falling behind—her skills weren't really designed for direct combat.
"In that case, let's take the fight over there," Rimuru pointed to a spot off to the side and suggested to Veldora. He began walking that way.
"Let's go!" Veldora agreed, following him.
Once they reached a suitable distance apart, the two struck at the same time.
Their fists collided, cracking the ground beneath them. They were evenly matched, neither gaining the upper hand.
"Veldora, your strength stat is insane!" Rimuru was astonished. He hadn't expected Veldora's strength to be on par with his own, especially since Rimuru had boosted his power by several hundred points.
"It's my passive skill—Storm Dragon's Body. Every level increases my base stats, so yeah, my strength is through the roof! But you're the impressive one, my friend. Even with all that, I couldn't even phase you. You must have a similar skill, right?" Veldora grinned, openly sharing his secret.
"Pretty much. Explosive Slime!" Rimuru didn't deny it. He flung a magma-like slime at Veldora, which struck him squarely. Then Rimuru kicked him hard and used the recoil to launch himself back several meters.
"What's this?" Veldora didn't dodge. He caught the slime in his hands and stared at it in confusion.
Then…
BOOM!
The slime exploded violently, engulfing Veldora in flames. His HP bar dropped by nearly half.
Cough… cough… "My friend, that's quite the peculiar skill," Veldora groaned, smoke pouring from his mouth. The explosion had rocked him hard.
"Catching a live bomb with your bare hands! That's hardcore—respect!" Rimuru gave him a thumbs-up with a playful grin.
"Tch! Then take this—Storm Oblivion Break!" Veldora gathered all the mana around him. Wind and thunder raged around his body as he charged at Rimuru.
"Golden Slime!" Alarmed by the incoming attack, Rimuru instantly used his only defensive skill. A golden slime shell encased him entirely.
The explosion that followed was deafening. When the smoke cleared, a massive crater—dozens of meters wide—scarred the battlefield.
Cough, cough, cough… "What the hell was that? My HP's almost gone!" Rimuru crawled out of a mound of dirt, shaken. His HP bar was a sliver away from empty. If he hadn't forced himself out of the explosion's core just in time, he'd be dead.
"My… friend…"
A faint voice echoed from the crater's depths—Veldora was still alive.
"Wait, you're alive? I thought that was a self-destruct move!" Rimuru was shocked. An attack that devastating wasn't self-sacrifice? That was borderline broken!
Even so, Rimuru jumped into the crater. There, in the very center, Veldora lay on his back.
"My friend… You're still alive after that? Truly impressive," Veldora looked up at him, admiration in his eyes.
"Come on, impressive? I was this close to dying!" Rimuru rolled his eyes. If he was impressive, Veldora was godlike.
"That skill is called Storm Dragon Sacrifice. I sacrificed all of my mana and 99% of my HP to deal that damage. The fact that it still didn't kill you is… unbelievable."
Veldora chuckled as he explained. He knew exactly how destructive the move was. The fact that it failed meant there was nothing more he could do.
"I see… no wonder it was so powerful. Well, goodbye, Veldora."
"Goodbye, my friend. I hope you win the championship." Veldora smiled one last time, and Rimuru ended it with a clean slash.
Whoosh…
Rimuru let out a long breath and immediately started healing himself.
Meanwhile, Shion and Milim's battle was also nearing its end.
"You're really strong, Shion," Milim said with genuine admiration.
"You're too kind. You're the truly powerful one." Shion was covered head-to-toe in buffs of all colors. She had just eaten every dish she'd prepared, each one granting her major stat boosts. Only that allowed her to match Milim blow for blow.
Just need to stall a little longer…
Shion glanced at her skill bar—only seven active dishes. Not enough. Without hesitation, she slashed with her blackfish blade, sending a massive wave of sword energy at Milim.
Milim tanked the attack and charged in, her HP bar dropping by less than 10%.
Her punches and kicks were wild and unrefined, but the raw power behind them forced Shion into pure defense.
Just a little more! Almost there!
Shion was desperate. She couldn't beat Milim, but she could take her down with her.
Seven dishes… eight… nine… ten!
Seeing the tenth dish ready, Shion's eyes lit up. She ignored Milim's attacks and lunged in, grabbing her tight in a hug.
"What are you doing?" Milim asked, confused. Was Shion trying to pacify her with affection?
"Milim… Let's end this." Shion whispered in her ear.
Ten identical dishes flew out of Shion's body and rained down from above, one by one, smashing into both of them.
Massive damage numbers exploded from their heads. Their HP bars drained rapidly.
And just like that, Milim and Shion perished together in a mutual KO.
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