"You underestimate my friend too much!"
Granstar didn't spare Ifrit another glance. His eyes were fixed on the fading pillar of fire.
Ifrit's expression twisted with disbelief. He followed Granstar's gaze and saw the spot where Rimuru had vanished.
To his astonishment, a round, blurry blue shadow had appeared there, greedily devouring the surrounding flames. Within moments, it had absorbed all the fire into its belly.
"Burp~"
Rimuru let out a loud, satisfied burp.
Then, it began to look around and quickly spotted the approaching Granstar.
Instantly, Rimuru's eyes welled up with tears, and it excitedly hopped toward him.
"Granstar! I thought I'd never see you again! When I was being swallowed by those flames, I even wrote my will. From now on, the village is in your hands…"
Rimuru leapt onto Granstar's shoulder and landed securely, tears brimming with exaggerated sorrow.
However, when Granstar heard Rimuru say the village would be entrusted to him, his expression darkened.
Good grief! We're comrades, but you're already passing the torch?
Who are you trying to impress with this act? Rimuru, the legendary slime-brand toolsmith, is clearly going to survive everything, so quit pretending.
"Rimuru, stop the drama! With your [Heat Fluctuation Resistance] trait, are you seriously scared of fire?"
As he spoke, Granstar gave Rimuru's round belly a firm pat.
"Full already?"
Rimuru smiled sheepishly, scratching its head with embarrassment.
"So… you knew all along…"
Across from them, Ifrit's face grew grim, struggling to process the situation.
"How is this possible? My ultimate move couldn't even kill a slime?!"
His eyes were filled with shock and fury.
Ifrit's demonic flames surged with renewed intensity. With a swift motion, he summoned three blazing magic circles in the air. From them, three enormous fire dragons emerged, radiating oppressive power. They bared their fangs and claws, descending from the sky in a menacing charge toward Granstar and Rimuru.
"Granstar, look out! That freaky demon made his move. Let's take him down together this time!"
Noticing the incoming threat, Rimuru quickly warned Granstar.
But Granstar didn't even flinch. He didn't spare the fire dragons a glance.
The corners of his mouth curled into a smirk. He let out a faint scoff and raised his hand, swiftly casting a summoning spell.
"Heh. Just some summoning magic? Coincidentally, I know a thing or two myself."
With a burst of brilliant light, a massive magic circle unfolded between them.
This circle dwarfed Ifrit's, covering nearly the entire battlefield. From it, a colossal hand of ice slowly emerged, followed by a broad, solid torso. Finally, a majestic figure like a snow-covered mountain stepped forth in full.
The ice giant towered dozens of meters high, crystal clear and exuding an overwhelming chill.
Its presence seemed to freeze the very air around it, radiating an unshakable pressure.
Compared to the fire dragons, Granstar's ice giant was clearly superior in both size and aura.
"Wha—this… this is Granstar's summon? It's insanely strong!"
Rimuru's eyes widened as he stared up in awe. The sheer size of the giant, as tall as a mountain, left him speechless.
Even spectators far from the battlefield could clearly see the ice giant, their jaws dropping in collective shock.
"Judging from that aura, this thing has at least A+ level power! That elf… he's seriously that strong?"
Someone watching couldn't help but gasp in amazement.
Rimuru suddenly felt a twinge of guilt.
I can't just sit here and spectate! Time to show what I've got too!
With newfound determination, Rimuru began to channel energy, clearly preparing for a powerful strike.
"Black Lightning Flash!"
With a fierce shout, Rimuru launched the attack.
A terrifying streak of black lightning, like divine judgment, surged through the air. It struck one of the descending fire dragons with overwhelming force, crackling with destructive power.
"Boom—!"
The thunderous explosion shattered the sky. The black lightning, carrying absolute might, tore the A-level fire dragon apart, reducing it to nothing but flickering embers.
The fragments fell to the ground like raindrops, each shimmering faintly with lightning—as if still echoing the terrifying power of the earlier strike.
At the same time, Granstar's ice giant revealed a far more brutal side.
It raised its head and let out a deafening roar before stretching out a pair of massive, icy palms. Like a towering god, it effortlessly seized the two remaining fire dragons.
The dragons writhed and thrashed in the giant's grip, emitting agonized wails, but their struggles were futile.
A cruel smile curved across the ice giant's face. Then, without hesitation, it clenched its fists. With two heavy bangs, the dragons were crushed into shards of light and scattered into the air.
Those sharp, shattering sounds echoed in Ifrit's ears. His mouth twitched slightly, as if acknowledging the mockery and irony behind them.
Granstar crossed his arms, lifted his chin, and calmly met Ifrit's now-pale expression.
"Is that all you've got?"
His voice was cold and indifferent, laced with scorn. The ice giant, attuned to its master's emotions, swung its massive arms and let out a low, taunting growl in Ifrit's direction.
Ifrit's face darkened with fury. His burning gaze stayed locked on Granstar and the ice giant, eyes gleaming with rage.
"Wow, the personalities of these summons really are just like Granstar's…"
Rimuru spared a mental moment to mourn for Ifrit—three seconds of silent sympathy.
Flames suddenly surged upward.
In a flash, the Ifrit before them split into about eighteen towering figures. Rimuru even took a moment to count them.
These eighteen Ifrits, indistinguishable from one another, immediately surrounded Granstar and the others in a tight encirclement.
"Granstar, what's it trying to do? And, by the way, can you tell which one's real?"
Rimuru felt strangely at ease with Granstar around, and asked without panic.
Granstar stroked his chin thoughtfully before answering with confidence.
"It's not that hard to tell. Since Ifrit is made of fire, the real body will radiate more heat than the fakes. Just use [Heat Source Perception] to find it!"
"Oh? You can do that?"
Rimuru quickly activated the technique—and sure enough, it worked!
A sharp [Water Blade] flew toward the real one, but it didn't seem to do much damage.
"Rimuru, physical attacks won't work against Ifrit's elemental form. Use elemental magic!"
Granstar called out a reminder.
"Alright then—how about this one? [Black Lightning Flash]!"
With a blinding flash of lightning, the surrounding clones exploded, releasing waves of flame energy.
Granstar's pupils narrowed slightly. He had already begun to understand Ifrit's true intention.
"Wait… why isn't Ifrit reacting?"
Rimuru still hadn't caught on.
Suddenly, the released flames surged downward, seeping into the earth beneath them. A glowing, crimson magic circle began to emerge from the ground.
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