The Heavenly King roared in rage. If it could, it would've swallowed the tiny human before it whole—but it couldn't. The chains wrapped around its massive body held it completely immobile. At this point, it couldn't even twitch a finger. And its instincts screamed: if it dared make a move, it would be obliterated without a trace.
It simply couldn't understand. Despite its limited brainpower, it still couldn't figure out how someone smaller than one of its scales could wield such terrifying power.
"But wow, this dragon is ugly," Rimuru muttered, stroking his chin. "Veldora is way better looking."
He then raised his left hand.
"Gluttony!"
A miniature black hole appeared in his palm. Space around the Heavenly King warped and twisted. In a single moment, the monster and the area around it were sucked into the black hole without even a chance to resist.
"Man, that was handy," Rimuru said, gazing at his hand in wonder. "The power boost this time really exceeded my expectations."
Then, as if something occurred to him, he added, "Wait... wasn't this dragon supposed to be their secret weapon? Did I just mess something up? ...Eh, whatever. Not my problem. I just happened to run into it by accident. Welp, I'm out."
As he imagined the tragic fate of the villains back on Earth, Rimuru offered them three seconds of silence in mock mourning. Then, with a flicker of motion, he teleported away to check in on the others.
Back on the battlefield, Garp and the others had long since stopped fighting.Benimaru led the army in systematically rounding up prisoners, while pirates from the allied forces were helping out where they could.
With nothing left to do, everyone gathered around and sat down with Garp's group, chatting like old friends. If someone didn't know better, they'd think Garp and his men were part of the same side. There was no sign that these people were supposed to be prisoners of war. They were drinking, eating meat, and having friendly conversations with the officers of Rimuru's forces.
"Well, the World Government is finally collapsing. Hahahahaha!" Garp laughed loudly, chugging alcohol like water. Sengoku watched, speechless.
"You're still technically a Marine, you know. Could you at least pretend to have some restraint?" Sengoku muttered. He also hoped the World Government would fall—but Garp was being way too obvious about it.
"Oh come on, Sengoku," Garp waved him off. "Don't act like I don't know what you're thinking. I bet you're even happier about it than I am! Let's just hope this means the world might finally see some real peace."
Sengoku froze at Garp's words. Then, with a sigh of resignation, he raised his drink. "Yeah. Let's hope this world can finally know harmony."
"Man, Sengoku, what's with you today?" Whitebeard chuckled, teasing him. "You're way weaker than usual. Almost like you skipped breakfast."
Sengoku rolled his eyes. "Is your brain made of muscle? I didn't even want to fight you, okay? Couldn't you at least pretend to go easy on me like the others? You always go all out trying to beat me to a pulp!"
"Really?" Whitebeard gave an awkward smile. "I didn't notice. I'll be more careful next time."
"There won't be a next time, you blockhead! Scram!"
Just then, a streak of blue light descended from the sky. Everyone instinctively tensed up—then immediately relaxed when they saw who it was. Who would be on high alert for a kid not even five feet tall?
"Uhh... what are you guys doing?" Rimuru asked, staring blankly at the group as he pointed.
"You seriously can't tell?" Garp replied, completely unfazed. "We're obviously processing prisoners!"
(⊙▽⊙!) Wait, this is what taking prisoners looks like? Man, I've been living under a rock.
"Long time no see, Rimuru!" Whitebeard greeted him with a hearty laugh. "So? Ready to be my daughter yet?"
"We can still be friends—just stop bringing that up," Rimuru groaned. Also, why daughter? Do I really look that much like a girl? ...Actually, now that I think about it... yeah. Yeah, I do.
"My Lord!" From a distance, Ranga came barreling toward him at full speed, pouncing on Rimuru and showering him with slobbery licks.
"Ranga! Don't lick me! Not the face! Stop it! STOP IT!" So this is what they mean by a clingy dog... except you're literally a wolf!
"My friend!"
"Dear friend!"
"Lord Rimuru!"
Everyone nearby ran over to greet Rimuru warmly.
"Looks like Lord Rimuru's pretty popular," Diablo joked.
And Ranga just licked harder.
"Diablo…" Rimuru groaned. "Ugh, whatever. How's the battle report? Any serious casualties?"
As field commander, Ben answered promptly, "No fatalities. 8,400 with serious injuries. About 30,000 with light injuries. All things considered, it was a solid victory."
"Aw, Benimaru, you're being too humble," Rimuru praised him. "You did great out there."
"Ahem... thank you," Benimaru said, cheeks faintly red from the compliment. Yep—definitely a tsundere. (^_^)
Rimuru spotted Guy approaching and gently patted Ranga's head before getting up. "Hey, Guy—how'd things go with Imu?"
"Not a trace left," Guy replied with a cheerful smile.
Rimuru gulped. That was... a terrifyingly casual way to describe vaporizing someone. Yep, classic Dark Emperor behavior.
"Oh right," Rimuru said, eager to change the subject. "I actually caught something pretty cool."
"What is it?" everyone asked in unison.
"Here, take a look!" Rimuru raised his hand slightly. A transparent cube of crystal appeared in his palm. Inside it, a small silver dragon was thrashing and roaring.
When the captured Elder, still hanging limply from Veldora's grip, saw the creature, his eyes bulged in shock.
"This—this can't be! Isn't that... isn't that the Heavenly King Uranos?! Why is it with you? And... why is it so small?!"
"Uhhh... If I said I just accidentally caught it, would you believe me?" Rimuru replied sheepishly.
-------------------------
To read future chapters head over to Patreon:
patreon .com / Samorash
~~Do leave a comment!