The Black Princess is here.
He spun around to sprint inside and gather his things, only to freeze.
The nun, rubbing the sleep from her single eye, had just stepped out onto the porch. She was awoken by the blinding light that had turned the night into day.
"Did... something happen?" she asked softly.
"Get inside."
"?" She blinked, confused by his tone.
For the first time since they met, Rimuru dropped the polite traveler act. He glared at her, his voice a vicious, panicked snarl. "Right now! Get inside! Lock the door and do not come out no matter what…!"
WHOOSH!
Before he could finish the sentence, a suffocating storm of demonic mana slammed into the courtyard.
Rimuru violently shoved the nun behind him, throwing his arms wide to shield her.
From the shadows of the quiet yard, a pair of glowing crimson eyes materialized. Altrouge Brunestud stepped out of the darkness.
A split second later, several heavily armored figures crashed into the courtyard behind her, boots shattering the cobblestones. Grand Inquisitor Vissela and his elite squad of Executors had arrived.
"This place..." Vissela gasped, immediately recognizing the humble church grounds.
He was already shocked that the Black Princess had suddenly unsealed her power, tearing through their containment lines and abandoning her tactical retreat.
But he never, in a million years, expected her to break off her escape route just to storm this specific house.
"You?!"
Vissela's eyes snapped from the Black Princess to the blonde man shielding the nun. It took a second, but he recognized the disguised face of the traveler who had triggered the Baptism Rite and fled half a month ago.
But Rimuru had absolutely no time to care about the square-jawed Inquisitor. His entire focus was locked onto the petite girl in the black gothic dress.
"You really... hold a grudge, don't you?"
Rimuru let out a bitter, exhausted laugh as the Black Knight, Strout, materialized beside her, demonic flames already licking his armor. Primate Murder sat lazily on her head, its eyes half-closed.
"You blew your cover and unsealed your power right in front of the Burial Agency... just to stop me from running away?"
"Of course." Altrouge slowly raised her head. She bit her thumbnail, tilting her head with a terrifying, innocent smile. "You killed Fina-blood. One of my most loyal knights."
"You killed the White Knight?!" Vissela's head snapped toward Rimuru, his eyes bulging in absolute disbelief. "Then... the target we've been tracking all this time..."
"Was me."
Rimuru slowly raised his arms. Massive, spectral bat wings tore through the back of his trench coat. A sickly green fog began to seep from his pores, filling the courtyard.
He had to prove his identity immediately. He needed the Church on his side.
If the Black Princess is here for revenge, then the enemy of my enemy is my meat shield. He prayed Vissela was pragmatic enough to understand that.
Rimuru had zero intention of fighting Altrouge to the death. The plan was the same as always: let the Inquisitors tank the aggro while he found a window to haul ass.
Survival first. Dignity never.
"I see it now. You really did inherit Fina-blood's power..." Altrouge mused, watching the green fog.
"I stole it," Rimuru corrected sharply. "So... are you here to avenge him?"
"Avenge him? Perhaps." Altrouge shifted her weight, a sudden, bright amusement entering her voice. "But only if you refuse."
"If I... refuse?" Rimuru frowned, completely lost. What kind of twisted game was this vampire playing?
But Vissela, standing behind her, suddenly paled. He understood exactly what she was doing.
"Stop her! Attack!" Vissela roared.
BOOM!
The Grand Inquisitor launched himself forward, holy light erupting from his fists. But the Black Knight simply raised his massive demon blade, effortlessly catching the blow and halting Vissela's charge with a deafening crash.
"What is this?" Rimuru stared at the Church's hyper-aggressive reaction, a horrifying realization dawning on him. He locked eyes with Altrouge. "Don't tell me... you're trying to recruit me?"
"Not recruit. I'm asking you to return to your rightful place," Altrouge giggled, her voice sweet as poison. "The seat of the White Knight belongs to you now."
"..."
"His final curse was proof of his acknowledgment. He wanted you to replace him. To become my knight."
Rimuru felt his brain short-circuit. "Are you insane?! I murdered him!"
"You crushed his communication sigil at the very end, didn't you?"
Seeing Rimuru's absolute, horrified disbelief, Altrouge took a step forward. She reached out her small, pale hand toward him.
"The final message Fina-blood sent me through the tether wasn't a plea for revenge. It wasn't tracking coordinates."
Her crimson eyes shone with a mad, possessive light.
"It was a recommendation."
"If it is him, Princess... I am certain he can help you achieve your ultimate ambition."
"It is, quite frankly, the ultimate form of praise."
Altrouge's voice was as smooth as velvet, carrying a sickeningly sweet sincerity. "With his dying breath, paying the ultimate price, he didn't curse you to die. He only cursed you with the thirst for blood. Isn't that proof enough of his intentions?"
She took another slow, deliberate step forward.
"Don't listen to her!" Vissela roared, his composure finally cracking. He strained against the Black Knight's parry. "You know exactly what Dead Apostles are! You know what they do!"
"Oh? And what exactly are Dead Apostles?" Altrouge tilted her head, a breathtaking, chilling smile blooming on her lips. Her voice never lost its unhurried, gentle cadence.
"I admit, you might harbor some... misunderstandings about us. But the words you spoke to that boy today proved to me that you view us differently than these fanatics do."
"You saw the kid?" Rimuru's eyes locked onto her, his voice dropping an octave. "Did you hurt him?"
"Of course not. We aren't the Holy Church, after all."
That casual, venomous jab nearly gave Vissela an aneurysm.
The Grand Inquisitor's attacks grew frantic, his blade flashing with desperate holy light. He finally understood the nightmare unfolding in front of him.
The Black Princess wasn't here to execute a rival; she was here to recruit an unknown, monstrously powerful magus to fill the vacant seat of the White Knight!
We have to stop this! That single, desperate thought echoed through the minds of every Executor present.
"Then explain the Executors," Rimuru said, his gaze shifting to the armored Inquisitors and the small, delicate hand Altrouge was extending toward him.
The gears in his head spun rapidly, piecing the puzzle together.
"If you just wanted to send an invitation, you didn't need to drag the Burial Agency into it."
"Ah. About them…"
Altrouge sighed, genuinely pouting. She brushed a lock of silky black hair behind her ear, the strands dancing in the wind.
"I actually planned to anonymously leak your location to them. I was going to wait for you to get cornered, and then swoop in to play the hero…"
Her voice drifted over the courtyard. The Executors froze in sheer, collective disbelief, only to be violently shoved back by Strout's encroaching demonic flames.
Altrouge's expression cooled, a flash of annoyance crossing her perfect features.
"But who could have guessed these idiots would ignore your trail and try to track me instead? It completely ruined the timing. You noticed my approach, and I had to step out early."
She didn't finish the thought, but she didn't need to. Rimuru understood perfectly.
Altrouge had been tailing him for a while. She knew his injuries were crippling him, but because he possessed Svelten's phantom agility and tracking countermeasures, forcing a direct confrontation might have allowed Rimuru to slip through her fingers in a desperate suicide run.
So, she scripted a play. Draw the aggro of the Church, let them wear Rimuru down, and then drop in like a savior to farm his gratitude.
But the Executors had bitten the wrong bait, forcing her to reveal herself prematurely.
Knowing the full context, Rimuru's expression contorted into something incredibly bizarre.
In his past life, he had played countless RPGs. He was always the player. He was the one supposed to grind affection points with the NPCs to manipulate the plot.
Now, a canon, endgame boss character had literally orchestrated a crisis just to farm affection points with him?
To anyone else watching, Rimuru's stunned, complicated expression looked exactly like hesitation. Like he was actually considering the offer.
Vissela panicked.
"Magus! Dead Apostles cannot be trusted!" the Grand Inquisitor bellowed, his voice raw. "A Vampiric Impulse is not a death sentence! The Church can…"
"Trust me." Altrouge took another step, cutting through the Inquisitor's desperate lie. She reached out her hand, her crimson eyes locking onto his. "I need you."
"Rimuru Tempest."
….
+20 chapters on my p@tr3on: Kazuma_trash
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