Chapter 2: Veldora Furtive Plight
"Aah, It's so delicious"
Rimuru was having the time of his slimy life, eating one delectably prepared dish after another, devouring them like a glutton. He was quite happy to have regained his sense of taste, and would gladly gobble up any kind of new food his subordinates would create, especially after him giving them quite a few recipes of his previous world.
'This looks far better than the one Shion cooked'—he thought as he devoured yet another piece from the many before him, unaware of the glare the purple-haired Kijin had on those.
Hmm?
The Slime's gaze wandered off to a nearby tree, finding Veldora, his sworn brother, leaning against it. Usually, he would have ignored this and went by his own business but something stopped him this time. Veldora, unlike his usual cheery and boisterous nature, looked downcast with an odd frown on his lips.
He theorized that maybe Veldora was upset about his scolding about telling Diablo about the Walpurgis when the latter was in an important mission, after all, he did know Veldora acted quite childishly at times despite his age.
He stood up, an action noticed by few because of the festival, and began pacing to the Storm Dragon, a cake holding plate in hand. 'A sweet should calm him down'—he thought as he recalled the dragon's sweet tooth.
"Hey Veldora! Here, take this"
Rimuru's jovial tone caught Veldora off guard, his eyes widening for a bit as he fixated his eyes on the slime he trusted dearly.
"R-Rimuru?", he voiced out, surprise clear as day in his words, "What are you doing here?"
«Master, Veldora seems to be in a distressed state. However, it is also concluded that he is reminiscing about something»
Rimuru took note of the words of wisdom that came from 『Raphael』. He wondered what Veldora was thinking about that would make even him have such an expression.
"Just here to give you cake? If you don't want it, then I will eat it", Rimuru expected Veldora to forget about whatever he was thinking about and jump on him, trying to take the cake from his hands but was left utterly surprised by the latter's words.
"Oh? I'll eat it later, thanks"
Rimuru was taken aback for a moment, before quickly regaining his bearings. Concern was now beginning to invade his mind.
"What are you so worrying about?"
Rimuru's eyes widened, having accidentally voiced his thoughts. He looked at Veldora, who blinked before bursting out his usual rowdy laughter.
"KUHUHUHAHAHAHA… I am the Storm Dragon Veldora Tempest; I do not need to worry over trivial things… KUHUHUHAHAHAHA"
Rimuru was not buying any of that, and continued to stare at Veldora, whose composure faltered after a few seconds.
He sighed before him eyes turned up to the starry night sky, his eyes showing a scarce feeling of nostalgia. "I just thought my brother had returned for a bit, but I guess it was just a mistake I made when I felt something familiar… just like last time"
'Brother?'
«The deceased oldest of the True Dragons, Veldanava, is the only other male of the 4 True Dragons. He died after the birth of his daughter. I have mentioned this before Master. He is also the creator of the world»
'Sorry sorry, I wasn't listening', Rimuru said mentally, though not hearing the last bit. He swore he heard a sigh from "Raphael" but ignored it for the now more important matter. 'He's missing his brother huh?! I guess I would be sad too if my family member died'
Rimuru thought, ignorant of a True Dragon's immortality. Raphael, however, when informed him of this left him puzzled.
'Then why is he not reincarnating? Is he going to leave his daughter behind?!'
He was slightly frustrated at the fact that someone would leave their child behind. He also wondered why Milim's face appeared in his mind when he thought of Veldora's brother, but shrugged it off, there was connection between them… right? Anyways, he turned to Veldora, unaware of the thoughts going through the latter's mind.
Veldora did not have a good impression of the word 'Family'… at least what was remaining of it anyways. Veldora disliked his sisters, maybe even hated them, but the sense of terror even a thought of them sent through him overshadowed that by leaps.
He respected his brother Veldanava, the greatest, oldest and the most powerful of them, who always used to protect him from his eldest sister. It was like he understood the restlessness Veldora had ever since the Storm Dragon was born, it made Veldora feel comfortable, his rampages were becoming scarce.
But then he, along with his wife, died. Veldora couldn't even destroy the humans responsible for it, for by the time he learned of his older brother's death, the kingdom responsible was already devastated by a Primordial Angel, who became later a fallen. This vexed Veldora, so he destroyed another city in his frustration, but this time, Veldanava wasn't present to shield him from Velzard.
As his deaths went on, part of his personality withered, not a lot, but it undoubtedly did. He now no longer hated humans, he now no longer… cared about him. Time went by, years passed, then decades, centuries, millennia… but Veldora never changed. Duking out with his 'niece' once in a while to release his increasing magicules, destroying cities when bored… the same old.
But one day, a Hero sealed him. He was defeated by just Unique Skills, but the damage it did to his pride was drowned quickly in boredom, remaining trapped for over a 300 hundred years, until an unassuming slime made his way to his cage. The Slime was interesting, he thought, and agreed to let the slime try to free him, but not before imparting a name on it, Rimuru.
The Space where Veldora ended up after being 'predated' by Rimuru was rather lonely, so he tapped into the slime's memories, finding a bunch of manga, or 'sacred texts' as he called it. The cool moves he found in them fascinated him, pondering of how cool it would look do that, and contemplating about methods to create them.
That was until a manga of the 'Slice of Life' type was being read by the Dragon. The best friend of the protagonist, that stayed with him in times of need… it made him happy, he knew he now had a friend, even if he was weak.
But the protagonist's interactions with his siblings made him doubt, made him feel like he was forgetting something important. Then it struck him… Veldanava. But he cast those thoughts out, the mighty storm dragon didn't need anyone, he was one of the strongest beings in the world, everyone feared him, there was no need for familial love for the Great Veldora… right?
For the first time in 2000 years, doubt began to cloud his mind. Would it be better if Veldanava had not di… his train of thoughts were cut off by a Fire Elemental, Ifrit, was thrown into the same space as him. He mocked the lesser being while forgetting the thoughts he had before, who thought he could defeat Rimuru, who Veldora considered his sworn friend… brother.
It not boring in the least after the Fire Spirit had arrived. He was often invited, never 'forced', to play Shogi by the Storm Dragon, and sometimes the latter just went through Rimuru's memories.
However, then Rimuru, or at least that looked something that looked familiar to him arrived, albeit temporarily. Not knowing Raphael, he assumed it was Rimuru who had undergone a 'Harvest Festival'. Those eyes, they were like Rimuru's, but also cold and calculating, something that made Veldora fear the entity with a tint of respect.
When he felt the evolution of his friend, he understood that his unsealing was going to take place a lot earlier than he anticipated, maybe even just a decade. He then thinking of ways to make a cool entrance, asking Ifrit for views, even if the Fire Spirit also responded in affirmative, no it definitely wasn't because the spirit was afraid of angering the 'Evil Dragon.'
But the Slime then again surprised him when he was released in just two years, which was incomparable to the ten Veldora had calculated at the least. Not only that, but he also had built a city, one Veldora was happy, and somewhat proud about. When they came across the residents of the city, he boisterously declared Rimuru as his Sworn friend, much to the latter's embarrassment.
He was also not surprised much when Rimuru said he was going to attend the Walpurgis, after all, it was a given that his sworn friend was capable of at least that much. He wanted to tag along, but Rimuru denied it. He tried acting meek to convince the slime but was still shot down, being told to act as the guardian of the city.
Still, he tried passing his time reading the manga he had while Rimuru attended the Demon Lord meeting. But it was finished all too quickly, Veldora waited, for a few seconds which was all he could do, before teleporting to where Rimuru was.
As he arrived, he was punched by Milim in the back of his head, though it was Veldora himself who teleported right before her fist which was already on the offensive. The rest was not that interesting, for the Storm Dragon at least, maybe besides his 'spar' with Milim.
Rimuru was recognized as a True Demon Lord, and Clayman, whose name Veldora did not even make an effort to remember, was demolished soundly by the Newbie Demon Lord. He also suggested that Rimuru was good at naming things, which made earned him Rimuru's short-lived ire.
During this meeting, he also remembered the name of the Demon Lord whose city he had destroyed a long time ago, Luminous Valentine. But he did not know if that name was going to stick in his mind for a while or not… probably not.
Anyways, after the whole fiasco of the 'weaklings' as Veldora called it, he was eager to return to city. Having traded the information about Walpurgis with Diablo who promised him a sweet, he was certainly raring to go back.
When back in Rimuru City, he was almost about to jump on Diablo to get the cake. But before he spotted the Primordial, he felt a familiar Aura, freezing him in his tracks. Usually he would've brushed it off as Milim's, but this one was much purer than hers, it seemed familiar… like that of a True Dragon… like that of his Brother.
He immediately flew to the direction where he had sensed it, near the outskirts of the city, but was not met with a single soul. He pondered for a few seconds, before his unconscious smile turned down into a frown. This was not the first time he had hallucinated about his brother's Aura, but somehow, this one felt so… genuine.
Rimuru now did not know exactly what to say, he wanted to console his friend but found himself confused how to. He did not know Veldora enough to properly gauge his personality with certainty, nor was he sure that his 'human' ways would fit a True Dragon. But, something was better than nothing—with such thoughts, Rimuru spoke.
"It's alright, maybe he is waiting for the right moment to come back. Here, just have this cake"
The humanoid slime shoved the dish holding the cake into the Dragon's arms, who seemed a bit surprised at the gesture.
"KUHUHUHAHAHA"
The dragon laughter exuberantly, almost forgetting all the worries he had before. Rimuru, sensing no falsehood in the laughter of his friend, was filled with relief, a small part of his mind still worried about Veldora.
'I will give that Veldanava guy a good punch in the face when I see him'
…
'Wait… why did I say when and not if?'
Rimuru's confused stupor was broken out by a proximate shout that came his way.
"Lord Rimuru, there is someone that wants to meet you"
Hearing the familiar voice, Rimuru turned to the goblin, Gobta, who seemed to be followed by a person. Rimuru, focused on the new face, did not see Veldora's widened eyes that seemed to be gawking at the man.
The person in question was an androgynous man like him, though he looked more masculine than him, something Rimuru yelled in his mind about not being fair. His long black hair was littered with white specks, something Rimuru found himself reminding of the stars in the night sky.
'Holy Shit, this guy looks gorgeous. Is he really a guy?'
Rimuru whined mentally, as he took the man's ethereal figure in his eyes. Just at this moment, the other man's azure eyes met his own, a smile vivifying his already dazzling eyes.
Their eyes met, the person's gleaming azure eyes sent a piercing yet soft gaze, met by Rimuru's own. Rimuru was quite bemused who this new person was, but as long as he was not a threat to his friends, he would welcome him with open arms. Rimuru watched as the other's lips parted, delivering a sentence that slightly unnerved him.
"Quite a fascinating dwelling you have created, Rimuru was it?"
Weekly Power Status
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