章 21: Chapter 20: Paradox × Subjugation
"Ciel."
Rimuru subconsciously called out.
"I'm here, Master," Ciel responded instantly.
Placing his hand over his chest, Rimuru asked, "What do you think that was back there?"
One of Darkseid's attacks had hit him, bypassing all his immunities and resistances effortlessly. For the first time in a long while, he felt pain-a searing, undeniable reminder of vulnerability.
He couldn't understand it. The Darkseid he faced shouldn't have been capable of hurting him. He was weak.
Even Veldora could have squashed that so-called villain without effort.
Heck, even Hinata could have handled him swiftly and cleanly.
Rimuru sighed, regret gnawing at him. He could have killed Darkseid on the spot but chose not to.
And in the end, the enemy had escaped. He can easily track him but there was no point going after a retreating enemy.
He was sure that darkseid would be quiet for the next hundred years because of him.
Still, Why?
No matter how hard he searched for an answer, none came to mind. Or perhaps there was a reason-an embarrassingly childish one.
A foolish hesitation.
It was bound to happen after living so long with god like entities like veldora and milim, they had rubbed on him.
Also he was picturing himself, how he would look at the camera as his human self thought that he should look cool acting like a hero.
He was the oldest one, he should be setting uo examples, not to be the ome doing something the shouldn't be done.
Ciel's voice broke the silence. "I have detected a third party. I neutralized the attacker shortly after, but... something felt off."
Rimuru raised an eyebrow. "Off?"
Ciel hesitated briefly, an unusual sign of emotion in her tone. "If this had been the old me, I would have believed the threat was eliminated and left it at that. But now... I chose to trust my intuition."
Her voice grew grim. "I sought permission to observe this world's future."
Rimuru frowned, sensing the tension in her words.
"What did you find?"
"Nothing. Beyond 237 years into the future, everything becomes blank-not erased, but blocked. Even the multiverses futures beyond were obscured. When I attempted to identify the source of the interference, I only saw... myself. Or rather, a future version of me. But that shouldn't be possible."
Ciel paused, gathering her thoughts before continuing.
"As beings who surpassed concepts, time cannot perceive our existence. We can only exist in the past and present-not the future. Yet, I sensed two of me working outside this world. No matter what I did, I couldn't reach them."
The revelation made Rimuru's head spin. He blinked, trying to piece together the fragmented logic.
"It's possible that I blocked my present self from seeing future events. That would explain everything. The likeliest scenario is that I cloned myself or created a parallel version to act independently. Or..." Ciel's voice softened. "Perhaps I'm the clone, and the original me was sent to the future to change the present timeline."
If Rimuru were still human, his head would've been spinning and he would have nosebleed trying to comprehend this.
The complexity of the situation felt overwhelming.
All he could do was absorb her words without truly grasping them.
"I see..." He trailed off, rubbing his temple.
"I don't get it."
Ciel sighed and chose to simplify her explanation. "Let me show you."
She projected a scene before him.
Finally, Rimuru nodded slowly. "I get it now... at least, I think I do."
It was a big mess, rimuru himself can make a future of himself, so what happened in the future, it's also possible that the current him is the past rimuru.
He created a parallel self, tasked to replace him while he is gone.
And so he leaves with ciel.
The parallel rimuru wakened by the sound of call from a certain hero.
"This is Batman. I need everyone to assemble immediately."
Weird coincedence, as soon as the real rimuru is gone, there's suddenly action.
Clone Rimuru understood his assignment.
Wearing the same suit he wore in metropolis invasion.
Casting teleportation, in an instant, he was gone, reappearing amidst chaos.
Before him stood a line of tanks, their barrels aimed at a massive, rampaging creature.
A giant man of muscle was rushing toward the tanks, letting out a deafening roar.
The tanks fired relentlessly, shells crashing into the monster, but it shrugged them off like pebbles.
Suddenly, a red streak zipped past, and the creature stumbled, tripping over its own feet.
In metropolis, a thunderous explosion erupted.
Superman was clashing with a massive robot bearing the Bat symbol.
Both were locked in combat against a monstrous foe.
The tanks continued firing indiscriminately, even as the Flash darted dangerously close to the barrage. Rimuru raised his hand.
"Stop."
The command reverberated with power, and the tanks fell silent, their engines humming to a halt.
In a flash, Rimuru vanished, reappearing above the fallen beast.
Doomsday snarled, his glowing red eyes locking onto Rimuru. With a roar, he slammed the ground, unleashing a shockwave that sent even the Flash skidding away.
From his palms, a destructive beam shot toward Rimuru.
"Beelzebuth."
A black mass materialized in Rimuru's hand, devouring the beam entirely.
"RAAAARGH!" Doomsday roared again, the sheer force of his voice sending buildings crumbling.
Rimuru landed lightly on the monster's head, his fingers glowing with magic.
Doomsday's eyes exploded in a spray of red as Rimuru cast his spell.
Then, with a single tap, black flames erupted, consuming the creature's body.
As Rimuru leapt to the next fight, the Flash watched in awe.
"Amazing," he murmured, hoping the monster would stay down for good.
Elsewhere, the battle raged.
A-1 Doom, sent Superman hurtling through the air with a single punch.
Green Lantern created a barrier, catching Superman before he collided with the ground.
He couldn't quite grasp the reason, but somehow, even Batman was now able to break through his constructs using the one-armed mech he had brought to the fight.
The same applied to their current opponent.
"And here I thought I was special," Green Lantern muttered to himself.
He had spent years working in space, believing that Earth's conflicts were insignificant in the grander scheme of the universe. But now, facing these villains-far stronger than many he had encountered in the cosmos-he couldn't help but swallow his own words.
Even Batman, piloting a one-armed mech, was battling furiously against the same foe.
To his surprise, the monster's strength seemed to increase with every passing moment.
"It's getting stronger," Batman warned through the comms. "We need to end this quickly."
Green Lantern summoned a massive sledgehammer and slammed it into A-1 Doom. The construct shattered on impact, unable to match the monster's growing power.
Rimuru arrived on the battlefield, his blade shimmering with energy.
With a single slash, he severed the monster's head.
Yet, even decapitated, A-1 Doom remained alive, catching its own head and holding it in place.
Black flames engulfed its body, but the creature seemed unbothered.
"What's this?" A-1 Doom's distorted voice rumbled as he scanned the flames. "These fires... are strange."
"End him now!" Batman shouted. "The longer we delay, the stronger he gets!"
A-1 Doom hurled a car toward Batman, but Superman intercepted, smashing it to pieces.
"Stay!!" Superman paused, and delivering a strong punch in the face "Down!!"
It's once severed head is now attached and stretch in cartoonish sense, grotuesque line of veins and nano metals reaching for the head.
Green Lantern attempted to imprison the creature in a reinforced construct, pelting it with energy bullets, but the attacks bounced harmlessly off its skin.
Rimuru moved with precision, severing all four of A-1 Doom's limbs in quick succession. The monster fell, seemingly defeated.
It was over, or so they thought.
their relief was short-lived.
The Flash darted to a fire hydrant, creating a spray of water to extinguish the flames, but the black fire remained unyielding.
"I knew it" A-1 Doom realized these fires cant be put off.
Hr growled, his body regenerating rapidly. His limbs reformed, and he rose to his full height, the flames still clinging to him.
Rimuru's eyes narrowed in disbelief.
Doomsday stood tall, his regeneration overpowering even the destructive black flames.
Wonder Woman, soaring swiftly toward Metropolis, suddenly found herself confronted by a barrage of explosives streaking through the sky toward her.
Reacting instinctively, she raised her shield, deflecting the blasts with precision as they detonated around her.
Smoke and flames filled the air, but she emerged unscathed.
Her sharp gaze locked onto the source of the attack-a figure standing atop a towering building.
It was Lex Luthor, clad in his signature battle armor, a smug grin spreading across his face.
His weapon was aimed squarely at her, the barrel glowing ominously.
"Wonder woman," Luthor sneered. "Usually i'd be fighting against the symbol of hope"
With a flick of his hand, another volley of projectiles launched toward her, cutting through the sky like meteors.
A/n: I know what i'm doing and i know lex luthor's character, to some of you, it's less likely for him to target other heroes other than superman or batman... Well see how this plays out..
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