57A platinum-blue haired demon lord stood still, simply watching the destruction in front of him. His allies. His friends. His family. All gone.
He looks at his feet. The remains of both his allies and enemies were on the ground. The dead bodies of Feldway, Yuuki, Laplace, Ivaraj, Zelaneus, and countless others.
"Rimuru…" said a voice.
He turned. There stood Milim Nava, alive, yet not fully. It seemed that she lost something as well. That childish innocence was no more, replaced by ugliness and hollowness.
He embraced her. Hugged her close. But she did not return it.
He knew deep down that her soul was damaged beyond repair. It was a miracle that she was still standing.
He did not want her to look like that. She didn't deserve to suffer like this.
None of them did…
"I am sorry…" he whispered. "Rest."
Gathering some Null energy, he sent a wave through Milim, who at this point was completely defenceless. She disappeared almost instantly.
"Tsk… this really is the end…" said another.
Rimuru turned to see a red haired demon on the ground nearby, leaning against a rock. His lower body had been completely obliterated, he had one arm missing, and it was clear that he had taken severe soul damage as well.
"Guy…"
The demon smiled.
"Seems like you, the crazy infinite potential bastard, arrive a tad bit too late."
Rimuru grimaced, his eyes downcast.
"Don't blame yourself over all this. We were too weak. And the enemy was strong. Not to mention controlling Milim. Of course, I was the one that took them all on solo, after everyone else perished."
Rimuru let out a dry chuckle. Of course Guy would be prideful till the end.
Guy then looked upwards, realizing that his time was up. He turned to Rimuru.
"In the end, you really were entertaining. I wish I could've seen the world you would have created."
He then closed his eyes.
"Seems like I will see you all soon… Rudra… Lucia… Velzado… Veldenava…"
The Strongest Demon Lord died with a smile on his face, as his body dissipated.
Leaving Rimuru all alone...
["Master… I am sorry… I-"]
"You did what you could, Ciel. Don't blame yourself."
They had arrived too late. They had travelled through time, only to arrive moments after his enemies had won. He had flown into a rage. And now he stood by himself, void of anything.
A lonely god… in a world full of destruction… all those he held dear, gone… Even Veldora was lost when he was thrown through time. It seems that Ivaraj had consumed his soul completely.
"Ciel… could I travel through time to before this happened. Before the final battle ended?"
["I wish, Master… Ivaraj blocked any dimensional travel at the time. You had only arrived when he dismissed it…]
"So I lost everything, huh… and there is nothing I can do."
["Master, we could recreate the entire world and-"]
"I am NOT GOING TO REPLACE THEM!" he yelled.
He was met with silence. Even Ciel, his partner, had no answer.
He cried. Tears freely flowing down his face.
How long had it been since he had cried?
Since Shizu?
He had not cried since then.
He wished he could prevent their deaths, he wanted to do anything…
Then he stood there, helpless. He lost track of time…
Days…
Weeks…
Months…
Years…
Decades…
Centuries…
He mourned for an eternity…
Then… his partner finally spoke once more.
["Master, if you wish, you could travel back in time prior to the final battle."]
Rimuru stayed silent. He then voiced his thoughts.
"That could save everyone, but might make a time loop… and leave me with nowhere to go. After all, if I go back in time, I will see my previous self, right? That makes it awkward, and there is no point in having two Rimuru's..."
["Not if we travel to the beginning. To when you just reincarnated. You could replace your newly born self just by being there, Master. Since you just arrived in the world, you print on the world is practically non-existent, so-"]
"Would I be killing my past self?"
["... No, master, think of it as you simply replacing him. Instead, once Satoru Mikami died, he would not be called into reincarnation, since you are already there, and the world would not need to pull another you to fill a certain void, I presume. I could pull some strings, and make sure your past life survives, too."]
"Truly, Ciel?" asked Rimuru, hopeful once more.. "You can do that?"
["Yes."] answered Ciel, her voice filled with confidence after nearly an eternity of silence. ["I will not fail this time, Master."]
"Then let's go. To save them all."
The excitement of seeing his loved ones again. To save those he cares about.
Veldora, Milim, Chloe, Shion, Shuna, Benimaru, Souei, Hinata, Zegion, Kurama, Diablo, Leon, Ruminas, hell, even Guy. Everyone.
"I am coming. I will protect you all."