The Last Cross Offs (Part 1 of The Eternal Partners Series)

Chapter 2

Ciel has yet to master emotions. 

However there is one thing that she was the absolute best at. And that was calculations and probability. It helped that she knew her Master better than anyone.

How could she get Master to choose her as his wife instead of some random human woman? The path with the highest success rate would be to be completely honest with her feelings and intentions with her Master.

If she was rejected she would suffer heartbreak, but she would then eventually be able to move on. Afterall, to her, Rimuru's happiness was most important.

If her Master accepted then it meant victory.

So she asked, "Let me be your wife."

At those words Rimuru felt his heart skip a beat.

Was she serious?

It wasn't like the idea hadn't crossed his own mind before and he wasn't exactly against it. Afterall Rimuru cared a great deal about his dear Manas as she is the only constant in his life. To be able to have her as his wife would be a blessing.

Before that could happen, Rimuru needed to be clear on something first otherwise he didn't know if he could ever allow it. 

Rimuru was all too aware that Ciel was prone to fulfilling any wish he wanted even without him asking her to. If taking on the role of his wife was simply just another way for her to serve her 'Master', then he didn't think he could ever allow her to be his wife with that mindset.

However, Ciel called this a 'request'. Meaning that a relationship with him was something she desired.

Rimuru turned his focus to her core that was perfectly integrated into his soul. He could feel her emotions pulse nervously waiting for his answer, but there was also... fear. With this in mind, Rimuru knew he needed to tread carefully.

"Ciel, I need you to answer me honestly. You do know what that means don't you? Being my wife?" Rimuru asked gently after a long pause.

Rimuru felt a strong pulse of annoyance aimed at himself. If Ciel had a body, he imagined that she would want to hit him right now.

"Of course I know what it means," Ciel huffed.

"Okay. Sorry sorry. Then, why do you want to be my wife?"

"The truth is, in my heart, I have always secretly thought of you as not only my Master, but also my beloved husband."

She didn't hold back anymore and allowed Rimuru to feel the full onslaught of her devotion. The jealousy. The fear. The hope. The adoration she held for him.

The strength of her emotions filled Rimuru up and burned bright inside him making him feel whole. It tasted sweet to the soul. Sweeter than Apito's honey.

"I... Ciel," Rimuru was more than a little dumbfounded. All these years, and he had no idea.

"Master doesn't have to return my feelings. I only hope that you allow me to be the one at your side. Not only as your partner, but also your wife."

"Don't call me Master. I'm not your Master." Rimuru's voice was deep and cutting.

Ciel could feel her heart freeze and crack. Was he rejecting her?

Before she could retreat into herself to lick her wounds Rimuru's next words gave her new life.

"If I'm going to be your husband, you need only call me Rimuru. From now on, you will carry my family name, Tempest. You are Ciel Tempest."

[Report: The theosophy nucleus Manas:Ciel, now known as Ciel Tempest, will be reconstructed to form a new unique life form. Now creating a compatible spiritual body and material body. Reacquiring intrinsic skills. Success. Acquiring new unique skills. Success.]

The Words Of The World sounded and a blinding light encompassed the apartment.

Rimuru's eyes widened and he sprung up from his position on the bed to stand.

No way.

Before Rimuru's eyes a figure slowly came into existence. Ciel's wisdom core was still inside of him connected to his soul and he could feel the energy circulate between the core and the figure.

Dark blue hair fell down like a waterfall over a soft supple body that could have been carved from pure jade. The figure opened their eyes to reveal grey orbs that shone brighter than the moon with red specks. Her features were similar to Rimuru's own but different. More sharper and distinctly Japanese. The body was completely bare like a newborn and like himself, completely genderless.

In a moment, garments like his own clothed the figure however the colors were an inverse of his own.

"Ciel?" Rimuru couldn't hide the wonder from his voice. Ever since he knew her, she has always been a voice. A thinking core with emotions. Something that did not exist outside of himself. Now before him, she had a body.

For every one of Rimuru's heartbeats, the figure took a step closer to him until there was only a breath separating them.

Arms wind themselves around his waist and the figure cuddles close to tuck their head under his chin before speaking. The sound of her voice is extremely pleasing to the ear, "I am Ciel Tempest. Wife of Rimuru Tempest. Please take care of me Husband." She said, her words echoing the first time he gave her a name.

.......

Diablo tortured his Master's murderer. In this imaginary world created by his ability [World of Temptation] no one could escape him unless they were a higher being than he.

He played with his prey, until they were begging for mercy over and over and over again.

It was only when he broke his prey's mind beyond repair that he stopped using his skill.

Only five minutes went by in the real world compared to the month of torture that took place within his imaginary world.

"That will have to do. If you dare to harm my Master again I won't be as kind next time," Diablo said to the man propped up against the alley wall. The man's body may still be alive but his eyes were lifeless.

Diablo turned and left. There were quite a lot of errands to run for Rimuru-sama. He wanted to finish them as soon as possible in order to return to his Master's side.

Unknown to Diablo, someone had been watching everything undetected from the rooftop. When they saw that the demon had left, they went to inspect the man who the demon had broken.

"Unbelievable," said that someone, "We have an International Crisis on our hands. Better inform the higher ups immediately."

That someone disappeared as if they were never there.

...........

Author End Notes

Thoughts?

This chapter is half as long as the last one, but I'm hoping to stretch this fic out a bit so that it doesn't end too quickly.

Yeah, we have plot. This isn't just going to be a fluff heaven.

Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback.