Tensura pirates adventures! - The Beginning

Farewell

Its been 12 hours since the battle began, and it didn't seem like the end was anywhere near.

"This is no good. The longer the fight drags the more advantage Shiki is going to have" Leon

"Ah. I feel it too. He is slowly getting stronger" said Rimuru.

"At this rate we are going to lose eventually" said Guy as he just escaped a close call.

'Looks like we are in a tight spot this time. Ciel sensei did you find any other way?'

<No master. As predicted earlier, there are only 3 choices we have to avoid total annihilation. Out of them only one ensures no casualties>

'Alright then. It will be for everyone to decide which path we take now' 

With that, Rimuru turned on the emergency call system and connected everyone.

*" Listen everyone. As we had discussed already the situation has come to it. We cannot win this battle as is. We will have to choose from the three options we discussed. I want all of your responses now and we will be acting accordingly "*      

As soon as everyone heard this, their hearts became heavy as this was a very critical moment for them.

The three choices were-

- To flee. This choice involved summoning all of Ramiris's golems as distractions, and everyone escapes to the island through Dino's portal. But this choice needed a sacrifice. Someone would have to stay behind to ensure Shiki doesn't follow them behind, otherwise it will be the end of Star Tempest along with everyone, and Ramiris's Golems aren't strong enough to hold back Shiki for long enough.

- To go kill the other apostles. This would need multiple sacrifices. Basically 2-3 people will be required to hold Shiki back so that the rest of them could get a head start in rushing to the apostles and kill them, which will weaken Shiki to the point that he could be taken care of

- To cheat. Plain and simple. This involved no risks no casualties. Simply borrow power from their respective real bodies and destroy Shiki. 

Of course option 3 was out of question. They all wanted to do this with stakes at hand, or else they wouldn't have had used these avatars. If they cheated here then the very journey would be meaningless. Everyone knew that and didn't even bring option 3 up as an option.

"The only desirable result here is beating this insect and getting that power for Rimuru sama. I won't settle for anything less than that" said Diablo.

"I agree. Running away doesn't suit me either. I won't settle for a loss" said Guy.

"Ho? So how do we decide on who to sacrifice then?" asked Luminas

"I will sacrifice. If its for my bestie, I can do anything" said Milim without hesitation.

"Me too" said Veldora "Rimuru is my sworn brother afterall" said Veldora

"Hey you two! That's not how we are doing it" retorted Rimuru, but was happy to see his two best friends are still the same.

"I would say It should be me, Dagruel and Leon" said Diablo "Milim sama is our strongest so there is no way she can go. Ramiris-san isn't a fighter so there is no use of her going. Luminas is our healer so is out of question. Dino's power is also vital to our crew. Out of the rest, Guy's time stop ability will be the most useful to Rimuru sama when he gets this fruit. Veldora-sama's ability to fly and control lightning surpasses my and Dagruel's as it provides both flight and ranged attacks. Antak-kun is also very useful in ways we are incapable of"

"Not to mention me staying behind will ensure enough time to the others since I am the second strongest right now. And who knows? We may actually manage to survive" said Leon jokingly.

"I have no complaints" said Dagruel at last.

"So then its decided" said Diablo

"We are going to miss you all" said Rimuru with a heavy heart.

"Kufufufu It is my utmost pleasure to be of use to you Rimuru sama. My journey has been fulfilled and I wish nothing more" said Diablo.

"So then lets get started" said Guy.

"Wait"

"Huh? what is it Antak kun?" asked Rimuru.

"I will do it"

"What do you mean?" asked Rimuru confused

"I will take care of Shiki. Alone" said Antak, to which everyone was surprised.

"What!? Are you saying you can defeat Shiki alone? You serious?"

"Looks like you forgot who I am Rimuru san. I am an ancient weapon, and the strongest one at that" said Antak as he proceeded open a valve in his chest, near his heart, and a cylindrical metal thingy with 5 holes popped out. 

"But wasn't that project left unfinished since your master didn't want you to die?" asked Rimuru in shock.

"Yes. But I finished it. And I can say it is more than enough to take care of Shiki" said Antak as he took out 5 tiny orbs from his fingers and placed one of them in a hole.

*/Emergency lock 1 disabled/*

"Does that mean you are going to die?" asked Rimuru

"Yes. I will surely die. But I don't regret it" said Antak as he placed the second orb.

*/Emergency lock 2 disabled/*

"Is that all right with you Diablo san?" asked Antak "Will you let me have this opportunity to repay all of you?"

"Kufufu All right. If Rimuru sama agrees to it"

"Thank you" said Antak as he placed the third orb.

*/Emergency lock 3 disabled/* 

"Heh whatever do you mean by repay" 

"Of course. The time I spent with you was-"

"NO NO stop right there. What I mean is we didn't do anything for you to feel indebted to us. So you don't need to feel indebted either. And its not like it was one sided. You realize how much you have helped us right?"

"Haha of course. How stupid of me. Right. I am not doing this to repay anything. I am doing this as the best possible decision for the Stardom Pirates. I have already stored all my data in a robot back at home, and it would be able to do a lot of what I can, so losing me alone is a much better choice than losing the three of them. So do I now have permission to do this?" asked Antak

"Alright. Permission granted" 

"Thank you" said Antak as he placed the fourth orb

*/Emergency lock 4 disabled/*

"We all are going to miss you" said Rimuru, and then everyone said their last goodbye to Antak.

"You will get one chance to pull it off. Don't miss it" said Antak as he placed the fifth orb.

*/Emergency lock 5 disabled/* 

"Wait. What do you mean by that?" 

"You will realize it when you see it I am sure. Just know that you don't need to hold back. And farewell. We will never meet again" said Antak

*/Target for elimination-set. Activating mode 'Ares' the war god /*

Author's note: Hope you liked it.