Tempest: After the Tenma War

Chapter 2: The Absence of Hope

Symbol Meanings:

"..." -> Speaking

[...] -> Speaking to or from a manas, in Rimuru's head

{...} -> Thought communication

[IN ALL CAPS] -> Voice of the World announcement

*...* -> Internally thinking

(AN: Lets see how bad I am at writing fight scenes, shall we? Also, this is a long chapter! Enjoy!)

POV: Benimaru, Mystic Oni, The 'Flare Lord' of the 12 Patrons

- Around ten seconds after Rimuru was sent to the End of Space and Time by Yuuki -

"..."

"..."

"..."

"This...is...the worst...I failed him... we all failed him..." I mumble to myself over and over again, my eyelids pushed as far open as they can go, staring at the exact spot that my Lord, everyone's Lord, was standing at just a few moments ago.

Yet, there is nothing now. That spot is completely devoid of life; whatever spell or skill that BASTARD used on Lord Rimuru eviscerated the surrounding area in a radius around it, which almost reached where I was standing, stopping only a few inches from me.

Who knows what would have happened had it touched me as well...

I can't even fathom what just happened, let alone what that spell or skill that even was...it all occurred so quickly...

One moment, Lord Rimuru was fighting this Yuuki bastard toe-to-toe, even winning in some moments, matching all blows sent his way. They fought with skills, spells, mind games, as well as the sword. It was as if two masters of their craft, two gods in their own right, were going at each other with all they have...I hate to give this bastard any kind of respect, but his power is undeniable...I can't even touch him in the state I am in now...

And, Lord Rimuru...lost...this battle? I can't even begin to comprehend how such a fate could ever befall us...

My katana, forged by one of my fellow ogre-village survivors, Kurobe, bestowed to me from Great Rimuru himself, falls from my hands, hitting the ground with a loud *thud*.

Without turning away from the evil before me, I need to determine how everyone else is doing now. Even if Lord Rimuru isn't here, none of us can ever disgrace him with failure.

Yet...hope seems to be rapidly deteriorating from this accursed battlefield...

"Diablo...what can we even do? How could we ever hope to defeat...that..." I say aloud, without ever breaking my line of sight on the one who has committed this grave sin against us.

Diablo...doesn't answer, despite only being a few feet behind me. It's obvious that he could hear me from this distance, yet I don't think he ever did...being just as dazed and confused as I am at this apparent sight, perhaps even more so.

Diablo was always the most fanatical towards Lord Rimuru out of all of us. The only one that could ever give him a run for his money was his frequent prayer-partner and fellow resident preacher, Adaalman.

He begins to open his mouth, but no words ever come out, it's as if this 'Primordial Demon' has finally faced someone he truly fears...

Or perhaps he's feeling just such sheer rage that he can't move...