True God In Another World (Tensura x Tbate)

Chapter 97 - Trust

Rimuru POV

I sighed deeply, floating in an endless void of darkness. Even knowing it was an illusion, I had to admire the craftsmanship - the absolute absence of light, the way sound seemed to die before it could echo, the perfect simulation of weightlessness. She'd definitely improved since our last training session.

Fatigue tugged at my consciousness, making this empty space seem strangely inviting. The temptation to just drift here was strong, but I couldn't afford to waste time. Opening my eyes, I focused my senses, reaching out with my mana detection. No matter how perfect the illusion, she couldn't completely mask her presence from me.

"Aya, stop that," I called out, my voice somehow both muffled and crystal clear in the void.Silence answered me. Typical.

"Aya, I know you can hear me. I can see you." I tried again, more firmly this way.

More silence. Well, if she wanted to play it that way...

Without warning, I conjured an ice spear, coating it in crackling lightning before hurling it toward her concealed position. As expected, she dodged to the right - she always did when caught off guard. Before her feet could touch whatever passed for ground in this illusion, I summoned several ice spikes from below.

"Getting better at detecting me, little brother?" Her voice materialized before she did, carrying that insufferably teasing tone she'd perfected over the years. The darkness around us rippled like disturbed water as her illusion began to break down.

"Don't call me that," I grumbled, maintaining my combat stance even as the training room's familiar walls began to peek through the fading void. The ice spikes I'd created caught the emerging light, casting prismatic reflections across the space. "And you're getting sloppy. I could sense your mana signature from the moment you cast the illusion."

She fully materialized now, her long dark hair floating slightly in the residual magical current. Her lance uniform, while technically meeting regulations, somehow managed to look casually disheveled in a way that would have the council members clutching their pearls. "Sloppy? Me?" She pressed a hand to her chest in exaggerated offense. "I managed to trap you in my illusion for a full thirty seconds this time."

"Twenty-eight," I corrected automatically, then immediately wanted to kick myself as her grin widened. I'd walked right into that one.

"Counting the seconds? My, you must have been worried." She gracefully sidestepped another ice spike, moving with an irritating fluidity that made combat look like a dance. "And here I thought you'd outgrown your cute little brother phase."

Rather than dignify that with a response, I decided to cut to the chase. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be busy with all the recent incidents?"

"What, I can't visit my beloved little brother?" Aya asked, perching on one of my ice spikes like it was a comfortable chair rather than a deadly weapon.

"Stop calling me that," I muttered, dissolving the ice constructs with a wave. The training room had fully returned now, its reinforced walls bearing subtle marks from countless practice sessions. "And you never just 'visit.' You always have an agenda."

Her laugh echoed off the walls, bright and genuine despite my skepticism. "You're no fun anymore, Rimuru."

"If you have nothing important to discuss, then go," I said, trying to sound stern despite the familiar warmth her presence always brought.

"Come on, Ri, don't be so cold," Aya said, stepping closer. "You haven't forgotten who helped you carry out your plan with the Illusion Magic, have you?"