The King's New Form

"…Dodge"

As Nova swung his blade, a mesmerizing, yet terrifyingly destructive crescent slash of dazzling light extended from the sword. 

Hakurou, petrified by the spine-chilling coercion released by the 'Energy' that came off from Nova's blade, remained speechless, as the starry slash zoomed past him, barely missing his head by a mere hair's breadth.

Rimuru on the other hand watched, for it was the only thing he could do, as the frightening 'Energy' slash, as if cutting through Space and Time, tore through his 'Universal Barrier' as if a knife through butter.

What the hell is this?! —Rimuru was dumbstruck as he viewed the slash slice through the earth, carving a deepening trench in it, nothing seemingly even slowing it down, until it just…

…stopped.

Hakurou, Rimuru, and Souei stood motionless, as the slash that was rapidly expanding, even if was aimed not toward the city, just stopped, before turning into a small sphere of blinding white radiance, akin to a miniature star. Then, it darted back toward Nova, who just absorbed it in his hand as if it were nothing worth noting.

"…"

A vexing silence now permeated the air. No words were spoken, no movement performed as one could hear the feeble wind that couldn't even be called a breeze. Rimuru's golden eyes were gaping at Nova, no, Veldanava in disbelief, until a voice broke the silence.

"Haven't seen that in a while", the 'youngest' of the True Dragons, Veldora said calmly, as if what he just saw was a common occurrence.

However, the Ruler of the City did not share the same sentiment.

"I WON'T DESTROY THE CITY MY ASS. IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL A DUEL, VELDANAVA?"

The Star-King's head turned, as azure eyes met golden. However, Veldanava's eyes still reflected no foreign emotion as his smile simply hardened, but was still present. 

"I do not understand why you are so agitated. I had not aimed my strike at the City now, had I? Nor did I leave it unchecked."

Rimuru found himself unnerved at this. Does this guy not know the concept of moderation? —He thought. 

"While I myself am aware that I lack the proper 'common sense' as you call it, I am aware of what moderation is, Rimuru"

Veldanava's voice become firm, as if feeling offended. Rimuru's eye twitched, as the uneasy feeling of his thoughts once again being laid bare in the open invaded his soul.

However, that tone, one filled with displeasure, reminded him of just who he was dealing with. 

Veldanava wasn't a simple, naive man he could just punish by taking away his sweets as he did with Veldora, no. After a night's worth of thought, Rimuru had already realized that the elder True Dragon was not someone he could afford to antagonize, though it was unlikely that he would be angered by just this, after all, he still adores his creations far too much to destroy.      

"Diablo", Rimuru said, "Bring the civilians back, they are on the other side of the city. And tell them this was an accident"

"At once, Lord Rimuru"

The Stalker, who had been quietly waiting, quickly complied with his master's command and disappeared without a trace.

"And what are we going to do with…", Rimuru pointed at the deep trench that Veldanava had shaped, "THIS?!"

"Hmm? Veldora should be able to fix that"

"Huh? He can?"

"KUHUHUHAHAHAHA, Of Course I can. I am the Mighty Storm Dragon"

"I don't think that your strength has much to do anything with actually fixing it though"

"Don't worry, he can", Veldora visibly brightened at Veldanava's… praise?

"Alright", Rimuru said, "Mind coming with me for a second?"

"Sure"

"KUHUHUHUHAHAHAHA, I will join you shortly", but was promptly ignored by Rimuru, as Veldanava followed Rimuru's lead, giving his younger brother a nod, something he seemed jovial to receive.

As the Veldanava headed to whatever place the Demon Slime was leading him, Hakurou inaudibly watched, stunned, and forgotten.

}-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-{

In a room, designated as Rimuru's office, two individuals remained seated, at the opposite sofas. 

"What the hell was that? If everyone saw that, many would be scared of that, don't you think?"

Rimuru cried, albeit much calmer than earlier. 

He was frustrated, not only that the citizens of the city would grow to fear the True Dragon, but that this disturbance could be seen as them plotting something dangerous. He wanted to procure pleasant relations with the humans based on trust and integrity, and looking dangerous was definitely not the way to proceed.

"While I do admit that I went a little overboard, I do not think they would be scared of me with just that bit of display, especially with you and Veldora here"

Veldanava replied in his usual pleasant, serene voice, filled with a tint of confusion. 

"You do know that you are stronger than me right?"

"But they do not, do they?"

"Aah"

Rimuru understood. The people of the city trusted him with their very lives. They had absolute faith in him, and Veldora, so much that it made him uneasy, but they did. 

With a simple word from him, they would instantly abandon any trace of suspicion or anxiety for Veldanava. Even if he revealed the First True Dragon's identity, they would undoubtedly accept him just as they did with Veldora.

"Okay then", Rimuru's eyes sparked up.

"Hmm"

"Should I announce that you are a friend here, so you can live here for a while…"

"That would be desirable, yes. I was thinking of asking the same"

"Though, I hope you can keep Veldora with you for a bit. He's kinda a handful to deal with"

Veldanava's eyes slightly narrowed for a bit, making Rimuru anxious.

"Do not worry, I was going to anyway. Not to mention, I may assist with some projects here during my 'temporary' stay. I do consider myself quite the inventor"

Veldanava emphasized his stay being temporary, causing Rimuru to sigh internally. After all, in Rimuru's mind, Veldanava had already caused so much trouble within a day of coming, here, and he did not want to deal with another of the troublesome dragons. One was already enough of a headache.    

"Alright then"

Rimuru nodded, just like the person before him. 

"Ahem"

A blonde-haired man suddenly teleported into the office, holding two fingers on his forehead. Rimuru deadpanned, recognizing the imitation Veldora was trying to do, while Veldanava just watched him with an amused smile.

"You know; you have to stop doing that every time or no manga for a week"

Hearing the threat, Veldora stiffened, before quietly sitting down on the sofa beside the older True Dragon. 

"Manga? Are you referring to the picture books that relay stories?"

"Uh, yeah…Hold on, how do you know? Manga only came out recently, it didn't exist 2000 years ago"

Rimuru was confused, Veldanava surely died 2000 years ago, then how did he…Ah, he understood, Veldanava must have looked into that when he used Veldora's skill.

"I think you are misunderstanding this"

"Huh? What do you mean? Didn't you see that when using Veldora's skill?"

"No. I have once visited a world close to your own, one without magicules, a purely physical world like your previous one"

So there are more worlds than just Earth and the Central World —Rimuru noted.

"Time flows differently in every world, and the one I had visited was akin to your own, except it was several millennia in the future compared to yours. I had learned to mangas there, I still remember, quite a fascinating concept it was, capturing the author's imagination in such a way, in contrast to mere words"

I didn't know that—Veldora thought, before barging in the conversation.

"BROTHER!", Veldora cried, "How many did you read? Which ones? Which one do you like? Do you have more cool ones? Whi—"

Rimuru's eye twitched, thinking of striking his head with a chop. But decided against it, seeing how Veldanava still looked on with a fond smile at his younger brother. 

"Calm down, Veldora", He said, "I will tell you everything if you manage to land a blow on me tonight"

"Uhh…"

Veldora was startled. Land a blow on brother? That's impossible! —He thought.

No! My new stash of Manga is on the line. I have to do it, no, I will do it! —Veldora's heart burst with determination, momentarily daydreaming about him sitting between mountains of Manga on all sides. 

"YES"

He enthusiastically cried. Veldanava's smile widened, a soft gleam in his eyes. Rimuru, on the other hand, found himself bewildered at this. 

He forgot everything else after Veldanava mentioned Manga, didn't he?! —He thought. 

<<Affirmative. Veldora has likely forgotten about the situation>>

Rimuru sighed. Maybe I should tell Veldanava not to spoil him too much… maybe not, he seems to enjoy Veldora's antics as far as I can tell. —The 'slime' thought, seeing Veldanava's expression.

Hold on. They said something about a fight. If they fight…then...—

"ABSOLUTELY NOT", He practically screamed, jumping from his seat, while Raphael listened silently, amazed that Diablo did not appear this time, "You are not fighting here. Do you want to destroy this city, no, this entire forest?"

Hearing this, the two True Dragons' turned to Rimuru, eyebrow raised.

"We never said that we are going to fight here, did we?" The two said, resonating in sync.

"I was going to create an impermanent 'world' for us to duel and to let Veldora unleash all his power without attracting attention"  

"Oh… sorry about that"

"Fufu, you do not have to worry about me getting angry over something like that"

I guess that's true, or humanity would have been done for long ago seeing how they are—Rimuru internally sighed, relieved.

"Also, you plan on blending in with humans after you go, aren't you?"

"Yes?"

"You might want to hide those horns for now. Not all humans, especially of the Western Countries, like monsters."

"Oh. I see. Thank you, Rimuru"

Just as Veldanava spoke these words, his form began to change. His majestic horns retracted back into his skull and the white specks on his hair vanished, as its resemblance to the night sky littered with stars faded away.

The clothes he wore, previously akin to light armor, were not replaced with a black shirt and pants, drawing attention to his slender build, looking similar to Rimuru himself.

(Illustration)

Damn. I know I said this once but this guy looks gorgeous. If I didn't know he was a guy, I would have… let's not get there. But still, he looks like me, just with black hair and blue eyes, and a bit more pretty? —Rimuru accessed Veldanava's new human appearance.

Veldanava gave Rimuru a side glance, before speaking. "Does this seem acceptable?"

"U-uh, yeah… But why did you keep those horns on your human form?"

"Hmm, that was the first humanoid form I took, and I never bothered to change it"

"Oh"

This was half the truth. Veldanava knew that his human form was awfully attractive, it could even be called divine. As a result, he unintentionally earned the admiration of many human females in the time he spent in the Nasca Kingdom. 

His horns also deterred some of them who did not view monsters favorably and also served as his distinct identity in the castle. 

Though he even now didn't truly understand their ire for monsters, when their impulsive tendencies were surpassed only by the Daemons themselves. 

"Veldora?"

The oldest True Dragon turned to his younger sibling.

"KUHUHUHUHAHAHAHA, Of course, you look fabulous. You are the older brother of the Venerable Veldora Tempest"  

Veldora boasted, receiving a smile from Veldanava.

Rimuru, who looked thoughtful for a second then spoke.

"Where are you going to go from here anyways?" 

Veldanava slowly turned to Rimuru, his eyes glimmering a brighter azure glint. Rimuru and Veldora gulped, seeing Veldanava's expression harden, before the latter's lips parted.

(Illustration)

"To my daughter"

}-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-{

The sunset, the warmth of the sun waning, as the Rimuru city was slowly engulfed in the darkness of the night.

Within these borders, four men stood before a bright portal.

"Are you sure you want to watch, Hakurou?"

"Yes, Lord Rimuru. Even if this is supposed to be a secret, I would like to have a glimpse, if you allow"

Rimuru waved those worries off, "Don't worry about it, you already know about Veldanava. If you want to come, then just come. Just don't tell anyone about this, okay"

"Yes, Lord Rimuru"

Hakurou bowed slightly, as Rimuru turned to the two men with blond and black hair waiting for them before the portal. 

"Let's go"

The long dark-haired man said, prompting the other 3 to nod and follow him into the portal, which disappeared as soon as the 4 entered it.

In the distance, the silhouette of a black-haired stalker sniffed as it shed tears, "Lord Rimuru forgot about me"

…

"A-Amazing", was the only word that left Rimuru's mouth as he found himself walking on what seemed like a water surface, keeping them atop a sea of stars that could be seen through the surface and felt like the reflection of the starry sky that illuminated the heavens overhead.

It truly was a divine sight.

"Where are we?", Hakurou voiced out.

"We are in the outer Space you are going to watch me and Veldora from"

Said Veldanava, as he led them to a pair of chairs with a giant sphere in between.

"Take a seat"

Heeding the words of their host, the Demon Slime and Kijin took their seats, before nodding to the others.

"Alright then" 

A new portal manifested beside them, through which Veldanava and Veldora passed, ending up in a World much like the Central World itself. 

As the portal closed behind them, Veldora's Aura burst out unleashed, like an ardent storm annihilating everything in its path, except that the land they were on was barren.

"KUHUHUHUHAHAHAHA. I hope you are ready brother"

Veldora bellowed, as his form grew larger. Casting away his human appearance, now in its place stood the Mighty Storm Dragon, his 4 wings demonstrating his status as the member of the highest-ranking race to ever exist, the True Dragons.

Veldanava smiled softly as his form too changed into that of a draconic entity. However, his two wings and much smaller stature made the Storm Dragon narrow its eyes.

"Are you really going to fight me in that form?"

Veldora said, as his voice boomed like a raging storm.

"Very well then"

The blue dragon spoke, before it grew, reaching the same size as his opponent, if not slightly larger. A new pair of wings sprouted from his back, demonstrating his status as a True Dragon as well.

ROAR.

Veldora bellowed, as his opponent looked calmly at him, and in a single leap, flew into the sky, followed by Veldanava.

The battle had begun, exhibiting what would be the showdown of the 'Storms and Stars'.