At the center of the Colosseum, Hakurou stands opposite to Shion.
Inside the tense atmosphere is Milim who act like usual, undisturbed,
ăBegin!ă(Milim)
She shouted.
Having become more experienced, she gives the announcement fluently.
By the way, Souka doesnât take the referee role, she just does the victory proclamation.
Because there is the risk that Souka will interrupt the more serious sword fights, she only gives live reports.
Milim, imitating her, doesnât do anything that would disturb the match.
She is just happy that she could do something, my worry of her behaving wildly hasnât come true, Iâm really thankful it hasnât.
Letâs pay more attention to the match.
The two brandished their swords against each other with a quiet atmosphere.
It is not a relentless sword clash like the fight between Benimaru and Souei, they just straightforwardly test each othersâ offence and defense.
Itâs like a calm, flowing river.
However, a sudden downpour made the river surge.
Hakuro yelled out with fighting spirit as he slashed in Shionâs direction.
But, Shion isnât impatient, with a wonderful example of using just enough power to not injure the opponent, she wards off Hakurouâs slash.
Hakurou is still in contrast to Shion who is always in motion.
They give such impression, however this battle completely turned that image around.
Just like in the yesterdayâs battle, Shion obviously had grown. Her fighting method was not the one where she just attacks with all of her strength like she had done until recently, but she has changed into a skilled battling method that stresses the importance of rational tactics.
That is combining strength with technique.This means that her power had increased by one level.
If going by skill level alone, it didnât match Hakurouyet, but with both her higher physical strength and skill level supplemented by her instinct, she could fight on par with Hakurou.
No, theyâre not equal.
Shion who has a flowing sword art, incorporated her irrational herculean strength. Her technique is still immature if compared to Hakurouâs.
In reality, the one who is seriously fighting and was pushed out in this battle was Hakurou.
It seems that Hakurouâs swordsmanship was unable to ward off Shionâs sword attack.
ăYou have grown, ShionâŠ.. Never did I expect that with your swordâs skill you could get this far.ă(Hakurou)
ăFufufu. I wonât act violently for forever you know.
My wish is to reach that high place for sure.
With my previous self, I could never be useful for Rimuru-sama.ă(Shion)
The swords intersect and repel each other. Once more they face each other by taking a distance.
Itâs more than I thought, they began to display the aspect of an advanced swordsmanâs match.
Hakurou nods in satisfaction after seeing Shionâs growth.
Souei was the first disciple he took under his wing.
He knows his own ability and duties, while abstaining himself from overconfidence. An ideal disciple.
Compared to Souei, Benimaru and Shion were very different.
No matter how he teaches, they are more about combat rather than theory, and thus, more about strength rather than skill!  That was the personality that they carried into their battles.
However, Benimaru as the young warrior of the Ogres[1] was a boy who had a strong sense of responsibility from the beginning.
Therefore, it was good that he was aware that self-conceit could make the people he holds dear hurt.
Like that, Benimaru mastered his awareness and responsibility as a general, he has grown more remarkably than what Hakurou had previously expected.
For Hakurou too, it was truly a joyous thing.
But, more than anything for the problem child Shion to become more mature, Hakurou although very surprised, was also delighted.
For a period of time, Shionâs outrage after being resurrected from the maws of death was an intolerable thing.
Is her mind unstable? Has her heart gone dark[2]?
It was as if her heart had been completely dyed by the violent hatred towards people except her friends.
He had also inspected the situation of âYomigaeriâ special training, but they did not give out the feeling of special training but of venting their anger.
Had Shionâs mind gone mad because she died? So he worried.
If by some chance Shion turned into someone who causes great harm, he had the resolution to personally deal with her using his sword.
However, Shion showed growth.
Shion changed again after being admonished by Rimuru-sama following the fight with the Holy Knights.
In the end, Shion may just be afraid.
Afraid of being killed.
It wasnât because death is scary, but because she was afraid she would disappear without being any use.
It seemed that finding herself not useful and being forgotten by Rimuru-sama is what she is afraid of, more than anything else, by Hakurouâs analysis.
For that reason, even for a little, she tries to stand out more than others.
The cause was also because she was obsessed with foolish things like ranking order.
She envied the others, she was afraid that if she was not hogging Rimuru-samaâs interest and affection for herself, she would end up forgotten and left behind.
The jealousy in her heart is the cause of her recklessness.
However, Rimuru-sama will never forget about us, once she realizes that, the jealousy in her heart will surely disappear.
In the end, the sense of being securely watched over by a parent was something that protected Shionâs mind.
Now, there is no doubt in Shionâs swordsmanship, such a thing told more than any words.
If she keeps growing at the same rate as now, the day when her ability surpasses Hakurou doesnât seem far.
(If thatâs true, then I can give my undivided attention to the troublesome youths, such as Gobuta and Gabil.)
So he thinks, while a delightful smile begins to shape.
ăNow, If youâre able to stop this sword, I will confer to you the full mastery of my arts!ă(Hakurou)
He told Shion, and the training sword once more enters it sheath.
The match will be decided by the next strike.
To see Shionâs growth was a godsend.
After this, it is only to enjoy this battle.
Hakurou intended to use Battoujutsu [3].
Shion also noticed it.
However, Shion doesnât become unnerved. Of course, she wonât use battoujutsu, since her Ćdachi wonât get additional speed when it was drawn.
Itâs not like she wasnât able to do it, but now is not the right time to use it.
For Shion and the others, Hakurou was the closest person to a parent for them.
He was the only person who had raised them since they were young.
Thatâs why, one of Shionâs objectives was to be acknowledged by him.
And then, after surpassing him, sheâll grow. Thatâs what Shion thought.
Until recently, the heavy insecurity that had occupied her heart had been completely vanished.
She wasnât afraid of death.
But, what she feared more than death was to be forgotten.
However, itâs alright now.
Conviction that Rimuru-sama will never forget about her had swept away Shionâs insecurity.
At the same time as the insecurity was swept away, she realized that it was meaningless to envy others.
So, instead of envy, she had surpassed it.
Shion had reached the part where she noticed the meaning of surpassing herself, that âSheâs not another personâ. In that case, she will always keep on growing.
At the end of that progress, thanks to their longer lifespan she could arrive at a perspective that couldnât be attained by short-lived people.
When thinking about this, Shion didnât feel any need to be impatient anymore.
Shionâs growth was accelerated when her insecurity and doubt disappeared. However, it could be called ironic.
That is, something than even Shion wasnât unable to noticeâŠ.
The âEnvyâs Sproutâ that budded inside Shionâs heart once again showed some change.
At the same time as her insecurity and doubt disappeared, the envious feeling towards others was also dispelled.
The outcome of this was that the budding sprout in a surge, turned back into a seed and fell asleep in her innermost heart.
And thus, the budding of Shionâs feelings of envy ceased.
The seed did not vanish when it assimilated with the soul, it blended together with the wavelength of her soul, and engraved the beat.
Did the envy not bud because her anxiety and doubt disappeared? Or did her anxiety and doubt disappear because she no longer goes mad with jealousy? It was uncertain.
Anyway, Shion changed and arrived at the present state.
Next, what Hakurou had released was without doubt a Sword Saintâs Sword Draw Arts.
If someone was able to stop the attack then there was a good chance of winning, it was the weak point of Sword Draw.
The winner and loser would be decided by this one strike.
Shion devoted her entire body and soul and made a posture to prepare against Hakurouâs attack.
ăDim Stream Slash[4]!ă(Hakurou)
Hakurouâs figure become indistinct, thin like air, despite the fact that Shionâs perception was not inferior in speed, it was obstructed for a moment and before she realized it, he had already appeared before her eyes like an optical illusion.
The shining blade was flowing as if it would cut through the neck,Hakurouâs victory seems to be confirmed.
Shion transforms by utilizing the Unique SkillăWar Goddess Transformation [6]ă.
When the doubt inside Shion disappeared, the skillăDemonificationăchanged intoăWar Goddess Transformationă.
Itâs not a skill where someone loses their awareness and rage like a berserker. Itâs an ability that purely raised physical power.
Just like BenimaruâsăDemon Flame Transformation[7]ă, it was an ability where theyâre able to use the properties of their soul body.
Shion is in a state where her bodyâs strength was transferred into her soul body without any change. However, it consumes an extreme amount of energy, so it canât be used for a long time.
This moment is when the decision concluding this offence and defense is made.
With her current self, she canât match Hakurou. Thatâs why, she use all of her ability.
Under the effect of Unique SkillăWar Goddess Transformationă a fierce and powerful Touki overflows from Shionâs entire body.
All her senses are sharpened at the same time and the power overflowing from Shion can be felt.
The current Shion is able to clearly see Hakurouâs âDim Current Slashâ that could even confuse oneâs speed perception.
Evasion is unnecessary.
She will not receive damage from that katana. Shion understood that in an instant.
However, Shion chose to respond to it with her greatest technique without hesitation.
ăChaoticThe Apocalypse and Genesis of  FateLife and Death of the Universe[8]!!ă(Shion)
Putting her whole will in it, it could even alter the outcome.
She twists her body while sending her Ćdachi from below and intercept Hakurouâs blade.
Hakurouâs blade that was aimed to slash at Shionâs neck was intercepted by Shionâs Ćdachi.
Despite that there wasnât even a chance for it to make it in time, Shionâs accelerating sword speed broke common sense and overwrote the result.
Light flickers, and a broken edge flew in the air.
Shionâs Ćdachi beat and cut Hakurouâs training katana.
Shion quickly retracted her blade and swung down with her overhead raised Ćdachi
A clear voice with high pitched tone could be heard as Shionâs Ćdachi was stopped by the Magic Sword âTenmaâ [9] in Milimâs hand.
ăStop! Any more than this is prohibited. This match shall be Shionâs victory!ă(Milim)
Milim proclaimed Shionâs victory with an expression as if nothing had happened.
Shout of joy wrapped the Colosseum.
Milim interrupted the match and stopping Shionâs sword, few people noticed the real situation.
But, Hakurou and Shion simultaneously understood. If she continued her slash, Hakurou might receive a fatal damage that couldnât be reversed even with regeneration.
ăIâm sorryâŠâŠHakurou. I want you to see my growth, unconsciously IâŠ..ă (Shion)
ăWhat~ I donât really mind. I also wanted to see your seriousness. No, Iâve already seen enough.ă(Hakurou)
Hakurou forgives Shion when she apologizes.
Towards those two,
ăOi, you who is called Shion. I will personally teach you next time.
You should be pleased! That strike just now was a strike that could even slay Demon Lord you know!ă(Milim)
So Milim says.
However,
ăEh, no, I need to decline. After all, Iâm not that really interested in becoming strong.ă(Shion)
As one would expect, Shion decline if her opponent is the Tyrant Milim, and chose to escape.
ăWhat did you say!? You should take the responsibility for chipping my Magic Sword âTenmaâ!ă(Milim)
Milim made a fuss, but if she minds it then sheâs already lost.
Shion made the right choice, resolute on making a speedy escape from the arena.
ăNo, itâs not chipped, its only degraded by rust. There is no problem.
For becoming an important JudgeReferee for today, thank you very much.ă(Shion)
After she said that, Shion started to flee and quickly left that place.
Milim had face that say âHum!?â she began to laugh as if she gave up on it.
Milimâs laugh reverberates in the Colosseum. This matchâs victory goes to Shion.
The winner of final match on the third tournament day is Shion.
With this, the best 4 people are all present.
??????????????????????????
I was surprised.
Shion was able to confront Hakurou directly, but I was more surprised by her victory.
However, what surprised me the most is Milim who read the situation and intervened.
I think that If Milimâs intervention didnât come, Hakurou would be dead. Itâs good that she intervened.
ăMIlim, You really helped me by stopping Shion there, thank you!ă(Rimuru)
When I say my thanks,
ăWahahahaha! What~ It was a good thing.
However, your subordinate called Shion, that one is growing up.
You donât need to be worried about that Guy fellow!ă(Milim)
So she answered with laugh,
ăThe thing is, will I also make a live report tomorrow?ă(Milim)
So she demands from me while inclining her head, a smile on her face.
She will not accept a refusal.
*Glimpse* I glance at Souka,
ăUnderstood. Then Milim-sama, letâs us both make a live report together!ă(Souka)
It seems Souka will not yield in this.
Well, whatever. Perhaps something will happen tomorrow.
Milim and Souka, I acknowledge that those two would perform the live report for tomorrowâs matches.
The schedule for the fourth day,
The thirteenth matchâŠâŠ. Benimaru vs Gobuta (+Ranga)
The fourteenth matchâŠâŠ Shion vs Diablo
Also, the match to decide the 3rd place.
Well, what will happen?
We left to go home while thinking about tomorrowâs outcome.
??????????????????????????
In the night.
The meal with the Hero Masayuki that been delayed was achieved.
Oh well, it was not such grandiose thing.
ăWa, itâs nice to meet you, is it fine? Iâm the Hero (LOL) MasayukiâŠâŠ.ă (Masayuki)
While blushing, Masayuki introduces himself as a Hero.
Yeah. If he still had the original worldâs sense, thereâs no one who would not be embarrassed when calling oneself a Hero.
Itâs just like the feeling of when youâre called and made fun as a muscle-brained Hero inside a game.
And, he called me out when we meet before.
At that time, he was still under Yuukiâs brainwashing, but he remembered that the response canât be taken back. Therefore it seems to have become an unpleasant feeling.[10]
After all, Iâm a Demon Lord.
As the opponent, I can be considered a boss that needed to be defeated
I think his mental state can be called very complex now.
However, such a sick feeling should be cleared if I prepared a meal to eat together.
ăOh well, although this is not our first meeting, ânice to meet you[11]â, should do.
Iâm Demon Lord Rimuru. My real name is Mikami Satoru. Iâm a former salary man.ă(Rimuru)
So, I first spoke frankly to ease the mood.
Itâs been a long time since Iâve spoken that abandoned name, but it flowed more nicely than I thought.
ăEh? By any chance⊠are you a Japanese person? ă(Masayuki)
Oh well, my looks is a pretty girl.[12] Itâs natural if he doesnât believe it.
ăWell, yes. Shall we talk about it while we eat?ă(Rimuru)
I said so and invited him to a meal.
Masayuki is deeply moved because of the sushi and udon displayed in front of his eyes, weâll be able to have a decent conversation after the meal.
ăI understand. Itâs okay if I become Mikami-sanâs subordinate!ă(Masayuki)
Although I still not said anything yet, he said such words as soon as we finished eating.
What did you understand? I completely donât understand.
No wellâŠâŠ., although I can understand that heâs starved for Japanese food.
ăSubordinate, you areâŠ..ă(Rimuru)
ăNo, itâs okay. Because, I donât has any attachments for something like Hero.
To be frank, itâs embarrassing to be calledăMasayukiă[13].
No, actually, I was troubled how should I resign you know.ă(Masayuki)
So he starts talking freely.
He told me that he attended college prep-schools[14] back in the former world and was also a bright honor student.
His secret and hidden hobby was that he liked to read Manga and Light Novels, but thanks to that he had the desire to become a hero, so he complained about this.
After that, we talked about various things and explained about each otherâs circumstances.
Well, I only talked a bit, I almost became an expert at listening.
It seems he really wanted to talk, he explained lengthily and in great detail.
It seems Masayuki was unable to speak what was inside his mind, because his companions worshipped him as if he was a God.
With such circumstances, he seemed to have piled up a lot of stress.
I also heard about Yuuki in detail.
Oh well, as I expected. I seemed to have received theăThought Guidanceăthat was the first stage of brainwashing, I attained some proof.
Thought I had doubts if there was complete mind domination, but this was also inside my prediction.
Itâs difficult to perform complete mind domination on several people at the same time, this was what I had reasoned.
About Will Domination, is preferable for useful people that had Unique Skill, as it is difficult to dominate them since people with ability usually had a strong Will.
Thatâs why itâs necessary to affect them when their ability hasnât reached a mature stage.
ăStill,ăThought Guidanceă, isnât it?
I had memories when I receive it, but it was also the truth that he had helped me.
Instead of shameful memories, it could have ended worse.
However, thanks to that, I could faint if I try to remember itâŠâŠ
As expected, I canât forgive that guyă(Masayuki)
If he is recognized as hero, then he had mastered the ability as it was.
Thatâs also okay, but it seems that the memory is embarrassing.
Well, there is nothing that can be done except to forget it. Although, he will faint in agony for awhile.
In the end, Masayuki promised to cooperate with me.
Since, itâs also profitable to get information from him.
When he could remember he would contact me, so for the moment he would continue to stay in my city.
Above all, I still had business with his MangaMemory.
Heâll become my conversation partner for awhile.
Thus, the friendship between me and Masayuki was created and I obtained a new companion.
[1] To refresh our mind, the kanji for ogre is ć€§éŹŒæ Dai Oni Zoku â Great/Large Demon Race while the furigana is Ouga ăȘăŒăŹ. From Ogre they evolved into Oni the kanji is éŹŒäșșæ Oni Hito Zoku.
[2] Kokoro (ćż) can mean more than one. It can also mean Mind or spirit/soul. Gone dark = clouded by something.
[3] Battoujutsu: The art of drawing sword, the other name for it is Iaijutsu. This is a serious sword art where the practitioner draw their sword and return it so fast skillfully without waste a move. A skillful master can use his sword so fast that eyes couldnât see it. Just watch some Rurouni Kenshin or some Youtube video (itâs cool)
[4] æ§æ”æ°ŽæŹ = Oboro ryuusui zan â Oboro = Dim, Hazy, Vague. Ryuusui = Flowing Water/Current. Zan =Slash/Cut. If you guys have an idea for any good name for Technique or Skill, please comment!
[5] éç„è§ŁæŸ = Toushin (can also be read as tatakau kami) kaihou â War (can also mean Combat) God (Goddess as Shion a girl) Release. War God is already Renyaâs.
[6] éç„ć = Toushinka â War Goddess Transformation. Trivia ç„ć mean apotheosis like the one Kumoko-chan, no Shiraori-sama undergo.
[7]éçć = Ma en ka â Demon/Magic Flame Transformation
[10] An unpleasant memories, just like Dark History for people cured from Chuunibyou.
[11] Masayuki use Hajimemashite which was only used if itâs the first time you meet with someone and introduces yourself to that person. Like a scene in Anime when a transfer student come to your class s/he will introduces her/himself starting with hajimemashite and then s/he name.
[12] Rimuru admit that he is a pretty little girl.
[13] Masayuki name is  æŹćæŁćčž Honjou Masayuki / Masayuki Honjou (In english format), Honjou is his family name while Masayuki is his First/Given name. For Japanese people it is not really polite to call someone first name if you are not someone close to her/him. This is called as ćŒăłæšăŠ Yobisute in Japanese (Yobisute mean addressing someone without honorific) For a couple this is normal.
[14] ShingakukouéČćŠæ Ą â a School centered on preparing the students to get into college/university