Rimuru and Iruma's Adventures in the Netherworld

Training

Punctuation Key:

"Spoken dialogue"

'Quoting'

*Action*

Emphasis

Internal thoughts/talking to Ciel

[[Ciel talking]]

{{Thought Communication}}

I also have a discord server for discussion, questions, suggestions, or whatever. https://discord.gg/SVkTU2CQ2s

Rimuru POV

I spent the rest of the night thinking about my talk with Iruma.

It's always been hard for me to talk or even think about that story. It's a painful reminder of my inadequacy and my failure to protect those I care about. I hadn't planned on going into all that history with him when entering that conversation and part of me regrets the amount that I ended up revealing in the end. I got too serious and deep with the boy and I'm worried I might've scared him a little in the process.

Well, whatever I'm thinking now doesn't matter. What's done is done; it's not like I can take back what I've said at this point. I just hope that he takes my words to heart; I don't want anyone, let alone a nice kid like Iruma, to go through what I have.

**The Next Day**

After Iruma shared his newfound goal with Azz, the four of us went down into a large cave. There's a large flat platform with white lines forming some kind of court for sports.

"Wow! I never knew a place like this existed under the school!" Iruma exclaims, looking around at the large room in amazement.

"This is Babyls's underground gym." Azz explains.

"Yeah, but why did you bring us here?" I ask.

"It's so big!" Clara yells, causing an echo.

"She is such a nuisance..." Azz says as he looks at her with annoyance.

[[...]]

Why do I feel like you're happy Ciel?

[[I just like that someone else shares my opinion of that green-haired cretin!]]

Man, Ciel! You've been coming up with some pretty creative insults for that poor girl! Stop getting so worked up about her!

[[...]]

"There is currently one way for you to raise your rank, Iruma, sir. That is to score well on the periodic promotion exams we have in class. The next promotion exam is in one week." Azz continues after being interrupted by Clara.

"What will the test be on?" I ask, wondering what kind of assessments are held in a demon school.

"Execution cannonball." Azz responds.

"Execution...cannonball?" Iruma says, looking freaked out by the violent name.

"Execution cannonball was once used as a test to quell a sudden outbreak of demons fighting over their territories. It is a bloody massacre! We use weapons called caimans that, once they bite down, will not let go of their prey until they're torn to shreds. The first to enter their enemy's castle and eliminate everyone inside is the winner."

That sounds brutal. Maybe Iruma raising his rank isn't a good idea...

"Th-that's horrifying!" Iruma says, shuddering in fear.

"Indeed. But due to the number of casualties...we just use this ball now instead of caimans." Azz says, holding a completely normal ball. "And to conserve time and money, we will use these territories marked by lines instead of castles! Those who are hit by the ball must leave the field! Those sent off the field can come back as soon as they hit an enemy with the ball." He explains further.