The Origin of Veldanava's Right Hand

Chapter 12: A Trade of Ultimate Skills and A Troublesome Problem.

Rimuru POV

A whole century had passed since Lord Veldanava and I began training Rudra. Compared to other beings I have trained, his adaptability was pretty low, though that's expected of humans.

Still, he has become quite strong over the years. His swordsmanship became sharper and improved than before. I can say that his swordsmanship was comparable to Velgrynd's — perhaps even better.

Moreover, his use of Spirit Magic became quite proficient under Lord Veldanava's tutelage. However, his best forte was Holy Magic, which he mastered to an impressive extent.

He later became a saint after being blessed by Ramiris with her Divine Protection and a Greater Light Spirit, which blessed him with a Hero Egg. After some more training, the Hero Egg hatched, allowing him to become a True Hero, which further increased his physical and magical abilities.

As of this moment, a spar commenced between me and him.  Rudra launched his sword, Deva —a Genesis-class weapon given to him by Lord Veldanava, at me with a speed far faster than sound. His speed had clearly taken a rise, but not enough as I easily dodged the attack.

We then clashed our swords against each other at speeds faster than the eye can see. Rudra seemed to be super invested in the fight, while I wasn't taking him seriously in the slightest.

Since Rudra's sword was one of the strongest ever made, it was actually somewhat stronger than Aariel, the sword that I possess, just like Guy's World. Realizing this, I enhanced Aariel with more Hihi'irokane as well as a tiny bit of Starheart.

Anyway, Rudra tried attacking me by imbuing Holy Magic onto his sword to weaken my movements. Obviously, this failed as I blocked his attack without much issue. After a few continuous attacks, he finally leaped backwards and looked at me with a stern gaze.

Rudra: "It's time I unleashed a technique that I perfected on my own. Ready for it, Rimuru-sensei?" He asked with a smirk on his face. That confident, eh?

Rimuru: "Bring it, boy." I told him, causing him to empower his sword with a significant amount of Holy Magic, far more than he ever had before.

Rudra: "Here I come!" He declared before charging at me with a speed incomprehensible to any mere demi-physical life-form. He then jumped in the air, aiming for my head.

Rudra: "[Melt Slash]!" He bellowed as he tried to strike me with all his might. That attack can be pretty deadly, depending on the user who uses this attack.

However, it's not even close enough to affect me.

I then imbued [Azathoth] on my left palm and grabbed Rudra's sword, which was oozing with Holy Magic, with my left hand, causing a great explosion.

As the explosion occurred, [Azathoth] absorbed the attack, removing all the Holy Magic particles from his sword until there was no enchantment left. I then sent him flying back while holding his sword by the blade.

Rudra: "Ugh..." He groaned after crashing hard on the ground.

We were in a remote part of the empire so that no one would get caught in the crossfire.

Rimuru: "That attack was quite powerful." I commented as he stood up. The difference between us was only around 13 kilometers, according to one of the worlds I visited.

Rimuru: "It can prove to be quite deadly, depending on the user of that attack." I continued. Had the user been someone like Feldway, that attack would have turned out to be much more bothersome.

Rudra: "So, are you saying I am weak?" He asked as he recovered from the fall. Hmm, that's one way to interpret it.

Rimuru: "I am saying that if you grow stronger, your attack will be far more effective." I clarified as I set my cold gaze on him and pinned his sword to the ground.