The wind roared past me. For a brief second, I thought I simply jumped too high, that this elated feeling was just a result of my happiness'
Then I remembered gravity.
"FUCK!" I yelled, louder than I probably should've. The celebration of my intact anatomy had made me overlook the small, insignificant detail that I had been standing too close to a cliff.
"Th-there's water at the bottom, right?!"
"Thank God."
"…God damn it."
I began to deeply regret not being reborn as a slime. Rimuru had it easy—no bones to break, no organs to rupture. Just a squishy jelly blob with infinite regeneration.
Me? Flesh. Bones. Velocity.
I was about to become Felborn roadkill.
"Think, Akuma, think—!"
My perception slowed to a crawl. Time stretched, like taffy tugged by desperation. I could almost hear each individual heartbeat. Useless panic dulled into focused fear. A manageable kind.
Rimuru used stored water to rocket himself out of danger, but I lacked that body type. I wasn't a goddamn balloon.
"Can I—can I conjure wind magic? Wait… Great Sage. Can you extrapolate a spell based on memory?"
Yes.
YES.
YES, ABSOLUTELY, FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING—YES.
The moment I mentally screamed my agreement, a warm green glow engulfed my body, suspending me mid-air… and stopping just inches from death.
I collapsed onto the rocky floor, breath ragged. The cold surface felt more comforting than a warm bed. I survived.
Barely.
(Can you hear me, halfling?)
A deep voice echoed in my head.
"Oh great," I muttered, rolling onto my back with a groan. "Voices in my head."
I sat up slowly and looked ahead.
And froze.
A mountain-sized dragon loomed before me, his presence pressing down on my very soul.
"…Yeah. I can hear you, old man."
(Ho… ho ho. Old man? You dare speak with such insolence to I, Veldora—true dragon of the storm?! I thought to be polite to the first visitor I've had in centuries, but clearly you've come with a death wish.)
I swallowed hard. He was way bigger than I remembered from the anime. And somehow ten times more terrifying in person.
"Apologies. That fall might've scrambled my senses—I mistook your voice for a local beast. I didn't realize I stood before… such greatness."
Silence. Long. Tense.
Then—
(Fufufu… Fuhaha… FUHAHAHAHA!!)
My ears rang.
(You are amusing, halfling. I thought you came to challenge me, but clearly you are merely disoriented. Understandable. That fall would've crushed any normal creature.)
I let myself breathe. Slowly. Calmly. Do not show fear. Even if your heart's doing backflips.
I took a seat in front of him, cross-legged like a student before a master. Always let them feel bigger. Smarter. Better. Easier to guide that way.
(I had assumed Felborn were extinct. And here one falls into my lap! Fuhahahaha!)
Felborn. An extinct race… well, that explained why I never saw them in the series.
Which meant I might be the last. Or the only.
Great.
Well, that answered why tieflings were never seen in the slime novel. Wait, does that mean I have to get a child before I become a demon lord?
(Judging by that landing, I assume you're a unique being? Perhaps named?)
"Born a month ago. Probably unique. Doubt I've got a name yet."
(Ah, I see. Indeed! It has been a total of 300 years since the very last existence has made contact with me. Not even demons could approach me, so it makes sense, that you, a creature born from my magic, could! FUHAHAHAHA!!)
"...Wait, does that make you my father?"
(... I am incapable of reproduction. My existence is pure magic given will. I cannot breed.)
"So… you're saying you were born from a magical nuclear explosion of chaos and now you're projecting?"
(…You're surprisingly intelligent for a youngling. Most demons barely speak. Majin are the only ones with intellect...)
I blocked him out briefly, searching my memories.
Rimuru had said something dramatic. What was it again?
"Storm Dragon Veldora! I am eternal, without form or limit—" blah blah, monologue, ego trip, etcetera.
"Right," I muttered, preparing my own performance. "Time to reenact."
But a dark thought interrupted me.
Wait a second... Rimuru had gained Veldora's trust by genuinely treating him as a friend.
What I was doing... this wasn't the same. I was replicating the method to gain an ally. Not because I wanted to help him… but because I needed him. A pawn to position early.
Gods. I'm manipulating someone who's been imprisoned and alone for centuries.
That's… low. Even for me.
Forgive me, Veldora. I'll make it up to you later. I swear. I'll bring you sweets. Books. Theater plays. Whatever you want.
"...Thanks for the enlightening discussion," I said aloud, standing up slowly. "But I should really be going."
(Wait. I have shared so much of myself. Is it not your turn now? Hn?)
And there it was.
The hook.
The pause before the play begins.
I plastered a smile on my face, one part honesty, two parts subtle deception.
And so began the start of my manipulation.
Err… friendship.
I really promise to make it up to you, Veldora.
Eventually.