"By giving you this power, Lucy… by trying to make you strong enough to face any darkness… have I merely unleashed a greater one upon this world, and upon yourself?"
Rimuru's question wasn't spoken aloud. It was a silent, agonizing echo in the vast chambers of his mind, swallowed by the rustle of leaves and the deepening shadows of twilight. He watched Lucy standing there, small yet somehow colossal in her sorrow and rage, the setting sun catching the tear tracks on her face, making them look like silver streaks. Her eyes, those once warm, bright windows to a child's soul, were now glaciers, reflecting only the brutal crimson of the dying day.
This wasn't the plan, he thought, the immense, immeasurable power he wielded across countless realms suddenly feeling… inadequate. He could reshape reality, erase galaxies, bend time itself, yet he couldn't reach the shattered core of this one small girl. He'd wanted to fix her story, to give her strength. He had given her strength, power beyond comprehension for her age. But that power was being forged in the fires of a vengeance that threatened to consume her entirely.
Is this… okay? he mused internally, pacing slowly as Lucy, exhausted but refusing to show it, began meticulously wiping down her sword. It's her path, isn't it? Her reaction to unimaginable trauma. Maybe… maybe it's interesting? A protagonist driven by such raw, dark emotion… It's certainly not boring. He shook his head. No, damn it. That's the 'bored god' talking. This is Lucy. This is the girl who… He remembered snippets from his past life, images flashing like lightning: Lucy laughing with Natsu, crying with Happy, fighting for her friends, her boundless empathy. That's the Lucy I know. Not… this.
He watched her carefully placing Sol and Luna's keys back in their box. The Zodiac keys, her mother's keys, remained untouched, a painful symbol he hadn't pressed her on again. She can't rely solely on Sol and Luna forever, he thought, frowning. They're taxing, and while incredible, they're still external. Her physical combat is amazing, truly monstrous for her age, but even that has limits. What else? What kind of power can she wield that is truly hers, that she can draw from without relying on spirits or tiring her body?
Magic, obviously, his internal voice responded. But what kind? Her Celestial Spirit magic is tied to her mother, to her trauma with the other keys. Other elemental magic is… common. Uninspired. He racked his ancient brain, sifting through epochs of magical knowledge gathered from countless realities. My own magic? My skills? Too potent. Too intrinsically linked to my slime nature, my evolution. Transferring raw magicules… He shuddered internally. No, that's too dangerous, too unpredictable with a human body, even one as uniquely capable as Lucy's seems to be becoming. It could… mutate her. Not in a good way.
[Ciel, my brilliant partner,] he projected mentally, his voice laced with concern and a rare helplessness. *[We need a new approach. Lucy's core problem is relying on external or physically taxing power sources. She needs something truly innate, something she can draw upon when her spirits are gone, when her body is broken. Something that originates from within her, but that can stand against truly monstrous threats. Elemental magic is too simple. My magic is too dangerous. What else, Ciel? What can we forge within her?]
Ciel's calm, analytical voice responded immediately within his mind, a soothing contrast to his turmoil. Master, Lucy Heartfilia's physical and magical capabilities are evolving at an unprecedented rate. Her Ethernano pathways are expanding exponentially, adapting to the infusion of powerful energies from the divine keys of Sol and Luna. While raw magicule transfer is inadvisable, controlled exposure to specific high-density energy signatures could potentially catalyze the awakening of a dormant magical potential within her own lineage, or even foster the spontaneous generation of a unique, powerful magical attribute.
Rimuru stopped pacing, his attention sharpening. Dormant potential? Her lineage? The Heartfilias were just rich merchants… weren't they? Or was Layla's magical skill, her connection to the spirits… was there something more to her? He frowned. The attackers mentioned 'what she did'. Not Layla's magic, but something she 'did'. What could a Celestial Wizard have done to provoke such a brutal response? Was there a secret Layla kept? A new thread of intrigue, a potential subplot, unfurled in his mind.
Analysis of available data regarding the Heartfilia family and relevant historical magical records is currently insufficient for definitive identification of a specific dormant lineage magic, Ciel continued impassively. However, based on her current energy signature and rapid adaptation rate, a form of creation or manipulation magic, possibly linked to concepts of reality or void manipulation at a foundational level, is a theoretical possibility for spontaneous generation.
Creation magic? Manipulation of reality? Or… Void? Rimuru's eyes widened slightly. Void magic. Ciel's picking up on the potential for something like that, stemming from my own 'Great Sage/Raphael/Ciel' lineage, albeit manifested in a human form and tied to Earthland's magic system. He considered this. It was powerful, incredibly so, with terrifying potential. But was it too much? Would it feed that darkness within her, or would it, perhaps, give her the ultimate tool to transcend it?
Alternatively, Master, Ciel interjected, sensing his hesitation, given the exceptional progress in her physical combat training and her current emotional state, a continued focus on manifesting her internal power externally is also a viable path. Instead of relying solely on swords or summoned magic, we could train her to channel her immense energy into her own body, augmenting her physical strikes to levels capable of interacting with and destroying targets resistant to conventional magic. Utilizing ultra-high density materials, as you considered, would provide a quantifiable goal and measure her progress.
Rimuru felt a jolt of recognition. Yes! That! Channeling her own raw power into her fists, her kicks! Making her body itself a weapon! Like… like some of the peak martial artists I read about, but with magical energy fueling it! It fits her current trajectory, her focus on physical dominance and direct confrontation. And it avoids the immediate danger of sparking a potentially dark innate magic… for now.
[Okay, Ciel! Let's go with that for the next phase!] Rimuru decided, a grin slowly returning to his face, though tinged with a complex mix of excitement and apprehension. *[We'll push her physical limits further than ever before, but by channeling her own internal magical energy. Design me some training targets. I want materials so dense, so durable, that even S-Class wizards would struggle to scratch them! Adamantite? Orichalcum? Go wild! Create something only pure, focused internal magical force can shatter! We'll call it… 'Absolute Force' training!]
Understood, Master, Ciel responded. Crafting specifications for 'Absolute Force' training constructs initialized. Materials will include stabilized composites of simulated Adamantite, Orichalcum, and Dimensional Distortion Alloys. Commencing construction. Estimated time: 5.2 seconds per construct.
As if magic itself was bending to his will (which, to be fair, it was), several cubic blocks of dull, metallic material, each roughly the size of a small car, shimmered into existence at the edge of the clearing, silently thudding into the soft earth. They looked utterly immovable, monoliths of impossible density.
Lucy, having finished cleaning her sword and gathering her keys, turned and saw the new blocks. Her eyes, though still holding that deep, cold focus, widened slightly with a flicker of curiosity. "Sensei? What are those?"
Rimuru straightened, shaking off the last vestiges of his internal debate. He walked over to one of the blocks, rapping it with his knuckles. A faint, resonant thunk echoed, the material completely unmoved. "These, Lucy," he said, a challenging grin spreading across his face, "are your new training partners."
Lucy walked up to the block, placing a small hand on its cool, smooth surface. It felt impossibly solid, denser than any stone or metal she'd ever touched. "Training partners?"
"That's right," Rimuru confirmed, gesturing expansively. "You've mastered physical combat, you're getting incredible with wielding Sol and Luna's power, and you're a natural at swordsmanship. But now, we're going to channel all that power, all that training, all that… determination…" He met her gaze, his expression serious now. "…into a single point. Into your body. No spirits, no sword. Just you. Your fists. Your kicks." He paused, letting that sink in. "These blocks? They're made of material tougher than anything in Earthland, forged using methods this world can't even comprehend. Breaking them… it should be impossible for a human, or even most mages."
He stepped back, crossing his arms, the challenging grin returning. "But you, Lucy? You're not just 'most mages' anymore. You're something else entirely. I want you to gather all your power, all your rage, all your will… and break this block. With your bare hands."
Lucy stared at the imposing block, then back at Rimuru, her expression a mixture of disbelief and intense concentration. Her small hands flexed involuntarily. Break that? With her fists? It seemed insane. Impossible. But… Sensei said it wasn't. Sensei never asked her to do anything she couldn't.
The image of her parents flashed in her mind, the helplessness she felt watching them die. The burning vow she'd made. Impossible? A cold, fierce resolve solidified in her eyes, chasing away the flicker of disbelief. Nothing is impossible. Not anymore. Not if it means getting strong enough.
She turned back to the block, her stance widening slightly. She didn't answer Rimuru immediately. Instead, she closed her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath. She reached inward, not for a spirit, not for a key, but for that burning core of grief and fury she carried deep within. She felt the immense, raw magical power swirling inside her Ethernano pathways, amplified by Sol and Luna's energy, by all her training. And she focused it, drawing it up, compressing it, pouring it into her small, trembling fists.
Rimuru watched, silent, captivated. He saw the subtle shimmering effect around her hands, a faint, almost invisible distortion in the air as incredible amounts of magical energy were compressed and focused. He felt the immense power building within her, a contained storm ready to unleash. He held his breath.
Lucy opened her eyes. They were no longer icy blue; they blazed with a fierce, golden light, mirroring Sol's radiance, yet crackling with a raw, destructive power that was entirely her own. Her lips pulled back in a silent snarl, a terrifying expression on a child's face.
She pulled back her right fist, every muscle in her small body coiling, every ounce of her immense magical energy channeled into that single point. With a guttural cry, a sound of pure, unleashed pain and fury, she swung.
The air shrieked, compressed by the sheer force and speed of her strike. The impact wasn't a loud bang; it was a deep, vibrating CRRRRACK that resonated through the very ground. Rimuru's eyes widened as a spiderweb of fractures, glowing faintly with residual magical energy, spread across the surface of the seemingly unbreakable block. A small chunk, no bigger than her fist, detached and fell to the ground with a heavy thud, revealing a core of still-glowing material beneath the fractured surface.
Lucy stumbled back, panting, clutching her bruised, aching fist. She hadn't shattered the block. Not completely. But she had done the impossible. She had broken material forged from the densest substances in creation, designed to withstand cataclysmic forces. She had done it with her own, bare hand.
Rimuru stared at the fractured block, then at Lucy, a complex wave of emotions washing over him – awe, pride, and a chilling realization of just how far she was willing to go. He walked over to her, kneeling down to examine her hand. It was red and bruised, but unbroken. The sheer magical reinforcement she'd applied at the moment of impact had saved her bones.
He looked up at her, meeting her blazing, exhausted gaze. The golden light in her eyes slowly faded, leaving behind the cold, determined blue, but now tinged with exhaustion and a fierce satisfaction.
"It's impossible, Sensei," she whispered, her voice ragged, but a fierce, predatory gleam flickered in her eyes. "But… I'll do it. I'll break it. I'll break all of them." She looked past Rimuru, past the fractured block, towards the horizon, towards the unseen enemies who had shattered her life.
Rimuru stood slowly, looking from the broken material to the small, terrifying figure of the girl who had broken it. He knew then, with a certainty that chilled him to the bone, that the training was far from over. And that the path ahead was darker, and far more dangerous, than he had ever anticipated. He met her gaze, his own ancient eyes reflecting a profound, unsettling question:
"Lucy… just how much are you willing to sacrifice to get what you want?"