[D.S] Ch 21~25

21: Hermione Granger

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Inside the guild hall, Rimuru looked utterly devastated.

The reason? He was wearing a girl's school uniform.

The skirt was ridiculously short, barely covering his thighs. His pale, slender legs were completely exposed, and to top it off, someone had stuck a cute little hairpin in his hair. At this point, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

He never thought he'd see the day. 'Tomorrow,' he swore, 'he was going to burn down Whitebeard's ship and beat every single bastard on board!'

At first, when the Whitebeard Pirates joked about him cross-dressing, Rimuru hadn't taken it seriously. But then they went and announced it in the guild. That was when the whole place exploded with excitement—including his own subordinates, who suddenly looked way too eager.

He'd fought back with everything he had, but in the end, those maniacs had forced him into the outfit anyway.

"Rimuru-sama looks so cute dressed like this!" Shion's eyes sparkled like stars. She wanted nothing more than to hug and squeeze him forever.

"I think I'm in love," Marco muttered, drooling.

"Who knew Rimuru had this kind of hidden talent?" Garp grinned wickedly.

"Gurarararara!" Whitebeard laughed so hard his stomach hurt.

Rimuru's eyes brimmed with tears, his face full of grievance. These people were the worst. Every last one of them.

Just then, ding-dong…

A special chime echoed from the guild's main doors. Everyone stopped their fooling around and turned curiously toward the entrance.

The doors creaked open, and a small head peeked through. A little girl stepped inside, only to freeze under the weight of everyone's stares. The atmosphere instantly grew awkward.

"Um… excuse me, but what is this place?" the little girl finally asked timidly.

And the guild went wild.

"A newbie—and she's a loli! And that voice, so cute!"

"This is my chance to finally find a girlfriend."

"Are you crazy? She's clearly underage. Don't tell me you're a pervert."

"You don't get it. It's called raising her right."

"This loli is mine. Hands off, everyone else."

As the chatter escalated, the poor girl shrank back, looking like she was about to cry. Rimuru sighed.

"Quiet!" His voice thundered with Demon Lord authority, silencing the hall at once.

"Seriously, can't you guys make a decent first impression on a new member?" He shot them all a glare, then added, "And as for you creeps—if you so much as think about making a move on her, I'll break your third leg."

With a huff, he strode over to the girl and softened his tone. "Hi there. What's your name?"

"M-my name's Hermione Granger," she said, staring at Rimuru—who, thanks to the skirt, was actually shorter than her. "Um… little sister, could you tell me what this place is?"

"Little sister?!" Rimuru felt like his soul had been crushed. His whole world turned gray. Still sulking, he answered, "This is the Dimensional Guild."

"The… Dimensional Guild?" Hermione tilted her head, clearly not following.

"In simple terms, this place connects a bunch of different worlds. People from all sorts of worlds gather here to help each other grow stronger," Rimuru explained. "And by the way, I'm not your little sister. I'm way older than you—and I'm not even a girl." To prove his point, he rose on tiptoe and ruffled Hermione's hair.

Nice texture.

"Nani?!" Hermione's eyes went wide.

She swallowed hard. If what he said was true, then this guild was far beyond anything she'd ever imagined.

Soon after, Shion took Hermione on a tour of the guild, patiently introducing its functions and members one by one.

"Oh my goodness!" Hermione gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. She couldn't hide her astonishment as she took in the bustling, vibrant city beyond the hall.

"Mr. Rimuru," she said cautiously, "you're the guild master, aren't you?"

"No need to be so formal." Rimuru smiled warmly at her nervous expression. "We're guildmates now. Just call me Rimuru, and don't be afraid."

"Thank you," Hermione said sincerely.

"Bestie!"

A blur shot in from the sky, slamming straight into Rimuru. It was Milim.

"I heard there's a new member! Where? Where? Where?" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. A new member meant a new world, and a new world meant new food. Just thinking about it had her buzzing.

"Um… who are you?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"Oh! You must be the newbie!" Milim grabbed her hand with no hesitation. "I'm Milim Nava, Rimuru's bestie—and also a Demon Lord!"

"Demon Lord?! The Dark Lord?" Hermione yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin. Weren't Dark Lords supposed to be terrifying monsters who killed without blinking?

"Don't worry, Milim's not a bad person," Rimuru said quickly, seeing the panic on her face. "She may be a Demon Lord, but she hasn't done anything evil. Oh, and just so you know, I'm a Demon Lord too."

"For real?" Hermione relaxed a little, though she was still uneasy. But Milim quickly swept her up in endless questions, and soon the two of them were chatting happily. Before long, Milim was dragging Hermione off to explore the city.

Rimuru, worried she'd be overwhelmed, followed along.

At first, Hermione was terrified of the monsters roaming the streets. But after talking with them, she realized they were only scary on the outside. They were actually incredibly friendly—some even gave her free snacks.

Watching the two girls walking ahead, Rimuru smiled to himself. Conquering the world or whatever never really suited him. Just spending time with his friends like this—that was more than enough.

And so, Rimuru, Milim, and Hermione spent the whole night exploring together, laying the foundation for a brand-new friendship.

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22: The Guild's Cinema

— — — — — — 

The Guild's Cinema.

"No way. I'm supposed to marry that idiot Ron?" Hermione stared in disbelief at the movie's ending.

"Someone like me, who's smart and hardworking, ends up with him? Ugh! Don't let me find out who wrote this, or I swear I'll test out an Unforgivable Curse on them."

In the guild hall, a massive crystal stood at the center, glowing as it projected a full-scale magical hologram of a movie. Rimuru and the others were gathered around it, watching intently while sipping sodas and munching popcorn.

"That's just how your world originally played out," Rimuru said, trying to comfort her. "But now? You get to decide for yourself. If you want, we can bring that Voldemort guy back, pin him down, and grind him into the dirt until he's begging for death. Sound good?" Rimuru growled fiercely, though with his cute face it came off as anything but threatening.

"Wait, we can really do that?" Hermione's eyes lit up with excitement. The idea sounded… pretty good.

"Of course we can." Whitebeard gave a hearty wave of his massive hand. "Little Hermione, if you want, I'll step in anytime. I'll have a chat with that guy myself." His grin looked a little too twisted and menacing for comfort.

"Thank you, Grandpa Whitebeard," Hermione said politely.

"Gurarara!" Whitebeard laughed, delighted by her courtesy. "Say, how about becoming my daughter?"

"Eh?" Hermione froze. Wait—was this the price of asking for help? Panicking, she waved her hands frantically. "N-no, no no no, I already have a dad! I don't need another one!"

"What a shame." Whitebeard drooped his head, then glanced around at his sons with open disappointment. All of them could only look back at him, exasperated.

Whitebeard Crew: "..."

"Hermione, don't worry," Rimuru quickly stepped in. "That old man's just like that. He likes gathering family. He doesn't mean anything bad by it. No need to take it the wrong way."

As guild master, it was Rimuru's job to smooth over misunderstandings between members.

"Hermione, watch One Piece when you are free to understand."

"Oh, I see." Hermione smiled, relieved. "For a second I thought it was some weird guild rule."

"I should be thanking Grandpa Whitebeard for offering to help me. Why would I take offense?"

"Gurarara! What a good girl. Smart, polite, and knows how to handle people." Whitebeard nodded, clearly impressed.

"So, what's your plan?" Milim suddenly leaned in. "If you're going after Voldemort, I can help too! Guys like that don't even deserve to be called Dark Lord. It's so close to Demon Lord that I feel furious."

Hermione lowered her head, thinking deeply before replying, "Thank you, Milim-chan. But if possible, I want to defeat Voldemort with my own hands. His existence pushes me to keep getting stronger. That's why I want to face him myself, when the time comes."

"Is that so?" Rimuru smiled softly. "Then be careful. If anything goes wrong, or if there's something you can't handle, just come to the guild. We'll always have your back."

"Mm. I understand. Thank you, everyone." Hermione's eyes grew misty. She hadn't been here long, but she could already feel it—the warmth of a real family. Everyone genuinely cared about each other. That feeling couldn't be faked.

"Well then, I'll head back for now. I'll come visit again when I can." Hermione walked toward the dimensional gate, giving everyone a small wave.

"Relax! You can drop by anytime," Rimuru said, a bit exasperated. "And don't forget we have the guild chat channel. You can always talk to us there. It's not like this is a permanent farewell."

"Really?" Hermione looked surprised, then suddenly turned beet red, covered her face with both hands, and bolted through the gate.

"Bwahahahaha!" The guild burst out laughing at her embarrassed retreat.

"Don't tell me little Hermione's been hanging around you idiots too long and it's lowering her IQ," Rimuru muttered worriedly.

"Hey! We can hear you, you know!" the others protested, groaning.

"Please. Tell me I'm wrong." Rimuru shot them a disdainful look. "All you ever think about is fighting and smashing stuff. Meatheads, the lot of you."

Milim's ahoge drooped. "Aw, I was really looking forward to crushing Voldemort…"

"Don't be sad." Rimuru patted her head. "There'll be plenty more worlds joining the guild. Who knows—maybe you'll find lots of Lords waiting to be beaten."

"Bestie…" Milim's eyes went soft, but then she perked up as something clicked in her head. "Wait, bestie! Does this mean we can visit Hermione's world?"

"You just want to go play there." Rimuru saw straight through her. "Not impossible, but first we should ask if Hermione's okay with it."

"Got it! I'll ask right now!" Milim lit up with energy and darted off like she'd been injected with pure sugar.

『Milim』: @Hermione "Hermione, are you online?!" 

『Hermione』: "What is it?"

『Milim』: "Can we visit your world?"

『Hermione』: "Of course. You're always welcome."

『Milim』: "Yes! Oh, and by the way, is your school hiring teachers? Or, you know, even students?"

『Hermione』: "…Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

『Rimuru』: "Yeah… me too."

『Milim』: "Hehehehehe~."

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23: Headless Nick

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"Stop running around!" Rimuru sighed helplessly as he chased after Milim, who was darting through the hallways like an untamed puppy.

"This might actually be my first time skipping class," Hermione muttered gloomily, keeping up with them. "There goes my perfect attendance for the month…" She didn't have a choice, though—if she let Milim run loose, she might accidentally destroy the whole school.

"Oh, right—Hermione," Rimuru suddenly asked, "what year are you guys in right now?"

"Second year," she answered. "You know—Chamber of Secrets stuff."

"Bestie! Over here!" Milim suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, waving frantically like she'd just found buried treasure.

"What is it now?" Rimuru and Hermione hurried over.

...

"Hey, kids."

"Good morning!" A plump witch greeted the gathered students with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Professor Sprout!" xN

"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second-years. Everyone gather around," Professor Sprout said kindly—until her gaze snapped toward the doorway, where three pairs of eyes were peeking inside.

"You three, come out. What are you doing back there?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"Hermione????! Where have you been? Why are you only just getting here?" The one calling out was none other than Harry Potter.

"Uh—sorry, Professor Sprout, I'm late," Hermione blurted, realizing she'd been caught. Her fleeting thought of running away instantly died—if she ran now, they'd lose points for sure, and that would be a black mark on her record forever.

"Oh, it's fine," Professor Sprout said kindly. "Just be on time next time. Come in, we're just about to start."

"Bestie, what do we do?" Milim whispered.

"You two in the doorway! Don't just stand there—come in too!" Professor Sprout called again.

"…Guess we're doing this," Rimuru muttered, resigning himself as they walked in after Hermione.

"Who are they?" Harry whispered, his curiosity piqued.

"They're… um, friends I just made," Hermione said, already feeling a headache coming on.

"Hi! I'm Milim, and this is my bestie Rimuru!" Milim said cheerfully. "You're Harry Potter, right? I've heard so many stories about you!"

"H-Hello, Miss Milim, Miss Rimuru…" Harry said shyly, looking at the two beautiful girls in front of him.

'I want to cut him down,' Rimuru thought flatly. 'Why the fuck does everyone assume I'm a girl? Is being cute automatically feminine now?'

Rimuru shook his head and said, "Professor Sprout, we are transfer students. I'm Rimuru Tempest, and this is Milim Nava."

Sprout nodded kindly and gestured for them to join the class.

"Alright, class, settle down," Professor Sprout said, clapping her hands. "Today we'll be repotting mandrakes. Everyone has their earmuffs ready, yes?"

"Yes!" the students chorused.

"Hermione-chan, is that a mandrake?" Milim asked, pointing at the wriggling plants on the table with great interest.

"Yeah. Their cries can cure petrification—but their screams can also kill you," Hermione explained, slightly worried. "Though… I doubt you two have anything to worry about."

Professor Sprout began demonstrating how to safely repot the mandrakes. Milim, however, found the screaming little plant absolutely hilarious—she yanked it out of its pot, shoved it back in, then yanked it out again over and over until the poor thing practically stopped screaming altogether.

It wasn't until Professor Sprout hurried over to stop her that the abused mandrake was finally spared.

Of course, Milim searched for new targets next.

...

Luckily by the end of the class, Milim and Rimuru had managed to sit through the lesson without destroying anything—which was a small miracle in itself.

"Hermione-chan, your school lessons are so much fun!" Milim said, eyes sparkling with envy. "I kinda wanna stay here forever!"

"If you do, I bet a hundred crystals that Voldemort's gonna die a very miserable death," Rimuru said dryly. "Maybe, he will kill himself."

Hermione rolled her eyes. She didn't know about Voldemort's fate, but she'd bet ten thousand crystals that if Milim really stayed at Hogwarts, every teacher here would go insane within a month.

"Hello, ladies." A ghost floated past, then dramatically removed his head from his shoulders—it was a disturbing sight if you weren't used to it.

"Hello, Sir Nicholas," Hermione greeted casually. But then she caught Milim staring at him with way too much curiosity and suddenly felt a very bad premonition.

Nicholas froze under Milim's stare, feeling an inexplicable sense of danger.

Sure enough—Milim zipped forward, grabbed his head, and yanked it right off!

"This is so cool!" Milim's eyes sparkled as she spun the ghost's head around like a basketball.

"Ahhhh—no, no! Put it back! SSStop spinning!" Headless Nick's body flailed around blindly, bumping into everything.

"Milim! That is so rude!" Rimuru groaned.

"But bestie, it's so fun! I wanna take it home!" Milim pleaded, still holding the head.

"Take someone's head home?"

Rimuru and Hermione shared the exact same expression—pure, stunned disbelief.

In the end, Milim reluctantly gave the head back. Nicholas quickly reattached it, then bolted away as fast as a ghost could move. From that day forward, he stopped showing off his detachable head entirely.

Headless Nick: "The demons are real?!"

...

"Hermione-chan~ can we stay here a few more days?" Milim begged pitifully. "I promise I won't cause any trouble!"

"I somehow don't trust that promise…" Hermione muttered, rubbing her temple. Still, she couldn't bring herself to say no. "Fine—but you have to swear not to do anything too outrageous."

"Yay!" Milim jumped into the air, cheering.

"What a mess," Rimuru said, shaking his head. But seeing Milim so happy, he couldn't help but smile. Sometimes, that was all that really mattered.

And so, Milim and Rimuru began their short but chaotic school life at Hogwarts—where peace and quiet were about to become a thing of the past.

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24: If You Hurt My Friend, You’re Dead

— — — — — — 

"That's all for today's lesson," Professor McGonagall said, gathering up her books. "Make sure to preview the material for next class."

"Hey, Harry," Rimuru said as they walked out. "I heard you've got Quidditch practice coming up?"

"Yeah—are you interested? You can come watch us if you want." Harry smiled, clearly happy to invite him along. He had a great impression of this new transfer student—Rimuru wasn't just good-looking, but also kind, and everyone seemed to like him.

"Bestie, I'm starving." Milim suddenly appeared, clutching her stomach dramatically. "Let's go eat first!"

"Ah, sorry Harry. We'll catch up with you guys after we grab some food," Rimuru said apologetically.

"No problem," Harry replied with a grin.

"Come on." Rimuru grabbed Milim by the arm and dragged her toward the Great Hall.

Harry watched them leave, dazed for a moment.

"What are you standing there for? They're long gone." Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, practice is starting soon."

"O-Oh, right!" Harry blushed a little and hurried toward the pitch.

Just like in the original story, they soon ran into Draco Malfoy and his crew—and the shouting match began.

Malfoy sneered. "Potter, I'll make sure you learn your place. You're nothing but trash, and I'll grind you under my heel."

Harry clenched his fists, about to fire back, but Hermione beat him to it. "Really? At least Harry got onto the team with skill—not by buying his way in."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed. He strode forward and spat, "Since when does a filthy little mudblood like you get to talk?"

"Say that again." Hermione's voice trembled—not with fear, but with pure, unfiltered rage.

"Oh, I will. MudBlood," Malfoy drawled, smirking.

"You wanna die?!"

The shout came from behind them, laced with a murderous fury that froze everyone in place.

Before Malfoy could even react, something slammed into him with terrifying force. He coughed up blood as he was launched across the courtyard, crashing hard into the stone wall.

"Who's there?!" The crowd of students backed away in fright.

Milim stepped into view, fists clenched tight, glaring at the Slytherin team like a predator eyeing its prey. If they didn't explain themselves, she was ready to make sure none of them saw the sunrise tomorrow.

"Milim?!" Hermione gasped, relief flooding her voice.

At the sound of her friend, Milim turned her head slightly, letting her killing intent fade.

"You okay, Hermione-chan?" she asked, her tone soft but still edged with anger. She had just finished eating and was on her way to find Harry—only to see Malfoy hurling insults at Hermione. Having watched the movies, Milim knew exactly what that word meant. And she snapped.

"I'm fine. Thank you." Hermione's eyes stung as she spoke, gratitude welling up inside her.

"Don't thank me. We're friends," Milim said with a grin. "If anyone bullies you, I'll make them regret it. And bestie won't let anyone hurt you either."

"She's right." Rimuru approached, expression dark, the pressure rolling off his small frame making everyone instinctively shrink back.

"Rimuru-chan…" Hermione couldn't stop the tears that finally spilled over. "You two are such idiots…"

"There, there, don't cry." Rimuru reached out, gently wiping her tears away. "We're your friends. Of course we'd do this for you."

"Alright, you bastards—decided how you want to die yet?" Milim cracked her knuckles, her expression a terrifying mix of cute and deadly, and marched straight toward the Slytherins.

What followed was a chorus of screams so pitiful that it echoed through the entire castle, chilling the blood of anyone who heard it.

"Ahh, that feels better." Milim clapped her hands, looking satisfied. All around her, Slytherin team members lay in heaps, their faces swollen beyond recognition.

The Gryffindor players nearby were struck speechless. Their jaws hung open so wide you could've fit a Quaffle in them, and a few even swallowed nervously just from looking at Milim.

"Don't you think that was… a bit much?" Hermione frowned at the beaten Slytherins. She had to admit it was satisfying, but this was still a school. Beating up classmates was definitely against the rules.

"You actually think of us as students?" Rimuru said with a dry chuckle. "Please. I could squash that so-called Dark Lord with one finger if I wanted. You think we're scared of school discipline?"

"Uh…" A drop of sweat rolled down Hermione's forehead. She suddenly realized she'd been worrying about the wrong thing. It wasn't Rimuru and Milim she needed to be worried about—it was whether Hogwarts would still be standing by the end of term. Dumbledore was strong, sure, but these two… yeah.

"Well? Are you guys training or not?" Milim asked, scowling at the Gryffindor team, who were still standing frozen in shock.

"B-But the pitch was reserved by—uh, never mind, let's go." Their captain had been about to mention that Slytherin had reserved the field, but one look at the groaning, barely-moving Slytherin team on the ground made him quickly change his mind.

"Should we… take them to the infirmary?" Rimuru asked, a little more level-headed than Milim. "They are just kids, after all."

"Why bother?" Milim waved the suggestion away. "Leave them here. Don't waste time—let's go!"

Rimuru sighed and, with a flick of his finger, sent a soft green glow over the unconscious Slytherins—just enough to make sure they wouldn't be seriously injured—then followed the others to practice.

"Just what are they?"

Not far away, an old man had been watching silently the whole time. The headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore—the man known as the greatest wizard of the era—stood deep in thought.

"There's no record of them at all, yet their presence here feels perfectly natural. That isn't something ordinary people can manage." His eyes gleamed with quiet wisdom behind his half-moon glasses. "How did they enter Hogwarts?"

With a flick of his wand, a soft white glow enveloped the unconscious students—and in an instant, they, along with Dumbledore himself, vanished.

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25: Explosion in Snape's Class

— — — — — — 

The Next Day

"Looks like Voldemort's finally making his move," Hermione said casually. "Someone got petrified last night. Honestly, Ron's sister… I don't even know what to say about her."

"Well, it was Voldy who hypnotized her," Rimuru replied matter-of-factly. "Controlling her wouldn't have been hard for him." Then he tilted his head thoughtfully. "So, should we just go handle this whole thing now?"

"This…" Hermione hesitated. She'd watched the entire Harry Potter series and knew exactly how this story was supposed to go.

"I say we do it!" Milim practically bounced with excitement. "Besides, don't you wanna know what that big snake tastes like? I've been waiting to try it!"

"No. Absolutely not." Both Rimuru and Hermione mentally shot her down in perfect sync. That snake was hideous. No way anyone sane would try to eat it.

"Are you three trying to start a rebellion in my class? " Snape's icy voice cut through the room. His expression was pure frost as he glared at them—someone had the nerve to chatter during his class? Did they think he was in a good mood lately? "I paired students up so they could work together, not to chat."

Snape knew full well that Milim and Rimuru weren't just some random transfer students or any of that nonsense, but Dumbledore told him to act natural — so he did.

"Professor Snape," Milim said proudly, "I was talking, but look! My potion's already done!"

"Oh? Then if it's wrong, Gryffindor loses twenty points." Snape's tone could have frozen lava. Time to remind everyone exactly who he was. But then his eyes suddenly went wide.

"…What did you just add to that cauldron?"

"Oh! Just some… um—bestie, did you see what I put in?" Milim turned to Rimuru with a completely innocent look.

Snape: "…"

Rimuru: "…"

Hermione was the one to break the stunned silence. "You just added asphodel."

Snape's expression didn't change, but his voice turned razor-sharp. "And what happens when asphodel is boiled with shed skin from a mutating serpent?"

"It causes an extremely violent explosion!" Hermione answered immediately, voice brisk and precise. "And it's fast. You have about a minute."

The entire class froze.

"Run!" Snape roared, shoving students toward the door. Rimuru didn't hesitate—he grabbed both Milim and Hermione and bolted.

BOOM!

They hadn't even made it that far down the corridor before the classroom erupted behind them. The blast shook the entire floor of the castle.

A very dusty Snape emerged from the cloud of smoke, glaring daggers at Milim. "Miss Nava," he said with unnerving calm, "for the safety of this school and its students, I am banning you from my class forever. Consider it my personal duty to keep you from setting foot in here again. And for the love of Merlin, why—why would you think adding asphodel was a good idea?"

"Forty points from Gryffindor," he added coldly. "No—add another twenty. Sixty total."

With that, he spun on his heel and stormed off before he blew a blood vessel.

"Uh… bestie, what were we talking about before all that?" Milim asked with an awkward laugh, clearly trying to change the subject.

"It will take me a month to earn back sixty points." Hermione glared at her, seething.

"Come on, I didn't mean to!" Milim pouted, hugging Hermione's arm and trying to look cute.

"Forget it," Rimuru said with a sigh. "We really should've seen this coming. Let's just go deal with the basilisk already."

"Fine." Hermione sighed heavily. "Maybe venting a little will keep me from strangling you." She jabbed Milim in the forehead for emphasis.

"Let's go!" Milim stuck her tongue out playfully and charged toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

The basilisk was about to receive its first—and final—lesson in just how cruel the world could be.

As expected, they made it to the bathroom, opened the entrance to the Chamber, and descended into the dark tunnel.

The chamber was damp and cold, lined with dozens of massive serpent statues glaring down from both sides.

They finally reached the end, where an enormous stone face loomed over them from the far wall.

"The basilisk is behind that, right? I'll smash it open!" Milim said, cracking her knuckles and getting ready to punch a hole straight through the wall.

"Who are you? How did you find this place?"

A voice echoed from deeper inside the chamber, stopping them in their tracks. A young man appeared—Tom Riddle, Voldemort's sixteen-year-old memory.

He blinked, looking almost confused. This definitely wasn't in his script.

"Smash him first." Milim pulled out a massive warhammer, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Let me try." Hermione stepped forward, her expression serious. "I want to test how much stronger I've gotten."

"Then he's all yours." Rimuru smiled, holding Milim back before she could charge.

"Well, well. Three little children," Riddle said mockingly. "And here I thought I'd seen everything. Even filthy little mudbloods dare to challenge me, the Dark Lord?"

"You'll pay for saying that." Hermione moved first. A brilliant magic circle flared beneath Tom Riddle's feet.

"Icicle Lance!"

A massive spear of ice materialized and shot toward him with incredible speed.

"What the—?!" Riddle dove to the side just in time, the icy projectile screaming past him and impaling several of the stone statues behind him. Water on the ground instantly froze solid.

"What kind of magic is that? I've never seen anything like it!" Riddle got back to his feet, his expression a mix of shock and rage.

"Just a little throwaway spell," Hermione said coolly. "But it's more than enough to deal with you, 'Dark Lord.'"

Magic circles bloomed around her, one after another, until they filled the chamber with glowing light.

"Let's see you dodge this!"

Countless ice lances erupted from the circles, raining down like a blizzard and turning the entire hall into a killing field.

"Impressive…" Riddle sneered, though there was a flicker of unease in his eyes. His soul power surged as he conjured a massive wall of flame, forcing it forward to meet the storm of ice.

And just like that, the battle began.

...

Rimuru nodded from the sidelines. He was the one who had taught Hermione these spells over the past few days. As a member of the Dimensional Guild, he felt she should have the power to protect herself.

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