A few minutes before, Danso returned to the battlefield with his Soul Slime Crown. Danso was sent flying to the main room by the Arch-Angel. The tomb room contained a tomb. Knowing that he could not defeat an Arch-Angel by himself or even with the help of Tensei and Emily, he needed a weapon that could give him more of an advantage. Danso opened the tomb carefully, cautious of any monster jumping out of the tomb and attacking him.
To his surprise, all that was there in the tomb was a mere skeleton covered in emeralds, a crown, and a giant ruby sword in the middle. It was a classic king's tomb, which made Danso assume that it was the Ruler of the Soul Slime's tomb. The Holy Steel Sword was damaged in the fight with the Arch-Angel. There were evident cracks, and its usual shine had dimmed. Danso grabbed the crown carefully and placed it on the ground. He bent once again and grabbed the sword and started wielding it and swinging it. Danso slapped himself to alert himself not to waste any time and grabbed the crown and sword, thinking he would find their use on the battlefield.
He was wrong. Danso wore the crown, and suddenly all the emeralds started shining in a bright green way. Danso was blinded by the light. When Danso opened his eyes, he was shocked to be in a green emerald realm where he could visualise souls which were green in color to utmost precision. He could see the soul like Chiro does with his passive Sorcery ability. Soon, there was a thud sound that was heard. Danso started sneaking towards the sound, clutching his sword in his hands. There was a man there, sitting on a throne with a few slime knights protecting him. The man whom Danso assumed to be the king, due to how the slimes treated him, opened his mouth.
The man began speaking a language that was not understandable to Danso. It must be an ancient language that humans used to speak a long time ago. There was a visible sense of confusion on Danso's face that caused the King to send a slime knight towards him. Danso gripped the sword even more tightly and was ready to fight if required. Instead of showing hostility, the knight simply touched him on his forehead, which caused Danso to suddenly start understanding what the King was saying.
"Now, can you understand me?" asked the King.
"Yes," replied Danso.
"I've been waiting for someone to appear for over one thousand years now," said the King.
"And here I have appeared," said Danso.
"I am King Vegiatous II, the second ruler of the soul slime," explained the King.
"Alright. I do not see how this information helps me, though. Where am I? How do I get out of here? My friends are out there dying while I am trapped in a different realm of sorts," complained Danso.
"Do not worry, time works differently here since we are outside the boundaries of space-time; time should be frozen," explained Vegiatous II
"What do you mean?" asked Danso.
"This is a realm in the soul, therefore, this is beyond the confines of Space-Time," said Vegiatous II
"I got that part, but doesn't Space-Time affect everything? How can something be beyond it?" said Danso.
"Think of the soul as the fifth dimension. Space is the third dimension, Time is the fourth, and Soul is the fifth. Since we are in the fifth dimension, Space-Time should still be working, right? Yet, it does not because it is too advanced for Space-Time to calculate and dwell in. The rules of the soul are too advanced for the dimensions to follow. That's why, even though someone might use the power of the soul, no one can truly create more soul energy. Every species is born with a certain limit of soul energy that replenishes itself after it's empty back to the limit," explained Vegiatous II
"I think I understand it now," said Danso.
"You may be wondering why you are here, right?" asked Vegiatous.
"You read my mind perfectly," said Danso.
"It is because I need a new heir to this throne," said Vegiatous II.
"What? I refuse to be stuck in this place for all of eternity," said Danso.
"No, you won't be stuck here forever. You will live your life normally while helping the soul slimes to survive. When you die, you will reside here and your soul will be at peace," explained Vegiatous II.
"I am sure there must be a catch, right?" asked Danso.
"Of course, I would never choose a king without testing his abilities," confirmed Vegiatous II.
Vegiatous dragged his finger across the sky, and suddenly all of Danso's equipment appeared from above. Even the Red Samurai suit had appeared. Since Vegiatous doesn't care about his Red Samurai secret, Danso knew he could fight to the best of his ability and not hold back. It was quite obvious that Danso would have to defeat someone to be accepted as the next Soul Slime Ruler, but he had a doubt.
"What do I get if I pass this 'trial'?" asked Danso.
"You get the powers of the Soul Slime Ruler. The powers will increase your strength, do not worry, overall it will be very beneficial to you," said Vegiatous II.
Danso nodded and proceeded to agree to the trial. Vegiatous swiped his fingers yet again, and multiple Soul Slime Knights appeared. They were green with white medieval armor. They were also wielding Holy Steel Swords. Vegiatous stood up and gave the order to fight Danso. As the Knights rushed towards him, Danso was calm, knowing that his hard work and training might not help against an Arch-Angel, but it would work against a bunch of mere knights.
The knights swung their swords at Danso. The metal vibrations and the clatter of Danso's suit could be heard. He attacked back, swinging his sword with intense speed. The knights could not keep up. Danso repeatedly kept on slicing and dashing towards the knights. Attacking them on one or sometimes multiple at once. Eventually, all the Soul Slime Knights were defeated, and Danso stood at the center of the area in front of the throne, which was like a miniature arena.
"Is this enough?" asked Danso.
"Not yet, you will have to fight me next," said Vegiatous II.
Vegiatous II stood up. The Soul Slime also rose from the ground as he stood up. The amount of soul energy that he was emitting from merely standing up was immense. Danso knew that not even Chiro, the strongest person he knew, would be able to face a stand-off based on pure soul energy with him. Danso was resisting the urge to kneel to him.
"Is it really that difficult?" asked Vegiatous II.
"I've faced worse," lied Danso.
"Alright then, show me," said Vegiatous II.
Vegiatous II and Danso were just staring at each other. It was a simple act in hindsight, but in reality, it was taking a huge toll on Danso's mental and physical state just to keep eye contact with him. Eventually, Vegiatous II moved a step forward. The Soul Slime all knelt, and Danso felt like the Earth was on his back, forcing him to kneel to his king. Of course, he resisted and stood trying not to show the pain on his face. Danso ran towards him, trying to end the fight quickly. He swung his sword once, and Vegiatous swiped a finger, making a hand made of slime catch the blade. Danso heated the blade, and the slime hand flinched and retreated to Vegiatous. One more slimy hand appeared and punched Danso, making him fly backwards.
Then, Vegiatous II started walking towards Danso. Danso got up. He froze. It seemed as if Vegiatous pressed the pause button on Danso. Vegiatous walked and walked, a step closer towards Danso. The imaginary weight on Danso's shoulder grew and grew. It was a force that he knew he couldn't defeat, but he could try resisting. Danso stood up and used all his energy just to face Vegiatous. Then, Danso swung at Vegiatous, and he merely slapped the sword out of Danso's hand. The blade sliced one of the slime men by accident.
This caused Danso to realise something. The weight on Danso's shoulder decreased slightly. The amount of slime near him increases his soul energy output because all the Soul Slime originates from him. Danso's eyes lit up in fire yet again. Vegiatous blinked and smiled, realising that Danso had figured out the secret behind his powers. It was on purpose that Vegiatous swung the sword towards one of the slimes.
Danso sprinted, slicing all the slime knights while the weight decreased slowly and slowly. This fight had proven to him one thing. If it were not for his physicality increasing drastically, he would have lost horribly at this point. Eventually, Danso eliminated all the slimes, and the weight seemed almost gone. Danso assumed that this was the case because the soul energy was slowly leaving the dead body of Vegiatous II, and that he summoned this realm and soul slimes before his death.
"Now did I pass?" asked Danso.
"With flying colors," replied Vegiatous II with a warm smile on his face.
"Now what happens?" asked Danso.
"You kill me and take my spot," said Vegiatous II.
"Is it that simple?" asked Danso.
"Yes, it is," replied Vegiatous II
"Alright then," replied Danso.
"One more thing. Thanks, Danso Narahara," said Vegiatous before Danso sliced him in half.
"I never told him my name," thought Danso.