Vol 6 Chapter 5 - Info=Uang=Receh

Chapter 5
Walpurgis Banquet

There is a luxurious door in front of us.

Once through, we arrive at the meeting.
 
There is a huge roundtable in there with twelve chairs spaced out with equal intervals.
   
There is a total of ten Demon Lords with only Karion missing at the moment. That means there will be two more chairs even if I take one.

Misery leads me to my seat.

It seems that we will be seated according to the chronological order of becoming a Demon Lord. So I will sit on the furthest side, namely the back seat.

I make no objection and decide to check out my surroundings as it is a rare opportunity for me to observe all the Demon Lords.

Speaking of which, there are only two people present at the moment.

One of which is Ramiris.
 
She appears to have the most seniority and gets to sit in the top seat. She has been swinging her feet happily for some time..

It’s no different from a kid, so I’ll ignore her for now.

From my point of view, on Ramiris’ right sits a seductive red-haired man who is on the opposite side of me——He is indeed a man, yet, his appearance is eerily charming. The handsome specimen just sits there casually.
 
Both of his eyes are closed but he probably isn’t asleep.
You can easily tell that this guy is far from simple.

I activate 「Analysis」 yet his stats don’t seem to be out of place. But my instinct tells me that this person is abnormal.

He has similar magicule count as Karion, just on a different wavelength.
In other words, you could mistaken him to really be green and can’t even know  control his aura with that amount of magicules.
But, he can’t fool my eyes.

I guess, if it is the analysis skill of 「Great Sage」 that is put into this situation would probably be deceived all over the place. That is how he has cleverly disguised his information.

He is misleading opponents to misjudge his strength by showing them false information. This is a contest even before the actual fight breaks out.
Now that I recall, I’ve got a mind-reading skill just like Dwarf King Gazel.

My 「Great Sage」 is probably just like those skills, that other people would not be able to know its true capability without I actively lay out my cards and inform them of the skill. It would be a different case if the opponent has「Mind Reading」 ability that can read one’s deep subconscious. One would probably only come to the realization of such skill after being manipulated and exploited. But unless one fails to resist, it shouldn’t have an effect at all.
 
That’s why it is important to conceal skills at times.
 
It may act as a bluff when the opponents learn about your skill.
If you really have it yet intentionally try to hide it, it will raise people’s suspicion anyway.

That’s what this handsome (beautiful) man is doing right now.

He has deceived others’ 「Analysis」 to raises their suspicion.

I personally believe there is a necessity to hide my power. That means to completely suppress my aura in order to prevent giving any information to the enemies, I think that would be the meaningful move.
   
On the contrary, what this guy is doing, he can instead reads the analyzer’s power.

To filter his opponents.
First he would see if the opponent has the ability to extract intel. To put aside those incapable of the skill, once he encounters someone who is capable of doing so, he can observe the opponents’ reaction just like that.

If the opponent would even fear of his illusive disguise, he won’t even put the opponent on his mind.
   
If he encounters someone who realizes he is faking, he will send the message that his power is so immeasurable that his opponents won’t dare antagonize him.

And putting that aside for a moment, even with the false message he sends out, he displays a similar magicule possession as Karion.
   
His real power is completely incalculable. Since now I understand what he’s playing, I’d better stay away from any trouble with him.

The person clearly on a different level with me——The man known as「Guy」.
Soon after my observation of Guy, another powerful man walks into the meeting.
 
He is alone without any company.
   
His presence by itself is imposing enough. That man must be the Demon Lord Dagruel the Titan.
 
He takes the seat one chair next to the right of Guy without hesitation, lowering down to his seat  with much majesty.
In other words, does that empty seat (in between) belong to Milim?
 
I look towards Dagruel.

Although Guy is already very tall himself, Dagruel somehow seems even much bigger than him. Unexpectedly, his luxurious chair is able to adjust according to the man’s size and is able to fit for Dagruel. It would seem everything in this room is some type of extravagant magical device.
This Demon Lord was once the arch rival of Veldora.

His imposing looks are truly impressive, enough to admit that he is a worthy opponent of a  「True Dragon」.

Speaking of this Demon Lord Dagruel, his magicule level is through the roof.

It’s unknown when comparing him to Veldora, that who would have the edge in terms of strength.

I can tell he has almost immeasurable amount of magicules, but I won’t be able to give it an accurate reading unless seeing him in combat.
   
However, quality is more important than quantity.
   
No need to get so scared just because he has a bit more magicules.
 
It’s more important when it comes to how you utilize your strength most effectively. Combat depends on the quality of one’s skill.
   
This Demon Lord Dagruel seems quite skillful, so I should be on guard with him anyhow…..

After observing Dagruel, another Demon Lord shows up.

It’s a handsome, fit man in sumptuous clothes.
   
Although he’s not as tall as Dagruel, he’s still above average. His facial features are stern and delicate.

His short curly blonde hair has a wild quality to it that reflects his energetic and aggressive personality.
 
To make a more straightforward metaphor, this man with his dazzling appearance looks a bit like a movie star.

Somehow I get the impression that he must be good at charming people.

The two fangs sticking out of his mouth are most eye-catching.

He must be a Vampire——meaning, this man is the Demon Lord Valentine.

Valentine sits down on Ramiris’ left.

Judging by the sequencing seats, this Demon Lord probably has the same level of seniority as Dagruel, both being ancient Demon Lords. It is said that the Vampire Demon Lord has been replaced before, it may just be that he has taken the place of his predecessor after that.
 
Never mind, there’s no use keeping my mind on the order of seats.

Compared to that, something else has caught my eyes.

That is Valentine’s servants.
 
The first one looks like an elderly male butler.
 
He must be some sort of master as he is not making a single movement like a statue.

He has a similar logic to me as to surpass all of his Youki in order to prevent being revealed of his true strength.

The second one is even more interesting.

A very attractive and beautiful young girl with shining long silver hair.

Her skin is pure and shining while her gold-silver pupils give off a devilish glow of blue and red. She has a kind of seductive beauty, as if she’s halted her growth the very moment she was transiting from a girl to a woman has immortalized it forever.

She wears a dress similar to a maid outfit. Maids are all combat classes——By that theory, it quite likely that the girl is very strong…...
That’s why I’m surprised that such powerful individuals are merely subordinates to another.
Another point worth mentioning is that this beautiful girl’s Youki is so immense that it is almost spilling out, which she’s actively allowing it.
 
Hmm, wait a second?
 
As I cross eyes with that girl, something feels strange, yet I can’t describe it.

Perhaps I am worrying too much, considering that the Youki leaking from her just randomly changes attributes.

《Answer. 「Analysis」 result as following, Target’s magicule storage is much higher than Demon Lord Valentine.》
 
Ah, of course.

I have no way to assess the total magicules of this girl, but only know that she’s got more than her master Demon Lord Valentine.

Her method of concealment is extremely clever and people unlike me, who don’t have an ultimate skill would not be able to see through.

Even with that being said, she has no intention of hiding it as well. Like Guy, she probably wants to see whether the rest would notice.

——If that’s the case, could this girl be the Demon Lord herself?

It’s possible that she is the retired ex-Demon Lord.
   
Her true identity would be the female vampire 「Milus」 that even Veldora recognizes.
 
It is rumored that the last change in leadership was one thousand, five hundred years ago and the Demon Lords who know the details are less than a few. Did they acquiesce the act or did they really not notice?

Or perhaps——They may simply be uninterested.

Anyhow, I’ve got to be cautious with her.

The current Demon Lord Valentine is no weakling either. His power is unquestionable, given how his Haki feels even stronger than an untransformed Karion.

He’s also accompanied by the seductive and beautiful maid.

If she is the Demon Lord whose kingdom was burnt to ashes, she has good reason to hate Veldora.
 
Why in the world would you go provoke this type of people! I want to shout out, but hold back.

Could this be the legendary syndrome of「My head hurts already and it’s getting intensified send help」?

If I am to seek salvation in mind, should I perhaps think in line of 「My life is complete by enraging and getting killed by this type of beauty」?
 
——No, I don’t want that type of salvation after all.

I hope my relationship with Veldora won’t get exposed.
If it does happen to be exposed, I hope I won’t be cleaning up his mess (D: “wiping his ass” is the original sentence) for him.

I pray to myself.

Afterward, some time has passed since I got into this situation before the fifth person enters.
 
He enters alone with drowsy, sleepy eyes.
   
There are two swords sheathed at his belt and that’s all his equipment. How convenient.
 
Then, he opens his eyes to momentarily reveal their beautiful light blue colour. His dark purple hair looks dark in the room, with silver strands mixed within.

He looks rather young, almost like a high school student. He is quite handsome, but his sleepy eyes and lazy gestures reduce the appeal of his pretty face..

That guy wanders towards Ramiris and stops to greet her with his hand slightly raised.

「Morning——you are still tiny as ever.」

「Do you want to pick a fight? How cocky have you got, Dino the noob?」

The fifth one is Dino. I recall him to be the same kind of person as Ramiris.

They aren’t really arguing, but more like a routine quarrel.
   
「Silly, you know I’ll win anyway, why would I look for you to fight.」
 
「Oh——I see you’ve gotten tired of living. Today I’m feeling super good you know!」

「No way. You look like you’ve shrunk. Have you grown smaller since the last time we met?」
 
「I can’t help it! I’ve been reincarnating lately!」

Ramiris once said that it would take a couple hundred years before she could grow up. After asking for details, I was informed that she was only reincarnated about fifty years ago.

With her saying that, Dino seems to realize.

「Oh, that’s why you look like this. Sounds pretty convenient. But, will the memories be carried over?」

「Of course it will. But, my spirit will devolve because of my body. But it doesn’t matter since I’m the strongest. That’s why I need to let loose at times like this!」
 
「Guy, Ramiris seems to want to say something.」

「Baka! Are you an idiot! I know what to say to the right person! I’ve never even thought of beating down Guy in one punch! (one pun~)」

Seeing Dino trying to talk to the red-haired man, Ramiris immediately stops him. She begins to find excuses with her voice lowered to mumble her complaint.

She’s only good at words, and is super quick to change her stance.

And that red-hair dude, sounds like he is indeed Guy.

He must be dangerous given how panicked Ramiris looks.

Secretly, I take note that 「Guy is dangerous」. I once avoided danger with this type of miniscule diligence, so I can’t underestimate its usage.
   
In order to avoid provoking Guy, Ramiris and the rest only dare to whisper their conversation.
The content seems to be related to Ramiris’ servants——Beretta and Treyni-san.
 
Ramiris is showing off big time.
   
「Ehh? Why didn’t you come by yourself, how come you brought servants this time? Won’t I look uncool coming alone ?」

「Huh huh, yep. Now I can get back from those Demon Lords who call me a shrimp and say I’m all alone without any love! Especially you! I’ll let you know how useless you are against these two!」
   
「Right then, wanna try to let them fight against me? Would it be alright if I break them?」

「Ah? You’d better not! If you break them, I’ll go tell Guy and let him punish you with his iron fists!」

Part of that line sounds like a bluff.
   
Ramiris is just going to call for help without any shame.

「——I mean these two, they probably can put up a good fight, right? They look really strong now that I look more closely!」
   
With Dino’s remark, Beretta and Treyni-san both nod quietly in agreement.

*Sigh* what a waste to give these subordinates to Ramiris.

「Right? Right! That’s true, that means I speak with greater authority now.」
 
Dino’s words greatly please her as Ramiris shows her dominance by raising her flat chat.

But it was me who helped making them two. Never mind.

Beretta and Treyni-san remain silent.

They are both very competent servants.

Similarly, behind me, Shion is silent too——and sleeping. I hope she would learn something from those two.

Dino goes on to his own seat after the greeting, face slacked. His seat is next to Valentine. He seems like an ancient Demon Lord.
 
He ignores Valentine beside him and more surprisingly, starts to sleep on the table right away.
Valentine probably finds him extremely rude, but greetings between Demon Lords may be the actual anomaly here. Although Dino was running his mouth to tease Ramiris, his greeting to her may indeed be just an exception.

Dino seems very unmotivated.

It gives off the vibe of “Simply coming is enough”.

He doesn’t care about the atmosphere of the meeting, simply playing the part  of a sloth. In a sense he is a contrarian of his own.
   
His disregard for everything in turn, reflects his potent strength that enables such actions.

……. I’ll just consider that to be the case.
 
This guy also seems to have a blockade against analysis, his real power remains unknown.
   
I want to analyze him but instead he stares back with his eyes slightly lifted. He is indeed keeping his guard up.
   
His interaction with Ramiris just before reflected his arrogant personality, so this guy can’t be underestimated after all.
   
But, Dino did seem like he’s treating Ramiris well. If possible, I don’t want to antagonize him.

Next, the Harpy Queen enters the meeting room.
   
MIlim once mentioned her to me, she must be Demon Lord Frey.

Her aura (sex appeal) is overflowing.
 
Her pair of breasts seem to have quite the air resistance, won’t she feel inconvenient during flights?
   
Oh no, I accidently went astray. I’m just a bit moved by how impactful her entry is.
 
Speaking of Frey, she looks towards me from Milim's empty seat, and her eyes fall on me.

The way she squinting at people is also so sexy….

Ahhhhhh, this is truly…...
As she passes by me, her body fragrance also smells so good.

These thoughts keep swirling through  my head, however, I sense a dangerous aura at my back. Obviously Shion is getting pissed.

She’s found out that I was almost seduced, as expected of Shion.

It would be a bad idea to make Shion get any angrier. I switch back to normal observation mode immediately.

Her magicules are nothing special. If I have to be honest, it’s even smaller than that of Shion and Benimaru.

On that note, Shion’s magicule count is catching up to Valentine, so her magicules aren’t little at all. But its quality is the key. It would be too superficial to judge by its quantity.

The qualities of the two are hard to be distinguish by their breast sizes——Eh, that doesn’t seem to be relevant.
   
I suppose she must have a lot of hidden skills. She has a certain dangerous aura surrounding her, so it’s not too far-fetched.

That’s about all the information I can extract from Frey, but there’s one point worth pointing out.

That is the servants around her.

One of whom is a busty beauty who can rival Frey.

She still seems somewhat childish but her figure is still top notch.
 
The other person is a tough guy possessing similar magicule levels to Frey. It is likely a male Harpy given the giant eagle wings on his back.

He’s quite small compared to Dagruel, but he is just as fit as Valentine.

His face is covered by a lion mask, rendering me unable to analyze him. But….
 
Lion?
 
《Answer. According to the deduction of 「Analysis」——》
 
There’s no way.
   
This person is on a completely different wavelength than Karion. There’s no way that’s him.

Even if 「Wisdom King Raphael」 won’t tell me, I can deduce this easily.
《...............》
 
If he is indeed the missing Karion, he definitely wouldn’t resort to such a disguise full of flaws to the Walpurgis Banquet. He would have been more careful and cautious.
   
Someone once said that there will be three people in the world who looks similar to oneself34. Frey’s servant must be someone else.

After observing Frey’s group, I suddenly have the illusion that freezing wind is blowing into the room.
   
I look towards that direction and witness the entry of a blonde beauty.
It is a beauty blessed with endorsement of gods.

Such a beauty walks straight towards me.
「——Are you Rimuru?」
 
「That’s right——」

That’s right, and who are you——I intend to ask back.
 
I don’t know this type of gorgeous beauty. But upon thinking so, I suddenly figure out his true identity.

There are four more Demon Lords. With one of them being the missing Karion, we only have Clayman and MIlim.

Then it is Leon.

I remember Leon has blonde hair——so called 「Platinum Demon」, the beautiful blonde Demon Lord…...
 
「——So, are you Leon? Why would you want to have a word with me?」
 
「Yes, I am Leon. I didn’t come to you for anything in particular. It is just that I feel a sense of nostalgia seeing your face.」
   
He is indeed Leon.

What a beautiful man, it may mislead people easily to think that he’s a beautiful woman.

If it’s me from the past, I would definitely shout in heart 「WHAT THE HELL! (IT’S A TRAP!)35」
   
He used to be human yet he gives off an imposing aura.
   
He indeed has the presence of a Demon Lord.
 
Speaking of which, did Leon say he feels nostalgic?
 
I look the exact same as when Shizue-san was young. In other words, Leon——
「Leon, Shizue-san has already passed away.」
   
He didn’t come to me for anything in particular, simply being reminiscent of Shizue-san.

「I know. Of course she would die. Simply because she refused to accept Ifrit and didn’t want to become a Majin.」
   
Leon says it lighted-heartedly as if it was only natural.

「She once asked me to punch you in the face. Please allow me.」
   
The line slips out of my mouth without my thinking. I wasn’t trying to look for trouble but Leon’s attitude is irritating.
I say it clear and straight. But, Leon is not moved by it at all.

「I refuse. I’ve given Shizue a chance to choose for her own life. She didn’t want to become a Majin and wanted to live as a human. I even gifted her Ifrit when we parted, so there’s no reason for you to punch me.」
 
That’s surprising.
   
And I would have thought he’d get mad and call me rude. Yet he responds to me calmly.
   
Besides from that——

「——However, I’m also a little bit interested in you. If you want to complain to me, my treat. Or you can refuse if you think it’s a trap. But it doesn’t matter either way.」

He says so himself.
   
It feels as though he’s saying “Don’t come if you are scared”, so I could only accept.
   
「Alright, I’ll accept. Remember to send an invitation.」

I go silent after my response.
Leon nods his head slightly but with an annoyed twitch at how troublesome he thinks it would be.

「Right, I’ll do just that. But first, you have to return in one piece.」
   
He wraps up coldly and takes the seat on my left.
He’s not going to talk to me anymore.That’s probably the end of that conversation.
 
It would be enough progress on the matter for now.
I’ve relayed Shizue-san’s words and I now know one more thing: Leon is not trying to make me an enemy. If he has considered me an enemy, why would he agree to send an invitation?
   
The problem lies on what happens after that. Anyhow, I need to focus on dealing the enemy that is Clayman.
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

It’s been an hour since the time I first entered the meeting.

Time passed on just like that.
The order of leading the Demon Lords into the meeting room seems to be based on their experience. I was a guest so I happened to have the privilege to travel with Ramiris.
   
However, there’s also someone like Leon who came in by his own strength, that doesn't seem to be a written rule.
Now all there is left are Clayman and Milim.
   
Just when the Banquet was about to start, a thought flashed through my mind——
「Rimuru-sama, is it convenient for me to borrow some time of yours to report our progress? 」

It’s Benimaru, he’s communicating through 「Telepathy Net」.
   
The meeting seems to be in a different dimension, so how did 「Telepathy Net」 come through——
 
《Answer. You’ve established connection with Mamonos under your rule with 「Soul Corridor」. You can communicate through it.》
   
——So that’s how it worked.

It seems that during my blessing, 「Soul Corridor」 was connected as well. It feels weaker than the one I use to contact Veldora, but it seems to work fine with communication.
 
I begin to listen to Benimaru’s report.

It’s been less than an hour since the war started, yet it’s already over. It sounds like it has been going exactly as planned.

Our army has many injured but zero casualties. As for Clayman’s army, there is more than a thousand deaths. There are over three thousand injured as well.

It’s a surprisingly low death toll, but in this world, as long as one is alive, there is a chance of restoring them to their original state. So it’s reasonable many weren’t killed.

In any case, we achieved complete victory.

And we caught prisoners, hooray!
   
The commanding officer of the enemies seems to have turned into Charybdis somehow, but was incinerated by Benimaru.
   
I am a bit out of loop with what he’s saying.

Since I can’t understand, I’ll just skip it.
Although it is best that I skip it, but….. How did he kill Charybdis when it has 「Magic Interference」?

《Answer. His unique skill 「Great General」 can compile multiple techniques and skills to perfectly control 「Black Flame Prison」.》

So that’s the case.

In short, his manipulation technique was superior than 「Magic Interference」 and was able to directly input massive amounts of heat. It may sound easy but it requires quite the level of skill.

Benimaru seems to have grown stronger than I’ve anticipated. Very impressive!
   
What we didn’t anticipate however, was the Worshipers of Dragon.
   
They are worthy as Milim’s believers and seems to be an absurdly powerful battle group. They didn’t engage with us seriously this time and thus allowed us to prevent casualties.
 
I should be the one to reflect.

It turns out I was wrong when I thought they would be no problem due to their only being one hundred in number.

I should have known better that war in this world depends on personal strength rather than the power of a group. I seem to have carelessly forgotten such common sense.

It’s most fortunate that we didn’t get beaten to a pulp.

We must be more careful next time.
 
According to Benimaru’s report, I have an overall idea of what Clayman will claim.

It is said that Clayman’s army, alongside Midley’s group under Yamoz’s rule, is famously marching to investigate Karion’s betrayal.
   
That is in order to collect evidence about Karion’s betrayal of the Demon Lords and murder of Clayman’s subordinate and my accomplice.
 
No, that’s not true.

It’s not ‘collecting’, it’s ‘fabricating’.

Now his plan has been disrupted due to our victory.

I wonder if he will find some other reasons later, but I doubt the other Demon Lords would agree with that.
Anyhow, we will take down Clayman in the end, one way or another. If any Demon Lord gets in our way, we will just have to eliminate them as well, In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, we have to work hard now to make life easier for us.
Raphael-sama, I look forward to your performance!
   
《.............》
「Wisdom King Raphael」 seems very motivated as well.
Now I can be relieved for a moment.

Oh, Souei is also reporting in.

He seems to have taken Clayman’s base.
   
Souei is really badass. I heard he also had Hakurou to back him up.
 
But the most active member must have been Shuna.
   
It seems some drama has occurred and for some reason, she has gained some undead Mamono as companions.
 
I am rather confused but Souei said「We will have Shuna-sama brief you on the specifics——」. And that’s equally baffling to me.

The important thing is that Demon Lord Karion was not detained in Clayman’s castle.

And there’s something else.
 
「——We’ve discovered a secret vault. We’ve contacted Geld to conduct the transfer. There is also evidence of Clayman’s association with the Moderate Clown Troupe. Please use them to your desire.」
   
They seem to have robbed all of Clayman’s treasures he’s collected.

Is it considered thievery?

No, I shouldn’t care about that. Clayman has brought us trouble, so I’ll take his compensation with gratitude.

He seems to have hidden many treasures in his time, so now our financial gain has gone over the roof.
 
In comparison, the more important evidence has has been collected.
Benimaru and Souei have both mentioned it to me.
   
All of the evidence have been transmitted to my 「Stomach」. With it, I can topple all of Clayman’s claims and sources.

It’s important to keep my reputation.

Like that, We’ve decimated Clayman’s forces at a much faster pace than I expected. Now we’ll see how he reacts. We’ll use all of our information to its fullest to put the favour on our side.

Soon afterward——

As I finish listening to the report, Clayman’s party finally shows up.
 
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

He is surprisingly a handsome man, but at the same time, he looks somewhat psychotic——This man is Clayman.
 
He wears classy clothing that seems very fashionable.

This Demon Lord is indeed something else. He has special grade equipment all over his body. These alone seem to be able to form a strong combat force.

What concerns me more is the fox he is holding. Its monstrous power is extremely powerful, as well as its astonishing amount of magicules. Its power may reach that of a Demon Lord.
 
It is one of the servants——correction, it is. But since Clayman is a Demon Lord after all, his subordinates are pretty good as well.
   
Besides…...

My 「Analysis 」 of Clayman has revealed something rather concerning. Although we’ve taken his base, we still can’t underestimate him, especially while wrapping up the end of our operation.
   
Following just after is Milim; so now all of the Demon Lords are present.
 
Everyone here is a monster not to be underestimated.
 
I tried to run 「Analysis」 for Leon as well, yet was unable to analyze his power.

How interesting, 「Wisdom King Raphael」 also says it can’t be analyzed.

In other words, he has a similar skill to me——Ultimate Skill.

Moreover, abruptly I realize something.

Guy is leaking fake intel to others——Is it to counter Ultimate Skills?

If one is unable to be analyzed through Ultimate Skill, it means the opponent possesses an Ultimate Skill as well.

It’s quite possible that he he has released simply false information.
   
I am only able to realise this because「Wisdom King Raphael 」 is very strong. Had I discovered this, I would have also been deceived.
   
With that logic, Guy naturally has an Ultimate Skill as well.

Milus? Highly suspicious, and the same can be said about Leon.
   
Ultimate Skills all possess special yet incomparable functions. There are several important conditions in acquiring them, such as the user’s ability, luck and timing. It is rumored that a rare skill isn’t guaranteed even when someone becomes a True Demon Lord. Such power is indeed the  ace up users’ sleeve.
   
That’s why I need to act more cautiously.
Moreover, I need to assume Guy has also realised that I have an Ultimate Skill.
 
It was a grave miscalculation on my part.
It’s all because of my lack of experience. My opponents are all cunning Demon Lords. I need to be much more careful in keeping my guard up.

No use crying over spilled milk; it is not a major misstep for now. How I would deal with it in the future is more important.
It is also difficult to grasp my true ability, just like Dwarf King Gazel and his mind reading ability . It would also mean that my opponents won’t be able to tell the specifics of my abilities, so I don’t need to worry myself over it.
   
I’d rather try to mislead him using this and pretend that I’m oblivious on the matter.
   
To be more specific, I need to hide「Wisdom King Raphael」. It won’t hurt if others see my other Ultimate Skills then, if I always have Raphael as my trump card.
   
If I do so, won’t I have a trump card that will never be discovered?
   
That is what I can do with possession of four different Ultimate Skills, a rather bold way to hide my skills.
 
I could show them off during my battle against Clayman later, when it comes to it, then I’ll——

《Proposal. 「Gluttonous King Beelzebuth」 is very hard to conceal.》
   
Oh yeah, that’s right.
   
It can consume and dissipate dispersed attacks, a skill both capable of attack and defense. My combat abilities are mostly based of 「Prey」, so it would be a good idea to show 「Gluttonous King Beelzebuth」 to the public.
 
In future battles I’ll focus on using 「Gluttonous King Beelzebuth」 while hiding other skills. I’ll adapt this tactic into all my fights.

I should be happy today that I got to come up with this new tactic.
 
It would be meaningless if I’m not willing to use my skills and end up dead because of it. If I can leave this place safely, I’ll reconsider a new tactic after that.

Just as I finish my reflection, I suddenly see something astounding.

「Move faster, you retard!」

Clayman spits as he suddenly hits Milim violently.
   
Hitting Milim——
   
「Too damn slow, go and sit down right now.」
 
He even poses all high and mighty after hitting and giving Milim orders.
 
I’m on the edge of becoming furious, but I push it back.
It’s not time yet, I just need to endure a little bit more.
   
Before he moves on to start speaking according to the rules of Banquet, I have to hold on to my anger…....
 
Speaking of which, what in the world happened to MIlim?
   
Milim being bullied like that.
 
If the two were to switch places and have Clayman being the one hit, it would be a normal and a typical sight to see.
Ah, what a poor guy, and that would be it.
   
However…….

He was violent towards Milim and beating her, yet he was not punished for it at all.
   
Milim didn’t resist, not even having a word of complaint.
   
She remains obedient and sits in her seat without a word.
   
How strange.
   
Could Milim really be under Clayman’s control?
 
It seems that I need to consider the worst case scenario.
 
Besides I am not the only one surprised at it, other Demon Lords such as Dagruel and Dino also exchange confused looks.

Guy’s expression didn’t change at all, there is no way to know what he is thinking.
   
Clayman on the other hand looks all superior and smug.
   
Seeing his face, my fury is again ignited.

——Don’t you think you will get a quick death Clayman. I’ll make you pay for hitting my friend, Milim.

I promise in my heart.
Clayman is dead meat.

I won’t let him walk away, no matter what reason he has.
   
But, I can’t rush it just yet.
   
The Banquet is about to begin.
   
The participants of the Walpurgis Banquet is as following:

Ten Great Demon Lords, minus Karion, nine Demon Lords in total.
 
Demon——「Lord of Darkness」 Guy Crimson.

Dragonoid——「Destroyer」 Milim Nava.

Fairy——「Fairy of Labyrinth」 Ramiris.
 
Titan——「Rage of Earth」 Dagruel.

Vampire——「Bloody Lord」 Roy Valentine.

Fallen Angel——「Sleeping Ruler」 Dino.

Harpy——「Sky Queen」 Frey.

Undead Elf——「Marionette Master」 Clayman.
 
Ex-Human——「Platinum Saber」 Leon Cromwell.
   
And one other person.
   
The protagonist of this Banquet’s subject-matter, the one who dares to proclaim to be a new Demon Lord——Me.
   
One of Guy’s maids named Rain begins to introduce everyone with a cold tone.

I’m most interested in Leon.
   
Fuse once told me that Demon Lord Leon has the nickname 「Platinum Demon」, but now it is changed into a cooler title of 「Platinum Saber」,
   
He does give off the look of it, but who on earth came up with these titles?
   
Could it be himself——No……. I shouldn’t say that. I’m not qualified to judge other people. Let’s try to avoid this type of topic.
 
That’s about it as the introduction comes to a conclusion, when Clayman stands up.

「Well then, I much appreciate everyone to have answered the invitation to the Banquet today. We shall now begin our feast! I hereby announce the official unveiling of the Walpurgis Banquet!」
 
He announces the start of the meeting as the meeting holder,
   
Just like that, with the foreshadowing feeling of imminent storm, Walpurgis Banquet is officially convened.
   
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Clayman leaves his seat and in a swoop as transforming the meeting room into his personal stage, he begins his speech.

He looks rather satisfied, glancing around at all the Demon Lords, including me.

His eyes seems to have stopped at Demon Lord Valentine, but that might have just been a trick of the light. It’s none of my business either way, I may have just thought too much.

Leon is sitting to my left, while the seat on my right is empty.

One seat over my right would be Clayman’s seat. On his right is an empty seat that belongs to Karion who has gone missing.

Clayman starts explaining the cause of this whole ordeal rather smugly.
 
His words are prolix and lengthy, but I still decide to listen to them seriously.

Here’s what he has to say:
   
One, Demon Lord Karion has instigated me to proclaim myself a Demon Lord. The evidence for this is that Karion’s army stationed in our town.

Two, Rimuru instigated Falmas Kingdom to attack the Great Jura Forest. This also served as an excuse for Rimuru to attack the humans.

Three, I (Rimuru) defeated Falmas Kingdom and proclaimed myself Demon Lord with Karion secretly backing me up.

He thinks Karion’s actions were violations to the rules among the Demon Lords.

Clayman's claims has completely overlooked the actual chronology of events. They are all excuses but are hard to prove otherwise. His accusation is much more discreet than I expected.

Moreover, his accusations of our actions happen to be after the Demon Lords’ non-aggression pact of Jura Great Forest was withdrawn. So the evidence of crime is all clear.
   


But what the hell does any of them have to do with me?

Clayman adds on even more.

「——through this, I stand by my testimony. However, my subordinate Myuran who reported me all this have been murdered by that donkey named Rimuru. That’s why I’ve decided to avenge her.」

What an act! Clayman’s so good at acting that my praise almost slipped out.

I’m almost moved to tears by his performance——like hell I am. Myuran is still alive!
 
「This Rimuru has planned with Karion to kill me. Myuran was able to inform me of it with her last bit of strength through “Magic Communication”.」
 
Upon saying so, Clayman looks rather emotional. It could almost be a piece of art, with how handsome he looks, but I’m still pissed with how fond he is of acting.
   
Did Clayman say that I want to kill him and take his seat as Demon Lord?
 
And that the one behind this scheme was Karion? What a story he has come up with. Karion has the integrity of a samurai (warrior), so people who know him would probably burst into laughter hearing this story. All of these are just sophistry…….
Then Clayman finishes his speech with a tangent, focusing on Karion’s betrayal.
   
And because of that, Milim losing her nerve, went to destroy the Beast Kingdom Yuurazania, killing Kairon in the process——These are his claims.

Karion was killed? It’s very suspicious how he hasn’t mentioned that Karion has gone missing. It doesn’t seem right, so I’ll see what Clayman has to say about it.
   
Milim was doing all of this for Clayman’s sake, but Clayman scolded her later about how it was inappropriate without evidence. After the incident, Milim began admiring Clayman and asked for his help a lot……..

In order to get his hands on evidence of the collusion between me and Karion after his subordinate was killed, Clayman decided to march. Such is his narrative of the events.

He also mentioned that I was going to kill him and claim to be a Demon Lord afterward, which he couldn’t tolerate and thus decided to lure me out and execute me through the verdict of the Banquet.
   
It is truly impressive how he can make up such a story that puts so much favour on his side.
   
But with that being said, his explanation is too lengthy.
I was going to listen to Clayman’s arguments and come up with my own points to argue back in hopes of proving my innocence and defeating Clayman reasonably.
That was the only reason why I’ve listened to him so patiently for all this time, but now I can’t tolerate it anymore.

Is it not time to strike?

After hearing Clayman’s words, I discover the fatal flaw in his argument.
   
There is no evidence.
 
Apart from testimony, Clayman’s claims are not backed up by any other evidence. And upon inspecting these testimony, they are mostly from Clayman’s loyal servant——Ring Finger Myuran.
   
What a joke.

Myuran is still alive, so his testimony has little to none credibility.
   
It would seem that he didn’t have time to fabricate evidence. Now I can finally prove my innocence.
We have already prepared key evidence.
「——As such, I am done. Now that everyone has learnt about the story from start to finish, this Rimuru here is a despicable Majin and an idiot for daring to proclaim himself as a Demon Lord. It is best if we eliminate him——」
   
Clayman says so as he was concluding for his explanation looking all high and mighty.
 
The Demon Lords are quite patient, having willingly listened to his boring and lengthy story. But someone did fall asleep among them, but he won’t pose trouble so it’s understandable.
   
The rules seems to say that everyone has to listen to the speaker finish explaining without a word.
It is at this point when the Demon Lords apparently may express their opinions freely. However, this time they have me as both the guest and the person in question.

Rain seems to be appointed as host, as the maid looks towards me.

「Now then, allow me to explain to everyone.」
 
It’s finally my turn.

I’ve endured till now. Now to stop dancing with this clown. (D: Literally)
   
「You are Clayman, right? I mean, you are just a giant liar.」
 
「What?」
「I’m gonna be honest with you;I don’t care whether or not I become a Demon Lord. The thing you said about Karion-san’s instigation was all nonsense. And the Falmas Kingdom attacked due to their greed. The two incidents has no connection whatsoever.」
   
I say so as Clayman throws an annoyed glare at me.
   
「Huh! Who would believe such excuses? My subordinate also got killed!」

He adds, which plays right into my court.
 
「Is she called Myuran? I didn’t kill her, she’s still alive, you know?」

「Ha! And I thought you were——」
 
「Anyway, listen up now. All of your claims have been mere hearsay and your personal deduction. It may work for more gullible people, but I won’t buy it. Your witness Myuran is now under my protection. I won’t allow you to do a thing to her, and your testimony has zero credibility.」
 
Upon saying so, even Clayman’s expression changed drastically. But, he seems to only disagree with my statements.
   
「Hehe, how despicable of you to do such a thing. You must have done something to Myuran’s corpse and allowed an evil spirit to possess her.」
 
He immediately questions my claim.
   
Indeed, there is magic in this world that can even hide ambiguity of life and death. What a headache to deal with.
It thus means that the testimony doesn’t anything.
   
「It would seem that you’ve decided to deny everything. That’s why I was being clear with you, but I’ve changed my mind. Before the Banquet started, my companions assisted me in collecting evidence.」
   
I say so with much disdain in my eyes towards Clayman as I smile slightly.
   
Clayman is enraged by the sight. This guy seems more simple than I expected.
   
「What do you mean by that? If you wish to die so badly then——」
 
「Don’t get ahead of yourself now, Clayman. I told you that I have evidence.」
   
I interrupt Clayman and take out a couple of crystal balls from my pocket.

The crystal ball is then transferred to the center of the round table and activates its magical effect one by one.
   
Every crystal ball carries a video recording.
 
There is footage of the fights between my subordinates and Orc Lord through Gelmud’s point of view. These are all discovered by Shuna from the ancient castle at Clayman’s base.
On the other hand, there are also crystal balls recording the battle that just concluded.
   
They are from Benimaru as he’d recorded every bit of the battle under his watch and from his memory.
   
There are some interesting scenes in them.
 
「S-stop! Please don’t do this, Clayman-sama!」

That’s Clayman’s subordinate screaming as his body turns into an incomplete version of Charybdis.

「——What a surprise, but I knew Yamoz would betray——」
   
「——Clayman’s army is routed. The mission is a failure. We’ve suffered a lot of loss——」
「——Even Laplace went to persuade him, it’s all Clayman’s fault this time——」
   
「We have to report to that Lord——」

And so on.

In front of Geld and Phobia, the suspicious clowns conversed.
   
They are the members of Moderate Clown Troupe, Footman and Tear. It must be since they also mentioned Laplace.

And 「That Lord」.

I originally thought that Clayman was behind the scenes all this times but as it turns out someone else was behind Clayman.

Could it be——

《Answer. These series of events are all related to him.》
——Of course.
   
This mysterious man who has been pulling the strings in the dark, setting me against Hinata and manipulating Clayman.
 
That’s why the timings were so precise.
 
As I was battling the Western Saints Church, Clayman had the chance to instigate Falmas Kingdom and that led to the tragedy.

I could  understand simply seeing me as an eye-sore.

But, you’ve crossed the line this time.

That’s why I will take all of you down.
   
Don’t blame me. After all, this is the jungle for the survival of the fittest.
   
「That’s called proof, Clayman.」
 
I say with a victorious smile.

To be honest, it’s much easier to do things with evidence. But there are still plenty of ways to resolve things without it.
 
After all, we could just beat the crap out of him in a fair fight and then find some reason to get ourselves by the blames just like what Clayman is trying to do.

It’s not about right or wrong, but about our image.
And now with real evidence presented, he won’t have any comeback.
 
「S-stop it! What nonsense is this?! How dare you try to bluff your way out with forged, fake footage made by magic. Don’t try such dirty tricks, you slime!」
   
「Bluffing? That’s not bluffing at all, baka~ We decimated your army. And you are next.」
Clayman looks at me angrily.

「E-everyone, don’t get fooled by him! This slime called Rimuru is really good at bluffing. He unlocked the seal of Veldora and eliminated the Falmas army with him. Then he claims that it was his own power to show off, what a scumbag! No real Demon Lord would be fooled by this guy!」
   
Clayman throws everything he has to continue his act.

How dare you try finding someone to back yourself up now, aren’t you the real scum of the earth?
It would be really impressive if you do is just act all of this out.
 
「Oi, Clayman. Didn’t you just say that this Rimuru provoked Falmas Kingdom? If it’s true that Veldora has been revived, why would he bother to trouble himself by doing all this?」
   
「T-that’s because…...」
   
The question came from an unexpected place.

Dagruel speaks up and questions Clayman with much majesty.
   
Clayman is troubled for a while and decides to go all out with his response.
 
「Alright, then allow me to explain.」

Then Clayman begins to explain, exaggerating and overstating it once more, using body language to convey it
   
If one is to collect human souls, one will awake to become a True Demon Lord——

He seems to have hidden this matter in hope of preventing the other Demon Lords to get the benefits of it first. Now that Dagruel has asked, he has to open up and state things clearly.

「——This reckless, lowly slime was lucky enough to evolve to the Demon Lord race. Then he went over the line to have human society investigate the truth. After which he presumptuously caused a war between human and Mamono. And orchestrated a massacre using Veldora who has been sealed and allowed it to rampage out in the world. Our reputation as Demon Lord will plummet as a result. That’s why I think we must eliminate him, what do you all think?」
   
With his emphasised body language, Clayman attempts to persuade the other Demon Lords of his case. .
   
But——
 
「So what, you would need evidence for that. Can you even give us that? You’re daydreaming if you think that would work. No one here would approve what you are proposing.」
 
Clayman stares at me with hatred, but he can stare all he wants.
   
I’m tired of his nonsense.
   
「Ehh……. Don’t you look down on me, you slime, bluffing just because you have the power of the evil dragon! Likes of you could never become a Demon Lord.」
 
「It’s irrelevant whether or not I am a slime. Besides Veldora is my friend. But I have not come here to listen to your nonsense. You should just give up and  just admit that those clowns followed your instructions in reviving the Charybdis. The Majin called Phobia in those footages can testify that he’s been encouraged by that clown “Footman”! Moreover, your subordinate just caused a havoc after transforming into Charybdis. This is all clear evidence. Call me a bluff if you want, but you can go to hell, thinking that.」
 
I kick off the chair next to me to get up and contend against Clayman.

I put forward my hand casually put it where my hand is about to touch at the round table. The gigantic round table disappears instantly.
   
There is nothing surprising about it.
   
It’s simply consumed by my 「Gluttonous King Beezlebuth」

Now I’ve cleared out a large space.
The kicked chair  flys on behind Clayman and collides against the wall loudly.

The Demon Lords don’t seem to be moved by it.

The only one scared is Clayman.

「Everyone, how can you tolerate such violent behaviour from this guy!? He’s even ignoring our authority. We should punish him together!」
Together he says.
 
As expected, this guy is real scum.
 
I stand up entirely and move towards the center of the empty round space surrounded by chairs.

「Right, I’ve mentioned before, I don’t care whether I become Demon Lord or not. I just want to create a country satisfactory for myself. I need human help in that aspect, that’s why I’ve decided to protect the humans. If anyone dares to intrude, whether they be humans, Demon Lords or the Saints Church, they are all my enemies. For instance, you, Clayman.」
I take a even more avid approach compared to Clayman and announce my ideal in front of the Demon Lords.
   
「WHAT——!!」

「As for violent behaviour, you said, did you plan to attend the Walpurgis Banquet while trying to mind control others?」

I fix my eyes on Clayman and ask.
   
He must think I didn’t notice. He was quite arrogant, thinking he could cast a psychic attack on me halfway through his speech.

He probably wanted to control me.
   
However, it won’t work.
 
Simply because 「Wisdom King Raphael」 is always protecting me. Attacks like that will always be nullified instantly
   
But with that being said, I now have a justified approach.
I could argue that, in a sense, Clayman was the one who striked first.
   
If any other Demon Lords dare to confront me on this, I’ll see what to do with them.
   
I make up my mind to resort to violence.
   
But after I said so with much resolve. Unexpectedly, it is not Clayman who responds, but the top seat and the dominator of the meeting .
   
「No. Here, everyone is equal and everyone can express his opinion of others.」
 
The red-haired Demon Lord Guy says.
   
He looks rather intrigued, giving off a small smile.
   
「But Guy, this guy is insulting the Demon Lords——」

「Cut the crap. You don’t see me eye to eye, so shouldn’t it be a problem between us?」

「That’s right, Clayman. You are a Demon Lord as well. Then go and defeat this Majin by yourself. And you——」
 
Guy tells Clayman to shut up and looks towards me while saying:
 
「Do you want to be a Demon Lord?」
   
「Yes. Since I’ve already taken the position as the leader of the Jura Great Forest Alliance. The humans have seen me as a Demon Lord for a long time now.」
 
They won’t care about the story, all they will care about is that I’ve collaborated with the evil dragon in taking over the forest. That’s why I won’t deny even if people call me a Demon Lord.
   
「Very well, everyone here shall be the witness. If you can beat Clayman here and now, we’ll approve your becoming a Demon Lord.」
 
Guy announces to me.
If I can defeat Clayman, we can settle everything nicely.
   
That’s just what I want.
 
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Clayman quickly regains his composure and begins to laugh.

「Gogogo, my goodness. I plotted all this so I won’t get my hands dirty, yet things got even more complicated than I expected. How unwise I was.」
   
Clayman says so while laughing.
 
Is he accepting the reality?
   
Clayman he laughs at me coldly.
   
Then——
 
「It’s time for you to shine, Milim.」
 
He says so calmly.
 
The atmosphere immediately becomes much, much more tense; even the Demon Lords become nervous along with it.
Although some of them retain their same, casual expression and posture.
   
My eyes also fall on Milim.

He has kept shown his hand——Milim is under his control. It seems that this has made Clayman quite confident.
   
Up to this point, Clayman would exploit her without hesitation.
   
Milim is indeed being manipulated…...

「You are truly amazing at running your mouth. With all these said, how could you still rely on other people in the end? Now you dare to involve Milim. I’ll beat some sense into you then.」
 
I attempt to provoke Clayman with these words, but……. Clayman is no fool, not foolish enough to fall for it anyway.

「How boring. It goes without saying that I will fight as well. Guy, do you have an objection?」
   
「Not at all, Clayman. If Milim is willingly helping you, then I won’t interfere.」

This is no good.

Clayman alone is fine, but Milim is very strong.
   
Guy agrees without thinking, it would seem that I have to confront Milim.

If my opponent is Milim, I won’t be able to beat her with my current power level.

Besides I want to find a way to save her.
   
No, I must save her!

Right now, Milim, who seems to be frozen, seems to be holding her fist tight, looking no difference from a doll and raises her hands to do a victory pose…..
 
——No, that was just an instant, maybe I’ve been mistaken.

Seriously, what a poor thing.
   
I’m gonna save you soon, Milim.

I swear to myself in heart.

「Right then. I was planning to save Milim anyway, I’ll break your brainwashing technique if it takes everything I have.」
 
「Surely you jest! And you will die trying.」

「You are the one who’s going to die, Clayman. If it were against you alone, my subordinates will suffice. It would be bullying for me to fight you myself.」
 
Clayman’s expression seems frozen by my words.
 
He’s probably mad as he begins to dissipate black Youki.
   
As expected from a Demon Lord. There is plenty of pressure in the air.

But, it feels pretty average.
   
If that’s the case, Clayman will probably show some openings because of his anger and anxiety.
   
Shion is going to fight in my place, she’s good at exploiting those traits.
 
I signal with my eyes towards Shion and she takes action immediately. In a blink of an eye she closes in on her opponent and strikes towards Clayman.

She infuses her Youki into her fists and launches thirty something punches.
   
Then she turns back, looking delighted, and asks me: 「Is this okay?」

……

Oi, shouldn’t you ask that before beating other people?

And I only glanced at you once.
   
——Did you get it? Clayman has been provoked by my words, now take your chance!——

I sent out such signal to her, but I didn’t tell her to beat the enemy to a pulp in an instant.
   
Then what’s the point of me exposing enemies’ openings……?
   
*Sigh*, but what can you do when the man is already beaten.

Clayman was launched flying due to the impact of the hits and fell in front of me. That is the middle ground of the empty round space.
   
「B-bastard, you bastard————!」

Clayman begins to shout out loud as he gets up from the ground. He is surprisingly durable.
 
The thick black Youki that wrapped around him suddenly thickens and heals all of his wounds instantly.
   
That’s much stronger regenerative ability compared to Orc Lord. But he is a Demon Lord, so abilities such as this should be normal.
 
Clayman seems to be targeting Shion as enemy.
Alright, things are going according to plan.

「As you wish, I’ll kill you all.」
   
By Clayman’s order, the fox that ran to his feet begins to grow bigger.
   
《Warning. This is deduced to be the Nine-Head Beast Myuran mentioned.》
Oh yeah, with that reminder, I do recall her mentioning this to me.
   
This fox indeed is no pet, but a powerful servant of his.
 
And another one of them emerges from the shadow of Clayman’s black cape.
   
It would seem both of these are his servants.
   
Back on our side, Shion is also preparing for battle.
Ranga also begins to enlarge and prepares, falling into a battle stance.
   
Eh? Milim is also joining, we seem to be losing in terms of numbers…...
 
No no no, it’s no time to panic yet.
 
Right now Beretta could——Ah!

We have all stepped into the circle that used to be the round table. This is a battle stage: once you’ve stepped in, a barrier near the edge will completely cut you off from the outside. The space within also begins to expand, and the chairs outside of the circle now seem very far away.

In order to prevent the interference of other Demon Lords, a strong bound of barrier also seems to have been set up.
   
Never mind, I was expecting this when I cleaned up the space for a stage.

My helper Beretta has yet to enter.
   
Oh no, I’ve been tricked——As soon as the thought flashes, Clayman shouts loud.

「Milim, kill that guy!」

He roars.
Milim begins to move.

She begins to throw her iron fists at me.

The power of which are lethal.

However, my perception has been increased a million times by 「Thought Acceleration」. With it I still have a chance to dodge.
 
Yes, I have a chance, nothing more than that.
   
The burning hard block scratches my face cheek.
   
The speed is incredibly fast.

Even with  「Wisdom King Raphael」 fully in use, I still can’t  dodge them perfectly.

If I attempt to counter, I will show openings and suffer a fatal blow. If that’s the case, I can only try my best at keeping her occupied while trying to help her escape her brainwashed state.

On the other hand, I’m using 「Magic Perception」 to show the situation around before me.
   
Multitasking Rimuru is terrifying.
 
Now it’s no time for joke.

Shion is still fighting against Clayman.

However, she’s also fighting the black cape servant. It’s hard to maintain an advantage while fighting two alone.

Ranga is batlling the Nine-Head Beast.

And I thought we had the upper hand, yet I see the Youko’s three tails suddenly turn into two Majins.

Now it suddenly changed into a three on one. It’s disadvantageous to Ranga.
 
And lastly there’s me, who needs to deal with Milim.
 
I’ve run out of options here.
 
I could only pray that I will survive long enough that my 「Analysis」 on Milim can be completed.
 
I’m relying on them about what is coming after that!

With such feeling, our fight breaks out with us being in disadvantage.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Beretta takes action immediately.

He ardently begged  Ramiris to join the battle.

Ramiris didn’t refuse and ran to bother Guy.
   
「Eh, Guy! I’m on Rimuru’s side and want to let my Beretta join the fight!」
 
Ramiris begins to demand Guy not knowing her place, but Guy’s response is very cold.

「No.」
   
He is not buying it at all.
 
「Why?」
「Huh? This is a battle between Demon Lords. How could you let a mere servant join the fight. Besides, isn’t it a fight between that slime and Clayman? Why is that  any of your business?」

「Don’t be so mean! Milim has also joined the battle.」
 
「Yeah, but that is fine.」

「What is that supposed to mean? Why won’t you allow me then?」

Annoying as hell——Guy thinks to himself.
 
Ramiris was a always an annoying fairy, and once she decides to be noisy she just won’t stop.

To this day Ramiris has never brought servants to the meeting. That’s why Guy thought there must be some hidden motives why Ramiris has brought servants this time.
   
MIlim also seems to be planning something, it will only makes things more chaotic if Ramiris decides to join the battle. In order to prevent this from happening, Guy has intentionally separated the battle zone.
「Aren’t you annoying, Milim is probably planning something on her own.」
「You say it as if I’ve not come up with any genius plan!」
   
「Is it not that the case? Moreover——」
   
As he says so, Guy looks towards one of Ramiris’ servants, Beretta.

「——Who’s your servant loyal to? The other one’s protecting you with all her heart, but this one really isn’t. He’s loyal to you on the surface, but is he completely loyal to you? Are you really fine with dealing with this type of unknown retainer?」
Guy can tell.
Beretta is loyal to someone else besides Ramiris.
 
Ramiris is an important friend of Guy’s. That’s why he can’t tolerate that her servant isn’t completely loyal to his master.
 
「You are indeed right, I am comparing my master to someone else.」
   
Beretta is not troubled hearing Guy’s words.
   
His summoner is Rimuru.

And his creator is Rimuru.

Yet he also has another master, which is Ramiris.

This Demon Lord is very optimistic, reckless everywhere she goes, curious like an infant and extremely timid. Beretta has grown a liking towards her and her personality.

That’s why he doesn’t feel worn out by his job of being toyed around by her all day.
 
Rimuru wants him to protect Ramiris. He is also glad that he himself is able to serve Ramiris. So he doesn’t feel conflicted.
   
But there is one point.
 
Beretta still wishes to repay Rimuru’s kindness.

It is Rimuru who introduced him to Ramiris.
 
He was once of the Demon race. Rimuru was able to give him a new life and new duty——He wants to repay such kindness.
   
Apart from that——
   
「Similar to my wish, Ramiris-sama also wants to save that Lord——」

Beretta asserts without restraint towards Guy.
 
「Oh? You are not afraid of me and dare to talk straight to me. Interesting. Ramiris, is this guy speaking the truth?」
   
Guy asks, but he realises it’s unnecessary as soon as he sees her expression.

「Hmm! Of course it’s true! That’s why Beretta, go in my place and save Rimuru!」
   
「Ehh——So this guy will carry out your wish. You’ve recruited quite the servant, Ramiris. 」

「No, I didn’t recruit him, I am his companion. Beretta, Treyni and Rimuru, too! And many, many, many more!」

Ramiris says so with a joyful smile.

「Never mind, I’ll allow this.」
   
Guy doesn’t know what Ramiris is trying to get out of this, but as long as she’s happy it’s fine. He does not object.
   
He puts forward his hand looking impatiently and opens a hole in the barrier.

「——Many thanks, Primordial Red (Rouge).」

「Hmm. Spare me the title. I’ll allow you to call me Guy. But from now on, you can only recognize Ramiris as your master, do you understand?」
 
Allowing him to call his name——To Guy, this means he has recognized Beretta’s strength.
 
And right now, Guy wants Beretta to choose a master. If he doesn’t, Guy plans to end him right there.

But Beretta agrees without hesitation.
 
「Then, Guy. I shall pledge my loyalty towards Ramiris. For that reason, please allow me help Rimuru-sama out this once.」
   
Guy is a bit surprised.
   
To the Demon race, their master must be strong enough. Yet Beretta doesn’t seem to be interested in strength.
What an odd ideal. In other words, he is an outcast.
   
「Is that all?」
   
「Yes. Rimuru-sama has servants stronger than me to serve him.」
   
So that’s the case, Guy thinks.
   
But he also begins to doubt. Beretta has openly admitted that someone is stronger than him.
   
「Besides, I really enjoy research. Everyday spent with Ramiris-sama researching is like a dream——Oh, apologies. Rimuru-sama also wishes for me to serve Ramiris-sama. There is no need for you to worry.」

Hearing Beretta, Guy suddenly recalls a certain Demon.
 
To pursue things that one desires and those only, that is the alternative definition for outcasts.

From his type alone, it won’t be anything strange to have given birth to a Demon with the personality similar to Beretta——But everyone knows that particular Demon do not create vessels often.

No, very few people know about him.
「I have a question. Which branch (faction) are you from——?」

Beretta turns his face up behind his mask, and a smile becomes visible.
   
「——I am just a humble nobody, a Greater Demon. But, Demons from the same branch as mine are very rare.」
 
Rare system——Then it can be confirmed.
   
Now Beretta’s hair color has faded to silver, but its original color was probably…..

「I see. That’s why you are not afraid of me. Your kind of Demon always do what your heart desires and put your personal feelings first. Does that mean you admit someone is stronger than you?」
   
Guy glances towards the battling Shion and Ranga and turns back to look at Beretta.

Shion and Ranga are indeed strong. But, Beretta is definitely not weaker.
   
「I feel much honor receiving your praise, but my abilities are nothing to be mentioned. With that Lord serving Rimuru-sama, I won’t have another chance to show my skills.」

「Hmm, I see. I understand how you feel. Go on.」
 
The hole on the barrier is large enough for one person to pass.

「Then excuse me for my leaving.」
   
Beretta bows elegantly before proceeding without hesitation.

Guy smiles as he sees him off.

He has sensed what’s weird.

He knows the one Beretta is talking about.
   
——Is that so? You are on the move too, Primordial Black (Noir)!

His old friend that parted way with him eons ago.

This newcomer has even recruited character like that. This slime battling Milim has suddenly become very intriguing.

The outcast serves the outcast.
   
His name seems to be Rimuru. I’ll remember it.
 
With such thoughts, Guy observes the fight with delight. The result of which seems very obvious to him.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

This is bad.

If you ask me which part of this is bad, it would be Milim.

Combating her is really strenuous, to the point that I’ve even had to let go of my anger towards Clayman.
She hasn’t applied any combat style that Phobia hasn’t seen yet (referring to vol 3 event), so she probably hasn’t gone all out yet…… But she is so overpowered to the point of unreasonable. I’ve already been giving all I have.

「Wisdom King Raphael」 was able to display its power.

To be honest, I would be dead long ago if not because of the skill.
 
That’s about how I feel as I was busy fighting Milim.

At the same time, my subordinates are also fighting hard.

I originally thought that our number is down in this fight, however…...
   
Ranga has summoned two commander level vessels of Tempest Star Wolf, changing the three on one to three against three.
It would seem that he could only summon three simultaneously. One of which has been summoned by Gobta so now he can’t call for more reinforcements.

But that should be sufficient.
 
Nine-Head Beast has incredibly high amount of magicule storage, but it seems to be lacking in combat experience.

Ranga still have the upper hand when fighting it.
   
With that being said, the two Mamonos summoned by Nine-Head Beast are surprisingly difficult to deal with.
 
They are White Ape and Moon Rabbit36 according to results of my 「Analysis」

The two are capable of conducting collaborated counter-attack with plenty high intelligence. It’s very challenging to deal with. The Moon Rabbit is able to manipulate gravity to pressure the battle zone while the White Ape is flying all over the place while hitting down hard. The Nine-Head Beast on the other hand is responsible for delivering the fatal blow to enemies.

This combat strategy is almost invincible.
   
But Ranga has seen through their tactic and disrupted the cooperative approach employed by the enemies.
 
He could have used a more powerful attack to achieve victory, but he’s afraid to affect Shion in that way.
 
He is with the upper hand indeed, but he is able to deliver the final blow.

As for Shion——
   
She is holding up with brute force.

The black-cape is a delicate magic doll.

And honestly, it looks stronger than Clayman.

「Hehehehahahaha, how do you like my finest work Piorra? Isn’t it dazzling?」
   
Clayman is extremely confident, but not without his reason.

The doll is undoubtedly powerful.
   
However, if you ask me whether it looks dazzling (pretty) or not, the answer it’s no.

Because it is equipped with weapons all over its body.
   
Every item is a special grade weapon as well as its armor. Yet with too many of them stuck onto it, there isn’t any sense of aesthetic at all.
Fire, lightning, ice, heavy weight, resonance, as well as other attacks seem to be constantly poured out by it without an end.
 
But Shion doesn’t seem to mind these attacks.

Any enemy she encounters would have to deal with the troubling skill of 「Super Regeneration」. Thanks to this skill, she can restore herself instantly no matter what type of attack she encounters to resolve the crisis.

Right now, due to the combined attack by Clayman and Piorra, she is unable to launch any attack. However, Shion’s rage meter is also building up.

It would be horrifying if all of her rage explodes.
   
As I thought so, someone entered to assist Shion.

「Kept you waiting huh. Rimuru-sama, allow me to assist you all.」

Oh oh, it’s Beretta!
   
I don’t know how he got in, but Beretta was successful in entering this separated battle zone.
 
「I’ve been expecting you, Beretta!」

「Yes sir!」

「How dare you interrupt our business…… I’m the one who’s gonna use these fools for blood sacrifice!」
 
Shion is just being afraid of losing, they are just words.

「Be my guest. Beat the carp out of them!」
「「「Yes sir——!」」」

Just like that, the situation is proceeding as original plan.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟ 

Our victory is imminent.

Although there was some unexpected interludes, but as how things have developed so far, we will definitely be the winner.

If any problem…….
 
It’s that Milim has yet to show any her true color so far.
   
As soon as we rescue Milim, we would secure the win.
   
Now I have no more worries and can focus myself entirely on Milim.

The noises of my surrounding gradually disappear.
   
My concentration is clear with Milim fixed in my eyes.

The trajectory of her fists seems clearer now.
 
I continue to concentrate my mind.

All of the cells in my body are running at maximum proficiency to do the calculation.
 
It would all be a waste if I lose.
I must find a way to remove the curse spell Clayman used to manipulate Milim.
 
Come on, Raphael-san. Run 「Analysis」 at its full power!

You guys would probably say it’s hypocritical that I just mocked other people for relying on others while I myself is relying on 「Wisdom King Raphael」. You must have been mistaken, Raphael-san is my power after all.
   
I am super reassured!

That’s why, I’m relying on you.

《Answer. 「Analysis」 result is……. No data.》

Huh? What now?

Ehhhh, what does that suppose to mean?
 
Does it mean that it didn’t see through Clayman’s curse?
   
《No curse spell was discovered. This——》
 
Oi oi oi, that’s no casual matter that you can just get away with me calling you useless!

And I thought I was unable to analyze because of my lack of focus, but then with all I have put into work now, I still can’t break through it. Not only that, it didn’t find any curse spell.
 
Raphael-san, you are surprisingly useless in this type of situation.

This is bad, if this continues I’ll suffer a horrible death.
   
My chances of victory against Milim in a toe-to-toe fight is truly low.
 
If that’s the case then I don’t have any other option. I have to keep Milim trapped with me before Shion and the rest beat Clayman.
 
I’ve made up my mind to continue my confrontation with Milim.
 
By the way, my own ability has also improved greatly. Even though she has been manipulated and is not fighting with her true abilities, I still can put up a fight with her.

If it’s me in the past, I would have been beaten to the ground in less than a minute.

Yet I’ve been able to hold up the battle with all I have for dozen of minutes.
   
Would it be possible for me to beat her out of her brainwash?
That thought cross my mind, but beating Milim is really against my personal principle.

《Proposal. Suggest to activate 「Gluttonous King Beezlmuth」 and attack by absorbing magicule.》

Oh? Oh oh? I totally forgot that I can do that!

No time to lose then, let’s try it out.
   
I’ll be the one to take damage from a frontal impact, so I need to use dissolving techniques in my offense. I’ll use my force from the side to change trajectory of Milim’s fists and kicks.
Then I’ll used the interval for 「Gluttonous King Beezlmuth」 to absorb magicule. This seems to be very effective as Milim draws distance from me with annoyance.

The damage caused was minimum, but it would suffice.
 
Since Milim’s attacks are all protected by her Dragon Aura, that’s why the more I engage and absorb her dragon aura, the more stamina I can drain from Milim as it goes.

Let’s hope Shion would defeat Clayman soon.
   
But it’s another issue whether I could win or not with this continues to repeat.
 


If I truly wishes to win I won’t be able to reserve any of my power. But I may still lose even to this extent. And even if I win, I’d be exposed of my powers in front of the other Demon Lords.
   
By that time, in terms of the overall situation, I would be the loser.
   
Right considering my status, I can only continue on causing damage and wait for the cursed bond of Milim is removed.
 
I hope Shion would finish Clayman sonner.

There is no way of knowing how much longer the attacks and defense on both side would last.
   
Or rather, I’ve been in defense all these times.
 
I would be taken out if I has a miss. Under such serious circumstance, I was able to continuously dodge most of Milim’s attacks.
   
Milim’s fist slashes over my right cheek with a low growl.
 
My mind is not concentrated enough and dodging has become impossible.

If she hits me head on, my body would shatter.

I possess regenerative skill 「Infinite Regeneration」 that surpasses 「Super Regeneration」, but using it too much would drain my magicule. I would still be able to revive after being shattering by her. But with repetition of this process, I’ll be the first one to exhaust my stamina.

I must concentrate, and concentrate more.
   
I predict Milim’s movement.

The shape of her right fist suddenly changes.
   
It is a skill called 「Dragon Tooth」 that has been disguised as her fist.
She threw it over my cheek just like before but unleashes her claw to slash my neck.

It is worthy of the name Dragon Tooth, my head would definitely be severed from my body. That’s why you can’t dodge this attack, but instead stop it from the side.
Milim releases her Dragon Tooth while I move my left hand towards the outside to take the hit. I feel the burning sensation on my left hand. The intense energy exploded and my left hand which took on the attack has been gravely injured.
   
That’s what happens when I try to stop her attack alone.
   
Only a madman would try to launch offense against her directly.
 
The so called power of an overlord is the ability to suppress opponents with just some power applied and form an instant kill skill. That is exactly what I’ve been experiencing.

However, if I don’t sacrifice my left hand, I would have suffered a fatal blow afterward. That’s why it’s fine as it is. But Milim’s reckless behaviour is beginning to make me complain.
   
Perhaps my complaint has been answered as a heavenly opportunity appears.
 
At that moment, Milim loses balance and throws out her iron fist with her left hand that has been at rest.
 
Good chance!

《Warning. It could be a trap——》

By the time I made a sound of realization 「AHH!」 in my heart, it’s all too late.
 
The calm analysis from 「Wisdom King Raphael」 has been thrown behind my head as my attack has already been launched.
 
I was planning to grab onto her left hand and throw her out. Since Milim has lost balance, I thought I could pull a over-shoulder throw on her.
 
But, if that was a trap set by Milim…….
 
Milim’s left hand suddenly paused as a smirk emerges on her face.

That’s the expression when you succeed in pulling a trick.

OHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOO————!

Right now I am in a state of turning in Milim’s view with both of my hands reaching out, trying to grab Milim’s left hand.

I can watch my own actions through third-person view by 「Magic Perception」, what a posture full of openings.

I’m done. GAME OVER.

As Milim swings out her iron fist and is about to score a direct hit on my head——before she could hit, someone barged in between me and Milim.

DONG!
   
I hear a sound of low blow.

「Awoo! How can you suddenly hit people? Isn’t that over the line?」
 
A brown-skin blond man appears.
He kinda looks like me…….. Eh, isn’t this Veldora?
   
Veldora is squatting down with his hands wrapped around his head.
 
It looks pretty painful. But he seems to only been slightly injured by the direct hit of Milim’s iron fist, there isn’t much to be worried.

「Eh, Veldora, why are you here?」
 
I took the chance and reposition myself and ask Velodra while being on guard against Milim.
 
「Wooo, that was super embarrassing.」
   
「That doesn’t matter, did something happen to the town?」
 
「Not really. It’s because that Diablo guy has returned so the defense network has become stronger.」

What the hell? Did you say that Diablo have come back?
   
There is no way the plan to take over Falmas Kingdom is concluded that quickly…...
Never mind, right now the focus is on Veldora.
   
「Why did you come here for? You can screw off if you just came here to watch a show. Go back at this instant!」
   
「Rimuru, now you are just being mean…….. Don’t worry, I was going to do some real business!」
Veldora hands out something seemingly with a sound effect of「Chang——!」. It’s the manga I prepared for him beforehand.
 
Veldora is holding the last volume.
 
「What is this for?」

I didn’t understand. As a result Veldora becomes indignated and begins to complain to me.
   
「Don’t you play dumb now! The content doesn’t match up with the cover! Are you trying to troll me by tantalizing me at such crucial (plot) point?」

Ah, AH——! I recall.
I was trying to prank him alright.

If he acts nice then I’ll give him the sequel. That’s the prank with manga I wanted to try lecture him with.
   
And I accidentally left the entire manga series to him.

So did Veldora come all the way here to get the sequel…….

All the way to this separated battlefield.

With the addition of my ultimate skill 「Storm King Veldora」, I would be able to summon him from 「Infinity Prison」...... But even without my call, Veldora came regardless.
 
This is another lesson for me today, but right now it matter not whether I’ve learnt anything from it or not.
 
The town is guarded by Diablo now, since Veldora has come, I’ll just use him to my advantage.
   
「Alight, before I give you the sequel, there is a request I want to make from you.」
   
「Hmm? What is that?」
   
「You go ahead and have some fun with Milim over there. But, you must refrain from hurting her.」
   
「MIlim? Oh, that’s my brother’s only daughter. It’s my first time meeting her. I see she’s still a child. Fine, I’ll handle it!」
 
Veldora agrees with alacrity.
   
Does he want to read the sequel? Or does he have interest in Milim? Either is fine.

“My brother’s only daughter”——That line is somewhat discerning, but I’ll include it in the meeting after this.
   
Milim’s eyes are carefully navigating our side, she also seems interested in Veldora.
   
Her eyes are glowing, so it should be fine now if I walk away.
Milim vs Veldora, I wonder who is stronger. That’s indeed intriguing, but at least Veldora is stronger than me, so he must be able to buy some time.

I can’t waste a good opportunity like this.

Now that I am free, I’ve got to hurry and finish Clayman to end this fight once and for all.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Now then——How did the situation develop when I was focused on dealing with Milim?
 
I have very little worry for Veldora and Milim, and turned my eyes to Ranga.
Since he seems to have encountered the most challenge.
   
「Ranga, are you alright?」

「Oh oh, Rimuru-sama. I am fine, just a bit troubled.」
 
So there is indeed a situation.
   
I was wondering why he seems to be restrained during his fight, it would seem that he has difficulty in using his skills.
 
「What’s the problem——?」
 
I was about to ask Ranga when I discover the reason.
 
——Help. Help me. Help me please!
   
It’s the weeping sounds of children. They are transmitted in forms of「Thought」 from the Nine-Head Beast.
 
White Ape and Moon Rabbit were only trying to protect their scared master.
 
I see, I will rescue you now.
   
「Ranga, you focus on distracting the White Ape and the Moon Rabbit. Don’t let them interfere with me.」
 
「Understood.」
   
Ranga then focuses on pinning down the White Ape while the other two Tempest Wolves distract the Moon Rabbit.
 
I instead move towards the Nine-Head Beast who’s been demonstrating menace to me.
   
I approach the poor cub that’s been controlled by Clayman.
   
《Report. 「Analysis」 result shows……..manipulation cursed spell. Remove spell? YES/NO》
 
This time the curse spell is detected with ease and is successfully removed.
   
It would be great if this was the same with the analysis on Milim.
   
It doesn’t matter. As soon as I release the cursed bond, Nine-Head beast falls asleep out of exhaustion after a joyful howl.
 
It’s quite adorable with how much it resembles a smol animal..
   
It has three tails with blonde hair, the rest of its body resembles a cute little fox.

Ranga on the side seems to spark a sense of competition upon seeing the scene. I mean, you also have cool and cute characters of your own.
 
「Protect this child.」
   
「Understood, master.」
 
I pat Ranga and hand over the little fox to him.
Now that settles with Ranga’s opponent.

I then turn to Beretta.
   
He has already finished his battle.
   
Beretta seems delighted as he lies out all the special-grade weapons and armors in a line to polish them.
   
「Oi oi oi! What are you doing?」
   
「Ahh, Rimuru-sams is here. It’s a shame that you didn’t see me in action, but I’ve prepared all these trophies for you.」

Beretta bows to me with respect while saying so.

The trophies you mean…….

The so called finest work of Clayman, Piorra has been dismembered to the extent of miserable to look at. There also seem to be equipments that are gifts for Ramiris.
   
I have always guessed that Beretta is strong, but I didn’t expect him to beat that arsenal looking Majin without a scratch…...
   
And more importantly——

「Oi, Beretta. This may sound pretty harsh, but you seem to have only picked up bad habits from Ramiris!」

「——Woo!」

Beretta looks at me in shock, probably. His face is masked but I could tell from his aura.
I have to give a advice here. Or else Beretta will forever got tainted by Ramiris’ horrible habits.
「It may just be me thinking too much, but how do you plan to deal with all these trophies?」

「A-about that…… I want to offer them to Rimuru-sama…… I was wondering if by offering these things, you can then provide residence for me and Ramiris-sama.」

Hmm? Providing residence…..?

Ramiris has indeed mentioned about wanting to move to our town, why is Beretta supporting her?
 
「Why are you supporting the idea?」

「——It’s because…….」
 
The content of Beretta’s explanation is dumbfounding.
Just now he wanted to help us and was forced to pledge his loyalty to one master only by Guy.
Beretta mentioned then that he would be serving Ramiris full-heartedly after assisting me this time. But, Beretta was still once a cunning Demon, so he has already come up with a backup plan.
   
If Ramiris move to our town, he could then move along as well. If that’s the case, he could then help us indirectly through Ramiris.
   
These words are almost sophistry yet he says it sounding very justified. His proud and smug look while saying so really resembles the style of a Demon.

「You…...Never mind, you truly are more and more like Ramiris!」
 
「That doesn’t sound like a compliment, but I am still honored.」

That’s not compliment at all!

Seriously, it’s only been a while since we last met yet he’s become so much more cheeky now.
 
But, that’s quite the interesting growth style.
 
「Anyway, I’ll discuss about this later. It won’t be that easy to prepare a residence alone, I’ll have to consider it more.」
 
「Yes sir, I understand.」

And Beretta accepted my proposition happily, so that concludes it for now.
   
I’ll consider Beretta’s proposition later. I turn around to look at the last person, Shion.

Right there, the result is about to be revealed.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Clayman is breathing heavily as he stares at Shion hatefully.
 
It would seem he has learnt how strong Shion is.

It would be an understatement to say Clayman seems to have been been getting draws from fighting Shion. That’s because Shion has the incredible trump card of 「Super Regeneration」.
   
Their powers are on par yet Shion has the upper hand in terms of endurance.

The exchanges between the two seem to be equally matched, but Clayman already seemed tired as I was battling Milim.

Shion would probably win even without my help.
 
Right now Clayman must be anxious seeing Shion has the advantage.
 
「Is that all you got? Aren’t you too weak to call yourself a Demon Lord?」
 
Shion sure is ruthless.
 
She’s totalling despising Clayman.
   
「B-bastard, unforgivable! Go, Dancing Mannequin!」
 
As he finishes, Clayman releases five mannequins. They immediately turn into Majins and throw themselves towards Shion.

Every one of them is a Greater Majin.
   
Clayman has infused the souls of Majins he has collected with the mannequins in preparation of their immediate manipulation. They are his hidden combat forces.
 
It’s no time for him to reserve his forces, so he pulls out all his aces in a go.
   
These forces are more than enough to defeat normal Majin.
   
However——
Shion pulls out her beloved odachi and slashes the five Majins in one hit.
「How boring. You’ve really got nothing interesting.」

She says so towards Clayman looking chilled as ever.

She sustained the battle without a scratch.
 
Shion actually has more style of a Demon Lord.
 
On the contrary, Clayman begins to shiver and shouts with the expression of having been greatly shamed:

「Q-quit joking around, you bastard! It’s too early for you to get cocky! My Dancing Mannequins will restore themselves soon and attack you. Now we are doing things seriously!」
 
He is not being sour about losing, but there is really that kind of effect in play.

Shion waits for it without a care, yet the Mannequins have no sign of getting up.
There is of course a reason for it.
「H-how can this…… Why aren’t they revived?」

Clayman mumbles to himself with anxiety in his eyes.
 
His proud combat force has not gotten back to their feet, causing him to be confused.

Since that’s the case, I shall explain things for him.
   
「Uhh——how troublesome, but I’ll tell you. Shion’s odachi can consume souls. Did you forget to apply defensive spells for the physical and spiritual resistance of your mannequins? If you are that crude in craftsmanship, of course they would get trashed in one slash.」

There’s no point in hiding at this point.
 
I was planning to eat Clayman anyway, so I’ll tell what he wants to know.
   
「T-this knife possesses spiritual attack!」
 
「That’s nothing rare, even the humans are using them.」
   
「I-impossible! That’s a rare power even among special-grade equipments!」
   
「Yeah——right. They are knives made by my people anyway.」

I’ve improved Shion’s odachi greatly on basis of Hinata’s sword. Now it can attack spiritual body.
   
It isn’t really consuming souls, but the knife is able to cause damage to spiritual life form.
 
Depending on the power applied in her attack, those without resistive power would instantly die, nor does it have the limitation of seven hits. That’s why there is no way to confirm whether the enemies are killed or not, but it won’t be much of an issue considering Shion doesn’t know how to hold back.

Besides, it is a combined heavy attack causing both physical and spiritual damages, so you won’t even need seven hits to ensure the kill.
 
「Oh, is that so? Then it would be “Hercules’ Edge · Ex” 37!」

You didn’t know…...
Didn’t I clarified when briefing with you? Never mind.
   
Shion really is too lazy to memorize such difficult mechanisms, so it was the right call to have improved its function.
   
「Go, gogogo, is that so? You are using the power of that knife to fight me. Then I should claim that annoying knife as well into my collection! Consume it, Superb Demon Lord Domination!」
 
Clayman seems to have misunderstood something.

Creepy beams of black light begin to shoot out of Clayman’s hands and they wrap around Shion’s body from bottom to top.
   
Shion is doing nothing in response.
 
Ehh, you could have dodged that and then finish him off……. Fine then, it doesn’t seem necessary.
 
Clayman might have thought that Shion was too slow to react. He looks rather pleased at this sight.
 
「Gogogogogo. You should be happy, this is the ultimate curse spell that can even control Demon Lords! It is quite the waste to use it against Majin like you, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll have to reorganize the Five Fingers anyway. Come be my subordinate and be of use to me.」
 
He is completely mistaken judging by his words.

How pathetic, Clayman.
Shion is not rendered unable to move, it’s simply that she doesn’t want to move.
 
Clayman has boasted this skill to the roof yet it has had no effect. But perhaps you guys (readers) don’t know why that’s the case either.

Shion has obtained the skill 「Perfect Memory」 that can store her memory in her astral body——In simpler terms, it is a special skill that can save memory even when the brain is damaged.
As long as one retains his conscious soul and memory, he can be revived even when his body is completely damaged. She has become a special species. It won’t be too much to call her a semi-spiritual life form.

In other words, she can think with her soul.
 
That means she has complete immunity against all mind control effects.
   
Opponents against Shion have can’t do anything with domination spells.
「Oi, what are you trying to do with this? I don’t even feel a thing, do I have to wait a little longer?」
 
Shion asks impatiently as she has been wrapped around like a cacoon by the black silk.

I’ve had this thought long ago……. You should really change your pro-wrestler mindset.
   
Why would you intentionally fall into enemies’ trap in real battles…….
 
Whether it is Shion, or Sophia or even Milim, I can’t understand this mindset of a battle frenzy. Stop it, get some help.
 
「Wisdom King Raphael」 explains that Shion is not affected by the skill, so it is unnecessary to be cautious against Clayman’s secret technique.

「H-how could this be…….. Why is my Superb Demon Lord Denomination not working? Impossible, there is no such thing! That is the ultimate curse spell that can control even Demon lords!」
It is the spell that controlled the Nine-Head Beast. Indeed, it seems to be able to easily dominate Calamity-level beings, but shouldn’t it be useless against Disaster-level Demon Lords?
This Clayman is too overconfident with his power.
Shion then, probably bored of waiting, blows away the black cocoon in an instant with her Youki.
   
「How very boring. You don’t deserve to be a Demon Lord when relying on such petit trickery.」

Shion says so with much disdain in her tone.

Seeing this, Clayman falls into panic. He freezes on the spot.
 
——No, that’s not true.

Shion’s words seem to have touch Clayman’s nerve.

「Gogogo, Gohahahaha——! How dare you say I don’t deserve to be Demon Lord? Unforgivable, trash! I’ll make you regret this, regret having forced me to use my real power.」
 
He begins to shake his shoulder and laughs out without any care. His laughter sounds desolate.
He then begins to take off all his classy clothes, exposing his upper body. Clayman has secretly carried many gadgets and items, but he doesn’t seem interested in using them and scattered them all over the place.
   
Just as I thought that things are about to end, it turns out Clayman has kept a hand (four actually) up his sleeve.
 
After exposing his upper body, two pairs of hands grow out of his back. Those hands look slim and long and are wrapped in black exoskeletons.

That’s who he truly is——It is a completely different figure from his previous disguise, one that reeks an aura of insanity.
 
「Yes, of course. Yes, Demon Lord. I am Demon Lord. That’s why I care about how I fight. I send my enemies to their graves with elegance and grace. But that’s enough. Enough. This feeling, I’ve forgotten for too long……. I’ll crash you with my hands!」
   
He roars with rage and reveals his true nature.

Clayman is holding something, something precious looking.
 
It is a mask, a clown mask with the carving of a smile.
   
He puts it on without hesitation.

「Oh? Now you seem a bit more intrigued. You are beginning to impress me. I am Demon Lord Rimuru-sama’s personal secretary Shion. Allow me to be your opponent!」
   
Shion looks delighted and announces her name to Clayman.
 
Clayman also——
 
「Demon Lord——No, I am “The Laughing Clown (Crazy Pierrot)”38 Clayman. I’ll kill you, Majin Shion!」

He responds by announcing his title
 
That’s how they begin their fight at the same time.
 
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Clayman with his true self revealed is very strong.
As expected from a Demon Lord, he is approaching Shion with a strong mana.
 
His natural pair of hands are controlling those ominous black silk beams.

The upper pair of hands on his back hold an axe and a mace while the lower half holds a sword and a shield.

He is trying to give Shion a hard time with manipulation of both magical and physical attacks.
 
However, Shion is stronger.
   
She waves her odachi named 「Hercules’ Edge · Ex」 to deflect Clayman’s sword and smash through his shield.
 
Her straight swing from up to down also destroyed the defending axe and mace.
   
All of these wild strength originates from Shion’s unique skill39 「Demonification」.
   
As for her almost cheating effect of weapon destruction, it is probably due to「Decisive Result」 and 「Optimal Action」 from (her skill) 「Chef」.

In other words, Clayman is no match against Shion.

Even with his true strength, Clayman is still beaten to a pulp by Shion.

The two pairs of iron wrists crossed behind his back are defending against Shion’s fists, yet those four hands have been broken. Shion was also able to score a punch right on Clayman’s stomach.
   
「WOOOOOOOHHHHHHH…...」

Clayman seems to be in great pain as he begins to foam from his mouth.

The result is set.
 
I may sound like I’m favouring my subordinate, but Shion has become super strong. She came back from death and obtained far greater strength than before.

「GAPUUUUUUUUUU——!」

Shion gives Clayman another kick. He begins to spin on the ground with a depressed expression.

His mask is broken to reveal his bloodshot eyes.

「.......Im…..Impo…...ssible…...I-I don’t believe. I…...me…….Demon Lord Clayman is….!」
 
He finally realizes the difference in strength with his opponent and couldn’t accept such reality. Clayman seems out of his mind.

「Rimuru-sama, can I take his life?」

Shion asks me now.

About that, though I still have some questions to ask, but I’ve guessed about most of his answers. The only thing left is the identity of the man behind the scene, would he answer honestly though?
「D-damnit! Milim, what the hell is Milim doing? That type of trash, go ahead and defeat——」
 
Clayman seems to know his death is imminent and shout in panic.
 
However, the Milim in his words has been suppressed by Veldora. Suspecting at this point, Clayman looks at Veldora with eyes of witnessing unbelieving scenery…….
「W-who are you……..? W-What is this? What is with the incredible power——!!」
 
It seems that he has discovered that Veldora is no ordinary Majin.

「Although he may look human, he is actually Veldora. Didn’t I just say we are friends?」
   
Clayman is speechless.
 
He seems to be denying, but upon seeing how the opponent was able to put up a fight against Milim, he is forced to accept reality.

Veldora has been fighting Milim until now with elegant fighting styles. In between there seem to be shouts of familiar technique names. Milim seems to be reacting quite surprisingly to them.
It’s making me question——whether she is really being manipulated?

《...............》
I have some doubts regarding Milim’s reaction, but never mind, I’ll leave her alone.
Veldora seems to be having fun fighting in human form for the first time.
It is right then, Clayman gave up seeking help from Milim. In the midst of Chaos, he changes his plan to flee to the edge of the battlezone and begins to shout to the outside.
「F-Frey! Frey, what are you doing? We are on the same boat here, come and help me!」
 
Clayman begs for help with he can yet Frey’s reaction is extremely cold.

「Ara, pardon me now, Clayman. I can’t enter this “Barrier” without Guy’s permission. What a shame.」

Just like that, she gives such fake response.
   
Clayman smacks his lip unpleasantly and turns his head towards Milim again.

His eyes twitch frequently as the last bit of sanity within him ceases to exist——he has gone completely mad. It would seem Clayman has come up with some bad idea again. With a crazy smile on his face, his eyes fall on Milim once more.
 
「Goha-GOHAHAHAHA! Milim, oh Milim! Hear my command and activate “Frenzy Berserk” ! Go and kill all of these people!」
   
He spills out such frantic words.

Clayman is no longer caring about his image, he only wishes to live.
 
Oh shit, now we are done.
   
I can’t just sit around and watch anymore. I need to join the battle.
Yet it is then I heard some unbelievable words coming into my ears.
   
「Why would I do that? Rimuru and them are all my friends!」
   
I turn back in shock and see Milim smirking and chilling there.
   
「Milim! Wait, aren’t you being controlled……?」

「WHA——HAHAHA! You seem to have been fooled all this time, Rimuru! How could I be controlled by Clayman?」

N-NANI?
 
《...............》

For some reason, 「Wisdom King Raphael」 started to sound quite angry from just now.

But I’ll ignore it for now, Milim is the focus here.
   
「So, are you not controlled by Clayman?」

Eh——What in the world is going on? I unconsciously tried to double check.
   
But, Milim only gives me a proud smile.

I am not the only person who’s confused.
One of the Demon Lord also said in surprise: 「Eh? Wasn’t she just hit, why didn’t she react at all?」

The most surprised person is no more than Clayman himself.

「R-right. “That Lord” gave me the “Dominating Orb”. It should make you listen to my every order…… did you not kill Karion according to my order?」
Ah——nice one Clayman.
 
He is too shocked to the point the of not realizing what he is saying.

Now the credibility of my evidence footage has also increased.
 
Because not only did Clayman just confess to his crime accidentally, he also exposed that there is someone behind all these.

Milim responds to him with the following:

「Yeah, that’s it! I wanted to ask about it. Answer me, Clayman. Who exactly is “That Lord”?」
   
She questions sharply without a care. She also completely ignores Clayman’s question, that seems like what Milim would do.

If this is the case, it would mean that Milim was never controlled in the first place, and instead has been suspicious towards Clayman from the start.

But, why?
Before my question could have been answered, another voice arrives to interrupt.

「Oi oi oi, who did you say has died?」
On the opposite side of the isolated battlezone, a low and charming voice raises its volume.

It is from Demon Lord Frey’s servant, the man with the giant eagle wings.
 
Hold on a second, could this be…….

He really did wear such flawed disguise——!

Now wouldn’t that make me the one who didn’t realize about it…...

《...........》

Oh no.
 
「Wisdom King Raphael」 seems dumbfounded.
   
Speaking of that. Back then 「Wisdom King Raphael」 seems to want to say something……. No, I must be thinking too much. Yeah, I’m definitely thinking too much.

Let’s forget about this.
 
And I need to be more perceptive in the future.

That’s how I would do it.
 
That man——Karion slowly takes off his mask.

His incredible aura instantly leaks out in its full.
 
Karion activates his aura and restore his original appearance in an instant.
   
Lion King (Beast Master)」 Karion —— The real deal, there is no way around it.

「Glad to have you back safe and well, Karion-san.」
   
「Hey, Rimuru. I’m not exactly safe and well, but that doesn't matter. Thanks for taking care of my subordinates.」
 
「You are welcome.」
Karion expresses thanks to me and gives off a smile to Clayman.
 
Now I can confirm that Milim was never controlled.
「What, how could this…… It would mean, did you really…….? But, Frey said…… Oh, so Frey was in it too. Even you betrayed me——!」
 
Now that he has cleared up the story, Clayman stares his eyes at Frey like a madman.
   
But, Frey doesn’t seem to care one bit.



Considering the situation, rather to say she’s betrayed Clayman, it’s more like she…..

「Ara? Have you been mistaken all these time about me being your partner?」

Frey says so coldly.

Ah, indeed. Women are horrifying.
 
Yes indeed, Frey has been lying to Clayman from start to end.
 
「Q-quit…….joking around! Y-you people……. Unforgivable, I won’t let you walk free!」
 
As such, the howling of the sad clown echoes around the room——

「Shion, do it.」

「Leave it to me!」
I give the order and Shion takes action.
She has been like a starving hound under the order of 「Freeze!」. Now she has grasped her knife tight to swing it at Clayman with all her strength.

She is going to execute him with the slash of her odachi.

Clayman applies all his defense, yet all three pairs of his hands are severed. He has sustained grave injuries after being slashed open sideway.
 
Shion’s odachi can even destroy one’s spirit. That slash put Clayman down to the ground without a sound afterward.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Right, now Clayman is out of the scene.
 
Karion is still alive, so my testimonies are all set.
   
Now I won’t be treated as enemy by the Demon Lords.
Clayman is on the verge of dying.
   
He isn’t posing any threat and is impossible to come up with any plan to reverse his situation.
   
The evidences to his crime are all confirmed, now he can’t walk free with excuses.
   
BEcause he has openly confessed in front of the Demon Lords.
With the Demon Lords witnessing all these, they will judge for themselves, yet Clayman has lost all credibility. Now there won’t be any Demon Lord trying to defend him.

The 「Barrier」 separating the battlezone has been deactivated. Frey walks towards us and then turns straight towards Milim.
   
「I trusted that you won’t be manipulated, but I was still quite nervous, MIlim. But, you have followed through our “promise”, thank you.」
   
「WHAHAHA! Of course I will since we are friends. Right, Frey, have you kept good care of that thing and brought it here?」
「I did, are you referring to this? Speaking of which, you are even immune towards the dominating orb, you are truly strong….. 」
 
The two continued to exchange as Frey takes out something from her pocket to hand to Milim.
 
It’s the Dragon Knuckle I gifted her.
   
Milim seems delighted and takes the thing as she couldn’t wait to put them on.

And a smile blooms on her face.
   
Milim and Frey’s interactions have all been observed by the Demon Lords. After seeing all these, they’ve finally been brought updated to the situation.

「So that was all an act.」
   
「I-I saw through it from the start!」
 
「That’s how I guessed things should be.」
   
「So that’s how it was…..」

As such, I overheard many conversations.

I shouldn’t be the only one who was fooled by Milim, yet in the end everyone acts as if they’ve known long ago.
Just then, I heard a moan in pain near my foot.

「——F-from when? How long have you deceived me……?」

It’s Clayman.

It would seem he’s still struggling to grasp his last breath. He couldn’t believe this. It was unacceptable to him.

Milim reveals the cruel truth to Clayman on the ground.
「Hmm, I worked really hard! I made a “promise” with Frey to pretend being tricked. And I put on the wristband to mislead you into thinking you’ve controlled me.」

「.....Q-quit joking around….. That was the Dominating Orb infused with all of my mana…..highest level…...most powerful domination curse spell…..! And how could you——」

「Hmm! I could resist most of those magics. I deactivated most of my barriers and force myself with my own will to give up resisting….. I know you are cautious enough to not believe the curse spell has worked until you see it with you eyes. I was able to make it through in that way!」
   
「W-What did you….say? You….you let others intentionally cast a curse on you. And even with my highest level magic item…… my ultimate technique that can even dominate Demon Lords…...」
 
「Is that so? But, it would be impossible to dominate me!」
   
MIlim raises her chest and brags looking all proud.
   
「Seriously, you made me really worried. By the way, your acting was so poor with how you held your fist in the victory pose with smile on your face.」
   
「You can’t blame me for that. I was really happy seeing Rimuru being angry for me.」
Frey shrugs seeing Milim like this. Then she recalls something and says:
 
「Yeah, I was so nervous when Clayman beat Milim initially. If Milim had not endured, my home would definitely be destroyed. Your forbearance skill is top notch. That is commendable.」

She exposes this regarding the whole incident.

So Clayman has beaten Milim more than once. He has hit her more before.

I can’t believe such person even exist, is he trying to commit suicide?

「Hmm! Because I am already an adult. An adult who knows how to tolerate!」

She emphasizes on the word adult, but she’s still just a kid.

「No way. Never mind, I won’t go after you for it. Besides, did you really endure it just for our agreement? What was your real intention?」
 
「Hmm? Nothing really. I just recalled the weird things Clayman said before. He wanted to make Rimuru into an enemy of the humans and plan a war between human and Mamono. It won’t be fun to let him succeed, that’s why I had to interfere!」
 
「Oh, I didn’t expect that you would stand out like this for once….」
 
「WHAHAHAHA! That’s right! I am already an adult!」
 
「Right right right. I’ll take your words for it.」

So that’s how it was…...

Milim’s sharp instinct has made her notice the people behind that manipulates Clayman. Did she pretend to be manipulated in order to find out the real identity of that person?

She seems to also have made some sort of a deal with Frey, I suppose I’ll let the whole deal of fooling me pass.

From this I can conclude that Milim has never once been brainwashed.

Not that the effect has been deactivated midway through, it has never worked in the first place.
All of these have been an act. It’s all because Milim was too good at her performance, we can crown her the best actress.

And she even went to the extent of secretly eating pepper in private to maintain her emotionless expression. She has fooled everyone with her natural expression while enduring the horrible taste (of pepper).
Veldora has seen through her with one glance and played along Milim. He says that he wanted to get familiar with his new body, so he had some fun fighting with Milim.

Veldora seems to have surprisingly high adaptability.

Have you not noticed all these this whole time, Raphael-san?
   
《..............》

Ah, yes.

Now that I think about it, it’s been trying to say something all this time.
 
Raphael-san said that there was no result, now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense.

Since she was never under the control of any spell.
   
I misunderstood.
I need to listen more carefully to other people’s explanation in the future. I’d better form another habit of listening other people’s words till they finish.
   
I reflect secretly on the incident.
 
Then Karion comes and stands before Milim.

「Right, Milim, is it alright for me to ask you something?」
 
「Hmm? Sure, ask away!」
 
Milim answers with a smile.
 
She is in a good mood with her Dragon Knuckles back.

「It’s not a big deal but I want to confirm something……. Were you really not controlled? Does that mean that you were having fun trolling me as well?」
   
Karion is putting up a smile as veins pop on his forehead.
   
Hmm, of course he would mind that.
 
「Woo! A-about that…….」
 
「Ahh, don’t be so nervous. It’s okay. It was because I was too weak. But, you did trash my country, was that your idea as well?」

Karion didn’t even try to hide his anger and asks Milim.

For an instant, Milim panicked, but——

「Huh! Karion, does such insignificant business really matter?」

She got mad at him instead.
   
Seeing this, you know for sure it is Milim.

「Insignificant my ass! Seriously, if you had slipped your hands, I would have died!」
   
「Heh, annoying, you are so annoying! That’s because I was acting too——no, because I was acting so hard to trick Clayman ? That’s why it was all Clayman’s fault!」
   
「Oi oi oi, don’t push all the blame to Clayman now……. Enough. You won’t listen anyway if I complain to you…...」

I feel much sympathy for Karion.
   
Seeing Karion’s manly face now shed with tears, I have the impulse to go comfort him.
   
I was tricked too, so I can understand how he feels.

「Don’t be sad, Karion-san. The Beastketeers and the rest are all fine and was able to aveng you. They all worked very hard this time. So things are not all bad.」
   
「Oh oh, Rimuru. Sorry I had to trouble you to comfort me.」
   
「Oh, don’t worry. Besides, you can always rebuild your castle. In order to rebuild it, I’ve taken captives of Clayman’s subordinates and will let those Majins do the work for you guys.」
 
「Ah? Oi oi oi, is it true…….?」

「Of course it is. We also won’t hold back any of our technical support. And assistance is only natural. That’s why, let us work together to build a more prestigious, more comfortable kingdom!」
 
We have time on our side. I’ve also got a bunch of money from Clayman. I was thinking to use it for future trading, right now it would be a good strategy to give out a few favours.

I was also thinking to build a good relationship through this operation with our neighbouring Beastmen. Allow me to use this opportunity well.
 
「WHA——HAHAHA! That’s wonderful, Karion. I have also contributed to it!」

How did Milim contribute to it at all?
 
If anything, her contribution is to have wiped out the entire place clean without bricks and stone so the construction work could be conducted more easily.
   
「My apologies for the trouble, but we are saved! Rimuru——I should call you Rimuru-san. I swear that us Beast Kingdom will maintain a friendly relationship with your country forever, and we will provide you with any assistance!」
 
Karion was surprised and spoked with gratitudes on his face. Then he turns back to Milim and warned her along:「I hope you could reflect about all this.」 Milim seems to sense that things have been resolved with fluention and has turned back to her old self.

Should I can her a realist? Never mind, that’s more like Milim anyway.

Anyhow, Karion has regained his spirit, so I’ll let things slide.

Besides, it would seem there are more people who are surprised by my words. The Demon Lords surrounding us are also surprised at my speech.

「I can’t believe there is something like this in life. You let those Majins live, aren’t you just too naive…… But it’s an interesting thought nonetheless. No wonder Noir decided to serve you.」

Red-Haired Guy says so delightfully.
 
Noir40? What the hell is that?

Never mind that, I would put aside it to check on Clayman.
 
「Neh, Clayman. You have been arrogant against the weak and those who can’t resist. I don’t think you are qualified as a Demon Lord. I didn’t interfere because Milim has endured this whole time….. But even I am a little pissed.」

Frey lashes out at him coldly and says so. It means she doesn’t plan on saving Clayman, the equivalent of giving him the death sentence.

「That’s right. Even though this is the natural rule of the survival of the fittest, but Clayman, you really crossed the line this time. I’ve got a lot of complaints now that my country has been destroyed.」
Karion as well, he is angry at the fact that his country has been bombarded. Even though the one who did it was Milim, he seems to be pushing the responsibility onto Clayman. He doesn’t plan to forgive him. 

Guy is only watching the show from the side.

The rest of the Demon Lords as well, they aren’t objecting the punishment towards Clayman. It would seem none of the Demon Lords are in favour of Clayman.

Then the whole thing is now settled.
   
What follows it’s the 「Clean up job」.
Clayman’s death is near.
   
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Clayman knows he won’t live for long and is troubled by thoughts of regret that have filled his heart.

Then he recalls his comrades’ words.

Those words swing around his heart like trotting lamps41.
   
——You’ve got to be careful——

Ah ah….. Laplace, you were right…...
   
He thought he was cautious enough already, yet he has been blinded by power all these times.

He has mistaken Milim’s incredible power that he witnessed as something of his own. This has led to the situation now.
   
Just as you thought, from the result now, I’ve been played in Milim’s palm this whole time. I thought I took every step with caution……. Yet I was played by Milim. You guys gave me the seat of Demon Lord because of trust, yet I could only make it to today…….

When he ignored his friends’ advice, he was already destined to end up in this fate.

Such thoughts keep revolving in Clayman’s head.
 
——Clayman, you are not as strong as us, don’t you go act all stubborn on your own!
 
——He——Hehehe. Tear is right. Come and find us if you need help.

Ah ah, Tear. Ah ah, Footman. Yeah. I forgot to…....
 
He has always placed his dignity with too much importance and never wanted to rely on his companions.
No, he has always relied on his companions, yet he threw that idea behind his head at such crucial point of time. That was really uncalled for.

I wanted to become strong just like you guys. Shouldn’t it be natural to be stubborn and strike for it? Because I am a member of the Moderate Clown Troupe after all…….
 
Indeed.
Clayman hopes to receive recognition from his companions.

He hopes they would recognize his power, that’s why he didn’t involve the Moderate Clown Troupe to his schemes. It was truly Clayman’s miscalculation.
 
But, it is all too late…...
 
——He recalls the first time he met “That Lord”.

「Hey, are you Clayman?」

「Who are you? How dare you call my name like that, do you have a death wish?」

「Oi oi oi, you don’t have to raise your guard like that. I got here because of someone’s recommendation.」
   
「Recommendation?」
   
「Yeah. The one recommending was your boss, Demon Lord Kazaream.」

「What did you say?」
Clayman was planning to kill this young man, yet he has called out a memorable name——Kazaream. That’s when Clayman began to have interest in hearing the young man to speak.

Then he learnt something.
   
He learnt his ambition and his abilities.

「——That’s how it is. I must control this world. Come and assist me in doing so, Clayman?」

「He-hehahahaha. Interesting, is this perhaps a request?」
   
「Yes. A request for the “Moderate Clown Troupe”.」
「And the reward?」

「To revive Demon Lord Kazaream, how about it?」

This reward is more than he could ask for, so there was no reason to turn it down.
   
He knew what the young man is capable of and recognized the plan to be feasible. There was nothing to doubt.
   
Clayman made up his mind then to take on the contract.
   
「I know you will take it. Let us collaborate in taking this world into our pocket. When the time comes, we can all live in this world happily ever after!」

Seeing “That Lord” wishing to turn the world into a game to enjoy its fun, Clayman believes such idea may come true one day.

They must overcome layers of obstacles. But it is precisely because of that this task seemed so fun.
 
He thought so originally, yet now his misstep has costed the entire plan to foil.

It was rare already that the reward has been paid——Demon Lord Kazaream was successfully revived…...

My carelessness has led things to this point today. Then, I won’t even have ground to excuse myself…..
   
Kazaream went through all the trouble to be revived, yet Clayman couldn’t even find a chance to congratulate him now.
   
This is all his own doing.
   
He was ordered to stay put, yet Clayman has acted on his own and ignored the order.
   
At last, he thought of that man’s words.
The wise words from Clayman’s respected and beloved Demon Lord Kazaream.
 
——Clayman. You and I are a lot like each other, so it’s fine to set me as your model, but never ever inherit my shortcomings as well.

He should have thought about that long ago. That was the motto he deemed as truth.
 
Ah ah……. Kazaream-sama….. I’m sorry. I’ve forgotten your advice and made the fatal misstep…...
 
Indeed, Clayman has taken the wrong move and made the worst choices.

Just like Demon Lord Kazaream, he has lost to a new Demon Lord, inherited his trait of doing stupid things.

That is karma.
 
It is the miscalculation that Clayman hated the most.
 
I couldn’t even save the army you borrowed me, I’ve lost them because of my miscalculation…… I can’t die, not just yet. I won’t forgive myself to die without any legacy like this…...
As things have progressed, he at least needs to spread out the intelligences he gathered from his enemies. This has prompted an idea to rise in the heart of the desperate and almost given up Clayman.

——You the Undead Elf created through my body, but I’ve done the most work on your head. Unlike Footman and Tear, you are not suitable for combat. However, you are the only one who would take the role of strategizing and commanding the army. That’s why Clayman, you should be the Demon Lord——
   
He has let down Demon Lord Kazaream’s expectation.
 
If he didn’t have enough power, he would only need to acquire it. Then, he would be on the same ground with Footman and Tear. No, he would surpass them in strength.
 
Once Clayman who’s quick in the head acquires power, he would excel more than them.

Right, that’s it. It doesn’t matter if I can’t awake to become True Demon Lord. That’s why, please grant me power. Grant me power……. Grant me the invincible power————!

《Confirmed. Transforming souls to magicule……...Successful. Beginning decomposition to produce vessel of flesh, reconstructing——》

Clayman didn’t expect his wish to come ture. Yet the 「Voice of the World」 has answered to Clayman’s request.

Under such desperate circumstance, Clayman’s wishes came true.
   
God (Veldanava kek) has not forsaken me!

If that’s the case——

Clayman has already answered himself in heart.
   
——Go-gogogo…… These people have always looked down on me, I’ll have them pay for it. But, right now no matter how I need to get out…...

Even though Clayman has weakened to the point of not capable of making sounds, his spirit still possesses a fighting will.

That is the bright flame that is the fire of life.
   
But even so——
   
Opposite to how he thinks, Clayman has remained calm and decided to retreat from the location first.
   
There are several ancient Demon Lords here, and among them Guy, Milim and Dagruel are the most difficult to deal with. He won’t be able to best them after just awakening, so it’s more important for him to act cautiously now.
 
To report to “That Lord”——That’s his priority.
   
He has previously underestimated the power of the Slime, and his Majin subordinate alone was stronger than Clayman. Not only so, he has also forged a friendship with the revived Veldora. This along cannot be overlooked.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence that he was able to survive the duel with that Hinata.
   
He must throw away his own opinions and analyze calmly.

That’s why Clayman has decided to retreat with this information.

He has drafted his plan with the condition of retrieving these intels.

He would use all his power to launch a Giant Magic Missile and flee during the chaotic situation created by the magic missile.
 
Must be careful about Guy, but…...
   
Guy is not interested in the weak, that’s why Clayman thinks he won’t care about himself.

——It’s alright, I can make it out of here.

Clayman makes such judgement.

He would even benefit more if the missile is to affect the surrounding crowds…...

With these thoughts, Clayman climbs up.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Under the gazes of all the Demon Lords, I was probably the first one to notice his movement.
   
Since I have been keeping my guard and staring at Clayman.
   
「Get away from there now, Shion!」

She immediately reacts to my order and backs up to my side. Quickly afterward, the location Shion stood on was affected as a giant magicule storm begins to swirl around Clayman.
 
The storm has been absorbing more magicule from the surrounding towards Clayman. Had I gave the order a little later, Shion would have suffered its damage.
「Look like he’s getting serious now.」
「Rimuru-sama? What is going on…..?」

Shion asks me immediately, but she seems reassured seeing I am composed.
 
There is nothing to be panicked about, but even though I won’t panic…..

「Clayman has awakened. Just as I predicted.」
 
「It is really just as you have predicted, then I am reassured!」
 
Shion completely trusts me, but I still feel somewhat uneased.

Everything is moving according to the plan of「Wisdom King Raphael」.

Is it really okay? It would be embarrassing if I lose at this point…..
When I initially saw Clayman, I saw a group of evil objects chasing behind his soul.
   
Those things may be called the spirits of resentment. Clayman has killed many people to this day, those are the remains of their souls.
 
They have not merged with Clayman. They won’t ascend to heaven nor will they dissipate into the atmosphere. Even with Clayman killed, they would only disappear along with him.

I was thinking about how to utilize them when 「Wisdom King Raphael」 proposed an attack plan.
 
That is to push Clayman into a desperate spot and catalyze his awakening.

《Proposal. Utilize 「Gluttonous King Beezlmuth」 to 「Prey」 on Clayman’s awaken power. This can make up for the consumed magicule.》

「Wisdom King Raphael」 said it as if it’s so easy, yet there are many problems hindering it.
It’s uncertain whether Clayman would indeed awaken or not. But he would definitely become stronger after awakening.
   
Ah, about that? Would Clayman fall asleep as he begins to evolve into Demon Lord?

《Answer. Clayman’s evolution was not achieved through proper procedures, he is able to achieve complete evolution. Thus, predict he will not enter a state of dormancy.》
   
It would seem that its prediction of Clayman’s increase in strength would be limited. But regardless I would need to beat the awakened Clayman anyway.
 
According to the prediction of「Wisdom King Raphael」, no matter how strong is Clayman becomes, I would still easily defeat him.
 
The strength of the body, acquired power, and possible acquired skills——With all of these taken into the simulation to produce prediction and with his threat level set to the highest, 「Wisdom King Raphael」 still arrives at the result that I would be the winner.

There’s no use worrying, I have to confront him.

——Besides, it is true as well that my magicule is about to drain.
The reload speed of my speed is super fast as well and I can instantly replenish myself after a large scale magic spell. But honestly, it’s still a long way from filling my mana full.

Even so I’ve still got more mana than that before my awakening, yet without my notice I’ve been using up the fuel tank provided by Veldora. Of course then I would want to replenish my magicule.
   
On the other hand, I want to demonstrate to the Demon Lords.

I am the newcomer, I have to win the throne of Demon Lord with my own strength.

I can only gain the approval of the Demon Lords by demonstrating my power like this, so there may be less trouble in the future. In order to prevent any other Demon Lords to mess with me, it is best to have them be on guard against me.
 
In order to prevent further trouble in the future, I’ll use the awakened Clayman to demonstrate my strength.
With my power——Ultimate skill 「Gluttonous King Beelzebuth」.
 
「Oi, Rimuru! Did you say Clayman has awakened? Although it’s unbelievable, but that power is truly incredible. Let me to assist you now——」
 
「No, Karion-san. I’ll deal with this guy. I’ve claimed myself to be a Demon Lord, I want to get my position with my own strength. I’m going to eliminate this guy to gain the approval of everyone.」
 
With my words, Karion has to step back.

「Don’t lose to him.」
   
He cheers for me.

I won’t lose.

My only motivation now is to take down my enemy.
 
After all, I am the angriest person here.
   
Come on, Clayman. Let us see who’s stronger.

As such, Clayman climbs up as I walk in front him myself.
   
The other Demon Lords seem to decide to continue to observe.
   
Everyone seems fine with me fighting alone.

Right, they must have made no objection hoping to see my true strength.

Milim laughs delightfully while Ramiris doesn’t seem to care about the situation. Both probably thinks I won’t lose.
I’ll consider them to be confident in me.
   
「Shion, Ranga, step back.」
「But——!」
   
「Leave it to me.」

「Understood!」

「Then I wish you emerge victorious in your conquest, Rimuru-sama.」
 
The Demon Lords take a step back along with Shion and the rest. Now this won’t affect the others.
   
Seeing that there is only me left, Clayman shows a small smile.

「Hehehe-HEHAHAHAHAHA——! See, I’ve got the power! How dare you be so cocky you trash! Now, it’s my turn. I’m gonna crash you!」

His laughter turns into guffaw as he looks at me with disdain.
   
But, he’s only putting on an act.
 
The sad thing is, Clayman’s actions have all been predicted by 「Wisdom King Raphael」.

「Wisdom King Raphael」 mentioned, it has predicted the two possible actions Clayman may take.

He would either charge at me to kill me without the fear of death, or he can pretend to look down on me with the hope of distracting me and escape.
   
This is clearly the latter.
   
That’s why Clayman would probably take the actions of——
   
His words are full of frivolousness yet his eyes show cautiousness.

Clayman is trying to find any of my opening.
 
That’s why I’ve decided to play along him as his ploy.

「Didn’t I just say? You have nowhere to run. I am stronger than you. Give up your struggle and tell me the identity of the person giving the command behind you.」
 
This is me acting, but my truthful words.

Perhaps because of my sincerity, Clayman took the bait without a doubt.
   
「Hehehe, how arrogant of you indeed. Let me show you my power——」
 
Clayman continues his act smoothly and suddenly decides to take action.

Believing that I’ve let down my guard, he launches a Giant Magic Missile.

He must have accumulated that during our conversation. He has infused all of his power after awakening and fire the incredibly powerful Giant Magic Missile at me.
   
Clayman predicts that I would dodge it. He may even have made other predictions, believing I would use my attack to counter the magic missile, but he probably thinks that it is impossible to stop a magic missile that’s suddenly launched.
 
If I dodge the attack, he would then activate the explosive missile mid-air. If I come up with a way to counter it, he would also be able to escape during the explosion of the magic missile——That’s likely how Clayman has planned his great scheme.

*smacks lips* What a shame.
 
「I told you that you are done. This type of attack is useless. Projectile attack won’t hurt me.」
I activate 「Gluttonous King Beezelmuth」 and 「Prey」 at Clayman’s Gigantic Magic Missile alongside the surrounding space.

Now that it won’t even affect the surrounding. Clayman’s plan has been completely destroyed by me.

「——Nani!」

He is both shocked and confused.

And with the interval I snap my finger to produce a clear sound.

In an instant, a wall of 「Barrier」 emerges to separate me and Clayman.

This is now an isolated battlezone. I borrowed it from Guy’s construction spell to recreate one.



「How dare he steal my technique, what a shameless guy.」
Guy mumbles so while looking intrigued, it’s great that he doesn’t seem mad about it.
   
Now I can eat Clayman with much reassurance.

My conscience would probably feel bad having such idea. With these ideas, I seem to be adapting a mindset more and more akin to the bad guy.

Is it because I am a Mamono that I’m not against eating Clayman?

Or could it be because I’ve become a Demon Lord?
 
Never mind, anything goes.
 
「W-What is this? What is happening……?」

Clayman cannot hide his shock in mind.
 
The attack he prides on vanished in an instant, his mind probably couldn’t even process that in time.

But I’ve told you several times, you are done.

When you tried to fight against me with your level of strength, the result has already been set.

How much power do I have and how much does my opponent have, it is very important for one to recognize that.
   
「Oi, if you want to show your true power then be quick about it. I’ll wait. Or perhaps, are you planning to fool around and flee away with that attack just now?」

I ask despite knowing the answer myself.
 
Humans are horrible. But since I’m slime and not human, so it won’t matter.
   
Compared to that, Clayman is still underestimating me.
He has kept guard against me, but it’s not enough.

Just as 「Wisdom King Raphael」 predicted, Clayman’s awakening is not that good.

His magicule has increased by a lot, but that’s about it.
He hasn’t mastered the mana to control the magicule nor did he acquire any applicable skill.

Even though he seems to have awakened, his condition compared to me is still earth and heaven.

I can accelerate my perception speed a million times more with 「Thought Acceleration」 and the time seems to have frozen. I could also build my spell under this condition so any magic would be activated right after the thought of it.

Although it would be very inefficient to be applied for Magic Missile that requires the gathering of Youki around me, that’s why I won’t utilize it under such circumstance.
It’s unlike the construction of spell that relies on consciousness——that is information. The gathering of Youki would cost some time, but it is only natural.

However, that’s because I have 「Chant Exemption」 and 「All of All」42.
   
No matter how long the magic would take to launch, the million-time extended body sensation of time would always help cast the magic instantly. After all, a second under the skill is equal to two hundred and seventy-seven hours.
   
No matter how large the scale is the spell, it would not cost more than a day, so any spell I cast wouldn’t cost more than zero point one second to come in effect.
   
As for normal magic, it would be a piece of cake to cast several spells at the same time.
 
That’s why, if I am Clayman, I would have casted several different magics to cause a chaos at the scene before utilizing the chance to escape.

Clayman did not resort to this reflects that his power is insufficient.
 
He didn’t even notice that I’ve set up the isolated battlezone.
Now that Clayman’s escape route has been cut by me, he will have to defeat me before he could escape.
   
I’m not sure if he has sensed the bad situation he is in, but the his aura begins to alter.

「He-HEHEHE, a miserable slime, how arrogant. You are indeed strong, I’ll admit it. But this is not all my power!」
   
He charges towards me without a care——a change of plan to walk the other path we predicted.
   
He has given up escaping and decided to showcase his own abilities in front of the other Demon Lords. It’s a gamble with a low rate of win. To the Demon Lords 「Power is everything.」, it would be possible for them to forgive his crime if he is strong enough.
But first, he need to defeat me.

「You seem quite confident in your control of Youki, but will you be able to take this? Eat this, my strongest ultimate! Dragon Pulse Death Canon!」

Clayman has spoken a lot to distract me while trying to manipulate the pulse of earth43 and surrounded network around me and release them all.

The Youki gathered around the ground with the addition of his own magicule allows the pulse of earth to be transformed into beams of disturbance effect to attack the enemy——This is the principle of Dragon Pulse Death Canon.
   
Whoever affected by the skill would have their sequence of magicule disturbed and cause internal damages. It is immune to physical defense and it may even shoot through and destroy「Barrier」 that is formed by magicule.

It is a surge of power that can be called the Mamono Buster, truly something worthy of the style of Demon Lord.

However——

But it won’t work on me at all.
   
「I shall consume them all, “Gluttonous King Beelzebuth”——」

Beams projected from Dragon Pulse Death Canon rises from the ground like a flying dragon. However, now these dragons seem to be howling in dismay before their death as they being absorbed into a twisted space before they could even reach me.

Impossible to escape.
 
The scenery is as if they have encountered the gravitational force of a black hole that even light cannot escape.
「It’s no use, Clayman. You are weaker than me.」
   
I must break his psyche.

In this way, he may give out the man behind the scene.
 
Fear is the best weapon to break one’s mind.

「Impossible…..How can this be possible————! That was m-my ultimate technique!」
It’s not important whether it is your ultimate technique or not, because projectile attacks won’t work on me. If he puts in more thoughts and attacks me head-on, it may be a different case.
「Now do you know that you have no chance to win? Then I’ll ask you something. Give me all the information you have and give me the names of your helpers. If you confess honestly, I’ll give you a quicker death.」
「HEHAHAHAHA! I am an undead elf, I’ll revive even if I am killed by you today, I’ll just find another day to kill you——OUCH!」

I start to hit him with my hands.

I continuously hit him hard without a word.
At the same time, I apply 「Thought Acceleration」 on Clayman and accelerated his mind a million times more. My 「Wisdom King Raphael」 not only would contribute to me, it can also affect other people.
 
In terms of the time in the real world, it has only been a few seconds.
   
But to Clayman, his sensation has lasted for dozens of days, filled with the taste of fear and pain of being continuously beaten by others.

He needs to remember this fear and pain with his soul.

A few more seconds pass on——
   
Clayman’s hair has fallen off due to fear, his face turns to one that resembles a ghoul.
「Clayman.」

I call him calmly. And Clayman suddenly shakes and his entire body freezes out of fear.
   
「I’ll ask you one more time. Who leaked the message to you? What’s his relationship with you? Tell me and I’ll give you a quick one.」

Although I’ve asked, Clayman turns out to be more tenacious than I expected.

「——D-don’t underestimate me. I won’t betray my companions, nor will I sell out my contractor. T-this is the iron law of “Moderate Clown Troupe”.」

Is that so? So even the villains have their principles and that is non-negotiable.
   
「Is that so, then don’t blame me. Yeah, I’ll let you in on this, you are not going to revive.」
   
I say so to Clayman as if it’s nothing.
He was shouting about getting revived, but it would be impossible.
 
Once you are eaten by my 「Gluttonous King Beelzebuth」, you will end up in a worse fate than being trapped in the 「Infinity Prison」 that even Veldora can’t escape.
 
「W-What? What the hell are you talking about?」

Could it be that he has been so stubborn because he still has hope of being revived?

Hearing my words, Clayman panicked.
   
「You just said it. Didn’t you say undead elf would revive even after death. That’s why you want me to kill you so you can escape by releasing your astral body. Am I right?」
 
This guy is really cunning, and it’s impressive how he would resort to anything in order to achieve his goal.

Clayman’s face suddenly turns blue.

「——W-What are you saying?」
He tries his hardest to play dumb, but that simply confirms my doubt.

I don’t even need 「Wisdom King Raphael」 to spot such a thing.
But, Raphael-san is indeed strong.
   
「Let’s see, you can attach your astral body with the pulse of earth to preserve your consciousness and memory, am I right? That’s why you won’t really die even with your body destroyed. That’s why you want to fake your death…..」

I see, so that’s how it is.
   
I directly read out the explanation of「Wisdom King Raphael」 . Clayman begins to shiver as a result, it seems that I’ve guessed right on the spot.

「W-wait…….」
 
Now that I know the reason behind it, it’s about time to finish this.

「Alright, it seems I won’t be able to get more information by questioning him. I’m going to execute Clayman now. Is there any objection? If you want to object, I can take on you for a round!」

I ignore Clayman who wants to say something and ask the Demon Lords.

It would be problematic if someone objects, but there is probably none.

「Do what you wish.」
 
As expected, Guy spoke on behalf of everyone.
 
The other Demon Lords seem to be fine with it as well.
 
「Stop! Don’t do this, STOP IT——!」
   
Clayman begins to shout like a madman.
   
He has realized at this point that he can’t escape.
   
「You’ve made a big mess for me, that pisses me off. Don’t you think you are getting a quick death now.」

With that being said, I place my hand on Clayman’s head.
 
If he is willing to give me the identity of the man behind all these, I was going to give him a quick one. But Clayman didn’t talk. In the long term, I need those information, but I suppose it’s fine if I don’t get it now, I’ll see to it in the future.

Perhaps Clayman has hidden some clues in his castle. I’ve heard from witness  that 「Moderate Clown Troupes」 are not all Majins, they are clearly collaborating with humans.

Right now I don’t know whether it is Eastern Empire or the Western Nations. Either side is fine. Since they know my movement, they must also have eyes in the Western Nations.
Slowly and surely, I would catch on their tail. If I get testimony that can not be verified from Clayman, it may do the opposite effect and mess with me.
   
That’s why, Clayman——

「——There’s still a little more time before your soul is destroyed completely. Before that, you should take you time to reflect.」

「NO! HEY, STOP IT! DON’T DO THIS! STOP IT——! H-HELP ME, FOOTMAN! HELP ME, TEAR! I CAN’T DIE YET. CAN’T DIE HERE————!」
   
Clayman seems to still be looking for ways to escape, he looks rather embarrassing like that.
However, I won’t let him go.
   
No matter what he do now, I won’t be moved. Letting someone like him go would be burying seed of catastrophe.

And, thanks to you, I’m not that naive anymore. I’m not gonna lose my companion again because of my naive ideas.

「P-PLEASE HELP ME, KAZARAEM-SAMA——」

Clayman reaches towards his broken mask, hold onto it and pray——

Shua——

Clayman with his ugly shouting, his struggle and resistance suddenly disappear in front of me.
 
He has been consumed by my 「Gluttonous King Beelzebuth」 with not even his soul remaining.
   
He is being transformed to pure magicule in my body. In the process, Clayman would taste the suffering pain as if he is in hell.

Whether you are a filthy soul, evil soul or evil kind soul, none can avoid it.
   
All are equal before death.
But that moment I suddenly hear——

——Ah, Laplace. You were right. I crossed the line. I should have followed to your advice and stayed put……..You view was always right——

——I seem to have heard Clayman’s voice.

Is he confessing?
 
So even this type of man of extreme evil would also confess….

I hope Clayman would more or less reflect himself with my gift of 「Death」.

Just like that, Clayman’s ambition has been destroyed. And he has become my food.