At the Banquet
Clayman felt himself to be triumphant.
From only hitting one arrogant brat.
So Clayman thought in his heart of hearts.
This question came to mind.
This thought, Clayman quickly dismissed.
Besides, by showing Milim as his follower surely he would dissuade them from opposing him.
But is that actually the case?
Truly, there was no need to hit Milim.
No, wait. Isn’t something off?
If the current plan failed, the following one would be jeopardized. And that was no good.
But he was currently forbidden from contacting that person.
And, thank to his unique skill『Puppeteer』she was currently completely under his control.
And after calming his fears thus, a smile appeared on his face.
「Now then, let me thank you all from the bottom of my heart for gathering upon my summons.
Thus I declare that the Walpurgis Banquet has begun!」
As per his rights as the one who gathered them, Clayman declared the start of the banquet.
And so, for the first time in many hundreds of years, begun the banquet attended by every demon lord.
Guy was observing Clayman with a smirk on his face.
Clayman is completely misunderstanding.
Though they are called the ten great demon lords, that’s a name the humans selfishly decided for them and not one Guy recognizes.
But, the Holy Demon Great War 500 years ago left less than ten of them.
The humans must have been overjoyed to hear that the number of dangerous beings would decrease.
So this rule is more of an unspoken agreement, if anything.
Guy is the first demon lord.
As payment, he destroyed the summoner’s country.
The two Arch Demons he summoned to destroy the first country evolved into Demon Officials after destroying the latter one.
There was another being who awakened as a demon lord at the same time as Guy.
One of the four “dragons”, the first among them, created a child with a human.
Thus, the “dragons” declared the making of children a taboo.
From then on, the mass of natural holy spirits came to be called the Dragon Race.
The “Dragon Race”, Star King Dragon Veldanava.
Thus, these fools came to know the meaning of imperial wrath.
And awakened as a true demon lord.
That battle continued for seven days and seven nights, transforming the bountiful lands in the west into a wasteland.
Milim regained her consciousness and the battle ended.
In the process, the ruler of spirits Ramiris absorbed the evil magic of demons and the powerful aura of dragons and began to change.
And the three settled this dispute.
The decided that each of the three would be different than the other two.
One would pursue the ultimate power.
One would judge the world.
And that was fine.
Later, the protectors of Heaven’s Gates the Giant, the ancient Vampire, and the being who fell from heaven itself increased their numbers to six.
Demon Lords inferior to the oldest.
But, he had unbelievable power and was an amusing guy.
Even so, he has yet to acquire an Ultimate Skill–that Guy and Milim possess.
It was a matter of time. And Guy patiently waited for it.
And, Clayman.
It’s so impossible that it’s hilarious.
Those who possess an ultimate skill are not affected by lower abilities.
In other words, they will not be affected by any form of magic–highest or not.
A series of attacks of certain affinity could have an effect, though.
A soul weak enough to be affected by such an attack could never acquire an ultimate skill.
Therefore, Clayman can do nothing to Milim.
What a fool.
What a fun banquet this could become, he thought.
Clayman proudly began his explanation.
Though to me, it’s more of a: who the hell is Karion?!
Oh and Clayman’s explanation is dragging on forever.
In a word… annoying.
Can’t he cut me some slack here.
「Umm… can I ask a question?」
When I asked, he looked over irritated and,
「What?」
He asked.
「Nah, just… do demon lords fancy these kinds of pointless conversations?
I mean… aren’t we more into… Power Rules and Talk with Our Fists type of thing?」
I said, provokingly.
She had looked at me with anger until now, so was I able to diminish it a bit?
Oh, and when she laughs, she looks very cute.
「Clayman, it’s as he says.
Your speech is tiresome. State your point」
The girl told Clayman.
He’s that simple? Or that much of a small fry?
Though if this is an act, then he’s truly impressive
「Ku… don’t underestimate me, you lowly slime!」
You know, I came over here not to listen to your shitty speech.
I put up with it in the beginning of the conference, but isn’t it about time?
Just say what you want to say; those will be your last words, anyways.」
His face convulsed upon hearing my words.
As expected of a demon lord. It is intimidating. A tiny bit.
Nah, I probably just imagined it.
I swore in my heart.
「Ku, everyone. Did you hear that?
Besides, they even began a war with the humans!
I do not believe we can leave this being as is. I propose we purge him, what are your thoughts about it?」
He waved his hands flamboyantly, trying to measure the demon lords’ response.
But.
「Hey, is taking control of one’s spirit during Walpurgis Banquet permitted?」
I said, kicking the table into the air.
Creating an opening in the middle.
「Nay. At this place, overtaking your opponent with words alone is considered just」
A red haired demon lord – the most dangerous looking one of them all – responded.
I glanced at Shion, who immediately launched a barrage of attacks at at Clayman.
And with a truly refreshed face,
「Is this fine?」
She asked.
Seriously, girl, shouldn’t you ask that before you hit someone?
True, I did want you to shut Clayman up…
Well, what’s done is done.
I bet he was trying to set things up to his own convenience, but that plan I foiled.
So if there’s demon lords who get mad at me and decide to fight me, then nothing can be done about that.
「Y-y-you… bastard!!!」
The ominous black aura released by Clayman quickly regenerated his wounds.
Well, that much should be expected from a demon lord.
「Unforgivable…『Marionette Master』!」
Clayman cried out taking out five dolls from within his cloak.
Each a high ranking devil.
Wisdom King Raphael was able to analyze that skill with just a glance, and so explained.
As expected, with her herculean strength and her beloved sword, she cut the devils down.
「Hahaha, aren’t you a little skilled! But, it’s no use.
Marionette Dolls can immediately regenerate and continue to attack!」
Clayman called out, while beginning his incantation.
And, the dolls did not move at all.
「N-no way… why aren’t they being reborn?」
Clayman cut the incantation short in a panic.
I really want to tell him that instead of saying such pointless things, he should have continued his chant.
「Yeeaaah. It’s a pain, so I’ll tell you.
Those dolls, of course, aren’t protected against attacks to their soul.
So since they were so poorly made, they fell from a single hit」
I explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
There’s no reason to hide this much either.
「A sword that hits the soul as well!?」
「R-ridiculous! That’s a treasure sword, isn’t it!」
「Hmph. I wouldn’t know. Cause we made it」
Shion’s odachi I improved using Hinata’s sword as a reference.
As a result, though it’s not a certain-kill weapon, it does do both physical and spiritual damage.
And if you don’t protect yourself against physical attacks, you’ll end up a bloody mess.
「Huh. So this was “Hercules’ Edge Revised” huh!」
Did you yourself not know…
At that moment Clayman stood up.
He desperately completed his incantation and set off his spell.
「I’ll add that impudent swords woman to my collection.
Devour her, Demon Marionette!!!」
That ominous light attacked not me, but Shion.
And seeing this,
「Kukukukuku. Be glad, it’s the ultimate incantation that can even control a demon lord!
Surely you are sick of serving a lowly slime?
After you dispose of your master, I’ll make you my pawn」
He declared.
This guy… is too weak.
No, rather than weak, maybe I’m just accustomed to seeing Benimaru, Souei, and other department members who are overly strong.
Besides… Shion has that skill『Perfect Memory』that preserves her memories even after death.
So Soul Control Archive abilities are completely ineffective. Moreover, spiritual attack damage is also largely ignored.
In other words,
「Yo, what kind of attack is this? I don’t feel pain or anything.
How long are you planning to keep me waiting?」
I could hear Shion’s slightly irritated voice coming from the darkness.
So even though he introduced this as some grand secret technique, this is all it amounted to.
「T-this cannot be!!!
A skill that even put Milim–demon lord Milim under my control cannot possibly have no effect on someone like you!!!」
Shion blew away the aura.
Seeing this, Clayman fell into a state of panic. The match has been decided.
「Everyone, will you permit this one to continue her rampage?!
In fact, let’s remember the fate of poor Karion!」
His eyes bloodshot, he sought support from the other demon lords.
Well, I had expected this much when I kicked the table away.
The moment he realizes he can’t win he runs to get help from others.
They are probably trying to come to my defense. It’s a good thing I spoke to them earlier.
But at that moment,
「Hey, hey. Who said that I kicked the bucket?
And that’s the first time I’m meeting this monster named Rimuru?」
A low, elegant voice resounded.
He was wearing a cool mask, so I couldn’t see his face…
But at that moment the mask fell off and a violent aura gushed forth.
Haa!!!
And transforming his clothing, before us appeared the Beast Demon Lord Karion.
Had I paid attention I could have realized this ahead of time, but since I hadn’t met Karion before, I had no way to know.
Um, so… what does this mean?
「N-no way! Why are you alive!!!
If that…. You’ve betrayed me! Frey!!!」
His eyes bloodshot, he shot the accusation at the winged woman.
By the looks of it, rather than betraying him…
「Ara? Since when had I become your ally?」
She nonchalantly replied.
Women are scary.
「D-d-don’t screw with me! You wretch!!!
Whatever. I got it. No forgiveness for any of you」
Clayman quickly regained his composure.
With a smirk on his face, Clayman loudly declared
「Milim, slaughter everyone here!!!」
The air tensed in the room, and everyone’s expressions froze.
And we all looked at Milim.
I was sure Milim was being controlled.
Well, this is certainly bad. Clayman is an insect at most, but Milim is dangerous.
No, I will save her!
The moment I thought so,
「Why should I do such a thing? Rimuru is a friend you now?」
Milim replied without a care.
I wasn’t the only one confused.
What does this mean?
Without any care for our confusion,
「Hey, Frey! Did you take care of that thing for me?」
But seriously… trying to fist pump people, grinning like an idiot…
「That was natural. Rimuru getting angry for my sake made me really happy.
And if we weakened Clayman’s resolve a bit more, the truth would come out by itself!」
While thus talking, Frey took something out from her bag and handed it to Milim.
Happily taking the knuckles, she immediately put them on. And a wide smile appeared on her face.
「I had wanted to get a bit angrier, but this is fine. I hope you’ve said your prayers, Clayman!」
She said, shooting a glance at him.
The other demon lords have by now started to catch up to the event.
I thought.
I thought I heard a voice say within me.
But,
「W-wait a second, Milim. Y-you weren’t being controlled by him?
And you blew away that holy mountain on your own free will?」
Demon Lord Karion asked, with a vein popping on his head.
「Hmm? Don’t sweat the small details!
「What small details! If you handled that poorly we’d all be dead!
But whatever. Not like you’re listening anyways~」
For some reason, I felt some pity.
Everyone is quiet, probably deep in thought.
By the way…
Why did she do that? I thought for a second, but decided that Clayman comes first.
We can solve that problem after we deal with him.
The event is spiraling towards a conclusion.
Only finishing touches left now.