Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 99: Attack on Ruberious - Interlude
There are up to 15 chapters ahead at [email protected]/theogbasilisk
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- Felix -
I hovered high above the battlefield, lounging mid-air with my arms crossed, a bemused smile was tugging at my lips. I was using Laplace's Unique Skill: Falsifier to hide myself from the perception of both Hinata and Granbell. It was a seriously broken Skill, Laplace could have straight up started wars if he felt like, and no one would know he was responsible.
He could quite literally pull an Aizen if he wanted to as long as he had enough energy to maintain his illusion over others and had enough skill with Falsifier. The dude was that OP.
He should be able to make others perceive his own reality, making it impossible for anyone to know what's real from fiction. In combination with Seer, Laplace had one hell of a crazy skill set. He was set for success, unfortunately, even his ridiculous powers couldn't get him through the sheer raw power of the Chaos Dragon.
When against overwhelming odds there's only so much technique can do, it's why Middray still stands no chance against Milim, they're in entirely different dimensions of strength despite Middray following behind Milim's back for over two thousand years. It's why I respected him so much, when someone was so dedicated to something it was worthy of admiration.
As for Laplace, perhaps he isn't as fortunate as he seems. This world was filled with bullshit, so there's probably a counter to his abilities somewhere even when excluding how Laplace's own capabilities would influence the extent he could push Falsifier.
I doubt Veldora would be caught lacking like that, let alone people like Guy and Velzard, though Laplace still has a scary amount of potential. It was no wonder he was once a Hero. Still, among his own level he was pretty unbeatable, even with my training Hinata lost, and I was pretty tough on her.
As the shockwaves from Hinata and Granbell's clash were harmlessly dealt with by Infinity I thought more about Laplace's situation.
'Is it possible to recreate his memories with Brahma?' I asked Othinus.
I had a feeling it should be possible, and I could experiment a bit beforehand just to make sure. But if I had Othinus who could give me an accurate answer right away, why not use her?
I'd been trying to cut down my reliance on Othinus since I did still want to be an independent person of my own, it would be a bit boring if she solved all my problems and came up with the Spells I would have enjoyed creating.
Of course that was only when it came to casual things, with big things that involve my continued existence I'd be using every card I had.
Laplace was currently hanging out in Luminous' dungeon unconscious, she got bored of him pretty quickly, something I'm sure his relatives will be happy about. I can't imagine his experience under Luminous' care was enjoyable, she could be a vicious woman.
Hinata was alright so Luminous didn't really hate Laplace, I'm sure they would change if Laplace actually permanently got rid of Hinata. If he did I'd still be having his soul tortured in Infinity Space, maybe imbue his soul into some boots so that every step I take causes insane amounts of pain. I wasn't big on torture but sometimes you just want to make someone suffer. It's normal. Probably.
The last time I asked Odin and Othinus that question I didn't have Brahma, a Skill specializing in creation so the answer would hopefully be different. Now I could maybe take a deep dive into Laplace's soul and if his memories aren't there, I could probably gather enough data to recreate a portion of them if not all of them. That's what she was doing with Veldanava's memories, I'm sure Laplace scales lower on the totem pole compared to Veldanava.
If I can restore Laplace's old personality as Sarion, that would likely make Elmesia and Sarion as a whole even more indebted to me. I may be pretty strong for this world, but I wasn't arrogant enough to think I was unbeatable.
When you yourself have bullshit you should expect others to also have bullshit that can be turned against you. That's rule #1 of being an OP isekai protagonist, and if it isn't it should be.
So gathering allies when I could was something I would eagerly do, and the Sorcerous Dynasty of Sarion was one hell of an ally since they had two Ultimate Skill users as far as I know.
Not to mention just how advanced they were in Magic when compared to other Kingdoms out there. The overall level of power in Sarion was vastly above that of most Human nations. Elven longevity practically guaranteed that.
There was Elmesia, and Sylvia, and after helping Laplace turn back into Sarion perhaps he'll grow strong enough to become a useful ally on his own. Laplace was no longer a True Hero due to his Majin nature conflicting with that, but he was still stronger than the average Saint. Plus the Ace Knights that were under Elmesia, from the brief glance I got at them each of them are pretty solid and would be enough to take on a normal Human military which most Kingdoms make use of.
And while military might won't matter when it comes to the important fight, it is still very useful to take on the weaker troops of other people if the stronger fighters are busy.
"It should be possible to recreate Laplace's memories if you consume him with Beelzebuth. With Brahma I can take a deep dive into his soul to bring up any suppressed memories. If he has no suppressed memories perhaps I can gather enough data to recreate his memories with Brahma. They won't be the original memories but they will be close enough."
That's something to add to my to do list then. I'm sure Elmesia will be happy, she seemed to want to get to know her father. It can be my way of giving her something for the bull- cough teasing that I did to her.
I watched with interest as Granbell sent another Melt Strike towards Hinata. He really stole Hinata's Art, improved it, and then used it on her. That level of disrespect is unmatched. I respect him for it, Melt Strike was a good Art that I would use if I got the chance. It wasn't anything ground breaking but it improved upon what Hinata had already created with Melt Slash.
Othinus had already briefed me about what had happened with this fight so far. Hinata had been basically toying with Granbell when she could have suppressed him with her raw power. It really was just a back and forth between the two of them with Hinata lowering herself to Granbell's level.
No idea what she was thinking but her mind was pretty hard to predict. Maybe she wanted to fight her old teacher as an equal or something? Or maybe she just wanted to have a good fight, only she knows.
Though one thing I could praise Granbell for was his swordsmanship. He was really good, around Hinata's own level in fact and she'd been fighting for a long time counting her years as Chronoa. My own swordsmanship was also really good but I didn't really take pride in that since I cheated my way into becoming a grandmaster swordsman.
But in the end Hinata ended up giving Granbell enough time to get his shonen power up, and now she's having to deal with a far stronger Granbell.
Granbell straight up awakened an Ultimate Skill out of this fight. Othinus accomplished her wish in pushing Granbell to awaken an Ultimate Skill, and she also managed to analyze it giving her more data.
Granbell awakened the Virtue Series Skill, Sariel, Lord of Hope while also returning to his prime body wise. He no longer looked like an old man but like a young man in his 20s.
He was actually a threat now. I'd still beat him but I'd be serious just because Ultimate Skills tend to be bullshit, you can never underestimate them. It's why I took Yuuki out before he had the chance to fully form his own Ultimate Skill. They can really be capable of just about anything.
Granbell's old Unique Skill: Unyielding allowed him to channel the soul energy of his recently deceased allies, I can only guess that he used that energy to push Unyielding to the next level while also pushing his evolution further.
Razul was pretty strong, and I'm sure he's lost some more allies in this attack of his. I can only imagine how much soul energy Granbell got from that, soul energy that Othinus allowed him to get.
"Teehee~!"
At least she's happy. Othinus really liked Skills, especially Ultimate Skills, not that I blamed her.
Sariel was a pretty powerful Ultimate Skill, it didn't have a lot of variety like my Ultimate Skills did since Odin and Othinus modified mine to add extra abilities. Just like she modified Hinata's, Arcueid's, Megumin's, and Lalatina's. Most Ultimate Skills traditionally only have a few sub-skills.
Sariel gave Granbell some control over Life and Death itself, though it leaned more towards the life aspect. It also had some control over the cycle of reincarnation, it was pretty much the opposite of Luminous' own Asmodeus which was pretty funny. Demon Lords and Heroes were bound by causality, it wasn't absolute or anything but that binding was there. I'm betting Granbell and Luminous are each other's fated adversaries.
Neither I or Othinus had much data on the cycle of reincarnation, so Granbell's Skill at least increased my understanding over that.
Apparently there was a promised land of sorts present in this world. An afterlife that people could go to, the requirements of getting there are unknown however, and it is impossible to interfere with the promised land generally. Even I can't touch it. I wonder if Veldanava is up there? Or maybe he's watching us with amusement, who knows? It's hard to understand the mind of a former all-powerful god.
I've of course heard of the promised land, but there was really no way to know if it really existed or not. It wasn't like in the Jujutsu Kaisen world where the afterlife was directly connected to the world.
When I was in that world I could distinctly sense the afterlife and its dimension, though I didn't wanna mess with it and risk disrupting the cycle of reincarnation of that world, even I wasn't that reckless.
I watched as Hinata backflipped, gracefully avoiding Granbell's soul-sucking flames. Each of his strikes left blazing trails of destructive energy in the air, scorching the ground and warping the atmosphere around them.
His eyes were gleaming with an eerie light as a manic grin spread across his face. Granbell was clearly reveling in his ascension, and why wouldn't he? The guy just went from an aging relic to a literal powerhouse. Ultimate Skills made that much of a difference, once you got one it was like you understood the world through an entirely different lens.
Hinata didn't seem fazed, though. She was always calm, even in the face of overwhelming danger. Even when we first met, she stared me dead in the eyes with no fear despite likely suspecting my displeasure with her. The difference between our strength levels back then was huge, yet she showed no fear.
It was one of the things that made her so troublesome in battle. Someone who didn't get scared was harder to predict. Most people, even strong warriors, would have some sort of reaction to what was happening. Their eyes would widen, their breathing would get erratic if they were still mortal, something. But Hinata? Her expression was flat, her eyes were sharp, reading every movement Granbell made with the precision of a machine, or the precision of a Skill in this case.
Granbell swung his arm again, releasing another torrent of that soul-infused flame, but this time, he added a twist. The flames curved mid-air, homing in on Hinata's position. She jumped, flipping through the air, but the flames chased after her. With a flick of her wrist, she dispersed the flames with her rapier.
"That's new." I muttered. Granbell was adapting. Fast. His control over Sariel was growing by the second. He wasn't just using brute force anymore, he was learning to finesse the power, to shape it according to his will.
I suppose he wasn't a Hero candidate for nothing, he was talented for sure, it usually took longer to get the hang of an Ultimate Skill.
Othinus hummed in the back of my mind. "Granbell is more than just brute force with Sariel now. He had technique before but after acquiring Sariel that technique suffered due to the sudden increase in raw power. His growth rate is... impressive, to say the least. If left unchecked, he may reach a point where even Hinata can't match him. That point is far away, but if given time he may be able to reach it."
I frowned. 'I thought you wanted him to awaken Sariel?'
I approved, I wasn't as much of a Skill maniac as Othinus, but I'd always take data on new Skills.
"I did. But I didn't expect him to master it so quickly. It seems his will to live, his hope, is feeding directly into the Skill. Fitting, considering the nature of Sariel." Othinus said with some amusement.
Hope huh? Well Hope was considered one of the most powerful emotions for a reason. It could drive those with nothing to gain everything, it made the impossible possible.
Despite all that, I still believed in Hinata, despite Granbell's shonen power up Hinata still hadn't used all her cards, she had yet to use her most overpowered abilities.
She hadn't made much use of Vendetta yet, though that would only be of so much use. Hinata could elevate it to the Ultimate level due to her knowledge of the world but it would still be bottom of the barrel in the Ultimate category, not of much use against Granbell since the few times Hinata did use Vendetta he quickly figured out how to counter it.
Her real trump card was Virtual World, that would literally be a game changer. The downside is that it costs a ton of energy but if Hinata can pull it off at the right moment when Granbell least suspects it, then she wins. Not to mention getting through Multi-Dimensional Barrier will be tough, but Damrada sorta managed it against me and my defense was far greater than Hinata's even if the Skill itself was the same.
Still, Granbell was doing better than I expected. His mastery over his Ultimate Skill was fairly high for having just got it, but he was chosen by the Skill itself so his compatibility with it was probably off the charts.
If Granbell wasn't literally insane I'd probably try and talk to him like I had Damrada, maybe I'd get a good fight out of it. Oh well, I'm happy with having laid the seeds to turn Damrada into an ally. I have a feeling that after Damrada wakes up we'll get along.
I smirked as I thought back to his Galaxy Impact. We'll definitely get along.
"Is that all you've got, Granbell?" Hinata taunted as she quickly thrust her rapier.
Granbell just laughed as he dodged her strike. "You know better than that, Hinata. I'm just warming up!"
Granbell and Hinata continue to play cat and mouse for a bit. This was actually getting pretty boring. It was hard to enjoy fights between weaker people for an extended period of time. Especially when they just did the same thing, but I didn't blame them. They were still testing each other's capabilities which was only normal.
I didn't even flinch as I heard a voice sound out from behind me. "They are still going at it, hmm?" Luminous said as she floated beside me. I had already concealed us with Falsifier so neither Hinata or Granbell knew she was here. Granbell seemed to have some sort of hate/respect boner for Luminous so who knows how he'd react.
I turned around, meeting her heterochromatic eyes. "Yup, Hinata took it easy on Granbell, giving him enough time to get a power up."
As Luminous looked down at the battle, I smirked at Othinus. She really went all out when creating her own body. "Things went fine I assume?" I said.
Othinus nodded. "Indeed, as I informed you. Raiden and Saeko acquired new Skills and defeated Razul." Othinus informed.
It was a bit odd speaking to Othinus in person, I was much more used to talking to her in my own head.
With one final meaningful look Othinus' body turned into energy and flowed back into me. I had given Othinus about 10% of my total energy so she had about 8,000,000 EP that I lost. Now I was back in peak condition.
The unconscious forms of Raiden and Saeko floated towards me, I raised my palm and sucked them into Infinity Space. They'd be fine with a bit of rest, they went Plus Ultra so they deserve a bit of a break. Defeating Razul at their current level was no easy feat, mostly because of his bullshit armor.
Both their new Unique Skills would allow them to fight at a level higher than before, Saeko's gave her the raw power she was lacking, and Raiden's gave her the hax she was lacking.
"He acquired an Ultimate Skill…." Luminous muttered as she looked at Granbell with a conflicted expression. They were once friends from what I understood, the betrayal of a friend would always sting.
I floated towards her and placed a hand on her shoulders. "If it's any consolation, I'm 90% sure he's so insane that he's looped back into being sane."
Luminous' lips curled upwards slightly. "Is that so? I appreciate your attempt to distract me, but it is unneeded. Do you know what Granbell's Skill makes him capable of?" She asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, it seems to basically be the opposite of your own Ultimate Skill. Yours focuses on manipulating the death aspect of the cycle of life, whereas Granbell's focuses on the life aspect."
Luminous sighed. "It seems we truly are bound by fate."
I pouted. "If you go saying that I might get jealous!" I said with a laugh. I wasn't serious, I was confident in myself, what wasn't there to like after all?
"...."
'What!? Do you disagree?'
"I suppose not, but no one likes a preening peacock."
'That's true.'
Luminous rolled her eyes at my comment. "What am I to do? My lover is a jealous sort." She sighed dramatically.
I crossed my arms. "Hmm." Women were complicated, I'm pretty sure she was asking what sort of activities we could enjoy together, but maybe I'm wrong.
"I suppose your lover would enjoy a personally planned date. Oh and with wholesome hand holding!"
Luminous' lips twitched in amusement. "I see…."
"So what's going on in Lune?" I asked, changing the topic. I already knew the general gist since my senses were pretty damn good, but hearing it from Luminous' mouth would be better.
I wasn't a selfless guy or anything, but I didn't want a bunch of Humans to lose their homes and livelihoods for something completely out of their control, that would just be cruel. I was a Demon Lord but that didn't mean I had to be an unempathetic piece of shit.
"Most of the Monsters that were attacking have been taken care of by the Holy Knights and Paladins." Luminous said. "I heard there was a rather powerful Dragon on the loose, I have no idea how Granbell was able to mind control a Dragon of all things, especially an Arch Dragon. They are a prideful bunch, I had once tried to tame some of my own but it was too much work keeping them in line." Luminous sighed.
"Yeah, I sensed the Dragon too, though Sukuna quickly took care of it."
Even I was surprised by just how efficiently and brutally Sukuna took out the Dragon. I wasn't personally there watching but I could record the information of the fight through the soul corridor Sukuna and I possessed.
Sukuna was seriously making the best of his new stronger abilities in a traditional brutal Sukuna fashion. He didn't even give the Dragon a chance, and then he bullied it with his Domain Expansion or World System Skill now for good measure. He completely destroyed the pride and ego of that Dragon before killing it. Despite how his soul was reworked, he still kept the primary characteristics of his old self.
Even I felt bad at the end of it all. And seemingly Zegion was Sukuna's preferred sparring partner meaning Zegion could last against Sukuna. Perhaps it had something to do with his exoskeleton, maybe Razul would have been harder for Sukuna to take on.
"Sukuna hmm? That was the four armed Daemon that you brought along? He did feel a bit odd, not like most Daemons I have encountered." Luminous said as she toyed with her hair.
I nodded. "Mhmm. I recruited him from another world, he was basically the big bad villain of that world. His evolution into a Daemon was a bit different than most Daemons due to his nature in his old world."
I imagine Curses would become similar to Sukuna but weaker. Though I do wonder if Curses would become more similar to True Dragons in nature as they are basically embodiments of certain fears as far as I know with the Disaster Curses being embodiments of literal disasters. I'm sure they wouldn't be anywhere near as strong as True Dragons but it's still an interesting thought to entertain.
Would Volcano Head be able to body the Sukuna under my command due to having more conceptual weight as the embodiment of volcanoes?
"They would likely connect to the concept they represent as beings born from Humanity's fears in some way, but their power levels would likely not change by a large margin, they would not become Ultimate existences like True Dragons. However their immortality would be strengthened. They would likely become similar to yokai if anything."
That's about what I thought, but I'd still like to test that theory out myself some day.
I'm also pretty sure that the old Sukuna would be either angry or amused at my simplifying of his deeds in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. But he'd probably accept my verdict, he was a man who believed the strong had the right to rule, in this scenario I was the strong so I could do with him what I wished. His mindset was very caveman-like in that way.
He was a straight up menace to society, but I don't think Luminous would care about that.
Luminous let out a noncommittal hum. "Being able to recruit from another world is truly unfair."
I nodded. "There are lots of people out there that can be considered extraordinary, more extraordinary than me." In reality, while I was more special than most, I wasn't some extreme prodigy, Satoru fit that description better than I did. I just got lucky.
Luminous raised a brow. "If there are people more powerful than you out there, then I truly fear for this world's safety."
"You're misunderstanding. While I wouldn't be surprised if there are people stronger than me out there, by extraordinary I meant it in terms of mindset, and in terms of desire. There are some people out there who can truly do some maddening things just because they have a dream."
It was honestly pretty humbling. But I was who I was, and I wasn't going to try and change that to become more "special". I'll just live my life like I want to, easy as that. It had been working so far and I was taking steps to maintain my current style of living.
Luminous nodded though for some reason she seemed doubtful. She probably had a skewed vision of me in her mind. Over time she'll probably learn to see the full picture, after that is when I think a true and real partnership between us can begin. Once she gets out of the honeymoon phase basically.
"Perhaps some day we can go to another world together to pick up some people for you?" I offered. Spending more time together was the best way to see just how compatible we were. I was doing the same with all my other lovers as well and was having a fun time with it.
Luminous nodded, a small smile on her face. "I would like that. As for your earlier question, the damage to Lune is rather noticeable." Luminous said as she gestured outwards to all the destroyed buildings in the distance, the cracked and destroyed roads.
The Grand Cathedral below us was in ruins as well, I'm pretty sure it was some super special holy site too so I don't think her people will be very happy about that.
The entire infrastructure of Lune would need to be repaired, despite everything being reinforced with Magic, there's only so much it can all handle.
Luminous even prepped ahead of time for an attack by reinforcing things further, but when an Arch Dragon rampages not much can stop it from toppling some buildings, not mentioning some of the other powerful Monsters I sensed at the beginning of the attack.
Plus Granbell seemed to have arranged things so as much damage was done to the infrastructure as possible. He seriously wanted to do as much damage to Luminism as possible, he was completely set on his path at this point. I wonder who pissed in his cheerios?
"I believe that would be you, master."
'Nah, I don't piss!'
"…."
"I can take care of some of the damage. I got a Skill that is uniquely suited to that." I offered. Brahma would allow me to fix all this up pretty quickly, then the civilians can get back to their normal lives. Some normalcy is something everyone deserves in this cruel world.
Luminous nodded. "Very well, I would appreciate that."
I nodded. Despite Luminous' pride she took her station as the ruler of her people seriously, even the Humans. She wouldn't put her pride above getting her people a nice and warm home to keep them safe.
"Though which Skill are you speaking of?" Luminous asked.
I tilted my head thoughtfully. I didn't mind opening up to Luminous about my Skills, it was part of building trust but I wasn't going to put everything out on the table at once. "Think of it as a better Material Creation. It can create things really, really good."
That was the most simple explanation of Brahma that I could give.
Luminous nodded with raised brows. "I see. Thank you for sharing."
I nodded. "What about Kagali and co?" I asked. I wonder how Yuuki would feel knowing that he started the death of all his friends. If he never reached too far, all his friends would still be alive.
Luminous snorted. "It was as you said, she has an inflated opinion of herself. She believed she alongside her companions were enough to take me on. I truly do wonder where the once cunning Demon Lord Kazalim has gone."
"Loss can make people do things they normally wouldn't. It's normal." I said, knowing the part I played in Kagali's loss.
I didn't regret my actions. Footman was planning to release Charybdis on Tempest and he almost succeeded. If I wasn't there I couldn't see Rimuru managing to defeat Charybdis on his own, even with Tempest's forces.
He just wasn't all that strong back then, even as a Demon Lord Seed. He lacked the raw power to affect something as large and volatile as Charybdis, Footman and Tear made themselves out to be a genuine threat to what I cared for, and so they were dealt with as such.
Yuuki was partially responsible for Saeko's initial death as well as a host of other things. And Laplace almost permanently killed Hinata, though perhaps Laplace had a chance for redemption if he got his old memories as Sarion back.
Part of me was curious what he would be like, I've never met a regular True Hero before, candidates sure, but not bonafide True Heroes since Leon doesn't count. His Elemental abandoned him so he lost that status, and Chloe wasn't the standard.
Sarion didn't have an Ultimate Skill or else he wouldn't have suffered the fate he did with his broken Skills, but I was still curious about him, similar to how I was curious about Hinata when I first heard of her.
I could think of that later though, right now I had the company of a beautiful woman.
"Hmm, that is true. Loss can make even the most intelligent of beings act recklessly." Luminous nodded. "Kagali didn't seem to truly be all there in the head it was. She was focused on Laplace and was making some truly foolish mistakes. She even attempted to use basic Elemental Magic on me." Luminous said with a scoff.
I nodded. "Yeah, she probably went a bit mad."
"Who all were there to ambush you? I sensed three people when I left."
I'm guessing there was Tear and Kagali, but I have no idea who the third could be. Probably someone from Cerberus or something. They did seem decently strong though, no one that the current Luminous would struggle with, but still strong.
Luminous' lips pursed. "There was the female clown, Tear, and then Granbell sent the undead corpse of his wife."
My brows shot up. "That's pretty…. weird. He resurrected his wife as an undead and sent her to attack you?"
Luminous nodded. "It was filled with the love energy that I gave Granbell over the years to maintain his youth, allowing the undead to be a bit more powerful than usual. It was also filled with the energy of some otherworlders, giving the undead more power as well as a few abilities. If I hadn't acquired Asmodeus I likely would have struggled with the three of them."
"Huh, the undead doll must have been pretty strong then." I mused out loud.
"And what about on your end? Who was it that you wanted to take on yourself?" Luminous asked.
I smirked. "Damrada of Gold is how he's known in Cerberus. He's the merchant behind Cerberus but he isn't weak at all. He was fun to fight, you can talk to him yourself later if you want."
Luminous raised a brow. "He's still alive?"
I nodded. "He wanted to talk to me but he fell unconscious, plus I like him, it would be a shame to get rid of him now. I'm pretty sure he wasn't super deeply involved with Granbell's plans. He seemed to be doing his own thing, using Kagali and Granbell's plan as a smokescreen. Though I don't actually know what it is he was after."
He confirmed that he was once one of the Single Digits in the Eastern Empire, so my guess is that it's something involving the Empire. From what Guy said, Rudra really shouldn't be the kind of person that would just let go of someone of Damrada's calibur just like that. Either Damrada escaped from the Empire, or he has some goal in the Western Nations that aligns with the Empire's own motives.
"He must be quite something then." Luminous said.
"He most definitely was quite something. He could fight at the Ultimate level, and he grew a tremendous amount mid fight."
Damrada got his own shonen power up. I guess there were just people out there that grew most when in life or death scenarios, everyone was different. I preferred to grow in a safe environment, the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.
"Oh? Is that so?" Luminous hummed.
"Fear not, for I am here!" I heard a voice shout from behind me. I rolled my eyes and spun around to see Rimuru doing the All Might pose, with his fist in the air and a victorious smirk on his face.
"A bit late, Rimuru." I retorted. "Though I'll give you props on the pose, All Might is a pretty neat guy."
I admired him for his selfless heroism, couldn't be me, but I could admire it.
Behind Rimuru, Saare was floating. We were still hovering in the air after all. Saare's eyes widened upon seeing Luminous, he quickly bowed. "Lady Luminous."
Luminous nodded with a smile. "Saare, I assume things went well on your end?"
Saare's lips twitched. "Not quite my lady. The conference was attacked, but I, alongside two of Lord Rimuru's subordinates, were able to handle them."
Luminous sighed. "I suppose I should have expected that. Granbell would hate for a Kingdom of Monsters to gain any form of authority in the West."
I shook my head, sensing the weight behind Luminous' sigh. "Granbell's hatred for anything that disrupts the status quo made it pretty inevitable that he'd become an enemy. It doesn't help that I'm basically responsible for the death of his granddaughter and have unraveled all of his century old plans. The old guard never likes when things change too fast. They see it as a threat to their power, and Granbell... well, he's a master at keeping power where he wants it, he has had to be to maintain it for so long."
Luminous nodded. "Indeed, Granbell would never willingly part with his coveted power."
"I'm sure he had good intentions at one point, but clearly something went wrong in his head." I said as I gestured to him below us. The guy was cackling as he sent soul destroying flames Hinata's way. Something clearly changed within him, not that I didn't understand. Going on a power trip when given lots of power was normal. Maybe I was still on my own power trip, who knows?
I heard a slight cough and turned to Saare with a raised brow. "I do not mean to intrude upon this conversation, but who is Granbell?" Saare asked as he looked down nervously. It seems he was rather worried about Hinata. Hinata has some good minions!
"No one that you need to be concerned with right now, Saare. If you wish to know more about him, ask Hinata at a later time. For now, since you are here please do assist your fellow Holy Knights and Great Saints with containing the damage." Luminous ordered.
Saare continued to stare at Hinata and Granbell who were still clashing before he bowed. "As you wish." He said before a burst of Fighting Spirit from his feet sent him flying deeper into the city.
"He seems to have changed a bit, I remember when he showed up at the end of our outing that one time, he seemed to be pretty dissatisfied back then." I mentioned.
Luminous shrugged her shoulders. "I cannot take credit for that. Hinata managed to reign Saare in."
I nodded. "I see."
Rimuru was rather silent as he observed the fight occurring below us. "Did you need any help, Luminous?" He asked offhandedly.
Luminous shook her head. "Everything is taken care of, or in the process of being taken care of. I would suggest that you focus more on your meeting with the Council of the West. They will be rather shaken up after all this."
Rimuru nodded. "Right. I guess I showed up late." He said with a sigh before then looking at me. "Man, I didn't know that Arcueid could be that scary! When she showed up I was super surprised! She walked in like everything was under control and then just made the entire council submit!"
I tilted my head. "Hmm? What'd she do exactly?" I kinda just gave her free reign on what she could do with this opportunity.
Despite my reluctance to play politics I wasn't unaware of the opportunities the current chaos in Ruberious offered. So I told Arcueid to do what she thought was best to make the most of the opportunity while also making sure to secure the borders of Ruberious using the Free Guild's resources.
Having the Guildmaster of the Free Guild as one of my indirect minions was never part of my plan but I can't deny how useful having those kinds of connections have been.
Rimuru gave me a half lidded stare. "You don't even know what she's doing!? She's in the council chambers bullying the counselors! She came in with one of the Five Great Elders I think they're called. Then she started calling out some counselors and their secrets to get them to submit. Though they probably deserved it."
"Eh, I'm sure Arcueid wouldn't take any foolish actions. She should have everything under control."
I had no idea what she was trying to do, but I'd trust her. She was way more knowledgeable on the political front than I was.
Rimuru nodded. "She did seem like she had things under control. But when did she get an Ultimate Skill?" Rimuru asked.
It didn't surprise me that Rimuru knew. With a Skill like Raphael watching his back it would be pretty difficult to not detect an Ultimate Skill unless the user itself was hiding it to a masterful degree.
Luminous' gaze snapped to Rimuru. "The Primordial of White has acquired an Ultimate Skill?"
Rimuru nodded. "She evolved into a Devil Lord too! I don't think Diablo will be very happy." Rimuru mentioned off-handedly.
Luminous turned to face me. "How did this happen?" She asked with curiosity. Though I could tell she was a bit wary. She could handle the Primordials under me before due to the stat difference between them, but now that stat difference may no longer exist.
I didn't blame her. She was a ruler and had to evaluate all the threats to her reign, that included me, Rimuru, Veldora, basically everyone who could tear her foundation down.
"Not too long ago. I was able to help Arcueid, Megumin, and Lalatina all evolve. They all managed to get an Ultimate Skill when they evolved as well."
I had considered offering such a service to others like Luminous, but decided to hold off for now. I didn't have an infinite amount of souls, I'd rather keep them in reserve for my own subordinates, then the extras can go to others. Besides I'd also like to develop our relationship a bit more before I went all in like that.
"Oh? You did not do this for your other subordinates?" Luminous asked curiously and with no jealousy. She should understand why I've refrained from helping others out.
I shook my head. "No, they weren't ready. The process is rather strenuous on the soul."
Luminous hummed. "I see." She said with a thoughtful look. If I did decide to help Luminous out with Life Reconstruction her EP should increase by quite a bit, but I can think about that more later.
"So Megumin and Lalatina also got Ultimate Skills!?" Rimuru asked in surprise.
I nodded. "Yup."
Rimuru whistled. "That's pretty impressive! I wonder how Diablo will react?"
I smiled as I thought of Diablo's reaction. It was hard to predict that guy, I couldn't tell if he'd just train his ass off or if he'd come to challenge Arcueid, Megumin, or Lalatina. I'm leaning towards him training his ass off and then challenging them to prove his superiority.
I didn't even blink as Kurumi and Sukuna appeared beside me. "My Lord!" Sukuna bowed.
"Master~!" Kurumi yipped as she transformed back into her fox form. She quickly took her place on my shoulder. I have no idea why she likes to do that so much. Maybe some sort of Kitsune culture?
I nodded towards Sukuna. "Sukuna. Good job taking on that Arch Dragon. It was a really good showing."
"I am honored by your praise, My Lord!" Sukuna said as his eyes teared up. The Diablo template is really shining through.
"So this is the Daemon who took on the Arch Dragon hmm? The one you described as the villain of his world?" Luminous said.
"Lady Luminous." Sukuna greeted. "Those days are behind me. Now I am content to serve at Lord Felix's whims and bring eternal suffering to his enemies."
It was always really weird seeing Sukuna act like that. My image of how the original Sukuna acts hasn't faded yet. They have some similarities but they're still so different. But these are the consequences of my actions.
Even Rimuru was looking weirded out.
Luminous raised a brow. "I see."
"Since you're done, Sukuna. I'll send you to help Arcueid out."
Maybe Arcueid could use some more intimidation? I doubt she needs help if she really wants to intimidate someone, but by appearance alone Sukuna looks more intimidating. What with his four arms, and four eyes.
Sukuna bowed. "As you wish."
I turned to Rimuru and got the coordinates of the council room and then transported Sukuna away.
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I am highly motivated by your guys' reviews and likes, so do that! I'll probably keep writing or something.
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Author's Note:
Hello everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. This one was more of an interlude with Felix and Luminous talking about everything that's happened, along with Felix making some plans. I was trying to build up Luminous and Felix's relationship a bit more since theirs is rather different in nature compared to the rest that Felix shares. He's already really close with his subordinates and knows he can rely on them for anything. For Luminous it's a bit different since she is a ruler and has her own priorities so I'm trying to lean into that a bit.
Also fun fact, did you know that Elmesia and Sylvia have gyatts?
Plus Rimuru also showed up, a bit too late but it's the thought that counts!
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Also, you guys should check out @BonVoyage Tensura fic, it's pretty damn good.