Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 112: Agreement
There are up to 15 chapters ahead of update schedule at [email protected]/theogbasilisk
Also, there are more images for this fic in my discord!
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- Felix -
"Ghaha! If you hadn't given me a good showing, I would have thought that you were looking down on me." Guy laughed out loud.
Rain pouted. "Don't praise her, Lord Guy! She bullied me!" She whined.
Guy clicked his tongue. "Shut."
Rain teared up. "Gah! Now you're bullying me!" Rain cried out. She quickly jumped to me, latching onto me like a koala. "You're my only hope now, Felix!"
Hinata and Luminous glared at Rain. If I wasn't as knowledgeable as I was I would have thought they were using Haki. Rain, who was seemingly clueless about their bloodlust, continued to cry crocodile tears.
I rolled my eyes at Rain's exaggerations.
"Do not bother Felix with your foolishness, Rain." Luminous demanded with Hinata nodding along.
Rain blinked in confusion. "Uhh, right, right." She said as she slowly let go of me, her face slowly growing paler and paler. "Geez, no need to use your killing intent you vultures!" She cried as she stepped back behind Guy, looking nervously at both Hinata and Luminous.
Damrada just looked dead inside at the actions of what he saw as a formidable Primordial, a being that had been around for eons, a sibling of the first Demon Lord, Guy Crimson.
Yeah… Rain really was something. Her reputation was being destroyed by the second, at least among those in this room who weren't already aware of her true nature.
Hinata had taken her seat to my left. Luminous was on my right with Damrada on Luminous' right.
Damrada gave Hinata a complicated look, one which Hinata shrugged off. It seems she wasn't going to dwell on the past, though maybe they'd likely end up at least talking later and working out their issues. Damrada seemed like the responsible sort; he'd want to get any past grievances out of the way.
After Hinata and Damrada finished their little stare down, I looked to Hinata as Guy returned to his seat. I gave her the most genuine smile I could. "That was really amazing Hinata, I'm proud of you." I said, and I was being completely honest.
It was a wonder and a blessing to get to watch her grow into the remarkable young woman that she was today. Despite her so-called sins, she wasn't a bad person. She tried her best and what more could you ask of someone?
She'd gone far from the person whose guts I hated.
A bright smile boomed on Hinata's face as she lightly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Th-Thank you, Felix." She said with a bright smile. "I mean it."
"No need to thank me, you really have become a remarkable young woman."
Before Hinata could respond, Luminous interrupted. "Ehem. Despite this being rather adorable, I do believe that there are more important matters to discuss." I could tell that Luminous didn't want to interrupt, but she was right, there were other important things to discuss.
Hinata lightly coughed. "Right… what were you speaking about before I rudely interrupted?" Hinata asked sheepishly.
I quickly filled Hinata in on what we had spoken about prior to her arrival. I told her about Guy and Rudra's close friendship and rivalry, Damrada deciding to serve me and his reasons for doing so, Rudra's illness, and Damrada's mission to find someone capable of defeating and, if needed, killing Rudra.
Hinata already knew most of that, so not all of it came as a surprise to her, though she was very surprised when learning just who Damrada was, that being the former Prime Minister of the Nasca Kingdom and one of the most powerful Saints in the entirety of the Eastern Empire.
From what I saw she didn't dislike Damrada or anything. Even after he manipulated her, it seems she was over it by now. Though they were by no means allies or friends like they once were if they ever were.
She was even more surprised when hearing that Rudra was dying, which was fair. The guy was a match for Guy Crimson, he could fight True Dragons, and Rudra was probably a Divine Human.
The fact that someone like that could die due to something not combat related was pretty damn surprising. Though interestingly enough, harming the spirit of someone that strong was honestly the easiest way to kill them if you weren't vastly stronger than them. Unironically, killing someone via depression was a viable tactic in this world.
Luminous joined in on our little recap session as Guy waited patiently. She told Hinata about Saare's actions which got a reaction from Hinata. I don't know what to say about that guy, I didn't know him very well, but he had to have balls of steel to try to stand up to Guy. I could respect it.
After that I told her about the competition that Guy and Rudra were apparently having. About how they weren't able to come to a winner between the two of them, so they decided to fight through proxies. I told her how the Demon Lord Council was apparently Guy's main proxies, while I imagine the Single Digits are Rudra's main proxies since they're all Saints.
All of that explained why Guy hadn't acted in his role as the Mediator despite the chaos and death the Eastern Empire has been sowing in Humanity. According to the rules I could guess, Guy wasn't allowed to and Guy wasn't keen on breaking the rules to his game unless he really needed to.
I told her about how Rudra was slowly losing himself. I told her about the existence of Michael, Lord of Justice and about how it was rebelling against Rudra, which is what is causing his current state. I told her and Luminous about Castle Guard, something both were shocked to hear about, but I told them I'd elaborate later. Or maybe they'd learn from this conversation.
As for Michael, Hinata knew full well the damage an entity in your soul could do if it had an ego and did not have your best interests in mind. She was suppressing Chronoa for a long while due to that very reason.
Hinata looked at me with a gaping mouth. "...I see. So that is the story behind everything."
Luminous nodded. "Indeed, it has been rather… enlightening." Luminous was also listening in keenly. She didn't know everything either. I planned to explain it all to her later when Guy was gone, but with the opportunity it made sense to do it all now. Though after this, I'd have to go tell Rimuru. It was best to keep your allies in the loop after all.
I had considered calling him here, but he was probably rather busy now with dealing with the Council of the West. No need to disturb him unless big plans were actually being made.
"Gahaha, I'm glad that it was interesting then." Guy leaned forwards. "Now let's get into the good stuff! I've been meaning to talk to you all about this. With a new True Hero on my side, then the odds are even more in my favor." Guy said with a vicious grin.
Hinata raised a brow. "I do not recall accepting following your whims, Guy Crimson."
Guy rolled his eyes and sighed as if he was used to this already. "If you do not serve Luminous, you are at the very least friends with her, and your relationship with Felix seems to be quite close, Rudra and them are bound to clash. Not to mention if Rudra wins, the life of freedom that you have known will be snatched away from you. Rudra will demand absolute obedience for absolute peace."
Hinata clicked her tongue. "Tsk. Fine."
"Pride is expected, but do not let pride become arrogance." Guy advised, wisdom in his voice. Hinata's lips twitched, but she nodded, taking his advice into consideration. I thought it was ironic with what his Skill was.
"Before you continue, do you mind sharing more about Castle Guard? I admit I've grown rather curious about it."
It sounded like a really interesting ability; an ability I wanted. My own Skill greed was beginning to show, but I could control myself.
Guy sighed. "I suppose expecting you not to find out was foolish." He mused out loud.
"Why didn't you share about it in the first place?" I asked. I wasn't angry, but I was curious.
Guy just shrugged. "I believed in your ability to adapt. If you failed then you failed. But what happened happened. Not to mention, even knowing about it, there would not be much even you could do. It is God's Ultimate Defense for a reason."
Guy then explained a bit more about Castle Guard. Most of it aligned with what Damrada told me. It was a sub-skill of Michael, Lord of Justice, and therefore God's former "ultimate defense".
Guy said it was designed to block and nullify almost every kind of ability in existence, and was a pain in the ass to get past when at full power. Guy didn't actually know about how it worked exactly, which said something with how absurd Guy's own analytical ability was.
That was a bit unfortunate, but it is what it is.
Guy then went on to share that Rudra actually couldn't use it at full power. He said that Rudra could only use it in spurts of around 10 seconds before it went on "cool down".
That made it far easier to work around. All abilities have a weakness, and this was one of Castle Guard's.
"Hmm, this is not as bad as it could be then." Hinata said.
Luminous nodded. "Indeed. This 10 seconds time frame can be worked around."
I didn't say anything, even if I agreed with them. I'd still work on other countermeasures in case the 10 second time frame changed though. Plus Guy said Rudra could use it right as he attacked, surprising his opponent with it before disabling it, maximizing his time with it.
From what I got, it was probably an authority similar to Small World, except this one was Veldanava's and was in Skill-shaped form.
"It is important to consider that the 10 second time frame could have changed." Hinata added.
I smiled. She really did take after me.
Luminous nodded. "Indeed, it is important that we come up with countermeasures."
"That's not likely. He told me that it was because of Michael's own resistance that he had that limitation." Guy then gestured to Damrada. "And according to him, Rudra's issue with Michael has only increased. Logically, his ability to use Castle Guard should have decreased."
I nodded. "That's what I believe as well, but it doesn't hurt to come up with plans."
Guy leaned back into his seat as he nodded. "That's true. I'll give you all a freebie then." He said. "Castle Guard is powered by loyalty to the user, and just who is loyal to Rudra." Guy said as his smirk grew.
I raised a brow before laughing. "Hahaha, I see, I see."
Hinata looked at us in confusion before realization came to her. "You don't mean-"
"The Eastern Empire." Luminous finished for her.
Guy grinned. "Yup! Just kill off the entire Empire, and Castle Guard is no more!" He said with a wild laugh. "It's what I'd do to make things easy, but I can't due to the rules of the game." He said with a wink.
Hinata narrowed her eyes. "Such a thing should not be allowed." She argued.
I shrugged. "I agree, but we'll see when we get to that situation."
It was certainly a vile thing to do, killing millions just to get at one person.
Going by the look in Hinata's eyes, she knew I wasn't that conflicted. In the end I'd choose us over them, though I was going to try everything else before going to that drastic resort.
It was something that would need to be confronted later if it was necessary, and I wasn't certain who would be against who at that point, but that was for the future.
"Now that you're all filled in on that, I'll continue." Guy began. "You all wished to know the rules of my game with Rudra?"
Luminous sighed. "Get on with it."
Guy smirked and nodded. "The rules between Rudra and I are simple. As I'm sure you all have figured out, we are not allowed to directly take any action against each other or against the spirit of the game. We are meant to only strike at one another through proxies."
"What counts as a proxy? None of the Demon Lords are directly under your thumb, so they don't have to be your direct subordinate to qualify."
Guy nodded. "Indeed, as for what qualifies someone as a proxy, well that is rather vague. Anyone he or I can convince or manipulate into acting against the other fulfills the qualification."
I nodded.
"So you planned to indirectly place the Demon Lord Council on the path of the Eastern Empire then?" Hinata asked curiously.
Guy nodded. "Indeed, though it is not like it would have taken much. Rudra would not have been satisfied until all of the Demon Lords submitted to him, due to his pride and due to wanting their territories for himself. He would face them all if he has to. Rudra would have been an enemy for the Council no matter what actions I took." Guy explained, trying to shrug off some of the blame.
"What are the conditions to win this game of yours?" Luminous asked with resignation. "Do you have to defeat Rudra, or do you just have to conquer all of his pawns?"
It seems she's accepted that she's part of this big ol' game no matter what. Even if she doesn't like how Guy has been manipulating things in the background, that doesn't change the facts. The Eastern Empire will eventually invade and mess everything up. At that point, wasn't it better to just swallow the bitter pill and ally with Guy? Rejecting Guy only had down sides and practically no up sides other than maintaining a semblance of pride.
Luminous was prideful, but not so prideful to the point that she'd act against her interests to maintain her pride.
"I was under the impression that we would need to defeat Emperor Rudra, but if the man himself will agree to a loss if his subordinates are defeated then that would be best." Hinata stated. "Though we would still need to worry about him losing himself." Hinata stated offhandedly.
Guy nodded. "Indeed, Hinata is right. When this game started, I did not intend to kill Rudra, but he has been losing himself for centuries. I do not know how much of my friend remains. To win, Rudra must be put down, he will accept nothing less." Guy said as he closed his eyes mournfully.
It was pretty odd to see Guy genuinely mournful about planning to kill someone. This was the same man that had killed millions of people because of the actions of their leader. His Daemon underlings alone are responsible for many deaths every year. I suppose Guy didn't care for those he didn't know, but those he did care for, he was willing to do a lot for. Ironically enough, that was a very human mindset.
"So that's how it is." Damrada sighed. "I had always wondered what it was you said to Emperor Rudra back then. So it was about this?"
Guy nodded. "Yeah, that guy really needed a kick in the ass to get himself going again."
Damrada dipped his head. "Thank you."
Guy waved him off. "Don't mention it."
Luminous and Hinata looked confused about Guy and Damrada's conversation. "Don't worry about it you two, it's nothing that important. I can tell you later if you want."
Both of them nodded.
Guy stretched his arms upwards before resting them behind his head. "Now that you're all in the loop, I can officially ask you: Will you all help me win this game against Rudra?" Guy asked as his crimson eyes gleamed.
"I suppose I have no choice. Rudra has already made a mess of things and he will likely make things worse. Allying is in my best interest." Luminous grunted.
Guy nodded and looked to Hinata who nodded with a serious expression on her face. "I will do what I must to protect my friends and Humanity."
Guy grinned. "You Heroes are so straightforward, it makes it easy to understand you." Guy said before he finally looked at me, completely skipping over Damrada. I guess Damrada did say he would follow what I said, so there was no point in asking for Damrada's approval.
"And you, Felix?" Guy asked.
I shrugged. "Rudra was always going to be an issue I knew I'd have to deal with eventually. Having your support only makes things easier."
Even if Guy wasn't as strong as he was, he still had a lot of connections that would help. Velzard for one wasn't restricted from participating, according to the rules of his game. The other Demon Lords were also pretty powerful. Dagruel, Leon, Dino, and Milim were all incredibly overpowered. I'd be surprised if any of the Single Digits, other than that Kondou guy, could stand up to them for even a moment. And that was just because he had an unknown Ultimate Skill.
That was the minimum requirement needed for me to even acknowledge someone. I'd still win against him, of course, but getting an Ultimate Skills was by far one of the most difficult things to accomplish. It showed a certain level of will power which could get you very far in this world.
Guy grinned. "Excellent!" Though if Guy thought I was just going to play by his rules and do what he said he had another thing coming.
"Was that all you wanted to know?" Guy asked to the room.
"I do have one thing to ask you about. Did you know of Tatsuya Kondou?" I asked. I was curious if Guy knew about the powerful Saint with an Ultimate Skill on Rudra's side.
Guy raised a brow as he hummed. "Tatsuya Kondou?" He looked behind him to look at Rain who had been standing behind Guy. "Has Misery mentioned anyone like that?"
Rain looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "I do not believe she has."
I blinked. "That's surprising. I thought you'd be more aware of your rival's so-called forces."
Guy tilted his head. "I'm assuming this Kondou guy is important then?"
I nodded. "I haven't met the guy, but Damrada said a lot about him. He's a Saint and the leader of the Single Digits, the strongest in the Eastern Empire under Rudra and Velgrynd."
Guy raised a brow. "Oh? That is impressive then."
I nodded. "But more importantly, according to Damrada, he has an Ultimate Skill."
Guy's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
I shrugged. "That's what Damrada said at least, and I'm keen to believe him."
Damrada nodded. "I may not possess a true Ultimate Skill myself, but I know what they look like. Those abilities that Kondou demonstrated could only be the result of an Ultimate Skill in action."
Guy's lips pursed. "That is annoying but I suppose I should have expected as much from Rudra." Guy sighed. "That means all his Single Digits possess false Ultimate Skills barring one that possesses a true Ultimate Skill of unknown quality."
False Ultimate Skill? Is that what he was calling Ultimate Enchantments? Well, I suppose he could call them whatever they want. Ultimate Enchantments sounds way better though.
"Kondou is a truly exceptional individual." Damrada said. "He is not even a century old, and yet he has an Ultimate Skill and is by far one of the strongest Humans to ever walk this earth." Damrada said solemnly. "Do not underestimate him; that is my advice to you all if you forgive my presumptuousness." Damrada said humbly.
Hinata shook her head. "No, thank you, Damrada."
Damrada nodded.
"Do you plan to tell the rest of the Demon Lord Council about this?" Luminous asked after a moment. Though I could tell she was still reeling from the fact that she discovered yet another Human with an Ultimate Skill.
Guy shook his head. "Perhaps in the future when the facts become more relevant. As it is now, I do not believe that Rudra will invade for some time. He was always one to over prepare. 10 Saints likely is not enough for him to feel secure in defeating me. At least, unless something has spurred him into action."
Luminous sighed. "Keeping things like this will eventually sow discord within the Council."
Guy nodded. "I am aware. I will not keep this hidden for long. Were those all the questions you had?" Guy asked.
I leaned back, nodding. Luminous also nodded, as did Hinata.
Guy nodded. "Very well, if you wish to consult me, use the Demon Lord Ring to contact me." Guy looked to Hinata. "You may make use of either Felix's or Luminous's, I suppose."
Hinata rolled her eyes but nodded.
"Now I need to check on Misery. Could you dispel the barrier you have preventing spatial travel, Felix?"
I nodded. "Yeah." I snapped my fingers, dispelling the barrier.
Guy gave us one last nod before vanishing with Rain.
"Bastard." Luminous clicked her tongue after Guy left.
I raised a brow.
"He is always like that." Luminous sighed. "Always so sure of himself; always sure that everything will go the way he wishes it to. It is truly frustrating."
Hinata nodded. "Indeed, that is the feeling that I got as well."
I shrugged. "Well he's strong, and he is a schemer. It isn't surprising that sometimes you just need to go along with his flow."
For Hinata and Luminous, blatantly going against Guy could end rather badly. I'd of course not let anything happen to them but that feeling of helplessness could still be very frustrating.
"If you do not mind my interruption, I do believe that Guy Crimson did not mean anything malicious by his way of acting." Damrada added. "Emperor Rudra was much the same, but over time I have found that it is just the way the strong act. That level of power brings a level of surety to each and every one of their actions. If they desire something then they will receive it. It is as simple as that."
I nodded. "It's exactly as Damrada said." When you were strong, you tended to gain a bit of an ego.
I was subject to this as well.
Looking back, my way of acting had changed quite a bit since I was a Human in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. I don't think it was my power changing me, more like I let go of all my inhibitions as I could afford to act on them.
I did not need to bind myself by any rules, whether from society or my own moral rules. With power you would always have that level of security that, no matter what, everything would end up being alright. And that was a comforting feeling I wouldn't give up, ever.
Not to mention the own belief I had in myself, which only made me a bit more egotistical.
Luminous sighed. "There is no use dwelling on the frustration that man causes." Luminous turned to Hinata, her lips curving up. "I am glad that you accomplished your dream, Hinata. Becoming a True Hero is no easy feat."
I nodded. "She's right. Becoming a True Demon Lord is leagues easier."
We just had to kill 10,000 Humans or get the equivalent in other species souls, then boom! True Demon Lord.
Even a Demon Lord Seed wasn't that tough to get. If you had a somewhat arrogant and domineering personality, then generally, the world will see fit to reward you with a Demon Lord Seed. Though I was probably exaggerating how easy it was. Perhaps that also said something about myself when I got a Demon Lord Seed so easily.
Maybe my personality was rotten from the start. But oh well, I liked my personality.
Still, becoming a True Hero was impossibly difficult. You had to find Ramiris, which was quite difficult in the past since her labyrinth's location was rather vague. Plus, Ramiris would place tons of traps preventing many from even seeing her. And then, you needed to get blessed by an Elemental of Light or Darkness as well as Ramiris' own blessing.
Then even that wasn't enough; the Elemental had to think you worthy of becoming a True Hero. This usually meant you had to have some breakthrough in your mentality or accomplish some grand feat. So it really was quite something that Hinata managed to awaken into a True Hero. The funny thing is that she had been ready for a long time, I'm guessing. The moment Granbell gave her his Hero's Egg, it hatched. The Elemental immediately knew that she was fit.
She probably reached that stage in development at some point when she was in the past.
Hinata gave us a small smile. "Thank you, you two. It means a lot coming from you both." She said with a nod.
Both Luminous and I nodded.
"This awakening has given me much to think about." Hinata began. "I would like to talk to you later, Felix."
I nodded. "Sure."
Luminous looked at Hinata with an odd glint in her eyes, just what was that woman thinking?
"They are right, Hinata." Damrada said with a nod. "Becoming a True Hero and living up to that title is an arduous task. To be honest, I had never believed that you would rise to this level. It seems I had underestimated you by a large degree. However I am glad that you have proved me wrong."
Hinata gave Damrada a small nod. "Thank you, Damrada. I had also underestimated you; only now can I perceive your true strength." Hinata said with a sigh. "You could have defeated me with ease back then, couldn't you?"
A small grin formed on Damrada's lips. "Hohoho, perhaps, but that does not matter now, does it?"
Hinata shook her head. "I suppose it does not."
Luminous turned to me. "Now Felix, I would like you to explain everything. I believe that you did not mention everything in the meeting that just occurred did you?"
I shrugged. "Eh, I didn't deliberately hide anything; it was more just useful information on the Eastern Empire's overall power level that I didn't bring up because there was no need to at that moment. I planned to tell you all after I left as I only just found out most of it thanks to Damrada over there." I said as I gestured to the man himself.
Luminous nodded. "I see." She snapped her fingers. After a moment, Gunther walked through the doors. "Before you begin, Gunther will give us new glasses of tea." Luminous stated. All of the glasses had been shattered by the Demon Lord's Haki she released since I hadn't been focused on protecting them at the time.
I sighed. Luminous liked being all fancy like that.
Gunther swiftly entered the room, when he went to serve me tea, I waved him off. "No thanks, I'm good."
Gunther nodded and quickly left the room after serving everyone.
"Now Felix, please enlighten us." Luminous said.
I nodded.
- Guy Crimson -
The moment he and Rain vanished he allowed the full blown grin he had been suppressing to form on his face as he laughed. "Khahaha! Rudra's in for it now!"
He heard Rain sigh from behind him. "You always get like this when he is involved."
He ignored his impudent maid as he continued to walk forwards. He had teleported them back to the Ice Continent. Misery and Velzard were waiting for them. He looked to Velzard first, gave her a nod then looked to Misery. "Give me your report, Misery."
While he was out having fun in Ruberious, he had sent Misery to gather information on the happenings of the Western Nations.
Misery bowed before speaking. "As you expected, a massive change in power is occurring within the Western Nations. According to my intel, an incident took place during the most recent meeting of the Council of the West. However, I was not able to learn what exactly occurred."
Guy raised a brow. It was rare that Misery could not find something out in the Western Nations. No Kingdom in the West except perhaps Ruberious was equipped to deal with Misery and her resources.
"It must be something involving those three then." Guy mused out loud. Either Luminous, Felix, or Rimuru.
Misery nodded. "That is what I expected as well."
He knew that Tempest had arranged a meeting with the Council of the West, Guy was leaning into believing that Rimuru had done something.
It seems he may have to pay that Slime a visit then. He wasn't 100% certain on where Rimuru stood.
"Many people began making moves in the background shortly after the meeting ended. Many resources had been redirected towards helping Tempest's expansion in the Western Nations as well as connecting Azeroth with more resources as well." Misery continued.
Did Felix or Rimuru make the Council of the West do that? Did one of the two find a way to control the Council? He wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. In the end, they were just a bunch of normal Humans, but something like that could upset the balance of power.
He would have to investigate it himself, it seems.
"I have ordered the Cult of Vert to begin investigations, but I do not expect them to find anything due to how useless they are." Misery stated.
Guy nodded. "Very well. Thank you, Misery."
"Hey!" Rain interrupted. "Why aren't you ever that kind to me!"
Misery sighed as she walked towards Rain. "Because I am a competent maid."
Guy nodded. "Indeed."
Rain flinched. "Gah!"
"As amusing as all this is, how was your trip, Guy?" Velzard asked as she lounged on his throne's armrest.
Guy smirked as he gave Velzard a recap of what had happened.
"Fufufu. It seems you enjoyed yourself, Guy." Velzard said, though there was a hint of something dangerous in her tone. Guy ignored it, his partner got like this sometimes.
Guy nodded. "Indeed, a new True Hero. Who would have thought?" After Rain and Misery awakened thanks to Felix, he hadn't been expecting anymore awakened tier allies.
"You said she was stronger than Luminous?" Velzard asked with a tilt of her head.
Guy shrugged. "It is possible. She had more energy than Luminous, at least. Though you know very well how energy alone is not enough."
When he was testing her, he was able to get a general understanding of her overall level. Her swordsmanship was quite incredible. Not quite at his own level, but it was still good, and that was saying a lot.
His swordsmanship was a match for Rudra's, the first True Hero and student of Veldanava himself. His swordsmanship could be considered to be among the best in the multiverse, in the same leagues as Dino, Milim, and Rudra.
Hinata's technique was rather refined and she did not merely use brute force to win her fights. He could tell she still was not used to her newfound power, which was natural, but during the fight Guy noticed her growing. She was taking hints of his own swordsmanship style and refining it into her own. It was no Skill, Guy knew that much. It was pure combat instinct.
Guy couldn't wait to see just how powerful Hinata would become.
Velzard rolled her eyes. "No need to remind me."
Guy smiled smugly. Velzard always got annoyed when he brought up the fact that he fought her to a draw with only a tenth of her reserves. She was a prideful woman.
"It seems that your game will be wrapping up." Velzard mused.
Guy nodded. "Indeed, I imagine Rudra will take action in the coming months. He has been preparing for quite some time. I imagine he will be ready soon." Guy's lips curved up into a smirk. "However, I will also be ready. Felix has grown stronger than he was before, I could feel it. Perhaps he could even make me go all out now." He mused out loud.
Felix may have thought Guy was bringing everything to the table when they fought, but he was dead wrong. He would not be the first Demon Lord if he did not keep some things to himself.
Velzard nodded as she stood up, a portal forming beside her. "I will be going."
Guy nodded as Velzard stepped through her portal, as he turned away from her he spotted a vicious scowl on her face.
I wonder what's wrong with her?
Misery and Rain had already left to prepare him a meal. He took a seat on his throne as he thought back to what had happened over the course of the day.
Things were moving faster now. With Damrada switching sides, him getting multiple new pieces with Ultimate Skills, and the Primordials all being accounted for in the Cardinal World. Things were truly changing.
He thought back to the meeting. He would be lying if he said he didn't learn anything new. Tatsuya Kondou; that was a name he would have to keep an eye out for. He wouldn't be underestimating someone who had an Ultimate Skill. He of all people knew best how Ultimate Skills could flip the entire board over.
Rudra would likely be making Kondou a big part of his plan to win their game. Rudra should not have any idea just how many individuals on Guy's side could fight on the Ultimate level. He likely still thought Luminous was not at that level, he likely also thought that Rimuru was not at that level either.
Luminous had made remarkable progress recently. Her Demon Lord's Haki felt far more potent than ever before, and he was certain her Ultimate Skill would only add to that. He hadn't expected much from her after failing to acquire an Ultimate Skill for thousands of years.
She was strong, don't get him wrong, but he did not think she would become someone he could truly respect. Yet, she surprised him in the end. Having an Ultimate Skill was something that he intrinsically respected; it was in his nature.
As for what Rudra thought of Felix, Guy did not know. Guy had heard the rumors that Felix had fought Veldora to a draw recently, which Guy believed, but would Rudra believe that? If he did, then Rudra would come up with countermeasures for Felix as well. If not, then Guy had yet another trump card in his back pocket that he could unleash.
The only ones who Rudra would likely be paying attention to would be Milim, Dino, Leon, and Dagruel.
Rudra and Velgrynd were unaware of the true horror of Velzard as well. Rudra was likely going to rely on Velgrynd to take on Velzard. In the past Velzard had easily dispatched Velgrynd, a Velzard that was in her sealed state as well. Yet, neither Velgrynd or Rudra knew that was Velzard in her sealed state. Almost none knew that the Velzard that was currently wandering the world was at a fraction of her true power, and was still able to trash True Dragons.
He smirked. She was his partner for a reason.
He was sure that Velgrynd had been training for that exact moment for centuries, if not millennia. Yet even then, Guy believed that it would not be enough. Unless Velgrynd became a Digital Lifeform, she would always remain Time Stop fodder.
But he would consider all that further later.
"Lord Guy~! You food is ready!" Rain called out as she wheeled a cart over.
For now he would enjoy his life to the fullest extent, like he had been doing for eons.
- Shinji Tanimura -
"Good job boys!" Shinji cried out as they finally cleared Floor 40. The boss monster was something known as a Tempest Serpent. Shinji hadn't heard of any monster species known as that before he came to Tempest. Going by the name it likely was closely linked to Tempest and could only be found within Tempest's borders.
The snake had a large, jet-black body with thorny scales and tough skin. The Tempest Serpent was ranked A-, so even high-level adventurers struggled against it. Its breath attack, covering a wide-area, was devastating in small rooms. You would be stuck in a room with it, when it released its breath attack there wasn't much you could do.
Mark groaned. "Ugh, finally. That Poison Breath was a pain."
Shin nodded. "Indeed." It wasn't like they couldn't take out the Tempest Serpent if they wanted to. It was just that they were trying their best to hold back from using their more powerful abilities in case they were being watched.
So they had to use far more effort than normal to defeat the beast. But that was a lesson on its own. It went to show that they had been relying on their Skills too much and had not trained their foundation. If Gadra found out, he would scold them.
They had been at this now for a few hours. They had been steam rolling through The Dungeon. The higher levels were just that weak. But as they descended deeper and deeper into The Dungeon, the difficulty slowly ramped up.
Each of the monsters in The Dungeon were given a difficulty ranking based on their EP. Shinji thought it was a rather simple and easy to understand system. EP was a numerical value that was given to an individual based on their total energy and physical power. It was not foolproof as how you used your power mattered, but it was still a rather good base to work off of when power scaling.
Thankfully, despite having been in The Dungeon for a few hours, they did not feel all that drained, the three of them were Enlightened. They had energy for days when it came to fighting lower ranked monsters like the ones they had been fighting against.
When they first entered The Dungeon, they had been rather on guard, but now their tension had eased. They gathered information in advance to avoid taking risks, but now Shinji and crew felt that The Dungeon was heavily based on game mechanics.
Shin wasn't much of a gamer, which was a shame, but he and Mark were both avid gamers. He in particular, was an RPG enthusiast, and he loved adventure titles and had managed to enjoy them in between his studies at university.
In light of this knowledge, they could best describe this Dungeon as nothing but a game, its challengers certainly being the targets of someone's devious schemes. Nevertheless, this was all too familiar to those in the know. That helped them relax quite a bit as it all felt like rather familiar ground to them.
Shin was good at detecting traps, and with Shinji's assistance, he managed to pick them all out. As long as the traps were taken care of, the strength of the monsters wasn't much of a threat.
That was how they rapidly managed to ascend past Floor 40, a Floor that barely any had managed to pass.
"I guess the challengers had a hard time conquering it due to their lack of knowledge." Shinji mused out loud.
Mark nodded. "Yeah, probably. I did mock this as an obstacle course, but that's exactly what this is. If you can decipher the malicious intentions of the creator, you can just sneak past that stuff."
Indeed, they had been quite literally exploiting their way through The Dungeon, as any proper gamer should when they were too shit at the game itself. It was almost as if they power leveled way too early and were now far too powerful for the starting area.
"I have no idea what you two are talking about, but I do agree that The Dungeon in concept is rather simple. You can't even die!" Shin said.
While they were collecting information, they had heard about the Resurrection Bracelet. You could get one for free like a one-time deal from the reception desk. With the bracelet equipped, you would revive back at the entrance upon dying in the labyrinth, or so they were told. That immediately had them intrigued. It was somewhat hard to digest, like they had stumbled upon a truly remarkable city in this shithole of a world.
Two hours ago, they had ended up returning to the receptionist desk as they didn't know how deep this Dungeon was, and how long it would take for them to explore it to a satisfactory level to send enough information back that they wouldn't be scolded back in the Eastern Empire.
But even though they wanted to conquer it in one go, the rations they brought were limited. They were Enlightened so they needed less than normal Humans, but they did still need some sustenance. The trio were at a loss about how much food they had to pack for the exploration, and so they returned to the receptionist desk to cash in their rewards and try again later.
When they brought up the question, the receptionist reassured them that it would not be an issue and that they were free to stay in The Dungeon for as long as they wished to. Apparently there was a literal hotel inside The Dungeon which they could stay at for a fee. Everything they needed would be provided, a change of clothes, a hot bath, food, everything.
You could even sell your loot at the hotel as well.
And so they returned back to The Dungeon, determined to "lock in" and get their mission over with as soon as possible. Shinji had a bad feeling ever since they entered The Dungeon. He really didn't want to delay if he didn't have to.
They walked towards the fading corpse of the Tempest Serpent, in its place a rather large jewel was left. Shinji picked it up, placing it in his satchel.
"Can you all still keep going?" Shinji asked.
Mark snorted. "Hell yeah! I haven't had this much fun in a long time! It reminds me of the times I would stay up with my boys all night even though I had a test the next day!"
Shin nodded. "I am rather intrigued by the various functions of The Dungeon. I would like to continue as well."
Shinji sighed in relief. He wanted to continue as well but he wouldn't force his companions if they weren't feeling up to it.
They quickly continued onwards, making their way to the 41st Floor. As they were walking, Shin called out all of a sudden. "Stop!" They all immediately stopped, trusting Shin's words.
"What happened, Shin?" Mark asked. "I thought you scanned the Floor already?"
Shin bit his lip. "I thought I had as well, but now I can feel another trap 5 feet ahead."
Shinji's eyes widened. "Did they manage to hide some traps from your senses?"
Shin nodded. "It seems so. I don't know if it was dumb luck that I was able to sense this one or not. But we need to be more careful from now on."
Shinji sighed but nodded. It would slow down their progress significantly, but it is what it is.
Even when being careful of traps, it didn't take them long to reach the 50th Floor.
In front of the three of them lay a massive gate with two heads, one an ox and another a horse.
"Are you all ready?" Shinji asked.
Mark stretched. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Shin nodded.
"Let's go then."
As they stepped forwards the large double doors opened in sync. Inside the room they could see a large humanoid ox with a pair of thick horns and a nose ring. In his right hand was an axe, while on his left was a shield.
"Khaha! New challengers! My name is Gozul! I am the boss of this Floor! To advance further you must defeat me!" Gozul yelled as he slammed the butt of his axe onto the ground causing an echo to resound around them.
The axe itself felt rather powerful, Shinji couldn't say what rank it was without closer observation however.
Mark cracked his neck as he stepped forwards. "I got this boys. This shouldn't take long."
And indeed it did not take long. After a few moments Mark stood victorious over Gozul. As Gozul's body vanished what was left was a sword with an odd gap in the center. Mark skipped over it entirely as he ran towards the chest that Gozul was guarding. "Ooh! Loot!" Mark yelled in excitement. Before Shinji could warn Mark about a possible trap Mark opened the chest and grabbed what was inside of it.
"Woah! Look at this! I'm totally keeping this!" Mark yelled as he laughed. Mark was holding the battle axe that Gozul was wielding. The axe had vanished with Gozul so Shinji thought that they wouldn't be able to get it, but it seems he was incorrect.
Shin ignored Mark as he picked up the sword with the odd gap in the middle. "How intriguing. My Appraisal Magic is telling me nothing."
Shinji walked up beside Shin. "We'll keep it until we meet Master Gadra. Perhaps he can understand it."
Shin nodded as he tucked it into his Spatial Storage.
Mark walked towards them, a wild grin on his face as he waved his new axe around.
The axe glimmered with a bewitching silver glow. It seemed to be a high-class masterpiece.
Shinji placed a hand on the axe as he attempted to analyze it. "Woah! It's an Unique Grade!" He shouted in surprise.
Shin's eyes widened. "Seriously? Even back in the Empire, Unique Grades are incredibly rare! They're just handing these out like candy! What the hell is the King of Monsters thinking!?"
Mark ignored their words as he practically rubbed his cheek against the bardiche. It was undeniably a powerful weapon.
If you became a Single Digit of the Empire, you would be lent legendary-grade weapons, while soldiers of lower ranks were given equipment that had good quality and strength, though they lacked any magical properties. It was understandable why Mark would be so excited given how even the senior officers would struggle to get their hands on Unique Grade weapons.
"This is all good information to remember."
Some assumptions could be made if the higher ups in the military learned that Tempest was releasing Unique Grade weapons as random loot within The Dungeon. It would signify that either Rimuru Tempest was an idiot, or that he did not put Unique Grade equipment in his eyes, which was a whole other thing.
Both Shin and Mark nodded.
"Let's go further." Shinji ordered.
Perhaps his bad feeling really was nothing. Perhaps everything would be fine.
___________________________________________________________________
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:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter! Guy, Felix, Luminous, and now Hinata finally come to an agreement of sorts. We get to learn some more backstory like the rules in Rudra and Guy's game which has been a long time coming. Also some more Rain bullying because why not.
Then we also get to see what the spies from the empire are up to. I'm aware that not a whole lot has happened with them yet but that was the prep for the bullying session that they'll be getting.
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
I'm here again, doing a last edit for mainly grammatical issues. -Omnax