Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 125: Court Mage
As always, up to chapter 141 at [email protected]/theogbasilisk.
Also, a lot more ai art for the characters of this fic in my discord which is linked at the bottom of the chapter.
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- Rimuru Tempest -
He let out the sigh of relief he had been holding once Guy teleported away. That guy, heh, always freaked him out a bit. It was just hard to be friendly with someone so alien in mindset. He had no idea how Felix and Guy seemed to be like friends.
Ah speaking of Felix, he totally forgot to tell him about his… not kids? that spawned in the Dungeon. Neither Veldora or Ramiris seemed to think it was a big deal. In their own words, it was only a consequence of being strong, but just in case he made sure to treat the Monsters that spawned from Felix's Aura well. They were currently enjoying themselves on the 53rd Floor of the Dungeon.
They were monsters with no ego, so he didn't think Felix would care much for them. They were no different than robots with no sense of self.
He planned to make use of them in the Dungeon as well once he got Felix's permission, since they could make for some troublesome opponents for some Adventurers due to their nascent spatial capabilities.
Manipulating space in combat could be one of the most annoying things. Teleporting around the battlefield, transporting your attack itself, even phasing through attacks, and whatnot. All of that was only basic applications of spatial manipulation as well, what Felix was probably capable of was likely close to the peak, so it was only natural that beings born from his aura were somewhat capable.
Back to Guy; when he first showed up on his doorstep, he didn't know what to think, but he knew better than to underestimate him.
Guy Crimson wasn't just any Demon Lord that he could be casual with like Luminous and Milim. He was the first and possibly the strongest; the very embodiment of chaos and power in this world, everyone he had spoken to had said that. Even Gazel, someone that wasn't afraid of Rimuru himself seemed to be utterly terrified of Guy.
Rimuru had dealt with plenty of powerful beings, but Guy was still someone he didn't dare to take light of, but he wanted to make sure that Guy didn't feel like he could use Rimuru and his people as he pleased.
That required a show of strength, which led to him revealing Predation''s aspect of Beelzebuth. Felix had told him in the past to be careful about revealing his abilities around Guy as there was a good chance Guy would be able to copy them. He didn't even know that was possible!
In the end, revealing Predation was a calculated risk. It would show that he was strong, while also still not revealing too much, as he doubted Guy expected him to be hiding three more Ultimate Skills in his back pocket.
Still, this meeting had given him a lot to think about.
He understood why Guy suspected him being the one behind the Council of the West acting so unusually. Ever since Arcueid had gotten them under her thumb, they'd been making move after move.
Tempest was now part of the Council of the West and was one of its leading nations, at least on paper. In practice, everyone knew that he and Arcueid called the shots. It would only make sense if he were the one behind this rapid change in action, seeing as Arcueid's involvement wasn't known to any but those on the Council itself.
Despite Arcueid accidentally, or maybe intentionally, using him as a smoke screen, he didn't tell Guy everything. Knowing her, maybe she thought of everything and planned to put all the attention on him so that she could blend into the background. He didn't really care much; whatever worked best for them.
In the end, his nation was benefitting from Arcueid's schemes, so he wouldn't bother her or Felix about that.
Still, he knew it would only be bad news if Guy found out that Arcueid was also a Devil Lord. One with an Ultimate Skill, at that. Those with Ultimate Skills were a far greater threat than normal awakened beings, in his opinion. He imagined that Guy saw things the same.
He had no reason to tell Guy things like that, so he kept it to himself. For all he knew, upon learning Arcueid had an Ultimate Skill, Guy would go to Azeroth right now to try to poach her away from Felix.
It wouldn't work, of course, but it would still be troublesome. Diablo on the other hand… He'd probably tell Diablo, if only to motivate him a bit more.
"As expected of you, Lord Rimuru! Your power left even Guy in awe!" Diablo praised.
He ignored Diablo's hype-man ways and sat back down, rubbing his temples as Diablo watched him carefully.
"My Lord? Is everything alright?" Diablo asked with concern. Sometimes he forgot that despite acting like Diablo did, he was an eons old Daemon and could pick up on the small things.
"Yeah, just processing everything." He sighed, leaning back. "Guy's game with Rudra… I don't like it. There are too many unknowns, and too many innocent people could get caught in the crossfire."
He wouldn't go around claiming to be a saint or anything, especially with the way he became a True Demon Lord. He killed tens of thousands of Human soldiers that were just following orders, after all, but he still didn't like the direction things were going.
But what could he do? He had no control over the situation at this point. The best he could do was brace, so that his people could come out on top of the upcoming war. While he was at it, maybe he'd be able to preserve the state of peace in the Western Nations as well and expand on Tempest's interests.
Diablo frowned. "That is the nature of all beings alike. The strong shape the world as they see fit." Diablo said, sharing some of his wisdom.
Rimuru shot him a tired look. "That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid." He knew the way this world worked, but he didn't have to like it despite taking advantage of it.
It was hypocritical, but so what? He was a Demon Lord. He could be a hypocrite if he wanted to.
Diablo bowed. "As you wish."
His move against Guy was a calculated one. Normally, he wouldn't be the kind to pick a fight, like what he just did with Guy.
Flexing his Aura was a downright foolish move depending on who you did it to. Someone like Milim would just laugh and brush it off, Luminous would respond in kind, but Guy he wasn't sure about.
For all he knew, Guy could have taken it as an insult and gone on a rampage, and if he didn't know what he knew, he wouldn't have risked doing that to Guy.
But thanks to Felix, he had a good understanding of Guy's personality, or at least the general framework of it.
He knew that Guy would only look down on him and continue to take advantage of him if he just meekly complied with all his words, if he obediently played as Guy's pawn.
So he had to make his stance clear, that he wasn't another one of Guy's minions, that Tempest wouldn't move at his whims. That he may be a pawn on Guy's "board", but that he wouldn't be acting as one. That he was just cooperating because it was the best option, but that if Guy pushed him, he would retaliate.
Perhaps that didn't seem like much coming from just a Slime, but he had Veldora, and even Chloe had offered to back him up on these kinds of matters.
Not to mention he was pretty sure Felix and Milim would help out too in that case, but that scenario was precisely what he was trying to avoid. Turning a two front battle into a three front one would be a horrible tactical maneuver. There was no reason to do that just because of his pride.
Rimuru sighed, rubbing his temples. The whole situation was a mess, and it felt like he was playing a game where all the other players had centuries of experience while he was still figuring out the rules.
Actually, that was exactly the case!
Basically, it wasn't fair!
Raphael's voice chimed in his mind.
'Analysis complete. Conclusion: Guy Crimson acknowledges Master's power, but remains an unpredictable factor. Caution is advised.'
Raphael couldn't risk exposing herself to Guy, so the analysis was more indirect, based on the factors around Guy and his actions rather than Guy himself.
'Yeah, no kidding. I'll be careful. Thank you, Raphael.'
Even with his ever-growing strength, he wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could just take on someone like Guy head-on without consequences. That wasn't how things worked in this world. Strength mattered, but so did strategy and alliances.
Thankfully, the strategy and alliances bit was going well, so he didn't have much to worry about on that end.
"You said you wanted to take a leave of absence to train a bit, Diablo?" He asked. Diablo had been serving as his butler ever since his Harvest Festival. He would assist him with his day to day tasks and overall management of Tempest.
He wouldn't lie and say that Diablo no longer being there to assist him wouldn't be troublesome due to just how much he had come to rely on him, but he could manage fine. Probably.
Diablo nodded. "I would. It seems my strength has been lacking, I must grow stronger and break through my limits to more adequately serve you. Preferably, I would like to return to my Devil Lord strength."
'Anything you can think of, Raphael?'
'Notice. It is possible for the Daemon Diablo to undergo an Artificial Harvest Festival. However this will cost approximately 100,000 average Human souls.'
That was out, then. He didn't have 100,000 souls on hand. Though, it was interesting to know that it was possible to initiate an Artificial Harvest Festival. The returns would be weaker, but it would likely still be enough stimulus for an evolution, at the very least.
"I don't have anything on hand that can help you, but I do have some information that you'd perhaps like to know." He said to Diablo.
Diablo looked at him with interest, and so he continued.
"Arcueid is also a Devil Lord, similar to Rain. She has an Ultimate Skill as well."
Diablo's facial muscles stiffened before he clicked his tongue. "Tsk. I suppose it is easier to accept that she managed to reach that stage and acquire an Ultimate Skill rather than Rain."
"Eh, why is that?"
"She's the second oldest Primordial, of course. She was the only one capable of rivaling Guy and I back in the past before we stopped fighting each other." Diablo said. "In fact, back then it was the three of us who would compete for supremacy, with Megumin and Lalatina teaming up just to match Arcueid back then."
It was rather odd to hear Diablo speak highly of another Primordial. He didn't really do that.
"Of course Rain and Misery were at the bottom of the totem pole." Diablo said with distaste.
"I see."
Diablo clenched his fists as a menacing aura began to leak out of him. "Still, that is no excuse for my weakness. It seems I have much work to do."
"Take all the time you need." Rimuru said. "In fact, consider your vacation starting now." God knew that Diablo needed the break. He'd been working for him nonstop since his Harvest Festival.
Diablo nodded. "Thank you, Lord Rimuru." And with that, he vanished. He didn't really know how Diablo planned to train, but he could handle himself.
Diablo's Unique Skills were rather overpowered. He was sure that Diablo could whip something up if given time. He was a Primordial and extraordinary in his own right.
In fact, according to Raphael, Diablo's Tempter was perhaps one of the most terrifying Skills he had data on. At least it had the potential to be the most terrifying, not because of any hax or anything, though it did have some of that, but because of how the Skill scaled. The more knowledgeable the user was, and the greater the technique of the user, the more Tempter could do. So it was perfect for Diablo. He really was curious to see what Diablo could whip up if given the chance.
Once Diablo was gone, he closed his eyes, contacting Chloe through a Thought Communication. When Guy first showed up, he quickly sent her a message, saying to stay away for now.
She didn't want to, but despite her being older, he still knew how to make her listen. She was still just that little kid who would wilt down when scolded by him.
He didn't want a replay of Guy vs Hinata playing out in Tempest because Guy found another True Hero to play with, so he made sure she stayed away until Guy was gone. It all just sounded way too troublesome.
"Rimuru! Is everything okay in Tempest?" Chloe asked with some urgency.
"Relax. Everything is fine. Guy just left. You can come back now."
He could feel Chloe's relief through the Thought Communication. "That's good then. I'm coming back now." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Is where you are now secure? Can it handle some of my leaking power."
He blinked in confusion. "Your leaking power? Why wou– nevermind, just come here and tell me in person. It should be fine."
This room had been reinforced by Dragotite, Adamantite that evolved under high exposure to Veldora's Draconic Aura. Not to mention, there was a barrier surrounding the building they were in that was placed once he brought Guy inside, just in case.
Of course, when leaving, Guy tore through his barrier to teleport away. It went to show that there was still more he had to learn.
"I'm coming then!" With that, their Thought Communication ended, but in a few moments he felt space attempt to bend around him. He allowed space to bend as he unlocked the surrounding space and saw a portal form in front of him, one from which Chloe could be seen.
His eyes widened as he sensed the Aura being released from her through the portal. She usually had pretty good control over her power, but now all of that control had seemingly vanished as waves of power were released from her.
It was rather humbling. She had multiple times the energy he did and it sure as hell showed. And to think that just a little while ago, she was that little kid who'd come to him for sweets.
They sure grew up fast, though he still thought of her as his precious little student. Even Kenya had gone out on his own to learn from Elmesia, the rest of the children were also diligently training.
He was sure that Shizu would be proud, and maybe she could even see it one day if Felix's plan for her ended up panning out.
However, he didn't have his hopes up as he didn't want to be disappointed.
He saw Luminous on the other side of the portal, both giving each other a nod of acknowledgment. He had offered to assist her in Ruberious's recovery efforts. Lune wasn't the only city affected after all. Some Monsters were scattered around, but the Adventures from the Free Guild took care of them. Still, some damage was done.
Of course, Luminous rejected saying she had it handled.
Surprisingly enough, Hinata was also there. Though that made sense, he supposed. It wasn't like Hinata and Chloe weren't also friends.
Hinata gave him a small smile and a nod, one which he returned. His old self wouldn't have believed that he and Hinata could actually get along now.
Back then, he was certain that one of Shizu's most precious students would always dislike him, but he was glad that changed, and he was pretty sure he had Felix to thank for it.
He wasn't sure what relationship Hinata and Felix shared, but it couldn't be denied that Felix had an impact on her that made her look upon his people more positively. Well that, and the general kindness of his own people as well.
Though one thing he noticed was just how different she felt compared to before. He hadn't actually seen her since she awakened into a True Hero, so he didn't know just how much stronger she got.
Her energy reserves seemed to surpass his, as while Hinata's control over her own power was excellent, Raphael was still able to pry into her just a little bit.
He eyes the bracelet on her hand, the one with actual power to it rather than the other one that seemed to just be for decoration. The bracelet seemed to hold a tremendous amount of EP in it as well. In total, the bracelet's EP was slightly above his own EP.
Geez. Hinata seriously grew strong, huh?
Chloe turned around and waved. "See ya Luminous, Hinata. It was fun." Chloe looked at Hinata in particular with a grin. "And tell me more about your date next time!" Chloe said with a mischievous giggle.
His eyebrows rose. Hinata had a date? That girl who was always so rigid and focused on her duty and whatnot?
Hinata sputtered before just scoffing, offering no rebuttal.
A small smile formed on Luminous' face. "Indeed, it was a pleasant visit. Come visit again." That smile turned into a smirk. "And when you fight Felix, hit him in the head a good few times for me. That man has grown far too big a head."
Chloe laughed. "You got it! But that seems to be your type!" Chloe said with a giggle.
Now it was Luminous' turn to freeze before she quickly regained control over herself. She rolled her eyes as she responded. "Perhaps." Not denying Chloe's claim.
What sort of witchcraft had Felix pulled!? Making Luminous of all people honest was something he didn't see coming.
"You believe you are capable enough to strike Felix?" Hinata jumped into the conversation.
Chloe nodded smugly. "Of course!"
'What do you think, Raphael-sensei.'
'Notice. Due to incomplete data, an accurate analysis cannot be given.'
Ah, he really needed to get some more data on Felix. Maybe he could ask Chloe if she had anything she could give him. Maybe she learned some things from the other timelines, after all.
Hinata rolled her eyes. "I doubt that will occur, but I applaud your courage." Hinata said with a nod.
Now it was Chloe's turn to roll her eyes. "Wow, so you turned on me the moment you managed to get into Felix's pants like you wanted to!? Not cool!"
Felix? She went on a date with Felix? The perfect, steadfast protector of Humanity, Hinata, went on a date with Felix of all people?
He was a Demon Lord, Hinata was a True Hero! That all sounded straight out of Romeo and Juliet.
Just what kind of game did his best friend have!? He may just have to go and ask for some tips. Umu, Felix was the one that helped him and Shuna get together too! Felix may just be a true sage.
"Wh-Wha!? I did not get into Felix's pants!" Hinata quickly denied as Luminous and Chloe looked on in amusement.
Chloe smiled smugly. "Ah, so you don't deny that it is something you want to do then?"
Hinata groaned. "You're impossible." She crossed her arms and turned away, her face heating up in embarrassment. "I will be leaving now. There is still much to be done." With that, Hinata teleported away, though he could still see her embarrassed expression.
"Ah, she is too easy to tease now." Chloe murmured.
"Fufufu. Indeed she is." Luminous added. "I must leave now, Chloe. There are other matters that need my attention, and you need to practice your control. Goodbye."
Chloe nodded. "See ya!" With that, the portal closed.
For some reason, he felt like he wasn't supposed to hear any of that. It all felt like some super secret girls talk. Did they just forget he was there? They didn't even see him as a man that they felt comfortable talking about that stuff in his presence!
He shook his head and focused back on Chloe. "What happened?" He asked with a sigh, referring to her odd state of control. Ever since coming back to the present, despite having quite a lot of energy, control was something Chloe never had to struggle with.
Raphael guessed that Chronoa was helping with that. Something like that should be within the capability of a Manas.
Chloe sighed and took an empty seat, her power still pressing down onto him, though it wasn't much pressure, so she had some control. "I got a new Ultimate Skill!"
His eyes widened. "Seriously?! How?!" As far as he knew, she didn't have any more Unique Skill that could be evolved. Her Chronos, Lord of Space-Time was the combination of Usurper, Absolute End, Infinity Prison, and Time Traveler. It was a certifiably broken Skill that took over 20,000,000 EP to form.
It was a Skill that even Raphael was in awe with, and Raphael is the one that created the thing!
And yet she got another one? Was Chloe the protagonist of this world or something?!
"Mhmm, seriously. Luminous gave it to me. Sariel, Lord of Hope. It's apparently Granbell's old Ultimate Skill." Chloe shared.
Another Virtue Series Skill…
Did Chloe choose to accept it despite knowing the dangers? To be fair, he was probably just being paranoid. Their belief that Michael retained some control over the Angelic Skills was an educated guess at best. He just wasn't the kind of person to let it all unravel because he thought he knew better however.
"It was originally meant for Hinata, but she wasn't compatible with it, so it went to me."
"You accepted it despite knowing the possible risks?" He asked out of curiosity. He expected Chloe to have thought everything true, so he trusted her. He was merely curious.
Chloe nodded. "I considered that, but Chronoa reassured me that she would be able to take care of it in the worst case scenario, so I decided to trust her."
He nodded in understanding. "But that doesn't explain… this." He said, gesturing to her lack of control.
Chloe rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Aha, well Sariel, Lord of Hope wasn't awakened by me. So I'm having a really tough time controlling it and keeping it in check. I was compatible with it and it seemed to accept me, but the control over it isn't as natural as my control over my other Ultimate Skill is, so Chronoa took over for me until I get the hang of it. However, it's using up a lot of her processing power, meaning she can't help control my own power and control Sariel at the same time."
Ah, so basically Chloe was a fraud who couldn't control her own power and now she had to learn to control her power herself.
'...'
'Hey! What's that supposed to mean! I can control my own power!'
'...Affirmative.'
He wasn't going to argue with Raphael-sensei right now.
"So now I need to get the hang of my own power for a bit." Chloe said with a sigh. "I probably needed to learn to do that anyway in case anything happens."
He nodded. "Use The Dungeon for that then."
Chloe nodded. "I planned to."
"And what was that about Luminous saying to hit Felix in the head a few times for her?"
Chloe laughed. "Ahaha, I told her about the fight I asked for with Felix-nii. It got delayed a bit due to everything that happened, but it's still going to happen!" She said while pumping up her fist. "Just after I regain control over my powers." She added at the end.
He rolled his eyes at Chloe. "Fine, just make sure you use The Dungeon so the world isn't destroyed or something."
Now it was Chloe's turn to roll her eyes. "That won't happen."
With that, they returned to some more lighter topics. Chloe shared what it was that she did with Luminous. She was only there for a day, but she still seemed to have quite a bit of fun.
As she was leaving to go to The Dungeon to begin her training arc, he stopped her. "Ah, there was one thing I wanted to ask you. It's about Felix's abilities. Do you know what they are? It's always been on my mind a bit."
He had always been pretty curious about Felix's powers, and Raphael liked to annoy him to find out what his abilities were, so now he was finally doing it.
'Happy now!?'
'...Affirmative.'
He knew that Felix had some form of Limitless, and thanks to that he had Infinity as well. So Felix likely had Blue, Red, and Hollow Purple as well.
He shivered to think of the destruction Hollow Purple could invoke. In this world, it was probably destruction incarnate.
Like what even was imaginary mass?
He didn't ask Felix about it since their conversations never went in that direction. He was able to learn quite a bit more from watching the fight between Felix and Hinata that was recorded, but he still felt like Felix had more that he didn't quite show off.
In the entire fight between Felix and Hinata, Felix seemed to be taking it easy, only matching Hinata's power and nothing more. The only time he showed off a bit more was to break Hinata's World System Skill with his Demon Lord's Haki.
Of course, then he went and released his full Aura inside of The Dungeon causing a whole incident.
Even with what he knew, when Raphael-sensei had done a threat assessment on her own initiative, she said he had a very low chance of beating Felix in a fight. Mostly since a lot of his abilities were countered by Felix's, and Felix had an absurd amount of EP for a non-True Dragon. His EP was greater than Chloe's! And Chloe hatched two Heroes Eggs, which put things into perspective.
While Beelzebuth could let him defeat Felix in theory, as it would just eat all the space around them making Infinity and his barriers useless, Felix was incredibly fast, to the point that he could likely teleport away instantly. So even with Beelzebuth's literally instant activation, it would be tough.
"Ah, I was waiting for you to ask that." Chloe said smugly. "I promised Felix-nii I wouldn't tell anyone, but I'd tell you if you asked."
He tilted his head. "Thanks, I guess?"
"If you want to know why Felix-nii is just getting stronger and stronger over time, it's because of one ability that his entire style centers around, and that's copying, just like Kakashi!"
He blinked in confusion. "Copying?"
Chloe nodded. "I learned in a few of the other timelines that Felix can copy abilities he sees once he analyzes them."
Rimuru's lips twitched as he considered just how broken that was. "What abilities? Are there limits to this?" He couldn't stop himself from asking. It seemed awfully similar to the abilities Felix told him Guy had. How did Felix get that power?
Chloe shrugged. "That, I do not know as Felix never shared that. But I do know that he can even copy Ultimate Skills."
Rimuru's eyes widened. "Seriously? That's so broken!" No wonder both Felix and Guy were overpowered!
Chloe nodded. "That's what I thought too!"
"So does that mean…?"
Chloe nodded. "He likely has your Skills copied, yes. At least the ones he's had a chance to analyze."
Rimuru's lips twitched. He had been expecting that after hearing about Felix's copying ability, but it was still a shock to learn.
Maybe he could extort something out of Felix for that. He wouldn't be too mean though, since Felix was his friend, and had backed him up on basically everything he had done. So what if he copied his Skill? It wasn't that big a deal, Rimuru was never the type to hoard power in the first place.
There really wasn't anything to be upset about in the first place. Felix analyzed his Skills. If he could recreate it from that data, then that was a show of his own ability. It wasn't like he had much room to talk. He grew by eating other people and stealing their power!
"I see. Thanks for sharing then." He responded.
Chloe nodded. And with that, she teleported herself to The Dungeon to begin her training arc.
- Felix -
"Ah, what a fool I've been." Gadra bemoaned after he heard about everything from Sasha.
Arcueid decided to start the interrogation by dissecting Gadra's whole revenge thing. According to Sasha, Gadra was primarily driven by his revenge, and according to what I'd seen, that was true.
Arcueid thought that getting him to willingly cooperate would be the best case scenario.
He wanted revenge for the "death" of Adalman and Albert since they were Gadra's best friends; a reason I could respect.
It turns out that Gadra's entire reason for cooperating with the Eastern Empire was to get revenge on the Seven Luminaries. Sasha suspected as much, but it was nice to have it confirmed. In order to pursue that revenge, Gadra rose up all the way to become the Court Mage of the Eastern Empire.
So Arcuied started there. She shared that the Luminaries were dead. When Gadra countered that the Luminary of the Sun, Gran, was still alive, she interjected saying he was also dead.
Of course Gadra had no reason to believe us, even with Sasha insisting, so I just went ahead and showed my memory of Granbell's death. Even that didn't completely convince him, but there wasn't much I could do there, so Arcuied just went ahead and told him that Adalman and Albert were alive.
Of course, Gadra was in shock and claimed we were lying, but creating a portal to Adalman convinced Gadra completely. Sasha went through the portal, after which I made it invisible so that we could look through, but Adalman couldn't see us. She had a short conversation with Adalman and Albert. That was enough to convince Gadra as they spoke about things that weren't commonly known.
After that, Gadra was far more open to talking to Arcueid about everything. He told us about why he snuck into my territory despite having an invitation to visit. Apparently, Tatsuya Kondou wanted Tempest and Azeroth investigated in more detail, so he sent Gadra who brought along some of his students who were sent to Tempest, which explains who those otherworlders I saw when I was last in Tempest were.
Gadra was using Sasha's invitation as a smoke screen of sorts. He did plan to visit through the official channels, but first he wanted to get an in depth look of what my territory was like without me having the chance to hide some things from Gadra.
Arcueid leaned back, satisfied with how things had played out, while Sasha seemed to be a bit more relaxed now.
Gadra, now sitting in stunned silence, was clearly trying to process everything he had just learned. His thirst for revenge had crumbled in an instant, his enemies were dead, and his friends were alive. What did that leave him with? The guy had dedicated centuries to pursuing that revenge. Now, he was probably left with nothing to pursue.
"I-I've been such a fool." Gadra muttered, his voice barely a whisper. "To have chased shadows for so long... only to realize that everything I believed was wrong. Please, I beg of you, let me see Adalman and Albert again. One last time before you kill me for my insolence."
I raised a brow at his words while Arcueid smiled, as if this was to be expected. Did he think I was going to kill him or something? At this point that would be wasteful. Even if he didn't cooperate with us, there was still far more use in him than just killing him.
"Ara, what do you think, my Lord?" Arcueid asked me. Gadra looked at me, pleading in his eyes. Even Sasha seemed to be trying the puppy eyes trick. Unfortunately, I was far too strong for such tactics!
I could see what she was doing, trying to make Gadra feel indebted to me, and it seemed like it was working.
"Hmm, I don't know. How can I trust you after what you did?" I asked in an exaggerated fashion.
Gadra bowed his head. "I am willing to do whatever it takes."
I snapped my fingers. "What about a contract then?"
The nature of the Daemon contracts made it so that both sides were obligated to uphold their end of the deal. The Daemon held the obvious advantage, though, as when a contract is made, a channel between the contract holder's and contractee's souls is made. The contract holder will have a direct line into the contractor's soul, which is what Daemons used to take the souls of those who signed their contracts.
Gadra nodded without hesitation. "I agree."
I smiled. "Great, but it would be a bit of a shame to put you to death now. Why don't you swap sides and leave the Eastern Empire? You'll still be under contract since I don't trust you, but who knows? Maybe one day you'll earn your freedom."
I was thinking of giving Gadra to Rimuru. I didn't really have much use for him. Any magical knowledge he had wouldn't be of much use to me, as while I could tell he was a genius due to the ingenuity of his reincarnation art, he still wouldn't add much to my own table.
His reincarnation art was rather excellent though. I was able to get the gist of it after analyzing Gadra and his soul. It seems once his old body was reaching its limits, he would detach his Astral Body from his body and go back into the cycle of reincarnation.
Normally, this is when the soul is scrubbed of its memories to prepare for reincarnation in some world. However, since Gadra was in Astral Body form, he could retain his memories, letting him be reborn in the Cardinal World with a fresh vessel.
His raw power was exceptional as well for a non-awakened being. It was at around 700,000 EP. He was close to the Saint-class, and with his sheer magical know-how, he likely could probably fight Saints. But it wasn't something I was desperate for, and Rimuru's Dungeon needed some more bosses.
Gadra could serve as a decent boss in The Dungeon and help Rimuru out with some more of his projects since Sasha was more than capable of taking care of whatever projects I told her to. Gadra was more valuable in Tempest as it is.
Gadra's head shot up, his expression a mix of surprise and disbelief. "You… you're willing to spare me?"
I chuckled. "Spare you? No, no, you're just more useful to me alive than dead. You'll still be bound by the contract, and you'll be working under Rimuru in Tempest. Consider it a new purpose in life. It won't be literal slavery, of course. You'll have your free time and be free to follow your interests. Rimuru isn't the kind to take advantage of you without giving you anything in return."
Gadra seemed to be the sciencey type, and Tempest had an entire department for that stuff, so Gadra would likely be able to enjoy himself.
Gadra remained silent for a long moment before exhaling deeply. "I see. That… is more than I deserve." He bowed his head low. "I accept."
Arcueid smirked, clearly pleased with how things had turned out. Sasha, on the other hand, beamed, looking quite satisfied with herself. She had tried quite hard to convert Gadra, after all. She was a pretty kind person. I'm sure she didn't want to see her teacher killed.
"Great! Now that we've settled that, let's make things official." I extended my hand, dark energy swirling around my fingers as I began forming the contract. Gadra hesitated only for a second before reaching out to take it.
The moment his hand touched mine, a surge of magic flowed between us, weaving into the fabric of his soul. I could feel the contract between us. The terms had been etched onto his soul.
I hadn't really ever had a need to create contracts left and right like most Daemons to ascend in power, so this was a new experience for me. I was finally playing the part of the Daemon who takes advantage of others' misfortune.
"There. You are now bound by our agreement." I pulled my hand back. "As long as you remain loyal, you'll have nothing to fear. Betray me, and, well…" I let the threat hang in the air.
Still gotta make sure he realizes his position and doesn't go around doing stupid shit. Gadra didn't seem like the type, but I wanted to be careful.
Gadra nodded solemnly. "Understood."
With Gadra's loyalty mostly secured, Arcueid went ahead and asked him some more questions.
Gadra wasn't very aware of the inner workings of the Eastern Empire. He stuck to his lane, especially after his Magic Division was discontinued. It was apparently discontinued because of otherworlder technology. The Eastern Empire military figured out a way to create weapons that could basically do magic for you.
Like a sword that shot out slashes of lightning, a spear that manipulated gravity to suck your opponents in, etc. This meant that there was no need to spend immense resources on training up mages, especially since most would be mediocre anyways.
His focus after that was his revenge and training up his students. Despite this, he still knew more than Damrada since Damrada was even less involved with the Eastern Empire now.
The invasion was already confirmed in my book, so it was no surprise when Gadra spoke about that. But he knew even more, such as how two of the key targets that would be prioritized for either destruction or annexation were Tempest and Azeroth.
According to Gadra, the higher ups in the military thought that Tempest was expanding too rapidly and would be a thorn in the side for future western expansions, while I was one of Tempest's allies and was blocking off a route to invade the Western Nations.
Arcueid had asked why Gadra made it seem like the Emperor had no input in the plan, and surprisingly enough, that was exactly the case. It wasn't that the Emperor was a figurehead. If Gadra said that I wouldn't have believed him. It was more that the Emperor just didn't care.
He told his people what he wanted, then it was on them to make sure his whims were met. That was it.
Gadra was able to give detailed profiles on most of the higher ups in the Eastern Empire, like the stronger Imperial Guards. The three Generals were listed as well.
Each General was in charge of one important military branch of the Eastern Empire. There was Calgurio who was in charge of the Armored Division, which served as the front line attackers.
They were the ones with the magi-tech.
Then there was Gradim who led the Magic Beast Division, which was basically just a group of experiments with various levels of success. They weren't something I thought I had to be worried about, but I would keep them in mind anyway.
Looking at other people's science experiments could at least serve as a good time pass.
Lastly, there was the Composite Division, which according to Gadra, was the division with the most potential in it. It was filled to the brim with otherworlders and others with high potential. Their leader was an otherworlder named Mai Furuki, someone who Gadra taught quite a bit.
Gadra had loads of information to give, so I suppose it was a good thing that he infiltrated my territory.
Overall, I'd say that the interrogation had gone rather well.
With that out of the way, I contacted Rimuru to make sure he was open to receiving Gadra. It wouldn't do for me to just send him over without notice.
After a few moments, our Thought Communication connected.
"Felix, what's up? Did something happen?" Rimuru answered.
"Nah, I just had something I wanted to run by you. Someone from the Eastern Empire recently infiltrated my territory. I dealt with him so no worries on that front. I'll also transfer the details of what I learned from him to you later. My main question is do you want him?"
"Eh? What do you mean do I want him!?"
"He's a super strong mage. I thought you could use him as a Boss in your Dungeon, since you still need a few more. I've already signed a contract with him, so he won't be able to betray you or anything. You can feel free to do whatever you want to him to make sure he doesn't betray you as well."
I could feel Rimuru's exasperation. "I'm going to need more information Felix."
"That's fair." I made sure our Thought Communication couldn't be overheard and told Rimuru about Gadra's whole story.
Rimuru learned about his revenge, how he was friends with Adalman and Albert, and about his position in the Eastern Empire. Everything I knew I told Rimuru.
"Hmm. From what you said, he'd probably thrive in Tempest. If he's as talented as you say, he might be useful for research too. Veldora's been nagging me about expanding the Dungeon's upper floors, and if Gadra's as knowledgeable as you claim, he could be a huge help."
"That's what I was thinking." I replied. "He's got some crazy reincarnation technique, so he's been around for a while and accumulated a ton of magical knowledge. Plus, he trained some of those otherworlders running around in your country, so he probably has insights into their abilities too." I said, referring to the three spies from the Eastern Empire.
"Eh, what the heck. Fine, send him over." Rimuru finally relented.
"Great, I'll do that once he is done with his reunion with Adalman."
"Mhmm, thanks Felix."
Before I could end our Thought Communication, Rimuru said something that surprised me. "Guy showed up in Tempest by the way."
"Seeing as how I didn't sense a massive Aura erupting in Tempest, I take it things went well?"
"You could say that. He came here because he thought I was behind the Council of the West acting so weirdly. I told him that it was Arcueid who did it all and he seemed to accept it."
"That was probably for the best. I wouldn't want you to take any undeserved shots from Guy of all people."
"Chloe also told me a bit about your abilities, but we can talk about that another time, preferably not through a Thought Communication."
I wasn't surprised by that. Chloe did explicitly say that if Rimuru wanted to know, she'd tell him what she knew.
And I trusted Rimuru, so I didn't mind him knowing.
"Fufufu. I imagine that my little sister must be going crazy by now. Attempting to develop new ways to block my analysis." Othinus said mischievously.
I rolled my eyes. 'You really like to mess with her.' I said internally, referring to Raphael.
"Of course, that is my duty as her elder sister!" Othinus said with some amusement. "She may be powerful, but she should know that she will never surpass my splendor!"
I smiled at Othinus' enthusiasm. I was really loving this new version of her. I would forever appreciate and care for Odin, her old self, simply due to how much Odin did for me, but Odin's new incarnation had much more life to her. It was honestly great.
She felt much more like a person, like someone I could entrust myself to and allow myself to really rely on.
"!!!!!!" I almost gasped from the influx of emotion from Othinus, but just as quickly as I felt them, they vanished as if they were never there.
"My apologies, Master. I was merely surprised and allowed my emotions to get the better of me." Othinus said with immense regret.
'It's fine, no harm done.'
It all made it seem like all my worries about her were all just for nothing.
"That is not true. Your concerns were valid, as you did not hold the information about a Manas that you now hold."
I sighed. 'I suppose you're right. Thanks Othinus.'
"Hehe! I will always be here, Master!"
Our entire conversation took place within a Thought Acceleration so that Rimuru wasn't left hanging. "That's fine." I responded to Rimuru.
With that, our Thought Communication ended.
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Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon.
We get to see a bit of Rimuru's pov on why he was so ballsy in front of Guy and his opinions on certain matters. Then Chloe shows back up and with Sariel, Lord of Hope with her, so she gets another power up! Chloe has infinite plot armor, fr fr. Of course some friendly Hinata teasing was thrown in before Rimuru asked what had been bugging him for quite some time.
He learns why Felix is as broken as he is.
Then back to our mc's pov on the Gadra interrogation. I opted to just summarize most of it it due to how many interrogations I've written recently. Then of course some good ol' Othinus smugness.
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Last bit of editing -Omnax
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