Clayman's smile didn't falter as one would have expected, instead, it sharpened.
"How direct." He said lightly, as though Rimuru had just made a mildly impolite comment at a dinner table. "You interrupt a Walpurgis, tear open a dimensional boundary, and open with a death threat." He tilted his head slightly. "You do have a flair for theatrics, Rimuru Tempest. I'm almost impressed."
Rimuru still hadn't moved. "I'm not here to talk." He said.
"Now now," Clayman raised a hand slightly, as if calming an overeager subordinate. "Let's not rush things. We are in the presence of esteemed company."
He gestured lightly to the table.
"To threaten a Demon Lord in such a setting… it reflects rather poorly on you, wouldn't you say?"
Rimuru's gaze didn't shift.
"Good." He said.
Clayman paused. Just for a fraction of a second. "…Good?" He repeated.
Crack!!!
Rimuru tilted his head slightly. The crack along his mask had widened even further.
"What I'm about to do." An unknown wind seemed to blow from behind him. "Will serve as a warning... my one and only mercy to any others like you. They will not get another."
The temperature plummeted just as he finished talking, not giving anyone a moment to process the fact that he'd just threatened everyone in that room.
Everything in the room felt like it was being dragged toward Rimuru. Reality seemed like it was being pulled, compressed, controlled in totality.
"Oi, oi…" Deeno muttered, finally sitting up properly. "That's not normal."
"No." Leon agreed quietly. "It clearly isn't."
Guy still hadn't said anything. But his eyes… were locked on Rimuru.
"Let's be reasonable." Clayman said, his voice still smooth, still composed, but now there was something underneath it.
Something tighter.
"You accuse me of wrongdoing, yet you barge into a council uninvited and threaten violence. If anything, you've only proven my point."
Rimuru took a step forward and the floor literally cracked on his first step.
"I don't care." Rimuru said.
Another step.
"I don't care about your lies."
Another.
"I don't care about your excuses."
Another.
"I don't care about your council."
He finally stopped, right at the edge of the table.
Clayman's smile was holding just barely.
"You killed her." Rimuru said, and this time, his emotion slipped through. Yet there was no rage within them, just a cold certainty that permeated his entire being.
"So tell me something, Clayman."
"What part of that makes you think you get to live?"
"You…" Clayman's voice dipped, something venomous creeping in. "You think this changes anything?"
His magicules flared.
"I am a Demon Lord. Do you understand what that means?"
Rimuru took his second step and now he was standing directly across from Clayman. "You're not a demon lord Clayman."
"I... AM a demon lord."
---
Deeno whistled, and the room seemed to snap out of whatever trance had taken over. Well it was actually just everyone being so caught up in the energy of the situation.
"Damn, did anyone else just get chills?" Deeno asked. "This guy is way too cool you know."
"Read the room you idiot." Daggrul sighed as he gave palmed.
Guy rested his chin in his knuckle, still smiling as he watched. Things had gone above and beyond what he had expected today.
'The balance has shifted so much that it might as well be non existent right now.' His mind wandered. 'You had a good plan too Clayman, but you revealed your hand too early and now you're not ready for the backlash.'
The pathetic behaviour that Clayman was showing right now was proof of that. He was far too weak to contend with anyone of significance. A few of them were.
'Hmm. That sounds about right. We can't have the title of Demon Lord be held by fodder after all.'
Guy was again distracted from his thoughts by Clayman suddenly yelling. "Do you all see now what I have so painstakingly explained. He insults us blatantly to our faces, a mere..."
"Shut up." Rimuru interrupted. "Don't think you're walking away from this. This is between me and you."
Guy raised an eyebrow. 'So he still has reason. That's good, less boring in the end. For all of his threats and grandstanding, he's still aware of the powers surrounding him. He's not attacking Clayman yet. Probably trying to find out who Clayman's allies are, and to see if he's stepping on any mines as well.'
'Very clever, Rimuru Tempest.' Guy exhaled, satisfied. 'I guess I'll give the go ahead then.'
"He's right Clayman." Guy finally said. "If you call yourself a Demon Lord, you have to answer his challenge. After all he wishes to take your seat and become a Demon Lord himself. Isn't that right, Rimuru dear?"
Rimuru glanced at Guy from the corner of his eye. "I'm already a Demon Lord."
Guy laughed. "Well, there you have it Clayman. A more than direct threat to your seat and dare I say, life."
Clayman was quiet for a moment.His gaze lingered on Rimuru, tracing every detail, the cracked mask, the stillness, the weight in the air that refused to disperse no matter how much power gathered in the room.
Then, slowly… He exhaled and smiled.
"Well." Clayman said lightly, lifting a hand to brush at the faint line of blood still marking his cheek. "It seems I've made a rather critical miscalculation."
No one interrupted him.
Not even Rimuru.
Clayman's eyes flicked briefly across the room, past the observing Demon Lords, past Guy's amused expression, past Kaede's quiet attention, before settling back on Rimuru.
"I cornered myself." He admitted, almost conversationally. "How unfortunate."
Ramiris blinked. "Uh… what?"
Deeno tilted his head. "He just admitted that?"
Daggrul grunted. "Hmph. About time."
Clayman ignored them. "There's a point," he went on, almost thoughtfully, "in every plan where subtlety ceases to be an asset."
His magicules began to stir again.
"When the board is overturned… when the pieces no longer move as intended…"
The air around him tightened.
The threads of his aura thickened, weaving through the space like invisible strings waiting to be pulled.
"…it becomes more efficient to simply crush your opponent."
The temperature in the room dipped.
"…with overwhelming force."
"Ah."
Guy's voice cut in, quiet but unmistakably pleased. He straightened slightly in his seat, resting his chin against his knuckles as his eyes sharpened with interest.
"That's more like it."
Without waiting for a response, he snapped his fingers.
Instantly the room expanded. Space itself stretched outward.
The walls receded rapidly, the ceiling rising, the floor extending in all directions until the chamber transformed into something vast.
A battlefield. Roughly fifty meters across.
The table dissolved into motes of light.
The chairs then shifted.
Each Demon Lord was carried backward effortlessly, their seats gliding across the newly formed space until they rested along the edges of the arena, forming a perfect perimeter.
An audience.
Leon crossed his legs, expression unreadable as he observed the transformation. "You're indulging this rather freely."
Guy smirked. "It would be a waste not to."
Daggrul rolled his shoulders, settling into place.
Deeno stretched lazily. "Wake me up if it gets boring."
"It won't." Guy said simply.
At the center of the arena, Rimuru stood unmoving.
Clayman stood opposite him. "…Well then, you're up Millim."
The room shifted again, but this time it has nothing to do with Guy.
Millim didn't move at first.
She had been seated quietly this entire time, her expression dull, distant, her gaze unfocused as if she were only half-present in the moment.
Now, her head tilted, slowly, then her body followed.
She stood up.
The magicules in the air trembled.
Ramiris stiffened. "Wait… wait a second—"
Daggrul frowned. "That brat…"
Leon's eyes narrowed.
Deeno blinked.
Guy didn't move.
But his smile, faded ever so slightly.
Millim walked.
Each step carried her closer to Clayman, her pace unhurried, her expression still devoid of anything resembling emotion.
She stopped beside him.
Clayman let out a soft breath.
"There we are."
He spread his arms slightly, as if presenting a completed work. "Did you expect anything else?"
"Delegation." He continued. "A fundamental principle of power."
"After everything you said, you're still hiding behind someone else?" Rimuru asked mockingly.
"Don't be ridiculous. I will be fighting too, of course. Is there any issue with that Guy?"
"Not at all, Clayman. If Millim is helping you of her own free will, then I will not stop her."
Before Guy could activate the barrier however, Kaede stood up from her seat. "Three on one doesn't look very chivalrous now does it. Although expecting chivalry from the likes of Clayman is a hilarious thought."
Guy glanced at her. "Kaede dear."
"Don't be weird, man." Kaede gave him a grossed out look. "And don't worry, it's just me. My subordinates won't be getting involved."
Guy seemed to consider her words for a moment. "...alright then, I'll allow it." A second later, a green barrier formed surrounding the participants of the upcoming battle.
Kaede looked at Millim who had been following her movements since she stood up. "Because of course round one and two weren't enough. Well then Millim, up for round three?"