What used to be a formal space of settling political matters is now turned into royal rumble
By the entrance door royal guards and magic inquisitors protecting the members of the Ingraccian royal family and council members
In front of them was Masayuki's party, Team Light-Speed, ready to assist in protecting the non combatants
From the opposite side, Hinata already had her blade out in anticipation for the intruders
In the right side, the three oni held their battle stances, awaiting for their enemies to strike while I was still sitting on my chair as I was still restricted by this buisness suit
On the left, stood many horrific cryptids who held expressions that could be described as bloodlust
Their commander, the proclaimed Pervenvy made the first move
"Slaughter them all!!!"
Upon hearing this, all the cryptid sprinted out and spread across the room, dividing their targets
Small waves of cryptids pushed against the wall of royal guards and magic inquisitors who were steadily pushing them back thanks to Masayuki's Chosen One
Hinata kept herself busy with the number of cryptids surrounding her
For the big guy Pervenvy, he and a few of his goons went straight towards us while the others were busy
Brimming with confidence, Benjamin took charge
"No need to step in Kaijuno-Sama, let us take care of these worms"
"S-sure! I'll let you three handle these guys"
"Of course"
"With pleasure"
I wasn't gonna argue with them as my range movement was currently limited , so I just remained where I was, arms crossed and all
Instantly, the trio clashed against the group of cryptids, halting their progress towards me
Leonardo was dealing with the majority by capturing them with his webs
Cameilla repeatedly kept knocking down a handful with her Judo that she was an expert of thanks to the teachings of our "Elderly Sword Teacher from Hell", aka Shifu
Benjamin was using his flames to solely fend off against Pervenvy. It didn't look to be one-sided as the big cryptid seems to be able to endure and push through the fire
As for Pervenvy, they looked to be getting infuriated by the protest of the spicy oni
"Damn it! You're in my way!"
"Arrogant fools such as yourself are leagues beneath my lord, I'll be more than enough for an opponent"
Unsatisfied, Pervenvy clicked their tongue at the stubbornness of Benjamin. The pink flames halted the cryptid from advancing further towards me
This lead to the big cryptid resorting to a trick under their sleeve
"I shall not settle until I claim the head of the demon lord!!!"
Within the area that Pervenvy stood, space began to distort and ripple until in a second, they were no longer surrounded by the pink flames
Instead now they were behind Benjamin and only a short distance away from me
Without wasting a moment, Pervenvy lounge right towards me, only to be halted by Leonardo's threads as the blue hair oni reacted just in time to capture the beast
Noticing where the cryptid vanished to, Benjamin decided to put some extra heat into his fire as he let out his signature attack
"Puri Puri Flames!"
Despite him not being in his pretty pink maid outfit, his flames still let out a heart that embraced Pervenvy
Restricted by threads and covered in flames, Pervenvy was set in an inferno cage
Now they looked to be a mass of pink fire that you could cook some marshmallows with
But with a few seconds of standing still, looking like they were subdued, until the front arms ripped itself apart through the threads and flames and making it free to move
The malice in their eyes was apparent as they stared right at me while enduring the pain of the fire
Swiftly pulling their arm back, Pervenvy howled with aggression as he launched a punch
"DIE!"
In a rapid motion, Pervenvy swung his fist right towards me, to fast for Leonardo to recapture and for Benjamin to approach in time to slice through
I failed to evade as I was still stiff like a stick
Fueling with unwavering malice, the cryptid's fist approached towards me faster than a speeding bullet
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But the fist never came
The punch never landed on me
For a moment, Pervenvy seemed hell bent on slaughtering me but now they were hesitating to attack me
It was like their mind was telling them yes, but their body was telling them no
Cameilla, Leonardo, and Benjamin, all three seemed unsure of what Pervenvy was trying to achieve
I also felt completely bewildered that Pervenvy preached about such violence only to stop themselves from committing to it
But the one who seemed to be the most flabbergasted was none other than Pervenvy who first time let his dog head open it's mouth in jaw drop as it seems this wasn't at all intentional
Completely clueless on what was happening before me, I asked my handy dandy Deceptive King for assistance
"Yagami, is this some sort of faint or are they trying to pull some prank on me?"
"(Negative, the most likely outcome is that they resisted attacking out of reflexes)"
As I failed to wrap my head around Yagami's answer, the awkwardly standing Pervenvy brushed off their initial confusion and clenched their other fist for another punch
And yet the same result repeated, the fist only went as far as right in front of me
This cause a brief moment to extinguish the cryptid's rage as the current situation overwhelmed them with astonishment
The both of us even stared at eachother, seemingly neither of us could make sense of this
But after that pause, they regained their malice and furiously launched a barrage of claw slashes and punches, growing more and more desperate just to even touch me but again, none of it was landing
I wasn't even moving nor had some sort of barrier, was basically a sitting duck but Pervenvy was going out of their way to not aim at me
I even got curious and begrudgingly raised my hand out to see if they just couldn't reach a certain distance
But no, they halted before my hands too
This didn't even felt comedic, I almost felt pity for Pervenvy for how embarrassing this was getting for all of us
Trying to change the atmosphere, looked around the room til I spotted Masayuki doing his own shenanigans
He appeared to be making use of his light spirit as he was frantically flashing multiple cryptids with instantaneous and intense lights, cause them to go blind and mistaken eachother as enemies and attacking when they bump into eachother
It was straight up some loony tunes type of stuff
All of this while some council members and even the royal family seemed amazed and praised him
"So the tales were true after all, these beast can't even get near him"
"That's Masayuki the Light-Speed Hero for ya!"
Seeing our similar situation of our enemies not be able to attack us, I tried to grab his attention while the magic inquisitors were taking the front lines to ease my discomfort
"Hey Masayuki! Guess who also has the power of plot arm-"
Cutting off from my desperate boasting, I suddenly had a desk thrown at me, it appears Pervenvy gotten clever and resorted to projectile attacks
Now they were stretching out their arms to reach out to multiple objects to throw at me
They continued their intentions to kill me, bit it looked like it was shifting from malicious to desperation, they were most probably thinking desperate too
3rd Person Pov
Inside the mind of the cryptid, spirals of emotions stormed through. Confusion, malice, determination, and . . . Fear
"Damn it! What is going on!? Why are my attacks being forced to stop. They're just sitting there but yet it's like I can't reach them, like the distance between us is too grand
I was trained and grown to go toe to toe with experienced demon lords like Carrion and Frey but yet, I'm having difficulties with the newest demon lord! This doesn't add up
It's like as if my own body doesn't want me to lay a hand on them, as if trying to go against them would bring my doom . . . Wait, this happened before
But those that could make me freeze like this are very few and yet it's happening again with this runt
Does my own instinct see more in this demon lord than my own eyes? Is there some sort connection? Could they be-"
Before Pervenvy could make a conclusion, their front head recieved a drop kick to the wall
Kaijuno Pov
Finally having enough of my discomfort, I devoured my suit and switched to my usual get up while under the hill of desks
Feeling a grand dose of relief I stretched my none existent muscles to get ready before shoving away the mountain of desk on top of me
A good number of desks were sent flying, some actually hit some of the cryptids, especially one that was right in front of Masayuki which made the bystanders believe he just took one out with anybody seeing the attack
Giving one last quick stretch, I only needed one good sight of the perplexed cryptic creature to get in the mood to brawl
After being constantly irritated and tempted to smack around a couple of smug nobles that rightfully deserved it, I was fueled
Arranging myself in a squatting position, I jumped out towards the big beast with one leg out
When I reached right in front of the head, I used wind and gravity magic to swiftly spin me, giving myself instant momentum to kick them straight to the wall
After being extremely pent up, a wave of nearly pleasurable relief came to me, I was developing a desire to continue thrashing
Pervenvy quickly ran at me to attempt to slash with their claws.
I responded by dashing under the big creature til I was right behind. Extending my arms and enlarging my hands, I grabbed on to the mouth tail
Now I was swinging them up and down, repeatedly slamming them to the ground til I thrown them across the room
Only a brief moment passed before Pervenvy appeared right in front of me, in a motion to bite my head off
Thanks to thought acceleration, I was able to grab hold of the fangs before their jaw could close
Quickly having them pinned down I felt mischievous and decided give a go at biting Pervenvy
I bared my teeth in their shoulder, piercing what is more like their equivalent of skin
Although despite my raw strength as a demon lord giving me a decent bite force, I wasn't making a deep wound with my teeth, that was when Yagami gave me a tip to improve my piercing
(Suggestion, use Monster King Gojira's Fanged Predation to improve your bite)
"Fanged Predation? . . . Oh! I think i know what you mean!"
Coating my teeth in predation, I formed pairs of sharp fangs in my mouth
Thanks to this, I was able to easily pierce deep in the meat of the beast
I pulled
I tugged
And I continued until my fangs ripped off Pervenvy's arm
They were wailing in pain until they let out a an audibly distorted howl that could be heard across the room
All of the surrounding cryptids stopped their pursuit for everyone else and turned their gazes upon me instead of facing who was originally their target.
They were silently announcing that I was now their one and only target
Suddenly like what Pervenvy pulled earlier, the rest of the cryptids used a sort of spatial technique to teleport right in front of me, ready for their frontal assault. It was too instantaneous for their previous opponents to halt or interfere. They had a brief moment to try what they intend to do
A hoard of horrific beast standing before you would result in the feeling of fear and a sense of danger to almost everyone
Although, I felt more painfully neutral at worst. These cryptids are clearly horrifying and yet they didn't faze me, very strangely infact
Instead of the cryptids, what did made me feel concern was what could possibly be why I'm unfazed
It's not like what would normally be expected of me being too strong for them to be a threat but it felt more like there was a sense of . . . familiarity or at least that was what I could put together
Unlike Vulprower or any of the local insectars, these cryptids are not only higher in intelligence but also likely higher ranking too. Would that account to anything on what I'm feeling?
It's not like it matters at the moment, right now I'm about to get busy
Clenching both of my fist, I leap into the air
Face to face with the hoard, I stretched out my arms to begin throwing a thrash of punches
Breaking and creating dents upon the individual cryptids, if they had bones, some would've been broken
This momentum of fury began to accelerate me, suddenly through gravity manipulation, I swiftly flew around the cryptids, evading and attacking
I felt a sense of an engine revving within me, like something was stating to click for me
It's something I felt I had experienced before but I can't tell where exactly
Giving this crowd a brutal beating was simply making me excited
3rd Person Pov
The demon lord began to dominate the battlefield, many cryptids were getting slammed and thrown around in front of the surrounding crowd
The nobles and royals were frightened at the sight of the demon lord playing with the beasts that put the magic inquisitors on edge
The trio of oni just stand by as they noticed their master was enjoying himself and likely didn't wished to be interupted
Two individuals unknowingly were in sync of what they were thinking of, Hinata and Masayuki
Both of them were assigned to be security enforcement if Kaijuno ever acted out and the sight before them started to make them wonder if they would actually have to step in with how he seemed to be growing more and more crazy
Given how exaggerated and near maniacal he was becoming, they're worried that after dealing with the cryptids, he'll turn his aggression towards the nobles who went of their way to enrage him
There's also the concern that his subordinates would assist him, not only making the next threat be a demon lord but also majins that are strong enough to defeat members of the ten great saints
The monsters that were keeping them busy were now being dominated and slain by an absurdly strong midget that has a blanket for a cape
They held mild expressions of worry
Well at least that was until Kaijuno started yelling out
"MUDA! MUDA! MUDA!"
Then suddenly, the pair switched from worry to cold neutral expression upon hearing that nonsense
Grasping and understanding what he said, the thought that immediately popped up was
"He's a freaking chuunibyou!"
Their sense of dread was almost washed over by the feeling second hand embarrassment of what they heard
It made them consider that he wasn't actually going insane as spouting out that crap felt way too intentional and dumb for someone supposedly going insane
They now watch with discomfort not only with the sight they were seeing but also the cringe they were hearing
Kaijuno's Pov
Steadily, I wasn't jsut becoming relieved but also out right excited from clashing and bashing these cryptids around
It was utterly chaotic and I embraced it wholeheartedly
A setting like this used to repulse me prior to becoming a demon lord but ever since then, it became something I no longer minded and infact seeked out like back at the demon realm
It was by now that I came to the realization
I've grown to be a battle maniac
Freely crushing my opponents, making them uncomfortable a position to beg for mercy
I'm getting so close to figuring out why this feels so familiar, but I just simply can't pin point it
How unfortunate
Steadily, the remaining cryptids were being put down one by one a noticeable sum began clawing at the wall, looking like they're to escape but failing to do so
For the ones that were already done with, I simply thrown onto a pile only to them move on with the next
After taking care of the majority, only Pervenvy remained, who also seemed to be clawing at the wall
"Why isn't it working! Why isn't it working!"
Full of desperation, Pervenvy was trying to perform something but it appears to be futile by something even they're not aware of
Then in a frantic pattern, Pervenvy kept teleporting all over the room
"Why can't I leave!"
This goes on for a brief moment until I used future attack prediction to see where they'll perform their teleportation next
Timing it, I grabbed a hold of their neck in-between teleportation and pinned them on top of the pile of slain cryptids
Feeling settled with these, I prepared a mass of Fanged Predation to devour and clean up the cryptids mess
The still alive Pervenvy tried to put up a resistant to the predation but failed put up much of a fight for long as the mass of predation surrounding the pile steadily and quickly shrink and shrink until the cryptids were as good as done
Almost like it was just another Tuesday, Yagami began to do their work
(Beginning analysis of cryptid race . . . Error Error Error-)
What was probably the first time ever, something was going wrong with Yagami's analysis. Suddenly, error notifications were appearing from trying to analyze the devoured cryptids
Then suddenly in the middle of it, everything went to black
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What was a meeting hall full of people and objects was now a dark abyss, an eternal void
On where I was or how I got here, I cannot understand. So I relied on the only way I can to comprehend unknown matters
"Yagami, what is this?"
I waited for an answer from Yagami only for no response to come, Yagami wasn't answering
Infact, the instinctive feeling of Yagami's presence in the back of my mind was no longer there, it was just me, only me
My one and only security for a mysterious situation such as this was all but here alongside me
"What is this!? Yagami? YAGAMI!"
I shouted out for Yagami or anyone that could listen but no one was around to hear it
Or . . At least I thought so initially
After taking a moment from my shouting
Suddenly it was as if everything froze all of a sudden, all the movement I had was suddenly halted
A chill of the winds course through me with no gust to come
Something was restricting me but I don't know what was the cause
All of a sudden that instinct of another presence returned
But the problem was that it wasn't Yagami, I had no idea who it was. It was simply an entity that shared this realm with me
All that I could comprehend was that their presence was approaching and making me frozen still
I was completely unsure what they are or what they wanted
All that I can grasp was that they continued to approach but I can't even understand how far they are away from me nor at what speed they were taking to reach me
I was struggling just to think. All that I can claw out was
"What are yo- . . ."
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I devoured the cryptids leaving nothing behind and recieved a notification from Yagami
(Failure, unable to analyze properties of cryptid)
I was astonished when I heard that. The cryptids didn't seem to be a species that would be difficult for Yagami to process
They just look weird at most but nothing that should've caused these results
Also I'm not sure why, but something else felt off. I can recall being in a near frenzy like state only to now suddenly have that feeling instantly wash away
Yagami didn't announce activating Humility King Mikael and unlike other instances where it felt like a wave of relief embracing me, it felt more like I was splashed with cold water
I guess it doesn't matter now since all of the cryptids were defeated
The majority of the room's population were huddled by the entrance door consisting of Masayuki's party and the council members with Hinata close by
I regrouped with my crew who were mildly bewildered by the event that we just witnessed
The usually quiet Leonardo was the first to speak about it
"So is it just me or do none of us know what the heck just happened?"
"No"
"Nope"
"Nada"
All four of us seemed to be equally unsure on how this could happen. We were dealing with the most rage tempting crowd in one moment only to be dealing with a swarm of unrecognizable monsters in the next moment. To say all of us were left confused would be an understatement
The magic inquisitors were assigned to search for anymore cryptids, in the meantime everyone else was left to collect themselves from what had happened
After a short moment for everyone to compose themselves, King Aegil and his guards approached us in a tired manner likely out of stress for the previous matter
"It seems that my son had been a significant inconvenience for you, King Kaijuno"
"Yeah, that's putting it lightly"
"Then not as a king but as his father, I'd like to formally apologize for his behavior towards you
The last I would wish is to burn any possible bridges between us, I hope this incident won't ruin a developing relationship between our two nations"
After he said this, King Aegil lowered his head in a bow, making the crowd on nobles gasp in suprise
Picking up a tip from Gazel, I got the idea that the last thing a king would resort to is bowing to another if ever
So having a king bow to another king is nothing short of a big deal
Although given how terrible things turned out, this likely the best way to make a PR recovery. He's most probably thinking that if the demon lord who kicked the cryptid's butt gave him a pass, the nobles would be peer pressured into following suit, monkey see monkey do
It's up to me if Ingraccia would be forgiven, I'm given the power to have the final say on what the outcome will be
And that's a power I'm willing to take advantage of
"Huh? That's it?"
This made the king and nobles jolt, instantly recognizing they're not out of the woods yet
"I beg your pardon?"
"Do I need to spell it out for you King Aegil? A simple apology is not gonna cut it. And no, a bow doesn't help make up for it. I feel you're gonna have to offer a bit more than that if want bygones to be bygones"
By now, King Aegil was growing an expression of worry for what I intended
"What do you have in mind?"
I hummed a bit to help extend the pressure before saying
"Oh not a lot, infact I also wish to develop a diplomatic relationship, BUUUT I will only consider it only if you agree to my conditions that is"
"What are your conditions"
"Well we can start with the possible development of a magitrain railroad between our two nations. You'll be the one cover all expenses such as the cost and labor and materials to construct and by the end of it, Tempest will have the higher say in the taxation for not only the magitrain but the overall transactions between our nations.
And further conditions will be brought in later talks but for now, these will be what you'll need to agree on for this to work
Will you accept these initial conditions?"
There was a brief pause until Aegil attempted to protest against these conditions
"I get your frustration but these conditions are too much to ask, perhaps we can talk this over in negotiations"
"This isn't a negotiation, these conditions are set in stone. What's only up to you is whether or not Tempest is willing to forgive once I step out the door.
You surely weren't expecting me to look the other way after all I had to go through?
Arrogant nobles looking down on me, my entire nation being treated as like a slave market, and especially the horde of cryptids sneaking in here and trying to kill me
It was horrifying! I was concerned for my life! I was scared, like an ITTY BITTY BABY"
That last part made a good amount of brows raise amongst the crowd surrounding us, maybe because of how cringy It sounded but most to completely because they knew it was total B S but it's all word play, whether I mean it or not doesn't truly matter
King Aegil for his part was still trying to avoid giving in
"But even so, these demands are quite much to ask. As a king I can't simply comply with these demands"
I decided to approach him to close the distance between us so I can whisper to him
"You're really being too stubborn for your good. Especially since just about everyone seem to have the wrong idea. It's not Tempest who needs the western council, it's the western council who needs Tempest
Even if we don't join, we can just form diplomatic relationships with individual nations like we have done so with Dwargon and Eurazania, this was simply out of convenience, not necessity
Especially for your case, it wouldn't look good if tempest doesn't join. Afterall not only was I endangered but multiple representatives from other nations were too. If not only the lives of foreign nobles were put on risk but also driving away a useful ally were to happen under your definitive watch, the rest of the council nations might reconsider your kingdom's standing in it
Also isn't the main reason why we were considered to join was our military power, especially with the inclusion of Veldora?
But what could that military possibly be for?
What enemy could tempest defend the council from?
Could it be from the east?
What is east of Tempest that would make the council worry?
What is in the east that the council fears?"
Finally with that last push, Aegil gave in
"F-fine, I'll accept these conditions as to clear all tensions between Ingraccia and Tempest"
After hearing that, I summoned a contract formed and written by Yagami. I even applied some of my Monster King Haki to make sure King Aegil doesn't regain the will to oppose
While still showing some hesitance, King Aegil signed the haki coated contract, solidifying our deal
(Notice, a skill is attempted to be acquired . . . Successful, Extra Skill: Devil's Contract has been acquired, with this extra skill, Kaijuno can now construct contracts that bind the soul of the signer)
I was internally fist pumping when I heard that
Not only was I able to force the King of Ingraccia to sign a deal that is far in my favor but I gotten a new skill out of it too
I'm guessing having another person voluntarily sign a contract coated in the spiritual properties of my haki seemed to have been the key to gain it, although given that it's just an extra skill, it shouldn't be too impressive but a soul binding contract still sounds like it will has it's uses
Having a formal reconciliation with Ingraccia, peace was essentially made and Tempest did managed to join the council out of default as all members that opposed it were coincidentally the cryptids that were taken out
As for Aegil, besides his discomfort for the deal he made, he shown a near death glare to his son for the trouble he put in him. It seems safe to safe that the once crowned prince might have lost his future crown. Also there's a good chance repercussions would still follow from this ordeal
The knights, including the captain that the prince was trying to wake up were taken into custody for their involvement with this conspiracy despite being knocked out for the active event. Although there was mentions of other people present along with the knights but they likely had escaped during the clash against the cryptids
Speaking of which
"So Yagami, what was with Perv's behavior earlier? Were they just messing with me or did my Monster King Haki halted their attack?"
(Negative, Monster King Haki wasn't activated during individual Pervenvy's initial attack)
"No!? Then could it he the work of Unique Skill Murphy's Law?"
(Negative, Murphy's Law wasn't put to use either nor would it have been affected againsta straight forward punch, the most likely cause was individual Pervenvy's instinct preventing them from attacking)
"Wait what?! Seriously!? Neither of those? But surely it doesn't add up, it would be one thing if either were in use but if not, then what could the reason be?
Maybe it was some sort of power fantasy moment that made me invincible for a scene but that reason has absolutely no weight to it and sounds like total bull. Plus it seems like Pervenvy was trying to perform something earlier but that also wasn't working out for some unknown reason. Even by the biggest stretch it doesn't add up. It just doesn't make any sense
I guess for now that will be left for speculation until further notice unfortunately"
Wrapping up any remaining formalities, the western council meeting was finally concluded by the time of sundown
Safe to say for number of reasons, everyone was feeling worn out and just wanted to get back to their rooms to rest
We have plans to eat breakfast in the morning and leave soon after. Given my track record of being in foreign nations, I'm not gonna spend another day to mess around and find out more trouble
Before sleeping in for the night, I decided to honor my deal with Masayuki by taking him to the hotel's buffet
"So today was crazy wasn't it Masayuki?"
"That's putting it lightly, I think I'd prefer to have missed it, do you have any idea how many times those guys got close to me
Also with how impressed all those nobles looked to be afterwards, I might end up getting even more requests for high ranking nobilities, jsut the thought of it makes my head hurt"
"I'd say it worked out in the end, yeah the most of the nations are gonna have to find replacements for council representatives and Ingraccia is in a PR nightmare, but I'm doing alright and that's all that matters"
Masayuki just gave me a silent side eye in response before saying
"When I thought you'd be covering for my meal, I thought it would be paying for a meal at a restaurant, I didn't even knew hotel buffets was already a thing in this world, wasn't this already included in your hotel plan? Is this really you covering for my meal?"
"Absolutely! You're not paying a dime for this aren't ya?"
"I guess not"
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A solid while later back at Tempest, Hinata had arrived to Rimuru's office to inform them of the chaotic event that transpired. By the end of it, Rimuru scratched their brow, not because of Kaijuno's antics this time but more of how things as a whole went down at the council meeting
As much as they disapprove Kaijuno's outburst, it was hypocritical as they know they would've acted coldly as well upon hearing the council's demands
Besides that, there was a major concern for the appearance of the cryptids which ironically were the miracles that got them in the council despite the mayhem prior
"Does Luberious have any precautions for cryptids?"
"Unfortunately no, given their grotesque appearance, any cryptids that the holy knights may have encountered would likely have been mistaken like any other monster and any recorded case that could imply an appearance of cryptids are few and far in between"
Rimuru simply placed their on their forehead before continuing on
"Still, it baffles me how Kaijuno was able to pressure the king this much get some major points for our end. He even wrote in transactions instead of trade, they probably thought to use a more broad term to give us leeway into more than one kind of deal, I would've simply accepted his apology and moved on"
"Speaking of who, since Tempest will have to have a representative to attend the council meeting from now on, are you planning to make Kaijuno that representative?"
There a short pause after Hinata said this, both them just stared at eachother with deadpan expressions until both said in unison
"Nope!"
They said this knowing this was the case before hinata even asked
"While the end results turned out to be profitable, it was mainly by pure circumstances and luck with the appearance of those cryptids. If they weren't there to cause havoc, it would've definitely not have ended up in our favor with everything that happened prior.
It's not like I actually want Tempest to be viewed as a nation of terror by the council, the goal for peace with humans would be more difficult if we leaned towards this path
Plus I know Kaijuno would absolutely be miserable"
"Speaking of miserable, you're not exactly looking energetic"
To hinata, it was clear that Rimuru was worn out from all the paperwork that they had to go through, it was a new level of tired
"Yeah, I actually had to pull a few all nighters with how much is piled up, I feel like I'm worried I'll start to develop bags under my eyes, I barely have any breaks"
The usually stoic hinata shifted her expression to a more soft concern look. As both were originally from Japan, they were all too familiar of the idea of a very tiring job that would take a lot out of you
"That surely doesn't sound healthy, even a demon lord should take a breather from time to time"
"Unfortunately unlike Luminous, I don't have all of my ends covered, I've been through endless piles even more than what's still here"
"I definitely can't say I envy your position. If it was me, I'd quit by the second day"
"So even the Great Saint Hinata have some things she's not good at"
The once tired Rimuru now held a more smug face in spite of Hinata's glare in reaction to what they just said
"I'll be taking my leave now, although expect me to be around more often once the establishment of the new school has been made"
"Sure! I'll make sure that Kenya and the others will be attending your class"
With Hinata's departure, Rimuru was left in the silence of their messy office
"Maybe I hould enroll Kaijuno into her class, Hinata is exactly the type of person that wouldn't tolerate his nonsense and keep him in check. Hopefully he could at least get along with the other students"
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Far over west, mild panic is occurring within the Rosso residency given what resulted from the western council
"After all that happened, Tempest ended up gaining a huge influence over the council because of the event!"
"Not to mention we lost contact with Glenda"
"And that's on top of losing council members who we had influence over"
None of the members of the Rosso were expecting Tempest to successfully join the council, let alone completely turn the tides in their own favor
What was probably the most unexpected was the clashing against the cryptids who impersonated a good number of their pawns
The only members who remained collected were Granbelle and Mariabelle, although they weren't please with the results either
"Everything that could've go right, ended up being the complete opposite, even if there was a crack in the plans, an outcome this disastrous is hard to digest"
This came in an exhausted tone from the elder Granbelle
Sitting besides him, the young Mariabelle was more baffled but kept her confusion hidden with her expression of displeasure
"First with Hinata, then the festival, and now this. The fact that not only once but multiple time Tempest ended up pulling the rug under us is absolutely unacceptable. This most recent event ended up costing us more than what could've been salvaged"
"Yes although another concern was the appearance of those cryptids that had also gotten in the way of our plans as well
Those creatures are a hindrance flock of pests"
"Are you familiar with cryptids?"
Hearing Mariabelle ask this, Granbelle thought about it before denying as such
" . . . No, no, just simply another obstacle that we will have to look out for"
With the more sour tone within the atmosphere, Mariabelle decided to make the Rosso's next move
"Grandfather, I'd like to be the one to finish off the demon lord once and for all"
"You're sure you can handle it? Given the recent history, the demon lord has proven themselves to be a menace"
"I believe so, after besides Glenda, we were still able to retrieve some of our tools from the council meeting and along with Yuuki as an asset, even a demon lord will fall to the might of Mariabelle the Greedy"
Declaring her intentions, Mariabelle exited the room, not hearing the input of the other Rosso members and Granbelle remaining neutral throughout it
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Deep within Mariabelle's unique skill Greed, a certain ancestor, Twilight Valentine ponders about the revealed situation and their options going forward
"Seems that the tides are turning, and certainly not in favor of her. All that planning and resources in her disposal and yet Kaijuno is constantly running circles around her
Although it is a bit too soon to conclude on whether or not this is out of calculation or stretches of luck for his end especially given what just recently happened. Wouldn't want to risk it on someone who is prone to be reckless
It's the opposite case for Yuuki. While Kaijuno has taken immediate action, Yuuki chose to keep his secret of free will under the desk from Mariabelle's eyes. Despite this being a deceptive on his end, he has yet to really take advantage of his secret
It truly seems to be an immediate action wild card or a long game calculator.
Either way, Mariabelle is losing her foot in the race, her arrogance in spite of her clear failures is making her out to be out of her league in comparison to the greater powers that resides in this world
At least that's one option I won't have to worry about considering"
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Back in the demon realm, the primordial pair of black and yellow are residing on a floating platform in what seems to be a light gray void, staring towards a floating palace in the distance
"So that's Violet's place? Didn't know she was a floating castle type of gal"
"Aren't you at eachother's hairs for an eternity along with Blanc? How do you just now know about this?"
"Almost all of our encounters were at the Cardinal World and even when it was here, we tended to meet at the halfway point
I didn't want either of them messing up my place"
"Your place was a barren desert, there wasn't anything of value"
"I still didn't want any of them invading!"
The other demons that were dragged along had taken residents at the the surrounding floating platforms. Some took side glances towards a knocked out greater demon that Diablo slammed prior without even looking at their direction
The demon who worn punk style clothing seemed to have been chasing after Diablo since they left Jaune's territory and has been repeatedly pursued Diablo only to be taken down in one hit with Diablo showing no care
As for said Diablo
"While Jaune wouldn't be my first choice either, at least I didn't have a travel that was with-"
Before he could finish talking to himself about his misery, the source of his misery, Kaijuno had suddenly returned through a spatial gate
"Heeeeeeey, what's uuuuuuup, it's meeeeeeeee-"
In the distance a loud wave yelling could be heard, leaving many stray demons were frightened and confused by it but probably assumed it was the work Violet
Speaking of who, the purple primordial easily heard that scream but was confused that she can recognize that the scream was from Diablo
"Was that Noir? Was that Noir screaming?what could've made him scream? Did someone actually made him scream? Is there someone that could be that terrorizing to make that smug bastard yell in agony?
Hopefully that's the case, he always had a track record of getting under everyone's skin, about time he met his own terror"
Somewhere else nearby, a greater demon wearing punk style clothing was suddenly awakened from his injuries, still groaning from his pain from the primordial black
"Ah! Damn it! where did that butler outfit bastard go"
The blonde in punk still didn't get the memo that Diablo may have completely outclassed him