"Such power… it's incredible…"
After Benimaru, the next to awaken were Shion and Shuna, who had been receiving Damien's favor recently.
[Shion]
Race: Ogre King Ogre God
Magicules: 4.2 million EP
Ultimate Skill: Lord of Tyranny Susanoo (mid-tier Ultimate)
[Shuna]
Race: Ogre Ogre God
Magicules: 3.8 million EP
Ultimate Skills: Daytime King Himiko (mid-tier Ultimate), Night Queen Kaguya-hime (low-tier Ultimate)
"Shuna's Ultimates…"
Damien remembered that in the original story, Shuna had never awakened as a True Demon Lord and had remained in her ogre state.
He didn't believe it was because Shuna's talent was inferior to Shion and the others.
As the princess of the ogre race, Shuna absolutely possessed the potential to awaken.
And the facts proved it.
Not only had Shuna successfully evolved from ogre to ogre god, she had gained one mid-tier Ultimate and another low-tier one.
[Night Queen Kaguya-hime]
Rank: Low-tier Ultimate
Effect: Designates an area, turns it into the Origin of Night, and controls the flow of space and time within it.
"A time-related ability?"
What surprised Damien even more was the powerful capability displayed by this low-tier Ultimate.
Any skill involving time—whether extra or unique—tended to have extremely strong effects.
Although Night Queen was only low-tier, that didn't mean it would remain low-tier forever.
Of course, Kaguya-hime's time power could probably suppress non-awakened Demon Lord seeds, but against those who had stepped into the Demon Lord realm, it would undoubtedly have various limitations.
Compared to proper time manipulation, Night Queen might not be as overwhelmingly powerful as its description suggested.
"Still, something is better than nothing."
Shuna's two Ultimates clearly showed the direction of her future growth.
With Damien supporting her from behind, Shuna's limits were definitely not restricted to one mid-tier and one low-tier skill.
"Lord Damien!"
At that moment, Shion happily ran over.
She proudly held up her Strength Ring. "Look, look! My Strength Ring—the kid got stronger too!"
[Strength Ring]
Grade: God-grade
Effect: Grants wearer +1.4 million EP
The simple and brutal effect directly added a million magicules to the wearer.
This meant that once Shion equipped her Strength Ring, her magicules would skyrocket from 4.2 million to 5.6 million.
5.6 million—even higher than Benimaru's 5 million.
In other words, Shion holding the Strength Ring was now the second strongest individual in the ogre race, right after Diablo!
"Am I the fourth to awaken?"
After the three, the fourth to awaken was Souka.
[Souka]
Race: Dragon King Ancient Dragon
Magicules: 8 million EP
Ultimate Skill: Lord of the Firmament Uranus (high-tier Ultimate)
Souka's magicules were astonishingly high, already close to the 10 million Disaster level.
But that didn't mean Souka's potential surpassed the four ogres.
As a dragon, having vast magicules had always been their signature trait.
Dragonewt, dragon, dragon king, ancient dragon.
The next step was dragon species and Dragon God.
Perhaps because dragons had massive bodies, they almost never suffered from magicule deficiency, making them living artillery among all monsters.
"I never expected Souka to obtain a high-tier Ultimate that rivals the Seven Deadly Sins."
Shuna and Shion showed no jealousy. Instead, they were genuinely happy for their new little sister.
"Ah, i-it was just luck."
Souka seemed a little nervous. Her position in the Monster Kingdom had always been somewhat unstable.
It was like being the new employee suddenly given important responsibilities and a key role.
So when facing seniors like Shuna and Shion, Souka was cautious, afraid of making any mistake that might upset them.
"How about we spar later?"
Shion wasn't thinking that deeply. She just wanted to vent her newly gained power.
And Souka was the perfect opponent.
"Come to think of it, I've never fought a dragon before."
"I'm getting excited!"
Shion's bold attitude left Souka a little flustered.
"Alright, don't trouble Miss Souka."
Seeing Souka's discomfort, Shuna stepped in to help her.
"No, no."
Souka waved her hands quickly. "Sparring with Senior Shion would be my honor."
Damien watched the three women chatting and had no intention of interrupting.
He understood Souka's situation perfectly.
But there was nothing to be done about it.
The dragon race had just joined and had barely accomplished one merit. Granting Souka the chance to awaken was already a great favor.
The fact that Souka was acting so respectful and cautious showed how sensible she was.
This was true for almost every subordinate Damien valued.
Even the airheaded Shion understood exactly who had given her this power.
She didn't know how to flatter people.
Her simple mind wasn't that clever.
The only thing Shion knew was to listen to Damien.
If Damien told her to do something, she would do it. If he told her to fight someone, she would fight them!
"So many have already awakened?"
"Am I the last one?"
"Shouldn't I be the last?"
Geld, Star Fang, and Souei awakened almost simultaneously.
When the three opened their eyes, they saw the four who had already undergone a complete transformation in presence.
They knew the four had successfully awakened.
Of course, Geld and the others had done the same.
From today onward, the seven of them were no longer Demon Lord seeds—they were true awakened Demon Lords who had stepped into the Demon Lord realm.
[Souei]
Race: Ogre Ogre God
Magicules: 3 million EP
Ultimate Skill: Lord of Moon Shadow Tsukuyomi (mid-tier Ultimate)
[Geld]
Race: Half-Orc King Earth Spirit God
Magicules: 2.38 million EP
Ultimate Skill: Lord of Gourmand Beelzebub (mid-tier Ultimate)
[Star Fang]
Race: Star Fang Species Star Beast
Magicules: 3.2 million EP
Ultimate Skill: Lord of Elements Koumokutenpus (quasi-high-tier Ultimate)
Among the final three, Geld had the lowest magicules.
But his Ultimate Skill was no weaker than the others.
Lord of Gourmand sounded unimpressive.
But when you looked at its specific abilities, it was practically all-encompassing. It could almost be called a miniature Rimuru.
The next two—Souei's attributes and mechanics—were fairly standard.
He had awakened Tsukuyomi.
Unfortunately, his abilities leaned toward shadows.
Damien felt he could develop in the direction of the Shadow Throne, refining various shadow generals and creating a shadow kingdom.
At that point, as long as he didn't encounter a Seven Deadly Sins-level opponent, Souei would be nearly unbeatable.
"Lord of Elements Koumokutenpus?"
Finally, Star Fang—the only one among the seven who remained in non-human form.
The alpha of the Star Fang wolves, father of Ranga, who in the original story should have died at Rimuru's hands.
Because of Damien's intervention, he not only survived but successfully joined Damien's forces and soared to new heights.
From initially absorbing Pokémon attribute powers, he had evolved into the leader of the Star Fang wolf clan.
And now, he had successfully transformed from Star Fang wolf into a Star Beast.
Star Beasts, also known as Star Sky Giant Beasts.
This was a special life form that didn't exist in the Central Continent but had been added to its biological catalog because of Damien.
Star Beasts had multiple forms.
Star Fang's giant wolf form was the weakest one.
Beyond that, Star Fang could transform into werewolf, humanoid, and the strongest—true Star Beast form.
A true Star Beast, just as Damien had envisioned, had the ability to become a giant beast the size of a mountain.
Its defining trait could be summed up in one word: big!
By continuously increasing its magicules, a Star Beast's main body would grow larger and larger until it could rival actual stars.
Therefore, although Star Beasts didn't carry the word "god" like ogre gods, heavenly gods, or beast gods, in a real fight, star sky giant beasts were in no way inferior to so-called gods—in fact, they were often stronger!
"Let's go. I'll take you to get familiar with your new power first."
The reason Damien had the seven awaken at this time was for the upcoming journey to the Godslayer world.
That's right.
This time, Damien wasn't planning to bring only the four Primordials and a few other Demon Lords when crossing worlds.
He was bringing Hinata and Luminas, who had just joined, and even the newly awakened Shuna, Shion, and the others—all of them would go together!
A treasure trove like the Godslayer world.
Any Demon Lord who went there for a spin would gain substantial rewards.
As for the cost…
At worst, they would fail and lose a life.
As long as Damien was still here, everyone could revive in the Void Cosmos at any time, change their appearance, and go back to farm more.
Besides, only the alternate descent method would cause such losses.
If they followed the proper procedures and acted according to the Godslayer world's rules,
Even if they died there, the only thing lost would be a harmless avatar. It wouldn't matter at all.
Afterward, Damien specially took the seven to the Void Cosmos.
There, they could unleash their new power without any restraint.
And so, time reached the next day.
At the Demon Lord meeting, all Demon Lord-level powerhouses—including the newly joined Hinata and Luminas—were present.
"What is this about?"
Luminas and Hinata were still new and didn't yet know Damien's plans.
Fortunately, they had someone to ask.
"We're about to begin invading other worlds to obtain new power."
Artoria was sitting right beside them and helpfully answered their questions.
"Invading other worlds?"
"What does that mean?"
Hinata didn't understand what Artoria meant by "invading other worlds."
Regarding the Void Cosmos and the journeys to conquer other worlds, Damien had actually stored that information in the Soul Corridor.
But the two women had been busy comprehending their newly awakened Ultimate Skills and hadn't had time to absorb that part yet.
They also hadn't expected Damien's actions to be so sudden.
One moment they had been thinking about how to handle the relationship between the Holy Empire and the Monster Kingdom.
The next moment they had been summoned here to participate in such a major event.
"It's not exactly an invasion."
Artoria knew Hinata's personality. She disliked meaningless slaughter and had a strong aversion to bullying the weak.
Artoria felt the same way.
So Artoria explained the plan regarding the Godslayer universe and acquiring Ultimate power there to both Luminas and Hinata.
"Going to another world?!"
"Something like that…"
Luminas felt like her entire worldview was collapsing after hearing it.
She had originally thought that when Damien said "invading other worlds," he meant planets or realms similar to the Central Continent.
She hadn't expected Damien's ambitions to be far grander than she imagined.
He was planning to leave the universe created by the Star Dragon King and go to other universes to cause trouble.
"So we can also go to other universes to obtain Ultimate power?"
"Yes, but we have to follow the rules."
Artoria told the two women about the various descent methods they had discussed earlier.
Luminas and Hinata fell silent as they listened.
They began considering which method would suit them best.
"Now, everyone can begin."
"Form teams or go alone, whatever you prefer."
"As long as you think it gives you a better chance of obtaining Ultimate power, feel free to do it."
Damien was a very open-minded person. He never believed that his and Velzard's plan was necessarily the best.
Take Testarossa and Diablo, for example.
The intelligence of these two was so high that even the Slime Lord in the original story would have to admit defeat.
Instead of micromanaging smart people, Damien preferred to remove the restrictions and give them more room to show what they could do.
"Lord Damien."
Soon, Diablo and Testarossa approached Damien. The two said they wanted to team up with him.
"Fine."
Damien didn't hesitate and immediately accepted their team request.
Perfect. He could keep an eye on them.
That way they wouldn't cause irreparable destruction to the Godslayer universe because of their personalities.
Besides, Damien really needed the power of the two demon progenitors.
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