I observed the battle as Milim was going for her final punch that would make a blue slushie out of Rimuru, but then, out of nowhere, someone appeared and took the hit for him.
"Awoo! How can you suddenly hit people? Isn't that over the line?" Veldora asked with his hands around his head where Milim hit him.
"Eh, Veldora, why are you here?" I heard Rimuru ask, and I felt slight killing intent from my mother.
"Wooo, that was super embarrassing."
"That doesn't matter. Did something happen to the town?"
"Not really. Because that Diablo guy has returned, the defense network has become stronger." As they were talking, Veldora took out something that almost made my mouth water. It's a manga I haven't seen yet! "The content doesn't match up with the cover!"
"All right, before I give you the sequel, there is a request I want to make from you."
"Hmm? What is that?"
"You go ahead and have some fun with Milim over there. But you must refrain from hurting her."
And that's how the battle between Milim and Veldora started, while Rimuru went out to deal with Claypot.
...
..
.
"Milim! Hear my command and activate [Stampede] and kill everyone!" Claypot shouted.
Milim, who had her fun fighting Veldora, turned to look at him, "Ehh? Why would I do that? Rumuru, and they are all my friends!" She said, and I couldn't help but chuckle seeing Claypot's face at this moment.
"Milim! Wait, aren't you being controlled…?" Rimuru asked, shocked, and I could feel the sigh coming from [Raphael] even from here.
"WHAHAHAHA! You seem to have been fooled all this time, Rimuru! How could I be controlled by Clayman?" Milim said proudly of her acting skills.
"I mean, it was pretty obvious someone like Claypot couldn't control Milim," I said with a shrug.
"B-B-But he gave me the Orb! It should make you listen to my every order… D-Did you not kill Carrion according to my order?"
"Oi oi oi, who did you say has died?" Carrion, who took off his lion mask, asked.
"Oh, so you finally took off your mask, Carrion. Not the best disguise if you ask me," I said.
"Oi! Let me have my moment. Besides, you are wearing a mask too! You think yours is much better?"
"Yes."
As everything was happening, Rimuru and even Clayman looked at us dumbfounded.
---
Rimuru Tempest POV:
So, to sum up, all that has happened up until now:
Carrion is still alive, so my testimonies are all set. Now, the demon lords won't treat me as an enemy.
Milim wasn't mind-controlled.
Clayman is on the verge of dying and is currently being shoved into a coffin by Cale, with Veldora helping him...
He isn't posing any threat, and it is impossible to come up with any plan to reverse his situation because he has openly confessed in front of the demon lords.
"So that was all an act."
"I-I saw through it from the start!"
"That's how I guessed things should be."
"So that's how it was…"
I shouldn't be the only one who was fooled by Milim, yet in the end, everyone acts as if they've known long ago, aside from Cale, who I'm confident, if he knew she would do something like that, would have joined her.
I looked over to Cale again to see him and Veldora dancing with the coffin before throwing it to the side and joining the others.
It didn't take long after they returned for a giant magicule storm began to swirl around the coffin Clayman was in, "Look like he's getting serious now." Clayman has awakened.
"Wow, even after the sudo-awakening, his power is at the lowest level that could be considered an Awakened Demon Lord, his magicules increased, but that's about it," Cale said.
So, this is the weakest possible strength for someone considered a True Demon Lord. I will put that in the back of my mind for the Tempest Ranking System I started working on.
But for now, I need to deal with him for good... With a snap of my fingers, I erected a barrier separating me and the now-awakened Clayman from the rest.
---
Cale Valentine POV:
"How dare he steal my technique? What a shameless guy." Guy mumbled, and I chuckled.
"Isn't that what makes him interesting?" I asked.
"Hmm," Guy only gave a hum but had an interested smile on his face.
"If you want to show your true power, then be quick about it. I'll wait. Or perhaps, are you planning to fool around and flee away with that attack just now?" Rimuru taunted
Claypot let out a crazy laugh, "He-HEHEHE, a miserable slime, how arrogant. You are indeed strong, I'll admit it. But this is not all my power! You seem quite confident in your control of Aura, but will you be able to take this? This is my strongest technique! [Demon Blaster]!"
Why does that guy still sound so arrogant after being shoved into a coffin?
Rimuru just extended his hand and easily devoured the spell, "Eat it all, [Beelzebuth]!" After [Beelzebuth] devoured the spell, Rimuru calmly walked up to Claypot, "It's no use, Clayman. You are weaker than me."
"Impossible… How can this be possible?! That was m-my ultimate technique!" Claypot stuttered out.
Shortly after, Rimuru put him under [Thought Acceleration] and started beating the shit out of him.
"Clayman," Rimuru asked calmly, "I'll ask you one more time. Who leaked the message to you and gave you that Orb? What's his relationship with you? Tell me, and I'll kill you quickly."
"I won't betray my companions, nor will I sell out my contractor. T-this is the iron law of Moderate Harlequin Alliance." Claypot, who was at death's door, managed to stutter out.
That's probably the only thing I like about him. At least he is loyal to his companions until the end.
"So, is this lord you were talking about the Demon Lord Kazalim?" Rimuru asked, and I wondered for a while how he would know that before I remembered, I told him about the Moderate Harlequin Alliance during the Charybdis incident.
"H-How..." Claypot asked with wide eyes.
"I see then I don't need to you anymore, [Beelzebuth]."
And that was the end of the Claypot. He will be remembered as the idiot who thought he could control an ancient Dragonoid Demon Lord.
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Author's Note:
Thank you for reading this chapter.
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