Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 61: Frost vs Storm!
Up to 15 chapters ahead at p@treon.com/theogbasilisk
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- Felix -
"Alright, follow me then!" Rimuru paused for a moment. "Ah, Diablo, you're dismissed now. Sorry for bugging you."
"It is my duty to serve you, My Lord! It is no problem if you ask me to do anything!" Responded Diablo.
"Uh, well then, could you go check on the Daemons who are in the midst of Incarnating?" Asked Rimuru.
Diablo bowed once more and then vanished.
"Quite the interesting character, that Diablo." Commented Velzard.
"You tell me." Rimuru sighed.
Velzard smirked, chuckling slightly to herself. "Guy was quite irked when he heard that Diablo was serving someone."
Rimuru looked to Velzard in surprise. "Huh?! Why?"
"Diablo, or rather Noir as he was known back then, was the sole individual that Guy recognized as an equal. For him to submit to someone now rubbed Guy the wrong way. Don't mind it. He is just being his normal prideful self." ExplainedVelzard.
Rimuru sighed in relief. "So he isn't going to have it out for me?"
I rolled my eyes. "He won't have it out for you solely for that reason. He isn't that petty… or is he?" I finished, chuckling as I saw Rimuru shuddering to himself. "Kidding."
Velzard nodded. "It is as Felix said, as long as you do not do something Guy disapproves of, he will not intervene in your matters."
Rimuru nodded. "Got it."
- Rimuru Tempest -
He sighed in relief as he heard both Felix and Velzard's reassurance. He would only have to worry about Guy if Guy went too out of control. From what he had heard about him from Felix, Guy was not unreasonable, so Tempest should be safe.
Guy was a powerful man that Rimuru could admit he was hesitant to face off against. It was best if he never antagonized him.
He looked at Velzard and shivered slightly. She was letting off a frosty Aura passively, one that even affected him despite his Resist Skills.
She was incredibly powerful, which he could understand from Veldora's various tales of her beating the shit out of him.
When compared to Veldora, she felt like she was an entirely different beast. Her Aura was perfectly controlled other than the passive Aura her mere presence released. None of her Magicules were leaking out of her. She had more control over herself than even Veldora, who he was beginning to think was a master at controlling his Aura.
Velzard was not someone to be messed with.
"There is no need to be wary of me, Rimuru." Velzard called out wiht a soft smile, causing him to freeze up. "I am not here to cause trouble."
He nodded and continued to lead everyone through The Dungeon.
- Felix -
It didn't take us long to reach Veldora's Floor.
"I can sense Veldora's Magicules focused on this Floor, the concentration is far higher than all the other Floors." Commented Velzard.
Rimuru nodded. "Yeah, this is where Veldora primarily lives."
"Is that so?" She mused, looking at the perfectly organized room, which had been destroyed moments ago, only for Diablo to come in before them to clean it back up.
Velzard smirked as she made her way to where Veldora was. "Oh, little brother~." Velzard called off in a sing-song voice.
Veldora appeared in front of his room, stiff as a board. "Si-Sister!"
"It seems you have assumed a Humanoid form now, and it is nice to see that the effects of being sealed have not harmed you." Commented Velzard.
Veldora firmly nodded. "Yes, sister!"
"I heard that you have changed since I last saw you. Have you rethought your destructive ways?"
Veldora nodded nervously. "Yes, sister!"
Velzard sighed. "No need to be so stiff, Veldora. Perhaps my approach to discipline you was wrong. If Demon Lord Rimuru's gentle care was what changed you then I suppose his method was more efficient. It seems you required a different kind of love."
Veldora froze up. "S-Sister?!"
"I am apologizing for killing you in the past. It seems my method of discipline was not as effective as I hoped it would be." Muttered Velzard.
"Y-Yes, sister! Thank you, sister!"
"Now, why don't you tell me a little about what you have been up to?" Asked Velzard.
Veldora nodded slightly, his eyes darting back and forth between Rimuru and Velzard in search of support. Rimuru offered a reassuring nod, after which Veldora let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. His body relaxed slightly as he finally looked at Velzard in the eyes for the first time.
"While you two catch up I'll have the food I had prepared for everyone brought to the dining room." Called out Rimuru.
Veldora and Velzard nodded before Rimuru left to call on his subordinates.
Well, that went well. Way better than I had imagined with how traumatized Veldora had acted. Though in hindsight, I had put in a good amount of effort to convince Velzard that he had changed.
I take back my apologies. You owe me one, Veldora.
"Speaking of food. I had heard that you had a food stand for the Festival in this Kingdom." Said Velzard with a proud smile.
Veldora nodded. "I did, sister! But how did you know?"
Velzard gestured to me. "Your friend there told me about it. He even preserved some of your food, which I tried. It was quite delicious, little brother. Would you mind cooking for me sometime?"
"Yes, sister!" Veldora said with a smile.
Look at that, their sibling relationship has begun to repair. I could tell Veldora was still tense, but he had relaxed somewhat seeing that Velzard wasn't here to kill him again, not that we'd let her do that in the first place.
Veldora led Velzard to a quiet corner, where they began catching up. I didn't interrupt them and began to wander around the Floor.
"That was nice of you, Felix." I heard a voice from behind me say.
I turned around. "Ah, Ramiris."
"Indeed! It is I!" Ramiris boldly proclaimed.
"Uh huh, what were you saying?"
"Ah, just that it's nice that you helped repair their relationship. I may be missing some of my memories, but I do recall Velzard's so-called discipline and Veldora's terror of his sisters, even if deep inside, Veldora wished for his sisters to dote on him. He really is one big tsundere!" Said Ramiris.
"Ah, well, it's nothing. Just helping a friend out." I responded.
Ramiris began to circle around me like an annoying fly. "Well, I'm sure Veldora appreciates it!"
"Well, that's enough for me."
"You're a good friend, Felix." Teased Ramiris with a smile.
"Thanks, I guess." I wasn't particularly sure how to respond to that. I wasn't the best at communicating my own emotions. I knew myself well enough to realize that.
"Anyways, what have you been up to?"
"Heh, what have I been up to?! Well, I've been helping manage The Dungeon! My adorable Dryads have also been working super hard!" Said a proud Ramiris.
"Is that so? Good job."
"Hehe, praise me more!" Said Ramiris, who had puffed up her small chest.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes, how amazing, if only I had a fraction of your greatness Lady Ramiris." I responded dully.
Ramiris nodded. "Umu! Now you get it!"
___________________________________________________________________
We all took our seats at the dining table located on Veldora's Floor.
Velzard sat next to me, and Veldora sat across from us. Rimuru was seated next to Veldora, and Ramiris went who knows where.
I looked at Velzard. "So, did you two manage to catch up."
Velzard took a sip of the tea Shuna had served and nodded. "Indeed, it seems my brother truly has changed."
I nodded. "Yeah, like I said, he isn't much of an Evil Dragon anymore, more like a NEET Dragon."
"Hey! I'm not a NEET! I take my job of being King of The Dungeon and Tempest's protector very seriously!" Veldora argued.
"Yes, yes, whatever you say, Veldora."
"Ufufufu, it seems you have made some friends now, Veldora." Said Velzard with a proud smile. Wiping a fake tear from her eye, she muttered. "They grow so fast…"
Before Veldora could retort, we sensed Shuna appear on this Floor. Veldora's Floor didn't have a kitchen, so she had to go back and forth to cook and present the meals.
"I apologize for the wait." Said Shuna. She then presented the first course. This was a meal meant to bribe and satisfy Velzard, so Shuna went all out. I'm sure it would be quite delicious.
–
"That was quite delicious. Even better than what Rain and Misery can prepare." Complimented Velzard.
"Thank you for the praise, Lady Velzard." Responded Shuna.
Velzard nodded, and then a smirk appeared on her face. She looked at Veldora. "I have heard quite a lot about your growth, including how you are a much more capable fighter now, Veldora. Why don't we see just how much you have grown?"
"Gaah! U-Uhm, well about that…. I have some… erm… responsibilities and things I gotta deal with. You don't get the title of… umm.. Guardian of the Dungeon without putting in the hard work… right?" Veldora stuttered out.
"Come, come Veldora." Said Velzard as she stood up. She then looked to Rimuru. "Is there a room we can use to spar?"
Rimuru nodded with a blank face. "Yes, it's just on this Floor, I'll show you there." Said Rimuru with a smile plastered on his face.
Veldora looked betrayed. "Rimuru!"
Rimuru gave Veldora a thumbs up. "Don't worry! I believe in you! Go get your shonen power up!"
Veldora took a deep breath to regain control of himself. "You're right! I have gotten stronger since the last time we fought, sister! I have even acquired an Ultimate Skill!"
Hearing Veldora, Velzard's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Ara ara, now I did not expect for you to acquire an Ultimate Skill on your own, Veldora. Acquiring an Ultimate Skill is no easy feat. Well done, little brother." Velzard smiled proudly. "Now I am even more eager to test you." She finished.
Veldora smiled proudly. "Yes, sister!"
Rimuru then led us all to the arena on Veldora's Floor meant for him to face off against any challengers.
Velzard took a good look around the arena with a raised eyebrow. "This is quite gaudy."
Veldora pouted, hearing her.
"Very well. Are you ready, Veldora?" Asked Velzard.
"One moment, sister! I have one thing I need to do!" Veldora began slowly taking off his coat, and we all looked on in confusion. Once his coat was bunched up in his hand, he threw it at the other side of the room, causing a loud bang to reverberate throughout the room. The Dungeon was reinforced, so for his clothing to make a bang like that, it must weigh a few tons.
"...Dude." I found myself voicing out.
Veldora smirked proudly. "Khahaha, now I have unleashed all my limiters. My power must have risen by over ten times now!" Boasted Veldora.
"Uhh, I don't think your power has risen at all, Veldora." I called out.
"Nonsense! The sacred texts said I would grow multiple times more powerful if I was constantly weighed down by extremely heavy clothing! Even Goku has undertaken this method of training!"
"Goku?" Velzard whispered to herself.
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Veldora, but your power hasn't risen at all." Rimuru said with a laugh.
Veldora looked heartbroken. "... The sacred texts… lied?" Veldora shook his head. "No! I must not have been using enough weights! I will increase them twofold!"
"If you are done with your games now, why don't we begin?" Called out Velzard.
Veldora nodded. "Very well, sister!"
Rimuru and I teleported to the spectator area.
'Notice. It is requested that the Master acquires enough data for Odin to replicate the Factors of the True Dragons Veldora and Velzard.'
'Ah? Is this for your little project of recreating Veldanava's Factor?'
'Answer. Correct. Each Factor Odin recreates will empower the Master further.'
'For Veldora, weren't you going to get his Factor through Uriel?'
'Answer. Correct. However, acquiring the data through a more direct method will improve the efficiency of analysis."
'I see, well, I'm not one to turn down a powerup. Will a strand of hair or something do?'
'It will be sufficient.'
'Great.'
I should have an opportunity to sneakily acquire something like that. In the midst of this fight, they will likely injure each other. During that time, I can see if I can get some pieces of their Material Bodies for Odin to scan. They may be made of energy, but their Material Bodies are still physical.
Rather than being made up of things like cells and the like, they are simply made up of energy. Though we do still have blood, our blood is more like liquified energy though.
It won't be hard to get sufficient material from Veldora. If I don't get it now, I can always bribe him for a strand of hair with manga later. Velzard's will be harder for me to get though. Hopefully, Veldora can land a clean hit on her.
Perhaps I can bribe Veldora to try to help me out?
I sent a Thought Communication to Veldora, which everyone quickly noticed. "I just want to talk to him about something." I voiced out.
"Eh? What do you want, Felix? Why not just talk to me in person? You are right in front of me."
I ignored Veldora's question. "Listen, I need you to do me a favor during this fight. If you manage to pull it off, I'll give you a new manga that you haven't read."
"Uoahh! New sacred texts?! Deal! What do you need?"
"I need you to try and cut off some of Velzard's hair during this fight. I need it for something."
"Eh? That's kinda weird, Felix. I know my sister is conventionally attractive, but still…. You really don't want to get with her. She looks nice now, but when she gets angry—" Veldora muttered, trying to protect me from her.
"I know how it sounds, but just trust me."
"Fine! For the sacred texts!"
I smiled at his agreement and cut the Thought Communication.
"Then come, little brother." Called out Velzard.
"Raaah!" Veldora cried as he dashed in front of Velzard, his fist drawn and coated with Fighting Spirit.
"Draconic Burst!" Veldora's fist met Velzard's open palm.
The Aura from his fist was easily nullified by Velzard, it seemed as if the Aura just stopped moving.
Did she use Fixation on Veldora's Fighting Spirit?
'Negative. It has been detected that The Frost Dragon Velzard's Intrinsic Ability is Deceleration.'
Going by the name, I can already tell it's broken as hell.
Fucking True Dragons.
"Fufufu, that was quite powerful, Veldora. It seems you truly have grown. But if that is all you are capable of, you will not be capable of reaching me." Taunted Velzard.
"I'm just getting started, sister! This isn't even my final form! It seems if I want to reach you, I will have to make use of Faust, Lord of Investigation!"
"Faust? Is that your Ultimate Skill? Very well then." Responded Velzard.
In Velzard's sealed state, Veldora no doubt had more Magicules at his disposal, but oftentimes, what mattered was how you used the Energy you had rather than how much Energy you had.
Veldora can personally attest to this. After all, he was sealed by Hinata, who barely had even a fraction of Veldora's Energy.
The results of this fight depend on who can better manipulate their own Energy. I was fairly certain that Velzard was superior to Veldora on this front, but who knows, maybe Veldora could pull it off.
Velzard was the first to make a move. With a simple wave of her hand, the entire surroundings became instantly coated in a layer of frost. Frost, which continued to spread in Veldora's direction at an unimaginable speed.
The speed of her attack would have been enough to challenge Veldora, but then she further increased its power through the usage of her Deceleration.
Surprisingly, Veldora managed to dodge her attack. In a burst of lightning, he created enough distance to stay safe, sliding on the ground and leaving a trace of static electricity behind.
Even with his Nullification Skills, he still avoided the attack, which was a wise move, since it had been a trap from Velzard to force him to take her next barrage of attacks.
If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same. If the mere Aura Velzard released was enough to bypass my Natural Effects Nullification, then I'm sure an actual attack she empowers could do far more than make me feel a little chilly.
"Ara? I recall in the past you would not avoid that technique of mine." Commented Velzard, playfully smiling.
"Ghaha! That was in the past! Now, I have seen the true nature of your technique! If it even touches me, then it will apply the effects of my sister's Deceleration onto me, causing the rate of my Magicule circulation to come to a halt, leaving me helpless." Said Veldora with a proud grin.
A small smile appeared on Velzard's face. "Very good. This technique was one I borrowed from Velgrynd and only used casually, but it still shows your improvement that you didn't face it head-on. You really have grown up, Veldora." Complemented Velzard.
"Hehe, it was nothing much! I just used my Analyze and Assess." Responded Veldora.
Velzard nodded. "Now, I will begin trying a little harder. Don't die, little brother. I would rather not have to wait so long for our next reunion."
Veldora's eyes narrowed as he focused on the trail of static electricity he had left behind before it suddenly charged and launched a bolt of pure Black Lightning in her direction. Powered by the energy that he had left behind, the bolt crackled before exploding into a loud Thunder as it crashed against her.
His Lightning bolt had marked Velzard with Static Electricity, which served as a guide for the barrage of Lightning that began to fall on her. In an instant, hundredths, if not thousandths, of lightning bolts fell where Velzard stood.
Each bolt was imbued with his Storm Magic and was capable of reaching the Ultimate level, yet Velzard didn't even bother avoiding it. All the force of the attack was scattered and did minimal damage.
I heard Rimuru whistle from my side. "Man, she is strong."
I nodded. "That she is."
Once the Lightning stopped, Velzard snapped her fingers. In an instant, countless Icicle Spears appeared, surrounding Veldora from every direction in a dome. The ground below Veldora also froze with traces of ice crawling up his legs to try to keep him in place. However, she hadn't imbued her Deceleration on it this time as she continued her test.
With another snap of her fingers, all of the Icicles moved. They had all been precisely aimed at him, yet somehow, even as Veldora stood still, none managed to hit. Veldora simply smiled, striking a pose as the Icicles passed by him, exploding on contact with the floor, yet even the shrapnel passed by, leaving him unharmed.
"Ara? Is it some Barrier that slightly shifts the trajectory of my attacks? No, it feels different." Muttered Velzard with an intrigued smile.
I could tell that even though Velzard said she would be trying, she really isn't. It looked like she was probing Veldora, trying to analyze his abilities. Even if the Icicle Spears had all struck Veldora, he likely wouldn't have taken any major damage since she had precisely calculated the strength she used.
She likely wants to know what Faust specializes in before doing anything more drastic.
Veldora didn't respond to her question, a burst of thunder echoing behind him and shattering the layer of ice that had coated his legs. He appeared in front of Velzard with his hand coated in fighting spirit.
Velzard easily caught his fist, but her eyes widened slightly as she felt Veldora's Fighting Spirit break through and rampage through her body.
Using the fist she had caught, she swung her arm and threw Veldora away as she raised her guard.
"Ghaha! How did you like that sister?! Even your Barriers couldn't save you from my attack!" Boasted Veldora with a wide grin as he landed on the ground. Shattering the ice on impact.
Veldora had used Faust to increase the Probability of his Fighting Spirit breaking through her Barrier and striking her. He still got pretty lucky, though, and I doubt that was a full power barrier for Velzard.
Velzard nodded. "Indeed, your attack should have been completely neutralized by my Barrier, and yet it managed to somehow cause my Barrier to collapse in on itself. While the barrier was not anything special, I still find myself curious about your Skill."
Velzard then snapped her fingers, causing three frozen Dragon heads to sprout from the frozen ground behind her. Each Dragon's head instantly began to charge up a breath attack, lowering the temperature of the room drastically as all of the cold energy gathered in their mouths.
"Crap!" I heard Veldora yell.
A moment later, all three Dragon heads unleashed their Frost Breaths, one aimed at Veldora, and the other two aimed at the surrounding area, giving Veldora no room to escape.
I could tell that Rimuru was worried, but I placed a hand on his shoulder. "That won't be enough to take Veldora out."
Before Rimuru could respond we heard a massive Thunderclap booming out. Both of us turned back to the arena and were flabbergasted.
"Did he just?" Rimuru muttered
I nodded. "He did."
In front of us, Veldora had his fist struck out as he smirked victoriously.
Veldora just punched Velzard's Frost Breath away, the sheer shockwave of his punch was enough to disrupt the Frost Breath from enveloping him.
I did sense Veldora shift the Probabilities in his favor for that tactic of his to work though, so it wasn't like his fists were the sole reason that worked.
But still, in essence, Veldora just punched his problem away.
I noticed Velzard didn't seem to mind. She just looked amused. She really was toying with Veldora.
"Fufufu, how amusing. Very good, Veldora." Velzard then snapped her fingers and froze the entire floor of the arena in a thicker, far stronger ice that wouldn't be easily shattered.
Raising her palm up in a graceful movement, she conjured up her next attack. From the ground below Veldora, countless massive Ice Spikes all rose from the ground. All of them ended in incredibly fine points, yet as Veldora moved, the Ice Spikes all sprouted like the branches of a tree and shot out at him in all directions.
Wherever Veldora moved, another Ice Spike would rise to attack him, followed by the countless spikes that continued to grow and expand in his direction. Slowly but surely, Veldora was being surrounded by a wall of frozen thorns.
It was basically a game of cat and mouse, and judging by Velzard's smile, she was enjoying it.
"Ghaa! I'm done with this game of yours, sister!" Cried out Veldora.
As he shouted, I sensed a change in him as he started using Faust to its fullest capabilities.
"Come then, Veldora!" Encouraged Velzard.
And so began the clash between True Dragons.
The wall of frozen thorns surrounding Veldora exploded as he ran a massive current of Lightning through the ice. And then, just as before, he exploded towards Velzard, leaving the loud booming of Thunder in his wake.
Lightning and Thunder continued to flash and boom as the two clashed, accompanied by constant waves of Frost.
Unlike before, Velzard slowly began to land attacks on Veldora since Faust only allowed Veldora to double the odds of something against someone equal or stronger than him.
Velzard, however, managed to avoid all of Veldora's attacks, and she did not let Veldora catch her off guard again.
Frost would cover the area before being replaced by a Black Lightning storm. Velzard would freeze the rain, and so on. A loop of Ice and Lightning.
"Take this, sister!" Cried Veldora as he aimed his extended nails towards Velzard's chin. "Dragon Claw!"
Velzard squinted her eyes before they widened. Seeing the danger of Veldora's claws, he had imbued them with his Dividing Ability, which allowed him to pierce through practically anything.
She managed to avoid Veldora's attack, but in the midst of dodging, the trajectory of Veldora's attack changed. It was aimed towards her hair.
Perfect, he hasn't forgotten about the deal we made.
Velzard seemed to assume Veldora simply messed up his aim as he cut off some of her hair. An annoyed expression appeared on Velzard's face as she reached to adjust and fix her newly regrown hair.
Veldora could not have done his job any better.
I discreetly manipulated Space so that those strands of hair would fall into my Infinity Space.
'That good enough, Odin?'
'Affirmative. Beginning analysis of the Frost Dragon Factor.'
'Excellent.'
"It seems that you still have a lot to learn, little brother. For your aim to be that inaccurate and sloppy… it seems that I need to be a little harsher on you now." Muttered Velzard.
Veldora's face paled. "Wait, wait! That was on purpose! I promi–" Before Veldora could finish his sentence, Velzard blurred forward and appeared in front of him, slapping him to the side, sending him to the other side of the arena.
That had to hurt.
"I was quite proud of you before you made such a simple mistake, Veldora. It would shame me as your sister if I did not correct you for such a thing."
And so Veldora's beating began.
It wasn't hard to get Odin something to work with so she could also begin analyzing Veldora's Storm Dragon Factor.
The dude was leaving blood everywhere. Velzard was not pulling her punches now.
And she hadn't even begun using any of her more overpowered abilities like Temporal Manipulation.
It's a shame that Velzard hasn't used anything all that special for me to Copy and replicate. Though maybe that had been on purpose, given I was watching the fight.
Back when I was sparring with Guy, I originally wanted to try out some new applications of Temporal Manipulation that Odin was able to come up with, like slowing down Time for everyone else while my Time remained the same, but then I decided to hold off on that for now.
Odin had been doing some deep dive analysis of the possible ways I could manipulate Time. She even theorized it was possible to rewind Time itself, I sure as hell wished that I had that kind of ability back when Hinata was basically dying. But still, I had hope that soon enough, if something similar happened, I would be able to reverse it.
'Notice. Beginning analysis of the Storm Dragon Factor.'
___________________________________________________________________
We all walked out of the arena, Veldora now fully healed up by a Full Potion.
"You did quite well, Veldora, except for that earlier mistake. I am quite impressed." Said Velzard.
"Th-Thank you, sister!" Veldora stuttered out. I'm pretty sure that the beating she just gave him only increased Veldora's fear of Velzard.
"You have done well to train your power. You are no longer the bumbling berserker you used to be. Well done, I look forward to your progress." Said Velzard with a fond smile.
Ah, look at that, she does care.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to get you tons of new manga for your efforts."
Veldora seemingly got my message as his face brightened up. "Yes, sister!"
"I am satisfied with my visit to Tempest so far, Demon Lord Rimuru." Velzard said while looking at Rimuru. "Please continue to take care of my foolish younger brother."
Rimuru nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Veldora doesn't get into trouble."
Velzard nodded, satisfied. "Now I heard tales of you taking on a student little brother?"
Veldora nodded. "Indeed! Zegion has been taking to my Veldora Style Killing Arts like a charm!"
"Veldora Style Killing Arts?" Asked Velzard, seemingly confused.
"Ah, he basically created a Martial Arts style and named it that." I interrupted.
Velzard nodded. "I see. Velgrynd had done much the same in the past. Very well, I would like to meet this student of your Veldora. I have heard he is an Insectoid; when nurtured properly, they can reach truly fearsome heights."
"Ghaha! Got it! I'll go introduce you to him!" Said Veldora. And with that, the two siblings left.
"What's an Insectoid?" Asked Rimuru.
For once, I didn't blame Rimuru for being clueless, even I didn't know what exactly an Insectoid was, though I did know their traits, just not the intricate details about the species itself.
"Insectoids are a species coming from a different Dimension."
"Wha?! Seriously?"
I nodded. "Yup."
"So Zegion is from another race then, huh? And maybe Apito, too?"
"Ah, Apito is Zegion's friend, right?" Rimuru nodded. "Well, she is a Wasp type Insectoid."
"I didn't think Zegion had such otherworldly origins." Said Rimuru.
"Eh, it isn't that uncommon. Us Otherworlders are similar."
Rimuru shrugged his shoulders. "I guess. I'll have to ask Zegion a bit more about that stuff, though. When I found him, he was injured, and I had to infuse some of myself into him so he could heal. I wonder why he was so injured then? I just assumed it was from a Monster attack."
"You seriously didn't ask?"
Rimuru looked away and began whistling.
I rolled my eyes. "You're hopeless."
___________________________________________________________________
"Did you want me to take you back to the Ice Continent?" I asked. Velzard had just returned from her meeting with Zegion along with Veldora. She seemed to be quite satisfied.
Velzard shook her head. "No, I am quite capable of teleporting back on my own."
I nodded. "Got it."
"I will be seeing you Felix," Velzard said as a bright light enveloped her, teleporting her away.
"Well, that happened." Rimuru voiced out.
I nodded. "That did indeed happen."
I turned to Veldora, and stacks of books appeared in my hands. "Here, this one is called Demon Slayer."
Veldora eagerly took the manga from me. "Ghaha! Yes! Thank you my friend!" Veldora then looked at Rimuru. "You also owe me more sacred texts Rimuru!"
Rimuru sighed but nodded. "Yeah yeah, I'll make them and have them sent to you later."
Veldora nodded. "I will be leaving now. I want to start reading these!"
"See ya."
"Wanna hang out?" Asked Rimuru.
I rolled my eyes. "You're just looking for an excuse to slack off, but sure. I wanted to tell you about something anyway."
Rimuru pumped his fist. "Yes!"
- Velzard -
Velzard appeared in the throne room of the Ice Palace.
"Oh? You're already back, huh?" Guy called out casually, eating some food Misery had prepared for him.
She turned around to face him, not forgetting her ire for him from earlier.
"I am back, yes." She responded, her tone clipped and even.
"So, how is Veldora?" Asked Guy, seemingly not sensing her displeasure with him.
Still, she decided to humor him.
"It seems Felix was telling the truth. My little brother has grown up." She said with a smirk.
"Really? How strong is he now?" Asked Guy.
"Hmm, I'd say about even with Velgrynd."
Guy's eyes widened. "Seriously?! He improved a lot then. I remember their fight on the Continent that El Dorado is on, and Velgrynd easily sent him running."
Velzard nodded. "Back then, he was all raw power, no skill, he would use his massive Magicule Capacity and just throw around power with no finesse. Now, he has skill and can properly use his power."
"Still not a match for you, though." Guy laughed out.
"Fufufu, I would not be the eldest sister if I was so easy to defeat."
"That's true. If Veldora was able to defeat you, I'd be very worried." Said Guy
Her abilities were a hard counter to Veldora's, the ability to Deaccelerate anything was a very powerful ability. She could halt practically anything. She was able to use it in combination with Gabriel to create her Ultimate defense.
"Veldora has an Ultimate Skill now." She mentioned.
Guy's eyes widened slightly. "What?!"
Velzard nodded with a proud smile. "Indeed, he acquired an Ultimate Skill all on his own."
Even she and her sister could not say the same about their own Ultimate Skills. She was gifted Gabriel, Lord of Patience, due to her compatibility with it, while Velgrynd was gifted Raguel, Lord of Charity, due to Raguel aligning with Velgrynd's nature.
Two Skills part of the Angelic Series Skills her elder brother created, two of the Virtue Series to be exact.
Veldora was the first True Dragon to acquire an Ultimate Skill on his own, excluding their elder brother.
"Huh, well, that alone shows his progress. Do you know what it does?" Guy said, acknowledgment in his tone.
Guy would always respect Veldora if only for his raw power, but that is all. Guy wouldn't give a second thought to Veldora other than that, but now that Veldora had an Ultimate Skill, he had Guy's true acknowledgment.
After all, in Guy's eyes those without an Ultimate Skill or are incapable of fighting at the Ultimate level through sheer skill don't truly matter.
Velzard nodded. "It seems to have some kind of analysis abilities as well as the ability to make things more likely to happen."
"So basically some kind of luck Skill?" Asked Guy.
Velzard shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps."
Guy nodded. "I see."
A True Dragon's attacks were capable of reaching the Ultimate level due to the nature of their existence. When that natural power was combined with an Ultimate Skill, a True Dragon's danger level would increase astronomically.
Veldora was the only one among them who did not possess an Ultimate Skill, and now that he had one, he would pose a significant threat to any that desired to fight him.
He had even managed to surprise her enough to cut off some of her hair.
She laughed when she thought back to Veldora taking a student.
"Something the matter?"
She shook her head. "No, it is just that Veldora took a student."
"Huh, I never pictured that happening."
"Neither did I. He is an Insectoid as well, an Insectar to be exact. He has evolved past his juvenile form." She said.
She had gone to meet Veldora's student, and he was quite interesting. He was not that powerful, not even on the Awakened Demon Lord level, but he was very enthusiastic when it came to training and growing stronger.
He said he wished to be more useful to Rimuru, an admirable trait for a subordinate to possess.
"Seriously? Just what is going on? An Insectoid here in the Cardinal World? That does not paint a good picture. Could Zelanus be prepping for an invasion?"
Velzard shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps. However, I do not think that Zegion, the Insectar, is involved in his plan. He was very loyal to Rimuru and also looked up to Veldora. And an Insectar that weak and that young is incapable of deceiving me. He had potential, though. No, I think his arrival in this world is a coincidence. He may have fallen through a Spatial Distortion and appeared in this world."
Guy nodded. "Perhaps. I'll just keep an eye out."
"Did you go to Felix's territory?" Guy continued.
Velzard nodded. "Yes. He introduced me to some of his subordinates."
"Did you meet those three?" Guy asked with some amusement. Three of his fellow kin serving a single man was truly an oddity.
She nodded. "I did. Arcueid seems to be the one who manages Felix's territory for him. Megumin seems to train the military and perhaps lead it, and then Lalatina is in charge of intelligence. They seem to be doing fairly well for themselves. They are each quite powerful now that they have been Incarnated and Named. Arcueid seems to be in a Deathman body, while the other two are in a Bone Golem made of extremely high-end materials."
Guy sighed. "I see. At least those three aren't going out of control. Felix seems to have them well-tamed somehow."
Velzard laughed. "Indeed, it looked as if they were eating out of the palm of his hand. His other subordinates were fairly impressive as well. A Dragon Lord, a Wicked Oni, an odd mutation of a Daemon, another Daemon, and then a Cryptid. All on the Daemon Duke level, if not higher."
"Tell me about it. Though I didn't know he had other Daemons on the Daemon Duke level other than those three. That guy is seriously building one hell of a force under him. And you said he had a Cryptid under him? A Cryptid and an Insectar in this world at once? Both serving under two Demon Lords? How odd." Responded Guy.
Velzard nodded. "Indeed, I was also quite surprised to find one of them in this world. She was intelligent as well and had assumed a Humanoid form, which speaks of her power."
"How intriguing. He really is getting more and more interesting. First, his ability to copy Skills, and then his seemingly natural combat talent."
Velzard nodded. "He did copy my Skill, perhaps that was how he learned to move in the Suspended World as well as activate Time Stop."
Guy nodded. "You're probably right. Well, it's a good thing I have him on my side then."
Velzard nodded, realizing that she had accidentally gotten carried away when talking with Guy because she had been excited about Veldora's progress. "He is powerful. Now I will be going, do not disturb me, Guy." She told him coldly, the least he could do was learn his lesson. And he wouldn't if she just forgave him now.
Guy looked at her in confusion. "Okay?"
She rolled her eyes, the dunce.
She made her way to the lounge. Once she was there, she sat down on a frozen couch, which still remained surprisingly comfortable. She took out the book that Felix had given her.
"A day in the life of Veldora Tempest? What a quaint name." She said with a smile as she turned the first page.
- Arcueid -
"You said that someone entered our Lord's territory? I assume you would not bring this to my attention unless this invader has bypassed our border posts and failed to go through the necessary procedures."
Her beloved Lord had wished to have more control over who entered his territory, so he had outposts built at all of the roads and entrances that led directly into this territory. When passing by, one is supposed to pay a small fee as well as register their identity with the guards, though it is possible to bypass this with a special pass that is given to merchants and other important visitors so as not to hold them up.
Lalatina lounged across from her. "Yup! He snuck right by the border outpost and seems to be headed right to Master's castle." Chriped Lalatina. "He was stronger than the rest of the trash Master seems to want Megumin to train up. Glenda spotted him, and then I went to double check."
She looked at Lalatina with interest. "Oh? How strong exactly?"
"Hmm, not as strong as any of Master's other stronger subordinates, but almost at that level. I am not capable of measuring the precise amount of Energy within someone's body like Master can, but I'd say a little weaker than Moss is, at least Energy wise."
Arcueid raised a brow. "Ara ara, that is quite interesting. Not many could claim to be that powerful in this World, and those that do would know well enough to follow the proper procedures to visit our Lord's territory unless they are his friends."
"Well, I've never met the guy, I can tell you that, Master hasn't ever mentioned someone like him. He was very sloppy at hiding his intent. It was easy to tell he was coming here to cause trouble." Said Lalatina.
"I see. It seems I will not be able to send those Otherworlders our Lord decided to take pity on."
It would be a waste of resources to send those Otherworlders to simply die. They had joined the common military in their training, and each was very dedicated to growing stronger, seeming to not want their free will taken from them ever again.
She could not complain. The stronger they got, the more useful they would be to her Lord.
"Though Glenda seemed to know of him." Lalatina mentioned offhandedly.
"Oh? What did she know?" Glenda knew quite a lot about the inner workings of the Western Nations as a former subordinate of Granbell Rosso.
"She said he was known as Vega of Power, one of the three heads of Cerberus." Said Lalatina.
She sat up straight. "Cerberus? Is that not the criminal group our Lord informed us about? The group that was led by Yuuki Kagurazaka before our Lord purged him?"
"Yes, it seems to be the same group. From what Glenda knew, Vega of Power was said to be a brute, all brawn and no brains. She didn't know much about the inner operations of Cerberus, all she had was his general characteristics." Finished Lalatina.
"Hmm, that alone does not paint a good picture. Perhaps he was sent to get revenge for the killing of Yuuki Kagurazaka? If so, then this Cerberus organization is more foolish than I thought. To think someone as weak as Vega is capable of causing any sort of inconvenience to our Lord is a foolish mistake."
Lalatina then got up off the couch. "Well, do whatever you want, I've done my job, I'll trust you to do yours."
Arcueid firmly nodded. "Very well, thank you, Lalatina."
Lalatina was very professional when it came to fulfilling the role that her Lord had given, even ignoring her new… nature she would rather die than disappoint their Lord. Something Arcueid could respect and acknowledge.
Now, how should she handle this? She could send someone to take care of this threat, but she decided to go in person to deal with this invader. Perhaps she will take her target alive and interrogate him. If he truly was sent by this Cerberus organization, knowing what plans they had for her Lord would be helpful.
Her Lord had told her to do what she wished in these circumstances, he said he did not wish to micromanage her, and so she would do what she wished.
First, she would need to locate this invader though, her senses were not nearly as attuned as her Lord's.
"Moss."
Her closest attendant appeared beside her. "My Lady." He bowed in reverence.
"I wish for you to locate someone for me." Moss's Unique Skill was very well suited for surveillance work as well as discrete assassinations, he could easily scour her Lord's entire territory and come back to her with what she needed.
"Yes, Mistress."
She described Vega's looks to Moss. Now she would just need to wait.
–
"I have located him, Mistress." She heard Moss call out.
She nodded. "Take me to him."
Moss nodded and teleported the both of them to where Vega was located.
It seems he was camping out in the wilderness, close to where the old roads were. The old roads stopped being used after her Lord with the help of Lord Rimuru reconstructed far safer and more useful roads that connected Azeroth to various Kingdoms and territories.
"He is ahead, Mistress."
"Very well, stay close by, and if a battle begins, make sure to contain the damage." She ordered.
Moss bowed lowly. "As you wish, Mistress."
She sauntered forward, past the trees, and spotted a camp. She had not bothered to suppress her presence, so the man should be aware of her.
She sensed that he was inside the tent he had set up.
She heard a deep laughter come from ahead of her. The tent opened and out came a muscular brutish looking man.
"Ghahaha, fresh meat delivered itself right to my door."
She rolled her eyes at the brute's words. "It seems you will not be cooperating then." She voiced out.
The man's grin widened. "Why would I cooperate when I have such a juicy meal in front of me?!"
"Good, I was looking to let off some steam, as it were." She said with a bewitching smile on her face.
Lalatina's analysis was correct, the man, Vega, held slightly less Energy than Moss did, though she did sense something odd about him. He did not seem quite Human, it seemed he had taken in the Factor of some Monsters and somehow mutated.
Arcueid was not certain what sort of abilities to expect from Vega. She did desire to capture him so she could not go all out and erase him from existence.
There were many ways to knock the man unconscious or bind him, even if he did have some unique abilities due to taking in a Monster Factor.
"Are you a subordinate of the Demon Lord of this territory?" Asked Vega.
She nodded. "I am one of Demon Lord Felix's subordinates."
Vega smirked, hearing her. "Good, then perhaps I can learn just how strong he is based on the strength of his subordinates."
She raised a brow at his cocky remark. She was suppressing the majority of her power, only allowing a small amount of it to seep out of her, so she supposed she could understand why this man thought he had a chance against her.
"Oh? Do you mean to perhaps… assault my Lord?" She asked, a dangerous hint to her tone.
Vega only laughed in response. "Exactly that! If he proves to be too weak, then I'll devour him whole."
She could feel cold rage pulse through her entire being. She would not allow such disrespect to her Lord.
She released her Demon Lord's Haki ever so slightly, causing Vega to gasp at the pressure. She appeared in front of Vega, who had fought off a fraction of her Haki.
Unfortunately, his reaction speed could not help him defend against her. She was simply far too fast for his perception.
She raised her hand and lowered it on Vega's left arm in a cutting motion, causing Vega to scream out in pain.
She would have normally killed him for the disrespect shown to her Lord, but she had not forgotten her priorities. Vega could be killed after he gave her Lord all the information he had. Now that she knew that Vega was here to kill her Lord or something similar, the likelihood of it being Cerberus that sent him here had gone up.
"You bitch! You'll pay for that!" Vega roared.
"My my, it is quite impressive that you have managed to hold yourself together under a fraction of my Demon Lord's Haki. Even if I was holding back." She commented.
She watched as his arm regrew.
How intriguing. He had a fairly powerful healing factor then. Her surprise only grew when the other half of his arm that she had chopped off also grew. In front of her, the arm regrew into a full body, good as new, other than the fact that it had no Ego to speak of and seemed to be a simple Monster in Human form.
In front of her now were two identical-looking men.
Vega looked at his other self with desire in his eyes. Before his Monster self could react and rampage around, Vega, the original, grabbed the shoulder of the Monster and began absorbing him.
"Come! Your power shall become mine!"
A moment later, the Monster that had grown from Vega's arm was no more, instead Vega's total Energy had risen by a very slight amount.
She quickly thought of all the possible reasons for such a thing. The most likely scenario was that Vega could gain a portion of the power of the beings he seemed to be able to consume.
His earlier comments about calling her a meal and devouring her Lord did align with that theory.
Her mind then went in another direction, those Monsters that grew from Vega's chopped off body parts, could they perhaps be used as Incarnation mediums?
Her Lord was not lacking in Magisteel, but any way to conserve resources was something that was her duty to pursue.
She would think about everything further once she had captured this intruder. She lowered her Thought Acceleration and quickly came up with a plan to disable Vega.
Spiritrons were known to disable lower levels of regeneration, which Vega had. The only individuals she knew of that had higher tier regeneration were the True Demon Lord class individuals, and this Vega was far from that.
While she was no master at manipulating Spiritrons, she had picked things up over her long life.
She converted her anger at this bug's insolence into Energy, and then focused her killing intent onto Vega.
She was quite impressed that Vega managed to stay standing with a bit of effort.
Her killing intent was enough to kill any below the A Rank with just her gaze alone.
She finally got serious and cut off all of Vega's limbs in a singular motion and halted his regeneration with chains laced with spirits she forced into submission before he could even scream, leaving him a simple torso.
She then placed a collar on him that is meant to inhibit the circulation of Magicules within the body, leaving Vega powerless.
Now, to inform her Lord about this, perhaps he will even praise her!
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Author's Note:
Hey everyone, we got another chapter of Daemon. We finally get to see more of Velzard's visit to Tempest, Veldora was shit scared, but he does have his hopes up seeing how reasonable his sister was asking.
He still got his ass beat though, Veldora has gotten far stronger than his former berserker self, but he is still far from Velzard, she wasn't even trying against Veldora, she is a certified beast.
Odin is going about her power leveling ways, wanting to make Felix as powerful as possible. Odin best gurl confirmed!
Vega finally shows up, it did take some time as the Main Continent is pretty damn big, and while Vega is a big threat later on, that's after he has had a chance to power the fuck up, now he is just fodder.
Anyways thanks for reading, if you enjoyed leave a like!
Thanks to @Bonvoyage, @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.